With the central position in the east basically overrun and the remaining units without any hope of delaying the German advance anymore, I order them to withdraw as quickly as possible towards the northern woods. If they make it across the wide open space and under heavy incoming fire is a completely different question...
The rest of my defensive line in the east. I order the units that are not panicked or routed or captured already to run for the woods. But they have a couple of hundred meters to cover across open ground and the Germans are hard on their track...
Overall, the eastern perimeter is history. The Germans are now free to advance along the whole line and have already moved forward on the southern road. There is little I can do - the last Sherman and a couple of bazooka teams hiding by the road are my only hope to delay the Germans before they reach the final defenses by the bridge. However, it now might pay off that I have ordered the FO to call down the 105's on my previous position. With a little bit of luck I am going to hit one of the German jump-off points before pressing on - and those 105's CAN immobilize even a tank with a direct hit...
The Germans are breaking through! The orange line shows the plotted 105mm artillery fire. According to the FO, it should be here right from the beginning of the next turn... Yep - it's VERY close to my own troops... :-(
The town, after having been cleared from German resistance, now springs to even more activity as my platoons frantically try to setup defensive positions. With the roads more or less free for the Germans to roam, I expect the first mounted infantry to knock on the door very very soon...
Three platoons are already in position, namely in the big block houses on the southern and northern edge of town and in the blockbuildings in the center. All the others are ordered to race to their designated defensive positions. Meanwhile, I am going to round up all POWs in the big central building. Oh, and have I mentioned it already - the MG team that has surrendered on the norther hill in turn 2 - it's back under my control since no Germans are in the vicinity anymore. It is unarmed, however, so I order it to hide in the house. Notice also that I have toggled the victory flags off in this shot...
With the town in my hands, my attention focuses on the threat in the east, and unfortunately there is very little I can do against it. MAYBE my two companies in the town could hold against the mounted infantry - but what worries me are the four German Panzers. All I have is a few bazookas and one Sherman with its "tiny" 75mm gun. If the promised Shermans don't arrive soon, I'll be history...
The turn starts with my 105mm shelling of the trees in the center, with the hope to score a lucky hit on one of those halftracks or even the Panther which is approaching the stone wall. There are two orders for artillery barrages - "tagret" (to pinpoint a specific area to be hit) and "target wide" (to lay down a barrage on a wider area). I have targetted wide since it is impossible to predict where the vehicles are going to be... some rounds hit fairly close, but overall the effect seems to be small.
The 105mm artillery, called down on my own position, is landing pretty much on target, but the Germans are spread too far for it to have a real effect. I was hoping for a lucky hit, but so far it looks like the end result is nil... :-(
Meanwhile, the pressure on my MG team in the woods and the units retreating north is increasing after the German armored column turns north AND after the northern passage through the woods is free.
The MG team hiding in the woods is attacked from two directions - the halftrack and infantry moving down the northern road through the woods and the Panther and halftracks coming up from the south.
Meanwhile, my Sherman is engaging the halftracks and infantry advancing on the southern road. Unfortunately, the LOS is somewhat limited for a few hundred meters, because the road is lower then the ground in between, so I can only hope for more effective fire when the halftracks move around the curve a bit closer to the city. However, as the armored vehicles move forward, there are points where my Sherman can engage - unfortunately, he does so with little luck so far...
The Sherman in the background is firing at the German halftrack (note the mounted infantry), but misses by several meters. I have used unit enlargement and zoom to get this shot...
So while my forces in the town are racing into their positions to face the inevitable assault, the eastern line is now "officially" penetrated...
The Sherman commander overlooks this sad scene - German units are advancing slowly over the southern road while the last defensive position in the east arund the farmhouses is being overrun. Several US units surrender to the Germans, but a few manage to escape to the woods.
Can a single Sherman stop the counterattack? Can it take out four German Panzers? I guess you're reading my mind...
