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TURN: 19 OF 60 |
SCENARIO NAME:
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Fionn Kelly - Germans vs. Americans - Martin Turewicz |
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TURN: 19 OF 60 |
SCENARIO NAME:
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Fionn Kelly - Germans vs. Americans - Martin Turewicz |
Orders phase
Number one spot - the Shermans! Especially the one that bogged down off the road and in view of those Panzers - what do I do with it? Since it's bogged down I feel that if I issue a "move" order, it will only become bogged down even worse or throw a track. I have the feeling that my best bet to get it running again is to let it stop where it is and not move any further for at least one turn - THEN slowly move forward. In the meantime, I hope that it will engage Fionns tanks without getting hit.
In order to help that Sherman, I order the M4A1(76)W to inch forward around the edge of the block building until it gets into LOS of the Panzers. With it's 76mm cannon it has a decent chance of knocking one out even from 1000 meters distance. And by staying partially hidden behind the blockhouse it should be really difficult to hit.
But that's not enough - the hit on the German PzIV (and the relief that it's a PzIV and not a Tiger or something) encourage me for a more aggressive action. I order the Sherman hidden behind the northern woods to move forward as well, hoping to get an angle shot at the Panzer.
The last Sherman, finally, has first to get into a good position before I can employ it for offensive action against the German armor. I order it to race down the road across some open space and hide behind another building. I want to get it on the edge of town and find a good hull-down or at least partially hidden firing position from the flanks.
But I also do a couple of other things around the town (besides fine tuning my fighting positions for the platoons and heavy weapons).
One is to move the positions of my two MGs in the town further south.
With the mortars and MGs from across the river slowly arriving in position on the near bank, I also now order another MG to cross the river. The more time passes, the more I intend to bolster my defensive ring on the town bank of the river to make maximum use of this natural obstacle.
Now to the east. In the north, it becomes more and more clear what the Germans are trying to do - move the infantry forward to clear the woods. I order my Company HQ unit (with the Captain left as sole survivor) to get the heck out of there, but if he manages to do so is questionable at best. German infantry is racing forward across the open space and will enter the woods soon, which means that I will have to think of a way out for my Sherman on the western side of the woods, but I still have some time for that.
In the center, my bazooka team is starting to feel rather lonely in an advanced position. Not only does it face three enemy tanks, but it also seems that German infantry is heading its way. I am faced with the difficult question again - retreat or stand? I figure that as long as the bazooka team is there (and the Germans seem to remember it's there) they will have to deal with it one way or another and not be allowed to simply advance down the road. If they send infantry forward to clear the building, they will need several minutes to do so, under the fire of several MGs from the back AND my Sherman in the north. I decide to stand and fight. Not sure if the bazooka team likes it, though ;-)
In the south, the Germans are coming closer. With just an MG, a vehicle crew and a bazooka team there, I don't feel like it makes much sense fighting it out. I order them to retreat, leaving the MG in position for now to cover that maneuver... If the withdrawal makes much sense is a good question, since it will be across a lot of open ground, but in this particular case I favor trying to save the assets for later.
But the south flank is not as defenseless as it seems. My two MGs on the southern hill have arrived in position and have a good LOS to the south. They should help covering the retreat a bit.
The MGs on the southern hill (only one appears on the screenshot) have a good LOS to the southern flank. The distance is long (about 400 meters - the halftracks are still about 300 meters behind the German infantry), but should be enough to cover my withdrawal.And one final thing - my airplane. I have no means of communicating with the pilot, so it's going to do mainly its own thing - but I certainly cross my fingers that it will select the right cluster of vehicles :-)
"AP up!"
"Fire!"
BOOOMM! "On the way!"
"It's going, going..."
"YIPPIEH! Eat that you... uh... enemy tank destroyed, Sir!"
"New target! New target! Assault gun, 10 o'clock! Load AP!"
"AP up Sir!"
Click on Image to Enlarge
Here a look at the target - the PzIV is burning, while another PzIV and the StuG are moving up from behind.
Meanwhile, the sound of the fighter-bomber is growing louder and louder as it overflies the battlefield, looking for juicy targets. Then suddenly the roar of the engine screams in a high pitch, as the plane dives down...
IMPACT! Right on target!
But I have to take a hit, too. Shortly before the end of the turn, the second PzIV (which was not moving throughout the turn) finally manages to zoom in on one of my Shermans. Unfortunately, it's the M4A1(76)W.. :-(
The other Shermans fare better. The M4A3 which bogged down last turn manages to free itself and opens fire at the StuG.
The other Sherman in the north of town manages to cross the road in open view of the German Panzers.
Along the southern flank, the situation is growing worse. The German infantry has reached the house while the other halftracks are harking my MG team with fire. I'd love to get those guys out of there - but where should they go? There is only open ground everywhere and getting across the river is suicidal! The mortar team which I ordered to withdraw runs into MG from the east and decides that it actually feels safer in the cover of the trees!
Elsewhere the Germans advance. What seems to be a platoon is advancing to the house where my bazooka team is hiding in (near the central road), and other Grenadiers are reaching the northern woods, behind my withdrawing Company Commander. But even these bad news don't manage to get that grin off my face... all of a sudden the situation has completely changed. I have three tanks against two German Panzers, and, even better - two of my Shermans (the one behind the northern woods and the one from Sgt Odom) are engaging the StuG in a deadly cross fire! And best of all - my fighter-bomber is most likely not finished yet! I am not sure if it has another bombload to drop down, but it sure will strafe the Germans a couple of times before making it back to base! Ahhhh, the sun is shining again :-)
