Orders phase

Not much to do, actually. My defenses around the town are all set (with the exception of one MG team still relocating to the big block house further south), the Sherman in the town is immobile... and well, there is not much else left :-)

The big hot spot, of course, is the Duel of the Tanks between the Sherman and the PzIV. This one could easily decide the whole game, since whoever survives will be able to roam free across the battlefield (assuming that the Germans have no other tanks in reserve). If I manage to destroy the Panzer, then I can move the Sherman forward and really break the German assault from the back, effectively block the bridge and approaches and maybe even launch a small counterattack. If the Panzer does well, then Fionn will be able to pull it up and support the assault on the town. I seriously doubt that he will be stupid enough to enter the town with his tank and expose himself to my bazookas, but having the tank sitting outside of lethal range and raking my defenders with HE fire would do as well.

What do I do with my Sherman, though? With the encirclement broken, the chances are more even now. Both tanks have a good chance of knocking each other out, and a lot will depend on timing, gunnery and luck.

I have a good opportunity now to withdraw my Sherman, or at least relocate it further west behind the house that the armored car was using. I could do this by ordering the other Sherman to fire a few more smoke rounds to cover my retreat. What I would gain would be better mobility, since my Sherman really is a little "stuck in the corner". Should the German infantry move through the (empty) woods, this move would become absolutely necessary anyway, since the Germans most likely have the deadly Panzerfaust.

But I am a little reluctant. My position where I am is not too bad, since it leaves the last Panzer only one angle of attack. More important, it can attack me only from a relatively exposed position on open ground. In fact, right now it is moving slowly through the snow into a hull down position (I assume) in a small dip between the road and my position. I smell a decent chance... my Sherman is aided by smoke and some trees, and can get into a decent firing position without moving around too much. If I move fast, I can nail that Panzer in the open while it moves (slowly) in the open. I decide to gamble once more...

I order my Sherman forward in hunt mode, into a position between the two smoke columns. From there, it should have LOS to the enemy Panzer and should at least be partially hidden by trees and the smoke. Good luck, Sgt. Washington

In the town, I decide to start shifting my defenses towards the south slowly. I intend to do so with one platoon at a time to avoid being caught in the open in another Nebelwerfer barrage. I start with the platoon in the block buildings in the center of town, and move them to the corner building. From there, they will be able to support my platoons on the southern hill.

Moving out again..

Other than that, not much more remains than simply to wait for the Germans to come closer once again. I am ordering all my units to hide (to keep them from firing too early and using up too much ammo). That does NOT mean that they will stay hidden throughout the whole turn - the TacAI takes over when a juicy target appears.

I also do not plot any fire orders. Since it is difficult to foresee what Fionn is going to do next, I want to leave it up to the TacAI to find the best targets. This is especially true for the units around the bridge, which will most probably see the Germans storm the bridge very soon.

Waiting in position. Cpl. Faber and the other 3 men of his MG team (it has taken one casualty as you can see) are lying prone in a shell crater near the bridge, waiting for the Germans to commence the assault.

A few last words about the overall situation. Two things are worrying me a "little" ;-)

One is the ammo shortage. Most of my MGs are down only a few full bursts, and I have no more mortars or artillery. The rifle platoons still have a good deal of ammo, however, since the city fight was brutal, but short.

The other thing is "global morale". CM tracks losses for each side, and as losses mount (and dead bodies pile up), the morale of ALL units is affected negatively. You start out with 100% morale, and it goes down from there...

Morale hits are based on the point value of a unit. So losing a tank has a bigger impact on morale than losing a bazooka team. Morale can rise, on the other hand, when reinforcements arrive, providing fresh blood for the battle.

I started out with 100% morale, which went down to around 80% fast after I lost the three tanks in the first three turns. Morale sank further after my defensive positions in the east were overrun, to about 65%. It slightly rose when the tanks appeared, but now - with most of my forces on the eastern bank wiped out and only two tanks from the reinforcements left - they are around 53%

This means, roughly, that I have lost almost half of my forces for the battle so far! It also means that my units will be more prone to surrender and panic for the rest of the game.

A nice overview shot of the map (units slightly enlarged). Look at the interface on the bottom to check out Global Morale.

The stage is set...

Action phase

The Sherman rambles forward slowly to the edge of the woods, Sgt. Washington looking desperately for the enemy Panzer. But the Panzer moved down into the small dip and is hidden from view.

Sgt. Washingtons Sherman moves up to the edge of the woods, but cannot spot the German Panzer, which is hidden from view in a small dip in the ground

Around the bridge, what seems to be two squads of infantry, are securing the building and area. Unfortunately, they spot my hiding bazooka team and open fire, killing the assistant gunner with a few bursts from their "burp guns".

Spotted! The bazooka team comes under fire...

In the south, more German infantry columns appear to be crossing the river as far away from town as possible. I can now see three platoons moving westward, and the sporadic fire from my MGs in the town has not much effect.

The first enemy units are reaching the first tree line on this side of the river. Another platoon is moving along river, and a third one seems to be crossing further east in the background.

Furthermore, the two halftracks I spotted during the orders phase are roaring down the road towards the town. It looks like the assault is on its way and the Germans have more forces left than I expected. But it's impossible to really estimate the man power of all those squads - some might be badly decimated. Anyway, one thing is clear - the assault is coming from the south, and I have maybe a couple of turns left before the contact.