Orders phase

Not much to do. I have no active units on the eastern side of the river anymore (besides Sgt Washington who is doubtlessly going to surrender - or at least I hope for him if he wants to survive) and my infantry in town keeps hiding to avoid drawing fire from the other side. I check LOS from my tank to the north once more. Should Fionns infantry chose to charge down that route, they will run into HE fire from my immobile tank. But I assume that Fionn knows (at least roughly) where my tank is, and that he will avoid the northern approach, moving his infantry more towards the center rather. Well, I can only watch...

The Sherman in town cannot see the enemy infantry in woods yet, but should they move forward they will meet some deadly HE rounds in the open. Please note that Sgt. Diamond, the tank commander, is dead (the one casualty displayed above in the interface). That's also why I cannot unbutton the tank anymore.

In the south, the enemy is charging on, hugging the southern edge of the map. I decide that it's time now to unhide the half platoon and open fire, and also direct my two MGs to blaze away at the enemy.

The two squads from this rifle platoon (the third squad was captured in the clearing in the east early in the game) open up on the Germans at roughly 200 meters. As can be seen, this squad is almost at half strength now. Even more worrying - the ammo. I have enough ammo for 4 full bursts. After that the ammo will be LOW, and I can only expect sporadic fire from this unit. Unfortunately, this is true for most of my other squads... :-(

With my Sherman wiped out, my confidence is shrinking as fast as the Germans are storming forward. I can see more and more infantry, something like two full companies right now. I am sure that many of these units are not at full strength anymore, but my defenses in the town suddenly look much more vulnerable...

Action phase

My rifle platoons and MG teams on the southern hill blaze away at the German attackers. The fire seems effective - I can hear several "Ich bin verwundet" cries - but does not stop the advance.

What seems to be a German infantry squad is being dire upon by the GIs on the hill. I can hear several shouts in German, so the fire seems to have inflicted some casualties. But the enemy moves on...

Biggest problem is that the Panzer IV (now freed from his anti tank duty) starts pumping HE rounds into my position on the hill. I lose several men, further reducing my manpower in town...

Bad news coming in. While the platoon is firing at the Germans advancing in the south, the Panzer IV is looping a couple of HE rounds on my position. The round you see above is going to kill two men from Sgt Reeves squad...

The Germans move on, and seem to try to bypass my position and go for the wide flanking maneuver. I think I will have to move my defenders on the hill back, in order to avoid crossfire from the other side of the river and to face the flanking attack.

Three German platoons are moving along the southern map egde. Notice that they turn into generic symbols as soon as they leave my LOS. They will reappear in my LOS soon if they keep moving forward. Notice also the lonely figure in the middle. It seems to be an infantry team - either a vehicle crew or also possible an FO. Notice further that more infantry and the two halftracks (as well as the Panzer IV) are moving towards the bridge.

Here, around the bridge, things are actually still looking fair. It seems that my MG fire is pinning down the Germans around the farmhouse and I can spot several casualties. This will, of course, change when the tank comes in view - but for now I take what I can. Withdrawal from this forward position is impossible, since the withdrawing units would have to cover several hundred meters uphill into town.

A look at my defensive position by the bridge. A decimated rifle platoon (at roughly half strength) and three MG teams (with low ammo). Nope, it doesn't sound too impressive...

Another shot, this time from behind the forward position. The enemy units in the farm house are pinned down, but more infantry advances. Two halftracks can be seen in the background, roaring down the road, and also the PzIV inches forward through the snow. The US units in the screenshot are not pinned, by the way (despite MG fire from somewhere to the right), but still hiding.

Although the position near the bridge is very weak, I am confident that it can hold for at least another few turns and prevent the Germans from crossing over the bridge - at least as long as the tank stays out of sight. However, if the halftrack simply races down the bridge, there is not much to stop it, except some MG fire...

Finally, Sgt. Washington quickly realizes the situation, and decides to surrender straight away. A good choice to save the lives of his crew.

"Don't shoot. We surrender"

The enemy is closing his grip around the town. But my orders are clear. Hold and defend at all cost.