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Orders phase
Not much to do, actually. The rifle platoons on
the south hill are still advancing to the positions on the edge
of town where I ordered them to go last turn, and the rest of the
defense is pretty much static and already in position, waiting
for the Germans to make their next "move"...
Although I want the two Shermans to target the
halftrack, I do not need to specifically give an order for it -
the tactical AI will do it for me. NOT giving the order, actually,
has the advantage that the Shermans will go on looking for other
fat targets during the turn with more freedom than when I had
ordered them both to fire at the halftrack. So I leave everything
as it is.
Action phase
The halftrack that broke through races on, down
the small slope and stops by the farmhouse there. Again, it moved
too fast for the immobilized Sherman back by the farmhouse to
effectively target it... and it moved to fast behind the
farmhouse for the other tank to fire off a shot! Damn! I can see
some infantry hopping out and running for the building, as a few
of my MGs turn around and open fire at the incoming SPW. I think
that they manage to injure the gunner of the halftrack, but am
not sure.
The halftrack stops briefly behind the
farmhouse and a German Grenadier squad jumps out. The Sherman
behind the house does not have a clear LOS right now - the other
Sherman, to the right, is knocked out unfortunately...
Finally also something happens up in the north-east.
I can see some infantry (one or two squads) move down the road in
front of the halftrack. Since my MG that is overlooking the road
is hiding, it holds fire. I am going to order it to open up
during next turn...
The bazooka team is lying in ambush. This is
an ambush marker you see on the road - the way this works in the
game is that any unit targetting the ambush marker will hold fire,
until an enemy unit crosses the marker.
In the south-east, the situation is growing
desperate. The .50 cal MG is blazing away at the Germans, but can
only do so much against a mix of infantry and light armored
vehicles. Slowly, but inevitably, the Germans are coming closer...
The .50 cal MG is emptying its ammo belts
into the German infantry and manages to pin down several units,
but how long can it hold out?
Well, well... all this doesn't look very
promising. All my defenses in the east are slowly crumbling away.
Here a shot at my "MRL"... LOL!
An overhead shot of my main line of
resistance... a platoon of infantry, an immobilized M4A3 Sherman,
a knocked out Jumbo, a panicking MG and bazooka team are pretty
much it... sigh...
Better news from the town, though. My assault
reaches ist first objective and is closing to the edge of the
town. 105mm artillery shells are landing everywhere and I can see
a lot of German movements in the town. Looks like they're
retreating....
My infantry is nearing the town. Notice the
prone German units to the left and a few more moving inside the
town...
... but are they really retreating? Or just
moving into their next defensive lines? From another angle,
things become clearer:
Looks like the Germans are retreating to the
big block house in the center of town. Good move, since clearing
the house room for room will take a long time - time that I am
starting to run out of... Notice also the US unit in the lower
right corner... it's the MG team that has been captured in turn 2.
It's under Fionns control right now and he obviously ordered it
to move down the hill and into the town. I have no control over
this unit and it also does not convey any "intel" to me,
by the way. But don't ask me if I feel guilty shelling the town
with 105mm artillery when there are POWs inside... just don't ask
me, ok?
I put down my binoculars and look at the watch.
Ten minutes since initial contact...
"Corporal," I say to the young guy
lying beside me on the small hill, operating the radio.
"Can you reach Battalion HQ? We need those
Shermans now! Or it will be too late..."
The young soldier shakes his head. The static
from the radio mixes with MG bursts and explosions nearby...
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