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Order phase
The most urgent thing to do in this phase is to
move the bazooka team that has been ordered to move forward into
the south-eastern woods into a good position to pick off the
incoming halftrack. Currently, they are hidden by the small
elevation and should not have been spotted by the Germans. After
checking the lines of sight, I cancel that units order (as well
as the following Platoon HQs order) and tell them to hide where
they are. The bazooka has a good LOS into the flank of the HT
should it chose to move down the road, from a distance of approx.
80 meters. Good enough, I guess, to ensure a quick kill. Even if
Fionn should chose to move over the elevation instead (with a
fully loaded vehicle in 6 inch deep snow... risky), the bazooka
will only pop up at the last moment and should be able to disable
the vehicle.
Furthermore I have two MMGs a little back with
good LOS on the road and the elevation, which will punish any
Grenadiers dismounting out of the halftrack.
Click on Image to Enlarge
An overview over my weak south flank. The
hiding bazooka team has been selected and an LOS line shows the
earliest point where it will be visible to the incoming halftrack.
Thw two MGs left and right in the woods are providing cover. In
the background to the right you see the Germans swarming the
clearing and slowly moving forward, under 81mm mortar fire from
two batteries. Another bazooka team is hiding in the woods to the
right of the road there. In the background to the left you see
the Panther tank which should be moving forward in the next turn...
Since my north-eastern flank is still waiting
in ambush, I turn my attention to the town. Here it is "almost"
time to launch the final assault, but not quite yet. Two platoons
are already in position, but the reinforcements and 3rd
platoon on the south flank are still moving into position. They
should be in or close to their jump-off positions by the end of
this turn, so I decide to wait a little longer, spray the town
with some more MG and mortar fire and finetune the starting
positions. Since the German columns still haven't even left the
woods, I figure I have that time.
Click on Image to Enlarge
A good overview over the town. While the two
reinforcement platoons are moving downhill (light green - run,
dark green - move), the half-platoon on the left and the two
platoons in the background - supported by MG and mortars - are
shelling the town. Notice the amount of generic German markes in
the town - looks like there is a Jerry in almost every building...
That's it for the turn. Being in the defensive
the attacker sets the speed of battle, and although I expect the
Germans to start moving forward during the next turn, they are
still FAR away from the town. Too far to have a significant
impact on my assault on the town which will begin in about a
minute.
Action phase
The tension is rising - will the halftrack move
on down the road or will it stop and let the infantry hop off?
The halftrack moves on and disappears behind the elevation. As
soon as none of my units can trace an LOS to it, the generic
halftrack disappears and is replaced by the German cross. Seconds
run by... the bazooka gunner is preparing for the shot. Then,
suddenly, another - smaller - German cross appears. The infantry
must have dismounted. Seconds later the cross is replaced by an
infantry squad, as they move into LOS of my MGs...
Click on Image to Enlarge
The halftrack obviously halted and the enemy
infantry dismounted. My bazooka team is now in a dangerous
situation, but the enemy squad should come into the LOS of my MGs
before able to spot the bazooka...
Not much else happens in the east - the Germans
advance further, but cautiously and my 81mm mortars keep shelling
the clearing. Since I have not one pair of eyes in that area, I
have no idea if the mortar fire is effective or not... but if
there is any chance to delay the German advance, I am going to
take it. My hope is that at least one or two halftracks have been
damaged...
The north flank is still quiet and the "halftrack"
is not moving further. I strongly assume that there is infantry
in the woods to both sides of the road, trying to clear the
approach. That's good, because by the time they run into my
bazooka ambush, they will be within LOS and firing range of the
MGs further back.
No real news around the town either. The
shelling goes on and I can see more and more German units
hurrying around. Some are probably simply displacing, but a few
certainly have had enough and are trying to get out of the line
of fire.
Click on Image to Enlarge
The firefight continues... the Germans in
the church are my main concern... with some very effective MG
from up there, they cost me two casualties in one squad. I am
shifting positions a little more to the right in preparation for
the future assault...
Click on Image to Enlarge
It's understandable why some German squads
are routing. Check out this poor bunch... the craters are mainly
from 60mm mortars and the Sherman in the background (near the
left edge of the map)
There is a little surprise and good news from
the south flank, though. All of a sudden the two platoons moving
down the hill stumble upon a hidden German position in the woods.
It's not possible to see if it is a squad which routed out of the
town at this moment. The good news are that the whole southern
flank is close to collapsing. At least another squad and MG team
have been pinned and are routing back as the first squads from
the reinforcing platoons come in LOS of the town.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Look what I found... an infantry squad
hiding in the woods. Note the pinned MG team in the upper right
corner (near the mortar explosion) and the pinned enemy squad to
the left under the hedge. The cross on the extreme left marks
another German squad which seems to abandon its positions. My two
reinforcing platoons are moving in just off the lower edge of the
screenshot.
Overall, I am not unhappy. Unfortunately the
"ad-hoc" ambush with the halftrack didn't work out, but
it seems that the Germans are pretty cautious in their advance
and will take some time before they actually can cross the whole
map. In the meantime, my assault preparations on the town are
coming to an end. By the end of next turn or by the beginning of
the following one, the 105mm artillery will open up on the town.
Shortly thereafter I am planning to start the assault from the
south with two platoons while in the other platoons are pinning
the German defenders. There is still hope...
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