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Situation Appraisal:
The advance to contact began well with several
Shermans and assorted minor infantry units being destroyed or
captured. Unfortunately, at that stage, a concentrated and
continuous enemy mortar barrage descended upon Kampfgruppe
Eberbach and continued without cessation for over 4 minutes. This
has resulted in Kampfgruppe Eberbach sustaining severe casualties
and the blocking of the southernmost forest path to all vehicular
traffic.
Kampfgruppe Carius continues to advance slowly
but surely but has not yet made contact with any enemy forces
whilst Kampfgruppe von Kelly continues to push SPW 251/1s along
both the southern and central routes to the town.
Kampfgruppe Student is in severe distress. The
sheer volume of incoming enemy fire and the accuracy of their
artillery has, unfortunately, almost destroyed Kampfgruppe
Student before it can closely engage the enemy. Fallback to a
redoubt position has been ordered but the odds of this being
accomplished successfully are poor. Overall, the Americans will
gain the town easily and cheaply. This is a most unfortunate turn
of events.
Kampfgruppe Carius:
Very little has happened on Kampfgruppe Carius’
advance… The Puma and infantry are still advancing slowly
down the forest. No enemy opposition has been encountered at all
and I begin to wonder if there is any present at all. I think I
will speed up this advance markedly.
Click on Image to Enlarge
This nice sideshot of Carius’ StuG shows
it stationary and in position to cover the advance of my Panther
and half-tracks… The Panther to its south is partially
obscured since it has just moved off the road and into a small
depression running along the south of the road. This movement not
only protects it from enemy fire but ensures that the road is
free for the use of my half-tracks, which I am preparing to pass
through the tank position I have just, hereby, established.
Also not the Volksgrenadier platoon leader and
rifle squad which are sprawled on the ground around the StuG. A
shell just burst metres from this position. More American
artillery ? God, I hope not.. Just in case it is I order the StuG
and the men to relocate immediately. Will the Americans never run
out of artillery? If I had this much ammunition at my disposal
the landscape around the town would be a re-enactment of a
lunarscape.
Kampfgruppe Eberbach:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Note: This picture was taken with the
minimal number of trees being displayed possible so as to keep it
simple to understand and see what has happened.
As my infantry continue to advance along the
road the solitary functional half-track and StuG are trapped and
begin to move away from the clearing exit in case even more
artillery is called in on their positions.
The funeral pyres announce the blocking of the
road to the enemy. Fortunately for me my Panzergrenadiers have
suffered only 5 casualties (including three of the machinegunners
who were killed when the SPW 251/1 they were travelling in was
brewed up by a hit) and so will be able to continue the advance
on foot in good order.
Kampfgruppe von Kelly:
Click on Image to Enlarge
As my first company advances to the left the
Panzergrenadier companies advance and arrange themselves in
column formation ready for the next phase of my advance.
Click on Image to Enlarge
As I have previously recounted I was very, very
unsure of what action to take regarding the speed of my advance
and decided to prevaricate by sending one SPW 251/1 dashing
straight towards the village in an effort to ascertain if it
would be possible to push a Panzergrenadier platoon into the
village and most assuredly ascertain the strength and disposition
of the enemy’s anti-tank defences.
What you can see here is the view of an
American bazooka team as it fires on my advancing SPW 251/1 near
the wall line.
Click on Image to Enlarge
A second later I took this shot from the point
of view of the SPW 251/1. It looks in SERIOUS trouble doesn’t
it ?
Click on Image to Enlarge
Here is a soldier’s eye view of the
bazooka shell. It has missed my SPW 251/1 by about 1 foot from
what I can tell PHEW. One thing which the other shots didn’t
show was that from the instant of firing the bazooka shell angled
towards the ground just as it would in real life. Mere instants
later this bazooka shell hits the ground and explodes.
Click on Image to Enlarge
My glorious "Dash O’ Death"
continues as yet another bazooka launched from the trees behind
me misses. As I dash onwards another major explosion alerts me to
the presence of another, unspotted bazooka team. Damn, this road
is alive with bazooka teams. I’ve been fired on by at least
two or three teams in the 20 seconds it took me to race down the
road.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Here is a zoomed view of where my HT ends up at
the end of the turn. It is barely 300 metres to the bridge and a
further 200 metres from the bridge to the town. It is extremely
tempting to just go for it but instead I decide to be prudent and
park the HT out of sight of the enemy tanks and disembark its
infantry into the stone house to my right in an effort to
establish great LOS right in the middle of the enemy’s
backyard.
The sooner I pin down all their machinegun
positions on this bank of the river the sooner I can advance and
obliterate them with direct tank and MG fire and the sooner I can
make my assault on the town.
Kampfgruppe Student:
*Sigh* Well, the bad news just keeps piling up.
The appearance of that entire company on my southern flank has
absolutely doomed me since it not only totally shifted the
numerical balance but it has also totally shifted the enemy main
thrust AND has left all of my lines of retreat open to enemy fire.
Click on Image to Enlarge
As you can see in this shot resistance is
almost impossible since every one of my squads which stops to
fight is immediately blasted to smithereens by a platoon or more
of enemy infantry +/- MGs and mortars.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Impervious to my attempts to stop or slow it
the entire American company continues to advance. Methinks it is
time to call down some of my husbanded artillery on this flank.
It won’t stop him but every soldier killed now is one that
can’t kill my Panzergrenadiers later.
Click on Image to Enlarge
My FJ squads are in full retreat from the
perimeter of the town now. They realise that to offer any
resistance the perimeter must be shortened. Unfortunately the
overwhelming volume of fire results in at least 1 FJ squad
panicking and running about in the open.. Bye bye ! ;-(.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Memories of victories past flood past as the
captured American machinegun tema pass my northern guard outpost
and enter the town. I intend to place them in my final redoubt. I
will not surrender my prisoners till the last breath has left my
men’s bodies. Wouldn’t it be delicious irony if one of
the American shells killed their own comrades?
Click on Image to Enlarge
As can be seen from this to-down view the
American barrage was not a random event. It has been highly
targetted in three specific locations, south, centre and north…
In each location it has been devastating, ridding me of at least
1 squad per location which I could ill afford.
If Martin is able to do this with 81mm mortars
and 155mm shells I have high hopes for my 210mm rocket strike ;-).
Conclusion: Finally I am close enough to his
delaying line of forces near the wall to strike at them. I will
do so until I have cleared the area to the east of the river of
all American resistance and then will prepare and launch my town
assault.
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