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Orders phase
"Alright, boys - Johnson, left flank -
move up right to that hedge! Miller, get your platoon to that
rubble... MOVE!"
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The assault has begun! All three platoons
are ordered forward, encouraged by the obviously retreating
Germans... The MG on the bottom of the picture and another one to
the right (currently prone) are supposed to give covering fire.
But that is not all. Feeling that my time is
running out and the Germans are approaching closer and closer, I
decide to go for full risk, and order all three platoons which
are currently around the town to move out!
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The north platoon is supposed to dash for
the trees north of town. My only worry are the Germans in the
church, since the enemy infantry seems to have withdrawn from the
other buildings on the edge of town.
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In order to support the assault from the
south, I also order 2nd platoon in the
center to move forward. For several turns I have not seen any
Germans at the edge of town besides some cowering in the left
block building, so I feel like taking on the risk to cover the
open ground. Actually, my bigger worries are the Germans
advancing from the back (east), since their tanks and halftracks
have an LOS to the town...
Additionally, I move 3rd platoon (on
the south-eastern edge of town) forward as well. It should not
enter the town, yet, but provide cover for 2nd platoon
and get a better field of fire on the block building.
This is it - this is the payoff turn. If the
assault goes well, I see a good chance to regroup quickly to face
the armored column. If the Germans are stronger than it currently
appears... then I'll pray...
Before starting the assault, however, I also
call of the 105mm artillery to prevent friendly casualties. But
what do I do with it now? I am torn (as usual) between using HE
fire for effect or smoke... my other FOs (81mm) have used up all
their ammo, but it seems that the advance in the clearing
actually could be stopped successfully. Nothing has moved there
last turn (except some infantry), so I don't want to waste the
precious 105mm there.
Should I target the vehicles? But they're
moving out in the open and to time the barrage right will be
nearly impossible. Especially since the one halftrack Fionn sent
forward has shown how much ground these SPWs actually can cover
in a minute at full speed. Targetting the Panzers to hopefully
immobilze them? Hmm - little chance. Damage the bridge? It's a
stone bridge and I would probably need several direct hits in
order to even just scratch it. Nope, not a good choice... Maybe
just wait, let the Germans advance a little and look for re-grouping
points? Little chance again, since the time delay between calling
in the arty and getting it down on the target is roughly two
minutes. In two minutes, the target might be anywhere...
So I decide for something completely different
- to call some smoke on the eastern edge of the town. I am hoping
to achieve mainly two things - block the LOS of the incoming
Panzers and thereby deny them the possibility to harrass my
assaulting infantry, AND, block the LOS of the German defenders
in the town to allow my infantry to move forward faster and avoid
kill zones. I hope this is the right decision... sigh...
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Calling in smoke from the FO on the south
hill. It should arrive within roughly two minutes, by the time I
hope to have the assault past the edge of town. And btw - a nice
overview shot over the map, ain't it?
Now on to the other hotspots on the map. The
halftrack which broke through the initial line of defense is
pretty annoying to say the least. But being alone and surrounded,
it is not too much of a threat currently. I cannot reach it with
my Shermans where it is now, but should it move just a few meters
forward or backward, it will be history. It's not really useful
to the Germans either, since the MG gunner seems to be gone...
Image at FULL SIZE
Argh... just behind the house!
But since I don't want other halftracks to use
this dead angle as a setup zone for the final push into town, I
finally decide to move the last working Sherman forward to the
edge of town. A few careful LOS checks reveal that it should
still be well covered from the Panzers, but that ist LOS should
prevent any further "surprises" racing down the road.
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The Sherman has been ordered to "hunt",
i.e. it will move forward slowly and when it spots a good target
it will stop and engage.
A few further orders are necessary to complete
the turn. In the north, where German infantry finally seems to be
marching down the road, I order the MG which is hiding across the
little pond to open fire. Grazing fire down the road... that'll
cost them!
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As the German column moves by to the right,
the machinegunner aims for the infantry coming down the road.
In the south-east, the German push forward. My
.50 cal MG team already lost one man (out of 6), but is still
firing back. Quite impressive, actually, when you check the next
screenshot...
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The MG team is trying to pin down the
attackers, but is under heavy fire from different sides itself!
However, the situation here is not all hopeless.
After one bazooka team made it back to the trees and is now in
position to punish the assaulting halftracks, the other one
rallied from ist initial shock of incoming fire, and actually is
able to fire back as well. It is still shaken, though, and will
not hold out too long in the face of the enemy, but maybe just
long enough to cost the Germans another halftrack...
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At 174 meters the bazooka is operating
pretty much at the upper limit of ist maximum effective range...
but it should be well enough against a halftrack... if it hits!
Desperately looking for other possibilities to
reinforce my southern flank and center, I spot another bazooka
team I almost forgot about. It was hiding in the northern woods
to cut off any vehicles that might want to bypass the center in
the north. Now, with the bulk of the German force moving south,
it is not needed there anymore. The guys sling the bazooka on
their back and run! Risky... but if they make it, I will have
another AT team overlooking the central road.
Click on Image to Enlarge
BTW - this shot was taken without visual
enlargement of the units. Unit sizes are realistic. See those
little blobs around the houses? Infantry... Hmmm - I think I will
use 3x enlargement again... :-)
Finally, I order the last bazooka I have in the
south (the one detached from 3rd platoon together with
a Platoon HQ) to setup an ambush by the house. I am hoping that
the bazooka will not be spotted by any Germans rumbling down the
road and can engage them as soon as the pass the house.
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This is the last line of
defense along the southern road...
Boy... I am nervous! Next turn will be a big
step forward in bringing the decision to this game. The stage is
set...
Action phase
OHMYGOD! They have more tanks!!!
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Just before the end of the turn, the
metallic sound of two heavy armored vehicles becomes louder and
louder from the gap in the woods to the east. The Krauts have
more tanks!
Ahm... calm down. OK, better now...
The assault on the town works out even better
than imagined. All four advancing platoons make good progress
with little or no incoming enemy fire. The two platoons from the
south hill have reached the edge of town safely and not
encountered any heavy resistance yet.
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The town edge. The Germans seem to be
cowering in the block building and offer only little resistance.
The platoon on the north edge of town actually
makes it to the woods without a single shot fired at them. It
appears that the church has been abandoned by the Germans or at
least they are holding their fire.
The most exposed platoon (2nd
platoon east of town) also makes good progress and is running up
the hill in open ground to the edge of town. The only German
infantry seems to be badly pinned by MG fire from across the
river.
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Running up the hill to take that ugly Nazi
flag down and burn it!
Overall I am very happy with this progress. It
looks like I will be in position to enter the town in the next
turn and squeeze the Germans out of it soon. Should it go as well
as it is going now, I should have enough time to reorganize my
defenses to face the German counterattack.
The little annoying halftrack from the center
of the map is gone. Yippie! It looked like the driver actually
panicked from the fire of my MGs, because it turned around and
tried to make it back to the east. But the small elevation there
worked in my favor and slowed the halftrack down. The M4A3
Sherman needed one shot to pick that one off. VERY encouraging!
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The hunter (left) and its prey (right)... :-)
In the north-east, the German infantry marching
down the road are up for a bad surprise, as my MG opens up down
the road. I can't see yet how effective my fire is, but it sure
makes them run for cover. The immobilized Sherman by the
farmbuildings and another MG hiding there also spot the German
infantry and open fire, pinning the enemy units...
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The bazooka team is still lying in ambush,
waiting for the halftrack in the back to move closer. Meanwhile,
two machineguns and one of my Shermans are suppressing the German
column.
But there are worse news from the other
hotspots on the map - the center and the south.
In the south, the .50 cal HMG team is finally
overwhelmed by enemy fire and surrenders to the nearing Germans.
The two bazooka teams, however, remain more or less functional,
and are firing at the incoming halftracks - with little visible
success so far as most shots seem to miss.
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Desperate firefight on the south flank...
tracers are everywhere and the bazooka teams are firing several
rounds on the halftracks but have no luck. The MG team to the
right (behind the tree) is still firing in this shot, but will
surrender shortly. The other MG on the left is currently pinned...
A similar picture in the center. Several well
placed shots from the enemy tanks have eliminated the bazooka
team hiding behind the wall and disrupted some of the other units.
Without an AT asset there, thie remaining infantry is easy prey
for the German armored columns... damn!
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Note the overlapping craters on the eastern
edge of this little patch of trees... this is where the bazooka
team WAS... Two halftracks are racing down the road, but I have
no AT team here. The next bazooka team is hiding a couple of
hundred meters down the road and the other one has just started
running from the northern woods to the road.
How long can I hold in the east?
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