BRITISH MOTOR INFANTRY
HQ + sticky Bombs
Full Motor Platoon + Sticky Bombs
Full Motor Platoon + Sticky Bombs
HMG Platoon
Scout Patrol
Kingforce Armored Platoon
8 Gun RHA Battery
PANZERPIONEERS
HQ
Full Panzerpioneer Platoon + Supply Truck
Full Panzerpioneer Platoon + Supply Truck
Full Panzerpioneer Platoon
3x Panzer III N
2x Stug F/8
Light Panzerspah Patrol
The board. Sean deployed the RHA Battery, one motor infantry, and his HMGs in ambush. The terrain is deliberately lighter since we are stress testing our lists, and I feel like open terrain hurts infantry the most.
Sean chooses to leave the "near" objective unguarded- I was sure he was planning to ambush with his HMGs there.
The Germans get ready to roll out.
The British hold the line!
Armored cars make their recon move down the road.
The German army advances in force! an RHA observer watches from both the woods in the top left and the ridge in the top right.
The Armored cars progress through the small dwelling.
On the far right Panzerpioneers double time.
Panzer IIIs also double time.
The front lines.
Sean springs his HMG ambush exactly where everyone knew he would.
Incoming fire!
The HMGs gut the panzerpioneer platoon.
The RHA fires a murder on the Panzer IIIs to no avail.
Stugs and armored cars move to attack the HMGs.
The Germans are poised to strike for the objective.
The Panzer IIIs move to harass the dug in infantry.
The Stugs open up and knock out 1 HMG.
Then the stugs crash into the olive grove and assault!
The RHA observer and HMG commander both counter assault (the RHA observer dismounts from his transport immediately after this picture).
In the end the German 2iC saves the Stugs' skin! The HMG commander bails the 2nd stug after the 1st bogs! But the 2iC dispatches both. The remaining HMG retreats. The Germans have the objective- but it's held by one bogged tank, one bailed tank, and one independent team. Had any of these teams been able to capture- the game would be over!
The RHA fires a murder on the Stugs.
Just in time British reserves arrive- Churchill IIIs double time forward!
A stug opens up on the double timing Churchills, knocking one out.
Armored cars move up to knock out the last HMG.
One bogs on the charge, and the other two whif! The HMG gets out of dodge.
More German reserves arrive. Scouts race up the road.
The Churchills move into the olive grove, contesting the objective.
The RHA continues to fire on the German positions.
A combined force of panzerpioneers and panzers prepare to launch an assault on the other objective.
The Armored cars open up on the scouts, bailing one.
British Motor infantry arriving from reserve finally push up to the other objective. The bogged Stug cannot free itself for several turns!
The RHA fires on the other flank, pinning the panzerpioneers.
Panzerpioneers move forward to reinforce the Stugs.
The panzerpioneers on the other flank unpin and move into an advantageous assault position.
The assault is quick and bloody. The panzerpioneers WHIFF, and are completely annhilated by the British counter attack. Scratch the first platoon of the battle!
Panzerpioneers assault the Stugs and Scouts, knocking out one of each.
The remaining churchill breaks, but the scouts hang on. We are each down a platoon now!
Here come the tommies!
The desert rats advance under cover of an artillery barrage.
The British assault is wildly succesful! One stug is destroyed, and the forward panzerpioneers are wiped out! The Germans are now getting pretty beaten up.
The remaining stug pops a scout. The one remaining scout passes motivation and lives on!
The Germans know it's now or never. On the other flank, the panzers MG the hell out of the Brits who failed to dig in, and then assault into the olive grove!
In Sean's counter attack, both his company commander AND platoon leader score an "own goal" and roll a 1 on their assault roll, blowing themselves up with sticky bombs!
The motor infantry is crushed, and the Panzers capture the objective! We are now both down 2 platoons!
But Sean is a fighter. He finds that the battery commander of one of his RHA batteries is within range to move and contest! He keeps in the game.
The Panzers drive up and shoot both the scout and the battery commander, killing neither.
The Stugs and armored cars shift the axis of their attack, ready to capitalize on the Panzers' gains.
The RHA fires a murder on the Panzers, to no avail.
Sean temporarily pulls the battery commander back, as the Scout races by to contest the objective (just off screen)
The Panzers spray the RHA with MG fire. One gun goes down, but the commander lives! Just off screen the armored cars finish the remaining scout.
The British move up and open up on the one gutted remaining panzerpioneer platoon- knocking them below half!
And then an RHA Murder knocks out one armored car and bails the stug!
The germans are now in a BAD position- both the Stugs AND the Panzerpioneers are below half. And with no company commander, losing both platoons will be the game! BUT, the loss of the single RHA gun means the battery commander cannot move to contest the objective and stay in command range! And with no scout, the Germans are set to hold it!
Both companies are gutted. 2 motivation checks will now determine the game.
The Panzerpioneers fail, and quit the field!
Oh boy! The game has now literally come down to a 50/50 die roll! If I pass we grab the objective. If I fail my company breaks.
I roll a 6. The bailed stug remains, and we start our turn in posession of the objective.
CONCLUSION:
WOW! What a WILD game. Sean is a great player- he is relentless. He never gives up, and I think that's incredibly important in this game. I don't even know how many times I've come back from certain doom.
All in a GREAT game. 4-3 for the Germans.
