Well folks, it's been a while since I've posted a battle report! We've been busy with the Podcast which has been an absolute blast, but ultimately it was nice to get back to what it's really all about- throwing dice with your friends!
Though I painted them a long time ago, I've never used my Begleit in a game, and despite it being an East Front List vs Brian's Americans, I just had to run them. Brian had just finished a boat load of Americans (and redid a lot of existing ones), and so made a list from the 3rd Infantry Division in Dogs & Devils. I think you'll agree- his guys look great!
GERMAN STUG BATTERY w/ BEGLEIT
HQ + Begleit team
3x Stugs + Begleit
3x Stugs + Begleit
3x Stugs + Begleit
Pioneers + Panzerfaust
Nebelwerfers
Motorized Recon
Sporadic HS-129B
US 3rd Infantry Division
HQ
Rifle Platoon
Assault Platoon
A&P Platoon
HMGs
4x Stuarts
I&R Platoon
105mm Battery
Cannon Battery
AOP
Priority Air
So we rolled for the mission, and came up with Clean Sweep. Brian was the attacker, and selected his quadrants, and we went to town!
I stuck 2 units of Stugs and the Nebelwerfers in reserve. Brian put his Cannons, I&R, Stuarts, and HMGs in reserve.
The board from the German POV. In the top left you can see the objective straddling the hill and the trees. In the bottom right you see the objective right where the river meets the road.
In my quadrant you see the motorized recon in the woods, a Stug platoon moving up the road, the CO in the fields (about to bog down in the rain-soaked ground!), and the pioneers in the bottom center.
Brian has his 105s deployed in a wheat field in the top right, his A&P platoon in the top center, a Rifle platoon in the center, and the Assault platoon in the center right.
Pioneers ready to roll out.
Stugs moving up the road.
German scouts prepare to push forward!
Looking at the German quadrant.
The A&P platoon prepares to move out (we use fire on the base to clearly mark who the flame throwers are).
US Rifles provide a strong center.
The Assault platoon moves out on the right!
105s await the order to fire for effect!
HS129s show up, but are chased off almost immediately.
Stugs roll up the road.
The Scouts take the hill and contest the objective.
Nebelwerfers immediately arrive from reserve.
The Assault platoon moves out across open ground.
The 105s range in, and knock out a nebelwerfer. The nebs fail to unpin for several turns.
The bottom of turn 1.
Stugs arrive from reserve.
The company commander gives orders.
The Scouts dig in.
Jabos swoop in with MGs on the pioneers. No casualties are suffered, but they are pinned.
The Assault Platoon keeps truckin'
Bottom of two. The Germans now hold both objectives, but it's a long time before that matters.
Stuarts arrive from reserve! Begleit troops dismount and take the buildings.
Stugs are loathe to move off the road in the muddy ground.
One stuart goes boom! The Rifles are peppered with MG fire, but take no losses.
A&P and I&R move to the objective, but stay within the woods.
105s and tally ho Stuarts knock out one stug!
Bottom of 3.
The ground finally dries out, and the Stugs fan out.
Stugs arrive from reserve, and bolster the scout's position on the hill.
HS129s shoot down the AOP.
Another Stuart brews up, and another is bailed out. The platoon holds on!
Cannons arrive from reserve.
Stuarts go for it!
The A&P flame thrower squirts the German Scouts, giving the Americans the objective.
105s knock out a Stug.
Bottom of four.
The Stugs are fixated on the Stuarts.
Stugs move up and fire on the A&P.
The Stuarts flee the field. The first platoon of the day!
A&P teams fall to the Stug MGs.
But a mass of veteran Americans still hold the objective.
Jabos swoop in!
The Stugs survive 105s and bombs this turn!
Bottom of 5. Eventually the overhead shots became less important so I stopped taking them.
You can clearly see the bottom objective being contested by both Americans and Germans. In the top, the objective is held by Stugs and American infantry.
the ONE TIME HS129s show up- and they fail to range in.
Stugs keep advancing!
On the hill, the Begleit dismount and pull back to let their armored counterparts open up on the A&P.
An American flamethrower runs forward and squirts the pioneers killing one team and pinning the unit.
The Stugs are under constant artillery barrage.
Bottom of 6. In the bottom right, the Germans have to move up to contest the objective now!
German pioneers rush forward to contest the objective.
Stugs move up to shoot over the wall. This rifle platoon has taken countless hits and lost no one.
The US Rifles assault!
One Stug is bailed, and the unit breaks off! This puts this Stug platoon below half, and the other Stug peaced out. Scratch one German platoon!
Bottom of 7.
Pioneers hold the line!
Stugs hook around the Assault platoon & the HMGs (which arrived from reserve earlier), pinning both platoons. Note the one begleit stand in the top of the woods.
The Americans move up to the wall!
The Stugs cannons have been slowly working on the A&P platoon. A Scout team keeps them from going to ground.
The Assault platoon does an about face and moves up to assault the Stugs that hooked around behind them!
Artillery fire knocks out a stug!
The assault is succesful! Another unit down for the Germans. The US Assault Platoon moves back into the woods, ready to face the pioneers.
Under cover of the HQ stug, the pioneers move forward!
Nebelwerfers range in for the only time this game. Brian again makes all his saves, but they are at least pinned.
Finally, the A&P platoon is broken! Only the meager I&R platoon holds out, and the Begleit move just to the left ready to assault next turn.
The pioneers assault the Americans off the objective, and hold it!
On the American turn, Brian fails to unpin- and thus cannot move up to contest the objective! He does pepper the Pioneers with rifle, machine gun, cannon, and 105 fire, but they hold on.
4-3 for the Germans!
CLOSING THOUGHTS: I really liked the Begleit list. Are they the most competetive? Maybe not. But they were an absolute blast! I think with practice you could really learn how to get the most out of them. Brian is always a blast to play with- his units are beautiful and his lists are always challenging and balanced. Great game!
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