29 Let's Go - Game 5 - Flanking St Germain Du-Pert

Ah another game in the campaign after a rather long gap. As seems to be the case the ubiquitous "life" manages to get in the way. Actually I blame my opponent as I could have squeezed a game in on a number of occasions but his calendar has been rather packed!

Having squarely placed fault in his court, let's move on to the game. It was a very peculiar game for me, and rather than give anything away at this stage we may as well jump into my ramble of what happened. Again not enough photos and notes but I shall muddle along.

The patrols

German FM starts at 11, US FM starts at 9.

It was a slow start, the past two scenarios are rather straight forward in terms of the patrol phase, this one had us both scratching our heads a little. We placed out the patrol markers to start the phase and then decided to redo that as we discussed how we could each deploy and possible tactics. Because we are both still rather new to the game we tend to discuss each others plans and options at each stage as it helps refresh memories on what we can do!

I'm not at all convinced I got this phase right, but I'm struggling to think of a better way to have approached it. Ideas on the back of a postcard....

Mike, playing the US,  rolled a six for his free patrol moves so got the maximum of four. He moved up on his long edge seeking to probe behind my short line of patrol markers. I quickly managed to shut down that flank by locking down one of mine and two of his patrol markers that were stacked together. I thought that was a good outcome but by doing that he had effectively pinned my defence around that marker as the other could only move 12" from it (24" total by daisy chain if that makes sense) so my other two patrol markers could only really maneuver around that fixed point.

With that anchor I could only really shuffle my markers around a little and after a somewhat lengthy and indecisive patrol phase I eventually managed to get all my markers locked down to end it! The two separate entry points really throws off where you can put JOPs. Mike really only had four "angles" so was a bit limited in where he could place his markers but it left him with two pairs on his two table edges, on the long edge near my defensive quarter he had one sitting out, tantalizingly, in the open.

My options felt more limited. I got one in the rear of the church, and one forward of that behind the fencing. The final one was behind the row of houses on the other side of the road from the church. My fourth "free" JOP I selected to be in the building to the rear as a back up.

German JOPs in red; US JOPs in light blue.

At this stage I felt alright - the patrol phase hadn't gone as I'd expected but then I don't think it gave Mike any significant advantage either. It'll be interesting to play another flanking scenario to give this all another shot.

The assault begins

Mike opened up the main game with a double six. Immediately we discussed the viability of charging a squad towards one of my JOPs, the one behind the houses, as his JOP lying out in the open would give him a short dash to get there. My JOP was right on the edge of my defences so a full 24" from his JOP on the table edge. So deploying 6" would take that down to 18" to run, 14" to get into closing down territory. He was sorely tempted to try it but decided against the "rush of blood to the head" approach. The chance of rolling low and leaving a squad in the open to be hit by an MG42 just did not appeal to him thankfully!

What he did end up doing was the start of a very comprehensive attack. He brought on one of his Shermans and set the guns on overwatch, his FOO came on and contacted the battery for support, and the first of his senior leaders came on close by to ensure that support would arrive rapidly!

His second phase saw the arrival of a single squad on the flank covering their JOP out in the open, the FOO called in a ranging shot on the church and it came in bang on target. That's going to cover two of my JOPs when it hits and I haven't yet had a phase!

On my phase I pulled on a squad to protect my JOP, not wanting to leave it open in case he moved up on the flank, and also wanting to cover any movement his squad would make. It would make any deployment from his JOP in the open a rather  dicey prospect. Seemed like a decent idea at the time.

The Sherman moves up and keeps the MG on overwatch. A Marder deploys for the Germans along with a Panzershrek team into the building on the right flank.

A second Sherman appears, as does a second squad further back. The FOO calls in the barrage and in a rather unlucky roll (or lucky) makes the church unstable.

**We decided to roll for the building despite no squads being present as it made sense to the narrative that the US were targeting the church where they had seen a lot of German activity (2x JOPs)**

The German JL puts the squad on overwatch and the Marder trundles forward cautiously.


The second Sherman moves up as well and maintains overwatch with its MG.

 The Marder moves forwards trying to get closer to the building edge and get a view of the Sherman.

The second tanks moves forward again and fires at the building with the Panzershrek team with no effect, and the second squad moves up slowly using tactical movement.

The Germans call in a second Marder and get the Panzershrek team to get out the building before more HE rounds start winging their way at them.

The US  have the first Sherman move towards the church and maintain overwatch. the squad continues to move tactically.

The second Marder moves up and looks to get an angle up the road should the barrage lift. The panzershrek team navigates its way very slowly over a fence,

Both Shermans are set on overwatch on MG and main gun,

The Germans do nothing.

US achieve the first CoC dice but can't get any units to activate.

The Germans get their first CoC dice and send the panzershrek team to start moving towards the road, in hopes of looping around the barrage and getting a shot at the Shermans from a less dangerous angle.

A bazooka team deploys to the rear with the FOO and platoon sergeant. The panzershrek team continue to move edging their way over a hedge.

US get a double phase and get a squad to cross the hedge and into the plowed field, the Sherman to their rear manoeuvres to maintain sight and cover of the German JOPs. In the second phase the Sherman is returned to both Guns on overwatch and the squad moves tactically in the field, moving towards the church and looking to close down the furthest forward German JOP. The bazooka team moves up behind the Sherman and looks to get sight of the Marder.

The panzershrek team has a change of mind and moves forward towards the house beside the road, hoping to set up in a position to take a shot should the barrage lift. The first Marder reverses slightly to stay out of sight of the bazooka

More shuffling of Shermans and squads to get the US squad closer to the JOP. The Germans move the panzershrek team up to the corner of the house ready to take a shot if it becomes available.

The US get their second CoC die and move the barrage forward a little way to allow the squad to close down the JOP.

Here I swither over whether to try deploy just outside the church to try and damage the US squad. The problem is I'm facing 4 guns on overwatch from the two tanks, and with the rolls Mike has been getting he has managed to activate at least one tank if not two and a squad nearly every turn. So after the overwatch fire, I'd then face about the same in the next phase. I doubt a squad in light cover at best will survive much of that, and decide against deploying. (I also clearly forgot about pictures after this too)

The US waste no time in capitalising on the German hesitance and move the barrage forward again, this time it hits the Marder and the panzershrek team, The Marder shrugs it off but the panzershrek team receives three hits, and these end up as kills. With a team wiped out I convert that into two points dropped on FM (9) with a lovely roll of 6. Typical. The us squad pushes forward a little and makes it over the fence surrounding the church, getting into base contact with the JOP.

A double 6 for the Germans. I suspect this is all but over however I try a bit of a long shot and deploy a squad to the far side of the rearmost building and look to get a squad moving up the table edge to try hit the US squad before they can enter the church and capture another JOP.

In my second phase I reverse the Marder out of the barrage and move the squad on the left across a hedge towards the church.

After a quick discussion on sequence and intent (I explained that if he wanted the turn to end he should do it at the end of my phase and before he rolled the dice) Mike decides to end the turn and keep his barrage going.

His rifles move forward to close down the JOP in the church and the Sherman swings slightly to counter the German Squad moving up the left flank. The turn end resulted in a bad things happen roll for me which I managed to get as another 2 point FM drop (7).

At this point I withdraw. I had allowed myself to get boxed in and the overwhelming firepower I was facing made me feel like if I tried to engage I would end up getting pasted. I was struggling to get dice rolls that would allow significant deployment and when I did I had positioned my JOPs rather poorly and in a way that wouldn't allow me to engage the enemy in anyway near parity. Partly this is due to the barrage removing the church as a viable defensive centre piece.

Post Game Admin

I have been woeful in keeping track of the post game changes however to get it up to speed Col Goode is back to a Concerned outlook having dropped down to trouble and even worried after the first two lost games.

The Germans are actually faring rather well. Both the Men's opinion and the Commanders are sitting at 0. Although the commanders opinion isn't tracked until contact with Isigny is re-established again I have been tracking it to try and remind myself I need to get in the habit of doing it. The Main platoon is down 6 men and I'll need to decide when I bulk them up with some reinforcements. I'm rather tempted to do this for the next game and try avenge this poor performance.

When the Dust had settled.

I've come away from it feeling that I simply did not do enough:

1) I should have taken more risk and been much more aggressive. I was cowed into submission by his Shermans being on near constant overwatch, and his barrage rendering two of my JOPs rather useless. For all that I had two Marders that realistically could have been thrown at the Shermans as I can't take them with me to the next table! I may have lost morale due to them being blown up but that would have been better than the collapse due to the panzershrek team being hit by a mortar and then the loss of a JOP. I was scared to commit troops and that gave an easy victory to my opponent.

2) I also deployed poorly. I should have kept the panzershrek off-table and had it available for an ambush. On table it  was struggling to get a position especially as neither of us were rolling sixes to end the turn and I wasn't getting many fives to generate a CoC dice to end it that way.

3) Ultimately I think I lost because I had no clear plan of what I wanted to achieve and how beyond a vague aim of trying to lower my opponents force morale.

At the time it felt like I had little option but to call the retreat. I could see no way of levering my way into the game at that stage and it felt like Mike was getting all the right dice when he needed them and I was not. I knew he would take a FOO but with no ability to take support options beyond the two Marders I needed some way to counter his FOO and I could not come up with anything,

In reality I gave away the game early on by allowing him to build up control of the area. I could have brought on both Marders and looked to use them in tandem to harass him, I may well have lost one but the quicker they were on the board and being aggressive the less his tanks could have pressured me. With the tanks occupied I would have been more secure in deploying some troops and using the LMGs to try pick off the FOO and Senior Leader sitting at the rear, with two leaders in close proximity with only a bazooka nearby I would have been certain to cause some sort of pressure on his morale, maybe even neutralise the barrage.

Oh well, this is what comes from not being prepared! Five minutes spent at the start of the game thinking about how to tackle the problem would have been time well spent. It has been a very good learning experience and points out yet again how good CoC can be at giving that real command experience. I should correct that, the lesson on planning has clearly been identified. Now we shall see if I can actually make the change and act on it in future!

Electricity/Telephone poles

I'm sitting in a rather happy position in that I now only need to sort out a small stream for Map 5 of the 29 Let's Go campaign, and other than that I think I've got everything I need for the remainder of the games. I'm strongly tempted to get some small streams from Fat Franks and close that bit off.

Anyway this has meant that I've finally managed to spend some time on bits of scatter I have had lying around in various stages of completion. I mean I've also started some new scatter but I'll get to that.

First up are electricity poles. I had a few "prototypes" from various bits and piece I had lying around but settled on what I feel is the best option and rather economic to boot. I used some old plastic sprues to create them, it seems the airfix aircraft come in a rather handy round sprue which can be combined either with itself or with rectangular bits of sprue. My favourite for this job are Gripping Beast sprues, partly as they were to hand but also as they had great additional points on them that can act as the insulators on the cross beams. Undoubtedly my terminology is wrong but hopefully you get the idea.

You can see the them rather clearly on the examples above (the three on the left) I now realise that the one on the right is glued on in the wrong way, The box on that one is supposed to be a transformer or some such thing. Not sure if they did it the same way back in 1940s but it adds a bit of variety to it all so I'm overlooking historical accuracy on this!

It is all very simple, especially with plastic cement type glue. Clean up sprue, glue on cross piece (in correct orientation of course), drill hole in mdf base, glue sprue into mdf base. Then the usual, sand glued onto mdf, basecoat, paint, flock.

These were the initial prototypes for the sprue version. I've painted the insulators white as I seem to recall white ceramic ones being used, again not sure on the historical accuracy but it gives me some more scatter to fill up my table.

A poor excuse for an AAR

So I got my first game of 2019 in at the weekend. This was the next installment of the 29 Let's Go Campaign and we had finally moved on to the second table: A delaying action at Arthenay.

From German table edge.

From American table edge.

Well the action started and I go so absorbed I didn't take photos or notes. Oh Dear. So what follows is a rough approximation of what occurred, true in spirit if not exactly accurate.

The Americans, commanded by Mike,  started with a dismally low morale roll starting on an 8 whilst the Germans managed an rather outstanding 10. The patrol phase played out with the Americans securing jump off points back at the hedges one on the right flank (for the US) and the other two on the left. Not surprising as that is where more cover is. The Germans had to place one in the "grey box" to the rear so on went into the house just north of the road (US Right Flank) behind the small orchard. One went into the large house across the road and the final went on the US right flank back behind the hedges near the edge of the table. I suspected that Mike would be bringing in a FOO and I didn't want to have all JOPs cluster in an 18in square ready for him to lock down with a barrage and then stroll in.

Given the FOO threat I decided to take the IG 18 option, I swithered between this and a sniper as a FOO counter, last game I had taken a FOO and it starts to feel gamey always going for that option. I figured the 6 HE dice the infantry gun would throw out would be a decent counter for the FOO, especially if I could get him isolated. In addition I took an MMG to bulk up the firepower along with an adjutant to help with the lack of command.

Apart from the suspected FOO I also knew that Mike had to take a Sherman, given the last outing I suspected it would just be the one so was content relying on the hard hitting panzershrek in the platoon on dealing with it. This was not to be the case.

The Americans started with the Sherman coming on via the road with the commander setting them on overwatch and a squad deploying on the right flank out into the ploughed field, adopting a tactical stance. The germans didn't respond.

The Americans then brought on the FOO and a 60mm mortar, the FOO in the corner of the hedges south of the road and the mortar set up in the orchard and went on overwatch. The FOO called up the battery to start the predictable process.

At this point I thought it was best to act before the barrage could get going - or at least start to act to try give myself the best chance of killing the FOO, He was deployed alone and no squad or team nearby to help him out. I deployed the IG 18 and fired at the pesky FOO. A delightful 4 die hit, and Mike obligingly converted three into kills. Checking on the FOO hits table and rolling again resulted in three kill hits (1s and 2s). By any measure that FOO was gone. I was gleefully rubbing my hands together at this point thinking I'd get his FM tumbling already and I could be in with a shot of winning this, especially with his low starting morale and Mike's predisposition to rolling exactly what he didn't need.

Sadly his men shrugged it off with no effect, apparently no one liked Hank anyway.

The hate came back from the Sherman and the 60mm mortar - accumulating shock on the IG and a kill.

The Americans then brought on another squad in front of the 60mm mortar and lining the hedge, and tried to move the squad in the ploughed field although they didn't get far. Mike was rolling a lot of 5s in his command dice which was limiting his ability to activate units but was thundering up the command dice, turn three and already sitting on 5 points.

Now I had deployed a unit, possibly too early, I felt I needed more on the board to split his attention and stop the IG getting killed/routed too soon. I brought on a squad in the central building and threw out some fire at the Americans. I also removed two shock on the IG.

The Sherman fired into the building causing shock and used the MG to put covering fire onto the house. The squad near the mortar jumped the hedge then threw some smoke to cover their move.

I brought on a panzershrek and attempted to nuke the sherman however despite hitting and getting four strike dice I only manage a single net hit due to some good rolls by Mike. The sherman took one point of shock and the driver couldn't be activated in the next phase. I then tried again with the IG, again I managed to hit it but with only four strike dice the Sherman shrugged off the single hit I managed to roll.

Then things became sticky. The panzershrek got focused on by a US sniper who killed one, then the sherman had a crack and killed the other. I converted that into a one point drop in morale. The IG was also getting a lot of attention, the JL taking a wound and dropping to one command initiative.

I pulled on my SL and the remnants of squad (from campaign casualties so far) which was just the LMG team to help out the IG 18. I was chipping away at the squads but the covering fire, tactical stance and poor rolls meant very little was happening. The IG and LMG team were occupying much of the US fire and largely getting shock and removing it, with I think one or two kills.

The US managed to push the squad in the south on their left flank up to the second line of hedges and prepared to push across. I deployed the MMG just outside the house behind a stone wall and proceed to hammer the squad. The leader took a hit and dropped to one command initiative and the FM dropped one point to 7.

The squad made it across the hedge with a decent move to spare and threw some smoke to impair the vision of the German squad and MMG in the house. This got them to a position to be able to use a CoC dice to move a JOP forward to just behind the last hedge they crossed.

This was starting to look ominous for the Germans. With a squad and a Sl still off table the Americans had a good punch still to throw. With the panzershrek gone I would be waiting for the Sherman to move closer before a panzerfaust would be within a range worth trying a shot.

The Americans pushed the squad forward on the left flank and pulled in SL and final squad just behind from the advanced JOP. The new squad threw smoke and the put down some covering fire. The move brought them just past the 90 arc for the MMG which forced me to move them into the house to get cover and reorient the LMG.

Lots more fives for Mike and any spare dice went to beating up the IG 18, which was eventually forced to break. I brought on my second full squad and final unit into the upstairs of the central house and spent a phase hammering into the overstretched squad with every possible unit. I managed to pin them but that was it. with most of the squad alive I would need another 9 points of shock or similar to get them to break.

The US used the fresh squad to start to flank round the house down the road, towards an unprotected JOP in the "grey box" zone. They also hammered the Lone LMG team on the US right flank  which was beaten down to one man with the JL and SL.

At this point I decided to withdraw. That group of two leaders and a LMG was too fragile and too much of a target to survive much longer. My strong point in the central house would have been able to do some serious damage to the US squads eventually although not without some losses themselves. I was 2 points higher in FM thanks to some injuries on his JLs and had 5 casualties from the platoon. With three more maps to play I think I've already taken too many losses to be hanging around much longer.

So another two men lost permanently and one missing the next game, ends up with 7 men missing the next game, so I'll probably need to consider some reinforcements.

Well played to Mike who is getting to grips with Chain of Command and trying to get his Yanks moving forward despite pitifully low movement rolls! We noted that if we played more frequently the game would flow a lot better with less requirement to refer to the rules.

Going to the chapel (1)

Right, after feeling rather pleased with myself over the last scratch build for the 29 Let's Go Campaign I decided to try my hand at it again. This time it is a church for scenario 3. I was planning on buying either an MDF kit or picking up a cheap plastic railroad one and just doing a bit of decoration but I have a fair bit of materials to use and I rather enjoyed the last build so why not?!

I googled the church and got an idea of it's shape and formation, again not to build an exact replica as I just do not possess the skills to do that, but to make a serviceable model that could be used in a variety of settings. Or so goes my thinking.

With some eye squinting and guesstimation based on the scenario map I come up with a size of 10x8in for this build. I marked it out roughly on a piece of hardboard and coated the reverse side in a good coat of paint. Some helpful TFL forum members suggested this as a solution to potential warping and from some other small bits I've done in the interim I would say it works a treat.

For a bit of variety (and to start learning about different materials) I am using polystyrene foam to make this. This is the cheaper expanded polystyrene rather than the denser extruded variety. The basic structure is made out of the foam by cutting slices off to create the walls and gluing them in place with some PVA and cocktail sticks to hold the sections together.

The main structure is finished off and then the roof is tackled. The sub-structure is from foam, carved to the basic shape and then with card panels glued into position. I glue paper over the seams of the card to give a smoother appearance. The top cross is actually a piece from Supreme littleness designs which I got a while back, thrown in for free when buying a selection of patrol markers from them.

Although at this stage I realised that it really needs another window in the front of the tower, up at the top. It just doesn't look right blank.

The whole thing is coated in black emulsion. This is partly to seal the foam but I think it will also help the next stage.

The next stage is of course smearing plaster (mixed/thinned slightly with PVA) everywhere. In some areas I tried to texture it a bit using a bit of soft packing foam, however I didn't get as much done as I would have liked as I got called away onto something else and it largely dried by the time I got back to it! The dangers of a hobbyist.

 In one corner I've added a bit of cobblestone, just etched foam, to add some detail and difference. The windows are not even, largely because I free-handed them, but it has made me think it would be useful to make a small jib/stencil that I could use as a template. I'll try even up the windows a little but I'm not going to spend too much time on it.

Once dried the whole thing got a good coat of a dark grey. This was followed by a range of other colours (yellow ochre, beige, sandstone, fresh barley) mainly tester pots, to try get a sandstone like finish. Strangely enough Sandstone is not quite sandstoney enough for my liking.

At this point I don't think it is too far away from the look I was aiming for. I think it needs a little more grey dry brushed on in some places, and probably a wash to tie it all together and weather it a little. And of course the roof to be finished.

It is pretty shoddy construction work, not flush, not at right angles but it has been thrown together quickly and it has given me some good ideas for the future in how to go about making some buildings out of foam. I also am running hard with Rich Clarke's philosophy of pieces not needing to be exact scale models but rather give the impression of the environment or building. That gives me suitable leeway to be as cackhanded as I am!

You can see the end of this build here.

29 Let's Go - Game 3 - Probe at La Cambe

With nothing else organised this past weekend I seized the opportunity to run Game 3 of our 29 Let's Go campaign. It was the US troop's third crack at La Cambe, and this time my opponent Mike had read the rules for himself, rather than relying on me to try navigate our way through. This makes a huge difference as between the two of us we were more likely to pick up on any errors or inconsistencies we made! Right, on to the game, I tried to take notes and managed for the most part but as I went over them I noticed a number of areas where I hadn't logged what happened, even though I knew it had happened! Oh well. Hopefully I'll improve on that front. Tried to get pictures throughout but it varied depending on me remembering to take them. The game was at mine so it had hedges unlike last time, I was pretty happy with the set up although still lots of room for improvement. I have to agree with what others have said before, it really helps the immersion in the game. Enough rambling, on to the action.

We both rolled poorly for Force Morale and both started off on 8. Mike (29th Infantry Division, US) rolled for 3 extra patrol moves which he used to get his markers stacked up 12in up the road. We ended up with an average spread across the table and the JOPs were not too far from the placement last game.

The table setup and final locations of the patrol markers

German JOP's circled in Red.

US JOP's circled in blue.

Initiative is with the US troops so Mike rolled first:

US (53332)
On comes a Sherman and promptly fires a round at the boulangerie in the hopes of denying it as cover to the German troops. They’ve come with intent this time! A single six means the house is unaffected. The hull gunner is set on Overwatch and a second Sherman appears and the JL promptly sets both of his gunners on Overwatch. One squad deploys behind the hedge line south of the road, and a second behind the Maison du pays in the north.

Ger (55532)
No actions from the Germans yet, but a rather healthy push towards a third CoC die.

US (65321)
The US FOO comes on and check for availability. The first Sherman drives at full speed (3D6) to  get behind the house and start to build up a fire base to the south of the road, a roll of 8 gets him fully behind the building. The squad behind the Maison du Pays moves tactically to start creeping round the house, a bit of nervousness means they only shuffle along (rolled a 1) a bit cautious about any germans appearing it seems!

Sherman moves to take a position on the US left flank

2nd Squad starts to move forward on the right flank

Ger (66543)
A double phase but not much point in bringing anything on with a sherman on overwatch and two squads in decent cover. Still the 5 is nice!
(66653)
Ah, almost a full CoC die but the single 3 means there is no point bringing anything on. It would be too isolated I think so I hold off. Clearing the overwatch and tactical is nice though!
(53321)
3 full CoC dice. I could potentially do something here, but again there aren’t any obvious targets that I can really rip into and if I show my hand too early it gives my opponent the chance to cause more casualties, something I can’t really afford to do. With the 1 I bring on my FOO and get the mortar battery ready to fire…..

The German FOO deploys in a sneaky underhanded manner

US (62211)
The US FOO brings in a ranging shot which deviates 7in away, to the northwest (German side). A 50 cal deploys in front of the small house south of the road and the platoon sergeant, Ernest Cook, joins it, careful to place himself between the HMG and the squad lining the hedge, and sets the HMG on Overwatch.

American ranging shot fires long.

Ger (66651)
What is going on? Last game I rolled maybe one double, this time I’ve already rolled two turn ends and a double phase. The FOO calls in a ranging shot which deviates south, just about half a barrage would be on the table if it was called in. That is my fourth CoC die started.
(55211)
Ticking up the pips on the fourth CoC die. The FOO brings in the barrage, it catches the squad by the hedgeline with absolutely no effect but narrowly misses the HMG. While it has no effect on the infantry a rather lucky round hits the top of the Sherman and panics the crew causing them to reverse into the wall behind them. (He got a point of shock and a hit (one net hit table) which resulted in 2 extra shock and a reverse of 2D6). A tripod MMG deploys in an entrenchment and fires on the HMG, causing 1 shock.

The Sherman gets hit by a mortar round

and has to reverse which brings him out of range of the barrage but sitting with 3 shock

US (65542)
The US Sgt gets the HMG to return fire, which results in a kill and 2 shock. The final US squad deploys into the top floor of the maison du pays and fires at the German MMG adding a shock.

Ger (52111)
The German FOO brings down the barrage again, adjusting it to the north to try and get the HMG under it.

US (66553)
A double phase but not many options available! The JL in the Sherman removes 2 shock and is counting his lucky stars that he reversed out of the range of the barrage! The fives mean the US have now got a CoC die of their own.
(55311)
The squad in the Maison puts down covering fire across the German front (covering the house and MMG) and the squad out the front edges forward and throws some fire down at the MMG, 2 kills and a shock results in the German MMG breaking and running off the table. German morale drops to 7.

Ger (55311)
This is not going precisely to plan but the barrage is keeping half of the US front pinned and out of action which means it is probably worth holding on for now to see if the US morale can be forced down. The FOO activates the barrage again killing one and causing 1 shock on both rifle and BAR team. I don’t want to bring anything else on with the threat of the US barrage over the Orchard.

US (65531)
The FOO brings the barrage down and the Sherman moves further away from the barrage which looks like it might want to creep over him again.

The American barrage lands in the orchard.

The lucky sherman moves to support the right flank

Ger (66542)
The redubtable Otto Weinstein deploys and asks the FOO to keep stonking the US infantry. It has no effect. With 4 CoC dice I use one to end the turn and another to keep my barrage firing.
(66421)
The panzershrek team deploys to the south of the Boulangerie and fires a speculative round off at the Sherman but it misses. Otto gets the FOO to activate the barrage to more effect this time, kills a BAR team member and puts shock on each of the three teams under it.
(65553) -  A squad deploys into the upstairs of the Boulangerie and fires onto the US squad out the front of the Maison killing one and causing 2 shock.

The first German squad deploys and throws down MG42 fire at the US squad trying to advance

US (65521)
The US FOO checks availability and gets them immediately. The squad moves tactically and shuffles along an inch.

Ger (65442)
The German squad fire on the US squad in front of the Maison but to no effect. Clearly too busy looking for bread. Otto gets the FOO to fire again, resulting in 2 shock on the HMG, and gets the panzershrek team to have another go at the Sherman. A hit (double 6’s) and the resulting damage roll scores 6 hits, of which only two are saved. The plucky panzershrek team rack up their second Sherman kill of the campaign! US FM drops to 7 too.

After first missing a shot the panzershrek then hits on a double 6.

The Sherman gets KO'd. Two rings on the panzershrek barrel!

US (55511)
The rifle team of the squad out the front moves, pushing to the front of the section. The US deploy a 60mm mortar which fires off a round at the panzershrek team. No effect.

Ger (63221)
The barrage inflicts 2 more shock on the HMG which is starting to look wobbly, the US Sgt being the only thing keeping them functioning. More fire is attempted at the US squad trying to advance but yet again the Germans are too busy with munching on bread to aim properly.

US (43221)
A lot more useful for the US player – so many available options and combinations. The FOO brings down the barrage a second time, the Sgt rallies shock off the HMG and BAR team. The platoon commander Lt Elmer Turner deploys into the top floor of the maison to provide some guidance to the FOO and keep the squad laying down covering fire onto the German frontage. He shouts out the window to get the squad out the front moving forwards again.

Ger (52211)
The barrage continues killing a rifleman and putting a point of shock on them. The squad upstairs fires again but with the covering fire from the US they don’t manage any hits!

US (52111)
More covering fire is thrown at the germans and the other squad keeps moving with a mad dash to get behind the cover of the barrage (8in on 3D6 taking some more shock in the rush!)

Ger (65421)
More barrage with one kill to the rifle team but no other effect. For the length of time the barrage has been on it hasn’t done a huge amount of actual damage but tactically it has locked down the US attack which has been invaluable. The squad tries to fire on the 60mm mortar but can’t get the hits to stick, the covering fire is very effective and any stray 6’s are not getting converted into anything useful!

US (65341)
Sgt Cook manages the shock on the HMG and BAR again, the JL does the same with the rifles, and the mortar fires off another round at the panzershrek but gets nothing.

Ger (54431)
Obergefreiter Wienstein tries to get the FOO to hit something with the barrage but the US teams have clearly taken great cover as the shells whistle harmlessly around them. The squad fires on the mortar and hits them for three shock. Huzzah!

US (55421)
US are getting CoC points but would rather be getting troops activated! The squad that ran forward get themselves organised and remove some shock. Lt Turner yells out the window to get the 60mm to take cover behind the maison walls, the team need no further encouragement and scramble over the hedge and into the cover of the walls.
With the squad in the open removing shock I decide it is time to end the US barrage by ending the turn at the end of the US phase. If I’m going to have any effect on US FM the time is now.

Ger (32211)
With the US barrage clear it is time to throw some pain at the squad that is hanging out in the open. A squad deploys in entrenchments from the north JOP and unleashes fire into the squad sitting in the open, an unholy 5 kills and 2 shock sees the group savaged to a standstill. With five kills you’d have thought the JL might get a scratch but the lucky blighter managed to go all matrix on the german rounds and dodged them all (Mike rolled a six to save him). The squad in the boulangerie take enough of a break from munching bread to kill a member of the HMG team. The third and final German Squad deploys into the abandoned entrenchment of the MMG and fires on the HMG causing 1 shock.

Cpl Reeves manages to dodge all the rounds while five of his squad get killed.

US (66622)
Sgt Cook frantically removes shock on the HMG and section to try get them to a workable state with the turn end approaching.
(66541)
The US FOO checks on the mortar battery but they have been tasked elsewhere and won’t be supporting this attack any longer. Quite a blow to the US. Sgt Cook removes more shock.
(51111)
Sgt Cook gets the HMG and depleted squad to provide covering fire onto all German position.

The German barrage ends and the US start to recuperate

Ger (55441)
Otto gets the FOO to repeat the barrage with no effect. He also gets a squad to fire across the road at the squad in the open with no effect, the LMG team on the left flank has more success causing one kill and one shock.
The US end the turn with a CoC die and with no CoC die left for the Germans to counter this, their barrage ends.

US (65421)
The squad in the open removes shock and Sgt Cook keeps the covering fire going.

Ger (55421)

Otto asks the FOO if he can get the barrage back up but the mortars have been re-tasked. No more support available now! This leaves the Germans in a bit of a precarious postion. A squad fires into the HMG with no effect and the LMG team on the left flank again has more success but only inflicts 1 shock. The covering fire is keeping that squad in the game!

US (43211)
Without needing to contend with the  barrage the US can focus on getting their attack moving again. The remaining Sherman finally gets into the action and fires HE and MG into the squad in the boulangerie killing one and dropping 2 shock on them. The 60mm Mortar tries its luck at dropping a shell on the cluster of the FOO, SL and panzershreck team but fails to hit. Sgt Cook gets the HMG to fire at the squad in Boulangerie too and kills 2 and adds one more shock.

Oscar decides to intervene on behalf of the Americans. Big cats are too hard to deal with so the Germans withdraw.

With three casualties in one phase and the protective barrage now gone it is turning into a slug fest, at some point I inflicted a wound on the JL in the hedge line south of the road, and his FM dropped to 6, but aside from that his morale was not dropping and his leaders were staying in the game with some helpful dice rolls. At this stage I decided I was only going to lose more men and it would be a gamble as to whether I could drop his FM before he inflicted more lasting damage on my platoon, so I sounded the retreat and withdrew. US victory.

I took three casualties, one would never return and two would miss the next game. All squads were within 12” of JOPs and unpinned so withdrew successfully. I ended on an FM of 7 and the US on 6.
The Germans will go into game four 6-men down. As mentioned before two would be back for game five.

As we stand after three games the US are only just getting onto Map 2, largely I think due to the fact that we are both still learning the game, but it also means I only need to delay him by one more game to get a partial victory, albeit with the brave defenders getting captured, or two games for an outright victory. With that in mind it seemed wiser to withdraw and face the US with fewer support points that try hang on and face them on map one again with potential much fewer men and against more support.

On to Arthenay!