Race For The Rhine: Part 6 - The End

Round 4; the home stretch started with Jerry some way behind those hightailing allies on their way to the Rhine.  That 17 point lead was soon sliced and diced in the first clutch of games with the Great German Hope; Dennis and his panzer kompanie, defeating his rival James to move to the top.  The American tank destroyers were rendered impotent by the cunning German use of massed recon troops (you’d almost have thought he’d planned it from the start), and a single platoon of Yankees was left to try and fend off the wave of Panzer IV’s.  They almost did until that most unlikely of heroes; a bergepanzer, stepped in and a 6-1 victory started an Aryan party.  It would only get louder with the announcement that Pete Derrick, on the verge of being declared a traitor to the fatherland due to his poor results, had defeated Paul’s British armour.  His dug in infantry proved impossible to shift, and had just enough firepower to bloody the Brits noses before they withdrew in disgust – 6-1 again.  The third game of the clutch saw another Panzer kompanie, this time David’s, take on Luke’s paras, and from an excellent position contrived to rescue defeat from victory.  In truth it was more about the para’s foxhole norman status, and another infantry army that couldn’t be shifted.  David still caused enough injury for it to finish as a 4-3 result, and with that the Germans had pulled the gap back to 8 points.

The next batch of games brought reality back to the overly optimistic Germans, as Blue Team Dave’s SS Panzergrenadiers fell foul of their own inexperience and Red’s Cromwell’s.  The British tanks swamped them, and ran out easy victors at 6-1, with the winner kindly writing a battle report which is at the bottom.  This brought a renewed belief to the Allied cause, and combined with a moment of madness for Ian and his Panzers as he took on Aidan’s British infantry.  The Brits supporting Cromwell’s being able to wander forward and capture the undefended objective on turn 3, bringing a swift end to the game, and to the possibility of the Germans making an unlikely comeback in the campaign as it moved out of their reach mathematically.  Some points were still to be scored however, and that started with a grudge match between my woefully depleted panzergrenadiers against Phil’s British infantry.  Phil failed to pick up on my lack of ranged firepower, and was very cautious throughout which meant he ran out of time to claim an objective, and could only pick up a draw, abet 3-2 in his favour.

Two games remained for the Germans to pick up some pride, or for the allies to rub it in.  Firstly Andy’s para’s took on Adam Bates Sturmkompanie in the battle to escape the foot of the table, and ran out the winners in a pincer scenario where Adam’s sturmkompanie attacked, and come second to rocket Andy up the table to the heady heights of 8^th.  Adam was almost as pleased as his 2 points (in a 5-2 defeat) moved him above Paul.  Finally there was Ben’s SS Panzergrenadiers, who took on Martins 7^th Armoured looking to finish as the second placed German, while Martin was aiming to destroy all German hopes by taking the top spot off Dennis with the last roll of the dice.  It looked to be a close game right up to the point where it began, and then promptly ended on turn 2 with an Allied victory and no casualties anywhere!  The 6-1 victory gave Martin the title of top allied player, and overall campaign winner.

Phil's Shermans; on their way to be ambushed by my pioneers.

Dennis' Panzer IV's bringing doom to James' infantry.

Red thoroughly defeating Dave.

The Final Tables

Player	Company	Round 4	Average % Loss	Points Total
Martin	7th Armoured Division	6	3.2	21
Dennis	Panzer Kompanie	6	9.2	20
Phil	Canadian Assault Infantry	3	10.6	16
James Underwood	US Tank Destroyer Company	1	14.5	16
Red Pendrigh	Guards Armoured Recce Company	6	27.7	16
Aidan Holman	British Rifle Company	6	7.1	14
Luke	US Parachute Rifle Company	4	15.4	13
Andy Canham	US Parachute Rifle Company	5	2.5	11
Ben	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	1	5.3	11
Rick Andrews	Panzergrenadier Kompanie	2	21.3	11
David Astbury	Panzer Kompanie	3	25.8	11
Pete Derrick	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	6	14	9
Blue Team Dave	SS Panzergrenadierkampfgruppe	1	20.3	9
Adam Bate	Sturn Kompanie	2	49.2	8
Ian Shaw	Panzer Kompanie	1	57	8
Paul	Guards Armoured Squadron	1	28.7	7
Position	Company	Round 4	Average % Loss	Points Total
Martin	7th Armoured Division	6	2.5	21
Phil	Canadian Assault Infantry	3	10.6	16
James Underwood	US Tank Destroyer Company	1	14.5	16
Red Pendrigh	Guards Armoured Recce Company	6	27.7	16
Aidan	British Rifle Company	6	7.1	14
Luke	US Parachute Rifle Company	4	15.4	13
Andy Canham	US Parachute Rifle Company	5	9.7	11
Paul	Guards Armoured Squadron	1	28.7	7
Position	Company	Round 4	Average % Loss	Points Total
Dennis	Panzer Kompanie	6	9.2	20
Ben	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	1	5.3	11
Rick Andrews	Panzergrenadier Kompanie	2	21.3	11
David Astbury	Panzer Kompanie	3	25.8	11
Pete Derrick	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	6	14	9
Blue Team Dave	SS Panzergrenadierkampfgruppe	1	20.3	9
Adam Bate	Sturm Kompanie	2	49.2	8
Ian Shaw	Panzer Kompanie	1	57	8

The Campaign Awards

Such occasions call for awards for a group who very kindly played every game in the campaign, with only one player having to drop out and being replaced by Adam.  Joining the awards for overall winner, best German, and top Allied player, are general awards for all the players who took part.

The ‘Julius Caesar’ Award For

‘Overall Campaign Victor’ 

In the ‘Race To The Rhine’ FOW Campaign goes too:

____________Martin_______________

You are a shining example of a tactical genius; capable of breathtaking manoeuvres, holder of the keys to bloodless conquering, and the master of the smug ‘victory is mine’ look. 

The ‘Heer Otto Flick’ Award For

‘The Greatest German’ 

In the ‘Race To The Rhine’ FOW campaign goes too:

_____________Dennis_______________

The Fuhrer sends his congratulations to you; the greatest German outside of the Fuhrer bunker, and offers you a place of honour at his side defending Berlin to the last.  He knows you will be delighted to accept.

The ‘René François Artois Award For

‘The Top Ranking Allied Player’ 

In the ‘Race To The Rhine’ FOW campaign goes too:

_______________Martin___________

Resistance hero René Artois bestows this award upon you for ridding his café of Germans, ending the war early, and in the expectation you will pay your bar tab.*    *Tab attached to reverse.

The Award For

‘Defeating The Germans And Not Giving A Damn About Afterwards’

In the ‘Race To The Rhine’ FOW campaign goes too:

__________The Yanks_________

Congratulations its hamburger time!  We’ll be in Berlin by next week, shake hands with our good buddy’s, the Russians, there, then off back home for a slice of mom’s apple pie and a slap on the back from Uncle Sam.

The Award For

‘Defeating The Germans And Handing Half Of Europe To Russia’

In the ‘Race To The Rhine’ FOW campaign goes too:

___________The British Players___________

You complete ass.  Now we’ve got to put up with years of Cold War, nuclear peril, and seeing commies on every corner.  Next time slow down and give the Jerries a chance to whack Stalin for six before you join in.  Apart from that, jolly good show old chap!

The Award For

‘Successfully Helping The Yanks And British Reach Berlin Before Breakfast’

In the ‘Race To The Rhine’ FOW campaign goes too:

_____________The German Players____________

To congratulate you for your sterling efforts in ensuring the Allies made it over the Rhine in double quick time, thus preventing the Fuhrer from contemplating surrender to the subhuman’s of the East. We will join with the Allies and together we will fight the red beast and achieve final victory!

The Campaign In Numbers:

21 – the number of points Martin needed to claim top spot.

27 – the difference in points between the Germans and the allies final results!

2.5% - the lowest loss total, unsurprisingly claimed by Martin.

57% - the highest loss total; Ian beating off stiff competition from Adam to ‘win’.

7 – the number of wins the Germans managed between them (Dennis with 3 of these).

17 – the number of wins the Allies managed!

7 – the number of Germans in the bottom 8 of the table.

Battle Reports of Round 4:

Andy on a battle which saw both him, and opponent Adam, avoid the feared bottom spot:

A shock win for the Allies.  The scenario was Pincer, Adam rolled highest so was attacker with his German Grenadier Company of two infantry platoons supported by Stugs, PAK 40s, 120mm mortars, nebelwerfers and 105mm howitzers.  My two platoons of US paras, with 81mm mortars, MG platoon, 75mm pack howitzer battery and 57mm AT battery, supported by a Sherman platoon, held off Adams assault infantry for 8 turns, eventually destroying both infantry platoons and the Stug support platoon, for the loss of one para rifle platoon, leaving no German troops in the Allied half of the table.  So, an allied victory with three platoon losses for Fritz and one platoon for the paras.

Red’s take on his Cromwell’s defeating Blue Team Dave’s SS Panzergrenadiers:

So the 4th battle for the Welsh Guards. After the disaster against Dennis' panzers I'd lost my Achillies tank destroyers so decided to go back to the Sextons that had performed so well earlier in the campaign. I was also disappointed by the performance of the Typhoons so knowing I'd be up against panzer grenadiers ditched them for 40mm Bofors.
DBT turned up and rolled a Breakthrough mission which put him in defense and immediately cost him his half-tracks with their AT guns. This left him with little option but to dig-in and hope.
I had to place 1 platoon in delayed reserve which was one of the tank platoons, whilst DBT had his marders and AA guns in reserve.
As such the only units of note facing me at the start were a unit of PaK-40s and a small unit of Wespes, both deployed in woodland. This proved a disaster as it allowed my Cromwells a free turn to close the gap on the PaK-40s whilst the Bofors proved to be out of range of anything for the whole game (they would have preferred the Germans to have some attacking role in the game) and the spotter for the artillery proved woefully inept, failing to spot a unit of infantry on the other side of the road for several turns. Meanwhile the second spotter tank moved forward with the intention of lining up the Wespes for a counter-bombardment. A quick skirmish with the PaK-40s cost the Welsh an ARV whilst the Germans found themselves minus one of their main AT units and their front line now looking dangerously porous. 
At this p[oint the Marders showed up on the flank which seems to have become a running theme of the Welsh venture into the Rhineland, this cost a Challenger, whilst the remaining tanks swept round the hedge to destroy 2 Marders, bail a 3rd and the sent the platoon running, leaving just the Wespes as the only unit offering any significant resistance.
At this point an artillery observer hiding in a house forced the observer sherman sheltering there to retreat. This robbed the Sextons of the opportunity to bombard the Wespes so the artillery packed up and began to advance en-masse on the observers houses. The heroic German observer who had embarrassed the Sherman earlier became the first victim as German AA guns arrived on the flank but strugled to identify a useful role as the tide of Welsh armour swept past.
The Wespes stated their defiance by knocking out the Welsh 2iC but were silenced in turn by the Cromwells.
It was now just a case of digging out the German infantry from the objectives.
The Welsh reserves turned up at this point to begin the assault on the lighter held of the objectives, causing a couple of casualties and though the first assault was a little indecisive the writing was on the wall. 
DBT surrendered for a 6:1 win to the Allies.

We now hand over (with some trepidation) to Phil and his North Africa campaign. Thank you all, and good night.

Race For The Rhine: Part 5 - Round 3 Results & Round 4 Fixtures

Round 3 and Ian and Paul began the hostilities with a clash between Ian’s Panzerkompanie and Pauls Guards Armoured Squadron.  On this occasion not even Paul’s newly returned infantry could make the difference as Ian’s panzers rode rampantly to victory; 5-2, an excellent start for the Germans!  The second battle came as my panzergrenadiers defended a river and a small village (kindly provided by Luke and 4Ground) against old foe Aidan’s British rifle company.  The British found that getting into the well defended village was easier than staying there, and with casualties spiralling and time running out a draw was declared.  It was in the Germans favour however, with the loss of their pioneers balanced out by the loss of the British universal carriers and HMG platoon; 3-2 to the Germans.

Elsewhere a victory for either side in one evening balanced the books, as first Dennis’ panzer IV’s put Red’s Cromwell’s very thoroughly to the sword, and then Martin’s American armour thwarted David Astburys efforts through cunning use of the near invulnerable jumbos, and then having the nerve to claim the objective.  The tide turned against the Germans as Pete stepped up to the table and maintained his unenviable record of losing 6-1 in every round; this time it was Andy’s American paratroopers who were the beneficiaries, although it was hardly clear cut with the Yanks Sherman platoon living a seemingly charmed life against the best that the SS could throw at them.  Another of the great German hopes; Blue Team Dave, stepped forward to steady the ship, but promptly fell over his shoelaces and James’ Tank Destroyers claimed another victim, taking their CO to joint top of the leader board at the same time.  With the first six games over the allies were sitting pretty, a whole 14 victory points clear at the top.

The last two battles saw one of the German heavyweights in action; Ben and his SS Panzergrenadiers against Phil’s controvsersal Canadians. In a game punctuated by Ben’s expletives over Phil’s crocodile flamethrowers Phil came out on top in a draw (3-2) purely because he had 9 platoons in his starting lineup.  The final battle was to be between James Taylors Sturmkompanie and Luke’s US Para’s, but with James indisposed I took command.  My choice of StuG’s going down well until Luke’s Shermans shot them up, but the Shermans went the same way, and both sides dug in and settled for a stalemate.  A newcomer; Andy Bate, subsequently took over James’ army for the final round.

Round 4 Preview

The allies hold an overall 17 point lead, which appears to be unassailable for the Germans who did well in round 2, but not so good in round 3, and round 1 is best consigned to a well-known comedy home movie clips show.  The overall campaign leader race looks of more interest, with the Allied duo of Martin and James tied at the top, closely followed by the great German hope Dennis, and just behind him the Canadian Phil.  Meanwhile at the foot of the table Pete is hoping to avoid the wooden spoon.  Plenty of fighting to do before the inevitable awards ceremony! 

All battles to have been completed by end of play on Thursday 20^th of March please, no overruns this round or 6-1 penalties will be handed out!

Tables & Fixtures

Player	Company	Round 4	Average % Loss	Points Total
Martin	7th Armoured Division	0	3.2	15
James Underwood	US Tank Destroyer Company	0	19.3	15
Dennis	Panzer Kompanie	0	11	14
Phil	Canadian Assault Infantry	0	9.5	13
Ben	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	0	7.1	10
Red Pendrigh	Guards Armoured Recce Company	0	36.9	10
Luke	US Parachute Rifle Company	0	15.8	9
Rick Andrews	Panzergrenadier Kompanie	0	23.2	9
Andy Canham	US Parachute Rifle Company	0	9.1	8
Aidan Holman	British Rifle Company	0	9.4	8
Blue Team Dave	SS Panzergrenadierkampfgruppe	0	10.3	8
David Astley	Panzer Kompanie	0	25.8	8
Ian Shaw	Panzer Kompanie	0	59.3	7
Paul	Guards Armoured Squadron	0	26.8	6
Adam Bate	Sturn Kompanie	0	49.3	6
Pete Derrick	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	0	18.6	3
Position	Company	Round 4	Average % Loss	Points Total
Martin	7th Armoured Division	0	3.2	15
James Underwood	US Tank Destroyer Company	0	19.3	15
Phil	Canadian Assault Infantry	0	9.5	13
Red Pendrigh	Guards Armoured Recce Company	0	36.9	10
Luke	US Parachute Rifle Company	0	15.8	9
Aidan	British Rifle Company	0	9.4	8
Andy Canham	US Parachute Rifle Company	0	9.1	6
Paul	Guards Armoured Squadron	0	26.8	6
Position	Company	Round 4	Average % Loss	Points Total
Dennis	Panzer Kompanie	0	11	14
Ben	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	0	7.1	10
Rick Andrews	Panzergrenadier Kompanie	0	23.2	9
Blue Team Dave	SS Panzergrenadierkampfgruppe	0	10.3	8
David Astbury	Panzer Kompanie	0	25.8	8
Ian Shaw	Panzer Kompanie	0	59.3	7
Adam Bate	Sturm Kompanie	0	49.3	6
Pete Derrick	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	0	18.6	3

Aidan's British Shermans try and break into Rick's German-held village.

Reports from the field:  Aidan on his British infantries attempts to oust my panzergrenadiers:

The Shropshires met some more grenadiers this week, though these ones had more of a tendancy to skulk around in buildings that had large building busting guns hiding behind them.  A night attack was planned (Im still unsure if its any use as a rule, on the one hand you have less firepower, but on the other your slow infantry actually have a shot at reaching the enemy objective on time...), and the Shropshire Lads advanced, with Carriers leading the way and the shermans towing the 6pdrs to put them in a good flanking position on the right. Crossing the river (Rhine?) without a hitch the outlying enemy positions were probed for weakness. Initially the two buildings and a wood crammed with infantry appeared to be pretty well defended with crisscrossing lanes of defensive fire causing casualties on the leading Shropshires. However the 6pdrs and Shermans were soon in position, and combined with well directed HMG fire and Mortar barrage all three German platoons were pinned, allowing the assault to go in! One building was cleared, and the Pioneers, scourges of a thousand battlefields, were annihilated!  However it was not without cost: the Carriers and HMGs were lost, and with massed german armoured cars and assault guns arriving the attack ground to a halt. The Buildings which had been so effective at protecting the Germans proved to be death traps for the British, as Bunker Busters and Breakthrough guns smashed them to pieces! The Shermans continued their outflanking manoeuvre under cover of the 6pdrs, fully expecting the Fireflies to be able to remove the threat of the Brumbars and allow the infantry to clear the objective, but despite repeated barrages ( with rerolls to hit and AT13!)the dastardly Jerries passed all their ruddy armour saves!

Time was up, and a draw (3-2 to the jerries) was declared.

A very scenic line of trees, masking the horrible damage being handed out to Red's Cromwells by the panzer IV's.

More painful for the Brits from this angle however.

Reports from the field - Red’s British Armour on facing Dennis’ Panzer IV’s:

“ I was set to face Dennis, a PanzerKompanie was stated as the list and so I called up my anti-tank units.
Once I had my core platoons and the SP AT (Achillies) down I had only enough points for priority Typhoons and some Bren Carriers.
The mission was No Retreat with me as attacker.
Fair enough.
I tried pulling the objective as far out into the open as I could.
Dennis stuck down two groups of PzIVs with a couple of AA guns.
I loaded the bulk of my force on my right flank facing the closest objective with the Bren carriers and 2IC on the left to draw off and hold as much of the enemy as they could by threatening the rear objective.
1st turn, I spread out into position to fire on the panzers ahead but couldn't due to being just shy of 16" from the enemy.
I never got the needed shot, Dennis sprung an ambush on my flank and took a platoon and a half there and then.
His reinforcements were showing up straight away, leaving me facing a rapidly growing number of guns. 
Quick change of plan, switch flanks and try to draw the panzers out of position.
Phase 1 almost came off, I outflanked the ambushing panzers and took out 2 of them, the survivors retreated to the left flank.
The panzers on the close objective remained in position however and I had no luck in shooing after that point until the last turn when the 2IC got behind a Panzer and claimed my 3rd & final kill.
By this point I had been reduced the the 2IC and a Bren Carrier when I finally failed my Co. Morale.
Toyed with the idea that I might have started with everything on the left then switched but the Achillies would have needed to be on the right to start.
The Typhoons proved disappointing yet again.
I just wasn't expecting the ambush to be as devastating as it turned out...”

Blue Team Dave's Panzergrenadiers coming a cropper against James' tank destroyers.

More of James' yanks; Shermans and a jumbo.

Race For The Rhine: Part 4 - Round 2 Results & Round 3 Fixtures

.Round 2 commenced with a much more even spread of results.  In the first cluster of battles there was a top of the table clash between Aidans British rifle company and Ben’s SS Panzergrenadiers.  This finished almost predictably in a draw, and with barely 150 points and one platoon lost per side questions will be asked about a lack of fighting spirit!  This allowed both Red’s Armoured Recce and James Underwoods tank destroyer company to leapfrog them; the latter by battering Ian’s panzerkompanie in an ideal matchup for their guns – the first to fire won, and the yanks managed it.  The former couldn’t get past my (Rick’s) pioneers and Brumbarrs and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.  Blue Team Dave also found success against armour, with his infantry getting the better of Paul’s British Guards platoons.  Finally David’s panzers pulled off a coup by right royally rolling over Andy’s US para’s with no casualties of their own.

Onto the second cluster, and with three battles in play it was down to Dennis’ tanks to give the Germans the early advantage; racking up a big victory over Lukes sorry US paras, before Pete ensured honours were even by capitulating to Martins Yankees.  With no sign of James Taylor it was down to Pete to gamely step into the breach once more and face Phil, managing a marginally better result, although the less said about the participating armies the better – the Canadians receiving a letter from the Wehrmacht which read; “We vun, 5-2”.  While the Germans received a leaflet drop and a can of who-hash from some Russians….

Tables & Fixtures

All these shenanigans leaves Phil (close your eyes if your of a nervous disposition) top, and the tables looking as they do below.  The Germans, after a promising start, were reeled in and only succeeded in cutting 2 victory points from the Allies lead.  The matchups for Round 3 then were straightforward and are as follows.  Games to be completed by the end of play Thursday 7^th February please.

Allies	Axis
Phil	Ben
Red	Dennis
Martin	David Astbury
James Underwood	Blue Team Dave
Aidan	Rick
Luke	James Taylor
Paul	Ian Shaw
Andy	Pete

Player	Company	Round 2	Average % Loss	Points Total
Phil	Canadian Assault Infantry	5	10	10
Red Pendrigh	Guards Armoured Recce Company	3	0	9
Martin	US Armour (?)	6	4.9	9
James Underwood	US Tank Destroyer Company	5	29	9
Aidan Holman	British Rifle Company	2	3.4	8
Ben	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	2	4.3	8
Dennis	Panzer Kompanie	6	16.5	7
David Astley	Panzer Kompanie	6	14.6	7
Blue Team Dave	SS Panzergrenadierkampfgruppe	5	15.5	7
Luke	US Parachute Rifle Company	1	6.5	6
Paul	Guards Armoured Squadron	2	21	6
Rick Andrews	Panzergrenadier Kompanie	3	27	6
James Taylor	Grenadier Kompanie	2	62.5	5
Ian Shaw	Panzer Kompanie	2	72.7	4
Andy Canham	US Parachute Rifle Company	1	13.6	2
Pete Derrick	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	1	25.9	2
Position	Company	Round 2	Average % Loss	Points Total
Phil	Canadian Assault Infantry	5	10	10
Red	Guards Armoured Recce Company	3	0	9
Martin	US Armour (?)	6	4.9	9
James Underwood	US Tank Destroyer Company	5	29	9
Aidan	British Rifle Company	2	3.4	8
Luke	US Parachute Rifle Company	1	6.5	6
Paul	Guards Armoured Squadron	2	21	6
Andy	US Parachute Rifle Company	1	13.6	2
Position	Company	Round 2	Average % Loss	Points Total
Ben	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	2	4.3	8
Dennis	Panzer Kompanie	6	16.5	8
David Astbury	Panzer Kompanie	6	14.6	7
Blue Team Dave	SS Panzergrenadierkampfgruppe	5	15.5	7
Rick	Panzergrenadier Kompanie	3	27	6
James Taylor	Grenadier Kompanie	2	62.5	5
Ian Shaw	Panzer Kompanie	2	72.7	4
Pete	SS Panzergrenadier Kompanie	1	25.9	2

This months battle reports:

Blue Team Dave and his panzergrenadiers against Pauls British Guards Armour:

Dust Up.Paul deployed his one infantry around one of his base objectives and positioned his mortars guarding his other defensive objective. His tanks lined up for the race over his hills, past the trees and into the village objective where my infantry were dug in. My Luffwaffe 88s were in trees holding my second defensive objective. There was not much on the board to start with, with most units being held in reserve.
1st turn we forgot to roll for reserves, but we suggested that we both rolled badly. His aircraft ripped into my AA 88s, destroying one. Also took out 3 of my 4 mortars... Least I had one 88 left. Stupid 3+ firepower rolls, and scoring nothing higher than a 2... I didn't move. Just dug in deeper.Second turn no reserves turned up. Paul's one aircraft was hit this time. Tanks approaching to the tree line but just out of range to hit my infantry in the village.Third turn Paul's reserve turned up. The 4 strong tank unit then proceeded to pummel the village. No casualties were reported. The Panzerschrek team lay in wait. With tanks getting in behind where I wanted them, Baron Von Fluckveesel turned up. 3 shemans exploded. They were in the open but still rolled to range in. Forgot about targets in the open are auto ranged in by aircraft. Oh well, shouldn't be a problem. Still no reserves of mine had turned up. Fourth turn, Paul's aircraft once again targets my 88. AA is ineffective, matching the skill of the pilot. No casualties were reported. One 4 strong tank unit had skulked along his table edge and now joined in the firing upon the village. No casualties were reported. His final tank unit of 3 were just making their way around the tree line towards the middle of the table. One exploded.A reserve had finally shown up. It was my Tiger 1E. Rolled on behind his 3 strong unit. His rearmost tank was engulfed in flames. Village and 88 in the wood just cowered and hoped it would all be over soon. The screech of a stuka sounded overhead of the 4 strong tank unit in the open. I failed to range in. Damn, it did come back to haunt me...Fifth turn and his single unit tank platoon (the other 3 still burning), not wanting to become a casualty to stukas moved towards the village. ***SOON***The very fortunate to be alive unit of 4 tanks did the same. Just to remove the chance of me hitting them. The shermans decided to take the Tiger on. Long story short. Tiger won.With the tiger approaching his tanks, the infantry unit made a dash to assist... Oh... And the single tank. Well, the Panzerschrek failed it's firepower test, but the unit fled as there were more units destroyed than in action. Turn 6 and his 4 strong sherman unit managed to kill an infantry team in the village. Well done. No aircraft turned up. A sherman tried in vain to take on a Tiger, or perhaps trying to take it's attention from the piat team approaching... Reserves!! I got a reserve!! GP PanzerPioneers. With flamers!! Paul's infantry were perilously close to my Tiger, which was near to the board edge. Some flaming later my Pioneers wiped out his infantry unit. Wiped out. Full assault and everything. At the end of turn 6 Paul had some mortars and a unit of 4 shermans pounding the village. I had lost my 88s protecting the forest objective, some mortar carriers and an infantry team or two.Turn 7 the rest of my reserves turned up and I rolfstomped to the objective. The reserves managed to get in behind his thrust and take the unguarded objective.

Aidan’s British Rifle Company against Ben’s high flying Germans:

Meanwhile, on the next table...

...Das Reichland was getting to know the Kings Shropshire Light infantry in an Encounter.


The Objectives were largely on the right of the deployment zone, and a layered defense was arrayed around them with overlapping fields of fire and well entrenched machine guns and AT weapons, with everything supporting everything else. A probing attack was made up the woods on the left which had the daunting task of unpicking the enemy defense and trying to find a weak spot. As the scattered reserves arrived they were moved up to support the attack on the left/defenses on the right. A platoon was lost due to a somewhat hopeful miscalculation but the enemy defense proved too tough to crack. After 9 turns no headway had been made at all

Read this paragraph twice, once in an English accent, and then again in a German accent. Seriously, thats how close it was and how evenly matched we were!

2vps each

David’s Panzer Kompanies stunning victory over Lukes Para’s:

Die americanische Fallshirmjagergruppe Cranham ist durch den Deutschen Panzergruppe Astbury zerstoert worden.

Ein Sherman Panzer platoon und ein Platoon Fallshirmjager sind tot. Die Deutsche haben keine Manner verloren. 

Seig Punkten 6-1 

Seig Heil Schweinhund.

  

Pete’s SS-Panzergrenadier Kompanie falling on their own swords against Martins US Armour

Mein Fuehrer I am pleased to report that your loyal troops from the Hitlerjugend did not give an inch of ground despite the fierce onslaught of the Americans. My infantry platoon held the objective for some considerable time despite having to face most of the firepower of two American Tank platoons and supporting half tracks with infantry. All of my artillery and tank forces concentrated their fire on the foremost American tank platoon but our visibility was so hampered by the debris and smoke that we made little impression on the enemy tanks. The Tiger tanks sent to support us soon fell victim to the American aircraft and superior American tanks. I am pleased to report that all of my artillery is intact and that the objective was only lost when the last of my infantry platoon fell to the assault by the Americans. These brave boys sacrificed themselves that the rest of the company could be preserved and fight once again for our beloved fuehrer. For those who do not count victory by glory alone, for our defence was glorious indeed, the Americans claimed a 6 - 1 victory. Our losses; an infantry platoon who will soon be replaced by eager new recruits, and a platoon of tiger tanks which is no real loss as these tank crews did not have the fighting capability expected of the men of the Hitlerjugend.

Heil!