Tom Harper of Garner, NC and I got together to play In Front Of The Storm from the latest annual. (I didn't know the dawg had already played it once befroe already!)
The scenario involves the Germans trying to hold onto a bridge against a French counterattack. Holding any of 4 hexes will win it for the Krauts. Time is short. The Germans have a 37L AT, an ATR, 8 squads and 3 leaders against 3 R35 tanks, 10-12 French squads and 3 leaders.
Tom had the Jerries. He setp with a strong forward defense. His 9-2 and a 5-4-8 with a MMG were in the stone building north of the road leading to the bridge. A 5-4-8 with LMG and 2 4-6-7s were in the stone buildings south of the road. AT mines were in the orchards with AP mines back near the river two hexes away from the west end of the bridge to slow down any French flanking attempts.
My Frogs hopped into battle from the north with 2 squads and an 8-1 leader and a HS scout. The rest of my Froggies leaped into battle through the woods on the west edge. My tanks platooned on through the orchards on the west edge. My plan was to pin the centrally located Germans where they were and maneuver around them. However, I was not able to provide enough cover on turn #2 to safely get them there. (Alas, another plan that does not survive contact with the enemy.)
I did slip one squad with a LMG around the German flank and through the grain, but it broke from defensive fire. My tanks broke platoon movement on turn #2 and two of them moved up to gain acquisitions on the German 9-2 stack.
On turn #3, things started looking ugly. I broke both 4-6-7s in one stone building (lesson: don't stack) and ESB'ed a R35 behind it in bypass of the woods. Luckily for me I passed the ESB and avoided one of the AT mined hexes. Both Germans surrendered during RtPh. I moved a squad behind a hedge and sucked up a KIA. Ouch! I assault moved a HS adjacent to the 9-2's hex and a 5-4-8 with LMG next door broke it, but later final fired on my HS to eliminate it. Snakeyes! Hero and battle hardened. Weinerschnitzel! These guys advance into CC against the now pinned 9-2 and 5-4-8. No ambush, but the melee lasts through 3 rounds before my guys die. But they did their job (and hey they were expendable.) My tank died in CC during the German turn, but again it too was expendable.
In the meantime (turn #4), the 37L had also revealed itself. One tank knocked the crew out with a 2 (+2) CMG shot after passing several MCs from stonger attacks. With that my remaining tank plunged down the road along with a 7-0 leader, who helped eliminate the crew for failure to rout. This leader was aware that all this crew were Nazi fascist war-criminals and shot them instead of accepting their surrender. That way their souls would not accumulate even more war-crimes against them. It was totally an act of justice and mercy on his part. My R35 eliminated an 8-1 and 4-6-7 with ATR from a foxhole with a critical hit followed by a "3" DR. Later the Nazi scumbag refused to accept his surrender, showing the whole world what kinds of atrocities they could commit with no provocation.
By the time, Tom's 9-2 and sturm squad finished off the heroic Frogs, the rest of my force had infested all of the woods and road around the west end of the bridge. One squad had worked his way across 3 of the 4 hexes needed for the win. When the 9-2 and his squad broke during turn #6 while trying to get into position to take back one of the bridge locations, Tom was forced to surrender, be quickly tried and summarily executed. Not necessarily in that order.
A quick critique of a couple of German decisions. The 9-2 should rule the field. Tom placed no troops on the east side of the river. I would have placed the 9-2, a 4-6-7 with MMG and 4-6-7 with LMG on the far side of the river in a 2 squad foxhole. Tom has a 1S foxhole there but never got a squad there. I also would have placed the AT gun back on the east side of the river to take out the first tank crossing the bridge. The rest of the units would slowly fall back during the German player turns, yielding the stone buildings but slowing down the French advance. The ATR would constantly try for deliberate immobilization. (Can an 8-1 leader modify the ATR TH DR?). Lastly, I would sure try to make any broken Germans in the last couple of turns to low crawl onto the bridge to slow the French advance. My hope would be that the 9-2 stack could dominate in the late stages as the French push onto the bridge.
Le Chuck
Players Don Glasco (French) and Sypros Lagatas (German).
This a fun and very balanced scernario. The French have 12 squads, 3 leaders, 5 MG and 3 H35 tanks. The Germans have 8 squads, 3 leaders, 3 MG, a worthless ATR, mines, 3 foxhoels, a roadblock and god**** 37L AT gun. The French have to control 4 bridges hexes on board 40 to win.
Turn 1:
German set-up:
HS 42e5 5-4-8, HS w. LMG in building 42F3 HS and atr in I3 4-6-7 in J3 8-1 ldr and squad somewhere near the F3 farmhouse, but I forget where. 8-0 ldr in J1 for rally purposes roadblock in 40I1 2 at mines in woods JO and H0 8 ap mine factors in J0 Foxhole with 9-2 ldr, 5-4-8, and MMG in I4, the last hex the French would have to take. Boresighted on 42I2 on the other side of the roadblock Foxhole in H3 Foxhole in K3 with LMG and squad and HS And a god**** 37L in I7. Being on a second level hill it could see much of board 42.
The placement of mines and the MMG with 9-2 ldr ensured the end game was going to be tough.
I forget where on board 42 the other squad was, but somewhere in teh vicinity of J2.
French attack:
My inital strategy was to quickly outflank the forward defense, leaving it to be pinned down with a killer stack. As usuall intial plans rarely remain intact beyond the first firing.
My right flanking force of 2 elite 4-5-6 each with a LMG and 7-0 ldr using CX and the trail in the woods reached N5 in the advance phase.
My left flanking force consisted of 4 elite squads, 2 HS scouts, a MMG and 8-1 leader. The goal was to take the force along the north side of the large hill mass. Before they moved onto the board at A6 I sent my three tanks to D4,E5 and F5 a stopped to give a +1 DRM modifier for units entering a A6. Stupid me, I entered them on I10 instead of A6. A HS scout moved first to C5 hoping to draw fire. Sypros wasn't a sucker. protection 2 squads moving indiviually reached A4. The German HS in E4 fired with no effect. Another HS moved to C4. Then I moved 2 squads, MG and 8-1 then moved together into A6 figuring I stood a good chance of passing MC when fired on by the squad in F3. He rolled a three with a -1 DRM on table 6. I reduced and broke a squad and broke the second squad. And a MMG left in the road. Shit. That was a bad idea, and luck. The consolation was he activated my sniper which rolled snakes and killed his leader in J1.
The German largely remained in remained in place his turn except the HS in E4 which moved into the adjacent building with his mates. But his fires had no effect. His 8-1 leader retreated to G2. And broke HS routed to the same
Two fire support teams moved up the middle. A small fire support team of 2 HS and a squad w. LMG used road movement to reach H6 to take a shot at J3. No effect. It advanced into building H5.
Turn 2. This went okay for the French. Had some decent dice, a few 3,4 and 5's. My Tanks frooze the units in F3 with vechicle sleeze. 2 HS brazenly CC'ed into same hex. A mistake I would later regret. In the melee they both survived and managed to kill the German HS. But now they are locked in melee with the 5-4-8. I would continue to feed several HS's and a squad with MMG into the melee. They did not finally kill the German squad until the Germans's turn 6! I lost only a fanatic HS in the ntervening turns but at the beginning of my last Turn 7 I had a squad with MMG and 3 HS far from the bridge action. That MMG fired only once, in Turn 7 at the AT to no effect.
My remaining 2 elite squads of my left flanking force continued on their original mission. They reached O0 by the end of their advance phase, where they revealed the line of foxholes across the river.
I managed to break the atr team in I3 my Killer Stack with 9-2 leader moved indiviullly into the building at K5 drawing J3's fire with no effect. Because it had committed itself, my right flanking unit changed plans. Instead of moving along south side of the hedge thru the grain fields as originally planned, they moved as a stack to K2, there being a broke german squad in J1.
During the German's turn, he fired with little effect other than revealing he had a fair bit of firepower on the other side of the river.
Turn 3 My tanks moved to G3,I2, and H2 to force back the leader and squad in G2 and provided a DRM to some infantry I planned on moving across the road on Turn 4. I managed to surround the 1 1/2 squads in J3. I refused the dm'ed HS's surrender and CC'ed with his squad. I would not finish off this squad until the end of the German Turn 5.
My 2 squads along the river withdrew to behing the wall at O1. Now his 37L really started to come into play. Snakes and critical hit. I was left with a HS, albiet one a fanatic. Having rate he hit a squad moving into E4. He rolled a 3, breaking it. Still had rate. Hit my killer stack in K5. Snakes again, and breaks my leader. He had another snake against the same stack in subsequent player turn. Then a 3. He kept most of this stack with my 9-2 out of action for game turns 3 and 4 with his repeated rate and low die rows.
Turns 4 and 5. I now have 3 squads and 4 hs locked in melee. He has moves a 8-1 leader, a hero, and a squad to 42J0 on his turn 4. I move my tanks up the road with the intent to freeze them. His 37L roles two snakes against the two lead tanks, killing both including a brew on the second in line. But my third tank passes a task check on my Turn5 (he is now moving without platoon movement) and sleeze freezes the leader, hero, HS and fanatic HS. I managed to get a 16FP attack on his stack in my advancing fire phase at point blank range. I rolled a 10, breaking a HS (which became fanatic in the next rally phase). His leader routed with a broke HS across the river. I CC'ed and killed a hero and HS. During his Turn 5 phase he managed to break a couple of squads in J0 with fire from across the river when he rolled 3 and 4's.
Turn 6. I still have a squad w MMG and 3 HS locked in melee F3. My last tank fails MC and can't move out of J0. My previously melee'd units in J3 move up to the woods in near the bridge. I move 3 squads and couple of HS or so with 9-2 leader , MMG and LG in the woods and behind the roadblock.. My fires are ineffective and he rolls another snake with his god**** 37L and has low rolls with his MMG and 9-2. I lose a couple HS and break a squad or two. I do manage to get a good order elite fanatic HS onto 40I2. I finally kill the squad in F3 during the German turn. This position has held me in melee since turn 2.
Turn 7. Very slim chances to win. Its suicide time. I must get as many units as possible in I2 with the intent of advancing into I4, the last hex I must control, and hopefully kill the occupants in CC. It can be done with some VERY good dice. My tank passes its MC but blows up to AT mines when he starts up. (1/3 chance of activating mines). The units that have been locked in melee for 4 turns in F3 can finally do something, even if futile. The MMG and captured LMG fire on the 37L, of course with no effect. An elite squad and HS CX to toward 40I1. At least they'd be able to fire in advancing fire phase. They get pinned by 8 factors of mines while bypasing 40J0. Another 2 squads, 3 HS and three leaders attempt to cross the brigde; all could get into CC with the the final victory hex if they survived fires. Figure the odds. A 37L that rolled another snakes and a 4. A MMG fire lane, a two residual, a one fire lane. By the end of the slaugher I had a pinned fanatic HS adjacent to the winning hex, 3 pinned leaders, a pinned squad, a pinned HS on the bridge and a broken 1 1/2 squad at the near side bridge abutment. And 1 1/2 pinned squads in J0.
So another well played win for Sypros and the Germans.
Analysis:
The 37L was well placed and devastating. While Sypros choose his targets well, 5 snake/eyes critical hits and repeated rate and low rolls is hard to take. One AAR mentioned he lost because his 37L was in the same position and his crew could not reach I4 from there in a single player turn to reclaim it (it was his last surviving unit). But Sypros played it right. I also agree with his placement of the MMG and 9-2 ldr. They have no effect in the early game but were devastating at the end., which matters most. I do not know what he planned for his forward defense; they died in place but delayed a significant portion the French force for several turns.
I still believe my strategy of two flanking forces with central fire support teams is sound. The right flanking force performed very well. My left flanking force got stalled at the start; I should have been a bit more conservative. And advanced along the west side of the wall facing the river instead of trying to advance along the river.
I think I played my tanks correctly, even if I did stupidly enter them on the west edge rather than the north on turn 2. Use them for TEM for infantry and sleeze freeze. This is the first time I've played with tanks but Sypros complimented me on my use of them.
The French cannot afford sizeable portions of their force, especially MMG, being tied up in melee. I eventually won the melees but the time involved cost me the game. My MMG's never really came into play.
And get rid or that god**** 37L! Four or five critical hits and repeated rate literally killed me.
Overall, excellent game. Thanks Sypros for the learning experience. May the die roll my way in our next game.
Don Glasco