I played Tiger Route as the Germans against Mike Zeimentz during the semi-finals of the Paratrooper Theme tournament at ASLOK. The setting is Oosterbeck during Operation Market Garden. The British enter from off-board during turn #1 facing 3 conscript HSs with 1 LMG. 7 SS squads then enter on turn #1. The British player wins if he can exit something like 16 VP (excluding prisoners). The British is well led (a 10-2) and has two MMG armed jeeps, which are worth 2 CVP each. A StuG III G enters on turn #2 to bolster the German defense.
For the German to win, he must realistically hold up the British first and second turn advances as much as possible. The best initial defense would have the German LMG HS place a firelane down the road from Y5 or from U6 to U10 to the board edge. I like the second HS in the U2 grain and the third HS in V7 or Y7. The HS in the grain forces the Brits to move into the woods or building or else suck up a 6 -2 shot. The sooner the Germans can slow down the initial British rush the better off they will be. I failed to do this however, as all three HS cowered on their first shots, which let the British get over 1/3 of the way down the boardedge by the end of turn #1. The British blitzed the MMG jeeps off the far edge on turn #1, which seems to be a typical tactic from other people's comments but I think is a critical British error. That decision came back to haunt Mike's troops later.
Mike moved most of his force CX down my left flank boardedge. He moved 2 squads and a leader down his left flank boardedge to intercept my Germans as they entered and to deny the roads to them. Two HSs were in the woods and road while the squad and leader went into a stone building (X2). The HSs and squad were able to gain concealment at the end of turn #1. I entered 2 HSs adjacent to the concealed CX HS, by bringing on one HS to strip concealment in the MPh and then both the probing HS and a still concealed HS advanced onto the CX British HS, which they then ambushed and eliminated. The rest of my Germans entered more toward the exit end of the board (from BB0 to GG0).
My 9-2 with 2 squads, a LMG and MMG moved down and advanced into a favorable building location (BB5) that overlooked the woods and buildings the main force would have to move through to exit. An 8-1 leader and squad with a LMG CX'ed to reach the EE7 building during thier advance phase on the far side of the road before the British could prevent them from crossing the road. Two other squads held back in Z1 and Z2 to stop the Brits on my right flank from circling behind me. An 8-0 leader was centrally located in BB3 to rally any broken SS squads. My last squad worked into position to dash across the road into AA7 on turn #2 to limit the British from using this stone building as a rallying point. This squad was CR'ed but did get a vital HS into that building that took a vital hex from the British who would like to have formed a multihex firegroup to attack the 9-2 kill stack.
On turn #2 the conscript HS with the LMG in Y7 was able to lay a firelane down and severely limit the number of British that got into the woods around AA10. (BTW, I started this HS in Y7 and not in U6, but I really like the U6 position better.) By slowing their thrust up, this HS bought the reinforcements enough time to get into the key positions first.
When the StuG came on during turn #2 it took up a position adjacent to the woods in DD8 (CA towaed CC10) from which the bulk of the Brits had to emerge. The 8-1 leader and squad with a LMG parked themselves under the StuG in DD8 to form a very nice and nasty strongpoint. Any British PIAT units would have to move either ADJACENT or into open ground to get a PIAT shot. Between the 9-2 kill stack in BB5 and the 8-1 stack and the StuG 4 in DD7 four vital hexes were very well covered. (BB7, CC8, CC9 and CC10) Each time the British moved into position to attack the DD7 strongpoint the 8-1 and LMG squad stripped their concealment via a PTC or xMC at 8FP (+0) and then the StuG's MA and CMG finished them off. A squad tried to move through the open ground hex, CC10, but the StuG's CMG cut the it down to a broken HS.
The turning point moment came when the 10-2 was concealed with 2 squads in BB9 and the 10-2 had just rallied a broken squad at the edge of the woods out of my LOS. The StuG started up and moved into DD9 2 hexes away, stopped and took a 2FP (+1) shot (1FP (+1) at the concealed units) at the stack and rolled a "3", yielding a 1MC and NMC against them. The 10-2 promptly rolled boxcars and died from the wounds. The rest of the stack crumbled. From here I was pretty much able to smash every British attempt to force his way through these 4 hexes while I successfully bottled up the remaining British leader and squad on my right flank. From here the British losses mount up until they no longer had enough VP left to win.
The British player played a good game overall. The loss of the 10-2 and the breaking of his PIAT units crossing the midgame Y7 firelane kept pressure off of the StuG III G. The infantry underneath the StuG helped protect it versus any CC or PIAT attacks. Had the British player elected to use the MMG jeeps to prevent my turn #1 reinforcements from moving 6 or 7 hexes during turn #1, then I doubt they would have been in position to stop the British paratroopers from exiting. Jeeps in CC3 and CC1 would be a royal pain the the swastika for the SS. NOte that a jeep in CC3 would have FFNAM and FFMO attacks against any units pushing up through EE3, FF2 (bypass) and GG3.
I would not have willingly been taking 4FP (-2) shots with my 9-2 led stack or with my 8-1 stack. With British squads in X2 and V7, the SS reinforcements would be blocked out of the key positions (such as BB5) that they desparately need. Had the SS reinforcements taken an extra turn or two to get into position, then I think the British would have easily won this scenario. I firmly believe the jeeps are the key to a British win and are more expendable than the trailing British infantry. Just their threat of controlling the roads and open ground from CC1 to CC3 to GG3 would slow up the reinforcing SS, which should in turn then buy them the time the British infantry need to exit. Resist the urge to grab the quick 4 exit VP and use them aggressively. Who knows, maybe one of them just might survive anyway.
Chuck Payne