Author	treadasaurusrex (United States)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	bugmaster@aol.com
Play Date	2022-11-26
Language	English
Scenario	AAAD027

This was a 5-session play-through with the flexible and hard-fighting, bugmaster, as the attacking German Commander of Battle Group Gerhardt of the 10th Panzer Division. I played the Commander of the defending Combat Commend A of the very green US 1st Armored Division. My job was to manage a tactical withdrawal and delaying action in the face of a substantial force of combined arms Axis troops. We played without the FOW, but with the smoke/illum, consolidation, and excess initiative optional rules.

The initial session (game turn 1) was characterized by left and right flank German movements-to-contact on Map 78. Wisely, the Germans avoided coming straight west on the central road and instead pushed their mobile units in from the SE & NE corners of the map. In the north, accurate US AT fire from a pair of dug-in M4 platoons in the northernmost wadi eliminated a section of Pz-IVF2 tanks, so the session ended with the loss of 2 steps for the 10th Panzer and none for the defending US side.

The 2nd session (game turns 2-3) was a costly, armor-on-armor slugfest for both sides, with another 12 steps lost for the Germans, and 16 for the defending Americans. It would have been even bloodier, had both sides not combined to throw SIX, futile combat 7-die rolls. In action, multiple loaded SPW halftracks went up in flames with infantry & leaders on board, and the Americans managed to lose half of their M-4 Sherman tanks in just 2 turns! The north (right flank) approach of the Germans was stymied, and they fell back behind the protection of the remaining 3 platoons of Pz-IIIJ Specials. A lucky American OBA strike demoralized the 50mm AT gun platoon in that sector. In the south, the German left wing attack survived a devastating fire storm of AT fire, and then proceeded to mop up the US overwatch of SPAT platoons and tanks in the wadi and the margin of the east-west ridge. At the end of game turn 3, total steps losses were 16 for the Americans and 14 for the Germans.

The 3rd session (game turns 4-6) was another costly, long-range AT fire and OBA shoot ‘em up on both flanks. The northern (right flank) German attack was withdrawn, and the remaining units shifted south to the center of Map 78 to be able to proceed east in the gathering dusk along the main east-west road. In the south, the determined German left flank attack continued after the destruction of all remaining AT-capable US units in the vicinity. Artillery concentrations eliminated the last remaining German HMG platoon and another pair of leaders. By the end of game turn 6, total steps losses were 18 for the Americans and 26 for the Germans, plus 4 leaders eliminated. A combined total of ELEVEN combat 7-die rolled were thrown in this session – 9 by the German Commander. The victory point totals were: 26 for the Americans, and 18 for the attacking German battle group.

The delayed 4th session (game turns 7-9) was a particularly frustrating & grim turn for the hapless American side in which they lost an additional 7 steps, mostly to short-range, nighttime fire! The left flank German armored pincer boldly advanced up the 40-meter hill mass on the east margin of Map 77 and close assaulted the few remaining Americans units on the hilltop. This attack was supported by the remaining 2 companies of Landser infantry that came directly west down the major east-west road to the central pass chokepoint in the vicinity of Hex 77-1109. The US side used up all but one of their OBA illumination rounds in support of fruitless long-range AT shots, as the two German thrusts came together at the contested pass. This time, the American Commander – only – threw FOUR combat 7-die rolls, thereby managing to derail four of his well-positioned, illuminated AT or OBA shots!

The fifth session (game turns 10-11) was another lethal & costly nighttime slugfest with the same 2 close assaults playing out on the same 40-meter hill mass on Map 77. Ironically, the Americans were able to come out ahead on the infantry-heavy assault the north margin of the hill, and they lost the other on the actual hill summit (Hex 77-1113), as the remaining section of self-propelled 81mm mortars was overrun and crushed by onrushing German armor. The ill-fated and oft-disrupted German 50mm AT gun and a leader was knocked out in the last instance of illuminated long-range US tank gunnery. Only a single, half-strength, German infantry platoon was left at this late point. This set the stage for a triumphant parade of tanks to the west map edge exit for all but a pair of German Pz-IIIH tank platoons, thereby winning the game for the well-led, Battle Group Gerhardt at the end of the 11th game turn.

At the end, a major victory was scored by bugmaster with a final victory point count of 54 for the Germans and a mere 31 for the defending Americans.