Panzer Grenadier Battles on March 28th:
Spearhead Division #15 - Dillenberg
A Solid Combined Forces Victory for the Allies
Author Schoenwulf
Method Solo
Victor United States, France
Play Date 2016-05-13
Language English
Scenario LCDT004

On November 22nd, a combined Franco-American force with units from the 3e Régiment de chasseurs d’Afrique and the Company B of the USA 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion moved cautiously forward toward the oasis in Gafsa at daybreak. A perimeter of minefields had been set up around the town, and a gathering of both regular German Army and Fallschirmjägers were situated in town and dug in just north of it. A French Lt. with an infantry platoon moving with an AMD165 on the hill north of town spotted the Germans at about the same time a US Jeep MG on the hill south of town did. All Allied forces gathered on the north ridge after it was discovered that the SW entry to Gafsa was heavily mined. At 0730, OBA fire coupled with that of an armored group consisting of an M6 and two M3/75’s chased the German Army platoons in disarray from the north side of town. About half an hour later, the paratroopers on the east side of town were hit by fire from a P-40 squadron, OBA and a recon group made up of two Jeep MG’s and an AMD165. At 0815, the Allied armor group moved into the town and engaged the German Army regular platoons resulting in the latter fleeing to the orchard east of town. The Luftwaffe Lt. and his paratrooper platoons followed shortly thereafter in an attempt to rally the remaining German forces that had fled Gafsa. Two German Army platoons and their Lt. were lost in the fighting prior to the retreat from town, falling to the Allied armor group and another P-40 attack. By 0845, the German para unit and their commander in the orchard were being hit by OBA and pursued by the Allied recon group; they were given some relief when an Henschel 129 squadron disabled the AMD165. But, the armor group moved east from town and combined forces with French infantry to close in on the retreating paratroopers. They finally fell to the M6 & M3/75 platoons assisted by OBA that softened them up prior to assault by the armor group. The only remaining German unit on the battlefield was a motorcycle platoon that had no leadership and ultimately fled the scene. The battle ended with a French victory at 1015.

The objectives of this scenario consist of either town control, step elimination or a combination thereof. The Allies have the opportunity to pick away at the German forces in the town, since the recon vehicles (Jeeps and the AMD165) can spot units at four hexes in limited terrain and have a firing range of four hexes also. Thus, they are out of range of all the German units. Even though they are firing primarily on Column 4 of the direct fire chart, they have time to get a few hits on the German defenders, particularly the German Army at a morale of 6/5. The American armor group is relatively impregnable unless the German defenders attempt to assault it, but if stacked with the US Lt., it is a 19-point group, which can be difficult to overcome in an assault without serious damage to the attacker. Even though the Franco-American forces had Lady Luck on their side in the die rolls, it seemed that they could have achieved victory without her help. Overall step losses were 10 German to one French (a step lost from the AMD165 in the air attack).

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