There's a Dutch saying: The devil always shits on the same heap (pardon my French..), in other words, once you've become unlucky you always will be. Exactly this happened to the Germans. To cover all possible entrances the American forces were spread out north-south with the howitzer in the northwestern town. I decided to go for the northern road with the Germans and quickly occupying the eastern town on bd 23, together with the town hexes attached to the northern road that would secure the minimum number of town hexes the Germans needed. And then the American off board arty started with a vengeance.. On top of that the 1-11-2 Lt. Colonel put up a very stiff fight in the hamlet on the woods edge of bd 22. At 10.15 that resistance nest was taken and a breakthrough was attained. However, the off- and on board American artillery in the mean time had done its thorough job, the German force was a strung out mass of demoralized and disrupted misery, running east- west along the northern boards. The punch was almost gone from the German attack, and by then more than 17 steps were already lost. With the help of a 1-10-1 Lt and a 0-9-2 Captain however enough units were recovered to setup a last, all out, attempt to take the last northwestern town and get a draw. In a tense fight in which the American Lt. Colonel again took an heroic role, the American struggled until the last turn(!) to keep a foothold on the road. Only one step of infantry plus three officers were left (among them our hero Lt. Colonel) in an assault with a StUG unit, a Grenadier and a HMG unit (all in good order). The German assault dr was a 5 on the 24 column.. End of battle. The Americans ended with an occupying force of 2 units in the southeastern town. They lost 6 officers, 1 deserted, 2 killed and three captured (our hero was allowed to keep is pistols :-)). The Germans lost 22 steps and one officer. The battle ended in a hard fought draw. My first 5 ever and deservedly so! The above attempt to a chronology is only a part of what happened.. Some noteworthies (in no particular order.. :)): - First AT shot at a German StUG at point blank was a 12.. one armor step down ;-) - I didn't keep a tally, but the majority of Ami offboard artillery rolls were 5 or lower. Oh and of course the occasional 11 or 12.. ;-) - German recovery was dismal, but due to the high number of + morale officers, the damage could be mitigated a bit.. - I used the fog of war optional and that became a real issue for the Germans as the game reached its end stage. But hey, the tension was there till the last turn, so the rule played its part brilliantly! :-) - I played this scenario over 3 sessions and during these sessions my mood swung from sulking chagrin at another bad German recovery roll to sheer amazement at another low American artillery roll.. I was almost sure there was a devine being playing bad smelling tricks with this game :-) I had a blast!

Bart

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An interesting scenario between second line troops. Americans have service personnel thrown into battle against the German Volksgrenadiers and this time the Germans win the day. But I can see it going the other way. The Germans must capture a road and town hexes and the Americans must deny them the way. American VC's make it more than just a set defense for the Americans and they will need move around to stay in the game.

The Germans have the advantage in numbers, infantry, tanks and onboard artillery. The Americans have OBA and the setup, but the morale is even and the leaders were evenly flipped as well. The Germans will have a bit of visibility hindrance on the Americans with the attack at dawn, but they will need to move quick as dawn is breaking.

The American setup has them attempting to deny the Germans the northern east-west road by deploying entrenchments along the road and a small force to hold the towns on board 22. The southern east-west road will be defended on the hill on board 23 and 25. The Germans will need to fight on the roads to get the victory, while the Americans must be flexible as they will not be able to hold the entrenchments and town forever.

With the scenario, the Germans split their forces with the Stugs with a smaller infantry force move down the northern east-west road, while the larger infantry/artillery force move on the southern east-west road. The Stugs encounter Americans in the town and the small infantry force engages the Americans with OBA and deployed Nebelwerfer's. The Americans low morale shows quickly with disruptions and demoralizations. Soon the Americans are running back to the first set of entrenchment and the Germans control the center towns on board 22. To the south the infantry scale the hill on board 23 to be hit with HMG fire from the entrenched Americans. Return fire demoralizes them but the Americans shift forces are the Germans try to flank them. American OBA finds its mark but can only demoralize the Germans. Good German leaders help the demoralized GREN's get back into the fight. Soon the Germans have the pinned in the two entrenchments and begin assaulting them. Early success with American counter attacks, demoralize the Germans but the number of GRENs overwhelm the Americans and soon the entrenchments are overrun and the Germans are moving on to board 25.

Back on the northern east-west road, American OBA finds the mark, but again it is just demoralizations and the Germans are quick to recover. The American entrenchments withstand repeated assaults and is finally reduced last in the game. The Americans try some gambling by pulling together some reduced and disrupted units to try a dash for the towns on board 23, but German OBA but an end to that gamble.

Meanwhile, the German infantry force clears the last two entrenchments on board 25 and the have the road and enough town hexes to win. The Americans try some last chance OBA to kill German units but come up short. In the end a major German victory.

The US fought valiantly but we're unable to hold the East/West Road to the South. A LT and 2 INF platoons raced down from the North but we're unable to make it to the road in time. This forced them to assault the STUGIII platoon at the crossroad. Complete disaster, as the US relief force was eliminated. The other 2 platoons in the AO were never able to rally from demoralization and retreated into the woods. Without a leader they really never had a chance. The USA maintained control of the East/West Road to the North but lost the remaining towns in the Northeast. Major Victory for the Germans as they control one East/West road and more than 11 town hexes. The US fought hard but there were just to many Germans. Casualties were steep for both sides. Germans - 23 steps a MAJ and a LT. USA - 18 steps a CPT and 3 LT's.

This scenario was played solo. The American force was led by an 11.1.2 Lt. Colonel and was placed in scattered defensive positions in an effort to cover both major thoroughfares, while preparing for fighting withdrawal. The Lt. Col., 2 x INF and an HMG were placed in the NE village crossroads area. Nearby was another INF platoon and a platoon of 57mm AT. A 9.1.0 Lt., 2 x INF, and another HMG platoon were entrenched on the north road to provide cover in anticipation of the Lt. Colonel’s expected withdrawal. The southern road was similarly covered. The German commander, Colonel Friedrich Kittel, divided is attacking grenadiers in two roughly equal forces. At 5:30 a.m. the Germans advanced steadily. The American commanders planned orderly withdrawal rapidly collapsed as the two INF platoons with him were demoralized by the surprise German attack. Delaying too long in an attempt to rally his second line troops, his small company was almost surrounded and overwhelmed in close combat. The Lt. Col and one INF platoon escaped during the dark and confusion, but most of his men disappeared or were hunted down in the woods. The Lt. Colonel made an ignominious escape and found his way back to the American lines. The American left flank, concerned by the collapse to their front, began to withdraw towards their second line of defenses. With no transportation available as all the truck drivers had been handed rifles and sent to the lines, the 57mm AT platoon was left alone to try and slow the German advance. In the south, the Germans quickly fought their way through the villages while the Americans fell back. The lone American 57mm AT platoon fought bravely to defend their guns but was eventually overwhelmed. However, they made the Huns pay dearly for their guns. The American right flank formed a defensive line in the wood line. By 7:30, many German units were lagging behind, demoralized by the American resistance. On the left flank, the Americans regroup and form a defensive line spanning the road. Over the next hour and a half, both German forces continuing attacking the American lines. Some of the lagging German units regain their courage, perhaps after some help from abandoned American alcohol, and rejoin their comrades. The American right puts up a stiff defense and the German attack there begins to stall. Unfortunately for the Amis, the left flank does not fare as well and collapses under the relentless German advance. With time almost out for Col. Kittel's force, the American left flank is completely destroyed. The Germans clear the northern road of all opposition and control all the towns. Result - Major Victory for the Germans.