This scenario is a clash between two sides which each have 7/6 morale and limited combat power. As the French, I outnumbered the enemy, but the advance/attack burden was also on me. Key to victory was the three-hex town, so of course that was the focal point of much of the action. My French advanced in a spread-out group, no more than 2 combat units per hex, with the mortars and "French 75's" sheltered behind hills (and of course the Italians sheltered their mortars and dug in their support weapons on hills.)

My French (actually Moroccans) reached the outskirts of town with only a little morale drama, and chased away the occupants of one hex almost immediately. Soon enough, more Italians were running...but as the French occupied the town (with one hex still contested), individual platoons were sent packing to the rear. Despite weak artillery on both sides (though at least the French do have 3 x 8 that can combine as 24), a fair amount of demoralization was achieved by bombardment on both sides. The strongest French units are two HMG platoons, but their moiasses-like speed (1 MP) made them lag behind the rest of the attack. (Maybe I should have put them in the wagons that hauled the 75's after those were emplaced.) They did get a nice position on a hill 4 hexes from spotted enemy units in the town, but then I started an assault in that town hex before they fired a shot...and Bombardment put them into a flee-and-recover cycle for most of the rest of the contest.

By mid-game the Italian town occupation was down to one platoon - no leader - in one hex, and it held out for a long time. At one point a leader and a second platoon made it back to the outskirts, but were sent fleeing before they could reinforce the hex. As the battle went on, both sides spent a lot of time rallying, and my French had to periodically feed good platoons into the assault when units already involved would flee.

Finally, with 5 or so turns left, the lone Italian platoon was overcome and its remnant fled. By then I had also rallied enough units to get a couple of stacks moving forward again - with no motor transport, there wasn't enough time to exit the six steps I'd need to improve my victory level, but maybe I could make it to a 40-elevation target hex. But the forward motion was almost immediately blunted by bombardment and subsequent morale trouble.

It ended a French minor victory - but if the one Italian platoon had continued to hold out, or if the reinforcements had joined before being chased away, it could have wound up a draw. Losses, given the relatively low combat strengths, were light - 3 Fremch steps, maybe 4 or 5 Italian.