I'm finally getting around to recording my playthrough of the first battle game in Parachutes Over Crete. Scenario 7 covers the New Zealanders counterattack on Meleme airfield and the surrounding towns. By PoC standards its a big scenario, about 120 units combined.

Setup: The Germans are on defense and are covering a unique L-shaped area. The airfield is in the NW corner, with the town immediately east. Another town and a couple villages are on the board to the east, and to the south is another town held by mountain troops. The Germans use a basic setup, placing units in and around the towns and digging in on the 80m hill south of the airfield.

Recap: The main Kiwi force comes in from the east onto board 99, and are required to divide their force north and south of the main road. The force to the north takes on the town to the west, while the southern force rushes the village on the road and starts picking its way through the rough country around it. The Germans holding the village are overwhelmed and one platoon survives to fall back, but in the town they put up stiffer resistance, and here the New Zealand force spends the entire game trying to pry them out. Eventually the NZ force takes all but one town hex, which remains contested by a stubborn German HMG platoon.

Two groups of New Zealand reinforcements are available. One is a follow-up to the intial assualt and arrives on Turn 9, while the other heads onto the board to the south (98) and heads for the town there. This attack goes well, with the good guys winning the initial assaults, flanking the town, and holding one town hex and contesting the other two by game's end. The German mountaineers had a bad morning.

Meanwhile, the Kiwi force that took the village at the start works its way through the woods and emerges into a hail of opportunity fire from Germans atop the 80m hill and surrounding areas. They keep coming on, but eventually the NZ attack is stopped before reaching the summit. The Germans hold their hill.

While all of this is going on German aircraft start appearing after sunrise. The scenario rules allow for the possibility of up to 3 German air units showing up per turn, and this happens about four times, and they pummel any NZ unit not under cover. This proved decisive as numerous Kiwi advances were cut down by disruptions and demorailizations. Even the Maoris took it on the chin, as they lost about 1/3 of their force by the final turn.

At the end the Germans had lost 9 steps to the New Zealanders 18. The NZ troops gained quite a few points due to town control, but the German grip on the big hill made the difference. Final score Germany 24, New Zealand 20. Since at least a five point lead is needed for a win, this one goes down as a draw.

Analysis: Parachutes Over Crete scenarios play differently than many other PG games, due to the high morale and relatively low firepower of both sides. As a result little things can make the difference, and here it was the German aircraft negating the NZ advantage in numbers. It's hard to see the New Zealanders reaching the airfield without a lot of luck on their side.