This scenario consisted of a 4-session play-through without using the dreaded FOW rule. To my surprise, it concluded with an unexpected French victory for the 1st Division Marocaine after a large dose of very intense and sustained house-to-house fighting. My opponent ably-led elements of the German 4th Panzer Division advancing west near Gembloux, Belgium with the objective to occupy the town. Following the tactical leads and suggested tactics of other AAR writers, my initial setup featured my favorite Moroccan troops in position behind minefields and several roadblocks on the roads just east of the Gembloux. The French Commander took advantage of the sunken section of the railroad line for added protection. The Germans advanced broadly in several combined arms groups on the right (northern) flank. Fierce fighting ensued around the roadblock at the northern crossroads, that was greatly enhanced by accurate French OBA strikes. By 1030, the Germans had cleared the northern roadblock. However, the Moroccan tirailleurs, supported by their AT platoons, continued to hold against the Germans. Fourth Panzer tank units moved into the southernmost portion of the sunken railroad around 1100, but their advance was slowed for another 4 turns by a 47mm APX platoon situated in eastern Gembloux. This well-led, armored column then broke through into the northeast section of town, but were then delayed by multiple French close assaults. In addition, my clever opponent was successful in creating a strong position northeast of Gembloux and in eliminating the French AT platoons and supporting infantry in the east-central portion of the town.

At around 1345, a single Pz-II platoon was able to enter Gembloux. This unit was then joined by 2 other armored platoons that came through a gap in the north edge of town. Being unsupported by infantry, the German tanks were unable to secure this small section of town for long, thanks principally to a well-sited french 75mm AA platoon, which was crucial to dispersing and driving off at least 2 close assaults from several infantry units for a very-long, 12-turn period. Over time, the Teutonic advance slowly wilted at the edges and ultimately failed due to lack of time and exhaustion. Both sides sustained very heavy casualties in both unit and leaders. We had at least 8 separate close assault fights going on simultaneously several times in this very intense scenario.

By the end, the Moroccan tirailleurs, still held the bulk of the town and were even holding small sections of the orginal eastern defensive line, but with mostly disrupted units. This scenario ended up being a very hard-fought, French victory thanks primarily to the heavy DF/OBA that the French side could generate - and oddly for me -- decent combat and morale recovery die rolls. These factors combined to minimize the German side's ability to gather and sequence their close assault stacks in an urban battlefield for most of this play-through.