Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	France
Participants	tlangston28
Play Date	2022-01-09
Language	English
Scenario	FaoF049

This was a shared, 2-session, online play-through of a 12-turn scenario. I played the Germans of Kampfgruppe Koll, which was a battalion-sized task force with limited OBA against a very experienced and tactically-proficient opponent leading a French Recon Squadron holding a small village and a larger town on Map 31. This was a relatively balanced scenario with fatally flawed victory conditions, that we played without the dreaded FOW optional rule, but with a portion of the smaller French force in hidden locations at the start of play.

The German movement to contact was split into 2 separate task forces starting from the south edge of the map, one aimed at the small 2-town hex village very near the north map edge, and a bigger force aimed at the larger 6-hex town settlement was SE of the northern village. Due to the lack of time, the Germans moved fast, and probed fast, while in the process, exposing themselves to the accurate fire of a French 75 hidden in the larger town. By the end of game turn 3, both towns were the scenes of fierce, close assault fighting that lasted the rest of the match. My opponent had great luck with initiative, morale and recovery die rolls, I did not. Conversely, after an erratic start, I seemed to have better combat die rolls as the game went on.

The step losses suffered by both sides were: 5 for the Germans, and 11 for the French. The final result was a hard-fought & costly French victory that was decided on the very last game turn!

IMHO, the victory conditions for this scenario should be revised as all the French side was required to accomplish was to maintain an active, flexible defense as my opponent ably did, while holding a single town hex with any non-demoralized combat unit! At the end of this scenario, all town hexes were occupied by the Germans, save one. The French were able to maintain a death grip on the only remaining town hex in the northern village. This location was in a contested assault hex occupied by 2 half-strength infantry platoons, one was a demoralized (RES), and the other was a disrupted (ESC) with a French Sous Lieutenant commanding the garrison. This valiant garrison had staved off numerous close assaults for more than 8 turns at that point.

This scenario's victory conditions should have a step loss limitation for both sides in addition to the geographic objectives as there is no way to play for a draw. I suggest that the French side have a limitation of not losing more than 10 steps by game end in addition to the holding at least 1 town hex. The step loss limitation for the Germans should be 8 or so steps.

Oh, so close . . .