Author	goosebrown
Method	Solo
Victor	Germany
Play Date	2022-06-26
Language	English
Scenario	AAAD027

This is a great scenario and a good one to play solo. The Americans are defending with a company of Shermans, a company of Grants a, load of tracks and solid Tank Destroyer elements (a whimsical term for guns bolted to tracks and trucks to make them easier to kill). They can set on the north south ridgeline and in thee wadis forward with a single east west ridge running the width of the Eastern map.

The German 10th Panzer division is fully mechanized with Tracks for the infantry and a strong group of Panzer IIIs and IVs. They have to enter from the east and cross the board.

The battle began at 16:15 with dusk closing in.

The Americans emplaced their infantry dug in along the crest of the N-S hill with the tank destroyers in the center in a covered position. One company of infantry deployed in a wadi close to the eastern board edge on the north making the left flank, the American strong position. On the right, a half company of Shermans dug into the southern wadi without infantry support directly although there was a defense in depth on the hills to the rear of the American right flank.

Having rare insight into the allied commander, the German commander, a crafty and brutal commander, surveyed the position from the approaches and switched his main axis of attack to the far left of the battlefield, initially driving all his panzers directly onto the Shermans waiting in the Wadi.

The losses were steep and climbed rapidly as the entire panzer force charged directly at the Shermans. Like the grand charge at Waterloo they used their momentum and firepower to overwhelm the Shermans, finally getting two half step PzKw IIIs behind in the wadi and opening up a chance for cross fires for the PZ IVs in front working in a gun duel with the American tanks. It took an hour and 15 steps of Panzers to break the back of the forward Shermans leaving the last tank a burning hulk at 17:15

With the entire German force except the panzers remaining offboard, they represented a real threat to the American left, so the American player left his tanks there till it was quite obvious that the Germans had cleared a path. At that time, about 17:00, the Americans left their dug in positions in the northern wadi and moved directly south to intercept the flank of the German thrust which was obscured by the long small ridge running east west across the board. The American armored infantry moved back through the center of the American position to leave the track and push to set up a defense in depth along the south edge of the board on the far west edge of the board.

The Germans panzers charged hell for leather directly down the south edge of the board only to be intercepted by the first Shermans and Grants of the pivoting American left flank directly at dusk. In a series of assaults with the American armor, the panzers continued to lose steps but were able to put the new American tanks into the same squeeze as they had the first an hour before setting up crossfires that ground the Americans into rubbish, with only one step of Grants managing to retreat after being demoralized in a close assault.

At this point it was a race as the bulk of the German forces, originally held offboard and then following the panzers moved in the dark directly to exit the board.

15 minutes later the leading elements of the American left now repositioned to block the attempt along the south board edge where they dismounted in groups of platoons in an attempt to pin German units which would block their access to the East edge of the board.

In another series of mounted PzGdr charges the tough German infantry pinned and then bear the American's to a pulp, opening a route past the now re-established right and off the board.

Final results: Germans, 20 step losses, and 32 victory points. Americans 30 step losses. A clear decisive German victorry.