Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	France
Participants	cjsiam
Play Date	2022-06-28
Language	English
Scenario	FaoF027

This was a 4-session play-through with the playful and high-morale, cjsiam, as the French Commander seeking to hold off a scratch, and ill-equipped, force of Germans. The well-positioned French defense were spread out from the north in the town of Jolimetz (the 7-hex town on Map 27) and then south to the 3-hex township adjoining the north margin of Map 31.

We used the optional smoke, excess initiative and extended assault rules. We chose not to not use the Fog of War rule. The German side is required to seize as many town hexes and inflict as many step losses as possible. – a tall order with this counter mix.

Initial action in session one (game turns 1-3) was focused on the German movement-to-contact in two converging groups from the east edge of Maps 27 & 28. The French responded through a series of combined-arms blocking positions that were established and abandoned in this play-through as the Germans slowly ground forward. A series of unsuccessful German feints ensued that were designed to draw the French armor into range for favorable AT shots by the weaker German tanks. The Southern town on Map 31 was occupied by the Germans almost immediately, and both their AT gun platoons were deployed just north in-and-around the woods in that section of the game map.

The second session (game turns 4-7) was characterized by the first casualties suffered by both sides, as the French light tank (AMR-35) platoon was destroyed by AT fire in the open ground east of Jolimetz, and one of the German PZ-II platoons was halved by accurate long-range 25mm AT gun fire originating from the same town. The German contingent in the south seized the initiative and setup AT an crossfire situation that failed to lure the half-strength S-35 into the trap, while at the same time, a combined arms probe was able to isolate a platoon of dragoons and a leader in the woods west of the 3-hex township on Map 27. Both sides threw a combined total of six combat 7 die rolls in this session, and German OBA was mostly ineffective. Multiple attempts to lure the French armor into crossfire situations failed, and the French Commander re-deployed his infantry assets to better positions in and around Jolimetz at least twice, while also keeping one of the S-35 tank units just out-of-reach of Germans infantry formations bent on closing for a close assault. By the end of turn 7, Axis lines had tightened around the spread out French defensive positions, portending a series of assaults on the French-held towns.

The 3rd session (game turns 8-10) featured two hard-fought close assaults launched by the Germans, one in the southwest, and a second against the S-35 tank platoon in the open east of Jolimetz. Both were initially unsuccessful, but in subsequent action the combined arms attack in the southwest result in the destruction of a Dragoon platoon, while the other was only able to eliminate half of a S-35 unit. The German net slowly closed in the southern 3-hex town as the French Commander shifted the larger portion of his force north to cover Jolimetz, in response to threatening moves in that direction. Half of a German infantry platoon was shredded when they approached too close to Jolimetz, but by the end of the session, a French force was pinned in the southern 3-hex town in a combined-arms, close assault. The scratch nature of Task Force Schimmelmann, was again revealed by the forced use of inadequate Pz-I tanks to try to seize & hold town hexes without benefit of sufficient supporting infantry.

The 4th session (game turns 11-12) started out positively for the Germans but ended up as a disaster, resulting in minor French Victory by a score of 29 to 24. Overexuberant German light tanks were not able to hold several town hexes in the absence of decent infantry support, and the French slowly ground down the unsupported tanks in close assaults. Ironically, both sides held the identical number of town hexes (7 apiece) at the end, but the 15 Germans step losses proved to be the critical factor in the stout French defender’s ultimate success.

Suggestions for Better Scenario:

This was a well-balanced scenario that was fun to play, although neither side is equipped appropriately for the assigned mission. The Germans should have at least 1 unit of combat engineers, and additional junior leader, an 81mm Mortar platoon, and should have an armored car to help keep the French off balance. The French need at least 2 more infantry platoons and a 14-strength increment of OBA. In addition, the French force should have a Cavalry Leader to better keep tabs on the Germans forces lurking in the woods.