Author	treadasaurusrex (United States)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	United States
Participants	Daedalus
Play Date	2022-08-08
Language	English
Scenario	AAAD001

This was a 4-session play-through with the hard-fighting and daring, Daedalus, as the defending French Commander holding the town and several outlying hill top positions on Map 79. We used the optional smoke, excess initiative rules, and happily dispensed with the fog of war. I played the attacking American Commander of elements of the 1st Infantry Division (18th RCT).

In the first session (game turns 1-3) blood was first drawn by the Vichy French OBA, who destroyed a Mortar platoon that was attempting to dig in on an exposed position on the west-facing side of the southwesternmost hill on Map 78. The deliberate American movement-to-contact west took place in the SE quadrant of Map 79, where two French dug-in hilltop outposts were overwhelmed by a pair of successful close assaults. By the end of the 3rd turn, casualties included 2 American steps, and 4 French steps.

The 2nd session (game turns 4-8) featured the Americans setting up both left and right flank attacks on St. Cloud, in the face of significant French direct, OBA and opportunity fire. Green US units were repeatedly disrupted and demoralized the closer they came to both the east and west margins of St. Cloud, although US Mortars, OBA and long-range suppressive fires managed to seriously degrade the town’s defenders on the west and south hexes (respectively 79-041 79-0510). A defending infantry platoon and the French mortar outfit both succumbed to close assaults, and intense suppressive American DF on turn 7.

By the end of the 8th turn, step losses had mounted substantially to 3 for the American side, and 9 French steps. This session also featured a total of five 7-die combat rolls for the French. And surprisingly, none for the Americans. Instead, the fates took a hand against US morale recovery rolls, leading to additional step loses and severe demoralizations, characterized by panicked retreats to the southeast in the face of stout French fire.

The 3rd session (game turns 9-11) included two bitterly-contested, close assaults, one by the US left flank pincer, as the right flank pincer had been driven off by the French in the prior session. Substantial US suppressing fire and a few lucky OBA/mortar strikes softened & weakened the pugnacious French defenders. A final assault in the open area west of town eliminated the last French buffer position immediately adjacent to St. Cloud. At about the same time, a French smoke screen delivered south of St. Cloud helped cover a fresh American advance that resulted in a bloody close assault and the seizure of town hex 0512 in game turn 11. At the end of the 11th turn, step losses were to 3 for the Americans, and 17 French steps.

The final session (game turns 12-13) resulted in the liberation of St. Cloud by the American Task Force. By mutual agreement, we called a halt at the start of game turn 13 with the French Commander conceding an American major victory. At the end, step losses were to 3 for the Americans, and 18 French steps.