Author	treadasaurusrex (France)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	France
Participants	waynebaumber (AAR)
Play Date	2022-11-14
Language	English
Scenario	FaoF012

This was a 8-session play-through with the cunning and tenacious, Wayne Baumber, as the attacking German Commander. I played the weaker & thinly-spread – but intrepid – French side. We played with the defense-favoring FOW, and with the smoke, consolidation and excess initiative optional rules as well. We should have also used the strategic movement rule.

Our first session (game turns 1-5) consisted of three, separate German approach marches and movements-to-contact, with the associated counter moves and short-range OBA & DF provided by the thin crust of the French defense. The Germans northern (right flank) and center prong quickly made contact in the limited visibility of early dawn and the center prong decisively engaged the French garrison by close assault in town hex 33-0504. This turned out to be a very fierce close assault that was still in process by game turn 14! By the end of the session, there were already 5 French step losses, and none for the Boche. A combined SEVEN combat 7-die rolls were thrown.

The 2nd session (game turns 6-7) was a rather grim slog for the fragile French defenders with an additional 7 step losses, compared to a single German step loss. The determined German Commander kept up the pressure on a broad front, though still focused on his 3-pronged attack. A break through occurred in the northern sector, while the French barely managed to hold off German advances in the center. In the south (left flank), the Germans were able to decisively engage two French positions in wooded areas. Finals step losses at the end of turn 7 stood at: 12 French, and 1 German.

Our third session (game turns 8-9) comprised another thorough bashing of the defending French, and 7 more step losses, compared to just a single step lost by the advancing Germans. In the north, the right flank German advance widened the existing breach and eliminated a platoon of wayward French AMR-35 light tanks. In the center, an attritional stalemate continued, but German mobile reserves and AT guns began to reinforce the existing German push. In the south, a series of successful close assaults pushed back the French defenders and began creating a more substantial breach. By the end of the session, step losses for the Germans stood at 4, to the French loss of 19.

A new personal record was set in this session when I managed to throw a total of TEN, utterly futile, combat 7-die rolls!

After an extended hiatus in September, our 4th session (game turns 10-11) was a bloody one with a combined 11 step losses (5 German and 6 French) in only two game turns! In the north, the Germans widened the breach in French lines. In the center, the French defenses centered around the contested 20-meter hill and town in Hex 33-0504 became decisively-engaged. Accurate long-range AT fire eliminated a section of French P-178 armored cars. In the south, the 2-pronged, Boche onslaught continued as the breach in the French lines expanded, and a second AT gun platoon was eliminated by accurate German mortar fire in the 6-hex town on Map 31. Surprisingly, there were only a combined FIVE futile combat 7-die rolls (4 French, 1 German) in this session.

The fifth session (game turns 12-13) was another grim encounter for the now-mostly-retreating French defenders with an additional 7 step losses, and only two more for the rapidly advancing German side. The northern prong of the Boche attack moved into more open ground on the edge of Map 26-29, but was still mostly stalemated as they approached the vicinity of the easternmost 3-hex town on Map 26. In the center, the French defense collapsed as the Germans overran the much-contested, 20-meter hill and initiated a headlong dash to the west in the open, though the garrison in the hilltop village in Hex 33-0504 continued to hold. In the south, the German wave moved inexorably west on Map 31 assisted by accurate OBA and fine die rolls. They were slowed by heavy defensive fire in their approach to the 6-hex town, but had more success to the southwest to the vicinity of the 2-hex village, where their ENG units easily led the way through a pair of enemy minefields. Another highlight from this session was a lengthy pursuit of a sprinting German leader who managed to escape from a very eager DRG unit that chased him over 1,200 meters and failed to capture him! This same unit’s strength was halved by effective German opfire at the end of this foolhardy episode.

Once again, I tied my personal record with TEN, futile combat 7-die rolls and generally dismal luck across the board. Only 3 combat 7s were rolled by the Boche. By the end of the game turn 13, total step loses were 11 for the German invaders, and 33 for the heroic French defenders.

The 6th session (game turns 14-15) was a very bloody and grim one for the defending French! Their step losses were another 8, to only 4 for the German side. The north, south and central Teutonic attacks continued mercilessly forward, held up slightly in the south as the 2nd echelon of German troops became engaged in the vicinity of the 5-hex town on Map 31. Accurate Nazi OBA & direct fire, coupled with close assaults accounted for the bulk of French losses in this session. These were concentrated in the south and north flanks of the German tidal wave. As has been the case for most of this scenario, most French artillery missions were ineffective. At the end of the session, total step losses were 15 for the Boche, and 41 for the heroic French defenders. The German initiative level final fell to 2 during game turn 14.

The seventh session (game turns 16-18) was a another grim one for the Boche invaders in which they lost an additional 7 steps in their relentless assaults in the central and southern sectors of the battle map. In the north the two German assaults continued, but in a diminished state, and an additional section of French armored cars was lost defending the northern 3-hex town on Map 26. In the center, the village on the 20-meter hilltop, Hex 33-0503 was finally occupied by the Germans after a bitter, 18-turn siege! This substantially strengthened the Boche’s central thrust and they quickly surrounded and besieged the single-hex village 33-0716 on the west side of the same cratered & blood-soaked hill. In the south, the Germans onslaught on the 6-hex town in the northeast quadrant of Map 31, met with stiffened French resistance that resulted in multiple step losses, demoralizations & disruptions that derailed the attack in game turn 18. Further south on the same map, the 2-hex town and the dug-in French infantry on the adjoining 20-meter hill continued to hold out and even struck back at their attackers, when their supporting artillery gradually registered their targets in the southern portion of the battle map. By session’s end, total step losses were 22 for the Boche, and 44 for the hard-pressed French defenders.

The 8th session (game turns 19-23 ) was a very grim one for the Boche invaders in which 13 more steps were lost, mostly in the center and southern portions of the battle map, due to accurate OBA and multiple fierce close assaults. The northernmost town on Map 33 finally was taken by the Germans after an 18-turn siege. In the south, a series of fiercely-contested close assaults yielded little for the attacking Germans.

In this 26-turn, decently balanced scenario, there were 11 FOW-shortened game turns. I rate this scenario and enthusiastic 4.

By session’s end, total step losses were 35 for the Boche, and 48 for the hard-pressed, but victorious French defenders. By mutual agreement, we called the game during game turn 23, and declared it a major French victory.