This one is something of a reverse of rolls from the AAAD game I played earlier this week, with Germans defending against an American attack. Both sides are much weaker in this one, the Germans are defending the hills on board 76, some of them up to the 60M mark. Germans have 2 companies of infantry plus a motorcycle platoon, 2 mortars, 2 HMGs, AT guns in the 28 and 50mm calibres, a 20mm AA gun, 2 Mk IIINs and a StuG IIIG, with 3 halftracks and 4 trucks to transport anything that needs or wants to be moved. Germans have 1 more leader than the US does, and OBA is 2x16 for the Germans and 3x18 for the US. US has 10 infantry, 3 HMGs, 1 Engineer, 2 mortars, a towed 37mm AT, an M6 tank destroyer, 2 M3/75s, a T30, a Sherman, 4 Lees, 10 M3s and 3 trucks. I set up the German guns and most of the infantry on the south edge of the hills on board 76, with the Mk IIIs and the motorcycle outposts on the north-south ridge on board 78 and 2 infantry with halftracks dug in on the western hill and the StuGIII adjacent. The StuG could range in well on any US armor coming up the center or on the eastern ridge, while the Mk IIIs planned to shoot and scoot, hoping to hit something and then fall back, overwatching each other. The US didn't have transport for everyone, so I made up 2 infantry stacks with LTs as scouts, bringing them in to the small southwestern hill and on a rocky hex just west of the eastern ridge. They would grab the German attention, call in OBA on anything they could see, and basically absorb fire for a few turns while the mounted US troops and armor came on the eastern side of the board, with the Sherman and Lees trading shots with the MkIIIs. The halftracks and trucks could move forward for several turns without being fired on, and the Germans didn't waste any OBA on them until they could get a shot at some loaded trucks, choosing instead to try to pound the two US infantry elements for several turns. The Lees and Sherman managed to take out both Mk IIIs and chase off the motorcycle infantry, but started taking serious losses from the StuG across the valley. Surviving US armor moved over the eastern edge of the ridge to prevent he StuG getting any more kill rings on his gun, and the StuG withdrew to avoid becoming assaulted by the US infantry, who had now recovered and were heading across the valley towards the hill. The US armored infantry managed to flank the Germans left and started assaults against the easternmost German position and also against another position holding the 60m hilltop. These assaults drew in more troops from both sides and soon stagnated, each side taking a step loss or demoralizing nearly the entire stack and then recovering while another tank battle grew in the valley. The StuG had moved back far enough that the Lees were able to engage again from the north edge of the ridge, and this time the StuG's luck ran out. It took 2 turns for the Lees, but they managed to eliminate the StuG and turn their attention to the center of the German infantry line. The German AT guns were nasty, but didn't have the range to prevent a two-hex shot at a dug-in German post of a Captain, an HMG and an Infantry, and the post was no longer able to support the two mortars dug in just behind and uphill of them. The Germans were out of armor, but the infantry were holding well, and as it started to get dark, the US saw themselves as unable to move anything off the north edge of the board, but had quite a bit of good order troops and armor on board 76. US got points for having good order troops on the 40m hill, double for the 60m hill, and for every good order step on board 76 at the end, as well as the usual casualty points and points for anything that could get off the north end. With daylight failing, they were happy to consolidate their gains and not risk trying to assault dug-in Germans in the dark. When the butcher's bill was counted up, the US had 55 points, the Germans 53, leaving this game a draw. The casualty points were pretty high for both sides, but hurt the Germans a bit more having lost all their tanks. But both sides were in a trading of casualty mode in the assaults. Between running out of time to continue and the appearance of a stalemate in the assaults, I called it a day. Great game.