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Molek would then reposition and in doing so get a critical piece of info. And of course he can't pass up an opportunity And scores one more TC hit More importantly he uncovers what has become of the rest of the American Armor With the info obtained by our recon marksman it is now clear the Americans have decided to try my right flank. Next up - 2nd Company at the center of the storm.

At this point I really wasn't sure what to expect. My line at the center crossroads seemed to be holding. The threat on my left which had begun to feel critical seemed to have hit it's highwater mark. My PJ Bn with the exception of one immobile unit was intact and probably outnumbered the enemy Armor remaining in my left. My concern now is I have not accounted for a good portion of the American medium tanks. I also have no clear idea of how much damage has been done to the American infantry. 1st and 3rd Companies are feeling the strain of sustained combat. Reserves are thin. 2nd Company had thrown in all it could without completely stripping my right flank. It was now that the struggle for battlefield intelligence would reap probably it's greatest reward. The marksman for 2nd Co. had been moving to check on US movement on my right flank. Eventually he spots US recon teams moving across the front. Initially the GIs go prone, but then they begin to move forward again. Molex hits them before they can even stand The first GI goes down and the rest of the team drops for cover. The security detail with the AT team would join in

One last item just cause I have to show it before we continue. At one point the Stuh spotted a Stuart in the orchard on hill 108 and began firing rounds off. Accuracy wasn't it's strong suit and it fired several high. Then all of a sudden one round apparently runs into something. I had no idea what I'd hit and my suspicions were all over the map. I would not get an answer till the battle was over.

The next target is the Sherman. An MG team takes it under fire threatening the TC. Once again the Americans get off first shot. But the PJ Bn, in this case once again represented by Stager, continues it's attrition of American armor.

The final phase of the fight on the left flank would be a combined armor infantry push down the left road. The Americans found they actually had good cover from the hedgerows on the right side of the road and concealment from the wheatfield and slope from my 1st Company positions. They had uncovered a gap and quickly thrust units into it. The German units closest to the road come under fire from the American tanks as they try to repel infantry that has snuck up through the wheatfield. A Sherman and Stuart back up the American infantry along with fire from the immobilized Stuart which is out of LOF from my AT resources in 1st Company's position. The StuGs in the center fields adjust position to eliminate the threat. First target is the immobile Stuart. The Stuart gets in the first shot, but the StuG just shrugs it off. (is that pronounced Shrug?) The Stuart is then eliminated.

The decision was made to pull the armored units back and assign it to my tried and true AT gunners. The first round went high, but once again the Armored units seemed unable to uncover the threat. The next round would finish the threat.

The next events for 1st Platoon Second Company tie into the American plan to change the axis of attack so we will come back to their tale in a bit. Back to the Wheatfield. 2nd Platoon 1st Company units cut off would eventually break and be eliminated in the wheatfield some times exacting additional cost to the American units asigned to that task. The Americans then made plans to continue the advance into the main line of defense for 1st Company. The first push came when a Sherman drove through a hedgerow. It would come under fire immediately from the StuH A Sherman however is a lot tougher than a Stuart and the Sherman shrugs off the first round returning fire and attempting to reverse back through the breach Unfortunately a Stuart attempting to follow it through held up the Sherman forcing it to continue to trade rounds with the StuH It was eventually immobilized, but the StuH could not seem to land a killing round and was itself at risk.

Losses to the platoon had been heavy including the HQ section. The hwy was wide open, the AT team dispatched to eliminate the Stuart was wiped out. After several minutes the mortar stonk eventually halted and the squad leaders took stock of their situation. Losses were heavy, but only one squad was a total loss. The second AT team was then dispatched along with an infantry team as security from 3rd platoon 2nd Company in a more circuitous route to come in at the head of the road. It would take 5 minutes for the team to work itself over across the road and settle in. The assistant immediately took American infantry under fire in the roadway. (A few German mortar rounds called in previously had driven them to take cover on the hwy.) This is one for the few times I actually ordered a target. I didn't want to take the chance it would get distracted by the GIs in the road. The Shrek gunner would waste 3 rounds on this Stuart, but got the job done. There would be no uber tank guys from this (in fact we had none through the game). The Inf team would further batter this crew making sure they would not be coming back.

The platoon began to settle into position allowing 3rd Company units to pass through it's lines while it moved forward. At this moment disaster struck. Until now for the most part the German infantry had been in foxholes during American artillery strikes. This barrage caught 1st Platoon in the open.

It would take the platoon 7 minutes to finally reach the designated area and it urgently needed to take up position. American infantry had eliminated the MG position covering the field across the hwy and an American Stuart had rushed onto the hwy and driven the few units left covering the road from their position. This section of the hwy was uncovered and wide open for US infantry to push through. An At unit was immediately ordered forward to dispatch the Stuart while MG teams started setting up to cover the expected American attack. Here the platoon has just started moving in, note the battle in the wheatfield is still raging. We'll return to that in a bit.

Well we will try to fix that. In the background we are still working through the implications of this battle at the OP layer. I'm gonna backtrack a little as there are a couple tales that need to be told prior to jumping ahead to the last phase of the battle. For one the story of 1st platoon 2nd Company. If you recall 3rd platoon 3rd Company had been battered by the artillery barrage leaving 3rd Company short of a good reserve. It's 2nd platoon was having to help cover the center now leaving 1st platoon alone defending the left flank of the center crossroads. We left off at about 28 minutes into the battle. Approx 5 minutes later 1st Platoon 2nd Company was ordered forward to tie in to 3rd Company's right flank assisting the first platoon and extending the frontage as American units had been spotted doing some apparent recon work 3rd Company defensive positions 35 minutes into the battle 1st pltn 3rd company positions. The platoon had been taking direct MG and tank gun fire ever since it had taken out the American Sherman at the crossroads. 1st platoon 2nd company moving forward

Not a stupid question at all. Haven't yet decided how to deal with this as it is a lot of files (I think it ends up at about 152) and eats up most of my dropbox allowance. I may end up posting a portion at a time. I am not real thrilled at the thought of sending them money just to allow for temporary posting of the files. We'll update the AAR once we figure out an answer for this. I may just look for a different file sharing site to use for this AAR. After all if it interferes with my ongoing PBEM games, that would be an utter disaster!

question - does leaving out the floor alter the ability to place any fortifications in the building?

How about a wav file? "Goddamn piece of s**t! (sound of hand smacking side of unit) the radio is out again! (more banging on radio) Gimme that screwdriver!" While we are at it, when the Bn XO section shows up, some grumbling about REMFs from the line units...

LOL not a chance. I am not willing to lose the playing time for that. We will however post the game turns so anyone is free to watch all the action from all angles. The mockumentary already does what you'd suggested and more. Leave that to the professionals. ;-)

3rd Company AT units are not idle either First shot misses and the unit calmly reloads, no reaction from the tank at under 100 meters second round hits home Meanwhile surviving units from 2nd Platoon continue their suicidal defense near the left crossroads. Their sacrifice would ensure the units caught in the orchard could only retreat back through the artillery. Though 3rd Platoon 1st Company will pull back. 3rd Company units will continue to contest the center crossroads.

3rd Pltn 1st Company is under heavy fire from American armor and is pretty much fought out. It is time it moved further back into the defenses to recover. The unit though exhausted and rattled has more than accomplished it's mission and without the severe losses it's sister platoon is suffering. Before leaving though they contribute one more time to pinning the Americans along hwy 91. I am not sure if this is the tank that previously lost it's TC or not.

At the same time GIs are attempting to push past the center crossroads The linear barrage crosses through here as well The orchard directly in front of the crossroads would see repeated attempts by the GIs to force their way through, however once again the terrain would dictate how much supporting fire they would get. The hwy would become a scene of complete chaos The battle for a pair of fields on hwy 91 is now in full swing. The Americans have placed some armor into a position where they can provide covering fire from over near the hotel into the positions of 3rd Platoon 1st Company and will drive the unit off pretty quickly, but too late for the GIs in the orchard.

The Americans are now squarely into the kill zone and German artillery fire is hitting home. The units in the orchard are cutoff and under fire. Follow on units are breaking and falling back Their exit path takes them right back through the German minefield Other units are pinned down in what turns out to be an exposed position that provides no cover from incoming rounds Some rounds actually detonate in the orchard itself

As the American infantry moves across hwy 91 German artillery begins to land directly in the roadway While the German PJ units continue to break up any attempt by American armor to provide covering fire.

The orchard ends up being a trap. A German MG moves into position directly ahead of the advancing infantry. While they are setting up, the MG HQ sect takes the GIs under fire The German infantry in the wheatfield goes to ground, but playing possum rarely works on a battlefield The American artillery retaliates for the hit on the Stuart immobilizing Schwimmer's StuG The main American attack force now seems to be in position on hwy 91 with advance forces moving into the orchard.

Meanwhile a full assault seems to be pushing into the orchard next to the left crossroads. The Americans rush into the orchard perhaps thinking it has to be better than staying on the exposed roadway 3rd platoon 1st company's fallback position just happens to cover the flank of the orchard. At the far end an MG is deployed 3rd platoon takes the American under fire vKleist if you are reading this, this is about what my guys are feeling right about now in our battle. LOL

2nd Pltn 3rd Company is battered by the barrage But it is not all one sided. A Stuart is immobilized in the Wheatfield by German artillery American infantry deploys onto the highway and the German artillery is unleashed on hwy 91 as an engineer team is blowing a gap in the hedgerow The team I believe actually survived this, but it is a great shot

As the Americans forge across the hwy, their armor support moves up to give covering fire. The German PJ Bn however has had time to deploy. And it turns out the hwy is a very exposed position. Yes that is a rear turret hit. The Stuart was apparently focusing on the threat presented by my MG teams.

Just to show the first...and second weren't just flukes never miss an opportunity it just might payoff Rush hour on the back roads The artillery barrage continues. We will post all the turns, screenshots do it no justice. The chaos of this battle was just incredible. And no that kubelwagen did not survive this. Fortunately that taxi was not carrying a fare.