Penry

Turn 48 I would really hate to be a defender in or around BDs farmyard! They really got a battering this turn - again! My five Shermans started off the turn by firing both HE main rounds and MGs all around the farmyard area. Any sign of a defender was met with intense fire. After 15 seconds or so the artillery rounds started to land and almost two dozen smacked into the farmyard, no doubt getting some more kills, and ousting those that weren't killed directly from their foxholes, straight into the LOF of my Shermans, only to be cut down as they ran away! The artillery strike ended with just five seconds to go, so things re set up nicely for a psuh on the farmyard next turn. Impact locations shown by yellow stars. I'm now clean out of artillery, but I think I've used it pretty well (if I do say so myself) and got good value from it! Other than the considerable action in the farmyard area there wasn't much to note. A few infantry contacts towards the rear of the battlefield, but nothing major to write home about. There were no armour contacts and BDs StuG in the northern forest must be licking it's wounds!

Orders: Slight repositioning of my Shermie quintet, to split them up a bit and get them out of a LOF from BDs northern STuG, should he be mad enough to come back! Bring my left flank boys over to the forest track wall - they might be able to provide some small arms cover for my farmyard assault. Bring my rear Sherman forward, to support the assault from the same position as my left flank boys. Move my bridge boys up to the bridge, ready for the big sprint......

Turn 47 Another bad day at the office for BD. The tide has definitely turned and, even though I only have 13 minutes to make things happen, I think I can get something out of this devastating encounter! The action continued with another round slamming into BDs STuG at the farm. All it took was for a round to spall the upper front hull armour and it was knocked out! What an awesome way to start the turn off, now I've just got to worry about BDs two STuGs in the northern forest! It didn't take long before I got a lock on BDs STuG at the rear of the northern forest. The first round wizzed over the top of his armour, but the second round achieved penetration of his front hull superstructure, knocking the tank out and causing its crew to bail out before they got involved in a nasty little cook off! Scratch two STuGs and the turn isn't even half way done! Right on cue BDs other STuG in the northern forest reappeared. It didn't take long for my boys to get a shot off at it, resulting in a partial penetration of its front hull superstructure, but it continued to wiggle forward, trying to squeeze into a spce to get a shot off at my fantastic new arrivals. My Sherman near my buildings got another shot off and caused some armour spalling of its lower front hull, which gave BDs tank commander enough of a scare to cause him to throw his vehicle into reverse, just as he managed to get a round off at my pack of Shermans. Luckily it was just a bit too high and shot over the top of my pack. They fired back in retailiation, causing more armour spalling, this time to the front hull superstructure, and before I could get any more shots off BDs STuG had scuttled back into the depths of the forest! My attention was then turned to BDs farmyard. My Shermans started raining down and mixture of small arms fire and main rounds on the various known enemy positions, and the last of the spotting rounds for my final artillery strike landed smack bang in the middle of the square. I recorded three definite kills and next round should see twenty odd rounds slam in the area, to be followed by the last charge......

Thanks gents. I have to admit, all the 'grand CM plans' I've had in the past have all failed miserably - they go so much better in my head, so Keeping It Simple Stupid definitely seem to be the way to go! Patience young one, patience.....

Ian - Thanks for the feedback and great to hear your take on the scenario, even if you had an even worse time of it than I did. I'm dying to see how BD's men shaped up and how many he has in reserve reading their newspapers and enjoying the Italian sun! I presume that all the units are in play now, so it's going to be a very interesting last 14 minutes. I'll be happy if I can get to the farm and ecstatic if I can somehow get to the far bridge. I think the sheds in either forest are well beyond me though.... Hope you enjoy the finale!

Jaws - At least half the pleasure I get from playing great games like CM is doing some sort of narrative alongside it, so it's a pleasure to do these AARs. Great work on the scenario, even if it the toughest SOB that I have yet to come across. I'm still very Green when it comes to CMBN and FI/GL. I had the original games and played BO the most, but never managed to get sucked in like I have since buying BN. I get most of my pleasure playing a human, something I never managed to do with the original trio. Some have suggested I get more experience playing SP, and I'd love to do the campaigns, but I never soom to get the time/inclination. Playing a turn every day ot two seems the perfect pace for me. I think one thing I need to work on is doing multiple actions per unit per turn. I think I'm a bit one dimensional, in that I tend to give them one order and that's it. Half the problem lies in that I'm still not 100% sure how much all these different units can achiev in a minute. Practice makes perfect..... What other scenarios did you design? What's you favourite? Are they all as bloody mean as this one?

Orders: Shermies concentrate on the two visible STuGs, then try to mop up some village infantrymen. Other Shermies and SPG, keep and eye on north forest STuGs All other units, rest for the big charge.....

Turn 46 At last some action! My Shermies steamed forward, catching sight of BDs STuG at the entrance to the northern forest and the one at the far end of the northern forest. One of my boys let off a shot at the far STuG, while advancing, but the shot fell short and soon after it was distracted by a third STuG at the rear of the BDs village. My Sherman changed target and let off a round at the village STuG, achieving a partial penetration of the front hull superstructure. My front Sherman was soon joined by his mates and three more shots were fired at BDs village STuG, achieving two full penetrations of the front hull superstructure and another partial penetration. Not a single shot was fired in return, so even though I have yet to take the STuG out, I am hoping that it is of no threat to me and it is just a matter of time..... My Shermies also found time to lay down some small arms fire on the infantry that they spotted around the village. I'm glad I managed to take out a mortar man, kept another infantryman cowering, and just as the turn ended was laying down fire on a MGer! It might be time to start my assault on the village soon! It had best be, there are only fourteen minutes to go! Other than my Shermies, there was very little action going on. Here is the state of play at the end of the round. My rear three Shermies has LOS on the STuG in the village, while my front two Shermies have a LOS on the STuG at the rear left. My infantry boys in the southern forest has LOS on both STuGs.

Back from vacation and I've got the menial tasks out the way, so back to the important stuff! Turn 45 Another quiet one. Nothing much to comment on, so I'll just post the end of turn positions..... I did get my last reinforcements though, a platoon of Sherman M4A1s! Advance!!!!

I see I missed posting turn 44 here, so for good measure..... Turn 44 BDs STuG managed to withdraw before I got another round off. Other than that sweet FA happened! I'm still waiting for the cavalry...... I'm off on vacation for two weeks, so we've put this game on ice for the duration. See you soon.....

Turn 43 Another quiet one, but a couple of promising events for me. One of my Shermans finally got a lock on BDs STuG at the entrance to the northern forest. One main round and plenty of small arms fire was directed at the STuG. Unfortunately the main round hit a tree in the way, while the small arms fire made contact with the STuG, causing the commander to button up and reverse his tank back into the forest. Shame the main round didn't connect, but at least it has relieved some pressure on my men! Towards the end of the round another of my Shermans got a line of fire on BDs rear STuG by the northern forest. Much the same scenario as the encounter above, except the main round hit, causing some armour spalling to the front hull superstructure, while the small arms fire whistled over the top of the STuG. Just as the turn was about to end the StuG started to reverse, but my men were preparing to let loose a second round. Another cliff hanger in the making then....... Not much else happened at all, which suits me just fine! Having two of BDs StuG reversing back into the forest is ideal for me. Hopefully they are just about to show their faces again when my final reinforcements arrive...... Orders: Minor tweaks, but basically wait it out for another 2 minutes. Fingers crossed that I take out that STuG!

womble - Don't tease, although if I read your hint correctly I might just pull this one out of the bag right at the end! Tempestzzzz - So far it's been brutal. Let's hope lady luck shines on me again and I get the break I need to make a dash for the farmyard.....

@ womble - I've got three minutes until my last reinforcements - another platoon of Shermans by the looks of things. I think I might just make a mad dash for the village, unless some better idea enters my head in the meantime! @ Bill - Thanks for the advice and the encouraging words. I don't think there are any hull down positions that I can take, and I had three Shermans pointing at the STuG the turn before. Looks like BD has got it into a good spot and isn't going to move it an inch!

Turn 42 Another quiet turn, with the main events taking place in the southern forest. My rifle sharp shooting hero finally went to the great rifle range in the sky, after being taken out by a infantry patrol. My rifle team in the other part of the southern forest made contact with some infantry in fox holes around the southern barn. As soon as the lead started flying my boys ran away. Soon after they made contact again with some more of BDs infantry. This time my boys threw down their guns and gave up! Other than that, the only item of interest was the Sherman on the first bridge cooked up big time! Just as well I didn't have any men in the vicinity! Orders: Sit tight and await those reinforcements......

Turn 41 Not a huge amount happened this turn. BDs artillery lasted for the first half of the turn, but didn't cause any more casualties, even though three rounds got real close to my MG team in the trees. They are in a panic, but otherwise OK! BDs STuG at the entrance to the northern forest took out two of my previously damaged half tracks (yellow circles), each with a driver only, but didn't manage to locate my Shermans or my SPG. The only good news of the turn was that my rear Sherman took out one of BDs men hiding out in the foxholes at the southern side of the farmyard (red circle). A main round, followed by some MG fire, did the trick, so hopefully I might have even got some hidden casualties too! Orders: Not much I can do other than hope BD moves a STuG (or two) into a LOF of mine, that is until my last throw of the dice in 4 turns.....

Orders: Not many options again! I decided to call the last of my artillery strikes (yes more!) on the farmyard. Eight minutes and counting. That should tie in nicely with my platoon of Shermans arriving in 5 minutes. A couple of minutes to deal with one or more of BDs STuGs, then a mad dash for the farmyard, presuming I can squeeze them across the bridge. It would be real nice if they arrived on the other side of the river..... I also decided to move my SPG into position to face BDs STuG in the northern forest. Here's hoping that one of my men gets a shot off at it when the smoke clears!

There was more misery for my decimated assault on the northern slope. As they tried to withdraw they came under more small arms fire from the farmyard, resulting in the loss of three more men. Just to make sure that my men would not be returning BD launched a massive artillery strike of his own, just in front of where my men were. I only lost one man to the artillery strike, the FO man, but it scared the crap out of my MG team, who were hiding out in the trees, right in the middle of the attack! I'm running out of options again. I've now only got two Shermans and a self propelled gun against at least three of BDs STuGs. I'm still no nearer making an assualt on the farmyard, and what infantry I have left are just too brittle to do the job. My last throw of the dice will be my last lot of re-inforcements, another platoon of Shermans, due in 5 minutes. If I can take out BDs STuG at the entrance to the northern forest I might just stand a chance, but I'll have a hell of a lot of work to do in just 15 minutes!

Turn 40 Well, the standoff between my Sherman and BDs STuG never happened, but I still lost a Sherman to another STuG! BDs STuG at the entrance to the northern forest somehow managed to take out my rear Sherman, all without the Sherman even getting a visual fix on him, even though he was unhatched, looking directly at it and had an armour arc over its exact position! I'm not sure what else I could have done to get a chance for a shot and I'm more than a bit miffed that I've lost another Sherman to BDs STuGs! Any ideas what I could have done better/different? To make matters worse BDs rear STuG from the northern forest recovered from my hero shot, and got his revenge, of sorts. My hero was keeping an eye out over the valley, but BDs STuG must have spotted him because he sent a main round over as retribution. Fortunately he aimed a bit long and only injured my hero, but it was enough to get him to run away back into the depths of the forest.

There was more hurt for my men over on the right flank. They had no sooner regained their morale, than the next load of mortars started falling amongst them. Those that survived the first wave of explosions quickly descended back into panic again! It's not a pretty sight at the top of the hill, and I hold little hope of them escaping to any degree of safety! BDs STuG at the entrance to the northern forest also made its presence felt. Adjusting its position ever so slightly, so it had a line of fire on my half-track at the base of the ploughed field, but reaming out of sight of my three Shermans at the base of the northern hill. At least the poor sod didn't know anything about what was going to hit him! Not much change in the state of play. The next turn will all be about who gets the telling shot between my Sherman and BDs STuG!

Turn 39 My artillery strike ended this turn, with a further ten rounds landing, five in decent locations to cause BD some pain. Shame my Sherman got knocked out though, as I'm not in a position to capitalise on the confusion caused by the strike. I'm not even sure that I'll be able to find a way past the knocked out Sherman on the bridge! Is it possible to shunt things out the way in CM? Otherwise I might face a long detour round through the northern forest, not a journey I particularly relish.... The strike did seem to rattle BDs STuG behind the farmyard, either that or BD withdrew it for tactical reasons. Either way, towards the end of the turn it reappeared midway between the farmyard and the rear bridge. As the dust from the artillery strike settled, a narrow line of sight opened up between the STuG and my Sherman by my buildings. The STuG got a round off, which spalled my upper front hull armour, then my Sherman fired a round off in return, which partially penetrated the lower front hull armour of the STuG. It's going to be a tense few seconds at the beginning of the next turn. I wonder which tank has the faster rate of fire?

Lastly, here's the state of play at the end of the turn. I'm still pretty much stuck before the first bridge. My left flank assault attempt is over with. My artillery strike on the farmyard is almost over. I've only three Shermans left, until I get some more reinforcements in seven minutes. I really can't see how I'm going to dislodge BD from the farmyard, let alone get to either barn in the hilltop forests, or the far bridge. BD keeps hinting via PM that it's a close run thing, but he seems pretty secure to me! Orders: Three remaining Shermans - focus on the STuG at the near entrance to the northern forest. Infantry team in southern forest - head for the southern barn Lone scout hero in southern forest - try to get an eyeball on BDs STuG behind the farmyard. I tried to set up one last artillery strike on the farmyard, but with the building collapsed, and all the dust around, there is nothing to spot to get a fire coordinate!

And so to the disaster! Can you guess where it occured? My push on the left flank deflated quicker than a beach ball in a porcupine sanctuary. More and more of the direct 45mm mortars landed, just as my main push was in full swing. Coupled with small arms fire from the farmyard, which halted my halftrack as soon as it started hitting, and more small arms fire from the northern forest, as my men crested the hill, resulted in just about the whole of my attack biting the dust! Of the twenty two men who were in the immediate area when the turn began, only eleven of them were alive at the end of it. All of them are out of control and five of them are injured. I've got to say that watching the assault was pretty bloody stiring! I was really getting my hopes up that I had co-ordinated the various units into a cohesive force to be reckoned with. But my elation plumetted into despair as my assault was slowly unravelled and then repulsed.

Towards the end of the turn another STuG appeared, this time at the near entrance to the northern forest. He took up a position behind the burning hulk of the R35 and then waited things out. I'm hoping that if he gets a bit brave and moves forward then I'll have a good shot at him with my three Shermans in the area.

Just before BDs STuG let loose its deadly round, my artillery strike started to touch down, one round landing just in front of BDs STuG. I hoped that the dust cloud would obscure his view, allowing my Sherman time to evade, or even get a lock on of its own, but alas, it wasn't to be. Twenty four rounds landed around the farmyard, so I'm hoping that I inflicted a good deal of pain on BDs men at various locations around the place, but I witnessed very few confirmed kills. One thing is for sure though. The three men I counted hiding out in the farmhouse had a very bad day at the office! There's nowhere for you to hide now BD!

Turn 38 An action packed turn this time! Some good, some bad, some disasterous! Business as usual then! Let's start with the good stuff then. My Sherman on the first bridge hunted forward, in an effort to grab a sneak attack on BDs STuG behind the farmyard. Mission achieved in a way, except it wasn't the STuG that he surprised, it was BDs R35 from behind the farmyard, trying to sneak around the side of the farm building. It didn't take long before my Sherman let loose a single round - more than enough to knock out BDs tank and send the commander running! Unfortunately, BDs STuG was in a good position to watch what was going on, and it was only a matter of time before BD got his revenge. A single round in return was enough to light up my Sherman, sending the crew running and straight into a hail of small arms fire from the farmyard. Only one man got away with his life, taking cover in the nearby copse.