kensal

Turn 31 completed That's virtually it. The defenders take at least 6 casualties this turn and more have surrendered (or tried to surrender). The trench in the Alamo seems to be the only remaining pocket of resistance but even there the only visible occupant has surrendered. There may be one or two survivors in the trench who have not surrendered but they cowering from the weight of fire into it. So I have turned off all targeted fire, to give them the opportunity to do that meerkat thing. We manage to get through the turn without any casualties. There are 27 visible German casualties in these fields. All the visible German units in the lower screenshot have surrendered.

Noob reckons that the troops going through the wrong door is because I didn't put a way point just in front of the safe doors - I simply directed them straight into the houses. I am sure he is right and that is another lesson learned.. I wonder if the Germans will fight to the bitter end here - these guys are 716ID not 12SS.

Turn 30 completed The Germans are closely hemmed in now and are taking casualties too and more are surrendering An overhead shot to finish off this post. C Coy at the bottom of the picture is going to move through the orchard ahead and will take up positions along the hedge line and will engage the Alamo from the East. A Coy is going to continue putting fire into the trench from the houses to the north (the right of the map) and the hedge line to the west (top) and bring more sections from the south (left of the map). The Germans have nowhere to go and if they don't surrender ...

Turn 30 completed Had I been more circumspect and waited for 30 seconds before rushing forward, the German team would have been taken out by the flanking sections and the mortar team would still be in action. Elsewhere, A Coy's platoon to the north side of the Alamo rushes forward men into the two houses overlooking the Alamo, to put fire down on the trenches, and allow C Coy to advance from the other side of the Alamo and surround the Germans. They do this but as a result of my careless (according to the boss!) 3 of them are hit. So, they have orders to move into the houses. You would think that they would take the doors facing the road, away from the enemy, but no, they decide to take the doors on the other side of the houses, by going through a gap in the hedge line .... As you can see the trench has a fair number of Germans still fighting (although there are also numerous dead and wounded lying in the hedge lines, in the trenches and in the field) The Germans lay into the section moving into the house, hitting two Another party moves round the other house, again ignoring the door on the safe side. One of them is hit

Turn 30 completed I feel particularly bad about these three because in reality it was a completely unnecessary move. Two more sections were arriving into houses flanking the German team's position, resulting in this

Turn 30 completed. The Glens job is nearly done but we take 6 casualties this turn, 3 as a result of my impatience and 3 from two bizarre decisions by the pixel people. Firstly my bad A Coy's mortar team rushes forward past where the heroic German rifleman got it last turn, to get to the hedge line. Fire support is behind them and putting area fire on to the hedge, but there is a German team on the other side and all 3 are cut down.

Turn 29 completed Orders for next turn - basically tighten the net and bring the remaining German units under fire. How many Germans are left - can't be many and they are running out of hiding places

Turn 29 completed I now have a view over the main trench in the Alamo and there a further dead and wounded Germans scattered around. They must be victims of the mortars.

Turn 29 completed C Coy is now along the hedge line facing into the Alamo in some force. There are dead and wounded Germans on the other side and one man still resisting, but he must be unaware that C Coy are on the other side of the hedge he is running towards.

Turn 29 completed I can see two broken AT guns this turn so I am hopeful that I've dealt with that threat. A Coy moving East encounters this platoon radioman armed with a K98. He doesn't flinch, facing 10-12 men from A Coy but the result is inevitable. Hitler didn't deserve that guy.

Turn 28 completed. Big question mark here - and to show that I am being objective, it keeps the Stuart alive. The tank is still functioning. The driver is one of the casualties, either KIA or WIA in his seat. The Stuart sits motionless for about 8-10 seconds. It takes a second penetrating hit which does not injure the commander or the gunner who are both still active. Then the commander 'converts' into the driver and reverses the vehicle out of the line of fire. Now I don't have any problem with crew members changing function, but unless a Stuart has a second set of driving controls available to the commander, it must take, at the very best, 3 or 4 minutes for the remaining crew members to move the dead / wounded driver out of the way so that the commander can reverse the vehicle out of the way. I imagine in some circumstances it could take a lot longer. But I don't see how the commander could get his feet on the driving pedals / controls and reverse the vehicle back in 8-10 seconds from the driver being put out of action. I think that that is something that might be looked at by BFC at some point. Anyway it kept the tank alive

Turn 28 completed. A second Stuart pushes into central Buron and, carelessly, (well my fault really) into sight of the known AT position facing east. incoming shell Penetrating hit, two casualties, including the driver. I have question mark about what happens next:

Turn 28 completed and then one of the Stuarts moving up from the south of Buron crosses paths with a schreck guy. You can just make him out against the hedge. Note for everyone thinking tanks spot too easily, the Stuart hasn't picked this guy. One casualty and the rest of the crew bails out. The second Stuart takes him out the schreck guy as he tries to scarper.

Turn 28 completed The 716th Infanterie Division bites back... but before that, we deal with the rifleman caught in a crossfire

The MG was firing three short bursts in quick succession, a different form of fire to that currently available. I would say that it is a new form of area fire (each burst on a slightly different line for greater spread / suppressive effect) or a rapid fire option.

Hi I can look at it from a mac perspective

Turn 27 completed. Nothing else happens. A and C Coy both move forward without incident. C Coy is tasked with leading the final assault. The first task is to get bren parties to the hedge line which the Stuarts have been pounding for the last 10 minutes, so that they can put fire into the field and hedge line beyond that, and we can then get assault parties into that field. Tac Map below. The remaining Germans are being squeezed into an ever tighter perimeter but the surprising thing is that we have no sight of them. Either there are not that very many left or they are all hiding in cover from our mortars

Turn 27 completed A mortar spotting round drops too close to D Coy, so I am cancelling both planned mortar strikes on the Alamo. The guy spotted above gets hosed but manages to duck behind the wall. 9 Platoon is gradually closing in on him so we will see if he is still around in a minute or two. The other guy who is in the house remains completely hidden. The house takes a beating from small arms and the mortar spotting round. 10 Platoon inches forward and hopefully they will start dropping grenade through the windows. Nobody's that keen to get to close and get capped at this stage in the proceedings

Well at the very least we now that there are at least two urban combat improvements

Turn 26 completed Not much happened. The lone rifleman facing 10 platoon ducked into a building and is now surrounded pretty much. 10 platoon is directing its whole firepower on to the building while one party moves forward to grenade him. Otherwise 9 platoon spots another lone German and is ready to take him from behind. Perhaps I could have expressed that better ?

Turn 25 completed Resistance seems to have collapsed in the Eastern part of Buron and 9 and 10 Platoons are gingerly moving West towards the centre. One of C Coy's platoons is joining it from the north. The Eastern part of Buron is littered with German dead and wounded. There are at least 26 lying in the hedgerows, trenches and buildings in this area alone. There are two rifleman left, one of whom has surrendered and the other who is about to receive a volley of 2 inch mortar grenades. He has probably left it too late. Elsewhere elements of A Coy have linked up with the Stuarts south of Buron and are currently moving carefully East. Mortars are striking and are due to strike the central gardens area where we suspect the remaining enemy concentrations are to be found. Battalion believes that the enemy ought to surrender at this stage and a man may be sent forward shortly under a white flag to invite that....

Turn 25 completed Well, revenge was sweet...

Naturally word of this shocking behaviour spreads quickly across the radio net and through the battalion. It could get ugly if as we get close to the encircled enemy remnants.

Turn 24 completed Not content with this volte-face, he turns into superman, lets off a few rounds with his K98 but decides that isn't enough for him. Oh no, not enough at all. He pulls out a grenade The guy behind the blast is a casualty He then runs across the front of the section he has just grenaded and makes his escape, (for the time being only, obviously), with a bren gunner drawing a bead on him.

Turn 24 completed. The guy turning into a line of fire surrendered this turn but I am afraid that the iron has entered my soul after the following outrage against the rules of war....remember the guy who surrendered on the road in turn 22? Well here he is: He has second thoughts. Having saved his skin by deciding to lay down his arms in the face of our heroic advancing troops, he then picks up his piece.