Rinaldi

A quiet set of turns, the building calm before the storm I should hope.
1806-1807
The stonk on the Pak40 goes in, blissfully on target. Rounds straddle the trench, hopefully injuring the crew or forcing them to hide. A direct hit is likely in its future as the barrage is ongoing as the turn ends. 

While the artillery goes in the remaining three cruisers from 10 Troop, C Squadron 5RIDG (which has been forward supporting C Coy of the Rifles) shifts left and coils up near the copse of trees. My intention is to move them into overwatch positions among the trees if the need arises. They are liaising with the Companies 2IC who remains mounted in a halftrack. 
The scouts, for their part, have begun to ford the second little tributary and probe towards Farm 001. 
Overall, there's very little to report on the right this turn, asides from the fact that the German mortar barrage continues to hammer that offensive piece of French terrain. I am, naturally, perfectly content for my opponent to expend indirect ammo in that way. 
1807-1808
The lead dismounted scouts are ambushed as they push up to a raised dirt road, losing (inevitably) a Bren gunner. He is killed outright by a MG at point blank range, situated in the reverse slope of the raised road. They do not actually spot the offending MG and therefore automatically continue with the pre-planned "hunt" waypoint given to them. This promptly gets the section leader shot; wounded by a rifle. The third able man reports possible contact - but from a different direction and location than expected. There seems to be more enemy contact further to the right, in addition to the MG to the front. 

Draper has evidently outposted the immediate vicinity of Farm 001. The surviving man crawls back to the rest of the section. 
In fact, this turn I detect similar outposts on the extreme right flank as well. I am not sure if these were already known due to pre-battle intel or some intensely lucky scanning by the armoured car crews, but in any event Draper clearly has units forward of the water obstacle across the entire area of operations. I am speculating that most of these are squad-sized tripwires at best, rather than forward fighting positions.
1808-1809
On the right "OAK" is reached and touched by an armoured car without incident.

I think the time has arrived to slowly start applying some actual combat power from my massive tactical reserve. I've identified a good OP for the battlegroup's FOO to bring some supportive fires down on the area in and around Obj "TOM". This will help support the movement of dismounted C Company, surely, and more importantly help organise smoke missions to facilitate a crossing by the heavier units. 
Below you can see the selected position, with the mortar stonk still falling on the Pak40s fighting position still on going in the distance.

I'm hopeful that Pak40 is toast, which means we now are dealing with two ATGs known to me from starting intel on the left flank: one in TOM and the other on Hill 204.1. From the above position we can put down some speculating fires on the area to try and stir up some movement and determine the status of the enemy guns, if possible.  

Thanks for the patience, it has been a bit of a crazy week and a half back for me and I didn't have the time to type this all up. Let's get back into it. Last update, we were engaging a Puma which had made a sudden appearance...
1803-1804
All the action is on the right this turn.
The Puma reverses a few feet, just so that the OP can still see it but not the Cromwell, who does not fire a second time. This Puma is soon joined in the west village by a Panther, but the position the big cat takes makes it no immediate threat. 

Enemy artillery fire begins to fall on my right rear at this point, impacting along the muddy riverbed the armoured cars used to move forward. I don't recall seeing any spotting rounds so it seems self-evident that there's a reference point in this dead ground. Right idea, wrong timing from my opponent here; he's punching empty air. 

1804-1805
More movement is reported on either flank this turn. More Panthers are spotted moving along a road behind Farm 002, and again in front of Hill 206.5. OBJ Tom is being built up into quite the Hornet's nest. Likewise, an OP spots a single German moving through west village, armed with just a pistol - someone of import, perhaps?
For all the weaponry facing me, I don't believe Draper really has a clear idea of what is going on. The recce have continued to push up without further incident. 
1805-1806
The call for fire is finally approved on the Pak43. Another 'fire for effect' is satisfyingly called on the Pak40 - and I strongly suspect and worry the mission on this latter AT position shall be off target. 
On the left, C Coy of the Rifles is preparing to ford the first of the two smaller river tributaries and has begun to dismount in anticipation of that. Their harbour is the treeline in which the carrier section had earlier established an OP/LP, you will recall.

On the right, the lead armoured cars have pushed up practically to the edge of the north village, which we know from our starting intel is occupied, without event. The west village continues to play host to its two dangerous armoured guests, but neither have pushed forward into threatening positions this turn either. 
I think it's time for a SITREP.

I think a picture is starting to firm up of Draper's defensive disposition and his intention re: the Panthers. It appears that "THORN" - the sandy ford on the left - is being dominated by fires from high ground near Farm 001 and 002, and the adjacent orchard. I'm a bit surprised so far, as none of my movement - if he can see it - has really suggested "I'm heading there now!" but given that he has a Pak40 covering the stone bridge leading to Farm 001, he likely feels confident he has this much better route covered. Anti-tank guns are like good and bad things, they tend to come in threes, and so far we've identified two Pak40s that can fire into the area leading up to Farm 001. Contrary to some, and I put this mildly, strange beliefs, anti-tank guns are tough to spot at range and tougher to kill when placed in fortifications and we know for a fact the Pak40 on Hill 204.1 has survived a considerable barrage already. I dare to hope the Pak43 on OBJ DICK will be knocked out, but that is equally doubtful given it is entrenched and in a good position. 
At this point I think its safe to say Draper has evenly distributed his defences. This makes selecting a course of action a bit frustrating. I've been able to bring up the entirety of the C Company tactical group, less the loss of that unfortunately exposed Cromwell, up to a position where they can get into action. So I am starting to lean towards COA1, the left flank. By contrast, B Company team remains stuck behind Hill 207.8, with the trailing Firefly. I'm well aware that trying to move over that ground once more risks fire from the Pak43. Every shot it gets will help it get on target and its only a matter of time before it strikes a fully loaded HT. The movement will only result as well in these infantry being dumped in front of a Panther (possibly more) in west village. So things appear, for now, a bit stuck. I will press forward on the right with what I have up there, but there's only so much they can do without infantry. At the very least, and despite the massive risk it poses, I want to test the fordability of the river in front of the west village. I should be able to do this while remaining out of sight of the Panther. 

A quiet set of turns, the building calm before the storm I should hope.
1806-1807
The stonk on the Pak40 goes in, blissfully on target. Rounds straddle the trench, hopefully injuring the crew or forcing them to hide. A direct hit is likely in its future as the barrage is ongoing as the turn ends. 

While the artillery goes in the remaining three cruisers from 10 Troop, C Squadron 5RIDG (which has been forward supporting C Coy of the Rifles) shifts left and coils up near the copse of trees. My intention is to move them into overwatch positions among the trees if the need arises. They are liaising with the Companies 2IC who remains mounted in a halftrack. 
The scouts, for their part, have begun to ford the second little tributary and probe towards Farm 001. 
Overall, there's very little to report on the right this turn, asides from the fact that the German mortar barrage continues to hammer that offensive piece of French terrain. I am, naturally, perfectly content for my opponent to expend indirect ammo in that way. 
1807-1808
The lead dismounted scouts are ambushed as they push up to a raised dirt road, losing (inevitably) a Bren gunner. He is killed outright by a MG at point blank range, situated in the reverse slope of the raised road. They do not actually spot the offending MG and therefore automatically continue with the pre-planned "hunt" waypoint given to them. This promptly gets the section leader shot; wounded by a rifle. The third able man reports possible contact - but from a different direction and location than expected. There seems to be more enemy contact further to the right, in addition to the MG to the front. 

Draper has evidently outposted the immediate vicinity of Farm 001. The surviving man crawls back to the rest of the section. 
In fact, this turn I detect similar outposts on the extreme right flank as well. I am not sure if these were already known due to pre-battle intel or some intensely lucky scanning by the armoured car crews, but in any event Draper clearly has units forward of the water obstacle across the entire area of operations. I am speculating that most of these are squad-sized tripwires at best, rather than forward fighting positions.
1808-1809
On the right "OAK" is reached and touched by an armoured car without incident.

I think the time has arrived to slowly start applying some actual combat power from my massive tactical reserve. I've identified a good OP for the battlegroup's FOO to bring some supportive fires down on the area in and around Obj "TOM". This will help support the movement of dismounted C Company, surely, and more importantly help organise smoke missions to facilitate a crossing by the heavier units. 
Below you can see the selected position, with the mortar stonk still falling on the Pak40s fighting position still on going in the distance.

I'm hopeful that Pak40 is toast, which means we now are dealing with two ATGs known to me from starting intel on the left flank: one in TOM and the other on Hill 204.1. From the above position we can put down some speculating fires on the area to try and stir up some movement and determine the status of the enemy guns, if possible.  

A quiet set of turns, the building calm before the storm I should hope.
1806-1807
The stonk on the Pak40 goes in, blissfully on target. Rounds straddle the trench, hopefully injuring the crew or forcing them to hide. A direct hit is likely in its future as the barrage is ongoing as the turn ends. 

While the artillery goes in the remaining three cruisers from 10 Troop, C Squadron 5RIDG (which has been forward supporting C Coy of the Rifles) shifts left and coils up near the copse of trees. My intention is to move them into overwatch positions among the trees if the need arises. They are liaising with the Companies 2IC who remains mounted in a halftrack. 
The scouts, for their part, have begun to ford the second little tributary and probe towards Farm 001. 
Overall, there's very little to report on the right this turn, asides from the fact that the German mortar barrage continues to hammer that offensive piece of French terrain. I am, naturally, perfectly content for my opponent to expend indirect ammo in that way. 
1807-1808
The lead dismounted scouts are ambushed as they push up to a raised dirt road, losing (inevitably) a Bren gunner. He is killed outright by a MG at point blank range, situated in the reverse slope of the raised road. They do not actually spot the offending MG and therefore automatically continue with the pre-planned "hunt" waypoint given to them. This promptly gets the section leader shot; wounded by a rifle. The third able man reports possible contact - but from a different direction and location than expected. There seems to be more enemy contact further to the right, in addition to the MG to the front. 

Draper has evidently outposted the immediate vicinity of Farm 001. The surviving man crawls back to the rest of the section. 
In fact, this turn I detect similar outposts on the extreme right flank as well. I am not sure if these were already known due to pre-battle intel or some intensely lucky scanning by the armoured car crews, but in any event Draper clearly has units forward of the water obstacle across the entire area of operations. I am speculating that most of these are squad-sized tripwires at best, rather than forward fighting positions.
1808-1809
On the right "OAK" is reached and touched by an armoured car without incident.

I think the time has arrived to slowly start applying some actual combat power from my massive tactical reserve. I've identified a good OP for the battlegroup's FOO to bring some supportive fires down on the area in and around Obj "TOM". This will help support the movement of dismounted C Company, surely, and more importantly help organise smoke missions to facilitate a crossing by the heavier units. 
Below you can see the selected position, with the mortar stonk still falling on the Pak40s fighting position still on going in the distance.

I'm hopeful that Pak40 is toast, which means we now are dealing with two ATGs known to me from starting intel on the left flank: one in TOM and the other on Hill 204.1. From the above position we can put down some speculating fires on the area to try and stir up some movement and determine the status of the enemy guns, if possible.  

Thanks for the patience, it has been a bit of a crazy week and a half back for me and I didn't have the time to type this all up. Let's get back into it. Last update, we were engaging a Puma which had made a sudden appearance...
1803-1804
All the action is on the right this turn.
The Puma reverses a few feet, just so that the OP can still see it but not the Cromwell, who does not fire a second time. This Puma is soon joined in the west village by a Panther, but the position the big cat takes makes it no immediate threat. 

Enemy artillery fire begins to fall on my right rear at this point, impacting along the muddy riverbed the armoured cars used to move forward. I don't recall seeing any spotting rounds so it seems self-evident that there's a reference point in this dead ground. Right idea, wrong timing from my opponent here; he's punching empty air. 

1804-1805
More movement is reported on either flank this turn. More Panthers are spotted moving along a road behind Farm 002, and again in front of Hill 206.5. OBJ Tom is being built up into quite the Hornet's nest. Likewise, an OP spots a single German moving through west village, armed with just a pistol - someone of import, perhaps?
For all the weaponry facing me, I don't believe Draper really has a clear idea of what is going on. The recce have continued to push up without further incident. 
1805-1806
The call for fire is finally approved on the Pak43. Another 'fire for effect' is satisfyingly called on the Pak40 - and I strongly suspect and worry the mission on this latter AT position shall be off target. 
On the left, C Coy of the Rifles is preparing to ford the first of the two smaller river tributaries and has begun to dismount in anticipation of that. Their harbour is the treeline in which the carrier section had earlier established an OP/LP, you will recall.

On the right, the lead armoured cars have pushed up practically to the edge of the north village, which we know from our starting intel is occupied, without event. The west village continues to play host to its two dangerous armoured guests, but neither have pushed forward into threatening positions this turn either. 
I think it's time for a SITREP.

I think a picture is starting to firm up of Draper's defensive disposition and his intention re: the Panthers. It appears that "THORN" - the sandy ford on the left - is being dominated by fires from high ground near Farm 001 and 002, and the adjacent orchard. I'm a bit surprised so far, as none of my movement - if he can see it - has really suggested "I'm heading there now!" but given that he has a Pak40 covering the stone bridge leading to Farm 001, he likely feels confident he has this much better route covered. Anti-tank guns are like good and bad things, they tend to come in threes, and so far we've identified two Pak40s that can fire into the area leading up to Farm 001. Contrary to some, and I put this mildly, strange beliefs, anti-tank guns are tough to spot at range and tougher to kill when placed in fortifications and we know for a fact the Pak40 on Hill 204.1 has survived a considerable barrage already. I dare to hope the Pak43 on OBJ DICK will be knocked out, but that is equally doubtful given it is entrenched and in a good position. 
At this point I think its safe to say Draper has evenly distributed his defences. This makes selecting a course of action a bit frustrating. I've been able to bring up the entirety of the C Company tactical group, less the loss of that unfortunately exposed Cromwell, up to a position where they can get into action. So I am starting to lean towards COA1, the left flank. By contrast, B Company team remains stuck behind Hill 207.8, with the trailing Firefly. I'm well aware that trying to move over that ground once more risks fire from the Pak43. Every shot it gets will help it get on target and its only a matter of time before it strikes a fully loaded HT. The movement will only result as well in these infantry being dumped in front of a Panther (possibly more) in west village. So things appear, for now, a bit stuck. I will press forward on the right with what I have up there, but there's only so much they can do without infantry. At the very least, and despite the massive risk it poses, I want to test the fordability of the river in front of the west village. I should be able to do this while remaining out of sight of the Panther. 

Btw, Rinaldi, I've tried to recreate your Feierabend AAR, but for me Gnojau remains a death trap for the Red team. Tried it several times and although I managed to score a victory the Red team is always doomed.
But again, superb AAR. Really enjoyed that.

Fantastic !!
What testimony! Did the lieutenant survive his injuries?
Did Starke survive the war? , I guess so since he gave his testimony ....
do you have a photo of him?
These are questions that we could legitimately ask ourselves if we had not been told before that it was a script report!!
What a talent and what a pleasure to read you
Before, in my youth, I played Squad Leader to recreate the stories read in the testimonials. You do the opposite, it's also a nice tribute to the creators of this game that takes you back in time.
It is also from a tactical point of view a very good illustration.
Your blog becomes essential like @Bil Hardenberger
You have to do like him a fixed post that makes it easy to find the link of your blog
Merci
PS: I saw that I'm late, another one is already here.
I already know that I'm going to have a good time

Thanks for the patience, it has been a bit of a crazy week and a half back for me and I didn't have the time to type this all up. Let's get back into it. Last update, we were engaging a Puma which had made a sudden appearance...
1803-1804
All the action is on the right this turn.
The Puma reverses a few feet, just so that the OP can still see it but not the Cromwell, who does not fire a second time. This Puma is soon joined in the west village by a Panther, but the position the big cat takes makes it no immediate threat. 

Enemy artillery fire begins to fall on my right rear at this point, impacting along the muddy riverbed the armoured cars used to move forward. I don't recall seeing any spotting rounds so it seems self-evident that there's a reference point in this dead ground. Right idea, wrong timing from my opponent here; he's punching empty air. 

1804-1805
More movement is reported on either flank this turn. More Panthers are spotted moving along a road behind Farm 002, and again in front of Hill 206.5. OBJ Tom is being built up into quite the Hornet's nest. Likewise, an OP spots a single German moving through west village, armed with just a pistol - someone of import, perhaps?
For all the weaponry facing me, I don't believe Draper really has a clear idea of what is going on. The recce have continued to push up without further incident. 
1805-1806
The call for fire is finally approved on the Pak43. Another 'fire for effect' is satisfyingly called on the Pak40 - and I strongly suspect and worry the mission on this latter AT position shall be off target. 
On the left, C Coy of the Rifles is preparing to ford the first of the two smaller river tributaries and has begun to dismount in anticipation of that. Their harbour is the treeline in which the carrier section had earlier established an OP/LP, you will recall.

On the right, the lead armoured cars have pushed up practically to the edge of the north village, which we know from our starting intel is occupied, without event. The west village continues to play host to its two dangerous armoured guests, but neither have pushed forward into threatening positions this turn either. 
I think it's time for a SITREP.

I think a picture is starting to firm up of Draper's defensive disposition and his intention re: the Panthers. It appears that "THORN" - the sandy ford on the left - is being dominated by fires from high ground near Farm 001 and 002, and the adjacent orchard. I'm a bit surprised so far, as none of my movement - if he can see it - has really suggested "I'm heading there now!" but given that he has a Pak40 covering the stone bridge leading to Farm 001, he likely feels confident he has this much better route covered. Anti-tank guns are like good and bad things, they tend to come in threes, and so far we've identified two Pak40s that can fire into the area leading up to Farm 001. Contrary to some, and I put this mildly, strange beliefs, anti-tank guns are tough to spot at range and tougher to kill when placed in fortifications and we know for a fact the Pak40 on Hill 204.1 has survived a considerable barrage already. I dare to hope the Pak43 on OBJ DICK will be knocked out, but that is equally doubtful given it is entrenched and in a good position. 
At this point I think its safe to say Draper has evenly distributed his defences. This makes selecting a course of action a bit frustrating. I've been able to bring up the entirety of the C Company tactical group, less the loss of that unfortunately exposed Cromwell, up to a position where they can get into action. So I am starting to lean towards COA1, the left flank. By contrast, B Company team remains stuck behind Hill 207.8, with the trailing Firefly. I'm well aware that trying to move over that ground once more risks fire from the Pak43. Every shot it gets will help it get on target and its only a matter of time before it strikes a fully loaded HT. The movement will only result as well in these infantry being dumped in front of a Panther (possibly more) in west village. So things appear, for now, a bit stuck. I will press forward on the right with what I have up there, but there's only so much they can do without infantry. At the very least, and despite the massive risk it poses, I want to test the fordability of the river in front of the west village. I should be able to do this while remaining out of sight of the Panther. 

The Eighty-Third to Eighty-Fifth Minutes
KG Leino -  Die Mitte
No action on the objective. The SPWs have pulled back in case of an incoming barrage but it never materialises.

Jean is watching the treeline for any signs of a counter-attack. He's getting impatient.

No attack comes so 1 Zug redeploy onto the hill that was KT1 and will probe forward to get eyes on the trees. Hans regrets dropping that cigarette now, his gentleman's region is freezing!
They should be safe from the location of his tank(s) from this angle.

T1 was kept back in case of a counter-attack but as it looks like there's not going to be one he sets off to join KG Perala on the right. The HQ Tiger is backing up to join 1 Zug on the hill.

Jean has had enough, he wants to spill some red blood so he starts inching forward to get a better view of something to shoot. Anything to shoot.

KG Koskela - die Linke
The advance continues unopposed.

2 Ko. in their SPWs draw level with the trees without incident.

Then they start spotting infantry moving around in there. First a fireteam running toward the road.

Then another fireteam lying at the side of the road facing in the other direction (we'll come back to these guys further down).

Then an HQ unit lying not far from the burning T34.

Finally we spot another fireteam heading toward the road. Good job I kept the vehicles buttoned.

A DP gunner lets a couple of bursts loose but his shots fly high. These are the only shots that they take at my forces.

Before we know it the SPWs are past the danger zone.
P2 halted and rotated his turret to the rear to cover their advance.

He spots the team lying facing the wrong way and decides to inflict some pain, 75mm style.

I also ordered the 251/17 from 1 Zug to area fire the trees, forgetting that that isn't actually a turret on that thing he starts to rotate...ever....so....slowly. I hold my breath.
But he makes it and lets loose some shells.

Then he spots another fireteam hunting through the woods.

It's time to get out of here, as he's facing the other way I reverse him (as I can't go through the pain of watching him rotate again) as the T34 cooks off, spraying hot lead into the trees.

As he's backing away yet more contacts are seen heading East, up the treeline and not towards the road. I wonder where he's sending them?

Then, one of the things I was fearful of happens. 2 Zug's last remaining SPW bogs and then immobilises with a full passenger compartment as the rest of the Kompanie go on their merry way. Damn.
I'm going to have to get these out of their vehicle and into 1 Zug's and the Kompanie HQ vehicles. P2 will have to come back to provide covering fire. Not ideal.
What will happen? Will they survive? Will a red tide be unleashed from the trees and mow them down or will the sight of the big cat scare them off? (cue dramatic music)

KG Perala - das Recht
2/1 continue to push up through the scrub, scouting the way ahead. Still no reaction.

The StuG repositions over to the right to cover the advance of the rest of 3 Kompanie.

The scouts are almost at the end of the scrub and into open country.

SITMAP

That went about as well as I could hope for on the left, no armour ambush (as yet) and no heavy AT weapons either. 2 Zug now have no vehicles left with that immobilisation but I plan to offload 1 Zug at SCHWARZ and continue the attack with 2 Zug so they can use their vehicles.
I'll give it a couple more minutes before I commence the attack on the forces in the middle to give the forces on the right time to advance a bit further. It's very slow going for the SPWs through the scrub so it's going to take a while to get them through. Hopefully whatever I do in the middle will convince him to commit the forces at the farm on the right to help out. We'll see.
MMM

Some shots from a singleplayer run through of Feierabend. I'd highly recommend it. Read about it here: https://rinaldiaars.blogspot.com/2022/01/feierabend-aar.html
I tried something a bit more narrative, because I forgot I cannot write creatively to save my life. 

Thanks for the patience, it has been a bit of a crazy week and a half back for me and I didn't have the time to type this all up. Let's get back into it. Last update, we were engaging a Puma which had made a sudden appearance...
1803-1804
All the action is on the right this turn.
The Puma reverses a few feet, just so that the OP can still see it but not the Cromwell, who does not fire a second time. This Puma is soon joined in the west village by a Panther, but the position the big cat takes makes it no immediate threat. 

Enemy artillery fire begins to fall on my right rear at this point, impacting along the muddy riverbed the armoured cars used to move forward. I don't recall seeing any spotting rounds so it seems self-evident that there's a reference point in this dead ground. Right idea, wrong timing from my opponent here; he's punching empty air. 

1804-1805
More movement is reported on either flank this turn. More Panthers are spotted moving along a road behind Farm 002, and again in front of Hill 206.5. OBJ Tom is being built up into quite the Hornet's nest. Likewise, an OP spots a single German moving through west village, armed with just a pistol - someone of import, perhaps?
For all the weaponry facing me, I don't believe Draper really has a clear idea of what is going on. The recce have continued to push up without further incident. 
1805-1806
The call for fire is finally approved on the Pak43. Another 'fire for effect' is satisfyingly called on the Pak40 - and I strongly suspect and worry the mission on this latter AT position shall be off target. 
On the left, C Coy of the Rifles is preparing to ford the first of the two smaller river tributaries and has begun to dismount in anticipation of that. Their harbour is the treeline in which the carrier section had earlier established an OP/LP, you will recall.

On the right, the lead armoured cars have pushed up practically to the edge of the north village, which we know from our starting intel is occupied, without event. The west village continues to play host to its two dangerous armoured guests, but neither have pushed forward into threatening positions this turn either. 
I think it's time for a SITREP.

I think a picture is starting to firm up of Draper's defensive disposition and his intention re: the Panthers. It appears that "THORN" - the sandy ford on the left - is being dominated by fires from high ground near Farm 001 and 002, and the adjacent orchard. I'm a bit surprised so far, as none of my movement - if he can see it - has really suggested "I'm heading there now!" but given that he has a Pak40 covering the stone bridge leading to Farm 001, he likely feels confident he has this much better route covered. Anti-tank guns are like good and bad things, they tend to come in threes, and so far we've identified two Pak40s that can fire into the area leading up to Farm 001. Contrary to some, and I put this mildly, strange beliefs, anti-tank guns are tough to spot at range and tougher to kill when placed in fortifications and we know for a fact the Pak40 on Hill 204.1 has survived a considerable barrage already. I dare to hope the Pak43 on OBJ DICK will be knocked out, but that is equally doubtful given it is entrenched and in a good position. 
At this point I think its safe to say Draper has evenly distributed his defences. This makes selecting a course of action a bit frustrating. I've been able to bring up the entirety of the C Company tactical group, less the loss of that unfortunately exposed Cromwell, up to a position where they can get into action. So I am starting to lean towards COA1, the left flank. By contrast, B Company team remains stuck behind Hill 207.8, with the trailing Firefly. I'm well aware that trying to move over that ground once more risks fire from the Pak43. Every shot it gets will help it get on target and its only a matter of time before it strikes a fully loaded HT. The movement will only result as well in these infantry being dumped in front of a Panther (possibly more) in west village. So things appear, for now, a bit stuck. I will press forward on the right with what I have up there, but there's only so much they can do without infantry. At the very least, and despite the massive risk it poses, I want to test the fordability of the river in front of the west village. I should be able to do this while remaining out of sight of the Panther. 

The Airborne section-level mortars never have HE in any event, if I recall correctly. 

They are, but none of them have HE in this scenario. They don't even have any WP left, just one Smoke round in most if not all Sections.

So Let's cover a few more turns. I ended off with about 1:50:00 left in the match, this post will take us up to about 1:30:00ish.
We start where we left off, with the remnants of the first infantry attack continuing to try and get into the buildings on the far left of the main highway. It isn't going well and casualties continue to mount for the German infantry. What's more, the casualties are piling up among the most important members of the squad (squad leaders, MG gunners, etc.).

A German squad manages to infiltrate somewhat up the road.
 

 


An adjusted target arc on the Vickers MGs takes care of that quite easily.
A foolish German rifleman crouching in a ruined building decides to challenge the superiority of .303

He is quickly shown the error of his ways by a sniper.

In the meantime, an assault howitzer has been spotted

The squads that see it are quickly retreated back into the vast array of buildings (though not before a Bren gunner decides to take a few pot shots at the exposed commander, who thankfully did not immediately return fire when he buttoned up).
While the German infantry advance has largely begun to lose steam, there are still teams and remnants managing to find their way up the street.

A 2 man MG team (or perhaps the leftovers of a squad that was roughly handled) are seen by a PIAT team I had infiltrated into a building. The PIAT rifleman opens fire on the German MG team, killing both (the PIAT gunner let off a round but it didn't kill anyone).


.303 Round: 2
Puny German Weaponry: 0
Not wanting to be outdone, a German Rambo with an Mp40 slung over his back picks up an MG42 and begins to open fire on the snipers (no doubt enraged by what he just saw).

In an event that will no doubt enrage the German attackers even more, a German rifleman is spotted doing buddy aid on a dead comrade

Sadly for him, the British snipers show no mercy

 
Worryingly, while this infantry combat has been going on, the German vehicles have been inching closer. 


I have begun a retreat of most of my forces (such as the  MG teams) away from frontline buildings where they are vulnerable to direct fire from the vehicles. Sadly, before all of the men can get away, the assault howitzer pulls of a beautiful shot and wipes out 2 of the snipers.
Thankfully, I still have some 6 pound AT guns on hand to meet the German vehicle push.
The first German vehicle to try its hand is the Stug III

The 6 pounder scores a direct hit, forcing the Stug to drive off, I'm unsure of the extent of the damage, the status of the main gun is unknown.

The next to try its luck is the PZIII

It manages to survive a first direct hit

But a second direct sends the Panzer III directly to Mars

 
Some of my men hear German vehicles moving down the (mined) main road.

The first vehicle falls victim to the mines

The poor victim is spotted and its whatever this monstrosity is

The mines quickly claim another armoured car variant

Meanwhile on the AT gun front, the assault howitzer has tried its luck against the AT gun


Two direct hits are scored against it, but sadly the AT gun had no AP left, so these are HE rounds. Still, there is hope that maybe the gun was knocked out.
A PIAT team I snuck up to try and take out the assault howitzer miss and take a casualty while trying to escape.

One of my biggest worries is the German wirbelwind vehicle that they have sitting near the beginning of the road (near where the first infantry attacked occurred). A PIAT team was also brought up to try and deal with it.

Sadly they missed, but they did hit a nearby tree trunk, with the resulting shrapnel killing one of the crewman inside the Wirbelwind. The team manages to escape to fight another day.
My session ends with a worrying sign, a new German attack from a different direction.

This attack is coming from the right flank, and it is heading directly towards bridge east. Thankfully, no heavy vehicles have been spotting but they have yet another German armoured car variant supporting the attack (Germany had a lot of armoured cars it seems). Also working to my advantage is the fact that I had already begun pulling weapons teams away from the highway attack, so I can quickly shift them to meet this new (largely infantry) attack.

Apologies for the lack of an update; I intend to have one out this week. Thanks for the patience!

Apologies for the lack of an update; I intend to have one out this week. Thanks for the patience!

Elizabeth slams down her quart pot of Whitehall Winter Warmer. "Did that colonial say 'Imaginary'?"

I follow this guy on Twitter - Jon Hawkes, who is an industry commentator on land warfare technology and a Principal at Janes, where he previously was Associate Director and Head of Land Warfare for some years having fulfilled a range of military ground vehicles market forecasting, industry analysis and defence research roles before that.
He shares some interesting posts re modern AFV/IFV design and technology and he's shifted a lot of stuff to his new blog which some of you may find interesting.
https://www.tanknology.co.uk/post/welcome

Apologies for the lack of an update; I intend to have one out this week. Thanks for the patience!

To bolster the point of the OP, in Ralph Peter's acclaimed novel Red Army the Soviets prioritise the destruction of the Dutch and Belgian units holding the flanks of the British Corps. Clearly the Soviets saw these units as the greatest threat to their operations and made their neutralisation a primary objective. The thought of a panzerkiel of M-48s driving into the flank of an Operational Manoeuvre Group must have made for some sleepless nights at First Western Front HQ.

Indeed, perhaps we should add other Cold War heavyweights like Denmark, Bulgaria and Luxembourg. The game just won't be complete without them!

Thanks both, apologies for the delay I just couldn't seem to find time to do the write ups but we've still been playing. We're about 10 minutes ahead of this update so lots to get caught up on and I am resolved to get them done on a more regular basis. Serves me right for having so many games on the go.
A happy new year to all!
MMM

Excellent update and a belated Happy New Year.

The Eighty-Second Minute
KG Leino -  Die Mitte
Everyone who is not in cover gets into cover in case of more 85mm shells. The HQ Tiger backs up a bit, just in case.

We brace for a counterattack...but our Alsatian pitbull feels like he can take on the whole of the Soviet Union by himself!

KG Koskela - die Linke
Panther 1 finishes off the T34, even though it's clearly not been re-crewed and is likely deader than flares.

With that burning the Panthers move out to provide overwatch for the StuG.

The tank's crew is spotted retreating into the trees, I assume they were hiding next to their vehicle and decided that hot shards of shrapnel were not good for their health.

2 Kompanie, what's left of them, move out behind the panzers. Everyone is buttoned given my luck, or lack thereof, with keeping the gunners alive thus far.

KG Perala - das Recht
2/1 push up through the scrub, scouting the way ahead. No reaction so far.

An overview of the ground they are traversing. You can't really tell from this picture but they are on a reverse slope from the farm and any forces he has there and there's a lot of bushes and rough ground between them and his tanks. Even if he does hear my forces passing through it would take him a while to attack through this stuff and I'd certainly have more than enough warning.
I need to be wary of a welcoming committee at the other end of it though where the terrain opens right up.

2 Zug have moved over from their screening position and are preparing to follow the scouts. I'm a bit nervous about moving them through the rough ground, I'll have to try and pick my way through as many clear patches as possible.

SITMAP

A quiet turn, some mortars are still falling scattered all over the place, this turn one landed way to the left of the area marked as the suspected target in the image above, I really do think they are spotting rounds but nobody is around to see them land.
I will see if he counterattacks in the middle, I'm still trying to get a solid spot on the tanks in the treeline. I assume they are both in there although I only have one contact icon. If he doesn't make any moves in the next few minutes I will launch an attack of my own, but I don't want to do it too early as he could smash into my right flank with the tanks from the farm over on the right. I need him to be preoccupied with KG Perala so he can't commit them to defeating KG Leino.
On the left I'm not sure what he could do to stop me if he has no forces up the highway. The infantry that were in the trees may be able to do some damage to the SPWs if they get close enough, I may have to drop one of the Panthers back a bit to provide some flank protection.
MMM

From my latest blog post, read it here: https://rinaldiaars.blogspot.com/2022/01/encountering-unexpected-resistance-one.html