BigDork vs Tiresias - Seizing the Windmill - German Version

[Tiresias]

Turn 10

A quiet turn in the centre of the map is matched by increased ferocity on the left. Despite my efforts to train an MG 42 on the Americans, they manage to bring considerable firepower to bear on 3 platoon's 2nd squad, who are holding the forward-most position in the grove and have now lost two men.

The MG itself opens up on the Americans' flank from the hill. It doesn't appear to hit anything but within a few seconds they are running anyway. It looks more like they've been pulled back, but I can't imagine why. Seconds later, the MG itself suffers a hit, which I think may have come from one of those field guns I spotted earlier. There's no contact to accord with this though, so I can't be sure.

2nd squad will hold for the time being; they are in a decent position behind a wall with ground sloping towards them slightly, making it hard for the Americans to get a shot in. Unfortunately, the same could be said for the American position too. This small group of men will carry on plugging away at each other next turn as well.

Meanwhile, 1st squad to the left of this position are getting bogged down having run into more of the enemy than I had initially thought. Looks like I may not have caught them by surprise too much after all. I'll be sending across a few more guys as reinforcements next turn but the fighting is all over the place at the moment, with clusters of men on both sides running into each other in unexpected places. 1st squad also lose a couple of men this turn, making it a heavy death toll for the Germans during this particular round.

I can't speak for the Americans but I see at least another man go down. Hopefully we're giving as good as we get.

In the centre of the map I spot a few more men running towards the hillside. There's still no fighting, though, and this is useful recovery time for the men of 2 platoon after their retreat a few turns back. Meanwhile, my PaK40 gets a shot off at that HQ squad we saw bounding across the far side of the map last turn. It clearly takes out the man at the back as the others scramble for cover; seconds later they are lost from view.

The conflict on the left flank is ultimately going to be a sideshow, and for the time being I'm happy to let it run its course because in spite of casualties among 3 platoon, I am aware that it has cost the Americans more men and that continues to weaken their prospects of being able to take the hill. But I am concerned about the fact that they are gaining fire superiority around the grove, even though a few of them appear to be moving back.

I think that the impact of this will be relatively slow given the limited LOS options that exist unless they commit to a full-on assault against my position in the trees. That would be inadvisable as a second squad and my PHQ from 3 plt. are deeper into the grove in a reverse slope position, ready to hit the Americans as they appear at the grove's edge.

There is another enticing prospect, too: This turn I calculate a couple of potential moves that my Marder could make if I feel so inclined. The Marder is still back at the road junction, and could circumvent the buildings to two interesting positions where it would have limited cover and a line of retreat. One offers a direct LOS to some American positions around 3rd platoon's 1st squad; the second covers the road at the edge of the grove should the Americans send in armour of their own. Both are hull-down. There is no sign of US armour yet and the Marder might add some interesting firepower to the mix in the battle on my left flank. I'll be considering this further next turn.

[Tiresias]

Turn 11

The fierce fighting on my left flank continues this turn and it's starting to get a bit too difficult for comfort. 3 Platoon's 1st squad in particular feel the heat, losing a couple of men as they try to advance on the extreme left of the map. The front team think better of it and run back into the cover of the trees. They're under control but will break if I try to keep this up. Elements of 3rd squad have crossed from the other grove to help out.

As I mentioned last turn, however, the two groves of trees across which 3 Platoon is spread slope downwards, back towards the open ground that lies between them and the road junction. It seems a natural defensive position and a good place to keep the Americans on the left tied up, preventing them from using these troops to take the hill. I'm going to pull 3 plt's teams back a little, deeper into the trees and try to hold that position for as long as I can. Hopefully the Americans will lose more people from this reverse slope position before they even get a look-in at the VL.

There is no movement in the centre, so either the enemy are advancing slowly or awaiting a bombardment. I wonder if 2 plt's fallback position, higher up the hill, has been spotted. My men are reasonably well spread out in this area should mortar fire have been called in, and any spotter with LOS to their location is likely to have been seen, given our elevated position. There may be rounds falling in 2 plt's area in the coming turns, but I don't think it's going to stop them from being able to put up some resistance later in the battle. Perhaps the enemy are targeting the PaK 40 after it fired last turn.

More worrying is the movement of an unconfirmed contact which looks to be armour. My men have spotted two vehicles so far - a Sherman and a Priest - but both have been obscured from view since we abandoned our position on the lower slopes. This turn, a vehicle of some sort appears to be moving in a position where it could threaten 3 plt on the left flank. It's difficult to establish whether this is indeed happening and how close it is.

I spend a long time as a result working out where a tank might be most sensibly deployed on the left. If the Americans are planning on pushing through the groves, or suppressing my current positions (unaware that my men are about to fall back), it would have to get pretty close before it got LOS on 3 platoon because they are on a slope. That limits any potential approaches, and by moving my Marder a little at the road junction, I discover that I can cover most of them pretty well from a partial hull-down placement. However, without being sure about the approach of armour, I'd prefer to keep my own tank destroyer hidden for now if I can. I opt to move the Marder a little closer to the hull-down spot, while keeping it concealed behind the buildings at the junction.

This picture shows what's going on. The grey circle indicates the position from which the Marder could cover an attack on the groves supported by armour. The grey arrow points to where American armour would have to be to threaten 3 platoon as they pull back deeper into the grove. The blue arrow shows the whereabouts of the current contact. No telling if it's a Priest, Sherman, or something else yet.

I'm worried about moving the Marder at this stage - it's quite vulnerable to mortar fire among other things. But if a tank does appear at the junction, we'll need it to swing into action pretty quickly. Hopefully this manoeuvre will give it the flexibility to cover 3 plt if needed, but pull back to cover approaches to the road junction if not.

[Tiresias]

Sorry for the delay, everyone; been away for a couple of days.

Turn 12

As 3 platoon start to pull back deeper into the groves, the Americans appear to rush out to meet them. It's a bizarre minute of combat in which the fighting takes place at extremely close quarters. 2nd squad's forward MG team, which is covering the brief retreat of the others, is in the thick of things and finds itself just feet away from the nearest GI's.

Casualties remain high. One of 2nd squad's teams are rattled enough to leap over the wall and run towards the hill. By the end of the turn they are back under control thanks to the close presence of their commanding officer, but they are horrendously exposed. Fortunately, it looks like those Americans who ill-advisedly broke cover during this turn are also running.

In the grove to the left, I've pushed 1st squad up too far and they've lost a number of men.

They've also pulled back, however, and have been reinforced by most of 3rd squad, which I was holding in reserve. If the Americans advance further they'll find themselves in the middle of an unpleasant firefight.

My hope now is to try to effect a bloody stalemate for as long as possible from the two reverse slope positions that I am holding in these groves. On the hillside one of 4 platoon's MGs is still heroically firing away at the flank of the American assault on the groves, even though they are down to just two men.

Back at the road junction, I'm going to bring my Marder briefly into view. There is no sign of any movement from that American armour my men thought that they saw advancing a few turns back. More Americans have now pushed up around my positions into the grove and I think there is a good chance that by getting my Marder into that hull-down position I identified last turn, I'll be able to fire off a couple of HE rounds unhindered and inflict some casualties. The tank destroyer is vulnerable to mortar fire, however, and I would expect the Americans to target it with their mortars as soon as it appears. So once it's had a couple of shots I'll pull it back and keep it moving, trying to bring it into firing positions in a fairly random and unexpected way.

There's still very little action in the centre. I wonder if this means an artillery bombardment around 2 platoon's fallback position in the coming turns.

[Heinrich505]

Tiresias,

Your melee picture didn't come through - any chance you can re-submit it? That sounded like some crazy action.

You probably need to engage your Marder but as long as you use it sparingly, and move it often, the mortars might not catch it. Also, your opponent might start thinking there are more than one.

Looking forward to your next installment.

Heinrich505

[John Kettler]

Tiresias,

Nice handle, and I know where it's from!

Turning now to more substantive matters, I think you're right about the source of that shell burst, but I can't even see what it hit in the pic to trigger it. Your electing to make an aggressive move somehow seems very German to me and may well pay off big. If you can catch BD's force on the hop and hit it before a proper counter can be created, you may not only do all sorts of damage but suck the momentum right out of the attack before it's even fully underway. Shall be most interested to see what happens (have two more pages of DAR yet to read).

Regards,

John Kettler

[Heinrich505]

Ah, the picture came up this time around. Yikes, that is bayonet and knife-throwing range.

Heinrich505

[Tiresias]

Ah, the picture came up this time around. Yikes, that is bayonet and knife-throwing range.

Heinrich505

Great, glad it worked. Yes, it's getting pretty vicious over that side of the map.

Thanks for your earlier thoughts on the Marder. I'm going to keep it as mobile as possible; there's room for it to loop round from its position. More about this in the next update.

[Tiresias]

I think you're right about the source of that shell burst, but I can't even see what it hit in the pic to trigger it. Your electing to make an aggressive move somehow seems very German to me and may well pay off big. If you can catch BD's force on the hop and hit it before a proper counter can be created, you may not only do all sorts of damage but suck the momentum right out of the attack before it's even fully underway. Shall be most interested to see what happens (have two more pages of DAR yet to read).

Thanks! Once you read the remaining updates, you'll see that it's become pretty attritional. However I think that the main point about reducing the momentum of any subsequent assault - particularly on the hill - still stands. It's costing me a lot of casualties, however. I'm still very much a beginner at this stuff; it's been an interesting experiment in making the opening strategy flexible, if nothing else.

[Tiresias]

Turn 13

With reference to last turn's wish for a bloody stalemate on the left flank, I guess you should be careful what you wish for. With men running into each other's positions all over the place, this turn sees a welter of casualties on both sides, though as ever it's difficult to tell if the Americans have fared as badly as us. When the dust settles, 3 platoon have had the remainder of their forward squad completely destroyed, with 1st squad (on the far left of the map) severely reduced.

The extreme edge of the map remains relatively stable. 3rd squad have come across to the aid of 1st and, arriving in the nick of time, successfully repel an attempted American advance, visibly inflicting casualties. In the next grove over, however, platoon HQ and a few remaining men from 3rd squad are holding it together with continued support from the MG on the hill. I'm pulling them further down the slope again, to try to cause the Americans as much damage as possible and drain them of men as much as I can. 1st/3rd squads over on the left may yet have an escape route if things get difficult. Unfortunately the men in the other grove have got all the smoke and look more vulnerable as it stands.

Meanwhile my Marder makes its first contribution to the battle, pulling into position and getting two shots off relatively unhindered. The second flies over everyone's heads and crashes into the ground somewhere to the rear of the map. The first, however, is blasted into a row of sheds close to the American position. No telling what damage it does but it looks perilously close to an American MG which has been kicking the proverbial out of my men - if nothing else it should force them to keep their heads down while I pull a few remaining guys in the rightward grove back into a better defensive position.

Fearful of mortar fire, I've ordered the Marder to reverse into a position out of sight straight away. The aim is to cause damage and confusion to the Americans as much as possible, but if possible keep the tank destroyer out of harm's way and have it reappear in other positions. Space to the rear of the road junction means that it can effectively manoeuvre on a loop if necessary, popping up in different firing positions as required. It'll be interesting to see if the Americans send some of their armour up the road during the next turn to counteract this move.

[Tiresias]

Turn 14

Things die down during the next minute or so, but it's unlikely they will stay that way for long. As my Marder pulls back out of view, American soldiers press forward towards the groves, effectively attempting to bisect the two areas currently occupied by the remains of 3 platoon. There's a smattering of gunfire in both directions - frustratingly I don't see any of the enemy getting hit while 1st squad loses another man. On the plus-side, however, most of my men are in good defensive positions.

Here's an overview of what's happening on the left flank. The blue arrow shows the direction of the American movement this turn and you can see how that's splitting my grouping in two. On the right hand side, we have very few men left - 3 plt's HQ team plus some of 3rd squad - 2nd squad are now completely eliminated. On the left, 1st squad's remainder have assembled with the rest of 3rd squad and it will take some effort for them to be dislodged. To cope with this imbalance, I've moved an MG34 team into a nearby field of vines from which they can cover an American down-slope attack towards the HQ team's position. The dotted grey line illustrates this; the grey circle shows where they will race to next turn in order to provide this base of fire.

I'm also going to have the Marder pop up for a few seconds next turn to try to get a couple of rounds off at the Americans again. It will then retreat from view straight away. I've had further unconfirmed signs that some American armour is moving closer to the left flank; nothing concrete as yet however, so it looks to be some way off.

After several minutes' hiatus, there is finally movement in the centre of the map as well. My PaK40 fires a couple of HE rounds towards the distant position where I last saw an HQ unit moving around the map, in the hope of causing them some damage before an expected mortar bombardment. Meanwhile, 4 plt's HQ, which has remained in position since calling in our own bombardment some turns ago, successfully acts as a tripwire for an American approach through the treeline on the hill. As a few GI's poke their heads over the slope, they are met with gunfire from the unit's position and at least one of the enemy soldiers is taken out.

Gratifyingly, we hear shouts from the Americans suggesting that these men are badly rattled. Hopefully they were shaken up by the mortar bombardment earlier on. Whatever the cause, this should signal to my opponent that we are still on the hill and able to mount some sort of resistance. If he wants to take it, he's going to have to do more than just walk up it.

[Tiresias]

Turn 15

As I have been expecting for some turns, mortar rounds start to land all around the PaK40 on the hill. It's an intense bombardment but, with 60 seconds gone, only the team's leader has been incapacitated and the gun is still functioning. That's more than I might have hoped - we'll have to see how long it lasts.

I'm slightly worried about 2 plt's HQ team which is close to the ATG, but the bombardment is so precisely targeted that so far they are unaffected. I'd rather not move them as they are in an optimal position to catch American infantry moving up the hill.

Not that they are likely to need to do so yet. Further down the hill, 4 plt's commander continues to hold off GI's trying to make it out of the treeline. They looked like they were breaking last turn and have now managed to reassemble, but the nasty little skirmish that's developing on the lower slopes should keep the Americans busy for a little while longer yet.

Across on the left flank, I see a second team dash across towards a shed just beyond the grove where 3 plt have a handful of men remaining. They are immediately caught in a crossfire from my MG42 on the hill, and the MG34 team that I moved into the vines to the rear of 3 plt's main position last turn. I see one soldier go down - another man the Americans won't be able to use in their final assault. At the very least 3 plt's advance has cost them some casualties that will weaken them later in the battle.

The shed you can see in the centre of this image looks like an assembly spot that the Americans are using ahead of a concerted assault against the grove, which is occupied by 3plt's c/o and a handful of men from 3rd squad. I'm going to have the Marder fire a few rounds into it from its position back at the road junction, and see if I can cause them a little further anguish before we have to reconsider our position on this flank.

[Tiresias]

Turns 16 and 17

Mortar fire continues to pound the ATG and this time my men aren't so lucky. A couple are left hanging on in there, the others are casualties.

On the left flank, the Americans are piling forward. What remains of my men in the central grove are now right at the rear in reverse slope positions where I hope they'll cause some trouble, but have yet to resume contact. But the remainder of 1st and 3rd squads, in the next grove across, find themselves in the thick of it again. I think they've managed to cause at least one casualty during this latest turn.

I'm becoming increasingly doubtful that 3 platoon will be able to make it back to the junction. Although they've done the Americans quite a bit of damage overall, they're low on numbers, short of smoke and have too much open ground to cross. Back at the junction, I've got a surviving squad from 2 plt which I sent across quite a while back, plus the Marder. The latter winds its way into a nice hull-down position but is unable to get enough LOS on to the shed I was hoping to hit before it reverses. Frustrating, but there you go.

In any case, it's going to need to focus on other matters. As the turn ends, a Sherman appears close to the groves. It's not quite within range of the Marder yet, but I decide to send the tank destroyer into a position where it will cover any move by the Sherman that might threaten my infantry. This decision proves to be the right one, but is poorly executed. Next turn, the Sherman moves into a firing position and gets a round off at the MG team providing my men in the left-most grove with a base of fire. Two of them are instantly killed and the others are left cowering. 3 platoon's withdrawal now seems less plausible than ever.

As this is happening, my tank-destroyer, infuriatingly, is out of view trying to negotiate its way round some foliage. As the turn ends, it's just about reached a hull-down position but needs to rotate about 30 degrees to get a shot at the Sherman. Those could be crucial seconds which decide its fate. The Americans are now assaulting my positions in the grove from all directions. The teams on the far left suffer a couple of other casualties although they are still causing the enemy some grief as well. On the hill, a lone survivor from my MG42 team is still plugging away manfully but with limited results and is now coming under increased amounts of sustained firepower. The fate of the Marder is now utterly critical to my ability to defend the road junction. I don't think 3 plt will be able to hold for much more than another turn or so under this kind of pressure.

Up on the hill, I've got my ATG crew's remaining men to bail out and join the survivors from 2 plt a few yards back. Down in the treeline, 4 plt's commander finally gives up the ghost after stubbornly resisting the Americans for several turns. From his position on a small plateau, I reckon he took three GI's with him as they came up over the slope. It bodes well for 2 plt's ability to further stave off an American attack on the hill: they have about 12 men and a couple of weakened MG42 teams and are in a similar position.

Overall, however, this has been a tough minute of action for the Germans. My long-term capacity to hold the road junction now seems compromised and I don't know how my Marder will fare against the Sherman, given that it is still manoeuvring, albeit from a hull-down position. We'll find out soon enough.

[OrdeaL]

Loving this AAR!

[Tiresias]

Loving this AAR!

Thanks for the message - glad to hear it!

[Tiresias]

Turn 18

As my Marder starts to change its orientation to get a shot at the Sherman, the enemy tank begins to reverse up the hill. Amazingly, and to my total surprise, it's not quick enough to get out of the way. The tank destroyer is able to target an AP round and hit the Sherman before it is out of sight. Moments later I see some crew members leaping out of the vehicle.

The immediate threat of armour on the left flank has been removed, but for most of 3 platoon it's too late. On the far left, my men are overwhelmed by the American advance. They start to crack under the pressure and as they break from cover they are slaughtered.

There are few survivors and those who remain will have little chance of making it back to the relative safety of the road junction. Nevertheless, they have to try. With the Sherman out of the way and no visible mortar threat, I'm going to take the risk of leaving the Marder in its hull-down position for 60 seconds to see if I can keep the Americans pinned while I try to get 3 plt's survivors to safety. A few stragglers from 2 plt's earlier retreat are in a house at the road junction to hold the Americans up.

In the centre of the map, 2 & 4 plts are now starting to engage the Americans from their fallback position. We seem to have caused a few casualties up on the hill and for the second time I can hear the shouts of GI's who appear to be rattled after their trials earlier in the engagement. Hopefully we'll be able to remove a few more from the board before their situation becomes untenable as well. 3 plt's dismissal on the left opens up the threat of a flanking move towards the road junction, but with a handful of men there and the Marder, I think we can still give them a fight. I'm keeping an eye open for that Priest, as well - it's the only other American armoured threat I've spotted during the battle but its impact could be devastating.

[sburke]

Very nice, it can be difficult to make the Marder effective. In Hamel I was able to immobilize a Sherman, but the Marder died in the effort. Looking at the timer in your screenshot, does it really say something like 1:42:xx? Ouch, hard to hold a defence together that long unless you have add'l reinforcements expected.

[Tiresias]

Very nice, it can be difficult to make the Marder effective. In Hamel I was able to immobilize a Sherman, but the Marder died in the effort. Looking at the timer in your screenshot, does it really say something like 1:42:xx? Ouch, hard to hold a defence together that long unless you have add'l reinforcements expected.

Thanks; the vulnerability of the Marder means that I can't leave it in one place for very long. I got a lucky break catching the Sherman from a hull-down spot just as it was trying to reverse. Don't think the gunner's eye was really on the ball because they realised they'd advanced too far and left themselves exposed, so they were trying to pull back when I hit them.

The timing is entirely my fault! Because I'm still learning the game I decided to give it the max time limit so that I could test and develop my skills as much as possible, without forcing my opponent into hasty advances and assaults because of the clock ticking down. I may well lose the battle as a result, but I think it has helped me to hone a few tactical skills and improve.

[Tiresias]

Turn 19

As more Americans emerge from the treeline, their forward teams stumble across more of 2 Plt's remaining force on the hill. For the second time in the battle, the fighting takes place at exceptionally close quarters and several of the GIs break and run as they encounter my men just a few feet away.

But there are casualties on both sides and it shows just how brittle the men of 2 and 4 plts now are, fighting their second encounter of the game after their earlier retreat. A covering MG42 loses a man and the remaining survivor in the team is instantly rattled. These men are unlikely to hold out for long but hopefully they'll take a few more of the Americans with them.

With the Sherman out of action on the left, I've allowed my Marder to take a breather for a minute and see if it can get LOS on the enemy to cause them further casualties. This proves to be a mistake, as mortar fire immediately starts to land around it. Fortunately the tank destroyer escapes unscathed. I've learned my lesson and will be keeping it mobile.

Overall, the situation is becoming more difficult for us by the second, however. The below illustration shows just how few men I now have left on the board. With 3 plt pretty much obliterated on the left flank, the road junction will need to be defended by the Marder and a handful of survivors from 2 plt who managed to make their way down to the junction after the opening stages of the battle. On the hill, their commander and a few stragglers are clinging on with some MG42s. In the last few moments they've caught advancing American infantry by surprise but they won't be able to stand up to a larger force for long.

My main strength is now back at the windmills themselves. 1 plt are at full strength and I've decided to pull them back from the buildings for a number of reasons. First, these structures have few openings from which we can fire on the Americans as they cross the open ground towards the windmills and therefore we will come under superior fire quickly. Second, the buildings are also exposed to any armour (the Priest, for instance) that may emerge on my right flank.

However, the windmills are also right on the crest of the hill, which slopes sharply towards my side of the map thereafter. By pulling my men back from the buildings, I have them in a reverse slope position where the Americans can't see them until they reach the top. This means they will also be out of the way of any armour that my opponent decides to position on the right flank.

Finally, entry to the windmills themselves is through doors which all lie on my side of the slope. If the Americans want to seize these buildings and the VL, they will have to come over the top of the hill, where about 35 of my men are waiting to meet them.

If my forces down at the road junction can at least hold off the American advance, then the enemy infantry currently working its way up the hill through 2 plt's position should arrive tired and weakened at the windmills only to be met with a hail of gunfire from a fully rested, full-strength platoon. So, at least, goes the theory. I'd be surprised if any of 1 plt have even been spotted during the battle so far. They might not save the VL and the battle, but they will certainly be able to fight a bloody last stand.

[John Kettler]

Tiresias,

A most astute tactical analysis!

Regards,

John Kettler

[Tiresias]

Tiresias,

A most astute tactical analysis!

Regards,

John Kettler

Thanks, John. Hope you're right. Personally I reckon I just accidentally stuck the right words in the right order...

[A Canadian Cat]

My main strength is now back at the windmills themselves. 1 plt are at full strength and I've decided to pull them back from the buildings for a number of reasons. First, these structures have few openings from which we can fire on the Americans as they cross the open ground towards the windmills and therefore we will come under superior fire quickly. Second, the buildings are also exposed to any armour (the Priest, for instance) that may emerge on my right flank.

Brilliant idea - putting them out of view of enemy armour is an excellent idea. I hope it pans out for you.

[Tiresias]

Brilliant idea - putting them out of view of enemy armour is an excellent idea. I hope it pans out for you.

Cheers. I read in another post on here recently that most players are too easily suckered into occupying buildings when it's not always the smartest move. I'm hoping that my opponent will do the same when his men get to the summit of the hill and go for the windmills, exposing him to 1 plt as a result.

[Tiresias]

Turns 20 and 21

It's amazing to reflect that only 20 minutes of this battle have passed and already there must be dozens of dead men on both sides. Well, there are on mine, anyway. In the next couple of minutes the battle on the hill rages as intensely as it did before. 2 plt's HQ, along with some supporting riflemen, are lost as my MG42s manage to keep up a decent rate of fire.

Down on the distant right flank the Priest emerges, as I had half expected, and fires off a round which lands in the same area. But I can see I'm hitting the Americans as well and we keep on hearing the cries of frightened men on the other side. If 2 and 4 plt's remaining men are brittle following their previous exertions, it looks as though morale among the enemy has also taken a hit.

Here's a shot of 1 plt's position, which the same infantry will need to negotiate once they have overrun 2/4 plts. I mentioned this in my last post; you can see here that they should be invisible until the enemy are exposed on the ridge as they head for the windmills:

If they are as vulnerable as they sound, I am hopeful that these guys might yet send them running. The Priest would also have to get really, really close to cause them problems.

On the left, 3 plt's obliteration continues as the last men desperately trying to reach the road junction are shot down in the attempt.

I think I sent 3 plt too far into the groves once they had crossed from the junction and this was their undoing. A more deliberate advance would have been sensible. Still, they have done a good job of keeping the Americans busy over there. And it's not over yet. My Marder, having avoided the mortar fire that was landing around it last turn, pulls into a new position where it has LOS on the enemy and gets off two more HE rounds before it reverses to safety. I see one land exactly where it needs to.

Hopefully we can keep that left flank a bit busy with my armour still intact, especially with the Sherman out of action and the Priest engaged elsewhere. I haven't seen any evidence so far that the enemy have more armour lurking in reserve.

[Andrew H.]

Cheers. I read in another post on here recently that most players are too easily suckered into occupying buildings when it's not always the smartest move. I'm hoping that my opponent will do the same when his men get to the summit of the hill and go for the windmills, exposing him to 1 plt as a result.

While I generally agree with this, CMFI is making me revisit my ideas about buildings - so often on these maps you have the choice between being in the rocky, unforgiving open, behind a low wall, or in a nice stone building with thick walls.

****SPOILER*****

After being trounced (by the AI!) in the first scenario "Beyond the Belice", I realized that the key was to grab the buildings and use them as strongpoints to shoot up the unprotected enemy infantry in the open. I "realized" this because it's what the AI did to me.

[Heinrich505]

Tiresias,

Nice job keeping the Marder alive and engaged. It was a close one though - almost got caught by the mortar.

I'll echo the above sentiments about your final placement of the last platoon. There is a strong tendancy to put everyone in the buildings on the objective. Your placement elsewhere very well might catch your opponent by surprise on this one. Good move.

Another version of this would have been to staff the buildings with only scout teams, put up some desultory return fire when he got close to give the impression they were manned, and then pull your scout teams back to safety. He'd blast away at the buildings for a while and then advance cautiously, only to catch it from the full firepower of your platoon in waiting.

You will likely have to pull off a historically accurate counter-attack as usual. German forces were known for the almost immediate counterattack once a position had been wrested from them. Your strategy is shaping up nicely, even though you have suffered heavy losses.

Heinrich505