16 December, 0700 hrs. The 1st and 2nd Sturm Platoons of the German 3rd Company attack out of the foggy valley (starting visibility = 18″). They will use the table edge where the path enters from the south (bottom of righthand photo) as their JOP and must roll 4+ to succeed in deployment (with a -1 modifier if 4-10 inches from the path, and -2 if 11-16 inches from the path). If a unit fails to deploy twice it is considered lost and unavailable for the game – the platoon SL can try to find them (needing a 4+ to succeed) but if he is so engaged all other units suffer a -1 penalty to their own deployment attempts.
The US units (three squads of the 2nd platoon, one of the 3rd platoon, the two AT guns, the M16 crew, and the Weapons platoon HQ) will use their assigned sleeping locations/houses as Jump Off Points (notations on photos). There is no opening barrage but the Americans will still need to roll 4+ to succeed in deployment on the first turn (to represent their just-woke-up or still-in-bed status). If a Senior Leader succeeds in deployment (and remains at the JOP) he will provide a +1 modifier to units attempting to deploy on that JOP.
From the start, the Germans have trouble getting through the fog – multiple sections of both Sturm Platoons (1st on the left and 2nd on the right) fail to deploy, and both Rifle Grenade teams get lost. The LMG squad of the 1st Platoon finally gets on and moves over the fence toward the houses and an assault squad gets on the table behind them. While an assault squad from the 2nd Platoon comes on with an eye towards the smithy, the Platoon Sergeant of the US 2nd is the only American to make it on the table. He steps into the yard of the smithy – perhaps the distant sound of the German artillery hitting Hosingen to the north has made him uneasy?
The American Sergeant rousts the 3rd squad and gets them to man the firing steps he’d had them build along the tall, sturdy walls of the smithy yard.
The German is having serious trouble getting the 2nd platoon on line: While the assault squad moves slowly up the slope the SL is off in the woods finding both the rifle grenade team and the LMG squad that have gone missing. He gets them sorted out and headed in the correct direction as the second assault squad manages to find their way to the battle on their own.
None of the new arrivals can see anything in the fog, however, so they can do nothing but listen to the sound of gunfire and cries of distress as the first assault squad comes into view of the Americans. The resulting firefight is one-sided as the walls of the smithy absorb the incoming fire while all but one of the attackers is felled in the snow, leaving the lone survivor to run back down the hill.
To the west an LMG team has moved up, followed by (most of) an assault squad – crossing the fence has played havoc with the neatness of the German attack. The Platoon’s SL finds the missing Grenadiers in the woods, but they seem to be taking their time finding the battle. Luckily for the Germans the Americans on this side of the table have yet to make an appearance, except for…
Apologies for the ‘chorus line’ look – placing the section on the table edge like that is fine, but there’s no reason for me to have retained that formation when they advanced…oh well…
…the crew of the M16 (quad 50-cal halftrack) which has gotten in gear and headed off down the road to the east to investigate the sounds of gunfire at the smithy. The German LMG team opens fire and puts fright into the driver (he is, after all, a rear-echelon ranker) who steps on the gas and races ahead for the nearest cover.
While this is taking place the two 57mm AT-gun crews man their weapons. The section JL runs across the road and orders the team in the smithy to get turned to face the threat coming up out of the valley – they suffer a casualty from fire as the Germans have made their way into range.
The SL of the German’s 2nd platoon is still missing in the fog so the SL of the 1st comes on to help out by directing fire from the nearby team of his LMG squad on the smithy.
This, along with fire from the (finally moved into range) LMG and assault squads of the 2nd platoon, overwhelms the Americans in the smithy.
Having lost six men in the (now very lopsided) battle, the Sergeant pulls the remainder off the wall and joins the squad leader in rallying their resolve.
An overview at the end of the first turn:
Now that the bullets are flying, the Americans -having failed in repeated attempts to rouse units into action- hope to get something on the table to help the ravaged smithy (and scared AA driver) repel the attackers streaming up the hill out of the fog – which has thinned a bit so that visibility has risen to 24″
The American 2nd squad deploys into the windows of the end house and opens fire on the approaching assault squad. The halftrack driver is convinced to reverse a bit so that the gunner can join in, but this move is met by more fire from the alert LMG team.
The poor driver (who feels himself very put-upon…) once again says “Screw this!”, puts the halftrack into gear and races ahead away from the nasty bullets.
The Germans suffer their own morale failure as the survivors of the shot-up assault squad break past their LMG-squad comrades, spreading less-than-good-cheer as they go.
Below the smithy, the 2nd platoon SL finally shows up and takes advantage of the lack of return fire to get his troops sorted, readying the second assault squad (moving up past the bodies of the fallen first) into position to rush the smithy. As they close in, the AT gun crew gives up on trying to manhandle their stubborn gun and retreats into the building.
The best laid plans of the Germans, however, are spoiled by the green assault squad (perhaps overeager? …or spooked by the bodies?) who pay no attention to the cautious instructions of the squad leader and run up to the walls of the smithy without any preparation or the use of grenades as they’d been instructed.
(The German player had tried to move up the hill on a command roll of ‘2’ to get within better close combat range, but rolled box-cars for the distance, so…)
A vicious , bloody close-combat ensues that sees only the two American infantry leaders (squad and platoon) and two of the gun crew left standing. They still hold the smithy, but with enough to defend it?
While this had been going on, the German leaders to the west were trying to sort out the mess the M16 / breaking squad had had on their attack against the houses. This type of attack, however, (running across open snow with green troops while under fire) goes about as well as it did historically.
The American squad in the house is joined by the 1st squad that shakes out in a line along the wall across the road and puts fire into the Germans, reducing and pinning the LMG squad.
The Germans don’t give up, though. A fresh assault squad is sent in while leaders work to buck up the morale of the men.
They can’t catch a break.
The American Weapon Platoon guys start up the jeep (with the 50-cal) and move to pour HMG rounds into the advancing Germans.
And if that weren’t bad enough: The mortar section back in town is finally set up and ready for orders, which they receive in a frantic call that dictates a hasty adjustment of a pre-arranged target. It’s a risky move, but they say “Orders are orders” and drop the rounds into their tubes.
It’s enough for the German to assess the damage (three of four assault squads) and prospects of success in the face of (at least) two American squads (in hard cover), five HMGs, and the (unnervingly accurate) mortar fire.
He decides to call off the attack, regroup -try to wrangle some artillery support- and ready the men for another go next hour.
The German Battalion CO is not pleased: His outlook drops a point – getting some support for the next attack will be difficult. The Company CO is still optimistic, and the platoon leaders are not fazed by the defeat. The men of the two Sturm platoons, however, are not at all happy with how it’s gone and will face the next game with a -1 morale modifier.
Both the Battalion and Company commanders on the American side are happy (+1 outlooks), and the 2nd Platoon CO (who was with the 1st squad this game) is also buoyed by the result (+1 also). His men don’t take the news of the destruction of the 3rd Squad in the smithy well, though, and their morale falls to -2.
brawlfactory 