Decided to have a go with the new 510 Schwere Panzerkompanie just to have more than a couple of King tigers on the table, two platoons of two and the CiC in fact. Backing them up was 3 FT Panzer IIIM's, RT Nebs, FT SS Infantry platoon and the RV Volksgrenadier with the assault rifles and an attached shrek.
Gavin turned up with a sea of CT Americans, 10 platoons in total but without the usual artillery park, just 6 * 105mm stumpy variant.
We rolled up cauldron which meant I was defending in the one mission I'd like to have avoided, ah well! I was so looking forward to getting this force onto the table that I forgot photo's for the 1st turn. As such we join the action with a pair of KT's defending my left, a pair with the CiC defending my right and my veteran infantry platoon of to kill some AT guns. US 57mm guns may well be AT10, but since they were almost right in the middle of the board they could hit my KT's in the rear when they moved to defend the flanks.
For some reason I forgot to take some setup photo's so straight into turn one.
On my left a pair of KT's get lucky and destroy two 105mm guns despite them being concealed and GtG. Good start.
On the right my other pair plus the CiC try and do the same to some mortars, after shooting and an assault the situation looks like this…….
…umm, driven off my medium mortars, oops. However, things then get worse. I decide to use my one veteran infantry platoon to pop from ambush and take out those 57mm AT guns….
So that didn't quite go according to plan then. Still, they did manage to wipe out the four guns before being destroyed themselves.
Gavin dumps smoke everywhere to degrade my shooting at this guns. (I think leaving them GtG might have worked better?)
My cats carry on blasting guns and mortars, failing where the 105's are concerned, but the mortars…
Not so lucky this time! I use my consolidation to keep my front armour towards a M10 tank destroy platoon lurking around mid table. That however does expose their rear armour to Gavin's reserves.
And we all know what happens next!
One down four to go. My beasts attempt to return the good news and manage to nail a Sherman.
Whilst the 105's lose two more guns.
Unfortunately my Tigers fail their stormtrooper thus end up facing the wrong way, the US TD don't miss their chance.
They only score two hits and I save them both!
My FT SS Panzer III's arrive from reserve and join the 4 cats in an attempt to kill the main US threat.
Some good rolling see's two of the veteran tank hunters destroyed.
But the pattern repeats itself and my CIC and his compatriot fail to ST, so….
…soon followed by…..
Three kings down, two to go! (And my second platoon destroyed.) My one saving grace is the TD's failing to hit my Panzer III's, slow traverse helped me there. The panzers don't miss their return fire!
Whilst my SS infantry come on from reserve and destroy the US I&R platoon.
American infantry starts coming on from reserve in ever increasing numbers.
The Shermans drive on to an objective but it's not turn six yet! All I can do is bring every gun I've got left to bear on them and…..
…miss, with everything!
The Sherman's consolidate their hold of the objective, whilst the first US infantry platoon has moved on far enough to contest the other objective!
I must move one Tiger to contest this objective, whilst leaving the other one and the three SS panzers to wipe out the Sherman's.
Things start well,
double six just when needed, two Sherman's destroyed, both of which were the ones contesting. And to add insult to injury the Panzer III's KO and bail the last two Sherman's, one failed motivation test and I'm in the clear for now! However, the US infantry keep coming…
Their first assault driven off by defensive fire.
However, two more platoons of them threaten the other objective, again. I've no choice but to leave one King on one objective whilst driving the platoon commander over the hill to contest the other one, things are getting a bit tricky!
Meanwhile the Panzer III's hunt down and destroy a weapons platoon that was doing their best to draw a bead on my SS infantry.
Finally said SS infantry gun down the survivors of the AT platoon who had moved out of the buildings to fire bazookas at the flanks of my Tigers.
With that the Americans had lost six platoons from 10 and Gavin promptly failed his Company motivation roll at the first time of asking! Which was a good thing since I didn't have much hope that my two RT King's were going to survive the attention of thirty infantry teams next turn!
4-3 to the mighty, or not, 510 Schwere Panzerkompanie. Some damn good luck kept them in the game long enough to kill enough Americans to break them. Plus the fact that Gavin gave me some fairly easy platoon kills when a slower US build up would have done for me.
goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
