So we've all seen Band of Brothers as Easy Company clear Carentan of fallscrimjager. Both Kent and I had our new armies ready for action, so could my new US Airborne force repeat the feats of Easy Company? What say the troops were lead by Capt Soble rather than Lt Winters?
We rolled up Maximum Attrition so both would be trying to secure the town and destroy as many opposing units as possible.
I was running:
Vet 1st lt
2x para sections with LMGs
1x pathfidner section with BAR
1x Vet inf section (tough fighters)
1x 60mm mortar
1x sniper
1x bazooka
1x 57mm AT gun
1x M16
Kent ran
Vet FJ
2x large FJ sections (LMG, 3-4 SMGs)
1x SS section (3-4 assault rifles + LMG)
1x MMG
1x med mortar
1x 222 AC
1x stug
I had one of my typical cunning plans and left my pathfinders, veterans and M16 (which I've nicknamed the Grim Reaper) flanking, the rest were tasked with securing the town.
Turn 1: The paras advance on the edge of the town. All seems quiet enough
My second section advances to a treeline.
Meanwhile the FJ too are infiltrating the town.
And crossing the fields on the edge of town
Here come the SS.
The 222 advances to the bridge in the centre of the town.
Paras sneaking through the buildings, using the stone walls as cover. So far so good :)
End of turn 1 the stug appears.
Turn 2, the Germans reach the river edge- we ruled it was crossable.
Another FJ section advances along the street heading towards the bridge.
Turn 3: The FJ have crossed the river. I have a para section in the building.
I've lost my 57mm AT gun and bazooka so decide to launch my flank attack, the M16 supporting my "attack". The stug decides to ignore this threat and continue shooting at the paras in the village.
Turn 4- we mean business damn it!
Grim Reaper lets rip down the steet, killing a couple of men but the armoured car decides to get involved...
The 20mm cannon shells ripping through the "Armour" on Grim Reaper- there goes my "tank." So now I've lost my last "AT" option.
The pathfinders continue to advance.
The German MMG redeploys.
Fallschrimjager assault my troops in the building.
Kent scores 8 hits vs my 3. Another section bites the dust.
My other para section races over to assist.
But the Germans act first and let rip with automatic weapons.
Resulting in this:
Captain Soble seeing any hope of promotion slipping way charges in SMG firing but is cut down in the hand to hand fighting.
So now I am down to a sniper and the flanking troops- 7 dead units and I've destroyed....NOTHING!
Yet another SMG/assault rifle squad charges in and slaughters more Americans- or would have if we hadn't remembered they were pinned so needed to pass an order test. With this test they rolled a double 6 for their order and...
...ended up assaulting an empty field instead. My sniper had just killed the German commanding officer right beside this section so maybe that had had an affect on the troops.
The remaining assault rifle armed SS doing their impression of the gunfight at the OK Coral.
So there we have it, with my last dice I finished off the NCO with my sniper so grabbed a consolidation point but lost 7 units in the process!
Result?
A hiding is the only way to describe it. One again Kent concentrated his forces, he was expecting one of my "cunning flank move" plans so went up the middle with everything he had and so one of my sections fought all three of his and the reuslt wasn't pretty.
A good fun game though, the combination of SMGs and assault rifles was nasty- Kent used them well racing forward to get up close and personal and once more his big platoons took a lot of stopping.
Time for a reconsider. Maybe some US airpower would help to keep the tanks and armoured car at bay...
Monday is South Canterbury anniversary day which is a public holiday and we are planning a rematch, a few tweaks will be needed if I am to have a chance to stem the German advance.
Craig
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