We had us a right fine fight for the Fourth! It came down to the wire, with several critical die rolls (typically failed) that could have really changed things. My list for the day was:
HQ
2 x SdKfz 250/1s
CiC Panzerknacker, 2iC Panzerknacker
1st Platoon
4 x SdKfz 250/1s
CMD SMG Panzerknacker
2nd Platoon
4 x SdKfz 250/1s
CMD SMG Panzerknacker
1st Panzer Zug
3 x Pz V Panther Ds
Heavy Panzer Zug
1 x Tiger IE
2 x PzIIILs
Complicated, hugh?
This first shot came from Luftwaffa ariel intelligence, and shows the lay of the land, initial
deployments, and my first move. Panthers can be seen advancing on Breakdance's infantry holding the line, while panzergrenadier creep up behind. Also note the Tiger tank with PzIII escorts trying to sneak up the other side of the tracks. This would prove lame, as one of the
PzIIIs got stuck on the track on Turn 1 and never moved again.
Not wanting to spend his half of the game dead, Breakdance kept his tanks well concealed until the oportune moment...
While his infantry enjoyed guarding their most inappropriate objective:
Forces started to build up fast in the yard in front of the church, as the Panthers and two platoons of PanzerGrenadiers made ready for their big assault. While the assault itself didn't generate nearly the hoped for rewards (I killed one guy and he backed out of range) it did push him back from center and allow me to get boys onto the objective. It was contested.
This action also saw the most devistating round of small arms fire in Flames of War history, when the grenadiers opened up with all available machine guns and actually killed stuff. Like, a good handful of stands. It was awsome.
This wasn't:
With half the escort stuck on the tracks, the Tiger (who had cunningly navigated the mountain forrest to evade a second platoon of T-34s and concentrate on the objective) came under devistating anti tank fire from Breakdance's ambush. These guns would go on to kill both Pz. III Ls, a few halftracks, and suffer not a casualty in the effort. His T-34s? They were stuck in the mud:
Casualties were mounting on both sides. Both my grenadier platoons were below half strength, and his infantry was there in name only. Tanks were burning, Komisars were failing rolls, it was getting down to the very nitty gritty. Tanks started to roll, jockying for positions around the stone village. Again, the Luftwaffa was able to provide us with a closer view of the action:
[IMG]http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r56/utini420/Kiev%20Campaign/KievCampaignGame5Tactical165.jpg[/IMG]
In other words, things were going my way!
Thing about Panthers, when they shoot things those things explode. Breakdance double bailed this guy with Maria, as close to the board edge as it looks (with a slope!) but he passed his motivation tests, jumped back in his tank, and killed her and her bailed out friend.
The only thing I really had to worry about was his second platoon of T-34s:
It had been taking so long to kill all the stinkin' little tankettes that I was becomming concerned that I would actually have to do something about these tanks, rather than just winning the game while they rolled in the mud for hours on end.
At this point, I was down to my HQ officers, two platoon leaders, one MG team and 2 Panthers. First platoon would not last the day, but neitehr unit ever failed its moral. They were killed to a man and will be decorated acordingly. Most of their transports had been removed. My Panthers had the very simple job of killing everything they could see before any of it could kill the one and only infantry stand in the army, still stubornly contesting the objective from the bottom of his fox hole. As the last Soviet tank in town popped its top, this was the scene around the objective:
But we held.
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