CTA 2013 - Mechanised Mayhem and Misadventure - Game 3 - Breakthrough - "The race is on..."

After a frustrating game against Cameron, I was hoping for something better in my next game, but this was the one mission of the weekend I was not looking forward to.

The Breakthrough mission can be a tough one to defend for a mobile force, due to the mobile reserves rule. As it turned out I got drawn to play mate Brett, who was fielding the only other Mechanised force of the weekend, his Armoured American Rifle company...

Bretts force was:

Armored Rifle Company (4th Division)
Armored Rifle Company HQ	50
Armored Rifle Platoon - 3 Sections (5 Bazooka)	295
Armored Rifle Platoon - 2 Sections (3 Bazooka)	235
Armored Anti-tank Platoon - 2 57mm AT guns (late), 1 Bazooka	105
Recon Platoon - 1 Rifle Team	65
Armored Machine-gun Platoon - 4 HMG teams, 2 Bazooka	195
Armored Mortar Platoon - M4 81mm MMC	110
Light Tank Platoon - 4 M5A1 Stuart	210
Field Artillery Battery (155mm) (Veteran) - 4 M1 155mm howitzer	275
Armored Field Artillery Battery (Trained) - 3 Priest	170
Air Observation Post	40

Brett and I chatted the mission through, and rolled off to see who would attack. I won the roll and would attack. Brett groaned as he realised he'd only be able to deploy 2 platoons of his force due to the Mobile Reserves rule...

We chatted this through again, and agreed Brett would better off deploying his infantry dismounted from their half tracks. He would lose all his beloved half track 50cals for the game but would at least get 4 platoons on the board and be able to set up a decent defence to start.

So Brett set up his force as per picture below; Priests to top left, 155mm Howitzers to bottom right and a blocking formation of infantry through the centre and another about to hot foot it to the objective.

Breakthrough vs Brett, just after my Puma recce move...

Knowing I needed a strong force to come on from reserve to attack the objectives, and how inappropriate my other platoons were for the job, and thinking it would take 'forever' for a heavy tank to make it across the board, even if it could, against all Bretts bazookas as I'd be exposing flanks all the way over... that was a none starter.

So I deployed Nebs, Paks and Pumas, and my attacking reserve would be the 2 GPGs and the KTs.

At deployment, I noticed a chance to knock Bretts Howitzers out of the game early... the road led directly to them, and with no infantry protecting them, my Pumas rolled out in their recce moved then pushed up for a first turn assault. The CO and Von Sauken(VS) followed the pumas though trailing somewhat due to the puma recce move, but hoped to join up once the Howitzers were dealt with and could then start moving up behind Bretts infantry heading for the objectives...

My 2iC was left defending the Nebs against Bretts lurking Sherman OP tank...

So the pumas got up close and managed to shoot down one gun team on the way in to the assault. Brett typically removed the only gun I could reach, so I assaulted empty positions, took no defensive fire, and consolidated into the cornfield, pushing back the Staff team. I'd be ready to finish off the howitzers next turn as I reckoned I'd be OK even if he turns the artillery to shoot, it would be 3 shots on a six to hit, I'll take those odds...

The CO and VS decided to storm trooper out of their halftracks, into the cover of the cornfield as Brett had AT guns lurking in the middle woods that would make a mess of my haftracks. The Neb observer who had accompanied their jaunt followed suit, leaping from his kubelwagon. But in a change of mind, I instead left VS behind as I realised if he left his transport it would leave the field leaving him exposed.

My nebs had fired at the howitzers too but failed to hit anything.

Looks OK so far...?

Bretts first turn, one dice for reserves and he gets them rolling a 5. Four Stuarts turn up behind my pumas at point blank range.... groan... 4 main guns and a hail of MG fire into the pumas left one destroyed and 2 bailed, though they passed morale to stay there...

Bretts infantry scampered towards the objectives whilst his HMGs fired at my paks to no effect. His OP Sherman moved up to shoot my nebs but failed to hit.

My CO was hit as was his half track, though luckily I passed my warrior save and he swapped out for the neb observer.

My turn 2 start was not looking too clever now... my pumas both failed to remount... groan again... the only good thing they were doing was tying up Bretts Stuarts away from the objectives. My CO was stranded so dug in in the cornfield. My 2iC decided to put an end to the attention of the sherman OP tank and decided to go for an Iron Cross with his Panzerfaust... hopefully he'd have some help if I could move my Paks over to get a shot and at least bail it first.

To move the paks I had to have one gun cross the stream, so the end gun could keep in command, which required a bog test, sure enough a 1... bogged gun in the stream... The 2iC was feeling a little exposed now... ah well, he was committed now, the sherman would get 3 defensive fire shots hitting on 4s, I then get saves on a 3+, so I knew I couldnt be pinned, and figured I had a fair chance of surviving that... then I just need to hit with my Tank assault 6 Panzerfaust...needing a 3... oh but the small matter of a tank terror test first, needing a 4... failed... poo! With knees knocking the 2ic squirmed back down into the grass, looking for a hole to swallow him up...

Well that was a naff turn 2...

Bretts turn 2 and he tried all he could to finish off the pumas with the stuarts and 155s, but now they were gone to ground in the corn as they hadn't moved so needed 6s to hit... I survived another turn...

Bretts armoured mortars had showed up trying to knock out my paks and MG-ing my CO, who withstood a blaze of fire from the 50cals in his foxhole.

The yank infantry continued their scamper to the objectives and got themselves in position...

Oh and the OP sherman killed the 2ic as he deserved...

More HMG fire at the paks was withstood.

Turn three, and I get reserves... no I don't !...even with VS's reroll nothing showed up... damn!

My Pumas still fail to motivate...

My CO is still stuck in the cornfield, VS is just staying alive keeping his reroll active for next turn... but all my command is no where near the objectives where their motivation rerolls will be needed...

My Paks fire at the HMGs and kill a couple...

Turn three, and Bretts digs in on the objective, and the Pumas are finally dealt to...

Turn 4 I get reserves, one GPG turning up... it quickly moves up, MGs the defenders to no real effect and storm troopers the infantry into the wood ready for an assault next turn.

Brett fires artillery at the newly arrived GPGs causing some consternation, but keeps his infantry quiet preserving their gone to ground in the woods.

Turn 5, I get both reserves; 2nd GPG and KTs. Great, but I am up against it now, a huge line of dug in yank infantry on the objectives, festooned with LMGs and bazookas...But I have little time left... I use the newly arrived mounted GPGs to make a tank escort assault against the end of the yank line in the woods, killing one team, who tuned out to be part of the two element recce platoon, but Brett fails motivation and breaks off this end of the line allowing me to consolidate out of the half tracks pushing him further back.
I now assault with the other dismounted GPGs and they get stuck in and again force Brett back and consolidate forward. I now hold the objective and Brett cannot move to contest it!

Game time is minutes away from finishing and we realise, we simply have to determine whether Brett would be able to knock me back in any way to stop me starting my next turn on the objective uncontested... First the Yank infantry has to unpin, which they fail (German hearts soar!), but the Yank CO looks at them sternly and reaches for his pearl handled pistols, and they pass (Germans hearts fall!)... more artillery falls causing more mayhem, allowing the yanks to assault and just push back the Germans... enough to get a yank team contesting the objective...

Time runs out...game over... after all that frantic last minute effort, its all for nothing... 1-6 against...

I 'cry into my beer' and head home, though even Brett is feeling rather frazzled by it all too! It helped having mate Paul, who had already finished his game, come by for that last turn to oversee we did it right...

Post game thoughts - my main command elements were entirely wasted and did nothing all game - I should have sent at least the CO or VS, or even both with the reserves as they would have given motivation rerolls to keep the assault going, and get troops unpinned from combat...

And was I too bold with the pumas? If Brett hadn't got reserves on the first turn, that part of the plan would have worked... Brett had a one in three chance to get reserves... the odds were in my favour, but were not to be...

So the first day ends and despite heaps of effort... out of three games, I have 5 points, from a maximum possible 18... its all rather deflating... oh well, my luck can only get better next day, right...?

Firestorm Lorraine - Turn One, Game Three - CounterAttack

Continuing our Firestorm Campaign, Brett and I pressed on with our third game...

Brett had won the initiative after the last game and would become the attacker... and chose to attack with his forces to A4 from A3 Luxembourg that he had previously captured. This would mean an attack across the Moselle River, which would mean some bonus field fortifications for the German defenders...

Brett chose to attack with an American Armoured Rifle company (Confident Trained), and I chose to defend with PanzerGrenadiers (Reluctant Trained).

Brett had some Firestorm troops; heavy artillery battery (proxied by Long toms) and AirSupport - Priority. As Brett has Air support we rolled on the weather effect chart, getting a 6 meaning clear skies, curses!

I also had some Firestorm troops - an infantry platoon of variable quality - I rolled a 5 which meant they were Confident Veterans.

Knowing before hand we were playing across the River, I set to making another bridge for my set up 2 days before the game and managed to have it done in time, giving me a modern style bridge with girders newly completed, and a rustic stone bridge and a ford to cross the river satisfying the 3 crossing points required...

On Brett's arrival we rolled the mission, getting Counter Attack, put the river down the middle nominally through no mans land and quickly placed the surrounding terrain. The small hills were classed as "Rises", so block LOS as any other high ground , but classed as Cross Country for movement.

Forces are 1250pts, plus Firestorm troops.

Brett had brought (IIRC...)
HQ- 2 x Rifle teams
2 Armoured Rifle platoons with half tracks
Heavy artillery 155mm (proxied by Long Toms) [FS]
Medium artillery 105mm (proxied by Romulan cloaked stealth bases!)
Tank destroyer platoon; Security section, plus 2 teleporting M10s
Recce platoon with jeeps and armoured cars
Half track Mortar platoon
Half track HMG platoon
Priority Air [FS]
... I think that was it but I get a bit confused looking over all Bretts Yanks, he seems to deploy a veritable parking lot of armour, and its all festooned with those darn 50cals...

I had:
HQ -  2 x SMG 'faust
2 full PanzerGrens with 'faust
1 full PanzerGrens with 'faust (Con vet) [FS]
1 full Pioneers with supply wagon, and 3 flamethrowers
1 x Heavy platoon - 4 x HMG & 2 x 8cm mortars
4 x 2cm AAA (proxied by static launchers)
3 x PaK40
4 x 12cm heavy mortars
4 x PzIV J
2 x Marder IIIM

I placed the 3 trench lines I had covering the left and centre bridges, gapped by the wood, and put an HMG Nest covering these two approaches. I deployed 3 barbed wire sections thanks to the pioneers, covering my side of the three river crossing points...
I then deployed pioneers in the trench lines, backed up by the AAA, Mortars and heavy platoon, and Pak40s in ambush... The heavy platoon was tasked with trying to get to the second exposed objective before it could be claimed by the yanks... if they could get into position with their 4 HMGs they may be able to chuck out enough def fire to throw the Yanks back into the river...

I felt very thin on the ground...I had two mobile platoons to come on, and three infantry platoons who would have to foot slog all the way to the objectives from the opposite table corner to my deployment area... Thank the Gods I had the defences and barbed wire... but that would also impede my own reserves helping me!

So the game gets under way, Brett making a recce move, and then pushing up with one armoured rifles to the modern bridge to attempt a river crossing here with half track 50cal support from the bridge, backed up by mortars firing direct smoke... The 2nd armoured rifles raced (ATDing) for the other exposed objective looking to ford  a quick crossing to claim the exposed objective...

 This tempting target would also attract my pak40 ambush, which would then leave his main assault unmolested...

Smoke and fire covers the German front line to pin and cover the HMG nest and pioneers overlooking the modern bridge.... The recce zoom out looking to make a break for the far ford crossing, only to realise their wheeled vehicles cannot cross the barbed wire at all! The 2nd rifles reach the mid river bank at breakneck speed...

Smoke covers the German lines

Brett even had some dingies for the water crossing - how cool is that!?...

Dingies at the ready for the crossing

Brett's first round of artillery fire , HMGs and planes also manage to pin the pioneers, mortars and AAA, though causes little actually damage other than a 12cm mortar and a AAA gun...

Can the Germans hold on? Heavy platoon poised for a dash to far objective.

The Germans unleash their Pak ambush, (having got no reserves in the first turn),  and fail to unpin everything, reluctant you know?

The pak40s let rip but only destroy 2 half tracks and killing a few teams... from the centre rifle platoon...

The rest of the pioneers and a pak40, shoot up the HMG platoon destroying a half track and killing all the HMG teams on the opposite riverbank...

Paks Ambush

We remember the red dots, dead mortar and AAA gun...

Initial German casualties and pinned platoons

... and dead HMG platoon across the river...

a little bit of payback to the Yank HMGs

Brett has made it across the river and reached the near bank but still faces the HMG nest and pioneers in trenches... The planes swoop in also and murder the heavy platoon trying to get to the 2nd objective... leaving it undefended...

Yanks force a crossing, half tracks with 50cals supporting dingies across the river

The German panzers arrive and are faced with a dilemma... destroy the tank destroyer security section thus forcing their ambush, or see to the remaining infantry looking to force a crossing on the exposed objective... as much as I wanted to kill the potential teleporting M10 threat, the poised infantry were the most dangerous threat and one I could kill as they weren't dug in... a blaze of tank MG fire ripped into the Yanks on the river bank killing all but 2 teams who broke and fled! This stopped the attack on this flank, with only 2 M10s (yet to be revealed) able to cross the barbed wire. I felt I was sacrificing my Panzers to the M10s to do this though... However I got lucky and passed a stormtrooper test to get most of my panzers back behind the flank woods... though one bogged entering the woods...

 Brett then used his recce command team to call in heavy artillery on the panzers, destroying one and bailing another.... and pushed up an armoured car for a flank shot on the panzers in the wood, but missed...

The Germans got more reserves, getting the Marders and ConVet infantry... The infantry moved to assault the armoured car in the woods, the Marders moved to shoot up the tank destroyer security section as the remaining panzers moved out from behind the wood to do the same... on other flank, some teams unpinned eventually allowing the AAA to move closer to defend the objective, the mortars were out of it, never managing to unpin after the first hit artillery hit. but the pioneers were able to push over to the reinforce against the the main Yank thrust... the Paks had previously been knocked out by direct fire from medium artillery battery and other weight of massed fire from the Yanks on my left... I felt I was hanging on by my finger nails here but thankfully the HMG nest still had not been knocked out but continually pinned and smoked turn after turn...

The panzers and Marders combined to kill the security section and the infantry assaulted and killed the armoured car in the woods... as below pic... red dots where the Yanks were mown down by the panzers MG fire...

The other flank hots up, the security section is destroyed...

Brett's turn 5 and time is running out on the game, we've just about played 3 hours and its near 10pm and a work day tomorrow... Brett goes for it with infantry, its a do or die assault time...

Its do or die time for the Yanks, the assault is set up, but the HMG nest isn't pinned

The M10s pop up and wreck a Marder...  More Heavy artillery is called in on the panzers but they manage to only suffer a bail... The planes are shot down again, causing zero damage...

...Even with security section destroyed I can't get close enough to stop the M10s teleporting in...

Brett goes for the assault but this time has failed to pin the HMG nest though has smoked it... but there is enough defensive fire to force back Brett's assault from the HMG nest and pioneers in the trench line to throw back Brett's assault, and at this point he calls it...

As the defender in this mission I auto-win if the attacker fails to capture an objective, I have lost 2 platoons but started with 10 so the game is scored a 5-2 to the Germans. Who'd have thought it?

In retrospect, I think I should have left the Heavy Mortars off in reserve, and deployed another infantry platoon to back up my initial defense. I could then also maybe have thought about attaching out the elements of the Heavy platoon...

I think the best thing I did was shoot up the Yank infantry with the panzers, as without that, they would have been across the river with nothing I could do about it, and as it lucked out, the panzers stayed alive too...

To Brett's credit he kept pushing the situation, even if he only realised how the barbed wire was going to inhibit his troops, after he had deployed and started moving towards it! And quite frankly I felt he was still going to force the situation with his main thrust, but I was pleasantly surprised how my thin line managed to hold out... I just didn't die enough to leave a gap Brett could exploit... My Pioneers were golden, remembering to bring their barbed wire to the party! Definitely a man of the match award ;-)

I think the mantra now is, never leave home without some pioneers!

So this puts Brett back into Luxembourg. No territory lost but none gained either. I won the roll off for initiative for the next game and thus become the attacker. The campaign special rules force me to continue attacking with the Panzer Firestorm troops I have, currently in B3 (Mairy). Do I attack Luxembourg to reclaim it and stabilise the line? Or do I attack B2 (Belgium) to cut off Luxembourg, forcing Brett to suffer Out of Supply conditions in Luxembourg, hopefully making it easier for me to attack at a later time? Or do I try and capture B2 (Verdun) and the 80 campaign victory points it would give me for the city and the bonus 100 campaign points for doing the same? But of course this then produces a thrust to which its flanks could be vulnerable... decisions, decisions!

The only thing we still have to do is work out whether any Firestorm troops were captured after the game...

Stay tuned for more drama...