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The next two turns will be critical. We've got forces shoring up our almost crumbling lines.

This turn, two Scotts destroyed, a .50 cal HT taken out by a sniper! And some infantry forced back.

We're trying now to sandwich the American forces. Their ever-present artillery is making this a complicated task however. Not sure where the infantry and half-tracks keep coming from, but there seems to be no end to them...

Back to you, General Frank.

what´s wrong with the forum ?

it doesn´t post my message !

so here a short one:

waiting for the enemy counterattack
which will for shure be a strong one, when
his reeinforcements join the battle.

we kill some inf + 1 brummbär.

i think we over jumped 1 turn ?

vat is missing in the AAR.

i would say slow but shure the doors
can play their song " this is the end "
( if they would still exist )
our troops must endure again and again
heavy rocket bombardement what is not
killed is supressed behind hope.

also we lose a sherman to these 88mm püppchen
At rockets. we kill nothing much this turn, but
in the before turn a flamer is taken out by close
assault...

Yes, it seems as though I didn't type "post" once I'd finished typing, sorry about that Frank. T'was a wee bit late when I finished that last turn .

Our salvation may well have arrived. The American forces had destroyed almost all of my original AFVs, and it seemed their forces were so deep there would be no stopping them. When we killed a HT full of Engineers, three more appeared behind it next turn. They are like ants!

We have finally begun to feel the tide shift with the arrival of our reinforcements. A hidden Panzershreck team in the center gets a shot off at a Sherman, misses, and is immediately destroyed. An AA MG HT however gets lucky and destroys a US HT with a top hit from a small hill. A Puma finishes off a suppressed M4-Flame, and we exchange heated infantry fire in the North yet.

To the South, the US is still firmly in control.

We are pushing forward, but the US artillery still exacts a high price in the north. We take nearly two squads of casualties from 105 and 155mm rounds STILL raining on us.

In the center, an immobilized Flame HT takes out the Sherman Flame it had been dueling. The Puma & escort could not be rallied. A Ski Squad finds an unsuspecting Ranger squad and eliminates it. The enemy infantry has been suppressed in the north and center as well, but we've managed to flank them in the north and now control the victory hexes there.

Our ill-planned air drop still has a company trudging through the snow hoping to engage the enemy before time runs out.

And indeed, our artillery makes a serious impression on any troops near which it lands as well...

note: mhh.. doy ou have long range arty ?

i saw a lot of tubes of my OB out of action.

was this all breakdown or due to not noticing me
counter battery fire ?

slowly it´s going to end, hope i live the 3-4 turns long the game will last.

the enemies reeinforcements clearly shifted the game.

we fall back now in a desperate try to hold the objectives
formerly captured.....

I do not have any OB/long-range artillery. Did you happen to run out of ammo? Or are those tubes still turned off? Only thing I can think of actually.

To the north, the artillery exchange is ruthless. A PZ IV and ski squads are too suppressed to move forward. Those ski squads that can move silently move up on the pinned US squads, destroying many and pushing the remainder back. The VHs we captured last turn are still ¾ ours, but our artillery smashes both enemy and friendly troops in that area. Our paratroops are slowly arriving to reinforce our efforts there.

In the center, visibility is 100-150m at best, 50m in most cases. The shelling and fighting are terrible. US engineers are pushed back, HTs destroyed, and recon patrols eliminated. Our push forward there is hampered by our inability to rally all our troops, but the enemy is suffering from the same problem.

To the south, our artillery barrage resumes and a SF squad catches a squad of Rangers in the open, and eliminates them. A Brumbar leads a push forward from our lines.

General Frank is doing a very competent job of holding his own given the troops he has left. His combination of artillery and infantry was well-planned and executed. It overwhelmed superior AFVs and Infantry support, pushing us off our center VHs early on. Were it not for the reinforcements, our recovery there would be very questionable. The enemy has held the VHs so long however that I feel a victory is not in our grasp. I suspect history will rate this battle as a draw when all is said and done.

irst thanks in saying i´m doing a competent job. but if i see my remaining units ( i wasted most them - what a bloody job i gave
to them ! ) i can only partly agree.

but i must give back my compliments to vath he his a good player
that now chases my mostly remaining inf. units merciless.

i will try to hold some of the vic. hexes unil end
of game which will be soon. some M36,M18 or M105
could have helped me great here in this game also
some on-board mortars. but i bought only light units
+ off board arty. this experiment wasn´t that succesful...

also i´m not a master like viking in using flametanks i noticed

Down to the last of our original forces, almost all reinforcements now. The majority of my "original" infantry are trudging through the snow in an attempt to reach the enemy from their rear, courtesy of an air drop.

The Americans willl NOT give up. To the north, a Platoon HQ almost eliminates a whole Ski Squad, then another, all with OP-fire. A couple of squads of Rangers also put up a valiant fight before being eliminated.

In the center, we're reclaimimg the VHs, killing off 4 squads of Engineers, but not before one (with 3-4 men left in it) successfully ambushes and destroys a MG HT.

To the south, artillery rains down, but we can't find any enemy squads... It is too silent. We are running out of time.

Back to you, Herr Colonel.

(Frank, do you have "Fast Artillery" turned on?)

yes, turned it again to "on".

soon the game is over, so hope is there that some
of my men will survive the battle.

I was wondering, because I can’t see where the rounds are falling on my replays .

Anyway, it is indeed over. I re-took all the N and Center VHs. The South remains in your hands, as I cut down one Ranger squad, but an Airborne squad behind them eliminated my SF squad. Killed 3-4 more engineers in the center, and the same number of mixed Ranger and HQ sections up north. Was unable to find any more vehicles anywhere.

I think my final artillery barrage may have taken out a squad or two more, had all rockets on and firing.

You have probably pulled off a draw or marginal victory.

My hat’s off to you, General Frank. The low-vis game you played was tactically sound. Your artillery purchases were a perfect compliment to your forces.

I only wish you’d had a greater rear-area presence ; ). I’m having to explain two Airborne Companies returned to base with full ammo loadouts, but needing new boots :p.

I finished the game with 4 of the 5 VH clusters in my control, but since 3 clusters were “per turn”, I think you may have pulled out a victory.

Again, very well-played. You and your never-ending halftrack-riding swarms of infantry! **shudders**

final standings:

13220 German
12768 US

Which means both original forces almost
wiped out

thx. for the good game, vat !