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Okay Fight Fans here are the terms

8K
Large Map
Hellcat ( UK all )
VikingNo2 ( Germany/Italy )
10% arty
Air what ever pops up
1944

First turns are usally slow but not this one, Smoke gets droped by Hellcat all across the front, Airborn troops get droped all along the rear


The Airborn that lands in the middle gets beat up pretty bad but the Airborn that lands in the North and South I can't do much about.

A full company from the looks of it get droped in the center they land right on my SP mortor park. The mortors and the arty guards desend on the poor airborn but there are just too many of them, next turn I'll see how much damage they will do

Back to you Hellcat

oh crikee! all hells breaking loose on turn 1

our map is a rather wide open meeting engagement type with the usual band of vh in the centre sector and one each on our sides... The central features include hills and a forested area...

British Airborne landed (strangely early for some reason as I had set their landing time individually to take place sometime later - exact time classified) Whether this would have enhanced their survivability can only be speculated upon. As it is, they've been rather 'done in' which is a shame really... A lone tetrarch did manage to score a vehicle kill however :p

Royal Artillery dropped quite a smoke screen to make up for the wide open killing ground that will need to be covered by our advance (Visibility is 18). German artillery has already begun shelling forward positions as well as counter battery fire.

Recon forces have engaged enemy recon forces, a mix of german and italian, with some success. We have also secured some of the central objective areas.

Panther tanks have been sighted in the far South and we lost an achilles down there while trading shots. The gunner did report he had hit a vulnerable location just before it fired back and blew the crew out of the turret (not vulnerable enough - clearly! :rolleyes: )

Something of a skirmish has broken out in the woodland also, whether this is purely enemy recon elements or the vanguard of an assault remains to be ascertained.

Anti-Tank guns have been spotted all across the central sector also... some of these have been targeted and we hope to be dealing with them in the very near future...

It doesn't look likely any kind of link-up can be made with our airborne boys before they are wiped out or captured Why the arrived so early remains a mystery, some duffer in the RAF no doubt had an engagement and didn't wish to be late

All in all not a bad turn 1 (if somewhat hectic)

In the center airdrop zone 3 more airborn squads get eliminated, one also gets eliminate in the North, in the south another glider comes in and the Airborn are hidding, they will have to go untouched, I can't spare the units right now.


At the front(which is any direction I happened to be facing) , I take the southern Vhexes, a TD is killed as well as a Staghound in the south, ells where a couple of heavy armored cars and halftracks die, it's easy to kill thing since I can shoot in any direct and probably hit something:rolleyes:

mmmm... exactly what happened to my synchronised air landing can be summed up in the words 'balls up!'... more piecemeal landings have given Jerry the opportunity to mop up at leisure... what a disappointment

However, it gives the plucky Brits a chance to what they do best... keep a cool head and make the best of a bad situation...

A situation getting worse by the appearance of Tigers and even Sturmtigers... Despite commands to not engage them just yet the kats have still managed to take some pot shots at our boys heading to the front lines...

On the hill in the North our boys attempted to assault a panther without much success...

The VHs Viking proudly announced he had turned have been turned back red, white and blue (hurrah! ) Leaving all the central vhs a nice pattern (BRITISH!) :p

Most of our fighting this turn has taken place around a ridge in the central woodlands where we sent some SS troops into full retreat as well as some of their Italian friends (man when those guys run, they RUN a LONG WAY!) The fighting here was quite fierce and mostly an infantry and light vehicle affair. We can report that we managed to make some gains here (this turn at least)

There has been no word from the air landing groups and one can only hope some of them are alive and in a position to give Jerry 'what for' if the opportunity arises... our thoughts and hopes are with you boys!

MORE GLIDERS at least 4 more airborn tanks get dropped

Not much action this turn, killed two heavy armored cars and two halftracks, pushed some infantry back as well

Turn 3 -

the only gliders to actually land on time arrived on turn 3 - unable to find their airborne escort and already surrounded the Tetrarchs open up on their oppressors destroying 2 mortar halftracks, 1 SSMG unit and generally running about the rear area. In the North the Tetrarch CS vehicle actually finds some airborne boys holding out! Despite a terrible execution of the air landing plan valuable enemy units are being tied down:p

meanwhile... at the front... Despite the constant and devastating enemy artillery the British troops make some more gains in the woodland area in the centre... The ridge has been held and the infantry press on, finding a Sturmtiger in the bushes Despite a valiant assault from a platoon hq it remains there and will likely pose a considerable obstacle

Enemy armour (supported by Anti Tank and Triple positions) have taken up positions all along the northern and southern ridges... However...

In the south one panther g has been blown to bits in a superb crossfire.

In the North, possibly spurred on by this news, an enemy panther in a similar position was spotted and also destroyed by an achilles

The battle rages on...

Killed two cromwells and several infantry squads as well as two halftracks

a quiet turn this time... Viking forgot to mention last turn that he had also secured the northern central vh cluster... I've not managed to move him off it yet either...

I believe the tetrarchs have had their day in Viking's back yard...

Killed a few Tanks, in the center the heavy fighting continues. I found a challenger:eek: Very dangeruos peice of gear

There is still intense fighting around central ridge and woodland, Viking has brought up halftracks and we suspect tanks lurking in the trees also...

Retaken two of the northern VHs (but unsure whether they can be held for long) for the time being at least...:rolleyes:

shot up a few Italians mainly...

More fighting in the wood, Strumtiger making the Brits pay, there are big British tanks in the wood, but so far my infantry can't get at them. Back to you

Sturmtiger? What Sturmtiger??? Oh you mean that burned up wreck on the road...

The Battle of the ridge continues at quite a pace, we had been forced back onto the ridge itself but have pushed Jerry back again once more.

We've also mopped up the few infantry units we can see elsewhere...

we're almost ready for the big push

word from Jerry's back yard has gone silent, it seems the abortive landing operation has finally been silenced

payback coming up...

The StumTiger had a partner and it exacted some revenge, a Challanger a Cromwell and a SP mortor die in the woods and some infantry, AUX units have been spotted so now we have both played our hand. Hellcat's airdrop forced me to call reinforcement early:mad:

This is a fast paced battle I like it, except for the part where my stuff gets blown up:rolleyes:

That comet will be missed

Not a great deal to report... As Viking correctly asserts I am in the process of brining my AUX units into the fray... We destroyed a couple of enemy halftracks and an enemy bofors gun in the Jerry back yard...

The central woodlands and ridges have been the main focal point for a great deal of the fighting with a central sector of perhaps 4 or 5 hexes across being taken and given up and retaken by both sides... Viking has managed to turn some of the central vhs now...

The next few rounds will be critical!

Killed a tank in the woods of death, and a M16 down south, I think this is the calm before the strom, I took a few more Vhexs;)

my storm may well only be a storm in a teacup:(

lost a couple of tanks this round...

We did nail a panther in the North however, as well as some Italian freedom loving partisans...

more fighting in the woods and over the central band of vhs... at least my arty was on target for once...

we fight on but for how much longer?

Many infantry sie this ruen and some halftracks, advancing on all front now

we fight back but possibly in vain... a few kills this turn and we retake a few vhs... however I fear Viking may be about to win the day...

kill 4 tanks and some halftraks continuing the advance

We surrender! F9 results as follows:

Viking - Winner - Decisive 15137
Hellcat - Loser - 5201

ok here's my post battle excuses... :p

Things went badly wrong for me with the terrible air landing... It was mean't to come in on Turn 3 but instead fed in piecemeal from Turn 1... This mean't they were not effective at all whereas a 2 company drop with tetrarchs and cs tetrarchs on the 3rd turn (supported by infiltrators) could have really had some punch to it... I'm really not sure why it went wrong as far as timings although I've heard it can be down to reaction times...

Overall this was my greatest setback... It also made me try and fight my way through to the embattled airborne when perhaps I should have just written them off and taken things slower and awith more caution...

The fighting was pretty intense across the front... especially in the woods... Perhaps I should have taken some anti-tank guns in place of Achilles also...? As hey do tend to go up easy...

I perhaps also called my reinforcements too late and the time it took them to reach the front was also an issue...

Viking you were a great opponent and I'm looking forward to a rematch... same sides again???