Le Hamel

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Le Hamel

Unlike the other AARs, this is not the first time I play this scenario. Since it appears to be quite popular, I think the community could appreciate an AAR.

Setup

I divided the British forces into five stacks.

2 Fire support stacks (high-DRM officers, MGs and Lt mortars), to provide long range suppression fire making maximum use of the leaders' DRMs.
2 Manoeuver stacks (low-DRM officers, LMGs and PIATs), to attack the German-held buildings
1 Assault stack (FT/DC), for short-range assault work

Attack Plan

The basic idea is to take as little fire as possible and to deliver as much as possible by avoiding the killing zone near the coast.

The first priority is finding and killing the AT gun: once it is eliminated, the Churchill can roam at will, as the Germans can only use CC to attack the it (a very unlikely proposition).
The second is killing the 81mm mortars, which can be quite deadly in this environment: hindrance hexes affect their To-Hit rolls, but do not modify their 12FP attacks.

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As the game starts, the only visible German units are a 1st Line squad armed with a 50mm light mortar and a 81mm mortar

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Turn 1 - British

In the Fire Segment, all the British unit fire at the German mortars, but the only result they get is pinning the 50mm [:(]. I attempt to call OBA on the 81mm, but I do not get Radio Contact.

In the Movement Segment, the FT-armed squad attempts moving, but is killed in the very first hex by an 81mm bomb. So much for the hindrance provided by the brush hexes [:(]

In the German Defensive Fire Segment, both mortars fire a lot of rounds but with no effect at all.

Turn 1 - German

In the German Fire Segment, German mortar crews fire like madmen (the 50mm fires 6 rounds) but with no casualties for the British

In the British Defensive Fire, the 1st line squad is broken and abandons the Lt Mortar; the Churchill is OOC [:(], so only the mortars and the MMG/HMG fire on the 81mm mortar with no effect. This time, OBA gets Radio Contact but no Battery Access.

The screenshot shows the situation at the end of Turn 1

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Turn 2 - British

I decide not to fire in the British Fire Segment: my infantry should be sheltered by the brush hexes and if I remain here I am afraid the omniscient AI OBA will target this juicy mass of infantry (I should have moved in Turn 1: I was lucky I was not on the receiving end of a FFE in the German Fire Segment).
I had some doubts about moving the leader with the Radio, but since I already had a failed Battery Access and I have not yet located the 75mm AT Gun, I would not risk losing the OBA for a mortar.

In the British Movement Segment, a lone heroical squad Double Times along the road and is not fired, so I follow with the rest of the Infantry. Moving forward, they spot two stacks of German units in the fortified buildings of Le Hamel: none of them are armed with long range MGs, and this would allow me to happily slaughter them remaining out of squad range while my squads fire at half FP.
Since the AT Gun is not there, the Churchill moves forward to have a clear LOS to the 81mm mortar.

In the German Defensive Fire, OBA falls down on my previous assembly area [:D] and breaks a leaderless squad that was unable to keep pace with the other infantry.

In the British Advancing Fire, the Churchill fires on the mortar to gain acquisition, some infantry fires on the broken squad to keep it at Broken+ status and the two stacks with the *** and ** leaders fire on the mortar (who knows? I might get lucky) but with no effect.

In the German Rout Segment, the broken squad routs in the 81mm mortar hex (nice move: I wouldn't have to waste a squad to fire at it).

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Turn 2 - German

GE Fire: OBA continues falling on the rear area; the 81mm fires on the broken squad (no effect)

BR Defensive Fire: OBA will wait until I find a suitable target (the 75mm AT). A well-placed 95mm HE kills the 81mm crew and the broken squad in the same hex [:)]; MG long range fire does no harm (as expected, but lucky hits exist, see the Churchill's one this turn [:D]).

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Turn 3 - British

The Churchill goes OOC; there are several reasons to skip the Fire Segment: my chances to harm the Germans are minimal, GE OBA has a way to fall on my previous turn location and my avenue of approach is sheltered from Germans fire.

British Movement segment:

a squad I sent forward to recon along the road discovers the 75mm AT and a bunch of MG armed 1st Line squads with a B** leader in an inland building (from there on "the MG house"). The AI does not fire on the recon squad (even though it would have been a -3 shot, -2 for Ldr, -2 for FFNAM+FFMO, +1 for brush hindrance). I don't complain (well, I really do [:D]).

The rest of the British force turns north earlier than I planned, taking care not to be in the LOS of the MG house.

German Defensive Fire:

the AI fires to the recon squad, using only the HMG (even though the MMG would also have been in range) with no effect (I was lucky) and does not continue firing even though the HMG retained ROF and there is no other target in sight [&:].

British Advancing Fire:

all the British units fire at the fortified building, just for the sake of it. I do not expect to do much damage with 4 to 7 FP attacks at DRM ranging from +1 to +4, but on the other hand I have nothing better to do.

British Advance:

the recon squad gets out of the MG house LOS before the B** leader decides to fire at full effect.

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Turn 3 - German

German Fire:

OBA continues hitting the rear and the LMG in the west fortified building fires on the A*** (oops, I have advanced one hex too far).

British Defensive Fire:

The Churchill is still OOC [:(].
The C leader attempts to call OBA on the 75mm, but the fire mission drifts off-map and is canceled [:(]
All the British infantry fires on the east fortified building with no appreciable effect (1 unit pinned).

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Turn 4 - British

British Fire:

The C leader attempts to call a Fire Mission on the 75 again, but it drifts 4 hexes away in the middle of nowhere.
The Churchill fires on the east fortified building, with no effect.
The A*** stack fires on the east fortified building with great effect: only a conscript squad remains unbroken.

British Move:

All the infantry - except the A*** stack - moves towards Le Hamel. Fire from the LMG and the 75mm pins a couple squads and breaks the B** leader, but now all of my infantry can fire on the 75mm from the trenches.
I hope they are also out of the area of the next German OBA: even if it hits them, at least they now are in the trenches and not in open ground or brush.

German Defensive Fire:

OBA falls south of the road [:D]

British Advancing Fire:

All infantry fires at the 75mm, just in case.

British Advance:

All infantry enter trenches; the Churchill, since nobody is going to fire at it, goes CE to negate the +1 to hit BU penalty.

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Turn 4 - German

German Fire:

OBA continues falling south of the road; the 75mm fires on the A*** stack (finally, some Intelligence in the AI) with no effect.

British Defensive Fire:

OBA performs some creative landscaping in East Le Hamel.
The Churchill performs another feat of 95mm markmanship on the east fortified building: the D* leader is killed outright, the C* leader breaks and fails its Experience Check becoming a C and all the three squads are Casualty Reduced [&o].
All the infantry fires on the 75mm with no effect.

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Turn 5 - British

British Fire:

OBA only. It's time to exploit the neutralisation of the east fortified building to get closer to the 75mm.

British Movement:

A British squad Assault Moves to draw fire from the 75mm, which breaks it but loses ROF.
Another squad goes scouting a hex on the coast to see if it is in LOS of the 75mm: it isn't, but it is visible from the MG house and the B** leader this time remembers he has two long range MGs: I am lucky, and the fire has no effect (and the HMG breaks down). The Churchill buttons up and moves there (arriving with just the 1 MP required to stop): hard times are coming for the MG house [:D].
British infantry moves forward a little, without exposing to fire from the MG house. I expect German OBA falling on them soon, but I have no better place to go and the trenches should provide some protection.

German Defensive Fire:

None [:D] [:D] [:D]

British Advanced Fire:

The Churchill fires on the MG house (just to gain acquisition for the serious firing in the next British Fire Segment). A squad fires on the broken units in the east fortified building to keep them at "Broken+" status and all the remaining units fire on the 75mm, with no effect.

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Turn 5 - German

German Fire:

No OBA again: I hope they have no more rounds.
The 75mm fires on the A*** stack, the LMG on the B**, both of them with no effect.

British Defensive Fire:

C leader calls again OBA on the 75mm: the Fire Mission arrives, but drifts 3 hexes in the empty area south of the fortified buildings and east of the MG house.
The Churchill fires on the MG house and the infantry fires on the 75mm, without visible results.

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Turn 6 - British

British Fire

The Churchill continues firing on the MG house, the infantry on the 75mm, but no damage is inflicted. A squad fires on the broken units to keep them at "Broken+" status.

German Defensive Fire

The 75mm fires on the A*** stack, the LMG on the B**, with no effect.

Turn 6 - German

German Fire

The 75mm fires on the A*** stack, killing a squad and breaking everybody else [:@] (Do German AT have an endless supply of HE rounds?). The LMG fires on the B** with no effect.

British Defensive Fire

The Churchill is OOC; the infantry fires on the 75mm with no effect. A squad fires on the broken units to keep them at "Broken+" status.

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Turn 7 - British

The Churchill is OOC again [:@] and the C leader with the radio too (who knows, after three drifts it might have achieved a hit on the intended target).

British Fire

All infantry (except one squad that fires on the broken units) fires on the 75mm with no effect. I am beginning to worry: I am stuck and I cannnot go forward (the MG house will slaughter my units as soon as I come into its LOS).

German Defensive Fire

The 75mm does no damage, but the LMG kills the B** leader [:@] (I wonder why the AI didn't add the 1st Line squad to the fire: we are at range 6 and it didn't fire at other targets [&:]). I'm tempted to fall into depression but... "we will fight on the beaches, etc., etc.".

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Turn 7 - German

German Fire

Both the 75 and the LMG fire, but fail to inflict damage.

British Defensive Fire

The Churchill fires at the MG house, the infantry fires at the 75mm, all of them without causing the slightest damage. Then, the last unit firing - a 51mm Lt Mtr - kills the 75mm crew [X(]. Time to move!!!

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Turn 8 - British

British Fire

This is not time to fire: follow me!

British Movement

The Churchill, now that the 75mm is neutralised, moves close to the MG house (within the 1-6 hex range band) and provides cover for the advancing infantry, which moves toward the fortified buildings. German fire during the Movement Segment only breaks a squad, but the others arrive adjacent to the east fortified building.

German Defensive Fire

None - all shots were taken (with little effect [:D]) during the Movement Segment)

British Advancing Fire

The Churchill fires on the MG house, all the others fire on the 81mm mortar (with no effect [:(]).

British Advance

The A*** advances into the east fortified building, ending this segment adjacent to the broken German units (which will be eliminated due to Failure to Rout in the next move [:D]).

I have 2 VP and I must get 13 to achieve a Major Victory. The buildings in Le Hamel are worth 11 VP, the single VP hex west of Le Hamel is worth 4 VP. The two buildings south of le Hamel are worth 1 VP each, but taking them will be more difficult than taking the 4 VP building so I'll leave them to the Germans.

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Turn 8 - German

German Fire

The 81mm mortar fires on the C leader with the radio, with no effect.
All others fire on the 51mm in the same hex with the Churchill, which breaks.

British Defensive Fire

The C leader calls OBA on the MG house, but it drifts 2 hexes north and will hit a hapless Conscript squad. His stack then fires on the 81mm mortar crew and breaks it.
The Churchill fires on the MG house and breaks everyone inside; all 1st line squads fail their Experience Check and become 2nd line squads (with range 4 instead of 6: this should allow my rifle squads to fire at full power with no return fire if they keep at range 5 [:D]).
All other infantry fires on the LMG squad with no effect.

German Rout

The broken units in 12,1 have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run and are eliminated due to Failure to Rout.

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Turn 9 - British

British Fire

OBA breaks the Conscript squad. No other fires.

British Movement

The C leader stack splits and surrounds the 81mm crew. A squad is broken by LMG fire in the process.
The Churchill moves adjacent to the MG house on its west side.
The A*** stack moves adjacent to the LMG squad, which Final Protective Fires but fails the Morale Check and the Experience Check, breaking and becoming a 2nd line squad.
The C* stack moves to surround the MG house; a squad surrounds the LMG squad.

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Turn 9 - British

German Defensive Fire

None [:D]

British Advancing Fire

No need to risk malfunctions

German Rout

4 squads, 1 leader and 1 crew eliminated due to Failure to Rout

British Advance

Most VP hexes in Le Hamel taken by British units.

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Turn 9 - German

British Defensive Fire

OBA Casualty Reduces the Conscript squad, which is subsequently killed by fire from the A*** stack.

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Turn 10 - British

No fire (there are no targets in sight [:D])

British Movement

The A*** stack moves to fire on the 4VP hex in 4,6.
The C* stack moves from the MG house to the stone building adjacent to the VP hex. The 50mm crew fires but does not inflict any casualties.
The C stack and the Churchill cover the southern road