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Andler

Deployment:

The Germans are few, but good and heavily armed: their OOB includes:
- six Elite squads armed with two MMGs, a HMG, a Lt Mtr and two PSK
- six Engineer squads armed with six LMGs
- four leaders, all of them with a -1 leadership DRM (a B*, two C* and a D*)

The opposing force should be a cavalry detachment, so I expect light AFVs and some infantry. The first should not be a great problem for my StuGs, which will then be free to support my infantry.

I need 250 points for a Minor Victory, 375 (all VP hexes) for a Major.
The main force, with 2 StuG in support, will go straight for the three VP hexes beyond the West bridge, then the engineers will swing south to take the 50 VP hex in the woods. The infantry, which is longer ranged, will - if required - advance along the east bank of the river to flank the defenders of on the South bridge.
The Engineers starting in Andler will take the two VP hexes there and then will attempt to take the VP hex beyond the South bridge.

Note: all screenshots were taken at the end of the German Turn

TURN 1

Turn 1 - German
As soon as the game starts, I spot a M8 armored car and a 76mm M5 AT gun on the east bank of the river, and a HS in the American-controlled VP hex in Andler

Fire Segment
The Lt Mtr pins the 76mm crew, MG fire breaks it and the C leader stacked with it. The most serious threat to StuGs is neutralised, let's go and blast that armored car.

Movement Segment
Two StuGs move towards the West Bridge; as they advance, they discover a HS armed with a .50 cal on the northern hill and a BAZ-armed HS in a house beyond the bridge. The M8 fires on a StuG but misses.
The third StuG moves south, spots another HS in a building and moves adjacent to it.
The Engineer stack in Andler moves adjacent (one squad at a time!) to the HS in the VP hex, which fails its FPF MC and breaks.
The other Engineer stack does not move, as it would mean taking fire from the .50 cal and the M8 MGs (includind its big AAMG).

Defensive Fire Segment
The M8 fires its MGs at a German MMG armed stack and breaks a MMG squad

Advancing Fire Segment
The leading StuG fires at the M8; the gun misses, but the Coaxial MG forces it to Button UP
The trailing StuG fires at the .50 cal-armed HS; its fire has no effect (as expected) but it gains acquisition for the next Fire Segment
The StuG in Andler fires at point-blank range into the house: the fire has no effect but gains acquisition
Engineers in Andler kill the broken HS in the VP hex.

Advance Segment
Engineers take the American- controlled VP hex in Andler (25 VP)

Turn 1 American

Fire Segment
M8 fires its CMG to MMG squads, with no effect

Movement Segment
A M5A1 light tank appears beyond the west bridge, moves forward and stops just after crossing the river
Another M5A1 comes out from the south woods, crosses the south bridge and disappears among the houses in Andler.
A M8 HMC appears beyond the west bridge and follows the M5A1; this AFV, with its 75mm howitzer capable of firing HEAT, is much more dangerous than the Stuarts, so the leading StuG fires at it and destroys it.
The .50 cal-armed HS on the north hill, having no targets, moves east

Defensive Fire
The leading StuG fires Coaxial MG at the broken M5 crew just to keep it at "Broken+" status
The trailing StuG fires at the .50 cal-armed HS with no effect
Lt Mtr fires at M8 armored car with no effect (I am assuming it could have some effect)
Infantry fires on M5 crew and kills the Crew and the leader stacked with them
The engineers in the west fire their LMGs at the .50cal-armed squad with no effect
The StuG in Andler fires at point-blank range on the HS and pins it.
The engineers in Andler kill the HS

Advancing Fire
The M5A1 fires at the leading StuG and kills it [X(]

TURN 2

Turn 2 German

Fire Segment
The StuG in the west kills the M5A1, then pins the .50cal-armed HS with CMG fire
The western Engineer stack breaks the the .50cal-armed HS with LMG fire

Movement Segment
The only visible threat is the BU M8 armored car (the BAZ-armed HS is too far away), so the HMG/Mtr stack moves towards the bridge
An Engineer squad in Andler moves to the non-controlled VP hex
Two Engineers squad in Andler move double time to engage the M5A1 in CC
The StuG in Andler moves adjacent to the M5A1 and discovers another M8 armored car in the VP hex near the south bridge.

Defensive Fire Segment
The M8 near the west bridge fires its CMG (I thought it couldn't) at the just moved German stack (I would have fired in the Movement Segment, with a nice -2 DRM) and breaks the leader and the Lt Mtr squad
The M8 near the south bridge fires at the StuG in Andler and kills it.

Rout Segment
The routing D* leader and squad are interdicted by the M5A1 in Andler and the leader is wounded (my failure, I should have been more careful in selecting the route path)

Advance Segment
The two Engineers in Andler both fail their PAATC and are pinned, while their leader attacks the tank alone.

Close Combat Segment
The lone leader is killed in CC by the M5A1.

No plan survives contact with enemy, but my one is being shattered to pieces.
I am amazed at how easy 37mm guns killed late StuG III Gs (which had 80mm frontal armor). Perhaps both fires scored Critical Hits (it would be nice to know): unfortunately my plan assumed they would easily deal with the light cavalry AFVs and now I lost 2 out of 3.
In the southern sector, the engineers should be able to deal with the M5A1, but I will have to send a leader to Andler, to prevent the Engineers there from going OOC, and the last StuG to kill the M8 (advancing in open terrain with the short-ranged engineers would be suicidal)

Turn 2 American

Fire Segment
The M8 near the west bridge continues firing its CMG and breaks another leader and a squad
The M5A1 in Andler fires at the broken units near the north hill and kills a squad (ignoring the two adjacent Engineer squads)
The M8 near the south bridge fires at the Engineers adjacent to the M5A1 with no effect.

Movement Segment
A 60mm-armed HS appears west of the bridge and is pinned by HMG fire
A leader, a 60-mm armed and a .50cal-armed HS appear near the south bride. The Engineers fire their LMGs but with no results.

Defensive Fire Segment
The StuG fires on the M8 at the west bridge - and misses
German infantry fires at the broken HS on the north hill, just to keep it at "Broken+" status.

Advance Segment
The M8 at the west bridge goes CE

The appearance of the mortar and .50 cal in the south rules out any advance there until the arrival of some reinforcements.

TURN 3

Turn 3 German

Fire Segment
The HMG fires on the M8 at the west bridge and Stuns it.
The StuG fires two HE rounds and its CMG at the 60mm Mtr with no effect
German infantry fires at the 60mm Mtr with no effect
The Engineers in Andler fire their LMGs at the US 60mm Mtr and .50cal with no effect

Movement Segment
German infantry moves towards the west bridge (I hoped the 60mm has a bad day and it did, its fire being ineffective)
The lone remaining unbroken leader moves to a position no more than 2 hexes away from all the squads in the west to - hopefully - prevent them from going OOC.

Defensive Fire Segment
M5A1 fires on Engineers in Andler with no effect
The 60mm Mtr and .50cal near the south bridge fire at the Engineers in Andler, killing a squad and breaking the other

Advancing Fire Segment
The moving German infantry fires on the 60mm-armed HS west of the bridge and kills it.

In the north-west, crossing the bridge should be easy, after the M8 is destroyed; the only remaining BAZ-armed HS has a range of 4, so I can position my squads at range 5 or 6 and fire at full FP. I suppose there are other units at the two 100 VP hexes, but I should be able to wipe them out pretty quickly using infantry and MGs only.
In the south, the situation is becoming increasingly worse: the M5A1 cannot retake the VP hexes, but the HS could move north and I only have a single Engineer squad there.

Turn 3 American

Fire Segment
The M8 west of the bridge fires its CMG at the PSK-armed squads with no effect
The M5A1 fires at the broken Engineer squad in Andler.

Movement Segment
The leader and the two Hs near the south bridge move to the VP hex nearby where the M8 is also stationed.

Defensive Fire Segment
The StuG finally managed to kill the M8 armored car near the west bridge
All German infantry in the west sector fires at the Baz-armed HS with no effect

TURN 4

Turn 4 German

Movement segment
Three infantry (with 2 MMGs and a HMG) and two engineer (with 2 LMGs) squads move west
The two PSK-armed squads move south, with a leader joining them
The StuG also starts moving south, but it is stopped and Shocked by the M5A1 (this was the worst result I expected from 37mm fire)
The engineers in Andler attempt moving to engage the M5A1: 60mm Mtr fire Pins one of them

Defensive Fire Segment
The M5A1, the M8 and the .50cal all fire on the engineers adjacent to the M5A1 with no effect.

Advancing Fire Segment
German infantry pins the BAZ-armed HS beyond the west bridge

Advance Segment
German infantry advances towards the bridge
The unpinned engineer squad in Andler enters CC with the M5A1

Close Combat Segment
The engineer squad Immobilizes the M5A1

Turn 4 American

Administrative Segment
The StuG fails to recover from Shock and becomes an Unconfirmed Kill

Fire Segment
The M8, the 60mm Mtr and the .50cal all fire on the engineer squad in Andler not engaged in CC with no effect

Movement Segment
Another M5A1 appears on the west road, passes the bridge and stops adjacent to the engineer squads (The PSK-armed squads are too far away to engage it, but I think the engineers have a good chance to kill it in CC).

Advancing Fire Segment
The just arrived M5A1 fires at a PSK-armed squad and Pins it. (I would have fired on the engineer squads, which are adjacent and much more dangerous)

Close Combat Segment
The engineers and the M5A1 remain locked in melee with no casualties this turn

TURN 5

Turn 5 German

Administrative Segment
The StuG fails to recovery again and is destroyed. (I have greatly understimated the dangerousness of the American 37mm: the latter is a type of loss I had considerd, but the other two were destroyed by straight penetration of their front armor)

Fire Segment
The engineers near the west bridge fire at the BAZ-armed HS and break it.

Movement Segment
The PSK-armed squads Assault Move south and the M5A1 fires at them with no effect
A MMG and a HMG squad move ad Double Time beyond the bridge but fail to surround the broken HS, which will be free to rout
Another MMG squad moves adjacent to the M5A1 near the west bridge, with the aim of entering CC with the tank

Defensive Fire Segment
The M8, the 60mm Mtr and the .50cal all fire on the engineer squad in Andler not engaged in CC with no effect

Defensive Fire Segment
The two MG-armed squads fire their inherent FP at the leader and broken BAZ-armed HS, but inflict no damage

Rout Segment
The broken HS routs away; the C* leader does not leave the VP hex

Advance Segment
A MMG-armed squad enters CC with the leader in the VP hex just west of the west bridge
Two engineer, a MMG-armed and a C* leader enter CC with the M5A1 near the west bridge
Another engineer squad enters CC with the M5A1 near Andler

Close Combat Segment
The US C* leader and the M5A1 near the west bridge are killed, the M5A1 is immobilised (again) for no German losses

Turn 5 American

Defensive Fire Segment
A MMG-armed squad kill the broken BAZ-armed HS
The HMG fires at the HS that carried the .50cal on the north hill and makes it "Broken+"

The northernmost 100 VP objective is empty, the southernmost is not visible from the 50 VP hex near the west bridge. Now, if I could only deal with those pesky cavalrymen in the South...

TURN 6

Turn 6 German

Movement Segment
A MMG-armed squad moves towards the northernmost 100 VP hex; the other 100 VP hex is also empty
The HMG-armed squad moves towards the southernmost 100 VP hex
A just rallied engineer squad that was broken by German fire in the west moves south to enter CC with the M5A1; all the American units in the VP near the south bridge fire at it, but with no effect
All other German infantry moves south

Advancing Fire Segment
LMG fire from an Engineer squad forces the M8 to Button Up.

Close Combat Segment
Engineers kill the M5A1 near Andler, at least

Turn 6 American

Fire Segment
The 60mm mortar and the .50cal fire on the PSK-armed squads with no effect

Defensive Fire Segment
Engineers fire their LMGs to the American units in the VP hex near the south bridge with no effect
PSK-armed squads fire at the same units, breaking the C* leader and the .50cal-armed HS and pinning the 60mm mortar

Advance Segment
The M8 returns CE

Unless the American has a stroke of luck (e.g. firing 6 rounds with the 60mm mortar), I should have a good chance to take its VP hex (and to advance to the one deep in the forest), provided I manage to keep the M8 suppressed.

TURN 7

Turn 7 German

Movement Segment
A MMG-armed squad takes the northernmost VP hex
The HMG-armed squad is OOC
An engineer HS moves and draws fire from the M8 and the 60mm Mortar, which has no effect
All other infantry units run south towards the South Bridge

Advanced Fire Segment
Fire from engineers and infantry STUN the M8

Turn 7 American

Fire Segment
60mm mortar fires on engineer/MMG stack with no effect

Defensive Fire Segment
PSK fire kills the STUNNED M8
Infantry fire breaks the 60mm-armed HS and wounds the US leader

I should have left a leader with the MG-armed squads in the North; if they go OOC I would not be able to take the last 100 VP hex

TURN 8

Turn 8 German

Movement Segment
Both squads in the North are OOC
German infantry in the south takes the 50 VP hex near the bridge and moves along the road

Advancing fire
German infantry fires at the broken HS and leader to keep them at "Broken+" status.

Turn 8 American

Administrative Segment
American leader rallies

Defensive Fire Segment
German infantry breaks the just rallied leader again

TURN 9

Turn 9 German

Movement Segment
The two squads in the North are OOC again
German infantry movw towards the 50 VP hex in the forest

Advancing Fire Segment
Engineers kill the broken HS in the south woods

Turn 9 American
Nothing happens.

As far as I know, the Americans still have a broken HS somewhere east of the river, near the north hill, but there are no units in the VP hex in the woods. If the leaderless units in the north-west do not go OOC, I will get a Major, otherwise my 275 VP score would only be good for a Minor Victory.

TURN 10

Turn 10 German

Movement Segment
The MMG and HMG squad are both in command and take the second 100 VP hex
German infantry in the south takes the 50 VP hex

Turn 10 American
Nothing happens

The game ended with the Germans controlling all VP hexes and getting a Major Victory.
I thought this scenario would have been easier, and certainly did not expect to lose all my StuGs to armored cars and light tanks. On the other hand, having all the American units not occupying VP hexes charging forward to take the VP hexes in Andler (even though they have enough VP for a Major Victory without them) helped a lot.

Before playing this scenario with the Americans, I wanted to assess the real effectiveness of the US 37mm against the StuGs, so I carried out a brief fire test setting up 10 M5A1 6 hexes away from 10 StuG III G(L) and repeating the test three times.

The M5A1s fired 36 shots at the front aspect of the StuGs and achieved what follows:
- 13 misses [36.1%]
- 17 non-penetrating hits [47.2%]
- 1 Immobilisation [2.8%]
- 2 Shocks [5.6%]
- 3 Kills, all of them with front hull hits [8.3%]

On the one hand, the results of this test reassured me about the soundness of my plan when playing with the Germans; on the other hand, I think I will not try engaging StuGs from the front.

Thanks for the review my friend, I tried to remain as close to the deployment in 'Close Combat' as possible. Seemed like it was fun for the Germans. I tried as the Americans and had 300+ vp at the end... Go figure..

Deployment and Planning

The two HS in Andler have no chance to stop the Germans, which have much greater firepower and AFVs. Their mission is to delay the German Advance by surviving as long as possible. If possible, they will retire and join the US forces at the South Bridge (very unlikely).

The 76mm AT gun is the only AT weapon having a decent chance to kill a StuG; if the Germans go for the West VP hexes it should be capable of killing one or two AFVs. The leader stacked with the gun will join the .50cal HS on the northern hill as soon as possible, to reduce its chance of going OOC. The HS will then move in the building west of the West bridge.

The AFVs in the forward positions will move as soon as possible to higher ground, so as to become harder to hit and to increase their little chance of harming a StuG.

The approaches to both bridges will be covered by a .50cal and a 60mm mortar. Their mission is to slow the German infantry (before it comes so close to be able to fire its inherent FP) and to neutralise their long-range weapons (MMGs, HMG and Lt Mtr), to reduce as much as possible the amount of small arms fire aimed at the M8 armored cars and at the M8 HMC, which must be CE to fire their MA.

The M5A1 and the M8 (the second most powerful AT weapon in the US arsenal) should remain in reserve until the the axis of the German thrust becomes clear. As soon as this occurs, they will quickly rush to the threatened area.

The American player can afford losing the two VP in Andler, as he only needs 325 points to get a Major Victory; even if he loses the VP hex near the South Bridge he will still get a Minor Victory. The American force has great firepower for its size... against infantry targets. Unfortunately, they have very few means to harm the StuGs and most of their AFVs are open-topped and extremely vulnerable to small arms fire.

TURN 1

Turn 1 German

Fire Segment
German infantry breaks one of the HS in Andler

Movement Segment
Two StuGs and some infantry move south in Andler. The HS in the VP hex fires at a German infantry stack with no effect

Advancing Fire Segment
The two StuGs fire at the broken HS with no effect
The infantry fires at the unbroken HS in the VP hex

Rout Segment
The broken HS routs south

Turn 1 American

The HS in the VP hex in Andler is OOC

Movement Segment
The C leader stacked with the 76mm AT gun runs north towards the .50cal-armed HS
The 76mm gun crew attempts to manhandle it but only manages to move it 1 hex
The M8 armored car and the M5A1 at the South bridge move to higher terrain
The 60mm mortar moves to join the .50cal and leader on the wooded hilltop overlooking the plain beyond the South bridge
The M8 HMC and the M5A (the latter going CE to use the road movement rate) race south
The M8 armored car near the West bridge moves to higher terrain on the ridge west of the river

Defensive Fire Segment
A StuG fires smoke in the VP hex, providing extra cover for the HS (thanks!).
The other StuG and the infantry fire but cause no damage.

Rout Segment
The broken HS routs near the South bridge; it is interdicted twice but not harmed

Advance Segment
The 60mm mortar joins the .50cal and leader on the hilltop

TURN 2

Turn 2 German

Fire Segment
StuG fires at the HS in VP hex in Andler with no effect
StuG fires at the broken HS near the South bridge with no effect

Movement Segment
A StuGs moves somewhere but does not become visible

Rout Segment
The broken HS from Andler routs across the south bridge

Turn 2 American

The HS in the VP hex in Andler is OOC

Movement Segment
The C leader and the .50cal-armed HS cross the West bridge
The M8 HMG takes position on level 1 hill, the M5A1 buttons up and moves around the hilltop

Defensive Fire Segment
StuGs break the HS in Andler

Rout Segment
The broken HS in Andler attempts to rout south but is eliminated by interdiction

TURN 3

Turn 3 German

Movement Segment
No German unit are visible. A bried sound of moving AFVs is heard and the American-controlled VP hex in Andler becomes German-controlled. The neutral VP hex remains neutral

Advance Segment
A MMG-armed squad appears just south of Andler.

Turn 3 American

Administrative Segment
The HS escaped from Andler rallies

Fire Segment
The M8 armored car and the M5A1 fire at the German MMG-armed squad with no effect

Movement Segment
The .50cal-armed HS joins the BAZ-armed HS and a B* leader in the building covering the west bridge.
The 60mm mortar takes position to cover the plain before the west bridge
The M5A1 takes position on the hill overlooking the plain south of Andler
The M8 HMG takes position on level 1 hill, the M5A1 buttons up and moves around the hilltop

Defensive Fire Segment
The MMG-armed squad fires at the M8 armored car with no effect

Rout Segment
The broken HS in Andler attempts to rout south but is eliminated by interdiction

I think the AI is going to attack the South Bridge in force. The American forces there are deployed to take advantage of the terrain as much as possible. Now, if I manage to kill the StuGs I should also be able to stop the German infantry, if I don't the StuG will slaughter my light armor and the infantry will overrun my three HS.

TURN 4

Turn 4 German

Movement Segment
A German infantry stack moves toward the neutral VP hex in Andler; the 76mm AT gun fires and breaks two squads
The MMG squad south of Andler moves south; the M8 armored car, two M5A1s, the M8 HMC, the 60mm mortar and the .50cal HMG all fire on it and only get a "Pin" result; the M8 armored car breaks its MA

Rout Segment
Routing German squads take the neutral VP hex

Advance Segment
More infantry moving south appears south of Andler

Turn 4 American

Fire Segment
The M8 HMC, the M5A1 on the east slope, the 60mm mortar and the .50cal fire on the MMG squad and break it
The M5A1 fires its MG on one of the last appearing stacks; I won't risk breaking down the 37mm
The 76mm fires on the broken units in the VP hex; it does not inflict casualties, but keeps them Broken+
The M8 armored car does not fire (MA & AAMG broken down); it will button up and fire its CMG in the Advancing Fire Segment.

Movement Segment
The M8 armored car - being an Open-topped AFV - cannot voluntarily button up.

Defensive Fire Segment
As expected, all the German weapons in range fire at the M8 armored car but their fire has no effect

TURN 5

Turn 5 German

Fire Segment
German MMG-armed squad fires on the M8 armored car and STUNS it. Scratch an American AFV.

Movement Segment
A StuG heading south appears in Andler; the 76mm fires and misses. The StuG stops just before the South bridge
Two other Stugs follow the first one
Three stacks of infantry appear just south of Andler; the .50cal breaks a squad

Defensive Fire Segment
The M5A1 on the north slope fires at a StuG and misses; its BMG pins a German squad
The M8 HMC fires at a StuG and misses
The 60mm mortar fires at infantry but with no effect

Defensive Fire Segment
StuGs fire at the American AFVs; one of them forces the M8 HMC to Button up with its CMG, all others miss

Turn 5 American

Fire Segment
The M5A1 on the north slope kills a StuG and retains ROF; the second round misses and the MA breaks downs; MGs break a German squad
The M5A1 on the east slope has no StuGs in LOS; it breaks a squad
The .50cal kills a squad and pins another
The 60mm mortar breaks a squad and Casualty Reduces another

Movement Segment
The 76mm AT gun crew manhandles the gun so as to fire at the StuGs from the rear

Defensive Fire Segment
Both StuGs fire at the 76mm AT gun and miss
German infantry fires at the 76mm AT gun and kills its crew

TURN 6

Turn 6 German

Fire Segment
Both StuGs fire at the M8 HMC and miss; CMG fire breaks the C leader and the 60mm and .50cal HS on the hilltop.
HMG fires on the broken units on the hilltop with no effect

Movement Segment
German infantry moves south; the M5A1 on the east slope pins 2 squads and a leader

things are starting to look bleak for the Americans: with the mortar and the .50cal out of action, German infantry will have a easier time advancing. There are a couple PSK-armed squads and if infantry comes within its normal range it will easily STUN the M8 HMC.

Turn 6 American

Fire Segment
The M5A1 on the east slope breaks the German HMG squad

Movement Segment
The M8 HMC goes CE
The unbroken HS (the survivors from Andler) attempts to recover one of the unpossessed SW, but is broken by StuG CMG fire.

Defensive Fire Segment
A StuG kills the STUNNED M8 armored car
The other StuG forces the M8 HMC
A LMG kills all the three HS on the hilltop and wounds the leader

Advance Segment
The M8 HMC returns CE

TURN 7

Turn 7 German

Administrative Segment
The M5A1 on the north slope repairs its MA

Fire Segment
A StuG kills the M5A1 on the north slope.
A MMG-armed squad Stuns the M8 HMC

Movement Segment
German infantry moves towards South Bridge

Turn 7 American

Administrative Segment
Both the M8 HMC and the M5A1 on the east slope are OOC

Movement Segment
Since the AI does not appear to be interested in the northern VP hexes, all the units stationed there (a M8 armored car, two leaders and three HS armed with a .50cal, a BAZ and a 60mm mortar) run to the south.

Defensive Fire Segment
The StuGs fire at the M8 HMC and miss