A War of Corporals [US & German side]

[UP844]

Deployment

To win, the US must take 11 VP hexes in two partially fortified buildings.

The US side has lots of squads (approx. half of them Elite) and lots of HMGs, including two .50 cal, plus two M18 tank destroyers. The latter are not exactly the best vehicle for infantry support, especially in a urban environment: they have a good gun with high ROF and a good AAMG, but they are open-topped (read: extremely vulnerable to small arms fire) and a limited supply of HE rounds; as a consequence, I will have to use them with care.

A house-to-house fight is not the place for tactical finesse: I expect some screening German units and two main bodies, one in every VP building. My basic plan is to attack the lower building first, placing a firebase in the buildings facing the objective (red arrow) and performing a flanking move from the bottom of the map (green arrow). The M18s will join the flanking move, keeping as far as possible from German infantry.

Once the lower building is taken, a three-side attack of the other should leave the Germans with "nowhere to hide and nowhere to run" [:D].

[UP844]

TURN 1
Turn 1 - American
Movement Segment
Two squads move forward Double Time to scout for the bulk of the US forces. The first does not spot any Germans, the second takes a MMG burst but is only pinned. The German firing stack consists of a C* leader, a 1st line squad and a FJ squad, the latter armed with a MMG.
All the remaining US forces move forward, and a M18 stops in view of the MMG (mostly to act as a bait, so that the Germans do not fire on one of my killer stacks, which contains three HMGs and a B* leader).

[UP844]

Advance Segment
Advancing units discover a FJ squad armed with a Psk. No problem, I do not intend to come so close to German infantry. The killer stack takes position so as to fire at the MMG in the next US Defensive Fire Segment.

[UP844]

TURN 1
Turn 1 - German

Fire Segment
As expected, the MMG fires at the M18, but without effect.

Defensive Fire Segment
The M18 replies in kind, killing the 1st line squad and breaking the leader and the FJ squad.
The killer stack (31 FP @ +2) kills the FJ squad.

[UP844]

TURN 2
Turn 2 - American

Movement Segment
Three squads move ahead using Double Time: they do not find any new German units and one of them is pinned because it came too close to the Psk-armed FJ squad. A M18 made the same mistake but the Psk thankfully missed.
The rest of the US forces takes position to assault the VP building in the next turn.

Advancing fire
Everybody fires on the FJ squad, which is broken and CR'd. The M18s only fire their AAMGs to save HE ammo.
The pinned US squad fires on the broken leader to keep it Broken+

[UP844]

Advance Segment
As everyone advances closer to the objective, a German stack (C Ldr, 1x1st Line and 1xFJ squad, armed with 2 LMG) is spotted in the upper building.
The killer stack with the .50 cal advances out of LMG range, other less valuable units will risk taking some fire.

[UP844]

TURN 2
Turn 2 - German

Fire Segment
Fire from the LMGs pins an US C* leader

Defensive Fire Segment
Fire on the just discovered stack has no effect; everybody not having a LOS to the upper building fires on the former MMG leader (which rallied) and breaks it again.

[UP844]

TURN 3
Turn 3 - American

Administrative Segment
The former MMG leader rallies again

Movement Segment
Scouting squads move ahead. I expected a German killer stack in the center fortified hex, instead I found it in the leftmost hex.

A B** leader with two FJ squads, a 1st Line squad, a LMG and a HMG will be a though nut to crack. Moreover, it is in such dense terrain I cannot play my favorite trick of firing at them from outside their normal range. Even though I have good cover, I am going to face high-FP attacks with 0/+1 DRM just to come adjacent to them; unfortunately, there is no other way to take this hex. Using M18s would be suicide (I'd pay a huge sum for a Stuart [:D])

The killer stack does not entirely live up to its name, and only breaks the unlucky C leader and squad that discovered it.
The rest of the US forces moves so as to subsequently advance into the two rightmost hexes of the lower building, and to fire at the German units in the upper one.

[UP844]

Advancing Fire Segment
Everybody fires on the upper building with no effect

Advance Segment
US squads enter the lower building; three squads and a C leader enter CC with the German C* leader and kill it.

The Americans control 3 VP hexes; I think I should be able to take the lower building by the end of turn 4, but then I only have 4 turns to take the upper one.

[UP844]

Turn 3 - German

Fire Segment
German LMGs from the upper building STUNs a M18 [:@]

Defensive Fire
The radio-equipped leader attempts calling OBA but fails to make contact.
The remaining M18 pumps two HE rounds into the upper building, wounding the leader and breaking and CRing the two squads
The MG killer stacks break the 2nd line squad in the upper building.

[UP844]

TURN 4
Turn 4 - American

Movement Segment
Using tactics only slightly more sophisticated than Red Army ones, the Americans Assault Move one squad at a time adjacent to the German killer stack. In the end, one American squad is eliminated, three other are broken, one is pinned and only one (tired) squad remains in Good Order and adjacent, but two of the German squads finally fail their Final Protective Fire Morale Check (or FPF MC, if you like [;)])

Other US squads advance on the upper building and discover a 2nd Line squad and a 50mm Pak (which does not rotate to fire - that's fine to me). The radio-equipped leader, with two M1917 HMGs, moves towards the stone rubble hex, from which its stack could spray fire on the whole left side of the building.
The B* leader with two .50 cal and a M1917 and a M18 keep the road above the lower building under fire to prevent routing from the German killer stack hex. A FT-armed squad on the other side of the building covers the remaining possible route path.

[UP844]

Advance Segment
The tired US squad enters CC with the killer stack; other US squads advance adjacent to the melee hex.

Even though the Germans win the CC (not unlikely, with a ** leader), they could inflict some casualties but the US MG stacks should be able to take care of them in the next Defensive Fire Segment.

The scouting squad enters the upper building and takes another VP hex after the broken German units vacated it.

Close Combat Segment
No losses.

The killer stack is dead meat. It could still win the CC vs my tired squad, but then it will be subject to a deadly Fire Segment.
The Americans now control 5 VP hexes out of 11.

[UP844]

Turn 4 - German

Fire Segment
The 2nd Line squad fires at the lone US squad in the upper building with no effect

Defensive Fire Segment
The radio-equipped leader manages to make contact with OBA, but no Access is obtained.
Its stack fires at the 2nd line squad and breaks it; the HMGs retain ROF and fire at the PaK crew with no effect.
The .50 cal HMG stack kills a broken HS in the upper building

Close Combat Segment
No effect

[UP844]

TURN 5
Turn 5 - American

Fire Segment
The M1917 MG stack fires on the Pak with no effect. I don't even try to call OBA: a bad scatter could harm my troops more than the scattered Germans remaining on the map.
Th

Movement Segment
More and more US troops move towards the upper building. The Baz-armed scouts discover a stack of two FJ squads and a B* leader with a Psk and is broken by their fire.
The M18 finds a quiet spot beyond Psk range and with no LOS to the Pak (the AI could have a stroke of common sense)
Two squads and a leader move adjacent to the Melee hex.

Advanced fire segment
The M18 fires its AAMG at the Psk stack with no effect (gaining acquisition is not worth the risk of HE depletion)

[UP844]

Advance segment
Both MG stacks advance to positions from which they can fire at the Psk stack.
Two squads and a leader enter the Melee in the last German-controlled VP hex in the lower building. Two other squads remain adiacent, ready to enter the Melee if the AI gets lucky with its ** leader.

Close Combat Segment
An American squad is CR'd in the Melee hex

Americans now control 7 VP hexes out of 11.

[UP844]

Turn 5 - German

Fire Segment
The Psk stack fires a the .50 cal stack with no effect.

Defensive Fire Segment
The .50 cal stack fires at the Psk stack, breaks everybody and then retains ROF 4 times (14 FP @ +2) killing everyone in the hex.
The other HMG stack fires on the Pak with no effect. I will have to kill this pesky crew in a massive (on my side) Close Combat.

Close Combat Segment
The B** leader and its squad are eliminated: the lower building is now fully in US control.

[UP844]

TURN 6
Turn 6 - American

Fire Segment
Fire by the M1917 HMG stack and from 2 adjacent squads only pins the Pak crew.

Movement Segment
The Crew fails its Morale Check in Final Protective Fire and breaks.
US units move to surround the last remaining (broken) leader and the crew.

Rout Segment
The broken leader and crew are eliminated due to Failure to Rout.

Advance segment
US units take control of all the remaining VP hexes

The turn ends with the Americans controlling all 11 VP hexes.

[UP844]

Turn 6 - German, Turns 7 & 8.

Nothing happens, the game ends in an American Major Victory.

[Hailstone]

UP844, not sure if the scenarios are too long or you're too good![:D]

[UP844]

I am not especially good, but I ruthlessly exploit the AI weaknesses (especially its inability to fire at long range, see "There once was a little column" for a better example).

I suppose the scenario length in the original ASL scenario was fully justified because the authors assumed (and experienced in beta-testing) an opponent who reacted to enemy presence, instead of passively waiting to be slaughtered.