I set up the same scenario again on Saturday night only to realize about 90 minutes in and nearly done, that I had been playing incorrectly - units, for the most part, can only be given one Order per turn. I also kept forgetting the Fog hinderance until turn 6. I have the same problem with the mud turns when I play Battle for Moscow.
So, Sunday, I reset the board and had at it again.
The French setup is always the same per the scenario - except which infantry unit gets the MG, that's up to the player. Units with a functioning weapon, units within a leader's command radius, and units on their baseline are in cohesion. For the French, three of the units start the game already out of cohesion and will be marked suppressed after the 1st turn (which will be the Germans turn). That means they start their own turn already suppressed.
For the Germans, I had advanced up the right twice - which I think is the best approach as it provides fast access to a nearly undefended objective. So, to mix things up, I rolled a die to determine deployment and ended up setting them up to the left instead.
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| The setup. Rommel is personally leading the platoon with the MG. |
Rommel's company consisted of the three platoons to the right.
He commanded the MG to fire at the French unit which had taken cover in a house and had their own MG. A few bursts of the gun and the French unit broke right off the bat. Not an auspicious start for the French.
The Germans divided their force, with Hauptma Waldau leading his company up the road on the left, using the craters/shell holes for cover.
Still, the French managed to suppress one of the German platoons in the road.
As Rommel's men moved through the fields, a French sharpshooter fired on them and pinned (broke) the lead platoon.
After consolidating their line, the Germans pushed their way towards the village in earnest but ahead of them a shell struck and set the woods ablaze, forcing the Germans to split up their command again as Hpt. Waldau took his platoons around the conflagration.
While firing on the French positions the German MG jammed - the crew labored furiously to clear the gun and bring it back into action.
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| A broken weapon (MG in this case) checks every time a card is drawn to determine a random hex for some Event or Order. One band of numbers is a repair, one means nothing changes, and another is permanently broken |
I'm missing some pictures here but the Waldau's company swung around the village while Rommel's company made little ingress, but the MG was repaired and unleashed on French units occupying the largest buildings in the village.
The French attempted to counter Waldau's advance by acting the aggressor, but were defeated in close combat and moments later, the French platoon in the building on the German left, was cutoff and surrounded.
Meanwhile French barbed wire emplacements were glimpsed through the fog blocking the German road approach to road leading out of the village.
In a valiant last stand, the Red Trousers held their ground against repeated attacks, but eventually succumbed to the combined fire power of multiple platoons against their position.
As the fog lifted, the extent of the French wire defenses blocking the road became clear.
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| Wire is places as the result of an Action. I just like the narrative of the fog lifting - which happens when the time tracker reaches 6. |
The French maneuvered around the village to draw the Germans to them while avoiding coming under fire as much as possible, making their way back to the large building protected by the wire.
By Waldau ordered Rommel and his platoons to press onwards out of the village.
Geraman reinforcements arrived at the other end of the road. Any resemblance to Rommel and his company is purely coincidental.
Hpt. Waldau pushed his troops through the wire to reach the last French occupied building. When the dust cleared, the village had fallen.
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| The French had an event occur where a leader was recalled to return later as a reinforcement - on the plus side, the remaining units were so pressed together, they could not be out of choesion! Notice too, the flames have spread! |
The game ended with a French surrender and automatic loss.
Even if they hadn't, the score was lopsided, with the Germans scoring 34 vp vs the French 7 VP.
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The French actually were doing OK for much of the game. Their downfall began in earnest when they drew an Event where command meddles and you're forced to draw a card and use it for your next order. It was an Advance order - the aggressive French attempt to counter the Germans lead to the isolation of the French unit near the end of the game.
Although I did enjoy witnessing their heroic last stand!
Playing the rules as intended, with one Order per turn for any given unit, changed the game a bit - more discards, waiting for the right cards to appear. This worked in the French favor on occasion, as it held up the German advance somewhat. However, they too were waiting for cards and more often than not the Germans got their needed cards first.
Also, eagle-eyed readers may notice Runners on the map. I had avoided using them unintentionally - I just wasn't reading the card text properly. The French runner could have earned them VPs but they never got a chance.
I'm ready for the next scenario, which introduces off-board artillery and an on-board howitzer!
