The Gun Line - Take 2

'Taking the Gembloux Gap' a pint-sized campaign.

Turn 9, Game 8, Scenario 4 the 'Get the Guns!'

After the French counter-attack (Game 6) following their victory here last time (Game 5), the Germans, having rediscovered their Blitzkrieg mojo (Game 7), are back on the offensive and trying for a second time to take the French Gun Line.

This time they have brought 13 points of support with them (but no armour), while the French have only 8 pt.s and the free 75mm gun that survived the previous fight of this scenario, albeit now reduced by one gunner.

The German platoon was down by 6 men from previous games as shown below (the 3-man mortar is not on this platoon board but had been disbanded to keep the infantry sections nearer full strength).

With only one game left in this campaign and a full-strength platoon still in reserve, John decided to use his, one-time only, call for casualty replacements.  With the losses taken this amounted to a D3+3, and John rolled '6' to get six replacements bringing his platoon back up to full-strength (with reconstituted 5cm mortar team).

My French platoon was only down by 2 men (the French get no replacements in the campaign), so looking pretty good, albeit this platoon will have to fight the next game as well.

The Scenario

The last time we played this scenario, the ever-present Stukas hit both Home Farm and La Haye Farm (see below), leaving the former on fire and both unstable and liable to collapse.  

During that game La Haye Farm collapsed and the fire in Home Farm went out but the building, while unstable, was left standing.  Totting up all the turns in the games played since then, we tested Home Farm to see if it had collapsed while the fighting had moved elsewhere.  It had; this left the La Haye Buttery (the small outhouse) the only building standing for this game.  

Will John waste his support points on calling in the Stukas to take this out?  It seems unlikely, albeit the extra shock they deliver could be tempting; so I'm thinking anti-aircraft units will be a waste of points.  While John might not deploy a Stuka strike, if he doesn't, a pre-game bombardment is a given as my failure to deploy through a bombardment has been directly responsible for two lost games in this campaign.

Pre-Game Phase

First the die rolls for Force Morale (FM), and the French despite adding +3 to the D6, still only managed a Force Morale of 10 (rolled a '2').  The Germans rolled a '5' for a Force Morale of 9[1].  John also rolled a D3 for starting CoC points and got 2.

Before the patrol phase, John declared a pre-game bombardment[2]; so no Stukas as anticipated.

The patrol markers were then placed as per the scenario, the French opting for 4 instead of 3 markers, seen here from the French end of the table (what's left of the buildings from previous encounters can also be seen - compare with photo above[3]). 

The Germans with their mandated 3 patrol markers are shown below viewed from their end of the table.

Upon completion of the patrol phase, the resulting jump-off points (JOPs) for both sides (3 each), were placed as shown below from the French end (NB: the 3rd German JOP is just visible in the Large Wood directly above the leftmost French JOP).

The Game  

As the attacker, the Germans took the first phase.

1GE(2,2,4,5,5): and the opening German move was an attempt to deploy nr.I section from their rightmost JOP in the Large Wood on their right flank; the more advanced of their two JOPs in that wood.  My Francs-Tireurs immediately leapt into action and blocked their deployment.

A promising start.

The Germans, unfazed, immediately moved on to deploy their nr.II section from the other, more central and further back, JOP in the Large Wood (the blurred object in the foreground).  As I had no more Francs-Tireurs this went unopposed.

2FR(1,1,2,3,4): a nice set of command dice allowing me to attempt to deploy both 75mm guns (aka 'soixante-quinzes'), my R35 tank and the No.2 section with my platoon sergeant.  But the pre-game bombardment had obviously been well zeroed in as only one of these five deployments passed their hesitant deployment roll.  The lucky one (?), was the 'paid for' 75mm gun with the full crew, who were now safely ensconced behind what I thought was hard cover - Nice!

3GE(1,2,5,6,6): giving John's Germans a fourth CoC point and the first double-phase of the game.  John contented himself with just deploying nr.III section from the German lefthand JOP in the cornfield.

4GE(1,1,1,5,6): and John already had his first CoC die to my one CoC point (from his double-phase).  Using two of the '1's nr.III section advanced tactically (5") along the edge of the cornfield and the 5cm mortar team used the final '1' to deploy in the field nearby.

The mortar immediately engaged my 75mm gun behind the wall; it only managed to inflict 1 point of shock.  But, more of a 'shock' was the discovery that the wall was a 'low retaining wall' and only counted as light cover.  

5FR(1,2,3,3,4): and this time the R35 tank successfully deployed ...

... and engaged the 5cm mortar with h.e., causing 1 casualty and 1 point of shock.  Next, the junior leader of the soixante-quinze in the walled enclosure, removed a point of shock ...

... and also fired h.e. at the mortar, inflicting 2 more points of shock pinning the team.  Next, I successfully deployed the 'freebie' soixante-quinze from my central JOP to a point on the road ...

... and despite the reduced effect from firing at a pinned target they put 3 points of shock on the team to rout them, but they stopped just short of the table-edge (the other side of the road) - Curses!

My luck had certainly turned, but the resulting Bad Things Happen test left German Force Morale unmoved at 9.  

It was now time to bring on some infantry support for my guns so I deployed No.3 section in the road.  Or so I thought, until they failed their hesitant deployment roll for another 'no-show'.

6GE(3,3,3,4,6): and the German nr.II section advanced (7") through the wood towards my gun-line.  They were backed up by the platoon's Feldwebel (senior leader and 2iC of the platoon) deploying with nr.I section from the more advanced JOP in the wood; this time brushing aside the Francs-Tireurs.

On the other flank, nr.III section continued to advance tactically (6") along the edge of the cornfield.

7FR(1,2,3,4,4): and I now had to decide whether to start whittling down the advancing infantry sections, albeit only nr.III was available as a target, or to finish off the 5cm mortar team.  I opted for the latter, in retrospect I think this was a mistake, but probably had little impact on the game.

I started with the R35, no effect!  Then a 75mm gun, no effect.  Finally, the other 75mm gun managed to inflict 3 points of shock to rout them off the table. 

A lot of effort for very little gain, and my phase was now over, but next phase there would be little to distract me from targeting the infantry.

8GE(2,2,3,6,6): and another German double-phase, at least it got another CoC point to go with that from their earlier double-phase.  Clearly, I was not going to be able to end the turn any time soon to nullify the pre-game bombardment.

The Germans took advantage of the knowledge that the next phase was also theirs to advance all three sections in safety.  The Feldwebel clearly was intent on advancing nr.I and nr.II sections in the Large Wood ...

... towards the edge of the Large Wood so they could engage the French gun-line.

The junior leader of nr.III section, knowing they were safe next turn actually advanced his men at the double (but only 10") along the cornfield, and removed one of the resulting points of shock. 

9GE(1,1,3,3,5): allowed all three sections to try and engage the centrally deployed 75mm gun on the road.  The first attempt was by nr.I section in the Large Wood who advanced 1D6 to also shoot, but the 3" rolled did not get them close enough to the edge and their shooting attempt was frustrated.  The nr.II section to their left did get close enough to the edge and was able to shoot.

Section nr.III which did not need to move also joined in against the same target.

And all told, this inflicted 2 points of shock and 2 casualties, one of which was the death of the gun's junior leader ...

... which saw French Force Morale fall from 10 to 8 - Ouch!

10FR(1,3,4,4,5): and I get my first '5', so now have half a CoC die; is this turn ever going to end?  Now I must get some infantry on to help out the guns, so I try to deploy the Lieutenant (senior leader and platoon OC who can actually try and help rally the gun crew) with No.1 section.  But to no-one's surprise, they fail their hesitant deployment roll and don't show up.  The '1' was used by the, as yet intact, soixante-quinze ...

... to fire at nr.III section inflicting 1 casualty and 1 point of shock.

And with that, my phase is over, I need to do better than this if I'm going to turn this game around.

11GE(2,3,4,6,6): another German double-phase, another CoC point for the French, but not good.  Again, owning the next phase allows the Germans to advance without risk, and the Feldwebel seizes the opportunity to advance nr.I section to the edge of the Large Wood to where they will be able to engage the gun-line.

The other two sections, nr.III ...

... and nr.II, both engage the shocked and attrited 75mm on the road.  Between them they inflict 2 casualties and 3 points of shock ...

... and rout the surviving gunner.

This sees French Force Morale drop from 8 to 7 as John completes his double phase by spending his CoC die to advance his rightmost JOP to a point 6" behind his leading troops in the Large Wood.

And there's still another German phase to come - this is starting to look hopeless.

12GE(3,3,3,4,4): a terrifyingly good set of command dice for the Germans to wreak more havoc.  Interestingly, John doesn't get carried away with shooting, but continues enact his plan.  The Feldwebel with nr.I section engages the remaining soixante-quinze, while nr.II, to its left, simply advances 1D6 to the edge of the wood and lays down suppressive fire on the road[4] in case any French infantry deploy there (not a very likely occurrence on current form).

The gun team are lucky to only take 3 points of shock from this.

Meanwhile, nr.III section advances tactically through the cornfield and their junior leader removes a point of shock.

13FR(1,3,4,4,4): this is not a helpful set of command dice given the size of the hole I have to dig myself out of.  I decide I have to try and get the 75mm back in action so the junior leader removes a point of shock and tries his hand at shooting at nr.III section in the cornfield.  

Amazingly, despite the shock, he inflicts 2 casualties and 1 point of shock on nr.III section, all on the LMG team.

Then in an attempt to get the R35 into position where it can contribute more to the fight the driver advances flat out (no photo?).

14GE(1,4,4,5,6): at last a poor set of German command dice.  With only one senior leader deployed, and presumably not wanting to deploy the other (why?), all they can do is deploy a sniper from the advanced JOP to the edge of the Large Wood ...

... who together with the Feldwebel with nr.I section engages the French 75mm gun.  The sniper misses but nr.I section, under the Feldwebel's guidance, inflicts a casualty and 4 points of shock to pin the gun team (pin marker obscured by ruined building).

I badly need some good command dice to get the gun back into action, and the tank more involved, and quick!

15FR(1,2,2,4,5): I deploy the platoon Lieutenant to help rally the gun crew, successfully passing the hesitant deployment roll - Yay!  But, before he can do anything he is distracted by a 'Shabby Nazi Trick' which he does not see through.  Quite why he's taken in for the nth time in this campaign is beyond me.  

With the 75mm pinned, the R35 tries to assert itself by firing h.e. at nr.I section in the desperate hope that he might kill a leader, hopefully the Feldwebel, and start to bring down German Force Morale.  

The round only succeeds in inflicting 1 casualty on the LMG team.  

This was just pathetic straw-clutching at its worst.

I could try and bring on an infantry section at this point, but with my senior leader tied up, my support units pretty ineffective, and three German sections with superior firepower, lined up in cover and ready to take them on I decide not.  This platoon of mine has to fight the next game as well, and bringing them on in this situation feels like it would be reinforcing failure. 

16GE(2,2,4,4,6): and German run of cracking command dice certainly looks to be over, however I think he doesn't need much to press home his advantage.  

John sticks firmly to plan as nr.II section refreshes the suppressive fire on the road, and nr.III section continues its tactical advance.

The Feldwebel again directs nr.I section to write down the 75mm gun ...

... but they only inflict 2 points of shock - are John's firing dice also running dry?

17FR(2,2,5,5,5,): and finally, when you've almost given up waiting, just like buses, three '5's come along at once to give me my first CoC die.  Annoyingly, I only needed one '5' so the other two just cut down my actionable dice.  Not only that but '2's are no use for either the gun or the tank.  I combine them to activate my Lieutenant but he is again foiled by the 5th columnist.

There is nothing else I can do but end the turn with my shiny new CoC die.  This sees the routed survivor of the lost gun team leave the field, and the removal of a tactical marker from nr.III section.  More importantly, it ends the effects of the pre-game bombardment so I can now freely deploy my infantry, and John still has to cross the intervening open ground to get at my JOPs.  If he does, I should be able to deploy and catch him in the open and make him pay.

18GE(1,4,4,6,6): another German double phase - You have got to be kidding me!  With only 3 CoC points I can't even interrupt or spring an ambush.

Realising this is a game winning opportunity the Feldwebel immediately advances nr.I section to try and close combat the pinned gun team but they come up short; sort of what I was hoping for but without the double phase.  

As nr.I section failed to get into combat, the sniper seizes the opportunity for another shot ...

... and hits, and wounds the Lieutenant!  

French Force Morale sags from 7 to 6.

19GE(1,4,5,5,6): not a lot of actionable dice, but enough to repeat the last phase, although this time the sniper fires first but misses.  The Feldwebel now easily leads nr.I section into close combat with the pinned gun team and wounded senior leader.

Needless to say, the combat is somewhat one-sided, nr.I section taking 2 points of shock, while in return, inflicting 2 casualties and 4 points shock to break the gun team, or what's left of it.  The three Bad Things Happen tests for the routing off table of the gun team, junior, and senior leaders, obliterates French Morale leaving them on ZERO - GAME OVER!

Luckily, to spare my blushes, we went straight into working out the aftermath and packing away before I realised I'd not taken any photos of this last phase.

The Aftermath

The French platoon: in another of their classic refusals to turn up to the fight, lost no men, with only the senior leader being wounded.  So, despite the defeat, the CO's opinion only dropped to +4 (still +1 on support); the men's actually rose (they like being left out it) to +10 (for +3 on Force Morale and 4 orders to add to Lieutenant's 12" command range); but, Lt Renard's outlook fell from 'assured' to 'merry' (losing his +1 on FM).

With no losses the French platoon remains down by 2 men for the final game.

The German platoon: lost 5 men, of whom, 1 will return to duty (RTD) immediately (for the next game), 2 will RTD after the next game, which being the last means they will take no further part in this campaign; and the 2 are dead.

With this victory, German CO's opinion climbs from -1 to 0, which will not impact anything; the men's opinion stays at 0; and, the Leutnant's outlook remains 'affable' (a +1 on FM that we forgot to apply to this game not that it made a jot of difference).

With only one game left and a fresh platoon still in reserve John will be field that, and so be at full strength for the last game.

The Next, and Final Game

This will be, Scenario 5, 'Defending the Heights', with the Germans attacking with 12pt.s of support and the French trying to hold on with just 7pt.s of support.

This will just be for pride as the result of the campaign is now a draw regardless of the outcome of the next (and last) game which we've scheduled for a week's time.

 

Post Mortem

This a bit of deja vous with my platoon again refusing to turn up for the fight.  The failure to deploy through the pre-game bombardment was compounded by my inability to roll '5's for CoC points until it was too late, and John's double phases that saw the French only getting 7 of the 19 phases.  That, and the fortuitous timing of the last German double phase allowed them to wrap up the game before the French had any chance to deploy without passing a hesitant deployment roll.

I feel John had a good plan, and stuck to it well when there must've been a temptation to take risks and ride his luck. 

I think my obsession with getting rid of the German mortar was a mistake but OTOH my firing dice rolled in that turn wouldn't have done much to any other target.  I did chicken out of a couple of chances to try and deploy a section towards the end of the game but I think it was lost by then so I'd achieve nothing except having an even weaker platoon for the last game.  

Finally, picking a tank wasn't a great choice, but as John had specifically bought and painted some R35s when it turned out he didn't have any for an earlier game, I felt I had to field at least one in the campaign.

If anyone has suggestions where I might've done better do please say how in the comments.

 

Notes:

[1.]  This was an error as John forgot he had a +1 modifier so should also have been on a Force Morale of 10.  This meant he should've started the patrol phase but it is unlikely this made any difference to the JOP placement, and as will be seen German morale was never in doubt.

[2.]  John's full 13pt. support selection consisted of: 1x 7.5cm leIG.18 gun with junior leader and 5 crew (4pt.s); 1x MMG (tripod MG34) with 5 crew (3pt.s), 1x pre-game bombardment (2pt.s); 1x sniper (2pt.s); 1x Adjutant (1pt.); and, 1x 'Shabby Nazi Trick' (1pt.).  With my 8pt.s I selected: 1x 75mm gun with junior leader and 5 crew (4pt.s); 1x Renault R35 tank (3pt.s); and, 1x Franc-Tireur team (1pt.).  I also had the 'free' 75mm gun that comes with this scenario.

[3.]  As the Buttery from the previous time this scenario was played was attached to the intact La Haye Farm, we decided to dispense with it as being too small to be an effective strongpoint. 

[4.]  The two white 'rocks' indicate the extent of the suppressive fire as John forgot to bring his bespoke markers for this (I don't have any).