I was playing the Germans, Stan, the Kiwis.
My first initiative, I move forward a couple of platoons, and the Stug, and...
...bang! Stan's first reactive fire from the [76mm] Sherman and he rolls double sixes! So much for my armor support!
Bother it, said I.
Right, move forward the FO so's he can bring some pain.
Meantime Stan brings up his armor, so I tried my luck with a Panzershrek. To no result...'cept a no fire.
My next initiative, I move forward the spotter for a better looksee, and Stan spread a sheet of lead towards him and stops him in his tracks.
Just a pin result, so I try moving up the squad in the centre, with the aim of threatening the Shermans from atop the hill. Stan sprays more lead from his other Vickers gun which stops the whole jolly platoon!
Bother it.
Not only that, but he manages to suppress the FO...
...and then kills it! Arghh, there goes one of my mortars.
Bother it.
Stan then starts to cut the centre platoon to pieces, caught as they were in the open...
...with this jolly chap here.
Rat-a-tat-tat...
...drat, drat, drat!
The view from the other side...
The boys across the pond take on, well, the boys across the pond. (By the way, we were using the green dice for going to ground, the red for no fire.)
...while I sniped away from the wings into the town in the centre.
(Blimmin tanks...)
What's missing here, you ask? My other jolly spotter!
Even after I sent back a platoon leader to help rally him. That's both mortars kerbroken...
bother...
And I still had seven fire missions left!
And there goes the platoon leader!
On my right flank, the platoon in the woods was slowly getting whittled down...
...but at least I got one of his spotters as he tried to move out of the depression!
So what's missing here? My entire centre platoon, that's what!
Stan moved the platoon over on his right into the depression to add their weight of fire into my centre.
It worked!
And so to the beginning of the end.
...all in the space of two initiatives!
Suffice it to say, Andy's early to mid war German's first Crossfire outing didn't go so well. Well, for them anyway.
Still, a good time was had by all.
During the debrief, we decided that we hadn't used enough line-of-sight-blocking terrain, which enabled the tanks to shoot across the board. Next time...
We also had enough time for a DBA game - my unpainted Parthians (led by Stan) up against my unpainted Later Selucids (led by me).
Just as my camera batteries ran out.
Just as well, as it happened. Stan rushed a horde of his light horse out to his left and enveloped my right flank. Two elements down (including general) to no loss of his own, and that was the game!
Thanks Stan,
Nick
