Battalion Advance

Good evening,

This afternoon I popped round to Robin's place for a crack at this Spearhead scenario here.


Basically, I had two full British infantry battalions plus four tanks, two batteries of off board 25 pounders and a 4 inch mortar, to take three of the four two contour hills without loosing 12 elements, or three of the four two contour hills plus the town without loosing 18 elements, from one battalion of Germans supported by two shots from a 105 and two Stugs.

So I figured I'd concentrate my boys down the left to try to avoid hopefully at least a third, possibly as much as a half of the Germans.


Robin laid out his Germans...


...and away we went. Or I went. The Germans, since they couldn't see the Brits stayed still. It's a Spearhead being-able-to-see-the-enemy thing.


(Note my old tablet - the newbie that I used last time is away learning to talk to the server and printers at work. I bought it thinking Windows 8 would naturally chat with the Windows server, but, well...)


As I raced down the flank of the field, Robin pops up one of his Stugs to strike out at the flank of my tanks.


Rats!

(And double rats, I forgot my destroyed vehicle markers!)


However, no stopping them now!


I unlimber my 6 pounder, greatly overestimating it's ability to take out that Stug!


Unfortunately, Robin calls back my Firefly to fire at it before it disappeared behind the wood.


Double rats!

As my infantry march across the front of Robin's entrenched infantry they come under fire.


With some success.


Still, I speed them on.


And on.


All the while loosing one or two elements each turn.

In the meantime my F/O calls down ineffectual 25 pounder shells upon the German elements chasing my Brits, along with the 3 inch mortar that I dropped off for that express purpose. Ineffectually.


First battalion manages to take the town, while the second start working round Robin's flank.


Aww, cute!


My Brigade HQ. 1/72^nd figs riding a 1/76^nd jeep.


I chance my luck in an assault against Robin's entrenched Germans.


It didn't work!


And it was about then that I conceded the game. I'd lost 11 of the 12 I was able to before losing my victory conditions.


I guess we could have carried on (had we the time), but I thought the possibility of winning the other two hills without loosing more very slim.

Although, upon further reflection, since I had the town I could therefore loose 18...ha! It's funny what a little reflecting can do! I had better odds than I had realised at the time!

Still, it has taught me to use smoke. Much better use of the 25s - I could have screened my advance, lost fewer elements...and won the game...perhaps!

Thanks for the game Robin, it's been great to push around the plastic again!

Nick