Camp Cromwell 26/06/07

FOW Challenge match - FE 2000 pts

Jim's Brit Italian Vets (1550 pts = 2000 equiv)
v.
SteveJ's Panzer Lehr

Barrie assisting Jim, Byron assisting Steve, Peter assisting with lawyering.

We picked our armies beforehand & diced for Mission. The dice decreed HTL, Brits defending a Inf v. Armour. The table had lots of terrain, but also a large plain in the centre, to be fair to both sides.

The Germans began with a cautious advance behind the Luchs recon. When the recon got into position to prevent nasty ambushes, the big pussies - 3 Panthers, 2 Tigers (1 a King) - advanced on the objective with the MkIVs riding shotgun to protect their flank. They then stopped and began methodically destroying the Brit 6pdrs protecting the objective.

Both sides had air and at the start they just neutralised each other, the Germans using their Limited to intercept Priority. The Brit reserves came on well and they set up SP Artillery & Heavy Mortar batteries in rear while 2 Infantry Platoons advanced to the front.

The Brits pulled off a coup by attacking & destroying the Luchs with Infantry Platoon C. This cleared a patch of cover for the M10s & Shermans to drop out of ambush with some side shots at Panthers. The ambush didn't do much - just a few bails. But the Brits backed it up with an Infantry assault on the Panthers and took them out. The M10s died instantly, but the Shermans slugged it out with the MkIVs while the Infantry kept up the pressure on the Tigers.

After the air dice ran out, the Luftwaffe came into its own. While the sole contribution of the RAF in the whole battle was 1 intercept, the Henschels pinned down and decimated the heavy mortars and then took out the last Sherman. That hit was crucial as by then the Germans were down to 3 tanks - the HQ MkIV, the Kingtiger, and 1 other MkIV. The Mk IVs were both bailed or bogged and the Panther under pressure from infantry as it hung in just over the centreline. Then the Sherman was lost to the Luftwaffe, the Artillery missed, the Germans unbailed, then lousy saves by the Brits lost them a vital Infantry platoon & the balance shifted again with everyone very close to Coy Morale failure.

But the Henschells kept on coming, the RAF was indeed as rare a fairies & the Brit artillery still wouldn't hit anything. Finally the Brits unpinned the mortars to give some smoke cover and made a last charge. Another handfull of 1's & 2's did for the last infantry platoon and the Brits failed Coy Morale.

The Germans won with just 3 tanks surviving. A ripper of a game with sound plans on both sides. Both sides had their chances to clinch victory, but the Germans outlasted the Brits.