All Americans, Part 4 (Sicily 12 July 43)

All,

I lined the platoon up again this morning and got after it.  The platoon was in pretty good shape: the HQ element was full strength (PC, Plt Sgt, RTO, and two-man bazooka team), 1st Squad was 100%, 2nd Squad was one man down, and 3rd Squad was two men down.  Lt Shepherd and SFC Ford huddled; both were very anxious regarding the new 3rd Squad leader, SSgt Miles.  As 3rd was missing the Asst Squad Leader, they decided to temporarily switch Sgt Glenn, the hard-charger they just picked up from Easy Company, over to 3B to bolster leadership in 3rd Squad.  This also meant moving Pvt India from 1B to 2B, and promoting PFC Nancy, the 2B automatic rifleman, to Corporal, and he would function as the 2nd Squad A/SL.

The fight is over the north half of the board I fought on last time (with the 'new' northern third being newly rolled up).  Last fight (on 10 July) took over a key German position in "Objective Y," some of 82nd Airborne Divisions initial objectives.  On 11 July, PzGren Herman Goering Division attacked, trying to breakthrough to the US beachheads near Gela.  They just roughed up Dog Company's 3rd Platoon all day on the 11th, and just broke them at ~1300 local time on the 12th, so Capt Linus is committing 1st Platoon to the counterattack to retake the line.  The Company Commander wasn't sure what was left up there holding the line, if anything, but he seemed to think a single 57mm anti-tank gun (ATG) was all that was left.  In we go...

I rolled up my pregame deal and got "Get Moving!" which was cool (in my rules I put an extra card in the deck and one team got to make an extra move each turn).  For my assets, I rolled no on everything except Artillery, but then I forgot to use it!!!  Meanwhile, the Germans started off (officially) with 10 Type A blinds, 1 Type B blind, and 2 Type C blinds.  However, I wanted to simulate PzGren Hermann Goering Division's attacks (trying to breakthrough to the beachheads near Gela), so I gave them two Tigers.  I placed four blinds, two marked dummy and two real ones (after shuffling them so I wouldn't know which was which), and placed them as normal.  Then I placed the As and Bs as normal.  Then I rolled all of them up as normal so I could start with all forces on the table.  Actually, all forces except for one A, one B, and one C, which would enter later (determined by dice roll) as enemy reinforcements.  Regarding Force Morale (FM), I actually started the Germans off higher as they had armor, had just whooped some butt, and were about to whoop some more (theoretically), while my paras are lightly armed going up against some man-eating Tigers that already roughed up one of their fellow platoons.

So, let's get to it.

 Table set up, with German blinds on it.  The white chips are Type A (usually infantry), the red is a B (usually MGs or mortars), and the black are usually vehicles (but in this case I changed the rules, and two of those are dummy's and two are Tigers).  3rd Platoon has manned the three emplacements in the center (after re-orienting them north after 1st Platoon's successful attack two days ago, and the 57mm ATG is in the bottom left emplacement.

 Closeup of the ATG position.

 Initial US deployment on left: 1B (left) and 1A (right).

 US deployment in center: the PC and RTO are in the center with 3A (and the S-bird, SSgt Miles, whom the Lt wanted to keep close), and 3B (with Sgt Glenn) on the right.

US deployment on right: Plt Sgt with the bazooka team in center, Sgt Hurley's 2A on left and 2B on right.

 German left: 3 Assault Group (3AG, a rifle team) at top left, 2AG center, with German PC, and a Tiger (T2).

 German center: 2 Fire Group (2FG, an LMG team) at top left, and the other Tiger (T1).

 German right: T1 again at left, 1FG in treeline at bottom center, and 1AG center right.

Turn 1:

 On the left, German FG1 fires and gets a couple shock on the ATG, while 1AG sprints up to the foot of the knoll.  All of 1st Squad sprints up to counter them.

 1FG and T1, who didn't move but did fire.

 In the center: 2FG moved up to the abandoned position in the center and fired to no effect at the ATG.  The AT activated and bounced one off T1's front armor plate, while the US PC moved up and pulled shock off the ATG, followed by 3B, who entered the position on the right.  Unfortunately, SSgt Miles was earning his S-bird status and barely moved his team forward.  2AG and the German PC moved from right to left at the position recently occupied by 3B, firing to no effect.

 On the right, 3AG was able to move into the treeline and catch 2A on the road, getting a kill and 2 shock.  2A returned fire to no effect, while the Plt Sgt and 2B both moved up and fired at 3AG, managing only 2 shock.  T2 moved up behind 2AG.

Turn 2:

 First of all, let me tell you that 2 German cards came out, then the "random event" card came out (for the second game in a row I had no random events actually occur, after having numerous events in my first two games), and then another three German cards!  Anyway, on the left, 1AG opened up on 1A, putting down the Squad Leader (-1 FM), leaving the left side leaderless.  Then T1 and 1FG both fires at the ATG, getting only 2 shock (the Germans would roll well on activation and to hit, but when it came to hit results both sides were pretty weak).  However, despite losing their SL, 1A managed to activate, and between them and 1B they put 4 kills on 1AG (no FM effect for losing their team leader).

 The ATG popped T1 again, this time immobilizing it (the red bead), but the crew stayed.

 In the center, the German PC and 2AG put three shock on 3B (in the emplacement on the right), while 2FG (top left) fired on the ATG, getting a kill and a couple shock, while the US PC is frantically pulling shock off the ATG to keep it in the game (which is what allowed it to fire and immob T1.  Sorry, it's out of chronological order as I'm writing this moving from left to right).  3A continues to crawl forward, it's SL trying to stay out of the fight.  Meanwhile, T2 pops a round at 3B, getting another 2 shock (this is getting serious), which causes 3B to fail its activation.

 On the right, 3AG got to shoot first, but only got 1 hit and no effect on the Plt Sgt's group (center, with 3AG at top right).  All three US elements fired on 3AG, getting a kill and 3 shock.  2A used the 'special move' to close the distance a bit (top left).

Turn 3:

 On the left, the lone survivor of 1AG sprinted back to 1FG (left, below the Tiger, which is T1) to avoid certain death from 1st Squad (right).  1A spends the turn rallying to remove 1 point of shock, while 1B fires at 2FG (not pictured, in center), getting a kill and a shock.

 In the center, German PC and 2AG again lay into 3B, getting 3 more shock, and the US PC promptly pulls three, while the ATG hits T1 again, destroying the main gun's sight (-1 'to hit' for rest of game).  The ATG is living a charmed life as T1 and 1FG both fire on it to no effect, but 2FG then lights it up and kills the last crewman (-1 FM), while 2AG puts a couple more shock on 3B.  SSgt Miles and 3A finally get up to the position, with a couple rifleman taking over the ATG to keep it in action.  T2 fires on 3B, getting one shock.

 On the right, 2A fired at 2AG in the center, trying to help the pinned 3B out.  The German PC (very top right) got very concerned about his left flank, so he left 2AG to come over and pull shock off 3AG to keep them in the fight.  However, the Plt Sgt and 2B put another 3 kills and a shock on 3AG, and then the Plt Sgt's group used the 'special move' to close into close combat and eliminate 3AG (-3 FM points).

Turn 4: I swear I'm shuffling these cards, but this turn started with 6 straight German cards, and they only have 8!!!

 On the left, 1AG merged with 1FG (with a VERY bad roll that cost the Germans 3 FM points).  1FG put a shock on 1A, which spent the turn removing it, while 1B put a shock on 1FG.

 In the center, the German PC ran away from the frothing US Plt Sgt (who just eliminated 3AG in close combat) to hide behind T2, who fired at 3B and got another shock, as did 2AG, getting two more shock, for 8 total, causing Sgt Glenn (the alleged hard charger from Easy Company) to grab his 3B teammates and skedaddle!!!  This cost the paras 3 FM points.  Meanwhile, 2FG fired on 3A and put their squad leader, SSgt Miles, on his back (the two replacement NCOs aren't doing so well, -1 FM pt).  T1 fires another round at the ATG and kills one, while the PC moves over to pull shock and add moral support.  It seemed to work as the ATG put another round into T1, knocking out its main gun, which finally caused the crew to bail (-1 FM).

 On the right, the ferocious SFC Ford (the Plt Sgt) leads his trusty sidekick, Sgt "Tank-Killing" Carlyle, into a plum of a position to get a flank shot on T2.  Carlyle lines it up and pops a round into the Tiger's engine compartment, causing damage (1/2 move for rest of game).  2nd Squad moves up next to the Plt Sgt's group.

At the end of Turn 4, we've got US Force Morale and German Force Morale tied at TWO, meaning one more negative event could end it for either side.  To make matters worse, it's time for the German reinforcements to come on.  Now, you guys are going to think I'm screwing around, but I rolled them correctly: all three German blinds ended up being ghosts.  So, on to Turn 5.

On the right, Carlyle hit T2 again, but it ricocheted off.  The Plt Sgt and 2A fired on 2AG, killing the last two men (-1 FM).

 In the center, 2FG has a ton of shock but somehow manages to activate, but can only put 1 shock on 3A.  The Lt gives a hearty "Follow Me!" and leads the RTO and 3 remaining men of 3A down the hill into close combat with 2FG.  In the ensuing melee, 2FG is eliminated while the Americans lose 1 man.  The loss of a a team and a leader cost the Germans 4 FM points, breaking them.  The German PC and the crew of T2 surrendered to 2nd Squad, while 1FG and the crew of T1 headed for the hills.

It will sound terrible, but the Lt and Plt Sgt are quite happy to be rid of SSgt Miles (the RTO swears he saw Miles grin when the 88mm shell took off his hand, saying something about a 'million dollar wound').  Far more concerning is Sgt Glenn's performance.  Ford is convinced all the talk about Glenn being a hard-charge apparently came from his performance in garrison, while the Lt is trying to be a bit more even-keeled.  Shepherd was in the central position, and well remembers the feeling of being targeted by two German MG-42s, a German rifle team, and two Tigers.

Shepherd isn't happy, but he's not ready write off the young Sgt just yet.  After all, there is still a whole at Squad Leader (3rd has lost Squad Leaders back to back in the last two fights) that needs to be filled.  Ford is incensed that Shepherd wants to make Glenn the 3rd Squad SL, but the Lt pointed out that, of the other three men who ran with Glenn, one was a recent replacement, but the other two were original members of the platoon that had been steady under fire.  Ford said of course they ran, they saw a Sergeant take off, and it will happen again.

Shepherd is sticking to his guns, partly out of necessity, though he will do his best to shield 3rd Squad and Sgt Glenn during the next fight.  Ford told him he's lost his mind, that so far the fighting has been too intense to be able to hold anyone back.  For his part, Sgt Glenn is feeling the heat and is praying for a chance to redeem himself.  Next game I intend on trying to hole Glenn/3rd Squad out, but I will put in a separate card just for Glenn, who will be looking for a shot to be a hero.  If it goes like he wishes, he's either going to be a hero or he's going six feet under.

The Germans lost:
19 WIA/KIA
5 POW (Tiger crew and German Plt Commander)
2 Tiger I tanks damaged (later destroyed with thermite grenades by 2nd Squad).

Our Casualties:
The three ATG crewmen on the board were WIA/KIA.
Sgt Desmond Hume (1st Squad SL) *Shot in foot, Purple Heart (1); *Shot in bicep, Purple Heart (4);
Pvt Farr (2nd Squad) *Repl (3/4); *Shot in shoulder, Purple Heart (4)
SSgt Miles (3rd Squad SL) *Repl from Supply Bn (3/4); WIA, evacuated, Purple Heart (4)
PFC Romeo (3rd Squad) *KIA (4)

Awards Recommendations:
Private Tango (3rd Squad) *For manning an ATG and knocking out a German Tiger under intense enemy fire.
Private Uniform (3rd Squad) *For manning an ATG and knocking out a German Tiger under intense enemy fire.
Sgt Glenn (2nd Squad, though temporarily assigned to 3rd Squad) *Ran in the face of the enemy (4);
Pvt Girardo (3rd Squad) *Repl (2/3); Ran in the face of the enemy (4);
PFC Whiskey (3rd Squad) *shot in hand, walking wounded, Purple Heart (2); Meritoriously promoted to E-3 by Plt Cmdr, named Acting A/SL; Ran in the face of the enemy (4);
Pvt Xavier (3rd Squad) *shot in foot, walking wounded, Purple Heart (2); Ran in the face of the enemy (4);

Post-Game events:
7 -The battalion S-1 is an old college chum of Lt Shepherd and wants to tag along on the next mission.
9 -While Sgt Hume is back at the BAS getting bandaged up, he runs into the 1st Sgt for Weapons Company.  They get to chatting and discover they are from the same hometown.  The 1st Sgt for Wpns Co has a favorable opinion of Sgt Hume.

The next fight will be Card L, "Set Piece Defense."
After stabilizing the position with their counterattack, the platoon spent the night manning the line.  There were numerous skirmishes between their outposts and enemy patrols all night, but at first light (on 13 July) the Germans attacked again...

V/R,
Jack

All Americans, non-battle day (11 July 43)

All,

    After accomplishing every objective put to them, and suffering quite a few casualties in the process, the Company Commander decided to pull the platoon out of the line, keeping it in local reserve for 11 July 1943.  The division as a whole has suffered a goodly number of casualties, so 11 July saw a day of reorganization for the whole battalion.  The linkup has not yet been made with the sea-landed forces, so there are no replacements to be had.  What this means is the division has turned to stripping men from support roles and even cannibalization (breaking up line units to provide replacements for other line units).

    I rolled up my free-form event (I'm not very creative with this sort of thing), and our illustrious bazooka gunner, Cpl Carlyle, has been meritoriously promoted to Sgt by the Company commander.  The Company commander has been slowly losing his aggravation towards Lt Shepherd (particularly after hearing of Shepherd leading a close assault in the last battle), but Carlyle's promotion has caused a bit of friction.  Shepherd figured the new Sgt should take over 3rd Squad following Sgt Dawson's WIA/evac home; SFC Ford vehemently disagreed, stating the value of Carlyle as a proven tank killer far outweighed the benefits of having him as a squad leader.  Not only did Ford disagree, he did it with the Company Commander standing there, who sided with Ford.  So Shepherd is a bit disgruntled with his Platoon Sergeant (for having this conversation in front of the Co Cdr) and with the Co Cdr for siding with the Plt Sgt in front of the men.

    Then I rolled up my two fixed events, and my good luck holds.  First, I rolled reinforcements again, and got a 4, meaning full-strength.  Some of these men will be cooks/bakers/candlestick makers, and some will be vets from other rifle companies.  One of them will have have to fill the 3rd Squad Leader position (if only Cpl Pace was back from the battalion aid station!), so here's to hoping it's a rifle company guy and not a battalion admin clerk...  The other event was "Manpower," in which you stand a real good chance of losing a squad or team for a short period of time, but I again rolled a 4, which was 'no-effect,' so the platoon will be full-strength heading into its next mission on 12 July 43.

A few quick notes about the replacements.  First, the battalion has made the choice, despite the casualty situation, to up the platoon's T/O by three riflemen, all to serve as platoon runners in the HQ element.  In the platoon's case, all three of these came from rear echelon positions, as did the bulk of the replacements the platoon received.  Having said that, the platoon will still be down three men as the battalion's policy is that locally evacuated wounded are not replaced.  The positions are held open for the men to return to their old platoon as the Bn CO believes this is better for unit cohesion.

The platoon received two NCOs, both of which are causing a bit of consternation.  First, Sgt Glenn, an outstanding young parachute infantry NCO, was assigned to 2nd Squad as its A/SL.  This has really upset Sgt Hurley, who feels it is a direct threat to him.  Please recall that Hurley is currently depressed from losing so many men in the first three battles, and was recently wounded himself.  He sees this as a sign the Lt has lost faith in him and that the Plt Sgt no longer has his back.  This was not the PC's intent; there were only two 'open' NCO slots to fill, and Glenn had to go in this one. Which brings us to the bigger problem...

SSgt Miles just became the squad leader for 3rd Squad.  In summary, the Lt and Plt Sgt are not happy with this as SSgt Miles is a giant POS.  Miles was an NCO in the Divisional Supply Battalion, but the division recently stripped as many men as it could out of the support elements to fill the holes in the line battalions, so here he is.  He doesn't want to be here, and no one wants him in a leadership position, but he's a Staff Sergeant (thus, the third highest ranking member of the platoon), and so there was no way to place a Sgt in an SL position over him.  I rolled up "Addict," "Position," and "Cautious" for the good SSgt.  What I'm taking this to mean is, Miles was perfectly intent in life to be a Supply NCO with his subordinates busting their tails and him taking the credit (position), and he will do anything to get back to that spot.  He's a raging alcoholic and was known to disappear for a couple hours each day from his old unit (their 1st Sgt warned SFC Ford about this), returning in a less than optimal mental state (addict).  Regarding combat temperament, he's not trained for it, is a terrible soldier and a worse leader, has never been in combat (which is forgivable), and has no desire to be!  In short, he's a coward ("cautious").

Well, we'll see how this works out for the platoon...

V/R,
Jack

All Americans, Part 3 (Sicily 10 July 43)

All,

First up, I took care of post-battle business.  My 'free-form' event was Lt Shepherd recommending SSgt Ford for meritorious promotion to Sergeant First Class for his gallantry and leadership in the previous two battles.  The Company CO is not all that fond of the Lt, but the Bn CO loves Ford, so the Army has a new SFC.

The first fixed event was a character event, which turned out to be a morale test that went negatively.  I picked Sgt Hurley, the 2nd Squad Leader.  It seems the good Sergeant is a bit depressed about losing so many of his men.  Ford's got an eye on him and 1st Squad's Sgt Hume in particular is trying to lift his spirits.

The second fixed event was truly blessed; reinforcements!  I rolled well and got enough fresh bodies to leave the platoon only two bodies down.  Cpl Carlyle got an assistant for his bazooka, while 2nd Squad got brought back to full strength.  1st Squad is still a man down, as is 3rd Squad.  3rd got two replacements, leaving them down only their Assistant Squad Leader (A/SL), Cpl Pace (wounded, local evac, return in a few days).  Pvt Whiskey was promoted to PFC by the Plt Cmdr and assigned as the Acting A/SL (on the recommendation of Sgt Dawson, of course, despite the Lt's personal distaste for Dawson's underhandedness).

As a side note, I really need to paint up some more paras.  Right now I don't have enough men to go overstrength for the platoon (a possibility in the post-game events), to get reinforced (a possibility with in-game events), or to deploy more than one engineer (a possibility with pre-game events).  Additionally, I only have enough men for the .30 cal MMG and the mortar to be two-man teams.

Along those lines, it's been pointed out on TMP that I should have M-1919A4 MGs in my squads instead of having BARs.  I stick by my guns (no pun intended) regarding the fact paras (the 82nd AB in particular) used BARs, but the issue I'm having is that I'm seriously outgunned in the fights (just like real life I suppose).  My BAR is rolling 3 dice while the MG-42 LMG (bipod) is rolling five and the MG-42 HMG (tripod) is rolling 7.  So, I believe after the Sicily campaign my platoon will be requisitioning three M-1919 .30 cal MGs.  I believe they'll retain their BARs, though.  Actually, I think they'll go with LMGs only in Salerno and Anzio, and will have decided for even more firepower for D-Day and will add their BARs back to the squads (in addition to the LMGs).

So, with the fortuitous addition of so many replacements, I decided to not cheat (if I didn't get reinforcements I was going to go on the defensive) and roll to decide the mission as normal.  I rolled as the attacker and then got Card B, Hasty Attack.  For me, I did not get artillery, engineers, or an ATG, but I did get a MG (actually rolled up armor but as there's none available in real life I went with the MG) and the 60mm mortar.

The enemy did not get a bunker or mines, but did get arty (though I'm going to play it as a two-tube section of on-table 80mm mortars with enough ammo for three missions).  This plays into the idea of the hasty attack.  The goal of the attack is a German strongpoint, known to consist of two MG-42 HMGs in sandbagged positions (hard cover) on a hill and a two-tube mortar section in a sandbagged position behind them.  The Germans probably have some supporting infantry on the flanks (4 Type A blinds), and have a local reserve (a Type C blind and three more Type A blinds), which is a bit different than the scenario card as written but helps offset the idea the Germans are starting with at least two HMGs and two medium mortars on the table, which is pretty formidable, particularly with a relatively  open table.

Starting at the US baseline, on the left is a small cluster of houses surrounded by a stone wall, then a low rise in the center.  In the middle of the table there is an orchard on the left, rolling fields in the center, and a road enters on the right.  At the German side on the left is a hill segregated by a stream, then the German position atop the hill in the center, and some rough ground in the top right corner.  The Germans laid three strands of wire, two on the left to help channelize the Americans, and one on the right to prevent Americans from approaching too rapidly should they suddenly break cover on that side.

The HQ element: top (left to right) is RTO and Lt, bottom is a platoon runner, bazooka assistant, bazooka, and Plt Sgt.

1st Squad: the platoon had an MG attached, so I did things a little different (kind of a test for later OOBs, as I mentioned above).  I took the BAR from the 'B' team and put it in the 'A' team with the Squad Leader, and replaced the BAR with the two-man MG team (the extra rifle was sent to 3B as they were down a man).

2nd Squad, led by the clinically depressed Sgt Hurley.  Things would not get better...

3rd Squad, down a man (the A/SL, Cpl Pace, who was wounded and will be back in a few days) but plussed up by the temporary addition of a 1st Squad rifleman.

A four-man 60mm team.

US deployment on the left: 1st Squad, A on the left and B on the right.

US deployment in center: Plt Sgt with two-man bazooka team and Plt runner on the left and 4-man 60mm mortar on right.  The green beads signal the teams are 'tactical,' i.e., crawling.  You can see the two German MG positions at the top of the photo.

US deployment on right.  Top, left to right is 2B, PC and RTO, then 2A.  Bottom is 3B and 3A.

The German right side (from the US point of view), a half squad (Fire Group, or 1FG, consisting of NCO, LMG team, and two rifles).

German center: two 4-man tripod-mounted MG-42s in foreground, two 80mm mortar tubes in rear.

German left (from US point of view): the other half squad (Rifle Group, or 1RG, consisting of an NCO, an MP-40, and three rifles).

The table again, showing the German deployment and wire.  The Germans also have another four blinds: three type A and one type B.  I kept them off-table as a local reserve, to be used when the time came.

Let's get to the action.

Turn 1 and the Americans are up first.  I will not necessarily go chronologically, but show what happened in each sector.  On the left 1st Squad hopped the wall and hauled butt forward.  Don't be thrown by the angle; this is taken from the right as opposed to the US baseline, so the Germans are to the right of the photo.  The German left-hand MG (1MG) fired on 1B (in the corner), but only racked up two shock.  This game would see some of the worst shoot dice rolling in the history of mankind.

In the center, both the Plt Sgt (and his little group) and the 60mm mortar team crawled forward to get into better position.

On the right, 2B got impatient and sprinted forward, thinking it was masked by the treeline.  That was not the case...  The German 1RG to the far right and the German 1FG on the far left both took their shots and racked up two kills and 3 shock on 2B, pinning it.  2MG opened up on 3B and got a couple shock, but the Lt, 2A, and all of 3rd Squad crawled forward.

Next turn: on the left, 1B (with the .30 cal MMG) trades fire with the German 1MG while 1A hops the wall and moves forward.  1B ended up with a couple shock and 1MG lost a man.  Then each side had their mortars go after those two opposing teams, with the German 80mm mortars getting 1 kill and 2 shock on 1B while the US 60mm got 1 shock on 1MG.  The Plt Sgt and bazooka team moved forward.

Things got really ugly on the right...  1RG again lit into 2B on the hillock, getting a couple more shock.  The Lt pulls shock while 2B crawls into the treeline and the German 1FG (at far left) uses its LMG team to try to keep 3B from linking up with them, but manages only 1 shock.  The German 2MG was on Overwatch, but the Lt came up with a bright plan.

The plan was to mix and match 2nd and 3rd Squads on the fly; the two BAR teams (the beat up 2B and 3B) would establish a base of fire from the treeline while the Lt would lead the two rifle teams (2A and 2B) up the right side.  The Lt needed did not need both squad leaders with him, and so he ordered Sgt Hurley (2nd Squad's SL) over to lead the two BAR teams (and 2B really needed leaders to pull shock to keep it in the fight).

So Hurley hopped up and began sprinting to his left to join 2B.  I figured the chances of 2MG using its overwatch status on one man was pretty slim, but I'll be damned if they didn't open up and gun him down.  The Lt cursed under his breath...  and then yelled for 3rd Squad's Sgt Dawson to come over and lead the 2B and 3B while the Lt moved right with 2A and 3A.  In the photo above, the three bodies at top left are all from 2B, while the lone body out in the open between the road and the knoll is Sgt Hurley.  2A and 3A are on the right.

Next turn: 1B really got some good hits on 1MG, causing two kills and 2 shock (1MG was down to only the gunner, and he was pinned).  Both German MGs in the middle opened up, to no real effect (1 shock on the 60mm mortar team and another shock on 2B, which was real close to running at this point).  The German mortars went after the 60mm but managed only 1 kill and 1 shock.  The Plt Sgt had his blood up; as you've seen, he's the type that relishes close combat, and so he lead his small group forward out around the wire, looking to get close to the German MG positions.  1A moved up behind the treeline in the center.

The Lt pulls as much shock off 2B as he can, then leads 2A and 3A in a sprint forward.  Sgt Dawson is barking orders, trying to rearrange the two BAR teams when the German 1FG at far left opens up and guns him down.  Before going down, Dawson had managed to consolidate the survivors of 2B into one force with 3B.  The newly constituted 3B fired on 2MG but managed only 1 shock.

The German center.  1MG on left is down to only the gunner, while 2MG on right hasn't taken any casualties but has racked up a dangerous amount of shock.

New turn: on the left, 1A opens up on 1FG and gets a couple shock, while 1B hauls hops the wall and hauls butt up into the treeline next to them.  The German 1FG tries to return fire but fails its command roll!
The 60mm fires on 2MG and gets another 2 shock, while both 1 and 2MG fire on the Plt Sgt's gang (at very close range) and manage only 2 shock (on five hits!!!).  The Plt Sgt moves up and fires on 2MG, but they manage only 1 shock (pathetic dice rolling).

The German mortars fired on 3B, killing one and adding a shock.  3Bs position is looking a bit tenuous, and it is being run by a PFC, who is acting Squad Leader at this point.  Prior to this they took 1FG under fire and racked up a couple shock, which is starting to mount on 1FG.

The Lt (w/RTO, in treeline at bottom right) led 2A (also in treeline) and 3A (far right at base of hill) forward, where they engaged 1RG, getting 1 kill and 1 shock.  1RG returned fire, getting two shock.

Next turn: 1FG manages to removes some shock and activate, then fires up the Plt Sgt's group from the flank, getting only two shock!  All of 1st Squad returns fire on 1FG, racking up enough hits (1 kill and five more shock) that the German team breaks and runs for the hills!

Immediately following this, 3B fires on 2MG, getting a kill and 2 more shock, and it breaks also!  The Krauts are on the run!  1MG is just one man and his machine gun, and no way to remove shock, but he manages to activate and opens up on the Plt Sgt's group, taking out the platoon runner.  The German mortars fire on 1st squad with two 80mm tubes and manage only 1 shock!!!

The Plt Sgt decides 1MG is ripe for the plucking, and takes the bazooka team up the hill into close combat.  The gunner is eliminated, but he gets the bazooka assistant.  However, the biggest happening was the fact that when the German mortar-men saw the Plt Sgt and his group crest the hill they split, leaving the tubes behind!  All this cost the Germans another 2 FM points, bringing them down to 5.  Sorry, just realized I hadn't been commenting on this each time it had happened.  Of course, any time a team, vehicle, or leader is lost a FM check is done.

The 60mm fired on 1RG on the right, getting a kill and  a couple shock, while the RG fired at 2A and got 5 hits, but only 5 shock (that really defies explanation).  The PC had wanted to get into close combat himself, but now had to spend the turn pulling shock, but 2A remained pinned.  3A put a couple more shock on 1RG.

At this point it time for the local reserve to enter the table as a counterattack.  Like I said earlier, there was a Type C blind and three Type A blinds.  This s@#$ was incredible.  I rolled the C up first and got a 9, so it was a tank (I used a Panzer Mk III).  I rolled a Type A and got a 10, so I grabbed another FG with a Plt Sgt.  I rolled and got a 6 or 7, which had me roll 1D6, which was a 6, so I had to roll on the C blinds table and got an armored car (Sdkfz 222).  I rolled on the last Type A and got a 10, so I grabbed an RG and the PC.  Then I rolled to see where they would come on the table, and it was on the German right (where 1FG had been).

Now, I will admit, this is where I cheesed it a little.  I mean, that was an awful lot of firepower to be staring at after having just fought a bloody but successful action to dislodge an entrenched enemy that had MGs and mortars.  So I played it as if there was very poor communication with the reserve force commander as the bulk of the forces on the table had been destroyed or run away, and there was no time for reconnaissance or a deliberate movement to contact; the German PC was going balls to the wall to get in there and save the situation.  They were unaware of how far the Americans had progressed and so their first moves were to be rushed in order to get over the ford (choke-point) and into position, figuring they had time/room to deploy.

However, the Americans were quite far along and the Germans essentially deployed into an L-shaped ambush.  I've got to get better about this, as this is the same thing that happened last game, and both were very one-sided.  I didn't do any cheating at all last time, and I only did a little this time, but I never saw this coming.

The German PC, 2RG, the Armored Car (A/C), and the Panzer all moved across the ford, while 2FG stayed in the treeline to cover their approach.  They heard some firing in the distance (the 60mm mortar hit the remains of 1RG on the far right, getting a kill), but this just seemed to confirm the German Commander's ideas regarding having time to deploy.  Then all hell broke loose...

First 3B opened up on 2FG in the treeline, getting only 1 shock, and 2FG returned fire, also getting only 1 shock.  Then all of 1st Squad opened up; the .30 cal MMG laid into the armored car, hitting its engine compartment and immobilizing it (surprisingly, the crew stayed).  The remaining 1st Squad firepower mowed down all of 2RG and the German PC, which was caught in the open between the A/C and the Panzer.

There was a brief lull as SFC Ford loaded a rocket into Cpl Carlyle's bazooka...

Which the Lt, still on the far right, grabbed 2A and charged the last two men of 1RG.  1RG was eliminated, but the Lt's RTO and one of 2As rifleman were downed.

Back to the center of the action, Carlyle was peering over the sandbags of the former German MG position when SFC Ford slapped him on the helmet.  Carlyle brought the bazooka to bear, and a smile crossed his face when the German tank presented its flank.  The resulting explosion shot flames out of every hatch bits of gear hundreds of yards in every direction.  The German Plt Sgt and 2FG bugged out, while the armored car crewmen bailed out of their vehicle and surrendered.

The Germans lost:
20 WIA/KIA
3 POW (only the A/C crew, everyone else was a casualty or ran off)
1 armored car disabled
1 Panzer III destroyed
2 80mm mortar tubes captured

Our casualties:
Pvt Ignacio (HQ Element) *Repl (2/3); Shot in thigh, Purple Heart (3)
Sgt Hurley Reyes (2nd Squad SL) *Negative Morale Event (casualties) (2/3); Shot in head, Purple Heart (3);
Pvt Cahill (2nd Squad) *Repl (2/3); shot in torso, locally evacuated and treated, return in 5 days (3), Purple Heart;
Pvt Herby (3rd Squad) *Repl (2/3); shot in groin, locally evacuated and treated, return in 3 days, Purple Heart (3)
Cpl Daniel Farraday (HQ Element) *KIA (3); Submitted for posthumous Bronze Star (3)
Pvt Durango (HQ Element) *Repl (2/3); KIA (3)
Cpl Sam Jarrah (2nd Squad A/SL) *WIA, evacuated (3)
Pvt Oscar (2nd Squad) *shot in shoulder, walking wounded, Purple Heart (1); shot in hand, walking wounded, Purple Heart (2); shot in chest, evacuated, Purple Heart (3)
Pvt Edson (2nd Squad) *Repl (2/3); KIA (3)
Pvt Fenner (2nd Squad) *Repl (2/3); KIA (3)
Sgt Michael Dawson (3rd Squad SL) *WIA, evacuated (3) 
Pvt Effel (Wpns Plt/Mortars) *KIA (3)

So, the HQ Element is missing the RTO and 1st Squad is still down one man.  2nd Squad, as always, has really taken it in the shorts and is down 50% to only five men.  One of the missing is the A/SL.  3rd Squad is also is a bad way.  It's only lost three man, but those include the SL and A/SL.  PFC Whiskey was the acting A/SL and is now the ranking man in the squad.  We'll see if Battalion can spare any replacements...

Awards recommendations:
2Lt Shepherd, Platoon Commander, submitted for the Bronze Star for personal leadership of 2nd and 3rd Squads under intense enemy fire, and carrying out a textbook, fire and maneuver into close assault to destroy the enemy's left flank.

SFC Ford, Platoon Sergeant, submitted for the Bronze Star for leading the close assault on the enemy's key position and directing the main effort to defeat the enemy's armored counterattack.

Corporal Carlyle, HQ Element, Anti-Tank gunner, submitted for the Bronze Star for participating in the close assault on the enemy's key position and for eliminating the enemy's armor in the face of overwhelming odds.

Corporal Farrady, HQ Element, Radio/Telephone Operator, posthumously submitted for the Bronze Star for participating in the close assault which eliminated the anchoring element on their left flank.

Well, another fun, relatively quick game.  I hope my cheese at the end doesn't ruin what otherwise was a pretty interesting fight.

V/R,
Jack