All Americans, Non-Battle Period (14-20 July 1943)

All,

1st Platoon performed admirably in the first phase of the invasion of Sicily and was rewarded with six days out of the line to rest, refit, and  bring in replacements.  The platoon dropped onto an alien land in the dark of night, formed itself in the face of the enemy, and fought its way to the battalion staging area before moving out smartly to eliminate enemy AAA nearby.  Following this the platoon led the assault on the German "Objective Y" defenses, taking Olive Tree Hill then turning it over to 2nd Platoon, which was badly mauled when elements of the German FallschirmPanzer Division Hermann Goering counterattacked Olive Tree Hill in its bid to reach the 1st Infantry Division's landing beaches.  1st Platoon immediately mounted a counterattack and ejected the Germans from the hill; however, the HGD soon returned, this time with Tiger tanks, but the platoon held fast.  Again the Germans attacked, with the platoon first holding its ground but then being forced to abandon the position.  2Lt Shepherd and SFC Ford immediately reorganized the platoon and led them back up Olive Tree Hill, evicting the Germans, who fell back in disarray.

The next morning advanced elements of the 1st Inf Divsion arrived to relieve the hard-pressed paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division.  Shepherd and Ford happily led their troops to the rear for some R&R, having no idea it would be almost a full week before their number would again be called.  All of the platoon's walking wounded are healed up, and all the locally evacuated men returned.  All replacements save one (a tough little Corporal named Keepers from 3rd Battalion) were 'boots' straight off the landing ships.  Shepherd promoted several of the 'old hand' Privates were promoted to PFC (though not anyone that ran!).

Happenings:

-I finally rolled up Sgt Glenn's attributes: conformist, religion, and bold.  He's a quiet, humble man, devoted to the Lord, family, and his country.  He believes in being a part of something larger than himself, and, while he doesn't desire to die, his devoutness makes him unafraid of it and thus aggressive on the battlefield.

-Due to his personal valor, the performance of his squad and the platoon as a whole, and the friendship of Sgt Hume, Sgt Hurley has broken free of the depression that gripped him early on.

-SFC Ford (if you've forgotten, he's hedonistic, a drunk, reckless, but a helluva guy under fire) took the Squad Leaders out on the town (strictly against US Army standing orders), where they all became quite drunk and Ford gave his best attempt at causing an international incident when he was caught 'getting to know' the local mayor's significant other.  This got all the way to the Bn Cmdr, who was none to pleased.  Heads didn't roll, but stern warnings were dispensed.

-Two days later Ford again found himself drunk and this time, instead of mixing it up with a local female he decided on an altercation that got physical with a logistics officer from the 45th Infantry Division.  Despite getting the better of the rear-echelon Captain, the BC was not impressed, and Ford finds himself once again occupying the rank of Staff Sergeant.  BC has a neutral opinion of Ford.

-Due to increases in experience and performance in battle, the following progressions were made:
Lt Shepherd becomes a Level III leader

SSgt Ford becomes a Level III leader

Sgt Carlyle becomes a Level I leader

Sgt Hume becomes a Level II leader

Cpl Locke becomes a Level I leader

Sgt Hurley becomes a Level II leader

Cpl Keepers becomes a Level I leader

Sgt Glenn becomes a Level II leader

Cpl Pace becomes a Level I leader

The next phase of the battle sees the 82nd Airborne moving west along the coastal road towards Marsala, largely against inferior opposition, while the German frontline units pull back towards Messina at the northeast tip of the island.  1st Platoon is being brought back into the line to face off against flagging German and Italian opposition.  Up next for the platoon: Card H, "Screen."  Engineers will be off-board checking a substantial portion of road to determine if it can support an armored column.  The platoon will have battalion 81mm mortars in support, an M-3 Stuart in support, and Sgt Lapidus' MMG in support, covering Sgt Austen's engineers.  Also, the Lt has put it off a couple fights already, but his college chum, 1Lt Nickelson, has been begging to accompany Shepherd on a mission, and this seems to be as good as any.

V/R,

Jack

All Americans, Part 6 (Sicily 13 July 43)

All,

I was able to get another one in this evening.  So, in the last fight elements of the Hermann Goering FallschirmPanzer Division kicked 1st Platoon off the hill, though under the steady leadership of the Lt and Plt Sgt, and with some heroics from Sgt Glenn, the platoon was able to fall back in an orderly manner with all its wounded and dead.

Lt Shepherd and SFC Ford immediately set about reorganizing the platoon in order to launch a counterattack as soon as possible.    The HQ element still had its full complement of 5 men, but the platoon was down to three squad leaders and 15 men, so bodies were shuffled around to create three 6-man squads.  The MMG team that was with them in the last fight was also retained for the counterattack.

The Americans decided to forgo any indirect fire on their former position, instead opting to use stealth to get as close to the Germans as possible.  The Germans, too, had suffered heavy losses and were busy reorganizing.  Two teams had been dispatched to move wounded to the rear and bring up ammo and water, while two MG teams set about improving their defensive positions.  When the Americans were spotted the Panzer crew was dismounted conducting maintenance on their vehicle, and the German PC and Plt Sgt were huddled in discussion.

Here's the table, with US at bottom and Germans at top.  This is the 4th fight over this particular hill (which ostensibly serves as part of the 82nd Abn's initial 'Y' objectives.  In fight 3 the platoon took the position from the Germans, then was relieved by 3rd Platoon.  3rd Platoon was then kicked off the hill by HG Division, and in fight 4 the platoon counterattacked and took the hill again.  In fight 5, the Germans made a feeble push which was easily repulsed, but then regrouped and came on strong, kicking the platoon off the hill.  Now it's time to (try to) get it back.

The US left: 3rd Squad, the Lt and his RTO, and 2nd Squad.

The US center: the 4-man .30 cal MMG team and the 2-man bazooka team.

The US right: the Plt Sgt and 1st Squad.

The German left (oriented from the right, as opposed to from their baseline, which is at right): they have 2FG (NCO and two-man LMG team) at far left, Pz Mk III in center with PC and Plt Sgt above them, and 2AG (NCO and three rifles) at far right (returning with ammo and water).

German center: 1FG (same as 2FG) on left, MG-42 HMG (NCO and two-man crew) on right.  Both crews are split up, with one troop manning the gun while the other two work on the position (which is why I turned the emplacements sideways, simulating the fact they have been worked on but not finished).

German 1AG (NCO and three rifles) in center rear, almost at their baseline, also bringing up ammo and water.
I started both sides at a FM of 7, and I kept the Americans "get moving" attribute for this fight.

Turn 1:  The PC and 3rd Squad crawled up to the wire on the left, and the German HMG spotted them, cutting loose a burst (no effect).  This alerted the Germans, and the Panzer crew manned their vehicle.  The US MG, bazooka team, and 3rd Squad all took the German center under fire, getting a couple kills on the right hand LMG team (-2 FM pts for losing their NCO) and a lot of shock on the left hand HMG team.  The German PC sprinted to the center and pulled shock from the HMG team.  A random event occurred, forcing the Germans to take a morale test on a D10 roll of 10; I figured this was pretty cool in terms of the Germans being surprised and understrength.  Both German AG's dropped their supplies and rushed forward to the center.  On the right, the Plgt Sgt and 1st Squad crept forward, and took ineffective fire from the German 2FG.  The PC and 3rd Squad used the special move to cross the ford on the left and get into the treeline on the flank of the German hill positions.

PC and 1st Squad at far left, having used the special move to get across the ford.  German 1AG is moving forward at top center, and German HMG team is at bottom right.

US Center, showing 3rd Squad at top left, 2nd at bottom left, the MG and  bazooka team at bottom right, and the German HMG at top right.

The right side, with Plt Sgt and 1st Squad at bottom right and German 2FG at top center.

From the German side on their left.  2FG is just visible at top left, with 2AG at center left moving towards hill.  The German 1FG is on the left on the hill and the HMG is on the right, with the PC and Plt Sgt between them and 1AG at far right.

Turn 2: US MG, bazooka team, and 2nd Squad keep firing a the German HMG, and their PC keeps pulling shock off it to keep it in action, while the return fire puts quite a bit of shock on the US center (MMG and bazooka).  On the right, the Plt Sgt and 1st Squad creep up under ineffective German fire, then fire on 2FG but manage only 1 shock.  Back on the left, 3rd Squad and the PC fire on the HMG, getting a bunch more shock (still no kills on them), forcing the German Plt Sgt to hop over to pull shock from them.  Both German AGs move towards the hill while the Plt Sgt and 1st Squad use the special move to leave the treeline and get pretty close to the German 2FG.  Then, of all things, the German Panzer decided to come around this flank (instead of doing the much more likely move to the center, where my bazooka team was).

US left side, with MMG and bazooka (bottom center) showing some shock.  3rd Squad and PC are still at top left, 2nd Squad still at bottom left, German HMG and LMG (down to one man) on hill with German PC and Plt Sgt.

Close-up of the center: the German HMG is on left, while the 1FG is on right (only the gunner) with the Plt Sgt, and the PC is in the center.  1AG is top left, 2AG top right.  1AG is rather exposed as US 3rd Squad is off camera to the left.

And stuff just got real on the right.  The Plt Sgt was doing his usual "let's see how quick I can get into close combat" when the German Panzer (far right) decided to stick its nose over here.

Turn 3: German card came out first, and the Panzer pivoted and lit into the Plt Sgt and 1st Squad, but terrible shooting saved them (only 1 kill and 1 shock from the main gun and bow MG)!!!  Then another German card came out, and the 2FG fired on them, also getting 1 kill and 1 shock (I was really expecting all seven men to get gunned down).  However, the return fire manages to gun down the German NCO and A-gunner, leaving only the LMG gunner (-2 FM pts).

But things are getting precarious.  The paratroopers have the Plt Sgt and (now 4 men of) 1st Squad facing down a three man LMG team in a treeline and a Panzer at point blank range on the right, and the MMG team and bazooka team stacking up shock (making them less and less effective) in the center.  The Lt decides it's time to make some stuff happen.

While the German PC pulls some more shock from the HMG, 2nd Squad fires at the exposed 1AG coming up the hill, and kills three of the four men (including their NCO, -1 FM point).  The bazooka and MG both fire at the German HMG, getting a kill and a couple more shock.  The HMG has so much shock that the German Plt Sgt jumped over again and pulled some more shock.  The Lt and Sgt Glenn led 3rd Squad down the rise to the bank of the stream, where they cut loose on the German HMG with nine dice and got....  ZERO hits!  The German 2AG moved up and joined 1FG in the other emplacement, and they fired at the MMG and bazooka team, racking up a few more shock (getting real close to making them run).

Special move time came up, and the Lt decided it was go time.  He courageously led 3rd Squad up the hill and closed with the German HMG position (two men left, plus the German Plt Sgt).  The close combat resulted in the death of both German NCOs (the gunner promptly surrendered), but the Germans took a heavy toll: five paratroopers were downed in the melee!

Of course, the loss of two more leaders and another team dropped the German Force Morale another 4 points, leaving them at -4 overall, game over.  The German PC, remaining man of 1FG, the 4 men of 2AG, the sole survivor of 1AG, and the remaining man of 2FG all surrendered, but the German Panzer pivoted and made tracks out of there.

The aftermath of the close combat on the hill.  Sgt Glenn went down in the melee, though the Lt again survived a close combat unscathed...

Situation on the right, right before the German 2FG NCO surrendered and the Panzer headed for the rear.

So, mission accomplished, the hill (I realize now I should have given it a name) is back in US hands.  In campaign terms, this was the last fight for 13 July 1943.  In this sector (in my made up world), the link-up with the Big Red One occurs during the early morning hours of 14 July and the whole battalion is pulled out of the line for a few days to rest an refit before going on the offensive and chasing the Germans off the island of Sicily.  Here's the score:

The Germans lost:
10 WIA/KIA
9 POW 

Our Casualties:
Pvt Charleston (1st Squad) *Shot in neck, Purple Heart (1); KIA (6)
Pvt Echo (1st Squad) *WIA, evacuated, Purple Heart (6)
Sgt Glenn (3rd Squad) *Repl from E Co, 2nd Bn (3/4); Ran in the face of the enemy (4); Transferred from 2nd Squad to 3rd Squad (4/5); Submitted for Distinguished Service Cross (5); shot in neck, Purple Heart (6); 
Pvt Girardo (3rd Squad) *Repl (2/3); Ran in the face of the enemy (4); Shot in face, Purple Heart (5); shot in thigh, locally evacuated and treated, return 20 July 43, Purple Heart (6)
Pvt Tango (3rd Squad) *Submitted for Bronze Star (4); Shot in shoulder, Purple Heart (5); KIA (6)
Pvt Ertz (3rd Squad) *Repl (3/4); Transferred from 1st Squad (5/6); shot in groin, locally evacuated and treated, return 18 July 43, Purple Heart (6)
Pvt Uniform (3rd Squad) *Submitted for Bronze Star (4): shot in jaw, Purple Heart (6);
Pvt Bautista (Wpns Plt/MMG) *(5); KIA (6)

Awards Recommendations: None.  Heroes, as always, but nothing that stands out.

So, the platoon's riflemen are down to 13 effectives, with only three of them having never been hit (and one of those is a replacement!).  There are five guys that will return to the platoon in less than a week though.  The platoon itself has suffered 29 men killed or evacuated out of theater.

Somehow, three of the guys that have constantly had their necks on the line, the PC (the Plt Sgt, and the bazooka gunner) have not been hit!  It's really going to piss me off when one of those guys gets it...  But that's what I wanted out of the campaign; a narrative, a sense of continuity, and a connection.  It's been a lot of fun.

V/R,
Jack

All Americans, Part 5 (Sicily 13 July 43)

All,

Got another fight in this morning before football started.  The platoon was on the defensive; the tanks and panzer-grenadiers of the Hermann Goering Division had taken the hill from 3rd Platoon, then 1st had moved up and taken back.  After scattered firefights all night long between 1st Platoon's outposts and HG patrols, the HG launched another attack at first light, on the heels of a preparatory artillery barrage.  

The platoon reorganized during the night.  Troops were shuffled around, bringing 1st and 2nd Squad's to full strength, while 3rd Squad had only one team led by Sgt Glenn.  As they were lining up their defense, the Lt was flummoxed that he couldn't really hide Glenn (after his poor performance last fight); Ford muttered an "I told you so" under his breath...    Pre-game we got an on-call arty barrage, an ATG, and a 1 four-man.30 cal MMG team.  Also, I got the "Get Moving" trait again (and boy would I need it).

 The table, from the US baseline.  All blinds have been rolled up and all forces are on the table.

 On the US left we have team 1B, but with the Squad Leader pulled from 1A and placed with them.

 In the center, the left emplacement has the 57mm ATG, the right has the .30 cal MMG.  The forward position has 3A; the Lt (who is in the woods in the center with his RTO) decided if he couldn't hide Glenn he'd keep him nice and close).  In the rear/reserve, we have 1A (minus the SL) on the left, the Plt Sgt and bazooka team in the center, and 2A (minus the SL) on the right.

 On the right is 2B, plus the 2nd Squad SL.

 The German left has (from left to right) 3AG, 3FG, and 2FG (which has an MG-42 on a tripod instead of a bipod LMG), and 2AG (far right, barely in the picture opposite US 3A in the forward emplacement).  A German Pz Mk III (P3) is also on this side, just off camera to bottom right).

 German center, showing (again) 2FG and 2AG in center, with P2 at bottom left, a Sdkfz 222 armored car at center right, and P1 at far right.

 The German right, with 1AT in field at top, 1FG at ford, arid P1 at  center bottom.

Turn 1:  The Germans had a pre-game barrage: Left - 1B had 1KIA; Center - ATG 1 KIA and 1 shock, MMG 1 KIA and 1 shock, and 3A 1 KIA; Right - 2B had 1 shock.

 On the left, 1AG, 1FG, and P1 all move up and fire on 1B, managing only 2 shock!  1B returns fire at 1AG, getting a kill and 3 shock.

In the center, the German 2nd Squad moves forward, and P2 and the A/C move up and fire.  The ATG fires at P2, missing everything.  Things are looking a little dire on the right, so the Plt Sgt sends 2A (in reserve) right to link up with 2B and brings the bazooka up to the right emplacement with the MMG.  The MMG swings its gun right and fires on the German 3rd Squad opposite 2B.  The bazooka gets in place and puts a rocket into P2, immobilizing it and causing the crew to bail.

 On the right, 2B trades fire with the German 3rd Squad, while P3 moves forward and fires ineffectively.

Turn 2:  On the left, 1B mows down 1AG.  In the center, the ATG knocks out P1, blowing its turret clean off!  The bazooka fired at the A/C but missed, while the MMG fired at 2FG, getting a couple hits.  3A manages to kill 2FG's NCO, while 2FG puts some shock on the MMG.  On the right, 2B gets a couple kills on 3AG, while 3FG and P3 get a couple kills on 2B.

At this point, the Germans have lost three NCOs, two tanks, and a fair few of their infantry.  They decide on an operational pause to pull back, regroup, receive reinforcements, and try again.

Less than an hour later 1st Platoon again heard the rumble of tank engines...  The German plan was to use 1st Squad on the center right to demonstrate and hold the attention of the Americans there, while the main effort would come on the left.

 The German left: P4, P3, P2, P1, and the armored car, followed by 2nd Squad (2FG on left, 2AG on right), followed by 3rd Squad (3FG on left, 3AG on right).  The German PC is between the two squads, and there is a 2-tube section of 80mm mortars at bottom right.

 On the right is 1st Squad (1FG at far right, 1AG in center), with a four-man HMG at center left.  The Plt Sgt is right behind 1AG in center.

Turn 3:

 On the left, 1AG and 1B trade fire, with 1B losing a man.

 In the center, the German HMG, 1AG, and 80mm mortars went after the ATG, getting a kill and three shock.  The PC pulls shock and the ATG hits P2, destroying its main gun, but the crew is fanatic and stay in the fight!  3A put a few hits on 1AG, while the MMG swung its gun right and started firing on the the two German squads marching on 2B (killing one of the German NCOs for -1 FM pt).  This caused the German A/C to come over and fire at ti, getting only a couple shock.  The bazooka moved from its reserve position up next to the MMG.

 The short story is that every German on the American right moved forward and shot at 2nd Squad, getting a couple kills (there's a stiff penalty 'to hit' when you move and shoot).  Sgt Hurley took stock of the situation, then he and his sole remaining teammate both grabbed a wounded man and began falling back.

Turn 4:

 On the left, Sgt Hume realizes what's going on and, on his own initiative, grabs his wounded and falls back towards the US center position.  The German 1FG sees this and moves forward.

 In the center, the German HMG and mortars again go after the ATG, wiping them out (and causing a loss of 3 FM points!), while the A/C and 1AG move up and fire on the MMG, to no effect.  Sgt Carlyle pops his head up and puts a rocket into P2's flank, destroying it.  The bazooka team then used the 'special move' to sprint right to help 2B (that's them at far right).

The start of Sgt Glenn's heroics began with his sending the remainder of hit team back to the ATG position.  Then he drew a deep breath to calm himself, said a prayer, climbed over the sandbags, and charged the German armored car!  He fired hit Thompson SMG the whole way, mounted it, reloaded, and began spraying lead into the vision slit.  He killed the driver through the vision slit, and the vehicle commander when he popped the hatch with pistol drawn.  The radio man popped his head out of the hatch with his arms raised, but it was all happening too fast and Sgt Glenn shot him too!  (You can just see Glenn in the center next to the burning A/C)

The PC moved over to the MMG and pulled shock from them, and they continued to pour fire to the right to try and protect 2B.  1A used the 'special move' to haul butt from the reserve position to 2B's position.  At some point during all this, the Plt Sgt sprinted right to help 1A and 2B.

On the right, 1A laid down (ineffective fire) then, with three Panzers and two rifle squad bearing down on the position, grabbed the last wounded guy and began falling back too (2B is at far left, 1A at center left, with the whole German Army coming at the hill).

Not to be outdone by Sgt Glenn, SFC Ford sprinted up to P3 as it was cresting the hill, and mounted it.  He fired his Tommy Gun into the vision slits until it was empty, and when the bow gunner's hatch opened he stuck the barrel of his .45 into it and started squeezing rounds off.  For all that, the Panzer crew received two shock, while they got one hit on Ford, but no effect.  The remaining German tanks and infantry continued to advance.

I know I haven't been putting in each paragraph as it happens, but let me update you on the Force Morale situation: the US is down to 2 and the German are down to 4.  The US is currently pulling off a fighting withdrawal to get all their troops out of there; if their morale breaks before they get their guys off the board, a good number of them will be captured.

Turn 5:

 On the left, 1FG sprinted up to 1Bs old position.  Sgt Hume sends the man carrying the WIA off the table, while he leads the rest of 1B up to the ATG position.  The 80mm mortars crash down on the MMG, but only get 1 shock, while the German HMG puts two kills on 3A (at the ATG position).  Sgt Glenn can't believe he's still alive, but gathers his wits and sprints up to the ATG position.  1AG moves up and fires at the mass of paratroopers on top of the hill, to no effect.  The PC and RTO return fire, mowing down four men.  The MMG continues to burn its barrel out firing to the right, trying to cover the withdrawal of 1A and 2B (both carrying wounded).  The remainder of 3A grabs some wounded and starts making their way off the board.

 On the right, Sgt Carlyle fires and knocks out P4.  The Plt Sgt and the crew of P3 go at it again, but all they manage is for each side to put two shock on the other (normally shock doesn't effect leaders, but I figured this was melee and so I let it stand).  As the German infantry moved forward the Plt Sgt decided to hop off the Panzer and make a run for it.  Meanwhile, 2B and 1A continued to move toward the table edge.

Turn 6: The US Arty finally arrives, and wreaks havoc on the Germans bunched up on the right.  Okay, not havoc, but 4 kills and 4 shock were spread between the four infantry teams, with another two shock going on P3.

 On the left, the MMG keeps firing into the German infantry formation to the right, while the 80mm mortars drop on it again, getting 2 shock (the MMG's been leading a charmed life on the 'hit effect' table).  1B and 1FG exchange fire, with 1FG losing a man.  The German HMG, 1AG, and the German Plt Sgt sprint ahead in the center, determined to not let the Americans in the center escape.  Sgt Glenn sees this and lets loose a burst from his Thompson (hitting nothing), then grabs a wounded man and bolts down the hill.  The PC continues to bounce between the two emplacements, pulling shock to keep the MMG and various rifle teams in the fight.  3A gets off the board with a couple wounded.

 On the right, Sgt Carlyle sees P2 pop out on the other side of the trees (at the extreme far right).  The team loads its last rocket, and Carlyle promptly puts it into the flank of P2, knocking it out (German FM is now at ZERO; one more 'event' and they break).  Seeing 2B and 1A successfully withdraw off the board, the Plt Sgt sprints left to the meet up with the Lt.  The German P3, PC, 2nd Squad, and 3rd Squad all take an operational pause to get rid of a bunch of the shock they've acquired via the MMG fire and the Arty barrage.

Turn 7: On the right, the entire German force cautiously moved forward, but no one was home as the bazooka team had just sprinted off the board.

In the center, the MMG continued firing right, while 1B and the PC all fired at 1FG, reducing it to one man, before the PC and RTO both picked up wounded and sprinted down the hill.  The Plt Sgt signaled the MMG, and they packed up the gun and sprinted to the rear, while Sgt Glenn got off the board carrying a wounded man.  The Germans in the center continued to move forward, and the mortars fired blindly at the US forces in the center but hit nothing.

The three remaining men of 1B (at top), holding off the enemy while the Plt Sgt (center), Plt Commander (bottom left), and RTO (bottom right), all carrying wounded men, make their way to the board edge.

In turn 8 the remaining paras were able to safely exit the board.

So, the game was not supposed to go this way (with the German reinforcements), but somehow they were getting their butts kicked in a pushover, so I decided to have them reload and go at it again, and boy was that crazy!  Despite getting my butt kicked, it was really a great time!  In game terms, perhaps I could have held my position and died in place (or died at least until the Force Morale broke), but I actually liked the idea of transitioning mid-stream to a fighting withdrawal, trying to save all the wounded men.  It was really testing in terms of balancing the fighting with the withdrawing, and I can't believe I pulled it off (both sides almost had their morale break).  And I'm happy to report that the platoon's leadership (more so Ford than Shepherd couldn't have been more wrong about Sgt Glenn!  

The Germans lost:
53 WIA/KIA
0 POW
1 Sdkfz 222 armored car damaged

5 Panzer Mk III tanks damaged/destroyed

Our Casualties:Pvt George (1st Squad) *KIA (5)

Pvt Hotel (1st Squad) *WIA, evacuated, Purple Heart (5)
Pvt Alston (2nd Squad) *Repl (2/3); Shot in calf, Purple Heart (5);
Pvt Beetle (2nd Squad) *Repl (2/3); WIA, evacuated, Purple Heart (5)
Pvt Farr (2nd Squad) *Repl (3/4); Shot in shoulder, Purple Heart (4); Shot in foot, Purple Heart (5); 
Cpl Nancy (2nd Squad) *Meritoriously promoted to Cpl by PC (3/4); WIA, evacuated, Purple Heart (5)
Pvt Hubler (2nd Squad) *Repl (3/4); KIA (5)
PFC Whiskey (2nd 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); Transferred from 3rd Squad (4/5); WIA, evacuated, Purple Heart (5)
Pvt Johnson (2nd Squad) *Repl (3/4); Shot in thigh, Purple Heart (5)
Pvt Tango (3rd Squad) *Submitted for Bronze Star (4); Shot in shoulder, Purple Heart (5);
Pvt Sierra (3rd Squad) *shot in thigh, walking wounded, Purple Heart (2); KIA (5)
Pvt Girardo (3rd Squad) *Repl (2/3); Ran in the face of the enemy (4); Shot in face, Purple Heart (5);
Pvt Clue (MMG Team) *Shot in hip, Purple Heart (5);
Sgt "Penny" Widmore (ATG) *(4); Shot in head, Purple Heart (5);
Pvt Ackerman (ATG) *(4); KIA (5)
Pvt Pippen (ATG) *(4); Shot in groin, Purple Heart (5);
Pvt Vinson (ATG) *(4); Shot in arm, Purple Heart (5);

Awards Recommendations:

2Lt Shepherd submitted for the Bronze Star for leadership under intense enemy fire which allowed for the orderly withdrawal of his force.

SFC Ford submitted for the Silver Star for stabilizing the position on the right flank by attacking a German Panzer, allowing members of 1st and 2nd Squads to escape with wounded members of the platoon.

Sgt Carlyle submitted for the Distinguished Service Cross for knocking out three German tanks.

Sgt Hurley submitted for Bronze Star for holding the platoon's right flank against overwhelming odds, then successfully withdrawing under intense enemy pressure to preserve his squad.

Sgt Glenn submitted for the Distinguished Service Cross for remaining behind to cover the withdrawal of the Platoon's central position, charging and destroying an enemy armored car in close combat, then falling back to carry a wounded comrade off the battlefield.

The Lt and Plt Sgt know what needs to be done; immediately they set to reorganizing the platoon to launch a counterattack as soon as possible.  The HQ element is still 100%, but the rifle squads are down to 18 men.  As the platoon still has all three squad leaders, Shepherd and Ford decide to make three 6-man squads.  The MMG team is sort of milling around in the absence of orders from higher, so the Lt makes decides possession equals ownership, and he lumps them into the platoon for the counterattack.  After a few words from Ford, Carlyle and his partner disappear for a bit, then reappear with ammo, grenades, and rockets for the bazooka.  The Lt's happy to have more rockets, but really hopes to see no more German armor...

So far my 35-man platoon (5 HQ element, three x 10-man rifle squads) has suffered 29 WIA and 12 KIA (this does not include attachments, such as mortars, MGs, and ATGs).  12 of the wounded are 'walking wounded,' with two of them being hit twice, and three of the non-walking wounded were locally evacuated and will return during this campaign.  So, not including the walking wounded and three that will return, the platoon has lost 26 men, 6 of which were replacements. 

So stand by for the counter-counter-counter-counter (1st Plt took the hill, Germans counterattacked 3rd Plt and took the hill, 1st Plt took it back, Germans just took it again) attack.

V/R,
Jack

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