Charge of KG Peiper #3

All,

On to the Meuse!

0900

19 December 1944

Kampfgruppe Peiper, a German SS Panzer formation, moved out as part of 'Wacht Am Rhein," AKA, "The Battle of the Bulge," in the evening of 16 December, reaching Losheim at approximately 2200. Fighting through traffic as they pushed west on the 'rollbahns,' Peiper grabbed a battalion of German Fallschirmjaeger sitting idly by the road (setting the stage for the iconic photo of the German paratroopers riding atop King Tigers), and, continuing their push west, the kampfgruppe overran a column of retreating American troops at approximately 0600 on 17 December. At approximately 0745 on 17 December the kampfgruppe, having finally defeated a token platoon of Americans that had held them up for hours, got on the move. They pushed north towards Bullingen and west towards Ligneuville, running into some issues due splitting their forces, making the questionable decision to have a company of Panthers push through some hilly, heavily forested terrain, and their artillery having a hard time finding the range. And while both Panther companies and a Panzer Grenadier company suffered substantial casualties, the Germans were ultimately able to secure both villages and continue their push westwards. Then, at 0600 on 18 December, the Germans found themselves in severely constricted terrain, with rivers, urban areas, hills, and heavy forest everywhere the eye could see, not to mention a few companies of American infantry, and that pesky Tank Destroyer company from the previous fight, as they attempted to blitzkrieg their way through the villages of Stavelot, Trois Ponts, and La Gleize. Again the fighting was heavy, with American infantry putting up a desperate defense at a heavily wooded roadblock, though finally the Germans were able to break through. Charging through the broken US defensive in the south, the German panzers rushed to La Gleize where they quickly overran a US mechanized company still mounted in their halftracks! This collapsed the American right flank, forcing the remainder of the Yanks in the area to fall back.

It is now 0900 on 19 December and the push to the Meuse continues. The Germans find themselves facing the Americans' last line of defense anchored on a quartet of villages: Stoumont, Cheneaux, Targnon, and Habiemont. This line consists of a company of US infantry manning a roadblock, a company of Engineers, and, once again, that pesky company of Tank Destroyers. But the Germans are hard pressed; they've lost their heavy King Tigers, and their infantry have taken heavy casualties, with only half of the remainder still mechanized. Aside from that, they must strike fast as the US commanders have finally responded to the German thrust and reinforcements in the form of an armored combat command and infantry from the 82nd Airborne Division are on the way. Oh, and the skies are beginning to clear, which means those pesky Jabos will soon be about.

So, what's going on here, you ask? Well, this is a mini-campaign, and an unplanned one, at that! This is to keep up my end of a bargain I made online; my buddy Thuseld, over on The Wargames Website, has been working on getting 6mm WWII forces together for awhile, just like me. He'd posted pics of his lovely troops and vehicles, lamenting that he wasn't sure when he'd ever get them on the table. I replied that I, too, had been working on getting 6mm WWII forces ready, and I, too, was unsure when they'd actually see the table. Then I made an off-hand comment that sealed my fate: I jokingly suggested he and I enter a pact, to ensure we got our 6mm WWII forces on the table ASAP. Well, he not only accepted, he played some games and posted them that very next weekend! So I'm already late, but late is better than never, so here I am, keeping up my end of the deal! My plan is to play a three-game mini-campaign, and it's not just serving to get my 6mm WWII stuff on the table. I'm also going to test out the Blitzkrieg Commander IV rules, and I'm also, for the first time ever, going to play some winter games. So here we go! 

Wanting to play some winter games and having late war German and US/UK kit, I began searching the internet for scenarios. Twasn't long before I came across a free PDF from Battlefront, called "Peiper's Charge, Running the Gauntlet in the Ardennes, 16-25 December 1944." It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn useful, and it was perfect for what I was trying to do: three fights in the snow between late-war US and German kit. Sure it's built for Flames of War, revolving around platoon-sized units, but I just bumped each of those up to a company-sized unit, no problem. In any case, the PDF outlines a mini-campaign with the Germans attacking across the three maps, ending with the Americans counterattacking on the third map. Worked like a charm.

Overview, north is up.  The villages are: Stoumont (center right top), Cheneux (center), Habiemont (bottom left), and Targnon (top left).  The hills are, clockwise from top center: Hill 57, Hill 81 (far right), Hill 63 (center bottom), and Hill 70 (far left).  There is a river running east (far right) to southwest (bottom left), with a fork splitting off to the northwest (top left); it is cold, fast-moving, and deep, so may only be crossed at the bridges in Cheneaux and Habiemont.  There is a decent road network, and it needs to be used as cross country movement is penalized in the deep, snowy fields, heavy, dark forests, and slick, steep slopes.

The opposing forces, Americans up top and Germans on the bottom. This is done in 6mm, with all vehicles from Heroics and Ros, while the infantry and US anti-tank guns (ATGs) are from GHQ.

The US forces will begin the game with the top row on the table; from top left to top right, they are the Tank Destroyer Company (M-10 Wolverines), a rifle company (with 57mm ATG detachment), and an engineer company (with 90mm AA detachment).

The middle and bottom rows are reserves: two airborne rifle companies, and two tank companies.  Air support, in the form of a P-47 Thunderbolt, will be available from the end of Turn 3 on.  In order to simplify the process, to carry out an attack the P-47 must pass two command rolls on a CV8, one to mark/identify the target, one to carry out the attack, and he can only carry out a single attack per turn.  And as I'm writing this I realize I failed to give the Germans any of my spiffy, new AAA units...

And the Germans, all of whom start of table and enter using 'mobile deployment.'  The Germans have three tank companies, one with Panthers and two with Panzer Mk IVs.  Then they have two rifle companies, one comprised of panzergrenadiers with halftracks and a PaK-40 detachment, the other comprised of Fallschirmjaeger on foot, with a FlaK-36 88mm AT detachment.  Lastly, the Germans have artillery available in the form of a battery of 'Grille' 150mm self-propelled guns.

I'm a bit different in that, when I play BKC, I prefer to have my arty on the table, rolling for them to act just like any other unit. This helps keep things simple, which makes life easier for me 1) when I'm playing solo, and 2) when I'm playing with my boy (he's 10).

And that ain't it: a little frustrated with the fact I've been playing relatively small games that are taking 3.5 to 4 hours, I decided to change some things up. Previously I playing as per the rules, where a battlegroup of six tanks was commanded by an HQ and when it fired each individual tank fired. In an effort to speed things up, I'm treating each 'battle group' as an autonomous unit (no HQ, it basically 'orders' itself, and I found out I don't really need the HQs anyway, though I do still use a CO) that moves and fires as a single unit, so instead of firing with six tanks' worth of dice, it fires with one tank's worth of dice, and can only take as many hits as one tank. Regarding hits, at the end of each turn we had one hit fall off (not all), so it really brought up some interesting dynamics dealing with trying to shield units so they'd have time to recuperate or do you push them as you try to break through? It really worked well for us.

Overview again, this time with troops.  The US Rifle Company has setup a roadblock just west of Stoumont, on the road below Hill 57 (top center left), and the Tank Destroyer Company has set it's M-10s amongst the buildings in Targnon (top left), while the Engineer Company has dug-in to the village of Habiemont (bottom left).  The Germans have split their forces, with 1st Panzer Company (Panthers), 2nd Panzer Company (Pz IVs), and the FJ Company arriving in the northeast (top right), while 3rd Panzer Company (Pz IVs), the PzGren Company, and the SP Arty are arriving in the southeast (bottom right).

This fight looks to be an easy win for the US, so I actually flipped sides and took the Germans in this fight, while "the boy" manned the Yanks.

The US Rifle Company manning its roadblock on and around Hill 57.

The Tank Destroyer Company set up in Targnon.

And the Engineer Company in Habiemont, with their heavy dual-purpose 90mm guns looking straight east (right) down the road they expect Germans to start flowing down.

The German southeastern force: 3rd Pz Co, PzGren Co, and the SP Arty.

The German northeast force: 1st Pz Co, 2nd Pz Co, and the FJ Co, with attached 88mm AT detachment.

I put the German CO in the center, he can decide to come on at either entry point.

While the US Co is between the Rifle Company's roadblock (top right) and the TDs in Targnon (bottom left).

The US reserve of 1st and 2nd Tank Companies, and 1st and 2nd Airborne Rifle Companies.

The game is afoot, with Germans up first.

And it begins in the northeast, where 1st Pz Co brings its Panthers onto the battlefield.

The anti-tank gunners at the US roadblock (bottom left) sight in and fire on the massive Panthers (top center); casualties are light, but 1st Pz Co is suppressed!

2nd Pz Co moves up behind the stalled 1st Pz Co, then pushes off road and passes them to the right (top center, from far right), as the footsloggers of the FJ Company move up, ever so slowly.

In the southeast, 3rd Pz Company's commander is experiencing a traffic jam and has a hard time getting them moving (he failed his command roll), so the German CO grabs them and pushes them forward (left, from top right) at the double-time!

But the US 90mm guns in Habiemont (bottom left) has spotted the Pz IVs (top right) and open fire; again casualties are light, but again the fire is effective enough to sow confusion in the ranks of the German tankers (1 hit, suppressed).

And the PzGren Co, in their halftracks, follow in the tracks of the Pz IVs.  The German SP Arty battery attempts to move up, but apparently they're stuck in the same traffic jam that bedeviled 3rd Pz Company's commander...

Thus ends the German phase of Turn 1.

The US Engineers in Habiemont immediately set about continuing to fire on 3rd Pz Co, scoring a hit (its first, since the earlier hit and suppression fell off at the end of the German phase), but not suppressing the German tankers...

Which allows them to return fire on the stout, stone buildings of Habiemont (top left), causing light casualties (1 hit).

This will sound funny, but I'm saving loads of time simply not having to count out 24 dice to roll, then count up hits, then roll saves, then roll for suppression.  Life is easier rolling four dice (three for AP in this case, actually), then saves, then unsaved for suppression.

The US Rifle Co at the roadblock (sort of just visible at top right) wants to fire its AT guns, but can't get organized (failed command roll).

And then the first US reinforcements arrive!  1st Airborne Rifle Company arrives in Targnon, where the TD Co is camped out.

So, with reinforcements arriving (bottom left), the US TD Co moves off road, up to support the roadblock infantry (center top, from bottom left).

With the Rifle Company at the roadblock (bottom left) seeming a bit confused, the US CO moves up and takes charge, and very quickly the 57mm ATGs are pounding rounds out at 1st Pz Co (top right, with FJ Co behind them and 2nd Pz Co at top center), but it's very difficult for the 57mm rounds to penetrate the thick hides of the Panthers (1 hit, 1 save).

So the Panthers return fire on the roadblock ATGs, but the Americans (top right) are well camouflaged and the German rounds are unable to find their targets (0 hits!).

The American CO throws his hands up: "Well I'll be damned, no one can hit anything!  I give up!" (he failed his next roll)

But things are looking up for the Yanks as more reinforcements arrive: 1st Tank Company arrives and begins climbing Hill 70 (bottom left, with US TD Co and roadblock at top center), but the slope is steep and slick and they don't get very far.

And then, lo and behold, 2nd Airborne Rifle Company shows up in support of the Engineers in Habiemont!  Hell, the only ones that didn't arrive was 2nd Tank Company, and thus ends Turn 1.

Turn 2 begins with 1st Pz Co unable to get itself organized (failed roll), so 2nd Pz Co (far right, with 1st Pz Co at bottom center) begins pounding the US roadblock (top center), but like their brethren in the Panthers, they don't have a solid lock on where the US positions are and don't hit anything...

But the US anti-tank gunners at the roadblock (bottom left) are tenacious, and immediately return fire, accurately, though they fail to brew any German tanks up (2 hits, 2 saves).

The German 2nd Pz Co (top right) tosses another couple volleys into the wood (far left), suppressing the US Rifle Co, so the way is clear for the FJ Co to move up, but they can't get their stuff together (off camera to far right, failed command roll)!

In the southeast, the German SP Arty battery finally gets into position, after the CO intervenes (local commander failed roll), and he's pondering whether to have them stonk the roadblock or Habiemont.  Probably smarter to hit the roadblock, but it's just such a juicy target (with 2nd Abn Rifle Co on the road and the US Engineers in the buildings) in Habiemont that he decides that's the target to go with, but then he can't get them set up quick enough to be useful (failed command roll)!

I guess it really is the 'Battle of the Bulge,' and the Germans really are out of gas...

So 3rd Pz Co, on the road (bottom right), picks up the slack and begins shelling Habiemont (far left), but they don't hit anything...

And return fire from the 90mm guns in Habiemont (bottom center) roughs up the German tankers (top right, getting a 2nd hit and), suppressing them.

And with the arty (top center right) not engaging any targets, the CO practically beside himself at his inability to get anything done, and the tankers (bottom left) getting pasted by AT fire, the German PzGren commander (far right) decides to just sit tight and see how things develop (failed roll).

Thus ends the Germans' 2nd phase of the game.

The US Rifle Co at the roadblock (center top) is suppressed and can't do anything while they rally and reorganize, so 1st Abn Rifle Co moves up to support them, out of Targnon (just visible at bottom left) and towards Hill 57 (far left), as the TD Company moves up, into the woods on the Rifle Company's right (top right)...

But this movement (top left) draws the attention of 2nd Pz Co (bottom right), who immediately open fire, causing some light casualties and suppressing the US tank destroyers!

As the TD Co (center top) is getting pounded, 1st Tk Co tries to get up Hill 70 (bottom left), but nothing doing (failed command roll).

Down in Habiemont, the 90mm guns of the Engineer Co open fire on the German Pz IVs in the south (top right)...

They (top left) don't accomplish anything, though, and the German tankers (bottom right) return fire, putting a couple hits on the Engineers and suppressing them!

But with the German tanks (off camera to right) busy roughing up the Engineers (bottom left) and their panzergrenadiers and artillery not doing much of anything, 2nd Airborne Rifle Company decides it wants to establish a defensive position atop Hill 63 (top right), so they take off, and that's exactly what they do!  They hump it all the way from Habiemont (bottom left) to Hill 63, and get set up, all on foot!

*In an extraordinarily impressive series of dice rolls, the boy actually rolled snake-eyes twice, so two double moves, plus another pass (it was double move, pass once, then double move), to get them up there.

And if that weren't enough, the hearty paratroopers then get their 57mm ATGs into action, firing on 3rd Pz Co!  They cause another two hits, putting three total on them, and Pz IVs only take four!

The US 2nd Tank Company again fails to come onto the table, and this ends Turn 2.

But the German artillerymen are finally in action, and they begin firing, over open sights, on 2nd Abn Rifle Co (far left) on Hill 63.  The unfortunate American paras are in nothing but shell scrapes and take heavy casualties (three hits) and are suppressed by the ferocious artillery barrage.  The German arty commander smiles at the view through his field glasses, right on target.  Good enough, he thinks, then orders his men to shift fire to Habiemont, but they fail to get it done in a timely fashion (failed command roll)…

3rd Pz Co is suppressed on the road (bottom left), but no matter, the panzergrenadiers (far right) need to get off their ass and take that hill!  The German PzGren commander extolls his men to move forward, but they don't really manage to get anything done, so the CO hops in and begins screaming and kicking ass...

But even he can't get them moving particularly quick, either!

So, back to the north, then.

1st Pz Co finally gets moving again, and they rush their Panthers into Stoumont (top left, from stand of trees at right center, with 2nd Pz Co at top center and the FJ Co at far right).

But the US tank destroyers (bottom center) in the woods spot them (top center) and open fire...

The US gunners score a hit, but the Panthers return fire, scoring two hits and suppressing the M-10s.

With combat joined in Stoumont (far left), 2nd Pz Co (top center) needs to get into the fight, but they can't see any targets and aren't sure enough of the situation to advance (failed command roll).  The FJ Company finally gets going (center top right, from far right)...

But the US infantry at the roadblock (bottom center) spot them (top center) and immediately begin pounding them with mortar and machine gun fire, causing heavy casualties (three hits) and suppressing the hapless German paratroopers, stopping them in their tracks.  This ends the German phase of Turn 3, and the US ATGs at the roadblock immediately begin firing on 2nd Pz Co (top left)...

But they (top center) fail to score, as does the German tanks' (bottom right) return fire.

The US CO wants 1st Abn Rifle Co up on top of Hill 57, and when their commander fails to make it happen, he grabs the reins himself and makes it happen (top left, from bottom left).

But the German FJ (far right) spot the US paratroopers taking up position on Hill 57 (top left) and open fire with their own mortars and machine guns, though they fail to connect.

And then the paratroopers (bottom left) manhandle their 57mm ATGs into position and begin shelling 2nd Pz Co (top center), not really causing any casualties, but the German tankers are feeling the pressure (1 hit and suppressed, which really hurts as this means the Panzer IVs will not be able to act during their next phase, and if suppressed again, they'll be forced to fall back. I thought about making a 'rally' roll where a CO could attempt to lift the suppression, but ultimately I left it as is).

And a big moment for the Yanks when 1st Tk Co is finally able to take up position on the dominating heights of Hill 70!

The Germans are not at all happy with this development, and so their Panthers (bottom center) open fire on the Shermans (top center), and though they fail to score (2 hits, 2 saves!), the Yanks are shaken up enough that they don't get anything else done (failed command roll).

Meanwhile, back in the south, the Engineers in Habiemont (bottom center) use their 90mm guns to continue their merciless pounding of 3rd Pz Co (top right, with the panzergrenadier halftracks at top center right)...

Several Panzer IVs are brewed up (bottom left), breaking the German tank company and sending the survivors streaming to the rear (far right)!!!

Ruh-roh.

The Engineers (bottom center) look to get their mortars and MGs into action against the panzergrenadiers, but they're too busy cheering at the demise of 3rd Pz Co (failed command roll), and 2nd Airborne Rifle Co is ensconced atop Hill 63 (top right), but suppressed, so they can't do anything, but I'll be damned if that isn't the time where 2nd Tank Company arrives and pushes up to aid their comrades (center right, from bottom left, making good time on the road, with no AT threat).

And being the end of Turn 3...

Here comes the fly-fly boys...

Ha!  Just in tie for the game's first blunder!!!  No, we're not about to have a friendly fire incident; instead, the FAC's UHF radio is broken for five turns, and close air support cannot be called in until it's fixed, so it looks like the Americans shall be fighting without air support this game.

Turn 4 begins with the German SP Arty (bottom center, with PzGren Co above and to their left) again pounding the 82nd Airborne troopers atop Hill 63 (top center), causing hellacious casualties and again suppressing them (three more hits, bringing their total to four, out of six they can take).

And then it's the Germans' turn to blunder: the weather, hills, and forests are playing hell with German radio communications, and the Allies may even be jamming them, and/or making ghost calls (Allied operators pretending to be German units on the net, calling out fake contact reports, situation reports, and/or instructions from higher HQ).  German commanders on the ground are intensely confused and frustrated, so all command rolls are -1 to CV for this turn...

Nevertheless, the time to act is now: the German panzergrenadiers roll right up to the base of Hill 63 (top left)...

The German commander fires a flare to signal their artillery to shift fire, as the veteran German infantry hop out of their halftracks...

And head straight into close assault with the US 2nd Airborne Rifle Company...

It's not really a fight; the German panzergrenadiers have no problem seeing the US paratroopers off after their twice being thrashed by German artillery.

Ya know, it's kind of a wargaming dream of mine that, someday, rather than roll dice to decide the close combat, I actually bust out my 10mm troops and play a game of 5Core Company Command to determine what the results of the close combat are.  And during that game, if there's close combat, I bust out the 15mm singly-based troops to play out a squad-sized game of 5 Men at Kursk to determine the outcome.  Someday...

The panzergrenadiers (who took only one hit in the close combat) consolidate their positions atop Hill 63...

Where they immediately get their PaK-40 anti-tank guns into action, opening fire on 2nd Tank Company, practically at point-blank range!  They cause some casualties (two hits) and suppress the American tankers.

The Engineers, back in Habiemont (bottom center), return fire on the new occupants of Hill 63 (top center) with their mortars and machine guns, to no effect.

Up in the north, the German Fallschirmjaegers get their 88mm ATGs set up and ready for action.  Then decide that that's enough work for now (failed command roll)...

With the FJ Company (off camera to far right) finished doing anything productive, and 2nd Pz Co (top right) suppressed, it falls to the Panthers of 1st Pz Co (in Stoumont, bottom right) to get something done.  Worried about ATGs on Hill 57 (top left), tank destroyers in the nearby wood (bottom left), and the appearance of Shermans on Hill 70 (off camera to bottom left), they balk (failed command roll)!!!

So, over to the Amis.

The Engineers in Habiemont (bottom left), seeking to relieve pressure on their buddies in 2nd Tk Co (on the road, at center), pour mortar and machine gun fire into the panzergrenadiers atop Hill 63 (top right), causing some casualties (two hits), but not suppressing them.

The Germans (bottom right) return the favor, the two exchanging fire, but the Americans very much getting the better end of the deal as the Germans now have four total hits (of a possible six) and are suppressed!

While in the north, the paratroopers of 1st Abn Rifle Co (bottom left) continue to use their ATGs to pound 2nd Pz Co (top center), handling the Panzer IVs rather roughly, almost knocking them out of the fight (three hits out of four, and suppressed)!

While the US Rifle Company at the roadblock (bottom center, with 1st Abn Rifle Co at bottom left and the TD Co at bottom right) opens fire on the Panthers of 1st Pz Co in Stoumont (top center).  They cause some light casualties...

But then they (top right) are taken under mortar and machine gun fire from the German FJ Company (bottom left), which causes a couple hits and suppresses them!

*The FJ suppressing the roadblock was absolutely key, as the Panthers can't afford to get beat to hell by repeated bouts of anti-tank fire from the roadblock, but they also need to retain their react fire for when the US tank destroyers get froggy.

The Americans at/near the roadblock (top center) really want 1st Tank Company (bottom left, atop Hill 70) to engage the Panthers in Stoumont (top right), but 1st Tk Company's gunners can't seem to pick any targets out of the fire, smoke, and buildings (failed command roll), so the US tank destroyers (in woods at center top) decide to go it alone.  They open fire with their 76mm guns...

And they cause some casualties (scoring two hits, for three total on 1st Pz Co, that's what the red bead at bottom right shows), but the Panthers hang in there and return fire, causing minimal casualties but suppressing the Wolverines!

Four more turns until CAS is available...

Turn 5 begins with the German SP Arty battery (bottom right) opening fire on 1st Tank Company (top left), atop Hill 70, hoping to suppress them in order to allow 1st Pz Co (in Stoumont, top center) some freedom of maneuver (remember, the US Tank Destroyer Company is suppressed already).  But their commander can't get them talked onto target (failed command roll)…  So the German CO steps in and gets the gunners working out, and they score two hits and suppress the American tankers on Hill 70, so he orders them to shift fire to the roadblock (top center left), but they can't get it done (failed command roll).

Good grief...

Back in the south, the PzGren Co atop Hill 63 (far right) is about to take a swing at 2nd Tank Company (far left) with their PaK-40s, but then I remember that the panzergrenadiers are suppressed and can't do anything this phase...

No, really, I grabbed the command dice, rolled, passed, took a photo, then realized my unit was suppressed and can't do anything.  So back to the north...

The German paratroopers, still camped out in the open, on the road (bottom center), open fire with their mortars and machine guns on the US roadblock (top center)...

But they (top center) don't really accomplish anything and the US troops return fire, suppressing them.

Once again 2nd Pz Co (far right) is suppressed so it's all on the Panthers of 1st Pz Co (center left).  They open fire on the US Tank Destroyer Company (far left), but don't really accomplish anything, and then they fail, so that's it for the Germans...

I am flummoxed, these Germans just can't get anything done!  But don't misunderstand, we're having a blast!  The game has been super fun, and the boy knows he's got me on the ropes, while I'm holding out hope that I can pull off some sort of Christmas miracle.

Down in Habiemont, the US Engineers continue pounding Hill 63 and its panzergrenadier residents with mortar and machine gun fire, causing heavy casualties (four total hits, can only take six) and keeping the German infantrymen suppressed.

But though the nearby German infantry are suppressed, the US 2nd Tank Company commander (far right) still ain't budging!  His tanks are buttoned up and can't see any targets, and they sure as hell ain't charging up Hill 63 without infantry support (failed command roll)!

In a bold move, the US commander decides to have the 1st Airborne Rifle Company (on Hill 57, bottom left) leave 2nd Pz Co (far left) alone and open fire with their mortars and machine guns on the German FJ Company (top center), and it works, they're suppressed.

The Panzer IVs (far right) actually react, returning fire on the US paratroopers (top left), but they're buttoned up and having a hard time picking up good targets and so they only cause light casualties (one hit, not suppressed).

And, having done their job of suppressing the German paras, 1st Abn Rifle Co (bottom left) then resumes pounding 2nd Pz Company (top center) with their 57mm guns, scoring a couple hits and pushing 2nd Pz Company's wherewithal right to the threshold (three hits total!).  They're hanging on by a thread...

When the US Rifle Company at the roadblock (bottom center) decides to take their shot, lighting into the Panzer IVs (top center)...

Knocking out several tanks and breaking the 2nd Panzer Company, sending its survivors streaming back east, past the Fallschirmjaeger Company!!!

*The US Rifle Company actually rolled a double action, fired once, didn't score a single hit (on 4+), then fired again, only scored one hit, but I couldn't save it, and that knocked them out.

The US Rifle Company (far left) tries to turn their ATGs on the Panthers in Stoumont (far right), but can't range in (failed command roll), and the tank destroyers (bottom left) are suppressed, so that does it for the Americans.

Oh, three more turns until the air comes back.

Turn 6 begins with, once again, the German SP Arty (bottom right) pounding Hill 70 (top left)...

And in a freakishly accurate barrage of fire, several Shermans are knocked out, breaking 1st Tank Company and sending them streaming for the rear!!!

The German Arty commander laughs so hard he nearly soils his pants (damned ersatz rations!), then orders his guns to shift fire to the woods near Stoumont, to pound the US tank destroyers...

And then this happens!!!  And what is it?  "Unit nearest enemy takes D12 attacks."  Which unit is nearest the enemy, and what did I roll on the D12?

Well, looks like the Americans are getting some air support after all, because 1st Panzer Company is the German unit nearest the enemy, and it's about to receive a whopping eight (8) attacks!  So...

The gray, overcast skies suddenly part, a ray of sunlight seeming to pour straight down on Stoumont, but on that ray rode a flight of P-47 Thunderbolts, and as they came down they began firing rockets into the town...

And those rockets pounded several Panthers into submission, sending the remainder scurrying for safety!!!

Meaning all the Germans have left are the Fallschirmjaegers parked in the open in the northeast (top right), the Panzergrenadiers beat up and clinging to life on Hill 63 (bottom left), and their nebulous, mercurial self-propelled artillery in the southeast (bottom right), having lost all three armored units.  Which is enough to collapse the Germans' morale; they abandon their equipment and begin moving to the east, hoping to catch up to their panzertruppen.

Wow, what a fight!  What a series of fights!  It's true that I was a bit unhappy with how long the first two games were taking, but make no mistake, they were still fun, and this one was an absolute blast!  I think I've found my BKC mojo, the changes we made fit our way of gaming pretty damn well, and I can see us (and me, solo) using these quite a bit with our 6mm stuff.  The only issue is, now that I'm using 'battlegroups' as single entities, it really feels like I should re-base my 6mm stuff.  Again.  Actually, it would be the fourth time some of these bad boys have been based/re-based...

And the mini-campaign concept worked like a champ, gave us everything we needed for a great set of games.  Even though I managed to go a perfect 0 for 3!  It was well worth it ;)

So, lots to do, too many projects going on (as usual), but gotta pack this winter stuff up and get back to finishing up my Coral Sea dogfights and my "Platoon" (the movie) fights, then we'll see where we stand.  As always, more to come.

V/R,
Jack