Hell on Wheels, 'Blade Force' Fight #11

 All,

XXXX Local Time
XX November 1942
Near Chouigoui, French Tunisia

Attack on Djedeida

The Yanks are on the attack.

North is up, Yanks coming in from the left (west).

Opposing forces, US on left, Germans on right.

The mighty US force.

And the meager German rear guard.

Overview, with Germans placed on the table and U.S. about to enter.  Well, a couple at bottom right.

The CO with an MG team (atop rocks) and a mortar team (far left).

The Germans, nice and dug in.

German right.

German center.

German left.

U.S. arty coming in on the German center.

As columns of U.S. vehicles stream into the area (top and bottom).

Bottom.

And top.

Fire mission didn't do much, hit a lot of unoccupied terrain, suppressed one unit (bottom left).

The Yanks aggressively push east.

The German CO looks on at the lead U.S. elements.

And signals one of his ATGs (bottom right) to spring the ambush.

A Priest in the northern column is hit and brews up!

Another German ATG opens fire on a U.S. scout car.

And blasts it to hell...

German mortars (bottom left and right) open fire.

Bracketing the southern U.S. column.

The CO moves up behind the southern column.

The northern column rallies and tries to reorganize itself.

But the German ATG in the south keeps laying into them.

The American infantry in the northern column dismount and climb!

As the southern column keeps pushing ahead (far left bottom).

Back in the north, it's point-blank violence.

U.S. armored infantry troopers close with the enemy.

But are defeated and sent packing (red bead on infantry at top left, from right center)!

The Yank Scout Car in the south opens fire with its Ma Deuce.

German mortars continue to bracket the U.S. southern column without doing much damage, as a U.S. 3/4-ton truck pushes up the road (far right).

He (left) continues advancing, as German infantry open fire.

The truck catches fire and the Platoon Commander dismounts, suppressed.

His boys, the Engineer Platoon, dismount.

And push forward.

German infantry take them under fire.

The German MG team in the southeast corner rallies.

And the German 120mm mortar team (bottom center) continues firing.

Not causing any casualties, but suppressing two squads and the Scout Car.

Back in the north, German infantry continues duelling with the Yanks atop the knoll.

Even coming out of their positions to push them back!

But the Germans are mowed down as they make the climb!

The Yanks in the northern column continue rallying/regrouping.

The U.S. mortar team finally goes to work.

But it's nowhere near as effective as the German mortars pounding the southern column...

And the northern one!

The CO calls in smoke.

To cover the withdrawal of his troops!

Yeah, a short, sharp action that saw the Yanks' noses get bloodied...

More to come.

V/R,
Jack