All,
I got the next fight in, and the whole battalion was involved! As usual this was a five-hour slugfest, with heavy casualties on both sides, but once again the Fightin' First carried the day!
It started the night of 24 August, when Ol' Blood and Guts himself visited the battalion area to congratulate the men on two days of hard fighting, and, more importantly, to beg the battalion for one more day's heavy lifting. Gen Patton was convinced the Army had the Germans on the ropes, and he was convinced one more hammer blow would unhinge the German defenders and open a gaping hole for Allied tanks to pour through.
In this particular neck of the woods, 1st Bn would be leading the attack to split the German defense in two and grab at least one bridge over the Soiree River. The operation would involve the entire battalion task force, nothing held in reserve, in one go-for break session. But the General swore that if 1st Bn would 'break the damned door down' the other two battalions of the regiment would storm through, with 1st Bn earning a spot out of the line to rest, recupe, and indoc replacements.
What follows is their story ;)
Overall view of the table. The Soiree River (which I failed to annotate) is at far right (east). Basic scheme of maneuver is A Co on the left, objective Hill 65, B Co on the right, objective Cordon Bleu, with Wpns Co in general support. A fast task force led by the XO, consisting of Recon Plt, Engineer Plt, and Tank Destroyer Plt, will push up Hwy1 to Hwy 3 to secure a bridgehead over the Soiree River. Once A and B Companies have opened a gap, C Co will push through and tank-ride north to take its objective, Cordon Rouge.
Southeast corner, looking west, showing the B Company's objective, the village of Cordon Bleu. Behind the ville, adjacent to Hwy 1, is the Orchard, which itself is adjacent the Soiree River.
North east corner (looking west), showing the three bridges over the Soiree River. Also pictured are Rene's Farm (center left), Hill 35 (center), and the Winery (center right), all running along Hwy 3.
Southwest corner (looking east), showing A Company's objective, Hill 65 (bottom left).
Northwest corner (looking west), showing the C Company's objective, the village of Cordon Rouge, with Hill 20 to its right and Hill 35 above it.
From German baseline, looking south, with bridges and Winery to left and Cordon Rouge at bottom right.
US forces.
Bn CO will come on for initial assaults by A and B Companies, then lead C Company task force to secure Cordon Rouge.
Bn XO will lead fast task force of:
Lt Tangoe's Recon Plt (three vehicles).
Lt Ithoriel's Tank Destroyer Plt (three M10s)
Lt Lionstar's Engineer Plt, four squads in four M3 halftracks
A Co Task Force
CC Capt Dillon
Lt Gwydion's 1st Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Drakenganer's 2nd Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Womble's 3rd Plt (3 squads, bazooka)
Lt Freduelve's Wpns Plt (60mm mortar)
Lt Ditteaux's 1st Tank Plt (2 M4 Sherman)
B Co Task Force
CC Capt Keepers
Lt Harwood's 1st Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Tocapixie's 2nd Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Technough's 3rd Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Lejunfore's Wpns Plt (MG and 60mm mortar)
Lt Worlwind's 2nd Tank Plt (3 M4 Shermans)
C Co Task Force
CC Capt Ronan
Lt Lemmey's 1st Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Herzbleu's 2nd Plt (2 squads, bazooka)
Lt Poller's 3rd Plt (2 squads)
Lt Evahnkeath's Wpns Plt (60mm mortar)
Lt Salt's 3rd Tank Plt (2 M4 Shermans)
Tank Co CC Capt Travers (1 M4 Sherman)
Wpns Co
CC Capt Leon
MG Plt (1 .30 cal MG)
Mortar Plt (2 81mm mortars)
Gun Plt (2 75mm howitzers)
Lt Lasthuzzer's SPG Plt (2 M7s)
Initial German dispositions. Usual white (infantry), black (support), and green (armor), but I ratcheted up the 'tank-killer' aspect. First, a US command roll failing on doubles brings on a tank-killer team (PzFaust or PzSchreck), and the blue chips tank-killer blinds. The Bn CO expects trouble at Cordon Bleu, Hill 65, and Cordon Rouge, which is pretty much how it goes.
Hill 65's (A Co objective) defenders are placed: three rifle squads, a PzSchreck tm, a PC, two MG-42 MG sections, and PaK-40 75mm ATG, all dug-in.
The defenders of Cordon Bleu are placed: three rifle squads, a PC, a PzSchreck team (all in the town), and two 80mm mortars behind the wall in the Orchard (bottom right).
The fight started with a preparatory bombardment of Hill 65; photo shows the damage. Yellow beads show pins, little dice show hits (squads can take 5, wpns tms can take 3). The Germans were fairly roughed up. Let's get it on!
Lt Gwydion's started it off, bringing on his 1st Plt and firing at the German ATG, getting a hit and pinning it (the three platoons of A Co are in bottom right, from bottom to top: 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Platoons), although return fire from one of the German MGs gets a hit and pins a squad. Drakenganer's 2nd Plt came on but didn't get far, while Freduelve's Wpns Plt came on and the 60mm mortars got to work, hitting and pinning one of the German MGs. Womble's 3rd Plt came on but didn't get far, and Capt Dillon came forward to 3rd Plt.
Lt Ditteaux's two M4s came on shooting, getting a hit on the ATG, then fired again, but got no hits. One more round of fire eliminated an infantry squad.
Wpns Company then entered the fight (top right, in the crop field). The MG section got three rounds of fire on Hill 65, didn't achieve a single hit! Then Captain Leon turned to the 81mm mortars, who promptly failed their command roll (CR). But the two 75mm pack howitzers went to work, rolling boxcars (two actions)! First round of fire eliminated the PaK-40, though a German MG returned fire, getting a hit, and the second round of fire eliminated the German MG. The howitzers fired again, hitting the PzSchreck team and causing it to run.
On the right, Lt Lasthuzzer brought his two SPGs on and pounded Cordon Bleu, getting a hit and pinning a German rifle squad. Lt Worlwind's 2nd Tk Plt comes on, and one of the German squads fires a PzFaust at extreme range. The round finds its mark, damaging a tank's optics, but causing the crew to bail (black and red bead stacked).
B Company comes on, with Lt Harwood's Plt (foreground) storming towards Cordon Bleu (top right, with 2nd Tk Plt and SPGs at top left). Harwood had his blood up, but then the platoon was struck by a lightning-quick artillery barrage (rolled a blunder), which pinned the platoon. The blunder also counts as doubles, so a German squad was placed on Foie-Gras Ridge (top center); it promptly fired a PzFaust which blew one of the 2nd Tk Plt tanks to Kingdom Come...
B Co's Wpns Plt, under Lt Lejunfore, came on and got its MG and 60mm mortars into play, but getting no hits (not pictured). Lt Tocapixie has 2nd Plt (bottom left) moving like a well-oiled machine, getting them into the town and firing at the Germans, though with some of the worst dice-rolling in recorded history occurring, only one hit was gotten by the entire platoon in two rounds of firing.
Lt Technough brings his 3rd Plt on (bottom right), getting close but not quite into the town. On a positive note, Capt Keepers comes on with 1st Plt and rallies both the pinned rifle squads (couldn't get the bazooka team). You can see Wpns/B Co at bottom center, the blundering 1st Plt/B Co at bottom left, and 2nd Plt/ B Co in the bottom left corner of the town.
Lt Tangoe brings on Recon Plt (his M8 followed by an M5 Stuart and an M20), hopping ahead of 2nd Tk Plt. Tangoe fails, but the Stuart fires at the German squad (top center, the one that KO'ed one of 2nd Tk Plt's vehicles), getting a hit and pinning it.
The Bn CO, LtCol Mac, came on next to A Company's 1st Plt, on left.
The German PzSchreck team, which had taken a couple hits, been pinned, and ran, unpins and gets back into position (top center), while the German PC moved down to the trenchline to try to rally some units, but gets whacked by a sharpshooter from A Company (he rolled the "sniper" blunder!). A rifle squad and an MG both unpin then fail, while the last rifle squad unpins and fires at 1st Plt/A Co, getting a hit and a pin. Wpns Co pack howitzers, Wpns Co MG, and 1st Plt all return fire, getting three hits and causing the rifle squad to run (far left). During the flurry of fire, Captain Dillon and Lt Womble lead 3rd Plt forward (bottom right).
The douchey-German squad on Foie-Gras Ridge unpins, then fails (far left), while the German mortars go after Harwood's 1st Plt/B Co, getting two hits on each rifle squad (bottom right). The German mortars then shift fire and go after Tocapixie's 2nd Plt/B Co (in village), getting 1 hit on each rifle squad and pinning one.
The Wpns Co 81's return fire, hitting and pinning one of the German mortars, and Lt Tangoe fires his 37mm gun at enemy mortar position, eliminating one of the tubes (top center).
The German PzSchreck in Cordon Bleu gets quite a string of command rolls. He falls back to the river, wades across the river, set up behind the bushes, then goes on Overwatch (white bead, in foreground), looking to pop the next vehicle that moves up Hwy 1 (that's Tangoe's M8 at top center).
The German PC in Cordon Bleu can't unpin his rifle squad, but it does itself before failing its CR.
Things get hot in Cordon Bleu two German squads and a PC squaring off two US squads, and PC, and a bazooka. The Germans score one hit, while the Americans eliminate a German squad.
This photo is the west end of Cordon Bleu. The German rifle squad at left-center was in the church at the far end of Cordon Bleu; finding itself not involved in the fight, the squad leader moved the squad all the way to the opposite flank. He then came nose-to-nose with Lt Tangoe's armored car, and put a PzFaust into it, damaging the gun's optics. B Co's 60mm returned fire, getting a hit and pinning the German squad.
Wpns Company (foreground, in the field with an MG, two 75mm pack howitzers, and two 81mm mortars, 1st Tk Plt's vehicles to its front right, and 1st Plt/A Co to its left) opens up on Hill 65 (top center). The howitzers eliminate both German MGs and the PzSchreck team, and get two hits and a pin on a rifle squad in three rounds of fire (wow!).
Wpns Co 81's fire on the rifle squad on Foie Gras Ridge, eliminating him (he would have been at bottom left), then shifted fire, rolling boxcars! They put two hits and a pin on the remaining 80mm mortar (top center) and 1 hit and pin on the rifle squad that hit Tangoe's vehicle (center right).
On Hill 65, Captain Dillon and Lt Womble lead 3rd Plt into close combat with the remaining (beat up) German rifle squad, eliminating them with no casualties.
Gwydion's 1st Plt (not pictured) couldn't unpin, but 2nd Plt (center right) moved up to join 3rd Plt, while Lt Freduelve (center) was extremely aggressive in getting Wpns Plt/A Co into position atop Hill 65. Once there, Lt Freduelve spotted a German rifle squad trying to flee (far left); Freduelve and his command team promptly mowed them down, while the 60mm mortars turned their tubes towards Cordon Bleu to help out B Company. They got two hits on a German squad and forced it to run.
Back on the right with B Company, Lt Lejunfore's 60mm mortars went nuts: they dropped on a rifle squad, getting a hit, then did it again, getting two hits and a pin. Lejunfore's MG wet after the German PC, managing only one hit in three rounds of fire (target is in a building, need 6's to hit, save on 4+, so tough to remove by fire).
Lt Technough led his 3rd Plt on a right hook into Cordon Bleu (bottom right), but opp fire from the German PC got three hits and a pin... They passed another CR, fired at the German PC, got a hit, then decided to charge, but failed, rolling doubles...
So a German squad pops up in the Orchard (left) and busts open Tangoe's M8 with a PzFaust.
Captain Keepers (bottom center-left) unpins 1st Plt, then moves up and unpins 2nd Plt (center), who charges the Germans in Cordon Bleu. Lt Tocapixie and one squad eliminate the German PC on the ground floor, taking one hit, while the Bazooka and other squad rush upstairs and eliminate the German squad, but the 2nd Plt squad takes a hit and is pinned. Tocapixie rallies the squad, who spies the German mortar team in the Orchard, and eliminates them.
With Hill 65 taken, Lt Ditteaux turns his attention to the right and has his 1st Tk Plt climb Foie-Gras Ridge. There they fire on the German squad in the Orchard (top right), getting a hit. They decide to go after him again, but fail, with DOUBLES! So a German PzSchreck team (top left) pops up on the ridge and slams a rocket into Ditteaux's thin side armor, brewing him up!
Lt Lasthuzzer moves his vehicle up atop Foie-Gras Ridge, pounding the German squad in the Orchard, eliminating it. The other SPG (bottom left) moves up and pounds the PzSchreck team in the copse of trees on Foie-Gras Ridge, getting two hits and a pin.
The Recon Stuart moves up Hwy 1, but the Cordon Bleu PzSchreck is lying in wait just across Soiree River. A rocket is sent straight into the flank of the US tank, blowing its turret off.
The sole remaining Recon Plt vehicle, an M20 Scout Car (top center), moves up, revealing a hidden German Company Commander (bottom center) atop Hill35, with two 80mm mortars hiding downslope. The Bn FO comes on behind the M20, and fails.
Harwood's 1st Plt/B Co sprints ahead into Cordon Bleu, takes a potshot at a fleeing German squad, but misses.
The newly placed German mortars hit 3rd Plt/A Co on Hill 65, getting a hit, and 2nd Plt/A Co, to no effect (2 hits, 2 saves). The mortars go again, getting no hits on 3rd Plt but 2 hits on 2nd Plt. The German mortars go again, but get no hits. On the right, the beat up German squad and PzSchreck mess with B Company and get eliminated, with no friendly casualties. The same happens to the PzSchreck on the ridge (every one of those stands was down to its last one or two hits, and two of them were pinned as well).
On left, A Co consolidates on Hill 65. Wpns Co sits tight, except for its MG, which settles in on Hill 65 also.
While on the right, B Company consolidates in the village of Cordon Bleu.
The C Company Task Force forms up, with Bn CO at far left. Capt Travers, Tk Company CC and two tanks of Lt Salt's 3rd Tk Plt team up with Lt Worlwind's remaining 2nd Tk Plt tank and the sole remaining tank from 1st Tk Plt, while Lasthuzzer's two SPGs join up as well. C Company mounts up, ready to move up.
Recon Plt (bottom right), down to one M20, is joined by Major Legan, the Bn XO, and Capt Jonafem, the Bn FO. They move up to Rene's Farm (Hill 35 to their front left), and a German rifle squad (far right) pops up. It takes a shot at the M20, but misses, and gets pounded (2 hits and pin) by the Wpns Co 81mm mortars. The German mortars fire on the XO (miss) and FO (1 hit).
Lt Ithoriel's three M10s come on, but get caught up in traffic (burning and abandoned vehicles around Cordon Bleu) and don't make it very far...
But Lt Lionstar's Engineer Plt, in halftracks, manages to wind its way through and catches up to Recon/XO/FO, while the Wpns Co pack howitzers fire on the German squad at bridge 1 (top left, the one that fired at Recon and missed), eliminating them.
The German mortars got busy, knocking the Engineer Plt around pretty well. They fired and missed the lead vehicle, but got close enough to pin it. Then they managed a direct hit on the second vehicle, destroying it while getting two hits and pinning its passenger squad.
Recon, the XO, and the FO move up, and out pops a German '88.' Pic is looking north to south at Recon (top center) from behind the German 88mm ATG. The 88 fired, immobilizing the M20 and causing its crew to bail. The Wpns Co pack howitzers returned fire, getting one hit and a pin, while the Wpns Co 81's went like this: miss, miss, fail.
The 1st Engineer halftrack unpinned, then failed, while the engineer squad recently deprived of its ride unpinned then failed. The Engineer squad (far right) in the just-failed halftrack dismounted and moved towards Hill 35, and the German CC (far left) popped up and put three hits and a pin on them! The 60mm mortars from A and B Companies fired at the German CC, eliminating him in two rounds of fire. Lt Lionstar hops out of his halftrack and moves to the pinned squad, trying to unpin them, but to no avail.
The remaining two halftracks moves up to the XO (bottom center), with one getting to the bridge, and debussing its occupants, who secured Bridge 1 (bottom right). The other Engineer squad also dismounted.
The squad (bottom right) decided to move towards the Winery (top left), but a German rifle squad popped up and fired, getting two hits and a pin.
C Co Task Force passes a couple command rolls, making great progress towards Cordon Rouge (top left), nearing Hill 20 (top left). But four Panzer Mk IVs are lying in wait (top center), and open fire!
LtCol Mac's section takes one hit, while Capt Travers' vehicle is hit, suffering optics damage. The 'other' 3rd Tk Plt vehicle is hit, but it bounces, pinning the crew. The 1st Tk Plt vehicle is also hit; another richochet, with no ill effects. The 1st Plt tank returns fire, to no effect (2 hits, 2 saves), while Salt's vehicle fires, knocking out a main gun and causing the crew to bail.
As soon as the Panzers were spotted, all C Company infantry dismounted. 2nd Plt (top center) moved right towards the wall at Hwy 2, while 3rd Plt (bottom center) moved up, trying to catch up with 1st Plt (far left), who climbed Hill 20 and fired a bazooka round at long range, ricochet.
And that brought on the defenders of Cordon Rouge: three rifle squads, a PC, a PzSchreck Tm, two PaK-40s, and the wily Hun commander, Oberst Fritz.
Both PaK-40s fired, the 'other 3rd Plt tank getting its gun knocked out (but the crew stayed!) and the 1st Plt tank getting running gear damage, and pinning the crew. The German infantry fire at Lt Lemmey's 1st Plt/C Company, getting a hit and pinning a squad.
Lt Ithoriel, smelling Kraut tanks nearby, puts the spurs to his boys. The three M10s (far right) go racing up Hwy 1, mounting Hill 35 and firing into the flanks of the Panzers: the first M10 hits, getting optics damage and pinning the Panzer's crew. Lt Ithoriel's gunner takes careful aim, and the round finds its mark, but ricochets off! The last M10 gets a solid hit, immobilizing a Panzer, causing the crew to bail out. Ithoriel's blood is up, and he orders his platoon to fire again, but German arty crashes down, pinning his two partner vehicles (BLUNDER!).
Back on the US right, the German 88 (foreground) unpins and puts a round into the flank of one of Lt Ithoriel's M10s atop Hill 35 (top center), immobilizing it and causing the crew to bail. This is answered by a rain of 81mm mortar shells from Wpns Company, getting two hits on the 88.
The German squad in the Winery (top left) fires at the Engineer squad on Hwy 3 (center), getting two more hits (4 total). The halftracks fall back behind Rene's Farm (bottom right), while the FO climbs Hill 35 (next to the M10s, bottom left), and the XO moves up next to the Engineer squad, returning fire and getting two hits.
One of the Panzers unpins and puts another round into the 1st Plt tank, damaging its optics. Lt Salt returns fire, but it bounces (2 hits, 2 saves). Lt Ithoriel also returns fire, immobilizing the Panzer and causing its crew to bail! The remaining Panzer targets Captain Travers vehicle, hitting it and damaging its running gear, but Travers' vehicle returns fire and KO's the last German tank, while Lasthuzzer's SPGs moved up (bottom left).
The German ATGs in Cordon Rouge fired, disabling the main gun of one of Ithoriel's M10s and knocking out the last 1st Plt tank. However, return fire by the Wpns Co pack howitzers and A and B Company's 60mm mortars eliminate one ATG and put 2 hits and a pin on the other. German infantry in Cordon Rouge fire at 1st Plt/C Co (center right, atop Hill 20), getting a hit, but C Company's 60mm mortar returned fire, getting two hits and a pin. More German fire gets another two hits and a pin on Lt Lemmey's 1st Plt, and one more hit causes one of his squads to run! The final German squad fires at 2nd Plt/C Co (at the wall on Hwy 2, top right), getting two hits and a pin. Return fire by 2nd Plt and Lt Worlwind's tank gets four hits and a pin, though the German PC quickly rallies the squad and the remaining PaK-40, though Oberst Fritz can't unpin the other German rifle squad.
The German 80mm mortars in the center, sheltering behind Hill 35 and shocked when Ithoriel's tank destroyer's suddenly popped up there, took off running for their baseline.
The Wpns Co 81s again made themselves very useful, eliminating the German 88 (center right), while the pack howitzers eliminated the squad int the Winery (top left). The XO unpinned the Engineer squad on Hwy 3, and both moved right to secure Bridge 2 (bottom right).
Meanwhile, Lt Lionstar still can't unpin the remaining pinned Engineer squad, adn the last Engineer squad mounted up in a halftrack.
As part of failing his command roll, Lt Lionstar rolled doubles, so a German rifle squad popped up in the position formerly occupied by the German 88 (left). The squad opened up on the Engineer squad and XO at Bridge 2, but missed. The 60mm mortars from A and B Companies went to work, and in three rounds of fire they eliminated the squad (amazing rolling to get them out of a dug-in position).
Then the Bn FO, Captain Jonafem, called in arty on Cordon Rouge: one rifle squad takes a hit and runs (off table); a second rifle squad is eliminated; a third rifle squad takes one hit; the PC and PaK-40 both take one hit, and the PzSchreck takes two hits and is pinned. I suppose I forgot to roll to see how Oberst Fritz was treated...
The Bn CO and Capt Ronan both move and try to rally pinned troops, but fail. Lt Evahnkeath's 60mm mortar eliminates the PaK-40, then puts two hits and a pin on one of the German rifle squads in Cordon Rouge. The 2nd Plt commander, Lt Herzbleu, can't unpin his troops, and they fail also, though the other squad and bazooka move up to the wall and fire, getting one hit on the German PC.
The 1st Plt squad that ran (bottom center) manages to unpin, then fails.
Lt Lemmey then moved to his other squad, pinned down atop Hill 20. Lemmey's troops are beside themselves with a mixture of fear, anger, anguish, and aggressive energy, so Lemmey gives a hearty "Follow Me!" and leads them down the hill into close combat (rolled a BLUNDER, make two moves towards nearest enemy, which took them into close combat)! The enemy squad was eliminated, inflicting one hit on the 1st Plt squad.
With that, organized resistance in Cordon Rouge ceased to exist, with Oberst Fritz, once again, fleeing in his Kubelwagen like the coward he is, leaving his troops, on foot, in his dust. The battalion did it! A and B Companies cracked open the front line, while C Company sealed the shoulder of the gap by taking Cordon Rouge, allowing the XO and a couple squads of Engineers to take and hold the bridges. Troops from the 4th Infantry Division are enroute to take over blocking positions in and around Cordon Rouge, while the Regiment pours tanks and men across the River Soiree, with 1st Battalion in reserve.
Casualties:
Germans US
14 Rifle Squads 1/A (Gwydion): 4 men
2 MMGs 2/A (Drakenganer): 4 men
2 80mm mortars 3/A (Womble): 4 men
3 PzSchreck Tms Wpns/A (Freduelve): None
2 Plt Commanders 1/B (Harwood): 8 men
1 Company Commander 2/B (Tocapixie): 2 men
1 88mm ATG 3/B (Technough): 4 men
3 PaK-40 ATGs Wpns/B (Lejunfore): None
1 Pz Mk IV KO 1/C (Lemmey): 1 squad
3 Pz Mk IV dam/abandoned 2/C (Herzbleu): 4 men
8 additional men 3/C (Poller): None
Wpns/C (Evahnkeath): None
Wpns Co (Capt Leon): 2 men
Tank Company CC: M4 damaged
1st Tk Plt (Ditteaux): 2 M4 KO
2nd Tk Plt (Worlwind): 1 M4 KO, 1 dam/abandoned
3rd Tk Plt (Salt): 1 M4 damaged
Recon Plt: 3 vehicles KO
TD Plt (Ithoriel): 2 M10s dam/1 abandoned
SPG Plt (Lasthuzzer): None
Engineer Plt (Lionstar): 1 squad and 8 men, 1 M3 H/T KO
Bn CO: 2 men
Bn XO: 2 men
Awards:
Lt Tangoe, Reconnaissance Platoon
Lt Ditteaux, 1st Tank Platoon, 891st Tank Company
Maj Legan, Bn Executive Officer
Lt Tocapixie, 2nd Plt, B Company, for leading a close assault which broke the back of enemy resistance in the village of Cordon Bleu.
Lt Lemmey, 1st Plt, C Company, for leading a close assault which broke the back of enemy resistance in the village of Cordon Rouge.
Major Joe Legan, Battalion Executive Officer, for leading an ad-hoc task force to secure two bridges over the River Soiree under against intense enemy opposition.
Another fun, but marathon-length game. We'll see what the future holds as I have quite a bit of business travel coming up. Hope you liked it.
V/R,
Jack
Now that was an impressive game! I was sweating it along with you!. And when I was just thinking that none of the blinds seemed to be tanks, up pops the PanzerIVs. I thought I was a goner with being hit twice.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to post the narrative and the pictures. This game really seemed to have some twists and turns and a fair share of good/luck bad luck; maybe it was because it was such a large game.
I am not sure if you used your recent rule of doubles and a German tank killer team pops up?. It did not seem so.