All American campaign: Probe along the road

Taking a break from our Winter Storm campaign we decided to play the All American campaign, covering the fight around the La Fiere causeway. This was the first time we used the Toofatlardies At The Sharp End (ATSE) campaign rules.

We named our leaders and worked out their backgrounds from the background generator in ATSE and off we went with the first scenario: Probe along the road.

The Probe requires one team to reach the opposite table edge in order to secure a victory. I knew from an earlier game  this wasn't going to be easy.

My plan for the attacking Germans was to tie down the 2 Paratrooper squads and then wait for double sixes and/or an interrupt using a full Chain of Command dice. In addition to one mandatory tank, I selected an extra German infantry squad and an extra senior leader to increase my changes of reaching the opposite table edge.

The patrol phase outcome supported my plans to get around the paratroopers left flank:

Obergefreiter Schimanski deployed with his squad on the side of the road, adopting a tactical stance.

The paratroopers revealed their positions at the other end of the road.

Sergeant Butch Cassidy covered the road and the adjoining field with his squad, supported by the platoon sergeant Henry McCarty.

Next obergefreiter Derrick deployed with his squad behind the hedge in the middle of the table, together with oberfeldwebel Wepper who put the squad on overwatch.

No sign of the second paratrooper squad yet....

Obergefreiter Köster deploys with his squad behind the hedge near the next German jump-off point towards the flank and the Panzer appears.

The paratroopers drop mortar rounds on Schimanski's squad while the panzer fires high explosive at Butch Cassidy's squad. The paratrooper LMG team tries to drive the panzer away with their fire. But the Panzer is moving slowly forward. Schimanski leads his squad behind the panzer to a position out of line of sight behind the hedge in an attempt to minimise casualties.

Still no sign of the second paratrooper platoon. Also: no double sixes for the Germans yet (already a few for the paratroopers!). I hesitate to let Köster jump the hedge with his squad. I fear the paratrooper squad will deploy immediately and cut them down before they can reach the table edge.

The game is now in a kind of stalemate: The paratroopers are waiting for the Germans to make a run for the table edge. The Germans are waiting for a double six or full Chain of Command dice to have a decent chance of reaching the table edge...

Both sides inflict some casualties, But while the paratroopers enjoy several double sixes, the essential double phase keeps eluding the Germans.

Platoon Sgt McCarty is hit by HE shrapnel. "Its just a flesh wound" he cries.

Obergefreiter Schimanski is hit by shrapnel from the US mortar.

Then my opponent decides to force the stalemate and deploys his second paratrooper squad led by sergeant John W Hardin, a giant of a man.

The German squads open fire, but the elite status of the paratroopers means they can only be hit on 6. The panzer hits on a 4, 5 or 6, but paratrooper casualties are still light.

And when the US Lieutenant, Jesse James, arrives, he easily removes shock from the squad.

I decide to no longer wait for the elusive double six, but use a full Chain of Command dice to move a jump off point 18" to a point behind the hedge as near as possible to the opposite table edge and deploy Obergefreiter Lustig with his squad 6" from it on the other side of the hedge, hoping they will be able to run to the table edge and secure a German victory.

The paratroopers use their full Chain of Command dice to ambush the panzer with their bazooka team. The missile bounces harmlesly off the panzer however.

Lieutenant James orders his men to move and fire, causing casualties among Lustig's squad which has almost reached the table edge.

Enjoying even more double sixes (!), the paratroopers move within close range while pouring fire into the German squad. The German LMG team is wiped out, Lustig is wounded twice and the sole survivor of the squad routs...

So close, yet so far away, they won't live to fight another day.

Meanwhile two more bazooka hits have forced the panzer crew to bail out.

German morale has dropped to 2, they have lost over half the platoon while the paratroopers only have 6 casualties and a force morale of 11... 
(In the post-game ATSE bookkeeping all American casualties could return to their unit.)

I decide to stop the attack and admit defeat. 

It was an interesting game where the paratroopers used their marching fire characteristic and reduced likelihood of being hit expertly and exploited the favourable dice results (an unbelievable amount of double sixes) to prevent the Germans reaching their objective.
My plan for the Germans almost worked, but it depended on the Germans receiving a double movement phase which never came. Nevertheless, the Germans literally came within an inch of victory. They now have to attack again on this table. This time the Americans will be prepared for the German flanking tactic, so I will have to come up with another plan. Fortunately the campaign rules state that the Germans receive a fresh platoon for each game.