Brian Sherry
Vienna
Virginia
-
The German pre-battle bombardment left two Polish infantry units damaged on the German left flank, but achieved little else. The Germans started the first turn with initiative and proceeded to conduct a clinic on armored overruns of infantry unsupported by anti-tank assets. On the left, right and center the German tanks blasted a hole through the Polish lines, causing significant casualties (about 6 units, including the sole AA HMG) in the process. The Poles responded by firing their AT assets from ambush and knocking out several tanks. The Germans held 2 forward VP locations at the end of the round.
On turn two the Polish tanks rolled onto the left flank and, with help from a heroic Polish infantry squad which rolled boxcars in close combat, wiped out all German tanks on that side. In the center, a vicious firefight ensued when the German reinforcements appeared en masse only to be subjected to withering fire from the well-entrenched Poles. The remaining Panzers in the center finished off an AT gun and a few more Polish infantry squads. On the right, a German PZIII pushed into the forest near the HQ objective, with one Panzer sitting immobile in open ground and another engaged chasing the sole remaining Polish infantry unit. The German air unit arrived, and made an impressive 5 attacks, destroying a Polish AT gun and an infantry squad, and damaging another infantry squad before flying off to report a very precise ground support mission. Contrary to another report of this mission, we did not give the plane a close range bonus but it still wreaked havoc.
On turn 3, the Poles came back with a vengeance. On the left, the 7TP platoon advanced cautiously, picking off two armored cars and some infantry. The Poles swept the last German units from the left flank. The Polish infantry in the center continued to punish the exposed German reinforcements and the Polish mortar caused more casualties. The Germans fired back, and assisted by two remaining Panzers, inflicted a few losses on the Poles. On the right, the PZIII advanced onto the Polish mortar. A lone German rifle squad double-timed it into the woods towards the HQ objective, miraculously unmolested by several 7TP tanks which had line of sight to this foolhardy maneuver. The lone Polish infantry unit on the right led a Panzer II and the immobilized PzI on a merry chase wherein they failed to destroy the squad despite their best efforts. German dice had turned fairly cold after a good opening run.
On turn 4 the action really picked up as both sides sensed that the HQ objective hex would likely determine the game. On the left the 7TPs continued an advance and kept pressure on those Germans still in the center. In the center a few more German units fell to Polish infantry fire, and the German mortar claimed one kill in return. On the right, the Germans polished off the last Pole and the lone mobile tank headed toward the center HQ objective. In the center, a dramatic ballet played out as the Poles advanced a hidden ATR unit into the hex with the German PZIII. A well-timed "Move 2 Hexes" card allowed the PzIII to both avoid the ambush and simultaneously move into the objective hex. The Polish ATR team was left in the lurch. As an added bonus it did not take any terrain checks in doing so. The bold German infantry which had advanced all the way from the reinforcement hexes assaulted and finally destroyed the Polish mortar. The PZIII added insult to injury by picking off a 7TP with a high roll from its newly acquired building hideout. Alerted to the danger, Peter carefully husbanded his activations until the Germans were out of units, and then sent a 7TP barreling over to the HQ objective for a rear shot on the PZIII. Peter gritted his teeth as I dropped a "Command Action" card, needing a 6 to hit his 7TP, but I rolled a 4! Peter then picked up the dice, needing the same roll, and proceeded to roll snake eyes! This was his second snake eyes at point blank range for the evening. Clearly the stress of fighting for the crucial objective was wearing out these tankers!
On turn 5 all eyes turned to the initiative roll. Both sides had zero CAPS due to excessive casualties, but the Germans won the roll. The PZIII had no choice but to shoot first, and this time the German gunner had his sights straight, rolling an 11 to destroy the 7TP in a single shot! Peter remarked that the game was probably over but he had one AT unit and two tanks which could still attack. The AT rifles missed the PZIII on the HQ objective and in turn were destroyed by a PZII. The Polish infantry tried desperately to eject the last remaining German infantry from the center but failed. The remaining German PZII on the right advanced toward the Polish 7TPs, destroying one and damaging the last. The remaining 7TP fire back but missed, and was unable to contest the HQ objective. We completed all activations to see if the Germans could get another kill, but with the main issue decided the desultory fire had little effect. The Poles had reclaimed two of the three frontline objectives, but had lost the crucial HQ objective and thus the game.
Final score: Germans 23, Poles 17.
In retrospect this was a very close game. The German armor simply smashed the initial Polish defense line, but attrition and the excellent 7TP platoon wore down the initial forces. The German reinforcements were mostly slaughtered by the bypassed Polish defenders. Air power was very effective if not decisive by itself. The crucial breakthrough occurred on the German right which allowed the PZIII to reach the main objective, and a very convenient and well-timed "Move 2 Spaces" card brought initiative back to the Germans at just the right time. A little luck on the dice, or more precisely, bad luck for the Poles in the end game, helped the Germans clinch the victory. This was an exciting game and really showcased the strengths of the COH system, which handles combined arms in an easy and expeditious manner but retains enough "simulation" factors to give the game some weight. We also noticed that the complete loss of CAPS for the Poles early on was rather crippling, and will be considering the alternate minimum CAP rule in the future.
-
Lukasz Biernat
Poland
Dabrowa Gornicza
-
Good writeup, it seems like Poles did pretty good here. It actually inspires me to give this scenario another shot, but I'll have to persuade my buddy to play this one again, and he's pretty traumatized since the first game...
-
uwe eickert
United States
Helena
Ohio
-
Great review Brian. Thanks. Makes me want to break this one out again and give it a try as the Germans. In the past, I always seemed to lose with them in this firefight. The attrition is really wearing and the German player has to be very careful. The Poles, if they marshal their 2-3 layers of defense well, can counter the initial onslaught with 'vigor'!
-
Brian Sherry
Vienna
Virginia
-
Thanks, Uwe!
The pile of casualties for both sides at the end confirms your experience that attrition is quite heavy in this one. I was frankly saved by a few very bad rolls for the Poles as well as the "move 2 spaces" card which got me the HQ objective.
I am looking forward to CoH-Guadalcanal!
-
|
|
Posted Wed Nov 30, 2011 6:10 pm
