Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	NBGB
Play Date	2023-05-03
Language	English
Scenario	AAAD038

This was an extended 7-session play-through with the seasoned & indefatigable, NBGB, as the American Commander of defending elements of the 1st Infantry Division assigned to hold ground in the vicinity of Hill 336 and to prevent a German breakthrough to the west. I played the attacking German Commander of a combined arms battle group from the 10th Panzer Division. We played with the FOW (beginning in game turn 13), smoke/illum, extended assault, consolidation, tank riders and excess initiative optional rules. We also experimentally used the following four house rules: 1) Road Movement for Mechanized & Foot Units All FOOT & MECHANIZED units may move on roads at the rate of 1/2 a Movement Point (MP) per road hex, just like MOTORIZED units, 2) Standard Movement for Mechanized Units All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point (MP) per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up or down slopes hexes, 3 Dug in Units on Hill Slopes are Automatically in Limiting Terrain in Desert Scenarios Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL units that are dug-in on hill slope hexes are considered to be in limiting terrain and are spotted if enemy units approach to within 3 hexes, or 4 hexes for reconnaissance units – unless they are marked with a spotted marker, see 8.22, and 4) Enhanced Anti-Tank (AT) Gunnery Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL dedicated, dug-in, entrenched, or town-occupying AT gun units including Self-Propelled AT guns may fire in opportunity fire (OPFIRE) TWICE just like tanks in the standard rule set. For example: dug-in, German PaK 36 (37mm); PaK 38 (50mm); or British 6-pdr towed AT gun platoons would therefore be able to fire TWO times per unit in OPFIRE situations. These house rules worked quite well in this play-through.

The initial session (game turns 1-2) featured a left-and-right-pronged, German movement-to-contact in the pre-dawn gloom from the east edge of the battle map. Corporal Laszlo, the German’s pet snail & mascot rode into battle with a platoon of tough Landsers atop a Pz-IIIN unit on the north (right flank) edge of the Map 78. He opted to stay in the Company Commander’s breast pocket for the first two, rather jarring game turns. Germans scouts identified the first two American minefields just west of the mouth of the narrow pass on the road (Map76). No casualties were sustained be either side in this session, although there were THREE consecutive American combat 7-die rolls to begin the game.

The second session (game turn 3) was marked by the beginning of decisive engagements in the center portion and north edge of Map 76, with the Germans drawing first blood with the elimination of an American infantry platoon on the south margin of the pass, adjacent to the line of American minefields. An additional US step was lost in the close assault in the north as the Germans rapidly closed on the north & east margins of Hill 336. This was followed by multiple Germans step losses across the board including a section of Pz-IIIH tanks lost in an extended assault in the north. In the southern portion of Map 76, the German movement to contact was only beginning to get into rifle range. By the end of the session, total step loses were 7 for the Germans and only 3 for the American defenders. A combined 3 combat 7-die rolls were thrown, and the victory points stood at 3 for the Germans and 44 for the US defenders.

The second session (game turns 4 & part of 5) was a rather grim one for the defending Americans, since 12 additional steps were lost as the Germans barely managed to establish a toehold on the margins of Hill 336 in the north, and also began decisively engaging the remaining US troops in the southern portion of Map 76. At session end, total step losses stood at 8 for the Boche and 14 for the Americans. The victory point count was 44 for the defending Americans, and only 15 for the Germans.

The extended third session (game turn 5) was an action-packed & another grim one for the defending American side with multiple step losses as both prongs of the German advance moved into decisive combat range. By the end of this turn, step losses for the Germans stood at 10, and 20 for the US side, causing a reduction in American initiative to zero. In the south, the onrushing tide of German infantry continued moving west, slowed down by terrain, and effective US opportunity fire. A slow migration of the remaining American reserves began, with redeployments to both the northern & southern fronts. The victory point tally stood at 42 for the Americans and 25 for the Germans, which was still in decisive victory range for the harried, but still mostly intact, US side! Corporal Laszlo, the German mascot was becoming concerned about the strength of the American defenses on the crest of Hill 336, and fully extended his twin eye stalks for a better view.

The delayed 4th session (game turn 6) was another action-packed & grim one for the defending American side with multiple step losses as the northern prong of the German advance continued spreading out within decisive combat range on Hill 336. The combat dice luck was generally with the Germans in this long turn. By the end of this session, step losses for the Germans stood at 12, and 31 for the US side, resulting in a reduction in German initiative to three. In the south, the wave of Landser infantry continued moving west, slowed down by terrain and US opportunity fire. The migration of the remaining American reserves continued, with small-scale redeployments and adjustments to both the northern & southern fronts. The updated victory point tally now stood at 46 for the Americans and 40 for the Germans.

The fifth session (game turn 7) was a somewhat grim one in terms of casualties for both sides. Beginning in the north on Hill 336, a heavy German, combined arms attack stalled in some areas with minefields, and pushed slowly to the west in others, thanks to heavy adjacent-hex firefights and close assaults. The 60-meter hilltop remained in American hands, but the position was now flanked from the south, with another German pincer starting to close on the northern margins of the hill mass. In the varied terrain in the south of Map 76, the surging German infantry attack was mostly strung out along the margins of the large wadi, but the several infantry formations and a reduced tank company was making slow progress to the west. At the end of the session, step losses were now 15 for the 21st Panzer, and 34 for the battered 1st US Infantry Division. The victory point tally had shifted slightly in favor of the Afrika Korps at: 55 for the advancing Huns, and 41 for the remaining US force. Laszlo, the German’s mascot snail began circling the 60-meter hilltop US positions on Hill 336 with an extra thick slime trail.

The sixth session (game turn 8) was a costly session for the defending elements of the Big Red One atop Hill 336. Fiercely contested close assaults and adjacent-hex firefights on the blood-spattered, hill slopes became more intense as the combined arms German assault stacks began getting traction on the upper reaches of the hill mass. There were two completely ineffective Luftwaffe air strikes, and a pair of barely satisfactory German OBA strikes. this session. In the southern section of Map 76 & 77, the Germans continued their advance to the west, and their armored spearheads began imperiling the relatively few remaining Allied positions. By the end, the step loss count was still 15 for the Germans, and 39 for the remaining American defenders. Mercifully, only a single combat 7-die roll was thrown. The updated victory point tally continued to shift in favor of the Afrika Korps and now totaled: 64 for the advancing Huns, and 30 for the bruised, but still hard-fighting US force. In his growing excitement, Corporal Laszlo’s tiny German helmet fell off during one of the Hill 336 close assaults when he extended his eye stalks too quickly. His Major substituted a hazel nut half shell in place of the missing helmet.

The seventh session (game turn 9) was an even bloodier episode for the American defenders on Hill 336, and the southern portion of the battle map. While both the Luftwaffe and the US Air Force failed to provide additional air strikes, American OBA pummeled a hapless 3-stack of German infantry in the north. However, multiple close assaults on Hill 336 continued turning in favor of the German combined arms teams as the game turn wore on. The same story was repeated in the south, as the German advance became a widening flood. Long-range AT shots by German tanks on the periphery of the battle claimed 3 more steps of Allied self-propelled AT guns. In a surprising turn of events, at around the American’ side's 10th activation, the US Commander suddenly conceded the battle in the face of mounting casualties and rapidly diminishing returns. The final step loss count was: 48 for the Americans of the Big Red One, and 17 for the attacking 10th Panzer Division. At the end, the victory point tally was: 75 for the Germans, and 32 for the US side. Corporal Laszlo’s was overjoyed when his snail-sized, helmet was recovered from atop the radio aerial of a German tank on the summit of Hill 336.

I give this mostly unbalanced scenario a 4. It was fun to play with a challenging & quick-thinking opponent, but it is a very tough slog for the American side against an opponent with significant experience in mobile warfare. The Germans spearheads are very hard to stop, or deflect from their objectives if the large German infantry contingent is well-led & aggressive. This one is probably more suitable for SOLO play. In SHARED play, the more experienced player should probably play the American side, as it is substantially easier to maneuver the German force.