Liberation 1944, scenario #7: 21st Panzer Responds

This looked great on paper, with interesting victory conditions and the Germans throwing everything but the kitchen sink in for different armor types.

I setup the British defenses keeping in mind the many type of victory conditions, with points for: eliminated enemy steps, town controlled point and the Germans getting points for exiting Units off the north edge as well. The British will be spread thin against a German force of about twice the size. Both sides have off-board artillery, the British begin dug-in when not setup in town hexes. The Germans have lot of Infantry and AFVs of all types from PzIIINs to Maultiers to name a few. The British have some Sherman tanks and 6-pdrs to counter the armor threat to some degree but must spread out both their Infantry and armor to cover all the German approaches.

The Germans come on in two main groups south, one on map 59 and the other on 58 and both head north to engage the British, find holes to exit off the North edge and to control town hexes when possible. The fighting spread out across the maps and many interesting situation developed. It was a very close match until the very end when I stop play one turn early, as the Germans had gained enough points for a major victory, between destroying enemy steps, exiting units and controlling town hexes, they had a 47 point to 28 point advantage, giving them a major victory that one more turn was not going to change on my map situational boards. With that said, this was an outstanding scenario to play, and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend giving this one a try.

In this battle a battalion of British infantry, reinforced by five platoons of M4 Shermans, try to stop a breakthrough by 2 battalions of German grenadiers (one mechanized) plus about a battalion of tanks.

The British defended in a thin line, anchored on the two main towns in the north, with a forward position on the largest hill overlooking a small, weakly garrisoned town in the south. The center was particularly weak, but contained a nasty surprise. Two platoons of Shermans were hidden there, along with two AT gun batteries backing them up, creating a neat kill zone. The remaining Shermans were hidden in reserve.

The Germans attacked in three groups. To the east, the mechanized infantry planned to drive deep along the British left flank, cutting off their forward position and either pinning the eastern half of the British main line of defense, or driving on to breakthrough, as the situation warranted. In the west, the leg infantry, supported by assault guns and mechanized artillery, were going to pin the British right and position themselves for a breakthrough in the middle...

...to be effected by the tank battalion, driving hard up the relatively open middle...

...straight into the British ambush. In just a few turns, the German tank battalion was shattered, its remnants bravely plowing on and nearly breaking through the British center. The German eastern assault was wiped out in their halftracks by the hidden British armored reserve. The entire operation hinged on the German western infantry battalion, which shifted up the middle and broke through, only to lose steam making the final push to exit the north edge.

In the end a single infantry company exited. German losses were horrendous. British losses were light, although almost all the Shermans were wrecks the infantry barely sustained a casualty. Major British victory.

Another solid scenario from this st. It shows the 21st Panzer Divisions push to the sea on the first day of Op Overlord. In their way is a British battle group dug in on some high ground and around important villages. There is a real smorgasbord of German armour well supported by INF and HMG to break the British lines. The German tanks vary in quality but the PZIVH are superior to the Sherman's they are going to face, that and with sheer numbers means that this is a tough ask for the Brits. VPs are gained for enemy steps eliminated, town hexes controlled and for the Germans units exited. Initially the German attack faces a tough time breaking through the British defensive line, which in my game included hidden AT guns and Sherman's however eventually numbers prevail and the Brits retreat to attempt some form of hedgehog defence of the two main villages. The Brit tanks do ambush a platoon of Stugs but are soon spotted by the PzIV'a and eventually have to retreat before the superior German armour. In the meantime German SPW251's with GREN on board or alongside are assaulting town hexes with support from PZIII and PZIVF tanks, although progress was slow eventually villages fell and gaps appeared where units began to race to exit the board. By the end of the game the equivalent of a German regiment had exited the board and most town hexes where either controlled by the German or being contested, after counting up the VP's the final result was a German major victory. *Overall a good scenario even if a competent German play should win in most plays. *