Panzer Ace
Played 03/04/2005
Date: 11 July 1944, 0600 hours
Location: Just south-east
of le Desert, Normandy.
History: Forming the
northemmost thrust of Panzer Lehr the 901st Panzer Grenadier Regiment,
under command of Major Scholze, drove northeast in the early morning
hours of 11th July. At a crossroads just southeast of le Desert, the
Panzer Grenadier Regiment split with the 2nd Battalion tuming to the
north northeast and the 1st Battalion continuing on the road to le
Desert with the intent of driving on to Ste. Jean de Daye. The effort
of 1st Battalion was supported by Panther tanks from Panzer
Regiment 130 and by assault guns from the division's Panzerjager
Battalion.
German Orders: Exit two
armored vehicles off the east board edge.
US Orders: Avoid German
victory conditions
Game Length: 10-12 Turns.
A summary account of the battle,
with rolling presentation, is available on the 'Battle Presentation'
link immediately below. Many thanks once again to John Wolstenholme for
providing
so many great photos to choose from.
Scenario Notes
A closely fought gun fest. A swirling battle filled with hot lead and
desperate heroics.
Below is a picture of the battlefiield. The Germans had to travel from
the bottom of the picture to the top (West to East), over the bridge,
and exit beyond the manor house in the background. The stream was
crossable but held a significant risk of bogging both on entry and exit.
The much vaunted Panzer Ace was taken out by Sarge's Thompson, but the Panther still managed to get through, despite being down to two crew members after a hit from an M10 (the gunner and the driver kept going). It was an
amazing firefight that could have gone either way. The American bazooka team failed to hit anything at all with their 4 rounds of HEAT and the 57mm AT gun couldn't penetrate any armour.
Top marks probably go to the Browning .30 cal MMG team who continually, and accurately, poured hot lead from Game Turn 2 onwards. They even managed to immobilise a Hanomag as it was poised to exit (and create a German decisive victory).
Rules Notes
The game once more used the excellent Disposable Heroes rules. We played a couple of optional rules.
Buttoned/Unbuttoned - the application of this rule caused the loss of the panzer commander.
Fixed MGs in Tanks have to account for terrain cover when firing but get +1 ACC - this didn't prove significant in this scenario, so remains untested.
The game was a technical victory to the Germans in that they achieved their victory conditions. But the ferocity of the American resistance meant that it was the Yanks that scored the higher victory point total and thus gained the attachment credits in time for the last scenario (to be played in June).
Victory Points
German VPs (American casualties: 4+4+3+2) + 5 for Victory conditions met = 18
1 Attachment Credit left
American VPs (German Casualties: 1+3+4+10+3+3 = 24
4 attachment credits spent this scenario + 2 Attachment Credits gained for highest VPs = 3 Attachment Credit left