Stolberg Corridor - Day Three

The campaign continues.

Previous reports can be found here Day One and here Day Two. 

The map for Day Three (15 September 1944) was:

The table started with rows 10 to 18.

The starting position as best we could recreate it from the previous game.

In what was to be a never-ending skirmish for the whole day, 

the US forces attacked the pillbox line that runs from Stolberg to Ellendorff.

The US set about reducing the pocket between Vicht and Busbach.

They also considered attacking 9th Panzer but called it off.

(Not a Rommel rule, but a gentleman's agreement post photo)

The US were intent on capturing the pillbox ridge line

and in increasing their hold on Stolberg.

9th Panzer counterattacks.

The fighting for Vicht and the rest of the German position to Busbach continues.

That pillbox near Ellendorff.

Vicht and Busbach have been captured.

But the US are not having any success breaking the pillbox line between Stolberg and Ellendorff. 

The rest of 9th Panzer has arrived and goes into an immediate attack

around the outskirts of Stolberg.

Note: at this stage we had adjusted the table to include rows 19 and 20,

removing rows 10 and 11.  Artillery is off table.

9th Panzer continues its attack.

The troops in the vehicles in the panzer grey (bottom right-hand corner of above image) 

had been severely repulsed in their first attack and would take no more part in the day's fighting.

The US try again against the Stolberg Ellendorff line.

And again...

The US launch their own attacks against 9th Panzer.

Driving them back.

But 9th Panzer attack again.

Another US attack on the Stolberg Ellendorff line.

9th Panzer maybe in trouble.

Yes, another attack on the Stolberg Ellendorff line, this time from the US perspective.

As well as a continued attack against 9th Panzer.

Stolberg Ellendorff line again.

9th Panzer being pushed back.

Stolberg Ellendorff line 

The US expand their attack on 9th Panzer.

However, 9th Panzer counterattack.

The US attack the infantry elements of 9th Panzer around Mausbach.

The US trying to push out of Stolberg, which at this stage is largely in their hands or undefended.

At some stage there had been a "forward withdrawal" by some US troops, avoiding combat, but capturing another part of Stolberg. The expression in the rule is you can't withdraw/retreat into "enemy held" areas, which, after a bit of debate, we took to mean "enemy occupied".

Stolberg Ellendorff line 

Stolberg Ellendorff line 

Most of these combats produce no losses for either side.

Final attack by US forces as night falls.

The situation northeast of Stolberg.

During the night the Germans pull back mauled units to rebuild them.

We use an unspent Ops dice as equivalent to one support point for this purpose.

North of Stolberg

Eschweiler (red roof) bottom centre of above image.

The Germans, after holding it all day, have had to partially pull back from the Stolberg Ellendorff line.

The final position.  

The German 12th Infantry Division is still two days away

The front line, many of the German held areas are unoccupied.

Arab Conquest versus Maukarian Byzantine

I offered Julian a friendly game of Basic Impetus 2.0 - he is a player of Impetus (the original).  I picked two matched armies from my collection and suggested he went Byzantine.  

Julian's first roll (pregame scouting) was a double one - shades of things to come.

As it was the Byzantines still out scouted the Arabs,

giving them a deployment advantage.

The Byzantine's had a plan - break through the area between the broken ground

and swing round to take the Arabs in the rear.

Good plan required good luck.

The Arab missile troops scored many hits as the Byzantines tried to close.

What of the Arab plan?

To keep away from the Byzantine horse.

Determined to attack, the Byzantine light cavalry wheeled 

and made a short charge into the Arab archers.

In the first of a number of upsets, the Byzantines scored no hits,

while the Arabs scored enough to force a Cohesion Test 

which the Byzantine failed in a big way.

While that was going on the Arab infantry had advanced 

and were now supported by their camelry who had redeployed.

Yet another upset as the Byzantine cavalry fails to rout the Arab slingers.

The Arab foot is clearing all before it (which wasn't much),

however, it is their archers in the centre that are causing serious damage to their foe.

The Arab archers are really making their presence felt.

The archers and slingers are doing all the work.

The Byzantines suffer almost total annihilation.

Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Or

Sticks and stones have broken their bones.

Europe in Turmoil - Interbellum - Third Game

If my record keeping is accurate, this is the third game of Europe in Turmoil II that we have played.  This time I am the left-wing player (denoted by red).

The right are three points ahead, which is nothing at this stage of the game with three turns left to go.

Rearmament has been slow, except for Germany.

Even the event chart is only thinly populated.

Great game, but a few cards' effects are open to interpretation.  Pity.

We had also made a mistake in the scoring cards, failing to do the free control check (we subsequently decided the die rolls were too low to have changed anything - the game must go on!)

Barbarossa Turn 48 Completed along with Turns 49 and 50 - GAME OVER

The weather for 24 and 25 September, Turn 48, was fine across the whole front.

The Soviets were able to make one last attack.

Turn 49

Mud everywhere!

AGN settles for liquidating a small pocket.

AGS tries to push on.

Odessa.

Not much change from the end of Turn 48

Turn 50

Fine weather returns.

AGN start to reduce this large pocket around Rzhev.

As well as starting to turn the Soviet position northwest of Moscow.

AGS makes a big push.

The numbered counters represent support strength points added by Soviet artillery.

The Axis seems to lose two units for every one Soviet unit they destroy in Odessa.

There are no Soviet attacks. The situation at the end of September is as follows:

The Baltic islands are untouched.

Leningrad is besieged.

The Axis have broken through, Soviets are pulling back.

Moscow, waiting for Typhoon.

The largely empty area between AGC and AGS.

AGS pushing on towards Kharkov.

Odessa and Crimea.