Holzthum Road Taken...Barely: Bloody Bucket (6a/8)

Another game in our Bloody Bucket campaign last night, an attack on table 2 by a fresh Sturm Platoon from Table 1, I decided to go with the Attack and Defend scenario this time rather than the Probe. I had the advantage in supports so a morale victory seemed a better choice.

Sturm Platoon #4

CD 5 Green FM9

1 SL
3 man rifle grenadier team

1 Sturm Squad w/JL

1 Sturm Squad w/JL
1 LMG Squad w/JL 

Supports (24)

Sniper x 2

Pregame Barrage

le. IG18 x 2

LMG squad

SL

?

American Rifle Platoon

CD 5 Regular FM9

2 SL's w/ Bazooka Team

3 Rifle Squads w/JL (less 1 rifleman)

Supports (table2)

Minefield x2

Barbwire x3

Entrenchment x2

0.3cal MMG team

Sniper

We both started with a FM of 9, but Pierre-Yves got the first move when we diced for the tie. The game started off slowly as I got a number of double phases early on so was able to place the 2 Anti-Infantry Guns, 2 snipers, a LMG team, as well as a SL on the table very quickly, all on overwatch. P-Y had the worst dicing I have seen, in respect to Command Dice, he did not get one double phase in the whole game. So at this point it was looking good for the Germans, they had overwhelming supports and a pregame barrage, but as usual my deployment was quite effected by the placement of 2 minefields. I had not taken an engineering team but I really needed my ones for the multiple teams/snipers I had, so this was not a big deal. 

I was able to get the American FM down to 6 by taking out the American 30 cal MMG, but then I had no targets left as the only American unit on the table was a sniper. Some double phases came up and I wanted to make something happen, so I placed a Sturm Squad in the open with the plan to run them towards an empty entrenchment, they moved ahead and got in the entrenchment, looking good. The forward entrenchment was close to an American JOP. I got another double phase, so I advanced out of the entrenchment and was quite close to the JOP but was in the open, it was OK as I could roll again. I then decided to deploy the 2nd Sturm Squad in front of the hedge, with a plan to advance to the entrenchment just vacated.  Two squads in the open but it was going to be OK as I had the next phase. I rolled a 6,4,4,2,2. Sturm Squads do not have teams so, I needed a 1 or 3 to move them!

The Americans put down a Rifle Squad, the Germans were shattered, a 2nd American squad came down the 2nd Sturm unit took multiple hits. Now my FM was 6! What a mess of things I made. I realised after the game that I could of interrupted as I had 2 + CoC dice. The Sturm squads are lethal at close range as they throw 24d6. What a miss!

I was now in a dire situation, but I still had a lot of fire power and I now had targets. Shots were traded back and forth, I was able to weaken the 3 American squads behind the hedge. I killed 2 JL and caused one squad to break.

American FM was dropping, I was able to temperance their fire back with smoke grenades.

P-Y was able to fire back and destroyed one of my IG, my FM was down to 4. I fired back the American FM dropped to 2, P-Y decided to withdraw. 

This should have been a much easier game for me to win, but I got inpatients and as I usually do miss things, like failing to interrupt twice. Unfortunately my plan to Blitzkrieg Table 3 does not look as attractive, but I am still thinking about it. Two full Sturm squads and an IG down makes it a challenge.