Purple Heart Draw Campaign Continued.

Well I kept up the pressure in the west whilst in the east I quickly took control of the whole village and the bocage almost all the way to the draw itself. Problem was that once I got to the draw I had nowhere else to get. This is the problem with attacking the draw itself it is hard to get beyond and easy for the Germans to control. This is the main reason I went for broke against the eight hex wide passage round the draw.

 

This area was the only part of the map north of the draw the German's contested. A HMG on the opposite hill in a stone house was causing me plenty of problems and a 75L ATG took out a Sherman (M4) and the German mortar OBA was causing units to break  near the draw. I brought in my own mortar based OBA which at least made the German HMG go downstairs for the extra cover on another level above their heads which removed the threat of the HMG.

 

I took the opportunity to assault the last house on the contested hill were I broke the defenders but they escaped off the hill. I followed and managed to get troops into the woods next to the draw. This was further forward than I had hoped to get and we still had plenty of time left in the campaign date to grab more. The only fly in the ointment was the lack of German dead.

 

In the last two turns things really heated up as I finally ran into a minefield getting a half squad broken. I tried to make right the lack of German casualties by a strong attack on a German stone building in the centre of the German defence. This was at the same time as a berserk squad charged the Germans in the woods holding the right hand side of the exit from the draw.

 

Both these attacks failed, one costing a couple of units broken but alive and the berserk squad killed in close combat. Worse still my hold on the woods was lost and with it a chance to turn the defence. This could have far reaching results if I fail to retake this area early in the next stage of the campaign.

 

At this point a die was thrown for ending the scenario a one needed to end. I rolled higher so had the option to continue or offer to end the game. Martin had already said he would be happy to end early and normally I would have wanted to keep going but it was obvious I had ran out of steam and could lose more troops and ground if we continued. Martin surprised me by not wanting to go on and I think it was an error of his not to try and take more land back.  Next date will see a lot more close fighting and his HMG and ATG will have a far smaller contribution in the upcoming date than this date. This will put me in a far better position and as the Germans have got to defend the area we are drawn up in it should see plenty of Germans being killed something Martin can not afford to allow but at the same time I have captured so much ground than he has to defend the ground now contested.

 

 The area of the counter attack. The white outline of a tank is the wrecked M4. The grey square above the blue ? counter is the stone building I tried to take. Martin withdrew the troops at the start of the refit phase and it looks like he is giving it up. He could though have placed mines in the hex as a little surprise. Fortunately I can search for them if I wish. This area is so tight to move it's the perfect place to mix in mines, bunkers, trenches and MG nests. I have the troops and weapons to deal with such tactics but it would not change the slow progress such moves will make. However such defences only really work if you have men covering it and that's just what I am hoping for.

 

The whole area of action. I have cleared the village to the rear. Martin did the right thing by not defending it. Doing so would have cost him all te troops he had placed there and these are expensive to replace. So far all I have come against are the besht elements of the 5th Regiment, Fallshirmjager, it's possible I could face their 2nd line elements but so far it's been the cream of the crop. I think the mid morning turn (next) could be crucial to how the campaign plays out. I have a few tricks in mind and Martin is no slouch. Plenty more play in this campaign.

 

Her we have the full map, I need to control the rear most paved road (grey) running in the diagonal slash. Four more dates to achieve this which is still a very long way. I need to break the defence line and then get units into the slightly darker brown area (height levels are higher the darker the brown). A good day will see me as far forward as the dark green lines two to three hexes back in this area. This threatens the flank and rear of any troops holding the forward positions and also forces the German to hold a long line which they don't have te troops to hold and could force them to waste purchase points on an attack to try and get to go first. A bad day and I will be fighting against a second line of defenders just three or four hexes forward which is very possible. I also have the option to attack on the right through the draw. I doubt Martin has reinforced the fortifications as I expect him to throw all he has in that respect against the eight hex front. In fact I would love him to reinforce the draw at the cost of the point of contact.

Purple Heart Draw Date One Part One.

As suspected the village was very lightly held with either two squads or Dummy Units (special counters that could be real units or fake). I have driven these units out of the village into the bocage behind it. Before the scenario comes to an end I will have the answer. Overall I was very pleased with my progress around the village and in front of the draw as I should have just about the whole area under my control at the end of the scenario. Martin brought down 80mm Off Board Artillery (OBA) and with the help of the shots drifting broke two units and then caught on of the broken units with the second round of fire but my unit rolled snakes gaining me a Heat of Battle roll. The result was them going Berserk but with no known enemy this was hanged to battle hardening and they went from 1st line to Elite, nice.

 

On my right flank Martin showed up as heavily defended but set far back. This has allowed me to take a lot of ground I would have expected to fight over and saved a lot of time. The defending force has only engaged me a small amount and where he has stood to fight he has mostly come off the worse as I have far stronger FP but he has managed to get his broken units back behind the front line so should get them back. I on the other hand have lost a couple of squads mostly to a HMG that is set up way back but lead by a 10-2 leader (that's 10 minus 2, the larger the minus the better the leader and goes up to -3). He also opened up with a 75L ATG that took out a M4 (Sherman) but I am happy with the loss of units to ground covered. My lucky escape was getting the 105mm armed M4 hit by a hidden P'Shreck but the round was a dud.

 

Area shown is just where action has happened.

My 80mm Mtr OBA has yet to land but I have a spotting round in play. Martin through his routing of broken squads and movement of other units has shown that I have a couple of routes safe from mines and wire which will allow me to make further gains on my right flank. However the bridge is heavily wired and has both anti tank and anti personal mines in place making it quite difficult to attack across. So I will have to decide between a few of tactical choices:-

a. Attack through the draw which could also be heavily fortified and will be a probable death trap.

b. Smoke the bridge area and send in troops to clear the mines and wire which will take an age and possibly under arty fire.

c. Use heavier OBA to try and clear the wire and mines and hope not to destroy the bridge!

d. send future attacks round te draw and force the Germans away from enough of the draw I have options in later dates.

e. A mix of some or all of the above.

 

I have at least one more turn (a 1 on a D6 would stop the game at that point) failing that 50% chance of two more turns  with 33% chance of a third and 16% chance of four turns (A disaster for the Germans).

 

When the scenario ends a front line is drawn between where my forces have advanced to and where German strategic points are located.Then we will spend points on reinforcements and go at it again. Martin has done well on keeping his force complete but he needs to stand and fight soon as he is losing too much ground and if I turn his left flank I have running space. I can't risk losing another tank this scenario and Martin may still have armour hidden somewhere on the map as well as other guns. Each move forward runs the risk of running into hidden units, mines or wire or even a mix of all three! This keeps the excitement levels high. I search with odd units that allows others to move with more confidence but sooner or later I will hit his main line of defence and then it's going to be a hard pounding. Next report will be in a weeks time.

Purple Heart Draw ASL Campaign

Something ASL does very well is campaign games. This is more than a series of interlinked scenarios as you most often see with other games. In ASL you get to buy units from a set force pool for each following battle that gets added to the surviving troops from the previous game date. You also after a small amount of shifting of forces and map area's play from where your forces ended the previous date. Now this date could indeed be the following day or just another segment of the day. Many campaigns have AM, PM and night turns and monsters such as Red Barricades can have 50 plus such dates for you to wade through!

 

Purple Heart Draw (PHD) has five dates within it's campaign so as it goes it's a very small one. Not only this but all the dates are from the same day and represent the battle for a draw (long gully) between elements of the 23rd Regiment of the US Army and elements of the 5th Regiment Fallschrimjager (Paratroops) on the 11th July 1944. Both sides also have access to armour and off board artillery and the Germans can also have anti-tank guns. The main features of the battle are the draw but also heavy bocage and rising ground to the Germans rear. As the Americans I have the objective of gaining the heights and securing the road near the German map edge. I have won as the Germans on campaign date one when my defence just stood and gave out far more than it received. I hope to take the lessons learnt from this to help in my attack.

 

The map looks empty at this point but unseen by me at this point is the fortifications than have been placed along with the wire that will block some advance route and channel me into the mines and machine gun kill zones. Whilst many units are hidden under concealment counters (?) other units are not shown as they are hidden which will include any ATG's. Not a massive amount of woods on the map but lots of Orchards (four green dots in a hex).

 

The first objectives on date one have to be the taking of the town which seems to be very lightly defended and clearing the area of Bocage at least as far as the draw. This will give me several options for date two where to have the follow up attacks. I start with four tanks and I feel I have to finish with at least three. The tank dozer and the 105mm Sherman being essential for future play. I estimate about 40% of the units shown to be dummy (fake units) but have no idea which will be. My opponent has an aggressive streak in him that I hope to take advantage of. A secondary aim for me is to kill as many of his troops as I possibly can so that future dates his troop numbers actually fall. Being Elite Paratroopers though this is easier said than done. Bocage is excellent defencive terrain and when linked to a mix of mines and wire I could have my hands full. The game kicks off tonight and I will run updates on both my blogs.