That Which We Hold So Dear

[UP844]

Enemy forces:
According to the scenario description, there are airborne troops deployed in Huissen; airborne have good morale and firepower, but should be short of heavy weapons.
A relief force with armor (and possibly infantry) is coming from the south. Armor should consist of a mix of Shermans/Cromwells and Fireflies/Challengers. The latter are to be dealt with ASAP, as they are the only British tanks capable of killing Panthers.
The British have 1 x 80mm OBA: it should be more a nuisance than a threat.

Friendly forces:
German forces enter over several turns and consist of:
SS troops with good leaders and SW, lots of LATW
2nd line troops, useful for recon (drawing enemy fire), mopping up and garrisoning VP hexes.
Lots of armor (2 234/1, 7 Panthers, 3 Pz IVJ, 2 Jpz IV, 1 251/1 and 1 251/2). Armoured cars should perform recon, Panthers will deal with British tanks, Pz IVs will support infantry and JPz IV will remain in reserve to deal with any surprise.
The Germans have 1 x 100mm OBA: even though I seriously doubt it can affect units in fortified buildings, it is a nice extra that can come handy.

Terrain:
Huissen contains two groups of VP hexes in fortified buildings; there are some small hills that could be useful for artillery spotting and long range support fire.
South of Huissen there is a large plain, with grain fields in the west
Another group of VP hexes is in a small village in the south-west.

Victory conditions:
Both VP hexes and casualties provide VPs. Control of all VP hexes provides 70 VPs, which is not enough for a Major Victory (75 VPs are required).

German Setup:
Most entry hexes are on the west side of the map top edge. Besides that, the east side is exposed to fire from the schoolhouse, so most infantry will set up on the west side. Reinforcements will enter from the side closer to the main attack.

German Plan:
1) First, armored cars and HS will perform some recon. After a weak spot is located, all available forces will attack there.
2) Once penetration is made, most infantry and the Pz IV will turn to flank the other side, while Panthers and some escorting infantry will break through to meet the British tank in the plain.
3) After all VP in Huissen have been taken, the attack will continue towards the southern village.

(continues)

[UP844]

Turn 1 - Recon and move to contact

One armoured cars was deployed on each road running south: since they must be CE by default they always use the road movement rate. In the best light cavalry tradition, they will move before any other units and should be able to spot a lot of enemy units (as long as they survive [8|]).

In the east, the 234/1 moves up to the crossing between the east-west road and the north-south one. It spots a MG in the fortified Schoolhouse on the hill and stops (out of sight from the MG) near the crossroad. It does not enter the village, as it could be easily STUNNED (all capitals) by any infantry and block the road for any following AFVs.

In the west, the British appear to be out in force: beyond the grain fields there is a 17pdr AT gun and a couple of 75mm halftracks, plus some infantry. With some luck (and the massive hindrance due to the grain fields) the armoured car survives and turns right on the east-west road. The MG in the schoolhouse, however, retained ROF and STUNs it: this is why the other 234 did not enter into the village, even though here vehicles can detour through the fields.

Now I have some knowledge of the enemy deployment.
Attacking in the west would be dangerous: the 17pdr can easily kill any German AFV, while the 75mm halftracks and the MG (which won't be bothered by hindrances) can make life difficult for any infantry attacking the AT gun. So much for a combined arms approach. I then opted for a massive attack in the east.

The first priority is neutralising the MG on the hill, as it can disrupt the movement of my infantry. Two Panthers reach the crossroad and start pumping 75mm HE (and MG's, just in case) in the schoolhouse.

The leader with the radio moves to the hill in the north-east corner of the map and spots some British units in East Huissen, including a 6 pdr AT gun and another 75mm halftrack.

Infantry start moving south at double time: a B** and a B* leaders, each one with a SS stack and a MMG also move to the crossroads using the Panthers as cover. The remaining German infantry moves clos to the east edge of the map, keeping as far away as possible from the British MG.

In the British Defensive Fire of Turn 1, the German OBA gets both contact, battery access and no scatter, and will fall - for once [:D] - right where I want it.

[UP844]

Turn 2 - Assaulting East Huissen

In a very rare display of player-controlled artillery effectiveness, the very first FFE breaks the 6pdr crew, removing an unlikely but possible threat to my Panthers.

SS infantry moves from the crossroads down the north-south road: they spot no LATW-armed squads, so the Panthers also advance to support them. A 3" mortar on the schoolhouse hill propmptly fires smoke on a Panther (this is only a nuisance, but now I have to be careful not to leave my infantry exposed in the woods). The 75mm halftrack also fires on a Panther, but the round bounces off the front armor.

The infantry force near the east edge continues moving south (despite some disruption due to C&C issues: perhaps I should have assigned a B leader to them).

The 2nd line HS recon the area north of the schoolhouse: they find no Brits there, so the newly arrived Panthers move as close as possible to engage the British MG.

New SS infantry units enter in the north-west area and move south-west up to the crossroad.

I hear a lot of tracked vehicles moving in the British movement segment. If these are Cromwells, they can arrive in the city very quickly: the Panthers will easily kill them and the SS infantry has lots of PF, but I'd prefer to engage them in the plain south of Huissen.

In the German defensive fire, the two Panthers that entered East Huissen kill the halfrack and the 6 pdr crew.

[UP844]

Unfortunately, I lost the notes and the screenshot for this AAR [:(].

Could an admin delete this thread, please?