RAF Hurricanes rock the Panzers!
Game 1 of the Perkins 1500 MW tournament was Fighting Withdrawal and it pitted me against the Dice Devil's own PhantomRescue. He was playing Aussie Div Cav and I was playing a PanzerKompanie. He won the roll to see who the attacker was, so my Panzers were going to be playing defence this mission.
Aussie Div Cav (from North Africa)
OC and 2IC in Crusaders
3 x Crusaders
3 x Crusaders
3 x Shermans
3 x Shermans
3 x Universal Carriers
1 x Rifle Platoon
Limited Hurricane support
PanzerKompanie (from Eastern Front)
OC in Panther
2 x Panthers
4 x Panzers (2 x III M, 1 x III N, 1 x IV G)
2 x 8-rads
2 x 2cm AA (SP)
Setup
Panzers lurk along the left with the Aussie ready to advance on the right. Objectives are in the field top left, by the canal and bridge in the centre and in the open by the ruins bottom left.
Shermans ready to roll out under the watchful eye of the OC
Universal Carriers about to surge forward near the 2IC
Crusaders with riders ready to advance covered by Shermans
The Old man covers one objective from his turret
A Panther covers the right flank objective
And the centre objective
AA are centred on the force to provide the most protection
Turn 1
8-Rads advance down the main road
The Aussie 2IC turns the corner and opens fire on the German Recce bailing them.
Shermans on the other side of the canal open fire on the 8-Rads but miss.
A Panther opens fire knocking out a Sherman at long range
The German AA spread out even further to cover the Panthers, Shermans on the right flank continue advancing
Crusaders on the far left advance to the rail line
Where the OC opens fire on them missing but scaring the Aussie tankers
Hans sights in the Shermans in the distance but fails to hit any of them
Turn 3
Crusaders drop off the infantry and move to engage the 8-rads knocking one out
The Panzers spring from ambush taking out the remain 2 Shermans on the right flank. First platoon kill!
Turn 4
Rock you like a Hurricane! Yes I can see you!
Ok, I can see you above the wall but I can't hit you....
The RAF delivers a stunning blow knocking out the III N and bailing both the IV G and a III M!
The Panzers continue their advance knocking out the universal carriers
Turn 5
The Hurricane swoops in again, this time aiming for the OC
The 8-rad manages to survive only being bailed, while the OC goes unhindered. The 8-rad would then withdrawal as part of the strategic plan.
Panthers begin moving to the left engaging and destroying another Sherman
The Panzers continue to push towards the rail bridge, opening fire on Shermans and Crusaders alike
Turn 6
The Panthers and Panzers knock out 2 more Shermans and the 2IC, undaunted the Crusaders, infantry and remaining Sherman advance on the objective.
Turn 7
The RAF swoops in again bailing a Panther with the Crusaders destroy an AA gun
The Infantry manage to brave the defensive fire and knock out the OC and the other AA gun, giving the Aussies a platoon kill!
This was a great game which we called here. The objective above was then removed as part of the withdrawal and the Aussies didn't have enough fire power or men to break across the canal held by Panthers and Panzers. In the end it was a 5-2 win for me.
Great looking game, and nicely written battle report too. Love the table-level photo's, really put you in the action. God bless the RAF!
ReplyDeleteYes, quite. God bless the RAF and the AT-11 of the cannon, pity it didn't do too much damage to your armor. I really enjoyed this game, despite the outcome, it was a tough one for me, but glad I just rolled on in to see what could be done!
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