British 8th Army Infantry vs DAK Panzers in Pincer

8th Army AT gunners taking out Panzers like a boss!

Game 2 of the Enbicon 2015 1390 EW tournament was against Mark and his DAK Panzers.  We were lucky enough to play on the desert table with Monty's own 8th Army attempting to defend against the Desert Foxes own. This battle field was a combination of both Mark and my terrain and that made it doubly enjoyable.

Big Willie`s British 8th Army Infantry
OC and 2IC
Full infantry platoon with sticky bombs
Full infantry platoon with sticky bombs
Full infantry platoon with sticky bombs
2 x HMG platoon
2 x 8`` mortars
3 x Bren carriers
4 x 2 pdrs
4 x 18/25 pdrs
Hurricane intercept support

Mark DAK Panzers
OC in Panzer III
3 x Panzer IIIs
5 x Panzer IIs
2 x 8-Rads
2 x 10.5cm guns
Trucked Pioneer platoon with supply vehicle

Set Up

Objectives are far right just north of the road and in the desert obstacles centre of the frame

A line of Panzers ready to roll out

German pioneers ready to provide intimate support

Brit rifles dug in holding the objective supported by the 18/25 pdrs

A rifle platoon occupy a large compound with a commanding view of the other objective

Turn 1

The Panzers rapid advance causes the 2 pdrs to spring from ambush, they only knock out a single Panzer II tank

German pioneers advance

Turn 2

Undaunted the Panzers roll directly at the 2 pdrs

The Panzers IIs manage to pull off an assault killing several stands of infantry and losing another one of their own

Turn 3

2 pdr opens up from long range and manages to knock out another tank!

The DAK OC tries to hide behind the high walls but to no avail

Panzer IIs knock out a 2 pdr while the Panzer IIIs set up an assault on the Brit infantry

The Brits prove to be Bulldogs in the assault knocking out another Panzer III.  Sadly, Jenkins scores an own goal with his Sticky bomb...

Turn 4

The infantry leave the field and the 2 pdrs alone.  Without hesitation the guns knock out another 2 Panzer IIs!

18/25 pdrs attempt to range in on the 8-Rads

Turn 5

8-Rads move to take the objective knocking out the 2 pdr holding it.  A critical role to unpin allows the 2 pdr platoon commander to move to the objective and contest it

Realizing the other objectives is at major risk of falling into enemy hands the Brits begin to reposition forces hopefully reserves arrive soon as the Germans move to take advantage of the thinned British line

Turn 6

Bren carriers sneak up on the 8-Rads who are busy gunning down the 2 pdrs commander and making them flee. However, he bought enough time for the other rifle platoon to start arriving at the objective

Both the other rifle platoon and the HMGs show up and open fire then assault the pioneers in the open.  The fighting is quick and deadly with the Brits quickly victorious.

At this point Mark had lost his Panzer IIs, Panzer IIIs and Pioneers leaving him with just the 8-Rads and guns.  He failed company morale so the Brits were able to pull out a 4-3 win losing both a rifle platoon and the 2 pdrs to the Desert Fox.  Mark used smoke exceptionally well to limit the ability for my 2 pdrs to engage at range.  Also, I didn`t realize that the 18/25 pdrs are way more effective in the direct fire role in early war.