This week, I was playing the role of the Axis player again, and hoping for my first victory in the campaign. I found myself defending in Cauldron against my opponent Richard 'Yith' Heath's American Rifle Company. I ended up deploying two platoons of infantry with attached HMGs at either end of a village to defend the objectives, with a mortar platoon at the back of the table, as far out of harm's way as I could manage.
The Americans deployed a platoon of infantry in a large wood very close to the objective on my left flank, with an artillery park and a Recon Jeep platoon not far away. A platoon of Stuarts started in the opposite quarter and needed their first turn to get into a supporting position.
The first three turns were very promising for me, with very few casualties to shooting in the first two turns, and my mortars inflicting a great deal of damage on an American infantry platoon coming on from reserve. The American platoon in the wood broke cover and went for an assault in turn three, which was comprehensively bounced my the combination of HMG and MG team fire. I continued to fire on the exposed platoon in my following turn and reduced the platoon to below half strength. Richard failed his platoon morale test.
In the following turns, Richard was much more successful in whittling down the Panzergrandier platoon in the village, and the incoming Panzer IVs from reserve (which spectacularly managed to fail to kill his Trained Stuarts), and eventually caused both platoons to break in turn six. Although he had lost another two platoons in the process, he could take the objective at the top of turn seven with no chance of opposition from me. My other reserve platoons arrived far too late to be useful.
Three games in, and three losses! Next week I will be returning to my beloved British paras, and hope to make good this appalling deficit!
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