Well, another WWII Wednesday and I needed to put a game together. Unfortunately, I had to deal with some unexpected home issues, so was not able to get my act together. We had decided to play a game of 20mm WWII using Iron Cross. However, it had been quite some time since we played the game and I did not have a chance to refresh my knowledge of the rules or plan out a game, so it was going to have to be something off the cuff. How bad could that be?
I went ahead and set up a six by four table layout. The terrain included a destroyed town in the center, that was surrounded by woods and fields. All hedges would block line of sight and could only be seen over from the handful of small rises on the board or the upper stories of the ruins. To keep the terrain tight, all woods would only be seen through if units were within two inches. The town was completely rubble, but the standing walls would be WTSIWYG.
We played the game along the long end of the table. The Americans mission was to get three of their units into the German side of the table (18″ from the back edge) and have them there at the end of turn seven (game end). The Germans had to stop that from happening to win.
The American forces were made up the Paratroopers (from the OB list on the Iron Cross website page). The force would contain six infantry squads, two light machine gun sections, one light mortar section and a force HQ unit. Two of the infantry would have bazookas with all units having Gammon Bombs. The Americans would be able to set up within 18″ of their board edge, once the Germans deployed.
The German force would be made up of regular Soldaten. The force would include six infantry squads, two heavy machine gun sections, one mortar section, a Hetzer and a command section. The Germans would start with five units on the table. Every turn they would roll for entry of the remaining forces. They would have to roll under the turn number for a unit to arrive. The Hetzer would automatically be the last unit entering.
The Germans set up their forces to cover the entire length of the table, hoping to slow down the Americans until their reserves arrived to counter attack any breakthroughs. The Americans then set up in the center and right center of the table. Their plan was to feint towards the town and then send everything to the right flank before the Germans could concentrate their forces.
With the Germans spread out and the advantage in order chits, the Americans started forward with their plan. The Germans tried desperately to reposition their forces, but got the short end of the stick in the early turn shooting.
With the Germans appearing on the ropes, the Americans started to redirect forces into the town to finish off the enemy. The Germans seeing a chance, launched sudden counter attacks to try to go after exposed American units. This caused the Americans to divert even more troops. While this was happening, the German reserves started to arrive and were quickly thrown into the attack. It was clear that the Americans had gone off mission and their casualties were starting to pile up.
Things were starting to look bleak for the Yanks. The Germans were causing disproportionate casualties and the Paras. Just when it looked like things could not get any worse, the Hetzer arrived right in front of the American attack corridor. It looked like the attack was over.
The Americans were down to a handful of units and time was running out. There was one last chance to infiltrate into the German rear. Would the Germans see it and close the door? Biding their time (allowing the Germans to burn their order tokens), braving massed fire, the remaining Paras shook off their fear and launched one last push into the German positions. They were able to get three squads through! The Germans tried what they could to drive back the Americans with fire, but to no avail (and terrible die rolls). The Americans were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!
- Manteuffel