Somewhere in Tunisia

Today's game was Scenario 4 from CS Grant's  programmed scenarios using our adaptation of Memoir. I found myself commanding an American Battlegroup in Tunisia, tasked with clearing a pass.  From available resources I chose a Light Tank platoon with Stuarts, 4 Medium platoons with Grants or Shermans, 2 batteries of 105mm towed howitzers, 1 platoon of Rangers and 6 platoons of infantry including 2 mortars, 2 hmg and 2 bazookas. ( A "platoon" being 1 tank/gun model or 4 infantry.)

Ron's hidden defenders comprised 1 platoon of MkIV tanks, 1 of half tracks, 1 of panzer grenadiers, 2 batteries of 81mm mortars and 8 platoons of infantry.  

This was the second game we played with doubled movement and shooting ranges and once again it really helped to make the scenario work, both terrain wise and objective wise. and made for an intense fast moving game lasting 4 hours. It was also the 2nd time we used our current light/medium/heavy tank rules and the the first time we used any Big Guns.

My advanced force and flank guards (1 Stuart, 2 Grant and 2 infantry platoons arrived 6 turns before my main body arrived on the road. I switched them all to my left and probed forward towards the objective, bypassing the town in the middle. To prevent me from  cresting the hill on the left and seeing the 1/2 of his force laid out there, Ron counter attacked with his armour and opened up on my infantry with his mortars. I suffered heavily to my infantry and tanks but they all managed to pull back and survive and the Pzr IV was left in flames. (or rather was removed from the table). 

With my left shot up, I brought up my main body, sent the tanks left and sent the infantry straight down the road towards the town supported by the artillery. This touched off a counter attack which drove me back out of the town but the 105's pounded the town and as losses mounted, he pulled out. 

The village is clear of the enemy, press on!

I switched back to my now reinforced left and headed back towards the ridge only to be  hit by yet another infantry counter attack! My remaining infantry and tanks on the left  were driven back almost off the table (to Ron's frustration, he wanted kills not retreats!)`Once again I took advantage of the mobility of my armoured force and the range of my Big Guns to switch my attack, this time to the center hill. I managed to drive the last unit to the far right hand corned of the table where it cowered till the end of the game, serving by staying alive!

Regrouping, I threw most of my armour up over the central hill, around the far town and wood while the remaining tanks, infantry and guns provided as much support fire as they could while trying to stay alive.  The Germans, as always, kept throwing in counter attacks to throw me off balance and the fighting was intense. With my lead Sherman on the point of over running the objective, one final counter attack came uncomfortably close to breaking my force's morale. With luck on my side, the boys hung in there and I called up the off table heavy guns for a Bombardment and then followed up with a barrage of 105 mm fire. Jerry had had enough and pulled back. 

30 turns (60 cards) played in slightly less than 4 hours without breaks and it still came down to the wire with both sides spending the last few turns with victory in their grasp. That's my kind of game.