This sixty-second burst of WW2 WeGo action leaves map square 29, 4, 5 and its environs reeking of cordite, limonene, and pinene. The citrusy terpenes waft from conifers violently pollarded and pruned by 25-pounder rounds.
It’s quite possible that the flurry of explosions that rock 29, 4, 5 in the latter half of the turn, neutralised the ‘88’ said to be lurking there. Although the unidentified German gun watching over the road bridge isn’t shown as KOed at the end of the sixty, several of the 25-pounder shells either impacted very close to its apparent position or treeburst almost directly above it. Watching the pandemonium from across the Bogen, Allied artillery spotter Lieutenant Tuck has reason to feel optimistic.
Further south, things also go pretty well for the Comment Commanders. Halfway through the turn resistance at the rail bridge ceases when the Volkssturm machine gunner east of the signal box decides to take to his heels.
If the two Volksgrenadier squads close to the riverbank road wish to reinforce the rail bridge defences or retake the crossing, they’ll need to figure out a way to deal with the tracked howitzer currently menacing them from the clifftop opposite.
If it wasn’t for a disquieting development in the final seconds of the turn, this report would be wall-to-wall good news. Circa T+55 an ‘Infantry sounds?’ contact icon appears in the castle courtyard close to Corporal Whitehand. Are the USAAF squatters about to get a visit from a gang of belligerent bailiffs?
The situation at the start of Turn 13:
^ Tuck has 106 25-pounder rounds remaining.
^ Whitehand can see a German infantry squad moving northward through the woods east of his vantage point.
Turn 13 orders here, please. Commenters are cordially invited to suggest moves for the following six unit groups (First come, first served. A maximum of one unit group per commenter. I’ll try to execute the turn as quickly as possible after all orders are in.)
(See screenshots for unit locations)
****anyone****
– Merry’s men (Lieutenant Merry + Sergeant Venison’s rifle squad + Corporal Fletcher’s M5A1 halftrack)
– Marian’s men (Lieutenant Marian + 3 x rifle squads + PIAT team + 3 inch mortar team)
– Sergeant Bowman’s Archer TD
****subscribers only****
– Captain Hood (Six-man company HQ + arty spotter Lieutenant Tuck)
– Sergeant Johns’ Churchill VIII
– Captain Dale’s party (Six POWs armed with pilfered rifles and pistols) + Corporal Whitehand’s team (Two POWs armed with a pilfered Panzerschreck)
Please start all order comments with ‘ORDER’ and any later revision comments with ‘REVISED ORDER’. This will help me distinguish firm instructions from suggestions and advice.