Bounce the Bogen: Turn 14

One of the reasons I prefer first-generation Combat Mission to second-generation Combat Mission is the AI. Although the German troops in Bounce the Bogen don’t have a carefully prepared battle plan to guide them, at present they’re doing a fine job of keeping the units of the thin-on-the-ground Comment Commanders at bay.

Beyond Overlord’s admirably self-reliant silicon CO is, I reckon, handling the situation at the railway bridge particularly adroitly. Having been evicted from positions close to the riverbank, the battered defenders have retreated a short distance into the woods. Out of sight of the heavy-hitting Churchill and Archer, and the cautious M5A1, their task is considerably easier.

In Turn 14 this new ‘stop line’ holds despite British pressure. A rush from the signal box fails to deplete or overwhelm the part-time Panzerschreckists and the ‘infantry squad?’ nearby. True, because the manoeuvre relieves the pressure on Scarlet and Venison, it may eventually prove telling.

Distracted by the fighting just north of the railway, the Brits have few assets available to fight off a counterattack developing to the south of the line. Midway through the sixty a squad of eight Volksgrenadiers cannily hugging the forested southern map edge, moves into Merry’s LoS. Can the foxholed Lieutenant and his three companions, repulse them without assistance? Perhaps Captain Hood, halfway across the bridge when the clock stops, could help out.

Not only is the Jerry CO competent, he’s also surprisingly cool. The Jagdpanzer that lurched into life last turn, halts not long after this one commences. Unsure, perhaps, of where the main thrust of the Allied attack will come, he still seems unwilling to commit his most potent (?) assets.

The US units that arrived last turn begin exploring their wooded surroundings this sixty. Engine limitations (in CMBO, squads can’t disembark and split in the same turn) mean some orders don’t get executed, but it’s a start.

Elsewhere, Marian’s men sit tight while Tuck switches his attention to the two-storey, occupied building overlooking the road bridge. According to the artillery observer’s info panel, the next bombardment is 48 seconds away when the turn ends.

Mauled by the Churchill’s hefty howitzer, both of the ravaged Volksgrenadier squads near the riverbank show no interest in advancing further south.

Captain Dale’s relocation is uneventful. If foes have managed to infiltrate the castle, they are keeping a very low profile.