When the clock froze at the end of Turn 31, Captain Hood was in deep trouble. Alone, short of ammo, and battling – at close range – a remarkably feisty/deadly two-man platoon HQ, his chances of surviving Turn 32 seemed slim. Read on to find out if Robin perishes among the pine needles, or is saved by a frantic pincer attack mounted by Sergeant Venison and Corporal Moorehead.
Sergeant Venison is the kind of Tommy sergeant I encountered frequently in my youth. Under various names, he’d regularly storm pillboxes, steel cowards, and remedy SNAFUs caused by inept COs in the pages of my childhood comics and comicbooks. Asked to pull Hood’s chestnuts out of the fire in Bounce the Bogen, he doesn’t disappoint. Supported by Moorehead and his beleaguered boss, he charges into the midst of the German HQ and, using his rifle as a club, does what needs to be done.
By T+60, the troublesome enemy HQ has become a one-man tactical irrelevance.
The PBI pushing towards the castle approach road from the north, also do sterling work this sixty.
Of the two enemy squads forced to flee by Marian’s timely advance, only one manages to gallop across the open ground NW of the village without being completely wiped out.
Mars considers playing a cruel trick on the Comment Commanders late in the turn, but ultimately decides a curt warning will suffice. At T+55 the three survivors of Spencer’s halftrack are pelted and perturbed by soil and stones dislodged by the detonation of a wayward 25-pounder round.
The situation at the start of Turn 33:
The station seems to be deserted except for a cowering flak gun crew.
If there are enemies lurking in the 15,1,5 and 14,3,5 foxholes then they are keeping their heads down and their powder dry.
Fletcher now has Oaks (PIAT team) and Olander (US half-squad) as passengers. All of the foes within range or LoS of Shanley, Carlson, and Costner appear to be relatively harmless remnants.
Turn 33 orders here, please. Commenters are cordially invited to suggest moves for the following seven unit groups. First come, first served. Order execution is usually Monday morning at 0700 GMT.
(See screenshots for unit locations)
– Captain Hood’s party (Hood’s HQ (1 man), Sergeant Venison’s rifle squad (2 men, low ammo), Forester’s squad (1 man), Sergeant Greenwood’s squad (6 men, split) + Corporal Fletcher’s M5A1 halftrack)
– Lieutenant Marian’s men (Marian’s HQ (4 men) + Sergeant Sherwood’s rifle squad (10 men) + PIAT team (embarked) + 3 inch mortar team)
– Sergeant Bowman’s Archer TD
– Sergeant Johns’ Churchill VIII
– Sergeant Pyle’s Sherman
– Lieutenant Costner’s platoon (Costner (2) Olander (12), Carlson (4), + bazooka man(1))
– 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.
ORDER: Greenwood ‘A’ {easternmost unit}
MOVE FAST northwest, then north towards foxholes at [14, 3, 5]
Switch to MOVE CAUTIOUSLY at appropriate distance
ORDER: Greenwood ‘B’
MOVE FAST towards foxholes at [14, 3, 5]
Switch to MOVE CAUTIOUSLY at appropriate distance
ORDER: Sergeant Forester
MOVE to replace Greenwood ‘B’
Target enemy platoon HQ
ORDER: Sgt. Venison
ASSAULT the enemy platoon HQ
ORDER: Sergeant Johns’ Churchill VIII
Rotate 180 degrees to face west
REVERSE to be south of the large station building [8, 3, 4]
MOVE CAUTIOUSLY forward and point turret northwest to peek round the corner
ORDER: Cpl. Spencer’s vehicleless crew
MOVE CAUTIOUSLY east to the edge of the pine woods
GO PRONE
ORDERS: Lt Costner’s Platoon:-
Costner – Pause 15s. RUN to 23, 2, 3.
Lincoln – No further orders.
Carlson – RUN to 23, 3, 3. Then MOVE to 23, 3, 2.
Olander – Buckle up.
Shanley – RUN 23, 2, 3.
ORDER: Pyle’s Sherman – Continue TARGET Foxhole 14, 3, 5.
FAST MOVE down road to 30, 2, 1.
Then FAST MOVE to 22, 1, 3. ROTATE SE.
ORDERS: Dale’s Party:-
Dale – RUN to 14, 3, 5.
Whitehand – MOVE to 21, 1, 2. FACE S. HIDE.
ORDER: Bowman’s Archer – TARGET Foxhole 15, 1, 5.
ORDER: Tuck 25pdr – ADJUST TARGET 15, 3, 4.
ORDER: Fletcher’s HT – MOVE along road to 22, 4, 4. FACE SE.
ORDERS: Marian’s Platoon:-
Marian – RUN to 14, 1, 5. MOVE to 14, 4, 3.
Sherwood – Team ‘A’ PAUSE 15s. RUN/ASSUALT 14, 3, 5.
‘B’ Team RUN to 14, 2, 4. MOVE to 14, 4, 3.
PIAT team – Remain on HT.
Could someone with a better understanding of Time / Tim confirm that there are FOUR in-game minutes remaining?
ie. FOUR occasions of: give orders, see results play out
{would mean the final turn is due to be played on Easter Monday}
Counting this one, you have three more opportunities to issue orders. After turns 33, 34, and 35 have been executed, I blow the final whistle and start putting together a debrief/assessment article.
Colonel – with three turns left we should prioritise objectives.
If I attempt to occupy the village buildings can you concentrate on the station area?
I don’t know. My instinct is to be cautious now (as far as infantry go) to avoid losing large numbers of men. The barrage is still underway, so we’re positioning for what to do in the final two turns.
I doubt dispersing our forces to claim we’ve seized the whole village is wise. So it’ll depend how far they’ve moved in from the north and west.
If you want, you can let me take command of (some of) the troops in the western force from next turn.
(Having said that, some Johnny-come-lately’ll probably turn up to claim the glory leg)
Fair enough.
I’m happy to attack the foxhole at [14, 3, 5] this turn should you wish to move your lads elsewhere.
Incidentally concentrating on the stn area doesn’t necessarily require occupying the buildings. It was more about denial, the Churchill could stay where it is and be used to demolish them, starting with the large one.
I’ll try to get my orders in soon so you can see what I’m up to.
Reversing a tank into a potentially dangerous area is …unorthodox; I’m with Sir Humphrey on this one. https://i.imgflip.com/3qo9v8.jpg
“It’s coming right for us!”
= not an exclamation it would occur to me to make about a building.