Blimey, that was a bloody turn. By my count, thirteen CMBO turnip-heads either perished or suffered debilitating injuries during the twenty-ninth minute of Bounce the Bogen.
Colonel_K and SunderLad, the admirably dedicated/devious Comment Commanders who have kept this show on the road for much of the past six months, won’t be pleased to hear that more than half of the casualties were Europe liberators.
Unsurprisingly, Sergeant Alvarez is among the fallen. In the seconds before assistance arrives in the shape of Shanley, Olander, and Carlson, the heavily outnumbered and outgunned GI is stung to death by lead hornets.
The SS unit that unleash the killers aren’t celebrating for long. Fiercely assailed from front and rear, they throw in the towel eighteen seconds into the turn.
Moments later, the tables turn again when a previously undetected SS squad engages Carlson’s team from behind.
One man down and seemingly in trouble, Carlson goes to ground as the bushwhackers hurry past and a third nine-man SS unit appears close-by!
Happily, the Brits advancing in the shadow of the Schloss, and, a little later, Pyle’s Sherman and Lieutenant Costner, spot the new threats and intervene with gusto.
By the time the clock stops, the enemy closest to Carlson has turned tail and the squad that pushed on, crossing the track, has been thoroughly cowed by Shanley and Olander.
East of the Schloss, Marian’s push doesn’t go unnoticed. Leading the way, Sherwood ‘A’ weather MG 34 fire from the vigilant SPW 250/1. The end of their brief ordeal looks to be imminent when Pyle’s Sherman, ‘hunting’ towards the village, spots the halftrack at T+57. However, Turn 27 still has surprises up its sleeve.
Circa T+58 the Comment Commanders’ M4A3 is struck on the turret-front by something hefty. The round fails to penetrate and none of the crew are injured, but it’s a scary moment nonetheless.
Four of the turn’s seven Allied casualties are Tommy infantrymen killed or heavily wounded in the woods near the castle gates. While moving eastward, Hood’s men are surprised at close-range by a stationary four-man German platoon HQ. In the ensuing firefight, Hood is reduced to four men, Forester to one. The fact that the German HQ is ‘green’ and miraculously suffers no losses during the exchange, adds insult to injury.
The situation at T+60:
Although all of the British units in the foreground of the above image have LoS, only one, the ‘shaken’ Forester, is currently engaging the troublesome platoon HQ. Closer to the castle gates, Venison is firing on the two-man rump of a Sicherung Squad that headed westward as Hood’s party moved east.
Fletcher’s HT spotted and engaged two cowering Volkgrenadiers as it motored up the riverside road. The experience seems to have energised the targets.
