Round 1 - J43: 3rd RTR in the Rain

For the initial game I to play Jes Touvdal (Denmark). We've played an exiting game at SO a couple of years ago so I was looking for a revenge anyway. No balance was selected and I got the Germans. The AT got into the wooden two hex building in my rear cowering the right flank. 1.5 squads and leader took care of the woods on the left and the rest went into the village. Jes stormed on with HS's on the right, but through lucky shots all were stopped at two hexes distance from any cower. In the woods he broke my squad, but the HS stayed concealed. The British AFV's stayed well in the rear waiting for the scouting results. My next 3 rally and self-rally attempts were all boxcars so 1.5 squad was quickly eaten away. On the right he entered the village, first by trying the VBM freeze on the forward 467, but it hit back by killing the AFV! Mmm. Next one enters the same hex, but the 467 misses it barely.

Round 2 - J60 Bad Luck

Second round on Friday was with Hans Bugge (Norway), who got the Germans this time. Having played it before as the US I did a "chicken" defense this time, putting all AFV's on the ground instead of on the Hills. Hans entered a bit to carefully with only a part of his forces. I maneouvered a little to impair his movements. His infantry had a hard time comming forward, so it evolved into a bit of AFV duelling. One of the PzIV's malfunctioned its MA, took three hits from the Sherman without blinking, repaired the MA and killed the offending Sherman! Ugh. Also the German 81mm MTR scored a CH versus the 346/60mm MTR I had in a FH on the hill.

In the end there was a tight know of AFV's on the border between the hill and the woods. I drove the (76)W Sherman through woods into the rear of the Panther, but missed. Two Bazooka squads moved in but missed the second PzIV, one X'ed away. In his turn he killed my AFV's but my BAZ got him and the CVP cap was exceeded. Even so it was probably to late to get enough CVP on the US board. 1-1 

Round 3 - J46: Strongpoint 11

In the PTO round Kenneth Knudsen (Denmark) and I selected this one. Again with no balance and Kenneth wanting and getting the Dutch (he had only little PTO experience). Kenneth went for a "stand and hold" defence with his three forward green 437's, who promply were all consumed in the CC's. The IJA could plow forward rather quickly since all the Dutch DR's really sucked, and was on top of the bunkers to clean them out early. The only IJA loss being a HS which was killed of by a wounded 7-0 in CC!

2-1

Round 4 - SP76: Flaming of the guard

A meatier scenario featuring 5 panthers and enough British firepower to keep 'em humble. I bid G0 to play the Germans having played this once as British, and Bjarne Hansen (Denmark) agreed by bidding B3! This meant a 9-1AL, a 467 turned into a 468 and 468's being assault engineers. Then when the setup was finished all but 5 or so units where setup in the big stone building (49D8) in the middle closest to me entry area I was really wondering what was going on. Bjarne is one of the Danish top players so it smelled like a trap. The german entered with 2.5 squads from the right, 0.5 with a PzV from the left edges to scout for the AT guns along the road. The AT guns where also in the 49D8 building, but the Germans didn't know that just yet. The buld of the infantry entered over the Orchard hill in the middle, and the two FT carrying 248's + a Squad or two opposite 49D8. The first turn was uneventfull except for that a PzV in HD on the Orchard hill was taken out on the first shot by a Sherman in that building. A different PzV was stacked with the 10-2, 468/MMG at the end of the Orchard hill and aquired a ?(5/8") in the woods (there were in LOS). Remember these guys! They carried the game eventually for me. Well, it becoma obvious that all units were setup in 49D8 so I moved in all PzV except the aforementioned on in out of LOS positions I thought, or at least where he had change TCA to hit. Out comes the AT's and immobs a PzV. The second PzV enters the stone building to freeze the AT gun, survives all and is parked PBF behind a Sherman VC. It changes TCA and kills it at the second attempt. The end result is two dead panthers and one immobilized. My single surviving PzV killed the carrier and the Sherman V in the woods. These contributed a lot of Smoke since a small breeze had started. Still having only one PzV on turn two was not encouring. Through maneouvering a PSK finally hit the Sherman VC closest to the orchard hill when it was trying to get away (at two hexes with TEM). More smoke! The immobilized Panther took four more hits from the AT, but the crew passed their NTC each time. It then killed a Sherman VC as it backed out of the stone building, hitting it through two smokes. It then died at the hands of the AT. Bjarne has a killer stack made by the 9-2 + squads with LMG's whom he use to clean up around the building. On turn 3 he still has most of his infantry and the killer stack at the front. I manage to move in a 468 which takes some DFF and places Smoke grenades on it. I rush in with all my infantry, including the 10-2 who now is moving with squads having transferred the MMG to a crew, they take the DFF by the killer stack and survives. I make a small error and do not move a squad up around the flank, so when the cx 10-2 and stack breaks the complete 9-2 killer stack Bjarne can rout them far away over the road into a wooden building. The other units he leaves in the building. On turn four I move close but cannot reach the 9-2 which doesn't rally, but looses the DM. My solo PzV hits and breaks a reinforcing leader, again through too smoke hexes. On my final turn he still have 17 CVP in buildings adjacent to the road. He rallies all his broken units so all 17 CVP count. Due to the smoke only squad can reach the 9-2 stack and survives adjacent to it, unpinned. In the main building the end result of my maneouvering is that I have three close combats involving 8 CVP, e.g. I must win all. The first is with mr. 10-2, who ambushes and kills of his part at 3-1. I skip the next CC which is also at 3:1 with a concealed unit for -2 at ambush and resolves a CC versus a lone crew. And agony not only am I ambushed and it can withdraw to a hex adjacent to the road, but it did *not* count before that! I didn't see the "hexes" in the VC... Middle night mistake or whatever. Doh. We didn't resolve the last CC. This was the best game for the weekend for me. Bjarne didn't do any mistakes and the Germans had to perform to their limit. 2-2

Round 5 - SP47: The Last Tiger

The last round gave Shaun Carter (england) whom I also played at ASLOK last year. We both bid R0 for the Russian in this and a random selection gave Shaun them. I set up the Rhino and 75L HT on the second level hill on the right, both looking to forward left flank. The SPW 251 was one the second level hill imediately to the left of the village. The Tiger was HIP in the middle looking forward. Shaun entered will all his units on the far left. Lots of riders and moving fast there. I had some units as speed bumpers, but achieved little with them. In his MPh the 75L HT changed VCA and found a tricky LOS killing a T-34/85. I my turn a did little but breaking a squad through two PF checks. His move in 2nd turn.

A JS-2 previously out of LOS starts and moves into the LOS of the Rhino, which changes VCA rolling 3 for TH and one 88LL round later the JS-2 is scrapped. The russians move on, but I can fall back orderly. He get his reinforcing JS-2 and enters behind the Nashorn. He misses his BFF. I miss my DFph shot, but hits it twice in the PFPh first shocking it and then killing it with the IF shot. The Russians also loose the ISU152 to the PF from a hill squad. He moves on the hill after killing the squad, but the Nashorn turns again killing one AFV and the next one is killed with a PSK shot from the village below. It was really hard to see how enough russian infantry would be able to enter village at this point so Shaun conceded. A fun scenario even if I was lucky with Rhino man. 3-2 Finally, many thanks to Michael Hastrup-Leth and the others making this tournament so great and fun to attend!