"All American": Turn Three, Holding the Line at Cauquigny

 Turn Three: Holding the Line at Cauquigny

With the inundated fields just behind them, the Americans center their defense on a church near the water. The Germans move to try and secure access to the causeway.

Map

At the center of the map is a farmstead with stone buildings and a half-timber barn. The US table edge has the shore of the flooded fields, and a medieval stone church and graveyard. There is also a two-storey house and stone fountain near the US table edge. There are two roads leading into Cauquigny, the upper "church road", and the "causeway road" which leads directly onto the causeway. All of the buildings count as hard cover, as do the stone walls. None of the sparse trees offer cover. The flooded areas counts as Really Heavy Going terrain. Troops caught in this terrain count as being in the open, with no ability to go Tactical nor move At the Double. No vehicles may enter the inundated fields.

Support Choices

German Support:  R35 light tank (4), HMG team (4), Satchel charge (1), Adjutant (1). 

Wild Card: Armored First (one Panzer III at no cost in Support Points)

US Support: Parachute Squad with Junior Leader (5)

Wild Card: Bazooka Forward! (add one Bazooka Team in no Support Points. In addition, start the game with one full Chain of Command Die.) 

Platoon Leaders

German platoon commander is Feldwebel Friedberg. He was a waiter at a fancy restaurant before the war. He likes to pretend he has ties to aristocracy (claiming to be the illegitimate son of a noble family) 

US platoon commander Lt. Dwight Patrick - known as “Hat-Trick Patrick” to his men. Like Foxhole Harvey, he is also from Mid-West, but he is a much better leader than Foxhole Harvey. His nickname comes from his reputation as a shrewd leader. 

Combat

Starting moral for Germans was 8 and for the US was 11. 

The German objective was to capture an Airborne JOP which was behind the church. 

The German 1st Squad appeared at the center of the German table edge and moved up toward the farmstead. A Panzer III rumbled forward on the road toward the church. 

US 1st Squad deployed in the church. Two men were sent to the top of the church-tower to act as spotters for the 60mm mortar, which had deployed behind the church along with the platoon sergeant. The rest of US 1st Squad took up positions in the church, covering the church road, but it didn’t really see any action in this game; the Panzer III stayed down the road, unwilling to advance without infantry support, and the German advance (schwerpunkt) was on the German right flank - down the causeway road. 

Mortar spotters wisely do not open fire

US 1st Squad takes up position inside the church

The remaining two German squads were deployed on the German right flank, along with support from a tripod-mounted HMG.  The German 2nd Squad advanced down the road, hugging the stone wall of the farmstead. A short while later the German 3rd Squad took up a position near some trees to cover the 2nd Squad's advance. The HMG team also took up position beside these trees. 

Sergeant Louis Ross (US 2nd squad) was deployed in the farmstead. He ordered his men to withdraw from the farm via dense hedgerow behind them. Ross was worried about getting flanked by Germans, but it was too late, his men were unable to clamber through the hedgerow, and so he told his men to turn and fight. They would take heavy fire from three MG-42s but managed to be relatively unscathed - through a good deal of luck more than anything else! Clearly the sun was in the Germans' eyes. 

The Germans advance on their right flank

US 2nd Squad are seemingly caught with their pants down

However, perhaps Sergeant Ross's squad was just acting as bait? An unexpected third US squad - a scratch force - appeared at a hedgerow by the rear house, covering the road toward the causeway. They caught the German 2nd and 3rd Squads and the HMG team in the open.  

The US 2nd and 3rd squad gunned down the HMG crew. 

US 2nd Squad catches Germans in cross-fire with unexpected third US squad

A Renault light tank crawled along the road to support the main German advance. The R35 fired its 37mm cannon at the US 3rd Squad but without much effect. 

The German attack is stalled 

Feldwebel Friedberg moved up in support of the main German advance - which seemed unable to eliminate Sergeant’s Ross’s men in the farmstead, and was being chewed up by the unexpected third US squad. This US squad had the German 2nd Squad in a perfect enfilading fire position. 

The advance along the causeway road had come to a complete halt. 

The German 1st Squad wasn’t exposed to enemy fire - so it crossed the hedgerow and moved into the farmstead,  intending to assault Sergeant Ross’s US 2nd Squad. But the German 1st Squad moved too nervously and slowly and did not get close enough. 

The Panzer III advanced toward the church and fired its gun at the occupants, but it was too little too late. 

With the German 2nd and 3rd Squads suffering heavy casualties, and the 2nd Squad becoming pinned,  Feldwebel Friedberg ordered a retreat.  Obergefreiter Henzler (leader of 2nd Squad) managed to rally his men, unpinning them, so they could slip away under fire. 

Results

Germans suffered 12 casualties: 6 KIA, 3 wounded, 3 were able to immediately return to active duty

US suffered 4 casualties but all were able to immediately return to active duy. 

German forces, Men's Opinion fell to -3, and US Men's Opinion was raised to +6.