This weekend David Hailey and I squared off in Tussle at Thomashoff, one of the scenarios from the 93b annual. It is a deluxe scenario, using two of the country boards. The British objective is to take the 4 stone buildings by game end (6 turns). To do it they get 12x457, 10-2, 9-1, 8-1, dmMMG, and a few LMGs and PIATs. They also get the use of a Churchill VII and a Crocodile. The Germans get 6x447, 4x436, MMG, 2xLMG, 9-1, 8-0, and 7 trench counters and 4 wire counters. They also get 12 minefield factors, a 75L ATG, and a 81mm MTR.
The German defense consisted of putting the conscripts in the outlying buildings. It was expected that they would be lost, but their job was to delay the British long enough so that the main 2-hex building and the one next to it could be held at the end. All the trenches went in front of this building, all connected, and extending out to the woods at the junction of the boards. Wire was place on the outer trench hexes to make them more difficult to storm. A squad set up the MMG in the upper floor of the big building, directed by the 9-1. The 8-0 stayed downstairs to help with rally tasks. The ATG also set up in the woods junction, facing the outlying buildings, hoping for a rear shot at a tank, while the MTR set up in the orchard area on the other side near the big building. The mines were exchanged for 4 AT mines, which were placed, one per hex, in the open middle area of the board.
The British came on, as expected, on a broad front. The 10-2, about 5 squads, a PIAT, and the dmMMG came on near the board edge by the outlying buildings. The crocodile came on here also. The middle of the board, near the stream, was the section for the 8-1, a few squads, and an LMG. The far side had the 9-1 and the rest of the infantry, with a couple LMGs and a PIAT, and the Churchill. Although the British made many attempts at gaining infantry smoke, they only succeeded once or twice on their first turn. It didn't matter, since they suffered nothing worse than a pin in defensive fire. The Germans did very little with their turn, and on turn 2 the British advanced farther. The first outlying building was practically taken, although the Crocodile managed only a pin against its first target. It then moved closer to the second outlying building, where the 2 conscript squads stationed in the area let loose with panzerfausts, only to miss. The center units moved up through the stream and the far flank units advanced also, while the Churchill got some acquisition on the MMG nest. Up to this point the British had suffered almost no casualties, so it didn't look good for the Germans.
The crocodile, however, was too far forward, and was not in motion. A few more panzerfausts were sent its way, until finally a conscript squad in the building managed to hit it and brew it up. Their training with the weapon was hasty, however, and a few men in the squad suffered serious burns from the backblast. To their credit, the rest of the squad maintained their composure. The ATG opened up on the 8-1 and squads in the stream, since it seemed obvious that they would not get a vehicular target during the game, and the 9-1 and 2 squads were poised to enter their hex anyway. The crew got a hit, but no real damage, so they intensive fired, eliminating the gun. The 9-1 group advanced in (on top of the wire) and destroyed the crew in Close Combat. The rest of the British infantry continued its flanking maneuver on the far side. By this time, there was a lot of smoke in the outlying trenches.
The 9-1 group was able to get under the wire during the next movement phase, spending 6 points to do so. They were hit by the adjacent German squad, and then the German MMG group (which had earlier relocated downstairs). The MMG got some decent ROF, and the 9-1 group was completely shredded. Nothing but a broken half squad remained in the area. The British also had a couple of broken units in the area of the outlying buildings, plus a few prisoners. On the flank, one squad advanced in with the mortar crew for some close combat, while the other continued flanking. The crew managed to hold the squad in melee for about 2 full turns, effectively taking it out of the all but the endgame.
The British started positioning themselves for the final thrust at the main stronghold. They had one squad on the extreme flank, and one in CC with the mortar crew. The 8-1 was in the center area with a few more squads. They were in mostly open ground. The 10-2 with a few squads was in the outlying stone buildings area, trying to break some units with long range fire. The Churchill did manage to smoke the MMG nest, and the drifting smoke looked like it would help the final charge quite a bit. Earlier in the game, a wind change result had rotated the breeze one hex clockwise. Now gusts came up, which almost eliminated the smoke entirely. The remaining Germans fired desperately, breaking or pinning a few of the enemy that were in the open. Some of the Germans in the trenches near the building were encircled by the lone British flanking squad, but they couldn't seem to break him. The British saw a lot of troops break during the last 2 turns, and without any more smoke from the Churchill, were forced into a last ditch charge. It didn't work, and the Germans held on for the victory.
This was a very enjoyable scenario, and it is short enough to be played in one afternoon. I think both sides played competently, and had decent game plans. The biggest British mistake was losing the Crocodile to a panzerfaust shot. The Crocodile is such a great weapon. Since FTs are exempt from halving during bounding first fire, as long as the Crocodile is stopped it can dish out a 36 FP attack. To lose such a weapon early hurts considerably. As for the rest, the Germans simply got lucky in the right places. The melee with the mortar crew was very frustrating for the British player, but it was probably the right move. Getting caught on the wire essentially cost them a platoon, but the rolls could easily have gone the other way. The German sniper was more active than he had a reason to be. He had the 10-2 in his sights once, but failed to get him. He eliminated a broken half squad, got a pin or a break result here and there, and finally wounded the 8-1 on the last turn. The Germans made the mistake of not using their HIP, but maybe that could be written off as a clever and subtle subterfuge. The British never did seem to get a big kill stack with their 10-2, and maybe that was important as well, but the rolls just weren't there for them in the right places.