For those without the scenario it is played on board 35 and half of board 7 (the 35S10/T10 pond is replaced by orchard and the large 35Y7 pond by grain, there is a stream running through parts of hexrows 35J and 35K, and the boards are butted along the "10" hexgrain of both boards). The Germans have to defend hex 7I9 which gives access to a bridge in hexrow 7I. They will win if there is a GO MMC within 5 hexes of 7I9 at the end of the game (7 turns). To accomplish this they have 13 squads (a mix of 548 and 447's) of 3rd Company 2nd Marine Battalion and two 105L AA guns. They can expect to be reinforced by elements of the HQ company (9-2, 8-1, 3x548, 2xlmg) on turn five. To push the Germans away from the bridgehead the British have a total of 18 648's led by 10-2 and 9-2 leaders. At first sight the British would seem to have more than adequate forces to achieve their objective however as with the other TOT#2 scenarios there is a CVP cap on losses permitted in the process. In this case the loss of 20 CVP will give the German an automatic victory.
The setup is sequential with three British squads and two MMGs deploying within 2 hexes of 35O10. The Germans set up on or behind the 35R/7P rows in a layered defense with four squads around 35T10, a pair back in 35X9/X10, and another pair in 35Z9/Z10. The last ditch line is AA7 (9-1, 548/hmg), AA8 (105L), BB8 548/lmg, CC9 (105L). One and a half squads go on the peninsula to force the British to dilute their effort. The remaining units (2x228/mmg, 7-0, 237) are deployed around 35V1and placed under the few OOB dummies. They are a key element of the defense despite being a long way from the victory area, for the following reasons:-
If all the Germans deploy along the riverbank then they will be easily outflanked and overrun. The hope of the German was to make this force look sufficiently substantial that the British are forced to take it on, diluting their effort in the crucial area without a necessarily concomitant reduction in the German defense of the riverbank. The British need to do this as late in the game these units would be a major threat to the open British flank , capable of running units into the victory area behind the forward British units. Equally placing the MMG's with these units allows the possibility of 4-2 shots over a large part of the British frontage if the attacker is careless on the first move.
The main attack element of the British force is placed last, in or behind the stream. The Brit. deploys a leader and 3 squads in 35J3, evidently to take on the German flank force, with the remaining twelve squads and leaders close to the riverbank in the 35K hexrow.
The only other point of note is that the British are given the possibility of using the "Bayonet Charge SSR". This can only be initiated vs. a known unit and an important consideration for the German will be the maintenance of concealment for units in the backfield, to deny the British the opportunity to sweep forward rapidly, and potentially with great immunity (due to a ML = 9 for the elite units).
On turn one the British start to move forward and things start to go wrong quickly. When the 35J3 stack leaves the stream and enters 35L3 a mmg in 35V1 barks out and although the LOS is close it is open. The MMG gets 3 ROF shots in the MPh/DFPh and the 8-0 3x648 are rapidly reduced to a wounded 7-0 and 1.5 squads who will essentially take no further part in the battle. Close to the riverbank two half squads rush forward and are cut down by a 548/lmg in a foxhole in 35T9. With half a turn gone the British are already 5 CVP down. In the German half of the turn squads in 35T9, 35T10 and 7F8 make entrenching attempts, by the second turn each of these is huddling down in a foxhole. Otherwise the Germans avoid contact as much as possible, by skulking and refusing to drop concealment.
On turns 2 & 3 the British methodically clear out the 8 hex wood mass between their deployment area and 7I9. A total of six German squads plus 7-0 and 8-1 leaders die in this meatgrinder. However the gain is not without some pain for the Brit. as an 8-1 leader and 1.5 squads go down in the process. The British also send a single squad to 35V5 to upset any plans the German flank force may have for reinforcing the centre, but will this meager flank guard be sufficient?
With the British having lost 10 CVPs by the end of T3 the next turn looked to be make or break time. The British still had plenty of squads to achieve victory but now needed to push hard but with few casualties. Unfortunately, as a stack consisting of 8-1, 648 and 2x248/mmg advanced into 35X9 with the intention of occupying the foxhole therein and setting up a powerful firegroup to play onto the Germans' final defense line, the AA guns spoke out for the first time. Two shots from the 105L in AA8 plus some fire from squads in the Z9/Z10 defense line resulted in the elimination of one half squad, the breaking of the second and the casualty reduction the full squad. As for the leader he battle hardened to a 9-1, but that was small recompense for another 2CVPs lost. However the Z9/Z10 units were now known and the 10-2 leads a bayonet charge with a 648 and 338 against them. While the 338 failed a MC the 10-2 and 648 entered Z9 in the MPh and broke and eliminated the squad therein with advancing fire. They then proceeded to advance into Z10 where they were ambushed, but for once the dice gods were with the British (the average Brit. MC DR hovered around 7.6-7.8 throughout the whole game) as the German rolled high and they rolled low enough to eliminate the squad. Advantage to the commandos.
In the German Prep fire phase a MMG in 35V2 broke the British flank cover at 35V5. The 105L and 9-1 led HMG concentrated their fire on a squad X8 breaking, and then eliminating it. The German 7-0 and 237 on the flank rush forward to surround the broken V5 unit eliminating it for failure to rout. In defensive fire the British eliminate the crew of the AA gun and a combination of fire and two effective sniper attacks reduced the defenders of the peninsula from 1.5 GO squads to two broken half squads.
At the start of turn five only the final defense line is still intact and the only GO German units close to the victory area are the 9-1, 548/hmg stack in 35AA7 and a 548/lmg under a ? in 35BB8. The British probably need to eliminate these before the German reinforcements arrive in the second part of the turn. To do the job they have around 4/5 squads and 10-2/9-2 leaders sufficiently close at hand. However the CVP total in now 16!
While the British would probably have liked to declared a bayonet charge at BB8 that isn't possible, due to the ?. With hopes high the 10-2 and a 648 approach BB8 via BB10 and BB9. On entering the latter the second 105L (in CC9) is placed onboard and fires DR=5 DRM= -3, critical hit. Random selection chooses the leader who dies, the 648 passes the LLMC and a 2MC, but then the 548/lmg breaks the squad with PBF. With the CVP total now 19 the British move their remaining units up and launch a small counterattack at the flanking units. In the process another half squad is lost and the CVP total reached. Ironically that final German fire attack also generated a sniper who pinned the crew of the 105L turning any final fire shot by them against the adjacent broken 648 into a very chancy affair.
On reflection I feel this scenario is more interesting for the British than the German player. The German setup seemed to be close to optimal. The British has a greater variety of strategies he could try out but I think really needs to get the bulk of his units in among the defenders quickly. To do this he probably needs to rush a few half squads as far forward as possible to get the Germans in the rear to drop concealment and then launch some long range bayonet charges to cross the ground quickly. If he can do this without excessive casualties then he should probably be able to get the upper hand.