We have a system we've come up with to allow players to select their forces then draw mission cards to determine what their victory conditions will be. The forces the player takes will give them an aggressiveness factor. Otherwise force set-up is as in the Test of Battle rules, with the force being divided up as evenly as possible into a Holding Force, a Reserve Force, and an Assault Force. If one player has an aggressiveness much higher than their opponent, then they draw two of the mission cards and must take the more aggressive of the two missions. For instance, if they drew a hold card and a breakthrough card, they would have to play the breakthrough. This system allows players to choose what they want to use (within the TO&E structure for their formation) but balances it out if they take more heavy tanks, guns, etc, since they will usually have slightly more difficult victory conditions. We also do not reveal the mission card until a player achieves their objectives so there is a bit of uncertainty as to what the other player needs to achieve.
I was playing the Germans and I drew a probe mission, which meant I did not get my Assault Force. This eliminated my artillery support and a company of panzer IV's. This would be a tough one as at the end of the game I would have to have stands within 6 inches of all four objectives, or hold 3 objectives. Greg had a simple take and hold mission, so in the end he would have to hold 3 objectives.
We also still use a hidden deployment, with the position of units represented by flags. Once spotted the units are placed on the table. Since I haven't gotten around to making American flags yet Greg was using our Soviet ones to represent the positions on the American units.
An overview of the table from the American's side. Two objectives are in the center of the table, one on the bridge and one at the crossroads. The rules usually have objectives separated by at least 18 inches but when the terrain suggests otherwise we aren't adverse to making adjustments. We wanted a good slug-fest in the center of the table so set things up that way. Another objective is to the bottom left-center of the picture on the edge of the ill near the woodline. This was a good vantage point, especially for artillery spotters. The fourth and last objective is a second bridge over the river (not seen in this pic).
View from the German side. The fourth objective (represented by a stack of crates) can be seen in the bottom right of the photo.
An overview of the town in the center of the board, from the German side, showing both objectives. Despite the seemingly close proximity of the units they cannot spot each other yet as we are considering the whole town as a built-up area, with a spotting range of 2 inches.
First Contact: a German infantry company runs into the lead elements of the American mechanized infantry company.
Another view of the first contact.
View from the American Assembly Area showing the American reinforcements moving onto the board.
The main American reinforcement column moves into the town. Shermans on the left flank of the Americans support their attack into the town, covering the road from the German side leading into town. This would make it difficult for the German player to move reinforcements of their own into town. This wasn't a problem, as I had none.
The view from the south with the supporting Shermans. They exchange fire with some Panzer IV's on the edge of the town moving up to support the German infantry company. What Greg doesn't know is directly to his rear, in a woods, is a company of 75mm ATG's supported by another infantry company. The range is a bit long, however, and the Shermans have a hull-down position on the ridge, so I hold fire to wait for him to make a move for the second bridge.
Two more close-ups of the battle in the town. Another Sherman has moved up to support the American assault.
Fire is exchanged. A couple of stands are lost on both sides and a few stands fall back from the fire but it is still a draw.
The Sherman company and a company of Stuarts make a move for the second bridge. Here my usual luck with dice rolls catches up with me and the close proximity of the American armor pins my ATG's in the woods. I will not get opportunity fire at the tanks and will have to take general fire at a penalty.
More American units pour into the town as the Germans desperately try to hold the bridge. German units pin up but hold their ground. At this point I knew I could not achieve my objective so my efforts would now go to denying the Americans theirs.
The German ATGs and a panzershreck stand open fire. A Sherman and a Stuart are lost. I was hoping for better results but will have to settle on hoping that morale goes poorly for the Americans and the Germans rally a bit.
The Americans pass morale but the Germans fail! The gun crews abandon the guns falling back into the cover of the woods while the German infantry company holds the position.
The Americans put more pressure on the Germans and launch their assault on the first bridge.
Another view of the action at the second bridge. In the background the Shermanswoodline.
An overview of the second bridge.
The game ended with an American victory (Greg actually won one! :P ) A good game; very gritty and up in the air until the very end. Morale played a huge role in this game. If the German ATG crews had not pinned, later falling back, then the results would have been much different.
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