For my first game in 10-12 weeks, my opponent Jim suggested this one from the new Bounding Pack.

My Americans would have to push through the bocage (both light & regular) of the new board BFP-D, and as the title suggests clear the Germans from an intersection amongst the familiar low hills of board 18.

The U.S. gets 15 squads of mixed quality to make the initial push. On turn five the cavalry arrives in the form of 2 M10s and 5 Shermans, two of which are equipped with Culin devices.

The most important pieces of the German defense are 2 HMGs and two dug-in panthers. Jim put one panther on level two hill hex 18Y7. It was covered by an HMG team in a foxhole 18X5. The other panther was in the victory area on 18Q3, looking straight up the main road. The remaining HMG team took up a position in 18O4 in a shellhole conveniently put there by the United States Air Force in a pre-game quasi-bombardment.

I pushed hard up the right with the bulk of my force, making good progress in that area, which was mostly blind to the big German weapons.

A smaller group started up the center to try to clear German troops from the road so the AFVs could get through safely. That attack got bogged down quickly as Jim shuffled 3-4 squads around in the bocage proving elusive targets. I was making no progress there for 3 turns.

I was considering abandoning the area and shifting those troops up the right, when I got a break. A squad went berzerk and survived his charge, tying up one of the key German squads. I was able to break that squad with adv. fire and Jim began to fall back.

Turn five and the tanks arrive. I sent the M10s left with one culin equipped sherman. Ther were no German units on that side. One sherman headed up the center road, another crashed through the bocage and headed for the near hill, the remaining shermans came in on the center but took a hard right to support the infantry on that side.

On the following turn, I experienced quite possibly the high point of my ASL career: On the left, I breached a hedgerow with a culin device. Let’s all take a moment to contemplate the profound significance.

……

Ok, we’re back.

The German HMG on the level two hill was broken by a lucky 10-hex shot from a MMG, and my infantry was climbing the hill to deal with them and the panther.

An M10 sailed through the breach and took up a position on a hill to fire on the panther and infantry in the rear. The near sherman got into a good spot on the hill to fire some smoke around. Things were nip and tuck. And then.

The sherman who was going to lay smoke did not get the chance, as he quickly became smoke himself on a shot from the rear panther. Not content, Jim announced an intensive fire shot, including a turret turn on my M10. Whatever. Good luck with that shot! Ha!

Snake eyes. Armor leader goes up in flames. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Freaking. Kidding. Me.

Now in the end game, 4 or so German squads that had pulled back successfully ducked down into the gully which runs through the victory area. Getting them out of good order down was going to be very difficult. I would likely have to drive vehicles down there and expose them to faust possibilities.

Fortunately, Jim saved me trouble by flaming another sherman with the panther from hell and ending the game by pushing me over the CVP cap.

It was a tense scenario. Lots of choices for both sides. If I had a chance to play it again, I would be (as Jim suggested) more aggressive early. It’s feels better to err on the side of caution with 6ML Americans, but if the Germans manage to hold you up for a while and still have four or five squads to hide in the gully and under the bridge, rooting them out seems like a pretty daunting task. Let alone doing it without hitting the CVP cap.

Always dug the Normandy bocage scenarios. Looking forward to playing more from these packs soon.

John Haughey