AAR: U5 Point D'Appui

Steven Miller

Germans: Steven Miller
Americans: Scott Hopkins

The second game we played was POINT D'APPUI (U5). The Americans have six squads, two leaders (one a 9-2), a MMG and some bazookas. They have to keep the Germans from controlling a road intersection.The Germans have four squads, a 37L, 20L and four regular halftracks. SSR's limit play to about 2/3rds of the boards, add a roadblock and two of the major hills on board 3 are converted into woods. I was the Germans. I loaded up the halftracks and did an end around the edge of the boards to enter the village from the side. I put the 37L halftrack and a group with a LMG covering the front of the village. They mangaged to break one of Scott's squads but at that point Scott took over my job in getting rid of his units. He proceded in following rally phases to completely eliminate that entire squad with some of the several boxcars he rolled in the game. Meanwhile, the flanking halftrack assault gets into the village and unloads. I move units up from three sides to get to the road intersection. I moved a halftrack to the intersection to try and give the sacrificial half-squad some cover when he moved onto the intersection to get the necessary "control." Scott had about five tries with a bazooka on that halftrack and missed them all. And of course I am unable to break him so we spend several phases just blasting away at each other. The sacrificial half-squad was indeed just that. But the onus was now on Scott to retake the intersection. I loaded up the intersection and adjacent hexes with my halftracks to try and stop the last turn dash we both knew was coming. I tried to get as much of my remaining infantry there to help but his covering fire and timily breaking of several squads reduced that to a single, but courageous, squad. On the last turn my only hope to stop his 9-2 and squad from jumping on the intersection was to try and lock them in melee. I rolled a "12" on my attack and he chose not to withdraw as it would put him away from the intersection. At this point, once again this day, luck was not with Scott. He rolls on a 3 to 2, down two attack...can you guess? Yes it is a "12" also! So as the game ends there we are locked in melee, him just one hex from victory.Victor claims to be the boxcars king, but from what I have seen Scott can could challenge that claim.