The scenario was a rescue mission, whereby a British pilot had been captured and was being held somewhere in the ruins of a city by the Germans, and a British paratrooper and a U.S. Reconnaissance squad (in jeeps) received intelligence as to the general area where he was being held. (Apparently they intercepted and decoded a transmission as they knew the Gestapo was coming for him, but apparently didn't get the street address despite the Gestapo knowing exactly which building to go to... Damn those incomplete intercepts!)
Here is the layout of the city from the Southern end:
The American came from the southwest (the left side of the picture, on the lower road) and the Gestapo eventually came on the northeast (the right side of the picture, on the upper road). Here were the locations of my teams:
The MMG team (gunner and loader, both REP 4) were on the second story of a ruined building and their mission was to be able to pin down troops in the center, near the statue, fuel dump, and any "right hook" against the building where the pilot was being held.
The Sergeant (REP 5) was holed up with two riflemen (REP 4), and their mission was to block a US "left hook" against the building where the pilot was being holed up.
Finally, the pilot was being guarded by a German officer (REP 5) and two riflemen (REP 4) in the building by the northeast road. The transport, when it arrived, would simply be able to enter the road, turn left to the rear of the building, pick up the prisoner, then reverse out of the alley back onto the road, and escape. Given that there were no restrictions on where the prisoner was placed, and the US did not know which building he was in, I was pretty sure I had this scenario in the bag.
The US swept in on their jeeps and dismounted immediately into three groups (A, B, and C on the map).
Team A (BAR gunner REP 4, British Paratrooper REP 6 (I think), Rifleman REP 4, and driver with carbine REP 4) moved to the first building and dismounted (except for the driver), out of sight from all of the Germans.
Team B (Sergeant REP 5, two Rifleman REP 4, and driver with carbine REP 4) drove to the point on the map before the MMG opened up on them, forcing everyone to dismount. The only result of the fire was that the MMG ran out of ammo and one of the riflemen went berserk (passed on two 6s), so he would not need to take morale checks anymore. This wasn't looking good for the Germans.
Team C (Officer REP 5, one riflemen REP 4 manning the .50 caliber MG on the jeep, and driver with carbine REP 4) went around Team B and moved into a position where they could plaster the building where the MMG was located. Their fire caused the MMG team to hunker down. With their morale broken, they were no longer going to be effective until someone came and rallied them. This was now looking bad for the Germans and it was only the first turn!
The prisoner transport coming on relied upon both sides rolling the same number on the activation die at the start of a turn. This normally indicates that neither side acts, as there is a lull in the action. This is basically 6 in 36 chances or about 16% chance per turn.
On turn two and three the Americans attacked up the right flank (south side) to capture the MMG team. The BAR gunner and the Paratrooper charged up a debris mound to get to the second floor while the rifleman swept fearlessly around the rear of the building in case the Germans popped out there.
Given the poor morale state of the MMG team, they surrendered as soon as the American appeared in the window. As the thrust of the American attack was solely on the south side (isn't full knowledge of the enemy OOB a great thing!) the German Sergeant and his team shifted left, running in the alley behind the building where the prisoner was kept, in an attempt to block on attack from that side.
Meanwhile, the jeep with the .50 advanced forward and the two rifleman in prisoner's building opened up, trying to shoot the driver. Both missed and received a burst for their troubles, resulting in Schmidt going down, obviously dead. The officer, being a veteran, decided that staying out of line of sight from the .50 was a good idea.
Finally! A lull in the fighting meant everyone could hear the approach of the Kubelwagen sent to retrieve the prisoner. The mission was coming to a close.
The jeep with the .50 cal needed to be stopped, so it would not interfere with the escape of the Kublewagen, so the German Sergeant sent a rifleman out to the left of the barrels to draw fire. Hopefully the cover would ... oh well, another soldier out of the fight. But, on the bright side both the rifleman on Team B who fired and the .50 cal ran out of ammo!
The second German rifleman came around the corner and fired, causing the American riflemen to duck back. The Sergeant went right and sprayed the jeep with his SMG and put one through the driver's head (obviously dead) and forced the gunner to duck back into cover, leaving the machine gun unmanned.
The Officer ordered the remaining rifleman to the northeast street to provide cover, should a jeep pop around suddenly, while he took the prisoner to the back of the building. On comes the Kubelwagen...
The Americans have one more chance, but when they roll to activate, it is the Germans who get to go first. With a roar the Germans take off with the prisoner.
Summary
The Germans had two OD, one OOF, and two captured, while the US had only one OD. So although the Germans won, it was a victory that came at a high cost.
So how did I like the rules? I bought the game! :) Granted, I mainly bought them for the campaign information, but I can see using the rules for solo games when I feel like letting the reaction system take over.
All in all an enjoyable game and one that was very visually appealing. I wish I could do it more.
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