Turn 5 saw the Germans bring on the last of their reinforcements - I really wanted them to come on after the British reinforcements - and the last of the British reinforcements. The turn opens with the German AA platoon (3.7cm anti-aircraft guns mounted on Opel trucks) coming on and reinforcing the left flank. Again, I don't want them to face off against the Stuarts, as I felt they would just get shredded. The Marders continued to press forward, moving two into the edge of the woods (risking a bog check) and setting the whole platoon up to fire upon the Sextons. The fire is still ineffective, however, and the two-gun battery of Sextons fires a bombardment back, bailing two of the Marders!
On the right flank the Stuarts and Cromwells continue to nibble at the Fusiliers, this time uprooting one of the dug-in infantry stands. The 15cm infantry guns continue to stare down the units on the flank, but the British Company 2iC takes a chance and charges the right-most howitzer, which blasts him into oblivion.
Turn 6 sees the Marders breaking from their pinning and, along with the remaining anti-tank gun, destroy the Cromwell platoon that just entered the board. Meanwhile the Stuarts and Cromwells start to close in on the Fusiliers on my right flank, with their assault breaking a significant portion of the platoon free from their foxholes. It looks pretty grim for the Fusiliers, except that now the Cromwells are in range of the howitzers direct fire...
So, at the start of the German turn 7, I have a bailed Marder, a bogged Marder, the Stuarts penetrating into the center, the Cromwells, assaulting my Fusiliers on the right and forcing them to abandon their foxholes and I have four 10.5cm howitzers lined up ready to direct fire into the Cromwells ...
I remount the Marder. I unbog the other Marder. My Marders move out to attack the Sextons and the single Sherman OP on my left flank. The AA trucks turn to try and stop the Stuarts from running rampant in my center. My Fusiliers get out of the way of my howitzers, who are lowering their barrels and aiming over irons sights when ... I roll all 1's for the howitzer fire! (Don and I burst out laughing after all that tension.) Holy crap! I completely miss!
The Stuarts run rampart, starting to chew up my mortars (they disappear and it is the first unit destroyed on my side - Don cheers) and my AA trucks while the Cromwells dig more of my Fusiliers out of their foxholes, racking up kills, despite my tremendous infantry saves for the teams being machine-gunned in the open.
The end comes quickly however, as the Marders continue to advance into range of contesting the British objective while the howitzers and infantry guns finally find their targets and crush the Cromwell platoon. The Stuarts continue to push their luck and drive into the rear of the second Fusilier platoon, trying to clear the objective. It was just too much and the AA trucks bail the Stuarts in defensive fire while the Fusiliers capture them in counter-assault. That ends the game in a hard-fought German victory, 5-2.
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