Command Decision: Mortain Part 3

A German PanzerGrenadier company takes position behind the bocage to ready for the final assault on the chateau while the finger of God Almighty personally snuffs out the mortal coil for a few Americans. That's something you don't want to see coming at you on the battlefield!

Aerial view of the American held German objectives. (One Ami coy bravely led by the battalion commander can be seen streaking away from the enemy and into the safety of the woods.)

The American mortar battery behind the chateau outbuildings. MG's have taken position upstairs and the Shermans try to cross France to get away from the Panthers.

Final positions. 2 German companies have taken the bocage while a third is engaged with the Amis in Close Combat in the woods. The remnants of another American coy struggles the hold the bocage against the next inevitable onslaught of massed German firepower. The Panther continues to be King of the Hill and the command Panther now has a bead on the troops in the chateau. The Shermans run like bitches from the Panther, as they should. Some Americans still hold the far bocage as the Germans on that side were pinned down by raking MG fire. The big white Disk O' Death in the center is the blast radius of my 81mm mtr, supressing any hope of American recovery in the center.

It was a good game and a good system. None of us were overly concerned with the results as it was a test game to see how the rules worked and we threw in a smattering of troop types. The Germans essentially only used one Panther and just it's presence erased an entire Sherman platoon as they fired 0 shots while hiding behind a hill. But we weren't after balance after all. The system is rules heavy but not cumbersome, at least not with the assortment we used. The results were reasonable, which is all I ask for. I like the orders and initiative system, it neatly removes a certain amount of omniscience from the table top general. I wouldn't want to play it exclusively, but that is a statement I can make about every game I've played. It's definitely on the list to do again.