SP49 - Audie Murphy

Player 1: Richie Crowe played Def-Americans

Player 2: Stephen Johns played Att-German

Scenario: 2206, Audie Murphy

Date Played: 9/9/00

Winner: Stephen Johns

Turns played: 6

Hours played: 2

Balance used: None

Dice were: Pro - Att-German

Rating: Good

Good scenario from the MoH pack, lots of meat- US 155 OBA, 6 German tanks ( 3 Panthers ), 25 German ( albeit poor quality ) squads and Audie himself ( 10-3 !) The US forwent the usual ( for myself ) firelane opportunities, opting instead to setup the mmgs on top of the level 1 hill which bisects the obvious assault route behind the woods near the edge of the playing area. Murph was in the finger of the woods ( pre- reg 44H3 )nearest the center of the playing area, along with a 667/baz. BIG mistake. One M10 was behind the hill in 44B3 , the other was in 17E4, looking for flank shots on Panthers especially. I was hoping to slow the Germans with the artillery especially and use the infantry as panzer bait, luring them into AT ambushes.

Steve sets up “Steves’ Charge”, a long line of squads and panzers that’d make General Lee proud, and assaults in a long wave towards the copse of trees beyond. I uncharacteristically open up early with the 667s/mmgs, giving away their location to the predatory panzers, who waited for the infantry to move on ahead first. A PzIV draws in front of my waiting M10 ( 44B3 ), giving a flank shot, turret hit, need a 9 or better….OK a friggin’ 10! yeah, shock TC was passed ). Intensive fire finally immobilizes the beast, but another PzIV rolls on up. Ahah! The bazooka laying in wait premature bazookation ) throws out another turret hit , TK 16, 3 AF…AARRGGHH!! A 12!!! At this point, I can see where things are going ( again, or still… ) as the men in the white suits draw nearer to me still. With all the US infantry that I want to be exposed, just that, I only drop the OBA in the DFph. The FFE lands in the registered hex ( rolled a 4, just for good measure ) and proceeds to give me satisfaction, disrupting a conscript, reducing a 447 and breaking another 447 to a ‘script, oh and I flamed a Panther, too. During the Afph, Steve roasts the M10, hey, when you’re rolling low, you ’ve got to take those low odds shots and that SOB did !!! and kept right on going. ( yeah, I would, too )All the armour that could see him, shot at the bazooka squad, not doing anything until the deadly 2 +1 shot pulls a 4 ( NMC ) revealing the up ‘till now HIP Murph.

Trying to stay out of sight, the US skulked, except Murph, who, holding the phone, was going to wait until the Aph to hide, while walking the OBA back to hinder/slow the German movement-that WAS the plan ( the adjustment ends up in the original hex ). The panzers split their fire between Murph and the bazooka squad, though Murph, already wounded, fails the second wound check and the bazooka squad breaks. Having noone left to scare them, the remaining Germans pound the 667/mmg in LOS ( 44D3) obviously ( the way I roll…) breaking him, later FTRing him. The final 667/mmg popped up to hit an ADJ 80,447/lmg but only pins them, losing HIP to little/no gain. These guys skulked when they should have ran and paid the veh freeze price next turn. At this point, only 1 US squad has survived and is in dire straights at that. The remaining M10 is hidden, not wanting to reveal himself to any but a great shot, hoping to slow the German out of overcautiousness.

Watching 20+ squads flood into the victory area is very depressing, indeed, reminding me of my gross errors. Panzers start to roam to interdict the impending US reinforcements, especially after the aforementioned vehicle freeze of the last GO squad ( which died horribly in CC, Steve rolled a 2, OF COURSE ) When a Panther drove into sight of the M10 hiding in the woods, I again prematurely fire off a little dart at the now angry Panther, 1 hex BEFORE a side aspect shot ( 2 hexes distant )which deservedly only scratched the paint. This of course attracted all sorts of nice 75L fire ( and 75LL too) which numbered the M10s time on earth in mere minutes, though at least until next turn. US PFph, I know I can’t ( I ain’t gonna roll a 2… ) kill the cat, so I DI him, hoping for the crew to bail out ( they don’t ) but THEY at least don’ t kill the M10, no, the immobilized Pz IV some 12 hexes away finishes him off ( TH 8 +3 or 4 )- why change now? Even with the reinforcements coming on, I’m left looking for, at best, the moral victory by knocking out the armour. The reinforcing M10 knocks out a Panther to a side shot ( all out of action 1-OBA 2-immob 3-wrecked ) and will eventually flame a PzIV, leaving the last skulking out of LOS ( c ’mon, give me this at least ).

All the while, Steve is building a forest strongpoint, again showing his mastery of linear tactics by lining his boys in a double deep line beyond the woodline, with the ?ed troops at the woodline, not offering good shots. I do finally manage to get a squid and 2 leaders into the woods via help from the 60mm mortar, but another dismal showing leaves me embarrassingly short on VPs, not even worth counting it up .

In hindsight, Steve attacked properly dispersed, his infantry scouted out the US position to give the panzers targets and swarmed the TDs when located. I, of course, screwed up just about everything I could and then some. This is winnable for the US but you really shouldn’t stack Murphy with anyone initially. His main job to begin with is to bring on the OBA. Myself, I prefer the full-strength 155mm, I just don’t see the increased target area from a HF justifying the loss of FP. It’s not like every hex will have a target, and the anticipated 8fp –1 or –2 still doesn’t equate to a 30FP attack. Hey, I even rolled my obligatory 12 and still got a result!! At best a HF attack will give you 2 more targets, if that, to a careful attack, and maybe not even that. Still, it’s a matter of opinion…The initial US forces must setup to withdraw, with the German infantry at least 2 turns from closing with an upfront deployment. The panzers… well, that’s what the HIP M10s are for. Still, to lay firelanes, the US must set up to fire across the axis of advance ( for optimal placement ) and to do so potentially places the mmg- toting units out of support range ( esp on board 19 ) of the rest of the force. Each squad is extremely valuable in keeping the German away from the woods, losing one ( or a HS ),especially one with a mmg, just wastes limited resources. Once the attack is disrupted-and if the FFE lands well, it will be- then Murph can use that wonderful –3 mod ( sigh, I wish I knew.. ) An extremely fun scenario, well worth multiple playings ( yeah, I know about all those scens on THE LIST ) if for no other reason than to appreciate what LT.Murphy had to face that day…

--Richie Crowe