Section Leaders:
Fionn Kelly & Madmatt

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German Commander - Fionn Kelly

German Turns 1-5

Turn 1:

So, let’s hop on my BMW motorcycle and take you for a spot-tour of my front-line in Panzermeyer fashion shall we?

We’ll move from left to right.

This is a platoon-sized position guarding my left flank. One Motorised SS platoon is arrayed in depth here utilising split squads to give the position some depth. The platoon is co-located with my Jagdpanzer IV (lang) and sited facing leftwards as my flank protection. Any enemy recon vehicles will be dealt with by the Jpz IV while the infantry will wait to ambush any infantry who make for the Jpz IV.

Approximately 100 metres in front of the JpzIV/platoon position I have emplaced two HMG42s, a Panzerschreck, an 81mm FO and a 2cm FlaKvierling. This position won’t stand up to an infantry assault but it will play havoc with any infantry passing it to the right or left AND will present a great threat to any reconnaissance vehicles or tanks which advance ahead of enemy infantry forces. The fields of fire are excellent and I expect this position to significantly attrit any enemy units passing to either side of it.

This picture shows the field of fire to the front of the position shown in the picture above. No infantry or light armour unit is going to make it across the open ground in front of this position without taking severe casualties. It will attrit and delay the enemy and force him to expend excessive ordnance and forces to destroy it. I’m very happy with this position.

Leutnant Handschein is situated in a forward position in the very centre of the map. His position has been chosen with a view to allowing him to launch a counter-attack and/or quickly move to reinforce whichever of my flanks is threatened. His forward position is exposed but is covered by fire from several friendly HMG and FlaK teams and so should prove stronger than it first appears. In any case it goes against my grain to sit passively back and be attacked so I’d rather lose Handschein and his platoon in an ill-fated counter-attacked than a stolid defence.

This picture is taken from one of the hills overlooking the central portion of the front. You can see the 3.7cm FlaK cannon, the 105mm FO and a panzerschreck team in the valley in front of the position. As you can realise this position isn’t designed to withstand a determined infantry assault but is, instead, designed to provide long-range fire to attrit and dissuade the enemy from the direct approach. ( The black circle marks the position of Handschein’s platoon and is present to give you an idea of overwatch potential.)

Obersturmbannfuehrer Hochstadter’s platoon is situated in front of one of my Panthers in VERY poor tank country with a view to providing one of those infantry ambushes I have previously mentioned. The ground in front of Hochstadter is almost uniformly impenetrable to enemy vehicles. His right flank is protected by a very steep cliff and his fron and left are a bit too open for infantry to assault through. His position is also protected from long-range fire by the lie of the terrain. Overall any tank which approaches to bring DF HE to bear on Hochstadter will be killed by the Panther or my FlaK while any infantry which assault can ONLY do so on the right through the wooded plateau there. If they move through there I’ll hit them with so much arty and FlaK as to make them sorry they were ever born. The platoon is, once again, split into half-squads so as to :

a)      cover more of the terrain with fire.

b)      Mislead Chris as to my actual strength.

Just behind Osf Hochstadter’s platoon Osf Scheer’s platoon is emplaced to provide fire into the forest. Which I feel any unit attacking Hochstadter will move through. I am definitely hoping to channel the enemy advance here into the wooded plateau since I’ve set up something of a killing zone there and could easily account for 2 platoons at little cost to myself if Chris attacks through there.

As insurance against a wide flanking maneuvre I have detached one squad from Scheer’s platoon and moved it off to my right flank under the command of the company commander. I will shuttle this squad forward as necessary to provide the Panther on that flank with anti-bazooka protection or bring the squad back into the fold of Scheer’s command if the enemy makes a head-on assault.

My entire right flank protection force comprises one Panther situated so as to maximize fields of fire and encourage Chris to keep his tanks back, one 81mm FO situated so as to be able to bring arty down on the heads of any infantry sneaking up using the trees for cover AND one SPW 250/9 in hiding in the hollow behind the 81mm FO. I intend to utilize this 250/9 in the counter-reconnaissance role and as a mobile MG nest if the enemy infantry are advancing too quickly for my liking. Overall though I will simply use it as the situation moves me and so am keeping it in hiding until I have a definite use for it.

This then is my deployment and rationale behind it.

The highlight of the first turn is the shooting down of a US Jabo by one of my 3.7cm FlaKs before it even makes it onto the map.

Nothing of any real significance occurs during the rest of the first five turns. I note some enemy infantry on a hill on the other side of the map and decide to let them taste a little airborne lead ( to little effect), watch a platoon-sized unit conducting careful recon of my left flank and, eventually, get bored waiting for the enemy reconnaissance elements to appear on my right flank and decide to force Chris’ hand by committing my SPW 250-9 to a pre-emptive counter-reconnaissance.