With that in mind the Germans were redeployed to their advance formation just after sunrise approaching the French positions. Unsurprisingly they advanced with the motorized infantry across the front and the panzers in direct support immediately behind them. The rest of the division stands followed after the division commander stand and the whole division was covered with one Mobile order chit on the division command stand.
The French maintained their same deployments with two regiments across the front and with the third regiment poised to advance into the fray as needed.
One change, of course, was that the French General was determined to use his reserve in one area, most likely to reinforce or replace units in the town area as they were worn down in combat during the attack. Also there were French hidden unit markers placed back from the front indicating where reserve units from Corps and Army might appear from.
On turn one (6-7 am) the Germans immediately sent in a coordinated bombing strike on the town. Being a known reference point they do not require a full observation of the target, the bombers swept in from east to west in the rising sun and carried out their mission without loss. (Remember the French General has elected to keep his small AA detachment ringing his HQ instead of being deployed where they might have been needed!).
The town defenders were devastated taking 3 (out of four) hits and this before the German ground troops were even upon them. Time to use the Mobile reserve units and do a swap out of this battalion.
The French artillery was able to make a couple of long range artillery hits and caused one German motorized battalion to retreat an area. Although not stated in the rules it was agreed that when shooting by the visibility rules you must engage the lead targets, as opposed to say the more tempting tank targets behind them which would likely have been hidden in dust and smoke anyway.
The French were able to swap out the battalion in the town with one of their reserve formations. Again the rules don't state how this would occur but we reckoned that unless they were under direct attack this could proceed.
Turn 3 (10 till 11 am) saw further examples of reserve formations affecting the battlefield. The German air force dive-bombed the town with a very heavy group of Stukas and their success, coupled with artillery fire from the division later destroyed the newly placed defenders of the village (5/6 hits out of 4 needed). In Memoir 44 artillery (and bombing) do not reduce the number of dice they use when attacking troops in 'defensive' terrain but this may need to be adjusted with more testing going forward. It might have simply been lucky dice after all. Three hits and 2 retreats by the Stukas and the artillery before the combat phase caused the town to go aflame and the unit being removed.
Not being able to replace the unit since the town was now directly attacked (occupied) by the attacking Germans was a critical event for the French. In the combat turn the French also had another infantry battalion destroyed just beside the village by the combined fire of 2 German motorized infantry and 2 panzer battalions. Even if it hadn't been destroyed the unit took three retreat flags so would have lost the sandbag covered position and been pushed back 2 hexes into the open!
As can be seen by the picture above, however, it did no all go the German way. Their unit which slipped into the unoccupied and burning town took 3 hits from adjacent French units and artillery and had two retreat results as well so was brushed back out of the town and back across the stream. Likewise the remaining two motorized infantry units in support took hits and also a retreat flag which would push them back behind their supporting armor (two units can not occupy the same hex at the same time).
So here is the situation at the end of this test game. Of the German four motorized infantry units two are at 1/4 strength and 2 are at 1/2 strength. The armor has taken only a single hit (the minefield they were sitting on) but they are not likely to be able to storm through the town (in Memoir 44 armor in a town lose 2 of their 3 dice shooting out of the town) and they are not strong enough to overrun the remaining French infantry and AT units. So how does a panzer division with 8 combat units beat a French division of 9 combat units who are behind good terrain and waiting for them?
At this point the French General realized that his placement of all his AT stands directly behind the town was a poor choice tactically since they are now unable to fire in support of their own troops and the town takes a -1 dice away from their 1 die to begin with! I find myself in this situation a lot, trying to maximize the value of my troops when special rules allow but often without considering the actual terrain and situation. (Who hasn't lost at DBA for example by chasing after the quick kill option at the expense of keeping your troops together and in mutual support/).
I'm not sure what the Germans need to do in this situation other than sit back for 4 or 5 turns and try to use their superior artillery and air power to flatten several French units before they close in for the main attacks. But this is thinking in the vacuum since the situation is always fluid. A third try seems in order and that may well be our next posting.
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