Chain of Command Campaign (9)

With the Germans in full cry and the battered Americans in full retreat General Ballroom and I moved on to the last rung of the ladder campaign.

General B took the opportunity to assemble a rather splendid hotel which would be the objective in the middle of Boisclair.

The Germans needed to occupy the hotel to win the game (and the campaign) the Americans had to stop them. We decided this game would be the end of the campaign whatever the result. Either the Germans would win and the Americans would be pulled out and replaced by fresh forces to finish the job, or the Americans would win and put a halt to the German counter-attack.

Ballzimmer rolled high for his supports - nine with an extra point for being the Kommandants's pet.
As both my CO and the men detest me I was left with but 3 support.

I spent it on barbed wire to tray and hold back the Feldgrau tide.

Soon there were Krauts everywhere - in particular a group making a solid push down my right toward the hotel.

The fiendish hun also had a "buzz saw" with them. Fortunately they set it up in the wrong place and the senior officer deployed elsewhere.

Still more Germans sneaked through the woods.

On the right the advance force reached the fence.

At this point lady luck finally smiled on the forces of Uncle Sam. With the German squad in the open I rolled three successive phases. And was able to fire BAR and riflemen at short range into the exposed Germans wiping them, and their junior leader out. German Morale began to fall.

The other American squad ran toward one of the central buildings.

Germans were attempting to get in and set up an MG!

 However a determined assault by the Yanks saw another German squad and JL wiped out.

The frustrated MG42 team looked on with no targets to pick on.

Ballzimmer responded by attacking on the left. However the squad were caught short of the building and pinned by US fire from the hotel.

Desperately Ballzimmer called on the Fallschirmjager - who had clearly forgotten their yomping boots and made rather a meal of crossing the field.

Eventually however the Paratroops assaulted the building and ejected the Americans who were then gunned down in the open.

By now both forces morale were crumbling and dice were disappearing from the pool.

Fortunate CoC dice rolls meant the Americans were able to break and then rout the squad flanking them on the left.
German morale was now at 1 - the allies at 3.

A furious gunfight erupted between the remaining American squad in the hotel and the Fallschirmjager in the building.
The presence of both the junior and senior leader in the hotel (and some lucky dice) kept the Americans in it, despite two MG 42s blazing away at them.
And then, a lucky shot from the Americans wounded the Fallschirmjager leader.
He wasn't dead, but the effect on German morale tipped them over the edge and the assault on Boisclair was abandoned!

And so our campaign comes to an end. The Germans had the better of it overall, but in the end "Butcher" Wilson redeemed himself a little with a heroic last ditch defence.

A really brilliant game that see-sawed throughout and was full of cinematic moments.

The fact that we'd decided it was the end of the campaign meant we both carried on fighting and took a few more risks than we had in previous games, but as a climactic game that felt about right.

At the Sharp End made for a great campaign structure and really changed how we thought about and played the games.

Next stop 29 Let's Go!
Best get painting some Shermans.