Welcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week, in the fourteenth article, I talked about the eighth scenario, “Hedgerow Highway”. This scenario saw the first of a series of much larger battle grids and plenty of combined arms action. This week we are continuing that trend with our Mortain scenario, “To Hill with Them”. This scenario also makes heavy usage of the elevation rules that we covered last week. There aren’t any new rules to look at this week, so let’s jump right in.
Defiant Stand
After the capture of St. Lo, General Omar Bradley’s Operation Cobra saw the breakout of American forces into France. This culminated in the capture of Avranches, which motivated the activation of Patton’s 3rd Army. Determined to close the gap, Hitler ordered the XLVII Panzer Corps to recapture Avranches by way of Mortain. The American 30th Infantry Division received the brunt of this counterattack at Mortain. They were hopelessly outgunned and were forced to cede control of the town and move to the high ground of Hill 314 to the east. Despite tremendous pressure from the Panzer Corps, and running almost entirely out of supplies, the 30th successfully held Hill 314 with the assistance of considerable artillery support. The losses incurred attempting to take Hill 314 along with the salvos directed on the armor passing through Mortain, crippled the Panzer Corps and rendered the recapture of Avranches impossible.
It Appears We Have Reached an Impasse
“To Hill with Them” is a very high-powered scenario. The Americans and the Germans are both well supported, and the events in the scenario can make them perform even better. This is another two-deck scenario like Purple Heart Lane, with one deck representing the town of Mortain to the west, and the other deck representing Hill 314 to the east. What makes this quite a bit different (besides the elevation changes) from the Carentan scenario is that the Germans are entering from the south. What this means is that both players will have to decide how they will be committing their units between the two regions rather than simply progressing from one to the other. Ultimately, both sides are playing for the opponent to withdraw here, but the Americans will win no matter what if they game ends due to time. This puts a lot of pressure on the German player to properly employ their armored assets and get up that hill.
Looking Down on Everyone
This scenario continues the trend of defensive scenarios where you have a lot of options for how to place your forces. You should place a good amount of your units directly onto the hill itself, so they do not need to be repositioned if and when the town falls. Obviously, this should include at least one leader so you can call in artillery as much as possible. The real question is how many forces you want to commit to the town of Mortain itself. While it may be tempting to put everyone on the hill, surrendering control over the choice defensive terrain in town will likely be something you will come to regret. The key to victory in this scenario is to control the pace of the German advance. As usual, the threat of your artillery can be almost as useful as the artillery itself. Slow them down as much as you can by pinning infantry, and when you have an opportunity to wipe a lot of units, hit them with your artillery fire. Also remember that once it arrives, the artillery fire is sustained for an entire turn, effectively cutting off an approach to your position. Having it do double duty to funnel enemy forces into poor positions can be very effective.
Come Down Here and Say That to My Face
This scenario is all about finding the safest approach to the hill. You could just go right up the front of it from the south, but it will likely become a killing field. Remember that when moving to a higher elevation, the terrain automatically becomes “stop” terrain. As a result, this will be very slow going and putting all your eggs in one basket will likely spell disaster. The better strategy is to commit a decent amount of your units to securing Mortain first. Your units that attack from the town will be notably less mortal that way, since they will be more likely to have a valid rout path. Further, if you are able to simultaneously attack the hill from the south and the west you will force the American player to split their very few resources. Sustained pressure over a wide front is your most likely path to victory.
(Ware)House Party
This was a quicker article this week for two reasons. First, no new rules. Second, I am also packing to go to GMT for Weekend at the Warehouse! I am playing with the idea of doing a special article next week just talking about how the weekend went. Obviously, Firefight Tactical will have a table there and there will be some attendees I am very excited to get to play it. See you afterward!
Previous Firefight Friday Articles
Author: Sam London
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.