Welcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week in the fifth article we covered the major checks that occur in a game of Firefight Tactical. In doing so we finally finished talking about the core game mechanics, and in celebration we will do something entirely different this week. Firefight Tactical’s lead developer, Peter Evans, and I recorded a playthrough of the game’s Cherbourg scenario, “To the Last Man, To the Last Cartridge.” Peter played as the Americans, while I played as the German defenders. You can watch the video HERE. For this week’s article I will be writing up an AAR from that session for your enjoyment (hopefully). Please note as I am describing direction in the write up that my perspective is from the north looking south. Let’s get started.

Caught Flatfooted

The date is June the 26^th, 1944. I had been put in command of a paltry force of the rapidly dwindling German garrison at Cherbourg. We had been told by the Fuhrer to fight “to the last man, to the last cartridge,” and it would certainly come to that. My forces were holding a series of three defensive bunkers on the eastern side of the city, and recon said that was the exact route the Americans were taking. I could only hope my forces be enough. The two most forward of the bunkers were on the very edge of the city. If they were taken too quickly, I feared my defensive line would collapse like a house of cards.

I positioned my forces primarily in the bunkers to the north and south, with a smaller number of squads a bit deeper into the city on the other side of a sea of wire. There are myriad ways into the city, but this was the most likely path the Americans would take. The first sign of them was a lone Sherman tank coming down the street directly in front of the northern bunker. It began spraying machine gun fire directly on the bunker, which happened to contain Lt. Schmidt along with a Panzerschreck and a single squad. Despite their defensive position, they all lost their composure and Lt Schmidt had to rally the group to return fire. Meanwhile the first American infantry started to head into town down an adjacent street, still on the northern side. The Panzerschreck took a shot at the Sherman head on, but it glanced off its tough forward armor.

More infantry started coming down the road towards the wire. The squad positioned with Schmidt was at risk of losing sight of them, so they opened fire and held them off (if the recon squad successfully scouted the wire my defensive formation would have become useless).  On the other side of the street more American infantry poured into a building with sightlines on the whole approach to the bunkers. It was beginning to become apparent how hopelessly outnumbered we truly were. An MG42 positioned in a building across the way began laying suppressing fire on the new American position and successfully locked it down. Detecting what a setback this was for the Americans, my forces tried to seize the momentum of the battle.

Bringing Guns to a Knife Fight

Lt. Schmidt, looking at the American position, realized the northern field of wire would be crucial to holding the line (I surveyed the zone, knowing what was in it, just so I could turn it face up and make it more of an issue for Peter to replace it). A foolhardy American squad charged around the building their forces were using for overwatch and down a street near our southern length of wire (this was a risky play by Peter to scout the wire and he successfully replaced it, but only with an open street). The MG42 position turned to the advancing squad and shot them to pieces, pinning what was left of them in the middle of the street. Then one of our squads in a small house near the field of wire laid fire on Americans still in the street next to the building, catching them unaware. They turned their tails and ran off. Things were looking up for a moment, but then an enemy squad came around the Sherman and tried to close assault the northern bunker. Schmidt’s squad shot them up and forced them to take cover around the tank. This was a feint though, as a much larger force was coming the other way to assault the bunker. Sensing the incoming advance, the cowardly Panzerschreck fled out the back, just as a human wave of Americans ran around the tank and into the bunker.

The entire northern bunker, including Lt. Schmidt, was utterly wiped out. This loss was devastating. As a result, the bunker became the most forward position for the Americans. Without a pause, more Americans took position in the building overlooking the bunkers. After catching their breath, the US soldiers who had taken control of the northern bunker continued on straight through to the street behind the bunker. They caught the fleeing Panzerschreck out in the open (0 dice rolled in melee since he was disrupted!). I don’t know if he was killed or captured.

Further south, the MG42 in the southern bunker revealed its position and caught the American building in a crossfire with the other MG42, causing heavy casualties. For a moment it started to appear likely that we might carry the day just by breaking the enemy’s will to fight. They had been suffering heavy casualties in the streets leading into town thus far. I feared though that the American’s successes in the north end would prove decisive.

Know When to Hold Them, When to Fold Them

The Americans in the northern bunker started laying suppressing fire on the house next to the wire, pinning the Germans in there. Realizing the northern approach was completely lost, the squad in the house retreated into the southern building opposite the primary American position. Having successfully taken the first bunker, the Sherman at last began to move again and took an explosive shot at the now fully occupied building opposite the American’s central position, missing just barely.

The Americans in their building finally got their act together and started to fire back on my German position, pinning them all. The Sherman then took another high explosive shot, which ended up collapsing the building on top of my men. My MG42 team was killed instantly and our most reliable defensive position outside of the southern bunker was no more. The survivors fled into the third bunker position deeper into the city. Unfortunately, this told the Americans where it was. The Americans in the northern bunker then began firing directly on the southern bunker position over the wire and through the streets. At almost that exact moment, artillery bombardment began on the southern bunker. It killed the other MG42 team instantly, but otherwise left the men in the bunker unharmed. Getting them to continue to fight under that sort of firepower would be a tall order though.

Running Out the Clock

Meanwhile, now aware of the third bunker, the Americans in the building at the edge of the city started to fire over the ruins of our previous forward position, onto the third bunker. The Sherman pulled south and joined in, piling on further pressure. The US forces which had been holed up in the northern bunker then started to move south through the city to converge outside the third bunker position. It would all come down to their assault.

An American M1919 had taken position in the vacated house near the wire and began laying fire on the final bunker. The Sherman continued its movement south and began to fire on the southern bunker at close range. My men in the freshly shelled southern bunker, their morale hanging by a thread, routed into a series of buildings to the west. Honestly, this was an acceptable outcome, as I had hoped consolidating surviving forces around the third bunker would be our last best hope of holding off the Americans (I considered routing them outright, choose to Rally, and rolled a double on failure – which had the effect of Routing them anyway!).

The Americans in their forward building finally advanced out of it into the ruin of the building across the way. Simultaneously the American officer who had led the taking of the northern bunker moved up to the position of the M1919 to get eyes on the third bunker. My men who had fled the southern bunker regained their composure in the buildings they had fallen back to and began preparations to attempt to retake the bunker. The M1919 continued the fire on the third bunker, causing casualties, and preventing efforts to hold off the incoming assault. Then the waiting American infantry flooded in. My forces there were again completely wiped out. What remained of the German garrison fled back into the city.

Wrapping Up

Things did not go so well for my Germans. I thought I would carry the game early due to massive American casualties in the early turns, but my counter-offensive stalled out and I never recovered from the loss of Lt. Schmidt. Ultimately, I think my biggest mistake was during setup. The random placement of 2 of my 3 bunkers in such forward positions made me feel obligated to maximally defend both. I think in hindsight I would have been better off placing my forces in the center, giving up one bunker and rotating to place my forces in the other one. Instead, I chased two chickens and lost both.

Hopefully you enjoyed that read, and maybe even the video. Next week I will do my first scenario feature. We will be talking about the first scenario, “Done with Sand.” For these scenario features I will be talking a bit about the history of the scenario, how it was translated into the Firefight Tactical system, and a bit of gameplay strategy. See you then!

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