Below you will find the fifth in a series of After Action Report articles written by players participating in The Last Hundred Yards ladder play on BGG. You can find the first four articles in this series here. If you would like to participate in the LHY ladder play, please contact Mark Buetow through the LHY Facebook page or on BGG. Enjoy!
Mission 5.0: Counterattack at Hatten
January 1945: By December 21st, the German High Command had realized that the Ardennes Offensive was not going to reach its objectives. A sudden attack on the southern Allied front might damage the gap that Patton’s Third Army had left on its shift north into the Bulge. Part of this offensive fell on the small towns of Hatten and Rittershoffen. Colonel Hans von Luck had dispatched reduced elements of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division to take the towns, and after several days hard fighting—the American garrison surrendered. On January 9th, 1945, elements of the 14th Armored Division reacted quickly, with Sherman tanks equipped with the new 76mm guns, to take it back.
Mission Objective:
Mission ends if at the end of the game turn there are no German tanks south of the river and within two hexes and LOS of hexes D6 and G2, or when one side exceeds its Casualty Differential Limit, or when the Final Score is ≥ 36.
Forces:
American: Able Co., 2nd and 3rd Tank Plts., and 1 Command tank [11 steps]
German: 1. Kp., 3rd Tank Plt., and 1 StuG IIIg from 1st Assault Gun Plt. [5 steps]
Disposition of Forces: The Americans are the attackers and have the Initiative at start. The Germans set up first Hidden in any hex in Sector 12. Each German vehicle must set up in LOS of a bridge hex. The American force enters anywhere along the Southern board edge of Sector 2.
After Action Report by Bill Quoss (Americans)
Maneuvering against an unknown enemy (Hidden), our plan was to keep our tank platoons close for mutual support during a fire and movement advance towards the bridges.
This mission illustrates the “who fires first does best” nature of tank-to-tank combat. Even if the first shot, or shots, don’t end up causing destruction or shock to the target, it does serve to suppress a reaction. In this mission, both sides tried to maximize use of the vehicle maneuver and fire options (i.e., Halt & Fire, Shoot & Scoot, and Overwatch) to gain advantage.
We entered along the southern map edge with the 3rd tank platoon toward the center and the 2nd tank platoon on the right. The 3rd platoon, with the better guns, would go into Overwatch and React to any German tanks that were revealed when they fired at tanks of the 2nd platoon as it advanced. The Germans responded by using split fire often to attempt the destruction or shock of as many tanks as possible.
We held the Initiative on all but two turns and had about three to four turns of Coordination. In general, the three forward German tanks held to their positions and split fired often, rather than withdraw, which often led to them being blanketed with shots. Although the Germans destroyed two of our tanks, their die rolls were not high enough to compensate for the split fire modifier. The Americans, given the higher number of shots, we eventually destroyed all five of the German tanks, ending the mission in a CDL victory. One highlight for the Germans was the tank shown shocked at the bridge. Although it was finally destroyed, it survived being shocked three turns in a row! Posthumous Iron Crosses for that crew!
Overall, a fun game.
Previous Articles:
The Last Hundred Yards Ladder Play After Action Report: Mission 9 — A Tough Nut to Crack
The Last Hundred Yards Ladder Play After Action Report: Mission 24.0 — All for a Piece of Dirt
The Last Hundred Yards Ladder Play After Action Report: Mission 13.0 — Bridge 10
The Last Hundred Yards Ladder Play After Action Report: Mission 8.0 — Black Cat Blues
Author: Mike Denson
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