Below you will find the fourth 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 three 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!

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Mission 8: Black Cat Blues

August 27, 1944: Captain Cole’s L Company of the 3rd Battalion found themselves on the outskirts of the small village of Allan in Southern France. The rest of the 3rd Battalion was still 5 miles back and just now passing through Bois des Mattes. L Company was all alone. Not having seen any sign of enemy activity, Captain Coles ordered a recon in force. A soon as they stepped off, they began receiving enemy small arms and mortar fire. A pit immediately formed in Cole’s stomach as he realized that L Company might have bitten off more than it bargained for.

Mission Objective:

Mission ends if at the end of any game turn the Americans control ten Building Points out of the possible 12 in Sector 11, or when either side exceeds its Casualty Differential Limit, or when the Final Score is ≥ 51.

Forces:

American: Baker Infantry Co., and Able Tank Co., 1st Tank Plt. (4 Sherman’s), supported by two MG sections and one 60mm mortar section.

German: 1. Kp., 3rd Infantry Plt. (plus one section from the 3rd Infantry Plt,) and one Panther from 1. Kp., 1st Tank Plt. (1 Panther), supported by two MG sections, 1 LATW section and one 8cm mortar section.

After Action Report by Per Svennson (Americans)

We went into this fight with two goals: be patient in getting the buildings and don’t expose the Sherman’s to “instant-kill” Panther fire.

With that in mind we started the advance with few units on the open west flank with the main force going middle and east. The Momentum (Initiative) swung back and forth the first couple of turns and the Germans got some kills from their nasty 8cm mortar section. We continued our advance around the east flank and under cover from mortar fire. We closed in on the two northeastern buildings and taking them both in assaults.  

The German center began to fall back from their now exposed center once their right flank had collapsed. As our infantry advanced, the Sherman’s continued to threaten the Panther with enfilade fire from both flanks and therefore kept him occupied. As a result, the Panther was unable to support the German infantry.

Feeling we had the Germans on the run, we to press our advantage and rapidly began moving to clear the village. But the German defense suddenly stiffened and as it often does, fate intervened and we lost our momentum and our advance stalled. What looked like a sure thing was now no longer the case. The Germans now seemed to have the momentum and time was quickly running out.

But again, fate intervened, and this time in our favor. In a couple key assaults to clear some of the remaining buildings, we were successful in forcing the Germans to retreat and with significant losses. Fortunately, we maintained the momentum from this point forward, clearing the last few buildings and snatching a victory in the last minute.

I can’t do this epic game justice in an AAR. Since I started playing LHY about a year ago I have played some 30-35 games but this game with Mike Crow is one of my top three plays. Wild swings in both directions, a great and friendly opponent, and suspense all the way up to last die roll.

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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