Valor & Victory - 1918 (German v. French Megagame)

A little further down the trench, another American assault, having already paid a steep price in opportunity fire, again barely makes the required roll for a successful assault.  Note that this time the roll was an 8 or less on 2d6 instead of a 9 (slightly harder roll) because Lt. Arauz only applies a -1 bonus, not a -2.  If this attack had failed (shudder – failed close assaults on fortified positions are nasty), the two American stacks at left would have gone in and finished the job.

Speaking of failed assaults, here’s one that does fail.  Two full German squads (there were two 4-5-4 squads in that hex) repel the American assault on their trench.  The Americans have to pay 2 casualty points (one for each German unit in the hex) + 2 for the trench bonus  (note the attack was not coming in from within the German trench) + 2 for the margin by which they missed the roll (6 or below was needed, they rolled an 8).  So they have to pay 6 casualty points, meaning that one whole squad is wiped out and the second squad reduced to a 2-5-2 half squad (still carrying the Lewis Gun beneath them).  The Germans have to pay one casualty point for each unit that hit them, so one of their 4-5-4 squads is reduced to a 2-5-2.  Basically, the Germans have lost 4 men here, the Americans lost 12.

The overall situation at the end of the American turn, after their rallies (some succeeded, some failed and so the units remained inverted).  Note the Americans have largely failed to make a dent in the northeast board, but have all but smashed the German position on the northwest board.  Battle has yet to really join on the southwest board, as the Americans didn’t have the movement points to get close enough on Turn 01.

On the German turn, they largely fall back and consolidate their position.  Their one remaining platoon abandons the northwest board, their reorganize their squads (breaking into more half squads for better all-around defence in more directions), and their two 7.58 cm trench mortars drop a few fire missions on American platoons not in trenches (everyone’s at least in craters, but craters give a +1, while trenches give a +2.

Losses so far at the end of Turn 01.  It’s pretty even, with steeper American losses thanks to bloody assaults and German opportunity fire almost perfectly equalized by that opening American artillery salvo on German positions.  But now the Americans have used up their artillery.  Yet their largely in the German trenches.  Also, both sides have used up most of their grenades.  It’s time for pistols and entrenchment tools, and time for the both sides to be much more careful in how they throw casualty points, close assaults, and opportunity fire around.