Fire on the Kinzigsee part 2

This is the second part of a three-part AAR of scenario 4 from the World at War 85 Storming the Gap game. You can read the first part as well as Zac’s strategy notes about the scenario.
Turn 3
Turn 3 begins with the American M1s being activated. The path that the Soviet T-80s are taking will have to go over the bridge at 2O10 unless they want to make a sudden change in their route. The Soviet formation also doesn’t have infantry so the M1s will not have to worry about being assaulted in a city. The plan then is to hold the bridge and deny the Soviets a path to the north board edge.
One of the M1s in 2S10 activates and moves to the west of the woods in 2P10 and ends its movement in 2O12. A T-80 in 2I13 uses Op Fire to hit the M1 three times. It only saves one and is reduced and Disrupted. The second M1 from 2S10 moves down the road and takes up a position in 2O10. Finally the HQ moves into the woods at 2P10.

The next formation to be activated is the Soviet 2/120th GMRR. The HQ redeploys to the T-55 in 1E3. The T-55 fires at the Cobra again but this time gets additional dice from the positive impact of the HQ. It only manages one hit but the Cobra isn’t able to save and it blown out of the sky. The BTR in 1G6 unloads their passengers into 1H6. The M1 in 1K11 can fire but decides to not waste a shot on infantry in a city. The BTR then moves into 1G8. The T-55 in 1F3 moves into 1F2 and then into 1G2 where it is fired on my the M1 which is unable to hit. The T-55 ends its movement in 1I2. The BTR and passenger in F3 stay in place so the HQ can be deployed onto them next turn and keep everyone in command.

The Soviet 3/117th GMRR are activated next. The HQ is redeployed to 2F9 so it can aid the BMP there with any fire it might do. The T-62 in 2G8 rallies and the BMP in 2F9 manages to pass its Reload Check. The T-62 is hesitant to move since doing so will results in ATGMs being fired at it from either the Bradley or the Cobra. It decides to take a shot at the Cobra in 2L6. It hits (what is it with these Soviet tanks rolling 6s?) and the Cobra is Disrupted. The BMP in 1F9 launches a Sagger at the Bradley in 2L3. With the aid of the HQ it scores five hits! The Bradley saves none (it only had two dice) and explodes. The last BMP in 2E11 rushes across the valley and parks itself in the woods in 2J9.

The Hind is the next unit to be activated. It rallies and is now able to move out from behind the hill and try to cause some havoc. As there are no US units that can fire on it, it rushes across the map to 2Q3 where it will wait to try to shoot at the SPM.
The card for the US Fox 2/11 ACR is drawn next. It has now lost two Bradleys and is starting to run low on ATGM fire. The Chaparral and the ITV both reload. The Fox HQ calls in a barrage from the SPM onto the HQ/BMP in 2F9. The barrage is not on target and drifts into 2G10 where it does no damage. The rest of the formation is going to forgo any actions so they can Op Fire at better targets.
The T-80s from the 2/15th GTR are next to go. The American M1s have not had an activation yet so they are still Ops Complete from their initial activation. This might get ugly.
The stack of T-80s in 2I13 advance to 2L12. One of them fires at the M1/HQ stack in 2P10. It hits twice and the M1 is only able to save one hit and is Disrupted. The second T-80 fires at the reduced M1 in 2O12 and hits twice but the M1 is able to save both points of damage. The T-80 stack in 2H12 advances through the woods into 2L10. The tanks in 2G13 follow suit and end up on the woods in 2K11. Tanks from 2F12 advance and end their movement in 2J11 and finally the T-80/HQ stack moves from 2E12 to 2K13.

The Americans get the next activation with the card for the 1/4 11th ACR being drawn. There is only the single Cobra left in 2L6 and it thankfully rallies. It is still hovering and can fire a TOW and selects the BMP in 2J9 as a target. The T-62 in G8 might be an easier shot but the BMP is a more dangerous unit. The Cobra only manages a single hit but the BMP can’t save it and is Disrupted.
The baroquely named C1-32/3 3rd AD is next out of the draw pile. The HQ is redeployed to the reduced M1 in 2O12. This is a bit of a risky move but that tank needs to rally and shoot some T-80s. It rallies and declares a fire action targeting the top T-80 in 2L12. With the HQ it rolls 5 dice and it hits with them all! The T-80 saves two but that is enough damage to wreck the T-80. There were three unsaved hits but it is a clear hex so there is no chance of rubble or a fire. <le sigh>. The M1 in 2P10 fires at the same location and gets two hits which the T-80 shrugs off easily. The M1 in 2O10 doesn’t have any targets in LOS so it will hold its action and wait for a possible Op Fire shot.
The Hind-E in 2Q3 is next and it switches into Hover mode in order to take a shot at the SPM. There are no US units that have LOS to it so no-one can react to the mode change and it then fires. It generates four hits and even though the SPM manages to save one it is engulfed and wrecked. The Hind makes its Ammo Check.
The Battlefield event card is drawn next and an 8 is rolled again and this time the US gets the benefit of the High Rate of Fire event. The M1 formation is chosen. First the reduced M1 in 2O12 fires at the T-80 in 2L12. It only gets three hits this time and the T-80 doesn’t save any and is wrecked. The M1 in 2P10 fires at the T-80/HQ stack in 2K13. The wrecks in 2L12 are obscuring but there is only a single hex of them. The M1 fires and gets two hits but the T-80 saves them both. The final M1 is once again without a target and waits to for a possible Op Fire opportunity.

A second End of Operations card is drawn and that will end the turn. The Americans took some damage early in the turn but are starting to get their own back.

Turn 4
This will be the first turn that we need to roll for a possible removal of the Hind-E from the game. Hopefully the Soviets will be able to do some more damage with it before it has to leave.
First to act this turn are the T-80s of the Soviet 2/15th GTR. The US M1s are no longer Ops Complete so the situation is now one that demands a more cautious approach. One of the T-80s from 2L10 moves into 2M10 and declares a Move and Fire attack. Before it can do that the M1 in 2O10 declares Op Fire. The M1 gets two hits but the T-80 saves them both and fires back getting two hits in return. The M1 saves both and is undamaged. The second T-80 in 2L10 also moves into 2M10 and fires. It also gets two hits and the M1 in 2O10 can only save one and is disrupted.
One of the tanks in 2K11 declares a Move and Fire action and advances into 2L10 and then 2M11. The M1 in 2P10 declares Op Fire and hits three times. The T-80 saves all the potential damage and fires at the reduced M1 in 2O12. It only hits once but the M1 fails to save any damage and is Disrupted. The second T-80 in SK11 follows its partner and moves into 2M11 and fires at the reduced M1 with the hope that it can take it out. It gets one hit but the M1 saves the damage this time.
The reduced T-80 in 2J11 moves to J12 – K13 and then into L12 where it also fires upon the reduced M1. It does not hit. The full strength T-80in J211 follows the same route and also ends its activation by firing at the reduced M1. It hits twice and the M1 is unable to save any of the damage and is wrecked. The HQ is reduced and moved to the Holding Box. Finally, the T-80/HQ stack in 2K13 moves into the protective embrace of the woods and ends it 2L10.

The M1s are next to activate but they do not have an HQ and so they will first need to roll to see if they are Out of Command. The Abrams in 2P10 is Out of Command but the M1 in 2O10 passes its check. And then it even manages to rally! It then fires at the top T-80 in 2M10 and gets two hits but the T-80 saves them with no problem.
An End of Operations card is drawn next and then the Soviet 2/120th GMRR is activated. The infantry in 1H6 and the BTR in 1G7 both check to see if they are Out of Command and both fail and are subsequently marked as Out of Command. The T-55 in 1I2 activates first. It climbs the hill in 1K2 and M1 in 1K11 declares an Op Fire attack. It hits once but the T-55 fails its save and is Disrupted. The loaded BTR-60 in 1F3 doglegs it around the river and stops in 1J2 behind the woods. The T-55/HQ in 1E3 moves over the bridge and along the road to 1G6 where it stops. All of the formation will be in command next turn.

The US Fox 2/11th ACR is drawn next. It has been significantly diminished over the last turn but it still can do some damage and possibly slow the Soviets down. The first thing I do is double check that the Hind-E is at Level 1 when hovering in the clear. Sadly for the Chaparral it is. Even more troublesome for the Chaparral there appears to be no way for it to be able to Move and Fire at the Hind without the Hind potentially blowing it sky high. The positioning of the Chaparral has been troublesome all game. In order to get into a potentially better position it moves from the woods in 1N10 to M11 and then M12 where it stops. The Hind is still out of LOS.
The M1 in 1K11 has a number of targets but it decides to fire at the infantry in 1H6. They can potentially be equipped with a Sagger SW which would make them one of the more deadly units in that formation. The infantry are at range 6 and the M1 is only able to get a single hit which doesn’t matter much as the infantry are able to save it. The ITV in 1L11 has LOS to a BMP and a T-62. Despite the additional benefit of the obscuring terrain, it chooses to fire at the BMP in 2J9. It gets two hits and the BMP only saves one and since it was already Disrupted it is now reduced.

And to prove that the Activation Deck is a hateful beast, the Hind-E is activated next. Sadly, for the Soviets that is, it has no LOS to any targets and so it will have to move. After checking some potential LOS situations it decides to move to the woods in 2L7 and hopefully be able to hit some M1s next turn.
The Soviet 3/17th GMRR is activated next. The formation has taken quite a beating but it has managed to take out a Bradley. The BMP in 1J9 rallies but it is staring down the launch tubes of a hovering Cobra so it can certainly not be activated first. The HQ redeploys to the T-62 in 1G8 and then it fires at the Cobra. It is unsuccessful. Neither of the BMPs can hit the Cobra and both are in danger of an Op Fire shot if they move. The BMP in 2J9 moves out and declares a Move and Fire shot at the Cobra. The Cobra doesn’t want to waste a missile on it and it doesn’t matter as its HE shot is wide. The other BMP has no interest in braving an ATGM missile in the open and so stays in place.
A second End of Operations card is drawn to end the turn. The 1/4 11th ACR is the only formation to have not activated so an End of Operations card is kept out for them. The Soviets check for their Hind-E and it is recalled and no longer available.

In the Marker Removal phase the HQ for the M1 formation is deployed into 2P10.
Turn 5
Now that the Hind-E is gone the Fox 2/11th ACR finally comes out of the Activation Deck first. There is now nothing that the Chaparral can fire at so it moves back into the woods in 2N10 where it can’t be hit. The M1 decides to continue firing at the Soviet infantry in in 1H6. It manages to eke out a single hit and the infantry is able to save it. Finally the ITV/HQ stack decides to fire at the T-62/HQ stack in 2G8. It hits two times and the T-62 fails to make a save and is wrecked. The HQ is reduced and put in the Holding Box. As an added bonus the ITV makes its Ammo Check as well.
The Cobra from the 1/4 11th ACR is activated next. The End of Operations card that it was holding is placed back in the deck. It decides to ignore the BMPs and fire at one of the T-80s in 2M10. It hits twice and the T-80 makes no saves and is Disrupted and reduced.
And because it was so much fun the first time, the Activation Deck pops out the Cobra’s card again and it then fires at the second T-80 in 2M10. It gets three hits but the T-80 manages to save them and more.

The card for the T-80s of the Soviet 2/15th GTR are drawn next. The Cobra is Ops Complete but there are still two M1 units that have to be eliminated before the road to the north opens up. The reduced T-80 in 2M10 fails to rally. The second T-80 in the stack fires at the M1 in 2O10. It gets two hits but the M1 saves them both. One of the T-80s in 2M11 also fires at the same M1. It gets three hits of which the M1 is only able to save two and it is Disrupted. The second T-80 in the hex fires at the M1 in 2P10 but the M1 is able to easily save the single hit it gets.
The T-80/HQ stack in 2L10 move into 2L11 and then 2M12 where it declares a Move and Fire attack against the M1 in 2P10. The M1 does Op Fire first and gets three hits but the T-80 only saves two and is Disrupted. The two T-80s in 2L12 move around the HQ stack and into the village in 2O10 to assault the M1 there. They get one hit and the Disrupted M1 is unable to deal any damage in return and so it is reduced and retreats into 2P10 with the HQ. The door to the north is almost open.

An End of Operations card is drawn next and then the M1s get activated. The reduced M1 platoon rallies and then full strength M1 fires at the now adjacent T-80s. It gets three hits but the T-80 saves them all! The reduced M1 platoon fires as well and manages to get two hits but again the T-80 saves them all.
A second End of Operations card is drawn to end the turn. The Soviets have not activated the 2/120th GMRR and the 3/117th GMRR and so two EoP cards are kept out. The HQ for the 3/117th GMRR is deployed with the BMP in 2F9.

The finale of the AAR has been posted for your reading pleasure. Can the Soviets push past the M1s and grab a victory?
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