Five Parsec From Home - Campaign Creation, Turn 1.1

 

INVASION IMMINENT. It was all over the news. The bugs were coming. Holo-tickers scrolled across the tops of buildings, warning of evacuation. The AI news reporters had been talking about it for days.

Most of those who could afford to had already paid for off-planet extraction. Those who couldn't pay hoped to find their way to government escape ships. For some, this, like any crisis, was a time for money to be made.

Stepping into an alley shanty town, Molly ducked into the small tin and wood shelter she and her friends called home. Not everyone in Duplantier had money. She saw Christina crouched on the ground, siphoning water through a small purifier. Selling clean water was what had been keeping them fed the last few weeks. Molly tucked the heavy carpet they used for a door to one side, hefting it up over a board to keep it in place. Christina looked up, her eyes squinting at the sunlight.

“I found us a job,” she said, “It's not much, but it might help us get out of here.”

“What kind of job?” Molly asked.

“Nothing much. There's a hanger over near the spaceport. They're loading up small shuttles and such to supply the larger ships. Responsive Acquisitions wants someone to grab a package from there before everything gets launched.”

A package. For Acquisitions. Best not to ask.

Molly raised an eyebrow, “Is Chloe back?”

Christina brushed a lock of pinkish brown hair out of her yes, “She's out trying to sell that stuff she found the other day.”

Molly nodded, “Well, I'll pack up what little we have.” She thought of the bugs invading, reflecting on the stories her father had told her as a kid. “We do the job tonight?”

“Yeah. Then we see if we can get outta here.”

*****

Thus begins my first Five Parsecs From Home campaign. Five Parsecs is a solo storytelling/miniatures game from Modiphius Entertainment which pits a star ship crew against a number of enemies and situations. Much of the game is table and dice driven, with a lot of random elements used to create characters and situations. This randomness acts as a prompt for the storytelling aspect of the game. The miniature portion is used to resolve any battles that may come up.

At its most basic, the game consists of pre-campaign setup, which includes character creation, then a number of campaign turns that are split into three phases: Pre-battle, battle, and post-battle. I've opted to play a 20 turn campaign.

For my game, I'm using both the core rules, and those from the Five Parsecs Compendium, which adds a number of variants to the base game.

For my first campaign, I've opted to use the following options from the Compendium:

• Starting in the Gutter
• Psionics
• Dramatic Combat
• Factions
• Expanded Missions and Quests
• Expanded Connections and Factions
• Casualties and Injuries
• Fringe World Strife
• Loans

I'll go into each of these as they come up.

To begin a campaign, players first need to create a Crew. The standard number of characters in a crew is six, but, because I'm using the Starting in the Gutter option, I'll be starting with a crew of three. There are a few ways to create characters, but the most interesting is to use dice and the rule book tables to generate each character's attributes. Statistics are based on the character's race, attributes, background, and motivation, all of which can be randomly generated.

For my crew, I generated three human characters. Being a sci-fi game, alien races are common, but humans are the most common. After generating the characters, I generated their starting weapons and equipment. Due to Starting in The Gutter, none of my characters could have military grade items, and started with fewer items than a standard crew. They also begin with no money and without a starship of their own, so they are planet bound at the beginning. Thus, the crew is starting off poor, with hopes of one day earning enough money for their own ship.

Molly's Marauders

Here are the characters that I generated, along with the the back stories that I imagined for them.

MOLLY WHITE - Leader
Species: Human
Background: Military Brat
Motivation: Political
Class: Ganger
Experience: 0
Reactions: 2 (Human + Ganger)
Speed: 4" (Human)
Combat: +1 (Military Brat)
Toughness: 3 (Human)
Savvy: +0 (Human)
Luck: 1 (Leader)

Hand Gun (Dramatic Weapons Rules)
Range: 9"
Shots: 1
Damage: 0
Traits: Pistol (+1 Brawl, +1 Combat within 6")

Molly White, captain of “Molly's Marauders,” was born into a military family on Sarail III. She spent her childhood moving from duty station to duty station with her father, who raised her on tales of his military incursions on distant planets. As a teen, she was stranded on Fuller III when her father was killed during a hover-car accident there. She began living on the streets, with an eye on the government, who, despite her father's contributions to Unity, gave no help to a military orphan.

CHRISTINA NAVARRO - Crew
Species: Human
Background: Tech Guild
Motivation: Discovery
Class: Enforcer
Experience: 0
Reactions: 1 (Human)
Speed: 4" (Human)
Combat: +1 (Enforcer)
Toughness: 3 (Human)
Savvy: +2 (Tech Guild + Discovery)
Luck: 0 (Human)

Hand Gun (Dramatic Weapons Rules)
Range: 9"
Shots: 1
Damage: 0
Traits: Pistol (+1 Brawl, +1 Combat within 6")
 

Twenty-five year-old Christina Navarro has always been a techie. As a child, her intense curiosity led her disassemble a number of her parent's electronics, as well as wreaking havoc on a few of their smart home's features as she tried to discover how they all worked. Later in life, she began attending university, but soon found herself with a fringe crowd of students selling black-market technology. This led her to being kicked out of both university, and her parent's home. While living on the street, she and her friend Chloe met Molly White. The trio became fast friends, and formed a small family for the sake of street survival.

CHLOE SHEPHERD - Crew
Species: Human
Background: Wasteland Nomad
Motivation: Discovery
Class: Enforcer
Experience: 0
Reactions: 2 (Human + Wasteland Nomad)
Speed: 4" (Human)
Combat: +1 (Enforcer)
Toughness: 3 (Human)
Savvy: +1 (Discovery)
Luck: 0 (Human)

Scrap Pistol (Dramatic Weapons Rules)
Range: 7"
Shots: 1
Damage: 0
Traits: Pistol (+1 Brawl, +1 Combat within 6")

Born in the western desert of the northern continent on Fuller III, Chloe Shepherd made her way to the space port of Duplantier's Place when her nomadic family passed by on their way to their winter hunting grounds. Chloe's interest in the bright lights, whizzing hover-cars, and bustling city was intense enough to cause her to stay after her tribe had moved on after stocking up on supplies. Jobless, Chloe soon fell in with the street merchants, acting as a guard for various suppliers. It was here that she met Christina Navarro, who was selling technology to a local buyer.

After creating characters, the next step to beginning a campaign is to determine the group's weapons and gear, as a whole, then assign that equipment to each character. In some cases, that equipment is kept on the crew's ship, or, in my case, in the group's hovel. In addition to what each character is carrying, I rolled for the following items: Scrap Pistol (x2); Purifier (+1 Credit per turn); Fake ID (+1 to obtain a license); Beam Light (+3 Visibility in low light)

After creating a crew (and, usually, a ship), the next step in a Five Parsecs From Home game is to begin Turn 1. To begin the turn, it is first determined if the crew is going to travel to a new planet. In my case, the crew has no ship, so they will not be traveling. I do, however, still need to create the planet that they are on.

Using the dice and tables for planet creation, the planet of Fuller III was born.

Fuller III

Fuller III, at the moment, is a politically and militarily stable planet, with the largest city, home to a space port, being Duplantier's Place, often called just Duplantier for short. Though stable, the planet is under threat of invasion, which could occur at any moment. For the population, psionic beings are unusual, but not unheard of.

For each planet that a crew travels to, it must be determined if they need a license to operate as hired contractors for jobs. In the case of Fuller III, licensing is required, but my crew has a Fake ID, which allowed them to forge a license. Nicely, this random roll on the equipment able fit nicely with my already constructed story.

Also when a crew visits a new planet, it must be determined if they have any Patrons (people who will pay them to do jobs) or Rivals (people who are enemies of the crew). In my case, the crew received one Patron during character creation, and no rivals, as this is the first campaign turn. I've opted to call their patron Suzuki Kansuki, a wealthy individual who is willing to pay handsomely when work needs to be one.

Using the Compendium's optional rules, planets may also have factions vying for the crew's attentions. In the case of Fuller III, three factions were randomly rolled: a Criminal Enterprise, a Political Movement, and an Advocacy Group.

With the planet created, it's time to start playing the first phase of the turn. First, the crew must pay 1 Credit for upkeep (things like food, clothing, and general goods). While my crew has no money to start with, they were able to avoid debt by having a Purifier, which generates 1 Credit per campaign turn. So, we don't go into debt, but there's still no money to buy goods or a ship.

Next, each character is assigned a task. In my crew's case, one character went out to look for work, one went recruiting for more crew members, and one went to trade items. In my story, Christina Navarro was able to find a second Patron, which allowed me to choose between two different jobs that were offered to the crew. With a Criminal Enterprise as a planet faction, and “Secretive Group” rolled for the second Patron, I opted to create a sort of underground buyer, called “Responsive Acquisitions.” After rolling up the random jobs offered by each Patron, I decided to have the group work for the acquisition company. The pay isn't as good, but the danger is less, and, with an invasion coming, less danger seemed like a good idea.

With a job determined, Molly went out to find a new crew member. Because I am starting with less than six characters, adding a new member is free. I created Darwishi Kassis, who will show up in the next phase.

DARWISHI KASSIS - Crew
Species: Human
Background: Unknown
Motivation: Unknown
Class: Unknown
Experience: 0
Reactions: 1 (Human)
Speed: 4" (Human)
Combat: +0 (Human)
Toughness: 3 (Human)
Savvy: +0 (Human)
Luck: 0 (Human)

Hand Gun (Dramatic Weapons Rules)
Range: 9"
Shots: 1
Damage: 0
Traits: Pistol (+1 Brawl, +1 Combat within 6")

Finally, my third character, Chloe, went trading. Trading represents the character bartering for and selling small items, which, in Turn 1, resulted in the crew earning 2 Credits. Good news! We're poor, but not completely broke.

Phase two of the turn is the miniatures phase, where the crew will do the job assigned to them. I've been working on acquiring miniatures, getting them painted up, and building terrain. Once all of that is complete, I'll be able to play out the next section of the story.

Japanese Torii

Torii with miniature for scale.

 
Recently I discovered the solo miniatures game Five Parsecs From Home from Modiphius Entertainment.  The game, which has a sort of Firefly meets Cyberpunk feel to it, is sort of a story generator that uses randomized prompts to create characters and narratives, with battles played out on a small board with terrain and miniatures.  Like many people my age, my first introduction to the Cyberpunk genre was William Gibson's Neuromancer complete with its urban Japanese high-tech future setting.  So, while thinking about possible terrain for Five Parsecs, my mind automatically went to Japan, and one of the most iconic Japanese symbols, the torii gate.

I started by quickly looking up images online, finding a nice image of a torii with dimensions.  I printed this out for reference, then found that the printed size was already perfect for 32mm miniatures.  This happy coincidence let me use the printed image to measure off all the bits I would need.

The perfect size.

The first step was to cut two Hashira, or uprights.  Fortunately I had a 1/2" dowel that was the perfect diameter.  Next was the addition of the Nuki, the section spanning between the Hashira.  I notched each dowel, then laminated three 1/4" square pieces together for the nuki.  I used the same process for the Gakuuka (center) and the Shimaki (lower span).  The shimaki was sanded a bit to introduce the decorative angles.

 Next was the Kasagi, or upper part of the span.  To simulate the upward sweep of the ends, I glued small bits of popsicle stick to the ends, then sanded them to shape.

 

Kasagi Ends

 

 

With the kasagi finished, the woodwork was done.

Finished woodwork.

Base details were added by wrapping the uprights with card stock, and glue 28mm bases to the bottoms.

It stands!

Then, on to the wood pile.  Er, paint shop.  I hit the entire thing with a rattle can of "Colonial Red," then used craft paint to color the bases and kasagi black, as seen in the opening photo, giving it a traditional color scheme.

Traditional color would be vermilion, but I substituted Colonial Red

Finally, a shot of my workspace.  Yes, I have two desks in the room.  Yes, both are filled with partially done projects.  Yes, I tend to work cross-legged on the floor anyway.

My build area. Comfy if your knees can take it.

Old Stone Fort

Earlier this month, as a friend of a friend, I was able to take part in a small invite-only event at the Old Stone Fort in Schoharie, New York. The event represented a gathering of New York militia, circa 1775, gathering to discuss some pre-war issues relating to the area, and to do a little training.

Old Stone Fort, Schoharie, New York

Since my usual Warner's Regiment gear is more tailored toward a 1777 frontier farmer who has been on campaign for a few years, I needed to borrow some more civilian tailored clothing. Fortunately, there was a lovely dark green coat and waistcoat that fit me perfectly.

Well, the coat fit. The waistcoat was like stuffing me into a sausage casing. Fortunately wool stretches.

Having some morning coffee.

This was a pretty low key event, but taking part in a reenactment in a different area from where I usually reenact was interesting. The history of upstate New York is much different than the history of Vermont, with it's own version of the immigrants who settled there, the native tribes they interacted with, and the politics of the area. Even the architecture was slightly different, which I was able to see in an original house that I was given a tour of.

Traveling blacksmith setup.

The site's beautiful bake oven.

For most of the event, my job was to look the part of an 18^th century civilian. I mainly did this by walking around and being introduced to people from other units who were taking part in the weekend. I also spent a decent amount of time ogling the site's bake oven, which was fired up Friday night, and the portable setup of a local blacksmith who was doing demonstrations.

Putting the oven to use.

 

 

Taking advantage of the forge.

For the militia portion of the event, there was a very small 10 minute or so drill, where we fired about three rounds as a display for the crowd. While my regular unit generally fights in open order at the knee as light infantry, we do train in how to fight in close order as regular infantry. As such, I didn't have much trouble with the drill. The main thing that threw me off was the count. While both Warner's and the amalgamated unit with which I was wit use the 1768 Manual of Arms, Warner's does it on a one count, making a move with every count of one. The amalgamated unit used a two count, where they would count out loud “One! Two!” then move. I found out later that this count was specified in an early New York militia manual. The small difference did throw me off though.

Militia formed for training.

Like most reenactments, I was very tired by the end of the weekend, but I'm glad that I attended. I was able to meet a number of people who had I heard of online, but never met in person, take part in something in a new area, and learn a bit of history that I didn't know before. Overall, a very pleasant trip.

Time Travel

 Reenacting season has started up again here in the northeast.  Back in the beginning of April, I wrote up a short bit on social media about those "time travel" moments that we all seem to have.  It's been suggested that it should be a blog post, so...

There's a phenomenon in the historical reenacting world where, sometimes, just for a split second, you get transported back in time, and you're *there.* Listening to the sleet hitting the window tonight, I started thinking about some of those moments.

The first was at my first reenactment at Bennington. I was new and had no idea what I was doing. While we were waiting to go on the field, we were staged in the woods, keeping an eye out for redcoats. One of the veterans whispered, "Don't look for the red. Look for the white trim on their hats. It shows up in the woods." I looked into the forest ahead of me, suddenly feeling the anticipation that something was about to start. I was there.

One time at Ticonderoga, we were again in the woods, spaced out amongst the trees, on lookout. There was no noise. We were all silent, intent on spotting any movement. Suddenly, directly in front of me, a bright white eyeball surrounded by red face paint slowly peered out from behind a tree. A shiver went down my spine. The natives had snuck up on us. I was there.

At Ethan Allen Homestead, during a winter gathering, I approached the house while a soft fluffy snow filtered down around me, clinging to my coat and hat. As I got closer, there was a warm glowing candle in the front window. I was there, a cold settler coming home.

Again at Ticonderoga, we were headed to the battlefield, taking a route through the woods. We were ordered to move quietly. As I came up over a small rise, I looked along the path down the hill ahead of me. 100 or so men were moving silently, in single file, without a word. I think we were all there.

Sturbridge, standing in formation with the rest of the Continentals on the street. A young girl came out of a house across the street to water the garden. She looked both curious and cautious, just as someone would when an army arrives and takes over their town. I was there.

And one I remembered the other day. At Bennington. We were spread out in an open line, preparing to go into battle. Our chaplain, Reverend Blakesly, said a short prayer, as he finished the words meant to give us strength and courage, I started seeing movement in the trees. Loyalist militia were approaching. I was there.

Live Fire

 

Our range for the weekend.

Invited by Master Gunsmith Dave Person, several members of Warner's Regiment gathered at a private range for a live fire event.

At public events, we fire blank charges of gunpowder only, which is the spark and smoke you see at reenactments. This event gave us a chance to safely fire live loads of round ball, such as what was used during the American Revolution.

Your author, in winter hippie form (right) and one of my comrades.

A small selection of our arms.

We fired a variety of calibers and charges, both patched and loose ball, in a number of formations, including close, open order, and individual fire. We fired both smooth bore and rifled flintlocks. This gave us a small glimpse at what these historic weapon could do.

Some of us were experienced shooters. Some had never fired before. For my parts, the last time I live fired anything was 35+ years ago as a Boy Scout shooting a .22 rifle at summer camp. Because of that, I opted to start at the bench. I was soon firing off hand and at the knee (my most comfortable position)

My eyesight isn't great, so I couldn't tell where I was hitting on the targets. When we switched to pumpkins and onions, though, I was able to hit a pumpkin 3 out of 3 tries (one low, one high, one center) at about 35 yards. Later we did a timed shooting course of different sized metal targets at various ranges. Surprising myself, I placed 3rd out of 7 shooters. I hit 2 out of 6 targets. 3 of our shooters had misfires that dropped them from the running.

Another incredibly fun weekend with my Warner's family, and an amazingly relaxed weekend without needing to be part of "the show" for a paying public.

Examining the woods behind the targets.

An example of the damage done by a musket ball.

Panzer Ace, Normandy, July, 1944

Outskirts of Le Dézert, Normandy

On 22 October, I took part in another game of I Ain't Been Shot Mum (IABSM), by Two Fat Lardies. My opponent Steve and I arrived at the home of our host and umpire, Dan, at about noon. The day before, after having read the scenario, I opted to play the German side, which looked like it'd be a challenge.

The scenario comes from the book Heroes of Omahaand Panzer Lehr from SkirmishCampaigns. The scenarios appear to be game agnostic, so Dan would tweak things a bit, possibly adding troops to fit the IABSM rules set.

Scenario Map

Initial intelligence given in the scenario indicated U.S. troops just outside the village of Le Dézert on the road toward Saint Jean de Daye in Normandy, France, on the morning of 11 July, 1944. My task, as commander of two elements of Panzer Grenadiers and one armored section, was to move at least two armored vehicles through the hedgerows and off the east side of the board within 10 turns. As indicated on the map, the Americans may have reinforcements coming in on that side.

Based on the map, my initial plan was to put flankers out on either side of my main column, which would drive up the road. Not knowing how thick the bocage was, I also wanted to attempt to get a unit on top of the hill overlooking the manor house, to cover my movement as I crossed the bridge. The bridge looked like it would be the choke point, and most heavily defended.

Initial Deployment

Upon arrival, I was put in command of the following:

• One armored section containing a Panzerkampfwagen Va. tank (Panzer), a Sturmgeschütz IIIg tank (StuG), and a Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234 armored car (Puma).

• Two Panzer Grenedier infantry platoons, each with three sections of 10 riflemen and one Panzerfaust each, mounted on half-track personnel carriers.

• One truck mounted Quad 2.0cm Flak gun

• One headquarters unit in a Kübelwagen

• The armored and infantry sections each had a “Big Man” officer attached

For the terrain, the bocage hedgerows were impassible for vehicles, and would take infantry two actions to climb over, which would slow things down. The hedgerows also blocked line of sight, but could be fired out of and into. This would mean driving the vehicle column blindly down the road, at least to the houses and bridge. The good news was that the stream was shallow, and could be crossed by both infantry and vehicles. I wouldn't have to use the bridge to cross if pressed.

No sightlines? No problem!

The game began with my German troops lining up along the road. Since the Americans hadn't spotted us yet, blinds were used. Due the bocage, I knew I wouldn't get a vehicle to the top of the hill overlooking the houses, but, fearing a bazooka ambush from the sides of the road, I decided to stick with my original plan of sending out flankers. Infantry Platoon 1 was deployed in the field to my right. Platoon 2 was deployed to the left field, dismounted from their half-tracks. Along the road, I deployed in the following order: The StuG took point. With no turret, but heavy frontal armor, I figured it would act as my shield. The Panzer came next, able to fire to either side of the StuG. Lightly armored, the Puma was third, hiding behind the Panzer for protection. Behind the armor came the Quad truck in support, with the HQ unit bringing up the rear.

Lining Up

The dismounted Panzer Grenadiers on my left flank moved quickly up to the first bocage at the base of the hill and took an action to see if anything was on the other side. Spotting no troops, they climbed over the blockade and took up positions in the orchard on the hill. On my right, the half-tracks of Platoon 1 are spotted by the Americans, so the blind is removed. Steve now knows where half my infantry is. My armored column, not wanting to get ahead of the infantry, begins slowly moving up the road. The StuG, in front, spots movement on the second floor of a house to the left. Lobbing a shell into the house, the men there are pinned down by falling debris. The Panther follows suit, also targeting the second floor, which causes the Americans there to flee out of sight to the first floor. Panzer Grenadier Platoon 1, hearing the opening bursts, dismount from their personnel carries and move quickly up the the hedgerow in front of them.

On the move

Opening shot on target!

Pulling up to the end of the bocage along the road, the armored column takes a moment to look at the upper floor of the building to their right. The infantry on that side cross over the bocage into the orchard, checking the first floor of the house. No enemy are spotted. The Americans appear to have opted for a defense further back on the board. Light mortar fire begins landing in the orchard, but no damage is taken by the Panzer Grenadiers.

On the left, Infantry Platoon 2 moves over the hedgerow, from the orchard there, to the hill overlooking the buildings of the farm complex. Now in the open, they take fire from the Allied side, taking one casualty killed in action.

Clearing the flanks, and slow advance.

With the right flank clear, the tank crews move up and begin targeting the first floor of the building previously hit. The Americans, seeing the danger, and having already experienced two tank shots on the upper floor, evacuate the building, taking cover in the larger structure in the nearby farm complex. Platoon 2 on the left continues across the open hilltop, hoping to take cover against the hedgerow in front of them. They take another burst of fire from the buildings, losing another man killed in action. Platoon 1 continues to take light mortar fire, but they keep their heads down and out of danger. As they take cover up against a stone wall surrounding the orchard, they take infantry fire from behind the bocage on the opposite side of the stream that splits the terrain. They take their first KIA. As they set up to be on overwatch, two Allied M10 Tank Destroyers rumble into view, blocking the road ahead.

Anti-tank guns arrive.

Back on the right again, my infantry continues taking light mortar and small arms fire from Americans behind the bocage to the east. They suffer one more man killed, but return fire, blindly shooting into the mass of brush, rock, and trees ahead of them. Platoon 2 on the left flank presses ahead, crawling through the bocage, crossing a small lane and stream, and diving into cover behind a stone wall in front of the occupied buildings. They are fired on, taking another KIA for their effort. They fire on what infantry they can see on the second floor of the nearest house. My armored column, seeing the new M10 threat, begins to deploy for a fight. The StuG, in the lead, pulls to the right, clearing the road for the Panzer and lining up for a shot against the tank destroyers. Before the crew can take a shot, though, one of the M10s opens up with a direct hit. The StuG explodes in a massive fireball. The Panzer pulls up to, but not onto, the bridge, leaving just her turret exposed to the enemy. The second M10 fires, but the shell bounces harmlessly off the Panzer's armor. The Panzer fires back, causing damage to the M10's machine gun. The Puma, moving quickly, wheels around to the right of the burning StuG, lining up to fire its gun across the river.

Deploying for battle.

My infantry platoons on both flanks begin taking machine gun fire from the American infantry. Three more men are killed. On the left, from behind the farm complex, a small anti-tank gun rolls out of cover, firing two shots into the Puma, shocking it and pinning it in place. Things are beginning to look bad for my armor. We need to press on across the river and down the road, but the way is blocked, and we're taking heavy fire from all sides.

StuG down!

On my left flank, my Panzer Grenadier squad is furious. With one section firing on the 2^nd floor of the building ahead of them, the other two squads rush the building, coming into direct contact with the enemy. The Americans win the melee, throwing the grenadiers back to the edge of the stream. We kill four, but take five casualties of our own. A bloody affair with no gain. The M10 tank destroyers open up again. The Puma is missed at first, but a second shot lands square. The crew won't be doing anything this turn. The Panther also continues to take fire. A shot takes out the big cat's machine gun, but a second shot bounces off its heavy armor. Platoon 1, seeing the anti-tank gun, and taking infantry fire from their front, decides to advance into the cover of the small stream, lobbing a Panzerfaust toward the tank destroyers, with no effect. The American anti-tank gun also targets the sitting-duck Puma, but its shots have no effect.

At this point, the infantry of Platoon 1 on my right also begin taking sniper fire from the hedgerow ahead of them. Another man killed. We can't see them, but behind that bocage to our front are a mortar team, an infantry team with machine gun and rifles, and now at least one sniper. Who knows what else may be lurking there. The tank destroyers are blocking the road, and the anti-tank gun will have our left flank if we move forward. The stone buildings of the farm complex are occupied by infantry, and we're taking casualties on all fronts.

I haven't seen any bazooka teams, but I have a horrible feeling they are hiding in the houses, ready to hit my Panther in the side should I cross the bridge. Though the first assault went horribly wrong, I take a chance and rush the house on the left with my infantry again. Though they take another KIA, this time the Panzer Grenadiers are successful, dislodging an enemy machine gun and rifle squad from the building. My platoon occupies the structures themselves, with one squad on each floor, and another in reserve (and cover), just outside. On the road, the German Flak gun opens up. The fire is scary, but has no effect on the enemy. The American anti-tank gun continues firing on the little Puma, the crew of which, finally having had enough, quickly pull back to take cover behind the orchard house on our right. Their morale is super low, and they'll likely be out of the fight unless I can get them to rally. In my center, the big Panther stays put, being in cover behind the bridge crossing. A bazooka team finally reveals itself, but its shot bounces off the cat. It's time to open up. The Panther fires a shot at the M10 ahead and to the right. The shell hits direct, turning the tank destroyer into an exploding pile of parts. A second shot from the Panther hits the second M10, briefly immobilizing it. A third shot does the trick, hitting the second M10 again, causing it to withdraw as its crew panics.

Puma retreat.

M10 knocked out.

The road is clear, but we're still exposed on the flanks if we move forward.

Platoon 1, hunkered down in the stream, is getting whittled down. The anti-tank gun, having dealt with the Puma, switched to anti-infantry ammunition, killing one man in the squad. Machine gun fire from in front kills another. Poking their heads up, they fire into the hedgerow in front of them, and take another KIA from machine gun fire. On the left, Platoon 2 takes advantage of their new position in the house, firing with deadly effect into the flank of the American anti-tank gun. The crew abandons the gun and retreats. At this point, the Americans in the larger farm structure, and the Panzer Grenadiers in the house, begin firing back and forth across the courtyard at each other, both having heavy cover, but plinking away at each other. In an effort to clear any threat should we decide to move up the road (and we need to), the Flak gun blindly opens up on the corner of the bocage, hoping to inflict maximum damage on anything hiding in there. While we couldn't see it, we managed to take out half of the bazooka team. The Panther at the bridge once again fired on the remaining M10, this time knocking it out completely. Having been rallied by my Headquarters unit which had been creeping down the road during the firefight, the Puma recovers, and takes up position on the bridge in front of the Panther. At this point, the game was ending Turn 7. While I still had threats ahead and to the right, if I continued to move slow I may run out of time.

American AT crew takes rifle fire.

With the vehicle column reorganizing behind me, my infantry on the left kept up their gun battle with the Americans in the farm. Trading several bursts with each other, the American squad on the second floor finally broke and ran, while their men on the first floor continued to fight. On my right, in the stream bed, my infantry rallied their courage for one last push. With the overall commander of the mission shouting them on, Platoon 1 rose from the stream, rushed across the open field, and threw themselves over the bocage and into direct contact with three enemy units. A fierce hand-to-hand combat ensued, with the Germans overwhelming the right side, and the American winning on the left. This caused the combat to swing sort of counter-clockwise, with the remaining Germans taking on the remaining Americans, who finally gave ground. With the loss of both his armor and his left flank, my opponent conceded, withdrawing his remaining troops to fight another day.

The final push.

This was a great game, which really felt like it could go either way at any time. Had this been a campaign game, or, God forbid, actual combat, I probably wouldn't have made the three infantry assaults, but the time limitation pushed me to be a little more risky than I usually tend to be. At the end of the day, I had taken 20 KIA casualties, plus whatever men I lost in the final push, along with the StuG that was knocked out at the beginning of the mission. Given that I had two 30 man platoons, I took over 30% casualties. To their credit, my officers did their jobs well, and kept the men from breaking, leading to the eventual win. Had they not done that, I believe we would have all been captured without crossing the stream at all.

Big thanks to Dan and Steve for a great game!

Onward to St. Jean de Daye!