"In the shadow of the hill" round 2

[Sabot6]

The epic round 2 clash between Sabot6 (Allies) and Baddawg (Axis) has reached its bloody conclusion, with the Allies managing to eke out a British Army Total Victory of 900--122 in the waning minutes of the game.

While the score may seem a bit lopsided at first blush, this was no sure thing and the 5th Dorsets were in severe trouble for much of the game, and had been stopped cold time and time again by the fanatical SS storm troopers ably led by Baddawg. Every attempt to outflank or out-maneuver the stubborn and well dug-in Germans met with quick and total failure: this was my first real battle where I led Commonwealth forces, and I ultimately realized that fire superiority and fire suppression against 2--3 MG34's & MG42's per squad could not be achieved without close tank support, even when entire platoons and every bren gun at my disposal were employed. The morale of the SS troopers was just too high, and they would consistently fight to the last man (unfortunately this took too much time, too much ammunition and too many Dorsets to be a sustainable strategy).

It was only after the Dorsets massed their considerable advantage in manpower, lowered their collective heads and started to grind their way forward under close artillery and tank support, was any headway finally made. The price was high, with almost 100 Dorsets left on the field of battle and another 91 WIA. I'm expecting to be relieved of command at any moment given my cavalier disregard for the lives of my troops, but we did manage to capture our final objective with just minutes remaining....

I'd like to thank Baddawg for an outstanding game, and one where I painfully learned multiple lessons which I hope to have an opportunity to apply in future matches. I also would like to thank Raz for setting up and running this tournament (my first), and I'm looking forward--though with some degree of trepidation--to the next round, where I'll be in command of the Axis forces.