With the sunrise came German reinforcements. Eager to retake Benouville and Le Port...it seemed so easy in the beginning...
HQ checked over GrumbleJones selected Reinforcement Groups for the Dawn turn: One full Panzer Grenadier Platoon with 9-1 officer entered at J1, another full Panzer Grenadier Platoon with 9-2 entered at A7, a full Platoon of Marder I's entered at U1, and a final Anti-Aircraft Platoon entered at A7. The German objectives were the Chateau and Hex M6 in the North.
Major Howard concentrated his defense in Benouville. A small detachment was in the west edge of Le Port and another force was east of the bridge manhandling two 57LL AT Guns across the canal right beside the German 1-2-7 in the Cafe Gondree.
By the end of turn 3-1/2 the British has made good progress moving the guns up the road.
The German Marder I's came in full of Teutonic fervor, but the Red Devils charged into French wheatfields carrying Piats and big brass balls!!! My Marder I's fought fiercely and repelled several attacks...but both exhausted their HE and one was finally overcome by small arms fire. The third and final one continues to resist...but the end is near...
The Red Devils beat my Germans to the Chateau, so my men fell back and set up a perimeter. So far it has held, but 6-4-8's can't be held at bay forever...
On the west edge, my attempt to wrest M6 from the British was unsuccessful. The British had a 10-2 and 9-2 kill stack HIP in J7. They decimated my AA Platoon and kept my infantry in check.
The smoke is from the first of my Marder I's to brew up after a solid Piat hit.
The Red Devils are just too powerful in this sector...will have to come up with a new plan...
The British came on like fiends and the Germans were only saved by a successful ambush in close combat, which allowed them to withdraw and blast the British in the next Prep Fire.
Back to back the Marder I's fought to keep the British back...
The Marder I in V6 had to bail out and leaped into close combat with their antagonists!
The scene of devastation at the A7 entry as my AA Platoon was destroyed...
The Germans have been bloodied...but they aren't down yet...
Major Howard's men are winning the day thus far...just a little longer and relief will arrive...
"Baby Seal killers" is a tongue in cheek reference to a comment my opponent used to describe the early part of the Dawn turn. I must admit, that there was a moment around turn 2 that I was pretty certain my Germans were going to go down like seals trapped on the ice. It hasn't quite happened, but things are definitely tight for my Panzer Grenadiers.
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