David R. Moody  - Oct 18, 2007 1:41 pm (#20777 Total: 20801)  
What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises--no
matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love . . . . It's
not for fighting. 

Last night I hooked up with Joe Oppenheimer for a game of Lock and Load:
Swift and Bold. We played the Sniper's Den scenario. In it, British
paras from 6th Airborne have to clear a sniper out of the church steeple
of the village of Le Port, near Pegasus Bridge, on D-Day. I think I
played the HASL version (on the historical terrain) with Jason Pipes
once, and won that one after a desperate fight. 

This time was a bit different. I had seven turns to get into the
village, take eight buildings, AND clear the sniper out. Pretty tall
order with only five squads. Joe set up, and then I surveyed the map.
Not good ground at all--gorgeous fields of fire, we would charge
valiantly and be butchered valiantly, and men in tall hats and gold
watch fobs would thump their chests and say what a brave charge it was .
. . . It came down to picking a flank, really, and going from there, and
running like hell. 

So I picked Joe's left, as the most objective buildings were there,
arranging my five squads in and around some woods. The lads stepped off,
and the first group immediately took fire from Joe's very nasty sniper,
taking casualties and going Shaken. But the men behind them managed to
traverse the cultivated ground through ineffective MG fire, and make it
into town. My first objectives! 

One leader gathered the Shaken troops in the woods, trying to rally
them, as my remaining troops moved into town. My plan was to sweep
around to the right, grabbing buildings, finally converging on the
church for a last rush. Joe, however, set up a strongpoint in my
way--his leader and a squad with an MG, I think. I sent my best leader
(Lord Somethingorother) and a squad with a Bren to deal with them, while
other paras continued dashing through the village. Unfortunately, Lord
Somethingorover kept failing his spotting attempts on the Germans
opposite, and despite lively fire, my lads were unable to drive them
off. Joe even reinforced them with another squad. 

Meanwhile, a now rallied half squad joined up with my hero, a PIAT
gunner, to take out another MG strongpoint nearby, one that had fired on
my men as they advanced into town. The half squad took fire, generated
another hero, and the group closed with the bayonet, eliminating a
German squad and capturing the machine gun. On the other side of the
village, one squad moved swiftly through buildings and got within sight
of the church, my second leader moving up a rallied squad to join them. 

But time was running out, and that strongpoint was holding me up. I
moved the stack with the two heroes out into the street behind a stone
wall, but heavy fire wounded one of the heroes (he later died when more
heavy fire rained down and the whole stack went Shaken) before they
could close. The second leader, by now within sight of the church with
two squads, had one throw smoke grenades to cover a rush on the church;
they were beaten back with heavy MG fire. Game over. I had the eight
buildings, but not the church. 

Again, a tough one for the British. If I had reduced that one
strongpoint quicker, and gotten a concentric attack on the church . . .
if I had a couple more turns . . . . Joe pointed out that my axis of
attack allowed him to laterally reinforce and block me more effectively.
Perhaps if I had detached my other leader with a squad to tie down the
other flank? But the ground was even worse there, and I felt one thrust
was what was needed. Oh well--fun anyway. Maybe I'll drag out a LnL
Vietnam scenario, now that I'm refamiliar with the rules. And it was
good to see Joe again across that small deadly space--it's been too long
since we fought.