My buddy Eclo and I are continuing Operation Neptune, it's 1 AM in the night of the allied invasion. Scenario #3 from scenario pack Pegasus Bridge is where it's at.
This scenario lasts seven turns.
Germans versus the British 6th Airborne Division.
Objective: The Commonwealth needs to stay in control of a primary objective in the large Defensive Position, close to Pegasus Bridge. The Brits win when the Germans are not in control of that objective at the end of Round 7.
It's the middle of the night, with Clear Night rules in effect, limiting range and obviously helping out the troops with the Ambush special ability.
Turn 1 & 2
Fritz & Hans rev the engines of their two Sonderkraftfahrzeuge, as ordered by their boss, Oberleutnant Helfer… It's the middle of night for Pete's sake, they were vast asleep, dreaming of that beautiful waitress they admired the evening before at the Café Gondrée. Chief says he heard some rumble at the other side of the Caen canal, so we, the common soldiers, have to see what all that fuss is about.
A Schnell! action card moves the two Sd.Kfz.251 vehicles two squares forwards in direction of the bridge. Order Token #1 moves the first of the two transports forward across the bridge. Strategically placed Ambush troops in the bridge's control room, and the Defensive Position open fire – thanks to an Opportunity Fire card, and Opportunity Fire from the Defensive Position – with their Bren guns and the PIAT.
Unfortunately, the steel railings of the bridge provided some nice cover, making most bullets bounce right off, leaving the German half-track mostly unscathed. Dammit.
Luckily, there's another Bren team hidden inside the bunker on the Commonwealth side of the bridge, activating a Gammon grenade that'll hopefully detonate on impact with the front-most of the two German vehicles. Let's hope they don't spot us Brits before opening fire with them top mount MG42s. Success! The detonation was fierce, destroying the half-track. Fritz was lucky enough to get out in time, right before his trousers could catch fire. Two Fire Groups got suppressed. There's a serious road block, as you can see in the image below. Hans, in the second half-track, ready to avenge that destroyed vehicle he just waxed the day before, throws out a grenade in the direction of the defensive position. Luckily he played basketball before the war, so the grenade dropped straight into the middle of that large pit full of English paratroopers. Fortunately for the Brits, the Stielhandgranate was a dud, and exploded with a minor 'pouf'. No hits.
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Turn 3 & 4
More action, obviously, with the Germans eagerly trying to capture the primary objective inside that large defensive position. The second half-track was destroyed by a second, perfectly thrown, Gammon grenade, increasing that road-block even more. Hans wasn't happy that his favorite ride got wrecked as well, but he eagerly jumped out in time to save his ass… The jump dropped him right into the pit, staring into the eyes of on Englishmen with a perfectly groomed mustache. Those Brits sure have their priorities.
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The end of Turn 3 unloaded a large wave of German reinforcements from the top right, allied invasion? Not really, more like a German invasion! The Brits had no clue on how to survive such a vast and fast-moving force. Luckily, there's William Sutton, our clumsy medic to help us out in these moments of need.
Turn 5, 6 & 7
The Brits also brought their beloved 2-inch mortar, parking in neatly in one of those well-made German trenches. Because of the night conditions the mortar failed to be useful, missing most of it targets, mostly of the increased dispersion of 3 interspaces.
The Germans moved forward towards the objective and the tension rose and rose. How much longer can we hold this, the Brits asked their selves? At one moment, German officer Helfer felt he needed to finish the job himself, Fritz & Hans were already shot to pieces in that big trench-like pit of doom. Time for some heroics! Luckily for the German officer, Mighty Moustache ran into to the adjacent trench, seconds before, into his own demise, encountering a German Fire Group that had jumped into the trench from the other side. Five vs. one, even a mustache can't help in such a situation. Alas, you will be remembered, Mr. Grayburn.
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In the meantime, the Brits keep losing forces, but the medic proved to be semi-useful, while patching up some troopers. The guys from the mortar team tried out one desperate last measure, mounting the mortar as a shoulder-fed bazooka, as they once saw their American colleagues do, but again, this failed to be of any use. They were lucky they didn't hit any fellow Englishmen.
Even with a massive amount of troops, the Germans ran out of time, and the Brits were able to block the control of the primary objective. Even the medic jumped into the defensive position, securing the objective.
British win right at the end of Turn 7!
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Conclusion:
• Light vehicles proved to be very fragile, once again. Maybe the upcoming Full Throttle rules might be useful.
• The medic rules, both from the Compendium and the Pegasus Bridge rule book, are not clear and written in such way that a relatively simple mechanic becomes hard to digest and apply. I think the rules' explanation of the medic could be simplified quite a bit.
• In typical Heroes of Normandie tradition, timing is key. No time to straggle, you need to be fast to get to those objectives. This results in action-focused gameplay with a ton of Hollywood-esque moments that will be remembered for a long time. This is what makes this game so wonderful.
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