Counter Attack At Rawnslie Les Bains AAR

Well from the start the Germans did not do very well, the gas attack caused no pins and a single casualty to the British manning the 18Pdr gun. The bombardment of the British rear again caused little disruption, the British obviously making use of the captured German communication trenches to advance along, a few pins and no casualties, only managing to delay the arrival of the North Staffs bomber section by a couple of turns. Not as though they were really needed the sections already in situ more than holding off the counter attacking German forces as we will see.
The British dawn bombardment on the approach route of the German attack caused a few pins only, not holding up the advance too much, what did slow the advance was the decision of the A7V commander to not risk crossing the hedge and detouring around Ville Hazeton. The German section with the captured Lewis gun was sent to the left flank to support the flanking section when it arrived, meanwhile the remaining sections advanced towards the hedgerow with the second wave of Stosstruppen close behind.
There appeared to be a little confusion on the German side, the flanking section appeared on the wrong flank and way short of the British lines, this left the Lewis team a little redundant having to await the arrival of the A7V to shelter behind, not wanting to risk an advance against the British section and Vickers gun which had taken up residence in Shrapnel Villa.
Deciding that time was against them the Germans left the cover of the hedge before the A7V had got up and commenced their attack on the British lines, the first wave took high casualties from the British 18pdr, luckily this early success by the 18pdr was not repeated, unfortunately this was not the case with the infantry section whose marksmanship harked back to the early days of 1914.
The Germans got a lucky break with the drawing of an event cards that allowed one unit an extra move and one unit to rally off a pin marker, sadly this was tempered with a low ammo card which allowed the British player to play it on the A7V which meant it could only fire at under half range.
The Germans could make little headway losing horrendous casualty to continuing accurate firing from the British, with further support unlikely due to British pressure on adjoining sectors and their right flank now in the air the German counter attack was called off.
Pictures with captions follow

The Germans Advance

The Germans Enter The Killing Ground

The Flanking Force Arriving On The Wrong Flank

Stormtroops Move Up To Support The Second Wave

18Pdr And Lewis Gun Section Lie In Wait

Vickers MG Takes Cover In Shrapnel Villa

British Supports Make Use Of The German Communication Trench

The German Advance Continues

The A7V Arrives To Support The Left Flank

However Accurate British Fire Has Decimated The German Right

The British Prepare For A Flank Attack



With The A7V Providing Cover The Germans Withdraw

A word on cover, the shell cratered middle board provided soft cover for the attackers if they had not moved when fired on, likewise for the British in their half of the board, Bois Hazle providing soft cover all the while though and Shrapnel Villa hard cover of course.

All in all a rather enjoyable game, even for me the German commander, the next game will see the British advancing again into the green fields and on to victory?

TTFN