ACROSS THE LITANI

9PM Game

            Things have gone really well for me so far. I hold a commanding CG VP lead and that means that even if he can get AFV across to the Kafr Badda Map and thence across the bridge he firmly holds, he still cannot win... he also needs to score more VP than me for that. What is making this harder still is that I am spread all over the Litani River and Ridge map, holding many locations that will allow me multiple shots at infantry or AFV who attempt to break-out to the Kafr Badda area. We are also are a parity in troop numbers and equipment, though I still hold the high ground and the Litani River Barracks.

            I expect some of this to change with the coming night game... he is at his strongest then, and i am at my weakest... but for now I have a chance to prepare for his Night attack and to bloody his nose further!

The Mapboards:

The Litani River and Ridge

            The battle here in the AM might have sealed the whole CG. Murray's men were brave but bad luck was their un-doing. He has lost so many CVP that it is hard to imagine he can claw them back, especially with my men still in control of all the high ground and our forces being roughly equal in number. He does get some reinforcements this turn (8x 458, 4x 457 and others including another MMG and an 10-2 leader) but I also get reinforcements (2x 458, 10x 457 etc including a 9-2). Another advantage I have is knowing where his troops are going to cross the river... this means I can set my Pre-registered OBA right on his entry hex (44GG4)!

            Without a doubt this PM game is to be an important battle. Even though the Allies will have the advantage in the following Night game, if he doesn't start to really pare back my defence he is going to find himself cut to pieces just through sheer force of numbers. 

             Un-revealed HIP units are not required to be revealed... this is a no-brainer as units are not allowed to change locations anyway!

North Ridge (Rows V-GG)

Wire            15BB4, 15EE5, 15FF5, 15GG6

15X3            1S Foxhole, LMG 457 

15Y6   HIP   75mm ART 228 (CA: X5/X6)

15Z4   HIP   75mm ART 228 (CA: Y4/Y5)

            The loss of the 82mm MTR last game is really hurting me, I would have gladly swapped a 75mm ART to get it back! Otherwise it is looking good over here, I still command the high ground and that means the ART here can sit and just fire away until they finally hit something or the tubes melt. He would have to be pretty bold to attempt to re-attack this hill, there are a lot of forces for him to pass first, but I have to be prepared for the eventuality, I might send a few units here just in case.

South Ridge (Rows A-S)   

Wire                  15A3, 15B3, 15C3, 15D2, 15G2, 15S1

15C4                 1S Foxhole, 457

15F2                 1S Foxhole, LMG 457

15F3                 Trench, 3x 457, LMG, 8-0 Field Phone (HIP), Pillbox (CA: F2,/G3), 237

15G3                 1S Foxhole

15H1                 DC (b)

15I2                   1S Foxhole

15J4                  1S Foxhole

15L3                  Trench, MMG 228, LMG 457,  8-1, Pillbox (CA: F2,/G3)

15L4                  Trench

15M5                 Trench

15N4                 Trench, 457 HMG MMG, 9-1, Pillbox (CA: F2,/G3)

15N5                 Trench, 237, 6+1

15Q4                 1S Foxhole,60mm MTR 237 

15Q8                 237 LMG

15R4                 1S Foxhole

15R5                 1S Foxhole

15S5                 1S Foxhole

44GG4              Pre-Reg Hex    -    70mm OBA Pre-Reg hex

            I was really lucky to survive Murray's massive attack on the 'Saddle' of the Southern Peaks (15 I2-G3); the losses he suffered there have set me up for the CG win as well as ensuring I still hold the advantage through terrain. I have not been able to tinker with my defences very much at all though, the ferocity of his attack on the 'Saddle' and then on the 15C4 foxhole meant I was juggling units just to hold him off. The vast majority of my reinforcements will be coming straight up to the peaks to bolster my positions.

            Currently I am most concerned about the 15C4 foxhole, it is supported by the 15F3 bunker complex and is all i have holding him out of the village, thus it will need support ASAP.

The Barracks and Plains

44S6                 1S Foxhole, 60mm MTR 458

44S7(0)             ATR 248, MMG 458, 8-1

44S7(1)             7-0

44S8                 458 HMG, 248 MMG, 8-1

44R3                 1S Foxhole,  LMG 458, Hero

44P 7    HIP      25LL AT 228  (CA: Q7/Q8)

44P8                 1S Foxhole

44T0                 1S Foxhole

44U2                 1S Foxhole,  LMG(b) 458, Hero

44X1                 2x 458

            My position on the plains and around The Barracks is quite strong with most of the gaps sealed off nicely. He is literally going to have run the gauntlet if he wants to send units to the Northern battles. Even if he wants to attack the Hill he is vulnerable to fire from multiple locations.

Kafr Badda

            I am still not in a strong position over here and could possibly be in big trouble should the Allied forces attempt to attack in force. However, if they do attempt to force the issue over here they will leave their Location VP unguarded which will give me a chance to re-take them. Due to the terrible losses they suffered in the last game it is only their total control of the Bridge and Buildings here that is keeping them in the game.

            As he did not manage to send any reinforcements across to this part of the battle, and since I now have a massive superiority in terms of AFV I will send an AFV out to sit back and take pot-shots at his Bridge defenders. I shall be receiving some more AFV support here this game with the units entering thanks to a dr-driven entry turn.

North of The Bridge (33R8)

11I7                 AMD 50

11M7               AMD 80

11O7               237

                My position is not strong enough here for me to consider attacking. His ATR are good enough to hurt me should he hit and the terrain is such that I cannot get out of their range even if I attempt to just sit back and shoot. My position here is purely defensive.

The Artillery Park Plateau

            All ART must face to the SW; they cannot move nor can they change CA.

            Crews must man ART whenever possible and may not voluntarily leave the ART.

11T7                   AMD 20

11U8                  51mm MTR (b)

11W6      HIP     155mm ART 228

11X3                  155mm ART 228

11Z7                   AMD 20 9-1AL, 1S Foxhole, 457 HMG, 8-1

11AA2                457, 8-1

11AA8                155mm ART 228

11BB0               Wreck - unscrounged

11BB6               AMD 80, 1S Foxhole

11CC4               155mm ART - Allied Controlled but unmanned

11DD3                228, 1S Foxhole

11DD6                AMD 50

            My position here is strong, but only in defence. I have to use each available unit to try and plug any places where he can infiltrate my line. With the units he sent from the Southern Map being wiped out in the very last Phase of the last game i am now free to put my attention on the Bridge defenders. I am not strong enough to take them on in a front-up battle but can afford to sit back and hammer away at the edges.

            Neither of us is in a position to force the issue here... not yet anyway...

Allied Setup

            It is really going to be hard for him to exert much of an influence on this game prior to the entry of my own reinforcements, he got gutted in the last game and I think his choice is binary: Attack and lose, or, hold back for the night game and possibly score an unlikely but decisive victory.

Kafr Badda

            He has not got many options here either, though he can push hard against either of my positions it would expose him to counter-attack. Likewise he knows that I cannot afford to attack him either! We have really entered into a Sitzkrieg battle here and unless reinforcements come his way soon I cannot see much happening over here at all.

All his men are all on Map 33

I10        DC 648

N10     1S Foxhole, 648

P8        HMG(f) 338

Q7        MMG(f), 1S Foxhole

S9        1S Foxhole, 2x 338, LMG, ATR, 9-2

Litani River and Ridge

            He has essentially not expanded his setup area much from the beginning of the last game. The biggest threat he is likely to pose will be by attacking around the Southern Peak of the Litani Ridge over my 15C4 foxhole. However, due to last games losses his forces are too spread out to attempt any serious attack, and due to the Wire I had wisely placed right at the start of the CG he is still going to take a lot of damage should he attempt to attack with what little he has got. If I was him I would just build up and wait for the Night game... he needs a stunning victory, not a minor one, and he can not afford to take any more losses now.

North of the River

15C2        1S Foxhole, 457, 9-1

44FF0      51mm MTR (no SMOKE)

44FF1      1S Foxhole, 2x ATR 457

44EE3      338, 247, 6+1

44EE4      1S Foxhole, 51mm MTR 648

44DD3     1S Foxhole, 648

44CC3     1S Foxhole, 648

44CC4      MMG(b)

South of the River

44DD7     1S Foxhole, 51mm MTR (no SMOKE)

44FF6      1S Foxhole, 648

44FF8      1S Foxhole,248, 8-0

Plans

            The Battle is firmly in my hands now, I cannot see him clawing back from here... though, I have lost from better positions in the past, and let us not forget that luck was totally on my side last game...

            I shall be attempting to chip away at his edges... I want to set up enough of a buffer zone to slow down any movements he might make in the Night game, and I want the ability to be able to support my men down on the flats at the base of the Litani ridge should he attempt to isolate and eliminate them. His AFV start to come on in the next game and I cannot afford to let them get way without loss - each one killed is a big CVP bonus, and they are necessary for him to complete a part of the VC.

           The on-board guys take tentative advances, all of them move with AM. Then the men from off-board enter and they are met with 60mm MTR fire from the very effective Barracks MTR - this hits the huge moving stack and breaks 2x 8-1 and a HS; the 10-2 leader in this stack and 2x HS and a Squad all pass. The next off-board stack enters through the 2FP MTR RF and also takes a NMC; the 9-1 leading the stack becomes Heroic off of a HOB result and a HS also gets HOB and Hardens to an Elite while also creating a Hero, a single 458 breaks. However the biggest danger now is that he has overstacked men right in my Pre-Registered OBA hex and the OBA is available and falls on target! The results are devastating; the guys in the ferry are smashed by the OBA and then shattered by the loss of their 10-2 leader who fell victim to a Wound. The units overstacked in the Woods are much better off as the OBA falls slightly off-target, they suffer a few losses and a 8-1 is Wounded . This first turn is a disaster for the Allies, their attempt to bolster their weak position on the North bank of the Litani river has ended in disaster as they have lost 10more CVP and the best leader available to them.