PP4: Peak Hour at the Golf-Hotel
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FireGroup '97 tournament ratings:
Balance: N/A Excitement: N/A Analysis author's ratings: Balance: Even Excitement: High Attraction: No comments provided |
 Playing time : 5 hrs |
Introduction
Seemingly a quiet little scenario, "Peak Hour at the Golf Hotel" is in fact a raging bloodbath. A German company, composed of poor-quality troops but well entrenched, undergoes a combined-arms assault from the 1st Free French Division.
Free French side
French Disadvantages: Difficult mission, very limited time.
The French task is arduous. They must control building M5 (28 Locations) and find the tunnel exit in five turns.
If you like heavy Prep Fire, enjoy smelling the powder of your Guns, or hearing the cadence of your MGs then play the Germans. Speed is essential for the Free French. It is the key to victory. Movement is your most powerful weapon [EXC: the FT] so KEEP MOVING! Use the sparse cover and all the tools given to you (Sappers, OBA, Smoke, sD, etc) to obscure your movement and to decrease the effectiveness of enemy fire.
Use your OBA from the beginning to blind building M5 and all the nasty stuff that’s bound to be inside. Try to reach it as soon as possible. Keeping that in mind, deploy constantly. Start with the two squads you get for free during setup. Deploy again in the RPh as much as possible (you have four good leaders for this task). From the first turn on, use every MPh to close in on M5. Force the German player to choose between firing on a HS and revealing himself or letting this HS find a minefield or a still-hidden ATG. When his concealment is gone, it should be difficult for him to regain it and, with your firepower and his low ELR, the advantage will shift to your side. Swoop into M5. Use Smoke to hide your moves. Enter CC, take prisoners, and interrogate them! You will take casualties, but the limit on time leaves no choice but to rush, and you must not be over-cautious. Although real combat is very different, in this kind of scenario your first priority isn’t troop conservation. So avoid shooting, move your infantry until they can look the Germans right in the eyes, then shoot to kill!
German side
German Disadvantages: Poor-quality troops (ELR 2), constricted terrain with limited LOS/LOF.
At first sight, the German strategy is simple. He should slow down the French, trading terrain for time. His initial setup should not reveal where his strongpoints are, and all his units should be concealed. He should also take maximum advantage of his HIP capabilities (Fortifications, two squads plus SWs, and the ATGs.)
Let’s take a closer look at this setup. The Free French player MUST capture building M5, as well as the tunnel exit. This exit should therefore be chosen carefully, even though the options are limited. K8 is an inviting Location (TEM +3) but will not hold out long against the reinforcements entering between I10 and M10. Personally, I would place the tunnel exit in a lower TEM Location, while using the Wire to isolate the initial French setup force. To accomplish this, I would place Wire in J0-J2-H3-H8-K10, with J9 apparently free but mined. Building J8 should be garrisoned and also (naturally) mined.
The tunnel exit could then be placed in K4, O4, or if the German player wants to gamble, in M1. This exit hex should, in any case, be covered by plenty of firepower. A HIP squad and LMG (MMG if the terrain offers some FL possibilities) could be placed nearby. Exchanging some AP mines for AT mines would probably not be a good trade, since all roads are paved and there aren’t any obvious choke-points suitable for mining.
Personally, I also like to put the 9-2 with an HMG on Level 3 of building M5, in N3 or M5. Sure, the Free French OBA might break it or lay enough Smoke to badly reduce its field of fire, but nothing is certain, and from this position the HMG will do the most to slow down the French advance.
As for the Pak 40 ATGs, one of them must cover hex W9, since French Halftracks that want to enter the walled enclosure have to pass through there. Although very predictable, N4 is a good location.
Finally, considering the German troops’ low ELR, avoid fighting for as long as possible and engage the enemy only when you can really expect to slow down the French advance.
Did you ever win a scenario by revealing a HIP squad, on the last turn, in a building that the enemy had just gone to a great deal of effort to capture with FTs and DCs? You should consider this tactic, although the German can’t deploy by SSR and so would have to sacrifice a full squad for this task. These lurkers could be placed somewhere on the third floor of building M5.
The following is one possible setup for a portion of the German OB (all of these units should set up HIP/concealed):
There are many possible Locations for the second Pak40. I would try to stay HIP as long as possible. Stay away from M5. One of the small woods hexes would be perfect (e.g., S5 or U6).
Inside the hotel, avoid stacking. Except for the 9-2 - which you’ll want to stack with a squad/HMG or a crew/HMG - spread your troops out as much as possible.
Conclusion
By the way, some points to note about this scenario:
