Fields of Fire: Normandy Campaign - Mission 1 - Turn 1

On Turn 1, in an Offensive Mission, I can skip ahead to the Friendly Command Phase because HQ Higher Event is skipped and Defensive Mission is not used.

Friendly Command Phase

Activation Segment

• BN HQ Impulse - Not on the map, so CO HQ is activated automatically.
• CO HQ Impulse - Draw a 3/2 card. -1 for Green, +1 for No Contact = 3 Activations. 1 used to activate 1st PLT, one to Activate 2nd PLT. 1 is saved.
  
• 1st PLT HQ - Draw a 3/2 card. -1 for Green, +1 for No Contact = 3 Activations.
• 2nd PLT HQ - - Draw a 2/1 card. -1 for Green, +1 for No Contact = 2 Activations.

That gives me what I need to accomplish my main Turn 1 goals:

• 1st PLT: 1/1st Plt to the Village (R1C2) & marked as Exposed.
• 1st PLT: 2/1st Plt to Orchard (R1C3 - in front of AP) & marked as Exposed.
• 1st PLT: Save 1 Command.
• 2nd PLT: 1/2nd Plt to Woods (R1C4) & marked as Exposed.
• 2nd PLT: Save 1 Command.

Initiative Segment

• 3rd PLT: 1/0 - No Actions.
• XO: 1 Activation (saved)
• 1st SGT: 1 Activation (saved)
• General Initiative: 5/4! That's a really nice result which will allow me to have all 3 units seek cover.

General Initiative Orders:

• 1/1st Plt Seeks Cover in the village. He draws 4 cards, but none of them provide cover. Unfortunate, as finding cover in the Village is central to the overall plan and this could delay that effort.
• 1/2nd Plt Seeks Cover in the Woods. He also draws 4 cards. One of these cards is the reshuffle card, and the 4th card finally provides cover, so he gets a +1 Cover marker.
• With 2 activations left, I decide to take a risk and push 3/1st Plt forward to the Village and have him seek cover, instead of having 2/1st Plt seek cover. He finds cover, and a subsequent draw reveals a "3" in the 5 column, which means he finds the all-important Strong Building, plus an Upper Story. 3/1st Plt goes under the strong building cover.

This may allow me to push the HMG forward into the Upper story next turn, providing a strong base of fire.

Offensive Mission: Enemy Activity Phase

There is no Higher HQ Event Segment on Turn 1 and no enemy units are on the board (yet) so this Phase is skipped.


Mutual Capture & Retreat Phase

No one meets the criteria yet, so this is skipped.


Mutual Vehicle-Aircraft Phase

The Jeep was not activated, so this is skipped.


Mutual Combat Phase

There are no Fire Missions to Update, so this is skipped.

Now we'll see how much I end up (or rather how much 2/1st Plt ends up) regretting the decision to deny them a chance to seek cover.

Evaluate Potential Contact Markers
I draw randomly to determine which card to evaluate first, and it turns out to be the Woods (R1C4). I will again draw randomly to determine the second card to evaluate after determining any contact on the first card.

Woods (R1C4) Contact

• Potential Contact C (4 cards at "No Contact") - The first card leads to contact (all 4 are still drawn, however).
• Next I determine what I have found by drawing randomly from 10, and I get a 10 which under Potential Contact C is a HMG Nest!
• That turns out to be Squad / HMG Team under Foxholes, according to the Force Package Table.
• I deal with the Squad first, drawing randomly from the available German forces to get the 1/1 Plt, which is an A/L Squad. The Unit Placement draw is 10, which indicates Right Front at Max LOS. This forces me to extend the map past the Right Boundary. I draw an Orchard/Grove and place it at R2C5 and put the Squad under Foxholes (the scenario default is trenches, but the Force Package Table says Foxholes).
• Next I deal with the 1st HMG Team. The Unit Placement draw is 1 which is "Per Package Table Placement" which is "At Max LOS". The hedgerow to the front of US 1/2nd Plt has white borders on the near and far sides, meaning LOS extends to Row 3, so the HMG is placed in the Woods (R3C4) under Foxholes.
• Both German units place a VOF on the card with US 1/2nd Plt, per the Force Package Table. An "H" VOF is placed on the Wood Card, since the HMG has the best VOF.
• A crossfire VOF is placed as well, since there are two PDFs into the Woods.
  
• Since both German units are also spotted when they enter, the US Unit also opens fire, on the Squad (because they are closest). An "S" VOF is placed on that card (R2C5).
• PDFs are placed, with the main effect being that the HMG firing through the Hedgerow (R2C4) clears the PC marker from that card. Thank goodness for small favors.
• Also added both German units to the Mission Log.
  
• Finally, changed Contact Level to Engaged!, since 2 cards have VOF markers.

Orchard/Grove (R1C3) Contact

• Potential Contact C (2 cards at "Engaged!") - No contact found

Village (R1C2) Contact

• Potential Contact C (2 cards at "Engaged!") - No contact found.

My decision to push forward 3/1st Plt to find cover in the Village does not lead to disaster, although 1/2nd Plt has enough trouble on its hands to make up for any luck I had!

Combat Effects Segment

To keep things simple, I will resolve left to right and top to bottom.

• US 1/2nd Plt in Woods (R1C4) - H VOF is -3; -2 for Exposed; -1 for Crossfire; +2 for Card; +1 for Cover. Final Modifier is -3. Result is PIN, so 1/2nd Plt is Pinned.
  
• German 1/1 Plt in Orchard (R2C5) - S VOF is 0; +1 for Card; +1 for Foxholes. Final Modifier is +2. Result is PIN, so 1/1 Plt is Pinned.

I change the VOF on R2C5 to All Pinned (+2) as a result.

I reduce German 1/1 Plt and HMG Ammo by 1.

Clean Up Phase

All of the Exposed Markers are removed.

All in all, pretty lucky beginning, especially Combat Effects for the US 1/2nd Plt!