Fields of Fire: Normandy Campaign - Mission 1 - Turn 3

HQ Higher Event

No HQ symbol is found on the Action Card, so no Event occurs.

Friendly Command Phase

Activation Segment

• BN HQ Impulse - Not on the map, so CO HQ is activated automatically.
• CO HQ Impulse - Draw a 5/3 card. -1 for Green, = 4 Activations. Activate 1st & 2nd PLT, and also order 1 Wpns forward.
• 1st PLT HQ - Draw a 3/1 card. -1 for Green, = 2 Activations.
• 2nd PLT HQ - Draw a 4/3 card. -1 for Green, = 3 Activations.

I feel like I am in a bit of a pickle right now, with no really good places to move. 2nd Platoon is bottled up and will need to engage with the German 1/1st. I could wait for that unit to come off board, but then I feel like I will be wasting too much time. So I will push forward to the AP and then bring on the 2nd Platoon to see if I can catch the German 1/1st in a crossfire.

The unit in the Cemetery needs to stay there and tough it out. He has good modifiers, so he might be able to survive for a while. If I can get the Pinned marker removed, he can be used for spotting the two hidden units which have him in a cross-fire.

Activation Segment - Orders:

• 1st PLT: 1st Plt HQ moves to the cover of the Strong Building and is marked as Exposed. Now 3/st is in Communication and can be moved.
• 1st PLT: 3/1st Plt moves to the AP (R2C3) & is marked as Exposed. That brings him into view of the German in R3C4, so both of them open fire on each other. Activity Level moves to Engaged.
• 2nd PLT: 2/2nd moves to the Woods (R1C4). Exposed, but under cover. He also places a PDF on R2C3, adding crossfire marker. VOF stays the same since 2/2nd is also "S"
• 2nd PLT: 2Wpns moves to the Woods (R1C4). Exposed, but under cover. His presence changes the VOF on R2C3 to "A".
• 2nd PLT: Save 1 Command.

Initiative Segment

• 3rd PLT HQ: 3/1 - Draw a 3/1 card. -1 for Green, = 0 Activations.
• XO: 1 Activation (saved)
• 1st SGT: 1 Activation (saved)
• General Initiative: 3/2 = 2 Activations.

General Initiative Orders:

• 3/1st Plt Seeks Cover in AP Hedgerows atop the Hills. He draws 4 cards, and finds cover under a +1 marker.
• 2/1st Plt attempts to spot the unit firing from the Orchard (R3C1). He draws 2 cards (unmodified since he is Line) the second of which contains a cross hairs, which enables him to spot the unit. An "All Pinned" VOF is placed on the Orchard, coming from the Cemetery. The Units in the Orchard themselves do not open fire, since they would be firing through one of their own units.

Offensive Mission: Higher HQ Event

No HQ Event card is drawn, so no effect.


Offensive Mission: Enemy Activity Phase

• German 1/2nd Plt (R3C1): He is trading fire with a unit in the Cemetery that has a worse VOF, and his card draw indicates that he will attempt to concentrate fire. He draws 2 cards, and succeeds at finding a target marker so a Concentrate Fire marker is placed.
• German 1/1st Plt (R3C4): This unit is under fire from a PDF that is not his own, but draws a "1" so he takes no action and keeps firing at the AP.
• German 1/3rd Plt (R4C4): He has opened fire, but is not under fire, so he attempts to concentrate fire, unsuccessfully.

Mutual Capture & Retreat Phase

No one meets the criteria, so this is skipped.


Mutual Vehicle-Aircraft Phase

The Jeep was not activated, so this is skipped.


Mutual Combat Phase


Update Fire Missions

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


Evaluate Potential Contact Markers


Hedgerow/Bocage (R2C3) Contact

• Potential Contact A (5 cards at "Engaged") - 4 cards are drawn with no contact. The 5th card forces a Reshuffle. After reshuffling, the 5th card forces another Reshuffle (the game is taunting me and trying to build suspense)! The 5th card finally results in...no Contact.

Combat Effects Segment

Quite a bit of Combat going on this turn. Resolving from lower left to upper right.

• US 1/1st Plt in Cemetery (R2C2) - A VOF is -1; -1 for Concentrated Fire; -1 for Crossfire; +1 for Card; +3 for Cover. Final Modifier is +1. The result is a Miss. The Pinned marker is removed.
• US Fire Team in Cemetery (R2C2) - A VOF is -1; -1 for Concentrated Fire; -1 for Crossfire; +1 for Card; +3 for Cover. Final Modifier is +1. The result is a Miss. The Pinned marker is removed.
• US 3/1st in Hedgerow (R2C3) - A VOF is -1; -2 for Exposed; -1 for Crossfire; +2 for Card; +1 for Cover. Final Modifier is -1. The result is a PIN. A Pinned marker is added.
• German 1/2nd in Orchard/Grove (R3C1) - All Pinned VOF is +2; +1 for Card; +2 for Cover. Final Modifier is +5. The result is a MISS.
• German 1/1st in Woods (R3C3) - A VOF is -1; -1 for Crossfire; +2 for Card; +1 for Cover. Final Modifier is +1. The result is a HIT. The result under Line is PF, so the unit is eliminated and an A/C Fire Team put in its place. Another Fire Team (S/C) and a Paralyzed Team are also put onto the card. All of these units are Pinned.

I reduce Ammo for the US 2/Wpns (to 3) and the German 1/1st (to 4) . The German 1/2nd Plt Ammo is reduced by 2 (to 3) because it Concentrated Fire.


Clean Up Phase

All of the Exposed Markers are removed. I adjust the VOF on the AP (R2C3) to All Pinned, since all of the German LATs in the Woods are now Pinned. I also adjust the VOF on the Orchard (R3C1) to "S" because the US units in the Cemetery are no longer Pinned.


Conclusion

So far, I feel like the US has been exceedingly lucky, frankly.

Hopefully next turn I can push forward to the AP, plus get some spotting done.

The decimated German unit in the Woods on our right (R3C4) will allow me to get 2nd Platoon moving forward again, and I may even look to push 3rd Platoon forward, finally.

I want to bring my Artillery and Mortar into the action, but am having trouble finding a vantage point for doing that.