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			  | vonB ->  Uber Stugs...  (7/30/2010 2:08:18 AM) |  
			  | Well, everything hinged on a Church where my home VL was.  I knew the enemy would come at me from one direction or another (most likely from where his VL's were), so I thought I'd lay on a little surprise for him!
 
 3 Shermans behind the Church on defend.  As they enemy armour came round either side, he should run into a rain of AP, and a couple of heavy teams to close in and wreak havoc once the fun started!
 
 Well it was a cunning plan.  So I thought... From behind a hedge line a Stug III ground into view.  Wham!  Up went my first Sherman. [:(] Wham!  Up went my second Sherman.  [X(] The other Sherman did not have LOS (too far behind the church away from the Stug), so I tried to distract the Stug (now joined by a PzKw IV) with the infantry while I manouevered the Sherman to get in a shot.  Even if I could just immobilise the sucker, the infantry would have a fair chance of finishing it off.  Wham!  Up went the third Sherman.  [:o] [:@] FFS!  Bloody Wittman in that Stug or what?!!!  This was getting to be a bit of a mess!
 
 The Stug and the Pzkw IV started to track through the hedge, and this was their mistake, as it bogged them down to a crawl.  With a massive smoke screen (some of it provided by the enemy themselves) 2 heavy teams got in close and took them both out.  What was that about 'preserving' my armour? [&:]
 
 Then another PzKw IV hove into view around the other side of the Church going for the VL.  Fortunately I had one more Sherman (Command) which had been babysitting the AT Gun which the enemy had so kindly managed to avoid LOS with.  How inconvenient!  [8|] So with a couple of heavy infantry teams they dashed across the field towards a hedge line beside the church.  Hopefully I could spring a surprise on the Pz IV as it was pre-occupied with the goings on around the church.  The hedge line was only 15 or 20 metres from the church.  If I could get the first shot in from the side or rear, I could maybe swing the balance back a bit.  Wham!  Up went the Command Sherman.  Bugger! went my vocabulary.  Ok, see how you like being assaulted from 2 different directions at the same time as the infantry zeroed in on the Pz IV, and with a huge sigh of relief, up it went.
 
 With the enemy armour neutralised (at some cost!), my superiority in infantry is now telling.  Suppported by 2 Half Track Mortars and a Quad 50 Cal AA, the air was rent with the screams of Schutzen getting theirs.  Their advance petered out, and I launched the assaults from several directions, and they broke.
 
 Moral of the story?  Don't put your armour in front of Uber Stugs! [;)]
 
 One oddity to report:
 
 The 'Refit' (upgrade) option for the M3HT Mortar is the Medium Tank M4A1(75).  Something needs tweaking.
 
 p.s. I got my own back in the next battle.  AT gun (now upgraded to 90mm) took out a Pz IV at long range.  The FO took out another Stug III, Shermans despatched a Pz III and Pz IV, and a heavy team whacked the last Stug.  Ain't payback sweet!  With heavy teams supported by armour and merciless mortar fires, Fritz turned tail and ran. [:)] [:D] [8D]
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