by Keith Tracton, 28 September 2025
Our battle rages on, with the French holding firm and the German reinforcements arriving in the fight. You can read part one here.
As turn four commences, German infantry stream onto the map, rushing down a path that their tanks had, well, not cleared AT ALL.
click images to enlarge
The French continue to engage new targets. German infantry advance towards the anti-tank guns, wisely utilizing available cover from the orchards in the center of the map.
The French tanks on the right flank continue their slow repositioning. The French anti-tank guns, however, cannot yet engage the German infantry halftracks due to a blocked line of sight from nearby woods and an orchard, forcing them to await a German sprint.
Simultaneously, German tanks move parallel on the road, successfully bypassing French tanks after mortars deploy a dense smoke screen in front of them. In the confusion, some Panzer IVDs accidentally mix in with the halftracks, unable to maintain the faster pace. French tanks and armored cars continue to unleash fire, as do the German mortars from their corner position.
At this stage, casualties significantly favor the French, having destroyed three Panzer IICs and one Panzer IVD, while only losing one anti-tank gun. An AMD45 on the surface looks like a mismatch for a Panzer IVD but at distance, from a hill and hitting the flank, the IVD needs to respond!
The French armored cars are kings of the hill after having killed one tank and knocked out two others on the commanding hill. Later in the engagement, another German tank is bailed out by the tenacious French tanks in the center. The two armored cars continue to inflict substantial damage.
With the French left flank now under increasing pressure, their anti-tank guns wisely rotate their positions to target the thin-skinned transports that are passing directly in front of them.
As the Germans press their move, their infantry suddenly run smack into the French S35 tanks that were repositioning from the right flank.
The center of the battlefield becomes a chaotic “mess” for the Germans, with damaged, bailed-out, tracked, and knocked-out units strewn across the area. A German machine gun team is forced to bail out of a halftrack. Despite being bypassed, the French forces in the center and forward areas remain largely intact and have inflicted considerable casualties.
The German HQ contemplates repositioning to support its beleaguered forward platoons.
One French anti-tank gun is suppressed, and the fierce fight continues in the center.
German casualties mount further, with halftracks and infantry falling. The French also suffer losses, including additional tanks and another anti-tank gun.
To facilitate their bypass, the Germans lay down suppressive fire on the anti-tank guns. Subsequently, halftracks barrel through the S35s and directly assault one, pitting their 37mm guns against the French tanks’ smaller weapons.
Oh my! The German assault path strewn with wreckage of bailed out halftracks and destroyed tanks.
As the engagement continues, the French armored cars maintain their dominance, remaining “king of the hill” throughout the brutal clash.
With 15 turns in this scenario, a lot has already happened by turn 7. I quickly reviewed the victory conditions to assess each side’s position at this halfway point:
Despite German success in flanking French anti-tank guns with Panzer IICs and advancing grenadiers past slow French tanks, the casualties they inflicted on the French were minimal, and the points they would receive for exiting units was just not enough, as they eliminated only a few French tanks and anti-tank guns for very few points. Conversely, the French inflicted significant losses, destroying four Panzer IICs, five heavier Panzer IVDs, and a company’s worth of German half-tracks and infantry. This resulted in the French amassing over 500 points compared to the Germans’ approximately 350, leading to me declaring a French victory due to their numerical superiority in remaining units.
I have been playing the Panzer (WWII), MBT (fictional WWIII), and IDF (Arab-Israeli 1956-73 wars) system since the first pore-cursor editions of 88 and Armor were released by Yaquinto in the early to late 1980s. This system has consistently delivered a fast, enjoyable, and sufficiently detailed gameplay experience, to my mind. I hope you enjoy it too!
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