AAR: The Gingerbread Men (BdF 6) by Robert Delwood

The Gingerbread Men was my first scenario with Parker's Crossroads. As the Germans, I lost and lost overwhelmingly. The game sets the defending 9 1/2 SS squads against five Shermans and 10 American 747 paradrop units. To win, the Americans must get 35 CVPs off the south edge. A clever player will notice that Shermans alone are worth the 35 VPs, so obviously at least one of them has to be taken out with only two PSKs available. If the Shermans can stay in the open, and there is plenty of that, they stand an excellent chance of surviving.

The Germans have to play an up front defense. The roadblock needs to be placed at the very northern edge of the board. Since the AFVs may only enter along this road, they will be stopped for two turns. Train the HMG, MMG and 9-1 on this roadblock and fire at anything that moves. The American Sappers will have to clear the roadblock while under fire. The snow and gusty winds prohibit any use of smoke. Likewise, the PSKs need to be positions to fire at AFVs as they pass through the choke point.

I state these tactics in a purely hypothetical case since I did none of these. I played back, willing to react to the American assault rather that force it. My tactics were debatable to be sure but my die rolling was not. Of 10 MCs my elite eight-morale troops experienced, only one passed; two resulted in pins, the rest were broken. Two of the three leaders were wounded although the dice deities spared them from an instant death for some reason. At the same time, the Americans broke only twice during the brief fire fight. One hero was created. My sniper managed to pin two squads but the results had no real impact.

So I lost the game because of bad die rolling? Absolutely not. Keith played an excellent game, chose his strategy well and made few mistakes. A very methodical player, he executed a fine assault. The attack was separated into three groups. The AFVs stayed in the middle and fired at anything they could before exiting. The main assault force came down the middle of the woods, engaging the awaiting SS for what should have been an intense fight: the superior American firepower versus the elite morale German troops. A small flanking force on the German right sought to sweep behind the Germans, with the option of simply exiting six VPs if needed. The entire assault stretched the German line to a breaking point. Clearly the Americans maneuvered themselves in to a winning position well before the fire fight begun in earnest. Even as it was however, the Americans won on turn five with only a single turn remaining in the scenario.

What I would do differently next time? As stated earlier the roadblock needs to go at the very northern road hex and firepower needs to be trained it, remembering to use Boresighting. After that, it is hard to say. The Germans have to cover the entire board edge equally and respond to the American thrust. If a flank is left under-defended, the Americans will just flood that one area. If the AFVs ever break past the roadblock, they can close off any lateral German movement. For that reason, the Americans can expect to only have to fight half the German force. The other half will be stranded on the other side of the battle field. I had to resort to firing my HMG at the Sherman's side, hoping for a CH - a threat so insignificant, none of the Shermans ever actually fired back. The most exciting part of the game from me was near the end when I charged three squads and a leader across the open at a cluster of three tanks and successfully engaged in CC but to no result. The AFVs merely drove off without as much as a PF shot.

The Americans on the other hand are on an extremely tight timetable and barely have the time to exit troops off the south edge. They cannot be slowed at all. The AFVs must get past the roadblock; clearly the majority of the exit VPs will be from the tanks and only one can be lost during the battle. The interior woods, however, provide an excellent opportunity to move large stacks with leader assistance and the units should always remain concealed. The deep snow penalties do not apply. When hitting the German line, advance or assault move adjacent to take you lumps. You will be fired on while concealed and surviving units will most like will face unconcealed units.