Reports are confusing ( mostly because yours truly has forgotten huge chunks of what actually happened) but it appears Britainian Steam Armour units and infantry supported by motorised artillery have wrested control of the vitally important town of Anthracillia from the Teutonians thus depriving the Teutonians of a source of Anthracillium* (See footnote)
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| Anthracillia |
Looking South to North, the towns main objective, the Manufactorium, is located in the centre of the town. The town itself consists of a number of bombed out buildings and a cemetery. Hardly somewhere to have your holidays but..
Other key terrain features are a number of small woods, a peach orchard and a river.
The Teutonians, including a unit of Vostroyan Mercenaries, hold the Manufactorium and a number of adjacent buildings. They are banking on the timely arrival of armoured reserves and infantry. Unfortunately for the hard pressed Teutonians their lines of communication have been the target of persistent sabotage attacks by the Voltavian Resistance so their arrival isnt guaranteed.
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| Vostroyan Mercenaries defend a building |
The Britainians on the other hand have pulled off an organizational master-stroke by amassing a powerful combined force of infantry, including the elite Welsh Guards, and a number of the very latest Valiant Class, Cruiser weight, steam tanks plus a number of towed artillery pieces manned by The Royal Artillery.
The opening moves begin with the Britainians thrusting their armour forward across the river on their left flank whilst rapidly advancing in the centre towards the protective cover of the cemeteries walls and the outlying buildings on their right flank.
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| Combined arms move up |
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| Royal Artillery |
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| Britanian forces occupy the cemetery |
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| A Valiant Class cruiser tank lays down suppressing fire |
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| The Welsh Guards advance |
The Britannian tank immediately draws fire from the Teutonian Tesla Cannon, located on the top floor of the Manufactorium, as it crests the stone bridge. Luckily its anti static armour shield does its job this time.
The Britanian infantry follow closely behind whilst the towed medium field gun unlimbers at the base of the wood with a clear line of sight to bring down suppressing fire on the Manufactorium as a unit of Gordon Highlanders ford the river aiming to outflank the Teutonians and flush out any ambushes.
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| Teutonian Tesla cannon with attendant arc generator |
Meanwhile in another part of town the Britainian's reach the sanctuary of the cemetery walls and their armour and infantry take up position amongst the buildings on their right flank.
From these positions they commence a bombardment and strafe of the Teutonian positions to soften them up prior to launching their assault.
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| Light field gun in action on the outskirts of Anthracillia |
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| An engineer carrying out emergency field repair by hitting tank with big spanner |
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| Meet your new neighbours. |
Amidst the din of battle the beleagured Teutonians hear the unmistakable clatter of tank tracks to their rear. "Ja, Ja ist Gut, Panzers" a somewhat relieved Teutoniam Commander exclaims. The Teutonian armoured reinforcements have arrived.
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| Teutonian armour moves up to support the Vostroyans |
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| Teutonian reserves rushing to reinforce beleaguered defenders |
The Teutonian tankers waste no time in seeking out the Britainian armour but some pretty uninspiring shooting sees the Britainians come through relatively unscathed. Once again the Tesla cannon fails to score a hit. In response the Britainians pepper the Manufactorium with well aimed fire and succeed in picking off two the Tesla gunners.
Things settle into a bit of a slugfest as both sides are content to whittle away at each other from cover but weight of numbers is beginning to tell on the Teutonians as one by one their numbers dwindle.
On the Britainian left flank the Highlanders come under some deadly accurate fire from a unit of Jager concealed along a hedge line whilst a fearsome Teutonic steam walkers maxim gun pours fire into them as well, effectively halting the Highlanders in the tracks and forcing them to ground with four casualties.
Some incredibly effective return fire succeeds in severing one of the walkers steering rods, forcing it to veer to the left. No doubt the Highlanders marksmanship is inspired by the skirl of Piper McNulty's pipes.
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| Highlanders caught in the open |
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| Teutonian Jager in ambush |
Another Teutonian tank emerges from the cover of the peach orchard to engage the Britanian tank but despite a direct hit fails to inflict any damage. The plucky Brit tankers are barely rattled by this and fire back hitting the Teutonians engine compartment sending acrid smoke billowing from the tank and forcing it to career back into the cover of the orchard.
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| Kaboom!! |
Another direct hit on the Tesla cannon wipes out the gunners leaving the Manufactorium minus anti tank protection. Seizing the initiative the Britanian commander orders an assault on the Manufactorium. The Brits, under the cover of a Valiant tanks machine gun, storm forward in the face of a hail of gunfire and, despite taking a couple of casualties, reach the building's imposing steel walls. Vicious hand to hand combat ensues and both sides are are practically wiped out but the heroic Teutonian defenders hang on by a thread.
On the Teutonian left flank unrelenting pressure from the enemy has depleted their numbers though the tenacious Vostroyan Mercenaries seem to be holding up well with no casualties as yet. Unfortunately they are too pinned down to be able to render any assistance to their comrades in the Manufactorium.
The Britanians, throw in another unit to assault the battered defenders of the Manufactorium with the inevitable result. The sight of the Union jack proudly fluttering atop the upper story of the building says it all. The Manufactorium is in Britanian hands. The Teutonians have suffered a major set-back.
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| The final assault |
*Anthracillium essential element in the manufacturing of armour piercing ammunition. (See Prof Arbuthnott's Metallurgical Science and Modern Warfare, Chapter 4)
Britainians celebrate the great victory.
The gent at the back reacts to the news that
it's his round next!
