Turn 12
Turn 12 goes to the AI. The king of battle finally showed up, primarily targeting the Northern flank guard. It was the heavy stuff, 5.5in. They got one StuG and one recon track. No crew survivors
. Time for the remaining two StuGs and recon tracks to shift. The only good thing that came out of that artillery is some was short and probably hit some hidden infantry as well. It's small consolation, however.
There are now two Valentine IIIs heading toward the gaps between hills 1 and 2. I'm moving one platoon of my tank reserve toward that gap, just in case. This platoon is short two tanks damaged in during the enemy prep fire. There are still four Valentine IXs and two Valentine IIIs heading toward the gap between hills 2 and 3, but tank platoon I withdrew earlier is there. Most of my reserves have been deployed, but the tanks around hills 1 and 2 should be able to return shortly. One battery of 25pdrs also hit the Southern part if hill 2.
The StuG ambush at hill 3 got the last Valentine IX in this area. Small arms got three truck mounted 6pdrs, also. That leaves a few Valentine IIIs and infantry. My artillery hit the infantry near hill 3 and the infantry close to the Southern flank guard.
Some of my scouts in quiet locations have managed to push through and will post near enemy controlled victory hexes. Once the enemy attacks are broken, my units will advance forward. My estimates on enemy strength before the battle seem to be close, but I still feel there should be more enemy tanks.
I've attached a zip file with zoomed out screen prints of the three primary battle locations. Sorry if they are a bit difficult to see, but they had to be zoomed out to see the action in the area. There are a lot of enemy infantry units not visible on the maps due to smoke, low visibility and hiding behind hills, unless I did more damage than I know.
The action is done for the night
Casualties
Friendly: One SdKfz 250/8, one StuG IIIf, estimated 5 infantry casualties.
Enemy: One Valentine IX tank, three truck mounted 6pdrs destroyed, estimated 15 infantry casualties.