[Imp]

Quiet game so far so summary of my path to the current balls up.
SF> Alls fine here they are poised to move to level 2 of Pos AA Local, 3 MkIIIs supporting broke cover a while back & are nearly with them. ATGs loaded up & are on the way to as are the mortars that have just set out. They have lost 2-3 men can see a routed squad & have killed 2 Vickers HMG & 2 ATR.
MF> Strange one this all was fine while we stuck to the plan but a minor deviation has lead to total disaster, this was about as long as any plan has ever lasted as it turns out I was amazingly lucky.
Half the force hides while rest progressed behind the smoke between the North Pos AA Loc & the olive groves (orchard). As the smoke clears tanks exchanged ineffectual shots before managing to enter little valley & move behind the ridge line for cover. bit of thought needed here due to soft sand but we move onto the hill & take out 2 Vals for 2 men, a good trade. Then we move on finally finding the other 2Pdr, it dies along with the other 2 Vals & the area is clear. A MkII was damaged in the exchange & artys getting heavier finally accounting for a few men stationary 231 destroyed HT & a few trucks all told.
This part of the force is to head SE round & over the hill.
The rest of the MF now breaks cover to go NE round the hill following the train track, it takes fire from A25Pdr at range which misses & those SIGs direct fire some smoke to cover. This force is currently working its way down the railway & level1 part of the hill with troops out front looking for that gun. Mine clearers are here as we have not hit any yet.

Now it all goes tits up & the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of my HQ, The tanks he was shadowing raced on while he plodded forward to find himself facing a squad 200m away. He is not detected so sits & waits turning his range down. This squad is a few 100m South of the olive grove but towards the West end of it, well back from my force. On reflection HQ should have backtracked but things are easy with hindsight my force after all is just coming round the hill.
Find a squad on the corner of the hill & take him out then we deviate from the plan deciding to head back to our lines. I expect that squad to have company & Mr HQ should spot any firers so we move out. Turns out there are 6 of them so far one off by himself to the South another mid way & 4 in a group by my HQ, one with an ATR. Attacking dug in units at range is never a sensible option you will lose & we do indeed lose a few men getting into position but HTs are ready to mount an offensive that should get half of them.
Well that was the idea but we are sitting in a minefield & going nowhere, the mineclearers are going north & worst of all I had avoided this driving into it on the way back to my lines. I can't now abort as have to see what my vehicles are sitting on, I take heavy loses to his fire & a few to troops that discover vehicles are on mines. Moving into mine hexes while under fire does not seem to be a good tactic, someone will become vertically challenged & launch himself skyward, chucking smoke grenades to cover, the first real exchange & boy did we mess up.