Them Germans were good

[Imp]

Well those damn French may get us yet it seems they have a secret weapon.
This morning I woke to a raking chorus of coughing due to those Gauloises my men have liberated. It is probably to much to hope for them to be cursed with the same affliction which is a shame as it would give away their positions, my gut tells me going at first light may not have been the best choice as it will be harder to locate them in the half light but command is eager to press on & maintain blitzkrieg. Its to early for our planes to fly so we are on our own, still now we have a few battles under our belt most of my troops are veterans & have performed admirably thus far.
I am keeping these new tank destroyers back as a mobile reserve, while I am assured they have the firepower to dispose of these French tanks they appear somewhat fragile.
The main force is ready to move out & will head down route 91 & its general area before dismounting. Once they have engaged 2 platoons from C company supported by a tank section will head for the Northern village. The idea is once mines are found they will attack to try & draw some artillery & give my pioneers a break so we can clear a path for our advance. Our new 10Cm guns probably are not up to the task of counter battery fire so will want to get some kills.


Moving out
Well pre bombardment was a bit to close to my 155s for comfort ammos pegging it pronto. Have found a use for those big guns though as they took out some 75s straight off, that will help when it comes to mine clearing.
Main force has the pedal to the metal & storms down 91 & diagonal road then lead elements dismount, they borrowed arty trucks for the trip & they will now head back. Most of the force will stay mounted so it can respond to contact which could be soon if facing an area defence.
AA are twidling there thumbs they could do with some exp as most died last time out but are a bit vulnerable at this vis level. This could help the ATG crews who are after a few more kills this go as getting into range should be a tad easier, not a lot of hiding places mind. Pioneers are trailing main force in Hts.
It occurs to me that arty should be plotted if anything slightly in front of where I might expect contact due to vis as FOOs are riding up front at least to start with.

Proceeding on foot & frankly its all a bit to quite, perhaps they are still asleep

Well I love this game I can feel the tension 10 minutes in & no sign of them French. The morning air resounded to the sound of my 155s opening up but otherwise nothing, they left smoke signatures on first fire so maybe borrowing there transport was not so wise he has a confirmed target.
I can see to row 52 in a couple of places so it looks like the AI has decided to concentrate its defence around objectives, damn.
Have not even found a mine..... yet. They nearly always make me jump if find the hard way but not even on the roads.

[Imp]

I was just thinking at this rate my mortars will be out of range but contact at about 60,65 This is about 1.5 Km in front of central flags & just below a Km from the hill.
A couple of squads moved into trees another entered open & drew fire, unit spottrd MMG opened up ranges 300m+, first blood to France they realy do not like my MMGs, 2nd squad seen. Decided its best not to draw fire so more squads take up position to return fire. Two in HTs move to a position behind trees 150m away, thats as far as they dare, was pretty risky as wary of mines.
Kinda caught with my pants down 3 tanks here are carrying riders, another reason not to, 231 wastes some ammo.

Further South have made further progress nearly to 50 on the road & there is a line of trees running verticaly along 54 nobody seen so a motorcycle ran near to, no fire so mounted troops heading for treeline. Trouble must be waiting on the other side & my scouts seem to have got shuffled to the back of the pack.

Have managed to position 2 mtrs for a half hearted strike at the vissible squads.
4 mortars have been picked up & will be moving up to get the hill in range.
Going to leave that big battery on CB in hopes of something. Has limited ammo so saving for concentration expecting round flags

His go MMG evened up the score & arty kicked up enough dust to totaly hide a squad. Things just go from bad to worse winds blowing in my direction, risking losing my FOOs will not help much.
Giving troops fire support with my new armour could prove costly as those ATGs are going to be very hard to spot so once find mines or a break in holding a tight formation.

Well just as things are hotting up works finaly come online so its going to have to wait

[Imp]

MF=main force SF=secondary force AIT=AIs turn CWA=Camo Workshop acronyms
Well this is not what I was expecting
SF has reached the village & it appears empty from what I can see. Continuing further down that road seems madness so 1 platoon will detor in slightly. Will continue down road at a crawl just in case its undefended.
Waste of good arty

MF Haa these 231(8rads) not such a good idea no HE & doubt they will last long enough to use AP loadout.
Bit of fire & first squads out of the fight, getting a shot at 2nd is not easy & have to risk vehicles. 222 makes him give upto. Squads in Hts move up & dig out but with the dust kicked up by fire at nobody can see them now, aargh been a while since I had a low vis battle.
One squad makes it to that treeline then beats a hasty retreat, not staying there by himself saw 3 Char 1 bis (the hard ones) on t'other side, scouts please.
JPz1s are going to get there first taste of French armour vs a formidable foe, moving up.
There is a line of trees between this area & where French squads are but there is a gap & have found another squad so any hopes of a stealthy approach on those tanks is blown
I have got so far down route 91 its starting to veer off SW, my bottles going, the lead squad have put on their brown trousers.

AIT No arty another squad fires giving away position close.

Just where the hell is everyone, was thinking of working my way round that hill & doing a pincer attack but think they might have had a big party last night & there could be a reasonable amount of latecommers to the battle. So probably not wise, wonder if my adled brain will remember this conclusion.