2 troop of A Squadron, 5 Royal Tank Regiment - three Cromwells & a Firefly - were ordered to secure the crossroads at the hamlet of Maisoncelles-Pelvey to the SW of Villers-Bocage to secure the southern flank of 7 Arm'd Div as part of Operation Perch.

The British armour bumped into a mixed kampfgruppe of German tanks & assault guns from I & II Abteilung Panzer Regiment Panzer Lehr resulting in a vicious skirmish. After the opening shots went in favour of the Germans, aggressive manoeuvring by the Cromwells accounted for the Panther in exchange for one of their own.



Further manoeuvring combined with static long range fire from the Firefly resulted in the destruction of the Stug G & the two Panzer IVH's for the loss of one further Cromwell. The superior initiative & speed of the British armour, combined with a blood thirsty gunner & a close range knife fight proved the deciding factor. After which the Troop leader reported on the radio, "Hello Zero, this is Charlie Two Zero, objective secured, four hornets destroyed, two friendlies out of action, two tango two, three tango threes. Wait out."



It was a very fun & fast paced game. Roads were eye candy - hedges were treated as cover.


Tom

Edited by user Sunday, July 10, 2016 10:16:13 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Added pictures

Sherman Firefly (21) Joe Ekins (3) Liquid Courage (1)
Cromwell (23) Radio Co-ord (3)
Cromwell (23) Blood-thirsty gunner (3)
Cromwell (23)

A variant would be to swap out a Cromwell for a Firefly (still a historic format), drop the liquid courage & give it a (3) card - hasty loader?