Armored Recon (2AD) vs Sperr (102nd ID)

So this was our third showdown with no clear winner in two draws.
Dave had rebooted his Sperr with airplanes(?!) and ditched his flak towers of quad 20mm.

102nd ID Sperrverbande
HQ
3x sm Sperr Plts?
HMG Plt
Pzrschrecks
Flamethrower

3x Stg
3x RSO w Pak40
2x Pak 40
2x Pak 36
3x Wespe and Observer MkIII
a couple short 7.5cm infantry guns
HS129 (Goering level support)


I was using a different list as well. I was trying out the Veterans of 2nd Armored Divisions 82nd Armored Recon Battalion, of North Africa, Sicily, Italy etc fame. "Hell on Wheels"

HQ 2x M8 Con-Vets
2 Armored Recon Plts of 2x M8, recon jeep, mortar jeep each
Assault Gun Plt 3x M8 Scott HMC
Lt Tank Plt 4x M5a1

TD Plt 4x M10's Con-Trained
Engineer Cbt Plt Full + 4 Bzk
Arty Battery
Priority Air P-47's
AOP

We rolled and got Fighting Withdrawal, so that would be him withdrawing despite Hitlers orders.;-)
He deployed his Sperr platoons evenly across the farmlands, and the woods to my left, with his Pak 36's on a hill to the right dominating the board with their 40" range.

I was moving first, so with my recon moves I was getting up there right near the center line. My Armored Recon platoons on the right being audacious and waiting for their artillery support.
It wasn't coming, (frak!!!) the observers couldn't see the 88's (couldn't roll 6's) that the recon troops were yelling about through their radios. Ouch, this is going to hurt.

The audacious armored recon platoons are about to get murdered. (Armored cars are not tanks...)


In a last minute save, on the left flank the 'Pacifists' from my air support, (modeled on the "Top Dogs" of the 47th Pursuit Squadron, 'Top Dogs' as in most kills of any American fighter squadron), actually kill something for the first time ever!

The Stug ambush pops along with the tank hunting RSO mounted Pak 40's. That is a lot of 75mm AT guns, sweat pops on my forehead...

Both recon platoons get hammered by the firing line , but survive, barely. (One vehicle each.)
Also the Scotts on the right get plastered by the 88's. But only one is killed!
I actually had a bunch of good saves.
My worst rolls were the first turn, and anytime I was trying to kill infantry.

My M10's pop up near their recon guys in the center and more air shows up.
But first I have to do something crazy with my Lt Tank Platoon, it's what they do.
I use them as if they've got the courage of the light brigade with the leadership to match. Audacious! Death or Glory etc.

After killing the last Pak 40 on the left as well as an HMG team it's becoming clear that my opening is coming on the opposite side from the plan.
Roll on, roll on!
M20's and a .50 jeep hammer an RSO/Pak 40 to death and kill an HMG team in the center as well.

In the midst of this the Combat Engineers were moving to threaten the center. Traffic is making this tough.

And the arty finally got a registration and pop smoke on the 88's. Well one 88.
(Cheesy ass FoW rule, must target untis with smoke, even bombardments? WTF.)

The survivors of the cav platoons and an M10 get killed anyway, as well as my grunts getting a class on not bunching up.

Next the Stugs show up again, this time in my grill vs the Stuarts.

Saved by the bell. Need 4's btw.

No pics, but my M10's destroy the Stugs after not moving back far enough. The RSO's continue to bog and get slotted one by one. Then my Scotts make a huge lunge for the left along with the Cbt Eng's hoilding the center.

Somewhere in here my M20's from their TD platoon along with their .50 jeep get flame-throwered! Fucking cheese! Luckily, the PL survives.

Stuarts Assault!

So I killed a couple teams. Even though two Stuarts bogged(!) Then he killed my Stuarts yadda yadda...

I would have worked him over with my Scotts, then M10's and Engineers.
I'll call it a draw...(had him.);-)

I feel like I'm finally getting a grip on this after a year!
Cav needs to be run like Patton with a fraking cavalry gauntlet.
Attack, attack, attack!