It's a Long Way to Tipperary Tournament - Round 3 - S43 DIME Beach

[Steel God]

Situation at the end of Turn 19 – 1600 July 11th 1943

Well that worked out almost like I planned it.  Brian shuffled some stuff around and closed with me to look for favorable fire exchanges, but he only picked up 4 VPs for the effort (score at 654) and has left many of his best units open to isolation this turn, which I will gladly oblige him with.  I don’t expect them to stay isolated but it will cut down his fire effectiveness considerably, and who knows, maybe something develops that allows me to get a juicy assault in somewhere and steal enough VPs for a Minor (I’m closer to one than he is at the moment, although he looks to be going heavy for the Airfield at hex (12,20).

Well, I managed to isolate his Tigers, the bulk of the Livorno Division, and the HG’s Half Track Mounted Engineers in hex (13,18), and for good measure also isolated his PzIIIs and half his PzIVs in hex (18,20).  I also shelled an Italian armored unit (D35s) off the map.  Otherwise, I kept SA fire to a minimum especially against that big stack with the Tigers as I didn’t want anyone going Low Ammo (they’re all currently supplied) in the event he tries to assault forward with that isolated stack I want the best odds I can get.  I’ve got 600 B quality on one side of him and 800 B quality on the other side, and with him being isolated even with 1100 or so troops in there with those Tigers (they’re all C I believe except for the HG Engineer unit with is probably A) he’ll be at least D morale for isolation and possibly some E’s because the Livorno has taken quite a bit of fire and might have some units at +100 fatigue.  If he tries to combine the Germans with the Italians that’s another 20% hit, and in both stacks he’d have to disrupt 2 B units – none of that’s impossible but if he tries and fails it could leave him open to follow ups on my turn that cost him a fair amount of VPs and hence the game would go from a Draw to an Allied Minor.  I suspect he will move a unit up and extract that stack out of isolation.  I expect him to do that with the isolated Panzers in (18,20).  Score stands at 662 and barring something weird or foolish, likely to remain in that Draw territory.