A Leader of Men
Battle Report
‘Tiger! Tiger!’
Introduction
The name of this sce na rio does give
away this scenario, and is based on the
sce nario in the main rule book, but
alte red to use US Arm y forces. This
could we ll cove r ope rations during the
closure of the ‘pocke t’ in Normandy.
The othe r alte ration was to make this a
solo scenario using the basic principles
used in the solo game sce nario in the
book .
The othe r alte ration was to make this a
day ligh t ope ra tion, and in clude
armoured support for the attack.
The se changes had the game pla y out
ve ry diffe re ntly, mostly as it changes
your m ind se t about how you pe rce ive
the situation.
US Re cce force s had been exploring
forward look ing for a break in the line
whe n the y had come unde r a ttack from
G e rm an po s i t io ns a ro un d the
crossroads and farm area.
Thought to be mostly straggle rs falling
back an infantry company and attached
armoured support was to push through
the a rea a nd clear.
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US Forces
US forces re fle cted an expe rience d
Infantry Company, less a fe w troops to
re fle ct the casualtie s of the battle
through Normandy. The balance of the
additional expe rience being se t against
fatigue and such.
One platoon was se t as Ve te ran, the
othe r two as Seasoned. All Leade rship
stats we re randomly gene rated as pe r
the rules, giving mostly ave rage stats
with one Platoon Leade r be ing rathe r
ex ceptional.
O rganisationally the US force took the
Weapons Platoon machineguns and
issue d them to the R ifle platoons. The
te rrain would re strict usage from a
distance so it made sense to deploy
them forward.
The US also had a va ilable a Battalion of
105mm howitze rs off-table should the y
need a big stick . These would at game
start pe rform a quick bombardment of
the area to try and shake up Ge rman
forces.
 2x M1919A4 MG

Weapons Platoon (0-1)

U-MFC (LD 2)
3x 60mm Mortar

Rifle Co. HQ M4 Sherman Platoon

C-Rifle w Radio (LD 3) U-Sherman M4a3 (LD 3)
1x Bazooka 2x Sherman M4a3
2x Sherman M4a1 (76mm)
D-Rifle (LD 3)
1x Bazooka
3x M1919A4 MG
German Forces
Weapons Platoon (0-1)
U-MFC (LD 3) The Ge rmans we re an expe rienced
3x 60mm Mortar force , but war weary and had suffe red
he avy casualtie s. The y remained
Rifle Platoon #1 (Veteran) de te rm ined to some de gree and this
would make them an inte resting
U-Rifle w Radio (LD 4)
proposition. The y had ple nty of
Bazooka
3x Rifle-BAR automatic weapons, and the advantage
3x Rifle of a hidden de fense . With the effe ct of
1x M1919A4 MG fatigue the Ge rmans we re down rated
to Seasoned.
Rifle Platoon #2
U-Rifle w Radio (LD 3) Sim ilar to the US forces the Ge rmans
Bazooka deployed the ir machinegun support to
3x Rifle-BAR the Rifle Platoons to boost numbe rs.
3x Rifle
1x M1919A4 MG The surprise that the US did not know
was the presence of a Tige r tank. The
Rifle Platoon #3 pre sence of this could be ve ry de cisive
U-Rifle w Radio (LD 2) if in the right place .
Bazooka
3x Rifle-BAR The Ge rm a ns had a we a k ne ss
3x Rifle howe ve r, the y we re tire d, and the

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 The Plans
The Ge rman plan was simple, hold on
as long as the y could before falling
back . This tra nsla te d into De fend
possibility of surre nde r or pulling out orde rs with a provision to be come
was ve ry real, so an additional morale Delay should US forces come into
pe nalty was to be applied in cases position to ove rrun positions.
whe re surre nde r se eme d a re al
possibility, or e ven flee ing if Leade rship Ge rman Positions we re to hold the ir
falte re d. left flank with one Platoon in the main
walled farm complex , orientated to
cove r the open ground in front of the
farm and down the side .
Pz. Grenadier Co. HQ
C-Rifle (LD 4) The se cond Platoon was to occupy the
smalle r farm house and locale. The
Pz. Grenadier Rifle Platoon #1 Tige r was positioned ove r the ir as we ll,
a llowing the roa ds up the middle to be
U-SMG (LD 3)
cove re d, and in position for a counte r
1x Panzershreck
3x Rifle-MG thrust if ne ce ssary across the front of
1x SFMG the main farm.

The Commande r was positioned in the

main walled farm .
Pz. Grenadier Rifle Platoon #2
U-SMG (LD 3) The Ge rma n positions a ll a llowed the
1x Panzershreck forces to withdraw using cove r, we ll
3x Rifle-MG suiting the ir de laying m ission.
1x SFMG
The US plan was to push, and push
Tiger hard, in just one spot, swe eping
around the farm to cut off the re treat
of any Ge rman forces encounte red.
The concentration of force would surely

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ove rcome any weak Ge rman
resistance. The tanks would
come up behind the infantry
and ‘shoot them in’ whe re
resistance was found.

R ifle Platoon #2 would lead,

#1 following up slightly to
the right and #3 following
be hind in rese rve . Weapons
Platoon was to de ploye d in
cove r be hind the road ready
to provide support.

The Game
The first two turns saw the

US forces
massed and
m ane u ve ri ng
t h rough the
te rrain. The
r e s t r i c t e d
approache s caused bombardment. This
a little confusion, but of course could be see n
ove rall forces we re as a plus ove rall, it would
moving through in an be unlikely Ge rman forces
orde rly manne r. wo u l d re m a in i n an a re a
smolde ring or burning.
As US forces ente red open
ground a large part of their US Rifle Platoon #2 out front slipped a
vision to the right was restricted by little ahead of whe re I was hoping, but
smoke a nd fires sta rted by the a rtille ry with no opposition or line of cove r till

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the wall of the fields ahead it was
smart to keep moving forward than
lollygag.

It was Turn #3 when things started to

happen. US R ifle Platoons #2 & #1
had activated and moved forward, #2
almost at the wall in front of them

whe n the rattle of machine gun fire

suddenly tore at US R ifle Platoon #2,
firing twice with the aid of an Arm y
Initiative card. The re should have
been casualties, but the Ge rman dice
failed to ge t the numbe rs to score
Pinnings or casualties.
The Ge rman Commande r a ctivated
nex t and see ing the US forces massed,
and the sound of all tanks moving
forward, de cided to send a messenge r
to the Tige r to ge t him to counte r
attack around the front of the main
farm.
The Tige r upon hearing the combat

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sta rt turned ove r its e ngine . The US
armour moved forward into the fie ld, at
this point unsure of the threats.
At this point the Turn e nded with the
‘End of Turn activation card be ing
drawn.
Turn 4
The US activated first, and pushe d the
#2 Pla toon forwa rd crossing the wall in
part. The fire from the Ge rmans had
been rathe r ineffe ctive, and with any
luck an additional activation from a
Arm y Initiative card would allow them

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to move into a blind spot in the
Ge rman fire .
Unfortunate ly the Ge rman force s
activated first, and continued firing,
some now from the farm buildings.
The fire was much more effe ctive, and
now the bulle ts rippe d through bodies,
scoring three base s dead including the
Platoon leader, and anothe r base
Pinne d. Morale dropped abruptly and
the y looked like running, but would
only fall to Confused, and not flee.
The US Commande r was in position to
the ir rea r, and sizing up the situa tion
ran forward and started bark ing orde rs
and motivation, enough that morale
im proved sufficie ntly to make them
‘depre ssed’ and look ing for cove r.
The US armour moved forward, HE
shells and machineguns spitting lead
suppre ssive ly towards the k nown
Ge rman positions and into the farm
buildings. The many guns got luck y,
and the Ge rmans found themselves
be com ing Pinne d.
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Anothe r US activation and R ifle Platoon
#1 pulled out the stops, moving
forward and crossing the wall, and the
nex t activation, an Arm y Initiative
card, was used to push them furthe r
forward into the fie ld and using the
smoke and blind spot to move forward.
De cisive leade rship might catch the
Ge rmans on the hop.
The Ge rman messenge r now managed
to move a nd was a t the Tige rs side
ye lling his message .
The US a rmour fired a gain, and the
Ge rm an force s found them se lves
ducking and morale dropping, who
could fight such fire powe r. This met
the crite ria for a switch to Delay
orde rs, so nex t turn this would be
communicated to the Platoon holding
the main farm.
Turn 5
The US started the activations, and the
batte re d R ifle Pla toon #2 calmed down
and hunke re d down. The tanks we re
doing the fighting, no nee d to risk
things with all the wounde d. Morale
im prove d to ‘Unhappy’ with the
Commande rs assistance.
R ifle Platoon #1 activated nex t, and
pushed forward towards the farm.
From ahead the Ge rmans activated and
fire d suppressively, and caused one
Pinne d result, this did not slow the
Platoon down.
The turn abruptly e nded, possibly
tha nkfully for the Ge rma ns a s the
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She rmans would have been the next
activation.
Turn 6
It was peddle to the me tal, the US R ifle
Platoon #1 ran forward, and it was
gre nades and rapid fire through the
windows of the farm building. Seve ral
hits we re scored and the Ge rmans lost
a base with anothe r Pinned.
The US aga in a ctivated and the M4’s
moved forward hosing down the
Ge rmans by the fence . The Ge rmans
remained Pinne d and
the ir morale fe ll again. At this point
the y dice d to surrende r, but fe lt that
stick ing hands up m ight ge t them
shot be fore anyone figure d the y
we re giving up.

The US Rifle Platoon #3 had moved

up boldly following the swift advance
of #1, with the Deputy Commande r
accompanying them.

The Ge rmans now managed to

activate the Tige r with an Arm y
Activation card, and now moved the
be hemoth towards the farm front,
and would have to crash through the
he dge.

Anothe r Arm y Activation card was

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dra wn for the Ge rma ns so the Tige r
moved forward through the hedge
without too much difficulty.

None of the US forces had see n or

could see any of this, the flank was
un wa tche d, bulle ts f lying, she lls
e xploding, and m e n ye lling and
screaming.

Turn 7
Luck is a funny thing, and afte r the
reshuffle the Ge rmans dre w the first
activation, and Arm y Initiative , and so
the Tige r move d forwards through the
smolde ring field. The y reached a
position right on the US flank as they
eme rged from the smoke.
Surprise !
US R ifle Pla toon #1 a ctivated nex t and
the y continue d forward, the movement
through the windows and wall remains
dealt to the remaining Ge rmans who
surrende red in a shocked state . The
advantage was #1 was now out of the
Tige rs way.
The nex t activation was the Ge rmans
again with anothe r Army Initiative
card, and so the Tige r, now in pe rfe ct
position, starte d off-loading some
88mm she lls, first one into a M4A3, the
se cond into a M4a1 76mm. The
surviving US tanks got the wind up
them , and dropped morale from the
multiple faile d che cks for Fear and

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 casualties and surprise .

Addi tional f iring by the hul l

machinegun caused two furthe r
casualties to US Rifle Platoon #3.
The US R ifle Platoon #3 really failed
the Fea r che ck, a nd the y bolted,
could not blame them really.

The US She rmans managed to drop

two smoke rounds in front of the
Tige r, de viating slightly in the ir
haste to move back .

The US
activated,
who was n
Tige r (ma
dire cte d a
forward in
the wheat
the Tige rs

Turn 8

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It came down to the
cards. The US got the
first activation, and the
Company Deputy was
the closest to known
enem y, so he activated
first.

Dire cting the Bazooka

t e am , the T ige r
suddenly had a rocke t
slamming into it. The
big cat shrugged it off,
although the cre w
be came alarmed and
dropped to ‘Unhappy’.

The nex t card was a US Arm y
Initiative. The De puty was not content
with scaring the Tige r, and dire cting a
subseque nt shot, the Tige r’s flank was
pe netra ted, the cre w bailing.
Aftermath
The Ge rman Leade r slipped away, as
did the remaining platoon. The US
forces had se ized the ground, gathe red
up a fe w prisone rs, and se cured the
area.
This had not been a big game really,
but it demonstrated the value of the
Leade rs and how to use them.
The gam e m e chanism shone in
creating a tense and e dgy fee l, while
keeping me guessing.
Best of all, this was a solo game, and
used a slightly modified ve rsion of the
solo scenario in the books combined
with the m odifie d Tige r hunting
sce nario in the book .

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