The French Decide to Fight DTO (id:#64793)
Prior Publication: G.I.'s Dozen
See Also: The French Decide to Fight by Multi-Man Publishing
Designer: Pat Ryan
Starter kit scenario?:    Deluxe scenario?:
 
Balance:
AmericanVichy French
56.25%

Overview:

The first phase of Operation Torch include amphibious landings along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Many of the primary objectives included the securing of French airdromes in the area. One such field was nestled on three sides by the Sebou River. A three prong attack was decided on. . .
Attacker: American (Company C, 70th Tank Battalion and Company B, 1st Battalion Landing Team, 60th Regimental Combat Team/Company I, 3rd Battalion Landing Team, 60th Regimental Combat Team/Special Raider Detachment)
Defender: Vichy French (1er Régiment d'Infanterie Marocaine)  
8.5 turns
    Players: 2     OBA: Both     Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:25.0 D:18.0
AFVs: A:3
T30 HMC
M3A1 LT x 2

AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:0
M2 60mm Mortar
D:4
Canon de 75 CA mle 32
Mitr. de 20 CA mle 39 O
Canon AC de 47 SA mle 37 APX x 2

Victory Conditions:

Exit VP: Building Control VC: Area Control VC:
Unit Based VC: LOS Style VC: CVP Cap:
Misc Rules: Grain in season, wood bldgs. A: random group entry, Observation Plane (E7.6)
Overlays: X9 OG3 Wd3
Errata (source)
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Scenario info

Last Played:
DateReporterOpponentBal.ResultTimeComments
2024-11-15(A) Kevin Duval vs Dwayne Duval American winIt was end of Turn 8 when the Americans had eliminated all French forces but they still had 1 HIP Gun for the Americans to find & eliminate. Luckily for me my second SMC running around uncovered the Gun & I had enough units close by to swarm the position!
2024-11-15(D) Dwayne Duval vs Kevin Duval American win
2022-12-03(D) Dan Best vs Kermit Mullins American win
2022-12-03(A) Kermit Mullins vs Dan Best American winThe randomness of the American entry was not an enjoyable mechanic, but I'm sure it met the historical flavor of the event. As the Americans, I wasn't able to do anything at all with the Spotter Plane OBA. I took some early losses, but American firepower slowly strangled the Vichy and at the end of 6, the Vichy gave the concession for an American victory.
2022-09-27(A) Jeff B vs Joe Arthur American win5.25 hrsMy opponent didn't like his chances at all; I thought it would be extremely tough for me. That's usually the sign of a good scenario, though I do not think my opponent took full advantage of the potential severity of the VC. Much will obviously depend on the order the US forces arrive to the fight, and I can hardly complain about mine. I started off with Group 1. Many would probably say that Group 2 would be the ideal, and I tend to agree, but Group 1 would be the second best in my mind. The best thing about Group 1 is the immediate use of the three AFV, and I fully intended to use these to scout for hidden guns. To my mind this is where my opponent's defense faltered, as I would strictly place the guns in inaccesible places with LOS to the airstrip and never reveal them. Even with vehicles clearing the way, there are still plenty of buildings and woods that the guns can hide, and these will really only be able to be cleaned up with infantry. The rest of my troops advanced cautiously onto the board, keeping concealment in almost all cases to limit the potential damage from the OBA. The mortar stayed 17 hexes away so as to retain concealment even after firing. He almost paid immediate dividends when he delivered a multi-level CH on the watchtower, but the only result was the MMG HS breaking. Next up for me was Group 3. Again Group 2 would've been ideal, but this was by far better than the observation plane. Once again my troops came onboard mostly concealed or hidden from Level 2/3 eyes. This would be a game of patience for the Americans. While they only had 9 turns to get the job done, they could afford to wait for all the pieces of the puzzle to come together. One of the AT guns revealed itself to blast one of my Stuarts, and the big AA gun came onboard to scare my Turn 2 reinforcements, but every gun revealed was one less I'd have to bug hunt for. Turn 3 finally saw my northern troops enter the battle. They carried with them a lot of toys, in the form of a .50 HMG, another mortar, and a radio to finally get some OBA of their own. My eastern troops survived a couple potentially game-breaking shots. This is where the floodgates finally opened, with the Americans able to put pressure on the watchtower from various angles. The 9-1 leading the MG kill stack was wounded and broken, along with the phone operator and the MMG HS. The HMG HS survived, ducking down to Level 2 where he was shortly eliminated with a boxcar MC. Finally the Americans were freed up to move, and move they did, quickly converging on the airstrip. The other AA gun was brought onboard to try and stop a flanking American HS, while the last AT gun revealed itself trying to stop the Stuart, which it shocked. But the writing was on the wall at this point, and with five turns left to go the French felt there was no way they could decide to fight any longer.
View all or balance report
ActionDate
7-0 duval Added a playing2025-01-25 19:07:23
Hutch Modified the gps location2024-11-27 18:18:28
Kydder Added a playing2024-11-16 23:59:09
Kydder Rated the scenario2024-11-16 23:55:09
Bongiovanni Linked the scenario to ROAR2024-10-21 15:35:34
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T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage (t30 hmc 75mm howitzer.png)Imagehoxson1920
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Statistics:
Avg Rating: 6.40Votes: 10
Views: 0
To-Play list count: 0
Estimated Play time: 11.2 hours
Recorded Games: 4
Archive recorded plays:
American3
Vichy French1
Drawn:0

ROAR Data: (as of today)
The French Decide to Fight [Confirmed]
[A] Vichy 6
[D] American 6
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