Delaying Action By Steve Tinsley This mission was inspired by the descriptions of this type of action in Wolfgang Schneider’s 'Panzer Tactics ~ German Small unit armor tactics in World War II.' Special Rules 1. Local Reserves. At least half of the defenders platoons must be held in reserve at the start of the game. Beginning on turn 2, the defender may roll 2 dice (turn 3, 3 dice, and so forth) with a 5 or 6 on any die allowing one platoon to enter. No more than one platoon may enter per turn. 2. Covering Force. Up to half of the defenders platoons may be deployed on board. One platoon may utilise the Limited Ambush special rule, which is identical to the ambush rules on page 196 of the Flames Of War rule book, except that only one platoon may be held in ambush.

This platoon may deploy anywhere on the board except for No Mans Land using the normal limitations for ambush deployment. This one platoon may be considered dug in and concealed/gone to ground if otherwise eligible.  On board platoons capable of firing bombardments (artillery, mortars, etc) may deploy anywhere except for no mans land (allowing them to be placed in the rear).  All other on board forces must deploy in the designated area (between 24 and 36 inches of the attackers entry edge.  The mission also uses the Defensive Battle special rule (page 197 Flames Of War).

Your Orders Attacker: You are the spearhead of a larger offensive. Your orders are to defeat the enemy covering your front or seize one of the assigned objectives within the time line. This will allow our reserves to exploit the situation before the enemy can react. Defender: The enemy has launched an offensive in your sector.  You must attempt to defeat the forward spearhead of the enemy attack force, or deny the enemy from capturing an objective within the time frame, allowing time for our reserves to react. Preparing for Battle 1. A players decide who attacks and defends using the Defensive Battle special rule. 2. The defending player chooses which end of the table the attacker will enter from. 3. The defender places one objective in the specified area (within 24”/60cm of the defenders entry edge, but not within 8”/20cm of that edge or either side edge). 4. The attacker places one objective in the same specified area. 5. All objectives must be centered on one of the following terrain types if possible: A bridge, a hill, or a building. If none of these are present, a road intersection or a wooded area may be used. Otherwise any terrain feature may be used other than open ground. 6. The defender deploys all on board platoons (except for the one in ambush) in the specified areas. The defender also deploys their Independent Teams at this time. None of the defenders teams, other than the ambush platoon, is dug in or gone to ground.

7. The attacker may make a pre-game reconnaissance move using the normal reconnaissance rules. The defender does not get a reconnaissance move. All other attacking platoons enter on turn one. 8. The defender takes the first turn. Ending the Battle The battle ends when: • Either force fails a company morale check. • The attacker starts any of their turns holding an objective. • At the start of the 13th turn, in which case the defender wins, as long as any required company morale check is successful. Scoring Use the standard Victory Points table to determine the allocation of victory points based on the number of platoons the winner lost during the battle. Flames Of War Page 195.