WW2 20mm West Front Goodwood mini-Campaign Game 2

Introduction
I have 1/2 a table tennis setup and am playing a 7 game mini-campaign set over 2 days at the opening of Operation Goodwood. This is game 2.  for game 1 and some more background, see this blog post.


Scenario 2 - Oemler's counter attack
King Tigers from the 1st Company of the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion run into the Coldstream Guards west of Le Preuire.  It is an encounter battle with both deployed on either end of the table.
Any Tigers surviving are added to Scenario 5.  Any British halftracks that make if off the other end of the table can be added to Scenario 4.

Deployment

Troops
Germans

Three Tiger IIs (the middle Panther is a stand-in) and a Panzer IV.

3 King Tigers
1 Panzer IVH
1 Grenadier squad
1 MMG

Game 1 had four 88s and I wondered who had 4. This scenario has three King Tigers.  I have two (both over 30 years old) that I acquired when I got someone else's German armour bits and pieces. So a Panther will stand-in as a third King Tiger.


British

The British deployed (actually after their first move)

2 Squadrons
    3 Shermans
    1 Firefly
1 Motorised Infantry Company
   Platoon command in M5 halftrack
   3 rifle platoons and PIAT team, each in a M5 halftrack

Scenario changes
The Tigers must advance on their first activation as they are not aware of the British units.


Deployment
Germans deploy tanks in one corner and British in the opposite corner.  The German infantry may deploy anywhere and do so behind the hedge.  They are fully concealed and will not be spotted (unless moving or firing) until the British are 1" away.

The min-campaign so far. Germans won game 1. We are at Game 2

Game
Tigers must advance so do so.

Two Tigers advancing.

Shermans advance and spot the tigers.  Firefly attack 5+ to hit and a subsequent 6 will pin.  All misses. The Tigers retaliate and one Firefly goes up.

One Firefly taken out. Note the weird brown is likely what happens to varnish after 32 years.  After seeing this picture, i went back and it is barely noticeable except under the flash.  And the turret is from a different tank - as the picture clearly highlights - but it is much harder to see in daylight.

Two of the Shermans advance to the hedge-line where the German infantry is hidden.  Panzerfausts open up and pin one of the Shermans.

Shermans at the hedgeline where infantry was.

The other Shermans manage to spot the Squad and open fire with the their MMGs, cause 3 casualties and the squad retreats and is pinned.

..and the retreating infantry.

 Another Firefly down and a morale check on the squadron sees the pinned Sherman rout and the other Sherman in the squadron retreat.  Not looking good for the Brits.

Tigers take out another Firefly, near the first one.

A Sherman in the surviving squadron is brewed.

And a Sherman goes as well.

And then another in pinned.  The squadron fails its morale check and retreats.  They had managed to reduce the Grenadier squad down to 4 figures via MMGs.

A very happy Tiger II

The Tiger IIs have such great frontal armour and long range - no match for the Shermans.  One 75mm Sherman did manage a flank attack but missed.

A view at the end of the game.  Half Tracks are OK, One tank OK in the centre, one pinned (on right), rest brewed or routed.

Verdict
Using rules like Rapid Fire or equivalent, this scenario may be overbalanced to the Germans.  But to be fair, it does hinge on dice rolls so the Firefly's may have got one Tiger II, but really 2 Tiger IIs was a lot here, and 3 just wiped the Brits off the map!