Wargames Week: Sicily 1943

Our first tabletop miniatures game was an opportunity for me to get my new Artizan US figures to the table.  This was a fictional scenario set against the historical background of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 using the Two Hour Wargames' Nuts! rules.  Lenin took command of the two squads of American troops and their supporting Sherman whose objective was to clear the village of San Carlos.

Defending the village were five PEFs (Potential Enemy Forces) which would be determined when the GIs came into line of sight of them.  The first couple turned out to be false alarms, from the Americans being a little jumpy, and so the Allies made their way into the outskirts of the village.  Then the Sherman trundled down the road and it turned out that the Germans had, perhaps rather too stereotypically, posted an MG34 crew in the church tower.

The MG team promptly opened up on the Sherman and the tank commander slumped out of the turret.  The tank's driver was clearly spooked and promptly threw the tank behind a nearby house to get out of the line of fire.  Meanwhile one of the accompanying US squads had discovered that one of the village houses wasn't as unoccupied as it first appeared when they came under a hail of automatic weapons fire.  However, their Sergeant's quick reactions resulted in his Thompson and the squad BAR returning fire, killing a couple of the German section and forcing them to keep their heads down.
A fire firefight ensued with the US squad eventually victorious which allowed them to advance.

With the Sherman crew having had a chance to recover their senses they once again began their advance down the main street.  The MG34 once again opened fire but with the tank buttoned up this time it had little effect.  An HE shell from the tank's main gun promptly ended the danger from the MG position.

Another US squad had discovered some more Germans occupying another dwelling and a short fire fight ensued resulting in most of the Germans being killed and the two survivors cowering behind the stonework.

With everything looking good for the Americans they heard a rather loud and disturbing noise approaching.  This turned out to be a Tiger!

The Sherman, loaded with HE, opened fire on the Tiger but to little effect (the German tank commander having seen the remnants of the church tower and deciding that a cautious approach might be appropriate).  The Tiger returned fire, promptly brewing up the Sherman.

Under cover of this fire the two German survivors decided to withdraw but, unfortunately, one was spotted and brought down by some US fire.  One GI decided to see what had engaged the Sherman but ducked back as soon as he spotted the Tiger and just as they opened up with their MG!

The lone German sprinted through a hail of American bullets and reached the tank, which then decided to withdraw.