THEY'RE COMMING!*
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DATE: 11 July 1944*
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BATTLE TYPE: Germany advance vs. USA delay*
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Two-Player PBEM Game*
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ST. JEAN-DE-DAYE, FRANCE:  On 7 July, assault teams of the 30th and 9th U.S. Infantry Divisions successfully crossed the Vire-Taute canal. The surprise maneuver caught the enemy off-guard, and the Americans were soon right through to le Desert and, with help form the 3rd Armored, the next day continued to advance through the cornfields northwest of St. Lo. But, on the 9th the momentum was lost under a furious counterattack by the 2nd SS-Panzer Division Das Reich. The wearied combatants spent two days sniping and maneuvering among the hedgerows and cratered fields, looking for an advantage. On 11 July the Panzer Lehr Division was committed in an attack whose objective was to cut off the American forces south of the canal.*
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AFTERMATH: The 901st struck at the extended flank of the 9th Infantry Division, held by the resting 60th Infantry. A number of Panthers and elements of an AT company added their weight to the counterattack. A penetration of the thin line was soon achieved, and the Germans overran two battalion command posts and encircled part of an infantry company. The nearest armor support was the 33rd, part of the famed 3rd Armored.  The GIs fell back to meet the advancing Shermans, and made their stand. The battle ebbed and flowed among the sunken lanes and high-fenced orchards, often with opposing tanks facing each other at a distance of no more than 100 yards. Eventually, however, the morning overcast cleared, and soon thereafter American fighter-bombers began making strafing and bombing runs. Roaring over fields and roads, their fire forced the Germans to go to ground. The fighting had been bitter, and the losses heavy for both sides. But, three days later the drive for the crucial road junctions at St. Lo began again.*
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NOTES: This scenario is based off of Avalon Hill's Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) deluxe scenario 17 with some minor modifications.*
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Sources:  Deluxe ASL Scenario 17*
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Design by:  Don Lazov*