Game 2 - 1st Checkpoint

Here is my convoy at the edge of the table. I have two German speakers in the Kubelwagen together with the deputy of the resistance cell, Stella Artois, who is seated next to a non German speaking partisan dressed in German Uniform  in the rear seats.

The Opel Blitz has a driver who speaks German as does the staff car. The battery that I have to deliver is in the Opel Blitz, the photos are in the jackboot of the 'German Officer' who is in the staff car.

No one in the French Camion speaks German although the front passenger is in German uniform.  The partisans are split between the Opel Blitz and French Camion, 8 each in the rear. For game purposes I placed my figures 'off table'  on a card representing the vehicle they were in and their exact position. My sole LMG Team were in the back of the French Camion

This is a view of the first checkpoint from the German side. It was also my first sighting of it as my plan was based solely on the map Ted had provided. I knew that to have any hope of getting through to the Farm I would have to bluff my way through this first checkpoint. I had no idea what support Craig and Jo could call on or the number and level of  troops

I was a little fortunate in my dice rolling for Linguistic skills. Three of my men spoke passable German whilst the driver of the Kubelwagen in the front could barely string a sentence together. Fortunately the German sentries were unobservant and the convoy approached the checkpoint, even passing the 'pothole' tests for the poor road surface.

Craig and Jo decided to 'interrogate' the passenger of the French Camion.  Dressed in German Uniform the poor guy plainly had no clue what was being asked of him as he spoke no German whatsoever. Fortunately I had a contingency in place should he be questioned which involved quaffing a bottle of salt water and then emptying the contents of his stomach over the guard dog as it approached the passenger door of the truck. The ploy was explained by the Feldwebel in  the  Kubelwagen who explained that the Camion had been Liberated and held only the most comatose of the drunken platoon. Any necessary  'cleaning' could be done by the French. The scene as the dog approaches the lorry is shown below.

Craig also wanted to question the officer in the staff car , but was informed that he was a 'real swine' and wouldn't want to be woken up. Again I was fortunate in that I had thought of this possibility.

More tests were taken and the convoy was waved through without further incident. 3 Victory Point in the bag for me !

 After the game was over I discovered that the bunker held an MG42 HMG team. If I had been forced to fight I would have really come unstuck. This part of the game was predominantly role play and acted as the preamble to the second checkpoint. By passing it without raising the alarm the French now had a chance of success. Things went a little 'pear shaped' later on