Game 3 - The Farm, opening moves

I spent the best part of a day in Ted's Games House, playing Game 3 in our linked series of a World War 2 campaign.  In brief the French player had to get a scientist and some photos onto a Lysander plane and back to the UK. The German player had discovered the location of the pick up and was marshalling forces to interdict the Lysander and prevent the scientist from escaping.

As the French player I had to deploy all my troops within the enclosed area of the farm, it's outbuildings and the orchard. I had a 6pdr AT gun that could be concealed until it fired as well as a Bren carrier carrier and a jeep. These items had been retained by the French following the defeat in 1940 ( or that was the justification for having them). My secondary  objective was to get two British RAF evaders (Carstairs and Fairfax) on the plane as well. However as neither spoke French and they were both spectacularly stupid they could not move until accompanied by Michelle (of the resistance) but she had not yet arrived.

After the game my understanding was that Craig had to stop me from achieving my objectives and also had a bonus task of capturing any of my resistance leaders and/or the professor. He also had the possible use of armour from a nearby ' repair yard' but obviously there was no guarantee that the repairs had been successful ( I had no knowledge of this).
The first picture shows Le Clerc giving Yvette the photos. If one of them doesn't make it to the Lysander and 'Blighty' then at least the other will have a chance.

The first German turn saw an 81mm mortar team lob a speculative round in the direction of a Tanker lorry and French Camion. 'Chapeau' to the gunner as the round landed slap bang between both trucks, the blast igniting both of the fuel tanks of the soft skinned vehicles.
For record purposes the Tanker was full of Slurry for muck spreading and not fuel. Craig didn't't know that however and my first decoy was literally 'blown' whilst a team of 5 Partisans  concealed to the West of the tanker together with their  Leader Pierre Camembert (known as The Big Cheese) were covered in 'crap' as a result.

At the same time an Sdkfz 222 commanded by Lt Gruber headed East towards a hill south west of the farm. This resulted in a Red flag being waved from the rear of the farmhouse signalling a request for indirect fire on the hillcrest by a rocket team who were dug in in the farmyard . TO the North of the Farm a further Hanonag, Kubelwagen and infantry section moved East in a two pronged attack.

The indirect fire was delayed by a turn as the spotter raced from the front upstairs window of the farm to the rear before selecting one of the three pre determined flags ( in this case red bloomers belonging to the bedridden  'Muzzer' By the time the rocket was launched Gruber had crested the hill and was hurtling towards the farm at breakneck speed followed by an Ooel Blitz truck a motorcycle combination and an armoured personnel carrier. The rocket landed short, between the truck and Gruber - no damage. The only impact in this flying column was that the truck drove through the crater rather than around it letting the armoured car and much combo overtake it. Gruber raced ahead outstripping the rest of the column.

As Gruber burgled past a Boyes ATR team that was concealed at the South Eastern edge of the orchard opened fire but missed. Gruber returned fire suppressing the ATR team and carried heading East. Whilst he did so the mcy combo and the APC carrier approached the southern edge of the orchard. The Boyes opened up on the PAC and missed (again) and a  rifle team fired at the motorcycle combo forcing the rider and passenger to jump off the bike.