Volksgrenadiers vs Engineer Sappers (FOW)

This weekend I played a FOW game against Rob's Engineer Sappers. We decided to play a infantry battle on a terrain heavy river board. Mainly because I have fallen in love with the new winter German infantry that Battlefront has put out.

My list was a 1780pt veteran Volksgrenadier Company it consisted of:

HQ
Volksgrenadier Sturm Platoon - full
Volksgrenadier Schutzen Platoon - full
Volks Pioneer Platoon - full - three flamethrowers
A platoon of four 7.5cmPak50's (I hadn't finished my Pak50's so I proxied them)
A Heavy Artillery Battery with six captured 152mm guns (I used my French 155mm Guns)
Three Jagdpanzer IV/70 (V) - Fearless trained

I do not like proxy units but I've waited on the Pak 50's for six months and wanted to play this list, as a side note I finally received my Pak 50s and just finished them, they're great.  Also I can't justify buying two boxes of the Soviet Reserve Artillery just to get the six 152mm guns I need for this list, since that seems to be one of the only artillery pieces that Battlefront doesn't sell individually. I emailed them last week and asked about that, and they told me there were no plans to release them individually.

As for Roberts list it was something like:

HQ with Commissar
Two engineer sapper companies - understrength
Scouts
Full Gods of War battery
Three SU-85m
Three SU-85m

We rolled for Fighting Withdrawal and as Rob's Sappers always attack I was the defender. Here is the board and setup.

I defended the right side of the board.

My defenses.

The dug in Sturm Platoon.

Pioneers dug in, with my old infantry guns masquerading as PaK50s.

Robs deployment.

Robert initially tried to infiltrate across the river, but had to settle for infiltrating up to the river. My six gun battery was throwing out all the double wide templates I could. My Jadpanzers ambushed and knocked out one of his SU-85m platoons, the survivors fled.

Sappers crossing the river.

My pioneers suddenly wish they had machine guns instead of just rifles.

The Sappers seemed to have left their body armor at home.

The IV/70's ambush at close range.

Front armor nine can't save you when you are hit six times by AT14, the two bailed ran.

The next turn the first Sapper company and the scouts assault my pioneers, they push me back but losses are mounting for the Soviet troops. I destroyed the Scouts and the first Sapper company was down to five teams. One of my Jagdpanzers is bailed by the second SU-85m platoon, the fearless tank stays bailed for four turns.

The Jagdpanzer on the right stays bailed for the rest of the game.

After the first assault pushes me back from the objective, the first Soviet company looks thin.

The Soviet artillery was nearly useless for the entire game and the bridge was mined.

In my third turn I foolishly withdraw my damaged pioneer platoon and shifted my full strength Schultzen platoon over towards the objective. I manage to pin both his assaults against my guns, his artillery had failed to range in on them so they fired full rate of fire, but had either of those assaults gotten through he would have won.

There are more Soviet infantry out of frame, the river made his attack disjointed.

The next turn his assault was once again pinned down by defensive fire, and now my Schultzen platoon and Jagdpanzers were almost to the objective to help out. I withdrew another platoon from the far side of the board. I shot up much of the remaining Soviet infantry and my artillery continued to pounded them as well.

Backup has arrived.

Bad dice.

Rob then had to roll for both of his sapper companies, he rolled a one, then with the battalion commander he rolled another one, the commisar then killed a team and he rolled a four to keep the last member of the first sapper company on the board. But the second Sapper company was also below half strength he rolled a one.

We called it then, with only three infantry stands on the objective, my guns still contesting and a full infantry platoon and two tanks on the way, he wasn't able to take either before I started removing them.