We continued our Greece 1941 theme by playing part of the Battle of Proasteion. This battle was a delaying action by the British 1st Armoured Brigade vs. the German 8.Panzer Division.
Background: The main defensive line of the British was established in front of the town of Proasteion, which blocked the main road through the valley. Late in the day, the Germans detached about thirty tanks to move through the hills around the left flank of the British position and then thrust deep into the British rear area. About three miles behind the town, they were met near the village of Mavropiye by the A10 and Mk.VIB tanks of the British armored brigade, supported by antitank guns and machine guns, plus an ad hoc infantry force formed from troops of the brigade headquarters. Our game would represent the meeting engagement that was created by the German flanking move and the British countermoves.
This link provides a good account of the historical battle.
Terrain: Our 9’X5′ table was set with the long axis running east-west. At the center of the southern edge of the table was a steep hill, covered with brush on its summit. Three undulating ridges radiated out from this hill to the north. Between the ridges were dry watercourses, lined with brush and some trees. Below the eastern side of the steep hill was the small village of Mavropiye. A poor dirt road entered the table from the west, passed through the village, and exited to the east, after crossing another brushy watercourse.
Objectives: After entering the table at the western end of the road, the Germans were tasked to exit the eastern end of the road in force by Turn 15, destroying as much of the British armor as possible along the way. The British, after entering along the northern side of the table and at the eastern end at the road, were to halt the Germans before they reached their objective, preserving their own force as much as possible. The scenario had a maximum of 15 turns, after which the onset of total darkness would stop the fighting.
Special Rules:
The first 9 turns were played in full daylight. On Turn 10, the sun set and the twilight reduced firing ranges to 24″, with a -1 penalty to hit over 16″. On Turn 11, the maximum range was reduced by 4″ and the penalty range was be reduced by 4″ (i.e. to 20″ and 12″), and so on until the maximum range (with the firing penalty) was down to 4″ on Turn 15. Teams could also shoot at enemy teams beyond the maximum sighting range by firing at their gun flashes.
The steep hill could be climbed at half of the normal movement rate. The ridges were gentle slopes and were no impediment to movement. Crossing areas of brush or trees required a cross check. The road was so poor that it provided no bonus to movement and was counted as open cross country terrain for movement (maximum 18″ of movement per turn for tracked vehicles).
We also used the Limited Air Power rule in Flames of War V.3. The Germans would have to roll a 5 or 6 for Stuka availability each turn, starting with five dice in their pool, and reducing the pool by one die after each attempt, until only one die remained for the rest of the game.
German and British forces that entered via the roads were limited to a maximum of two platoons arriving per turn, with the first platoon able to move at full speed, and the second platoon limited to moving at half speed on the turn they enter. This represented the forces deploying from road columns. There was no limitation to how many British tanks could enter via the northern edge of the table.
Forces:
German: (The German tank types were based on the ratio of tanks in the 9.Panzer Division at the time.)
- 1.Panzer Kompanie: HQ with 2 X Pz.IV (short 75mm) and platoons of 4 X Pz.IV (short 75mm), 3 X Pz.III (37mm), 5 X Pz.IIC, 7 X Pioneer teams with halftracks.
- 2.Panzer Kompanie: HQ with 2 X Pz.III (short 50mm) and platoons of 5 X Pz.III (short 50mm), 4 X Pz.III (37mm), 5 X Pz.IIC.
- Support: Limited Stuka air support.
British:
- Regimental HQS: 2 X A10
- Tank Squadron A: HQS with 2 X A10 and 2 X A10CS and four platoons of 3 X A10.
- Tank Squadron B: HQS with 2 X A10 and 2 X A10CS and four platoons of 3 X A10.
- Tank Squadron C: HQS with 4 X Mk.VIB and four platoons of 3 X Mk.VIB.
- Tank Squadron D: HQS with 4 X Mk.VIB and four platoons of 3 X Mk.VIB.
- Support: Two batteries of 4 X 2-pdr. antitank guns with trucks, two platoons of 4 X HMGs with carriers, one platoon of rifle/mg armed infantry with trucks, one battery of off-table 25-pdr guns with two forward observers with carriers.
Some sharp-eyed observers might notice that most of the British tanks used in the game were the wrong types, and were painted in the wrong colors (in green vice desert tan). Unfortunately, none of us owned enough A10s and MK.IVBs in the right colors, so we had to use what we had!
Arrival Times:
- No teams started on the table.
- Starting on Turn 1, the British could enter the infantry platoon and A Squadron, plus one FO, via the eastern end of the road, with two platoons entering per turn. C Squadron could enter the table from the north within 18″ of the northwest corner, or it could move off-table and enter within 36″ of the corner on Turn 2, and so on every turn.
- On Turn 3 or later (at their discretion), B and D squadrons, plus one FO, could enter from anywhere along the northern edge.
- On Turn 5, the antitank guns and the HMGs could enter via the eastern end of the road, two platoons per turn.,
- Starting on Turn 1, all of the Germans could enter, two platoons per turn, via the western end of the road. The Germans had to determine their order of arrival prior to the game.
- The British won the roll for the first move.
Opposing Plans:
The British knew that their tanks were greatly inferior to the German panzers. Their plan was to delay and distract the Germans as much as possible, hoping to stretch out the panzers. The A10 squadrons would look for opportunities to mass against any German tanks that became isolated. The heavy machine guns of the Mk.VIBs could only penetrate the halftracks or the side/rear of the Pz.IICs, so those squadrons would make feint attacks to try to draw some Germans away from the objective, and, if ignored, would then look for opportunities to get side/rear shots on the Pz.IIs and the halftracks. Meanwhile, the infantry platoon would drive to the village and occupy it, blocking the road. Later, the antitank guns and machine guns would arrive and dig in along the brushy watercourse near the road exit — this would be the final defensive position.
The Germans planned for 1.Kompanie to make a direct approach following the path of the road, while 2.Kompanie swung around to the left, then both companies would drive on the objective.
Moves:
The British moved first, entering on the eastern road with one A10 platoon and the trucked infantry following — both units headed for the village. One platoon of Mk.VIBs entered from the northwest corner. The Germans entered on the western road with a Pz.II platoon followed by a Pz.III(37) platoon from 1.Kompanie.
On Turn 2, the remaining Mk.VIB tanks of C Squadron entered the table from the north, spread out up to 36″ from the northwest corner. Two more platoons of A Squadron entered on the eastern road. The Germans brought on 5 X Pz.III(50) and 4 X Pz.III(37) from 2.Kompanie. All of the panzers on the table turned toward the north to face the Mk.VIs.
On Turn 3, the Mk. VIB tanks of C Squadron and the A10 tanks of B Squadron entered from the north, near the center of the table. The leading A10 tanks of A Squadron and the trucks of the infantry platoon reached the village, while the remainder of A Squadron arrived in the east. The Germans brought on a PZ.IV platoon and the two PZ.IV HQs tanks of 1.Kompanie. These new arrivals headed toward the village, while all of the other panzers moved to engage the British tanks coming from the north. The Stukas also arrived and bombed a platoon of three A10s in the north, knocking out two of them and driving the third A10 off the table. First blood to the Luftwaffe!
On Turn 4, the British infantry occupied the town, closely supported by one platoon of A10s. By now, one British forward observer was dug in and concealed on the eastern ridge. The remaining tanks of A Squadron moved up to and around the village to the south. One A10 platoon began climbing the steep hill above the village. This wing of the British force was unmolested by the Germans, who were focused on the three squadrons that had arrived from the north. The last two platoons of 2.Kompanie arrived (the two Pz.III(50) HQS tanks and five Pz.IICs) and followed the leading elements of their company to the north. The leading tanks of both sides exchanged shots, and a couple more British tanks brewed up. The Stukas also bombed another A10.
(The Stukas would continue to appear almost every turn of the game, until the approach of darkness finally stopped the flights. Even when only rolling one die for availability, the German air commander always rolled the requisite 5 or 6!)
Turn 5 saw the British antitank guns arriving in the east, followed by the HMGs on Turn 6. All of these guns deployed and then dug in within and behind the brushy watercourse in the east, defending the road exit. On the German side, the four panzer platoons of 1.Kompanie started wheeling to the east, with the Pz.IVs deployed on the central ridge nearest the village, then the Pz.IIs, then the Pz.IIIs. The Pioneers entered the table in their halftracks and vectored to the northwest, following 1.Kompanie’s advance. The four panzer platoons of 2.Kompanie continued moving to the northern baseline in a 2 X 2 column of platoons, then turned toward the east, trailing 1.Kompanie by more than a full move, with some vehicles being further delayed while crossing the watercourses.
With all of this German attention diverted to the north, the task of the Mk.IV tanks was accomplished, and C and D squadrons retreated off the table to the north. The A10 tanks of B Squadron conducted a fighting withdrawal to the next ridge line, losing a couple tanks as they pulled back. At the same time, two A10 platoons of A Squadron engaged the Pz.IVs that were nearest the village, along with the off-table 25-pdr. artillery. Two Pz.IVs were knocked out.
Over the next few turns, the panzers of 1.Kompanie pursued B Squadron over the next ridge line and a close range firefight developed along the crest, with the A10s getting the worst of the exchange. Their loss was compensated by the loss of the remaining Pz.IVs, which were knocked out by the A10s of A Squadron, which were now massed behind the right flank of 1.Kompanie as it bypassed the village. With 2.Kompanie still some distance away to the north, the tanks of A Squadron continued to harry the flank and rear of 1.Kompanie, knocking out a few more panzers. This attack took the pressure off B Squadron, and five A10s of B Squadron (including the Regimental commander’s tank) were able to withdraw to the final line of defense near the road exit. Meanwhile, far to the west, the MkIVBs of C and D squadron returned to the table from the north, and embarked on a hot pursuit toward the rear of 2. Kompanie.
As the sun went down and the endgame approached, the leading Pz.IIIs of 2.Kompanie drew even with the left flank of 1.Kompanie. It was about this time that the remaining tanks of 1.Kompanie were eliminated, leaving the nearly fresh 2.Kompanie and the remaining panzer pioneers to continue the attack on the objective.
The attack of 2.Kompanie was pressed with great vigor. Ignoring the pending threats to their flank and rear, all of the surviving panzers advanced into close range of the British defensive line. One A10 was knocked out and another was bailed out by cannon fire. Machine gun fire pinned one platoon of antitank guns. This enabled one platoon of Pz.III(37s) to assault the extreme end of the British line. If the panzers could break through, the path to the road exit would be cleared, and the Germans would win the scenario. Over several rounds of close combat, the British line bent but did not break. The panzers failed their morale test first and had to pull back, losing one panzer in the process. Another Pz.III platoon then attempted to assault the center of the British line, but it was driven back by defensive fire. The last line of defense had held — barely.
The final two turns of the game saw the remaining panzers attempting to repeat their assaults, but with less success each time. Meanwhile, the A10s of A Squadron and the Mk.IVs of C and D Squadrons made contact with the rear of the German force (sighting distance was down to point blank range at this point), and a massacre ensued. By the end of the game, only one operational panzer remained — everything else in the German force had been destroyed!
Conclusion: The British achieved their objectives of preventing a German breakthrough, while also preserving most of their force — B Squadron was nearly a complete write-off, but the other squadrons and the support platoons were still in good condition. As a bonus, the British wiped out the German force, making this a major British victory!
In the historical battle, the Germans were sufficiently delayed so that they could not break through the British blocking force before nightfall, plus the Germans lost about 13 panzers in the fighting, but the cost to the British was nearly their entire armored force. After the battle, the 1st Armoured Brigade was reduced to one operational squadron of tanks. Thus this action was the only tank battle of the campaign!
- TJ