“Bordj Toum Station, Tunisia, December 10, 1942: As the Allies paused to gather their breath and resources for their attack on Tunis, the Germans struck first. The Fifth Panzer Army, in an effort to expand its position around Tunis, sent the 86th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, supported by armor from the 7th Panzer Regiment, on a two-pronged attack along both sides of the Medjerda river. If the Germans were to gain control of the bridge near the Bordj Toum railroad station, Combat Command B would be in danger of being cut off on the eastern side of the river.” — taken from Squad Leader Scenario #39 by Avalon Hill
We continued our Tunisia campaign with the Battle of Bordj Toum (aka Borj Toumi on modern maps). This scenario was inspired by our reading of Rick Atkinson’s “An Army at Dawn.” When we did more research, we found the above scenario, which gave us some information about the specific forces involved in this battle, and provided the background quoted above.
Terrain: The village and train station at Bordj Toum are located about ten miles NE of Medjez-el-Bab (see previous reports), on the NW side of the Medjerda river. Our 14 x 5 foot table was set with the long axis running NW-SE, with the village and station in the center. The river ran SW-NE, about 5 feet from the SE end of the table. The rainy season had begun, so the river was unfordable, and any cross-country dashes would be at the “terrain” rate. A bridge crossed the river near its SW end, near the Allied baseline. The main road and a parallel railroad ran through the town from baseline to baseline. The railroad is not embanked, thus was not a hindrance to movement and did not provide any cover. The terrain in general is flat and is covered with hedged fields and orchards — concealment is everywhere, but very little blocks line of sight.
Objectives: Germans are to either capture the village or the bridge, which will cut off the primary retreat route of Combat Command B, (which is under heavy attack across the river).
US Forces and Deployment: (Confident Green)
–Armored Rifle Company (dismounted): Each of the three platoons had an attached 37mm AT gun, but only one bazooka (not many bazookas were in front line units at this time), plus the usual support weapons (two LMGs and a 60mm mortar). Deployed with one platoon dug in among the fields between the village and the river, and two platoons in the village.
–Combat Engineer Platoon: Dug in among the fields on the NW side of the village. The engineers provided six minefields, of which five were laid out in a semicircle around the NE side of the town with the sixth field providing extra depth across the main road and railroad. The Germans did not know this, but half of the minefields were dummies.
–SP Gun Platoon with 2 guns, in ambush across the river.
–Off-table artillery: 105mm battery.
–Tank Company with 11 Lee Tanks — arriving from the SE, with the leading platoon at the bridge.
–Two British Rifle Platoons and three 6-pdr AT guns — arriving as delayed reserves from the SW. (Confident Veteran)
German Forces and Deployment: (All Confident Veteran)
–Two Panzer Grenadier (Pz.Gd.) Companies (dismounted), with two platoons in each, with attached HMGs.
–Panzer Company with 4 X PzI.V F2 and 12 X Pz.III L
–Off-table artillery: Two 105mm batteries.
The German deployment area was anywhere within six inches of their baseline. By scenario rule, the tanks had to be set up within six inches of the main road. One Pz.Gd. company was deployed next to the tanks in order to advance along the main road straight toward the village, and the second Pz.Gd. company was deployed to the left in order to advance through the fields between the village and the river. The Germans had the first move.
Moves: The German advance started well. During the early turns of the game, one Pz.Gd. company seized an unoccupied farm along the road to the village, while the other company reached a stream, the banks of which provided bullet proof cover. The Pz.IVs drove straight up the road, stopping at the first minefield, while the Pz.IIIs spread out to the left and the right. German artillery immediately ranged in and began to fall on the defenders of the town (and would continue to do so for the rest of the game).
The Americans countered by moving their leading platoon of four Lees to back up the rifle platoon holding the fields between the river and the town, engaging the Panzers at long range as they advanced. The two SP guns in ambush revealed themselves and added their fire. Three Pz.IIIs were left burning. The battery of US artillery ranged in on the Pz.Gd. in the farm, and also caught some of the Pz.IVs, and knocked out one of the tanks. US artillery would stay focused on this target for the remainder of the game.
And… that was about it! The game rapidly bogged down to a static war of attrition The remaining Lees concentrated in the area between the village and the river as they arrived, and shot it out with the German tanks, with roughly equal losses on both sides. The green Lees were much easier to hit than the veteran Panzers, but the German ammunition (or their dice) must have been defective, because the entire Panzer company struggled to eliminate the Lees, and their artillery ammunition was not much better at eliminating the American infantry.
Until the American tanks were eliminated and the American infantry were softened up, the German infantry did not dare to leave their own bulletproof cover in the farm and the stream to try to clear the minefields, and the entire game settled down to a stalemate. When the British delayed reserves arrived and thickened the Allied defenses, the German commanders saw the writing on the wall and threw in the towel.
Oh well, once in a while a scenario proves to be a complete dud…! The left flank of the American defense was hanging in the air, and perhaps a German attack on that flank would have borne more fruit. Shooting better would have helped too, but the task was difficult.
In the historical battle, the American tanks, minefields, and artillery also succeeded in stopping the German attack. However, keeping the vital bridge in Allied hands made no difference to the fate of Combat Command B as it attempted to retreat across the bridge on the night of December 10. The first unit to cross the bridge was fired upon, saw silhouettes of German tanks in the darkness, and went running back across the bridge, shouting that the bridge was in German hands.
In reality, the British were holding the bridge, and the German tanks that were seen were wrecks. Who did the shooting is unknown — it might have been a German patrol, or perhaps it was friendly fire. Regardless, when the acting commander of CCB heard that the bridge was in enemy hands, rather than investigate the rumor, he ordered the entire command to reverse course and attempt to retreat back to Medjez-el-Bab via a muddy path through the fields. Almost every vehicle bogged down in the mud and was destroyed by its crew.
After four days of fighting followed by this disastrous retreat, CCB lost 75% of its tanks, towed guns, and vehicles of all types, making the entire command combat ineffective. So our German players can take some solace in the fact that even in defeat, their wrecked tanks annihilated the American force!
- TJ