For our final game set in Normandy, we dusted off a scenario that we created over ten years ago (how time flies!). None of our new guys had ever played it, so they formed the British team. The scenario depicts some of the fighting on the afternoon of 26 June 1944 during Operation Epsom. By this point in the operation, the British had cracked the main line of the German defense west of the city of Caen, and were starting to push south through the lightly defended German rear area toward the bridges over the River Odon. The Germans were trying to plug the gap with any units that were available, while rushing Panzer reinforcements to the area. So we had the makings of a dynamic game for seven players (having a few more players would have been ideal).
Our 11X5′ table was laid with the long axis running east-west, A main road and a railway from Caen ran east-west across the table. North of the railway, the rolling terrain was covered by crop fields and crossed by some tree lines. South of the railway, the terrain was covered by smaller fields and orchards, bordered by hedges and bocage, with four small villages strung out along the main road. The railway itself ran through a cutting in the middle of the table that was deep enough to provide hull-down cover and to be a slight obstacle to movement. Near the center of the northern baseline were some ruins of the village of Cheux and the small village of Le Haut du Bosq. Numerous minor roads ran in all directions.
The German starting forces consisted of elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division, that were deployed in their historical locations. In the north, two dismounted platoons of PanzerPioneers occupied Cheux and Le Haut du Bosq. On the eastern side of the table, on the German right, a dismounted company of PanzerGrenadiers (representing the recon battalion) was deployed south of the railway within the bocage, supported by three PaK40 antitank guns. At the junction of the German right and center, one platoon of PanzerGrenadiers (representing the HQS security company) was positioned in the bocage surrounding a large house on the north side of the railway. The center of the German position was covered by two 88mm and two 20mm antiaircraft guns, positioned to the south of the railway cutting. The German left, on the western end of the table, was defended by one platoon of four Pz.IVs hiding in an orchard. The Germans were also supported by an off-table battery of 105mm artillery and a Nebelwerfer battery, both of which had limited availability (requiring a D6 roll each turn of 4+ for the artillery and 5+ for the Nebelwerfers).
Reinforcing the Germans were twelve more Pz.IV tanks, which would enter the table from the western edge on Turn 3. (To make the game a manageable size, all of the armored formations on both sides were fielded at about 2/3 of their full size). On Turn 5, the Germans would start to roll for the arrival of four Tiger I tanks, which would arrive from the east on the main road.
To mask the weakness of the German defenses, the positions of all of the German starting units were marked by blinds. For blinds we used spare vehicle models with the unit’s identification stuck under the base. An equal number of blinds were dummies, which were deployed all over the table. Thus the British would have some idea of where the Germans might be, but would not know the Germans’ exact locations or strengths until the blinds were spotted. To spot a blind, each British platoon leader could make one or two rolls (depending one whether the platoon leader had moved or not) to spot a blind at the beginning of each fire phase, using the same “to-hit” numbers and modifiers as shooting. If the modified roll resulted in a “hit” the blind was spotted and the corresponding German unit had to be placed on the table, or the dummy blind was revealed as such and removed. A blind could also be spotted automatically whenever any British unit moved within four inches of it.
The British forces consisted of elements of the 11th Armoured Division “The Black Bulls” and the 15th “Scottish” Division. To start, one infantry company, representing a battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, along with mortars and machine guns, was set up dug in on Ring Contour 100, a low hill on the eastern half of the table. On Turn 1, a Cromwell company, representing A Squadron of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry (the divisional recce regiment), would enter the table from the northern edge, to the east of Cheux. On Turn 2, four M10 tank destroyers mounting 17-pounder guns would arrive behind the Cromwells. Also on Turn 2, two companies of Shermans representing the 23rd Hussars and the 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry would enter the table from the north, one company to the west of Cheux and the other to the east of Le Haut du Bosq. Later in the game, the British would be reinforced by a Churchill company representing the 9th Royal Tank Regiment and two more companies of infantry. Two off-table 25-pdr batteries were in support.
After all the forces were on the table, the British would have a 60 to 20 advantage in tanks, and a 9 to 6 advantage in infantry platoons. However, the British had challenging victory conditions. To win, the British would have to capture a road exit on the German baseline on the southern side of the table and link it via a controlled road to the British baseline on the northern side of the table. If the British could achieve this, it would represent a major breakthrough of the German defenses, leading to the seizure of the Odon River bridges. As a secondary victory condition, the British also had to clear all the German defenders out of Cheux and Le Haut du Bosq. With a limited amount of time in which to play the game, the British were given 12 turns to accomplish their missions. They would have to be bold and move quickly to take advantage of the initial German weakness.
Unfortunately for the British, they were not bold enough or quick enough. The leading Cromwells immediately discovered a platoon of Pz.Pioneers in the ruins of Cheux, and two-thirds of their tanks turned to engage them, which took them away from their reconnaissance role. When the two 88s revealed themselves, the British engaged them with the M10s, which had no HE and spent the remainder of the game fruitlessly shooting at the 88s.
The company of Seaforth Highlanders on Ring Contour 100 came under Nebelwerfer fire. After rallying, the Highlanders sent one platoon towards Cheux, while two platoons made unsupported probes toward the bocage along the railway. The Germans hiding near the railway responded with small arms and machine gun fire from one Pz.Gd. platoon and the HQs security platoon, which wiped out one British platoon and sent the other back with losses.
When the two Sherman companies arrived on Turn 2, the company arriving to the east of Cheux sent some of its tanks to join the fighting there, while the other tanks moved forward toward the German center. Those Shermans grew cautious when the German 88’s started to fire, and stopped short of a tree line in order to stay out of sight, where they would remain until late in the game.
The other Sherman company, which arrived to the west of Le Haut du Boque, drove forward toward the German left. This company discovered the second Pz.Pioneer platoon hiding in the village when a passing Sherman was blown up by a Panzerschrek shot!
Having attracted so much attention, the Pz.Pioneers soon began to suffer under concentrated fire from tanks, small arms, mortars and artillery. The Pz.Pioneer platoon holding Cheux was wiped out, and British infantry occupied the ruins. After Cheux was taken, the Cromwells turned about and headed for the German center. However, valuable time had been lost, which the Germans used to move a Pz.Gd. platoon and a PaK 40 from the east to shore up their vulnerable center. Also, by this time, two Tigers were driving as fast as they could down the main road from the east, and would soon be followed by two more.
On Turn 3, twelve Pz.IVs entered from the western edge of the table, and halted in hull-down positions behind the crests of the low hills that had masked their approach. One platoon found itself on the flank of the Sherman company below it, and the other Panzers had good firing positions as well. The four Pz.IVs in the orchard also revealed themselves. All of these Panzers then fired at the Sherman company. Somewhat miraculously, only two Shermans were destroyed, and a few more were bailed out but soon remounted.
The Shermans responded with their own fire, and claimed one or two Pz.IVs. This firefight would eventually favor the Panzers, and the British were down to only two operational Shermans by the time the Churchills and some British infantry arrived to rescue them. The well-armored Churchills quickly turned the tables on the Panzers, which suffered a terrible string of bad saving throws, and the Germans were reduced to three operational Pz/IVs by the end of the game.
One troop of Churchills and two platoons of infantry also assaulted the Germans in Le Haut du Bosq. Someone failed to inform the late-arriving player commanding this force that the town was held by PanzerPioneers, and the British infantry assault was repulsed with heavy losses. The two assaulting Churchills were lost to Panzerfaust fire.
After that, the fun was over for the Pz.Pioneers. The British infantry rallied and redeployed to assault the two vulnerable flanks of the village. Caught in a pincers, the last of the Pioneers died hard.
With time running out, the British armored forces started moving forward with greater urgency. The Shermans on the British left moved up to the tree line and used their fire to support the advance of the Cromwells in the center. One of their Fireflies knocked out a Tiger.
The leading two platoons of the Cromwells reached the railway cutting, but this was the British high water mark. We called the game after ten turns, as it was apparent that the British could not capture a road exit in the last two turns. At that point, the Germans had six tanks and all of their AT and AA guns still on the table, opposed by about 30 British tanks, thus, given much more time, the British probably could have achieved a breakthrough. In the historical operation, the British brought up fresh forces and fought all night and into the next day before crossing the Odon.
It had been a long, hard game for our players, who had earned themselves a good dinner at the pub!
- TJ