Battle of Tel Hafir, with Soldiers of God

A one-off SoG game, pitched battle with 300 pts. The Saracens would fight with 4 units of horse archers on each flank, with ghulam in the centre screened by cheap ahdtah levy infantry (for the MVs) and single Arab cavalry unit guarding the baggage. The plan was to heavily harass the flanks and use the central ghulam to go left or right and overwhelm the weakest flank in an all out cavalry attack. Facing them the Crusaders had their knights and hospitallers on their left, with a strong infantry centre, dismounted knights backed by archers and crossbows, and an infantry right, to just hold, again built around a unit of dismounted knights (the rock).

Both had cautious battle plans, Saracens had ‘hold and harass’, Crusaders had ‘hold the line’ (so a lot of rallying). Just because these were the pre-selected plans, they did not stop use going forwards as we could. 

The field of Tel Hafir. Saracens right, Crusaders left. 

The battle began with the Crusaders moving their knights on the left up, as the horse archers also advanced and started the rolling arrow deluge. The knights shook it off, with a rally card behind them, breaking them would be hard. On the Saracen left, the horse archers moved up through the village, with 2 units swinging hard right and galloping across the front to join the fight on the right, they’d need the extra firepower. The right then would become a mere skirmish, nothing decisive would happen here, with the crusader infantry holding and rallying against the two horse archers picking away at them. So the battle was set, it’ll be decided on the Saracen right. 

Main moves. Saracens in pink. Crusaders in blue, an attack from their left and centre. 

The knights came on, the horse archers falling back (go forwards to come back) and doing some damage, but the hospitallers rallied it all off – ‘God wills it!’. Suddenly, after a march, the knights used a charge and gallop move to catch the horse archers, and the melee was on. Ouch! The archers were in trouble, but then, the nelee cards dried up and after a initial impact, and some rallying, the horse archers held the line, just. The pressure eased and the counter-attack was on.

The ghulam spurred forwards and galloped over the ahdath, (‘out of the way peasants!’) and swung right. With no charge card to get stuck in, but they pepper them with arrows (firing in melee was risky but worth it). Next turn, one unit of ghulam charged into the knights, but not in time to save a horse archer unit from breaking. The first lost unit. The knight though were in some trouble, hit by missile fire and the ghulam, but they rallied (of course).

In the centre, the crusader infantry began a slow advance. On the left, the horse archers had yet to break any of the defenders, but had been hit by a few catapult shots, so it wasn’t all one way.

The right in the centre-right heated up and, in the end, the knights broke first. Things had turned and suddenly his knights were in trouble. Ghulam were ganging up. From a good start, the crusaders were now facing problems. The infantry centre kept moving up, needing to support the heavy cavalry. The ghulam moved on to charge into crossbowmen. Pressure was mounting, but a dismal melee resulted in them taking more hits than giving, and the crossbows then had support, archers moving in behind and foot knights getting flank charge. The ghulam charge looked rash. The knights would swing it and beat the lone ghulam into a rout. The game had swung back again, the tardy knights, still fighting horse archers now gained a few charge and melee cards and finally took it out on the weak horse archers, one unit broken, then another, and even with the arrival of supporting ghulam, the lost MV pushed the Saracens close to breaking.

It was too much of gap, even with breaking a men-at-arms unit on the far right, the Saracens could not recover. Their counter-attack was spent and hadn’t done enough damage, and the attrition was all in favour of the knights and hospitallers, who could just keep rallying. In the end, a solid Crusader’s win, even facing a lot of horse archers. They had come prepared to weather the arrow storm and their plan had worked. Maybe mine was bit too predictable, and the ghluam had ended having to counter-attack his tough knights, not the weaker units, best try something new next time. 

 Pics of the action.

Horse archers move up through the village and along the stream.

Saracen centre, a line of levy infantry, ghulam behind, to go left or right.

Horse archers mob on the right.

Crusader infantry holding the right against the horse archer's harassment.

Crusader centre of infantry and the left ,behind, the knight's strike force.

The knights set-out on the main attack.

The horse archers spring forwards to pepper the knights.

Horse archers from the right gallop across the centre to join the right in facing the knights. Speed and manoeuvrability in use. More archery!

The knights use a galloping charge to reach their targets, big problem for the horse archers.

Ghulam advance from the centre (over the ahdath militia) to join the big cavalry brawl.

Ghulam counter the knights, with arrows and lance,

On the far Crusader right, men at arms hang on against the arrows, but the battle won't be decided here. They did eventually break, but job done. 

The infantry centre surges forward, they can't leave the knights to do it all.

Ghulam swing to meet the infantry and charge in, foolhardy!. But the infantry hold and then overwhelm them.

The last ghulam rush to aid the horse archers, that have held on well, but are crumbling now, with the knight's initially stalling. It's just too late to swing the fight.

 

Surrounded at Kleinehausen - with Battlegroup Fall of the Reich - D-Day to Berlin series, game 7

The last scenario, with 800 points of US attacking 800 points of defending Germans in the Hexenkessel scenario. The Germans had dug-out (a bit) in the village, occupying the buildings and the orchards, with some a SiG-33 and a Panzer IV in reserve behind. Their force was, roughly: a Panzer IV platoon, a Jagdpanzer IV, a Volksgrenadier platoon and an ad hoc platoon of auxiliaries, an on-table SiG-33 dug-in, some timed 80mm mortar strikes, a Pz 38(t) AA tank and a single Panzer II ‘mini-Tiger’ as the unique obsolete tank (from the Bagration book).

The US, attacking, would be by a veteran (but not war weary) infantry platoon (with an extra squad added), a Sherman platoon (2 x 76mm) with a Sherman Jumbo added, a M36 Jackson battery (rare outing for them), a sniper and the on-table battery of M7 Priests, plus spotters and an combat engineer squad in their M3.

Conducting the attack, with units arriving random would prove hard, its difficult to have a plan or even decide on the best route forwards, all you can do is make the best of it and see what the dice throw up. The defender’s problem of being all but surrounded was very different and a fun change, the hedgehog defence makes protecting your armour difficult, and you’re an obvious target for the IDF, all in one condensed area. 

US approaches. Germans in hedgehog, facing out in directions.

All set-up and 3 objectives placed, it was time for the US to get on with reducing this pocket. It would not prove easy. To start with, the attacker is out-gunned, so the US hung back, traded fire at range with the armour, Sherman vs Pazner IV (classic), all missing or glancing at these ranges, and some infantry crept forwards. I’d have to wait and see where the main attack could develop as reinforcements moved in. This they did, the infantry arriving on the right, but the Jacksons were dispersed, one to each side. This actually worked out OK, as their fire caught the German armour in the flanks, with one M36 scoring a Pz IV kill and the Panzer II (first game blues) in one order (lucky double tap). But it was isolated without infantry support. Infantry fire was traded around the small orchard to the right, MG-34s from the building pinning down US as they tried to use reserve move to rush across the open fields. A P-47 timed strike dove in, but 20mm AA fire caused it to pull out before it could drop its bombs into the village - drat, can’t work every time though.

The SiG-33 was hammering away (busy loader team) with a spotter somewhere in the buildings call in the fire to pin the US infantry, with the occasional direct hit inflicting loses on the infantry as they arrived (150mm hurts). Eventually, the US M7 Battery arrived, behind the woods, and could open fire. Now life in the village became significantly more unpleasant!

A probelm the US faced, apart from the firepower coming out the village, was ammo. They had one resupply truck, which was dedicated to support the M7 Priests to keep the artillery going. The M36s were very spread out and running low, although one scored a kill on another Panzer IV. The Shermans were running out of AP and took to using HE for suppressing fire into the armour (trying to stop the Jagdpanzer IV firing) and buildings. Bins would run low, and by the end of the game every tank and SP gun was out of all ammo… MGs only then.

The US managed to push two attacks forward, on the right, at the small orchard, the infantry moved up and the combat engineers disembarked to assault the pinned down kriegsmarine troops holding it, wiping them out. In return, they drew heavy MG and 150mm SiG fire and got pinned down too, with another BAR squad wiped out by a 150 hit (ouch). The Jumbo tried to help out, MG-ing up the buildings, as it had fired off all its ammo at the last Pz-IV (but survived a couple of direct hits to the front - yes!). The M26 with it, also out of ammo, was now a single MG sitting on ambush fire, and firing into the buildings anytime an MG-34 opened up… in which it proved pretty handy, until the jagdpanzer IV finally hit it - kaboom!

To their left, the rest of the infantry had had an easier time getting across the fields, and supported by their .30 cal MG teams fire, managed to assault and clear the first building. This provoked a sudden response from waiting volksgrenadiers, on reserve move, which rushed up and them and assault them back, wiping them out and retaking the building. Back and forth firing would see the GIs unable to close in again, even when an M36 Jackson rolled up to aid (it still had some AP rounds, but no targets worthy of precious ammo). It was caught out by another reserve move, as a panzerfaust-armed panzerjaeger team bicycled out, then jumped off their bikes and loosed two rockets into it, easily KOing it. US casualties were mounting, one Sherman 76 was hit by the last Pz IV and KO’d too. Removing pinning was proving costly. US was running out of stuff.

The lurking last Pz IV was then KO’d in return by 105mm HE raining in, and also got the German supply horse-drawn wagon… a blow, as the Jagdpazner was now low and had to be careful. The last of the German armour was the 20mm armoured AA Pz38(t), and it risked having a go at a distant M36 from cover, but even a Jackson’s armour was good enough to defeat 20mm rounds at long range. The return fire immobilised the 38(t) (now did it not die?), but the tank destroyer was now empty. Ammo, I need ammo!

Short on shots, hammering away with artillery was all the US had to offer, but the Germans were dug-in (a fortified building, dug-dug and mortar pit) so it wasn’t doing too much. The attack had stalled, and the Germans then drew the Endkampf counter, gaining more BR (in all, with their scenario bonus, ‘to the last bullet’ and Endkampf, they gained +13 BR in this game). They weren’t going to break, and so US had to pull back to re-up the ammo. The Germans had held out.

It was a solid win for the defenders, still 20 BR from breaking (with the +13, so just 7 really!). We’d have to get the USAAF on-call and bomb Kleinehausen flat instead! That ends our 7 game ‘D-Day to Berlin’ series, 4-3 to the Germans in victories (if that matters), it’s been fun to work through the different theatres and use different scenarios and forces and special rules (and models). On to something else now, yet tbd.

Kleinehausen village, before the Germans move in.

Jombo approaches from the US 'right', a fierce close quarters fight for the small orchard (just head) would follow,

Lurking panzers, Jagdpazner IV behind a road block.

On on the other sdie, the 'big orchard'. Both these panzers would be taken by a single M36.  The supply wagon behind was wrecked by artillery fire later.

Move up. Sherman leads infantry past the wrecked Tiger (an objective marker).

Bombs 'not' away! P-47 seen off by AA fire.

Jumbo, a real survivor this time (very un-Sherman like).

Priests on call... we agreed these would count as 1 unit for arrival, as it would be odd for a battery to split up all over the place.

Sneaking paznerjager team, bicycle to victory, a reserve move, then jump off, and let a M36 have it. Drat! But nicely conducted counter-punch. Be wary of men on bicycles bearing rocket launchers!

Jagdpanzer, it just can't hit... resupply behind, on the way.

Combat engineers take the small orchard in a close assault.

Troublesome SiG. with a hard working loader team and knack for rolling a direct hit!

Reserve Panzer IV moves out, but gets spotted and KO'd by an M36 Jackson. Nice to have a bigger gun for once (Germans get own medicine).

Still not got into town, and not going too any time soon (the volksgrenadiers in there have many 'fausts). The US armour is down to MGs only. Infantry largely wiped out.

 

Encounter at Nirgendsdorf (Pershing vs King Tiger) - Battlegroup Fall of the Reich - D-Day to Berlin series game 6

We have reached 1945 in our series, so time for a Fall of the Reich game. This was with 900 points, using the Hard Road scenario. The US advance would encounter a German counter-attack at the village of Nirgendsdorf.

Forces, roughly were, for the US: M26 Pershing platoon, armoured infantry platoon (vets and war weary) with an M8 Priest, armoured infantry recce patrol, 2 x M8 Greyhounds, forward observer, forward air spotter, forward HQ and signal half track, 2 supply trucks, M16 AA HT, battery of 2 Sherman Calliopes (second ever game), some odds and ends, 2 timed 105mm strikes, counter battery fire mission (failed me again), a cheeky P-47 air strike.

For the Germans: King Tiger (panzer ace of course), 2 StuGs, 1 Jagdpanzer IV (lang), dismounted panzer grenadier platoon (regs), forward artillery spotter, forward HQ, sniper, on table 120mm mortar team and loader team, Grille, 2 timed 80mm mortar strikes, Famo, an ad hoc infantry platoon of kreigsmarine and some drafted auxiliaries, errr… a few bits and pieces, supply truck, oh, a 20mm Flak 38(t) and a one-off Panzer I chassis-mounted Pak-40 (end of war garbage), and a Hornisse (serious big gun, not garbage).

The US won the roll-off for deployment and we deployed recce and some extras, the US infantry largely holding the village with M8s on both wings looking to either hold, or sneak up and grab, an objective (there were 5 dotted about).

The Germans had the King Tiger front and centre with recce and infantry scattered about. Stop that!

From the off we traded long range fire to little effect and started getting stuff onto the tabletop. The US armoured infantry reinforced the village, and got their arty spotters scattered around, for the arrival of Calliopes next turn. The Germans pushed up some StuGs and we banged away with our guns, missing. The King Tiger, with a BtCoD test, boldly moved up to face down a Pershing lurking in the edge of the village, but missed again. The return fire would clang off, and then both dodged back out of sight. Cagey from the big hitters…

Throughout the game the Germans really struggled for orders, they just couldn’t get going, frustrating for them. The US, with loads of orders, could, but were going firm in their cover and onto ambush fire. A few MGs burst was about it… then the Calliopes arrived and opened fire. Alternating fire, they dumbed rockets into the German advance for much pinning and the destruction of the PzI Marder-thing… the tanks and StuGs traded some more fire, but given the many US bazookas lurking, they didn’t come forwards, and the same for the US. Still cagey stuff…

80mm mortars repeated hammered the village, with some losses (the forward air controller being unlucky), an KOing the M16, pinning and immobilised another half track, whilst .50 cal MGs did good work keeping German infantry heads down in return. An M8 Greyhound got lucky with a long range hit on the Hornisse (don’t buy a ticket, don’t win the raffle was this crew’s motto), but found even its thin armour was enough against a mere 37mm gun at 49” range… the return fire, scary, missed. Not a StuG though, it wiped out the cheeky M8. When a M26 Pershing moved up to get a line of sight on the Hornisse, it hit as well (raffle tickets coming in today). Its 90mm guns at that range was good enough, and the big panzerjaeger was KO’d - phew!

Not so for the King Tiger though, as we all kept out of shot of the other’s biggest guns. Then a small miracle. The US’ timed 105mm strike scored a direct hit on the big cat and immobilised it. It was stuck. Que the arrival of the Famo to rescue it. Que the destruction of the Famo when a Calliope rocket hit it next turn and blew it sky-high. The Tiger was stuck, still dangerous though. One bold Pershing crew tried to take it on, hit, and glanced off again, this crew would not bale… the return fire didn’t miss and didn’t glance – first Pershing smoking.

By now, all our forces were here and Germans started to move up, finally getting some orders. The US ambush fire got the infantry mostly pinned though and so the attack got nowhere. The Jagdpazner IV did KO another Pershing though, two down now. It was close.

The finale of the battle. The Germans tried to move their ad hoc infantry up on their right, through the woods, but found US machine guns (and 60mm mortar) waiting and causing pinning and losses. The M8 Priest was trading fire with a StUG, an uneven fight, but the StuG couldn’t hit, and the Priest pulled back to cover to rearm. Calliope fire continue to rover the tabletop, and destroyed a StuG, the Flakpanzer 38t and then a supply truck. A bazooka hit immobilised (again) the Jagdpazner IV, but it still KO’d the last Pershing with its last AP shot. 

Things continued to go the US' way when they drew 2 air attack counters in succession (one for a tactical co-ordination to get the Priest firing again). USAAF was en route, except the air controlled had been killed in mortar strike earlier. Damn, but one P-47 did still show (2 would have been so cool!). It swooped in and then wildly bombed, very USAAF, but one bomb luckily scored a direct hit on the King Tiger! Yes! Medium bomb on rear armour, is 3+ on 2D6… and I rolled snakes eyes. It was still there, it survived a bomb’s direct hit (I cannot destroy Tigers), crew rock solid still inside their massive bunker. Still it was pinned (for about a fifth time). More Calliope rocket fire added to the pinning, and the Germans couldn’t afford to unpin. When ,next turn a StUg that had boldly burst into the village streets (taking an objective) was hit by a bazooka round and KO’d, it was game over. The German counter-attack had ground to a stall. The US had held Nirgendsdorf, with still 9 BR remaining, so a solid(ish) win. Calliopes were man-of-the match… evil firepower, even at only 1 firing per turn (and 1 missed turn in 3). I’m still claiming that King Tiger as a capture!

That makes in 3-3 in our D-Day to Berlin series, so a decider is needed. We’ll do that later in the month, another FotR game, with the Hexenkessel scenario, for a suitable end to the war.   

 

Nirgendsdorf, US deploy from the left, Germans approach from the right

US recce patrol arrive in the village

M8s lurking on each flank.

Moving up into the village, first reinforcements.

Coming the other way, first shots fired... big shots too.

StuG and tank riders arrive in support.

The war weary veteran armoured infantry find themselves in action again. One HT just got immobilised in a mortar stonk.

Pershing moves up to take an objective, at the ford (marked by dead cow). The CO tank, taking Hornisee fire (ouch!), but gets the kill.

Artillery immobilises the Konigs Tiger... then the Pershng tries to get it in the flank...

Hornisse hit at long range and KO'd... bit of its own medicine.

StuG lurks behind the woods (avoid the Pershings), pinned, and on ambush fire.

Lining up the distance King Tiger.

M8 arrives and puts down some suppressing HE fire across the table...

P-47 timed strike, pined a StuG... but its a BR counter.

Sherman Calliope battery, rolls in and begins to unload, and unload, and again, and again! 

Ah, lost his duel with the King Tiger... COs tank is smoking.

Immobilised, but hanging tough, the panzer ace crew won't bale.

StuG edges into town, parked M3 half tracks making for some easy kills on the street. Bring up a bazooka!

Re-up the ammo, supply truck reaches the Priest.

Go USAAF! 2 counter pulls, 2 air attacks... Jabos inbound.