Operation Mercury campaign - Game 1 - Coup de Main at Maleme Airfield, with BG: Tobruk

This is the start of new BG campaign, in which we'll be playing out part of the Operation Mercury, around Maleme airfield, Hill 107, Pirgos and Palantias. The defenders had already deployed their forces on the campaign map and I then dropped my first wave of paratroops, elite troops from 1st Sturm Regiment, in. From the campaign map, we'll determine where the games are and what forces are around for them, and what might be reinforcements. 

This was game 1, my direct landing to seize the airfield by a coup de main strike. It was just 300 pts, a 'squad' game, on a 4x4 board, which was largely empty (as the airfield was mostly just open runway). The New Zealand defenders were largely dug-in on their perimeter, as the gliders and paras dropped in all around. 

The forces selected were:

Germans:
FJ Sturm Platoon in 3 gliders       
HMG-34 team             
'Adler Tag'               
FJ Sturm squad (paratroops)
2 snipers, + 1 observer (paratroops)
JU-87 air strike (turn 1)

BR 23, 2 Scouts, 1 Officer

British (New Zealanders):
Infantry Platoon (all in foxholes)
Ad Hoc Infantry Platoon (auxiliary - RAF ground crew)
Vickers HMG team in dug-out
Bofors gun in dug-out
3" mortar in mortar pit

BR 19, 0 Scouts, 2 Officers

The tabletop, near edge is rough/overgrown ground at the end of the Tavrontis river. Far side is the few RAF huts and tents. Up top, the dispersal pen with an abandoned Hurricane (non-flyer left behind when the RAF pulled out to return to Egypt).

Two tin RAF hits (soft cover only), a few tents and the gate.

Dispersal pen (them were just low stone walls) and non-flying Hurricane. (It may have been a Fairey Fulmar, but we don't have one of them, and reports vary).

Luftwaffe's daily hate ends, as JU-88 buzzes over. In the reaming smoke and dust cloud, in come the DFS-230 gliders and JU-52s. 

Stuka pins the Bofors after braving its fire.

 

The first wave of 3 gliders skidded in, all with rough landings, so the FJ squads jumped out and were pinned. The defenders rolled  a 1 for their orders and so could do little, too surprised. The Vickers HMG opened up and missed. A dive-bombing Stuka targeted the Bofors gun, which was on ambush fire, its AA fire didn't stop the dive, and the bombing only resulted in pinning the gun, no direct hit! Still, the crew were cowering.  Turn 1 was quick... the fight was on.

The three gliders have landed and disgorged their squads. Next wave will be paratroops dropping.

Turn 2, and the second wave, the paratroops dropped down, one rifle squad being shot to death in the air and the survivors surrendering, lost them. The others landed mostly pinned as they sort their drop canisters. With a few unpinned units now, the FJ could open fire, and the HMG was set up, under the lead glider's wing, and raked the NAAFI hut. It cut-up the RAF squad inside badly, who broke and ran. It was going well. But most of the FJ were stood in the open, at short range, to troops that would surely decimate them next turn. Until, they only got 2 orders - lucky!. Still, rifle fire cracked out, and the Vickers blazed away and FJ started to die quickly. A few 'Fall Back!' moves helped, as we allowed FJ that fell back to make for the Tavrontis edge and its rocks and bushes for some cover...

The fighting was a smattering of firefights across the tabletop, usually one unit against the other, as the FJ got some MG-34s going, but the Vickers was a problem, it cut down a squad in the open. The resulting counter was an Air Attack, today we needed the Luftwaffe, and the 'Adler Tag' special rule should help. Send more Stuka's please!

One rifle squad assaulted the Vickers dug-out, throwing grenades, armed with pistols, and only killed a single crew, who then fought back and won. They followed up with a 'heroic action' from their morale test and a burst of close range fore finished of the FJ's finest. The HMG team would survive the game with 1 man left... medals for their efforts.

Three Air Attack counters had to be roled for, with the Luftwaffe due in force, but terrible rolls saw no help arrive... the boys on the ground were on their own. Now, the defender's reserve arrived, another RAF ad hoc rifle squad, which re-occupied the NAAFI (vital to hold that). On counters it was very close, with both having picked up Air Attack and special counters, but got little from them.

 

The final turns saw an MG-34 team take out the last Bofors crew at close range and then force an RAF squad to surrender too... heroics from them... but meanwhile, on the other side of the air strip, the bold FJ PHQ was finished off by the reserves from the NAAFI hut, and other FJ sqauds had fled to the Tavronis bank's cover, when an MG team, running for the 'safety' was spotted and shot down by riflemen from their dug-outs, this final counter pushed the FJ to their break point. The assault had failed. But, oh, it had been close, the Brits were on 18 from 19, so 1 more counter would have done it... how the Vickers team's last man did not get pinned, and thus break... the dice gods know! (snipers and MG-34s tried but he passed all his cover saves). 

So, game 1 sees the initial assault fail to capture the western end of Maleme airfield. We'll obviously be back, as getting the airfield is vital to getting more reinforcements in the later campaign. Game 2 will be the landings at the Tavrontis bridge, not far from this tabletop, as more gliders and paras land. Fun to play this scenario... which is a mess... but unlike any other BG game. 

Brits/New Zealand counters.

German counters

Man on the match, the Vickers team somehow survived everything, with 1 man still shooting (at half firepower).