Donville and the Road to Baupte

Time to play a historical refight scenario, which makes a change from picking armies, to fight with what they had on the day. The weekend would see 17th SS Panzergrenadiers attack Carentan, with the scenario recreating the fight around the Donville Farm and the side road to the village of Baupte. Not played in Normandy for ages. Bring on those StuGs…

The scenario is in the Overlord book, and has the US paras holding with 2nd Armoured’s tanks on the way to rescue them (me) from the SS StuGs and Fallschirmjager’s strong attack.

The early game was just the 101st Paras and some off-table 105 guns holding… and they did this well. The Germans were rather cautious, holding back with lots of suppressing fire and shelling the farm itself with mortars and their 105s. Much pinning, and removing of pinning under German MG fire from the far hedges… my bazooka guys held tight on ambush fire waiting for the StuGs to advance. Only along the road did they push-on far, and my bazooka guys proved rather erratic and missed (1 hit bounced off the front glacis). A single StuG and its tank riders headed north of the farm on a lonely advance (hmmm!).

As my artillery hammered the far hedges and kept some German heads down, so my first 5 Shermans arrived. My plan was simple, reinforce the farm with some armoured infantry (when they showed up) to secure it, just hold the Germans on my right, north of the farm, and strike in force along the road. If I could take the small house to the south I’d have all 3 objectives and win it, regardless of the losses. Worth a lighting strike then, along the road to speed it up.

My first Sherman up the road was KO’d by StuG fire, but the others kept coming, under shifted German arty fire. Following up, the next wave of Shermans arrived as the main strike force to overwhelm his 2 StuGs on my left. It was 6 to 2 in AFVs. The armoured infantry arrived just behind the Shermans and weathered the incoming mortars (some pinning only), to be the final assault force once the house was heavily suppressed.

It panned out rather well, I lost another Sherman on my right to StuG fire, but return fire KO’d it. Long ranged fire from a StuG still back at the start-line hedge was ineffective (he empty his ammo bins without scoring a single hit) and the Marder did likewise, blazing at distant Shermans to no effect at all, then becoming just a machine gun in a tank fight- oops.

The Germans along the road were under pressure, another StuG KO’d by my charging Shermans and the other surrounded, Shermans left, right and behind! I switched my artillery to the target building and it scored a direct hit that wiped out the German Forward Observer - no more artillery fire. Things looked bad for the Hun. Even the surprise arrival of BF-109 bombing my tanks (but pinning them only) wasn’t enough. The last StuG guarding the road was hit and KO’d from the flank, and the other Shermans switched to HE on the building, hammering it to rubble. Within, the FJ were cowering. I pressed on, M3 half-tracks now on reserve move to rush the building then assault it in my turn.

So it went, like clockwork - for once. My infantry raced up and jumped out, to then assault the last defenders. They surrendered rather than fight on, and the last FJ panzerschreck team was wiped out by MG fire from the half-tracks. The building was empty and the objective was in the GIs hands. I had all three, the main farmhouse, the road junction and the southern cottage - so game over. The loss in BR was very close, with the Germans just having the edge (3 special counters helped). But the Germans fell back, having lost 3 StuGs from 6 and about a platoon of men. US losses were 3 Shermans from 10, and about a platoon of men, so also very even, but the Germans hadn’t attacked the main farm in any strength, and had not threaten the road junction objective either, so ultimately paid the price for not fighting for the objectives. Nice to win one after a bit of a loosing streak… nowt wrong with a Sherman tank, and don't believe anybody that says otherwise.

 Donville farm, the Carentan road and the road to Baupte. Germans attacking from the left, US from the right.

Main farm, and an objectives.

 First StuGs on the road. The air identification flag would probably be a bad idea in Normandy.

Pinned infantry in the hedges, with the farm under 105mm artillery fire.

Platoon CO StuG presses on up the road, bazookas be damned (they're pinned anyway). 

Back at the start line, StuH standing in (1 too few StuGs for this game in my collection), with US return arty landing. FJ not prepared to risk the open field ahead. 

 Hello 2nd Armoured. First 5 Shermans rolling on, one gets the road junction objective (marked by the cart).

The field(s) of battle. The house in top left is my target for my armoured assault. 

Hear those Detroit motors purr...  the Sherman waves arrive as 105 fire lands.

 Ouch! First Sherman gets a 75mm-sized hole in the turret front.

 The victory of that duel... but not for long.

 Close encounter in the woods by the road, the HQ StuG fails to spot, twice!. I missed, and rolled right on passed. Odd one that at 5" range. 

 GI armoured infantry reach the farm. Not required to defend it, they had an easy day.

 Pressing on into the teeth of the enemy, but overwhelming them.

Got him, StuG burning.

The StuG is surrounded and soon KO'd. The way to the objective is clear. Go! Go!

 Too little too late, a BF-109 bombs the Shermans, but can't hold the tide of US steel.

 StuG still back on the start line. Captain Miss. Fired 5, missed 5, now empty... gawling.

Captain Miss 2, an ammo-less Marder as well. Doubly gawling. Long-range shots at Shermans in cover probably was not the way to play it with so little ammo and no resupply available. 

NORTHAG, EARLY PLAY-TEST

It’s 1983 and the Russians are coming!

Somewhere in northern Germany the BAOR are facing the advance of Warsaw Pact forces invading West Germany. This was an early play-test game for my ‘Cold War Gone Hot’ rules in development, Battlegroup: NorthAG (WIP title).

Whilst drawing from Battlegroup’s WW2 rules, these aren’t the same game, everything has been tweaked, changed, dropped or had stuff added, to try and get a better feel for a larger size game with smaller models (we play in 10mm, but 6mm and 15mm will be equally fine and dandy I think).

This was the smallest game size (Platoon), with Company and Battalion-sized games included as well. In it, my Chieftains were facing T-64s, backed by infantry and mortars. It was close, but I lost too many precious tanks, and my TOW Lynx - when it arrived - failed to hit anything before being pinned under Shilka cannon fire. The Russian won it when a platoon of airborne infantry dropped onto my frontline objective and seized it in a lightning assault. Lessons to be learnt were that, with the possibility of an airborne assault from mobile reserves, lightly held objectives, anywhere on the table, are vulnerable. In this game objectives are vital - more important than in BG, and mostly only available for infantry units to capture. So, in a big tank fight, the infantry have a specific role, to get to, capture and hold the objectives.  That is where they bump into each other.

The game worked well, I was happy, but it did need the tweaks that followed. Mainly I’m very happy with the new army lists, which have been completely re-written and provided the sort of forces and the sort of battle I think a ‘modern’ game should. Combined arms, task-orientated mixed battlegroups, but leaning towards the tanks for these open-field battles (the game isn’t going to worry overly about purely urban combat). But recce, infantry and artillery all have a role to play. So too the AA vehicles, because airborne firepower on helos and aircraft is frightening, leave yourself open to it at your peril. AA vehicles parked up, just waiting on ambush fire, makes me oddly happy! It turned out in this game that 1 infantry team with a Blowpipe didn’t really provide much in the way of air defence. Another lesson learnt.

Development work will continue, and some of the heavy restrictions I had on artillery will have to go. Atm, it’s just not doing enough in the game to feel like it’s a major factor, and against massed Red tanks, 81mm mortar fire just doesn’t cut-it! They just roll-on with barely a pin amongst them. My Scorpion recce tank did a lot of spotting, but his called mortar fire was largely ineffective.

Later, we also introduced the new gas-attack rules, which are nasty but added a new dimension I like… no tactical nukes yet, but they are defo coming.

Here are a few snaps of the first game in progress, not many, as my mind was firmly on the rules. We also played a second larger game, which was another Red win... a pounding this time as his T-64s overran me. Hard life as Chieftain crew in these rules.

Red Steel. T-34 company giving (and taking) fire.

Russians on the left, BAOR on the right, Lynx choppering in inbetween. 

The Lynx lines up the T-64s.  2 TOWs away, two TOWs miss!

 Some mechanised infantry FV-432s unload infantry teams into the woods (an objective). Once the men are out, these tracks are redundant, so withdrawing them off-table is a good move. This I also like, it feel right. Quick in and then quick out before the enemy tanks starting targeting them.

Humber scout car restoration

A little job, long put-off. My Humber scout car model, made about 10 years ago, has been collecting dust (literally) for about 6 years, broken in places, and a spider was living inside it. Hence the many cobwebs it was under. On a rainy Saturday afternoon I set about renovating it.

I haven't done much 1/35th military modeling, mainly because if I'm painting tanks I want to play games with them, but this scratched an itch to try out various painting techniques (and use an airbrush), like weathering powders. It was a trial piece for a larger project, to make my grandfather's Churchill in 1/35th in an Italian campaign diorama. First, I thought I'd trial the techniques, see if I enjoyed the whole fiddly process and, to boot, get a Humber to add to the diorama in the end.

Well, the Humber was all I got to, and frankly, it took ages, and the thought of doing it all again with a Churchill and 5 crew stalled me. I got back to painting tanks for wargaming pretty quickly, having just dipped my toe into the 'serious' business of military modeling.

Still, the poor Humber was now in urgent need of some tlc... or binning. Time for a restoration job, with much careful dusting, cleaning, fixing of antenna and broken wheels and evicting the spider.

Here it is being restored, interior de-cobwebbed details and all. My only daliance with pure 1/35th modeling so far. I like it, just making it was a bit too torturous for my patiences. The Churchill, 5 crew figures and added detail kits remains unmade in a box in the loft. One-day, maybe.

 Humber scout car, liaison vehicle with HQ Troop, 51st RTR, Italy, 1943. 

 New aerial added, after the last one broke off. Both front wheels had also broken off.

 Interior detail of engine compartment

Crew compartment and former spider's lair. Now cleared out, so you can see the radios again.

 Back to wargaming in future...

Point 126, Kursk again...

Kursk again, well, this game was my opponent’s choice of theatres and he went for Kursk, to give his mid-war Russians a run-out, so it would be another chance to put my Germans up to the test again. Slightly larger game, another meeting engagement…700 points this time. My force would be very similar to the last game, as really my Germans are for 44-45 games, so I’m scratching about a bit for ’43… but Tiger 112 would get another roll out at least. 

Another T-34 charge to face… and another slugging match in which both sides just went at it hammer and tongs… no quarter asked or given… it was great fun. Aggression from both sides.

My Germans rolled on in goodly time, a smaller, hard hitting force… and seized one objective, then my armoured panzer grenadiers rushed the objective on Point 126, a small hillock, at speed. Up the hill, out, MG team pinning the Russia recce troops in the trees, then the veteran rifle squad assaulted them and wiped them out… fast and efficient. That objective was mine.

The Russians arrived slower, but held back, building up the T-34s and T-60s, weathering long range tank fire, and right under my 150mm timed artillery barrage that knocked out a T-34 and a T-70. Meanwhile, Russian 120mm mortars were raining on my lines and kept pinning my tanks (the Tiger!), until a direct hit came through the roof of the house my forward HQ had set-up in, wiping it out in one explosion. Disaster, no re-roll, no tactical co-ordination, lost an officer,and 2 chits. Drat!

Still, you must fight on, and soon the Luftwaffe had arrived (a bit of luck), my timed FW-190 strike bombing the village church as a Stuka plunged in on his massing tanks… to kill another T-34 and adding more pinning. The VVS responded with a Sturmovik bombing run, and I had once again failed to get my 20mm flak onto ambush fire in time to stop it - stupid!. The IL-2’s bombing KO’d a Panzer IV. That flak crew are fired! I sent forward my FAMO to fix it, but a 120mm bomb KO’d it too… good grief!

As we traded aircraft bombs, artillery shells and mortar bombs the Russian tanks built up, lots of HE flying back to pin my panzers. When all 3 (remaining) were pinned, the other T-34s got into gear and began to roll. Here they come. I had little to answer with… a desperate artillery request from my FO, for some pinning but not much else. Those T-34s would be on me in 2 turns.

So they were, firing at point blank range, but my Tiger got a lucky ‘Beyond the call of duty' test and passes, suddenly back in the fight it demolished one T-34, then another in short order… Russian chits were building up quick. On Point 126 my grenadiers fought at close range, pinning T-34s with MG fire, then assaulting a passing T-60 with AT grenades, scoring a hit, but then only pinning it - awful dice roll. Still, they had pinned 4 AFVs in a desperate close quarters defence of the hill top. Heavily pinned the Russian attack looked like it might have shot it’s bolt as my panzer unpinned and lined them up in their gun sights. Only for the dice to desert me again, double 1 for orders, and 3 officers left 5 orders at the critical moment. Obviously, the panzers fired (and the artillery stopped), but they only scored 1 more kill. The Russians got off easy… and then took advantage, as T-34 shells destroyed two half-tracks and another Pz IV (with a side shot). All the counters were building up on my side… and the heavy pinning from earlier had been costly too. I was close to breaking, but the Russian player’s stack was actually larger.

In the end, despite heroics on Point 126, but with my tanks now out of AP ammo and seeking resupply (from my resupply truck which was being harassed by long range 76mm infantry gun fire), the next counter drawn broke me. BR 39, 40 in chits… the Russians, well, they were still 12 away, so 3-4 counters really… if only I’d have killed a few more tanks when the shots got easier. Instead, we’d have to give up our ground and that high point today.

A top game, just a real no-holding-back hammering from both sides. I could claim 8 tank kills (from 13 enemy) to 2 lost (from 4), and Tiger 112 was still rolling, if with empty ammo bins. Losing the CO early was a heavy blow, no tactical co-ordination when the panzers needed it, and the enemy 120mm mortars just kept rolling 6s!! Heavy, accurate barrages turn after turn. My Stuka eventually strafed them into silence (the battery was on table)… but the damage was done early. 

Here are few pictures of the action around Point 126 - and still a Tiger doesn’t die… a defeat, but who cares as long as it’s fun? 1-1 over two Kursk games seems fair enough. Facing that tank charge is tough...

 The battlefield, Germans bottom right, Red's top left. Point 126 top right.

 My FHQ take their place in the house... soon to be hit by 120mm shells... sniper hides in the corn.

 Pz IV takes first objective. 

 Panzer Grenadiers roll on Point 126 in platoon strength.

First T-34s arrive, but don;t storm straight in, weathering shelling and Stuka attacks instead. 

 Luftwaffe flying display... 190 and Ju-87 in bound together.

Victim of the Sturmovik, FAMO on hand, but not for long, another 120mm mortar victim. 

Clearing Point 126, Russian recce car about to flee. 

IL-2 does it's work, unmolested by 20mm flak due to my 'oversight'. 

Here they come, Stal! Stal! Stal! It cost a lot of tanks, but it works...

 Tiger, suddenly unpinned - can't miss, and didn't... score 2 kills

Carnage from the T-34s at close range... the end is nye! 

Tank Clash, with Battlegroup Kursk

Back to the start, with a BG Kursk game. It was always my plan that BG would provide a range of books for WW2 so that players could select a period or theatre and play a game, knowing the core rules, but that still felt like it was different part of the war to any other. That battles on the eastern front in 1941 would feel different to those in 1943, to those in Normandy in 1944 or at the end of the war in 1945 - same game, but different character and feel, and always with the ‘right’ forces on the tabletop. I think, now BG has 10 books, we have got to that point. I can now decide to play a game and think, ‘hmm.. which theatre today, err today will be Kursk’, and know I’ll get a game that looks and feels like that battle.

Today’s game would be a straight meeting engagement, a tank brawl on the steppes of Russia. 600 points each (platoon-sized), Panzer Division vs counter-attacking Tank Corps.

The German battlegroup consisted of, roughly:

FHQ in SdKfz 251/3
Armoured Panzer Grenadier Platoon, all with AT grenades
Pz IV H Platoon
Tiger
Recce HQ in SdKfz 250/11
2 snipers
supply truck
off-table 120mm mortar battery
2 2nd Priority Artillery Request (4+)
4 officers, 36 BR, 3 scouts

Russians:
FHQ in Gaz Jeep
Forward Observer Team in Gaz Jeep
Motor Rifle Platoon (tank riding), all with AT grenades
T-34 Platoon
T-34 Platoon
T-70 Platoon
SU-152
BA-64 armoured car
Sniper
off-table 120mm mortar battery
2 1st Priority artillery requests (2+)
2 Officers, 37 BR, 2 scouts

With the scouts deployed (chit taken by the Russians for being out scouted), it was time to start, the Germans taking turn 1.

The snipers traded shots, the Russian one winning out by pinning one of his enemy having avoided the fire trying to pick him off. The SdKfz 250/11 moved through the woods on the hill on the left (German PoV), to get a good line of sight for mortars and artillery spotting as the Russians arrived. The BA-64, hiding down by the farm, was watching up the field track (obvious German approach route) to do the same with his 120mm mortars.

The German reinforcements arrived, keen for the fight, with a max 6 units - hurrah! On came the first panzers with their infantry carriers behind. The Russians were more tardy - 1 unit (a T-34 and riding infantry) responded (oops). The Germans pressed forwards, and the first 120mm mortars targeted the farm, missing wildly and hitting nothing (adjust your fire!). The snipers lined each other up, and this time the Russia was pinned, cowering under a bush after a close call that nearly took his head off.

4 more German units arrived, the last Pz IV, the FHQ track and the supply truck. They were all in by turn 3. Only 2 Russian arrived again, T-70s moving right to take cover at a hedge. As yet, no tanks had opened fire, but if the Russians didn’t get a move on the Germans would be in the farm and have the objectives.

The Russian plan was (post-battle interrogations revealed this), to hold the farm and demonstrate on their right, holding the bulk of the German armour, so their main attack could sweep round on their left, a left hook by 3 T-34s and the faster 3 T-70s, coming round and behind the German armour as it attacked the farm. They would only face a German right flank guard, 1 Pz-IV, supporting grenadier squad and half track and the FHQ who was over their to use the hillock as a position for spotting (between him and recce HQ they could see the entire tabletop). They would be hard pressed when the Russian attack came. They had to arrive first, and were very slow about it.

For the Russians the plan sort-off worked, the farm was secured, if under incoming mortar fire, and 3 T-34 and the SU-152 drew the attention of the Tiger and 2 Pz -IVs. The first of which up the track was hit by a 120mm mortar bomb and unlucky KO’d… meanwhile the Tiger opened fire at long range but could not score a hit on the T-34s down by the farm. Russian HE shells came back, but no pinning thankfully.

The Russian finally showed up in numbers, T-34s and tank riders moving right (German POV form now on, this is getting confusing). With the T-70s. The German FHQ could see them coming straight at him and called in a Corps battery of 150mm guns. They rained in shells and scored pinning and left one T-70 smoking. The Pz-IV opened up and missed… he was the main defence against five enemy tanks. Target rich environment.

As the skirmishing around the farm continued, and the SU-152 wasted all 3 of its ammo on missing (no supply truck either, so now useless), the main Russian attack tried to get rolling. T-70 HE rounds pinned the Pz IV (ot-oh) and the T-34s raced through the hedge and into the cornfield at full speed. HE shells where flying all over (and doing little).  It looked bad for the Germans, the flank guard would surely be overrun… except the T-70s had a bad turn, pinned by mortar fire, they were also now almost out of ammo (wasteful earlier suppressing fire having cost them), only 1 rushed forwards. The lurking Tiger moved position to help out with some long ranging shooting across the fields.

At the farm it was a stalemate, German grenadiers had deployed and were firing MGs down at Russian riflemen now occupying the objective. A T-34 came forwards to try and hit the Tiger, and paid next turn when the beast’s turret turned and boom! - 88 shell through the front - first dead T-34. More T-34s followed, the flank guard Pz-IV - tactical co-ordinated (in desperate need), and smashed a high velocity 75mm round through another T-34. Grenadiers sneaked up through the corn field, AT grenades in hand. Suddenly the Russian positioned didn’t look so good, and the chits were mounting. On the plus-side for Uncle Joe’s boys, the Tiger was now out of AP shells and withdrew to the resupply truck to get some more.

But Pz-IVs do the job well too.. after an utterly rubbish turn for the Russians in which they hit nothing, failed to get any artillery fire down (needing 2+), their mortars quit in them and they managed to remove a single pinned marker, the flank guard Pz-IV scored another T-34 kill, and the Tiger was back in action, moving right to help out the hard pressed (but doing well) flank guard. The German’s second artillery request again came through and this time more 150mm shells hit the farm, wrecking the BA-64 in the process (mortar spotter gone). That chit taken produced an air attack, and next turn (rolling a 6) an IL-2 Sturmovik buzzed in with 4 bombs - could it swing the day?

The answer was - well, no, not really. Its bombs pinned a Pz-IV, but German infantry MG fire turned skywards and three MG teams just hammered it, pinning it and damaging it. The pilot wasn’t happy!

The German CO had a narrow escape as T-34 AP shells winged passed his track, and his driver turned it around and sped away as fast as he could - wise move. T-70 HE shells followed him, and missed as well. Things were too hot, time to go!. That T-70 was also now ammo-less, so just a rolling single MG. 

By now the chit stacks had built up, the Russians significantly more than the Germans. Russian luck continued to be poor, when the returning, unpinned Sturmovik came in strafing the re-supply truck and rolled a 1, failing to spot it, only for another torrent of MG fire to pin and damage it again -   it was close to being shot down! German grenadiers, more AT grenades in hand, moved across the orchard towards the farm, threatening the useless hunk of metal that was the SU-152 - which reversed away, helpless (it really is large white elephant). When the Tiger, now fully gunned up, targeted the T-70 and smashed it into scrap with another 88 hit, that was it and the Russian were done. Their messy counter-attack had been repelled. German loses had been light, 1 Pz-IV and about 6 men, but their BR total had reached 26 for 36 (tactical co-ordination can be costly). Russian loses for the day were 4 T-34s, 2 T-70s, a BA-64 and about 12 men, and almost a Sturmovik…now looking more like a collander.

Cracking game, the Germans hung tough and the Tiger, well… they’re just so mean… 2 kills, never pinned - no dramas… easy day at the office. It had not been the Russian's day, slow reinforcements, no supply truck, twice failing to get 1st priority artillery support through, and not great orders rolls either, it had been a struggle. I'm still don’t know how they are supposed to kill a Tiger tank! 

Here are some shots of the game, on rubbish camera phone though. Hopefully not too bad.

Hmm, what to play next time? My friend has almost completed painting his Crusaders army, so time for some serious Soldiers of God action over the winter… I think we’ll play through the mini-campaign.

 The Russians waiting to hit the tabletop

 BA-64, mortar spotter, waiting for the German thrust up the track

 Here they come.

 120mm mortar, direct hit - KO'd Panzer - good start. Note Tiger in firing position behind. 

First Russian armour, hiding and using harrassing HE fire

The rest of the kampfgruppe speeds onto the board. Keen today...

First T-34 risks a peak at the Tiger, and incoming 88 shells. A diversion to keep it busy.

 Main Russian attack, hit by a timely 150mm barrage.

 T-34s race into the corn, infantry off. Germans are worried now.

 Reinforcements at the farm

 Panzer IV scores first kill. 

 Then second

 Sturmovik dives in, bombing. German AA MG fire was very heavy and accurate. 

 King of this battlefield...