Here the battle report of the first game of Toofatlardies campaign “The Scottish corridor” designed to be used in conjunction with their brilliant WW2 skirmish rules Chain of Command and campaign supplement “At the sharp end”.
The scenario is called “Probe at Bas de Mouen“ and the forces involved are 1SS Leibstandarte Panzer grenadier versus 13th Monmouths infantry.
Objective: the Germans must reach the British table edge with an unit.
Here the map (upside down) and the table.
The hedges look as bocage, but they’re normal hedges instead.
The Germans (me) starts form the left side, the British (Scottish? Professionally leaded by my good friend Roberto) from the right.
Me and Roberto before the game.
After the Patrol Phase, which I luckily started with 4 free moves bonus, this is the position of the Jump-off points (small round counters).
As you can see, the German JOPs are in the orchard on the left, behind the building in the centre, and along the hedge on the right.
The British ones are behind the farm, and on the boundaries (not very defined, but later on we added some lichen to mark them) of the orchards on his right. The rightmost one is pretty advanced.
British reinforcements were a road block, a preliminary bombardment (marked by explosions near to the German JOP) and a second PIAT.
Germans reinforcements were a Tiger (!!!), an adjutant and another Pzgrenadiers squad.
British morale was 9, Germans 8.
The game starts with the Germans unable to deploy anything, due to the preliminary bombardment, but starting to add CoC points because one of the special rule of this campaign is that the Germans add one CoC point for each SINGLE 6 rolled on the command dice (double, triple 6 has no effect on CoC points).
Instead the British started to deploy a squad in overwatch in the one level building, the 2” mortar and a Senior Leader inside and around the farm on his left.
Another squad deployed in the farm, ground and first floor.
For convenience the miniatures are deployed outside the buildings.
In my humble opinion not a good idea, Roberto already deployed 60% of his forces and he don’t know anything about my plan (as if I had a plan) yet.
Suffice to say that I promptly deployed a squad that started peppering the farm with 2 MGs and 2 riflemen (18 firing dice!). The squad in overwatch fired 8 dice (Bren and 2 riflemen firing from the small building).
But they were in hard cover, and mine in soft, so they started to inflict some damage.
BUT, the clanking Tiger appears on the road and fires a HE shell and the bow MG against the farm; luckily killing the squad leader!
Sounds as his last words were: “What do you mean “A TIGER!”, boys? In your opinion any Jerry tank is a Tig.. –KA-BLAM!”
The 2” mortar starts to place smoke to hinder the Tiger view but its round landed on the left of the target (and amazingly it confirmed that behavior for the whole game! Always 6” on the left! Wrongly set aiming device?)
The 88 belched again and killed the Senior Leader (!!! Two shots, two leaders killed!!!)
The British morale starts to decrease.
Now Roberto is forced to deploy his second and last Senior Leader to command 2 squads and the mortar team.
Unfortunately (for me) the lonely Pzgrenadier squad was suffering heavy losses, and fall back from the hedge, out of sight of the enemy at ground level. But the mortar fire, directed from the first floor, hit again and pinned the squad (the leader was wounded and his Command Points reduced to 1 (so the die to evidence that).
Now I had a quite unusual dice roll: 5 5 5 5 6 for a total of 5 CoC points! But without activating any of my units…
Now it’s time to start to play seriously, and the a couple of SS squads deploy on the left, at the moment without enemy opposition.
While the Tiger moved (slowly) to support their advance.
Now the action is on the left of the German front, with the squads advance. To counter the menace, the British deploy their last squad, unaware that there is another one German squad lurking offtable.
Nasty surprise!
The trap is sprung! Unexpected, the last German squad deploys on the now unprotected British left side.
On this side, the Tommies situation is quite awkward indeed.
To clear the field from the smoke I discarded a CoC die, but unfortunately the British team in the farm was able to unpin itself, because the second team of the squad runs to join it.
Opening fire with the lone Bren on the SS that are trying, without any hurry, to advance.
In fact in the first activation they were able to cross the hedge only.
And on the second they rush at breakneck speed… almost, as I throw 3 “1” and so they moved 3” only!!
Shoelaces tied together?
From the farm the lonely Bren wounds the leader reducing his command points to 1.
And now occurs the decisive phase of the battle.
Both our morale were now at 5, and I, seeing an undefended British JOP, decided to secure it, dropping the British morale to 4 (or better more 3), and reducing his command dice!
So I audaciously (or imprudently?) advanced with a squad, against a British thin (red?) line in overwatch. The JOP was captured, and British morale dropped to 4, but the resulting broadside, and the following salvo reduced my squad in a very bad shape (I forgot I had a CoC die to use, to interrupt and run away before the British fire…) and after few phases they were down to 2 pinned LMG.
That were charged by the Tommies in hand-to-hand combat, and destroyed.
I was down to 2 Command Dice, and the “not-so-running” squad tried desperately to advance toward the, once certain, victory!
Now I remain with 1 die only… and I throw the towel.
A near victory, suddenly evolved in a bitter defeat!
Final considerations:
I was too “easy” advancing against a squad in overwatch, and I paid bitterly this mistake, losing the game.
I had to wait for the tank support, or, better more, I had to press on the right, where the open field of fire could be used at my advantage by my superior firepower (MGs and Tiger). Next time…
Losses:
Germans: 7 KIA and 4 MIA, so I lost a third of the platoon, without possibility to be replaced. Luckily in the next battle I can use a fresh platoon but my Support point will be reduced from 16 to 14. The HQ was not very impressed indeed (-1), but the men were VERY worried by the high losses (-5!). The Platoon Leader remains quite confident, and his attitude stays “Worried”.
The British are able to field a new platoon each battle, so they don’t have to record losses. Their HQ is well impressed (+1) as well as the men were happy although they lost a NCO (0). The Platoon Leader rise from “Content” to “Happy”.
Hope you liked it!
Marco
