Game 147 : Battleaxe 1941

This was a first for the Situation Room. We were doing Operation Battleaxe, late 1941 in the desert!!!

The main tables were covered with desert terrain, 12" squares. To do the table took 276 boards!!!! In addition, all the kit was new and of course all the basing was done for the desert. In total that added another 10 Divisions to the WWII inventory.

The above shot is taken along one of the main tables. The results looked excellent, even close up. The whole project had taken 7 years to bring it to fruition, mainly in fits and starts for a variety of reasons.

Action along the whole front. The top is the Allied right flank resting on the coast and with Bardia to the front. The British 4th Indian Division is attacking here. Defending is an Italian infantry division.

The centre has 2 British Armoured Brigades, with limited infantry support, pushing in the centre. Defending is the 21st Panzer Division. The fighting in both the above sectors would reach a stalemate. The Germans reinforced Bardia, hence making infantry assaults costly and in the centre, a line of tanks and ATGs, all excellent quality would counteract Allied tank numbers.

 

The above shows the Allied left flank. Here, 7th Armoured Division assaulted. The defenders were 2 btns of Italian infantry, well dug in. Eventually the position would be forced but allied losses were heavy. The scenario did show that lack of operational preparation, in this instance enough engineering assets, hampered the allies enormously.

More of the same. Ding dong fighting along the front, but now the German 5th Lt Div (really an AD HOC Panzer Div) has arrived making Allied progress impossible. The Germans are also out of position, so counter-attacking aggressively is not an option.

The game ends with a historical outcome and includes, in casualties, at least 4 gamers with the lurgy!!

I can't say we all look normal!, but we nearly do!! Next stop Trafalgar!!!

 

Games 145 & 146 : Battle of Schleiz 9th October 1806

 This was an encounter battle. The French, under Bernadotte with Murat as a guest, are descending on Schleiz where Tauenzein has the Prussian army train. 

The Prussians must keep the field until such time as the army train can exit the battlefield and escape along their lines of communication. There is a randomly generated delay before the army train can move, reflecting the need for the train to feed and rest.

Bernadotte is attempting to capture the Prussian army train. Murat is "a wondering general", able to attach himself to any French Cavalry regiment as he pleases. Away we go! We played the game twice, over 2 different weekends.

The Prussians are deployed in and around the villages. Schleiz is in the centre of the pic and the French will arrive from the left of the pic via 2 roads that exist. There is a stream that is unpassable to artillery and unforming for other troops.

The French march on and immediately assault the village to their front. The first attack is beaten off, but this is a short respite when the second assault is made.

The Prussians are summarily ejected from the village and both their flanks are threatened. They immediately retire to the rear of Schleiz which is the main defensive position. 

The French simultaneously push in both flanks and directly assault Schleiz. This is quickly becoming a bloodbath. All initial assaults are repulsed, both sides suffering. In the meantime, the Prussian army train has begun to move, road only, to extricate itself from this precarious position.

To the right of the Prussian line, the Prussians have deployed to issue enfilading fire on the advancing French columns. Th French maintain their advance, but they are suffering.

The Prussian army train has left the battlefield intact. The main French assault in the centre has been stopped, the French are regrouping. At this point the game ended, we agreed that the Prussians would exit the field, but in good order 

The second game started much the same as the first, bot sides are constrained on how they deploy/arrive.  

One difference was the French attempted to force a crossing over the stream, the attempt being led by Murat. Silly goof got wounded, and the Prussians easily thwarted the French thrust.

This shows the same simultaneous assault on flanks and Schleiz itself. It was bloodier, but this time the side suffering more were the Prusiians.

The Prussians are now hard pressed but at the same time they have managed to extricate the army train. Again, the Prussians will retire in good order. Both games had the same result, they actually played roughly the same way. The only difference were the casualties.

French Formations	Losses %			Prussian Formations	Losses%
	Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery		Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery
BERNADOTTE				TAUENZEIN
Drouet	27	-	1	Bila	20	5	59
Claparede	13	-	17	Schonberg	21	-	56
Watier	-	1	38	Zweiffel	28	-	3

French Formations	Losses %			Prussian Formations	Losses%
	Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery		Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery
BERNADOTTE				TAUENZEIN
Drouet	10	-	11	Bila	7	4	38
Claparede	13	-	8	Schonberg	12	-	23
Watier	-	28	29	Zweiffel	17	-	0

The losses for both games are above. Losses of 30% or higher essentially mean the formation is combat ineffective.

This game will get played a third time, but with more players, slightly increased forces and more deployment options/terrain modifications.

The gruesome twosome taking a well earned rest in the baking sun. Beer & curry were the next in line on the agenda. Now for Schleiz, take 3.

Game 144 : Napoleonic Naval with big ships

 This is a snippet of a game where each side had a single squadron of 2 ships of the line, randomly selected from the Trafalgar fleets.

We expected it to be bloodier than frigate actions and so it was. As a further playtest, we utilised many more game aids and they worked brilliantly. A few pics are below.

A boarding action at the top. The French ship has lost a mast, not yet cleared. The RN ship has lost 3 masts, one cleared but not yet jury rigged. Horrible casualties!

A sedate approach exchanging broadsides. The French are slightly closer together, judging distances and manoeuvring is a learnt skill if you want to avoid collisions. 

More of the approach to combat.

The RN lost the ship to ship engagement but are about to get their revenge. The French ship tried to escape by setting more sail, but sustained good gunnery by the RN has dismasted it. It will be caught!

Next up is Schleiz, 1806, one of the first engagements of size between the French and Prussians.

Games 142 & 143 : Napoleonic Naval playtests

 We now venture to Napoleonic Naval. This has all come about after a dear friend of mien, Brendan died very young. He was a WWII fanatic, especially British artillery. 

So it came as a shock when helping to sort all his old models/soldiers that there were 2 large ice cream tubs. When opened, one tub had a load of 1/200 hulls of Napoleonic ships all stacked. When the other tub was opened, it was full of nothing but masts.

Then comes in local friend Steve. He took the lot away and lovingly repaired/restored all the ships. And hey presto, there were enough ships to do all the ships for Trafalgar!

It was a challenge/opportunity not to be ignored. The rules selected were "Signal Close Action". I had a rule set from about 1994, so I re-equipped with the latest edition and off we went. 

The rules are very in depth. Paperwork is minimal, it takes some time to come up with "efficient" paperwork. Then you need player aids, that was easy in the end.

Then playing the games. Game 142 started off with a single Frigate action for both sides. The we played 2 Frigates per side. Game 143 was with a different opponent with 2 Frigates aside.

After much sailing around, a lot of it like headless chickens, lots of referral to the rules, and the proverbial blind leading the blind, we collided!!! I didn't come out of it too good (Royal Navy). Brought to heal by the Frenchies.

With 2 Frigates a side, it played more quickly and we were beginning to get a foot hold, or floating wings, as time went on. Here we now see the victorious Royal Navy. The bottom ship is a badly mauled French Frigate that missed his turn and is now sailing away with the wind on his quarter to escape.

The right hand French Frigate, already with heavy portside damage has failed to reload his broadside and is about to get caught by both British Frigates. The closer Frigate will turn sharply and come alongside and collide (not yet got to grips with controlled grappling). It will then fire point blank broadsides into the enemy who continues to miss reloading. The end comes when the 2nd RN Frigate engages by raking from the bow.

Well, none of us drowned! Off to the pub now to try and remedy that!

This game played very differently. I had more player aids done, Pendraken came to the rescue on that one. Turning circles, wind directors, gunnery directors etc. All done with 2 MDF, laser cut to precision.

Here you see 2 French Frigates sailing up the up the wind. They have left too much of a gap between themselves. The RN Frigates are crossing the T, but more importantly they are staying close enough together to give mutual support. Collisions are a potential nightmare!

The RN Frigates engage the lead French Frigate, both managing to bow rake. The consequence of this was a badly damaged French Frigate that would be grappled and then strike. The bottom Frigate would set more sail to escape the mainly undamaged RN Frigates.

Another game and many lessons learned. I like the rules. They are involved but it mis worth the effort to sort them out. Good paperwork and player aids also greatly simplifies the actual playing of the games. The aim is to do Trafalgar later this year.

Next up could be some 2nd & 3rd rates slugging out a battle. Watch here!!

Game 141 : Crete 1941 Maleme Airfield

 A short battle with a few pics. Off to Crete, the German Sturm Regt with assets landing around the area of Maleme which was defended by the New Zealand Brigade supported by 2 Greek Btns and some other assets. This included the single Matilda II tank platoon!

A pic of the battlefield. The table to the right is the sea. The Allies had random naval support based on destroyers or a light cruiser steaming near the coast to give direct fire support. The Germans had air supremacy and random Stuka support. 

Maleme is in the distance at the far end of the table. This end had the single village in the area. Control of these were the objectives. Maleme would facilitate reinforcement/supplies via air whilst the village was deemed to have a small jetty capable of landing supplies or troop reinforcements.

The Allies had a free deployment whilst the German airdrop was spread with a fixed minimum distance between the 3 landing zones they had to select. Drops in the zones was subject to random drift. some of which was quite severe.

The village became the subject of intense fighting. It was garrisoned by a New Zealand Btn reinforced by a Greek Btn. It was assaulted by a supported Sturm Btn. The fighting was continuous for the whole days fighting. Eventually the Germans forced the Allies out. 

Maleme is just to the top right of the pic. A pretty non descript place in the open, no  cover. The area is dominated by a low hill to its south. There was a running fight to this hill by both sides in Btn strength. The Germans won the race, partly due to heavy weapons being in the right place at the right time. The holding of this hill allowed the Germans to silence the emplaced AA guns at Maleme and then to begin a 2 pronged assault with aid from another Btn to the north. 

The Allies are slowly forced away from the airfield to the "beach areas" where the Germans will not follow because of potential naval support, but happy to hold both objectives.

By our standards, this was truly a small game, regimental sized for both. However, the fighting was quite intense with 2 of the 3 German parachute Btns not far from being combat ineffective. The New Zealand Brigade was in a similar situation. We viewed it as a historical result. On to Napoleonic Naval now!!

Game 140 : Leipzig 1813 Southern Front

 Its been a while since I've done the blog, I blame growing older, but laziness might also have a bearing! A new hip, a crown disintegrating and so a new implant, Anne retiring fully, are all part of my excuses. But back to the battles. 11 of us fought the battle over the week, me only 3 weeks into the hip recovery (I'm a hero he says). The battle did last all week, always a bonus!!

So to the battle. I've kept the captions to major actions, lots of figures in each shot. 

The pic above shows the French lines, their left flank at the top and the centre to just starting their right flank. This is a major French assault along the line. Already, the central village is going to be the focus for both sides. 

The above is the French Right Flank where another major assault is being launched. This battle, like most of the others, took days to resolve and were tense to say the least. 

This is a pic from the Allied side in the centre. Just to the left of the central village, the Allies counter-attack with the Austrian Reserve Cavalry, mainly Cuirassiers. The counter-attack did not break through, but it did exhaust the first French major assault in the centre.

The French have committed large numbers to attack the central village. The Allies are marshalling their own infantry in the centre to repulse this attack. Most of these troops are from the Russian Guard.

This shot is to the left of the previous one. It shows the French right flank assault about to met by roughly equal numbers of Allies, mainly Austrians.

This is a pic of my command. Nearer the door and where I can put a seat so I can rest my hip!. The Prussians are attacking the French left. It was a grind all week, any successes, not many of them, paid for dearly. What it did achieve was the committing of French Guard Reserves to stabilise and then counter-attack, taking away potential pressure from the Allied centre. That's my claim anyway!! 

 This is the "impasse" shot in the centre after about 3 French attacks were driven away. Neither side broke but losses had mounted and both sides were frantically trying to regroup and refit. At this point the game came to a close. The result was generally historical, a tactical draw, but a strategic problem for the French.

The above shows all the heroic Generals. A good time was had and the plan is repeat this each year as we call it "Herbert's week" in memory of a dear lost friend.

The battle losses are are below. I'm experiencing formatting problems in trying to enter text after inserting this data, so it's at the end where I can then relax. Note the severity of losses. Anything approaching 30% is roughly combat knackered!!!

French Formations	Losses %			Allied Formations	Losses%
	Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery		Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery
1st Young Guard : Oudinot				Wing Cavalry : Pahlen	-	17	0
Pacthod	4	-	42	Wing Cossacks : Platov	-	23	-
Decouz	9	-	22
				1st Corps : Gorchakov
2nd Young Guard : Mortier				Mezentov	23	-	-
Barrois	3	-	0	Helfreich	23	-	-
Roguet	0	-	0	1st Corps Artillery	-	-	32
Old Guard				2nd Corps : Wurttemberg
Friant	0	-	0	Schachafskoy	32	-	-
Curial	15	-	38	Puschnitski	6	-	-
Dulaulov	-	-	31	2nd Corps Artillery	-	-	19
Guard Cav Corps : Nansouty				3rd Corps : Raevski
LeFebvre-Desnouettes	-	20	21	Pissarev	9	-	-
Ornano	-	35	67	Tchoglokov	24	-	-
Walther	-	0	0	3rd Corps Artillery	-	-	0
II Corps : Victor				5th Corps : Yermolov
Dubreton	16	-	0	Rosen	15	-	-
Dufour	13	-	47	Udom	15	-	-
Vial	25	-	69	Alvensleben	0	-	-
II Corps Res Artillery	-	-	6	5th Corps Artillery	-	-	6
V Corps : Lauriston				Guard Cavalry : Gallitzin
Albert	34	-	3	Depreradovich	-	0	0
Maison	21	-	28	Kretov	-	0	0
Rochambeau	17	-	19	Duka	-	11	8
IV Corps Artillery	-	-	11	Chevich	-	0	21
V Corps Cavalry	-	58	0
				2nd Korps : Meerveldt
IX Corps : Augereau				Lederer	29	25	13
Tharreau	35	-	31	Liechtenstein	2	-	0
Semele	37	-	25	2nd Korps Artillery	-	-	14
Dombrowski	1	32	13	4th Korps : Klenau
				Mohr	0	49	21
I Cav Corps: Latour Maubourg				Bartenstein	16	-	100
Berkheim	-	5	17	Mayer	21	37	0
Corbineau	-	68	38	4th Korps Artillery	-	-	46
Chastel	-	37	0
Bourdesoulle	-	23	100	Res Korps : Hesse-Homburg
Doumerc	-	15	54	Weissenhof	6	-	13
				Bianchi	10	-	31
II Cav Corps : Sebastiani				Nostitz	-	24	54
D’Hurbal	-	27	8
Exelmann	-	14	13	2nd Corps : Kleist (P)
St Germain	-	23	46	Klux	30	100	38
				Pirch	6	0	9
IV Cav Corps : Sokolnicki				Ziethen	12	17	6
Tolinksi	-	19	29	Preussen	4	32	44
Sulkowski	-	58	0	Roder	-	26	31
				2nd Corps Artillery	-	-	0
V Cav Corps : Pajol
Pire	-	56	42
L’Heritier	-	6	29
Milhaud	-	4	29