More from Winter Wonder Lard - Blowing the Bridge

I've already blogged an overview of the day, but I wanted to write a bit more about the game I put on at BIG Winter Wonder Lard. I'd played this scenario a few times in the past at the club, and it seemed to provide a challenging game, but I wanted to give it an extra dimension. Big Chain of Command seemed a good idea for how to do that. I set up a long table, designed to give both sides the chance to get forward during the patrol phase and try and grab the advantage.

In the day's programme, my comments about the game were;

"D-Day was nearly three weeks ago, but the British have still not managed to capture the city of Caen. Now, Operation Epsom is about to begin. 

It is essential that armoured troops get moving into position before the operation commences. However, a vital bridge over the River Lardienne is still in enemy hands. Divisional intelligence believes that the Germans will destroy the bridge over the river before 7th Armoured can seize the objective. The RAF has mounted several sorties using Mosquitoes and Typhoons to try and drive any defenders away and now a mixed force of infantry and tanks is being sent to drive off any Germans who are still around and secure the bridge itself."

The game was played along the length of the table. The River Lardienne ran along most of the length of the table, beginning near the British edge of the table and exiting at the German end, with a bridge placed in the final third of the table. The river could only be crossed by using the bridge. There was a road from the British end of the table, exiting at the German end. A junction took the road across the bridge.

The British have advanced across relatively flat countryside, lightly wooded away from the river, and with fields and hedges closer to the water. Craters crossing the table diagonally show where RAF ground attacks have been targeted.

All British  troops are classed as Regulars. The forces available are;

  

Command 1

1 rifle platoon (HQ (1 x SL (force commander, ranking SL – 4 CIs), 1 x SL (ptn sgt), Bren and 2” mortar teams) plus three sections). 

1 recce section (3 Universal carriers, 1 x JL, 1 x Bren team, 1 x PIAT team, 1 x 2” mortar team)

Note that the force commander has taken a Bren team from the recce section and given it the platoon PIAT in exchange.

 Command 2

1 tank troop (3 x Cromwell Mk IV tank, 1 x Sherman Vc, each tank has 1 x JL apart from one of the Cromwells, which has a SL)

Having suffered heavy losses since landing in Normandy, 7th Armoured has become somewhat risk averse and is classed as being Hesitant, and the tank commander will only roll 4 Command Dice.

The German force available is a small ad hoc Panzergrenadier group;

                                                                                                                                              

Command 1                                                                

1 standard Panzergrenadier Zug; HQ 1 x SL (force commander, ranking SL - 4 CIs), 1 x 2-man Panzerschreck team, plus three sections, (each section JL has 2 x Panzerfaust 30s which can be used by any member of the section). 

These troops are classed as Regular and Aggressive, rolling 5 command dice. 

1 x MG42 tripod-mounted MMG with 5 crew                                                                                                                             

Command 2

1 x SdKfz 251/9 with 7.5 cm KwK37 low velocity gun

2 x SdKfz 251/22 with 7.5 cm PaK40 anti-tank gun

1 x SdKfz 250/9 with 2 cm KwK 38 and co-axial MG42 and 1 x JL

1 x SdKfz 250/10 with 3.7 cm PaK37 and 1 x SL

                                                     

1 x 5-man demolition engineering team (without a leader), carried in a halftrack without weapons (but with a driver who stays in the vehicle). Their role is to plant charges, not fight. 

The Germans also have two lengths of barbed wire and one small prepared defensive barricade. These will be placed after the Patrol Phase.

I was expecting two players per side but one didn't show up, leaving a gap on the British side, which I filled as the player in charge of the tank troop.

Following the patrol phase, both sides took up a fairly aggressive stance with at least one JoP in a forward position.

The game began slowly, with both sides keen to gain a positional advantage before any actual fighting took place. The Panzergrenadiers began to push down the table on their left flank.

Meanwhile the German vehicles pushed towards the bridge on the far bank of the river, with a single SP PaK 40 on the road on the other bank.

The British infantry came under fire and preferred to wait for the arrival of the tanks before attempting any aggressive moves, although eventually both the platoon sergeant and the platoon commander were deployed into the ploughed field furthest away from the German positions. This was to prove crucial later on.

Unsurprisingly, the British used both 2" mortars to get as much smoke laid down as possible, but not before the German Panzerschreck knocked out the 7th Armoured's lead Cromwell. Having four command dice really hampered the tanks. Quite often only one vehicle could be activated, but later on the troop commander became more active.

A fierce shooting match between the Panzergrenadiers and the British Rifles took place along the road, with both sides seeing the butcher's bill mount slowly. It looked as though the defenders might prevent the British from taking the bridge. However, that was soon going to change.

As the British tanks moved along the river bank (the 'Schreck team having been dealt with by a couple of applications of H.E.), their guns were able to neutralise the SdKfz 251/9 with the short 7.5 cm howitzer and a shot from the 17pdr Sherman immobilised the engineers' halftrack, forcing them to bail out at one end of the bridge.

Once the hapless engineers were on the bridge, the British used directed Bren fire and the machine guns of the tanks to hose the bridge down, whittling down the number of engineers and inflicting shock on the survivors.

Finally, the last engineer succumbed to a hail of MG fire, leaving none left to demolish the all-important river crossing. 

With the loss of the demolition team, I called a halt to proceedings awarding the victory to the British.

I think that we all agreed that it had been an entertaining game and I thank Simon, Mike and Stephen who took part in the game.

This is definitely a scenario that is worth playing again.

All figures are my Peter Pig 15mm Late War British and Germans, and the vehicles are all Plastic Soldier Company.