What A Tanker! An actual game.

And not only an actual game, but with an actual real live opponent.

Yes, I was able to play WaT against someone, my partner, who has never played the game before. Anyway, it was a chance to play a game and introduce her to the rules. The location was our dining table, suitably converted into a wargaming table with the addition of three 4ft x 2ft sheets of MDF and a cheap playmat, which is actually a piece of fake grass sold by Lidl a few years ago. 

We played with three tanks a side, the British with two Cromwell Mk IVs and a Sherman Vc and the Germans with a Panzer IVH, a Panther G and a Stug IIIG. We rolled for where to start and then rolled again to see who would be on which side. I ended up as the German player, entering from the left side of the table as shown in the first picture.

The Cromwells made good use of their speed, with one attempting, and succeeding in a flanking manoeuvre on the British left.

The two big hitters got into a short range standoff either side of a line of bocage, with the Panther reversing back through a gap it had previously made in the hedges.

One of the British Cromwells targeted the Stug III but was unable to cause any damage other than to the targeting optics.

The Pather went stalking after the other Cromwell.

The 17pdr Sherman made short work of the PzKpfw IV. First blood to the British.

Before long, the Panther got revenge by brewing up the Sherman.

One Cromwell got totally immobilised and had its turret so knocked about that we decided the crew would have to bail out, but the other Cromwell took out the Stug III with a sneaky attack in the rear. However, after a fair amount of cat and mouse, the Panther knocked out the last Cromwell.

After the game, which my other half enjoyed, despite losing, we decided to keep the table set up for an introduction to Chain of Command tomorrow, using today's game as a recce mission by the British in advance of an attack by Infantry. We have left a couple of tanks on the table, but have assumed that the victorious Germans have retrieved their knocked out vehicles, as well as the immobilised Cromwell.

Blow the Bridge - another game using this scenario for CoC

I wrote a scenario for Coc last year called Blow the Bridge. I wasn't completely happy with the scenario as written, so I tweaked it a bit to try and rebalance the odds.

Here is the scenario;

It is 1944, the Allies have broken out of France and are advancing towards Germany. The British are advancing across the relatively flat and open countryside of the Netherlands. A reconnaissance group  has been sent in front of a tank squadron to probe the German defences along a canal which is an obstacle to any further advance. Their objective is to capture a bridge over the canal, which will allow armoured units to cross and outflank the main German defensive line.

The British force consists of;

1 rifle platoon (HQ plus three sections)

1 recce section (3 Universal carriers, 1 with a PIAT team and a junior leader and 2 with Bren teams)

1 Cromwell Mk IV tank with a 75mm gun (this will only deploy on the 4^th British phase, representing the advance guard of an armoured squadron)

The defending German force is;

1 standard rifle Zug (HQ plus three sections)

1 tripod-mounted MG42

1 4-man engineer section, carried in a half-track without weapons. Their role is to plant charges, not fight. If fired upon, they count as being in light cover. They will initially deploy from the table edge as a team without a leader and once deployed can only be activated by the German senior leader or on a command dice rolling a 1.

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

 The Germans can also call on support from a single SdKfz 250/9 with a 2cm auto cannon and a co-axial MG34 in an open turret. This can only be deployed by using a CoC dice and will enter from the German table edge.

The British objective is to attack the bridge and secure it before the Germans can destroy it.

To win the scenario, the British must have neutralised the engineers, driven back the defenders and have at least one section on the bridge itself.

In the patrol phase the Germans will use three patrol markers and the British will use four (because they are attacking). The British will also have two free patrol moves before the patrol phase properly commences.

The game will be play across the width of the table. The canal will be down the centre of the table, with the bridge placed in the central third of the table. The canal can only be crossed by using the bridge.

The British will start the patrol phase from either the left corner or the right. (roll 1d6 1-3 left, 4-6 right)

The Germans side of the table will be in three sections left, centre and right To see where the Germans will start the patrol phase roll 1d6 (1-2 left, 3-4 centre, 5-6 right)

So, this time the British force is somewhat stronger, having some armour appearing during the game. The Germans have also been slightly strengthened by the addition of the SdKfz 250/9.

In this game, Brian was the defending German leader, while I was commanding the British.

The table was laid out like this. Clearly the RAF has been doing some bombing and there are craters and gutted buildings near the canal. You can see how the Patrol Phase ended in these pictures.

Our Force Morale rolls favoured the Germans, who had a FM of 11, with the British being somewhat less motivated at FM 8. The Germans wasted no time in deploying a section right on the edge of the canal, protected by an earthwork.

Access to the bridge was made difficult by two sections of barbed wire. The engineers began to drive towards the bridge, protected by a tripod-mounted MG42 behind an earthwork in front of the walled farm.

The recce carrier section was the first British unit to appear. The idea was to dash forwards to seize the bridge.

I also deployed a rifle section in the ruins close to the bridge, placing them on Overwatch. I had a JOP placed just behind the ruins, which I hoped would let me get troops forward quickly.

I got another section on the table, moving them tactically in support of the carriers towards the bridge.

The Germans by the canal began to open fire on the section I had stationed in the ruined buildings, causing both shock and casualties. Over time, this would be a real problem for me.

The second section closed on the bridge, but was unable to cross because of the wire. The carrier teams dismounted, leaving the drivers in the vehicles. The rifle section on Overwatch fired at the engineer half-track, causing enough shock to make it withdraw.  Unhappily, this drew a lot of fire from the Germans in response, inflicting both shock and casualties.

The Germans were also deploying across the canal, with a section in the trees near the walled farm. My rifle section in the ruins was having big problems from accurate fire from two directions, with the MG42s causing many casualties, finally causing the few survivors to flee. This caused my FM to drop to 6. Luckily, by this point, a tank from the lead troop of the advancing squadron made an appearance. I hoped that this would turn the fight to my advantage. So far, the engineers hadn't managed to start working. I had also deployed my remaining rifle section, close to where the other one had fled, but out of sight of the Germans. The appearance of the tank led to the withdrawal of the German engineer section. 

To the right of the bridge, the tripod MG42 was hitting the recce section, with extra fire coming from a German section in the trees closer to the bridge. Luckily, my Senior Leader had also arrived with the platoon 2" mortar. Smoke time!

The smoke enabled the recce sections to get back on board their carriers and they drove forward over the wire obstacles (shown here by them being removed from the road). The Cromwell was also firing HE at the Germans, with a liberal dose of co-axial MG fire too. This was beginning to weaken the defenders, but I was worried about Panzerfausts and the even more nasty Panzerschreck. The armour of the carriers proved to be an impermeable barrier to the MG42, which was firing at the recce section now holding the bridge.

The SdKfz 250/9 now appeared. This was more of a problem, as its 2cm autocannon was capable of defeating the weak carrier armour. Luckily the Cromwell's commander was able to direct fire at the half-track and drive it off with shock and a wounded commander.

Another cross-canal firefight developed and my rifle section took up station in the ruined buildings. Combined with HE and MG fire from the Cromwell, this section was much more successful and the Germans were suffering losses now, with shock building up too.

Things were now looking pretty impossible for the defenders. The British had the recce carriers on the bridge, with a rifle section just behind and a Cromwell tank ready to blast anything that might appear from the walled farm, especially the half-track full of engineers, so the Germans pulled back, leaving the British in control of the bridge.

Well, this time the scenario delivered a British win, mainly because of the armour.

I am still not fully happy with the scenario. The tweaks I've made seem to have shifted the balance towards the attackers, but possibly too much so. I have thought about this again, and perhaps the answer might be to give the Germans a second tripod MG42 or maybe a second Panzerschreck? 

Alternately, perhaps the answer might be to leave the forces the same but play the game along the length of the table, with the canal closer to the German end, leaving the British with more ground to cover? In that scenario, the Germans could deploy in depth, forcing the British to fight along a longer approach to the bridge, with more opportunities to delay them until the engineers could place charges and blow the bridge. Currently, I like this idea better.

Breakthrough in Normandy - an IABM AAR

I played a game of IABSM at the club yesterday against a potential new member, Steve who contacted me via the IABSM Facebook group. I created a scenario based upon Scenario No. 5,  Breakthrough in the IABSM rulebook.

The British need to advance along the only road towards the village of Ste Madeleine-sur-Fleuve. To do this, the main force has sent a relatively strong mobile scouting group down the road to probe the German defences and hopefully force a breakthrough. This forces consists of two troops of tanks (each with 3 x Cromwells and 1 x Sherman Vc and L2 BM), one section of carriers equipped with Vickers MMGs (L3 BM) and two rifle platoons (one in 4 half-tracks and one carried as tank riders, L2 BM). The HQ (L3 BM, L2 BM) for this force has an attached platoon of 4 x 3” mortars carried in 4 Loyd carriers and is carried in a half-track. Each rifle platoon has one member designated as a sniper.

Chips

British Armour 1
British Armour 2
British Platoon 1
British Platoon 2
British Support 1 (MG carriers)
British Support 2 (mortars)
British Sniper
British Big Men 1-7
Armoured Bonus

There is a German defence screen ahead of the village which has been ordered to stop the British advance, to allow time for the Germans to complete their  withdrawal towards the major town of Falaise to the south.

The German force consists of two Zugs of Panzergrenadiers (each with L2 BM), supported by 2 SdKfz 251 Stummel half-tracks with short 75mm howitzers (L2 BM) and two Marder III Ausf. M with 75mm Pak 40 a/t guns (L2BM) and a Zug of 3 x Panther tanks (L2 BM). The HQ  (L3 BM) for this force has a section of 3 x Panzerschrecks and 2 x MG42 teams. The Germans are dug-in behind some hastily-built field defences.

Chips

German Armour 1
German Platoon 1
German Platoon 2
German Anti-tank 1 (Marder IIIs)
German Support 1 (short 75mm halftracks)
German Support 2 (Panzerschrecks)
German Support 3 (separate MG42s)
German Big Men 1-6

Note that neither side has a chip for the HQ. This is because any HQ-attached elements have their own chips. In addition to the Tea Break chip, the bag contains two blank chips which act as a countdown. Once the blank has been drawn 12 times, the game ends.

We rolled a D6 to see who would be the British and who would be the Germans. I rolled higher and chose to play as the German commander.

The terrain is relatively flat with some hedges breaking up the ground, a couple of lines of bocage (marking the German deployment area) and a small wooded area from which the British troops will emerge. There is a small reservoir by the road and a walled potager at the German end of the table. The ploughed fields on the side of the road are designated as soft going (-1" on each movement dice). The temporary German field defences can be seen to the left of the reservoir and the right of the road.

The British advanced under blinds but two units were soon spotted by the defenders. These were one of the tank troops and the carriers armed with Vickers MMGs. These could fire on the move.

Most of the German defenders were hidden in the deployment area but there were a few units under blinds. One was spotted by the carriers and was exposed as a pair of Marders.

The British tanks opened fire, and one Marder was immediately knocked out by the troop Sherman Vc with the 17-pdr gun.

The second Marder would soon follow, leaving the road almost open for the British to drive hell-for-leather towards Ste Madeleine-sur-Fleuve

The Germans began to emerge from under their blinds, with the main threat being the weakened Zug of three Panthers.

The Panthers were soon in action and two Cromwells were hit, causing them to brew up. One was the tank with the troop commander.

One Panther was knocked out by the Sherman Vc in the tank troop as the 2" mortar with the platoon which had been riding on the tanks laying down smoke to obscure the British advance.

Realising the the British intended to use speed to get past the German defences, which had been across the table in the bocage, the first Panzergrenadier Zug began to advance across the open ground, secure in the knowledge that the British infantry in the ploughed field were pinned by 75mm howitzer fire from the Stummels. Elsewhere, the Panzerschrecks had destroyed two of the carriers, and damaged a third as the British continued their thrust along the road. There were two British units still under blinds. The Armour Bonus chip was helping the British move quickly.

The  rear tank troop engaged with the Panthers at short range, but without any luck. The Germans were more accurate and the remaining two British tanks were soon taken out by the long 75mm guns on the Panthers.

The Panzergrenadiers advanced on the British platoon pinned in the field and wiped them out. A Panzerfaust managed to damage one of the Cromwells in the other troop but couldn't prevent the Rifle platoon in the half-tracks (under a blind), the remaining two carriers and the tank troop from getting off the table, with the Panzerfaust and MG42 teams being wiped out by Vickers fire. However, the victory conditions were that four units with at least 50% of their original strength remaining should exit the table and this was no longer possible, so this game ended up as a victory for the German defenders.

This was an interesting game, not least because I had expected the British to advance on a wide front and deployed my two infantry Zugs in a line across the table. Steve, however had other ideas and went for a mad dash along the road. The only unit held back was the mortar platoon, who stayed unused under a blind at the back of the table. Steve was never able to use the firepower of the 3" mortars to suppress the German defence. 

What really mattered here was whose firepower was best and it turned out that the three Panthers were more than a match for the British tanks, excepting the destructive power of the 17-pdrs on the Shermans.

A couple of notes about the way I planned the scenario. 

First, I rolled a dice to see who would be attacking and who would defend. 1,2 or 3 was a German defence and 4,5 or 6 was a British defence. I rolled a 2, so the Germans were the defenders.

Then, I used a dice to select which tanks would be available for the Germans.

1-3 Panzer IV

4-5 Panther

6 Tiger I

Then I rolled again to see how strong the Zug would be. A full-strength Zug is five vehicles. The roll would be as follows;

1 or 2 - full strength

3 or 4 - one vehicle under strength

5 or 6 - two vehicles under strength

I then rolled a D6 to see if the anti-tank unit would be Stug IIIs, Marders or Pak 40-equipped SdKfz 251 half-tracks. I'd already decided that only two would be available. Clearly, Stugs would be the best choice here, but it wasn't to be.

And for balance, here's some British armour

I've posted some of my WW2 German armour that I use for "I Ain't Been Shot Mum" so, in the interests of balance and fair play and all that sort of thing, here are some British vehicles too.

Here is a complete Squadron of Cromwells and Sherman Fireflies;

These represent A Sdn, 5 RTR, part of 7th Armoured Div. I am still not sure why I painted up a complete squadron, except because I could and it pleased me to do it. The HQ troop has a Cromwell 95mm CS version, as well as an unlikely Firefly.

I doubt that I'll ever see them all on the table at the same time.

n.b I know that Cromwells didn't actually use Culin hedgecutters. I did it for a bit of variation.

Now for some infantry tanks. These are Churchill Mk IV gun tanks (both 6pdr and 75mm variants) and two Churchill Mk III AVREs;

And here some M3/M5 halftracks;

I doubt that they would have had the Brownings in real life. These were usually removed and used for other things.

Finally, a platoon of 6pdr anti-tank guns with Loyd TT carriers;

These are all Plastic Soldier Company 15mm models.