My last post (and only the second) in July - Longues-sur-Mer.

July hasn't been great for me, to be honest. My arthritic hand issues haven't gone away and it looks as though they are going to be a permanent part of my life from now on. This has limited my painting massively, I've only completed four figures and have another eight on the painting table.

So, I'll post something else about my holiday instead - a trip to the Atlantic Wall battery at Longues-sur-Mer.

Above is one of the four large Type M272 casemates, each of which contains a 15 cm TbtsK C/36 naval gun, originally designed to be used on Zerstörer 1936A (Mob) destroyers, Mob meaning "Mobilisation". Seven of these destroyers were built. 

In addition to these large guns, which had a maximum range of around 20km and fired a 45kg shell, the site was also equipped with machine guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns, all surrounded by barbed wire and a minefield. You can read more about the site HERE.

The battery was controlled by a fire control bunker near the cliffs overlooking the Channel. Below is a photo showing the view from just to the left of the bunker.

Below is a shot from the bunker looking back to the guns.

The guns were capable of firing at the invasion fleet and were able to reach ships off of both Omaha Beach to the west and Gold Beach to the east. The photo below shows the cliff path down to the port of Arromanches, which was key to the landings as it would be the site of the Mulberry Harbour.

The gun below is a Russian 76.2mm M1902 which formed part of the defences of the battery.

Following the surrender of the battery to troops from C Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment on 7th June, a temporary airstrip (B11) was constructed on the fields adjacent to the battery. This was used by Spitfires from the RAF 2nd Tactical Airforce. Below is a commemorative memorial to this, mentioning Free French ace Pierre Clostermann who flew for RAF 602 squadron from the airstrip. 

The whole site is fascinating and very well preserved. It is well worth a visit. 

Back from my holiday in Normandy.

I've been back from Normandy for just over a week now, so I thought I'd put something up here. 

I've posted photos of this M4A1(76)W HVSS tank before, but this is the old warhorse with a nice shiny new paint job and a fair amount of remedial work. I have to say that it was long overdue, seeing as the first time I visited Utah Beach was back in 1989.

So, I've now got a hat trick of anniversary visits to Normandy, having visited in 2004, 2014 and 2024.

I've finally also got some decent photos of Omaha Beach, due to the sun being out this time. I know that there is a lot of foreground in the first photo, but it does show how the exit from the beach was a lot steeper than on the other beaches in 1944.

I really like the modern sculpture memorial above. It certainly seems popular with visitors who often walk around it and stand touching it in contemplation. 

We visited a few other D Day sites on our travel, but I'll keep those for other posts. I'm going to post non-wargaming stuff for a week or so, because my arthritic flare up I mentioned previously hasn't gone away, and I am not painting until the pains go away.

It's been a while since my last post

...But what can I say in mitigation? Well, I've been painting stuff but not completing things. I've also been on holiday in Normandy for an extended week, which was lovely. Here are some bronze Americans, exiting a Higgins boat to liberate the Le Roosevelt bar and restaurant just across the road behind me.

Here are our two Westies, Dora (furthest away) and Ralph examining Utah beach in detail.

And for those of you who like this sort of thing (I know that I do), here is a close-up of HVSS suspension on a M4A1(76)W HVSS (followed by a photo of the whole vehicle).

Of course, we did lots of other things in Normandy that didn't involve D Day, mainly because we have been there more than once in the past, but I shall have to leave a photo of the famous Café Gondrée at Pegasus Bridge.

And another of some colourful baskets in the weekly market in Sainte-Mère-Église, where we bought some terrific Calvados from the producer and pork sausages from the farmer who raised the pigs.

Normandy is well worth visiting. There is so much to see, do, eat and drink, even if you aren't interested in D Day.

A D Day scenario for the US Airborne - an AAR for IABSM

This scenario, played out by myself (Germans) and Kev (Americans) at the club last Sunday concerns a company of US Airborne troops dropped inland from Utah Beach as part of the D Day landings. C Company’s dropzone is in the region around La Forge, a small hamlet on the road west from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Unfortunately, the company’s three platoons have been dispersed and need to join up in La Forge and consolidate their position and prevent German troops from attacking the landing zone. 

 

Capt. Eugene O’Neill, commanding C Company has set up his Command Post in the hamlet and deployed Able platoon in defence. Baker and Charlie platoons are scattered around and are attempting to find their comrades. Capt. O'Neill has to hold on until troops from Utah Beach can reinforce him. These are represented by a platoon of M5A1 light tanks.

So far, the US troops haven't been attacked, but German forces moving towards Utah Beach have spotted the Americans and need to eject them before joining the forces opposing the seaborne landings.

 

US forces

HQ : (1 blind +1 dummy)

Capt Eugene O’Neill (L4)

Lt. Marvin Doolittle (L3)

2 x bazooka teams (2 men each)

2 x Browning 0.30 LMG (3 crew each)

Able Platoon: (2 blinds + 1 dummy)

Lt Doug Gatsby L3)

3 x sections(10 men)

1 bazooka team

1 60mm mortar (4 man team)

Baker Platoon:

Lt Steve Austin (L3)

3 x sections (10 men)

1 bazooka team

1 60mm mortar (4 man team)

Charlie Platoon:

Lt Harry Cooper ( L3)

3 x sections (10 men)

1 bazooka team

1 60mm mortar (4 man team)

Tank platoon (on the road, heading for the village)

5 x M5 light tanks

Lt Lou Reed (L2) 

German briefing

American parachute troops have landed and are all over the countryside. One group is in the vicinity of La Forge. A company of Panzergrenadiers with vehicles has been dispatched to round up the Americans and prevent them securing the roads. Because of the risk of attack by fighter-bombers against large columns moving on roads, the German forces will arrive in separate groups. Two Panzerjägers are available but will not arrive immediately.

German forces

Wave One (arrives when German blind chip is first drawn) 2 blinds plus 2 dummy

Oberleutnant Stefan Wurst (L4 Big Man)

3 MG42 MG teams (2 men each)

3 Panzerschreck teams (2 men each)

1 SdKfz 250/10 with 37mm PaK and 1 SdKfz 250/9 with 2cm cannon and MG42

Zug One - Feldwebel Otto Klein (L3 Big Man)

3 rifle squads (8 men each)

2 Panzerfausts

1 additional MG42 team

Wave Two (chip goes in the bag when German blind chip is next drawn) 2 blinds

Zug Two - Feldwebel Uwe Seeler (L3 Big Man)

3 rifle squads (8 men each)

2 Panzerfausts

1 additional MG42 team

2 x SdKfz 251/9 (75cm L24 howitzer)

Wave Three ( chip goes in the bag when German blind chip is drawn for the third time) 3 blinds

Zug Three - Feldwebel Hans Helder (L3 Big Man)

3 rifle squads (8 men each)

2 Panzerfausts

1 additional MG42 team

3 x SdKfz 250/9 with 2cm cannon and MG42

The German A/T chip goes in the bag with Wave Three

Panzerjäger Zug - Leutnant Georg Ritter (L3 Big Man)

2 x Marder III 75mm Pak 40

 La Forge - a sleepy Norman hamlet

The first US platoon arrives from this side of the village

The Germans will approach from this side

The Germans begin their advance under blinds, spotting the Airborne platoon in the paddock surrounded by hedges in the hamlet. On the right more German troops move to occupy the walled garden, again under blinds.

Having been spotted by the Americans in the village, the German Zug takes cover in the walled garden. This will prove to be a problem in the coming battle. 

Both sides exchange fire, no casualties are caused but both sides take some shock. The noise of the shooting is bound to attract other troops to the area. First to arrive is a second US airborne platoon, quickly followed by more Panzergrenadiers and some SdKfz recce halftracks. A couple of SdKFz 251 halftracks with short 75mm howitzers also arrive.

Things start hotting up as more fire is exchanged. So far, neither side has suffered many casualties, but shock is slowing things down. The Germans seem reluctant to advance and this allows the US Airborne to start consolidating their position when the final platoon arrives. This platoon takes up a defensive position behind the bocage lining the road to prevent the hamlet being outflanked by German infantry. The German SdKfz 251/22 with a 75mm Pak 40 near the walled garden opens fire on the hamlet but misses, and this brings an instant response from the US bazooka teams, who destroy the vehicle after a couple of shots. 

By now, all forces apart from the US tanks and the German Panzerjäger Zug are in action. Both sides are also taking casualties, mainly to heavy fire from the LMGs of both sides.

The platoon defending the hamlet is suffering from MG42 and howitzer fire as the Panzergrenadiers begin to advance across the open fields towards their enemy.

Realising that being stuck in the walled garden is pointless and unable to move along the road due to a US platoon behind the bocage, the German troops climb over the wall and begin to advance across the ploughed field towards the hamlet. A second Zug moves up in support.

However, time is running out because the US cavalry has arrived in the shape of five M5A1 tanks. Where are the Marder anti-tank guns when they are needed?

The M5s immediately open fire with machine guns on the Panzergrenadiers caught in the open, inflicting both shock and casualties. The much-needed Panzerschreck teams seem paralysed with fear and are stuck in the middle of nowhere, unable to do anything useful. 

A section of Panzergrenadiers eliminates the US LMGs in the hamlet and advances over the wall towards the houses, causing the US commander to beat a hasty retreat. 

There is still no sign of the Marders, who must have fallen foul of the Allies elsewhere in the area, and the machine guns of the American tanks are decimating the Panzergrenadiers caught in the open in the ploughed field. Elsewhere on the battlefield, the third American platoon defending the road behind the bocage, has destroyed a whole section of Panzergrenadiers and pinned another in the open. Oberleutnant Wurst, the German commander is forced to admit that his assault has bogged down and reluctantly decides to beat a hasty retreat before the US tanks destroy his complete company.
 
We had to call a halt at this point because we had run out of time, but I think that my position (i.e. the German one) was decidedly weak. My infantry were taking a pounding from the tank machine guns and I doubt that my SdKfz 250 halftracks would have stood much of a chance against the fairly weedy 37mm guns of the M5s. I am assuming that their 20mm guns would have been pretty ineffectual against the slightly tougher armour of the US tanks. I really needed those Marders and it was a huge mistake to get the 75mm SdKfz 251 involved early on because it would always have been vulnerable to bazooka fire.

Getting a whole platoon of Germans boxed into the walled garden was a mistake too, especially as an American platoon pitched up almost immediately on the other side of the road, effectively blocking the exit.

Another thought-provoking game, with the victor's crown going to Kev's American Airborne troops.

Attack Through The Bocage - an AAR for IABSM

This game was played out at Lincombe Barn on Sunday 2nd April. The Americans were commanded by Chris and I was leading the Germans.

The AAR covers a fictional scenario representing an action between American forces attempting to break out from the Cotentin peninsula and clear a path southwards towards St Lô and the German defenders attempting to contain them in the weeks immediately after the initial landings.

US briefing

Capt. Travis Perkins, commanding A Company has been ordered to secure the road south from Ste Eulalie-en-Bocage to allow the passage of armour and guns towards the main objective south-east towards St Lô. The company has suffered some casualties since the landings at Utah Beach but morale is good. The Weapons Platoon has been detached and is not available for this operation, however a single platoon of M4 tanks is available. These are fresh from training and have not seen combat previously. The armour has a morale level of 3 but from lack of combat experience have the potential to be cautious. To represent this the Hesitant card will be present in the game deck but will only affect the tanks on their next activation or on the next activation of the tank Big Man. The infantry will be unaffected by Hesitant.

All the American troops are rated as Regular.

The company consists of;

HQ - Capt. Travis Perkins (L3 Big Man)
Sgt Enrico Fermi (L2 Big Man)
2 .30mm MG teams (4 crew each)
1 M3 halftrack with .30 MG and 2 crew

Platoon One - Lt Ernie "Brick" Wall (L3 Big Man)
3 rifle squads (10 men each)
1 bazooka team (2 men)

Platoon Two - Lt Roscoe P. Coltrane (L2 Big Man)
3 rifle squads (10 men each)
1 bazooka team (2 men)

Platoon Three - Sgt Cooter Davenport (L2 Big Man)
3 rifle squads (10 men each)

Tank platoon - Lt Ricky Reeves (L2 Big Man)
5 x 75mm M4 Sherman tanks

The Americans have one dummy blind

Recce teams report that German troops are active in the area and that armour is likely to be present. The ground is flat but criss-crossed with bocage hedges. A shallow but wide drainage ditch runs alongside the main road for part of its length before turning off across a field which is muddy and counts as broken terrain. The ditch can be forded by infantry but should be counted as a major obstacle. There is a bridge over this ditch that is suitable for light vehicles only. Vehicles cannot cross the ditch. There are two lanes running at right angles from the main road. At the far end of the road there is a walled farm on some raised ground, with a couple of outbuildings, surrounded by an orchard enclosed by a fence. Northwards beyond the orchard is a field of corn.

The bocage hedges are a major obstacle and take one action for infantry to get through. Tanks will take one action to break through and count as broken terrain to cross once a breach has been made.

Capt. Perkins must secure the road by clearing any defenders from the area and take the farmhouse. However, the terrain is difficult and every hedge or obstacle should be treated as a potential hiding place for enemy troops.

German briefing

It is imperative that the American advance towards St Lô is halted. Reconnaissance has indicated that the Americans intend to push down along this road to outflank our troops to the north-west of the town. Although our resources are stretched, Oberleutnant Hans Knopfel has been sent to guard the road with a weakened company of Panzergrenadiers. These are rated as Regular.

Oberleutnant Knopfel has also been provided with some armour, but not much, few vehicles can be spared. They are, however, rated as Veteran. Their commander Leutnant Heinz Scribner is a Tank Ace.

His forces consist of;

HQ - Oberleutnant Hans Knopfel (L4 Big Man)
Obergefreiter Stefan Schtupp (L1 Big Man)
4 MG42 MG teams (2 men each)
2 Panzerschreck teams (2 men each)
1 SdKfz 250/9 with 2cm cannon and MG42
1 SdKfz 251 with MG42 and 2 crew

Zug One - Feldwebel Ewald Schmidt (L3 Big Man)
3 rifle squads (8 men each)
2 Panzerfausts

Zug Two - Unterfeldwebel Fritz Blick (L2 Big Man)
3 rifle squads (8 men each)
1 Panzerfaust

Panzer Zug -  Leutnant Heinz Scribner (L3 Big Man)
3 x Stug III Ausf. G 75mm
1 x PzKfw IV Ausf. H 75mm

The Germans have two dummy blinds

Oberleutnant Knopfel's orders are to prevent the Americans from advancing down the road and to cause maximum casualties.

The game opened with the Americans advancing through the bocage under blinds. Because of the nature of the terrain attempts at spotting were difficult. The non-arrival of the German Blinds chip didn't help matters much either.

Before long, American M4 tanks had crashed through the bocage (presumably aided by Culin Hedgecutters, and were confronted by a single Zug of Panzergrenadiers. Despite the explosion of one tank from a short range hit from a Panzerfaust, the M4s opened up with a devastating salvo of HE shells which soon caused significant casualties and much shock, suppressing the German troops and soon forcing the survivors to withdraw.

At the same time, US infantry began to advance across the ploughed fields, to be met with a devastating hail of fire from MG42s in the roof of the farmhouse and also closer along the fence around the orchard.

Unfortunately for the Germans, the German Blinds chip (also the chips for the German armour and second Panzergrenadier Zug) refused to emerge from the bag for a number of rounds. Only the endless rain of bullets from the MG42s was keeping the Americans pinned, together with the Hesitant chip preventing the tanks from advancing any further. Finally, in a bloody bout of close combat around the fence, the German defenders were eliminated. However, more MG42 fire from the farm forced the Americans to withdraw in shock with heavy losses. All this time Capt. Perkins and the third American platoon remained behind the bocage, seemingly unwilling to advance into the cauldron of fire.

Eventually though, the Germans to the west of the main road started to move and soon the accurate 75mm fire of the veteran Panzer troops started to knock out the US M4s.

The arrival of fresh German infantry and the loss of their supporting armour seemed to cause a weakening of resolve among the previously confident Amis.

With Panzerschreck teams making their way through the orchard and a devastating series of bursts of MG fire from both the farmhouse and the advancing PzKfw IV, the remaining Americans realised that the tide had turned and began to pull back, leaving many dead and three brewed-up tanks behind.

So, a pretty tense and exciting encounter. From a German perspective, the early stages of the battle were dismal, mainly because of the non-appearance of most German chips from the bag. In fact, the chip for the L4 Big Man, Oberleutnant Hans Knopfel didn't come out at all (neither did that for his US counterpart Capt. Travis Perkins either), but the German L1 Big Man, Obergefreiter Stefan Schtupp's chip emerged frequently enough for him to activate the MG42s in the farmhouse, which pretty much stopped the US advance until the Panzers and the second Zug of Panzergrenadiers finally got moving. From that point on, the balance shifted decisively towards the defenders and the Americans pretty much had to retreat.

British Rifle platoon for Chain of Command

I posted my German infantry for CoC a little while ago and I then began work on some British infantry as opposition. I finished these last week and then forgot to write up a post about them, which I have now remedied.

These are, once again Peter Pig figures in 15mm, from their Late War British list. This platoon will be suitable for the Northwestern Europe theatre from D-Day until the end of the War.

So far, I've painted up the basic CoC platoon according to the Army Lists in the rules. I need to think what support options I will need and start planning those accordingly.

Anyway, here they are;

In CoC, the platoon is split into three sections, each with a Junior Leader with a Sten, a three-man Bren team and a six-man rifle team. The platoon HQ has a Senior Leader (lieutenant, in this case with a rifle and a pistol), Junior Leader (sergeant with a Sten) a two-man 2" mortar team and a 2-man PIAT team.

There are plenty of support options available, many of which I can fill from my existing tank and vehicle collection, but others will require additional purchases.