For our annual Paddys Day 'Big Game', we fought the final battle in our Battlegroup Overlord 'Carentan '44' campaign that has formed part of our playtesting for Battlegroup Overlord.
This battle represents an attack by US Airborne trying to punch through the defence lines of FJR 6 and make for Carentan during the first few days on the Normandy invasion.
In this scenario the Germans would be deployed in depth with reserves arriving on turn 4. The US forces would all be on table from the start, but would have a long way to go to reach their objectives. The German defence also included minefields and fortified areas of bocage and would seem to be a hard nut to crack.
The Forces;
1000 Point Fallschirmjager Army (with an additional 100 points of defences on table)
1100 Point US Airborne Army
The US attack began with a full advance (aided in no small part by the US 'Radio Network' upgrade for the Forward Headquarters) on each flank, with the platoons MMGs providing covering fire while the infantry advanced. The recce raced up the centre road to discern if there was a minefiled ahead, fortunately for them, there wasnt! A rather well placed German Registered Target Point on the central road caused some problems, but thankfully no losses, though several units were pinned down. As the Americans advanced, the Fallschirmjager recce patrol pulled back from their section of fortified hedgerow. A decision that was to condemn them to oblivion once them got spotted by the US FHQ.
US Troops on the startline
Covering Fire!
Once the lead elements reached the first line of bocage the US troops piled through, to face no less than four German MG Teams waiting in ambush. Despite a large volume of fire, few American troops went down, and the left flank attack pummelled the MG Teams with concentrated small arms fire. On the right flank, US troops breached the bocage and again came through laying down fire, though somewhat less effectively. Following this the Germans let go with everything they had, but a horrifc series of dice rolls for communications tests (a pattern the Germans kept up for the whole game!) saw little of their artillery coming into action… Obviously someone else in the German Army needed those guns more!
This was then followed by one of those turns when for the Germans it all seemed to go wrong. One the left flank the US Paras kept up a prodigious amount of fire, knocking out one MG Team after the other despite their positions dug into the bocage. On the other flank, a stonking barrage of mortar fire, 105s and a whistled up battery of 155s, slammed into the Germans on this flank. As the bocage erupted with shell bursts the US paras stormed forward, indulging in close range fire to clear the Fallschirmjager from the hedgerows.
Fire for effect!
Fallschirmjager under pressure
The Germans tried once more to call in their artillery and though it came in, it did little. As the Shermans now moved up, and the US pushed on, the Germans put in a small counter-attack backed by their StuGs. Sadly the StuG Battery commander promptly drove over a mine which wrecked his vehicle! Not a good start. This attack caused some casualties, but as the initiative swung back to the US, they pushed on. First their artillery finally scored a direct hit on the OP bunker, destroying it, and then the Shermans and US Paras on the right, once more covered by their MMG Teams pushed right up to the second line of bocage. A US artillery salvo on one of their Registered Target Points hit home, killing the entire Germans Forward Headquarters! To add insult to injury, the US Para sniper snapped off a round that promptly shot the last remaining German artillery observer through the head… Things didnt look good for FJR 6.
Fallschirmjager reserves rush to plug the crumbling line
But yet more US Paras come forward
The Germans rallied for one last attempt, but this attack suffered in its build up from having formed up under a US Registered Target Point and several units were pinned, including the supply wagon desperately trying to reach the StuGs. As the StuGs took out the leading Shermans, hope arose in the German camp, but once again little was achieved. It looked to be a case of too little, too late. Then with all their Artillery Observers in place the US called in another blistering set of mortar stonks that, by luck, scattered into the Fallshirmjager infantry trying to counter-attack. A trio of sixes saw two more units destroyed and another virtually wiped out. As the US pushed forward to the last line of bocage, the German resistance collapsed under the pressure and victory was handing to the US.
A Para Artillery Observer shelters in the farm
StuGs and Horses!
The game was a good one, but the Germans, hampered by poor dice and bad luck suffered from the outset. The US, with a bit more luck on their side stormed through. The eventual morale tally was the Germans broken on 67, while the US had only 24 points accrued. Things never went the German way in this game, and what should have been a bloody attack for the US was reasonably light in losses. Still a good game was had by all and a fitting end to our mini-Carentan campaign.
Figures and models from the collections of Piers and Cyril.
