"The Grimbosq Bridgehead" Topic

Following our refight of the Battle of the Grimbosq Bridgehead at Bovington two weeks ago, Richard de Ferrars has written an AAR: PDF link

My own take on the game can be found here:
link

The rules used were Battlefront: WWII by Fire & Fury Games fireandfury.com

Mark,

It was very good to meet you at Bovy – always nice to put a face to a name. Great looking game – even if the church was the wrong way round!

Cheers

Nick

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow is right. These Bovy guys do it up right, don't they?

Fantastic AAR. That is the most effective presentation I have seen, and the format brings the narrative and photos alive. Thanks! I would enjoy a tutorial on technical aspects of constructing this AAR.

I had the pleasure of seeing this game in the flesh/metal at Bovy and it was an awe inspiring spectacle. The table looked like it may have given way at any moment under the weight of all those toys!

Nice to see some nice decent pictures of it.

That's very kind of you chaps! I can't take credit for it though, as it's all the work of Richard de Ferrars and Paddy Green (I supplied the bombers, the Royal Engineers, some Bofors guns and the Calvary cross).

If anyone's interested, I did a tour of Grimbosq battlefield last year:

PDF link

Nick,

Likewise! Yes, that was funny. For those not 'in' on the joke, my darling wife, who accompanied me on my Grimbosq visit last year, took one look at Richard's beautifully-built table and then told him that the church was the wrong way round… The annoying thing was that she was absolutely correct (having parked her car next to said church last year). Wives really are always right in all things… :)

Luke,

Somewhat astonishingly, we had to increase the ground-scale from the 15mm standard of 1 inch = 40 yards, to the 20mm standard of 1 inch = 30 yards, just to fit the troops that were there into the space that they historically occupied! We had some good discussions on the subject of 'tank-parks' in wargames…

This is great stuff Mark. Most impressive models, scenery & especially the AAR.
Incidentally, what was the date of this engagement ?

Next thing, we ought to have a book on this battle.You have wealth of knowledge, maps & images. So when is it coming out ?

Also, count me in when you start your well researched Battlefield tours ???????

Thanks for posting.

You can come on one of my tours any time you like, provided you're no older than 19, have parental consent, wear ATC uniform and call me 'Sir'! The next tour leaves in two weeks! :)

link

PDF link

7th/8th August was the date of the battle – you'll find Paddy's scenario linked from my AAR.

Yes, Grimbosq definitely deserves a battlefield book – perhaps also incorporating Thury-Harcourt, as the two battles were closely linked. 59th Division's operations as a whole deserve more recognition, but they were the unloved, ginger-haired stepchild of 21st Army Group. My own take on this virtually unknown battle is that it not only outflanked the German defences between Caen and Falaise, but also served to draw away a large chunk of the 12th SS armour a few hours before Operation 'Totalize' erupted south of Caen. It then kept that armour busy (and exhausted) for 48 hours, thus preventing it from engaging the main Allied effort ('Totalize').

It's doubly odd that it remains so obscure despite one of the Normandy VCs being won there (although the same is true of Tasker Watkins' VC that was won a few days later and a few miles to the south of Grimbosq).

great looking game! and no tank stacking!

John,

Are you looking at the right game?! They felt pretty stacked to me (even with the expanded ground-scale)! :o)

Mark

Terrific! Only quibble with the AAR is that the bombers are Bostons, not Mitchells…..

I know – I did explain that in my AAR, but Richard insisted on referring to them as 'Mitchells' in his AAR, as that what they are in the scenario.

In all probability they were actually Mitchells (the Germans referred to them as such), but I could only get my hands on one 1/100th Mitchell model. There were a handful of Boston squadrons operating alongside the Mitchells over Normandy, so I took the executive decision to buy three of AiM's wonderful 1/100th Bostons instead.

Oddly enough, while researching this scenario, I did actually find a photo of RAF Mitchells bombing the Foret du Grimbosq, but it was actually in June 1944, when units of 21. Panzer-Division were using the forest as a hide: