"Epic WWII (3mm) - the Lorraine Campaign -" Topic

WW2 fans, the flea circus hits the tabletop again, to fight it out over five kilometers of vital ground which approached a crossing over the Meurthe River, a battleground for the US 4th Armored Division, CCB that occurred in early September 1944.

The players were given their sector maps pre-game, to orient themselves for the upcoming action, and for the American team to see what their overall CO [me] had prepared as an initial battle op.

US map (Teams named for the commanding players in-charge) -

German map (KG Harrisohn) -

- to be continued -

Oooh, likin' this already!

Looking forward to the -to be continued- part.

Hey Mark!

Well, before we mounted up, I made this last pep talk to the Task Force COs (emailed a few days before the game) -

"Up ahead a few klicks out, are two bridges over the Meurthe River – we'll go for the northern span, and hope the Krauts don't blow it up in our faces.

Review the battle plan here, and remember no plan ever survives intact after contact with the enemy – so be prepared to think on your feet, and adjust as necessary."

Sure, this was meant to set the mood, but we were going up against the best WW2 player in our game group – Dave H. commanding KG Harrisohn, so we expected a rough handling…..and we were not to be disappointed, the battle plan went to hell immediately.

Team Mosley was D Company (reinforced), the Light Tank Company of our 8th Tank Battalion, and it was to lead the assault as a reconnaissance-in-force, by first scouting forward towards the tree lines ahead, in hopes it could secure that cover, to be used to stage the rest of our assault from – Phase 1 on our soon-to-be obsolete battle map above. Instead, the Germans were dug in hard on their HKL (their Main Line of Resistance), with no apparent out-posting, and Team Mosley's mission became one needing immediate support itself -

In order to extricate D Company from the Paks beginning to pound it now, and almost off the start line, we started to feed in the Medium Tank Companies left and right of it – the classic use of Shermans – to reduce ambushing AT defenses.

This back and forth firefight would wage for what seemed an eternity. I must admit, the disruption of the attack and the ferocity of the enemy fire, created shock amongst these veteran 4th Armored tankers. However, during the process of building up some fire superiority, D Company was able to withdraw and deploy out towards our right flank, from here would come the next shock – a company of enemy TDs appeared on the Charmois ridge to the south of our main body, and began to knock out our armor from a different angle of attack (we were now in a high-velocity AT crossfire). We needed help, and a boost to our sagging morale…..that would come on angel's wings, as two fights of P-47 Jugs came to the rescue.

The control of our support assets was my sole game role, and luckily I passed off the actual rolling attack to Team Palmer's CO – the results were immediate – flaming enemy Panzers along the ridge answered our desperate call with impressive air support –

- to be continued -

Interesting AAR so far.Good to see the Allies get airpower. I've played too many games where the Germans got their best tanks etc but not an Allied plane in the sky.

Appreciating your comments mghFond!

Almost like the attraction of the moth to a flame, the American attack would now reorient southward towards the Charmois ridge.

The northern action through the tree lines near Vigneulles would be taken over by a single medium tank company and some armored doughs, while the three other tank battalion companies changed direction SE, and charged up the ridge. This flanking attempt would not go unpunished – a battery of 88 Flak immediately opening up, but the ridge's contour had allowed the concentrated US tanks and armored infantry to bum-rush the enemy at short range -

- continued tomorrow, and to the finale –

Oh, this is nice! And as a hardened 6mm/2mm gamer, may I ask everyone who insists they can't see those scales to pay attention to the beautiful--and very clear--table?

No, no, Robert, everyone can see that there is no difference between the pictures above and this:

Apparently identical, to all intents and purposes.

Robert and Whirlwind – TY, and thanks for discussing the scope and scale these little [epic] size minis can then enable by selecting 2,3,6mm – as the scales offer unique utility.

(if just for hopes of bringing to the tabletop other future projects – likely quicker, sometimes cheaper, with smaller storage/transport requirements, and your battle space can take on greater context, while its actual footprint still fits within the same board space)

CCB's battle towards a Meurthe crossing now seemed to witness a change in initiative, as the opportunity to gain ground through maneuver vs. firepower began to open up – had the TF made a breakthrough?

"A" was having a hard fight near Vigneulles, but was holding, and had attracted enemy reserves towards it (at the moment it was buying time for the rest of the Task Force to exploit the situation from off the high ground and into the river valley beyond).

It was the right time for boldness, and for Team Palmer to act together in mass, unhinging the German defensive network and passing behind the enemy front line.

KG Harrisohn still had a reduced company of Mk. IVs able to contest the ground towards the river – it was also likely the last chance for the German armor to extract itself – and it did so, thereby heading back towards the northern span, and across the river as an act of self-preservation, surely the right decision when considering the overall context of the future fighting to come in the Lorraine Campaign.

The missions and engagement today had been decided though, here along the Meurthe.

Guys, these little jewels just appeared today here on TMP, advertised as new 3mm Western Front WW2 buildings, bunker complexes, and some landing craft miniatures to do amphibious operations with, all by the stellar team at Total Battle Miniatures (see link below, and so wantin' to keep this advertisement handy)…..

TMP link

I bought their 3mm Eastern Front sets, and was super impressed (those could also be used as reduced-footprint 6mm sets too) -