Saturday, November 8, 2014

Pre-Sealion Game 1940

Pictures from the game I played last week with Mark. Set shortly after the Dunkirk evacuation, the Germans attack a small harbour town to test out some tactics for the coming invasion of England, and to grab some prisoners for intelligence. The Germans had x2 companies of paratroops which were landed behind the village, and x2 companies of mountain infantry, landed by boat. The British had x1 battalion of Home Guard and a small motorised regular component. I played the Germans, Mark the British



Mountain infantry attack the front harbour area from rafts. Another company stays on the launch to attack a different part of the waterfront


German para in the fields behind the village, in the top of this picture is the platoon that was eliminated instantly because it landed in the river. This forced the rest of the company to go pinned for three turns



British positions along the waterfront and the command HQ


One platoon of mountain infantry is eliminated by the Home Guard but the rest make it ashore unscathed and engage the British at close range




The only mobile German para start to flank the village, their superior firepower and morale meant they had no problems taking on opposition twice their number, figures are Airfix and Esci



Home Guard platoon stubbornly holding out around the lower dock area


Engineers knock out one of the British pillboxes 



About turn 3, just behind the harbour area, mountain troops look to link up with para attacking from the other side, but they have been held up by more determined resistance from the Home Guard



Still the core of the assault force is pinned


Mountain infantry continue working through the village, largely unopposed. Caesar figures, SHQ AALMG platoon in the background


Turn 4, the German para HQ finally moves


The dockside defenders forced into the only unoccupied part of the village, they are more or less surrounded and have suffered many casualties - still they continue to resist though




The British HQ area comes under heavy attack from the main force of para


Turn 5. The British play their Ace, an armoured car platoon and a company of regular infantry _ Zvezda figures with Airfix trucks


However, they rushed headlong into the rear of the village and were ambushed from two sides by para and mountain infantry



The regulars regrouped and returned fire with some success



Esci and Revell para, Home Guard figures are all Airfix and Matchbox conversions



The para didn't get it all their own way, this British command platoon eliminated one platoon and forced another to retreat



AALMG platoon firing at very close range with great results until close assaulted by a fresh group of para


Another pillbox is knocked out



Turn 6. The last fighting Home Guard platoon on the dock side of the village fails morale and surrenders. The regulars though remained firm and continued firing from around their burning trucks



More British morale failures


The HQ prepares for the final assault...


Which never came. The Germans now began to withdraw back through the village and docks, taking their prisoners with them



The damaged but still fighting regulars follow the retreating Germans... at a distance




Great game. Mark showed a good grasp of the rules and basic tactics but the German superiority in morale and firepower was never going to make it an easy introduction for him.

15 comments:

  1. Superb Battle with a lot happening - a very good read indeed- Great Layout- Great Pictures- well done!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great report on an amazing terrain, full of details!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome table Al! Great report too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just recently picked up the Airfix RAF vehicle set, nice to see it built. nice AAR.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Don't give 'em your name Pike! - Well done to the Home Guard. Great terrain and photos, a joy to read as always...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lol mate, love that show, glad you like it gang

      Delete
  6. That's an incredible looking table. I can't imagine the amount of time put into building that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great looking game; nice scenario idea.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sweet looking game Al. Your push for terrain subjects has paid off mate.

    real eye candy fest.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great show, and stunning photography
    thank you for this.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for your comments team, map building is heaps easier if it's not historical. The HG performed better than expected being rated Trained M7, anything less in CD3 is mostly unworkable, the lads were helped by being formed into large companies (including a pillbox) M+2 and being mostly in cover M+2. Great game

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fabulous AAR. Recognised a load of stuff and your commentary was first class. This is real wargaming at its best. Congratulations Al.

    ReplyDelete