Bir Hacheim - Memoir 44 scenario playtest.

It was reading Martin Rapier's recent account of a 'Bir Hakeim' action played under the Memoir '44 game system, with add-ons, supplements and adjustments, that inspired this belated, and rather divergent, posting.  As such it was something of an experiment and the article as much a review of the game system and the success (or otherwise) of the modifications Martin had in mind (see here).

Scenario set up.  The dotted bits represent minefields, for
which I used AT obstacles.  Blue arrows are exit points fpr
Axis units breaking through; the grey stars
strong-point objectives.

 Reading this, I wondered just how the scenario would go with the basic Normandy game system - completely unaltered.  Mapping out the scenario from the photographs, I had to guess the number of command cards and 'victory points' for each side.

The Axis went first; both sides got 6 command cards.  The Allies got Victory Points by destroying enemy units.  The Axis get them by {a} destroying Allied units, {b} by occupying strong points held by the 'Free French' near Bir Hacheim' (grey stars) and {c} by exiting units from either of the two exit points marked with blue arrows on the map.

For this action, I used anti-tank obstacles to represent minefields, with no rules adjustment.  All the same, as the action developed, it became clear that the action would concentrate upon the less protected positions outside the fortified perimeter.  Partly this was due to the preponderance of sector orders to the right and centre.  Very few group orders turned up, an observation that Martin Rapier dilated upon.

Rough notion of how events unfolded.  The arrival of 2/3
of the Ariete Division tanks and the 'Armour Assault;
card led to almost the entire Indian Bde being overrun.

For quite a while, it looked as though the Axis were not going to flank the Gazala line at all - through Bir Hacheim, or around it.  Fighting was never more than desultory around the Bir Hacheim 'box' itself - such as there was being as much to turn over the cards as to inflict losses.  The defences were discouraging enough, but none too many sector order cards came up for this part of the field.

Between the ridges, the fighting was a deal more brisk, and the defenders were giving a pretty good account of themselves.  Early on, the Axis paused to bring up the artillery just one hex, to a more effective range of the dug in line.  Even so, the early Stuka raid (Air Strike card) and heavy artillery strike a few turns thereafter (Barrage card) were welcome to the Axis to keep up the pressure in what amounted to a battle of attrition.  A couple of tank units from 'Ariete' Division were called over - to reinforce what had become the main attack, but also to turn over a 'left sector 'Probe' card.

What sealed the deal for the Axis was the arrival of an 'Armour Assault' card, just as the Ariete Division was set to intervene effectively.  With it, the four tank units still available thundered into close assault, effecting a couple of overrun attacks and swept the Allied line - infantry and guns - from right to left.  Only the remnant still occupying the rise on the left flank survived.

Of course, the tank units of the 4th Armoured Brigade counter-attacked, and inflicted some loss.  The left hand unit even reoccupied some positions earlier held by the infantry.  But after their massed attack, the momentum rested with the Axis.  Soon the entire available Allied armour were wrecks littering the darkling desert.  Five Allied units destroyed and one Axis Panzer unit exited, to two Axis units destroyed (though at least a couple of others were down to a single element) it was a great Axis victory; 6-2 based on VPs.

The turning point was certainly sudden, and the Allies didn't get much in the way of group cards to help things along.  Still, for mine, a fascinating exercise, interesting scenario even under the basic Memoir '44 system... and ... a candidate game for The Portable Wargame!

Aux Portes de Moscou...

Last evening Jacko (Painting Little Soldiers) and I got together for our fist head-to-head battles with the Memoir '44 game system. Following on from my purchase of the box game at the Club bring-n-buy at the beginning of the month, Jacko had looked into what extensions, additions and accessories that might be available. He got the Eastern Front extension.
...

Operation Luettich August, 1944.  The German forces represent
4 Panzer and 4 Infantry Divisions.  One of the infantry units
are panzer-grenadiers.

Reasonably quick to set up and play, we had two games, one from the basic Memoir '44 set - Northern Europe, 1944 - and one from the Russian Front. I took the Allies both times; I was defending both times.

The first game was the German counter-offensive at Mortain, Operation Luettich, 7 August, 1944. One of the striking things about this game system is that the scale of each battle is indicated only by the game map. The Luettich game map represents probably 16km, or 10 miles of front, a depth of roughly 11km or 7 miles, bearing in mind distortions to 'fit' the hex-grid board. The German offensive, comprising 6 Panzer (2 of them 'special') and 7 infantry units represents 4 Panzer Divisions and as many Infantry formations. Of the Americans, the defences comprised the 30th Infantry Division together with elements of 4th, 9th and 35th Infantry Divisions. In the north-west corner [the long axis of the board being roughly north (Cherance)- south (Mortain)], stand what I infer to be elements of 3rd Armoured Division.

(Note:  The scenario mentions the Panzer Lehr Division's involvement, but none of the sources I have found confirms that formation was present at all. Nor, indeed, does the set-up clearly suggest the presence of a fifth Panzer Division.)

Germans quickly opted for a major thrust down the Mortain axis.
Hill 317 (barely in the picture on the right) was not to be held
for much longer!

I won't bore you with a blow by blow account, but mention a few incidents in the action. One was the difficulty both sides had getting their northern flanks into action. In fact, as the American commander, I never did get to move the units about Le Mesnil Adelee, which remained in situ the entire action. The German units north of the River See made scarcely more impact.

The German thrust in the central sector took a major
setback with the destruction of one of the SS Panzer
units.  But near Mortain, there is not much standing between
German panzers and their objective at St-Hilaire

What broke the back of the historical German offensive was the air power at the Allied command. This was represented by 'Recon' cards being used as 'Air Power' cards whilst a unit still held one of the Hill 317 hexes. They certainly did some execution whilst they lasted, drawing - and using - one Recon and one Air Power early in the battle. One of the SS (special) tank units took such damage that it was destroyed fairly easily later on. I did draw a second 'Recon' card, but never got to use it. As a 'section' card, it implied that the air strike had to be in the section - left, centre, right - indicated. The situation on the right flank was too urgent. Even so I was unable to prevent a panzer thrust that finally took St-Hilaire and won the action for the Germans.

Sure enough, the panzers brush aside the feeble
resistance and seize the town for a close-fought victory.

Then came the game that inspired the title of this posting: Operation Typhoon: the Gates of Moscow.  Same game board, using some of the Eastern front terrain tiles, the map represented a front of some 200 miles! - from Rzhev in the north to south of Orel.  So rather than Divisions, we're talking armies, here. On the German side, 2nd, 4th and 3rd Panzer Amries, and (possibly) 4th Army; on the Soviet side, maybe a dozen armies. Each infantry figure must have represented a whole army on the Soviet side.

Operation Typhoon.  Aptly named!  The map represents at least 200 miles of front.

...

It's a big action, too: once all the German forces were laid out, there was hardly anything left in the box.  Now, there is a special rule anent the Soviets, concerning the institution of commissars at this stage of the war.  The Soviet player (myself) had to select his order card the move previous to playing it.  This proved quite a challenge.  At one point, whilst still holding the ridge line west of Vyazma in some force, I issued a 'Close Assault' card that would have enable me to cause damage to four enemy units.  By the time the turn came around, only two such units remained to be so attacked.  Disappointing, but no real surprise.

Well into the operation.  The Sovier defence line west of Vyazma
is crumbling, though the isolated artillery element would
hold out for a surprisingly long time.

. 

The Germans took enormous losses in armour forcing the main defence line, but eventually broke through. With the 'Medal' score standing 5-4 in his favour, an understrength (2 tanks) panzer unit seized the undefended bridge objective south of Kaluga. In passing, they wiped out (lucky shot this) a two-tank unit to the west. The two medals obtained in one turn completed a hard-won victory to the Reich.

What happened to the light quality (a bit of a puzzle)?  Soviet armour has recaptured
part of the ridge line, but a quick thrust down the south bank of the river near Kaluga
captures the river bridge (a major objective), and takes out a 2-tank unit
that was about to attack the Germans occupying that end of the ridge.  

I was curious as to losses in this game. A count determined that the Russians lost 19 infantry figures, 3 tank and 2 artillery. The Germans lost 16 panzers (wow!) and 9 infantry. Part of the reason for this investigation was a notion that occurred to me, inspired by the 'Medics and Mechanics' order Jacko played in the middle of the game. His five dice yielded not one recovered vehicle for the selected depleted panzer unit. Bad luck, but it didn't affect the overall outcome.

But suppose the battle were part of a campaign? We would want to recover some of our losses. What would happen if, after the battle, a die were rolled for each unit lost? Suppose we allowed the return of the appropriate figure were a soldier or tank to appear, with the player's choice for each star (to recover lost artillery, say). So I tried it out.

The Germans recovered 8 panzers and 9 infantry for a net loss of 8 panzers - a serious dent, in campaign terms, to their amour inventory (but bear in mind: Moscow has fallen!). The Russians recover all 3 tanks lost, 10 infantry and both artillery figures for a net loss of 9 infantry. Note that one may not recover more units of a particular type than one began. Well, it's an idea...

My thanks to Jacko for an enjoyable evening, even though we are now living under the yoke of global Nazism... 

Hey, Big Spender!

Today was this year's Bring and Buy sale down at the club.  I am usually circumspect and frugal on such occasions, but today, for the first time ever, I spent more than $100.  For me, that is splashing it about.  Here's the score:

This morning's purchases.  The big item. of course, was the
Memoir 44 board game.

The big item was the boxed set Memoir 44, which I have, with considerable interest, read about on several blogs.  That was nearly half my expenses, but I was extremely pleased with my other purchases:

• Quick Build Box: T26 Tanks
• Quick Build Box: A13 Tanks - with a surprise!

One of those delightful occasions when 1+1=3.  I found this
only after I had brought the swag home.

• 'Blast' markers (12);
• Plastic trees (12) - one can never have too many trees;
• 27 small dark blue dice (which will very likely serve as Strength Point markers);
• Small packet of foliage/ground cover material
• Copy of Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. I have read much of the book before, but never owned a copy...

Altogether, a very satisfactory morning for $110, including entree through the door. In the manner of the Five who went mad in Dorset: "Hoo-Rah!"