The Last Redoubt, Belgium 1914 with Funny Little Wars

 Our latest f2f 54mm outing was back to 1914, and the Belgian defence of Antwerp, or at least the approaches to it. Tim ran it with his liberal interpretation of 'Funny Little Wars'.

The general layout, Antwerp and the National Redoubt are up in the top left with Russell modelling for scale. There is a canal  cutting across the battlefield and various towns dotted around. We christened the larger town on the canal Louvian.

Tim had recently scored a good eBay deal on a load of model railway buildings, and really lovely they were too. They really enhanced the look of the battlefield. Here is 'Louvain' with a few civilians scattered about, anxiously looking eastwards where Beastly Germans might be.

The National Redoubt. No, those aren't Airfix coastal gun emplacements but a carefully modelled Belgian fort. I was designated as overall commander of 6th Mixed Brigade and had my HQ here along with a company of Carabinieri and the mighty 40cm fortress battery. There are a couple of field batteries in evidence, I would allocate those to the front line units.

A nunnery nervously awaits the Germans, there was a monastery on the other side of the battlefield.

The Teutonic horde! An entire German Reserve Corps with two divisions of four Regiments and a reserve brigade of two Regiments. The Corps also had a cavalry regiment and seven field or howitzer batteries.

Pete and Lloyd commanded a division each while Simon was Corps commander.

The mobile element of 6th Mixed Brigade. A Cavalry Regiment supported by cyclists, a battalion of Chasseurs and a detachment of Minerva armoured cars! Russell commanded these - I assigned them to a mobile screening role well forward.

The infantry component was two small battalions of infantry with an MG detachment plus a mobile field kitchen (!). I assigned both field batteries to support them.

This force was the pivot of manouvre, holding both Louvain and one of the villages behind the canal which we had further fortified with inundations to act as a strongpoint.

We had to designate three objectives, the Germans then secretly assigned points values to them. We selected Louvain, the flooded village and the outskirts of Antwerp.

Close up of the fort with my personal figure manning the ramparts. I had a lengthy list of personal objectives which included giving as many press briefings as possible to emphasise the 'plucky; nature of our defence. Another was to appear to support the forward units, while actually amassing as many resources as possible for the defence of Antwerp...

Lloyds division came marching on down the main road in column, and then diverted off the highway across country (assume minor roads).

This was followed by Petes division which came straight down the highway in march column. It really looked quite menacing. The German Corps HQ with its howitzer batteries was further back, and there was no sign of the Reserve brigade. Unfortunately Lloyd had forgotten the German cavalry, so we used dismounted cavalry figures as scout squadrons. These busied themselves visiting the various settlements and engaging in beastly behaviour.

Russell meanwhile had conducted a masterful mobile defence and withdrawn across the canal, before marching north to defend the this canal crossing - the same one Lloyd was approaching. The Minerva was extremely mobile and reached the bridge long before anyone else.

The Germans deployed into fighting lines as they were sprayed with MG fire from the armoured cars. Their return fire was shrugged off by the vehicles armour, although the German field batteries can just be seen deploying in the distance.

The armoured cars brave defence allowed the Chasseurs and Cavalry to move into position. A ring of steel around the bridge!

Meanwhile the Germans were lining up for a frontal assault on Louvain, their two leading Regiments covered by artillery and MGs. The Belgian field batteries were hotly engaging the Germans now.

A bit of an overview, the flooded village is to the right and the Belgian artillery can just be seen to the bottom left of the inundations.

Sadly the defenders of Louvain didn't hold out for long as they were outnumbered about 8:1 and the town fell. Petes Germans fought their way through the town.

This brought them into cannister range of the Belgian guns. Instead of matchsticks, they got to fire Party Poppers at this range, and John got to fire two salvoes. Just look at the streamers all over those massed Germans...

The close range artillery fire shredded the Germans, and although they struggled to maintain their position for a while, the writing was on the wall for these two Regiments.

A German aircraft surveys the battlefield! The miracle of AI photo editing has removed the arm holding it....

One of the great things about playing at Tapton Hall are the lunches. I was going out in the evening, I 'just' had this very nice Shepherds Pie with gravy, cabbage and broccoli.

After lunch the massacre resumed, more close range cannon/Party Popper fire.

Followed up a cavalry/cyclist charge!

Which largely put Petes boys to flight. This division was finished now.

With most of Russells troops now in the centre, Lloyd finally managed to cross the canal on the left, while Petes artillery pounded the flooded village. This inflicted losses on the defenders and knocked out one of the field batteries. The Field Kitchen can just be seen in the foreground falling back to Antwerp.

Having crossed the canal, Lloyds Germans started marching right to relieve the pressure on Pete. This put their marching columns right across the front of the mighty Fortress artillery, personally directed by me, in the awed presence of the world press.

Hopefully you can see the German columns in the distance. Closer than it looks for matchstick cannon.

Much of Russells cavalry and the Minerva was now reinforcing the flooded village, which was still holding out. Lloyds first Regiments can be seen lined up along the highway, but flanking fire from the fortress had thinned their numbers considerably.

Back in Antwerp, the surviving Field Battery is set up on the highway, while Russells Chasseurs and busy digging in between the fortress and the outskirts of the city, awaiting the arrival of the British Naval Division.

The Germans clearly weren't going to take the village with the force they still had available. The Reserve Brigade never turned up at all, and with that we called it a day.

Most of us had achieved at least some of our personal objectives but when we totted up the Victory Points, it was a draw!

I think the Belgians can be quite pleased with that, and although I didn't capture it in pictures, the mobile force spent the game charging around all over the place, very heroic.

That was a great day out, very enjoyable, and while it may not be 100% historically accurate, captured the flavour of the period very well. Lovely toys too, a pleasure to push them around.

Foy-Notre-Dame 25th December 1944

As Noddy Holder would say, "It's Christmaaaas!", and what could be more festive than a trip to the Battle of the Bulge 81 years ago almost to the day.

Tim put on another one of his occasional 54mm outings to the Ardennes using his 'Funny Little World Wars' rules. This one covered the high water mark of 2nd Panzer Division, as KG von Boehm was counterattacked by US and British forces at Foy-Notre-Dame on Christmas Day, 1944. The scenario is based on a Rapid Fire one, rather than Command Decision which we normally use. 

Vague overview of the battlefield from the northwest. The Meuse is off to the right of the picture and Foy is where the church is centre left. There is quite a lot going on in this engagement and a lot of players, so we relied on maps and a 'roving camera' so apologies if some/many of the photos are a bit shoddy.

Jim and I were cast as the Germans, I was Major von Boehm himself! 2nd Panzer was known as the 'Vienna' division so presumably we were mainly Austrians. Our job was to hold Foy for a win, or failing that, withdraw at least five vehicles and two companies (ten figures) for a draw.

John, Terry, Simon, Mark and Jerry were the various allies, which were from memory from 26th Armoured Brigade and US 2nd(?) Armored Division. It is a long time since I played the 'Turning Point Celles' Panzer Leader Scenario, so hard to remember!

KG von Boehm was essentially the 2nd Panzer Div recce battalion reinforced with a company of Panthers but minus its tracked armoured car company. So we had an amoured car company, armoured recce infantry company, armoured infantry company, heavy company (with AT and Flak platoons) and a company of Panthers.

Our dispositions were sketched on the map above, North is right and the enemy are coming on down those four roads. I put a Pak 40 platoon and the recce company covering the western road in and around the crossroads at Boiselles with the Flak halftracks on the hill behind. In Foy itself is the Panzergrenadier company reinforced with a platoon of Panzerschrecks and the battalion medic. The PGR are in the church and the AT platoon in a building across the way supported by an MG platoon. The southern edge of the big triangular wood is mined, as that is an obvious jumping off point. The Panthers start on the hill at the bottom, they are very short of fuel and can only move a couple of feet in total during the game. Each square is 1 foot square.

In reserve was the armoured car company in the those woods to the southeast, along with KG HQ. We didn't have any artillery support.

Various US Recon units came piling on from the north, here a mixed recce troop with M8 Greyhounds, Jeeps and an M3 GMC standing in for an M8 Scott. These came down the northwest road and turned east. These are all generally 1/48th scale models.

Another recon troop came on from the northeast and for some odd reason decided to stop right under the guns of the Panthers! A bit of command indecision there.

Jim was commanding the Foy garrison and the Panthers and would have to deal with this lot on his own. By great good fortune the Puma platoon in my armoured car company was just in range of the leading M8 and let fly, scoring a hit!

I had other things to worry about at Boiselles as a British armoured squadron came piling down the road from the southwest. A Solido Sherman leads the way, with a resin 3D printed Firefly behind.

Fortunately the British armour was as gung ho as ever and had blundered into Panzerfaust range of the infantry dug in on the ridge covering the road. Here is a heroic panzerfaust operator hoping for another tank destruction badge.

In fairness to the British, it is very hard to estimate distances when giving orders over the 'roving camera' view. At point blank range the PFs knocked some lumps off the leading Sherman. Each model represents around 10 real vehicles, so they can take two hits.

This was followed up by the Pak 40 platoon firing straight down the road and demolishing the lead Sherman! This rather discombobulated the British, and the Fireflies reversed back up the road firing as they went to take up cover in the treeline.

I didn't take a continuous series of photos as the camera was jumping all over the place. Tim was using a 6x5 table and had to run around a lot, carrying his iPad to show us the proceedings.

One of the US Recon troops enters Foy from the northwest, still out of range of the infantry lurking in the buildings.

They are accompanied by a company of M5 Stuarts, and a British motor rifle company in halftracks and carriers supported by another Sherman. Quite a considerable force here!

Back at Mahene Farm hill, a combination of fire from the Puma and Panthers had managed to knock out the M3 GMCs, the damaged M8s headed into the village but the Jeep recce crews bravely dismounted and engaged the Panthers with bazookas! This was ineffective although it did suppress one Panther. The Panthers machinegunned the US infantry ineffectually. 

Simons British cautiously deployed in the woods northwest of Foy. The Sherman has backed up after being engaged by Panzerschrecks, while the infantry have debussed from their halftracks. 

Back at Boiselles, more British armour came piling down the road covered by the Firefles. This time a recce troop of Stuarts was in the lead.

HQ and armoured car company parked up in the woods. There didn't seem to be any great need to move them and this would be four of the five vehicles needed for a draw if we had to pull out.

I did move the Flak platoon across to Foy though. I was worried that the great mass of British armour coming from the west would knock it out and it couldn't really do anything against the Shermans. The US Recon HQ came on and  heard worrying talk about radioing for air support, so I thought it would be better providing Flak cover for the Panthers.

The US Recon units pushed into Foy, and predictably were massacred. A combination of Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks destroyed the leading armoured cars and the German MGs destroyed the Jeep mounted recce platoons. That British Sherman is looking a bit lonely as its infantry are miles back right now. The Sdkfz 251 is parked up behind the church and out of sight.

Back at Boiselles the British came on in the same old way and were destroyed in the same old way. The leading Stuarts went up in flames and the Pak 40 knocked out some of the following Shermans. The gunners luck ran out though as the surviving tanks got the range of the building they were sheltering in and blew it to pieces, knocking the guns out.

Back in Foy the British infantry push through the woods, while the Shermans and M3 GMCs hover nearby. You can see the wrecked Jeeps in the road. What you cant see off screen to the left is that the leading M5 Stuart from the US Light Tank company has just run into the minefields opposite the church!

View from the northeast. You can just see the Stuarts sneaking down the edge of the trees, the minefield is at the bottom (left edge). The Panthers seem to have cleared away all the immediate opposition, and the SP Flak platoon has just made it onto the ridge south of them.

We broke for the night at that point, and everything to play for tomorrow!

When we resumed on Wednesday there was much excitement as the US commanders radio finally started working and some P38s turned up to bomb 'Panther Hill'.

Despite the best efforts of the Flak platoon, one of the Panther platoons was knocked out.

Meanwhile back in Foy, the US M5s wisely pulled back out of the minefields while the GMCs shelled the church. The British motor rifle troops advanced on the small building while the Sherman shelled it. German losses suddenly began to mount.

Back at Boiselles the British were content to sit back and shell the recce company with their remaining tanks, having knocked out the AT gun. Rather than sit there as a static target taking losses, my guys packed up and ran for the reverse slope.

The British lost no time in following up, with their artillery observer riding the  back of the lead tank(!). Things suddenly are looking quite bad here, as the British could just hang back out of panzerfaust range. I moved the Puma in the wood to cover the road, it took a shot at the lead tank and missed. 

In Foy the British infantry took heavy losses from the panzergreandiers in the church, but the house had gone strangely quiet. While this was going on, another entire British armoured squadron came motoring on along the north road! Suddenly the force ratios were looking very unfavourable, and it was time to activate our alternate victory conditions - exit at least five vehicles and ten figures from the southeast corner, but only after turn 8. This was getting problematic as we'd already lost the AT gun, panzerschreck and MG platoons, and now the rifle companies were taking hits and they only started with six figures each.

The last Panther was expendable, it hardly had any fuel anyway, and it was still covering the the church and the alternate road from the southwest into Foy. I left the Flak platoon there too as more aircraft engines could be heard. The US M5s had rather unwisely pushed into the wood east of the minefields and naturally come into LOS of the Panther. BOOM! scratch a couple of platoons of M5s.

Faced with the torrent of British armour, I didn't think the two armoured cars stood much chance, so they evacuated, along with the redundant Pak 40 tow and Kubelwagen. That was four vehicles off anyway. The recce rifle company mounted up into its halftrack and headed for home (five figures) as did KG HQ. They are both lurking in the wood now, hiding from the marauding British tanks, which fortunately took a left in Boiselles and are heading for Foy.

The surviving British infantry stormed the house to find all the occupants dead or wounded. This company was fought out now, but the Allies switched their shelling to the church.

The leading tank of Johns southern column approaches the outskirts of Foy, still with the observer on the back! The PGR in the church were down to four figures now, so they too dashed for their idling halftrack and piled in the back behind the church.

The last Panther scored again and knocked out the leading British tank platoon on the road! It also destroyed the observers radio, although he survived. You can see the rest of the British column coming through Boiselles. 

The Panthers success was short lived however, as C Squadron roared down the northern road and emerged from behind the woods to take it in the flank. 

Just in time for another airstrike to turn up. It easily dodged the Flak and scattered bombs all over the area. Danger close! The last Panther went up in smoke, as did the Fireflies in C Squadron! The north east end of the battlefield was carnage with wrecked vehicles and wounded US recon troops scattered over the area.

The Flak platoon didn't have anything else to do so the were ordered to withdraw. Here are the last of HQ company, recce company and the Flak platoon with their activation cards about to leave the table.

British armour pouring into Foy. The leading Sherman took a shot at the PGR halftrack in the town.

Some of the halftracks were hit, but enough were left to carry the survivors to safety. Four figures evacuated, so the 2nd Panzer recce battalion lives to fight another day. In the end we just scraped a winning draw by holding Foy until turn 8 and then evacuating four figures from the PGR company, five from the recce company and two in the KG HQ along with eight vehicles. 

The Allies captured Foy but suffered hideous vehicle losses in the process, seven platoons of Shermans, four platoons of M5s, four platoons of M8s, two platoons of GMCs and many Jeeps whereas we just lost the two Panther platoons along with the Pak 40s and MG platoon. 

As the camera was giving a very 'worms eye' view of proceedings I kept track of where all the units were on my sketch map. There are arrows going all over the place.

That was a great game, very frantic with intense action from the off. Tims flying camera was a very different approach to my own, and even harder work to run, but gave very atmospheric partial views of the battlefield which are probably a lot more realistic than the static eagle eyed view I use. The rules are pretty mature now and we are (mostly) fairly familiar with how they work, I should probably use the card activation more in my own as they are a great way to manage semi-simultaneous movement.

The swing in the tide was quite remarkable, one minute we were blowing the Allies up left, right and centre and the next they were all over us and we only just escaped by the skin of our teeth. Great game, looking forward to the next one.