Continuing our Arnhem Campaign – the second game is another British victory!

Forces

The Brits and Germans both start down 4 men. The Brits have decided to have 2 riflemen missing from 1 Section, 1 riflemen from 2 Section and 1 asst gunner from one of 3 Section’s Brens. The Germans are leaving the missing from 1st Squad, giving it an LMG team of 2 men and a rifle team with 3. 2nd and 3rd squad are at full strength.

For support the Paras took 1 Jeep, Flamethrower

I decided to take 2 entrenchments, SL, Pak 36, Sniper.
FM starts at 11 for both.

Terrain and Objective

The Utrecthseweg is central to this battlefield. Its double lanes stretch east-west. There are forests on either side and some houses to the north.

Sadly we didn’t have our GoPro up on the ceiling, so there aren’t the same top-down pictures this time (though I did try to step on a chair at the beginning).

The Para’s objective is to get a single team off the end of the map. My objective is to stop them. My real objective is to continue to bleed 5 Platoon at as little risk as possible to my core platoon, as unlike the Paras, I get no reinforcements.

My Plan

My plan focussed on trying to put as much hurt on 5 Platoon as possible. In order to hurt elites you need to use high explosive, snipers, or fire superiority. In order to stop them advancing you really need hard cover or you’d loose the firefight. Leaders can help rally shock off and give engage orders.

I therefore put entrenchments for my understrength session on my left in the woods, with the LMG team near the road. That would keep the Paras from advancing under the cover of the woods down that flank. In the centre, being mindful of how far and fast jeeps can move, I would place a Pak 36 (played by a Pak 40). The light anti-tank gun is easily maneuvered, and has a junior leader, which makes it easier to activate. Yes, it only has 3 HE dice, but HE hits on a 4-6 at any range on the table, meaning that it can outgun a sustained fire MG at range. It also has a gun shield making it much more survivable than an MG in the open.

On my right I would put a section in the woods by the house. These would be in light cover and watching over the fencing, making it very costly for the paras to assault. My last section would go in the manor house, providing a hard covered base of fire down the road an also in support of my weaker right flank. My sniper had good odds of killing elites, so I would deploy them on what I saw was the major threat area.

I figured that plan gave me a balanced force with 2/3rds of my core platoon in hard cover. 2 senior leaders (SLs) would add backbone and keep shock off. Once the Paras were close to assaulting a position I would back off and retire to Map 3. The Paras are down 4 men for this fight, but 2 return next game. I therefore wanted to kill 5. That would put the paras down 6, which would be enough, I hoped, to force them to bring on 4 Platoon. I was willing to loose my supports and up to 5 men. That would bring me down to 2 full squads plus an LMG team, a not terrible force for a defence. If I were to loose more than that I figured the campaign could be in jeopardy.

Patrol Phase

The Patrol Phase starts with the Paras getting 3 free moves. Lucius elected to only take 3 patrol markers, I was constrained by the scenario and had to take 4. Thanks to the free moves and fewer patrol markers, Lucius got half way across the table by the time I shook my own markers into a line.

Jumping Off Points

My JOPs were pretty close to my baseline. That is actually in accordance with my plan. What I had not planned for was how far forward the Para’s JOPs were.

The Battle

The Para 2″ mortar appeared on the table behind the house in the middle of the table. It fired smoke pre-emptively at the trench line, attempting, but failing to block line of sight down the road.

A sniper then appeared in the woods on my left followed by the weakened 1 Section on my right. A jeep appeared with 2 men from 2 Section and raced forward, ending only 58″ from my baseline. A 2nd sniper deployed on my right near 1 Section. Then 2 Section (minus the men in the jeep and 1 casualty), showed up on my left.

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Wow, that was pressure over my entire frontage! I did not expect Lucius to push forward so aggressively, but he knows that he just needs to hit my baseline and by forcing me to engage across my frontage meant it would be hard to concentrate fire.

In response to the jeep being so far down the table, I brought out my Pak 36 and fired at the jeep. A hit! But using HE dice vs AP against softskins meant that all I accomplished was panicking the driver and the jeep shot forward even closer to its objective. [A side note here, with 5 AP and 3 HE, a gun like a Pak 36 has a better chance of knocking out a Tetrach than a jeep. I think I’ll be hunting the forums or putting together a house rule to use AP vs all vehicles. After all, a 37mm AP shell will smash a jeep engine without difficulty. ]

1st squad came on and deployed into their trenches, with the LMG firing at the jeep and only putting some shock on.  Not enough.

The Para’s answered with the mortar dropping smoke in front of my Pak 36 and moving 1 Section up on my right. The Pl Sgt also came on near the mortar.

I brought on 2nd Squad and deployed them into the trees on my right and they started to engage in a firefight with 1 Section, putting some shock on them.

My Pak 36 moved to get a better line of sight on the jeep as the LMG fired ineffectually at the jeep. The jeep then moved forward again and a sniper fired in support, but missed my AT crew. The mortar dropped more smoke.

I then rolled a double phase and brought on my extra senior leader on my left to try to keep 1st Squad and the Pak 36 firing in the next phases. I got my Pak 36 moving forward, again, as the LMG from 1 Squad fired ineffectually at the jeep again.

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Jeeps seem to be invulnerable! On my right my 2nd squad killed a man in the Bren team in 1 Section, and added more shock to the understrength British Section.

My next phase had the Pak 36 hit the jeep again, this time with no effect, (again, firing at a softskin with a 37mm shell I find it hard to believe). My LMG team in 1st Squad finally gets 2 kills and the jeep is done. On my right 2nd Squad added more shock to their opponents in 1 Section. Lastly, I brought on my sniper team, who fired at 1 Section as well, but missed.

The Para response was muted. A sniper shot at and missed my Pak 36, the round pinging off the barrel. 2 Section went tactical on my left, moving a whopping 1″ towards my squad in hard cover. The 2″ mortar fired at 1st Squad and added a little shock. 
At this time we remembered that Lucius should have tested force morale for the destruction of the jeep team. His force morale drops to 10 and also, General Kussin’s staff car showed up. 

Side note: in real life the General took a short cut right into 5 Platoon’s path. The campaign replicates this. It doesn’t lay out the impact if he dies, so we decided to act as if he were a senior leader, which only makes sense.

1 Section fired back at 2nd Squad and puts a little shock on, while 3 Section deployed on my left and both Brens fired at the staff car, adding some shock.

I then rolled a turn end. My sniper fired at 1 Section adding shock and pinning them. The poor blokes had taken fire every phase and only managed one volley in return. My Pak 36 also pivoted to add it’s HE against 1 Section as well as the smoke cleared.

I then rolled a double phase. My Pak fires but didn’t hurt the Paras but 2nd Squad then added even more shock as the sniper missed. 1 Section was pretty close to breaking.
My last of 3 phases had me bring 3rd Squad on. I brought it into the house.

The men at the eastern end fired at 1 Section and killed a man in the Bren team. The sniper team to their front then got a kill on the rifle team and 1 Section broke, bringing the Para’s force morale down to 9. I had hoped to kill more with my 2nd Squad, but the Para’s ran too far into the woods, so it moved forward to close the fence as I thought about attempting to counter attack depending on what 3 Section was going to do.

Things are were going well. The threat of the jeep had been answered. 2 Section was going slowly and carefully towards my 1st Squad, but would have to deal with men in hard cover. On my right 1 Section had been thrown back and was not much of a threat. 3 Section may have been able rush down the road, but I should be able to use the house as a hard point and the Pak can put some hurt on the weapons section as they close. I had so far killed 5 Paras for zero casualties, which is quite a feat I think. I want to bag a few more before I withdrew, but I was also cognizant that I may be able to counterattack and end the fight. Paras are tough and I have to keep reminding myself to keep to my plan.

Lucius then responded with a double phase. He rallied some shock from 1 Section as 3 Sectioned fired at General Kussin again, adding more shock as the 2″ fires its 2nd HE round at 1st Squad to no effect. 2 Section moved tactically to slowly close the distance on my left. 

His next phase has a sniper put some shock on the Pak while 3 Section fired at Kussin again, adding some more shock. His sniper on my right fired at my 2nd Squad, adding some shock and 1 Section continued to creep forward in the woods. 

I pivoted my Pak to the left, but the woods are too thick to see any movement. My 1st Squad fired to no effect at the Paras creeping up. I then made a mistake and put my 3rd Squad on overwatch. I was thinking of finding the sniper to my front, or covering if 3 Section decided to come down the road. In retrospect I should have exited the house to support my left flank. 

In any event, Lucius then got another double phase. His sniper finds his mark and one of the Pak’s crew dropped. 3 Section fires at General Kussin as his car came abreast the jeep.

He died and I roll terribly on the Bad Things Happen table and my force morale goes down by 3! I am now at 8 to the Para’s 9. Not great. The 2″ mortar fired its last HE round to no effect. The next phase it switches to smoke, but its rounds land short. It’s clear he’s trying to blind my LMG in 1st Squad. The close combat is clearly coming up. 2 and 3 Section moved up to close my defensive position.

I roll 3 ones on this phase. Not great. I do have a Chain of Command die now. My sniper goes on counter sniper duties as 1st Squad fired at 2 Section and manages another kill in the woods!

Without 3 section in support I don’t think they can take the trench. I am seriously considering withdrawing. I have killed 6 (which drops to 5 after the difference in force morale) and my core platoon is untouched. I have met my aim. I do have Chain of Command die though, so I will hang on another phase or two. 

Lucius has his sniper up the road fire at the Pak, adding some shock and his 2″ mortar succeeds at last at blinding my LMG in my 1st Squad. 3 Section goes tactical and moved up behind 2 Section. The assault is coming. One thing to note here is that Para’s can activate their Junior Leaders on a 3 or 4, which is a huge advantage. So on a 2, they can activate a section, while on a 3 and 4, their Junior Leaders can do it too. It really means that the Paras just keep moving around the table. It is most unnerving, and really shows the brilliance of Chain of Command that seemingly small rules differences between forces really give the feel of facing an elite well-trained force.

I get my 3rd Squad out of the house on my phase, while the Pak 36 wheeled closer to the trenches in anticipation of the coming melee. My SL gets the rifle team to throw grenades at the troops to their front, and only one makes it, resulting in a kill. I take a quick look at the forces arrayed and decide to withdraw. 1st Squad would absolutely badly hurt the Paras and then would be wiped out. I would then need to dig Paras out of my trenches and prevent them from rushing my baseline as well. I think I’ve met my personal objective in the campaign so do not hesitate and slip away, handing the field to the Paras.

The Bill

5 Platoon lost 7 casualties, reduced to 6 due to the difference in force morale. That equates to 3 dead, 2 missing next battle and 1 coming back immediately. 5 Platoon would be short 7 men for next battle if it were to fight again. The jeep crew is put forward for a Military Medal but 3 Para’s HQ is rather swamped at the moment so no paperwork has been processed. 

The SS Platoon suffers no casualties, and the gunner from the Pak 36 is in the aid station for only a short time. The 2 men from the aid station return next fight, meaning my platoon is only down 2 men and will go into the next fight with almost 3 full squads. Not too shabby! I sadly can’t keep bleeding them forever. I must stop the Paras before they get to Arnhem.

Consolidation

3 Para’s CO’s opinion goes up 1 to +3, while the men aren’t happy with the casualties that they took, their opinoin dropping to -2 and just about to impact force morale. Lt “Meatgrinder” Cleminson’s attitude is unchanged.

On the German side Krafft isn’t happy that the Para’s are still pushing forward. Despite zero killed from the core platoon the men’s opinion is unchanged (if I had rolled anything other than a 1 I would be getting a force morale bonus! Sigh. I guess the SS men don’t like the Platoon Commander falling back). Staufen himself has changed his mood from cheerful to relaxed. He is clearly ready to stop falling back and counter-attack. Or is he?

Lucius and I will decide in the next few days (a) which platoon is fighting; and (b) if I’m going to counter attack.

Parting Shot

We are really enjoying the campaign. Having to play the long game really makes you think more about the tactical options presented to you, which we really like. Lucius has not been afraid to grind the grist to keep moving forward knowing he has another whole platoon to push through while I have been more eager to pull back than I have been in our other games. This game I was lucky with the dice and kept to my plan. The next map is played crosswise so the map is not so deep. There are a bunch of obstacles as well as buildings, so it’ll be a much harder fight to plan and fate may not be kind. We hope to battle it out later this week so stayed tuned!