Monday 25 May 2020

Road to Bremen II

The roller coaster the British had been enjoying as platoon after platoon of Jerries went into the bag finally stopped, a small wood on the main road had turned into a festung for some veteran troops who were determined to save the Fatherland.


We had a fight on our hands and as half the area was alive with minefields I took an engineer section and gave them an M3 halftrack as transport, I also chose a Sherman and a Bren Carrier, the latter for machine gun support as I had a half baked idea it could run up along with the engineers. Like most British halftracks mine do not carry machine guns and are merely transports. Matt had an army platoon and in support was a 2cm Quad AA on a halftrack along with a Pak 40, four minefields cut off the solid ground and the road on the battlefield. The sodden ground on the British left could be heavy going for vehicles and they might end up bogged down if they attempted to cross. Matt's plan was to hold off for as long as possible then deploy his defenders.



I rushed up my engineers led by the carrier, this parked at the side of the minefield on the road while the engineers debarked and got to work under cover of smoke shells, two infantry squads cautiously moved forward in support on each flank. The minefield proved particularly dense and the engineers were taking their time, the Germans now moved most of their men up to the hedge along with the Pak and a Panzerschreck team, the latter concentrated on the carrier and it took several turns before the little vehicle burst into flames. The Pak meanwhile carried on a dual with the Sherman, neither were particularly accurate.


The smoke lifted and the engineers now took some heavy fire from German infantry and the 2cm Quad, so much so that very soon only two men and the Junior Leader were left to fumble with the mines. Although one German squad had lost its LMG British casualties began to mount so Colonel Bob decided to withdraw, get more help and try a different approach.
 
 

11 comments:

  1. I think you need to break down the open spaces on your table George. Cover is the key to any assault I've found.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For some reason most CoC maps have large open areas which the attackers have to cross, and yes it is a pain. They should be broken up more with ridges etc.

      Delete
    2. Surely the maps are just intended as a guide to the major terrain features, leaving gamers to deploy the scatter terrain themselves. Only lawns and somes sports fields are flattish in the real world.

      Delete
    3. The maps are generally set up as shown, I add fields etc. if I can but if there are large open areas then that's what they are. For my own games I cut down LOS as much as I can.

      Delete
  2. Neat looking battle, George! The quad AA is a beaut!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jonathan, I have another on the Wirbelwind, I would really like a mobilwagen with the 3.7cm. I have yet to buy an aeroplane though.

      Delete
  3. Looks like a good old mortar barrage would have helped there George. Nice write up, map and pics, look forward to the next crack at the Hun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am loathe to use the mortar barrage Phil as I think under the present rules it can ruin a game, however if I get stuck this time which is looking likely, I will bring the tubes.

      Delete
  4. Really enjoyed taking part (remotely of course!) in this game. After the first two platoons welcomed your British with open arms I was beginning to wonder if we'd actually need to get the figures out!

    Agree about the mortar barrage being a bit too powerful in game terms. Had a few games that were effectively nerfed by them, both when using and receiving. Haven't figured out how to tone them down a bit?

    Cheers

    Matt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Matt, you have been a boon during this lockdown.

      Delete