Blitz on Villeroux

'Taking the Gembloux Gap' a pint-sized campaign.

Turn 4, Game 3, Scenario 3 the 'Blitz on Villeroux'

After the French win in the last Game, the campaign has skipped on to Turn 4 while Germans paused their offensive to bridge the culverts (Turn 3) that the French had blown up in Game 2 (Turn 2).

The Scenario

In this game the German objective is to quickly exit two units off the French table-edge (see below) before the French can acquire two Chain of Command (CoC) dice.  

To make things difficult for the French they cannot bring any of their support options onto the table until they acquire and expend two CoC dice.  What this means is that there are four possible outcomes from this game depending on whether the Germans achieve their objective and/or win the game.

Germans	Achieve Objective	Fail to Achieve Objective
Win the Game	Campaign advances to Scenario 4  & Germans have the Initiative	Campaign advances Scenario 4      & French have the Initiative
Lose the Game	Campaign refights Scenario 3    & Germans have the Initiative	Campaign refights Scenario 3       & French have the Initiative

As usual John had put together a good table-top representation of the campaign map (seen here from the German end).

And this time from the French end with, hopefully not too much of a spoiler, the identity of the buildings that feature most in the following battle report.

Not being able to bring any of my 9 pt.s of support onto the table until I had collected and then spent 2 CoC dice to do so, I needed to do all I could to delay the German advance.  To that end I concentrated on off-table support in the form of: an Adjutant (1 pt.); 3x groups of Francs-Tireurs (1 pt. each); off-table anti-aircraft artillery (2 pt.s) to try and mitigate the effects of the inevitable Stuka strike (2 pts.); and, a Canon de 25mm L72 Anti-Tank gun with five crew and a junior leader (3 pt.s).  While the last, would have to wait a long time before it could be fielded, I felt it was essential to have at least some anti-armour capability as my core French platoon has none.

With his 18 pt.s of support John secretly selected: a 'Red' CoC die (2 pt.s); a pre-game barrage (2 pt.s); a PzKpfw III (4 pt.s); an SdKfz 222 armoured car (4 pt.s); a 'shabby Nazi trick' (1 pt.); and, a motorcycle (m/c) reconnaissance squad with junior leader (5 pt.s).

Not that I knew it at this stage, but with John opting for a pre-game barrage and not a Stuka strike, I had wasted a couple of support points on anti-aircraft artillery (AAA).  However, this meant that the buildings would all be untouched and available to me to use for cover.  

We then rolled for Force morale, and after two games where John started with the better morale, this time I rolled a '6' to start the French on a Force Morale of 11, while John's Germans rolled a '1' and started on a Force Morale of 8. 

Patrol Phase

And as John revealed there was no preceding Stuka strike, this was when I realised I had wasted 2 support point.

John's opening luck continued poorly as he rolled a '1' to get only one additional patrol move before phase proper started.  With the higher Force Morale, I went first in the patrol phase, which rapidly played out as shown below (from the French end) with French and German jump off points (JOPs) shown, respectively, by the blue and pink arrows.

The labels also indicate the two sides' respective left, centre, and right JOPs as they are referenced in the battle, e.g. 'L-JOP' = Left-flank JOP.  

The Game  

With the higher Force Morale, my French took the first phase.

1FR(2,4,4,5,6): and despite the difficulty deploying after a pre-game barrage, I felt I had to have some idea of what the Germans were up to before committing any of my men.  So, I terminated my phase without doing anything other than banking the CoC point and advancing the refugees on the road (they move 6" on every single '6' thrown - not part of the game, just a bit of fun).

Perhaps worth noting at this point are the two '4's on my command dice, as Sesame Street's Count had obviously decided that "Today's Number is FOUR"!

2GE(2,3,3[1],4,5,6): the Germans, who are up against the clock, leapt into action.  First, they attempted to deploy the PzIII, only for it to encounter one of my Franc-Tireur bands who successfully prevented its deployment.  

Next the Germans tried to deploy their nr.I section from their left-flank JOP only to encounter more Francs-Tireurs who again succeeded in stopping them from reaching the fight.  When the German nr.II section encountered yet another band of Francs-Tireurs blocking their right-flank JOP, John was starting to worry.  But this time the Germans eliminated them, and arrived in the cornfield.  

They were then joined by the platoon's 2iC, the Feldwebel (senior leader).

3FR(3,4,4,5,6): with the third single '6' of the game, the first of the French refugee groups escaped off the table.

I then tried to deploy No.3 section in the Café, but failed the hesitant deployment roll, caused by the German pre-game barrage, and they were a 'no show'.  And, not wanting to deploy senior officers with no troops I ended my phase.

4GE(1,2,2,4,5,6): the PzIII again attempted to deploy, and this time the Francs-Tireurs were overcome and it succeeded in reaching the table.

The Feldwebel then accompanied nr.II section as he ordered to advance into the wood.

In the background of the above, the German nr.III section can be seen deploying from their right-flank JOP to back up nr.II section and going tactical.

5FR(2,4,6,6,6): with three '6's the turn will end after this phase, and with it the effects of the German pre-game barrage.  This will be a real help as with the '2' and the '4' I try to deploy my platoon sergeant (2iC, senior leader) and No.3 section into the Café but the last gasp of the John's barrage prevented them from showing up.

End of Turn 1: and apart from some Tactical markers being removed nothing much changed at the end of the turn except the effects of German's barrage wearing off.

6FR(1,3,4,4,6): with the shock of the barrage gone, the sergeant and No.3 section finally (on the third attempt) successfully deploy into the Café ...

... from where they open fire on nr.III section in the cornfield, disappointingly killing only one rifleman and inflicting no shock.  Wanting to make nr.III section suffer more than this I deploy the V-B (rifle-grenadier team) into the La Haye Barns to also target nr.III section.  

But they only inflict a single point of shock on nr.III section's LMG team.

7GE(2,3,3,3,4,4): and nr.I section continued trying to deploy from the German's left-flank JOP and were again thwarted by the Francs-Tireurs.  Then to try and exert more pressure on my right flank the Germans deployed an SdKfz 222 armoured car (a/c) down the road.

On the other flank, the Feldwebel kept up the pressure advancing nr.II section to the edge of the wood facing the Charcuterie that makes up the other half of the building occupied by the Café.

And behind them, nr.III section doubled from the right-flank JOP towards the wood, but only advance 4" (4 on three D6!).  

The Obergefreiter (section junior leader) then rallies off one of the two shock taken from having doubled.

Finally, the PzIII advanced flat out towards Villeroux as shown in the overview of the action at this stage.

8FR(1,2,3,5,5): with the German nr.II now exposed at the edge of the wood, the French deployed their No.2 section; the rifle team in the Charcuterie and the LMG team in an entrenchment just outside.  They were able to employ 13 fire dice against nr.II section, which was, in the next activation, was joined by 11 more fire dice from No.3 section.  The net result of 24 close-range fire dice was a mere four points of shock, three on nr.II section's LMG team and the one on the rifle team.

Then it was time to do something about the German armour and the V-B team tried to drop rifle-grenades into the open-topped SdKfz 222 a/c.  To succeed they needed a double-six, but all missed throwing a double-one, a double-three, and a six and four.  

9GE(1,1,2,5,5,6): and the Feldwebel combined both '1's with the '2' to activate, remove 2 shock from nr.II section, and pull them back into the wood to where they were no longer visible to the French in and around the Charcuterie-Café.

Meantime, the single '6' was enough to see the next group of refugees escape from the table, with the nuns not far behind - one more single '6' and they would also be safe.

10FR(1,2,3,4,5): with the German nr.II section now safe deep within the wood there was little for my men to shoot at, so both No.2 and No.3 section went tactical before the inevitable German retaliation.  The V-B team again tried desperately to drop a rifle-grenade into the SdKfz 222 a/c.  And whilst they could roll nothing but doubles (a double-1, double-2 and double-5) the required double-6 continued to elude them.  Altogether, nothing worth a photo here.

11GE(1,4,4,4,6,6): all that happened was the driver of the SdKfz 222 moved the vehicle up to the hedge further up the road.  Not sure why nothing else was happened, maybe I just didn't note it down.

12FR(2,2,3,3,5): I get my first CoC die, one more and the Germans will fail to meet their objective.  But despite the rest of the nice command dice, I can do nothing unless I'm prepared to leave the safety of the buildings and entrenchments, so I sit tight and tactical.

13GE(1,2,4,4,4,6): this time one of the '4's was used to remove the last of the shock from nr.II section.  Then, the long-anticipated retaliation from the German armour began, with the PzIII slowly advancing and opening fire on the Café.  Luckily the 3.7cm gun in the PzIII has a fairly feeble HE round, and the fire was ineffective (actually all three HE fire dice missed!).

14FR(1,1,1,2,2): I have nothing that can touch the PzIII so again my troops hunker down (tactical) and steel themselves to bear whatever the Germans will throw at them next.  Again, nothing happening worth a photo.

15GE(2,2,3,3,4,6): with the infantry on their right flank stymied by the French dug-in there, the Germans sought to deploy their last infantry section (nr.I) from the left-flank JOP but those valiant civilians, the Francs-Tireurs, yet gain stopped the Boche - Ils ne passeront pas.  With their infantry stymied the PzIII (whose wonky barrel might explain the earlier miss) again fired at the Café ... 

... this time hitting the Café, killing a rifleman and inflicting a point of shock on the rifle group.

16FR(2,3,4,4,5): I continue sitting tight and trusting in the hard cover to keep my men safe - nothing worth a photo.

17GE(1,1,2,2,3,4): and this time, nr.I section finally manages to drive off the Francs-Tireurs and deploy from the German left-flank JOP accompanied by the Leutnant (the senior leader commanding the platoon).

In the centre the PzIII continues to fire at the Café, this time to no effect, and the Obergefreiter of nr.III section in the cornfield removes two points of shock that they have been carrying for some time.

18FR(2,3,4,4,5): I am starting to wonder whether it's worth just hanging on and hoping to complete my second CoC die.  But I decide to stick with it for now.

19GE(1,2,3,4,3,5,5): gives John his first CoC die, and he wastes no time using it to reduce remove three of my CoC points (a scenario specific rule).  Bad news, but not unexpected.  

Then the Leutnant orders nr.I section to run towards the wood on the French right flank, and removes the resulting shock.

The PzIII again fails to achieve anything against the Café, that's their third failure from four rounds of firing.

20FR(2,3,4,4,5): with the newly arrived German nr.I section racing towards the wood I have to protect my JOP within it, and so I deploy my last section (No.1).

21GE(1,2,4,4,4,6): to avoid any possible fire from the French in the Charcuterie-Café, the German Leutnant moves nr.I section behind the stone wall running alongside the road.

Also, in the picture above is the PzIII which in this phase at least manages to put a point of shock on the French rifle group in the Café.

22FR(1,4,4,4,5): is anyone counting all these '4's, that's now 32 in 20 phases!  But this time I belatedly realise I haven't been using my Sergeant (senior leader) to manage the shock on the troops in and around the Charcuterie-Café.  Anway, I've now got lots of '4's now so waste no time in using him to try and rally it off.  But, just as he is about to do so, a stranger turns up to distract him with orders to withdraw; it's a shabby Nazi trick!  Unfortunately, he doesn't appreciate this and while uninclined to accept the new orders is sufficiently distracted to prevent him rallying his men.

My other senior leader, the platoon Lieutenant, cautiously (tactically) advances No.1 section in the wood.

23GE(1,1,1,2,4,5): and the Leutnant now moves No.I section across the wall to gain hard cover for the anticipated firefight with the French No.1 section in the wood.

The PzIII continues firing at the Café ...

... this time inflicting a point of shock on the battered rifle group and also killing the nearby platoon sergeant!  

The resulting Bad Things Happen Test sees French Force Morale drop from 11 to 9, and the German 5th Columnist, now any further interference with the Sergeant is moot, makes himself scarce.

24FR(1,3,4,4,4): three more '4's and now I only have one senior leader left.  He, continues to tactically advance No.1 section through the wood towards the German nr.I section.  With the sergeant dead the junior leader steps up to remove two points of shock from the rifle team in the Café.

Finally, to try and soften up the German nr.I section, the V-B team, deciding that rolling a double-6 against the SdKfz 222 is beyond them, fire their last rifle-grenades at the infantry; all miss the target.  I am beginning to wonder if I am achieving anything by holding on like this.

25GE(2,3,3,4,5,6): and the PzIII reverts to its previous performance by failing to inflict any harm on the Café garrison.  

In the above photo the Leutnant can also be seen in the distance, who, deciding that soft cover is all he needs to take on the French, advances nr.I section to the hedge facing the wood containing the French platoon leader and No.1 section.

On the other flank (German right) nr.III section tactically advances to the edge of the cornfield.

26FR(3,5,5,5,6): the three '5's clearly rattled John as I'm now making good progress towards getting the two CoC dice required to both deny the Germans their objective and bring support units onto the table.  

And, now the German nr.III section has advanced to the edge of the cornfield they have become available as a target to the French and take 4 points of shock (3 on the LMG and 1 on the rifle group).

*** Unfortunately, there's now a photo-free period, as now the French can actually do something, and are approaching 2 CoC dice, I forgot the camera. *** 

27GE(1,1,3,3,4,6): the Leutnant uses the '4' to direct maschinengewehr with nr.I section's MG34 against the French No.1 section.  This results in one LMG gunner killed and 2 points of shock on the rifle group.  

Then, the PzIII ceases its largely ineffective shooting and advances flat out (14").  It looks as though John is going to try and rush his armour off the table before I can get to 2 CoC dice.  The French in the Café do not get away scot-free as section nr.III in the cornfield takes over the task of firing at them but only inflicts one point of shock.

John then attempts to deploy the platoon's 5cm mortar team, which he had overlooked when deploying the Leutnant, leaving no senior leader off table.  This mistake comes back to bite him as the team fails its hesitant deployment roll and does not arrive.

28FR(1,1,2,4,5): another '5', one more is all I need.   No.3 section's junior leader uses a '2' and a '1' to rally off 2 points of shock, and the section's LMG uses the other '1' to fire back at the Germans in the cornfield putting 2 pt.s of shock on their rifle team.  

In the wood on the French right, the Lieutenant also rallies off 2 points of shock and directs those able to see the German nr.I section to open fire.  Again, its only shock, and only 1 point, which is taken by the German rifle group.

29GE(2,2,2,3,4,6): and the Leutnant rallies of some shock and repeats his maschinengewehr practice with the MG34 team but they only manage 3 points of shock on the French LMG team - and combat camera service is resumed.

On the other flank, the Feldwebel leaves nr.II section safely tucked away in the wood and moves back to sort out nr.III section in the cornfield; but rolls poor dice and does not get close enough to influence their fight.  

They badly need his inspirational leadership as their shock is piling up ...

... and reducing their effectiveness as they fail to inflict any harm on the French in the Café.  While the PzIII remains where it ended up after moving flat out in the last German phase.

The SdKfz 222 then surprises me by not attempting to rush the French table edge but slowly moves up to engage the French in wood (No.1 section), killing an LMG gunner.

30FR(3,5,6,6,6): and not just the '5' to give me the 2 CoC dice I have been hanging on for, but also a double-phase (and an End of Turn but that's not going to affect anything).  But, before the turn ends No.1 section's LMG team in the wood hits a purple patch of fire dice against their opposite numbers, nr.I section.  This sees two LMG gunners and rifleman killed and 2 points of shock on the rifle team.

At the end of the phase, and turn, I play both CoC dice to deny the German's their objective (effectively calling time for their attempt to exit two units off the French table edge) and allowing me to deploy support on-table.

31FR(1,3,4,5,6): and I immediately use the '3' to deploy my 25mm anti-tank gun and junior leader ...

... in an entrenchment to take on the PzIII.

The guys didn't let me down, hitting the PzIII and inflicting a point of shock.  

The Baraka remained with the French as No. 3 section's LMG team lashed the Germans in the cornfield killing an LMG gunner and inflicting 1 point of shock on the LMG and 2 points of shock on the rifle team, just one more and they'll be pinned. 

And then just to put a cherry on top, the Lieutenant rallied shock off No.1 section and ordered their LMG team to fire, killing 1 LMG gunner and 1 rifleman in the German nr.I section and put 2 points of shock on the rifle team.

This saw the LMG team wiped out and German Force Morale dropped from 8 to 7.

The time of sitting tight and just taking it was clearly over.

32GE(*,*,*,*,*,*): John didn't throw the command dice for this phase, instead opting to withdraw to fight again another day.  I was surprised at this despite John's explanation about how badly his platoon was doing: two sections badly depleted and near pinned; and; a third hiding out in the woods to avoid the entrenched French firing line.  But I was relieved as my platoon has to fight on until we get to Scenario 5 and so can't afford to take many losses.

The only up-side for John was that all of his platoon successfully withdrew with none getting lost or captured.

The Aftermath

The French platoon: lost its platoon sergeant and 3 men.  Of the latter 1 is permanently lost, 1 will return to duty (RTD) after the next game, and 1 will RTD immediately.  The sergeant was allowed a medic roll and recovered sufficiently to only miss the next game, and the dice determined that a temporary replacement would be drafted in to cover his absence.

This means the platoon will short by 4 men in the next, game, albeit 1 of those will RTD for the game after that.

As result of this win, the French Lieutenant (platoon commander) has gone from 'content' to 'cheerful', while the opinion of him held by both his CO and his men has risen from +1 to +2.

The German platoon: lost 6 men but no leaders.  Of the men 3 are permanently lost, 2 will return to duty (RTD) after the next game, and 1 will RTD immediately. 

The platoon will therefore be down by 8 men for the next game, although 2 of those will return for the game after that.

The Leutnant (platoon leader), despite the loss remains untroubled at 'sociable', while his CO's opinion of him has dropped to -1, and his men's to zero.

Post Mortem

Again, I think my support selections were critical, picking lots of Francs-Tireurs to delay the German deployment worked a treat.  I had considered getting a pre-game barrage but decided against it as it was hostage to an early End-of-Turn, as indeed occurred.  The points spent on the AAA could be considered wasted but they were invaluable insurance against a Stuka strike, and the risk just wasn't worth taking.  Finally, the anti-tank gun fitted the bill perfectly, as I reckon John might've been tempted to fight on if there was nothing on the table that could realistically take on his armour.

The German support was not all deployed, and the choice of a PzIII was (IMO) a mistake.  I would expect that next time they will field a PzII or PzIV in place of the PzIII as both have a much better capability against infantry.  In fact, I suspect they may field several tanks as they will have 20 points to spend on support in the next game.

While the support choices all worked out, I have to say that I think it was the dice that made it my lucky day and not John's.

I'm pleased to say that for once we didn't make any significant mistakes with the rules, perhaps we're finally getting there?  It might've taken some time, but the ride's been worth it.

Observations

The variability of the command dice behaviour from game to game continues.  In this game not a single double-6 was thrown!  I had the only two double-phases which were both courtesy of triple-6's.  Single-6's were a plenty unlike the last game where only 1 was thrown, and '4's were everywhere; 39 of them in 31 phases.

The next game, Game 4 (Campaign Turn 5), will be a refight of this scenario and is scheduled for two weeks' time.  Can the French pull off another win?

Notes:

[1.]  The command die in red is the German Red CoC die; any '5's or '6's rolled on the red die are ignored.

Gaming Weekend - Pt.3 - Coming Up Roses

After the previous post's game was cleared away, we needed something quick to finish off the day's play.  As I had brought my 15mm Wars of the Roses (WotR) armies for Sunday's game I suggested a game of 'Never Mind the Billhooks' (NMtB).  As Martin and Steve had not played it before I offered to umpire and lead them through a game.

The game lasted longer than I thought it would and ended up with us having a rather late night.  While I have noticed before that this game starts quick but slows as the action builds, it wasn't helped by the need to explain the rules as we went, or the beer consumed as the evening wore on.  I'm afraid I haven't sold them on these rules, especially Martin, whose cavalry (two units of knight and one of hobelars) set off with the king to turn the enemy's flank ...

... and encountered a block of bills and bows who were clearly the much-beloved love-children of the Dice Gods.  This was not helped by King Edward's activation card coming up last in the pack on two successive turns!

Anyway, I'll draw a curtain over that game and move on to Sunday's WotR chit game (see Link for a description of a chit game) using DBM.  With the exception of the terrain and the absence of any of the fog effects, except for 'Edwards Luck', this was a repeat of the Barnet game at the above link.  Also, it was not played on a hex grid.

So, the battle started with Warwick moving out from his camp with the reserve to oversee the rest of the army commanded by his brother, John Neville, Marquis of Montagu; John de Vere, Earl of Oxford; and, Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter.

Coming up against them from the town of Barnet was the Yorkist army, led by King Edward IV seconded by his brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester and his trusted lieutenant, William Lord Hastings.

Almost immediately the absence of fog made itself felt as the Lancastrian guns started to take a toll on the advancing Yorkists, but battle was soon joined where the Yorkists hoped to make their better quality tell.

As might be apparent from the dice and rule book (DBM) in the above photo, and other bits in some later photos, I was fully engaged in this game and thus the photos are all game-in-progress shots complete gaming impedimenta.

Included in the next photo are the 'chits' or tiles with the commanders' coats of arms which are picked out by each player in their turn to decide which command they will play for that turn, drawing again for their next turn.

As the battle wore on, Lancastrian numbers continued to outweigh Yorkist quality until Gloucester's command became demoralised and started to flee the field; it can be seen fleeing towards the top of the photo below.

This event triggered 'Edward's Luck'[1], which almost turned the tide of battle - just one more mêlée win would've broken Montagu's command.  But it was not to be and soon the remaining Yorkist commands were overwhelmed.  

All that now remained was to determine the winner.  No-one had compromised their secret identity during the game so no-one identity was correctly guessed by the other players.  The score was therefore very much down to what had happened to the players' characters in the game.  Unsurprisingly, Steve who, before the battle started, had secretly drawn Exeter, won, with 37 victory points (VPs).  Martin, who revealed he was King Edward was left trailing a long way behind on a mere 5 VPs, mainly for managing to survive.  I, as Hastings took the wooden spoon with -1 VP!

As ever, no-one was concerned over winning or losing as these chit games are so much fun players tend to lose sight on winning and just enjoy the ride.

Notes:

[1.]  ‘Edward’s Luck’: in the fog Yorkists ignore friendly commands becoming demoralised and in Edward’s next bound he throws an extra PIP die which can be spent during his bound to control the victorious Lancastrian command, or one adjacent to that command, as if part of his command.  This represents the confusion that occurred when a friendly fire incident between Montagu and Oxford's contingents triggered the collapse of the Lancastrian army as the various faction each thought the other was betraying them.