Double Trouble at Villers

Capturing Caesar's Camp, 3rd June 1940 - a pint-sized campaign 

As the Germans have the initiative having won the last game, and as the last game was the fifth in this campaign, I have elected to launch a counter-attack (in this campaign the German defenders can only counter-attack after the 5th game).

For this AAR, I was determined to make notes on each phase, including the command dice thrown, to help with the write up.  While this worked, I seem to have taken far fewer photos than I thought I had.  I think this was partly down to the extraordinary number of double phases in the game; in 13 of the 34 phases the command dice rolled two or more '6's!  I obviously got swept away in the excitement of seeing who could achieve what with all those consecutive phases that I often forgot to take photos - SORRY! 

Scenario 6 - 'Counter Attack at Villers'

This scenario sees British defending the village of Villers sur Mareuil against the Germans coming from the north - see map (north is at the top).

The table set up to match this map, with named buildings, is shown below, viewed from the western table edge i.e., from the left of the above map[1].

To pull off a successful counter-attack the Germans must either defeat the British force, or control two of the three British, 2'x2', deployment areas (thin blue lines on the map) and exit a unit (section) off the British table edge.

While the Germans have a fresh platoon for this attack, the British platoon is that which was put into reserve at Villers after having taken heavy losses in the fourth game.  While 5 men have returned to duty (RTD) since then, it is still down by 5 men and a junior leader.  This means one of the remaining riflemen will be promoted to junior leader, albeit an inferior one for this game (only a 3" command radius and 1 command initiative).   

The rolls for Force Morale (FM) saw the Germans roll a '1' for a starting Force Morale of 8.  The British did better rolling a '3' for an FM of 9.  The Brits also rolled two d6 for the starting position their four patrol markers and got two patrols at each of the two points labelled '1' and '2' on the map.  I placed the German patrols centrally heading towards The Mairie (that really should be 'La Mairie').

Meanwhile, warming up on a nearby airfield ... [2]

The Patrol Phase

Despite the British having a higher Force Morale, the Germans start the patrol phase as stated in the campaign scenario description.  The resulting locked down patrol positions at the end of the patrol phase are shown below.

Then CONFUSION struck, as we thought we should've played the Stuka attack before the patrol phase, so we played it now before placing jump-off points (JOPs).  I realise now, this was a mistake as it should come after JOP placement and, obviously, after selection of support options as it is a support option.

Anyway, the Stukas promptly demolished the Large Barn, rendered the Small Barn unstable and left an unexploded bomb (UXB) in The Mairie.

This means that at the end of every turn dice are rolled to see whether the unstable building collapses and/or the UXB explodes, with dire consequences for anyone in them, or nearby. 

The JOPs were then placed, I placed one in La Haye Barne East, another in La Épicerie, and the last one in the thicket behind The Marie.  

The British JOPs were placed behind the hedge near the demolished Large Barn, behind the Church, and behind the road near the top of the photo below.

Now we selected our support options, obviously I had already selected a Stuka bombardment in the confused mess that was our Patrol Phase.  To accompany this, I opted for two SdKfz 222 armoured cars (a/c), one SdKfz 221 a/c; and, an adjutant to make up my 16 support points.  I was hoping to take advantage of the Stuka raid, that would leave him shocked and hesitant to deploy, to quickly shut down some of his JOPs with fast-moving armoured cars before he could recover.  

John's Brits, as was revealed during the game, had a free Vickers MMG and Drinks Cabinet, and with his 9 support points, had selected: an infantry section (4pt.s); a pioneer section[3] (3pt.s); a minefield (1pt); and, a barbed wire entanglement.  The minefield (red broken line) and barbed wire (blue broken line[4]) were immediately disclosed at this point as John placed them on the road effectively blocking the intended high-speed dash by my armoured cars.  

It was always a risk he'd do something like this, but I had figured he would opt for some anti-armour capability rather than passive defences - I was wrong.

So now we were ready to start the game proper.

The Game (#phase)

(1) The Germans, as the attackers, took the first phase and on their command dice rolled 1,1,1,2,4.  Despte the road being blocked off, I decided to stick with my plan to rapidly advance my armoured cars to shut down his JOPs.  For this I combined the three '1's to make a '3' and brought on my SdKfz 221 (from hereon I will omit the SdKfz bit for brevity) moving Flat Out with an enemy JOP firmly in its sights (arrow in photo).  I also deployed my third section (III), with an MG08 in place of a MG34, in the garden of La Épicerie.

(2) The Brits, rolling 2,2,2,2,4, and no doubt wondering what I was up to, elected to await events before deploying any troops

(3) The German command roll of 3,5,5,6,6 gave them a 'double-phase' (i.e. the next phase, Phase 4, would also be theirs.  I couldn't believe my luck, immediately I used the '3' to urge on the 221 a/c.  Disaster!  On coming around the thicket I realised that the gap in the hedge I was aiming for, was, while on the table, actually off the playing area - there was no way through there!

(4) In my follow-on phase, I rolled 1,2,3,3,4, and decided to press on with the 221 through the rubble of the demolished Large Barn.  But on reaching it and looking up the effect of the rubble on vehicle movement found that it couldn't be crossed either and my 221 came to an embarrassing halt.

Realising the 221 was a busted flush, I needed to try something different, so I deployed a 222 a/c up the road, and my second section (II) with a senior leader between La Épicerie and La Haye Barn.

(5) The British wanted to deploy a section at this point, but their command roll of 1,4,5,5,6 didn't allow that, and not wanting to deploy a team or a senior leader they did nothing else.  But they were steadily accruing CoC points.

(6) By contrast the German roll of 1,2,3,3,4 gave them lots of options.  First, the '1' was used to reverse the 221 a/c to shut down the JOP across the hedge - I should've done this earlier.  The '2' activated section III to leave the garden and move towards La Haye Barn while the senior leader activated on the '4' ordered section II to double to the hedge where he removed the resulting shock.  One '3' was used to deploy my final 222 a/c and move up the road to join its compatriot, and the remining '3' was discarded as not required.

(7) Now it was the Brit's turn for a double-phase on a roll of 4,5,5,6,6, albeit they could do little in this phase other than tot up their CoC points.

(8) The next British command roll of 1,1,2,5,5 gave them slightly better options, as well as a full CoC die.  The '1' used to deploy their Vickers MMG was thwarted by a roll of '3' on their hesitant deployment roll (lasting effect of the Stuka raid).  The '1' and the '2' were combined to bring on a section (no.1) at the hedge.  This succeeded in arriving but rolled catastrophically for shock (1d6 per team also thanks to the Stukas), taking ten points of shock! 

(9) And now, just to rub it in, the Germans rolled another double-phase, throwing 2,2,5,5,6.  I used both '2's to activate my senior leader to advance sections II and III.  

(10) With a command roll of 2,2,3,5,6 a 222 a/c and both sections (II & III) fired at the British no.1 section behind the hedge, albeit only the Bren team was visible to any but section II.  While the 222 missed, the two infantry sections between them inflicted 2 casualties and 3 shock which was enough to pin them.  The German infantry sections' new positions can be seen in the photo below.

The British no.1 section was now stuck in a very vulnerable position.

(11) A Brit roll of 1,3,3,5,6 saw the junior leader rally 2 shock off the pinned no.1 section, and a senior leader activated ('1'+'3') to deploy to help him.  Unfortunately, the senior leader failed his hesitant deployment roll so did not arrive.

(12) With a certain inevitability, the Germans then rolled 1,3,6,6,6 for a double-phase and End of Turn.  The '1' and '3' were used to fire both the 222 armoured cars at the beleaguered no.1 section, although as they were pinned, making them a harder target, they only inflicted 2 shock between them.  The turn then ended, which meant the after-effects of the Stuka strike had passed, and any damaged buildings or unexploded bombs had to be tested.  Rolling one d6 for each, the 'unstable' Small Barn remained standing, and the UXB in The Mairie just sat there on ticking. 

(13) The German follow-on phase, had a more useful set of command dice: 1,3,4,4,6.  First the gunner of one the 222s was activated ('1') to fire at the Bren team, and this time inflicted 1 casualty and 1 shock.  The shock was moot, as the casualty saw the Bren team wiped out and removed along with the 7 points of shock they had accumulated.  The resulting Bad Things Happen (BTH) test for the lost team left the British Force Morale unaffected at 9.

Next the German senior leader advanced section III over the hedge into the road and directed section II to fire again at the British no.1 section (now reduced to just a Rifle team).  This inflicted another casualty and 2 points of shock.  The firing from the German sections against troops in hard cover (i.e. pinned behind soft cover) was proving exceptionally effective.  

(14) In their phase, the Brits fought back using a 1,1,4,5,6 to deploy a senior leader and Drinks Cabinet behind the church to rally the surviving Rifle team.  With the Stuka raid a distant memory these deployments were automatic and the senior leader rallied off 3 shock while the Drinks Cabinet (a special support option) rolled a d6 and rallied a further 6 points of shock.  The Rifle team were now free of all shock but would remain pinned until an End of Turn.

Also in this phase, the two '1's were used to deploy the weakened no.3 section (inferior junior leader with a Bren team and 5-man rifle team) inside the church.

We place troops inside buildings on floor-plan templates placed alongside the playing area as we find it easier than putting them in buildings, not all of which have removeable rooves.

(15) A German roll of 3,4,4,5,6 allowed one 222 a/c to slowly advance and engage the church with h.e. and inflict 1 point of shock (the a/c was within 18" so was aware that the church had been occupied).  The senior leader was also activated to order section III across the road alongside section II.  The latter being ordered to fire at the pinned section, but this time without effect.

(16) Finally, the Brits got some good command dice, a roll of 1,2,2,3,3 giving them a range of options.  They chose to deploy their no.2 section behind the Derelict Barn and, a little further east along the road, an entrenched 2" mortar team and senior leader.  The mortar immediately tried to place smoke to block the 222 armoured cars from engaging the church but it landed off target.  Lastly, the junior leader in the church rallied a point of shock off his men.

(17) The German's roll of 3,4,4,5,6 saw them use the '3' and '4' to deploy their final section (I), with a senior leader, in the thicket behind The Mairie, from where they unleashed 'Maschinengewehr' on the newly deployed no.2 section.  The resulting storm of steel saw the Brits take 2 points of shock on the Bren team, and 2 casualties, a Rifleman, and the junior leader (wounded).  The Bad Things Happen Test for the wounded leader saw British Force Morale drop from 9 to 8.

Over on the German right, the other senior leader was activated with the second '4', to order section III to cross the hedge and section II to fire at the Rifle team of no.1 section which took 1 point of shock.

Apologies for the lack of photos of all these deployments.

(18)  The Brits were heartened by a roll of 1,1,2,6,6 for a double-phase.  The actionable command dice saw no.2 section move to enter the derelict barn (they didn't all manage to make it inside); while the 2" mortar team fired h.e. at German section I, which hit the dirt[5] and managed to get away with only 1 point of shock.

(19) Another double-phase for the Brits with 4,4,4,6,6.  The senior leader activations available saw, no.1 section move to all get in the Derelict Barn and rally off their shock (the leader is on a pin marker to indicate he is wounded), ...

... and another 2" mortar h.e. round fired at section I, this time with no effect.

 (20) A roll of 1,3,5,6,6 gave the Brits a third double-phase on the trot.  The '1' allowed the 2" mortar to fire its last h.e. round at section I, again without effect (red markers = expended h.e. rounds, white = smoke).  

Section I was definitely leading a charmed life.  

This was all my notes say the Brits did in this phase, the '3' was probably used but as nothing was noted I expect it also failed to achieve anything.

(21) Just one '6' for the Brits this time in their roll of 1,2,3,5,6.  Again I seem to have little activity recorded other than the junior leader of no.1 section rallying off some shock.  But this phase the Brits spent a CoC die to end the turn to finally unpin the surviving Rifle team from no.1 section.  

The End of turn also saw the damaged buildings being tested again, but neither saw any change to their condition.  The situation after this flurry of British phases is shown below (the 2" mortar team can just be glimpsed on the road at the lefthand edge).

(22) At last a German phase, but despite having everything crossed, I rolled 3,4,4,5,6 so no double-phase for me, but time to get moving.  First, section I fired back at the mortar which had been harassing them but unsurprisingly without effect as they were entrenched (hard cover).  Next, a 222 a/c fired h.e. at the church inflicting 2 more points of shock on no.3 section inside.  

Finally, on the right flank, section III moved into the Red House and section II fired at the no.1 section Rifle team who, despite being no longer pinned, hadn't moved!  The (inebriated?) Brits paid dearly for this sloth, as II section's exceptional shooting inflicted 1 casualty and 3 points of shock.  What was worse, was that the casualty was the junior leader who was killed outright.  The resulting BTH test dropped British Force morale from 8 to 6 - this was starting to look promising.  

(23) A British roll of 3,4,4,5,6 gave them the chance to deal with some of the shock that was mounting up.  The senior leader by the drinks cabinet, immediately rallied off 2 shock from no.1 section and moved them around the church to safety.  No.3 section in the church fired at the Red House but without effect (it's hard cover and they were carrying a lot of shock).  The other British senior leader directed the 2" mortar to fire smoke to block the armoured cars line of sight but it landed off target by the La Haye barns as can be seen in the photo below (the Red House occupied by German section III is just across the road to the right of the church).

(24) With a roll of 1,2,3,6,6 for a double-phase, German victory seemed to be there for the taking.  Both 222 armoured cars and section III fired at the church, and while the latter had no effect, the former killed a Bren gunner and inflicted 2 points of shock.  

(25) A German roll of 2,4,4,6,6, and another double-phase that saw a senior leader direct section III to fire again at the church, this time inflicting 2 points of shock.  He also ordered section II to advance into the rubble, that was the Large Barn before the Stukas flattened it, to get in position to lay down even more fire on the church.  On the other flank, the other senior leader again ordered section I to fire at the 2" mortar, but to no effect.

(26) No double-phase but 1,1,2,2,2 offered plenty of scope for the Germans to keep up the pressure.  Sections II and III fired at the church but without effect, by contrast the two 222's fired h.e. at the church inflicting 3 shock and pinning no.3 section inside.

(27) The British roll of 1,1,3,3,5 saw them deploy their Vickers MMG by the church to fire at section II in the rubble of the Large Barn.  Section II promptly hit the dirt and escaped unscathed.  The senior leader by the church and the (inferior) junior leader inside rallied off some of the shock from no.3 section and then John ended the turn with another CoC die to unpin them.  This time the End of Turn damaged building tests saw the unstable small Barn Collapse, but the UXB in The Mairie ticked on.

(28) Yet again the Germans got a double-phase with 1,4,5,6,6 on the command dice.  This luck with the dice continued as the 222 a/c firing at the church inflicted 1 casualty (this time stunning the junior leader) and 2 points of shock.  The test for this saw British Force morale drop from 6 to 4, reducing them to just 4 command dice.  And to put a cherry on top, section II fired at the church and scored 4 points of shock to once again pin the unfortunate no.3 section inside.

(29) The Germans were now gifted a really useful 1,1,2,3,3 on their command dice.  However, when both 222's fired at the church, they only managed 1 point of shock.  Section III's fire at the church was completely ineffective, but yet again some stellar shooting from most of section II inflicted 1 casualty and 2 more points of shock.  The Brits in the church were now in dire straits.

The reason not all of section II fired at the church was that their junior leader, looking to crack the British morale had detached a scout team towards the British JOP which was still being closed down by the adjacent 221 a/c.  

(30) Down to just 4 command dice the British rolled 1,1,6,6 - a double-phase, but no possibility of rallying off any of the shock that was dragging them down.  With the two team activations available, the 2" mortar successfully dropped it's last smoke round to block the 222's line of sight to the church, ...

... and the Vickers ...

... inflicted 1 point of shock on II section in the rubble (they had again hit the dirt maximise their cover).

Surely it was too late for a British recovery?

(31) But when they rolled 2,5,6,6 for a second consecutive double-phase, it did make me wonder.  But then, with only 4 command dice, there's not much you can do if you roll two '6's, especially if you also roll a '5'.  With his lone section activation, John's no.2 section in the Derelict Barn fired at my section I putting 2 points of shock on the MG34 team.  And so onto John's next phase ...

(32) ... and, 1,3,6,6 for yet another double-phase!  Three on the trot with only 4 command dice, this was starting to get silly.  But while John's command dice were fine his shooting dice consistently let him down, his Vickers MMG only putting 1 point of shock on the MG08 in the Red House.  

With his '3' John deployed another infantry section (no.4, one of his support options) in the open by the Derelict Barn.  

They opened fire on my section I and, because my guys didn't hit the dirt (I was conserving my CoC points), inflicted 1 casualty and 1 point of shock.

(33) And finally, the sequence of British double-phases came to an end with a roll of 2,3,5,6.  Nonetheless, the newly arrived no.4 section continued to lash my section I, who took 2 more casualties (one being a wound on the senior leader) and 2 more points of shock.  My Bad Things Happen Test for this saw my Force Morale drop from 8 to 7.  The British No.2 section also fired at section I, no doubt hoping to build on this last-minute bit of success, but failed to inflict any further harm.

(34) Pleased at having survived 4 consecutive British phases with no critical losses my command roll of 1,1,3,4,5 offered me the chance to finally crack the British.  But there was still a sting in the British tail, as when section I's junior leader removed a point of shock and ordered his MG34 team to fire, John interrupted with a CoC die to have no.4 section brass them up again.  This piled another 5 points of shock on the section I putting them close to being pinned.

Despite all the shock the return fire from section I on no.4 section, stood out in the open, inflicted 2 casualties, both riflemen, but no shock.

Now, with the British bolt definitely shot, it was time to end this.  First the scout team captured the British JOP, freeing the 221 a/c to move off towards the German left flank.  Then the senior leader removed some shock from section II and instructed them to fire at the church.  Again, this section showed its prowess, inflicting one casualty (a rifleman) and 3 points of shock!  This was a real bonus as it broke the British no.3 section in the church who immediately routed and British Force Morale dropped from 4 to 2.

The coup de grâce, was the use of a CoC die (the reason I couldn't spare CoC points for section I to hit the dirt earlier) to end the turn.  With the routed no.2 section being removed, the Bad Things Happen Tests for a leader routing off table and the loss of JOP saw the British Force Morale collapse to zero.  The final act was to test for the UXB at the End of Turn but it just kept on happily ticking along.

Game over, and no photos!  What was I thinking? 

The Butcher's Bill

The Germans lost 2 riflemen and a senior leader wounded.

The British lost 11 riflemen and had a junior leader wounded.

Post Mortem

This was a most unusual game with all the double-phases, but the luck of the dice seemed the determining factor in this game as the British could never seem to kill Germans while the Brits were dropping like flies.  Partly this may be because the Germans have an edge in straight fire-fight, but also they made much greater use of the Hit the Dirt option available in the new edition of the rules.  

I had thought John had been too slow to use his CoC dice to end the turn to unpin his units but having just been through the game phase by phase for the AAR I realise he was always just one phase away from being able to make the most of the opportunity.

I made a bad start with my mistaken armoured car dash at the beginning, but it did shut down a British JOP, which opened up John's left flank.  Once I had exploited this, John was almost always in a crossfire from which there was little cover.  If John had tried to deploy, with the effects of the Stuka bombardment still in force, to stop me shutting down his JOP it would've been really risky.  Later, when he did deploy when this was still in effect the section was crippled by 10 points of shock and gave the Germans an easy victim.

Another key element was having the SdKfz 222's that can fire h.e., which meant occupying buildings was no longer a safe option for the Brits.  Perhaps they would've done better to get sone anti-tank support.

So, the question remains, is this campaign winnable for Brits?  PLEASE, if anyone out there has done it, do get in touch through the comments below.

Mistakes, we've had a few ....

... too many to mention.  But one grievous error, that has penalised John in the earlier games, is that we both thought that in the new rules all crew served support weapons deployed with entrenchments.  It was only on reading 'The Tactical Painter's recent post[6], and the discussion in the comments about an entrenchment for his 6-pounder that I checked up on this and found it's only MMGs and HMGS that come with a free entrenchment.

Next Scenario...

The next game is at present t.b.d. ...

Notes:

[1.]  The hedges on the southern and eastern edges denote the edge of the playing area and are not actually in play.

[2.]  Yes, I know that the 'B' variant in use in 1940 shouldn't have drop tanks.

[3.]  The section consists of two rifle teams each of four men and a Junior leader. Their presence allows the British player two entrenchments and to purchase other fortification support options such as minefields and barbed wire.

[4.]  The Minefield and Barbed-wire entanglement are rectangular, and, respectively, extend behind the building and tree in the photo.

[5.]  As h.e. would negate the light cover section I had from the thicket, Hit the Dirt seemed well worth the 3 CoC points, especially as the Brits were on a double-phase.  It proved even more valuable given the Brist actually pulled off four consecutive phases.

[6.]  "The Scottish Corridor Scenario 6: Counterattack at Le Valtru", 3rd September 2025.