Mission critical (FOW): Waldfeucht 21st January 1945

Waldfeucht

Intro:

Five days into operation Blackrock the British 2nd army is pushing into the Roer Triangle. Determine to resist the advance the Germans launch a counter attack with the 175th Infantrie Division with armoured support. The objective is to recapture the village of Waldfeuch,t defended by the 5th Kings own Scottish Borders (KOSB) with the 4th KOSB in reserve.

Design note; adapted to FOW 3rd from Bob Mackenzie’s counter attack at Waldfeucht scenario

Tank destroyers hunt down an armored recce patrol

Terrain:

The terrain is snow covered (roads count as cross country, open ground counts as  slow going). The roads are icey (vehicles moving more than  8”720cm need to pass a skill test of bog down, Tigers ignore this). The tree line provides concealment to any team on the road or in base contact and blocks line of sight to any team more 6" away from the line. The Brook provide concealment and gone to ground bonus to any infantry or man pack gun teams that ends it turn in the brook.

A Firefly trades fire with a STuG behind a village.

Forces:

The KOSB counts as 50th Tynes and Tees regiment from Turning Tide Handbook.

The 175th Infanterie division is a bit tricker. Kampfgruppe Schmal (meaning small) counts as a 78 Strum division from the Grey Wolf handbook all be it with only one platoon of Grenadiers with MG/panzerfaust.  176th Fusilier battalion count as a Volksgrenadier company but with the MG/panzerfaust section replaced by another Strum section with assault rifles/panzerfaust.

Attackers ->175th Infanterie Division

Kampfgruppe Schmal

1 Company HQ with 1 attached panzer shriek

1 Grenadier platoon with three sections

1 Tiger platoon with1 tiger tank

1 Artillery Spotter^

176th Fusilier Battalion

1 Company HQ with 3 attached panzershrieks

3 Fusilier platoons each with three sections

1 Tiger Platoon with 1 tiger tank

1 Artillery Spotter^^

In support of the 176 Fusilier Battalion

1 STuG platoon with 3 Stug IIIG

1 Scout platoon at full strength

Typhoon strikes a tank platoon in the open

Defenders-> 5th King own Scottish Borders 
Company HQ 5th KOSB
A platoon 5th KOSB with 3 rifle sections
B platoon 5th KOSB with 3 rifle sections
C platoon 5th KOSB with 2 rifle sections with attached HMG section
D platoon 5th KOSB with 2 rifle sections

In support
A Squadron 14th/18th Huzzars (3 Shermans and 1 Firefly)
1 Anti tank platoon with 2, 6pdr gun sections
1 Carrier patrol
1 Mortar platoon with 2 mortar sections
1 artillery observer

Reinforcements

1 Company HQ 4th KOSB
A platoon 4th KOSB with 3 rifle section with 2 Kangaroo Ramsattached
B platoon 4th KOSB with 3 rifle section with 4 Kangaroo Rams section and 1 HMG section attached
C platoon 4th KOSB with 3 rifle sections
D platoon 4th KOSB with 2 rifle sections

In support
1 Auster AOP**
1 Carrier patrol
1 Sherman OP*


Germans prepare to defend a village

Notes;

^Artillery spotter spot for a 4 gun battery of 1.05cm guns

^^Artillery spotter spot for 4 gun a battery of  1.5 cm guns

* OP can spot for a 1 gun troop of 25pdrs deployed of table

** Auster OP can spot for for a 8 gun medium artillery battery deployed of table

Wasps get the drop on some german infantry

Deployment:

British defenders:

B platoon 5th KOSB and one support platoon (not the Huzzars) begins deployed at Ectherbach

A Squadron 14th/18th Huzzars begin deployed at the farm

The rest of 5th KOSB is deployed at Waldfeucht

None of the defenders can start in prepared positions they only recently arrived in the village a few hours ago.

A bren carrier with 50 cal flanks on a Tank destroyer platoon (nails one and bails out another)

British reinforcements:

4th KOSB (HQ, A platoon, B platoon, the carrier platoon and the OP tank) are in reserve and enter from point A

The rest of 4th KOSB (C and D platoons) are in delayed reserves and enter from point A

The Auster OP arrives after all the other reserves have deployed

British armour swamps an objective

German Attackers:

Kampfgruppe Schmal moves on to the table at point B

176 Fusilier Battalion (without the STuG platoon) moves on to the table at point C

German reserves:

The STuG platoon is in reserve and arrives at point C

Special rules:

Civilians:

The Civilians of Waldfeucht were keen to help push the foreign army from the their native soil. Unfortunately for the British this time the civilians were German. At the start of the attacker turn if an attacking team gets within 12” of a building Civilians begin to point out defending positions. Place a civilian marker anywhere within 12” of a building in Waldfeucht. Any defending teams within 2” of the marker lose any “gone to ground” bonus it might have had. The mark is removed at the end of the Attacker turn and can be used again next turn.

Heavy fighting over a german defended objective

Victory conditions:

The British win if 176th Fusilier Battalion and its support element breaks and flees or if after turn 6 there is no attacking teams within 16” of a building in Waldfeucht. The Germans win if either the 5th or the 4th KOSB breaks and flees or if after turn 6 there is no defending teams within 16” of a building in Waldfeucht

Note: All of the photos are from a recent FOW big game 2500 points per side on a 6'x6' table