Operation Charnwood (FOW campaign): Attack on La Bijude

In parallel with task force Micheal's attack Galmanche, task force Paul attacked La Bijude. The attack started at 04.30. The East Riding Yeomanry had two platoons of tanks in support each with two shermans and one firefly. Opposing task force Paul was Kampfgruppe Micha consisting of D Kompanie, 31^st Luftwaffe Jaegerregiment with a large number of supporting units including some dreaded 88's.

Note: Game wise luftwaffe units a very cheap, balancing the sides meant the luftwaffe got a lot of support.

Battlefield viewed from the West

The Forces

	Taskforce Paul	Kampfgruppe Micha
	A company 7th Royal Norfolks regiment Company HQ 1st platoon with 3 section 2nd platoon with 3 section 3rd platoon with 3 section Support units Mortar platoon, S company with 3 section 1st Squadron East Riding Yeomanry 1 ERY (tank platoon) B company 7th Royal Norfolks regiment Company HQ 4th platoon with 3 section 5th platoon with 3 section 6th platoon with 3 section Support units Pioneer platoon with 3 section 2nd Squadron East Riding Yeomanry 2 ERY (tank platoon)	D Kompanie 31st Luftwaffe Jaegerregiment Kompanie HQ with Anti Tank section 7th platoon with 3 section 8th platoon with 3 section 9th platoon with 3 section Support units Luftwaffe MG platoon with 2 sections Luftwaffe MG platoon with 2 sections Luftwaffe Mortar platoon with 2 sections Luftwaffe Pioneer platoon with 3 sections Luftwaffe Anti tank platoon with 3 Pak7.5 Luftwaffe Anti Air battery with 2 88s Luftwaffe scout platoon with 2 sections SS panzergrenadier platoon with 3 section Fortifications 3 HMG nests 2 minefeilds

The Battle

Note: Based on the last campaign game we increased the playing area to allow the British a better chance to outflank. The down side was this created a fairly open battlefield as opposed to the dense Normandy terrain.

Machine gun nest

The German objective went to the far end of the eastern, German side, of the battlefield while the British objective was deployed far forward towards the centre of the battlefield. The initial German defence consisted of the pioneers, mortars and 1^st grenadier platoon deployed. The mortars went to the rear, The Pioneers covered the British objective with support from the CiC and the anti tank section. While the 1^st Grenadier platoon with the 2iC covered the German objective. The machine-gun nests and the minefields were deployed right at the front. In addition, the 88's and a machine-gun platoon. The machine-guns from the second platoon were attached to the grenadier and pioneer platoons.

Luftwaffe Pioneers line the road in defense of La Bijude

In response the British deploy two platoons from A company and one platoon from B company with mortar support to along the Northern route. The rest of the task force deployed on the Southern route hoping to exploit a line of terrain that led to the British objective.

British assault group North

British assault group South

The British attack started well, the ERY platoons quickly destroyed two HMG nests while the infantry pushed on through cover. To counter the German 88's sprung their ambush sooner than planned and destroyed 1^st squadron ERY. The remaining German units opted to dig in. The mortar spotter tried and failed to spot any British units in the dark. The presence of the 88's stalled the advance northern British attack. For several turn both side traded fire. Or more accurately the British fired on the 88's while the 88's failed to spot any British (rolling one's to spot every time). 

88's see a tank platoon

88's roll to see the other platoon

The stale mate was broken by 1^st platoon A company which assaulted and destroyed the guns before moving into the northern part of La Bijude. The German mortar spotter caught a glimpse of the Firefly from 2 ERY. The mortar strike forced the crew to bail out, being reluctant they stayed out of the tank for the rest of the game. The lead platoons from B company were also hit and pinned, leaving 1^st platoon to go it alone. The pioneers tried to out flank the village to give support but ran into a machine-gun nest, lost half their number and were pinned.

The SS grenadiers arrived in half tracks and moved towards the southern British attack intent on breaking A company. In La Bijude, 1^st platoon overran the mortar spotter who could not get away fast enough. They then were attacked by the pioneers. The two units fought for several turns with key buildings changing hands several times before the pioneers finally destroyed the platoon. This was to be the furtherest the brutish could advance.

German reinforcement began to pour in. The machine-gun platoon ambushed the southern British attack inflicting heavy casualties as the platoons attempted to dismantle the minefields. To make it worst the newly arrived SS grenadier platoon drove through the gapped minefield and assaulted the three platoons of British infantry. With ruthless efficient the grenadiers cut down the men of A company wiping out three platoons in the process destroying the company. On the Northern flank the Luftwaffe grenadiers broke cover and wiped out the remaining of the pioneers. B company was still largely intact but day break showed a mass of Luftwaffe unit converging on their position so they opted to withdraw but not before destroying two machince guns from the ambushing German platoon. The attack was called of at 07.00.

SS grenadiers attack North group

The Aftermath

	Taskforce Paul	Kampfgruppe Micha
	A company 7th Royal Norfolks regiment Company HQ -destroyed 1st platoon -destroyed 2nd platoon -destroyed 3rd platoon -destroyed Support units Mortar platoon, S company -destroyed 1st Squadron East Riding Yeomanry (tank platoon) -destroyed B company 7th Royal Norfolks regiment Company HQ 4th platoon 6 teams lost 5th platoon 6th platoon Support units Pioneer platoon -destroyed 2nd Squadron East Riding Yeomanry (tank platoon)	D Kompanie 31st Luftwaffe Jaegerregiment Kompanie HQ with Anti Tank section 7th platoon 8th platoon 9th platoon Support units Luftwaffe MG platoon Luftwaffe MG platoon Luftwaffe Mortar platoon -spotter lost Luftwaffe Pioneer platoon -3 teams lost Luftwaffe Anti tank platoon Luftwaffe Anti Air battery -destroyed Luftwaffe scout platoon SS panzergrenadier platoon Fortifications 3 HMG nests – 2 destroyed 2 minefeilds -1 destroyed

The failed attack leaves the British in spot. Task Force Paul has been disbanded The 1^st Squadron East Riding Yeomanry was destroyed, and A Company completely wiped out. B company lost its pioneers. B company and the 2^nd Squadron have gone back into the British reserve pool. Campaign-wise it means the British second phase attacks will go ahead but will take fire from the Germans holding the forward villages.

The Germans again got away lightly with one platoon lost, the 88's and two platoons with moderate damaged (the machine-gun and pioneers platoons). The Germans failed to repair the destroyed British tanks (forgot to roll for them, again). They continue to hold the line but keep losing anti tank assets.  

Operation Charnwood (FOW campaign): Attack on Galmanche

The first phase of Operation Charnwood sees Taskforce Micheal assaulting the main German strong point of Galmanche village, garrisoned by Kampfgruppe Klemens. The mission played was “Hold the Line” from the V2 rulebook. The attack starts at 04.30, so night fighting was in effect until daybreak. The Royal Hussars have been fighting continuously for three weeks before the attack so they both have a random strength determine at the start of the each game. The rolling was mediocre, 2^nd squadron ended up with two Shermans and a Firefly, while 1^st squadron ended up with three Sherman. The British could have got more Shermans and Fireflies. The Germans opted to use their only available panzer platoon for the defense of Galmanche since holding the village hinders any attack on the British second phase objectives.

Galmanche viewed from the east

The Forces

	Taskforce Micheal (approx 1600 pts)	Kampfgruppe Klemens ( approx 2000pts)
	A company 5th South Norfolk regiment Company HQ 1st platoon with 3 section 2nd platoon with 3 section 3rd platoon with 3 section Support units Antitank platoon with 3 section 1st Squadron Royal Hussars (tank platoon) B company 5th South Norfolk regiment Company HQ 4th platoon with 3 section 5th platoon with 3 section 6th platoon with 3 section Support units Bren platoon with 3 section 2nd Squadron Royal Hussars (tank platoon)	1 Kompanie 26th SS panzergrenadier Regiment Kompanie HQ with Anti Tank section 1st platoon with 3 section 2nd platoon with 3 section 3rd platoon with 3 section 4th platoon with 2 MG sections, 1 Mortar section Support Units Light SS anti tank gun (PaK) platoon with 3 guns Light SS infantry gun platoon with 2 guns 2 Kompanie 12th 22 Panzer regiment SS panzer platoon with 5 PiV

British placed objective

German placed objective

The Battle;

The Germans deployed 1^st platoon with the CiC and attached Panzershreik and HMG teams in the village around the British objective. 4^th (heavy weapons) platoon deployed its mortars near the German objective with its HMG section set-up nearer the front. The panzer platoon opted to go in ambush. The Mortar spotter went in the church spire.

In response the British deployed A company with 1^st tank squadron with all the support platoons and and a rifle platoon from B company on the south bank facing Galamache village. While the rest of B company and 2^nd tank Squadron went on the north bank of the river.

German artillery spotter an in church tower

Task Force Micheal

A company outside Galmanche

B company North of Galmanche

The first few turns with night fighting were very quiet. The Germans could not get any reinforcements nor could the spotter or the CiC see anything in the dark for ta mortar strike. On the British side the advance was very slow due to paranoia over possible Panzer ambush with the infantry having to secure every piece of terrain before the tanks could be brought forward. The tanks also had trouble driving through the woods at night with several breakdowns happening.

Galmanche main road

On the North bank B company got into a race with the German HMG section trying to get to the bend in the river first. The German arrived first and dug in. B company's arrival was greeted with HMG fire. They made several attempts to dig in but failed and were eventual forced back with casualties. Their tank support cross bridge to assist the capture of the British objective.

Bren section starts recces the village

On the south bank things started to heat up when the British infantry moved into rifle range on the church and started to pepper spotter with rifle fire. Annoyingly, the spotter failed to see where the shoots were coming form. German reinforcement eventually began to arrive and raced to the front but their movement was not helped by the night movement which limited their speed.

View from the German end of the village

The British infantry and armour began to creep into Galamache. One of the Bren section opted to try  out flank the village but ran straight into the newly arrived German 2^nd platoon. Both sides exchanged fire and the German was lost a team. While the bren section lost a carrier and was forced to disengage.

German reinforcements moving to the village

 The Panzers finally made their appearance but the hoped for decisive ambush was not to be since they could not make the British shermans in the dark. Instead they machine gunned a rifle platoon from B company, inflicting several casualties. Shermans and anti tank guns began to engage the panzers but it was their turn to roll badly for night fight. Only the anti tank platoon, the furtherest platoon away, could make out the panzers and a salvo from their six pounders destroyed a PiV. 

Shermans start to duel with PiVs

Day light broke just the second bren section and the German anti tank platoon arrived at either end of the main village road. The Pak's fired first and destroyed two wasps forcing the survivor to flee. The British armour duelled with the Panzers. The Panzers lost another tank but succeed in destroying the British tank squadron with the Firefly. With day break the German artillery and HMGs began to devastate the British infantry in the open. The German 2^nd platoon hunted down and destroyed the last bren section. 1^st and 2^nd platoons of A company and 5^th platoon of B company were caught in the open and destroyed. Taking heavy loss including the loss of the HQ section ,A company broke and B company decide to call off the attack at 07.30. The British retreated leaving the Germans in control of the village.

The Aftermath;

	Taskforce Micheal	Kampfgruppe Klemens
	A company 5th South Norfolk regiment Company HQ -destroyed 1st platoon -destroyed 2nd platoon – 3 teams lost 3rd platoon -destroyed Support units Antitank platoon with 3 section – no damage 1st Squadron Royal Hussars (tank platoon) -destroyed B company 5th South Norfolk regiment Company HQ – no damage 4th platoon – 4 teams lost 5th platoon -destroyed 6th platoon – 2 teams lost Support units Bren platoon -destroyed 2nd Squadron Royal Hussars (tank platoon) -no damage	1 Kompanie 26th SS panzergrenadier Regiment Kompanie HQ – no damage 1st platoon – no damage 2nd platoon 1 team lost 3rd platoon – no damage 4th platoon with – no damage Support Units Light SS anti tank gun platoon – no damage Light SS infantry gun platoon – no damage 2 Kompanie 12th 22 Panzer regiment SS panzer platoon -2 PiV lost

With A company gone, the Captain of B company calls off the attack

The British took a beating. Task Force Micheal has been disbanded The 1^st Squadron Royal Hussars was destroyed, and A Company affectively destroyed. Its survivors have been transferred to B company to form below strength rifle company with the anti tank platoon in support. B company and the 1^st Squadron Royal Hussars have gone back into the British reserve pool

The Germans got away lightly with just one team and two Panzers lost. The Germans failed to salvage either the two damaged panzers (forgot to roll for them) or repair the destroyed British tanks (did not pass the test). This was bad since the German losses can not be replaced. They now have three effective panzers facing twelve platoons of assorted British armour. With the day breaking the British can start to bring artillery support for the next attack. Next up is the parallel attack on La Bijude by taskforce Paul.

Sitrep (FOW): Operation Charnwood is a go

Normandy July 1944 

Mmm, smell like a campaign, .

Too Fat Lardies (TFL) published a rules set aimed at WW2 company level called "I Ain't Been Shot Mom" (IABSM).  Scenarios for the rules are published every six months. With a bit of tweaking the scenarios can be adjusted for FOW. We decided ( well, I told everybody to be more exact) we were going to try one of the IABSM campaign. The campaign mechanics are interesting on a couple of points. In a normal campaign the battles are linked over a period of campaign time intended to represent weeks or months of effort. This campaign represent a single day and the attempts of the British 59^th division attempting to break through at Caen in Normandy as part of operation Charnwood. All the battles fought are between 04.30 and 20.30 on the 8^th-9 ^th of July on the outskirts of Caen. The time period is too short for units to get experience and replacements. So any damage from a battle rolls over to the next battle.

Another interesting feature of the TFL rules sets is that they encourage people to play the game not the rules. So there is a strong role play element in the game. The British have eighteen companies, typical game of FOW involves one just company, attacking the German held villages at a time and location of their choice. The British must capture all the villages outside of Caen.  They even have a plan. The fun starts when the plan meets reality.

tactical map*

The British cunning plan

Phase one

Taskforce Micheal will attack Galamache at 04.30 hrs

Taskforce Paul will attack La Bejude at 04.30 hrs

Phase two

Taskforce John will attack Epron at 07.30 hrs

Taskforce Phillip will attack Malon at 10.30 hrs

Taskforce Gerard will attack St Contest at 12.30 hrs

Each taskforce consists of two rifle companies with Armour and regiment support. In reserve, are another eight companies with armour and weapons support.

* The map comes from one IABSM booklets. Well worth a look if you are interested creating scenarios in FOW, 40K, WHB, Battlefleet gothic, Areonautic Imperailis.