5th Royal Tank Regiment at La Lande, Normandy
Operation BLUECOAT, 3rd August 1944
A Scenario for Battlefront: WWII
As it’s the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Campaign, I thought I’d finish off a Normandy scenario that’s been sitting 75%-finished on my hard-drive for the past ten years. The scenario was inspired by a trip I made to Normandy in November 2011 with my mate Mark Urban when he was researching his book ‘The Tank War‘ (which also became the BBC TV series ‘Tankies’). This superb book followed the story of the men of 5th Royal Tank Regiment or 5 RTR (‘The Filthy Fifth’) from their baptism of fire in France, to North Africa and Italy, their return to France via the Normandy Beaches and on to Belgium, the Netherlands and the final act in Germany.
At the time I was running battlefield tours for cadets and regular military personnel, so he invited me along to serve as a researcher and guide. I’m not good, but I am cheap…
Mark particularly wanted to have a good look at the ground for 5 RTR’s action at La Lande, just to the west of Aunay-sur-Odon on 3rd August. This wasn’t an action I was familiar with, but I do know the ground and from reading further into it, it quickly became apparent that this was a very significant action, not only for that regiment, but for 7th Armoured Division and XXX Corps’ role in Operation BLUECOAT as a whole. It was the point at which 5 RTR and a significant portion of the ‘Desert Rats’ finally reached the end of their tether.
This scenario is designed for Battlefront: WWII rules by Fire & Fury Games, though could be easily converted to other systems with a similar organisational level, such as Dave Brown’s Battlegroup: Panzergrenadier and ‘O’ Group. In these systems, each model tank or gun represents 2-3 actual items and each troop stand represents an infantry section.
Historical Background – Operation BLUECOAT
Following the titanic battle of Operation GOODWOOD (17-19 July 1944), seven of the nine German Panzer Divisions in Normandy were now concentrated in the area south of Caen, defending against any further British/Canadian drive south to Falaise. With the Germans’ attention fixed to the south of Caen, the time was now ripe for Bradley’s US 1st Army to break out of western Normandy.
On 25th July, 1,500 bombers of the US 8th Air Force plastered the German positions west of St Lô, almost completely destroying the Panzer-Lehr-Division and 275. Infanterie-Division. Then, preceded by a massive artillery barrage, the US VII Corps and US VIII Corps drove south to commence Operation COBRA. Within two days, the Americans had broken through the crust, were passing through Coutances and were driving hard for Avranches, the gateway to Brittany. Patton’s US 3rd Army meanwhile, was being shipped across the English Channel to Normandy, ready to exploit the breakthrough.
With the Americans forging ahead in the west, Dempsey’s British 2nd Army was now ordered to launch its own offensive to support the Americans’ exposed left flank and to keep the Germans off-balance. The three British Armoured Divisions (7th, 11th & Guards), having rapidly made good the losses suffered in Operation GOODWOOD, were now rushed westward to form the armoured punch for the new offensive – Operation BLUECOAT. The plan for was for 2nd Army to break out of the sector between Tilly-sur-Seulles and Caumont and to drive southward to Vire and Flers, thus protecting the exposed American left flank and drawing the German counter-attack onto themselves, rather than the American spearheads. In detail, O’Connor’s British VIII Corps, consisting of 11th Armoured Division, Guards Armoured Division, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division and 6th Guards Tank Brigade, with 3rd Infantry Division in reserve, would attack from Caumont toward Vire and Flers. Bucknall’s British XXX Corps meanwhile, consisting of 7th Armoured Division, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and 8th Armoured Brigade, was to attack from Tilly-sur-Seulles toward Villers-Bocage, Aunay-sur-Odon and Condé-sur-Noireau.
VIII Corps Pushes South
Preceded by massive heavy bombing and artillery preparation, Operation BLUECOAT got underway on Sunday 30th July. Things were soon progressing largely to plan in the British VIII Corps sector, despite the best efforts of the German defenders. The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, supported by the Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade and the ubiquitous ‘Funnies’ of 79th Armoured Division, quickly broke through the crust of the defending 326. Infanterie-Division at Caumont and by the afternoon had achieved their initial objectives – Hills 226 and 309.
Strong counter-attacks; first by the Jagdpanther tank-destroyers of Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 and then by 21. Panzer-Division (which had been reinforced with the remnants of 16. Feld-Division (L), replacement Pzkpfw IVs and the surviving Tiger Is & Tiger IIs of Schwere-Panzer-Abteilung 503) did significant damage, but failed to dislodge the Coldstreamers’ tanks from Hill 309 (soon to be known as ‘Coldstream Hill’). 21. Panzer-Division in particular, had dashed itself to pieces against Coldstream Hill and was forced to retire on 1st August to a new defensive line facing northwest, roughly equating to the line of the highway from Jurques to Cathéolles.
A few miles to the west, the 11th Armoured Division was breaking out. The town of St Martin-des-Besaces was liberated following a stiff battle on 31st July and the armoured cars of 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment (2 HCR) were soon pushing on southward, through undefended wooded hills and into the deep valley of the River Soulevre. Incredibly, an intact and undefended bridge was discovered by 2 HCR and this fact was soon transmitted back to General ‘Pip’ Roberts, commanding 11th Armoured Division. Electrified by this news, Roberts soon had armour racing to the scene and the bridge was firmly in his hands. As the Guards Armoured Division moved up to cover his open left flank, the ‘Black Bull’ of 11th Armoured Division was soon in full charge across the Soulevre.
On the morning of 1st August and having crossed the Soulevre, a strong armour-infantry battlegroup from 11th Armoured Division pushed on into Le Bény-Bocage, achieving complete surprise and swiftly overcoming enemy resistance there. With the town secured, another battlegroup pushed further east, to cut the main Villers-Bocage to Vire highway at the crossroads of La Ferronnière (incorrectly identified on British maps as ‘St Charles de Percy’, which in fact, lies about a mile to the east of the highway), while 2 HCR patrols pushed on as far as Presles.
The Guards Armoured Division meanwhile, having passed through St Martin-des-Besaces on 1st August, was still encountering strong resistance from elements of 21. Panzer-Division, but was pushing on and by evening had reached the Soulevre at Le Tourneur. That night, the infantry of 3rd Irish Guards managed to cross over the Soulevre at Le Tourneur and on 2nd August captured the vital bridge at Cathéolles. Elements of the Guards Armoured Division then pushed across the bridge, to join the 11th Armoured Division south of the Soulevre. The British VIII Corps had now succeeded in driving an armoured wedge of two armoured divisions, not only between the 3. Fallschirmjäger-Division and 326. Infanterie-Division, but also between the II. Fallschirm-Korps and the XLVII. Panzer-Korps. Nothing now stood between the British and Vire.
XXX Corps Pushes East
In contrast to VIII Corps’ thrusting spearhead, XXX Corps on the left of Operation BLUECOAT was making slow progress. The 43rd (Wessex) & 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Divisions immediately found the going between Tilly-sur-Seulles and Caumont extremely tough. The Germans had had six weeks’ grace to fortify the area and had prepared the ground well. Carefully-prepared killing grounds formed by minefields and other obstacles, covered by mutually-supporting anti-tank guns, mortars and machine-guns soon slowed the advance to a crawl, despite the best efforts of the Royal Engineers and the ‘Funnies’ of 79th Armoured Division to breach the defences. As a consequence, the ‘Desert Rats’ of 7th Armoured Division were unable to start rolling from Caumont until 1st August.
Attempting to pass between 43rd and 50th Divisions, the 7th Armoured Division struggled through narrow lanes choked by transport belonging to the two infantry divisions. Finally breaking out for the ‘Green Fields Beyond’, the 7th Armoured Division struck south-eastwards from Cahagnes, with the high ground at Breuil as their objective. However, despite their earlier losses, remnants of the 326. Infanterie-Division, backed up by some Jagdpanthers of Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654, held firm and rebuffed the 7th Armoured Division’s advance.
The repulse of 7th Armoured Division did not go unnoticed at 2nd Army Headquarters and General Dempsey was furious with everyone from XXX Corps downwards – particularly Lieutenant General Bucknall (GOC XXX Corps), Major General Erskine (GOC 7th Armoured Division) and Brigadier ‘Looney’ Hinde (OC 22nd Armoured Brigade), whose performance had been in the spotlight since the ignominious end of Operation PERCH at Villers-Bocage. Heads would roll! Bucknall and Erskine would be summoned to 2nd Army Headquarters on the following day, to be informed of their sacking and replacement. Hinde’s sacking would follow on 6th August.
II. SS-Panzer-Korps Reacts
The Germans meanwhile, were not sitting idle and were now beginning to move reinforcements to the area of the British penetration. SS-Obergruppenführer (General) Wilhelm Bittrich’s II. SS-Panzer-Korps, consisting of 9. SS-Panzer-Division ‘Hohenstaufen’, 10. SS-Panzer-Division ‘Frundsberg’ and Schwere-SS-Panzer-Abteilung 102, was ordered to move from its positions south of Caen, to the threatened sector. Hohenstaufen was on the move by mid-afternoon on 1st August, but Frundsberg and the Tigers of Hans Weiss’ Schwere-SS-Panzer-Abteilung 102, were not ready to move until nightfall.
Hohenstaufen was ordered to counter the British bridgehead at Le Bény-Bocage and the bridge at Cathéolles, in order to prevent any deeper penetration by the British VIII Corps. Weiss’ Tigers, along with Viktor Gräbner’s SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 9, would form Kampfgruppe ‘Weiss’, with orders to rush directly to Vire and there form a blocking position to plug the gap between II. SS-Panzer-Korps and II. Fallschirm-Korps. Frundsberg meanwhile, was ordered to move via Aunay-sur-Odon to the head of the Odon Valley at La Bigne, to plug the rapidly-widening gap between the crumbling 326. Infanterie-Division and 21. Panzer-Division. 21. Panzer-Division was also now brought under the command of II. SS-Panzer-Korps, so that all three panzer divisions on the eastern side of the BLUECOAT salient were under unified command.
On 2nd August, the 7th Armoured Division had another go at Breuil, this time with more success. The shattered defenders had simply had enough and scores of prisoners were taken. The infantry of 131 (Queen’s) Brigade took possession of the high ground at Breuil and pushed on further to Hill 188 and reconnoitered the village of St Georges-d’Aunay. 7th Armoured Division was now within sight of Aunay-sur-Odon, only a few miles to the east. The road to Aunay finally seemed to be opening and 5 RTR, with ‘I’ Company, 1st Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (1 RB) under command, was ordered to be prepared to move at first light on 3rd August for a probe toward the town.
Unbeknown to the Desert Rats, Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’, formed from Frundsberg‘s most mobile elements, had been rushed forward to stem their advance. SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Paetsch, the Commanding Officer of SS-Panzer-Regiment 10, was at this time ‘surplus to requirements’, as neither his Regimental HQ or his Panther battalion had yet arrived in Normandy. However, his divisional commander, SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel had a job for him; the whole division would be slow to move, so Paetsch was ordered to rush forward and insert his mobile Kampfgruppe into the gap emerging between 21. Panzer-Division (whose right flank rested on Jurques) and 326. Infanterie-Division (whose left flank was crumbling at St Georges-d’Aunay). A regiment of Werfer-Brigade 8 was also assigned to provide fire support. The rest of Frundsberg would follow on as soon as humanly possible.
Upon arriving at Aunay-sur-Odon during the afternoon of 1st August, Paetsch set to work establishing a defensive line; while Leo Reinhold’s mixed battalion of Pzkpfw IV and StuGs remained in reserve at La Roserie, Heinz Brinkmann’s SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 10 was sent forward to La Bigne (Hill 248), 1km SE of Jurques, to establish contact with Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 21 on the extreme right flank of 21. Panzer-Division. The leading elements of Wilhelm Schulze’s SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 meanwhile, were ordered to form a blocking line based on the bridge over the Odon at ‘Bassieux’ (‘Beaussieu’ on modern maps), as well as on the high ground south of Bassieux Bridge and at Hill 188, NE of Bassieux. There they would establish contact with Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 326, which was on the extreme left flank of what was left of 326. Infanterie-Division. However, the situation was already deteriorating before these movements were complete and Paetsch himself was forced to lead a small force (comprising the divisional 1. Panzer-Pionier-Kompanie and the 7. Panzer-Kompanie of Reinhold’s battalion) to reinforce Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 21, which was coming under extreme pressure from 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division at Hills 301 and 321, on the Jurques to Vire highway.
These movements were largely complete by the afternoon of 2nd August. However, it was soon discovered that the British had beaten them to Hill 188 and Basseiux. As discussed above, the 7th Armoured Division had driven Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 326 from Breuil and Hill 188 earlier that day, so despite the insertion into the line of Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’, there was still a yawning gap in the line west of Aunay-sur-Odon. Harmel, under pressure from Bittrich, who in turn was under pressure from Eberbach (GOC Panzergruppe-West) to close the gap, ordered Paetsch to re-take Hill 188 at once with the forces available to him. At 1900hrs that evening, Paetsch launched a reconnaissance-in-force on Hill 188 and Bassieux. However, the reconnaissance progressed slowly and Paetsch judged that he had insufficient forces to achieve his objective. He called off the probe to await the arrival of the rest of his Kampfgruppe.
5 RTR Probe Toward Aunay-sur-Odon
If this probe against Hill 188 and Basseiux worried the British, it doesn’t show in the official record, as it isn’t mentioned in the War Diary of 1/6th Queen’s who were occupying the area. The only other British force still present on Hill 188 was a thin screen on the road to La Lande and Aunay-sur-Odon formed by Major Peter Luke’s ‘I’ Company of 1 RB. It is not clear if Lieutenant Colonel Gus Holliman, Commanding Officer of 5 RTR, had even been made aware of the threat to his right flank, but his regiment’s mission to mount a probe toward Aunay-sur-Odon remained unchanged and they set off in thick mist, at first light on 3rd August.
Major Deryck MacDonald’s ‘A’ Squadron led the way, passing through 1/6th Queen’s positions at Hill 188 and pushing on toward their objective; Point 138, which lies 1.5km north-west of Aunay-sur-Odon. ‘A’ Squadron made good progress, reaching La Lande and Courselles, in the crook of a hairpin bend of the Villers-Bocage to Jurques railway line and surprising forty men of 326. Infanterie-Division, who promptly surrendered. However, at 0830hrs the thick mist lifted and they found themselves under clear observation from the high, German-held ridge of the Bois de Buron, south of the Odon, which in parts is over 300m high and dominates the whole area. Any movement by the tanks in the open was now accompanied by shelling.
Suddenly, contacts were being reported. ‘I’ Company, 1 RB was suddenly facing strong infantry opposition at the railway bridge in the centre of the village and No.3 Troop of ‘A’ Squadron had a very close encounter with a panzer. ‘C’ Squadron were also reporting ominous contacts with tanks. Nevertheless, ‘A’ Squadron had nearly reached its objective and ‘B’ Squadron was moving up in support. They had to bash on…
Scenario Overview
This is a large and rather ‘involved’ scenario, designed for approximately 2-4 players per side, with a large amount of troops, vehicles and terrain and fought over 25 turns. I’m not ashamed to say that this might be something of a two-day epic! However, at the end of this article I present two smaller ‘vignette’ scenarios; one covering the ill-fated attempt by 5 RTR to reach Point 138 and the second covering the defence of Hill 188 by 1/6th Queen’s; both of which should be rather more manageable for ‘normal’ people.
British Briefing
Briefing For Lieutenant Colonel Charles Alexander ‘Gus’ Holliman MC, Commanding 5th Royal Tank Regiment, 7th Armoured Division.
Situation, 1100hrs, Sunday 3rd August 1944, near St Georges-d’Aunay
The probe toward the town of Aunay-sur-Odon is going largely to plan, though enemy resistance is stiffening as your leading elements near their objective. ‘A’ Squadron has reached the village and railway crossing of La Lande and has reported taking some forty prisoners, which is excellent news. They are going firm on La Lande and the bend in the railway line, to allow ‘B’ Squadron to pass through to seize the spur of Point 138, overlooking Aunay-sur-Odon and the main Aunay to Villers-Bocage road.
Your headquarters is presently on the ‘Breuil feature’ west of St Georges-d’Aunay, where you have a grand-stand view of the operation. However, Jerry is making life rather hot for you here and your Adjutant is pressing you to move your Tactical HQ to a position with better cover.
‘C’ Squadron is in reserve near Point 188 and ‘I’ Company of 1 RB are screening the right flank of your advance, against threats from beyond the Odon at Bassieux, where the enemy was very active last night. Enemy activity to their front seems to be increasing, which is worrying. Nevertheless, the Brigadier and GOC are leaning on you to succeed and the objective is in sight, so your leading squadrons must bash on!
Mission
You are to seize and hold Point 138, with the intention of establishing a firm base for the infantry to assault Aunay-sur-Odon.
Execution
General Outline
• ‘A’ Squadron and ‘I’ Company are to go firm on their current locations, while ‘B’ Squadron moves through to take the objective and the rest of the regiment moves up in support.
• 1/6th Queen’s will dig in at Hill 188.
• 8th Hussars and elements of 1/5th Queen’s will pass through to exploit once the objective is secure.
Friendly Forces
• Your order of battle is detailed below.
• All elements of 5 RTR, 1 RB, 5 RHA and 65 AT Regt RA are rated as ‘Experienced’.
• All elements of 1/6th Queen’s are rated as ‘Trained’. The Queen’s Brigade was reportedly suffering from a severe lack of confidence by this stage of the campaign and came in for a great deal of criticism from the Tankies after this battle.
• 5 RTR is very much ‘out in the blue’ ahead of the division here. 43rd (Wessex) Division are somewhere on the right, advancing from Jurques to La Bigne, but the enemy is firmly control of the far bank of the Odon and the high ridge of the Bois de Buron beyond. Most of 7th Armoured Division is on the left, struggling up the main road toward Villers-Bocage. 8th Hussars and 1/5th Queen’s are to the rear, waiting for 5 RTR to take Point 138, so they can pass through to exploit the penetration.
Fire Support
• ‘G’ Battery (‘Mercer’s Troop’) from 5 RHA will be available in off-table Direct Support. The battery’s two FOs may either call for their own troop (half-battery) or for the whole battery. The entire regiment is available as General Support for MIKE Targets.
• The two FOs, with their Cromwell OP tanks, must each be attached to any ME or HQ Element within their deployment areas.
• The Battery Commander of ‘G’ Battery is co-located with the CO of 5 RTR. The regimental command tank may therefore call for fire as a FO.
• The artillery is hard-pressed across the front, so VICTOR Targets (i.e. divisional shoots, combining 5 RHA and 3 RHA) will not be available until Turn 15. VICTOR Targets may then be fired with a -1 Call-For-Fire modifier.
• AGRA support is not available.
• Note that a FO may not call for fire if the other FO is attempting to call for a Battery, MIKE or VICTOR Target.
• ‘G’ Battery 5 RHA has up to three rounds of smoke available (note that a single troop may for example, therefore fire six rounds of smoke if the other troop fires none). MIKE and VICTOR Target missions may not include smoke.
• Artillery fire support comes in from the western table-edge.
• 5 RHA may pre-register three Defensive Fire Target Reference Points within line of sight of 1/6th Queen’s positions. These may be used for Troop, Battery or MIKE Targets (or VICTOR Targets once they become available).
• Pre-registered Defensive Fire missions are classed as Barrages, in that they do not need to align with the table edge and will also Interdict any units attempting to move through them.
• 1/6th Queen’s Mortar Platoon is available as Organic Fire Support for elements of that battalion. These mortars may not be called by elements of ‘I’ Company, 1 RB.
• The 3-inch mortars have three rounds of smoke available.
• 2-inch mortars may fire unlimited smoke, but it always counts as ‘dispersing smoke’ for spotting purposes.
Air Support
• A flight of RAF Typhoons (i.e. one model) will become available for CAS missions on each turn from Turn 15 onward. There is no dedicated Forward Air Controller, but the 5 RHA FOs may direct CAS missions with a -1 modifier.
Deployment
• The German player will start deployment, by deploying one ME or HQ Element. Then the British player deploys one ME or HQ, then the German player again and so on, deploying alternately until all on-table MEs and HQs are deployed.
• All unit attachments must be included with an ME when it is deployed. Any attachments left over after deployment of all MEs will be deployed with the Battlegroup HQ Element.
• All units are deployed initially as hidden unit markers.
• Dummy unit markers are allocated to all MEs and HQ Elements, as per the table on Page 9 of the BF:WW2 rulebook.
• After all deployment has been completed, reveal all markers that are already within spotting distance and reveal all tanks belonging to ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons of 5 RTR (the Germans have been observing and shelling them sporadically since the mist lifted).
• HQ Squadron 5 RTR starts the game deployed within Area ‘R’.
• ‘A’ Squadron 5 RTR and one platoon (x2 Infantry and x1 Halftrack) of ‘I’ Company 1 RB starts the game deployed within Area ‘A’.
• ‘B’ Squadron 5 RTR starts the game deployed within Area ‘B’.
• ‘C’ Squadron 5 RTR starts the game deployed within Area ‘C’.
• The remainder of ‘I’ Company 1 RB starts the game deployed within Area ‘I’.
• 1/6th Queen’s start the game deployed within the Areas marked ‘QA’, ‘QB’, ‘QC’ and ‘QD’. The second letter indicates the company deployed within that area. The Battalion Tactical Headquarters is deployed with ‘B’ Company (Area ‘QB’).
• The 1/6th Queen’s Carrier Platoon and Assault Pioneer Platoon are deployed at Le Monde Ancien (Area ‘R’). All other Support Company elements (6pdr anti-tank guns and 3-inch mortars) may be deployed within any 1/6th Queen’s deployment area.
• The two anti-tank troops from 65th Anti-Tank Regiment RA may deploy within any of the 1/6th Queen’s company deployment areas and are placed on table at the same time as the ME they are deployed with. Alternatively, each troop may be split into individual detachments of 1x 17pdr & Quad or 1x M10c SP 17pdr, which will then be directly attached to an ME of the 1/6th Queen’s.
• HQ Squadron 5 RTR and all elements of 1/6th Queen’s may start the game in Improved Positions/Hull Down. The remainder of 5 RTR and 1 RB are on the move, so may not.
• 5 RTR made remarkably little use of its Recce Troop during this advance ‘into the blue’, so in this scenario the Recce Troop is grouped with the RHQ element.
• While the tanks had been able to make good their losses from Operation GOODWOOD, it was a different story in the infantry. 1/6th Queen’s and 1 RB are therefore operating at reduced strength (typically six sections per company instead of the usual nine).
Enemy Forces
• Your main opposition have been identified as the 326th Infantry Division, which is known to be a reasonably well-equipped and well-trained formation. However, they have been shattered by Operation BLUECOAT and fragmented elements of the division are fighting desperate rearguard actions in front of Villers-Bocage and Aunay-sur-Odon.
• The enemy has committed veteran panzer troops to counter Operation BLUECOAT: 43rd (Wessex) Division in particular is reported to be fighting elements of two panzer divisions south of Jurques, one of them SS. SS panzer troops also seem to have mounted last night’s probe against 1/6th Queen’s at Point 188.
• The enemy seems to be reasonably well supported by armour in this sector – Mk IV Panzers and self-propelled guns have been reported near La Lande and Bassieux, while heavy ‘Ferdinand’ self-propelled guns have been reported by other units nearby and by way of confirmation, one such wreck has been found near La Lande. However, according to the Intelligence Officer this is a new type of Ferdinand, based on the Panther chassis.
• The entire battlefield is overlooked by the high, wooded ridge of the Bois de Buron, south of the Odon. Jerry clearly has observers on those hills, as your movements have been subjected to sporadic artillery fire.
Game Sequence
• The British have the first turn.
• The game lasts 25 turns or until one side concedes.
Victory Conditions
• 1 VP for each enemy Manoeuvre Element with greater than 25% casualties OR each knocked out gun or armoured vehicle.
• 2 VP for each enemy Manoeuvre Element with greater than 50% casualties.
• 3 VP for each enemy Manoeuvre Element with greater than 75% casualties.
• 5 VP for possession of Point 138, Breuil Hill or St Georges-d’Aunay.
• 2 VP for possession of La Lande or Point 188.
• Any units captured or panicked off table count as casualties.
• Note that the VP values for objectives are different for the British and German players, so refer to your own VP chart.
• An objective is held if one side has the only un-disordered units with 6 inches of the objective.
German Briefing
Briefing for SS-Sturmbannführer Otto Paetsch, Commanding SS-Panzer-Regiment 10, 10. SS-Panzer-Division ‘Frundsberg’
Situation, 1100hrs, Sunday 3rd August 1944, west of Aunay-sur-Odon
Once again, the British have seized the initiative, with a colossal assault on our lines and once again, II. SS-Panzer-Korps are rushing to plug the gaps and restore the situation. The British broke through at St Martin-des-Besaces last week, driving a wedge deep between II. Fallschirmjäger-Korps and XLVII. Panzer-Korps and breaking out toward Vire. 21. Panzer-Division tried to stop them but failed and now Hohenstaufen is rushing to head off the British at Vire.
In the meantime, your Kampfgruppe has been sent west to plug a gap that has opened up between 21. Panzer-Division and 326. Infanterie-Division. The British are threatening to break through in this sector and if they succeed, the Führer’s planned counter-attack and indeed our entire position west of the Orne will be compromised.
Upon reaching your allotted sector at La Bigne yesterday, you found the situation to have deteriorated markedly since you were given your orders: 21. Panzer-Division was on the point of breaking, forcing you to detach a large portion of your force to restore the situation at Hill 321. In the meantime, 326. Infanterie-Division’s defence line north of the Odon has evaporated and a huge gap has opened up, through which enemy tanks and infantry have poured, to seize positions at St Georges-d’Aunay, Breuil and Hill 188.
Last night, you mounted a reconnaissance in force across the Odon, against British positions at Hill 188, but were forced to pull back in the face of stiff opposition. However, orders have now come all the way down from HQ Panzergruppe-West, instructing you to take Hill 188, to restore the situation there and to plug the gap in the line.
The landscape has been covered in a thick mist this morning, which was ideal as it concealed your movements as you prepared for the attack. As the mist clears, you are astonished to see a British armoured formation crossing the high-ground in front of you. Fixated on the town of Aunay-sur-Odon, the British commander seems to be ignoring his flanks and that is something you can use to your advantage!
Mission
You are to seize and hold Hill 188, with the intention of establishing a firm base for the panzer-grenadiers to assault and recapture St Georges-d’Aunay and Breuil Hill, thereby eliminating the British salient.
Execution
General Outline
• Your Kampfgruppe will assault northwards from the Odon valley, preceded by a barrage courtesy of Werfer-Brigade 8.
• You have entrusted this attack to Leo Reinhold’s panzer battalion and Wilhelm Wolter’s panzer-grenadier battalion.
• You have managed to contact 326. Infanterie-Division. They assure you that they will do their best to halt the British drive on Aunay-sur-Odon and will also attempt to mount a spoiling attack in the St Georges-d’Aunay sector, in concert with your own attack. However, they don’t have any artillery to spare and the only infantry they have available are the raw recruits of the divisional replacement battalion. Nevertheless, they do have the assistance of an understrength company of Jagdpanthers.
• Elements of 326. Infanterie-Division (including some StuGs) at La Lande are already doing their best to blunt the British advance on Aunay-sur-Odon.
Friendly Forces
• Your order of battle is detailed below.
• If desired, a company can be swapped between Reinhold’s panzer battalion and Wolter’s panzer-grenadier battalion before the start of the scenario, to create two combined-arms battalion-sized kampfgruppen.
• All elements of Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’ and Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 are classed as Veteran.
• Panzerjäger-Abteilung 326 are classed as Experienced.
• The infantry element of the Blocking Detachment from 326. Infanterie-Division is classed as Trained.
• Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 326 is classed as Raw.
• The advanced elements of your Kampfgruppe are holding La Bigne and Hill 321 on your left, with 21. Panzer-Division beyond them. The rest of your Kampfgruppe is still on the march. The remnants of 326. Infanterie-Division are holding Aunay-sur-Odon on your right.
Fire Support
• Elements of Werfer-Brigade 8 are standing by to lay down a preparatory barrage ahead of your advance. Their ammunition is extremely limited, so the brigade will only be able to give you a single salvo. This will consist of eight Large indirect fire templates, arranged four templates wide and two deep, aligned in any direction (+0 vV & +1 vTGsV). You must pre-register the location and timing of this barrage prior to the start of the game, after the British player deploys his units.
• Werfer templates may not be concentrated and may not thicken other fire missions.
• The 1. Battery of I./SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 10 is equipped with Wespe SP 105mm howitzers, which are available in Direct Support. The battery has a FO that must be attached to an ME or HQ Element.
• The Wespe battery has two rounds of smoke available.
• You also have observers up on the high ridge of the Bois de Buron, where they have a panoramic view of the battlefield and are reporting targets of opportunity to the artillery as they see them. To simulate this, any British vehicle moving in open terrain will be automatically spotted by observers on the Bois de Buron ridge. These observers may then direct a maximum of one 105mm battery per turn to fire a Shelling fire mission at the spotted vehicles (-1 vV & +0 vTGsV). Call for fire as General Fire Support. May not fire concentrations, smoke or thicken other fire missions.
• 17. (sIG) Kompanie of SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 is also available in Direct Support. It is very well equipped, with x4 15cm infantry guns. The company has a FO that must be attached to an ME or HQ Element.
• 17. Kompanie may not be used to thicken other fire missions.
• 17. Kompanie has four rounds of smoke available.
• The panzer-grenadier company Sdkfz 251/2 8cm mortar carriers are available as Organic Support to that company. They may not be used in conjunction with other mortars unless additional mortars are directly attached to that company from the battalion’s Heavy Company. Each mortar has two rounds of smoke.
• The panzer-grenadier battalion 8cm mortars, 7.5cm infantry guns and Sdkfz 251/9 self-propelled 7.5cm guns are available as Organic Support to their respective battalions. They may alternatively be directly attached to front-line companies. Each mortar or gun has two rounds of smoke.
• The ‘Stuka zu Fuss’ belonging to 4. Kompanie, I./SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 may only fire over open sights, at directly-observed targets (though using indirect fire templates). They must first be emplaced. They may not be called in by an observer and they may not concentrate their fire. These are one-shot weapons and after firing function simply as MG-armed halftracks.
Air Support
• You will not be surprised to learn that you have no Close Air Support available to you.
Deployment
• The German player will start deployment, by deploying one ME or HQ Element. Then the British player deploys one ME or HQ, then the German player again and so on, deploying alternately until all on-table MEs and HQs are deployed.
• All units are deployed initially as hidden unit markers.
• Dummy unit markers are allocated to all MEs and HQ Elements, as per the table on Page 9 of the BF:WW2 rulebook.
• After all deployment has been completed, reveal all markers that are already within spotting distance.
• All elements of Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’ must be deployed south of line A-B or may arrive as reinforcements on the table-edge within this area.
• All elements of the 326. Infanterie-Division Blocking Detachment must be deployed within Area C.
• One company of Feld-Ersatz-Abteilung 326 may be deployed within Area F.
• The artillery are deployed off-table to the south. Their FOs and associated OP tanks must be attached to an on-table ME or HQ Element of Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’.
• The 15cm infantry guns may be deployed on or off-table. Their FO must be attached to an on-table ME or HQ Element of Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’.
• All 8cm mortars, 7.5cm infantry guns, Sdkfz 251/2 and Sdkfz 251/9 must be deployed on-table and emplaced in order to perform indirect fire.
Enemy Forces
• Your main opposition have been identified, from the ‘Desert Rat’ worn on the arms of prisoners taken last night, as the British 7th Armoured Division. They seem to be present in roughly battalion strength, including approximately two companies of tanks.
Reinforcements
• Roll a D10 at the start of each German turn for the arrival of the remaining company of Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 326 and the Jagdpanthers of the understrength 2./Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654. They will arrive on a roll of 8, 9 or 0, on the table edge between points D & E.
• The original version of this scenario included Paetsch’s two reserve (motorised) panzer-grenadier battalions as optional reinforcements that could be committed at the expense of Victory Points (VPs). However, from more recent research, it does not seem that these battalions were committed to the battle and the scenario is complicated enough as it is!
• Some sources (notably Paetsch’s citation for the Knight’s Cross) record that the pioneer company present with Paetsch was actually 1. Kompanie (Gepanzert), Panzer-Pionier-Abteilung 10 and not the regimental 19. (Pionier) Kompanie. However, other sources record that this unit had already been sent to help stabilise the situation at La Bigne. If you want to replace the motorised pioneers with their armoured brethren, replace the MG42 LMG sections with two additional Pioneer sections (1 with flame), add 1x Panzerschreck section and replace the trucks with 3x Sdkfz 251/7 pioneer halftracks, 2x Sdkfz 251/1 and 1x Sdkfz 251/2.
Game Sequence
• The British have the first turn.
• The game lasts 25 turns or until one side concedes.
Victory Conditions
• 1 VP for each enemy Manoeuvre Element with greater than 25% casualties OR each knocked out gun or armoured vehicle.
• 2 VP for each enemy Manoeuvre Element with greater than 50% casualties.
• 3 VP for each enemy Manoeuvre Element with greater than 75% casualties.
• 5 VP for possession of Point 188, Breuil Hill or St Georges-d’Aunay.
• 2 VP for possession of La Lande or Point 138.
• Any units captured or panicked off table count as casualties.
• Note that the VP values for objectives are different for the British and German players, so refer to your own VP chart.
• An objective is held if one side has the only un-disordered units with 6 inches of the objective.
Terrain Notes
Here’s the map with the troop deployment-areas removed for clarity. The map is scaled to the usual Battlefront: WWII ground-scale for 15mm models, so each red/black border division is 12 inches on the table, representing 0.5km. The table is therefore 8 feet x 6 feet, representing 4km x 3km and is taken from the 1944 British Army Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps of the area, as well as an aerial recce photo and our own personal recce of the ground.
Yes, it is a very dense map that is going to be quite an investment in terrain models. Believe it or not, I’ve actually removed around one-third of the field-boundaries and hedges in order to de-clutter the map!
Contours always cause problems unless you’ve got an expensive terrain system like Geo-Hex. However, in order to simplify things, place a single, large hill on the western side of the map to represent Breuil Hill, with spurs extending at least as far as Hill 188 and the chateau at St Georges-d’Aunay. South of the River Odon, the slope drops from the high ridge of the Bois du Buron, so it can be automatically assumed that there is a line of sight to/from any German units that aren’t conformed to the rear edge of dense concealment.
1. There is an appropriate crossing (level crossing, over-bridge or underpass) wherever roads cross the railway line. Any units using a road to cross the railway may therefore cross at normal road speed.
2. Units may travel along the railway if they wish. Troops will move at full cross-country speed, while vehicles and guns will travel at half cross-country speed. However, units travelling along embanked railway will be spotted with an additional +1 spotting modifier.
3. There are bridges wherever a road crosses a stream, river or railway cutting and wherever an embanked railway crosses a road or stream.
4. Some built-up sectors are châteaux (marked with a C) or Church Towers (marked with a †). These are one level higher than the surrounding terrain and Troop units positioned within them will gain that height advantage when spotting.
5. Embanked Railway is assumed to be one level higher than the surrounding terrain.
6. Some degree of common sense is needed with regard to Railway Cuttings and Embankments. Troops can effectively use them as a trench or breastwork (albeit one that can be easily enfiladed) and can therefore observe and shoot over the edge. Vehicles and Guns may not.
7. Where a road passes between two Built-Up Sectors, the road becomes ‘Streets’ terrain-type.
8. It’s not all that easy to make out the difference between boundary-types on the map, but to save you a headache, the only area of High Hedges is surrounding the large orchard on the SW edge of St Georges-d’Aunay. The only areas of High Walls are the boundary surrounding the St Georges-d’Aunay Château and the field surrounding an isolated building to the NE of the L’Abbaye Château, in the SE corner of the map. Everything else is Low Hedges.
9. There is a very distinct crest-line along the main highway from around Point 188 to Le Manoir. This is marked with a dashed line.
‘Vignette’ Scenario Options
The full scenario is a fairly major undertaking in terms of model tanks, figures and terrain pieces. However, the scenario can be split into two smaller ‘vignettes’; one covering the desperate fight for survival by ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons of 5 RTR in La Lande and the other covering Paetsch’s assault on St Georges d’Aunay.
Vignette Scenario No.1 – La Lande
• This scenario uses only the Southeast corner of the map, with a table size of 5 feet North-South and 4 feet East-West (see below).
• The British player has only ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons 5 RTR, plus the platoon of 1 RB deployed with ‘A’ Squadron (designate one Infantry unit as the platoon commander). There is no artillery support.
• The German player has the Blocking Detachment from 326. Infanterie-Division, plus a Kampfgruppe from 10. SS, comprising x1 Commander with Sdkfz 251/3, x1 company of Pzkpfw IV, x1 company of panzer-grenadiers, up to x3 support attachments (plus transport) from the heavy weapons company, x1 Sdkfz 10/4 2cm Flak vehicle and the battery of Wespe or the sIG company as off-table Direct Support (FO and transport must be attached to one of the on-table companies).
• The German player will receive reinforcements from Feld-Erstz-Bataillon 326, but these will comprise only x1 infantry company and x1 Jagdpanther.
• The German player may commit a reserve battalion to the attack using the method described above. Alternatively this may be disregarded if you are short on time or models.
Vignette Scenario No.2 – Hill 188
• This scenario uses only the western half of the map, giving a table size of 6 feet North-South and 4 feet East-West (see below).
• The British player has his entire force, minus ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons 5 RTR and a single platoon from ‘I’ Company, 1 RB.
• The German player has all the troops in Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch‘s order of battle, minus x1 company of Pzkpfw IV, x1 company of panzer-grenadiers, x3 support attachments from the heavy company (selected at random) plus transport, x1 Wespe or sIG battery, x1 Sdkfz 10/4 2cm Flak vehicles and all elements of the 326. Infanterie-Division Blocking Detachment. The single company of Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 326 is deployed in St Georges d’Aunay.
• If reinforcements from Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 326 arrive, roll again. The reinforcements will go elsewhere on a roll of 1-3 and will not be available.
The Historical Outcome
As mentioned above, elements of ‘I’ Company 1 RB and Roy Dixon’s No.3 Troop of ‘A’ Squadron 5 RTR had encountered the enemy at the railway bridge in La Lande, resulting in the destruction of a Panzer IV. However, more panzers were joining the fight and were now engaging Dixon’s troop from different directions.
No.4 Troop in the meantime, had reached the objective at Point 138 and had begun shelling German transport moving along the main Aunay l’Odon to Villers-Bocage highway. However, they were exposed in the open and German artillery soon began to land around them, forcing them to withdraw to cover along the railway line.
With ‘A’ Squadron coming under increasing pressure from up to twenty enemy tanks around La Lande, Lt Col Holliman fed ‘B’ Squadron into the battle there. However, panzer-grenadiers had also joined the battle, capturing Le Manoir from ‘I’ Company and working their way closer to 5 RTR’s tanks, in order to strike at them with their panzerfausts. To make matters worse, a second enemy force was now reported to be attacking from the north, being mainly infantry with a few ‘Ferdinands’ (i.e. Jagdpanthers).
At 1450hrs, a determined German attack developed against 1/6th Queen’s at Point 188. A 17pdr of 257 Anti-Tank Battery RA, deployed in the ‘B’ Company sector, destroyed a Panzer IV and the rest of the attack was beaten off. However, having identified the British anti-tank gun positions, the Germans renewed their attack forty minutes later, this time in greater force and preceded by an artillery barrage and smoke screen. The barrage succeeded in destroying ‘several’ 257 Battery 17pdrs and three of the four M10c self-propelled 17pdrs from 258 Battery.
Despite Defensive Fire missions fired by the RHA and air-strikes called in by the artillery FOOs, by 1600hrs the Queen’s ‘D’ Company and part of ‘B’ Company had been overrun by tanks and infantry, forcing ‘A’ Company and the remainder of ‘B’ Company to withdraw to better positions. At 1700hrs it was reported that the attack was being held and by 1900hrs the situation was reported as ‘quiet’. Nevertheless, 131 Brigade ordered the withdrawal of 1/6th Queen’s to better positions near St Georges-d’Aunay, thus relinquishing Point 188 to the Germans.
In the meantime, ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons of 5 RTR had been forced to fall back to the cover of some orchards near Courcelles. They were now completely cut off from RHQ and ‘C’ Squadron by enemy panzer-grenadiers and roaming panzers. ‘C’ Squadron was also under fire from ‘tanks’ (probably Jagdpanthers) at St Georges-d’Aunay and was forced to aid the 1/6th Queen’s in the defence of their positions, and so could do little to aid the isolated squadrons.
As night fell, the tanks of ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons, devoid of infantry support, became easy prey for the prowling panzer-grenadiers and their panzerfausts, who claimed a steady toll of victims. Nevertheless, several individual tanks and one complete troop did manage to break out of the encirclement and made it back to RHQ and the RHA attempted to keep enemy heads down with barrages at likely forming-up points.
At last during the early hours of 4th August, the last twelve remaining tanks of ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons, covered by a barrage from the RHA, broke out and drove hell-for-leather for friendly lines. Nine of these tanks made it to friendly lines.
During the Battle of La Lande, 5 RTR had suffered the loss of 7 dead, 23 wounded and 8 missing, with 8 tanks permanently lost (the Germans reported 7 British tanks destroyed). 1/6th Queen’s reported the immediate loss of 23 dead, 36 wounded and 87 missing. 65th Anti-Tank Regiment reported the loss of 15 missing and ’34 casualties’ (it’s not clear if the 15 missing are included in this number), as well as 3 M10c self-propelled 17pdr and ‘several’ towed 17pdr guns. 5 RHA suffered the loss of one of its Cromwell OP tanks, with the troop commander being killed and one crewman being wounded. The Germans claimed to have taken 130 PoW.
German losses in terms of personnel are largely unknown, though in terms of tanks they started the battle with 20x Pzkpfw IV and 15x StuG III being operational. By 5th August this number had been reduced by 50% to 10x Pzkpfw IV and 7x StuG III (this number includes the StuGs of Riedel’s 7. Kompanie, which was detached to La Bigne). 5 RTR reported taking around 40 PoW during the early stages of the battle (all from 326th Infantry Division, plus one from 654th Heavy Anti-Tank Battalion).
Once the dust had settled, ‘A’ & ‘B’ Squadrons of 5 RTR were temporarily amalgamated while the large number of damaged tanks were repaired and casualties replaced. Similarly, the remnants of 1/6th Queen’s ‘D’ Company, which alone had lost 69 men, was absorbed into ‘B’ Company and would not be reformed until late November. However, there were other less obvious casualties; many men, including officers and SNCOs had been described during the battle as ‘bomb happy’ or ‘refusing to soldier’ (i.e. those we would now consider to be suffering from sever PTSD). On 17th August forty men in 5 RTR were replaced by new blood and it was a similar story in 1/6th Queen’s.
The new General Officer Commanding 7th Armoured Division, Major General Gerald Lloyd-Verney immediately conducted a review of his new division and was dismayed at what he found. He described 1 RTR and 5 RTR as ‘no longer having a go’, while 1 RB was ‘in a bad way’ and 131 (Queen’s) Brigade was ‘the worst of all’. Indeed, the Tankies were extremely angry at the infantry for what they perceived as their failure to hold Hill 188, thus allowing 5 RTR to be surrounded. A short time after La Lande, one of the Queen’s COs reported that he would have to cancel an attack, as his companies had simply ‘melted away’ on the start-line!
From the German point of view, Kampfgruppe ‘Paetsch’ had bloodied the nose of the Desert Rats and had kicked them off Hill 188 (earning Paetsch the Knight’s Cross). However, they then evacuated that location almost immediately and Aunay-sur-Odon fell to the British two days later anyway, so it’s difficult to see what the point was of Paetsch’s attack. That being said, the blunting of 7th Armoured Division’s advance gave the Germans two days’ respite, during which they were able to extricate and rally what was left of 326. Infanterie-Division and 21. Panzer-Division, while moving 10. SS-Panzer-Division ‘Frundsberg’ yet again, this time to counter the main British penetration near Vire.
Models
The models pictured in the article are 15mm models by various manufacturers, from the collections of Paddy Green, Richard de Ferrars and myself, pictured during some of our Big Bovvy Bash games at Bovington Tank Museum.