All,
Ambush at Abbeville, #5
0815 28 May 1940
Following the fighting in and around Flavion, KG Klink was briefly pulled out of the line to rest, refit, perform maintenance on their weapons, machines, and equipment, and bring in a few replacements. They were actually parked outside the Dunkirk perimeter when they were called back to action; further south, German forces had forced a crossing on the Somme. At 0600 27 on May, the Allies counterattacked the German bridgehead, striking the German 57th Infantry Division southwest of Abbeville, in an attempt to reach the encircled Allied troops at Dunkirk.
Unbeknownst to the Germans, the French French 4e DCr (or 4th Division Cuirassee, 4th Armored Division) arrived in the battle area that evening. The French force, heavily armed with Char B1, Somua S-35, and Hotchkiss light tanks, immediately set about reorganizing, preparing to attack on the morning of 28 May.
But KG Klink moved all through the night in order to reach the battle area. arriving at approximately 0500 on 28 May. The plan was for KG Klink to counterattack down the Blangy-Abbevile Road, hoping to flank the French 2e DLC (2nd Cavalry Division), maybe even cut all the way across and in behind the British 51st Highland Division, cutting off the British 1st Armored Division. With that, KG Klink set off, passing through the German 217th Infantry Regiment, launching its attack down the Blangy-Abbeville Road. KG Klink passed through Villers sur Mareuil, then Huppy, and were moving towards St Maxent en Vimeu, when they encountered trouble near the three (fictional) villages, Dujour, Deture, and Toujour, on the River Bleu.
The first fight saw Colonel Klink lead the 1st Grenadier Platoon, supported by Stugs, in the attack on Dujours. Repulsed, they were reinforced by the 4th Grenadier Platoon and drove the French force back onto Hill 54.
The second fight saw 1st Lt Tausch, lead his 3rd Grenadier Platoon into the assault on Hill 34. The attack stalled in several locations, but the Lieutenant's skillful leadership maneuvered his troops until they were able to unhinge the enemy's defensive line.
The third fight saw the Reconnaissance Company Commander, 1Lt Wehner, seize the bridge at Deture after some very heavy street fighting.
The fourth fight saw Colonel Klink go down in a blaze of glory atop Hill 54, the remainder of his Stugs and 1st Grenadier Platoon chewed to pieces, though still able to force the French off the hilltop.
The fifth fight sees Major Schultz, the Kampgruppe Executive Officer (and now Acting CO, he just doesn't know it yet) leading a pincer attack on objective, the French village of Toujour, with the 4th Grenadier Platoon on the left and the 1st Panzer Platoon on the right.
The overall area of operations, and that stupid north-seeking arrow at top right is incorrect, north is to far left... The three villages are, from left to right: Dujour, Deture, and Toujour, and the hills are, from left to right: Hill 34, Hill 44, and Hill 54. The River Bleu runs east-west down the center of the table.
My intent is to play a series of battles on a 6' x 4' layout, using small pieces, maybe 2' x 2' with 10mm troops. I've gone back to my old standby, Ivan's "5Core Company Command."
The fifth fight is Major Schultz leading the 4th Grenadier Platoon and 1st Panzer Platoon in an attack on the village of Toujour, the ultimate objective of this operation. The red arrow shows the basic access of attack, though it's a bit off. In reality, Maj Schultz will lead the infantry from the northeast (top center right), while Lt Schiffer will lead his tanks from the northwest (just above and to the left of Hill 54).
The German force:
CO: Major Schultz (Iron Cross 2nd Class), acting Kampfgruppe Commander
-1st Panzer Platoon Leader: 2Lt Schiffer
V2: Sgt Zedler
V3: Sgt Mettner
V4: Cpl Gruden
V5: Cpl Peske
-4th Grenadier Platoon Leader: Sgt Imhofe (Iron Class 2nd Class)
1st Squad: Sgt Kandler
2nd Squad: Cpl Rishel
3rd Squad: Cpl Brauer
4th Squad: LCpl Rayle
2 x 25mm Anti-Tank Gun
1 x 75mm Field Gun
1 x 81mm Mortar (atop Hill 54, tormenting the German Reconnaissance Company with harassing fire in Deture, but now with ammo replenished for the defense of Toujour)
The battle area, looking south from the majestic River Bleu. Major Schultz has 4th Grenadier Platoon in a wedge formation at far left, moving on Toujour (top center), as Lt Schiffer has his tanks at far right.
The French, holding the high ground of Hill 54 (top right) have been witness to all the German maneuvering for the attack, and thus have been able to shift their defenses to meet the German infantry on their right and the German tanks on their left.
The German infantry assault, from left: 4th Squad, 2nd Squad, Major Schultz, the Platoon Commander, 1st Squad, and 3rd Squad.
The German panzer platoon, from left: Panzer 4, Panzer 2, the Platoon Commander, Panzer 3, and Panzer 5 (just realized there are three Panzer IIs and two Panzer Is). Sgt Keck's Panzer II, with the Reconnaissance Company, is at bottom left, in reserve for this attack.
The French have their mortar atop Hill 54 (bottom right), then ATG 1 between the houses at top right, and another ATG in the field at center right top, with a rifle squad to protect it.
They've placed their 75mm Field Gun (bottom right) in defilade behind Hill 54, able to deliver fire on the German infantry (top left) or into the flank of the German armored thrust (far left). The French MGs are up high, on the second floors of the two buildings at far right, while their rifle squads are spread out, pushed to the right (top).
The look from the French Field Gun.
The French machine gun positions on each side of the road, three squads of infantry in the fields (center left top, with ATG 2, top center right, and top right), with the last in the house at center right.
The opposite look at the French infantry, and this time you can see their Commanding Officer (far left).
And with that, it's time to fight!
Suddenly, as the German tanks are gearing up for the assault, a lone French rifle squad sneaks down off of Hill 54, creeping up on Panzer 5. They quickly light Molotov cocktails...
Then toss them, taking out the German tank! The crew bails, pulling out their badly burned leader, Cpl Peske!
Sgt Keck, in the village, quickly dispatches the French infantry.
*Just like the last damn game, the French start with a 'scurry,' but then also roll up a Random Event, this time "Tank Hunters," allowing them to get a free shot in. It didn't really matter if the French squad survived or not, either way they were going away, in game terms.
Frustrated, Lt Schiffer yells into his mike, "Panzers, forward!" then rolls forward, firing his 20mm cannon at the French ATG in town (the other is just visible behind the wooden fence at top left), suppressing them.
As the rest of his panzer move up to join him.
But as they (top center) do, they run into the French Field Gun's field of fire, which he does, though he misses.
On the German left, LCpl Rayle's squad (bottom far left) fires on the French 4th Squad...
The fire is ineffective, and the French return fire, but it is also ineffective.
And as the two exchange fire, Major Schultz leads the rest of 4th Platoon forward.
The French MG 2 (right) sights in and lays into the German infantry, exposed as they cross the fields.
Sgt Imhofe's command section is suppressed and Cpl Rishel's squad is pinned down by the French machine gun fire!
And then the French mortar team (bottom right) begins pounding the hapless German infantry (top left), suppressing Sgt Kandler's 1st Squad. "What in the hell??? I thought Hill 54 was cleared earlier???" says Major Schultz.
Then the French ATG 2, in the fields, fires on Sgt Zedler's Panzer 2...
KA-BOOM!!! Sgt Zedler's crew pulls his badly wounded body out of the burning panzer.
As the French Field Gun takes a shot at Lt Schiffer's panzer and misses.
And the French CO moves over to rally his ATG 1, getting them back in the fight.
Sgt Mettner, finally ascertaining the location of that pesky French Field Gun (just off camera to right bottom), gets his panzer in gear and pushes deep right (far right, from left)...
POM-POM-POM goes Sgt Mettner's 20mm cannon...
But the rounds totally miss! The French gunners slam another shell into the breech and fire!
BOOM! Sgt Mettner bail out and hoof it for safety as Lt Schiffer (top left) looks on.
Then Cpl Gruden pushes his tank forward, practically to point-blank range (center), firing on ATG 2...
The German tank misses, and ATG 2 returns fire.
Cpl Gruden's panzer is immobilized and they bail out!
On the left, Major Schultz sets about getting 4th Grenadier Platoon back into fighting shape. Sgt Kandler and Cpl Rishel's squads are good to go, Sgt Imhofe's command section is 'up' to pinned.
*Since he was close enough to all three, I let the German CO attempt to rally all three pinned/suppressed elements, but at a penalty (more difficult to get them back to 'good').
And as he soon as he was satisfied, Major Schultz pushed the entire platoon forward!
But on the way, the French MG 2 (bottom right) again opened fire on them.
But the stalwart Germans pushed through the incoming hail of machine gun rounds, with Major Schultz leading Cpl Rishel's squad into contact with the French 4th Squad (German 4th Squad at far left). From either side of the hedge, rifles, pistols, and submachine guns are fired, grenades and insults are flung...
The French squad is put out of action!
Major Schultz pushes 2nd Squad forward...
And the French 3rd Squad takes them under fire, but it's ineffective as they're too worried about getting swamped by the entire German platoon rushing at them!
Freshly rallied, the French ATG 1 (bottom right) fires on Lt Schiffer's panzer...
Lt Schiffer's panzer is blasted to kingdom come, and it's only through much hard and dangerous effort that his crew is able to remove his broken body from the burning tank. Sadly, Lt Schiffer would lose both legs and an arm to the destruction of his panzer...
Major Schultz is on the radio to Lt Wehner and his Reconnaissance Company: "Help! We need help, now! Send reinforcements, now!"
As the German infantry close on the French defenses (top left), the French mortar team (bottom right) continues to pound them...
And the mortar rounds pound Cpl Brauer's 3rd Squad (bottom left) into submission, wounding the squad leader and causing him to miss about 30 days of action.
The French MG 2 (bottom center) opens fire on Major Schultz and 2nd Squad (top right) pinning Cpl Rishel and his men.
LCpl Rayle moves his squad up to help relieve pressure on Sgt Imhofe's command section (center, with Cpl Rishel's 2nd Squad at top right and Sg Kandler's 1st Squad at left).
And the French 3rd Squad opens fire on them...
Pinning LCpl Rayle's squad and keeping them from assisting Sgt Imhofe (left). Major Schultz curses under his breath, then gets to work, screaming and kicking Cpl Rishel and his men in the ass. "Get up, get up! Fire your weapon! You are German soldiers, for God's sake!"
It doesn't work, at least not fully, some of Cpl Rishel's men are still clearly shaken, but the situation is getting out of hand, but one more push could just get the Germans there, and so Major Schultz leads them forward into close combat with the French 3rd Squad...
But it's a bridge too far! The gallant Frenchmen stand their ground and drop the audacious/desperate Germans in their tracks!!! Major Schultz is lightly wounded, needing medical attention and he'll miss about ten days of action, but right now he's pinned down under the French guns and dare not move, while Cpl Rishel is barely holding onto life. He would survive to be evacuated, but would spend the better part of the next year recuperating from his wounds.
Sgt Kandler sees Major Schultz and 2nd Squad go down; "Dammit. No one is coming, kamerads, it's up to us. Let's go!" Without another sound, 1st Squad is on its feet and moving forward (center, from far left, with 4th Squad and the Command Section at top left)...
The French 2nd Squad (bottom right) sees the German squad suddenly rise up and rush at the nearby French anti-tank gun (far left); "shift fire, shift fire, enemy infantry, 12 o'clock, point blank range, engage, engage!!!"
But Sgt Kandler's inspirational leadership holds the Germans together despite the withering fire, and they close on the French anti-tank gun!
Sgt Kandler's boys knock out the anti-tank gun...
Then immediately wheel and burst into the house, closing with the French 2nd Squad!
Sgt Kandler's men are again victorious! They hear gunfire to the east (right), and recall that the French have another rifle squad there...
So they burst out of the house and crash into the flank of the French 3rd Squad!
Knocking them out of the fight!
But as they pause to catch their breath (center top right), the French MG 2 (bottom left) spots them and opens fire...
But the rounds sail high and the Germans sprint to close the distance, getting as close as they can so the French can't depress the gun to target them.
Further north, Lt Wehner, the Reconnaissance Company Commander, here's of Major Schultz being knocked out of action and assumes command. "All Recce infantry, stand fast. All Recce vehicles, follow me."
And with that, Lt Wehner leads his three vehicles (a Panzer II and two Sdkz 222s) up the road to Toujour.
Of course, the French anti-tank gun in the village (the anti-tank gun in the fields was just overrun by Sgt Kandler's squad) sights down the road and fires...
Sgt Keck's Panzer II is hit and immobilized, but his screw stays in the tank, though shaken up.
On the French right, with all their supporting infantry swallowed up by that insane band of marauding Germans (Sgt Kandler and his men, just visible, though a bit blurry, at far right, at the corner of the building), the French MG 2 abandons the house, moving east (bottom left, just below the French ATG and CO), tryiing to escape across the street.
But the French 1st Squad leader (they were in the field with the ATG, bottom left) recognizes a possible opening in the German position! While there is, indeed, a band of wild and crazy Germans rampaging around, kicking ass (top right, behind the yellow house), off camera to top left the Germans have a couple pinned down units that are ripe for exploitation, so he maneuvers his squad up there (top left).
The French halt and open fire on Sgt Ihofe's command section and LCpl Rayle's 4th Squad.
LCpl Rayle and his squad is gunned down, with Rayle dead before he hit the ground.
Enraged, Sgt Imhofe and his command team charge the French squad!
And eliminate them in close combat.
They quickly break into the house (center right) that 1st Squad (just visible at bottom left) previously cleared.
Back on the road, Lt Wehner moves up and rallies Sgt Keck's crew.
Cpl Edst maneuvers his way forward, pushing off the road to the east (far right, from the road at center left)...
He (bottom center, with Sgt Keck's Panzer II at bottom left) acquires the French ATG (top right) and opens fire.
The remaining French ATG is knocked out, and their CO and MG 2 are suppressed!
And with Cpl Edst's (off camera to top right) ferocious bout of fire, Sgt Kandler moves his squad up to the second floor of the yellow building (top left, from bottom left). 1st Squad quickly gets into position over the French CO and MG team, and it only takes one hand grenade dropped...
Before the exhausted Frenchmen throw up their hands!
In the southwest, the French Field Gun crew limbers up and skedaddles.
The French mortar team, atop Hill 54, marvels at the fact the Germans still don't seem to care about securing the hilltop, and keep popping mortar rounds down into the village.
Making life tough on the Germans as they attempt to consolidate their positions, reorganize, and evacuate the wounded.
Lt Wehner, the senior German officer in the battle area, is shouting orders to his men, when suddenly there is a series of low, mechanical noises. "What is that? What is that?" The Lieutenant pulls his binoculars to his eyes and peers through. Unable to see anything, he climbs up on the hood of his halftrack and tries again...
"Fall back! Fall back! Go, now, fall back!" And with that, the infantry begin moving back towards the bridge as the armored vehicles hold security. "Hurry, hurry, fall back!"
The infantry get across the bridge and the vehicles begin moving back.
As Lt Wehner reached the bridge, he ordered his motorcycle troops to mount up and fall back, his armored vehicles again pulling security. The remnants of the 4th Grenadier Platoon begin climbing Hill 44 (top left) to join the German forces there (the remnants of 1st Grenadier Platoon).
The Reconnaissance Company falls back to the north, past Hill 44 (top right).
As French tanks pour onto the battlefield via the village, Toujour, recently taken and abandoned by the Germans.
In the west, three H39 light tanks.
In the east, two S-35 medium tanks.
And in the center, three of the monstrous Char B1 heavy tanks, chugging north, right down main street.
Well, that was an ass-whooper. The Germans were once again successful, once again by the skin of their teeth. To be fair, with the force ratios (attacker vs defender) haven't been much in the attacker's favor, but the French defense has been pretty stout, particularly against the German vehicles, where all five tanks of the 1st Panzer Platoon were knocked out, and Sgt Keck's recce panzer was immobilized and abandoned when Lt Wehner gave the order to fall back. Then you have Major Schultz and the bulk of the German infantry being gunned down, the victory carried almost solely by Sgt Kandler's close assaults made out of desperation and some fancy shooting by Cpl Edst's armored car. But all for naught as the French tanks of their 4th Armored Division finally make their appearance on the battlefield.
Germans: ~50 KIA/WIA, 6 Panzers destroyed
French: ~45 KIA/WIA, 10 captured, two 25mm ATG destroyed
Of the named characters, seven were hit:
Major Schultz, KG Commander, WIA, out for 10 days
LCpl Rayle, 4th Squad, KIA
Cpl Rishel, 2nd Squad, WIA, out for 190 days
Cpl Brauer, 3rd Squad, WIA, out for 30 days
Lt Schiffer, 1st Panzer Platoon Commander, WIA, permanently disabled
Sgt Zedler, Vehicle 2, WIA, out for 90 days
Cpl Peske, Vehicle 5, WIA, out for 40 days
Sgt Kandler was decorated for leading close assaults that eliminated two French rifle squads and one anti-tank gun crew, and captured a French machine gun team and their commander, breaking the back of the defense in Toujour.
Lt Wehner quickly sent word back to Captain Bohm to bring his Panzer Company forward to meet the French tanks. The Captain responded that his company was not concentrated, but that he would send what he had now and the rest would just have to catch up. Coming up next.
You really are not having much luck with your armour - 6 gone, and so quickly! Assaulting a village is never easy as you show and if the French MG2 had rolled better dice I think it would have been a longer and harder game. My town assaults only seem to be successful about 50% of the time :-(
ReplyDeleteShaun,
DeleteIndeed, it ain't no fun trying to dig infantry out of a town, with getting into the town only half the problem! I figured some folks would question the tactic of having a tank platoon essentially 'charge' the town, but in reading the 'Panzer Aces' books, it came up time and again in France and the Soviet Union.
V/R,
Jack
Yes, I read that and a few others and am surprised how often tanks went into towns.
DeleteI can imagine a tank crew hearing they are to support Klink "No, anything but that! The survival rate for panzers under Klink is the lowest in France!".
I'm afraid I must take issue with that, though this campaign has been trying. Just wait til we get to the Eastern Front! ;)
DeleteV/R,
Jack