KG Klink in Greece, Fight #10

All,

Afternoon, 13 April 1941

Here we are, continuing Kampfgruppe Klink's campaign in Greece.  The first battle saw Captain Freitag's 1st Schutzen Battlegroup take a key mountain crossroads manned by members of the British Royal Engineers supported by Armored Cavalry from New Zealand.  The fight saw the Germans infantry nearly eliminate the Commonwealth battlegroup, which fell back in disarray.  Captain Freitag pressed his advantage, immediately pursuing south down, where it ran into defensive positions manned by the remnants of the New Zealand 21st Infantry Battalion.  1st Schutzen then evicted the NZ 21st Inf Bn from its positions, forcing them to fall back.  The third fight saw 1st Lt Ginter's 2nd Schutzen moving secure a crossing over the D3 bridge, forcing the 27th MG Battalion back.  The fourth fight saw Major Bohm's 2nd Recce Battlegroup push back the Australian 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment after some fierce fighting.  The fifth battle saw Captain Freitag's beleaguered 1st Schutzen Battlegroup defend the B3 bridgehead against attacks by the British Rangers/9th King's Royal Rifle Corps, and the Royal Engineers/New Zealand Cavalry, pushing the former back and destroying the latter!  The sixth battle saw Battlegroup Wehner (1st Recce) attack and destroy the Lee Force/Australian 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, though they suffered so many casualties they were in then combined with the 2nd Recce battlegroup.  The seventh fight saw Lt Loeb's Panzers absolutely shellack the Allies' 4th Hussars, seeing the final defeat of Allied armored reserves, opening the road to the campaign objective of Servia, and unhinging the Allied defensive line.  The eighth fight saw Col Klink lead the Panzer Battlegroup in a hard-fought victory that saw the Australian 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment destroyed.  The ninth fight saw Captain Freitag's 1st Schutzen Battlegroup absolutely bludgeon the weakened British Rangers/9th King's Royal Rifle Corps as they attempted a spoiling attack to buy their retreating comrades time to escape the German encirclement.  It didn't work, and now we find Colonel Klink leading an assault by the Panzer Battlegroup on the lightly armed Wellington Force.  A victory here for the Germans will likely see the Wellington Force destroyed and the gate shut behind the retreating Commonwealth forces.

Overview, north is down.  This is a Commonwealth defense, their men dug-in to ambush positions, so the Germans are attacking from the left table edge.  The Allies can deploy anywhere right of the north-south running road.  The road is improved (at least in terms of 1941 Greece), there is a small hamlet consisting of three stone buildings at far right, and a few patches of trees scattered about, but the dominant terrain feature is the hilltops dotting the countryside (clockwise from top left): Hill 133 (top left), Hill 421 (top right), Hill 312 (center right), Hill 114 (bottom right), and Hill 227 (bottom left).

I'm playing with very simple terrain so that I can lay it down and scrape it up as quickly as possible, to get in a lot of games as quickly as possible.

I'm playing solo using Too Fat Lardies' Chain of Command, modified a bit.  I've bumped it up a level (using multi-based stands, not individual troops), I simplified fire and melee combat, and morale (5Core concepts, as always), as well as movement (I like dicing for movement, but it significantly slows things down for me).  I changed the CoC Dice so that it represents indirect supporting fires from Higher HQ, and I did away with the Patrol Phase.  I love the Patrol Phase, but it doesn't work for me playing solo, so what I do is designate an attacker and a defender; both sides start completely off table, using their Command Dice to deploy on table (as normal), but where it differs is that I basically give the defender a deployment area of half the table, and he can deploy anywhere in that area, even dug in, so long as it's at least 6" from any attacker.

If you're now wondering, then, why do I still call these rules "Chain of Command," it's because the entire game revolves around the use of Chain of Command's brilliant activation system (command roll/Command Dice), the use of leaders' command initiative, and the 'Force Morale' concept of declining Command Dice and morale to breaking.  To me, that's the heart of the system, and it makes for a fun game.

The opposing forces, with Germans on the left and Commonwealth on the right.

I'm playing these games in 10mm using figures from Pendraken and Minifigs UK, roads from Fat Frank, hills from Warzone, buildings from Crescent Root, rivers from Wargamers Terrain, and trees from Gunner at Signifer.

Battlegroup Loeb (AKA, Panzer): consists of the CO stand (far left), one platoon of Combat Engineers in trucks, two platoons of Panzer Mk IIIs led by their company commander, and one platoon of Panzerjaeger Is.

*This battlegroup is actually being personally led by Colonel Klink, represented by the CO stand, since the battlegroup commander, Lt Loeb, was knocked out of action in his last fight (#8)

LtCol Klink (veteran of Poland, France, and now Greece, winner of the Iron Cross 1st Class and 2nd Class)   

2nd Panzer Platoon - Officer Cadet Fahrmann (2 tank kills)

Vehicle Two - Sgt Fittzbaum (1 tank kill)

Vehicle Three - Sgt Mayer (1 tank kill)

3rd Panzer Platoon - Sgt 1st Class Friessler (4 tank kills)

Vehicle Two - Sgt Jurgens 

Vehicle Three - Sgt Zedler 

Vehicle Four - Sgt Harms 

Vehicle Five - Cpl Geiger* (1 tank kill)

Panzerjaeger Platoon -Sgt Dittrich (IC2, 2 tank kills)

2nd Anti-Tank Vehicle - Cpl Hamburg 

3rd Anti-Tank Vehicle - Cpl Halstenburg 

Assault Engineer Platoon - 2nd Lt Orstens

1st Engineer Squad - Sgt Barkstrom (IC2)

2nd Engineer Squad - Sgt Klivens 

3rd Engineer Squad - Sgt Hafl (IC2)

4th Engineer Squad - Cpl Dilbertt

*Because of losses in 2nd Panzer Platoon, Corporal Geiger's vehicle and crew has been temporarily transferred from 3rd Panzer Platoon, giving each platoon four Panzer Mk IIIs.

The Commonwealth force: "Wellington Force," a lightly armed, ad-hoc formation thrown together to garrison Servia, comprised of British, Australian, New Zealand, and even a few Greek troops, mostly armed with rifles and the occasional automatic weapon, bolstered by two light anti-tank guns, but no support weapons to speak of.

Commanding Officer: Major Wexley

4 x Rifle Platoon (Platoon Commander, 3 x Rifle Section)

Anti-Tank Platoon (Platoon Commander, 2 x 2-pdr ATG)

Again I've got a bad feeling for the Allies, just so lightly armed.  But they've got a lot of infantry, so they're going to have to make good use of ambush positions, and not be afraid to sacrifice some grunts to stop enough German tanks to break the attacker's morale.

They're already starting low on Command Dice (4) and with low Force Morale to represent the overall strategic situation (Commonwealth forces are on the brink of collapse), the tactical situation (lightly armed troops facing tanks), and the ad-hoc nature of the force (lots of rear-echelon troops, a hodgepodge of various units/nationalities, the only infantry have known nothing but defeat).

The Germans are the attacker, so they lead off, with 2nd Panzer Platoon coming in on the far left (top left) and the PzJgr Platoon taking up overwatch on Hill 227 (bottom left), as Colonel Klink leads the Engineers towards Hill 133 (left top).

Colonel Klink pushes the Engineers forward as Officer Cadet Fahrmann scouts ahead (top right) of the rest of his platoon (top left).

But it's time to go!  The Allies deploy 1st Rifle Platoon on Hill 312 (bottom center), where they immediately open fire on the trucks of the German Engineer Platoon (top center)...

The lead truck is immobilized, while the next truck is suppressed and the third is pinned.  The Platoon Commander, Lt Orstens, and Sgt Barkstrom's 1st Squad quickly dismount.

Colonel Klink, as always, dashes into the fire and rallies his men.

Then pushes them forward!  OC Fahrmann pushes his panzer to the base of Hill 421 (top right), with the Engineer trucks right behind him, as Lt Orstens and Sgt Barkstrom's men hoof it into the trees.

As Sergeant First Class Friessler brings on his 3rd Panzer Platoon (bottom left).

OC Fahrmann's panzer and the Engineer trucks boldly dash onto Hill 421, securing it (top right), as the remainder of 2nd Panzer Platoon pushes ahead (top left), ignoring the Allied rifle platoon on Hill 312 (bottom center).

Things are looking good for the Germans as they rolled up the next phase (which is part of why they acted so boldly in pushing so far forward so quickly), but when they roll again they get kinda screwed.  They roll four 5s, which gives them 9 total CoC dice, so Colonel Klink immediately calls in artillery on Hill 312, but there's not much else to be done.

But the Commonwealth have some tricks up their sleeves, too.  First, Major Wexley brings on 2nd Rifle Platoon at the base of Hill 421 (top right, between the hill and the village), as his Anti-Tank Gun Platoon deploys, dug-in north of Hill 312 (bottom center).

And the ATGs immediately go to work, firing on SFC Friessler's 3rd Pz Platoon (top left)...

And two panzer are immediately brewed up!!!  The Platoon Commander's vehicle is knocked out, and though SFC Friessler is lightly wounded, he and his crew are able to bail out.  Similarly, Sgt Harms' tank is knocked out, but he and his men are safely able to exit without casualties.  Sgt Jurgens' vehicle is pinned (yellow bead).

With things going well on his left flank, Major Wexley orders 2nd Rifle Platoon up Hill 421 to take on the German Engineer Platoon, still in their trucks, though they only manage to pin the lead vehicle.

They also had one section fire on OC Fahrmann's tank (top right), as he was unbuttoned, to no effect.

Suddenly the sky is rent by the screech of locomotives screaming towards earth, and the earth erupts as 150mm HE shells fall on Hill 312!

One Commonwealth rifle section is knocked out, one is suppressed, and the last, as well as their Platoon Commander, is pinned.

As all hell breaks loose on Hill 421!  Lt Orstens leads Sgt Barkstrom's squad up, firing as they go (bottom right), thought they don't manage to hit anything, covering their comrades as they dismount form their trucks and Colonel Klink dashes ahead (far left) to join them.

And then they Colonel leads the Engineers forward, close assaulting the Allied 2nd Rifle Platoon!!!

I'd like to say it was close, but... it wasn't.  The German Landser made quick work of the poorly trained, poorly equipped rear-echelon troops and moved up, capturing Major Wexley and his staff.

*Damn, that was fun!  Lightning quick and decisive; I don't mean to sound anti-climactic, there is still fighting going on, but with the loss in Command Dice and Force Morale that came with losing an entire platoon, their commander (Junior Leader), and their overall commander (Senior Leader) means it's only a matter of time until the Commonwealth force breaks.

With the German Engineers on the outskirts of the village (top center right), Officer Cadet Fahrmann steers his tank to the edge of Hill 421 (center top, just right of the trees on the hill) and calls for the remainder of his platoon to join him (bottom left).

Back on the German right, Sgt Dittrich and his PzJgr Platoon (bottom right) just kinda sits and watches from Hill 227 as 3rd Panzer Platoon is getting its ass handed to it.  The problem is, those 47mm guns are very strong anti-tank weapons (for the time), but they are next to useless against infantry targets, so not a lot for them to do.  So the remaining two vehicles of 3rd Pz Plt charge, moving forward (center, from bottom left) and firing on the Allied anti-tank position (top right), suppressing one of the crews.

The Allies are in a bad way, down to only two Command Dice.  The ATG Platoon Commander rallies his troops and gets them returning fire on the encroaching German tanks...

But they only manage one hit, and it skips off the Panzer's steel hide, suppressing the crew (red bead).

Back on the Allied right, they're trying to hold the German advance off, but there's not much they can do.  They deploy one rifle section into the north end of the village (bottom right), and it immediately opens fire on the German engineers (center).

And the fire is deadly: Sgt Hafl and 3rd Squad (red bead) take cover, suppressed, as Sgt Kliven's 2nd Squad is mowed down (casualty figures just right of 3rd Squad), killing the squad leader!

OC Fahrmann and 2nd Pz Plt immediately return fire on the lone Allied rifle section (top right), suppressing them...

As two of his panzers cut right and open fire on the Allied 1st Rifle Platoon atop Hill 312, to no effect.

Sgt Dittrich's PzJgr Platoon, sitting atop Hill 227 (bottom center) does their best to support their brothers in 3rd Pz Plt (far left) by firing their 47mm high-velocity guns into the Allied anti-tank position (top right), managing to suppress one crew between the three of them.

Having rolled up another six CoC dice, Colonel Klink calls in a second fire mission on Hill 312.

As Sgt Harms pushes his vehicle forward, firing into the Allied anti-tank position, pinning one of the crews.

Back in the ville, the German Engineers push ahead, keeping the Commonwealth riflemen under fire (far left).

As two of the 2nd Pz Plt tanks (far left) cut loose on the Allies in the village (top right)...

Already suppressed, the Tommies are forced to fall back (bottom left, from building at far right)!

2nd Pz Plt pushes right (center top), looking to get in behind the Allied anti-tank position (off camera to right).

As 150mm HE shells once again rain down on Hill 312...

Knocking out a second rifle section and destroying the Allied fieldworks.

Which is enough to convince the Platoon Commander and his last rifle section to surrender.

Colonel Klink and the Engineers secure the village...

Forcing the suppressed Allied rifle section to surrender.

*Even if the Allies had the Command Dice to get the rest of their force on the table (they still have the balance of two rifle platoons off table!), the Germans have made it so that they don't even really have anywhere to deploy them onto the table.

Officer Cadet Fahrmann's panzers advance, crawling up the rear of the Allied anti-tank position (top left).

The brave crews spike their guns and dejectedly raise their hands in surrender.

These guys never even made it into the fight!

The Wellington Force eliminated, Colonel Klink takes the Panzer Battlegroup straight west (A8 from C8), cutting off the retreat of the New Zealand 21st Infantry Battalion and 27th Machine Gun Battalion.

Man, I wasn't expecting much from that fight, but it was actually pretty fun, quite a bit of suspense, much more than I figured the Wellington Force would be able to accomplish.  Yes, I had to be a bit rash with the German advance, but you know me, I do whatever I can to step up the drama quotient ;)
A fun fight, just too much for the Allies to deal with once they started losing their very limited Command Dice and Force Morale.  I knew they had to act boldly, they just had to be lucky, too, and that didn't happen: they put their 2nd Rifle Platoon at the base of Hill 421 and got a clean shot at the German Engineers, still in their trucks, but only managed a single pin!  Then Colonel Klink led the close assault that waxed the entire rifle platoon AND captured the Allied Commanding Officer; it was all over but the crying.

Casualties:

German losses: 20 casualties and 3 tanks knocked out (two Panzer IIIs, though both were able to be salvaged

Commonwealth losses: 55 casualties and 100 men captured

Characters:

Sergeant Klivens, squad leader for 2nd Squad, Engineer Platoon, veteran Poland, France, and Greece, was killed in action

Sergeant First Class Friessler, platoon commander of 3rd Panzer Platoon, was lightly wounded when his tank was knocked out, earning his third Wound Badge, one each for Poland, France, and Greece

Awards:

-Lt Colonel Klink, Kampfgruppe Commander, was meritoriously promoted to Colonel and awarded the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross for personal gallantry in the face of the enemy, continuously exposing himself to enemy fire in order to rally his troops and lead them into close combat, and for intrepid leadership that saw his battlegroup defeat a numerically superior enemy force and seize his campaign objective ahead of schedule, precipitating the overall victory in Greece

-Sergeant Hafl, squad leader for 3rd Squad, Engineer Platoon, received the Iron Cross 1st Class for leading his squad into hand to hand combat with an Allied rifle platoon, defeating them, then charging in to evict another enemy rifle platoon from the village to secure the objective

-Corporal Dilbertt, squad leader for 4th Squad, Engineer Platoon, received the Iron Cross 2nd Class for leading his squad into close combat with Allied infantry and aiding in securing the objective

And there's one more, but this one is a bit different.  He didn't fight in this battle, but I feel like he did a great job during the campaign, a real rock who's solid leadership really set the tone and was the foundation for everything else that happened, so he's getting an end of tour award:

-Captain Freitag, commander of Schutzen Company, is meritoriously promoted to Major and awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class for intrepid leadership and gallantry in the face of the enemy.  Battlegroup Freitag fought four of the Kampfgruppe's ten fights, winning every single one of them in decisive fashion, creating the initial penetration of the enemy's line, drawing in reserves and defending against counterattacks, destroying two enemy battlegroups in the process, so that the Kampfgruppe's mechanized elements could outflank the Allied defensive line and unhinge the defense, storming onto the Kampfgruppe's campaign objective ahead of schedule, precipitating the overall victory in Greece

I mentioned above that after the Allied CO was captured it was all over but the crying.  For that matter, so is the campaign!  If you look at the map, you can see that, as ze Chermans would say, "resistance is futile."  I'll do up one more campaign map turn just to finish this out, but we're done playing battles, and I'll publish my usual epilogue.

V/R,

Jack