Bolt Action: Normandy '44. Clearing Lebisey Woods

Introduction Well it's been a wee while since our last Bolt Action batrep though it feels like an age since much of anything wargaming has happened. We, Richie and I, played this scenario back at the beginning of October and this, the resultant batrep has been sat on the back burner without the gas on underneath it. In light of the lack of gaming I decided to pop it back on the stove and lit the gas so that I could at least brew up, to keep the cooking metaphor going, a record of it.

Scenario I say that it was sat on the back burner as if it was something forgettable; one of those games that passes from memory before you have driven all the way home. It wasn't. In fact it was a cracking game that on the face of it looked like it wouldn't really deliver much in the way of entertainment. Set in the afternoon of D Day, it's based on the encounter between the 2nd Kings Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) of British 3rd Division accompanied by the tanks of the Staffordshire Yeomanry advancing towards Caen through the Lebisey Woods on the Perier Ridge. and the Germans of the 21st Panzer Division as they pushed forward in an attempt to drive the Allies back into the sea.

Suggested terrain map. Looks a bit meh! doesn't it, with no ruined farms,

no walls to take cover behind etc. Looks were certainly deceiving...

Set Up The scenario is played out on a 6x4 table.  As you can see from the scenario map, it's just a big, open wood with some tracks running through it, nothing much to get excited about there, is there? No focal points? No ruined bell towers for snipers to hunker in and dominate No Man's Land, no bombed out houses for squads to take cover in or to obscure the approach of troops and vehicles. Well, no, but what that open wood represents in the game is a table full of rough ground (no running) and foliage offering soft cover (-1 to hit) though no part of the table was classed as obstructed so everyone could see everyone else, just!

Deployment The British force (the defenders) deploy at least half their forces up to 12" in from their table edge. Any forces not deployed are in reserve. The Germans (the attackers, in case you hadn't twigged) do not deploy at the start of the game, rather the German player chooses at least half their force to form the first wave (this can be the whole force should he choose) the remainder remaining in reserve.

Objectives "The objective for both sides is simple; hurt their opponent as much as possible, break their morale and force them to abandon the battlefield"

Duration The game lasts 6 turns. At the end of turn 6, roll a die; on a 1,2 or 3 the game ends, on a 4,5 or 6 play one more turn.

Victory Victory can be achieved in one of two ways. The first is by Victory Points; at the end of the game add up how many enemy units each side has destroyed. The side that has scored two or more victory points than the other is the winner otherwise the game is a draw. Alternatively, if one side loses two thirds of it's force, rounding down, then it's opponent wins. Check at the end of each turn to see if this victory condition is met otherwise keep bashing each others heads in!!

Special Rules There are two; Air Supremacy; any Allied forward air controller rolls a "Here We Go" result on the airstrike chart on a 3+. Any German unit adds a further -1 to come on from reserve. The second is 41st Anti-Tank Battery. The British player gets an extra 6 pounder anti-tank gun.

   

Our interpretation of the battlefield

Forces. Both sides have their Theatre Selectors to choose from; the British one is the     British/Canadian Beach Assault Reinforced Platoon which is, as you can imagine, infantry heavy with the choice of up to six beach assault or Commando/RMC sections. A maximum of one Pioneer Section and/or Demolitions Team is permitted and may take one each of the Infantry slots. Then it's a 0-1 choice from the support teams; MMG, flamethrower team, sniper team, PIAT team and light or medium mortar. Armoured support is a choice from 0-2 DD Shermans, Sherman V, Sherman Firefly, Sherman Dozer, Sherman Crab, Churchill AVRE, Churchill Crocodile, Cruiser Mk VIII Centaur CS, M7 Priest and Sexton. The Lebisey Woods scenario is a bit more specific in that the platoon sections can only be made up of Regular infantry squads and the armoured support comes in the shape of Sherman Vs and/or Sherman Fireflies, M7 Priests and M10 Tank Destroyers (which curiously enough don't appear in the Theatre Selector list). In addition there is the choice of the two 6 pounder anti tank guns. The support teams; MMG, medium mortar etc are as per the theatre selector. Worthy of note is the opportunity to take a Forward Naval Observer instead of a Forward Artillery Observer. More about these chaps in another post as they don't figure in this game.

As this is our take on the scenario and in deference to Richie's previous service in the Scots Guards he decided that his platoon would actually be Jock Guards (and why not?), 7th Battalion Scots Guards, and, as per the needs of the services in WW2, his platoon commander would be a Cockney chap by the name of Arthur Sleap. Despite the upset this doubtless caused in the 7th Bn Officers Mess, Lt Sleap is no slouch when it comes to soldiering and leading men having served as the CSM in F Company, the 6th Bn in Italy (to the best of my knowledge there were no actual 6th and 7th Battalions of Scots Guards in WW2; told you it was fictitious, all made up in my tiny mind) where he received a very rare field commission.....or so Richie tells me 😁 The rest of his force consisted of 4 Regular infantry sections (the whole force were rated as Regulars, led by Lance Sergeants as opposed to Corporals...it's a Guards thing...and why not?), with two M5 halftracks, a medium mortar with spotter, a FOO (Forward Artillery Observer), a Sherman Firefly, a DD Sherman, a Recce Bren Carrier, a medium machine gun and two 6 pounder anti tank guns.

2nd Lt Arthur Sleap with his trusty Lee Enfield Mk 4 and the equally
trusty Guardsman Geordie Murphy

      The Germans in this scenario represent part of the 21st Panzer Division and as such they get to field a Tank Platoon which must include a Panzer III as the panzer troop leader's vehicle. Along with the troop commander, Leutnant Gunther Schute in his Panzer III are two Panzer IV Ausf H. Joining Schute's troop in this attack were a three squads of Panzer Grenadiers; two Veteran squads of 5 with 2 LMGs per squad each mounted in a 250/1 half track and one Regular squad with 10 men mounted on a truck with an MMG mounted on the back. These were led by the hard assed veteran 2Lt Joachim Vukoff. Attached for fire support was a Marder I with a heavy howitzer. So now, to battle!

Leutnant Gunter Schute in his trusty Panzer III M

Leutnant Joachim Vukoff with his trusty MP40 and helmet and his trusty
platoon runner, Schutze Vyldli

     A tearing burst of machine gun fire slicing through the branches overhead sent 2Lt Arthur Sleap diving into a shallow in the ground. "Spandaus! Jerries, git dahn, Murphy!" Behind him, Guardsman Murphy, his radio operator also took cover, grunting as he winded himself on the wireless set he was carrying. "Fookin' Hell, me bloody side!" groaned the Tynesider. Sleap glanced at the radio operator "Are you 'urt, Guardsman Murphy!?" he shouted at Murphy. "No sir, Ah just winded meself on me radio; Ah'm okay, sir"  replied Murphy in his broad Geordie accent. Sleap nodded and turned towards the direction of the firing. 

     He and his platoon had reached the sparse, open woodland a half an hour before. With the advance inland being slowed by the chaos on the beaches, his battalion, 7th Scots Guards, and their armoured support, The Isle Of Sheppey Yeomanry, were woefully behind schedule in reaching this part of their planned advance. The planned for advance, that on Caen had, in Sleap's estimation, gone for a Burton, at least for the moment anyway. 

     It was now early evening of the 6th of June and they had only gotten as far as Lebissey Woods near the outskirts of Caen. Word had come down from battalion HQ  to consolidate their gains and start preparing a defensive line. As if to underline the necessity of adopting a defensive posture, the company commander had sent forward two Royal Artillery crewed anti tank guns to bolster Sleap's defensive position.  Sleap had spoken briefly with the bombardier in charge of the anti tank gun detachment and they had quickly sited the two guns facing down two of the narrow tracks running through the wood in anticipation of a German counter attack; a tactic Sleap had encountered many a time in North Africa and Italy as a platoon sergeant and then company sergeant major prior to his field promotion. 

     Also with the platoon were a Sherman tank and one of those deadly looking Fireflies. These had stopped on the edge of the wood adopting a hull down position. Then, as he had gone around his sections checking the siting of each hastily dug shell scrape a burst of German machine gun fire had sent him diving into cover. 

     As if they had been awaiting the cue of the machine gun fire, his platoon started calling out target indications "Enemy! Left of main track! Halftrack!" That was Blenkinsop of 2 Section. "Bren Gunner, Left of main track, half track, rapid fire!!" bellowed Lance Sergeant Boaby Ball, 2 Section's commander. A burst of Bren fire followed as L/Sgt Ball continued to control his sections fire . To Sleap's flank one of the 6 pounders barked out a shot.

     From his right, Sleap heard  one of the sections, 1 Section he suspected, report a German tank and then another. "Come on Murph, time you an' I earned our keep" said Sleap before getting to his feet and running forward at a crouch towards 1 Section and the German tanks.

"Vorwarts for the Fatherland!"

     Tracks squealing the Panzer III rumbled up the rutted path into the woods. Ducking down in his turret till his eyes were just above the level of the cupola, Leutnant Shute managed to avoid the branches of the trees either side of the track though he couldn't avoid the twigs and leaves that showered down as the turret hatch hacked through the low hanging branches . He was glad to get into the cover of the woods even though he knew the Tommies were in there too. At least they would be spared the attentions of the Jabos in here. The march from their form up point had been hazardous to say the least with the sky thick with enemy aircraft waiting to pounce on any movement By luck as much as guile his force had made it to the woods north of Lebissey and they had spread out from the track, speeding forward to the cover and the enemy. Already he could hear small arms fire and the crump of exploding mortar shells. A movement up ahead drew his attention; peering through the foliage he spotted what appeared to be a Sherman tank but with some sort of fabric skirt around it; camouflage? Didn't matter, it was an enemy tank. "Achtung, panzer, forward right" the gunner repeated his cry over the intercom and the turret started tracking right "Halt! On!" cried Shute "Panzer 150 meters! Fire!" The Panzer III rocked on it's suspension as the 50mm gun roared. "Reload! Slightly left! Fire!" cried Shute as their first shot flashed past the Sherman DD tank..


     

The British engage the enemy, holding their ground as they do, but
the screening foliage in the woods makes accurate fire difficult.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) the Germans were equally hampered

 

L/Sgt Tommy Cannon and 1 Section

Sherman V and RA 6 pounder anti tank gun..Ubique

Marder I support. This didn't get the chance to add it's firepower
as the British mortar team zeroed in on it pretty damn quick. I
think being a former mortar man, the dice gods always smile
on fiend Richie, who regularly hits first time around with his ruddy
mortar fire; no mean feat when you require a 6 to hit first shot with
one die!! The British forward artillery officer administered the coup
de gras when he brought in a fire mission on the Marder's head...

     The 6 pounder leapt back on it's trails, kicking up dust as it did so. Up ahead the round smashed into the engine block of the Opel Blitz truck. It slewed to the side of the track and began to burn. From it's back, panzer grenadiers spilled over the side, staggering into cover. The gun crew automatically fed another shell into the breech then looked to the detachment commander awaiting the word of command. "Switch target!" he cried "Trails left! Target right, Tank!" two of the gun crew jumped to the gun's trail legs, grabbed the handles on the trails and swung the trails to the left, the gun barrel swinging right as they did so. "On!" shouted the bombardier and the two gunners dropped the trails and leapt to their firing positions. The gun loader thrust a shell into the breach, slapped the gun aimer on the shoulder, shouted "Loaded!" and reached for another shell. "Fire when ready!" came the instantaneous response from the gun commander. The aimer swiftly and minutely adjusted his aim onto the Panzer IV in his sights then pulled the fire lever...

The mighty Sherman Firefly didn't have much joy
on it's first outing but it did look magnificent

L/Sgt Boaby Ball and 2 Section

In the centre of the battlefield a bloody struggle developed. The Opel Blitz
and it's MMG burn merrily. 

On the Germans right flank, it's steel not flesh they are depending on
to drive the Tommies back into the sea. Schute's Panzer III, a Panzer
IV and a 250/1 with 5 veteran Grenadiers aboard certainly make an
impact though it takes Schute's Panzer III to destroy the Sherman DD,
the Panzer IVs gunner's marksmanship leaving much to be desired

On the Germans left flank their man power is being ground
down as the British fire whittles down their numbers

..and sensing victory the Scots Guards move forward

     Around him the incoming German rifle fire appeared to be slacking. Time to get the lads moving thought 2nd Lt Sleap as the Sherman Firefly nearby fired at an unseen target. His section commanders were still controlling their men's fire and there were more than a few wounded Jerries lying by the burning truck in the middle of the track where it crested the hill and very little fire coming from that direction. If I get some men up there we might be able to split the Jerries he thought to himself..."C'mon Murph; let's go! he shouted and crawling back and to one side, turning as he did so so that he was facing towards the rear where he could just make out the M5 Halftrack hidden by a large bush...

A troop laden M5 Halftrack rashly...bravely moves forward
into the woods  

...and it's passengers dismount in front of the two diminished
German squads who greet them with a hail of fire and they
kop a packet...

Bloody Jerries every bleedin' where!!

3 Section under Corporal Willy Burns advance beside their

 "Big Friend"

The anti tank gunners continue to support the infantry

Leutnant Schute having destroyed the DD Sherman now tries to
wipe out the section supporting it. This proves annoyingly difficult
even at close range as they went Down and stayed down and being
only two of the buggers there meant that even at point blank range
Schute's Panzer III needed 5s and 6s to hit them and with his main
gun's attention on the 6 pounder facing it he couldn't risk giving the
two Jocks all his attention and naturally he (I) missed with all six
shots!! Quelle suprise! 

The PIAT team try their luck against the 250/1 but to no avail

The Sherman Firefly suffers from the dread new model syndrome as
it is taken out by the fire from the second Panzer IV

    

     The Guards half track reversed away from the brow of the hill as Sleap groaned inwardly. Beyond the reversing vehicle he could see the prone figures of the Guardsmen. To his right he could see the crew bailing out of the burning Firefly. "Bloody 'ell" he muttered  then dashed over to the forward artillery observer crouching behind a smashed jeep. "It's not going jolly well, is it, old chap?" said the grim faced artillery officer. "No, it bleedin' well ain't going jolly well" growled Sleap "Can you call up a stonk on the other side of that crest? he asked. The artillery officer drew out a map "Certainly can, old chap; wait a mo!" then took up the radio mike his radio operator had handed him...  

Stymied! The Panzers of 21st Panzer Division are unable to force
the Scots Guards back and the Jocks are unable to push the Jerries
off the hill top... 

     And there that particularly bruising encounter ended; 6 turns of desperate fighting and a mutually agreeable draw. It was a really tough fight especially as the tank gunners appeared to spill hot tea/ersatz coffee on their laps each time they went to fire. 

     I must admit I am really enjoying some of these scenraios that the chaps at Warlord Games are producing these days; hats off to them.

     The Guards had a good first innings too, this being their first time on the tabletop and they still had plenty of fight left in them by the end of the game despite losing both tanks; both anti tank guns were still in the fight as were their mortar, recce carrier and MMG. The German infantry had taken a pasting though. It was their armour and half track mounted MMGs that were doing the hard graft though as I mentioned the tank gunners were having a bit of an off day; from approximately approximately twelve shots fired only two hit home and did any damage. The -1 to hit due to the foliage certainly didn't help anyone's shooting. Still and all it was fun to run a German armoured platoon for a wee change.

      So what now, now that we are still working our way through the time of Covid? Well, as we here in the Scotland are in lockdown and our gang can't get together I have been playing solo games of Bolt Action as witnessed by the Stalingrad game and I will write up a wee report or two on them. And with the Stalingrad project complete I have a hankering for another project and this one will be based on Operation Tonga and the fight between the 6th Airborne and 21st Panzer Division on the 6th June 1944 in the Orne bridgehead. More about that later, in the meantime I hope you enjoyed this wee write up, that you are all well and healthy and my thanks to Richie for such a memorable game once again..

Pip pip,

Jimbob