Bolt Action: Germany '45. A Small Town In Germany

Introduction. 

Back in August, after what seems like brief eternity, we here in the central bit of Scotland: central and a wee bit to the left...no, a wee bit more...over the south side of Glasgow....hold it there...that's it.. at last had our Covid tier dropped to the level where we could once again meet up with our chums and buddies. Taking no chances...well, some but not too many, Rich and I organised another Bolt Action mini campaign; here's the details...

The Campaign

So here's the plan; A mini campaign of 3 scenarios set in the final months of  WW2 that cover the assault on the (ficticious) town of Bueggerdorf in North West Germany by a British force. The Germans must hold them back. To move from the first map the British must win that scenario. The inspiration for this campaign are multifarious not least the British Army training film A Battalion In Battle-Seaforth Highlanders-Groin and the recently publsihed book, Forgotten Battles From France To Germany January To April 1945 which has been written by Peter Heath of Anschluss Wargames specifically with wargaming in mind. It's very good and only a small amount of work was needed to convert the scenarios from The War On The Ground rules, which the book has been written for  (and of which I am completely ignorant) into Bolt Action scenarios. I also drew on various Bolt Action campaign books for suitable missions that would reflect each stage of the campaign.

     

Scenario 1 

For the first mission we used Scenario 9: Point Defence from the Bolt Action Rule Book 2nd Edition, page 144. The defender sets up 3 objective markers at least 6" in from the table edge and 24" from each other marker. To gain a victory the attacker must hold two or three objective markers. If he holds one it is a draw and if the defender is still in control of the objectives at the end of the game then he wins

A small town in Germany. Beuggerdorf is based on this
map of the town of Husum which is itself from the Forgotten
Battles book.  The campaign will be fought through the town
ands the map has been divided into three for our terrain layouts.
We'll use these as guides rather than exact replicas

Scenario 1 revolves around the British advancing into the town and
clearing away any resistance up to the cemetery

The western part of Beuggerdorf. The British would be assaulting
from the left of the board. The Germans held three key positions,
one in the pig pen, one in the cemetery and the last one on the
junction beyond the church.

Once the British gain a foothold they then have to clear the
town centre

and the final scenario will be a fighting withdrawal by the
Germans with the British force attempting to pin them in
place and destroy them.

Forces 

British Richie based his forces on the Canadian Infantry Division 1945 Reinforced Platoon as we thought this would be equally applicable to British Infantry Divisions of the period. Noteworthy units in this selector are flame throwing Wasp IIC carrier, Ram Badger personnel carriers, Tank Hunter Sections which can be up to 10 man strong and can have up to 4 PIATs in it!! Another nifty little unit is the Scout Recce Patrol section, 3 to 5 Veterans with SMGs who have the Behind Enemy Lines rule (no negative modifier when coming on from reserve or outflanking) Recon (spot hidden troops from 18" rather than 12"). The Scout section commander counts as an Intelligence Officer (at the beginning of a turn he may, on a roll of 4 or more draw the first order dice from the dice bag) and Limited Numbers so only one Scout Recce Patrol per force.   

Germans For my chaps I drew on the Operation Watch On The Rhine selector from the Armies of Germany second edition with a couple of new units shoe horned in; too whit the LMG teams, basically a 3 man MG42 team for the same points cost as an MMG team. What you lose in an extra shooting dice, the option of Machine Gun Experten (15 points, +1 penetration) as well as the home brew D2 pins you gain in mobility; an ability not to be sniffed at in a defensive battle my opinion. I have also got into the habit of taking a captain in my force as they can be very useful when it comes to leadership tests and Snap To It orders. He's also especially useful as my force draws on more Inexperienced troops as the campaign continues.  

Points For the first scenario we had 1500 points each

 

 A Small Town In Germany 

   A pall of smoke and dust rose over the town, lit up from within by the exploding ordnance, as the artillery shells smashed into the town. The Brigadier was taking no chances, Beuggerdorf had to be taken quickly if the Division's advance wasn't to be stalled, and the Brigadier had managed to get a brief but heavy barrage put down on Beuggerdorf by the over worked Divisional gunners. With fighting men thin on the ground and all rear echelon areas thoroughly combed for spare bodies to fill the gaps left by front line casualties it was important to keep the Hun on the back foot as much as possible and in this instance that meant capturing Beuggerdorf. Division had also  supplied his brigade with a squadron of the latest tanks in the British Army's arsenal; Comets belonging to the 2nd Isle of Sheppey Border Mounted Rifles, an old cavalry regiment that had it's roots in the Empires colonial battles.

      Behind him he could hear one of the Brigade HQ signallers speaking into a radio mike "Roger...Out". A murmured conversation followed and  a few seconds later an ADC, a young lieutenant from the Brigade of Guards approached and, saluting smartly, reported "7th Scots Guards are going in, sir" The Brigadier nodded and thanked him, put down the mug of tea he had been sipping and lifted his binoculars to watch the advancing figures of the 7th Scots Guards heading towards the smashed town.

------------------------------------------------------------

       Lt Timmy McSporran hunched instinctively at the nearby ripping sound of German machine gun. The shots were nowhere near him but the sound bothered him still as it had since he had first heard it three months previously as his battalion had fought through the Low Countries. The Germans machine gun stopped firing and was answered by the more measured sound of a Bren gun. Who was that replying he pondered; 5 platoon, perhaps? Nearer still and much more welcome was the sound of the company's supporting armour. The throaty roar of the Comet tank drowned out the noise of the bickering machine guns as the tank manouvered towards the edge of the town. Behind it came the heavily laden men of  1 Section. They moved in bounds, 4 men on each side of the road, each man scanning the seemingly empty houses on the opposite side of the road, watching for any signs of Germans particularly ones carrying panzerfausts or Panzerschreks; the tankies nightmare. A sudden whoosh followed by the equally sudden crump of an impacting mortar round sent 1 Section diving for cover. 

Lt Timmy "Jock" McSporran and radio operator

     Taking cover beneath the table in the cellar, Hauptmann Schanke covered his coffee cup with his field cap as the cellar in which he was crouching shook from the impact of the British barrage. As dust filled the room and pieces of plaster from the ceiling landed on the table above his head and on the floor around him Shanke attempted to brace himself to stop the cup from shaking. The cup contained the last of the US issued coffee that his company had captured in the Ardennes and Schanke meant to enjoy this last cup come what may, British barrage or not. As abruptly as it had started, the barrage ceased. Emerging from beneath the table, cup in hand and with his cap still covering it, Schanke bawled at his company sergeant major, the barrage having rendered them all temporarily deaf "Hauptfeldwebel Gross; situation report!" A dust covered figure snapped to attention, shouted "Jawolhl Hauptmann!" in reply, saluted smartly and then left the cellar. While he waited for Gross's report, Schanke sipped his coffee as his HQ section set about tidying up the HQ; righting tables and chairs, reconnecting field telephones etc. One of the reconnected field phones rang and a signaller picked it up, listened briefly  then passed the handset to Schanke "Leutnant Liebkind, sir". Schanke put down his cup and took the proffered handset. "Schanke here" he said. "Herr Hauptmann" came the1st Platoon's commanders voice over the line. "1st Platoon has gotten off lightly; no casualties however the men are, ah, shall we say, a little shaken by the barrage. And Tommy is on his way; I can hear their armour approaching. I have ordered the platoon to stand too". Schanke considered briefly; Liebkind was no new comer to battle but many of his men, indeed most of the battalion, were new to battle having been reassigned to the infantry from rear echelon stores depots, the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe only a couple of weeks previously and Liebkind would have his hands full fighting the British with his new drafts despite having some of the more experienced men in the line with him. "Very good, Liebkind; carry on. I shall be with you shortly" said Schanke and hung up. Giving his now empty coffee cup a rueful glance, he placed his cap on his head, shrugged on his combat equipment, took one of the newly issued assault rifles from the peg it was hanging on and headed out of the cellar.

Hauptman Hans Schanke arrives to assist 1st Platoon. This

stack of crates is the central objective

    

The German defenders, a mix of Regular squads; here seen guarding
the objective in the pig pen..

..Inexperienced Volksgrenadiers..

....sniper team..

....Pak 40...

..and doughty Veterans

The British were joined by a Comet crewed by Regulars. This one
belongs to 2nd Isle Of Sheppey Border Mounted Rifles. As it rumbled
into town it's dedicated infantry screen:1 Section, had become detached
from the Comet...

...they had been on the receiving end of a mortar round and
were badly shaken by the experience

      "Corporal McGuire, are you alright?" shouted Lt McSporran to 1 Section's commander. In the lee of the ruined building Corporal McGuire made his way towards the young platoon commander, his face contorted with rage and sadness "Burke's bought it, sir!" he growled through gritted teeth. "and Handley's wounded. The lads are patching him up now and the medics on the way". McSporran looked past the NCO towards his section; the wounded Handley being tended by two of the section and beyond them the corpse that had once been Guardsman Bertie Burke then back, once more to the glowering face of their section commander. "Corporal McGuire, take your section and get along with that tank quickly. I don't think they realise what danger they are in from Jerries panzerfausts". "But what about Handley, sir, and Burke, sir? We can't just leave them" said McGuire. "I'll have someone stay with them till the padre and the medic get here; come on, Corporal, let's give Jerry some of his own medicine" The corporal looked at McSporran for a moment then nodded. "Righto sir" and turned to the remainder of his section, shouting to them to get to their feet as an ambulance jeep nosed around the corner...

Meanwhile 2 and 3 Sections of Lt McSporran's platoon were
advancing through the centre of the town accompanied by a
Staghound Armoured Car. The British were feeling very
confident at this point as much of the Germans fire had
been fairly ineffective.

After sporadic exchanges of fire, and seeing that the British
main effort was towards the cemetery and pig pen, Lt
Liebkind detached Gefreiter Thoma's squad to the ruin before
the cemetery. En route they lose a man to sniper fire.

Gefrieter Thoma's squad sprint from cover to cover, taking
casualties as they do

Eventually getting into cover

As one of the inexperienced squads moves into the ruined church
under the watchful eye of Lt Liebkind

    

Pulling themselves together 1 Section prepare to cover
the Comet's advance. .. 

..but they might be wasting their time..

...as there was trouble waiting up ahead..

     In the town's market place, Hauptmann Schanke watched as a Stummel and Puma armoured car led by a motorcycle combo drove up. The motorcycle combo halted by him and the sidecar passenger threw him a casual salute "There you are Schanke, I might have known; heading to the battle, eh?" Schanke smiled and nodded at the regimental adjutant, Major Nagel. "The regimental commander was worried about you and has sent some assistance" Nagel continued, waving a hand toward the Stummel and Puma. "It's all we have at the moment so be careful with it, please? It's such a bore trying to convince headquarters that we are worthy of their considerations without upsetting them by losing precious assets." Schanke smiled grimly at Nagel's feigned humour. He could see the major was, like all of them, under the strain of trying to do his duty in very dire circumstances. He looked at the Stummel and Puma "You should have grovelled a little more, Herr Major, they might have sent us a Tiger or two as well". Nagel smiled in reply "They are being kept for when things get really serious; in the meantime, Hans, take care of what we have been given; I must go now as the Old Man doesn't like me to stray too far from HQ these days; Back to the regimental command post, Petersen" this last to his driver. 

One of Major Nagel's assets moves into action. Knocking out
the armoured car it then turns it's attention to the British
infantrymen

There were now three British sections attempting to run the
gauntlet of much more effective German fire in the centre
of the town...

  "Bleedin' 'ell, Sarge! Sod this for a game of soldiers!" shouted Guardsman Hudson to his section commander as they lay cowering in a garden. "We've stirred up a proper 'ornets nest here" Ahead of them the Staghound Armoured Car was rocked by secondary explosions as the ammunition inside it ignited. Just moments before it had pushed passed the infantry men firing rapid bursts of machine gun fire at the ruins up ahead when a shell had slammed into it, turning it into a blazing ruin. Spurred on by this small success the German defenders had become reinvigorated..

The Comet's first bout of trouble; the Puma gets a shot
into it's side armour, disabling it... 

...before the panzerschrek team finishes it off at point
blank range....

     Aboard the Ram Kangaroo APC, Lance Sergeant Gilligan cursed as a burst of machine gun fire rattled off the hull of the armoured personnel carrier. The Kangaroo's hull machine gun returned fire as it slewed to a halt then began reversing. Gilligan squeezed past the other guardsmen crouching inside the and grabbed the Kangaroo's commander by the shoulder "Where the bloody hell are you going!?" he shouted. The sergeant commanding the APC twisted in his seat and lifting one of his ear pieces on his head set shouted in response "What!?" "Why are you reversing, you pillock! We need to get past that junction and round past that church!" shouted Gilligan pointing past the sergeant and through the his vision slit. "Where the hell do you think we're going? In case you hadn't noticed there's bleedin' Jerries up ahead! I ain't risking a panzerfaust up the nose for nobody!" retorted the sergeant "And watch who you are calling a pillock; any more lip and I'll have you up on a charge!" before turning back to the tricky task manouvering the Kangaroo out of the path of the machine gun's bullets. Gilligan ground his teeth in frustration, Lt McSporran was depending on his section surprising the German defenders by hitting them from the flank...

Schanke controls the German response to the British assault. The hauptmann's
ability to give his You Men Snap Too It order to four separate units within
12" of him each turn is very useful and his 3+ leadership and morale boost
can also be game changing

The Comet brews up

With their primary role as a tank screen now redundant, Lt
McSporran sends 1 Section forward to capture the objective

..as the Germans in the church ruins keep an eye on the same
objective

In the town centre the rest of the platoon, stripped of their armoured
support, prepare to assault the Germans hiding in the ruins

..but they are repulsed

The Germans, for their part, are conducting a robust defence by
advancing and engaging the Tommies

With the British armour threat dealt with, the Puma moves
to assist the German forces on the left flank

In a grim attempt to wrest something from the battle, Lt McSporran
and 1 Section attempt to dominate and capture the objective by the
road junction

...instead, with no targets visible, the German mortar crew advance
and contest the objective

..Whilst the pressure on the British attackers in the town centre
begins to tell...

..with their forces depleted, the Guardsmen dig in and try to hold onto what
ground they have gained at the cost of much blood

..as Hauptman Schanke reorganises his defenses

Guardsman Wheelan looked at his platoon commander as the crouched by the ruin. Poor bugger looks done in he thought. And no wonder, the Old Man won't pleased with this. In a gesture of sympathy he drew out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and offered one of the slightly crushed cigarettes to his platoon commander. Lt McSporran looked up, took the cigarette, lit it and inhaled deeply. "Platoon Sergeant's on his way, sir" Said Whellan pointing in the direction of the approaching NCO. McSporran nodded. "Get through to company HQ, Whellan, tell them we've been stalled; our down but we have taken the near side of the square. Ammo and casualty state to follow". "Will do sir" replied Whellan all the while thinking the Old Man isn't going to buy that bullshit....

End of Part I

     And there the battle stopped. The Scots Guards attack stymied due to the loss of their armoured support and some fiendish luck on the German side....and possibly...though not definitely, some tactical nous. The Germans were lucky to zero in with their initial mortar shot as this left the Comet advancing on it's own. Similarly I was lucky in destroying the armoured car with a shot from the light howitzer on the Stummel. And to add to Lt McSporran's platoons woes their Ram Kangaroo failed to arrive leaving his platoon under manned. If the Ram had gotten into the Germans flank it might have proved decisive as it carried an assault engineer squad with complementary flame thrower. But alas the dice gods were having none of it.

     So the Jocks will have to try again with, perhaps a different plan......

Pip pip,

The General