Wot I did on my holiday

Started by fsn, 12 March 2020, 05:10:54 PM

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fsn

14 March 2020, 05:17:09 PM #15 Last Edit: 14 March 2020, 05:20:13 PM by fsn
In the second round, the Germans (Pz IIIs and IV's) successfully held of a frankly overconfident rush of Soviet KV1s. To be fair, I'd stuck a couple of 88mms on the German OOB, which the Russians we're not aware of until their squadron commander's tank went woof.  

This set me up with a UK:Germany final. By this time (4 tank battles), I was up for something different. Looking around, my gaze fell upon the airborne elements. Aha! I have platoon strength Falschirmjaeger for 1940 and 1944, and a supported company of British airborne for 1944.  BUT, I also noticed my US paratroopers and thought perhaps they could go out to bat for the Empire.

Was this a good idea?

The forces involved:
The US paratroopers under Lt Wolf. 3 squads of 12, plus Wolf and his sgt. They'd picked up some jeeps, sufficient for one squad, and they had also managed to co-opt a 4 gun battery of 75mm howitzers. Unfortunately the gunners had lost their OOP, so Wolf took on the role using a field telephone. The Americans were pretty raw, though tough.

The Germans under Leutnant Wulf consisted of his platoon of 4 sections of hard-bitten paras who were mostly veterans of Crete and the Eastern Front. Attached were a pair of 81mm mortars and two Nebelwerfer. Wulf has managed to swipe some Kettenkrad; sufficient to move his heavy weapons and one section. The Nebelwerfer are devastating but take a long time to reload. For this action, they could be considered one shot weapons only.

The Germans won (or lost) the dice throw and became the attackers.

Plans
The German plan was for  the  Nebelwerfer and one section to move to the farmhouse. On a Very light, the Nebelwerfers would fire at targets they had identified and then retire post haste. With his left flank thus secured, the rest of the platoon plus the mortars would push through the woods. They would storm the small hill whilst the Nebelwerfers got to work, and then push on through the defiles to the railway. (If one German unit stayed on the railway line for 1 move, they would have been considered to have destroyed it and so won.)

The US plan was for one squad to be jeeped (is that a word?) to the farm. The jeeps would then return to pick up the 2nd squad to transport them to the mall hill in advance of the left. The third would stay in reserve. Wolf was reliant on his artillery.  

What actually happened
The German motorised element dashed forward, and the foot sloggers slogged on foot through the woods. The US first squad broke through the line of hills in the Jeeps and headed for the farm.

Seeing the approaching Germans, and thinking they would not get to the farm first, the Jeep borne section changed direction and headed to the secondary target of the small hill. Wolf atop his hillside, found he was a very poor Artillery Observation Officer, and managed not to instruct the artillery to fire. 2nd and 3rd US squads took up defensive positions on the two hills either side of the road.

The Kettenkrads reached the farm and the section disembarked. The Nebelwerfers were unlimbered. The US 1st Squad jumped from the jeeps and headed for the crest of the small hill.

As the 1st Squad crested the hill, the 3 sections under Wulf burst from the treeline. It was difficult to know who was most surprised, but the Germans charged forward. The US paras, seeing a mass of Germans appearing from the trees, and mistaking the roar and clank of the mortar bearing Kettenkrads for something more deadly, broke and ran.

Wulf and his men charged over the hill in pursuit of the fleeing 1st Squad. Wolf, meanwhile managed to lay down a fire order but the salvo did little damage to the charging Germans.

Wulf fired his Very pistol and the Nebelwerfers burst into action. Their effect was somewhat devastating. The two squads on the hills suffered nearly 50% casualties, including Lt Wolf.

As the German artillery hitched up and retired the field, Wulf and his troops made it through the gap between the hills, shooting wildly as they went. The US artillery seeing the wild advance limbered up and departed. The remains of the US platoon, seeing they were outnumbered and outmatched, retired gracefully from the field.

Conclusion
The US lost over 1/2 of their infantry, plus their command element. The Germans lost less than half a section.

The reason for the US loss was partially Lt Wolf, who was totally inept at artillery observation.The other cause was the fierce effectiveness of the Nebelwerfer, which were aided by some very lucky die rolls.

The Germans should get the credit for the aggressive attack. The charge to the small hill, and then over in pursuit of the fleeing 1st Squad came to be known as Wulf's Death Charge.    


So, was it a good idea to let the US fight in place of the UK? Well, it probably wouldn't have made a lot of difference because of the aggression/luck of the Germans, but perhaps our Lt Fox would have managed the artillery better.

The Americans of Wolf's platoon ... and the supporting battery of 75mm's.


Wulf's paratroopers ... and Wulf's Death Charge.


.. and this is me discovering that my phone has two cameras.
Lord Oik of Runcorn (You may refer to me as Milord Oik)

Oik of the Year 2013, 2014; Prize for originality and 'having a go, bless him', 2015
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2023 - the year of Gerald:
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d_Guy

I like the shirt almost as much as the V1.
Sleep with clean hands ...

paulr

 :-bd =D> :-bd

Great to see what you are up to :)

Love the shirt :)
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Duke Speedy of Leighton

Really nice painting, wow.
Good shirt
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Techno

Looking really good, Nobby !  :-bd

The sweatshirt really suits you.  ;D ;D

Cheers - Phil


Techno

I forgot.

It's 'Wot I done on my holiday,' Nobby.  ;)

Cheers - Phil :)


FierceKitty

Quote from: Techno on 15 March 2020, 08:59:25 AM
I forgot.

It's 'Wot I done on my holiday,' Nobby.  ;)

Cheers - Phil :)



It's 'Wot I done on my holiday,' Nobby, innit?  Do get it right.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

Techno

Oh.....I should have known that.  :-[

Cheers - Phil ;)

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

Problem of being Welsh Phil...
FOG IN CHANNEL - EUROPE CUT OFF
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Techno

 X_X

Ironically, for the first time since we've moved to the 'Land of my fathers'' I actually said "Thank-you" in Welsh... on autopilot. :o....Rather than actually thinking about it !
(And I have caught myself speaking in a Welsh accent.....But only the once.)

Cheers - Phil ;)

FierceKitty

My first wife was a linguistic chameleon. When we went on a walking tour in Wales in the 80s, her Afrikaans accent had picked up the Taff hy within a week..."Look at the hyellow daffodils!" I was the one with problems - not a good time to have an English accent in the west country.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

d_Guy

"on autopilot" means "thank you" in Welch? Cool! I love this forum. I guess it doesn't pronounce as it looks?
Sleep with clean hands ...

Ithoriel

Quote from: FierceKitty on 15 March 2020, 11:41:17 AM
My first wife was a linguistic chameleon. When we went on a walking tour in Wales in the 80s, her Afrikaans accent had picked up the Taff hy within a week..."Look at the hyellow daffodils!" I was the one with problems - not a good time to have an English accent in the west country.

Ah, the good old days of "Come home to a real fire ... buy a holiday cottage in Wales!"

I studied in Aberystwyth '77 - '78, amazing how many locals suddenly remembered they could speak English when they discovered I was Scottish not English!
There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

Scorpio_Rocks

I worked in North Wales for a couple of summers as a climbing and canoeing instructor in the '80s (when they were burning holiday homes). I learned about 10 phrases that saved my life on more than one occasion, including stuff like "fish and chips twice please" and "can you direct me back to Capel Curig?". I think the only ones i still remember are: (Spelling?)
Thanks - Diolch
shut up! - Cau di geg
Where's the loo - Bleh maer ty bach
1 polite, 1 rude, 1 essential!
"Gentlemen, when the enemy is committed to a mistake - we must not interrupt him too soon."
Horatio Nelson.

Raider4

I reckon there are two essential phrases in any language - "Where are the toilets?" and "2 large beers please".