ITLSU - V Beach 1915

[Martin1914]

They were under suppressive fire but the Munsters continued to land. Those on the beach took hard cover behind an earth bank, but still had to send men out to cut a path through the wire beneath the Old Fort. (Photo19)

In what seemed a rash move, the Munsters sent a company forward from the cover of the earth bank up to the first line of wire. They were soon suppressed by rifle fire from the Turkish trench line and were unable to cut through. (Photo20)

To be continued

[pierre the shy]

Outstanding looking game Martin 

Very inspirational!!

Hmmm, been wanting to do a Cape Helles landing scenario for ITLSU for a long time......

British figures - got, Turkish figures - accessable, terrain/wire/boats - doable. 

Think I just added this to my 2022 plan - I'm hooked 

"Just row your boats into the beach under the muzzles of the Turkish MG's....what can possibly go wrong??"

[paulr]

         

The bark works really well, what did you use for the sea?

Count me in Pierre the Shy, can I be the Turks

[pierre the shy]

Count me in Pierre the Shy, can I be the Turks

Hmmm....think our traditional method of choosing sides will be applied to this scenario Paul!! Of course odds on that I'll still be running 29th Division anyway!  

How many VC's can be earnt before breakfast? 

[paulr]

The 6 before breakfast were over on W Beach, only 5 at V Beach, all from the River Clyde

[sunjester]

An stunning looking game, very impressive.     

[fred.]

More great stuff Martin - sorry we interrupted the narrative!

[Martin1914]

Paul
Hello. The sea is formed from green A4 acetate sheets, cut to shape, cellotaped together and just laid over my game cloth. An idea shamelessly copied from another gamer's blog.

[paulr]

Like we used to use with OHPs

That is surprising effective on a large scale

I've used that approach for lakes, ponds and bogs. Painted them underneath (in reverse order) with a bit of paint on top for the bogs

[Martin1914]

However, this company had drawn the Turkish fire allowing men below the tower to cut the wire unhindered. This enabled Munsters on the beach to rush up into the Old Fort in the nick of time. The firefight here with the village had gone badly, the Dublins were down to a half-platoon. (Photo21)

The village defenders knew of the battalion plan to reinforce the coastal defences once attacked. Was a reserve company ever going to come to their aid? 11th Company had forced marched from inland. (Forced march!? They obviously needed a rest because it took two turns to deploy from a Blind! After waiting ten turns of the Blank Card to get them on-table, I needed them quickly). With the enemy strength increasing had the moment passed? It was a snap decision: reinforce the village or counter-attack the Old Fort and drive the enemy back into the sea? (Photo22)

[Martin1914]

With cries of "Allah!", 11th Company launched itself down the road towards the gateway. (Photo23)

The close combat was short and bloody, with losses to both sides. The Munsters held and the Turks withdrew to the village. (Photo24)

[Martin1914]

Having lost all their own officers, the Munsters were rallied by those of the Dublins. They had orders to attack the village. The Turks couldn't be given time to re-establish a defence of the village. With another company skirting below the seaward walls, the Munsters delivered a joint attack, fighting two separate close combats. (Photo25)

The Munsters were out for revenge and bloodied their bayonets! (Jase hadn't thrown particularly well all day. Until now. I swore at the number of sixes!) 10th Company men died in the houses. 11th Company died in the open street, its survivors routing far along the Krithia Road. The Munsters hadn't lost a man! (Photo26)

[Martin1914]

The British commander paced the bridge of the River Clyde. The battle had moved beyond his effective control. He had to move his HQ ashore. Before him the last remaining company of Dublins had just landed. On the beach they were met by their own commanding officer. He had left a single, weary and bloodied half-platoon in the Old Fort. They had done enough. But the Lieutenant Colonel was about to go for his second fort of the day. A solitary boat load of Dublins at the far end of beach had sneaked into an empty Fort No.1 whilst no one was looking! This last company was to go to their relief, and then secure Hill 138. (Photo27)

As the Munsters consolidated their hold on Sedd-al-Bahr, the British commander was intent on moving forward to organise the next attack to take Hill 141. With the 2nd Middlesex still on the River Clyde, he wanted an attack in strength with fire support in place to minimise any losses. Little did he know the battle had already been won. The Turkish Major had been leading the small remnant of 10th Company up the trench line for a last-ditch defence of the Harapkale Tepe redoubt. They had been under fire from the River Clyde's MG all the way and those machine gunners had the range and elevation now. It was a cruel twist of fate that as he was about to enter the redoubt, a burst of fire killed the last of his men and the Major himself. Honour had indeed been satisfied. There was no one left to stop the British taking all of their V Beach objectives. (Photo28)

I had taken a note of losses, but I think the story speaks for itself. I honestly thought the odds were stacked in my favour to actually win at ITLSU! It was just enjoyable to finally be able to put on another game.

I hope you've enjoyed the report.

[paulr]

       

If the Ottoman reserve had arrived a turn or two earlier things may have worked out very differently

I'm definitely looking forward to playing this scenario at some point

[fred.]

Excellent stuff Martin. Great looking game, a close scenario and a great write up