Hell on Wheels, the Saga of My Dogfaces Trudging Across Europe and the Med

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Well, that was a brutal one! Nice one Jack. Feel Kidd was mistreated mind.

[bigjackmac]

Thanks, Will, and agreed, Sgt Kidd was definitely hard done by.  But I'm loving the character-based drama; Captain Henry is turning into quite the movie villain

V/R,
Jack

[Sunray]

Thanks, Will, and agreed, Sgt Kidd was definitely hard done by.  But I'm loving the character-based drama; Captain Henry is turning into quite the movie villain

V/R,
Jack

Jack

Many personal thanks for enthralling read and the generous eye candy.

 My 10mm wargames are now character based. It started out as a Boxing Day family roleplay game and became a must for other games.

It really adds something to those painted little figures.

I think I speak for the Pendraken Forum when I warmly welcome you back to our blog pages.

James aka Sunray

[bigjackmac]

Hello James, good to hear from you, I hope all is well! 

And yes, adding in the characters has really added a lot to my wargame experience, and I sure wish you had a blog for me to check out yours!

I appreciate the kind words, it's good to be back in the gaming swing of things.

V/R,
Jack

[Sunray]

Thanks Jack

Now retirement has arrived, the first on the bucket list is a story/novel that has been in my head for years. Blog might follow.

This "Hell on wheels" blog you have generously shared via the forum is the modern 21st Century of the time honoured tradition of the "Gospel" of wargaming. What gets people into the hobby.

Way back in the 1960s I had Airfix plastic soldiers. I fired at them with  a spring loaded pop gun. Then my cousin arrived one day with a ruler, dice and a set of hand written rules. That day I stopped playing with toy soldiers and began war gaming.

Later, I got a copy of Battle by Charles Grant. It capitavated me.
Articles by the likes of Don Featherson began to appear in Military Modelling

By the 1970s Wargaming had its own dedicated magazines. I am looking at a Spring 1988 copy of Practical Wargamer. Articles and battlereports by Andy Allen,David Allsop,Bob Black, John Treadaway,Charles S.Grant, Terry Wise,and Don Featherstone.

It also advertised the early cottage industry of white metal.Platoon 20,Battlehonours,Hotspur, Heroics & Ros, Irregular Mins....Peter Laing (remember his 15mm?).

Then the shows started and the hobby took off.

The Forum is the 21st Century internet continuation of those publications. Your battle reps, pictures of your table and the throw of the dice....this is how we inspire others to take up the hobby.

And the more demand....the better chance of new figures and models as "requests" become viable in terms of design and production.

Keep 'er lit Jack!

[bigjackmac]

James,

Congratulations on retirement, I hope to join you someday I'd love to hear more on the story/novel idea, and I certainly hope it leads to a blog or two

Regarding my own blogs, goodness, you are far too kind! There can be no higher compliment than to have helped inspired someone, so I thank you, and will continue working to stay active in that regard.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

1630 Local Time
9 November 1942
Near Port Lyautey, French Morocco

The Major was livid, again...  Following Captain Henry's successful seizure of 'Murderville' and 'The Meatgrinder,' Task Force Reisman had been tasked with making an assault on the Kasbah, an old French fort northeast of the invasion beaches, smack dab between them and Port Lyautey, the ultimate objective.  The US 9th Infantry Division had made several unsuccessful attacks on the Kasbah from the west/northwest and needed to fall back, regroup, and reorganize for continued combat operations, so high command decided to have TF Reisman give it a try from the southwest.  Major Reisman was furious because 9th ID artillery and airstrikes pounded the Kasbah all morning, then lifted at 1230 in order to allow TF Reisman to attack.  The only problem was, it was now 1630 and TF Reisman had still not launched its attack...

Major Reisman had tabbed Captain May's Dog Company for the attack on the Kasbah but, following the chaos of the amphibious landings, the attack on Mehdia, and the French counterattack, the various TF Reisman units were still hopelessly intermixed and mixing gear, and it took time to get it all sorted out.  A lot of time, in fact, so much time that Dog Company missed its jump-off time, but the units had finally separated themselves and gotten back to their tables of organization.  Major Reisman was forced to radio through to HQ and notify them of the delay a total of three times before Captain May was able to move his company up to the line of departure and signal they were prepared to launch. 

The preparatory fires on the Kasbah had ceased at 1230 local time (no one has unlimited ammo), but Major Reisman was able to beg 9th Infantry Division artillery to resume bombardment to cover Captain May's advance to the line of departure.  At the arranged time the guns fell silent; Captain May gave a nervous glance at his wristwatch: 1630, time to go.  "Alright boys, up and at'em!"


Overview, north is up.  The Kasbah is located in the northeast (top right), and the French have Strongpoint Marie on a small hill in the southeast (bottom right), with the Wadi Sebou running between the two and flowing northwest (top center left) towards the sea.  The river is bridged at a nearby (unnamed) village, but it is shallow in this area and can easily be waded by infantry.  The US line of departure is the left-hand baseline.

The ground here is a bit of a canyon, surrounded by low hills, hardball road running through it, broken only by the river and patches of rocky ground and brush.

The American force runs in a line from top left to bottom center left, while the French are clustered in the Kasbah (top right) and SP Marie (bottom right).  I placed the Americans where they will start the game, having stood up and moved out in skirmish line immediately after the preparatory barrage lifted, about where they'd be once the French recovered from the US artillery.


The opposing forces, with Americans on the left, French on the right.  The American force consists of Captain May (bottom right) leading all three of his rifle platoons and a weapons platoon, with a pair of M7 Priest self-propelled guns attached (being used as assault guns). Their French foe is packing quite a punch, pretty much equal in size to the attacking force, which is never a good idea.  Additionally, the French are experiencing a serious bout of high elan due to being considerably protected by the 4' walls of the Kasbah and the strong trenches of Strongpoint Marie and having successfully seen off three infantry attacks by the Amis, which will be reflected in their morale rolls/checks.


The US barrage has lifted; the dusty GIs rise up and begin advancing, the only sound being the clank of their gear as they make their way across the rocky desert floor.  The silence is broken when Cpl Bledsoe's water-cooled .30-cal MG (bottom right) opens fire, peppering the stone walls of the Kasbah (top left, with the American CO at center).


The American SPGs (bottom left) engage the Kasbah as all three rifle platoons advance (left top, left, and bottom center).


It's a veritable inferno, with artillery, SPG, anti-tank gun, machine gun, mortar, and small arms fire ravaging the landscape, both sides suffering heavy casualties!!!


Under heavy pressure, the Yanks press home the attack, with 2nd Platoon crossing bridge (far left) towards the Kasbah (just off camera to top left) and 3rd Platoon advancing (center) on Strongpoint Marie (top right).


The French counterattack with light armor!


The American infantry respond...  To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:
https://hakunamatatawars.blogspot.com/2023/02/hell-on-wheels-operation-torch-fight-6.html

The next day the Task Force was essentially provided no orders, as peace talks with French leadership were being carried out.  But Major Reisman was not satisfied to simply sit on his hands, so he ordered his men in vicinity of the invasion beaches and Mehdia to carry out aggressive patrolling (though they were told to stay well clear of the Kasbah and Strongpoint Marie!), while he sent elements of his Armored Reconnaissance Company on an even wider right hook, around the Kasbah, looking for a back door to Port Lyautey.  Of course, it wasn't long until they ran into French defenders, which is our next fight (and last of the landings in Morocco).

V/R,
Jack

[pierre the shy]

Well that clash certainly rocked the Kasbah Jack! 

Be interesting to see what happens next. Please keep up your narrative - it's very well written and more than a little inspirational (not that I have actually had any time to do anything much game related in the last few days).

Cheers
Peter

   

 

[bigjackmac]

Hello, Peter!  Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words.  I've played 13 fights so far, still writing them up but on schedule to keep up with the weekly release, should be able to tide us over until you're gaming and posting!

V/R,
Jack

[Ithoriel]

I'll second Peter's comments!

[paulr]

Thirded

[bigjackmac]

Thanks, fellas.

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Ouch!

[bigjackmac]

Yeah, it was a tough one.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

1430 Local Time
10 November 1942
Near Port Lyautey, French Morocco

Normally this would have been a job for his XO, or even one of the better platoon leaders, but his XO was dead and he was still trying to establish himself as a good leader in the eyes of his men, so Captain Henry, commander of TF Reisman's Armored Reconnaissance Company, was leading a mechanized thrust wide around the left flank of the French defenses in and around Port Lyautey.  Despite a couple days' relatively hard fighting, morale was high as the sense the French, who no one believed were truly the enemy to begin with, were preparing to capitulate and everyone believed the fighting in Morocco was about to come to a joyous end.  Major Reisman was quick to stamp out any such thoughts and complacency, admonishing his soldiers that "there was still a war to be fought," and so he kept the Task Force men busy, to include this scouting party. 

Captain Henry had led the column out at first light, and so far, so good.  They American column had covered many miles without any real sign of French defenders, just a few stragglers attempting to surrender, not a single shot fired.  But the now-seasoned dogfaces were growing a bit uncomfortable, that edgy feeling that something was about to happen creeping in.  Captain Henry felt it, too, and as the column approached an oasis and crossroads with a couple stone buildings present, he halted the column to and moved to get his field glasses on it.


Overview, north is up.  The hardball roads running north-south and east-west intersect at a crossroads hosting a couple stone buildings on the right side of the table, with a small, natural pond nearby, likely owing to a tributary of the Wadi Sebou flowing to the north.  There are plenty of rocky outcroppings and rocky ground, split by the occasional palm tree, but overall it's pretty sparse.  I tried to cut way back on my use of the hedges as scrub brush, I think my first six tables probably had way too much green for Morocco, but I'll deflect that accusation by stating these fights all occurred near the coast

The only terrain features relevant to this fight are the crossroads/village, 'The Knoll' at left top (just left of the pond), and the twin hills just right of them, which will call Hills 36 (just below the road at far right) and 37 (just above the road at far right).

The US baseline is at left; they have their CO and armored car platoon just off road at far left top, while their Stuart tank platoon and tank destroyer platoon is located at bottom left.  The French are all grouped just east (right) of the crossroads, with rifle squads, their mortar team, and their platoon leader in the village, their 25mm ATG atop Hill 36 (far right, below the road), and their MG team atop Hill 37 (far right, above the road).


The opposing forces, with US on the left and French on the right.  A little bit smaller of a fight than the first six, but not much.  The Yanks have an armored rifle platoon supported by understrength armored car, tank, and tank destroyer platoons, while the French have an understrength rifle platoon supported by an ATG, mortar, and MG, with reinforcements coming in the form of a light tank platoon and a mechanized infantry platoon.


Captain Henry, the commander of Task Force Reisman's Armored Reconnaissance Company, glasses the crossroads and its surrounding environs.  "It's quiet," states Captain Henry.

"Yeah, too quiet," replies Lt Stone, his Armored Car Platoon leader.

"It stinks of quiet," murmurs Captain Henry.*  Nevertheless, he orders Lt Stone to advance; Lt Stone, in turn, informs his drivers and Lt Royals' Armored Infantry Platoon to prepare to move.

*Sorry, I just remember that exact sequence popping up in so many of the WWII comic books I read as a kid


Captain Henry (top left) looks on helplessly as his armor is getting shot to pieces by the French defenders.


The armored infantry aren't faring much better...


And then the French tanks show up (bottom right, with the US armored infantry on the knoll at top center and the US armor between the outcroppings at top left)!

To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://hakunamatatawars.blogspot.com/2023/02/hell-on-wheels-operation-torch-fight-7.html

Thus ends Task Force Reisman's war in French Morocco!  Later that evening US forces from the 9th Infantry Division finally captured the Kasbah, and a cease-fire officially went into effect on the morning of 11 November 1942, signaling a cessation of hostilities between the Vichy French and Allied Forces, who quickly became allies in time for the upcoming fighting in Tunisia.

Task Force Reisman spent a few days resting and helping to police up the area and surrendering French forces, but then received orders attaching them to the United States' 1st Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division.  Upon arrival in Tunisia they were instantly placed under British command in a unit being called "Blade Force," headed for a place called "Chewey-Gooey," where they'd gain their first experience of war against the Germans and their Italian allies.

Coming soon!

V/R,
Jack