Periers Ridge

This was the third battle inmy '3 Div on D-Day' mini campaign. This time the lucky old KSLI and Staffs Yeomanry got to assault the German positions in front of Periers le Dans, while the battle for Hillman raged over to the right.

View from the south. Hermanville to the north, Periers le Dans to the south. The wire enclosure is the location of a German gun battery (captured French 155s no less). 

The fearsome British command team. As usual in these games, I put all the players on one side and ran the Germans as a player umpire.

Two companies of the KSLI approach the hill covered by 25pdr fire. The Germans are shelling Hermanville. What a shabby  trick. There is apparently a road block on the road covered by an MG post. IRL at this point the KSLI  Colonel walked down the middle of the road under heavy German fire to encourage the leading companies forwards once more.

Over on the right, rather then cooperating with the infantry as per the 21st Army Group guidelines, the Staffs Yeomany seem to be conducted a Soviet style tank attack with tank riders! Oh dear, looks like another road block.

Bypassing the road block and stonking the MG post, the plucky tankers meet the dug in Pak 40s covering the road block. Oh dear. Good job they brought those infantry with them.

A troop of Shermans goes up in flames, but in turn the Pak 40s disappear under a hail of close range 75mm HE and the infantry eagerly press forwards with fixed bayonets. The rest of the infantry are pressing on to the gun position, having met a Polish deserter in the field who is happy to show them a way through the wire.

Sadly at this point the camera seems to have run out of film. Suffice it to say that things are looking a bit sticky for the German gunners, and the entire position was overrun in short order. The British however failed to take Periers le Dans as a storm of defensive fire landed in front of the village, and long range anti-tank fire harrassed the Shermans. The KSLI had run into the thick end of a panzergrenadier battalion from 21st Panzer Div supported by artillery and a 10 gun SP anti-tank battery. Time to stop on top of the ridge and consolidate.

I was pretty pleased with this, as although the British didn't pair up a tank troop with each company, the result was pretty historical and the tank desant attack actually worked very well. At this point historically two rifle companies and a couple of Sherman troops set off for Bieville and then Lebisy Wood on the main road to Caen.

I wonder what will happen next?