Gembloux Gap 1940

 More Dominion of the Blitzkrieg, this time the Low Countries in May 1940. This scenario is billed as the Battle of Gembloux Gap on 13/14 May 1940, but looking at the composition of forces, it bears more resemblance to the Battle of Hannut which took place two days earlier as 2nd and 3rd DLM covered the deployment of 1st Army and were engaged by 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions. Anyway, historical account here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gembloux_(1940)

And here we are, Gembloux is the centre bottom of the map, Hannut at the mid top, the River Sambre is on the right and the Dyle on the left. The open ground between the two rivers being the 'gap'. It is a popular place for battles as Wavre is on the left, and Waterloo a few miles further west.

The pre-war Allied plan involved moving into Belgium and building a defence line along the Dyle river, the Wavre-Gembloux-Sambre line was the eastern extension of that. The 'Dyle Plan' absorbed almost the entire French mobile reserve, leading to Churchills lament later in the campaign Ou est le mass de manouvre?

Anyway, here are the baddies, 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions, 20th Motorised Division and 35th Infantry Division of XVI Panzer Corps. Although both panzer divisions had numerous vehicles (over 300 tanks each in four battalions), these were not first rate divisions and they were mainly equipped with Pz I and Pz II as was 9th Panzer Division in the Netherlands. All these formations task was to attract the Allies attention and keep them pinned. The Germans lost around 150 tanks at Hannut but repaired two thirds of them.

In the front line we have two tank units (3rd Panzer, 4th Panzer) and an infantry unit (20th Mot). In reserve is another nameless tank unit, 35th Infantry Division and a unit of bombers. All these units are average.

The French have 2nd and 3rd Light Mechanised Divisions (DLM), somewhat battered after two days of fighting at Hannut, but equipped with a far higher proportion of gun armed tanks (Somuas and H39s) than the Germans and with thicker armour too. The French also lost around 150 tanks at Hannut but were forced to abandon most of them, so here the units are just rated as regular tank units. III Motorised Corps had the 1st Moroccan Division (DM) and 15th Motorised Infantry Division (15 DIM), both first rate formations.

So here we have 1 DM dug in and modelled as disciplined infantry with AT guns, in the centre 2nd DLM (tanks) and on the right 15 DIM, also disciplined infantry.

In reserve are 3rd DLM (tanks) and the Corps artillery - a regular artillery piece with two fire missions. I used a Chinellette carrier to represent the ammo state for the artillery.  The Somuas and H39s are all QRF as are the Pz I, while the Pz II are Peter Pig. 

Things kick off with Stukas inffectively attacking 2nd DLM in the centre, but 1 DM on the left managed to fluff it and are overrun by 3rd Panzer Division! The French artillery fired on the tanks needing a 3+ and missed, then the AT guns fired needing 5+ to hit and missed then finally the tanks hit on a 6. You can work out the odds. 

To add insult to injury the 3rd DLM in reserve failed to move leaving an open flank.

Fierce fighting in the centre as 2nd DLM was destroyed by Stukas, but their place was taken by 3rd DLM bravely driving through the bombs and forestalling 4th Panzer. 

3rd DLM kept going, supported by the French artillery and routed 4th Panzer. Ouch!

In the centre fresh panzer reserves moved up. Lack of French air power made this 'anything but a 1'. The dice decreed the German right would attack, and 20th Mot duly bounced off 15 DIM.

The dice decreed more fighting on the right and this time the Germans came out on top, rather against the odds.

With 3rd DLM committed, the French gunners suddenly found themselves firing over open sights. No reinforcement roll here as the Germans were using infantry.

3rd DLM and the new panzers suffered mutual annihilation, but the German still had more reserves to throw in and 35th Infantry Div took over in the centre.

The French gunners were assaulted by 20th Mot but easily repelled them. Reduced to just one unit however, it was all over for 1st Army. That was actually a pretty historical result as both sides suffered heavy but fairly similar armour losses and eventually the French were forced back.

Time for another run as these rules are pretty random and the Germans were very fortunate at times in that one.

This one opened in much the same way with an ineffective bombing attack on 2nd DLM, and  a French attack by 1 DM on the left. This time the odds told and 3rd Panzer was routed by the French AT guns, 35th Infantry moving up to take their place who could fight the French on equal terms (both needing 6 to hit!).

More ineffective bombing on 2nd DLM, but 20th Mot was routed by the 15 DIM on the right. Reserve panzers moved up to take their place.

The dice decreed combat on the left, and both sides managed to roll a 6. Mutual annihilation!

3rd DLM moved up into the gap easily as there was no German armour opposing them. All the Germans could do was commit the Luftwaffe to try and interdict the gap, which also precluded their offensive bombing operations.

The Germans attacked 15 DIM on the right, and the French fired their artillery in support and managing to throw a miserable 1. The attack failed in any case (the tanks now needed a 6 to hit the entrenched infantry).

3rd DLM advanced on the left...

And broke through the bombing! The German right flank was now in the air.

And it was over pretty quickly after that as 2nd and 3rd DLM crushed 4th Panzer between them. Which just goes to show the Germans don't have it all their own way in 1940.

That was a very enjoyable scenario, and as usual I enjoyed looking up historical stuff up about it. I ran a Hannut game a few years ago using NATO Brigade Commander but it strikes me as an obvious candidate for One Hour WW2.

I felt much more confident with the nuances of the Blitzkrieg rules, and I think I've got the hang of rolling for reserves to arrive. I may have made a few mistakes, but if I did, they didn't show and the narrative of both battles was very convincing. One thing this set does quite well is capture the knife edge which 'Blitzkrieg' style armoured operations work on, if it goes well it goes very well, but once the combined arms machine starts to unravel, it all goes horribly wrong very quickly. Air support is absolutely critical as without it, things devolve into a low odds slugging match.

Sedan 1940

 Another interesting looking Dominion of the Blitzkrieg scenario. This one covers Guderians Panzer Korps assaulting Sedan after its famous march through the 'impassable' Ardennes which rather took the French by surprise. This scenario includes armoured units and attack aircraft, so is more likely to generate the type of 'breakthrough' battles typical of the early war period.

The general setup, this is roughly 18" x 18". The Meuse is in the middle, with Sedan in the large river bend. There are heights to the south overlooking the various river crossings, and to the north is the edge of the hilly and heavily wooded Ardennes.

The French. I must say for 'surprised' troops there are an awful lot of them! Up front we have three Regiments of the reserve 55th Division in bunkers and entrenchments along the Meuse. In support are the divisional artillery. All the 55th Div units are rated as 'unreliable', and that also restricts the artillery to a single fire mission. The infantry units are all dug in though, so if they stand, they will be hard to defeat.

We also have a Regiment from 71st Division in reserve (historically they conducted a counterattack at Le Haut du Wastia, which I've previously gamed using One Hour WW2). Finally we have the Char Bs of 2nd DCR, which historically were committed at Stonne, and which I've gamed already using NBC WW2.

Armoured units in these rules generally aren't that great individually - they fight as well as infantry (basic 5+ to hit) but do get to fight first, get a bonus for outflanking, and also have a chance to disrupt the movement of enemy reserves, increased by the presence of air support.  The French tanks are heavily armoured though so get a defensive (D) bonus. Both they and the 71st will have to weather the storm of Luftwaffe bombs to get there though.

The mighty panzers, representing 1st, 2nd and 10th Panzer divisions, although the Germans have four actual panzer units in the scenario (one is in reserve). Assume they are the three divisions and some sort of Corps reserve.

I've given each of these units three stands as they are divisions, not regiments, and 1st Panzer in the centre has a Pz IV and Sdkfz 251 as it is rated Elite. At the time it was one of the few units to have armoured halftracks, and it had a higher proportion of medium tanks than the other divisions which were mainly equipped with Panzer IIs.

Finally we have that huge He 111, representing the the 850 Stukas and medium Bombers of Luftflotte 2. An elite bomber unit, which is genuinely scary, a base to hit of 3+ AND it interdicts enemy reserve movement. Ouch.

Famously this engagement had been extensively wargamed by the Germans beforehand, and the operations orders issued were just the ones from the wargame with the dates changed. They are reproduced in Guderians 'Panzer Leader'.

A bit more of a worms eye view. I should probably have the 71st up on the heights and the Char Bs in the valley, but hey ho. These are all from my early war collection which have featured numerous times. The German tanks are all Peter Pig while the Char Bs are QRF. The French artillery piece is actually a 1/76th scale model of a 47mm gun which I've converted into a 1/100th scale 105mm.

The action opens with a bombing raid on Sedan - in the first turn the attacker can choose whether to bomb or attack with a ground unit. I assumed (erroneously) that you also got to attack in the sector bombed. In any case, it was ineffective and 1st Panzer was repulsed.

 

At some point the French have fired their artillery (the puff of smoke), but it obviously hasn't done any good. The Germans attack with air support on the left and the French run away. 10th Panzer have their bridgehead. The Char Bs try to fill the gap, but need a 4+ to move under air attack and fail.

This flank is now open, if the Germans make an outflanking attack from it, the French can roll to plug the gap again. The Germans can even attack French reserve units if there are none in the front line. That is very clever, and a nice way to represent an armoured breakthrough,

The French response is  muted, the Sedan garrison attacks but the fighting is indecisive (they had to pick the most advantageous sector, and that is it).

The Germans attempt a crossing with 2nd Panzer, but it is repulsed by the defenders despite the air support. I got this wrong as the attack should have ended with the (unsuccessful) bomber attack. It does actually say that in the rules, but you need to read them carefully,

The German reserves move up to plug the gap. The French don't have any bombers, and none of their tanks are opposing them, so this is automatic.

The reserves promptly vanish in anothe failed river assault.

And now the Germans are forced to commit their bombers to holding the line - imagine a series of interdiction raids. This precludes the bombers from conducting any more concentrated attacks, and is similar to gunners suddenly finding themselves holding the line. 

10th Panzer exploits its bridgehead to outflank and destroy the Sedan garrison. That gives the French a chance to move up reinforcements.

I got this wrong too. I assumed the only reserve penalty was because the French were facing German armour in each sector now the bombers were 'holding the line' so to speak, so success on a 2+. In fact if a side starts with reserve bombers, the penalty applies for the whole game, so it should have been 4+.

Anyway, 2nd DCR moved up to block 10th Panzer, while the 71st moved into Sedan opposite 1st Panzer.

1st Panzer promptly crossed the Meuse and routed the 71st! The French gunners now found themselves in the front line as they made their reserve roll.

Sadly for the French, they rolled 'activate centre' - the unreliable gunners ran away and 1st Panzer occupied the heights.

The Germans then got to choose a sector and 1st Panzer outflanked the last Regiment of the 55th on the Meuse, routing them. 2nd DCR counterattacked 10th Panzer but the action was indecisive. Reduced to one unit , a French defeat. Which of course was the historical result, but a hard fought battle nonetheless.

I was conscious that I had made some mistakes so re-read the rules carefully a few times. There is also a vey helpful example of play which funnily enough covers the Sedan scenario.

Having improved my understanding, time to go again.

The Germans open with a bombing raid on Sedan, which routs the defenders (they failed their reliability roll). Combat then ends, but effectively 1st Panzer now has a bridgehead over the Meuse. I've pushed an infantry stand over the river.

The French reinforcements fail to move up (needing a 4+ in the face of tanks supported by bombers).

There is an indecisive action in the right as the 55th engage 2nd Panzer, but at least the French stand.

1st Panzer then exploits the breakthrough with a flank attack on the left which routs the defenders along the river bank. You can either make a bomber attack OR a conventional attack. This attack allows the French to roll for reserves again, and the 71st move up to seal the breach. 2nd DCR fails to block 10th Panzer though, who also now have a bridgehead.

More indecisive fighting on the right between the 55th and 2nd Panzer.

Now the Germans ineffectively bomb 2nd DCR, while 10th Panzer makes an outflanking attack on the 71st. The French commit their artillery support, but the fighting is indecisive.

2nd DCR does however make its reinforcement roll and braves the German bombers to block 10th Panzer.

2nd Panzer is routed on the right, and reserves move up to take their place.

1st Panzer breaks out of Sedan supported by bombers, and the 71st flee. The brave French gunners of the 55th Division however managed to manouvre into place to block the panzers.

The French then manged to rout 2nd Panzer on the right (again).

Which leaves the Luftwaffe to hold the line. The Char Bs of 2nd DCR rumble into action and finish off 10th Panzer. 1st Panzer suddenly looks rather isolated as there are no more German reserves.

1st Panzer tries to outflank 2nd DCR but the move fails.

In turn, 2nd DCR flanks 1st Panzer and wipes it out. Guderian is flung back across the Meuse!

Well that was a turn up. What an interesting scenario, certainly excellent as a learning framework for the rules, probably more so than the Narvik one I originally picked. That was a great game, and what a clever and subtle development of the rules, although obviously  a bit too subtle for my ageing brain cells! There are a couple more France 1940 scenarios I'd like to try out, which both feature more tank battles, so watch this space.

Narvik and Sedan - Dominion of the Blitzkrieg

 Another day, another set of Dominion rules. I felt that I'd given the RCW and Marlburian rules a fair crack, and I was keen to try some other ones. I like to play several games with one set as there are very nuanced differences between each, and it is easy to end up getting confused if you swap around too much.

The Blitzkrieg set focuses on the late 1930s and early 1940s when (some) armies were developing new tactical and operational techniques around the use of airpower and massed armour formations. I picked  a couple of early WW2 scenarios as I have the toys for those, and I've been doing some of these campaigns with 'Unconditional Surrender'. 

First up is Narvik in April 1940. The Germans attacked Narvik as part of their overall invasion of Norway, the town was at the terminus of the route from Sweden carrying iron ore that was vital to the German war effort. The Germans got ashore OK but then the Royal Navy destroyed most of the German naval escorts, leaving a mixed garrison of Mountain Troops and sailors fighting as infantry. 

More of a worms eye view. I set this up using a winter cloth and my profile mountains. The real terrain is quite complex, with mountain ridges, various valleys and passes, fjiords etc so this is more of an impression. There is an area of (passable) high ground NE of Narvik which I've managed to represent by folding the base cloth. It has a few pine trees on it. The land area is about 18" x 18", which I think looks a lot better than the 3' x 3' table I used for some of the RCW games.

The local Norwegian 6th Division counterattacked, supported by an Allied contingent shipped in further north. Left to right we have French, Poles and then Norwegian infantry. In reserve are British infantry, and the French are rated as elite. The Norwegian figures look suspiciously like Afrika Korps figures painted grey... 

The Royal Navy is providing NGFS, this unit is rated as an elite artillery unit, which makes it rather scary. Artillery has some similarities to the way it is treated in the RCW set, but only has a limited set of fire missions.. Elite units get three missions, which are quite destructive. 

This ship looks suspiciously like a1/3000 scale model of HMS Inflexible... I don't have any WW2 1/3000th scale ships.

The Germans have three infantry units dug in across the front (with a fortification bonus). The unit in the mountains on the right is elite, the other two are regular as they are a mix of sailors and mountain troops. Historically the elements on the right flank held out longest. 

The Germans were completely  isolated, and the only reinforcements available were paratroops, so in reserve the Germans have two units of Paras waiting to be flown in by Ju 52.Both are 'unreliable' due to the vagaries of air drops. 

I enjoy setting up the terrain and forces, even though you could just play these games with counters. 

This battle is a straight infantry/artillery fight, without the nuances of armoured formations and air attacks, so a good way to get your head around the basic mechanisms. 

The action opens with a French assault on Narvik supported by NGFS. On the the first turn, both sides can pick where to attack (or launch an air raid), after that it is semi randomised. I had to re-read the bits on how artillery works a few times and I still think I got it wrong at first. It is subtly different to the RCW set.

The German sailors run away, but the Luftwaffe drop a stick of Paras to save the town. An interesting wrinkle in this set is that reserves don't arrive automatically, if the enemy is attacking with tanks they need 2+, and if they have tanks and a bombers, a 4+. This makes more likely that armoured units will set up devastating flank attacks. 

No tanks or bombers here though, the Paras land automatically but are still 'unreliable' , so need to be diced for if they fight. 

The Germans choose their most advantageous sector, the Gebirgsjager attack the Norwegians but the battle is indecisive. Similar to other sets, some classes of units attack earlier than others, but infantry fight simultaneously. The GJ have a big edge being both elite (hit on 4+) and dug in (Norwegians hit on 6).

The following turn, action occurs in the same sectors. The French attack Narvik, but the Fallschirmjager stand and they are repulsed, while the Gebirgsjager and Norwegians continue fighting on the right. From turn 2 onwards, each side dices, on a 4+ they choose a sector, otherwise it is 1 to3 for left, centre, right. 

On the third try, Narvik falls.

But once again the Luftwaffe spring to the rescue with more FJ.

Over in the mountains the GJ finally push the Norwegians back.

Their place is taken by the British, again the reinforcement is automatic as the Germans have no tanks or bombers. On the left I've kept the FJ as a column to show they are untried yet.

The British on the right don't last very long! The Germans kept roll 4+ on their activation dice so kept choosing their best unit to fight. 

Now things get  a little odd. The Battleships have fired all their fire missions but still count as a reserve unit, so plug the gap with an artillery salvo - think of it as a desultory box barrage. The artillery fights as a normal (not very good) unit - think of the Germans trying to get through the barrage or something. It was that or park the battleships in the snow!

The French attack Narvik again and the the paras run away.

And in a final twist of fate, the Battleships roll a 6 and blow away the GJ on the right. Reduced to one unit, the Germans lose, as there aren't any rallies in these rules. The centre wasn't engaged for the entire game!

As I wasn't sure I was doing some of that right, I ran it again a few more times. I'll try and keep this a bit briefer.

On the next run the Norwegians attacked on the right with NGFS support and easily routed the GJ.

More FJ swooped in.

But were immediately engaged and ran away! They failed their reliability roll.

Send more paras.....

Now the Poles attacked and cleared the centre, again with NGFS support. The Germans were out of reserves now, so a hole opened up.

But the Narvik garrison saw off the French and the British hurried up to take their place in the line.

They need not have worried too much as the Poles outflanked the FJ in the north and routed them. Outflanking tanks and infantry get a combat bonus, and the targets cant fight back, as in the other sets.

Another easy Allied win.

Time for another go.

Once again the Narvik garrison routed early on but FJ parachuted in to save the day. In this case the German centre held out OK. 

Further heavy fighting however saw the Poles, Norwegians and British all routed! The remaining French managed to clear Narvik and once more it was an Allied victory. I don't think it is an unbalanced scenario, just down to the luck of the dice. 

I stopped and set up the Sedan scenario at that point, but it is also quite photo heavy so I'll do that as a sperate report. It took me a while to get the hang of that, but that is possibly because it was so similar yet different to the RCW set. It was a lot of fun to play though, and I really enjoyed setting the terrain up. The tanks and aircraft in the next scenario should add even more depth.