France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 8

The French Commander Responds:

As the German Panzer Battalion commander contemplates his dilemma of "How to bypass Alincourt and cross the bridge" the French commander introduces him to French 155mm Schneider artillery "en masse" (see below):

What goes around, then comes around.

Enjoying this "artillery phase" and not wanting to be left out of the action the French commander at Neuflize (ahem, me again) brings in his trusted regimental artillery assets to 'save the day' and scramble those annoying German motorcyclists. Again the 'risk adverse' (of hitting your own troops - again) mental calculation is triggered and once again dismissed as unlikely (after all this would be a "one in one thousand occurrence").

I am sent straight back to Probability Class 101 as once something has occurred its certainty is P=1. Therefore instead of 1:1000 it is still only 1:10 and guess what .. (see below):  

Note to Self: See reference to "Ground-hog Day" and related entry of "Twit"!

"Friendly Fire" once again hits 'Friend and For' alike, prompting the Umpire to declare, "This is no accident the French artillery have just registered short on Neuflize today, no need to roll the dice again as I already know the result" .. I laugh hoping he's joking, but something of a twinkle in his eye makes me wonder!Not as bit as the divisional templates but I still mange to upset my sole AT gun covering the river (see below):

The battle as seen from the German side of the battlefield. The fighting for Neuflize (see below, top of photograph) has certainly drawn in the German motorcycle unit to its death, being under half strength in infantry now its fighting "umph" is definitely questionable but what holds in that mysterious black Hanomag 251 column, it has got to be something special. The motorised transport (see below, bottom of the photograph is probably the German Pazer Division Engineer Battalion plus various HQ elements. I will be interesting to see where it will deploy to, Alincourt or perhaps the 'wooded river-line' space between Alincourt and Neuflize (see below):

Finally the "panzer parking problem" of Alincourt. The lead German Panzer Company is certainly looking disorder (but not killed, dead or dying). Its attention may be drawn to something coming "off table" left in the form of French "tracked vehicles" (see below):

But it is not over yet as there is a third action (game) planned to cover the "tooth and claw" tank versus tank action as the French High Command commit their precious 'char' (aka tank) battalions in a desperate 'make or break' counter attack.

To be continued ...  hope you have enjoyed it so far

France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 7

The German Panzer Commander considers a problem: 

The German Panzer Battalion rides through a slight (noisy) artillery barrage and for want of other targets attempts a "close assault" (i.e. overrun attack) on a French AT gun (see below):  

The attack is successful in classic "Blitzkrieg" style (see below):

But where to go next as the side-streets with ample infantry cover and Panhard 25mm AT guns looks less than inviting. The infantry target at the rear of Alincourt will invite side-shots from those previously mentioned Panhards! (see below):

What you need is some motorised or armoured infantry to perform a combined arms assault, however all you see as far as the eye can see if "panzers" in a rather large traffic jam of their own making (see below):

The Panzer commander is faced with an intriguing problem in as much as, he does not want Alincourt but rather teh bridge over the river at Alincourt. So how does he set about getting it?

France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 6

The Heat of the Battle: 

Feeling the urgent need for additional fire power the French FOO requests immediate divisional artillery support. Again there is a 'one in ten chance' of this friendly fire falling short. Weighing up the probabilities in his (aka my) mind's eye, and given that he (ahem, "I") had already been 'unlucky' with the "artillery falling short" goblin, I felt safe to roll the dice again. The result is plain for all to see (see below):

Note to Self: Didn't I make an earlier 'note to self' about 'not teasing the dice' or 'taunting fate'? Why didn't I read, listen and learn?

The French artillery again hammers 'Friend and Foe' alike in this "one in one hundred" occurrence. "C'est le Guerre!" 

The dazed and wounded 'pause for philosophical reflection' (see below):

It is now time for the French to be on the receiving end of some German divisional artillery (see below):

After all the die rolling "nothing is killed", until the German motorcycle battalion deploys its support company MG34's and two French squads are dropped despite the protective "stone cover" evening the ratio 1:1 of casualties to three platoons/squads each (see below):  

Emboldened by the French losses and seeing "his chance" the German Commander again "rushes" the town via the 'bridge of death' (see below):

The bridge lives up to its name as another three German units die. The German commander is rapidly running out of 'leg' units cable of attacking. Despite some galling losses the French are still holding on in a strong defensive position. Despite all their heroic efforts the Germans have only but one squad holding onto a precarious northern section of the town (see below):

Like so many other times in the French Campaign, the decision hangs in the balance. "If" the French can reorganise and counter-attack, then perhaps the Germans can be evicted from their bridgehead before the contents of the "mysterious Hanomag column" can be deployed.

Which side has the better leaders to take advantage of the situation?

France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 5

Storming Neuflize: 

The stormy barrage of smoke and HE lifts to reveal a totally disorganised battle field. Dazed French and German soldiers stagger about aimlessly amongst the town ruins and shattered tree-line. Barking officers and NCOs soon bring them back to a semblance of order and intent, but both sides have suffered and are licking wounds (see below): 

After a small pause the Germans are "all-in" with a bold frontal infantry assault (see below):

That is, only to be met with a hail of accurate French defensive fire. The French trade briskly at a 3:1 ratio of casualties (ow!). The German commander seems quite unmoved in respect to the losses and with sinister deliberation moves up the "mysterious column" of German Hanomag 251's to a strategic jumping off position (see below): 

Mean while on the French right Flank: 

In Alincourt the Panhard armoured cars take up defensive positions in alleys and barricaded streets to support the infantry company garrison (see below):

They will need all the help they can get as "something evil this way comes" in the shape of a charging German Panzer Division (see below):

Just to tickle and attract their attention the French FOO in the village calls down some defensive artillery in the form of some friendly 155mm that have miraculously come "on net". The artillery have been bedevilled by orders, counter-orders, harassing from the Luftwaffe but have finally got themselves established in a fire base ready for action. This is the best news the French commander has received all game to date.  

France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 4

The Infantry Battle for Neiflize starts in earnest: 

A stand (representing two vehicles) of German 222 armoured cars audaciously try to rush the bridge and break open the French defences in a Hollywood style "coup de main" (see below):

However the French anti-tank gunners earn their pay and the armoured cars are now a road block on the bridge, something that the German commanders starts cursing himself for and he has given himself a unforseen movement penalty (see below):

The German motorcycle infantry deploy along the length of the marshy wood (thanks to the French damming of the river downstream) and steady themselves for the impending assault under the comforting protection of a friendly smokescreen (see below): 

A 'mysterious column' of black, German, armoured Hanomag APC vehicles park themselves 'close enough to see but far enough away to not be directly involved' in the assault. They seem to be biding there time for a 'distinct purpose' of which your guess is as good as mine (see below): 

Meanwhile the French FOO has decided to turn the comforting smoke into something much more deadly altogether and directs his fire mission onto what he correctly assumes to be a German forming up area (see below): 

However one of the 'calculated risks' taken by the FOO (or rather blindly accepted by 'yours truly') was the chance of the artillery barrage falling short was minimal, only a 1 in 10 chance in this case ... pregnant pause and as you reconsider where some of the artillery shells are landing in the above picture.

Note to self: Never tease 'lady luck'!

So yes as well as hitting the 'general area' where the Germans are supposed to be forming up, the French commander (me) looks on in horror as I manage to shell my own troops. Not an auspicious start to the proceedings, I put it down to the insufficient time we had to properly 'register the guns' on known targets: "C'est le Guerre" or should that have been "Merde!"

France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 2

The Defence of Neuflize:

The German Motorcycle Battalion heads in a condensed (artillery target if ever there was one, why is it you never have a FOO when you need one) spear formation down the road (see below):

Note: In defence to the initial French initial deployments they were taken out of my control and the set-up by the neutral(?) umpire. I would have dearly loved to have ambushed those motor cyclists in the woods or laid an artillery barrage on them. "Cest le Guerre"  

The Germans pay a derisory visit to the village behind Tagnon with an armoured car squadron of 222's and 221's (see below):

The bulk of the German Panzer Battalion, two light companies in advance and a medium company bringing up the rear,  sweeps round to attempt an end-run (see below): 

The German High Command are in good spirits (see below):

A more pragmatic mood holds sway in the German Regimental "Medical Field Clearing Station" (see below):

Meanwhile the French High Command are (typically) all in a dither lost in an 'intelligence vacuum' of their own making (see below):

Next: The Attack Starts

France 1940: Return to Tagnon (WWII Battlefront Scenario) 1

Part II of the France 1940 Game:

As the ferocious infantry battle rages in Tagnon (see earlier post) the French defenders of the river line pensively await the Nazi onslaught. The river line is defended by two under strength battalions holding three key crossing points. The central position (see top of photograph below) has an under strength infantry battalion with a reinforced infantry company holding the French right flank (see bottom of photograph below): 

On the left flank behind Tagnon (see below, top of photograph) a composite force of French Divisional Reece and Cavalry hunker down in their second line defences hoping to be bypassed by the action. The area around the middle defensive position has been deliberately flooded to impede the progress of the Panzers (see below, bottom of the photograph):   

At the rear portion of the table, described as the French "third line", armoured/mobile H-35's and AMR's (a form of rapid reaction force) French troops start arriving from their dispersal points (see below behind the main defensive village):   

To the far French right a powerful Panhard armoured car company races to the front line in search of reliable intelligence of the reported German "ghost" Panzers (see below):

Like a hoard of small black insects the "panzers" appear (see below):

A panzer battalion supported by recon companies and a whole motorcycle battalion appears, arcing down the German baseline intent on performing an audacious 'end-run'.

1940 3rd/4th German Panzer Division 1/200 (Part I: The Panzer Brigade)

The Third and Fourth Panzer Divisions attacked through Belgium and Holland. They fought the French 2nd and 3rd DLM in the Gembloux Gap.They were "light" in the numbers of Pz III and Pz IV's containing a high proportion of the Pz I and Pz II models. Hearing that I knew it was a wargaming project must (in 1/200).

The Armoured Element:

The 1940 German Panzer Brigade of a Panzer Division, see below reading from top to bottom:

• Panzer Brigade HQ
• Panzer Regiment HQ x 2
• Panzer Battalions x 4

The Panzer Brigade's fighting "manoeuvre elements", the Panzer Battalions (x 4), see below reading left to right:

• Light Company x 2 [4 Tanks each, total 8]
• HQ Element x 1 [2 Tanks]
• Medium Company x 1 [4 Tanks]

14 Tanks in total

Panzer Regiment HQ (1) see below:

• Pz Bef I x 1
• Pz II (Recon) x 1

Panzer Regiment HQ (2) see below:

• Pz Bef I x 1
• Pz II (Recon) x 1

The anatomy of the Panzer Battalion (Note: All "company" formations multiplied by four):

The Medium Company (see below):

• Pz IIIE (37mm) x 2
• Pz IVD (short 75mm) x 2

Light Company (1) see below:

• Pz I x 2
• Pz II x 2

Light Company (2) see below:

• Pz I x 2
• Pz II x 2

Battalion HQ Company (see below):

• Pz I Bef
• Pz II (Recon)

Back up at the top of the food chain the Panzer Brigade HQ:

• Command HQ Stand x 1
• Hanomag 251/10 x 1 

In total 60 Tanks (each stand represents between 4-6 actual tanks, about a fighting strength of 300+) which in 1940 is a lot of armoured fire power!