'Closing The Pocket' - The Ruhr 1945 Using Startline

I have recently been passing many enjoyable hours tinkering with Startline, my WW2 rules. But there comes a time when the tinkering has to stop and the playtesting has to continue. I was lucky enough to find 5 wargaming friends who were actualy free at the same time on a mid-week day (ah, the joys of retirement/semi-retirement!), and so a serious playtest could take place. Space in my dining room is limited, and with 6 of us and a 6' x 6' table planned, the Big Battles facility in Cirencester seemed to be the solution (thanks for the suggestion Steve). And so, about a week ago, we gathered together and got stuck in. 

L to R, Glenn, Steve, Adam, Paul and Jon.
Thanks for coming over and helping me out guys.

I am not a man who has extensive WW2 collections at my fingertips, but a know a man who has. My friend and gaming buddy Roy chipped in with toys suitable for a 1945 game between the Americans and the Germans, even though he couldn't attend in person. Fabulous. So all I needed now was a scenario.

Well, I couldn't resist. Time to get some German big cats and U.S. Pershings on the table. I chose a 6' x 6' table to give more room for manoeuvre, particularly in depth, and came up with a scenario called 'Closing the Pocket - Beringhausen 28th March 1945'. The narrative was as follows:

"This fictional scenario is based on the actions of the 3rd Armoured Division during the encirclement of the Ruhr pocket in March/April 1945. The 3rd Armoured was part of the southern pincer of the encirclement, which was completed on 1st April near Lippstadt when elements of 3rd Armoured met up with units of the 2nd Armoured Division, who were advancing as part of the northern pincer.

Beringhausen is a real village, but this battle is totally fictional. The Germans are attempting to stop the advance of 3rd Armoured Division in the days just before the final link-up. A small battle group ('Kampfgruppe Trippenhof') has been scraped together, based on a company of panzergrenadiers and a company of tanks. Indirect fire support is weak, anti-tank guns are lacking and the Luftwaffe is absent, but the Germans still have some poweerful tanks available. The American Task Force ('TF Boss') must overcome the German opposition and keep their advance going."

Closing the Ruhr Pocket

We had our table at Big Battles from 09.30 until 17.00, so forces and game length were designed for a battle that might well last all day. The forces involved were:

Task Force Boss (CCA, 3rd Armoured Division)

HQ: Command base in 1 x M3 halftrack

Tank Company: HQ 2 x Sherman 75mm

3 x platoons each 2 x Sherman 75mm, 2 x Sherman 76mm. Heavy tank platoon of 3 x Pershing

Infantry Company: HQ command base, bazooka base

3 x platoons each 6 x infantry base, 1 x bazooka base

Recon Platoon: 2 x M5 light tanks, 2 x M3 halftrack, 2 x infantry base, 2 x bazooka base

Anti-tank Section: 2 x M18 Hellcat

Anti-tank Section: 2 x M1 57mm gun, 2 x M3 halftrack

MMG Section: 2 x Browning 0.30 MMG bases, 2 light trucks

Artillery (off-table)

Battery: 4 x 105mm howitzer, AFO with radio and jeep, 4 turns pre-planned fire

Mortars (off table)

Battery: 3 x 80mm mortars, MFO with jeep and radio, 4 turns pre-planned fire

Pre-Game Barrage: 2 zones available

Random Air Attacks: 1 x P47D section available on a roll of 9+

Kampfgruppe Trippenhof (personally responsible to FM Walther Model, Army Group B)

HQ: Command base in 1 x Sdkfz 250

Panzer Company: HQ 2 x Tiger II

3 x platoons, one of 3 x Panther, one of 3 x StugIIIG, one of 3 x PzIVH

Panzergrenadier Company: HQ command base, panzerschreck base, 1 x Sdkfz 250

3 x platoonseach 6 x infantry base, each base has 1 x panzerfaust available

One platoon is based in 2 x Sdkfz 251/1, 1 x Sdkfz 251/10

Flak Section: 2 x Sdkfz 10 with 2cm AA

Mortars (off-table)

6 x 8cm mortars, MFO with schwimwagen and telephone

No air  attacks available

Deployment

The Germans can deploy anywhere up to 4' from their baseline. All non-vehicles can be dug-in. The Panthers, Tiger IIs and the SPW-mounted infantry are off-table at game start as reserves. They can arrive from the start of turn 4. Each unit dices seperately for arrival needing 4+ to arrive. Those failing to arrive dice again at the start of subsequent turns, adding 1 to their roll each turn. Arrival points are diced for: 1 is a right flank arrival, 2-5 are arrivals along the German baseline, and 6 is a left flank arrival.

The Americans can deploy up to 8" from their baseline. 

Winning and Losing

5 objectives are placed by the umpire in the German deployment zone. If by the end of move 6 the Americans are in possession of 3 objectives they have won a brilliant victory. If not, continue the game to a maximum of 9 moves. If, at the end of moves 7, 8 or 9, the Americans are in possession of 3 objectives they have won. If at the end of move 9 the Americans still aren't in possession of 3 objectives the Germans have won.

The Game in Pictures

A picture taken as the game started which gives a good idea of the terrain.
Beringhausen centre right, with 4 of the objectives visible.
The other was off-picture to the left, on top of a hill.

My cardboard barrier (see previous post) in use during set-up.
This is the American baseline.

The view from the other side of the hill. 
The Germans set up.

The American attack gets under way with a strong left flank tank attack.
The Panzer IVs in Beringhausen are quickly turned into scrap by the Pershings.

A Sherman platoon leap-frogs the heavy tanks and moves into the outskirts of Beringhausen.
German infantry refuse to be intimidated and hunker down in their entrenchments,
as the tanks drive past and sometimes over them!

Meanwhile another U.S. tank platoon sets off on a wide left hook.

The American right flank advance is more of a feint than a serious attack.
German mortars claim an M18.

A smoke screen hampers the defending Stugs.

Eventually, American infantry and anti-tank guns reach the
road junction objective.

They push forward, but any further advance would be suicide...

... as German reinforcements have begun to arrive.
The guns of the Tiger IIs now dominate the centre of the battle.

And the Panthers aren't far behind.

Back on the left flank, the main street of Beringhausen is full of
Pershings attempting to get forward.

The lead Pershing engages the advancing Panthers...

... but is knocked out. The German SPWs and their infantry
now make a lunge forward to dispute the objective marker.

Meanwhile, the Shermans are desperately trying to clear out the buildings and foxholes 
in and around Beringhausen. However, the village's objective marker is still disputed
by the fanatical German defence as the game comes to an end.

Finally, an unflattering but candid shot of myself as umpire,
wondering how I could forget my own rules. C'est la guerre!

Wash Up

We called it at 16.30 as we needed to pack up by 17.00. We had managed 7 moves, and the Americans only had 1 objective under their control. They were very near at another 2, but the Germans had manged to hang on by their fingernails to dispute the ownership of the markers. So I called it a German victory.

The scenario had worked well - the Germans were despairing at first, with an entire Mk.IV platoon destroyed almost straight away and hordes of American tanks surging forward, especially the new Pershings. But the arrival of strong reserves gave them the chance to fight back. A traditional final-move charge by the German heavy cavalry (oops, I mean the SPW platoon) disputed the objective north of Beringhausen to give them the victory.

A point of interest was that the American infantry didn't get into the fight as much as they should have. Always an issue in WW2 rules, I reckon, but I think tactics were as much of an issue as any fault with the rules. The infantry should have been pushed forward with, or even ahead of, the tanks, accepting a slightly slower overall movement rate but ensuring the German infantry had a harder time.

A good deal of time was naturally spent in explaining and discussing the rules (and consuming lunch), so just 7 moves in about 5.5 hours didn't bother me. Only two of the players had any experience of the rules, and that was limited to one or two games a while back. The rule discussions were polite and very useful, resulting in some worthwhile rule alterations. The 76mm Shermans and the Hellcats were allowed 2 turns of HVAP each, which they used sparingly. This minor bit of rules granularity seemed well worth it to me.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable time. I'm glad to say that I left the guys to themselves on a couple of occasions (as the quest for bacon sandwiches at a local bakery took place), and they were quite happy to play the game without me in attendance. In addition, it was pleasing to see that as the moves went by, the progress of the game itself was holding people's attention as fortunes swung back and forth - the rules themselves had slowly faded into the background. This is always a good thing to see.

A fun day. More of this kind of thing is needed to give the rules their final polish, and happily the guys seemed willing to play more games. With rule testers like these, I am hopeful that Startline will mature into a solid set of rules over the next few months.

P.S. See also Steve's lovely blog for another take on the game.

'Til next time!