Kradschutzen Vorwarts!

Inspired to represent an action by German motorcycle infantry (or kradschutzen, see previous post), I came up with the following scenario.

Kradschutzen Vorwarts!

(motorcycle infantry, advance!)

September 1939. German motorcycle troops, supported by a reconnaissance battalion, rush to seize an important bridge before the Poles can claim it for themselves.

German Forces: CO (CV9)

Kradschutzen Battalion: HQ (CV8)
6 motorcycle infantry units (ATR upgrade)
2 MG units in motorcycles
1 mortar unit in light truck
1 37mm ATG unit with truck tow
1 assault engineer unit (ATR upgrade) in light truck

Aufklarungs Battalion: HQ (CV8)
1 Sdkfz 221 (recce)
1 Sdkfz 222
1 Sdkfz 231
3 motorcycle infantry units (ATR upgrade)
1 MG unit in motorcycle
1 75mm IG with truck tow
1 37mm ATG with truck tow

1675 points.    Breakpoint = 10

Polish Forces: CO (CV8)

Cavalry Regiment HQ (CV8)
9 cavalry units (veteran infantry, ATR upgrade)
2 MG units in taczankas
1 37mm ATG with horse tow

Divisional Recce Group HQ (CV7)
1 Wz.34 armoured car (recce)
2 TKS (mg)
3 motorcycle infantry units (ATR upgrade)
1 MG unit in Lazik jeep

Improvised Tank/Infantry Group HQ (CV7)
1 infantry recce unit in Lazik jeep (recce)
2 FT-17 (37mm)
6 infantry units (ATR upgrade)
1 MG unit
1 mortar unit
1 75mm artillery support unit with horse tow

2245 points.    Breakpoint = 15

The map for the game is shown below, using a 6' x 6' table. For a change I decided to make up a basic map in colour using Microsoft Word, which was actually easier than I feared. In fact I was pleasantly surprised at how little swearing and cursing was required to make the software behave as required.
The idea is that the stars of our show, the Kradschutzen Battalion, automatically arrive in column on road A at the start of the game, and have 2 free moves to make for the bridge (command rolls permitting). On move 3, their supporting Aufklarungs Battalion can enter along the same road, but using mobile deployment to arrive.
The Poles can also start to arrive on move 3. One Polish formation is allocated to each of the roads B, C, or D by dice rolls, entering the table in column by mobile deployment.
The German CO can try to arrive from game start on road A using mobile deployment. The Polish CO can be allocated by the Polish player to any road or formation at the start of move 3, but must also use mobile deployment to arrive.
Game length was set at 8 turns. The bridge and ford count as a single objective, and the side occupying the objective at the end of the game wins, unless either side has broken in the meantime. The ford can be crossed by any unit but attracts the dense terrain command modifier.

The Game in Pictures

 The table is set up and ready to go.

 The motorcyclists arrive along with the CO and are able to move forward.

 But there is a delay - the lead unit encounters a stray mine on the road and is knocked out (command blunder with a roll of 5). They managed to overcome this setback but after 2 turns the motorcyclists are still not quite at the bridge.

 The Polish tank/infantry group arrives straight away on move 3. The Poles have a -1 command penalty for ordering combined infantry/tank formations, so the CO accompanies them to keep things moving.

 The cavalry also arrive smartly. They ended up being lucky with their command rolls throughout the game, and they moved rapidly towards the objective.

 The Germans, however, beat them to the bridge and ford. The bad news is that the Aufklarungs Battalion stubbornly fail to arrive.

 The Polish cavalry move forward bravely and deploy to attack the bridge.

 The Germans dismount from their motorcycles and trucks and set up a modest bridgehead.They are able to knock out an advancing Polish recce unit with MG and small arms fire.

 But then there is a mix up in  orders (yes, another command blunder), and the formation falls back a move, handing the initiative to the Poles.

 Meanwhile, on Rollbahn A, the second in command of the Aufklarungs Battalion stares down the road. Where have the buggers got to? Surely they're not lost? Whatever the reason, the recce formation still doesn't arrive.

 Close up of support units from the Polish cavalry regiment in action against the bridge.

 The Polish recce formation was not much more lively than their German opposite numbers. Their arrival  was delayed, and then their movement towards the bridge was sluggish in the extreme. They never got into the fight.

 The Polish cavalry, with further tanks and infantry coming in slowly from their left, form a firing line and pour fire onto the isolated German motorcyclists. The extra firing dice for veteran infantry is of great value to them, and the outgunned Germans lose units continuously.

 The Polish tank/infantry formation moves forward slowly, but steadily. The CO took personal command of the 2 tanks. Eventually the tanks and the 75mm were able to commence shelling the German positions around the bridge as the infantry edged forward.

 At last the Aufklarungs Battalion arrive. But they may be too late to save their comrades. Mortar from motorcycle battalion in foreground.

 A tragic end to a bold advance. The Kradschutzen at the bridge have been wiped out by a storm of Polish fire, and now the dismounted cavalry swarm forward to claim the objective. 

 The German armoured cars come in sight of the bridge, only to see it covered in enemy infantry.

 Close up of the FT-17s and 75mm gun supporting the final cavalry advance.

 The Polish recce formation has hardly moved at all by the end of the game.

 Final move, and a Polish victory. The game went by quicker than we expected, so in the end we played 10 moves. The Poles were pretty much in control of the objective after 8 moves, and during the extra 2 turns they consolidated their advantage. The Aufklarungs Battalion approached the bridge but ran out of steam as they encountered some solid Polish small arms and ATG fire.

 Alternative view of the last move. Well done the Poles!

Postscript
A pretty conclusive victory for the Poles. The motorcycle battalion was completely wiped out, and the Germans ended the game with casualties of 11/10. The Poles had not suffered badly, only losing 4/15.
The army lists allow some Polish HQs to have a CV of 8 and it was well worth giving this rating to the Polish cavalry, helping them get into the game. At the minor tactical level the best Polish troops were at least the equal of the Germans in 1939, and the Polish cavalry were the elite of their army. For the record, all the Polish horse tows were allowed to move at cavalry speed. Video evidence I have seen on the net shows taczankas and towed 37mm guns galloping around at a great rate with their cavalry colleagues. On the practical side, if you make the horse-towed support weapons move at draught horse speed the cavalry formations become very difficult to use in their historical role.
Both players agreed this scenario would be well worth playing again with the roles reversed (on this occasion I was the Germans). It is one of those games which will be different each time depending on how the arrivals work out. I certainly didn't expect the German and Polish recce units to be so sluggish.
Finally, the evening passed even more pleasantly due to a highly acceptable Le Pre du Moine 2009 Bordeaux provided (as always) by Paul. That man knows his wine!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7otLd1z_o&playnext=1&list=PLE55417C6764CF3B2

WW2 - German Motorcycle Riflemen (Jan 1941)

I was pointed towards this video by a post on the BKC forum: thanks to Steve Johnson for the link. The video got me looking up my material on German motorcycle troops (Kradschutzen). Consider this quote from September Storm:

Motorcycle rifle battalions were employed for reconnaissance and as exploitation units. Their high-speed mobility and good cross country capabilities allowed them to take advantage of many situations in which it was necessary to gain a quick advantage, such as seizing an abandoned bridge, securing a vital crossroads in advance of the main body, or screening an exposed flank...

Enough there for at least 3 scenarios. And from Panzer Divisions: The Blitzkrieg Years 1939-1940, concerning the Kradschutzen battalion in the Panzer Divisions:

Its speed and its capacity to redeploy quickly made it the natural spearhead of the Schutzen Brigade, and it was often used in offensive reconnaissance missions.

Hmm.... 'seizing an abandoned bridge'. That sounds fun. Well, the scenario is in preparation for a game next week. Full story and pictures soon after. Meanwhile, enjoy the video.

Fort Capuzzo, June 16th 1941

Following an autumn dedicated to SYW gaming, I have finally turned back to WW2. I decided to get the 6mm Western Desert stuff out, using (of course) Blitzkrieg Commander as my ruleset. Funny really: at the height of my concentration on SYW, I had actually considered selling my GHQ Western Desert collection to make money for more SYW purchases. Luckily I had the sense to realise I would return to my other interests in time.

This will be a fairly long post: as with some previous Western Desert reports, I find it fun to mix in some real photos of the actual area and consider some of the scenario alternatives. Once again I turned to the Command Decision scenario book Benghazi Handicap by Frank Chadwick for inspiration, and chose the scenario 'Rally Forward', which covers the German attempt to recapture Fort Capuzzo from the British on the second day of Operation Battleaxe, June 16th 1941. In the original battle the Germans failed to re-capture the Fort, due it seems to a stubborn, well conducted British defence supported by tanks, an unusual lack of tank/infantry cooperation on the German side, and a lack of German resources in infantry. I went with the forces and map given in the book, though Barrie Pitt's Crucible of War: Wavell's Command might suggest some alterations, which I will mention at the end.

Here then is the game map reproduced from the book. Designed for a 6' x 6' table using 15mm miniatures, 4' x 4' would be fine in 6mm:

Below are the German forces as outlined in the book. It is easy to convert to the BKC equivalent as Command Decision uses the same ratio of models to real troops. However, the BKC website includes a download called 'Converting Orders of Battle' which gives some useful advice if you want it.

So for BKC these forces came out as:

CO, CV10. 1 recce unit (PzII)

1st Bn, 8th Panzer Regt

HQ CV9, 2 PzII, 2 PzIII, 1 PzIV

2nd Bn, 8th Panzer Regt

HQ CV9, 2 PzII, 4 PzIII, 1 PzIV

Regimental Troops, 8th Panzer Regt

HQ CV9

3 infantry units + ATR upgrade, 1 MG unit, all on motorcycles

3 infantry units + ATR upgrade, 1 MG unit, all in trucks

1 37mm ATG unit with tow

1 50mm ATG unit with tow

1 88mm ATG unit with tow

2 20mm Sdkfz10/4 units 

1st Bn, 33rd Artillery Regt

FAO CV8, 3 105mm artillery units (off table). 6 artillery assets.

Below is the British OOB from the book and the BKC equivalent I used:

CO, CV8. 1 recce unit (scout carrier)

1st Bn, The Buffs

HQ, CV7

12 infantry units + ATR upgrade

1 mortar unit

2 2pdr portee units

1 2pdr ATG unit with tow

7th RTR

HQ, CV7, 4 Matilda II

Battery, 31st Field Regt

FAO CV7, 1 25pdr artillery unit (4 gun, off table). No assets.

This gave the Germans 2745 points, with a breakpoint of 11 (13, minus 2 for flexible doctrine). The Brits had 1580 points, breakpoint 10. I decided to play the game as an Assault scenario, but allowing no flank deployment as this was not indicated in Benghazi Handicap. The points advantage for the Germans was well over the 50% allowed for in BKC, but it still seemed the Germans had their work cut out. They had half the infantry the Brits had, and a limited advantage in tanks, especially considering how tough the Matildas are. Their main advantage was in artillery, and their superior CVs. As all the Brits would be able to dig in, we decided to use the 'auto suppress' optional rule, and extend it's use to on-table HE fire from mortars, infantry guns and tanks etc. In particular this would give the Germans the option to use their PzIVs in their historical role of bombarding and suppressing the British 2 pdrs.

For a bit of period flavour, the photos below give some contemporary views of Fort Capuzzo and the surrounding terrain:

The Game

First photo shows my interpretation of the game map, looking from the north (German) table edge. Tarmac roads in dark grey, tracks in yellow. Shallow wadis are represented by brown felt shapes: these are treated as high area terrain for movement purposes. Units in a shallow wadi can claim partial cover but do not receive a save value. The rough ground (shown by the fine gravel scattered in the bottom right hand corner) attracts the dense terrain command modifier but offers no cover.

British set up. All 4 Matildas are dug in on the British right flank, an interesting tactic which shut off this flank from the possibility of attack as far as I was concerned (as the German player).

If any reader doubts whether the Brits would have dug-in their Matildas, here is a photo from Tobruk around the same period. With only the turret exposed, a very tough nut to crack.

The Germans enter the table, with the stronger panzer unit aiming for the weaker British left flank. They would have to find gaps through the wadis, relying on arty and direct HE to suppress the British 2 pdrs. The weaker panzer battalion is on the German left flank and would play a waiting game. Infantry support in the centre, with ATGs leading.

The auto-suppress rule payed off well for the Germans throughout the game, as can be seen by the measles rash of red dice in this and later photos. We thought this historically sound.

German right flank creeps steadily forward. One portee 2pdr has been KO'd, but the British mortars have claimed the 88mm near the road.

The threat to the British left forces Paul to move his Matildas out of their pits and move them round the back of the fort. The HQ of 7th RTR has been knocked out by artillery in a freak rash of sixes (bottom right).

Now is the time for the German left flank armour to advance, but in typical BKC fashion the command rolls failed at the crucial moment. German FAO in foreground, who was vital to the advance.

Auto-suppression cuts both ways. We were using the 'reduced artillery fire zones' optional rule, which gave the Brits only a 10cm circle for their arty. Nevertheless, here they have a successful shoot against German tanks and infantry bunching up as they negotiate the line of the wadis.

As the game nears its end, the Germans close in on the fort, aided by suppressive artillery and direct HE fire. The tank duel between the panzers and Matildas (centre background) starts to go in the German's favour, now that the Matildas are in the open. The British were hampered by their low CV, not getting in enough fire orders to tip the balance in their favour. The German left flank Panzer Battalion has caught up.

Last move, move 8. The German infantry have broken through on the British left flank following a close assault, and have managed to get 2 units into the fort, but this is not enough. The Matildas are scattered, with 1 knocked out, 1 suppressed and fallen back, and a third skulking behind the fort to avoid German fire. In a desperate final charge the German 1st Panzer Battalion lunge towards their objective but lose 2 tanks destroyed and 1 suppressed (the latter out of picture to the left), demonstrating the likely result of doing without covering fire. Overall, the Germans have been cautious, advancing under the cover of suppressing fire, and have lost only 5 out of a breakpoint of 11. The British end on 6/10, including their destroyed HQ from 7th RTR. The result then is a minor victory for the British.

And in conclusion...

A most enjoyable game. Just for once I tried hard to think about my tactics rather than just charging in, and it almost worked. Things would have been much tougher for the attackers if the auto-suppress rule had been limited only to artillery, though I leave it to you to decide whether our modification is justified.

In Wavell's Command, Barrie Pitt indicates that 15th Panzer Division had 80 tanks available for this attack, which would work out to 16 tanks rather the 12 we used, if you assume 5 tanks in a German tank platoon. He also suggests the presence of German engineers, so perhaps a company of these could be included. His battle account is not detailed however, so for this game I took Frank Chadwick's word for the balance of forces. Having the British 25pdrs on-table (another option suggested by Pitt's account) would make the British anti-tank defence rather too strong, in my opinion. Despite the historical validity of digging in Matildas, I don't think this was actually done in the battle itself, so perhaps only the British infantry should be allowed to dig-in, which would help the Germans.

And finally...

A couple of photos I found online showing how other gamers have represented Fort Capuzzo. The lower photo in particular shows a rather different interpretation of the surrounding terrain.

http://willwarweb.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html 

(A game put on by the Society of Gentlemen Gamers)

http://saskminigamer.blogspot.com/2008/02/wargames-weekend-08-part-2-saturday.html

Hope you enjoyed the post. Once again, best wishes for 2011 to all visitors. Leave a comment!

The New Wargaming

I'm very happy to say I have finally managed to get an article into one of the wargames glossies: and not just any old glossy, but the best of them. Battlegames 24 has my article entitled 'The New Wargaming'. According to the blurb, 'veteran wargamer Keith Flint takes a long hard look at the commercial tendencies in modern wargaming and asks us to think hard about how we respond to marketing messages'. How about that: I'm officially a veteran wargamer! 

The article was inspired by reading comments on a number of forums over the last year, and by recent publications that have interested me like Wargames Illustrated and Black Powder. It occurred to me I was not particularly happy about some of the more commercial developments in current wargaming, which others seemed to welcome with open arms, so I decided to write a 'think piece' expressing my thoughts. Thanks to editor Henry Hyde for publishing it. 

Whilst the commercial growth of wargaming suppliers has provided us with a better level of choice and quality in wargaming products than we have ever enjoyed, some tendencies seem to me to be getting a bit out of hand, whilst others are being forgotten. For example, I'm afraid everything is getting a little too glossy and upmarket for my taste (and therefore increasingly expensive), whilst concepts like the pleasure of sharing things for free, or doing your own research instead of relying on supplements and army lists, seem to be fading into the background. Perhaps if one thing can be considered to have tipped me over the edge and into print, it was reading this comment regarding Black Powder on TMP:

First impressions: well, even if the rules are no good, the piccies by themselves will be worth the cost alone!'

If you agree with this sentiment, or in the unlikely event that its author ever reads this, I apologise in advance. But really! There we have a wargamer happy to shell out thirty quid for a few posed pictures of wargames figures, when they are available by the gross for free online. Alright, maybe the comment wasn't meant to be taken entirely literally. But it seemed to me some gamers were losing their perspective, not to mention their self respect and common sense, in becoming too enamoured with surface over substance.

I'm afraid the approach of Games Workshop and Flames of War to wargaming takes a bit of flak in the article as well. On the other hand, I applaud a project trying to take things the other way, namely Phil Olley's Classic Wargamer's Journal, which is not produced for profit and also contains no adverts.

Enough of me and my soapbox. I would say that Battlegames 24 is an excellent issue, with or without my article, being crammed with ideas and inspiration on a variety of topics. Indeed, it re-ignited my enthusiasm for this particular magazine after a few recent issues which I have found a little flat.

And finally, Happy New Year! See you in 2011.

Black Powder SYW Stats

For any Black Powderers out there (is there such a phrase?) who game the SYW, these are the stats I'm currently using, placed in the tables available from The Last Hussar's website (see my favourite links). Note I use First Fire to represent the better fire discipline of Prussian line infantry, and the hand to hand stats of the Austrian cavalry are all reduced by one as they appear to have been generally inferior to their Prussian counterparts. 

To discourage successful cavalry charges against line infantry (and successful charges in general) I am now using a modifier of +2 for closing fire. Cavalry do not get the +1 for charging frontally vs infantry unless the infantry they are charging are shaken, disordered or not supported.

Down at the Club

Anyone remember the Drifters' hit? Maybe not. Anyway, I was down at Portbury Knights Wargaming Club last Friday and took a few photos of what was going on. Among the many good things about Portbury Knights (friendly club, well attended, lots of variety) is the fact that they open at 3.30pm on a Friday evening (the normal club night), and go on until 11.00pm. So if you can wangle that early stack from work, you have time for a relaxed big game, or two or three smaller games.

To be fair, this was a fairly quiet night. On some evenings the hall can be jam packed. And there was also a distinct WW2 flavour present, when usually there is greater variety. There were a couple of tables of gamers playing some kind of fantasy card games but I have rudely ignored them in the following photos - only historical miniatures here!

Your host for the evening is Alan Vowles, Club President. Yes, a bar is available in the hall. Beer and toy soldiers - the perfect Friday evening beckons.

Those Redcoats have moved from the bar counter to their more natural home on the wargames table. A Black Powder game set in the Sudan is in progress

Overview of the Sudan game. Black Powder is popular at the club  at present for Horse and Musket games.

My own first game was a Greeks vs Italians game set in 1941. I had the pleasure of using Steve Johnson's 10mm forces, and the Blitzkrieg Commander rules. Naturally, under my command the Greeks stopped the Italians in their tracks.

Steve is gracious in defeat as usual. Though his comment that he was 'playing in character' as the Italian commander was highly suspect.

Club stalwarts Stefan and Craig discuss Steve's charity moustache. A bit frightening but all in a good cause. Well done that man!

Stefan played this Western Desert game with his son. A distinctly 'old school' feel here, I felt. Nice!

Another view of Stefan's game.

Steve and I moved on to a game against Craig, using his 15mm figures and outstanding bocage terrain.  Germans vs Americans in 1944, using Blitzkrieg Commander again. Here we see German tanks in an outflanking move.

View from the American side.

Craig gathers the dice for another sickening set of saving rolls.

Towards the end of the game. German tanks doing well, infantry lagging. But in the end Steve and I were victorious.

A very relaxing seven hours which flew by in the company of some very nice people. Two games, plenty of discussion and conversation, plus beer and sandwiches. The perfect start to the weekend!