Bolt Action: Hanville Resistance Raid

Played – 8th December 2018

Normandy Invasion
D-Day +1

Scenario:Assassinate

French Resistance: 10 Partisans, including MMG Team

Players: Guy Girault (Local Resistance Leader)

Wehrmacht: Feldgendarmerie Grupper, Motorcycle + Sidecar

Players: Hauptmann (Captain) Karsten Steinheil

Background
The small commune of Hanville lies to the west of Caen, and for 4 long years has been under the tight grip of Hauptmann Karsten Steinheil. Now the Allies have landed, Steinheil has left the village in his armoured car to visit his mistress for one final night. In the morning, he will head to Caen for further orders and perhaps never be seen again.

Guy Girault has mobilised his small number of Resistance in Hanville and plans to catch Hauptmann Steinheil literally with his pants down!

Axis Objectives
Primary Objective: The Captain must stay alive or escape (6 turns)

Secondary Objective: Kill as many Partisans  as possible

Resistance Objective
Kill the Captain within 6 turns. Any longer than this and the raid will be determiend ot take too long and risk German reinforcements.

Memorable Moments

• The opening salvo of the first round saw a sall team of 2 germans killed instantly
• The motorcycle and sidecar was extremely effective and all but wiped out to small resistance teams of 2 & 3 people before being destroyed by the Resistance MMG.
• The German dogged determination to take the fight to the enemy.
• Hauptmann Steinheil killing his mistress after she tried to prevent him from leaving.
• The Resistance MMG set up in the woods opposite the house pinning most of the house down for the game.

Result

Axis victory. Upin realisation that they were under attack, the German response was to take the fight to the enemy rather than to seek shelter. This effetively stalled the Resistance attack and kept them penned up in the woods, buying valuable time for the Hauptmann to reach his armoured car and escape.

Further, at the point of escape, the Resistance leader was heavy pinned down and was unable to escape with what remained of the Resistance. He was captured, interrogated and subsequently shot.

Strength Deployed / Casualties

French Resistance
Strength Deployed: 7 men split into 3 squads, MMG team - 10 men in total (169 pts)
Casualties: 5 killed, 1 captured

German
Strength Deployed: 8 men split into 3 squads, Kradschutzen Bike with MMG (163pts)
Casualties: 4 men, 1 bike

Pictures

The road from Hanville to Caen. The Feldgendarmerie patrol the road whilst the Captain visits his mistress, while the Resistance advance through the trees.

The house of the mistress, under guard.

The Captain and his mistress on the second floor

The Partisans approach...

Bolt Action: Bois de Bavent Fuel Dump (Night raid)

Played – 4th November 2018

Normandy Invasion
D-Day +1

Scenario:Destroy Objective

British Army: 6^th Airborne Division, 8^th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion, Able Company, 1x 10-man Veteran Squad),1x MMG Team, 1x Sniper Team

Players:  2^nd Lieutenant Daniel Fox (Able Company)

Wehrmacht: Panzer Reserve

Players: Oberleutnant (1^st Lieutenant) Rudolf Weber  (Panzer Reserve)

Background
In the flooded, boggy lands East of Ranville, members of the 8th Parachute Battalion are tasked with destroying a fuel dump near Bois de Bavent. 

The dump is believed to be lightly held by elements of the Panzer Reserve but caution is still to be advised as the German Forces are likely to be numerically superior. Because of this, a night raid has been authorised.

Axis Objectives
Primary Objective: Defend the fuel dump until relief can arrive (6 turns)

Secondary Objective: Kill as many British soldiers as possible

Allied Objective
Destroy the fuel dump within 6 turns. After this, it is likely German forces will be able to muster sufficient strength to overwhelm the raiding party.  

Special Rules
1) Night raid (see page 219)

Memorable Moments

• The German Patrol stumbling upon the British MMG team and killing two of them in the ensuing firefight.
• British Sniper killing a member of the German MG42 team, causing them to FUBAR their next order test and run off.  
• The Airborne squad charging the Scout Car guarding the fuel dump. The charge failed to damage to car and was ultimately their downfall.
• The Airborne squad getting slowly mauled by the German squads attacking from all sides. They became pinned so heavily they were stuck for the rest of the game around the car and fuel dump.
• Daniel Fox killing Rudolf Weber.
• Daniel Fox being killed by a rifle shot to the back.
• Under fire, Daniel Fox's assistant setting the charges to blow the fuel dump and running, leaving the trapped Airborne squad to their fate.
  

Result

Allied pyrrhic victory. Despite technically completing their objective and killing Oberleutnant Weber, only 4 of the 17 soldiers sent to blow the dump returned alive. The Germans took a total of 5 casualties during the skirmish, though it is believed many more were lost in the subsequent explosion. The loss of the dump will delay any German armor to the east of Ranville while the bridges are further secured.

Such losses of the elite airborne troops over a fuel dump is unacceptable.

Strength Deployed / Casualties

Britain
Strength Deployed: 1x 2nd Lieutenant, 1x 10 man Airborne Squad (Veteran), 1x MMG Team (Veteran), 1x Sniper Team (Veteran),  (352 pts)
Casualties:13 men

German
Strength Deployed: 1x 1st Lieutenant, 3x 5 man Squad (Reg), 1x MG42 Team (Reg), 1x SDKFZ Scout Car (416pts)
Casualties:5 men

Pictures

View towards the fuel dump

Fuel dump and defences.

German patrol

 

German patrol discovering the British ambush and killing 2 of them.

The German MMG team, having redeployed to fight the ambush suffers a sniper casualty. They subsequently fail their order test and run away.

Lt. Daniel Fox taking cover behind the fuel dump (!) shoots at (and kills) Lt. Weber.

Airborne assault of the Scout Car

The charges are set, leaving the trapped airborne to their fate.

Bolt Action: Le Dormer Counterattack

Played – 26th October 2018

Normandy Invasion
D-Day +2

Scenario:Take and Hold

US Army: 175^th Infantry Regiment, Dog Company, 1st Platoon (2x 10-man Regular Squads), 743rd Tank Batallion (M4 and M10)

Players:  Captain Richard Lewis, (D Company Command)

Wehrmacht: 38^th Heer Infantry Division, 21st Panzer, SS Squad.

Players: Oberleutnant (1^st Lieutenant) Ernst Kitrich  (21st Panzer)

Background
The village of Le Dormer, just a couple of kilometres from Omaha beach has been heavily contested, and its resistance point has finally fell thanks to the efforts of the 175th and 743rd Tank Battalion.

However, determined to keep the Allies boxed in on the beaches, the 38th backed by elements of the 21st Panzer have launched a counter-attack. If they can take back the village and destroy the Allied tanks in the area, they will be in a much greater defensive position. Long live the Fuhrer!

Axis Objectives
Primary Objective: Retaking the Command Bunker at the far side of Le Dormer will be enough to show the Allies who holds the village.

Secondary Objective: Kill as many Allied Tanks as possible

Allied Objective
Prevent the Axis from securing the Bunker for 7 turns.

Special Rules
1) The Germans have 7 turns to take the Command Bunker and dig in, otherwise at the end a Squadron of P-47 Thunderbolts will strafe the area.
2) German side can only field 1x tank at the opening. All the rest of the armour must come as reserves.

Memorable Moments

• The SS creeping through the woods and wiping out the .30 cal MMG team on turn 1
• The Panzer IV THAT WOULD NOT DIE (5 direct hits and counting)
• The Panzer IV failing multiple order tests as a result of heavy pinning. It completely blocked the road stopping to Tiger and Stug from advancing.
• The Waffen-SS creeping up behind the M10 Wolverine that was causing the German Armour such a headache. They then fired fired both Panzerfausts at its rear armour and missed with both (with a roll of a 1 and a 2 to hit).
  

Result

Overwhelming Allied Victory.

Despite the odds heavily stacked against them, Dog Company prove a successful defence of Le Dormer. Trapping the tanks in the South East quadrant meant the 21st Panzer never got to bring their heavy guns to bear and the German assault quickly lost its impetus.

I really wanted to Germans to win this one. I stacked everything against the Allies - even the scenery defences were flipped to represent old German fortifications facing Omaha being reused by the Allies. 

The Panzer IV bottle necking the road was their undoing, coupled with some really bad dice rolls (every single Panzerfaust missed). The dug-in Allied Infantry could whittle away the advancing German infantry, and the M10 and anti-tank gun kept the German heavy armour from breaking out and running amok.  


Strength Deployed / Casualties

US
Strength Deployed: 1x Captain & Man, 2x 10 man Squads, 1x MMG Team, 1x Med Mortar Team, 1x Bazooka Team, 1x Tank Gun, 1x Sherman, 1xM10 (1066 pts)
Casualties: 1 Infantry soldier, 1 x MMG

German
Strength Deployed: 1x Lieutenant, 1x 10 man Infantry, 1x 10 man SS, 1x MG42 Team, 1x Panver IV, 1x Stug, 1x Tiger I, 1x Puma (1449pts)
Casualties: 6x Infantry Soldiers, 1x SS Solider, 1x MG42 squad member, 1x Panzer IV (immobilised so presumed lost during the retreat)

Pictures

Le Dormer, looking north towards Omaha

Le Dormer, looking south

The M10 (top) and anti-tank (extreme right) keep the pressure on the Panzer IV, stopping it dead.

Waffen-SS creep up behind the M10 Tank Destroyer and fire off all their Panzerfausts. They all miss.

The Stug tries to break out off-road but the crew becoe stunned from a direct hit from the M10 (hard cover, rolled a 6)