Operation Sealion - Game 3 - Assault on the GHQ Green Line

Having broken through the Taunton Stop Line with comparitive ease, the II Battalion, 3rd Fallchirmjager Regiment were now ready to make an assault on the GHQ Green Line, the last defensive position guarding Bristol and the surrounding areas. Without their integral artillery support, the Fallschirmjager would have to rely upon the Luftwaffe to support them in their attack.

The 1st Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry had had limited time to create their defensive line, but hoped the recently and somewhat hastily constructed pillboxes would help strengthen their positions. They were at full strength and determined to make a last stand here, as there was nothing behind them to stop the enemy from taking Bristol.

Scenario 4: Deliberate Attack

This is pretty much as per the scenario in the BKCII rulebook, with the following tweaks:

Pillboxes. These are 6+ to hit, 6+ save. The lower than normal save is to reflect the hasty nature of their construction and the fact that many were just made of brick.

Railway Embankment. This counts as linear terrain only for blocking line of sight. It does not restrict movement. Units behind it are hit on 5+

1st Battalion Somerset Light Infantry OOB 

1 x CO (CV8)

2 x HQ (CV8)

2 x HQ (CV7)

12 x Regular Infantry

2 x MG (in pillboxes)

1 x 3" Mortar

1 x 18pdr Artillery (on table)

II Battalion 3rd Fallschirmjager Regiment OOB 

1 x CO (CV10)

3 x HQ (CV9)

1 x FAC (CV8)

6 x Fallschirmjagers

3 x Assault Engineers

3 x MGs

3 x 81mm Mortars

1 x Pak35/36 + tow

1 x 75mm IG + tow

1 x Ju-88 (scheduled)

1 x Ju-87 (scheduled)

1 x Bf-109

Deployment

The British defence would be based around the two pillboxes covering the road and rail junction, with supporting trenches either side, with two covering flank attacks. Two companies would be in 'reserve' and mobile to respond as needed, depending upon where the attacks would fall. 

The German plan was simply to use the Luftwaffe to suppress the units in the pillboxes and trenches as they made a concentrated attack on the British left flank, with the aim of turning the line and rolling it up. As much as possible they wanted to avoid direct attacks upon the pillboxes, knowing these would more than likely be very costly and of limited effect.

 

An overview of the table, with the Somerset Light Infantry to the North and along the railway line.

The Somerset Light Infantry deployed.

The two pillboxes and trenches guard the rail crossing.

The Fallschirmjager at their jumping off points.

The road towards their objective.

Captured civilian vehicles have been pressed into service as artillery tows.

The Luftwaffe.

 

Turn 1

The 1st Kompanie moved off and occupied the farm by the 'T' junction, whilst the Assault Engineers in the centre and the 3rd Kompanie kep abreast of each other as they advanced.

The Somerset Light Infantry (SLI) held their fire, not wanting to reveal their positions too soon. 'D' Co moved down from the hills to the railway embankment to meet the threat to the left flank, whilst 'C' Co crossed the railway on the right flank, with the aim of attacking the German flank.

The end of Turn 1.

1st Kompanie occupy the farm.

The Assault Engineers (on the left) and the 3rd Kompanie push on.

'C' Co move off to threaten the German flank.

'D' Co line the embankment.

 

Turn 2

The Luftwaffe arrived in the form of a Ju-88 whose bombing run KO'd one platoon from 'B' Co and also suppressed other platoons in this and 'A' Co. Across the board the FJ made a steady advance, not really capitalising on the effects of the Luftwaffe raid.

With no targets worth shooting at, the SLI held fire and only 'C' Co continued on their flanking move, reaching the orchard by the barn.

The Ju-88 start their bombing run...

... and the rash of red die show how effective it was.

The end of Turn 2.

1st Kompanie leave the farmhouse to support the Assault Engineers in the centre.

The Assault Engineers group together ready to push on through the orchard.

3rd Kompanie continues to move on the flank to try and get in a position to turn the British flank.

'C' Co on the German right flank, which they are unaware of.

 

Turn 3

As the SLI have only just recovered from the Ju-88 raid, the sound of Ju-87's diving in can be heard, with dive bombing seeing 'A' Co lose a platoon and other platoons and 'B' Co HQ suppressed. The Assault Engineers and 3rd Kompanie move into view of 'B' & 'C' Co's, who open fire, suppressing two Assault Engineer platoons. In response 'D' Co comes under sustained fire, taking lots of hits and one platoon forced back, nearly KO'd. The SLI 18pdr joins the fray, but is KO'd by the mortar of 1st Kompanie, who have moved up to support the Assault Engineers.

'B' Co & 'D' Co continue the firefight with the FJ, leading to the Assault Engineers MG unit being suppressed. Opportunity fire saw 'D' Co lose a platoon, whilst 'A' Co and the CO failed their command rolls. Fortunately 'C' Co managed to carry on advancing unseen, but could not reach the hedgeline to be in a position to shoot.

The Ju-87 arrives and...

... does some damage, but not much.

The end of Turn 3.

'C' Co close on the German flank.

The Assault Engineers and 3rd Kompanie engaged in a firefight, getting the better of 'D' Co who are leaving the flank vulnerable to attack due to their losses.

The Assault Engineers having a tough time from 'B' Co in the pillbox and trenches.

The view from the SLI left flank.

The view from the SLI positions at the rail crossing.

 

Turn 4

The FJ FAC failed to get through to the Luftwaffe, giving the SLI a reprieve from air attacks for the moment. The Assault Engineers and 3rd Kompanie continued the firefight, leading to the 3rd Kompanie crossing the railway and 'D' Co ceasing to exist. The 1st Kompanie moved into the orchard to support the Assault Engineers, taking hits in the process but managing to KO another 'B' Co platoon.

As 'C' Co continued to move on the German right flank, 'A' Co moved out of their trenches and lined the wall by the road, leading to 1st Kompanie losing their MG unit and a platoon, as  'B' Co kept up the fight with supporting fire.

The end of Turn 4.

'C' Co can't quite bring all their guns to bear just yet.

'A' Co line the wall and catch the 1st Kompanie with flanking fire.

1st Kompanie and the Assault Engineers battle it out with 'B' Co.

3rd Kompanie have begun to cross the railway.

1st Kompanie take fire to their front and left flank.

 

Turn 5

The FJ FAC managed to call in his Bf-109 who made a bombing and strafing run on 'A' Co, leaving one platoon suppressed and others taking more hits. The 3rd Kompanie and the Assault Engineers cross the railway and advance along it, ready to roll up what remains on the SLI left flank. The 1st Kompanie continue to slog it out with 'A' & 'B' Co's, with both sides losing a platoon and the 1st Kompanie close to losing another.

Across the board the SLI fail their command rolls, bar 'B' Co's MG unit in the pillbox that KO's another 1st Kompanie platoon.

The Bf-109 arrives to bomb and strafe the stricken SLI...

...leaving one platoon close to breaking and others with more hits accrued.

The end of Turn 5.

'C' Co on the German left flank and not yet spotted.

'A' & 'C' Co's in a great position on the German flank.

Only the pillboxes remain to try and halt the Germans.

The SLI left flank well and truly rolled up.

Only 'B' Co HQ and the CO remain to try and stem the German advance.

The badly battered 1st Kompanie.

 

End of Game

Despite a heroic defence, the British position was untenable, having lost over 3/4's of their units and only the pillboxes holding out in the centre, the CO surrendered, but 'C' Co managed to sneak away to fight another day. For the Germans this had been a costly victory, with them losing around a 1/3 of their force. Not quite 'Pyrrhic' but pretty close.

Post Game Thoughts

Even though this was only a 5 Turn game in the end, it felt a lot longer due to their being quite a lot of action to deal with. As always an enjoyable run out with BKCII, with my usual house rules and some bits from BKCIV thrown in for good measure. So as always so thoughts on the game and campaign:

• Despite yet another British loss, they managed to blunt the German advance and certainly gave the Fallschirmjager a 'bloody nose'. This will have an interesting effect upon the campaign and I'm mulling over some ideas as to what will happen next. I imagine it will be some form of counter-attack by the British...
• Having read Peter Fleming's excellent Operation Sea Lion book since the last game, I was rather generous in giving the British a Battalion's worth of support to fight with. In reality more than likely they would not have had any MG's, mortars or atillery to play with, as the limited number available would have been in East Anglia and the South East to meet the expected main landings. However without them it wouldn't have been much of a fight!
• The Luftwaffe filled their roll of airborne artillery rather well and again, I was generous on this front, as they might not have had the range for the attacks, given the 'planes used. But as with the above, it was done to make a game of it.
• I had planned on using smoke as mentioned in my last AAR. However I wasn't entirely happy with the 'rules' and also there wasn't much opportunity to use it early on. I didn't want it to become a smoke laying exercise with both sides firing it off ad infinitum. When the chance did arrive, I simply forgot! So more thought required.
• The reduced strength pillboxes rules worked well I thought. The ones I've seen in East Anglia were made of brick and certainly wouldn't have stopped any reasonable calibre gun firing directly at them. Given when the campaign is set they were being hastily constructed and were certainly not to the level seen on the Maginot Line or West wall.
• Having Company commands worked really well and I will run this out across my other forces in the future. It gives a much better game IMHO and yet still feels historically accurate if you know what I mean.
  

 

With the weather set to make a turn for the worse this weekend, who knows I might get the next campaign game in then. I think there are one or two games left to go before it all reaches a natural conclusion. After it ends I fancy a return to something 'Black Powder'ish', but haven't decided what yet. One step at a time! So until next time...

PS: Oh and the new Blogger is making things so slow with its constant saving and adding paragraphs between 'photos, which was easy last time is now a real pain! Bring back the 'Legacy' version I say!