Operation Cygnet - Campaign Moves - Day Two

With the conclusion of the Battle for Tremleurr, it was time to get back to the Campaign and further movement by both sides:

Night Moves

As the remnants of the 1st FJ Kompanie retreat North over the bridge, they made their way towards the road junction in 14. The 3rd Recce Sqdn pushed forward over the same bridge and halted for the night to secure the approaches to Tremleurr. In the village itself the 'C' Coy 7th SLI and 'C' Sqdn Sherwood Rangers set about securing their positions and a small group was sent out to destroy the bridge to the SE to help secure their flank from possible counter-attack.

Under the cover of darkness to avoid possible air attack, more German units arrived at 2, 11 & 16.

Positions during the night on Day One.

Day Two Turn 1 - Weather Fair

The 1st Recce Sqdn held its position to the South of Wuppertell (12) to observe any enemy movement. They spotted the unit that had arrived at 11, which proved to be a blank, but not the unit at 16. The 2nd Recce Sqdn pushed forward into 8 but failed to spot the German unit in 7. On the right the 3rdRecce Sqdn moved off from near Tremleurr and soon spotted the remnants of the 1st FJ Kompanie. Radioing their position back to base, they continued their advance, pushing forward to the road junction and bridge at 9. From there they spotted the German units to the North of the bridge at 8, revealing them to be a Heer Kompanie and a Stug III Kompanie.

'A' & 'B' Coys 7th SLI with their attached Shermans from the Sherwood Rangers moved to the edge of 8, close to the 2nd Recce Sqdn. 'D' Coy followed up to secure the road junction and to help cover any attack from Wuppertell. 'C' moved out of Tremleurr and pushed the 1st FJ Kompanie back from the crossroads in 14. The AVRE's and Artillery moved back onto Club Route to help support the main advance.

The German unit in 16 moved into Wuppertell to support the existing FJ's that were in the village. The German unit that had arrived in the night at 2 moved to the bridge at 1 as the terrain precluded them from crossing into 3. The German units in 3 & 4 both moved into Pemba to help support the Heer & Stug III Kompanie's to the South by the bridge. The German unit in 7 stayed put and occupied the farm and woods either side of the road.

The end of Turn 1 moves on Day Two. The British are pushing forward well but have a significant threat to their left flank and what looks to be a strong defensive position to their front over the bridge.

Day Two Turn 2 - Weather Fair

The 1st Recce Sqdn spots the newly arrived German unit in Wuppertell, which turns out to be another FJ unit, this time the Heavy Weapons Kompanie. Once again the 2nd Recce Sqdn fails to spot the enemy to their left in 7, whilst the 3rd Recce Sqdn move over the wooden bridge in 4 and manage to spot some German Artillery in Pemba.

'A' & 'B' Coys move forward to cover the bridge whilst the 2nd Recce Sqdn covers their left flank. To their rear 'D' Coy dig-in as the Artillery and AVRE's move up to support.  On the right 'C' Coy pushes forward to the bridge at 9, with the aim of supporting any attack by advancing into the flank of the German positions.

The German units in Pemba and by the bridge to the South of it hold their positions and begin to dig-in. The German unit in 1 moves into 6 with the aim of moving East to support the other unit in 7, which decides to fire upon the 2nd Recce Sqdn and is revealed to be a Volkstuurm Kompanie. what is left of the 1st FJ Kompanie moves into 10, hoping that German reinforcements might arrive from the East, to which they can attach themselves.

The FJ units in Wuppertell, seeing the British advance somewhat strung out, decide to make a spoiling attack, with the aim of disrupting any build up for the attack on the bridge in 8.

The end of Turn 2 moves on Day Two.

The FJ move off to mount a strong spoiling attack against 'D' Coy.

The British begin to move into position for what might be a multi-pronged attack on the German Heer & Stug III Kompanies, but with a Volkstuurm Kompanie to the flank which be problematic..

Campaign Thoughts

Well some more interesting decisions had to be made over these two Turns, for both sides as it turned out. For the British do they continue to push on towards the bridge at 8, before the German defences can possibly build up, or do they deal with the threat from Wuppertell? For 'C' Coy, do they move back to support Club Route or try and push round on the right flank to turn the German positions? For the Germans do the FJ stay in Wuppertell and hope for some armoured support arriving, or do they take a gamble and attack the 'D' Coy whilst they have limited support available?

As you can see from the above which options I chose and this has resulted in the next battle to be played out, namely the FJ attack on 'D' Company. I'm hoping to get this played out soonish but given that half-term is upon us and with the ongoing decorating, this might be easier said than done. Add in some repairs from Storm Eunice damage that need to be done and my plans might take longer than hoped.

So until then stay safe and keep healthy!

Operation Cygnet - The Attack on Tremleurr

This scenario, the first of the campaign, has been ready to go for sometime now, but a combination of decorating and 'real life' over the past few weeks has meant that it was only a couple of days ago that I was finally able to get the game onto the table and played out. I could have played it earlier but it would all have felt a bit rushed, which I certainly didn't want. So without further ado some background info and then the AAR itself.

German OOB - 1st Kompanie, 3rd Battalion, FJR 6

1 x HQ

3 x Fallschirmjager (1 x Panzerfaust upgrade)

1 x MG

1 x 81mm Mortar

1 x Pak 35/36 (with stielgranate 41, count as Panzershreck)

British OOB - 'C' Coy 7th Battalion SLI & 'C' Sqdn' Sherwood Rangers

1 x CO

2 x HQ

3 x Infantry Veterans (1 x PIAT upgrade)

1 x MG

3 x Shermans

1 x Firefly

1 x Churchill Crocodile

1 x Churchill AVRE

1 x 25 pdr Battery (1 x scheduled strike)

British OOB - 'C' Sqdn 43 Recce Regt

1 x HQ

2 x Humber 37mm

2 x Infantry

1 x 3" Mortar

1 x 6 pdr ATG + tow

Weather

Mist     - 1CV & 50cm Visibility

Dusk   - 1CV & 25cm Visibility

Night   - 2CV & 10cm Visibility

Scenario Turns (8 max)

1 - 3 Mist

4      Dusk

5+    Night

Objective

British - To seize Tremleurr and cover the bridges to the East.

Germans - To delay the British for as long as possible and minimise casualties.

Set Up

Taking the info from the Warplan 5/5 maps and terrain details, it was pretty easy to set things up, which makes things a lot easier for me. Most of the terrain was fairly open grazing land, with hedges and fences, except for the South Eastern area that was more arable and cultivated land. The river was deep and so could only be crossed via the two bridges.

An over view of the table, with Tremleurr in the centre, occupied by the Fallschirmjager. 'C' Sqdn 43rd Recce Regt deployed to the South of Tremleurr, with 'C' Coy 7th SLI and 'C' Sqdn Sherwood Rangers entering from the western table edge.

The view from the 3rd Recce Sqdn, with their aim being to pin the Fallschirmjager in position and to swing past Tremleurr with their armoured cars to cut off their retreat if this became a viable option.

One platoon and troop of Shermans were to advance along the right of the road with...

... with the CO and the AVRE's advancing along the road and...

... the rest of the force to swing left to try and attack Tremleurr from the rear.

The Fallschirmjager in all position, covering both approaches towards Tremleurr.

The Attack

The end of Turn 1 (-1 CV & 50cm visibility). 

The 3rd Recce Sqdn moved off to the attack, spotting the Fallschirmjager in the house on the SE edge of Tremleurr. The armoured cars moved to provide fire support and to attack the flank, leading to the FJ becoming suppressed. Only the infantry and Shermans to the left of the road managed to arrive through the mist, carefully advancing as they went.

The Fallschirmjager spotting the Shermans opened up with their Pak 35/36, but failed to do much damage and were suppressed by return fire from the tanks.

3rd Recce Sqdn move to the attack.

An armoured car manages to move to the flank and cover the road into Tremleurr.

Only part of the British force arrives from the West.

The Pak 35/36 (bottom) engages the Shermans but takes fire in return.

The end of Turn 2 (-1 CV & 50cm visibility).

The British open up with their scheduled artillery strike on the SW edge of Tremleurr, which manages to suppress the Fallshirmjager unit in the ruined building there. The 3rd Recce Sqdn use Initiative Fire to suppress the Fallshirmjager to their front, but then fail to do anything else due to C&C issues. To the West the rest of 'C' Coy and 'C' Sqdn arrive and they all move towards Tremleurr, but do not engage the enemy.

The Fallschirmjager, seeing the rest of the British force arrive, move back into Tremleurr and the orchard to the North of it to trade time for space and hope that night arrives before the British can bring their overwhelming force to bear. Unfortunately C&C issues meant that the mortar to the North of the bridge was unable to bring down fire upon the British 3rd Recce Sqdn infantry that were rather tempting targets.

The Sherman on the right flank advances, but the infantry lag behind.

The CO and the AVRE's move up the road, led by a Churchill Crocodile.

The Fallschirmjager pull back into Tremleurr and the orchard (top left).

The end of Turn 3 (-1 CV & 50cm visibility).

The mist obviously played havoc with the British C&C and ability to shoot, as they pretty much all failed to move or hit anything across the board. with Dusk fast approaching not an ideal situation by any means.

For the Fallschirmjager, it was a welcome reprieve and finally they managed to bring down mortar fire on the 3rd Recce Sqdn infantry, with one platoon falling back destroyed another retreating and just avoiding the same fate.

The 3rd Recce Sqdn infantry take a pounding and the support armoured cars and 6 pdr ATG fail to suppress the Fallschirmjager in Tremleurr.

The stalled advance by the SLI and Sherwood Rangers.

The Fallschirmjager 81mm mortar (bottom left by bridge) manages to cause a good amount of damage, along with supporting fire from the Fallschrimjager infantry on the 3rd Recce Sqdn infantry platoons (top by the corn fields).

The end of Turn 4 (-1 CV & 25cm visibility).

With Dusk upon the battlefield, the 3rd Recce Sqdn made amends for the previous Turn's shooting and managed to KO the Fallschirmjager infantry unit to their front in Tremleurr. This left an opportunity for the armoured cars to push forward and try to cut off any possible retreat Northwards. 'C' Coy and 'C' Sqdn all moved forward and the AVRE's moved along the road too. The Pak 35/35 engaded the leading Churchill tank but failed to cause any damage and the tank was unable to shoot back when in an ideal position to do so.

Once again the Fallschirmjager mortar hit the 3rd Recce Sqdn infantry, suppressing them and from the orchard, the Fallschirmjager infantry shot at 'C' Coy, nearly KO'ing one platoon, but they paid a high price for this and superb shooting from the Shermans KO's the infantry unit.

The way is open for the 3rd Recce Sqdn to move past Tremleurr on the right to try and cut off the line of retreat over the bridge.

The SLI & Sherwood Rangers, with AVRE support, begin to attack Tremleurr.

'C' Coy takes heavy fire from the orchard (left by the bridge) but supporting fire from the Shermans KO's the Fallschirmjager infantry unit that had been there.

The end of Turn 5 (-2 CV &10cm visibility).

With Night having fallen, the 3rd Recce Sqdn fails to receive orders from their HQ and so remain in position, despite a perfect opportunity to push forward past Tremleurr. At least 'C' Sqdn sherwood Rangers and the AVRE's manage to push forward, but the Churchill Crocodile takes a hit from the Pak 35/36 and is suppressed!

With Night covering their moves, the Fallschirmjager begin to withdraw, with the 81mm leaving and the other units pulling back into Tremleurr to try and move towards the bridge to the North and safety.

The Shermand and AVRE's begin to close in on Tremleurr, forcing the Fallschirmjager to begin to withdraw.

An the noose begins to close, the Fallschirmjager try and move towards the bridge under the cover of darkness.

The end of Turn 6 (-2 CV & 10cm visibility).

Well not a lot happened as across the board all the British units failed the command rolls, which allowed the Fallschirmjager units to make some Initiative Moves towards the bridge. Unfortunately for them they too then failed their command rolls.

The Fallschirmjager move past the Shermans in the dark and begin to close in on the bridge and the road to relative safety.

The end of Turn 7 (-2 CV & 10cm visibility).

Once again the darkness hampered the 3rd Recce Sqdn who failed to move off yet again. At least the SLI and Sherwood Rangers got their acts together. As the Sherman troop and infantry platoon closed on on the SW edge of Tremleurr, to the NW the rest of 'C' Coy and 'C' Sqdn managed to locate the Fallschirmjager as they made their escape, KO'ing the MG unit. The Churchill Crocodile crew, somewhat miffed at being hit by the Pak 35/36, moved through Tremleurr and spotting it on the road, let rip with their flamethrower and the ATG was no more.

As the Pak 35/36 lit up the night sky, the remaining Fallschirmjager infantry unit and HQ quietly escaped over the bridge, leaving the British in control of Tremleurr.

End of the Game

So with night upon the battlefield and all the C&C issues that that had brought, the British settled in for the night in Tremleurr, sending the 3rd Recce Sqdn to cover the bridge as the rest of the units prepared to moved out at dawn to resume the advance.

Fallschirmjager Losses - 2 x Infantry, 1 x MG and 1 x Pak 35/36.

British Losses - 2 x Infantry '('C' Coy & 3rd Recce Sqdn)

Post Game Thoughts

I really enjoyed that after having waited quite sometime to get it onto the table. As always BKCII provided a great game, with the added bonus of it being part of a campaign. So having had a few days to reflect upon the game, some thoughts in no particular order:

• The Weatherboard provided an interesting start to the game with the battlefield shrouded in mist, with the C&C issues and visibility that that brought. This carried on as Dusk and finally Night fell. I'm really happy with the friction that this provided to the game and it felt right given the reports I've read over the years of the confused fighting that took place during darkness. I imagine it might feature again in this campaign, depending upon how the campaign moves pan out. I did wonder as to whether the Defenders should have less penalties in terms of CV values, based upon they would have knowledge of the terrain they were in and so could move about more freely. Certainly something to think about for future games.
• The British superiority in armour really made a difference, given that they had limited artillery support and no air support. At least they didn't lose any tanks in this attack, which was good.
• When the Fallschirmjager mortar did get going, it did prove to be as deadly as normal. If there had been more daylight and/or better command rolls, the 3rd Recce Sqdn could have been in real trouble.
• The 3rd Recce Sqdn got off to a great start, rolling a Double 1 that allowed them to suppress the Fallschirmjager infantry unit to their front, which helped prevent the aforementioned mortar coming into play for a few, vital, Turns. Having silenced the enemy, they then completely failed to exploit their superb position to quickly move round Tremleurr and cut of any line of retreat for the Fallschirmjager.
• I enjoyed using the Recce and Spotting rules from Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier. They worked for me and I need to type them up onto an A4 sheet of paper for future use, along with a few other rules that look interesting.
• The infantry failed to keep up with the tanks and I completely forgot my plan to use the tank riders rules. This dis happen quite a bit in Normandy, especially were tanks and infantry had been operating alongside each other for quite some time. I do have half-tracks and Kangaroos in the lead pile, which I suppose I should move up the queue to give me other options for transport.
• Campaign wise I need to ponder as to whether the British will blow the bridges to help cover their flanks, leaving some intact for other avenues of advance. Likewise do the Germans do the same, when in position or conducting a fighting withdrawal? Again something to think about.
• Whilst the Pak 35/36 didn't do much, I just love having them on the table. When they do do something, it's rather fun to see. I just hope I might get to use the stielgranate at some point in the campaign.

So next up it's naturally back to the campaign moves and to see what Day Two of the campaign brings. Hopefully these will be made over the next day or too and then another battle might be in the offing. Until then plenty more DIY to be done and the perennial job of being a full-time carer. So stay safe and keep healthy!

Books Old & New

Frankly you can't beat sitting down with a good book to read rather than one of those Kindle thingy's! I can see their appeal, don't get me wrong, but I just love to have a physical book in my hand. Over the past few months I've tried to spend the first part of the morning reading a chapter or two, which has been a real pleasure. I used to always read in bed at night, but recent back problems have meant that this is not always possible, plus often I would begin to fall asleep half way through the chapter, which is less than ideal as you can imagine.

At the weekend some more books arrived to add to the 'to read' pile and I must admit a slight frisson when I open the packages and get my grubby mitts on them! the first flick through the pages is always a joy, reading bits here and there, looking at the photos, maps etc. So enough waffling from me and onto the books:

That excellent chap, David Crook of 'A Wargaming Odyssey' Blog fame, gifted me these two books whilst he was having a clear out. They had been ones that I had considered buying for sometime but had never quite gotten around to it, so I was more than happy to take these off his hands. Earlier I had sent him a booklet on Shermans used in Burma that I too was gifted by a friend a good few years ago, which would be  of more use to him than myself.

Having really enjoyed his book on Sicily 1943, I'd had my eye on this book, but when it came out in paperback. These are much my preferred type of book than hardbacks, as the latter take up too much space in my 'library'. However I needed to add something to an Amazon order to qualify for free postage and this was heavily discounted due to a torn cover. Along with the good price this book has lots of good images that I know from experience lose something when in paperback form. Given that many of them would be perfect reference for wargames scenarios, I was quite happy to make some space for the hardback version.

Can one have too many books on the Normandy campaign? A moot point of course but given that I learnt quite a few new things abut the Sicily campaign, I'm looking forward to reading this and see what fresh new perspectives he brings. An author that I find a pleasure to read and one that I put up with Hasting, Beever & Kershaw.

I've had this book for over 5 years or more now and really enjoyed the first book in the series. Bought at a time when I had planned some Hundred Years War games, which never materialised, it has sat on the shelf rather forlorn as my attention turned elsewhere. But no longer! Wanting a change from recent periods being read, I picked this off the shelf (another advantage of books over Kindle et al) and was immediately taken once again my Sumption's fantastic skills as an author. Impressive for any normal author but he was also a practising QC at the time then this was written! For any one interested in the HYW his books really should be your first choice. It certainly has given me many more ideas for Lion Rampant games, which is good.

Sadly real life in the form of decorating means that my chapter or two reading this morning failed, but maybe I might squeeze in sometime this afternoon, if I'm lucky. So I must crack on and make progress so that I can justify having a day or two off to play my campaign game!

 

Operation Cygnet - Campaign Moves Day One

A bit more detail on the campaign, before things kick off in earnest. To start with I tweaked the following from Wesencraft's original, to try and reflect more Autumnal weather. At the start of each Campaign Turn move I would roll 2D6 to see what the weather was and then the following moves would be 1D6, to see if the weather changed or not. Nominally 3 Campaign Turns roughly equates to one day.

Weatherboard

2-3     Fog

4        Mist

5-9     Fair Weather

10-11 Light Rain

12      Heavy Rain

German Forces

For the Germans, I thought what might plausibly be in the 'front line' plus a few 'Blinds', then three units were chosen randomly from the following:

Heer Kompanie

1st FJ Kompanie

FJ Assault Engineers Kompanie

Stug III Kompanie

2 x Blinds

Deployment

With the German markers selected, it placed two on the villages in squares 12 & 19, with another one by the bridge in square 8. Naturally all were placed 'face down' so I, as the 'Attacker' wouldn't know what was in them. Alongside this I would play as if I didn't know something was there, but would send Recce units forward to probe the route of advance and likely areas of resistance.

The British would start arriving via the roads on squares 22, 23 & 24, led by the squadrons from the 43rd Recce Regiment (the Gloucestershire Regiment), followed by the 7th Somerset Light Infantry and the Sherwood Rangers.

The starting positions.

Turn 1 - Weather Fair

The 1st Recce Sqdn moved forward on the left towards the hills and stopped by the sanatorium (17) to observe the village of Wuppertell (12), but saw no enemy activity. The 2nd Recce Sqdn pushed up to the edge of the craggy foothills (13) but encountered no enemy. The 3rd Recce Sqdn on the right moved up to the village of Tremleurr and again there was no sign of the enemy. The 7th SLI then followed up Club Route (the main line of advance towards the objective in 13) with the Sherwood Rangers.

For the Germans, three new 'units' arrived via randomised die rolls and selection, all via the Western or Northern edges. Seeing the British Recce units approaching Tremleurr, the unit inside chose to reveal itself by opening fire and turned out to be the 1st Kompanie of the 3rd Battalion, Fallschirmjager Regiment 6.

The 43rd Recce Regiment lead the advance.

German re-inforcements begin to arrive from the North & West.

As the 3rd Recce Sqdn approach Tremleurr, the defenders open up, causing them to halt and radio back the situation to the 7th SLI Colonel.

Turn 2 - Weather Fair

With the enemy engaging the 3rd Recce Sqdn from Tremleurr, 'C' Coy 7th SLI and its supporting armour move towards the village in preperation for an attack. The reserves began to arrive and a Battery from the 94th Field Regiment Royal artillery deploys to be ready to provide fire support if required.

With the enemy on the right flank, the 2nd Recce Sqdn push carefully forward to the crossroads (13) but spot no signs of the enemy. The 1st Recce Sqdn move towards Wuppertell, but again see no signs of the enemy. 'A' & 'B' Coy's move up to the edge of the rocky ground (13) and wait, so as not to get too far ahead of the possible assault on Tremleurr.

The German re-inforcements move to the bridge (8), towards the road junction (7) and close in on Wuppertell. With the enemy so close, again the German 'unit' in Wuppertell chooses to reveal itself and turns out to be the Assault Engineers from the 3rd Fallschirmjager Battalion.

The end of the Campaign Turn 2.

The 1st Recce Sqdn have failed to spot the enemy in or near Wuppertell. The 2nd recce Sqdn is on 'overwatch' at the crossroads.

The British begin to move units towards Tremleurr in preperation for an assault, as they need to take the village quickly so as not to hold up the advance.

Turn 3 - Weather Mist

The weather takes a turn for the worse as late afternoon approaches, with a mist beginning to form. This will hamper visibility and so prevent any air support arriving and limit what the FAO can see. This does not prevent the build up to the assault on Tremleurr, as the AVRE unit is brought up and 'D' Coy moves forward in case it is needed to aid the assault. 'A' & 'B' Coys move through the craggy hills to support the 2nd Recce Sqdn that are holding fort at the crossroads. As this mist begins to form the 1st Recce Sqdn spots a German unit moving to the outskirts of Wuppertell and it turns out to be the 3rd Kompanie of the 3rd Battalion, Fallschirmjager Regiment 6. Seeing this the 2nd Recce Sqdn withdraws a safe distance from where they will observe the enemy whilst awaiting support.

Two more German 'units' arrive on the Northern table edge, whilst the 'unit' in 17 moves to the road junction there so as to be able to move towards either Wuppertell or the bridge (8) as required. With two Fallschirmjager Komapnies in Wuppertell, this is now a strong position and one that will require some effort to take, or it will remain a thorn in the side of the British advance.

The end of Campaign Turn 3.

Wuppertell appears to be strongly held. do the British try to take it or mask it as they continue their advance?

The British are ready to assault Tremleurr.

Next Moves

Well the next thing to do is to transfer the assault on Tremleurr to the table top. With the mist coming down and no air support and limited artillery support, plus dusk approaching, this might be a rather tough ask. Do the British wait until Dawn and attack then, hoping for better weather, or try and risk an assault from the line-of-march? Given their timetable to get to the bridge as quickly as possible, the latter option seems the best fit in campaign terms.

Thoughts So Far

It's early days I know, but so far things are working out as planned in terms of the broad campaign mechanics, which is all one can hope for really. The map and terrain information help drive the logical movements etc by both sides, which in turn helps drive the narrative. The 'Blinds' are working well along with the Recce spotting rules from Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier, although the British units have rolled very low, hence them not seeing a thing by and large! Still it all adds to the story.

The other good thing is it has motivated me to get back to the painting table and to try and finish off all those little additional units that have been in the queue for far too long! The actual game itself may be some days away due to real life, but I'm hoping to get it played out later on this week, all being well.

Until then stay safe and keep healthy!

Operation Cygnet - a BKCII Campaign

With the start of a New Year and with the family soon to depart back to Uni and to work, my mind turned to organising a simple solo campaign to be played at my leisure. As with these things there were plenty of options available, but in the end I chose a sort of 'Operation Market Garden' as it was quite some time since my WWII toys had graced the table.

Campaign Mechanics

I chose to use one of the Warplan 5/5 maps as the basis for the terrain generation and movement, as most of the work had been already been done on this front. Also it had the added advantage that each square could equate to a 4'x4' board, which has become my default board size for games these days. Movement on the map would be quite simple, with all units moving one map square per campaign Turn, except for Recce which could move two. The whole campaign would be very much narrative driven, but have an overall objective.

I wanted to try and add in some more detail than my previous SCW campaign, just to see how easy it was to do and how much it brought to the table. In this respect I decided to use the weather board from Charles Wesencraft's superb Practical Wargaming book to bring a bit of unpredictability to say availability of air support, how far units could see etc. 

A must for every wargamer IMHO.

As I would be playing the British, I wanted some simple way to generate an enemy, but without me knowing what and were they were. To this end I went down the counters route, with units written on them but deployed upside down and only revealed when spotted by the British. Amongst these would be some blanks too, to add another level of uncertainty. Some units would be deployed at the start of the game whilst others would arrive on random board edges by a standard D6 die roll.

One thing that has never really worked for me has been the Recce rules in BKC stable. Quite by chance one evening I picked up a copy of Battle Group Panzer Grenadier by DCR Brown. This I had bought some years ago after a chat with Jon, one of a group of friends/gamers that meet up now and then, very cheaply off ebay. Not having given it more than a cursory glance I was not only was struck by how similar the current 'O' Group rules seem (well they are by the same author afterall) but how many good ideas they contain within their pages. So after a few read throughs I decided to try the rules for Recce, Ambush/Concealment and random Air Support, again another issue that I had wanted to tackle. They look to be good but the truth will out I'm sure once the campaign gets under way.

These I picked up for about £5.00 and are worth every penny. Thanks for the recommendation Jon!

Background Fluff

So with the broad mechanics sorted, the narrative was the next on the list, which was quite easy to do, given the campaign is inspired by 'Market Garden. A British Battlegroup is advancing forward towards an objective of securing a bridge over a river to allow the advance to continue forward. Having broken through the light German defensive crust, the Germans are rushing units to the area to support those already deployed.

British OOB

3 x Recce units

1 x Infantry Battalion - A, B, C & D Coy's, each with attached Sherman Sqdns

1 x AVRE troop

1 x 25 pdr Battery

1 x Air Support - Typhoon

German OOB

1 x Fallschirmjager Battalion -1st, 2nd, 3rd & Heavy Weapons Kompanies, plus Assault Engineers

1 x Heer Kompanie in half-tracks

2 x Volksturm Kompanies

1 x Panzer Schule with Pz III & early Pz IV

1 x Pz IV kompanie

1 x Stug III Battery

1 x Schwere Kompanie (Tiger I & Elefant)

1 x 105mm Battery

1 x Nebelwerfer Battery

Objective

The main objective is to secure the bridge crossing in square 8 and then the BUA in square 3.

Insert map image. British units will arrive via squares 22, 23 & 24. German units will start in squares 12 & 19, with possibly one other square to be decided upon.

The Warplan 5/5 map that the action will take place over.

Next Steps

Well with everything pretty much set up, it remains for me to kick things off in earnest. Real life has prevented the start that I had hoped for a few weeks ago, but I'm hoping to make the first map moves this weekend. Nothing is set in stone so there may be tweaks along the way but I hope nothing too drastic! I'm really looking forward to playing this  and hope to post some update soon.

So until then stay safe and keep healthy.