[Brian61]

KG Krafft, 19 April, 1941 - Operation 25

Situation: The 5th panzer division runs into the British rear guard as it emerges from the mountains near Lamia, Greece. The area is mountainous with a number of wooded areas and has two east-west roads running through it. The northern road is a main road, the southern is a secondary road. [Meeting engagement, visibility 18, length 37, scattered victory hexes, map size 80x80]

Orders: KG Krafft, joined by a Kradschutzen Kp, is to clear the area for transit by the rest of the division. No supporting artillery is within range, however Luftwaffe is providing four Bf109E-7's for support.

Battle plan: The kradschutzen kp will lead, followed by panzer platoons E, F and G with G deployed in the center. The recon element, SdKfz 10/4 section, sIG 1b section, SdKfz 252 section, kradshutzen heavy weapons group, and kradshutzen command group will join the command group following platoon G. Platoons D, H, and the security element will form the reserve, trailing behind the command group. Force cohesion will be maintained at all times, and the path of least resistance will be followed.

Execution: British artillery makes its presence known early on, with two 25pdr batteries firing interdiction fire along the southern road. As kradschutzen platoon S advanced in the south, it spotted a British advance force of four CS9 armored cars and one A9 tank. Panzer platoon F detours southeast to meet the threat. Shortly thereafter, another force of armored cars and light tanks is spotted moving westward along the southern road.

Following the armored cars and light tanks on the southern road is a motorized infantry company supported by at least three Bren carriers and two Valentine II tanks. Two more A9 tanks are spotted trailing the southern armored car force. Platoon G maneuvers southwest of the central woods to be in position to engage armored cars as they advance along the road. Further south, platoon F maneuvers to engage the southernmost armored car force as it advances south of the southern hill. Platoon E maneuvers southeast from the northern hill attempting to use the valley to gain a flanking position on the enemy force moving on the road.

The southern armored car and A9 force is destroyed by platoon F. The southern kradshutzen platoon was overrun by Bren carriers and engaged by numerous infantry squads. Fortunately late arriving fire from a pair of 25pdr batteries knocked out two carriers and supressed nearby enemy infantry as well as the kradshutzen platoon.

The leading armored cars and light tanks along the southern road are knocked out by platoon G with some help from the command element. Platoons D and H are released from reserve and travel southeast to engage additional armored cars following on the road. The kradshutzen MG section is overrun by a light tank and one of the MG34s is destroyed.

An airstrike was called on a group of Valentine IIs in the south but was largely ineffective, one Bf109E-7 was damaged by Bofors AA-gun fire. Fire from the sIG Ib section falls upon rear elements of the force on the southern road destroying one truck and pinning some infantry down. Kradshutzen platoon Q is ordered south along the edge of the woods to support platoon R and platoon E continues advancing south with the lead tank discharging smoke to hide the following tanks.

In the far south, kradshutzen platoon S is successfully withdrawn with the aid of supporting fire from panzer platoons F and D. On the south road, three of four Valentine IIs are destroyed by a combination of indirect fire from the sIG Ib's and direct fire from platoons E, G, and H. One PzIIIe from platoon G was lost with all hands. Kradshutzen platoons Q and R, with supporting fire from the command panzers and platoon D, drove off most of the enemy infantry that hadn't been routed by sIG Ib fire.

At the one hour mark the only remaining threat posed by the British forces is a platoon of Valentine II tanks operating in the far south. A PzIIc from platoon D was immobilized during mopup operations on the south hill by a light mech squad, all other enemy forces on the hill have been destroyed. Ten minutes later, a small counter-attack force consisting of at least two A13Mk2 tanks and one truck with unknown contents is spotted in the center moving west. Platoons E and Q are dispatched to intercept. The KG's security element is released from reserves and deploys in the woods southwest of the southern hill. The remaining armor maneuvers to engage the southern Valentine II platoon and accompaning infantry.

One and a half hours into the battle, all four Valentine II's in the far south have been destroyed although one PzIIIe was lost in the effort. All infantry except for a few stragglers have been eliminated and three A13Mk2 tanks have been destroyed in the center. The only things standing between KG Krafft and complete victory are three or four Bofors 40mm AA-gun positions. It takes another hour for the kradshutzen kp to take the remaining objectives, destroying six 40mm AA-guns and a mortar squad in the process.

Decisive victory, KG Kraft. Onward to Thermopylae!

Last turn file attached, thanks for reading.