PBEM Campaign - AARs cont...

[Cross]

These battles were PBEM against 3 different human opponents:

Lt. Col. Cross D.S.O. British Army, has survived five battles in Italy, from Oct 1943 through April 1944. Now in May 1944, he is preparing for his sixth battle.

The campaign has been quite successful so far, with four battles won by Col. Cross’ eccentric leadership; but the most recent battle was lost along with many good officers.

First Battle

The first battle was by far the most successful. A well laid plan, some friendly terrain, a bit of luck, along with the exploitation of enemy mistakes; resulted in an overwhelming victory for Col. Cross’ battalion. In fact it was such a resounding success that Col. Cross was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in this battle. Major Ennis, of the Royal Tank Regiment, made such a large contribution to this battle -with almost no casualties in his company- that he also received a DSO.

The Paratroop regiment won a Military Cross and two Military Medals after some hard fighting and capturing a well defended hill. Another MC was won by Lt. Harrington, of the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), for single handedly defending a road, where he knocked out four German tanks and destroyed an infantry section.

Second Battle

The Second battle saw many of the same Officers under Col. Cross’ command. This was a tougher battle that hung in the balance for quite a while until the tide suddenly swung in the right direction for the British. But not before a company of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry had been trapped by a force of German armour. The OxBucks Lt. Infantry fought bravely, but with almost no friendly armoured support close by, they took heavy casualties. In one platoon only four men survived. Capt. Langdon was in the thick of the fighting, rallying his men and destroying two German armoured cars before being killed himself. For this action he received a Mentioned in Despatches, posthumously.

This battle turned in large part because of the cool actions of one NCO, Sgt. Stevenson. He commanded a 17 pounder Anti Tank gun, which was fortuitously positioned, to overlook the main German line of attack. Sgt. Stevenson racked up nine notches on his gun barrel; including at least 4 tanks, 2 armoured cars and a lorry. He was briefly considered for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but oddly enough his life was barely in danger, so his cool and accurate fire was rewarded with a Military Medal instead.

Lt. Harrington MC of the RTR almost lost his life when he bounced a shell off a Tiger tank at 50 yards. Corp. Hackett’s tank undoubtedly saved his life by quickly coming to his rescue and dispatching the Tiger. Also worthy of mention is Lt. Shannon of the Royal Artillery, his crew lost 9 of 12 men; but despite this Lt. Shannon was able to rally his remaining men and keep his field gun firing for the rest of the battle. For this he was awarded a Military Cross.

Despite early concerns this second battle eventually resulted in a Decisive win for Col. Cross and the British.

Third Battle

The third battle was difficult. Starting badly when a German shell landed among Corp. Picton’s Para. section, wiping out the whole squad. Corp. Picton had not fought in the second battle, but had won a Military Medal in the first battle, for his part in the assault on a hill.
Another loss was Lt. Harrington MC of the Royal Tank Regiment. Harrington and his crew were machine gunned to death after abandoning their wrecked tank. This was Harrington’s third battle.
In a daring move, a large British force was able to penetrate deep into the German lines and throw the Germans on the defensive. Although this brazen action probably won the day, it exposed many lives and caused additional casualties.
Perhaps the most difficult for Col. Cross was the loss of Capt. Keyworth, a Forward Observation Officer and commander of the battalions support company. Capt. Keyworth was killed in his jeep by a Tiger tank while behind enemy lines, trying to get into position to call down artillery. He won his second Mentioned in Despatches in this his third and final battle; awarded posthumously.

A few officers from the first battle, were unable to fight in the second, but returned to serve under Col. Cross for the third battle. Only a couple of new officers came under Col. Cross’ command in this third battle. But they looked promising; notably, Corp. Valentine MM of the RTR, whose tank scored 7 kills in its first battle. And Sgt. Ludlow’s six pounder Anti Tank crew who damaged a Tiger tank and then fought off an infantry section with no support from other units.

Fourth Battle

The fourth battle saw a number of heroic actions resulting in more field awards than any other battle.
Major Ennis added a Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) to his DSO, for effective up front leadership of his armoured company, and making the opening ‘kill’ of the battle. A close range German Anti-Tank Gun almost ended Major Ennis’ war, but the gunners somehow missed. Major Ennis brought his total kills up to 6 in this his third battle.
Corporal Keyworth of the RTR also received a MiD, for coolness under fire. His Cromwell tank was damaged 5 times, and hit far more times than that, yet amazingly survived the battle.
Corp. Bufton of the Paras added a Bar to his Military Medal and has been recommended for a promotion. He was a rock at the tip of the spear, and gained excellent intel. on the location of AT Guns, tanks, a half track and infantry.
The highest award of the day went to Corporal Jaminson, in command of a Lloyd Carrier for the Support Company. With complete disregard for his own life, he drove right next to a building -knowing it contained SS troops- in order to pick up a crew from his platoon who’s Lloyd Carrier had been destroyed. The SS somehow missed Jaminson with a Panzershreck and small arms fire. Jaminson saved the lives of the crew then fought off another whole SS section. Later he played a key role defending the northern most flank of a village from a SS counter-attack. Jaminson shot up two SS sections and later carried a Para section right up to Mk IV enabling them to destroy it. For these actions he won the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Fifth Battle

The fifth Battle turned to tragedy as the Battalion was scattered and overrun by a German Armoured assault. Three of the Battalions Four Captains were killed. Captain Ainsworth of the OxBucks Lt. Infantry was forced to lay low while surrounded by German forces. He was later killed when engaging the enemy; this was Capt. Ainsworth’s fourth battle. His whole company was wiped out with the exception of one man: Sergeant Saundby. The other company of Light Infantry was also completely wiped out except for 3 men.

This was Capt. Fenton’s third battle, his tank managed to knock out two Panzer IVs –bringing his campaign kills to four- before he was killed.

Lt. Col. Cross DSO was in an open field when he was attacked by two Panthers at close range. Corp. Jamison DCM was Col. Cross’ driver for this battle, and typical of Jamison he tried to rescue Cross; unfortunately Jamison was killed. Two jeeps then attempted to rescue Cross’ section from the field, one was destroyed and the other damaged. Eventually Col. Cross managed to escape on foot, but not before losing three of the six men in his HQ section.

Other losses include Corp. Valentine MM of the RTR, it was his third battle and he had racked up 8 kills. Sgt. Stevenson MM, Anti Tank gunner, his fourth battle and despite his death he still holds the Battalion record of 9 kills.

On the bright side, it was only a ‘minor loss’ and there were plenty of British survivors. Including Corp, Hackett RTR, four battles and four kills. Lt. Saundby survived and won a second MiD for action behind enemy lines in his SPAAA. This was Saundby’s fourth battle, and he now has 5 kills. 2nd.Lt. Snowdon of the Light Infantry won a MC in this his first battle. He KO’d a Pz IV and defended an objective valiantly. Snowdon and two other men in his section were the only survivors in his company.

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Cross

[Cross]

Battle Six AAR

This was a PBEM against a human opponent in the Blitz wargaming club

British vs. Germans
WinSPWW2
Italy May 1944

For his sixth battle Lt.Col. Cross DSO and his 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 52nd Light Infantry Regiment had been given the task of capturing three roads and a train track.

The Plan

After staring at the map for some time, Col. Cross noticed that just south of the centre of the map there were features that formed a sort of horseshoe. These features could be used to form a decent defensive position, with the open end of the horseshoe towards the rear in the east. The fact this horseshoe was almost central was reminiscent of chess where ‘he who controls the centre controls the game’. The horseshoe did include some of the objectives, and was within striking distance of many more; and was especially near to the richest mother load of objectives just to the north. So a plan was formed based on grabbing this central horseshoe as quickly as possible, and then after securing it; using it as a base from which to strike out at the nearby objectives.

The horseshoe formed a box about 1KM square and consisted of a village, a line of woods and orchard to the south, two tiny villages to the west with some woods and mud; and a line of trees and a small village to the north. The central part of the horseshoe was a crop field but right in the middle of the field was a small tree enclosed clearing which seemed the perfect place for Battalion Head Quarters.


IMG 1.10 Initial plan by Platoons

Forces

Under Col Cross’ command was 2nd Battalion, comprised of 5 companies. Three infantry companies, one tank company and one support company. The infantry were comprised of two Light infantry companies and an Airborne company. They would be supported by the tank company which was a Cruiser Tank Squadron of 15 Cromwell tanks commanded by their new “unblooded” Capt. Heart, who was the replacement for Capt. Fenton killed the previous month. Lastly the battalion had a support company consisting of a pair of SPAAA (cruisers with 20mm AA guns) a 5.5inch artillery battery, four 25 Pdr field guns, four 6 Pdr AT guns and just over a dozen vehicles, mostly halftracks with some jeeps and a couple of Bren Gun carriers.

‘A’ Company “OxBucks Light Infantry” commanded by Major Kilgore was assigned to the northern part of the battlefield. His orders were to hold the two small villages on the British side of the lines and as long as a serious German attack didn’t come their way, they were to make a probing advance and capture the northern central objectives. This advance was hoped to relieve some pressure from the main attack which would be in the centre from the Airborne ‘B’ Company. ‘A’ Company was given a troop of tanks and three 25 pounders as support.

‘B’ Company “OxBucks Airborne Light Infantry” commanded by Major Baker were assigned to the centre. They would initially hold the North part of the horseshoe box but would quickly attack north with two platoons and capture the central objectives. They would have support as needed from the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) which would all be within the box, except one troop of three tanks supporting ‘A’ Company in the north. Also within the box would be the four 6 Pdr. AT Guns which would be distributed around the perimeter to cover likely lines of advance.

‘C’ Company “OxBucks Light Infantry” commanded by new arrival Capt. Ellsworth, was given the southern flank of the box. From this position and its fields of fire, it was hoped they could control much of the southern road which could be seen some 500 yards to the south. They’d have the support of at least a HMG a 6 Pdr. plus a troop or two of tanks and the AA Cruisers held towards the rear. Once their position was secure they could advance and capture the southern road.

This left a very large gap in the south. A 25 Pdr. and a PIAT team was assigned to the crossroads behind the British lines. The best Cross could hope for was that they’d slow any attack in this sector long enough for reinforcements to be brought in from the centre. The worst case scenario was a large scale attack in the deep south sweeping behind British lines, taking out the Royal Artillery and throwing all offensive and defensive plans into disarray. There wasn’t much to be done about this. “He who defends everything defends nothing”. The hope was that the German CO would not be that daring or that lucky to find the British Achilles heel.


IMG 2.1 The British Achilles Heel

To get to the horseshoe quickly from the start line, Cross was going to rely on the fast Cromwell cruiser tanks and halftracks. Taking as many infantry on the vehicles as possible, and then hoping these forces could grab and hold the horseshoe until the halftracks could go back for the rest of the troops or they made it there on foot. Cross made sure that the four 6 Pdrs were hitched to fast moving jeeps; as it would be better to get these into position early.

2nd Battalion set off from the start line. Within five minutes one of RTRs Cromwells was firmly stuck in the mud. The battle hadn’t even started and RTR was already down to 14 Tanks. Col. Cross sent a serious warning out to all officers about the mud. He couldn’t afford to lose more vehicles, anyone else who gets one stuck will be disciplined.

No sooner did Cross get the word out about the mud, but reports come over the radio that about four German armoured cars had been spotted in various sectors moving fast in the general direction of the OxBucks battalion. One of them was already level with the main British force already in the horseshoe, but it was just the other side of the tree line outside the horseshoe to the south. Some of company C started positioning themselves in case the armoured car came through the trees. Others kept going desperate to reach the far edges of the horseshoe before the Germans got a foothold.


IMG 3.6 First German Armoured Vehicles Spotted – Note the AC in the south

A minute or two later and the first gunfire starts. The armoured car did come through the first layer of trees right in front of some of C company and a couple of Cromwell’s. He must have the surprise of his life to find himself staring down the barrel of a tank 100 yards away. He made a quick burst with his 20mm which had no effect, the Cromwell returned fire but both were moving fast and the shots missed. The German Armoured Car scout realized he was outgunned and sensibly beat a hasty retreat. C company men thought he probably only saw the one tank and couldn’t have seen the main British force moving into the area. All the same the RTR professionally chased the armoured car out of the trees and into the open and finished it off making sure the crew didn’t get out alive. As they did, they spotted an Opel lorry in the distance that was obviously stuck in the mud. Not to miss the opportunity they soon had the Opel burning, before retreating back into the safety of the tree line.

In other parts of the battlefield the RTR knocked out a Panzer II “Lynx” light tank at about 1 ¼ KM range and there was a report that some crew of a German PAK Anti tank gun had been killed. On the south road an armoured car came speeding towards Sgt Brooks who manned the lone and exposed 25 Pdr with only a PIAT team for support. Brooks waited until the armoured car was at about 400 yards and then knocked it out. The crew escaped and ran back along the road. A sniper assigned to C company saw the action and moved into position to take some shots at the fleeing crew. Brooks hoped that this would convince the Germans that the south road was well defended. Little did they know that he was just about all there was in the southern part of the front, there was no one south of him, and it was over a KM to maps edge.

The horseshoe perimeter was now almost secure, with most infantry, tanks and AT guns in the vicinity of their assigned areas. Many were still shuffling around trying to find better defensive positions with good LOS.


IMG 4.8 Horseshoe with Platoon Perimeters –The gray perimeter is support vehicles and AT guns

In a bizarre incident Sgt Rogers’ six pounder AT gun witnessed a German Armoured car crash right into a building immobilizing itself. His crew lined up and quickly had the AC completely destroyed.

A few minutes later another six Pdr, hidden in a stone building on the west edge of the horseshoe, manned by Sgt Gifford got a solid hit on a PzIV, they didn’t destroy it but were sure it was damaged. Sgt. Hackett was an experienced tank commander, this was his fifth battle and he had only just recently been promoted from Corporal. Hackett had seen the PzIV take the hit from the six Pdr; he moved his tank out and finished it off. This was Hackett’s fifth kill and his first for this battle. By this time German infantry could be seen who had no doubt been riding on the tank and were now running around looking for cover. A forward Vickers gun not too far from Giffords AT gun opened up and hit a few of them.

Unfortunately Gifford’s AT gun shot had been spotted by a Tiger tank, who then demolished the house the AT gun was occupying. The AT gun was destroyed and all the crew were killed or wounded. These were the first British casualties in the battle.

As the horseshoe was consolidating its defenses Lt Greenwell’s Airborne Platoon didn’t waste any time moving from the north edge of the horseshoe to the north to try and capture some of the central objectives before the Germans got there. Major Baker of B company had figured it would be easier to get there quickly and defend the area, than to let the Germans get there and have to attack a defended position. Lt Greenwell had spotted a light tank behind cover near their objective. His platoon gave him covering fire as his section ran across open ground, then crept the last few yards. They missed it with a satchel charge, but Greenwell rallied his men and they tried again. This time they succeeded in immobilizing the Lynx tank. The Lynx responded by machine gunning Greenwell’s men, but luckily no one was injured. Greenwell’s men tried with a third satchel charge and this time the tank was destroyed. For this action Lt. Greenwell was awarded the Military Cross.


IMG 5.7a Lt Greenwell moves up to destroy Lynx – Note the Lynx in the far north, with Lt Greenwell’s section 100 yards away


Sgt Greenwood commanded the Cromwell that had earlier KO’d the Opel stuck in the mud. He had now knocked out a Panzer IV near to where the Opel was. Greenwood would later KO another panzer IV and then kill several crew from a 88mm AT gun that they later realized had been towed by the Opel that was in the mud. For these actions Greenwood was awarded the Military Medal.

Meanwhile the Royal Artillery was starting to be utilized, and targets were being requested in several sectors. Lt. Shannon’s 5.5 inch gun scored a direct hit on an Opel lorry and set it ablaze.

Lt Usher of C company was situated in the south of the horseshoe where a fierce firefight had developed between his platoon and German forces along the south road. There was much long range shooting going on, but then a Lynx light tank drove right into his position in a grove of trees, his section quickly knocked it out.

German heavy artillery started to come down but missed C Company as it landed well west of them.

About this time word came into HQ that a British PIAT team in the north had been killed. It seems the lads had just moved into a building and spotted a Lynx light tank 100 yards away. They took a hastily aimed shot and the PIAT bomb missed. The Lynx used its machine guns to wipe them out before they could reload.

The British were moving in to attack in three places now. In the north ‘A’ company 2nd and 3rd platoons were moving west towards two villages. South of them B Co was attacking north up the road towards the centre objectives.


IMG 6.11 Early stages of A Co 2nd and 3rd Platoons attack – Note Sgt Windsor A Co sniper out in front of 2nd platoon

The battalion was also having to defend itself. The defending was going quite well though, as many of the German vehicles were moving forward right out in the open without even the cover of smoke.

Sgt Rogers six pounder AT gun was placed in the NW corner of the horseshoe on an ideal patch of rough ground. He was able to take full advantage of the blatant German advance and KO’d a Panzer IV with one shot then immediately turned his gun a few degrees east and knocked out a panzer II with two shots. This meant he had now scored a ‘hat trick’ as he’d knocked out the armoured car which had crashed earlier. For these actions Rogers was awarded with a Mentioned in Despatches.

The fighting in the North was getting more intense as A company 2nd and 3rd platoons were each advancing on defended villages. Sgt Windsor, the sniper assigned to A company, was scouting for 2nd platoon and was fired on repeatedly from close range. Everyone was amazed he survived, but he was so traumatized that it took him ages to even get moving again, and he never really recovered during the battle. Col Cross ordered Major Kilgore of A company to get up there himself and make sure they took their objectives.


IMG 7.2 About 5-10 minutes after previous image

An odd incident occurred about this time when one of the Corporals in Capt Heart’s Cromwell troop tried to fire an HE round at some German infantry in an open field. The young corporal wasn’t very experienced and the shot was made while moving and in haste. Somehow the shot missed way way off to the right, went through some light smoke the round hitting the front hull of a Tiger tank. Of course the HE round didn’t seem to damage the tank at all, but Sgt. Hackett saw what had happened and figured “the crew could be suppressed so it’s now or never” and quickly moved his Cromwell into position and laid three shots, the first two missed but the third set it ablaze the crew bailing out.

Some German artillery came in, this time some actually landed among B and C Company, but it seems there were no casualties.

The battle had been going on for about 40 minutes when Cross’ officers estimated they’d already destroyed some 11 German tanks, including two Tigers. In addition there were about three German armoured cars and two lorries destroyed. They also claimed to have knocked out one to three AT guns and damaged or suppressed a lot of infantry. Their assessment at this point, was that the German infantry were still a viable force and not yet beaten; and there could still be another half dozen or more tanks to deal with.

British losses were amazingly small. One tank stuck in the mud, one immobilized by arty; one AT gun and one PIAT team destroyed.

Just as things were looking really bright, Lt Livingston pulled his tank out of the trees just a few hundred yards in front of a Tiger. The Tiger destroyed the Cromwell with one shot. Only Livingston and one other crew member got out alive.

In the North 2ndLt Snowdon MC 1st platoon of A company was moving his men forward, from their defensive positions, to join the rest of the company who had been engaged in fighting for over half an hour. As Snowdon’s platoon moved out, a German armoured car came racing down the road towards them. The AC spotted at least one of Snowdon’s sections out in the open and proceeded to machine gun them. One of the men was killed. Snowdon was only about 150 yards from the AC on the road, and his section fired everything they had at it. One of their rifle grenades got a lucky hit, and soon the crew were bailing out onto the road. Angry over the death of one of their men, they continued shooting until all the crew were dead. At the end of this battle 2ndLt Snowdon MC was given an overdue promotion to Lt. He had won his Military Cross just the previous month when he was only one of three men not killed captured or wounded in his whole company. He had valiantly defended an objective, even destroying a Panzer IV.

Back in the South most of C company were still in the horseshoe tree line in a fierce firefight and under occasional artillery bombardment. They were pinned by perhaps two medium or heavy machine gun nests about 500 yards away close to the south road. 3rd platoon led by Lt Vincent had now maneuvered themselves south and were moving up the south road towards the German positions. They were surprised that they met almost no resistance and assumed the Germans were all distracted by the rest of C company in the tree line to the north.

Lt Vincent’s platoon found one of the MGs in a building and expertly suppressed it, then Vincent personally led his section forward and destroyed it at close range while under the covering fire of another section.

At about this critical point in the battle many of Col Cross’ Platoon leaders started to show tremendous leadership, rallying their men time and time again.

Of particular note was Lt Ferris MC of C company whose platoon suffered 16 casualties, the highest losses of any British platoon in this battle. Col Cross aware of the hammering this platoon was taking, moved his HQ to within a 150 yards of Ferris, to see if he could assist the young officer.


IMG 8.3 Col Cross’ HQ supporting Lt Ferris’ platoon – Battalion HQ is located in the objective building in the far north. Col Cross has a jeep and a half-track parked 100 yards away.

But Cross was not really needed as Ferris had everything under control. Despite these casualties and while under a heavy artillery barrage (both ‘friendly’ and enemy) Ferris rallied his men more effectively than any other British officer. One witness says Ferris rallied his men over a dozen times during a brief period at the worst part of the battle. He also spotted and killed a scout team that was infiltrating his lines. (At first there was some confusion and they thought they’d killed a Forward Observation Officer.) One of Ferris’ sections would later find itself cut off from help, when the over eager section leader pushed too far ahead of the platoon and was attacked by a whole German infantry platoon. The section was wiped out. This wasn’t considered to be Lt Ferris’ fault. Ferris soon led a charge, out of the mud they had been trudging through, and chased off the German infantry, destroying many of them. For his outstanding contribution Ferris was awarded a Military Cross. Which means he added a bar to the one he won in December 1943 when he led his platoon on a successful assault on a hill.

Lieutenant Usher in the southern C company light infantry was awarded a Mentioned in Despatches for his excellent leadership, rallying a platoon that had suffered significant casualties and achieving his objectives. Usher’s section had also knocked out a light tank that had driven right into his position.

Lt Webster of A company light infantry was in a ferocious firefight over some objective buildings in the north; and just when it looked like the attack would bog down his CO Major Kilgore turned up, quickly rallied the platoon and lent additional fire power and direction. Major Kilgore received a MiD for this timely and decisive leadership. Webster himself also went on to receive a MiD as he rallied his men multiple times, and personally assaulted a German position, wiping out the opposition and captured the buildings.

In contrast to the excellent leadership of many of the junior officers, was the poor conduct of Major Harpole CO of the battalion’s support company. He had not served under Col. Cross before and Cross was hoping he wouldn’t again. Harpole spent just about the whole battle hiding out in the trees in the south part of the horseshoe. He rarely managed to rally himself and didn’t once rally any men under his command. In his dual role as a FOO he never got into LOS positions to call down artillery. Finally when Cross got the time to address the situation he ordered Harpole to another sector, but by the time he got there the battle was about over. Harpole was considered for a demotion, but Cross decided to give him a formal warning instead. Another incident will result in a demotion.

The Royal Tank Regiment was not without its successes, and some lucky breaks. Sgt Lambert MM drove right into some mud while assisting A company with their attack in the North. Fortunately he was able to get the tank out of the mud; and was very helpful in 2nd platoons attack on their objective village. Lambert engaged a damaged Panzer IV and destroyed it, before his own tank was badly damaged. In the confusion of battle they aren’t even sure what hit them but they think it was German artillery that knocked out the main gun and turret MG.
Lambert’s Troop commander Lt. Shannon did an excellent job of rallying all those under his command and his tank was busy, knocking out a German lorry, killing some crew from an 88mm AT gun and destroying a MMG, he was just missed by a PAK40 AT gun at one point. Shannon was recognized with a MiD for his leadership and contribution to the battle.

RTRs CO Capt Heart displayed a few jitters in the first part of the battle, understandable as this was his first time under fire; but by the end he was racing around, making decisions and even firing at the occasional infantry section.

Lt Picton’s tank was also assisting infantry in the centre and north of the battle. In complete disregard for his own safety he raced forward to try to help an infantry section that was pinned down in a building and being shot at from several locations. The area was chaos, burning vehicles on the road, burning buildings, artillery coming down, infantry running around or pinned under fire. Into this Lt Picton drove his tank and through the smoke he ran right into a Tiger tank on the road. Fortunately the Tiger was all buttoned down because of the artillery and didn’t spot Picton. At such close range it was hard to miss and Picton managed to KO the Tiger and save the Infantry. He was awarded a MiD for this action.

RTRs luck continued when British tanks were missed in a couple of other brief tank battle exchanges.

The battle had been going on for about 45 minutes when a report came through to Cross’ HQ that a German Armoured car was behind British lines and threatening the Royal Artilleries 5.5 inch guns. Cross ordered a couple of units to head for the rear to hunt the AC, before the situation turned into a disaster. He also had to cancel several artillery requests so the rear guns could lower their tubes and possibly engage a target with direct fire.

It turned out that the AC headed right for Sgt Fisher’s gun hidden in the trees but easily spotted because of all the smoke from its firing. The AC started shooting at Fisher’s crew at a range of about 100 to 150 yards. Fisher’s men were a bit panicked and got a couple of shots off in return but both missed well wide of the target. The AC then pulled up and continued machine gunning Fisher and his men, one man was seriously wounded. Fisher then did a great job of rallying his men who calmed down, got sighted up and landed a 5.5 inch HE round squarely on the front of the AC. None of the Germans in the AC survived. Fisher’s CO successfully recommended him for a MiD for this action and potentially putting an end to what could have become a real problem for the RA.

Just after this incident a German fighter bomber came in low over the battlefield, the first aircraft anyone had seen that day. Initial reports were that it was a Bf110 but it was later confirmed to be a Me410. It targeted a spot, on the northern edge of the horseshoe, where just a minute earlier a Half Track, a six Pdr and a jeep had all been clustered together for the whole battle. But an order had just come through to head to the rear, and the HT with six pdr in tow had left to hunt for the German AC. So the Me410 dropped two 500Kg bombs on the solitary jeep. The jeep was blown in two and the driver killed.

A second Me410 came in soon after but dropped its bombs wide of any British unit. The Luftwaffe FBs continued to be a nuisance for the rest of the battle, circling around and strafing tanks and Half Tracks. One of Major Harpole’s Mk2 Crusaders eventually claimed to have damaged one with its 20mm guns.

A report came in that a second British PIAT team had been killed. They were scouting ahead in the north and had almost run right into a German MG position in an open field. The MG was quickly dealt with by the RTR.

A Tiger was spotted at about 1300 yards. A six pdr AT gun managed to hit it, but at that range the shell just bounced. The consensus among the officers was that this was probably the last remaining German tank. It moved off towards the south.
German artillery destroyed a building where a vickers team were holed up. But luckily there were no injuries.

By now Lt Vincent’s 1st platoon C company had advanced up the south road to within reach of the only objective not in British hands. Unfortunately the Tiger tank was now defending it. The Tiger had pinned down two of Vincent’s sections, which were now exposed and in danger of being wiped out.


IMG 9.3 Same image as before - But note the last objective in the SW, and Lt Vincents platoon (supported by Sgt Hackett) before they tried to reach it and were pinned.

Fortunately Sgt Hackett’s tank had taken the initiative to assist on the south road. Leaving his CO back at the horseshoe, Hackett had moved his tank out to the platoons left flank and got into a position from where he may be able to spot the Tiger. But as the situation got desperate for the infantry, pinned on an exposed road, Hackett risked moving out into an open field to spot the Tiger. He saw it on the road hiding behind some smoke. Although the Tiger wasn’t buttoned at all it didn’t seem to see Hackett on his flank. Hackett had a clear shot and quickly brewed up the Tiger at a range of 350 yards. The crew bailed out. Lt Vincent’s men quickly rallied and captured the last objective effectively ending the battle.

The Tiger was Hackett’s third kill of the battle. His first two had been a Panzer IV and another Tiger. This was the recently promoted Sgt Hackett’s fifth battle and he’d now scored 7 kills in total. Hackett had won a MiD back in October 1943 when in his first battle he knocked out a Tiger tank and saved the life of a Lieutenant and his tank crew. For his calculated initiative and valuable contribution to this battle, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His actions no doubt brought this battle to an earlier end, saving not only Lt Vincent’s pinned infantry but other lives.


Image 10.12 Lt Vincent’s platoon captures last objective – Sgt Hackett (in red hex) after destroying the last German tank (Tiger on road behind smoke)

Prologue

The Battle was considered a Decisive win for the British.

A company in the north suffered 16 casualties
B company (Airborne) in the centre suffered 17 casualties
C company in the south suffered 32 casualties
The RTR squadron had 1 tank destroyed, 1 damaged and 2 immobilized (one in the mud, one by artillery) RTR had 4 casualties (3 men killed 1 wounded)
The support company had 11 casualties. Five of them from the six pdr that was destroyed, 4 men killed from two PIAT teams, and there was the jeep driver who was bombed, and a crewman from the 5.5inch gun that was attacked by an AC.

The battle resulted in one officer getting a warning.
2 promotions (2Lt to Lt and Corp to Sgt)
7 Mentioned in Despatches (class 4 award)
1 Military Medal (3rd class award for private soldiers/NCOs)
2 Military Cross’ (3rd class award for officers)
1 Distinguished Conduct Medal (2nd class award for private soldiers/NCOs)

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[pdoktar]

Wow. You just effectively written an essay about a WinSPWW2 fight. I hope someone gives you some credits for stuff like this. I can only wonder your enthusiasm for the game.

[Smersh]

great job, you also had pictures!

[Cross]

Battle Seven

Normandy June 1944

In his seventh battle, Col Cross DSO had a very small force under his command; only a reinforced company instead of his usual battalion. A company of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Airborne light infantry, a platoon of tanks, some half tracks, a couple of 25 pdr field guns and some four inch mortars.

The objective was a village surrounded by hedge lined fields and a small wood to the south. The focal point of the village was, naturally, its church.

Cross’ men rushed to seize the centre of the village and in particular the woods just to the south of the church. Right away the British tanks and infantry ran into determined opposition in the woods. Sgt. Lambert’s tank quickly knocked out a German Half-track in a daring move, but the battle in the woods went badly for the British. One airborne section got ambushed and instantly wiped out when the tank they were riding on strayed into a German position. Other British casualties quickly mounted.

Once the German’s had got the better of the initial skirmish in the woods, the British found themselves under increasing pressure. The British troops put up a fierce and stubborn resistance but their casualties were mounting and they were slowly pushed back.

It was the sixth battle for Sgt Hackett DCM. His tank KO’d an armoured car for his eighth kill and then he took a great risk to damage a half track. Finding himself exposed and without support he attempted to retreat, but his tank was wrecked by an anti tank gun as he crossed a field. Sgt Hackett managed to negotiate the safety of his crew with the Germans, and in good faith had his men ‘turn off’ their side arms. But then, in a blatant violation of the Geneva convention, the Germans went back on their word and machine gunned them all to death while they were leaving the field.

The company of Airborne were led by the experienced Captain Spanton MC, who had fought under Col Cross twice before, and both times had won a Military Cross. But this battle was chaotic, poorly organized and there was a lot of bad luck for the Brits. Movement was so restricted that Spanton never even got a chance to get forward with his men, he was pinned and then killed at the edge of the woods by German halftracks and infantry.

The village church was held by the British but it was hotly contested. At first the German attack was stalled as they found themselves pinned by accurate British artillery and sporadic direct fire. But British losses slowly crept up, and gaps in the defense were getting difficult to plug.

Despite the early loss of Captain Spanton, his men defended the church with bravery and stubbornness. Time after time, small depleted sections rallied to move forward and push back the attackers. Corp Smyth destroyed a Panzer IV right next to the church with a satchel charge; and then Lt. Reid used a satchel charge to KO a halftrack that was using a flamethrower against the church.

Col. Cross was in the church grounds and was within 100 yards of German infantry on two occasions, but did not engage them. His jeep was destroyed by mortar fire, and he was forced to retreat on foot from his position.



The situation in the church got more and more desperate and confusing. Men retreated in the wrong direction and right into the enemy on several occasions. By now the German commander was in the church, and its thought his HQ destroyed 3 British sections in the church. The British refused to give ground, and were fighting to the death.

The battle was a long and bitter contest but Col. Cross’ company was effectively wiped out. By the end of the battle He had lost all 8 of his officers, only two infantry sections were still cohesive, and all four tanks were knocked out.

One loss felt keenly was Sgt Bufton MM, who had fought in four battles, won two Military Medals, and scored seven kills. His contribution to this battle was as expected; he rallied his men time and time again, at one point close assaulting a panzer IV and routing it along with its accompanying infantry squad. Its not known how he was killed.

The British had managed to inflict a lot of damage on the Germans, that included 3 panzer IVs and 7 armoured cars or halftracks; but it wasn’t enough, and the Germans gained almost all of their objectives.

One noteworthy survivor was Sgt Greenwood MM of the RTR who commanded a Challenger tank. His 17 pdr gun and MG had been damaged and he withdrew to a nearby field. Despite this, towards the end of battle he charged at a house, but his tank was set on fire by the enemy. He was lucky and managed to escape with some of his crew.

In hindsight this battle was a complete disaster for the British. This could have largely been avoided if Cross had made a strategic withdrawal, once it was clear that he had lost but he still had the Germans pinned. He would have lost the objectives but saved most of his force. As is was he fought on and lost both.

In Col Cross’ defense, he felt that fighting with such a small force, along with the confines of the hedgerows and fields, handicapped him from employing any creative strategy, which is his strength. Instead, the battle was far greater test of tactics, where Cross has more limited ability.

[PanzerBob]

Bravo Zulu, a job well done, despite it's tragic end. I felt like I was there. It's these times that show the strenghts of the game and why it still holds together after 12 years.

Eternal War(gaming) PanzerBob

[Brummbar]

Wow! What a great AAR. Nice job.

[Cross]

PBEM Campaign AAR - Battle 8

The Situation

July 1944, Normandy France

Col. Cross’ previous battle had been a crushing defeat, his small force had fought bravely to the bitter end, suffering many casualties, and Col. Cross barely escaped with his life. But now back in command of a whole battalion again, he was more optimistic about this his eighth battle.

Col. Cross’ battalion consisted of 6 companies:

4 Infantry companies
1 Tank Squadron of 17 tanks
1 Support company (Artillery, transport, Vickers MGs, AT guns, armoured cars etc.)

The objectives of this ‘meeting engagement’ were three bridges that crossed a small river that ran north to south. Each bridge was over 2KM from the next, so keeping the battalion as a cohesive unit wasn’t really an option.

The North Bridge was within easy grasp of the Germans, just as the South Bridge was a short walk for the British. Leaving no doubt that there would be a race to the Centre Bridge where it would be contested from the outset.

The Plan

The first part of the British plan was to send one infantry company to capture each of the three bridges.

The South Bridge could be easily claimed by ‘C’ company, and then they would set up in defensive positions with the support of a couple of field guns.

‘B’ company would be given a tank platoon and a half-track platoon to assist them in their race to capture the Centre Bridge. Other support, in the form of armoured cars and field guns, would be made available to ‘B’ company for two reasons: First, they were expected to experience the heaviest fighting, certainly in the opening rounds of the battle; and secondly because it seemed prudent to keep additional assets close to the centre of the battlefield, where they could quickly respond to German pressure in the North or South.

‘A’ company was going to tackle the Northern Bridge on foot. The North Bridge was expected to be well defended by the Germans, so there was no hurry to get there, in fact Cross decided that it would be better if they took their time and let other developments take place on the battlefield before ‘A’ company found themselves heavily engaged in the North.

The “other developments” that Cross was referring to, was a daring and risky plan for the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) tank squadron and his fourth infantry company (‘D’ company). All but 4 of the RTR’s 17 tanks along with ‘D’ Company would penetrate deep behind enemy lines in the far south, then swing North with their primary objective to attack the Central and Northern bridges from the rear, and once discovered by the enemy to cause much mayhem and confusion while on their way to the Bridges.

IMAGE: Shows all three bridges and the plan at midpoint.



The Battle

One of Cross’s first orders was for Capt. Picton’s artillery to target and destroy the northern bridge. His concern was the Germans would take advantage of their control of the north bridge and push a force onto his side of the river, and jeopardize his whole plan.

As it turns out Picton’s 5.5 inch guns took about 15 minutes before they got some solid hits on the north bridge. Unfortunately, all reports that came in were that the bridge remained intact. Col. Cross abandoned his plan to destroy the bridge as the artillery was now needed elsewhere.

By this time ‘B’ company had made contact with the enemy in the vicinity of the centre bridge. A British Cromwell Tank and a Daimler armoured car that were supporting ‘B’ Co. had each knocked out a German half-track. Col. Cross was encouraged by this news, as it was his observation that the force that scores the first kill often goes on to win the day.

‘B’ Co. also reported discovering a ford just south of the centre bridge. This would have to be covered just in case the Germans were also aware of it. A couple of 25 Pounder field guns had been placed on the hills west of the river hoping to be able to target the bridge areas with direct fire. But visibility was quite low at just over a KM, so these guns would get little opportunity in the direct fire role.

German mortar shells were soon coming down on and near the road west of the centre bridge. They were mostly a nuisance and clearly didn’t have a spotter with direct line-of-sight. Within another 5 minutes or so ‘B’ Company had largely made it across the river and were heading for some buildings where they hoped to establish a firm bridgehead. But before they could get there 120mm rockets started to come down around them, pinning many sections, and causing quite a few casualties. A couple of sections lost four men each.

The worst of the barrage seemed to be over, and surprisingly, there was still little sign of the enemy, except a few sporadic infantry harassing ‘B’ Co. in the centre. This was the calm before the storm however, because it wasn’t long before the Germans mounted a determined attack against ‘B’ Company.

Attacking Capt. Ellsworth’s ‘B’ Company was probably a whole infantry company with at least 4 or 5 halftracks. Ellsworth’s men were still disorganized after the rocket attacks, and difficult terrain was also slowing them. ‘B’ Companies armoured support had fled from the rockets so weren’t immediately available to help. When a tank did race across the bridge to assist, it was quickly knocked out by German infantry. Then more rockets came down on the Tommies making a grim situation even worse.

The Germans pushed the British back along the road towards the centre bridge, and were now joined by at least one Lynx light tank. Most of ‘B’ company was pinned or retreating, when Corp. Downey managed to rally his men, and convinced a brave half-track driver to carry his section back down the road towards the Lynx. Downey’s section unloaded and professionally dispatched the Lynx with a satchel charge. This action seemed to blunt the German attack, and perhaps even turn its tide, and so Downey was awarded with a ‘Mentioned in Despatches’.

This was Lt. Webster’s third battle, having previously won himself a MiD for leadership a few months earlier in Italy. Encouraged by Downey, he was able to knock out a half-track, the crew escaped their burning vehicle and were gunned down by Capt. Ellsworth’s HQ section. 2Lt. Aston’s platoon was so badly mauled by this battle he only had 5 men left under his command, and only one other man in his section. Aston was recognized with a MiD after this his first battle.

Despite these small victories ‘B’ company would not have survived if the RTR hadn’t at that moment arrived at the German’s rear and announced themselves by discovering 4 self-propelled rocket launchers. The RTR knocked out two right away, and then chased down the other two and managed to destroy them within a few minutes. Opening this second front allowed ‘B’ company to counter-attack, but it would be another 15 minutes before they regained most of their lost ground.

‘A’ companies slow advance on the North bridge was starting to run into resistance. They were under a quite heavy artillery barrage, and at least one German platoon was causing them trouble. The advance was losing momentum at a critical point, but in a superb display of leadership Capt. Gilchrist rallied one section after another and got them moving again.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before German 12cm shells were coming down on ‘A’ Company with accuracy, and it also became clear that there was at least a company defending the bridge. The British officers tried to rally their men and get them moving forward again, but this time they couldn’t be budged.

A small firefight had broken out just east of the South bridge. Major Kilgore sent some men to probe the attackers to try and determine its size, but the German commander was wily and ‘C ‘ company took pointless losses. The experienced Major Kilgore sensibly ordered his men to make a tactical withdrawal and regroup in defensive positions.

Meanwhile Captains Heart (RTR) and Langdon (OxBucks Light Infantry) were enjoying their surprise arrival at the German rear, and were pushing towards the North and Centre Bridges. Sgt. Garland and Corp. Fisher drove their tanks right among two half-tracks (SP Mortars) and destroyed both. The RTR got a brief chance to take some cautious pot shots at a Tiger Vi in the north, but missed. They also briefly spotted two Panzer IVs and a Panther tank in the centre that appeared to be moving south.

Col. Cross was cautiously confident at this point. A pair of SP Brums had been damaged in the north, but Cross was concerned that so far no heavy German armour had been knocked out. Shortly after voicing this concern, he received word that the RTR had lost one of its valuable Challenger tanks. Apparently the RTR had spotted a Tiger hiding in a line of trees, so set a trap by placing a Challenger – with there formidable 17 Pdr. guns – each side of the tree line, so whichever side the Tiger emerged it would be targeted by a heavy gun. The Tiger came out of the trees, the 17 Pdr. missed but Tiger’s 88 did not. Although the Challenger was destroyed, three of the crew escaped unharmed.

This news was followed by the loss of Sgt. Bellamy. This was his third battle and he was killed when his Cromwell tank was destroyed by a self-propelled gun. Corp. Lake’s Cromwell quickly reacted and knocked out the SP gun.

With the RTR and ‘D’ company bearing down on the rear of the north bridge, ‘A’ company was by now making good progress on its right front, and had crossed the river to threaten the eastern end of the north bridge. However, the Germans held the western approach firmly, and were pushing hard against the left half of ‘A’ Co. which would have crumpled if it hadn’t been for the tenacity of 2Lt. Campbell. Campbell held onto a critical position at the centre of ‘A’ Co. and despite constant artillery and direct fire he refused to budge and kept the left flank of ‘A’ Co. safe. He won a MiD for this action. Campbell was quick to point out the invaluable support from a couple of RTR’s armoured cars, who had impressed all – not least the Germans – who witnessed their hit and run tactics.



Image: North Bridge.
If you look closely at the inset box (bottom right of screen) you can see RTR with ‘D’ company (yellow dots) approaching NW up the road toward the North bridge.

The centre bridge was now safely in British hands, with a few scattered Germans left to round up. Col. Cross ordered a tank troop south, as he suspected the missing Panzer IVs and Panther would turn up there.

Capt Langdon’s infantry company ‘D’ then spearheaded the infantry assault on the eastern approach to the north bridge, supported by Capt. Heart’s armour. There were two Tiger tanks still defending the bridge. Corp. Lake’s Cromwell daringly knocked out one, giving Lake his fifth kill of the battle. Lake was awarded a Military Medal for his outstanding performance and initiative on the battlefield with complete disregard for his own safety. The other Tiger was assaulted by Lt. Snowdon MC with support from Capt. Landgon, and then finished off by the RTR.

Capt. Langdon rushed across the bridge, fighting German units on both sides of the bridge and on the bridge itself. Capt. Langdon engaged in hand to hand combat on several occasions, he succeeded in knocking out a MG nest, and two infantry squads surrendered to him. His HQ section neutralized 5 enemy units and damaged others. For his leadership behind enemy lines, and his courage and initiative in the face of the enemy he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. The DSO is usually reserved for officers of Major and above, and is only awarded to more junior officers for conspicuous valour.

Capt. Gilchrist with perfect timing rallied ‘A’ company, and the Germans defending the northern bridge were soon overwhelmed. In the south the Germans attempted a last ditch effort to uproot the British defenders, but things went badly wrong for them. Some of their 17cm heavy artillery fell short and landed among the German infantry preparing to attack, then their tanks went forward unsupported, and were easy prey for the British infantry. Two Panthers were knocked out by close assaults.

The Germans had suffered high casualties, and all the objectives were now in British hands. On this day it was a solid British victory.

The Casualties, Honours and Awards

A, B and C infantry companies (assigned to the bridges) had 47, 52, and 50 casualties each; out of 140 men in each company. Casualties include those badly wounded.
Capt. Gilchrist earned a Military Cross for his exceptional leadership of ‘A’ company in the north.

Capt. Langdon’s ‘D’ company had only 14 casualties, despite their dangerous ride behind enemy lines and an intense fight for the north bridge. Capt. Langdon, as mentioned earlier, won a DSO for his role in this battle.

Capt. Heart’s RTR squadron started with 17 tanks. 4 were destroyed, 1 immobilized and two others were damaged. Only one tank commander was killed: Sgt Bellamy. Capt. Heart earned a Military Cross for his daring and successful leadership.

Lt. Shannon of the RTR racked up four more kills in this his third battle, giving him a total of 9 kills which equals the battalion record for confirmed kills. Though not far behind is Corp. Lake, who achieved 6 kills in this his first battle, and won a MM.

Total awards in this battle:
1 DSO
2 MC
1 MM
5 MiD

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[Dedas]

Truly great stuff! Keep it up Cross!

[Brummbar]

It sounds like you did very well in this one. Your plan looked solid and seemed to work as intended.