wulfir
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FOUCARVILLE ROADBLOCKS
By Redleg
Foucarville, France.
6/12/44
1100 hours, weather is clear – visiavility 55.
15 turns, C2 off.
This is perhaps the perfect quickie!
A small scenario, particularly suitable for when you can’t spend too much time in front of the computer. I guarantee it will keep you on your toes though. You can find my final score at the end of the “dramatized” retelling of the battle below.
Let’s see if anyone can do better.
(I recommend playing the scenario before reading further.)
THE BATTLE – Spoiler warning!
________________________________________________
“Right, assemble on me!”
The three airborne rifle platoon leaders and the two machine-gun platoon leaders silently gathered up around their commander, Captain Wood.
“Showtime, gentlemen”, Wood said calm as ever spreading his map on the ground before his officers. “Our mission is to block these here positions”, his hand indicating four points east, northeast and southeast of the village of Foucarville. “O’Brien, Hall, your platoons will follow me into the village. Once it has been cleared you Donahue will move your machine guns in and set’em up here. You are to cover the hill and the road south of the hill. Got it?”
“Got it, sir”
“Don’t call me sir out here, goddammit!” Donahue made a sheepish face. “From the village we move on the hill, once we have it we’ll be able to dominate the area.”
Stern faces and silence.
“French, you will circle around here and deploy your platoon here and cover our flank. You get Keith and his machine-guns in support. Hold your ground but be prepared to move on the church.” Second Lieutenant French was the platoon leader Wood trusted most. That’s way he got the most independent assignment. “The enemy”, Wood continued “is believed to be established on the hill and around the church. Company size element most likely. Expect them to be well supplied and motivated.” Wood made a pause. “Questions?”
Funny, there were never any questions.
(Turn 1-2)
2Lt Hall watched as his men moved into the small, deserted village of Fourcarville. Not a soul in sight, everything very quiet. Behind Hall’s platoon Donahue and his machinegunners carried their weapons and just as Captain Wood had ordered set them up in buildings on the edge of the village, their fields of fire reaching over the hill and the road south of the hill. Then it happened, the crack of a rifle, a single shot, from somewhere in the direction of the church could be heard.
However it had not been aimed at Hall or Donahue’s men. The enemy sniper had taken a shot at French’s group down south but missed. French was not pleased and was just about to question his men about what SOB had revealed their position when the sniper fired again…and missed again. “Why you little…Arnold, take your squad along those hedges and scout the area to the north”, French said and pointed the direction. “See if you can get a fix on that sniper.” The ever silent sergeant Arnold nodded his recognition and set out with his six men strong squad.
(Turn 3)
Edging out of the village and approaching the hill 2Lt Hall’s platoon comes under fire from a sniper.
2Lt French can hear the sniper shots ring out over the area. His somewhat infamous temper is beginning to boil. Then all of a sudden rifle and machine-gun fire explodes from behind a hedge to the southeast of his position. Krauts!
German bullets impact around Stevenson’s sqaud occupying a stone building. One man goes down. Stevenson rallies his men quickly and returns fire with all weapons, including their bazooka.
(Turn 4)
Proceeding up on the hill, the platoon in line, 2Lt Hall’s left squad stumbles right on a German AT gun. The Germans fire and wounds two men of Sgt Kantor’s squad. Hall spots the enemy gun and quickly calls out the target. The platoon opens up. From the village Captain Wood orders Donahue to support Hall with his machine-guns.
Meanwhile in the south, French screams to Keith to get his guns going on the German infantry behind the hedge. Keith has one weapon able to take the area under fire and he tells the gunner to swing it around. The gunner does as he is told but the weapon jams and a German MG42 from a house to the northeast starts sending bursts on Keith’s position. Well directed fire from Stevensons squad however drops a few enemies and the rest panics, trying to move north. They stumble right into Arnold’s squad, sent by French to scout the hedges. The German squad is torn apart. The shooting dies down for a few seconds but then the entire length of the hedge seem to be alive with Germans. French and Stevenson have their men pour fire on the enemy while Keith tries to get his machine-gun working. Another bunch of Germans stumble right over Arnold and his men who rakes them with fire and throws grandees sending them reeling back with several casualties. The Germans along the hedge brake off. Again the shooting dies down.
(Trun 5)
From Foucarville Captain Wood can see Hall’s platoon crawl up the hill moving toward the north face. He orders O’Brien to move his platoon along with one machine-gun into the eastern part of the village vacated by Hall. Double-quick! Wood expects a German move from the church, possibly against the hill. If that happens he is going to be ready for it.
Fierce small arms fire from 2Lt French’s position at the southern roadblock announces another German push. Keith has finally cleared the stoppage on the machine gun and he orders the gunner to spray the oncoming Germans. But the gunner is killed and Keith abandons the weapon, horrified as he pulls back. “The coward sonofabitch!”
Sgt Arnolds position, up along the hedge, has still not been fixed by the enemy. While the enemy fire is directed at the houses occupied by French and Stevenson, Arnold can hit the enemy hard in their flank. And he does. German return fire severely wounds two of Arnolds paratroopers though. His squad is down to four men. He knows they are in grave danger.
(Turn 6-7)
Advancing on the hill some of the men in 2Lt Hall’s platoon needlessly expose themselves and a MG42 starts up from the area around the church. Two men of Jenkins squad goes down. “Sonofa…!” While Donahue’s two machine-guns keep the enemy AT gun position on the hill under steady fire, the intrepid Sgt Kantor crawls up along the north side of the hill edging closer to the German gun. Then, from close range, he and his men opens up on the enemy gun crew. They drop like flies. But Kantor attracts fire from that murderous MG42 at the church and in turn two of his men gets it. Captain Wood is pleased with the development however and orders O’Briens platoon to circle around Hall and take up position in some woods to the north of the church. Donahue’s machine-guns let the German MG42 have it.
At the southern roadblock French’s platoon defeats the second German attempt but Sgt Arnold, up along the hedge, is cut off and suffers another casualty. Only three fit men remaining in his squad. German fire is directed at Stevenson’s house and forces him to abandon it. Now Arnold is completely on his own. The Germans concentrate on his few survivors. They don’t last long.
French is crazy and scrapes every man he’s got together. He even kicks the scared Keith into firing position to fend of the oncoming Germans and for a short while he is successful. The Germans bounce on his defense yet again. However, the bastard Krauts keep coming and French knows he is facing defeat. It makes him furious with rage. He orders the one working machine-gun to redeploy and ad it’s firepower to his position. It doesn’t work, the crew is pinned and suffers two dead. Stevenson’s squad also have mounting casualties, only three men remaining. He pulls back further. “You are going to fight, goddammit!”, French screams to the four men around him as the Germans approach “or I’ll **** well shoot you myself.”
His men fight, but their fire is ineffective. One man is killed right next to French and he tries to throw smoke but even this doesn’t work…it only attracts more German fire.
(Turn 8-9)
From the village Captain Wood can hear the wild fire from 2Lt French’s fight but there is nothing he can do about it. Some careless Krauts appear advancing along the road south of the church. The road covered by Donahue’s machine-guns. A few long burst leaves several enemies lying on the road. “Eat lead, you Heinies!”
Northwest of the church O’Briens platoon gets into position and receive fire from “murder MG42” loosing two men. Sgt Kantor, the squad leader from Halls platoon who wiped out the AT gun crew and took a few casualties from the very same MG42 proves to be quite a sharpshooter, dropping the German machinegunners with a few well aimed shots. Edging up on the hill Wood is horrified to see one more German gun, an 75mm infantry gun and Kraut infantry moving along the south edge of the hill against the village and Donahue's machine-guns.
At roadblock 1 the Germans keep coming. They are unstoppable. French and the men around him are killed. Seconds after that Stevenson is overpowered. Keith and his four men and one working machine gun is what remains of the defense in the south. As the Germans move in Keith hides, but not Franklyn, manning the machine-gun. He dies behind his weapon together with his loader.
(Turn 10-12)
German infantry is moving in on Donahue’s machineguns. There is no way he is going to be able to hold them off. The two weapons get separated, Donahue pulling back to the south and the other gun falls back deeper into the village.
Captain Wood calls back O’Brien’s platoon, abandoning the effort against the church. Gathering all the men available on the north side of the hill Wood makes a quick survey of his position. The Germans have overrun French in the south and are moving on Foucarville, shielded by the south slopes of the hill. There are two options, withdraw and hold out at the roadblock northwest of the hill or counterattack the advancing Germans by charging straight over the hill.
(Turn 13-15)
We are airborne, dammit! Wood counterattacks and the battered remnants of Hall and O’Briens platoon follows him straight across the hill and into the flank of the Germans advancing along the road toward the village. Despite being numerically superior the Germans are thrown back in disarray.
In the south, Keith – the only survaivour of French’s group, grabs his Thompson SMG, gathers his courage and sets out to fight the Germans. Alone. His effort to redeem himself ends abruptly when he is ambushed by a few German rearguards.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The scenario ends.
I lost 46 men, the Germans 79.
I was able to capture and hold roadblocks 2,3 and 4 by a Banzai charge at the very end. I never got close to the church and in the south my defense got completely overrun. Had the scenario lasted longer I would have been dead meat. :o
I could have given my right arm for a mortar too! :)
Final score:
US Army 575 Draw
Germany 526 Draw.
_____________________________
Semper in Primis
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