LN59
Posts: 204
Joined: 1/28/2016 From: France Status: offline
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CB002 Thunder over Boislonde BR[v1.1] German side scenario? Same post (#: 409) on March, 31st... Updated: March 17th, 2017. Dedicated to: "Tigers on the Hunt first BirthDay" on Saturday, February 25th, 2017. Date: June 18th, 1944, some days before the launching of Operations Martlet & Epsom Area: Normandy, West of Caen (British Sector, Height [cote] 102 area) Abstract: BR Assault, with Reinforcements + --> [<- + GE Defense then Counterattack, with Reinforcements Order of Battle: 49th Infantry Division's elements: 6th Battalion/the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment; 24th Lancers' tanks (Sherman V); 17pdr SP Achilles TD (from divisional reserve); Battalion CO: Lieutenant-Colonel R.K. EXHAM, MC versus 12.SS-Panzergrenadiere Division elements: two Kompanie (9. & 10.) from III.Bataillon/SS-Panzergrenadiere Regiment 26 plus maneuver elements (Panzer IV & V) from 8.Kompanie/II.Bataillon/SS-Panzer Regiment 12; Kampfgruppe CO: SS-Obersturmbannführer OLBOETER. History(1): “- The newly arrived [June 16th] British 49th Infantry Division (West-Riding, [Yorkshire]) will attack a position held by the 12.SS-Panzergrenadiere Division Hitlerjugend. The 49th is better known as the Polar Bears. This was a pre-war territorial division that, by 1944, included units from most of Britain. They have received their nickname by spending 18 months [until late 1942] as a garrison force for Iceland.” They’ve earned an "Experienced" assessment, while they didn't have fought any battle before Normandy. Nevertheless, they are rated "Elite" or "1st Line" (as a Type) and "Veteran" or "Seasoned" (as an Experience) in game's terms. A way to reflect their high morale & training. “- The Germans didn't have any new divisions to throw into the battle, therefore the over-stretched 12.SS HJ remained responsible for the defense. The HJ was already seriously affected by naval shelling, air bombing and previous fighting.” Following the combat of June 17th, they've settled two hundred meters back in a new prepared position, after they've taken ~150 losses in a fierce struggle. British losses were 250 Tommies. “- Two Kompanie of the SS-Pz.Gren. Rgt. 26 - a reduced battalion - were holding Boislonde parkland and its manor”. June 18th at dawn, the British will try again to seize this key position that lays between Cristot and Fontenay-le-Pesnel. Best played as: British Human vs German AI Difficulty to be set: NORMAL/HARD Fog of War: ENABLED Quality Path: HIGH Side A - (AI: Hold) Waffen-SS & a few Assault Engineers: LMG, MMG, HMG, MTR (light), DC, FT, PF, PSK, ATG, AFV (TK & HT), Radio & OBA (x1) Side B - (Advance) British Elite & 1st Line: LMG, MMG, HMG, MTR (light), DC, FT, PIAT, ATG, AFV (TK), Radios(x3), OBA (x2) Length: 12 turns (only the British side will play on the last turn) Map: new designed map Terrain: Bocage & Woods (flat countryside), sparse Buildings (some FBL), Rubbles, Shell Holes, Trenches Visibility: 9 hexes (i.e. Dust due to recent intensive shelling & smoke laying by heavy mortars) The map is 33 (height) x 20 (width), 2 sectors <Big Map> file included in ZIP for a future Campaign Game, but some <Sectors> are still void. Note: the place where the real battle was fought was narrow; minus a square km wide! All hexes are playable, with some deployment & reinforcement restrictions. Please, consider the map's upper left corner as the North direction, towards Cristot. The lower right one is the South direction, towards Fontenay-le-Pesnel. Your mission: as the British Commander, YOU HAVE TO SEIZE Château de Boislonde (Strongpoint & former Command Post), its farming's outbuilding (rubble in the coppice nearby the Château) WHILE MINIMIZING YOUR LOSSES. Victory conditions: the side with the most VP (balanced, i.e. asymmetric) at the end wins. Both sides will earn VP by owning each hex of the three VP0s' building [12,19], [13,18] & [13,19] locally known as Château de Boislonde(2), plus its annexes in hexes[10,22] (farmhouse), [17,9] (warden's house), [18,17] (garage) & [19,10] (gardener's house). German side (AI) will earn KIA-VP & EXIT-VP too, these for Half Squads only (in facts: squads being reduced by combat result), assuming the HS will "retreat to safety" with another day of fighting in mind. Please, be sure having a look at the <Scenario Victory> panel (<Ctrl+Y> when playing) for more details. Aftermath: one of the III.Bataillon Kompanie (10.Kompanie) has been quite annihilated in the park. Then, the III.Bataillon CO led a counter-attack with 9.Kompanie and some Panzer IV, Panthers, Sd.Kfz.251 and heavy mortar fire. The British were repulsed northwards but an accurate, devastating Allied artillery fire save the day in definitely repulsing the fanaticized (3) but exhausted young Waffen-SS. Later, after Goodwood's success, the infamous Radio Berlin's speaker "Lord Haw Haw" (a British born fascist) did favor the 49th Division as being real "Polar Bear Butchers"! A kind of tribute from vice to Virtue. Notes & Sources: - Original Crescendo of Doom (SL) scenario: "Tonnerre sur Boislonde" by G. OSTERMANN, Casus Belli #8, May/June, 1982. - (1) “A great and highly valuable help” has been found on the web in the form of a tabletop game’s (figurines & models) designed scenario: "A Walk in the Park" from "Blood and Honor - Hitlerjugend in Normandy", a Fire and Fury Games' campaign by Richard DE FERRARS and Paddy GREEN (2011). Please, be sure to read the PDF file included in my ZIP file, or finding theirs' at the following link: http://www.fireandfury.com/scenarios/bloodhonourparcdeboislande.pdf. An incredible rich source, full of details intended to help designers! - BEEVOR, Antony, "D-DAY: THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY", Viking (Penguin), 2009, French translation: "D-DAY et la bataille de Normandie", Calmann-Lévy, 2009 (for its historical context's explanation). - BERNAGE, Georges; MARI, Laurent; BENAMOU, Jean-Pierre; McNAIR, Ronald: "Album mémorial - Bataille de Normandie, Normandy Invasion, 11 juin - 29 août 1944", Editions Heimdal, Bayeux, 1993. Translated to English by C. and J.-P. HARDY. Invaluable WWII era's snapshots; OOB, movements & battlefields general maps; accurate & vivid comments. - Wikipedia: hints about the units involved. - Maps: * MICHELIN, 1/200000 Map #102, "Battle of Normandy", 1947 (1984 reprint) * IGN, 1/100000 Map #6, "Caen-Cherbourg", 1st edition, 1974 * Google Maps & Google Earth - (2) Not a medieval castle but a rather elegant, late 18th/early 19th century residence and a large landowner's estate. Totally erased during 1944 fighting. Nowadays, a large modern farm has been erected just where the Château was formerly settled. - (3) Cruel events to remember and never forget. 12 SS-Pz.Gren. Div. HJ & its II.Kompanie/SS-Pz. Aufklärung Abteilung 12 in particular (the divisional recce battalion), were involved in the killing of 86 civilians at Ascq (near Lille, only 24 miles away from my home) on 1st April 1944. The youngest victim was 15 years old… On 8th June 1944, the same SS unit slaughtered 48 Canadians & 2 British soldiers (wounded & POW) at Audrieu, just 2 miles away (NNW) from Boislonde. >>> Last minute: Twelve <Setup Hexes> to deploy the 2 British 6 pdr AT guns ; 1 at Start, 1 as Reinforcement, while they can't be moved when playing against AI but only when playing H2H. Thanks to Idjester and Paullus for that precious hint! <Saved Game> as Starting Point. Enclosed in the ZIP file is a <.SAV> file: "CB002_BR[v1.1]_LN59_Initial_Deployment" for Side A [BR] <Pre-Game Setup Segment>. While being still modifiable, this is intended to permit a quick start without the long process of deploying British forces. <After Action Report>. An analysis of the starting situation and British strategy will be posted on the <AAR> Thread (Location names & Starting lines for both sides). LN59
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< Message edited by LN59 -- 3/17/2017 9:51:36 AM >
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"On ne passe pas !" The French soldiers' motto (Verdun, 1916) "One does not pass! The Covid-19 even less." Years 2020, 2021 motto, 2022 distant memory
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