ED NOTE: This series of scenarios is arranged with one side's mission and forces with the main article and the other side's mission and forces located elsewhere in the magazine. With a modicum of ethics, one should be able to play the game with neither side knowing what the other's mission is. We are interested in receiving battle reports on this scenario and will print the most interesting one. We also need feedback on the whole idea!
Mike Reese is one of the most popular and successful organizers of armor miniatures tournaments today. He is also the coauthor of TSR's TRACTICS rules. In this article and in following scenarios to be published, we can see one possible approach to the organization of an armor miniatures tournament, an art which seems to escape the ability of many conventions. The material here is especially valuable in that the author provides a list of the sources he used for each scenario.
A battle report by Mike on this scenario appeared in Volume II, No. 2. If you have not seen that, you may well want to try playing the scenario for yourselves before reading about the outcome at the convention. It should be noted that the separate orders for the British fifth player are not known to the other four Allied players, and vice versa. The only important rules modification used that can effect the reading of the scenario is that squad level stands, rather than fire team and LMG stands were used. The scenario could also be played by replacing LMG squad stands with one LMG and two 4 man stands.
The scenarios are WW2 D-Day/Normandy Campaign themes and were all based on historical actions. The rules are WRG 1925 - 50 Armour & Infantry with my modifications. Either no hidden units were used or counters were used, numbered for identification, and representing the hidden units. The scenarios are:
WRG #1 BATTLE FOR ST. MERE-ENGLISE: 7 June 1944 - 82nd Airborne. This was the battle by units of 505th, 508th Paratroop Regiments with german forces trying to open the roads to Utah beach. It was based on the book ON TO BERLIN by James Gavin and maps in the TIME/LIFE WW2 series book THE SECOND FRONT.
WRG #2 HILL OF CAVALRY, 10 July 1944 was about the initial counterattack by First Company 502 SS Heavy Tank Battalion on British and Canadian forces which had just taken Hill 112 south of CAEN during Operation JUPITER. The British/Canadians were in battalion strength. This and WRG 3 were based on CAEN by Alexander McKee.
WRG #3 BATTLE FOR THE HEDGEROWS: 18 July 1944 - "Cagny" & KC Luch concerns the action by Kampfgruppe Luch near the Normandy town of CAGNEY during Operation GOODWIND. The initial British attack had bypassed CAGNEY while the Germans were stunned by the air carpet bombing by the RAF and USAAF. As following forces, with orders to take the towns perviously bypassed came up the Germans holding the towns recovered and 12th SS HJ threw in some tanks and panzerjagers in support. A major battle took place behind the leading elements of three British armoured divisions.
WRG #4 BATTLE FOR THE HEDGEROWS: 8 July 1944 -CCA 3rd Armored Division is based on Volume Vl, BREAKOUT AND PURSUIT, of the Official US History of WWII. The efforts of ther American Infantry Divisions to advance in the bocage were met with fierce resistance resulting in high casualties and a slow rate of advance. It was thought armor could do better so CCA of 3rd Armored Division moved thru the infantry to launch an attack in the bocage. It was soon found out that armor faired even worse in the hedgerows of Normandy.
WRG #5 THE CAULDRON -15 August 1944 is based on the article "MACZUGA!" in AFV-G2. The Polish 1st Armoured Division was lucky to be the unit which captured the high ground east of the Falaise Pocket. They were caught between the Germans trying to break out and 2nd SS Panzer Korps trying to break in.
German Player Forces
Allied Player Forces
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