Fictional Battle of Cassoulet 1940
Cheers to Brian for making the trek to deepest darkest Norwood Green for a WW2 encounter battle using Chain of Command rules.
Brian was BEF defending the hamlet of Cassoulet, ‘somewhere in France’.
The game began with a tentative German advance up the road to scout the hamlet. They sent a Panzer 38T Czech tank. Up popped a Boys anti tank team and sent it packing giving a point of shock after a lucky hit.
The Panzer was not to know it was only a pesky anti tank rifle so it was obliged to retreat. The first of many bad things for the Germans.
Next they tried to launch an assault with two sections – 1 Rifle and 1 MMG team but it was ambushed by a Vickers HMG and two sections behind a wall and in the first building.
The German junior leader was wounded and then killed as his troops were first pinned down and then massacred, the survivors routing off table – three bad things for the Germans.
But the Germans were now able to open up with their supports and virtually destroyed the Vickers team, forcing it back with only one survivor and almost wiping out the two sections in the lead house.
The survivors must have watched Zulu as they used bayonets to smash though a wall into the next building where they hid for a while.
The Germans then tried to assault through a wood and as they raced towards the hamlet they were cut down…
…their leader being wounded and many troops killed by crossfire from the hedge and hamlet.
As German force morale ebbed down to ‘1’ they retreated – a new commander appeared and decided to flatten the hamlet but the Brits were able to slip away having lost ten men from the platoon.
It would only have gotten worse had the Panzer 3 been able to flank them. German losses were 17 dead but two leaders and a 38T wondering what the hell was shooting and banging on the sides of it.
Well done to Brian for delaying the German advance and inflicting more casualties. The troops are activated by command dice being thrown each turn. But a mixture of good defensive positions and a poor plan of attack is what done it in the end. Dice throws were fair for both sides.
