Mega-Memoir Second Attempt

After the rushed attack documented in the previous post we determined to add a slower approach, use of reserve formations and air power to see if this semi-historic 1940's scenario was playable and perhaps even enjoyable for both sides.

With that in mind the Germans were redeployed to their advance formation just after sunrise approaching the French positions.  Unsurprisingly  they advanced with the motorized infantry across the front and the panzers in direct support immediately behind them.  The rest of the division stands followed after the division commander stand and the whole division was covered with one Mobile order chit on the division command stand.

The French maintained their same deployments with two regiments across the front and with the third regiment poised to advance into the fray as needed.

One change, of course, was that the French General was determined to use his reserve in one area, most likely to reinforce or replace units in the town area as they were worn down in combat during the attack.  Also there were French hidden unit markers placed back from the front indicating where reserve units from Corps and Army might appear from.

On turn one (6-7 am) the Germans immediately sent in a coordinated bombing strike on the town.  Being a known reference point they do not require a full observation of the target, the bombers swept in from east to west in the rising sun and carried out their mission without loss.  (Remember the French General has elected to keep his small AA detachment ringing his HQ instead of being deployed where they might have been needed!).

The town defenders were devastated taking 3 (out of four) hits and this before the German ground troops were even upon them.  Time to use the Mobile reserve units and do a swap out of this battalion.

The French artillery was able to make a couple of long range artillery hits and caused one German motorized battalion to retreat an area.  Although not stated in the rules it was agreed that when shooting by the visibility rules you must engage the lead targets, as opposed to say the more tempting tank targets behind them which would likely have been hidden in dust and smoke anyway.

Turn two (8 and 9 am) saw the Germans continue to move on their target, the town and the bridge, but they were not able to change their order to attack due to the distance away they still remained and the desire to deliver a strong attack with as many combat elements as possible.

The French were able to swap out the battalion in the town with one of their reserve formations.  Again the rules don't state how this would occur but we reckoned that unless they were under direct attack this could proceed.

Turn 3 (10 till 11 am) saw further examples of reserve formations affecting the battlefield.  The German air force dive-bombed the town with a very heavy group of Stukas and their success, coupled with artillery fire from the division later destroyed the newly placed defenders of the village (5/6 hits out of 4 needed).  In Memoir 44 artillery (and bombing) do not reduce the number of dice they use when attacking troops in 'defensive' terrain but this may need to be adjusted with more testing going forward.  It might have simply been lucky dice after all.  Three hits and 2 retreats by the Stukas  and the artillery before the combat phase caused the town to go aflame and the unit being removed.

Not being able to replace the unit since the town was now directly attacked (occupied) by the attacking Germans was a critical event for the French.  In the combat turn the French also had another infantry battalion destroyed just beside the village by the combined fire of 2 German motorized infantry and 2 panzer battalions.  Even if it hadn't been destroyed the unit took three retreat flags so would have lost the sandbag covered position and been pushed back 2 hexes into the open!

As can be seen by the picture above, however, it did no all go the German way.  Their unit which slipped into the unoccupied and burning town took 3 hits from adjacent French units and artillery and had two retreat results as well so was brushed back out of the town and back across the stream.  Likewise the remaining two motorized infantry units in support took hits and also a retreat flag which would push them back behind their supporting armor (two units can not occupy the same hex at the same time).

So here is the situation at the end of this test game.  Of the German four motorized infantry units two are at 1/4 strength and 2 are at 1/2 strength.  The armor has taken only a single hit (the minefield they were sitting on) but they are not likely to be able to storm through the town (in Memoir 44 armor in a town lose 2 of their 3 dice shooting out of the town) and they are not strong enough to overrun the remaining French infantry and AT units.  So how does a panzer division with 8 combat units beat a French division of 9 combat units who are behind good terrain and waiting for them?

At this point the French General realized that his placement of all his AT stands directly behind the town was a poor choice tactically since they are now unable to fire in support of their own troops and the town takes a -1 dice away from their 1 die to begin with!  I find myself in this situation a lot, trying to maximize the value of my troops when special rules allow but often without considering the actual terrain and situation.  (Who hasn't lost at DBA for example by chasing after the quick kill option at the expense of keeping your troops together and in mutual support/).

I'm not sure what the Germans need to do in this situation other than sit back for 4 or 5 turns and try to use their superior artillery and air power to flatten several French units before they close in for the main attacks.  But this is thinking in the vacuum since the situation is always fluid.  A third try seems in order and that may well be our next posting.

Mega-Memoir part 2

Continuing in our exploration of merging aspects from both Megablitz and Memoir 44 last time we examined the French defense of a streamline in 1940 with the 18th Division d'Infantrie deployed and awaiting the enemy.  One feature that we like about Megablitz is the SMART orders system.  The acronym covers Static, Mobile, Attack, Retreat and Transit options and the movement allowance for each is covered by a simple table.  It does bear some close examination but in effect if you want to run away you will move faster than your pursuers in the long haul (nice feature) and in order to engage in combat you have to move from a Mobile mode to a Attack mode which causes you to slow slightly and prepare a planned assault.

Since all movement is simultaneous (a very liked feature) it does behoove you to work alongside your opponent as you work each turn on the table because troops with different orders will move at different speeds and con not contact each other unless there is a Attack order in place on one side or the other.  I find that moving through the narrative of the game begins with a close attention to the movement phase.

Now our German attackers come from the 2d Panzer Division supported by the 13 Infantry Division (Motorized) and in the first shot below you see their first movement under a Mobile order chit for the whole division.  The recon units (with a green r on the base) screen the troops and seek to find the enemy while the rest advance on a narrow front along the road network at the 5kph rate in the table.

The 13th I.D. also advanced to the right on a Mobile order to secure the flank of 2d Pz. Div. and prevent any sorties by the French on that flank.

On the second turn (hours 3 and 4 of the daylight turns) the 2d Pz. Div closes towards the bridge and crossing over the stream, but is still in M for Mobile mode.  The French artillery now had range but not visibility to strike at any but the very lead elements but decided to withhold fire until the base of the thrust by the Germans was confirmed (or as I forgot to fire them)...

Our French General decided on this turn to place his reserves onto a Mobile order sensing that he would need to bulk up his forward defense at some point.

And on daylight turn 3 (hours 5 and 6 of daylight), the 2d Pz. Div. advanced into a hasty attack on the French forces primarily from the village at the bridge and to their left, thus opposite the heights along the stream.

The French General divided his reserves, sending 1 battalion to cover his right flank on the heights (which was a totally unfounded need since the Germans could not cross there) and two battalions to extend his line along the stream to the left of his position (again a somewhat poor choice since they were not supporting the existing front, merely extending its length and the Germans could not cross there either). 

So one of the things commanders need to do is hold onto their reserves and be able to exchange troops who have been shot up with the reserves.  More of that in another installment perhaps?

The 2 advancing battalions of motorized infantry came across the minefields leading to the bridge with only one infantry hit (each unit crossing gets attacked with one die while transiting the minefield until it is cleared by engineering personnel).

Then the French infantry fired out causing 2 hits (grenade and a infantry symbol) on one unit.

And then the other infantry caused two hits and a retreat result on the other unit.  Not a promising beginning to this hasty attack by the Germans.

Here is the view of the initial thrust from the German side

On the French side note the extended line but no loses to either side since the German recon units can not be 'hit' they must be driven away by forward motion of troops.

Here are two views from the French side of the situation

The French artillery now fire and one unit rolls 3 hits and a retreat, basically destroying one of the German motorized infantry battalions

And then the other unit makes 3 infantry hits....tough going for the Germans.

The German return fire due to tactical doctrine, allows them to shoot with not only the infantry in contact, but also the tank units directly behind them and supporting them get to fire.  This is a German training specialty at this stage of the war.  The French tank doctrine requires the tank stands to be in contact before being able to fire.  The losses are serious killing 2, 2 and 3 his on the three French infantry defending the area near the bridge.  Since they only take 4 hits to be destroyed  it would have been nice to have the reserve battalions nearby to exchange them with the front line troops...

So after three turns or the game and 6 hours of movement to combat and combat the Germans have lost half of their motorized infantry component and have not secured the bridge or the town.  The French defenders have been hurt but not devastated by the assault and still have their artillery and AT support in hand.  Time for a rethink by both sides.

Options available to both sides include calling up reserve and Corps level artillery assets (easier for the French perhaps since they are static).  Both sides could call for air support (probably favors the Germans due to doctrine, they have better and more direct support arrangements and FAOs). 

But the issue I see is that the German structural organization only gives them 4 battalions of motorized infantry and four battalions of tanks in these 1940 Panzer Divisions.  They pack a nice punch but are fragile if their infantry gets thrown in too soon as happened here.  Better perhaps for the Germans to call in air and artillery while they advanced upon the town, causing some hits to weaken the French before sticking their nose in?  I have alluded to the French mistake in premature commitment of their reserves already.

If the Germans can quickly push through the bridge/town the supporting elements of the 9 battalion strong French infantry division could not stop them.

Perhaps time for a second stab at this scenario?

Combining game ideas from different systems into a playable game

A buddy and I purchased Memoir 44 some time ago because it was an easy stepping off point into WWII gaming that required no other work than un-boxing and playing out games from the scenarios (and there a huge bunch of them available on line).

Setting out a set of the terrain tokens on my 12 x 4 foot table with the 2" hex that I got showed that you could really get a lot of depth to the battlefield and play several days of a mini-campaign out by simply adding further terrain behind the existing setup.

In my situation I wanted to try blending Memoir 44 terrain tokens and battle dice system onto a larger scale megablitz type campaign.  So I brought out one of my 1940 French Infantry Divisions (in this case the 18th Infantry Division).  These are organized roughly into Megablitz units with each stand representing a battalion of troops or a specialized company of engineers, reconnaissance elements, signal and AA units, etc...

Each stand is based on a hex base 2" across so fit right into the table grid system and onto the Memoir 44 tokens pretty well also.  Each hex is taken to represent one kilometer of ground so this position represents around 20 kilometers of front line as you measure along the stream.

You can then use the Memoir 44 extra pieces (like sandbags, wire entanglements, etc...) right on the stands.

Above you see the 1st Battalion of the 125th Regiment behind the sandbags (so get a -1 dice in Memoir 44 and ignore the first retreat die as well).    The second shot shows the same unit protected by barbed wire (not the best representation but it saves me a lot of fiddling with tiny stakes and wires).

The Division HQ stand beside the battalion shows the General de Division smoking his cigar and considering why he hadn't retired back in 1938 when the opportunity arose!

I have now placed the 18th Infantry Division onto the table in positions that it might have taken up when it received its mission to deny the passage of this section of the front to the enemy.  The mild stream is a tributary of the Dyle River and at this scale I don't actually try to mark roads or small terrain areas.  

The division in its box at the top, and deployed onto the tabletop below.  We see two of the three infantry regiments deployed along the stream line.  Where there isn't a terrain tile that would provide defensive benefit, the troops are marked with sandbags as 'dug in'.  The third regiment is still in their transport group trucks (a French doctrine idea) near the Division HQ ready to move forward to support the 2 regiments in line if needed.

Around the Div HQ are clustered the 'administrative' functional stands for signals, engineering, anti-aircraft (guarding the HQ element is top priority here!) etc...

The 2 artillery battalions are forward, one in direct support of each of the regiments deployed.  You will also notice that the 2 anti-tank stands in the division (one of 25mm guns and one of 47mm guns) are both placed directly behind dug in infantry.  In our game this is allowed, they also count as dug in and can fire in support of the infantry if they are attacked.  All countries' units in the 1940s time frame have this tactical feature of direct A-T support (although most have small numbers and weak A-T armaments that will not destroy the enemy mobile forces as it turns out). 

Here is where a good question comes up around treatment of terrain in gaming.  At this level we basically state that the area of each hex is representative of either open rolling terrain, or we stick a marker on it to show woods, marshes, ponds, hedgerows, etc...  Now Memoir 44 has done a decent job in providing all manner of terrain type tiles (although we will need MANY of them in the long run) and they tie the effects of each pretty simply to the number of dice you reduce your firing by and/or whether you get to ignore any retreat results on their own dicing system.  Quick, clear and simple, just what I think is needed in a game where a player would handle a Corps perhaps.

So if you are on a 'defensible' terrain tile you get the advantage, there is no multiple benefit (being in a town on a hill with barbed wired and a river running through it is all the same -1 die and 1 free retreat pass).  Again simple but elegant to my mind.

Readers will quickly note that our General has not placed troops along the rest of the river past the right handed turn it takes in the photo.  Rightly so because that area has been entrusted to that cad who commands the 1st Division Legere de Cavalerie who you were forced to room with at the advanced general staff course back in the day.  Let him and his horsemen dabble at war, your division has been given the most important assignment and you will not expect any support from that source.  Hopefully the enemy will divert forces against them and your job will be easier.

Now nothing takes place in modern war in a vacuum, and the 18th Infantry Division can expect support from the Corp Artillery, Engineering and Air Support elements at Corps or even Army level (there are many rungs in the ladder of the French forces).  There might even be a spare Battalion de Chars Cuirassiere (independent tank battalions) lurking nearby if things get really sticky.  So our General is pretty confident that his deployment will last past the initial shots of the campaign.

Our next session will show the enemy forces preparing to attack this position and how their organization ad structure may or may not assist them in their attack!