Slogging on with D-Day preparation

Whoohoo... D-Day Prep: The Slog

I had no idea how much work a large-scale Sword Beach D-Day invasion would bring about. Effectively we are talking 3, well probably 4 games in one. Thankfully my family piled in at the weekend to help with prepping. A most welcome, even if unusual situation for my wife, who has up to now kept her distance from wargaming in any form other than logistical support. I was most grateful that she took up a paint roller in support yesterday!

The total board is 4.8 metres wide, 3 separate gaming boards, inter-connected:
Peter, Queen and Roger sectors as below



1600mm x 800mm :

The 2 x beach approaches at Luc-sur Mer and Lion/Hermanville-sur-Mer, and the harbour approach to Ouistreham. These are protected by bunkers, a turret bunker and MG posts.

Then 3 x 1600 x 1600 - the Villages as above and Ouistreham with the Casino and artillery observation bunker (German HQ), The Pegasus bridge over the Orne River and  the canal lock in the Orne canal; and Normandy pasture and fields beyond that.
In this is seated the Merville battery, field batteries and Wiederstandsnester (Resistance points) of the German occupiers.

Allies have unlimited supply of troops and equipment,  (have to be landed, though, on beach or by air, limited amount per turn) air superiority and Germans have to roll to see if things get any better than the actual events went for them. One in 3 chance of a "booby prize"
I.e. SS Reinforcements, Luftwaffe support, no command interference from Hitler, vs attack by Partisans, devastating artillery fire by allies, rebelling or collapsing Ost Truppen.

Typical Beach defenses, as found at Ohama and other landings

Allied Side

Player 1 (Allied, Roger sector)

• Conducts the Allied Airborne assault: Objectives- the two bridges, and the Merville Battery, secure route to Caen
• Troops at disposal: British Parachute Company - Objective Merville Battery, parachute drop
• British Airlanding Company -  Objective Pegasus Bridge, air landing by glider
• Commando Company (Inclusive of Free French)  - Objective Ouistreham, then link up with Airborne troops to hold bridges (lands in second wave of beach landings)
• Uses D-Day Minus 1 rule-set

Player 2 (Allied, Queen sector)

• Conducts seaborne landing: Objective take Luc-sur-Mer (Brit Infantry) and the German Headquarters at the Casino (Commandos, land in 2nd wave); overcome beach defenses and eliminate inland emplacements and defenses (Wiederstands nester); progress towards Caen
• Uses Festung Europa/Bloody Ohama rule-set

Player 3 (Allied, Peter sector)

• Conducts seaborne landing: Objective take Lion/Herman-sur-Mer (Brit Infantry) and overcome beach defenses and eliminate inland emplacements and defenses (Wiederstands nester); Progress towards Caen
• Uses Festung Europa/Bloody Ohama rule-set

Churchill AVRE: One of Hobart's "Funnies"

Allies have access to Hobart's funnies; Air superiority. Limitless supply of troops. Troops killed are placed back in reserve for next assault landing wave

Axis Side

Player 1 (Axis)

• Defends Ouistreham, Merville Battery, route to Caen
• Troops at disposal: German Infantry Merville Battery
• Pegasus Bridge, German Infantry, Artillery crews
• Divisional support, 21st SS Panzer Brigade in support
• Uses Festung Europa/Bloody Ohama rule-set

Hemmbalken - log ramps designed to overturn and rip out the bottoms of allied landing craft

Been building a few of these! Could have mines or metal teeth attached to them 

Player 2 (Axis)

• Defend Luc-sur-Mer (German Infantry) and the German Headquarters at the Casino; beach defenses and Inland emplacements and defenses (Wiederstands nester); guard route to Caen
• Troops at disposal: German Infantry
• Luftwaffe Artillery
• Ost Truppen (Soviet PoWs who swopped sides) - Latter units both reluctant trained
• Divisional support
• Uses Festung Europa/Bloody Ohama rule-set

Belgian Gate being put in position

Player 3 (Axis)

Tzechen Egel: Czech Hedgehogs in position

• Defend Luc-sur-Mer (German Infantry) and the road to Oustreham; beach defenses and Inland emplacements and defenses (Wiederstands nester); guard route to Caen
• Troops at disposal: German Infantry
• Luftwaffe Artillery (not keen on shooting at tanks)
• Ost Truppen (Soviet PoWs who swopped sides) - Latter units both reluctant trained
• Divisional support
• Uses Festung Europa/Bloody Ohama rule-set

German Reserves and Wild Cards:

21 Panzer Division

D-Day The quickening: AS51 Horsa lands on my Workbench

The Quickening: Airspeed 51 Horsa Glider arrives

Over the weekend I took some time to progress the landing zones for the D-Day games. At lunch-time I discovered that the Airspeed Horsa 51 glider for the airborne part of the game had arrived. Yay!

Transport for the 6th Airborne arrives

Progress Report:

The Playing Board:
The boards: The harbour of Ouistreham and the beaches at Luc-sur-Mer and Hermanville -sur-Mer have been created and painted,  the board depicting harbour, lock and canal,  rocky and sandy shores, deep and shallow water, the inter-tidal zone and the sea wall; as well as the villages and grassy hinterland.

Tank traps and concrete bunkers, hedgehogs and dragons teeth - all ready to roll

Buildings: The concrete blocks for much of the harbour and German  shore battery are made and painted. The buildings for most villages and the harbour installations are ready, or in the post.

 I still need to build the observation bunker at Riva Bella.
The Pegasus Bridge is under construction, and the canal bridge is ready.

Vehicles and planes
I have built two DUKWs and a Higgins Boat, as well as an LCT. Probably need another one of each at least. An RAF launch is half constructed.
The British armoured squadrons are ready to roll, as are the soft-skinned vehicles. Still need to attend to Hobart's Funnies- need 2 x ARVEs and Sherman Crabs

As for the German side- "Alles fertig und in ordnung!" (Ready and in order)

Sword Beach: Ouistreham: The Plot thickens

D-Day Wargaming ahead: Kapiti Wargames Club Open Day

D-day gaming coming up on 10th May 2014:

So I have been plotting and planning on the D-Day gaming ahead. I have drawn up the plan (not to scale) of the game board, with areas representing the actual landing beach, the German Defenses and the villages of Collville -, Luc- and Hermanville-sur-Mer, and the small harbour at Ouistreham, the Orne river and Canal, the Orne river bridge, and the bridge now known as Pegasus Bridge. And the Merville Battery thrown in for good measure.

Historical Background:
Ouistreham was the key to the Allied attack at Sword Beach, as it was the gateway into the Orne, the Caen canal, and the cross-road hub town of Caen. Seizing control of the town would give the Allies a small port (nowhere near the size needed for sustaining supply lines, but useful, none-the-less), and control of the river and canal bridges so as to prevent German armor from hitting their left flank.

The Germans, needless to say, knew how important the town could be and made preparations.  The casino was retrofitted with a bunker in the basement and gun that could hit ships at sea as well as targets closer in. Other fortifications went in as well, and in a very flat area, a towering bunker designed to withstand bombs, artillery fire, and even gas/chemical attacks, was built behind an existing house to help disguise it a bit.  This was not a gun bunker - it was far more dangerous than that.  It was an observation bunker with a very accurate rangefinder for the time.

Keiffer Commando forces in house-to-house fighting in the advance towards Bella Riva. 

Duplex Drive Sherman leading the spear-head

Not only did the bunker survive the day, but the story of how it fell brings a smile to the face.  On D-Day, the bunker was bypassed after troops came under machine gun fire and grenade attack when approaching it. After the battle the structure fell silent, and it was presumed abandoned. On 9 June 1943, a Lt. Bob Orrell of the Royal Engineers was tasked with assessing and cataloging construction materials left behind in the Ouistreham area by the retreating Germans. On inspection he noted that the bunker was closed up,  and apparently locked from the inside.  He was ordered to investigate further, so he went back with a mobile crane and three assistants.

Observation Bunker 

The door was still locked, so he tried explosives: To no effect. They then tied other means of forcing the door, but finally went back to (more) explosives and succeeded in forcing the door open.

It was then that a voice called down in perfect English that it was "Okay, come on up !"  To which the good Lt. responded that he could not fly, and whoever was up there should come on down.  To his amazement 53 Germans descended and surrendered to a force of one junior officer and his three assistants.

The German HQ housed in the casino was not set back from the water, on a hill, as portrayed in the movie The Longest Day.  It was in fact set effectively on the beach with a ditch/canal in front.  The Keiffer (Free French) Commando forces did indeed take it; and also destroyed it, and today a new casino sits on the site.

One thing to consider about the troops making the beach assault though, is them having to cross as much as  300 meters of wet sand with absolutely no cover of any kind.  Because the invasion was scheduled for a period of extremely low tides, many troops coming in had to charge across up to 300 meters of open beach before hitting the edge of the beach and finding any potential cover.

Some inspiration from fellow gamers: Terrain and toy soldiers (clicky)

We plan to use the FoW rules from the D-Day Minus One and D-Day books, effectively having 3 games in one:

Thus a large table:

Allied Targets:
1. Beach assault, overcome German beach defenses, take the villages, including Oistreham; open the road towards Caen  - Beach Assault rules
2. Commando Assault: Take Ouistreham fishing harbour, knock out  defenses, Casino and  Riva Bella , link up with Airborne assaults at bridges/ Merville Battery - Beach assault or seaborne commando assault rules
3. Airborne Assault: Parachute and glider landings on Pegasus Bridge, Orne River bridge and Merville Battery

German Targets:
1. Prevent Allies from taking Ouistreham and beach (-sur Mer) villages, the German HQ in the Casino Riva Bella ; and establishing a foothold on the continent
2. Protect road to Caen, including bridge access across Orne river and canal
3. Protect Merville Battery

To make things a bit more interesting we have decided to throw in a few historical wildcards. At the beginning of the game we'll roll to see if any specific conditions may affect the way that the game plays out:

Allied Wildcards:
Fortune cards:

• Successful  preliminary bombarding: Roll D6: On roll of 5 or 6 Allied player gets additional round of preliminary shelling , 3 or 4 re-rolls on fails to wound, 1 or 2 re-roll fails to hit  
• Mill pond: Weather and tide does not affect landing,  +1 to all rolls caused by weather effects
• Partisan attack: Place one infantry section within 24 inches, but more than 12 inches away from German infantry troops. These count as being in ambush, Conscripts, fearless

Misfortune cards:

• Wild weather: Weather and tide affects landing severely,  -1 to all rolls caused by weather effects
• Beach defenses effective: - Roll D6: On roll of 5 or 6 Allied player has to roll for every landing craft or tank as it gets into the landing zone: A rolls of 1 makes vessel capsize/tank flood, 2  or 3 stranded until next turn (caught up in obstacle but freed, can land cargo next turn); 4 or 5 delayed (can attempt landing again next turn) ,  6 delayed and return to landing ship (sea zone) (can attempt again next turn)  
• Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine interception:  Roll D6: 1-3:  Luftwaffe available Roll again- determines level of availability. 4-6;  Kriegsmarine (U and S-boats) Same rule, but can only target landing craft (No extra cost to axis player)

German Wildcards:
Fortune cards:

• Luftwaffe cover available: Roll to see level of cover (no extra cost)
• The Fuhrer's Blessing: Rommel takes command (All Axis troop morale +1, to max fearless veteran; Armour support arrives on  D6 Roll: 1-2 (turn 4) 3-4 (turn 3) 5-6 (turn 2)
• Hitler's Fire-brigade: SS Panzer Division and Panzer Lehr become available D6 1-3 (turn 4) D6 4-6 (turn 3)

Misfortune cards:

• Partisan attack: Allied player places one infantry section within 24 inches, but more than 12 inches away from German infantry troops. These count as being in ambush, Conscripts, fearless
• Turncoat Osttruppen: Russian POW troops: First contact: Roll Morale test: D6. Roll for every unit: On roll of 1 surrender without fight, roll of 2: -1 to morale; 3-6 morale per book. German player can motivate using German Oficer, sacrificing one platoon unit a-la- USSR Commisar rules.
• Caught pants down: All troop morale -1 for first 2 rounds,  Armour support arrives on D6 Roll: 1-2 (turn 4) 3-4 (turn 3) 5-6 (turn 2) German troops cannot make storm trooper moves first 2 turns. 

Sword Beach: D-Day Gaming: The History reviewed

Sword Beach Landings on D-day

I've been reading up on D-Day with regards the Sword Beach Landings. I have chosen this landing for our D-Day Commemorative game mainly because the bulk of my 20mm  infantry models are British, and I don't think I'll have enough time to  paint up my US troops. I have enough Airborne and commando models to include the airborne assault. My allied armour has been left without national and unit  identification markings on purpose, so that they can be used on the Eastern front and for US troops as well. I will have to build some Hobart's Funnnies, as I don't have neither Crab or Crocodiles nor AVREs. We will use FoW rules, as my models are based for this rule set.

Sword Beach
SWORD BEACH was the objective of 3rd (British) Infantry Division. They were to advance inland as far as Caen, and line up with British Airborne forces east of the Orne River/Caen Canal. The Orne River bridges had been seized in late at night on the 5th of June by a glider-borne reinforced company commanded by Maj. John Howard. As at the other beaches, British forces penetrated quite a ways inland after breaking the opposition at water's edge. Unfortunately, the objective of Caen was probably asking too much of a single infantry division, especially given the traffic jams and resistance encountered further inland.

1st Special Service (Commando) brigade commanded by Lord Lovat, linked up in the morning with Howard's force at Pegasus bridge on the British left. Fierce opposition from the 2lst Panzer and later the 12th SS Panzer division prevented the British from reaching Caen on the 6th. Indeed, Caen was not taken until late June.

The landing beach
Sword Beach occupied an 8-km stretch of the French coastline from Lion-sur-Mer on the west to the city of Ouistreham, at the mouth of the Orne River, on the east. The area had vacation homes and tourist hotels and restaurants located behind a seawall. It was 15 km) north of the city of Caen. All major roads in this area ran through Caen, and it was a key city to both the Allies and the Germans for transportation and maneuver purposes.

The Germans had fortified the area with relatively light defenses consisting of beach obstacles and fortified emplacements in the sand dunes. For the most part, however, the defense of the beach was anchored on 75-mm guns located at the coastal town of Merville, some 8 km  to the east across the Orne River estuary, and on bigger 155-mm guns located some 32 km east at Le Havre. A few miles inland from the beach were 88-mm guns capable of supporting the machine guns and mortars that were placed in the dunes and villas and that constituted the Germans’ first line of defense. There were also antitank ditches and mines as well as huge concrete walls blocking the streets of the towns. The German 716th Infantry Division—in particular, the 736th and 125th regiments—along with forces of the 21st Panzer Division were in the vicinity and were capable of participating in defensive or offensive operations. To the east, across the Dives River, lay the 711th Division.

Sword Beach lay in the area of landing beaches assigned to the British 2nd Army,commanded by LtGen Miles Dempsey. It was divided by Allied planners into four sectors named (from west to east) Oboe, Peter, Queen, and Roger. Elements of the South Lancashire Regiment were to assault Peter sector on the right, the Suffolk Regiment the centre in Queen sector, and the East Yorkshire Regiment Roger sector on the left. The objective of the 3rd Division was to push across Sword Beach and pass through Ouistreham to capture Caen and the important Carpiquet airfield nearby. Attached commandos, under Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, had the mission of fighting their way off the beach and pushing some 5 km (3 miles) inland toward the Orne River and Caen Canal bridges, where they were to link up with the airborne forces.

The invading forces landed at 0725 hours on D-Day and were greeted with moderate fire. They were able to put out suppressing fire, and by 0800 hours the fighting was mostly inland. By 1300 the commandos had achieved their most important objective: they had linked up with airborne troops at the bridges over the Orne waterways. On the right flank the British had been unable to link up with Canadian forces from Juno Beach, and at 1600 hours tank forces and mechanized infantry units from the 21st Panzer Division launched the only serious German counterattack of D-Day. The 192nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment actually reached the beach at 2000 hours, but the division’s 98 panzers were halted by antitank weapons, air strikes, and Allied tanks themselves. The counterattack was stopped.

At the end of the day, the British had landed 29,000 men and had taken 630 casualties. German casualties were much higher; many Germans had been taken prisoner. However, for the Allies the optimistic objectives of Caen and the Carpiquet aerodrome were still a long 5 km away.

 

Landings later in the day, once beach defences had been overcome - note the absence of helmets

Casualties and AVRE, and Wolverine, not Achilles, as first captioned, on the beach
 (Note lack of muzzle break, therefore not the 17-pounder gun, thanks for pointing that out Wingco Luddite!)

Difference between Wolverine and Achilles M10 Variants

Orne and Dives rivers air-assault zones
Paratroopers from the British 6th Airborne Division, Major General Richard Gale commanding, were to be landed at night onto the left flank of the Normandy Invasion area in order to help isolate the battlefield for the seaborne invasion force that was scheduled to land on nearby Sword Beach at dawn. The drop zones were labeled X, Y, N, K, and V. X and Y were glider landing zones near the two bridges over the Orne River and the Caen Canal. V was a glider landing zone near the Merville battery, and N and K were on the Ranville ridge separating the Orne and Dives rivers.

German forces in the area consisted of elements of the 716th Infantry Division. The dominant defensive position was the battery at Merville, with four guns of undetermined size fortified in hard casemates.

The objectives of the 6th Airborne were to seize, intact, the critical bridges over the Orne River and Caen Canal near the village of Bénouville, securing vital exit routes for the forces scheduled to land at Sword Beach; to destroy the bridges over the Dives River, thus denying the Germans a route to the invasion area from the east; to hold the dividing ridge between the Dives and the Orne from an expected German counterattack; and, finally, to destroy the Merville battery, which threatened Sword Beach with its big guns.

At 0016 hours on D-Day, gliders containing Company D, 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commanded by Major John Howard, touched down precisely on target at the bridges. Within 10 minutes and with the loss of only two men dead, the daring coup de main placed both bridges in Allied hands. Howard’s company thus became the first attackers of the Normandy Invasion on French soil and the first unit to achieve its objective on D-Day. The Caen Canal bridge was soon immortalized as Pegasus Bridge, named after the insignia of the 6th Airborne Division.

Pegasus Bridge

The silencing of the Merville battery fell to Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway’s 9th Battalion. The 9th, however, had a bad drop, and the attack began with only 150 men of the 750-man force. The daring attack captured the battery at a cost of half the attacking force. The defending Germans paid a terrible price: only 22 men of the 200-man garrison were uninjured.

The rest of the 6th Airborne troopers continued to land throughout the night, although many were scattered. Nevertheless, small parties found one another and managed to destroy five bridges over the Dives.

By morning, as the invasion force rolled ashore on Sword Beach, the left flank of the area was indeed secure. By 1300 hours Howard’s glider troops at the bridges had connected with elements of Lord Lovat’s 1st Commando Brigade. As evening fell on June 6, the 6th Airborne was generally in place and had achieved its objectives.

Info from Encyclopaedia Brittannica and various internet sources. Happy to reference at request. No copyright infringement intended

D-Day 's a'coming: Kapiti Wargames Club open day

70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings

We are planning for this year's Kapiti Wargames Club open day in May. I thought it appropriate that we consider doing a D-Day Landing theme this year, being the 70th Anniversary of the event that turned the tide against the Germans in Europe (well, ok, on the Western Front)

 By this time the Battle of Kursk (clicky for last years battle report) had already happened, and the Germans were retreating on the Eastern Front, but still far from beaten.

I'm hoping the Kapiti FoW group will come to the party again, and put on another of their dazzling displays.

My own intent is to re-fight Sword Beach landings, mostly Queen sector, and poss Ouistreham. On looking at the maps of this area I discovered that there was 2 towns embroiled in the battle that carry my name and that of my son; Hermanville-sur-Mer and Luc-sur-Mer. I would appreciate it if anyone had more detailed maps of the German emplacements in this area, specifically the widerstandsnester (strong points).

Beyond D-Day: The Battle for France

Beyond D-Day: The Battle for France

On the 30th June the Kapiti Wargames Club will have an open day. We hope to showcase a range of demonstration games, from WWII and Napoleonics through Warhammer Fantasy Battles and 40K.

We are also looking forward to "Armourgeddon" in August to Remember the Battle of Kursk, the greatest Armoured Vehicle Battle ever.

The WWII contingent will (hopefully) feature Flames of War in both 15 mm and 20 mm. My son, Luc, and I will play a demo game using FoW rules, and Mid/Late war armies.

We chose 1944 in Western Europe, as I have a complete German Army from this period (albeit painted more for the East Front) and sufficient Allied Armour. I have been repainting some of the Italian Front Allied vehicles for Western Europe, and have re-based (sigh) all my 20mm Germans on scaled bases FoW style. I have stuck with the Autumn theme...kicking our way through a carpet of autumn leaves.

Alled troops may be a different kettle of fish though. I only have a fully painted company of British soldiers, based for Warhammer WW2; and American Paratroops that are painted.My other allied forces consist of Desret War ANZAC Aussies and Indian. I do have a veritable treasure trove of unpainted 20 mm figures. I will likly have to do a huge amount of batch-painting in the weeks to come.

So I got stuck into my pile of shame: First up Monty's Caravan, a Model I recently acquired as part of a bulk deal. The old 1/76 Matchbox kit, a Japanese edition. Luckily you can simply follow the diagrams... Comes with a city street diorama and a Dingo scout car. Just perfect for my "Monty's Meat-grinder" campaign.

Xmas Haul: Support Vehicles for D-Day

Xmas Haul: Allied Support Vehicles for D-Day and El Alamein

Allied Support Vehicles for the Late War campaign: 

Some collector's items, destined to become table top gaming pieces: 

Lledo and Corgi Trackside models

Some may say it is sacrilege, but these will be repainted and join my Allied Armies in North Africa and Europe.

AEC Mamouth Tank Transporter

D-Day Allied Command Vehicles, including Caravan

D-Day Allied Soft-skin support Vehicles and Command Car

  El Alamein Soft-skin support Vehicles and Command Car

Arrivals from the Reich: More Boys of Summer

Fresh Arrivals from the Reich: More Boys of Summer

Received a fresh batch of arrivals for my 20mm German WW2 Forces over the last few weeks:

Mixed box of WW2 soft skinned vehicles: 

Kettenrad and Kubelwagen for my Recce Zug and a Utility Willys Jeep for the Allies

Bridge-layer Sd.KFz 251/1 for the Pionier Zug...

... and a 234/4 packing a PAK 40 75mm gun as tank destroyer while teay lay that bridge

And just for good measure a Raketenwerfer Sd.Kfz 251/2 Ausf D

Two 88mm bolster the Luftwaffe's artillery, and a Pak 38 "Doorknocker"

A Great little find off Trademe (NZ Ebay equivalent): A complete coastal defense battery! ($15 including postage! One may's junk is surely another's treasure)