KGN Big Game Weekender - The Fight for Tilly-sur-Seulles, June 1944

[big p from gmg]

On the 31st March 2012, the GMG club based in Kildare, hosted the first Kampfgruppe Normandy Big Game. Players consisted of GMG club members, members from The Guild (http://www.guildwargamers.com) forum, Will Townsend from Plastic Soldier Company and Warwick Kinrade, the author of the rules.

Players met on the evening before the game to be given their team briefings, assigned additional forces to their battlegroups, plot their plans for the day and set up the initial forces ready for the game the following day. Alot of time was also spent oogling over some very pretty toys!

The forces arrayed for battle consisted as follows;

German Forces



Player 1 – Lt. Welsch

Armoured Grenadier Platoon
Sniper
Panther Squadron
Assault Pioneer Section
HMG Team
Panzerschrek Team
Medium Mortar Team
Grille

Player 2 - Lt. Gerstenmeier

Armoured Grenadier Platoon
Sniper
Panther Squadron
Assault Pioneer Section
2 x 88mm Flak
HMG Team
Panzerschrek Team
Medium Mortar Team
150mm IG with Tow
FAO

Player 3 - Feldwebel Dibbern

Dismounted Grenadier Platoon
Sniper
StuG G Squadron
HMG Team
Panzerschrek Team
Medium Mortar Team
Pak 40

Player 4 - Feldwebel Brasche

Dismounted Grenadier Platoon
Sniper
StuG G Squadron
HMG Team
Panzerschrek Team
Medium Mortar Team
Pak 40
FAO

Player 5 (Commander) – Hauptmann Philips

BGHQ
Forward Signals
Despatch Rider
Dismounted Grenadier Platoon
FAMO
HMG Team
Panzerschrek Team
2 x Heavy Mortar
1 x High Priority Request
1 x Low Priority Request
2 x Supply Trucks
20mm Flak in truck
FAO
2 x 105mm Battery
Panther
StuG IIIG
3 x Puma Armoured Cars
Sdkfz 234

The German forces came in at 1671 points and for its 'Top Secret' extras, they chose a Tiger I, a battery of Nebelwerfers and a Registered Target Point. They also drew an MG Bunker and a minefield, plus an additional FAO from the random support card deck.

British Forces



Player 1 – Lt. Peter J. Chell

Infantry Platoon with Additional Section
Sherman Tank Squadron with additional Sherman
17-Pounder A/T Gun with Carrier
Recce Command in Dingo
2 X AEC MKIII Armoured Cars
2 x HMG Team

Player 2 - Lt. C. Price

Infantry Platoon with Additional Section
Sherman Tank Squadron with additional Sherman
6-Pounder A/T Gun with Carrier
Combat Engineers
3 x 3” Mortars
FAO

Player 3 - Lt. John Reed

Infantry Platoon with Additional Section
Sherman Tank Squadron with additional Sherman
6-Pounder A/T Gun with Carrier

2 x HMG Team

Player 4 - Captain John Higson

Infantry Platoon with Additional Section
Sherman Tank Squadron with additional Sherman
Churchil MKVII
Churchill AVRE
Churchill AVRE Bridgelayer
Combat Engineers
3 x 3” Mortars
FAO

Player 5 (Commander) – Captain D.W. Browne

BGHQ in White Scout Car
Despatch Rider
Forward Signals Radio Truck
Infantry Platoon with Additional Section
Sherman Tank Squadron with additional Sherman
Armoured FAO
Sexton Battery
3 x Staghounds
WASP
3 x High Priority Requests
3 x Supply Truck
M10
M10 Achilles
Carrier Platoon


Artillery Support

25 Pounder Battery
5.5" Battery
4.2" Mortar Battery

The British force came in at 1790 points and for their additional random units they drew another Despatch Rider, a Registered Target Point and a Churchill MKVII.

The British (thanks to an earlier game) had also gained a a supply of APDS rounds for their 6-Pounder anti-tank guns and the ability to utilise their 4.2" mortar battery in a counter-battery role. The Germans however found that the Tiger, looking menacing on the outskirts of Tilly, was immobile due to a transmission failure...

Both sides were given a nominal 100 point morale value.

For the British the objectives were five set point - Tilly, Saint Pierre, Limone Farm, Hector Farm and the bridge over the Seulles. For the Germans they had to hold off the attacking enemy.

On the first turn the Germans had available all their initial defender (the two Panthers squadrons, four section of Panzergrenadiers in half-tracks and the Combat Engineers were held back as a counter-attcking force) while the British had only their recce on table. The British had assigned each player a sector of responsibility, before the Germans deployed their defenders, and the players would be limited to bringing their forces on to the table through these defined areas. This had the effect of forcing a degree of pre=planned order of march on the British before the players had time to see the German defence set-up.

At the start of the game, the 20' x 6' table as presented to the players, looked as follows;

Looking towards Tilly with Saint Pierre in the distance.




Tilly itself.




Limone Farm and the Tilly-Lingevres Road.




Saint Pierre and the River Seulles.





With the initial forces deployed, the players retired for the evening to the pub to await the Saturday morning and the commencement of hostilities.



The attack on Tilly-sur-Seulles began on a misty morning, the low cloud would last all day and the British troops on the ground would be without any air support (all KGN Aircrafyt morale counters counted as a single morale point as no aircraft could be used). With the German forces deployed, forming a defence line along the entire front, the British first moves were to deploy a heavily reinforced platoon to the east opposite Saint Pierre. With all the Churchill AVREs in support, the British hoped this would give the Germans the impression of a concerted and deliberate river assault. For the British, this well supported attack was a feint to hold the dfenders of Saint Pierre in place. Meanwhile other British forces arrived slowly onto the battlefield and at the western end of the battlefield Captain D.W. Browne directed the Carrier Platoon forward, supported by the Staghound armoured cars, and they raced over a dirt track through the fields heading for Limone Farm. On the Tilly-Christot road, the Recce Commander in his Dingo tried, in vain, to direct mortar fire onto a German '88' deployed at the road junction. The rounds veered off but one did score a direct hit on a stationary Puma that promptly caught fire and had to be abandoned.



In response to the initial British moves the Germans needed to do little. Their artillery spotters called in mortars on the approach of the Carrier Platoon and some of the carriers screeched to a halt as the men bailed out to take cover. The rest of the artillery proved of little effect, the German Werkstatte unit started to try and repair the Tiger I. The Germans seemed content to sit and wait for the British attack.