Clearing Rauray 1944 Game 1

Game One

11DLI use two of 6 platoons available for this game. 

11DLI British Platoon

Platoon HQ
Lieutenant, Senior Leader armed with pistol 
Platoon Sergeant, Senior Leader, armed with 
SMG 
PIAT Team, 2 men 
2" mortar Team, 2 men 
SECTIONS 1-3
Corporal, Junior Leader armed with Sten 
BREN TEAM  Bren LMG Three crew 
RIFLE TEAM Six riflemen

Plus 6 points of Support.  (Pre chosen as)
24th Lancers Stuart Light tank with a Junior leader @5, 1 x Adjutant @1


III/26 PzGren 12SS
Platoon HQ 
Oberscharführer, Senior Leader with Machine 
Pistol 
Three panzerfaust 30 
SQUADS 1-3
Scharführer, Junior Leader armed with machine pistol. 
LMG TEAM MG42 Three crew 
LMG TEAM MG42 Three crew 

ATTACHED ARMOUR
Scharführer, Junior Leader 
Panzer IV H

Plus 13 Points of Support.  My thanks to Obersturmbannführer Quilpenhausen.

Senior Leader (list Two)

Forward Observer plus 8cm Mortar battery (List four)

Panzer IV (List seven)

Total 13 points

The Germans must be cautious here.  Rauray had been targeted by the Tyneside Scottish and 24 Lancers the previous day and is only weakly held.  Any forces the SS commander can reserve from this game will appear in Scenario 2: Mopping up.

The outskirts of Rauray

The Brits get on table attempting to use the cover of the town to advance

The SS get an LMG team down.  I use a simple guide by marking the bases accordingly

The Kubelwagen is an old Skytrex 1:200.  This is my Artillery Obs marker

And a German mortar barrage goes down on the town.

  

Hooray for the bad guys as a Panzer IV appears.  Its another 1:200, out of the 1:144 scale but I bought a job lot of 50 mixed Skytrex ARV a few years back and I refuse to give them up...

The sneaky DLI lay down smoke and advance at a run, supported by a Stuart from 24 Lancers

  

The Panzer fluffs its shot and misses.

A COC dice used by the DLI ends the turn and takes the barrage off.  

The DLI section on the open right flank make it to the hedgerow and assault with five kills! (on a group of 4) 

And the SS panzerknacker team fails for the second time.  That Staurt tank is living on the edge!

The Stuart breaks through the hedge avoiding the panzer IV and takes out the panzerknacker team with an assault.  

But the SS armour comes back around the hedge and immobilises the Stuart with a shot into its tracks

The SS LMG teams duel with the Bren gunners in the houses opposite.  Its three brens versus two MG34s.  The German Officer is killed in a "Don't roll a 1 moment."

  

The biggest upset as the Stuart manages to rotate iuts turret and shoot at the front armour of that PzIV.

The British Sergeant leads a group out of the area of houses and they run for the rear of the German tank. 

The Germans are just about finished at this point.  The SS commander saves the section he didn`t get on table, and a LMG group of survivors that will be the force he gets in "Scenario 2: Mopping up."

Game 2
Mopping Up

The SS are defending Rauray with the remains of their platoon from Game 1.  They have three LMG groups, two NCOs and a single Senior leader left.  They also have the Mortar battery forward obs.

11DLI have allocated the same platoon to Mop up the rest of the village, but this is a Company level attack and a second platoon is now staging in the area of table 1.  This is a close terrain table and things are about to get nasty...