1914 Pursuit of the Goeben

 My WW1 Naval games have reached the pursuit of the German Battleship Goeben and Light Cruiser Breslau through the Mediterranean at the outbreak of the war.

British cruisers shadowing the Germans

In 1912, the Mittelmeerdivision of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), comprising only the Goeben and Breslau, was sent out under the command of Konteradmiral Wilhelm Souchon. In the event of war, the squadron's role was to intercept French transports bringing colonial troops from Algeria to France.

When war broke out between Austria-Hungary and Serbia on 28 July 1914, Souchon was at Pola in the Adriatic where Goeben was undergoing repairs to her boilers. Not wishing to be trapped in the Adriatic, Souchon rushed to finish as much work as possible, but then took his ships out into the Mediterranean before all repairs were completed. He reached Brindisi on 1 August, but Italian port authorities made excuses to avoid coaling the ship. This was because Italy, despite being a co-signatory to the Triple Alliance, had decided to remain neutral. Goeben was joined by Breslau at Taranto and the small squadron sailed for Messina where Souchon was able to obtain 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) of coal from German merchant ships.

The British fleet.  These boys are randomised for this mini campaign.

The game

My game starts on 2nd August.  War has not yet been declared.  The British under Admiral Milne have an overwhelmingly powerful group of battle cruisers and armoured/light cruisers at Malta, sent out to both watch for an Austrian breakout, and to run down the Goeben.

The Germans leave Messina, moving through areas 6 an 12 along the northern coast of Sicily.  By the morning of 3rd August they are in area 11 ready to bombard the French port in Algeria.

I roll an event, new orders, proceed to Constantinople.  We seem to be following history!  No contacts.  The Germans bombard the port anyway for an easy VP.

By evening on the 3rd the Germans are in area 13.  Still no contacts.  

Morning 4th August Orders rendezvous with a Collier in area 18.  The German Force makes the RV point only to roll a random contact HMS Weymouth AC and a small British convoy.

Tabletop action  straits of Messina 4th August 1914.

HMS Weymouth leads the convoy

The four funnelled Cressy playing the part of Weymouth

Goeben and Breslau make contact

Convoy scatters

HMS Weymouth closes at full knots

Straddled and damaged.

and Goebens shooting is deadly accurate

heavy damage.  Friday's speed and gun power slacken.

The British cruisers sinking.

Bradley hunted down the fleeing troopship, and a merchantman

And Goeben watches Weymouth roll over

Weymouth stood her ground but was insufficient to place any damage on Goeben. Lets see what the British battle cruisers can do!

Anzio - the Factory Game 2

Game two at the Anzio "Factory."  Two companies of German Infantry trounced a full battalion of US Infantry in game one.

This time the US are using an armour to support the Infantry battalion.  Let's see if 6 Shermans and 2 Stuart's can do the trick.

The Factory, Aprilla, a new town that US Infantry thought looked like a bombed out factory.

The tanks swing on a left flank move.

The US send armoured infantry in to challenge the dug in Germans.

88mms guns kill a tank pretty quickly.

German armour creeps around the town.  Pretty ineffective.

And I let loose with a typhoon airstrike, but that too is ineffective.

Turns out that dug in German Infantry are well hard.

It also turns out that sending tanks in amongst panzerfausts is a poor idea.

And those German 88mms are deadly.

But it's a battle of attrition and the US have double the German numbers!

Nearing the end the Germans have two FUBAR, as do the Americans.

The US tanks roll over the Germans - finally.

The US get E company into the town.

The German's final O Group roll is shocking.  They call it a day.

Great game, and the rebase has revitalised the look of these guys.

Anzio and O Group

 I've spent the last two weeks rebasing and retouching my 10mm WW2 Americans and Germans.  The US surprised me the most, since I had bought  army packs from both Pendraken and Wargames South years ago. 

My US Forces will represent a fictional battalion of the 45th Infantry Division and their supports..  The German opposition will be more randomly generated.

1.  Two Infantry companies with mortars, well dug in. Minefields.

2.  An Infantry battalion with artillery support.

3.  Two Panzer Grenadier Companies, with halftracks

4.  A Pzz Gren battalion supported by Armour. (Stugs and SPs)

5.  Infantry with tank support. (PzIVs)

5.  Pz Grenadiers in halftracks with tank support.  Panthers

The ladder campaign Anzio to Campeleone Station

The game area

The Factory in 1944.  A New Town that the US troops thought looked like a bombed out factory.

Battalion Level Wargame Scenario: Battle of Anzio 1944

Objective: Command a battalion of Allied forces as they land at Anzio and push inland to break through German defenses, secure key objectives, and ultimately link up with Allied forces advancing from the south.

Scenario Overview:

1. Initial Landing: Your battalion begins the scenario aboard landing craft, preparing to storm the beaches of Anzio. German coastal defenses and artillery threaten your landing, so coordinate closely with naval and air support to establish a foothold on the beach.

2. Beachhead Establishment: Once ashore, secure the beachhead and begin landing reinforcements and supplies. Establish defensive positions to repel German counterattacks and prevent the enemy from pushing you back into the sea.

3. Inland Advance: With the beachhead secured, push inland towards key objectives such as the town of Anzio and the surrounding high ground. Coordinate with neighboring units and utilize combined arms tactics to overcome German resistance.

4. Urban Warfare: As you approach Anzio, prepare for intense urban combat as the Germans defend the town street by street. Use infantry to clear buildings, tanks to provide fire support, and engineers to deal with obstacles and booby traps.

5. Breakthrough: Once Anzio is secured, continue the advance inland to link up with Allied forces advancing from the south. Beware of German counterattacks attempting to cut off your supply lines and isolate your battalion.

6. Final Assault: As your battalion pushes deeper into enemy territory, face increasingly determined German resistance. Coordinate with other Allied units to launch a final assault on German defensive positions, breaking through their lines and opening the way for further advances.

Success Criteria: Victory will be achieved by securing key objectives, minimizing casualties, and maintaining cohesion and supply lines throughout the operation. The speed and efficiency of your battalion's advance will also be a factor in determining the win.

The Factory

German Initiative

And my German Force is two Inf Companies.

The Germans dig into the town.

The US.  A full battalion with supports

D on the right of the road, E on the left, F in support.

D Company goes straight in.

And gets the whole Company down and moving.

E is more cautious, a single platoon Recces forwards

German intitative again.

And a powerful O Group roll.

German mortars stonk D company

And I take losses.

And fire from the sug in infantry suppresses and causes losses on D company.

Pretty soon, by turn four the US have racked up two FUBARS trying to fight into the town.

Even E Company lose a platoon and then a second platoon takes losses. The flamethrower gambit also fails.

German Infantry hidden behind the lateral road give D Company the last rites.  It's yet another FUBAR and I call it a day.  Next time I'll use armour.

O Group meets Hellfire Pass

The Cameron Highlanders with Matildas from 4RTR attempting to force Hellfire pass.

The terrain.  The Axis take the left, or eastern, edge of the pass.  I am calling the edge of the hill lines impassable to prevent any unseemly outflanking, but the edges themselves provide good cover.
The hamada rock areas within the pass afford cover but not from view, and are slowing for vehicles.  There is nothing much to hide behind here!

15 June 1941

Defensive Position

Stuetzpunkt Halfaya

3 Coy (companies) - I/104. Schuetzen Regiment, 
1 Coy - II/62o Reggimento motorizzato
2 Bty - I/33. Flak Regiment 2 x 88mm Guns
I/2o Reggimento artiglieria celere 4 x 50in guns

Attacking Forces
Halfaya Group
2nd Cameron Highlanders 3 Motorised companies
4th Royal Tank Regiment (minus 2 troops) 6 X Matilda II
1 Bty (battery) - 31st Field Artillery Regiment (2 x 25pdr guns)

Halfaya Pass held immense strategic importance due to its position as a natural bottleneck in the desert terrain. Control of the pass provided a vital route for military movements between Egypt and Libya, facilitating the supply and reinforcement of troops for both the Allied and Axis powers.

I'm using a Spearhead scenario for this game. 

The advance.  A Coy left, B Coy right

Italian and Germans at The other end of the pass.

The O Group roll for the Brits

Matilda II and Marmon Herringtons lead 4RTR.

And those are pretty nice Minifigs 12mm

The Italians dug in on the ridgeline

The Germans get a platoon down dug into the rock field.

German motorcycle recce platoon goes down the left wall.

German 88's open up on the British tanks

The Cameron's retouch from their trucks to shadow the six Matildas

And the Brute lead with a recce platoon of their own

And a round of 25pdr fire on the Italian A/T guns.

Quite effective artillery fire.

And I land some smoke in front of those A/T guns

And the German losses get them a fubar.

The British do have tank casualties but I send the Cameron's in to sort out the Italian A/T guns.

The Axis inflict more casualties from those 88mms.  

Endgame the Germans get two Fubars and I give it up.  The Matildas cover a three company Infantry attack.  Job done.