Dyle Crossing: The Counter Attack

BRITISH

15 Platoon 2DLI
Lieutenant Ingram (Religious)
Sergeant Irving (Idealistic)
Anti Tank Rifle team
2" Mortar team
2 Vickers light tanks 3RTR
Additional Section under CSM Hook

GERMAN

9 Platoon 31st Inf
Leutnant Rosas (Aggressive)
Feldwebel Durch (Cautious)
Ant Tank Rifle Team
4 Sections
Tripod Mounted Mg34
Pre-game barrage

Jump off points are established

The modern satellite map showing the Dyle Crossing.

The tree cover is much thicker than it was in 1940.

German Section 2 is pinned by CSM Hook

and his section, losing 5 men.

German Feldwebel and his section wiped out in the centre and the Vickers shoots down the German MMG team.    

The Jump point is captured as a COC dice ends the turn.

CSM Hook gives enfilade fire

Smoke dropped by the Mortar on the river bank

The Vickers tank is destroyed and the British lieutenant wounded.  With the Germans down to two sections and taking casualties from the advancing British, they withdraw.  A British win. 

Pretty much the only British win of the campaign.  The BEF begin their withdrawal from the Dyle unimpeded.

COC Bulge Ladder Campaign, The Obenschield Ridge

These solo games follow a single platoon of "I" Company 28th Infantry, and its attempted defence of the Obenschield Ridge behind the Skyline Drive.  The advance Panzer Grenadier units of Panzer Lehr are attacking along the narrow track road, but this is difficult terrain and few if any vehicles will be available.

To say that this collection was done "on the cheap" is an understatement.  Some judicious eBay purchases of 1/72 plastics and a little conversion work kept the cost to under £10, and that includes the white fleece I`m using for a terrain cloth

The Campaign Map

ITEM Company 109th Regt

3 Platoon I Company 109th Regt

Lieutenant Hanks   III (Aggressive)  Bold

Staff Sergeant Clooney III  (Carefree) 

Sergeant Damon  II (Liberal)

Sergeant Pitt   II (Foolish)
Sergeant Cage II (Nervous)

2  Platoon I Company 109th Regt
Lieutenant Willis  III (Cunning)  Cautious
Weapons Sergeant Affleck   II (Cocky)
Staff Sergeant Marvin  IV (Pessimistic)  Bold
Sergeant Smith  II (Generous)
Sergeant Goldberg II  (Glum)
Sergeant Dafoe  II (Alcoholic)

Elements of: Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 996

Hauptmann Helmut Schön  III (Pessimist) Cautious
Leutnant Horst-Dieter Höttges IV (Fanatical)  Reckless

Feldwebel Willi Schulz III (Conformist)  Bold
Unterfeldwebel Wolfgang Weber III (Sensible)
Obergefreiter Karl-Heinz Schnellinger II (Glum)
Obergefreiter Franz Beckenbauer II  (Cheap)
Gefreiter Wolfgang Overath  II (Aggressive)

Unterfeldwebel Helmut Haller III (Cowardly) Cautious
Obergefreiter Uwe Seeler  II (Alcoholic)
Gefreiter Sigfried Held  II (Likeable)
Gefreiter Lothar Emmerich  II (Jovial)

Gefreiter Hans Tilkowski   II  (Alcoholic)

Dyle Crossing Game 2: Gastuche

Gastuche lies just before the Dyle Bridge.  The BEF had demolished the bridge, however the Germans wished to capture the position, and in fact were able to repair the bridge to sufficiently to effect a crossing.

The Germans load their troops into this patrol, including more of those damn Sdkfz222.

The opening moves.  An excellent roll for the Germans.  Infantry Sections and Armoured Cars appear.

The BEF get an Infantry section onto the hill behind the small copse.  An excellent position dominating the field.

2DLI hammer the Germans with small arms fire.

Across the small stream the british occupy the churchyard.  The 31st Division have infiltrated into the village.

The British Sergeant leads a section from the copse to the hedgeline near the wheat field.  

Another great roll for the Germans.  The Armoured Cars target the British Sergeant and his section, as do the German mg34 crew in the farmyard.

The British are shocked into a withdrawal.

The Germans assault the churchyard, throwing the BEF out.  They can enfilade the hill from this location.  They also capture a British Jump off Point.

The remains of a British section are assaulted by a German section supported by two of the Armoured cars.
This is tenuous since both Armoured cars were firing and strictly speaking (after looking at the photograph) one was masked.  Still those Brits were pretty much doomed.

A DLI attack from the hill struck the German Armoured car as it tried to cross the stream.

Pretty much the end game as the Germans take the hill, capturing the second JOP.  I even captured their Chain of Command dice.  not sure if that's a legal move either!

The end game saw the BEF rolled out of the village.  With the capture of Gastuche the Germans have the options to:

• Infiltrate during the night of the 14/15th

• Attack and secure the flank positions

• Assault the Bridge.

The Dyle Crossing 14 May 1940: Game 1

With the advance of the German armies into the Low Countries in May 1940, the BEF took up  positions in Northern France to defend the Dyle-Breda Line.  Whilst it is technically a river, the Dyle is in parts little more than a steam, and it fell to the 2nd battalion Durham Light Infantry to defend a salient created by an eastward bend in the river just north of Wavre.  
Here the forces of the German 31st Infantry Division would attempt to cross. 

My thanks for these games to the TooFatLardies 2014 Summer Special.  I redrew the maps and tweaked the game to allow the use of my terrain board.  These games inspired me to collect the forces for 1940 in 10mm.

Colonel Quilp of 2DLI game the orders for the deployment of the British
Oberst von Weißmehr commanded the deployment of the 31st infantry.
All games are played solo following these deployments, using Chain of Command.

The Durham Light Infantry patrol out to Les Pres, table 2 and Gastuche table 3.

They choose not to patrol Les Monts or Bois Vallee, surrendering these to German control.

Game 1  Les Pres

The map superimposed on my textured battle board.  I added some buildings to this scattered down the main road.

The terrain has a few woods added centrally, since these appear on the 1:25000 map of the area.

The Germans support their platoon with three Sdkfz 222 Armoured cars.  

The 20mm cannon are deadly even against the DLI within the stone walls of the farm.

Not sure what a roll of five fives is called under Chain of command but this was one!

Note that the COC Dice goes to 5!  The DLI Mortar under the Sergeant has deployed, but didn`t get the chance to fire.

German LMGs smash the BEF flank attack.  (I had thought I was being clever)  

Turns out that the 20mm cannon are deadly against troops in the open too!

The defensive position in the farm is slowly destroyed.
Time for a withdrawal.

German Armoured cars dominated the terrain, taking this Jump off Point.  Only the Platoon Sergeant of the DLI can be seen at that second JOP.  Pretty much game over.

The End Game.  A German section advances to assault the remaining 2DLI Jump off point.  

With the capture of Les Pres the Germans are well sited to dominate the high ground above the bridge.  It also affords 31st Division the opportunity to infiltrate forward into La Motte durng the night.
A welcome return to WW2 and Chain of Command for me.