Straits of Messina 1914

Troubridge's squadron, the armoured cruisers HMS Defence, Black Prince, Warrior, Duke of Edinburgh and eight destroyers have contacted Goeben after the Germans passed into the Eastern Med.  Historically Troubridge withdrew, so I have him the option on a random event roll.  Turns out that, as historically, he had sent his destroyers to refuel at Zante, but this  time engaged the Germans with the cruisers.

The cruisers had 9.2 in against Goeben's 12 in.

Goeben and Breslau exit the straight

Troubridge's squadron in two divisions.

The Germans split

Goeben engages

The British attempt to manoeuvre

The Germans hit hard.  Damage to an AC

Heavy damage to the CA as the British get into the range.

But it's a storm of fire.

And the literally as Black Prince limps off alight.

Goeben turns, HMS Defence is hit.

Black Prince sinks, Defence heavily damaged and straddled.

Cheeky move as the much faster Breslau circles in to hit Defence.

HIS Defence explodes.

Breslau took damage, but rejoins.

And Troubridge heads for the horizon with his surviving ships.

Troubridge can now contact the Battle Cruisers with a positive location for the contact.  He will probably get a medal!

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.