Market Garden: Groesbeek Heights

 

The initial German plan of attack.

TURN 1

The initial assault on Wyler proved costly for the Germans. An infantry platoon was lost with others suffering casualties as the attempted to storm the village buildings.

The Germans benefit from excellent command dice in their first turn allowing for several activations for each formation. Here the Goebel's battle group make good progress towards the woods near Wyler.

Continued -

Market Garden: Groesbeek Heights Introduction

This is the 2nd scenario in the Rapid Fire! supplement 'Operation Market Garden'. Orders of battle have been converted for Blitzkrieg Commander (BKC) rules. 

This posting will provide an introduction to the game including objectives etc.

Game details:

Table Size 4'6" x 3'

Figures - Heroics & Ros (new sculpts)

Rules - Blitzkrieg Commander IV

My interpretation of the map contained within the scenario book.

Continued -

Battle of Cristot 11th June 1944 - Turns 9 to Conclusion

 Turn 9

B and C companies of the E Yorks assist D company (bottom left) in clearing the woods of German infantry. D company though come under heavy fire from the woods opposite losing a platoon with the remainder suppressed.

The E Yorks 6pdr hurriedly moves off the road seeking cover as it comes under fire from the German 150mm infantry gun scoring a hit on the Lloyd Carrier.

Continued -

Battle of Cristot 11th June 1944 - Turns 1 to 8

This game is an adaption of a Rapid Fire scenario in the 'Normandy Battlegames' scenario book. It is relatively straightforward to adapt for Blitzkrieg Commander 4 with slightly more AFV's being the most obvious change.

Background to the battle.

After D-Day the 50th Infantry Division supported by the 8th Armoured Brigade pushed forward south of Bayeux in an attempt to take Tilly-sur-Suelles prior to a move on Villers Bocage with a view to outflanking the German defenders of Caen.  

The Germans had been reinforced by the Panzer Lehr Division who launched an attack towards Bayeux on the 9th June advancing to within 3 miles before being pulled back. On 11th June the 69th Brigade of the 50th Division attacked SS units defending the villages of Brouay and Cristot with the particular aim of capturing Hill 102, a slight rise giving commanding views over the area.

This scenario covers that assault by the 69th Brigade. 

Continued -

On the Workbench: SS Units for the Battle of Cristot

Preparation for the house move has necessitated packing away most of my terrain tiles meaning my wargaming will be on hold until after the move. The latest from the builder was another slight delay so at least a month away yet before that gets completed. Then there is the small matter of converting the garage!

My workbench is still active though and will continue to be so soon after the move. I am therefore concentrating on painting figures for future battles in my projects list.

Referring to a previous post I had intended to play Cristot, a WW2 Normandy game using 'O' Group rules but lost interest. Cristot was always on my 'to do' list but a larger version taken from a Rapid Fire scenario book and using Blitzkrieg Commander rules. The failed attempt at the 'O' Group game gave me the impetus to progress the BKC version.

On checking the orders of battle I found several German units needed to be completed along with a couple of British recce platoons. These were all painted in one lot and, apart from the British, are detailed here:

An overview of the German collection. Consisting of 5 x PzIVH, Sdkfz 231 8 rad armoured car, Sdkfz 10 and 11 halftracks, 5 x motor cycle combos, a SiG33 15cm infantry gun, 2 x MG42 on tripod sections, and 2 x Panzerschrek platoons.  

Continued -

Market Garden: XXX Corps Breakout

This scenario is taken from the Rapid Fire! supplement 'Market Garden'. Converting Rapid Fire orders of battle to Blitzkrieg Commander IV is relatively simple. Artillery is translated 1:1 as are support weapons. Infantry have 3 bases to a company (1 base = 1 platoon). Mine are based in multiples of 4 figures and given that RF companies average around 8 figures it is a simple matter of increasing numbers by 50% to calculate how many are needed for the reduced German battalions.

Where there is transport that needs to be increased slightly to ensure all units have a vehicle assigned. Tanks are a little different. In RF the tank ratio is 1:5 compared to 1:3 or 4 in BKC. A squadron of 3 tanks therefore becomes 5 and so on.

This will mean rather more tanks and vehicles travelling along the road from Joe's Bridge and the increased possibility of a traffic jam! Should be interesting.

The scenario book recommends a table size of 8' x 5' for 20mm (although allows for flexibility). I calculated that 4'6" x 3' should be sufficient for 6mm.

Game details:

Table Size - 4'6" x 3'

 Figures - Heroics & Ros 1/300 (Brit carriers GHQ 1/285)

Rules - Blitzkrieg Commander IV

ORDERS OF BATTLE:

Continued -

Market Garden: XXX Corps Breakout Preview

Still on a WW2 theme I bring a preview of my next game, "XXX Corps Breakout", the first game of my Operation Market Garden project. This is to play through the scenarios in the Rapid Fire 'Market Garden' supplement and possibly turning it into a campaign.

Details of the game will be provided on the AAR which should be completed fairly soon. In the meantime I am posting photos of the German position through which XXX Corps will have to fight. All the figures and vehicles are by Heroics & Ros.

XXX Corps will arrive along the road in the foreground and all armour must remain on it until they reach Valkenswaard in the distance.

Continued -

On the Workbench: Last of Terrain, Brit armour and more ships.

A quick update on the what is happening on the workbench. Over the past week I have concentrated on completing new terrain boards and upgrading my existing collection.

This is the final batch of existing terrain boards that I will upgrade for now. In due course I am aiming to improve the cliffs, rivers and road sections. For now though I need to get back to wargaming and painting figures. 

Continued -

On the Workbench: Update on terrain, German armour & vehicles, 1/1200 naval.

It has been a busy week on the terrain front. Having started by creating new desert terrain pieces and upgrading my existing boards, I have gone full-on upgrading pretty much all my collection. This has delayed the playing of my next N.Africa battle but hopefully not for long.

My room has been taken over with terrain boards in various stages of 'upgrading'.

Continued....

On The Workbench: Terrain, WW2 Land and Sea

Normally I try and have one or at most two projects on my table at any given time. But on this occasion I have got slightly carried away!

So to the first:

On the left is a partially built marsh for the forthcoming ACW battle 'Big Bethel'. The 2 other pieces will be sand dunes/hills for North Africa.  

Continued.....

WW2 Brit Paras completed for Market Garden Scenario

The British Paras are now completed for the 'Battle in the Woods' scenario from the Rapid Fire Op Market Garden scenario book. All Heroics & Ros figures and vehicles.

Looks rather paltry compared to 15mm or 20mm! However, it will be an interesting exercise having originally played this scenario in 15mm using the Rapid Fire rules. This time it will be using Blitzkrieg Commander II and on a much smaller table.

The German vehicles have been primed and ready to paint. I did receive a bunch of German infantry from Heroics & Ros which are the old sculpts. I was hoping that they would be ok and although many are fine, they are not up to the standard of their new paras. I have therefore decided to hold off playing this game until H&R release their updated Germans. I will in the meantime complete the vehicles and all terrain required so all ready to go in due course.