Capturing Caesar's Camp: Action 05 - The Chateau on the Hill

Okay, next action in the TooFatLardies' Capturing Caesar's Camp pint-sized campaign, featuring the 51st Highland Division's counter-attack towards Abbeville in the summer of 1940 to try and stem the German tide...

 

As regular readers will know, the Scottish infantry have previously proven themselves masters of those indispensable elite military skills of  'being lucky' and 'rolling sixes'. Let's see if they can continue to demonstrate this peerless mastery... 

 This is the last action for the Camerons in this campaign, as they attempt to seize the high ground on the Seaforth's flank. Should they succeed, it is very likely that the main attack will be successfull and the German bridgehead at Abbeville will become untenable.

I should apologize for the images here. The sunlight/shadow divide somehow looks a lot starker in these images than it did whilst I was playing. Hopefully it will still be clear enough to follow. 

 The Set-Up: 

This part of the ridge features a chateau. The trees lining the road to the left (top-half of the board) are the top of the ridge, and block LOS completely. The Camerons are approaching from the right.

The Battle:

The Camerons approach - they have been reinforce by an extra section in this one, as well as with a FOO, a Bren carrier and a Vickers MMG.

The Germans ready to ambush them at the junction of hedge and trees! One of the weaker squads, as a result of previous actions.

Very much first blood to the Germans - six Highlanders are felled in the first few moments. The Platoon Commander brings up the Vickers MMG and one of the reserve sections to restore the situation. Meanwhile, the other section goes right flanking (top of the road)

Feeling this is a bit too obvious, and the odds a bit too stacked, the German squad retires to the far side of the road before any fire can take real effect.

And poof! Like spirits, they disappear into the green, leaving the Scots shooting into nothing

After dusting themselves off, the Camerons bring themselves up to the hedgeline, then recommence their attack, going right-flanking (top)

Once they are going, the remainder of the platoon moves up to the other side of the road

This move works out really well though - they catch the Germans in the open, trying to move back forward! They are quickly gunned down.

Meanwhile, the right-flanking section are working their way around the flank...

and run into a German AT gun!!

The Bren carrier is brewed up in short order! The German crew are then eliminated or driven off by the fire of the accompanying infantry at short range though.

The British flanking movement continues towards the chateau. Now because of the light and the terrain, this is hard to spot, but another German squad is around in the centre - they are in a concealed position (good) but the British advance has them pretty much cut-off - they have no possible uncovered escape routes.

As the British infantry probe forward, a German flamethrower team prepares for action (left)

Sometimes the boldest moves just pay off! Covered by th platoon support weapons and reserve section, the lead section rushes the chateau.

Apologies, these Germans are really difficult to spot in the trees and shadows, but they are there - and do open up on the British - without much effect.

A shootout ensues, but not with any great effect.

There is a brief fight with the German flamethrower team. A couple of British casualties are caused (the ATR team).

But rifles and grenades quickly eliminate the Germans.

Feeling the situation isn't going to be restored, the German platoon commander withdraws, as he has spotted the rest of the Camerons moving up to the edge of the treeline opposite.

Game Notes:

Well, this action proved that the Camerons hadn't quite lost their touch, although it was a little touch-and-go. In both of the 'initial' elements of the fight, the Germans actually got the drop on the Highlanders (the ambush on the lead section, and the destruction of the Bren carrier). But where the Germans lost out was in a couple of really dismal activations, one squad being gunned down in the open and another effectively trapped. This meant that the Germans needed to be lucky themselves in activating sufficient troops around the chateau to make that more of a fight, which didn't quite happen. Losses for the British 4 KIA, 6 WIA; losses for the Germans 5 KIA, 13 POW (all the WIA were taken prisoner in this action).

 I think the game might have been improved by two things - firstly Rod's suggestion of an additional element (at least) to guard the support weapons, which would have made a more interesting fight after the Bren Carrier was destroyed - not least because the German squad would have been in a much more useful position than it actually activated in; and secondly, objectives might automatically have an additional activation card chosen for them (this was how the British were able to take the chateau prettyt easily in the end). Nuts! has a better system I think, which I will now use, which makes buildings themselves 'activation points'.

 

As ever, figures by Baccus 6mm, and models by H&R. I 'think' the building is Timecast, but not totally sure. Rules are 'the Farquhar Version', Wargames Rules for Armoured Warfare 1925-1950.