Wednesday 21 June 2017

The Battle for Burmarsh : Operation Sealion

For our next battle we have moved back to the gradual inland movement of the main German forces the 109th Infantry Regiment in the area around Dymchurch. With the main beach landing area secured but the unloading of forces inevitably being disrupted, small ad hoc  Kampfgruppe  are being pushed forward to secure the route inland. One such group has been ordered to probe and secure the hamlet of Burmarsh just a mile or so inland from Dymchurch where fighting and resistance is still taking place.
 
The front line as it currently is since the landings early morning, previous battles marked in orange
German Infantry spread out across the fields, supported by a single Panzer II which is advancing towards the Church
German commander has jumped out of his Kubelwagon to watch the attack. Whilst the infantry have dragged forward a 75mm gun which they are preparing to fire
Infantry to the west of the road set up heavy support weapons and start to bombard British artillery on the other side of the pub
Looking down the road towards the church
On the allied side British infantry have arrived and are pushing forward through the church grounds
They have also set up a strong point at the road junction where they have pulled a 2lb antitank gun into position, they are also supported by two Vickers tanks, one of which can be seen heading towards the back of the pub
But for the British things go bad early......the Panzer II takes out their second Vickers as it pushes forward in front of the church, it can be seen burning above
The Germans continue to advance and are able to pin down the British defenders whose fires gradually slackens
One unit of the defenders has at least made it to the shelter at the back of the bus, hoping to rush down the road, but the machine guns of the Panzer turn towards them and without the covering fire of their Vickers Tank the infantry are doomed
The British antitank gun kept up a steady fire through out but pretty much to no effect, eventually though they managed to knock a track of the Panzer, it could still fire but was now immobilised unit the repair crew could be brought forward.
The german commander remained close to the road, a fierce fire fight takes place across the pub garden but the german eventually get the better of it
By the church the british have been gradually taking losses and are unable to make any significant impact on the advancing enemy
At this point after the allotted time it was a clear victory to the Germans, whilst only a few units had been completely knocked out the British units were close to collapse and they could hold the road junction no longer.

A very fun game, introducing a new player to bolt action within the context of my ongoing campaign 😀

20 comments:

  1. nice game with an obvious winner, most unusual

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    1. The Brits were rubbish got pinned down and outgunned !

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  2. Another great battle Matt, how long did this one take to play through?

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    1. Now then a bit of detail. So we were playing bolt action obviously, with ten units a side. We covered the whole game in 2:30 hours, to keep it simple for the newbie we played a simple engagement scenario and completed the 6 turns. Although we rolled for another turn the game ended at 6. The key element was enjoyment as the german commander is a relatively new gamer who I am introducing to a range of games and this was his first bolt action game, my measure of success was his enjoyment, which appeared quite high 😀

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    2. Thank you Matt, certainly enjoyment would be high on my list of factors too. I may yet be tempted to have a closer look myself.

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  3. Terrain heavy layout looks terrific!

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    1. Thanks Jonathan....did anybody I wonder spot the new pub sign ?

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  4. Another excellent looking game.
    I've decided to jump back into WW2, but I'm going for Ardennes '44 - 10mm style. Bring on the snow!

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    1. Thanks Roy.......I think for me WW2 is an almost limitless mine of opportunity for gaming 😀 I currently have three scales and different theatres. All of which I would consider expanding....

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  5. Always enjoy your Zeelowe and VBCW game reports Matt. A splendid table there to battle over too.

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  6. Grand stuff as usual, can't say I noticed the pub sign, to busy admiring the bus.

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    1. Thanks Phil...I had spent some time doing some new signs. At least I knew they were there...as for the bus I have just tweeked the other bus for the weekend show game🙂

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  7. Great game Matt! Looks good and the AAR is entertaining. Thanks!
    I think you should utilise B&W pictures a bit more they give a good atmosphere.
    I think your Panzer II is actually a Panzer 35(t).

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    1. Thanks Captain...I try and keep the B & W as the occasional atmospheric treat but glad you like them. As for my complete gaff on the tank I have no excuse ! Well only one because I had the Panzer II on the table whilst I was tidying up and then obviously didn't look at the photos as I was typing up. It is a great treat for me that you take the time to actually look properly at the pictures so thanks 😀

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  8. Another superb skirmish in your ongoing campaign! As soon as I've got my Gangsters for Mad Dogs done I shall be diving into Sealion and picking up loads of those lovely Footsore and Warlord figs!

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    1. Thanks G Looking forward to seeing how you get them arranged, you can of course IHMN as an option. Battle of Hawkinge participation game tomorrow 😬

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