Monday 25 October 2021

Norway 1940 : Battle at Midtskogen

Having dipped my toes into the Norway campaign WW2 a couple of months ago I purchased some more Norwegian troops. This Sunday they saw their first action. Now before we start I’m not sure whether this is a long term involvement in the Norway Campaign as that will require additional purchases and I wasn’t really looking for another project honest. However, it seems a nice idea to work through the campaign in some form.

Midtskogen is really only a small skirmish but very famous as the first proper land engagement  during the invasion, I think upto that point the majority of defenders had simply capitulated. (It is also a centre piece of The King’s Choice film) As usual if you want to read the details of the battle check out wiki but in essence The Germans had sent a small force of Paratroopers to attempt to capture the king. On the road north a mixed bag of Norwegians, infantry Regiment No 5, the 1st Royal Norwegian Guards and some local shooting club members/militia set an ambush. With the road blocked the paratroopers jumped from their bus and engaged in the battle. Until their commanding officer Spiller was killed at which point and having taken heavy losses they called it a day and turned back south.

As a small infantry only battle it is a great small battle for a virtual game. 

The scene is set, the Road is blocked south of the bridge, the Germans can cross at the stone bridge or at the railway bridge just to the east. As an ambush it is always hard to get that element of surprise. To achieve this the Norwegians who had 9 units including their commanding officer would randomly arrive in 2 waves at 12 random locations spread around the edge of the table. The Norwegians are a mixed bag of regulars and lower quality troops. The rifle club are irregulars but with improved shooting skills (of course) the Germans are all veterans and armed to the teeth as befits paratroopers. They also have a single mortar for variety.
The Germans move out first turn
Across both bridges, they immediately come under fire from the left and the leading unit is pinned
Norwegian Royal Guards arrive along the railway
One of the two Norwegian Madsen Machine guns luckily arrives on the road with a good view down the road
Some irregular units slightly further forward
In the initial phases the Leading german units are battered with pins but with their superior quality means they lose few men
More Norwegian Guardsmen in the woods to the right
Clear line of sight down the road
The second Madsen has a good vantage point from Midtskogen Farm but as light machine guns they are not proving effective
The Germans rush into combat and wipe out the guardsmen
German MG34 machine guns stay behind the river and give covering fire.
At this point the Germans were definitely on the back foot, the two units which attacked across the road bridge have been seriously reduced and pinned down
Better progress on the right though as they work down the flank 
Supported by Hauptmann Spiller the remnants of the two units on the road rally and push on
Slow progress along the railway
Keeping the Norwegians heads down
Suddenly the tide starts to turn and one of the final Norwegian units is struggling to hold its position
And suddenly they are caught on the flank
The Rifle club and the final Norwegian troops make a valiant attempt to push forward to the road but too late
The paratroopers are now in the woods
By some twist of fate Hauptmann Spiller gets caught in the open and is gunned down (history repeating itself at least in this respect)
The final small units of Norwegians are mopped up but the Germans have run out of time to make it a complete victory
Their objective had been to clear the woods and the farm and the solitary Machine gun unit is still in the farm when the battle ends
Final shot , an extra turn would have completed the victory for the Germans, but there is no way the Norwegians can claim victory even if we were still technically holding mthe farm. The Germans have lost a lot of troops clearing the field. So we agreed on a minor German victory , the King perhaps getting away in the nick of time. But the Germans can continue to pursue further north !

Splendid game and great to get the new Norwegians on the table. The scenario felt balance when I wrote it ht the Norwegians would struggle, they hammered the Germans early on and I thought it unbalanced but then the better quality of the Germans came through to give a close game. Photos were a challenge with the snow so I have had to filter the a little which seems to have worked. The nice thing is it felt appropriate and in some sense true to the historical events. I now need to work out our next battle ? Which might require some more Norwegians ! And possibly a couple of extra terrains pieces. If anybody can find photos of Norwegian Road signs in 1940 let me know 


KBO Matt


20 comments:

  1. This was a fun little action, Matt! I was not confident that my Germans would ever make it clear of the bridge to advance upon your positions. In the end, an advance on the right along the railroad under covering fire almost led to victory. Poor Hauptmann Spiller fell just as victory was in his grasps. A bit brash, perhaps?

    Thanks for the game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jon the Germans turned it around which was slightly surprising given the tough start they had. A good start to a new campaign perhaps ?

      Delete
  2. Excellent looking scenario with super minis and terrain!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A fine game in a much neglected theatre of early WWII. The King's Choice is a most interesting and enjoyable film too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks David I am hoping we will see some more Norwegian camping in the future 👍 I certainly enjoyed the film, just need a film about the battle for Narvik ?

      Delete
  4. That's a fine looking table and report, I shall view and read later on a bigger screen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a nice little scenario Matt and having watched the film, interesting to see it played out on the table. The snow terrain works a treat, even if it did give you problems taking photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Steve , I had watched the film before we played and I think we captured the essence ? Interestingly I am going to go back and see if the Germans are in the correct uniforms ?

      Delete
  6. A lovely looking game Matt…
    The terrain works a treat… suitably bleak.

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Aly the terrain at least gives it a sense of Scandinavia ?

      Delete
  7. Very nice! A smart action. The snow terrain looks great in the photos. 😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Stew a fun skirmish, the photos did need a little tweaking for the contrats

      Delete
  8. Great stuff Matt, to be honest I am leaning towards a Norway project myself. Lovely looking terrain, how did you do it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Stu having read a bit more there is certainly plenty of option in Norway, obviously I was attracted initially as I have the Germans and Brits already so the expansion is fairly easy, although now I need more Norwegians and probably some french ! All the scatter terrain is my normal stuff except for the log piles which I made specially dusted with the snow. The snowy base layer is a highly complex and technical terrain innovation……..I discovered one of my desert mats was white on the back so I just turned it upside down. There are also a few bits of white felt type material floating about for example on the road. Super simple and almost no cost.

      Delete
  9. Great looking game Matt and letting the King escape to fight another day sounds like a reasonable outcome! Having the Germans pursue him towards either an airfield or the coast would make an interesting little campaign - unless they catch him on game II of course!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Keith some interesting thoughts…I’m not quite sure where we are heading with the Norway campaign, turning it into an ‘imagination’ campaign is a really interesting idea ? Food for thought 👍

      Delete