Last weekend we managed to play another epic Big Chain of Command game with the lads, this time our battlefield was on the shores of Mother England….Operation Sea Lion. Pitting the lively Hythe Home Guard Platoon and Territorials against the Elite Luftland-Strum Regiment of the 7th Flieger-Division.
On the English side, Dave and Tim were the respective commanders, while Brian and Terry commanded the German platoons. The battle commenced with two Fallschirmjäger platoons attacking across the full length of the table. The third platoon was in reserve (Glider Platoon).
The Hythe Home Guard lads, with a Naval Shore Party supporting, took the British right flank and quickly set up a solid line of defence. On the British left flank, the Territorials also quickly deployed in a strong position, protecting the railway station and warehouse.
For the first of several phases, the British forces fought hard, but their defensive line was soon breached in the centre, after being overwhelmed in a one-sided bayonet charge by a section of Fallschirmjäger. The defending Home Guard section lost four men killed, and the remaining two lads ran for the safety of the Hairy Stag Pub for some refreshments.
On the British left, aggressive German attacks soon forced one section of Territorials back into better cover, and another was also overwhelmed by aggressive German paras. However, the Territorial Platoon Commander, a veteran of the defence of Dunkirk, saw an opportunity to take back the initiative and overtook one of his sections to counterattack and caught the recently victorious Germans in the rear. A vicious round of fisty cuffs ensured, however, the Veteran Germans Fallshirmjager were victorious again. But the cost was high for the attacking Germans.
With the centre of the British position now breached, the victorious Fallschirmjäger section pushed onto the Railway station and then straight to the main objective. However, the remnants of a Territorial section had beaten them to it and were waiting. With a storm of grenades, the veteran German paras charged again into hand-to-hand combat. The outcome was not good for both sides. Both attacker and defender fought to the last.
With the British seemingly under pressure on both flanks, the German Commander called in some close air support…….a Stuka attack (we played this a little differently and noted that the Fallschirmjager Platoon could not call in a barrage, we decided to allow for close Air support instead). However, after three attacks, the Stukas were unable to hit a single target as the British had an anti-aircraft gun as a support option.
Frustrated by the limited Luffwaffa support and heavy loses the German Commander decided to call a consolidation and replaced his depleted first platoon with the fresh Glider Platoon. Noting a pause in the battle, the British Commander decided to pull his depleted Territorial Platoon back into a better defensive position, protecting the railway station.
The next several phases of battle again saw the German troops hitting hard and fast on all sides…….the battle looked to be lost for the British. But over the noise of battle and not too far to the rear, the sound of a bugle was heard…..it was the British cavalry (tank support was here).
So with the arrival of armoured support, the German commander, lacking AT weapons, decided to call it a day. A hard-fought battle with neither side claiming an overwhelming victory.
Many thanks to Dave, Brian, Terry and Tim for commanding opposing forces and John and Leroy for supplying additional troops for our game today.
