Warning Order - Wasatch Front Historical Gaming Society

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Sea Lion: German Armored AssaultArc of Fire ReplayIt is September of 1940 and OperationSea Lion, the German invasion of Englandis well under way. The Germanmech forces from the beaches havepushed inland and linked up with theairborne forces near a critical junction.The Germans have been reorganizing in avillage, but have been receiving heavyfire from a farmhouse nearby. The Germanshastily assemble a kampfgruppeand move out from the village to destroyany local resistance.German Forces(1) Mech Infantry Platoon with (3) infantrysquads, (1) platoon commandsection, and (4) SDKFZ 251 halftracks.(1) Armored platoon consisting of (2) PZIIs and (2) PZ-38s.(1) Para platoon with (3) para squadsplus (1) heavy weapons sectionconsisting of (2) flamethrowers, (2)ATRs, and (2) 50mm mortars and(1) platoon command section.British Forces(1) Home Guard platoon with (3) squadsand (1) platoon command team(1) RAF ground platoon with (3) squadsand (1) platoon command team(1) 2pdr AT gun/crew with (1) BrenCarrier.(1) British Regular infantry heavy weaponsplatoon with (2) MMGs, (1) 81mmmortar, and (2) Boys ATRs with a commandteam.The British were allowed to deploy anywherewithin 24 inches of the village,while the Germans had to deploy fromthe two village road exits. The Germanobjective was to clear the board of anyBritish units.Inside Story HeadlineThe battle opened up with the Germansdeciding on assaulting upthe left flank, led by the armor,then the halftracks. The Germanparas moved up to the first hedgerowsin an effort to clear thefields and provide flank securityfor the armor.The British opened up withsome Boys ATRs, which missedbadly the first few shots. The Germansorientated themselvestowardsthe direction ofthe fire and letloose a devastatingbarrage. TheBritish troops inthat area thenbegan to fall backto their seconddefensive positions.The paras moved through the hedgesas the British re-positioned themselves tomeet the new axis of advance. Smallarms fire broke out between the Germanparas and the British defenders in thefields. The German armor continued tomove around the left flank, searching fortargets and forcing the British to shifttheir defenses.Page 10WARNING ORDER
Arc of Fire Replay (cont.)The main phase ofthe battle now got underway.Huge firefightserupted along the hedgesas the German parastried to push through. Acounterattack by anRAF squad was repulsedwith dreadful losses,although the Germanparas were beginning totake casualties as well.The 2 pounder AT gun finally openedup, but missed it’s first several shots!The German halftracks moved up to bringfire down on the position of the AT gun.The British defenders around the fieldsand hedges were slowly being forcedback to the main line of defense as theirpositions were indanger of beingoutflanked.Finally, the ATgun scored a directhit on a halftrack.This seemed to bethe signal for theGermans that theyhad enough of thisand brought everythingto bear on theAT gun. The At gun fired one more shotthen the crew were wiped out to the man.The British MGs now came into play, butthe German paras were by this timefirmly established in the hedges and werein range of the farmhouse.The final British counterattack wentin, but the Boys ATRs just could notscore any hits. The Panzers kept rollingalong, adding their fire to that f the Germaninfantry to overwhelm any defensivepositions that were encountered.The British were down to their maindefense line with little to no AT weaponsleft. The Germans were pressing on tothe farmhouse and there seemed to belittle in the way of stopping them. Themechanized attack had come in a directionthat the British players weren’t expecting,so redeploying the infantry reserveswas taking too much time.Finally, after the last ATR team wastaken out, it was apparent that the Britishhad no way to stop the German mechforces and the game was called as a Germanvictory.SummaryAlthough it was a German decisivevictory, it wasn’t for lack of effort on theBritish part! The British had a good defensiveplan and had their units in goodpositions. Although outclassed and withfew AT weapons, it would have beenfairly representative of the situation afterthe retreat from Dunkirk. After all, mostreal life battles weren’t fair or balanced!The biggest problem with the Britishwere the horrible die rolls for their ATweapons. The Boys ATRs were fired tentimes with no hits and it took the 2 lbr.Seven shots to destroy the first Germanvehicle! When the German return firecam it was devastating and the Germanplayers did a good job of advancingthrough the hedge areas and putting pressureon the British infantry. Next timethere will be more armor and more ATweapons for the British!ISSUE #14Page 11
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Warning Order - Wasatch Front Historical Gaming Society

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