Operation Jupiter 21 - Counterattack at Maltot; 20mm WW2 battle report

Introduction

This is game 21 in replaying the scenarios from the Briton Publishers Operation Jupiter skirmish scenario book.  Links to previous games are on this blog page.

Rules used

I am using a variant of my 4x3 grid rules without grids and sections are 3 person units rather than 1 base. I have changed them a little and now if within 3” are fighting in melee but all have cover modifiers. Also activation is now (mainly) 2 section/vehicle per side per player turn. 

Scenario

The Germans have six turns to capture the British Battalion HQ. The British must avoid this.

Troops

British

1 Platoon

    1 platoon HQ (1 figure)

    1 PIAT team

    1 Section (3 figures)

1 Vickers MMG

1 17 pdr ATG

1 105mm battery mission (poor availability)

British are all regular except the PIAT team and 17pdr crew that is veteran

Germans

1 Zug

    1 Zug HQ (2 figures)

    2 Gruppe (3 figures each)

3 Fire missions of 80mm mortar (average availability)

2 Tigers

Germans are all regular

Deployment

Deployment

This game is at very short range. The deployment zone constrains a lot on where the British can setup.  The Tigers cannot really make it thorugh the buildings so will enter as support, hopefully out of the range of the 17pdr and PIAT. The British Artillery has little chance of turning up but will be very useful if it does.  The short timeframe for the German’s to reach the objective will mean they cannot dally with suppress and movement and may need to take risky moves.  All up it is likely to be short and random. Random due to small units, artillery chances etc.

The Germans enter the board on turn 1 from the southeast corner in the woods.

Game

The Germans enter the Tigers first to provide fire cover for the infantry.  This may or may not be a good idea.  The Tigers will move just far enough to be able to fire on the objective building.  They can’t take the building so in this scenario they are effectively very expensive expendable units.

The Tigers both fire at the objective building but only cause one suppression.

Tigers on the table!

The British retaliate by firing the PIAT (only chance they may have!) and te 17pdr can just see the far Tiger but will call it as being in hard cover.  Likely the only time the British will be able to take out the tanks.

PIAT: Missed.

17 pdr: Hit (rolled a 6, the only score that would hit) and then subsequently penetrated and destroyed the Tiger.

Tiger destroyed (top right)

The remaining Tiger fires but misses the objective, a Gruppe moves on but fire is mostly ineffective.

The British retaliate with the PIAT at the Tiger and the MMG at the newly brought on Gruppe.

Intense fire across the road

The Tiger tries again and the HE hits and suppresses everyone in the objective.  The other Gruppe enters at manages to supress the Vickers MG.

More firing across the road

In the British turn they roll amazingly well and unsuppresses everyone that was suppressed!  The Germans were hoping to rush in and take advantage of the suppression but seems not to be the case.  Next turn the Tiger suppresses them again and the Gruppe charges the MG (range is less than 6 (about 50m)) so the MG only gets 1 dice compared to the Gruppe’s 3.  The Vickers is destroyed at a cost of 1 figure from the Gruppe.  They occupy the building.  

Germans charge the MG in the building at close range

The British 17pdr crew charge the building.   They lose one figure but the Germans are both suppressed and retreat to their former building across the road.  The Germans in the other building try to rally but 2 figures rout!

What is left of the Germans

The turn limit is up, the Germans are at half strength and I do not see them getting the objective building in the next turn or two, even if I did keep playing.  They were so close!  

And just realised I forgot about the artillery and I did not bring on the German HQ of 2 figures!  Let’s play two more turns.

The Zug leader arrives, unsuppresses a Gruppe.

Zug leader arrives

The British unsuppress but then the German artillery is successfully called onto the objective building and the British are all suppressed.  The Germans charge across the road into close combat.

Germans charge into close combat with the objective building’s occupants

The Germans lose one figure, as does the British.  The British are all suppressed so need to retreat.  The Germans now have the objective and win!

The Germans own the objective

Verdict

If I had remembered the artillery earlier the Germans would have had a much easier time of it.  It was still touch and go and easily could have gone against them.