Operation Martlet: Winning Your Spurs (Table 5, Turn 9)

 The open field lay before them, hedges by the crossroad, and only a drainage ditch for cover - a dangerous place to be caught off guard. With the scouts reporting German presence by the crossroad, Lt Clavell saw a tough ask ahead, and a potentially bloody affair. He requested a Forward Observer who should be in constant communication with the battalion 3" mortar battery, a necessary piece of support. Additionally, a further AVRE was alongside them, as well as a sniper who would hopefully keep the Boche hunkered down. Oberscharfuhrer Schnatz, his cynicism mounting, was given only a 75mm infantry gun and an adjutant to hold this killing ground. Prime fields of fire, and that's all his CO could muster for him. Ah well. He still had his Panzer IV attached, and he hoped that maybe that would make up for his limited support.

The open terrain, where Schnatz' platoon hopes to delay the British

The line advance for Clavell's platoon

Pressing forward, Clavell's scouts find safe passage up to the first copse of hedge as well as to the drainage ditch, about 120 yards from the crossroad. From there, they could expect to advance under fire. The Germans were moving around east of the crossroad, behind the hedges, as well as in the ditch beyond the intersection.

British Jump Off Points

German JOPs

The Drainage Ditch

With little cover to their front, Sgt Buckley follows a rumbling Churchill AVRE up the road. Beside him is the FOO, Cpl Goodman, and his Bren team. The riflemen are beside the tank, keeping low in the ditch. The AVRE gunner is scanning their front, looking for any movement at the crossroad or the hedge line, spigot mortar loaded.

The brave men of A Platoon, 7th Duke of Wellingtons

Schnatz is faced with a difficult decision. Aware that if he can take out the AVRE, he'll have the range advantage with his panzer and infantry gun. He's also aware that he needs to distract the Churchill for his panzer to have a chance to catch it off guard. He commits Scharfuhrer Peppler and his squad to the far western hedges. Looking down the sights of their MG-42s, Pepplers men open on the troops following behind the Churchill, with little effect. Far more effect is wrought upon them, as the Churchill lands a round in their midst, killing two. His job done, Peppler orders his men back from the hedge, and hopefully out of sight.

The distraction worked, and the Panzer IV rumbles up to the crossroad, firing down the length. The first shot goes wide, but his gunner is able to correct. Out-gunning the slow AVRE, the panzer lands its second shot, hitting the edge of the turret. Beside the panzer, the infantry gun fires from its position in the gully, a low velocity round exploding in front of the riflemen down the ditch.

Panzer IV and the Infantry Gun spring their trap

Wounded he may be, the AVRE commander rallies his men as the infantry throw smoke grenades in the road to their front. Encouraging as he is, the next round finds their engine block, and the Churchill rumbles no more. The crew quickly abandon the stricken tank, and fall back while Goodman's section covers their withdrawal. Despite the distraction, the FOO, having contacted the battery, calls for immediate effect. The 3" shells land long, but he's sure he can walk them closer and on top of the Germans. 

Schnatz deploys, pulling Peppler and his MGs further back from the hedge, bringing some control to their disordered formation. Smoke begins to build up between them and the Brits, and Schnatz watches as the leIG 18 takes fire and one of the crewmen falls dead. He's just preparing to run over and help direct the gun when the ground around him erupts in a storm shrapnel and dirt - the 3" shells have found their mark. He hits the dirt, hugging the base of the hedge with Peppler and the remains of his squad, feeling warm blood seep through boot.

Schnatz and Peppler caught in the mortar barrage

The barrage landing, Buckley orders the 2" mortar to start putting down smoke, but the wind makes difficult work of it. Goodman's squad is continuing to trade fire with the infantry gun, but the fight's not quite going their way, so he continues to order for increasingly more more smoke. Under the cover of the barrage, the British sniper works his way up to the copse of hedge, waiting for targets to emerge.

Smoke rounds falling everywhere but the gully

The sniper calibrates his sights

The barrage comes to an end, and as the dust settles, Schnatz raises to his knees, keeping weight off of his left leg. As Peppler's squad begins to lift themselves out of the hedge, one of the MG-42 gunners stands up too high. A shot rings out, and he falls dead - a sniper. The assistant gunner grabs the dropped machine gun, and Peppler orders his men to stay low, and to train their weapons in the direction of the shot, searching for the source.

During the barrage, the Panzer IV moved down the perpendicular road, off to the British right - opposite where the machine guns are nestled in the hedges. This is a threat that Sgt Buckley cannot abide, and orders the PIAT to crawl forward to see if it can catch the panzer's side. The PIAT team fires from their hidden position ahead in the gully, but the round is absorbed in the schurzen of the German tank. Peppler's machine gunners spot the PIAT team as they begin dropping back into the trench, and they open fire. The loader drops dead, but the gunner disappears from view.

PIAT Ambush!

With the machine gunners momentarily distracted, the sniper takes a second shot. Dirt is kicked up in the road next to Peppler, and his men begin to look worried. They still have no idea where the fire's coming from. 

Buckley orders the FOO to get the battery back on line; the barrage desperately needed for them to advance behind. Within moments, the ground to their front is once again saturated by 3" shells, this time landing on the crossroad - covering the infantry gun and the panzer. 

Shrapnel clanging on the hull, the tank commander orders his driver forward, out of the blinding barrage. The gun crew, however, is pinned down, diving into the gully. Two of the crew members aren't so lucky and are killed by the mortar shelling. Free this time from the barrage, Schnatz orders Peppler's MG teams overwatch the field, hoping to catch sight of the sniper.

Once again, the barrage comes to an early end, the FOO frustrated announcing that the battery's supporting another element. A low velocity shell lands amidst Goodman's section, killing another from the rifle team and wiping out the 2" mortar team. Goodman get his section to return fire, and their accuracy is spot on. They clear out the crew, leaving only the NCO rushing to man the gun, who immediately fires another round down the ditch-line. Scharfuhrer Ruel brings his squad up to support the isolated infantry gun, his two MG-42s on line.

Ruel's MG-42 teams get their guns in line

More of the Germans located, and Goodman's squad losing cohesion, Clavell orders Cpl Holmes' section forward, pouring fire on the panzergrenadiers ahead of them, forcing their heads down. Two of Holmes' men are killed by HE and machinegun fire emanating from the panzer, and he orders smoke grenades thrown in front of them. With a clear shot at the Germans in the hedges, Holmes' Bren gunner pours accurate fire on to the threat to their left.

The British column in the drainage ditch

Schnatz begins running/limping to rally and reinforce Ruel's squad and the leIG 18. Behind him, he hears Peppler's yelp, as he takes a ricochet to the side. Schnatz calls up Bergander's squad to the hedge, having them combine their fire with Peppler's MGs, as he throws himself into the ditch with Ruel.

With more MG-42s firing from the hedge, Cpl Erickson deploys his section between the other two in the drainage ditch. The old man of the platoon orders fire on the hedgerow, while his sister section under Holmes engages the Germans to their front. Buckley rallies Goodman's section and starts organizing for an advance, while ordering the FOO to call in more supporting mortar fire. The FOO informs the overtasked sergeant that the battery is supporting others and that they shouldn't expect further fire missions. More low velocity shells are hammering the ditch, with further men from Holmes' section killed or wounded. The suppressed remains of the lead section continue to put down fire what they can.

Traffic jam in the ditch

Holmes' fire proves effective, with a .303 round striking Shnatz in the upper arm. He hits the ground, but manages to direct further fire while he applies a tourniquet beneath his armpit. The combined return fire from the infantry gun, MG-42s, and Panzer IV decimate the leading British section, clearly on the verge of pinning where they stand. On his right flank, Peppler's tattered squad withdraws from the hedge, and Bergander's moves towards the crossroad in a hope to concentrate their fire with the infantry gun's.

Peppler and Bergander's squads pull back from the hedge

One of the exploding shells sends shrapnel across Sgt Buckley, cutting him in a multitude of places. The platoon sergeant wounded, and disorder reigning supreme, Lt Clavell's moment has come and he rushes forward. His presence has an immediate effect. He rallies the men, pulling Holmes' section back, and replacing it with Erickson's at the lead. His fresh section pours fire to their front, killing more Germans and putting pressure on them that they can't cope with. They throw smoke towards the panzer, hoping to obscure his view of the khaki within the ditch.

Schnatz can barely keep up with the weight of fire. His two wounds have left him breathless, clearly feeling control of the battle slip away. All of his infantry are in tatters, he and another NCO are wounded, and his final hope lies in the resilience of their attached armor. The Panzer IV moves up, trying to gain a clear shot around the smoke, and fires.

The panzer's HE round, combined with the remaining fire from the infantry gun and MG teams, tears through Erickson's section. They too are on the verge of collapse, and worse still, Erickson is wounded. Once again Clavell orders the shuffling of sections. He sends Goodman's relatively intact section to the front, while Buckley rallies the men to the rear. This ditch is quickly becoming a killing field, though he knows the Germans aren't faring much better. Once again, he orders his PIAT to attempt an ambush of the Panzer IV, and this time, the round connects. It's insufficient to destroy the tank, but the driver panics and slams full reverse.

Schnatz can't afford to lose his armor here, in a delaying action, and he realizes just how lucky he's been to still have it after two PIAT attacks. With that final close call, and the beat up state that his platoon is in, he calls for a withdrawal.

The ragged British platoon, shock and mere shells of sections

After the panzergrenadiers pull out,  the platoon polices the battlefield. In the end, Clavell's platoon lost eight men dead or wounded, four more needing light medical care, and an additional four who just needed a quick dusting off and cup of tea. His CO is beginning to think the world of him and his men, having pushed through such open ground. The men, however, are exhausted, and feel like they were sent into a meat grinder. With the loss of support and the pressure of a timetable, it was an unfortunate necessity. Clavell feels fairly sociable at this point, going around and caring for his men. Perhaps that will mend some damaged relationships. 

Schnatz lost three men permanently, two who are being sent temporarily off the line, and one who is well enough to join the defense of Rauray. His CO's opinion remains unchanged, feeling that they sacrificed ground, but game the Brits a bloody lip. His men are feeling okay still, knowing they gave better than they got. Unfortunately, his wounds will mean that he too is taken off the line, and his cynicism and love for the drink remains unchanged. He's to be replaced by Paul Graf, an overweight oberscharfuhrer from the company. Clavell's platoon is also seeing some replacements, in the form of eight additional riflemen. That'll put them at four men down for their next attack, while the Germans have to defend Rauray five men down.

Well, we're on to the last game after this one. This map was tough, with such open terrain and little cover. It was a bit frustrating for the both of us, as -A-'s supports failed and barrages ended early. Losing the 2" made it particularly difficult for her to move forward. We also made an error with the junior leader on the infantry gun that made it fight for far longer than it should've. Those things in mind, I decided to call it and pull back. Her and I both felt that we were just banging our heads against one another to see who would give in first, both desperate to be the last one standing. By the end of it, we were both looking forward to the next game, having terrain to maneuver around! Looks like we're in for a close finish, only time will tell!

Caleb