Taking the Gembloux Gap: French Counterattack into Noirmont (Table 2.5, Turn 7)

Lieutenant Garnier and his 2nd Platoon, having delayed the Germans at Noirmont and stiffly held the line at Villeroux, is now accompanying the French armor amassed for a counterattack back towards Perbais. They've been briefed that the Boche have dug themselves in along the edge of Noirmont, the site of previous fighting, and his platoon is tasked with uprooting the defenders from this position. For his assault, he's accompanied by a platoon of R35 tanks and his infantry have been allotted extra ammunition for their VBs, as well as a handful of Bouteilles Incendiares. The Germans, recognizing that, unless they repulse this counterattack, their timetable with be severely off the rails, they withdraw Leutnant Bauer's battered 2nd Platoon and replace them with Lt. Wagner's fresh 3rd Platoon. They establish themselves along the perimeter of Noirmont, supported by a brace of Pak 36s and a Panzer III. 

French patrols move tactically forward probing the German defenses. The relay back to Lt. Garnier clear routes forward towards the southern wheat fields, the central church, and the northern hedge-lined road, just west of a stretch of open ground, as well as potential German positions within the buildings on the edge of town.

The edge of Noirmont, from the German defenders' perspective

French jumping off positions

German defensive positions

The first French squad, under Sergeant Rousseau, establishes themselves as a base of fire in the thick walled church that dominates the central battlefield, and sets themselves on overwatch. Behind them along the road, they are accompanied by the first R35 that scans the village to its front. Immediately, a 37mm round slams into the front of the tank, knocking it swiftly out of action.

French support in the form of the lead R35

A hidden Pak 36 eyes its target down the road...

...and knocks it out of action

Rousseau's squad identifies the gun's location and opens fire. Their fire is deadly effective, killing three of the gun crew, including its leader. The remaining crew scramble to wheel the gun across the street into expected safety. Unaware of Sgt. Lareau's squad, who had moved up to the northern hedges, they come under further fire from more French.

With the gun suppressed, the R35 platoon commander directs his tank forward and immediately south, off the road and into the wheatfields. At the same time, Lareau leads his squad over the hedge and into the open field, hoping to reach the wooded stream. They come under fire from Obergefreiter Roth's squad who were set up in the farmhouse covering the northern flank. Bullets thud all around them and a rifleman is killed, but despite being wounded himself, Lareau leads his men forward into the cover of the wood. Behind them, Sgt. Monet brings his men forward to Lareau's old position and keeps eyes on the field to their front.

As Lareau enters into the safety of the woods and crosses the stream, they become aware of at least two German squads beyond the woods and behind the hedges to their front, lying in wait. Lareau halts his men and has them take cover in the streambed in order to await armor support.

Sgt. Lareau reaches the cover of the woods

Entrusting the northern flank to Feldwebel Hans and Obgfr. Hoffman's and Obgfr. Braun's squads, Lt. Wagner rallies the shot-up Pak 36 crew, and has them overwatch the wheatfields where one of the R35s was last reported. The crew eyes the field, though they keep themselves fairly withdrawn after the fire they took previously and are unable to spot the lone R35. Having heard the burst of MG34 fire, Lt. Wagner leaves the gun and rushes into the farmhouse to check in on Roth and his men.

Lt. Wagner shouts at the rattled Pak 36 crew to keep their eyes open and towards the wheatfields

The command R35 slips past the suppressed AT gun

Aware of Roth's squad in the farmhouse, the R35 platoon commander mans his tank's 37mm cannon and launches a shell into the side of the house. The HE round splinters the masonry, sending shards of wood into Lt. Wagner, knocking him off his feet. Two of Roth's riflemen run downstairs and carry their wounded leutnant onto the second level.

The supporting Panzer III advances to the sound of cannon, rifle, and machinegun fire. The commander hears the distinct crack of the R35's cannon and maneuvers his tank toward the crossroad and against the hedge. He spots the small French tank and directs his gunner to fire on it. The first round goes well high as does the second as the gunner struggles to hit the low profile tank. The R35 tank commander reloads his cannon with a 37mm AP round, aims the cannon, and fires a shell into the panzer. The round slams into the face of the turret, damaging the gunsight, and the panzer commander orders his tank away from the hedge and out of line of sight.

Having forced back the German armor, and in an attempt to clear the Germans covering the open field, the R35 platoon leader prepares additional HE rounds for Roth's house. He's supported by Caporal Toussaint and his VB rifle grenadiers, who maneuvered through the wheat to support the southern flank. They coordinate with the command R35 to concentrate their HE fire on the farmhouse. Under the ear-shattering explosive rounds, more masonry flies about through the Germans in the upper room - this time killing Roth. This house is proving unhealthy for German leaders.

Cpl. Toussaint brings his VB rifle grenades to bear

The Germans pinned down, Monet leads his squad through the open to support Lareau and his men. Behind him, the third R35 trundles slowly forward in support. They reach the woods, link up with Lareau, and prepare to assault out of the woods and into the German-manned hedges. Fw. Hans withdraws his men off the hedge and back into the barn, in an attempt to bait the R35 recklessly forward.

Sgt. Monet, Sgt Lareau, and the final R35 pressure the northern flank

Fw. Hans withdraws his forces on this flank, attempting to draw the French armor into the tight confines of the northern farm compound

The R35 presses forward with Lareau's and Monet's squads - they cross the stream and reach the first hedge. Immediately the Germans spring their trap. The defender's final Pak 36 was camouflaged and tucked into the hedgerow, and they prepared to fire a close range round into the side of the R35. The tank commander spots the AT gun at the last moment and commands his driver into full reverse. As the tank crawls backwards, he's able to pivot and place the German gun at it's dead front. The 37mm shell deflects off the R35's frontal armor, whistling into the air.

The hidden Pak 36 lays in wait

The R35 reverses and maneuvers its frontal armor towards the hidden gun

With the French armor support reeling backwards, Fw. Hans leads the two squads to counterattack the advancing French. Unfortunately for them, Lareau and Monet's men held their positions as their armor backed off and were fully prepared to repulse the German counter thrust. They found themselves caught in a crossfire as Rousseau's squad in the church drew a bead on the German schwerpunkt. Under the withering fire, Fw. Hans' counterattack ran out of steam.

This last throw of the dice countered, combined with the wounding of the platoon leutnant and death of Roth, the German defense had become untenable and the men had had enough. Recognizing this, the wounded Lt. Wagner signals the withdrawal, opening the way for the French to continue their counterattack.

The German thrust through the Gembloux Gap has been halted by a well-timed French armored counter thrust, knocking the German attack off their heels. In the German defense of Noirmont, Lt. Wagner's platoon lost two men killed, and one wounded. Additionally, Obgfr. Roth was fatally wounded though Lt. Wagner would recover from his light wounds. That said, the defense left him in a state of shock. His men are depressed and his company CO is certainly unhappy with their loss of Noirmont. Lt. Garnier, leading the assault, is left feeling quite pleased - even sociable! His company commander and his men think quite highly of him, having taken no lasting casualties. The men caught in the open were recovered, and Sgt. Lareau would likewise recover from his wound. Their stout thrust into the German defense has put a significant wrench in the German timetable, precluding 3. Panzer's hope of cutting off the withdrawing Allied formations.

With my wife's successful counterattack, we decided to call the campaign there. If the Germans were to halt the continuing counterattack (which would push into Table 1), and they were to win every ensuing game, the best we could hope for would be a minor French victory as opposed to a major. I had two completely spent platoons and one with their morale in the gutter, so our odds weren't looking good. We decided to make that the close to the campaign and call it an overall French victory! The French platoon under Lt. Garnier deserves significant accolades. They delayed the Germans at Noirmont, held them for three turns at Villeroux, and successfully counterattacked and drove the Germans back out of Noirmont, all with fairly insignificant losses! We enjoyed the campaign quite a bit, even when the German hit the seemingly impenetrable French defense at Villeroux. I hope you all enjoyed following along as much as we enjoyed playing it. We'll catch y'all on the next one!

Caleb