Crossing the Mouille river

Allied HQ

Our last few games have all ended with the defenders being victors. These have all been fictitious games using the standard Rapid Fire 10:6 (attacker:defender) ratio. For this game I thought I'd try and weight the points to the attackers and use a 10:4 ratio. The German force being 600 points and Allied (British) being 1500 points.

Scenario outline (all fictitious)

The Allies are advancing across France towards Belgium and meeting minor rear guard actions put up by the Germans in attempt to slow the advance. The Allies are approaching the Mouille river with orders to take Secherville (the town) beyond. To the west of the town there is also a ford across the river.

Allied Objectives:
To capture both crossings with bridge intact so that they can be used to maintain the speed of advance. The Allies do not know what resistance they will find here. All they do know is that the Germans have put up a fight at every opportunity.

German Objective:
To slow the advance by blowing the bridge. Once the bridge is blown hold the ford until turn 8, then withdraw. But there has been a delay in getting enough explosives so the engineers are struggling with time.

Victory conditions
Allies win if town taken and bridge is intact.

Germans win if bridge is blown and they stop the Allies gaining control of the ford until turn 9.
A draw if any other result.

All hedges give soft cover to infantry and partial soft cover to vehicles. All walls give hard cover to infantry and partial cover to vehicles. All wood are impassable to AFV's. The river is only crossable by vehicles at the bridge and ford. Infantry can cross anywhere along its length by boat or inflatable or wade across at ford.

Turn 1 and Allies start to move into position

Germans lie in wait in town

The Allies attempt a parachute drop to capture the ford and adjacent farm. This turns into a blood bath and they quickly surrender.

Allied engineers are at the bridge to dismantle barbed wire defences with Churchills giving covering fire.

Allied motor company advance towards ford crossing.

A Typhoon is called in to attack the Stug. Now that is what I call a low level attack!!

How could he miss? But he did ...Phew.

With a Stug and mortar fire knocking out the M10 and Archer the road is blocked to the ford. In the same turn the bridge is blown. The Allied advance is brought to a standstill. With no Recovery vehicle or bulldozer tank to clear the road, nor any bridging/pontoon section available the Allies are beaten.

So another game where defenders were victors.

The Allies suffered from very poor dice during this game. Inflicting hardly any casualties on the dug-in Germans. Where as the German dice seemed weighted. Next time it might turned out different. Before we replay this one again I'll have to think about whether the scenario needs some alterations. Perhaps delaying the German engineers still further or not allowing the Germans to blow the bridge. Also we are still learning some of the finer points of the Rapid Fire rule set so we may have missed applying some vital rule/s that would have changed the result.

Anyway it was an enjoyable evening which has created a number of discussion points.