The Scottish Corridor Scenario 4: Return to Le Valtru

We return to Le Valtru, where the first encounter was between two heavily reinforced patrols. The British managed to gain the upper hand, thanks to the timely arrival of a Churchill. It was enough to force the Germans into making a voluntary withdrawal. 

That was the second game of the campaign. What followed in the third game, on the other flank of the corridor, was a bruising British counterattack. It may have delayed the Germans, but at the cost of lowering the spirits of the men. Now, we are back at Le Valtru. Here, panzer grenadiers from Kampfgruppe Weidinger will continue trying to push their way into this flank of the salient. Can they make better progress at the second attempt?

The start looks promising. German force morale is at ten, while the British are at eight. The patrol phase plays out in a very similar fashion to the first time we fought here. We both opt for only three patrol markers to move as quickly as possible. The Germans secure a foothold in the village. However, the British have gained enough ground to reach the outskirts and avoid having to cross the open ground. 

The British have fourteen support points and I need to think carefully about how I use these. My infantry were roughly handled in the last game and the men's opinion is low. Any more casualties and it could have a longer term impact on force morale. British success in the first clash on this table relied much on the support of a Churchill tank and I've decided to call for armour support once again. I will use all the points for two tanks. My aim will be to draw out the panzer grenadiers with my infantry, then rely on the Churchills to deal with them. 

The British begin with one CoC point. The Germans have two CoC points and the initiative. In the opening phase they reveal two of their support choices. The first is an additional command dice - a Red Dice. Rather ominously, their second, is a Panther. 

It dominates the road through the village, with the gunner on overwatch. This is a bold statement of intent from the Germans, if there are any British tanks in the area they intend to deal with them swiftly.

On their left flank, a section of panzer grenadiers deploy into the orchard. The scharführer puts both MG42 teams on overwatch. 

At this stage, their line of sight doesn't extend out beyond the fruit trees, but they are ready to tackle any incursion into the orchard.

Another section deploys into the centre of the village. 

They are joined by an oberscharführer (senior leader) who puts both teams on overwatch. 

In the British phase, the first section deploys tactically across the stream. The men line the hedge behind one of the village houses. 

A second section deploys behind them, across the stream to their right.

That puts two sections on this flank. I'm hoping that generates a response from the Germans. 

The first Churchill deploys to the left of the road.

This might seem premature, but I want to take advantage of a line of sight into the village. From here the Churchill can target the recently deployed section of panzer grenadiers and the oberscharführer. They are in the open and I want to start inflicting casualties as soon as I can.

The Churchill fires off a round of HE in their direction.

The oberscharführer is the only casualty and he is lightly wounded. The LMG teams each suffer a point of shock, but the wounding of the senior leader is enough see German force morale drop to nine. 

The following German command roll brings them up to a full CoC die. That could prove useful. Meanwhile, the Panther wastes no time. It drives flat out into the centre of the village. 

The oberscharführer then rallies shock, before ordering the section to move at the double across the road. He wants them out of the line of sight of the British tank. 

Unfortunately, they don't move fast enough. One team remains in sight of the Churchill.

In the British phase, the platoon sergeant joins the section by the stream. 

He puts both teams on overwatch. 

For now the Germans in the orchard are out of line of sight, but the section will be ready to respond should they move forward.

He then orders the section across the stream to move tactically toward the road.

The 2” mortar team deploys on the British left, near the Churchill. I want to make sure I have the option to lay down smoke to hinder the Panther.

The Churchill then moves slowly, trying to gain a better line of sight to the panzer grenadiers in the road. 

They remain a very inviting target and Dave is well aware of the danger. While he would prefer to save his full CoC die for something else, he sees little alternative but to use it for an interrupt. The section run for cover. 

This time they move quickly and work their way to the back of one of the houses. 

Unfortunately, that leaves the Churchill without a target.

That move has unintended consequences. Not only have those panzer grenadiers escaped the attention of the tank, now they are positioned perfectly at the hedge opposite one of the British sections. 

It sets them up nicely to initiate a firefight in their coming phase. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind when the Churchill lined them up in its sights.....

In the German phase, the Panther sets off to hunt down the Churchill. It moves rapidly towards the stream. 

It might be unable to fire the main gun, but that doesn't prevent the co-axial MG from engaging the 2” mortar team. 

One of the crew is hit. 

At the hedge, the scharführer orders both MG42 teams to open fire. 

This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid. A firefight with well armed panzer grenadiers rarely ends well. Unfortunately, the timing of that interrupt move has given me no opportunity to escape.

The British section is tactical, nonetheless, one of the riflemen is hit and the Bren team suffers a point of shock. For good measure the Germans hurl a hand grenade over the hedge, but it falls short. 

The situation is less than ideal, but it does present an opportunity. While the Panther is preoccupied on the other flank, now would be the perfect time to bring on the second Churchill to deal with those panzer grenadiers. 

Unfortunately, the following British command roll includes a single 3 and there's a more pressing use for that. I need to react to the menacing presence of the Panther.

 

The Churchill is equipped with smoke dischargers and the commander fires them off, laying down a protective screen in front of the tank. That buys it a bit of time.

It then pivots to the right, ready to try and evade the Panther in a following phase.

The 2” mortar team also attempt to blind the German tank and they fire a round of smoke. 

Now is not the time to lose their aim, but staring down the barrel of a 45 ton tank is probably enough to test anyone's nerve. The round falls ineffectively into the back garden of a nearby house. 

 

Over on the other flank, the platoon sergeant shouts orders across the stream.

He tells the section to return fire. While I want to avoid a protracted firefight over the hedges, ideally I can hold the panzer grenadiers in place until one, or both, of the Churchills arrive. 

 

Unfortunately, the return fire proves completely ineffectual.

The sergeant wisely orders the section to throw a smoke grenade. It lands on target and will hopefully hinder the return fire that is bound to come their way.

The next German command roll is 665322, which heralds a very unwelcome double phase. Well, we make plans and they often unfold in unforeseen ways. Perhaps, most notably, the enemy has a say in what happens. 

The Germans set about positioning themselves to bring their fire to bear. The section in the orchard uses 3 CoC points for a reposition. They need to move 2" to bring themselves into line of sight of the section across the stream. It may prove only a small blessing, but the panzer grenadiers' movement roll is a 1. 

The Panther commander orders the driver forward. 

That brings it up to the edge of the stream. At this stage the Panther is more of a threat to the Churchill than the Churchill is to it. The British tank's 75mm main gun has only a slim chance of penetrating the frontal armour. 

Unable to target the Churchill behind the smoke screen, the Panther uses its co-axial MG to target the 2” mortar team. This time it inflicts enough shock to pin the team down.

A third panzer grenadier section then deploys into the orchard on the German right flank. 

For the moment, it has no line of sight beyond the orchard trees.

On the other side of the village, at the hedgerow, the oberscharführer and scharführer combine their command efforts. They have both MG42 teams make full use of maschinengewehr and return fire through the hand grenade smoke. 

Despite the hail of gunfire, there are no casualties, but the British section does suffer more shock.

The Germans have the subsequent phase and plenty of useful command options. The Panther is determined to drive off the 2” mortar team and targets the crew with a round of HE. 

They are very fortunate to escape unscathed.

The panzer grenadiers on the German right flank move forward to the stream. 

That puts one of the MG42 teams in position to enfilade the British section across the road.

Meanwhile, that same section continues to receive fire from the panzer grenadiers at the hedge.

They throw another grenade that fails to hit the target, but the continued hail of gunfire sees another man fall and the shock continue to mount. 

A second oberscharführer deploys into the orchard on the left. It transpires that the wounded oberscharführer is one drafted in as a support, this is the platoon's assigned leader. He orders the nearby section to move slowly and open fire once they have the enemy in sight. 

The British section is on overwatch. The moment the Germans come into view, they open fire. 

It proves deadly. The Germans lose three men and suffer a point of shock. They return fire, but only at half effect and it leaves the British unscathed. The oberscharführer uses an order to rally off the shock.

The following British command roll gives me two 3s. That would allow the second Churchill to deploy and the first one to move. However, things are not so simple. The section across the stream is in a lot of trouble. Their levels of shock are almost unmanageable; they face a panzer grenadier section across the hedgerows, and, to their left, they have an MG42 team who can enfilade them while they are in open ground. 

Given my aim is to avoid excessive infantry casualties, it becomes a priority to pull them back out of harm's way. Again, it's not so simple. Entering the stream is crossing a minor obstacle, which means there's an urgent need to rally off shock to ensure the section can move far enough. With the existing shock on the Bren team, I'd need to roll a 6 for the movement and I don't like the look of those odds. Barring some very good luck, it's hard to see how I won't need one of those 3s in the command roll to have the section's corporal rally shock.

There is a small glimmer of hope. The Churchill can turn back and target the panzer grenadiers by the stream. If they could be driven off, or made ineffective, then the risk of the enfilade fire is removed.

The tank turns and fires a round of HE at the panzer grenadiers. 

While it kills one of the LMG team and inflicts shock on the other, it's nowhere near enough to reduce the danger to the section by the hedge. 

That leaves little choice, but to use the second 3 to have the corporal rally shock from the Bren team. 

The platoon sergeant is alert to the threat and orders the section to fall back into the stream. It was just as well the corporal rallied off that shock, as the section only just make it.

The sergeant then orders the nearby Bren team to use concentrated fire on one of the MG42 team in the orchard opposite. 

With only two crew, there was a reasonable chance the concentrated fire would either wipe out the team or reduce it to a single crew member suffering shock. Unfortunately, the best they can manage is to inflict a single point of shock. 

The following German command roll is 66642. That's unfortunate and it's about to make a bad situation worse. Not only a double phase, but the turn end will see all the smoke removed. 

The oberscharführer in the orchard has one team use maschinengewehr and the other to fire normally to target the British across the stream. 

Despite my best intentions, I've failed miserably to avoid my infantry becoming embroiled in a firefight. I pay the price as the hail of MG42 fire proves deadly. Three men are lost and the platoon sergeant is hit and stunned. The sight of that sees British morale drop to six.

The panzer grenadiers by the stream may have lost their opportunity to enfilade the section at the hedge, but that doesn't mean they don't have other targets. One of the MG42 team targets the 2” mortar team. 

The fire inflicts a single point of shock, but that's enough to break the small two man team.

They run back and leave the table. British morale holds steady. 

The other MG42 team has a line of sight across the road to the British section with the platoon sergeant behind the hedge (we have been playing that the culvert at the stream is purely cosmetic and it doesn't hinder line of sight).

They may be firing at effective range, but they have caught the British in open ground.

While the initial burst of fire inflicts only a point of shock on each team, now they find themselves caught in a crossfire between two panzer grenadier sections. 

The turn end then sees the removal of all the smoke.

That provides the Germans with a clear vantage point at the edge of the village and I sense they definitely have the upper hand.

The only good news for the British is the platoon sergeant is back on his feet.

In the subsequent German phase the Panther wastes no time and seizes the moment to target the Churchill. 

The first round hits the frontal armour, which was does well to deflect the strike. The tank's thick armour negates the four AP strikes and suffers no ill effects. That was a moment of good fortune, but I don't want to ride my luck.

The panzer grenadiers in the orchard may have suffered a number of casualties, but both MG42 teams are still operating at full strength. The oberscharführer works with the scharführer to have both guns fire using maschinengewehr.  

No sooner has the platoon sergeant clambered back on his feet than he's stunned again. That sees British morale drop once more and it now stands at four. The rifle team also suffer two casualties and there's enough shock to pin the surviving men. 

The Germans have not finished with them yet. One of the MG42 teams by the stream also opens fire, with the section's scharführer directing them to use maschinengewehr. This is one of those rare occasions when being pinned can be an advantage. The fire has no effect. 

The support oberscharführer rallies shock from the panzer grenadiers in the centre. He then orders the men to work their way along the hedge towards the orchard.  

The Germans can sense victory and are moving in for the kill.

At that point it's clear things have not worked out for the British. With only four command dice, numerous casualties and little chance of coordinationg both Churchills before the Germans inflict more losses, the wisest move is to accept defeat and withdraw. 

Today though, is just not the Britons' day. The pinned section must roll to see if they withdraw successfully. It doesn't go well. Both the section corporal and the platoon sergeant are captured, as is one of the riflemen. Not only have the British lost more men than the Germans, now they have suffered the loss of an NCO. Quite the disaster.

At the start of this game, I set about with the clear intention of trying to avoid excessive infantry casualties. I have ended up doing the exact opposite. As I feared, this has a further negative impact on the men's opinion, which drops to -7. The CO's opinion falls to -2 and the platoon leader's outlook has become Thoughtful. On the other hand, the Germans' spirits are lifted. Their men's opinion rises to +5 and the CO's goes to +2. The platoon leader's outlook is Sociable.

If the old adage that no plan survives first contact with the enemy has any truth to it, this encounter is complete validation. I seemed to have spent the whole game chasing the initiative. Once the Germans held it, they were relentless. War is hell. 

Yet, there is always tomorrow. If the men's opinion was not so low, I would be more sanguine about the outcome. So far, it has taken the Germans four campaign turns to capture the first two tables. In that sense the British have made a reasonable start. 

Now we move back to the other flank, where Kampfgruppe Frey continues its push into the village of Mouen.