Home Forums WWII KG Klink, France, Game 11

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  • #120231
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    All,

    Ambush at Abbeville, #4
    0715 28 May 1940

    Following the fighting in and around Flavion, KG Klink was briefly pulled out of the line to rest, refit, perform maintenance on their weapons, machines, and equipment, and bring in a few replacements.  They were actually parked outside the Dunkirk perimeter when they were called back to action; further south, German forces had forced a crossing on the Somme.  At 0600 27 on May, the Allies counterattacked the German bridgehead, striking the German 57th Infantry Division southwest of Abbeville, in an attempt to reach the encircled Allied troops at Dunkirk.

    Unbeknownst to the Germans, the French French 4e DCr (or 4th Division Cuirassee, 4th Armored Division) arrived in the battle area that evening.  The French force, heavily armed with Char B1, Somua S-35, and Hotchkiss light tanks, immediately set about reorganizing, preparing to attack on the morning of 28 May.

    But KG Klink moved all through the night in order to reach the battle area. arriving at approximately  0500 on 28 May.  The plan was for KG Klink to counterattack down the Blangy-Abbevile Road, hoping to flank the French 2e DLC (2nd Cavalry Division), maybe even cut all the way across and in behind the British 51st Highland Division, cutting off the British 1st Armored Division.  With that, KG Klink set off, passing through the German 217th Infantry Regiment, launching its attack down the Blangy-Abbeville Road.  KG Klink passed through Villers sur Mareuil, then Huppy, and were moving towards St Maxent en Vimeu, when they encountered trouble near the three (fictional) villages, Dujour, Deture, and Toujour, on the River Bleu.

    The first fight saw Colonel Klink lead the 1st Grenadier Platoon, supported by Stugs, in the attack on Dujours.  Repulsed, they were reinforced by the 4th Grenadier Platoon and drove the French force back onto Hill 44.

    The second fight saw 1st Lt Tausch, lead his 3rd Grenadier Platoon into the assault on Hill 34.  The attack stalled in several locations, but the Lieutenant’s skillful leadership maneuvered his troops until they were able to unhinge the enemy’s defensive line.

    The third fight saw the Reconnaissance Company Commander, 1Lt Wehner, seize the bridge at Deture after some very heavy street fighting.


    The fourth fight sees Colonel Klink lead the remnants of the 1st Grenadier Platoon up Hill 44 to eliminate enemy forces in the southeast.
    The overall area of operations, and that stupid north-seeking arrow at top right is incorrect, north is to far left…  The three villages are, from left to right: Dujour, Deture, and Toujour, and the hills are, from left to right: Hill 34, Hill 44, and Hill 54.  The River Bleu runs east-west down the center of the table.


    Things get off to a great start when the French anti-tank gun begins firing downslope…


    Immobilizing Sgt Kulle’s Stug and causing his crew to bail out!  And not only that, but Sgt Eisen’s squad is suppressed as well!


    Things get heated atop the hill, and Colonel Klink is wounded leading an infantry assault (German casualty figures in the French position)!!!


    But the French are eventually overtaken, which allows Major Schultz to lead 4th Grenadier Platoon up to the river, but that damned French mortar atop Hill 54 (off camera to top right) is still dropping rounds into Deture (top center), so the Major turns east and begins paralleling the river (center)…


    You don’t know how many years I waited to take this photograph 😉

    To catch all the details, please check the blog at:
    https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2019/08/kg-klink-france-game-11.html

    The stage is set for Major Schultz to lead 4th Grenadier Platoon and 1st Panzer Platoon into Toujour, but it’s going to be a tough nut to crack!

    V/R,
    Jack

    #120232
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    Always great to have miniatures you have always wanted to use show up.

    #120247
    Avatar photoDeleted User
    Member

    All the Stugs are gone 🙁
    Now that we have PzIIs going into action maybe French tanks will be making an appearance soon.
    Panzer Vor!!

    #120249
    Avatar photodeephorse
    Participant

    I read somewhere that there were only 15 serviceable StuGs available for the invasion of France.  Nice to see that you didn’t field too many!  I’m enjoying this early war stuff, primarily because I’m slowly building up my French and B.E.F. forces in 20mm.  I ‘m drawn to the weak armour and short gun ranges that allow for plenty of manoeuvre on a small battlefield.

    Play is what makes life bearable - Michael Rosen

    #120258
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    Kyote- Absolutely! Those assault dinghies have been in the box since around 2015!

    Thomaston- Soon.

    Deephorse- Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have had any Stugs, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and three isn’t too many 😉

    I’ve certainly been enjoying early war, eighteen fights in Poland, fourteen in France, maybe a few in Greece, then on to the Eastern Front!

    V/R,

    Jack

    #120320
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    I was reading over your AAR’s and thought I have everything but the German Armored Cars to do any of these fights…So now I’m building 4 German Armored Cars damn it!!! I should be building ships for Cruel Seas or painting Continental Line Infantry for Rebels and Patriots!!!

    #120321
    Avatar photovtsaogames
    Participant

    …I should be building ships for Cruel Seas or painting Continental Line Infantry for Rebels and Patriots!!!

     

    Yes you should!

    It's never too late to have a happy childhood

    #120322
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    I’m just bad like that!!!

    #120323
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    It makes me want to order a bunch of early war stuff, but that would be too distracting from my Normandy projects.

    #120325
    Avatar photoDeleted User
    Member

    <p style=”font-size: 20.8px !important; line-height: 26px !important;”>It makes me want to order a bunch of early war stuff, but that would be too distracting from my Normandy projects.

    </p>
    Same here.

    #120327
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    I have almost all the Germans except the Sk 222 armored cars and all the French so It’s not a money problem.

    #120328
    Avatar photodeephorse
    Participant

    It makes me want to order a bunch of early war stuff, but that would be too distracting from my Normandy projects.

    Why not do both at once?  I do!

    Play is what makes life bearable - Michael Rosen

    #120330
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    In the overall scheme of things, I’m with Deephorse.  A true wargamer has at least five more projects on his/her table than he/she could ever legitimately expect to get to in his/her lifetime 😉

    Kyote – I figure you could probably already to it with what you’ve got.  If you’re trying to match straight up, I’ve got:
    2 Sdkfz 221s
    1 Sdkfz 222
    1 Sdfkz 231
    2 Pz Is
    3 Pz IIs
    10 Pz IIIs (37s)
    6 Pz IV (short 75s)
    3 Stug IIIs (short 75s)
    3 PzJgr Is
    Guess you could throw in the five motorcycle stands as well.  The command stand actually has a Sdkfz 250 on it, which is, as far as I can tell, anachronistic…

    V/R,
    Jack

    #120339
    Avatar photoWhirlwind
    Participant

    Nice, interesting vignette of a battle.  I was very surprised that the Germans succeeded after losing their CO mind, I thought they would have packed up at the point.  Was there a specific rules mechanism to deal with forces surrendering or did you just give both the German and French some odds and roll?

     

     

    #120352
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    John,

    Yeah, it wasn’t a great scenario I put on, the forces were too small, and then the Germans got screwed by the Stug got brewed up before even jumping off into the attack.  That was the first point where I thought to myself ‘okay, the Germans should fall back and regroup.’  But I was determined to keep playing, mostly from campaign-selfish reasons: I wanted the Germans to win so that could move the campaign narrative along and not have to play another game to take Hill 44.  Also, pretty much the only alternative would have been to pull 3rd Grenadier Platoon off Hill 34 to reinforce, as the Germans had no reserves left at this point…

    Then French fire was able to knock out the supporting German squad downslope in the house, and the squad next to the burning Stug had no chance to really get into the fight…

    So I decided to go all in and throw a squad and the CO into it, and they went down in close combat!  It absolutely should have ended there, but I was too much in a hurry, and too aggravated in any case, so I threw the last squad in there.

    So I didn’t cheat with that, they won they’re close combat fair and square, but then, rather than really push my luck (even though they’d have had an advantage), I simply had the French surrender.

    So, from a gameplay standpoint, I’d say I lost another fight, but had to move the narrative along, didn’t want to have to play another fight to take the hill.  It was hard enough knocking all the fights out!  There are seven of them and I’m still working on the write ups!

    V/R,

    Jack

    #120363
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    I do have more projects going on than I can finish, they just go across genres and scales. I have two different 6mm sci fi projects, skirmish with single figure bases and larger scale with multiple figure bases. I have my 6mm  ww2 which is concentrating on western front and Normandy right now. I have Imperial Assault miniatures in a massive backlog. I also have Song of Blades and Heroes fantasy miniatures on a very slow burner right now. As it stands my WW2 stuff has a lot of momentum so I am happy with it and don’t want to distract.

    #120371
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    Yup, you definitely check all the blocks to be a wargamer 😉

    And I’m with ya, go with the hot hand, don’t let anything distract you.  If only I could live up to it…

    V/R,
    Jack

    #120375
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    You are just as much as a gaming butterfly as I am Jack!!!

    #120378
    Avatar photovtsaogames
    Participant

    After over a month of acting like Hamlet, I bit the bullet today and ordered a DBA Parthian army from Khurasan.

    It's never too late to have a happy childhood

    #120380
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    Cool vtsaogames!!!

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