The Battle of Termoli 1943

A Divisional-Level WWII Scenario in 6mm for the "Great Battles of WW2" Rules by Bruce McFarlane:

Historical situation in October 1943

After the capture of Sicily during the summer,  the Allies landed at Salerno in the South of Italy on September 9th, 1943. Until October the Wehrmacht withdrew to the "Volturno-Line“. The river Biferno formed the Eastern flank of this defensive position. It ran 80 kilometres from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea.

The small seaport of Termoli lies just North of the mouth of the river. It was defended by elements of the German 1st Paratrooper Division (1. Fallschirmjäger Division). Montgomery devised the plan to bypass the defences at the Biferno river with a seaborne flanking move.

An amphibious operation by the British Special Service Brigade succeeded in surprising and overpowering the German defenders of Termoli on 3rd October. A bridgehead was established. The Germans had blown up all bridges along the Biferno, but the British 78th Division, which was brought up from Taranto, managed to build a pontoon bridge across the river and to reinforce the bridgehead with a further Brigade on October 4th .

Unfortunately for the British, it then started to rain very heavily. The floods destroyed the pontoon bridge and made the river completely impassable in all places. The German regional High Command under Field Marshal Kesselring had brought up the 16th Armoured Division (16. Panzerdivision) right after the Allied landing. On October 5th two German strike forces (Kampfgruppen) launched the decisive counter-attack on Termoli, while at the same time the British 78th Division tried to reestablish the link to the bridgehead by building a new bailey bridge across the river.

Scenario of the Battle of Termoli 1943

We picked the Battle of Termoli as a scenario for the "Great Battles of WW2“ rules by Bruce McFarlane. The Scenario can be downloaded here as a pdf file:

http://www.g-design.us/gb/Termoli.pdf

The rules can be purchased here as a pdf file:

https://canuckwargamer.wordpress.com/great-battles-of-wwii-vol-1/

The scenario simulates two days of fighting with one division per side. It appealed to us because of its manageable size, using a 5x5' table and relatively moderate Forces in 6mm. An attractive feature of the scenario is the alternating offensives, with the German player attacking on the first day and the British Player on the second day.

We prepared the gaming table using Bruce Weigle's well proved and tested method. A detailed description of this approach can be found here:

http://www.g-design.us/bruce/BrucesTerrainBuildingArticle.pdf

The gaming table, sized 5x5'

Essentially it is a styrofoam core with a covering of cotton felt and dyed T-shirt cloth. Terrain features were then added with acrylic paints using an airbrush and brushes. Houses and trees were all scratchbuilt and attached with tape or pins.

The troops are represented by 6mm miniatures by GHQ, mounted on metal bases. One base roughly represents one company. The scale of the terrain is 1“=185 meters,  one game turn represents two hours real time and the Scenario lasts from the morning of October 5th to the evening of October 6th, 1943.

The Forces:

16.Panzerdivision (16th Armoured Division)

Divisional Commander Major General Rudolf v. Sieckenius








The 16.PzDiv. had been in the reserve for recovery after heavy defensive fighting at Salerno. For the attack on Termoli two of the division's strike forces could be mobilized.

Bernd v. Doering

1. Kampfgruppe von Doering

The Kampfgruppe consisted of the two battalions  of the 79th  Panzergrenadier Regiment with attached tanks ( Panzer IVs ) and armoured reconnaisance units.

Joachim Stempel

2. Kampfgruppe Stempel

The second Kampfgruppe was formed around the two battalions of the 64th Panzergrenadier Regiment, reinforced with a unit of assault guns (Sturmgeschütze) and a company of assault engineers (Sturmpionierkompanie) with half- track-mounted flamethrowers.

The two German Kampfgruppen and the HQ of 16.PzDiv

The British 78th "Battle-Axe" Division with subordinated troops

Divisional commander Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh

The bridgehead at Termoli was defended by the 3rd Commando Brigade consisting of two battalions under the command of Brigadier Dunford-Slater.

36th Inf.Brig

Along the Forward-Defensive-Line three regiments fom the 36th Inf.Brigade under Douglas Packard can be deployed, reinforced by one Company of tanks ( Shermans ), one battery of 6pdr. AT-guns and heavy weapons (one heavy machinegun company).

The Division-HQ and the rest of the 78th Division only get involved in the game on the second day. In Campomarino there are three regiments of the 11th Inf.Brigade under Viscount Arbuthnott and the Shermans from two tank-regiments ready to strike at the Germans on the second day.

11th Inf.Brig

The British: 2 infantry brigades, 2 tank regiments and one commando brigade

Our scenario:

Victory conditions

The German player can score a decisive victory , if he holds Termoli on the evening of either of the two days. The British player a decisive victory is possible if he manages to move the divional HQ off the German table edge along one of the roads (representing a complete breakthrough).

Both sides can score a marginal victory by holding both the "Brickwork“ and the town of San Giacomo at the game's end. Historically the battle ended as a British marginal victory according to the above conditions.

Deployment in the British bridgehead

The British commander of the bridgehead, Douglas Packard (Arno), had to deploy secretly and pre-plan the use of artillery.  Packard secured Termoli with the Commando Brigade and the brick factory (Brickwork) with the 8th Argyll & Sutherlands Highlanders (ASH).

The potential crossing point for the bailey-bridge should be defended by the 6th Royal West Kents (6thRWK), deployed in cover behind the railroad. The gap in between these forces was closed by the 5th East Kent (5thEK).

The Reconnaissance Battalion with a troop of Sherman tanks lay hidden in the woods at the Southwest angle of the Forward-Defensive-Line as an advance guard.

Planning the German offensive

The German commander of 16.PzDiv Rudolf v. Sieckenius (Yogsothoth) planned a direct strike on Termoli with all available forces. 

In order to achieve this, KG Stempel was to attack from the West with respectivel one reinforced Panzergrenadier battalion each along the street and railroad bridge over the stream Sigorno towards Termoli.

KG v. Doering was to simultaneously attack from the South, take San Giacomo on the way and capture the Brickwork.

the armoured reconnaisance unit should at first remain with the HQ as a mobile reserve. 

The course of the game

After successful activations both Kampfgruppen could advance quickly towards their respective objectives. Stempel crossed the Sigorno with both his Grenadier battalions.

Von Doering passed through San Giacomo with one battalion in column. The armoured reconnaissance unit and the Division HQ followed him.

The other battalion of KG v. Doering advanced further South to within 1“ of the woods and was stopped by sighting the British Recon unit there. The Grenadiers at once dismounted from their half-tracks.

Douglas Packard used his activation to withdraw the isolated Recon unit in the cover of the woods without losses. 

In the course of the next game turns the fighting concentrated on the Brickwork. Attacks by the first battalion from KG Stempel were repatedly beaten back by the British defenders of the factory complex. Eventually the grenadiers failed their morale test and dug in ( „Going to Ground“).

Stempel'ssecond battalion reached the outskirts of Termoli and sighted the first battalion of Commandos there. A first assault was beaten back by these Commandos in close combat.

On the Southern part of the gameboard KG von Doering managed to advance rapidly. A very luckily placed artillery barrage eliminated the both the tanks as well as the armoured cars of the British Recon unit. Without effective defensive fire the British infantry in this sector could now only retreat. It turned out that the position of the British AT guns at the far end of the left wing was very uneffective as this Situation developed, because they could not hit any Targets from there.

At the end of the first day v.Doering finally succeeded in taking the Brickwork by storm.
Supported by artillery fire, assault guns, fire support from other units and close support from the assault engineers, Stempels grenadiers finally managed to break into Termoli.

During the very last turn on the first day Stempels grenadiers and assault guns eventually managed to drive the second Commandos unit out of Termoli in heavy street fighting. Thus, according to the victory conditions, with Termoli in German hands on the evening of the first day, the game ended early with a decisive German victory.

Conclusion 

The game was our third try of the rules, this time in a slightly simplified Version by Bruce Weigle. The course of the game was quick and fluent, Lasting Overall about 3 hours. All Players found the rules entertaining and realistic at the same time. We will definitely return to this Scenario again and see if it will last both days the next time.

Images from the historical battlefield: 

German PAK (AT gun) at the Brickwork

Panzer IV and adversaries at Termoli

Commando soldier

Sources on the internet:

About the GBoWW2 Rules:

http://theminiaturespage.com/rules/ww2/greatbat.html

http://www.g-design.us/gb/

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cwg-ww2/info


About the Battle of Termoli:

http://www.warlinks.com/termoli/

http://www.irishbrigade.co.uk/pages/eyewitness-accounts/irish-brigade-at-termoli-transcribed..php

http://www.3squadron.org.au/subpages/Termoli.htm

http://ww2today.com/5th-october-1943-the-germans-counter-attack-at-termoli

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/38/a8622038.shtml

http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/italiancampaign/termoli.htm

http://www.londonirishrifles.com/second-world-war/second-world-war-70th-anniversary-events/battle-of-termoli-october-1943

 

Coulmiers 1870: a "Bloody Big Battles" Game in 2mm scale

 

French recruits in autumn 1870

 

The Battle of Coulmiers was a combat engagement  between a Bavarian corps under general von der Tann and two French corps from the Army of the Loire under General Aurelle de Paladines on 9th November 1870, which ended with a victory of French arms.  

Coulmiers in the centre, view from the north east

Historical situation in autumn 1870

After the German victories in the border battles and at Sedan the bulk of the regular army of the second French empire was either in German captivity or encircled in the fortress of Metz.  Meanwhile the German main force besieged Paris. The task of securing the siege lines towards the south was entrusted to the 1st Bavarian Corps under von der Tann. This formation  succeeded in capturing the City of Orléans on the Loire on 11th October.

The German troops in and around Orléans faced the recently concentrated forces of the Army of the Loire. This French formation had a continuous influx of volunteers, which brought the army to a total strength of ca. 200,000, out of which 120,000 were fully effective. 

Problems resulted for the French side from the fact that the volunteers lacked training and that there were too few officers and non commissioned officers to train and lead them. However, the French did all they could to achieve a proper level of training and at this stage in the war there were still sufficient supplies of arms and equipment.

The positions to the west of Orléans on the morning of  November 9th, 1870

In the beginning of November 1870 general Aurelle de Paladines had ca. 70,000 effectives available to undertake an offensive in the direction of Orléans. The objective of this offensive was to destroy the isolated Bavarian 1st Corps, recapture the city and turn it into a base for the relief of Paris. The advancing French units were however spotted by German cavalry already on 7th November and appropriate counter-measures were taken by the German side. 

Orléans was evacuated on the night of the 8th to the 9th November and the larger part of the troops (ca. 23,000) took positions in the area of Coulmiers, where a battle was fought on the next day in cold and windy weather. General von der Tann was confident that his weak corps would be able to outmanouvre the numerically superior but less well-trained and inexperienced Army of the Loire.

The gaming table, 120 x 180 cm,  corresponding to the actual 21 x 14 km battlefield,
positions of Victory Points marked red

Historical course of the battle on 9th November 1870

The Bavarian troops deployed in a wide arch from St. Peravy over Coulmiers to La Renadiere. The French attacked in the late morning from the south west and first made contact with their right wing. Immediately after contacting the Germans, the bulk of the French army turned and attacked in the centre and on the right wing. Because of their widespread marching formations it took a while until all units were able to participate in the battle.

The first attack at ca. 1:30 PM succeeded in getting very close to the Bavarians, who were running out of ammunition. Here the French were narrowly beaten back by the German artillery that advanced to close range and thereby saved the Bavarians.  A second attack at ca. 3 PM was directed towards Cheminiers. Again the French could not succeed in coordinating their attacks properly, giving their opponents the chance to reinforce the critical positions in their lines and beat back the piecemeal assaults by the French regiments.

After these failed attacks the French gardes mobiles withdrew in disorder. Only with great difficulty did the French officers succeed in restoring order to prepare the next assault.

Despite their numerical superiority the French could not dislodge the Bavarians from their defensive positions. The French cavalry was positioned too far west, so that the Bavarian right wing was not enveloped for a long time.

When the French infantry eventually succeeded in storming Coulmiers head on, von der Tann was forced to withdraw his Corps from the battlefield to avoid encirclement. The Bavarian retreat was in good order and the French cavalry did not pursue, neither was there a French  advance towards Paris.

Vie from south towards north, St.Ay in the right foreground

Coulmiers as a wargame Scenario in 2mm scale 

The Coulmiers scenario  can be found as a free download in the "Bloody Big Battles“ Yahoo-Group:

https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info

We considered it very suitable as a starting point for gaming the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 because of the relatively small numbers of troops involved.

The gaming table, or rather cloth, is, as in our previous battles, a beige-coloured paper tablecloth sold by the Company Dunicel, which was airbrushed and painted with acrylic paints. Details were then added with colour pencils and artist's Crayons.

The paper cloth without buildings and vegetation

Rivers were covered with acrylic gloss varnish for a more realistic water effect. Villages and houses are from the 2mm ranges of Irregular Miniatures and Brigade Models. All woods consist of homemade "autumn flock". Inspiration for the layout came from internet pictures of the Loire valley and historical battlefield during November.

Autumnal atmosphere in the Loire-valley

We have not forgotten that we promised you a detailed "Making Of" Report for such cloths, this one was already made and stored before we posted the last report, waiting for the Bavarians (and potential Hessian reinforcements) to be painted up. So, next time we will include more details  concerning the set up.

The course of our game

 

Bavarians in Saintry

 

According to the scenario rules the German player deploys first. Von der Tann (Arno) chose the option to place a small unit plus artillery in an entrenched advanced Position in the village of  Saintry. 

Deployment of the Bavarians and French advance at 10.00 hours ( Turn 1 )

The French could move first and entered the battlefield at 10 o'clock from the west. The 16th Corps under general Chanzy (Mad Dog) deployed with two divisions north of Coulmiers, the 15th Corps under Commander-in-Chief de Paladines (Yogsothoth) followed further south. The cavalry of the 15th Corps (two units) advanced isolated on the left wing.  

Bavarian reserves in column of march

10.30 hours: Von der Tann reacts and sends his cavalry to his right wing. The reserves advance and stretch the Bavarian line further south at Coulmiers. The infantry of the advance guard withdraw from Saintry.

The Bavarian front north of Coulmiers

11.30 hours: Chanzy's Division is beaten back from Saintry. The Bavarians advance enthusiastically with infantry, cavalry and artillery in the north. The remaining three French divisions attack on the French right wing.

13.00 hours: In the north the French cavalry, with some luck, prevailed and wiped out the Bavarian cavalry. The Bavarians attempt to drive the battered French division from Charsonville. At the same time the French succeed in advancing unmolested on the Victory Points at St.Ay and Huisseau. A lucky throw of the dice creates a concentration of fire that smashes the southern flank of the Bavarian infantry line and Coulmiers is exposed.

14.30 hours: The Bavarians capture Charsonville und wipe out the enemy division. At the same time their southern flank is increasingly under threat. Von der Tann regroups his troops to defend Coulmiers.

15.00 hours: The French roll for reinforcements and are lucky. reserves appear on the northern edge of the gaming table. With their cavalry these troopsare now able to capture the three Victory Points North of Coulmiers completely unopposed. When another unlucky roll of the dice does not give the Bavarians any reinforcements it becomes clear that the 5 necessary Despite horrific losses of the French army (more than a third of the bases), mainly due to Bavarian artuillery fire, Victory Points for the French could not be seriously contested anymore by the Bavarians. Therefore the game was stopped two turns early at 5 PM.

Coulmiers viewed from the north 

End of the game:

We ended the game at the point when the French were in uncontested possession of altogether 6 Victory Positions out of a total of 8. This was at the end of Turn 5, the maximum length of the Scenario would have been 7 turns. For a French victory 5 positions would have been necessary, 4 positions in French hands would have been a draw and 3 or fewer a Bavarian victory.

As usual the game went smoothloy and quickly and in spite of the fact that General von der Tann experienced his very first game with the BBB-rules there were no problems for him to get involved after a quick instruction. 

Retrospectively we found that we might have forgotten to count a negative factor for the French at one time in the battle, which might have given the French more problems, but in our post-game discussion everyone was happy with the rules and the scenario's Balance.  

We are looking Forward to giving this exciting Scenario a re-run!