Scenario 27 The Dinant Bridgehead (second game)
Scott B
THE DINANT BRIDGEHEAD
SCENARIO 27, CRESCENDO OF DOOM
AFTER ACTION REPORT OF SECOND GAME
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The historical overview is available in the first After Action Report here.
RESOURCES
“The Dinant Bridgehead.” CRESCENDO OF DOOM. Baltimore, MD: The Avalon Hill Game Company, 1980. https://storage.googleapis.com/archivesqlt/CAJ00027A.pdf
Rommel’s advance to the Muese, 10 May to 13 May, 1940 on Maps.
VICTORY CONDITIONS AND SPECIAL SCENARIO RULES
The German must clear the Crossing Point of French LOS.
The Crossing Point (CP) is any five lettered rows (ie H-L) covering both river banks and water and revealed at game end. The Germans must have one squad on both crossing point bank areas at game end.
The French need both:
A squad within ten hexes and possessing a clear LOS to any portion of the CP.
A French leader with a functioning radio and a clear LOS to any portion of the CP. Smoke blocks OBAs LOS.
Eliminating Rommel is an automatic French victory.
The ROS is 1 Allied to 9 Axis, we agreed on the following balance modifications before commencing play:
The French receive three Entrenchments.
The French may fulfill the VC with a malfunctioned (not disabled) radio.
Smoke does not deny the French OBA LOS to the CP.
The French receive plentiful ammunition for their OBA.
Concealment counters are increased from eight to twelve.
SSR 27.8 Optional French armor is not in play.
INITIAL PLACEMENT
In this second game, Monty and I switched sides and will apply the lessons of our first game.
French Comments
The French presuppose that if Rommel can see them, he can kill them and what he cannot see the OBA can. Accordingly, most units are in defilade and will attempt entrenching. A few comments on the defense:
The Leaders and radios are seventeen or more hexes from the shore and long-range to the HMG.
Squads will attempt entrenchment, stacking in key hexes to improve the probability of success.
Infantry units may conceal after attempting entrenchment (25.3).
The French hug the German recce units for both Point Blank Fire and proximate protection from German OBA.
The French OBA and MGs will provide the only offensive action against the boats.
The ATGs are placed on the flanks, hoping for a side shot, one is in defilade behind a wheatfield.
German Comments
The German assault takes much planning to be successful. It is surprising to see how much. Looking at the initial terrain and French setup several important factors are apparent.
The river is narrow on the German left and wide on the right. This means the boats will be exposed to enemy fire for longer when crossing on the right.
The French are deployed back in the woods to avoid Rommel. It will be hard to get at them with OBA when the targets are not visible. It will get worse once they entrench and conceal. All of this means that the Rommel/HMG combination and the OBA are close to being neutralized.
The byproduct of a hidden defense is that it will be harder to fire on the boats in the river. Getting close to the French side of the river may be the key.
The Germans are set up balanced across the front to prevent the French from guessing the crossing point early. Rommel is to the left of center. We will use the German armor to hopefully prevent the French infantry from moving to a breakthrough. The infantry will move forward on Turn 1 to start the crossing.
GAME TURN ONE TO FIVE
French Comments
The French entrenched well enough and had some success with the artillery against the boats. However, they were unable to maintain radio contact at the crucial moment and the Germans landed in force by turn five. The artillery can still save them, if it can land on the concentrated Germans before they fan out. They need good luck but they have not seen much of that so far.
German Comments
The image above is at the end of German Turn 2. The situation has changed dramatically.
In Turn One, the French had dug in behind screens of forest. They had made two strong forts that would be difficult to assail. Their radios were both in operation at long range. Those two spotters had accurately directed 100mm FFEs onto positions around Rommel. They were effectively keeping him from digging in and making a strong firing position. The possibility existed that a lucky airburst would KIA Rommel and end the game.
In Turn Two, the Germans have broken the right flank position (two 457 squads), and both spotters with very lucky shots. This ended the artillery threat and allowed the firing positions on the German side of the river to be installed. The river crossing has been started and is moving to the reconnaissance unit’s position.
The 9-2 leader and his three squads claimed the French entrenchments on the right flank. They were vacated by routing French units. The French right is in danger. The first landing of German crossing units would occur in turn 3 with a 467/LMG making it ashore.
On the other side of the board the Ferry has been delayed under accurate French fire. It has clearly been a mistake to place it on that side of the board.
GAME TURN SIX TO SEVEN
French Comments
The French leaders are starting to shoot themselves (Rallies of ‘6,6’). Understandable considering the lacklust performance of their troops. A 8-0 and 4-5-7 was lost to a German Scout in Close Combat. They failed to break the enemy with 16 FP +1 shots. They failed to place an FFE for several turns. Such is the slow attriting away of hope, minor defeat after minor defeat over many turns. As in the actual event, there is no armor to save them. They are lost.
German Comments
The bulk of the German troops have crossed the river now on their right. The armor has repositioned to the left to take one of the OBA spotters under fire. The French have held onto their two fortified positions.. The OBA spotters are in the back. The Germans will now attack the right pocket and try to reduce it by direct assault.
GAME EIGHT TO TEN
French Comments
Again, the French sixteen firepower shot yields no results. They land a twenty firepower fire mission for good effect but it is too little too late. The Germans have advanced and decisively secured the Crossing Point. However, it came at the cost of 12 broken and eliminated squads, a considerable loss considering the French poor shooting.
German Comments
The Germans were successful in clearing the foxholes in the right strongpoint. The only remaining challenge was the three squad flanking attack that was eliminated. In a heroic effort, one scout entered into combat with a French squad/leader and KIAed them. The remaining squads were cut down. With that, all French squads were swept from beyond 10 hexes of the Crossing Point.
AFTERMATH
French Comments
I think the French setup is a tenable position for the early to mid game. The French have time to entrench and the radios are at long range to the German MGs. The artillery and MMGs can cover the far river edge and river. They should do the bulk of the work in stopping the crossing. Should they fail to prevent the landing, then the game is almost certainly lost. If the French artillery succeeds in stopping a significant German force before they break out, it should be possible to maneuver within ten hexes and line-of-sight to the Crossing Point.
A successful French mid-game will require them to fight out of their protective positions to establish line-of-sight in the late-game. Again the OBA must clear a path for the infantry. If the artillery performs then they might have eyes on the river for a win.
I am left with a glimmer of hope for the French position. They need good luck but it is not as impossible as the 1-10 record suggests.
One afterthought - consider placing both MMGs further back, in the entrenchment and in the second level building. It will keep them long range to the German HMG, help protect the precious radios and interdict German movement once on shore. Considering the reverse slope rules, a ground level MMG probably won’t get many shots on the boats anyway.
German Comments
The initial plan was to cross on the right flank. The Germans presented a balanced attack front to prevent revealing the target early. This mystery will remain for only as long as it takes the units crossing the river to move to the intended target.
In retrospect, the German crossing was made harder by a solid French defensive position. The radios were held back in high positions at long range and protected. The MMGs were placed in good spots to the left and middle. Both were deadly and KIAed many squads in the river. If the crossing had taken longer, the Germans might have been turned back.
In another play, I will try to get the Ferry across with a tank outside of the MMG fire. The lack of armor on the west side of the river made it very hard on the Germans. They were forced to clear all the objectives by infantry assault with little or no support fire. This was due to the nature of the concealed French units that were entrenched.
My hat is off to Scott for a solid French defense. If it had not been for some key lucky rolls along the way, the Germans may have lost. Thanks for a great game.
DISPOSITION OF SQUAD AT GAME END
Notes: Losses were heavy on both sides. The Germans lost two squads to OBA, five squads to MMG crossing the river and three squads attacking the entrenchments. The French lost eight squads during the assault on their entrenchments and four squads in the flank battle to the west of the village.