Scenario 27 The Dinant Bridgehead
Scott B
THE DINANT BRIDGEHEAD
SCENARIO 27, CRESCENDO OF DOOM
AFTER ACTION REPORT
The Weir at Houx today
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
On the fourth day of Fall Gelb, Rommel encountered his most serious resistance yet - the Meuse River. Beyond it were the open, undefended French countryside and the Channel coast. Reaching the coast would cut-off and surround the allied armies that had advanced into Belgium. Rommel ordered his forces to cross at Houx and Leffé.
On the west side of the river, the French were disorganized, with events unfolding on the German time-table of two days instead of the planned five. The defending 18th ID was exhausted from the 55 mile march to the front and had only five of nine battalions in position. The positions were thin and the artillery only half arrived. Even some of the pillboxes were locked and unoccupied, their keys nowhere to be found. At Houx, they took position at Grange on the hill, rather than the whole valley down to the bank, only to have the Germans exploit the blind spot. They needed more time on their side but in this war it was not.
The bridges at Houx, Dinant and Bouvigne were blown, but the Germans found an old weir at Houx and had infiltrated some across to establish a bridgehead before being discovered. It is at this point the player steps into Rommel’s shoes (or Corap) to lead the crossing.
RESOURCES
“The Dinant Bridgehead.” CRESCENDO OF DOOM. Baltimore, MD: The Avalon Hill Game Company, 1980. https://storage.googleapis.com/archivesqlt/CAJ00027A.pdf
Rommel, Erwin (1982) [1953]. Liddell Hart, B. H. (ed.). “The Rommel Papers”. New York: Da Capo Press.
John’s Military History. Meuse.
http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/Meuse.html
Harrod, C. (2000a, Sep/Oct). Rommel’s Second Meusing”: Seventh Panzer Cross at Dinant & Houx, Belgium- May 1940 Part 1. Tac News. MN: GHQ.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0266/2711/3023/files/sepoct2000.pdf
Pappila, Ove Lt-Colonel. “Rommel and the German 7th Panzer Division in France. 1940: The Initial Days of the Campaign”.
https://kkrva.se/wp-content/uploads/Artiklar/092/kkrvaht_2_2009_8.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 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 AND GAME TURN ONE
French Comments
All of the deficiencies that the French had in History are present in this scenario. They have a limited number of troops, few heavy weapons and limited fortifications to fight off the Germans. In addition, the French do not know where the crossing point will be and because of that feel pressure to defend most of the river bank. “He who tries to defend everywhere, defends nothing.”
It is apparent to the French defenders that if they show themselves trying to fire on the boats they can quickly be brought under fire by Rommel and his HMG stack. They will not last long. Coming up with a means to slow the crossing is the real question. The French may not find an answer.
German Comments
The most important German decision is Rommel - does he cross with the boats or remain on his side directing the HMG. He would be invaluable across the Meuse to direct fire and increase the morale of all troops within four hexes by one. On-the-other-hand, his side enjoys an LOS of almost the entire shoreline and can start firing on FT2. Perhaps most important, his KIA is an automatic German loss. I think entrenching him and the HMG is the most practical option.
Elsewhere, the recon units try to cover the right flank while the boats cross on the left. Drift will push them down stream and they should land one-third to two-thirds of the way downstream.
GAME TURN TWO
French Comments
The French right flank has already been broken by a combination of accurate off board artillery and MG fire. Rommel is in position to smash anyone that sticks his head up. The Germans are crossing with limited resistance. The French struggle to make contact with their artillery and land spotting rounds where they can see them.
The main problem now is that the remaining French defenders are strung out along a lengthy front. They do not know where the planned crossing point is and have not concentrated on that section of the river. Out of fear that the planned crossing is where the Germans are currently crossing, they begin to shift reinforcements that way. In the process, they further weaken the positions in front of the Germans that have already crossed.
German Comments
The Germans make landfall while the recce units bide their time, snugly entrenched and concealed. The shoreline is clear but the French OBA is a threat against the concentrated boats.
The OBA needs a KIA result to affect the boat and passengers. It receives the -3 DRM for non-armored vehicles on the Artillery Barrage vs Vehicles Table, eliminating the boat and passengers on a DR of 7 or less.
GAME TURN THREE TO FIVE
French Comments
The Defenders are broken and driven back from their right flank. The Germans cross with little resistance. I fear the game is already lost and just need confirmation on the crossing point for proof.
The French see little attention being applied to their left flank platoon, leader and radio. They read this as they are on the wrong side of the battle and not going to affect the outcome. Pulling back, they attempt to shift to the sounds of the guns.
Another problem that has developed is that the German armor on the opposite side of the river had developed fire lanes across the river effectively separating the widely placed French defenders. The French left, right and center are now isolated from each other.
The French concede at this point.
German Comments
The Crossing Point is the last five columns on the left; Rommel/HMG and the OBA cleared away any opposition. The Recce moved forward in concert with the landed units. Turn five saw twelve Germans squad on the far side, with another seven squads and tank landing in the next two turns. The French had seven squads remaining but without LOS to the Crossing Point.
AFTERMATH
French Comments
After reading several articles on the French defense in this scenario, I did a great job of repeating the historical results. The 7th Panzer’s crossing of the Meuse had a tremendous impact on the campaign and like history this play was a disaster for the French.
When I play this scenario again as the French, I will try to do the following:
Move the ATG into a building. It is only effective against the ferry and to a lesser degree the tanks. Until the Germans neutralize the threat of this gun, the Ferry will most likely hide. Without the Ferry, the Germans can not get any armor across the river during this game.
Have the French conceal and/or dig in where they are and can. Stay that way for as long as possible.
It will be good to get the OBA on the Board and walk it into the crossing boats. The 105mm is deadly in the woods as well. It would be great to hit Rommel in the woods with it.
It is vitally important to keep the radios on the board and able to move to see the crossing point. Once they are lost, the game is over.
A tactical reserve would be nice. Having a force to move to the likely crossing point would have been a good thing to have. Unfortunately, this strips the front line troops of needed manpower and allows the Germans to get out and walk around as they will.
The Grande Chancellerie de la Légion d'honneur is awarded to the humble and indestructible 28LL ATG that refused to get knocked out. At one point this uncrewed gun had three tanks firing at it, and none were able to penetrate the gunshield (63.9). Next time someone tells you an ATG is automatically destroyed when hit, remind them to roll on the AFV TO KILL table with a -4 armor modifier if the shot crosses the shield. Too bad it didn’t have a crew for most of the game.
Having played this scenario for the first time, I would like to see others try these additions as the French player to get a real sense of the balance with modifications. I am afraid my mistakes compounded the French weakness.
German Comments
It wasn’t their fault, really. No one could stand against the OBA and Rommel/HMG combination. That doesn’t even consider the six tanks. Like in real life, things happened on the German time-table and there wasn’t much the French could do about it.
The French need extra concealment counters, entrenchments and maybe a bunker to stand a chance. Plentiful Ammunition for their OBA is the best offensive adjustment. If they can survive the German OBA and drop some of their own, they might have a small chance at victory. Otherwise, the only other path to victory is killing Rommel and once he entrenches that is nigh impossible.
A LOOK AT OFFBOARD ARTILLERY AND AIR BURSTS
Both sides should consider the changes to OBA in CRESCENDO OF DOOM. First, 100mm batteries are increased to 20 FP, causing an NMC on ‘11’ (97%) and a KIA on ‘4’ (16.7%). Furthermore, the new Air Burst rules incur a -1 modifier instead of the normal +1 in woods and forest-road hexes. This increases the probability of an NMC to ‘12’ (100%) and a KIA to ‘5’ (28%). 100mm airbursts in woods are now more hazardous than open ground. Since the French and Germans have one module and two modules respectively, a brief look at its employment and defenses is in order.
OBA is inherently unreliable because radio contact must be established and maintained on a ‘7’ (58%) and a ‘9’ (83%) respectively. One can reasonably expect to place one or two FFEs before losing contact, with a delay of two player turns or more before the next FFE can be placed. More effective is two radios in contact with one battery, better maintaining contact and increasing the area under observation (great tip). One radio in contact has a 1 in 6 chance of failing its contact roll but two radios in contact have a 1 in 36 chance of failing. That is six times more stable and six times as many FFEs.
Considering the overwhelming firepower of OBA for both sides, they should prioritize a stable connection and assign two radios to one module.
The predominant terrain on both sides is woods and each must take steps to minimize exposure to an artillery barrage within. Entrenchments are the most effective defense, offering a +4 DRM and eliminating the possibility of a KIA in woods and forest-road hexes. Ensure units are not adjacent and minimize stacking to reduce the units subject to an FFE blast area.
The second defense against OBA is concealment which halves the firepower as AREA fire. This reduces a twenty firepower fire mission down to a firepower of eight. An entrenched concealed unit has no possibility of elimination by KIA on the IFT and is in the safest position against OBA in the game, barring Bunkers. The French should employ their concealment counters while attempting to entrench. It could quite literally mean the difference between life and death.
Note that TEMs for AFVs and entrenchments are not cumulative, a unit may only be under one of them at a time.
Balance consideration
Give the French two entrenchments and two bunkers.
Give the French one more radio and Plentiful Ammunition.
RIVERS, BOATS AND BRIDGES
I consider the river, boat and bridge rules the most significant feature of CRESCENDO OF DOOM. Rivers have been a natural barrier to military operations since the beginning of time, and now SQUAD LEADER players can experience the challenges they present. The rules allow crossing by boat or bridge and even bridge demolition.
It is unfortunate that the scenarios with water obstacles are largely flawed in balance and don’t receive much re-play. Dinant is 9-1 (Ax-Al), Climas at Nijmegen Bridge is 9-1, and Medal of Honor is 1-4, Sweep for Bordj Toum Bridge (0-4) . As of this writing, I have yet to make it to a bridge, much less across one.
In the actual battle, Rommel crossed the Meuse in the first wave and fought off counter-attacking armor. Perhaps the designers and playtesters followed history and the scenario was balanced in their playtesting. However, Rommel is best paired with the HMG under an entrenchment, utilizing his -3 modifier against any enemy in sight. Most players today probably use him in this manner and thus the imbalance.