Leffrinckoucke Bridgehead and Breakout

Introduction

Having failed to stop the Prussians from getting to the beach, Danone-Yoplait had to now hurriedly re-organise his forces to prevent the Prussians capturing the Yoghurt Factory and breaking out into the Dunkerque countryside. His honour and his command were now hanging precariously by a thread and his only hope was to throw the enemy back into the sea with his remaining naval squadrons and the “Singes Capitulards”.

Deployment

If you read the previous post you know that we had intended to play the full game all the way through over a weekend, but circumstances overtook us. We decided to play the land element of the game at the next club night and so the land terrain and about a foot of sea were laid out on the ubiquitous 6 x 4.
We agreed that any land or air resources that survived the invasion game would play the breakout game. All models would be back to full health (just to avoid bookkeeping).
This left the French with only the Tourbillon in the large vessel category, while the Prussians had all except one Pflicht from the previous scenario and all of the armoured forces except the Metzgers. The French did have GNE cruisers and frigates.
The Prussian deployment was fairly standard and broadly mirrored the deployment of the landing force from the previous game. Pflichts on the far left with the Imperium and an Aufseher, then all the landing forces on their barges and the second Aufseher on the right flank.
The French similarly deployed roughly as they had been at the end of the last game. GNE naval assets and the Tourbillon on the right flank (facing the Prussian aerial forces), mainly bombards with some small and medium tank support in the centre and on the French left flank the majority of the medium tanks.

The Battle

The French started as they meant to go on, pushing forward in an effort to deny the Prussian landing any space. In the first turns firepower was concentrated on Prussian aerial assets, while the Prussians fired on targets of opportunity. Prussian ironclad forces and infantry (including cavalry from the elite 12th Oldenburg Grenadiers) were quickly ashore, duelling with advance elements of the French mobile artillery and their ironclad support.
In the following turn the duel became a rout as the Prussian aerial fleet started lending support to the armoured forces on the ground. Two French bombard squadrons were decimated and the French started to fall back on the factory and their GNE support vessels. The Tourbillon stood at bay firing at targets on the ground and in the air covering the retreat below. Prussian fire started to tell and before the Tourbillon could be boarded by Luftmarine squads from the lead Pflicht squadron, it burst into flames and crashed to the ground. Prussian elation was short lived though, as the Aufseher of the Göteborg Commandery was brought down by the concentrated fire of artillery and GNE ordnance.
In the third turn , the second Aufseher was also brought down by concentrated ground fire. However, concentrating on the airlanding ships had distracted the French from the main Prussian force and the Sturmpanzer and A6-V squadrons pushed ashore and spread out along the beach. French medium armour engaged at close range but as more and more Prussian force was brought to bear, the battle of attrition shifted towards Prussian victory. Although the firepower of the French Foucault tanks was telling there were not enough of them to stem the tide and so the Prussians took the factory as the French fell back towards Dunkerque.

The Aftermath

Danone-Yoplait did the best he could, but was heavily outnumbered due to the errors during the landing assault. The plan to concentrate on Prussian heavy air assets while the rest of the Prussians disembarked was probably a good one, but a lot of firepower was needed to bring down the first Aufseher. The second Aufseher was easier to eliminate but it was right in the middle of the French forces and was taking fire from all over the place. By the time both Aufsehers were destroyed the Prussians had landed in force and the Tourbillon had become so much smouldering wreckage in the workers garden at the Yoghurt Factory, so I think the game became unwinnable from there on in.
The star of the game was the Foucault. I’m going to have to pay attention to them in the future. Hopefully the introduction of the HM-1 Recke heavy transport will help beef up the Tesla weaponry of the A6-V which proved woefully inadequate.
I got deployment wrong yet again and hadn’t thought through my landing strategy. Len pointed this out but as part of my counter psychology I pretended I knew what I was doing and as I won it’s patently obvious I must have done! So if I have learnt anything it is stick to what you know. My mine laying and amphibious operations skill are essentially more down to luck rather than judgement.
Len has been a good sport and an excellent opponent in all of our games (not just these last three). I wonder if I can get him to play some sort of harbour raid scenario where the Prussian land and naval forces attack Dunkerque…

Leffrinckoucke Beach Landing

Introduction

Humiliatingly, Rear-Admiral Danone-Yoplait sailed into Dunkerque harbour in his pinnace. The defeat at West Hinder preyed heavily on his mind as he radio-graphed to Legion headquarters to report the predicament he and his command found themselves in. The beaches between Dunkerque and Bray Dunes had some Marteau Bombard batteries and a couple of small fortifications dating back to the Napoleonic era. Along with two regiments of local infantry this was all he could call upon to see off the huge invasion fleet Müller was bringing along the coast. Headquarters, at once both despairing and desperate, had no choice but to send elements of the GNE 12e fleet and a whole armoured regiment from the 9e Legion “Singes Capitulards” to shore up the landward defences and attempt to interdict any Prussian landing.

Deployment

The scenario was effectively Operation Takeda from the Hurricane Season Campaign, scaled up for a large (3000 MFV) game.
The French (commanded once again by Rear-Admiral Danone-Yoplait) had a large number of skimming ships (including a Mk I Magenta, a squadron of Marseille cruisers, a squadron of Alma frigates and a Tourbillon) with some water-bound support (a Couronne and a squadron of Lyon frigates) coming from the west, but only a light scout formation (just a squadron of Lyon frigates and an understrength squadron of Furieux) coming from the east. On the beaches were two shield towers, two regiments of infantry, a squadron of Hotch FT-12 light tanks and two squadrons of Marteau. Reinforcements were a Bastille with L’Aman attachments, three squadron of Focault tanks, another squadron of Marteau and a squadron of Hotch FT-12 light tanks.
The Prussians (now commanded by Kommandatur-General Heinrich von Önken) had a Medium Panzer Regiment (an armoured starter box) on landing barges with two Metzgers and masses of aerial support (an Imperium, two Aufsehers and two squadrons of Pflichts) and an equally heavy naval presence to protect it (two Emperor battleships, a squadron of Konigsberg battle-cruisers, a squadron of Hussar gunships, two squadrons of Arminius frigates, two squadrons of allied Korsor Minelayer and two independent Skagerrak gunships). The French were slightly outnumbered (as the scenario required) by around 200 points.
Actual deployment was determined by the scenario.
French land forces deployed in zone C, reinforcements entered from area 1 on Turn 1 (the Bastille) and from area 2 on Turn 4 (the rest of the 9e Legion).
French naval forces could enter from areas 3 and 4 on Turn 1 (all the naval assets and the Tourbillon were in area 4, the Furieux and some Lyon were in area 3).
The Prussian naval assets deployed in zone B and the landing assets deployed in zone A. Prussian deployment for naval assets was to place the Arminius as close to the French as possible, with some air support. Then the Danish minelayers would lay mines across the landing zone to try to prevent French intervention. Konigsberg and Emperor heavy ships would pound the beaches and any French ships that got through the frigate cordon. The landing force and most of the aerial support were deployed in zone A (all the barges and the Imperium and Ausehers).

The Battle

This was a shockingly one sided affair. The Tourbillon, Alma squadron and Marseille squadron all turned inland and headed for the yoghurt factory objective. The Couronne and Lyon frigates gamely battled the left flank of the Prussian forces. Within two turns though, all the Arminius and most of the Lyon were wrecks, along with one of the Skagerrak gunships, but a quick thrust by the Pflichts got in an unopposed boarding attack against the Couronne, capturing it unscathed. The Furieux fared no better, the first came within range of a UPG generator and suffered the maximum result and then a critical from the main armament which left it critically damaged, with no systems, no defences and very few marines and a temporary reactor leak caused it to flare all the way back to the board edge. The Magenta then had no choice but to turn back out to sea to attempt to rescue something from the debacle. In subsequent turns the Prussians downed a Furieux and captured the other. They also sank the Magenta, wrecking it just off the Bray-Dunes headland in shallow water but not before it had sank a Konigsberg, a Pflicht and damaged a Metzger and the Imperium.
The landward conflict fared little better for the French, long range fire from the bombard squadrons and the towers did little damage until they started concentrating fire on the Metzgers being towed by the Prussian battleships (with Tesla generator assistance). In the end the Bastille land ship crested the dune line just as the battleships released their tow lines and between the combined heat lances and more concentrated fire from the bombards both Metzgers were lost and sank into the mud and soft sand just off-shore. At this point the red mist descended and the battleships both opened up against the Bastille. A critical effect on the Bastille caused a magazine explosion, that proceeded to destroy both L’Aman heavy tanks, but not before one of them flared into the middle of the bombard’s position and exploded there, damaging another three vehicles (the Combustible Cargo MAR is literally da bomb). With one broadside the whole game changed. It was looking as though significant parts of the armoured force would not get ashore in the face of combined artillery and heat lance attacks, but with the Bastille’s destruction and the rest of the “Singes Capitulards” only just entering the table there was now little to stop them.

The view onto the beach from the Aufseher Landing Ship "Hochmeister von Rusdorf"

The Aftermath

I would argue that this time Len (again as Danone-Yoplait) did everything wrong. Concentrating his force, sending significant elements of it ashore and not attacking the landing force (except the Metzgers) specifically were all instrumental in allowing the Prussians ashore. Len’s plan had been to fight them hard on the beaches with both armoured and naval assets, hence the GNE heavy fleet.
My deployment left a lot to be desired again. Even though the French deployed first I didn’t support the left flank enough to prevent a breakthrough if that had been the tactic Len had taken (luckily he didn’t). If he had gone for it I would have probably lost half my landing force! I also totally made a mess of mine-laying… In the end my Korsors were just gunboats taking pot-shots at targets of opportunity (or the towers if there were no targets). I’ll need to practice a bit more.
We ran out of time for the landing element of the game so as we packed up, we made a note of what each of us had left in terms of forces available to play on land and opted to play out the game at the next club night.

Battle of West Hinder

Introduction

Franco-Prussian relations have taken a decidedly precipitous dip recently. Anger over milk product duty and a general perception that the French are simply ärgerlich has led Vice Admiral Graf Johann von Müller to take decisive action. The largest yoghurt factory in Europe, located halfway between Bray-Dunes and Dunkerque and only a mile from the beach, was a prime target. However, to get from Netherlands Protectorate harbours to the landing site without alerting Britannian forces would require the Prussian forces to traverse some dangerous coastal waters.
Rear-Admiral Pierre Danone-Yoplait was aware of the risk posed and sent a significant task force to intercept the Prussians. The Prussians countered with heavy elements of the XIIth Iron Fleet.

The Forces

Republique of France
Rear-Admiral Danone-Yoplait 

• Couronne Battle Carrier (Petits Filou)
• Magenta Mk II Battleship (Taillefine)
• Magenta Mk II Battleship (Entremont)
• 3 x Marseille Cruisers
• 2 x Furieux Scout Ships
• 4 x Lyon Frigates
• 4 x Lyon Frigates 

Prussian Empire
Vice-Admiral Graf von Müller

• Blucher Dreadnought (Karl Franz)
• 2 x Konigsberg Battlecruisers (Köln, Kiel)
• 3 x Pflicht Scout Ships
• 4 x Arminius Frigates
• 4 x Arminius Frigates
• 3 x Wachter Escorts

The French had three full size wings of torpedo bomber TFT’s and a recon wing, while the Prussians had two full size wings of fighter TFT’s.

The Deployment

Hoping to use the large island as cover, the vast majority of the Prussian fleet deployed on the right flank, in hopes that local superiority and terrain cover might help in the coming battle. The French fleet deployed with light vessels covering the larger capital ships and the majority of the air support on the left flank facing the Prussians.

The Battle

Generally, the battle was one sided for two or three turns. The Prussian fleet advanced, with the Arminius frigates rushing forward to attempt to outflank, however they suffered heavily from the Furieux dirigibles and Marseille GNE ships. The two squadrons were quickly whittled down with little in return except a seriously damaged Furieux and a damaged Marseille.
The Konigsberg cruisers opened up as soon as they could and quickly dealt with the Marseille, but not quickly enough to stop the Couronne and Magenta in the French centre from entering the fray. It wasn’t long before one of the Konigsbergs was sunk, and although primary gunnery was telling on the lighter French forces little damage was done to their capital forces.
On the right flank the Pflichts were advancing carefully with a view to presenting a credible boarding threat to either the flanking Marseille or the Couronne, while the Prussian fighters tussled with the French torpedo bombers in an effort to prevent them from damaging Prussian heavy assets. The Pflichts took a bit of a mauling from the Magenta and the Lyon frigates as they moved across the face of the island, with one Scout Ship catching fire and crashing into the North Sea. (I keep forgetting to send my Pflichts into the obscured level).
The end was rapidly approaching with a victory for the French very much in the making. In desperation the Karl Franz activated both Tesla Generators and pushed forward its escorts. The escorts engaged the French frigates and attempted to make themselves massive navigational hazards, while the dreadnought split its turrets between the Couronne and the Magenta. In the last turn the Couronne collided with a Wachter escort, taking a point of damage, while inflicting none on the plucky little ship. The dreadnought and Pflichts moved in for the kill. The remaining Konigsberg fired its speerschleuder at the Couronne, getting a successful hit and making it vulnerable to Tesla fire. The Karl Franz practically won the game on its own, firing on the Couronne (and sinking it) and boarding the Magenta and prizing it, while its escorts continued to damage French frigates. To add insult to injury, the Pflichts descended out of the cloud layer and boarded the other Magenta, prizing it as well. Desultory fire on and from the remaining French frigates had no effect and so victory was won.

The Aftermath

Don’t think Len (as Danone-Yoplait) made any significant errors. Concentrating on the Arminius in the early game and taking shots at the Pflichts at any opportunity shows that he’s definitely learning to avoid or nullify my best boarding threats. Having played a game since this one using Len’s French I’m not convinced that heat lances are all they’re cracked up to be. This was a very rare game where I took my dreadnought, and I think probably the only time (statistically) where the heat lance would be more effective than linked primary fire.
My deployment was off. My frigates should have been inside my dreadnought, rather than out on the flank but in the end sticking to the plan paid off. I intended to use the island as cover and for two turns significant portions of my force were out of sight of the French heavies. We then turned in and pounded and boarded everything in range. Hooray for Prussian tactical doctrine.