Monty’s Meatgrinder Battle Report II In our second Monty’s Meatgrinder game we decided to take similar forces, this time I (Wayne) took command of the 21. Panzerdivision StuGs and I drafted another volunteer (Mike) to take command of the Canadians. We wanted to play a mission that would let the Canadians use their Defrocked Priests to full effect. The Canadians count as a Mechanised force, while the StuG Batterie is a Tank force, so we decided the best way to show off the Canadians on attack was to fight a Free-for-all. The First Battle...  German Force The only change to the force I made was to drop the armoured cars from last time and upgrade the armoured artillery from 10.5cm to 15cm guns.

Wayne’s Force 21. Panzerdivision StuG Batterie (Confident Veteran) StuG Batterie Company HQ Company Command 7.5cm (Sf) 39H 70 points Combat Platoons   StuG Platoon Command 7.5cm (Sf) 39H, two 10.5cm (Sf) 39H 210 points StuG Platoon Command 7.5cm (Sf) 39H, two 10.5cm (Sf) 39H 210 points StuG Platoon Command 7.5cm (Sf) 39H, two 10.5cm (Sf) 39H 210 points Support Platoons   Gepanzerte Panzergrenadier Platoon 3 Panzergrenadier Squads 290 points Armoured Artillery Battery 2 Gun Sections with 15cm (Sf) Lorraine Schlepper 500 points Total 1500 points Canadian Forces The Canadian force had a few more changes. I’d managed to get John Treleaven killed in the last game while he was valiantly defending the objective, so I thought it only fair that we didn’t use him again. The Anti-tank Platoon (SP), Royal Artillery was dropped in favour of the higher ROF of the 6pdr gun armed Anti-tank Platoon.

Mike’s Force 3rd Canadian Division Rifle Company (Confident Trained) Rifle Company HQ Company Command Rifle team, 2iC Command Rifle team, Troop Carrier 30 points Combat Platoon   Rifle Platoon 3 Squads 145 points Rifle Platoon 3 Squads 145 points Rifle Platoon 3 Squads 145 points Weapons Platoons   Carrier Platoon  Carrier Patrol  3 Universal Carriers 90 points 3 Armoured Personnel Carrier Sections each two Defrocked Priest APCs 80 points Support Platoons   Anti-tank Platoon 2 Anti-tank Sections 130 points Heavy Mortar Platoon 2 Mortar Sections plus PIAT 165 points Pioneer Platoon 2 Assault Squads 80 points Armoured Platoon, The Fort Gary Horse 3 Sherman III and Firefly VC 290 points Total 1490 points

Frankly against the thinly armoured StuGs the 3” guns of the M10 tank-destroyers was a bit of overkill. The Machine-guns were also dropped and replaced with a Pioneer Platoon. These were something to add a little punch to any assaults against the StuGs. Set-up I won the dice roll to see who gets to pick a table side and starts the set-up. I selected the side with the large field on its left flank. I thought this would be ideal for placing my 15cm Lorraine Schleppers. After alternating through the deployment process I ended up with my artillery on the left, and my Panzergrenadiers and StuGs concentrated on the right facing the village. Mike had his heavy mortars in the centre with a Rifle Platoon (2nd). The 1st Rifle Platoon, the Pioneer Platoon, the Anti-tank Platoon and the Carriers faced my right behind the village. Facing me on the left were the 3rd Rifle Platoon and the Armoured Platoon. All of his rifle platoons were mounted in Defrocked Priests.

The Plans Germans (Wayne) My plan was simply to make a thrust down the right towards the village. I wanted to catch the guns and infantry still mounted up. The Lorraine Schleppers were to keep any attackers on the left at bay with their barrages. Canadians (Mike) When I put my plan together for this battle report I was literally only thinking, “I want to use one of those crazy Canadian Kangaroo things!”

So, with that in mind I purchased a pile of carriers, loaded up my Canucks and was promptly befuddled by the intense bocage-i-ness of our table.  With Free-for-All being the mission, I thought that my best option was to keep Wayne’s mini-StuGs on the defensive long enough to spring my tanks onto an objective followed closely by a Kangaroo brimming the best troops Canada has to offer.

As with my last battle report, the plan lacked any sort finesse or professionalism, but I was ready for a game!

Turn 1 We diced off to see who would start the first turn; I had a +1 because I had finished deploying first. Unfortunately I rolled a 3 +1 = 4, but Mike rolled a 5. The Canadians would be starting the game. Canadians Mike moved his carriers forward using their pre-game Recce Move. When combined with their normal movement in the turn they were able to push out of the village and take up positions across the road covering the German approach.

The rest of Mike’s platoons also advanced, with the remainder of the carriers’ flank taking up positions in the village. In the centre and on the other flank platoons advanced up their full moment or until they were forced to stop by bocage. The German force, which were yet to move, were concealed by bocage and other terrain, so the Canadians were unable to shoot.

Germans I began my movement by getting my observers for my artillery forward. The observer in the centre remained mounted in his Kübelwagen and advanced across the field towards the bocage lining the road. The other dismounted and moved into the next field, out of the way of the likely confrontation between the StuGs and the Canadians in the village. I removed the transport teams for the artillery’s staff and command team so they wouldn’t become victims of counter-battery fire from the Canadian mortars.

The Panzergrenadiers on the right flank moved around the right side of the church, while the 1st StuG Platoon headed straight pass the left of the church towards the village. The 2nd StuG Platoon also headed towards the Canadian positions in the village and the Carriers on the road. Though to give them some cover they moved through the open orchard on the left of the field they were in (these counted as concealment only and were not difficult going). The final 3rd StuG Platoon remained in the rear field covering the objective. The Company Command StuG hung back to support whatever StuG platoon might need motivational fortification in the future. Two of the Panzergrenadier half-tracks were able to bring their machine-guns to bear on the carriers. They let rip, but failed to bailout any of the carriers. The StuGs of the 2nd Platoon also fired on the carriers.

Mike decided not the make a Recce Move away form the fire because of the concealment offered by the bocage. The StuGs used their main guns, rather than their AA MGs, and got two hits. One carrier was destroyed with a successful firepower roll, the other escaped with just a bailout result. In the field to the right the 1st StuG Platoon could see the carriers with just one of its three vehicles. Before it could fire Mike finally decided to evade the fire, unfortunately for Mike he failed the platoon’s skill test and they stayed put. The StuG fired its 10.5cm gun and missed. During the Assault Step a number of Stormtrooper Moves were made. The first observer dismounted his Kübelwagen and a StuG from the 3rd Platoon, after making a bogging test, moved through the gate leading to the field across the road from the village.

The Panzergrenadiers saw an opportunity to take out the Carriers, but failed the Motivation test required to assault tank teams.

Turn 2 Canadians Mike managed to get the crew of his bailed out carrier to remount. He then relocated them back behind a building in the village. The 6pdrs of the Anti-tank Platoon dismounted to defend the main entrance to the village, blocking any immediate thrusts by the German StuGs and Panzergrenadiers. The pioneers also dismounted from their truck and jeeps and took up positions on the church side of the village. One of the mortar observers moved into the building adjacent to the 6pdrs. On the other flank the tanks of the Armoured Platoon moved up to the bocage.

The riflemen mounted in Defrocked Priests attempted to move through the gateway on to the road. One made it through, the other did not and bogged down in the gateway. The Defrocked Priest mounted riflemen of the 2nd Rifle Platoon pushed through the bocage on to the road on the German left of the village. Again only one succeeds, leaving the other hung up on the bocage.

The final Rifle Platoon dismounted in the village and moved to the building already occupied by the mortar observer. Two teams had made it in by the end of the move. The Heavy Mortar Platoon decided to dig-in while its observer was getting into position, they however failed to do so by the end of the turn. During the shooting step the Armoured Platoon opened fired from its new positions along the bocage. They had spotted the German observer dismounting his Kübelwagen and moving up to the bocage. Observers, by having the benefit of cautious movement, are hard to hit. Two tanks, the Firefly and a Sherman V, were able to take a bead on the observer rustling in the bushes. One shot hit, but the Observer Rifle team made its infantry save.

Germans With the threat posed by the Canadian Armoured Platoon on the left I decided to direct my 3rd StuG Platoon to that flank. The very first StuG I moved bogged down going through the gate. This blocked the movement of the following StuG. The other StuG that had moved into the front field returned back through the other gate and joined the queue behind the bogged down StuG. The 2nd StuG Platoon moved toward the gate in the front left corner of the field to head off the Canadians’ centre 2nd Rifle Platoon. They were joined by the 1st StuG Platoon who retired back toward the gap between the fields and deployed behind the other platoon.

The Panzergrenadiers, after dismounting, moved toward the village with two half-tracks leading the way with fire support. The artillery observer sighted the Armoured Platoon, 3rd Rifle Platoon Defrocked Priests and the 2iC command team accompanying them and called in the Artillery. The template of the barrage covered both Defrocked Priests and a Sherman V. All three were hit and one of the Defrocked Priests was bailed out. The Rifle/MG team inside were also forced out to seek shelter in the surrounding bocage.

One 10.5cm StuG of the 2nd StuG Platoon also fired. The target was the centre pair of Defrocked Priests and their passenger 2md Rifle Platoon. The StuG missed and the failure put the platoon in danger of being overwhelmed by the Canadians if they were to dismount and assault in the next turn. The lead half-tracks of the Panzergrenadier Platoon also fired on the Defrocked Priests of the centre platoon. The machine-guns had little chance of destroying the APCs, but a bailout result would pin down the infantry. However, only one shot hit and the armour of the APC deflected the round.

During the Assault Step the 1st and  2nd StuG Platoons move forward. The whole 2nd Platoon manoeuvred to get all of its StuGs in positions to fire on 2nd Rifle Platoon if it should assault next turn. The Panzergrenadiers moved down the road toward the entrance to the village.

Turn 3 Canadians At the beginning of the turn Mike attempted to get his bogged, bailed and pinned vehicles and teams rallied. The centre 2nd Rifle Platoon Defrocked Priest unbogged from the bocage, but the Defrocked Priest on the German left remained bogged down in the gateway. The bailed out Defrocked Priest from the same platoon recovered and the crew remounted. He also unpinned the 3rd Rifle Platoon on the German left, but only after he used the Canadian Assault Troops special rule to re-roll the Motivation test.

The 1st Rifle Platoon in the village completed its move into the building containing the mortar observer. The new position gave them complete dominance over the road. The two carriers moved to the German right of the village up to the hedge. The centre 2nd Rifle Platoon also dismounted from their Defrocked Priests. The Armoured Platoon, keen to get amongst the lightly armoured Lorraine Schleppers, bogged down three of its four tanks as they attempted to cross the bocage on to the road.

The last tank running fired against the artillery observer. The shot missed, the observer proved hard to hit once again. The centre 2nd Rifle Platoon fired its PIAT team at the 2nd StuG Platoon. The anti-tank round hit a StuG and the crew bailed out after the round failed to hit anything vital. The mortar observer, who had remained stationary this turn, called in the mortars on the Panzergrenadiers. Bunched up around the church and road they made an easy target. The bombardment ranged in on the first attempt. The template covered three half-tracks, five MG teams and one Command MG team. As a result the Panzergrenadiers were pinned down and lost two MG teams. The Carriers also fired on the Panzergrenadiers. They fired down an alleyway down the side the hedge and hit one team, which made its save. In the Assault Step the dismounted 2nd Rifle Platoon assaulted the StuGs of the 2nd Platoon after it passed a Motivation test to assault tanks. The StuGs used their AA MGs to fire on the assaulting Canadians, but only got six dice because one StuG was bailed out. There were only three hits, which was not enough to stop the Canadians. The Canadians made all three saves, and a started to sling grenades and PIAT rounds across the bocage into the StuGs. In the first round of assault the PIAT team hit, but the round deflected off the armour. The StuGs counterattacked, but were forced to make skill tests to cross the bocage. One became bogged down, which left only the one to fight on. The StuG ran down Canadians on the road and fired its AA MG into the whirling mob and knocked out a Rifle/MG team. The Canadians were not done, and made another Motivation test and kept fighting. They hit with two teams and knocked out the operational StuG and the bogged down vehicle. The bailed out StuG was also quickly captured. The enemy platoon destroyed, they quickly consolidated on the spot.

Germans On the 3rd StuG Platoon’s objective the bogged down command tank is pulled off the bocage. The Panzergrenadiers unpin. The Panzergrenadiers, in an attempt to outflank the positions of the 6pdrs and riflemen, moved up the right flank of the village. The 1st StuG Platoon and command StuG moved back behind the bocage to the rear of the church.

The 3rd StuG Platoon moved to the left to protect the artillery battery from the Armoured Platoon and to cover the objective. The artillery repeated their initial bombardment on the gateway. The dismounted riflemen of the 3rd Rifle Platoon took the full force of the bombardment, eight Rifle/MG teams were struck, as well as the bogged down Defrocked Priest and a bogged down Sherman V. Four Rifle/MG teams failed saves and the Sherman V was destroyed. The Defrocked Priest had a luckily escape and was only bailed out. Mike made the Motivation test for it being both bailed out and bogged down, so it remained bogged down. The 1st StuG Platoon and the command StuG fired on the 2nd Rifle Platoon and hit only two teams.

One made a save and one failed, but the StuG had to make a Firepower test against the unsaved Rifle/MG team because it had cover from the bocage. The test failed and the team lived to fight on.  Go to turn 4...