28mm BOLT ACTION: NORMANDY OPERATION OVERLORD

On Thursday I went to Hugh Wilson’s for a big 8 player WWII Bolt Action game.  It was a Normandy 1944 invasion scenario which Colin Jack had designed.  Colin supplied all the troops and Hugh Wilson had done a fine job producing the terrain including a great looking sandy beach.

Opening scene on the beach on evening 2 - Village with church and ridge beyond in far distance

This was our second evening playing thru this game.  I forgot my camera for the first evening 2 weeks ago so did not do a report on that part of the game.  However the play is well covered in 2 reports

Firstly on Angus Konstam’s Edinburgh Wargames

http://www.edinburghwargames.com/Journal%2090.htm

and on Bart Zynda’s blog

http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/d-day.html

The first days play ended with the first 2 British waves still engaged with the German beach defences.  Nice looking Warlord Atlantic Wall defences.   Inland a flanking force of Commandos had been beaten back from a defended farm and in the far distance the Polish Paras had taken the village and had beaten back the  first of the German counter-attack.

Cromwell negotiating the beach defences

For this evenings play Colin gave the British a third wave of landing craft carrying 3 Cromwells and a further flanking section of Commandos.  The Germans received an infiltrating squad of Ostruppen who occupied the trenches on the west of the German beach line and infantry & armoured reserves which came on at the far end of the 14ft long table. 

Cromwell finally free of the sandy beach

The German AT bunker immobilised one of the Cromwells before it could get of the landing craft but eventually the bunkers fell – 2 to the Commands who stormed the doors of the bunkers and the other to a flanking section of regulars.   The shooting by the AT bunker and the opposing Cromwells on the beach was generally appalling.  One of the Cromwells made it well of the beach and joined Milly the only surviving Sherman from the 1^st wave in taking out the German defenders of the farm despite the heriocs of a Panzerschrek crew. 

Action at the village - S35's support the infantry attack

A German STUGIV made a brief appearance on the main road engaged the allied armour and then retired at speed after a non-pentrating hit.  The main mass of the German reinforcements – squads of inexperienced infantry supported by 2 Somua S35 tanks from a training unit became bogged down in a battle for the village with the Polish paras.  When play ended the heroic Poles still held most of the village and the German beach commander was still wondering what the counterattacking forces were doing….

Milly and Cromwell at the farm - were is that Panzerschrek.?

The game continues next Thursday evening…..more photos with descriptions at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill26048/sets/72157640344590565/

Bart has posted his account od D Day +1

http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/d-day-1.html

Thanks to Suzanne Wilson for the catering on the evening…..and allowing Hugh to keep a beach in the sitting room for more than 3 weeks….