 |
A two-on-one handicap match where Hun plays heel. The Gaul of some people!
Welcome to the ninth article in this series, where I discuss designs that I’m busy developing for an upcoming scenario pack. “Tag Team” is an unusual scenario, the first of its kind. I think. Am I wrong?
Operation Niwi was a bold adventure. It took its name from the first two letters of the Belgian villages of Nives and Witry, where makeshift airlandings—employing small, three-seater aircraft—were to take place during the early hours of the German invasion of the Low Countries. The mission was threefold: sever communications on the Neufchâteau-Bastogne and Neufchâteau-Martelange roads, contain enemy reserves around Neufchâteau, and provide rearward pressure on Belgium’s fortified line along the Belgian-Luxembourg border. At 0805 on 10 May 1940, Oberleutnant Andreas Obermeier arrived at the head of the second wave. Unbeknownst to him his company commander Hauptmann Walther Krüger, along with the rest of the first wave, had landed at Léglise, some 15 kilometres to the south. As the final wave landed, the German lieutenant took stock of the situtation and assumed command. Short an infantry platoon, he was also missing the pioneer section with its flamethrower, explosives and Tellermines. Undeterred, Obermeier set off with a few of his men—using commandeered civilian vehicles—to reconnoiter the Neufchâteau-Bastogne road at Petit-Rosière.
Petit-Rosière, Belgium circa 1940
Battlefield
The Petit-Rosière we are concerned with is found in the Belgian provice of Luxembourg, less than 15 kilometres from the country of Luxembourg and two kilometres west of Nives. The village lies astride the Neufchâteau-Bastogne highway where a tributary of the Sûre River, known alternatively as the Rosière or the Hache, cuts the road. Easy to miss today, the stream forms a key component of my scenario, dividing the battlefield in two. Petit-Rosière is situated on the northern bank. About a kilometre south, on the opposite side of the valley is Vaux-lez-Rosières.1 Between these points, on the south side of the bridge, are two collections of farm buildings flanking the highway. Based on current photographs, at least one stone building on either side of the road appears to predate 1940.
Rather than resort to overlays—I find stream overlays especially fiddly—I went with board 66, from Winter Offensive Bonus Pack 4 (2013). A stream conveniently bisects board 66. The board 66 hill was distinctly inconvenient. So I removed it with a Scenario Special Rule (SSR), deepened the stream (B20.43) and invoked Soft Ground (D8.21) at the same time. The impact of the latter changes will become apparent shortly.
 |
| Dispositions Petit-Rosière, Belgium 10 May 1940 |
The Hun
Lieutenant Obermeier didn’t have much to work with. Granted his was an élite force of men from the 11th and 12th Companies of III Battalion, Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland. Highly trained and motivated, they were nevertheless too few in number for the task assigned them. In addition to his marksmen, a couple of machine guns, and a Bulettenschmeisser, the young officer had an extra anti-tank rifle (ATR) at his disposal. Extra ATR had been issued as a priority, in anticipation of encountering enemy armor. The Allies wouldn’t disappoint.
Obermeier recognized that he lacked the resources to prevent his force from being swept aside. He needed to buy time. Hasty barricades would become the order of the day.
 |
| Panzerbüsche 39 |
The Gauls
You may recall that Lieutenant Obermeier (making like Steve McQueen in The Great Escape), had sped off from Nives on a purloined motorcycle, trailed by some of his men in a Belgian motorcar. When Obermeier’s flying circus neared Vaux-lez-Rosières around 1000, it ran headlong into an enemy reconnaissance detachment headed in the opposite direction. The French opened fire. The Germans turned back. And armored cars gave chase.
Upon learning of the German invasion at 0640, the French began crossing into Belgium in accordance with pre-war plans. Around 0900, Sous-lieutenant Toussaint, the commander of a motorcycle platoon in the 5e division légère de cavalerie (5e DLC), had left Neufchâteau for Bastogne. Also under his (temporary) command were four “Pan-Pans.”2 French doctrine called for a platoon of Panhard 178, or AMD 35 (French Vehicle Note 18), in tandem with a motorcycle platoon, to operate as a reconnaissance detachment. Toussaint’s détachement de découverte 2, or DD.2, though capable of rapid movement, was effectively restricted to roads. Barriers, natural or manmade, could bring these fast movers to a grinding halt.
In his after-action report, Toussaint described how his detachment was “delayed by abattis” before it “came into contact with the enemy at 10 o’clock at Petite-Rosière.” I don’t know what to make of felled trees and poles blocking the road well south of Petit-Rosière. Nothing in German accounts would lead me to believe that the Obermeier’s men were responsible for this barrier. Whatever the case, the lead Panhard didn’t come under fire until it closed on Petit-Rosière. There it was hit twice by ATR rounds that penetrated its armor.
Following an initial skirmish, the French abandoned their rush. Any plan to turn the enemy flank involved fording the stream, something the Panhards were ill suited to undertake. And so the detachment withdrew to where it could keep the Germans under observation without putting its Panhards at further risk of ATR fire.
In “Tag Team,” the French are in play for three full turns. During this time, the French Sniper cannot be activated, although it can be the target of the German Sniper. Play tests have shown that despite its small size, the French force can have a significant impact on the scenario. In one game, for instance, the German 9-2 leader was eliminated in Close Combat (CC) before the French departed. Most of the time attrition is less pronounced. Some plays will see the Germans lose only a half-squad (HS). Of course, the Germans can choose to leave the area south of the bridge undefended in the hope that they will avoid suffering any casualties. This gambit may work. However, in ceding the south bank to the Allies initially, it can be difficult to get units over the bridge later in the scenario. And having at least one HS on the south side of the stream is often what wins the game for the defender.
Even so, one shouldn’t discount what three turns of fire can do to German positions, regardless of which side of the bridge they’re on. In a test earlier this month, I was surprised at how effective the Main Armament (MA) of an AMD 35 could be. For those just tuning in, the MA of the French Armored Car is a 25mm cannon. On the ASL counter the calibre of this weapon is underscored, meaning that it has no High Explosive (HE) rounds. Therefore, when targeting Personnel, the gun’s Armor Piercing (AP) round is said to have an HE equivalent (C8.31) of one Fire Power (FP) on the Infantry Fire Table (IFT). Laughable, I know. That is, until your 9-2 leader fails a Morale Check (MC) after one of these pop guns finds its mark in your virtually impregnable stone building!
 |
Automitrailleuse de Découverte (AMD) 35 - Panhard 178 |
Les amis
On the morning of the 10th, Capitaine Berger’s 10e Cie moto du 2e Division de Chasseurs Ardennais (2e DChA) was in regimental reserve near Bastogne. Most of it, anyway. Half a platoon of motorcyclists, together with the company’s three Auto blindee mitrailleuse T-15—which despite their official designation, were light tanks (Belgian Vehicle Note 17), not armored cars—were deployed in the Ourthe valley between Houffalize and Laroche, some 15 kilometres northwest of Bastogne. Relax! Tanks won’t be on the test.
After multiple orders, counter-orders and delays, the 10th Motorcycle Company finally moved out, joined by four T-13 tank destroyers. Berger’s slow-to-react force had been directed to help contain the airlandings reported near Léglise. Ironically, this is where Obermeier’s company commander had landed in error, along with the rest of 11th Company and its engineer attachments. The Belgian column never got that far.
Around 1300 a T-13 fell victim to the unexpected German presence at Petit-Rosière. The vehicle caught fire as its ammunition exploded. Once the shock had worn off, and unaware of how strong the enemy actually was, Berger’s men likely probed the German lines for weaknesses. At some point they may have concluded that there was no way to bypass the enemy position in time to reach Léglise. Details of the battle are hard to find. But we do know that at 1500 the Belgians were ordered to retire.
Belgian sources don’t discriminate between T-13 models. ASL does. I included a mix of each. The later version was in many respects comparable to the Panzerjäger I (German Vehicle Note 43), another early-war tank destroyer. The German vehicle had a Czech 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 (see Slovak Ordnance Note 29) mounted on the chassis of a PzKpfw I. The T-13 Type III (Belgian Vehicle Note 16) had a made-in-Belgium Canon anti-char de 47mm Fonderie Royale de Canons Modèle 1931—what ASL refers to as the C47 FRC M32 (Belgian Ordnance Note 9)—mounted in a small turret.
As far as Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV) go, the T-13 III benefits from having a coaxial machine gun (CMG). You may not be impressed by its low FP, but the CMG does offer some insurance against Close Combat attacks. The MA is also an improvement over the MA of the AMD, which lacks HE. The pluses end there however. Weak armor makes Belgian AFV more vulnerable to ATR strikes than AMD 35 are. Both types of T-13 III are also prone to Brew Up (D5.7), as indicated by the red Crew Survival Number on the back of the counter. If you think that’s bad, spare a thought for the directionally-challenged model.
 |
| Belgian T-15 tank and T-13 tank destroyers |
Granted the T-13 II (Belgian Vehicle Note 15) is also equipped with a C47 FRC M32 cannon and a CMG. But bringing these to bear is a little more, shall we say, awkward. I won’t bore you with why these weapons point in the wrong direction. They do. And that leads to all sorts of awkwardness in ASL. For starters, the MA is mounted in a turret with a traverse deliberately oriented to fire through the rear of the vehicle’s covered arc (VCA). Before the turret can be rotated to face threats from the side or front of the vehicle, the driver must disembark. Armor plates that would otherwise protect the crew must then be lowered to provide unimpeded traverse of the cannon. There are three plates or shields, one each side of the forward crew compartment, and one facing forward, with a vision slit for the driver when the shields are raised. More on the front shield in a moment.
Considering the time needed to change turret covered arc (TCA), the vehicle note instructs players that the T-13 II must be stopped to change TCA and may not change TCA in the same Phase (MPh and DFPh being counted as one phase) of any player turn it fires its MA/CMG and/or moves. But wait there’s more!
On the T-13 II counter there’s a black star symbol next to a “T” below the Armor Factors (D1.6). This indicates that the turret/upper-superstructure Aspect (C3.9) of the rear Target Facing is unarmored (D1.22). That’s because the turret isn’t fully enclosed. Therefore, the vehicle itself is treated as unarmored to any hit that strikes the rear turret facing. In practical terms this measurably improves the prospect of destroying the tank destroyer. For example, at a range of seven hexes, an ATR hit on the rear hull would require a To Kill DR ≤ 4 to destroy the vehicle. However, a hit on the rear turret would succeed with a To Kill DR ≤ 6.
The lack of armor on the rear turret also puts the crew at risk of breaking. Rather than Stun, an unprotected crew (D5.311) will break if it fails a MC and is thus compelled to rout from the vehicle! If moving or in Motion when this occurs, the vehicle will automatically Stop, without expending a Stop Movement Point (MP).
It gets better, or worse, depending on which side you’re rooting for. If the TCA isn’t aligned with the rear VCA, a Direct Fire attack emanating from outside the TCA treats the turret aspect as unarmored and the crew as unprotected. Additionally, the crew only receives a +1 Crew Exposed Dice Roll Modifier (CE DRM) versus Indirect Fire (C.1) instead of the normal entitlement of +2 (D5.31). In other words, only when the TCA matches the rear VCA of the T-13 II, does the crew receive the +2 CE DRM to fire emanating from outside the TCA or VCA. The +2 DRM presumably has to do with the side shields being raised when the turret is facing directly to the rear. But did you catch the distinction?
 |
| Belgian T-13 Type II tank destroyer |
Unless the TCA is aligned with the VCA, incoming fire traced through the VCA always treats the crew as unprotected. For some reason ASL ignores the front shield, assuming either that it can’t be raised or that it doesn’t exist. I think this unfairly penalizes the T-13 II. At the same time, ASL fails to take into consideration the lack of armor on the rear portion of the improved, but still vulnerable, T-13 III turret, which is never treated as unarmored.3
If this all seems complicated. It is. Which is why I strongly urge you to read the vehicle note more than once.
 |
| T-13 Types II and III Armored - Unarmored -Unprotected |
Encore! Encore!
The French would renew their attack that evening. At 1730 Capitaine Fontant arrived with two platoons of his motorized dragoons from the 15e Régiment de dragons portés and six Automitrailleuse de reconnaissance or AMR 33 (French Vehicle Note 2), bolstered by Aspirant Guignard’s Hotchkiss tanks. Panzerbüchse proved no match for the thicker armor of the Char léger modèle 1939 H—H39 (French Vehicle Note 7) in ASL parlance, and Obermeier wisely withdrew eastward. As dusk fell, however, the French halted their advance after encountering what later proved to be a dummy barrier on the highway. Next morning lead elements of 2. Panzer-Division entered Nives.
Blind tagged
A blind tag is a term used in so-called professional wrestling. It’s an orchestrated means of switching entertainers, sorry wrestlers, supposedly without their opponent’s knowledge. It’s tiresome theatre designed to “confuse” a fighter prone to being duped. The mug faces what he perceives to be his active threat only to be blindsided by a second fighter, usually from behind, who had tagged his partner without the mug being any the wiser. There isn’t much chance of this happening in “Tag Team.” Still, it’s easy for the German player to get distracted and be out of position when the Belgians stop waffling and ride into town from the opposite direction.
The Allies can come out on top in one of two ways. They can remove the roadblocks for an immeditate victory. Or they can free a given stretch of road from potential enemy fire. Because the barriers are hastily constructed, they can be pushed aside easier, especially with the help of a T-13 roadblock wrecker. This prevents, or ought to prevent, the Germans from playing hide-and-seek all day. At some point, the defenders need to poke their heads up and fire, or risk losing the game outright.
If you’re a sucker for tin cans and pop guns, you’ll want to give “Tag Team” a test drive. And if you’re a fan of fighting on two fronts, what are you waiting for? Check out articles about my other scenarios here. Sign up to play test today!
Notes
1. Vaux-lez-Rosières is also called Vaux-sur-Sûre, after the stream-like river that runs through town. In case you were wondering, Rosière-la-Grande is also on the north bank, only further west.
2. The commander of DD.2 was Captain de Canchy. However, he was on on leave when the Germans invaded and would rejoin his detachment on the night of 10-11 May.
3. In my opinion, both vehicles should be considered partially-armored given that their turrets weren’t fully enclosed, as shown in contemporary photographs. The armor shields are a little more difficult to model in ASL. Ignoring the many possible combinations of this or that shield being up or down, it could be treated in one of two ways. For instance, there could be a default state where as many shields as possible are raised after the turret is traversed. Or a counter could be used to indicate the status of the shields: up or down, with the latter state permitting unrestricted traverse while this condition persists. For ease I have chosen to ignore the obvious inconsistencies between the current ASL treatment of the T-13 and what my research has revealed. Having said that, feel free to agree to improvise.
