Adrian Carter
Senior Member
After our recent battles set in Hatten, France late in the war we decided to move back in time to the German invasion of France in 1940. We chose a set of three scenarios depicting the battles for the village of Inor from The Green Hell of Inor historical module published by Le Franc Tireur. This AAR is based on our playing of the first scenario INOR1 Deep into the French Front. The action depicts the initial attempt of the 196. Infanterie-Regiment to seize the village of Inor from the 246ème Régiment d’Infanterie supported by a Soixante-Quinze of the 136ème Régiment d’Infantrie de Fortresse and elements of the 14ème Régiment d’ Tirailleurs Algériens. The Germans are mounted on motorcycles and have 5 and a half turns to take at least 13 building locations and exit at least 8 VP off the south edge. The errata indicated that the German Cross on turn track 4 should be ignored. All Germans enter on Turn 1. Moreover, the German gun starts the game Towed. This looked to be a nice little fight for the village on a small section of the gorgeous Inor map. I attacked with the Germans and Johan defended with the French.
Start of Game: I decided to ride my motorcycles down road and dismount, all covered by the PSW 222 with its smoke discharger. I planned to push a platoon of infantry down the east of the village, one platoon down the middle and a third platoon to move through the light woods and brush to the east of the village. Meanwhile two half squads would rush the concealed counters in H34 and H35 supported by one of the Badewannen to secure the flank. I guessed that these counters represented a dummy stack and the MMG. The remaining French counters were packed into the village. I also supposed that the HIP 25LL AT gun was somewhere east of the village in concealment terrain. All French infantry counters were set up under PIN counters as per SSR.
Start of turn 3: This image captures nicely the conundrum I was at this stage of the fight. The main German attack was bogged down in the north of the village whilst the outflanking platoon had made good ground in the east. Fortunately, the French MMG in H35 had not slowed the German attack and was desperately scrambling back. The French 25LL had fired from M41 to turn the Badewanne into a glorious flaming wreck, but the crew would soon succumb to subsequent infantry fire. My leIG 18 had managed to unhook in O43 without any problems. However, in retrospect I don’t think it was a particularly good position. I realized time was very much against the Germans at this point. The French Poilu (with amazing DRs especially in CC) had been defending the village doggedly and successfully.
End of Game: Despite an aggressive attempt by the German infantry supported by the PSW 222 and a Badewanne to take the village in the penultimate turn, I only managed to take 8 of the required 13 building locations thus providing the French with a well-deserved victory. As a consolation, I did manage to exit the remaining vehicles to achieve the necessary exit VPs. Overall this was a very enjoyable firefight. Next time I wouldn’t try slogging through the stone buildings from the north, but rather outflank them. The row houses were particularly difficult. I don’t think I was creative enough with my motorcycles either. I should have pushed a platoon right around the flank and attacked the village from the south east. Moreover, the French should not have placed the valuable MMG right up front and the poor Soixante-Quinze played no role whatsoever in the battle. For our next game, the French will try to retake the village of Inor in FT INOR6. Stay tuned!
- French advantages: 1st line MMCs, MMGs, Soixante-Quinze
French disadvantages, poor leadership, large area to defend - German advantages: Elite troops, motorcycles, PSW 222
German disadvantages: terrain funnels attack, many buildings to occupy
Start of Game: I decided to ride my motorcycles down road and dismount, all covered by the PSW 222 with its smoke discharger. I planned to push a platoon of infantry down the east of the village, one platoon down the middle and a third platoon to move through the light woods and brush to the east of the village. Meanwhile two half squads would rush the concealed counters in H34 and H35 supported by one of the Badewannen to secure the flank. I guessed that these counters represented a dummy stack and the MMG. The remaining French counters were packed into the village. I also supposed that the HIP 25LL AT gun was somewhere east of the village in concealment terrain. All French infantry counters were set up under PIN counters as per SSR.
Start of turn 3: This image captures nicely the conundrum I was at this stage of the fight. The main German attack was bogged down in the north of the village whilst the outflanking platoon had made good ground in the east. Fortunately, the French MMG in H35 had not slowed the German attack and was desperately scrambling back. The French 25LL had fired from M41 to turn the Badewanne into a glorious flaming wreck, but the crew would soon succumb to subsequent infantry fire. My leIG 18 had managed to unhook in O43 without any problems. However, in retrospect I don’t think it was a particularly good position. I realized time was very much against the Germans at this point. The French Poilu (with amazing DRs especially in CC) had been defending the village doggedly and successfully.
End of Game: Despite an aggressive attempt by the German infantry supported by the PSW 222 and a Badewanne to take the village in the penultimate turn, I only managed to take 8 of the required 13 building locations thus providing the French with a well-deserved victory. As a consolation, I did manage to exit the remaining vehicles to achieve the necessary exit VPs. Overall this was a very enjoyable firefight. Next time I wouldn’t try slogging through the stone buildings from the north, but rather outflank them. The row houses were particularly difficult. I don’t think I was creative enough with my motorcycles either. I should have pushed a platoon right around the flank and attacked the village from the south east. Moreover, the French should not have placed the valuable MMG right up front and the poor Soixante-Quinze played no role whatsoever in the battle. For our next game, the French will try to retake the village of Inor in FT INOR6. Stay tuned!
