FT INOR7 Sauerei Wald AAR

Adrian Carter

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Because we have been having so much fun playing the scenarios from Le Franc Tireur’s historical module The Green Hell of Inor we decided to try one of the meatier ones. The name Sauerei Wald is based on a play of words or sounds by the Germans for the French Bois de Soiry which roughly translates as messy or filthy woods. The action represents the attempts of the German 220. Infanterie-Regiment to seize Soiry farm and the surrounding woods which were defended by the French with elements of the 14ème and 15ème Régiments de Tiralleurs Algériens, 136ème Régiments de Fortresse, and reserves of the 6ème Régiment d’Infanterie. I think that the scenario captures well the bitter fighting between the French and German forces for control of the woods that was typical for this campaign. This is not for the feint of hearted because it is a large scenario which took us about 14 hours to play in total with VASL and Skype.

The scenario takes place on a large section in the north of the Inor map. The Germans have 7 and a half turns to capture Soiry farm and a significant portion of the Bois de Soiry or a large section of a path in the woods. The Germans have a good mix of 1st line and elite MMC with lots of infantry fighting toys such as machine guns, DCs, flame throwers and mortars as well as a leIG 75mm and 37L AT gun. They even have a pre-game bombardment and a module of 70mm+ OBA. The French also have a good mix of 1st line French and elite Algerian MMCs with a few green fortress MMCs thrown in for good measure. They also have a good mix of fortifications counters (wire, trenches, foxholes, minefields and one fortified building) as well a good selection of infantry toys (see above) and 75 mle 75 as well as a module of 70mm+ OBA. I attacked with the Germans and Johan, my regular gaming buddy, defended with the French.

Cave, there are some errata on the Le Franc Tireur website for this scenario. Firstly, “the German group 2 cannot setup in ploughed fields hexes”. I originally tried to set up an MG in a foxhole in a ploughed field hex, but Johan kindly pointed out the error of my ways. Secondly, SSR 4: 2nd sentence: The rule reference for Bombardment should be CG 5.1 not INOR11.”
  • German advantages: assault engineers, pre-game bombardment, leadership, MGs/FT/DCs
    German disadvantages: open ground initially, then slow slog through the woods
  • French advantages: elite Algerians, wire and minefields, MGs, good defensive terrain
    French disadvantages: weak leadership, 4 green MMCs, large area to defend
24010
Start of Game after the pre-game bombardment. I decided to make my main thrust across the open ground from Bois de la Hache in the centre of the map. I hoped that the French would man the tree line of the Bois de Soiry to stop the attack across the open ground and thus my pre-game bombardment would destroy some of the forces in their entrenchments. I also placed my pre-registered hex for the OBA on Soiry Farm. I also intended to place smoke from the 81mm mortar on the edge of the woods to prevent the French from shooting into open ground. My leIG 75 and 37L AT gun also had a field of fire to the woods and edge of the farm, respectively. I attacked the woods in the south with enough infantry forces to keep the French pinned down. I also planned to move my some forces in the north towards the east of the woods to pin down the reserves marked with No Move counters for turn 1. The French looked to defend the tree line of the Bois de Soiry and had set up a heavy line of defence in the south. The Germans came up trumps with the pre-game bombardment in T14. It DM’ed the crew and malf’ed the soixante-quinze, DM’ed another Algerian MMC, and rubbled a building hex in the farm to destroy yet more French. The scene was set for some intense early-war counter combat.

24011
Start of Turn 3. The plan with the 81mm mortar worked almost perfectly. I was able to lay smoke in two hexes in front of the tree line to hinder LOS. I write almost perfectly because the dice gods were a little fickle. I rolled box-cars for the third smoke attempt, thereby promptly malf’ing the mortar. I was pleased with the German progress in the centre of the map. Aided by the pre-game bombardment and smoke I had gained a secure foothold in the Bois de Soiry and Soiry farm and was making my way to the second line of French defence. The attack in the south had hit a wall of wire and minefields, but I just began sweeping around the flanks and the French just didn’t have enough forces to stop Germans, but perhaps delay was more than enough. The attack from the north was barrelling through the woods, thereby pinning the reserves in the east as planned.

24008
Start of Turn 5. The central attack in the Bois de Soiry had reached the second line of defence and swept around the north of the French. One German assault engineer MMC also made a successful DC attack on the French. The French reserves were trying to split themselves between defending the attack from the north and rushing to aid the Algerians in the woods. The Germans had bagged the French field phone in Y18 to prevent anymore French OBA. In the south it was getting distinctly bloody. The French were fighting valiantly and only giving up ground grudgingly. However, the German flamethrower made short work of a broken French MMC before it could rout away. After taking Soiry farm, could the Germans destroy all of the French forces (or at least cause them not be in Good Order) in the Bois de Soiry within 5 hexes of X14 to secure victory by the end of the game?

24007
End of Game. The French conceded at the end of the Allied turn 7 because there was no possibility of entering close combat with an MMC in the few remaining contested hexes of the Bois de Soiry. My opponent made a valiant attempt at the end before finally succumbing to the numerically superior German forces. This was a fun scenario which we would both highly recommend playing. It really does capture the essence of the intense battle between the French and Germans. The early-war French infantry can indeed go toe-to-toeI with the Germans. Overall, I was happy with my attack plan. I think the Germans must define a Schwerpunkt or risk diluting the attack. The woods in the south were slow going. I appreciate that I was fortunate with my pre-game bombardment and smoke placement. This gave me the opportunity to bite and hold the woods before advancing through them. I also managed to sweep around defensive positions rather than attacking frontally. After adding this playing ROAR now reports 3 German wins verses 4 French wins. It’s well worth a try.
 

lionelc62

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Thanks for this AAR ! This scenario is one of my favorite of the pack too.

FYI, we are 'working' on a Player"s Guide for Inor that should be available later this year with more scenarios (and a CG) and articles about the game (AAR, More designer's notes, optional rules ...)!
 

Adrian Carter

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Thanks for this AAR ! This scenario is one of my favorite of the pack too.

FYI, we are 'working' on a Player"s Guide for Inor that should be available later this year with more scenarios (and a CG) and articles about the game (AAR, More designer's notes, optional rules ...)!
Excellent news, Lionel, I look forward to the Player's Guide.
 
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