Mission #5 - A Coy/RCR Campaign, Sicily to Ortona, Italy, 1943

[ChappyNS]

Welcome to Mission #5 of my SASL Campaign! Missions #1-4 were all successful for the Canadians. They began by eliminating the shocked Italians from the Pachino airfield in southern Sicily, then cleared the road of Germans for the attack on Valguernera, secured the hill feature on the way to Nissoria, and most recently captured the high feature dominating the town of Regalbuto. This next mission will be against a 5th new enemy and perhaps the toughest so far: the legendary Fallschirmjaeger. This is another night mission!

This campaign follows the historical path of A Coy, Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) from its landing at Pachino, Sicily, to the bloody streets of “Little Stalingrad” at Ortona, Italy in 1943.

At this point I would like to again thank and give credit to Ahriman667 who put a lot of effort into the research, design and play-testing of this campaign. It is solely his campaign - I have just “borrowed” it. Thanks Ahriman667!

The overall campaign structure for the Canadians are as follows:

Unit: A Coy/RCR/1 CIB

Composition: [US# 38/26] Leader x3, 4-5-7 x9, 2-4-7, 1-2-7 x3, LMG x4, 51mm MTR x3, PIAT x3 (note that six of the 4-5-7 are now elite)

• On OFFENCE add 1-2-7x1, MMGx1 [US# 40/28]
• On DEFENCE add 1-2-7x1, HMGx1 [US# 40/28]

ELR: 4

Command structure:

Capt. R.G. Liddell (A Coy Cmd)

Capt Dillon (A Coy 2IC)

Capt M.C.D. Bowman (Pl Cmd)

** Sgt Chapman

**Note: I am additionally using the “Personal Leader Optional Rules” (I think originally found in basic Squad Leader) and so I have added my own personal 7-0 leader to the fray. He gets promoted by securing more elan points (positive actions) than cowardice points (negative actions). After mission #3 he was promoted to sergeant, 8-0.

On a personal note, I used to be an officer with the RCR so this campaign holds high interest for me. Additionally, as a student and teacher of military history, I have also visited Sicily and Ortona, in part to help get a better grasp of what our guys went through. Previously in my career, I actually met Captain Dillon (see above), who at the time was serving as our honorary Colonel of the Regiment, and who would be one of the few original regimental officers to survive the war.

If you wish to read more about the Canadians in Sicily/Italy, I highly recommend Mark Zuehlke’s four books.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings!

​

 

[ChappyNS]

Mission #5 - Witches Hour at Motta​

Where: Motta, Italy

When: 02 October, 1943

Mission Type: Block Party (7)

Note: the scenario designer has made some major changes to "Block Party"; most are listed below:

1. Night rules in effect (NVR 1), AC = 2, -1 to ENEMY ELR, SAN +2, no IR/Starshells
2. Must use board #60 (town on hill)
3. ENEMY: no guns or AFVs, Stealthy, MMC generated as follows on dr: 1-4 (548), 5 (447), 6 (426)
4. Weather is heavy rain, heavy winds, EC wet, overcast, no moon, NVR = 1
5. S? placement: as per A9e (built up map)
6. VPs: of the four categories listed, only #1 and #4 apply
7. MSRs 3,4 and 6 are NA
8. Motta is devastated (MSR 5); bombardment occurs before S? setup

Enemy: Germans; specifically elements of 3 Fallschirmjaeger Regiment/1st Parachute Div

Historical Narrative: The intervening weeks since the landing saw the Germans retreating up the boot, blowing bridges as they went. Canadians for their part would prepare for imminent combat, only to find that the enemy had pulled back. Finally on 30 September, the vanguard of the 1 CIB reported that the enemy remained in the mountain village of Motta. The next day the vanguard (consisting of the Calgary Tank Regiment, B Coy of the RCR and several other support units proceeded up the winding highway towards the town and at 1600 hours commenced their attack. Unfortunately the narrow steep windy road proved a death trap because of the German 88’s and heavy machine gun fire which caused the attack to falter.

At 1700 hours, the CO issued his orders for the attack which would see C and D Coys to push through B Coy positions and secure the high ground to the right of the road while A Coy would subsequently prepare to penetrate into the town on order. The attack would begin at dusk.


SETUP AND CONSIDERATION

This mission is another night assault, although again the night rules are reduced due to SASL and the limitations imposed by the designer. With heavy winds, heavy rain and no moon, no wonder the NVR is one. This will obviously play to my advantage and I will hopefully continue to have a low NVR for the whole battle.

For the first map, here is an empty board #60 (town on hill) as required by the campaign instructions:



North is to the top. FBE is east for this battle (at right) and EBE is west. Here I have a town on a hill with lots of orchards (still in effect for October) surrounding it. Wheat/grain is non-existent, but there is very little on this board anyway. There is one church and four single hex buildings of two floors. There are some row houses and two of the buildings are split level on different elevations. The buildings are largely stone, and there is a small cemetery to the west of town.

There are no VPOs but there are city blocks, defined as areas with 3 or more building locations that are surrounded by roads/water/board edge. The Canadians get VPs (3 for each block) at game end if no good order ENEMY MMC is in a city block (ie control doesn't matter, just whether there are good order enemy MMC present at game end or not). I have broken down the map of Motta into seven city blocks as follows:



As you can see, blocks #1 and #6 have the least amount of buildings, although block #1 is farthest away. Block #7 has the most building hexes and building locations. Block #2 is interesting because the buildings are mainly single hex, single story (two exceptions). Blocks #3 and #4 are very protected, while Block #5 is easier to get at because it is stuck out on the eastern end of the town. Again, 3 x VPs are awarded to the Canadians for each of these blocks devoid of good order ENEMY MMC at game end.

Now, as per MSR 5, and as per scenario instructions, Motta is a devastated town (see C1.8 for procedure for bombardment and rubble/fire). Note that the bombardment is considered to have happened before the Fallschirmjaeger showed up. So....above you have the town of Motta before the war, and below you have it after the bombardment:



There are a couple of shellholes and one flame (meaning a "12" was rolled and the building is literally non-existent). Then there are a dozen or so wooden and stone rubble hexes. Note that in a couple of these locations, only the top floor was rubbled.

Next comes the suspect locations...and there are a lot:




Fortunately the base AC is only "2" for this mission. But, there is a -1 drm for being within 2 hexes of an already activated ENEMY and another -1 if the suspect counter is on first level or higher in a hex and another -1 if the ENEMY is in a stone building. Fortunately, there is also a +2 drm for being on a city mapboard with greater than 50 buildings (which there are on board #60). So for example, if a S? was in a single story, wooden building without activated ENEMY within 2 hexes of it, and the activation dr was a "2". The drm's would be: +2 (for city map) and so the modified dr would be 4 (meaning a dummy S?). If the S? was in the first level of a stone building without activated ENEMY near it, and the activation dr was another "2", the final AC number would be: 2 + 2(city map) - 1(stone) - 1(first level) = 2. This is less than or equal to the Base AC so there would be an activation. Note that a "1" is always an activation and a "6" is always a dummy.

Also note that in several locations there are two S? counters.

So A Coy has some work to do. With the combination of an initial NVR of 1, plenty of orchard cover from higher elevations, and congested buildings causing poor LOS, A Coy is able to approach and attack this town piece by piece with relative ease. But if the NVR increases over the course of the battle the difficulty of this mission also increases. Block #6 is the obvious first choice to clear with limited S? and proximity to the FBE. Next I will have A Coy tackle Block #5 due to the fact it is stuck out on the end of town. After this, block #2 or #4 would be the next target to clear: block #2 is mostly linear with spread out S?, so that may be my third target. My least favourable target is obviously Block #7.

Now, let's take a look at the victory conditions. To win, the Canadians need one more VP than the Germans. The Germans can only gain VPs for casualty VP earned. Other than that, the Germans can only block Canadian VPs by having the city blocks occupied at game end. So theoretically, the Canadians could take Block #1 with low casualties (or none) and just sit there for the remainder of the battle and win. I think an additional caveat to make mission #7 (Block Party) more challenging for the FRIENDLY side would be: the FRIENDLY side must also secure a number of city blocks. 2? 3? Or maybe clear enough blocks to allow FRIENDLY forces to trace a line of cleared blocks from FBE to EBE? And could this be actually achieved in 8 turns?

What do you guys think about an added caveat? Which one would you think is most fair?

 

[Gordon]

What about controlling a simple majority of blocks? Some interesting decisions one which ones to go for.

 

[Eagle4ty]

I ran into a similar condition at least once and resolved it by randomly assigning a "critical" block by a dr to have to take. Starting with the block closest to the FBE simply number them 1-6 and make a dr (not all blocks will be randomized usually), the block selected is worth 2 VP the others 1VP. Sometimes you get the cow other times the cow-pie. In my mind's eye this also more accurately describes a mission given a Company Commander as he would rarely have the option of selecting his own objective in an important mission like clearing a large town or a portion of it.

 

[BigAl737]

At the end of the game, roll a die. If the result is less than or equal to the number of controlled blocks controlled by the Canadians, the Canadians win.

Or something similar. Eight turns doesn’t give you much time to guarantee a win.

 

[tommyl]

Or rather than 3 VP per block, make it variable as per S14.4 and let the Germans get VPs for blocks they still control.

 

[dlazov]

Don’t forgot gun flashes and Star Shells. I was playing with Brian Martuz at ASLOK and it was NVR 1, but as soon as he could he lit most of the map up with star shells, then gun flashes and jitter fire, it was an attackers nightmare. I was the attacker (Russians vs the SS, in the snow over a frozen lake, Narva...)

 

[ChappyNS]

Don’t forgot gun flashes and Star Shells. I was playing with Brian Martuz at ASLOK and it was NVR 1, but as soon as he could he lit most of the map up with star shells, then gun flashes and jitter fire, it was an attackers nightmare. I was the attacker (Russians vs the SS, in the snow over a frozen lake, Narva...)

Thanks! If you look at the special scenario rule #1 (see above), there are no starshells. However, gun flashes are in effect. I will take heed of your recommendation

 

[ChappyNS]

Or rather than 3 VP per block, make it variable as per S14.4 and let the Germans get VPs for blocks they still control.

The Germans get casualty VP as well, and with only 8 turns, this one would definitely be in their favour I think

 

[ChappyNS]

At the end of the game, roll a die. If the result is less than or equal to the number of controlled blocks controlled by the Canadians, the Canadians win.

Or something similar. Eight turns doesn’t give you much time to guarantee a win.

With only 8 turns, I think the best the Canadians could do in that scenario would be to get 3 blocks (and that could be pushing it), which means that there is only a 50/50 chance for them to win. Yikes!

 

[ChappyNS]

I ran into a similar condition at least once and resolved it by randomly assigning a "critical" block by a dr to have to take. Starting with the block closest to the FBE simply number them 1-6 and make a dr (not all blocks will be randomized usually), the block selected is worth 2 VP the others 1VP. Sometimes you get the cow other times the cow-pie. In my mind's eye this also more accurately describes a mission given a Company Commander as he would rarely have the option of selecting his own objective in an important mission like clearing a large town or a portion of it.

I like this suggestion. If I did it this way (or something similar) I think I would not allow the Germans to get casualty VPs. I may want to increase to 10 turns - not only are there a lot of S? out there to slow you down, but there are times when parts of A Coy will fail their command/control DR or they may also stray at night. Hmmm I will ponder this further. Thanks!

 

[dlazov]

Normally with night, you also have straying. I have not seen that as a factor yet.

 

[ChappyNS]

Normally with night, you also have straying. I have not seen that as a factor yet.

True...last battle I think I moved for only three turns and then just had the soldiers sit on their thumbs for 4 or 5 turns to kill time

 

[Ahriman667]

What about delaying the start of the night rules? At the beginning of every FR Turn make a dr. On a 1 night rules are in effect; there is a -1 drm for each turn that has passed after the first? This way you still have the visibility hindrance from the rain, but the EN can possibly be activated sooner. What do you guys think?

 

[ChappyNS]

I put a lot of thought into the victory conditions of this one and I weighed all of your suggestions. To try to take a majority of the city blocks in eight turns is highly unlikely, but possible. Taking 5 or more forget it. Then I looked at the random A6 tables and Table A6a appealed to me and seemed reasonable, generating 2-4 blocks minimum that I would have to secure. By implementing this simple table, the rules and special rules could remain the same as detailed. I rolled a "3" and so A Coy, RCR must take a minimum of 3 city blocks in 8 turns which will convince the paras that Motta is indefensible and force them to withdraw. Done!

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 1

Note that I have enabled the "darkness" and "rain" selections on the menu, making the map darker (note how the flame counter remains illuminated which is very neat)





This was hell on earth, and Sgt Chapman loved it. The deluge of rain combined with near hurricane force winds and utter darkness would make this mission difficult as far as navigation went. The boot of Italy was providing new challenges as Sicily was left far behind, and weather was but one of them. But A Coy was about to assault the elite fallschirmjaeger in a bombed out town, and so these conditions were just what the doctor ordered. Ideally, it was better to attack an enemy who was tired, hungry, wet, uncomfortable or even miserable, and who couldn't see more than 20 meters away. As the rain pelted off his helmet, Chapman knew that these were the ideal conditions A Coy was looking for. As he prepared to lead the support group of mortars (who couldn't fire at anything anyway in this blackness) and the dismantled MMG, his mind wandered back to the company commander's orders group:

"As everyone knows, yesterday B Coy and the Calgary tanks were repelled going up the road to Motta. Thankfully, the CO tasked C and D companies to secure the high ground to our right and I just received word that they are in place and the high feature is secured. Now it is time for A Coy to penetrate the town as far as we can. Phase 1 of our mission will be to secure the mansion, here." Capt Liddell pointed at the map, which showed a small square block (the mansion) on a very small knoll. "Some fancy pants Italian used to live here, but not anymore. Yesterday, one of our recce patrols noticed enemy movement in and around the mansion so we have to clear it first before we can proceed into Motta proper. So for Phase 1, 1 Pl and the support group commanded by Sgt Chapman will move around the north of this knoll and assault the mansion from that direction. Simultaneously, 2 Pl will have moved to the south of the mansion. Together, both platoons will assault uphill and invest the mansion. Maybe we will find some nice red wine eh? And finally, while this is happening, 3 Pl will advance to the wooden house southwest of the knoll and clear it. That will end Phase 1. Questions?"

The clanking sound of the nearby dismantled mortars snapped his mind back to the present. Everyone was in place, and as Chapman looked at his watch he noticed the shadowy figures of the scouts move across the invisible line of departure. A minute or so later, 1 Pl shuffled by his location. This was their cue, and his soaked men slowly raised to their waterlogged feet. The winds howled like banshees as the Canadians moved off into the void...

Capt Bowman and 3 Pl cleared the first S? in Z5 which was a dummy

 

[BigAl737]

I’d give multiple likes if I could.

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 2



Capt Liddell signalled 1 section to advance to the wall near the mansion. The men rushed to the wall, then peeked over it at the lavish building in front of them. There were no lights on, and after a very quick search, it was found that the building was empty on this night (two dummies in AA3). Liddell informed Dillon and Bowman that the area was clear and to carry on with Phase 2. Sgt Chapman, who was right behind the company commander, let his mind drift back to the orders group...

"Once the mansion and outlying buildings are clear, A Coy will carry on with Phase 2. In Phase 2 I want 3 Pl to move to the southern edge of Motta, no more than 100 meters west of the first building. Find the paved road, here, and advance up the hill into the town. 2 Pl will coordinate with 3 Pl and move to the orchard area on the west side of the mansion. 2 Pl will provide an initial firebase into the town if required. 3 Pl will clear the block on the easternmost point of Motta. Meanwhile, 1 Pl and support group will move along the northern side of the town, clearing the line of single buildings, but will not clear past 3 Pls objective until 3 Pl has completed their task."

Capt Bowman waited for 2 Platoon to take up their firebase position in the orchard. Once he was satisfied, he deployed his sections forward in the dark. In this wind and rain, it was hard not to be silent, and his men made good time securing the wooden building at the base of the small hill leading up to the old town. (and revealed two dummies in W5 and X4)

Sgt Chapman moved the MMG and mortar teams to a small wood where he had them assemble their weapons of war. He could barely see the silhouette of some of the buildings against the night sky.

Upon discovering that the mansion was clear of enemy, Liddell spread out #2 and 3 sections and then moved them forward towards the northern city block. They didn't get far when shots suddenly rang out in the dark. He could barely see a destroyed building in front of him, and amongst the rubble the paras were hiding. Immediately, both sections opened fire with their bren guns, pouring accurate fire into the rubble. Suddenly, a small group of Germans leapt up from their hiding spot, and ran maniacally towards him. Just as the paras reached their location, both Canadian leaders fired their sten guns and eliminated the enemy in a few seconds. "Is this what we are going to have to deal with?" Liddell asked no one in particular. Liddell replaced the magazine on his SMG with a fresh one, then peered into the noisy blackness. Had they been heard?

Note: the photo above was taken just before the German CC phase. Surprisingly, the flame turned into a blaze (an "11" or "12" is required) and you can see the area lit up two hexes from the blaze. The Canadians have now cleared one city block.

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 3

RE's are now in effect since there was an activation, but nothing for either side this turn. This is extra slow going for my troops: because it is night, an extra +1 MF in concealment terrain like brush, woods, etc. Additionally, there is a heavy rain so an additional +1 MF to ascend/descend a crest line. Slowwwwwww. I had my first stray, and since there are no stray markers that I am aware of, I created my own orange ones. I also suffered my first panic - CMD range is 2 hexes but only if in LOS, and NVR 1 prevents much LOS!

The fire has become an interesting side show. Because of the heavy winds, there is automatic spread of flames to the three downwind hexes. Both hexes N5 and M7 had S? in them, and as per S3.31(d), that means an activation DR...and they were revealed as two dummies. Go flames go! One of the flames subsequently turned into a blaze during the German turn (flames in a building don't suffer the -2 EC (wet) penalty due to cover) and so there are now two blazes with more automatic spread next turn. I am getting some environmental aid!




With the elimination of the German OP, Capt Liddell was content to move slowly up the slippery, muddy slope and consolidate both sections near the destroyed building. He decided to wait for 3 platoon to clear their block and give #1 section time to rejoin 1 Pl. But where was #1 section? They should have been here by now. Something had gone wrong. He could barely see Sgt Chapman continuing to move the support group to the west, flanking Motta. Admittedly the mortars were useless right now, but the MMG could play an important role.

Capt Bowman gave the signal to advance, but looking around he noticed that #3 section wasn't where they were supposed to be. "What the hell? Where did they go??" Exasperated, he knew he had to carry on without them. #1 and 2 sections moved up the slope, some men slipping and sliding back down, turning themselves into mud monsters. It was messy and it was slow, but eventually they crept up to the first two stone buildings which were empty of German paras. (a dummy in each of hexes V4 and W4) Once the first two buildings were clear, Bowman gave the signal and they advanced two more houses to the centre of city block #5. The final two buildings were empty of enemy as well, and so Bowman grabbed the radio and sent, "Phase 2 complete" to the company commander.

A Coy had now made significant progress into Motta with hardly any opposition. But what would the future bring?

 

[ChappyNS]

TURN 4



Sgt Chapman heard the sitrep from Bowman and knew that Phase 2 was complete. He immediately recalled what Liddell had said next: "In Phase 3, 3 Pl will become the firebase. 1 Pl and support will continue clearing westward through Block #2. 2 Pl will now launch through 3 Pl and exploit up the main east-west road, assisting 1 Pl with the clearance."

Things were going according to plan when there was a large explosion to the south....what the hell was that?

The rain was now pelting Capt Dillon and his men so hard that they couldn't see a meter in front of them. He knew it was time to launch 2 Pl through the breach but he couldn't tell where the hell he was. Cautiously, he and his platoon moved out onto a paved road, mistaking it for the one he should have been on. After going 50 meters they encountered a stone building. "This is not where we should be, dammit!" Instead of moving any further, he had 2 Pl go to ground in a defensive position and called one of his section commanders forward to help figure out where they were. (Stray!) They had just figured out where they were when the dreadful sound of an explosion, followed by screams, pierced even the muffling effects of the heavy rain...

Capt Liddell was happy to see #1 section rejoin the platoon, and together they cleared two more buildings (dummies in T2 and S3). As he was explaining the next house clearance to his section commanders, a shiver went down his spine when the explosion was heard by everyone...

Capt Bowman moved sections 1 and 2 on the edge of block #5, looking directly across the street into block #4 (activating a dummy in T4) 3 Pl was now acting firebase even though there was little to actually see. Where is #3 section????? As he was pondering that, directly to the southeast was an immense detonation of some kind, and he could hear the screams of men...and they were screaming in English. A mere thirty seconds later Bowman would have his answer. Half of #3 section had literally disappeared, blown apart with a booby trap, probably victims of a teller mine hooked up to a door. The German paras were unfortunately very good at that, and they had left some surprises for the Canadians. The remainder of #3 section were currently in no shape to do anything but breathe. "What a shitty night," said Bowman, and just as he said that the winds that were howling suddenly calmed to a breeze and the pelting rain ended just as suddenly.

Note: lots of things happen on a "2" for the initial Wind DR. The winds actually increased, but the rules state that when this happens with an already Heavy Wind, they instead become a mild breeze. Secondly, the rain has ended (although it can restart). And thirdly, it was a German RE #12, booby trap - extremely deadly with the reverse TEM meaning a -3 DRM in a stone house. Ouch.

There are now 4 blazes and one flame. With the heavy winds gone, there is now no automatic spread, but spreading is still possible so we will see how that plays out. The mission is now half over!