Normandy 44 - Starting June 6th

[andreasf]

I will start the 7 day-campaign at 2 in the morning of June 6th.

I consider doing #16-Normandy-3_Alt.scen with the recommended settings from Volcanos page.

I have never played a full campaign but over the years many scenarios of this and most other PanzerCampaign and ModernCampaign games. So I think at least for the first day I should be able to do it more or less "realtime"


Any suggestions?
Thank you very much in advance

 

[andreasf]

02:00 6 June 1944 Allied Turn, Turn 1 of 70, Normal Conditions, Night


It’s 1 o’clock in the morning and the greatest crusade has started.


Not early - as we have summer time or Daylight Saving Time over here since the 70s it is pretty much exactly 70 years later to the minute of the first paras touching down on Normandy soil.

And like all those years before most of the units are disrupted, heavily scattered and have taken casualties. A couple of the American units are down to less than 10 percent manpower.

The Allies have taken two victory locations, one American, one British. But not Pegasus Bridge

During this day I will try to play the first turns almost real time (one turn is two hours as most of you know). At least untill this evening, after that I will do the next six days at a more leasurely pace. It is my attempt to honor the sacrifices of those brave men and women many years ago

The airborne landings and initial German responses did not take much more than 20 minutes. The next turn starts at 6 o’clock (5 o’clock summer time). So off to bed it is

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[andreasf]

06:00 6 June 1944 Allied Turn, Turn 2 of 70, Normal Conditions Day


3 out of 10 HQs out of Command
40 units low on ammo 46 units undisrupted or unbroken out of 119 units checked
115 units gained fatigue


And off we are
First the Paras. Pegasus Bridge was deserted. And then taken. The Candians set off in march mode towards Dives sur Mer and Cabourg. They take fire but the enemy is spotted for the big ships guns later that turn. As they are almost useless against the fortifications on the beach I like to add their firepower to the struggle inlands.
Bavent and Herouvillette hold - for now
The Americans attack the strongpoints - by direct fire and assault. They all hold.


Then it is the landings. Every American engineer unit is disrupted. As is every unit on Omaha.
The Brits fare a bit better as does Utah-beach.
And the fire from the ship guns does no more than the occasional man killed. Sometimes the target does not even gain fatigue.
So in a way - business as usual.

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[andreasf]

08:00 6 June 1944 Allied Turn, Turn 3 of 70, Normal Conditions, Day


Watching the German fire is devastating. On the beaches the casualties are mounting, one unit after the other is going disrupt.


7 out of 11 HQs out of Command
25 artillery units unavaiable
90 units low on ammo
36 units undisrupted or unbroken out of 119 units checked
118 units gained fatigue


The Canadian Paras take Dives sur Mer. Two units leave Pegasus Bridge for the west side of the Orne to hunt for the HQ of 7th Army.
The first units appear to the south (and are bombarded by ship) and to the east of the Para's area. I try to hold (and where possible to dig in) while the two strongpoints in the middle of the troops hold out
The first units manage to leave Utah Beach. Inlands the Paras try to clear the strongpoints (with varying success) and to take the bridges, as the first German artillery units are approaching and even two Panzers.
From Point du Hoc two of the rangers destroy one flak-unit and start chasing German infantry into the direction of Grandcamp. As much fun as this is - Omaha is a bloody mess: Almost all units are disrupted and low on ammo. This is not good.
In contrast Gold is almost cleared except for one bunker each at the east and the west end of the beach. Juno is half way cleared. Considering that this beach allegedly took almost as much small arms fire as Omaha beach and having read „Juno Beach: Canada’s DDay Victory“ this is very good. Sword again is a mess: Not one hex cleared, bodes and vehicles are piling up on the beach.
The Airforces are having a good morning, hunting for moving infantry, artillery and panzers in the open. Easy targets.

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[andreasf]

10:00 6 June 1944 Allied Turn, Turn 4 of 70, Normal Conditions, Day


8 out of 20 HQs out of Command
50 artillery units unavailable
117 units low on ammo
41 units undisrupted or unbroken out of 112 units checked

Utah is not only expanding nicely (I think) but the Paras are also doing well, consolidating the bridgehead and expanding it. But Panzers and Fallschirmjägers are also advancing.
Omaha - the boys are trying to shoot at the bunkers with no results other than they are being shot up in return. New arrivals suffer at least 25 percent losses and are immediately disrupted.
Gold is slowly expanding
On Juno the Canadians are getting bogged down
Sword is still stuck on the beach
At least the British Paras are consolidating but Bavent is still a thorn in the side and not only blocking this but also the VPlocation in the marshes

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[andreasf]

12:00 6 June 1944 Allied Turn, Turn 5 of 70, Normal Conditions, Day


6 out of 25 HQs out of Command
60 artillery units unavailable
110 units low on ammo
31 units undisrupted or unbroken out of 108 units checked


oK, things begin to get a bit messy at the beaches. Many units clogging the sand - most of them disrupted and/ or in pitiful strength. This has the side effect, that just like so many years before groups fight together (not always very efficiently) as they come. And if an advance is made, anyone who is not disrupted is being pushed forward. Which will in a very short time make it pretty difficult to sort units out.
Nevertheless the first priority has to be to kill those bunkers and to get off the Beach.
At Utah Beach there are still two strongpoints, one directly behind the Beach, the other one behind the marshes, who hinder the allied movement.
Two other strongpoints are a nuisance as they tie down units that are needed at the other end of the Beachhead where the Fallschirmjägers are starting to arrive in force.
Omaha - nothing new. This is starting to hurt. And I am talking real hurt.
Gold ist slowly starting to grow. Soon it will be off to Bayeux he said, sticking his head out of the window
Juno is at a standstill. But I think that after the first successes I am slowly making some ground.
Sword: The first bunker has been breached. What a relief - by now there is a backlog (or Stau as we say in Germany) of units that are unable to land. That is not good, chaps, hurry along.
Looks like I have to live with the thorn in my British Paras side. Pity, that, really. I rushed two B-morale units for some kind of last ditch effort, but there are German units arriving from the East.
Then again a roving patrol on the other side of the Orne has found the HQ of 7th Infantry division, has made a startling attack from the hip and then directed three airforce- and five warship-attacks against the Krauts. Tally Ho. They should be able to finish the job next turn.


Because of the growing number of units I will start to try one turn in three hours. Up until now „almost real time“ has worked, but I am starting to lag behind. Besides I start to make mistakes - I am getting a tired. And I do have coffee and cigarettes. This thing makes me appreciate the effort of the men and women 70 years ago even more.


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[andreasf]

14:00 6 June 1944 Allied Turn, Turn 5 of 70, Normal Conditions, Day


9 out of 32 HQs out of Command
55 artillery units unavailable
148 units low on ammo
34 units undisrupted or unbroken out of 97 units checked


At Utah the resistance-points have fallen and the Army has made contact with the Paratroopers. The Army will clear the Beach north and go directly west where the Fallschirmjägers are forming, the Airborne will go south and then will swing towards Omaha Beach
If - and that is more than a gloomy thought - by then there still is a beach. The Allies have only taken two pillboxes - eight more to go. And by now it is 1600 hours. Things look very very dark indeed.
Gold is looking good. In places I am 5 Kilometers (5 hexes) inland. OK that is far from Bayeux or Caen. But I am getting somewhere. Which by the way may be a very deep mess. The Units are absolutely intermingled. I do not know when and how I shall be able to get them apart again. But I do want to seize some ground before the Panzers make their mad dash to the Sea.
Juno - stiff going. Interlocking ZOCs are limiting my movement.
Even more so on Sword. There is only one hex in the „Hinterland“ in the line of bunkers that I seem to be able to go through. Or rather crawl through. While a few hexes back more and more Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe Tanks are decloaking. Spock would have a field day. But then again he had photon-torpedoes. I would eternally grateful for some white phosphor.
E/2W/GP ist still having fun with the HQ of a brigade of 7th Infantry and is chasing the poor lads through the bocage. Finding along the way more and more Panzerjäger, Selbstfahrlafetten and other stranngelooking stuff (Beutewaffen). They are fun to shoot at with the ships: One shot, one vehicle gone.


This will be it for today. A neighbor is celebrating her birthday and I had selflessly agreed weeks ago to take care of the BBQ

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[Todk]

Hi, really enjoyed your aar on the Normandy full campaign. I just played the 1 day Sword scenario as the allies and, although I eventually won a major victory it took me almost the whole game to take the pillboxes when historically they fell by 8:00am. That's turn two in the game. When I assaulted with the commandos the result was 0/0. I don't see any way to take the pillboxes in the first few turns. This bothers me to think that in a great game like this it is impossible to get a historical result. I really hope I am missing something and it is possible. If you have any thoughts on this I would like to hear them. Thanks.