O Group Test Drive II

Midway through, the Germans below have already lost a platoon. Top, the German advance begins.

 So we returned to Frank's place again to do another introductory scenario. This time the Germans attacking on the same map but in the other direction. Once again, I was on the defense gusrding the left with the objective of holding the town. Frank was on the right defending the hill and another built up area. We each had a company. I assigned both AT guns to Frank's side with one in ambush in the town and the other back in the centre to guard down the road. I took the MMG and one platoon in ambush on my far left.

German attack succumbs to mortars, fire from the upper village and tanks on the road, 

The German attack came unstuck pretty quickly due to a hesitant company, a couple of timely and effective ambushes, and some horrendous die rolls at the worst moments.

We made a number of mistakes that I know of:

• I should have rolled for the effects of mortaring on my HQ and a combat patrol when the Germans mortared the town a couple of times. In my defense, they did specify that the MMG was the target so I didn't think about area of effect. This would have meant that the Canadians would probably have had to spend a couple more orders to rally off shock or replace combat patrols.
• The AT gun in the town should not have gotten the defensive bonus for being in a town. This was something that the rules author cleared up in the Lardies forum.

I know that there's a bunch of other rules that we missed or forgot. I'll have to make a post summarizing them to help me remember them.

O Group Test Drive

Starting positions with the British attacking from the left and the Germans defending the wood line

 On Thursday, Frank invited a few of us over to try out O Group using a starter scenario. The scenario was primarily about how to scout using recce and combat patrols and how to deploy units. In this case, the British were trying to locate three hidden German units and capture a building near a road junction. I took command of the 2nd German company on the left. I hid one section as far to the left as I could and hid the MMG in the centre in the back woods. I felt the front woods were a little too exposed. 

In the foreground and background the Brits advancing to the woods where Germans await

I had hoped that the British would overlook my far left and attack more down the centre. It was not to be. The British on my side headed directly towards the far left, so I switch plans and decided to make a stand in the woods and run out the clock (the ritwas 8 turns long). There was a general back and forth happening with one of the highlights being a British section running into my hidden unit when the were charging another unit. Things went rapidly south for the British at that point, although we may have played it wrong in ruling that the British section would continue its charge after the ambush.

Post ambush with a Brit platoon down to one section. Background shows Brits reeling from artillery

On the other flank, the British made slow progress. The did manage to force the Germans to expose one of the hidden German units, but the British attack became completely unstuck when a German artillery barrage caught them bunched up. One section completely disappeared and the rest had to retreat back to where they started.

The scenario is tough for the British to win. Their only chance is to move quickly and scout aggressively. It would have been nice if the scenario had pointed this out to help the British. I would like to try it out playing the British next time to see how being quick and aggressive would work out.

As far as the rules go, they seem very interesting. They could be better organized and the missing page numbers are a major pain (one that I will fix by writing them in myself). But the system itself seems to make sense and work out well.

The Guns of Cape Spear

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit St John's NL. I landed midday and since I had a vehicle, some decent weather, and some time on my hands, I decided to visit Cape Spear. Cape Spear is famous for being the eastern-most point of land in Canada and for it's iconic lighthouse.

It also has two gun emplacements. They were built in 1941 to protect the approach to St John's harbour.

 Each emplacement consisted of a single gun with hide-away carriage that would drop the gun down behind concrete and earth embankments while it was being loaded. 

The emplacement had a ready room where the on-duty crew could relax and a small magazine to hold the ready shells and powder. I'm not sure where the main magazine was.

I don't know any specifics about the guns themselves other than they must have been fairly well discounted. The guns were second-hand because they had been installed in an American fort in 1891. There's nothing left of their carriage, but at least the guns are still there.