Baraque de Fraiture 1610, 1618 and 1630 23/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture 1538, 1550 and 1600 23/12/1944

This sequence if screenshots shows the US defence crumbling. They now have only one M4 left and it is manned by just 2 men. Trying to reverse out of its position is tricky - they lost another M4 trying this just a few minutes ago.

Baraque de Fraiture 2 - 1518 23/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture - 23rd Dec 2nd go!

 

This second attempt is going much better for the US. They didn't lose so many on the pregame NMCs. The bombardment had very minor impact [I remembered to add a +2 AIFT drm for the deep snow]. And now the German attack has suffered some coordination problems as the tanks are delayed due to not activating their orders! This has allowed the US tanks to recover from their pinged and sometimes breaking off status and they are ready and waiting! Hmmmn. A much closer fight is in prospect. Pity it's late and I'm too tired to do much more tonight. TIAD.

Baraque de Fraiture 1614 23/12/1944

 

The bitter end for the US. All US tanks are on fire. Only one 105 is manned and it has no HEAT left. The southern flank has collapsed. A PzIV has broken into the middle of the US position and has an immobilized M16 at its mercy. The Glider Infantry company has achieved little - suffering heavily in the bombardment and are now struggling to send out some troops to counter the German advance from the East. I forgot to bring on the othe Germans who are due at 1600 hours from the North! but they are not needed anyway. I think it's all over.

Some errors I made that would help the US if not repeated.

• Germans entering at 1500 hours cannot use the road bonus or the NIC bonus but must add +1 for Deep Snow. This means they need a DR <= 8 to enter. OK easy -  but if they fail then the US have a turn to recover. Entering in 3 groups there is a good chance one will fail (70%x70%x70% = 35%)
• I should put all the US M4s on the EASTERN edge or able to move there at the first initiative. The wide flanking attack by the 2 M4A1s was really effective, but the Germans just had too many PzIVs on the map by then.
• Foxholes under orchards suffer airbursts which is nasty. They do gain for direct fire, but it is moot.
• Using the historical deployment is interesting, but spreading F/325thGIR around in smaller groups would bolster the 106th and maybe make the bazookas more useful.

The US are outnumbered and outmatched and have to win the armour battle to win the game. Even one or two PzIVs or StuGs left will run riot and kill off all the light armour, leaving the infantry easy prey to the PzGr... 

Baraque de Fraiture 1600 23/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture 1538 23/12/1944

 

After some heavy losses the Germans have finished off the US M4s and 105mm covering the eastern edge of BdF. 7 US tanks are in flames and 3 Panzer IVs. Another 4 PzIVs are KO'd and we might expect one to return to action.

In the South, a StuGIIIG was KO's by a 105mm HEAT round and all the crew have 'been recalled'. The Germans have only an hour of daylight to go - can the US hold on?

Baraque de Fraiture 1510 23/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture - 1500 23rd December 1944

 

The defence deployed for my 'The Alamo in the Snow' scenario. This is the last attempt to hold back the 2nd SS at Baraque de Fraiture. Losses prior to this were quite moderate, and some powerful forces have joined the US - including 9 tanks and the Glider Infantry. I've put them roughly were they were deployed at the time. They are about to suffer a 24FP attack to simulate the German bombardment. Then heaps of PzIVs will trundle into view, followed by Panzergrenadiers. The armour battle will decide the scenario as far as I can foretell. If the Germans cannot emiminate the M4s and then the 'Meatchoppers' then their infantry cannot survive long in the treelines let alone in the pastures.

Baraque de Fraiture balance issues

This game went heavily in the favour of the Volksgrenadiers. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the US were rather unlucky with their FTC DRs. The aaHTs achieved very little and wasted a lot of ammo. I put some vehicles too far forward and these drew fire from the mortars and the 75mm l.IGs.

I don't think the Germans are too strong. But they do have the option to be far more aggressive than they were in reality. That is up to the player. 560th VG division was inexperienced. Made up of Luftwaffe personell and not well trained at all. I have them as ML7 Confident and Cohesion 4. This follows my principles. I don't have any reasons to deviate from this. I gave them 2 full companies plus support from 2 sMG42 Gruppen, This makes about 16 squads. On average they will lose a squad due to the pregame NMCs. So I think they are about right.

The US tend to be very passive - playing a sit and shoot game. They do have options to counterattack though. Sending the M8s out to disrupt the German plans is one idea. They are vulnerable to the 75mm if they are at the woods edge - but also via indirect fire. The Germans don't have much firepower to spare to protect their mortars and l.IGs. They certainly shouldn't leave any infantry at the woods edge - all the infantry platoons need to move as far as and as fast as possible. They only have 2 1/2 hours of light to play with.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1746 20/12/1944

 

It looks like a German win. They have about a platoon in BdF south of the main road. The US are down to about 20 men with only one M16 able to fire and it low on ammo. The 105 is deadly and would cause any Germans coming down the road some trouble. Furthermore, we know from the history that the US got reinforced by TF Kane soon after this - and a company of a GIR arrived later. So - while the Germans have done very well, it is still not decisive.

Map shading

My combined night and mist/LV shading comes out a very murky grey. Very atmospheric but not attractive. When playing in VASSAL, hovering over a stack lifts it up over the shading and enlarges it - so the shading doesn't make play too difficult, and does remind me to apply the NIGHT and LV DRMs.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1718 20/12/1944

It's fully dark now. NVR of 6 (150m) but with the mist it will be very hard to engage targets that are not very close. The Germans might use this as an opportunity to finish off the Americans. It's the best chance they'll get. TF Kane are due to arrive in an hour or two - according to some sources. The German squad in the foxholes were getting killed off by the 105, so set off to take on the US hero - but now only the leader is left.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1638 20/12/1944 - Sundown

Sunset at 1638 - as best I can tell. The extra +1 ATC drm will further calm things down. The Germans have some useful forces in the buildings south of the main road. And more in the foxholes. Another 3 or so squads are in the treeline. The VG battalion is reduced to a total of 7 squads including the sMG Gruppe but not counting the infantry guns and mortars. That's about 25%.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1628 20/12/1944

The US turned it around. A 105 was swivelled round and demolished half of the stone building wiping out about 20 Volksgrenadiers in one shot. Major Parker has been firing the other 105 at the Germans in the treeline, and has also killed almost all of them. The South flank is the only threat remaining. The M16 cannot seem to keep its crew alive and the remaining M8 has only a driver left.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1600 20/12/1944 - the end?

 

It's looking grim for the Americans. Only 33 men left including AFV crews. Very little firepower. Major Parker is struggling to fire a 105 surrounded by dead bodies. Germans are just 50m from the main stone building which is defended only by 2 leaders, one wounded. The next 5-10 minutes should be enough.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1540 20/12/1944

 

The US are under enormous pressure. It looks like a determined rush could finish it! But it could easily spell disaster for the VGs.

Baraque de Fraiture -1500, 1510 and 1520 20/12/1944

Comments

Comments are most welcome. I notice many people stopping by - but no-one takes the time to offer any input or pose any questions.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1444 20/12/1944

The Germans have the upper hand. Heavy pressure on the south flank has the US breaking off and the M16 under recall - though it at least should rally and has a heroic gunner. This is in fact a much more dangerous attack than the Germans could muster at this point in the actual battle. Two slightly battered companies of VG plus mortars and infantry guns is quite powerful.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1430 20/12/1944

Parker's men under pressure. The mortars and infantry guns are ranging in and causing casualties. Volksgrenadiers have almost encircled the Americans.

Baraque de Fraiture - 1402 20/12/1944

Another go at the attack on the afternoon of the 20th. German Volksgrenadiers try to infiltrate round the flanks while mortars and infantry guns lob HE into BdF.

Baraque de Fraiture -0658 20/12/1944

The German attack got right into the buildings north of the road but these were all KIA by Major Parker and and a couple of men who had been manning a .50cal. Meanwhile, a 105 howitzer opened up and blasted the Germans out in the pastures. Only the company commander made it back to the woods to link up with a surviving squad. The US lost heavily too. Most of the aaHT crewmen were killed and about 10 other men were lost to various causes. Perhaps most important for the future of this roadblock is the expenditure of thousands of rounds of .50cal ammo.

Baraque de Fraiture - 0620 20/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture - 0600 20/12/1944

The US are starting to reorganise their defence. The centrally placed M15A1 has opened up again and together with a .50cal on a ground mount wiped out the closest German squad. Another M15A1 has ben recrewed and is ready to come back into the line. Both M16s have withdrawn due to low ammo.

Baraque de Fraiture - 0550 20/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture - 0530 20/12/1944

The Germans spread out into the darkness while the US struggle to bring some firepower to bear. I like the way my rules for activation encourage units to spread out rather than bunch up in a 'phalanx'. A diffuse attack (or defense) is harder for a few weapons to neutralise. While one area is pinned down another can be creeping forward. This is further compounded if the weapons have limited covered arcs.

Baraque de Fraiture - 0518 20/12/1944

This time luck is definitely with the Volksgrenediers as they creep up on the Americans in the darkness. aaHT spray the darkness but accomplish little - just wasting ammo. One M15A1 got badly shot up and most of teh crew are KIA. An M16 is also PINGED! but has no casualties. I'm curious to see how this turns out. Even one M16 can devastate the Germans.

Baraque de Fraiture - Bigger map

 

It rapidly became clear when playing the attacks on the afternoon of 20th December 1944 that I needed room to deploy the Volksgrenadiers behind the treeline to the East and also to allow them to move in the woods out of US LOS. They are still vulnerable here (to US 105s firing blindly into the forest). If I had abstracted this and allowed Germans to move off board it would be too big an advantage.

Baraque de Fraiture at 1500 20/12/1944

 

The German indirect fire weapons are nearly neutralised now.  Their infantry is still capable of doing some damage to higher value US assets, like the halftracks and the M8 ACs. But the US can dish out more than the Germans can and are in much better cover. Another 10-15 minutes and the Germans will like as not call it a day and fade away into the woods.

Baraque de Fraiture at 1450 20/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture at 1440 20/12/1944

Baraque de Fraiture at 1434 20/12/1944

The US are getting a handle on the situation. They've managed to open fire of Volksgrenadiers infiltrating around the northern flank. Also, the German FOs are no longer concealed except for the now ineffective lone wounded 7ML radioman who will struggle to recover. The big danger is the VGs in the southern forest. Completely out of LOS and getting close to surrounding Parker's men.

Baraque de Fraiture at 1426 20/12/1944

The US 105 crews managed to loose off several rounds of blind fire at the 7.5cm IGs - with devastating effect! One FO (the best) was KIA and a gun crew wiped out. Meanwhile the foxhole line is rallying well (creating a hero) and the M15s have pulled back out of danger. The big threat now comes from the VGs infiltrating around the flanks.

Baraque de Fraiture at 1418 20th December 1944

I have a mental image of the Americans blazing away at the treeline but hitting nothing! Meanwhile, some significant damage is being done to the US ammo supply and one M16 has been KO'd. Other damage is a few pinned units. Meanwhile, the Germans are working their way around both flanks unmolested.

Baraque de Fraiture at 1408 20th December 1944

The Germans are managing to drop some 75mm and 81mm fire into the perimeter. So far losses are light, but the US attempts to return fire are using up ammo. A few Germans have started infiltrating round the Southern flank and more will try to move North. This is perhaps the Germans best chance to put some hurt on Parker's troops.

Baraque de Fraiture 1400 hours 20th December 1944

Parker's raggle taggle band peer into the mist wondering where the next attack will come from. [NB - this picture looks faded because of my MIST shading.]

7.5cm le.IG 18 counter

Needed for the next scenario - this little gun could be quite useful. I had to draw it myself from some plans I found online,

Baraque de Fraiture 4 at 0626

The Volksgrenadiers are about done for. But they have got all the aaHT supressed (I label them as PINGED!) and that combined with night and concealed makes a +6 FTC drm. They have to relocate really in order to be able to fire again. Also  - ammo is running low. A ground mounted .50 cal just off the map has burned through all its ammo, and so has an M15A1. The others are also down to about 60% of what they started with. The US have only had a 2-2-7 crew reduced to a 1-2-7 team, and have inflicted heavy losses on the Germans - but I think this probe has actually achieved quite a lot.

Baraque de Fraiture 4 0518

The Germans are doing a little better. I made some changes to the scenario special rules. The Germans are LAX only until the US open fire. And I made the ground snow less of a problem to infantry movement. Combined with the +2 MTC drm for night a +1MTC drm for snow when combined with Pinned and Broken paralysed the Germans totally.

Baraque de Fraiture 3 0528

Baraque de Fraiture 2 - 0544

Another German failure. Very hard for these Volksgrenadiers to make any headway given the darkness, snow and the awesome firepower of the 'meatchoppers'. The only US loss is ammunition - quite a lot is used up firing blindly into the night.

Baraque de Fraiture 0530 20/Dec/1944

The meatchoppers fire wildly into the night - but many Volksgrenedieren are hit anyway. 4 squads are broken and with little chance to rally given the DRM for night, pinned and breaking off = +6. The Germans have yet to pass an FTC! Pretty close to the history so far.

Following a poor MTC DR of 9, the Germans lost another cadre as it tried to rally. This leaves them with 3 depleted squads on the map and one that strayed off the map and needs a DR <= 4 to reenter. On reflection, units should never stray off map but stop at the map edge.  Still - it's hard to envisage what the Germans can achieve now against such devastating firepower. The meatchoppers earned their nickname again.

Baraque de Fraiture 0516 20/12/1944

 

The Volksgrenadieren came bicycling down the road. Because they are LAX it was quite possible for the M15A1 to open fire even beyond NVR. [+2 Night, +1 Concealed and LAX, -1 Not in Combat] A DR <= 5 was needed and on the 3rd attempt they got it. The Germans are scrambling off their bikes and into the trees, but so far are unable to return fire. Several losses have been suffered and one squad is breaking off - stranded out in the snow with a slim chance of rallying.

Baraque de Fraiture 0500 20 Dec 1944