Breakout from the Essel Bridgehead
13th April 1945
The war was nearly over, everyone in the British Army knew it. However the Germans seemed oblivious to the fact and fought tenaciously to defend the Fatherland. The British were pushing through northern Germany delayed and harassed by by a hodge-podge of of ad-hoc Kampfgruppen. Once such Kampfgruppe was Kampfgruppe Grossan part of which was Kampfgruppe Lotze which was deployed north of the Aller River.
On the night of the 11th/12th of April the 1st Commando Brigade and 4th KSLI had made an assault over the River Aller near the town of Essel. The 12th was spend enlarging the bridgehead fighting forces of the 2 Marine Division which had 12SS A&E Battailon attached. The Comet tanks of the 3rd RTR were rafted across the river by Royal Engineers during the 12th. On the 13th it was time to resume the advance and the 4th KSLI supported by the 3rd RTR were tasked to push north out of the bridgehead. Unfortunately for the allies Kampfgruppe Lotze had arrived during the night to block the advance.
Map and Order of Battle
Deployment
The Comets of A Squadron 3rd RTR start on the road indicated at least 2" (ie out of LOS) of the stream marked X on the map
B & C Companies 4th KSLI start anywhere in the forest over 2" south of the stream marked X and within 6" of the road
HQ, A & D Companies 4th KSLI start off table and will move up the main road on turn 1
Elements of the support company 4th KSLI may be attached to the line companies as the British player sees fit
C Squadron 3rd RTR is a reinforcement. It arrives turn 3 (start 10:00am) anywhere on the south table edge east of the forest.
1 and 7 Kp 12SS A&E are deployed in the trees anywhere between streams X & Y. They are dug in (-3 cover)
The Tiger can be deployed anywhere north of stream X
The majority of KG Lotze is deployed north of stream Y - it is NOT dug in.
Terrain
The map represents a 6x4 foot table if playing 1"=50m. North is towards the top of the page
Green areas are dense forest - they are inaccessible to vehicles except along the road. personal stands are half speed. Guns may not be manhandled through the forest. LOS is 1"
LOS across and down the road through the forest is 4". It counts as open ground (though the Luftwaffe may not target tanks on the road in a forest). The verges are wide enough that passing wrecked stands in not a problem.
Red lines are roads. Out of the forest there is unlimited LOS down the roads, the road is dead straight and dead flat. The bordering tree lines are close enough to the road that all vehicle traffic on the road is assumed to be "against" the hedges at both sides
The green dotted lines are tree lines. These break LOS, except for stands adjacent, and give -1 cover to direct fire
The blue lines are streams and drainage ditches. These will give personnel (not towed guns) -2 cover. Although not more than a few feet across it takes the equivalent of a cautious advance move to cross. So if moving with a hasty advance order, the unit loses half its movement. If moving with a cautious advance order, a stand must start on one bank and will be moved to the other. This is because the banks are very muddy. Vehicles attempting to cross the ditch roll d10. On a 9 or 10 they have bogged and become stuck. The crew abandon stuck vehicles
The grey square is a 2"x2" BUA (actually a farm) that can be occupied by a single personnel stand
The brown dotted line is a rise (i.e. breaks LOS, no hull down)
The open ground is farmland, though there are no hedges or fences bordering the fields. The ground is boggy, all vehicles are half speed
Air Support
The Luftwaffe put in a surprise appearance during the battle. Roll d6 every turn. On a 6 a Me-262 arrives to bomb the advancing British. The plane may only appear once in the game
Special Rules
The game starts 9:00am and lasts 9 turns.
Its a very warm spring day and visibility is perfect
Victory Conditions
The game is designed to be played twice, with the players swapping sides the second time. Only the British side is scored. the player with the highest score wins
For each Comet that leaves the north table edge along the main road score 2 points.
For each other stand that leaves the north table edge along the main road score 1 point
If the Tiger is within LOS of the north south road and in good morale (or pinned) lose 10 points
If the 88mm is within LOS of the north south road and in good morale (or pinned) lose 6 points
For each German Infantry stand in good morale (or pinned) within 6" of the main north south road lose a point