Bob Mackenzie's web Page - Wargames & Scenarios

Operation Goodwood was was the British plan to breakthrough the German defences to the east of Caen. Unlike the majority of offensives in Normandy it was spearheaded by the British armour not their infantry. The infantry divisions, and the infantry components of the armoured divisions, were relegated to holding the flanks of the armoured thrust

The attack was not an assault by three armoured divisions but an assault by three armoured brigades with the scantiest infantry support: 29th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Divisions in the lead; 5th Guards Armoured Brigade of the Guards Armoured Division next and 22nd Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division a distant third.

The offensive was launched from a very congested bridgehead over the Orne Canal. This combined with the limited routes available through the British minefields meant that a three "division" offensive was actually fought on a frontage of four armoured squadrons. The trailing brigade of the 7th Armoured Division barely making it to the battlefield on the first day and making so little impact this scenario ignores its presence.

To make up for the lack of infantry the British tried to substitute firepower. 100's of British and US heavy bombers pulverised the battlefield with 7700 tons of bombs and 2 AGRA's fired an elaborate fire program including 760 artillery pieces. Initially this worked very well.

In front of the attack was the depleted 16 Feld Division (Luftwaffe), a mediocre unit that crumbled under the relentless bombardment. However the British grossly underestimated the depth of the German defences. They were aware that elements of 21 Panzer Division were in the area but not how far back their defences went. They also underestimated the division's strength. The British were also unsure of the exact location of 1SS Panzer Division

The depth of the defences were to cause many problems. The bombing didn't touch large portions of 21 Panzer and completely missed 1SS LSSAH. Because of the the congested bridgehead over the Orne many of the British 25pdrs were further back than was ideal. They were out of range when the British came to assault the Borgebus Ridge, leaving the attack bereft of support at a critical time.

The scenario starts at 10:00am. At this point everything is going well for the British, though they are a little behind schedule and the 7th Armoured Division has yet to leave the bridgehead. However they are about to meet the parts of 21 Panzer untouched by the bombing, and those parts that were hit are starting to reorganise and offer increasing resistance. The first hint that all was not well was the destruction of C Squadron 2nd Fife and Forfarshire Yeomanry by the Flakkampftrupp in Cagney.

29th Armoured Brigade starts on table. Each part is deployed as the players wish in its deployment zone. Deployment zones are delineated by the dashed pink line. The Brigade HQ is with the 23rd Hussars

2^nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry is a reinforcement arriving at 13:00 (WPD turn 4 or CD turn 7 ). It enters between point G & H

5^th Guards Armoured Brigade is a reinforcement. 1^st Coldstream Guards and 2^nd Grenadier Guards arrive at 11:00 (WPD turn 2 or CD turn 3) between points E & F. 2^nd Irish Guards arrives later at 14:00 (WPD turn 5 or CD turn 9) also between points E & F. Brigade HQ is with 2nd Irish Guards

The following forces start on table. All personnel stands are dug in, but towed guns (and gun crews) are not dug in

Stab & 3 Kp I/125 Panzer Grenadier, I/9 Nebelwerfer Regiment, 16 Artillerie Regt (L) and II & III/155 Artillerie Regt are deployed in the designated deployment zones. Deployment zones are delineated by the dashed pink line on the map

2/200 StuG Abt is deployed within 3" of any of the BUA making up Borgebus; 3/200 within 3" of Soliers; 4/200 within 3" Le Poirier and 5/200 within 3" of Four. (distances for WPD, double for CD). 1/200 is not in this scenario as it was pulverised by British bombers earlier in the day.

Stab & 6 Kp II/125 Panzer Grenadier Regt is deployed within 3" (WPD, 6" CD) of Emieville

The Flakkampftruppe, Flak Regiment Moser is deployed in the orchards to the east of Poirier

220 Pioneer Abt can be deployed anywhere within 3" (WPD 6" CD) of the road KU

1/503 Panzer Abt and 4 Kp 22 Panzer Regt arrive at 12:00 (WPD turn 3 or CD turn 5) between points B & C

21 Panzer Aufklärungs Abt arrives at 12:00 (WPD turn 3 or CD turn 5) along road T in convoy. Each vehicle after the first has it move reduced by 1" (WPD) or 3" (CD) per vehicle in front on the turn it enters the board.

5Kp 125 Panzer Regiment arrives at 13:00 (WPD turn 4 or CD turn 7) between points V&X

1Kp I/1 SS Panzer Abt arrives at 13:00 (WPD turn 4 or CD turn 7). 2Kp at 13:30 (WPD turn 4 (allowed only 1/2 move) or CD turn 8) between. 3Kp & Stab at 14:00 (WPD turn 5 or CD turn 9). All arrive between points J&L. Flak may be attached to any Panther company, max one gun per company.

1039 Art PaK Abt arrives at 15:00 (WPD turn 6 or CD turn 11) between points A&W

Unit	WPD	CD
1^st Coldstream Guards	2	3
2^nd Grenadier Guards	2	3
3/503 Panzer Abt	2	3
1/503 Panzer Abt	3	5
4 Kp 22 Panzer Regt	3	5
21 Panzer Aufklärungs Abt	3	5
305 FlaK Abt	3	5
5Kp 125 Panzer Regiment	4	7
1Kp I/1 SS Panzer Abt	4	7
2^nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry	4	7
2Kp I/1 SS Panzer Abt	4*	8
3Kp I/1 SS Panzer Abt	5	9
2^nd Irish Guards	5	9
1039 Art PaK Abt	6	11

The map is 5ft x 6ft if scaled at 1" = 100m for WPD. That's an unmanageable 10ft x 12ft scaled at 1" =50m for CD. The grey rectangle gives an alternate tabletop for CD covering an area of 6ft x 12ft.

In general terms the terrain slopes up gently with line LT being about 30m higher than line FA. None of the hills are particularly significant so are not modelled in the scenario.

The grey areas are villages. They are 2x2" squares (4x4 for CD) they represent a few buildings surrounded by gardens and small fields. There is at 1" square BUA at the centre of the template that can contain a single personnel stand which gets 4+ (WPD) or -3 (CD) cover. The rest of the template only gives 5+ (WPD) or -1 (CD) cover

The green areas are mostly orchards. Treat all as an open woods 5+ (WPD) or -1 (CD) cover

Red lines are roads. Any stand on a road is assumed to be adjacent to any hedgerows lining it.

The blue lines are small streams. In WPD terms a stand loses half its maximum move allowance to cross. In CD terms a BMA is required to cross the stream

The black dashed lines are railways. Railway I to V is no obstacle to movement. The railway from G to M is on a very steep embankment that breaks LOS. In WPD terms a stand loses half its maximum move allowance to cross. In CD terms a BMA is required to cross embankment. Crossing is prohibited to wheeled vehicles and man-handled guns.

Most of the open ground is ripe, waste high, corn fields. These provide no significant cover

Only the British get air support, though most was tasked with attacking targets in depth and was no present over the battlefield.

The British player rolls for air support every turn: 8-9: 1 Typhoon or Tempest. 10: 2 Typhoons or Tempests. These are configured as ground attack (bombs or rockets)

The game starts at 10:00 and finishes at 18:00 (inclusive) - 10 turns for WPD and 18 for CD. The weather is clear.

The allies committed many guns and aircraft to counter battery work. No IDF fire is allowed to the Germans turn 1. At the start of the game roll for all towed artillery pieces in the German OB (marked **) On a 5+ (d6) they have been destroyed and are removed from the game. (the bombardment combined with a scarcity of ammo is why the German calling numbers are lower than might be expected)

The Tigers suffered mightily from the British bombing and they sights are not properly aligned. All Tigers are -1 to hit (and no +1 for veteran status)

The four villages on road KU are victory locations: Bras, Hubert Follie, Borgebus and La Hogue. The side that holds the most villages at the end of the last turn is the winner

To hold a village, at the end of the game, one side must have at least one stand wholly within one of the templates (in good morale for CD) and the enemy must have NO stands (in good morale for CD) within any of the templates that make up the village.