N44, 14th June

Overcast again in Normandy.

Utah.

German is bringing 17th Pz SS into place to cover the avenues towards Valognes and prepares a counterattack against American paratroopers. The final defense for this day will be decided after seeing the result of the attack and redistributing the good quality units of the 3FJ.

Omaha

After the big mistake on the precedent turn, German tries to recover the position by attacking American infantry units at St-Jean-De-Daye. His goal is to force Americans to get losses by being forced to retreat through flooded hexes. But it failed and American resisted in the village.

Caen

A big turnover at the outskirts of Carpiquet airport. German attacked British units with the force of the 12SS Pz Div and the valuable support of units of the 21st Pz and the 101 Tiger Battalion. With the quality shift, Tiger, armor and artillery support the attack moves quickly to 5-1. And German got a net '6'. This means that British needed to retreat 4 hexes, got two step losses and German got reserve status.

Now, German had the full 12 SS Div into reserve, being able to penetrate deep into British lines to hit the already heavily decimated 50 inf Div.

Again with Tiger support plus the Werfer Artillery support, German got two 4-1 attacks against Allied stacks with reduced infantry units. At the limit of already 5 cadres, British needs to save both attacks to survive this turn. But he fails. Completely destroying his tigers, German got his sixth cadre and as British had only one replacement, Automatic Victory is for German. We have finished the turn but there is no sense to report American movements.

Conclusion:
For the first game of N44 we had made a few mistakes in the rules that could outcome the final result.
First of all, we completely forgot about Allied IPs that could be useful for British. Also we have missed that replacements in storm turns can be either Brits or Canadians. We had assigned to British. A mistake.
More subtle mistakes were made when applying ZOC Bonds, DCBs or applying retreat. When possible we have corrected the  errors.
Strategically, British did not realize his delicate position until that it was too late. He needed to be more cautious.
German had also many errors, some of the quite evident.
American, as usual, played perfectly :-))
A great first game. We have now a good understanding of the rules and we are planning to play again the campaign.
We truly believe that this is an excellent game that deserves to play with. We are anxiously waiting to jump into Ardennes 44. Our only regret is that N44 is now out of stock as well as Ukraine 43 that, under a similar system, we would like to try.
Our deepest thanks for this wonderful game to Mark Simonitch and the people at GMT.

N44, 13th June

Again Overcast-2 at Normandy.

Utah Beach:

German spent his turn trying to put a defensive line into place around Valognes. Note that we have made some mistakes with the rules as the units from Cherbourg can not be released.  17 Pz SS is arriving to the area west of Merderet River. American attacks along the coast to destroy German fortifications. He succeeded but German kept the terrain and no Allied advances this day.

 

Omaha Beach:

German is building improved positions to stop the American advance. But he makes a severe mistake and let alone 84 HQ believing that American can not attack across the flooded hex. Many Allied attacks. Of course, German HQ was destroyed and Americans entered into St-Jean-de-Daye. The other two attacks inflicted several losses into the defender but Axis player was able to stand and did not retreat.

 

CW Beaches:

Only area where Germans has made some attacks. As before, 50 Inf Div was attacked from Tilly and were routed but without losses. At Epron 51st Inf Div was also defeated, losing 1 step and retreating. Dangerously approaching the Cadre limit, British player just played to reinforce his front line and no offensive this turn.

 

Map:

N44, 12th June

A sunny day in Normandy, Weather is clear 6, so plenty of air and naval support for the Allies.
In turn, the Germans get useful reinforcements with the arrival of the 17th Pz SS Div and elements of the 3FJ Div. The good weather allow a full control of the skies for the Allies and the mechanized German units have its movement allowance reduced by two. In fact this means that German will not be able to deploy 17th Pz SS this turn.

German has made a cautious turn, with no attacks to avoid the column shift of the Jabos and trying to reinforce his positions. I realize that we have been playing the IP rule in a wrong way forcing German to spend IP points for beginning the building and for finishing, thus reducing his capability for trenches almost to a half. We will modify our mistake next turn.
Utah Beach:

American made three strong attacks in Utah area with the Air and Naval support. In the coast line, a combination of paratroopers and infantry regiments of 1st and 2nd Division exchanged losses with the disrupted defenders of the fortification. At Valognes, paratroopers of the 8nd and 101st Div tried to take the city before the arrival of the SS units. German resisted with determined defense and inflicted two losses in the attacking stack. At St Mere- Eglise the 91st Inf Div was attacked by the remaining of the 82nd AB Div with support of 4th Div. Germans lost the town and were forced to retreat, taking more losses in their retreat towards Pont-l'Abbé. Finally on 12th June Americans were able to cross (again) the Merderet.

Omaha Beach

Here, both the American and the German are consolidating positions. American did not perform any offensive operation as all the artillery support was devoted to the attack at Utah Beach. More armored reinforcements are arriving to the beach and probably next turn we will see a new allied offensive.

CW Beaches:

British Command has decided to use the Canadians units to protect Bayeux area. Probably he believe that putting Canadians close to American will lead to a better understanding at the Army Boundary Line.

At Caen, two main attacks were performed. 50th Inf Division attacked the 12th SS Regiment close to Tilly-sur-seulles and forced them to retreat towards the bocage. Meanwhile, 49th Inf Div attempted to take Carpiquet airport. However the determined defense of the 21st Pz Div was efficient and inflicted step losses into the attacking formation.

The last British attack was a frontal assault against the hill that guards Cabourg. Fighting from a flooded terrain and against a higher position, Germans easily rejected the attack and British exchanged losses, now approaching the risky amount of 4 cadres.

The map:

N44, 11th June

More than three weeks later, finally i will report on our progress in N44. Probably the only ones reading this journal are  the American players but nevertheless, i have the task of completing it and i will do my duty.

Weather: Overcast 2.

Only one day of clear weather and Allied Airplanes can not give support to the land forces.

Utah Beach:

After the fall of Crisbecq strongpoint and with most of his units routed/disrupted in this area, German has quickly moved any available reserves to make a front line at Montebourg. But the line is thin and a few units have the difficult task of guarding Merderet river.
Probably still overconfident from the success of the last turn, American has launched a complete series of attacks to break the front before German can get more reinforcements. Most of the attacks finished with Germans forced to retreat but the Axis gave clear orders to make determined defenses. But all of them failed and American gained a lot of room for maneuvering in this turn.

 

Omaha Beach:

At Omaha, German has decided to retreat behind Naval Bombardment line. The arriving units of the 77th Infantry Div will help to stop the advance of the Americans. Panzer Lehr units were redeployed to better fill the gaps.
American tried to open the position around Isigny-sur-Mer looking for connecting Omaha Beach with Utah beach. The poor Germans abandoned at the flooded hex were easily eliminated by the 2nd Armored Division. However at Isigny-sur-Mer, the attack leaded by the Rangers has failed.

 

CW Beaches.

Firmly placed at Tilly-sur-Seulles, 12th SS Pz Div launched and counterattack against the already weakened units of the 50th British Inf Div with the goal of making at least a cadre unit. But the attack failed and British quietly retreated from the first line of battle.
British attacked at the proximity of Caen trying to enter into the City. Up to three different attacks has been reported in this day. All of them were performed at low odds but with the valuable help of the Naval Bombardment.
At Buron, German rolled a nice '1' to fail his Determined Defense and retreat into Caen, letting the British to enter into the town. Feeling that the line will be impossible to maintain, German decided not to defend Epron and retreat also there.

In overall a good turn for the Allied. With bad weather, overcast 2, they have made good progress at Utah and Caen.

 

After writing this report, I believe that we have made some mistakes in the rules. I will note them and at the end of the game i will try to summarize the easy-to-forget /misunderstood rules.

N44, 9th June

 

Stormy weather in this day, so no Air or Naval support for the Allied Invasion. German got the remaining units of the Pz Lehr division.

Utah:

No combats at Utah Beach. Allied did not attack due to the bad weather and German tried to improve his position specially at the North where fresh infantry units were detached to the defense of Crisbecq Battery. 709th Div is also in the area guarding the road towards Valognes. The exit towards Carentan is still firmly defended by FJ and 243rd Inf Div. American commander is choosing to land armored units preparing for the coming offensive.

Omaha:

Also no combats at Omaha. Arriving units of the Pz Lehr are taking positions behind the front line as they will be charged of the St. Lo ‘s defense. This allows German player to shift 12SS towards Bayeux-Caen axis. American continued to land strong 2nd Div with the armored support of some TD.

Caen:

As said above, the arrival of Pz Lehr has liberated 12SS of some of its tasks at Omaha and now is concentrated along Bayeux-Caen road. There it has taken defensive positions around the village of Tilly-sur-Seulles. Armored units launched an assault against a combination of Canadian and British units but with little success in terms of casualties.

21 Pz continued with its fight around Caen against 3rd British Div with severe losses at both sides .

British reacted at Caen by attacking German positions at Buron but they were rejected. The other main assault was performed at Dives-sur-mer to find an exit inland for the Airborne units. But German 711th Div retreated to a better defensive position at Cabourg and stopped any British advance.

This is the situation at the end of Turn 4.

N44, 8th June

 

Weather in this turn is Overcast 3, so German gets 2 supply points and 1 infantry replacement. Allied obtained Infantry replacements for US and British and also air and naval support.

In this turn it arrived the first units of the Panzer Lehr Division together with some Flak regiments.

Utah Beach:

The reinforcements from 709th and 243rd Div are slowly arriving and they are taking positions to defend Montebourg and Carentan. The fight between 91 and 3 FJ Divisions against American paratroopers continued in this turn. There was a heavy attack from St Mere Eglise that forced 82nd AB Div to retreat. The 3FJ inflicted heavy losses in the just arrived glider Regiment but at the expenses of losing armored support.

During his turn, American player initiated an attack in his north flank to make a break in German line and look for a way to penetrate into Contentin Peninsula. The coastal fortification of Ravenoville was taken by the 22 Regiment of the 4th Infantry division with armored support and flanked by units of the 101st AB and 82nd AB divisions.

Omaha Beach:

Panzer Lehr units are being deployed to reinforce Omaha sector. Moving at full speed some of the mechanized units have arrived to the front line and they are trying to close the gaps in the German lines. German did not attempt to save the isolated units at Bayeux but it relocated 12 SS Pz Division some miles to the East to oppose to the British advances.

American concentrated his forces to attack the weak German units guarding the St. Lo-Bayeux main road.  In spite of the Air and Armor support, Americans could only obtain a limited advance as Germans find cover into the woods where they meet a recently arrived Flak regiment.

Bayeux was finally taken by Allied in an assault conducted by the 1st and 4th brigades of Special Service. However, German resistance was stiff and caused step losses into the attacking units.

CW Beaches:

Panzer Battalions of the 12 SS Pz Division have arrived to the battlefield and will give to the German the so needed armored strength to stop the British threat. Close to Carpiquet  airport, units of the 21 Pz Div counterattacked the advanced British units that were forced to retreat. Ranville was the scenario of heavy combats between 21 Pz and British Airborne. Germans received some support from the 711th Div but all their assaults to retake Pegasus Bridge failed (on a DR result and ulterior British DD).

During the German attrition phase, all the strongpoints have passed and survived.

Worried by the weak position at Ranville, British concentrated his units into an attack in his rear position against the 711th Inf Division. Attack was not very efficient but Germans were forced to retreat into the flooded regions around Cabourg, releasing the pressure against the British airborne units.

At Buron, British 51st Division launched his first attempt to penetrate in the suburbia of Caen but it was easily stopped by the 21st Pz Div.

British spent the rest of this day, regrouping his dispersed divisions and  moving towards Caen and Pegasus Bridge.

This is the final situation after 8th June:

N44, 7th June, Allied Phase

 

Allied continued to land more troops at the beaches (6RP for British and 6RP for US). US concentrated his main effort into Omaha due to the congestion at Utah. British disembarked two infantry Brigades of the 51st Division at Gold and Juno.

Utah Beach:

Not many progress in terms of terrain for the US. The fortification at Les-Dunes-de-Varreville was easily destroyed. The most noticeable advance has been that paratroopers of the 101st AB Div are approaching Carentan from the flooded sides of Douve River. However, from that position any attack on Carentan will be severely punished by attacking through river and out of flooded hex.

Omaha Beach:

First units of the 2nd Inf Div are arriving at Omaha beach with TD support. Meanwhile,  29th Inf and 1st Inf continued their advance inland and are approaching German defensive at the edge of bocage. One infantry regiment of the 29th is detached to help in the offensive against Bayeux, cutting the retreat path to the German units. At the west, tank support has arrived to help Rangers in their fight at Isigny-sur-mer.

CW Beaches:

Things are going well for the Allied at the CW beaches.  At Caen, the arrival of glider reinforcements has helped to maintain the control over Pegasus Bridge and Orne Canal. Several units have also arrived to the vicinity of Carpiquet airport by using the corridor let to them by the retreat of 21 Pz Div to Buron. A clear German mistake as now the primary road from Caen to Villers-Bocage is negated for strategic movement  and the nearest bridge over Odon is too far to the south. The rest of the Bayeux-Caen road is also in Allied hands after weak resistance offered by German battalions. At the end of the day a combined British-Canadian force launched a strong assault on Bayeux to capture the city. In spite of the inferior odds, Germans resisted the assault and performed a successful desperate defense that inflicted more losses in the Allied units. Even if Bayeux will likely fall, this last bastion of defense will disturb Allied advances next turn.

This is the map at the end of 7th June.

N44, 7th June, German Phase

 

Turn begins with a die roll to determine weather. As for the rules, weather of 7th June can only be overcast 2 or 3. In our case, it was overcast 2 so Germans got an Armor Replacement and Allied got Infantry Replacements.

In this turn it arrives 12 SS Pz Division  to reinforce the weak German lines. It enters from the east side of the map together with some units of the 346th Inf Div.

German has decided to put the two infantry units and the Armor Recon battalion of the 12 SS in Strategic movement mode to fill the gaps between Bayeux and Caen letting behind the two panzer battalions which will be fully deployed on next turn. Remember that in Strategic Mode, units have a movement allowance doubled but they are more vulnerable to attacks (no terrain benefits and one shift for the attacker) and can not enter EZOC nor end their movement stacked.

Utah Beach:

With paratroopers are confined behind Merderet River, Germans launched a counterattack against 82nd AB division units. At St Mere-Eglise paratroopers were assaulted by two infantry Regiments of the 91st Div supported by a tank battalion and Artillery fire from Cotentin battery at Valognes. Meanwhile, the rest of the AB division was attacked by elite  units of the 6FJ Div, arriving from Carentan, also with artillery and armor support.

In both cases  American paratroopers, seeing the numerical advantage of the enemy, avoided more casualties retreating from their positions. (two DR results).  Thus, Germans have retaken St Mere Eglise and 91st Div will try to strength the position to block allied advance out of Utah Beach. More German reinforcements are arriving from the static 243rd and 709th Divisions that are being deployed in the area.

Omaha Beach:

At Omaha, Germans decided to do not defend the line at Aure River and they gave some terrain to Allied. The weak units of the 352th Inf Div have taken positions at the bocage line waiting for  reinforcements.
The first units of the 12 SS Pz Div are just arriving in Strategic mode and they are deployed in a second front line between Bayeux and Caen.

A small garrison have been committed to defend Bayeux to the last man in an attempt to disturb Allied communication lines.

CW Beaches:

The rest of the 21st Pz Division have been finally deployed to the defense of Caen area. With Ranville and Pegasus Bridge firmly controlled by British units, German decided to counterattack the units at the outskirts of Caen with artillery support from the 47Pz HQ.

The 8 Brigade of the British 3rd Division was forced to retreat after suffering losses when attacked from Epron (D1 result).  At the vicinity of Buron, the advanced units of the 3rd Canadian Division suffered losses and were forced to retreat but have succeeded to damage  the German units that after the combat, were seeking for cover at the village (A1/D1 result) but clearing the way towards Carpiquet airfield.

N44, 6th June, Allied Phase

In this first turn after invasion phase, Allied tries to establish firm beachheads before  German reinforcements can approach the battlefield.

Utah Beach:

Not many choices here for the American player. After the bad result of the paratroopers jumping, American is trying to regroup his airborne divisions at the east of Merderet River.  The only combats involved the elimination of  a battalion of the 709th Inf Div.

 

Omaha Beach:

Rangers exited without losses Pointe du Hoc and are advancing towards Isigny-sur-Mer. 1st and 29th Inf Divisions are pushing to control Route National 13 and to connect with British units.  In the road towards Bayeux they have encountered  armored  resistance from units of the 352 Inf Division defending behind Anre River.

Commonwealth Beaches:

British have succeeded to establish a good position at the three CW beaches. By using that German did not defend the advanced fortifications, British has deep penetrated and has arrived to the outskirts of Caen after that the 3rd Inf Div destroyed Hillman Strongpoint. In Sword sector, armored units of the 27th have achieved to contact with the 6th Airborne  Division, keeping a firm control of Pegasus Bridge. The main combats have occurred at Creully where elements of the 716th and 352th German divisions have resisted the initial attacks of the 3rd Canadian Division, supported by units of the 50th Inf Div. It was with the arrival of two more regiments from the reserve that Creuilly was liberated and the German units were forced to retreat.

 

Turn is over, no US units are out of supply. Here is the situation after 6th June:

N44, 6th June, German Phase

 

After the Allied invasion phase, play resumes with the German phase. There is no reinforcements in this first turn and a few special rules are applied.

The most important are that German units have some restrictions to movement to reflect the delay in reaction. So, 21st Pz Div movement factor is reduced to 3 and all Ost battalions and units with black-boxed movement factors are blocked and can not move.

With this restrictions, German plan was to establish a defensive perimeter.

In Utah, German wanted to take advantage of the bad landings of 82nd division and hit the paratroopers before they can reorganize.

I have used 91 Inf Div to create ZOCs that keep US close to the beaches. My main objective was to push paratroopers behind Merderet river and to defend Carentan. I have relocated Contentin Artillery in Valognes for future support.  Probably, I was overconfident that my attack on the cadre unit of the 82nd Div west of Merderet was strong enough without artillery support (2-1 shifted to 3-1 by armor). Result was DR and paratroopers retreated to St Mere Eglise. Not that bad but i would prefer a loss step and destroy that cadre unit.

At Omaha I was trying to hold the position behind the River. The good landing at Pointe du Hoc forced me to do not defend Grandcamp-les-Bains and I have decided to stay at Isigny-sur-mer. I hope that those Antitank battalions can give me enough support to resist the line next turn, holding Bayeux and waiting for reinforcements.

 

In the Commonwealth sector I have a lot of doubts about the best way to defend and probably i have made some mistakes. The first thing to realize is that i can not defend Douvres Radar St as Canadians and British ZOCs blocked me the access. Then, I was afraid that units defending Creully (hex 2326) could not stand the attack of the 50th Inf Div creating a hole in my line menacing a flanking maneuver towards Caen from the West. So, I have taken the decision to place the 21st Pz Div not to close of the beaches and do not try to defend Strongpoint Hillman (that probably is an error). My last decision was to attack the scattered battalion of the 6th AB Div at Ranville (hex 2131). This is a hardest objective than the other paratroopers but it defends Pegasus Bridge. If i can force them to retreat, then 6th AB is isolated from 3rd Div and Brits will have some problems here. My attack was 1-1 (10-6), shifted to 2-1 by armor so i had 66% of probability to force a retreat (or a Determined Defense). But i got an EX result and each side lost a step but paratroopers held the bridge.

In summary a not so good phase for Germans. Only at Utah Americans are in real trouble.