Operation Sea Lion: Scenario One - the rematch

So, time for the rematch. 

After a week of pondering about how I was going to take the British HQ, I decided to go for a different force to the one that Terry used last week. I took two assault squads, one 5 man and the other 6. Similarly to Terry, they were all armed with SMGs, but also carrying a little explosive powder as well. Unlike the Saboteurs, they need a 6+ to destroy the HQ, but one or two extra chances is good.

A very pretty table to play on.

They were backed up by two saboteurs squads, and an infiltrator dressed in his best English Uniform and home knitted scarf, he’d be sent off infiltrating into the Kent countryside, and if need be, he would have a chance to explode the HQ as well.

I didn’t have much of a game plan, going into the battle, but seeing Terry deploy his forces on to the table helped me. I was facing two Home Guard Units, and a MMG. I was going to send my two squads to deal with the Home Guard, and hope that my infiltrators could sneak past the MMG and blow up the HQ.

Turn 1:

I pulled out the early dice, and my boats came to shore, two squads disembarked on my left flank, and headed up the boat, hoping to get in and disrupt the inexperienced Home Guard. 

Terry, had wisely put one of his squads onto ambush, but how does this resolve with the night fighting rules, which, dictate how far you can see in any given moment. After a gentlemanly discussion, we decided to allow it, but to interpret the rules, thusly.

A unit can go on over watch, when a unit moves into line of sight, it rolls 2D6, as per the night fighting rules. If they can see the unit, they can shoot, if not they just imagined the sound of someone walking on the beach. 

Survivng, for the moment

However, Terry was able to see, and put a pin marker on one of my units. However, worse was to happen. Activating his squad in the model, he opened fire, and my five man squad disappeared in a hail of bullets. Things were not looking to good.

However, on the right side the Infiltration agent had slipped in, unnoticed by the MMG team, and then the officer and one of the Saboteur squads crept forward and opened fire, causing two hit markers and two wounds. Terry, somehow passed his test, and it was left for my final saboteur squad to run up the beach, as a man ran to the phone box to ring for reinforcements.

The Germans are here. 

Turn 2:

With a roll of a six, the sun burst over the beaches of Kent, revealing to the stoic British defenders, the forces of the Germans infront of them. 

Pulling the first dice, Terry elected to open fire with the MMG on the infiltrating Germans, however a failed order later, the MMG went down. Only to be caught in a hail of bullets from the German Officer.

The six man squad on the left, in an act of retribution, and to bring them closer to the objective, moved towards the ten man squad in the centre, and opened fire with their SMG’s, killing 5 men. The squad, being new to this soldering, bottled their order test and fled. Leaving a big hole in the middle of Terry’s centre. 

However, the squad on the right, though diminished from fire in the previous turn, opened fire on the six man squad, and killed one of them. 

Meanwhile, on the right flank the infiltratrors headed towards the objective. As the turn came to a close, the first of Terry’s reinforcement’s came on to the board, and a single squad made their way to defend the beach. 

Turn 3: 

In a clever move, I was going to charge my five man squad into Terry’s remaining Home Guard unit, wipe them out in combat. Then I’d use their free move to bring them into touch with the objective and blow it up in the next turn.

It would have been fantastic, until I failed the order roll on a double 6. FUBAR, my battle plan was ruined and the squad ran off to paddle in the sea. 

Meanwhile on the right flank, Terry’s dice came out allowing him to advance his squad forward with the aim to wipe them off the face of the earth. However, combining the squad going down, and being a small unit, Terry was only able to put a single hit marker on, they both lived.

Boyed on by this success, the other saboteur squad charged forward, and made it into contact with the HQ. This was a game winning move.

Or it would have been if it were not for the home guard squad who charged in and wiped them out in comat.

The game was pretty much over by this point, but as turn 3, the infiltrator, dressed in his nice English Uniform and his scarf, disappeared into the undergrowth and into the English Country side, only stopping to salute the British Officer running to the front line. 

Hum... these English holidays' are no fun.

Turn 4: 

Terry, took the initive this turn, and the Saboteur squad holded up between the fortificatons were quickly mowen down by the English Regualrs in a round of combat. The German Commander, who was just contemplating which boat was quicker to get to was then cut down by the Home Guard unit.

Meanwhile, Terry’s final squad finally came onto the field to find out what all this fuss was about

My final squad, decided that escape was a better part of valour and with a final shout of “we’ll be back” disappeared back into the channel.

Final Score

Terry: 8 vicotry points David: 2 Victory points.

This was a remarkably quick game, over within an hour and a half, and fair play to Terry, the dice were in his favour and he fully deserves the 3 campaign points he took. 

There were two moments, that defined the battle., Firstly, my losing the squad in the middle of the table, on turn 1. That had a major impact on the battle. Secondly, failing my order test and FUBARing, with my other squad, who ran back to the boats. If it wasn’t for these two, I could have won this game.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

You’ll notice that the Infiltration Agent crept off into the undergrowth at the end of turn 3, Terry and I decided, that this would be a good idea to add an additional thematic element to the campaign 

We'll be back

and so this whole raid was actually a roose, to get him into England, and we agreed that in one of our future games, he’ll make a reappearance on the German side. 

If I remember him.

Next week, Hitler’s forces descended upon the beaches.