Operation Tractable: A Hazy, Boggy Crossing-PLAYTESTS NEEDED

Bean965 · **Bean965**

Okay guys (and gals, if you're out there) - you promised me playtests!

This is the second scenario in my Falaise Pocket trilogy. I seem to be working backwards, chronologically, so this takes place before my Maczek on the Mace scenario and will be followed by Operation Totalize: Wittman's Last Battle? which took place first, chronologically speaking. (Incidentally - Snip, Hoth, I'm hoping we can put all our Caen/Falaise scenarios into some kind of unified campaign/set...)

This scenario has been playtested 4 times and I'm still not sure if it's balanced. PLEASE HELP!!! (I could also use some playtests of the, as yet, completely untested Panzers Painted White in St. Vith Battle of the Bulge Scenario I posted a few weeks ago.)

The scenario has seen many rules revisions. Until Tue night's playtest, there where two special movement rolls, one for speed and one for navigation/direction, made when moving through the smoke screen. At this point, I've taken out the navigation/direction roll b/c it seemed to be too much of a liability for the Canadians in trying to get where they need to go - units were winding up all over the board, bottlenecked, and potentially overstacked. So I've abstracted the difficulties that the Canadians had navigating the smoke with just a movement point cost. This is meant to represent both the speed and navigation impediments - imagine units burning up time and fuel backtracking when they got off course, or simply moving slower to maintain the right course. However, this change to oen movement roll may mean that the Germans don't have enough forces to have a chance to fend off a more effective Canadian force - the question of whether the forces are balanced given the special rules and the victory conditions is my main playtesting issue right now.

Operation Tractable: A Hazy, Boggy Crossing
August 14, 1944, 1230 hours, near Montboint, France
In early August, the Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachheads and were attempting to encircle the German 7th Army in northern France. The II Canadian Corps, led by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, was making progress in its push towards Falaise. Simonds’ first offensive push after Caen, “Operation Totalize,” produced modest gains. His tactics relied on Allied air- and artillery superiority and his innovative use of surplus Priest- and Sherman-based armored personnel carriers called “Kangaroos.” These gains were enough for Simonds to base his next offensive, “Operation Tractable,” on the same model: Simonds’ tanks would Blitzkrieg through the thin German defenses while the Kangaroos would allow a portion of the infantry to keep pace with the tanks, quickly solidifying those gains.
In “Operation Totalize,” Simonds had used the cover of darkness to help protect his advance against deadly machinegun nests, Tiger tanks and the fearsome Flak 88. In “Operation Tractable” a different tactic would be used: a huge smoke screen, five kilometers wide by three kilometers deep would be generated by long-range artillery firing smoke shells. Two of Simonds’ divisions would form up into a total of four columns and perform a rapid advance under cover of the smoke.
Operation Tractable launched on August 14th with three main objectives: cross the miniscule Laison River, seize towns and high ground south of the river and push as far as possible towards Patton’s Third Army in an effort to “close the barn door” on the retreating German Army. At 1215 hours on August 14th, after aerial bombing softened up the enemy’s defensive positions, Simonds’ forces moved out. In general, things went well. The columns successfully traversed the smoke screen, navigating using the sun that was just viewable overhead through the haze; only one company-sized force veered far off course.
The problems for the Canadians began when they reached the Laison. Fording this “babbling brook,” only 20cm-70cm deep, had not been expected to be a problem. Instead, steep banks combined with soft mud mired armored vehicles that tried to cross; in some cases tanks literally upended themselves trying to get through the mud. The Canadians were forced to make do with the few existing bridges across this waterway plus whatever additional crossings could be quickly created by the Royal Engineers. This gave the outnumbered Germans of the Hitlerjugend SS Division the benefit of having only a handful of predictable points on which to concentrate their defenses.

Notes
This scenario presents rules for representing the huge smoke screen through which II Corps charged to the Laison. These rules require some set-up, a large number of additional die rolls as well as a somewhat complex system for determining line-of-sight while the smoke screen is present. While the designer believes that these rules make for an interesting and unique scenario, some players may wish to forego playing this scenario because of the complexity of the rules and the additional rolls required.
The designer STRONGLY recommends that players practice using the special rules with a few units on a small portion of a suitable map for a few minutes BEFORE playing the full scenario, to get a feel for the game play and tactical implications of the rules.
The special rules for the scenario also require a fairly large number of six sided dice be available to mark hexes. 20-30 small-sized six-sided dice is a good amount for the scenario.
Special thanks to Geoteach for playtesting help. EXTRA special thanks to him for design help – he came up with the concept of a “density die” system to replace a very awkward system of table-tents that would mark LOS in the smoke cloud.

Maps
This scenario uses three Eastern Front maps arranged with two of them folded lengthwise and placed on either end of a full map. Map 14/D is folded lengthwise and the side with the large patch of brush with no trees in or near it is placed face up. The edge of this map with the brush (where the center fold is now located) is the northern edge of the map arrangement. Map 15/E is placed to the south of the first map with the pond hex to the north and the town hex (representing the French town of Montboint) to the south. Map 16/F is placed to the south of this map. Map 16/F is folded lengthwise so the hill hexes face up and sit on the edge of the map (where the center fold is now located.) The edge with the hill hexes is the southern edge of the map arrangement.
A huge smoke cloud created by Allied artillery to conceal the Canadian advance sits on the battlefield. The cloud covers the entire east-west width of the map and stretches north-south from the northern edge of the map to 1-3 hexes south of the Laison. After placing the maps on the table and after setting up forces, the players determine the shape of the southern edge of the smoke cloud. This is done by rolling 1d6/2 for each of the 10 zig-zag north-south rows of hexes. Each roll determines how many hexes to the south the cloud extends beyond the Laison.
For example: (Note: The stream on the map, representing the Laison, runs roughly east-west.)The players set up the maps and begin rolling to determine the southern boundary of the smoke cloud. Starting with the eastern edge of the map, one of the players rolls a d6. The roll is a 5, thus the smoke cloud in this zig-zag row of hexes extends 3 hexes south of the stream –E77A, E78A and E79A. Using removable flags purchased from an office supply store, or other suitable markers, one of the players marks the two southernmost hex sides of hex E79A. Another d6 is rolled and the roll is a 4, indicating that in the next row, the cloud of smoke extends 2 hexes south of the stream - E69A and E70A. One of the players marks the western hex side of hex E79A and the southwest-facing southernmost hex side of hex E70. The rolling and marking continues until the entire southern edge of the smoke cloud has been demarcated on the map.

Canadian Forces:
II Canadian Corps[/i]

4th Armored Division, Fort Gary Horse
Sherman x2 42 pts
Sherman 17-Pounder x1 24 pts

4th Armored Division, 1st Hussars
Churchill Crocodile x1 35 pts
M10 Tank Destroyer x1 19 pts
Churchill IV x1 28 pts

3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Highland Light Infantry of Canada
Ram Kangaroo x2 20 pts
+ embussed soldiers selected from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders
Ram Kangaroo x1 10 pts
Universal Carrier x1 08 pts
+ embussed soldiers selected from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

3rd Canadian Infantry Division
Canadian Infantrymen x8 24 pts
Eagle-Eyed NCO x1 07 pts
6-Pounder Anti-Tank Gun x1 07 pts

Any infantry not embussed in the 3rd Canadian Infantry or the Highland Light
Infantry, above, belong to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders

79th Specialist Division, 80th Royal Engineers Squadron
Churchill AVRE (New SA’s: “Winch” [see special rules], “Fascine
Deployment” [see special rules], and “Vehicle Recovery” [see special rules]) x1 25 pts

Royal Engineers (New SA: “Surveying”) x1 08 pts

Cavalier ARV (Proxy: Crusader w/ turret removed) x1 07 pts
Description/Stats: Vehicle – Armored Recovery Vehicle, Spd 4, Defense 5/4,
vs. Vehicle -/-/-, vs. Soldier 6/6/4, SAs: “Winch” [see special rules], “Surveying
[see special rules], “Vehicle Recovery” [seespecial rules] and “Engineer
Transport” – This unit can carry one Soldier with the “Bridge Demolition” SA,
Flavor Text: Many A24 Mark VII Cavalier cruiser tanks, an unsuccessful
precursor to the Cromwell, were converted to Armored Recovery Vehicle variants.”

TOTAL x23 264 pts

German Forces
Hitlerjugend Division

Tiger I x1 56 pts
Panzer IV G x1 23 pts

Jagdpanzer IV/48 x1 22 pts
Panzer IV G x1 23 pts

SS Panzergrenadier x2 14 pts
MG 42 Machinegun Team x2 20 pts

Flak 88/36 x1 20 pts
Nebelwerfer x1 11 pts
Disciplined Spotter x1 06 pts
Sd Kfz 251 x1 07 pts

SGz 81mm Mortar x1 11 pts

TOTAL x13 213 pts

Set Up
Half hexes are in play. The German player sets up first. The Canadian player automatically goes first on Turn 1.

Canadian Forces
Fort Gary Horse: West of the road within three hexes of the northern map edge

Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders (any soldier units embussed in the two Ram Kangaroos attached to the Fort Gary Horse): West of the road within two hexes of the northern map edge

1st Hussars: On, or east of, the road within three hexes of the northern map edge

Highland Light Infantry of Canada (any soldier units embussed in the Ram Kangaroo and Universal Carrier attached to the 1st Hussars): On, or east of, the road within two hexes of the northern map edge

North Nova Scotia Highlanders (Any solider-infantry or soldier-artillery units not embussed): Anywhere within two hexes of the northern map edge

80th Royal Engineer Squadron: anywhere within two hexes of the northern map edge

German Forces
Anywhere south of the Laison stream

Victory Conditions
The game lasts seven turns. At the end, each player receives 1/2 VP/point of value of enemy units destroyed, and 1/4 the point value (rounded down) in victory points for damaged units.
In addition, the Allied player receives VPs equal to 1/3 the point value (rounded) of any unit on the south side of the stream at the end of the game. The Allied player also receives 20 VPs for uncontested occupation of the town hex. The Allied player receives 10 VPs for each of the following hill hexes occupied uncontested: E4A/E68X, E12A/E60X and E11A/E69X. Finally, the Allied player receives 5 VPs for each of the following hill hexes occupied, contested or uncontested: F48x/F37A and F36X/F44A.
The German player receives VPs equal to 1/2 (round to the nearest) the point value of any Allied unit still on the North side of the stream at the end of the game. The German player also receives 10 VPs for occupation of the town hex, contested or uncontested.

Special Rules

Smoke Screen – The artillery produced smoke screen has several effects on the battlefield:

Movement -- The High Gear SA cannot be used within the smoke cloud. Any vehicle moving between two smoke-filled hexes, or entering or exiting a smoke-filled hex, must make a special movement roll to determine how well the unit can navigate the smoke screen. The special movement roll is made at -1. If the special movement roll is failed, then movement into the next smoke-filled hexes costs one additional movement point. A player may use the road bonus, if applicable, to reduce the cost of a road hex to 1 movement point after a failed speed movement roll.
In addition to special movement roll, all other movement rolls required by terrain, or other factors, are required as normal.
A vehicle that ends its movement in a smoke-filled hex must end that movement facing the same direction as its last move, unless it succeeds at a final, additional movement roll.

Line of Sight – Due to a billowing effect and an uneven distribution of smoke-filled artillery shells, the density of the smoke screen varies widely, allowing for visibility between 5m and 300m. LOS is automatically blocked if the unit being sighted is in the smoke cloud and three or more hexes of smoke are between the unit and the sighting unit. LOS may exist to units that are in the smoke cloud with two or fewer hexes of interceding smoke. To determine LOS, a player must determine the density of the smoke screen in intervening hexes, during his or her assault phase. This is done before any attacks or reserve moves are made. This is done by rolling a six-sided die for each hex being checked and leaving that die in the hex space for the duration of the two players’ assault phase, establishing a “density rating” between 1 and 6.

LOS exists through the smoke screen, at a range of:
2 hexes - if the sum of the density ratings in the attacker’s hex, intervening hex and defender’s hex is equal to or less than 9

1 hex - if the sum of the density ratings in the attacker’s hex and defender’s hex is equal to or less than 7

In the same hex, if the density rating in that hex is equal to or less than 4

When LOS is being determined at two hex range along a hex side, the density rating for the middle hex is the average of the two hexes that share the hex sight along which LOS is being sighted, rounded up.
A player may determine LOS to all potential targets before making attacks.
Density ratings remain unchanged until the end of the turn.

Firing Blind -- A player may fire blindly at vehicle targets in the smoke screen to which he or she does not have LOS due to the cloud of smoke. The target vehicle must have moved during that turn. The target must be within four hexes. The attacker suffers a -1 on each attack die and attacks the target as if it were one range category further away (medium range attacks are made using long range attack dice and short range attacks are made using medium range attack dice)

The Smoke Clears… -- On turn 3, there is a 2 in 6 chance that the smoke will begin to clear. At the start of turn 3, the German player rolls a d6 and on a roll of a 5 or 6, the smoke begins to clear. Every subsequent turn, the chance that the smoke begins to clear increases by 2 in 6 (i.e., the cloud automatically begins to clear on turn five.)
During the turn when the smoke begins to clear, special movement rolls are made without the -1 penalty and LOS is extended by one hex. Furthermore, In the turn when the smoke screen begins to dissipate, the potential range for LOS extends one hex (to three-hex range).

Using the “density die system,” LOS exists through the smoke at a range of:
3 hexes - if the sum of the density ratings in the attacker’s hex, intervening hexes and defender’s hex is equal to or less than 12

2 hexes - if the sum of the density ratings in the attacker’s hex, intervening hex and defender’s hex is equal to or less than 11

1 hex - if the sum of the density ratings in the attacker’s hex and defender’s hex is equal to or less than 9

In the same hex – automatic LOS

The “Firing Blind” rule remains unchanged during this turn when the smoke is dissipating.

Fording the Laison – At 20cm-70cm deep, the Canadians expected no problems fording the Laison with tracked vehicles. Much to their surprise, steep banks combined with soft mud made the Laison a troublesome obstacle to their advance. Any vehicles attempting to cross the Laison must make a movement roll, as normal. If the movement roll succeeds, the vehicle may cross the stream at double normal movement cost to enter the hex on the far side of the stream.
If that movement roll is failed, the vehicle must cease movement per normal rules. That vehicle is considered to have entered a muddy section of the stream bank. In any one subsequent phase, the vehicle may attempt one of two maneuvers: backing out of the mud or re-attempting the stream crossing. The vehicle may attempt to back out of the stream bed. To successfully back out, the vehicle must make a successful movement roll with a +1 bonus. If the vehicle successfully backs out, it may complete its movement in the turn, as normal, but it may not attempt to cross the stream in the same hexside during the same turn in which it backed out. Alternately, the vehicle may make an attempt to ford the Laison despite the mud by making a second movement roll at a -1 penalty. If either of these second movement rolls fails, the vehicle is stuck and cannot move. Once a vehicle is stuck, it no longer counts towards stacking for that hex.

Royal Engineering Units – This scenario features three units from the 79th Royal Engineers: a Churchill AVRE, Royal Engineers and a Cavalier ARV. In addition to their usual SA’s several of these units have special SAs for this scenario:

• Royal Engineers and Cavalier ARV new SA: “Surveying.” If the Royal Engineers or Cavalier ARV units occupy the same hex as a vehicle making a movement roll during any attempt to ford the Laison, that vehicle receives a +1 bonus to its roll.

• Churchill AVRE and Cavalier ARV new SA: “Winch” If the Cavalier ARV enters the hex of a vehicle stuck in the muddy bank of the Laison, that vehicle may make an attempt once during the turn to either back out of, or ford, the stream. “Winch” does not convey any additional bonuses to these additional attempts. Neither the Churchill AVRE nor the Cavalier may attack if it uses “Winch” to assist a stuck vehicle during the Allied player’s assault phase. As noted, above, stuck units do not count towards a hex’s stacking limits.

• Churchill AVRE - new SA: “Fascine Deployment.” Once per game, during its movement phase or as part of a reserve move, the AVRE may deploy a fascine along a stream hex side. Deploying the fascine costs 1 movement point. Once the fascine is deployed, for the remainder of the game, tracked vehicles may cross the stream across this hex side at double movement cost, without making a movement roll. This fascine may be removed by an opposing player’s engineers as if it were an obstacle.

• Cavalier ARV - new SA: “Vehicle Recovery” The Cavalier ARV can free a tracked vehicle stuck in the muddy bank of the Laison. The vehicle is considered unstuck at the end of that player’s next movement or assault phase following the phase that the Cavalier ARV entered the same hex as the stuck unit. Neither the Cavalier ARV nor the stuck unit may attack during any assault phase during which the Cavalier ARV is in the same hex as a stuck unit. A hex containing the Cavalier ARV and a stuck vehicle is NOT over stacked; as noted, above, stuck units do not count towards a hex’s stacking limits.

Thin Defenses – German forces cannot cross the Laison.

German Indirect Fire – Many AAM players use a house-rule to grant the indirect fire rule to any piece of artillery. If you are one of these players, the designer recommends foregoing this house rule. Given the presence of the Disciplined Spotter unit, and the advantage to its concealment provided by the smoke, the use of such a house rule is likely to unbalance the scenario in favor of the Germans.

Recommendations for Balancing the Scenario

In favor of the Canadians:
Replace the Tiger I w/ 1 or 2 Panther D’s or a Panther D and an additional Panzer IV G
Replace the Canadian NCO with an Inspiring Lieutenant
Replace either the 6-Pounder Antitank Gun or 1-2 Canadian Infantrymen w/ a Vickers Machinegun Team

In favor of the Germans:
Replace the MG42 Machinegun Teams w/ Sandbagged MG 42 Machinegun Teams
Replace the Canadians’ Churchill IV with a 17-Pounder Firefly or a Sherman

Final Notes:
The photo, below, is from a playtest. Note the small dice in each hex denoting the density of the smoke screen in that hex. Also note the blue "sticky flags" denoting the southern edge of the smoke screen.

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Photos related to Operation: Tractable
All photos come from Stephen Hart's Road to Falaise, a volume in the Battle Zone Normandy series edited by Simon Trew.

Map Diagram of Operation: Tractable

Staging Operation: Tractable

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Canadian columns advance

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The fearsome Crocodile in action

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The deceptively small Laison

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Hazards of a hazy crossing

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Cavalier ARV and custom ARV mini

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