Dieppe Raid Scenario - beware its NOT playtested

Richter von Manthofen · Dieppe Raid Scenario - beware its NOT playtested

Atlantic Coast Campaign

Operation Jubilee

Dieppe, France – 19.August 1942

The objective of operation Jubilee – or better known as the Dieppe Raid – was to seize and hold a major port for a short time. Secondary goals were to lure the Luftwaffe into a large planned encounter with the RAF and the use of Canadian troops should compensate for a long time of inactivity.

252 ships left various ports on the night of 18 August 1942 and approached the French coast. Then things began to go wrong.

MAPS – if available use the Combat Zone Beachhead maps!

Beach Assault Special rules:

German defenders deploy anywhere on the map – excluding the beach hexes.

Germany deploys first.

1 EENCO, 1 Vickers MG Team and 7 Canadian Riflemen and 1 Dingo Scout Car (Humber) are deployed at the beach

The remaining attacking Commonwealth troops have to be shipped to the beach by landing craft. They have available 4 Higgins Boats and a LCT at turn 1, losses are replaced by 1 Higgins Boat/LCT per turn (maximum 2 LCT). A LCT holds either an Churchill tank or a Dingo Scout Car (Humber Scout Car) and an Infantry or 3 Infantry.

Deployment of Landing Craft:
One wave of Landing Craft is deployed in the “sea area” (sea area is considered adjacent to the MAP area) every turn. They are vulnerable to Artillery fire if the Artillery piece has enough range to fire over the map edge. Disrupted Landing Craft can’t move up to unload their cargo. Undisrupted Landing Craft can move up during the Commonwealth Attack phase to unload during next turn. Once unloaded Landing Craft are removed to be available as part of the next wave.

Turn length is 20 turns.

Victory Conditions:
Germany scores 1 Victory Point for every town hex occupied by at least one German unit (and no Commonwealth unit) per turn.
The Commonwealth scores 2 Victory points for every town hex occupied by at least one Commonwealth unit (1 point if also an German unit is in the hex) per turn.
Both players score 1 victory point for every 10 points worth of enemy units destroyed (including Landing Crafts – a LCT counts as 10 points for this purpose). Commonwealth units that did NOT enter a Landing Craft count double points towards Germany.

The side with more points at the end of turn 20 wins the game. If one side scores double the points of the other side it wins a deciding victory. It both sides score an equal number of points it’s a moral victory for the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Forces:

Elements of 2nd Canadian Infantry Division:
2 Churchill IV Tanks (56 points) (exchange one for a Churchill Crocodile)
3 Humber Scout Cars (24 points)
5 Eagle Eyed NCO (35)
27 Canadian Infantrymen (81) (substitute SMLE No. 4 Rifles, MAS Rifles,…)
3 Vickers Machine gun Team (24)

Elements 1st US Rangers:
2 Rangers (14) (only one if you take a Churchill Crocodile)

Elements RAF Fighter Command No. 11 Group RAF:
3 Supermarine Spitfire (45)
1 Hawker Typhoon (21)

German Forces:

Elements 302nd Static Infantry Division (570 Infantry regiment):
3 Pak 38 Antitank Gun (30)
2 7,5 cm leIG 18 (14)
2 20mm Flak 38 (14)
3 MG 42 MG Team (30)
3 Light Mortar (12)
11 Mauser Kar 38k (33)
Wehrmacht Oberleutnant (14)
Disciplined Spotter (9)

Elements of Jagdgeschwader 2:
2 FW 190 (28)
1 Messerschmitt Ace (16)

Aftermath:
Operation Jubilee was a total debacle fort he attacking Allies as no mayor objectives were achieved. More than half of the attacking force of more than 6.000 were casualties (killed, wounded, captured). The defending 1.500 Germans had around 600 casualties. The RAF lost more than 100 planes while the Luftwaffe lost less than 50. Half of the attacking tanks were also lost.
But the lessons of this debacle were well learned and finally enabled the success of Operation Overlord.

As this is MY FIRST fleshed out scenario I share with the communits comments and suggestions are MOST welcome.

Pasalades

I will give it a spin and then give you some feedback. I've been waiting for someone to do up a deep, well research Dieppe scenario so my wait is over.

Campbjj

Looks interesting.

Pasalades

Ok, I had a chance to give this scenario a go today and it was very fun to play. I got a chance to use my higgins boats again and play on the beach invasion map, which I find to be the best of the 2" maps.

Sadly for the Germans they received a brutal curb-stomping and were completely wiped out on the ground by turn 6. Even while on the defense, units can't stand up to concerted attack, especially from behind. While I positioned the Germans on the bluffs to get the bst field of fire and to reach the incoming boats, the Canadians on the beach dived for the nearest shell holes for cover of their own. The first trun saw all of the Paks and Mortars disrupted or destroyed while only a single higgins was sunk. Once the threat to the boats were gone, heavy units could be landed with impunity (Dregs made up the first wave to save the best units for when the guns were gone). After turn two the German flank was turned as the units on the rightmost bluff were eliminated and the slow inevitable process of grinding down the rest of the defenders begun.

Some means of increasing the longevity of the defenders should be used, such as a 'Dug In' SA or obstacles and bunkers. When deploying on the bluffs, which is a necessity to keep units pinned on the beach, attacks from behind with aircraft eliminates the cover from the bluffs. If the paks are placed further back in swamp or forest, it might help, but seems weird for anti-tank guns holed up in the corner in a group taking down watercraft.

The rules for placing units on and off the boats are a little fuzzy as well. It might help to clarify during which part of the turn each action takes place and how disruption, destructon and being loaded allows changes that. I came t the conclusion that units were loaded at the begging of each turn and were unloaded at the same time, however they could not unloaded until they were 'moved-up' during the assault phase. This meant that an unscathed higgins would deliver units once every two turns. Given the length of the scenario this is probably what you had in mind. I had to make boxes to keep straight where each higgins was though at it was a little confusing.

I think the unit count is fairly balanced otherwise, though tosing in some panzerfausts to deal with the Churchills would be helpful. I look forward to playing it again after you've tinkered with it a bit.

general Hoth

Wish i had the map! i've got some good old books about dieppe. Cool

Richter von Manthofen

thanks Palasades.

Indeed ever second turn offloading is what I had in mind. (The intent was to add a "transfer area"for he boats off map for their first turn (in reach of "coastal" guns to reprersent the advancing boats.

Hmmm obstacles and bunkers - seems to be a good idea - actually I myself thoght, but as in 1942 the atlantic wall was not as big as in 1944 I was unsure about it.

seems I should add a gun or two and/or some troops.