Wittman's Last Battle?-PLAYTESTS NEEDED - NOW w/ PICS

Bean965 · Wittman's Last Battle?-PLAYTESTS NEEDED - NOW w/ PICS

Okay, here's a draft of the first scenario in my Falaise Pocket trilogy. It was playtested once with a weird "offsides" rule meant to keep the Canadians from being able to advance without dealing with German forces first. That rule worked so badly, that we abandoned it in the middle of the playtest, as well as the victory conditions presented here, and went with a strict points destroyed assessment. I'd like to have a set of victory conditions similar to the ones in this draft, but will need some playtests to figure out what's balanced.

Operation Totalize: Wittman’s Last Battle?
1230 hours, 8 August 1944, near St.-Aignan, Northern France
The forces of the German 12th SS Panzer Division were barely maintaining their thin defensive line against the Canadian II Corps. Already they had been overrun once by Lt. General Guy Simonds’ rapid nighttime advance south from Caen. Thus it was with the intent of conferring on how to shore up the German defense that Hitlerjugend commander Kurt Meyer ordered SS Sturmbannfuhrer Hans Waldmuller to meet him in Cintheaux on the morning of August 8, 1944.
The first sign to Meyer of how bad things had gotten for the Germans were the dozens of German infantrymen heading south in disarray that he encountered on the road to Cintheaux. Legend has it that Meyer, carbine in hand, rallied these forces to form new defensive positions. The second sign of how bad things had gotten was revealed after he and Waldmuller rendezvoused and moved to a hill to the northeast of Gaumesnil to survey the new Allied lines. From that vantage point, the two German commanders could see the spearhead elements of two Allied armored divisions staging for another push south. Meyer knew that if these armored columns went on the offensive before the Germans could restore their defenses, they could advance all the way to Falaise, cutting through the base of the German salient and encircling the Germans.
In true SS fashion, Meyer ordered an immediate German attack. Waldmuller’s Battlegroup, accompanied by four Tigers led by German Tank Ace Michael Wittman, stuck out north, hoping that by seizing the initiative, their vastly outnumbered forces could prevent the Allied armor from achieving any forward momentum before German reserve forces could arrive. Both Waldmuller and Wittman met heavy and accurate fire from antitank artillery and Sherman Fireflies sporting 17-pound guns. Wittman’s Tiger was swarmed by Shermans from the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, immobilized by multiple hits, and eventually incinerated by a fire caused by two more hits from Trooper Joe Elkins’ Firefly. The weapon for which Wittman was so well known become his warrior’s pyre. Meanwhile, to the east, Waldmuller’s force of 20 tanks and 200 Panzergrenadiers faired little better. Charging across open ground, they came under heavy fire from artillery in the orchards south of St.-Aignan. Trading11 Panzers for 20 Shermans, they nonetheless were forced to retreat back south.
Though a daring plan, Meyer’s bold attack caused no significant delays to the start of the Allied advance scheduled for 1355 hours and cost Germany its finest tank commander. Can a different outcome be achieved by the German player in this scenario? Will Michael Wittman survive this battle to go on fighting for Germany? Or is Wittman destined to die in the apple orchards of St.-Aigan and the Allies to defy all attempts to contain them?

Maps
Four maps from two sets with two of the maps folded in half widthwise. Map #6 with the two town hexes towards the south end of the map. North of map #6, map #3 folded in half with the road running east-west close to the north edge of map #6. To the east of map #3, map #7 folded in half and placed so the town butts up against the northern edge of the fourth map. South of map #6, map #1 is placed so the pond is to the north. Seven clear terrain tiles, two town tiles are placed, ad extra roads are added according to the accompanying diagram.

German Forces
Battlegroup Wunche, 101st SS tank Battalion, 2nd Company
Michael Wittman’s Tiger (Tiger I w/ additional SAs: Initiative +2, Lead the Way – once per turn this unit may reroll a single movement roll or attack die) x1 62 pts
Tiger I x1 56 pts

Recon Elements of Battlegroup Wunche
Disciplined Spotter x1 06 pts
Sd Kfz 250 x1 06 pts

Elements of the 89th Infantry Division
Mauser KAR x2 06pts
Panzerfaust x1 04 pts

Battlegroup Waldmuller
Panzer IV G x2 46 pts
Jadgpanzer IV/48 x1 22 pts
Panzergrenadier x2 08 pts
Sd Kfz 251 x1 07 pts

Elements of the 12th SS Flak Battalion and the 12th SS Werfer Battalion
88 Flak with Gun Shield x1 20 pts
Nebelwerfer x1 11pts
Opel 3 Ton Truck x1 04 pts
sGRw 81mm Mortar x1 11 pts

TOTAL: x17 269 pts

Allied Forces
II Canadian Corps, 51st (Highland) Division

2nd Canadian Armored Brigade, 27th Armored Regiment, Sherbrooke Fusiliers
Sherman VC Firefly x1 24 pts
Sherman x1 21 pts

33rd Armored Brigade, 144th RAC
Sherman x2 42 pts

6th Antitank Regiment RA
17-Pounder Antitank Gun x1 13 pts
6-Pounder Antitank Gun x1 06 pts
Universal Carrier x1 08 pts
Canadian Infantryman x1 03 pts
3 Ton Truck x1 04 pts
Staghound Scout Car x1 15pts

154th Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion “The Black Watch”
Ram Kangaroo x2 20 pts
Canadian Infantryman x4 12 pts
Inspiring Lieutenant x1 10

33rd Armored Brigade, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, A Squadron
Sherman VC Firefly x1 24 pts
Sherman x1 21 pts

33rd Armored Brigade, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, C Squadron
Sherman x2 42 pts

TOTAL x21 266 pts

Set-Up
Allies set up first.

Allies
Sherbrooke Fusiliers – 1st row of hexes, west quarter, north edge of map #3
33rd Armored Brigade, 144th RAC - 1st row of hexes, north edge of map #3
6th Antitank Rgt, RA - 1st row of hexes, north edge of map #3
“The Black Watch” - 1st row of hexes, west quarter, north edge of map #7
Northamptonshire Yeomanry, A Squadron - 1st row of hexes, west quarter, north edge of map #7
Northamptonshire Yeomanry, C Squadron - 1st row of hexes, north edge of map #7

Germans
Battlegroup Wunche – Anywhere on southern half of map #6
Recon Elements of Battlegroup Wunche – In the hill hex on map #6
Elements of the 89th Infantry – Anywhere in the northwest quarter of map #6
Battlegroup Waldmuller – On map #1 in Damesnil town hexes or road hexes adjacent to them
12th SS Flak and 12th SS Werfer – Anywhere in the southern third of the entire map arrangement

Victory Conditions
Victory is determined by calculating the average position of all Allied units, measured in number of hexes south of the northern map edge at the end of the game:

6 or fewer = major German victory
9 or fewer = minor German victory
10-12 = minor Canadian victory
More than 12 = major Canadian victory

Special Rules
Glory of the SS – The German player goes first in the first turn

Balancing the Scenario
In favor of the Allies: Replace one Sherman in the Yeomanry C Squadron with a Sherman VC Firefly

In favor of the Germans: Replace the Jagdpanzer IV/48 with a Panther Ausf. A

Click to see full size image

Photos related to Operation: Totalize
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 Wittman's last battle

Click to see full size image

Photos of the battle site near St.-Agnan

Click to see full size image

Click to see full size image

Michael Wittman

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general Hoth

This scenario looks great too! Wow we've had some good scenarios this month. Dont know where to start... Rolling Eyes

I read about Wittman's last battle recently. Apparently Wunshe's KG had 4 tigers (hard to represent in a scenario-what a force!) and all 4 were destroyed. Rolling Eyes

A single tank-gunner survived to tell the story.
I'll have to try your scenario on my next day off.
good work! Cool

Bean965

general Hoth

I'm very busy at the restaurant at the moment. If all goes well,I'll give it a go probably Wednesday. Wink

general Hoth

OK. Set up completed. Very Happy

I'll give it a go tonight after work, After all it's saturday night!
The map looks nice, the only unit i'm missing is the kangaroo that i'll have to proxie.
A few questions:
just one sdkfz 251?
No infantry leader for the germans?
No planes for the canadians?
If say a lone canadian is still left say 12 hexes down, its a canadian victory?
How many turns, 7?
Hope you catch this message before i start at midnight french time (it's 4pm now).
Cool

general Hoth

I had a blast playing Wittman's last battle.
I customized the map a bit (see picture) and at first hand thought the canadians had no chance of making it. Came turn two, the picture was different.
The germans central front quickly had to withdraw while the flanks still held (the jagpanzer was a nightmare to dislodge!).
the canadians went for the flanks trying to get as much cover as they could, losing two shermans in the process but managing to damage the two panzer IVs.
The 88 and panzerfaust was a great combo and the mortar was a welcome addition. But there was no way to stop the allied assault.
By turn 6 the germans were completely outflanked and one tiger was damaged as soon as the canadians dared to field the 17 pounder.
Great game! Very Happy

For play balance i would say the germans could do with a panzerschreck or two in which case you could add a few more canadian infantry . Or another tank. Question

Good work. Keep them coming!

Turn One, Tigers in the middle.

The Front gives in!

Bean965

Dude, thanks for the AAR!!!

Can you tell me what the final result was according to the victory conditions? Major or minor allied victory?

Was the die rolling pretty even?

Did the Germans go on the atack or did they wait for the Canadians to come to them? What were the major impediments to the Canadian advance?

It sounds like you're recommending upgrading from 'fausts to 'shrecks?

Did the playtest suggest any of the changes you were asking about in your pre-test email, i.e. German infantry officers or Allied plane? (I think an Allied plane would decimate the Germans...)

general Hoth

I would probably add another panzerfaust to the german right flank to even up things. The universal carriers, kangaroos and recon units roamed around the map and were not a prority target for the german armor. So i feel it could help the german infantry to deal with those.
The nebelwerfer was of little use but maybe because i placed it too far back and then struggled with the help of the truck to place it line.
The canadians At guns were a nightmare to place (i waited for the third turn to put them out) as most of the map is under german fire at the beginning of the scenario.
Overall the germans were FORCED on the defensive early on. I was planning on sending the tigers upfront but couldnt. Too risky. Maybe that's why Wittman was killed in real life because that's what he did.
At the end Wittman was still alive but his wingman was badly damaged!
As for air support i almost considered adding a typhoon around turn4 but didnt. If i had done so i would have added a 20mm Flak gun on the german side.
Maybe you could consider this:
reinforcements on turn4: 1 typhoon/ 1sdkfz 250 with 20mm flak boarded.
Hope it helps.
Thanks again for the scenario, great idea. Cool

edit: at the end it was a comlete canadian victory.

Bean965

Thanks for the extra details!

I'm hoping to playtest it this week and see how my results compare to yours.

general Hoth

Did you get a chance to do a replay?

Bean965

No - I haven't had any time to play in the past few weeks and it doesn't help that my gaming buddy seems sick of AAM and would rather play Mordheim.