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New file at the Repository: Wittmann's Swords at Villers Bocage (2013-11-21)


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I’ve always been fascinated with this famous (infamous?) action. When I was 16 whilst on a family holiday we visited the town of Villers Bocage. If I had known I was going to create a scenario of the area I would have paid more attention and taken lot’s of photos!

Although I’ve been interested in the action I have always swerved away from doing a Combat Mission scenario about it. I thought that it would never really translate to the digital battlefield. After doing a scenario that recreated Wittmann’s final action which saw him and his crew killed whilst attacking Allied armour near Gaumesnil (the CMBN scenario is called Wittmann’s Demise) I decided I would revisit his most famous Western Front action – his daring, oft discussed, and criticised, attack against the spearhead of 7th Armoured Division at Point 213 just west of Villers Bocage.

Playing the Scenario

This is a very large map (around 1.5km wide by nearly 3km long).

Loading times are around 5 to 8 minutes depending on your machine.

PLEASE BE PATIENT. Start it up then go make a drink!

Players with lower spec machines may struggle to play this.

Due to the nature of this scenario and the terrain it’s been designed as either playing H2H (although not sure how ‘balanced’ this is as it’s a semi-historical type scenario) or Human versus Allied AI. There is a German AI plan so you can play as the Allies against the German AI BUT given the limitations of the AI this, at best, provides an interesting insight into the initial experience of the Allied tankers.

First off possible SPOILER ALERT….

The map is as faithful a recreation of the environs around Villers Bocage as I could make given the confines of the Combat Mission game engine, limitations of the aerial images and maps available. I’ve also tweaked history a little bit. The first 30 odd minutes of this action (arguably the most famous part) gives you, the gamer, a chance to emulate Wittmann’s attack. As you’ll find, recreating this on the digital battlefield illustrates just how lucky he was on the day. It’s tough to pull it off on the CMBN battlefield – more often than not your Tiger will be shot up, immobilised or have it’s main gun/optics knocked out.

From around 30 minutes on the latter part of the action makes the assumption that Bill Cotton from B Squadron managed to find a way through Villers Bocage on it’s southern side. This bit of pathfinding allows the rest of B Squadron to follow and attempt a counterattack against the Germans.

Prelude

After the D-Day landings the Allied forces had managed to secure their lodgement on the beachhead. At the eastern end of the D-Day bridgehead the British and Canadian forces were facing determined German opposition. The Germans perceived this as the main threat. From the 8th June onwards both 12th SS Panzer Division and Panzer-Lehr, sometimes supported by the 21st Panzer Division had mounted fierce counter attacks, with limited local success, in an effort to drive the British back. However by the 12th June both the British and Canadian forces had regained the initiative with British and Canadian forces from 2nd Army pushing further inland. This pressure being exerted on the German lines attracted newly arriving German panzer divisions to the invasion front in an effort to defend Caen. This was done mainly due to the risk of the British expanding their lodgement area into the better tank country to the south.

As the pressure mounted some German infantry units began to crack. The 352.Infanterie Division, which had been in continuous combat for over a week, with little reinforcement and no armoured support, began to collapse and as it withdrew opened up a gap with Panzer-Lehr to its right. This gap was identified by the British and it was this gap that the desert veterans of 7th Armoured Division were hoping to exploit.

Brigadier Hinde’s 22nd Armoured Brigade, supported by the 131st (Queen’s) Infantry Brigade under Brigadier Michael Ekins, was the point unit of 7th Armoured Division’s attack. His orders of the 12th June were to disengage 7th Armoured and to move down the right flank, by-passing the enemy positions on the line La Belle Epine-Tilly-Fontenay, to strike towards, and if possible take, Villers Bocage. By this manoeuvre, the enemy’s flank would be turned and operations kept fluid.

So it was after some light opposition, a worrying bivvy in enemy territory and a wary advance in the gloom of the early dawn on the 13th June that the leading elements of the main column, ‘A’ Squadron, 4th County of London Yeomanry (4th CLY) ‘The Sharpshooters’, pulled out of the eastern end of Villers, and cautiously advanced east along RN175 to POINT 213, their objective, where they started to take up defensive positions just before 0900Hrs. Just behind them were their supporting infantry in their half-tracks from the 1st Rifle Brigade’s ‘A’ Company. They halted further back down the road and pulled up nose to tail to allow following units to pass to the front. The plan was for ‘A’ Company to make way for another squadron of ‘The Sharpshooters’ and for the lead battalion of the Queen’s Brigade to come forward before retiring to allow the Queen’s to prepare firm positions for defence of this useful tactical position on POINT 213.

As the column began its final approach to Villers, the platoon and company commanders of ‘A’ Company, 1st Rifle Brigade were summoned to an ‘O’ Group at the objective POINT 213. Several half-tracks picked up the officers and started driving up to POINT 213. Meanwhile at the eastern exit of Villers Bocage the CO of the ‘Sharpshooters’ Colonel Cranley was an unhappy man. He was concerned his unit was out on a limb, advancing blind into a vulnerable position. Brigadier Hinde came up in a scout car to encourage Cranley on. As the objective had been reached, Hinde dismissed Cranley’s concerns and ordered him to POINT 213 to ensure that the lead group was sited in a good defensive position.

Cranley headed on up to POINT 213. Once there he discussed the situation with Major Peter Scott, the CO of ‘A’ Squadron and called an ‘O’ Group, which pulled in the troop commanders from his lead squadron. Cranley briefly discussed the position with Major Wright (of ‘A’ Company) as he waited for the Rifle Brigade platoon commanders.

Throughout the morning the column had been maintaining radio silence. As the Rifle Brigade platoon commanders in their half-tracks drove up the RN176 towards POINT 213, passing the sign for Caen, Sergeant O’Connor of 1st Platoon broke radio silence shouting ‘For Christ’s sake get a move on! There’s a Tiger running alongside us 50 yards away.’

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Wow! Thanks for all your work on this, George. It looks like a keeper! Ever since I first read of this 40 or so years ago, I thought it would be interesting to game. I tried it in ASL and other tactical boardgames and miniature games, but those just didn't come close to working. No doubt this one will!

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Thanks Sir George. I am sure you have Wittmann's Swords at Villers Bocage dialed in very well. My elder Mac may struggle but fear not. I will follow your directions. "PLEASE BE PATIENT. Start it up then go make a drink!" ;)

I hope to get more play time over the holidays as despite "cm dying" there is plenty of material begin produced by fans / customers... and if the modern / EF "horse race" is a tie... the New Years babe will be .. plump and happy :)

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It took 4 minutes to load on my laptop. Impressive map aided by the graphics rendering punch up in 2.11. As the Germans I did find the victory conditions, reinforcement schedules and goals rather murky. We're supposed to do what? We're supposed to go where? But I only read the briefing through once.

I've just re-read the German briefing and from my POV it seems pretty clear - although the player does have several choices as to how to play it out.

All I can suggest is players take the time to read through the briefing - and not hit play till they are sure - and it should be obvious as to what to do :D

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Wow! Thanks for all your work on this, George. It looks like a keeper! Ever since I first read of this 40 or so years ago, I thought it would be interesting to game. I tried it in ASL and other tactical boardgames and miniature games, but those just didn't come close to working. No doubt this one will!

Cheers :) Hope you enjoy it!

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Thanks Sir George. I am sure you have Wittmann's Swords at Villers Bocage dialed in very well. My elder Mac may struggle but fear not. I will follow your directions. "PLEASE BE PATIENT. Start it up then go make a drink!" ;)

I hope to get more play time over the holidays as despite "cm dying" there is plenty of material begin produced by fans / customers... and if the modern / EF "horse race" is a tie... the New Years babe will be .. plump and happy :)

Good luck wi it Buzz :)

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Thanks. Got the drinks part covered :)

Fired it up to see how the Mac would manage Wittmann's Swords.

Only 3:30 to load the scenario =drink fast? ;)

Not a bad load time considering how large the battlefield is.

Mac Pro 2 X 2.26 GHz Quad-Core

ATI Radeon HD 4870 512 MB

DELL U2713HM Display

1920 X 1080p Resolution

Activity Monitor showed CMBN was using @ 2.8 GB of Memory.

Issued one Elite TB order to test how the 2.11 patch works on CMBN/CW/MG. Fluid and smooth.

I am ready Post Holidays.

Thanks Sir George, your scenario testers and the "near death" Battlefront crew for making CMBN faster, smoother and more fun to play.

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George, thanks very much for making this scenario! =)

***** FILMED IN SPOILER-VISION!!! *****

In my initial go at the scenario (of which I only played 21 turns, because by that time my force and the enemy's were decimated and scattered), it wasn't a case of Wittmann earning the Swords to his Knight's Cross but rather of Stief getting a Knight's Cross.

Having just browsed the Wikipedia article on the Battle of Villers-Bocage (as recommended in the designer's notes of this scenario), I left my various units more or less in their default positions and gave my initial orders to reflect how the battle historically began. From Montbrocq-la Cidrerie Wittmann drove west onto RN 175 and then turned north. No sooner had his Tiger knocked out two Cromwell IVs than it was itself knocked out by one of the tanks up closer to Point 213 (probably one of the Fireflies), losing the driver in the process. Wittmann and the remaining three crewers escaped to find refuge in a building at Montbrocq-la Cidrerie.

As the would-be Swords-earner's crew was fleeing to (relative) safety, Brandt, Sowa and Stief followed Wittmann's route of attack, turning north onto RN 175 in quick succession and knocking out a Firefly and a couple other vehicles south of Point 213. Meanwhile Lotzsch and Wieland moved in to attack. Wieland hadn't actually gotten onto RN 175 when his Tiger came under fire from multiple vehicles on Point 213 and was immobilized by infantry close attacks. (Wieland — or rather his crew, since he himself caught a burst of MG fire while having his head out the hatch — eventually accounted for two Cromwell IVs and a dozen enemy personnel but got shot up so much that only one crewer got out of the tank to end up dead in a ditch on the far side of the road.) Lotzsch's Tiger also knocked out two Cromwell IVs, but it was knocked out by a Firefly on Point 213 and lost its driver while maneuvering to attack from the west.

By the time Lotzsch and his crew were bailing out of their Tiger, Brandt, Sowa and Stief had turned around in response to fire from the British forces strung along RN 175 in and near the outskirts of Villers-Bocage. As the three Tigers began heading slowly but steadily toward the town, firing on the move, the gun of Sowa's Tiger was damaged (but not before it had destroyed a halftrack and a mortar carrier); and Brandt's Tiger got immobilized with its flank turned mostly toward the line of vehicles firing on it but still knocked out a Cromwell IV, a Sherman I and two Stuart IIIs. With Brandt's Tiger stuck and Sowa's much de-fanged, Stief's Tiger lumbered on down the length of RN 175. Stief's Tiger took fire (but received no damage) from an AT gun set up on the edge of the road, which the Tiger promptly knocked out, along with another shortly thereafter. Stief's Tiger went ponderously weaving past and through a line of tanks and other armored vehicles knocked out mere minutes earlier, and the Tiger engaged more tanks and armored cars as it moved into the outskirts of the town — it cruised deeper into town (reaching the touch objective), having accounted for three tanks, two carriers, a halftrack and two 6-pdrs.

Then, with the scenario clock reading just 01:39:00, I hit "cease fire" and surveyed the battlefield. I had lost 3 tanks and 10 men (3 of them infantry). The enemy force had lost 95 men WIA/KIA, 3 men missing (bailed-out tank crewers captured), 13 tanks and 7 armored vehicles. A scrutiny of the enemy forces revealed Dyas' Cromwell sitting undamaged amid some trees about 50 meters east of RN 175. It could well have engaged and knocked out Stief's Tiger if it had at all halted during its destructive cruise along Rue Georges Clemenceau.

So Wittmann got his Tiger shot out from under him mere minutes into the action (and would have to find a new driver), while Stief (with critical help from Brandt and Sowa) ended up being the one whose Tiger cruised quasi-triumphantly into Villers-Bocage itself.

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First of all I would like to congratulate GeorgeMC on another superb scenario for the community to enjoy. And enjoyment is guaranteed. What I like about this scenario is the choice it offers. Concentrate on Villers-Bocage or Point 213 first? Let Wittmann do it on his own, or give him some backup?

Dietrich, I had the same experience, so it is wise to hold Wittmann back a bit at the beginning. Those Fireflies are a pest. On the other hand it shows how easily it could have gone the other way for Wittmann.

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Wittmann's tank was the first destroyed. He requisitioned another evicting the crew. A shame that piquant event can't be reproduced. Truck and halftrack drivers are currently fungible.

Not correct I'm afraid mate. Who was in what Tiger was a bit of musical tanks!

When Wittmann found out the British were rolling past his position and he decided to attack he ran to his tank - to save time he jumped into the nearest tank (Stief's - who was ordered to raise the alarm so assume he went into action in Wittmann's Tiger?) this he quickly abandoned as it had a mechanical issue (engine was sounding rough) so jumped into Sowa's tank (kicking Sowa out of the tank) and went into action in that (Sowa then jumps into this tank just after the fighting starts). Wittmann's tank was KOd just on the outskirts of Villers Bocage on his way back (evidence points to his Tiger being immobilised by a shot from a 6pdr AT gun), he and his crew bailed out and then took no other part in the fighting around Villers Bocage.

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@Dietirch - thanks for the mini AAR - great wee read :)

Wittmann was nearly taken out by a Firefly in the actual action. It was on POint 213 and engaged his Tiger when it appeared - the Firefly missed, Wittmann's tiger did not. I've managed to keep Wittmann in the game but it's more down to luck than skill. It does make it clear that his attack owed a huge amount to luck - that when his Tiger was hit it did not brew up nor were any of the crew killed/injured.

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Just started a PBEM match with George's scenario ... :)

Loads in 25 seconds on my MacBook Pro laptop computer, which is great! I think a lot of the speed is the result of not having a regualr hard drive, but rather 512Gb of SSDRAM instead ...

For those that want more techie info:

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

Memory: 16 GB

Video Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

Thanks for the large and complex map George ... well done... :)

Regards,

Doug

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Just started a PBEM match with George's scenario ... :)

Loads in 25 seconds on my MacBook Pro laptop computer, which is great! I think a lot of the speed is the result of not having a regualr hard drive, but rather 512Gb of SSDRAM instead .../QUOTE]

Sure a SSD HDD makes the difference. George MC takes care of the rest :D

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Cheers for the comments guys :)

@BadgerDog and Phil - be keen to hear how you both get on? :)

Cheery!

George

It's been enjoyable for me George, but I'm playing Wittmann and my opponent is taking a beating, so it's not a lot of fun for him. :(

I'd like to reverse sides and try it from the other end..

I've saved the moves and it you email me, I'll zip them up for you and send them for you to view...

Beautiful map.... :)

Regards,

Doug

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I think Lotzsch & Hantusch 's tigers should stay with wittmann's 2nd company to the south of N175, and Lotzsch's tiger should be immobilsed.Instead ,there should be another tiger(No.231)appear at Hantusch's original position on the map(to the north of N175).No231 and Wittmann's 212 are the tigers which destroyed the A squadron (London Yemonry)

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It's been enjoyable for me George, but I'm playing Wittmann and my opponent is taking a beating, so it's not a lot of fun for him. :(

I'd like to reverse sides and try it from the other end..

I've saved the moves and it you email me, I'll zip them up for you and send them for you to view...

Beautiful map.... :)

Regards,

Doug

Aye it's tough for the Brits initially. But then it was in the real action. Still given the victory conditions he has a chance. Although the first thirty minutes, depending on how the British player plays this can be hell...

SPOILER

The Brits get more stuff coming on after 30 minutes. To win the Germans have to head into Villers Bocage - that's where things even out. The Brits go into ambush mode (Fireflies, 6pd AT guns plus they have infantry) the Germans pretty much have armour. If the Brit player plays well it turns the tables - although they'll still lose tanks. Lot's of tanks. But then look at the real event.

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