For this year's WorLard event, I decided to put on a game of 'O Group'.
The rules, by Dave Brown and published by Reisswitz Press (a TooFatLardies offshoot), are aimed at Battalion sized actions, in WW2.
The action I had in mind was one that I have wanted to game for about 20 years now, but just couldn't find the right set of rules. 'O Group' are perfect for what I had in mind.
My chosen battle was based on an account by Kenneth Macksey and was first published, as 'Anatomy of a Battle', in 1974. My copy is the 2001 reprint; 'Battle. Normandy 1944: Life and Death in the Heat of Combat'.
The book describes a British attack as part of Operation Bluecoat and, although fictitious, has its foundation in real events and experiences. The author was an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment (commanding Churchill Crocodiles, I believe), in the Normandy campaign, and based his book on his own experiences.
During our game it was apparent that not all players were conversant with the concept of a battalion level infantry attack. Perhaps not surprising given the popularity of platoon level skirmish games. One player failed to grasp the requirement to allocate his supports to the attacking infantry companies, insisted on deploying all his armour from the outset and only utilised a mere 2 platoons of infantry (out of a potential nine), at the very end of the game. So, with that in mind, I thought I'd examine the mechanics of an infantry battalion attack and compare how well the rules reflect reality; of course bearing in mind that this is, first and foremost, a game.
One of the most enlightening sections of the book describes the orders for the coming attack – a real life ‘O’ Group in fact.
The attack was assigned to the 1st East Hampshire Regiment, part of the 11th Armoured Division, supported by the tanks of the Pentland Yeomanry, and Lt. Colonel Simcox, of 1st E. Hants gave the briefing.
Simcox begins by outlining the general situation: '...11th Armoured Div.......is going to attack to the south of Caumont. Fifteenth Scottish are going in on our left and the American 5th Division is taking part on our right.'
'Now, on our own front we've adopted the new system of grouping, mixing the armour in heavier proportion to ourselves, and that's why 'A' Squadron of the Pentlands is with us along with the rest of the regiment's tanks coming on behind...........We've been given a lot of extra artillery, some Flails and some Crocs too.'
Intention: '1st East Hampshires will seize and hold the Vertfeuille crest.'
Method: 'We will advance two up, 'A' Company on the right, 'C' left with 'B' in reserve. (i.e. Company boundaries are established)
Objectives, Phase I:
Right, line of the lane from junction with the orchard to crest of the ridge.
Left, Vertfeuville Farm with exploitation into the copse.
Phase II. 'B' Company to pass through 'C' Company on the left to secure the crest copse, moving on my order. (Objectives are defined)
Start line: line of the hedge which is the existing FDL.
'A' Squadron of the Pentland Yeomanry will be under command and will allocate a troop each in support of 'A' and 'C' Company - the remainder of the squadron will give general support and, of great importance, will position itself to deal with any German armour coming into action across the ridge. (Supports are allocated)
The commander of the Pentland Yeomanry adds some details: 'I'll probably keep what's left to me fairly central - the Firefly troop in particular - and be ready to go with 'B' Company when you commit them.'
There then follows a complicated summary of the fire plan, for both artillery and mortars. (Most of this is abstracted in the rules via the mechanisms for pregame bombardment effects and interdiction.)
The Flails are placed in reserve and the commander instructed to - '......position yourself close to the start line at H plus 10 and wait for things to happen.'
There are a couple of things of note here.
Firstly, the plan is very light on detail. Companies are allocated to the left, right or reserve but the fine detail of how they are to achieve their objectives are left to the company commanders (presumably working within the doctrine to which they have been trained).
Secondly, the description of the phase lines, objectives etc., are not totally clear. However, we as readers, only see the transcription of the verbal briefing but in reality the officers present at the O group would be following along on their maps.
My interpretation of the initial part of the plan is shown below. The second part of the plan involves 'B' Company moving through 'C' to clear the ridge as far as the copse.
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| 1st East Hants. battle plan, as described in the battalion 'O' group. |
The themes encountered, in the above ' Orders Group', are dealt with in the rules under section 4.4 PLANS & OBJECTIVES.
Players are instructed that the Battalion Commander must allocate each company its own objectives and area of table in which to operate and may also designate one or more companies as their battalion reserve.
Companies should not overlap or intermix, and there should be a clear boundary between each.
This is exactly the method employed in the 1st East Hants. 'O Group' described above, i.e. 'A' on the left, 'C' on the right, with 'B' in reserve.
The way in which supports and reserves are used is also largely reflected in the rules. The rules define two differing doctrines for dealing with supports. American and German battalions have 'Flexible Reserves'. This means that off-table supports can be assigned to companies, as required, at the point of deployment. In contrast, British battalions have 'Fixed Reserves' and must assign their supports to individual companies before the start of the game.
On the whole, this is the method employed by the 1st East Hants. with a platoon of tanks being attached to each infantry company, during the planning phase. However, note that the flails are not attached and are held in a general reserve - so we also have an element of 'Flexible Reserves' here. That said, for rule purposes, it is reasonable that battalions are defined as either Fixed or Flexible.
In this specific case, there is a work around. The Flails could be held off table and assigned to the reserve infantry company. They can then be released using a 'RESERVES!' order, which allows AFVs to be redeployed to a different company.
So we have seen that the orders and planning process, within the rules, is an accurate reflection of WW2 practice, but do the game mechanics also mirror reality as well? The following is a summary of the battle for Vertfeuille, as described by Macksey, with my rules interpretations added in red.
On the left, a platoon of 'C' Company is given permission to sprint across a field to seize the opposite hedge line. This it achieves (Rapid Move) but the remainder of the company, following along at a slower pace (Fire & Move) are hit by German defensive mortar fire (MORTARS!). The exposed platoons are badly hit (Suppressed) and the survivors retreat back to the start line (failed 3D6 RALLY! attempt). One of the company's supporting tanks hits a mine and the attack stalls at the outskirts of the farm.
The Germans take advantage of the confusion and counterattack with their reserve company. (CONSOLIDATION! or RESERVES!) The German attack is spotted by the British FOO and an Uncle (all guns of division) target called for (ARTILLERY! Divisional Support) which destroys the German reserve company. (Germans damaged and forced to Retreat from artillery fire).
So, once again, we see that all the important aspects of the battle are covered satisfactorily by the rules.
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