The Invasion So Far…

After linking the beaches, the US Army landed two more divisions, the 30^th and the 79^th Infantry. The former subbed in for the 82^nd Airborne which took a lot of casualties in the fighting around Carentan. The latter is forming up between the 1^st and 2^nd Infantry divisions so greater firepower can be brought to bear against St. Lo. The British Army has also landed more infantry (the 15^th and 53^rd Divisions) since 50^th, 51^st an 3^rd Canadian have taken a beating while fighting the SS troops in their sector.

June 19^th

Clear weather but with some cloud cover limiting air support. The US 2^nd Armored, 101^st Airborne and 30^th Infantry strike west trying to ensure the Germans can’t fortify the new line they’re trying to form between Portball and the swamp marshes of Marais de Gorges.

The thick blue lines along hexsides form impassable barriers and also impact ZOCs. Note the unit entrenching on the far left side of the figure, it can form a hexside ZOC bond with the blue impassable line on Portball meaning enemy units can’t go around and outflank the unit. The entrenched battalion along with the 275^th Division are forming ZOC bonds blocking enemy movement into the hexes between them. ZOC bonds can only form along hexsides with impassable blue lines, not whole hexes. This is why the 120^th infantry regiment (30^th Division) was able to march into the hex between the 275^th and Marais de Gorges. For the German player, maximizing the advantages of ZOC bonds and terrain is key to a successful defense.

3^rd Armored and 29^th Infantry shred a battalion from the 77^th Division and advance into the Highway cutting behind the remnants of the 352^nd Division holding the town St. Jean de Daye. Not only are they threatening to surround and cut off enemy troops but they can now reach St. Lo from the northern highway. Elsewhere, CCB / 3 Arm and 2^nd Division push back the 353^rd Division.

Epron fell to the 15^th Infantry Division when 21^st Panzer couldn’t stop the attack even with a determined defense (rolled a 2). The 711^th Division had an infantry regiment defending the big city of Cabourg but the Guards Armoured and the 8^th Infantry Brigade from the 3^rd Infantry Division took the city with an assault with heavy tank losses.

June 20^th

A Raging Storm! This is the third such time I rolled a 1 for the weather so we’re doing well on the law of averages. Storms are a great opportunity for counter-attacking extended Allied forces. A regiment from the 3^rd Fallschirmjäger division combines with remnants from the 352^nd Division (they’re still around!) to attack a reduced US tank battalion that lacked infantry support. This cuts off (temporarily) CCA / 3. In another section of the front line the Tigers from the 101^st independent panzer battalion joins forces with the 17^th SS Panzergrenadiers and gives a rude welcome to the recently arrived 79^th Infantry Division.

In the image above CCA / 3 is surrounded and basically immobilized with ZOC bonds trapping the tanks. While it may look like the US Armored unit is in trouble, in reality it’s not that bad. To begin with, supply is only checked at the end of a friendly turn, so you always get a chance to restore the supply line. Additionally there is a way to negate a ZOC bond between the German paratroopers and the dug in regiments from the 77^th Division; if you have ground units on BOTH hexes of a hexside ZOC bond then it’s negated and units can travel or trace supply. In this case it’s fairly obvious the US can easily rectify the situation by moving units from the 2^nd Infantry one hex west and restore supply and communication. In fact, the US Armored combat command is currently STILL in supply, since unlike other games it’s checked after you finish operations, not when you begin. This makes sense as the time scale of the game is in daily turns. Ground troops usually had enough supplies on hand to get them through at least 24 hours of warfare…

Aside from the spoiling attacks, the Germans tried to patch up their line as best as possible by moving in whatever they could scrounge. It wasn’t enough to prevent an Allied breakthrough that successfully cuts the peninsula. The 91^st Division is in danger of encirclement as 30^th Infantry attacks southwest. That disrupted unit in the figure is holding the only road that leads south. Further North 9^th Infantry supported by 2^nd Armored has reached the Cherbourg perimeter after driving along the coast to capture the other coastal cities. The US 90^th “Infantry reaches Valognes. Hopefully next turn the rest of the division can be landed since more troops are needed to reduce the pocket.

Rather than confront the dangerous Tigers directly in the middle of a storm (with no artillery or air support it puts them at a severe disadvantage) the US Army strikes weaker forces on the flanks. The US 3^rd Armored and 2^nd Infantry attack the 17^th SS Panzergrenadier division, pushing them off the highway to St. Lo. 1^st Infantry and the 4^th Cavalry regiment force back elements of the 353^rd division. The Germans are in a pickle here with their formidable armored units dangling forward.

Some bloody battles here even if they’re not at all obvious in the figure. The 11^th Armoured Division along with help the 1^st Special Services try to clear out the forest. The 2^nd Panzer Division puts up quite a resistance and the Special forces pay the price; they lose their last step and the formation is no more. They give as good as they get however, and inflict another tank step loss. Further east along the line the 4^th Armoured Brigade and the 50^th Infantry attack another section and while another UK brigade is reduced to a cadre they take out Axis tank destroyers.

The various Commonwealth formations shift along the line with Canadian 3^rd Infantry and 2^nd Armoured, facing the airfield at Capriquet. Next is 51^st and 15^th Infantry facing Caen with 3^rd Infantry and Guards Armoured across the river. The swamp to the east of Caen means it’s not easy to make progress in this area but the 3^rd Infantry supported by the 31^st Armoured brigade assaults the 346^th Division hoping to turn an enemy flank to east and swing around the defenses there.

Summary

Despite the storm, the US Army was able to finally reach the other side of the peninsula and the German army in two. This is why Fortress Cherbourg has been husbanding supplies now that they won’t be able to get additional points for artillery or any kind of replacements. Of course the Americans are faced with a big task because Cherbourg is a big geographical objective worth lots of VP while at the same time rolling south is imperative to break the German line, there may not be enough forces to do both at the same time. After Carentan due to the bad terrain the 4^th Infantry has been mostly content to absorb replacements and hold the line here against the German paratroopers leaving the job of flanking this line to the 29^th Infantry and 3^rd Armored on their way to St. Lo. The 79^th Infantry got a nasty combat debut facing Tiger tanks but will fill in the line alongside the 1^st Infantry. On the British side they have committed several armored divisions: 11^th, Guards and 7^th, plus these brigades: 4^th, 8^th, 31^st, 2^nd Canadian and the remains of the 27^th (which suffered the bulk of the early invasion tank losses). German Strength around Caen is considerable and they’re now outside the range of naval support. The plan is to puncture this line at a weak spot and hopefully surround and grind the German army. Time is running out though. We’re down to just a week of operations left.

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