Cracking Caumont (1)

Caumont (now Caumont sur Aure) in the Calvados department of Normandy was a target for the US 1st Infantry Division ("The Big Red One") in the advance inland from Omaha Beach in the days following D-Day. The task of capturing the town, and its important road junction, was handed to the 26th Infantry Regiment who prepared to attack late on the 12th June unaware that they faced only light opposition in the form of the reconnaissance battalion of the 2nd Panzer Division. The initial assault was repelled and the men of the 26th reformed overnight as Shermans of the 743rd tank battalion were brought up to support them. By the morning of the 13th the GIs were ready to go...

Game Scenario

This post presents the game from the viewpoint of the American forces and is written in anticipation of using Fireball Forward). I'll be playing the Germans later in the week and don't want to give everything away to the other players. To give a rough idea, the Germans will have an under-strength recon infantry company with some MMG support and a few vehicles. Some reinforcements from the rest of 2nd Panzer Division may arrive later in the game- but are unlikely to feature large numbers of tanks or any "big cats".

Starting forces for the attackers are:

Recon elements of 743rd tank battalion (two units)

Three rifle teams in jeeps, leader
Two M8 Greyhound armoured cars with leader

Infantry forces, elements 26th Infantry Regiment(four units)

Company CO

Leader
Two .30cal MG teams
One 60mm mortar team
Two bazooka teams

1st Platoon

Three infantry squads, leader

2nd Platoon

Three infantry squads, leader

3rd Platoon

Three infantry squads, leader

Armoured support, elements of 743 tank battalion (two units)

Three M4 tanks with leader (available at start)
Three M4 tanks with leader (as reinforcements)

Base morale for the American elements is 4+

The infantry company CO has a morale/leadership of 3+, all other leaders will start with 4+. To shake things up a bit, the first time a leader has to use his leadership we will roll a d10. On a 1 we will find the leadership is one worse than expected and on a 10 we will find it it one better. (We will also do the same for the Germans, but upgrade on a 9 or 10 because...stereotypes..)

To win, the Americans must capture five of the eight buildings on the board.

We will start with a small skirmish between the US recon elements and some similar parts of the defending force, just to get us used to the rules before the main event.

The following pictures shows photo-reconnaissance available to the US commanders.

Here is the view looking south. The Americans will be advancing across the stream to begin their attack: