Battle Report: Operation Boston

After a few weeks of COVID based disruption we were finally able to get together and play out the first mission of our Normandy Campaign: Operation Boston.

The game was a custom scenario where the US player had to capture a supply drop in the middle of the board which was protected by the German player. The mission used night fighting and hidden units, with the US players units represented by playing cards until they either (1) Shoot at an enemy unit (2) were spotted by enemy units as described by the night fighting rules in the bolt action rulebook. Each US unit entered the field from a random board edge with the rule that units could not enter from the same board edge which a friendly unit had just entered from. This ensured that the US troopers were somewhat scattered and represented the hectic landings and troubles faced by the US troopers.

US Army: Paratrooper Squads (Left back, middle and front). Veteran Pathfinder squad (Right Back), Medium Machine Gun team (Right middle) and 2nd Lieutenant (Right front). 

 

 

 

 

German Army: Osttruppen Squads with SMG sergeants (Left back). Regular Heer Grendier Squad  (Right Back), Medium Machine Gun teams (Left and Right middle) and 2nd Lieutenant (Right front).

2am 6th June 1944: Somewhere South-West of Sainte-Mère-Église a Polish Osttruppen conscript stares up into the night sky at the armada of planes buzzing overhead. The puffs of flak begin clouding the sky and horror grips his unit as the white canvases of thousands of parachutes begin drifting down from above. Chaos ensues as the troops land in the surrounding fields and begin to form up. With a heavy thud, a large supply container full of US equipment lands amongst the German defences. It is up to the paras to capture this equipment which will no doubt be vital in the next few days of fighting to secure the allied position in Normandy.

 

The German forces are in a scramble as paratroopers begin to land all around them.

Surprised by the arrival of allied Paratroopers. The German units under the command of Oberstabsarzt Schnitzel Von Krumb struggled to organise their defences. While the machine gun teams quickly snapped to action and prepared their MG42s to fire at whatever emerged from the fields before them, the Osttruppen units in the trench-line kept their heads down and failed to ready their weapons.

US paratroopers gather before their assault on the German line

In the darkness near the old bombed out farmstead, units of paratroopers gathered and identified each other with their 'cricket' clickers. They fell under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Mike 'Moose' Winters and crept up to the German line. The US Machine gun team took position in a French farm house as they were welcomed by the scared yet excited family within. The team of veteran US pathfinders quickly mobilised and began to advance on the trenches occupied by the Osttruppen .

As the paratroopers began to approach to the German trench line, the sergeant of Charlie Squad ordered his men to run through the open field and close the distance to the German line. Despite being prepared to ambush, the MG42 team were unable to spot the paratroopers in the darkness and, much to the paras relief, did not open fire. Bravo squad approached from the Eastern side of the trench line and only a few meters away from the trench line opened fire on Osttruppen killing one and pinning the squad even further.

Emerging from the darkness the US troopers fire upon the German defenders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing the muzzle flashes light up the dark field before them, the pathfinders approached with their sub machine guns ready to assist in the combat. However, a second MG42 team in the German bunker was able to spot the veterans and open fire on the group, pinning them and killing one US trooper.

The shouts of the wounded and the barking of small arms fire filled the night air as the German troops began to pour fire into the approaching US troopers. Schnitzel von Krumb barked orders to his command bunker to call for reinforcements from a infantry squad which was out on a night patrol in the fields nearby. A few rounds of exchanging fire resulted in casualties for both US and German Squads.

The German Reinforcements charge the Paratroopers caught out in the open.

As requested, the German reinforcements arrived having received their radio orders. They entered the battlefield in the rear of Bravo squad and opened fire on the paratroopers caught open in the field. Luckily, their Sergeants order for the squad to hit the dirt resulted in none of the men being hit by the incoming fire. The US machine gun team set up their weapon in the window of the farmstead, and while they could see the sparks of muzzle flashes coming from the trench-line they could not make out who was who in the chaos and dared not  fire the .30 cal lest they hit friendly troops.

A whistling flare screamed up into the sky and lit the darkness of night to a monochromatic day. The  Germans were taken back by how close their enemies had come to their trench line. Despite catching Charlie squad in the open, the MG42 team did not heed the order to open fire and instead ducked back into their foxhole to avoid the incoming M1 Garand fire. 

 

Despite having a clear shot the MG42 team keep their heads down under the withering fire of semi-automatic M1 Garands.

The German reinforcements let out a cry and charged into the paratrooper squad in the field and killed them to a man before being cut down themselves by the well directed fire of Alpha squad. The MG42 in the bunker sprayed fire at the veteran squad again, killing two of the troopers and causing the others to flee the field in a panic.With the darkness lifted the US machine gun team was able to cut down one of the groups of Osttruppen as they attempted to leave their trench line and support the rear machine gun team. Schntizel himself was put under heavy fire and his assistant was killed by the storm of small arms fire, despite this, Schnitzel readied his broom handle Mauser and was able to kill the US 2nd Lieutenant. 

 

The Germans desperate last stand inflicts heavy casualties on the US paratroopers.

As the flare hung in the sky illuminating the field, the US machine gun team was able to gun down the MG42 team as they attempted to leave their bunker. Charlie squad charged the enemy position and cut down the final MG42 team and were now beginning the secure their objective. The final squads of Ostruppen lost their nerve and threw their weapons down in surrender. With his forces yielding, Schnitzel von Krumb had no choice but to raise his hands and surrender to the US forces. Bloodied but successful, the remaining US troopers gathered their supplies, tended the wounded and rounded up the prisoners.

The war was over for these Germans but the battle for Normandy was just beginning. 

Overall it was an absolute blast of a first game for our campaign and really came down to the wire. A few dice rolls different and it easily could have ended in a German victory. As a result of winning this game the US player will be able to outflank their reserves in the next match.

Bring on game 2!