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Wednesday 11 September 2019

" Hold until relieved" - Pegasus Bridge

This battle was fought several days ago, with Phil playing the British airborne and I the Germans. The battle was taken from the Memoir '44 starter scenario, that I am sure many have played themselves.  We played it straight 'out of the box' with none of our in house rules changes:
Unfortunately for the British the card gods were very unkind limiting movement largely to the right flank. Instead of a quick rush to secure the Caen Canal Bridge, the airborne troops concentrated on the Ranville bridge, over the Orne river on the right flank.  Even this attempt ran into difficulty as the Germans lodged themselves in the woods and on the bridge itself:
More airborne troops were sent in to this battle, which raged for most of the game. Meanwhile German reserves built up in the area of the canal bridge:
Eventually, through sheer weight of numbers the Ranville bridge was captured:
But, the assault on the canal bridge never really got underway properly:
Attacks in penny packets by the British were beaten off, causing ever mounting casualties for the British:
Held up by wire, with the alert Germans in strong defensive positions, all attacks failed. The outcome was a German win with a score of 4 -2.

The bridge was not held and the British airborne were not relieved! The figures used were a mix of old Hinchliffe 20mm, assorted plastics and some MLR metal figures. A frustrating day for the the British resulting from a very poor hand of cards.






10 comments:

  1. Considering this is a 'starter scenario' it is quite challenging, especially for the Allied player, despite his apparent early advantages.

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    1. I agree. As there is no time limit, Phil should have spent time exchanging cards until he had a better hand...he, however, grumped and muttered something like fortunes of war, not a bloody card game!

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  2. Yes, it is a tough one to start out with. I greatly prefer the Breakthrough card deck as it gives greater freedom of movement and is more in line with the later Command and Colours games.

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    1. I have lost this game when playing the Allies and agree that it is tough. I am not aware of 'break through'?

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  3. Richard Todd is turning in his grave! Interesting mix of ranges. When I first bought Hinchliffe figures they towered over my 1/76 Airfix and Matchbox figures so I gave them away. They fit much better with Esci 1/72. I should have waited!

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    1. Yes, a bit of a mixed bag of figures. There were some Airfix on the table and they seemed to blend in OK. Do you still have your Hinchliffe figures? I have been on the lookout for US and Russian figures from this series, but they are very hard to find.

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    2. I believe I have a bunch of Germans, inc MG and mortar teams iir. If interested you can have them for postage costs if I can find them again.

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    3. Sadly not. I probably gave them to someone in Staines. They were well painted too - following the Peter Guilder method!

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  4. Bob, which Hinchliffe Russians are you sfter? if you contact me by email I may be able to help.

    Clive

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