Training Exercise: Attack on a Strongpoint

Our latest Mud and Blood engagement saw us introducing a few new players to the mix, so it seemed as if we should be expanding the scope of the battle, at leas a little bit. So, since we were looking to train up some new eggs, we turned the the "Training the Entente" section of the Stout Hearts and Iron Troopers supplement to M&B. Up first is the scenario "Attack on a Strongpoint", which comes more or less straight from Appendix X of the British Army's manual SS143, 'Instructions for the training of platoons for offensive action', 1917.

Because of the limitations of our figure pools, we switched the identities of the two sides, so that Germans (organized in the 1916 British style) were attacking a British strongpoint. We tried to give a thorough briefing on the rules, but we neglected giving the player a full briefing on the weapons systems, organization, and tactics. Given which, the players did jolly well, overall.

The attackers set forth in four columns; the LMG section and rifle grenadiers were on the left; the bombers and riflemen on the right, with the platoon HQ in the centre. They used the broken ground between their entry point at the strongpoint to cover a portion of their advance, but eventually the left-hand columns broke cover and were spotted. When they started taking fire, the platoon commander became fed up with advancing slowly and started positioning himself for a rush at the trench.

The defenders had placed their HMG in the center of the trench, with rifle sections on either side and dummy blinds in the woods besides the roads, suggesting more of a breadth of front than they were actually able to cover. At first, a rifle section was hitting the LMG troops, but the HMG soon joined in. The LMGers took several casualties and had a good deal of trouble getting their gun into action. As a result, the first section that attacked the trench took heavy losses from the HMG and the rifle defenders, as none of them had suffered any suppressive fire. The section fell back, lost its NCO, and started bottling it for the entry point. The next section suffered a similar result, though the platoon officer and NCO were able to rally them somewhat.

Eventually the attackers got their LMG on line and began coordinating fire between that and the rifle grenadiers. The nearest enemy section took a good deal of fire, especially from the LMG. The rifle grenades fell heavy amongst the HMG crew, and a few convenient jams provided the excuse for the last intact section of attackers (the rifle grenadiers) to rush the suppressed defenders of the near end of the trench.

With good luck and sheer perseverance, the grenadiers won their way in. The defenders died or fled, their NCO escaping out the back of the trench and circling around to join the remainder of the defending force. But the remaining rifle section dashed down the trench, past the cowering MG crew, and began evicting the unwanted squatters with the bayonet. Though they had penetrated the enemy position, the attackers did not have the strength to hold on to what they had gained.

All the new players (one of whom took command of the defending HMG, the others commanding the attacking force) seemed to enjoy the experience. One of the attackers is now contemplating raising a force of French infantry (his wife is Norman), so we may have hooked another fish. :-)

Both our cadre and our new recruits have distilled some of the lessons learned from this engagement (timing, concentration of fire, the use of cover) and are looking forward to using them in our next battle. We omitted the use of the sniper and the scouts in the attacking force, so as not to overload the new players with new rules, but both would clearly have had their value if used--the scouts in spotting off the defender's blinds sooner and the sniper in helping to suppress the defenders.