And now the conclusion of Mission 1 in Operation Sealion...for part 1 of this AAR, click here!

 

Turn 10

The surviving Germans around the hanger are finally beaten off, leaving my depleted squads holding the woods.  But as my squad advances to capture the victory point, they are wiped out by an unseen assailant.

The scouts and Armadillo suppress the bunker, then the bren gun carrier charges to point blank range and wipes out the machine gun.  The now rallied Home guard occupy the bunker, but are in turn suppressed by fire from the Control Tower, while more German paratroopers are spotted advancing towards my now helpless Home Guard.

In desperation, I send the Armadillo through the entrance and turn it to the North, where it can fire on the Control Tower. I then send the Bren carrier to the South to open fire on the counter attackers next turn.  Once again, my heart sinks as I hear the slap of an Anti tank round and my Bren Carrier is reduced to a burning wreck.  You have to admire the German gunners accuracy, but I'm down to my last armoured vehicle and I still have only a tenuous hold on the fringes of the airfield.  The Germans aggression is unrelenting and my forces are struggling to make headway.

 

Turn 11

And right on cue, I get some reinforcements.  There are only two Bren carriers, but one carries a unit that could change my fortunes - a mortar.  I move them through the fields towards the north corner of the airfield as I initially plan to use the mortar to both protect the hanger victory point and engage the control tower if required.

In the centre, I move my scouts into the bunker from where they draw fire and reveal my tormentors in the Control tower.  The Armadillo smothers the position with fire and inflicts casualties, while the Home Guard in the hut drives off the German Paratrooper unit with unusually accurate rifle fire.

 

Turn 12

Under covering fire from the Armadillo, the Scouts and Home Guard storm the control Tower, wiping out the German squad and capturing another Victory Point.  In the South, my flanking units have infiltrated up to the Airfield Building, while the Home Guard clearing the buildings by the Southern perimeter reveal the 37mm gun that destroyed the Bren carrier but cannot kill it.

To the North, my reinforcements plough onwards through the fields.  Its a race against time as to whether they will deploy in time as more German Paratroopers are spotted advancing  the  Hanger Victory Point.  With my infantry in such a parlous state, I move the Armadillo forward to provide fire support.  I was sure I had cleared the wooded area, but it seems not.  A single anti tank rifle, the sole survivor of the defenders who resisted my first attack so heroically, fires single shot at long range.  The makeshift armour cannot keep out the round and the Armadillo is destroyed.

Although my infantry swiftly close with and kill the AT team, I am furious with myself for losing my best hope for victory.  Hopefully the advancing reinforcements will arrive in time to keep up the momentum of my attack.

 

Turn 13

The German attack crashes into my forces at the Hanger.  My mortar is deployed, but cannot open fire yet.  As it is, my infantry hold the attack.  It is pressed home with real fury, but the Germans are caught in Bren and rifle crossfire, and the survivors are driven back into the buildings for shelter.

To the south, the Home Guard kill the 37mm gun, but then come under fire from the airfield building.  Another Home Guard unit moves up to trade fire with the German paratroopers, but is badly beaten in the ensuing fire fight.

 

Turn 14

The defenders to the north prove a stubborn bunch.  Despite coming under fire from multiple sides, including mortar fire, they refuse to buckle and inflict several casualties on my dug in troops.

To the south, things are better.  Firing at almost point blank range from the cover of the woods, my flanking units catch the German Paratroopers by surprise and quickly rout them.  I quickly follow the retreating squad with my Home guard, who finish off the stunned squad before they can recover, before coming under fire from some unseen enemy.

Meanwhile the Bren Carriers, one of them still carrying their infantry squad, drive at top speed to the airfield entrance. 

 

Turn 15

The Bren carriers swerve through the gate and onto the airfield.  I push my troops through the buildings beyond the Airfield Building VP, and concentrate suppressive fire on the sand bagged position from which Im sure the harassing fire came from.

To the North, I bombard the German defenders with mortar and Bren Gun fire then follow up with my infantry.  Even now, the German Paratroopers fight back, inflicting several casualties, including killing my veteran scouts, before being driven back through the now wrecked buildings.  There they are finally brought to bay and wiped out.

 

Turn 16

Another Stuka attack swoops down, this time targeting my troops advancing on the North flank, but this time, perhaps protected by buildings, they escape unscathed.  They cannot move out of the buildings as the bunker stands guarding the road towards the north easterly VP.  The mortar lands several direct hits, but I suspect that it will have little effect against the grimly determined troops safe in their fortification.

In the South, my forces run into similar problems.  A hail of rifle fire smashes into the exposed sandbag position, but when my Home guard unit goes in for an assault, they are wiped out by the stubborn German paratroopers.

With both north and south paths closed to my infantry, I elect to take the direct route to the final Victory Point.  Pausing only to embark a Home guard unit, my Bren Carriers set off across the airfield.  I do my best to steer them away from the wrecked Hurricanes and Gliders that litter the airfield, as I'm more than aware what short work an ambushing German Paratrooper squad would make of my fragile Bren Carriers, but speed is now of the essence if I want to achieve all 5 Victory Points.

 

Turn 17

I close up to the sand bags and bunker defending the final Victory Point, and under suppressive fire from the Bren carriers, disembark my infantry into the shelter of a hanger.  Despite this, they suffer heavy casualties from the German paratroopers hidden in the sand bagged position.

I keep up a steady fire against the other German positions, but I suspect we have reached an impasse.  They cannot move or threaten my victory, while I cannot assault their positions without using my Bren carriers and mortar to slowly batter them into submission.

 

Turn 18

I move my beleaguered infantry to shelter out of the out of the line of fire from the sand bagged position.  Almost as an after thought, I realise that I have captured the last VP, but I still want get rid of any German forces around the area to ensure my success.  I move Both Bren carriers in front of the sandbags and pour in fire.  The concentrated and accurate fire has its effect, killing two of the defenders.

 

Turn 19

After more bursts of fire from the Bren carriers, the defenders are finally suppressed.  I unload the Home guard unit into the hanger and from there they assault and kill the German troops.

 

Turn 20

The German airborne unit within the pillbox makes a move towards the VP.  Surrounded by Bren carriers and a now rallied infantry squad, it doesn't get far.

 

Summary

Although the mission ended in Victory for the British, it was touch and go at times.  Ineptly losing my original armoured units before they could break through onto the open field caused real problems.  The Armadillos proved their worth, blasting a way through the airfield entrance and devastating German attacks on both flanks, but they also showed their vulnerabilities in the confused close range fighting.  My original plan of steady forward progress was thrown out of kilter by the aggression of the German defenders.  Perhaps if I had kept my composure I would have had more success.

I was proud of the way the Home Guard performed in the battle.  Of course, at times I asked too much of them - they should never go head to head with the German paratroopers - but they were very effective at providing extra firepower and even assaulting weakened enemy squads.

It felt like there were two key moments in the mission.  The first was defence of the Southern flank by my Home Guard and Infantry unit.  Alone, they held off the Germans assault just as my attacks against the northern flank and central road teetered on the brink of disaster.  It bought me time to reorganise and concentrate my forces, and robbed the German anti-tank position of infantry support.

The second was the repulse of the final German assault at the hanger.  My mortar had deployed, but could not fire.  Several of my surviving infantry units where still dazed from the previous combats.  If the German paratroopers had closed to assault range, or even just got in amongst the cover of the woods and buildings, I'm not sure my weakened forces would have been strong enough to retake the area.  As it was, accurate fire, especially from the Bren Gun Squad, stopped the charge in its tracks and pretty much sealed victory for the British.