We started a new mini-theme for Flames of War, focused on the battles around Salerno in 1943. Our first game was the American amphibious landing at Paestum — a beach to the south of Salerno and the site of some very impressive ancient ruins. The full historical background and the scenario details can be found in both of these links to the “wargamerabbit” blog:
Terrain: The 9 X 5 foot table was set with the long axis running east-west. The extreme western end of the table was the sea, and then the terrain from west to east was: a strip of sandy beach, then a zone of scrub covered dunes, then open countryside with some low crop fields and hedges, then a large orchard, then a brushy stream, thren more open countryside. Key terrain features were: the ancient ruins of Paestum surrounded by the remains of the old city wall located in the northeast; the Torre di Paestum — a medieval tower overlooking the beach; and the main road running north-south on the eastern end of the table. The top of the Torre counted as an HMG nest, and also contained a German sniper. The beach was lined with barbed wire and minefields, and was divided into a northern sector and a southern sector for the US landings. High ground off the table provided German artillery observers with an excellent view of the entire battlefield. The first four turns of the game would be played at night.
Objectives and Victory Conditions: There were three objectives: the Torre di Paestum on the beach, a crossroad in the northeast, and a crossroad in the southeast. The side that controlled the majority of the objectives at the end of the 15-turn game would be the winner. The U.S. would gain a major victory if they could also exit a platoon from the NE corner of the table. The Germans would gain a major victory if they could control all three objectives.
Deployment:
All of the American forces started off the table, and would land via the FOW beach landing rules, starting with two rifle platoons and a weapons platoon landing in each of the two sectors.
By scenario rule, the Germans started with an HMG and a sniper on the top of the Torre, with another HMG in the connected house. Two light antiaircraft guns were in weapons pits overlooking the southern end of the beach. Behind the dunes, a dug in platoon of Panzergrenadiers was stretched out across the table, supported by two HMGs, two 8.0 cm mortars and two more snipers (the HMGs and snipers were in ambush). A platoon of StuG.IIIs was also in ambush. Further support came from an off-board battery of 10.5 cm howitzers and an off-board battery of 8.0 cm mortars (the latter was supposed to be on-board, but we forgot to bring the models!).
Late-arriving German reinforcements were a Pz.IV platoon and a Panzergrenadier platoon coming from the south, and a column of Pz.IVs, SP AA vehicles, and motorized Panzergrenadiers and Pioneers coming from the east.
Moves: The US landings on the first turn met with mixed results. In the north, two rifle platoons successfully landed and crossed the wire, but their attempts to assault the Torre were repulsed with heavy losses. In the south, all three US platoons landed and easily assaulted and eliminated the two German AA guns.
The Germans responded with their mortars and artillery, causing a few losses. They also repositioned the Panzergrenadier platoon, falling back to a hedged field and the orchard, and digging in there.
The next few turns saw the Americans struggling to get off the beach in the north. Delays in the movement of landing craft hindered the arrival of reinforcements, and the platoons that had failed to assault the Torre also failed to unpin (one platoon failed 6-7 attempts in a row!). This mass of troops also attracted the greater part of the German artillery and mortar fire. The Americans finally got enough firepower onto the beach to pin down the occupants of the Torre which enabled a successful assault. The first objective had been taken.
In the south, the US invasion was going a bit smoother. Reinforcements were more or less arriving on schedule, but the soft sand and the dunes were hindering vehicular movement. Nevertheless, the rifle platoons pressed inland, crossing the dunes and entering the open country as dawn broke.
To counter the advance of the US infantry, the Germans deployed their two HMGs and three StuG.IIIs from ambush, placing them in the orchard with the Panzergrenadiers. With a good field of fire and lots of firepower, the Germans in the orchard presented a serious obstacle, which the Americans tried to outflank by sending a rifle platoon around to the south. Unfortunately, this move put the US platoon squarely in front of the German reserves, which arrived on Turn 6. The Pz.IVs and Panzergrenadiers gunned down the US platoon, wiping it out entirely.
Turn 6 also brought US and German airpower into play. A US strike knocked out one StuG in the orchard, but otherwise US airpower had little effect. German airpower was more effective, with a Stuka striking a Sherman platoon while it was still moving to exit the beach in the south.
More effective was US naval bombardment, which became available on Turn 8. The US had an observer in a good position to observe the Germans in the south, and the naval guns and other US artillery on the beach took a toll of the Germans in the orchard, and kept the Pz.IVs moving.
In the north, the US invasion had stalled after capturing the Torre. Heavy losses among the rifle platoons had weakened their offensive power. The Sherman tank platoon was just arriving, and would need some time to get off the beach, even though US engineers had removed most of the obstacles and laid steel matting across the sand and the dunes.
At the end of Turn 10, the original German defensive force had been almost eliminated, but strong German reserves were on the table, and were heading for the beach. The Americans had no chance of reaching, let along taking, either of the objectives on the eastern side of the table before the end of the game. So we called the game at this point, as a German victory!
- TJ
Great report! I love the temples – I’ve been to Paestum and they look pretty convincing to me – and nice to see some unusual kit on the table (those US halftrack SPs).