Background
The Siege of Calais (1940) was a battle for the port and town of Calais during the Battle of France in 1940. The siege was fought at the same time as the Battle of Boulogne, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) through Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras (21 May) German units were held ready to resist a resumption of the attack on 22 May, despite the protests of General Heinz Guderian, the commander of the XIX Armee Korps, who wanted to rush north up the Channel coast to capture Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk. An attack by part of the XIX Armee Korps was not authorised until 12:40 p.m. on the night of 21/22 May.
By the time that the 10th Panzer Division was ready to attack Calais, the 30th Motor Brigade and the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3rd RTR) from England, had reinforced the French and British troops in the port. On 22 May, the British troops had established roadblocks outside the town and French rearguards skirmished with German armoured units, as they advanced towards Calais. British tanks and infantry had been ordered south to reinforce Boulogne but were too late. They then received orders to escort a food convoy to Dunkirk but found the road blocked by German troops. On 23 May, the British began to retire to the old Calais walls (built in the 1670s) and on 24 May, the siege began. The attacks by the 10th Panzer Division were mostly costly failures and by dark, the Germans reported that about half their tanks had been knocked out and a third of the infantry were casualties. The German attacks were supported by the Luftwaffe and the Allied navies delivered supplies, evacuated wounded and bombarded German targets around the port.
On the night of 24/25 May, the defenders were forced to withdraw from the southern enceinte, to a line covering the Old Town and Citadel; attacks next day against this shorter line were repulsed. The Germans tried several times to persuade the garrison to surrender but orders had been received from London to hold out, because an evacuation had been forbidden by the French commander of the northern ports. More German attacks early on 26 May failed and the German commander was given an ultimatum that if Calais was not captured by 2:00 p.m., the attackers would be pulled back and the town levelled by the Luftwaffe. The Anglo-French defences began to collapse in the early afternoon and at 4:00 p.m. the order “every man for himself” was given to the defenders, as Le Tellier, the French commander surrendered. Next day, small naval craft entered the harbour and lifted about 400 men, while aircraft of the RAF and Fleet Air Arm dropped supplies and attacked German artillery emplacements.
Situation
The 3rd RTR received the report of the reconnaissance patrol and Bailey went back to GHQ with a light tank escort. Bailey became separated from the escort and ran into the advanced guard of the 1st Panzer Division at a crossroads on the St. Omer road and the driver was killed. The Germans were driven off by the men of an Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) petrol convoy, which had arrived on the scene. Bailey and the wounded passenger returned to Calais at about noon and told Keller that another attempt should be made, since the Germans had retired. Keller had already received information from the French that German tanks were moving towards Calais from Marquise.[31] Despite doubts, Keller sent rest of the 3rd RTR to follow the light tanks from Coquelles towards St. Omer at 2:15 p.m.When about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Hames-Bources, the rearguard tanks and anti-tank guns of the 1st Panzer Division were spotted on the Pihen-les-Guînes road (guarding the rear of the division as the main body moved north-east towards Gravelines).[31]
The 3rd RTR drove back German light tanks on the St. Omer road but despite losses, the heavier German tanks and anti-tank gun screen knocked out from 7–12 British tanks, before Nicholson ordered the 3rd RTR back to Calais.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Calais_(1940)
The Game
Table
- 9’x5’
- Green is woods, brown are hills, dark blue lakes. Long green lines by roads represent tree lines.
- All white terrain has fields that have a mix of low and high hedges.
Set Up
- British set up behind the right line on the out skirts of Calais.
- Germans set up within the dotted lines covering the town of Coquelles and road to Callais. All German tanks must be in road march.
British Forces
- Two Armored Companies (one with two squadrons of A13s and the other with two squadrons of A13As. Both companies have two MkVI squadrons. Each company has a Daimler Scout Car section of two vehicles each. British are Confident Trained.
- Third British armour company enters board at Calais if one of the on board armored formations is destroyed. Equipped the same as the lost armored formation.
- One French 75mm battery and Infantry company (minus two stands) deployed within six inches of Calais. French are Reluctant Trained.
German Forces
- One Light Panzer Company with HQ (2 x PzIII), two medium Platoons (4 PzIII each), two light platoons (4 PzII each). (In reserve)
- One Heavy Panzer Company with HQ (PzIV and PzI), heavy platoon (3 PzVI) and two light platoons (4 x PzI). (deployed on road in road march)
- One Motorized Infantry company (3 x infantry and a heavy platoon) in Trucks (deployed on a road in trucks)
- One ATG Platoon (deployed within six inches of Coquelles).
- Two light Recon troops of 2 x 222 and 1 x 223 ACs (deployed with 8 inches of the road).
- Dedicated Stuka (reserve).
Objectives
Taking the Large Hill, cross roads and each towns from the enemy counts as an objective. All objectives (except suburbs of Calais) start the game as German . Each objective taken (or retaken) and each enemy platoon destroyed or routed counts as a objective. Roll 1D6 for each objective taken by a player. On a roll of 1 it counts as 1 point, on a roll of 2-4 counts as 3 points and on a roll of 5-6 counts as 4 points. Player with the highest total at the end of the game wins. Maximum of 12 turns.
Recap
The Germans set up in accordance with the set up restrictions. The British chose to place one company on each side of the main road in line abreast. The French were deployed to the rear most position (which put them out of artillery range of the German units).
The British moved forward methodically engaging the Germans on the road with sporadic long range fire. Seeing the advancing British, the Germans immediately pulled back all their forward forces to the north south road and, while bringing up their rear units to solidify the defense. The British slowly moved forward engaging in continued long range fire. The French decided to quickly advance to support the British attack. However, the Germans ended up with the time they needed to bring up their reserves. The British then dashed forward to try to sweep the Germans to their front, but were met with a hail of fire, losing most of their tanks. With their reserves in place, the Germans then moved forward to engage the remaining British armor, pushing them back with more losses and smashing the French in the process. The first company was wiped out, releasing the third company for action. This formation drove forward cautiously and was overwhelmed by the German advance. With the allied forces completely smashed, the Germans were able to establish a foot hold in the Calais suburbs. The result was a non-historical German Major Victory.
– Mantueffel.