German Trench Raid, 1917 with Trench Hammer

Got a quick solo game of Trench Hammer in with some of my 3d Corp Trenchs, now dry brushed.  I won't give a blow by blow of the mechanics, but for this game, it is important to remember that troops protected by trenches take 1/2 damage.  Enjoy!

German Briefing

There is a Tommy Vickers Machine gun firing from a small salient sticking out of the British lines that the regimental commander wants to be silenced.  Also, pick up any prisoners that you can and bring them back for interrogation.

To accomplish this task, you will be given 2 raiding parties, one you will lead and one that will be led by your senior NCO.  Our sappers have already cut paths through the enemy wire, allowing one party to attack the enemy position from each flank.

You force consists of 2 Leaders and 2 raiding parties each consisting of:

1 x Assault Squad

1 x Bombing Squad

1 x MG08/15 Squad

We have conducted harassing artillery fire every night in this sector for the last week and will fire a box barrage to cut off the British position from reinforcements. There is a partial moon, but it looks like fog tonight, which should work to your advantage, as visibility will be limited to 12"

Good luck, and if you succeed, there may be an Iron Cross and a few day's leave in it for you!

British Briefing

You are Lt. Arthur Hastings, and your platoon is assigned to hold a salient sitting slightly forward of the main British trenches that houses a Vickers Machine Gun team.  They are well sited to give the Boche a good drubbing if he decides to come over the top and also makes life difficult for the hun along a section of his trench.   Your battalion and company commanders have made it quite clear that you are to hold this position and they are afraid that Jerry may launch a raid to take out the gun.

Your platoon is up to strength and consists of yourself as the leader, the Vickers team and:

1 x Rifle Section

1 x Bombing Section

1 x Lewis Gun Section

1 x Rifle Bomber Section

It is about 1am and foggy tonight, limiting visibility, but your plucky lads are alert and ready for anything.  But just in case, you are holding your Bombing Section in reserve in case the dastardly hun tries any funny business.

The Game

Click to enlarge

Initial dispositions, with German raiding parties approaching from the flanks

 Unsuccessful assault on the Lewis Gun section that led to the German Senior NCO becoming a casualty and eventual destruction of the Assault squad by accurate close range Lewis Gun fire.

 In this terrible picture, you can see the Ger,ans do manage to take out the Vickers Machine gun with a volley of grenades, but their assault troops are held up in the open while the British leader orders his Bombing squad up in support.

 The Huns on the left flank are content to hunker down in craters and trade fire with the defenders.

 Meanwhile, the combined fire from the British rifle section and bombers knocks the Assault squad out of action and leaves the German Lt.  out of action.

Here you see the end game, with the Germans withdrawing before their box barrage ends.

I judge this a minor British victory, as the Germans did knock out the Machine gun, but were pretty badly cut up in the process.  They failed to capture any prisoners or even gain entry into the British positions.

While Lt. Hastings' Battalion commander is not happy about losing the gun, a new one will be sent up tomorrow night and remounted and Hastings at least gave the Boche a good drubbing.

All in all a fun little game, that played out in about 30 - 45 minutes and I think gave a pretty good result.  Next time, I may fancy it up a bit and give the raiders a chance to get closer.

I hope you have enjoyed this and good gaming!