As students of the Second World War, we have read endless accounts of the courageous actions of soldiers caught up that maelstrom of violence. Some of these actions stand out from the rest due to their daring and difficulty. For me, the assault on Pointe du Hoc has always fascinated me. The daunting task of climbing its cliffs and silencing its gun batteries always seems like an impossible task. And yet, the Rangers of the American Army would do just that. We can set aside the intelligence failure that failed to detect the fact that the gun batteries had been moved further back as this detracts nothing from the courageous and successful assault.
As a wargamer, I have always imagined putting myself in the American position and climbing those historic cliffs. But, throughout the years of playing ASL, I had never owned a scenario pack that involved Pointe du Hoc. In my early years of playing ASL, I only played MMP or AH products. I had a single Critical Hit Magazine from 1997, but that was the only 3rd Party thing I had until 2013. In 2013, after playing in my first tournament, I was amazed to see the breadth of 3rd Party products that were available. Now, having said that, I had not actually gone out and invested in Critical Hit products. I'm sure we are all aware of some negative bias against Critical Hit that is expressed among our community. So based on that (rather my own experience), I shied away from Critical Hit products. I doubt that I'm the only one. Certainly, there are probably very sound reasons for the posted criticisms. But in 2019, I purchased my first Critical Hit module, which was the Gettysburg Civil War ASL pack. I was favorably impressed with both the product and my dealings directly with Ray Tapio and the team at Critical Hit.
I still haven't actually got out and purchased any other Critical Hit modules, but I have received many as gifts over the years. And the other day, I was thumbing through all of these and discovered Pointe du Hoc inside of another Critical Hit module. I hadn't realized that I had it. I opened it up and was thrilled to see the map. It also comes with a counter sheet and some pretty good play aids. The counters are ok and I used them for this AAR, so you can see what they look like. They are actually pretty useful if you don't have 6-6-8's in your American counter mix.
A player aid for the various warships that you can utilize during play. In our game, the USS Satterlee would be offshore and providing the NOBA.
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You will see it's counter at the edge of the ocean overlays during the AAR.
Play aid for American as his forces enter on the DUKW's and Higgins Boats.
I absolutely love the map and a good map is imperative for a good historical product.
As the defending Germans, Dan would command the men of the 726th Infantry Regiment, 716th Static Infantry Division. His force would consist of 10 x 4-4-7's, 5 x 4-3-6's, 3 x 2-2-8's, and 5 x 1-2-7's led by an 8-1, 2 x 8-0's and a 6+1 with an HMG, MMG, 3 x LMG's, 2 x 50 MTR's, 6 x DC's and 3 x 20L AA Guns.
The 726th Infantry Regiment was attached to the 716th Static Infantry Division was typical of the West Wall Divisions in that it was made up of second line and conscript troops. Elderly Germans, Ukrainians and other conscripts from occupied territories and young German conscripts.
Dull and uninspiring duties would fill their days until the Day of Days arrived and their quiet world would become ground zero for the Liberation of Europe.
As the attacking Americans, I would command the men of Companies D, E and F, 2nd Ranger Battalion. my force would consist of 15 x 6-6-8's, 2 x 2-2-8's and 9 x 3-4-8's led by a 10-3, 10-2(British), 9-2, 2 x 8-1's, and 3 x 8-0's with 6 x 60 MTR's, 2 x 81 MTR's, 5 x DC's, 2 x BAZ 44's, 12 x LCA's and 2 x DUKW's.
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The 2nd Ranger Battalion would see action at Pointe du Hoc and on Omaha Beach. 225 Rangers would assault Pointe du Hoc with only 90 still in action by the end of the fighting.
They would see further action at Brest and in the Huerten Forest.
The 2nd Rangers continue to serve to the current day.
"The Germans must defend three gun bunkers and three weapons pits. The Germans are limited to set up in fortifications. The 8-1, 4-4-7 and HMG will set up in JJ21 trench. While a 8-0, 4-4-7 and MMG set up in HH4 trench.. The 20mm AA guns with 2-2-8 crews set up in all three weapons pits. While the 6+1 and three 4-3-6 squads set up in the fire control bunker (OO13). The final leader, a 8-0 will set up with a 4-4-7 and LMG in LL11 trench. The set DCs will set up three on each side of the point on the cliffs. Hopefully the Americans will climb the cliffs and meet this nasty surprise."
Prior to game play, a bombardment is done. It would reveal some units but wasn't overly devastating.
It would take me four turns to finally hit the beach. This would allow for three separate bombardments on Turns 1, 2, and 3. These bombardments would be a bit more impressive!
The crews of two of the 20L AA Guns would both be KIA'd during the Turn 1 bombardment.
Dan's 6+1 had the front seat view as my boys approached.
My bombardment would hammer the main fire control bunker and break the 6+1 and 2 x 4-3-6's with him. But a third 4-3-6 would hang tough!
"Wo ist der Luftwaffe!?!"
The first few turns move along pretty quickly as boats up and arty rains down. These were rough turns for Dan. He had just hunker down and take some hard body blows.
Turn 3 - the final bombardment and my boats reach the redline and would go in on Turn 4. Dan's boys were HIP, so I was not aware of the HMG and MMG's covering both beaches. Additionally, Dan had 6 set DC;s on the cliffs. I didn't know about these either and would take some hits from them.
NOTE: The Americans are fanatic while on the beach and missed morale checks become casualty reduction.
Game time - boats head for the beach!!!
Finally, I'm on the beach and the real action in this scenario begins!
Dan had waited patiently to reveal his HMG. And it hit me hard on the beach. It would wound the British Lt. Col. Trevor. Trevor would receive a head wound during the assault but survive. He wouldn't be so lucky today.
Overall, the I would have a remarkably easy time on the beach. The upper beach would be the hardest as it was under direct fire from the cliffs.
The USS Satterlee would begin targeting Dan's HMG position. I would only get one hit on it and do nothing. My next three card draws would be Reds. On the beach, my boys were hugging the cliff walls and preparing to climb. In the center, I was directing devastating fire on the Fire Control Bunker.
Up we went and got our first toeholds on the cliffs under furious fire from Dan's grenadiers.
I would set off three of the set DC's and suffer some casualties as a result. On the upper beach I was taking a pounding from German mortars and machine guns. But I had taken the Fire control Bunker and was moving down the German trenches. Meanwhile, Dan's HMG had taken shots at my two DUKW's, which were moving towards him, since my NOBA was nonexistent.
Dan's HMG would score two Ducks!
His HMG would rake my 10-3 with rate of fire and break a half-squad, pin another and then I would roll snakes for the 10-3 and go Heroic. In the next Prep Fire, my 10-3 Hero would get a two KIA and eliminate the HMG 8-1 and 4-4-7. This was a game changing moment. My 10-3 would turn his fire on the gun pits and trench line to help my boys move down the trenches.
I would take the surviving Fire Control Bunker Germans prisoner.
With the center fully in American control, my heroic 10-3 would break all the Germans in the lower sector as my boys rushed through the trenches and mopped up. In the upper sector, my mortar would score a hit on the 8-0 with the MMG and break them.
Dan and I had been playing for 5 hours and completed 10 turns. As the MMG squad broke, Dan knew that his defense was now completely compromised. My Rangers were simply going to go around and mop up the three or so squads of grenadiers left. So, Dan would give the concession and it would be game over and an American victory. What a game!! This is why we play ASL. From start to finish, it was like watching a movie unfold as the Americans hit the beach, scaled the cliffs and fought hand to hand to take out the dug in defenders. Dan did all that he could with the force at his disposal. And had he managed to eliminate my 10-3 stack, he may very well have regained the momentum and turned my boys back. I think Dan's defense was pretty much spot on and he utilized the two flank trenches to give his HMG and MMG the best possible fields of fire to cover the battlefield, which they did very well. The Americans have 6 x dismantled 60 MTR's. I would personally rather have had two MMG's instead. As you can see from the pictures, I was quick to drop the mortars. This just seemed like a very odd weapon to have in such abundance. Likely, they were meant to provide defensive support once the objective was taken.
Pointe du Hoc proved to be a very fun game. I don't know if and when I might try the other scenarios, but for now I'm super pleased to have played this moment in history and managed to win as the Rangers. Dan and I both felt that his was a very enjoyable scenario. It's very tough on the Germans and so the German player has to be mentally tough to weather the heavy amount of ARTY dropping on him.
My thanks to Dan for a really great game. This is one that will stand out over time as one of the best we played. In the beginning of this AAR, we talked about some of the negative perceptions that exist around Critical Hit products. For our game, I used my copy of Pointe due Hoc 2nd Edition. Mark Pitcavage's excellent Desperation Morale is the best place to get a thorough review of this and all other Critical Hit Products. I would recommend reading his reviews before making any purchases for any 3rd Party Products that you may have questions about.
Lastly, just a BLOG note. Many of my readers are expert rules lawyers. I want to assure you that Dan and I played this scenario according to the relevant rules. Dan is a big stickler for checking the rules throughout the game, which is good...cause I'm not that kind of player...and unapologetically so. I insert this comment as some folks over the years ask rules questions, when they don't see me specifically call them out in the AAR. My AAR style is pretty loose and at its core is just story telling what occurred. So, my apologies to any readers wanting more rules related content. There are some much better blogs than mine for that kind of content and those bloggers do a really fine job of contributing something meaningful to our hobby.
And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:
"The plan did not work. While the Germans did their best to hold the Americans back, by turn 10 all positions had been broken and the Americans were on their way to mopping up. The key moment was the American 10-3 going heroic on HOB and breaking up the German defense over the next three turns. This scenario is well play tested and balanced. With a great historical map. It has few playing on ROAR with it being 2 German and 1 American. Worth a closer look for those who like HASL. Congrats to Grumble Jones on a great win! Well played with a persistent attack that won the day. My thanks for a great game."
That's a wrap on Pointe du Hoc.
What a game!
Dan and I will return next week for more life altering ASL!!!
We will see you then!
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