Battle Report Part 04 – 36th Ulster Division at Courtrai (October 19 1918)

All right – let’s wrap this up.

The firefight between “Johnston’s Company” 12th Royal Irish Rifles / 36th Ulster Division and “Bothi’s Kompanie” / 12th Bavarian Division in the streets of Courtrai, Belgium … concludes.

In the wake of McCabe’s bloody, but valorous and successful, assault against the German mortar pit and the east wing of the Courtrai municipal building (i.e., the “Courthouse”) – the Germans now pivot to attack from within the Courthouse.  Fighting is now within the same building, no longer street to street and house to house, but room to room.  Unfortunately, McCabe just took too many losses in his assault to really hold his position against a German assault of this size.

That said, the first German attack (going after just four men, a half-section previously pinned by German opportunity fire during McCabe’s assault) rolls disastrously … double sixes, the worst possible roll.  The assault technically fails costing (a) number of Irish units in the target hex + (b) terrain bonus + (c) margin by which the roll was failed = total casualty points.  The Irish half squad, although victorious, has to lose casualty points = the number of German units that just attacked it.  Short answer … the two sides wipe each other out.

Meanwhile, 30 meters to the south in the shattered remains of that German mortar pit, Lt. McCabe (DSO) now faces assault against 13 German troops, including an officer, an 8 man squad, and a 4 man half squad, that 4-man team carrying an MG 08 15 LMG.  Even with his “Valor” bonuses, McCabe is doomed to a glorious last stand.  He counts as 2 units (Valor), +2 for the sandbags = he costs the Germans four casualty points, but is likewise removed from play.  He goes down, but seriously takes out (kills, wounds, or panics) eight Germans before going down.

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Flynn’s platoon, meanwhile, hooks north, back into those east rooms of the Courthouse, and then assaults the Germans who just overran McCabe.  The assault basely succeeds, but does succeed, and Setesch’s platoon is likewise eliminated, although costing yet more Irish casualties in the process.  The Irish have lost the bulk of two platoons in this firefight, but for now, they have a foothold in the Courtrai municipal building (objective if the game).  They have an understrength platoon in the Courthouse.

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The Germans don’t miss this development.  The platoon and a half facing Lyons to the northwest immediately pulls out, double-timing it back through their buildings, racing to the western offices of the Courthouse.  They thus give up that whole wing of the battlefield, but have no choice if they want to continue to contest Irish possession of the Courthouse that decides the game.  The smokescreen that Lyons was calling in to cover his upcoming assault is now actually an obstacle for his own MG fire (Vickers section in that stack), taking a shot at the retreating Germans of Ritter’s platoon as they cross the courtyard roundabout street back into the Courthouse.  Rolling a 10, though, the shot would have done no damage anyway.

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Turn 6 – last turn of the game.  If the Irish are going to win this, they have to clear that courthouse, NOW.  Flynn’s platoon is badly shot up, so it’s up to Lyons to carry this one in.  First he directs more MG fire down the street into the courthouse, managing to pin a German half-squad with an MG 08 15 LMG (better that than the fire team manning the MG 08 HMG).  Okay, now the smoke screen drops in from the mortars, landing right in front of the remaining German gunners to provide Lyon’s assault with the best possible cover. In goes the assault, Lyons taking every man with him except the Vickers crew (he’s chosen NOT to set up a “fire lane” with this MG fire, obviously, he’d be running through his own MG fire).

The assault is a nasty one.  Despite the smoke screen, the German point-blank MG 08 fire inflicts enough casualty points that Lyons is forced to drop a half-section of rifles.  Weakened, the assault goes in, except now he no longer outguns the German force he’s assaulting.  At 1-1 odds, Lyons needs a 6 or less on 2d6 … actually pretty poor odds (41.7%, actually).

But he actually makes it, with a five!

Holy hell, the Irish have RE-breached the courthouse, although again, costing Lyons four casualty points (one non-pinned unit, one officer, +2 for building).

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Here, however, is where Lyons’ luck desert him.  He had to pay four casualty points.  He only had two half-squads left, each with three casualty points.  So he dropped one half squad (thus paying 3), then had to pay one more.  He could either “overpay” by dropping the second half squad, “Pin” himself, or pin the other half squad.  He chooses the latter.  This way, he can apply his -1 leadership bonus to the difficulty of rallying that half squad (officers give bonus to rallying men, not vice-versa).

It’s the smart play.  It just doesn’t work out.  Normally the rally difficulty is six or less on 2d6.  +1 for “E” Elite Irish Regiment.  +1 for Lyon’s readership.  They now need an 8 or less on 2d6 (72.22%).  Except they roll a 9.

Now Neumann’s survivors can counter-assault on German Turn 6. The pinned units are automatically eliminated for free.  Lyons alone fights to fend off the assault, and he’s outnumbered 9-1 (full squad + officer including MG 08 15).  Lyons goes down, although costing the Germans four troops in the process.

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Thus we have the final outcome of the game.  The Germans have one officer and four men in the northwest corner office of the Courthouse (including an MG 08 15).  Thus, technically they win the game as the Irish were unable to clear the building in the allotted time.

However, it’s pretty clear that the Irish would win this battle on Turn 7.  Lt. Flynn has nine men and a Lewis Gun in the east offices of the Courthouse.  There’s another four men and a Lewis Gun across the street to the northwest, plus the four men on that Vickers MG and four more commanding the 76mm Stokes Mortar section.  Thus with 21 men to the Germans’ 5, Flynn would be able to clear this building “in overtime.”

But that’s asymmetrical wargaming.  The weaker side (usually defense) just has to hold on for a certain amount of time, inflict a certain amount of damage, etc.  In this case, timetables for Irish artillery may have been thrown off because they can’t get an observer up in the upper floors of that Courthouse on time.  Other battalions might have to cancel their attacks now because of lack or artillery and failing daylight … or worse … might be ordered to go in without artillery support.  Thanks to the delay of taking that Courthouse, other withdrawing German units might have made it across the Leie (Lys) River or the Bossuit Canal.  Who knows?

Anyway, this concludes this battle report.  Hope some of you liked it.