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Operation Sealion 1940
Scenario: Expanding The Beachhead

Introduction

The Germans have landed on the Kent coast between Ramsgate and Walmington-on-Sea. The beachhead is small and needs to be expanded and the critical crossroads at Little Pickington captured in order to stop the British 1st Armoured Division from advancing and pushing the invaders back into the sea. The British Local Defence Volunteers have set up their headquarters at the Nag’s Head in Little Pickington.

The German ships and landing craft were mixed up during the channel crossing and many were lost to the RAF and RN. A motley kampgruppe has been pieced together from parts of the 6th Panzer Division.

Leaving a burning butcher's van in its wake, the kampfgruppe advances northwards and must take the critical crossroads at Little Pickington in order to hold up the 1st Armoured Division advancing to attack the bridgehead. If the Germans do not manage to take the village by nightfall then the 1st Armoured Division will have a clear run at the beachhead on the following day.

Paratroops have been dropped inland from the beaches and are disrupting the British command. Over a dozen nuns have already been arrested and are now sitting in their local police stations.

Terrain

The board should be four feet square. A road runs from the German edge (south) to the Britsih edge (north). In the middle of the boards, adjacent to the road is the parish church of St George In The Fields. The church tower is treated as elevated terrain and troops placed there ignore fields with high crops, hedges and walls for LOS purposed. Near the British edge there is a crossroads with the small town of Little Pickington. This crossroads is the German objective. The remainder of the board is covered mostly with fields of crops and orchards. Occasional low hills and woods dot the landscape. A gentle stream may also be used.

Special Rules

The game is designed for three players on each side. An umpire is helpful but nor required. After the start of the game, players may not speak to each other about tactical matters. If the enemy players or the umpire spots you discussing tactics they should complain and it will be penalized.

Communications between players is allowed using PostIt notes. Please bring your own. Each player may write one PostIt note and show it to the other players at the start of their next player turn.

The defence was pieced together very hastily. Because of this the British player has only 15 minutes to draw a sketch map showing the position of the Local Defence Volunteers. Half of these may use hidden placement. Any forces that he fails to place will enter the board from the northern (Upper Pickington) road on the first turn. The pillbox and barbed wire are marked on a sketch map and not placed on-table until with LOS of a German unit.

The Germans advance onto the board from the south. They have 10 game turns, before darkness falls, to capture the village of Little Pickingtown and the Nag's Head. Failure to do so will cause serious strategic problems for the invasion.

Force composition

Each player has one commander element plus the troops specified below.

German OOB

Elements 6th Panzer Regt:
Quality: Elite
Setup: Enter board on turn one. 

Roll 3 times on the following table to determine the armoured elements

1-3 2x Pz II
4-7 2x Pz III
8-10 1x Pz IV

Roll 3 times on the following table to determine the infantry elements

1-8 1x Sdkfz 251 carrying 2 PanzerGrenadier sections
9 1x Sdkfz 251 carrying 2 Engineer sections
10 1x Sdkfz 251 carrying a FOO with 5 Battalion level fire missions including smoke.
Note: if rolled for a second time treat as a 1

Elements 6th Mot Inf Regt:
Quality: Elite
Setup: Enter board on turn one.

Roll 5 times on the following table to determine the infantry elements

1 1x StuG III
2-6 1x Opel Blitz carrying 2 Infantry sections
7-8 1x Opel Blitz carrying 1 Infantry and 1 Spandau section
9 1x Opel Blitz towing a 7,5cm leIG
10 1x Opel Blitz towing a 3,7cm PaK

Elements 18th Panzer Recce Regt: 
Quality: Elite 
Setup: Enter board on turn one.
Armoured-cars use recce rules

Roll 3 times on the following table to determine the armoured elements

1-6 1x Sdkfz 222 a/c
7-10 1x Sdkfz 232 a/c

Roll 5 times on the following table to determine the infantry elements

1-4 1x PanzerGrenadier section mounted on m/c and sidecars
5 1x Kubelvagen carrying a Panzer Grenadier section
6 1x Kubelvagen carrying a Engineer section
7-9 1x Kfz 78 truck carrying 2 Panzer Grenadier sections
10 1x Kfz 78 truck carrying 1 Infantry and 1 Spandau section

British OOB

Local Defense Volunteers (LDV):
Quality: Poor (unless otherwise specified)
Setup: On Table, not within rifle range of the southern edge. 
Armoured-cars use recce rules
2x Barbed-wire, 2x elements may be dug-in, 1x unfinished pillbox – counts as hard cover, not fortification.

Roll 4 times on the following table to determine the infantry elements

1-6 2x Infantry sections
7 2x MMG sections
8 1x Scout section; mounted on bicycles
or horses (determined randomly)
9 1x Coldstream Guards section (Elite)
10 1x Engineer section (Average)

Roll 4 times on the following table to determine the support elements

1-2 2x 18 pdr
3-4 1x 25 pdr
5-6 2x 2 pdr anti-tank gun
7 2x Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
8 2x Morris CS9 Armoured Cars (Average)
9 2x Beaverette Mk I Armoured Cars
10 1x  FOO with 5 Battalion level fire missions including smoke.
May plan two FDF missions.
Note: if rolled more than once, re-roll

Elements 8 RTR:
Quality: Average
Setup: Enter board on turn 2-4. Either a road on the west or east table edge or anywhere on the north table edge. Place of entry must be marked on a sketch map before play starts. Turn of entry determined randomly.

Roll 3 times on the following table to determine the armoured elements

1-3 2x Matilda I
4 1x Matilda II
5-7 2x Light Mk IVB
8-10 2x Light Mk IVC

Roll 3 times on the following table to determine the infantry elements

1-4 1x Bren Gun Carrier with 1 Infantry section
5-8 1x Morris 15cwt truck with 2 Infantry sections
9 1x Morris 15cwt truck with 1 Infantry and 1 MMG section
10 1x Infantry section on motorcycle with sidecars

Elements 15 Hussars:
Quality: Average
2x A9 Cruiser, 2x A13 Cruiser, 1x BGC + 1x Inf, 3x 15cwt w 5 Inf + 1x MMG
Setup: Enter board on turn 2-4. Either a road on the west or east table edge or anywhere on the north table edge. Place of entry must be marked on a sketch map before play starts. Turn of entry determined randomly.

Roll 2 times on the following table to determine the armoured elements

1-3 2x A9 Cruiser
4-6 2x A10 Cruiser
7 1x A10 Cruiser and 1x A10 Cruiser CS
8-10 2x A13 Cruiser

Roll 4 times on the following table to determine the infantry elements

1-4 1x Bren Gun Carrier with 1 Infantry section
5-8 1x Morris 15cwt truck with 2 Infantry sections
9 1x Morris 15cwt truck with 1 Infantry and 1 MMG section
10 1x Bus with 1 Infantry section and 1 Light Mortar section