Tactics in 'Beyond Normandy'
Scenario #1: Cheux
By Doug McNair
July 2009

Beyond Normandy picks up where D-Day left off. With the Allied advances inland from the Normandy beachheads stymied, Field Marshal Montgomery decided to attack west of the city of Caen and drive deep into the German lines there. His hope was to outflank Caen and force the Germans to abandon it. He dubbed this plan Operation Epsom, and launched it on June 26th, 1944.

'Scenario #1: Cheux' lets Beyond Normandy players fire the opening shots of Operation Epsom. The British player advances on the twin villages of Cheux and le Haut du Bosq with three Scottish rifle battalions: the 9th Cameronians, the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders, and the 7th Seaforth Highlanders. They are accompanied by tanks from the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, and their objective is to drive the Germans out of Cheux and secure the road junction on the hill to the south of Cheux.

The German forces defending Cheux and le Haute de Bosq include elements from the 26th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, the 12th SS Pioneer (engineer) Battalion, and the 12th SS Artillery. Reinforcements from the 12th SS Panzer Regiment and 25th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment will arrive before noon, and the German objective is to keep the British out of Cheux and inflict at least ten step losses on them.

German Tactics

The British will not have an easy go of it because the German defenses are well prepared, and the Germans themselves are even better prepared. All German units start dug in or entrenched, and several German minefields block the Allies’ path. And the young SS soldiers have a fanatically high morale of 9, while the well-trained but practical Scots “only” have a morale of 8. This latter bit is of particular importance, because dislodging enemy units from prepared defensive positions almost always requires an assault in Panzer Grenadier. And assaulting an enemy with higher morale is very difficult because the side with higher morale gets a +1 column shift on the Assault Table.

Because of their high morale, the Germans can afford to sit tight in their trenches and absorb whatever punishment the British can deal out with their massive, preplanned artillery barrages. The Germans should keep their on-board reserve units back from the front line until the British show their cards and make a charge for the German lines. The Germans must also set up their anti-tank units on both their flanks so the AT guns working together can get crossfire bonuses on the slow but heavily-armored British tanks. In particular, they should try to take out the flamethrowing British Crocodile tanks immediately, because the Crocodiles give the British a +3 column shift in assault combat, one of the few British antidotes to superior German morale.

The unblooded status of the British troops puts another arrow in the German quiver at Cheux, and in several other Beyond Normandy scenarios. This being their first battle, the Scottish battalions are tracked separately for step losses, and once a battalion has taken at least eight step losses all its units start suffering penalties to their morale. The Germans can use this, hitting an individual battalion hard to drive its morale down and make it unable to mount effective attacks.

British Tactics

The British start far back from the German line, and must advance over muddy ground, through hedgerows, and over creeks. The hedges do not provide much cover or protection, so the British can’t afford to be reckless and throw lots of infantry at the German line early. Also, one of the Scottish battalions (the 7th Seaforth Highlanders) doesn’t enter the game until Turn 8, and neither does a good part of the British armor support. The British forces won’t be at full strength for a while. But the Germans get two companies of panzers as reinforcements on Turn 12, and a company of panzergrenadiers on Turn 17, so the British can’t just approach, start shooting, and wait for the Germans to break under fire. They’ve got to push through the German line and advance to secure their objectives before the German reinforcements can take up positions behind the line and stop the British advance.

Luckily, the British player has an overwhelming advantage in offboard artillery, and gets seven turns of extra preplanned offboard artillery at game start. This is a key British tool for softening up the German line, but how the British player allocates this preplanned artillery is of vital importance. It must be allocated before the German player sets up, so the British have no guarantee that it will actually hit hexes containing German units.

All the British player can do is check the German set up instructions to see which general areas the Germans must start in, then allocate the preplanned artillery among hexes which seem likely to contain German units due to good defensive terrain or strategic location like road junctions. He should switch his artillery targets around from turn to turn in case his initial guesses were wrong, and should move his targets southward as the turns go by in anticipation of German retreats, and to prevent friendly fire on British units advancing from the north.

And in general, the British player should hang back for a few turns and let his offboard artillery do the work until the German line is sufficiently disrupted to give the Scots an even chance in assault against the higher-morale Germans.

Another important British tool for victory is the highly original nature of his armor units. The support units of each at-start battalion include one platoon of flamethrowing Crocodile tanks. These tanks give the British player a +3 column shift in any assault they participate in. So, the British player should keep them back from the fighting until he’s ready to assault the German line, then bring them up quickly and throw them in to blow the line wide open.

Finally, the British player has an extra weapon with his mine-clearing Crab tanks. They don’t enter the game until Turn 7, but when they do the British player should bring them up quickly so they can flail their way through the German minefields and help clear the path to Cheux.

Game Summary

Here’s what happened in a recent game:

Turn 1 (0745 Hours)

Per the scenario instructions, a light rain fell during the battle, muddying the ground and limiting visibility. At the beginning of every turn the German player rolls two dice and adds five to the result to determine the maximum spotting range for the turn. The German rolls a modified 11 for this turn, which won’t affect spotting much (normal maximum spotting range is 12).

Unplanned offboard artillery support also varies from turn to turn, and both players roll at the start of each turn to see how much they’ll get. The German player rolls a 2 and gets 1 x 16 and 1 x 20 for the turn, and the British player rolls a 3 and gets 2 x 13 and 2 x 18 for the turn.

Both sides start with an initiative of 4, and the Germans win initiative. The British are too far away to see through all the hedges, so the Germans pass. Then the British activate and unleash their Turn 1 preplanned artillery barrage. The barrage hits the set up area of the 12th SS Pioneer battalion on the far right flank of the German line. This area includes three hexes of a track down which the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders will go on their way to Cheux, so the barrage hits those three track hexes.

The first strike hits the easternmost track hex. There’s a –2 column modifier for the German entrenchment there, and the British player rolls a 3 on the 30 column, scoring an X result. One ENG unit in the hex takes a step loss, but both ENG units plus the ostführer (SS lieutenant) leading them make their morale checks. The second strike hits the next hex down the track and rolls a 5, but everybody in the hex makes morale except the 20mm AA gun, which rolls a 12 and is demoralized despite the SS captain’s +2 morale bonus. The third strike gets a straight M result and causes no problems.

The German AA gun recovers morale with help from the captain, and then the 9th Cameronians all activate and advance southward to within sighting range of the German line. The point of the British column coming down the middle track is all APCs plus an Achilles tank destroyer, so German offboard artillery hits the first non-armored hex behind the point. It rolls an 11 on the 30 column, scoring an X result and doing one step loss to a Cameronian RIF platoon, but both RIF platoons there plus their captain make their morale checks. British unplanned offboard artillery replies and hits the center of the German line, rolling a 3 (again!) on the 21 table and demoralizing an SS lieutenant. The SS lieutenant rolls a 12 on his morale recovery and deserts (Führer? What Führer?).

Then the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders advance south, but none are able to spot the German line through the hedges. The Germans move the SS captain commanding the center of the line to where the faithless lieutenant was, and he spots for the German 105mm gun back in le Haut de Bosq. It rolls a 7 and has no effect, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll.

At the end of the first turn both sides have taken one step loss.

0800

The German player rolls a 10 for weather, so spotting range is at the maximum of 12 for the turn. He also rolls a 1 and gets maximum artillery for the turn: 1 x 16, 1 x 24, 1 x 20. The British player rolls a 4 and gets only 2 x 13 unplanned artillery for the turn.

The Germans win initiative and hit the Cameronians coming down the track again with offboard artillery. They hit them with all three increments, hoping to score more step losses and make progress toward weakening the Cameronians’ morale. But they roll a 5 on the 55 table, just barely missing a step loss and doing an M2 morale check instead. The full-strength RIF platoon in the target hex becomes disrupted and the reduced one becomes demoralized.

Then the British unleash their preplanned artillery, hitting the north flank of the German line this time. They hit three hexes again, with the first attack slightly weaker than last turn due to decreasing offboard support. The first hits the northernmost German-occupied hex and disrupts an SS lieutenant. The second strike hits an empty hex, and the third hits a hex two south of the northernmost hex, rolling a 12 on the 42 column and scoring a 2X result, wiping out an SS grenadier unit but not affecting the remaining SS lieutenant and HMG unit there.

The German 105mm gun in le Haut de Bosq then hits the last Cameronians in line on the track, demoralizing their lieutenant but not affecting the three units there. Then British unplanned offboard artillery hits the center of the German line again but has no effect. The German 105mm gun in Cheux then opens up on the Cameronians on the track, again demoralizing the demoralized lieutenant and causing him to desert (the other units are still unaffected). Then the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders advance south, but the Germans still can’t spot them through the hedges.

The German HQ in Cheux sends an AT gun north on an APC to take up a good firing position overlooking the Allied approach. Then the Cameronians advance south and out into the open, staying outside German HMG range and keeping their lightly-armored APCs and Achilles tank destroyer back until British offboard artillery can eliminate the German AT guns in the line. The demoralized reduced-strength RIF platoon in the road fails to recover and flees east, while the disrupted one recovers. German mortar fire on the advancing Cameronians is ineffective, and the British right-flank tank support starts making its slow way south while long range mortar fire hits the central German line, doing no damage. The turn ends after more British advances and German recoveries.

The Germans have now taken three step losses and the British have taken one.

0815

The German player rolls a 6, meaning spotting range is 11 for the turn. He then rolls a 2 for offboard artillery, getting 1 x 16 and 1 x 20 for the turn. The British player rolls a 6, meaning he’ll get no offboard artillery support other than his preplanned artillery for the turn.

The German player wins initiative by two activations, so he hits the lieutenant colonel leading the Cameronians with offboard artillery. He rolls an 11 on the 30 table, scoring an X result, doing another Cameronian RIF unit a step loss and disrupting it. One of the 105mm guns then hits the hex right next to him, disrupting another RIF.

Then the British preplanned artillery hits the center of the German line. The first strike hits an empty hex, and the second hits a hex with an HMG and a GREN unit. Both units make their morale check. The weak third strike hits the next German-occupied hex to the south, but does no damage.

The last German 105mm gun opens up on the Cameronians in the track, doing no damage. British and German mortar fire are both ineffective, and then the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders advance toward the German east flank to take pressure off the beleaguered 9th Cameronians. They’re also concerned that their offboard artillery support has not been very effective, so they need to start making progress on the ground. The first German opportunity fire rolls a 2, scoring an X result and demoralizing a RIF unit. The second opportunity fire from an HMG up on a hill disrupts a captain helping to lead the advance. The other Germans of the 12th Pioneer are still screened by hedges.

Part of the German central line activates, and while one 75mm AT gun unloads another fires at the British Achilles tank destroyer platoon the 2nd Glasgow just brought up. It’s firing at over 100% range so it’s half strength, but it rolls a modified 11 and does one step loss to the Achilles. The Achilles platoon holds morale, however, so if it can move fast and get in among the hedges it can still provide armor support for the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders. Second Glasgow’s heavy tank support brings up the rear, while its mortar support is ineffective. The Germans pass, and then the stragglers from the 9th Cameronians come up to join with the rest. Their tank support keeps slogging slowly south offroad, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll.

The Germans have now taken three step losses and the British have taken five (the tank step loss counts double).

0830

British initiative drops to 3 since they have now taken five step losses, while German initiative remains at 4. The German player rolls a 4 for weather, meaning the spotting range for the turn goes down to 9. German offboard artillery for the turn is 1 x 16, and British offboard artillery is 2 x 13 and 2 x 18.

The German player wins initiative, and the two AT guns up on the hill in front of Cheux both fire at the Achilles with the 2nd Glasgow and destroy it (two more British step losses). The 105mm gun in Cheux also fires on the 2nd Glasgow, demoralizing a Captain and disrupting the two RIF platoons with him, and effectively cutting off 2nd Glasgow’s western flank from its lieutenant colonel.

Then the British preplanned artillery opens up, and luckily it’s targeted for the German right flank this turn. The 12th Pioneer gets the barrage, and the first strike hits the fourth track hex in the area, which was not hit on Turn 1. The British player rolls a 4, but everyone there makes their M2 morale check. The second strike hits the adjacent track hex to the north but does no damage. The third strike is ineffective.

German offboard artillery then hits the 2nd Glasgow but is ineffective. British unplanned offboard artillery then hits the AT guns up on the hill but is ineffective. German mortar fire demoralizes a 2nd Glasgow RIF unit, and then 2nd Glasgow’s lieutenant colonel gives the order to advance on 12th SS Pioneer’s right flank, circumventing the minefields protecting its position. The lead lieutenant bypasses the minefields in good order under opportunity fire, while the demoralized RIF unit he left behind fails morale and flees. Other units follow him and some are disrupted or demoralized, but after all movement is done there’s a full rifle company in good order wrapping around the east end of the minefield, and most of the German units in 12th Pioneer have used up their fire for the turn with opportunity fire.

German mortar fire is ineffective, and then the rest of 2nd Glasgow activates. The demoralized captain flees, two RIF platoons recover, and then 2nd Glasgow’s sapper platoon advances frontally on 12th SS Pioneer’s position, heading straight into the minefield. It is demoralized by point-blank opportunity fire, but not before flipping the minefield counter to reveal that it’s a decoy! Others pile in after it, but most are disrupted by long-range opportunity fire, and the only good-order unit in the ex-minefield hex after all movement is done is a reduced-strength RIF platoon.

The Germans pass, and the Cameronians activate and move southeast to hit the 12th Pioneer from the north. German opportunity fire in the sector is pretty well spent, so they charge in with little hindrance. German reserves from the 12th SS Artillery head northeast to oppose the British flanking maneuver, and the turn ends with all other British units advancing or making recovery rolls.

The Germans have still taken only three step losses, while the British have now taken seven.

0845

The German player rolls a 12 for weather, so sighting range is normal this turn. He rolls a 4 and gets no offboard artillery this turn, and the British only get 1 x 13 of unplanned artillery.

The Germans win initiative by two activations, and open up with both 105mm guns. They target the lt. colonels leading both Scottish battalions, but both roll sevens and are ineffective. Then British preplanned artillery hits the center of the German line, rolling a 3 on the 30 table and scoring an X result on a hex with a GREN and an HMG. The GREN takes a step loss and both units make morale. The second shot hits an empty hex. There is no third shot due to declining support.

German and British mortar fire are both ineffective, and a German 75mm AT gun actually misses a Bren carrier (with an armor strength of 0)! The British take this as a good omen, and the 2nd Glasgow’s flanking company inches forward and consolidates its position under covering fire. Its one demoralized platoon rolls a 12 on recovery and flees.

The other German AT gun in the line does blow up the Bren (one more British step loss), and after more ineffective British mortar fire the 9th Cameronians activate and rush the north flank of the 12th SS Pioneer battalion. Their sapper platoon is in the lead and plunges into what turns out to be two-strength minefield. No minefield dice are rolled against the sapper (it reduces minefield dice by two if it enters a minefield alone), but it is promptly wiped out by point-blank opportunity fire (two more step losses to the Cameronians).

Electing to avoid the minefield, the rest of the 9th Cameronians advance to a firing-line position north of the 12th Pioneers, and opportunity fire disrupts a lieutenant leading that advance and scores an X on the RIF platoon moving with the Cameronians’ lt. colonel, demoralizing it. Another lieutenant comes around the north end of the minefield with a reduced-strength RIF unit that is blown out from under him by opportunity fire (another Cameronian step loss). The remaining Cameronians move up and stack three high at a range of two from the north flank of the pioneers, hoping to get initiative next round and pour massive fire into them.

The Germans pass again and the 2nd Glasgow advances to hit the 12th Pioneers frontally. Their only unit that made it to the ex-minefield, a half-strength RIF platoon, fires point blank on the Germans and rolls an 11, but the targets make their morale check. The demoralized sapper who exposed the decoy minefield recovers morale, and other units behind him either advance, recover, or fail to recover morale. The 2nd Glasgow’s WPN (heavy machine gun) unit is demoralized by opportunity fire as it moves up, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll before any of the British heavy tanks can advance.

The Germans have now taken four step losses, while the British have taken 11.

0900

British initiative is now down to 2, while German is still holding at 4. Neither Scottish battalion has taken enough step losses individually to drop its morale — yet. The German player rolls a 7 for weather, so visibility will still be 12 hexes. He also rolls a 1, and gets maximum German offboard artillery this turn (this is very, very bad for the British). The British player rolls a 4, and only gets 2 x 13 unplanned offboard artillery (ditto).

The Germans win initiative by two activations and pour artillery into the 9th Cameronians and the 2nd Glasgow. All the offboard artillery pours into the hex with the Cameronians’ lt. colonel, and since the hex is stacked 3-high it hits on the 70+ column. Luckily for the British the German player only rolls an 8, getting an M1 result, and everyone makes their morale checks. Then a 105mm gun tries its luck on another 3-high-stacked Cameronian hex, but does no damage.

Then the Cameronians open fire on the north flank of the 12th Pioneers, combining fire from adjacent hexes. They roll a 4 on the 16 column against entrenched units, but the Germans all make morale due to the +2 morale bonus of their captain. A demoralized Cameronian reduced-strength RIF unit flees, and he’s replaced by another which moves up to join the fire team.

The only assault threat to the 12th Pioneers is the Glasgow sapper, and that unit is currently disrupted and adjacent to the Germans. The Germans on the north flank fire on it and a half-strength RIF platoon at point-blank range, hoping to destroy them before they can recover. Their fire is ineffective, and the 2nd Glasgow activates. The sapper fails to recover morale, fire on the pioneers is ineffective, and other units recover morale.

The captain of the pioneers then pours fire into the flanking Glasgow company, but only one unit is disrupted. But mortar fire from the same group disrupts the captain and major of the Glaswegians, so the flanking company stays back and lets the British offboard artillery have a go at the Germans. The artillery rolls an 11 on the 16 table, doing an M1 which the Germans shrug off easily.

The other German 105mm gun hits the flanking company but is ineffective. Then British mortar fire switches targets to hit the captain of the 12th Pioneers, hoping to take him out and get rid of his huge morale bonus. It rolls a 2, destroying the AA gun with him (one German step loss) but failing to do anything else. More German mortar fire is ineffective, and British heavy tanks head south slowly to support 2nd Glasgow. Then preplanned British offboard artillery hits empty hexes, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll after more British tanks head south.

The Germans have now taken five step losses while the British have taken 11.

0915

German initiative is now down to 3 while British initiative is still at 2. Weather for the turn is normal, and the Germans get no offboard artillery this turn. The British roll a 4 and get 2 x 13 artillery again. This is also the last turn on which they’ll get any preplanned offboard artillery.

The Germans get initiative by one and hit the lt. colonel of the Cameronians with a 105mm gun. The Cameronians all pass morale. Then the last pre-planned British artillery hits the 12th Pioneers, putting one shot into the hex with the Captain. They all make morale. The next artillery exchange is ineffective, and German mortar fire on the Cameronians’ lt. colonel is ineffective, as is the fire of the Cameronian fire team.

At this point, it’s pretty clear that the British advance is doomed. Their preplanned offboard artillery is now gone, and has failed to knock out the German anti-tank guns, which will start hitting the British heavy tanks as they approach (plus any APCs which show themselves). Two entire British battalions are stuck exchanging fire against one entrenched German battalion, and not budging them at all due to superior German morale and leadership bonuses.

British reinforcements start arriving this turn, but most of the German reserves haven’t been committed yet. And by the time the British tanks make it to the German line and join the assault, the German panzer reinforcements will have arrived, giving the British tanks all they can handle. The Germans have also done 11 step losses to the British already, and with one more they’ll score a Major Victory as long as the British don’t take their objectives. They won’t, so . . . the Germans win!

This piece originally appeared in June 2006.

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