Panzer Grenadier: Cassino ’44
Developer’s Commentary, Part Two
By Doug McNair
May 2009

With a week of playing catch-up behind me (after spending a few days out of town at a con), here is the promised Part 2 of my developer’s commentary on the scenarios of Cassino ’44.

Scenario Eleven
One Last Push
11 February 1944

The final American assault on the Cassino Massif was almost a carbon copy of the previous assaults. The outcome was predictable.

Conclusion

The U.S. forces fought hard but made little progress, and by the end of the battle they were shattered. One battalion of 168th Regiment had only seven officers and 78 men left, and the 133rd was equally affected. The U.S. divisions around Cassino were a spent force. But the Germans had fared little better, with whole companies reduced to a dozen or so men. The German command quickly fed more reserves into the Cassino sector, and both sides dug in and awaited the next move.

Developer’s Commentary

As noted above this is a repeat of previous assaults, all of which are very tough for the Americans. So I gave them the same advantages as in the “Once More Forward” scenario (upped American numbers and dropped German numbers). Also like “Once More Forward” I shortened the game to 14 turns (since it’ll be decided by then anyway), but I gave the Americans more objectives so they’d have a better shot at scoring VPs.

Scenario Twelve
Operation Avenger
17 February 1944

The Second Battle of Cassino was launched by the newly formed New Zealand Corps, consisting of the 4th Indian Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division. The New Zealanders were to attack across the Liri Valley from the east, taking the railway station and opening up the railway embankment for an armored thrust into the valley. The 28th ‘Maori’ Battalion was chosen to lead the assault.

Conclusion

The Germans had breached the railway embankment in several places to keep it from being used as a bridge across the Rapido. Engineers followed the Maoris and set to work on repairing the embankment, hoping to complete this work by morning to allow Allied armor to break out into the Liri Valley. The Maoris succeeded in taking the Railway Station but could get no farther, while the engineers were constantly harassed by machine gun and artillery fire. By daybreak repairs to the railroad bridge were not complete, meaning no Allied tanks or heavy weapons could move forward since the ground below the embankment was wet and muddy. This left the Maoris at the Railway Station exposed, and soon the Germans counterattacked in force.

Developer’s Commentary

The Maoris have huge advantages in numbers and firepower, so I cut the game to 12 turns and let the Germans set up spread out behind the Gustav Line to get more shots at crossing units. The New Zealand player has four objectives, and I made victory conditions tough by requiring them to achieve all four objectives to win a Major Victory and three objectives to win a Minor.

Scenario Thirteen
Maoris at the Station
18 February 1944

The New Zealand Corps’ failure to break through German defenses at the Railway station left elements of the 28th “Maori” Battalion trapped there. The order was given for them to hang on, but around 1515 the Germans counterattacked with armor support.

Conclusion

New Zealand artillery fired smoke to screen the Maoris from fire from the Massif, but it also masked the German forces as they assembled to assault the Railway Station. The Maoris repelled attacks until midafternoon when the Germans attacked in force with armor support. The Maoris had no heavy weapons or anti-tank guns, and with German tanks firing point-blank the German infantry cleared the Railway Station and forced the remainder of the Maoris back over the Rapido.

Developer’s Commentary

I beefed up German forces a bit and cut the game to nine turns since it’s a small in-your-face slugfest. The Germans win if there are no New Zealand or Maori units anywhere within two hexes of the Railway Station at the end of play. Any other result is a New Zealand victory.

Scenario Fourteen
Rajputanas Forward
18 February 1944

On the night of 17-18th, Indian, Gurkha and British soldiers of the 7th Indian Brigade launched an attack against the rocky approaches to the Monastery. The defending Fallschirmjägers made the attacking battalions pay for every inch of the advance.

Conclusion

Seventh Brigade made well-coordinated attacks but little progress against the determined and well-prepared German paratroopers. There were unconfirmed reports that some Gurkhas made it to the Monastery, but the Brigade was eventually ordered to withdraw. Both sides were exhausted: the Germans were in no shape to repel another attack but the attackers were also a spent force. Thus ended the Second Battle of Cassino.

Developer’s Commentary

Shortened the game to 24 turns and allowed the reserve Gurkha units to start moving relatively early since it will take them a while to get to the monastery in mountain terrain. I raised German initiative to 5 and let them set up second, since the Allies have big advantages in numbers and firepower and the Gurkhas get the wicked +2 column shift in assaults at night. Since the Commonwealth forces are trying to take the same objectives the Americans failed to take in the First Battle of Cassino, I went with roughly the same victory conditions as in “One Last Push.”

Scenario Fifteen
Cracking Cassino
15 March 1944

The New Zealanders renewed their attack in the Cassino area on 15 March 1944. This time they were preceded by a massive air and artillery bombardment designed to obliterate the town’s defenses. However the Allied command did not plan on the fortitude of the German Fallschirmjägers, who were to prove some of the most formidable soldiers of the entire war.

Conclusion

The initial Allied plan was to control most of the town including the Continental Hotel and Castle Hill by 2 p.m. This timetable soon became unrealistic, as the Fallschirmjäger put up considerable resistance and the earlier bombing had made the town all but impassable for the supporting tanks of the 19th Armoured Regiment. By 7pm, only limited progress had been made in the town and the only success had been the capture of Castle Hill. The latter was to be the trigger to release the 1/4 Essex, but a communication breakdown caused them to not receive the release order until after dark. During the night the Germans reinforced the town, denying the Allies their hoped-for quick victory.

Developer’s Commentary

Shortened the game just a tad to 24 turns since the Allies have huge advantages in numbers and firepower. I upped German initiative to 2 since they showed at least that much pluck historically. Since progress for the Allied side will be measured in individual hexes, I went with victory conditions that give either side VPs for killing enemy steps and for taking or holding hexes of Cassino Town, the Hotel Continental, the Railway Station and Castle Hill.

Scenario Sixteen
Dismounted Disaster
18 March 1944

The capture by the New Zealanders of the Railway Station on the 17th of March created a thorn in the side of the German defenses. The paratroopers sent their dismounted motorcycle company to take it back.

Conclusion

The Fallschirmjägers forded the Gari, which was up to their necks in some places. As they climbed up the far bank they were caught in their own mortar barrage, but they gamely charged the New Zealanders nonetheless. The Kiwis kept their nerve and brought down withering small arms fire on the Germans, and within minutes the Germans broke. They suffered more casualties as they fled back across the Gari, and only 19 paratroopers made it back to their own lines.

Developer’s Commentary

Shortened the game to eight turns and gave the Germans some mortars since the history says they got caught in their own mortar barrage. Then added a rule saying they don’t get the normal +1 bonus to friendly fire die rolls, due to inaccurate bombardment fire. The two sides score VPs for killing enemy steps and for taking or holding the Hummock and the Railway Station.

Scenario Seventeen
Supporting the Gurkhas
19 March 1944

The Indian attack up the slopes of the Cassino Massif was not making much headway when the Allied command was startled to learn that a "lost" company of the 1/9 Gurkhas had seized Hangman’s Hill. These isolated troops needed re-supply and reinforcing, so in the early hours the Indians set out to aid their comrades.

Conclusion

The Germans were well aware of what the Indians were up to, and sent a strong raid to a point only two hundred yards above the advancing Indians. Some of the Indians were caught in a mortar barrage, becoming badly mauled and disorganized. The rest reached Hangman’s Hill shortly before dawn. It was impossible to return from the exposed position during daylight, so the Rajputanas settled down among the Gurkhas, unfortunately intensifying the shortage of space and supplies.

Developer’s Commentary

Twelve turns is about right for this one so I kept it that way. If the Indians take control of the Monastery the game ends and they score a Major Victory, but otherwise players score VPs for controlling Hangman’s Hill and/or having units on or adjacent to it.

Scenario Eighteen
The Castle Must Fall!
19 March 1944

At 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the 19th of March, the 1st Battalion of the 4th Parachute Regiment launched a major counterattack to recapture Castle Hill and isolate the Gurkhas still hanging on at Hangman’s Hill.

Conclusion

The attack caught the Indian and British soldiers by surprise (in fact, just outside the castle a handover of units was taking place). The Germans advanced right up to the Castle walls and were only beaten back by the most desperate hand-to-hand fighting. A German demolition charge placed against the Castle wall caused a collapse and around 20 men of the 1/4 Essex were killed. The Allies responded with mortar support and eventually the German attack was repulsed. This left the Gurkhas unsupplied, forcing the Allies to resupply them with air drops (the Massif was regarded as too dangerous to cross again).

Developer’s Commentary

I shortened the game to 12 turns (would have shortened it to eight but the Germans are attacking an entrenched position in the mountains, so it’ll take them longer). As in the last scenario, I put some German reserve forces in the Monastery and require them to stay there. To reflect the surprise attack, I said no Allied unit can move until any German unit is spotted in any hex outside the Monastery, or until any Indian or British unit is fired on (whichever comes first). The victory conditions are about the same as in the last scenario..

Scenario Nineteen
Cavendish Road
19 March 1944

Weeks of backbreaking toil by Indian engineers had turned a mule track that ran up the Cassino Massif into a surface suitable for armor. This was named Cavendish Road. The Indians had completed their work in secret, hidden from the Germans by huge swathes of camouflage material. A mixed Allied tank assault was planned to coincide with an infantry attack from the valley below, but the infantry attack ended up getting delayed. However, nobody told the tanks, and they attacked without infantry support.

Conclusion

The Germans were surprised to see tanks on the Massif as they thought it was inaccessible to vehicles. But they did not take long to recover, knocking out the lead tanks and causing others to divert off the track to move around them. The tankers were hampered by the difficult terrain and the need to remain buttoned-up due to sniper fire, and some tanks became stuck or threw a track. The tanks were able to pour huge amounts of fire into German positions, but could not take them without supporting infantry. The tanks pushed on towards Albaneta Farm but fire from Point 593 was just too intense. Some Honeys (Stuarts) were directed to turn the corner of Point 593 to test the approaches to the Monastery, but most of them were destroyed by artillery and direct fire as they did so. The advance was called off, and the remaining tanks withdrew to a safe area and eventually received the order to withdraw back down the Massif.

Developer’s Commentary

I very much wanted to keep this scenario in the game due to the unusual situation, but in its original form there was just no way the unsupported Allied tanks could do anything but die horribly on the mountain. So I reduced German forces and cut the game to 12 turns. I had to give the Allies some reason to stick around, so I gave them VPs for holding Cavendish Road hexes which they control at the start of the game. But I gave the Germans the same, so the Allies have to push forward to win rather than just stay put and shoot. I then skewed victory conditions toward the Allies, without rewarding them for suicidal behavior.

Scenario Twenty
Last Push of the New Zealanders
22 March 1944

Despite (or perhaps because of) the near total failure of all previous attacks, a mixed force of New Zealanders launched one final assault on the 22nd.

Conclusion

The frontal attack by the New Zealanders soon ran into trouble. Communication and coordination between the tanks and infantry was a problem in the smoke filled streets of the town. Accurate tank fire eventually allowed the infantry to make some progress but the resolute defense of the paratroopers soon ground the attack to a slow crawl. By mid-afternoon the attack had stalled and the order to withdraw was given. So ended the last attack by the New Zealanders at Cassino.

Developer’s Commentary

This is a point-blank town assault, so to keep it from turning into a static slugfest I shortened it to 16 turns and broadened the objectives each side must try to take or hold. I also broadened the German setup area and gave them more units at the Monastery. Players score VPs for killing enemy steps and for taking or holding hexes of Cassino Town, Hangman’s Hill, the Hotel Continental Castle Hill and the Monastery.

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