The Chico Game Club is at it again, this time with a fantastic set of rules from the North Hull Wargames Club entitled "Panzer Marsch!"  We don't often use historical wargaming rules by other folks, being content to write our own whenever possible, but when I ran into this set, I just had to share it with the gang, and it has been a big hit to date.  The rules are a 1:1, and can be played in any figure scale you like, from 6mm on up.  To date, we have used it for 6mm and 20mm figures, and it plays equally well for each.  Furthermore, these rules are a great production, being in full color, and quite affordable, and they come with fully laminated play sheets for use during a game so there's no need to go thumbing through the rule book while a battle's in progress!

But enough of this, on to the action!  Remember, this is a battle report, and will not exactly coincide with the actual historic event...

The Battle of Villers-Bocage was fought on June 13, 1944, and represents the British attempt at outflanking the German defenders around Caen.  It was code named Operation Perch, and it was destined to go terribly wrong, thanks in great part to the efforts of Michael Whittman, German tank ace and commander of the 2nd Company, 101st Heavy Tank Battalion, 1st SS Panzer Corps.  To date he had scored 117 confirmed AFV kills, and on this day he would see more added to this total.

Leading the British advance through Villers-Bocage was Lt. Col. Viscount Cranley, who called a halt as the lead elements of his column came up on Point 213, a tactically important objective.  The tale has it that his tank crews and soldiers dismounted and proceeded to take tea while Cranley discussed the situation with his subcommanders!
 
Cranley discusses things with his officers.
 
The British column was stretched out from Point 213 through Villers-Bocage and beyond.  The front of the column was stopped in a sunken road running through Point 213 and some woods.
 
The British column in the sunken road next to Point 213
 
The men of the Rifle Brigade dismounted from their halftracks and took a break, allegedly brewing up some tea while they waited!
 
The men of the Rifle Brigade dismount for tea!
 
Other tanks were pulled over in the town, making the streets quite congested.
 
Cromwell tanks pulled over in town...
 
...while support vehicles wait on the further back.
 
Meanwhile, Whittman had come up on the British flank.  Unbeknownst to his adversaries, he was quickly approaching the column and, somewhat insulted by the uncaring attitude of the British, decided to take on the entire column while he sent his supporting Tigers and infantry against the enemy on Point 213!
 
Michael Whittman prepares to wreck havoc!
 
Now, Whittman was a tank ace and then some, and his gunner, Woll, had quite a reputation too.  Unfortunately, no one told Jochen, the CGC member running Whittman's Tiger in this game.  He did manage to take out a few British vehicles in town, but he only killed about 25% of the vehicles he fired at, which was totally in defiance of probability.  But, that's wargaming for you!
 
The first Cromwell goes up in flames!
 
This lucky Sherman OP tank escaped destruction.
 
Whittman had two turns to wreck havoc amongst the British before they could get back into their tanks, and another turn before they could move or fire.  This Honey was one of the first to get into action, and it went south trying to get around Whittman's flank or rear.  Whittman spotted him, though, and, quickly turning his tank around, ordered Woll to load AP and fire! But...

...it's another miss!
 
Back at Point 213, the other Tigers were faring a little better.  Some long range shots had taken out the last two halftracks in the lead British group.  The rearmost halftrack was towing a 6 lb. anti-tank gun, and in the actual battle was the gun responsible for disabling Whittman's tank, forcing him to abandon it.  I guess the guys in this game weren't going to take any chances, because they lobbed a few rounds into the gun as well as the halftrack!
 
The two rear halftracks and AT gun are hit!
 
The Tigers had more success as one of them scored a hit on one of the British tanks on Point 213 (note, there were no Shermans on Point 213 in history, but I ran out of Fireflies, so there you are...).  Not only did the big 88mm round score a direct hit, it also set the tank blazing and it belched fire and steel all around, killing most of the officers meeting with Cranley on the hill!
 
Boom!  Chalk up one tank and several British officers!
 
By now the British were free to act, and, as their tanks tried to force their way back through the sunken road, past destroyed halftracks and wrecked tanks, the infantry of the Rifle Brigade climbed the sunken road and took up positions on the hill side, ready to take on the approaching Germans.
 
The Rifle Brigade gets into the action!
 
Back in the village proper, Whittman was still duking it out with the British Cromwell tanks.  He managed to take out three before his position was compromised and he began withdrawing.
 
Whittman gets a few more kills before running low on ammo!
 
Remember the Honey that got past Whittman earlier in the battle?  Well, not wanting to face Whittman head-to-head, it had hidden between a couple of buildings and had been completely forgotten about by the Germans.  So, when one of the other Tigers rolled past town on its approach to Point 213, the Honey opened fire into the rear of the Tiger at point blank range, and... BOOM!  Against all odds the little tank had taken out the Tiger!  (FYI, this sort of thing happens all the time at CGC events.  What can I say?)
 
It's the little Honey that could... and did!
 
Meanwhile, the battle continued for Point 213...
 
A Tiger KO's the last Rifle Brigade halftrack.
 
The Rifle Brigade infantry face off against the Germans.
 
Reinforcement try to get through the congested town.
 
In the village, a Cromwell managed to get a shot (sort of...) at Whittman between two buildings.  If he could pull it off, he would be the hero of the day!  Unfortunately, he had CGC luck, and, well... he missed.
 
A chance of a lifetime... blown!
 
Supporting the advancing Tigers was a German recon platoon in halftracks.  Not wanting the British infantry to get a chance to use their PIAT's versus the Tigers, they rushed in amongst them, the MG42's on their halftracks blazing.  Not ready to give up so easily, the British infantry counterattacked, rushing the halftracks and lobbing grenades as they came.  Led by Corporal Clark of the Rifle Brigade, almost all the grenades hit (even needing a "6" on 1d6 to do so!), and the halftrack went up in smoke and flames.  The British cheered as it ground to a halt, and then screamed as it exploded, killing a half dozen British infantry who were too close!
 
Hot exploding German halftrack action!
 
Out of ammo, Whittman ordered his tank out of Villers-Bocage, moving south back to the German lines.  On the way out of town, this Honey took a pot shot, but missed, and Whittman managed to get out of town and call reinforcements.
 
I guess this little Honey couldn't!
 
The British reserve rolls into Villers-Bocage.
 
The British decided to evacuate Point 213, it becoming untenable as the Tigers rolled up on them.  One of the last tanks to leave was this Firefly, who managed to get off a parting shot as it rolled back into the village, taking out a Tiger!
 
The British get a little pay back with this shot.
 
The reinforcements that Whittman radioed for began to arrive.  This group of four Tigers came in on the sunken road next to Point 213.  Not afraid of the lone remaining Cromwell - which only had a single AP round left - they came on at full speed...
 
More Tigers?!?  This isn't good for the British!
 
Of course, the British gunner managed to score a hit and kill on the lead Tiger, forcing the rest of them to grind to a halt.  They considered trying to push the destroyed tank all the way down the sunken road until they could get around it, but then decided that it would be faster - a lot faster, to back up and come into the battle from another route.
 
Boom!
 
To the south of Villers-Bocage, a group of four Panzer IV's rolled up, supported by some Panzergrenadiers.  Unfortunately, the British in the village were waiting for them, and some shots from several Cromwells and a Firefly took care of two of them rather quickly.
 
The Panzer IV's run into trouble from the get go.
 
Spurned on by their success, the British decided to sally forth from the village in an attempt to stop the German reinforcements from getting into position.
 
The British sally forth...
 
...and run into the Panzer IV's!
 
To the east of town several Cromwells gunned their motors and took on the re-arrived Tigers (which had finally made their way around from the blocked sunken road).  While one of the Tigers was KO'd by a Firefly, the Cromwells, their commanders obviously hardcore WH40K players, fared poorly for all their bravado and were soon the not-so-proud owners of some burning hulks.
 
Tigers vs. Cromwells at point blank range... Ouch!
 
The close range combat continued, and the Panzergrenadiers soon came to the aid of the Panzer IV's.  Close range AP and Panzerfaust fire soon disabled several of the British tanks, although another Panzer IV was lost as well.  Blocking the road to the rear with his out-of-ammo Tiger, Whittman sat in the open hatch, cheering on his men and shouting orders to anyone who could listen.
 

 
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THE CONCLUSION

The action was beginning to die down.  The original German Tigers, of which there were four left, were out of ammo and began to peel off in search of a resupply.  The newly arrived Tigers were content to sit back from the village and use their superior firepower to engage any British tank foolish enough to show itself.  The British had lost over 75% of their armor in the engagement so far, and were loathe to sacrifice more, so they decided to stay put in the village.

On the other hand, the Panzergrenadiers were hesitant to advance into town, since there happened to be quite a few more British infantry held up there then there were Panzergrenadiers to root them out. Tactically, the battle had come to stalemate.

Strategically, it was another matter entirely.  The Germans had quite soundly stopped the British advance.  They were in possession of Point 213, and there was no practical way for the British to retake it at this time.  As soon as the Germans managed a resupply, they could organize a counterattack that would likely push the British out of Villers-Bocage.

Operation Perch had been stopped.  The British advance out of Caen was halted and the Germans could claim a victory, although it had come at a price.
 
The battlefield at the end of it all.
 
The British attempt to consolidate within the town.
 
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HOW WE DID IT:

We used an 12'x9' wargaming table down at the Mangrove Games, one of the CGC's favorite haunts.  The Owner was kind enough to let us use all the table space available for the entire day, and that is saying something as this is typically a GW shop.  Fortunately, everyone was into the game, and the "Panzer Marsch!" rules are so much fun that no one cared that we had taken over the place for the day!

The figures are from a mix of manufacturers.  The British are Raventhorpe and RAFM figs, while the Germans are RAFM and Britannia, I believe.  The vehicles are primarily Hincliffe metal kits - very nice - with some resin and plastic kits mixed in.  All, of course, are 20mm in scale.

The "battlefield" is a 12'x9' painter's drop cloth painted to look like the area in and around Villers-Bocage, as based on the information found in an article written by one of the "Panzer Marsch!" authors, Graham Birkley, for Wargames Illustrated issue #163.  We had to make the village about one block shorter than shown in the article, but it worked out fine for us.  The buildings are from numerous sources, including Scenic Effects, Grand Manner, Hovels, Village Green and some model railroad buildings.

This was only our third "Panzer Marsch!" game, and it was quite an undertaking, but well worth it.  My thanks to the club for being such good sports and showing up to play in spite of it being an unknown quantity.  Extra kudos go to Jochen Kehoe, who helped me paint tanks and made all the ranging sticks we would need for the game.