Normandy Breakout

Host: Jim and Chris Ferich
Rules: Flames of War
Scale: 15mm
Game Length: 4.5 hours
Objective: The British were to exit as many units as possible off of the opposite edge.

On Saturday 3/22/08 a game was played on a 6'x6' playing surface. The game consisted of German Fallschirmjaegers and SS holding off British infantry and armor units breaking out around Caen. The Germans were veteran units that set up hidden across the board, and had the support of a company of Tiger Tanks.
As you can see the game board consisted mostly of bocage with narrow roads leading out of the town. There were a few hills that were used by German mortars and tanks to fire long range harassing fire. The bocage rules in FoW make movement very difficult, infantry had to stop when reaching it and could then pass through the next turn. Tracked vehicles were in danger of bogging down and exposing the vulnerable under carriage to enemy fire.
Germans were secretly deployed in the fields waiting to ambush the advancing British forces.


The beautifully painted town was a focal point of the British advance. The Gemans did not deploy in the town, bu the British player did not know where the German deployment zone was located.





The British enter and deploy mortars and Sexton SPG's to lend support to the upcoming advance. Since there were no targets, the artillery sat idle until recon units arrived to find targets. The British have established a rather large support group. They deployed behind the town fearing the possibility of urban combat. The biggest worry to the British is the thought of dealing with Germans in the hedgerows. Hopefully the artillery would be the great equalizer.



British recon units begin to enter the town. They have a special ability allowing them to see hidden units in an 8" range. These prove extremely useful in uncovering enemy units lying in wait. Without these troops the British casualties would quickly mount.

These units made it safely through the town after thoroughly inspecting each town section. The British player was wondering what was on the other side of town.

German Fallschirmjaegers open fire on advancing British Troops.

German paratroopers guarding the left flank attack, they inflicted light casualties. Stuart tanks lend support, even these light tanks are a threat as the Germans had little anti-tank capability.

The British recon arrive a little too late to uncover the ambush but their machine gun support and artillery spotting ability make up for their late arrival. The Germans are really up against it.

(Note - These are the same figures appearing in the Flames of War supplement.... these are fantastic to look at and are really inspiring.)

Action on the British left.

The British that advanced on the left flank opposite the town had open ground to cover. The Achilles tank destroyers gave the British some comfort knowing that a company of Tiger tanks were roaming the field. The lethality of the Tiger was evident as British armor suffered from long range fire. British armor approaches a farmhouse.

British reinforcements arrive and stack up along the road. If there were only a Stuka provided the British may not have been so bold.

The reinforcements arrived by company, every turn added a D6, for every die roll grater than or equal to 5 the British could bring in a company. Unfortunately for the British most of the results were lower than needed and the companies entered piecemeal.

Sherman tanks start to brew up from long range shots. The Firefly is still out of range to counter the Tiger tank threat. The British press forward to close the attack.



German paratroopers take casualties as British troops press on. The Germans are forced back to a second line of defense as they also dish out fire and take a few Tommies with them.
British armor scoots around to the road and are trying to find more hidden Germans waiting in ambush.

Sextons wait in a field waiting for a target to be called in.

Germans line the road and try to halt the armor by any means

The lightly armored recon units suffer from a hidden recoiless rifle...definitely a cheap (cheat?) shot.

The British are running out of time.

The town is stacking up with armor for the final push.


Anti tank guns are brought in to try and help break out.


The British attempt to double move but the Germans bring the Tiger company to bear on the column.

Time has run out ...the game was very close, but the Germans held out.