Bloody Buron A Final Combat Scenario
Bloody Buron History For "Charnwood," Montgomery deployed the three divisions of the 1 British Corps, supported by artillery and naval guns offshore. A front of some eight miles would be struck on the morning of July 8. The Canadians were tasked with clearing the surrounding towns and villages that had been so bitterly contested less than a month before. The plan called for the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders to take Cruchy and the Chateau de St. Louet, while the Highland Light Infantry assaulted Buron, Authie and Franqueville. From this base, they would move on to Cussy, Meyer's headquarters at the Abbaye d'ardennes - where 27 Canadian prisoners had been executed a few days after D- Day - and, if all went well, Caen. Final Combat Page 1
The men of the Highland Light Infantry would always remember their objective as "Bloody Buron." They made it to the outskirts of the village with few casualties. Unfortunately, the village itself was strongly held by a ring of defensive positions and the battle lasted all day. The Germans fell back, and then counterattacked with tanks which were beaten off by a battery of British 17-pounders attached to the regiment. By day's end, the Highlanders had lost 262 men and their commanding officer. On the right flank, the Glens captured Gruchy with much less difficulty. Then, after an unconventional charge by Bren gun carriers of the 7th Reconnaissance Regiment, they moved on to the Chateau de St. Louet. The North Novas pushed through Buron and seized Authie, having sustained "very heavy casualties from mortars and 88s." At the Abbaye d'ardenne, the Regina Rifles reported that every move forward was checked by tank, mortar, and machine gun fire. "B" Company suffered 61 casualties and "C" Company was pinned down by a pillbox in one corner of the building and snipers in the bell tower. "D" Company was able to make it to the Abbaye garden under the cover of 2-inch mortar and tank smoke, then dug in and waited for morning, protected by the walls of the fortress they were assaulting. The Canadian Scottish found the approach to Cussy contested by snipers and shellfire. Both flanks were still held by the SS and a confused battle raged until nightfall when two companies of the Winnipegs were brought up to reinforce the position before the anticipated counterattacks. But there would be no counterattack. During the night, Rommel ordered the withdrawal of all heavy weapons south of the Orne River and rearguards in the battered city could put up only token resistance. The next day, the Canadians cautiously pushed into Caen, snipers, mines and booby traps slowing their progress. Reconnaissance units, ordered forward to seize crossings over the Orne were unable to move through the rubble-choked streets. Yet, to their astonishment, the Canadians were greeted as liberators. David Halton of the CBC reported: "Amid their thousands of dead and wounded men, women and children, most of them the victims of our bombing and shelling, amid worse wreckage than I've ever seen in any war or campaign, amid fire and smoke and bursting shells and diving enemy aircraft, several thousand people of Caen came out of the ancient abbey church where they'd been taking shelter, to watch the flag of France broken from a masthead and to sing the "Marseillaise" with strained and broken voices and with tears running down their cheeks." It had taken more than a month to reach Caen - a city that had been a D-Day objective. Page 2 Final Combat
The Setting This scenario takes place on July 8, 1944 in the town of Buron. It depicts an action between the North Nova Scotia Highlanders of the 9 th Brigade supported by tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers and the 12 th SS Panzer Division which was comprised of Hitlerjugend (teenage Hitler Youth troops) and a Panzer-Grenadier regiment led by Kurt "Panzer" Meyer who was a skilled veteran commander from the Eastern Front. Artillery Assets The Canadians will enjoy an off-board artillery asset of 25-pounders (three missions/four guns) with 85% availability. A two-man forward observer team must register a target Final Combat Page 3
pursuant to the rules discussed in Section 9. The Germans may begin with three registered artillery points. They will have a three-tube battery of 8.0cm mortars (four missions) with 75% availability. Minefield The Germans have deployed a 40 x 40-yard minefield in the open area between buildings four and five. It consists of Teller, Schu and S-mines (see The Expansion). The minefield has an 85% density for infantry. Vehicles are 100%. This is the percentage chance that a mine detonates when the field is traversed. If a solider dashes through the field, add 10% to the chance of detonation. If a soldier walks, adjust the density percentage by -10%. If a soldier crawls through the field and spends one action per yard probing with a bayonet, the mines may be avoided. It will require three actions per yard traversed: one action to crawl, one action to probe and one action to mark the area. If a path is marked, other soldiers may walk through without danger of detonation. If a soldier dashes through a marked path, adjust the density percentage by -30%. When a mine detonates consult the following table to determine the variant and factor in the appropriate blast radius. A soldier does not have sufficient body weight to detonate an AT mine by stepping on it. A vehicle must take two rolls on Table 1.1 for each movement action in the minefield. Only the Teller mine can damage an armored vehicle. Page 4 Final Combat
Table 1.1 Mine Variants Mine d100 Roll Teller 1-33 Schu-Mine 34-67 S-Mine 68-100 Willpower This attribute is directly related to a soldier s morale. The Willpower is based upon the TQ modifier. A troop quality of green will equate to a Willpower attribute of 11. A troop quality of regular will equate to a Willpower attribute of 12 and so forth. This is true for all Canadian forces. The Hitlerjugend troops were young boys around the age of 16. Although they were fanatical Nazis, they were not as well trained as standard Wehrmacht troops. To reflect this, use 15 as the Willpower attribute. Victory Conditions The Canadians are tasked with capturing the town of Buron. They have 10 turns in which to control four of the eight buildings. The Germans win if they prevent this. Leadership Attribute The generic attribute for all Canadian section leaders is 13. German leadership is 14. Squad Composition All squads will carry standard weaponry including one light machine gun. Each man will carry two fragmentation or concussion grenades. Section leaders may also carry smoke. One PIAT crew will be attached to each Canadian section and German squads may distribute 1d6 panzerfausts. Set-up The Germans will begin hidden in any of the eight buildings. Once they move or fire, they must be placed on the board (excludes the sniper team). The Canadian forces (including reinforcements) may enter from the north, south and/or west sides of the map. German reinforcements must enter from the east side of the board. Final Combat Page 5
Canadian Force at Start 3x Sherman IV (AP, HE, Smoke) with crew of 5 (TQ green to pro; Willpower of 11-13) 1x Sherman VC Firefly (AP, HE) w/ crew of 5 (TQ green to pro; Willpower of 11-13) 1x Motorized Infantry Section of 10 men (TQ regular to vet; Willpower of 11-13) 1x HQ of 5 men (TQ of regular to vet; Willpower of 12-14) 1x FO team of 2 men (TQ of regular and pro; Willpower of 11-13) 3x Infantry Section of 10 men (TQ green to pro; Willpower of 11-13) 2x Bren Carrier Troop Transport w/ 50-feet of Bangalore torpedo tubing Canadian Reinforcements on Turn 4 1x Churchill Mk VII (AP, HE) with crew of 5 (TQ of green to pro; Willpower of 11-13) 1x Motorized Infantry Section of 10 men (TQ regular to vet; Willpower of 11-13) 2x Bren Carrier Troop Transport Page 6 Final Combat
German Force at Start 2x PzKpfw V (AP, HE) with crew of 5 (TQ of green to pro; Willpower of 15) 2x Hitlerjugend Infantry Squad of 7 men (TQ green to regular; Willpower of 15) 1x HQ of 4 men (TQ of regular to vet; Willpower of 15) 1x FO team of 2 men (TQ of regular and pro; Willpower of 15) 1x MMG (tripod mounted MG42) w/ crew of 3 (TQ of green to pro; Willpower of 15) 1x Sniper Team of 2 men (TQ of pro; Willpower of 15) German Reinforcements on Turn 6 1x Stug IV (AP, HE) with crew of 4 (TQ of green to pro; Willpower of 15) 1x Motorized Panzer Grenadier Squad of 8 men (TQ of regular to veteran; Willpower of 12-14) 1x 251/1 Half-track Activation Cup Because the highest troop quality level is veteran, place numbered chits of 1-4 in the cup. The command chits must include 3x CO-3 and 1x CO-4. Each side should have their own OBA chit. This will avoid always having artillery fall simultaneously. There will be 10 chits in the activation cup. Final Combat Page 7
This is a satellite view of Buron today. Use this map as a guide to build your terrain table, but only the first eight buildings (moving from west to east) should be modeled. Page 8 Final Combat