Encounter at Eecloo 11th October 1914 - Part 2

 

The British were a bit more confident that they could hold the German advance now that 20^th Infantry Brigade had arrived.

On the left wing the Borderers engaged a somewhat over-eager company of German regimental machine gunners which had advanced up to the stream in front of the Borderer’s positions. The few survivors were soon sent scurrying back to their comrades stationed in the fields behind them.   

 

The Borderers cut up on the left wing

6^th Cavalry Brigade reacted as best it could with its limited remaining strength. The small but defiant band of survivors from 10^th Hussars managed to join up with the Gordon Highlanders.

 In the centre 1st Dragoon Guards attempted another bayonet charge, this time against some German infantry which had finally succeeded advancing out of Somergem village. These Germans were made of sterner stuff and the Dragoons were forced back, while their supporting RHA artillery was badly pounded by German counter battery fire and dispersed.

 

The few surviving Dragoons fall back

 It was on the third turn of our second session that the BEF witnessed the full power of the German 5^th Reserve Infantry Division’s schwerpunkt….

 The cards were shuffled properly for the turn and the full firepower of the Germans was unleashed!

 As card after card was turned, only to reveal that another German unit was activated, only 20^th Infantry Brigade HQ was able to react (half-heartedly) to the unceasing German fire that fell on the British units.

 All three BEF infantry battalions were badly cut up, with several companies each being forced back with disruption galore. The Dragoons also had to retreat again, while there was just about no return fire from the stunned BEF force.

The BEF right wing about to retreat

 After a quick consultation Brigadiers Makin and Riggles-Brise conceded that they had no option but to concede the field to the advancing Germans.   

 After the game we counted no less than 14 German cards had been turned against only one British one during the third turn. ITLSU is a very good set of rules, but perhaps this game does show an extreme case where the use of unit cards has limits. We played a large scale game, so there were a lot of both German and British cards in play each turn.

 Even with the defeat of the BEF I was quite pleased how the scenario worked overall.

Encounter at Eecloo 11th October 1914 - Part 1

 

Having finally finished our War of the Three Kingdoms Irish scenarios for the "For King and Parliament" ruleset we decided to play some other periods that have not been on the table for a while.

 One of these is TFLs "If the Lord Spares Us" ruleset, but set in France during the opening few months of the 1914 campaign, before the widespread use of trenches became the norm for WW1. So I hit the books and came up with this scenario, which is based on actual events. All the commanders names are historically correct.

The forces used are all 10mm Pendraken Minatures figures, with 6mm buildings of indeterminate origin that I bought online years ago.

 Background

By early October 1914 the first major reinforcements for the BEF became available through dispatching the regular troops garrisoning overseas possessions back to the UK to form the 7^th Division. On the continent the initial actions of the war had taken place and the German Army had taken the strategic Belgian port of Antwerp after overcoming its fortifications using super heavy artillery. The Belgian Army, fearing encirclement by the Germans as they raced towards the Channel Coast, decided to retreat to behind the Yser River. The river level could be controlled, allowing low lying areas to be inundated to stop any German advance, while at the same time holding a small but symbolic piece of Belgian soil. To assist with covering the Belgian retreat the British 7^th Division, under the command of Major General T. Capper, was landed at the Belgian ports of Zeebrugge and Ostende and quickly moved inland.

Also landed were elements of the 6^th Cavalry Brigade of the 3rd Cavalry Division. Together these two Divisions were formed into the newly established IV Corps under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson.

Another British force landed at Ostend, at the request of Winston Churchill, 1^st Lord of the Admiralty, was from the Royal Naval Air Service. Under the command of Wing Commander Sampson, the Eastchurch Squadron had some early armoured Rolls Royces armed with MG’s and with orders to “help spot enemy incursions”. 

 The 6th Cavalry Brigade was posted South of Eecloo, where the main east-west road used by the Belgians to retreat ran through. Early on 11^th October British pickets reported contact with scouting German Dragoons.

The Game

Brigadier Makin, commander the 6^th Cavalry Brigade, studied the terrain around the village of Somergem though his binoculars as the sun rose.  

The table from the British Lines

...and from the German point of view

Last night Makin had been summoned to the headquarters of Lt General Rawlinson, Commanding IV Corps, at Bruges to plan the next day’s operations to assist the retreating Belgians.

 The Corps commander’s words still rang in his ears “You must hold the Germans if at all possible – Don’t let them break through!”. Makin was determined to do his best, but wondered if his hastily assembled, but still understrength brigade could hold on without the assistance of 20^th Infantry Brigade. He had only two complete cavalry regiments at his disposal, (the 3^rd Dragoon Guards were still in Egypt) plus a lone section of 13 pdrs from C Battery RHA. Under command he did have some early Rolls-Royce armoured cars crewed by eager volunteers from the Royal Naval Air Service’s Eastchurch squadron.

 Intelligence suggested he was facing part of the German III Reserve Corps that had recently been in action around Antwerp. It did not however suggest how big a force he may be facing….

 Makin decided to deploy his two cavalry units in the available terrain to cover the likeliest German axies of advance. 1^st Dragoon Guards were posted just West of Somergen village covering the main road out of the village, supported by the RHA guns. Meanwhile 10^th Hussars were spread out in some large hedgerowed fields to the south.  Brigade HQ and the RNAS cars were deployed some way behind 1 DG, so as to be able to react to German forces on either side of the village.

6th Cavalry Brigade deploys

 The Brigade did not have to wait long for the Germans to emerge from the early morning mist as what was obviously a large force advanced onto the table. Makin’s pickets soon determined that the enemy force consisted of an entire regiment of infantry on each half the board. Each Regiment had 3 battalions, a Regimental MG company and an attached abteilung of 77mm artillery. Additional German forces in the shape of a Divisional cavalry regiment and a unit of Jagers in their peaked shakos were also seen advancing.

 Makin urgently signalled Brigadier Riggles-Brise of 20^th Infantry Brigade to urgently march to his assistance as it was soon apparent that 6^th Cavalry Brigade could not expect to check the German advance alone.

 On the British right wing the 10^th Hussars soon found themselves in a serious firefight that the dismounted cavalry could not sustain. Facing an entire infantry regiment plus its supports and outflanked by Dragoons two of the Hussar squadrons were destroyed. After inflicting some casualties themselves the remaining Hussars, little more than the small HQ party and one troop of “A” Squadron, were steadily fell back as the enemy pushed forward.

The 10th Hussars in a spot of bother...

The 1st Dragoon Guards fared a bit better, their fire stopping the leading German battalion from exiting Somergem, while the RHA peppered another battalion with shrapnel. However “B” squadron covering the village itself took heavy casualties. Seeing this the leading company of the attached German Jager battalion which was moving round the side of the village decided to charge the Guards. The British regulars, despite being outnumbered 2:1, were having none of it and easily saw off the Jagers (I rolled two 6’s!).

The situation on the German right wing

Behind them the RNAS finally came into action having missed out being activated twice by the fact that the second tea break card was turned before theirs. Makin ordered them to the right to offer some support to the retreating Hussars.      

 On the last turn of our first gaming session some hope arrived for the British.

 Sitting on his horse Brigadier Makin could hear the unmistakable sound of bagpipes approaching as 20^th Infantry Brigade finally arrived.  At the head of the column came Brigadier Riggles-Brise’s HQ, which joined Makin’s Cavalry HQ in the centre. Next came 2^nd Battalion Scots Guards, headed by two pipers playing the regimental march “Highland Laddie”. Then it was 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, with their pipers delivering a rousing rendition of “Cock o’ the North”.

These two units went to the right flank with the brigade’s attached artillery from F Battery RHA.

20th Infantry Brigade deploys

The last unit to arrive was 2^nd Battalion of the Border Regiment which advanced through the woods on the British left flank.

The Border Regiment arrives on the British left flank

It was getting late so we paused the game there, agreeing to conclude the game next weekend.