Post by pendragon68 on Apr 14, 2017 19:06:13 GMT
On the same day we played Uranus, we also played a special operations scenario, Operation Harling.
Operation Harling was conceived in late summer 1942 as an effort to stem the flow of supplies through Greece to the German forces under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in North Africa. To this end, the Cairo office of the SOE decided to send a sabotage team to cut the railway line connecting Athens with Thessaloniki. Three viaducts were targeted, all in the Brallos area: the Gorgopotamos, Asopos and Papadia bridges. The destruction of the Asopos viaduct was preferable, since it would take longer to rebuild, but the choice would be ultimately left to the mission's leader. The team would be under the command of Lieutenant Colonel (later brevetted to Brigadier) E. C. W. "Eddie" Myers of the Royal Engineers, "the only parachute-trained professional sapper officer in the Middle East", according to his second-in-command, Major (later brevetted to Colonel) Chris Woodhouse. After completion of the mission, the British team would be evacuated, leaving only Woodhouse, the Greek 2nd Lieutenant Themis Marinos and two radio operators to establish a liaison with the fledgling Greek Resistance movement.
In Greece meanwhile, the first attempts at armed resistance in Greek Macedonia were quelled in the summer of 1941 by the Germans and Bulgarians. The spring and summer of 1942 however saw the birth of the first armed guerrilla units in the mountainous interior of Central Greece and Epirus. From the beginning, the largest among them was the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), founded by the Communist-led National Liberation Front (EAM) and headed by Aris Velouchiotis. The second largest were the forces of the National Republican Greek League (EDES), headed by Colonel Napoleon Zervas. The Harling mission's British officers were largely ignorant of the realities on the ground in occupied Greece, or of the precise nature, let alone the strength and political affiliation of the emerging resistance groups.
The SOE team numbered twelve men and was divided into three groups of four, each consisting of a leader, an interpreter, a sapper and a radio operator. The first group was composed of Lt. Colonel Eddie Myers, CO of the mission and group leader, Captain Denys Hamson as interpreter, Captain Tom Barnes (a New Zealander) as the sapper and Sergeant Len Willmott as wireless operator. The second group consisted of Maj. Chris Woodhouse, 2nd Lieutenant Themis Marinos (a Greek), Lieutenant Inder Gill (of mixed Scottish and Sikh descent who later became a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army) and Sergeant Doug Phillips. The third group consisted of Major John Cooke, Captain Nat Barker, Captain Arthur Edmonds (a New Zealander) and Sergeant Mike Chittis.
The team was distributed per group to three B-24 Liberator aircraft. A first attempt to drop them over Greece on 28 September failed, as the pre-arranged signal fires had not been lit. During the next flight on 30 September, the fires were located, and the Harling team was dropped near Mount Giona in Central Greece. The third plane was unable to locate any fires, and Major Cooke's group jumped near the heavily garrisonned town of Karpenissi. One group member even landed inside the town itself, and was hidden by local Greeks. Evading the Italian troops searching for them, they made for the hills, where they came upon the guerrillas of Aris Velouchiotis.
In the meantime, the main group was being hidden by the local Greeks and constantly moved around the area to prevent their capture by Italian searching parties, while Woodhouse set out to the town of Amfissa to establish contact with Cairo. During this time, Myers and Hamson, led by a local Greek guide, Yiannis, undertook a reconnaissance of the three prospective targets, and chose Gorgopotamos, which afforded better prospects of success: its garrison of 80 Italians was small enough, and it offered good access, cover and a line of retreat for the attacking force. On 2 November, Woodhouse set out to establish contact with Zervas' men in the Valtos Mountains region, while on 14 November, Major Cooke's team rejoined the main party, with information that they had made contact with Aris. Woodhouse returned on the same day, with Zervas and 45 of his men. From the outset, Zervas was enthusiastic for the mission, but Velouchiotis less so, for the Athens-based leadership of EAM-ELAS still did not appreciate the importance and potential of armed struggle in the countryside, preferring to focus on the cities instead. In the end, Velouchiotis, on his own initiative and contrary to the instructions received from EAM, decided to participate in the operation.
AAR
For this replay we used the Bolt Action ruleset, scenario 3, area defense. We used regular AAM minis for the figures, so 15mm scale. Due to time restrictions, we decided to put all the forces on the field instead of the usual die roll to see if you can deploy a squad.
Toyamas forces:
- HQ: partizan regular, Lt (pistol) 50
+ 2 riflemen @ 10 20
- Squad 1: partizan regular, NCO (+SMG) 53
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1 with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 3 riflemen @ 10, of which 1 with SMG 33
- Squad 2: commandos veteran, NCO (rifle) 70
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1 with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 5 riflemen @ 14 70
(special rules: Behind Enemy Lines, Tough Fighters)
Total UK: 336
Pens forces:
- HQ: regular, 2nd Lt (pistol) 50
+ 2 riflemen @ 10 20
- Squad 1: regular, NCO (rifle) 50
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 5 riflemen @ 10 50
- Squad 2: inexperienced, NCO (rifle) 35
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1 with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 6 riflemen @ 7 42
(special rule: Green)
- regular MMG team (firer + 2 loaders) 50
Total Italy: 337
The Italian forces spread out to defend the main objective, the Gorgopotamos viaduct, while Toyamas forces advanced over two lines of advance, the Commandos on the right flank, the Partisans on the left flank, both converging towards the main section of the bridge.
With the MG-team just right of the center, the experienced infantry and Command group supporting them the Italians held off the Partisans, the Commando MMG and the British Command Group, inflicting some damage to the Partisan forces.
The regular Italian squad advancing
The green Italian forces advanced across an open field, trying to dislodge the Commandos whose effective fire had a detrimental effect on the green Italian squad. Firing from effective cover, they succeeded to stop the Italian advance in the middle of the open field, pinning them down and sniping off the inexperienced troops one by one.
The green squad being decimated
Once this force was annihilated, the Commandos changed fire to the MMG, giving the Partisans some air who, after seeing the other Italian squad taking losses, decided to slowly advance in order to gain the prized viaduct.
View from the Italian MMG
Unable to hold their ground, the Italian forces doggedly tried to disrupt the Allied advance, but taking heavy losses, they were unable to hold their ground and the very effective British/Greek fire caused them to falter and flee, leaving the viaduct free for the combined force to be destroyed.
The bridge being blown up by the Commandos and Greeks , this game results in a historical accurate Allied victory.
Aerial reconnaissance showing the destroyed viaduct
Aftermath
The sabotage mission was a major success for SOE, being the biggest such operation carried out until then. Although its original military objective, the disruption of supplies for Field Marshal Rommel's troops, had been rendered obsolete by the Allied victory at El Alamein, it did display the potential for major guerrilla actions in serving Allied strategic objectives, encouraged SOE to aid the development of resistance movements, and provided a major morale boost for occupied Greece. In its aftermath, the Harling mission was not withdrawn, as originally envisaged, but instructed to remain on spot and form the British Military Mission to Greece. Unfortunately for the Greeks however, it was the last time where ELAS and EDES, the country's two major guerrilla forces, would cooperate militarily; within a month, the first clashes between ELAS and EDES forces occurred, a prelude of the open conflict that would erupt between ELAS and the other resistance groups in 1943, and a herald of the Greek Civil War.
Operation Harling was conceived in late summer 1942 as an effort to stem the flow of supplies through Greece to the German forces under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in North Africa. To this end, the Cairo office of the SOE decided to send a sabotage team to cut the railway line connecting Athens with Thessaloniki. Three viaducts were targeted, all in the Brallos area: the Gorgopotamos, Asopos and Papadia bridges. The destruction of the Asopos viaduct was preferable, since it would take longer to rebuild, but the choice would be ultimately left to the mission's leader. The team would be under the command of Lieutenant Colonel (later brevetted to Brigadier) E. C. W. "Eddie" Myers of the Royal Engineers, "the only parachute-trained professional sapper officer in the Middle East", according to his second-in-command, Major (later brevetted to Colonel) Chris Woodhouse. After completion of the mission, the British team would be evacuated, leaving only Woodhouse, the Greek 2nd Lieutenant Themis Marinos and two radio operators to establish a liaison with the fledgling Greek Resistance movement.
In Greece meanwhile, the first attempts at armed resistance in Greek Macedonia were quelled in the summer of 1941 by the Germans and Bulgarians. The spring and summer of 1942 however saw the birth of the first armed guerrilla units in the mountainous interior of Central Greece and Epirus. From the beginning, the largest among them was the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), founded by the Communist-led National Liberation Front (EAM) and headed by Aris Velouchiotis. The second largest were the forces of the National Republican Greek League (EDES), headed by Colonel Napoleon Zervas. The Harling mission's British officers were largely ignorant of the realities on the ground in occupied Greece, or of the precise nature, let alone the strength and political affiliation of the emerging resistance groups.
The SOE team numbered twelve men and was divided into three groups of four, each consisting of a leader, an interpreter, a sapper and a radio operator. The first group was composed of Lt. Colonel Eddie Myers, CO of the mission and group leader, Captain Denys Hamson as interpreter, Captain Tom Barnes (a New Zealander) as the sapper and Sergeant Len Willmott as wireless operator. The second group consisted of Maj. Chris Woodhouse, 2nd Lieutenant Themis Marinos (a Greek), Lieutenant Inder Gill (of mixed Scottish and Sikh descent who later became a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army) and Sergeant Doug Phillips. The third group consisted of Major John Cooke, Captain Nat Barker, Captain Arthur Edmonds (a New Zealander) and Sergeant Mike Chittis.
The team was distributed per group to three B-24 Liberator aircraft. A first attempt to drop them over Greece on 28 September failed, as the pre-arranged signal fires had not been lit. During the next flight on 30 September, the fires were located, and the Harling team was dropped near Mount Giona in Central Greece. The third plane was unable to locate any fires, and Major Cooke's group jumped near the heavily garrisonned town of Karpenissi. One group member even landed inside the town itself, and was hidden by local Greeks. Evading the Italian troops searching for them, they made for the hills, where they came upon the guerrillas of Aris Velouchiotis.
In the meantime, the main group was being hidden by the local Greeks and constantly moved around the area to prevent their capture by Italian searching parties, while Woodhouse set out to the town of Amfissa to establish contact with Cairo. During this time, Myers and Hamson, led by a local Greek guide, Yiannis, undertook a reconnaissance of the three prospective targets, and chose Gorgopotamos, which afforded better prospects of success: its garrison of 80 Italians was small enough, and it offered good access, cover and a line of retreat for the attacking force. On 2 November, Woodhouse set out to establish contact with Zervas' men in the Valtos Mountains region, while on 14 November, Major Cooke's team rejoined the main party, with information that they had made contact with Aris. Woodhouse returned on the same day, with Zervas and 45 of his men. From the outset, Zervas was enthusiastic for the mission, but Velouchiotis less so, for the Athens-based leadership of EAM-ELAS still did not appreciate the importance and potential of armed struggle in the countryside, preferring to focus on the cities instead. In the end, Velouchiotis, on his own initiative and contrary to the instructions received from EAM, decided to participate in the operation.
AAR
For this replay we used the Bolt Action ruleset, scenario 3, area defense. We used regular AAM minis for the figures, so 15mm scale. Due to time restrictions, we decided to put all the forces on the field instead of the usual die roll to see if you can deploy a squad.
Toyamas forces:
- HQ: partizan regular, Lt (pistol) 50
+ 2 riflemen @ 10 20
- Squad 1: partizan regular, NCO (+SMG) 53
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1 with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 3 riflemen @ 10, of which 1 with SMG 33
- Squad 2: commandos veteran, NCO (rifle) 70
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1 with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 5 riflemen @ 14 70
(special rules: Behind Enemy Lines, Tough Fighters)
Total UK: 336
Pens forces:
- HQ: regular, 2nd Lt (pistol) 50
+ 2 riflemen @ 10 20
- Squad 1: regular, NCO (rifle) 50
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 5 riflemen @ 10 50
- Squad 2: inexperienced, NCO (rifle) 35
including 4 riflemen (free)
of which 1 with LMG and 1 loader 20
+ 6 riflemen @ 7 42
(special rule: Green)
- regular MMG team (firer + 2 loaders) 50
Total Italy: 337
The Italian forces spread out to defend the main objective, the Gorgopotamos viaduct, while Toyamas forces advanced over two lines of advance, the Commandos on the right flank, the Partisans on the left flank, both converging towards the main section of the bridge.
With the MG-team just right of the center, the experienced infantry and Command group supporting them the Italians held off the Partisans, the Commando MMG and the British Command Group, inflicting some damage to the Partisan forces.
The regular Italian squad advancing
The green Italian forces advanced across an open field, trying to dislodge the Commandos whose effective fire had a detrimental effect on the green Italian squad. Firing from effective cover, they succeeded to stop the Italian advance in the middle of the open field, pinning them down and sniping off the inexperienced troops one by one.
The green squad being decimated
Once this force was annihilated, the Commandos changed fire to the MMG, giving the Partisans some air who, after seeing the other Italian squad taking losses, decided to slowly advance in order to gain the prized viaduct.
View from the Italian MMG
Unable to hold their ground, the Italian forces doggedly tried to disrupt the Allied advance, but taking heavy losses, they were unable to hold their ground and the very effective British/Greek fire caused them to falter and flee, leaving the viaduct free for the combined force to be destroyed.
The bridge being blown up by the Commandos and Greeks , this game results in a historical accurate Allied victory.
Aerial reconnaissance showing the destroyed viaduct
Aftermath
The sabotage mission was a major success for SOE, being the biggest such operation carried out until then. Although its original military objective, the disruption of supplies for Field Marshal Rommel's troops, had been rendered obsolete by the Allied victory at El Alamein, it did display the potential for major guerrilla actions in serving Allied strategic objectives, encouraged SOE to aid the development of resistance movements, and provided a major morale boost for occupied Greece. In its aftermath, the Harling mission was not withdrawn, as originally envisaged, but instructed to remain on spot and form the British Military Mission to Greece. Unfortunately for the Greeks however, it was the last time where ELAS and EDES, the country's two major guerrilla forces, would cooperate militarily; within a month, the first clashes between ELAS and EDES forces occurred, a prelude of the open conflict that would erupt between ELAS and the other resistance groups in 1943, and a herald of the Greek Civil War.