Juno Beach Nan Red

Hi all,
A report on yesterdays game at the club which launches our Firestorm Normandy campaign

Juno Beach was the initial assault and the St Aubin sur Mer stronghold WN27 defended by a platoon from II/736th Grenadier Regiment, with a 5omm bunker gun, one 37mm tank turret bunker, an HMG tobruk, Pak, HMG and mortar support. In addition two pre-planned artillery strikes were available from the 7/1716th Artillery Regiment inland at Beny sur Mer with 4 x 100mm howitzers.
The Canadians consisted of a company from the North Shore Regiment supported by "funnies" and Royal Marines from 48 Commando, with a preliminary naval bombardment and artillery and air support.
As in the actual battle, the fight was a costly affair with the Canadians struggling under AT and mortar fire to scale the 13 foot high sea wall and penetrate the only exit of the beach which was mined and wired

The initial assault by the leading platoons and funnies succeded in creating two breaches in the wall and knocking out the 50mm AT gun but at a cost of the two platoons and supporting armour. The follow up armour a nd two further platoons succeeded in exploiting the breaches using CRABs and infantry to break into the position. This was not helped when they were mistakenly attacked by their own air strike.
The Tank Turret bunker was particularly successful at disabling several AVRE's and breaking up several infantry assaults on the forward wall.


The final blows inflicted on the Canadians was a pre planned artillery strike on the beach which knocked out half a platoon, and a mortar strike which wiped out the HMG platoon from the Cameron Highlanders of Canada just as they disembarked from the landing craft.
However by turn 6 the pressure told and the final morale check by the German defenders was failed prompting the surrender of WN27 as the Sherman Crabs and infantry started to break in.
If the losses sustained are broken down in thirds Killed/Ser.Wounded/Lt.Wounded, the Canadins suffered over two platoons worth of killed and seriously wounded taking the position.