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Escape and Evasion. (France 1944)
( The Aftermath of a Successful Commando Raid)
by
Richard McClean.

Introduction: Most of you will have seen the film, The Dirty Dozen. This is about a group of condemned criminals being sent on a suicide mission to France just prior to the Normandy landings. In the film only three manage to get back. The idea behind this Scenario is to see how many of your Commandos can get back to the beach, find their boats and head home.
The Game starts after Chateau de Ville, a R & R centre for the German Army, has been engulfed in a huge fireball. The British mission to destroy it looks to have been a success. The Commandos have managed to kill or wound several dozen of Rommel's Senior Officers. The British Commander knows that it is only a matter of minutes before the countryside is swarming with Germans. He sends word out to his Teams, make for the beach; it's every man for himself.
Awakened by the explosion, the local German Commander tries to get his sleepy troops organised. As soon as he is informed of what has happened, he realises Berlin will not be happy with him. He will have to produce dead Commandos if he wants to stay in the comparative safety of France instead of being sent to the Eastern Front.

This is an unusual Scenario as there is quite a lot of detail to be worked out before the game starts. Unless you think carefully about what you are doing, you could be heading for disaster.
Any set of WW2 Rules will do, as long as they allow individual figure control. I have played this Game using 1/72nd and 25mm figures. It can be played either with the Umpire controlling the Germans and each of the other players controlling one of the Commando Teams or several Players on both sides.

Somewhere in Northern France, June 2nd 1944.
(Table used was 12' x 6')

mmmmmm =Hedge

The Battlefield:

The idea of the Terrain is to restrict the figures Line Of Sight. This will make it difficult for the Players to behave in a God like manner. The Battlefield cannot look too crowded. Remember this Scenario takes place at night. You may like to cut visibility and maybe even weapon ranges.

The Chateau de Ville is situated near the coast of Normandy, a few miles South of the proposed D-day landing areas. It is now, as the result of a large explosion, a charred ruin.

The River Levey is at high tide, thus making it impossible to wade across. There are two routes across the river, one is a bridge and the other is a ford further West. The ford is well marked and is used by the local farmers.

There are two farms, one Hamlet and a Village in the immediate area. The locals have been well subdued. They will not hinder the Commandos escape, but there again they will not help them either.

The hills in the North are large sand dunes. They have been covered in barbed wire. This makes going over the dunes an impossibility. However when the Commandos landed on the beach for their Mission, they cut a path through the wire. The British Commander must draw on his Map where this single gap. It is wide enough for one man at a time to go through. The Germans will never find this gap, but they may follow the British through it. Once used, the gap is then visible.
The dune on the left has had its' wire extended all the way a long the coast.

There are two large Bunkers facing out to sea. Their guns cannot be depressed enough to fire at the small boats or the waiting British Submarine.
The hedges are taller than the average man. They make excellent cover, for both sides.

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