GAJO Games

We recently finished the afternoon of July 25, 1944 turn in our Operation Cobra campaign, and a pivotal battle was fought out around the Norman village of St. Giles, just southwest of Saint Lo.

The German 352nd Division, battered and pushed back since the assault on Omaha Beach, made a stand her to slow the American breakout. The mission we played was rearguard, with Mike Wilson and I running 120 points of Germans, anchored around a Beach Defense Grenadier Co, with the 352nd command card (Eastern Front Veterans) and reinforced by 3 Ost platoons.

Our attackers were drawn from the US 1st Infantry and 3rd Armored Divisions, with 138 points plus an extra platoon of 5 trained Sherman tanks, skilfully managed by Gary Grove and Dave Wiggins. The fighting was heavy frmom the start, with the US forces pushing aggressively on both flanks. Gary scored a quick kill on one of our 250 recon patrols, which cost us an easy to withdraw unit, setting the tone for a tense struggle.

Five batteries of US artillery pounded our positions, inflicting heavy casualties and driving our defenders deep into their foxholes. We clung on, withdrawing a unit every turn until the Americans launched a climactic assault on the last turn. We barely hung on, surviving for a 7-2 victory and allowing us to hold the area for another turn.

This was a tense and very balanced fight, and great fun!