Monday 18 April 2016

Dozan Invasion of Pays De Cheval - Breakout at Le Meux Pt 2

The fall of the hill and redoubt on the PDC right was a bad blow to their overall battle plan. From being able to hold a defensive line, their only recourse, now was to take an offensive posture and attempt to repel the Dozan forces.

Captain Raoul Nevelin had been unprepared for such an agressive move by the Dozans. Now recovered after several minutes of anxiety, he pulled on his cap and tapped the Signals Corporal, Tomas Bandoline on the shoulder;  "Signal Lieutenant Fandel on the left and order him to leave just an mmg section in the redoubt. I want the rest of his platoon to move through the woods and counter attack the Dozans on the right. The Welland tank will go with them. Also signal artillery lieutenant Gauzier and say I want him to do whatever he can to open a bombardment on the hill and redoubt prior to our advance."

Watching the assault and success of his men on the left and Pardelle's continued advance, Major Ralph Bourgville stretched and nodded to himself; "Sergeant, get half the men loaded into the half track and you take the others up the lane behind Pardelle then break left to flank their centre. We'll be heading right into them as soon as they turn to counter D'Amboise and his platoon. I like our odds."
Dozan A Platoon advance against Nordovician fire

With a roar of engines, the B Platoon Half Track was under way carrying half the platoon while Ralph Bourgville led his sections on foot.  The panhard that would support the action was also moving out onto the road. 
For a moment, it looked like the PDC might salvage something and hold the centre. The advancing half track was hit by a shell from one of the guns on the ridge and rattled to a halt, turret turning this way and that as its crew were supressed and panicked. If the Welland had turned south and had the guns or that tank taken out the Panhard which advanced to give cover, they might have blunted the Dozan assault. The Dozan close air support had failed to cause any damage to the guns or dug in troop positions.
In the lane, the Nordovicians had some success, sending Dozan A patrol into cover with grenades and fire exchanges. Panhard A had covered the half track but was vulnerable. Artillery fire, however, was ineffectual.
As the Dozan air support departed, PDC 1 Platoon were on the move along the ridge to join in the fight in the centre and their right wing.  Events that followed took the impetus from the PDC. Firstly, the failure to hold the half track and panhard in the centre resulted in them coming up the hill into the woods, guns ripping up undergrowth and taking out a half section of PDC troops.
Then, Major Bougville and his section burst from cover and took down the front Nordovician squad that had been getting results in the lane.
The Welland Tank had missed the opportunity to turn into the centre and confound the advance, choosing, instead to set its heavier armour against the two Dozan AFVs on the left. However, its crew failed miserably to hit anything and soon were in trouble from a shell from the 37mm on the half track which caused minor damage and suppressed the Welland crew.
Inevitably, a few minutes later, the Panhard and Schneider advanced and fired at close range against the quiet Welland which brewed up immediately.  Any chance of the PDC left being recovered were over.  Doza C Platoon were digging into the redoubt with their two AFVs intact.

All that the PDC had destroyed was part of the White Barn and the Manor House as called artillery fire unloaded shells where troops had long departed.

That heralded the end of the battle. Seeing the Welland destroyed, PDC artillery began to hitch their guns to move and word went down the line.
But things went from bad to worse for the PDC as a Panhard overran PDC 2 Platoon and destroyed the quad pulling the gun away, causing it to tip down a bank and spill the gun. Air assault blew up another tow truck losing the PDC a howitzer and in the lane as well as the wood, the few Nordovicians remaining, pulled back.  1 Platoon commander, Lieutenant Fandel having reached the lane with his men could see the fight was lost. Turning away, he ordered a retreat and 1 Platoon escaped intact.
As the PDC medical unit moved away to safety, the Dozan unit was on the move to see what could be done for the fallen.

Major Ralph Bourgville looked around at the smashed china and ripped curtains in the old manor house; "What a shame. Their artillery fire destroyed the tea pot."
Sergeant Rene Manviers rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time in exasperation at his commanding officer's priorities, "I was going to ask D'Amboise to sit down and have a nice cup of tea with me.  He did a fine job, he and his men."
"Yes sir," Manviers agreed, "that they did. Perhaps we can make some tea in the usual metal pots, sir."
"Well, if we must, Rene, although it won't taste the same. Perhaps someone can dig out the baker and have him make us some cakes or buns. His shop was quite undamaged just as I said."
"I will have a man run along there sir.  Sir, how do you want to deploy the men, now?"
"Oh, they know what to do.  Ask Pardelle to run along and inspect the positions and report back. I'm sure it'll all be alright. The PDC won't be back. From all the reports I am getting, the Battalion has earned it's nickname today, "Les Enfants Terrible." "
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