Dung Farm – A Crossfire Battle Report

I’ve been gearing up to pay Dung Farm from Hit the Dirt for a couple of years now. I posted my Balagan version of the Dung Farm a few weeks back and, as you might recall, the table has lots of Ravines, thorn fields and thorn thickets. It took me a while to collect this additional kit. Plus the Kiwis in Italy. But finally it all came together – scenario, terrain, and figures. And Chris, Jamie, and Adam turned up to play. This is, of course, Crossfire for the Italian Campaign.

Summary: Really good game. Interesting challenges from ravines and thorns. The British need to use the terrain to their advantage. Chris and I, as the Germans, won.


Table

The historical battle was fought at a farm. A pig farm, hence “Dung Farm” to the Brits.

DungFarm-1833 The Dung Farm itself
DungFarm-1833 The Dung Farm itself

I think the table was quite impressive. It did take about an hour to set up, but I reckon it was worth it. My ravine system featured heavily in this game, which is no surprise given I made to ravines specifically to play this scenario (and for my Burmese table).

DungFarm-1830 Table from British end
DungFarm-1830 Table from British end
DungFarm-1832 Table from British end
DungFarm-1832 Table from British end

There is a lot of terrain, so what might not be obvious is that the lines of fire are very long. There is very little blocking terrain. Hedges, thorn hedges, woods, crests, and buildings block LOS. But stands can happily shoot across rough ground, thorn thickets, and ravines. I tell you, as one of the German attackers I was thinking, “how are we going to attack across that?”

DungFarm-1834 Table from German end
DungFarm-1834 Table from German end

Deployment

Jamie got Company D, 1st Irish Guards. and chose to deploy relatively forward, within Line of Fire of the German deployment ravine. He was on the German left, so facing my 4th Company.

DungFarm-1835 Irish Deployment
DungFarm-1835 Irish Deployment
DungFarm-1836 Irish Deployment
DungFarm-1836 Irish Deployment

It was only when I started looking at the terrain with a view to fighting in it that I realised it was nasty. In addition to actual barbed wire, the British was sheltering behind quite a few thorn thickets, as in natural barbed wire.

DungFarm-1841 Irish Deployment
DungFarm-1841 Irish Deployment

Like all battles, one platoons is at the front. In this case it was the 1st platoon of the Irish Guards. These guys would take the brunt of the German attack.

DungFarm-1842 Lead platoon of Irish Company
DungFarm-1842 Lead platoon of Irish Company

Adam’s Company B, 6th Gordon Highlanders, were around the walled cemetery and facing Chris’s 5th Company on the German right.

DungFarm-1837 Scottish deployment
DungFarm-1837 Scottish deployment
DungFarm-1843 Scottish deployment
DungFarm-1843 Scottish deployment

Our Germans deployed, visible, in the big ravine near our table edge. My 4th Company were on the left. I’d opted to take the StuG platoon from the beginning of the game. The way I looked at it, Jamie’s forward deployment meant he was exposed to my the StuG’s firepower.

DungFarm-1838 German 4th Company deployment
DungFarm-1838 German 4th Company deployment

Chris’s 5th company were on the right.

DungFarm-1839 German 5th Company deployment
DungFarm-1839 German 5th Company deployment

We kept the 6th Company and Battalion HQ off table as a reserve.

DungFarm-1840 German reserves including 6th Company and Battalion HQ
DungFarm-1840 German reserves including 6th Company and Battalion HQ

05:30 Hours

I kicked off the game by advancing my StuGs out of the ravine to threaten Jamie’s Irishs. And they got a kill in the first initiative. In my House Rules for Guns and MGs on Vehicles I let the main gun and machine guns shoot as a fire group. That makes them quite potent, hence the kill.

DungFarm-1844 StuGs advance and open fire
DungFarm-1844 StuGs advance and open fire

Once of the StuGs headed towards the hedges blocking off the ravine over on that side.

DungFarm-1845 Sneaky StuG
DungFarm-1845 Sneaky StuG

Meanwhile the one of my platoons knocked out the Irish’s 6-pounder gun.

DungFarm-1846 Dead 6 pounder
DungFarm-1846 Dead 6 pounder

And the Irish retaliated by taking out an HMG team.

DungFarm-1849 Irish knock out an HMG team
DungFarm-1849 Irish knock out an HMG team

06:00 Hours

The lines of fire were vast, so getting out of the ravine required a bit of care. Or, more specifically, some smoke.

DungFarm-1851 German infantry edge forward behind smoke
DungFarm-1851 German infantry edge forward behind smoke

The sneaky StuG did a quick shuffle and suddenly had the whole ravine to its front covered by fire. The Irish stands in the ravine weren’t coming out. And no other stands were going to reinforce them.

DungFarm-1852 StuG dominates ravine
DungFarm-1852 StuG dominates ravine

Okay, I took a lot of photos of my German 4th Company and the Irish facing them. But Chris (5th Company) and Adam (Scots) were also active. Chris’s role was to demonstrate against the Scots and tie them up. He did a great job. It all started by a series of advances.

DungFarm-1853 German 5th Company advances on right
DungFarm-1853 German 5th Company advances on right

Back on the left, I moved a platoon up the the StuG on the ravine, and immediately realised I had a problem. A couple of the stands had line of sight into the ravine but could also be shot at from inside the ravine … in the open. One stand wasn’t on the lip of the ravine and couldn’t be shot at, but nor could it shoot. Ravines are tricky.

DungFarm-1854 German 4th Company moves up to the ravine
DungFarm-1854 German 4th Company moves up to the ravine

Chris decided the best way he could help my attack was by knocking out Irish elements in the centre of the table. So he started chewing on them. First to go was an FO.

DungFarm-1855 German 5th Company take out an FO
DungFarm-1855 German 5th Company take out an FO

Then a 2″ mortar team.

DungFarm-1856 German 5th Company takes out the mortar team
DungFarm-1856 German 5th Company takes out the mortar team

The Irish were rather peeved and shot up my of my rifle stands.

DungFarm-1857 But the Irish get some revenge on 4th Company
DungFarm-1857 But the Irish get some revenge on 4th Company

And this was when the mud rules came into effect. My already bogged StuG tried to move again and got permanently bogged! Mutter, mutter.

DungFarm-1858 StuG permanently bogged
DungFarm-1858 StuG permanently bogged

On the far side of the table, Chris pushed his troops forward.

DungFarm-1859 German 5th Company keeps advancing
DungFarm-1859 German 5th Company keeps advancing

In Crossfire, close combat is faster than a fire fight so, with some suppressions, I saw an opportunity against the Irish. A squad and my company commander took out an Irish squad.

DungFarm-1860 Germans close assault Irish
DungFarm-1860 Germans close assault Irish

My rash company commander charged forward again, found himself in LOS of some Irish and got killed.

DungFarm-1861 Overconfident German CC gets caught in open
DungFarm-1861 Overconfident German CC gets caught in open

Rather stupidly I think tried to move my squad forward and got the same result. Doh!

DungFarm-1862 And then German squad gets caught in the same place
DungFarm-1862 And then German squad gets caught in the same place

Finding that close assaults are not all they are cracked up to be, I resorted to the heavy guns and started pounding with my StuG again.

DungFarm-1863 StuGs keep pounding the Irish
DungFarm-1863 StuGs keep pounding the Irish

It took out the suppressed machine gun.

DungFarm-1864 irish HMG taken out
DungFarm-1864 irish HMG taken out

On the far side of the table the Scots killed a squad from Chris’s 5th Company.

DungFarm-1866 Scottish kill squad from 5th Company
DungFarm-1866 Scottish kill squad from 5th Company

I don’t often do table level shots, but they do look cool. In this case I lined up behind two of the StuGs.

DungFarm-1867 Stug faces Irish
DungFarm-1867 Stug faces Irish
DungFarm-1868 StuGs dominate the flank
DungFarm-1868 StuGs dominate the flank

By this stage we (the Germans) had made advances, but not very far. All of my stands that had advanced into the Irish lines had been eliminated. This made the game rather gritty and realistic.

DungFarm-1869 Battle lines
DungFarm-1869 Battle lines
DungFarm-1870 View across the middle of the table
DungFarm-1870 View across the middle of the table

I wasn’t entirely reliant on the StuGs for killing power. My mortars also took their toll.

DungFarm-1872 German mortars do some pounding
DungFarm-1872 German mortars do some pounding

06:30 Hours

Chris played a brilliant supporting act. At times he poked at the Scots. At times he picked off some Irish. In this case he got an Irish squad in the middle of the table.

DungFarm-1874 5th Company has a go at the Irish
DungFarm-1874 5th Company has a go at the Irish

07:00 Hours

Earlier in the battle Jamie had tried to withdraw one of the squads from the front platoon. It successfully did a retreat move out of the rough ground, but then got caught by reactive fire, facing away from me, in the open. Suppressed at the time and then finished off by close combat. Finally, I was breaking into the Irish lines.

DungFarm-1876 No mercy for fleeing Irish
DungFarm-1876 No mercy for fleeing Irish

Oh, man! A long range Scottish Piat sniper got my StuG! This is one of the things I find odd about the standard armour rules … infantry anti-tank weapons can fire across the table. Not sure about that, given my ideas about ground scale in Crossfire.

DungFarm-1877 Long range shot by Scottish PIAT
DungFarm-1877 Long range shot by Scottish PIAT

No matter. I pushed on and destroyed another Irish squad in close combat.

DungFarm-1879 4th Company close assaults irish
DungFarm-1879 4th Company close assaults irish

I figured I had to do something at the ravine on the extreme left. So I moved my only stand that was out of LOS into LOS. It got PINNED, but so what. I could now do a crossfire with the platoon.

DungFarm-1880 Germans edge up to ravine
DungFarm-1880 Germans edge up to ravine

07:30 Hours

Time passed quickly.


08:00 Hours

I was finally doing alright and Chris and I decided to bring on 6th Company to reinforce my success.

DungFarm-1883 6th Company forms up in reserve
DungFarm-1883 6th Company forms up in reserve

6th Company came on in the ravine and then moved off towards the left. But once again I was caught out by the long LOS on this table, and a Scottish sniper killed my trailing PC. Annoying.

DungFarm-1884 Sneaky Scots take a shot at the trailing PC in 6th Company
DungFarm-1884 Sneaky Scots take a shot at the trailing PC in 6th Company

Adam revealed his Scottish bunker, hidden in an orchard on the far right flank.

DungFarm-1885 Scottish bunker
DungFarm-1885 Scottish bunker

And I discovered Jamie’s Irish bunker just in front of my leading squad. Hidden in the open – this is one grey area in Crossfire. Can a bunker, or in fact stands, be hidden in the open. Now wasn’t the time to debate that so there was no mid-game legalistic challenge.

DungFarm-1886 Irish bunker hiding in the open
DungFarm-1886 Irish bunker hiding in the open

08:30 Hours

Chris kept up his pressure on the Scots.

DungFarm-1888 5th Company keeps sniping away at the Scots
DungFarm-1888 5th Company keeps sniping away at the Scots

09:00 Hours

My 4th Company charged the Irish in the ravine over on the left. They were in a thorn thicket but carelessly left a corner exposed. So I hit it.

DungFarm-1891 4th Company close assaults Irish in ravine
DungFarm-1891 4th Company close assaults Irish in ravine

This is when 6th Company took over from 4th Company. I assaulted the Irish bunker from the flank so the defender couldn’t shoot at me. And then piled in three squads and a commander to made it a done deal.

DungFarm-1892 4th Company closes assaults Irish bunker
DungFarm-1892 6th Company closes assaults Irish bunker

One of StuGs rolled past but got bogged down.

DungFarm-1893 StuG bogged down
DungFarm-1893 StuG bogged down

It didn’t matter because my 4th Company had pretty much destroyed the Irish and had given 6th Company a clear run to the British base line. Well, almost clear run. Adam brought a platoon of Scots over to shoot along the base line. With the Operational Zones house rule we were using they couldn’t enter the Irish zone, but they could shoot into it.

DungFarm-1895 4th Company near the British base line
DungFarm-1895 6th Company near the British base line

I wasn’t quite sure what to do about that. In the same way Adam couldn’t move into my zone, I couldn’t move into his. So 6th suddenly found themselves unsure what to do.

DungFarm-1896 4th Company ponder how to get past the Scots
DungFarm-1896 6th Company ponder how to get past the Scots

Luckily Adam took his platoon away from the base edge and advanced towards my position.

DungFarm-1897 Scots approach 4th Company
DungFarm-1897 Scots approach 6th Company

09:30 Hours

That left the base edge unprotect and I could infiltrate my entire 6th Company, with 4th Company to follow.

DungFarm-1899 Nothing stopping 4th Company exiting the table
DungFarm-1899 Nothing stopping 6th Company exiting the table

End game

That was the end of the game. We’d taken fairly modest casualties.

DungFarm-1900 German casualties
DungFarm-1900 German casualties

We still had the battalion HQ in reserve.

DungFarm-1901 German Battalion HQ still in reserve
DungFarm-1901 German Battalion HQ still in reserve

Despite the Irish deploying forward, the battle had covered pretty much the entire table.

DungFarm-1902 Table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1902 Table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1904 Table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1904 Table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1905 Table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1905 Table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1906 Centre of table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1906 Centre of table at the end of the game
DungFarm-1907 Centre of table at end of the game
DungFarm-1907 Centre of table at end of the game

Observations and Conclusions

We had a lot of firsts. This was the first game for these players in the Italian Campaign. The first game with my new Kiwi figures (for British). The first time I used my Ravines, thorn thickets and thorn hedges. The first time we played a Crossfire game in mud. The first time, in a long time, we played a big (battalion sized) game of Crossfire.

It was awesome.

Italian Campaign

It has been years since I played a Crosfire game in the Italian Campaign – the Reconnaissance Before Pontecorvo with John McLennan was the last time. My current wargaming crew all post date that game so haven’t done anything in that theatre. I think things are going to change. As Jamie said, “now I’m really interested in the Italian Campaign.” I’ve started buying more books about the campaign.

Kiwis

I’m still basing and flocking my new Kiwi figures. But it was great to get them on the table. I feel like my Kiwis in Italy Project is actually getting somewhere.

Ravines

Ravines are really cool. I like the modular models I made, which is a relief. But the presense of the ravines changes the game quite a lot. It really gives it a more 3D feel. Suddenly visibility is a bit tricky.

Thorns

The thorn hedges didn’t come into play but Chris got tangled up in the thorn thickets. They are nasty. Chris had squad hung up on the thorns which really interfered with his strategy.

I didn’t go into any thorn thickets, but it affected my game play anyway. There were relatively few paths forward that didn’t go through thorn thickets, so my attempts to avoid the thorns constrained my options.

Mud

The mud rule about not exiting and entering a terrain feature didn’t come into play. That might be because we forgot about it, but I also suspect it just didn’t matter much. This rule only matters if somebody is shooting at the moving stand. And that didn’t happen so often, and when it did the moving stand got stopped.

But the bogging of the StuGs are very significant. Jamie chose to deploy forward. Even so two of my StuGs got bogged down and one of them permanently bogged. If Jamie had deployed further back General Mud would have dealt with my armour far more effectively than his Piats.

Big game

This was the first time, in a long time, we played a big (battalion sized) game of Crossfire. I think the Paper Factory – A Crossfire Battle Report from Krasny Bor was the last one. It takes a bit longer but it is a great experience.

Operational zones

We’ve played operational zones before, so nothing new there, but this time I tried to simplify the rules. I for example removed the option to redefine the operational zones during the battle. That made a difference. I think both Adam and I would have taken that option if it had been available to us. Something to think about.

4 thoughts on “Dung Farm – A Crossfire Battle Report”

  1. Thank you for sharing! It was very interesting to read about a 2v2 game, as it offers new tactical considerations and problems. Did you play simultaneously, or did you wait for both players on one side to lose the initiative? So did you prefer playing with the simplified operational zones or the original ones?

    Reply
    • We played the simplified Operational Zones in the scenario special rules. But after play testing, we could have used the ability to shift the operational zone, which is in the original Operational Zone Hous rules.

      Reply

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