Operation Mjölnir, preparations

I am starting up a Normandy campaign with a buddy of mine who goes by the name "Lord Siwoc" online. If you are into zombie miniature gaming, check out his excellent wargaming blog here.

We have been using the Fistful of TOWs 3 rules for our World War 2 wargaming and despite the more modern name, the rules work well for the WW2 era. The FFT3 rules cover the period 1915-2015 and comes with extensive army lists and stats. Do note that the excellent stats start with WW2, so while the rules themselves cover WW1 also, you have to make the stats and army lists yourself if you want to play that war. The rules include the formulas and guidelines necessary for creating unit stats.

For this campaign we will not be recreating specific battles or operations, but will instead be fighting the fictitious "Operation Mjölnir", using the Battle Generator Campaign included in the FFT3 rules.

The campaign plays as a series of linked battles where the two sides accumulate losses and exhaustion while trying to advance into enemy territory. The campaign can end in one of three ways, when one or both sides have:

• Advanced sufficiently far into enemy territory
• Become too exhausted to continue fighting
• Taken too many losses to continue fighting

Each side has a Campaign Force, which makes up the core of the force fighting. For an individual battle each commander will commit part of his Campaign Force, possibly reinforced with an attachment (typically division level assets such as recon, anti-tank, anti-air or engineers).

The Campaign Forces we will be using are as follows:

Germans

• Grenadier Battalion (Excellent quality - 532 points)
• Grenadier Company (3 rifle platoons; 1 panzerschreck team)
• Grenadier Company (3 rifle platoons; 1 panzerschreck team)
• Grenadier Company (3 rifle platoons; 1 panzerschreck team)
• MG platoon
• 8cm mortar platoon
• 12cm mortar platoon
• Panzer IV Battalion (Good quality - 1071 points)
• Panzer Company (3 Pz IV platoons)
• Panzer Company (3 Pz IV platoons)
• Panzer Company (2 Pz IV platoons)
• Panzer IV Recon platoon
• Partial Panzergrenadier Battalion (Average quality - 383 points)
• Panzergrenadier Company
• 3 Rifle platoons in 251/1
• 1 MG platoon in 251/17 (anti-air)
• 1 251/10 platoon (anti-tank)
• 1 251/9 section (artillery)
• Panzergrenadier Company
• 3 Rifle platoons in 251/1
• 1 MG platoon in 251/17
• 1 251/10 platoon
• 1 251/9 section
• 12cm mortar platoon in 251/1
• Artillery (5+ accuracy - 58 points)
• 105mm self-propelled support group
• 105mm self-propelled support group
• 150mm towed support group

Americans

• Infantry Battalion (Good quality - 529 points)
• Infantry Company (3 rifle platoons, 1 weapons platoon)
• Infantry Company (3 rifle platoons, 1 weapons platoon)
• Infantry Company (3 rifle platoons, 1 weapons platoon)
• 2 MG platoons
• 1 81mm mortar platoon
• 57mm Anti-tank gun platoon with truck
• Paratrooper Battalion (Average quality - 304 points)
• Paratrooper Company (3 rifle platoons)
• Paratrooper Company (3 rifle platoons)
• Paratrooper Company (3 rifle platoons)
• 2 MG teams
• 1 81mm mortar platoon
• Independent Tank Battalion (Average quality - 1145 points)
• Medium Tank Company (2 Sherman(75mm) platoons; 1 Sherman(76mm) platoon)
• Medium Tank Company (2 Sherman(75mm) platoons; 1 Sherman(76mm) platoon)
• Medium Tank Company (2 Sherman(75mm) platoons; 1 Sherman(76mm) platoon)
• Light Tank Company (3 Stuart platoons)
• 1 Recon Jeep(LMG)  platoon
• 1 Sherman(105mm) platoon
• 1 Mortar halftrack platoon
• Artillery (4+ accuracy - 56 points)
• 105mm towed support group
• 105mm towed support group
• 155mm towed support group

Campaign progress will be published on this blog as often as possible.