XV Corps: The Somme 1916

A Card Wargame of World War I V1.0 September 2016

© Neal Reid 2016

Published by Vexillia Limited www.vexillia.com

Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Historical Background 3

3. Setting Up The Game 6

Acknowledgements To Kevin Tucker for his enthusiasm and help in developing this project.

Perhaps you will get some of your own games developed now?

Image Credits All images & maps Crown Copyright ©1916. Obtained from www.battlefieldhistorian.com.

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1. Introduction This two player card game covers the experience of the British XV Corps on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1st 1916. The game follows the course of the pre-battle preparation and the first day of the battle itself. One player is the commander of the XV Corps, Lt. General Henry Horne. The other player is his opponent Lt. General Hermann von Stein commander of the German XIV Reserve Corps. This game is an extension of X Corps, the second game in the Somme Series, and uses exactly the same rules. The rules are not reproduced here and to play this game you will need a copy of the rules from X Corps.

2. Historical Background On July 1st 1916 XV Corps, led by Lt. General Henry Horne, comprised the 21st Division and the 7th Division. It was one of five from Lt. General Sir Henry Rawlinson’s Fourth Army that attacked the German positions on the Somme supported by a diversion created by 5th Army’s VII Corps against the village of Gommecourt. XV Corps had three separate objectives. They were to take the three separate trenches of the German front line and then seize the fortified villages of Fricourt and Mametz. Fricourt was about a third larger then Mametz with some 175 houses. The third and final objective was the German support line to be taken by day’s end. Unlike VIII Corps, who attacked directly east, XV Corps attacked towards the north east along shallow valleys and sheltered woods. The German front line south of the river Ancre was not as well prepared as those in the north. However, the villages incorporated into the defence created Interlocking fields of fire and by themselves created a formidable defensive line. Fricourt had been turned into an effective nest of machine gun positions by the German Engineers, assisted by the fact the village lay in a valley significantly hampering the British artillery bombardment. The village of Mametz was sited on a hill and had also been fortified. In general the German front line facing XV Corps was not well developed. There was insufficient wire and too few dugouts to protect the troops. Moreover the troops building the dug-outs were exhausted by the work and, rather then expecting an attack, they were expecting to be relieved that night. All along 4th Army’s front the British originally planned five days of bombardment to weaken the German lines. They hoped to so debilitate the Germans troops that they would simply have to walk over and occupy the trenches without any serious fighting. Bad weather reduced the intensity of the bombardment, which was extended for a further two days.

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The Germans in this sector suffered very badly from the bombardment. Casualties mounted and numbers dwindled. Communication ceased. Supplies like food, water and ammunition were very spasmodic. Troops advancing across German lines saw very clearly the effect the bombardment had on the German lines. Unlike the rest of the front some German artillery responded to the British bombardment with a pre-emptive bombardment of the British front line. This meant the 21st Division troops had to crawl out into “No Man’s Land” before launching their attack but still suffered huge casualties. The units of 7th Division, being closer to the German front line, withdrew to their support lines and largely avoided the German bombardment.

The British detonated two groups of mines before the infantry attacks began: two at the Tambour to the left of Fricourt, and four in front of Mametz. Smaller than mines elsewhere, they still created confusion amongst the German defenders but as elsewhere the Germans won the race to the craters.

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21st Division plan was to attack either side of Fricourt in a classic pincer movement before directly attacking the village itself. To the left of Fricourt, the British had dug Russian saps to shorten the distance to the German line and protect the attackers but they failed to reduce casualties as the British began their attack at 07:30. Even so the British overwhelmed the German front lines with the support troops moving quickly, and painlessly, over “No Man’s Land” to join the attack. The first objective, Crucifix Trench, was captured by 08.15 and large numbers of prisoners were taken. The gains were consolidated but this was as far as the British got. A second advance to Shelter Wood was attempted but failed. The Germans counterattacked repeatedly throughout the day whilst bombarding “No Man’s Land” to deter further units reaching the fighting. Despite this the British held their early gains. To the right of Fricourt, the initial assault took the German front lines but could get no further. The frontal assault against Fricourt was timed for 14.30, but due to confusion some units went at 08.20 only to be shot down by a single German machine gun in Fricourt. Unfortunately, the full attack at 14.30 suffered a similar fate and failed. The attempted pincer movement around Fricourt, although unsuccessful, had the desired effect: the Germans, fearing being surrounded, withdrew that night leaving Fricourt to the British. The 7th Division’s attack on Mametz was more successful. The preparatory bombardment smashed the German artillery and a lot of the German machine guns. The attack, against exhausted defenders with low morale, swept through the front line and got to the south of Mametz by 07.45. Fifteen minutes later the British entered the village but the Germans held out until 16.45 when the Gordon Highlanders cleared them out. The British were aided by the flexibility of the British artillery; they provided direct fire support at the request of the infantry commanders on the spot. Mametz was held from then on. Both Divisions had taken horrendous casualties but they had breached the German lines. .

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3. Setting Up The Game The game uses one six sided die (1d6) and three different sets of cards: 9 Terrain, 39 British, and 34 German cards. The British and German card decks contain a mixture of strategic and tactical cards. Sets of cards are supplied in the accompanying pdf and are sized to fit commercial card covers. To start the game, shuffle the British and German decks. Do not mix the British and German decks. Next lay out the numbered Terrain cards in a three by three grid to represent the three German defensive lines and the axes of the three British divisional attacks. The trenches run top to bottom and the divisional attacks run left to right.

British Terrain Cards

21st #28 #29 #30

21st #31 #32 #33

7th #34 #35 #36

German Front Line Second Line Support Line

In World War I British attacks were supported by troops fed through from “No Man’s Land”. The Germans learnt that, once it was clear the British were attacking, a bombardment of “No Man’s Land” was very effective in disrupting the British attack. To reflect this, the Germans may bombard “No Man’s Land” later in the game. So leave space for German “Barrage” cards to the left of the Front Line cards. You are now ready to play the first turn.