The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Allies landed in Normandy to begin the liberation of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to improve their position by exploiting a temporary vulnerability in the German defenses to the west of the city of Caen. After one day of fighting in and around the small town of Villers-Bocage and a second defending a position outside the town, the British force retired largely intact.
Under the command of Brigadier William "Loony" Hinde, the 22nd Armoured Brigade group reached Villers-Bocage without serious incident, but as its lead elements moved beyond the town on the morning of 13 June they were ambushed by Tiger I tanks of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.
In fewer than 15 minutes numerous tanks, anti-tank guns and transport vehicles fell victim to the German force, the vast majority being destroyed by SS-Obersturmführer Tiger Tank Ace Michael Wittmann. With reinforcements arriving the Germans then launched an assault on the town.
Although this was repelled, after six hours Hinde decided to withdraw his force to a more defensible position outside Villers-Bocage.
| British | German | |
| Division 1 |
6 Squad Bases 1 Sherman Firefly *(See Special Rules) |
3 Tiger 1 Tanks 1 Whittman’s Tiger 1 234/2 Puma *(See Special Rules) |
| Division 2 |
5 Squad Bases 2 6pdr Antitank Gun |
5 Squad Bases 2 Sdkfz 251 Halftracks |
| Strategy Decks | Morale 1 British Reinforcements 1 |
Artillery 1 |
| Starting Strategy Cards | - | - |
| Operations Cards | Massive Confusion [rounds 1 - 5] | Tank Ace Elite Tank Crew |
| Deployment Zone | Div. 1: deploys on any green hex on Map 22B all vehicles facing Northwest. Div. 2: deploys anywhere on Map 7A & 26B. |
Any grey hex on Maps 8B, 9B or 30B Wittman’s Tiger on either grey hex on Map 30B. |
| Starting Initiative |  |
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| Objective |
British victory depends on the 7th Armored Division’s capacity to achieve a breakthrough [i.e. hold Villers Bocage and Hill 213] without suffering undue losses. The breakthrough move was bold and had the potential to expose the flank and encircle Panzer Lehr but more importantly force the German’s to move in daylight, highly vulnerable to allied air attack. Major victory:
Minor victory:
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German strategic victory requires containing the British breakthrough and Therefore the Germans Achieve Victory if they:
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| Rounds | 10 | |
| Actions per turn | Round 1-4 = 4 actions Round 5-10 = 3 actions |
Round 1-4 = 2 actions Round 5-10 = 3 actions |
| Reinforcements | Turn 5: Entering from any of the green hexes on the southern edge of the Map board during the Action Phase. 4th COLY C Squadron 2x Sherman M4A1 Tanks 1x Sherman Firefly 2x M5 Stuart Tanks |
Turn 4: Beginning of Status Phase placed on any of the grey hexes marked “R” Panzer Lehr Regiment 130 XLVII SS Panzer Corp Element 2 4 Squad Bases - 8 Regular Infantry - 5 Elite Infantry - 1 Officer - 1 Machine Gun 4x Sdkfz 251 Halftracks 3x Panzer IV 1x Jagdpanzer IV |
| Special Rules | 1. Armored Cars: The Puma and Daimler Cars have effective road bonus 1/3 Road Movement. 2. Hull-down: Tanks receive + 2 defense dice for hull down defensive positions [i.e. bridges, defilé approaches to crests and sunken roads between bocage Maps 24B, 23B & 22B]. 3. Partial Hedgerow: hexes are passable to vehicles but offer same cover to infantry. 4. Hedgerow Joins: Hedgerows are continuous joining boards 25B and 22B. 5. Flank and Rear Attacks: Tanks and anti-tank weapons receive one re-roll when attacking a tank’s flank, two re-rolls when attacking a tank’s rear-side. This rule does not apply to Armored Cars, Bren Carriers and Halftracks 6. Wittman’s Tiger: The “Tank Ace” and “Elite Tank Crew” cards apply only to Wittman’s Tiger Tank. 7. Cromwell’s: +1 to forward Movement, pay -4 for turning 180 degrees, -4 when reversing 8. Stuart Tanks: Are M5s with a Movement value of 7. 9. Fireflies: Sherman Fireflies have a Range of 8 and Attack of 12 against vehicles. 10. River on Maps 26B, 27B is counted as road. |
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