A Score To Be Settled
by Mike Smith

On turn 1, a Canadian recce patrol, consisting of scout cars and light tanks with attached tank destroyers, ran into an ambush when they advanced into Villons les Boissons, a hamlet straddling the main north-south road. A lone platoon of armored panzergrenadiers (later identified as mystified stragglers of 21st Panzer Div) heroically stood their ground, firing their Panzerfausts from covered positions to ambush scout cars, light tanks and tank destroyers in close combat. Royal Canadian Engineers were called in on the next turn and the valiant grenadiers were eliminated in fierce hand-to-hand close combat.

As elements of the spearhead, made up of the 27th Canadian Armored Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers) and the North Nova Scotia Highland Infantry, fanned
out across the countryside straddling the main north-south road they were again surprised by anti-tank fire from a wooded position west of the main road. The antitank guns, few in number, were unable destroy many Canadian tanks, and were quickly put out of action with a few well-placed salvoes of high explosive ammunition. These gunners, manning Pak 88mm anti-tank guns, were later determined to be from the 200th Panzerjager Battalion. of the 21st Panzer Division.

Over on the Canadian left flank, a German armored column, consisting of approximately a battalion of Pz IV tanks with infantry riders appeared in an attempt to flank the Canadian force. The Panzers dismounted their infantry in an orchard on the east side of Buron and moved into a defensive formation, blocking the main road approach to the town. An advancing Canadian element, consisting of light tanks, towed and self-propelled anti-tank guns, armoured cars and infantry advanced to a small woods just east of Buron, the brigade+s first objective. Accurate German mortar and heavy artillery fire caused heavy casualties among the
light vehicles and anti-tank guns. Salvoes of Canadian 25 pounders hit the outskirts of Buron and eliminated some Panzer IVs.

Long range shots were traded between Sherman tanks, northwest of Buron and German panzers outside he town. Several Shermans fireballed before the 17
pounder Fireflys were able to strike back. The sudden appearance of "Jabos" (Typhoon ground support aircraft) caused some concern to the German Kampfgruppe commander in Buron, who looked on helplessly as the Allied aircraft began their strafing and rocket attacks on his panzers, caught out in the open. But luck was not with the RAF today. A Wirbelwind quad 20mm anti-aircraft unit opened up and threw enough of a scare into the pilots to cause them to completely miss their targets, or abort their runs.

The appearance of a German Brumbar (150mm IG) near Buron brought cries of "Tiger tank" from some of the less experience Canadian combatants, but a sniping flank shot by a distant Firefly put this platoon out of business permanently. Dust clouds on the main road north of Franqueville were seen by forward observers, indicating the movement of possible German reinforcements into the battle area.

Both sides called a midnight truce at this point, after completing 17 turns of combat, and vowed to finish the battle at another time.

CANADIAN Order of Battle (editor: if this is Greek, see Mike Smith at next CGC meeting)
North Nova Scotia Highlanders: 1 Inf Bn; 1 Bty 17pdr AT; 1 Recon Sqn; 3 HMG
Sqn
Artillery Support: 3 Bty 25pdr How; 1 Bty NGFS (HMS Belfast)
Sherbrooke Fusiliers: 1 Arm Rgt; 1 Coy SP AT (Achilles - 17pdr)

GERMAN OOB
21st Panzer Div: 1 PzGren Plt; 1 Pak 88mm ATG
716th Infantry Div: 3 Inf Plt
12th SS Panzer Div: 1 Bn Panzer IV-H, 2 Bn Pzgren, 3 Bty 150mm How; 1 Bty
100mm How

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