Breaching the Trasimene Line - Italy 1944 - Day Two 11.00am to 1.00pm

Day Two continued...

Positions at 11.00am onwards. With 'B' company taking a battering on the left wing, the CO was relieved to hear that his air support was on its way, but wouldn't arrive until sometime after 1.00pm. Would he be able to hold on until then, considering he still faced well dug-in troops and the Tiger I and Pak 40 that had already made their mark. to try to buy time he ordered his FAO to bring down smoke and once again it arrived and obscured the view from the Axis guns on the hilltop.

'A' company and the Shermans of 2nd squadron continued to provide fire support to the Churchills and 'D' company as they moved across the river. Another Pak 35/36 was KO'd as well as the dug-in 20mm AA gun. Only the Pak 38 was offering any meaningful opposition to the 2nd squadron tanks, but this soon ended after it failed to hit anything and was KO'd by massed opportunity fire. The way was no open on the British right flank if they could move enough troops forward in time before the Axis troops could respond.

As the 1st squadron Churchills moved forward into the orchard, they came under fire from the Pz IV and dug-in Stug III. Both sides took hits as the blazed away, with one Churchill becoming suppressed. 'B' company came under murderous mortar fire and ceased to exist, with only the attached MG unit left.

With 'C' company closing in on the dug-in mortar units, the Axis CO had limited options at his disposal to deal with the British advances across the river. He ordered a platoon of FJ infantry to move to support the mortars, but could do little else whilst his other units were masked by smoke.

The 2nd squadron Churchills have little in front of them that they can see, other than the units they know are in the hilltop town.

'D' company move across the river as 'A' company join them, but the latter come under mortar fire and have a platoon suppressed (red die).

The Sherman flail has move up under the cover of the smoke to begin to try and clear the mined ford.

With 'B' company gone the 1st squadron Shermans move off the hill and into the 'shadow' of the orchard to support the moves by 2nd squadron the other side of the bridge.

The Churchills, Pz IV and Stug III knock the living daylights out of each other.

'C' company close in on the dug-in mortars by the FJ platoon arrives just in time to provide much needed support.

The Axis defences by the bridge have been breached with them falling back towards their next lines of defence. However there is little protection to their left flank which is wide open.

Positions at Midday onwards. The Sherman flail cleared the ford of mines which opened up another way across the river that avoided the narrow bridge. Knowing that air support is on the way soon to target the hilltop town, the CO orders his FAO to target the FJ troops in the open in front of the town. The artillery once again is bang on target, suppressing a FJ platoon as well as its HQ and more importantly the CO!

'A' and 'D' company continue to advance towards the orchard, but the 2nd squadron tanks come under fire from the Tiger I and Pak 40, with a Sherman suppressed. As 'C' company attack the dug-in mortars, which continue to fire regardless of the threat, the 1st squadron Churchills KO the Pz IV in the open, but then command confusion sees them advance forward into the open with one becoming suppressed.

With the Axis CO suppressed, the 2nd kompanie HQ ordered the mortars to keep on firing, leading to them KO'ing the remaining platoons of 'A' company, but they took suppression in return. The Tiger I and Pak 40 then had a field day as the KO's two Shermans from 2nd squadron and one Churchill from 1st squadron and another one suppressed. With the tide having been against them for so long, could things finally be turning in their favour?

The Churchills of 2nd squadron line up ready to attack, with 'D' company now on close support.

As the Sherman flail clears the ford, other Shermans live up to their nickname of 'Ronsons'.

Despite KO'ing the Pz IV, the 1st squadron Churchills have taking a pasting.

'C' company struggle to KO the dug-in mortars in the closely wooded and rocky terrain.

Two platoons from 2nd kompanie have been rushed forward to the houses on the hilltop to cover the exposed left flank.

The Tiger I and Pak 40 have wreaked havoc and it may be the high water point of the British attack.

The British infantry casualties begin to mount.

However the Axis casualty list is growing ever longer.

In the distance comes the distinctive sound of Rolls Royce Merlin engines and soon the RAF comes into view and not a moment too late from a British point of view.

Just after 1.00pm, the Avro Lancaster makes its approach run...

... and 'Tail End Charlie' has a great view of the suppressed Tiger I and Pak 40. Well done chaps!

As the Hurricane begins its strafing run, combined Ack-Ack forces it to abort.

Position at 1.00pm onwards. Following on from the successful bombing raid, the FAO, not to be outdone, once again calls in his artillery, leading to a FJ platoon being KO'd and the Axis CO suppressed yet again. To add insult to injury the Honey Recce unit that had moved across the bridge, assaulted the exposed FJ HQ and destroyed it in a command overrun.

As 'D' company and the Churchills of 2nd squadron advanced towards the hilltop town, they managed to suppress one of the newly newly arrived FJ platoons from 2nd kompanie. The Sherman flail managed to KO the Pak 40 and the Churchill V CS KO'd the dug-in Stug III.

With few units left and many suppressed, any chance of effective Axis resistance evaporated and those units that could, retreated, leaving the field of battle to the bloodied but unbowed British.

'D' company and the 2nd squadron Churchill close in on the hilltop town.

The right side of the bridge is firmly in British hands, with little Axis opposition to the fore.

Burning tanks litter the field of battle.

The Tiger I suppressed and unable to offer any meaningful resistance, as it has limited support.

The FJ mortars fired to the very end, despite 'C' copmany's best efforts.

The platoons of 2nd kompanie suppressed and unable to fight back.

It's been a costly battle for both sides.

The British losses (there should be another Sherman and Churchill here)

The Axis losses (there should be a Stug III here too)

With that the British has seized their objective, but at some cost, but the defence had cost the Axis dearly too.

I hope you have enjoyed these battles and AARs and if so, I will put up some post game thoughts in another post. Until then, stay safe and keep healthy!