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British North Africa '40 1015 15 units/break 8
CO 8 90
HQ 8 60
3 Crusader 6-pdrs 285
2 Valentine 2-pdrs 180
7 Reg. Inf 280
3 MG 120
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French France & LC '40 1005 15 units/break 8
CO 8 90
HQ 8 60
FAO 6 15
Recce Infantry 60
6 Colonials 300
6 Regulars 240
3 MG 120
2 155mm Artillery 120


Turns 1-5
Slowed by poor C&C, the French were outmatched by their British counterparts. The British mobile wing moved swiftly up to take the ruins, ignoring the French battery fire brought down on them. The East Anglian Dragoons and the Queen's Northern Lancers drove swiftly around the middle woods, routing the reconnaissance element of the 12th Tirailleurs and two of their infantry platoons. At the same time, the British MG company seized the woods ahead of the French right wing, eliminating the French infantry support on the extreme right.
The British ceased having it all their own way as the French FAO brought down three rounds of 155mm fire on the Dragoons, destroying one platoon and seriously damaging another, scaring the bejeezus out of the British mobile wing commander. Of course, the FAO was only in position to do so because the British left wing infantry had pushed him out of the centre woods.
Turns 6-7
Ignoring the Tirailleurs holding the ruins of Çirasson, the British armour swept round to pin the French right wing, pushing the unfortunate FAO back into the middle of the 193rd infantry.
The Tirailleurs and the Sherwood Rangers on the British right got bogged down in a long firefight between Çirasson and St Lonnes, and the Sherwood advance through the central wood was stalled with casualties by concerted fire from the 193rd.
The Dragoons executed another crushing charge on the French, routing two platoons of the 193rd as the Rangers dug in and counter-attacked. In minutes, the French had gone from half-in the game to being inches short of defeat.

Turn 8
The turn started well, with French initiative fire suppressing two units, but a blunder from the Tirailleurs' commander sent all the infantry garrisoning Çirasson out towards the foe – and into open ground. The FAO failed to call in any more artillery, and the French CO was in too much of a panic to issue any intelligible orders.
The British turn started just as well, knocking out one unit and suppressing two more with initiative fire. The first company of the Rangers killed another platoon of Frenchmen and in a masterpiece of radio co-ordination, the East Anglian Dragoons and the Queen's Northern Lancers wiped out three platoons of French infantry in two bloody rounds of combat. Five units dead in one turn took the French way past their breakpoint, with only four platoons of the Tirailleurs still present outside the safety of Çirasson, and all others dead upon the field.

Um, sorry about this. It posted while I was trying to edit it - it would have been more readable otherwise.

The game was set in a fictional conflict between Britain and France inspired by a small article in an ancient issue of Miniature Wargames. Mostly because my Germans aren't ready yet, and even if they were, they're all armour

Also, this was the battle map (2x2 foot board) ' target='_blank'>http://i.imgur.com/v5Szh.jpg

British entered north, French south.

nice work Elohim, good report and map, and imaginative use of forces! This could be an adjunct to the Very British Civil War - French intervention in face of UK government (or rebel?) forces!!

Carl

Cheers! That's a plan actually, I might ferret out a copy of VBCW from somewhere...
I learnt that suppression is important and that infantry in BUAs are impossible to shift! Also, that the main reason the British armour survived was that they stayed close enough to the French infantry for an artillery barrage to be a two-edged sword.