Introduction

Operation Mercury: A GTS Narrative LP



What is GTS

The Grand Tactical Series is a company-level wargame system produced by Multi-Man Publishing, updating the older Panzer Command system originally created Victory games. It attempts to bridge the gap between purely tactical games like Advanced Squad Leader and more operational game like the Operational Combat Series, by providing some tactical considerations like lines of sight and suppression, while creating a grander approach to combat, with more importance given to combined arms and larger command and control implications. With 500 meter hexes, some of the details of tactical combat is lost and therefore the bulk of the decision making needs to be done in terms of how to use your sparse resources to most effectively engage the enemy.

What is Operation Mercury

Unternehmen Merkur (as it was officially known in German) was the first large-scale airborne operation of the Second World War, targeting the island of Crete. It has the distinction of being one of the few battles in the war that was almost entirely undertaken by airborne, gliderborne or airlanded troops, with very little sea elements being involved in the battle, bar the Luftwaffe attempting to sink Allied ships and the Allies attempting to prevent German resupply ships from arriving at the island. It is also notable for being a battle in which large mistakes were made on both sides. In the end, although the Germans did manage to take the island, the scale of losses within the elite fallschirmjägers of the Luftwaffe meant that such large airborne operations were not attempted ever again by the Germans. Resistance by local Cretans on the island was also quite effective, diverting a small number of troops to the island in order for the Germans to retain control. On the other hand, beyond the inability to use Crete as a bomber base for attacks against the Ploesti oilfields in Roumania the loss of Crete did not seriously impair the ability of the Allies to perform war within the Eastern Mediterranean, and the island was only retaken once the Germans had already surrendered, and even then the German garrison forces were allowed to keep their weapons for two weeks in fear of attacks from local Cretans.

More details of the historical situation will be provided within the forthcoming Historical Situation post.

What is this LP

This LP will be a solo, narrative-based LP of this wargame. What I mean by narrative-based is that in general, I will not be posting about every individual dice roll made within the game and instead attempt to provide a smoother narrative of the game, interstepped with some rule explanation that I will collate together for those interested. This will hopefully make it easier for people not familiar with the game to see what is happening on the ground (and also hide any mistakes I make from the more experienced players). If you had a chance to read my LPs for The Hunters, I will be attempting a similar feel to that game.

I will attempt to also provide the history of the battle, although it is likely that my own version of the battle will diverge significantly from real life. It is entirely possible that the German invasion will fail at the first stage, without them being able to secure the important airfields that they require. If that is the case, I will finish the narrative of that battle, and start a new report.

Involvement from spectators will be limited, but I will allow people to pick their hero units if they wish, although due to the scale of the game, many of the chits within the game are relatively interchangeable.

Who am I

I am Tekopo, a long-time resident of the Traditional Games subforum, and avid wargamer. I've made several (successful and unsuccessful) wargame LPs in the past, including Cuba Libre and The Hunters, of which the latter I am especially proud of. I am a relative newbie to GTS, however, so feel free to correct me if you spot any mistakes with the system.

Table of Contents

Turns:
Allied Positions
Turn 0: <0700 20th May

Battle of the Landings
Turn 1: 0700 20th May (Part 1)
Turn 1: 0700 20th May (Part 2)
Turn 2: 0900 20th May

Battle of Maleme Airfield
Turn 3: 1100 20th May
Turn 4: 1300 20th May (Part 1)
Turn 4: 1300 20th May (Part 2)
Turn 5: 1500 20th May (Part 1)
Turn 5: 1500 20th May (Part 2)
Turn 6: 1700 20th May
Turn 7: 1900 20th May
Turn 8: Night 20th May

Allied Counter-Attack at Maleme
Turn 9: 0700 21st May
Turn 10: 0900 21st May
Turn 11: 1100 21st May
Turn 12: 1300 21st May
Turn 13: 1500 21st May
Turn 14: 1700 21st May
Turn 15: 1900 21st May
Turn 16: Night 21st May

Battle of the Double Envelopment
Turn 17: 0700 22nd May
Turn 18: 0900 22nd May
Turn 19: 1100 22nd May
Turn 20: 1300 22nd May
Turn 21: 1500 22nd May
Turn 22: 1700 22nd May
Turn 23: 1900 22nd May
Turn 24: Night 22nd May
Turn 25: 0700 23rd May
Turn 26: 0900 23rd May
Turn 27: 1100 23rd May
Turn 28: 1300 23rd May
Turn 29: 1500 23rd May
Turn 30: 1700 23rd May
Turn 31: 1900 23rd May
Turn 32: Night 23rd May

Battle of the Line
Turn 33: 0700 24th May
Turn 34: 0900 24th May
Turn 35: 1100 24th May
Turn 36: 1300 24th May
Turn 37: 1500 24th May
Turn 38: 1700 24th May
Turn 39: 1900 24th May
Turn 40: Night 24th May
Turn 41: 0700 25th May
Turn 42: 0900 25th May

Allied Withdrawal
Turn 43: 1100 25th May
Turn 44: 1300 25th May
Turn 45: 1500 25th May

Start of the Evacuation
Turn 46: 1700 25th May
Turn 47: 1900 25th May
Turn 48: Night 25th May
Turn 49: 0700 26th May

Battle of Suda
Turn 50: 0900 26th May
Turn 51: 1100 26th May
Turn 52: 1300 26th May
Turn 53: 1500 26th May
Turn 54: 1700 26th May
Turn 55: 1900 26th May
Turn 56: Night 26th May
Turn 57: 0700 27th May
Turn 58: 0900 27th May
Turn 59: 1100 27th May
Turn 60: 1300 27th May

End of Organised Allied Resistance in Crete

Historical Posts:
Dramatis Personae
Prelude
The First Day
The Second and Third Day
The Fourth Day and Beyond
The Aftermath

Rules:
The Basics
Units
The Dice
Fortifications
Air Drops/Gliders
Status Effects
Assault/Opportunity Fire
Supply Levels
Victory and Evacuation

Resources:
Simple Map
Strategy Post