Knock out the Radar......

Not far from Freezingham-by-the-Sea, along the coast is a chain home low radar station. 

The Germans plan to make a raid to disable the station and take some key components for analysis. A squad of paratroopers is being sent; their extraction point is on the beach below....

---oXo---

The radar installation.....

Home guard cliff patrol and observation post

---oXo---

Early in the morning, a couple of hours before the dawn..the German paratroop drop went without a hitch and they were approaching the coast and the radar installation

The German paratroops move up by a deserted pillbox...

and the across the rough fields towards the radar installation

Home guard cliff watch patrols and the radar installation sentries are wandering about

Also searching for sighted parachutists  a small detachment of regular British troops...

The paratroopers have reached the installation

two men start to cut a hole in the fence and make a noise... the sentry moves their way..

sees nothing and wanders away again... meanwhile a small group of paratroopers work their way round towards the sea to secure the extraction zone.. a sentry in the installation peers into the gloom but does not see them....

The paratroopers enter the installation compound....

One paratrooper tries to take out a sentry,

 while three have sneaked round to get into the equipment building ..

Another sentry hearing scuffles runs up towards the noise..

The charges explode in the equipment hut, the generators are out and the diesel oil is ablaze...the glow of the fire spreads a pallid glow across the area as dawn approaches...

The paratroops by the coast make their move and attack the home guard observation post...

The paratroopers enter the control room building and deal with a sentry ....

The British regulars head towards the source of the explosion guided by the light of the fire...

Two sentries deal with a lone German paratrooper...

The Germans have secured the control room building...

The operators are led off to the air-raid shelter 

The paratroopers have secured the home guard observation post and the inflatables from the submarine offshore are on their way in ...

The regulars reach the radar installation compound....

The surviving paratroopers move off and cut through the wire to get to the extraction point...

The charges in the radar control building and at the base of the tower go off....

The landing party, home guard and paratroops exchange fire

The British regulars move up at the double....

The germans fall back to cliff and then onto the beach .... losing men as they withdraw...

The paratroopers with the radar parts are taken out to the submarine, some of the landing party are left behind

The three landing party larea eft on the beach - eventually they surrender to the British.

 A successful raid by the Germans...

---oXo---

Notes:

• The German raid was a success, CHL installation knocked out and radar parts taken back for analysis.
• The Germans however they lost 2/3rds of the paratroops killed (8) and 3 men from the landing party captured.
• British losses 2 home guard, 3 sentries and 2 regulars.

Down at Malachi's Cove ....

continued form the previous post ....

Cynthia, Falconer and the german air men had arrived at Sopley farm, not far from their pick-up point at Malachi's cove. Cynthia and the Falconer considered their options. Across the moor by foot to the cove or down the road by van and smash through the road block perhaps? Would their pick-up be there on time ? Plans made they set off, it was still dark .....

Cynthia took the air men and set off across the moor, a roving patrol passed them by some distance away

Cynthia and the air men had made it across the moor; meanwhile Falconer was driving the lorry across the moor towards the coastal road...

They crossed a field as the lorry approached the check-point near the junction with the coastal road ...

Falconer got out of the lorry, leaving the engine running (to create distraction noise); while he talked to the home guard men manning the road block...

While Falconer was at the road block, Cynthia and the air men crossed the road (after a motorbike/sidecar passed by)

They were soon across the next field and getting near the coast; Cynthia waited by the fence as a two man patrol passed by ....

Falconer, once through the road block headed off to safety down the coast road. As Cynthia got ready to make the signal, the patrol came back - she ducked down behind the tank trap; the patrol stopped looked around then carried on .....

As the home guard patrol moved on, Cynthia signalled out to sea

The inflatables from the waiting U-boat headed towards the signal ...

With the inflatables on their way in, Cynthia headed back inland; as she crossed the fence she fell and let out a cry. A roving patrol nearby came over to investigate....

The wire had been cut by a couple of the U-boat crew and the air men starting making their way through. Cynthia got up but the patrol had reached her - Halt ! she didn't, shots were fired ...they soon captured her.

The shooting attracted another roving patrol, they could just see men moving by the barbed wire...

One of the airmen fired at them, the patrol returned fire and the air man went down; the patrol then opened fire on the rest of the airmen and the U-boat crewmen as they were getting into the inflatables..

Another german airman was hit and dropped to the ground; however the inflatables made their way out to sea paddling furiously; the patrol was on the beach firing at them, but missed .....

After what seemed an age the inflatables reached the waiting U-boat - they had got there (with the critical air recon photos).  Once on board the captain issued the order Dive ! Dive ! Dive !...

Just in time the U-boat slipped under the waves, as a coastal patrol boat approached ....

the patrol boat didn't see them; the U-boat set course for France....

Searching Chorley Wood .....

German aircraft radios their base: 

Hawk calling - mission completed, photos taken, aircraft hit on return leg - losing fuel, will bail out - urgent arrange pickup location Z .

Response: Message received Hawk - the Falconer will collect you - if you do not meet go to the Castle and ask for Cynthia.

Some time later: 

HQ phone call to home guard Freezingham: Parachutists seen in your area, location environs of Chorley Wood; plane down nearby - investigate.

---oXo---

Chorley Wood....

The home guard have arrived and are about to enter the wood...  four parachutists are down - the air crew ( position of air crew initially show my green circular tokens)

The air crew move slowly through the woods trying to evade the home guard patrols (and reach their rendez-vous point - a rocky outcrop) ..

One of the air crew disturbs some birds, attracting the attention of a couple of nearby home guard ...

The air crew reach their rendezvous point - the rocky outcrop;  two of the home guard are now nearby...

the air crew plan their next move ..(at this point changed over from tokens to figures, as now in a group)

as they headed towards the road, a motorcyle with side car toddled past;  one of the home guard was closing in ...

'Halt who goes there' shouted the home guard, as the air crew came into view - he fired a shot at them but missed...

Two of the aircrew went for him, pushing him over and knocking him out... (fisticuffs with rock paper scissors dice - rock looses to two paper !)...

As the air crew reached the road, two more home guard had come up moving to the sound of the gun fire...

The german officer turned and shot one of them; as they crossed the road ... two home guard were coming up - down the road in the distance they could see a motorcyle with side car moving their way ...

As they moved into the field, a man in a black trench coat stepped out and identified himself as the Falconer and ushered them into a waiting black car...

The Falconer drove like a man possessed along the field and then back through a gap in the hedge onto the road at off along at breakneck speed...

---oXo---

Home Guard to HQ: German aircrew escaped ...assisted by man in black car .. heading east towards Freezingham....  German recon plane found crashed two miles east of Chorley Wood - camera film canister not located.

---oXo---

Will the german air crew make good their escape and get the recon film back across the channel ?