After advancing from their landing grounds at Woking, the Martian War Machines have finally been utterly crushed within miles of London. Rushed from all corners of the British Isles, a hastily constructed force of Landships, artillery and impervious suits have destroyed the main Martian advance, and saved the capital from a most inconvenient fate. British losses are reported as being very light.
Orders of Battle:
Martians:
6 Fighting Machines
Crown Forces:
HMLS 'Argo' - One 'Sovereign' class Land Ironclad (Flagship)
HMLS 'Lenton' - One 'Sovereign' class Land Ironclad
HMLS 'Nelson' and HMLS 'Kelso' - Two 'Britannic' class Land Ironclads
2nd Battalion, 1st Mechanized - 4 bases of MK1 'Tanks' (Contraptions)
1st Battalion, R.E. Assault Regiment - 8 bases of Heavy infantry with 'Impervious suits'
'D' 'E' and ‘F’ Batteries, 2nd R.A. Regiment - 3 bases of 18 pounder guns
3 Automatic Lorry columns - 3 Supply bases
(We only realised after the battle that, as the attackers, the Martians should have had stronger forces than the defending British, considering the wall of fire they had to brave, which is probably why they lost so badly)
Martian Objectives: Push through the British line and advance with at least two Tripods towards London.
British Objectives: Prevent the Martians from breaking out into London.
THE BATTLE:
The Martians advanced in line toward the British formed up upon the large hill to their front. HMLS 'Lenton' and Supporting R.E. Troops are not visible in this shot:
They split into two groups of three, one each attacking one flank. Here, the left group takes a pounding from the British Ironclads:
The left group forced a way into the British line, but was eventually overcome by disciplined volleys from the impervious suits and a ramming from HMLS 'Nelson':
The group to the right fared even worse, however, with one tripod destroyed and one heavily damaged very early, whilst duelling with the artillery guns, the contraptions and HMLS 'Argo':
The battle half way through. From top to bottom; Royal Engineers, HMLS 'Lenton', HMLS 'Nelson' and 'Kelso', R.A. (positioned around farm), HMLS 'Argo' and MK1 'Tanks'. At this point the only serious casualties sustained by the British were two bases of Contraptions and damage to 'Lenton':
After heavy fighting, the last of the Tripods succumb:
The battle was a resounding success for the British, who lost very few troops and utterly destroyed the Martians, who had but one Tripod remaining. Only the ‘Lenton’ took serious damage. The ‘Argo’ performed brilliantly, destroying two tripods by herself. London is safe, and the Martian invasion has been crushed.
In hindsight the British should have been given fewer Ironclads, as the Martians simply could not compete with the amount of shots they pumped out. Plus the Martian player rolled abysmally, whilst the British player couldn’t roll enough six’s…
The rules used were ‘Land Ironclads’ from Wessex games, a great set that I thoroughly recommend. The villages and trees were from Irregular Miniatures (We would have used more, but these were the only painted). The Martians are from GZG, and were built and painted by me. The Landships are mostly scratch built from toys by my good friend Andrew (though the 'Kelso' and 'Nelson' are areonefs from Brigade Models, with wheels added), and the infantry/guns/contraptions are all painted by him.
Next time I'm buying some flying machines!
I may post some close ups of the models used later, after I've had a little lie down somewhere...Enjoy!
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April 27, 2024, 12:27:27 AM
December 17, 2008, 08:26:33 AM