Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Second World War => Topic started by: Digits on October 16, 2020, 07:02:25 PM
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Welcome to our second battle in the Ardennes. This one is to hone a little which we learned in our first game, ahead of us launching the Bloody Bucket campaign.
To set the scenery for tomorrow mornings Battle, I had been send the following intel brief along with suggested layout.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/F51E838D_F67D_4203_BB81_60F05E0E089D.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/D57A1DBA_436C_46B8_9D94_28EC68F3D041.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
So, in prep for the morning, I have been able to set up the following table. I’m a few bits of fencing short....but Jamie is bringing some he just put together.
It isn’t lost on me that I will be assaulting over open ground.......it’s a bloody good job I built that tin animal shack to hide behind! Not sure I fancy my chances......but it will never be handed me on a plate!
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/4BAE917F_4A17_456A_B693_D297E7641EDB.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/0FECC208_8331_47C1_85D5_3E5C8CF2E42E.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
Sleep vell little American GI’s.....for tomorrow, ve will teach you the Fatherland is not defeated just yet!
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I am genuinely excited about tomorrow, it looks amazing.
Not nearly enough windows facing where you are coming from! Going to be tough for me to hold out against your Panzergrenadiers.
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I did wonder that.... it you specifically asked me to put the opening to the small track! I just did as asked! Lol
You can get a nice view from the wrecked barn roof.....And I can quarter turn the stables...that gives you another admittedly small window?
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That looks jaw-droppingly excellent! :o Loved the intelligence report. Am looking forward to reading the battle report from both sides and some photos please!
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Will do James...cheers fella.
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Lots of good prep. lads.
You two have done a lot in a short period of time.
Like James I want to see lots of pictures & a battle report.
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Brilliant work, that’ll be a fun but difficult assault. I do agree with PrivateBuzz though maybe one or two windows overlooking the approach if possible. That’s one of those things that can be missed easily in the excitement of setting up a game and really make the difference between a great game and a dull one. Good luck to you both tomorrow.
BALM
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Blimey, as if this ain’t gonna be hard enough! Lol
Ok, quick switch-a-roo with the other building.....luckily similar in size.....and now a total of three windows and wrecked roof!
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/24E60E8A_AC00_42FE_9B60_039F55DC8C74.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
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Table looks great, as for the windows.....
"Don't go in the buildings its a TRAP!!" lol
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Will there be extra Victory Points for using the tractor in a counter attack? lol
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Looking good.
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Cheers.
Ok, will have to do this in a few parts. Not so much blow by blow but key points and a few pics.
We tried to be all modern like and rigged a strategically placed iPad to film so Covid protecting mates could watch....but it must have been like watching paint dry (probably small table didn’t help) as we soon lost them! :?
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/BF4B0D5E_238C_4086_94A1_11301A3CB475.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
However, we ended up playing quite a brutal game, and most importantly, we learned lots of new stuff about the game.
To be continued......
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Not so much lost (Flatpack & I) more misplaced. I did feel like a kid with
his nose pressed against the window of the toy shop. Bob has made some
suggestions of what we could do next. It was good that we (?) got the
technology to work.
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I agree, there is a place for it but maybe just watching other games isn’t it.....participating....lots of opportunities!
Having my tea....pics and reporting later.....
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Great stuff looking forward to the report
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Loving those Panzer IIs..... ;) lol
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Yup...Jamie is disappointed......he thought he was painting II’s I think! lol lol lol lol
I need him to think my Panthers are Renaults for Normandy! ;)
Right, on with it. Not so much a blow by blow....I can’t remember every shot but I will concentrate on things that were either good learning experiences (or bad depending on which side you were on), moments of interest, and the general flow.
Once again, it is impossible to get across the importance of the Patrol Phase.
As you look at the table from my side, I had a lot of open ground to get across. As the attacker, I was entitled to throw a d6 to gain an initial set of markers.....lucky for me, I rolled a six! Boy, that took a lot of heat off me and as it suits my style of play (playing to the fluff anyway) I pushed hard on my left flank to get my markers forward, catching one of the Yanks markers sitting at the edge of the table, just beyond the wide track and freezing it. Long and short looking up table, by being aggressive, I had two markers on or at the road along the left hand side as I looked, and, because you have to deploy into cover, my other two Jump off markers ended up back behind the hedge near the back right of my table edge.
That meant the main thrust of my attack would be concentrated to my left.
Two of the Americans three usable markers were placed, centred in and just behind the farm courtyard and the third on my far right on his side of the main track.
The Americans won the Force morale roll so started with the initiative and a few points more morale.
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Any more tonight you tease ? ;D
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Sorry James.....we were putting house back in order as decorator finished yesterday.....going to sit and type it right now!
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So, in the early phases, the Americans chose wisely not to show their hand and remained hidden. For me, that meant I was to expect the odd surprise but my mission was clear, take the farm and as I had two jump offs on or at the road on my left, I elected to bring two squads on.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/46B4E548_319A_4450_A5E0_9AC68052BBF2.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/DD212BFA_F15A_4C2C_AC9C_F0F1A86C133A.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
This left me open to an ambush as it happens, with the first of the American support points revealing itself to me a .30 cal operating out of dug in defences at the far end of the track.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/E262050E_0178_4A45_92F5_17545935EBAF.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
My losses were not that great but clearly this needed shifting before I could safely bring everything else across the road.
In my next phase, I decided that I would bring on the first of my support choices. With Jamie having earlier presented me with my beautifully painted Mk IV’s...it would have been rude not to use one given the chance! (Btw....we had earlier decided to let the dice decide support but with a plus 5 modifier).
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Over the next few phases, he would concentrate on moving steadily toward the .30 cal, trying to dislodge it with a little HE.
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Meanwhile, I brought my leader and a panzershreck onto the table, to support the two squads in play. As it happened, they were to pretty much hold that position, directing fire for the rest of the engagement as well as rallying the tremendous amount of shock my squads were starting to receive.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/DBCC2AE9_EE3F_4C64_A743_09F5BB0F0795.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
With no enemy yet evident in the farm...he placed my right hand squad into overwatch. The left hand squad was taking fire from the .30cal, itself in overwatch.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/495C1B7D_DFBC_4A49_AEC1_CFB0E4773AE9.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
The right squad soon found themselves engaged to their fore as the first of the American squads opened up from the barn to their front.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/CAD99E91_5326_44CE_903C_280ECE93A35C.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
Things were getting serious for the left hand squad, with three of their men down.....something needed to be done about the machine gun and quickly. The advancing Mk IV had scored a few hits on the entrenchment already, and whittled the team down and with one final aimed shot, put it out of action...barely missing the American officer who had been supporting the team.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/82657977_E80F_4A2B_8A90_23293400644B.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
I had also started to receive incoming shots fired by a sneaky American sniper, firing from the little window above the lean to.
I needed to give my guys a breather to recover in time for the final assault, so decided now was the best time to reveal the last of my support choices. My forward observer tucked himself into the hedgerow to my right near the back and immediately brought in a mortar barrage to the farm without first calling for a ranging shot. It deviated slightly and came down in front and slightly to the left of the farm, pinning the sniper and one of the teams in the barn.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/735FFB8A_ECC1_40BE_948B_1940BF5AE2E0.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
The barrage was keep coming for a while, completely obliterating any lines of sight and holding the effected Yanks in place.
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Eventually, Jamie played a CoC dice, ending the turn and my barrage, but not before bringing on more assets. A squad of twelve men with their BAR taking up positions behind the hedgerow and a bazooka team that immediately occupied the entrenchment vacated by the mg team.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/40BFE6BF_EBEB_4A51_A375_BF607CAC3B74.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/03D9F069_8D19_4C3C_B872_672D4F0E7317.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
( I forgot to mention, the .30 cal broke and ran, calling into question the sanity of placing jump offs so close to table edges!)
The bazooka would score two hits on the tank as it SLOWLY (kept rolling ones and twos mor his movement!) came on. Neither shot caused the paintwork Jamie had lovingly applied to scratch!
The bazooka itself was wiped out by small arms from the german squad in the road before it scaled the fence and started toward the left flank of the farm, approaching from the out lying stable block.
I tried to call in mortar fire once more but it was delayed.....
When I finally got it on station, my frustration got the better of me and once again, I called the barrage straight in, forgoing the ranging shot, but this time, the deviation was BAD!
I managed to call it down into the field to my right instead of the gap between the farm and the right hand squad where I had been aiming, and immediately pinned my own tank!
I also JUST missed by a whisker taking out way right hand squad which itself was taking a lot of covering fire from the barn whilst taking the jump off point that had initially been set close to the table edge.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/7E9C66D9_FE57_4616_87AC_5F08C2B99515.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
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“Dummkopf !”
Over the next couple of turns, I would slowly start chasing the barrage forward trying to catch the right hand squad, but their officer directed them back towards to farm.
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By now, I had wasted a great amount of fire power trying to remove the squad in the barn and the now unpinned tank could help in trying to dislodge them
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A third American squad appeared to the left of the farm and dashed forward taking up cover behind the outlying stable.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/2F3C3C76_A48B_4990_92AA_1CE56AEF66BC.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
This seemed like an ideal opportunity to try out a little aggression and even though I had a reduced squad size of seven against their fresh twelve, I knew I could use my German trait of hitting them hard with loads of grenades before the assault which of course would even the odds......I threw the dice, conjuring up just the one grenade which I think was a dud!
Oh well...committed now, having a couple of LMG’s in the squad helped balance the odds, with me killing six of them to losing four of mine....brutal......and the remaining yanks high tailed it back toward the farm where they were gunned down by my newly arrived last squad that had also now taken up positions near my leader.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/117F43FB_396E_42C0_8BD2_42274779BDFD.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
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Really liking the report so far guys
the table and the models on it look great :-* :-* :-*
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Cheers Mac....nearly there!
The Sniper had begun firing again and had pinned the right hand squad.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/D32B1318_2577_4F78_A6FE_5EF5D09005DA.jpeg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
But the writing was firmly on the wall for the Americans as their morale started to fail them.
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And the squad occupying the barn were finally silenced....the newly arrived second officer, very quickly departing again effectively bringing the game to a close!
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Phew! Great game...for me at least! ;)
Unlike the ebb and flow of the last game, this one seemed almost one sided, as the aggressive stance the Germans adopted seemed to give the Americans pause for thought.
In reality, the American jump off points were a deciding factor. One was no use to start with, and the remaining choice was either hole up in the farm and await the onslaught, or use the right hand marker and risk losing teams every time they broke.
Mortars are double edged. Used effectively, they provide the ideal opportunity to pin half the opposition in place whilst you close, used badly, they can nerf your own side! Lol
We learned a lot from this game and feel we can now have a go at “Bloody Bucket”.
It’s a pleasure as usual to game with Jamie. Thoroughly enjoyable day.
Jamie, if you have any pics to back this up, please pop a few up.
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I wouldn't like to be the Mortar crew when the Oberleutnant gets back lol
Blimey the firefights were quick and nasty weren't they?
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Certainly nasty. I may have over simplified a few engaments tbh James, it took us a little longer than it should to play as we are still getting the rules down. We had a fair number of phases, many of which wouldn’t always end with casualties and I have just concentrated on the key parts.
However, I am fast becoming a a huge fan of this rule set...everything seems to make sense (I think we have one query over effective distances for anti tank weapons against infantry to resolve) and it plays far more “realistically” than other games I’ve played.
Combinations of covering fire, overwatch and mutual fire support are vital, as is the placement of your commanders. It would not suit power gamers as you have to be clever (and lucky) with your limited choice of support.
We are looking forward to playing out “Bucket” where support choice and choosing where to play them will be vital.
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Lovely report & great eye candy throughout.
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To be honest I can't add very much more to that report! Excellent stuff Digits.
Well, ok, maybe I can.
First off, looking at the pictures, I am honoured to be able to take part in a game that looks that good. It really does help.
Secondly, I kept forgetting the tank as it was camo'd so well against the ground.
Learning points:
Do not deploy a small team next to a table edge firing across. If you get to a stage where you are broken, then leaving the table is a very real danger.
Letting Dave roll a 6 at the start to decide how may free moves he gets in the patrol phase is always going to end badly.
Sitting back is ok to watch and see where the attack develops, but when playing a very aggressive opponent you have to respond quite quickly or be overwhelmed. Particularly with Pzgrenadiers against you. I misread the danger from his patrol phase and the speed of his deployment.
I am going to have a hard time of Bloody Bucket, but I am now very much looking forward to it.
How do you resolve fire of AT weapons (Schreckls, bazookas etc) vs infantry. What is the range that should be used for the to hit roll?
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Looks like you had that best mix in a wargame, reasonably historically accurate and fun, good for you :)
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All looked good to me, as I watched the first hour of the game live.
Table and figures looked great btw.
Digits, maybe you should stick to anti-tank weapons instead of mortars ? lol
Also, well done with the technology, as we now know we can stream games live. There maybe a future in this.
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Yup, give me a good old RPG any day of the week! Lol
Actually, if you can get it on target, the mortar could be pretty useful, especially with that 18” square area of effect.
The other thing I learned, 1 point for a little hard cover isn’t too bad. I know his teams bolted from the tables edge eventually, but that .30 cal was around for quite a while thanks to the cover.
Can’t wait for the next game.....super rules set.