CoC - Western Front - Martlet Map 3 Game 6 report

[Digits]

I will send you a pm…

[Digits]

So, we got to play on Saturday, and continuing with the Bazooka town campaign, we once more had to play table 3, The Kirch of Kirchborchen after I sprung my surprise panzer counter at the Americans last time.

I apologise for the lack of pictures but we both got so engrossed in the action, and I was too busy making notes, we forgot! Lol



The objective for the Americans being the church.

Turns out I played this slightly wrong and my patrol markers all started at the church instead of the centre of my back table, but I made an even bigger hash of the patrol phase and stupidly locked him up too quickly before I had a chance to spread my JOP’s out better.    I need to learn from that.

We both rolled a four so both had a starting force morale of 9.

The game began with a now fairly usual run of luck on Jamie’s command dice rolls…..rolling two lots of double six in a row, effectively giving him three goes before I got to roll! 😫

He used this to get a lot deployed on the table, including a mortar team and forward observer.



A fire base of two 30 cal mmg’s



A flame thrower team



And a section that immediately ran to the bridge and could have crossed it but instead took cover on the far side from the church.

The forward observer contacted his battery and a ranging shot dropped neatly up table from the church.

I then got a go and myself also then rolled a double six.   Maybe a little too eager to get some pain on the bridge section, I declared one of my supports too soon and put the flak 30 where it had a field of fire to the section.



I also put a section in the church that used both its mg 42’s to keep the bridge section dancing.

On my second phase, I also popped a senior leader and a section in the building in my bottom right.  This engaged the mmg fire base killing a couple of crew.

Jamie then brought another section to support the bridge attack, though it stayed fairly well covered on the other side of the road.   He’d opted to convert a couple guys to carry a Bazooka, which then began engaging the flak 30, inflicting a little shock.

The church section and flak put a few more kills on the bridge section, injuring the junior leader and pinning the section in place.



The barrage then started rolling down table towards me.   The first half of the church was consumed in a hail of mortar shells and the first mmg team took shock.

Before it too was neutralised by the barrage, the remaining mg team in the church finally broke the bridge section which promptly ran off the table edge….however, it turned out to be a support section and the impact on the Americans morale was negligible. 😩



TBC

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looks and sounds very cool! 👍

[CapnJim]

Looks good so far.  Waiting to see how this little fight plays out...!

[PrivateBuzz]

I’m interested and excited to see how it turns out and I played in it!

Needless to say, just like every game of CoC the battle has it ebbs and flows. I felt great at the start and then ran out of confidence when the squad on the bridge was punished.

Will my confidence come back or was the might of MG42 fire too much to bear?

Stay tuned for another episode…..

[has.been]

Looking good guys.

[Digits]

…continued.

Not letting this minor set back dictate play, Jamie then started concentrating a little fire on the MG42 sat in the building overlooking the bridge, with his 30 cals.  He also pushed his flamethrower team forward who managed to get a burst off on the same mg42 team before taking fire and going to ground beneath the bridge.

Then, disaster struck me.   The forward observer shifted the barrage further in my direction, this time completely covering the church, and the building with the mg42 team.

The artillery was too much for those holding out in the church and once their section leader was killed, along with two more of his men, the rest fled in terror, running back towards their own lines.

The same fate befell the tripod mounted mg42 team….but when they also broke….they ran straight through both the flak 30 AND the section to their rear, scaring the crap out of them all, and leaving the flak team pinned.  My force morale had plummeted to 2!

I didn’t have many options left.   My forward JOP was now free from the barrage and as Jamie had brought on his Sherman and started to roll it down the road, I felt that I may as well give the job to my panzerschreck team to see if they could get me some kind of trophy from what was looking a hopeless mission.   They rarely fail to let me down and hit the tank on its front armour, but luck was riding the vehicle, and it only suffered a little shock.

The tank returned fire, killing one of the team and sending the other running.

The barraged continued its journey towards me and the flak crew abandoned their weapon, heading for the rear.

At this point, the turn ended, and the barrage ceased.   Jamie tried to re establish the link but the fire mission was clearly required elsewhere.  In a moment of self preservation, an American section which had a relatively clear opportunity to run on the church, decided instead to pull back.  I decided I would in fact push my senior leader and the  section thst had been occupying the house to the bottom right forward to the church to force him to assault the church and maybe buy me a little last minute kudos.  Before he made for the church, he was able to rally the flak crew who actually re crewed their weapon.

In the dying embers of the game, I opted not to wait for an assault, but instead, with my section thst had now crossed the road, I tried to push them forwards to a firing position or their last remaining panzerfaust but it wasn’t to be.    I lost my last morale points to a little gunfire and I was soundly beaten! 😩😢




Once again, I had fallen in the face of another artillery barrage….and as I only rolled five ‘fives” all game, I never had an opportunity to cancel it out.  Lady Luck was not on my side, and Jamie is in the driving seat to carry the campaign.     

I have a new platoon for the next one….let’s pray for a miracle!


Well done Jamie, enjoyable game!

[Digits]

Anyways….with an eye on perhaps the next campaign, I have been doing a little more for my British Paras.   These are the printed jeeps with a few head swaps and a bit of added clutter.  Not at all bad for the £15 price tag….that’s less than one warlord jeep!

[MaleGriffin]

Lovely and I especially like your beret color!

[tin shed gamer]

You've done a really nice job on those.For the money they're fine.(The rivet counter in me is hurling abuse but that level of nerd is easily ignored  )
Mark.

[Golgotha]

Gosh, you got those done quickly and my word they look bloody marvelous!

[vodkafan]

That first pic very dramatic Digits! I imagined you being slung in a harness suspended from the washing line hanging over the table in the garden 

[vodkafan]

I have read the review now and that was very "Saving Private Ryan" for me. Great stuff. With your morale points
down to zero does that affect how many of your wounded can return, if any? What about the commander's opinion and all that stuff?
Those jeeps look absolutely ace mate which 3D print company did you patronise for those? They do the trailers too? 

[Digits]

They did yes James.   Badger 3D….pretty great quality prints tbh.

As for the game…I wasn’t worried about loosing everyone once it started seeing as I get a brand new platoon for the next table (but it has to last me for the last two tables).  Explained why Jamie pulled his section back from assaulting the church…..his unit has to carry on to the next table.

[vodkafan]

Badger not heard of that outfit..must check them out when I have some funds!