Operation Ambrosia

This isn't about an obscure action that the History Channel somehow has missed, but our Mega-Game of Flames of War.  One of our lads is home on leave before being posted to the DMZ in Korea and he asked to play a huge game so we trotted out "Das Book" to guide us in playing a 15,000 point late-war game between the Americans and Germans.

Each side had victory points known only to themselves, along with defensive points that needed to be held, also known only to their respective teams.  Airpower was handled in a unique way to let the American forces be dominate without being a game breaker.

We started with infantry companies on table, along with the special "reserve company" outlined in the rules.  This allowed the thirteen players a good amount to play with from the start and the reserves kept them busy.  Our good friends at Adventure Games, 927 Oregon St, Oshkosh, WI 54902 provided the 12+ x 6' table.

Very picture heavy, enjoy the eye candy.

German right.  Volksgrenadiers with lots of Pak50s.

Part of the German reserve company.  A fast and a slow element.

View from the empty left looking at the confident Americans.

Any why not?  Three infantry companies and a ton of artillery.

The river was shallow but both sides wanted the railroad bridge.

Part of the American left looking towards the right.

We saw a lot of this template.

Calliope Shermans with their distinctive smoke trail.

Heavy armor in the center and "Das Book."

A swarm of American armor came in as reserves.  Chaffees,
Shermans and Pershings in that order.

US paratroopers advance towards the dominate ridge.

American right after coming on table.

The American advance and doomed observer aircraft.

Nein, nein, nein!!  Our only Jadgtiger.

Both sides are rightly scared to come over the hilltop.

Two reserve companies devastate the American light tanks.

More tanks come in on the American left.

The duel for the bridge goes the German way.

Tank destroyers materialize, have an unlucky round of shooting
and are quickly taken out.

Lots of burners on the American right too.

Clearing the way the surviving Elephant tests the bridge.

Pershing enter the fray and the Germans burn and regroup.

Flanked, even a StuG is a threat to a Pershing.  105mm Shermans
are destroyed.

Paratroopers continuing to advance in the distance.

But Panzer IIIs and IVs assault them on the ridge.

American left in the foreground, looking down table.

The distant assault over, the Panzers regroup on their ridge.

We should have allocated the weekend to such a game, but we only could gather the people for a day.  So after spending a total of seven hours at the shop, of which two and half were setting up and sorting troops, we quit.  Seven or eight turns in four and a half hours seemed quite acceptable given the number of troops being moved.

By the scenario the result was a draw.  The extra victory point the Germans held was not enough to claim the win.  However, in my opinion things were looking bad for the Americans.  They had taken heavy losses on the left and center without making any real progress on the right.

We (the Germans) were very lucky in that several times in the game American artillery bombardments of massed batteries did not land at all.  The aircraft were largely negated by the plentiful German AA resources.  There was however, simulated carnage and glory enough for all.  Thanks to all for playing and keeping it light throughout.  Okay, maybe I got tired of the American tank destroyers teleporting in, but there's always something.