Anticipation over the planned release of the latest version of "Great War" made us get out our figures and try the old edition. Well, it made sense at the time. 😊 We had to retool our thinking to 3rd edition Flames of War with the Great War modifications, which interestingly to me made me appreciate the changes in 4th edition more.
The Germans had a Stosstruppen company with 7.7cm guns and a pair of A7 tanks in support. The British had an elite infantry company with Vicker MGs and a full battery of 18pdrs. in support. The Germans naturally chose a night attack and with their opening move bonus started literally on top of us.
The sharp-eyed reader might notice the figure stands are smaller than the normal Flames of War bases. That's because we based our forces on the free "1916" rules and it is too early to consider (and then reject) rebasing.
The British had delayed reserves but got some on the first try. The Germans have the option to self eliminate a platoon below half strength and bring it all on again, but at their table edge. Our table was over-sized but it still would take them critical time to come forward.
With two of three companies destroyed along with one of the tanks, the game ended after turn three. All the British reserves were on table and closer to the action so given the situation it seemed proper. The German dice were abysmal. Besides the whiff on the flamethrowers, in one assault the Germans failed six of nine saving throws. One of those days. The British on the other hand, though frequently pinned, relished the trench cover and only lost one stand. It will be interesting to see what changes have been made in the new release.
The Germans had a Stosstruppen company with 7.7cm guns and a pair of A7 tanks in support. The British had an elite infantry company with Vicker MGs and a full battery of 18pdrs. in support. The Germans naturally chose a night attack and with their opening move bonus started literally on top of us.
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| The British trenchline with wire. |
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| After the German deployment. |
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| Those strange cheese boxes on treads looked scary. |
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| A skill test to cross the wire held up some Germans so others waited. |
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| Despite being pinned by artillery or MG fire the Germans advanced. |
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| A deadly flamethrower.... that hit open air (bad dice). |
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| As did the other one. |
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| The aftermath of a failed assault. |
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| One of the objectives was so close, but wire and MG fire was decisive in blunting it. |
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| One "landship" failed its motivation test and abandoned it. |
Interesting and thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered about WWI relative to early 1914 and in The Middle East. Fortunately I've not gotten out of the dugout to use some baseball jargon about it. WWII Pacific was the thing for me the past two years.
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Michael: How fast do tanks move?
Bill P.
Atmospheric and awesome terrain, sounds great!
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