Imagi-Nation Warm-up

On the eve of a new Imagi-Nation mini campaign we decided to play a small game of BAR (Batailles de l'Ancien Regimes) to refresh our knowledge of the rules.  For my part, my Prussians have seen lots of table action but very rarely with me.  So I provided one side while the Imagi-Nation forces of Prockistan and Rondovia joined forces.  They had three 60 figure battalions, three 48 figure battalions, a medium and a heavy gun, a cuirassier and dragoon squadron.  My Prussians had four 60 figure battalions and two 48 figure battalions, a heavy and a battalion gun, a cuirassier and a frei korps squadron.  All units were rated veteran.

Slopes were gentle, woods were light (formed cavalry prohibited) and the stream cost a d6 of movement.  Being a card driven game, each side could activate two infantry or the two cavalry elements on the turn of a card.  The CnC would decide who on his side.

Initial deployment.  Prussian battalion gun out of sight on the left.

The "enemy" looking at us from their left.

Both sides stepped off with us in echelon from the left.

BAR is a quick and decisive game with lots of action.

On our right the line was anchored by the woods.

No substitute for hot dice.  Artillery hits need a 5+ to save, no
problem for Todd today.

Things are getting thin on this end.  On the other
I am engaged in a melee that I should win.  But didn't.

Still got the hot dice Todd!  Musketry needs a 4+ to save.  Mind
you, these are atypical results for Todd.

As the enemy starts to withdraw our cavalry moves forward.

The Rondovian commander sent a message to his subordinate telling him to run away.  At the time it made sense.  A third of their infantry had routed, the heavy gun was eliminated, and the melee should end in a Prussian win.  But of course as the message arrived the gods of dice decreed that not only would my Prussians get pushed back, but that they would rout, leaving the Prussian left flank open.  However the moment passed and the Prockistani troops grudgingly withdrew.

So in the end a Prussian win, though at the time we quit casualties were pretty even.  Both sides had one fresh unit and the Prussian cavalry was ready to act, the Rondovian cuirassiers having taken a serious artillery hit earlier.

The foundation of our mini campaign will be C. S. Grant's booklet, "The Wolfenbuttel War."  Looking forward to starting it next month.

FoW Afrika

The 8th Army and Deutsches Afrika Korps met again to vie for control of the desert in a Flames of War 4th edition match-up.  This time with a massive 150 points per side.  In order to reach the requested total I had to dip into my Brits from a more lush climate.  Our host was Gnome Games East in Green Bay, WI.  They have several tables available upstairs and a wealth of terrain boards.

The mission drawn called for 40% of our lists to be held off table as random, delayed reserves.  The British had a tank (Crusader) formation and a motor infantry formation with lots of 25 pdrs and 17 pdrs in support.  Told you I had trouble getting to the required points.  Todd and I had the first move...

Looking from my left.  25pdrs, tanks, 17pdrs and distantly infantry.

And from the right.  Some 6pdrs and the infantry.

Facing 88s and Marders with superior ranges, the Crusaders keep
out of the line of fire behind the 17pdrs.

Lots of DAK infantry surrounding the distant objective.  My 6pdrs
have garnered a lot of attention and are about to run away.

Bombardment largely took out the German 88s and a couple of the Marders, leaving towed artillery support to just 3.7cm guns and 10.5cm artillery.

Significant reserves comes in all in the same spot.  Good place
for an air strike.

In the tank duel that followed our dice were better than theirs though neither side enjoyed hot shooting.  We could only bail them for the most part but the Germans seemed reluctant to remount.

Some lucky shooting kills the Tiger and tanks and aircraft bail
a bunch of Panzers.

From our reserves come Grants and American M10s,

By and large both sides got their delayed reserves exactly where they would have wanted them.  They weren't however exactly eager to get on table.

More 25pdrs on the same flank, making life difficult for the DAK.

With the Panzers, Marders and Tiger neutralized we did not play out the over-running of the unsupported infantry.  Given some of the Germans got "lost" and our start delayed, we played nine turns in about two hours.  Guess we're getting the hang of the rule changes in 4th edition.

Thanks Todd, Bob and Todd for playing, and Gnome Games for hosting us.

Greene vs. Cornwallis Pt.II

Having rallied from the previous tactical defeat, the redoubtable General Greene  prepared to clash with the forces of General Cornwallis once again.  Each side had received reinforcements since Guilford Courthouse so this promised to be the biggest battle.  Yet.

Having blocked the valley they waited as the cavalry and Light Bobs identified their position and sent word back to Cornwallis.  Each side was allowed some troops to enter from off-table with the rebels having more options.  Rules are Guns of Liberty 2nd Edition, tables adjusted for 25/28mm figures.

Looking at the Rebel position from the light brigade.

The Rebels could have had a 2' set on but kept back.  The lights
were to pin but keep the cavalry intact for the pursuit.

The stream is impassable for wheeled pieces as the advance begins.

The newly raised (by me) Queen's Rangers appear on table.

Our left is mostly Loyalists, stiffened by a grenadier detachment
and a light gun.

We press on the right.  Von Bose, Queen's Rangers and Highlanders
wait to engage as two medium guns open fire.

It is mostly American militia facing the Loyalists.  A fair fight.

Our lights engage the best American units as more maneuver.

The loss is heavy on the left, made worse by the appearance of
American cavalry.

The Yanks charge over the fence!

60th Royal Americans (had to use my F&I figures) are shaken.

Our cavalry and mixed brigade prepare to strike.

Things go back and forth on the left.  The cavalry is easily repulsed
but an ominous dust cloud appears along the road off table.  Yellow
slips represent disorder.

Taking an extra turn to form line of battle, the French and Americans
move on table.  Late, but a welcome addition to Greene.

Likewise, Cornwallis' "Guards" brigade moves on.  They were
supposed to arrive elsewhere but were redirected while off table.

Although the cavalry was again unsuccessful, everywhere else
the Americans are routing or recoiling in the face of our steady
vollies.

So once again General Greene is forced to break off and retreat.  Had things held better on the main table the flank march might have been decisive.  But in the event our planned two session game was ended in one.  This time I believe the pursuit would have been a bit more vigorous as we had untouched and fresh troops in position, whereas the fresh rebels and French were out of position. 

Each side enjoyed success at times and the sadness of failure.  So a good game in that respect and better in that law and order was preserved for the Empire.  (Cue the music.)

Italian v. Americans - 1943

Another attempt at Flames of War 4th Edition.  This time a friendly "grudge match" between Paul's mid-war Americans and my Italians.  Using the mid-war point system and new Avanti book for the Italians, we agreed upon 150 points.  I came up short with my Italians.  Probably could have made it but between things I own but not included in the book and things needing rebasing (yuck!) I had to incorporate a small platoon of Afrika Korps panzers.

Italians had two formations, one of "tanks" and one a Bersaglieri Weapons company.  The Americans had everything in one armor formation.  Shermans, Lees, Wolverines, Priests and armored infantry.  Oh boy!

Initial deployment with "Spearhead" moves made.

American halftracks with 75mm guns, Wolverines with 76mm guns,
mortar halftracks and the command Shermans.  And that's just in
the foreground!

Italians put the Bersaglieri and Panzers on the left, "tanks" on
the right.

Italians win the roll-off and have the first move.  Hits and kills
are exchanged.  The Italian 88s continue their reputation as killers.

The village/town annoyingly split the field so my two 88s, in which I depended upon so much, were limited in their field of fire.  Most of my other weapons couldn't kill American tanks.

On my left a cat and mouse game between Lees and Priests and
the Axis forces.

The mission is Annihilation, so the Italians are very aggressive.

This is a fight we will lose, but it will hopefully take a long time.

A vicious firefight develops in town, that with the 100mm
artillery, the Italians are winning.

On the left the panzers are dead or run off but the Italians have
given their licks and hold on.

Sadly, we had to declare it a draw.  The Americans could/would not advance in the face of the 88s and the Italians had shot their offensive bolt.  Losses on both sides were heavy.  Aircraft weren't particularly effective.  Italian AA helped hold off the P-40s and the Falco isn't much of a ground-attack plane.  Maybe next time I'll pay to upgrade to a Stuka.

Blitzkrieg Commander II Intro Game

In a special introductory game, three players new to Blitzkrieg Commander II and three experienced but not recently players gathered to get sand in our shoes.  Set as a early 1943 game, we had roughly 4000 points of Germans and Italians against British.  You can read the remarks of Der Alte Fritz on his blog here.  The game was set with four turns of recon so the Germans and Italians dutifully drove armored cars on table looking for trouble.

BKCII uses 2d6 to activate formations and was significantly modified to accommodate our tastes for the game.  Who wants to see their pretty toys just sit and do nothing?  The game was played lengthwise on a 16x6' table.

Such a peaceful arena as the recon drives on table.

My AB-41 armored cars with German SdKfz 222s in the distance.

We engage in a lively duel with Marmon-Herrington armoured cars.

 We had three full turns of recon work, then on the fourth turn each side drove their heavy units on table.  Heavy being a comparative term for the Italians.

Now that's a heavy!  A Tiger heads some Mk. III tanks.

We used dust clouds till spotted.  In this case a formation of M14
tanks followed by Semovente self-propelled guns.

The Germans waste no time coming into action.

Initially things seemed to go our way.  The British armoured cars had to give up ground in the face of all the armor, we didn't find any ambushes, and the Germans started exacting a heavy toll right away.  At first it seemed we were "just" facing Crusader III tanks with 6 pdrs as their main gun.

My M14s were willing to fight Crusaders till the Grants showed
up.  Time to play "chase me, chase me."

Oops.  After some poor shooting on my part and some average to slightly better by the British I could do the math.  Twelve shots to twenty-four, with them having a better gun and needing more hits to kill.  So the Italians beat a hasty retreat back to nearly their starting positions.

Grants seem to be particularly nasty in BKC II.

More Germans I hope.

Back at one of the starting ridges.

 Much like the back and forth movements of Rommel and his adversaries across Africa, so too our forces went forward and back over the same ridges all day.

The Crusaders advance ahead of the Grants while on the other
flank more are being shot to pieces by the Tiger and company.

Too ambitious in the end, engaging without the Grants.  All the
Crusaders are quickly burning.

 I joked about drawing them onto our line of anti-tank guns, not really knowing what was in the German arsenal.  As it turns out I was right.  A pair of 88s and the panzers made short work of the Crusaders, even though they were in a good hull-down position.

You can see the reorganized Italians and formidable array of Germans.

A Stuka appeared and help take out part of the other Crusader batch.

Some Hurricanes returned the favor, I think killing a panzer.

With the Crusaders eliminated the Germans and Italians begin
to pursue.  Germans aided by their superior command ratings
pull ahead.

Over the top boys, charge!

My might Falco CR-42 finally puts in an appearance.

And is promptly shot down.  Can truck mounted Bofors really
fire on the move?

A nasty surprise awaits us.

And promptly takes out a panzer company.

Being smarter than the average rabbit, my Semoventes use the
depression and move to town and our exit path.

So much wreckage strewn across the field.

Axis players are Jim, John and myself; British players Bob, Bill
and Keith.

The Axis mission was to exit along the road next to town (away from the Italians).  At point we wondered, "where did the Tiger go?"  Slipped off table with its escorting Panzers.  So with most of the British armour destroyed and our tanks moved or moving off table, an Axis victory was declared.

There are things about Blitzkrieg Commander that I really like and other aspects that are beyond goofy.  We'll keep tinkering with it and see if something can be created that play to the system strengths and minimize the impact of weaknesses.  So we'll just have to play more often!