A Little Explanation - The Photos!

I'm new to using Picasa and Hello! and I've not quite figured it out yet.

Those photos below are a tad out of order. Partly due to my inexperience with Hello! and partly due to the fact that I just sort of lost track of taking photos during the game. That sort of thing happens when you are focused on keeping your little lead soldiers from "dying" at the hands of an exceptionally aggressive enemy! ;-)

What we had was 4 Allied players and 4 German players. Starting on the German left flank, they were faced with, in order, Free French (with U.S. equipment), American Armored rifle company, Soviet Strelkoya Battalion, and lastly, a Tankovka Battalion, with infantry attached.

On our left flank was a Panzer Company, a Panzergrenadier Company, my Fallschirmjager Company, and another Panzergrenadier company.

The two left-most battles, the Free French V.S. Panzer Company, and the Americans V.S. Panzergrenadier Company ended in ties. (The French may have actually won, but it was a very near thing!)

My battle was a definite defeat, as my troops moved far too aggressively into the city terrain, where the Soviet Assault company, a part of the Strekoya Bn. out-shot and out-maneuvered them, assaulting and destroying several platoons. It was truly brutal warfare at the knife and entrenching-tool (E-tool) level.

On my right flank, the Panzergrenadier Company, supported by a Tiger 1E and two StuGs decimated the poor Soviet conscripts, then turned to aid my beleaguered Fallschirmjagers. Unfortunately, as they rushed to my aid, the last unit I had on the board decided to retire and lick their wounds.

Louis was playing opposite me, and aside from some incredible and unbelievable saves on my part, the game went very well for him. At the end though, he had a bit of a rough time when his troops ended up targeted by Panzergrenadiers on both flanks, and my survivors in the center. We called the game, but it was a clear victory for Louis, and one he can be proud of.

Gaming is a bit of an expensive hobby – though this 15mm Flames of War game isn’t so bad. Small models/figures usually equate to small prices! But the game isn’t the hobby – or rather, there is more to the hobby than just playing the game.

Building your army, the way you want it, within guidelines laid down in the rules is one part of the challenge of this hobby. Another is the actual physical “building” of the army – cleaning the metal or plastic bits of mold lines, priming the models, painting them, flocking the bases so they look nice and uniform, clear-coating them to protect them, and of course playing games with them! That’s pretty much the whole hobby.

One more ingredient makes the hobby picture complete – the people you game with.

I am lucky, as most of the regulars are pretty good guys. Of course, you always get one or two “known personalities” that make you a little crazy.

And then there are guys like me who throw their die under their truck tires on leaving the shop, and spin out to destroy the evil, and obviously defective die, because we know it can’t be our tactics! ;-)

Aside from my possessed die, all else went well, and my troops all climbed back into their carrying case, prepared for our next excursion into the warzone - whether it is the Eastern Front or the Western Front - my Fallschirmjagers stand ready!