Haileys' T-34s move out in the typical "Hen and Chicks" formation. The early war T-34s had poor vision, and one radio per company (roughly!) so the company had to keep each other in sight to see what was going on in a battle.  

Rays' recon moving from cover to cover. Later in the game, after Louis has destroyed the majority of my platoons, these lads will show up on my left flank and finish off Louis' last platoon of infantry on that side. 

More of Haileys' troops. Note the Kommisar, pistol at ready. (Light blue hat.) He will "shoot" an infantry stand if they ever fail a morale test. "Not one step backwards commerades!" 

More of Bens' Free French - Stuart tanks.  

Bens' Free French, using American equipment, prepare to exact their revenge on the fascists for years of occupation.  

Haileys' guns, infantry, and KVs. At the end of the road you can just make out my "borrowed" T-34. On the left side, across the table, is a Panzer Grenadier company that will end up destroying Haileys' infantry and most of her tanks.  

Dougs Americans charge up through the pig farm. They will fight to a tie game against a tough German opponent. 

Haileys KV-1s prepare to ruin my Beutepanzer 34s' day. They missed, thankfully - but there were a few tense moments where I was sure she was going to crack the "borrowed" Sov tank with its' big brothers guns. 

A view over the heads of the Soviet artillery, which was as 'snookered' by terrain as my own. In front of it, you can just see Louis' troops preparing to make a heroic charge. My troops can just barely be seen in the woods across the table.  

My mountain guns take cover in the woods. Unfortunately, the terrain was so dense, my spotters only got two good targets the entire game.  

A Beutepanzer 34 prepares to assault into the Soviet city, alone. It's a captured T-34. It managed to kill one little Stuart tank before being surrounded and mobbed to death.  

A Tiger sits on a cobblestone road and holds the entire right flank. 

Stand by for Incoming!

David over at AIM is sending me a couple of Hurricanes in my recent order! Yeah! I'll be building them and posting photos as I go! Now to do a little research. Since I'm currently collecting Desert Rats for Flames of War, these two aircraft would make a wonderful addition to my collection - if I can find out when they were used, and where! Gotta keep it historical!

The final product will look something like this! 

Here are all the 'bits' - tiny, but very well molded! 

The first page of the instructions - these are easy to follow and make sense.  

Raw DFS, prior to building and priming. 

A DFS-230 in the bag, fresh from Cold Wars and Davids AIM stall there.  

Armaments in Miniature (AIM) - a short review

David Schmid has been producing some of the finest 15mm and 20mm resin aircraft I've seen for a few years.

I really didn't have much interest in 15mm aircraft, until I started playing Flames of War. In FoW play, there are short, but effective rules for using aircraft.

Initially many of us just bought the "15mm" diecast planes, pre-painted - at $9.99 per vehicle. Pick up three planes, and you're ready to attack. The scale for these die-cast models are often wrong, and it looks a bit odd on the table with true 15mm figures and vehicle models.

Then last year at Historicon, I stopped by the AIM stall in the dealer hall. I spotted German gliders in true 15mm, and they were incredible!

I looked long and hard at all of Davids products, and I have to say they are some of the most beautiful and accurate I've ever seen. A nice touch is that they are all in true 1/100th scale (15mm) unlike the pre-painted diecast planes, which range from 1/87th scale to 1/110th scale.

The aircraft come in a small plastic bag with a stapled paper/light cardboard top. Inside are all the "bits" you need to build the model, and some great instructions. The models are molded from very clean molds, and require very little prep work as far as cleaning goes.

David also now sells scale decals!

I painted my gliders up and was ready to slap them on the table - until I found out that you need three gliders per platoon! I had only purchased two. My friend Bill picked up another one for me from Cold Wars this year, so I can now land a full platoon properly. Just three more gliders and my FallschirmjagerKompanie will be able to air assault just like the book says!

Another thing that David produces, which is absolutely brilliant, is the Terrain Clearing Stand. You can take either your resin aircraft or your diecast models and have them posed in attack posture for a more realistic display. This can be very useful to a Wargamer in plotting line of attack - which can directly affect an opponents attempt at firing anti-aircraft during your attack phase!

One issue that a person should be aware of with the Terrain Clearing Stand is that sometimes you have to tighten the screws on it, if you are using it with diecast aircraft, as they are heavier and tend to want to spin now and again. As always, read the manufacturers instructions and save yourself some heartache.

You will see David at the Conventions, if you don't attend any of the Cons, you can always pop in to AIM on the WWWeb and buy some of these beautiful models online. Got PayPal?

NEW!!! David has sent me a list of his new releases for next month! Have a look at these treats!!

The DFS-230B-1 with suppression machine guns and gunner, Hurricane IIC with 4 x 20mm guns, Hurricane IID with 2 x 40mm guns, A-36A Apache dive bomber, P-51A fighter/fighter bomber and a Japanese Army Ki-51 Sonia ground attack aircraft. In addition David sells proper scale decals for the DFS-230B-1 and Ki-51 Sonia. Next month he will be getting decals for the other models. More as I get the info!

My Hezters assault, alongside my infantry. I forgot to roll my "tank terror" - and when I did, my lads failed. They fled back to cover, while the Hetzers moved out to meet an untimely end.  

I make it to my left flank objective - but his infantry is right there to assault. I don't have enough force to hold it, so fall back in my "stormtrooper move." 

Louis Naval Infantry, somewhat chewed up, assault my Marder IIs. 

Another shot of the initial setup on my left flank. 

The Recon stalls - directly in front of a 57mm Anti-tank gun. This would not end well! 

A pair of recon vehiclse, SdKfz-222s, threaten Louis' right flank - holding my left flank! 

My initial setup on my right Flank. Hetzers lead the way, with a platoon of AA towed by Horchs and four Marder IIs on their left flank. Fallschirmjager infantry follows close behind the armor. 

Louis' IS-2s, initial setup. You can also see the trucks his Naval Infantry are riding in - just behind the woods, past the church. 

Doing the “Do Over” - a Flames of War After Action Report

Louis and I ran our Do Over game with the same rosters and troops and the same terrain; or at least as close as we could recall.

We began setting up, and my poor communication to Louis had him thinking we were going to imitate our initial set up as well. When I placed a unit in a spot different from where it had gone in our original game, he realized that I had miscommunicated and began changing his placement as well. As it stands, he only changed one units position – the IS-2 Heavy Tank platoon moved to my right flank instead of the center of the board. After all, that’s where my Marder II and Hetzer platoons were. In fact I heavily weighted that side of the table with troops!

To start with, the company commander Kampfgrupped – that is, he took a squad from each of the FJ platoons, then a single HMG from the HMG platoon. This gave him nearly a full platoon of his own. They, along with the remnants of the HMG platoon were to secure the left flank.

On the right flank, two FJ platoons, a light anti-aircraft platoon, and the tank platoons would move onto the objective.

The game started off quietly, but we knew it would turn bloody.

I marched my troops at the double (moved double) and parked them all behind trees or other cover so they couldn’t get shot. (Troops that move at the double take twice the hits when fired upon!)

Neither of us had much shooting in the first turn, and I failed to get air support. My demon die proving that I can’t roll what I need when I need it, once again!

Turn two saw a bit more give and take. I lost two AA guns and crews, as they were still “driving” up to where I wanted to set them up.

My HMG and the CO hammered a platoon of infantry on the left flank

The recon platoon moved to threaten his mortars.

On his turn, his naval infantry assaulted my Marders, but failed to accomplish a destruction. Instead one crew “bailed” on me. I also lost a Hetzer and a Marder II – death by IS-2. The monsters lumbered closer.

His platoon on my left flank moved some lads forward and covered their movement with some HMG fire.

His scouts appropriately attacked my recon platoon with some light arms fire, doing no damage. He moved a pair of AT guns towards those threatening armored cars, but couldn’t get a clear shot – plus, the guns were still limbered.

On my turn I retaliated on the right flank by moving my surviving Hetzers and Marders into cover so the behemoths wouldn’t see them. The light AA guns set up and fired on his naval infantry, along with some infantry who had just moved onto the objective. I now owned one objective! His naval infantry platoon was decimated from all the fire and decided to pull back.

My armored cars moved and shot some more on the right flank, killing his Artillery Observers, while the CO and his lads moved up under cover of fire from the HMGs on that flank, pinning the Soviet infantry platoon there.

On Louis turn, he hammered my HMG with his Heavy Mortars, but had no effect. His infantry remained pinned, and he unlimbered his AT guns. The IS-2s fired up some infantry and killed another Hetzer while moving closer yet.

The Hetzers and Marders made a sacrificial play, moving into the open to get a side shot against the IS-2s, while my infantry moved to assault. Unfortunately, the infantry failed their “tank terror” roll, staying in place instead. I killed his support vehicle and bailed out one IS-2 with the fire from the Hetzers and the Marder. The close proximity of two infantry platoons armed with panzerfausts caused him some concern.

I also was able to move the CO and his lads up onto the objective. I now owned both objectives and it was game over.

We both learned important lessons in support. Tanks can’t do it all by themselves. Infantry and tanks are mutually supportive. It was a good game, and as always, Louis was a great opponent.

Do Over!

Louis and I ran a Late War Flames of War battle last Friday night.

My force consisted of Company HQ platoon(plt), 2 full pltsof Fallschrimjager, 1 HMG plt, 1 light anti-aircraft plt (3 X 2.8cm Flak 38s with Horchs pulling them), 1 plt of 4 Marder Iis, 1 plt of 4 Hetzers, and limited air support.

His forces consisted of 2 Soviet Infantry plts (truck mounted), 1 anti-aircraft MG plt, 1 heavy mortar plt, 1 scout plt (very cleverly mounted in a “borrowed German half-track!), and 1 plt of 5 X IS-2 (Joseph Stalin) tanks.

The battle was purely ugly.

For starters, you have to realize that Louis and I are evenly matched when it comes to demon dice.

We both roll some terrible die.

With 5 heavy armored monsters prowling slowly across the board, my focus on the objectives of the game was lost. I focused instead on destroying the beastly IS-2s.

Louis very wisely chose to light up one of my infantry platoons, and even assault it with mixed results.

My poor Hetzers hid in woods and attempted to fight the IS-2s from the front – unbeknownst to me, I couldn’t even cause a “bail out” result from the front with the little Hetzers. Still they fought bravely, and two of them managed to get a flank shot, while bogged in a stream, and killed one of the behemoths, right before the rest of the IS-2s lit them up like a pile of old wood on Guy Faulks night! It was not a pretty sight – to me!

On one side of the table, his mortars, scouts, and infantry platoon did battle with one platoon of Fallschirmjagers with the company commander and light mortars attached. On the other flank, a Fallschirmjager platoon and the Marders slugged it out with his infantry squad and anti-aircraft MG platoon. The Marders earned their points at several junctures, by killing off a pair of his AA/HMG trucks, pinning his infantry platoon, and finally killing another IS-2.

The FJs managed to come into contact with one of the leviathans and put a few panzerfausts into it’s top armor, popping it like a cheap bottle of wine, before withdrawing to cover of the village around the objective.

End of the game came after a very nice mortar attack killed most of my FJ platoon on the right flank, to include the company commander. I then had to roll morale for the entire army, and 2 units failed and left the table. The game ended a tie, and once again, both forces retired to lick their wounds, and prepare for the next onslaught.

Saturday is our “do over” game. We will change nothing, except our deployment. I won’t waste my Hetzers in a head-to-head battle with IS-2s again!


Camera: Louis has a digital. I'm going to email him and remind him to bring it to record our slugfest. I'll also bring my camera - which appears to be working now - though time will tell.

Pirates!

WizKidsGames has another winner on it's hands; Pirates of the Crimson Coast.

For $3.99 you get at least two ships, and maybe a reef, maybe an island, or maybe a fort. Also included are two of the smallest d6 you'll ever see, as well as the rules, and some gold game coins. (Not real gold, not legal tender, except in the game!)

You punch out the ship pieces and put the ships together. Each has a value depending on its stats – like the number of masts it has – which will equal the number of canons the ship has – the amount of cargo it can carry, and it’s speed.

You build a fleet, usually around thirty-five points (ships run from 5 points to nearly 20 points per vessel) and then you roll to see who places terrain – like islands!

After all the Islands are placed, each player puts gold out, face down on each island.

The object of the game is to move your ships from your ‘home island’ to the islands with gold, explore them and collect as much gold as possible.

The player with the most gold at the end of the game wins.

The game is over when the last ship with gold lands at it’s home island – or when one team can no longer move it’s ships. If you’re ships are sunk or derelict, you’re out of the game! At that point, count the gold on the home islands, and the player with the most wins.

A snarky way to play this game is that whoever wins keeps all the gold they collected!

My daughter loves this game, my wife even plays it - she says the little one cheats!

It's pretty easy to play, and games don't take too long, so you can get a few games in during an afternoon.

For a card game, it's really a hoot! Almost, but not quite, "cardboard crack."

An Odd “What-if” Battle

On Saturday afternoon we played Flames of War. We based the game in Russia, with some odd turns to it; we had Brits (8th Army, Desert Rats) as allies to the Soviets, fighting against German Fallschirmjagers and Deutsche Afrika Korps(DAK).

In order to reign in total flights of fancy, the DAK directly faced off against their traditional opponents, while my Fallschirmjagers faced the Red Horde. We only blurred the lines now and again…

Highlights of the battle on my end of the table were my three Marder II tank hunters taking down two SU-152s. While that may not seem significant, think of it like this: three small, light, but heavily armed open-topped tanks tore up two heavily armed and armored self-propelled guns (SPGs). One hit from either of those beasties should have taken out the Marders, and most everything else they aimed at!

‘Sneaky’ Doug, the shop owner, has made good use of the German “Stormtrooper move” rule in the past. You park your vehicle just on the ridge of the hill so you can see over, but you are down enough to be considered “hull down” – and then you fire into the enemy. At the end of your turn, you roll for your “Stormtrooper move” and then move your vehicles back down the backside of the hill into full cover.

I fired six shots the first turn and killed one of the SU-152s, then successfully stormtroopered back down the hill out of sight. The remaining leviathan moved on his turn, but had no target; on my turn, I moved my Marders back up the hill, and then fired at the reduced Rate of Fire (RoF) of 1 each. All three shots hit, killing the last major threat on that side of the table.

With the freshly killed SU-152s still smoking, I chose to move my Marders down the hill in an attempt to flank the lend-lease Sherman tank platoon. Unfortunately the Brits decided that my Marders were a threat to them and they dropped fire on the three open-topped SPGs, killing all three in one go. Ouch. Still, they more than earned their points!

Another highlight between the Sovs and FJs was the game-long gun duel between the 88s and the Sherman platoon.

I couldn’t roll to save my life (literally!) and only managed to kill 3 Shermans and bail-out a few with the 88s.

The battle raged back and forth like this; Louis would fire his Shermans at my 88s. I would save. On my turn, I would fire at his Shermans, and “wiff” miserably! (needed 4s on d6 to hit, I was rolling 1, 2, 3s!)

That went on nearly the duration of the game.

Other “highpoints”, though not from the view of the FJs, was the destruction of two FJ platoons by MG fire (tanks), and infantry assault on one flank, and death by Anti-Aircraft MG on the other flank, followed by infantry assault. Louis sort of forgot about the 2cm flak guns my FJ crews were dragging across the table into range, and after he had killed my company commander and another stand of FJs, my turn came. The three 2cm flak guns opened up with RoF 4 each, decimating his infantry. As if that didn’t hurt enough, my “team mate” had roared to my rescue with some Panzer IIIs and he opened up on the remaining Popov infantry, finishing off the last of them.

We called the game at this point, each side retiring to lick their wounds and prepare for the next onslaught.

Allied Assault

Friday nights game of Trench Wars started out with myself, a good friend just back from Iraq, via a year in Korea (long story!) and a couple of young men who showed up ready to watch. I explained that Trench Wars is one of the easiest games I’ve ever played as far as getting a grip on the rules quickly. The rulebook is not very big and only the first 19 pages are rules, and some of those pages are charts.

So the two lads jumped in ready to play, handy-dandy “Cheat Sheet” in hand, pushing Frenchies across the board, while my friend Stephen was pushing his “hairy men in skirts” – AKA Highlanders – around the table.

With three newbies playing, I chose to limit what the defenders had available. I gave them one heavy machine gun (HMG) and about 20 infantry spread the length of the table – approximately eight feet.

We had barely got going when four more folks showed up! Another friend from the Trench Wars Egroup, ‘British’ Dave, and a local gent who runs the Eagle and Empire Egroup for us, with several sons and their friends.

By the time they arrived, things were already starting to look rough for the defenders; the German HMG lost a crewman on the first allied turn, reducing its rate of fire to 12d6, instead of 18d6. With that weapon being the lynchpin of my entire tactical plan, the loss of crew put the defenders at a disadvantage.

The game went downhill from there. The young lads defending had some bad rolls, the attackers were now backed by a very knowledgeable and canny player (‘British’ Dave is a fine gamer, with excellent tactical instincts.) and my friend, who has a very firm grasp on real WWI tactics, and further, is an outstanding analyst, put game knowledge together with real-world tactics and overcame any disadvantage he might have otherwise suffered due to lack of experience.

The two lads on the allied right flank were having a ball, moving and shooting with a large force of French, totally distracting the defenders from the sly movements up to the trench on the left flank.

Unfortunately we had to call the game early, but it is probably better that we did. Stephen had flanked the trench and it was a matter of time before ultimate defeat for the defenders.

All in all a pretty good game, though it would have been better if we’d had more time.

I stacked the odds initially, fully believing that my superior game-mechanics knowledge combined with some luck and tactical skill could overcome the numbers advantage, however, when I handed off to the inexperienced players, I failed to compensate them with some reinforcements. Sorry lads! I’ll know better next time!

Unabashed Request for Assistance

This really is a two-part request:

1. If you surfed in here from BlogExplosion or BlogXchange, welcome! Please have a look around, drop a comment or suggestion in the comments or in an email.

2. Click on one of the advertising links and help me support my addiction to various lead and pewter products!

3. Ok, this is a three-part request!

If you are a gamer and have a club you'd like to promote or a game you'd like to review, drop me a line. If I've played it, I'll write a review. If I haven't and you have, and are willing, please feel free to email me your review. Credit will be given to the writer per instructions. (Which means, you have to provide the instructions to me so I can properly give credit!

Now go! Clicky clicky!



Important note! A kind reader popped in for a quick read and informed me that it is against Googles' TOS to draw attention to their adds. In light of that, please ignore the above post, and whatever you do, don't look down to the right at the advertisements! Thank you.