The British forces seem to hang on Keiths' every word... will it be enough wisdom for them to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? 

The Germans of 21st Panzer Division break through the line of burned out Crusaders and destroyed 25 pounders. The Crusaders prepare to make a final stand, praying for reinforcements. 

On the British right flank, the Ariete Division Bersaglieri move sharply towards their goal. They will be all but defeated by the stout New Zealanders. 

Too Late! The British Reinforcements arrive at turn 6 - game over! 

The Final Outcome

  

The Aftermath

The defeated British tankers discuss tactical errors with Keith. The New Zealanders held against the Italians, however the undefeated weight of the DAK was about to fall on their depleted forces.


  

More Flames of War Action at Game Parlor Woodbridge

Here you can see the culmination of my second game of the tournament. I was up against German panzergrenadier company. This was a non-lethal field exercise of course. I concentrated my attack on the right flank pushing through an infantry platoon in the woods. Of course I had to run the risk of having some of my tanks get bogged down. For three turns I managed to avoid rolling any "1s." Once I finished pushing the infantry out of the way I was free to swing toward the center and contest an objective. My opponent was not able to move a unit close enough to challenge this so he tried to blow me off the objective with Stukas. In the picture you can see that he did in fact manage to get a couple of them but this was not enough to cause a morale check. If you look underneath the left wing of the lead Stuka you can see my company commander's tank still within four inches of the objective. Game over!

More Flames of War Action at Game Parlor Woodbridge

In the top photo you can see where the Amerikaners are closing in on me. There are 3 M5 Stuarts that zoomed around my left flank and shot up my side armor. At the top-right of the photo you can see a US infantry platoon reoccupying the village and at the same time threatening my right flank.

In the bottom photo you can see where I have wiped out the Stuarts but they have already done their job of causing me irreparable harm. I am also trying to get my 88s in a position on the crest of the hill where they can hopefully finally help me out, but they never succeeded. I found that using 88s to support a very mobile attacking force is not the best choice if there are going to be a lot of hills. It's too hard to get them into position. Next time I might try some artillery instead. We'll see.

I really got picked apart pretty bad in this game. The worst part was that my opponent was still a beginner and I was explaining game mechanics to him throughout, and all the while he was picking my bones clean! How does a thing like that happen? We'll I think that game mechanics aside, Kyle had a really good "nose" for tactics. It figures, in real life he's an Army officer on the staff of the Army War College in Carlisle, PA! So, no shame in losing to him then, right? I'm just glad that he is on our side!

More from the Flames of War Tournament at Woodbridge

Here are some shots of my first game. I was up against a U.S. infantry company controlled by Kyle Burley. I moved out smartly and aggressively, just like the training exercises at Grafenwoehre Panzer Lehr school, and was looking forward to rolling over a whole bunch of infantry! And that is the way it started! My panzers rolled smartly into the little town in the center and up and over the big hill on the right flank. I wiped out the infantry platoon holding the hill. I thought I was doing really well, but those pesky bazookas and a couple of M10 tank destroyers lurking off to the right had made it a bit costly. But I wasn't too worried. I felt I could surely deal with these things and keep right on rolling West. Panzers Vorward! Well little did I know that I had already reached my "high tide." More on that later.

Flames of War Tournament at Game Parlor, Woodbridge, Virginia

Last Saturday I participated in my first FoW tournament. This one was organized by Eric Lauterbach who held it at the Game Parlor store in Woodbridge. As you can see from the photos the playing areas filled up the back of the store and it was a wonderful assortment of scenery. It was a long, but fun, day of gaming. I think there were a bout 20 participants and they all seemed to be having a great time. Tournament play is a good way to gain experience. You see all the different armies and their equipment in action and you learn how your stuff works against a variety of opposing forces and different situations. Definitely a good learning experience. I'm not a beginner, but I learned a lot anyway. Over the next few days I will be posting more pictures and commentary on this event.

Yet More of The "Power Sword"

Pretty nice results!

More of The "Power Sword"

See how it easily cuts through the thick blues stuff? I had it cranked up to full power here it took about 15 seconds to cut all the way down.

The "Power Sword"

Check this baby out! Got it from the War Store on-line. You can do some serious styrofoam cutting with this thing, even the dense 2 inch insulation board stuff.

Warhammer 40,000 (40K): Cities of Death (concluded)

Here are three more to wrap it up.

Warhammer 40,000 (40K): Cities of Death (continued)

Here's a couple more pictures.

Warhammer 40,000 (40K): Cities of Death (continued)

Here you can see my "Flashgits" set up in my HQ building. (Yes, this was an Ork v. Ork battle.) You can also see my Ork Dreadnought lurking behind a corner. It turned out that this part of my setup was totally ineffectual. My stalwart opponent never gave them a chance to unleash all their firepower. "How did he manage that?" you might ask? Well it was actually quite easy. Since I had neglected to use roadblocks all he had to do was drive his battlewagon right up to the front of the building and drop off his Scarboys at the front door. Just like a Sunday drive to Grandma's house! Ever see an Ork Grandma? Actually quite lovely!

Warhammer 40,000 (40K): Cities of Death (continued)

Here you can see a nice close up of one of the buildings. Looks terrific doesn't it? And to think that he is not even done with it yet! In the lower photo Bigmek Karl poses with the city. Come to think of it, I don't think the city has a name yet! We'll have to work on that!

Warhammer 40,000 (40K): Cities of Death

A few days ago I played a 40K game with my longtime buddy, “Bigmek Karl.” Bigmek is a renowned 40K hobbyist who has been a well-recognized figure at the Games Workshop (GW) Grand Tournaments in Baltimore. (But apparently they didn’t have one this year.) Bigmek plays Ork Speed Freaks and all his vehicles are scratch-built. His army received a full photo spread in White Dwarf a couple years ago; a rare honor! When GW released their Cities of Death book and the new plastic building kits, Bigmek got into it in a big way. Not only did he assemble several buildings from the kits, he improved upon them by adding his own scratch-built enhancements. At first we played on the 2D city plan mat that GW sells. That was very nice but not good enough for Bigmek. He built his own 3d street plan with pavement, sidewalks, and craters. Take a good look at these photos, you can even see the grease stains on the streets left by many years of city traffic! I’ll have more pictures for you too look at later, and a bit of an after-action report on the battle.

Sahara Safari Extravaganza

Dear Readers, here is another thing from Historicon that you should see. One of the main events of the con was a huge set-up called Sahara Safaris. It was run by a gent that everyone referred to a "Uncle Duke" Seifried. He was quite a character. This tabletop game was huge, about 10 feet by 30 feet and covered with real sand! There were 20 players per session! Each person had either an Arab infantry or cavalry unit, or a European infantry or cavalry unit and a special charachter. I ended up with Ernest Hemingway and a unit of French colonial cavalry. The European players moved around the table and they could dig in the sand on the spot where their character was standing. This is how you found various artifacts and treasures. The Arab players could either try to stop you or negotiate with you.
I'll have more pictures later.

Sneak Peek! Counter Attack at Sidi Rezegh Scenario Test Play

Sidi Rezegh Airfield - Panzers and Italian Anti-tank guns line the ridge overlooking the airfield. 

Ariete Division moves into start posittions. Berseglieri platoons support the armor as it advances. 

The New Zealanders are dug in, awaiting the counterattack. Two pounder portees and Crusader IIs provide a minimum of support.  

The New Zealanders take a beating. Their poor little 2pdr anti tank guns on trucks are not yet in range of Ariete... will the infantry live long enough to see an enemy tank die? 

The 7th Royal Tank Regiment moves forward into the clutter of their fallen comerades and foes. The smoke screen from burning tanks gives them some cover as they advance. The Royal Horse Artillery stands by to sell themselves dear.  

Ariete blasts through the Crusaders and prepares to take on the Portees and Marmon-Harringtons. 

On the German flank, Crusaders have used their speed to get behind the Panzers. If they could only hit what they were aiming at, the outcome might have been different! 

Crusaders and a Honey move out of cover and into the fray. Ariete will feel the full force of the ferocious 2pdr and the American 37mm!