Thursday, December 28, 2006

Pottery Rd 28/12/06

Steve & Nick Page's Strelkovy v. Mark & Dillon Oakes' Grenadiers. Jim umpired (bushwalking plans scuttled by mate's dicky knee).
2000 pts Encounter Mission.
The Russians deployed 2 Strelkovy & the Gods of War leaving KVs, another Strelkovy & some a/tank guns in reserve.
The Huns deployed 1 Gren, HMGs & 2 105 batteries, leaving 2 Gren, 88s, Pak 97/38s & AA in reserve.
Both had airpower (though it acheived bugger all for either side).

The Strelkovy rushed forward as always. On their left the German HMGs & a 105 battery plus a lot bad unpinning dice (the kommisar got shot) stopped the attack. On their right the Grenadiers & HQ were over-run and destroyed, but the Strelkovy were taken below half strength in the Assault. Nick then threw 2 for morale, 1 to get the Kommisar shot & 2 again for the CIC re-roll. So the remaining Strelkovy ran away leaving the objective undefended by anybody (apart from a large pile of bodies).

Both sides reserves were slow to arrive. The 88s & KVs both came on on the German left & took each other on. The KVs got first shot & missed. The 88s got a KV & the other 2 thought better of it & took cover behind a hill. The 3rd Strelkovy advanced in the centre under heavy artillery fire & destroyed the Grenadiers sent to meet it, but was in poor shape afterwards. The other Strelkovy (on their right) was down to it's last few teams. The KVs were skulking behind a hill. The Gods of War were being whittled away by the 105s. But the Huns didn't constitute much of a threat either - they only had 1 mobile unit left - a shot up Grenadier Platoon.

The game had bogged down into an artillery duel & it was getting late, so a tie was agreed.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Camp Cromwell 17/12/06

Maharajah 2006 Grand Final
SteveJ's Grenadiers v. Chri's Strelkovy in 2000 pts Free For All in the snow.
Steve's army was his usual 3 Grenadiers, HMGs, Mortars, Lt Guns, 105s, Pak 36s, Hortense(2) & 109s. Chris's had 3 Strelkovy plus Shtraf (all maxed), 10T70s, 4 SU76 & mortars.
A human wave swarmed forward with the tanks (slowed down by the snow) following up. The Germans desperately pumped lead at them but the wave seemed unstoppable. The Shtraf got to an objective and it looked like game over, but they threw a 1 for morale & had lost their Kommisar so they abandoned it giving the Germans a life. Meanwhile on the other flank the Ivans melted away under fire and were beaten off by Grenadier counterattacks. But the Hortenses kept getting bogged & were destroyed by Air attack so the SUs got to the objective the Shtraf had abandoned. The Germans had to force a Morale Test to save the Battle. The Grenadiers charged again - they finished off the last Infantry (yes they destroyed every one of those 4 Infantry Battalions! ) and charged on to take out 2 bogged T10s to force a morale test on them. If the T10s failed the Russians would fail Army Morale as their HQ had been destroyed with the infantry. It all came down to one dice - a 3+ for the Russians to win - and it came up 3! So Chris has won the Mahrajah Trophy for 2006 - the 7th different winner in the 12 years it has been going.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Camp Cromwell 14/12/06

SteveJ's Grenadiers v. Jim's Strelkovy.

2000 pts FFA in the snow. The Russians initially advanced 3 Strelkovy abreast with KVs, SUs & T34s supporting the centre, but their right got hung up under mortar fire & they hunkered down behind a hill at least foring Steve to keep some troops on his left. The Russians continued the attack on their left & centre. The Germans had bad luck in not getting their right flank dug in which creating a weak spot on their line. The armour had a hard time in the snow, but the wide tracks helped a lot & they eventually made it to the objective and took it. The Grenadier's counterattack failed tank terror giving the Ruskies the battle.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Camp Cromwell 12/12/06

SteveP's Grenadiers v. Jim's indian Rifles

1500 pts HTL, Indians defending on 6x4 table.
The table was half the Tunisia table left over from Nick & Chris' Maharajah - the side with the mountain so the front was rather constricted. This limited the German line sof attack, but on the other hand made it easy for them to cut off Indian lines of fire & observation with smoke. The German advanced a small Platoon over the mountain on their right while 2 large Platoons attacked the objective directly. 105s & mortars provided smoke cover. Marders & Light AA follwed up.
The Indians deployed a Rifle Platoon on & to the right of the front objective. A 2nd Rifle to the left of the objective & up onto the mountain. 25pdrs were in ambush but brought on immediately to bombard the advance.
Covered by smoke, the Grenadiers on the German left got up close and over-ran the Indian Rifles opposing them.
The small Grenadier Platoon on the mountain were smashed by a 25 pdr Murder then finished off by an Indian counterattack. Those Indians then turned on the Grenadiers in the centre & mauled them. The Matildas arrived in time to retake the objective - protected from the Marders by a small hill. The Bugs then took over dealing with the infantry and the Matildas advanced with artillery support to take on the Marders. The 3rd Rifles arrived to finish off the last of the Grenadiers. The Marders had to advance to maintain teams over the centreline and they died under a hail of 2pdr fire from the Matildas. A hard fought win for the Indians.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Camp Cromwell 07/12/06

SteveJ's US Mech v. Jim's Panzers
2000 pts Cauldron, US defending on same table as Nick & Chris used last week.

The battle started with 2 US Inf platoons dug in on the objectives & 5 Shermans in Immediate Ambush. The Huns had Neblewerfers safe on the mountaintop & 3 MkIIIs & 3 MkIVs hiding behind a hill from the ambush. The Huns got their 3 MkIV*s quick, but the US got their 5 Stuarts as well. Both advanced & it was tank v. tank. The Huns lost 2 MkIIs & 2 MkIVs, but destroyed the US armour completely.
The other 3 MkIIIs came on as did 2 US SP 105s. The Huns threw their 2nd MkIII platoon straight at the objective. They died throwing %$#&ing scorpions at Bazookas.
Very belatedly the Panzer Grenadiers arrived and the master race again charged the cowboys with fire support from the armour. They too died in a hail of scorpions (I've just got to get rid of those dice). With a surfeit of 105 & 37mm shells whistling about their ears, the Huns couldn't hang about and the remaining 2 tank platoons kept attacking. But the Yanks are tough nuts with all that fire support & with a good aggressive defence wore the Panzers down. Finally the MkIII platoon failed morale. The CIC had to join to save them. He failed too, leaving the Huns with just their 3 MkIV*s & Neblewerfers. 4 Platoons + HQ gone, so another US victory.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Camp Cromwell 02/12/06

Maharajah 2006 Preliminary Final 2

Nick's US Inf defending a Breakthrough v. Chris' DAK Panzer
Tunisia terrain, Germans attacking into a fairly clear quarter.

Chris' army was small but mobile. He put 3 small panzer platoons in reserve. Another small Panzer, 88's & Lorraine Scheppers kept the pressure on the other front.
Nick had Shermans, M10s, 2xA/tank guns, AA, 105s & 2 infantry. He rushed an infantry platoon towards the rear objective but it suffered heavily from air attack & then the early arrival of the reserve panzers. The M10s came out of ambush & moved up to face the reserves. The Shermans were late arriving & then Nick allowed them to be distracted by the Panzers in the centre. The M10s lost their duel with the MkIV*s. The infantry disputing the objective were mown down by the Panzers & the Shermans were too far away. The German flank force held the objective uncontested on turn 6.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Camp Cromwell 30/11/06

Mahrajah 2006 Preliminary Final 1

Jim's Bersaliglieri defending v. SteveJ's US Mech in a Breakthrough:

The Tunisian table had 2 rough quarters & 2 fairly open ones. The Ities chose to occupy the rough corners, the US put the objectives in the usual places - near the centre & near the back corner. The Ities had to leave their L6s in reserve, the US had 1 Mech Inf & T30 TDs in flank attack.

The Ities rushed their Guastatori to the rear objective on the backs of the M14s, but they failed to dig in & the US reserves both arrived on turn 4 and came on guns blazing. The Guastatori took 12 hits, then suffered 8 kills from them, included the Platoon commander, the Coy commander & 2IC. That was a big hit on the Itie's best unit. They passed morale once, but failed next turn. The Pak 38s, M14s and L6s (rushed up from reserve) exacted revenge & destroyed the flank attack. But the flank attack served it's part of the evil US plan - the Guastatori & HQ were destroyed & the M14s, L6s & Paks were drawn away from the main action for a critical time.

In the centre, the Shermans spearheaded the main attack supported by the other Mech Inf while 2 batteries of SP guns provided fire support from a safe edge of the table. The terrain channelled the line of attack helping the Itie defence. The 75 battery on the mountain got lots of hits, a good number of penetrations, but just couldn't get firepowers v. the Shermans. The 105s pounded away, but managed only 1 kill before the Shermans attacked the Bersaliglieri in the front line. The Bersaliglieri had 2 opportunites to destroy bailed Shermans, but failed morale both times and were eventually worn down. Meanwhile the US artillery smashed anything that moved and prevented the 2nd Bersaliglieri, the 47mms & the HMGs redeploying from the right flank to the critical zone.

Finally it settled into a slugfest - the 4 Shermans lined up and took on all comers - they couldn't retire without concending the objective, they couldn't advance without exposing their rear & they couldn't spread out becasue of the terrain. With 3 Shermans under the template for several turns you'd think the 105s would do some damage, but no - they got one eventually, but too late to matter. The Pak 38s weren't deployed to best advantage because they were delayed by the need to help out on the other objective, but they couldn't hit anything anyway. The M14s and L6s did the Italian thing & charged through the Shermans & out the other side. They destroyed the 2nd Mech Inf & Coy HQ, but the US still had 3 platoons out an original of 6 - the Shermans + 2 SP Art. The Shermans continued to shed 105 shells like tennis balls & the SPGs were too far away to be got. The US Artillery got the 47s & the Paks, the Shermans finished off the tin cans & it was game over.

The Ities felt very let down by their allies - the 105s & Paks had ample opportunity to kill the Shermans but fluffed it. They are thinking seriously about changing sides. But Steve handled an unfamiliar army well - he had a sound plan & it worked.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Fort Floreat 28/11/2006


Aggro, Doug, Chris, James L & Nick (8th Army) attended. The unreliable Ities didn't show.

Breakthrough in Tunisia
James L 1500pts British Light Squadron vs. Aggro 1500pts Grenadiers

Aggro deployed all his troops on the table 2 88's centrally placed, a grenadier in scrub on the left and a grenadier on a rocky ridge on the right. The Tigers were on the start line ready to cover the objectives. The British deployed 10 Honeys on the right and 6 Shermans hull down on the rocky ridge facing the 88's. Two platoons of Honeys in reserve.

Turn 1: The British realised that the only way to win the game was to force a company morale check by killing all but the Tigers. So the Honeys shot at then assaulted the Grenadiers in the scrub. One Honey bogged on the way in but the grenadiers lost a stand before retreating. The Shermans tried to shoot the 88's but needed 7's to hit so retreated instead 1 bogging on the ridge. The Tigers moved across over the next 3 turns to place themselves between the 2 objectives.

Turns 2, 3 & 4: The Honeys eventually killed the grenadiers in the scrub only losing 1 tank in the process. The first Honey Reserve arrived but was killed by the Tigers.

Turn 5: The 6 Shermans attacked the 88's from the front and 3 Honeys from the rear killing the 2 guns the command team failed morale and fled the field. The 2nd Honey Reserve drew some fire away from this situation but died the British lost their second platoon 2 lost each.

Turn 6: The British were within 40cm of an objective and the Shermans with 2 Honeys moved in for the kill against the other grenadiers. The Tigers popped a third Honey Platoon.

Turn 7: The Shermans assaulted and put the Grenadiers below half strength even with the re roll the Germans ran C in C included. The Tigers auto failed company morale and a close win to the British (losing 3 platoons out of 7). 4-3 Win to James L.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Fort Floreat Report 21-11-2006


The hot weather brought the players out of the woodwork with Chris, Aggro, Doug, Mike, James L & the French's Gary, Ben & Matt in attendance. The Italians had arrived in force!

Game 1 Free for All 1500pts. Chris Referee
James L British Armour vs. Matt French & Mike Cole Italian Bersaligari

Italians had limited Air Stukas.

Deployment: The Italians deployed 1 Bersaligari platoon in the village on their right objective, with covering fire from the 47mm AT guns & 88's & C in C in support. Deployed on the left hand objective the 2nd Bersaligari, with 105's & Semmos in support. A platoon of motorcyclisti was in the depression on the far left. The British had 3 Shermans on the right supported by 3 Honeys, 9 Honeys and 3 2pounders centre & 3 Shermans + 3 Honeys on the left.

Turn 1: The Italians dug in waiting for the onslaught.The British did very little under the reluctant British Commander.

Turn 2: Italian Air (Stukas) arrived attacking the bunched up Honeys killing 4 ouch! The Italian artillery killed another exposed Honey. Two of the Honey platoons failed Morale and things were looking bad for the British. The British sat tight? The Commander was about to be court marshalled!

Turn 3: More Air and another Honey unit down to 1 but it passed its morale check, the artillery got another Honey from the 4th platoon, The British survivors were spurred into action and advanced using cover 3 Shermans on the left were hull down and with the 3 on the right & 3 remaining Honeys took on the AT guns killing an 88.

Turn 4: No Air for the Ities. The AT guns bailed up 3 Shermans and killed another Honey. The Brits unbailed a Sherman & returned fire getting the other 88 the command team passed morale and the sole survivor withdrew graciously from the field.

Turn 5: The motorcyclisti double moved behind scrub to approach the British right objective. The artillery failed to do damage, as did the 47mm AT guns. The Semmos flanked the Honeys with in infantry support but failed to hurt them. The infantry failed their tank terror test to finish the 2 Honeys off.

Turn 6: The British armour popped another AT gun & a lucky Sherman killed 2 Semmos the remaining 1 failed morale and fled the field. The Italian motorcyclisti dismounted and were on the objective!

Turn 7: The 2 remaining Honeys managed to get within contesting distance of the objective. The Italians got air, which started killing 2 pounders. The artillery blew the 2 honeys off the objective and the British were on half strength.

Turn 8,9 & 10: The Shermans on the British right were forced back to defend the objective while the other 3 Shermans started killing infantry. The Italians eventually killed the 2pounders and the British failed Company moral a 5-2 win to the Ities.

Post Mortem: In spite of everything the British Shermans were almost untouchable and almost won the game but failed to finish off the Bersaligari on the objective.

Game 2: Hold the Line 1500pts
Doug French defending vs. Aggro Grenadiers
A win to the Frogs! The Germans took an objective but were bounced off by too much firepower.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Camp Cromwell 16/11/2006

Mahrajah 2006 Semi Final 2

SteveJ's Grenadiers v. MarkO's US Inf.
2000 pts Breakthough, US attacking, Tunisia terrain.
MarkW, Jim & Nick officiating.

Mark put 2 infantry platoons & his Shermans in reserve. The first 5 turns passed slowly as Mark tried to soften up the Germans with his masses of artillery (2 105 batteries + chem mortars) and an attack on Steve's forlorn hope of Grenadiers. But the Germans too had plenty of artillery and honours were about even in this phase. Furious dogfights raged overhead as both side's air was intercepted more often than not (and when it wasn't intercepted neither side's planes did a damned thing on the ground).

On turn 6 all the US reserves were brought on at once near the corner objective. A US victory looked a formality as 2 infantry platoons & the Shermans came on next to one objective and the Honeys threatened the other. But perhaps the Pale Ale was taking it's toll as the US attack lost focus. The Germans held on with single teams disputing the objectives while their Pak40s, mortars & HMGs set about clearing the GIs off. The US platoons melted away and at 12.30 with just one charmed Sherman left near the objectives, Mark conceded.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Fort Floriet 14/11/06

Doug brought along a new player who was Dougs sub commander. Free for All 1500pts per side. Aggro's Grenadiers vs Doug's Free French Midwar Infantry. The Germans deployed 105's, Marder II's 1st Grenadiers on left objective and 88's 2nd Grenadier right objective. The Frogs had AT guns both flanks, M 10's either flank (2 jeeps), 105's centrally placed, mortars and infantry right flank, and large and small infantry left flank. Both sides had air but the 88's kept the French Air from doing Damage. The German air had no AA to deal with so managed to kill 5 infantry stands and an artillery piece over the course of the game.

Turn 1: Germans dug in all but their 105's. The French did similar.

Turn 2: The French advanced their infantry on the German right and attacked through a town 2 turns later to defeat a grenadier platoon but got severely mauled in the process. the Marders swung to defend the right but 1 was killed by artillery fire.

Turn 5: The French M 10's popped out of ambush killing an infantry platoon.

Turn 6: The 88's were on a killing spree on the enemy artillery. The French artillery was eventually cut down to a half strength battery.

Turn 7: The M 10's assaulted the grenadiers which failed Morale and we ran out of time.Technically a draw but the Frogs had been the most aggreessive and had killed a platoon, but had 1 platoon close to doing a morale check & artillery was now almost useless. A nice set of flank attacks by Doug the M10's were unlucky not to get a 105mm gun.

Some interesting rules cropped up that we hadnt been that familiar with:
  1. Self defence AAMGs only 1 shot each
  2. Aircraft firing at double moving vehicles only normal shooting?
  3. Double moving vehicles no self defence AA (common sense rule).
  4. M 10's shot at by small arms in defensive fire but cant be hurt so no armour save neccessary?
  5. HMG's only 180 degree facing as they are gun teams

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Camp Cromwell 10/11/06

Maharajah 2006 Semi Final 1

SteveP's Strelkovy v. Nick's Panzers...Cauldron Scenario, Panzers attacking.
Jim, SteveJ & MarkW umpiring.
Nick's Panzers engaged the GOWs & vice versa while waiting for reinforcements. Both sides' reinforcements were slow in coming - Nick didn't get his last two until T6, but Steve didn't get his first one until T7. The GOWs lost the fight with the Panzers - just 2 MkIIs died while the GOWs were annihilated. The Ivans made a desperate pre-emptive strike at the Tiger, but with the support of the adjacent Kamffegroup it was stopped in its tracks. Now out of their trenches, the Strelkovy looked to be at the mercy of the machine gun fire of the massed Panzers, but finally the Russian reserves were coming on & some of the Panzers were distracted dealing with the SUs. As always the big Strelkovy took a long time to die and continued to dispute the objective buying time. The KVs had been held back behind the hill to keep them safe from the Tiger, but now they were desperately needed and had to come out and play - but the 105s got one & the others failed to do any damage. The Sturmos came often, but achieved nothing except a MkII & that too late to make any difference. Finally there were too many Panzers on the objective, the 1st Strelkovy ran out of bodies and the next one still wasn't close enough. Well done Nick.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Camp Cromwell Tuesday 07/11/06

SteveP's Strelkovy v. Jim's Panzers - 2000pts Cauldron Russians defending. MarkW advising.
The deployment dice allowed the Germans to make a concentrated deployment at one end of the table. The Russians made a juicy area target with a big Strelkovy & a GOW battery crammed into a 80cm circle.

The Germans were content to bombard with Neblewefers, MkIVF1s & Stukas while waiting for their reserves. The dominant feature of the tabel was a railway embankment clipping the side of the Russian deployment zone. After clearing the Russians defending the embankment the Germans advanced.

At this point Mark kindly pointed out kindly pointed out that it was Steve's Turn 6 & there were no germans within 40cm of an objective. The Germans has misremembered that they had until their turn 6 to get there - there MkIVGs had only moved about 15cm last turn & were just 5cm too far away. Steve gleefully claimed victory. The Germans conceeded a cheezy victory but demanded to fight on.

Russian infantry reserves came on and swarmed over a hill at the Nebels & got the hq, obs & 1 tube before they were mown down by the AA, AC & MkIVF1s. The KVs moved up to give battle but the MkIVGs just slaughtered them. His SUs engaged the MkIIIs & got but one before they evaporated in a storm of 50mm fire. Then the Panzers lined up at the embankment & simply blew the Ivans away.

Airpower was singly ineffective. The Sturmos got 1 MkIV & an AA (the German AA couldn't hit a barn) - but they made them spread out and slowed my advance. The Stukas got just 1 gun.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Camp Cromwell 04/11/06

Mahrajah 2006 Qualifying Final 2: Steve's Grenadiers v. Chris's Strelkovy.

Hold the Line Scenario, Grenadiers defending. The terrain was relatively cluttered for East Europe with a railway embankment & a stream/river dividing the table on the Russian side of the centreline. Jim & SteveP umpiring (Nick replacing Steve later).

Steve deployed with a boosted Grenadier platoon dug in on the objective with 2Pak40s & 3 SPAA in support, plus 2 Hortisse's in ambush. He had another 2 Grenadiers, 4 105s & 2 75s in reserve, plus Limited Me109s.

Chris had 3 large Strelkovy (some with flamethrower teams attached), 10 Stuarts, GOWs & Limited Cobras.

The swarm of Ivans advanced steadily while the GOWs picked away at what they could & the Honeys followed up. The Germans got some early reinforcements, bringing on more Grenadiers on their right & 105s on their left. A little later the small Grenadier platoon & the 75s came on in the centre.

The central Strelkovy unit attacked the crop field on the (German) right of the objective. The Grenadiers pulled out, then with a lot of fire support counterattacked and drove the Russians back out of it. The right flank and central Strelkovy units were slowly melting away under German firepower while the left flank unit fought the 2nd Grenadiers for the Collective farm. The Honeys were still in the rear, intimidated by the Pak40s on their right & by difficult terrain on their left. The Gods were doing bugger all - the Germans kept saving, then unpinning.

But while the Germans seemed well on top, they just couldn't put the Ivans away. Every German counterattack was met with a flurry of 5 & 6's in a counterassault inflicting casualties the Germans couldn't afford to lose, while the Strelkovy just kept on absorbing casualties down to literally the last man. The Gods finally started doing some damage - getting the SPAA & a Pak40. Steve dropped the Hortisses out of ambush to help the Grenadiers & the Cobras got one of them. The Honeys finally made a rush forward and overwhelmed the lone Pak as the last Strelkovy team passed a Last Survivor roll to keep the Ivans in the game (HQ gone, 2 plats lost, 1 last survivor & 2 plats left). The Honeys took the objective from the last Grenadiers as the Gods got the last Hortisse. The MEs wouldn't come & German artillery couldn't kill the Honeys fast enough on their own, so the Russians won a costly victory.

The Russians lost all but 1 team of infantry and 5 of 10 tanks. The Germans lost all but HQ, 3 command teams, 1 75 & their 105 battery.

Camp Cromwell Thursday 02/11/06

SteveJ's Grenadiers v. Jim's Strelkovy in 2000 pts FFA.

Jim turned up for battle well primed with Mansfield Builder's beer. As a result he was well placed to command Russians.
Russians: 2 Strelkovy (3 plats), HMG, A/Tank, 5 T34, 4 SU122, 3 KVs, Sturmos.
Germans: 3 Grenadiers, 105s, 75 IG, 2 Hornisse, 3 SPAA, HMGs, Stukas.
Strelkovy charged forward on both flanks while the tanks engaged the anti-tank guns in the centre. The T34's died, but so did the Pak40s while 3 SU122s & the 3 KVs survived. But before the Russian armour could do much more, the Infantry decided the battle. On the left the Ivans were stopped by a storm of fire. But on the right, the other Strelkovy platoon had better support from A/tank guns & HMGs (and bad digging in dice) and took the objective. The Hornisse's weren't game to counterattack & the Ivans survived artillery fire & a weak infantry counterattack to hold the objective & win the battle. It seems beer works as well as Vodka.
In Jim's hands the Sturmovics were useless - either they didn't come or they got shot down. The Stukas did a bit more, but didn't come when they were really needed.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

The Battle of Naples

Lombard cavalry horde (Nick) vs Byzantine (Cameron) mixed army meet on the northern Italian plains. Tactica rules


The report from Byzantium

All hail the Imperial Emperor! I, Commander Cameron of the XI Byzantium Legion bring bad tidings to your court.

On the day of our good Lord’s Levant feast I met the malodorous Lombards in Northern Italy and it is my sad duty to report that your many fine legions under my command have been lost on the field of battle. I have barely escaped with my own life and was forced to put my entire honour guard to the sword in order to obtain the fresh horses I needed. The Lombard pursuit was long and fierce.

What went wrong you may well ask? How could it come to this sorry state of affairs? A mighty Byzantium army crushed by a rabble of steppe slum-dwelling horse humpers? Woeful and lamentable is the tale I have come to tell.

The plains of the battlefield were, as plains are sire, flat. Very flat. So flat that nary a rock or tree were to be had anyway. In short, oh great emperor, there was nary a place to poo in peace. Yes, my lord, public poo’ing throughout. Great was our shame.

Given that our army was a mixed force of cavalry and infantry, as all good armies should be, and that the perfidious Lombards were entirely horse mounted I made certain dispositions. As is proper for a Byzantium General. And am I not your favourite nephew married to your favourite daughter? Remember this, oh Great One, as you read my tale of misfortune.

All infantry and my best cavalry units were instructed to form a short defensive line in the far left corner of the battlefield. Have you seen a hedgehog, my Emperor? Like the hedgehog we hunkered down and pricked up. The hedgehog is wise in the ways of the world is he not? Ask your most unloved courtier, my Lord, to take a kick at the nearest hedgehog and observe who wins.

Additionally, I positioned cavalry units on both extremes of the battlefield with orders to ride like the wind and gallop around the flanks of the enemy as he approaches. My plan, oh mighty Emperor, was for the Lombards to impale themselves on our hedgehog of spears while our flanking cavalry hit them in the rear.

When I asked for guidance from the fire-eating Rostafarian sorcereress that accompanies your every army she told me it was indeed a fine plan. And so I believe it was my Emperor. I also spoke to your god and given that he didn’t call back I can only presume that he also approved. Of course I sacrificed ten oxen and a chook the night before and, according to your standing instructions, had unnatural intercourse with them all before they were slaughtered in order to appease the gods of war.

Perhaps, oh great one, this last deed could be deleted from your wise counsel that precedes every battle? Are all your generals instructed thus? One of the ox bit me and I seriously doubt if I will be ever be able to reproduce and spread the seed of military greatness onto another generation.

Here-in Lord, lie our dispositions.


Battle was joined and it immediately became apparent the weakness of my plan. I had miscalculated my Emperor, not realising that the battlefield wasn’t large enough to permit flanking manoeuvres.

My vision may have been blurred somewhat from the previous night’s ‘celebrations’ and I was having trouble sitting straight in the saddle. Or standing. Or sitting. Or anything. The ox my lord…

Here is how things developed.


You can clearly see, oh great one, my cavalry on either flank attempting to encircle the Lombard foe. A man as wise as yourself could also note the hedgehog being formed in the left corner with our skirmishers doing a mighty job delaying the enemy while our main body moved into their assigned positions.

The Lombards peeled of three units of cavalry to block our right flankers and sent hordes of skirmishers to block our left flank attempt. Their remaining cavalry advanced to the centre and then halted to await developments.


Alas both our left and right flanking attempts, with insufficient space to swing wide, were quickly trapped and all but eliminated. Only a remnant of the light cavalry on the left managed to break clear and take out one unit of Lombard cavalry before themselves being destroyed. They fought like lions however and went down to the last man.

From this point onwards it was all, as they say in Byzantium, Bad, bad, bad. The Lombards regrouped and then thundered in on our hedgehog. Unfortunately their numbers were too great and we were overwhelmed in short order. A terrible day for all concerned.


So thus it came to pass, my Emperor, that your mighty legions, under my command, lost the battle. I beg your forgiveness and can only say that I have learned from my mistakes and will do better next time.

Do not forget your favourite daughter, my lord. She is wilful and needs a strong husband. And have I not suffered enough already?

Yours,
Commander Cameron

Monday, October 30, 2006

Camp Cromwell 30/10/06

Monday 30/10/06: Maharajah 2006 EF1

Nick's Panzers v. Peter's US Infantry in a FFA on Mediteranean terrain.

Peter's army had 3 batteries of 105s, Heavy Mortars, A/tank, Engineers with the lot, lots of GIs with lots of support, heaps or bazookas plus Air. Nick's had HQ MkIIINs, MkIVs, MkIIIN's, Flamers & MkII recon.

Nick placed his objectives in two open areas - centre and (his) left. Peter placed one objective on his left in woods and the other 120cm away.

Nick charged forward at both objectives, leaving only some Panzer Flamers to cover the objective on his right. The US cause took a nosedive when the GIs on German's LH objective failed to dig in. The MkIIs & HQ hosed them with mgs, then they threw bad saves. The MkIIs took the objective by assault on turn 2. Peter's artillery took out a couple of MkIIIs in the centre, a bazooka got a Mk IV, but the USAF failed to show on turn 2, the MkIIs saved their artillery hits & it was Game Over already.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Hill 275 28/10/2006

Tactica -- Late Byzantines vs Lombards -- Alex and Bradley

The battle was set up for Cameron the next day. But the kids wanted to play. Not much tactics -- both sides marched foward. The Byzantine cataphracts were about to hit home when the kids got bored and went to watch TV. The game was finished with the armies fighting it out following their given orders. Byzantines were too strong -- with no tactics they went up against the Lombards one-on-one and won! This should not happen -- the Lombards should win in a fair fight, but die in a maneuver battle! There may be a play balance issue!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Camp Cromwell Tuesday 24/10/06

Festung Europa 1

SteveJ's Panzergrenadiers v. Jim's British Rifles
2000 pts FFA on a West Europe table (last week's East Europe with 2 hills, 3 woods & 2 fields added).
Steve had 2 King Tigers, 3 Hummels, 37mm AA, 2 P/gren, 3 Luchs, Limited Air.
Jim had Churchills, M10/17s, 17pdrs, 6pdrs, HMG, Mortars, RA, 3 Inf, Priority Air.

The Luchs advanced on the Hun right and blasted away at a Rifle & the HMGs. The Brits protected the flank with artillery smoke when they had nothing better to shoot at. Nothing decisive happened on the flank - the action was on the German left.

On their right, the Brits advanced under cover of a ridge, a wood & a village. 2 Rifles, the 6pdrs, Churchills & M10s advanced. The 17pdrs & mortars deployed to cover the centre.

The Germans waited on the other side of the ridge. The Germans did a half track shuffle onto the ridgeline & decimated a rifle platoon. But then Steve made a big error in not noticing how far the M10s had been snuck forward. Suddenly over the ridge came 4 6pdrs, 3 Churchills, 4 M10s & a few infantry. On their left another Rifle platoon stormed out of the village . The M10s were just able to get onto the King's flanks. Hot shooting & bad saves killed one & bailed the other. The Rifles passed tank terror and got the bailed one. Suddenly there were no Uberweapons & the Germans were in Big Trouble.

The Hummels & AA didn't kill enough in retaliation - they got 3 M10s, but next turn were annihilated by a storm of 6pdrs. The Rifles from the village attacked the objective under smoke and killed the defending P/grens. The Germans passed army morale but couldn't contest the objective.

Airpower was interesting. Both sides often didn't throw for them - keeping their dice in reserve. Steve mainly used his as interception - suceeding in stopping most attacks. When he didn't intercept the Hurricanes got shot down by the AA anyway. The most memorable waste of dice was my 6 sixes in 6 dice for air on turn 2. I followed that with a 6 to get 3 planes. Steve then threw a 6 in 4 dice to intercept. What a waste! Later when Air would have been really handy to support the big attack I managed 3 1's in 3 dice for air. The Gods are fickle creatures.

But the lesson of the night was: You just have to be so carefull with your Big Pussies. One mistake can be very, very costly.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Camp Cromwell 20/10/06

Maharajah 2006 1st Qualifying Final

Jim's Fucilieri v. SteveP's Strelkovy
2000 pts Encounter Mission on Eastern Europe terrain (flat as a tack with a few rivers, villages & fields).
Umpire: SteveJ.

The Ities deployed Fucillieri, HMG, 75mm Art, Pak 40s & German 105s. In Delayed Reserve they had Itie 105s, L6s & 3 Fucilieiri.
The Russians deployed 2 Strelkovy hordes plus the GOW & AA. In Delayed Reserve they had 3KVs, 4 A/tank & Scouts.
Both sides had air - Limited Sturmos & Sporadic Stukas.

Things looked grim for the Ities as the Red Horde poured forward towards both objectives. On their right the Itie HMGs lived a charmed life. They lost just 1 HMG while continually unpinning & pouring murderous fire into the Ivans. Then a Fucilieri Platoon arrived nicely on the right flank on turn 5 to launch a counter assault and finish them off. On the Itie left, the Guastatori couldn't stop the Horde, but the L6s turned up on the first opportunity just in the right place. 2 L6s were taken out by Sturmos, but 4 was enough to stop the rot. The Ivans melted away under their MGs.

The Pic above shows the Ivans about to assault the Guastatori over the fords. How fortunate were the Ities to have their L6s turn up in that corner next turn?

The Ities were saved by early arrival of their reinforcements - they had them all on the field by turn 6.
But the Gods of War were still there supported by the A/T & A/A on the Russian left and the KVs and Scouts had eventually arrived, so it was far from over.

Both sides now advanced on their right as the artillery pounded away. The Gods of War looked scary, but the Axis had 3 batteries and now had too much fire power for the Russians. The last Russian hope evaporated when the German 105s popped the Command KV & stopped their advance. The Scouts were shot up by the Fucilieri. The AA were hunted down by 75s & rmg fire. The A/tank & GOW were destroyed by the 105s. The Russians failed army morale at the same time as the Fucilieri gained an objective.

An epic struggle that the Russians came soooo close to winning on about turn 4. But the L6s of doom saved the day & then the sheer firepower of the Axis finished the job. The Regio Aeuronautica did well for once - they didn't kill much, but 3 interceptions paid for them. The Sturmos got 2 L6s, but really didn't do enough. The open terrain was a big bonus for the Ities as it favoured the defence & the Axis artillery advantage forced the Russians to attack. One day Steve's going to get a bit of luck going his way & someone will be in Big Trouble.

The pic is taken at the end from behind the Russian left. The Umpire is pointing at the Command L6 still bogged in the ford. The 2 KVs on the far table edge, the adjacent Scout team & the HQ by the creek in foreground are all that remain of the Russian army. The Ities haven't lost a platoon (though the Guastatori are down to 1 team).

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Hill 275 15/10/2006


Cameron vs Nick -- Tactica

Cameron came up for a quick tactica game. We did early Byzantines (or, as I prefer, Justinian Romans) (Nick) vs Italian Ostrogoths (Cameron).

The Byzantines deployed for a double envelopment -- a hollow center (with a reserve to move to the appropriate flank) and a strike force on each wing. The Goths deployed a hammer of massed cavalry on one flank.

The Byzantines tried to get around one flank of the Goth hammer but were caught and crushed. The Goth hammer then slammed into the infantry center and winged the hook on the other flank, killing enough units to cause the Byzantines to break. The Byzantines had managed to get around the Goths on the other flank and were starting to roll them up, but it was too little too late.

Camp Cromwell Thursday 12/10/06

Present: Jim, MarkO, SteveJ, Chris Arthur & James
SteveJ's Panzers v. MarkO's US Inf
2000 pts Trenchfight on Mediteranean Terrain.
The US deployed GIs on the objective, 1 of 2 105 batteries in rear & had Shermans & 57mm A/tank in ambush.
Steve made a methodical approach in two columns. Engineers & tanks on the right where woods covered the advance. Tanks supported by Tiger on the left behind Recon.
The 2nd US artillery was deployed as 1st reserve & the Time On Target began to hurt the Germans (one salvo took out a platoon of 3 tanks). The attack on the German left reached the infantry on the objective but the Sherman ambush & oncoming Honeys & M10s blew them away. Remaining MkIIIs & the Tiger played hide & seek about a wood while sniping away & gradually reduced the US Armour on the flank.
On the other flank the advance drew the A/tank gun ambush, killed 2 of them, pinned the rest then attacked the objective. The GIs were destroyed as was a second platoon sent in from reserve & the Panzers took the objective. But they but couldn't survive the fire of the artillery, surviving a/tank guns & M10. They failed army morale with just the Tiger, Engineers (in an infantry fight in a village covering the right flank) & a bailed MkIII left.
The US didn't have air, the Huns did, but it did nothing - mostly didn't show & when it did, it never hit a thing - maybe the difference between winning & losing.

Camp Cromwell: Wednesday 11/10/06


Nick's Panzers v. Jim's US Infantry

2000 pts Cauldron, Panzers attacking on Mediteranean Terrain.
The Panzers benefited from a good deployment - with all their forces concentrated.
They smothered the anti-tank guns and artillery with fire and lost just 2 tanks before destroying them.
MkIIIs then rushed an objective on a rocky knoll. They drove past the objective, but terrain & bazooka bails stopped them with just 1 GI unit left within 10cm of the objective. The MkIIs finished the GIs off and took the objective.
Newly arrived Shermans killed or bailed all the MkIIs to buy some time as the 75mm TDs & Honeys came up. The TDs whitled away at the Panzers but the Shermans & then the Honeys died as they tried to contest the objective. Finally the Panzers rolled over the GIs on the other objective & won both by morale failure + objective.
While the mass of advancing Panzers looked irresitible, it was still a close battle in the end - the Panzers had lost 2 of 4 platoons with 1 down to 1 tank - so an Army Morale test for them was only 1 hot shot away.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Camp Cromwell 15/10/06

Maharajah Elimination Final #2: MarkO's US Inf v. MarkW's FJ

2000 pts Breakthrough, US defending in messy Tunisia terrain.
Umpires: Jim, Steves^2, Nick.

The US so-called Infantry had as many tanks as some Armoured Coys so attacking was not a good looking option for the FJ, but the dice had so decreed.
Mark put one Infantry in reserve and stormed forward on his right with the other two.
The air pretty well neutralised each other with both sides doing well with interceptions.
MarkW's luck was pretty appalling and his attack petered out against dug in infantry supported by Honeys (arriving early from reserve).
The FJ's only real chance of victory was the reserve infantry platoon which came on promptly and grabbed the far objective on turn 3 before the US could get troops onto it. The US rushed Shermans & infantry towards the objective as they bombarded it with air, mortar & artillery fire. The FJs survived the bombardments pretty well, but failed to dig in and then got hit hard by the Shermans' MGs. Lousy saves lead to a morale test & when the platoon failed morale it was Game Over for the FJ.

MarkW is eliminated from Maharajah 2006, MarkO will play the loser of the 2nd Qualifying Final (SteveJ or Chris).

Friday, September 29, 2006

Camp Cromwell 28/09/06

SteveJ's Strelkovy v. Jim & Mark's Fucilieri.

Encounter mission on a random hilly, rocky Tunisia 8x6 table (must have been in the Caucasus).
Jim & Mark had 2 1000 pts Fucilieri Coys v. Steve's 2000 pts.
Steve's infantry was supported by 10 T34s & GOWs. The Ities had Sporadic Air.

The Russians attacked on both flanks. The T34s started on the right, but finding the Ities A/tank concentrated there, they doubled left and supported the attack there. The attacks were slow to develop due to late arrival of reserves (on both sides). In the meantime a battle of attrition went on. The Gods whittled away at the Itie guns and vice versa. The T34s took steady losses from Stukas (for once the Regio Areonautica showed up regularly) and heavy artillery. By the time the Russian attack on their left went in the T34s were about half gone & they were finished off by redeployed A/tank guns. Their supporting infantry broke the front line, but were mown down by HMGs. On the other flank Steve wasted one infantry unit by allowing them to be bottled up on a mountain top. The other infantry unit was worn down by gunfire, then the pesky L6's finished it off and charged onto the objective. A last counterattack by the AA & A/tank guns failed to blow the L6s off the objective - another win for the Axis.

Camp Cromwell Tuesday 26/09/06

SteveP's Strelkovy v. Jim's Panzers

2000 pts Trenchfight, Russians defending on random East Front 8x6 table.
Steve's army had the usual horde supported by 3KVs, 4 SU76 & the Gods of War.
Jim's army had some MkIVGs, MkIVF1s, MkIIIJs, a Tiger & Nebelweffers.

The Germans won the tank fight easily - they had better tanks, more of them, good tactical smoke & better of luck as well. But they then found out that facing an aggressively lead infantry horde backed up by a shirtload of artillery is a very dangerous business for tanks without infantry support. They lost 10 of their 13 tanks before the last 2 MkIVs broke through and grabbed the objective - a win for the Bad Guys.
The KVs were dealt with by the Tiger & MkIV*s, but once they were gone, the Tiger was reduced to backing away from the horde while sniping at artillery. The Sturmoviks didn't do much directly - didn't show up mostly & killed just 1 MkIII, but they did severely restrict the German deployment. The Nebels didn't kill much but their smoke was used to good tactical effect.
The Trenchfight scenario is a Hold the Line variant - the only differences being limited defences helping the defence and preliminary bombardment helping the attack.
My first time commanding Ostfront Panzers - recommended for meglomaniacs - one feels very powerful (at least until the horde starts swamping you).

Camp Cromwell 21/09/06

Camp Cromwell 21/09/06

A quiet night tonight - just SteveJ & Jim.

SteveJ's Grenadiers v. Jim's Indian Rifles.

2000 pts Breakthrough on 8x6 table, Germans defending.
Steve's army was his usual mob except he had a Tiger with 2 MkIIIN handmaidens & no 88's.
Jim's was his usual Injuns with lots of artillery & a Matilda platoon.

Steve did his usual trick of deploying off the objectives and covering the ground with big guns. The Indians responded by rushing the closest objective. By turn 2 they had it in their possession, but then realised that they had to hold it until turn 6 to actually win. The Injuns had outrun the cover of their HMGs & Boffors & the double 25pdrs went thru a bad patch while the German artillery chewed curry. All this allowed a Grenadier Coy to retake the objective. The Matildas turned up out of reserve a turn too late - the Panzers were by then close enough to blow them off the other objective. A last Indian attack petered out when the remnants of the Grenadiers refused to fail morale. The Indians had a remote chance of victory in a long term artillery duel, but it was 11 oclock & the battle was awarded to the defenders on time.

This was a late Midwar Ostfront Coy v. a mid Midwar Afrika Coy - the Matildas were hopelessly outclassed by the Panzers. But it was close run thing - the Germans survived a few morale tests that could have ended the game.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Fort Floriet 19/09/06

Only a small turnout this week with Doug, Aggro & Chris.

Practice game a Meeting Engagement was diced.
Chris DAK 15th Panzer Division 1500pts vs. Agro Grenadiers 1600pts.

Aggro deployed 88's concealed behind ridge on the left objective with mortars on their left & a Grenadier Platoon on the Right objective. Chris placed 4x Panzer II's in centre and 4 X F1's on the right flank with the 2 IC Panzer III J covering the DAK left hand objective.

Turn 1. Aggro got 1st turn and dug in all 3 platoons. Chris went to plan B, as his F1's would now be very unlikely to kill any 88's. Panzer II's advanced under cover as did the F1's on the DAK right.

Turn 2. Aggros airpower and mortars did nothing. DAK went all out offensive before reserves arrived 4 Panzer II's and 4 Panzer F1's only managed to kill one 88 the II's tried to assault but were beaten off and failed platoon morale.

Turn 3. No reserves planes bailed 1 IV F1. The F1's advanced killing the 88's and sat on the objective.

Turn 4. Aggro got a reserve to save the game and a platoon of grenadiers contested the objective before being cut to shreds by the DAK. The remaining sole survivor fled on the following turn.

Turn 5. Aggro got another grenadier platoon, which came on but needed to assault in order to contest the objective. The DAK had 3 functional tanks and 1 bailed left. The Grenadiers failed their tank terror and Game over.

A 5-2 victory to Chris's Panzers.

The DAK Recon are going to London, Paris, Rome, Munich Amsterdam etc. May try to get to the Bovington tank museum pics to follow in a few weeks. So no Fort Floriet for 4 weeks.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Camp Cromwell 14/09/06


Thursday at Camp Cromwell

Tactica: Jim & Oakie's Byzantines v. SteveJ's Huns
Also present: Nick (umpire), Dillon & Cameron.

The Byzantines moved to outflank the Hun left while holding back in the left & centre.
The Huns tried to manoeuvre to face the threat but couldn't match the cunning Byzanine's flexibilty.
Also, six 6's in 8 dice for the Byzanyine's first skirmish fire put the wind up the Huns from the start.
The Huns attacked on their right and 1 heavy Cav unit showed what Huns could do by bowling over a smaller Byzantine Heavy Cav quicksmart. But their Light Cav on that flank was destroyed by Heavys. In centre the Byzantine Infantry drove off another Hun Cav. Another Hun Cav was held by Byz Cav long enought for the Infantry to hit it in flank and finish it off.
Meanwhile, on the Hun left 3 Hun cavalry units were rounded up by the more manouvreable Byzantines.
The Byzantines used their superior manouvrability to generally avoid frontal fights which they could have easily lost & to create flank attacks which are deadly in these rules. A classic case of a good plan backed up with good dice - result a decisive victory for Byzantium.
Tactica rules are bit too stylised for some, but they are a fun set of easy-to-play rules. Better than most.

MAHARAJAH 2006

The current standings in the Maharajah are:
1. Jim 98
2. SteveJ 54
3. Chris 52
4. SteveP 51
5. 5. Nick 29
6. MarkO 25
7. MarkW 23
8. Peter 16
9. Barrie 16 (behind Peter on win/loss ratio)
10. Mariusz 10
The home & away continues until the end of September so the 8 could still change a bit.

Maharajah 2006 Finals Format

Roster: AFL Final 8 system.

Acceptances: Eligible players must confirm they will be able to take part & meet the schedule before we start.
If any of the 8 drop out, the players ranked below will be promoted & no. 9 will become no.8.
The 4 First Round matches are to be played in October.
The 4 2nd & 3rd Round matches in November.
The Grand Final will be in December.
Dates will be set for each match after consultantion with the players and no-shows will be forfeit unless the excuse is impressive & an alternative date is available.

Format: 2,000 pts on 8x6 table.

Scenarios:
Standard scenarios selected by dice using the V2 Hardback Table with one veto each.
The players can also agree to mutual vetos of some scenarios before dicing.

Terrain: FOW dice system for the region appropriate for the army pairing (we can use my spreadsheet which has the same recipes).

Historical matches: Where possible battles will be Axis v. Allies with both armies either Afrika or Ostfront.

Company selection:
Each player must nominate up to 3 company types in order of preference - one only from each side in each book.
Eg: 1. Afrika Fucilieri. 2. Ostfront Fucilieri. 3. Afrika Indian Rifles.
3 selections are preferred as if everyone has 3 selections we will always be able to have historical opponents.
If you only have 2 armies you like, that will suffice as long as they are different sides (though this could lead to Afrika v. Ostfront fights).
If you only have 1 favourite army, that will be ok as long as you are the only one.
In each pairing of players the highest ranked pairing of compatible opponents will be used (or the players can agree to another pairing).
If there are two equally high ranked pairings, the highest ranked player chooses.
If a player only has 1 coy, his opponent can choose which one of his valid opponents he uses against it.

Platoon selection:
The players may finalise their platoon selection for each match after determining who is their opponent and which coy type they will be fighting.
They may change their platoon selections between rounds.
The platoon selection is made before determining scenario or terrain.
In any match the players concerned may agree to limit the time scale tighter than just mid war, or to a particular campaign, or say pre Sherman or pre Pussy.

Time
Battles not finished by midnight are won by the attacker/defender where so nominated by the FOW rules for the scenario.
In scenarios with the Fair Fight rule, timed out battles are won by the player highest ranked on the roster.

Camp Cromwell 12/09/06

Tuesday at Camp Cromwell

Game 1: SteveP's Grenadiers v. Jim's Brat Light Armour
1460 pts each, Germans defending a Cauldron on 6x4 desert terrain
The tank swarm (3 Grants & 8 Crusaders) over-ran the German position on turn 3.

Game 2: SteveP's Grenadiers v. Jim's Brat Light Armour
1460 pts each, Germans defending a Trenchfight on 6x4 desert terrain
This time Steve was able to deploy minefields to funnel the swarm into the Marder killing ground. 3 Shermans & 3 Crusaders died before the 4 Marders were overcome (2 by surviving Crusaders, 1 by Boyes & 1 by morale). Meanwhile the only German reinforcements to arrive were the 105s. The RAF kept them pinned down & unable to contribute for the duration. There were enough Crusaders left (5) to finish off the Grenadiers on the objective.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Fort Floriet 12/06/09

Four players this week Doug, Aggro Chris & a new Russian Player Rob.

Doug played an introductory game with Rob - Russians vs. Frogs. Rob learned that Russians can get slaughtered by confident trained troops with lots of MGs.

Hold the Line: Chris 1500pts Tunisian Germs vs. Aggro 1600pts Grenadiers.
The 2 armies were similar in make up so however got to defend was in the box seat. Chris got to defend and lost 3 stands and 1 Stug F8 to the 120mm Mortars (Chris's dreaded luck with the Stugs continued needing a 1 on the dice for the mortars to have a chance). 6:1 win to Chris.

The 3rd Round draw was done for the next round of the Northern Tourney and a Hold the Line Mission was diced. Current standings with an incomplete 2nd round.
Round NumberPlayer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Chris 6 12 Doug 5 Corinna 1 7 Aggro 6 7 Rodney 4 Matt 3 Starn 2 3 James S 1.

Next week will be the last Floreat Night for 3 weeks Chris is on a Recon mission oseas. Hope to have a big turn out next week and maybe complete the round 2 games.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Camp Cromwell 07/09/06

English Civil War - Camp Cromwell Rules

Peter's Royalists v. Nick's Parliament.

A small battle with 2 pike, 2 musketeer & 3 or 4 cavalry command groups (2-4 units each) a side to test the lastest fiddles with the Camp Cromwell rules.
There was a good deal of cavaliers riding down roundheads then galloping into the sunset.
The parliament's foot did best in in the centre where a musketeer unit got in a flank attack to good effect.
On the parliament's right a steady flow of 6's allowed the roundhead horse to beat the cavaliers.
With their centre shattered and most of their remaining troops in fruitless pursuit the royalists were beaten.

It seeems some of my critisism of the Warhammer Rules last week was unfounded. Nick confessed that some of the weirder events were allowed by his unfamiliarity with the rules. The tweaks to the CC Rules are coming along ok. I found a few more items to iron out tonight.

FOW: SteveJ's Grenadiers v. SteveP's Ivans in 2000 pts FFA on 8x6

It seemed that the rows of German tubes wore the Ivans down and the Grenadiers then walked over the field to bayonet the wounded.

Mahrajah 2006

With only 3 more weeeks to go to the end of the Home & Away, the ladder is currently:
1. Jim
2/3/4: SteveJ, SteveP & Chris are very close.
5. Nick
6/7. MarkO & MarkW are very close.
8/9. Peter & Barrie are very close for 8th spot.
The contenders should be considering their 2000 pt armies. Everyone should select their 2 or 3 favourite Coys - no more than one each of each side from each book. Then we should always be able to have historical match ups in each game.

Fort Floriet 05/09/06

Five players attended this week, which seems to be the magic number lately. Two FFA Tourney games were played.

Game 1. Starn 1600pts Russians vs. Chris 1500pts Tunisian GermsThe Russians failed Company morale after 6 turns of being bombed, mortared, Artillery and Machine Gunned. The Stugs took out 3 Matildas.A 6:1 win to the Germans losing 4 stands in the process.

Game 2. Corinna 1600pts Grenadiers vs. Aggro 1600pts GrenadiersAlthough Corinna won the game 6:1 it was a lot closer than the result showed. Corinna saved 2 platoons by passing the sole survivor motivation checks so technically didn't lose a single platoon. The main parts of the battle hinged on Corinna's Tiger & Pz III taking the left objective under the hail of shots from an 88 and some 105's. The Tigers took the objective eventually. Meanwhile on the other flank 2 of Aggros Grenadier Platoons advanced on the left objective, they were worn down and ground to a halt as they assaulted the objective. They were just repulsed by a healthy Grenadier Platoon preventing Aggro taking the objective.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Camp Cromwell Thursday 31/08/06

English Civil War to Warhammer Rules

Jim & SteveJ's Parliament v. Mariusz & SteveP's Royalists - Nick umpiring.
The Parliamentary army was larger & better equiped but had poor morale. Their commanders decided to defend & let the Royalists do the walking. Rupert lead an attack with an unsupported cavalry unit at the centre of the Parliamentary line. Nearly half of Rupert's unit got shot down as they advanced but when they charged the Parliamentarian pike & shot ran away. The follow up took out a second pike & shot unit, then was stopped when it hit a cavalry unit. On both flanks, the Parliament's horse ran without a fight when charged by Cavaliers. At left centre SteveJ's cavalry got lucky & routed the best Royalist horse unit. A Parliamentary Pike unit in good position to counterattak Rupert in flank was taken over by an Agitator & charged off in the other direction - to be overwelmed by Royalist pikes. The Parliamentary reserve cavalry was prevented from attacking Rupert's other flank by follow up of the rout from the right flank. Rupert's unit, down to about 20% strength cleaned up the horse to their front to finish the battle.

The rules are not to my taste. Issues include:
1) The combat resolution system is tedious, overly complex & there are too few options to influence things by tactical decisions - troop types & luck seem to be all that matter.
2) The movement rules don't reflect what I think is reality - no penalty for wheeling & units can even wheel freely in a charge.
3) The morale rules are too luck dependant - you're either lucky or not - with too few options to influence things by tactical decisions.
4) A cavalry unit can make an unsupported attack on a line of pike & shot & have an excellent chance of carving their way through. Even for a charge lead by Rupert against mediocre troops it seemed a bit rich - stopping cavalry is what pikes were for.
5) 6's are not always good - in morale you need to throw 1's, in combat you need to throw 6's.
6) Too many crazy rules about heros, agitators, standard bearers, etc, etc.
7) It seems very easy for a capricous or random issue like having a unit 1cm this way or that to determine victory or defeat.

Fort Floriet Tuesday 29/08/06

Game 1: Jim's Carri (1505pts) attacking Rodney's Kiwis (1600pts) in HTL.

From page 1 of the Gazzetta di Roma:
"The gallant Compania d'Angelo's adacious attack by just 2 Carri platoons over-ran a British 25 pounder battery and seized the objective. They then withstood a feeble counterattack and the enemy fled like a flock of sheep."

From page 13 of the Wellington Post:
"The Desert Fox himself launched a surpise attack on our position with overwhelming numbers of his crack Afrika Corps including several platoons of the lastest model Panzers. Our troops made a brilliant strategic withdrawal. We lost a few guns, but left the field littered with burning Panzers."

The truth:
The inexperienced Kiwi general didn't protect the forward objective well enough. The Ities exploited the terrain to leapfrog 2 Carri platoons onto the objective in 2 turns. The 25pdrs on the objective were pinned by artillery and smothered by 11 M14s - which then consolidated about the objective. A Sherman ambush plus a timely reserve Sherman platoon tried to blow them off it - but 3 Carri killed & a bail was nowhere near enough. A Maori infantry platoon had no hope of attacking the remaining tanks so it was game over at the start of Turn 3.

Game 2: Rodney's Kiwis (1600pts) v. Agro's Grenadiers (1600pts) in FFA.

On turn 1 Agro got 3 Messersmits They caught a Kiwi Sherman platoon bunched up & destroyed it. That was 1/4 of the Kiwi army gone on turn 1 and they never recovered. Two 88's dominated the field & the Kiwi 25pdrs spent the whole battle failing miserably to hurt them. The Kiwi force melted away under continual pounding from an omnipresent Luftwaffe, a 105 battery, a mortar battery & 2 HMGs. Spirited counterattacks by Maori infantry & the surviving Shermans failed to stop the Grenadiers who eventually climbed over the bodies to take an objective.

Game 3: Chris's Marschkompanie (1500pts) v. Doug's Free Frogs (1500pts) in a FFA.

Both sides farted about for a couple of hours before agreeing on a draw.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Camp Cromwell 30/08/2006

Warhammer ECW

Jim was ripped off! We tried a free for all using Warhammer ECW. Unfortunately, I didnt print off the army lists I had chosen. Going from memory, I had most of the parliamentary army as 'raw' -- so they had to take morale tests when charged. But I had paid for them to be 'steady', so they should have been able to stand up to the royalists.

The results were inevitable -- Jim's pike and shot were charged, failed morale, ran away, and exposed the rest of the line to be rolled up. Prince Rupert and his cronies were reduced to a few gentlemen, but had ripped the heart out of the parliamentarians. The Parliamentarian cuirassiers ran away in their panic test, and Jim conceeded the game (as only Jim can).

The mistakes were legion:
- Incorrect morale for the parliamentarian infantry.
- Incorrect armour for the royalist cav -- they had light armour.
- Incorrect unit sizes for the parliamentarians -- they had too many cav.
- Incorrect unit sizes for the parliamentarian infantry -- they were based in a pike block that was 3x3. Unfortunately, the rules require 4 figs in a rank to get a rank bonus, so this was the worst formation they could be in -- no rank bonus and no frontage to fight on.

Still, good to experiment with different rules sets.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Camp Cromwell 24/08/06

A quiet night tonight - just SteveJ, Jim & a late Peter.

SteveJ's Grenadiers defending v. Jim's Russians in a HTL.

Jim stuffed up first turn by rushing forward with his T34s forgetting about the Pak 40 ambush (a week in the bush does things to your head). This cost him his T34 platoon. The rest of the Russians charged on. The infantry made it to the objective & actually took it briefly before melting away under a hail of Nazi bullets. Another win to Huns.

Fort Floriet 22/08/06

Game 1: Steve Jendrich made the trip up from Hobart and used his Russians against Aggros grenadiers in a Free for All. A close game but Steves KVs won the day Aggro having nothing to stop them on his right flank. The German 88's were deployed to far to the left preventing them dominating the battlefield.4-3 win to Steves Russians.

Game 2. The final round 1 game for the Floreat Tourney.Encounter Starn 1600pts russians vs Doug 1500pts Frogs (USA impersonaters). A long slog the Russians lokked good early but melted away under a hail of Machine Guns. The Frogs lost 1 platoon before the Russians failed company morale. 5-2 win to the Frogs. The handicapping system seems to work at least in the encounter scenario where numbers cant used as easily early on.

Current Standings after Round 1. Chris 1 win 6pts. Aggro 1 win 6pts. Doug 1 win 5pts. Rodney 1 win 4pts. Matt 3ptsStarn 2pts. Corina 1pt. James Scott 1pt.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Fort Floriet 15/08/06

A big turn out htis week with 8 players.

Floreat Tourney First round Encounter Games played

Table 1. James Scott 1600pts USA Rifle Coy vs Aggro 1600pts Grenadiers. The Shermans got minced by the 88's and the Germans took the right hand objective for a 6:1 win to Aggro.

Table 2. Corinna 1600pts Grenadiers vs Chris 1500pts DAK. The Dak took out the enemy artillery and pushed for the right hand objective taking it, but were beaten back off by the Grenadier reserves. The DAK re took the objective to get a 6:1 win. The DAk had horrendous casualties which luckily were spread over 5 platoons.

Table 3. Matt 1600pt Finns vs. Rod 1600pts New Zealanders.A 6:1 win to the Sheep lovers the more experienced wargamer Rodney adapted quickly to the world war 2 game system.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Area 52 Competition Week 2: 13/08/06





Week 2 saw more furious action. This time we had 6 players, so 3 games per round.

Round 3 -- Hold the line

Nick vs Mark. US Armour vs Fallschamjagers. The US armour was dominating -- destroying all of the German's antitank equipment. Unfortunately, they ran out of time, and the Germans got a 6:1 win under defender rules!

Peter vs Steve II. US Infantry vs Russian Infantry. The Russians had to assault accross the river. They never made it -- a 6:1 to the US Infantry.

Chris vs Steve I. Afrika Corps march company vs German grenadiers. The Afrika Corps was having a bad day. But the grenadiers could not clinch victory before the end of the round. A 4:3 to the Afrika Korps!

Round 4 -- Roadblock.

Nick vs Steve II. Russian infantry with KV's vs US armour. The openning ambush killed ALL the Shermans. The US went on the offensive with their Stuarts and armoured infantry, mowing down hordes of Russians. But the KV's advanced relentlessly. When time was up the objective was still contested by the US scout platoon, so a 6:1 to the US. But in another turn it would have been a different story!!!

Peter vs Steve I. US infantry vs German grenadiers. Not much information, but a 6:1 to the US infantry.

Mark vs Chris. FJ's vs Afrika Korps. The ambush took out the Afrika Korps artillery. But two Stugs remained, and they held off the FJs while reinforcements rushed in.

Camp Cromwell 10/08/06

Thursday at Camp Cromwell: Roadblock Practice

1. Jim's Stelkovy ambushing Nick's US Armour
The Soviet anti-tank guns got 3 Shermans and bailed another in the ambush, but the gunners were in their turn gunned down by Homeys & MGs. The KVs then began a ponderous advance on an objective while the US set about mowing down Ivan infantry. The KVs took the objective, but losses of other platoons meant they were dependant on passing company tests to stay in business. The US Recon managed to contest the objective long enough for the Soviets to fail a morale test.

2. MarkW's Grenadiers ambushing SteveP's Strelkovy with Cossacks
Another tough fight. The Grenadiers eventually got to an objective. The Shermans attacked to take it back & were destroyed. This left the Germans on the objective, but they were below half strength and had to pass morale to win the battle. They failed the test & lost.

3. SteveJ's Grenadiers ambushing MarkO's US Armour
The Cossacks ran amok - overunning Pak 40s & two infantry platoons to win the battle single handed.

Verdict on Roadblock scenario. Pretty good. The "Attacker" won all 3, but 2 of them were very close - one decided by a single dice roll. So it seems balanced.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Fort Floriet 8/8/6

Only 4 people this week Doug, Aggro, Rod & Chris. We played a beer and pretzels tanker challenge Aggro & Chris Axis vs. Rodney & Doug Soviet. A bit of fun Chris was 1st to 100pts of kills and the Axis had victory on the night.All lists bar 2 are ready for the Floreat Tourney so we hope to play the first round next week. A total 9 entrants 4 more than the Area 52 Tourney. The 3rd Area 52 Tournament had a disappointing turn out from the non-Hobartians maybe it needs to be better advertised or promoted? First round will be an Encounter Mission and we will rotate randomly through the 4 chosen, and then repeat.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Area 52 Competition Week 1: 06/08/06

AREA 52 FOW TOURNAMENT 6-13 August 2006: Week 1 report

A disappointing sign up of just 6 players, made worse by Mark having to hold the fort in the shop & being forced to forfeit his matches in the first week. Nick Bowler was unavailable for week 1, but teamed up with Jim Gandy who is unavailable for week 2. On the plus side there were some apologies and a few interested spectators unable or not ready to take part this time.


Round 1: Encounter Scenario

Jim Gandy's US Armour v. Chris Raine's DAK Marschkompanie Coy
The first moves were rushed through as both sides waited for their reserves arrived before being prepared to attack. Both attacked on their left when they were ready. The German attack with infantry & Stugs supported by artillery and mortars was slowed down by accurate fire from the US SP artllery. The US attack by Stuarts and Shermans used the terrain to let them get in close to the 88s which were smothered before they could even fire. The combined attack on the objective by Shermans & Stuarts was irressisable. The DAK lost 1 Stug, their 88 platoon, 2 Infantry Platoons & a Pioneer Platoon. The US lost just 2 infantry teams in a 6:1 win.

Steve Jendrich's Grenadiers v. Steve Page's Strelkovy

The Russians advanced a tidal wave of infantry across the table under heavy fire. They got to the objectives, but were blasted back off them by German fire & counterattacks. The KVs were still advancing ponderously & might have clinched victory given time. But time ran out with heavy losses on both sides and the battle was adjudged to be a 3:3 tie.

Bye:

Peter Moy (4 points).

Round 2: Breakthrough Scenario

Jim Gandy's US Armour attacking Steve Jendrich's Grenadiers.

The battle opened with the US Armour standing toe to toe with dug in & concealed Pak 40's. It took 4 turns of up to 30 dice a turn for the US to finally get the last one. Meanwhile the German 105s & Henschells were wearing the US down. By the time the Paks were finished off the US had lost 2 Priests, 2 Shermans & 3 Stuarts. But the US had stuck to their plan, the surviving Stuarts had broken off from the fire fight to join the GIs in their half tracks in a right hook towards the closest objective. The objective defended by the fire zones of AA guns & 88s. The GIs, still in their half tracks, plus the surviving US armour charged over the hill that had covered their aproach and took the objective. The Recon also still mounted came on from reserve to cover their right flank. The Germans hit them with 88s, AA & Henschells. The last Stuarts, Shermans & Priests died, as did a half track, but the SP guns passed their morale test still leaving the US with more than half their platoons on the table and inn possession of the objective. The US 5 Shermans, 5 Stuarts, 3 Priests & 1 half track . The Germans lost their Pak40 platoon & a few infantry teams. A close 4:3 victory to the US.

Peter Moy's US Infantry defending v. Chris Rain's DAK Marschkompanie

The DAL were severely constrained in their deployment by the terrain (crammed behind a big hill) and they suffered badly from the US artillery before they couild spread out. They finally did break out and when their reserves came on put some pressure on the objectives, but time ran out before they could take one, so under the Defender Wins Rule (which applies to this scenario), the US won. The US had lost a platoon. The DAK hadn't lost any platoons, but had much higher casualties than the US. A 5:2 victory to the US.

Bye:

Steve Page (4 points).

Generalship Standings after Week 1

Jim/Nick (US Armour) 11
Peter Moy (US Infantry) 9
Steve Page (Strelkovy) 7
Steve Jendrich (Grenadiers) 6
Chris Raine (Dak Marschkompanie) 3

Friday, August 04, 2006

Camp Cromwell 04/08/06

Tournament Practice Matches at Camp Cromwell 04/08/06:

Present: Jim, 2xSteves, Barrie, Peter & MarkO.

1. SteveP's Russian Armour attacking SteveJ's Grenadiers in a Hold The Line

The 88 ambush bailed up 5 T34 - which promptly unbailed & blew the 88s away.
The KVs moseyed onto the objective & the Germans couldn't stop them.

2. Jim's Grenadiers v. Barrie's US Armour in Encounter

The Germans protected their RHS objective with Pak40s & their LHS with HMGs & Grenadiers.
The US put Honeys on their LHS & Engineers on their RHS.
The Germans opened the batting by attacking on their left. The Engineers copped a pounding by HMGs before Barrie realised their ROF had gone up to 6. The Grenadiers followed up and destroyed the Engineers, Bulldozer & all. They broke through to take the objective from the Recon. On the other flank the threat to the US right had made Barrie move his Honeys to the right. The Panzers double moved behind a hilly wood to occupy the other objective.
The Honeys mowed down the grenadiers to retake their RHS objective. The Shermans had to move to cover the other one. This gave the Panzers first shot & an advantage they never gave up. The Shermans & MkIIIs & IVs traded blows. The Germans lost 2 tanks, but the Shermans were all killed or bailed & failed morale. This forced an army morale test which they failed.

Fort Floriet 02/08/06

Six players in attendance. The draw was done for the Floreat Round Robin to be announced next week as 4 players still to publish lists.

Game 1: Continuation of last weeks game James Scott Brat Armour vs Rodney Dak PanzersThe Germans continued picking off the British Armour piece meal eventually forcing a Company morale check for the British which they auto failed with no Company Commander.

Game 2: Practice game Encounter Corinna Grenadiers 1600pts vs Matt Russian Infantry 1600ptsThe game was fought to an inconclusive draw as time got the better of people. The Germans were enjoying the long range sniping as the less experienced Russian player sat in defensive mode. The small Russian attack up the right was held off fairly easily.

Game 3: 1500pts Free for All Dak Armour Rodney vs Brat Light Armour Chris (rematch of game 1 same forces different players)Chris had more platoons so weighted the right flank to try and breakthrough to the right hand objective.British right flank 13 Crusader III's, centre 3 Grants left flank 3 Grants & 3 Crusader III's. Facing this forminable force. On the German left 4 Panzer III early & 3 Panzer III lates, centre 3 Marders, Right flank 2 Stug D's & 3 Panzer IV F1's with a Panzer III early.As always the germans were out numbered. The british engaged with 10 Crusaders on the right vs 7 Panzer III's. What was supposed to be an easy kill for the Britsh here turned out to be a disaster.The British lost 4 tanks (including the 2 IC) and only destroyed one Panzer III late.On the opposite flank the Germans advanced through scrub. The unlucky Panzer III bogged and stayed bogged for 4 turns it finally unbogged' but then immediately bogged again trying to get out needless to say it took no further part in the game.The Marders advanced into scrub and fired at long range killing a Grant. A bad start for the Poms.The British reinforced the right with the last 3 Crusaders which drew the Marders out to play.The marders got destroyed on the following turn and the Crusaders withdrew from the right under cover of a hill.The Germans advanced to a hull down position on their left killing another Crusader. This still left 8 Crusaders on the British right which returned fire killing all but 1 of the Panzers. The Germans advanced on their other flank losing the Stugs but killing a crusader platoon.The final Panzer III on the German left got popped and germans failed company morale.5-2 win to the British (even though they lost 10 tanks).

Monday, July 31, 2006

Hadspen HQ 31/07/06

Starn & Chris had a practice game for the up coming Tourneys and to get more familiar with version 2 rules.V2 EncounterStarn 1600pts Russian Infantry vs Chris 1500pts DAK Grenadier Marsche Company.

Starn deployed his HQ on the right, Strelk 1 in centre protecting an objective, Strelk 2 left side supported by 76mm guns.The Dak left had a Platoon of Grenadiers (Confident trained) attached HMGs & C in C, mortars & 105's in the centre partially concealed by a hill, 2nd grenadiers on right.Both sides had air.The Dak artillery & mortars made a mess of the 76mm Russian guns which vapourised after 3 turns.The Russians got lots of air but it had limited effect killing a mortar.The Dak air likewise was fairly in effectual, Chris wasted 3 dice on failed interceptions. But the air came good and helped polish off a Matilda platoon combined with the F 8's.

The long range duel suited the Germans so the Russians started to advance with fresh reserves on the table. The Dak HMGs and rifle MGs blew away the 2 understrength Strelks with the help of the artillery & mortars. The Dak lost a pioneer rifle platoon in the process.The Stugs turned their attention to the Su 122's. Russian air killed a Stug but the remaining Stug with the help of artillery and air support eventually polished off the Su 122's.The Dak advanced on the right objective and took it before the russians failed company morale.5-2 win to the DAk.

Post mortem: The Encounter Scenario reduces the Russians effectiveness, as it is harder for them to concentrate their forces for an attack. Early in the game the DAk left was weak but 2 reserves eventually came on to make it the stronger wing. Dak trained troops took a while to get used to not as reliable.

The rules went fairly smoothly but it was sometimes difficult to place the Planes. Starn and Chris both got lucky and got 3 planes at times but these couldnt be placed to close to the table sides or you lose one of the flanking aircraft. The edge effect of the table good to deploy troops on.By coming on from the opponents end of the table helped prevent the planes being to close to your own toops (ie :aborting their attack).

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Camp Cromwell Report 25/07/06

Tuesday 23/07/06 at Camp Cromwell

SteveP’s Russian Infantry v. Jim’s Fucilieri in a 1500 pts V2 Ostfront FFA on 6x4 table.

Steve rejected the Russian swarm theory and dug in on his left and centre while on his right he advanced infantry onto a flat topped hill where it was safe from artillery observation and waited for the Ities to attack. The Gods of War were behind the hill on the right, his SP guns in support of his left.
The Ities had a line of infantry across the front stiffened with HMGs in the centre & a/tank guns on the right. Behind that there was row of artillery & mortars. L6’s were in reserve in the centre.
The Ities took an early blow when the Sturmovics struck before the L6s had space to spread out and killed 2 of them plus 2 infantry. Soon after the Regio Aeuronautica took out an SP gun, but that was the end of the damage from the air. The Sturmovic’s came back regularly but just couldn’t hit anything, while the RegioA just never showed up again.
With the enemy either out of sight of observers, or well dug in, the Ities couldn’t use their superior artillery effectively so they attacked on their left. The L6’s and infantry drove the Russians off the hill and charged down the other side. The Gods of War stopped the L6s & the Itie infantry ran out of bodies before it could kill enough Russians to get to the objective.
The Ities now lacked the punch to renew the attack but their defence was still strong enough to deter any Russian advance.
A draw was agreed to after an entertaining four hour footslog.
The new air rules are a huge improvement, but they don’t address the problem of some player’s abilty to throw in excess of 12 dice & get just one 5+.

Wednesday 24/07/06 at Hillcrest HQ

Nick's US Infantry v. Jim's Carri in a 1500 pt Encounter Scenario on 6x4 table.

Nick deployed infantry on each objective with M10s in their left centre. Scouts, artillery & Honeys in reserve.
Jim deployed Bersaliglieri on the left objective, artillery on the right objective & 1st M14 platoon on the right. 2nd M14, Semos & L6s in reserve.
The Itie armour charged forward on the right where some small hills gave them cover to get close to the M10s. The M10s used their recon to bug out of the contest with the Carri then advanced on the Bersaliglieri. The 2nd Carri came on early and rushed forward in support of the 1st Carri which attacked the RHS objective. They drove the GIs off and took the objective, but the Honeys arrived in the nick of time to dispute it. 5 Honeys took on 11 M14s while more GIs rushed across to help under heavy artillery fire. The Honeys took out a platoon, but lost their leader. This allowed the surviving M14s to go over the hill and leave them standed (no command - no move now). On the other flank the Semos arrived to face the M10s. The Bersaglieri rose out of their foxholes & counterattacked in support. The Semos were destroyed for the loss of one M10 while the FV Bersaliglieri twice failed tank terror. Meanwhile the 3 surviving M14s destroyed the Scouts and finished off the 2nd GI platoon to clear the objective and win the battle.

Thursday 25/07/06 at Camp Cromwell

A good turn up: Jim, 2 Steves, 2 Marks, Pete & Maruisz.

SteveP's Russians Inf defending v. Mariusz's Polish Armour in 1500 pt Breakthrough on 6x4 table.

V2 has given the dreaded Poles even more tanks.
Steve's army still looked formidable, with its hordes of infantry, artillery & 3 KV.
It looked to be a tough ask for the Ivans to stop the horde of armour, but the KVs were a problem & in the end the Poles couldn't kill enough Russians in the time available. So the Russians won under the defender wins rule.

Mark's US Armour attacking Steve's FJ Pioneers in 1500 pt Cauldron on 6x4 table.

Steve had a nice rocky hill to deploy his infantry on and a plain to dominate with his 88s in ambush.
The US (Shermans, Honeys, Assault Guns, Mech Inf, air) concentrated their attack from the close terrain away from the 88s.
As the US manoevred for an attack, the FJ reserves came on and counterattacked the Shermans. The Germans died, but they took a few Sherman with them.
The last german reserves, Pak 40s finished off the Shermans, then chewed up the infantry.
There was no way the US could take the objective, so Mark conceded on the defender wins rule.

Our rate of play has slowed right down with V2, with much consulting of the new books going on.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Fort Floriet 25/07/06

Good turn up this week with Starn & Corinna, Doug, Aggro, James S, Chris & Rodney had his first game to be completed next week.Game 1.1500pts Free for All, Tank BattleJames Scott British light Tank Squadron vs. Rodney German Panzer CompanyThe battle is still raging the British have lost 2 grants and 5 crusader III's while the Germans have lost a platoon of 3 Marders and a Stug D.Using the version 2 rules the Protected Ammo helped the Germans hop back in to their tanks. The awesome firepower of 4 stationary Panzer III's (late J's) with 12 shots, was felt by the Crusader III's. (To be continued)Game 2.1500pts Aggro Grenadiers vs. Starn GrenadiersA long-range duel was fought between opposing batteries Aggros 105's got the better of Starns Nebelwerfers. However Starn went on the offensive on both wings and killed 4 out of 7 of Aggros platoons. Aggro failed his company morale and Starn won 5-2. That makes back-to-back wins for Starn leading up to the Floreat tournament.People who wish to participate in the tournament must bring their 1600pt army list using Africa or Ostfront with the current corrections by the 1st round draw next week Tuesday the 1st of August.It will be a random draw round robin tournament draw will be done and players need to organise to play their round within 2 weeks after their opponent has been drawn.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Fort Floriet 18/07/06

Fort Floreat Report 18th July 2006

Seven takers this week, we had a crack at the version 2 rules, which played pretty well.

Table 1. Meeting Engagement
1500pts Russian Horde Matt & Chris vs. 1500pts Grenadiers James Scott & Aggro

The game played smoothly, the Germans attached Pak 40’s to 1 grenadier and HMGs to the other. With 430pts spent on Brumbars it was always going to be a tough ask.

The Russians sent a Strelk up each flank with Mortars supporting in the middle. The Germans tried to stop the Strelk on the right with the 105’s killing a few stands then switched to the Strelk on the right then finally attacked the Mortars.

The Russian mortars pinned the German infantry on the Russian left, and the Strelk finished off the Grenadiers with some hot dice from Matt. The Brumbars had come on and tried to contest the German vacant right objective but were beaten back by the Strelk with sappers losing a bailed Brumbar and the game.

Table 2. Starn 1500pts Russian Infantry vs. Doug 1500pts German Panzer Grenadiers (with Remer).

Game 1.
Starn got overrun in the first game by Remer who assaulted with halftracks and Tigers as AT support. Remer’s boys went in hard 2+ to kill each stand and demolished the Russians taking the objective.

Game 2.
Doug and Starn had a re match in which Starn snuck over the line dislodging the Mortar platoon on the objective. A very bloody encounter in which Starn lost his 5 Matildas and managed to destroy Doug’s 2 Tigers, using his 57mm AT guns.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Camp Cromwell 13/07/06

Tunisia Campaign Battle at D3

The DAK (2 Steves) again tried to delay the US (Nick, MarkO, Pete) advance. This time on their old front line with minefields & wire.
The DAK had to stay on the table for 6 turns to prevent the US advancing another hex towards Ouseefa.
Already depleted by previous battles, with only 2 Lancias coming as reserves and just one little a/tank gun, the DAK were always in trouble. They lacked the firepower to hurt the enemy as they gapped the wire & minefields, and when they cut and ran, many were cut down before they could escape. The Lancias held off the RAF pretty well, but one was picked off by artillery and the other rushed by a Honey.
The DAK got one platoon away to C4 intact plus some bits of the rest.
The US lost 2 recon on the minefields & 1 rifle team shot.

We used the V2 rules. This caused much flipping thru the book, but generally the changes met with approval. The air achieved bugger all, but then they didn't have good targets & the one juicy target could fire back.

Fort Floriet 11/07/06

Fort Floreat Report 11/7/2006

Five turned up including Doug, Aggro, Chris, James S & a new interested player Matt.We decided to play a free for all armour game as not everyone had the new rules and to teach James & Matt the armour warfare.It's a fun little scenario where you each players starts with a tank rolled from the table on the FOW website.Matt & James started with Crusader II's, Aggro a Sd Kfz 222, Chris Sdkfz223 & Doug a Panzer II.The idea is to kill as many of the opponent's tanks as possible, if you die you re-spawn by rolling again on the table.First person to 6 kills was declared the winner James & Matt got out to an early lead but then both died and came back as KV 1's.Aggro sat out of range and then bailed for 4 or 5 turns while the others fought it out.Chris died and came back as a Panzer IV F1 and shot up the Crusaders. Doug died and came back as a Panzer III J (early).The battlefield was covered in smoking wrecks after an hour or 2, but when Doug died and came back as a Ferdinand it was game over. He polished off 2 KV's, an Su 76, Su 122 and a T34 85. Outdoing Chris's Sturmi (Stug G) which had brewed up 4 tanks.A bit of fun for new players as well as old and a good way of getting used to the Version 2 AFV characteristics.