Mech War in Tunisia

We made a few tweaks to the Spanish terrain from last week & deemed it to be Tunisia 1943.
Mike's British armoured coy v. Renfrey's German armoured coy. 
About 1650 pts each Bolt Action.

The Germans are on the right.  There are two objectives - the two farms.
After Mike took out the German MkIV on turn 2, there was a lot of ineffective long range sniping between tanks & little achieved until turn 6 with both sides having one objective occupied by infantry.  
By turn 6 Mike had a small advantage in casualties & finally started a serious attack on the near side farm house.
On 7 Mike was ready to storm the farm with infantry supported by bugs, but suddenly the Dice Gods turned on him.  His infantry fubared the attack while the German tanks finally figured out how to use their Ziess optics & most of the British armour was suddenly blown away.

 At the end of the 7th  turn & the game, both sides held 1 objective & the British had lost 5 units to the Germans 4.  So it was deemed a draw, as the casualty difference was insufficient to break the tie on objectives.

Napoleonic in Spain

Same scenario as last week week, but this time Mike's brits on other side of tanle & the French commanded by Renfrey.

The British are on the near (left) side.  The british cvalry is out of sight & not put down as is half the French infantry & all their guns.

The French have a mass of troops on the ir extreme right flank which are advancing.  The French guns have appeard on the ridge on the left of the attacking columns. The British right is advancing but finding not French on their flank.

On the British right the farm was defensded by 2 line battalions, a rifle battalion & 2 regimenys of dragoons.  The French attack has brioken thru in the ploughed feilds, but the attack on the house was replused.

The 2nd French infnatry divison has appeared on the ridge as the British right wraps around the French left.

The Brits have abandoned the farm house before the defenders were broken by the French battery, but the French attack there has run out of steam.  

The French counterattack in the centre has taken a battery, but is faced with superior numbers & looks doomed to fail.

After the French last throw of the dice attack with their cavalry on their left failed, their positon became hopeless & they conceded the battle.

Napoleonic in Spain

 Mike's British v. Jim's French

The French are on the near side.  Both side have some hidden cavalry.

The French cavalry have appeared on their left flank  The French are advancing on the left & deploying defensively on their right.

The French cavalry have swept around the British right flank, faced by only 2 British cavalry.
Both side's infantry is advancing on the enemy's right.

On the near flank the British cavalry charged the French guns & destroyed them, but failed to push past the French infantry that came up to late to save the guns.
A general fire fright is happening in the centre.
On the British right the outnumbered British cavalry is putting up a fight delaying the French cavalry, but is clearly doomed. French columns have stormed over the ridge breaking the unit on the end of the British line. 

On the near flank the British attack is being held off.
On the far flank, the British infantry have been forced into square by the French cavalry making them vulnerable to the musketry from the French in line.

The French cavalry is lapping around the British right flank.
The French infantry are losing the odd battalion to the Brown Besses but the encircled British right is crumbling.

The remaining French battery has redeployed forward & a whiff of grapeshot has completed the job of causing the Brits to fail their army morale test.  

A very enjoyable little battle with both sides getting their fair share of both good & bad luck, but decided by the success of the French flanking manoeuvre.  And Marmont didn't get hit by a cannon ball this time. 

WWI Naval

Germans: SteveJ & Mitch.
Brits: Mike & Chris.
Each side had 2BC, 2ca, 2CL & 2DD.
Rules: Dreadnoughts house rules.

The Germans are on the right. DDs closest to camera, then CL, BC & CA.
The Brits have DDs in front, then CL, BC & CA.

The German BC & CA are turning to Port behind their screen of DD & CL.

The Brit DD have turned away from the German CL.
The Derflinger has ranged in on the Tiger & vice versa.

The Brit DDs are sunk by a hail of secondary gun fire.  They got off some torpedoes first, but the German BCs stayed just out of range.
The Derflinger is pounding the crap out of the Tiger receiving little in return. 
Seydlitz & Princes Royal are also exchanging salvoes, so far without much effect.

Another devastating salvo from Derflinger has put the Tiger down.
The LCs are slugging it out at close range.

The Brits are wining the LC fight, but the Princess Royal is now under fire from both German BCs.

The Princes Royal has turned to port to try & escape the fire of two BCs & two CA.
The German DDs survive a death ride past the Brit CLs.

The Princess Royal has gone down.
The Brit LCs are being blown away by the German BC & CA secondaries.
Only the Brit CAs escape behind a smoke screen.
The German loss was 2 LC.
So a great day for the Kaiser & a very enjoyable game for us..
 

Bolt Action 1250 pts

 Chris' Soviets v. Jim's Panzergrenadiers

Pic from the German side. Objectives on central hill, road junction & bridge.

Both sides advanced infantry on a broad front. The Germans soon got the upper hand in their attack on the hill, but were on the defensive in farm where the Soviets had armour support.

The Germans cleared the hill, but their defense on the left came under extreme pressure after infnatry assaults on the Stummel & the panzergranadiers in wood both went the Soviet's way.  But the Germans were able to bring their victorious squads on their right to the centre to halt the Soviet advance.

It was bloody affair with the victorious Germans losing 5 of 10 squads & the Soviets 8 of 11. 

Bolt Action Tank War

 2,500 pts late war Germans v. US

The Germans are on the far side of the table.  On their left Chris a platoon of Hetzers with a mounted panzergrenadier squad. On the left Steve has 3 Panthers & mounted panzergrens.
On the near side of the table, Jim, Mike & Mark each have a platoon of late war US tanks with armored infantry.
There are 5 objectives.

The US plan was to take advantage of the Hetzer platoon being deployed off to the German left.  MKike to attack the centre with Jim's support on his left while Mark supported his right until the hetzers came up, then hold thm off.
The US infantry overwhelmed Steve's panzergrens, stormed the village & went on the take the objective on the road junction while the tanks engaged in a lot of ineffective shooting.  The Panthers absorbed a lot of punishment without beiomg knocked out, but also shot poorly.  
By the time the Hetzers got into the action the Panthers, though not knocked ou, had been partly suppressed & Mark was able to take on the Hetzers with his armour & infantry.
Only in the last couple of turns did the tank casualties get signiifcant, but the US had the upper hand holding 4 objective after turn 7.   

Back after a Covid break: ECW English v. Scots

I had never tested positive for Covid, but I had the symptoms & if it was actually a flu the effect was the same.   Aches, pains, coughs, lethargy & isolation.  The symptoms have gone apart from weakness & the occcasional cough.  I should be beyond being infectious, but wore a mask tonight anyway.

Scots: Mike & Steve
English: Mark, Mitch & Jim

The Scots are on the far side: All their cavalry on the left flank, muskteers in the orchard, pike & shot on their right.
The English Put half their cavalry on their left, half in central reserve, musketeers right of centre opposite the woods, 2 pike & shot on their right & the rest in the centre.

The Scots made a general advance on the whole front.
The English advanced their musketeers into the woods & began moving their cavalry on the left to the centre while elsewhere forming a defensive line. 

On the far flank the English mix of pike, shot & cavalry detered the Scots cavalry from attacking whle teh Engklish consolidated their cavalry.
The msuketeers slogged it out in the wood.
The highlanders charged the pike & shot on the central ridge.
On the near flank 2 english pike & shot are facing 4 Scots. 

On the far flank the Engklish cavalry have charged.
On the left the English pike & shot are defying the odds.

On the far flank the cavalry fight is indecisive, but the English have turned their rear line of cavalry to the left to support their pike & shot on the hill.

On the far flank the Scots cavalry have gained an advantage, but the depth of the English formation prevents any exploitation.
In the centre the highlanders are crumbling after bing attack front & flank.
On teh near flank, the out numbered English pike & shot are still hanging on.

The far flank is a stalemate.
The highlanders have been destoyed in the centre.
The English left has lost half their number, but still hold the line.
The Scots concede defeat.

ECW: Scots v. English

Scots: Mike & Mark.
English: SteveJ, Chris & Jim

The Scots are on the far side.

The Scots generally advance while the English stand & wait except for extending their line a little on the far flank.

The English flanking move causes the Scots to hold back their left while their right flank infantry are delayed in the farms.   The Scot's cavalry is advancing slowly to match their foot.  In the centre the Scots pike & shot have charged musketeers that fill a gap between the P&S blocks.

In the centre the English Musketeers have been broken by P&S & the P&S on the left have been broken by Scots musketeers.  The English only have one P&S in reserve to plug the gap leaving a gap in the line.  On the far flank the Scots are falling back having been overlapped by the English.

The Scot's cavalry has finally charged the English horse. 
Highlanders have charged the P&S on the hill on the right of the English cavalry.
The English Muskteers that were deployed on their left flank are marching behind the cavalry to support the English centre. 

The Scots horse have gained a small advantage .
The English centre has held on as support arrives from both flanks.
The Scot's left has retreated into the woods.

The Scots cavalry have won 2 combats & lost 1 so are getting on top.
The Scots centre is crumbling under the English counterattack. 

The English have lost the cavalry fight & Scots cavalry & a second attack has taken the hill in their centre, but the Scot's have no foot left un-shaken as the English right rolls up their line.  The Scots concede & use their cavalry to cover their retreat. 

A little Napoleonic naval battle

British: 1 2nd rate + 3 3rd rates all elite crews.
French: 1 1st rate _ 1 2nd rate + 2 3rd rates, all regular crews. 

Both sides are in 2 separate squadrons of 2 ships. The Brits are on the near side of the table. The wind is blowing from the far side of the table so the French have the weather guage.  We then diced for sides & Chris got the Brits & Jim the French.

The British continued beating to windward leaving their squadrons separated.  The lead French squadron wore ship so the 2 squadrons could run towards each other with the wind on the quarter to form a single line, then decend on one of the British squadrons. 

The French had their port guns loaded with chain while the Brits had their starboard guns double shotted & the French got the worst of the initial exchange.

The 2nd & 3rd French ships were hit hard as the Brit flagship broke the line & raked them.  But the succession of French ships firing chain dismasted the 2nd British ship & the British flagship was raked in the stern as the French passed firing first broadsides of double shot from their starboard batteries.

Outnumbered 2 to 1 one dismasted & the other a ruin, the ships of the British lead squadron had no choice but to strike their colours to prevent furtehr slaughter.  The 2nd Brit squadron turned away.

The British failure to bear away to gain speed to combine their squadrons before engagement was ruthlesly punished.  

Camp Cromwell resumes with Modder Fokkers

With Chris & I still jet lagged we opted for an easy game of Modder Fokkers on our first wragames night back home.
Germans: Mark & Mike with Albatrosses.
Allies: Jim: Pup. SteveJ: Spad VII.  Chris Nieuport.
The Germans are outnumbers 3 plaes to 2, but they have twin MGs to the Allies single mgs & sturdier planes.

Germans on the left.  Boths sides aproach the enemy cautiously while climbing.

The dog fight begins. 

The allies get the better of the dogfight with mrk's' Albatros getting such a battering from all three Alied planes that he ran for home leaving his comrade in the midst of 3 enemies.

Mike bravely ducked & weaved towards home, but didn't make it.

The Allies managed to get themselves more opportunities for good shots than the allies & were blessed with a good run of dice.  The 3 to 2 planes seemed to be more important than the twin v. single mgs.   In any case it was a rattling good game & easy on jet lagged brains.