15mm WWII armour

 A couple of games this week, both in 15mm. 

Game 1 - capture the bridge

This was a re-run of one of last weeks scenarios where the Russians attempted to force a crossing guarded by a Hetzer and bunker. I commanded the Russians and used by favoured T-34 / KV-1 combo.

 

Seeking to avoid the bunker for as long as possible, I  moved both tanks through the village on the right flank. I used the KV to pin down the Hetzer while my T34 prepared to rush across the gap enfiladed by the bunker. 

The dice fell perfectly for me allowing the FAST T34 to pull off a heroic manoeuvre where it bombed across the open ground, took a pot shot at the Hezter damaging its tracks, and then ploughed into a wood offering a flanking shot on the bunker.

The action ended when the T34 was able to manoeuvre around the bunker and make it across the bridge for a 1-0 win to Russia. 

Game 2 and 3 - Pizza delivery

We played this game through twice with  2 * Panthers defending an Italian village while 4 * 76mm armed Sherman M4s attacked them. There were two wrecked tanks as objectives so both sides could gain 4 kills.  

 In the first game the Germans hung-back looking to exploit their larger guns to pick off the more vulnerable Sherman's, This was largely successful with the US losing 3 tanks before they withdrew.  German win 3-0

15mm Panther tanks

In the second run through the Germans deployed fairly centrally and advanced into the village looking to deny the Americans flank shots. They found themselves out manoeuvred and one was taken out in the narrow streets with only a single Sherman lost and one objective captured. US win 2-1

Sherman 76mm advance

Final batch of 28mm ACW Union

After a bit of a push during my week off and over the bank holidays, I've completed my Union forces for the upcoming ACW campaign.

I now have a decent sized force of 6 * Infantry units (12 figs), 1 * Skirmishers (6 figs), 1*Medium Gun with limber and unit of cavalry (6 figs). That's enough for about 1.5 standard sized "Companies" in Rebels & Patriots.  

Perry 28mm ACW Union

I've also been busy producing some additional terrain. I've lots of the distinctive snake-fences in 15mm but had none for 28mm. I think I've managed to build about 15 foot from balsa wood  strips.     

ACW is pretty quick to paint and so I've decided to also get some Confederates as it looks like we might be a bit short. So I've got enough on order, or already painted, for 4 * Infantry, 1 * Gun and 1* Cavalry. I'm hoping they arrive in the next week so I can crack-on and have them ready for the campaign start too.     

15mm and 28mm WWII

This week we had enough players for 3 games - two in 15mm and one in 28mm

Game 1 - Stalingrad in 28mm

In this game a Hetzer + Panzer IV battled it out with a T-34 and SU-85 in the bombed-out streets of a city. A pretty quick game this one, with the Germans winning 2 kills to 0

T-34 creeps through the rubble

Game 2 - Cross the bridge in 15mm

This scenario a little more involved - a bunker and Hezter guarded a strategic river crossing. a T-34 and a KV-1 had to try to destroy the bunker whilst also getting  at least one tank across the bridge.   

The Bunker

The Russians made a cagey start as they tried to eliminate the Hetzer whilst avoiding the bunker's 75mm gun.

Once the Hetzer had been dispatched, the KV-1 was able to sneak around the bunker and nip across the bridge. The loss of the T-34 made this a 2-1 win for the Russians. 

Game 3 - Learning the ropes in 15mm

The final game was a tutorial game for two players new to WAT, with a couple of tanks a side.

Both players proved aggressive but fairly poor shots. After a couple of hours play the Panzer IV was destroyed and the remaining Hetzer made a run for it . So 1-0 to the Russians

Boo !

Overall Standings

Paul 1 = 3 kills
Stu 1 = 3 kills

Paul 2 = 2 kills

Roy 1 = 2 kills

Richard 1 = 2 kills

Nigel 1 = 1 kill

John C = 0 kills

Adam = 0 kills

28mm Napoleonic's - Shakos and Bayonets

This weekend I popped over to Fishponds for a game of Shakos and Bayonets - a mass skirmish game using units of 6 - 12 figures, in this case 6 units a side. The game works through card activation with the twist that your hand contains both yours and the enemies cards drawn randomly from a deck. The cards are for a type of unit (e.g. line infantry) and activate all units of that type.

Each time you play an enemy card you receive a command point as compensation, which you can spend later. There are "time" cards in the deck that must be played when drawn - once three are out you reshuffle the cards. So its possible, but pretty unlikely, that a unit will not get a go in a turn. Its more likely you will not get your four activations though as not all four of your cards may come out.

In this game both sides were trying to capture some wayward Spanish gunners and reunite them with their gun. The British (me) started with two units inside the village but most of the units further away than the French.   
   

The early turns saw the French line pretty immobile while I took some pot shots at them and pushed up my reserves. The main French attack was on the flanks where their Voltigers and Hussars advanced.

A quick charge by the Light Drgoons saw off the Hussars on my left and prevented any further French attacks on that flank.  Centrally though a couple of French volleys forced my chaps off the walls, but they were able to reform in the middle of the village. Some of my reinforcements threatened the French left flank. 

With my reinforcements pouring into the village I was able to push the French centre back from the walls and stabilise the position.  

 

The coup-de-gras  was administered by the Light Dragoons routing the French Grenadiers and so threading to roll-up the right of their line. At this point we declared a win for the British as they had got two of the artillery men into the village with a third close by.    

The game was mostly decided by the morale of the French and some low rolls (0 counts as Zero in these rules not Ten). The morale table is fairly linear with very few factors, so even a fairly fresh unit will find itself falling back from shooting if a 0 is rolled and in combat its very likely a rout. 

We both rolled as decent number of 0's but mine were more for shooting and the French more for morale.

A fuller report is here

Fishponds Wargames: Shakos & Bayonets: The Wayward Cannoneers

15mm WWII - attack vs defence

A pretty simple game this week - a Russian attack against German defenders.  The bridge and the damaged Panzer were objectives and each counted as a bonus kill. The Germans had a Hetzer & Panther vs a T34-76, KV1s & SU-85.

The SU-85 pushed quickly into the village. drawing the Panther from the woods near the bridge. The Panther managed a single shot (a miss) before the SU-85 scuttled off for the safety of the fields. A second shot damaged the SU'-85s tracks but it still found cover.    

In the centre the KV1 and T34 cautiously advanced on the Hetzer as it sought to get a firing option by sneaking through the woods near the crippled Panzer IV. 

The SU-85 was able to get into a covered position and begin trading fire with the Panther. Its shooting proved more accurate and after a couple of rounds it brewed-up the Panther. The same fate befell the Hetzer as combined fire from the T-34 and KV also ended its battle.   

So a good win for the Russians with some lucky shooting meaning a couple of kills each for the Russians. They ended with two crews of 3 campaign kills and one crew on 1 campaign kill.

15mm WWII armour - Panthers and Bears

Our first regular game of What A Tanker saw us take to the Eastern Front. The late war Russians are the only ones that can compete with the Germans on points and so allow you to field some of the heavy stuff. In this weeks game the aim to dominate the table and allow recovery of the Pz IV, which counts as 2 bonus kills.

The Germans fielded a Panther D, 2 * Pz IV J's and a Stug. The Russians had an Su-85, a KV1s,  a T34-76 and a T34-85.

The Germans advanced cautiously into the table seeking cover, with the Panther sitting centre field in a fairly dominate field of fire.  

Panther hunkers down

The early action saw lots of attention focused on the Panther - the downside of being able to see lots is you can be seen and three of the Soviet tanks spent the early rounds pounding away. No terminal damage but it did have its command dice slowly worn away.

The SU-85 engaged one of the Pz IV's and managed to damage it, before the Stug tried a bit of hit and run to engage it and the KV.

With the time running out the SU-95 made a late dash for the objective - accurate fire pushing back the Pz IV. The Panther finally ran out of command dice and so bailed out.  The Russians managed to get two tanks with 6" on the objective and claimed the points.

SU-122 stands in for the SU-85

This left comrade Pavel on 2 kills and comrade Styard 1 kill. Finally  few shots of the battle boards we're using for the game - foam core over mounting board/  

 

15mm WWII armour

We find ourselves slightly between games as people are still painting for our planned ACW 28mm campaign, which I hope will start after the holiday period. So as a palette cleansers, and easy game to flex the size of, we're doing a few weeks of WWII tanks.

We're returning to What A Tanker from Two Fat Lardies. Its a slightly silly game as its armour only so it plays a bit more like a land dogfight than "real WWII". It is good fun though and quick to learn. This week we had a quick practice game with 3 * Sherman M4 vs a Hetzer and a Panzer IV.

The terrain was pretty open with a village in the centre of the board. The Germans headed straight for the village in an attempt to consolidate their forces. The British sent one Sherman into the village while flanking on both sides with the other two. 

Panzer IV - Skytrex metal I think

Sherman M4 - Skytrex again

First blood went to the Germans as they destroyed the Sherman which had sped into the  village. The British hit back though, taking out the Panzer IV. 

Both sides then manoeuvred for position in the village but were unable to get a killing blow before time was up. So one kill a piece. 

We (I) was a but rusty on the rules so good to have a trial game. The main issue to watch is being Unbuttoned vs Buttoned and the impact of that on spotting / shooting.