Desert Rat Shermans vs DAK Panzers in Free-for-all

DAK Panzers defend the town, leaving smoking Shermans in their wake!

Over the holidays I was lucky enough to have a couple of my friends that don't normally play FoW come with me to Perkin's Hobby House and play some midwar Desert action.  We played 1485 which is the new Battlefront standard for midwar, which I don't really get (is 1500 really that bad?)  It was DAK Panzers against Desert Rat Shermans (soon to be repainted to look more the part) in Free-for-all.

Desert Rats (Ben and Chris)

OC and 2IC in Shermans

3 x Shermans

3 x Shermans

3 x Universal Carriers with a Piat

4 x 25-pdrs

DAK Panzers (Big Willie (me) and John)

OC in Panzer III M, 2IC in Panzer IV H

4 x Panzer III Ms

4 x Panzer III Ns

2 x 8-Rads

3 x Nebs

1 x 88 with tractor

Set Up

Chris and Ben planning their first moves with the Allied Shermans

More armies from Perkins Hobby House's Battle Cry 13

My (Big Willie's) 7th Armored Div

I found a bunch more pictures on my iPad that hadn't download from Perkin's Hobby House Battle Cry 13 so here they are:

Matt Varnish's 21 Panzer Div (Featured by Battlefront)

US 7th Armored vs Wiking SS Panzers in Dust Up

Shermans advance into the village against the SS Panzers

Game 3 of Perkin's Hobby House and Petawawa Miniature Soldier's (PMS) annual Battle Cry tournament (LW 1650) was against Ian formerly from PMS who recently moved down to Kingston. He was playing the Wiking SS Panzers which under his control is a very feared opponent here in Petawawa!  The mission was Dust Up and I lucked out right away rolling higher and being the attacker.  The table we were playing on was very open which is great for a tank battle but it looked like Vietnam instead of the Lorraine.

Ian's Wiking SS Panzers
OC and 2IC in Panzer IV H
5 x Panzer IV H
3 x StuGs 
3 x Panthers
3 x SP 3.7cm AA2 x 8-Rads

My 7th Armored
Patton 
OC - E8 and 2IC - Jumbo
4 x Shermans (2 x E8, 1 x Jumbo, 1 x M4A3)
4 x Shermans (2 x E8, 1 x Jumbo, 1 x M4A1)
4 x Stuarts 
2 x 81mm Half track Mortars
Div Recce Jeep and Half track
3 x Priests
AOP 

US 7th Armor vs German 88's in Counter Attack

Here comes the Shermans, everyone into cover!

Game 2 of Perkin's Hobby House and Petawawa Miniature Soldier's annual Battle Cry tournament (LW 1650) was against ThunderST from the Dice Devils and he was playing the super gun list of Doom.  12 x 88's!  The mission was counter attack where I was the attacker and ThunderST was going to have to keep the US Armor at bay.  Having gone aggressive for the first game I wanted keep that momentum going.

ThunderST's guns
OC and 2IC
4 x 88's
4 x 88's
4 x 88's
3 x Tigr Ie's
Full Infantry platoon
Full Infantry platoon
8 x 2 cm AA guns
3 x Nebs 


My 7th Armored
Patton
OC - E8 and 2IC - Jumbo
4 x Shermans (2 x E8, 1 x Jumbo, 1 x M4A3)
4 x Shermans (2 x E8, 1 x Jumbo, 1 x M4A1)
4 x Stuarts
2 x 81mm Half track Mortars
Div Recce Jeep and Half track
3 x Priests
AOP

US 7th Armoured vs Panzer Lehr in No Retreat

 

 Shermans dead ahead, FIRE!

Game 1 of Perkin's Hobby House and Petawawa Miniature Soldier's annual Battle Cry tournament (LW 1650) was against PanzerKommander.  The mission was no retreat where I was the attacker and PanzerKommander was going to have to keep the US Armour at bay.  This was the first game that I had played with this list.  I had a tank platoon like this for US Nationals and really liked them, plus I got my hands on a 7th Armored box set in a trade so it seemed like a perfect match.  I placed the objective to one side after he placed his centrally at the back, hoping that I would be able to get around on a flank and roll him up before reserves could arrive.

PanzerKommander Lehr
OC and 2IC
Full Grenadiers Platoon
Smaller Grenadiers Platoon
4 x Panzer IV Hs
3 x PaK 40's
4 x 10.5cm guns
4 x Pumas
2 x SP AA


My 7th Armored
Patton
OC - E8 and 2IC - Jumbo
4 x Shermans (2 x E8, 1 x Jumbo, 1 x M4A3)
4 x Shermans (2 x E8, 1 x Jumbo, 1 x M4A1)
4 x Stuarts
2 x 81mm Half track Mortars
Div Recce Jeep and Half track
3 x Priests
AOP

Battle Cry 2013

Perkins Hobby House and the Petawawa Miniature Soldiers gaming club held their annual Battle Cry Flames of War tournament this last weekend.  I was finally able to get some gaming in and managed to get an new army ready enough for the table top.  It was LW 1650 with 3 rounds.  Here are some shots of the armies that I managed to get photos of.  I will have 3 new battle reports coming soon.

 

Ian's SS Wiking

 Easy Company 101st Airborne

Op HUSKY 2013 Jul 25

 Sherry Atkinson 70 years after the landings in Sicily

Here is another entry following Sherry Atkinson's through Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied invasion.  Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade and in turn the 1st Canadian Division.  The journal entries are written by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.

Op HUSKY 2013 Jul 23 - 24 Regalbuto

Mt Etna simmering in the distance

Here are another two days of entries following Sherry Atkinson's through Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied invasion.  Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade and in turn the 1st Canadian Division.  The journal entries are written by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.

Op HUSKY 2013 Jul 21 - 22

 

 The road to Messina

"Sicily is an island of extremes and in July, when the sun shines for 11 hours a day, temperatures often reach 40°C. The men who fought for the hill towns of central Sicily in 1943 remember the heat, the dust and the stony landscape with its conical hills and steep ravines. To overcome an enemy holding the high ground required the kind of physical strength and mental agility shown by the men of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment during their climb to the heights of Assoro, northwest of the city of Catania."

Here are another two days of entries following Sherry Atkinson's through Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied invasion.  Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade and in turn the 1st Canadian Division.  The journal entries are written by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.

 A Canadian marker, marking the spot a soldier lost their life 70 years ago

Op HUSKY 2013 July 18 - 20

The Battle Map

 Here are another three days of entries following Sherry Atkinson's through Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied invasion.  Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade and in turn the 1st Canadian Division.  The journal entries are written by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.

Op HUSKY 2013 Jul 14 - 16

The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) climbing hills in Sicily

 Here are another two days of entries following Sherry Atkinson's through Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied invasion.  Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade and in turn the 1st Canadian Division.  The journal entries are written by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.

Op HUSKY 2013 Jul 13 Agira

Agira

The town of Agira and Nissoria was where Sherry was wounded by a German 88 and where the Commanding Officer Lt Col Ralph Crowe was killed on 24 July 1943.  As you can see from the picture of the Agira Canadian War Cemetery there are many Canadians buried there.

Operation HUSKY 2013 July 11 - 12

Here are another two days of entries following Sherry Atkinson's through Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied invasion.  Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade and in turn the 1st Canadian Division.  The journal entries are written by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.

 Modica today (70 years after Sherry took it's surrender)

By Susan Atkinson

July 11, 2013
Today was a day off.  We all slept in, and enjoyed a very late and wonderful breakfast. Took a few photos around the Villa.  Showers, laundry and transcribing photos kept us busy until about 2 in the afternoon.  We then drove into Piazza Armerina, and all enjoyed large gelatos for our lunch.  We took some photos from the old fort atop a hill, across from the cathedral.  Following this indulgence, we toured the Villa Romana del Casale, a restored wonder of ancient ceramics from the late third century.  The mosaics were buried under a mudslide, and protected for centuries.  In 1997 the site was named a UNESCO world heritage site, and is well worth the visit.  Unfortunately, we could not use our cameras there, so you'll have to visit here to see for your selfes.

Tonight we will find an interesting place for dinner, and try for a reasonable bed time.  Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast at 7:30 am and leave here about 8:15 to attend the Ceremonies in Modica, which is the town Sherry was responsible for liberating on July 12, 1943.

Before Market Garden and Overlord there was Op HUSKY!

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Sicily, the invasion took place on 10 Jul 1943 .  This was D-day before D-day happened in Normandy and marked the first time allied troops were back in Europe.  As part of the celebrations The Royal Canadian Regiment sent one of the few remaining veterans Sherry Atkinson, the Anti-Tank Platoon Commander, to take part in the celebrations.  He and his wife have been sending pictures and journal entries chronicling their journey to the serving members of The Regiment.  I know that a lot of you guys are interested in the history that surrounds the game and figured I would share this with you too.  So I can't take any credit for this just passing it along in the name of history.

The Plan

US Paras vs JagdTigers in Fighting Withdrawal near St-Lo

Shermans draw a bead on a JagdTiger

In celebration of the final day of the Overlord campaign Dan and I got a game in.  Unfortunately it wasn't from the new books but from Nuts with 1780 pts of my US Paratroopers going against his JagdTiger Company.  But that didn't stop us playing a game for St-Lo where the Red Skull was using some of his Hydra weapons against the Yanks!  We wanted something that was like the counter attacking Germans trying to push through the Airborne who were attempting to hold them up.  We rolled Fighting Withdrawal which I think worked perfectly.  I had my list with Cap 2 x Paratrooper platoons, 1 x MG platoon, Shermans Cav Recon, 2 x M18s and 3 x 105mm with P-47 support.  Dan was running with 3 x JadgTigers, 2 x assault rifle faust platoons, 4 x 10.5cm guns and2 x self-propelled AA guns.

Set Up

 Objectives are at the intersection, in the Bocage and in the distant left by the woods

US Paras vs Hungarian Infantry in Counterattack

Their everywhere man.....

Game 4 of the LW Nationals event in Fredericksberg was against Leo and his Hungarian Infantry.  He had 2 big infantry platoons with a pioneer platoon.  3 of the break through assault guns, a platoon of 3 PaK 40s, an HMG platoon, some light recce tanks, some light AA gunes and a battery of heavy guns supported by sporadic air.  You can see some great shots at Battlefronts own website here.   My 1780 pts were spent on 2 Para platoons, MG platoon, Shermans platoon, Cav Recce, 3 x 105mm guns and 2 x M18s supported by Limited air support from P-47s.

Set Up

Objectives are in the corn field and the destroyed Tiger at the south end of the town

82nd Airborne vs 101st Airborne in Cauldron

Smoking Shermans as far as the eye can see

Game 2 was against Henry who was running 101st Airborne.  His LW Nationals list was 2 Para platoons, 6 x 105mm, 3 x 105mm, 2 platoons of guards Shermans with 2 fireflies and 4 armoured recon jeeps.  I had 2 full para platoons, para MG platoon, Sherman platoon, 105mm platoon, Cav Recon and M18s.  The mission was Cauldron and Henry was going to have the difficult task of digging me out.

Set Up

82nd dug in the trees with TDs protecting the flank

US Paras vs British Guard Infantry in Encounter

Howard Stark shows off his mad pilot skills taking out a whole platoon literally single handedly!

Game 1 of the LW Nationals was against Joses.  He was running British Guards and I was running US Paratroopers.  The total was 1780 pts and the first mission was Encounter.  My list consisted of 2 Paratrooper platoons, an MG platoon, Cav Recon, Shermans, 2 x M18s and 3 x 105mm.  I attached my MGs out and deployed both Para platoons and the Tank destroy platoon.

Set Up

Objectives are in the field top left, in the cross roads front and centre, near the woods top right and in the woods top centre

Armies from LW Nationals

Here are some of the armies that were used for the LW Nationals.  I know some of the owners but only an handful.  There were a ton of other armies that I didn't get a chance to take pictures of.  The quality of painting was outstanding!

My US Paras

US Paras vs German Grenadiers in Free-for-All

The Infantry just before the assault....

Game 6 of LW Nationals was still at 1780 pts.  I was running my US Paras with 2 full platoons, machine guns, Shermans, 2 x M18s, Cav Recon and 3 x Glider 105mms.  My opponent was Jerry and he is the best sportsman that I have ever played against in any game system.  He was smiling and up beat, helpful all the time and really made my weekend.  Apparently he owns a game store in Indianapolis, which I will be visiting and supporting any chance I get.

Set Up 

 Objectives are on the hill and south of the town and north of the town and in the field at the top of the board

US Paras vs Panzerspah in Pincer

Too good to be true?

It is that was taken before the first Recce move of the game.  Game 3  of the LW Nationals was 1780 pts and I played against Paul.  He was running German armoured Recce supported by tank hunters and Panzer IVs.  I was running the Avenger's Initiative with 2 full Para platoons, Para Machine guns, Shermans, 2 x M18s, Cav Recce and some Glider 105mms.  I was automatically the defender and combat attached the machine guns out and deployed the two big platoons and held the Shermans in ambush.  Paul was an excellent sport but his dice betrayed him and wouldn't let him buy a hit or save.

Set Up

 Objectives are behind the wood and on the hill both on the right side of the table

US Paras and Light Tanks vs Panzer Grenadiers and Infantry

Para troopers don't care you have half-tracks for a mounted assault!

This was game 3 for the I-95 doubles event.  It was encounter so PhantomRescue and I opted to have only my force on the table with his coming in from reserves.  We were playing against Chris and Dom.  Their 2000 pts was spent mostly on Panzer Grenadiers backed up with a Panzer IVs company.  These guys were excellent opponents with Chris and I having our share of bad luck.  We had the chance to hang out with them over the weekend and enjoy some frosty beverages.  I'm looking forward to seeing these guys again the next time we are down that way.

Set Up

US Paras dug in on both objectives supported by the guns, while the other platoon is ready to make a push for the near enemy objective

US Paras and Light Tanks vs Panzer Grenadiers and a StuG Battery

Even fearless paratroopers get unnerved sometimes (snake eyes for tank terror)

The second game of the I-95 Doubles was vs Mitch and John.  They were running a StuG battery and Panzer Pioneers.  The mission was Free-for-all at 2000 pts a side.  These guys were great to play against and I traded contact info with Mitch.  Turns out he's a Rugby player and a currently serving member of the US military, so we had tons to talk about.

Setup

Heavy Bocage to fight through

US Paras and Light Tanks vs German Infantry

My US Paras get their first kill ever and it's a Big Cat!

The Thursday of Historicon was the I-95 doubles event.  It was LW 1000 pts a player that you could swing 100 pts if you wanted.  I was playing US Paras with 2 x M18s and 3 x M3 Howitzers supported by limited P-47s.  My partner was running a light tank company with Chaffes and Cav Recon.  

The first game of the I-95s doubles tournament was against Jesse and his partner (sorry I forgot the name).  The mission was blind domination.  This was the first time I'd played this mission and while I liked it, I would have liked to have played it a couple times in advance of the tournament.  They were running Grenadiers from Devil's Charge complete with 2 x StrumTigers, a JagdTiger and fake MPs!  I don't have full army lists but here is a picture of what they were running.

Ze Germans!

Historicon 2013 Greedo thoughts

BigWillie has better photos than I do, but I'll throw in a couple (see if you can spot me in his Force on Force picture)..

My first trip to Historicon was awesome.  Didn't sign up for anything, but that didn't seem to matter.  You just show up and say you want to play, and you can.  Quite overwhelming.  So many vendors, games etc.  A madhouse, but by Saturday I was good to go.

Carded at Target!

Historicon was awesome!  I have pictures from all my games but here are some shots from the weekend.  It was awesome meeting all these people that shared a love for gaming.  Mitch, Chris, Ron, Jesse, Jerry and Vic, to name a few, were some great dudes along with the guys from I-95 and the WWPD crew.  A brilliant weekend and I can't wait to come back for the next one.  OVer the course of the weekend I bought some beer at target and was carded.  I guess I look young at heart.

WIP Shermans

Here are the first painted members of the Avengers (Ironman, Thor, Hulk and Black Panther).  Thanks to Rex from Crac des Chevaliers for the how to on paint these guys.  The stars still need a little refinement but I'm happy with how they are turning out (for now).  Up next are Recce and the Tank Destroyers, I'm going to need to pick up the pace if I want to get this army done before Historicon.

Avengers Initiative WIP

Here are some WIP shots of the Avenger's Initiative, the plane (P-47, "Avenger") took me about two evenings to get done (I still have to paint the bombs).  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  In the back ground you can see the various other platoons.

Operation Overlord and Historicon!

WWPD in conjunction with Battlefront are doing Operation Overlord campaign.  It looks like it's going to be an awesome time.  I borrowed the image above from their website that's supporting the campaign.  This is also a perfect fit with my 82nd Airborne that I'm working on so I have yet another reason to get them done.  As part of the campaign you have to submit battle reports so stay tuned for a bunch that will be coming down the pipe.

Band of Brothers Vietnam style

This is a new version of the Big Picture featuring the 101st Screaming Eagles in Vietnam.  Pretty cool beginning to the video talking about WWII.  The more I see the work that Steve from WWPD is doing on his choppers the more I get excited about the idea of doing the same thing.  Some very interesting parallels in the counter-insurgency that is described in the video and the current ones that are going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It seems from the video that the small units, constantly operating in an area is what ends up being effective.  Around 13:02 you can see how quickly a mortar can fire, I think they fired 5 rounds in less than as many seconds.  Around 15:55 there is a really cool segment on how the 101st guns were helping to relieve a Special Forces fire base that leads to a massive fire fight around 17:20 which is no doubt where a lot of Vietnam moves got their ideas for combat scenes.

Beachead at Anzio

With the anniversary of the capture of Rome only a few days away I figured it would be appropriate to share a video that talked about the beachhead at Anzio and the Sitskrieg that took place there.  This video does a great job of showing how importance of digging in.  I liked how the naval guns were used to support the troops on the ground after all the naval landings had taken place.  There is some more good footage of StuGs, Marders on the move and a bunch of German guns.  Likewise, there is a bunch of Allied guns with some Shermans and at one point Churchills.  The iron sled is an interesting idea but I can understand why it didn't catch on.

Operation Cobra!

Operation Cobra the breakout of Normandy as seen through the eyes of the US Army.  Some awesome footage of the bocage that the Allies had to fight through and the Germans defended.  There is some great points of Strategic weapons being used at the Tactical level, such as the V1 and V2 rockets and heavy bombers.  Some amazing footage of Tigers, 88's and Panzersherks in action.  Lots of Shermans, Tank destroyers and guns of all type firing.  This video would make a great sound track to a game with all the combat noise.  Take a look at 21:42 I'm almost positive that's a Grant, but I didn't think there were any in Europe.  I think however made the video like the M8 Scott because you see a fair amount of them.  There is a great shot at 22:30ish of a Stuart smashing through some small trees.  Near the end of the video check out the land mattress and the Crocodile firing, truly something to be scared of!

ANZACs!

With the release of Tour of Duty for FoW Vietnam I found this film that talks about the 173rd and The Royal Australian Regiment.  There is some sweet images of the tanks getting bogged down to say the least.  All in all a great film about the US in Vietnam.

Tour of Duty!

With the latest release from Battlefront for Flames of War Vietnam I thought it was only right to share this video.  Steve at WWPD is doing a great job getting all these models painted up and I'm sure that he would like to see them all in action.  The video does a great job explaining how they improved the vehicles for the fight.  The Shearaton's with their 152mm guns look fearsome same with the M109s.  I figure that RKelly from the Dice Devil's is going to be pick up with M109s for his Canadians.

Nuts!

Ever wonder why the FoW book about Bastagone is called Nuts?  Take a look at this video talking about the 101st Airborne and the 10th Armoured division and you'll find out.  Matt Varnish from Dice Devil's I'm sure will be happy to see just how important the Air Force was in supporting the defenders and resupplying them.  I also really like how it is a bunch of interviews of the actual soldiers mixed with the combat footage.    There are some great scenes with Shermans of all type, Stuarts, guns, tank destroyers and Priests.  There is even some footage of StuGs, Grilles and Panzer III Ns. 

Sandbags a Tanks best friend?

Patton and an Easy 8!

I started doing some more research into how the sand bags looked on the Sherman tanks and it looks like the ones I've made a little big.  So now I need to figure out if I'm going to strip them all off or if I going to use them anyways.  I'm leaning towards using them in there current state as they look good and like much of the detail done by BF models the details are enlarged so you can see them on the table top without having to be right on top of them.  I figured that there would be a bunc of people that would like to see the various reference pictures that I foun so here they are.

Brown/Green Stuff Sandbags Tutorial

Capt is coming along nicely!

As part of the Avenger's initiative I wanted to do as much modeling as I could.  Here is my first attempt at making brown/green stuff sandbags.  I was really surprised at how easy this was and how fast it went and I'm very happy with the final product.

Make sure that you use lots of water on your hands or any tools that are going to be touching the brown stuff.  Also make sure that you have mixed the putties together well and that there are no streaks of one colour or another.

The American 1st Army

Another great post from Nuclearvault.  This one is all about the American 1st Army from Aachen to the Roer river.  I love the footage that the Army signals corp was able to get of all set up for the long campaign.  Often we forget just how much logistics goes into running a war at that scale and this video does a great job of showcasing the hard work that some many men and women did to support the troops at the immediate front.

Invasion of Southern France!

I always thought that the First Special Service Force (FSSF) was used in Italy and was then stood down and its troops returned to other units.  Turns out that wasn't true.  The Allies launched an invasion into the South of France to stop the Germans from being able reinforce Normandy and the FSSF was used in the landing preparations.

US in Vietnam

I found this and it made me think of Steve from WWPD and his current enjoyment of Flames of War: Vietnam.  I also really liked the part about how the Marines used a combined arm team with Air Assault and amphibious landings supported by fast air.  Both this video and the one about the invasion of  Sicily talked about the need to have administrative support that immediately followed the fighting forces to make sure the civilian population know their future is going to be better than their past.

Allies taking Sicily

Another great video from Nuclearvault.  This one is about the Allies invasion of Sicily.  Very cool to see the footage and of interesting note they were using Piper Cubes as AOPs this early in the war.  Battlefront, in the unlikely chance you ever see this post or video, what do you think?  I'm hoping to have some WIP shortly for the AI.

82nd Airborne video

Thanks to Nuclearvault for uploading this video.  If you don't subscribe to him your missing a ton of amazing videos from WWII to present day.  This one is all about the 82nd Airborne.  Did you know they made 4 combat jumps in the war instead of the 2 that the 101st did?  They fought in Italy and then came up for D-day and they were also in the Battle of the Bugle.  I hope you all enjoy this as mush as I did, it certainly help get me motivated to work on the Avenger's Initiative.

Paths of Glory Battles

 

 The Panthers growl as they advance on the Stuarts

Army List - Panzer Pioneers 1750 CV

HQ

OC and 2IC with Knackers

Combat 

Full Armoured Pioneers with Knacker

Under strength trucked pioneers

2 x 8 cm mortars, 2 x MG42s

Support

2 x Panthers

4 x Marder IIIs

2 x 8-Rads

2 x 2cm AA (SP)

Paths of Glory 13

This Sunday Perkins Hobby House held a 1750 MW tournament.  There was roughly 24 players with both the Axis and Allies being well represented.  As always Gary from Perkins had great tables, great food and some great times.  I'm not going to do a battle report for all of the games but I will do some posts on the limited photos I did take.

Armies

 Joyous Oblivion's US Armour (Top Overall)

More army shots below

Bolt Action Australian 1000pt Far East Army

I bought the new Armies of Great Britain army book for Bolt Action over the weekend.
Its nicely laid out, and has rules and armies for the entire war.  This goes from BEF early war Europe, the African campaign, Normandy, Market Garden, and even the far east is split into 2 parts, the fall of Singapore (early, 1941/42), and the Burma Campaign (later).  It also "covers" all commonwealth troops but really that's assumed in the special rules that you can give your army (so no Australian vs Canadian vs Polish special rules as FOW does).  This was by design and allows you to decide how you think the different nationalities showed themselves.

My Australian 28mm troops fit perfectly with a reinforced platoon of the Burma Campaign.
The entire army is veteran.
Probably give them the "Rapid Fire" special rule giving the a bit more firepower.

1 x 1st Lt commander - 90pts

1 x Medic, 30pts
1 x Forward Arty Observer, free for Brits

1 x Sections, 9 Men, 1 NCO+SMG, + LMG, SMG, 156pts
2 x Sections, 9 Men, 1 NCO+SMG, + 2xLMG, SMG - 176x2 = 352
1 x Sniper Team, 65pts
1 x Med Mortar Team, 65pts
1 x Med MMG, 65pts
1 x Matilda Frog, 186pts

Total: 1009pts

And I have all the parts that I need.  I would have preferred to use the regular Matilda tank with them, but that isn't allowed in the far east.  Only the flame throwing FROG/Murry that the Australians used. Really looking forward to when the Japanese book comes out so I can buy a proper tank for them.

If I find that they need some more AT power, then I might drop the Lt down to 2nd, maybe make the Frog Regular, and add a PIAT section (although technically I don't think the Australians used PIATs at all, and certainly not in the jungle).

I will say the army books seem a bit "generic", but there are some special rules in there which make it worth it.  Generally speaking, veterans are the same the world over.  And all infantry sections has an NCO, 10 guys, and a machine gun.  The real value of the books come from the vehicle section which contains all the different vehicles that each country used.

I will probably also have to do a Fall of Singapore army for Kokoda, but will give the green Aussies lots of defensive cover etc. against experienced Japanese troops, or give the Japanese hard objectives to get, and the Australians play a rear guard action.  It will also have to be a smaller army since I don't have any more.  No tanks in that one either (maybe Milne Bay)..

Bolt Action AAR

I was visiting the Bay Area last week and was able to attend my old gaming group.  Even though generally people are more pre-20th century, we do go in for WW2 every so often.  This was our first outing with Bolt Action by Warlord Games.  The pictures are not my own, and generally don't follow the action, but I figured I could give an overall idea of how the game plays.

We were playing Russians.  Our squads were split up, and we had far more armor on the table than would normally be the case.  It was 1000 points a side, with the Russians trying to take a center objective.  The Russians had several squads with Sub-machine guns, a KV-1, and 2 T-34s, including an MMG and higher up teams.

 The Germans setup to defend the objective with reserves.  The Germans were effectively a Panzer Grenadier force with a Pz IV, a Wespe armored artillery, a half track, a Pak40, a couple of trucks with infantry squads.  The objective had an MMG in the bottom of a building.

Here's a shot of a green unit of Russians trying to assault the Pz IV.  They were unsuccessful both times, but it was worth it to see the assault rules.  Assaults are very bloody.  The Russians were able to pin down the MMG in the building and shooting was able to kill the 3 crew.  Small crews are quite vulnerable as far as we could tell.  The pak40 crew also fell to shooting.  I suspect we did something wrong.

This was a faceoff between the Wespe Gun and 2 T-34s across the main road...

The Wespe nuked one for the T-34s. I do like that there are no templates to worry about.  The 2nd T-34 took down the Wespe with a stationary fire shot.  Moving and shooting gives a small disadvantage to firing.

I really like the rules.  Its like 40k in its simplicity, but without any special rules for a great many special troops. Of course there are special troops and rules, but everybody is human, and all troops have a use.  Some people might find the tank rules a bit bland (light, medium, heavy, very heavy guns, and softskin, light, medium, heavy, and extra heavy vehicles) but you definitely think like a tanker in support of infantry, and you generally only get 1 tank per 1000 points anyway.  Great stuff.  Can't wait until the British and Japanese source books come out.  I can finally finish my Australian force and start the Japanese.