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

Early War 8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division vs The BAR in Free for All

Flaming tanks everywhere! This was both my first game of early war and also the first game I've gotten to play in for the Dice Devils EW escalation league. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to paint any new models so you may recognize the DAK Panzers from MW. The actual models are IV Es but for this game they were representing IV Ds. Bob and I agreed to play on a 3'x 4' table and the mission was Free for All.

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK OC in IV D 3 x IV Ds

British Armoured Regiment OC in Crusader 2IC tiny light tank (if someone knows the right name let me know) 3 x Crusaders 2 x CS Crusaders 3 x Vickers Mark VI tanks

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK vs Free French Armored Rifles in Encounter

A lone Stuka swoops in for the kill! This was the final battle for the Paths of Glory and both Matt Varnish and I were coming off two 6 - 1 wins. I love playing against MVs armies they are exceptionally well painted with a ton of thought and research put into them. The final mission was going to be Encounter with me being the attacker. This was going to be the first mission that I was going to be the attacker and although I was rocking a tank force I was more than a little concerned with attacking all those armoured rifles!

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division, DAK OC in III M 2IC in IV G 4 x III Ms 4 x III Ns 3 x Nebs 2 x 8-Rads Limited Stukas with bombs

French 2ieme DB (US Armoured Rifles) OC and 2IC Armoured Rifle Platoon 1 with 5 bazookas Armoured Rifle Platoon 2 with 5 bazookas 5 x Shermans 5 x Stuarts Limited Hurricane support

Early War Escalation League!

DAK AFV markings (thanks MV!)

 
Matt Varnish from the Dice Devils has started an Early War Escalation League, which is another great reason to finish painting up my Desert Germans!  I have created two lists one of Mech Infantry the other a Mittrer Panzer Company and now all I have to do is get them on the table.  The way the tiers work are month long periods starting at 600 pts and moving up in 300 point chuncks (ie 900, 1200 & 1500).  I wasn't able to get as many games as I would have liked at 600 points (only one) but I now have an EW game under my belt.  Stay tuned for the AAR from the game and WIP shots as I get more painted.   To help with some of my inspiration take a look at this video that Matt Varnish found while doing some research to help me out.

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK vs Australian Armored Squadron in Counterattack

The scream of Nebs fills the air knocking out a Sherman! This was round 2 of the Paths of Glory tournament held at Perkins Hobby House in Petawawa. The mission was Counterattack, and an important note for people playing in tournaments to try out different missions first so that during the tournament your not playing a mission for the first time. Matt and I had never played this mission and we both misread how deployment works for armoured forces in this mission. We ended up finding out after our game was done that I shouldn't have had as many platoons on the table due to the special rules (we looked at the armoured reserve rules instead of the correct ones). I don't know how it would have changed the game, but I'm sure it would have. Matt was great fun to play against and we had a good time goofing while playing.

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK OC in III M 2IC in IV G 4 x III Ms 4 x III Ns 3 x Nebs 2 x 8-Rads Limited Stuka support with bombs

Australian Armoured Squadron OC and 2IC in Crusader 3 x Crusader 3 x Shermans 3 x Shermans 4 x 25 pdrs 3 x UCs

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division vs Italians in Hold the Line

The 2IC lurking at the edge of town! This was the first game in Paths of Glory held at Perkins Hobby house. I was lucky to draw against Twinlinked from the Dice Devils GC who I played with when I was in Ottawa. The mission was Hold the line and because we were both playing tanks we rolled off and I ended up being the defender.

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK OC in III M 2IC in IV G 4 x III Ms 4 x III Ns 3 x Nebs 2 x 8-Rads Limited Stukas with bombs

Italian Compagnia Carri OC in M14/41 3 x M14/41 3 x M14/41 3 x M14/41 1 x Carro and 4 x Semovente 75/18 3 x AB41 Armoured cars 2 x Lancia da 90/53 Bersaglieri Platoon

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK vs German Infantry in Hold the Line

Luftwaffe brings the pain! This was the final game I got in before Paths of Glory held in Petawawa at Perkins Hobby House. Unfortunately it has taken a while to get it posted. As part of the preparation for the tournament Bob (who would run the tournament) and I played Hold the Line.

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK OC in III M 2IC in IV G 4 x III Ms 4 x III Ns 3 x Nebs 2 x 8-Rads Limited Stuka support with bombs

German Infantry OC and 2IC Infantry Platoon 1 Infantry Platoon 2 3 x III Ms 3 x PaK 40s 3 x AA guns 4 x 10.5cm guns

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Division DAK vs German Infantry in Dust up

The DAK surround the objective and punish the infantry! This battle was against Brad aka PanzerKommander in preparation for the Paths of Glory tournament held at Perkins Hobby House in Petawawa. We decided to play a mission that neither of us had done before, Dust up!

8th Panzer Regiment, 15th Panzer Division DAK OC in Panzer III M 2IC in Panzer IV G 4 x Panzer III M 4 x Panzer III N 3 x Nebs 2 x 8 Rads Limited Stuka support with bombs

German Infantry OC and 2IC Infantry Platoon 1 Infantry Platoon 2 3 x Marders 4 x 10.5 cm guns 3 x Panzer III Js 3 x PaK 40 guns