IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #01: West of Pierrecourt

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Just before Christmas I had a chance to play a great game of I Ain’t Been Shot Mum using the first scenario from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack: West of Pierrecourt.

The Allies are moving up the valley hoping to hook round Pierrecourt to the west. In order to do this, they need to be able to cross the Moire River. There’s a major bridge at Belle Maison, but Belle Maison is apparently full of Germans, so it would be good to find somewhere else to cross. Aerial assets have spotted a small bridge west of Pierrecourt, and the reconnaissance elements of the US 107th Infantry Division (nicknamed the Coyotes) have been sent forward to check it out.

The Germans, meanwhile, are keenly aware that the troops in Pierrecourt are relying on the Moire to protect their wider left flank. As the Allied advance begins, their commanders send out 30th Panzer Division’s reconnaissance units to cover as many river crossings as they can. This scenario covers the first clash between the opposing scouts.

Click on the picture below to see what happened:

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #4B Reversed

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Here’s an after action report that shows how flexible the IABSM scenario books are.

James Moulding and friends played scenario #4B from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack, but with the roles reversed i.e. in the original game, the British are attacking defending Germans but in this game it’s the British defending with the Germans attacking.

Click on the picture, below, to see all:

Note that this report is taken from the IABSM Facebook page. I hope James doesn’t mind me reproducing it here.

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #5L: Diot

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Fantastic battle report from Tim Whitworth on a game of I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum played just before we all went into lockdown.

Tim and his friends have been playing through a Blenneville or Bust! campaign taken from the scenario pack of the same name. This was the final game in the series, and a chance for the Germans to achieve maximum victory points.

Find out what happened by clicking on the link below. Highly recommended: this is a serious after action report!

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #4F: Belle Maison

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Lovely After Action Report from the pen of Tim Whitworth, taken from the IABSM Facebook page and his own blog Eagles & Lions Wargaming.

As the Germans had halted the American attack at Pierrecourt they were back on the counter offensive again, this time with a combined force of 30th Panther and 30th Panzer Grenadier regiments.

Click on the picture below to see all…

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #3C: Pierrecourt

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Tim Whitworth and chums continue to play the Blenneville or Bust! campaign. We seem to have missed out on an AAR for the second scenario, but here’s the report for their third game: Pierrecourt.

The Germans are defending, the Americans attacking. Who will prevail? Click on the picture, below, to see all.

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #01: West of Pierrecourt

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Tim Whitworth and friends have started playing through the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack: a pyramid campaign set in Normandy in 1944.

In the first encounter, #01 West of Pierrecourt, American reconnaissance troops probe forward looking for a bridge over the river that will take the weight of their armour, but the Germans lie in wait…

Click on the picture, below, to see what happened.

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #02: Avaux

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Great little I Ain’t Been Shot Mum After Action Report from Rob Goodfellow covering a game played using the second scenario of the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack.

After an American recon force drives off its German opposition, British armour tries a thrust through Avaux..but the Germans are waiting for them.

Click on the picture below to see all.

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust #4G: Belle Maison

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Bruce Romanick posted another IABSM AAR on the IABSM Facebook page.

Following on from their last game using the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack (scenario #3D: Saint Melotte) this time the SAGE group played scenario #4G: Belle Maison, where both the Germans and the Americans are aiming to the occupy the same village in the valley.

According to Bruce’s post, which I hope he doesn’t mind that I reproduce here, the Yanks managed to push the German out of the village, with an opportune air strike taking out a Panther. A minor US win after 3+ hours.

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #3D: Saint Melotte

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Bruce Romanick has been learning the IABSM ropes whilst playing some of the scenarios from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack.

He’s posted a few photos of his latest game, scenario #3D Saint Melotte (where the British are defending a small French village against German armoured attack) on the IABSM Facebook page, which (and I hope he doesn’t mind) I reproduce here.

Apparently the plucky Brits managed to hold off the Germans…

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #5M: Chemont

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Another great battle report from the excellent blog of Sergeant Steiner. 

Here, he and his friends play scenario #5M: Chemont from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack: involving a clash between Fallschirmjaeger and US armour.

My enjoyment comes as much from working out which BoB scenario the game is taken from as reading the report itself! Blenneville or Bust!  is a pyramid campaign involving five levels, so there are thirty-one possibilities in all. There's no mention of the name of the village in the report, but only the village of Chemont has a layout like that shown in the picture below. That means it's one of #5B, #5F or #5M. Only #5M involves German Fallschirmjaegers, so scenario #5M it is!

Click on the pic below to see all:

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! Near Avaux

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Great write-up of a game at the August meeting of the Devon Wargames Group taken from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack.

The action took place Near Avaux: as an embattled German force attempts to hold out against a strong attack by British armour.

You can read all about on the Devon Wargames Group page (click here), or on this site by clicking on the picture, below.

IABSM AAR: West of Pierrecourt

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Here's the third and, for the moment, final AAR from The Wargaming Addict played on a wargaming engine as opposed to the tabletop.

This time the Addict picks a scenario from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack, set in Normandy: the opening game involving the clash of two recon forces just west of Pierrecourt.

Click here or on the picture below to see the whole report

AAR: Diot

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Played a great game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! today using scenario #4H from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack. 

Exciting action as the Germans attempt to outflank the Allied advance via the strategically vital town of Diot, only to run into a company of Scottish infantry determined not to let them past!

Click on the picture to read the whole AAR:

And for those whose appetites are whetted by the above, I've reloaded the IABSM AARs down to the last one from the Fall of the Lion Gate Malaya and Singapore scenario pack - I'm doing all the scenario pack AARs first before moving on to individual games and the Games Day reports. Check them out!