Great Eastern front game this weekend with John and Cookie.
Russian rearguard trying to hold on while waiting for a counter attack to push the Germans back. Germans achieved their first objective by capturing the first defence line but were held by the end of the game by the Russian counter attack.
All figures , vehicles and buildings by 1st Corps on an 18 x 6 ft table. Rules used I Aint Been Shot Mum .
Michael Curtis
The gaggle of British officers clustered on the ridge could scarcely credit their eyes, below on an open plain the lorries of the column Lieutenants Dier and Gape (11th Hussars) had attacked earlier were drawn up in some kind of wild west wagon-train laager whilst around them swirling dust clouds indicated the presence of those pathetic tin-cans the Italians called tanks.
Two thoughts crossed Lt Colonel Combe’s mind as he surveyed this remarkable scene – “Who do they think they’re fighting, and do they have any concealed artillery?” Turning to Lieutenant Seymour-Evans (7th Hussars) he ordered “Take your chaps down there and stir up a hornets’ nest but keep your eyes peeled for any concealed guns”.
Inside the Italian laager Colonello D’Avanso was in a bit of a state: since the attack by swarms of British armoured cars (valiantly chased away at some cost by the attached armour of IX Battalion) his column had fragmented into at least two, possibly more parts, with lorries requiring repairing and his Libyan troops in need of a respite he had little option but to halt and attempt to collect his scattered Raggruppamento together.
The utterly flat and featureless terrain offered no protection and in order to lend some semblance of a defendable position he formed the transport column into a laager box for his anxious and alarmed infantry to reorganise themselves behind – in reality it offered no defence whatsoever but it provided a morale boost to the Libyans. The only real defence against any renewed attack by the British was the armour of IX Battalion and the guns of 17th Battery (carefully concealed at the corners of the laager). Now he sweated and waited – who would arrive first; the rest of his column or those damned British armoured cars!
With a roar and generating the usual clouds of dust Lt Seymour-Evans tanks crested the ridge and began the descent into the plain below – to his left was B Troop (2 Mk VI light tanks), to the right C Troop (2 A9 Cruisers), in the centre his own Mk VI was accompanied by a Marmon Herrington from 11th Hussars to act as a radio net vehicle.
Reacting promptly to their appearance the Italian armour advanced to meet them, closing rapidly and then at the last moment turning and haring off again (the Italians in their L3s had been expecting more armoured cars – they advanced, spotted the heavier British tanks and sensibly immediately withdrew without being spotted in turn).
The British armour continued to advance but was making slow progress over the rough ground; visibility was poor as they bounced around at full speed, although C Troop did identify the armour to their front as 3 Italian L3 tankettes, the other mobile Italian force retired to the rear of the laager – the British HQ Troop was also spotted and placed on table.
Slowing the headlong rush, Lt Seymour-Evans peered closely at the laager wall facing him, identifying infantry flattening themselves under the trucks – no sign of any heavy weapons, B troop promptly sprayed the line of trucks and infantry (causing minor amounts of shock and some KIA among the Libyan infantry of the two CHQ squads). The lead A9 (the severe terrain had caused some straggling) opened up on the nearest L3, missed, tried again and saw it explode into flame, the other A9 opened up causing engine damage to another L3.
The Cruisers of Troop C activated and with two shots destroyed the remaining L3s to their front, the lead A9 full of confidence charged forward towards the laager. But here the Italian Poor Fire Discipline worked in their favour, enabling them to deploy both field guns in the southern corners of the laager, needing 1 dice to reveal their position, the first gun had one aimed and one snap shot at the A9 sitting at point blank range – and missed both times, the other gun also performed poorly, failing to get a hit on the Mk VI tanks (although it did force a retirement by one). A short burst of activity – the retiring Mk VI rolled a spectacular 18 and disappeared back almost to the ridge.
An even shorter “turn”, with only three cards being drawn: on the Italian Blinds card elements of 1st platoon deployed and assaulted the close A9, forcing it back (but not very far) on its activation – the other A9 sprayed the gun crew, causing KIA and shock. The next (and final) activation was the Italian guns who between them managed finally to knock out the A9 – this was to be the high water mark for the Italians.
As is the way in IABSM two very short “turns” were followed by one where every last card had to be played through. On the Italian side more infantry were spotted or voluntarily deployed (including finally the Big Man D’Avanzo himself), some shock was removed from the gun crews, who were suffering terribly out in the open, and they were all but silenced by concentrated British MG fire. The remaining L3s emerged on the western side of the laager and opened up on the MK VI opposite (the retired MK VI was making slow progress in recovering from its head-long flight – Lt Seymour-Evans was furious at their conduct!) to no effect.
From here we played through to Tea Break Ten, when the real-life clock meant we had to bring the game to a close. The remaining L3s were shot up badly, one had a turret jam and engine damage, another was immobilised and abandoned, the third knocked out in the dual with the Mk VI’s of B Troop. The HQ MARC and Mk VI together with the remaining A9 concentrated on sweeping the enemy guns (who quickly disappeared) and infantry causing considerable losses.
Long before we actually ceased playing it had become very apparent that there was absolutely nothing the Italians could do, although it was quite surprising how long it was taking to break the Libyan infantry, even with only one D4 Big Man to assist. The armour was reluctant to close into close range as the resultant infantry fire all too often caused a retirement which ate up time and dice, so most of the engagement was conducted at effective range – the A9 though we discovered could really lay on a hideous amount of fire with all three MGs (it benefitted on several occasions from the Armour Bonus card to move and then activate and remain stationary on its own card, which allowed the third, driver’s, MG to be used).
Well it was an odd game – in that it genuinely reflected the hopelessness of the Italian situation the scenario should be considered accurate, however as a game it was less appealing – once the guns were silenced there just wasn’t a game to be played anymore and credit goes to both players for persevering through what had quickly become an academic exercise. That said the Italians did knock out an A9 thus diminishing the quality of the British Victory and with better dice when the guns were revealed could have caused acute embarrassment.
So as a historical scenario it was fine, but as a game I’m not so convinced – if (and that’s a big if!) I were to play it again I’d be seriously tempted to allow the L3s to have their normal MMG factors; this would at least allow them to engage the British armour. On the other hand the concealed field gun ploy couldn’t have worked better – and if they had hit four times instead of missing four times when revealed (it sucks not to get a single 5 or 6 on 24 dice!) this AAR would read rather differently.
Given that we played in 6mm on a 6’ x 4’ table – I do wonder (despite this being accurate scale wise) how much of a different game it would be in 15mm. Not least the footprint of the Italian laager would be very considerably larger – I managed to fit 16 trucks, 1 car, 2 field guns and 14 sections into a 6” or 7” square, which meant quite a lot of manoeuvre room. Not sure how big a square 16 15mm trucks would be but I’d expect it would comfortably fill the centre of the table!
We did make some errors, for which I take full responsibility – this mostly involved the ‘desperate straits’ small arms attacks by infantry weapons to force morale effects on armour. Given that the L3s had been degrade to LMG so had no AT capability, I had decided to allow them to roll for the morale effect at whatever range – this at least allowed them a use, and I figured the British had no way to know that the fire couldn’t penetrate...unfortunately, somehow, we managed to translate this to the infantry fire as well and it wasn’t until the after-game analysis that we realised/remembered that it should be limited to close range! And this despite several comments from all involved during the game that the effect seemed odd!
Oops, mea culpa! Not that this had a ‘major’ effect but I think it did extend the game a bit as the British armour kept having to make up unnecessary ground – anyway it wouldn’t be IABSM if we didn’t screw something up!
Zippee
Early June means its time for the annual Operation Market Larden games day in Evesham. This year, 2016, I had volunteered to run a couple of games of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! and had decided to run a couple of games from my Bashnya or Bust! late war, eastern front scenario pack.
As Bashnya or Bust is a five-level pyramid campaign, I decided to make life easy for myself by using the same setting for both games, but to use two of the different scenarios set there. The morning game would therefore use scenario 3D (q.v.), the afternoon game would use scenario 4F.
Zhena is a small village that lies to the north of Devyat. The main feature of the village is the junction of the three roads leading to Zima, Devyat and Vcheva. The villagers are very proud of the 'avenue' of seven trees leading south from the junction: their neighbours considering it very French, very cosmopolitan!
Otherwise, Zhena is a collection of wooden huts and a burnt out church, surrounded by waist-high crop fields. Outside of that, the terrain is open grassland studded with clusters of trees. There is a large hill just to the north of the village.
For this version of the game, the Soviets would start with a small force on table. A large German force would then appear and launch an attack. After 2-3 appearances of the Turn Card (determined randomly), a hefty force of Soviet reinforcements would join the fray. Each side's objective was to take and hold the road junction in the centre of the village.
The initial Soviet force that would begin the game on-table consisted of a single BA-64B armoured car and a couple of squads of infantry.
The Russian reinforcements consisted of a two-company battalion of infantry, with each company consisting of two two-squad infantry platoons. The infantry was backed up by the battalion anti-tank guns and mortars, and a platoon of JS-II heavy tanks (with tank riders) from division. The Soviets also had access to air support (a Sturmovik armed with cannon).
The German attacking force consisted of a reduced tank company of five Panzer IV Js backed up by Schwerer Zug of a couple of Tiger IIs. In addition, the Germans fielded an infantry company of three platoons of assault-rifle-armed infantry, supported by a couple of Wespe self-propelled 105mm guns.
What would be interesting about this game was the contrast in the forces. The Soviets were very infantry heavy, and the deciding factor was likely to be the result of the battle between the Rusian JS-IIs and German Tiger IIs.
The attacking Germans poured rapidly onto the table. Throwing caution to the wind, their lead Blind, advancing along the road, was revealed to be the platoon of Tiger IIs. These quickly neutralised the Russian infantry on the edge of the village, and it looked as if the Germans would quickly achieve a dominant position.
Soviet reinforcements, however, were quickly on their way. Equally boldly, their lead Blind was revealed as the JS-IIs, with this Blind dropping off single heavy tanks as it advanced towards the village.
As the heavy tanks battled it out at long range, the rest of each side's troops arrived. The Soviets sent one force around the back of the big hill to the north of the village and another straight towards the village, but kept all their units on Blinds. The Germans kept to the southern arc of the village, de-cloaking most of their units and so managing to 'stack the pack' as far as activation cards (or chips in this case) went. Their Wespes managed to get to the top of the hill to the south, setting up and looking for targets.
Meanwhile, the battle of the heavy tanks had firmly been decided in the Germans' favour: with all three JS-IIs being knocked out in exchange for one Tiger II being disabled on the main road. This left the Soviets with nothing but infantry and a couple of 45mm ATGs to face the mass panzers and, worse, all their units were on Blinds and so would only activate if that single chip appeared.
The Germans took full advantage of this dominance, and swept their tanks forward into the village. Their tanks, yes...but not their infantry: they lagged behind. This proved to have unfortunate consequences for the Germans when, after a long wait, the Soviet Binds card finally appeared.
Now desperate, the Soviets hurled their infantry forward and effectively swamped the unaccompanied German tanks. Panzer IVs were being taken out by infantry sticky bombs right, left and centre and, worse for the Germans, the second Tiger II had by now broken down in the middle of the village. The Russian infantry couldn't get into it, but neither could it do them a lot of damage either!
Meanwhile, the Wespes and Soviet anti-tank guns had started a long range duel that would carry on until the end of the game; and the Soviet Sturmovik had taken out the last Panzer IV with its cannon.
Finally the Germans managed to get one of their infantry platoons up into the centre of the village, and a series of horrific hand-to-hand combats caused rapidly mounting casualties to both sides, with control of the junction changing hands every five minutes or so.
The battle was now a horrible meat-grinder of a game: no tactics anymore, just who could feed infantry into the centre of the village the fastest. Unfortunately, time was just about up (we only had three hours for what was an enormous battle) so after one more turn of carnage I called the game as a draw...although both sides agreed that had things continued the Germans would have eventually gained and held control of the junction, the Russians having used too many of their infantry up in their desperate killing of the German Panzer IVs.
Was this a good game of IABSM? Well, it was certainly a meat grinder, with enormous casualties on both sides!
There was a significant lull for the Soviet players, Bob & Noddy, when the deck was stacked against them, but then one could say that their approach then played dividends when they could suddenly slam all their Blinds into action almost at the same time.
Dave was playing the Germans on his own. Perhaps he wouldn't have rushed his armour forward unaccompanied if he had known he had more time to bring up his infantry or hadn't felt the pressure of having two opponents glaring unhappily at a stack of chips largely coloured black!
On reflection, the game was probably too big to be played out successfully in only three hours: there were, after all, more than a company of troops on either side. We got through it, but another hour, perhaps even half an hour, would have given a much more clear cut result, probably in favour of the Germans.
In summary, then, I'm going to say that this was a meat-grinder of a game that probably epitomised at least some of the contemporaneous actions on the eastern front. My thanks to Dave, Bob and Noddy for dealing with it so well.
Robert Avery
June 2015 saw the annual Market Larden event in Evesham. Around fifty Lardies travelled deep into the heart of tractor country to play a variety of TooFatLardies' games. I was originally due to attend just as a player but, when one GM dropped out, stepped in to run the morning game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! Ralph Plowman and Noddy would play the Soviets, Jamie Burrell the Germans.
As I didn't have time to prepare something new, I delved into my library of scenario packs and decided to play one of the games from the Bashnya or Bust! book i.e. late war, eastern front. I settled on Scenario #4E: Holm but, worried that some of the players might be familiar with the pack, I swapped the German OB with that used in another of the Bashnya scenarios: something I hadn't thought of doing before but proves to me just how flexible the packs are.
The background is simple: it's Operation Bagration, the Kaunas offensive. The Soviets are attacking dug-in German forces around the small village of Holm. The Soviet force consists of a three-platoon company of infantry backed up by a collection of armour that includes three BA-10 armoured cars, three T-34/85s; two T-34/76s and a couple of SU-85s. The Soviets also have three MMGs, three mortars and potential air support.
The Germans, on the other hand, have a couple of two-squad zug of infantry, three MMGs, a couple of Panzerschrek teams, one Panther and, their secret weapon, two Jagdpanthers: very powerful, but accompanied by the dreaded Vehicle Breakdown card. In support, the Germans had a mobile artillery platoon of two Wespes and a couple of SdKfz 251/2 mortar-carriers.
The battlefield was typical Lithuanian village on the steppe: a collection of log houses with a more robust church surrounded by lush grass and crop fields. The terrain was largely flat, but there were a series of low hills that would prove very useful to both sides in terms of cover. Here are three views of the tabletop looking North; the Soviets will enter from the north-eastern corner (where the pile of Blinds is).
After their initial pre-game Stonks had gone in (unfortunately missing all the German positions) the Soviets advanced onto the table behind a screen of Dummy 'scout' Binds that were quickly spotted and removed from the table. The Germans were then able to spot and reveal the second wave of 'real' Soviet troops: a couple of T-34/85s that took up position hull-down behind the central hill; a reconnaissance force of three BA-10 armoured cars; all supported by two SU-85s.
The Soviets had done their own spotting, of course, but were hampered by the fact that their opponents were dug-in under cover. Nevertheless, they did manage to at least get some German Blinds onto the table. In the picture, below, the Blind in the middle by the hut is Dummy; the one front-right is the two Panzerschrek teams; the one back-left is the Jagdpanthers manoeuvring into hull-down positions of their own; and the one back-right is the Panther, also moving up into a hull-down position. The shell holes show where the Soviet Stonk landed.
The Jagdpanthers quickly opened fire on the T-34/85s in front of them, immediately brewing one up. The other quickly reversed back off the crest of the hill! The Panther also revealed itself, in order to get its card and Big Man card into the pack, but held its fire for the moment.
More Soviet Blinds arrived, one of them heading into the corn field in front of the church. The German Panzerschrek teams ignored this threat: moving under their Blind to the edge of the cornfield and then revealing themselves to shoot into the flank of the advancing Russian armour. One BA-10 was brewed, but that was all...and the bazooka teams were quickly annihilated by a wave of Russian infantry emerging from under their Blind.
Ralph and Noddy contemplate the situation!
Next turn, the Soviet infantry decided to advance further. Two squads headed for the church, one squad headed towards the nearest log house.
Unfortunately for the brave infantrymen, both buildings were occupied by enemy forces. The church itself had an MMG team dug-in behind the first floor window, with another two MMG teams dug-in at ground level, one either side. The log house (and its garden) contained a whole zug of German infantry.
The carnage was terrible. Dealing with the smaller combat first, the single Russian squad was wiped out by the entrenched German platoon. It did do a couple of casualties in return, but nothing significant. At the church, so many dice were being rolled for the close combat that it looked as if one bucket just wouldn't be enough (see pic right for the German roll). Suffice to say that when the smoke had cleared, and the screams died down, not a single Russian remained alive from the two squads, including the Big Man. More significantly, perhaps, two of the German MMG teams had also been wiped out, with only the one actually in the church surviving.
Noddy, responsible for the Soviets, was, however, very philosophical about his losses: believing that two squads of infantry was a worthwhile exchange for two MM42s. How very Stalinesque!
After all the excitement at the church, a brief pause occurred whilst the Soviets waited for more of their troops to arrive on the battlefield.
Two more infantry platoons arrived, both heading towards the cornfield containing the bodies of their fallen comrades. One would get hammered by the one remaining machine gun in the church and HE fire from the Germans Wespes and mortar carriers: it would effectively play no part in the battle except to soak up casualties! The other would eventually charge and annihilate the German infantry platoon in the house near the church, losing one squad in the process, and then staying there for the rest of the game as the Soviet attack stalled.
The remaining T-34/85 carefully backed off the hill and made its way, under the lee, round to where it could see the church. It then proceeded to blow the church tower to pieces, forcing the German MMG team to start packing up to move out of their nest on the first floor. Before they could make a move, however, another shot neatly entered the window and blew them to pieces too. All that is except the Big Man accompanying them, who survived the blast and made his way to the infantry platoon in the nearby house. When they were wiped out by the Soviet infantry charge, he ran down towards the road junction, seemingly intent on taking out an enemy armoured car that had managed to get there and was hiding behind the nearby house. Unfortunately before he could engage the armoured car (his blood was up!) he was shot down by the approaching Russian armour.
The objective for both sides was to get troops onto the road junction. The Soviets had managed this with their one remaining armoured car. As the end of the game approached (well, lunchtime), the Germans decided to do something about this. One of the Jagdpanthers (the other had broken down) moved from its hull down position behind the hill and approached the hut. An amazing die roll for movement meant that rather than stop behind the hut, it carried on round the building...neatly running into the armoured car in the process! Forty-five tonnes of tank killer vs five tonnes of armoured car: no contest. The BA-10 was pancaked!
Dead tank corner!
The Soviets had, in the meantime, moved up two SU-76s and their last T-34/85. The T-34/85 attempted and lost a duel with the German Panther; the two SU-76s tried the same with the Jagdpanther by the hut, and although they scratched its paintwork a bit, a couple of shots blew them into little pieces.
At this point I called the game as a German win. Just about every Soviet vehicle was on fire, and they only had a few squads of infantry left. Worse, their MMG platoon had taken a couple of critical '17' hits, each of which removed one gun. There was no way they were going to win now.
It had been a great game, with the Soviets really stymied by the traffic jam that had developed just past the corner where they entered the table. Their armour had got jammed in here, and been unable to make any headway against the long range shooting of the German tank and tank-killers. The Russian infantry had been used incredibly boldly, but there wasn't enough of it available for such bold tactics.
But it was close. As Noddy said "if I'd have had just one more infantry platoon..." meaning that he would have been able to get that platoon onto the road junction from where the Germans would have been hard pushed to move them within the time limits allowed.
My thanks to the three players, Ralph, Noddy and Jamie, and to Ade and everyone else for putting on a great day's gaming.
Robert Avery
My regular opponent, Neil, and I recently played the fourth game in our Bashnya or Bust! campaign, based on the IABSM scenario pack of the same name covering the Kaunas Offensive of late summer 1944.
The last battle, Zima, had ended in a game-victory for the Soviets but a campaign victory for the Germans i.e. although the Soviets had won the battle, they had failed to win it quickly enough to achieve their campaign requirements. This therefore gave the Germans a chance to counter-attack, which they promptly did, aiming to loop around to the south and strike at the soft underbelly behind the Soviet spearhead. In order to do this, they need to capture the ford at the small hamlet of Sorok.
The game would also see the first use of my new gaming mat from Mat-of-War via Antenocitis Workshop: an upgrade from the furry green blanket I've been using for years. The mat looked jolly good, too...except for the fact I should have put some contours under the mat rather than using a few on-top hills: must be the first Lithuanian village that can be used as a bowling green! Also bought specially for the game were three doormats from Robert Dyas (total cost £21) which worked very well as wheat fields. The wooden houses are from Foreground.
The Germans had a very simple objective: clear the village side of the river of all opposition. To do this, they had a company of Panzergrenadiers in their half-tracks supported by six Panthers and a Schwerer gruppe of two mortar-carriers, two gun carriers and two MMG-carriers. The Soviet objective was equally simple: technically to prevent the Germans taking the ford but actually to prevent the Germans fulfilling their victory conditions. To do this the Russians had two Zis-3 guns, two 45mm anti-tank guns, two small infantry guns, two small platoons of infantry and a squad of scouts. They had a few MMGs and, on the other side of the ford, a platoon of three 82mm mortars. They were also well dug in.
Although it might seem that the Germans have an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers, it must be remembered that their victory conditions are particularly onerous: not just to take the ford, but to clear the village side of the river of all opposition, and to do so within the normal duration of a game.
The battle began with the Germans sending on a couple of Panthers and a platoon of Panzergrenadiers. The grenadiers were dismounted: leaving just a driver and a two-man gun crew in the vehicles as the rest of each squad advanced forward behind the 251s. They paused at the edge of the first wheat field: their scouts having spotted the first line of Soviet trenches.
At the same time, the first ranging shots from the Soviet mortars began to land, so the German schwerer group deployed, with their mortars quickly bracketing the less-efficient Russian tubes and, really, keeping them from having much of an influence on the game.
With the first line of Soviet defences now revealed, the Germans pinned the infantry manning them with MG and HE fire, and sent one Panther off to the flank. Cresting a small rise, the Panther found itself beautifully lined up to fire down into the Soviet trench.
A quick burst of fire did enough damage to force some of the Soviet infantry back to the only stone house in the village, leaving their comrades unable to move and slowly being whittled down from their flank.
This move forced the Soviet commander to unmask his main gun position in the centre of the village: a well dug-in brace of Zis-3 infantry/anti-tank guns. Both guns targeted the Panther on the hill, but despite multiple hits, all the big cat suffered were a few scratches on the paint work. Unless the German tankers were careless enough to expose their weaker flanks or rear, there wasn't going to be much the Soviet gunners could do to them. Excellent news to me, the German commander and, given what I needed to achieve, the signal that I should stop shilly-shallying around firing at well dug-in guns from a distance, and just get stuck right in!
Quickly bringing on my remaining Blinds, I decided on a two-pronged assault. A couple of Panthers and a Panzergrenadier platoon would head up the right flank, with the Panthers turning in to directly drive over the gun pit holding the Zis-3s whilst the infantry protected their flank. Meanwhile, another two Panthers and another platoon of grenadiers would head up the left flank, rolling over anything they found there.
The grenadier platoon duly moved forward, all but the drivers dismounted, covering the flank of the Panthers. These headed straight for the gun pit at top speed, with the two MMG carrying half-tracks from the schwerer gruppe backing them up in case of sudden infantry assault.
The Panthers crashed across an empty set of trenches and into the gun pit, taking ineffective point blank fire from the Zis-3s as they did so. Despite giving the Soviet guns lots of extra penetration dice for having their gun barrel practically kissing dunkelgelb, it seemed that nothing could stop the German tanks. After some very messy grinding, the Soviet guns in the battery ceased to exist.
What was worse for the Soviets was that the German advance also uncovered the two Russian 45mm anti-tank guns, lurking behind the main gun pit in the ruined church, hoping to get a flank shot at the half-tracks advancing down the left side. In went the German MG-carrying half-tracks and some of the panzergrenadiers, and one anti-tank gun crew was killed to a man, with the other rapidly limbering up and retreating.
The German weren't having it all their own way, however. A couple of 251s had been destroyed by the Zis-3s before their untimely demise, and one of the two initial Panthers had actually been immobilised and abandoned.
This still left two Panthers and an infantry platoon to sweep down the left flank. This they did, quickly uncovering another line of Soviet trenches near the hut by the river bank. This set of works sheltered the two Russian infantry guns, seemingly unsupported by foot. Well, as the initiative was mine, this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, so the entire panzergrenadier platoon charged forward at the guns.
Neil then revealed a nearby MG team which he wanted to bring into the combat but, and here I do slightly hang my head in shame, I pointed out that I was easily able to close combat both enemy guns without actually coming into the four inch range that would bring the MG team in as well. Gamey? Perhaps a little...but it's not often you get to charge the guns in WW2!
Despite having to use lots of dice to get there, the grenadiers took both guns for the loss of only three men, sending their crews stumbling into the river in an attempt to get away. Unfortunately a Tea Break card then allowed Neil to shoot his MG into the victorious grenadiers, who suffered quite bad casualties. Even I couldn't deny it wasn't a Great shot! Worse, he even had some scouts in another nearby trench, who threatened to charge in next turn.
Time for more drastic action! All I had ready to use (the grenadiers were still shaken or certainly pinned at this point) was the company commander's Panther, with Level IV Big Man aboard. He zoomed his tank forward onto the Soviet MG team, squishing them to death before they could fire again.
The Panther was then close assaulted by the scouts and, to add insult to injury, there was an anti-tank rifle team just behind the hut which emerged to send a round or two up the Panther's backside!
All to no avail however: the Panther shrugged off both assaults and prepared to do battle.
The battle was now definitely won, and it was just a question of the German mopping up the last Soviet resistance. The problem, of course, was that we had been playing for three hours or so, a normal game, and Neil had to go. So a reversal of the last game's result: a game-win for the Germans, but a campaign win for the Soviets.
How very annoying!
Still, it was a great game with plenty of moments of drama and tension despite the fact that the Germans had force-superiority over their enemy. There was a definite sense that the Russians were desperately hanging on, determined not to let the Germans through to the ford. Now onto the final battle in the campaign: the initiative swings again to the Soviets so it's 5C: Ploschad up next..
A couple of shots of the table at the end of the game:
Ah, Ploschad...lovely Ploschad. Actually, my friends, Ploschad is an awful 'hole of a place: a collection of a few wooden huts somewhere deep in the heart of Lithuania. Or should that be "deep in the heart of the new Fatherland"? Not if the Ruskies have anything to say about it, that's for sure: in fact, the new Fatherland will find itself getting well and truly 'done' by the new Motherland at this rate! But I get ahead of myself...
Ploschad and its bridge...but who's that lurking in the woods?
My name is Hauptmann Siggi Starkbier, leader of the 1st Kompanie, 1st Battalion, 1001st Infantry Regiment, and I have been fighting in this verdamnt war ever since the little corporal made the decision to visit Warsaw by tank. I've fought the Russians going east, fought the British and the Amis in Normandy going east, and now I'm fighting the Russians again, this time going west!
It is late summer 1944. The city of Vilnius has fallen and 19th Panzer Division’s counter-attack has failed. The Fourth and Third Panzer Armies of Army Group Centre have fallen back on the Lithuanian city of Kaunas in disarray. Now the Soviets are driving forward again, seeking to capture Kaunas before the army can properly regroup. One route to Kaunas takes the Ruskie advance through the Chera valley towards the walled city of Bashnya. I am part of the force sent to stop Bashnya falling to the Slavs...but I have to say we are not doing too well so far!
After the long journey from Normandy, me and the lads ended up in Osen, further up the valley. Not much to Osen: the remains of a big church and, more importantly, two bridges over the river Chera. The Russians wanted the bridges, Command wanted them blown to smithereens. Regrettably it was the Soviets that got their way. There were just so many of them!
Now the Slavs have launched another attack: this time trying to swing round south of Holm, via Ploshad, and hit Bashnya from the flank. As the Kolonel explained to me, this is not good news. Although Bashnya is being prepared for defense, and more of the Fuhrer's wonder weapons are on the way (blah, blah, blah!), someone has to delay the Russians at Ploschad for long enough for a larger, more powerful force to be gathered together to stop them more permanently. He smiled as he said this, and I knew who was going to be leading that force!
He went on for a bit about my year's of experience and quality of my men etc, but I knew it was Normandy and Osen that were the reason I was once more heading into the storm! Now I sit in Ploschad, writing this diary, waiting for the Soviet steamroller to arrive. It's not all bad: I've got the lads with me, four squads' worth with some Fausts; plus Oschsenbohnen's PaKs and, more importantly, Mohntorte's StuGs.
Ed's note: the diary breaks off at this point, seemingly resumed after the battle was over...
Well I'm glad that's over, and ever gladder that I'm still alive and in one piece. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, actually. The Ruskies tried to be clever, but luckily my strength-in-depth approach when placing the men paid off.
We'd been aware that there were Russians in the woods in front of the village for a bit of time, but had been keeping our heads down so as not to be spotted. I'd put the infantry in the village itself, one platoon either side of the road, but kept everything else back, splitting it between the two sides of the road. One PaK on the left, one PaK on the right, one in the village. Two StuGs on the left, two StuGs on the right, but both behind the village as a mobile fire brigade ready to go wherever they were needed.
Suddenly a mass of enemy troops burst from the woods on the right. And when I say "mass", I mean "mass". There were so many of them that the dust they kicked up made it hard to pick targets! I quickly realised that their plan was to by-pass the village entirely, presumably just trying to get past us so that they could head for Bashnya.
The enemy column headed top speed down the right flank, not even trying to suppress my men in the village. The lone PaK on the right flank right at the back (skulking in the woods) managed to spot and take out the lead enemy T-34, but it looked as if the Russians would just punch past us before we could stop them.
Fortunately the Mohntorte fire brigade was in reserve and ready for action. I ordered him just to head right and try and hit the enemy column in the flank with everything he had. The trouble was that the Russians were moving so fast. Desperate measures were called for. Reluctantly, because it seemed like a suicide mission, I ordered Freddi Feuerzangenbowle to take his two squads out of their trenches in the village, hop the low hedge bordering the hamlet, and head out into open ground and try and delay the column by shooting at them with his 'handful of fausts.
Freddi grimaced, but didn't argue (he knew it had to be done) and, before I could even wish him good luck, was over the hedge with his men and engaging the Ruskies.
Unfortunately the 'fausts were ineffective: the Soviets were seemingly just out of range, and I closed my eyes to what I expected would now be the massacre of Freddi and his men.
But no: the Soviets had a plan, and were sticking to it. Ignoring the brave Freddi, the enemy column just kept going. It really was going to be all up to Mohntorte and his StuGs, especially as the PaK at the back was under heavy fire.
The lead StuG, crewed by Otto himself, burst round the corner of the village and engaged, quickly dispatching the two lead T-34s with a couple of crackingly good shots. This was the delay we needed to get the rest of his platoon into action. After that it was almost an anti-climax. With Mohntorte on its flank, the PaK at the back still bravely shooting when it could, and Freddi's chaps still threatening its rear, the Soviet column was doomed. A short ten minutes of intense action later, the Ruskies melted away, back into the woods from which they'd come.
Ploschad is still a hole...but at least it is still a German hole!
This was as far as the Soviets got
A cracking game of IABSM where a bold Soviet plan came so close to working. Neil utterly surprised me with his 'smash down the flank without stopping' tactics, and it would have worked if I had deployed my men further forward. As it was, he totally bypassed my first line of defense, avoided half my defenders entirely, and it was only because I had the StuGs as a very mobile reserve that I managed to stop his column at all. Yes, the final clash was a bit of a duck shoot, but you really had to be there to realise just how close he came to victory. A great game, with Neil consoled by the fact that he had still won a minor Soviet campaign victory.
Robert Avery
This report is from the game played on October 15th 2016 at the first ever TFL Llardiff Games Day that took place at Firestorm Games in Cardiff.
The idea of this games day was that gamers not necessarily familiar with TFL products could come and have a go at a variety of different games, getting a taste of Lard and then hopefully coming back for more.
I was tasked with showcasing I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!, and told that I should prepare for a series of different players dipping in and out throughout the day, with my efforts focused on setting up and umpiring one game in the morning and one game in the afternoon.
Hmmm, I thought, multiple players dipping in and out: my favourite - not! No matter: Lard calls and I answer...so I decided to bring to Cardiff one of the larger (if not the largest) games from my Bashnya or Bust! scenario pack: scenario #4C, Holm. This is a late war game where a battalion of Soviet infantry (and remember IABSM is a company-sized game!) supported by just a few tanks tries to overrun a German force defending a small village on the Kaunas front. You can see the set up in the rather blurry picture, top right. The Germans would start the game dug in under hidden Blinds anywhere from and to the left of the church; the Soviets would enter the table from the right.
This would be an ideal scenario for Llardiff, as I could play the Germans with a variety of players taking control of one or more of the huge mass of Soviet units attempting to roll over them. Players could therefore drop in and out with no problems.
As it happens, for the morning session, I only had two players: Andy, who had come down from Glasgow specifically to play IABSM (above and beyond, eh?); and, I think, Nick, who wanted to gain more experience in the game at the hands of the master (i.e. me, apparently).
The battle opened with the Soviets ignoring the central road and advancing strongly up either flank of the table.
On the Soviet right, the Battalion commander led a company of infantry supported by a platoon of mortars and a platoon of three IS-2 heavy tanks towards the church (the tanks are still on a Blind in the picture below).
Spotting quickly revealed a German entrenchment around the small village church, and another around a couple of huts slightly further up the road.
One Soviet platoon of infantry moved forward quickly, hoping to get the drop on the Germans, but were largely annihilated as their advance slowed down in amongst the heavy crops just in front of the church. At least, with their tactics of spotting by dead body, the Russians established that each of the church and the hut entrenchments only held a small infantry platoon supported by an MMG.
Having learnt the dangers of advancing against an unprepared target, the Soviets now used their mortars and their tanks to pound the churchyard, priming the Germans there for a second quick charge into melee. This second attack was a success, and the German platoon was effectively wiped out.
Meanwhile, on the Soviet left, a second company of infantry had headed forward towards a large German gunpit holding a PaK40 anti-tank gun. The Russian aim was to knock it out so that their heavy tanks could advance properly down the middle of the table rather than skulking around near the church.
The first platoon headed up the table under a Blind and, unbelievably, got level with the gunpit despite multiple spotting attempts by the Germans. However, not wanting to risk whatever it was under the Blind, the Germans withdrew their gun, replacing it with a squad of infantry 'borrowed' from the entrenchments around the hut.
The Germans also now revealed their secret weapons: a couple of StuGs and a couple of Hetzers, lurking amongst the huts. These started, respectively, bombarding the advancing Soviet infantry and exchanging fire with the three IS-IIs.
The Russian infantry platoon charged across from their flank and quickly disposed of the the German squad manning the abandoned gun pit. Worse for the Germans, one of the IS-IIs managed to get a shot at the SdKfz 11 half-track towing the gun away, blowing it and the gun, and its crew, to kingdom's come!
The Soviets now advanced strongly across the board. Things were not looking very good for the Germans, but they weren't finished yet. Some neat anti-tank shooting took care of two of the IS-IIs in the same turn, and suddenly it looked as if the tables could turn.
But it was not to be. Although the German StuGs and Hetzers would be a pain for the Soviets, the Germans had now completely run out of infantry! They had started the game with only two, two-squad platoons, and now had precisely one five-man MMG team left, and that was pinned down! As the objective of the game was to hold the road junction in the village, I ruled (against myself!) that you needed infantry to hold something, not just AFVs, and that therefore the German could no longer win and, eventually therefore, the Russians would take out the Germans tanks and stroll one of their remaining infantry squads into a winning position.
The Soviets therefore won the day in what was one of the biggest games of IABSM I've ever played with only three people. What's more, we finished the game in almost exactly three hours: Speedy Gonzales or what!
A great game that did exactly what is was supposed to do: showcase I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! to a non-Lardy audience.
Robert Avery
1st Welsh Guards - pictured during the earlier Goodwood operation in July 1944
This coming weekend I have had to come up with a game at short notice for our monthly meeting at the Devon Wargames Group and after really enjoying getting out the WWII collection and revisiting IABSM v3 last month fighting the Arnhem themed Baskeyfield VC scenario, this month I decided to have a bit more armour out on the table and not having used my Churchill tanks from the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, settled on a scenario from "Cymru Am Byth", translated as "Wales Forever", scenario book by Richard Clarke covering the wartime exploits of the Welsh Guards with sixteen scenarios and a mini campaign.
After Normandy, the Guards Armoured Division split up into battle groups of infantry and tanks from the different Guard regiments and my Dad, with the 55th Field Regiment RA, spent most of his time attached to the Welsh battle group, so I have an interest in the exploits of the Taffs.
So the scenario selected was "Let's Get at the Bastards", Scenario Twelve from the book
To set the scene for the weekend game, I thought it might be interesting to summarise events prior to our little battle. The map below shows the front line in Normandy on the July 25th 1944 with American forces established on a line from Lessoy to St Lo and ready to take advantage of the German positions which, due to their perceived threat of an Allied breakthrough around Caen, saw 80% of German armour positioned on the Anglo/Canadian front close to that city.
Operation Cobra, the US offensive, when it came, was the longed for break through and saw the town of Avranches and the route into Brittany and central France firmly in American control by the July 31st, heralding the beginning of the end for German forces in France.
To help pin down any attempts by the Germans to move troops to their western flank the British launched a complimentary offensive on the 30th of July, Operation Bluecoat, designed to take control of the vital road junction at Vire and the high ground of Mount Pincon, with both objectives falling to allied troops on August 6th.
In their desperation to restore their line and halt the rapid progress of the Americans, German commanders launched Operation Luttich, the Mortain counter-offensive the next day, looking to break through to the western coast and cut off American spearhead units. With ULTRA warning American commanders of the planned attack and with few German armoured reserves left or, for that matter, in any fit state to launch an offensive, the counter-attack was over by August 13th with barely any effect on the Americans progress.
Thus the scene was set for the launching of the British offensive, Operation Grouse designed to precipitate a collapse of those German forces still contesting the allied advance and which would see the British 3rd Infantry Division and Guards Armoured Division, drive in the 'full of fight' remnants of 9th SS Hohenstauffen Division, as pressure was brought to bear on the rapidly collapsing German front line.
One of these attacks led to the fight for control of the little cluster of farm buildings on top of hill 242 overlooking Chenedolle at Le Haut Perrier and is the subject of the chosen scenario.
What makes this scenario have added appeal is the inclusion of three troops of 3rd Scots Guards Churchill tanks that supported the 3rd Company 1st Welsh Guards on the day of the attack. A unit I built a few years ago with this game in mind, but that have never been on the table in anger.
Churchill tanks of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, pictured during Operation Bluecoat
The map for Scenario 12 showing the German set up positions with the British entering the table from the north edge
The Guardsmen find themselves tasked with taking on a battle-group from 9th SS Panzer Division determined to resist to the utmost and force the Tommies to pay a heavy price for any ground taken
So the "battle-box" is all loaded up with the impedimenta of tabletop warfare and as you can see the forces are mustered.
In addition I have pulled together revised IABSM V3 scenario briefings with the updated force stats all put on one sheet for the respective sides to refer to.
I am really looking forward to seeing these "bad-boys" on the table, although they will be facing a stern test that will see how thick the armour is on a Churchill Infantry Tank.
A stern test indeed!
Taken from the Welsh Guards Regimental History:
“About half-way to the village a line of hedges crossed their front leading on the left into a sunken lane. No.7 platoon now occupied this hedge-line while Leuchars went to contact No.8 Platoon, who were farther forward on the left of No.7. They had reached the outskirts of the village and had silenced a machine gun post when two more opened on them and held them up. One of the Scots Guards tanks supporting them was blown up on a mine, but the crew managed to escape and continued to fight as infantry for the rest of the battle. A dug-in Panther and a mortar were also spotted and Sergeant E.Williams moved his platoon back to the sunken road.
"Meanwhile Lieutenant D.J.C. Stevenson with Sergeant R.G.Fowles and five guardsmen had made an eventful sortie from No.7 Platoon. Re-crossing the main road, they had crept forward to the first two houses, knocked out a machine-gun post and killed two snipers. They were about to rejoin their platoon when a nearby Panther sent an armour-piercing shell into the house they had cleared, and killed Guardsman W.E. Bowen who was standing with his back to the wall; the rest got back safely.
"Shortly after this the enemy put down a mortar concentration mixed with smoke which screened the village and suggested that either a counter-attack or a withdrawal was being covered. While the smoke lasted the company could see little, but the Scots Guards tanks worked out to their flank, spotted three Panthers moving and promptly knocked out all three. The Company were loud in praise of the work done by the 3rd Battalion Scots Guards that day – ‘Even when their tanks were hit (they lost two) they came and joined the infantry. One Lance-Sergeant borrowed No.7 Platoons PIAT to go and deal with a Panther which had knocked out his tank. He came back with his hand bleeding and the PIAT in pieces. Then he grabbed a rifle and went back again. That was the last I saw of him.’
"When the smoke-screen lifted the company advanced on the village and entered now without much opposition, killing a few Germans who remained and taking nine prisoners. No.8 Platoon went to the far end of the village and hardly reached their objective when ‘the ominous clank of tank tracks was heard on the road, and round the corner of a hedge came one more Panther. Its huge gun was swinging from side to side, the tank commander was looking out of the top and had obviously seen nothing. The first two shots from No,8 Platoon’s PIAT missed, but the third hit it squarely beside the driver’s seat, a loud explosion occurred and immediately flames burst from the crippled tank. In a very few seconds the fire was ranging and ammunition started exploding. Only one of the crew got out and he was promptly ‘seen off’ by a light machine gun. Nobody was in the mood for taking prisoners.”
The picture, taken on the iPad (below, right), shows the five German platoon group positions, corresponding to the scenario map (below, left) with the British set to enter from the northern table edge.
Le Haut Perrier is nothing more than a minuscule collection of farm buildings that does not even feature on the smallest scale maps. Its importance was due entirely to its position atop a rise in the rolling terrain that gave excellent views across all the surrounding countryside.
The hedges are relatively light, whilst the farm buildings are of solid stone construction and provide good cover. One of the lanes running east west is partially sunken on the southern side, this will provide good cover for any troops in it.
Take (British)/Hold (German) Le Haut Perrier.
Elements of 9th SS Hohenstauffen
One Big Man (Level III)
One Big Man (Level III)
One Big Man (Level II)
Platoon One
Two MMG teams (3 crew each)
Platoon Two
Two MMG teams (3 crew each)
Platoon Three
Two MMG teams (3 crew each)
Panzer One - Morale 3
Three Panther A tanks, dug in
Panzer Two - Morale 3
Three Panther A tanks
Mortars
Two 80mm mortars off-table with three pre-registered target points (Use IPad to record aiming points)
German Player Notes:
Support weapons, such as mortars or HMGs, will only move when activated by a Big Man or if they come under close range small arms fire. They may move or fire in a turn but never do both.
Tripod‐mounted weapons like medium or heavy machine guns will be unable to move if reduced to a crew of one.
Light support weapons, such as LMGs or light mortar teams, will generally be considered part of an infantry platoon. When they do operate independently they move with the same number of Actions (4) as a full strength section of their troop type.
The Germans deploy their units in two deployment areas, as marked on the map as A and B. They MUST deploy at least two whole platoon sized units in each deployment zone. Both sides are on blinds when the game commences.
One platoon of German tanks must be dug in; all of their infantry may be as well.
The hedges in this area are not dense bocage, but remove one dice from any unit moving through them.
The side that holds Le Haut Perrier at the end of the game wins.
3 Company, 1st Welsh Guards
Lieutenant D.R Leuchars (Level IV)
Lieutenant D.J.C.Stevenson (Level III)
Sergeant E. Williams (Level III)
Sergeant R.G. Fowles (Level III)
Platoon Seven
Two rifle sections (8 men each)
One PIAT (2 man crew)
Platoon Eight
Three rifle sections
One PIAT (2 man crew)
Platoon Nine
Three rifle sections
One PIAT (2 man crew)
Elements of 3rd Scots Guards Morale 3
Troop One (Command Troop)
Three Churchill tanks (Two Churchill VIIs, one Chuchill V CS)
Troop Two
Three Churchill tanks (Churchill VI's)
Troop Three
Three Churchill tanks (Churchill VI's)
British Player Notes:
The British start the game on the northern table edge.
Both sides are on blinds when the game commences.
The British have two additional dummy blinds to use.
The hedges in this area are not dense bocage, but remove one dice from any unit moving through them.
The lead British elements enter the table on blinds with the first platoons spotted by the German defenders visible
As part of the setting up for this action and given the very cluttered nature of the terrain I wanted to keep the use of blinds to a minimum so had the Germans set up their platoon blinds out of sight of the British players and photographed their set up on the IPad together with the positions of their pre-registered mortar strikes.
The view up hill from the British lines
Once recorded all the German markers were removed, using the IPad as a reference and thus the British were presented with an empty battlefield with just their blinds moving across the fields, with the Germans able to spot from their hidden positions.
Close Normandy terrain providing plenty of cover for friend and foe alike
The German's opted for a balanced three up (6 x dug MG42 MMGs) forward in and around the farm, with Panthers on each flank, the right flank being dug in.
Scots Guards Churchill tanks on over-watch as their comrades move out into the neighbouring fields
The British attack plan rather presupposes a move to bring the force to bear on a point in the German line looking to overwhelm it quickly and take out the other parts piecemeal, as is what happened. The tricky bit is getting to grips with the defenders without suffering too much on the way in, and there as the Great Bard would say "lies the rub of it".
It's quiet - Too quiet!
As the British forces entered the table using their two dummy blinds to disguise the line of attack, the German defenders spent the first few turns scanning the hedgerows down hill trying to spot the obvious sounds of enemy tanks and any supports.
Panthers dug in above the farm open fire and take return fire from the lumbering British tanks
Very soon the first Churchill tanks were spotted looking like first year débutantes nervously making their way towards the dance floor. As well as tanks, the first two platoons of British infantry were soon spotted moving, two up, looking to get to the cover of the sunken lane.
The German positions were well dug in and camouflaged
Radios crackled within German lines as the dug in Panthers on the right flank opened fire on the lead Churchill troop. The first shot ploughed harmlessly into the ground in front of the first vehicle causing an urgent rebuke for more care and attention from the SS tank commander to his gunner.
The gunner responded with a round that smacked into the front of the first Churchill and shot vertically upwards leaving the enemy tank unharmed. However the Scots Guards troop leaders relief was soon short lived as the other two Panthers opened up with aimed fire at the other two tanks in his command.
Their armour saved them from complete destruction, but left one immobilised permanently and the other temporarily but with impaired movement, plus the shock to their crews didn't help with their chances of returning the fire. Not surprisingly when they had their opportunity to respond the first vehicle smoke rounds appeared to their front aimed at giving them some respite.
The lead British tanks take casualties, shock and damage as the Guards infantry sprint to the sunken lane
The poor old Welsh Guards were were getting a bit of battle inoculation as their lead platoon suddenly found themselves under mortar fire as they crossed the open field to their front, causing the survivors to sprint to the cover of the hedge on the sunken lane looking to regroup.
The dash to the hedge line only served to be a jump from the frying pan into the fire as two previously unspotted machine gun bunkers opened fire on the hapless Guardsmen, adding to their distress with further casualties and shock.
The Welsh Guards infantry come under withering machine gun fire across the lane
The British infantry commander was desperately in need of a bit of support from his "tankies", but they had a fight of their own going on, whilst aware of the need to close in on the German machine gun nests and help suppress them.
As if things couldn't get worse! The second Panther platoon move in on the Scots Guards flank
Meanwhile the second Guards infantry platoon taking advantage of the attention being paid to their comrades took advantage of it to make their way forward on the German extreme right flank, making the sunken lane pretty much intact.
The Welsh have established a lodgement in the farm, clearing the MG nests, but the attacks stalls in the face of heavy casualties
The Guardsmen were well aware that they had to break in amongst the cover of the buildings while using some of the tanks to keep the Panthers on the hill focused in their direction whilst also using some to support the infantry.
Making use of the smoke from the first tank casualties together with that of the defensive smoke rounds laid, the second troop moved through their comrades and brought HE fire onto the German MG nests on the sunken lane causing casualties and shocks.
The Welsh Guards used the respite given by their tanks to regroup and add to the pinning fire as one section sprinted over the lane through a neighbouring orchard and took the first MG nest in the flank and rear.
The dug in Panther platoon provided valuable support to their infantry in the farm area
Whilst the attack in the centre was going on the third troop of Scots Churchills duked it out with the dug in Panthers, causing multiple hits on the enemy platoon commanders vehicle but remaining one shock away from causing the German commander to bail out.
Whist the German tanks were occupied with this duel, the second platoon of Welsh Guards desperately tried to plant a PIAT bomb onto the nearest German tank from their position on the sunken lane, but it struck harmlessly against the earthwork around the tank.
The British attack is halted with the survivors looking to disengage. The opposing tank platoons face off across the hill side as the battle subsides in the centre
Sensing the distress of the British attack the SS commander pulled in his forces from the German left to counter attack the Guardsmen. This saw the second Panther platoon edge their way towards the flank of the British tank attack whilst two MG42 teams relocated into the farm barns to secure the centre.
The Welsh Guards section that had cleared the first bunker then took out its neighbour and got a lodgement in one of the barns, but by then the attack had stalled with too many infantry casualties littering the nearby fields and the Scots looking likely to be caught in the vice of two platoons of Panther tanks one on each flank,
And that was, as they say, that with the British attack stopped in its tracks.
This game was bad day at the office for the Brits, with their attack managing to find the dug in Panthers rather than their mobile comrades, and with their dice failing miserably to save casualties, only by an uncanny ability for the Germans to do the opposite.
I think we were generous on the cover we gave the British moving through the hedges and trees that break up the terrain; usually making them an 'okay' to 'poor' target on the IABSM fire table. On reflection I would make the sunken lane a 'poor' target environment along its length in front of the farm giving a jump off point for the Brits that make it across the field to the front of the buildings.
The Churchill proved a tough opponent taking hits that would automatically brew Shermans and Cromwells and the use of 'Engage' orders with aimed shooting certainly kept the Panthers on the hill busy fending off their shots.
A very nice afternoon spent battling in the Normandy countryside provided great sport before the rugby match of this year's Six Nations competition was caught up with in the pub afterwards.
Thanks to Ian, Steve, Steve M., and new member Bob for providing the entertainment.
Carojon
The table. Mat is by Deepcut, hills on the left by the Tree Fellas, remaining hills by Andy Hawes, roads by S&A Scenics; factory by Sarissa, railings and Italian town 3D printed by me.
Another IABSM2 conversion, this from Rich Clarke's "Cymru Am Byth" scenario book which tracks the Welsh Guards throughout WW2.
Nice simple set up: the Germans are defending the town of San Marco as the Welsh Guards drive north from Perugia. This was a long-promised teaching game for the club, so we had old hands (if a little rusty) AndyM and MarkJ (long time no see!) commanding the Germans' scattered couple of platoons, a StuG, a PAK 38 and some off table mountain guns, and Carl took charge of the British company and two troops of Sherman IIIs, assisted by Colin, Ash, Pippa and Tom.
Things started badly when I realised I'd forgotten the box with the StuG III in it, but decided I'd brazen it out and let the Germans place a Tiger (with StuG III stats) on the table instead, 'cause after all everything's a Tiger when it starts out :D Carl was most amused.
Other than that I made a few tweaks - the British didn't have 2" mortars and PIAT's listed, which seemed odd, so they got them, and the Germans' Kubelwagen got a Panzershrek, just to even things up a bit. (Still not sure what that's intended for - it seems not to be beefy enough to pull a PAK38).
I'll let the pictures tell the story, with a note that this was SO different to a Normandy game - the lack of head-high bocage makes for a whole different approach to the game:
The fun's already started as a section of British 3 Platoon, sent out in advance by the CO to see what’s a foot, has dismounted from its trucks, wandered into the olive grove and just about fallen over two sections of the German infantry zug. It was rather rapidly reduced to zero actions!
Meanwhile 3 Platoon’s mortar is laying smoke
A troop of the 16th/5th Lancers are forcing their way through the olive grove. The German zug is rather regretting its decison to re-enter the trees.
View from over the olive pressing plant. The other troop of the 16th/5th has already lost its CO to the Stug - the double 6 to hit (and thus bonus 3 dice) doing most of the damage there. The brewed-up Sherman can be seen in the distance just to the left of the chimney.
The smoke laying job has been taken over by 1 Platoon up in the cutting on the hill behind the single house, as 3 Platoon's mortar team just got cut in half by two MG34s.
The 'Tiger' lurking behind a house. (The roof material is Wills 00 pantile sheet).
Also visible one of the German MG teams and the overall German CO. And some Battlefront vineyards, with a heavy ink wash to hide the hideously bright green!
Starting to look a little dicey for Jerry now.
The infantry Zug in the olive trees is getting pounded by 1 Platoon and the Shermans, with 2 Platoon still in its trucks following in the Shermans' wake. Their Panzerfaust has just missed the lead Sherman centre left.
The pall of smoke in the top right corner reveals where the tanks on the road unleashed on the StuG.
And there we have it. The Germans are pinned and shocked, and about to lose their bottle.
The forces in the village are about to follow their orders, and having given the British something of a bloody nose, are falling back.
And we finished inside the time available!
Mike Whitacker
A slightly different scenario is arrived at here. The Russians, being over confident, have left some artillery pieces too close to the front, and the Germans are sending in a raiding party to spike them. The raiders themselves are not particularly strong, but have plenty of support: four Sections of MMGs and one of Stug IIIGs. The guns are weakly held but massive reinforcements are nearby. I mean massive as well, and one must wonder why they are not attacking!
The guns are on top of a flat top hill and in easy sight of the Germans.
The Germans rushed the guns with incredible speed and surprised the sentries who, despite this, managed to raise the alarm quickly. Needing a cumulative score rolled on D6s at the end of every turn, the Russians managed it in two goes, so the race was on.
Well it wasn’t much of a race, and three of the guns were reached and spiked very quickly. The last gun being a bit more like hard work as it didn’t seem that anyone had been properly assigned to take care of it.
Here the Germans stopped as the need to rush forward wasn’t there. The first Russian reinforcements arrived just off the side track and in exactly the right spot for the Germans, with the Stugs and two MMGs being sat there. Just off the right on this photo.
The Russians, being bunched together, were having trouble doing anything, but below the Gunners can be seen rushing the Germans, and then being rushed back very quickly! Some reinforcements can be seen in the background. Several sections have already been shot up by the MMGs and Stugs.
The Russians, in a mess, tried to break out from their entry point. The Russian MMGs had caused some trouble, and a single section of Russians became a forlorn hope: being destroyed but also weakening the enemy MMGs enough for the rest of their force to get through. Brave but unfortunately ultimately futile!
As the Russians finally managed to get round the hill, the Germans destroyed the last gun. It is time to get away. The job is done and the Russians have got a lot of troops on the table, just out of reach though.
The Germans get away. The Russians are in shock at the ease the guns were destroyed and the blame is on one man it would seem. Mayor Dmitry Bykovski is one forlorn figure as he wanders into the woods on his own, but is called back...as apparently the Russians have one last chance to achieve something in the campaign.
An interesting game which didn’t play the way I expected at all. The Germans got to the guns very quickly and really didn’t give the sentries too much chance before they had stormed them. Then the Russians came on the table randomly...but exactly where the Germans guns were waiting for them. It was really too easy for the Germans, as the Russians couldn’t really influence the game enough.
I would have had each Russians Platoon come on at a different point as it got very messy as it was.
Well, off we go to Devyat itself for the last game in this excellent series.
Craig Ambler
Early June means its time for the annual Operation Market Larden games day in Evesham. This year, 2016, I had volunteered to run a couple of games of I Ain't Been Shot Mum and had decided to run a couple of games from my Bashnya or Bust! late war, eastern front scenario pack.
As Bashnya or Bust! is a five-level pyramid campaign, I decided to make life easy for myself by using the same setting for both games, but to use two of the different scenarios set there. The morning game would therefore use scenario 3D, the afternoon game would use scenario 4F (q.v.).
Zhena is a small village that lies to the north of Devyat. The main feature of the village is the junction of the three roads leading to Zima, Devyat and Vcheva. The villagers are very proud of the 'avenue' of seven trees leading south from the junction: their neighbours considering it very French, very cosmopolitan!
Otherwise, Zhena is a collection of wooden huts and a burnt out church, surrounded by waist-high crop fields. Outside of that, the terrain is open grassland studded with clusters of trees. There is a large hill just to the north of the village.
For this version of the game, the Germans would start with a small force on table. A large Soviet force would then appear and launch an attack. After 2-3 appearances of the Turn Card (determined randomly), a hefty force of German reinforcements would join the fray.
The main German force consisted of a reduced tank company of five Panzer IV Js backed up by Schwerer Zug of a couple of Tiger IIs. In addition, the Germans fielded an infantry company of three platoons of assault-rifle-armed infantry, one of which would start the game on the table accompanied by a single Puma armoured car commanded by Big Man Siggi Spatzen.
The Russians fielded a tank company of four T-34/85s and two T-34/76s backed up by two SU-85 tank destroyers. They also had a company of infantry with them, armed with SMGs. The soviets also had access to off-table artillery (heavy mortars) and air support (a Sturmovik armed with rockets).
As the game began, the on-table Germans were positioned around the church: the infantry in scrapes in front, and the Puma hiding behind.
The Soviets advanced cautiously onto the table, with one set of Blinds inching their way down the road towards the village and another looping around to the north towards the hill.
Spotting revealed the road-bound Blinds as a platoon of T-34/76s followed by another of T-34/85s; with the Blinds heading towards the hill being infantry platoons.
Meanwhile, the slow Soviet advance had given time for the German relieving force to start appearing at the other end of the table: their first Blind being quickly revealed as a zug of Panzer IVs.
Fire from either Siggi's Puma or one of the Panzer IVs knocked out the main gun of the lead T-34/76, but despite this the lead Soviet infantry platoon swept down and cleared the German infantry from their scrapes in front of the church.
German Panzer IVs and infantry were now pouring onto the table, with long-range fire being exchanged between the Panzer IVs and the T-34/85s, the latter sweeping around north of the church to meet the Panzer IVs heading towards the northern side of the village.
The lead T-34/85, misjudging distances, charged through the northern edge of the village only to realise that he had exposed his flank to Siggi's Puma, still lurking behind the church. One cheeky shot later, and the T-34/85 exploded into flames.
Meanwhile, the Soviet tank destroyers had outpaced the remaining T-34/85s and, hiding at the edge of the light woods at the bottom of the hill, were swiftly shooting into the advancing Panzer IVs and a German infantry zug that was moving to occupy the line of the edge of the corn fields.
Now the German Tigers made an appearance: positioned on top of the hill near their baseline and therefore with a commanding view over the battlefield as a whole. They began shooting at whatever enemy they could see, with the Soviets taking some casualties before they could scatter into cover.
The Soviet commander had called in both artillery and air support, and although the heavy mortars never made an appearance, a lone Sturmovik was soon cruising above the battlefield looking for targets. Well, the biggest and best targets, the Tigers, were sitting right on top of a hill right out in the open, and for the rest of the game, although undamaged, the German heavy cats would have their fire disrupted by a fairly constant hail of misguided rockets.
Or maybe one Tiger had been destroyed or disabled: I'm afraid I can't quite remember!
Despite the distraction, the Tigers managed to take out one of the SU-85 tank destroyers. The other was destroyed by fire from infantry panzerschreks, although both teams were quickly cut down by a hail of SMG fire afterwards. The battle around the northern hill/stream/cornfield area then degenerated into an infantry-on-infantry stand-off that would last for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the Soviet tanks, fed up with being delayed in their advance, had decided to do something about the German Puma behind the church. Two Russian tanks (one a T-34/85, one a T-34/76) caught poor Siggi in a pincer movement, and although they managed to damage the '76, the Puma crew were forced to bail out as their armoured car disintegrated around them! They had, however, taken out at least two T-34s, and held up the Russian attack on the village itself.
As time was almost up for the morning session, both sides now charged all they had left towards the junction in the centre of the village. It was carnage...carnage that left very few tanks intact. Two infantry platoons were also blasting away at each other at close range.
In the end, as the session ended, I declared that the game was a draw: neither side having conclusively "taken" the junction.
All in all, an excellent game of IABSM, and one that showed how grinding the action could be on the eastern front. my thanks to Geoff and Andy for playing the game in such good spirits.
Robert Avery
I really enjoyed the game, cheers.
Siggi and his Puma from Mars was a pain in the proverbial indeed (I was playing the Soviets).
The Tiger 2 was hit but sadly no damage inflicted and the mortars did indeed turn up (eventually) brought down partly upon their own men - the greater good and all that.
Poor Andy was on the end of some rough dice and the game could have gone either way.
In hindsight I should have gone hell for leather from move 1 but not knowing the strength of the defenders in the village I opted for a more cautious route.
I suspect I was shot after the battle as a fascist sympathiser following my sniper Clarenceoffski the cross-eyed marksman.
After the thrilling German victory last time the action moves onto an encounter action on the road to Ploschad. The Russians are strung out marching on the road and the German have a chance to hit them hard early on. The map is as below, the Russians are marching on the left hand road and the Germans hit them from the right hand road.
The German force is well armoured with Panthers and halftracks galore, but the Russians have a couple of the monster JSII (thankfully I just managed to get some PSC ones painted), MMGs and some Mortars.
Right from the off the action was quick. Playing solo I shuffled the Blinds and managed to get it all fine. The first thing the Russians did was to jump off their Blinds and attempt to fix the mix up, but then a Panther section appeared on the road. As you can see the JSIIs were directly in the correct position.
Very quickly the whole forces of both sides were on the field of battle. The Germans had to move outward to extend the weaker Russians and the Russians had to get their powerful weapons to the front as quickly as possible. As you can see the Panthers and JSII were fighting it out toe to toe and so far were at one each. Bad tactics by the Germans here, but it was hard to get them moving.
Suddenly all hell broke loose as one rogue German section madly charged the Russian in front of them and guarding the western approaches to the all important road junction (don’t throw 18 on three dice to sneak forward). Surprisingly they not only beat the forces in front of them but then also the Human Wave that came after it. In the end this unit took out two whole Russian sections before succumbing to the AA guns. A great piece of to and fro action.
The next section in this Platoon then decided to attack the remaining JSII with a Panzerfaust attack. This did not work as they first missed and were then hit by flanking fire by the MMG at the crossroad.
This small area of the field was taken all the attention of both sides. To both the north and south though the Germans were extending their hold, without doing anything too exciting.
The JSII destroyed the Panther in front of it but turning missed before being immediately hit and destroyed by the flanking Panthers. Incredulously when it looked to be all over a pesky 45mm Russian gun managed to hit and destroy a Panther’s main gun, which meant there was only one fully functioning tank left on the field.
Several turns of long range fire whilst the Germans moved into position. The Germans destroyed the 45mm AT guns as well as the AA trucks whilst tightening the net.
The end is looking close as the Germans infantry get into position and wait to move in, with halftrack supports in tow. The short range fire is now begins to take actions and the Russians are slowly being destroyed
The end comes as a carefully worked Platoon attack wipes out the section and MMG holding the line and now the one remaining section is becoming closely surrounded and decides to escape.
Another really excellent game from this great pack. The Germans seem to be favoured but early tanks loses can upset them. The Russians almost pulled it off.
I am still not too sure how to use onboard Medium mortars as they are not too good, unless they are instant fire like the Germans 80mm ones. The Russians never fired theirs as the fire number needed is a five.
Anyway the Germans are not bothered in the slightest and I next move on to 4D: Near Devyat.
Craig Ambler
After their defeat near Osen in the first battle of the campaign, the remains of 2nd Kompanie, 30th Panzer have retreated to the small village of Zima, deep in the heart of pine woods to the north of Bashnya. There they will be attacked by a battalion of Soviet infantry backed up by three Guards' tanks and a handful of flamethrower-armed engineers, whose objective will be to take the sawmill that the Germans are using as a temporary HQ.
Zima sits within the forest within a large cleared area surrounded by pine woods. One road leads into the village, passing through two rows of huts before hitting the sawmill and a final row of huts.
The first line of German defence (the pictures get less blurry later on!)
The Germans, having had time to organise their defence if not to actually dig in, had used some of the trucks that would usually carry their attached panzergrenadiers to form a road block at each of the first two rows of huts, with the remaining three trucks forming a redoubt on the line of the sawmill to protect its open right flank.
One of their two assault rifle-armed infantry platoons was under cover at the first row of huts, supported by a Panzer IV. Two Tiger IIs and two MMG teams in half-tracks were lurking behind the second row of huts; and the other infantry platoon, another Panzer IV and a Wirbelwind self-propelled AA vehicle formed a back stop on the line of the sawmill. Two mortar carriers were hidden behind the sawmill, with an FO placed on the top floor of the sawmill itself, able to direct their fire and try and call in limited off-table artillery. A dummy Blind was positioned in each of the woods on either side of the road: scouts looking out for any Soviets crazy enough to try and move through the dense pine.
The idea was that the Soviets would come straight down the road, take casualties from the first line of defence, which would then immediately retreat to the second line of defence. The Soviets would chase after them and be hit by the King Tigers. If that line looked like being overwhelmed, it could retreat to the third and final line of defence around the sawmill.
The Soviets, however, had other ideas. Their force consisted of three infantry companies (each an HQ with two MMGs, then two platoons of two 8-man squads each…so twelve 16-man infantry platoons in total), three IS-II tanks and four two-man flamethrower teams. Their plan was for all the infantry to move through the pine woods on the northern side of the road leading into Zima, only bringing on their tanks near the road once any enemy anti-tank capability had been spotted.
Blinds, thousands of 'em (still blurry)
The battle opened with the lead Soviet Blinds bumping into the German dummy Blind in the northern wood. This came as a bit of a shock to the Germans, as they hadn't anticipated having the entire Red Army emerge behind and on the flank of their first roadblock position!
Once the Soviets had been spotted, however, they made a dense and therefore ideal target for artillery, especially as being in pine woods meant that damage was increased because of flying wood splinters and the like. The mortars on the two SdKfz 251/2s, both of which had luckily survived a Soviet superstonk centred on the sawmill, opened up, and would spend the next few turns happily annihilating four enemy MMG teams that had revealed themselves on the edge of the woods. The German off-table artillery was unfortunately asleep, and wouldn't contribute anything for the entire game.
The Soviets still hadn't spotted any Germans at this stage but, confident that there weren't any German panzerfaust teams in the northern woods (well, there wasn't any room for them now anyway, as the woods were too stuffed with Soviet infantry!) brought on their IS-IIs near the road. This had the effect of unmasking the Panzer IV hiding behind the roadblock along with one supporting infantry squad.
The German tank opened fire, hitting one IS-II three times and doing no more than mildly shaking up its crew. The Soviet return fire was not so ineffective: the Panzer took two hits from the massive Soviet 122mm guns and blew up!
Meanwhile one Soviet Blind had emerged from the western end of the woods and headed for one of the huts that formed the second line of German defence. With an extraordinary burst of speed, the Blind rounded the corner of the hut to find iself facing a King Tiger only some 4 inches away! This was bad for the German tank, as it didn't really want to fight infantry, but, I thought, I should be able to survive this initial assault and then retreat out of close assault range.
Unfortunately the Soviet Blind revealed itself as the engineers. The flamethrower carrying engineers. Gulp!
Luckily, only the lead flamethrower team could fire (the rest being still round the corner) and did: covering the King Tiger in a sheet of flame. When the smoke cleared, however, the tank was unscathed, although its crew would definitely need clean trousers! A quick burst from the Tiger's machine guns took care of the flamethrower team, and the tank reversed backwards, well out of flamethrower range, and prepared to fire HE.
Unfortunately, the next card out of the pack was Soviet Heroic Leader. With a mad cry of 'For the Motherland', Engineer Sergeant Alexeyev grabbed a flamethrower from one of his men, and charged forward towards the King Tiger. Out shot another sheet of flame, and this time the Tiger didn't survive, going up in a huge fireball.
Another proxy: the Wirbelwind dominates the corridor to the north of the sawmill
Just to finish off the engineer's story, on subsequent turns Alexeyev led them towards the sawmill but, unfortunately for the Soviets this time, I had had a chance to move my Wirbelwind into position to protect that flank. Quad 20mm cannons lashed out, and the rest of the flamethrower teams were cut down in a hail of fire. Alexeyev survived, and would survive the battle, but no other Soviet foot dared come down the corridor now protected by the AA vehicle!
Aware that time was ticking on, and that staying where they were in the wood would just result in more casualties from enemy mortars and artillery, the Soviets now used their Human Wave bonus card to sweep eight platoons of infantry out from the treeline and across the first two lines of huts.
At the first line of huts, the Russians discovered how nasty it is to close assault panzergrenadiers armed with assault rifles. Superior numbers prevailed, however, and both German squads were eventually swept away. This left quite a lot of Soviet infantry out in the open, however, and they were punished by fire from the third squad of grenadiers from their positions in the second line of huts.
Also in the second line of huts were two SdKfz 251/1s, each with an MMG team. Although these were close assaulted and destroyed, they did manage to account for another squad and a half of Russians. This left the Soviets in control of the first line of huts, and half in control of the second. Many of their infantry squads had taken casualties, however, and the cards had not been kind to their tanks, who had only now reached the middle of the table.
At this point, unfortunately, the game had to end. The Germans still had an entire platoon of assault rifle armed infantry positioned around the sawmill final line of defence, along with another Tiger II and a Panzer IV…but could these have beaten off the three IS-IIs and what was still a powerful Soviet infantry force…I doubt it. We declared the battle a draw in terms of the game itself, but a campaign win for the Germans as the Russians hadn't actually managed to take the sawmill.
All in all it was a great game. Neil played a blinder strategically in going through the woods rather than up the road, although he did suffer horrible casualties from incessant mortar fire, but the German three-line defence did still cause problems even when assaulted from the flank. His three IS-II tanks never really got into the battle, at least not by when we had to finish, although I suspect that they would have dominated the end game. The flamethrower versus Tiger II battle was also tactically inspired, robbing the Germans of half of the main pillars of their defence.
In the end we only played for about three hours, and wished we'd had longer. What was good was how well IABSM coped with such a huge Russian infantry force. This was made easier by clearly numbering the Big Men (the Russians had twelve of them!) and by using different troops for each company: standard Soviets, dismounted Cossacks, and early-war Russian sailors. Now it's on to scenario #4B!
Lots of different Soviets
PS if you're wondering why I had to use proxies for the Tiger IIs and the Wirbelwind: well...blame Battlefront. Their unique policy of not supplying retailers with any models to sell continues to baffle me!
Robert Avery
Taking advantage of the long weekend, my long-time opponent, Neil, and I decided to play-test another scenario from my forthcoming late war, eastern front scenario book for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!: Bashnya or Bust!
The Germans had lost the first encounter, scenario 01, so the next in the campaign would be a Soviet follow-up in scenario 2A. Obviously if the Germans had won scenario one, then we would be playing scenario 2B...but they hadn't, so we weren't!
Again, I don't want to give away too much: suffice to say that the Russians were attacking one of the larger market towns in the Chera Valley, Osen, with a view to capturing a bridge before the Germans could lay charges, retreat across it, and then blow it to bits. It's a timed scenario, with the Turn card governing how long it takes the German engineers to lay their charges.
I played the Germans and, for most of the game, thought that an easy victory was mine. Neil, playing the Soviets, had other ideas, and despite the fact that I knocked out almost every tank he had (certainly all seven of his T34/85s) for the loss of just one panzerjaeger, and the fact that I killed half his infantry, still won the game in what I can only describe as in the ultimate Soviet fashion. Read on to find out how...
Playing across the table meant that although I had a very descent defensive force (two platoons of infantry with a couple of MMGs; two panzerjaegers; two assault guns and two PaK 40 anti-tanks guns), there was actually an awful lot of ground to cover if I didn't want to cede the initiative entirely to the Soviets.
On the far right of the town, the two StuGs were hiding in and behind a wooden hut that had been hit by soviet artillery. This was a good move on my part, as the first Russian probing attack of a platoon of T-34/85s carrying a platoon of SMG-armed tank-riders. The StuGs were able to take out two of the T-34/85s and send two of the infantry squads hurtling towards the relative safety of the church without loss.
Bad cards, dice and an annoying final squad of tank riders would keep the StuGs pinned in that area of the table for the rest of the game, but they had done their job. The other two squads of tank riders would end up being machine-gunned into non-existence as they moved towards the crossroads in the centre of the town, and the final T-34/85 would be taken out by one of the panzerjaegers as it probed forward down the main road.
All of the above and some decided shilly-shallying around by the Soviets as they adjusted their axis of advance meant that the German engineers had enough time to lay half the charges they needed to. At this stage, with half the job done, and no active Russians on the table, I was starting to think about breaking out the champagne...
The champagne, however, would not be required, as now the real Soviet steamroller hit the table at top speed. Blind after Blind appeared on the left hand side of the table, slamming down through the open ground to the west of the village, curling around towards the vital bridge.
Well I had plenty of stuff over there, so I spotted and fired, and fired and spotted, called in artillery (which never arrived, by the way), and generally rendered the barrel of every gun I had hotter than Sergeant Wolfgang's girlfriend...all to no avail!
Another four T-34/85s bit the dust, including the one carrying the Russian CinC. Lots of tank-riders were killed, but such was the speed and ferocity of the Soviet advance that Neil managed to get two squads of infantry into base-to-base contact with the vital bridge. They immediately began de-wiring all the explosives they could get their hands on.
Foolishly I had assumed that a platoon of infantry and an anti-tank gun was enough to cover that flank, and that even if it wasn't, I would have time to move forces from the centre of the town out to the left when I needed them...I hadn't!
Before I knew it, a platoon of normal T-34s had also arrived. They disgorged their tank-riders and took up positions behind the abandoned or blown-up vehicles of their comrades.
Just how many Russians are there?
Looking at the forces left on the table, we now had just about equal amounts of infantry and tanks, although mine were better quality, and I had a couple of MMGs and anti-tanks guns and artillery versus his air support. I probably could have, eventually, cleared all the Russians from the table, but by then all the charges on the bridge would have been destroyed. There was nothing for it but to retreat off-table, desperately consulting the map for another place to cross the river.
It was, however, a great game. Both Neil and I couldn't believe that I had lost, and it was full marks to him for employing the Soviet steamroller so effectively...even if he had lost huge amounts of men and material in beating me.
As for the playtest, only a minor tweak to the victory conditions needed. Otherwise that's another scenario ticked off as ready to go. For those interested, BTW, I am currently writing scenario 5I, so only eight more to go. Publication, if all goes well, some time towards the end of May. Oh, and we're including a CoC-translator in there too, so you'll be able to play the scenarios with either a company or a platoon aside.
Robert Avery
After the armoured fight on the outskirts of Osen, the Russian victory has now pushed the Germans back into the town itself. The aim of the Russians is to take the one remainder bridge in the town and of course the Germans have to stop them. The Russians have more men and tanks as would be expected, but not as many as they would like and they certainly can’t take too many casualties as is the norm.
The town is on a valley below the hills from where the Russians will appear. The river and bridge are at the far end of the town and the Germans are well dug in and waiting. An interesting aspect of the game is that every random card the Germans throw a d6 and once to total is 25 the bridge is ready and can be blown. This put a time on operations but very random as we shall see. Good one and I hope to see it in more IABSM games.
The Germans are all hidden in the building and so the Russian advance is slow and with a lot of spotting. Suddenly from the centre of town two German sections destroy the Russian section scouting too close. That is what I was talking about with casualties. Bad luck on the Russians there.
After that excitement the action slowed somewhat as the Russians advanced in a line slowly across the front.
By turn 5 the bridge demolition was only at 2. The Russians could afford to take their time it would seem.
Near to the stream the advance was going well to plan. Those Russians SMG sections are excellent in this close terrain and before you could shout “Heil Hitler” the Russian had taken their first building from the bemused Germans.
At the same time the heavy guns of the T34s made the German retreat into the town to keep off. Both the town and the big building above it are full of Germans but they are looking ominously at the tanks advancing almost unopposed. In both cases it’s time to send the infantry in. All the Russians are SMG armed so get +3 dice in all combats.
Suddenly at turn 7 the dice turned as it bridge demolition went to 9 and then to 15 two turns later. The Russians were under some real pressure now as the game could be over in two turns!
Time for the tanks to get moving. Both large sections of T34/85 move into the square, and hit a wall of fire. Each of the Germans have 2 panzerfausts and 3 tanks are stopped immediately and a huge cheer goes up from the Germans as they see safety on the horizon; at least for now.
Looking at the whole map now. The far Russian smaller T34s are loitering but have finally cleared the large building of Germans. In the centre of the town the beleaguered Germans are just about holding out and have destroyed one of the T34s as well.
It is getting desperate for the Russians as on turn 10 the bridge was at level 20 it could be over any time now. In light of this the Russian charge the Germans in the centre but are defeated and the heroic Germans have gained desperate time for the engineers to finish their work. I can’t say enough of this as I have never seen this tension in IABSM before as both sides really do have to try anything to gain time. Brilliant.
The end is nigh. The town centre is cleared now and the T34/76s have woken from their slumber and are outflanking the Germans with just one Stug to stop them; the first Stug was destroyed a long time ago in the first actions near the river.
Turn 11 the dice throws 4 so it 24 now. The next turn of the Random card will be it, but of course this could be a while as it was at the beginning of the game. If only the Russians could regain that time!
It all ended very quickly as the Random card came up very quickly in the next draw. The position can be seen below and I decided that the German could count this as a victory as most of the remaining troops could get across the river and troops already across could cover them.
An excellent game and made even better with a time constraint put in. At first it seemed the game would go on forever and either the dice were low or the Random card didn’t appear, then in the 3 turns it advanced from 9 to 24 and finally over to the finish.
This game had it all. Mad charges, great defence, Panzerfausts, Artillery breaking a large Russian attack just in time, friendly fire from planes, bridge blowing and lastly a great game.
After this German victory we move onto 3B Near Ploschad which on a glance looks another good one. This will have to wait a couple of weeks as am getting to Berlin before these Russians at least.
Craig Ambler
Finally! After several weeks of preparation, I get to wargame the first scenario of Blenneville or Bust that offers a detailed matrix campaign for IABSM players. This scenario book weighs in at a massive 300 pages, but it should have its own blog post, so I’m not going to dwell on it here.
Let’s look at the scenario.
The first scenario of Blenneville or Bust is set in the summer of 1944, shortly after the D-Day landings as the US and British forces attempt to break out and push forwards, while the Germans hang on stubbornly. The scenarios within the campaign pack are all fictional – as are the locations. However, they are so well written, they feel pretty real to me! Most importantly, they offer a huge variety of tactical situations, and that is what I am really after – a tactical challenge in my wargaming. After all, I want to be a better wargamer, and what better way to do that then constantly challenge myself?
The Allies are moving up the Ribeaux Valley, while the Germans want to stop them. Both sides throw out their reconnaissance forces to locate the enemy and scout out the best routes forward. The Allies want to hook round Pierrecourt to the west, but need 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, the German 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.
The scenario map shows the stretch of the Moire River about half way between Pierrecourt and Belle Maison. The river can only be crossed at the bridge at the southern end of the map.
The road that runs alongside the bank of the river is more of a track. Vehicles can use it, but gain no benefit to movement. The other north-south road is a reasonable quality, tarmacked surface, so does give the usual road movement bonus.
The fields shown (the green patches) are bordered by bocage. This bocage is impenetrable to any wheeled vehicle, and is only penetrable by tracked vehicles weighing the same or more than a medium tank. Infantry take three dice of movement to cross bocage.
There are, however, numerous gates between the fields, all marked on the map. These ‘gates’ are either wooden or iron gates, or just gaps in the bocage. There is no penalty to either vehicles or infantry moving between fields through these gates/gaps. The fields themselves count as broken terrain.
The hill to the west is grass covered and dotted with small copses. There is no additional penalty for moving up and down the hill, although wheeled vehicles will not move if they roll more 1’s than 6’s on any dice rolled for movement i.e. they have become temporarily bogged down and lose any Actions that they wanted to use for movement. The copses themselves are impenetrable to vehicles and count as heavy ground for infantry.
The farm to the north of the map consists of two main buildings: a two-storey farmhouse made of stone, and a long, low wooden barn. The building by the bridge is the house where the man who used to collect the tolls used to live. It’s now a bit of a ruin.
The American objective is to find out the strength of the bridge at the southern end of the table i.e. whether it can take armour, just lighter vehicles, or is only safe for infantry. They therefore win the game if they manage to get at least one Big Man, M8 armoured car or squad of infantry (whether in jeeps or not) onto the bridge.
The German objective is to keep the capacity of the bridge secret from the enemy. So they win if they prevent the Americans from succeeding.
The Americans have a strong reconnaissance force composed of two recon platoons, each comprising three M8 Greyhounds and three jeeps-worth of recon troops with 60mm mortars and a bazooka, and the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon from 425th Regiment's HQ: another four jeeps carrying three squads of infantry. These are supported by a pair of M8 half-track mounted howitzers, and there's the promise of some Stuart light tanks as reinforcements if things go wrong.
The defending Germans were the Aufklarungskompanie from 30th Panzer Division. Two ugs of infantry supported by two half-tracks with anti-tank guns and four light armoured cars.
The Americans could also expect help from air support, the Germans had intermittent access to off-table artillery.
The Germans Deploy On Blinds
Right, that’s more than enough laying out the scenario. Let’s get on with playing it!
I am going to play this scenario solo. Firstly, because I want to test how I have set it up in BGE, and secondly because I want to test the balance of the scenario. Once I kn9ow all is good on both those counts, I’ll find a human opponent.
This is also the fist game I am going to play with support and armour troops. So I’ll be referencing the rules a fair bit too.
First we need to deploy the Germans.
The Germans can deploy anywhere on the map and get three dummy blinds. I deploy the dummy blinds (numbered 6, 7 and 8) at the northern end to scout out advancing US blinds. I then position Zug 1 (Blind 1) in one of the copses on the hill in the west. Zug 2 (Blind 2) is positioned in the field in the east to stop any troops coming down the eastern track. Kompanie HQ (Blind 5) is positioned in the ruin to use its panzerschecks and MMG to stop any jeeps running for the bridge. Finally, the AT and Armoured Car Zugs (Blinds 3 and 4) are positioned south by the river on the track so they can act as an armoured reserve and rush wherever they are needed.
I am hoping to use my off table mortars to break up any US attacks. What I need to do is inflict enough casualties that they will not manage to reach the bridge. If my infantry zugs take losses, I’ll pull back to the bridge. I also want those dummy blinds to spot and retreat, hopefully remaining hidden, while spotting the enemy. As the US troops are all in vehicles, it should be easier to spot them.
Turn 1 – The Allies approach
The first cards out are Axis Deployment Bonus (which is of no use as with no Allied Blinds on the board there is no reason to move), Allied Deployment Bonus (again no use as no Allied Blinds are on the table to get a bonus), Axis Blinds (again no use), and finally Allied Blinds.
The Allies are allowed to bring three cards on to the table. The blinds move on to the table slowly, attempting to spot German blinds, but failing.
The Allied Blinds card is first out the deck. So the Allies move and spot as much as they can.
Knowing where the enemy is is essential to winning the game, so spotting enemy units before they spot you is vital. The US blind rolls a 10, and spots German blind 7 in the house. The German blind is a dummy and is removed.
US Blind 3 also moves and spots, but fails. US Blind 2 moves, but can’t get in to a position to spot.The German Blinds card is next. German Blind 8 uses one action to spot US Blind 1, and does so easily. I randomly determine if the blind is a dummy or a unit, and it is US Recon Platoon 2. I deploy the vehicles, with the troops in the Jeeps. German Blind 8 then spots US Blind 3, which also turns out to be a Recon Platoon. Now that’s Recon in Force!
Meanwhile, on the East side of the map, German Blind 6 spots US Blind 2, and that is revealed as being the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon. 7 jeeps are deployed in column. They take up a bit more room than the blind would normally allow, but it’s not easy fitting all those vehicles on the space of one blind.
As the German Aufklärungskompanie is on the radio net, The Kompanie HQ knows what is coming and immediately radios his mortar halftracks that are off table. I add the Axis Support One Card to the deck, ready to start the process of getting some mortar shells to land amongst those jeeps. That would put a cat amongst the pigeons!
Next out is the Allied Rapid Deployment card, but the US player no longer has blinds. The German Rapid Deployment Card sees German Blind 4 accelerate. I’d like to get them in the field to ambush the approaching US Recon platoons.
The Allied Support Card is out next, which means a possible air attack, but the skies remain clear. Then the Tea Break ends the turn.
The US troops are spotted advancing in force
The manoeuvring starts
The US Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon activates first and splits up. I can see the wisdom in advancing half down the road and half through the field. We don’t have a time limit, so taking it easy is a wise decisions, and that will allow the troops to catch Germans in the flank. Obviously, as the fields are broken ground, it will be harder to move, but the Americans are not in a hurry to die. The first platoon attempt to spot German Blind 6 but fails.
The German Blinds card emerges next. I retreat my dummy blinds, so I can lure the US troops in to my guns. German Blinds 3 and 4 move up to ambush the approaching American armour.
The Tea Break card ends the turn.
The US Recon elements continue to advance – albeit cautiously
US Recon Platoon 2 acts first and begins cautiously moving with just one dice. Half of the platoon will head up the hill and attempt to spot from higher ground.
Captain Martin Minnesota, commander of Recon Platoon 1 acts next. He activates his platoon with a “Hunt” order, allowing them to move with 1 dice and gain an extra +1 to spotting attempts. Captain Will Winnipeg of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon activates next. He activates his platoon and they continue their flanking manoeuvre. The lead platoon spreads out as they are too bunched up.
Captain Steve Seattle comes out next, but does nothing.
The Tea Break Card then ends the turn.
Not having the Germans move is going to be tricky. The US are advancing slowly – they know something is out there and until they figure out what, they are not going to commit.
The US Recon Platoon 2 activates first. The troops begin to advance, but are still unable to spot any Germans, despite being very close to the blinds.
The Allied air support card is drawn next, but again the skies remain clear.
US Recon Platoon 1 activates next, but I decide not to move them to avoid bunching up. Captain Winnipeg of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance (I&R) Platoon activates next and he continues with his flanking mission.
The German support card emerges, but as it is the first one the Germans don’t get a chance to roll for availability. We are still trying to get through.
The Allied Blinds card allows the US to bring on another 3 blinds – which they most certainly do.
The Allied Recce Bonus allows a Recon Platoon to move or spot with a bonus action. I choose Recon Platoon 2 but they STILL fail to spot German Blind 8.
The Axis Deployment Bonus lets me give a blind a bonus move. German Blind 3 gets in to position read to fire through the bocage at the approaching US Recon elements. The German Blinds card comes next and the German Blinds use it to get in to good firing positions. Turn 6 is going to be a bloody one.
The US learns about friendly fire
Well the first card out is the Axis support card. That means I need to roll a 5 upwards to get in touch with my mortar platoon and have them start firing. Well I roll a 5. I target Jeep 2 of Recon Platoon 1, but the fire scatters off table. I mark the target point on the map with a big red map pin.
First Recon Platoon are next, but they are jammed in. They could move maximum rate, which would get them clear of the mortars, or else, hang tight and wait for the traffic to clear. I think I’ll roll for it. First, let’s see what type of a commander Captain Minnesota is. A dice roll tells me he is aggressive (Note: I am using a chart I devised to determine tactical stance of leader), but a second dice roll tells me he is going to be cautious. So they hang tight.
Captain Seattle is next and orders his men to keep up the flanking move. But both of his Greyhounds can’t get traction on the hill and stay locked in place. That creates a jam with the jeep on the hill. The rest of the platoon shoot down the road as I suddenly remember the road bonus for wheeled vehicles. However, they still fail to spot any German blinds.
The I&R Platoon activate next and edge forwards, the road section slowing to keep pace with those in the field. Still no German Blinds spotted.
The Allied Blinds are next, but they don’t move. Those blinds are likely to contain the Company HQ and we don’t want that roaring ahead.
The Axis Bonus Deployment allows German Blind 8 to re-deploy, while the Allied Air Support makes an appearance. I will use the Air Attack rules in the Battle for Liberation supplement. The US sweep in to attack Blind 8 which is holding up the US attack, but a roll of 1 means the aircraft instead attack a friendly unit of the German player’s choice! Disaster for the US troops. Being as the aircraft are MG armed, I target the jeep 3 of the I&R Platoon, and hit it. The MGs rattle and the jeep is immobilized, with all occupants killed. That means Section 1 of the I&R Platoon just lost their LMG.
Not good for the US. Especially as that jeep now blocks the gate to the field and will force the platoon to dismount.
The Allied Recce Bonus allows Recon Platoon 2 to successfully spot German Blind 8 and reveal it as a dummy. That means they know where most of the units are now and will act accordingly.
The Tea Break then ends the turn. I really wanted the German Blinds Card!
These US recon troops are everywhere!
First out is the Air Support turn, and the US pilots come back around for some more. It swoops in and inflicts two shock on German Blind 6 (which I randomly determine). Allied Platoon 2 is next. The vehicles on the road are not going to move any further and leave German blinds behind them, so they spot and reveal German Blind 6 as the dummy blind. That means they know all remaining blinds are troops. The vehicles on the hill advance rapidly, while Greyhound 2 remains stuck.
Recon Platoon 1 also moves up. The US war machine is on the move. And a Recon Bonus card allows them to have a go at spotting German Blind 1, but they fail.
All the US blinds then advance.
The I&R Platoon also continues its advance.
Then the Tea Break Card ends the turn.
The Germans get caught out and get revenge
The I&R Platoon begins the game. They move up cautiously, getting an LMG in to a firing position as well. They will soon make their assault to clear away German Blind 2.
Recon Platoon 1 are next, but they hold off, waiting for Platoon 2 to clear. They can always activate later on the Big Man’s card.
More US Air Support – and once again a 1 says that this will attack a friendly target. I am beside myself with glee! This time I pick the jeep holding the commander of the I&R Platoon and the attack scores a hit. Two men are killed, the occupants are pinned and they also suffer a point of shock. Unfortunately, I don’t kill the platoon commander, but I’ll settle for weakening them.
A US Recce Bonus card fails to spot any units, and after several useless cards Captain Winnipeg of the I&R Platoon is activated and rallies the point of shock on his men.
The Axis support card allows the mortars to fire again, this time with reduced scatter. It hits, catching a jeep and an M8 Greyhound in its blast. But the shelling causes no effect at all. Dud rounds I reckon.
Then Recon Platoon 2 activates. German Blind 1 is spotted and is placed on the map. We are going to struggle against M8 Greyhounds! The Greyhounds open fire, killing 5 German infantry and causing shock. This is not a fight we can win! One of the Jeeps rushes forwards, but still fails to spot anything.
The Tea Break card comes next. At this point I need to deploy and fire. So I will take that option.
Section 1 of Zug 1 unleashes a torrent of firepower at the closest jeep. They butcher the occupants and destroy the jeep.
Next comes the Armoured Car Zug which uncloaks from Blind 4. One SdKfz 231 fires at point blank in to the jeep, destroying the jeep and making the lone survivor flee in to the woods. Another destroys an M8 Greyhound with a flank shot, then swivels its turret and destroys another jeep. The command SdKfz 231 finishes off the survivors of the abandoned jeep with its MG.
At this point the Americans have almost had Recon Platoon 2 destroyed (all the infantry in the platoon and jeeps are destroyed, as is one of the M8 Greyhounds). The I&R Platoon has also taken 4 casualties. The Germans have lost 5 men.
The next turn will be crucial.
a quick turn
The first card out is the Tea Break Card! However, units within 9″ can still fire at each other.
On the western hill the infantry and M8 Greyhound duel it out, with the infantry trying to drive off the vehicle by weight of small arms fire. They force it to halt and engage them next turn, while the infantry only take a point of shock in return.
I also deploy my infantry in the eastern field, firing on the jeep as it is within 9″. The occupants are killed to a man.
It’s a free fire zone
The Axis Recce Bonus card comes out first and the Germans spot US Blind 6, revealing at the US Company HQ. Next one US Blind gets a bonus move and the eastern blind moves up in to the field.
US Recon Platoon 2 is next. The M8 fires at the German infantry as it is required to do, and causes another casualty. Captain Seattle’s M8 fires at one of the SdKfz’s, misses and reverses.
The US Blinds are next. The M8 with the Company HQ gets stuck on the hill, so that leaves US Blind 5 to scoot forwards in the hope it is the HMC. Major Bob Boston calls for the light tanks to move up. They will appear the next time the US Blinds card is drawn.
Leutnant Spaten of the Armoured Car Zug activates next. He issues an Engage order to his platoon and they blaze away. When the dust clears, another M8 Greyhound is destroyed, abandoned by its crew.
Luetnant Eirliekor of 2nd Zug is next and he activates two squads, getting them to open fire and spot that pesky US Blind 5. That does indeed turn out to be the M8 HMC and it appears in close assault range for my troops, who immediately assault it and temporarily immobilize it, also causing a point of shock on it. The other German squad drives back the infantry LMG that was setting up in the small clump of trees. An Axis Rally Bonus then allows us to remove a point of shock from our western troops.
The I&R Platoon is next and they move up, trying to get good firing positions so they can maximize the benefit the firepower of the HMC’s will give them.
I use the Axis Dynamic Leader card to move up Leutnant Spaten to provide fire support for Zug 2. The next card out activates 2nd Zug. I use the reserve squad to rush forward and engage the M8 HMC in a close assault, and with luck destroy the main gun and get the crew to abandon it.
Captain Seattle is next and he rallies a point of shock from his vehicle.
Then the Tea Break ends the turn.
NB Some of you eagle eyed readers will notice that I have removed a German Blind in the east. It was because I moved it there to be out of the way and then forgot it for several turns. It should not have been there.
The first card drawn is Oberstleutnant Apelwein of Zug 1. His men have taken a pounding in the woods, and I want to pull them back to safety so they can help defend the bridge (and prevent them taking more casualties). The woods will give them cover until they get across. I leave the untouched 1st Section there to offer cover fire and to stop vehicles rushing after them. The Platoon’s card comes out next and so I put the inactive section on overwatch, just in case some jeep shoots up the hill.
Lieutenant Chicago in the M8 HMC has just watched his buddies blow up for getting too close to the hedgerow. He has a 75mm shell loaded and lets rip at the hedgerow, but misses. The I&R Platoon opens fire on the Germans and cause casualties, while the section with Captain Winnipeg struggle to get over the bocage.
The US call it a day
The US blinds are next, and two more are brought on. One of them will be the Stuart Light tanks. That could change the game…
Captain Seattle fires next at the Sdkfz 231 hiding behind the bocage, but misses.
Leutnant Spaten and his armoured cars are next. They open fire, destroying one M8 Greyhound, immobilizing Captain Seattle’s, damaging the gunsight of the remaining M8 HMC, and damaging the engine of another Greyhound.
The Axis Rally card allows me to remove a point of shock from an infantry team.
Zug 2 activates next, firing a vast amount of lead in to the I&R troops advancing through the field. Four US troops are killed and the unit gains enough shock to send it scurrying back across the field. The Dynamic Leader card allows me to pull OberstLeutnant back to his men so he can start rallying their shock. Leutnant Eirliekor moves up to his men on his card.
Next comes Captain Minnesota of Recon Platoon 1. He’s in a dilemma. If he advances his jeeps will be shot to pieces, and his M8′s are faring little better. If he stays where he is, he could take mortar fire. He holds for now (as mortars will do less damage).
Sure enough, the mortars land immediately and cause no damage.
Next is Major Bob Boston. US losses so far are 3 M8′s destroyed, 3 Jeeps gone, one M8 HMC destroyed, 3 other AFVs damaged, almost all of 2nd Recon Platoon’s infantry dead, and most of the I&R Platoon’s infantry dead. He knows that he no longer has the strength to push forward, and to try do so will cost him the rest of the company. He orders the retreat.
Sure enough, the next card out is the Tea Break card to oblige him.
So what happened?
Firstly, using dummy blinds to lead your troops is a really good idea. Yes, they get spotted quickly, but they do also find the enemy quickly. And finding the enemy is vital in order for you to subsequently kill him. Effective use of dummy blinds is important in IABSM. Fail to take advantage of them and you will suffer.
The German blinds, concealed behind bocage or in the woods are very hard to spot until you get close. And then you are dead.
The US do not have it very easy in this scenario. While they do have a lot of armour, they can get ambushed easily. I think it might be safer for the armour to advance through the fields by using the gates. Still, no matter how you go about advancing, you are going to lose men. It gives you a lot of respect for fighting in bocage country.
Get in to good matchups when you fight. The German infantry have 4 actions and an extra LMG. They roll a massive 5 dice when they shoot. That is lethal and will gun down sections in short order. They lose firepower quickly. Soften them up!
The German AFVs are actually quite weak, but having four actions lets them get off two aimed shots every time they activate. Respect aimed shots as they hit often. Eventually, they will cause damage to lightly armoured Greyhounds. Have a healthy respect for the SDKfz 231.
The US player can’t get bogged down, he needs to maintain momentum. By splitting the US forces, I didn’t given them enough power to push through the German defences. That left me unable to break through on both sides.
The US here attempted to steamroller through the inferior Germans and were taught a sharp lesson. As the defender, I felt I used cover well, fired and moved well, overlapped my fields of fire well, and had good support. I should have gotten the Panzerschrecks further forward, perhaps cascading them down to the infantry Zugs. I think that gives the footsloggers some excellent AT capability. Also, having an MMG in the bocage would be good too as it will make short work of jeeps.
This was another fun game, played much faster as I am getting to grips with the IABSM rules now.
I suppose it is on to Scenario 2, following a German win...but that's a tale for another day.
The Wargaming Addict
Recently I ran a game of I Aint Been Shot, Mum! where I could use the armoured cars show in my earlier post on this blog. We are doing the Operation Compass campaign. This week we ran a very strange scenario, the Battle of Girba fought in what is now Libya in 1940. In this battle a column of the Italian's Libyan allies were caught in the open desert by British armoured cars. The Italians inexplicably formed square and waited for the British forces to attack.
We changed the scenario a bit and had a wounded armoured car set between the Italians and Brits, with six of the tiny Italian L3 tankettes closing in. This gave the opening phases of the scenario a bit more drama as the Brits raced to save the crew.
The British task force arrived on the table in Blinds but were quickly spotted as soon as they crested the hills since they were moving fast and there was little cover.
The two British A9 Cruiser tanks and the two MkVI infantry support tanks moved in quickly on the Italian Square. The L3s desperately charged and were gunned down or rammed into the British tanks, an optional rule I cooked up on the spot to give the Italians some small chance to stop the Brits.
The Italians had one other trick up their sleeves. The had hidden two artillery pieces in the corners of the square. These revealed themselves and the two Italians commanders attached themselves to the guns and added their dice to the rolls to hit. There were plenty of hits but all this seemed to do was slow down the advancing Brits. Inevitably the guns were wiped out by the ferocious gunfire of the A9s and light tanks.
Meanwhile, the infantry had been digging in which helped them survive the fire of the British machine guns. But with their artillery and tanks all gone, we decided it was time to call the game. Since the Italian player had done far better than the historical Italian commander did (the entire column was wiped out) we called the game a draw.
John Sullins
I am currently about halfway through the Bashnya or Bust! late war eastern front scenario pack for IABSM, with fifteen out of the thirty-one scenarios completed i.e. stages one to four in the pyramid. This AAR is a report on the playtest game for the first scenario: #01: Near Osen. You'll be pleased to hear that all went well, and the only change needed was a minor adjustment to the number of Blinds each side can bring on to the table at any one time.
Bashnya or Bust! is set in late July/early August 1944 towards the end of Operation Bagration. The Soviets are heading for Kaunas, and one route there takes part of the Red Army through the Chera Valley. There, the newly-arrived-from-Normandy 30th Panzer Division and 1001st Infantry Regiment will try and not only stop them, but push them back out of the valley for good.
NB those of you who have played any of the Blenneville or Bust! scenarios will have spotted that the Germans that fight in Bashnya or Bust! are the same ones that fight in Blenneville. Slightly different equipment and OBs, but same unit insignia, albeit updated by my newly acquired graphic designer person. Means you can use the same cards/chips!
Bashnya or Bust! is, as befits the Eastern Front, a bit more...shall we say 'extreme' than Blenneville. There are no half-measures: which is why the first scenario, Near Osen, involves a clash between two armoured columns with only one platoon of infantry apiece. I don't want to give too much away, so without giving any details about forces, objectives etc, here is the table:
So, onto the game.
Both sides advanced cautiously onto the table, using the small clusters of trees and rough uneven ground to keep as out of sight as possible. Dummy Blinds were of particular importance at this stage, with the Soviets using them very aggressively to keep the Germans back on their side of the road.
The action proper began with the spotting of a platoon of Soviet T-34/85s sheltering on the edge of a cluster of trees just over the road to the bridge. This was not good news for the Germans, who were fielding Panzer IVs: although they had four Actions per turn to the Soviet three, the T-34/85s had much better armour and a slightly better gun. In practice this meant that the Germans needed 3-4 shots to take out a Russian tank, whereas the Russians tended to blow a Panzer IV to bits with the first shot that hit. More Actions versus Better Tanks would be the over-riding theme of the game!
As they had spotted the Russians first, the Germans de-cloaked a platoon of their own (just visible middle-right in the photo, above) and hoped to batter the Soviet tanks before they could get a shot off. Unfortunately, a multiplicity of shots from the Panzer IVs did almost nothing to the T-34/85s, and a volley of shots in return, plus fire from another Russian tank platoon (one of the Blinds with a dice on it in the photo, above) blew two of the three German tanks to smithereens!
The Soviets, realising the superiority of their tanks, charged their forward platoon, er, forward: aiming to get to force as many enemy Blinds as possible into deploying onto the table. The last German tank in the wood was dispatched with ease and, for a moment, it looked as if the T-34/85s would just keep going all the way to Berlin!
Fortunately for the Germans, another platoon of Panzer IVs arrived (a platoon of Panthers are proxy-ing for them in this game) along with the Panzer HQ platoon, and the combination of large numbers of shots and some flank fire finally began to tell. All three of the advancing T-34/85s were eventually KO'd or abandonned, but not before the Puma you can see in the photos was also destroyed.
The second German tank platoon moved into the wood containing the burning tanks of their comrades, along with a Blind that the Russians strongly suspected was infantry. For reasons to do with their objectives, they were determined to force this to deploy, so hurled a section of BA-64 armoured cars forward in what can only be described as spotting-by-suicide!
Whatever you call it, the Germans did deploy their Blind, and it was the infantry the Russian armoured cars had been seeking. In fact, the crews of the Russian armoured cars got a jolly good look at the German infantry as they moved forward to destroy them with grenades and sticky bombs!
Meanwhile, some Russian infantry had rushed forward and got onto the bridge at the end of the road. There they stayed, despite starting to suffer HE fire from the German tanks in the wood. More T-34/85s moved forward to protect them.
At the same time, the German CinC had managed to get his tank forward and round onto the flank of the Russian tanks. A lovely flank shot brewed up one Soviet tank, and things started to look up for the Panzers.
Unfortunately, and still trying not to give too much away, the Germans were then forced to retreat, and the game ended as a Soviet victory. My apologies for the deus ex machina ending to this report, but I am trying not to include any blatant spoilers for those who will eventually play the scenario!
It was a terrific game, with the situation and contrasting abilities of the German and Russian tanks really adding to the excitement. And, as I said, only a few tweaks needed to finally polish the scenario into its final version. I can't wait to playtest the next encounter!
Robert Avery
This was a terrible day for Steve Clarke, the Soviet commander, as the cards and the dice were completely against him - fortunately for me he shuffled and dealt so no blame could be laid at my door!
Usually our games are tense, fairly evenly balanced affairs, so this was most out of the ordinary.
Still, after two defeats on the trot against Steve, I’ll take this one!
Norseygamer
The first scenario in Bashnya is a meeting engagement between two mainly armoured forces but each with a Platoon of infantry. The Germans are better trained but the Russians have the better tanks (Panzer IV vs T34/85).
The field is fairly open with hills on the north edge and with clumps of trees all over the place to use as cover. The bridge is in the South centre and this is where the action should be.
After a slow start the Russians are the first to move and gain the road fairly early and the central position as well.
Then the Russians also gain the bridge with their tank riding infantry. Where are the Germans, as the Russians do seem to be bathing in the bright sunlight?
It all then started to happen as the Germans cunningly advanced through the woods to take the T34s in the flank and quickly dispatch one of them, but they don't have it all their own way at all. Those big Russian guns and weak German armour are not an even match.
By the river the Russian infantry dig in and the Russians tanks see off a weak attack by the Germans.
The German Puma then advanced to attempt to save the situation in the South. In a common theme for the Germans in this game though they hit with two good shots on the Russians tanks they couldn't get past the armour. The next play was obvious as the Russians T34s destroyed it although not as easy as it should have been
The game was over very quickly as again the German tanks again hit and then couldn't penetrate for some reason and the Russians didn't wait for another go.
In the south the German infantry really hurt the Russians with their automatic weapons, but once all the German tanks had left the field they have no options but retreat.
All in all another great game, and certainly a lot closer than the previous Russian walkover. The Germans really should have won but at all the crucial times they found they were firing blanks.
Now it's onto Scenario 2A amongst the streets of Osen and some more bridges.
Craig Ambler
