From the Wilds of Caledonia

This is just a quick post as a big thank you to the Edinburgh wargames club, in particular Dave Imrie and Jack Glanville, as my hosts for a visit over this weekend. I was up in the wild north for a photo-shoot for the forth-coming, one-day, soon, ish - I promise, 'Soldiers of Rome'.

The follow-up to Soldiers of God, it'll deal with Rome vs the Barbarians... and they were kind enough to allow me to come up and photograph their model collects for the book. We also had a game, got to really, and it provided both players with a first look at the new cards, special rules, etc. Dave took the place of Caesar and led his Romans (and allies) into a pitched battle against Jack's hairy Gallic tribesmen.

In a ferocious battle, with both players going for aggressive all-out attacks (Romans up the centre, Gauls hitting hardest on their right), it was a short and brutal bloodbath (no subtle here, just charge and get stuck-in)... Caesar veteran legions mincing the Gallic centre and capturing their chieftain, Bagotrix, in about 3 turns of impressively efficient death-dealing from Rome's finest. With pilum and gladius they wiped out the Gallic centre, nobles and all, and held both flanks long enough with auxiliaries and mercenary cavalry to crush the Gaul's morale and send them fleeing for the hills... thus was an Empire built!

My Romans have never dispatched the enemy so rapidly or so bloodlessly... the Gauls did have some bad turns of combat (especially with their noble warriors), and Dave passed a lot of Resolve tests...the Romans were very determined to win today!

Anyway, it was a good weekend, lots of photos taken (and curry eaten)... I've worked on the first picture as a taster...

Caesar preparing to meet the Gauls...

I'm sure many of you know it, but for some beautiful eye-candy of some of the best painted armies around, check-out Dave's blog - Saxon Dog, saxondog.blogspot.com

Old Ironside vs Centauro

Another Battlegroup Torch tester game, and a chance to get an outing for some of my latest US additions… this time verses the Italian armour of the Centauro division, during a push into/around El Guettar (southern Tunisia).

It was 750 point Platoon-game, using the randomly generated ‘Flanking Attack’ scenario, so scouts would play a bigger role (drat - I only had 2, both MMG armed Jeeps).

Here’s my force list;

US ARMOURED BATTLEGROUP ’43

FHQ in M3 HT        32    3-i    officer, arty spotter

Arm’d Inf Platoon    96    9-i    officer, arty spotter, auxiliary
in 4 M3 HTs        32    4-i

M3 Lee Platoon    150    9-i    officer, arty spotter
M4 Sherman Platoon    140    9-i    officer, arty spotter, restricted
M4 Sherman Platoon    140    9-i    officer, arty spotter, restricted

SP Arty Battery    68    2-1    2 x T19s

Recce Jeep        22    1-i    scout, MMG
Recce Jeep        22    1-i    scout, MMG

2 x supply trucks    12    1-i
M16 AA HT        32    1-i    restricted

Totals            746    49    5 officers, 2 scouts, 3 restricted units   


The enemy, well they had a truck/bus mounted Bersagleiri platoon, 4 Semoventas, a single M14 tank, off-table 105mm artillery, some CV-33s of various types and scouts, 5 of them, Bersagleiri on motorcycles, an armoured car, a sniper and, err… an Autosaharana 20mm-armed truck. They won the roll-off for table edges and chose to be playing along the wider table edges, using both corners.

Having placed 4 objectives (The centre (marked by a palm tree) of the table, the town mosque, and both outlying farms compounds), noted down timed strikes (only his Ju-87) and PRTPs, ammo’d up the tanks, it was time for the off, Italians first due to well out-scouting me.

My quick plan, given the table and my tank-heavy force was not to fight a street battle in the edge of El Guettar, my infantry was auxiliary and not up to it (not allowed to close assault). Instead it would be a tank attack around the town across the open scrub. I’d screen-off the town with some infantry (and a single supporting M3 Lee), whilst the tanks and the other infantry motored around town and tried to seize the other three objectives. He could have the mosque. My recce started in the compound with the mission of deploying those MMGs and just holding it until some relief arrived.

His plan (from our post-battle brew and discussion), was to quickly attack mostly in town, using all that recce, and form a defensive line outside of town, interesting, we’d both come to different conclusions. He wasn’t going to be very aggressive in the tank fight, but let me come and try and hold the line once formed with lots of suppressing fire and artillery.

The game started with the Italians shelling the edge of El Guettar to not much effect as I avoided his PRTP, and got my infantry heavy weapons deployed out front, MMGs and 60mm mortar (then lost to an artillery hit). The screen was soon in place, M3 and a second armoured infantry squad to back them up, enough to hold against his lighter scouts. His armoured car was on a little, worrying, flanking move when a breakdown chit saw in conk-out… good luck for me, as the 20mm worried my halftracks, which I wanted to use for their pintle firepower.The rest of the Italians started to arrive in good numbers and moved up to take an objective in the farm compound. My M3 Lees led the way forwards firing 75mm HE for suppression at long range and then claiming the centre of the table objective. As yet, not much damage to either side from the first sparring.

The reserves continued to roll in, my self-propelled artillery arrived (and vital supply truck), and started to fire harassing barrages across at his table edge, some pinning, no direct hits yet. I did pull an Air Attack chit (hurrah!), when unpinning myself and next turn in swept mu P-38, to unload its bombs, very wild, all into the desert hitting nothing (very USAAF)! He’d be back to strafe next turn, but then got pinned by incoming 20mm cannon fire… not a good day.

Italian artillery fire switched off the PRTP to target my massing tanks, but again to little effect (1 pin I think) and the CV-35(lf) came racing towards my isolated recce troops (on ambush fire holding the farm). Err..  ot-oh… .30 cal bullets weren’t likely to stop it. My Lees tried to hit the little critter but no… it was in range and lit-up one MMG team in an inferno. That thing would take this farm if I didn’t do something. What I did was jump in the jeeps and pullback… it took the objective, but hey, better that than lose the squads and jeeps too… Crazy Guiseppe’s lone dash was on a roll… until a HE shell pinned him, good…

The fight in town was also underway, my Lee scoring repeated pins with 75mmm shells, and then the MMG teams hitting them with aimed fire, which broke both Bersaglieri scout squads and left the mosque vulnerable. I decided to change plan and try and take it, but first the Autosaharana truck with its 20mm had to be dealt with, an M3 half track weaved through the narrow streets to get a shot, and its .50 cal MG blew the truck to bits… in town the Italians were crumbling… a sniper and an LMG team was all that was left. In response the bus full of Bersagleiri (the 12.30 to El Guetarr) raced into town over the bridge and soon the mosque was secured again, my planned counter attack ended there, window of opportunity closed.

But now Detroit had arrived, 6 Shermans were rolling across the desert, I’d lost 1 M3 Lee to a 47mm anti-tank gun hit, and an artillery strike destroyed a Sherman, but my armour rolled on, moving and firing. Pins built, my artillery hit and destroyed his AT gun and loader team and its tow, and a Sherman moved up and destroyed Crazy Guiseppe’s flamethrower tank… the US armour looked pretty impressive, and the Semoventas return fire did a few pins but no damage. With my artillery landing ahead of the attack, my aircraft circled around and strafing again (missing - useless flyboy), the last of armoured infantry moved up behind the tanks (they’d need some infantry support to get the far farm compound). My recce raced back into their farm and re-took the objectives… good job, now safe from being turned into toast.

We’d been going for 2 hours so stopped for bacon butties, tea and a chat. 30 minute recess complete, it was back to it…

It didn’t start well, I lost a second Sherman to an artillery direct hit and then another to a minestrike (my strike, I rolled 1 and got it back!), but the returning tank fire destroyed his M14 tank, pinned the artillery observer, blew up his staff car and that broke the Italians… they hadn’t been up for the fight today, a disconcerting number of 4s had been pulled, breaking their BR at 52… after about 3 hours of battle. My BR was at 39 from 49, but the US armour had achieved it daily objective and captured this part of El Guettar.


All went well, I like the early US armour, Shermans are tough, the Italians didn’t like them much. The infantry is very poor though, with a tendency to just become pinned, don’t rely on them for much, fight with the tanks, infantry in a secondary supporting role.

Great day’s gaming, as ever. A few quick snaps of the battle as it progressed.

The battlefield from the US table edge

US recce occupy the farm objective 

First tanks move around the edge of town

 P-38 comes around for another strafing run

 T19 give fire support, soon to be joined by a supply truck

US combat power, Shermans... nice to have the better tanks for once

Crazy Guiseppe's dash is halted, pinned then KO'd

 US armour pushing on through incoming artillery fire.

Starship Terrain Building

WW2 is my main gaming period, and it could keep you busy for a lifetime I think, but I have a weakness for sci-fi gaming (and movies and books etc). As yet I haven't found the sci-fi game I really want to play, and in the past that's resulted in just writing my own...  that process is at work again, but as BG takes up most of my time, it'll be a slow-burner...

But, it something I really want to do, a sci-fi game, not sure at what size, maybe skirmish, or maybe a full battle game...

So, with a view to this as 'medium-to-long-term' plan, I've started thinking about and collecting terrain and a few models. One thing I've always wanted, back to my first start in sci-fi gaming back with 40K in 1988 (actually we played a bit of Laserburn before than too, which is fondly remembered), is a spaceship. A model of one, as terrain... so you can do a cool spaceport...

So I started one... raiding deep into the shed-bits box, and using a broken nerf gun (there are way too many nerf guns in this house anyway). I've always been a fan of Jerry Anderson, not so much the stories, but the models and design work are tip-top, so taking his work as inspiration I've had two Saturday afternoons with the superglue out, the football on the radio and some seriously glued-up fingers by the end. The joy...

I have a vague memory of doing this, bits-bashing a spaceship, back when I was about 10, trying to make something that looked like it could be in Star Wars... funnily enough I'm no Industrial Light and Magic. Shoe boxes and toilet rolls don't cut it... but I did ask my Mum if I could take the hoover apart, as some bits and attachments would make good engines... funnily enough, with some unreasonable excuse, it wasn't allowed, and my spaceship was rubbish. Anyway, no hoovers were damaged in the making of my ship (so far)... although the side engines are the old thermostatic valves from the radiators.

Still more to add, and huge paint job, but grey spray primer and black washes are my friends here...

Serious depleted the bits boxes... next up a heavy black and grey spray paint.

Battlegroup campaign weekend, 2018, is go!

Each year I try and organise a Battlegroup event weekend, but I'm not really a fan of tournament play... so instead the weekend is a 'campaign' weekend, heavily themed using just one BG book. This year it will be for Market-Garden and see 30 players taking part; 15 Allied, 15 German, to see if XXX Corps can fight their way through to Arnhem in a race against time.

Always a great weekend, with good players fighting it out in the right spirit, trying to win for their side, but not allowing competitiveness to get in the way of a good time. Each player fights for his side and earns it victory points, so you are just a cog in the larger machine of your army. No one player alone can win the day, you need the your fellow commanders to do their bit too.

Anyway, this year the venue will be at the 'Wings' Airbus UK social club, in Broughton, near Chester, on May 12-13th. Our hosts are the Deeside Defenders wargames club, with special thanks to Andy Canham for his end of the organisation.

There will be 3 battles each, 2 on Saturday, 1 on Sunday (then everybody can get a easier trip home on Sunday afternoon). Each battle is 500 points from the required army lists for that campaign - in this case: US Airborne, British Airborne,  British Armour or British Infantry, against German Panzer, Infantry or Fallschirmjager battlegroups thrown in to block Hell's Highway. All games are played at 20mm (sorry 15mm fans), and we try and theme the tabletops too, so it really feels like Holland (expect canals and bridges to feature)

Tickets are on sale with PSC, limited places, so if anybody fancies a weekend of hard fighting in Holland in September 1944, please come along, I guarantee a good wargaming weekend, maybe this time it won't be a bridge too far.

Raseiniai counter-attack, part 2

The game had reached the critical point with the Russian all on the table, their artillery fire still roughly blanketing the far end of the table and the Germans in position to met them. The prelude was over, enough of the under-card, time for the main event...

The lurking OT-133 came out of woods and lit-up the farm outbuilding, toasting a German rifle squad, who had already pinned themselves trying to launch an AT grenade attack on the KV-1 parked outside, and bottling it. That pause now cost them dear. The Russian infantry tried to rush the farm from the woods in support to meet a wall of MG-34 ambush fire, cutting them down to about half strength in short order. Arrgh!, our big charge had gone, well… rather so, so, no great damage caused.

As it stood... Russians tanks on the way.

I immediately launched my BTs on their charge, tank riders still aboard (but not for long when they came under fire). The tanks covered the ground swift as greyhounds (not the armoured cars), fanning out, but their suppressing HE and machine gun fire did very little. On the opposite side the T-26s continue to mill about, trying to hit Pz IIIs ahead of them and failing. The return fire set a couple of T-26s alight though, the attrition had begun.

This they did, racing to the edge of cornfield (after the timed barrage had landed to little effect, the Germans knew where they were landings and now avoiding it), and again the suppressing HE fire was ineffective, leaving the Pz IV and anti-gun unpinned. I would rue that, as between the 2 guns they destroyed 3 BTs at close range, and  another died to a flank shot by the Pz II (somebody kill it!), 5 BTs down already… but commanding Russian tanks isn’t for the feint-hearted, take the loses and roll on!

The fight for the farm was still going Germany’s way too, although the KVs scored a couple of kills (KV-2 direct hit was the first PzIII in orbit!), but the enemy infantry were immovable, and close range MG fire even pinned the flamethrower tank, which was later assaulted with AT grenades and blown up - messy.

KV-2 re-arming (a lot) whilst the T-26s arrive and begin to duel with the Pz IIIs, well, those that have more than just machine guns. 

OT-133 and infantry lurk in the woods, ready to assault the farm. 

Bit of extra fire support in place to help my tank attack (and usefully holding an objective)

Stal! Stal! Stal! The BTs begin their run past the first Russian armour to come this way (KV-1 and 2 BA-10s, all lost), tank riding infantry starting to pile off. 

BA-10s returning from the farm to find an ammo truck, back up this lane somewhere. 

The Germans had to respond, the 35(t)s swung right to engage the BTs across the table, scoring several hits but each glanced off (almost unheard of on BT-7s). One BT-7 was knocked out by 20mm Pz II cannon fire (these really are made of tin foil). Other tankovik squads jumped off as their tanks got hit, only for MG34 fire from 2 more machine guns to cut a swathe through them too… our infantry were getting pasted by waiting MG fire at short range - the wages of failing to pin those teams last turn. From the table's rear the German 105mm field guns took aim over open sights and pinned a couple of BTs with HE fire. My attack was taking heavy fire, but still rolling, the unscathed second wave of BTs wasn’t far behind and would take the lead next turn, racing past the pinned vehicles.

The T-26s close in (a bit), as the heavy fighting erupts around the farm. 

OT-133s handy work... burn baby burn... rude surprise for the Germans, not having clocked it wasn't another T-26. 

The Russians are coming... T-26s still closing... at walking speed.

It had become a desperate brawl, and then our orders gave out, rolling 9 on 6D6, no re-rolls either - ouch! My last BTs pushed on regardless, one scored a kill on a Pz 35(t), then another… but two more were lost to ambush fire, one to a direct 105mm HE shell hit (joining the Pz III in orbit). The tank riding infantry tried to assault German MG teams and usually failed their experience test, leaving them pinned to be gutted at point blank range next turn. Oh dear!

The Pz-IV and 37mm anti-tank gun dealing the damage in the cornfield.

BTs burn as they reach the cornfield, Pz II on ambush fire behind. 

 

More BTs added to the scrap yard.

Hmmm... carnage. German MGs team still fighting... and still cutting down my pinned infantry in a bit of a turkey shoot.

But we still had more to throw at them. Two more BA-10 armoured cars, having been back to re-arm with a supply truck, rejoined the fray and added some more 45mm shells to the fusillade, scoring another 35(t) kill. Both sides were taking punishment, but in the slugging match the Russians were coming off worse.

The last BT charge, with just 3 runners left, didn’t get any further that the same cornfield again, were the Pz IV awaited on ambush and knocked them out again… it never misses or fails to penetrate!! Its crew had racked up 4 kills quickly and then turned their MGs on my infantry as well. I got his Pz II though with a point blank shot. My repair truck reached my knocked out KV-1 and set-to trying to get it running again.

BA-10s, ammo'd up and on the way back into action.

Reserve motor rifles in the woods, not much help to the tanks.

My repair truck gets to the broken down KV-1, but 3 attempts to fix it all failed. 

Would have been nice and big help to the BTs, but I'm not that lucky.

My poor last BT-7 was forced to pull back, a few infantry fled back over the road to the cover of the woods again. The carnage had been swift… the German line had held out, my attack had been furious but futile.

At the farm, no better news, both KV-1s had been immobilised by breakdowns, whilst the KV-2 kept shelling away (on constant re-arms), but the T-26s had withered, a few MG-armed tanks and 37mm rounds was all that could be mustered. The Germans would not be moved from here.

Despite the losses, we weren’t broken yet, although it was only a matter of time. The battle sort of petered out. We fired off mortar shells at the farm, the last armoured cars fought on, they threw some mortar rounds back, and a Pz III rashly tried to take on the immobilised KV-1 at the farm and got itself KO’d at point blank range… but our offensive power had been blunted. It was almost 5 o’clock, and we agreed that even though it was the last turn both sides still had to take a chit to unpin…if they had any pinned units. That last unpinning chit broke us, taking us to a total of 103, 1 over our 102 total.

The Germans, well they had reached 67 from their 96. A solid victory in a cracking fight. They had scored 16 tank kills, with another 2 KVs immobilised. We had scored 9 tank kills. It hadn’t all been one sided, but my BTs lost 9 tanks from 10 in 3 hectic turns, and some people think the German can’t win (until they open fire obviously)!

The panzer phalanx engaged with the T-26s and KVs, whilst Pz 35(t)s behind turn to cover their right from the threat of the BTs coming around the farm. 

It's not going too well...

But it's not all one way traffic... mostly KV handy-work. 

A bold Pz-III tries to take out another immobilised KV-1 at point blank range... klang! 

Return fire got him. 

35(t)s unable to withstand even long range BT return fire in a furious exchange of fire. 

The 35(t)s hit a lot, and failed every penetration roll they made! Even on 5s.

Last gasp at the farm, under withering defensive MG fire. 

Petty revenge... the Pz IV that had caused so much damage, knocked out with a late minestrike chit. They drew it, rolled a 1, and we played it. Too little, too late. 

Top Sunday fun, always love our big-bashes. After packing up we retired for a post-match debrief and a well-earned feed and brew. For the Russian commanders the gulag was waiting. We had made a few bad mistakes, the right pincer of T-26s had taken just so long and never got close enough to the enemy… why we gave them the furthest distance to cover, cross-country, I don’t know, the speeding BTs should have gone that way and T-26s could have used the farm lane to get forwards faster. Bad planning, and nobody’s fault but mine. The artillery plan had also been flawed. The constant harassment was merely OK, but we left it too long in one place, after 5 turns or so we should have changed the targets, not letting the Germans avoid our barrages so easily. The farm should have been a target, as looking back, it was obvious the Germans would get there first (we had further to travel in slower tanks). The KVs had been excellent, as expected, we’d only lost 1 (to a breakdown), I think we can see why the Russian stuck with those. An initial good start had not been capitalised on. My tank riding infantry had been badly wasted. Perhaps delaying the tank charge a turn to get them off, rather than allowing them to be shot off their rides would have meant they did something, beyond being pinned then shredded by MGs.

Lessons to learn, but in end, all that matters is it was good fun for all.

The post-battle debrief inevitably turned to thoughts of the next one… whispers in the wind were for a big desert fight, maybe Tunisia, as we have Brits, Americans, Germans and some Italians… and maybe a few French in the works as well (full house). Not sure we’ll have a table big enough for all of them… but we’ll try.

BG: Babarossa. Raseiniai Counter-Attack, Part 1

This AAR is for our weekend big Battlegroup: Barbarossa multi-player game, for part of the Russian tank counter-attack around the town of Raseiniai, June 24th 1941, so just a few days into Operation Barbarossa.

It was to be played out as meeting engagement, on a patch of open(ish) farm land north-west of the town, where Kampfgruppe Raus ran into a serious armoured attack by the forces of the Soviet 3rd Mechanised Corps. So a big tank brawl… and it was big so I’ve split this AAR into two halves.

Our game was set at 1,500 points, with three German players with 500 points each (but selected as 1 army, so no duplicating unique units, etc) and 2 Russian players (Colonel Masonov and myself) with 750 points each. That should keep us busy all day.

The fields of Raseiniai... from the 'home-team' end


An early Sunday morning start for set-up… and by 10am we were ready to rock and roll. All scouts deployed, with 2D6 extra units already in support. A mere 3 for us (all KVs to give the Germans a problem from the get-go) and 10 for them, so pretty even in numbers actually - damn, I thought we’d win out here.

Our Soviet plan, concocted in the pre-battle discussion, was for the screen of scout infantry and armoured cars to advance aggressively, along with the KV heavy tanks to draw fire and scare the hell outta the Nazis. They would be the first wave, to harass, disrupt and seize some objectives and mean the Germans couldn’t react well to the forces building up behind as our reserves rolled in. The first wave would be quickly followed by a second wave, our first pincer of T-26s with a lot of tank riding infantry, striking on our right. A Stal!-driven attack with orders to press forwards as fast as they could and not stop to engage the enemy, get past their tanks and into the squishy rear of guns and soft-skins. The third part of the attack would be mine, a lightning BT-7 assault on the left, coming slightly later but at full speed, so it would catch-up with the first pincer, again with tank riders in support, and again with orders to go! go! go!, don’t stop, get close and cause mayhem and give them no quarter.

The artillery fire support plan was simple… to keep a constant barrage of timed 76mm divisional artillery in a blanket of harassing fire missions across their end of the table. We both had 10 timed barrages (so 20 in all!), with two strikes falling from turn 3 onwards (until turn 13 then!) avoid any communications breakdown and no orders required. That would be demoralising (in shear length) and cause constant pinning. We also had 7 counter battery fire missions to silence their expected off-table heavy guns (bit over done that). With them we aimed to win the artillery duel.


2 T-26 platoons (5 tanks of various marks).
3 KV-1s
1 KV-2
2 Motor rifle platoons
2 AT rifle teams
1 OT-133 flame thrower tank
2 BA-10 armoured cars
10 x Timed 76.2mm barrages
Forward observer
2 82mm mortars (on table)
Armoured supply truck (thing).

FHQ - 3 men in staff car       
Motor Rifle Platoon           
AT Rifle Team               
Inf Gun + Komsomoyets tow           
Maxim MG               
DshK AA MG               
Reserve Motor Rifle Platoon (on foot)       
2 BT-7 Platoons (5 tanks each)   
10 x Timed 76.2mm Barrages   
4 x Infantry Foot Patrols
2 BA-10 armoured cars       
Supply Truck               
Repair Truck               
37mm AA + truck tow           
7 x Counter Battery Fire Missions

In all 1498 pts, 102 BR, 8 scouts and 0 officers (command chaos replaces officers).

I don’t have the full German lists, but it was basically;

2 Schutzen platoons (with AT grenades)
1 Kradschutzen platoon
1 37mm AT gun + tow
various 50mm mortar and AT rifle teams
1 80mm mortar

8 Pz IIIs
5 Pz 35(t)s
1 Pz IV
1 Pz II
1 Pzjaeger I

FHQ in Pz I command tank
Radio van
1 20mm Flak38 AA gun + tow

Recce kradschutzen squad
Sniper

On table guns:
2 105mm lefH18 105mm guns (as big AT guns)
1 K18 100mm cannon + loader team (as big AT guns)

Off-table, etc
Battery of 2 105mm guns (off-table)
1 timed 150mm artillery strike
2 2nd priority artillery requests
1 PRTP
2 counter battery fire missions

All 1,500 pts, 10 officers, 96 BR and 2 Scouts

So, not much off-table arty stuff then… drat. They had gone for on-table guns, to use in direct fire, mostly against our feared heavy tanks.

We out scouted them (a lot), so first chit to the Germans and the Russian had the first turn. Fight…!

Russian attack plan... 1. Scouts, armoured cars and KV-1s attack. 2. T-26 swarm to farm, with extra KV-1 and KV-2 support. 3. BT-7 charge into the German rear to mop-up trucks and guns etc. 

German moves (from their end). 1. Infantry platoon holding woods. 2. Pz III attack. 3. Pz 35(t)s on flank protection. 4. Infantry to hold farm. 5. Blocking force, anti-tank gun, Pz IV etc, supported by 105mm artillery behind (rear table).

The Russians started well, we moved up our scout infantry to the road, armoured cars alongside and got the KV’s into firing positions. The KV-2 fired the first shot of game, winging a 152mm naval mortar shell at the distant K-18 gun, missing, before putting the farm’s barn between itself and the return fire. As we grabbed early objectives, they took 2 more chits.

The Germans first turn saw the Kradschurzen scouts race into the farm and disembark into the barn. Their off-table 105s were under counter-battery fire and couldn’t help (get used to that), and it was all rather quiet. They held 2 objectives, so we took our first two chits, to get an aircraft, which immediately showed up, a I-153 bi-plane fighter came buzzing over. Excellent!

A well-to-do Lithuanian farm, and an objective for both sides.

Motorcycles on the way there. behind is the K-18 beast-killer, under the tree. On which are timed barrage is centred. We smiled at that!

The beast of Raseiniai... he so wanted to flatten the farm. 

...and his (not so) little friends, well spread out, so one Stuka strike can't kill them all! Lesson learnt.

Armoured cars and scouts about to push into the woods on our left.

Turn 2, first reserves arrive and on came the first T-26s and their tank riding squads, to crawl away across the fields heading right, led by the last KV. Our scouts pushed forwards again, and began to skirmish in the woods with German infantry. The armoured cars open fire with suppressing HE into the farm’s barn… and the KV-2 missed again and needed reloading. Armoured resupply truck was already on the way, at just above walking speed! The I-153 strafed the K-18 cannon crew, killed 2 men from the loader team and pinned it - good work Bigglesov!

I-153 on this way to hep out by attacking those German guns at the rear.

Armoured cars pinned by mortar fire... but the KV will lead then.

Scouts and their armour encounter their first Germans, and overwhelm them in a brief firefight. Few bad dice rolls for the Germans here, makes a change!

First attacks on the farm, ineffective fire. The farm is made of very stern stuff.

The German’s turn 2, and their first reserves, 10 units, a lot (all) of Pz IIIs just rolled in on their extreme left, so we could see a big clash was coming (in about 3-4 turns) with the T-26s and KVs… my money was solidly on the Reds. Bit of 80mm mortar fire, and a few scouts were cut down by long range MG-34s… still building towards the clash to come.

Turn 3, and incomes the first impacts of our timed barrage, causing more pinning, but not much damage, except their dispatch rider was blown-up on his Zundapp - some debate, but it’s a chit for that too (yeah, 1 man, but he had a important job). The rest of clown cars (T-26s) arrived and followed the leader’s as they rambled on. I had not realised they would be so slow, it was painful… no lightning war here.

My scout infantry did some more good fascist-hunting in the woods on the left, blasting 2 rifle squads into bits at short range.

The circus arrives... various T-26s led by the last KV.

Scout squads hunt-down the Hun and clear the woods.

Moving at glacial speeds...

Coming the other way for a head on clash, the Pz IIIs, before all those men jumped off.

Send forward the armoured ammo carrier... the Beast is in need of resupply already.

German’s go… if they must! The Pz IIIs moved up en masse, they were concentrating for a strong push on our right, and behind them also came the 35(t)s, avoiding our timed strike artillery beaten zone. A lurking anti-tank fire picked off my BA-10 with a side shot… and then the first 1 chit was played as a breakdown chit… on my KV-1. On a rolled 6 it broke down and the crew, daze and confused, climbed out and ran-off.. argh! Lost a precious heavy tank to dumb bad luck. Hmmm, still we were well ahead on the early chits, but things hadn’t got hot yet.

That didn’t stop a few German comments about the unfairness of the Stal! rule and how Command Chaos wasn’t much of a drawback really, 10 German officers compared to an average 7 command chaos orders (over a 17 turn game that is 51 extra orders on average!). Intimidated by the quality and quantity of our armour… the Germans just can’t win in 1941! And their machine guns take up an extra order (that one was a ironic joke!, they know the great advantages of separate MGs). And how many tanks can 1,500 pts of Russians get? … err 25 in this case! How may timed artillery barrages? The Germans are just rubbish! That is morale cracking in the face of the enemy.

Next turn, and the unfairly ‘large and over-powered’ Red Army rolled on, no BTs yet, just useful stuff like our AA cover and supply trucks (and the less useful foot-slogging auxiliary motor rifle platoon) and the repair truck, making for that conked-out KV at top speed. The fight around the farm heated up, the KV-2 scoring a first hit, but the remarkable cover of the thatched barn saving the squad from destruction (5 cover saves all passed - must have a very good cellar). Having previous band attacking buildings to destroy them in favour of the basic rules in such a big game, we now regret this, that KV-2 should just level the farm. It was filling-up with Germans, men and machine guns that had dismounted from the Pz IIIs and taken up positions on ambush fire. They had got there first with more.

One KV-1 went onto ambush fire, awaiting a Pz III to emerge around the barn, and the OT-133 began to sneak off through the woods, just another innocent T-26 making their slow crawl forwards to the Germans - oh no, things would be getting very hot very soon.

Our harassing barrages fell, more scattered pinning and the K-18 cannon took a direct hit, destroying it… phew, big AT gun gone. The I-153 targeted their 20mm Flak, which had just been arrived in the rear cornfield but then forgot to open fire… their bad. The I-153’s machine guns raked the flak crew, and the last pinned man called it a day and headed for Berlin… free skies!

Explosion where the K-18 once was... nice!

Last Germans pullback from the woods, their radio van also had to scarper, the Russians were 1 move away and soon to fill it with holes.

Spreading out a bit, for the coming battle. One panzer broke down, German engineering isn't infallible either. 

 Russian reserve infantry arriving through the cornfield... utter garbage. Mortar spotter trying to get into a better place to get his tubes in the action.

The Germans, fighting their ‘hopeless’ battle against the might of the Red Hordes, moved up, fired a 105mm barrage that didn’t get cancelled and pinned some stuff, fell back as fast as they could through the woods before more scouts, fired MGs for pinning and moved up a Pz III into the waiting KV’s line of sight without realising it. Boom, side shot… hit - dead. Scratch their first panzer. Not noticing what the enemy had put on ambush fire would be a constant feature in this game… multi-player games throw up such confusion, because you don’t see what all the players are doing (not if you’re trying to move the game along fast and avoid to much discussion and debate - get on with it!).

By now all the Germans had arrived, and their cunning timed 150mm barrage missed everything and caused 1 pin - boo-hoo, more black dog glum faces.

The T-26 ramble continued and my first 6 BTs rolled on, along the farm track in single column, tank riders on the back. The on-going fight for the farm was, inconclusive, the Germans still passing way too many cover saves to avoid being pinned and the Pz IIIs came under suppressing HE fire, one pin was the entire result… although one did also break down on a chit and become immobilised… revenge.

The Germans fought back (they do that) and got a Stuka chit, which turned up (no air spotter by a 6 will do it). It targeted the centre of the T-26/KV swarm, sirens screaming, without seeing our waiting flak on ambush fire. Our DshK HMG opened up and rolled, double 6… 2 hits, pinned, and both did damage too… the Stuka was peppered and pulled out. Then the 37mm cannon scored another hit and more damage, 3 hits from 4 shots… and the morale test was a rolled 1… the Luftwaffe pilot though better of continuing in an aircraft so full of holes and returned to base. Man, we almost shot it down. Some debate followed now over if the Russians had to take a chit, as no bomb had been dropped. The Germans though yes - just the presence of an aircraft is enough. We, no, obviously. We ruled no, ‘under air attack’… and nothing attacked us, plus we should get the benefit of awesome AA covering fire, we’d spent the orders to be ready after-all. The game should reward you for doing the right thing.

Still, things were tight, we had the slight advantage, but the Germans had that farm (more like a fortress) in numbers. They also had their Kradschutzen platoon on the board rear, on reserve move as the mobile reserve, if the farm looked like falling, they’d be their in a flash to counter-attack. My last 4 BT-7s arrived and the Russian were also all-in. Everything was on the table, the twin tank attacks could get going… so far the T-26s had produced much threat.

But that is for next time. Part 2, Stal! I’ll get that posted soon (ish).

 The BT-7 column speeding by... about to launch their Stal! charge.

 He's in big trouble, hands up Fritz! My scouts did swift work with some good spotting checks and thankful the Germans blew their suppressing fire.

More to come in part2.