BOVINGTON DEMO-GAME AAR

Well, my 400 pt platoon-level game with Piers was a very closed run thing. We were quite busy at the show, so I didn’t get time to take photos during the actual game, but have included a few of the board and models. Far more have been posted on the Guild forums by Piers.

My force consisted of the following:

Rifle Platoon and Maxim MG
NKVD officer (actual good this time)
T-34 platoon
SU-76 battery
T-70
Forward Observer team
2 x 82mm mortars
Sniper
Timed IL-2 air strike

Whilst Piers had selected – as best as I can remember:

PzIVH squadron
Forward HQ in Pz IIIJ
Panzer Grenadier platoon (dismounted) supported by a MG42 HMG team
120mm mortar and loader team

Flammpanzer III
Timed 150mm barrage

Compact, but we were only playing on 6’x4’ table. 

I took the first turn and set about deploying my T-34s, with tank rides, pushing one along the road towards the farm, and the riflemen deploying into the first building, before my lead T-34 struck a stray mine and detonated!

 Meanwhile, my sniper was taking aim at advancing grenadiers in open ground, and keeping their heads down quite well, along with some accurate mortar fire, as the rest of my infantry, support by my SU-76 battery moved to secure the trenches and bunker (an objective).

Piers' panzers hugged his board edge, winging repeated long-range AP rounds at my T-34s, and missing. After a few turns his ammo was dwindling fast, but he must have been well stocked with AP. I returned fire using area fire with HE, trying to pin him, so I could advance without the risk of being smashed apart by his L48 guns. His infantry spread out and advanced, one squad occupying the other farm building (also an objective), but they were hit by ambush fire from my forward squad, killing three men and being pinned as they were raked by DP and rifle fire.

Pier’s flammpanzer raced for the trenches, with one infantry squad in support, and made it, opening up with a jet of flame, which resulted in just 1 fried Ivan, due to good cover saves from the trench. An SU-76 quickly responded and removed the flammpanzer threat with two solid hits.

As the engagement was building in ferocity, both Piers and my own timed additional fire support arrived. First his 150mm barrage landed, causing some pinning but no losses, then my IL-2 swooped in, dropped its 4 bombs and scored 2 direct hits, destroying an MG team and causing more death amidst a grenadier squad – good shot!

By now the Russians had the advantage, Piers had picked up a few high value counters and I was feeling that victory must be close. It wasn’t. Suddenly, after a good start, things started to change. I lost 1 then 2 SU-76s to his panzer fire, then my T-34s started to get pinned. My T-70, so far living a charmed life, tried to engage a Pz-IV with HE area fire, failed, and caught an AP shell in return, turning it in scrap. My sniper, having scored 3 kills, was killed by heavy MG fire, and the MG42 had set up in the vegetable patch and was raking the trenches with withering fire that caused more pinning and losses, including wiping out one squad. 

Suddenly my total had raced up, and I hadn’t caused the Germans to take a counter for 2 or 3 turns. Now the panzer began to roll, their ammo pins almost empty they pushed forward, MGs blazing. I lost a second T-34 in the fusillade, but my last SU-76 scored along range hit on the Pz III, which needing just a 6 to penetrated its armour and rolled a 5. That glancing hit cost me dear, as a 120mm mortar stonk scored a direct hit and fell into the back of the SU, destroying it. The resulting 4 counter broke me, by 1 point. It turns out, Peirs had just 1 point left, it could hardly have been closer... if that PzIII had just gone it would have been a different result. 

A good, hard fought and close game, and a useful demonstration to the bystanders of the basics of the game rules. I know it didn’t have the impact of a massive table with tonnes of models, etc, but it was quality, and showed you don’t need all that stuff to play an exciting WW2 game. 

I shall have my revenge in the August big game... with just a bit more luck...

Shots of the table, not from the game, but the same models.