So in the pursuit of generating the best set of rules for our WWW II campaign, yet another battle pitted Axis Germans and Itallians versus Russians and Belgians.
The Axis is at the top of the picture, Germans left, Italians right, with the Russians lower left and Belgians lower right. For a meeting encounter the Allies did the advancing while the Axis went to shovel and pick work. The activation is now with designated cards and a End Turn card mixed in to randomize when the turn ends, either plays out or suddenly ends. The Belgians were using "captured" Pz 1s, that were small and fast, dodging a lot of incoming fire from the Italians and later the Germans Stg III's fire.
The Russian plan with a company of Penal Troops was "right up the middle" to see how some of the recent rules changes would effect their play. Of course this left a trail of bodies up to the German position but a couple of torn up squads reached their objective building and proceeded to evict the Walker behind it with a close assault, which raised so questions about how such assaults would work, good question to get settled in play test!
I have to say that with the card activation, I got to advance 2 squads, then a Belgian unit, then the random turn ending card flipped! Followed by a shuffle and the first card up allowed by screen to move up again, catching the German defenders by surprise ... or so it would have seemed. Then the Germans opened fire.
Of my 8 10 man squads, only 1 and a half of them survived the battle which ground to a draw with the Allies in small point advantage. Cold drinks were broke out and the post game discussion engaged.
During the course of the game I detected a few oversights to our current hot off the presses rules, Blast Templates needed to be expanded to our 28mm size from the 15mm size, a few of the anti tank weapons didn't have range and penetration numbers and minefields needed points costing. Otherwise were hoping to get the Scenario generator set up this coming week if I followed the give and take session at the end.
So how exactly did the Russian kill the walker? Panzerfaust? Magnetic Mines? Molotov Cocktails? Did the walker have a Nav. Launcher? Those things can fire HE and works great against those enemy troops who think they can pull a Sgt. Rock. Do your rules have a Ripple effect for squads who massacred? Sounds like the dozen men from the original 80 man unit wouldn't continue the fight after such an ordeal let alone an armored vehicle close assault.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking table and battle,
Brian
Used the "close assault rule" and let the GM and German wrassle it out. My troops took defensive fire as they closed the last distance. A the building screened the one squad that actually made the last dash. In an actual tank a bullet bouncing around inside the all metal walls can be very deadly if a hatch is opened etc. In the end a great die roll versus a horrible die roll by the germans disabled it :)
ReplyDeleteSurvivors of the assault huddled in the stone building in front of the wreck, waiting for the tanks to come up the flank, but the turn limit was reached.