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| Summer Offensive The Game The Russians had to break the Germans or occupy all objectives (poker chips on the pics) before turn 9 for a decisive win, or urn 12 for a marginal win. The Germans had to hold the objectivetill turn 12 for a decisive win. I made the terrain & scenario, and let my opponent pick a side. He picked the Germans. The Forces 
The Terrain As forces of the Red Army drive on after the success of Operation Bagration, they eventually cross the Polish border, hot on the heels of the retreating Wehrmacht. It was of great importance to the beleaguered Germans to hold the villages of Zsapacs and Uzsakacs, in order to prevent the Russians from overrunnning some vital supply depots farther in the rear. Russian forces, under the command of Polkovnik Foxbatov, had already reached the little polish town of Patelow, a few kilometers east of the Zsapacs crossroads. A hodgepodge of German units would try to prevent them from making more progress, organizing a defensive position leaning on hill 314 in the South to the village of Uszapacs in the North. The heavy woods covering a good portion of the terrain would channel the Soviet attack through either the gap in the Feduski Woods, or the road itself. 
Deployment and plans The German position was set in two parts : the Uzsakacs force, an infantry battalion dug in between Uzsakacs and the Piniuwsky Farm, with the support of 4 platoons of brand new Hetzers Jagdpanzers, and the Zspapaks force, another infantry battalion, dug in on and east of Hill 314. A depleted SS company of Panthers was held in reserve. The Russian had scheduled a flank march on the southerrn flank with a fusiliers battalion, while the T34 carrying desantniki SMG armed infantry would thunder down the road and occupy starting positin west of the Feduski woods, already scouted by BA64 mounted recon elements. Several barrages of Katyushas, and Il 2 Sturmoviks attacks, would hit hill 314. A company of SU 76 assaut guns was held in reserve 
Russian placement 
German deployment Phase 1 Things started poorly for the Germans, as they failed to bring their Panthers from reserve. Meanwhile, the Russians made excellent progress, a series of terrific command rolls ending in a command bonus allowing them to reach their intended positions west of the Feduski woods in two turns. This was greatly helped by the terrific work of recon units in the woods (side note : how recon works is great in BKC games : they are expensive units, with severe firing restriction, but they can stay "sheltered" and yet provide powerful modificators to command). The 2 Hetzers south of the Piniuwski farm used reaction fire, but failed to destroy any T34. They failed again in their own turn, and were taken out in the ensuing reaction fire of the T34s. 
1 The Russian lightning advance 2 Dead Hetzers 3 Panthers fail to arrive from reserve 
Russian blitz advance... 
...and seen from Hill 314 
Two dead Hetzers Phase 2 Things grew then into a kind of stalemate, as the arrival of the Panthers, and the redeploying of theHetzers, generated a protracted tank battle, of which the infantry on Hill 314 took profit to whittle down the desantnik hunkering in the woods. For 7 consecutive turns, the flank march failed to appear (there's an officer who'll have some tough 'splaining to do to the NKVD, I guess), which did not help, and caused the moderately successful support air & artillery attacks to be squandered. Meanwhile, the massive T34 force took out all German armour at the cost of a tank, while a SU 76 (called from reserve) was also destroyed in a last ditch effort by the last Hetzer. 
1 flank march fails to arrive 2 The T34s win the tank battle against the Panthers 3 Su 76 called from reserve 4 two more Hetzers destroyed by the T34 5 Desantniks SMG infantry destroyed by German rifles 
T 34s win their duel against Panthers 
Sturmoviks pound Hill 314 
Su76 advance from reserve, take losses Phase 3 All this brought us to turn 8. Nothing of note during the soviet turn, but during the German, more desantnik were killed (8 out of 9 platoons were lost, I guess Foxbatov is fortunate to be able to lay the blame at the feet of his flanking marchh subordinate...), but an attempt to redeploy the north batallion was smothered in a hail of 85 mm shells that took out 2 sections. Which dictated the soviet policy for turn 9, where they obliterated a dug in platoon west of hill 314, forcing a breakpoint roll... the German passed. All chances of a decisive victory lost, they had to settle for a tactical win. On turn 10, the flank march arrived but did nothing else... another German platoon was destroyed, another breakpoint roll, passed. Eventually, the destruction of 2 more platoons on turn 11 spelled doom for the Germans, who failed to pass the roll this time. 
1 T34 advance and pound the German infantry 2 Eventually, the flank march arrives! 3 The German redeployment from the North is stalled 
The flank march! 
German trenches vacated by massed tank fire The game was really tense, sesawing continually between victory & defeat for both sides. Several moments of note : the early russian blitz, which IMO decisively sealed the game, partly compensated by the failure to later coordinate the attack. The slaughter of the Desantniks (10 units lost; 2/3 or the breakpoint threshold...), caused by the sacrifice of the German armour that had to be taken out before moving on. And of course, the colossal failure of the flanking march, for 7 turns in a row, that took away the firepower that should have lessened the fire from hill 314. But all in a ll a great game, looking forward for the next one. | | |
| We had a game of Cold War Commander, Fred and I, this saturday. The theme was a Soviet breakthrough, supported by elements of a GMO, trying to take a vital bridge, and NATO trying to rush a hodgepodge of units to prevent it. The map : 
And what it looked like on the table. From the East : 
From the West : 
The US divided their forces into 4 groups : 2 Combat teams (CT) 1 & 2, with 6 Abrams and 2 LMVTPs each, 1 Infantry group riding in Hummvees3, and 1 heliported one, that would be activated with a special FAC and would deploy a conventional HQ for command. The northern CT would rush forward, with the aim of grabbing the bridge, the southern one would cover their right flank, while the HMMVs would drive down the road Marktbrücke... Helos would keep reinforcing it with infantry. The Soviets had one infantry battalion1, tasked with rushing to the bridge along the road, under the cover of the 6 T72s' guns 2 on hill 315. The 6 T64s ERA ATGW 4 would take under their guns a good chunk of the battlefield, covering the advance of the 10 improved T80s 3 that were tasked with securing the south approaches to Marktbrücke. Some flak (ZSU23/4 and SA 13) would give cover. 5 & 6 Placement 
Soviet Placement 
US placement :  
Phase 1 : The US having won initiative, they started moving. Everything seemed OK, even though somle failed rolls delayed somewhat the HMMVs and prevented the helos' appearance. This cost them some M1A1s to massed long range ATGW fire 3, but on the whole, the plan went well. Strikes on the Soviet armor failed to score, though a few stray bombs caused havoc -and losses- among the ZSU23/4. 2 Things went less well for the Soviets, and I think this outright stopped me from claiming my objective. The T72s and T80s made their planned moves, but a command blunder on the infantry had catastrophic consequences, destroying 3 transports and their passengers -including the 2 BMP1s and the MANPADS1. More than the losses -that hurt though-, that meant I had no hopes of preventing the better US infantry of occupying the town and turning it into a modern Alamo. Phase 1 map 
US airstrike, and the result 
Phase 2 saw things turning into a stalemate. The US infantry indeed occupied Marktbrücke as planned, but the duel between their accompanying M1A1s and the T72s didn't go too well. This was mostly due to the fact that the 5 remaining AFVs had to watch for things on the south side of Marktbrücke and hence divided their forces. The duel consequently saw each side lose a tank. 2 & 3 The HMMVs kept moving at a snail pace, while the 1st choppers started to deliver passengers to Marktbrücke. The air assets did nothing, or failed to score, turned away by the Flak. This caused the uS too try to converge their southern CT towards Marktbrücke. This was a pivotal decision, as they wered presenting their flanks to 6 ERA T64 armed with ATGWs -my opponent conceded he'd forgotten about these tanks . This was a massacre, 3 M1A1s were taken out 1, while the remainder took shelter behind the woods. The LVTPs started to cross the river. Meanwhile, the Russian infantry moved towards Marktbrücke and debussed. Phase 2 map 
CT South undedr enfilading fire 
Phase 3 saw the end of the game. The destruction of half the M1A1s of CT south allowed the T80s and T64s to relocate. The T64s took position on the SE hill, regaining sight on the M1A1s who had retreated W some. The T80 moved forward. The ensuing gun battle saw the last 3 CT South tanks brew up, and the destruction of a T80 2. The battle between the T72 and CT North tanks saw them lose another Abrams. 1 This brought desperate moves. The US threw in the kitchen sink at the Soviets in order to secure that bridge, as the Soviet infantry had occupied the eastern half of Marktbrücke and had the bridge under their guns -surprisingly, my opponent had not used reaction fire, he had a plan- and ordered a heavy airstrike on the T72s. It cost them a Tomcat, but suppressed the whole T72 unit. Then the US infantry charged across the bridge, hoping to rourt the Soviet conscripts. These however held their ground, destroying 2 US platoons in the attempt. 3 Phase 3 map 
Choppers debus infantry at Marktbrücke 
Airstrike on Hill 315 
Across the bridge under fire 
That was the last action, as it was getting late, and well, it was time both commanders reported to their higher-ups. The failure of the Soviet attempt at grabbing the bridge, and the horrendopus losses suffered by the US, make this battle a draw. The US need to reinforce Marktbrücke fast, as what is left cannot hope to hold against the Soviet GMO. But all chances to keep pushing decisively have been lost by the Soviets, who need to start afresh a new effort. This reminds me of the battle of Halle, in Red Storm Rising, where the initaial soviet success is chacked at a high cost by the US. | | |
| First miniatures wargame of the year, and this was back to the Solomons, cruisers and destroyers stalking each other in the confined waters of Ironbottom Sound. I had devised a not too original scenario : 3 USN heavy cruisers (Salt Lake City, Portland, northampton ) escorted by 3 Gleave Class DDs (Laffey, Duncan & Buchanan) were to duke it out with the Imperial Japanese Navy : CAs Chokai, Nachi & Aoba, and 3 Fubuki class DDs ; Fubuki, Murakami, Hatsunami.  The US Fleet
 The Japanese
The first gme saw me play the USN, while Jean Jacques took the IJN. Initial placements : while the IJN crisers & destroyers divisions in line abreast were split by Savo Island, the US was steaming North East, with CAs & DDs in 2 parallel files.  Initial dispositions
C : Chokai N : Nachi A : Aoba SLC : Salt Lake City PL : Portland NH : Northampton  Jap DDs sail around Savo
The US reversed heading, and turned north later, while the Japanese kept lowing souwthwards in line abreast. Soon the Salt Lake City, leading the US line, was abreast of the Chokai, the westernmost IJN CA.  The Japanese sail straight ahead
 While the American try an enevelopping manoeuver
Both ships traded fire, inflicting damage on each other, the US "Swayback Maru" taking the worst of it, as flooding caused a severe list. The US destroyers however gad cxome in a good position for a torpedo attack on the Chokai. Laffey and Duncan fired 3 spreds on the IJN Cruiser (Laffey had lost a mount during the cruiser shooting phase) and sent the Chokai to Davy Jones. But during the damage control phase, the Salt Lake City rolles catastrophically and capsized, equalizing losses.  At the start of the firing phase...
 and at its end. Can someone tell the differences? 
This left the US some superiority, as they had traded their weakest cruiser for the Japanese strongest, but things went downhill fast from there. Northampton, which was following the SLC, was savaged by the Nachi (fire, flooding) while blesting only secondaries on the IJN cruiser, and Portland took a helm hit. In the end however, both Japanese cruisers went down as Northampton succummbed to its damages.  The situation at the end of the game, before firing.
The 3 intact Japanese DDs finished her off with gunfire, so badly mauled was she, while inn their lmast turn, the Japanese cruisers had managed to take out 2 US DDs with their rear turrets... Glug glug This left a lot of time for a second game, so sides were reversed. I disposed the IJN cruisers in line of file on a SE bearing, Chokai in the lead and Aoba in the rear, while my 3 Fubukis raced south in order to contact the foe. The US Navy sailed north in a line abreast formation, Salt Lake City in the west, Northampton in the middle and Portland in the east with DDs interspersed between them. The 1st phase of the battle saw the loss of Murakami and Hatsunami to the US 8" guns (once again, terrific rolls from my opponent!) while Fubuki was damaged but coukd make it behind the line of .Jap cruisers that had turned south. Chokai had not stayed inactive, and her guns had inflicted a briidge and a rudder hit on Portland, which started to sail in circles while her guns fell silent. The second phase saw the US cruisers and DDs turn towards the Japanese line of battle. Disregarding the crippled Portland, Aoba and Chokai fired on SLC & Northampton, while they returned fire on them. Nachi, attacked by the USS Laffey at close range, laid down a withering fire that sank the destroyer. Fubuki closed up on the crippled Portland. 
The IJN ships are crossing the T of the US squadron. Portland is out of control, Fubuki closes in for the kill During the third phase, both remaining US DDs were sunk successively after attempting to carry out single ship torpedo attacks, while the Fubuki sent a spread of 9 Long Lances into the still crippled Portland, hitting with 2 and sinking her. The SLC lost her main forward battery to the Aoba, the Chokai dispatched the Northampton. A fire broke out on teh Chokai, but damage control was up to the task this time, and stopped it soon. 
Buchanan boldly, but perhaps foolhardily, tries to do something with her torpedoes... At that stage, I ordered a general chase, breaking the Japanese formation, and it was niot long before the poor Salt Lake City was sunk as well, ending the game in a Savo look-alike. | | |
| Here are a few pics of the Stratejeux Convention near Bordeaux. There was a Blitzkrieg Commander 2 table, held by our friends from Périgueux, but I had no time to indulge, having my own table to run. This said, they had a smashing terrain (actually, the 1st Manassas made for another rule ), and some late eastern front stuff 
Some lend lesase Sheremas gret slaughtered by Panthers 
Medium panzers on the prowl 
The Soviets attempted a flanking, but that was too ambitious as the scarcity of HJQs left the T34 85 uncommanded... 
The Con's best looking table, a XVIIth century castle and gardens, ready for te struggle between the Sun King's mousquetaires and some traitorous nobles' henchmen 
And our own Battletech table, depicting Solaris 7 arenas. 
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| Having painted an American battlegroup for Cold War Commander, I needed to upgrade my Soviets somewhat in order to have a matching force. So I added a T80 regiment, and another BMP infantry battalion, burt this time in BMP 2 The whole lot : 
T 80s 
Motorised Rifles & BMP 2s 
And some more US pics, to answer a request 
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