At my request, seeing I will be game-less for about a month after tomorrow at Barry's, last night we had a game of Iron Cross - it did not go at all well for Julian and I (playing the Germans in a Battle of the Bulge inspired scenario) - but we had some fun and laughs.
I supplied some of the forces, and Julian the remainder. Owing to the nature of the game (and the rules, to some extent) it was not a particularly photogenic event - troops remained in the same spot, exchanging fire for several turns etc, but by combining some close ups from John with my own record, there might be 25 pictures in the following AAR
The table layout - Germans entered on the two roads to the left, British were secretly deployed anywhere on the table and the US reinforcements would enter on the road to the right on the turn number when they succeeded in rolling that turn or lower on D6 - I am sure everyone has used this method at one time or another!
My three German squads were composed of Valiant 20mm hard plastic figures from my small collection
The Panther and Puma are Julians, and the two halftracks are mine
If you go into the woods today, you are sure of a big ........
SURPRISE!
Julians infantry also decided to clear the woods
The HMG forced my infantry back, so their carrier advanced in to act as a mobile MG platform - and was immediately taken out by a PIAT - scheisse!
Next up, I brought on my Panther - the PIAT squad moved from the woods up to the corner of the field to engage it - I managed to "interrupt" the British activation and the big cat fired at point blank range - and missed!
The bloody PIAT didn't though, rolling a 9 on a D10 (which was what John needed) and putting max number of shock on the Panther, which it then carried for the remainder of the game, rendering it basically useless!
The Panther pulled back out of sight of the PIAT and remained in this position for the rest of the night - I had a couple of goes at clearing the shock, but it basically needed me to roll two sixes in a row on a D6...so not very likely then!
Another German squad moved up the wall to engage the British infantry opposite
Whilst a third moved off in the direction of Antwerp!
Turn 2 (turns take quite a long time to get through - you have to use up all your activation tokens before the "turn" ends) - and Chris rolled a 2 didn't he - on came the US reinforcements at breakneck speed!
Supported by GI's from AB Miniatures of Julians collection
The arrival of the Americans was basically the nail in the coffin of the German assault, which had already been pretty much blunted by the dogged Brits - Chris had 14 activation tokens I think which was equal to Julian and I combined, so all he had to do was, move a unit on, then pass the turn to us, then move another unit and pass the initiative over again etc until Julian had no activations left and he still had 6 or 8 - he then brought on his two 76mm Shermans, drove up to Julians Panther, paused to take aim, fired and destroyed it!
A good end to the working week but I did think the balance of forces was a bit generous to the Allies - John also had a mortar, two AT guns and more infantry squads that he did not have to reveal as they were not required - I think he might have had a total of 10 or 12 activation points whereas Julian and I had 7 each - so in addition to having fewer troops, we had significantly fewer activation points overall, so did not really have the command initiative that attacking Germans might be expected to have against the Allies - I was not very surprised by the result, but, hey, it's the Battle of the Bulge, so it was historically accurate!
Thanks for your visit - hope you enjoyed the pics and scribblings!
Some lovely looking miniatures on show, no luck in the game but the odds were a bit stacked against the Germans, but looks like it was a fun game. Nice way to end the week of grind that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteCheers Donnie - I don't think we had much chance of coming out on top in this one, but it was a nice way to spend a few hours with good mates!
DeleteLovely looking game Keith. Sounds like both luck and the scenario (activation) were against you.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the aesthetics, at least, Richard - it certainly was a "sair fecht"
DeleteGreat looking units, what did you mean by rules that hamstring you.? The Bulge had a lot of ugly surprises for the German attack.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe. Each player is assigned activation points based on units, so, Julian and I had 3 infantry sections and 2 vehicles, plus a leader - so we each got 5 activation points plus 2 for the leader = 7. John had more units than either of us - at a guess 3 infantry sections, a mortar, an HMG and two anti tank guns, plus a leader - so he had 9 activations he could use. Chris as mentioned had 14. Each turn lasts until all the activations have been used up by all players. So as an example, Julian and I won initiative and started - if we want to, we could move each of our units' once, and have two activation points remaining, then pass the initiative to John. He can, if he chooses, use one activation - then pass initiative back. Julian and I are the each obliged to use at least one activation, before handing initiative back again - and then John can do a repeat, after which we have no more activations until the next turn, and John can do whatever he likes with his remaining 7 activations, and we cannot react or do anything about it!
DeleteIn reality, we did not do this - I actually NEVER brought the Puma onto the field, and some other units did very little because, if you choose to, you can do three or four activations with the same unit, although it gets progressively harder to activate the same unit.
So, the essence of the game mechanism is, he who has the most separate units and thus the most activation points, has the advantage - and that wasn't us!
Seems like the pk dice rolls can be fairer than the activation scheme. I may be unlucky, but there always the chance. Still, numbers are a strategy all thier own.
DeleteGame looks good and you can't win them all. Though the scenario did seem stacked against you
ReplyDeleteThanks Scotty - I felt the balance was off but I can't complain about "stacking" as Julian came up with the scenario - and i could just as easily have chosen to play the British!
DeleteA good looking battle Keith, some interesting points on the rules, I’m not familiar with them but it does sound like it threw up some imbalance. Interesting I have been re listening to the Ardennes by A Beevor. He makes regular mention of tanks being hunted by infantry and being knocked out, although I know many British infantry thought the Piat useless ! Perhaps you were just unlucky on this occasion ?
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt - I have done a very brief rundown on the rules for Joe above; having less units and thus less activations to play with is a big disadvantage in this game!
DeleteYes, even John, who did it, was amazed a PIAT could more or less knock out a Panther - he said the same as you about how effective they were!
It has to be pointed out, though, that it was lucky - the PIAT has a fire value of 7 and it was firing at the side armour of the Panther, at close range, so needed to get 16 - he rolled a 9 on a D10, anything less would have no effect. Firing at normal range at the front armour, I don't think the Piat would have been able to score a hit at all! The 16 was just to hit, he then had to roll for effect with a D6, and he got a 4 I think, which is the worst result for the tank short of 5 or 6 - which knocks it out completely!
Well some nice photos of the game there Keith, but that activations system in this case owuld have driven me nuts! Far too gamey for my liking, but maybe the imbalance in the forces highlighted this?
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve - I suppose the activation token system is quite gamey - I think the blurb says something about presenting players with constant decisions to make.....
DeleteI have enjoyed previous games (obviously, seeing I requested we play these rules!) but I think they have either been better balanced, or I have been on the side with all the extra points!
I do remember one game where I managed to talk Julian in to "just having one more try" with his infantry shooting at mine - and then he realised he was down to something like two points while Chris and I had 20 or more between us - great fun as we drove up to his reactionless panzers and knocked them all out!
The game did appear imbalanced but sometimes, war is hell. It will seem odd having you out of action for a month.
ReplyDeleteThis is true Jon, and we still had a good evening of banter, so time well spent 👍
DeleteGreat looking troops and vehicles, Keith. Sorry the game bogged down.
ReplyDeleteWe Getmans never really got going, to be honest, Dean. Maybe our troops were Volksgrenadiers and not the SS?
DeleteExcellent battle report. The rules look interesting and I know some of the guys in the club use these. Will have to try them out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark, the rules have given enjoyable games in the past...mind you, I am sure John and Chris enjoyed this one 😀 Worth giving a try, for sure!
DeleteFantastic looking game sir!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the pics Michal
DeleteAlways great to see some Panzers ;)
DeleteThat British Piat team deserve a medal. Just the sort of fun game suited to a Friday night after a long week at work.
ReplyDeleteA medal....well, maybe....but it would be a firing squad if my guys got their hands on them Lawrence!
DeleteThe Germans should have give up and tried again tomorrow—it just wasn't happening from the outset. Missing at point-blank range is a really, really funny event in WWII games, but bloody annoying too!
ReplyDeleteDespite your intro, the game looks great and I can tell that it was a lot of fun for all of you.
Regards, James
Thanks James, this particular scenario wasn't very well balanced but the rules usually give a good game, and as you say, it was entertaining 😀
DeleteGreat looking game Keith.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the cool looking German wonder weapons just don't work and the odd looking British ones do. 😂
I am not sold on that activation method if it is so unbalanced that one side can just wander about the battlefield with impunity. I guess it is much better when balanced evenly. Like most games I guess 😊
Thanks Ben, I am sure the rules, as written, probably include a points system so that situations like this don't arise....one side or the other having two or three extra activation points isn't an issue, but the way this one was, once Chris got on the table, it was pretty hopeless for the Germans!
DeleteKeith, Seems every rules set needs care in set up and scenario crafting to deliver a good game. Unrequited love is hard as is unrecompensed pounding. It was a good looking game for all that.
ReplyDeleteTrue words indeed Joe, this one needed a bit more balance, no doubt!
DeleteA most interesting game report: a narrative supported by selected images can tell an engaging story just as well, and can also provide the basis for conclusions and commentary. In this case, I found your observations on the length of the nature of a turn in Iron Cross most trenchant (something I have pointed out in my Chocolate Box Wars system, derivative of IC): the game turn is not the measure of the game as it is in other systems. 3-5 turns would seem to be the norm.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ed. This game, despite taking around two to three hours to play, ended on turn two, when Chris arrived on the table!
DeleteI guess all games can’t be epic tales of near struggle, coming down to the last roll. 😀
ReplyDeleteAnd now no gaming for a month!
Very true Stew, art imitates life, in this case!
DeleteOne more game to report on, a much more successful Pulp romp yesterday at Barry's place...stay tuned for all the exciting details!😀