Last night I got a few Blitzkrieg Germans out of their cardboard Kaserne and pitted them against some Russian infantry in a scratch scenario of 25 turns - 15 German, 10 Russian. The Germans had two "special event" cards and the Russians only one.
A German reconnaissance unit on motorcycles entering a small Russian village
A shot rings out .......
....... followed by another .....
.... then a whole squad of Russian infantry open fire on the leading elements.
Three hits were scored as the Kraftradschutzen hurriedly dismount and take cover.
The Germans had the next three turns and reacted by moving to cover either side of the road and returning fire on the Russians, putting a hit on them
Turn 5 and the first German event card resulted in an SdKfz 221 arriving in support
The very next turn, the Russian event card came up, a mortar strike. Add 3 to the dice roll and ignore cover - and of course, this happened!
Well, that did not last long.
The Wehrmacht advanced on their right flank into a seemingly empty area
The Germans rolled well and put two more hits on the Soviet ambushers
They reached a total of four and were obliged to fall back
"Advance tovarichi, Urrah!"
A second Russian squad sprung into action, opening fire on the adjacent fascists
The sudden surprise caused panic as the Germans fell back across the road in disorder (the Russians rolled 12 and scored two hits!)
But the steady hand of their Obergefreiter soon had the Germans back in hand (they rolled a good rally and removed all 4 hits - I was allowing the Germans to add 1 as superior quality troops)
And they renewed their advance against the Soviet foe.
On turn 13, the second German event card was revealed and on came an SdKfz 251 to support the Landsers.
The Soviet infantry on the German left had rallied back to 3 hit points and moved forward again.
The MG34 sprayed 7.92mm rounds into the Russians as it rolled forward down the village road.
And they were forced back again!
I decided the snipers could engage the halftrack but would need a straight 12 to knock it out - needless to say....
German vehicles are not having much luck in this game!
But the Soviets on the German right flank were now also at breaking point and retiring
The other flank was driven forwards again by their NCO's....
But the Germans piled on the pressure, and they broke for a third (and final) time.
As soon as the squad left the board, I removed the relevant sniper. The Germans were allowed to "return fire" when shot at by one of the two snipers, but they needed a straight 12 to get a hit - this never happened in the game.
With the Russians driven from the village, the German advance can resume
The Kraftradschutzen head in different directions
As the Russian medical teams recover their casualties from the battlefield
I have assembled all three IS II now - my friend Andrew asked a question re the 3d printed T34 in respect of whether it is in scale. I Googled the dimensions and basically, the two vehicles were the same width and height, with the IS II roughly 50% longer - so I took these images, and I think the relative sizes are about right?
Now, we have had a few "proud dad" moments here regarding our daughter Amy, so this time, it's our son Michaels turn, as he is now a fully qualified builder - and has a piece of paper (in a frame) to prove it!
Thanks for you visit - hope you enjoyed the game and other images. I am off to mate Julians tomorrow for a "game" - hopefully a wargame rather than a boardgame, but we shall see when we get there!
Great one!
ReplyDeleteReally love Eastern Front games!
Thanks a lot Michal - I may follow your lead and get some "winter" Russians and Germans, too!
DeleteA great game there Keith, unless you are in a German AFV of course;)! Visually the game seemed bigger than a 3'x3' table, but that maybe be down to the lovely photos. The new mat is certainly making a big difference to how your games look. Oh and congrats to Michael for his qualification!
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve, yes, safer to be on foot behind a stout Russian wooden fence than in a APC by the look of it!
DeleteI think less is more when it comes to these games, particularly with 28mm figures.
A fun looking game looked like the Russians had it in the bag for a while ?
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt, I thought that too, but the German infantry managed to bounce back several times, whereas the Russians had less success with their rallying.
DeleteSeemed like a reasonable outcome for the intended period of the war, though!
With the loss of both German vehicles early on, I figured the Russians could hold out. No luck this time. Fine looking solo game and congrats on the homefront. Now, you have a certified carpenter at your beck and call. Handy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon. Yes, as the defenders, and with the lucky elimination of both German vehicles, I thought the Russians were in a good position too, but it was not to be!
DeleteAs to the handy tradesman....maybe. You know the saying about builders houses never bring finished?! His mum has been asking him to build her some kind of garden potting bench for about six months, and it took extreme boredom during our first Covid lockdown to get him to reroof and extend the firewood box I built down the side of our house fifteen years ago!
Another game to your 2025 tally Keith, fair rattling them up. Good looking game and a good read. Congratulations to your son too, well done sir!
ReplyDeleteCheers on both counts Donnie! Yes, I have surprised myself by so far managing to stick to my Wednesday Wargames schedule!
DeleteFirstly, congrats the your young man on his certification! I wish I had been wiser in my younger years and got certified as "something". Instead I misspent those years. C'est la vie.
ReplyDeleteGreat batrep though! Nice to see your collections on the battlefield.
And that IS2 looks about right imo. I need a new tank to paint like I need a hole in the noggin, but you are an agent of temptation here Keith....
Thanks Dai......I spent four years at university getting an MA in politics and international relations....was interesting at the time but has made zero difference in my career choices or earning ability!
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the game and one more tank won't kill ya!
I'm enjoying your Barossa games Keith. It is good to see the motorcycle units get a run. Your picture of the finished IS II alongside the T34 reminded me of a trip I took to Karlshorst in the former East Germany where they had both on display.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had a fully qualified carpenter in the family, along with a qualified plumber and electrician.
Thanks Lawrence....I would like a plumber, sparky and mechanic to be honest although we do kind of have them at two degrees of separation, via all my sons mates!
DeleteNow that is different. Motorcycles, ambushes, vehicles being stopped by mortar fire. Glad to see such a wonderful start to the campaign.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joe, I am enjoying getting some of these troops on the table, too!
DeleteA hard game for the German's, great to see some motorbike action!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray. After amassing almost as many motorcycles as the Wehrmacht actually had in real life, I like to get them on the table!
DeleteGreat looking game Keith. Good to get all the new figures on the table.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on having a tradie in the family. From my experience they are very handy to have 😁
Thanks Ben....my boy may become more useful as he matures, he is only 23 at the moment.....!
DeleteGreat getting some of these figures into action....hopefully the Germans get another visit to the table this evening at mate Julian's place 👍
Great game, those German vehicles didn't seem to have much luck
ReplyDeleteThanks Scotty, and no, they did not!
DeleteTop game and reporting Keith. The 'extra' figures that you have are especially wonderful and add greatly to the story.
ReplyDeleteIt is a 1 in 36 to roll double six, but that does not seem to stop you!!
That IS-2 is a monster beast!
Congrats to the boy.
Regards, James
Cheers James, I am happy you enjoyed my report 1:36 is about 2.5% chance then? It certainly feels like I hit the target more often than that....mind you, there are a lot of dice rolls!
DeleteWe are all very pleased our son is finally fully qualified 😀 🙌 👍 👏
Excellent east front game, in spite of rolling high the Soviets came up short after a stout defence, pretty good for the period I'd say, well done on your sons chippy qualification, I am at least working in the field I got my degree in which is a bonus, plus I had five years at art college which was fun!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, the game was fun to play, the Russians did pretty well against the German "armour"!
DeleteAs to qualifications, I should have done law like my dad..I would certainly have more disposable income....mind you, I would probably still be living in Scotland and not be enjoying the weather as much!
A great sounding game Keith…
ReplyDeleteIt’s nice to see a reconnaissance force being used rather than the ‘ big boys toys’…
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, it's nice to mix things up a bit!
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