Friday Night WW2 Game

 On Friday Chris, John and I foregathered at Julians place for a 20mm WW2 game. We had thought about using the Iron Cross rules but Julian suggested using our home brew AS9 rules (basically the WW2 version of the rules used in the previous game) so we got a pack of playing cards and set up a game of 20 moves each (that proved to be a bit ambitious!)

The scenario was A Bridge Too Far-esque, with US paratroopers seizing a bridge and holding until relieved by a column of US armour and armoured infantry. The Germans had a few units "hidden" on the table and would have reinforcements arrive too. The US and Germans started rolling a D6 from turn 2, with a 1 meaning the reinforcements arrived that turn, then a 1 & 2 and so on until they arrived.

The yellow dots mark potential landing points for paras - Chris chose 6 then rolled dice to work out drift. The Wirbelwind was representing flak - I rolled 1 D6 for each of the six sticks of paras - 1 or 2 put on two hits, 3 and 4 1 hit 5 and 6 nothing - I think I managed a couple of 4's and the rest were 5 or 6!

Chris managed to get all 6 para units on the table, 4 to the north and 2 to the south of the impassable river. He then moved forwards and one of the defending German infantry units were revealed on the road north of the bridge.

Both sides inflicted a few hits - any unit that reaches 4 may potentially be forced to retire.

On about turn 3, the US reinforcements started arriving on the southern table edge

As more paras approached the road, a second German unit was revealed. Meanwhile, yet more paras had crossed the bridge from the south!

US armour rumbles forwards

The 75mm infantry gun in the woods opened fire - and missed!

One of the German units on the road had by now accumulated 4 hits .....

.... but finally, reinforcements arrived!

The US tank destroyer knocked out the 75mm infantry gun

And the yanks advanced! An 88mm Flak 36 appeared in the next wood and immediately knocked out one of the Shermans!

Another German infantry unit was revealed in the woods ahead.

The 88mm Flak had taken one hit so was firing with a minus one - meaning it ONLY added two rather than three to its dice roll......

.... but when you roll 12, that's plenty!

The tank destroyer took another shot at the 88 - and missed 

- this was the last thing the crew saw

Johns' reaction to the last of his US tanks blowing up!

Meanwhile, the paras were still doing their thing - Julian had given them a +1 as elite troops - which was fair enough - but did mean they kept recovering from being pushed back and coming back for more!

One unit of German infantry were still hanging on grimly on the road north of the bridge, assailed on all sides by US paras!

The heroic Landers are STILL in possession of the road, and reinforcements are arriving!

After another determined stand, where they held up three M3 halftracks with MMG's and three US infantry units, the lone German infantry in the first woods were forced back with four hits accumulated

Both sides battered reinforcements headed towards the bridge and road north.

German infantry assaults the paras on the bridge

The US Paras had finally managed to gain control of the road to the north of the bridge.

We realised at this point that it was after 11pm and decided to call it a day - I think there were about 6-8 more cards left in the activation/initiative pack. We agreed this was a minor win for the US forces - they held both ends of the bridge and although they had lost all their armour, more could arrive at any moment. A fun game and it would have been a lot different if the paras did not have a plus one on every roll for being elite, plus a support weapon attached to all six units AND a mortar that could use indirect fire with a plus two against almost any target on the table - Julian was far too generous in my (German) opinion! Even with these advantages, the Germans managed to drive two of the para units off the table.

Thats all from me for a short while - I am off on another holiday! My wife has been through a very stressful year since her mum died, with her niece and nephew challenging her mums will and lots of toing and froing between the executors and various lawyers, and even the potential for it all to end up before a judge in the Family Court. Fortunately, it has all now been resolved and she can put it all behind her and move on - and hence, she booked an 8-day break in the sunny Cook Islands, where we head off to in about 12 hours' time!   

She just wants to relax and do not very much at all, so told me to get a few books to take along ......and here they are - perfect tropical island reading!

I will be back in NZ Weds 14 May - and who knows, I may even be able to figure out how to get my work phone onto the hotel wifi without incurring any cost to myself and check out a few blogs while I am away!