Hey folks,
As I posted already, this years Cangames was a great weekend of fabulous tables and excellent gaming. Myself, I gamed on the Saturday and Sunday arriving in time to submit my SAGA
Crusaders for the Peoples Choice painting contest. Unfortunately it was a fairly slim contest this year but, there were some great looking minis. For me, not only did I win "Peoples Choice", but I was able to share the award with a fellow gamer who submitted a great looking DBA army...congrats Robert.
My first kick at gaming was with a 28mm Bolt Action game being run by my buddy Jeff. The idea was to have a small scenario to introduce the ruleset and then rejig the table with a second scenario. Overall, I very much enjoyed this game...I have played Bolt Action once or twice before, however Jeff's scenarios really made me appreciate this game much more...I can easily say I have a newfound respect for Bolt Action...thanks Jeff...
Now, here are the pics and battle report. Cheers.
Game 1
For both games, I played on the side of the Germans with my buddy Serge (his sons were both on the side of the British). Each team had a set of objectives defined for them...there were some similar ones between the nations, but some unique ones as well.
For the first game, our primary objective was to get the Maultier vehicle and wagon off board or at least defend it from destruction. As this was our rules baptism we made some fairly boneheaded mistakes, and not to mention some impetuous 'too quick' decisions. The table itself was a couple of small hills, some trees, and a road running the width of the table.
Our first couple of dice activations looked like this:
The bulk of our force
We had one halftrack, so we led with that...
Next came the Kubelwagon and second grenadier squad...
The British begin their advance...one 10-man section and a couple of universal carriers.
I think for me, perhaps the funniest moment of both games...Lead-foot Hans takes off with the halftrack after one squad dismounts, but before another can mount...dice came up and in our haste we assigned it to the halftrack, moved it, and then looked at each other and asked if any squads had mounted it...you can see the Kubelwagon, the squad next to it, and the other squad deployed in the treeline up from them...too funny
The British carry on to the treelines on the upper right and left of the wagon...they manage to get in assault range...our squad obscured by the tree at bottom left of the screen is taking a beating from mortar team...our other squad is starting to move towards the wagon.
The British assault, we fire on them with our squad, reducing their numbers...
...we then get activation for our halftrack and try to bring more fire down on them...
The end of this game came one turn later when we could not control the wagon and it had been effectively interdicted by the British...BREAK!! The table was re-jigged and a follow-on scenario presented.
Game 2
The second game had us remain in our teams...because we failed to secure the wagon, we did not have any bonus for starting (we missed out on having our support weapons in ambush...damn!!). Our battleground now turned from random field to a rocket site.
The German right side...rocket in centre, control building at right...
The German end of the table from left to right. Barracks at the bottom, control building at the top.
Our primary objective...secure and extract the scientists!! Secondary: defend the control building; Tertiary: kill the enemy commander.
We deployed our forces along the width of the table...2 grenadier squads, 1 x pak40 gun, 1 x mg42, a Fallschirmjager squad, and one guard team...plus commander and scientists. The FJs started off in their barracks awaiting the start of the game...
The British hit the field...starts to look like they'll push centre or just right of it...
We very quickly get the scientists loaded in the halftrack and start exfilling them to the left table edge...
Fleeing scientists moving past infantry covering their move across the field of battle...
While a German armoured car moves to the centre and starts laying down fire on a British section...
First tentative steps for the British as they decide to move towards the German right...leading with the infantry, using the trees to provide some cover for the Sherman from the dreaded pak...
The scientists make the edge freeing up the halftrack, German primary met...FJs quickly mount up and move towards the right flank...
British make a push for the right side of the rocket site...the mg42 is destroyed, they have 2 sections and a Sherman in support...to the fenceline...
These troops end up making it to the control building, assaulting and killing all occupants (including the German force commander...sadly the Brit tertiary objective was to CAPTURE the German commander), and taking control of the building.
Fallschirmjager's converge to right side...
The pak40 rotates and fires...
goodbye Sherman...the lone survivor from the command group (not the force commander) can be seen up and to the right of the burning hull...German tertiary met...
The Germans launch a hasty assault with the FJs...they should've softened the Brits up with some pre-assault fire first...the entire squad is decimated by British response and counter-assault...
Final positions...the British have control of the main building (British secondary met) and are pushing back to the fenceline. After the game we found out that the British primary objective was the destruction of the rocket itself...they did not meet this...therefore the Germans had a technical victory, although at great cost to the force.
