For the weekly Flames of War game at Deaf Ear Records in LaCrosse, we started the day by setting up two tables in anticipation we’d have 2 games going. Earlier in the week it looked optimistically like 6 month show. We all spec’d out 2000 point LW armies. Hoping I’d be able to get in two games I went ahead and put together 3 different lists. Two out of NUTS and one out of Desperate Measures. I figured depending on who I was planning I’d pick a list.
With there being 3 of us that showed up at 10am, we decided on a 2 on 1 game, with Bill and I being German and Chuck being his American Airborne. Sadly that meant I had to refigure what I’d play with but with some quick discussion, Bill went ahead and pulled armor with his 1000 some points and I pulled volks infantry with mine. I had a good 100+ points left over which I passed onto Bill to use to put this forces together.
We rolled up a fair fight meeting engagement. Chuck choose the side on the right and we ended up being the attackers coming from the left. You can already see the objectives are out and Chuck had just placed his first platoon.
The German objectives are the what almost looks like a shed on the very edge of the table behind that farmhouse surrounded by a wall. The second objective can be seen as the stand at the very top next to the field where Chuck has deployed his first platoon.
For forces Bill fielded two platoons of Pz IVs, a battery of 105s, and a group of armored 23x cars. In my case suffering from a bout of insanity I decided I’d go for a reluctant trained volks company. Surely the lower point cost resulting in more stuff would even out …. right? So in addition to the core sturm and schutzen platoons I had a volks HMG platoon, and a volks mortar platoon with extra panzerschreks (5), volks hetzers and an Me-262 thrown in to boot. I likes me air! I may be reluctant, but I had stuff!
Going back and forth placing platoons, here we are all setup. The Pz IVs are the only thing across the river. Still, not a major problem with 2 fjords and the bridge, we figured we could prep, smoke and be competitive on the offensive assuming the reluctant troops didn’t pee their collective pants.
For both sides, nothing started out dug in which was sort of ok with the exception that on the die roll for who was to start first, we lost. Thankfully the lack of first turn air and artillery against us helped.
Here’s the setup viewed from the other side with the hetzers in their starting position and Bill’s panzer IVs tucked up hugging the tree to hopefully keep anything in the air from seeing them.
With the bottom of turn 1, dropping smoke to help mask for my hopefully successful river crossing, we moved forward on the attack from our right flank. On the left we dug in. With the HMG platoon and the mortars and the artillery we decided we had better things to do than dig in. tacka-tacka-tacka-tacka! With Chucks turn he had a number of units dug in so prep and pinning fire was important. In theory the hetzers and their guns could help but first turn they aimed after American 57mm anti-tank guns and go rid of 2 out of 3. Lotsa bazooks over there still….
I also happened to get my Me262 on turn one. Sporatic air support.. might as well enjoy it while I had it. Bombs away for both the pin and taking out a stand or two. Still a little close to the 16″ minimum distance before the air would abort…
With the top of turn 2, Chuck did some damage, taking out an HMG team with artillery and pinning my dug in volks.
Meanwhile on our far left flank Chuck pulled out his tank destroyers and brewed up a Pz IV and had several stands of bazooks getting into position. Umm why didn’t I deploy one or even both of my volks platoons with Bills panzers? Cause I wasn’t thinking.
Bottom of turn 2, great shooting by Bill and no more tank destroyers. That was it for armor that Chuck had. This is where in mid or early war you might as a tanker thrust your chest out and think you’re king of the battlefield. Late-war … ha, panzerfausts, bazookas, panzerschreks, everybody has your number.
Meanwhile on the right flank, after my very meager advance I dig in and figure I need to continue to prep the flank. Between air, artillery, HMGs, Hetzers, surely we can whittle down this flank in a few turns so the reluctant trained volks won’t get absolutely creamed crossing.
O look! More air! So at this point I’m going to mention Chuck was a really good sport with my beyond amazing die rolls for air in this game. Almost every turn he would successfully roll up a P47 and who wouldn’t with dedicated 7 dice of air support? I’d roll one die for intercept … 6~! It was like that for a good 3-4 turns straight when he’d try to pull in his air. This is why we roll dice.
At the top of turn 3, Chuck took out another HMG stand and one of my mortar stands. He also pinned my right flank.
With turn 3 Bill started to pull in his second Pz IV platoon to cross at the bridge and see about attacking on that side. He also had his armored car on the bridge, one unfortunately was brewed.
Turn 4 would be a pretty static battle line with more prep on our parts. This is was also the turn where I it dawned on me when you’re trained, you know how to fire. When you’re a vet, you know when not to fire. Chuck… he stopped firing. That extra one to hit for going to ground makes a difference. Tactically he also drew us, quite willingly, into the noose.
Turn 5, I started to press forward on the left flank with my volks. With Bill smoking the field, Pz IVs on the bridge, armored cars helping out, we figured we could make it work. Likewise the hetzers on the right flank moved across tho I kept my infantry dug in, that side just wasn’t quite ready.
But what of those PzIVs that had taken out the tank destroyers? Well they made loop trying to move in behind the American positions to get to the objective. It’s right there in the upper right of the picture, the crashed kubelwagen. Unfortunately the American bazookas … running right after. They brewed up one.. then another … and bailed another. Sigh.
My hetzers made it across and at close range could started to take out some stands here and there. We just needed to break a hole. In the field there was an American HMG platoon. That especially needed to go. Further there were about 3 stands of bazookas in the field as well as straight legs and more bazookas around that hedge line. All needing attention.
Over on the left you can see Bill has made it across with his Pz IVs and the smoke is helping to make the fire. Unfortunately due to a sniper my volks over on that side were pinned and not moving and Chuck was dropping artillery down on the no longer dug in unit.
A better picture. Alas my volks platoon was starting to get a little thing. Note the sniper by the river.
So Bill decides to go full on John Wayne … (umm did he every portray a German?) how about full Arnold… Ve must charge mit uns Panzers! It seemed like a good idea at the time since the infantry was looking to be pretty useless, so close assaulting into the field was our best hope to make a hole in the American line.
Bazooka, bazooka, bazooka. Couple of hits and that ended that. Bill didn’t even make it into the assault with all the defensive fire.
So lots of brewed up tanks. All the Pz IVs save for the company commander were gone at this point. Likewise my Hetzers were getting lots of bazooka love too. I just had one bailed out here in turn 6. Based on radio chatter I moved towards the center so I could support ze charge…. Now looking over the results the situation was looking pretty grim for our attack.
Turn 7, we’re not licked yet, able to recover my pinned status the volks slog forward onto the bridge. The smoke from the wrecks sorta covering their advance…. The hetzers stick to the plan, unfortunately now down to two vehicles with a second bailed.
The volks on the left flank also now go on the advance to start to get across the river. They’re looking pretty thin in the ranks too at this point.
The last turn of the game. On the left flank, artillery and finally a successful air strike by Chuck that wasn’t intercepted by my Me262s reduced that platoon down to one stand. On the right flank a few more hits and the other volks was testing. Likewise effective bazooka hits and my hetzers are testing…
And we don’t make a single platoon morale roll. I’m under 50% for platoons left, Bill is under 50%. After 9 turns, it’s done. I forget if we made or failed our company morale at this point, but in the grand scheme it doesn’t matter, with a well deserved victory for Chuck.