Flames of war - Xmas competition

The annual X-mas Fow event has been concluded at "Bunkerkommando" Lund. A series of three battles for each player are played. Each player fields an army of 1500 pts chosen from any late war book. The order of battle is as follows:

Axis

Ausbildung 500 (I) (CT)

Ausbildung 500 (II) (CT)

German Grenadiers (CV)

German SS Panzergrenadiers (FV)

Allies

British tank (CT)

US armored rifle (CV)

US tank (CV)

Soviet tankovy (CT)

Round 1

The first mission is played as a random Meeting engagement mission. All players have access to special game cards witch can influence the battle in one or another direction. I failed to note with player had witch card and the battles below are to some extent influenced by these.

Ausbildung 500 (I) vs US armoured rifle (Allied win)

After a few lucky artillery strikes destroying a king tiger and a panther, the Germans fight an up hill battle against two platoons of dug in bazookas. A last brave tiger assault is attempted, but just barley fail to push the US of the objective.

Ausbildung 500 (II) vs Soviet tankovy (Axis win)

In this battle the heavily outgunned Soviet tanks stands low chance against the heavy German tanks. The Germans takes no casualties.

Grenadiers vs British tank (Axis win)

After an initial push the British tanks finds them self in having abandoned their own objective, witch is secured by the flanking German reserves. 

SS panzergrenadiers vs US tank  (Draw)

After three hours of bloody fighting this battle was considered a draw.

   

Round 2

This round is played as a random defensive battle.

SS panzergrenadiers vs Brisish tank  (Draw)

After heavy fighting both sides finds them self in a standoff where the surviving SS grenadiers is to heavily dug in on the objective. In no manner an assault could possibly dig them out without cheating the dices. The game ends in a draw due to time shortage. A fun and even game.

Ausbildung 500 (II) vs US armoured rifle  (Axis win)

A quite fun game where the Germans just succeed with every save and morale on their heavy tanks. The US infantry is slowly grinded down in a reversed "Fury-movie" manner. They did however have some help of a special game card, giving the heavy tigers the equivalent of Japanese national tank rules.

Grenadiers vs Soviet tankovy (Draw)

A hard battle for both sides with heavy losses. The Germans just failed to hit the Soviet tanks, but the Soviets also failed to penetrate the line. The battle over due to time shortage.

Ausbildung 500 (I) vs US tank (Axis win)

On this quite open battlefield the German heavy tanks brutally destroy the US Sherman before they could achieve anything.

Round 3

The last round is played as a Random mobile battle.

Grenadiers vs US Armored rifle (Axis win)

It's Cauldron and a good alpha strike from the US rifle kills one of the infantry platoons early on and claiming the objective. To many causalities causes the US armored rife to break due to failed company morale before turn 6 (and the possibility to win on objective).

Aubildung 500 (I) vs British tank (Axis win) 

With a quite open battlefield the British tanks fare pore against the heavy German tanks. This Cauldron battle is quickly over in a German victory.

Ausbildung 500 (II) vs US tank (Axis win)

The Axis score a fast victory in this match up, with superior tanks against humble horde of US Shermans.

SS panzergrenadiers vs Soviet tankovy (Draw)

In this surrounded mission the German SS grenadiers fends of a horde of soviet tanks. The time is up before the game ends and with a heavy death toll on both sides this can be considered a Draw.

Comments

This series of battles resulted in a convincing Axis victory, with only two games won by the Allies. The match ups where not very good, as few allied tanks stand a good fighting chance against the "over represented" German heavy tanks (not counting any jumbo shermans or teleport tank destroyers). This obviously affected the results. It's however interesting to see so few infantry companies, as infantry battles tend to end up more static. 

Bottom line, this was a very fun series of battle, with some nice influence of random game cards. As usual its more about finding the good match ups to get the funniest battle.

Flames of war - Great war - No mans land

Forces 1500 pts 
German line division (CT)
HQ+mortars
Rifle platoon
Rifle platoon
4xHMG nest
AV7 tank
AV7 tank
7,62 cm infantry gun
7,62 cm infantry gun

British elite division (CV)
HQ+Sniper
Rifle Platoon
Rifle Platoon
Mark IV female
Mark IV male
18 pdr
18 pdr


This scenario represent a "classic" WWI event. The action takes place in no mans land between the German and the British trench lines. It's night and both sides are trying to take important ground in no mans land with a small patrol of infantry. Both sides keep strategic reserves.

Turn 1
The British wins the roll for first turn and a lucky reserve roll allow the second British infantry platoon to arrive at once. The patrol on the field digs in and remain in place not to reveal them self.

The Germans are less lucky with reserves but sends their field platoon towards the British objective, concealed by the night.

Turn 2
Another British platoon arrives, this time the female tank. A sniper ambush and tries to take out a HMG nest, but fail to hit.

The Germans are reinforced by an infantry platoon, witch moves towards the British objective. The infantry in the field digs in.

Turn 3
The last British reserve arrive - the Male tank. It push the engine, to move a little further but suffers a mechanical failure. The female tank spots the platoon in no mans land and hails it with fire, killing a German team.

The Germans are now reinforced with an AV7 tank. The HMG-nest fires burst on both the infantry in the field and the sniper, but without success.

Turn 4
All quiet on the western front...

The last German tank arrive.

Turn 5
Finding itself out of position, one of the British 18 pdrs moves closer to the trench. The sniper is once again missing its target and the artillery ranges in on the field platoon but fail to do any damage.

The German tanks moves up towards the trench in position to cross it. Then the HMGs are hitting what they can, but prove ineffective against the dug infantry.

Turn 6
The reinforcing British infantry gap one barbed wire section and move closer to the objective. Combined fire from the guns and the female tank kills a few German infantry teams.

The AV7s opens up on the infantry killing a team. The HMGs pin down the British patrol.

Turn 7
With the German infantry getting weakened by fire, now is the time to push forward for an assault. The infantry unpins with help from the CiC. The shooting from the guns and the tanks destroys another team and the Brits prepare their rifle bayonets. The following assault is bloody, leaving only two German teams on the field. The fail their morale and the British now holds the German objective.

Three teams from the German reinforcing infantry attempts to cross the wire, but only one succeed. He does however get close enough to contest the British objective. The CiC and the infantry gun moves forward to retake the German objective and prevent defeat. Both AV7s bog down on the trench (overloaded and darkness = re roll successes) in their attempt to close upon the Brits.

Turn 8
The Infantry at the German objective digs in. The female tank bogs down in its attempt to cross the trench. Combined fire kills the German CiC. Now only the infantry gun is close enough to retake the objective.

The reinforcing German platoon finds them self very unlucky in crossing the barbed wire, as only one team in the platoon pass its skill test. The one AV7 that remount instantly gets stuck in the trench again! The infantry gun rush forward towards the objective. Shooting is again poor, and only a British infantry team is killed.

Turn 9
The sniper destroys the infantry gun and suddenly no Germans are close enough to save the day. The only hope they have is to break the British morale.

The tanks moves forward, but they both bogs down on the trench again. To little firepower to fend of the British, which safely (or kind of) takes the objective.

British 6-1 Victory.

Comments
Five turns of quietness ended in a big push. This scenario had a lot of WW1 "feeling" but could maybe had started with a little more action. The darkness made shooting very difficult and finding a good position to assault more important. The most decisive factor was probably that no tank could cross the trench. Even if the result turned out a bit one sided, its definitively one of the funniest scenarios so far.