A Game of Blitzkrieg Commander

 This past Friday night I had an opportunity to play in a Blitzkrieg Commander game at our club game night.  One of our club mates, John, has made some great simplifications of the rules and has really brought out the foundations that make it a great game. I like playing in John’s BKC games because it gives me great inspirations for my Cold War Commander games. 

We played a medium large game set during Operation Bagration in mid-1944 Germans defending against a small section of the huge Russian Offensive. There were four Russian commands against three German commands. 

The Germans had an infantry battalion with a couple of Panzer MkIV’s and an artillery FOO. They also had a Panzergrenadier battalion with Sdkfz 251 PG infantry and three Panthers. The final unit was three Tigers and command stand.  These troops were veterans and combined with the heavy armor of the Tigers, they were a real challenge for the Russians. 

The Russians had two units of T-34’s with Tank desant riders, a foot infantry battalion and two special units - an ISU-152 unit of four vehicles and a JS-2  unit of three tanks. These heavy armor vehicles are really intimidating when they show up on the table. 

The Russians entered from the left attacking to secure tactical points on the hill and in the town upper center of the photo.  My Tigers held the German left flank at the bottom of the photo.

My opponent, Dick, had never played these rules before but by turn three he was driving his infantry forward and used the small hamlet to screen his T-34’s from the long range fire of my Tigers. Dick played a great game and if we had played a few more turns, those Russian infantry units would have been a big problem for me. 

Gamemaster, John (r), contemplates the PzGr unit and Panthers with the other three Russian players (l-r) Kevin, Greg and Rob.  No one could solve the puzzle and the Panthers stopped the Russian left flank cold. 

AJ, the Panther and PzGr commander, sits innocently as his dice wipe out the Russian left flank.

My Tigers have taken some hits, but they don’t have to worry about flank shots so they maneuver to get fire lanes on the T-34’s. 

This sort of sums up the game. A Tiger sitting on one of the tactical objectives without a Russian in sight!

The Russians suffered losses from the long-range fire from the Tigers and Panthers and the center German player, John, called in some devastating artillery fire. Ultimately, the Russians did secure one of the tactical goals and killed several German stands.  We agreed at the end of the night that it was a German victory although probably only a marginal one. 

All-in-all it was a great game and I learned a lot of lessons that I am sure will help me improve my CWC games in the future. Many thanks to John for a great evening.  

Operation Torch - Angels 20/Bandits High Game Night

 I recently ran a game at our club game night. The scenario pits American Wildcats escorting Dauntlesses dive bombers flying in to support the upcoming American invasion by attacking Vichy gun positions and an airfield. Here at game night we had three Americans facing off against two French players. The French divided the forces into a squadron of three MS406’s and another of two D520’s. The American players divided their forces into a group of one Wildcat and two groups of a Wildcats and a Dauntless. The game proceeded well.  There were two new players and three veterans. We have great gamers in our club and within two turns the players had the rules down and were running the game themselves. 

The Wildcats are a really tough aircraft in this rules set and I tried to balance the forces by giving the French some positive pilot skills. The American players did a good job for the most part of holding the Vichy fighters off the Dauntlesses, but as one of the American players lined up a gun position for a bomb run and a Vichy D520 forced him to abort with a hit. The other Dauntless managed to hit and destroy the other gun position.

The Wildcats eventually shot down both D520’s and one of the MS406’s. One of the Wildcats ended the games crippled. This was definitely an American victory.  We did learn a lot by playing through the scenario. I’m preparing another D520 and will go with a French force of Three D520’s and two MS406’s in the next game. With the pilot skills, this should be a much more balanced force. 

Here are some photos of the game:

The furball forms as squadrons come together. 

A Wildcat takes on an MS406 at close range. 

I like the game mat. It is really for the Pacific, but works for my fictional scenario off the coast of N. Africa.

A crippled D520 tries to engage a Dauntless.

A Wildcat destroys a D520 with a vital hit roll.

My thanks to Gordon and Phil (Vichy players) and Kevin, Ralph and Michael (American players). This was a great game and I look forward to the next one at the Mayhem gaming convention in April. 

Blood Red Skies

 Blood Red Skies is an excellent set of rules for WWII Aerial Combat. I have always loved the game system with one exception - the movement system is a big challenge particularly for a new player. I have addressed what I consider to be a potentially fatal drawback by adapting the rules to a hex based movement system. 

Here is a pic of a game in progress using the hexes:

I make a one to one relationship of inches to hexes so I do not have to change the rules in any way. Even though the hexes are 1.25” each, the rules are unaffected. I have models face a hex side and make a 45-degree turn as on hex side and 180-degree turns as three hex sides. I also have developed a template to show when an aircraft is ‘tailing’ an opponent and when the shooter is in range to fire and when in short range. 

We played several games of BRS as part of a recent Northern Conspiracy club game day. The game day was a combination of land (Blitzkreig Commander Rules), sea (General Quarters Rules) and BRS for air combat to recreate a fictitious Italian and German invasion of Malta in 1942. This campaign gave me an opportunity to paint some really interesting aircraft and paint schemes. Here are some photos of planes I painted for the game day:

These aircraft are a combination of Warlord resin, 3d prints and Warlord plastics. All of the decals are from Miscellaneous Miniatures. 

The day went well with three BRS games.  The Axis definitely had the better of the games through out the day. There were some interesting scenarios being generated by the pre-game campaign play. I do not have access to game photos on my current device, so I will have to do another post for game narratives/recaps. I think the hex system worked really well and I look forward to more games in 2025. 

2021 Re-Visit Continued

 This is the second installment of my catch-up for gaming through 2021 and 2022.  As I did not keep a full journal of my gaming, I can only go by my available photos to recount my gaming experiences.  

The middle part of my 2021 gaming included a good dose of WWII Rules and Scenarios.  First among these games was a  version of Bolt Action at Adler Gaming Shop.  The rules set is called Bolt Action Firefight I believe.  This is a smaller scale game where each figure has a command die instead of each squad.  Here are a couple of photos from a BAF game in June of 2021:

I like BA Firefight.  The smaller scale means the table set up can be smaller and more detailed.  The game can also be quicker to play, making it a good gaming system for an evening between two friends.  I would recommend the game to others.

Along the same lines of WWII Skirmish gaming, I also revived the excellent CROSSFIRE rules set.  I have taken my 20mm British and Germans that I use for my Pegasus Bridge Scenario and mounted them individually for use with other rules such as Bolt Action or Chain of Command.  Here are photos of a game I hosted in the summer of 2021 at the Northern Conspiracy:

Although designed as a two-player game, I find that CROSSFIRE is easily converted into a nice game for four players and can even take up to six players in a pinch.  I believe that this game had four players that night.  CROSSFIRE is one of my favorite set of wargame rules ever.  You must approach the game as a real commander by planning for your movement using cover and concealment.  Moving in the open once contact is made will almost always lead to heavy losses.  One must also provide covering fire when moving in the face of the enemy, suppressing enemy forces before closing with them.

Here is another Bolt Action game that I played in at Adler Gaming Shop.  Proprietor Gordon hosted a demonstration game - Chariots of Steel.  This is set in the N. African Desert between Australian and Italian forces outside of Trobruk in 1941.  I have played the scenario a couple of times and the game is challenging and fun for both sides.  Gordon has tweaked the terrain, figures and vehicles over the years and developed a very nice looking game as well.

That's all for right now.  I will post again soon to continue through 2021.

Reboot After a Long Absence

 Ok.  Wow!  It has been more than two years.  Hard to believe all of that time has passed by.  It has been a busy time in my wargame experiences as I have branched out into several new areas and worked on completing new projects in my normal gaming areas.

I think I will spend the next couple of months sharing some photos and recollections of games that I have been playing.  I also will be reporting on my gaming experiences during 2023 on a much more regular basis.

I will begin by going back to January of 2021 and show some of the gaming/projects I undertook at that time:

The year began with a wonderful event (especially for the COVID era!).  Our son married his sweetheart.  The ceremony was small due to the pandemic.  Her dress, his uniform and the simplicity of the event gave it a WWII era feeling that was incredible!  We were all very happy!

Early in the year my gaming focus was on Blood Red Skies and Cruel Seas.  The collections grew immensely!

Among my favorites were these He-162 Volksjaeger jet aircraft.  They bring the "Jet" rule into BRS without the overwhelming force of the Me-262.  During this time I also developed a movement and firing system that used hexes instead of the movement and firing sticks for the game.  I feel that the hexes make movement and combat resolution much easier, but does not affect the feel of the game.

He-162 and Fw-190 on the gaming table.

F4U Corsairs of the Fleet Air Arm in their first game.

Also in early 2021 I worked very hard on my Cruel Seas navies.  At the same time, I took the plunge and purchased by 3D printer.  Here are a couple of photos which combine both of these.  This is a picture of an RAF Rescue Launch that I printed and added to my RN Coastal Forces.  This in one of my favorite models in the collection.

3D printed RAF Rescue Launch. I am mounting my ships on clear acrylic bases to help with movement.

RAF Launch for the top down.  Print lines are prominent, but do not detract too much.

So, this covers the first few months of 2021.  During this period, we were still pretty deep into COVID restrictions so the gaming experiences were not that great.  But I have to say, I certainly added significantly to my painted forces.  Also, I was 3D printing my heart out on the new printer.  I hope to get some additional photos up of my boats and other vehicles/terrain in the near future.  So stay tuned.

Fleet Air Arm Corsairs

 I had a great time painting up these corsairs for my British Blood Red Skies Fleet Air Arm Squadrons!  I clipped the wing tips to reflect the British aircraft. Apparently, the British Aircraft Carriers had less room between the flight deck and the hanger deck so the wing tips had to be removed so the folded wings fit into the hold. 

The decals are for 1836 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Victorious, during Operation TUNGSTEN and are from my good friend, Kevin, at Miscellaneous Miniatures.  Operation Tungsten was an air strike plan to attack the German battleship Tirpitz in her Norwegian base at Kaafjord.  During the attack on 4 April, 1944, Fairey Barracuda dive bombers, escorted by Corsairs and Seafires from Victorious and HMS Furious conducted level and dive bombing attacks  

I have not had the opportunity to gloss coat and flat coat the aircraft yet. I will post another photo when I get them totally complete.

Hope you like the photos. I am looking forward to trying them out on the gaming table!

Blood Red Skies Collection Continues to Grow

Here are some photos of aircraft that I completed since the start of the COVID 19 situation.  I have really gotten back to my hobby desk as of late and hopefully this is the first of several posts as I complete some long dormant projects and get started on other efforts.

Russian Lend-Lease Hurricanes.  Still want to add some patriotic slogans, but I may wait until they have been through a battle or two and become 'veterans.'  These appear very dark, almost black, in this photo but they are actually Bronze Green and are much lighter in person.

Bf-109's for the Mediterranean Theatre.  They will be the primary foe for the Martlett's below.

Il-2 Stormovik's ready to take on some German ground targets.  Need to work out some better bases, but for right now these will be ok.

Here are the Martlett III's to take on my Africa/Italian themed 109's above.  These are painted as 880 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm.

Good start to the year.  At the moment, I have several things on the painting table, including the other three Stormovik's.  These three will be in some form of winter camp scheme but I don't know exactly what they will end up being.

World War Two Games

Over the past week I have had an opportunity to play two games of Iron Cross WWII. Both of them turned out very well.

The first game was at our monthly club game night hosted by my friend Charlie G.  The battle was an infantry and armor assault by New Zealand and Indian forces against the town of Cassino being defended by Falschirmjagers.

Here are some photos of the game

The entire table.  The British started on the near edge (Indian Infantry Company) and the right edge of the table (New Zealand Infantry Company and Armor Platoon).  The Germans (three reduced Falschirmjager Infantry Companies) set up within the town. 

The German command check the rules to see if they are short of MG42's!!  The Machine Gun squads would definitely play a huge role in the defensive plan.

The Allies look forlorn as (l to r) Bob, John, Ralph and Phil [just off-camera] endure yet another round of MG fire into their vulnerable infantry.  Just a couple of turns later they would be celebrating the victory as John moved up their armor and destroyed the German AT gun position.

The Allied attack developed slowly with the Indian units pushing in from the German left flank.  The New Zealanders moved very slowly but kept some pressure on the German front.  Being the first to attack, the Indians paid a heavy price as two machine gun squads tore into them.  Just as the Indian attack started to falter, one of the New Zealand companies rushed the right front part of the German defense and made it into the cover of some ruins without any casualties.  At the same time the Armor Platoon made a move up their right flank in an effort to assist the Indians.  The bold move did cost the tankers one Sherman as they advanced, but they pressed the attack.  Once the armor made it to the German flank, the Green Devils were not able to hit either of the remaining metal monsters with effective AT fire and the German AT gun position could not pivot to bring fire on the enemy.  In the end the AT position was destroyed giving the Allies a minor victory.  The win did cost the Allies dearly with almost two companies rendered combat ineffective and 1/3 of the armor force destroyed.

In the second game I had friends visit the house.  Andrew, his son Thomas and their friend Shaun visited and I set up a German vs British scenario to let them play the game for the first time.  Shaun and Thomas played with a couple of reinforced platoons against Andrew and I pushing British Commandos supported by a some armor assets.  The forces were exactly equal in numbers and composition.

Here are some photos of the game in progress:

The British try to push a flank using their Daimler Armored Car.  This would be the best shot of the game as the Daimler took out the German Armored Car with a very difficult shot.  I love it when Andrew S. rolls a 'six' at just the right time!  Unfortunately, it was just about the only positive aspect of the game for the Brits. 

The overview of the Armored Car shot up the left flank of the British advance.

The German Recon Platoon advances under the cover of an MG42 Support Squad.

Commando infantry take a commanding overwatch position on a hill.  In the distance, the Germans begin their well planned attack.

The British of 2 Commando push forward to seize a building enclosure and small woods.

A Commando Vickers MG Support Squad covers as a Commando Squad moves up.  Unfortunately, the infantry faltered a the wall and spent two full turns trying to get over the obstacle.  Their hesitation was a major negative factor on the British Advance.

This was a pretty one-sided game as Shaun and Thomas handed Andrew and I a real drubbing.  They had a better plan than we did; they moved better than we did; and they rolled their dice lights-out.  We played along the long axis of the table - and that made it a much more of a slugging match.  Not much room for maneuver.  But the Germans made the most of the terrain and with a slow advance by us British, the game was one-sided.

I'd like to highlight the game mat that we used for this game.  It is my new Killing Fields Static Grass mat that I just purchased.  I love the way the looks and mixes in with my other terrain and buildings.  If you like it, check out the Killing Field site HERE to get your own.

Club members and my friends really enjoy Iron Cross for our WWII skirmish/tactical gaming.  It is fast paced and the ability to distribute command tokens and activate units in any way during a turn makes players fully engaged in the game at all times.  I highly recommend that if you have an opportunity to play Iron Cross that you give it a try.