WW2 - MOAR Gurkhas and Fallshirmjäger

Not a lot going on here, hobbywise, the last week or so. I've been... distracted by other things. 

I did start rebasing all the old Noise Marines... well... eighteen of them that I can use. Not sure what I'll do with the new ones. I'll probably assemble and paint them at some point for funsies. Maybe just one squad of them and sell off the others?  I don't know. 

A few weeks back Orion was heading to Calgary to play in a Warhammer Underworlds Tournament (a qualifier event for the World Championships with multiple Golden Tickets available!) so I had a perusal of the Sentry Boxes online catalogue to see if there was anything she could pick up for me while she was there! 

In the end I found a BUNCH of older stock that I could not pass up... so I ended up just placing an order to have it mailed to me (it was three squads of older Bolt Action METAL Italian infantry - that came with separate head with helmets, sun helmets, bersaglieri helmets, and others - a pair of Breda Machine-guns and a squad of Gurkhas) all considerably less than the current suggested retail... 

Unfortunately with the Mail Order Minions went looking for these things they could only find the Gurkhas and figured the other items were ghosts in the machine - old data that had not bee purged... I didn't want to pay for shipping for just that... so I asked Orion if she would pick that up for me... 

And she did... 

More Gurkhas.

This is the third squad I have of Gurkhas making a full platoon... 

Unfortunately... I had THOUGHT these would also be older stock and thus the same metal ones that I already have... but they are NOT!? Somehow I'd missed that, despite being the same models, they are now made out of resin.... Ugggghhhhh... 

Now, I have other resin models and I don't love them, but I've made peace with them... but I generally only use them in plastic armies... I even have a few Bolt Action resin, but they are mostly solitary weapons teams... there is something about having a full squad of infantry made out of resin when the others are all metal that bugs me, though... 

I had thought I might just knock these out right away and have that force COMPLETELY DONE!! But now I am so dismayed by the fact that they are resin, they've moved waaaaaaaaaay down the interest/priority list... 

I might get to them at some point... 

I did base them the other night. Only one was really warped and it was only the bayonet, so I just carved if off that one. 

Also in the last week or so, some Fallshirmjäger support elements showed up..

I knew when I ordered them these ones were going to be resin... but they were cheap and this shipping was free... so...  

Bolt Action in Burma

 Brent came over on Friday to try out Bolt Action so I set up a smaller game - only 500 points on a side - involving a patrol of Japanese and a patrol of Chindits and Gurkhas bumping into each other in the Jungles of Burma while out trying to establish the location of the enemy they knew to be in the area, but didn't know exactly where! 

Scenario

We played the game on a 30"x44" - a little less than half the suggested size - but otherwise played a pretty standard Battle Scenario with Seek and Destroy objective, Quarters Deployment Zones and Meeting Engagement Deployment Type

The Forces

CHINDITS AND GURKHAS - 500 points

Chindit Rifle Platoon

Chindit Platoon Command - 39 points (Veteran) + 2 Men @13 = 65

Chindits Section NCO + 4 men 70 points (Veteran), +4 Men @14, + LMG @15 = 141

Chindits Section NCO + 4 men 70 points (Veteran), +4 Men @14, + LMG @15, + SMG @4 = 145

Gurkha Section NCO + 4 men 75 points (Veteran), +3 Men @15, + LMG @15 = 135

Total: 486 points

JAPAN - 500 points

Rifle Platoon

Platoon Commander - 1st Lieutenant - 39pts (Regular) + 2 extra men @13pts = 65 pts

Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 50pts (Regular) + 5 additional men @10pts, + light machine gun @15 = 115 pts

Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 50pts (Regular) + 5 additional men @10pts, + light machine gun @15 = 115 pts

Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 65pts (Veteran) + 5 additional men @13pts, + light machine gun @15, + submachine gun @4pts = 149 pts

Light Mortar Team 30pts (Regular)

Medic 23pts (Regular)

Total:  497pts

THE GAME!

All set up and ready to go!

I was playing the Japanese and Brent played the Chindits and Gurkhas. 

I had the first unit arrive and brought on my veteran jungle fighters 

Brent brought on a Chindit Section and they immediately started firing on the Japanese! 

I brought on a second squad, but i kept out of sight and unable to fire or be fired on... 

So my veteran troops took a beating as all three Squad entered the table and started bringing fire on them! 

Gurkhas arrive... 

Second Chindit Section arrive and starts firing

Medic arrived a little to lade and apparently forgot all his bandaged and stuff back at their bivouac! 

Four down! almost at half strength!?

Japanese squad on the Chindits flank creeps forward and starts firing upon them. 

The fire from three enemy squads is telling on the Japanese Jungle Fighters! 

The first Chindit squad was taking it pretty hard as well, as they were in pretty much the same position... being fired on by three Japanese squads that had no other viable targets!

Second Chindit Squad Firing on the Japanese Jungle Fighters. 

Now down to just three and oh, so PINNED! 

The overall situation Japanese at the bottom of the picture, blazing away at the Chindits in the jungle opposite them! 

Gurkhas still moving up. 

And... I somehow managed to NOT take ANY pictures of the ONE Japanese Close Assault!? This is just the aftermath. Four surviving Japanese soldiers retreat into the jungle near of of their other squads?! 

With the retreating squad in the way, the other squad would now have to maneuver around them! 

Jungle Fighters stayed DOWN for two rounds to clear all the pin markers! 

The nearby light mortar team kept firing away the whole game... only hitting once and causing ONE pin marker?!

SEcond Chindit Squad advacing onto the position of the first squad, presumably to check and see if any survivors could be found... also to push through the position and assault the remaining Japanese! 

the Japanese fell back, firing... 

Gurkhas close assault the Japanese Jungle Fighters and wipe them out - losing only one of their own! 

The following turn (Turn SEven!) the Gurkhas assault the Light Mortar Team! 

And that was pretty much the game. 

I guess at this point both sides were running low on ammo and had taken significant casualties and decided it was time to gather those. up and fall back to their respecetive bases and report their action! 

Brent scored two victory points in the last turn putting himself in the lead 2-1. Generally in these missions the Victory Conditions suggest that winning by two Victory points is enough to establish a solid victory... I'm not sure that would be possible with so few units on the table. 

Both side lost a full squad wiped out. The Japanese lost a light mortar team. 

Of the other squads, one of the Japanese squads had only three or four left at the end of the game (the one that had assaulted and wiped out a Chindit Squad). The other was in not bad shape, with nine or ten remaining. 

The Chindits were in pretty much the same boat. One squad was wiped out, the other was in rough shape - from the fire of multiple squads being concentrated upon it. The Gurkhas were doing pretty okay - having only lost one or two in their close assaults. 

It was a pretty tight game and kind of came down to me leaving a light Mortar team exposed on the flank... 

I like the game. It was relatively short and quick and allowed me to concentrate/focus on remembering the basics of infantry small army combat - and basic close assault rules... Would not mind playing a few more small games like this - without tanks and off-table support... 

Kind of makes me want to switch focus and finish up the Marine Raiders!!