Bolt Action: Operation Torch Part 3

Wednesday, 11 November 1942 

After the failed attempt to wrest the oasis and the surrounding heights from the Vichy on Sunday, November 15, 1942 , the Americans fell back and the entire site was blasted by USAAF bombers and then by army artillery. The Vichy, under such bombardment were obliged to vacate the position, which the Americans then occupied without further incident or bloodshed... Until the Vichy counterattacked on the the 18th! 

Friday Orion and I got together to play another game of Bolt Action (Third Edition) where we tried the same scenario we had played earlier in the week, but with my French Forces trying to take the position from Orion's Americans! 

Americans holding the Oasis and the flanking high ground - Point 437, in the foreground with the Forward Air Controllers posted on it, and Point 435 in the distance. 

Point 435 was held by a Sniper and a Bazooka Team.

Starting things off I rolled for my preliminary bombardment - which arrived. The Sniper Team and Forward Air Controllers were spared as, being "infiltrators" that could deploy forward of the deployment zone, were not caught in the barrage! Most of the units took a few pin markers... 

Except the Sherman tank - which was KNOCKED OUT!! BOOM!!!

This was kind of HUGE for the French attackers as the Shemann would have likely dealt a great deal of damage to the attackers against which they would have next to no ability to respond! 

The French Foreign Legion platoon advaced on the right of the French line towards Point 437

The Stuart tank moved up into the treed area of the oasis and started firing upon the advancing French! 

The Moroccan Tirailleurs advanced in line, one squad heading for Point 435 and the other heading towards the Oasis proper. 

Initailly I'd started spreading my troops out as much as I could until I had a good idea of where the Air attacks would come in... Otherwise I would have concentrated the entire platoon towards the flank and taking Point 435. 

The squad of Moroccan Tirailleurs advancing up the center towards the oasis had a tough time of it... they took fire from the American infantry in the oasis... and the Stuart... AND a successful airstrike was called in on them... when the dust settled they were no longer there - just a pile of shredded corpses that had been abandoned by the few survivors that had fled to the rear! 

Anerican infantry in the ruins beyond the oasis exited their cover and moved towards the rear of Point 437 to come to the aid of the Forward Air Controllers that reported the advancing Foreign Legionnaires 

The other Moroccan Tirailleurs advanced steadily towards Point 437, with more success... The Sniper and Bazooka took mostly tried to shoot at the Platoon commander (missing). The mortar in the ruins mostly tried firing counter-battery at the French Mortar... and the Sherman was knocked out - which would likely have laid down some DEVASTATING fire on these troops! 

The Foreign Legionaires continue their advance on Point 437. 

The Stuart had been somewhat suppressed by fire from the French 75mm Howitzer - which successfully zeroed in on it on the second round and then just continued to POUND the position. It failed to significantly damage the tank... but suppressed it with lots of pin markers! 

As the Moroccans advanced, they poured fire into the Sniper which suppressed it with pin markers. 

The French 75mm Howitzer that just fired at the Sherman the whole game... 

At the beginning of the third turn, the Artillery called in by the French Forward Observation Team arrived... it missed its intended target entirely (Point 437 - and the Forward Air Controllers!) but deviated to a position beyond Point 437 where the American infantry squad was moving up... and utterly devastated the squad. It deal a BUNCH of pin marker and killed half the squad, which then failed morale and the rest of them ran!? 

And then I forgot to take pictures for a turn...? It was a Turn of Ignominy anyway... One of the squads of French Foreign Legionnaires rolled a 12 for an orders test to advance and paniced and nearly ran off the table! (this is the downside of advacing on the flanks - panic just takes you towards the nearest table edge - including SIDE table edges... luckily the closest model ended 1/2" away from the edge and the squad did not flee entirely!! 

The next turn my artillery landed right on target in the middle of the Oasis... but did little more than adding a few pin markers to the pile all the units within already had... 

The Moroccans advance onto Point 435. Taking their time, they didn't want to risk a charge and fail... they moved up and fired point blank ... and somehow did not take out anyone!? If this were an infantry squad holding this position or a Machine-gun, this would have been a much riskier situation... but as it was, the MOST casualties they could cause were one each, IF they passed an orders test. Snipers cannot snipe within 12"...

Platoon command right behind them. 

Infantry and Stuart still holding in the center. 

French Foreign Legionnaires racing up Point 437! The Forward Air Controllers called in an air attack ON THEIR OWN POSITION!? 

Rookie pilots that don't know how to read maps or understand directions or something... decided to attack the Oasis instead!? 

Very nearly causing the Stuart to just leave due to TOO MANY PIN MARKERS. If it had been deal ONE MORE the tank would have just left (or the crew bailed and left) 

In the last two games, Orion has rolled two or three ones when calling in air strikes - receiving friendly fire at least half the time.

I suggested she should paint some air recognition roundels on the tops of her tanks..

Moroccan Tirailleurs assault the Sniper and just murder the poor bastard... 

Apparently you can only ever assault ONE enemy unit at a time...? Luckily I had another turn to carry the hill...  Surviving member of the Bazooka Team would be next!!

The French Foreign Legionnaires were about to assault the Forward Air Controllers... when I rolled ANOTHER 12 for an order roll!? and THEY nearly fled off the table!? GAH!?

Moroccan Tirailleurs assault the lone bazookaman and secure Point 435! 

The second squad of Legionnaires assault the Forward Air Controllers and wiped them out!

Point 437 secured! 

At this point the American Squad in the Oasis decided to sally forth - lead by the Platoon Commander! - and try to retake Point 435, their only hope of winning the game! 

There was a seventh round (a die is rolled at the end of the sixth to see if the game continues for one more round...) so the Americans moved closer still shooting and throwing hand grenades... they failed to shift the Moroccans off the hill (not that killing or causing them to rout would have done anything... unless the Americans could get troops within 3" of the objective (the centre of the outcropping). 

The Mortar just kept firing on the American Mortar... the Machine-gun team mostly fired on the American Infantry... but failed to do much damage... 

As the Stuart finally moved, so to did the targets of the French 75... but it missed... 

At the end of the game, the Moroccans remained in control of the objective. With two objectives secured the French won the day! Yay! 

I'm still not convinced that asking a force to attack and take objectives from a force of equal points is really fair. I FULLY expected to lose this. I had some INSANE luck in this game, which is really the only reason I won... the initial Preparatory Barrage taking out the Sherman was HUGE... kind of a GAME-WINNER, really! The American air strike attacking their own tank...

I had some not great luck though... 

The French Foreign Legion rolling a FUBAR on an order test TWICE (but then luck kicked in an failed to carry them off the table!). 

I hit that Stuart with the French 75, like four or five times and needed a 5+ to penetrate its top armour and failed to do so... That little Stuart is a survivor - it survived both an air attack by a fighter-bomber and the constant shelling of the French Artillery (preparatory barrage, 4-5 turns of being hammered by the on-table howitzer, the barrage called by the Forward Observer!?). So peppered with shrapnel, I'd be surprised if it had any paint left on it at all!

Infantry ARE essential for both attacking and defending in TAKE OBJECTIVE type games... 

I wish these types of scenarios required the defender to keep at leas part of their force in reserve for at least half the game...  

At this point in our narrative, I think the Vichy have capitulated in North Africa and our American Heroes will make their way toward the front in Algeria or Tunisia... 

I kind of want to try out the recently finished Chindits and Gurkhas against the Japanese, though... 

Bolt Action: Operation Torch Part 2

10 November 1942

Pushing out further into the desert our heroes in the 92nd infantry were tasked with securing two high points and an oasis nestled between them! A platoon and two tanks were despatched to clear off any Vichy that might be trying to hold on to them. 

My copy of Bolt Action arrived today. Usually on Tuesday we play Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound. But Nick was busy working on a costume for a show this friday, so we cancelled... but then Orion came over to play some more Bolt Action! 

I still haven't had a chance to fully read through the rules. I'm mostly going on memory of how the first edition worked and the quick reference sheet. I looked up a few things to clarify stuff I hadn't bee sure about, but I really need to give it a thorough read-through... 

We played Points Defence (a "story scenario") where a small force of Vichy French were holding three objectives and the Americans had to wrest at least two of them away from the French. 

We both used similar forces to last time. Orion dropped the M10 and added a Mortar team and made a few of the units veteran. I ditched the tank and a squad of regulars and all the VB launchers and added an understrength platoon of French Foreign Legionnaires. 

The French position from the South East. Point 435 in the foreground had a Machine-Gun Team sitting on the ridge with a Squad of Moroccan Tirailleurs on the reverse slope. The Tirailleur Platoon Headquarters was stationed in a ruined tower (along with the platoon medic). The Second Squad of Tirailleurs was stationed in the Oasis. 

 

From the Southwest corner. A Forward Observer Team sits atop Point 437. Behind the rise are Mortars and a close-supporting 75mm Howitzer (and some accompanying staff)  

The second squad of Moroccan Tirailleurs waiting in the Oasis. 

The French Foreign Legion Platoon was waiting in reserve. 

After a brief preperatory barrage, the Americans started to close with the Oasis and Point 435 - the tanks hammering the latter with shell and machine-gun fire, destroying the MG before it even got off a shot. 

Mortar, Sniper Team, Forward Air Controllers and a Bazooka Team moving into positions in the foreground, above. 

The first Moroccan Tirailleur squad, behind Point 435 was ordered to reposition into the Oasis, to support the solitary squad holding it, which seemed the more likely main destination of the attacking Americans. 

Tanks moving up supported by infantry squads. 

POW! firing upon Point 435 and destroying the MG team positioned there! 

At the beginning of the second turn, the artillery barrage my Forward Observers had called in on the first turn arrived. It went wide... but saturated a rather large area and still hit the original target - and a few others as well!! 

I'm going to be sad when I play something that ISN'T French and doesn't get these two barrages per game... 

Initially I was just trying to hit the Mortar Team, but the barrage ended up catching the Bazooka and the Snipers AND the Forward Air Controllers!! It didn't kill anyone - or even seriously injure anyone - but it sure did make a few people keep their heads down! 

Orions Forward Air Controller had called in an air strike... unfortunately a rookie pilot thought the attacking American Stuart tank as a "Kraut tank" and attacked that instead of the French holding the oasis! The Tank survived the attack - but was damaged and the crew extremely rattled! 

The next round another French artillery barrage landed among some of the attacking infantry and the Sherman tank. Again, there were no serious injuries, but it did momentarily blunt the attack and pin many of the Americans down. 

Eventually the part of the platoon of French Foreign Legionairres arrived to hold behing Point 435. 

The Stuart and supporting squad of US infantry regained the advance on the Oasis, but the infantry began taking fire from the Moroccans within, taking serious casualties! 

The Bazooka team maneuvered to a spot where it could fire on the French 75! Their first shot killed of the guns crew! 

The American attack stalled as more artillery and mortar fire was brought to bear! 

The Tanks started filling the treed area around the oasis with fire, causing some casualties among the Moroccans! 

Another air attack... another rookie pilot... completely missed the forward observers on Point 437 and instead attacked the Artillery Battery Commander - killing him - but leaving the guns and crews and forward observers untouched! 

The Platoon command team maneuvered around to a position where they could close assault the American Bazooka Team! After a brief and violent melee, the two Americans were killed and the Platoon Sergeant and Runner were seriously injured - but the American threat had been neutralized! 

(and we learned how close combat worked!) 

Not to be outdone, the single surviving member of the infantry squad that had been following the Stuart, charged the French in the Oasis! Grossly outnumbered, he was almost instantly killed... but not before injuring two Moroccans in the spray of bullets from his Thompson Submachine-gun! 

The Stuart also decided to assault the Oasis and cleared away the rest of the Moroccan Squad. 

At that point, however, we called it... there was NO WAY the Americans were going to get enough infantry onto the objectives before the end of the game! 

I guess that's why you give squads anti-tank grenades - especially when you don't really have ANY other anti-tank weapons!

I'm still hopeful and think the game has definite possibilities... there are a few things that I'm not so sure about... but hopefully a full read-through of the rules may clear things up. 

I don't know about scenarios where you attack troops holding a position with a roughly equivalent force!? That seems odd to me... 

We agreed to try and play the same scenario on Friday but in reverse roles - a Vichy counter-attack trying to shift Americans off of a position that they're holding!