Historical Games

FIGHTING IN THE PHILLIPINES

The other day a couple of the regulars (Todd & Doug) played of game of Blitzkrieg Commander in 15mm based on the Pacific theater in WWII. Specifically, it was set in the Philippines in 1944.

Todd (the Americans) had an under strength infantry battalion with a little armored support, while Doug (the Japanese player) had slightly less infantry (maybe two companies?) with some armor – if you could call it that – of his own.

I didn’t get the best pictures of the battle, but it gives some idea of what it looked like. We are working on getting some proper 15mm jungle terrain made. It hasn’t been a real priority as no one had really played the theater up ‘til now, but it looks like they are going to start playing in that theater on a more consistent basis so we’ll have to get it done sooner rather than later.

Anyways, until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

KICKING OFF THE 15MM’s

With the shop’s commitment to give 15mm WWII miniatures a little more focus and attention, we decided to celebrate/kick it off with a huge 15mm battle the other night. The game also served as an introduction to the scale for a couple of new players who have been eyeing armies in 15mm, but wanted to try a set of rules to see if they like playing at that size.

So we quickly threw together a late August ’44 scenario in northwest Europe. Mark and I were a woefully under-equipped German force trying to delay the Allied advance, while Trent and Chris mindlessly drove the American hordes forward (no, there is no bitterness over how the scenario played out… J). We were using the Blitzkrieg Commander rules with the order and objective cards we developed to supplement it.

The American’s had a slightly under-strength Task Force (battalion sized formation) of mixed armor and armored infantry, while the Germans had two under-strength companies of infantry with a section of PAK 40 AT guns attached, and a pair of straggler Panther tanks that had been commandeered.

The table was an 8’ x 6’ one, with two of our terrain boards put together on it (with a special seam-covering piece I made for the arrangement). It was a typical small French village with a small bridge and river layout. The Germans were allowed to set up their defensive positions, which were hidden, and then the American’s got to do their thing.

The first couple of turns things went OK; the American’s were getting a reasonably good number of orders off and the German’s not so much - but that wasn’t too critical. Then things started to go south for the Deutchlanders. Their AT guns (PAK 40’s) opened up on some advancing Shermans, with little or no effect. The American’s, in turn, responded with a hail of fire back at the guns, eventually destroying both. That was on the German’s left flank.

On the German’s right flank the pair on Panthers waiting in ambushed were surprised and slightly overwhelmed by a Stuart tank platoon scouting for the rest of a Sherman company. While the Panthers managed to destroy several of the Stuarts in the ensueing tank battle, the return fire from all of the Shermans proved too devastating. The Panthers were thus effectively neutralized, and the Germans had lost all of their real anti-tank capability.

In the center, the right flank Sherman company hung a left at the road after dispatching the PAK 40 section, and headed towards the dominant terrain feature in the middle of the German line. The Germans sallied forth with Panzerfausts & Panzerschrecks to harass the advancing Shermans (they did manage to get one) but it was of little use. The Americans had amassed their armor (roughly a company’s worth) and infantry (a reinforced company’s worth) around the woods and prepared to bombard and assault the German positions and break the German line in two.

While all of that was happening in the center, on the German right flank, two platoons of American armored infantry had moved in their half-tracks right up to the German positions (Where was the German artillery during all of this? Apparently they had broken out the victory schnapps a wee bit early as they refuse to actually execute a fire mission L). A quick assault later and they securely held the left flank.

With the Germans in complete disarray, and the Americans having suffered hardly any losses, we decided to call the game. The Americans had easily accomplished their objective and the German’s had no hope of holding theirs. Using the same terrain, we decided to play some squad-level skirmish gaming using the new card system we developed (see a couple of posts ago).

In the end, we all had a good time. Mark and Trent both enjoyed the game (Trent especially as the victorious Americans) and both have since made plans and purchases to further their armies. Hopefully we will be hosting many more of these games, which will lead to many more players joining us in 15’s.

SIDE NOTE: Both Trent and Mark are working on North African armies to use on our desert table as well. I guess I will have get our 15mm middle eastern terrain in order real quick as well.

Well, until the next military debacle… er, I mean battle…

Cheers!

Dan

FIGHTING IN THE HEDGEROWS

We love our 25mm/28mm skirmish level gaming at the shop, and WWII skirmish is among the favorites. Recently we played exactly that on a really nice looking table set in France 1944.

The rules we were using were a home-brewed set that is card driven – borrowing heavily from the Combat Commander board game. After playing several games, the general consensus is that they work very well for a fast paced, skirmish game (we even tried them in a modern setting of US Marines vs. terrorist and they worked well).

Overview of the Table

It appears that we will be bringing the WWII set-up to the local ReCon convention on March 1, if you happen to find yourself in the area and are interested that day.

American Troopers Move Towards the Manor House

The pictures I have are from a game of WWII US infantry vs. German foot-sloggers in the bocage country of Normandy.

Well, until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

TAKING IT ON THE CHIN

Recently a couple of our regulars got together for a micro armor (6mm) game of Blitzkrieg Commander to teach a new player the rules, and re-familiarize an old veteran that had taken some time off from the game.

Looking Down The Front

The scenario was a German counter attack in France 1944 I believe. The Americans were under-gunned and under-led (I meant with the dice Chris... J).  From what I could see from my game nearby, the Americans were essentially in trouble from the outset and were just never able to recover.

Stug III's & PZ IV's on the Advance

I think everybody had a good time though, as more games were planned for the future. I never did hear how the new guy liked it though.

Well, until next time…

Cheers!

Dan