Big Chain of Command in Russia

Last week saw the annual "All Day Bash" by the Chuckadice group.  For once we were all in attendance, with 6 players and plans for a game of Big CoC.  The scenario was a meeting of forces in 1941, with the Germans advancing on Moscow while the Russians launched a counter attack.  The Germans, consisting of Oberst Panjo(CinC), Oberstleutenant Colin and Major Jason, had 2 infantry platoons(Panjo and Colin), aided by a mixed Panzer platoon of 3 PzIII and 2 PzII(yours truly).  Support units consisted of a pair of Sd222 armoured cars,  a Stug, HMG team, 37mm Pak gun, engineer flamethrower team, an AT rifle and  motorcycle squad.  The Russians, Polkovnik Nathan(CinC) with Majors Zob and Andy, had 2 rifle platoons(Zob and Andy) and an assault platoon with SMGs and flamethrowers(Nathan).  They were supported by 2 (yes, 2!) T-35s, 2 T-26s, 3 Comissars, 3 HMGs and 3 AT rifles.

The table set up, the German's are coming from the left and the Russian horde will be sweeping in from the right.  The terrain was fairly open, with the crops giving cover to infantry but not blocking line of sight.  Wooden buildings and the woods also gave light cover, the only heavy cover was the ruined industrial complex.

 The view from Colin's scouts as they advanced to locate the Soviet horde.

The Russians are revolting!  Especially the short grumpy type on the left.  Nathan, Zob and Andy look on as the German patrols are moved.

 Patrol markers locked down.  The Germans pushed forward quickly while the Russians were more sedate and seemed happy to consolidate in the ruins. 

 Each infantry platoon had two jump off points, so the German's had four and the Russians had six to deploy.  Panjo placed one on the far left, behind the farm right at the top of the picture.  His other was behind the top left hill.  Colin pushed one forward behind the farm in the center of the picture while his other was behind the hill to its rear.  Andy was on the Russian left and deployed behind the small field near the road and at the rear of the wood next to it.  All the other Russian jump off points were clustered in or behind the ruins.  Three were in one building while the other was in the wood just behind the ruined buildings.

 Panjo deployed some infantry on the far left farm to secure the flank and offer covering fire if needed.  He also rushed an Sd222 down the road, with some Panzers in support, to try and force the Russians into deploying so we could shoot them.  Colin deployed two sections on the farm while his motorbike section set off on a very short lived (and slow) flanking move.  Nathan and Zob deployed a few troops in the ruins while Andy deployed and then rushed forward to close with the Germans in the farm (stupid double 6). 

 "Urah" rang out as the Russians swarmed into the woods.  Two sections reached the Germans single section and, despite the movement, cover and quality defending LMG all adding extra dice, the odds were definitely favouring the green Red horde.

 Boom, bang, smash, dakka dakka rang out as dice were rolled and casualties were worked out.  The German squad had done well, killing many Russians and injuring both junior leaders.  Unfortunately for them the Russians were in a bloodthirsty mood and killed every German they could reach, wiping the squad out to a man.  Strike one to the Red horde.

 Colin then counter attacked with two fresh squads.  Although the Russians were still more numerous, they were shaken, lacking leadership and within handgrenaten range.  SMGs were emptied and stick grenades were thrown.  Russians died and the two previously victorious squads were routed, taking Major Andy with them but leaving both junior leaders behind.  It was at a heavy cost to the German's though as few soldiers were left to face the rapidly approaching Russian reinforcements.

 On the other flank Nathan had pushed a T-26 forward which fired at the Sd222, which was firing away at the troops in the ruins, only to see its mighty 45mm AP shell bounce off!  Bwahahahahaha!!!  As the PzIII rushed forward to try and get a shot in the plucky Sd222 commander calmly rotated his turret, took careful aim and then shredded the T-26 with a burst of 2cm cannon fire. 

 AT rifle and rapid small arms fire then rattled off the Sd222, causing some shock and upsetting the crew despite plenty more German armour moving up to support it.  The T-35s had now appeared behind the Russian troops and both were used as pillboxes, sitting near their base line and shelling whatever they could see.  A PzIII was damaged by a 45mm shell, causing it to take cover behind the church.  The other T-35 was shelling the recently revealed Pak gun in the farm.  Both shots were pretty feeble, with the Pak missing and the T-35 only killing a single German.  Bad news for Colin was Nathan had advanced an assault squad to within flamethrower range and routed another of the German squads.

 Then the Panzers took a blow as the newly arrived PzII was blown apart by a shot from Zobs T-35.  Seems 45mm shells are too much for PzII armour.  Oops.

 The Russians in the ruins were now taking sustained fire from several sides, with two PzIIIs, a PzII and some infantry all balzing away.  The fire was accurate, but largely ineffective due to the heavy protection provided by the ruined buildings.

Colin's platoon was now wavering due to it's heavy losses.   The Russians kept coming and shock was accumulating rapidly. 

 Suddenly "Urah" rang out again and hordes of Russians appeared in the woods.  Despite an ambush by a tripod MG34 the assault was overwhelming.  The Russians had three squads all assaulting a very reduced German squad and an under-crewed Pak gun.

The result was a foregone conclusion........but turned out to be a double edged sword.  Despite wiping the defenders out and breaking Colin's morale, the German's caused enough casualties to break Andy's final squad.  This caused his platoons morale to break as well.  Then it all went wrong as Nathan lost morale due to Andy's breaking, causing Zob to lose morale due to Andy and Nathans morale losses.  The end result was Andy and Colins platoons had routed while Nathan was on 2 force morale points and Zob was on 1.  Panjo was still on 5, giving him full command dice and I was on 4 so was reduced by 1 command dice.  The Russians capitulated at this point as they didn't have enough command dice to do anything meaningful and they were being outflanked by the Germans.

It was a cracking game though, everybody said they had enjoyed it and we all had a laugh throughout the entire game.  After packing it all away and having some nibbles we then went on to play a quick game of Zombicide before calling it a day and heading home. 

Thanks to Zob for hosting us all again, Nathan for helping provide the figures and scenery for the game and Panjo and Andy for playing in the spirit it was intended. 

That's all folks, I am off to chill and annoy the wife.  Happy New Year to you all.

Help me!!!

All the kids and grandchildren are here for dinner.  Send help! 

Tis the night before.........

New Year!  I missed Christmas as we went down to see my mum and sister, but now we are back.  It's been a pretty ropey month health wise, but hopefully things will look up in the New Year! Sadly I missed the December meeting of the Devon Wargames Club, but should be there in January hopefully.

Anyway, I hope you have all had a good Christmas, I know I have.  I ate more than I should have, didn't drink anything I shouldn't and had a good time with the family in damp Cornwall.  Presents were exchanged and I did pretty well overall.  I got the Baby Blitz add-on for Duel in the Dark, the Sons of Anarchy boardgame, two 15mm Tigers, a uniform book on the French Army in 1940, a copy of Soldier, A Visual History of the Fighting Man and a set of Lion Rampant rules.  Plus other stuff that was welcome but nothing to do with wargames. In addition to that lot I also received a secret Santa present from parts unknown.  A trio of 15mm Pz35t's have joined my Early War German's and very nice they are too.  Thank you to however was my Santa, they are much appreciated.

The Secret Santa I sent to a chap in America was a US 60mm mortar with 3 crew by Bolt Action, pre Warlord.  Hopefully you/he liked it.


I did make it to the annual "All Day Bash" of the Chuckadice group, which had a 100% turn out for once.  We played a Big CoC game for the day, with the German's attempting to break through the Russians on their way to Moscow.  This was followed by a quick and fairly bloodless game of Zombicide.  Details of the CoC game will be in my next post as it was fairly busy and I took a few pictures.

Painting for December was very limited.  I did manage a few things though, so here are a few pictures.

 First up is a 15mm Seven Years War unit, painted for my mate Gus' widow as he never got the chance to paint them.  No idea of the unit, I used Gus' painting guide and the flags were with them in the box.

 Then there is a few additions to my BEF 1940 force for Chain of Command.  A 2pdr with 5 crew, 3 Bren carriers and a jump off point.  The 2pdr and figures are all Peter Pig while the carriers are Battlefront.  Can you spot the sneaky blighter in this photo?

There he is!  Damned sneaky Hun type listening in to the British chat as they have a cuppa.  The idea is based on the "Loose lips sink ships" slogan from WW2.


I also painted up 14 cowboys for Dead Man's hand, but posted them off to Germany without taking a photo.  D'oh!

Anyway, that's it for now.  Have a good New Year and I will post a batrep of the CoC game tomorrow.

La Cambe finally falls

Unterfeldwebel Dieter Muehlen stared back at the smoke laden village of La Cambe with a mixture of anger and depression.  An aging former office manager, his receding belly still stretched his uniform trousers to their limit.  Losses and shortages had left him in command of a platoon of Wehrmachts finest with orders to delay the American advance.  His troops were limited and support was almost non-existant, but he had managed to hold for three days before being forced to fall back.

Day one had started poorly, with an enemy barrage coming in accurately and pinning two thirds of his platoon under its fire.  As he sheltered from the explosions and shrapnel, he heard a few screams as some of his men were hit.  Suddenly the barrage lifted and, as he rallied his troops a man shouted that Squad Twos NCO was down.  Damn und blast it, that was Rainer Matthess, who worked for him in the office before the war.  He hoped it wasn't bad as Rainer was a damn good squad leader.  A shout from the attached mortar observer brought his attention back to the enemy and, as the smoke cleared, two Ami panzers could be seen approaching.  A glance told him Eric was ready with the panzerschreck, but he wouldn't fire yet would he?  They were still far off and shrouded by smoke.  A hollow whoosh sounded and Dieter swore as he watched the rocket exhaust.  "Too early" he swore, then ducked as there was an almighty explosion.  Somehow that young fool had managed to hit the panzer and blow it apart. He was either damned lucky or damned good, hopefully the latter.

Then a shout came from the observer and mortar shells began to rain down on the barely visible Ami soldiers as they ducked into some buildings.  As he watched he could only imagine the devastation being caused and hoped it would be enough to stop the enemy advance.  Then he heard the MG42 on his right flank open up.  He couldn't see what they were firing at, but he could see their rounds hitting a house.  Suddenly there was a shout and he could see the Amis pulling back.  Was that it?  Was that the enemy attack stopped?  As the Amis pulled back, Dieter went around his positions and sorted out getting the wounded carried back and the dead buried.  Three men in squad two were dead or severely wounded , plus Rainer and another were wounded badly enough to need a days attention at the aid post.  They had got off lightly.  After reporting in to HQ and organising a resupply, Dieter settled down for the night. 

The next morning dawned clear and fresh and he was glad to have woken early as the sound of tank tracks heralded the approach of the Ami invaders again.  Ahead he could see the shapes of three panzers this time, with infantry on either flank.  Damn it all, where was Eric with that bloody panzerschreck?  There was a roar of engines and all three panzers suddenly shot forward towards him.  He could identify them now as Shermans.  A massive crack, followed by an explosion saw one of the Shermans explode spectacularly.  It seemed the 88's of Flak-Sturm Regt One were still operational.  Then he saw Eric suddenly appear in the hedge and fire his Panzerschreck.  Another bang and another Sherman was destroyed.  Two shots, two kills, what a start to the day.  Again the Amis stopped and pulled back, the lose of two tanks obviously shaking their morale.  A quick report in to HQ and Dieter waited.  No further attacks came and he was glad to relax, with squad two being cheered by the return of Rainer.

Dawn of day three had been the worst by far, as the Amis mortar pounded away and the assault force this time included four Shermans.  Oh what he would have given for a PaK 40.  All he had was a few Panzerfausts and a single Panzerschreck.  Fire was soon being traded with Americans in the buildings.  Their numbers were greater, but their firepower was matched by his MG42s.  Three of the Shermans shot forward, spraying HE and machine gun fire as they came.  The 88 fired again, but could only damage one.  Then Eric had a shot, damaging another before Obergefreiter Gapp of Squad One fired his Panzerfaust.  With a mighty bang the lead Sherman was hit and came to a halt.  As the smoke cleared Dieter could see the Sherman sat still.  Surely they were all dead?  Then the turret swung around and fired into the dugout that Eric was in.  As the explosion cleared, Eric and his loader were nowhere to be seen.  The other Shermans also started shooting everything they could see, with heavy and sustained machine gun and high explosive fire causing heavy losses to the German squads.  As the fire continued the American infantry surged forward, urged on by the voices of their Lieutenant and Sergeant at the back.  then the mortars hit again, unerringly accurate and devastating.  This was enough for Dieter and he signaled a withdrawal.  He had held for three days, destroying three Shermans, damaging three more and killing an unknown number of enemy infantry.  Now it was time to regroup and occupy the next village........if he had enough men left.

This is an attempt at a write up of the first 3 games of our newly started "29 Lets Go" campaign.  Nathan did well holding for 3 days, aided it must be said by amazing dice rolls in games one and two.  Game three came apart for him when Colin managed to get three phases in a row after his Shermans had survived shots from an 88, Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck all in the same phase.  The heavy fire from the mortars and three Shermans proved too much for the Germans, who pulled out before they were wiped out. 

Losses were as follows
Game 1   Germans lost 1 junior leader and 6 others
                Americans lost 12 men including a junior leader and their FO, plus a Sherman.
Game 2   Germans lost nothing.
                Americans lost 8 men and 2 Shermans.
Game 3   Germans lost 1 junior leader and 14 others!!!
               Americans lost 6 men including a junior leader, plus 3 damaged Shermans

All the best, I will hopefully put up some more later on this week.

Tower of London Poppies, 3-11-14

In commemoration of the 100 years since the start of World War 1, the Tower of London has been showing the "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red".  A collection of 888,264 ceramic poppies in memory of all those British and Colonial casualties in the Great War, I had expressed my disappointment that I couldn't go to see it due to being ill.  My little sister and my dear wife then hatched a plan to take me up and organised it all for my benefit. 

Tamsin drove us all up on Sunday, we then spent the night chilling in the Travelodge (cheap and cheerful, but comfortable and quiet) before getting up to catch the tube into the big city.  Despite being proper country types we managed to get there without any mishaps and then joined the masses to get a look at the spectacle.  I struggled as the queuing went on, but was determined to see it and enjoy the day.  It was well worth the discomfort and pain, the atmosphere was calm despite the massed ranks of people and it was awe inspiring to see the display.  It is only when you think of the sheer multitude of poppies and then think that each of those represents somebody who died in the war that you realise the cost that that generation paid for us to live like we do. 

I am really grateful to Tamsin and Tina for making the effort to take me up there and I will always remember the experience.  I managed to get half-way around before I had to call it a day and we went and sat in a pub for a bit, where I went to sleep for a bit while the girls chatted and munched on some Nachos.  A trip back in the tube to the hotel, then into the car for the drive home.  We had to stop a couple of times as I felt so rough and I was wiped out for 3 days afterwards, but it was well worth it.  I managed to take some almost in focus pictures, so here are the best few.

One of the cascades down the tower wall.

A view of a section of the total display

An almost smiling Tina, almost in focus too

What an ugly bloke.  Who took that picture?

A closer look

The poppies have all sold now, we were lucky enough to order two before they sold out, one for us and one for my mum.  It is now 3am and I am off to bed, stupid stomach ache and nausea has kept me awake so I decided to do something productive with my time.  Take care folks.

Secret Santa, Flockbox and yet more painting.

Hello again,  I'm back with another update of absolutely no importance.

In a moment of madness I signed up to Chris Stoesen's Secret Santa project.  So I have bought, painted and based my "secret" and it will be soon winging it's way to the far reaches of New Hampshire, USA.  I won't put up a picture until after Christmas as I want it to be a surprise for the unfortunate chap who got me as his Santa!

Talking of Santa, my lovely wife has bought me an early present so I am now the proud owner of a Flockbox.  I have had a play about with it and it really does make a difference.  The static grass stands up and looks like grass, as opposed to my usual mix of flock and flat grass.  I am impressed and I will almost certainly end up rebasing lots of my based figures as it looks so much better.  The first figures I have used it on are shown below, along with the last figures I based with my old system.

British Highlander extras

Painting has been somewhat slow, but fairly steady.  I managed to find, paint and base the remaining BEF 1940 Highlanders that I had left over. Another 12 Highlanders, supported by another Vickers MG with 3 crew.  I just need a 2pdr and some bren carriers to make the force fairly complete.

1940 German Platoon

I also managed to get a full platoon of 1940's German infantry painted up, these are from the Plastic Soldier Company box.  There are 59 figures, making 2 commanders and 4 squads with support in the shape of a 5cm mortar and an AT rifle.  There are also 4 spare LMGs and 4 extra riflemen.  These have been based with the flockbox, so upright grass is all over the place.  I just need to add an HMG, Pak gun and some form recce elements.  Then it's on to the French that I bought in January!

I am now cleaning up some more Cowboy figures for Germany again, Lawmen and Desperados this time.  There will be a slight delay on these though as I am off to London on Sunday to see the Tower of London poppies before they are taken away after the 11th of November.

Well that's it for now, I am off to do something less productive.  Keep rolling those dice folks.

Painting continues, new figures are purchased and other ramblings

Hello again, unfortunately for you all rumours of my demise have been vastly exaggerated.  I am still struggling on, painting when I can manage it and playing the occasional game.  I have been back to the hospital again, I should probably have my own bed by now.  Still no sign of any immediate fix, but new consultant and new tablets and a new plan, so it's all good (hopefully).

First up, my new purchases.  Best bargain by a country mile is the latest supplement for Chain of Command, covering actions of the US 29th Infantry Division in Normandy.  "29 Let's Go" is 32 pages of goodness for less than the price of a pint.  Scenarios, background and special amendments make this supplement both a treat and a bargain.  I am looking forward to running the scenarios for the local gamers, espescially as there are no Tigers!

My other purchases have been from the Plastic Soldier Company, with a box each of their  Early War German Infantry and Late War British Infantry joining the painting line.  The Germans will provide opponents for my BEF Highlanders and French infantry while the British will bolster my existing platoon to enable me to field a company for Battlegroup Overlord games.

15mm ANZACs

Painting has been a bit limited, both due to feeling ill and having other things on.  I did manage to paint up a couple of platoons though, so it's not all bad.  First up is the first of my Vietnam period ANZAC's.  These are Battlefront figures, bought in their recent sale and painted up and based for Charlie Don't Surf or Chain of Command.

The other platoon involved a bit more time and effort, but was quite rewarding to finally get painted.  I have had these original Bolt Action figures since they were first released many years ago.  I never had enough to make a full platoon though as for some reason I didn't buy enough.  Then I decided to reduce my collections of WW2 figures to just 15mm and sold of the painted figures I had.  So these sat in a drawer, ignored and forgotten for a long time.  Then, following a moment of madness, I contacted Warlord Games and just asked if they still had the original figures or molds?  A very nice chap called Nick spent some time finding out for me and then got back to me to say yes.  So I spent a few quid and finished off the platoon.  Having spent a few extra quid on figures in a scale I didn't use I then spent several days painting and basing them.  I actually quite enjoyed painting them, the figures are lovely to paint and I still rate the Paul Hick's sculpts as some of the best out there.

25mm US Platoon

1st Squad

2nd Squad

So, here they are.  A full platoon of three 12 man squads plus command and some support options.  Each squad has an NCO with Thompson, a BAR gunner and ten riflemen.  These are supported by three 2 man Bazooka teams, an M1919A6 LMG moving and firing, a sniper, a mortar FO, two Officers, a platoon sergeant, a radio man, an extra rifleman and a medic.  All told there are 54 figures all marked up, coincidentally, as members of the US 29th "Blue and Grey" Division.  As I don't use them they are going to go on eBay, probably on Sunday.

3rd Squad

Support and Command

Well, that's it for now.  I am off to pick up the in-laws from Exeter in a little while, so wish me luck.  Hopefully my ears will be able to stand up to 3 days of constant, inane chattering that always accompanies the meeting of my wife and her sister.  Have fun and keep rolling those dice.