Battle Report: Combat Commander: Stalingrad, Scenario 35- Spartakovka Salient

The next wargame played by Rob and me at PrezCon was a scenario from Combat Commander: Stalingrad.  The eventual goal for the convention was to break this out and actually give the campaign system a shot, but to start we needed to just play a game to get the rules for the system back in our head.

We chose to play the first scenario of the Stalingrad battle pack, Spartakovka Salient, which depicts elements of the German 16th Panzer Division fighting through some rear-line Russian units in an attempt to get to the Volga River (which I didn't check, but I'm pretty sure they succeeded at).  This scenario is different for this pack, since it's the only one that doesn't use any of the new Stalingrad special rules (rubble, the urban sniper, etc) since they aren't in the city quite yet.

I was playing the Germans, and Rob was the Russians.  The Russians have fewer and poorer troops, whereas the Germans get reinforcements who are fairly elite.  Since Objective W was an open objective, we both knew that exiting squads off the opposing side would be worth double victory points.  I drew chit F for my secret objective, which listed that Objective #2 (the one on the far side of the board, to the right) would be worth 2 VPs.  Rob drew one as well.

We did our set up, Rob first.

Setup:


After Rob's setup, I began mine (also seen above) and formulated my plan for the battle.  Given that units exiting off the map were worth double, and given the superior quality of my troops, that needed to be my goal.  I'd lock Rob's main force (which you can see in the above picture) down with significantly fewer units, and advance the rest off of the board, claiming Objective #2 along the way.  Each squad leaving would be worth 4 victory points, plus I'd get the squads back the next turn.  Can't argue with that.

Of course, the wrinkle in my plan is that Rob is listed as the scenario defender.  That means he gets a LOT of extra abilities through the cards to hinder me.  Mines, wire, and all sorts of tricky things would be thrown at me to slow me down.

I begin the game by moving up on the right, into the woods, with a few squads plus a leader.  My mortar takes a shot up the road into the woods, and I get a Time! trigger, but the shot has no effect.  Turns in Combat Commander, for those who have never played, are determined by these Time! triggers- many random events happen during the game because of various triggers, as we'll see.  Regardless, a Time! trigger in this scenario is a huge help to the defender (Rob) who not only gets a victory point, but also gets the game closer to ending (the game potentially ends any time after turn 7).

Rob tries to take a few shots at me, but doesn't accomplish anything.  He decides to send a Russian squad down the road to the right of the lake, to try to make me hesitant to advance around and off the map.  I Op Fire at him and manage to break him, however.



On my turn, I shoot at the broken squad in the open, killing it (and giving me 2 Victory Points).

Rob and I then take turns discarding cards (instead of playing cards during your turn, you have the option to discard a few cards with the hopes of getting a better hand- if one person discards, it's not generally a bad idea for the other player to do so as well, since he is basically given a free turn), but Rob plays an action once I discard to get some reinforcements- rolls, and gets another Militia squad (big help there).  He then continues to shoot at me, but again accomplishes nothing.

I'm saddled with a hand of Command Confusions and Artillery Request/Denied cards... which are worthless in this scenario since we have no radios.  I discard again.

Rob's shooting finally gets some results, as he breaks my closest German leader.  With no Recover card in my hand, I have to just hope I stay lucky enough to keep him there (without a leader, it's hard to move my Germans in groups).

We trade a turn of me moving and him shooting to no effect, then on my turn, I finally some useful orders for once.  I advance a Rifle Squad into melee with the Russian squad closest to me.  Rob uses a Hidden Mines action which ends up breaking me, and I respond with two Ambush actions to kill his squad, followed by a No Quarter action to get some extra victory points.  Can't complain about getting Victory Points!



Rob begins opening fire into my broken squad and leader, hoping for some kills, and succeeds in killing the broken Rifle squad.  Some shooting also suppresses my Weapon team with the mortar (which has been rolling 4s all game for shooting, by the way).  The leader recovers on my turn, and I begin moving them up the right, towards Objective #2 and freedom.



I believe Rob ran out of cards here, which is a free Time! trigger, much to my chagrin.

He follows this up by breaking my Weapon team, but isn't sure what to do about my guys on the right.  I follow this up by bringing on my reinforcements- a bunch of elite squads to help deliver the hurt to the Russians!  I work on moving my entire army up, but Rob uses some Hidden Wire actions to shut down my movement towards the top of the map (guess he was sure what to do ;) ).  Rob doesn't accomplish anything on his turn, and I move out of the wire, and up some more.





Rob moves a leader, and I take a shot, drawing a 5 for my attack roll, which I use the Initiative card to re-draw, and get a 4 instead.  Rob of course grabs a 12 for the defense roll, which is another Time! trigger for him.  Sigh.

After several rounds of us shooting at each other, I do manage to break one of his squads in the woods to the left, but he manages to Rout it out of there and into safety (and eventually recovers).

I also, over the course of a few rounds, move point blank to his lone squad on Objective #2, and advance into it, killing the squad, and claiming the objective.  My shooting also breaks another Russian squad.  Rob isn't exactly idle, but his shooting isn't doing a whole lot (breaking or suppressing my weapon team a few times, but I keep recovering).  He doesn't want to move out of the building, since it's an objective, and he doesn't know what mine is, and he can't really get the guys out of the woods on my left because I'll take chunks out of them as they try.  He's just stuck waiting until I get things off the board, and trying to recover from that.

After drawing through my deck (another Time! trigger), I oblige him.  My two squads and 1-command leader exit the board, giving me 12 Victory Points, finally moving the VP marker to my side of the track (oh yeah- the VP marker starts on the 11 space on the Russian side of the track ;) ).  These squads will come back on as reinforcements next time there's a Time! trigger.  Some of my shooting then causes a Walking Wounded Event! which lets me bring back a squad.  I now have a lot of guys on the board, and coming on.

Rob figures that I might have the Objective #2 chit, so moves back to reclaim it, and again continues to shoot at me, without effect.  I then discard cards again, and Rob again plays the action to give him a reinforcement roll, this time getting an Assault squad with a Flamethrower.

We don't wait long for it to influence the game.  Rob sends him into melee with the adjacent German squad, and we tie on the combat draws, wiping everything out (a net gain of like 4 Victory Points, I think).  On top of that, Rob's next shot gives us another Time! trigger, bringing the game closer to the end. 

I focus on moving things up and around, but groan as I draw 4 Recover cards when I refill my hand.  That slows me down for a turn as I discard them.





Rob has decided to start trying to get the game over.  He shoots, but fires as many individual low strength shots as he can in order to increase the chances of either of us drawing Time! triggers.  He doesn't get any yet- but does manage to draw another objective chit.  Realizing I'm going to be pressed for time, I move up quickly (dropping some smoke next to me to help protect me from shooting), but shoot and break another Russian squad.  Rob responds on his turn by playing a Recover card... unfortunately the Event drawn ends up killing the Russian before the roll could've recovered him.

I finally make it up to Objective #2, and have a move order in my hand to blow the game open next turn.  However, Rob finally gets lucky- his shooting brings up a Time! trigger, and we are now at the point where we roll for the game end.  It doesn't happen yet though.  However, my Defense roll brings up ANOTHER Time! trigger, and this time the game does end.  I never got a chance to move those guys off :(.



Ah well, we move onto figuring out the final score.  Due to casualties and the turn I moved units off the board before, the victory point marker was at 1 on his side.  My objective chit gave me 2 victory points for control of Objective #2.  Rob's objective chits were L and J, which were 3 Victory Points for Objective #4 (controlled by me), and 2 Victory Points for Objective #5 (controlled by him).  That means we ended with a net score of 2 Victory Points for me- a very narrow win!

This scenario has a very different feel than any I've played with Combat Commander so far, and it was certainly a good time.   Rob's shooting wasn't very effective, and a lot of that was due to poor luck.  He had several good turns of fortune though, so it probably evened out.  Overall, my luck was good as well.  Rob thinks that his main mistake was setting up too far forward.  I don't know if it would've helped, but it may have.  I mean, he was close to winning as is- one or two more things going his way may have done it.  Had the game gone another turn, I would've ended up with a pretty significant win.

Hopefully we'll get a campaign started one of these days.  Just another thing to add to the to-do list.

Battle Report: Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour, Scenario 2- Cavalry Charge!

The first game Rob and I brought out at PrezCon was Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour.  I had received this for Christmas, and I was really excited to put it on the table.  After realizing I didn't have the trucks handy to do Scenario 1, we decided to play Scenario 2, called Cavalry Charge!  It depicts the Charge at Krojanty, where the 18th Pomeranian Uhlans Regiment bravely slowed the advance of a German infantry regiment which was supported by some armored vehicles.

In the scenario, a forward German force is pounced upon by a numerically superior Polish force with significant cavalry support, with another small German force 'behind the lines' coming in as reinforcements.  The Germans get an armored car coming on mid-game for support, which should be a little problematic for the Polish, who don't have too much in the way of anti-tank support here.

I played the Germans, Rob took the Polish.  Conflict of Heroes is an interesting game, as we'll see, because the turns are very integrated- there's no 'I go- you go' mechanic going on here.  Both players' units are moving and acting one right after the other, and interrupting each other's actions.  It means that the battle report here will actually have several things going on at once, so it should be... well, interesting.

Turn 1:
The Polish cavalry comes on board, and I turn the nearest squad around to face them, hoping to make them more cautious about coming in at me.  Rob, to try to draw off my activations, used CPs to bring on some other units adjacent to the cavalry, and I oblige by shooting at them, but don't do anything.  He uses a Dual Attack card to unload into a Rifle Squad, killing it, and I return fire, damaging one of his AT Rifles.  Rob's cavalry decides to charge into my LMG unit....



And kills it pretty easily.

I use the card I drew to put a Hasty Defense on top of another LMG, hoping to use the unit to buy some time for my guys to back up and link up with my reinforcements.



Rob responds by moving his cavalry into the building, claiming the objective, and putting a lot of pressure on my guys who are still in the open.



I fire a few ineffective shots, and Rob's cavalry reinforcements come on and get behind my advance force, making a retreat a bit more difficult.  They get there pretty much untouched, despite some shooting by another of my Rifle Squads.  I manage to put some small damage on one of them, I believe.



With nowhere to go, I have my squads continue taking shots at the Polish forces surrounding them, causing a hit on one of the Horses in the building, but not really doing a whole lot else.  My first group of reinforcements gets in position in one of the other buildings (out of the picture).

Turn 2:
I continue into the second turn by shooting, but I don't get any effect out of it, primarily due to some poor shooting die rolls.  Rob's HMG comes on the board and starts moving towards the south-western objective.  My reinforcements work to get into position for the inevitable Polish advance on the other objectives, and I try to get some results up on the front, but my shooting just can't seem to do anything.  Rob eventually rolls over my front German lines, and I'm left only with the reinforcements to fight the Polish tide.


German reinforcements almost in position.


And on the east side, the Polish have cleared out the German units.

Turn 3:
Rob and I start the turn by dancing around the southern objective.  Rob uses his HMG to advance towards the objective, and I counter by having my Rifles move onto the objective.  Rob moves his HMG and a supporting Uhlan, I believe around the objective, trying to get an opening to shoot at the Rifle without taking a shot in return.  The Uhlan moves into line of sight of my supporting LMG and takes a hit from CP shooting, but thankfully the HMG decides to back off, and the objective is fairly safe. 



The LMG finishes off the Uhlan and my LMG helping defend the northwestern objective moves forward a bit and starts taking pot shots at the Polish stacks, doing some significant damage (I think I ended up putting hits on 4 out of 6 counters in one stack in a single shot).  Rob works to rally them to begin the late-game push, but doesn't get too many of them back quickly.


German situation in the west.


Polish situation in the East.

Turn 4:
This is a helpful turn for the Germans, since a SdKfz 231 (an armored car) comes on the board as a reinforcement.  Just as happened historically, the Polish really don't have a lot of tools with them handy which can easily take it down- those Anti-Tank Rifles need an 11 on 2d6 to put a hit on it if they aren't point blank (and don't have help).

My LMG starts the turn out by shooting some more at those vulnerable Polish stacks, continuing to do a bunch of damage, and giving me some VPs (I'm pretty far behind at this point).  Rob focuses his efforts on the bottom objective, finally clearing it out, and claiming it, depriving me of 5 VPs, and gaining 2 for himself.

My armored car comes on, moves into a supporting position, but doesn't manage to deal any damage on the Polish attackers.

Rob ends the turn by running an ATR right behind the Armored Car- a certain way to have me sweating starting next turn.



Turn 5:
I win the initiative, and turn, preparing to get the vehicle to safety.  Rob happily fires his ATR, getting a hit, but thankfully the damage draw is damage to the gun... meaning I can't fire at vehicles.  No loss there. 

The vehicle gets free, and I start putting the pressure on the southern objective, shrugging off the ATR fire in the meantime, and taking a pot shot at the ATR, putting a hit on it.  I charge in and start unloading on the unit there, but don't manage to do anything worthwhile.  Rob and I trade shots, but nothing much is done, and the game ends with me impotent to get anything done to change the result.



Conclusion:
We calculated the Victory Points.  Rob had killed 8 of my units, and had taken 2 of the objectives, giving him 12 VPs.  I killed 9 units (mostly horses), and didn't control both B11 and G17 (just one), meaning I ended with 9 VPs, a Polish victory!

I'm guessing, the next time I play, that I shouldn't bother trying to fight with those front units- just get them running to the back objectives, and work harder to hold them.  Holding both the back objectives is worth 5 VPs to the Germans, which is pretty significant.  Combined with a few casualties as the Polish advanced past the first guys, that would probably be enough to win.

I haven't played this game since Awakening the Bear, and it's undergone some pretty serious changes.  I really like the new version however, a lot more than the previous one.  The components are still beautiful, but the basic game mechanic is so involved that you never feel like you have down time, even horridly outnumbered there's still a lot you need to do every turn.

We finished our first day at PrezCon by playing a game of Dust Tactics, but I'll throw some pictures of that when I'm done with my wargame battle reports.

Battle Report: Nations at War: WSR Basic Scenario 3: Vierville, France

Another report that still is about a month old, but at least now I'll be caught up, so that once I come back from PrezCon I can start posting about my time there immediately!

Rob and I played Nations at War's 3rd basic scenario back in January.  This scenario depicts a battle after Omaha Beach to take the town of Vierville-sur-Mer.  In game, the 507th PIR is defending Ville Sur Le Fleuve against a few German infantry formations- the Schtz.Btl.107 and the Kampfgruppe Beck.  This scenario is all infantry, and is pretty light even on the support pieces (a couple of HMGs).  It's just about the Germans grinding control of the town against outnumbered American defenders.

I played the Americans, and seeing that the Germans would have to cross at least some open ground to get to me, set up fairly far forward.  I kept a unit back so that I had a safe path to move through if I had to abandon one of the positions.  The Germans enter from the South board edge on the first turn, so don't start on the board, but automatically get an activation to start the game.

Turn 1:
The Schtz.Btl.107 formation gets its free activation, and Rob moved his units on and up.


The river doesn't exist for this scenario, by the way.  Having done that, the Schtz.Btl.107 formation chit is put back into the cup, meaning there's a chance that the German formation could move twice in the first turn.

Next chit draw was the 507th PIR.  I had nothing in sight, so I just repositioned a little bit, but tried to keep as much un-moved as possible in case I had a chance to Opportunity Fire.

The first End Turn chit was drawn next.  As the scenario defender, that's always great news- if the German formations can ever go a turn without being activated, it'll really help my chances!  However, it didn't matter in this case, as the Schtz.Btl.107 chit was drawn before the second End Turn chit.

The Germans continued advancing as quickly as possible, and I opened fire on a German unit entering the woods, disrupting it.



Turn 2:
We drew the first End Turn chit immediately, much to Rob's unhappiness.  Unfortunately, a German-less turn wasn't meant to be yet, and we drew the Schtz.Btl.107 chit immediately after. 

The disrupted German unit rallied, and the formation began its work.  The HQ and Inf unit opened fire on the nearest of my Para Inf units, getting a single hit which I couldn't save, disrupting it.  Rob moved his other German unit into the woods, and prepared to begin the assault.  His first unit moved into the open, and I destroyed it by fire from my HQ/Para Inf stack.  The second unit moved in to assault my disrupted unit, and succeeds in killing it.  The Para Inf who was right behind the just destroyed unit attempted to Op Fire, but to no effect.

Next chit draw was the second End Turn, ending the turn.



Turn 3:
On this turn, Rob received some reinforcements- the Kampfgruppe Beck formation is added to the chit cup, and enters on the board from the south to help with the German push.

The first chit draw is the recently added KG Beck formation, which advances onto the board, well out of my line of sight.

My 507th is activated next.  I move my non-stacked Para Inf units back, to buy me some time.  My HQ and Para Inf stack fires at the Infantry unit in the woods, disrupting it.

It's not a big help, as the Schtz.Btl.107 chit is drawn next, and Rob immediately rallies the disrupted unit.  He decides to go after my HQ, and begins by firing his Infantry with an HMG at my HQ/Para Inf stack, dealing 1 hit that I fail to negate- I'm not disrupted and still Ops Complete).  Not good.  He moves in to assault with 2 of his Infantry units, healing 3 hits to my one, and killing my HQ.  Now, since I have no front-line defenders, he moves his other unit into the city uncontested.

Not a good turn for the Americans!



Turn 4:
Followed by an amazing turn for the Americans.  The first two chits drawn are both End Turn chits!

Turn 5:
The Schtz.Btl.107 chit is drawn to start the turn, and they press the advantage, moving their units through the city.  When Rob moves his HQ and two infantry units up, I take a shot with one of my Para Inf units, and deal 2 hits, disrupting both of his units.  The Para Inf who shot didn't get off easy though, and was assaulted by another two units, dealing 4 hits while receiving 2 in response (disrupting both attackers).

The 507th chit is drawn, and fortunately, I get a few reinforcements this turn as well (2 more Para Inf units).  They advance on from my left, and I move them towards the rear of the city, thinking that I might try sending one the long way around to draw off some attackers.  My now reduced HQ and a Para Inf unit shoot at an adjacent German stack, and deal 2 hits, with Rob failing to save either of them.  More disruption!

Since the turn can't end without KG Beck getting a shot to activate, they do so, and advance up further.

Turn 6:
KG Beck gets another shot to activate, and move up.  I Opportunity Fire with my Para Inf and the reduced HQ, rolling 3 hits.  Rob negates one of them, but I'll still take the disruptions.

Both End of Turn chits are drawn next.  Turns like these are really going to help my chances!



Turn 7:
The Schtz.Btl.107 formation chit is drawn, and naturally, Rob rallies all of his disrupted units.  His nearest Infantry unit shoots at my Para Inf/HQ stack, and disrupts me, but the HQ again dies.  He then assaults that unit, dealing 4 hits and receiving none in return.  The rest of his formation moves into position and corners me.

Our first End Turn chit is drawn and then the 507th chit is drawn.  I decide that I'm not going to be able to loop my guys around, sadly, and just moves everything in to prepare for the final rush.

The second End Turn chit is drawn, ending the turn.  Things are looking really bad for me now, but it's not over!  Although it'd be better if it was...



Turn 8:
This turn is started by KG Beck activating, and moving up to lend the support Rob needed to push through.  Their advance is slowed, however, when I Op Fire at their advancing units, and deal 2 hits, disrupting the leading parts of his advance.  Rob isn't very concerned, however.  Not with that many units floating around.

The 507th activate next.  I take a shot at an adjacent stack, and disrupt them.  Really powerful stuff here.

The first End Turn chit is drawn.  I'm hopeful...

But then crushed when Rob draws the Schtz.Btl.107 formation chit.  However, I catch a break when his nearest squads don't rally!  He moves the disrupted squads away, and begins sending in the assaulters.  The first group jumps in and deals 4 hits, but thankfully takes 4 hits.  Critically, since I've tied him, the assaulting units are repulsed, and I'm not pushed out of the hex.  I am badly reduced and disrupted, however.  Plus, my HQ managed to die again.  Rob still has another unit ready though, and he sends him in.  He deals a single hit, and I return with a single hit.  I'm now down to a single reduced (and disrupted) squad, and I'm staring at a LOT of attacking Germans.  Thankfully though, the turn ends.



Turn 9:
Last turn!

The first chit drawn is the End Turn chit.  That's VERY exciting- the game ending here would give me a win!  If any German formation is drawn, however, my chances are very slim.

The second chit drawn... is the other End Turn chit!  YES!  Victory for the Americans!  I managed to win with a single reduced/disrupted Para Inf unit in the town.

Analysis:
With a chit-draw system, a lot of a player's success is dependent on how often his formations get to activate.  With the one German formation getting a free activation on the first turn (with a chance for a second) and the second German formation not arriving until turn 3, we can do some quick checking to see what the 'average' number of activations each formation can dream about.  For the Germans, the Schtz.Btl.107 would average about 7.7 activations per game (it activated 7 times this game) and the KG Beck would activate 5.2 (4 in the game).  That's not a huge difference for the former, but that's a huge loss for that latter formation.  Had he gotten that 5th activation, I'm sure Rob would've swept me from the table.  The Americans, by the way average 6.7 activations (I activated 5 times).  Those two turns without activations (and Turn 6, with just the one KG Beck activation) were critical for me winning. 

Obviously, the number of activations doesn't tell the whole story- when formation activate in relation to one another is a big deal as well (being able to activate twice in between an enemy's activation could be key), but it's helpful to keep in mind how things could go, especially for the attacker to consider his pace.  Rob played fairly aggressively.  Had he known beforehand how many activations he would get, would he have tried something different?  I'd guess not, but you never know.

This scenario seems pretty tough on the Americans, but since it's an infantry-only scenario and there really isn't a lot going on, I don't think it's going to get much play regardless.  I'm sure I screwed up a little with my play, which probably hurt my poor American's chances as well- I'm guessing I need to be more selective about my shots.  It didn't feel like I had many options, however.

This is a game that's going to get played a decent amount of times at PrezCon, including playing some of the advanced scenarios.  That should be very exciting.

Battle Report: Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 (1/8/11)

Yeah, this took me over a month to finally post.  That's pretty terrible.  I'm going to try to get more on the ball with these.

Rob and I played two games of Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 on one of my few free Saturdays, the 8th.  We decided to start playing some of the Situations (scenarios) that are available to give us some variety in the game.

First up was Situation I: Take Out Those 88's! In this situation, the Germans (played by Rob) had 3 crewed 8.8cm FlaK 36 cards on the rear line, with 2 front lines that must be beaten through before the Americans can finally take them out.  The goal of the game, of course, is the destruction of those 88s, and the Americans have to accomplish this without aircraft.  The Germans aren't allowed to start drawing reinforcements until Turn 3, but they do get 10 free victory points a turn (needing 75 to win).

After choosing our decks (Americans start with 120 points vs the Germans 80), we set up to play.  For my starting hand I chose a M4A1 Sherman, Tank Crew, Rifle Squad, and .30Cal LMG Team.  My hope was to use the Sherman to spearhead my attack (harder for the infantry Rob starts with to kill, and use the infantry to finish the job (the infantry is harder for the 88s to hit, needing a 13 vs an 11 vs the tank).  I didn't write down what my deck consisted of, next time I'll try to include that.  My drawn Command Cards were Withdraw (useful if my tank gets damaged), Reconnaissance (not really helpful for this situation, since Rob doesn't start with units in his hands), and Frontline Priority (great for getting a unit I need into my hand when I need it).  Not a bad start truthfully.

Rob immediately begins the game by playing a Sabotage card, removing one of the Shermans from my deck.  Ugh.

Turn 1:
I commit all 4 units in my hand, hoping to eat through at least one of his frontlines, and putting the pressure on early.


Right after first commitment phase.

Rob begins the Combat phase by playing Fire For Effect, making his artillery a lot deadlier to my poor Sherman (8 intensity vs the Sherman's 5 armor isn't nearly so scary as 12 intensity vs that same 5 armor).  He then proceeds to win initiative.

By the way, it's worth noting here that although the choices of targets for each card is very important in game, it's not a very interesting read, so it's not likely to be mentioned in any report I write.  Usually just the results.

Rob's first shot was an 88 at my Sherman, which missed.  I followed up by having the Sherman (targeted by all three artillery pieces) fire at the German Rifle Squad, discarding the Reconnaissance card for a +1 attack on my 75mm gun.  I missed with all of my attacks, however.

The German Rifle then shot at my Rifle Squad, killing it.  My LMG fires and misses.  With nothing of mine left, Rob goes through his guys- my Sherman dies to an 88, and the German MG-42 Team kills my LMG.

During the draw phase, I draw two units (Tank Crew and a Rifle Squad), and use Frontline Priority to get another Rifle Squad.  My Command Card draw is a Fighter Ace (useless in this situation).

Rob at this point has 34 Victory Points (he needs 75 to win).

Turn 2:
I choose to commit nothing, knowing that I'll just get slaughtered, and needing a few more units so that I can sweep through him.  I'm able to gain a bit of an advantage solely because the Germans aren't allowed to draw Reserves until turn 3.  With no combat, this is a quick turn, and I draw an Artillery Crew, a 57mm Anti-Tank Gun M1, and Commit Reserves (allowing me to play a card from my Reserves deck).

Rob is up to 44 Victory Points.

Turn 3:
Since Rob is going to start getting units this turn, I decide I can't keep waiting.  I commit everything, and use commit reserves for another Sherman (I apparently had 3 in my deck).  With an artillery piece, 2 infantry squads, and a tank, things are looking up for me.

Rob then wins the initiative.  He fires an 88 at my Sherman, damaging it.  The Sherman takes a shot at the Rifle Squad, and manages to deal 6 damage to it.  The German Rifle Squad fires at one of the American Rifle Squads, damaging it.  I draw a 'Shaken' card, retreating my Rifle Squad to the rear line, really hindering my attack. 

My other American Rifle Squad beats on a German Rifle Squad, causing 13 damage (don't remember the damage card), but it turns out not to matter as my ATG finishes it off.  Not a bad turn for me, really, although not great.

Anyway, during the draw phase I again choose two units, and draw an Artillery Crew and a Tank Crew.  I also draw another Fighter Ace.  That's just terrible. 

Up to 54 VPs.

Turn 4:
Well, with a draw like that, you can imagine I had nothing to commit.  Rob did, though.  He put a Scharfschutze (Sniper) in his first front line, and plays a Lay Smoke card on his front line Rifle Squad.  That limits my front line units to attacking his sniper, and means I can't break through his front line this turn.  Ugh!

I once again lost the Initiative.

Rob's first shot is an 88 at my Sherman, but thankfully he misses.  In response, my Sherman kills his Sniper.  Once again, with free reign to shoot, Rob manages to kill my 57mm ATG and retreats another of my Rifle Squads to my rear line.  He's now up to 70VP.  Not looking good.

I again choose to draw 2 units, and draw a Rifle Squad and another 57mm ATG.  I also draw Sabotage, which I use immediately to get rid of the Pz. VI Ausf. E Tiger I from his deck.  Have to take those small victories :).

Turn 5:
With Rob on the cusp of winning, I need to win THIS turn.  Well, I can't.  But that doesn't stop me!  What does stop me, however, is Rob playing a Capture That Unit! card, rolling a 10, and ending the game with 82 victory points.  Oops.


That's a picture of a sad me writing down the results of the current game.  In the immediate foreground is the impenetrable wall of FlaK 88s.

I pretty much did as poorly as possible that game, and I think next time I play, I'll have to be a little smarter about what I do.  Tanks are a bit more vulnerable to his artillery (the 88s were used as anti-tank guns, after all).  Maybe more infantry and a few artillery pieces of my own (so I could return fire with my own long range stuff) would have made this a closer game.

We weren't done here though- we decided to take a shot at Situation II: Beachhead Air Defense.

There are two parts to this situation.  First is an air battle, with 4 planes apiece, fighting to the death.  After this is done, the remaining aircraft are put onto the bottom of the victor's reserve deck, and a land battle begins.

There's one more component to this game, however- a US Landing Ship is making landfall at the beach, and is a vulnerable target for the German aircraft.  In fact, for every point of damage done to the LST prior to the aerial fight being done, the German player gets an extra victory point.  Given that the American aircraft is a bit better than the German ones, that's a key way to make up the difference.

Rob and I screwed this up, badly.  See, we missed the line that the LST was removed once the aerial combat was over.  So we left it out there.  That means his tanks were taking pot shots at it, and doing a ton of damage.  That's pretty game changing.  So although I wrote a bunch of notes, and even took some pictures, I'm not going to be writing a report for it.  It's sufficient to say that Rob one this one, but the game would have been a lot closer had I actually READ THE SCENARIO.  Ah well.  Live and learn.  Sounds like the second situation will be pretty enjoyable now that we'll do it right.

Here are some pictures of our second game anyway.


Ready to begin the game.


The air battle begins to go well for me.


As always, I'm struggling when it comes to the land-based part of the game.

We'll be playing this game from time to time at PrezCon, so I'll have more game reports going up next month, as well as a review, finally, since I'll finally have enough experience to do so (plus, I need practice writing reviews).

Battle Report: Nations at War: WSR Basic Scenario 2: Le Hauderie and Montmar Tin-En Graignes

Wow, I've been busy!  This took me a bit longer to post up than I expected.

The final gaming I did on Black Friday was another game of Nations at War: White Star Rising, this time with an opponent: Rob.  We played scenario 2.

Scenario 2 covers, according to the description, an attack by the US 175th Regiment and 29th Infantry Division to take the towns of Le Hauderie and Montmar Tin-En Graignes, held by the German 17th SS and 352nd Divisions.

A quick Google search doesn't turn up either of those two towns, but I'm guessing that the scenario references the towns of Lenauderie and Montmartin-en-Graignes, which were kind of a side show to the Battle of Carentan (town shown on the map linked).  Maybe the names (or spelling of them) have changed in the years since the battle?

Regardless, Rob played as the Germans, and I took the Americans.  The goal was to advance the Americans across the map, and take either of the two cities.  I had 8 turns to accomplish this.  Nothing else special going on. 

I have two formations under my command: the 2/16 Infantry, consisting of a lot of infantry on foot with some heavy weapon support, and the 73rd Recon, with some Armored Infantry and an M8.

Rob's formations were elements of Kampfgruppe Dauer (SS infantry with heavy weapon support), and elements of Schtz.Btl.107 (consisting of... more infantry with weapon support).

Just a warning, pictures are a little flaky this battle report.  I struggled to get the camera to work correctly at the store.

Turn 1:
I advance both of my formations west (the American formation automatically activate the first turn of this scenario), crossing the bridges, and pretty much being stuck out in the open.

We then draw both of the German formation's chits, and Rob uses the opportunity to reposition his units to receive my attacks.


Movement in the North. No shooting yet.


And my movement in the South, again, thankfully, no shooting yet.

Turn 2:
The first chit drawn was the Schtz.Btl.107. They started shooting at my infantry (with their 81mm Mortar), disrupting one, and reducing another by shooting from a German Infantry unit.

I was disappointed, however, when we drew two straight End of Turn chits, ending the turn. That left my 2/16 Infantry a bit damaged and out in the open, without first getting a shot at recovery.

Turn 3:
First activation is the SS in the south. Since I'm out of effective range (and still embarked, limiting the effectiveness of his infantry) they don't accomplish anything.

2/16 activates next, and they begin to move into the woods. Having played on map A during my first solo experience with the game, I figured that the best way to get into position to attack the city would be through the woods. This helped a lot, since it meant I was out of sight of most of Rob's shooting. However, I didn't get away fully- the Schtz.Btl.107's mortar took an Opportunity fire shot against my ATG, and managed to disrupt and reduce it.

The Schtz.Btl.107 activates at this point and the mortar attempts to finish off the ATG, but failed to get any hits. Rob sends his HQ with an Infantry unit into assault against my HQ and Infantry, and are dealt 3 hits (and cause 1, I think), causing the unit and the HQ to be eliminated. Not good for him.

The turn couldn't end until the 73rd activated, and they finally did so, moving up safely (Rob had attempted firing with the SS earlier to no effect), and I disembarked my infantry, deciding that either way I was going to be vulnerable, but hoping to take cover in the cultivated terrain next turn and advance into the town.


Action in the North. With no Germans defending the forest, I'll get a good shot to move through it and threaten the target city safely, I hoped.


Status in the South. With luck, next turn I would begin to take chunks out of my opponent.

Turn 4:
The first chit drawn was the 2/16 Infantry, which is great news for me. I rally what I can, and I push through the forest. The 57mm ATG doesn't rally, and sits out in the open. I opt to leave it behind. My goal is the city. I move one of my infantry stacks to get a line of sight into the open road, just in case Rob tried to move across it, and threaten my army.

After drawing one of the End of Turn chits, we then drew the 73rd Recon. I chose to start reducing my opponent, and I open fire, killing one of the Arm Inf units facing me, and disrupting the ATG.

Fortunately for me, the second End of Turn chit was drawn, and although the German formations were required to activate next turn, it still felt great to get a practically free turn.


Progress in the north. Looking good!


Progress in the south (sorry about the glare!). The defenders start to feel a little sparse.

Turn 5:
Of course, in true 'fair' fashion, the Germans are the first two formations to activate on Turn 5. The Schtz.Btl.107 activates first.

With the HQ being thrown out of position by its death, the whole formation is not in a good spot. The 81mm Mortar failed it's Out of Command (OOC) check, limiting what it could do (basically, it's only allowed to fire as Opportunity Fire). The German HQ and the Pioneer unit went after the rear of my infantry column, assaulting into me and causing 3 hits, while taking one in return. The HQ attempted to bring a second unit with it, but it was disrupted en route.

The SS activated next, and began firing at my attackers, who were in the open. They disrupt the infantry squad stacked with my HQ, as well as another one of my infantry squads.

The 2/16's formation chit is drawn next, and ignoring the Germans, I move to the edge of the woods closest to the town, and prepare for my glorious assault.

The first end of turn chit is drawn, and I briefly stress that the 73rd could be subjected to a second round of shooting in the open, effectively ending it.

It's not to be, however, as the 73rd Recon's chit is drawn, and I rally my army. I assault into the nearest Arm Inf unit, but sadly take three hits (and dealt 1), eliminating the Infantry unit, and the HQ with it. I shove the rest of my infantry forward into the cultivated field, hoping that I activate before the SS do, so I can deal some heavy damage.

Turn 5 ends with me threatening both towns, but with pretty heavy losses in the south.


In the North, things aren't going so terrible. I can begin to attack the town next activation.


In the South, things aren't as great, as I'm now outnumbered and surrounded.

Turn 6:
The 73rd do get to activate next, and I quickly assault an Arm Inf squad, killing it. My M8 fails to provide any help with its shooting, yet again.

The first end turn chit is drawn, followed by the SS formation. They start by shooting at my Infantry squads, dealing 2 hits, disrupting my units. This is followed by an assault by one of the Arm Inf units, who dies for his efforts, but clears out my infantry, leaving me with only the M8 stacked with the HQ. Not a really scary combination. This effectively ends the game in the south- I spend the rest of the game taking a few shots at the defenders, and try to assault at one point, but I have no realistic shot of success there.

Unfortunately, the second End Turn chit is drawn, moving us to Turn 7.


American offensive is effectively ended in the South.

Turn 7:
The Schtz.Btl.107 activates to start the turn, and Rob begins to retreat everything he can back towards the town (sadly, it's less than he'd like). Everything has passed their OOC checks and rallied, so he's as good as he's going to be at this point. The HQ and the Pioneer assault another group of American infantry, and deal two hits.

The 73rd Recon and the SS both activate here, but since Americans have already lost down there, I'll skip the recap.

The 2/16 gets to activate before ending the turn, and I begin my assault. I send two Infantry units assaulting into the first hex of the city, and although they only score one hit (and take 0 in return), it's enough to clear the squad in there out of the way, meaning I've claimed the first hex of my goal! However, it's about to be turn 8, and if I don't get an activation I've lost!


Americans take the first hex of Ste Jeanne.

Turn 8:
And I get lucky. First activation is the 2/16!

They assault the city fully, and completely claim it, killing the defenders. Rob realizes that he has nothing that can get there and win it for him... and concedes the victory to me. Americans win!

Thoughts:
I thought this scenario was a bit more interesting (and closer) than the first scenario, although it's a bit peculiar. There's two battles going on, and they have no reason to ever interact (since the Germans need to defend both cities. It's almost like two small scenarios being played at the same time. I'm not sure what the Americans can do in the South, although I suppose staying in the vehicles and maybe trying to get into the forest in the south would be an option. I don't think there's enough time to do it though.

In the North, I think I did what the Americans will have to do. Rob believes he set up his defense too far forward (meaning he was chasing me to the town at the end of the game) which is probably a true observation. If I ever get a chance to play this scenario again, that's probably what I will end up doing.

So far, definitely like the system. Hopefully I'll get a play on Scenario III soon!

Battle Report: Nations at War: WSR Basic Scenario 1: Noville, Belgium

After reading the rules, clipping the counters, and looking longingly at Nations at War: White Star Rising for several weeks, I finally got around to playing it.  Unfortunately, I didn't have an opponent handy, so I ended up playing it solo.  This generally isn't a bad thing, especially when I'm first playing a game, because I'm sure I'll need to check the rules multiple times, slowing down a Face-to-Face game.

The first scenario covers a precursor battle to the Siege of Bastogne, in Noville, Belgium.  In the battle, a battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) and 4 M18 tank destroyers attacked units of the 2nd Panzer Division who were en route to capture fuel dumps needed for the German offensive.  The M18, a notoriously fast vehicle, and the infantry support got to a spot on the highway well before the German objective, and began to attack.  The result was a solid victory for the Americans- the M18's strong shooting and mobility caused the Germans to stall on the attack (believing they were going up against a significantly stronger force than they actually did), and the Americans ended in possession of the town.

In the scenario, we have a similar situation.  Kampfgruppe Beck, with its 6 tank platoons and infantry support are attacking the town of Ste. Jeanne, defended by infantry of the 507th PIR, as well as tank support from Combat Command Alpha (CCA).  An M18 platoon is attached to the 507th.

To make the game more interesting, a portion of the Kampfgruppe Beck formation enters from a randomly determined board edge as a flanking force.

Deployment:


The Americans deployed on both sides of the road, but kept a sizeable amount of forces back with the town, in case the Germans broke through (the tanks would hopefully have to assault the town, which isn't favorable for tanks vs. defending infantry).



The Germans deployed in the town, prepared to advance across the river as soon as possible.

Nations at War: White Star Rising uses a chit-pull system, so there's no guarantee certain formations will activate from turn to turn. This factors into the German plans- they have to move into position fast, because they can't know how many chances they'll have (they will activate a minimum of once every other turn however). They have 8 turns to accomplish their objective.

Turn 1:
Very uninteresting turn. The first chit draw was the End of Turn chit. CCA was then drawn, but with no one in sight and no real need to reposition, they passed. The second End of Turn chit was drawn, ending the turn.

Since neither the 507th nor the KG Beck chit was drawn this turn, neither End of Turn chit was returned to the cup. One would be added back to the cup upon each of these formations activating.

Turn 2:
The first chit was the 507th, who passed, since they didn't have anything to do.

KG Beck finally activated. The flanking force rolled to see their entrance location, rolling a 3, meaning they were coming in from the south. The tanks on the right moved across the river. The M18 on the hill took the opportunity fire shot at a Panzer IV, and reduced it. The unit of Para Inf with the HQ also Op-fired at another tank, but failed to get any hits.

The units coming from the south (a Tiger, a STUG-III, and a unit of Infantry) advanced into the forest right next to the 507th. The 57mm ATG fired at the Tiger, but had no result, but the mortar hit the STUG-III and disrupted it.

The 2nd End of Turn counter, just added back to the cup, was drawn, ending the turn.



Turn 3:
507th start the turn by activating, and with plenty of targets, they unload.

57mm ATG fires at the STUG for no result.

The Para Inf and HQ fired at the Panther nearby, resulting in 3 hits (using 2 Fate Points to enhance the rolls), which kills it. The other Para Inf deployed towards the front retreats some.

The M18 fired at a Panzer IV, disrupting it, then moved back. The 60mm mortar tried adding its fire to the Panzer IV, but did no damage.

Not a terrible round of shooting- losing a tank this early is bad news.



CCA activated next, but did nothing but reposition to prepare for the German advance.



Two consecutive End of Turn chits end the turn, and with the Germans out in the open- they definitely had to be concerned about getting their activation (so they could rally from their disruption) before taking more fire.

Turn 4:
End Turn marker is drawn. The second one won't be added until the KG Beck activate, however.

Luckily for them, they get the first activation. Unfortunately, both the STUG III and a PzIV fail to rally (although the PzIV with the HQ does), meaning they would be unable to shoot or move closer to enemies they could see.

The Tiger takes a point blank shot at the ATG, rolling 4 dice and needing 3s to cause hits, he manages to get only a single hit, which disrupts the ATG. The PzIV and the HQ take a shot at the ParaInf (w/HQ) in front of them causing 3 hits and killing it. I have two of the German Infantry units unload from their APCs, and try to have the Panther assault the Mortar, hoping to clear it out of the forest. The Panther, sadly, deals 0 hits, and takes 1 in return, disrupting it. The other transports wait, hoping that next activation the tanks can clear enough of a hole for them to make a move towards the town.

And the second End Turn chit is drawn ending the turn. Halfway through the game, the Germans aren't making very good progress, although the 507th isn't looking very good at the moment.



Turn 5:
At the start of this turn, a Chaos Marker is added to the cup. If it's drawn, a random event occurs.

The 507th activated, and with the HQ being moved way back after his death (and his reduced command range), the formation had to start checking for being Out of Command. The ATG and the mortar both failed the test, meaning they wouldn't be allowed to shoot or move, except as Opportunity Fire. The ATG did rally, however. The HQ moved onto the hill, to bring the southern elements back into command.

The Chaos chit was drawn, and the roll resulted in a Comms Breakdown- the next activation to activate would have to roll for being Out of Command, regardless of where their HQ is!

CCA got the pleasure of suffering the effects, and it was pretty painful, with an M4A1, and Armored Infantry, and the M4A3E8 going OOC. A different Sherman with the HQ fired at a Panther, causing a hit, but was negated by the armor.

The 81mm Mortar was more successful, however, firing at the Sd.Kfz.521, causing 2 hits (using 1 Fate Point), reducing and disrupting the half-track.

The first End Turn chit was drawn, bad news for the German...

But again, are lucky to be activated in time. The STUG and Sd.Kfz.521 all rally, starting things off great.

The sHQ and a Tiger assault into the ATG, causing a single hit (and taking none in return), knocking it into the open. The STUG III and the Arm Inf did the same to the 60mm mortar, but caused two hits, reducing it before knocking it into the open.

The reduced half-track overran the mortar, causing a single hit and killing it, but takes 2 hits (and negating one) from the M5A1's OpFire, disrupting it. The other Sd.Kfz.521's infantry disembarks. The HQ and PzIV moved up to the M18, which OpFired, causing 3 hits (using another Fate Point to increase the die roll), only one of which gets negated, reducing and disrupting the PzIV.

The second End Turn chit is drawn, ending the turn.

Turn 6:
The first two chit draws were End Turn chits. A VERY quick turn.

Turn 7:
Every formation would have to activate this turn, since none activated last turn. The first End Turn chit was drawn immediately, for all that it matters.

The 507th activated first. The ATG in the open failed to rally. The M18 fired at the PzIV next to him, hoping for the kill, and caused a hit, but the armor negated it, and the M18 moved away. The 507th end their activation, since they didn't really have much else to contribute.

Combat Command Alpha activated next, and started by shooting their M4A1 with the HQ at the STUG III, causing 3 hits (with none negated), killing it. The M5 fired at the reduced Sd.Kfz.521 in the open, and gets a hit, but the armor roll negated it. However, the 81mm mortar took a shot at the unit, and caused two hits, killing it.

KG Beck finally activated, and managed to rally everything, but by now they were pretty severely weakened, and needed to get to that town as soon as possible. They advanced up, with the sHQ and Tiger overrunning the ATG, killing it.



Turn 8:
Well, it's not looking good for the Germans. They need to take all three town hexes, and don't really have a lot of forces in range. Plus, they needed to actually be activated this turn. Going to be tough!

The 507th was activated first. The HQ and the Para Inf moved up, hoping to assault the Tiger, but the OpFire from the Tiger deals 3 hits (with the terrain negating 1), disrupting and reducing the Infantry.

KG Beck gets their activation, and prepare for the final push. The sHQ and Tiger fire at the CCA HQ w/ the M4A1. They cause 2 hits, and although 1 hit is negated by the armor, it's enough to disrupt the unit, preventing it from shooting.

An Arm Inf moved to Assault the M5 and the reduced Para Inf, and deals 2 hits, taking 2 in return, but manages to kill the 507th HQ, and again, prevents the M5 from shooting.

Finally ready for the push, the KG Beck HQ moves with the PzIV towards the town, and are fired upon by the M18, who causes 3 hits, killing the PzIV and HQ.

Unable to achieve their objectives, the Panther tries to go in anyway, and takes a shot from a Sherman, disrupting it.

Game ends with no hexes of the city under German control. Pretty solid defeat.



This scenario is tough on the Germans, who really have no choice but to go straight at the city, right through the prepared defender's lines of fire. There isn't enough time to go around to either the north or south, though I suppose they could take a shot at going through the southern forest some, to protect against some fire, but I'm not sure it would help tremendously. However, it's a fairly good introduction to the series, and hopefully I'll get some more games in soon!