Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Update in Chaos

This month have been disappointing in terms of progress for this blog.  Hopefully I can turn that around soon.  In the meantime here is the statuses of my blog projects.

Flames of War - After posting the last battle report I learned the global campaign had ended two days earlier.  *sigh* With the campaign over I will not be doing much with the game.  I still enjoy Flames of War but my funds are limited and I have a very long list to use them on.  Before I say goodbye to Flames of War for the near future I want to play one more game dealing with Operation Overlord. and post a video battle report.  Obvious it will not affect the campaign but it was the next Flames of War related thing on my to do list.  It will also give me practice doing video reports.

Showcase - I have miss posting a showcase for the last couple of weeks for a variety of reasons, none of them good.  Last week I left my home to do some painting and photo work but I never made it to the shop.  I did learn one thing from that trip.  I have a cockatrice that I have mostly basecoated at home and will be added to the painting log.  I say mostly because it is missing some spots which prove I do not have the proper lighting to paint at home.  I do not have anything to carry the cockatrice in so I've just been holding it by hand when I transport it.  On my failed trip to the shop last week I notice that I have somehow been striping the paint off the cockatrice with my fingers.  I guess I must be holding it too hard or something.  It is frustrating but not a big deal as I am still basecoating it.  However now I must find a carrying case for it and my chimera that I've recent put together before I can do any detail painting on it.  My current plans is to do a new showcase next week on Tuesday.

GM Campaign - Beside me being horribly late in updating, the campaign is proceeding reasonably well.  We are currently on Turn 6 and the last turn had a free for all Storm of Magic mega battle.  The game had some "interesting" events to say the least.  My current goal is to write and post my prologue story that have been hiding in my head for a few months now by this Saturday.  The first campaign recap I hope to post by next Monday.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

FoW #2

Being late seem to be a common theme for me this week.  This battle took place 2 weeks ago and I'm just now writing up a report.  This will be a brief summary of what happen.  The next battle will be a video report which should allow me to post it faster.

There was a lot of proxying in this game on both side.  I will try to point this out but I am not that familiar with the American units and the entire German side was proxy with Americans.  With that out the way, on to the report.


SS-Panzerkompanie
Fearless/Veteran

Headquarters

SS-Panzerkompanie HQ
     2 StuG IV

Combat Platoons

SS-Panzer Platoon
     3 StuG IV

SS-Panzer Platoon
     3 StuG IV

Weapons Platoons

SS-Panzer Anti-aircraft Gun Platoon
     3 Sd Kfz 7/1 (Quad 2cm) (armoured)

Divisional Support

Fallschirmjager Platoon / Allied Platoon
     1 Cmd Rifle/MG team
     9 Panzerfaust Rifle/MG team

Motorised SS-Artillery Battery / Fearless/Trained
     1 Cmd SMG team
     1 Kfz 15 field car
     1 Staff team
     1 Kfz 68 radio truck
     6 10.5cm leFH18 howitzer
     6 3-ton truck
     2 Observer Rifle team
     2 Kubelwagen

Rocket Launcher Battery (Heer) / Confident/Veteran / Allied Platoon
     1 Cmd SMG team
     1 Kfz 15 field car
     1 Observer Rifle team
     1 Kubelwagen
     2 21cm NW42
     2 Sd Kfz 11

Rifle Company (1st I.D.)
Confident/Veteran

Headquarters

Rifle Company HQ (1st I.D.)
     2 Cmd Carbine team
     2 Bazooka team

Combat Platoon

Rifle Platoon (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Rifle team
     1 Bazooka team
     9 Rifle Team

Rifle Platoon (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Rifle team
     1 Bazooka team
     9 Rifle Team

Rifle Platoon (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Rifle team
     1 Bazooka team
     9 Rifle Team

Weapons Platoon (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Carbine team
     4 M1919 LMG team
     3 M2 60mm mortar

Weapons Platoon

Machine-gun Platoon (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Carbine team
     4 M1917 HMG team

Machine-gun Platoon (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Carbine team
     4 M1917 HMG team

Divisional Support

Field Artillery Battery (1st I.D.)

     1 Cmd Carbine team
     1 Staff team
     1 Observer Carbine team
     4 M2A1 105mm howitzer
     5 DUKW truck

Field Artillery Battery (155mm) (1st I.D.)
     1 Cmd Carbine team
     1 Staff team
     2 3/4 ton truck
     1 Observer Carbine team
     1 Jeep
     4 M1 155mm howitzer
     4 M5 high-speed tractor

Air Support
     7 Priority Air Support P-47 Thunderbolt

The Battlefield



 1st I.D


The Germans


Quick thing to notice is that we did not have enough howitzer models for both side.  The Priest were used as howitzers.  For the Germans the tanks that are group up with the Priest were also howitzers.

The mission was 1/1, free-for-all.  Both sides deployed as follows:


In the top right corner are the German's howitzers.



The red and white bases are two separate platoons for 1st I.D.  Next to them were the 155 howitzers.


Germans got first turn but could not use any bombardment.  The Germans moved up and only manage to kill a single team in the shooting phase.  The Americans first turn was far more deadly.  The airplane came in and attack the howitzers.  My AA guns had a shorter range than I thought and was unable to give cover fire for them.  The plane destroyed 2 howitzers.  On the other side, the 155mm  bombardment destroyed both rocket launcher batteries as I was looking up rules for them.  The near by platoon was pinned down because of the bombardment.


Turn 2 had the Germans failed to rally from pinned down and the howitzers failed to range in on the enemy 105mm howitzers.  The tanks manage to killed a few teams but there was so many troops for 1st I.D. that it felt like it barely made a dent.  On the Americans turn 2 they decide to assault the tanks left too close to them.


Unfornately for them that they only manage to bailed out a single tank, lost a few teams in return and was force to retreat.


The next 2 or 4 turns were similar to each other.  The Germans failed to rally from pinned and range in for the howitzers.  The tanks and later the AA guns killed a few more teams.  The Americans failed everything they attempted.  For 2 or 3 straight turns, this was the exact result.  It might have been 4 turns and the Americans might have gotten another plane in but it was shot down by the Germans AA guns.

Eventually the Fallschirmjager Platoon rally and was able to advance forward.  The howitzers on both side started to range in and stuff started dying.  The Germans manage to wiped out the 105 but most of their StuG in returned was destroyed.  The Americans assaulted the Fallschirmjager when the moved up close enough but their defensive fire force the Americans to retreat.  The Fallschirmjager launch their own assault with cover fire from the AA guns.  The Germans wiped out the American platoon in a very bloody battle.  However the second American platoon avenge their fallen brothers by assaulting and wiping out the remanding Fallschirmjager.

Moving toward the end of the game, Germans only hope was to get their remaining StuG to the objective that was being covered by the American machine gun platoons.  The 1st I.D. on the other hand was trying to get the surviving rifle platoon to the undefended German objective for the victory.  In responds, the German sent the AA guns to intercept.



The American machine gun platoons assaulted the StuGs, passed the tank terror test and destroyed the last remaining hope.  The 155mm bombard the AAs and took one out.  The rifle platoon move on to the objective, forcing the last AA to move up next to it to contest.  On the Americans next turn they assaulted the AA, blew it up and the game was over.  The Americans won 5 to 2.

*update*

My opponent has inform me that machine gun platoons can not assaulted and that it was another team that had moved across the board for a few turns to help support the machine gun platoon that actually did the assault on the StuGs.  I thought that sounded right when I heard it from him.  Still the end result of the game was the same.