Battle report: Trench Warfare

The motorbike surges forward

March 1945 -  The early morning mist clung to the broken ground between the two trench systems in Western Germany. A battered expanse of craters, wire, and shattered timber separated the Germans and British — both intent on seizing the other’s line in a grim echo of the Great War. 

The battle began with artillery raining down on both sides, causing casualties and pinning many of the units hunkered down in their trenches. The quiet after the barrage was interupted with the roar of engines as an SS motorbike burst from the German line, racing across no man’s land like a streak of lightning. The bike skidded to a halt almost point-blank before a British rifle squad and unleashed its MG fire. The sharp burst of rounds cut down men instantly, sending others diving for cover in panic.

The flamethrower is ineffective against the tank

But the British recovered fast. Brens, rifles, and even the distant cling of the PIAT fired in retaliation. At last, a direct hit from the PIAT sent the motorbike tumbling into a plume of black smoke and flame. The men cheered — but the cost was high. Nearly every gun on the British line had fired at the speeding menace, leaving their right flank dangerously exposed.

Seeing an opening, a German flamethrower team surged forward, darting between shell holes toward the British Stuart light tank that guarded the center. The operator raised his weapon, loosed a gout of flame that sputtered weakly against the Stuart’s armor. Before he could try again, the fuel tank coughed dry. The team froze in horror. The Stuart’s turret swung toward them, its machine gun chattering. When the smoke cleared, nothing of the flamethrower team remained but scorched earth.

SS troops are struck by the mortar shells raining on them 

The failed flamethrower assault didn’t slow the SS fanatics. With chilling discipline, they surged forward, supported by a Panzer II rattling up behind them. The light tank’s autocannon hammered round after round into the British assault wave trying to cross no man’s land. Shells burst among them, shredding the momentum of the attack.

Pinned and bloodied, the British push faltered. The SS stormed the trenches, grenades flying and bayonets fixed. Close-quarters shooting was brutal, fast, and decisive. Within minutes, the Union Jack that had marked the British line was trampled into the mud. The surviving Tommies, leaderless and reeling, began to fall back toward their reserves.

The Germans storm the trench and capture the line

By late afternoon, the smoke had settled. The once-empty no man’s land was now strewn with the dead and dying. The SS held both trench lines, their peadot uniforms stained with mud and blood. A lone British officer called for a withdrawal — their attempt to seize the enemy trenches had failed.

For the Germans, it was a hard-fought victory, earned through aggression, coordination, and sheer brutality. For the British, it was a bitter defeat — a reminder that even in 1945, some parts of the war could still look hauntingly like 1915.

 

 

 

Another GREAT game of bolt action 3rd edition. The game was extremely swingy with the British looking like they had lost by turn 2 but then reclaiming momentum to only be defeated by the Germans capturing a trench line leaving a final score of 4-2 German way. As usual the dice decided to make the story with many morale checks failed, missed shots and hot rolling swinging the combat. One thing we decided on was that for the future we will re-introduce the 'small teams' rule to give teams (that begin the battle) of 2 or less a -1 to be hit. As it is, it seems way too easy to shoot down these smaller teams than it used to be in 2nd edition. We'll see how it goes but I can't imagine it will be too broken!

 Looking forward to my next game and trying out some new toys for both sides.

Signing out,

Chewie. 

 

Scenario: Trench Warfare

Inspired by my recent trench terrain I wanted to have a go at making a scenario aimed at two dug-in sides trying to capture each others trenches and being forced to attack across no-mans land. While I can't think of any direct battles from WW2 I imagine this could easily represent some WW1 action. 

 

German soldiers take up position in a trench

SCENARIO:

Two opposing forces face each other across a scarred battlefield of dugouts, craters, and barbed wire. Each side has established a trench line, and now both are ordered to break the deadlock by seizing the enemy’s fortifications. The battle will be decided by who can both hold their own trenches and wrest control of the enemy’s.

SET-UP:

The table should feature multiple parallel trench lines running across the width of the battlefield, each roughly one-third of the way in from the respective players’ table edges. Between them lies no-man’s-land, filled with shell holes, barricades, and scattered terrain for cover.

Both sides deploy up to half of their units (rounding down) within or directly behind their own trench line. Any units not deployed at the start are left in reserve.

Reserves cannot outflank in this scenario.

OBJECTIVE:

Both players must capture and hold sections of the enemy trench line while defending their own. A section of trench is considered captured if, at the end of the game, one side has at least one infantry unit in or within 2" of it and the enemy has none. Vehicles do not count towards capturing trenches.

PREPARATORY BOMBARDMENT:

Both sides receive a preparatory bombardment to represent simultaneous attacks along the line. Roll separately for each bombardment before the first turn.

FIRST TURN:

The battle begins. During Turn 1, each player may move their reserves onto the table from their table edge, following the usual rules.

GAME DURATION:

Keep a count of how many turns have elapsed as the game is played. At the end of Turn 6, roll a die. On a result of 1, 2, or 3 the game ends. On a result of 4, 5, or 6 play one further final turn.

VICTORY:

At the end of the game calculate victory points as follows:

A player scores 2 victory points for each section of enemy trench captured.
Both players also score 1 victory point for every 2 enemy units destroyed.

The side with the most victory points wins the battle

Review: Temu Trench Terrain

I recently saw an add for some terrain on Temu pop up while browsing the internet and had a lapse in judgement and impulse ordered it. The set was for a " Modular Trench Warfare Terrain Set for Tabletop Wargames – 28mm" and was being sold for ~$20 AUD ($13 USD). After a few weeks it finally arrived and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with what I got, especially considering the price.

The pieces in question

 

 The pieces are a 3D printed grey plastic and while not the greatest sculpts or quality (you can still see the print lines quite easily, they are good for what you paid. I ended up giving them a prime with some grey primer and a quick paint with dollar store acrylics + some Vallejo colours.

All painted up

 

In the end i'm really happy with how they came out. The size is slightly small and while they snuggly fit a 25mm base for bolt action they are slightly too big to fit a 32mm base for my kill team model.

The Bolt action 25mm base fits in well (left) but the T'au stealth suit is slightly too big (right).

 

 

 

 

 

 Getting the pieces out on the game mat, they look great.

Trench warfare!

In any case this has given me some confidence in the cheap Temu terrain and I very likely will be ordering some other pieces to see if they hold up or if I just got lucky with this one. Looking forward to featuring these in our next game of bolt action with a Trench Warfare scenario! 

Signing out,

Chewie

Battle Report: Saving Private Damon

Autumn 1944 in a shattered Dutch town. British Army forces are tasked with extracting a wounded paratrooper who holds crucial intelligence on upcoming German counter-offensives. The SS have moved into the village ruins to capture or kill him. Time is running out.

The Vickers set up in the crater.

The battle opened under a leaden sky. British infantry crept into position while a Vickers machine gun team set up in a smoldering shell crater overlooking the town's central avenue — the paratrooper was believed to be wounded and positioned down the road. As the Vickers team adjusted their sights, a Kubelwagen sped into the battle and fired from the far side of town. The first burst tore through the crater’s edge, mowing down the team. Only one shaken private survived, his loader crumpled beside him.

Down the main street, a British 6-pounder anti-tank gun was wheeled into position by a sweating crew. Its barrel locked down the rubble-strewn road — guarding the paratrooper’s last known position. Then came the low rumble of tires and armored plates. A Humber Armored Car rolled forward, firing a shot at the Kubelwagen that had pinned the Vickers team. The round smashed into a wall just wide of the mark, kicking up dust but leaving the vehicle intact.

As the firefight escalated, SS and British troops exchanged fire with varying levels of success. The buildings provided cover British officers radioed for an artillery strike, coordinates already pre-sighted onto the German-occupied buildings. But word came back: the artillery battery was engaged with fighting elsewhere on the front — no support was coming for this battle. The mission now depended on raw courage.

The British make contact with the Para!

Panzer IV crashing through the rubble

As the crack of rifles and the bark of machine guns echoed through the ruined village, Lieutenant Langerton watched his section hesitate in the open, pinned down by crossfire. The wounded paratrooper lay only yards away, slumped against a wall amid shattered bricks and tangled wire. Realizing the urgency, Langerton leapt from cover and sprinted into the street, but as a 20mm Flak shell screamed overhead and exploded nearby, the force of it knocked Langerton  down. Dust filled his lungs, and terror gripped his chest like ice. His voice caught. His courage faltered. He threw himself to the ground, trembling, his orders lost to the din. His men, watching their officer paralyzed with fear, wavered—until Sergeant Whitlow barked a curse, rallied the section with a growl of resolve, and charged into the firestorm himself, picking up where Langerton could not.

With the Germans repositioning, the British infantry squad sprinted down the avenue, bullets buzzing past like angry wasps. A 20mm Flak gun barked from a nearby woods. LMGs and rifles opened up from shattered windows. Bodies dropped left and right — only Sergeant Whitlow, bloodied and limping, reached the collapsed building where the paratrooper lay moaning in the dust.Without hesitation, the sergeant threw the wounded man over his shoulder and sprinted back through hellfire. Germans fired wildly, panic setting in as they realized their prize was slipping away.

The lone Sergeant Whitlow makes it back to the Bren Carrier

A Panzer IV lumbered into view, its crew a ragged mix of inexperienced Ostfront conscripts, hastily pressed into service. The turret swiveled toward the fleeing men. Shells clanged as the crew fumbled to load and fire — but every shot missed. With smoke and chaos all around, the Bren Carrier roared to life, its engine choking through dust. The sergeant threw the paratrooper in and vaulted aboard just as the vehicle lurched into motion. Bullets pinged off the hull as it sped away, carrying its precious cargo to safety.

 The British extracted the paratrooper. The intelligence was recovered. The Germans had thrown everything they had into the fight — but their panic, inexperience, and lack of coordination cost them dearly.

 

Another great game of Bolt Action! This was our second game with the 3rd edition rules and went quite well. I think the rules are pretty good though shooting is a lot deadlier now, with small teams being quite easy to pin down and eliminate even when in buildings or behind cover, something which was much harder in 3rd edition. As is the case with bolt action, there was some amazing moments told by the dice such as the British officer making a snap to order to essentially win the game only to roll 2 6's on the order test and go down instead!! As well the artillery barrage never arriving despite the 2 dice roll thanks to the British special rule!! 

As always, looking forward to the next game.

Signing out,

Chewie. 

 

 

Bolt Action Third Edition

With the end of our Operation Market Garden Campaign comes the opportunity to try out the new third edition rules. We played our first Third Edition rules last night and got to pull out the hard cover rulebook that my friend bought me for Christmas.

 

Not a fan of the art on the book
(Is he waving hello at the person he is shooting at one handed with a rifle?)

We played two lists of ~650 points with 3 platoons each - US vs Germans in an engagement set somewhere in Eastern France using the lists in the back of the rule book.

US Forces

Rifle Platoon

Platoon Commander    40

Rifle Squad   7 men    70
                NCO SMG
                BAR

Rifle Squad   7 men    70
                NCO SMG
                BAR

Bazooka Anti Tank Team 60

Heavy Weapons Platoon

                Platoon Commander  40

                Mortar Team + Spotter   60

                Heavy Machine gun Team 70

Armoured Platoon

                Stuart Light Tank 145 

                M13 Halftrack 70

Total:  625 Points

 

 

German Forces

Rifle Platoon

Platoon Commander    40

Rifle Squad   6  men    79
                NCO SMG
                MG34

Grenadier Squad   6 men    76
                NCO SMG
                2 Assault Riffles

Panzer Shrek Anti Tank Team 80

Heavy Weapons Platoon

                Platoon Commander  40

                Medium Machine Gun Team 50

                Medium Machine Gun Team 50

               

Armoured Platoon

                Sdkfz 234/2 155 

                Hanomag  62

Total:  632 Points

 

We rolled up the scenario (Seek and Destroy) and got to playing! A few things I noticed from our first game:

    - It's much easier to kill small teams now that there's no -1 to hit them. Bazooka teams, officers + man etc really have to watch out as they are easily being hit on 5's with a 5+ cover save.

The bazooka team were cut down moments after this photo!

 

    - The increased amount of officers on the table (which I don't really like) at any time meant a lot of snap-to-actions which results in lot of activations and overall a faster game (which I think is a good thing!).

    - The US fire and maneuver rule (+1 shot for ever 3 guys shooting) is lame and I don't think captures the semi automatic nature of their guns or the fire-and-manouver doctrine well. I'd like to see them bring back the no penalty to shooting or perhaps something like being able to shoot and then move extra towards the unit they are shooting at on an advance.

Germans firing from their position in the farm

 

    - The point blank rule is fun and deadly and close combat just feels far too risky now to ever justify (defenders go at the same time but can still shoot as a reaction to the charge) and defenders in cover go FIRST (which I don't like thematically as surely the attackers will be throwing grenades, firing off to keep the defenders heads down no?), I think in 2nd edition combat was too much feast-or-famine situation so I'm overall happy with this.

The Stuart enjoyed some point blank shooting

    - Pinning out a unit seems less important/probable given that they get a flat -1 to hit for any number of pins and the +2 morale to all officers gives a good chance to pass orders. Not sure if this is good or not we'll have to play more games.

 

Overall I thinkV3 is a good game with simple rules and still very true to the 'beer and pretzels' game play of Bolt Action. After playing a fair bit of kill team recently it was very refreshing to have some simple rules to get around! The game was full of awesome moments and the dice were not in my favour giving my opponent a convincing win of 9 points to 4! Looking forward to our next game as we get into it more and trying out some of the new rules on other units (snipers, flamethrowers, fanatics etc). As we are casual players we will ultimately house rule what we like and don't like to ensure that we are having the most FUN which is what bolt action is all about.

Signing off,

Chewie