We’ve met up with Zrudi
on Friday (8th September) for a nice little game of Bolt Action,
because it’s been a long time since we last played against each other.
After setting up the table we’ve decided to play “Scenario 3: Key Positions” from the rulebook. With three objectives:
1. medical supplies in a wrecked halftrack hidden in a factory to the west;
2. a fuel depot in the centre of the map;
3. a vital building on the eastern side of the map, overlooking the main road coming from the west;
The Germans had 9 order dice to the Soviets’ 11. We both had a mostly veteran army.
Soviets:
1. 1st Lieutenant with adjutant
2. Forward air observer
3. Commissar
4. Veteran LMG squad (8 men)
5. Veteran tank riders (8 men)
6. Inexperienced free squad (12 men)
7. Veteran sniper team
8. Veteran flamethrower team
9. Veteran dog mines team (2 men)
10. Veteran truck with MMG
11. Veteran T-34/85
Germans:
1. 1st Lieutenant with adjutant
2. Veteran SS squad (8 men)
3. Veteran SS squad (8 men)
4. Veteran Sturmpioniere squad (8 men)
5. Hitlerjugend squad (10 kids)
6. Veteran sniper team
7. Opel Blitz
8. Opel Blitz
9. Regular Panzer IV Ausf H with Schürzen
We both designated our whole army to form the first wave of our attack, so everything would come on to the table during the first turn. Before we began, the Soviet sniper took up position in a bombed-out building in the south-east corner. The German sniper found a more advantageous spot on the roof of an office building to the north, while my air observer decided to climb on top of the power plant in the south-west. And so the battle began.
Turn 1
The Russian GAZ carrying the veteran LMG squad, the flamethrower and dog mines teams rolled in from the south-east and stopped on the bridge, making it possible for the transported units to disembark at any point. In response, the Panzer IV appeared to the north and wasted no time firing on the truck. Its main cannon missed, but the hull-mounted MMG managed to pin both the truck and its passengers. Using the benefit of the road, one of the Germans’ Opel trucks carrying the assault engineer squad drove right in front of the eastern objective, ready to unload its troops. But before that could happen, the dog mines team hopped out of the GAZ and released one of their hounds. (I now know that I made a mistake here, because dog mines are not allowed to target vehicles with a “Run” or “Advance” order next to them.) The dog scampered under the truck and exploded under the driver’s seat. Only one of the assault engineers died in the explosion, but they were pinned and forced to leave their burning transport behind.
Elsewhere, the rest of the armies arrived. The T-34 took the western road and rolled northwards with its tank riders, who hopped off and entered the factory, hoping to secure the medical supplies hidden there. The tank was closely followed by the inexperienced free squad, their commissar and the 1st Lieutenant, going for the central objective.
The Germans brought in their two remaining veteran squads. One to the east to try and help the assault engineers, and one to the west to prevent the Soviet capture of the wrecked halftrack. The western unit was supported from the centre by the Hitlerjugend, who jumped out of the newly arrived second Opel, while the 1st Lieutenant took up position between them, so he could support his troops both in the west and the centre.
The German sniper tried to kill the Soviet air observer, before it could mark a target, but failed. The air observer in turn marked the school bus Blitz that brought in the Hitler Youth. The Soviet sniper managed to pin the trapped pioneers at least, but didn’t kill anyone.
Turn 2
The Soviet air support arrived in the form of a fighter-bomber. The only thing shooting at it was the Russians’ own GAZ truck, but it only managed to score two hits and didn’t bring the plane down. The aerial attack only mildly pinned German units in its path and didn’t even manage to destroy its target! The Opel Blitz survived with a punctured tire and remained immobilized for the rest of the game. The pilot’s biggest success was putting two pins on the Panzer IV, but other than that, his performance was terrible.
The struggle on the eastern side continued as the pioneers decided to exit the building they occupied and try to destroy the GAZ truck stuck on the bridge, still carrying the LMG squad and the flamethrower team. Luckily for the Russians, the Germans’ aim was terrible and not a single pin was received. In reply the Soviets drove their truck a bit closer to the pioneers to spray them with lead, but they themselves only managed to dish out one pin. The LMG squad passed its morale check and successfully left the truck, hoping to outwit the Germans with the support of the dog mines team by entering the building the pioneers left from the opposite direction. They firmly believed that the flamethrower will take care of the assault engineers, but unfortunately the team was too afraid to leave the GAZ (flamethrower fails morale check). As the LMG squad entered the objective building, their NCO looked out the window to check the situation outside, only to fall to the floor with a hole between his eyes. A victim of the German sniper. The Soviets in the building are further harassed by the eastern SS squad moving up the road.
In the meantime, the Panzer IV was so frightened by the air attack, that the driver simply started reversing (Panzer IV fails morale check).
The Soviet forces in the middle advanced on practically unopposed. The German Lieutenant’s adjutant shot a soldier from the Soviet inexperienced squad dead, but the squad became only more determined by the loss of their comrade (I rolled a “5” for the squad’s “Green” ability and they got upgraded to Regular).
In the west, the SS squad closest to the factory, ran up to its walls outside and fired on the Soviet tank riders hiding inside, killing one. The tank riders responded by fearlessly assaulting the Germans. Following a fierce close combat, the tank riders were wiped out, although they managed to kill three SS-men. Thanks to the Panzer IV not posing a threat for the moment, the T-34 decided to push its luck and advanced further to punish the SS squad that had killed the tank riders. Unfortunately, the Hitlerjugend squad was lying in wait for it and as soon as the vehicle became visible, they fired their Panzerfausts… and missed with all of them. The T-34 turned to face the SS squad while its turret swung around in the direction of the German children. MMGs barked, but the crew was still shook up by the Panzerfausts, because they didn’t manage to kill any of the soldiers in front of them. The coaxial MMG was more successful. Even though the shots only killed one child soldier, the Hitler Youth members were utterly terrified by seeing their schoolmate’s body get riddled with bullets (Zrudi rolled a “1” for the “Green” ability and ended up putting 6 more pins on the Hitlerjugend, leaving them with 7 in total).
Turn 3
In order to further thin down the enemy in the west, the T-34 continued to fire without repositioning. The SS squad in front of it lost a couple of members, while the Hitlerjugend squad received a further pin. With their 8 pins in total, the Hitler Youth broke ranks and ran away from the battle, never to be seen again. The SS squad was infuriated by this and used its own Panzerfausts point blank. Being more experienced with this type of weaponry than the children, they had no trouble hitting the vehicle and blowing it up.
Taking advantage of the carnage, the free unit in the middle advanced even further north with their commissar and the Lieutenant in tow.
The pioneers decided it’s best if they assault the Soviet truck. The flamethrower team got out to defend their transport, but were butchered down. The GAZ driver crunched into reverse gear to put as much distance between the vehicle and the Germans as possible.
The Panzer IV successfully executed a Rally order, so the dog mines team took their chance and exited the building they occupied with the LMG team. They advanced towards the German tank and released their second dog. Once again, the dog managed to reach its target and exploded, but no visible damage was done to the Panzer.
Turn 4
The Russian Lieutenant was determined to secure the western sector and so ordered the free squad to assault the 3 SS men that destroyed the T-34. Although the Germans fought courageously, they simply couldn’t deal with being outnumbered almost 4 to 1 and were all killed. The Lieutenant and his adjutant followed the same example and assaulted the German Lieutenant’s unit. The German leader was caught by surprise and was killed in close combat together with his adjutant.
Emboldened by this, the Soviet LMG squad hiding in the objective building stormed out and attacked the SS squad that fired at them the previous turn. After a long and brutal fight the Russians emerged victorious with only a couple of their own dying.
The Panzer IV finally decided to actively participate in the battle and moved closer to the dog mines anti-tank team. It opened fire at them, but only managed to kill one of the two handlers.
In the south-east the German assault engineers moved a bit closer to the objective building and opened fire at the Russian LMG squad. Although pinned by the enemy fire, the squad lost no one.
Turn 5
The Soviet LMG squad was more determined than ever and with a cry of “Urrah!” ran towards the German assault engineers. After a lengthy combat, the Russians all died, but took 4 out of 6 Germans with them. The two remaining pioneers regrouped and as a last-ditch effort, tried to charge the Russian sniper team that had previously climbed down from their vantage point. The sniper team proved tougher than expected and the engineers both died.
At this point, being left with only a sniper team, a Panzer IV and an immobilized Opel Blitz, the Germans surrendered.
Conclusion
Like all the Bolt Action games I’ve played so far, this one also was a lot of fun! I did goof a little with the “dog mines rules” in the beginning and that might have changed things to some degree, but the western and central parts of the map were undeniably under Russian control.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Greger
After setting up the table we’ve decided to play “Scenario 3: Key Positions” from the rulebook. With three objectives:
1. medical supplies in a wrecked halftrack hidden in a factory to the west;
2. a fuel depot in the centre of the map;
3. a vital building on the eastern side of the map, overlooking the main road coming from the west;
The battlefield (the left side of the picture being south and the right side being north).
The Germans had 9 order dice to the Soviets’ 11. We both had a mostly veteran army.
Soviets:
1. 1st Lieutenant with adjutant
2. Forward air observer
3. Commissar
4. Veteran LMG squad (8 men)
5. Veteran tank riders (8 men)
6. Inexperienced free squad (12 men)
7. Veteran sniper team
8. Veteran flamethrower team
9. Veteran dog mines team (2 men)
10. Veteran truck with MMG
11. Veteran T-34/85
Germans:
1. 1st Lieutenant with adjutant
2. Veteran SS squad (8 men)
3. Veteran SS squad (8 men)
4. Veteran Sturmpioniere squad (8 men)
5. Hitlerjugend squad (10 kids)
6. Veteran sniper team
7. Opel Blitz
8. Opel Blitz
9. Regular Panzer IV Ausf H with Schürzen
We both designated our whole army to form the first wave of our attack, so everything would come on to the table during the first turn. Before we began, the Soviet sniper took up position in a bombed-out building in the south-east corner. The German sniper found a more advantageous spot on the roof of an office building to the north, while my air observer decided to climb on top of the power plant in the south-west. And so the battle began.
Turn 1
The Russian GAZ carrying the veteran LMG squad, the flamethrower and dog mines teams rolled in from the south-east and stopped on the bridge, making it possible for the transported units to disembark at any point. In response, the Panzer IV appeared to the north and wasted no time firing on the truck. Its main cannon missed, but the hull-mounted MMG managed to pin both the truck and its passengers. Using the benefit of the road, one of the Germans’ Opel trucks carrying the assault engineer squad drove right in front of the eastern objective, ready to unload its troops. But before that could happen, the dog mines team hopped out of the GAZ and released one of their hounds. (I now know that I made a mistake here, because dog mines are not allowed to target vehicles with a “Run” or “Advance” order next to them.) The dog scampered under the truck and exploded under the driver’s seat. Only one of the assault engineers died in the explosion, but they were pinned and forced to leave their burning transport behind.
With their transport in flames, the assault engineers still manage to occupy one of the objectives.
Elsewhere, the rest of the armies arrived. The T-34 took the western road and rolled northwards with its tank riders, who hopped off and entered the factory, hoping to secure the medical supplies hidden there. The tank was closely followed by the inexperienced free squad, their commissar and the 1st Lieutenant, going for the central objective.
The Russians enter from the centre and the west.
The Germans brought in their two remaining veteran squads. One to the east to try and help the assault engineers, and one to the west to prevent the Soviet capture of the wrecked halftrack. The western unit was supported from the centre by the Hitlerjugend, who jumped out of the newly arrived second Opel, while the 1st Lieutenant took up position between them, so he could support his troops both in the west and the centre.
Germans preparing to engage the advancing Russians on the western side of the battlefield.
The German sniper tried to kill the Soviet air observer, before it could mark a target, but failed. The air observer in turn marked the school bus Blitz that brought in the Hitler Youth. The Soviet sniper managed to pin the trapped pioneers at least, but didn’t kill anyone.
Turn 2
The Soviet air support arrived in the form of a fighter-bomber. The only thing shooting at it was the Russians’ own GAZ truck, but it only managed to score two hits and didn’t bring the plane down. The aerial attack only mildly pinned German units in its path and didn’t even manage to destroy its target! The Opel Blitz survived with a punctured tire and remained immobilized for the rest of the game. The pilot’s biggest success was putting two pins on the Panzer IV, but other than that, his performance was terrible.
The struggle on the eastern side continued as the pioneers decided to exit the building they occupied and try to destroy the GAZ truck stuck on the bridge, still carrying the LMG squad and the flamethrower team. Luckily for the Russians, the Germans’ aim was terrible and not a single pin was received. In reply the Soviets drove their truck a bit closer to the pioneers to spray them with lead, but they themselves only managed to dish out one pin. The LMG squad passed its morale check and successfully left the truck, hoping to outwit the Germans with the support of the dog mines team by entering the building the pioneers left from the opposite direction. They firmly believed that the flamethrower will take care of the assault engineers, but unfortunately the team was too afraid to leave the GAZ (flamethrower fails morale check). As the LMG squad entered the objective building, their NCO looked out the window to check the situation outside, only to fall to the floor with a hole between his eyes. A victim of the German sniper. The Soviets in the building are further harassed by the eastern SS squad moving up the road.
In the meantime, the Panzer IV was so frightened by the air attack, that the driver simply started reversing (Panzer IV fails morale check).
The Soviet forces in the middle advanced on practically unopposed. The German Lieutenant’s adjutant shot a soldier from the Soviet inexperienced squad dead, but the squad became only more determined by the loss of their comrade (I rolled a “5” for the squad’s “Green” ability and they got upgraded to Regular).
In the west, the SS squad closest to the factory, ran up to its walls outside and fired on the Soviet tank riders hiding inside, killing one. The tank riders responded by fearlessly assaulting the Germans. Following a fierce close combat, the tank riders were wiped out, although they managed to kill three SS-men. Thanks to the Panzer IV not posing a threat for the moment, the T-34 decided to push its luck and advanced further to punish the SS squad that had killed the tank riders. Unfortunately, the Hitlerjugend squad was lying in wait for it and as soon as the vehicle became visible, they fired their Panzerfausts… and missed with all of them. The T-34 turned to face the SS squad while its turret swung around in the direction of the German children. MMGs barked, but the crew was still shook up by the Panzerfausts, because they didn’t manage to kill any of the soldiers in front of them. The coaxial MMG was more successful. Even though the shots only killed one child soldier, the Hitler Youth members were utterly terrified by seeing their schoolmate’s body get riddled with bullets (Zrudi rolled a “1” for the “Green” ability and ended up putting 6 more pins on the Hitlerjugend, leaving them with 7 in total).
Turn 3
In order to further thin down the enemy in the west, the T-34 continued to fire without repositioning. The SS squad in front of it lost a couple of members, while the Hitlerjugend squad received a further pin. With their 8 pins in total, the Hitler Youth broke ranks and ran away from the battle, never to be seen again. The SS squad was infuriated by this and used its own Panzerfausts point blank. Being more experienced with this type of weaponry than the children, they had no trouble hitting the vehicle and blowing it up.
Revenge for the children!
Taking advantage of the carnage, the free unit in the middle advanced even further north with their commissar and the Lieutenant in tow.
The pioneers decided it’s best if they assault the Soviet truck. The flamethrower team got out to defend their transport, but were butchered down. The GAZ driver crunched into reverse gear to put as much distance between the vehicle and the Germans as possible.
The Panzer IV successfully executed a Rally order, so the dog mines team took their chance and exited the building they occupied with the LMG team. They advanced towards the German tank and released their second dog. Once again, the dog managed to reach its target and exploded, but no visible damage was done to the Panzer.
Turn 4
The Russian Lieutenant was determined to secure the western sector and so ordered the free squad to assault the 3 SS men that destroyed the T-34. Although the Germans fought courageously, they simply couldn’t deal with being outnumbered almost 4 to 1 and were all killed. The Lieutenant and his adjutant followed the same example and assaulted the German Lieutenant’s unit. The German leader was caught by surprise and was killed in close combat together with his adjutant.
Emboldened by this, the Soviet LMG squad hiding in the objective building stormed out and attacked the SS squad that fired at them the previous turn. After a long and brutal fight the Russians emerged victorious with only a couple of their own dying.
The Panzer IV finally decided to actively participate in the battle and moved closer to the dog mines anti-tank team. It opened fire at them, but only managed to kill one of the two handlers.
In the south-east the German assault engineers moved a bit closer to the objective building and opened fire at the Russian LMG squad. Although pinned by the enemy fire, the squad lost no one.
Turn 5
The Soviet LMG squad was more determined than ever and with a cry of “Urrah!” ran towards the German assault engineers. After a lengthy combat, the Russians all died, but took 4 out of 6 Germans with them. The two remaining pioneers regrouped and as a last-ditch effort, tried to charge the Russian sniper team that had previously climbed down from their vantage point. The sniper team proved tougher than expected and the engineers both died.
At this point, being left with only a sniper team, a Panzer IV and an immobilized Opel Blitz, the Germans surrendered.
Conclusion
Like all the Bolt Action games I’ve played so far, this one also was a lot of fun! I did goof a little with the “dog mines rules” in the beginning and that might have changed things to some degree, but the western and central parts of the map were undeniably under Russian control.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Greger
Nice one, Greger!
ReplyDeleteThis was very engaging and I enjoyed the witty, humorous style too. It looks like a fun game!
My favourite bit? - it has to be the phrase, "school bus Blitz".
Genius.
Really appreciate the positive feedback!
DeleteAnd believe me, it's a fun game indeed. Dirt cheap to get into (compared to Warhammer) - although I think we both know it doesn't ever stop at a "skirmish force" for a wargamer.
Thank you!