Fallback at Waldheim

 

This Sunday's Solo game was a long delayed return to Team Yankee in 15mm.

Like this blog, the preparation for a few minutes of intense fighting took much longer than the actual combat!

The Battlegroup consisted of two troops of Challenger Is, and a reinforced Warrior Armoured Infantry platoon. About 80 points.

The left flanking troop was placed on the edge of the open woods with a good view of the approach road:

Right Flank troop was well hidden in the forward outskirts of Waldheim itself

But again enjoying good fields of fire to the east.

The infantry debussed in the woods...

And dug in along its eastern edge, with the Milan teams echloned further back, thus enjoying good fields of fire down both roads and the forest ride.

The Zulu muster was well forward. 

For just this short Fallback fight, the infantry would need to embus fast!

The Soviet Force consisted of two companies of T-80s and a large Motor Rifle platoon riding BMP-3s. About 160 points.

The more vulnerable Motor Rifles advanced cautiously down the forest ride:

Whilst the heavily armoured T-80s broke out into the open confidently!

Speed was the mantra for this Operational Manoeuvre Group!

The Royal Hussars soon identified that the enemy Main Effort was coming for their right flank!

Left Flank troop hurriedly redeployed... 

Into Waldheim too:

Jockeying for covered fire positions.

They were horrified to see most of their 120mm Fin rounds bounce off the T-80's frontal BDD armour.

 

Side shots worked a treat however:

The Milan teams targeted the BMPs coming up the forest ride:

To great effect!

The Motor Rifles paused their advance...

Whilst the T-80s massed against the Challengers

With both Royal Hussar troops having lost a tank...

It was time to FALL BACK!

Unfeasibly Large Naval Game : Reinforcing Tarawa

This week at the Wollongong Wargamers, for some oversized 1/700th scale naval fun we are in the Pacific, November 1943. Darren came up with a convoy protection scenario: The US is preparing to invade the Gilbert Islands, so the Imperial Japanese Navy has set in train a series of reinforcement convoys, most of which have come to grief at the hands of the USN. 

But for this next convoy, consisting of the LPD Akitsu Maru, failure will not be tolerated! It will be properly escorted! But two US Task Groups are lying in wait. The mission is simple - the Japanese player has to get the High Value Unit (HVU) from one corner of the 13' x 9' playing area to the other...

The first US Task Group is based around the CA USS Portland...

Accompanied by the CL USS Atlanta and scads of DDs:

The other US Task Group, hitting the convoy from the other flank, is led by the CL USS Cleveland, also escorted by a DESRON. The combined US points are 88.

The Imperial Japanese Naval escort also consists of 88 points, lead by the CA Atago, with CLs Nagara and Kinu, and a host of DDs. Their task is daunting, as all US forces will be focused on sinking the HVU!

Darren volunteered for the challenging role of Japanese Admiral, and set up two heavy screens of CLs and DDs way out front:

As US commander I had to ignore these as much as possible whilst attempting to close the HVU.

The jaws of the trap start to close...

But I'm paying a high price - whilst Darren can afford to spray torpedoes at me, I have to save mine for the HVU - if I ever get close!

Fortunately Darren's Torpedo dice rolling is consistently poor. Not so his gunnery however - I lose three Fletcher class destroyers!

Finally a lone surviving DD - USS Jarvis - despite having lost one of her two torpedo launchers, gets the rest of her fish into the HVU - game over.

Despite it being somewhat of a challenging game given the task, it was great fun and a visual treat! As usual the Nimitz rules made a large game play smoothly and fast, giving realistic outcomes.