Bolt Action: Comets!

Rubicon have recently released their long awaited 1/56th scale A34 Comet tank model. For once, it seemed Australia was included in the initial ship-out of a wargaming product, and the great blokes at War and Peace games had it available straight away, and 3 of these beauties were waiting on my door step in record time!

I painted mine up as belonging to A Squadron 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. The Comet was an excellent final iteration of the 'Cruiser' tank concept, fast, with some armour, and powerfully armed with a cut down 17 Pdr '77'mm main gun. Unfortunately for its place in

history, it arrived too late, Sept. 1944, to have a major impact on the war and was overshadowed by its immediate successor, the first in the 'Universal' or Main Battle Tank concept, the excellent Centurion. But having been gifted a dog-eared REME 'EMER' or maintenance manual for this vehicle for Christmas when 'nobut a lad' - and I were grateful! - to me it has remained the archetypal British tank of WW2. I also enjoyed the autobiographical novel 'Warriors for the Working Day' by Peter Elstob, which ends with his experiences in the final stages of the war: finally commanding a worthwhile tank, but fighting a losing battle against PTS. (I don't call it PTSD - its not a Disorder, its a normal reaction to abnormal experiences!)

I assembled and painted the tanks in record time and set up the table to play out a couple of Bolt Action games. The idea of the table was to represent north western Germany in the early spring of 1945 - so a good road network, carefully managed pine woods, some early spring rye and oat crops starting to sprout, and timber framed buildings, some ravaged by bombing...

Initially the opposition consisted of three Panther tanks, manned by inexperienced crews. The stats for the Panther and Comet are the same, so this was necessary to give the attacking British the necessary edge, and was probably fairly historical by 1945....

I also included a token German infantryman - I've been very remiss in painting up any 1/56 infantry for whatever reason, but a late war scenario is incomplete without Panzerfausts!

The Fife and Forfars, having fought hard and wide since D-Day, advanced cautiously making full use of the ample cover...

Whereas the inexperienced young Panzertruppen, confident behind their thick armour - were bolder!

After a swift exchange of shots, the results were predictable...

Having enjoyed an exciting, if one sided, game, I lost no time in setting up for another...so you have to image that the Fife and Forfars have motored ever deeper into the Reich... 

until 'intelligence suggests enemy forces are coalescing ahead.' The Yeomanry emerges upon another area of wooded plain remarkably similar to the last skirmish...

In this case the intel is spot on, as an ad-hoc small but experienced force of a Tiger I, Tiger II and accompanying infantry tank hunters are intent on blocking the way...

Whilst the Troopie and Troop Sergeant's tanks duel at long range with the Tigers from the shelter of the woods, the Troop Corporal's Comet is sent far and fast through the town to work around the German flank. Lets hope the panzershreck men are not at home!

Unbeknown to the good Corporal and his crew, the rest of the troop have come second in an exchange of fire with the Tigers - its now all up to them! However, they have found a good covered position and are steadily pinging bits off the King Tiger - turret jam, immobilised, and piling on the pins! Unfortunately they are themselves being stalked by a determined Landser and his Panzerfaust...

This distracts the Comet somewhat and the Tiger I comes up in support of the damaged Tiger II and, in a first round hit, knocks out the last remaining Comet!

A pair of cracking games which has reinforced my liking of Bolt Action as delivering entertaining games with credible outcomes.