At the Wollongong Wargamers, Daniel and I have cooked up a 3 week Clash of Steel campaign based on an allied effort to push through East Germany to relieve the Berlin Blockade.
Our timeline is somewhat vague, as each week we intend to upgrade to each successive CoS release, so this week's game supposes the use of AFVs in 1945 that actually fought in WW2.
The campaign aspect is two fold; as well as upgrading kit each week, the victor of the previous game gets to add the difference in victory points to their points total, thus encouraging a realistic approach to losses and withdrawal.
Each game will be set along the route actually planned, this first game around Allied Checkpoint ALFA just outside Helmstedt. Daniel, on the left below, opted to take the Allied forces for the campaign.
From school trips in the 1970s I know the area is very heavily forested, but for game purposes we defined default terrain as 'open woods': terrain dash only but no need for cross checks.
Below, the outskirts of Helmstedt to the left, the Inner German Border - no watch towers or mines at this idealistic stage - Checkpoint ALFA in the centre, then a couple of farms as the road heads to Marienborn.
We limited the scenario card pack to those which sorta matched our theme, and drew The Long Run - my favourite. But then the mission rules card drawn stipulated Scattered Delayed Reserves, my least favourite!
We both had Spearhead Forces which are crucial with this scenario, so we were both able to deploy well forward. As the Soviets I was defending but with CoS seizing and holding objectives early can be important - so the Soviet steamroller, um, rolled...
As we had suspected, in stipulating 1945 wartime AFVs the Allies were severely out armoured and outgunned, so I was confident.
However I had forgotten how well armoured Assault Pershings were - my 122mm guns couldn't touch them!
So I used a terrain dash to get past them - fortunately IS-2s are well armoured, even against 90mm guns!
And got in some side shots!
Although by this stage Daniel's reinforcements were arriving...
So were mine!
As expected, once the Pershings were gone, it was a tough fight for the Allies!
The Allies fell back to Helmstedt.
At turn 5 the Soviets had 28 victory points and the Allies 8...
Given the campaign imperative, the Allies conceded, in order to come back stronger next week...
Our campaign will resume at the halfway point to Berlin, on the assumption that this game was merely a diversion and the actual breakthrough occurred elsewhere, deep in the woods!
We shall see if more modern kit will overcome the deficiency in points...
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