Bolt action

[Noisysteve]

The battlefield looked as if it had been fought over many,many times. Now the Allies were looking to break out from their Normandy beachhead, and this desolated town was in the way. The Allied command tasked the Black Watch ,from the British 51st Highland division, and the 3rd Battalion from the Irish Guards division. Facing them, Hitlers best, Fallshirmjaegars and Waffen SS. The orders were very clear advance and wipe out any enemy.

The British advanced first,Scots on the left, Irish on the right, a lone Sherman in the centre. More Brits arrived, and still no sign of any enemy presence.
Suddenly a loud crack and the tracks on the Sherman disintegrated. The Infantry hurried to find cover as the Sherman returned fire. then 2 massive explosions, as first the Sherman and then the Scots flame thrower became scrap metal.
The Scots were now taking heavy fire and casualties,and not finding too many targets to exact revenge on.
Then when things couldn't get worse , they did. ( To offset both Justin and I having a free artillery barrage, Paul and Mick agreed that I had to throw the dice!!)
The Scots called down their artillery, but owing to confusion, or incompetence ( I threw a 1!) it landed in the midst of their own positions. Not too many casualties, but most hit the dirt and were pinned.
To add more to their misery, the German artillery also landed on them, paralysing most of them for the rest of the battle.
On the British right it was a little more cagy, with troops hugging the available cover.
The Irish called their own artillery down, and this, much like the Scots, stopped the German airborne, as they dug deeper into the French soil.
The Panzer IV that had took out the Sherman early on, just sat there machine gunning any targets.
So to take out the threat, the Guards Officer detailed his Piat team to close, and take it out. they dashed from knocked out tank, to house, until they charged into a garden and unleashed the anti tank grenade.
It traveled straight and true hitting the target, and then bouncing off before exploding.
The brave squaddies were then machine gunned down for their troubles.
With the brits either pinned or unable to advance, a tactical withdrawal was ordered, leaving the field, and the game to the Germans.

[Noisysteve]

A 1000pt a side game. Steve , British v Paul, German

" Oi, Napoleon!"
" You can't just barge in here Hodges, we're discussing very important business"
"It's going to get very serious now, the Germans have landed"
"We're doomed!"
"We will have none of that sort of talk. Corporal Jones, bring your van up."
"Yes Sir! They don't like it up them Mr Mainwaring Sir"
"Hodges, go and warn area HQ. Sgt Wilson, ready the platoon"
A timid, childlike voice piped up from the back, "What do we do if we get captured Mr Mainwaring sir?"
"Whatever you do, don't tell them your name Pike"

So this was a German airborne invasion of Southern England.

Paul took 4 full squads, an MMG, medium mortar, small mortar, medic, Two Man HQ
I took 2 squads of Home Guard with MMG, HQ, and medic, with 2 trucks, and 2 squads of regular infantry, HQ, MMG, medium mortar, half track, 4 man veteran squad, medium howitzer, and the free artillery observer.

Paul's squads quickly moved into the southern parts of Walmington on sea, the British into the north.
Paul had a squad, and a flamethrower on his left, 2 squads in the centre, his MMG, mortars and a squad on his right.
I had a home guard squad on my left, with my howitzer , and a MMG, in the centre I had my veteran squad, observer and HQ. my right consisted of my other home guard squad, their HQ, an MMG, and a regular squad in the half track.
First blood went to the Brits as the MMG opened up on the German medium mortar, killing one of the crew. The small mortar immediately replied, hitting the howitzer first time, killing a crew member and pinning the rest down.
The battle got going as squads moved into adjacent buildings, and pins started building up.
Paul's medium mortar wiped out my MMG on the left, and now the battle was descending into 3 separate fire fights.
On my left a home guard squad was trading shots with a German squad. My howitzer was pinned down by machine gun and mortar fire.
The centre was finely balanced until my artillery observer called down hell right on top of his self, wiping out a regular squad too.
On my right the home guard, supported by the half track and a regular squad, were faced off with a German squad and flame thrower. Heavy fire from the half track killed a few of the enemy, and pinned them down, which meant they refused an assault order. Paul moved another squad from the centre to support them.
On the left another German squad refused to assault, leaving the medic on his own.
In the centre the Germans assaulted the only British left, winning, and leaving the centre in German hands.
The Germans on the right finally got the courage to assault the regular squad trying to outflank them, but suffered badly and was either killed or captured.
The rest of the British squad tried to outflank the flamethrower, but were smoked, leaving just one survivor. The half track swept around, killing the flamethrower crew.
The home guard fired on the newly arrived German, managing to pin them, and then rout them. The right was now in the hands of the British.
Paul again assaulted the left, removing the home guard squad.
At this point time ran out, and after 4 turns we called the game.

After counting the captured order dice, we found a German victory, 6pts to 5, and much closer than I thought it would be.

A great game, lots of incidents, and as Paul said at the time, a game of 3 halves!

We are now planning a follow up game, 1200 pts, with armour, as the Germans consolidate their beachhead and the British regroup.

Oh and Captain Mainwaring and his home guard platoon did manage to retire in good order in Jones's butchers van, after taking out a German squad!

You have been watching .......

[Brightblade]

Superb. I can't wait for the next episode.

Don't panic!