Operation Goodwood - Day 3, July 1944, with Field of Battle WW2

 Another great FoBww2 game - introducing my nephew to the rules this time (he won as usual), and with the result that he wants to use the rules for every theater of WW2. Who am I to argue with that?

this scenario was based on that appearing in the 1996 'Clash of Armor' scenario book: 'Rommel's Battles', and represents day 3 of Operation Goodwood with the British drive toward Vimont.

German armour lies in wait for the Irish Guards

 I still keep coming back to these; each element on the table representing a company allows large battles to be fought, and though Brent Oman is working on a new set which allows the two levels below this to be fought (units as platoons, then squads in three variants of the same rules), the mechanisms will be consistent and exquisite.

To summarise :

• Card draws dictate the turn sequence. A British unit might be held up in getting to the point where it is needed with poor command rolls re. movement - as the turn sequence is not rigid - but 'fluid', which we read about in accounts, where confusion reigns and time is 'elastic'. This is not a random dice roll that has units 'sitting pretty' (BP, I am looking at you) - the card deck is engineered to describe the command superiority or otherwise, with movement only  rarely stymied, or sometimes enhanced dependent upon the opposed roll mechanism. 
• Unlike other rules, where the designer reads historical accounts, then attempts to distill that experience into a 'rule'...here the mechanism is key to everything that follows: an opposed roll of multi-sided dice - e.g. a d6 vs a d10 - with the result dependent upon the difference between the two, AND whether ODD or EVEN, dictating push-backs, hits, disorder...all in a single opposed roll between the players. Elegant does not begin to describe how fast and intuitive this is. It removes the need for mods, results tables, more mods, and stupid little dice mechanisms that lie outside the core of the rules.

There may be an issue with the Typhoon/Tempest's roundels ;)

 

• Hence, that mechanism comes first, and distilling the historical account into that mechanism is key - so there are no side rules, few separate systems, and no requirement to 'squeeze every last piece of innovation from what you can do with a bunch of d6'. Multi sided dice combine all the provability and all the odds into single rolls with no bs. d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 etc.each with its own probability curve.
• Morale works off hits taken, and morale card tests when army morale is breached...this can make for tense moments. Today, both sides reached army morale around the same time, with leadership rolls for card draws, and morale swinging many times in tense action. The swing of  this initiative is key to the game, and very reminiscent of battle accounts in terms of  'narrative'. A word which we all love now , it seems, but rarely understand.
• Combining the cards, the nature of command into the deck, the dice mechanisms, and modifiers based upon moving dice types 'up' or 'down' and you quickly realise that the simplest concept designs are invariably the best, making for 'simple not simplistic' and truly 'playing the period, not the rules'...in this case.  Genius.

British Infantry moving early on the left flank at Emieville

An attack on the centre early on, which would last all day

Bitter fighting in the woods

Laying smoke on the left flank to allow Guards' armour to move up

Panzers are waiting

The British centre and right. Armoured casualties on the British left at the Chateau St Pierre Oursin, where the British hung on, and eventually forced the panzers back on Vimont

At last, British air offers some respite, eliminating two companies in the open.

Troops surge through the gap on the British left, but matters are very tense as morale starts to dwindle. Flanks breached, bit not broken

Another German counter attack against the weakened British right

...armour pours toward Vimont - but it's too late, as the British fail their first army morale roll...

...and finally withdraw.

There is some rumour, that the next game...might be Prochorovka...

The Star Wars Birthday Bash

 Now, if a game gets repeated, I don't normally put the replay(s) on the blog unless there has been a sensible time between games...though the Star Wars game has proven so popular - with one partial rebel win, then a complete Imperial win, that a third attempt would become the annual 'birthday bash' with my daughter.

 

Earlier plays with this game had Luke die and everyone else get away; in the second game, Han, Luke, Chewie, Leia, Lando, and Nien nummbnbm - the little guy - and even the droids... all died, and the Empire managed to rule the galaxy with proper procedures and sensible tax thresholds, so the viability of the entire scenario was at stake here! 

A long lost pic from the 2nd game, where all the rebel heroes died horribly...

Throughout these games, Ivan Sorenson's EXCELLENT 'Squad Hammer' rules have been used; there is even talk of me doing a Dune scenario using these rules, with Sardaukar (not in welding helmets this time), the Fremen, sandworms made from toilet rolls, etc etc. and Paul and Chani over-acting in beautifully painted still-suits... 

A slightly different spaceport layout this time...with a difficult approach

The rebels made more use of their heavy weapons on this occasion

AT-ST stayed close to the gate, rather than becoming separated and engaged in the open...good move

The rebels suffered terribly trying to capture the moisture farm on their way to the outpost, after getting the codes in a lucky card draw, very early on

The obligatory nail pic. She spent a fortune on these.

She decided that forming stormtroopers at the starport gate would deter any shenanigans - though these kept getting pulled away with the patrol cards

The outpost defends to the last man...

...as the rebels find Princess Leia - who grants any unit she is with +2 to 'everything'...I mean, it makes sense, as apparently she has the 'pics from Jabba's Palace' for sale

Luke, with the +2 from Leia, making him a 'glass hammer' - heavy on action, but susceptible to damage, takes on a walker...and wins!

Han and Chewie ambush the Imperial scouts - wiping them out to a man, with good rolls 

The attack on the spaceport entrance. The rebels had lost most of their fleet troops by this stage, and it was all down to the heroes and rebel commandos...

A squad take out the tractor beam and try to take the Falcon

As rebel commandos charge the gate

'Let theWookie win!!!'

Han and Leia get onto the catwalk, slicing through Imperials and taking out the heavy weapon (this killed Luke in the first game)

REBEL WIN! ...

'When I left you Obi Wan, I was but the learner , now ...wait..WHERE HAS EVERYONE GONE?"  Vader only appears on a natural 12 for activation on 2d6...so far, the rebels have been very lucky...

Such fun, and much better than the Disney versions in recent times.

'4th Armoured at Burgdorf, 1985' - with Fistful of TOWs 3

 This game is based on the 'Burgdorf' scenario on page 24 of the superb Bruce Rea Taylor 1984 scenario book - Battlezones : Scenarios for Ultra Modern Period. That scenario itself is based upon the first engagement in the seminal novel Chieftains by Bob Forrest Webb, written in 1982, based on some of Hackett's Third World War publications. Phew, you have to love the 80s!

 

(There may have been a few 'phissssssssssssh' impressions due to Milan)

Outnumbered British in their prime, complete with Chieftain with a crap Leyland engine, and FV432 with crap everything else...

 

Now the scenarios assume WRG or Challenger, hence they are on a 8x6 table with 1"=50m, at 1 model=1 tank. Double this up to 1"=100m, and you have a suite of mini scenarios on a 5'x3' table for 'Fistful of TOWs 3'.

One of the superlative works by the late Bruce Rea Taylor

 

My intent with these was to get my head around the game off the back of recent advocates on Little Wars TV, and that the rules are 'on the list' to be used. 

A book rivalled in its time, only by James Rouch's 'The Zone' series; but that, is another story. 

 

I have a decent collection of 1/200 British and Soviets which look superb (as I didn't paint 'em).

 The British have elements of a Battle Group, with a squadron of Chieftains as the backbone, facing 2xtank battalions, a motor rifle battalion and a Hind-D.

NEVER let me play with editing software for pics...just don't

 

Now, I won't go into detail on movement, and understandably the turn sequence is very intuitive, with options for overwatch (firing in enemy movement phase) and holding fire (firing in enemy fire phase). Quality Checks are the core of the game..so poor troops with a propensity to fail them when tasked, tend to disappear. Here is an example of firing:

 

• Chieftain: Front Armor 12 ; Main Gun Penetration 14 ROF 3, Effective Range 24"
• T-72 (Soviet Tank): Front Armor 10 ; Main Gun Penetration 14, ROF 2, Effective Range 16".

Assumptions for this example:

• Effective range (e.g., 20"; no close/long mods).
• Front-on shot (T-72 facing the Chieftain).
• Clear LOS, spotted (auto-spotted <10" or via spotter).
• No cover/terrain saves, day visibility, no suppression/overwatch.
• Crews: NATO "Good/Average" (+1 to-hit mod, QC 4+); Soviet "Average" (0 to-hit mod, QC 5+).

  Declare Fire: Chieftain stand declares shot at T-72 stand (all fire vs. target declared before rolling; target priority: nearest enemy, but can ignore already-shot/infantry/etc.).

  To-Hit Rolls: Roll d6 equal to weapon ROF (3). Hits on 4+ base (guns at effective range), modified by range, quality, whether suppressed, or on overwatch:

   Cover/Terrain Save (skipped; no cover. Normally, e.g., town 4+ save per hit).

  Penetration Rolls (per unsaved hit): Calculate dice = Gun Pen (14) - Target Front Armor (10) = 4 dice per hit.If Pen < Armor: Roll, then negative to hit - which means QC only 

  Quality Check (if 4-5 scored but no destroy): T-72 rolls 1d6 ≥ QC target (5+). Mods: -1 suppressed, -1 unit losses >⅔, etc. Fail = eliminate stand; pass = suppressed (-1 to-hit next turn).

   

  It seems over-complicated, but not really, as it factors in troop quality, armour quality, and environmental factors.

   The added bonus is that it covers 1915-21st century, so finally, a set of rules that cover most modern games with one core premise, and which aren't Command Decision!

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   British Line of Defence - cohesion distances actually played a part here, as rules-as-written, the British needed 8" element to element. This could be changed for static defence.

   
   

   

   Soviet centre. Sov T72 battalion come straight down the western autobahn 

   
   

   

   Paltry defences, reinforced no doubt by first line highly motivated TA regiments, designed to be sacrificed in the first 48 hours...ahem

   
   

   

   Load SABOT...uhh , wait

   
   

   

   I stole a rule from a video online, where the Hind had to pop up to cross power lines

   
   

   

   ahhh....there he is - Red Air

   
   

   

   British ambush

   
   

   

   Long range selective fire (rules allow Rate of Fire to be split) destroys much of the T72 battalion (remember 1 tank = 1 platoon)

   
   

   

   "Put the tea on Dave, we're 'ere for a while mate!"

   
   

   

   The Soviet centre

   
   

   

   A land rover, with a Blowpipe team, races toward the British right, spotting the Hind...uhh, good luck with that kit lads...

   
   

   

   The Soviet centre collapses...

   
   

   

   ...but a T-62 battalion, reinforced by the Hind flight, is making ground

   
   

   

   (There may have been a few 'phissssssssssssh' impressions due to Milan on the Soviet right)

   
   

   

   Hind-D time

   
   

   

   Soviet infantry on the right is ambushed as it pushes toward Burgdorf

   
   

   

   Sovs drop incendiary smoke, but in the wrong place

   
   

   

   The Sovs do very well on the right for a time, but British ambush fire, via infantry and Milan, proves very effective

   
   

   

   Another flank ambush

   
   

   

   
   
   

   In the end, having to get 6 vehicles through Burgdorf, and despite horrendous British armour casualties, due mainly to air interdiction and the lack of action from crap Blowpipe, the Soviets simply ran out of vehicles. British win, by default, as even they could not pull out with significant numbers.

   A great set of rules. Lots to learn, but lots to offer.