War of 1812 Attack on Ft. Erie

My good friend Bob (who's a painting machine) wanted to put on a large War of 1812 game at the Hotlead gaming convention this past weekend. Because the historic attack on the fort in 1814 was quite large even Bob had to scale it back a bit. He focused his attack just on the main fort position. His figure size used was 15mm. The scale for the scenario was 1 figure = 1 man. Yup. The fort had 500 US figures in it while the British attack was with 1500 figures. A battalion leading the attack from 2 different sides.
There were 5 players representing the British forces and 3 representing the US forces.

The battalion companies are lined up in 3 columns of companies on opposite sides of the fort.

3 British companies attempt an attack at the main gate.

The attack begins. The roofs of the 2 buildings were removed for figure access. The far side of the fort another British battalion is attacking at the same time.

 The British attack from the  east (photo above) came in at 2 points. the Far left 3 companies take a tremendous beating for some ships that were off table. The remaining battalion companies with siege ladders in hand make a rush for the redoubt on the right.

The west end attack takes shape. Skirmishers approach the fort.

The attack from the west is making progress. The left redoubt has been captured. This is the same redoubt that historically exploded (magazine) and stopped cold the British attack.

One of the eastern redoubts is captured.

A view looking further back.

The western attack has now made it into the right side redoubt.

The eastern end attack follows suit with capturing the second redoubt on their front.

A bird's eye view. All 4 redoubts have been captured.

After 3 hours of play the game was called to a conclusion with a British victory. With all 4 redoubts captured it would have been very difficult for the Americans to hold onto the fort. Casualties were heavy on both sides. The Americans were fast approaching 50%. Of the 2 British battalions attacking the number of casualties amounted to about 3 1/2 companies of men. Historically the British attack was somewhat different with only one attacking force on the fort while a second one tried to approach from the far end of the dug in American position. The British did manage to get into the eastern redoubt but a magazine explosion stopped them cold and killed their General. At the opposite side of the American position another British attack attempted to wade around a gun battery and got caught out in the open.
The rules used were house rules and designed for quick playability at conventions. They did cover melee, terrain, moral, and artillery.
The overall response for the players was a very enjoyable game. I suggested to Bob that next one he has at this scale to use movement trays for the figures. This would speed up the game further.

Advance and take that Normandy village!

Our group decided to do a WW2 skirmish game. A small scale, 1 figure = 1 man type of game. Very little armour. The scenario was a supported Canadian force moving on a Normandy village. We had the opportunity to play this as a double blind game with a ref watching all plotted off board moves. When opposing sides came within sight of each other they were placed on the table. The Canadian force consisted of 2 platoons of infantry supported by 2 Sherman M4A1's, a Daimler scout car, and a mechanized mortar section (universal carriers). The German forces are unknown.

The shelled out Normandy village.

The Canadian forces decided to split into to flanking forces. The left force had the benefit of the 2 Shermans while the right force had the scout car and the mortar section.

The left force advances across a field. Infantry spread out to minimize artillery strikes. The right force is moving up the other side of the road but hasn't been seen by the enemy yet and therefore not placed on the table.

The left force proceeds across the field. No Germans in sight yet.

Still quiet.

The Canadians are becoming too confident. No enemy in sight.

Ambush!

A German squad with a supporting MG34 opens up on the the Canadian flank. Once Canadian squad manages to pull back with one casualty while the other leading squad gets pinned down and annihilated. Only one soldier escapes!

Counter attack. The German squad has bugged out.

With the help of some HE fire from one of the Shermans the German squad on the Canadian flank is forced to pull back. The Germans did manage to slow down this Canadian platoon with minimal losses.

Hidden armour.

 While the left forces was struggling with the German flank attack the Germans moved a Mk IV into a building and started to engage the 2 Shermans.

View from the other side.

View of from the Canadian side of a well hidden Mk IV tank.

Smoke!

The mortars manage to place down a smoke screen to hide the Shermans. This forces the Mk IV out of the building. Meanwhile on the right side of the road the right force makes it to the church.

Backing out of the house.

Caught a German mortar in a nearby field.

The German mortar crew got caught in the open and paid the price.

Canadian infantry make it to the church but can't move any further.

The scout car falls victim to a lucky mortar round.

With the scout car knocked out the Germans decide to go on the offensive and run their Sd. Kfz 251 halftrack down the road to engage the stalled Canadian infantry.

What's that down the road?

One of the Shermans reversed it's course in the field and decided to move down the road. It managed to take a shot at the German halftrack  but missed. It was at this time that the Canadian forces realized that they'd need more help in taking the village and decided to pull back.

The game ended with a German tactical victory.

The rules used are home grown. As mentioned the scale is 1 fig = 1 man, 1 vehicle = 1 vehicle.

Worthington Force vs 12th SS

This game was a long time in coming. My friend John has been working on his micro armour and terrain for quite a while and finally had enough done to host a game. The scenario he chose was a segment of Operation Totalize. That mad dash to close the Falaise gap. The Worthington Force consisted of the Algonquin Regiment, mounted in half-tracks and carriers and the British Columbia Regiment (armoured), consisting of Shermans, Fireflys, and Lynx II armoured scout cars. Their objective was a pre-dawn rush down current day route D658 to Point 195 just north west of Potigny.
In the darkness when passing through the town of Cintheaux they take the wrong road and are now heading south east along the Chemin Heusse.
This is where our game starts. The rules used are Shwere Kompanie. The figures are 1/300 micro armour and the game scale is 1 vehicle = 1 vehicle, 1 infantry formation = 1 squad.

The choices of which hill to take. 1 would be optimal but is a long reach. 2 has better cover. 3 is the safest.

The Canadians decide to rush for hill #1. In reality it's Pt 132 on the map.

Heading south 3 squadrons of the British Columbia Regiment head down the highway.

Way out in front of them recce units look for the enemy.

A Lynx II scout car near the base of hill #1 or Pt 132.

It's hard to mask such a large force moving in a mass. Elements of the 12th SS, 85 Infantry Division and Tigers of SS Pz Abt. 102 rush into firing positions.

A zug of Panthers races up from Potigny.

The Canadian armoured column can he seen moving down the road.

The German forces manage to place armour on either side of the highway and start engaging the Canadian tanks.

Tigers take a bead on the column.

Through a gap in the trees the leading elements of the column come under fire.

The soft fields on either side don't allow for quick maneuvering. In 5 minutes 11 Shermans are burning.

While the action on the road is happening the Algonquin regiment decide to make a run for hill #2 and dig in.

They start to break off the road and head to the hill to the right.

The infantry dig in while the armour column struggles with fire from both sides of the road.

The second troop lays down a smoke screen to help the lead elements get out of the intense fire.

Time to retire?

Looking north Pt 132 or hill #1(bottom left) isn't going to be reached today.

It was at this point we decided to call it a game. 2 of the 3 tigers on the German left did get knocked out by fire from a few Fireflys. Of the 3 squadrons of armour on the road 1 squadron was completely decimated.

In reality the Canadian force did receive the heavy resistance from the Germans and made a run for Pt 140 with the 2 remaining squadrons at around 9:30am. The main Canadian 4th Division didn't know what happened with Worthington's Force and couldn't offer any amount of artillery support. It was with the support of some Typhoon fighter bombers they managed to keep the German forces at bay.

Our game lasted about 4 hours and we were surprised at the high level of canage on the road. We can see now how Wittman pulled off his famous attack on the British 7th Armoured Division at Villers-Bocage.

The micro armour allows you to play the large battles and use more realistic distances for combat. I found the game very enjoyable and we are actually going to do a repeat of it again soon.

Normandy Tank battle

A new feature I'm starting on my gaming blog is guest articles. For the first one my good friend John has been working out the kinks of his micro armour game and has supplied me with his latest work on a Canadian armour formation meeting to German Panthers in Normandy. Enjoy!

Here's the latest scenario I was playing with. I'm using Schwere Kompanie rules which once you get the hang of it is pretty fast and furious.  1 inch = 50 yds

The Canadians have been tasked with taking a ridge and advance with 2 troops of Shermans each with 4 M4's and 1 FireFly each.  Normally the troop would only have 3 M4's. They will have to cross an open field in order to reach their objective.  They have also been informed that there are 2 Panthers on the ridge.

Image 1 is the start line and the Canadians have the initiative.  Combatants are 30" apart or 1500 yds.  The Canadian plan is to hit the pedal and sprint the screen of M4's across the open ground as two separate battle groups with the FF's in support.  Max move for the M4's is 16 inches which uses all there action points for the turn and they will not be able to fire as seen in image 2.  Gutsy but let's see what happens.

 The Panthers get to declare  fire on the fast approaching M4's. 

P1 blows his roll due to the M4 fast moving target modifier.  P2 2 is luckier and gets a kill but the crew survives.  Panthers get a 2nd shot as they have only used 1/2 of their action points.  The Fireflies are curiously immobile.  P1 gets a hit and due to his roll suppresses his target and the crew breaks.  P2 gets a miss.  FF's advance half of their action points and are able to fire. FF1 hits and suppresses Panther but survives his break test.  FF2 fires to no effect.

Now it's ugly time.  This part is a judgement call as the easy targets are the M4's but the prize are the FF's.  I opt for the easy target and am able to kill 3 more M4's as they are the one's I've opted to move first. The rules are 'I go you go' and the Panther's have expended all of their action points but were able to fire twice. However notice that, hey where did those trees come from?  Notice that 2 of the M4's have advanced to a flanking position expending all of their action points. The FF's advance half of their action points and are able to fire which results in the death of one Panther.

Aspect from the Canadian side.

In the image above, Panther 2 decides to bugger off at this point in reverse using all action points and Canadians advance on their objective and get a lucky flank shot and kill the fleeing German. So ends tactical experiment 1 with a Pyrrhic Canadian victory with 50% casualties.  This was strictly a move and fire experiment to see if it would be possible to go Russian style on the Germans and overwhelm them in open ground at high speed. 

I found the rule set to be very easy to use and realistic and made for a fast and furious pace. I'm looking forward to adding other elements into the mix.

Hope you enjoyed.

John

WW1 village attack

It's been a long time since I've played a WW1 skirmish game so I dusted off my trench terrain and invited some friends over. The scenario is the British found out that the Germans have moved into the shelled out village in no-man's land. The British Colonel does not like it at all and informs the battalion major to send out a company in force to claim the village. To help 4 tanks are added to the mix plus a few batteries of off board artillery.

The situation. Germans in the village and the British are getting ready to push them out.

The Germans were thinking of adding a reinforced observation post in the village and anticipated the British would challenge them. They send a company's worth of troops to support the OP.

The opening few turns finds the British working their way through their own wire and approaching the outskirts of the village.

The Germans are settling in.

The Germans decide to seek cover. The British off board artillery starts coming into the village area and provides a screen for their infantry.

Tanks lead the charge.

The tanks move ahead of the infantry and start driving down the main street in the village. The German off board artillery starts opening up now but somehow the tanks keep coming.

The Whippet gets into the thick of it.

With the Whippet tank leading she takes the brunt of opposing fire. Even a flamethrower is having problems igniting it's stream! The front MG on the Whippet is knocked out but the side MG's are still working.

The infantry move up.

As the Germans struggle dealing with the tanks the British infantry move up to the village.

More British move into the village outskirts.

By now the British infantry start trading fire with the Germans and slowly start pushing them back.

More British infantry move in.

The tanks were the trick to the job at hand. Soon the Germans are overwhelmed with the onslaught of British troops and are forced to give ground. The game was a tactical victory for the British. The Colonel can sleep tight tonight!
The figure scale is 15mm. The gaming scale is 1 figure = 1 soldier. Squad level action. The rules are my home grown skirmish rules.