Ulster Wargames Society - Combat HQ game in 6mm

Club meeting today and I took part in a 6mm (been a while) WW2 game organized by Mike and Bryn using Combat HQ rules.

Game was British vs Huns in NW Europe but no specific scenario as such. 

Terrain was set up then sides and deployment areas diced for with Bryn and Mike taking Germans in defence and Simon and I the Brit attackers.

We had two full Battalions of Infantry (one Experienced) and an Armoured Brigade of 9 Shermans, 6 Cromwells and a couple of Achilles and two towed 17pdrs. A few armoured cars acted as Recce and we had support from two batteries of 25pdrs.

Germans had two PzGr Battalions a couple of Pak 40s and an 88mm Flak 36 some Sd222 and Pumas and an Armoured Regiment with several PzIV, Panthers and a Couple of Tigers. They also had a couple of Stugs and Hetzers. Their force was also rounded out with two artillery batteries of 105mm. 

Huns set up first (no Blinds used today) and then Simon placed an Infantry Bttn on table with rest of our forces in reserve.

Simon set up just to left of centre but unfortunately a full company got caught in forming up areas by a Hun barrage and were forced to retreat in suppression whilst rest advanced into a large wooded area.

We then decided to use half our staff orders to bring on our entire reserves in one fell swoop with the second infantry Bttn coming on on right under my command and our Armoured Brigade coming on in center making a massed charge forwards.

This bold move of course seen the Germans commit most of their reserves as well with a large tank battle taking place in middle of the table.

The superior range and firepower of the Panzers soon made itself felt.

I managed to get the two Achilles and half the Cromwells into a wood which offered some protection but failed with the 17pdrs to inflict much damage.

Mike on our left then pushed forward pinning Simons infantry whilst Bryn flooded the center and our right with Panzers and the Tigers and Panthers had a jolly old time pinging Shermans and the rest of Cromwell units.

My experienced Infantry advanced into wood and pushed up on right to a hedge line forcing commitment of last of PzGr Companies.

I did 'charge' with one company of Infantry weathering a deluge of fire to get within PIAT range and managed to dispatch a Stug Platoon.

Whilst this death or glory assault caused much consternation in Hun ranks (Panzers got shy of advancing) it ultimately cost my entire Company.

With our Tank force decimated and surviving Platoons scattered the chance of our advancing any further was gone and an attritional exchange of fire was all we could manage for rest of battle and we had to succumb to the inevitable, that plus Mikes wife was arriving to collect him :-)

Fun game with a playable set of rules (I find some stats a bit unexpected) with a nice dice based Orders system and really good to see 6mm toys in action.

View from German right

British Armoured Brigade advances to their doom in center as Panzers have rare old time (bottom)

Shermans at least gave it a go

Cromwells and Achilles hug cover

Brit Infantry form up on right

Thankfully they managed to advance unscathed across mostly open ground

Overview of the massed charge

These woods soon filled with British units

Shermans in uneven firefight

PzGr defend central town

The table at start from British right

Initial Hun deployment taking place

Several others games at club (think we had 20 players in action across 5 games) and as ever no idea as to how these progressed.

Phil put on another British vs German game in 20mm with own rules

Jeremy D had a Chain of Command 2 game going with again British taking on the nasty Nazis this time in 28mm

And another WW2 game in 15mm this time by Dave M set in Egypt with at least some Italians on display

And lastly but not leastly the two Daves had a FOGR game with Samurai against Chinese in 15mm

L'Art De La Guerre two more games (Galatian and Viking)

Two more games of LADG today but not the Medieval period this time 

Stephen has a newly painted Polybian Roman army so I gave this an outing using my Galatians.

And then I used Vikings against Carolingian.

Vikings take on Charlemagne

Celts battle Rome

 

Commands & Colors - one more down and two to go

Another C&C scenario completed with Mike via Vassal and a very narrow win for Rome at Cissa. 

The last unit loss could easily have been Romes. 

Now its onto Iliturgi 215BC the penultimate scenario of our campaign (I only have one other C3i scenario)

Great stuff with this easy to play and fun system on Vassal

The end at Cissa

A tough looking task for Romans at Iliturgi

Middle Earth and its heroes

At Stephens today (who by the way won the Cork competition so practice well worth it) and he decided to play the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game.

I stuck with my favoured Minas Morgul force and he choose two Heroic Fellowship type lists.

My list had usual Witch King on Fell Beast, A Troll a couple of Spectres and assorted Mordor and Morranon Orcs for 34 figures total.

First list Stephen tried was Breaking Of The Fellowship (?) with Aragon, Boromir, Gimli, Frodo and Legolas (very much the movie version) with Eleven support including Haldir.

Second game he used The Grey Company with a mere 9 figures but all being heroes again with Aragon, Gimli, Legolas, a trio of Ranger Captains and Eleven Heroes.

The heroes are just that with a long list of abilities and traits which make them a very potent even in small numbers and able to blow through the Orcs in short order.

But great to see such figures in action and watch them shine 

Against the Grey Company it was a Capture The Flag type scenario with a central objective but random arrival table edges for each Warband

The Company of Heroes trouncing a Warband that appeared behind them (awful pic quality) 

Whilst the Witch King arrived on opposite edge. My third Warband appeared on right flank  but the Company just crushed both enroute to the objective

Against The Fellowship a capture the Supplies type scenario with Legolas, Aragon and Boromir (lots of horn blowing) having a field day killing Orcs. 

Boardgame solo day

Couple of board wargames played solo today.

First up my ever favoured Combat Commander playing a Bulge scenario based on action near Lanzerth.

Small force of Yanks dug in armed to teeth with MGs against a motley collection of Kraut Volksgrenadiers, Conscripts and a couple of Fallschirmjager. 

A tough one for Germans this.

Then it was turn of The British Way COIN system game. 

I managed to play through the Palestine and Malaya games.

I have yet to fathom how to play Brits in Palestine as the sabotage and terror tactics of Irgun just drain Political Will.

Malaya an easier proposition for Empire and they came good at the end.

Disaster in the Holy Land

 

Victory in Malaya