All in All - The Barons' War AAR

This past weekend I finally managed to meet back up with the Army of Central Maryland group. 

The game of the day was The Barons' War, with miniatures, terrain, and rules guidance provided by Mike.

The scenario was an ambush. The attacking warband, caught unawares while passing through the village, would score points for units moved off the opposing table edge. The defenders would score points for each enemy unit removed. 

The attackers had fewer numbers but consisted of mercenary units that were generally well equipped, along with with monks and local guides. The defenders had a core of knights, mounted knights, and serjeants, but were supplemented by a larger amount of quickly scrapped together levy.

The attackers advanced with their levy and monks leading the way, marching through the town. The defenders, having spread out in deployment, started to shift towards their left. 

The Barons' War uses alternating activations with most units able to perform a single action in a turn: move, fight, rally, etc. A commander and his retinue has more actions, and can divvy out those actions to other friendly units within a certain range, though this causes the unit to become Weary (a detrimental status where all dice rolls are at -1 and requires a morale test to remove). The attackers' commander, for example, could use his actions to order his crossbow units to shoot a second time in a turn. This would prove useful when the crossbows moved into close range. 

The attackers continued forward under a steady hail of arrows, with the monks and levy catching the worst of it. 

Meanwhile, a single unit of mercenary crossbowmen hunkered down in the middle of the town. They managed to take out a single mounted knight, but the defenders' use of the village's walls generally kept them safe. 

The main engagement occurred on the other side the village. An attacking unit of serjeants led the assault on the wall, but between the defenders' mounted knights and bow levy, the serjeants were repulsed.

In the distance, the defenders' commander, his retinue, and the well-armed serjeants rushed to bolster the levy units behind the wall. 

However, the rest of the attackers' units charged in together. Both of the defender bow levy units, as well as a unit of spear levy, were broken and began to fell back, leaving only the defenders' commander, his retinue, and a unit of serjeants left to defend the flank. The mounted knights were also finally brought down.

We ended the game there for time. Post-game discussion left the situation ambiguous; if the attackers only had a limited number of turns (I believe Mike said it was 5 turns total) then there was no way to get any units off the table in time. However, the defenders were going to have a difficult time winning in combat against the attackers' remaining units, especially with the crossbows shooting twice at close range. Further, it was unlikely they would have completely removed any units before the game ended.

Overall we enjoyed the game. Once we got the rules down it moved pretty quickly, and nothing felt off-kilter. I wouldn't mind seeing more of The Barons' War on the table. 

Painting Update - WWII

Not only have I been gaming recently, I've also gotten back to painting!

I wanted to finally finish my 29 Let's Go! project. Above are the bits and bobs of the German platoon; the Senior Leader, a Sniper Team, a medium mortar, and two panzerschreck teams. 

The Germans also have a number of artillery they can choose (although these have to be abandoned if they lose a scenario the gun is deployed in): a Pak 40, and Pak 28, and a light howitzer. I also painted up two gun teams for use with the models. 

Finally, the Germans have two Marder IIIs that can be deployed after losing in a couple scenarios. 

And that's everything! I think the only models I'm missing are medics for both sides. I may need to do some snipping for that. 

French Press - 'O' Group AAR

Last weekend Rocky was kind enough to host a game of 'O' Group, which allowed me to finally break out the French and German battalions that I had spent so much time painting. 

The scenario was a modified version of the Cristot scenario from the main rulebook. The Germans were the attackers, with three infantry companies, a machine gun section (though I realize I accidentally gave myself a second section in the game), a Panzer II platoon, and a Panzer III platoon (each of two sections). 

The defending French had three infantry companies (with one having only two platoons), two machine gun sections, two 25mm anti-tank guns, and Renault R35 platoon with two sections.

Like the book scenario, the Germans would need to capture two of the four BUAs of Cristot by the end of sixteen turns to win, or either side would need to inflict 3 FUBARs on the other side.

The German assault on the town was blunted early when a machine-gun reinforced infantry platoon was chased from an orchard by combined French infantry and tank fire.

On the other side of the road that split the table, the French enacted a refused flank, pulling back while opposing two German companies. The French FO used his placement on the hill to call in battalion mortars and the single French artillery mission that was available. 

The French fell back to the town, with four infantry platoons occupying a BUA each. 

The R35s' fire continued to hold off the attacking Germans. They had to be careful, however, as the Germans had integral AT rifles and could potentially damage the French tanks (the French infantry lack integral AT fire, thanks to their sending their AT rifles abroad).

I decided to bring the Panzer IIs on to support the German right flank. 

And the Panzer IIIs rumbled onto the table to engage the R35s. 

As the Panzer IIs rolled forward, German infantry followed behind.

The Panzer IIIs managed to knock out one of the R35 sections. Rocky revealed his two AT guns which had deployed in ambush: one aiming at the Panzer IIIs, and on aiming at the Panzer IIs.

The Panzer IIIs eventually managed to knock out the second R35 section.

A Panzer II section was lost to French AT gun fire. 

The German infantry rushed to the hedgerows lining the road, hoping to launch an assault into the town.

However, French fire was heavy enough to continually shock the German infantry. And one platoon was routed from the table, giving the Germans a FUBAR.

We decided to call the game at the end of Turn 14, as there wasn't a chance for the Germans to press into the town in two turns or cause enough casualties for three FUBARs.

I definitely could have made some better tactical decisions. The major mistake I made was poorly deploying the third German company all the way on the German right. I had hoped to catch the French on the right side of the table in a pincer attack but they fell back too quickly. This left a third of my force out of the fight, which then meant that the French actually had more infantry in the main attacking area. 

The Consolidation action is one of the more complicated aspects of 'O' Group, and I definitely need to work harder to understand it. Storm of Steel has a YouTube video that's worth watching.

I probably should have brought the tanks on earlier as well, as they could have put more pressure on the French compared to the slower moving infantry.

Rocky also suggested that the scenario itself needed tweaking. Going forward, I will remove the third French company and add a light howitzer to the Germans. We'll have to try the scenario again and see how it shakes out.

Village Quar-rel - Clash of Rhyfles AAR

It's been a while, hasn't it? 

For a number of reasons, my hobbying dropped off the map earlier this year. No purchasing, no painting, no playing. 

I did finally get around to demoing a couple games of Clash of Rhyfles, which not only has done a bit to get my hobby malaise cleared up, but ticks a couple boxes in my 6x6 challenge.

To keep things simple, the Coftyrans and Crusaders had four basic rhyflers and a milwer (the in-universe equivalent of a corporal). This meant that all models were equipped with basic rifles, and players could use the Leader rule with the milwer. The objective was just fighting to the last quar.

The rules have largely stayed the same between the previous iteration in the Rhyfler’s Pocketbook and the current version. 

The streets of the village were quickly filled with bodies from both sides.

The first game saw the Coftyrans start with an early lead, but eventually the Crusders came back to win with a single model left. The higher Snapshot value of the Crusader's Bogen rifle helps when returning fire or making Snapshots, where the longer Harlech rifles of the Coftyrans have better range.

In our second we, the two side deployed different. Playing as the Crusaders, I realized I was boxed in with the placement of the buildings and bushes! 

It didn't help that I kept rolling terribly when attempting to treat my wounded Quar, which left two of them dead outright.

The Coftyrans cleaned up the remaining Crusaders, leaving them in control of the village. 

The demos created some local buzz, and I've assembled my Crusader and Coftyran specialists and tractors. And there's been some movement on the next starter set from Wargames Atlantic, which will feature Creevin, who have the best uniforms. 

Painting Update - WWII, Trench Crusade

Here's another update with what I've been painting.

I've been coaxed into joining a Trench Crusade campaign by a friend and some other local gamers. I wasn't really interested in the rules, but they seem to put on a fun enough game and I haven't played anything campaign-based in a while (maybe I can get them interested in some Blood Bowl?). I put together a Trench Pilgrim warband using the St. Methodius subfaction, as I liked the big mech-like Shrine Anchorites. 

The above features the warband's two Elite choices, a War Prophet and a Castigator. The two other unique models are a Shrine Anchorite and a Stigmatic Nun.

The rest of the warband consists of a few Trench Pilgrims and a couple Ecclesiastical Prisoners. 

I've also been working on the Germans for the Chain of Command campaign. Above is a standard infantry squad. It's smaller than the American squad by a couple of riflemen, but has an integral light-machine gun.