Eviction Notice - 'O' Group AAR

I recently paid a visit to my old South Jersey Gaming Association group in New Jersey, both to see how they're doing and to potentially run some games of Fire in the Sky. The hope was that I could convince the group to let me also run games at 2026's Wings & Things event at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum. 

Unfortunately, a number of illnesses meant that there weren't enough folks to make a third game worth it, so I decided to jump into Ted's O Group offering instead!

The scenario was a 1942 attack by the Germans in Russia. The Russians had 5 BUAs to defend; the Germans either needed to cause 3 FUBARs or control 3 of the 5 BUAs by the end of 14 turns. 

The Germans started their attack strong, forcing the Russians out of the farmstead on the right flank. 

A lucky shot from the Russian infantry gun knocked out an advancing Panzer II. Combat Patrols were placed to occupy terrain (and I think this was a mistake on our part, deploying infantry into the woods instead of the town. I forget why we didn't deploy a unit to the town directly with no enemy units within 8". Fog of war, I suppose!

The left flank was relatively quiet. 

The center saw most the action during the game, with both sides devoting infantry platoons to attacking the center town and nearby farmstead. 

The Russian infantry gun redeployed to assist with adding fire to the beleaguered infantry platoon that was caught in the open. 

Wanting to keep the Germans out of the center town, I moved a Russian infantry platoon in to occupy it. 

In what was my best move of the game, I managed to guess that the Germans would try to deploy their armor to the most open part of the battlefield, and prepared an ambushing anti-tank gun. When the panzer platoon moved into the open, the gun opened fire. Between some incredibly hot dice rolling and being able to both react fire and fire in our phase, one tank section was knocked out and the other was damaged. 

The Germans attempted to deploy an infantry gun to the woods behind the village they occupied, but concentrated Russian fire and mortars managed to rout it. 

The remaining German tank section moved to support the attack on the center village. A German platoon, with a machine gun section attached, held down the flank and halted any Russian counterattacks. 

Both sides exchanged close ranged fire, hoping to cause casualties.

Seeking to put some pressure on the German right, I threw out a Combat Patrol deep on their side, hoping to deploy a platoon and flank the Germans with their attached machinegun. 

The Germans, after softening up their Russian targets, launched an assault into the center village and captured it! The Russian platoon holding the village retreated. 

As we approached the end of the game, the Germans seemed to hold the upper hand with three BUAs captured. 

However, capturing the village placed the Germans out in a salient. The Russians focused their firepower and, combined with a successful result, successfully recapturing the village. 

Down to the wire, the Germans attempted to once again take the BUA. Orders were spent, dice were rolled, and when the dust cleared the Russians had held the line. 

I appreciated getting the chance to play O Group with the SJGA group. As I often say, I need to play these rules more often, as I was wrong on several points (Dave Brown's QRS sheets are often extensive but not comprehensive). It was a shame I didn't get a chance to run Fire in the Sky, but there's always next year!

Running Up That Hill - 'O' Group AAR

A couple weekends ago, I attended another game run by Rocky of the Army of Central Maryland group.

The game was 'O' Group and the theater was Italy, 1943, with an attack on Caiazzo by an American battalion.

Alex and I were commanding the German defenders. We had two infantry companies with limited assets; a trio of machine guns in pillboxes, a pair of 88mm flak guns, and a 20mm anti-aircraft gun. The Germans also had a number of defenses they could deploy to the table; three foxholes, four lengths of barbed wire, and two minefields. 

The Americans, controlled by Kelly, Scott, Jim, and Kevin, had three infantry companies (two rifle, one engineer) and a tank company. Assets included MMGs, an HMG, some light mortars, and an airstrike.

One of the two 88s was deployed on top of a rise that gave it good coverage of the American approach. It was defended by two platoons of infantry in foxholes. Two lengths of barbed wire and a minefield created a funnel for the advancing Americans, and two MMGs in pillboxes added their weight of fire.

On the other side of the small town the Germans placed another minefield and two lengths of barbed wire, defended by the last MMG in a pillbox.

The American infantry companies pushed hard up the flanks (with the company on the far side of the table being targeted by artillery and machine-gun fire), while the tanks were being hammered by the 88 up on the hill.

The Germans lost their first defense when the Americans deployed their engineer company (whose platoons where equipped with flamethrowers and SMGs) and assaulted the machine-gun pillbox. The flamethrowers made quick work of the German defenders. 

While the German defenses on the hill were formidable, they were also static; the perfect target for American artillery. 

A daring American raid punched through the German lines and assaulted the 88. The gun was destroyed and the crew routed.

The Americans only had two tank sections left (the Company HQ and a remaining section of Shermans), but they now had more freedom in movement and fire. 

After the MMG team in the pillbox was removed, the secondary German defense - more dug-in infantry - revealed themselves to the Americans. 

The remains of the German company defending the hill were in full retreat as the Americans continued their push up and over the hill.

Their attack was stymied by the remaining 88 and the last German MMG team. 

The two sides were in something of a stalemate. Both were close to their last FUBAR, and the Germans were incredibly lucky , having survived a couple of American assaults out from the town in the center of the table. 

However, the Germans turned their eyes upward as the roar of engines became louder and louder...

And watched as an American airstrike knocked out the last 88. 

At that point, the Germans decided to call it quits and retreat. If I remember correctly, we were only three bases away from our third FUBAR. While the Americans were only two bases away from their fourth FUBAR, they now had the long-range firepower from the remaining tanks to chip away at the remaining Germans. 

Still, it was a fun scenario. I think the Germans could have deployed their defenses a little better (mea culpa, Alex) but we still put up a decent fight against an opposing force twice our size. And 'O' Group continues to be an excellent set of rules.

The New Group - 'O' Group AAR

Since moving down to Maryland, I haven't had a chance to game as much compared to back up in Jersey where I was in a couple of regular gaming groups. 

I finally had the chance to meet up with a local group of gamers (the "Army of Central Maryland") for their first game of 'O' Group, which I enjoyed playing with Ted last year. 

The scenario was a meeting engagement in Italy, 1943, between an American battalion and a German battalion. The Germans were approaching from the left side of the table, while the Americans were coming from the right. 

Both sides were looking to cause four FUBARs. If the Germans took the town of Persano, it would cause an automatic FUBAR against the Americans. If the Americans took the hill in the Germans' deployment zone, it would cause an automatic FUBAR against the Germans. 

Due to my semi-familiarity with the rules, I was tasked with leading the German battalion with Kevin and Scott, while Kelly was in charge of the American battalion with Mike and Alex. 

The Germans pushed up the flanks, using the forest and ravines as cover. 

While covering their own flanks, the Americans pushed hard for the orchards just outside the town.

After a fierce battle, the Germans ended up winning the fight for the orchard, helped by weight of fire coming from the company in the woods and some lucky artillery. The Americans lost a platoon and were forced back. They brought on their tank platoon for added support, and the Germans countered by calling up their assault gun platoon. 

The Germans StuGs managed to knocked out a Sherman section, and the other tank section retreated behind the hill. The Americans brought their artillery to bear against the Germans in the orchards, causing a decent amount of shock and pushing back the newly-deployed company commander.

At this point, the game had reached a bit of a lull. Both sides were firing at long range and not accomplishing much, although the Americans were down a couple battalion dice from from their two FUBARS. Scott was starting to push his German company against the American right flank, but Alex's lone platoon was shrugging off hits left and right. 

Hoping to apply pressure, the German battalion launched attacks on both flanks, while still keeping a platoon and a couple Combat Patrols in the middle orchards. Alex's single platoon was ice-cold while facing down an entire German company, while they were supported by HMG and artillery fire from the American position in Persano. 

On the other flank, the Americans under Mike were falling back as Kevin pushed forward, supported by the StuG platoon. 

Unfortunately I had to leave at this point, and the rest of the group played on a bit longer. The town was still safe, but the Americans were almost at their FUBAR break point while the Germans were still relatively fresh.

It was fun to play 'O' Group again, and the Maryland guys are a great crew. I'm looking forward to participating in more games with them!

'Advance' to Hill 192, Part 2 - 'O' Group AAR

The usual crowd assembled at Ted's this past Saturday to finish the ongoing game of 'O' Group. As Chip unfortunately couldn't make it, John stepped in to take his place as the third American commander. 

With less than half the allotted turns left to cause 6 more section losses to the Germans, Ted suggested a strategy of using our orders to focus on one flank per turn; sort of a 1-2 punch solution, rather than diluting 

We started by tackling the platoon in the BUA that had nearly wiped out one of my platoons. A couple turns of focused fire reduced the German platoon to a single stand (and forcing another FUBAR onto Steve), but it tenaciously hung on. John and I readied our platoons for an assault. 

Meanwhile, a poor morale roll saw my platoon that was assisting Ted's company retreat behind the woods in had been taking cover in. 

John managed to remove another stand from one of Steve's platoons with a long range engagement from his Sherman platoon. 

With both battalions having lost two order dice each, the turns were moving fairly rapidly; this could have meant a victory for the Germans if the Americans didn't do something to break the stalemate. 

It was Ted who led the attack, suppressing the German platoon that had been holding the industrial BUA for most of the game and then risking a sprint across open ground. 

With a roll of 11" for movement, his platoon leapt into the assault and managed to beat the German defenders, removing another stand and forcing the Germans to retreat.  

Steve spent his orders rallying his troops and firing back at the Americans who now occupied the industrial BUA. 

With only a couple turns left before the end of the game, John and I readied our companies for an attack on the remaining German forward position (which Steve and reinforced with another reduced platoon and one of his two company commanders). 

Unfortunately, a tactical error (i.e., forgetting one of his orders) left a suppressed German platoon out in the open. The Americans spent their last remaining HQ orders to order the Shermans to fire twice at the platoon, which removed the final two sections that the Americans needed to win the game!

Had Steve moved that platoon into the cover of the nearby woods, this game may have ended in a German victory. While I didn't do much (all of the action ended up on the flanks), I did at least pin down some of Steve's platoons which allowed Ted, Chip and John to focus on engagements that favored the Americans. Even so, Steve's dice rolling and defensive tactics meant he was able to hold out against a determined attack for 17 of 18 turns. 

This was an interesting (and as always, fun!) scenario to compare to the other's I've played in. Those scenarios usually had the defenders set up in a multi-sector BUA. Having a more strung out setup meant that the defenders couldn't stack their units all into one area, but it also meant that the attackers couldn't concentrate as well. 

If we were to revisit this scenario, I'd like to see it played out with the more standard "2 forward, 1 back" approach that was used during the war, instead of attacking on a broad front.

'Advance' to Hill 192, Part 1 - 'O' Group AAR

We've continued to play 'O' Group at Ted's, slowly mastering the set of rules as we try different scenarios with a variety of forces. 

This time, Ted set up a scenario from the "1944: The Battle for Normandy" booklet, "Advance to Hill 192." 

This scenario sees an American infantry battalion attacking the town of Saint Georges d'Elle, which is defending by a worn battalion of German paratroopers. 

Unlike other scenarios, the BUAs that make up Saint Georges d'Elle are strung out separately as seven individual sections. To achieve victory, the Americans have to cause 3 FUBARs to the Germans within 18 turns. If they can't, then the Germans win. 

Ted, Steve, Chip and John had already plated another version of this scenario, with a worn American paratroop battalion defending against a German attack. Apparently it went rather quickly, with the American's under Ted's command folding quickly against the German blitz.

Chip, Ted, and I took command of the Americans. I had the center company with Chip on my right. 

Ted had the left flank. 

The Americans advanced with a mix of infantry platoons and combat patrols, moving quickly and hoping to find where the Germans had taken up their defenses. 

We didn't have to wait long. Steve revealed a number of hidden platoons, opening fire on the Americans. There weren't any losses, but Steve was happily handing out plenty of shock to the American platoons. 

I brought on another infantry platoon to assist Ted's attack on the left flank, and Ted received the first of two Sherman platoons that were assigned to the battalion. 

Chip's main effort was attacking the remote farmstead that was defended by a German platoon and an attached machine gun. With one platoon moving to take cover in a copse of trees, Chip sent out two combat patrols to further surround the objective. 

That quickly turned into the largest engagement on the table, as both sides deployed infantry platoons in support. Steve had two platoons against four American platoons (Chips' entire company and my last deployed platoon).

Unfortunately, even with a double set of re-rolls, the Americans failed to call in a potentially game-changing divisional artillery bombardment to soften up the Germans. 

On the American right, Ted was busy dealing with a StuG that had turned up along the road bisecting the table. Not wanting to expose the Shermans, Ted instead opted for the integral AT weapons in the infantry platoon taking cover in the orchard. Unfortunately, it couldn't make the range and missed. 

This was the table about halfway through the game. 

The American advance had stalled, as the Confident German infantry was difficult to shift.

I had made a mistake when deploying an infantry platoon to support Chip, which gave Steve an excellent chance to deploy a platoon into the BUA on the close side of the road and mow down the American platoon. 

Ted's infantry had been forced to fall back, and one of his own platoons had similarly been reduced to a lone section. 

Chip, however, was doing the necessary work and assaulted the farmstead, slaying the defending German platoon and routing the other platoon which had deployed in support. 

Ted could also count a victory, with his AT gun knocking out the StuG, which gave his Shermans the opportunity to advance. 

A lucky round of rolling saw one of Steve's platoons retreating. This ended up being a boon for him, however, as it meant that the Americans couldn't put more hits on the platoon and try to knock out more sections. 

With the farmstead secured, Chip diverted his platoon of Shermans to assist with knocking out the Germans that were pinning down my platoon. 

The left flank had remained fairly static, with both sides trading fire. 

We ended the game on turn 11. The Germans were down 6 sections, while the Americans were down 9; a fairly bloody battle that had seemed pretty peaceful in the first half. 

We'll continue the game this upcoming weekend, and it seems like it could swing either way. The Germans are halfway to losing the necessary 12 stands to end the scenario, but Steve still has reserves left that could hurt the American troops. The Americans have been beaten up, but they still have their tank platoons in good order. They need to be wary of German anti-tank weapons, but they've got the superior range to anything the Germans currently have deployed. 

So we'll see how this ends next week!