Bolt Action Again

My second try at Bolt Action hosted by Andy who has oodles of WWII stuff, again Russians vs Germans and I can play both sides without a problem but if I can help it I won't bother with Russians as I feel I have nothing in common with them despite reading a lot of their history and having great sympathy for the everyday Russians, not that I have particular leanings for playing German either. Should that bother me in a wargame, I am unsure of the answer, I don't have any problem with my armies and always have both sides, which I will play as the mood takes me, anyway I digress, and if I did build an army I think I would go British.

 It was a scenario taken from the Bolt Action rule book, it was too simplistic and I knew right away it required more information and thought than what was presented. It was an attack/defend scenario, Andy, the Russians, was the attacker and I, the Germans, was the defender, we had forces which almost mirrored each other so it was going to be an uphill struggle for Andy to take his three objectives. He started the game with a pre-emptive bombardment, which, although it hit all my squads and pinned them, was of no use because by the time he got anyone on the table I had rallied all my troops and again was sitting ready for him.

Pinned everywhere!

 He decided to use his tank to force the bridge across the river but of course as I set up first I had an A/T gun, a panzerschreck and two squads around the bridge with panzerfausts and if all this failed I had a Panzer IV sitting in reserve. It was the panzerschreck which eventually did for the T34, so that was his armoured support gone, in true Russian style he then threw some infantry squads in only to have them cut to pieces. I did lose my MMG's and the A/T gun was down to one man and a dog but there was no way he was crossing that river.

Bang goes the T34.

MkIV preparing for the turkey shoot.

 We don't really have a handle on this set of rules yet and I continue to peruse eBay for a cheap set which is just not happening, but again I did feel that I was being forced to make decisions and if Andy had got across the river I would have had to rethink my whole defence, I could actually plan, which was great.

It was a fairly full night at the club, we had a Bloodbowl game a Punic War bash with 'To The Strongest' and some guys trying out the new 'Great War' boardgame from PSC, two more playing a  large WWII game with what looked like 6 or 10mm troops called Spearhead or Spearkrieg or something similar which they have made their own, it looked good. We always have two lads, or rather mature gentlemen who, every week, play a boardgame, the good old fashioned type with counters and hexes, their interests range over most periods and their houses must be full of games.

I have not been able to get to the painting tray this week, I now have my granddaughter here and I have a mate coming from Scotland for an ACW game on Saturday, so the horse archers will not see a brush until next week. As well as maps I am also helping Helion out by indexing a book on the memoirs of a Padre during WWI, although it has to be scanned fairly quickly for key words and phrases you do pick up the gist of the book and I find it incredibly sad. His descriptions of the front and the loss of friends and 'parishioners' throughout the war are extremely poignant.