US 29th Infantry Division:
1st LT + 2 men12 man squad w/BAR - Regular
12 man squad w/BAR - Regular
12 man squad w/BAR - Regular
MMG Team - Regular
MMG Team - Vet
Medic - Vet
Bazooka Team - Vet
60mm Mortar Team - Vet
M10 - Vet
Dirty Rotten Germans:
1st LT - (All Vets)5 man squad w/ 2 LMGs
5 man squad w/ 2 LMGs
5 man squad w/ SMGs
5 man squad w/ Rifles
Panzer IV F2
Light Mortar
Forward Observer (Artillery)
MMG
MMG deployed on the right flank. I put these guys in a place to keep the Germans from running up the right side.
This house was on the left flank and is a good spot to hold up.
The LT was deployed in the middle near an MMG team and the center Rifle Squad. I wanted to make sure he was around for some help with giving orders and rallying.
A German squad enters the board. Steven was moving his LMGs right up the middle and took some pretty good shots.
I basically charged the center rifle squad forward, right up the middle. We found that these big, 12-man squads can really take some fire. I also kept the LT and the Medic around to help them move. While they did not kill much, Steven did spend a lot of time shooting these guys and not moving forward. Steven managed to shoot the BAR gunner right away.
The 60mm mortar enters the table on the right flank to help the MMG team.
The MMG team in the center took some fire -- I believe from the Panzer IV F2. I decided to bring the M10 up to face off against the German tank.
Steven's German LMGs advance slowly, but mostly shoot. I discovered Steven's strategy at about this time -- he was going to keep a couple platoons in reserve and move them off the board with the corner move. I find this to be weird game mechanic for this mission, and start to move a couple of squads to the corners.
Overhead on maybe Turn 3-ish. I have moved the squad out of the building on the left to cover the corner. Likewise, I bring on a squad from reserve to stand guard over the other corner of the board. The red die in the picture below is Steven's off-board artillery that I hear is pretty scary.
The center rifle squad continues to take a bunch of fire. I have moved the medic up (near the house) to help out. The LT is also pushing up. At this point, I decide to move the LT to attempt to help the squad Rally.
The M10 and the Panzer IV F2 exchange fire. He missed the M10 each time, and he got lucky and bounced an M10 shot. Other than that, we just exchanged pins.
The Germans move the LMGs up. I did manage to take some shots at them with my LMGs. I also got super lucky and destroyed a unit with the 60mm mortar. I ranged in with a 6 and did some big time damage/pins.
The German command continues to direct fire at the center squad. The squad would get down to 4 remaining men, but did not run. My Medic and LT were key in keeping them on the board.
At this point, the game gets really random. Steven rolls a 1 for his bombardment, which basically allows me to drop it on him. I eliminate one squad, knock another down to one man. At this point, it looks pretty grim for the Germans.
Conclusion: Sad-faced Steven. This game was fairly fun, but I did not really feel that strategy determined the outcome -- it seemed to me that one bad dice roll really did it. I do not tend to enjoy games that take hours and hours to prepare for that come down to basically a dice off. Now, this is only my 2nd real game of Bolt Action, so hopefully the next few won't seem so totally random.
The game looked great and we had a good time, so I guess that is all that counts!
