NOVA Open occurs every year on Labor Day weekend. It is held in Arlington, VA - just outside of Reagan National Airport and just across the river from Washington, D.C. (in case any of you want to fly in next year - it is SUPER convenient for transportation). The convention is focused around miniature wargaming and hobbying. Warhammer, 40k and Warmachine/Hordes make up the largest presence at the show, but other games such as Flames of War have been growing steadily. There were two Flames of War tournaments this year - a 1500-point Mid-War tournament held Friday and a 1750-point Late-War tournament Saturday and Sunday. I wasn't able to stay for the whole weekend, but Maurice and I made the trek out to Crystal City for the Mid-War Flames of War tournament. As always, it was an excellent event run by Scott Simoneau.
I decided to run a four-platoon German Gepanzerte Pioneer list from East Front. My list consisted of:
| Confident Veteran | Gepanzerte Panzerpionierkompanie(Heer) Armoured Motorised Pioneer Company |
German Mid-War |
| Mechanised Company | ||
| Platoon | Qty | Unit | Points | ||
| Headquarters | |||||
| 2 2 | Cmd SMG team Sd Kfz 251/1C | 70 | ||
| Combat Platoons | |||||
| 1 1 1 6 6 | Cmd Pioneer MG team Sd Kfz 251/1C Pioneer Supply 3-ton truck Pioneer MG team Sd Kfz 251/7 (Pioneer) | 335 | ||
| 1 1 1 6 6 | Cmd Pioneer MG team Sd Kfz 251/1C Pioneer Supply 3-ton truck Pioneer MG team Sd Kfz 251/7 (Pioneer) | 335 | ||
| Divisional Support | |||||
| 2 | Sd Kfz 231 (8-rad) | 85 | ||
| 1 1 2 2 8 | Cmd SMG team Kfz 15 field car Observer Rifle team Kubelwagen Panzerwerfer 42 (5+ crew - counts double) | 475 | ||
| 7 | Priority Air Support Hs 129B | 200 | ||
| Company Points: | 1500 | ||||
| www.EasyArmy.com | Source document: Eastern Front |
My first opponent was Joe Trueblood in the Frontline Domination scenario (one of the I-95 scenarios), running an armored (armoured???) British list along the lines of:
| Confident Trained | Light Armoured Squadron 8th Army - Africa |
British Mid-War |
| Tank Company | ||
| Platoon | Qty | Unit | Points | ||
| Headquarters | |||||
| 2 2 | Crusader II Crusader II CS | 195 | ||
| Combat Platoons | |||||
| 3 | Crusader II | 155 | ||
| 3 | Crusader II | 155 | ||
| 3 | Crusader II | 155 | ||
| 3 | Crusader II | 155 | ||
| Weapons Platoons | |||||
| 1 2 | Grant Grant w/ AA MG | 290 | ||
| 1 2 | Grant Grant w/ AA MG | 290 | ||
| Divisional Support | |||||
| 3 | Sporadic Air Support Hurricane II C | 105 | ||
| Company Points: | 1500 | ||||
| www.EasyArmy.com | Source document: North Africa |
My opponent's army was beautifully painted and was pretty much a nightmare to face in this scenario - extremely mobile and able to bum-rush my forces before air could come into play. He was able to push me off of most objectives, but it was a slog for his tanks.
Joe was an expert and gracious player. We both got to test Murphy's Law as well as the Law of Averages with dice swinging wildly throughout the game. I was able to kill a couple of his platoons but in the end, I just didn't have enough platoons which could withstand his armor to spread out over the objectives. His increased command distance and staying power won the game for him. I'd need some more platoons and ranged anti-armor capabilities to compete against this force in this scenario. The end result was a close win for Joe - 4-3.
Game Two saw me attacking Mitch Reed's very nasty elite Gurkha list in Breakthrough.
| Fearless Veteran | Rifle Company (Indian) (Tunisia) |
British Mid-War |
| Infantry Company | ||
| Platoon | Qty | Unit | Points | ||
| Headquarters | |||||
| 2 1 | Cmd Rifle team PIAT team | 55 | ||
| Combat Platoons | |||||
| 1 6 1 | Cmd Rifle/MG team Rifle/MG team Entire platoon turned into Gurkha Rifle Platoon | 185 | ||
| 1 6 1 | Cmd Rifle/MG team Rifle/MG team Entire platoon turned into Gurkha Rifle Platoon | 185 | ||
| Divisional Support | |||||
| 3 | Churchill III | 410 | ||
| 3 | Churchill III | 410 | ||
| 2 1 | Humber LRC III Humber III | 85 | ||
| 2 1 1 1 3 4 4 | Cmd Rifle team Jeep Staff team Observer Rifle team 15 cwt truck OQF 25 pdr gun Quad tractor | 170 | ||
| Company Points: | 1500 | ||||
| www.EasyArmy.com | Source document: North Africa |
My air and artillery were devastating to Mitch's artillery and the infantry making the run toward the objective. Unfortunately for Mitch, my Pioneer flank attack arrived at the objective before he was able to dig in and the Gurkha platoon couldn't withstand the firepower of 56 shots (he had moved at the double) and had only two surviving stands which proceeded to fight on despite overwhelming odds. The next turn sealed the game as I took the objective, dug in, and Mitch couldn't push me off. 6-1 victory for me.
Game Three was against Bill Dorais running mech Italians with some German support in the Fighting Withdrawal scenario.
Unfortunately I didn't get a copy of Bill's list, but it was a lot of armored cars and some German Panzer IIIs in support.
Another crazy dice game for both of us, with some weird swings in luck. Assaults were brutal in this game. Bill initiated an assault against one of the pioneer platoons, wiped a couple out - I counter-assaulted and killed a couple of his light tanks and then he failed to stay in the fight. He then assaulted with his Panzer platoon at the same pioneer platoon and ended up with 3 of 4 tanks dead, but wiping out my platoon after a failed morale check. In the end, I wasn't able to secure the last objective on a mad dash and Bill pulled out a 5-2 win and Tournament Champion.
The list of winners:
Renaissance Man: Byron Sinor
Tournament Champion: Bill Dorais
Field Marshal (2d VP): Al Edsel
Brigadier (3d VP): Maurice Kent
Master Engineer (Appearance): Ramon Solis
War Chaplain (Favorite Opponent): Mitch Reed
Conclusion: An excellent time overall! The 1500-point MidWar format is a lot of fun and the group of players at the convention made it even more enjoyable. I am looking forward to attending again next year. NOVA Open was one of the most enjoyable and well-organized events I have ever been to. Two thumbs up!
And now for a picture dump.
A Russian farming village in the Spring setup for Frontline Domination. This was from my first game against Joe.
Round three sees a North Africa board setup for Fighting Withdrawal.
LOTS of dead tanks on that board.
Those buildings in the center were hotly contested by all of the players on that board. Many infantry teams took up position - SOME of them even made it out.
Joe's Brits facing Maurice's Americans in Breakthrough on the Western Front. American AT Guns showing the Brits how to kill Germans.
Another sleepy Russian village setup for Breakthrough.
Americans contesting the left flank of that village. Looks like Patton's advice to keep rolling into Russia was finally being followed.
Germans stage a fierce defense!
Many American vehicle crews gave their lives when the commander decided to invade the Russian countryside.
The staunch German defense stymies the Americans!
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Brits preparing to defend against a German incursion.
Brits not liking the AT guns firing up-close.
A German Stuka rolls in on some tanks.
Smoke rules the day while the Americans defend this town.
Lots of smoke to hamper the Elefant!
A shot of the devastation from Bill's and my game. So many dead vehicles on out board.
"Aaron Skrivanek is a full-time game pimp, spreading financial ruin to his fellow miniature addicts. Living in the Maryland suburbs of DC, he has written and tested numerous game systems focused mostly on 28mm skirmish gaming."
