After a summer in what seems like playing nothing but Mid-War Flames of War games, we dove back into Late-War in order to get ready for some upcoming tournaments. I have to say I missed playing Late-War and I was very eager to play a list from the new Remagen book. So Chris from team Gobel and I decided to throw down.
From the moment I got my hands on the Remagen book I really wanted to check out the Westfallen list. It's an Always Defend Fearless Trained list with the SS platoons getting the "Enjoy the War" morale check roll at 2+. I also wanted to see how the Volkssturm and the Panzerfaust Trap teams would do in a game.
My force: SS Panzerbrigade Westfallen Fearless Trained, 1650
170 pts HQ Platoon 2 SMG Panzerfaust, 3 x Panzerfaust Trap Teams, 2 x Panzerschreck Teams
200 pts SS Erstaz Aufklarungs Plt (Full)
145 pts SS Erstaz Aufklarungs Plt (2 Squads)
60 pts SS Ersatz HMG Plt (2 x HMG)
105 pts Panzer AA Plt (2 x Ostwind) Reluctant Veteran
600 pts Schwere Jagdpanzer Plt (2 x Jagdtigers) Reluctant Trained
300 pts SS Ersatz Panzer Plt (4 x Panzer III M)
70 pts Volks Rocket Battery (3 x 15mm Nebelwefers) Reluctant Trained
100 pts Volkssturm Plt (with 1 x MG-08-15) Reluctant Conscript
Chris's Force
That is a lot of artillery! I think Chris still can't hear...
The board we played, Chris wanted to treat all the hedges as boccage, since I was Always Defend, I agreed to it. (ed: ICK!!)
We rolled up a scenario and got "Hold the Line". I could only deploy half my platoons, so I rolled my Panzerschreks and HMG platoon into my full strength SS-Ersatz Aufklarungs platoons (giving them 11 stands) which left me with 7 platoons. Since the Volkssturm always starts on the table I had to put 3 in reserve, 3 on the board, and one of those three could be held in ambush. So I deployed my beefed up SS Ersatz Aufklarungs, Panzer AA, and held my Jagdtigers in ambush along with my 3 trap teams.
Chris started with everything on the board.
Chris set up ready to charge, he did not opt for a night attack in order to use that arty from the start
So the game end due to time, with the Westfallen winning 5-2. Do you see that AOP? Do I need to mention it again?
Mitch's Comments
Chris took a list that was meant to defend, and with Westfallen being Always Defend he was faced with a situation that his list was not built for and the terrain did not help him too much. However the table did enable him to keep his AOP around which was a huge pain for me, his arty was responsible for almost all of his kills in this game. I cannot think of too many lists that I will face with this many guns.
After playing this list for the first time I have to say I liked it. The Volkssturm only lost 2 stands all game and even rallied from being pinned down a few times. The 2+ enjoy the war on the SS-Erstaz platoons is excellent and keeps your force around for a while. I felt I was too aggressive with my Panzer IIIs, but they could not hide from Chris's arty party, and for the shots they got off they were worth the 200 points. I think the trap teams are a real gem in this list. I felt Chris wanted to go after my Volkssturm with his infantry and tanks, and after dropping them near his tanks he had to rethink his this and the board did not allow him to move quickly to change his axis of attack. I also like how the mix of Jagdtigers and PZIIIs work together, JTs are for killing tanks and range, and the PZIIIs are for moving in quickly and taking out softer targets. Perhaps this list will make it to Guns of August in Williamsburg in a few weeks.
Chris's Comments
I felt I was doing well in the beginning with my guns hitting so well. However I did not push hard enough on the objectives when I had the defender outnumbered. My list is a tough one to attack with and the terrain did not help me.
