Post by hannibal on Apr 20, 2008 16:56:31 GMT -5
On Friday the 18th of April, Glorious Comrade Stalin has commanded the mighty Red Army to hurl back the Fascist invader from the soil of the Motherland! The murderous Germans tenuously clung to their positions, tired and exhausted of the terrible pummeling by the fearless soldiers of the Soviet Union. And when the hammer of retribution smashes their line, the German forces shall scatter to the winds, driven all the way back to Berlin! So says Comrade Stalin!
The mission was Push the Line, with the Soviets attacking and the Germans defending. We played on the same board as last weke to tyr out the different effects of terrain. Royal will post the pics he took. There were two types of cover: the black patches were forest, LOS blocking terrain. The tree bases were just trees.
(There was actually some confusion as to the terrain until late in the game: I thought that the entire tree base was cover that provided the cover bonus, was difficult ground, but did not block LOS. Jeff and Royal were playing it as the tree itself was the only thing that provided cover. This would cost me some units later in the game, but didn't really change the outcome.)
German Force
Recon Detachment
Veteran Mad Doc (Inspiring Leader)
Veteran Officer
Regular Rohingsoldat
Regular Weremacht Panzerschrek
Regular Weremacht squad
Green Volkstrum squad
Regular SD KFZ 251
Special Order: Artillery Strike
Experimental Detachment
Elite SD Agent (Inspiring Leader)
Veteran Officer
Regular Rohlingsoldat
Regular Wermacht Mortar Team
Regular Wehrmacht squad
Green Volkstrum squad
Green Emaciated Trooper squad
Special Order: Surrender
Soviet Force
Infantry Detachment
Elite Politruk (Chuman Parent)
Veteran Officer
Regular Mortar team
Regular Anti-Tank Rifle team
Regular Soviet Guard squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Chuman squad (yes, yes, I took monkeys)
Special Orders: Stragglers, Keep Moving
Veteran Detachment
Elite NKVD Psi Officer
Veteran Officer
Veteran Psi Commados
Regular Psi Cannon team
Regular Soviet Guard squad
Regular Soviet Guard squad
Regular Anti-Tank Dog Squad
Special Orders: Scouts
The Germans deployed first (left -> right, from soviet perspective): volksturm squad and officer on the left. A wehrmacht squad, officer and rohlingsoldat in the center (the latter two in a patch of area terrain). Smack in the center, in a patch of area terrain, the emaciated soldiers took position. On the center-right deployed the SD 251 withthe panzershreck team and a wehrmacht squad aboard. Finally, the volkssturm squad, mad doktor, and rohlingsoldat deployed on a forested hill on the right. The German mortar team was unfortunately delayed due to Soviet partisans.
The Soviets massed all three conscript squads on the left and center left, interspersed with an officer, a politruk, a unit of soviet guards, and the psi cannon team. The PTRS team went to the right of the road in the center, opposite a rohlingsoldat. On the right flank massed the Chuman squad, the NKVD officer, the psi commandos, a unit of soviet guards, and a soviet officer. The soviet mortar deployed behind a hill and a soviet guard squad deployed on the far right.
The early stages of the battle was the Soviet line advancing while the Germans held their position, other than the volkssturm on the left who began to race around the ruined church. The rohlingsoldat in the center and the PTRS squad traded fire to no effect. Meanwhile, the conscript squads, officer, politruk, psi cannon team, and soviet guard on the left and center-left all sprinted forward. On the right, the advance was a little more stealthy, with the PPsh fire suppressing the rohlingsoldat and the emaciated troopers. The chumans raced through terrain, hoping to charge soon. The doktor doped up the volkssturm, boosting their strength.
The end of turn one saw the soviet anti-tank dogs arrive on the upper right side of the field. One dog charged a volkssturm in the back, killing him. The other charged the SD 251, gnawing on the grill but doing little else.
Turn two saw special orders tossed out like three day old sushi: the initiative roll would really determine the flow of the game because if the soviets got it, you know the dogs would get all explody on the right flank. Sadly, it was not to be...
(it's worth mentioning at this point that royal and I decided it would simply be too cruel to take the scouts and Momentum special orders. Next time, I will have no such reservations)
The Germans went first, activating the super-SD 251. The loader called down an artillery strike on the soviets in the center. It deviated BACK 3" so that it could catch more Russians in the blast. Off goes a whole conscript squad, the politruk, and half of another soviet squad. Then, the transport (or someone inside) shoots the anti-tank dog in base contact. Then it drives around the corner to target the second anti-tank dog. I believe with a panzerschreck. Luckily the shot went wide.
When the soviet's turn came, the anti-tank dogs activated. The dog raced for the Sd-251 and boom...right? Well, no. See when you roll a 3 for the strength of the blast...the transport saved on a 2+. (We also forgot until later to roll for all the crew and passengers; oopse).
As a consolation prize the chumans activated, sprinting forward. And then, when the soviet turn came around again, out came the Keep Moving order, allowing the chumans to charge the rohlingsoldat, putting two wounds on him. All things considered, the fight wasn't over yet. The emaciated squad in the center was pinned down with suppressing fire, the PTRS team moved right to get a shot at the SD-251. The two soviet guards on the right moved up to hopefully throw grenades.
Then the wheels came off the bus. The soviet advance faltered while officer bumped up Drive everywhere. The SD-251 kept popping out, shooting, then popping back behind cover. This took the NKVD agent and a soviet guard by doing this. The Soviets simply were going to have a hard time pinning down that vehicle.
In the center, the Psi commandos moved up, suppressing everything they could: the rohlingsoldat and officer were basically unable to move. On the left, the volkssturm raced up the flank while in the center-right another officer took pot-shots at any soviet that broke from the cover a ruined brick house.
On the right The volkssturm on the right moved into contact with a chuman. The chumans activated, planning to kill the rohlingsoldat (outnumbered 3:1) and then the free chuman would charge the volkssturm outnumering the other poor chuman. Didn't happen. Due to some truly bungled rolls, the end result was 2 chumans dead and 1 wounded chuman outnumbered 3:1.
At this point, it was turn 4 and the german mortar arrived. Looking at the battlefield, there was simply no way the soviets were going to win. They were pinned down on the left and about to lose the right flank. They had pinned down the enemy in the center, but had no effective counter for the SD-251. That vehicle could mop up the right flank and turn the tide in the center. And since the Germans simply had to not lose the center third of the board, it wasn't looking likely that the Soviets were going to pull this one out. (Also the store closed, which made things rather easy to call it)
Betrayal at the Line! Comrade Stalin has decried the saboteurs and german collaborators whose cowardly deeds stymied the advance of the glorious Red Army! Directives have been handed down from the GRU and NKVD to root out these class traitors fro within our ranks! Already mass executions of inept officers are underway, their stench replaced by the officers loyal to Comrade Stalin and the Soviet Revolution. Once these enemies of the proletariat have been removed, the reorganized and reinvigorated Soviet Army will crush the Fascist invader and send them hurtling back to Berlin!
Okay sillyness aside, my thoughts:
--I swear, I mean I SWEAR I didn't say anything about the artillery strike. Not till after it hit. Then I had lots of things to say about it, most of which is not suitable for a public forum.
--Terrain: by the end of the game it was agreed that we'd gone too far in the other direction. What we're going to do with the tree bases is count them as having underbrush or represent a small copse. They are see-through difficult terrain that provides a cover bonus. This is actually what I thought they would be at the start of the game. Bit of a misunderstanding there.
--Bad dice: what can I say...sometimes things just don't work out. I think the plan we had was solid and in these circumstances I can't say I'd do anything different.
--Stragglers: the one thing I would change is I would've taken the vehicle off the field. It was my first intuition to do that, but I decided against it. My thought was: if it arrived on turn 6, it could zip to a part of the field I couldn't get to and thus steal the win. My theory also counted on the dogs blowing something up...
All in all, good game. Was a bit rough on the poor, poor Soviets. But it was basically the mirror image of the game Jeff and I played a few weeks ago where he didn't make any clutch rolls.
The mission was Push the Line, with the Soviets attacking and the Germans defending. We played on the same board as last weke to tyr out the different effects of terrain. Royal will post the pics he took. There were two types of cover: the black patches were forest, LOS blocking terrain. The tree bases were just trees.
(There was actually some confusion as to the terrain until late in the game: I thought that the entire tree base was cover that provided the cover bonus, was difficult ground, but did not block LOS. Jeff and Royal were playing it as the tree itself was the only thing that provided cover. This would cost me some units later in the game, but didn't really change the outcome.)
German Force
Recon Detachment
Veteran Mad Doc (Inspiring Leader)
Veteran Officer
Regular Rohingsoldat
Regular Weremacht Panzerschrek
Regular Weremacht squad
Green Volkstrum squad
Regular SD KFZ 251
Special Order: Artillery Strike
Experimental Detachment
Elite SD Agent (Inspiring Leader)
Veteran Officer
Regular Rohlingsoldat
Regular Wermacht Mortar Team
Regular Wehrmacht squad
Green Volkstrum squad
Green Emaciated Trooper squad
Special Order: Surrender
Soviet Force
Infantry Detachment
Elite Politruk (Chuman Parent)
Veteran Officer
Regular Mortar team
Regular Anti-Tank Rifle team
Regular Soviet Guard squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Conscript Squad
Green Chuman squad (yes, yes, I took monkeys)
Special Orders: Stragglers, Keep Moving
Veteran Detachment
Elite NKVD Psi Officer
Veteran Officer
Veteran Psi Commados
Regular Psi Cannon team
Regular Soviet Guard squad
Regular Soviet Guard squad
Regular Anti-Tank Dog Squad
Special Orders: Scouts
The Germans deployed first (left -> right, from soviet perspective): volksturm squad and officer on the left. A wehrmacht squad, officer and rohlingsoldat in the center (the latter two in a patch of area terrain). Smack in the center, in a patch of area terrain, the emaciated soldiers took position. On the center-right deployed the SD 251 withthe panzershreck team and a wehrmacht squad aboard. Finally, the volkssturm squad, mad doktor, and rohlingsoldat deployed on a forested hill on the right. The German mortar team was unfortunately delayed due to Soviet partisans.
The Soviets massed all three conscript squads on the left and center left, interspersed with an officer, a politruk, a unit of soviet guards, and the psi cannon team. The PTRS team went to the right of the road in the center, opposite a rohlingsoldat. On the right flank massed the Chuman squad, the NKVD officer, the psi commandos, a unit of soviet guards, and a soviet officer. The soviet mortar deployed behind a hill and a soviet guard squad deployed on the far right.
The early stages of the battle was the Soviet line advancing while the Germans held their position, other than the volkssturm on the left who began to race around the ruined church. The rohlingsoldat in the center and the PTRS squad traded fire to no effect. Meanwhile, the conscript squads, officer, politruk, psi cannon team, and soviet guard on the left and center-left all sprinted forward. On the right, the advance was a little more stealthy, with the PPsh fire suppressing the rohlingsoldat and the emaciated troopers. The chumans raced through terrain, hoping to charge soon. The doktor doped up the volkssturm, boosting their strength.
The end of turn one saw the soviet anti-tank dogs arrive on the upper right side of the field. One dog charged a volkssturm in the back, killing him. The other charged the SD 251, gnawing on the grill but doing little else.
Turn two saw special orders tossed out like three day old sushi: the initiative roll would really determine the flow of the game because if the soviets got it, you know the dogs would get all explody on the right flank. Sadly, it was not to be...
(it's worth mentioning at this point that royal and I decided it would simply be too cruel to take the scouts and Momentum special orders. Next time, I will have no such reservations)
The Germans went first, activating the super-SD 251. The loader called down an artillery strike on the soviets in the center. It deviated BACK 3" so that it could catch more Russians in the blast. Off goes a whole conscript squad, the politruk, and half of another soviet squad. Then, the transport (or someone inside) shoots the anti-tank dog in base contact. Then it drives around the corner to target the second anti-tank dog. I believe with a panzerschreck. Luckily the shot went wide.
When the soviet's turn came, the anti-tank dogs activated. The dog raced for the Sd-251 and boom...right? Well, no. See when you roll a 3 for the strength of the blast...the transport saved on a 2+. (We also forgot until later to roll for all the crew and passengers; oopse).
As a consolation prize the chumans activated, sprinting forward. And then, when the soviet turn came around again, out came the Keep Moving order, allowing the chumans to charge the rohlingsoldat, putting two wounds on him. All things considered, the fight wasn't over yet. The emaciated squad in the center was pinned down with suppressing fire, the PTRS team moved right to get a shot at the SD-251. The two soviet guards on the right moved up to hopefully throw grenades.
Then the wheels came off the bus. The soviet advance faltered while officer bumped up Drive everywhere. The SD-251 kept popping out, shooting, then popping back behind cover. This took the NKVD agent and a soviet guard by doing this. The Soviets simply were going to have a hard time pinning down that vehicle.
In the center, the Psi commandos moved up, suppressing everything they could: the rohlingsoldat and officer were basically unable to move. On the left, the volkssturm raced up the flank while in the center-right another officer took pot-shots at any soviet that broke from the cover a ruined brick house.
On the right The volkssturm on the right moved into contact with a chuman. The chumans activated, planning to kill the rohlingsoldat (outnumbered 3:1) and then the free chuman would charge the volkssturm outnumering the other poor chuman. Didn't happen. Due to some truly bungled rolls, the end result was 2 chumans dead and 1 wounded chuman outnumbered 3:1.
At this point, it was turn 4 and the german mortar arrived. Looking at the battlefield, there was simply no way the soviets were going to win. They were pinned down on the left and about to lose the right flank. They had pinned down the enemy in the center, but had no effective counter for the SD-251. That vehicle could mop up the right flank and turn the tide in the center. And since the Germans simply had to not lose the center third of the board, it wasn't looking likely that the Soviets were going to pull this one out. (Also the store closed, which made things rather easy to call it)
Betrayal at the Line! Comrade Stalin has decried the saboteurs and german collaborators whose cowardly deeds stymied the advance of the glorious Red Army! Directives have been handed down from the GRU and NKVD to root out these class traitors fro within our ranks! Already mass executions of inept officers are underway, their stench replaced by the officers loyal to Comrade Stalin and the Soviet Revolution. Once these enemies of the proletariat have been removed, the reorganized and reinvigorated Soviet Army will crush the Fascist invader and send them hurtling back to Berlin!
Okay sillyness aside, my thoughts:
--I swear, I mean I SWEAR I didn't say anything about the artillery strike. Not till after it hit. Then I had lots of things to say about it, most of which is not suitable for a public forum.
--Terrain: by the end of the game it was agreed that we'd gone too far in the other direction. What we're going to do with the tree bases is count them as having underbrush or represent a small copse. They are see-through difficult terrain that provides a cover bonus. This is actually what I thought they would be at the start of the game. Bit of a misunderstanding there.
--Bad dice: what can I say...sometimes things just don't work out. I think the plan we had was solid and in these circumstances I can't say I'd do anything different.
--Stragglers: the one thing I would change is I would've taken the vehicle off the field. It was my first intuition to do that, but I decided against it. My thought was: if it arrived on turn 6, it could zip to a part of the field I couldn't get to and thus steal the win. My theory also counted on the dogs blowing something up...
All in all, good game. Was a bit rough on the poor, poor Soviets. But it was basically the mirror image of the game Jeff and I played a few weeks ago where he didn't make any clutch rolls.
so good some bad. will update this post with the link to them when its all uploaded
