Post by malkcntent on Aug 7, 2009 1:23:09 GMT -5
Yesterday a group of friends and I completed playing the Rockets of St Michele map-based campaign from the Core Rulebook. It was the first time I’ve played the campaign since playtesting and the first time the campaign’s been used with elements from the Occult Expansion.
We all had a blast. There was a lot of back-and-forth on the tactical level with some tricky maneuvering on the map itself. The actual battles were VERY lopsided with the Allies handing out serious damage to the Germans in every engagement. In the end, the Allies proved victorious, proving that coordination, teamwork and a little luck will triumph over gorillas any day.
Here’s a turn-by-turn account of the campaign.
Turn 1
US Airborne forces were dropped into German-occupied France to locate and destroy a V-4 rocket position that had been harassing Britain for some time. Led by Lieutenant ‘Officer Mike’ Michaels, Allied forces was made up of a command detachment, an infantry detachment and an experimental detachment. French resistance fighters in the area had provided intel on the opposing forces revealing the krauts had a recon detachment, a veteran detachment and an occult detachment protecting the area.
Officer Mike and his command detachment landed to the northwest of the V-4 position and quickly moved towards a small forest nearby. The infantry detachment led by the famous war hero Sergeant Blanchard moved to intercept and join the command detachment so as to push towards their objective together. Unfortunately, the ARPA detachment led by Lieutenant Cromwell was unable to put down in a safe location and the glider carrying robots, Buffalo armor and rocket troopers landed far to the northeast, well away from anything and everything.
German forces were reported leaving the safety of both the V-4 position and Axis base at St. Michele, making their way north along a road. The German veteran detachment, supported by ROA occultists, took up position on the northeast section of the road while being followed by the loathsome occult detachment that combined elements of the ROA mystics and the SD abominations. Finally, the German recon detachment took to the fields, moving north out of St. Michele. A V-4 rocket flew overhead as the two forces moved to engage one another.
Allied VP – 0
Axis VP – 1
Allied RP – 10
Axis RP – 10
Turn 2
Allied forces continued to push south, with the command detachment moving into the safety of the woods north of the road. Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment moved into the fields east of the command and both detachments were primed to recover the supplies remaining in a glider that had crashed nearby. The slow-moving ARPA detachment had a great deal of ground to cover and began making their way to the southwest, moving into a small region of low-lying hills.
Axis forces continued to gain ground, using the road to great advantage. The German veteran detachment moved into the area of the downed glider, seemingly preparing to mount a stiff defense among the rubble. Meanwhile, they were supported only a mile or so away by the occult detachment and the recon detachment, who had met up along the road.
Allied VP – 0
Axis VP – 2
Allied RP – 20
Axis RP – 20
Turn 3
In a prime position to outnumber the Germans occupying the downed glider, Officer Mike ordered both infantry and command detachments to move on the veteran detachment and take the glider and its vital supplies. Seeing a large infantry detachment supported by its command, the krauts withdrew, falling back to the southwest and towards the road. Watching the enemy retreat, Officer Mike opted to remain within the safety of the tree-line and allow Sergeant Blanchard to secure the glider. Meanwhile, the ARPA detachment continued to push through the hills to the southwest.
The withdrawing veteran detachment of the Germans met up with both the occult and recon detachments, who now all occupied the area due south from the fallen glider and Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment. All the German forces were now occupying the same location; Allied forces hoped they could take advantage of this positioning and sweep around the German flanks without getting caught by their superior numbers.
Allied VP – 2
Axis VP – 3
Allied RP – 50
Axis RP – 30
Turn 4
Officer Mike and his command detachment rolled to the southwest and out of the safety of the trees, making for the St. Michele road. Sergeant Blanchard remained at the glider to provide a distraction for the German forces, hoping to lure them out and allow the command detachment time to get around the Axis flank. Lieutenant Cromwell’s experimental detachment turned due south, heading towards both St. Michele and the farmhouse where French Resistance agents were hiding.
The Allied lure only partially worked as both German occult and recon detachments moved towards the glider and the destruction of Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment. Seeing the wisdom in a withdraw, the Americans and their MoAA allies withdrew from the glider, falling back to the north. Both Axis detachments chose not to give ground, instead returning to their previous position between the Allies and the road. The veteran detachment, catching word of the American command detachment moving across their left flank, quickly moved back to the road and to the west, hoping to head off the Americans and prevent them from reaching the V-4.
Allied VP – 2
Axis VP – 5
Allied RP – 60
Axis RP – 50
Turn 5
The Allied command detachment and the German veteran detachments clashed on the road to the northwest of St. Michele as Officer Mike ordered the attack on the Germans. Catching them off-guard, the Allies swept into the Germans as skin-walkers from the OORD rushed through the fields and into the enemy. The German forces were kept pinned down as Officer Mike’s medicine man summoned the horrible wendigo, which threw itself headlong at the enemy, lusting for their flesh. The Germans were supported by both ROA and SD forces, though the SD Rohlingsoldat was absent for the bulk of the battle, only arriving late and not in time to save its allies. The Axis took up defensive positions as Officer Mike awaited the arrival of his jeep, which had been delayed arriving to the battle after suffering from a flat tire some distance away. The jeep arrived just in time as a terrible Beast of the Apocalypse rushed into the woods in an attempt to attack the American sniper. The sniper was able to get into the jeep and to safety as the OORD Agent in charge of the occult forces of the detachment suppressed the enemy and more wendigo were summoned and throw recklessly towards the enemy and their destruction. Allied forces gained the upper hand when the Beast of the Apocalypse was destroyed and exploded in a burst of mystical energy. Axis forces quickly withdrew and the Allies counted their blessings as not a single American had been injured.
Having defeated the enemy veteran detachment, Officer Mike’s command detachment moved into position along the St. Michele road as their enemy was forced to withdraw to the southwest and into the safety of the woods. Seeing this defeat, the occult and recon detachments of the Germans moved back onto the road with the recon detachment moving to secure both the V-4 and St. Michele. Now with no enemy before them, Sergeant Blanchard moved to the southwest to support Officer Mike and reach the road themselves. Lieutenant Cromwell’s ARPA forces moved into prime position to soon locate and secure the French Resistance fighters hiding in the nearby farmhouse. Meanwhile, German reinforcements arrived to aid the severely damaged veteran detachment.
Allied VP – 2
Axis VP – 6
Allied RP – 100
Axis RP – 0
Turn 6
Now caught between both the reinforced veteran detachment and the fresh occult detachment, Officer Mike was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Germans and the ROA rallied, coordinating an attack on the out-flanked command detachment of the Americans. Painfully forced to withdraw, the American command detachment fell back to the northeast. The two attacking detachments opted to hold their position rather than pursue, remaining securely within the woods surrounding the V-4. Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment continued to move south, now arriving along the road and in prime position to threaten the Axis occult detachment. Following the example of its allies, the German recon detachment held position, still able to provide defense for both the V-4 and the Axis headquarters at St. Michele. The experimental detachment of the Americans was able to locate and aid the French resistance fighters, who were thankful to their saviors.
Allied VP – 5
Axis VP – 8
Allied RP – 110
Axis RP – 10
Turn 7
Seeing before them the occult horrors of the ROA and the genetic abominations of the SD, Sergeant Blanchard issued the order to attack and the American/MoAA forces launched themselves at their enemy. Once more the Axis was caught off-guard and scattered and the Allies were able to take advantage of their enemies’ confusion. This time, however, the enemy was comprised of both Beasts of the Apocalypse and dreaded Sturmaffe and these towering monsters were able to quickly rally and rush towards the enemy. Allied forces laid down a hail of gunfire, concentrating all their efforts to eliminate the gorillas as they came at them. One by one, the Sturmaffe were eliminated as the golem of the MoAA strode into the center of the battlefield to provide defense for its comrades. It was then that a Beast of the Apocalypse, bolstered by the vile chemicals of the SD Doktor ran into the center of the Allied lines, soon to wreak terrible destruction on the joint American and British forces. Sergeant Blanchard and the MoAA Agent turned and fired their submachine guns at the loathsome creature as every man with a gun tried to take down the regenerating, impervious creature. With the combined effort of the entire detachment, the beast was destroyed, but exploded in a blast of mystic energy that injured a squad of GI’s that were close by. With both apes and both Beasts destroyed, the Axis withdrew to lick their wounds and give their vile creatures time to regenerate their wounds.
With their victory, Sergeant Blanchard took up position along the road and was quickly reinforced by Officer Mike’s command detachment. The withdrawing occult detachment met up with the veteran detachment in the woods just to the northwest of the V-4 as the recon detachment secured the objective, effectively giving up their HQ. Seeing still no defenders within the town, the experimental detachment of the Americans moved toward the road east of St. Michele.
Allied VP – 5
Axis VP – 9
Allied RP – 150
Axis RP – 40
Turn 8
In the inevitable battle that was to come, the two Axis detachments northwest of St. Michele clashed with their Allied counterparts, both sides fighting alongside the road and into the dense woods surrounding the V-4. Four detachments were launched at one another as Axis forces called in for desperately needed artillery support. The support came too late, bombarding the battlefield as both sides fought around the exploding ordnance. The battle would prove to be a short one as German artillery smashed into their own troops, decimating a veteran MG42 team and a squad of dreaded Feuersoldat. Their center line destroyed, the Axis right flank attempted to recover and pushed themselves at the enemy, moving Beast and Sturmaffe towards lines of GI’s. The Allies quickly secured their right flank with Skin-Walkers supported by a Golem and a Druid crushed all resistance on the Allied right. Officer Mike and his cadre of elite soldiers put up a stiff resistance against the enemy horrors and, when an Allied mortar strike landed home, killing the ROA Child of the Prophet, the Axis was done for and quickly withdrew.
The defeated Axis detachments were forced to the southwest, away from the V-4 rocket and the victorious Allies took their position alongside their objective. Seeing the enemy close in, the recon detachment remained in defense of the V-4 rocket while the American experimental detachment secured the town of St. Michele and the Axis HQ. German and ROA forces, suffering heavy casualties, were again reinforced.
Allied VP – 5
Axis VP – 10
Allied RP – 190
Axis RP – 0
Turn 9
Both Axis occult and veteran detachments, having recovered from their ordeal, regrouped and launched an attack on the Allied positions. Officer Mike ordered Sergeant Blanchard to hold his position, giving the command detachment the opportunity to slip past the enemy and launch an attack on the V-4.
The recon detachment had been busy and had placed minefields surrounding the rocket as to prevent an easy assault. With his now veteran and elite crew, hardened by their experience in the field, Officer Mike set to his task with fervor. The sniper was caught in the open, nearly assaulted by dreaded Krieghunds. Having slipped away, Officer Mike and his cadre with their veteran driver rushed to the left flank, avoiding the enemy armored car. After gunning down the Krieghunds, the jeep rushed headlong into an enemy fence, but the veteran daredevil driver broke through with ease as wendigo were summoned to eliminate the Volkssturm MG42 team and the nearby Wehrmacht. Officer Mike and his OORD Agent leapt from the jeep and placed charges on the V-4 as an enemy grenade landed nearby, but failed to explode. With luck on their side, their charges placed, Officer Mike and the OORD Agent jumped back into the jeep and sped away, only moments later seeing a massive explosion behind them as the V-4 platform was at last destroyed.
With the V-4 destroyed and St. Michele firmly in Allied hands, the Axis forces withdrew from the area, soundly defeated.
The battle for the V-4.
German armored car and troops.
Sniper in trouble.
The push towards the V-4.
We all had a blast. There was a lot of back-and-forth on the tactical level with some tricky maneuvering on the map itself. The actual battles were VERY lopsided with the Allies handing out serious damage to the Germans in every engagement. In the end, the Allies proved victorious, proving that coordination, teamwork and a little luck will triumph over gorillas any day.
Here’s a turn-by-turn account of the campaign.
Turn 1
US Airborne forces were dropped into German-occupied France to locate and destroy a V-4 rocket position that had been harassing Britain for some time. Led by Lieutenant ‘Officer Mike’ Michaels, Allied forces was made up of a command detachment, an infantry detachment and an experimental detachment. French resistance fighters in the area had provided intel on the opposing forces revealing the krauts had a recon detachment, a veteran detachment and an occult detachment protecting the area.
Officer Mike and his command detachment landed to the northwest of the V-4 position and quickly moved towards a small forest nearby. The infantry detachment led by the famous war hero Sergeant Blanchard moved to intercept and join the command detachment so as to push towards their objective together. Unfortunately, the ARPA detachment led by Lieutenant Cromwell was unable to put down in a safe location and the glider carrying robots, Buffalo armor and rocket troopers landed far to the northeast, well away from anything and everything.
German forces were reported leaving the safety of both the V-4 position and Axis base at St. Michele, making their way north along a road. The German veteran detachment, supported by ROA occultists, took up position on the northeast section of the road while being followed by the loathsome occult detachment that combined elements of the ROA mystics and the SD abominations. Finally, the German recon detachment took to the fields, moving north out of St. Michele. A V-4 rocket flew overhead as the two forces moved to engage one another.
Allied VP – 0
Axis VP – 1
Allied RP – 10
Axis RP – 10
Turn 2
Allied forces continued to push south, with the command detachment moving into the safety of the woods north of the road. Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment moved into the fields east of the command and both detachments were primed to recover the supplies remaining in a glider that had crashed nearby. The slow-moving ARPA detachment had a great deal of ground to cover and began making their way to the southwest, moving into a small region of low-lying hills.
Axis forces continued to gain ground, using the road to great advantage. The German veteran detachment moved into the area of the downed glider, seemingly preparing to mount a stiff defense among the rubble. Meanwhile, they were supported only a mile or so away by the occult detachment and the recon detachment, who had met up along the road.
Allied VP – 0
Axis VP – 2
Allied RP – 20
Axis RP – 20
Turn 3
In a prime position to outnumber the Germans occupying the downed glider, Officer Mike ordered both infantry and command detachments to move on the veteran detachment and take the glider and its vital supplies. Seeing a large infantry detachment supported by its command, the krauts withdrew, falling back to the southwest and towards the road. Watching the enemy retreat, Officer Mike opted to remain within the safety of the tree-line and allow Sergeant Blanchard to secure the glider. Meanwhile, the ARPA detachment continued to push through the hills to the southwest.
The withdrawing veteran detachment of the Germans met up with both the occult and recon detachments, who now all occupied the area due south from the fallen glider and Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment. All the German forces were now occupying the same location; Allied forces hoped they could take advantage of this positioning and sweep around the German flanks without getting caught by their superior numbers.
Allied VP – 2
Axis VP – 3
Allied RP – 50
Axis RP – 30
Turn 4
Officer Mike and his command detachment rolled to the southwest and out of the safety of the trees, making for the St. Michele road. Sergeant Blanchard remained at the glider to provide a distraction for the German forces, hoping to lure them out and allow the command detachment time to get around the Axis flank. Lieutenant Cromwell’s experimental detachment turned due south, heading towards both St. Michele and the farmhouse where French Resistance agents were hiding.
The Allied lure only partially worked as both German occult and recon detachments moved towards the glider and the destruction of Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment. Seeing the wisdom in a withdraw, the Americans and their MoAA allies withdrew from the glider, falling back to the north. Both Axis detachments chose not to give ground, instead returning to their previous position between the Allies and the road. The veteran detachment, catching word of the American command detachment moving across their left flank, quickly moved back to the road and to the west, hoping to head off the Americans and prevent them from reaching the V-4.
Allied VP – 2
Axis VP – 5
Allied RP – 60
Axis RP – 50
Turn 5
The Allied command detachment and the German veteran detachments clashed on the road to the northwest of St. Michele as Officer Mike ordered the attack on the Germans. Catching them off-guard, the Allies swept into the Germans as skin-walkers from the OORD rushed through the fields and into the enemy. The German forces were kept pinned down as Officer Mike’s medicine man summoned the horrible wendigo, which threw itself headlong at the enemy, lusting for their flesh. The Germans were supported by both ROA and SD forces, though the SD Rohlingsoldat was absent for the bulk of the battle, only arriving late and not in time to save its allies. The Axis took up defensive positions as Officer Mike awaited the arrival of his jeep, which had been delayed arriving to the battle after suffering from a flat tire some distance away. The jeep arrived just in time as a terrible Beast of the Apocalypse rushed into the woods in an attempt to attack the American sniper. The sniper was able to get into the jeep and to safety as the OORD Agent in charge of the occult forces of the detachment suppressed the enemy and more wendigo were summoned and throw recklessly towards the enemy and their destruction. Allied forces gained the upper hand when the Beast of the Apocalypse was destroyed and exploded in a burst of mystical energy. Axis forces quickly withdrew and the Allies counted their blessings as not a single American had been injured.
Having defeated the enemy veteran detachment, Officer Mike’s command detachment moved into position along the St. Michele road as their enemy was forced to withdraw to the southwest and into the safety of the woods. Seeing this defeat, the occult and recon detachments of the Germans moved back onto the road with the recon detachment moving to secure both the V-4 and St. Michele. Now with no enemy before them, Sergeant Blanchard moved to the southwest to support Officer Mike and reach the road themselves. Lieutenant Cromwell’s ARPA forces moved into prime position to soon locate and secure the French Resistance fighters hiding in the nearby farmhouse. Meanwhile, German reinforcements arrived to aid the severely damaged veteran detachment.
Allied VP – 2
Axis VP – 6
Allied RP – 100
Axis RP – 0
Turn 6
Now caught between both the reinforced veteran detachment and the fresh occult detachment, Officer Mike was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Germans and the ROA rallied, coordinating an attack on the out-flanked command detachment of the Americans. Painfully forced to withdraw, the American command detachment fell back to the northeast. The two attacking detachments opted to hold their position rather than pursue, remaining securely within the woods surrounding the V-4. Sergeant Blanchard’s infantry detachment continued to move south, now arriving along the road and in prime position to threaten the Axis occult detachment. Following the example of its allies, the German recon detachment held position, still able to provide defense for both the V-4 and the Axis headquarters at St. Michele. The experimental detachment of the Americans was able to locate and aid the French resistance fighters, who were thankful to their saviors.
Allied VP – 5
Axis VP – 8
Allied RP – 110
Axis RP – 10
Turn 7
Seeing before them the occult horrors of the ROA and the genetic abominations of the SD, Sergeant Blanchard issued the order to attack and the American/MoAA forces launched themselves at their enemy. Once more the Axis was caught off-guard and scattered and the Allies were able to take advantage of their enemies’ confusion. This time, however, the enemy was comprised of both Beasts of the Apocalypse and dreaded Sturmaffe and these towering monsters were able to quickly rally and rush towards the enemy. Allied forces laid down a hail of gunfire, concentrating all their efforts to eliminate the gorillas as they came at them. One by one, the Sturmaffe were eliminated as the golem of the MoAA strode into the center of the battlefield to provide defense for its comrades. It was then that a Beast of the Apocalypse, bolstered by the vile chemicals of the SD Doktor ran into the center of the Allied lines, soon to wreak terrible destruction on the joint American and British forces. Sergeant Blanchard and the MoAA Agent turned and fired their submachine guns at the loathsome creature as every man with a gun tried to take down the regenerating, impervious creature. With the combined effort of the entire detachment, the beast was destroyed, but exploded in a blast of mystic energy that injured a squad of GI’s that were close by. With both apes and both Beasts destroyed, the Axis withdrew to lick their wounds and give their vile creatures time to regenerate their wounds.
With their victory, Sergeant Blanchard took up position along the road and was quickly reinforced by Officer Mike’s command detachment. The withdrawing occult detachment met up with the veteran detachment in the woods just to the northwest of the V-4 as the recon detachment secured the objective, effectively giving up their HQ. Seeing still no defenders within the town, the experimental detachment of the Americans moved toward the road east of St. Michele.
Allied VP – 5
Axis VP – 9
Allied RP – 150
Axis RP – 40
Turn 8
In the inevitable battle that was to come, the two Axis detachments northwest of St. Michele clashed with their Allied counterparts, both sides fighting alongside the road and into the dense woods surrounding the V-4. Four detachments were launched at one another as Axis forces called in for desperately needed artillery support. The support came too late, bombarding the battlefield as both sides fought around the exploding ordnance. The battle would prove to be a short one as German artillery smashed into their own troops, decimating a veteran MG42 team and a squad of dreaded Feuersoldat. Their center line destroyed, the Axis right flank attempted to recover and pushed themselves at the enemy, moving Beast and Sturmaffe towards lines of GI’s. The Allies quickly secured their right flank with Skin-Walkers supported by a Golem and a Druid crushed all resistance on the Allied right. Officer Mike and his cadre of elite soldiers put up a stiff resistance against the enemy horrors and, when an Allied mortar strike landed home, killing the ROA Child of the Prophet, the Axis was done for and quickly withdrew.
The defeated Axis detachments were forced to the southwest, away from the V-4 rocket and the victorious Allies took their position alongside their objective. Seeing the enemy close in, the recon detachment remained in defense of the V-4 rocket while the American experimental detachment secured the town of St. Michele and the Axis HQ. German and ROA forces, suffering heavy casualties, were again reinforced.
Allied VP – 5
Axis VP – 10
Allied RP – 190
Axis RP – 0
Turn 9
Both Axis occult and veteran detachments, having recovered from their ordeal, regrouped and launched an attack on the Allied positions. Officer Mike ordered Sergeant Blanchard to hold his position, giving the command detachment the opportunity to slip past the enemy and launch an attack on the V-4.
The recon detachment had been busy and had placed minefields surrounding the rocket as to prevent an easy assault. With his now veteran and elite crew, hardened by their experience in the field, Officer Mike set to his task with fervor. The sniper was caught in the open, nearly assaulted by dreaded Krieghunds. Having slipped away, Officer Mike and his cadre with their veteran driver rushed to the left flank, avoiding the enemy armored car. After gunning down the Krieghunds, the jeep rushed headlong into an enemy fence, but the veteran daredevil driver broke through with ease as wendigo were summoned to eliminate the Volkssturm MG42 team and the nearby Wehrmacht. Officer Mike and his OORD Agent leapt from the jeep and placed charges on the V-4 as an enemy grenade landed nearby, but failed to explode. With luck on their side, their charges placed, Officer Mike and the OORD Agent jumped back into the jeep and sped away, only moments later seeing a massive explosion behind them as the V-4 platform was at last destroyed.
With the V-4 destroyed and St. Michele firmly in Allied hands, the Axis forces withdrew from the area, soundly defeated.
The battle for the V-4.
German armored car and troops.
Sniper in trouble.
The push towards the V-4.
