Justin has a huge collection of 15mm Battlefront minis. For example, he has more Cromwell tanks in his collection than I have total tanks in my collection. And the Cromwells are one of the uncommon 15mm models.
Justin and his wife have decided to move to a smaller house that is more manageable for their busy family. Which means his massive collection will have to be pared down.
So, to celebrate before the Great Purge, Justin held a large 15mm variation of the Battle of Arnhem and invited some of the local players to participate.
Five players including myself showed up. Justin commanded 30 Corp; Wes controlled Axis forces; the US 101st Airborne under the superb leadership of Chris. Meanwhile the 82nd had the tough fight led by yours truly against the SS and panthers of the German 107th hiding within the city and the Grosbeak Heights.
The game took place on a 6' x 14' table and we used the Version 4.0 rules, a first for most the players. Justin setup a huge scenario with densly packed terrain and copious amount of figures. Many of the figures in use for the first time!
My airborne companies started the game on the eastern side of the table, near the western edge of the river. I was effectively surrounded by German MGs and snipers hiding in the buildings of the town, a platoon of Panther tanks arriving from the southeast, another platoon with AA gun and 88 gun dug in to the north, a platoon of Stugs coming from the southwest, and finally German reinforcements arriving across the bridge. The 30 Corps was coming on the map from 14' to the west. Piece of cake right?
The German artillery bombardment started immediately on turn one. So, rather than sit and take the damage, I marched out of the foxholes and attempted an assault on the town. The most vulnerable point was a wooden barricade with a AA gun. There was plenty of incoming fire from the nearby buildings so my assault failed. After that, I did all I could holding the heights for three turns longer forcing additional assaults and time lost to the Germans.
At the end of 7 completed turns and 6 hours including lunch break we called it quits. The axis earned a marginal victory.
The rest of the allied forces struggled as well. 30 Corp got past the town of Vegal before the end so they nearly reached the 82nd's position.
The 101st had opened a good corridor that might have allowed for more dash speeds. 30 Corp could have also fanned left and right to deal with flank pressure.
30 Corp lost one platoon of Stuart’s but, sustained about 14 tank losses. Most were attacked by Falschirmjaeger troops on the alternate rood with panzerfausts. The remainder of the Allied casualties where from the front-line Vets that held the road for 4 turns and survived everything 30 Corp could muster.
Because the battle was so large, we rushed through the gameplay. We didn't play most of the special rules and kept the game fast and loose for the sake of time. So, I can't comment on the V4.0 rules except to say they were simple enough. I would have to play many more games to have a honest opinion of them.
Justin and his wife have decided to move to a smaller house that is more manageable for their busy family. Which means his massive collection will have to be pared down.
So, to celebrate before the Great Purge, Justin held a large 15mm variation of the Battle of Arnhem and invited some of the local players to participate.
Five players including myself showed up. Justin commanded 30 Corp; Wes controlled Axis forces; the US 101st Airborne under the superb leadership of Chris. Meanwhile the 82nd had the tough fight led by yours truly against the SS and panthers of the German 107th hiding within the city and the Grosbeak Heights.
The game took place on a 6' x 14' table and we used the Version 4.0 rules, a first for most the players. Justin setup a huge scenario with densly packed terrain and copious amount of figures. Many of the figures in use for the first time!
My airborne companies started the game on the eastern side of the table, near the western edge of the river. I was effectively surrounded by German MGs and snipers hiding in the buildings of the town, a platoon of Panther tanks arriving from the southeast, another platoon with AA gun and 88 gun dug in to the north, a platoon of Stugs coming from the southwest, and finally German reinforcements arriving across the bridge. The 30 Corps was coming on the map from 14' to the west. Piece of cake right?
The German artillery bombardment started immediately on turn one. So, rather than sit and take the damage, I marched out of the foxholes and attempted an assault on the town. The most vulnerable point was a wooden barricade with a AA gun. There was plenty of incoming fire from the nearby buildings so my assault failed. After that, I did all I could holding the heights for three turns longer forcing additional assaults and time lost to the Germans.
At the end of 7 completed turns and 6 hours including lunch break we called it quits. The axis earned a marginal victory.
The rest of the allied forces struggled as well. 30 Corp got past the town of Vegal before the end so they nearly reached the 82nd's position.
The 101st had opened a good corridor that might have allowed for more dash speeds. 30 Corp could have also fanned left and right to deal with flank pressure.
30 Corp lost one platoon of Stuart’s but, sustained about 14 tank losses. Most were attacked by Falschirmjaeger troops on the alternate rood with panzerfausts. The remainder of the Allied casualties where from the front-line Vets that held the road for 4 turns and survived everything 30 Corp could muster.
Because the battle was so large, we rushed through the gameplay. We didn't play most of the special rules and kept the game fast and loose for the sake of time. So, I can't comment on the V4.0 rules except to say they were simple enough. I would have to play many more games to have a honest opinion of them.
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