Bolt Action - Top Secret Scenario

1500 pts (ish) Germans vs. USA in a game of Bolt Action, Top Secret scenario.

Several weeks after D-Day the French Resistance received word that a German scout plane carrying an aide with top secret documents had crashed in a wooded area some what ahead of the American advance. An American force consisting of two platoons was dispatched to the crash site immediately, only to find that the Germans were already there. A fierce battle ensued.

Germany
1. 2nd LT
2. Infantry x 10 with LMG and PF
3. Tiger
4. Infantry x 5
5. Fallschirmjager x 10, inc. 3 SMG and two Assault Rifles.
6. Pak 40 Anti-tank gun.
7. Tiger
8. 2nd LT
9. Infantry x 7
10. Infantry x 7
=1504 pts

USA
1. 1st LT plus 2 men
2. Infantry x 12
3. Infantry x 12
4. Bazooka team
5. Sniper
6. Light Mortar (never hit anything all game)
7. 57mm anti-tank gun
8. M4A3 Sherman
9. M3 half-track
10. 1st Lt + 2
11. Infantry x 12
12. Infantry x 12
13. M4A3
=1534 pts

In a Top Secret scenario only one thing matters - get the objective and get it off your side of the table! The americans first drove their M3 right at the objective and prepared to unload soldiers. German units advanced, some running and some advancing more slowly with covering fire. Every unit from both sides entered in the first turn, except the Fallschirmjager who failed their roll. Embarassing for elite troops I'm sure! A large bloody melee broke out in the center with men dying from point blank fire and assaults. The American infantry got ahold of the briefcase holding the orders and just climbed into their M3 for a quick get-away, when the half-track was blown sky high by a Tiger. Both Tigers dominated the center of the battlefield, both with heavy fire and as a physical obstacle.

Then the Fallschirmjager finally arrived, ran up to the objective and slaughtered everyone nearby to claim it for themselves. Then began to sprint for their home lines but were wiped out to a man in a ridiculously accurate burst of rifle fire from an american squad. The objective lay unclaimed until a German second lieutenant grabbed it with the last activation of the turn. The germans then got the first activation of the next turn, and he sprinted right off the table, secret orders clutched to his chest.

Germanys secrets were secure for the moment, leaving the allies to only wonder what they missed out on.

The Tigers dominate the center.

The yank riflemen killed numerous germans. The Sherman on the
hill fired many times from his lofty perch, but scored nothing more than
pin markers on the Tigers.

Two Tigers? I wouldn't want to be those Americans.

The sneaky German leutnant scampers for safety.

Today is Rememberance day.

A German quickie.

Those dastardly Germans are at it again, with all their standard conquering the world and grinding freedom under their jack boots. Buggers. A 1000 pts Bolt Action battle.

1000 pts Point Defence, Americans attacking.

German army
1. 1st LT and 2 men.
2. Major and 2 men.
3. Tiger!
4. Pak 40 anti tank gun.
5. Sdkfz 251 half-track.
6. 5 men with MG42.
7. 5 men with MG42.

American army
1. 1st LT and 2 men.
2. 12 men.
3. 12 men.
4. .30cal MMG.
5. Bazooka team.
6. M4A3 Sherman tank.
7. M3 Halftrack.
8. 57mm anti tank gun.
9. 12 men.

Southern German unit guarding an objective. Copious amounts of pin markers
due to pre-battle artillery. 

Turn 1: Prepatory bombardment spreads pin markers across the German army, luckily half the army was kept in reserve. A 12 man yankee squad shoots up a german squad, killing 3 out of 5 men, including the MG42. The American halftrack races towards the Pak 40 but is destroyed, losing 2 men from the squad it carried.

Turn 2: Two US squads fire at the Pak 40, it's shield preventing all but 1 hit from killing. The German major is killed by rifle fire. The Sherman immobilizes the Tiger.

Turn 2, after most of the Germans have arrived from the left.

Turn 3: The last Germans guarding the southern objective are killed, leaving it wide open. Two large american squads approach the Pak 40.

Turn 4: American riflemen shoot the Pak 40 from the flank, obliterating it and capturing the northern objective. Another American squad is within a stones throw of the southern objective. With the German major dead, the german 1st LT is left in charge. He has only a disabled tank, an empty half track and his own two lackeys. The Americans have lost several men, but no squads and so are almost at full strength. The German LT wisely decides to call it a day and retreats. A very quick loss for the Germans.

The end of the game. All the German units are in the upper left, while
an awful lot of American firepower is trained on them. Can't beat
the fires of freedom, Fritz!

Thoughts: That game was too quick! The Germans wasted points on their Major that should have gone to more riflemen. The Pak40 was wasted as it faced only infantry. The Tiger did very little with its main gun or machine guns. It was being fired on by a bazooka, Sherman and 57mm which meant lots of pin markers and few successful orders. The Americans had a much larger army and easily took two objectives, simply ignoring the Tiger in the center. A good day for the yanks.

P.S. 50 posts! Thanks for reading!

Back to Bolt Action

So my last post was about Terry Wise's WWII rules, some of the earliest ever published. So let's bounce back to the present and play Bolt Action, the newest WWII game.

The scenario is maximum attrition - wipe out as many of the enemy as possible. Not really a scenario at all, but still fun.

Germany:
Oberleutnant and 2 men
Pak 40 AT gun
Tiger!
3 squads, each of 8 men including an MG42 LMG.
= 900 points

USA:
1st LT and 2 men
57mm AT gun
M4A3 Sherman tank
Bazooka Team
Two .30 cal MG teams
3 squads of 10 men
= 898 points

Turn 1: Both armies start moving on to the table, exchanging some gun fire. The Sherman blasts away the Pak 40 in one shot - one less thing for him to worry about!

Two forests, two intact buildings and two ruined ones. The first
squad on the scene is the americans at right running for the house - a
strong position they'll occupy for the rest of the game.

Turn 2: More gunfire. The bazooka team gets cocky and tries to take out the Tiger, but gets wasted by a hail of MG fire for their trouble.

The scene at the end of Turn 2. Some pin markers on the americans
near the forest.

Turn 3: The 57mm AT gun and the Sherman both have a chance to shoot at the Tigers side armour and both miss. The Tiger fires back and misses as well. In fact, the Tiger crew misses every shot this game except for their MG fire against the bazooka team! The Wehrmacht needs to train these guys better. The US infantry unit in the center takes heavy causalties.

Turn 4: The German unit in their forest takes severe rifle fire and breaks. The beleaguered US infantry in the center is completely wiped out by rifles and MG42.

Turn 5: The US manage to kill the Oberleutnant and his men.

Nearing the end; things have started to thin out a bit. The left house is
full of Germans, the right full of Americans. The germans are very much
pinned.

Turn 6: Combined shooting from many american units wipes out another german unit, leaving only the Tiger and the Germans pinned in the house remaining.

Turn 7: The Tiger tank has several pin markers from being hit, but never damaged by both the Sherman and 57mm AT gun. It is able to do nothing in the final turn. The allies pour most of their fire against the German held building, coming within one pin marker of breaking them.

The End: The Americans destroyed 4 units to the Germans 2. Two points is the minimum needed to score a win, so the Americans are victorious.

The Germans in the building are so pinned they are next to helpless.
The Tiger in the background is in the same boat.

Terry Wise vs. Bolt Action

These two games could not be more different. Terry Wise's rules are a few pages long and only cover the most common situations. Bolt Action rules fill a whole book, with plenty of beautiful pictures and artwork, and the rules are extensive enough to cover just about everything, and are very tournament ready. You could never play Terry Wise competitively.

Bolt action is oriented to winning your battle at all costs, throwing your men away to reach your goal is expected. Terry Wise works better as part of a campaign. You get points for troops that survive, so throwing them away needlessly is pointless. Terry Wise even suggests ending the game after one side has retreated off the board. This changes your strategy a lot. Should I commit my reserves and gamble on a win, or fight more conservatively, living to fight another day? It's a whole different mindset.

Which is better? Up to you of course. Bolt Action is a fun game that doesn't need a ton of figures. Terry Wise's rules work better with lots of figures and can only work if played in a co-operative spirit. I'll keep playing both.

The Battle of Pont D'Eclair - WWII

The Americans and Germans met each other across opposite sides of the bridge of the little french village of Pont D'Eclair. A good excuse for a battle!

Americans
1st LT + 2 extra men
M4A3 Sherman tank (my new toy!)
Two MMG teams
7 men + BAR
6 men + BAR
=600 points

Germans
Oberleutnant
Panzer II x 2
6 men with 2 LMG and 1 Panzer Faust
2 squads of 6 men with LMG and Anti-tank grenades
=594 points

The scenario is Maximum Attrition: destroy as many units as you can! Simple enough.

Things started off bad for the americans and then just got worse. They advanced an MMG team, which quickly got blown away by MG42's. One squad got a ton of pin markers and broke. The LT and his men were picked off by german rifle and MG42 fire, as was the other MMG team. A total cluster fudge.

The view on turn 4. Masses of germans to the east, while the yanks have
a few men scattered in the woods, hunkered down in the dirt.

The American Sherman M4A3 peeks around the corner of a building.
It's not scared of the Panzer II's, but it knows a Panzer Faust is nearby.

The last american squad is killed - only the Sherman remains.

Germans in the ruins, advancing across the river, two Panzer II's and more
Germans off camera to the right.

The Sherman advances towards the bridge, looking to shoot a panzer.
A german armed with Panzer Faust fires out the window and hits...
but fails to penetrate.

In the end, the Sherman turned around and left, after almost complete slaughter of his platoon. Not only that, but the americans didn't destroy a single german unit! A completely one sided battle. Maybe next time guys.

Blow up the Base

A Demolition scenario for Bolt Action. Each side must get a unit in contact with their enemies Company HQ, set charges and blow it up.

USA
1. 2nd LT and 1 man
2. Bazooka Team
3. Sniper Team
4. 5 Veterans with Anti-tank grenades, an SMG and Browning Automatic Rifle
5 and 6: As 4.
=449 points

Germany
1. Leutnant and 2 men
2. 5 man squad with rifles
3. 5 man squad with rifles
4,5 and 6: Panzer II with inexperienced crews.
=446 points

Overview of the battlefield. The german base is the
building in the lower right, the american is the other
building in the upper left.

The american bazooka team hides behind their base.

The Bazooka team leaps and fires at the Panzer II in the
distance - but misses.

Two American squads advance.

The bazooka team destroys a panzer.

Two more Panzer II's arrive.

A german unit is wiped out as americans close in on their base.

Americans reach the german base, set their demolition charges
and blow its roof right off.

Panzer 115 advances over the bridge, heading for the american
base.

Panzer 115 approaches within point-blank range of the
american bazooka man - the only american with a
reasonable chance of hitting him - and blows him away
with his MMG.

The last american squad between panzer 115 and the american base
launches a desperate assault, but its hopeless.

The american base is blown apart.

Aftermath: Both armies destroyed the others company HQ so this game is a draw. I like the variety of scenarios in Bolt Action, though they are designed for 1000 pt armies they still work fairly well with games of half that size. See ya!

Point Defence

Another game of Bolt Action, time to try the Point Defence scenario.

400 Points
USA (The attackers)
2nd LT and 2 men
Bazooka team
Squad A: 10 men, 2 SMG and 1 BAR + tank grenades
Squad B: As A

Germany
Leutnant and 2 men
Panzer II
Squad 1: 7 men with two MG42's
Squad 2: 6 men with 1 MG42

The USA must control at least 2 objectives by the end of the game.

The objectives are: North Building, East Building and southern forest.

The Germans deploy a squad in both buildings, the Leutnant went in the southern forest and the Panzer II was in reserve.

The American prepatory bombardment causes a variety of pin markers and killed one of the leutnant's men.

Turn 1: American squad A rushes at north building while squad B heads for the eastern one. The Americans are helped that neither building has any windows opening on to their side of the table (The left or west).

The Americans rush east.

Turn 2: Squad A assaults north building. 3 are killed by German fire as they charge in. In the ensuing assault 2 yanks are killed, but the germans are slaughtered and the first objective is now in the hands of the usa.

Who's at the door? I'll tell those bloody Jehovahs Witness to get lost!

Turn 3: After failing it's reserve move before, the Panzer II arrives between east building and the southern forest. The bazooka team licks its chops in anticipation - and blasts the panzers tracks, immobilizing it.

Turn 4: The bazooka fires at the panzer again, this time starting a fire but the well-disciplined crew quickly puts it out. The Germans in the eastern building fire at the americans in the northern building with 2 MG42's and rifles. Two americans die.

Turn 5: The bazooka hits the panzer again, further damaging the treads. American Squad B assaults the eastern building from the building windowless blind side. However the germans had ambush orders - but fail to kill a single american! In the assault the deadly american submachine guns make short work of Jerry, thus securing the second objective and looking like an early american win - but Fritz has a trick left up his sleeve.

Turn 6: The Bazooka fires at the panzer yet again, finally blowing it sky-high. Only a single german remains - the Leutnant. He runs out of LOS of all American units right behind the building. This is enough to contest control of the objective, meaning that if the game ended right now the americans would be robbed or their win - but the roll for another turn comes up positive and the americans get another chance at victory.

This cheeky Leutnant almost steals the americans thunder all by himself. 

Turn 7: Squad B rushed out of their building and easily takes the sneaky Leutnant prisoner. The US controls 2 of 3 objectives and scores a victory.

A fun game that hinged on the single dieroll to see if their would be another turn for the americans to take out the last german. Happy new year!

Fire place and Rifle Fire

Bad weather makes for a productive day, gaming, painting and blogging wise. So why not turn on the fireplace channel and do some gaming?

The fireplace channel. The tackiest Christmas tradition ever, but at least
they play nice seasonal music!

Bolt Action, 440 points, Maximum Attrition scenario. Maximum attrition isn't really a scenario at all, it's just a contest to blow away the most foes. I think I can handle that.

USA Reinforced Platoon
1. 2nd LT plus 2 men.
2. Bazooka Team
3. Squad A: 12 men, 2 SMG, 1 Browning Automatic Rifle
4. Squad B: Same as above.

German Reinforced Platoon, with Armour Assets
1. Leutnant with 2 men.
2. Wehrmacht Squad, 10 Men and 2 MG42's.
3. Panzer II #113
4. Panzer II #114

The opposing platoons enter the battlefield. Americans on the
left, Germans on the right.

Turn 1: American Squads A+B enter, each heading for forest cover. The Wehrmacht squad does the same on their side. Panzer 113 gets a line of sight on Squad A, killing 1. Panzer 114 attacks Squad B, killing 2 including the BAR. The Bazooka enters the battlefield and fires on Panzer 113, missing it and leaving themselves in a very exposed position.

Turn 2: Panzer 113 blasts the bazooka team, killing the loader but the other guy survives. He immediately returns fire, blowing panzer 113 sky high! SquadA advances, killing the MG42 in the German squad. The wehrmacht fire back, killing 3 yanks in squad A.

Squad A on the left trades fire with the germans on the right for the
rest of the game.

Turn 3: Squad B runs around behind the large central hill to avoid panzer 114. Panzer 114 pursues and shoots but misses.

Turn 4: Squad B runs the rest of the way around the hill to fire at the german infantry. Squad A tries to rally but hits the dirt instead. The bazooka man sets an ambush for the panzer should it come any farther around the hill.

Turn 5: Panzer 114 drives around the friendly side of the central hill to avoid bazooka fire, only to be assaulted by squad B with tank grenades! However the assault fails.

Squad B bravely assaults the tank, but fails to harm it.

Turn 6 (final turn): Panzer 114 sprays Squad B with MMG fire for 3 kills, but fails to break the unit.

The game was over. In Maximum Attrition, each side gets 1 point for each unit destroyed. The yanks destroyed 1 unit (panzer 113) while the germans damaged several units but didn't destroy any. The score is 1-0, not a big enough advantage for a win, so call this one a draw. A fun game nonetheless.

The Wehrmacht stands strong, their Leutnant right behind them. Squad
B is in the forest in the background, with Panzer 114 barely
visible beyond them. 

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

...but wargames are so delightful.

Stormy weather so why not stay in with a wargame?

Probably not a good day to go to the beach.

The Game: Bolt Action

The Scenario: Envelopment (Americans attacking Germans)

Game Size: 450 pts.

US Platoon

Veteran 1st LT and 1 extra man

12 man veteran squad with 4 SMG and 2 BAR, plus Anti-tank grenades

Veteran Bazooka Team

Veteran Sniper Team

German Platoon

Leutnant with 2 extra men (All germans rated regular)

Wehrmacht infantry squad with 10 men and 2 MG42.

Two Panzer II's.

Germans deployed. From closest to farthest: Panzer II, Squad and Leutnant,
then other Panzer II at the far end of the table.

In this mission, it's up to the Americans to move as many troops into the german deployment zone, or even better right through it off the table, by the end of the game.

Things started off with a prepatory bombardment, giving a pin marker to all german units. Perhaps some Germans should have been kept in reserve? Then the American first wave arrived and things really got started.

Turn 1: The American Squad runs right up the middle of the table. The Panzer II in the german centre opens up with its MMG, but misses completely. The more distant panzer then fired likewise, killing a single american. 

The Americans charge towards the german lines. The main squad and
LT are in the centre, sniper team below them and bazooka team in
the foreground.

Turn 2: Both panzers fire their MMG's on the yanks, killing one and adding more pin markers. The Bazooka team advances around the woods, looking for a clean shot on a panzer. The sniper makes a long range shot, killing a german MG42 soldat.

The Bazooka team looking for a clean shot.

Turn 3: The Bazooka team fires at a panzer, missing it. The panzer fires back, killing the bazooka teams loader. The american squad runs blindly right ahead into the forest, a foolish move. The Germans advance to point blank range are let 'er rip, killing a whopping 8 americans. The lone survivor, Pvt Smith, makes his morale test and holds on.

The americans, heedless of danger, charge right into the massed fire of the
germans.

Turn 4: The lone Bazooka man fires at the panzer, hits it for maximum damage and it explodes! Things are looking up for the yanks. The wehrmacht squad fires at lonely Pvt Smith, and even with so much fire power only manage to hit him once. He's out of the game, but crawls back to safety and claims his purple heart. 

Pvt Smith vs. a ton of Jerries.

Turn 5: The American 1st LT runs right through the german deployment zone, followed quickly by the sniper team. They made it because of the distraction caused by Pvt Smith holding out, as well as the panzer previously destroyed by bazooka. This scores victory points for the americans. The lone bazooka man fails an order test and hits the dirt - just in time because that saves him from incoming fire. The remaining panzer obviously respects the bazooka, for he too fails an order test, reversing at top speed away.

Turn 6: The bazooka man hits the dirt once more, intimidated by having to face the german platoon plus panzer alone.

Turn 7: The bazooka man fires one last time at the panzer, hoping for a lucky shot but his rocket falls short. The wehrmacht squad approaches and opens fire, thus ending the game. All american units are either destroyed or have advanced right through the German deployment zone. Now lets add up the points and see who won!

The brave and lonely bazooka man faces off against Fritz alone.

The germans get two points for every unit destroyed. That was the bazooka team and infantry squad, so the Germans score 4 points. The Americans get 1 point for destroyed units and three for each unit advancing off the table, so 1 point for the panzer destroyed, 3 points for the LT advancing and 3 more for the sniper, for a total of 7 points! The difference in scores is 2 or greater, so the Americans have won. 

That was a really fun game. After the main american infantry squad was destroyed by my stupid move, I thought the game was over but the yanks persevered and won the battle. Thanks for reading!

Hold for Reinforcements again

My second game of Bolt Action. I rolled up an identical scenario with the Germans defending once again. The Bridge had to be held, the side with a unit within 3" of it at the end of the battle wins, unless both armies claim it in which case it is a draw.

Americans:
1. Veteran 2nd LT and two riflemen.
2. Veteran Sniper Team
3. 5 man squad, 2 SMG, Browning Automatic Rifle and Tank Grenades
4. 5 man squad, 2 SMG and tank grenades

Germans:
1. 2nd Lieutenant and 2 extra men.
2. Panzer II
3. 8 man squad, 1 MG42 LMG, 2 SMG.

Both armies are approximetely 300 pts. A small starter sized game.

Another battle, another bridge. Germans on the right with a large squad in the
woods, a 2nd LT and two riflemen nearby. Americans behind the NW woods and
SW woods.

Turn 1: The American squad in the NW woods opens fire on the germans, all missing. The germans could not score a casualty either. The american sniper also missed. Then the German Panzer II arrived, fired at the americans with an HE shell, and killed 1 yank.

The Panzer II arrives from the east to fight the large number of
americans in the far woods.

Turn 2: The Panzer II fired its MMG this time, but missed all 4 shots. The other germans missed as well and the american sniper couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. The large american squad successfully rallied, removing it's pin markers.

Turn 3: The southern US squad took the bridge. The Panzer fired it's MMG at them but missed because of the heavy stone railing of the bridge. The US squad advanced on the tank, then fired on the germans in the woods, killing one rifleman and took out the MG42. 6 German riflemen advanced on the bridge and fired at the americans there at point blank range, but only caused one kill.

Americans and germans engage in point blank fire for control of
the bridge.

Turn 4: The yank squad on the bridge fired across it at their german foes, killing two. The Panzer MMG killed a single american. The germans at the bridge tried to rally but went down instead. A brave american squad tried to assault the panzer, but a FUBAR result made them run away. The americans on the bridge were wiped out by lucky firing from the german LT and his riflemen.

Turn 5: The Panzer's MMG totally missed its US targets. The Germans on the bridge rallied. They weren't going anywhere. One US squad failed its order test while two others missed all shots.

Turn 6: The Panzer scored a lucky hit killing the american LT. A US squad made a desperate run at the bridge, reaching the foot of it. The roll for an extra turn was failed, so the game was over.

The end of the game, americans and germans face off across the bridge.

Both armies had men within 3" of the bridge objective, so the game was a draw!

It was fun to use my new tank. I also like how the game lasted all 6 turns without one side getting wiped out before hand like in my last game (though that was mostly because I got some rules wrong). A fun game and I look forward to playing more Bolt action.

Bolt Action

I was conservatively hoping to play a game of Bolt Action by January, but lucky me, I have (barely) enough figures painted to play a starter game here on Christmas! So stuffed full of stuffing, I got to play my first game in a whole new period.

I rolled up a "Hold for Reinforcements" scenario. The Germans were the defenders, the Americans the attackers. Whoever had possession of the vital bridge at the end of the game was the winner.

The Americans had: A 2nd lientenant with two men, a six man squad with 2 SMG's, a 7 man squad with 2 SMG's and LMG, and a sniper team.

The Germans had: 2nd lieutenant with two men and 3 squads each with 4 rifles and an LMG team.

The vital bridge is in the centre. The Germans are on the left, except for
Americans in the far back left, and Americans on the right. The US sniper
team is on the bottom right.

Turn 1: The US sniper fires at the germans to the south of the bridge, missing but still adding a pin marker. That german unit then fired it's MG42 LMG and rifles, killing many americans in the back far left, the rest promptly scattered.

Turn 2: The US sniper targeted the same unit again, this time killing the MG42 gunner who had just slain his buddies. The Germans in the forest got ambush orders. The Americans advanced into shooting range and the germans sprang their ambush, killing several. American return fire killed two germans. The german unit by the hedges was ordered forward but failed an order test and hit the dirt instead. Their morale was low because of the sniper fire.

Turn 3: The sniper plugged another german, whose unit then rallied. The german and american units in the forests traded fire.

Turn 4: The germans took possession of the bridge, another unit killed the sniper and the remaining americans were slaughtered by their german foes. The only remaining american was the LT, who make a strategic withdrawal. Germans win!

The germans who took the bridge.

Two german squads in the woods.

An M26 tactical dice cup, manufactured by Yoplait Industries.

A fun first game. I'll read through the rules again now that I'm more familiar with how things work. It'll be fun to add tanks and buildings to the game. Obviously I need more figures to bulk up my armies, and that'll be my project for the next while. Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!