Saturday Night Fight: A Bigger Grid for Bigger Figures

As I mentioned in my last game report, I had acquired some poster board to make a grid with larger squares for my 1/32 figures. 

My original plan had been 6" squares, but I used 5" squares instead to gain a little more on the grid. In total, I put the grid on 3 pieces of poster board (total cost $3.00), but in the end opted to game on only two. Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame: Modern has compressed movement and firing ranges, compared to his Memoir of Modern Battle, which means less space is needed.

The scenario was simple again - both sides had to capture the village (2 out of 3 buildings would win). I really need to design better scenarios but for testing, it works well enough.
had 

Germans:
3x Infantry units
1x MG unit
1x Anti-tank unit
1x Commander

Russians:
2x Infantry unit
1x MG unit
1x Commander
1x T-34

The Soviets committed a glaring tactical error early on, sending the T-34 without an infantry escort: 

 and paid for it:

Still, they made a quick claim to the village:

 The Germans advanced left, right and center. Building-to-building fighting broke out in the village:

The end result was the elimination of a Soviet unit and their Commander! 

Meanwhile, fighting erupted on the Soviet left with the unit being held in reserved and the advancing German unit:

The Soviet right is pushed back to their baseline as the German center and left advanced to the edge of the village:

The Soviets were forced to concede defeat. The Germans had control of all three buildings:

On a somewhat related note (which means it's somewhat unrelated), the night before, I had decided to try out 2" squares for some 19th Century imaginations gaming, using 2 figures per unit for Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle:

This is the only picture I took, grainy as it is. The game was a lot of fun - the troops in the fort held off the assault until the attackers were nearly eliminated.  This an another way to stretch a small number of figures into a sizable battle. This will be most useful for the planned Riesling / Sauvignon-Blanc conflict on the continent and a fantasy campaign I have in mind for 2013.

Helvetica: Campaign Week 10

Colonel Duchamp, torn between what he knew to be a high risk attack and probable trap, and the fact that Heidegger would simply press his numerical advantage if he, Duchamp, waited too long, advanced his forces. 

In the tenth week of the conflict for Helvetica, the sides would once again meet at Fort Candide.

For this battle, as I mentioned in my previous post, I used a mashup of Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle and G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. In game terms, that means instead of the strength values in MoB, I used the remaining strength of the G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. units, card activation, the start/sustain/save for vehicles, and, if it was necessary, saves for the unattached commanders.

Sauvignon-Blanc had to drive Riesling from the field or capture the two redoubts to win. Riesling either had to rout the enemy or hold out for 10 turns.

I ran neither side and left both to the whims of the Solo DBA rules for setup and tactical decisions. My involvement was to interpret the results of the tactical engine.

Both forces ended up grouped primarily in the center, with a unit on their left and one in reserve:

I decided reserves would arrive on a roll of 4-6 on a 1d6, after the first shots were fired. Which, as it turned out, meant the first turn as 2nd Battery opened up on Sauvignon-Blanc's 2e Compagnie. 

In spite of being on the defensive, Riesling was fairly aggressive, sending two units on its left early on, and Sauvignon-Blanc forces kept their distance.  

The walker returned to its temperamental self of the early weeks of the campaign and refused to start until turn 3. And stalled again on turn 4.

Duchamp managed to inspire his troops and 3e Goum did serious damage to 13th Kompanie (both are native lizard folk units). 1er Compagnie advanced to pepper the 13th as they fell back.

Although the walker finally managed to advance and get a shot off, it stalled again - this time within range of 1st Battery. Major Heidegger had attached himself to the battery and the bonus die came in handy as shell after shell pounded the walker. 13th K, nearly destroyed, fell back to the base line. In the center 1er C. and 7th K. exchange rifle fire :

By the end of turn 9, Duchamp had lost his walker and his unit of natives - a retreat was in order. Here's the table at the end of turn 10:

This turned out to be the last battle in the Battles for Helvetica - Duchamp used up all his reenforcements when Sauvignon-Blanc was forced back to Guillaume Le Roy. He's unable to replace the walker or replace 3e Goum which was reduced to 0 strength.

In a simple ceremony, Duchamp presented his sword to Heidegger and Helvetica now belongs to Riesling.

There are other islands in the Sans Serif chain, and war, which both sides had hoped to confine to the islands, seems likely to spread to the continent. And, of course, Riesling still has to handle the lizard folk who may decide to take advantage of a weakened imperial presence to rise up and revolt.

Exciting times!