Monday 8 July 2019

Deep Fried Lard 2019



A Review (of sorts) of Deep Fried Lard 2019

     ....and so it came to pass that on the first Saturday of July in the year of our Lard Twenty Nineteen, the only Lard show north of the Border did take place and, verily, it was much enjoyed by those who did attend and, verily, they did give thanks to that Laird of Lard, Derek Hodge for the Lard Miester, Richard Clark, did move among them, making the throng merry with his puns and they did give up many a groan in thanks. Also with the Lard Miester came his close chum and confidant, St Sydney of the Roundwood, patron saint of 2mm wargaming, oddcasting and dandy wargamers, none of whom attended, the gathered masses being generally a scruffy lot and far beyond his influence....amen.

     So, yeah, Deep Fried Lard 2019; it was a gas. Planned and arranged, I believe, on the back of a fag packet (cigarette packet if you are a former colonial), as ever, by Derek Hodge and that sufficed as it went almost seamlessly. It was held at Musselburgh Rugby Club, near Edinburgh; a decent wee venue for this sort of thing with sufficient space for the games put on and a decently stocked bar.

    The games presented included three games of Sharp Practice, two of Dux Britanniarum, one of Chain of Command, two games of Bag The Hun and one of Charlie Don't Surf. These were spread across two gaming sessions; one in the morning and one in the afternoon with those of us who put on games being given first choice of which game we would like to play when we weren't running our own game, if you catch my drift. 

     All the games were put on by Lard enthusiasts less for the Chain Of Command game which was run by Rich Clark, who is an enthusiast and originator. The games were divided thus; 
     Morning session; two games of Dux Britanniarum with one being set in Troy the other in the games original period of the Dark Ages. Two Games of Sharp Practice; one set in the Garibaldi period and the other during the Indian Mutiny. Rich ran his Chain of Command game, set in France during the Blitzkrieg. Then there was Charlie Don't Surf (though I think he should) and Bag The Mig, a fantastic adaptation of Bag The Hun with fast(ish) jets and lumbering WW2 era bombers. I played this game and it was excellent.    
      Afternoon Session; Bag the Hun set in WW2, two games of Sharp Practice; the Garibaldi era one again and yours truly's Napoleonic romp with the French and Austrians. I think, though don't quote me, that the Dux Britanniarum Troy game was ran again in the afternoon too.
   
A lardon of Too Fat Lardies gamers collected together for no
good purpose other than to enjoy a rather spiffing day of Lardie
games

Indian Mutiny Sharp Practice game ran by Charlie Walker.
Excellent terrain and some hilariously named leaders.

Trojan Dux Britanniarum being set up...

....and in full flight. Very nice looking indeed.

Jaw dropping Grand Manner buildings set up for the Garibaldi
period Sharp Practice game

Just look at it!! It's effing awesome!!

...and just to prove how effingly awesome it is, here's the interior
courtyard; "But soft; what light through yonder window breaks?..."
William Shakespeare and Franco Zeffarelli eat your hearts out

The Garabaldi Sharp Practice game in full flow. A Splendid vista
      In the morning ( my game was being ran in the afternoon) Derek helped me "choose" to play Bag The Mig which was ran by Tom (sorry, I didn't get your surname, Tom). Our game was fought out over a splendid looking mat. The planes were by Tumbling Dice in 1/600 scale and they looked just the job. The players were Douglas and another fellow who's name escapes me who played the Chinese versus Dave and me who took on the mantle of the guardians of liberty, freedom and capitalism, played the good old US of A.
    This was my first game of Bag The Mig/Hun and I really enjoyed it. Like a lot of the Lardy games they are fairly easy to pick up and enjoy. I won't review the rules themselves here; I am not well enough acquainted with them to do them any sort of justice so I'll stick to describing Saturday's scenario which was an escort mission for myself and Dave, each controlling two Sabre jets and having joint control over a flight of B26 Invaders. The fiendish Chinese had three flights of two Mig 15s each. Our mission was "simple", escort the bombers of the table edge with points gained for each one that made it safely off the table; similarly the Chinese players gained points for knocking down our planes. 
     I am certain that once you know these rules, games move very fast. However as we were novices it often took a wee bit of working out what were the best options to take when our chips came out of the bag. That being said, as this was a Lardy event, we all took those rule book referencing moments (there weren't that many, certainly not as many as there were during my game) in our stride and enjoyed it for what it was; a bit of fun. And it was definitely that, so much so that I plan to indulge myself when next Tumbling Dice come north of the Border, which should be at Claymore Wargames Show in Edinburgh next month. The hex marked mat might be one for the birthday wish list though.      But never mind my wish listing; thanks again to Tom for putting on such an enjoyable introductory game; in case I haven't made it clear enough, I really, really enjoyed it. Thanks also to Dave, Dougie and the other chap whose name still eludes me, for being such sporting and patient players

Sabres rattling over Korea

Sabres and Mig15s on course for action

The US force at the beginning of the game

     And that leads me onto the afternoon and my own efforts at running a game. My involvement with Deep Fried Lard had began and ended back in January when I had offered to run a game of Dux Britanniarum and then promptly had to cancel as there was every chance that I wouldn't get time off from work to attend.
     Derek hadn't read my email till about two weeks ago (he's a busy guy) and he had contacted me to see if I would be able to run a game. By now, my work situation was a bit more stable and I was able to arrange the day off for Deep Fried Lard.
     However it wasn't until last week's inaugural Glasgow Games Show that I managed to speak with Derek face to face |(not very pleasant for him, let me tell you, good people) when we were able to confirm my running a game.
       That done, I changed tack and instead of the Dux Britanniarum game I had offered to run initially I offered to run a game of Napoleonic Sharp Practice instead with the French coming up against the Austrians.
      I figured I had everything I needed so organising the game; scenario, forces, terrain etc would be straight forward in the short time period I had prepare. Being abit daft and open to suggestion and inspiration I was foolishly inspired to pick up a small vignette set from Colonel Bills Depot Battalion line, too whit M' Lady's Bathtime, which I hoped would figure in that game and add some humour and some friction.
Depot Battalion's M'Lady's Bath set 


M'Lady. La Contessa, in the bath dressed as nature intended
and out of the bath, corset fitted, make up artfully applied, hair
done and, hey presto, what a transformation

     I then approached the whole thing in my usual kack handed manner, starting with a nub of an idea that both sides would be attempting to reach La Contessa first to rescue/capture her. The friction/humour would come in with the manners of the period making it impossible for a gentleman to impose on a lady and order her to leave her bath so that despite who ever reached her first, there would be a good chance that their opponent would catch up with them and then the fun would begin in earnest. So far, so good. I proceeded to get the M'Lady's Bathtime set painted over a couple of evenings whilst mulling over terrain and what to use. 

     I have in my terrain collection a few of Hoka Hey's MDF buildings, chief among which is their Inn building which is an impressive structure that usually dominates any table it graces. However to make this scenario work it needed to have separate rooms in the upper floors. So I set too with some foam board and a few MDF dooors from Warbases and divided the upper floors thus

The top floor, where La Contessa was staying

The first floor, split three ways, the long narrow room on the
 right side being an upper landing for the imaginary stairs

Ground floor bar/dining area. The tables and barrels etc are
by Ainstie Castings. I seriously toyed with idea of using
coffee stirrers to make the planking on the floor but came
to my senses and painted the floor boards instead; time
being of the essence and all that jazz
     This prompted me to paint up the Stables building produced by Hoka Hey that I had bought to go with the Inn. As I wanted to cover the joint holes on the walls and give the walls some texture I "painted" the walls with a mixture of ready mixed filler, PVA glue, household emulsion paint and a splash of water which was then dabbed with sponge as it was drying to improve the rough texture. The wooden frame and roof were painted black then mid and light brown to give an impression of weathering. I then threw together a base for it from a piece of hardboard textured with Vallejo Earth paste. And I am quite pleased with the results, I must say.
     I did a couple of test runs of the terrain layout on our bed as this is the largest flattish area in the flat. This didn't impress the wife, her being asleep in bed at the time  So, seeing the way the wind was blowing I decided to wait until she wasn't asleep in bed before I tried the layout again. It took a couple of attempts to get an idea of what would work best for the period with its use of line troops firing in formation etc and I was assisted in this process by the magic of mobile phone cameras and the internet as I was able to get some advice from David Hunter, John Ewing and Lardy Rich as to terrain density etc. By this time I had decided to use Scenario Six; The Rescue from the rule book for my game as it appeared to fit the bill for what I was aiming for in the game in my own round about fashion.

The terrain lay out without the wife sleeping
under it. The Inn and stables are top right with
Hoka Hey's Wealdon House top left. 

Idyllic pastoral scenes. I did play the opening movement of
Beethoven's Symphony 6 The Pastoral at the start of the game
but it was so noisy in the club room that it was impossible to hear
it above the racket produced by those uncultured swine!!

Milly the Miller's daughter, rejoicing as she is bringing
in the sheaves to the windmill

Farm hands busy cutting the wheat

Stables and paddock. The wooden framed house in the back
ground is Hoka Hey's Wealdon House

     Also thrown together in the week leading up to Deep Fried Lard were some hedges made from rubberised horse hair, cut into strips, hot glued to large lollipop sticks or tongue depressors if you prefer. Either way, the horsehair was duly attached, liberally sprayed with non fragrant hair spray, flocked with..erm..flock then sprayed again with hair spray to hold the flock in place. Thanks to Mel the Terrain Tutor for the ideas.

Box of hedges; seven and a half feet worth.


     Last but by no means least, I sat up on Friday night rolling for the various leaders characteristics and writing them down in my bestest hand writing before heading for bed, tired but happy. 

     And so to the actual game on the big day. The game was played by Graham, a new comer to the game, and Tom who had played Sharp Practice first edition but not much of the second edition, citing his frustration with some aspects of the rules as his reason for giving it up. I think I can honestly say I have probably put him off for life.
     Graham chose to play the part of the French while Tom took the Austrians. The scenario then, was this; It is 1805 and La Contessa, femme fatale and friend of the Revolution had been captured by the Austians, commanded by Kapitan Otto Traedor, and was being held in the inn in rural Bavaria prior to being dispatched to Vienna to answer charges of treason. The French general, General D'Ismay, being the lover of La Contessa, had decided to put his best man onto the case and had dispatched Capitaine Richard D'Astardly, a capitaine of the Chassuers, to free La Contessa.
     Now, I make no bones about it, I was rooting for the French in this game, if only because I wanted to see how the narrative part would play out. If and when the French rescuers had reached La Contessa's boudoir door they would have found it locked and an indignant voice from beyond the door would declare that she was "in ze bath!" and that the rescuers were to wait till she was ready.  I had a card written out with this information and the task limit the French needed to reach before La Contessa decided to get dressed.
     As it was, the French force that deployed next to the inn wasn't strong enough to defeat the group of Austrian fusiliers guarding the inn (and enjoying a tipple into the bargain, no doubt). There ensued a rather bloody bout of fisticuffs that left each side much reduced with the French Lieutenant Sartre wounded and reduced to a Leader 1 and the Austrian Feldwebel Karl D'Lippe, dead. The French moral dropped a few notches whilst the Austrians weren't too bothered by the passing of Feldwebel Lippe (curiously one of his characteristics I rolled for the night before was Vile Individual which was reflected in the Bad Things Happen roll for the Austrians. No one was bothered by his demise!!)
     The French were then on to a hiding to nothing with their boss, General D'Ismay, looking on. Their moral was down from 9 to 6 by the tine we had to finish, whilst the Austrians were still on 11, but as this was Graham's first game and I was advising him that's not surprising.
      However, he was a game fellow, young Graham, if nothing else and, with help from myself and Tom, played his hand as best he could. He even managed to get Lieutenant Sartre and his remaining Voltiguer onto a balcony on the first floor, planning to at least get as far as La Contessa and to hold off the Austrians till the French main force arrived. Unfortunately they were headed off by Leutnant Stepan Krappe and his group of Jaeger who took possession of the first floor. And so it was that we ran out of time with the French having taking a bit of a bloody nose and the poor General D'Ismay not getting his bit of tottie back from the clutches of fiendish Austrians and La Comtessa's bath time went uniterrupted.

     All things being equal, I think Graham and Tom enjoyed the game. And I think I managed to get across some idea of the depth of character the game has to offer rather than just having a straight forward dust up.
      Anyway, here's the photos I managed to take when I remembered to get my camera out.

French Chassuers forming line


General D'Ismay and his cotterie await the safe delivery
of La Contessa


The Austrian Jaegers take advantage of the hedgerows to
pepper the approaching French

Austrian deployment point

a somewhat battered Lt Sartre and his one remaining Voltiguer
come up with a cunning plan

...which comes to naught as the Austrians pound up the stairs in
the inn, thwarting Sartre's plan

It does make for a nice photo though, I think

     So that Deep Fried Lard for another year. It was time to pack up and to head for the pub to enjoy  a beer or three (or endure an alcohol free Becks Blue if you were driving) and not a few laughs, It was nice to spend a bit of time chatting away with folk and getting to know them a bit better. Then it was off to a local Indian restaurant for the obligatory curry, no Lardy event being complete without curry and cooking lager before yours truly had to head back to Glasgow, knackered but happy whilst most of the others headed to the pub to get bladdered, the lucky swine!!

I'm already planning to take part in next years event with at least two ideas of what I would like to run, work permitting of course but let's never say never, eh..

pip pip for the noo,
Jim
























Bolt Action Campaign Market Garden; Reclaiming The Road At Dangelaanger

Scenario 22. Reclaiming The Road At Dangelaanger


     Intro. Our Market Garden campaign continues with the third of the Road scenarios along which XXX Corps are attempting to reach Arnhem. The Germans have succeeded in seizing the small hamlet of Dangelaanger, cutting the road and preventing the flow of supplies and troops to the spear head of the advance. The British must clear this blockage and quick. The canny Germans appreciate this and know that every minute they hold onto Dangelaanger the less effective becomes the British thrust and they prepare to make the British pay dearly for their recklessness in advancing along such a narrow corridor . However, they also know that they are fighting with limited resources themselves and can ill afford to throw away their forces so must attempt to withdraw as many of their men, guns and vehicles as possible.


     The Forces
     Uniquely for a Bolt Action game, this scenario allows you to take literally anything you want...well, okay not literally anything you want but it allows you to fashion your forces without having to stick with a core of a platoon commander and two infantry section; you could take, for example, two tanks with three rifle sections on foot, a couple of sniper teams, a forward air observer and three medium mortars! The only stipulation is that the ratio of attackers to defenders must be 3:2 So, with 1500 points of Allies to Richie's 1000 points of Krauts it was off to Easy Army to work out the forces.
     I'll spare you the trials and tribulations and the many differing concoctions I dreamt up and tell you what I took, what I really, really took.
     Rather conservatively I took two platoons; a tank platoon of two Shermans and one Sherman Firefly along with a platoon from the Glendarrochs led by the ever dependable Sgt Amos Grouse as acting platoon commander (taking the 2nd Lieutenants slot....okay, once you've all finished sniggering we'll get on with the blog post). For those of you who like lists, here's the list of my forces
                13 Platoon , the Glendarrochs
                2nd Lieutenant plus 1 (Sgt Amos Grouse 2xSMGs)
                1-3 Sections: NCO w SMG, 1 LMG all Regulars
                2x 6 pounder anti tank guns (Regular)
                2x Universal Carriers (Regular) to tow the anti tank guns
                1x M5 Halftrack
                Free FOO in a Daimler Dingo (I have just realised I didn't "pay" for the Dingo but it didn't have any real effect on the game apart from making the FOO a larger target and thereby drawing fire from Richie's Jagdpanzer which was very scary, let me tell you.

               4 Troop, E Squadron The Isle Of Sheppey Border Mounted Rifles
               2x Sherman Vs (one command tank commanded by 2Lt The Honourable Lord Sippingforth)
               1x Sherman Firefly

The whole force were Regulars and I took (then completely forgot to use) Rapid Fire as my forces National Characteristic...doh!!

     Rich brought along his veteran SS led by Obersturmfuhrer Helmut Schiner. Here's another list for you list lovers;
                    1st Lieutenant: Obersturmfuhrer Helmut Schiner plus one (2x Assault Rifles)
                    1-3 Squads of 8 men each, NCO with assault rifle, 1x LMG. 1x Panzerfaust
                     Jagdpanzer IV
                     Light Howitzer
                     Sniper Team
                     Medium Mortar plus spotter
                     251/1D Halftrack
All of the above were rated Veterans.

     Scenario Special Rules
     All German units start on the table. The Allies can commit up to two thirds of his force in Turn 1 (I went with half rounding up as I didn't pay attention to this bit) The Second Wave can come on from turn 2 with the usual modifier and can enter the table at either short end.
     The game is limited to 6 turns

     Victory Conditions
     I think it's worthwhile quoting the Victory Conditions in full. "The Germans player has to do more than simply block the road for a while, he also has to extract his men before they are destroyed which, given the general numerical superiority of the Allies is an inevitability if they don't get out in good time. In addition to the usual victory points for destroying enemy units, the Germans score 1 point for each vehicle and every infantry unit which still has 50% of its strength that move off the table in Turn 5 and 6. No units can leave the table in Turns 1-4. The Allies score a decisive win if there are no unpinned German units with line of sight to the road by the end of Turn 4, otherwise simply compare victory points at the end of Turn 6 to decide a winner" so if you are the Allied player and you are setting up the terrain, make sure you put big bushes either side of the road that block line of sight; that way you can't lose!! Seriously though, this makes it quite a challenging game for both sides as we found out. So how did it pan out? Did the British inflict a decisive defeat on the wily Krauts or did said wily Kraut manage to cut and run before the Tommies could destroy them?

    Smoke drifted across the fields from the ruined hamlet of Dangelaanger. Peering through his binoculars, Lieutenant the Lord Sippingforth scrutinised the small collection of buildings seeking out signs of the Hun. He knew they were there alright, that was why he and the rest of 4 Troop had been dispatched post haste along with a platoon of the Glendarroch Highlanders to Dangelaanger. They had been sent back down the route of advance to clear out this pocket of  Boche who were delaying XXX Corps advance towards Arnhem and the relief of 6th Airborne Division. 
     A movement caught his eye; German soldiers in their distinctive coal scuttle helmets were scurrying between the buildings. Some of them, he noticed, were loading equipment onto one of their halftracks; where they moving out? Not so fast, my beauties he thought to himself. "Driver advance. Towards that white house just right of the road, Timpkinson" he said into his mike. "Right you are, sir" replied the driver. The noise of the engine rose as the Sherman moved forward "Gunner, load HE" said Lord Sippingforth.
The southern end of the hamlet of Dangelaanger. SS troops,
though outnumbered and outgunned, attempt to stem the
foil the British advance.

SS support troops barricaded in the hamlet of Dangelaanger 

more SS defenders preparing to sell their lives dearly for the
Fatherland


The Germans main threat, the Jagdpanzer IV
     Leaning over the side of the Jagdpanzer IV, Scharfuhrer Otto Naubetter cupped his ear to listen to the Panzergrenadier commander. Obersturmfuhrer Schiner was outlining the plan of withdrawal form the position they were occupying and Naubetter struggled to hear him above the sound of the idling engine. "TOMMY IS ON HIS WAY! IT IS NOW 3.30PM! WE NEED TO HOLD FOR ANOTHER 30 MINUTES THEN WE START WITHDRAWING; THE SIGNAL TO WITHDRAW WILL BE TWO GREEN FLARES; UNDERSTAND?" Naubetter nodded and formed an OK sign with his finger and thumb then slid back into the warm fug of the tank destroyer. The acrid smell of sweat, petrol and burnt cordite was almost comforting to him so used had he become to it. "How are we for fuel, Berndt?" he asked the driver "Just above half a tank" replied Berndt. That should be enough to get us to the regimental RV he though, tapping his map with a stump of a pencil."Ammo?" he asked. "We have 5 rounds of armour piercing, Herr Scharfuhrer!" said the gunner. Just as well we're pulling out, Naubetter though. Five rounds isn't going to get us far. A cry from the gunner broke into his thoughts "Achtung! Tommies" he shouted, his eye glued to his gun sight! Naubetter stuck his head just above the cupola and looked directly along the long, deadly gun barrel. Away beyond it, through the trees lining the road, he could just make out the British advancing from the woods behind them. First an infantry squad then a small tracked vehicle which stopped and from which British soldiers jumped, running around to the rear of the vehicle where the busied themselves unlimbering an anti-tank gun. 
Naubetter briefed, Oberscharfuhrer Schiner awaits develpoments

As the British advance guns blazing...

..and with their anti tank guns acting in the anti personnel role,
whittling down the SS squad by the cottage

...they start applying as much pressure as they can on the
shrinking German perimeter 

hidden in the garden a light howitzer crew wait to spring a
surprise on any unwary Tommies who might stray into their
sights 

...whilst in the background, the German halftrack burns after
being on the receiving end of a shot from the Firefly

     Crouching in the roadside ditch, the two British sergeants looked through the low hanging branches of the trees that screened their vehicles from the hamlet of Dangelaanger. They could hear the sounds of battle from the far side of the hamlet but their focus was on the ruined building facing them through the trees. "I reckon there's only about eight, maybe ten of them in there" said the infantry sergeant, a Tam O'Shanter set at a jaunty angle on his head "and they ain't been there long; not very well dug in see". The other sergeant, a tank commander, smiled inwardly, still finding it comical that a British infantry sergeant in a Scottish infantry battalion should have such a strong Cornish accent. That was the Army for you; take a bloke from one end of the country and stick him in a county regiment from another. The Cornishman was speaking again "I reckons there's no point being subtle; lets drive straight at 'em. My boys'll keep them busy while you blast them from up close; what do you say?". The tank commander chewed his bottom lip then said "What if them buggers have panzerfausts? I'm not too keen on getting too close". "Garn, they'll be too busy hugging the bloody deck to bother you; besides that there Firefly of yours will distract them too"" replied Sgt Grouse, pointing out the Sherman Firefly approaching the treeline on the far side of the road  "come on, let's get cracking" With this he started back along the ditch towards the half track and Sherman. Taking a last quick look at the ruined building in which the German infantry were sheltering, the tank commander turned and crawled back along the trench towards his tank.

Sgt Grouse and his squad close with the enemy, attempting to
pin them down. 

...whilst the Germans reply in kind, though with little effect

     A figure clambering onto the tank destroyer startled Naubetter. It was the obersturmfurher. "Better get moving, Naubetter, there's two Tommy panzers on the other side of this building!" he said, jerking his thumb behind him "We'll cover you as best we can" Naubetter nodded his thanks to Schiner and shouted into his mike "Driver, forward right. Get us across that road as quick as she will go"  As the SS officer leapt from the Jagdpanzer, the tank destroyer lurched forward then, tracks squealing, turned sharp right and lurching once more, gathered speed and roared across the road. Naubetter, his head just clear of the cupola, winced as an anti tank shell struck the building to their left, sending a shower of dust and stone fragments onto the top of the Jagdpanzer. Behind them, beyond the ruin they had been sheltering behind the Sherman Firefly commander shouted at his gunner "Reload! Sort your bloody act out, Sugden!" Your wasting the King's bloody ammunition. 'E didn't issue it out so you could tease the bloody Jerries wif it!!"  


Trooper Sugden misses his chance

..whilst Naubetter preys for more speed

..but's it's a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire

..in this case, anti tank gun fire as the troop sergeant's gunner
draws a bead on the Jagdpanzer and fires a death dealing shot

     Hugging the rubble by the garden fence, the British infantry men exchanged desultory fire with the SS men in the ruin. Behind them came the comforting sound of the.50 cal machine mounted in their half track adding its weight of fire to the German soldiers misery. Still the desperate SS men hung on. Sgt Grouse toyed with the idea of rushing the German position but decided against it. With all this armour around, his men just had to keep the Jerries in place till the tankies could come over and blast them out. "Cpl Gillies, control your fire; just keep them Jerries' heads down!" he shouted to the 2 Section commander. "Right sarge" he replied then to his section "Bren team will carry on firing; rifle team, watch and shoot, watch and shoot!"

2 Section suppress the German defeders in the ruin...

..as the Isle Of Sheppey Border Mounted Rifles tanks push
forward into the centre of the tiny hamlet
      Oberschutze Hellman nudged the soldier beside him. Overhead two green signal flares rose into the sky, trailing smoke behind them. "Time to go, Becker" he said to the sniper. They both crawled back from their carefully camouflaged firing position then, crouching, they started to make their way past the scattered battlefield debris towards the nearby woods. Shots cracked fiercely overhead as they were spotted by the advancing Tommies, who seemed reluctant to push forward now that the noise of  battle was dying down. Becker raised his rifle to fire at them but Hellman pushed the barrel down. "No time for that, Becker, let's go" and he shoved the SS man in the direction of woods..

The SS sniped team withdraw

As the remnants of the German defenders start withdrawing,
the British consolidate their gains


Obersturmfuhrer Schiner points out to his men the direction
of their escape

As the Sherman Firefly, with no obvious enemy target worthy
of the attentions of their main gun, turns its co-axial machine
gun on the defenders of the ruined house
     And so at Turn 6, with the Germans withdrawing and no pinned units within sight of the road, the Germans had teased out yet another victory. As ever, the result turned on a series of missed chances. The inability of the Sherman Firefly to hit the Jagdpanzer with its one, fleeting shot; the stoicism of the German defenders (It's hard enough to hit those Veterans but its even harder to kill them!!) especially the ones in the ruin meant that the defenders had bought enough time and were then able to withdraw most of their force in good order albeit without their Jagdpanzer and 251.
     
     More crucially, it was yet another belter of a game and, cautious as I am about these things, even I would have wagered on the British coming out on top in this encounter. But I hadn't considered the wiliness of Rich, despite all our previous games. Another turn and who knows...

     Thanks again to Rich for hosting and setting up yet another cracking table full of terrain. We have one more Road game to play then we switch to Normandy and D Day.

Pip pip,
General J

Empirical Army update #1 plus a little bit extra

So I have made some progress on my Empire Army repaint; in this case six Great Swords who were originally part of a larger twelve man unit. ...