Bolt Action Battle Of The Bulge US Cavalry Troop Finished-ish

     I am glad to say that my Battle Of The Bulge US Cavalry Troop theatre selector is done....nearly...the core of the force is there with one or two extras to add.

     My original aim was to create on the table top a thematic force based on the US Cavalry forces in the Battle Of The Bulge and I think I have just about done that. 

     The theatre selector that I posted a while back was based on the Armoured Platoon selectors in the Tank War supplement and looked like this:

1 Command Vehicle from: M5 Stuart, M8 Scoutcar, M20 Scoutcar, Recce Jeep

2 Vehicles from: M5 Stuart, M8 Scoutcar, Recce Jeep

Plus;

0-1 Vehicle from; M10 Tank Destroyer, M8 Scott

0-4 Dismounted Cavalry squads, 0-1 Military Police Squad

0-1 Officer (First or Second)

0-1 Captain or Major

0-1 Intelligence Officer (from the Campaign Battle of the Bulge)

0-1 Medic

0-1 Forward Observer (artillery or air)

0-1 Unit Marksman*

0-2 MMG

0-2 HMG

0-2 Light Mortar

0-2 Bazooka

0-1 Medium or Heavy anti tank gun

Tow M4 Artillery Tractor, 2.5 tonne Truck, M3 Half Track

Transports; Jeep, 2.5 tonne Truck, M3 Half Track, Dodge Weapons Carrier 

 Notes. As this force is predominantly on the defensive there is no need for each infantry unit to have a dedicated transport.

* The Unit Marksman is there to replace the option of the Sniper in the usual lists. Basically he would be one of the troopers who is a really good shot and former backwoodsman. Like a sniper he would ignore the Cover and Small Unit modifiers, his rifle's range would be 30" and he would still be affected by the Long Range modifier. We have still to play test a Marksman in our games so I will get back to you on how useful he is at a later date)

      The above is based on what I have gleaned from my not too intensive studies into the US Cavalry in the ETO. My research has been based, almost completely, on Osprey Publishing's World War II US Cavalry Groups; European Theater, which is more than sufficient for my purposes.

Do I need to caption this?

     So here it is...

Troop B, 144th Squadron US Cavalry. My complete force looking very cool

Troop B Command. Lt Tug McChord (in two guises;
one on foot with the walkie talkie and the other as an
M5 Stuart commander) Intelligence officer next (to the
medic) and the medic.

The troops. enough winter figures to make 4 squads of between
5-8 men with rifles, SMGs, LMGs and BARs applying the usual
characteristics of Regular US troops

Troop support options; 2 bazooka teams, Military Police Squad,
MMG, light mortar, medium anti tank gun. Ignore the light
howitzer, that got included by accident. What should really
be there (and needs repairing) is my M5 Anti Tank Gun...Doh! 

The Armoured contingent: two Recce Jeeps, two M8 Scout
Cars and two M5 Stuarts. I will definitely add to these (I
have another M5 Stuart kit) but from the Theatre Selector
point of view I can meet my obligatory selections

Heavy Support? M10 Tank Destroyer and M8 Scott light
howitzer

Transports and TOWs: 2.5 tonne Deuce and a Half truck
and Dodge 3/4 tonne truck

Close up of my Military Police and the Dodge 3/4 truck and
why not?

      And as I sit here typing this I am realising what other stuff I need...well, want, which amounts to the same thing when it comes to wargaming; M20 Scout Car, M4 Artillery Tractor, more Jeeps, a winter HMG team etc etc. I do have another MMG teasm and four more riflemen in the post from Artizan Designs who's figures make up the bulk of the troops, the LMG teams and troop HQ figures are from Empress Miniatures. 

   

      Another thought that strikes me is that all of this is all due to Pat Smith publishing the Setting The Scene: Winter Wargaming book which has been really inspirational for us as it was never my intention to put together a winter US force nor any other winter force for that matter. But there you go, that's the power of imagery, a winter US force complete, winter Germans started and winter Soviets also in progress, the latter two being on the many back burners I have going at the moment.

     With things being as they are at the moment with the Corona Virus putting all gaming on hold, it'll be a couple of months before these chaps see battle again but by then I hope to have a mini narrative campaign thrashed out based on the events in the Losehiem Gap in Decemeber 1944. And no doubt between now and then I will add more units and vehicles and when I do you can be sure to learn alllllll about them here, in the blog that goes by the name of The Musings Of General Jimbob.

     Thanks for stopping by, till next time, here's a couple of tasty looking photos from Troop B's previous outings. Pip Pip

GJ   

Bolt Action Batrep: Fortress Budapest. Replay of Scenario 14. Supply Drop; A Walk In The Park?

Introduction

      Or should that be re-introduction? We're revisiting the Supply Drop scenario from Fortress Budapest for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we forgot the rules for the supply drop cannisters in which the first unit to reach them rolls on a chart and runs the risk of gaining something useful or not. Secondly, we didn't have a glider for the first time around and as that is essential to the game I had bought one from Sarissa and built and painted it...and a wrecked version too. And, thirdly (yeah, I know I said a couple of reasons but hey...), thirdly, it's cracking good fun.

DFS 230 glider from Sarissa Precision prior to adding the decals.
 I scratch built a wrecked version for the Supply Drop mission as
 the glider in this game explodes. 

     The battle revolves around the besieged Germans and Hungarians who are now desperate for supplies which are being parachuted in and brought in by glider in the Vermezo Park, a long, narrow park in the heart of Budapest, on the west bank of the Danube, with varying degrees of success. They must recover or at least be in control of, the canisters by the end of the game and thereby gain enough victory points to beat the Soviets who are trying to prevent the Germans from recovering the supplies both to increase the pressure on the defenders and to fill their own depleted stores. It therefore goes without saying that the Soviets likewise must control the supply canisters at the end of the game if they are to win.
     As usual the battle is fought on a 6'x4' table, long table edge to long table edge. We went with a slightly different set up from our previous playing of this game and once we had set up the terrain in a mutually agreeable fashion we put out the markers.

The suggested layout for the scenario

     The scenario requires the players to roll for the amount of objective markers/supply canisters that have landed in their part of the park and we had four to scrap over this time. On turn 4 a glider full of supplies will crash onto the battlefield from a random direction and at a point determined by rolling quite a few dice. Once the markers were placed we set to it, deploying onto the table as our order dice were drawn from the dice bag.
 

Another spiffing set up with three of the four objectives marked.
The Soviets are deploying from the right, the Germans the left 

The fourth objective marker viewed from the left flank of the
Soviet deployment zone 

The view from the right flank of the Soviet side of the table

a dawn lit park before the battle...

   
  

    "Let's get her started up" ordered Oberscharfuhrer Zimmerman. The Panzer IVs gunner and loader climbed stiffly from the inside the battered tank and made their way to the rear of the hull and began to crank the starting handle round, wreathed in a mist created by their own breathing in the chilly predawn winter air. A few turns and the engine roared into life, the noise rebounding from the ruined buildings that lined the devastation littered side street the tank was parked in. 
      As the gunner and loader remounted the tank a young SS panzer grenadier officer approached Zimmerman. "All ready, Oberscharfuhrer?". Zimmerman looked at the younger man and grunted. "Ready, sir? yes as ready as we can be. We're short of ammo and fuel as you know but we're as ready as we can be" The officer nodded "We're all feeling the pinch but with a bit of luck Fat Herman's boys will get through and the quartermaster's stores will be bulging with plenty of goodies for us all, eh?" he smiled sardonically as he continued "The plan is simple, you provide support up here along the main track and the recce halftrack will support Scharfurher Schmundt to our right. My men will collect what we can and load it into the half tracks and bring it back into our lines. The signal for withdrawal will be a white flare over a green one. We'll move forward on my command which will be once we know the drop is going ahead" Zimmerman nodded "Let's hope it does, Herr Obersturmfuhrer, I could do with a nice, hearty meal and a glass of cognac like we enjoyed in France, eh?" The officer smile turned to one of pleasant memory "Yes, we enjoyed some good food and drink whilst in France however let's not hold our breath in anticipation of Fat Herman sharing the contents of his wine cellar with us; some real coffee and a decent stew would be more than enough. Right, enough about food and drink; your reminiscing is making me hungrier than I already am." As he spoke these last words a dull droning came to their ears over the distant sounds of battle that constantly surrounded them. "They're coming; mount up, Oberscharfuhrer" so saying the young officer turned and hurried down the street rousing his troops who had taken shelter whilst they waited to move forward. Zimmerman clambered onto the Panzer IV and into the turret cupola. Plugging in his headphones he spoke to his crew "Stand by, we're moving out."     

Oberscharfuhrer Zimmerman orders his Panzer IV
forward into the park

On the German right flank, the recce half track provides support
for the SS troops moving towards the nearest container

     The Soviet soldiers made their way along the darkened street, picking their way through the rubble and debris of the siege, following their platoon commander. He in turn followed a guide who had met them at their landing point on the banks of the Danube. The platoon had been ferried across the river just upstream from the wrecked Chain Bridge. Though nighttime the city was brightly lit by the many fires that were consuming it, the occasional explosion and the coloured tracer rounds that floated lazily yet lethally over the river towards the ferry landing area on the Pest side of the Danube from the German and Hungarian positions on the Castle Hill overlooking the city and the river. 

     The platoon had been taken in hand as soon as they had landed. Originally meant to go into the line as reinforcements, their battalion commander had been with the guide who met them at the riverside. "Greetings Lieutenant Krimov, welcome to Buda" he said to the young platoon commander. Lieutenant Krimov had went to salute but stopped himself recalling the order not to salute officers in the combat zone and this was definitely a combat zone. 
     "Greetings Comrade Colonel; it's a pleasure to be here. Are you here to give us a guided tour of the city and it's fleshpots?" The colonel's smiled at his nephew "No Sasha, but I have arranged a trip to the park for you and your boys"

     The guide stopped by the looming hulk of a T34/85. Here a small group of soldiers stood; the tank commander recognisable in his tank helmet and a couple of NCOs. "Good morning comrade lieutenant" said a captain emerging from the shadow of a nearby building, buttoning his flies as he did then holding out his hand in greeting "I'm Captain Popov, your new company commander" Krimov looked hesitatingly at the proferred hand then shook it quickly. "I hear good things about you from Colonel Sokolov, which is just as well as I have a mission for you already.." Popov briefed Krimov then introduced the men behind him. These consisted of a senior sergeant with a group of three ancient looking anti tank rifles, a corporal commander of an armoured car, an assault engineer sergeant and the commander of the T34/85. "We're expecting the German aircraft soon; they are as regular as clockwork, arriving at the crack of dawn and the park is the other side of this row of buildings so you had best get your sergeant to prepare your men ready whilst we go and have a look at the ground" Krimov called forward his sergeant and gave him a few, quick orders then he and the tank commander, Senior Sergeant Lebedev, followed Popov through the darkened ruins towards a point where they could see the park...   

The Soviets move toward the park and the Germans much
needed supplies. Straight away the T34/85 destroys one of
the SS halftracks. The squad inside dismount and take cover

The Soviet assault engineers and an anti tank rifle deploy
on the left flank hoping to make the most the cover offered
by the buildings there

Scharfuhrer Schmundt leads the way on the right flank

     

     Gasping for breath, the SS squad lay beside the suppl cannister. The Rottenfuhrer in command of the section shouted at the LMG team to get the MG42 into action. As the LMG crew began firing at the Soviets gathering behind the fence, the Rottenfuhrer and one of the others struggled to undo the clasps on the container. The steel hasp resisted their efforts and the Rottenfuhrer reached behind his back and pulled out a wickedly sharp bayonet and went to work on the hasp. After a few more seconds the hasp flew up and the two men shoved open the container and reached greedily inside. Neatly packed into the container were a dozen cloth bags each about 12" square and bearing the German National Emblem stamped on them. "Bread!" shouted the Rottenfuhrer and he pulled one of the bags from the container. He grimaced; the bag felt too heavy for loaves. He undid the drawstring at the neck of the bag, peered inside and throwing the bag aside, let loose a howl of rage. "Those fucking idiots!!" he shouted. The men beside him gaped at their squad commander then at the bag lying in the snow. From the neck of the bag a handful of Iron Crosses spilled out and more could be seen inside. In horror they pulled the remainder of the bags from the container; each was full of Iron Crosses and blank award diplomas...  

..whilst the SS squads, each totting two LMGs attempt to
dissuade the Ivans

Zimmerman's Panzer IV advances warily

Whilst the German recce half track is distracted by the assault
engineers in the farmyard, the Soviet SMG squad engages the
251/1 and puts a pin on it. This rattled the driver so much that
he refused to budge for a couple of crucial turn which, in turn,
held up the assault pioneer squad who were in the half rack
from entering the fray

the BA64 armoured car makes a bold advance towards the
supply canister

As Zimmerman and his crew jockey warily for the chance
of a shot at the lurking T34/85 a glider swoops in

     Senior Sergeant Oblimov ducked involuntarily as, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a huge shadow flying just overhead. The German glider was coming in too steep and as it struck the ground 30 metres from Oblimov it cartwheeled before erupting in a blinding flash. As the dust settled Oblimov could see the front of the fuselage was gone, however half of the fuselage was still intact and might possibly still contain supplies. Shouting above the cacophony of the battle he urged his sub machine gun squad forward towards the wrecked glider

Sgt Oblimov urges his men forward

The Soviets and the SS scramble for the glider's contents

The exploding glider distracts Zimmerman's crew....

... and a panzerfaust fired by a nearby Soviet squad destroys the
Panzer IV

With the Panzer IV gone, the T34 and the Soviet's push forward

     Oberscharfuhrer Schmundt fitted a fresh magazine into his MP40. The destruction of the glider had been a hard blow to him amd his men's morale but seeing there was still a sizable piece of the fuselage left and seeing the Ivans heading for it, he shouted to what was left of his squad "Bloody Ivans are trying to rob us, boys, let's make them pay for it; with me!!"and so saying he set off lumbering straight for the wrecked glider.

With the 250/09 recce half track staying clear of the
Soviets flamethrower team the assault engineers are
free to move out from the farmyard

       Krimov watched as the Germans withdrew, dragging their wounded with them, snapping off shots at the Soviets, trying to keep their heads down. He shouted to his platoon sergeant to spread the word for the platoon to concentrate on the stores, the ground between them and the far side of the park where the Germans were withdrawing too was too open and would likely be a killing ground if he let his men push on. They had achieved their mission and turned the screw on the Axis defenders another notch.  

     Zimmerman and his loader carried the unconscious gunner between them. A large gash in Zimmerman's head had bled profusely, partially blinding him. Nevertheless, Zimmerman knew it was only a flesh wound and the rough bandage that was wrapped around it would soon stop the bleeding. His gunner was a different matter. It was as well he was unconscious, with his lower right leg shattered by the panzerfaust shot. The driver was dead; his corpse burning inside the wrecked Panzer IV. As they reached the edge of the park, bullets whizzing overhead, the cacophony of battle behind them, a couple of panzer grenadiers ran forward to help them with the wounded gunner. As he clambered over a pile of rubble into the ruin the panzer grenadiers were sheltering in, Zimmerman stole a glance back and grimaced as the rising sun, shining through a gap in the smoke from the burning panzer, blinded him. Indistinctly, against the bright glare he could just make out a white flare flying into the sky closely followed by a green one. 

     And that was that; it was, once we had totalled up the Victory Points, a rather resounding win for the Soviets. Both sides had played cagey after the previous game when the crashing glider had been pretty destructive when it landed. There were of course the usual woeful shots from the units you expect to be very effective; snipers rolling 1s to hit or wound, tank main armament missing when all you had to roll was a 3!! How and ever, it was yet another enjoyable, historically themed game of Bolt Action and we both enjoyed it and that's what counts, right?

     Cheers again to Richie for hosting and for being such a sporting opponent. There's a few more batreps in the pipeline but for the moment, pip pip,

The Gen