Bolt Action battle report: Operation Jupiter

We recently played our first face to face game of Bolt Action since the Covid outbreak began. It was a tense game, only decided in the final turn.

We used the Operation Jupiter scenario from the D-Day British and Canadian campaign book. Dan took the German defenders while Harry led the British, with a 10% points advantage. The British had a guaranteed preliminary bombardment with extra pinning power, to reflect the contribution of nearby naval guns. The scenario required Harry to get troops into the German defence zone, while Dan’s victory points could only come from killing enemy units. The British were a regular infantry platoon with a medium mortar, MMG in Bren carrier and Sherman in support, while the Germans also had a regular platoon, supported by a Command halftrack with light AT gun and a medium mortar. There were buildings in the centre of the table and scattered woods.

Dan set up two squads, the Lieutenant, MMG, sniper and Mortar spotter in the buildings in the centre. He placed a third squad in woods on the right, with the mortar behind. His half track was in reserve.

Harry’s preliminary bombardment was made even more effective by the additional pin on each unit required by the scenario (those naval guns!). The only casualty, however, was Dan’s medic, to Harry’s profuse apologies.

The British arrived in two waves. Nobody came on in the centre; a couple of small teams arrived on the left wing; but the majority of units, including Sherman and Bren carrier with MMG team, arrived on the British right, in a bid to reach the German rear zone before Dan could redeploy his firepower. The plan very nearly worked. Dan’s reactions were slowed by having to roll off pins from the preliminary bombardment, but he was able to shift one squad left and brought his half track on facing the main British attack. The half track was able to knock out the Bren carrier, taking an MMG crewman with it, but was promptly destroyed by the Sherman. A shame for Dan but great narrative! Harry’s FAO called in an artillery barrage against the main German position but this fell long and plastered an empty field.

In mid-game, the British right moved steadily forward, sparring with one German squad and the MG42 in the centre. Meanwhile Dan’s right went hunting for victory points. As he gained more VPs for destroying enemy units than Harry, it was cost effective for him to try to mop up the small teams on the British left.

The end game saw a bid by Harry to get enough units into the German rear to beat Dan’s VP tally. This involved crossing open ground covered by German fields of fire. Crucially, in the final turn one unit stopped just short of the zone while another failed to move, being unable to shake off its pins from the enemy crossfire. Had these units made it over the line, Harry would have won. Instead, the day went to Dan.

The game reminded me why Bolt Action is such great fun to play. There were several nail-biting moments, hanging on the sequence of the order dice draw or critical initiative tests. There were no interruptions to check the rules and no arguments over interpretation. It was a fast paced, entertaining game that reached a clear conclusion in an evening. And when the players bring Brew Dog and crisps, that makes for a perfect evening.