Tales from a Wargame Shed
  • Blog
  • Home
  • About me
  • Periods played
    • Napoleonics
    • 17th Century Eastern Europe
    • ACW
    • Ancients
  • Scenarios and house rules
    • American Civil War scenarios
    • 17th Century scenarios
    • Napoleonic scenarios

Blog

Bolt Action: two broken Tigers on fire in the night

27/10/2017

0 Comments

 
Anybody else know the song Roads to Moscow by Al Stewart, circa 1974? A rare rock song about WWII that isn't thrash metal. Every time a German tank dies in a game, I think of the line:" Two broken Tigers on fire in the night." I was humming it last night.

Ian and I played a game of Bolt Action Tank War. We had 2,200 points each on an 8’ x 4’ table. This was the biggest game we have played so far, with every tank we could get our hands on.

Ian’ Germans had 2 Panthers, a Panzer IV, a Stug and a Puma, plus 520 points of Fallschirmjagers. My British had a Cromwell, 6 Shermans and 500 points of infantry. All tanks on both sides and the British infantry were regular, and Ian's Fallschirmjagers were veteran. I began with 14 dice and Ian with 11.

The table was quite busy to ensure we didn't have too many uninterrupted lines of sight. It was divided up the middle by a cobbled road, on one side of which were the outskirts of a village and on the other, more open farmland. We rolled four objectives which we placed in a rough line, lengthwise down the middle of the table. Three of them were in the village, which was on Ian's left and my right.
Picture
The view from the German centre.
On turn 1, Ian placed a lone Puma on his extreme left; his Panzer IV in support of most of his infantry in the centre, then his remaining armour, along with a single infantry squad and an MMG, in the fields on his right. I sent all my infantry into the village in the centre, one Sherman into the open ground on the left and the rest of my armour behind the village and on my right.

I struck lucky early on, knocking out the Panzer IV and a Panther in turn 2. My dice rolling balanced out later when my armour repeatedly failed to damage Ian's vehicles, but it was a great advantage to roll so many high numbers in the opening stages.

The game split into three combats: on my left, the Remaining Panther and Stug duelled with 4 Shermans (quickly reduced to 3); in the centre, our infantry fought for control of two objectives in the village; and on my right, the Cromwell and 1 Sherman played peekaboo with the Puma. Early luck tipped the scales in my favour and by game’s end Ian had lost every tank but his Stug while I had lost just the one Sherman. With two objectives apiece at the end of turn 6 we counted points and I got a ‘clear victory’.
I think this was my luckiest wargame for a very long time. Did skill come into it? A bit, perhaps. My tanks used cover more than Ian, who confessed he had put his faith in the superior armour of his Panzers rather than tuck them behind walls. In truth, an awful lot of my fire did bounce off harmlessly but if you take enough shots even a 75 will get through eventually. I also think it helped to keep my infantry in mutual supporting distance. But if truth be told, I won because I had a big fat slice of improbable luck. Bless him, Ian stayed cheerful until the last 6 was rolled. He used his Puma to tie down three tanks for much of the game: I almost regretted knocking it out on turn 6. Almost. And at least his Stug shrugged off every single attempt to pierce its armour.
Picture
Last German standing
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

      Enter your email address to subscribe to blog updates

    Subscribe to blog alerts

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    6mm Figures
    Absolute Emperor
    ACW
    ADLG
    Ancients
    Battlegroup
    Battle Report
    Blucher
    Bolt Action
    Chain Of Command
    Eastern Renaissance
    Epic 40K
    For King And Parliament
    Games Workshop
    General
    Honour Games
    Infamy! Infamy!
    Lasalle
    Longstreet
    Modelling
    Napoleonics
    Napoleonic Scenarios
    Pickett’s Charge
    Polish Armies
    Rules Review
    Scenarios
    Scenery
    Sharp Practice
    Shenandoah
    Soldiers Of Napoleon
    Space Hulk
    Sword And Spear
    Tercios
    Too Fat Lardies
    To The Strongest
    Wargame
    Wargame Campaign
    Warhammer
    Warhammer 40K
    Wars Of The Repubic
    What A Tanker
    World War Two

    RSS Feed

  • Blog
  • Home
  • About me
  • Periods played
    • Napoleonics
    • 17th Century Eastern Europe
    • ACW
    • Ancients
  • Scenarios and house rules
    • American Civil War scenarios
    • 17th Century scenarios
    • Napoleonic scenarios