Blood , Guts and Glory

Finally managed to catch up with Ste, for some gaming fun. He wanted to play some FoW and suggested something themed from BGG. We set the game at 1500pts. I set the board up for some Lorraine action.

He brought along his American, 7th Cavalry tank company. 8 Confident Trained Shermans and 5 Stuarts with 4 CV Tank destroyers and a FV paratrooper platoon.

I rolled out a Panzer Kompanie - the 'panzer bums' for the first time...14 PIVs, 6 Stugs, 4 Mobel wagons and a short GPG platoon.

We rolled off for mission and got Hold the Line... I was AutoAttack so Ste started deploying.

Having 5 platoon, meant 2 on and 3 off for Ste, but both on, could be in ambush. After much deliberation Ste decided to 'deploy' his TD's and paratroopers - hoping to be able to get in a sneaky assault on some of the poor quality German armour... So with nothing facing me on the table, I put everything down, then Ste placed his 2 HQ tanks... one behind the hill and one behind the farm house behind rear ob.

With deployment done... I rolled out... With nothing on the front objective, I was tempted to rush it straight away, but I'd only just be able to reach it and then take all the fire from the ambush due to ATD, and had no recce to mitigate ambush... so I made a regular move up to start with in turn one, expecting Ste to place his ambush and then I'd have something to shoot at... I had one target this turn, the 2ic that my own 2ic had a single shot at down the flank but missed...

Interestingly, Ste choose not to deploy his ambushing troops, preferring to wait one turn, he return fired with his 2ic bailing my 2ic.

My turn 2 and I thought , well its now or never..time for the bum-rush! I at the doubled the first panzer platoon past the front objective, then backed it up with the other two moving normally and contesting the objective with the lead tanks. I ATD'd the mobel wagons round the wood to check out the other side of the corn field. The GPG's moved up to wood edge, hoping the troopers would storm trooper out their vehicles through the wood. I sent the flanking Stugs ATDing down flak to cover the other objective making Ste have to react to two threats at once. The GPGs failed their storm trooper move but I had the ob covered and all close by ambush positions covered. Ste couldnt now deploy on the objective... he'd have to try and shoot me off...

Ste popped his TDs in tree line on wood overlooking front obs, and his Paras in woods behind stugs looking to charge and ambush them from the rear... aided by his CO emerging from behind farmhouse. The 2ic moved over as well to assist the TDs...

Ste's shooting was not the best, only managing to bail 2 tanks from the leading panzer platoon that had ATD'd, and destroy one tank that was contesting the objective from the following platoons. I still had one tank contesting the objective...

The CO shot up the Stugs on the flank killing two and the third fled, giving Ste a point but it was all over as he had nothing more to stop me starting next turn holding the front objective....

Game ends 5-2 to ze Germans.

Post game discussion and it was clear Ste held ambush too long. Perhaps he didnt even need to ambush could have just deployed, with paras holding front obs and TDs in over watch on hill. Or he could have had more armour on the table instead from the start either in ambush or not...

Next time we'll try a fair fight mission and see how that plays out...

Ste's reserves that never had a chance to arrive...

Still an enjoyable game, and a chance to catch up for a natter too...

To the Death ... LOTR Four player doubles fun...

Last night, four of us gathered for a game of Lord of the Rings... with Bryan, Ste and Roly joining me for some Middle-Earth fun...

We played the game as a 2 vs 2, 500pts per player, with Bryan leading his Rivendell Elves, and Ste bringing his Uruk force. I added Mordor for myself alongside Ste, and put on 500pts of Gondor for Roly to command, alongside Bryan's Elves.

Bryan had Glorfindel and Gildor leading his two warbands on foot.
Ste had Lurtz and an uruk captain leading two blocks of Uruk warriors, with a warg mounted orc captain leading some warg riders.

For Mordor, I had a full power Generic Wraith on horse, Grishnahk and a warg mounted Shaman leading the orc soldiery.
Boromir and Beregong led the Warriors of Minas Tirith on foot, with Damrod leading a small group of rangers, for Roly.

We rolled off for mission and got To the Death, so a straight up fight ensued.

Deployment as below.

We didn't have long to play with it being a weeknight evening, so all deployed forward to get into the scrap quickly...

There was enough terrain to make the game interesting, without it over impeding game play, the ruins providing an object for the warg riders to make a flanking move around, as the rest of the battle lines formed up, with the rangers holding a small wood on the opposite flank.

And thus battle was quickly joined...

The evil force won initial priority and charged headlong in to the fight, with the Warg riders commencing their flanking move. Boromir was lashed by a Sap Will from the wraith and lost 2 of his 3 Will points... Whilst Lurtz found himself targeted by an Immobilize from Gildor, but shrugged it off...

The Orc shaman channelled Fury...

Initial bow fire from the Elves and Rangers was ineffective, and melee commenced...

A steady toll started to wrack up the casualties, though with the shamans fury saved some orcs and Grishnakh.

The combats raged back and forth with holes appearing in the lines. Boromir was the typical combat beast in the centre, blasting through the evil lines...

But with the warg riders threatening to envelope the good guys left flank, the elves and men there started to pull back trying to form a battle line between the ruin and woods...

Grishnahk found himself fighting Glorfindel... not the best place to be, especially when both sides roll a 6 and Glorfindel wins on Fight Skill, but the 2 wounds he received were saved by the Shamans Fury!

Elsewhere Lurtz suffered another immobilse from Gildor, and was slain, though this only seemed to enrage the surrounding uruks who then cut down several elves...

The wraith hit Boromir with a Transfix, on a 6 , but with his last will point Boromir rolled a 6 too to resist it! Shaking his ethereal head in disbelief the wraith then charged a lone WoMT to try and get involved in the fights too...

The rangers closed in, looking to pick off supporting uruk pikemen and managed to drop a couple...

Boromir, having broken right through the evil lines, was thus then surrounded and trapped there by orcs and uruks!

Grishnahk was still looking at the glowing elf lord, and nervously looked sideways to the wraith who obliged with a 4 dice Transfix on Glorfindel, getting a 6, but who then resisted with 3 dice and used a point of might to boost a 5 to a 6 and resist the spell!

By now the warg riders were breaking round the flank and back of the retreating WoMT and Elf line starting to threaten their rear...

With time drawing to a close, the final combats were fought with Grishnakh again surviving the Elves attention to the cost of a Fate point, Fury saves keeping him alive...

Despite being surrounded Boromir triumphed again and slew more orcs for the fun of it...

The wraith charged in against the same WoMT as last turn, and killed the brave warrior.

The remaining melees were resolved and the game concluded.

Final positions...

A quick tally up of VPs, found neither side yet broken, neither commander (Boromir or Wraith) wounded or slain, and both sides each having 1 banner... resulting in a 1 - 1 Draw.

With the game being a draw, we had a fun little fight off between Boromir and the Wraith, with Boromir winning, but failing to wound the wraith...

We only had time for 3 turns. Ste, coming to chez-moi for the first time, got a little lost, with me living a bit out in the wop-wops, and upon arrival enjoyed introductions and chat too, so we didn't get started till 8pm, with a 10pm finish scheduled.

But no matter, we all enjoyed the game none the less, and some spicy snacks from wifeypoos were a nice accompaniment.

The game was left in one of those poised positions, as both sides ponder on what might have befallen next... The evil right flank looked to be doing well against the faltering good left. The Uruks on the flank were pretty much even with the elves there, but the rangers were approaching... and Boromir was still loose in the evil backfield, though now with no Will remaining and at risk of Transfix and being surrounded by the orcs and wraith. If I could get the wraith in too, the wraiths high courage would hopefully have nullified Boromirs Horn of Gondor...

But who knows, we can ponder the ifs, buts and maybes forever...

I always enjoy these sort of doubles games as they are always great light hearted fun... looking forward to another adventure in Middle-Earth.