The event is designed to be friendly, so we ensured lists were not overly filthy, with 1000pt forces, from a single platoon. We were due to have 16 players, but a last minute drop out meant that Chris Carr didn't get to use his fun, friendly, all veteran Japanese killing Marine list (He keeps beating me when we face each other with them at events) and Rich Humble had to change from Axis (Finns) to Allies (British Commando). I had planned to use a Last Levy list as had said I'd do a battle report in tribute (for the mat for the Reichstag table was very generously donated by Deepcut Studio's). They also made some excellent dice trays for the events at a very reasonable rate, will see if I can find the photo's. Richard Humble built the Reichstag, and is looking to sell it and the other buildings etc, just not the mat as its been won. (if anyone has the room for it, I can assure you it would be money well spent).
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| Richard Humble's Ribble Rumble Reichstag Ruins |
Digressing, sorry will do the report later as been an excellent if long weekend. Anyway. with two Burmese British/Chindit lists and originally two US marine lists, figured we should try and give them a Japanese match up.
Have to say first off, many thanks for some extra-ordinary prize support from the following companies:
Warlord Games https://store.warlordgames.com/ The Home of Bolt Action & so much more
Deepcut Studios https://www.deepcutstudio.com/ Best quality mats for all your games
Stoessi's Heroes http://stoessisheroes.com/ Exquisite character models
Die Waffenkammer http://www.diewaffenkammer.com/index.html WW2 and beyond high quality resin models
Dog Tag Miniatures https://www.dogtagminiatures.co.uk/ Quality Russian, Italian & Hungarian
Element Games https://elementgames.co.uk/ Every game I play is here, and a million more besides (Its also an awesome gaming venue in Manchester (UK) and I say that as someone from Liverpool
and should also mention some pretty nifty trophies made by Richard Humble...
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| Sorry for the shaky pic, but the prize table above: Everyone got a prize (or two) |
 Rich Humble's awesome Reichstag board, still a bit wobbly on the camera... From a distance, and from an earlier game, the sheer size is more noticeable (Rich also did Old London town for Sea Lion and other systems, which is pictured below in the foreground)  Far clearer picture of the Reichstag below... (Did I mention its for sale, if anyone is interested. Drop me a message and I'll forward it on to Rich. Its all the buildings as well I believe) |
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| It is pretty awesome... |
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| Deepcut Studios mouse mat dice trays with Ribble Warriors and Ribble Rumble logo |
The Mission was essentially a customized Envelopment, Axis attacking trying to break through the Allied defence. I got 1 VP for enemy unit destroyed, 2 for units in Allied deployment zone and 3 for exiting of Allied table edge at game end. To futher mix it up, Allied vehicles had to start in Outflanking reserve, and given the Reichstag was covering one flank, it was a bit of a given where the BEAST would appear...
Below: There is mortar spotter and sniper atop the right of the Reichstag. Also, note the details, with a hospital near the tape measure with appropriate German naming, and the manhole covers which go great on the board...
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1st Lt plus 1 man Inexperienced
Free Inexperienced Squad
Captain plus two men
8 Regular sub machine gun squad
9 tank riders with sub machine guns
Medium Machine Gun with gun shield
Sniper team,
Anti-tank rifle team
Dog mine Anti tank team (4 men with dogs to match)
Medium Mortar team
KV-2, "The Beast"
The figures are a little larger than usual, think 30-32mm rather than 28mm but are beautifully painted, and go well with 1:48 KV-2. They are (formerly) Chiltern figures, now SHQ but not sure they are available any more...
I think anyone who takes a KV-2 AND dog AT mines deserves respect. 11 units, a bit light on troops but a nice, mad mixed list as the Soviets sought to slow up the Germans that could certainly pancake my Japanese with a 4" mobile Heavy Howitzer.
Tim set up his sniper and mortar observer on the Reichstag, his Lt and free squad in the ruin in front of him, Anti tank rifle behind the raised central platform, and his mortar off to the right behind a small building. He had to outflank the Beast and its tank riders, and kept his captain, dogs, and SMG squad off board too.
Additionally, there was a Preliminary bombardment, that didn't kill anything but added 2 pins to most of his stuff on the board.
Richard Humble is the standing chap, discussing the finer points of his work with my opponent, Tim Haslam in game 2 of the event.
Having set up his army heavily to my left where there was plenty of cover, I decided to avoid that half of the board and risk the Beast and swamp my right flank. Half my units were first wave, rest reserve but no outflanking.
My force was all regular Imperial Japanese army, Burma list consisting of the following:
2nd Lt plus 1 man,
Medic
5 x 10 men with 1 SMG on NCO
1 x 12 Engineers with flamethrower
3 x AT suicide men
2 x Lone snipers
1 x Ha-Go type 95 err, tank?
I started with both snipers and a single AT guy on the board from my first wave, with three squads in first wave including the engineers and a second AT man.
The mat is the Urban Ruins 6ft x 4ft, donated by Deepcut Studios and is real quality...
https://www.deepcutstudio.com/product/wargames-terrain-mat-urban-ruins/
It was won by Lee Parkinson, who was voted Most Sporting opponent over the five games.
The mortar spotter and sniper team atop the Reichstag...
Free 12 man Inexperienced squad in ruin, and Senior (1st) Lt looking in from door
AT rifle and mortar, and the small brown circle to the right is a secondary objective. This enables players to possibly gain additional points and you can also score tertiary points by achieving one mission per game (e.g. destroying an armour 8+ vehicle, winning an assault v HQ unit, or artillery). These stop games becoming all about the specific scenario, and add a bit of flavour to the games...
TURN 1
Not too much happened 1st turn, as my first wave ran on exclusively on the right hand side, where there was more open terrain and not many Soviets. My snipers, and their Soviet counterpart had no targets, so went on ambush. Soviets ran on their Captain, MMG and AT dog teams centre left (before I had sent my guys on incidentally, as I put down most of my reserves and ran on smaller units before committing my larger squads). Tim did bring on an SMG squad next to the mortar, behind the building with grey roof and white walls top of picture.
Soviet tank riders, ready to outflank on "The Beast"...
My favourite unit, the Anti-Tank Pugs, (sorry, dogs)... They are normal 28mm mastiffs I believe, but as Tim's troops are slightly larger than normal 28mm offerings which compliment the 1/48 KV-2, I was taking the mick about them beings Pugs...
TURN 2
All quiet on the Western front...
On my right, I ran forward my squads and At guys, to make room for the rest of my forces... Snipers stayed put, on ambush expecting the SMG squad to run into the small grey roofed building...
All quiet still...
The inexperienced squad struggled to shake their preliminary bombardment pins despite the nearby senior Lt...
Hearing "The Beast" approaching, the SMG squad advance round and pepper the forward deployed AT guy they seen sneaking about, keeping the building between them and a pair of Japanese ambushing snipers. However, he somehow managed to survive the fusillade of bullets (as he was in the building). I failed to bring on one squads, medic and my Ha-Go...
TURN 3
Start of the turn, and I'd shown my hand. With snipers, AT guys and officer , at the start of this turn I had 59 Japanese heading up the right side of the central platform, facing a medium mortar and 8 sub machine gunners...
The Flamethrower was at the van of the engineers, as the Rumble of the Beast was approaching...
Having forgotten the flag to plant atop the building, the sniper team looked on in frustration as the Japanese horde ran forward... The dog team, At rifle and Captain would soon have to move left and help out.
The 1st Lt had snuck around to get a better view of the Reichstag...
The Soviet centre looks to their left...
Lots of Japanese flags, and German propaganda posters... and the enemy were moving to fast for the mortar to range in!!!
The SMG squad's view...
and the guys they couldn't see...
I had first dice, and decided to bring on my Ha-Go on the left, to try and take out the MMG before it swung round to the left, and also to occupy the AT rifle and AT dogs...
I was aware of the Molotov wielding troops there too, but figured I could hold back a bit and after all, it's just a Ha-Go and wholly expendable..
The next dice was Red, but that couldn't go on The Beast and went on the AT rifle trying to hit the Ha-Go, but it failed to. Then the Beast trundled on, ignoring the nearest Japanese squad who had already advanced and dropped to SMG guys. The Flamethrower was a big threat, so the heavy howitzer, having moved, had a 50/50 hit chance. Fortunately for the engineers, the shell overshot... Its hull MMG did manage to drop an engineer though.
Being a sneaky sniper, the Japanese fired on the tank riders, forcing them to dismount, even though the shot missed. This cleared the way for a shout of "For the Emperor!!!" The suicide AT made contacted and hit the shell, with a massive +8 to a D6 needing a10 to glance. The dice rolled against a step, semi-cocked on a two. Tim very graciously allowed the re-roll, which came up as a 1... (Just goes to show, Karma works when you play nicely...)
Meanwhile, as Rich dazzled his opponent with light tricks from his hands, the Ha Go put a reduced velocity AT shell through the Soviet Sniper team that had been near the big Orange turn dice,,,
The Engineers advanced up. but the flamethrower failed to hit, but they still had plenty of fuel for it...
Having advanced and dropped the sniper team, the Japanese tracked tin foil tank was looking a bit lonely...
Cue for some adorable Pug puppy action against the cream of the Imperial Japanese armour, confused the track wheels with rubber tyres... All 4 hit!!! (I had forgotten they had a 6" move, and 18" rather than 12" 'go get it move')
Still, only one managed to penetrate, though with too glancing hits my chances weren't great...
Needless to say there was probably more left of the Pugs than of my Ha-Go...
The Soviet Captain and his men had moved over to help stymy my right flank, as had the AT rifle. Alas, the one pin on the SMG squad resulted in a FUBAR, which led to them retreating back behind the building by the mortar. With the Ha Go out, so did the 1st Lt and Inexperienced squad, but they were moving through rough terrain. I failed to bring on my lst squad, but everyone else was on and my two remaining AT guys were well positioned now...
Still end of turn 3. The MMG, dog handlers, AT rifle and Captain represented an odd assortment to mix it up with my bayonet boys...
TURN 4
The first dice was red but couldn't go on the KV-2, so Tim tried to activate the SMG squad when he really needed them to shoot up the Engineers, but he failed to get them shifted...
With so much to do, the action came again with a red dice... Tim activated the Beast!!! So target the Engineers on a 3, or the nearest squad on a two? He opted for the closest squad for the template, and Machine gunned the engineers. I went down against the howitzer, and again on the 50/50 4+ roll, it went astray... And my engineers lost two men. They motivated, advanced ignoring the activated tank, missed with the flamethrower but still managed to kill 3 Russians with their rifles.
Not down heartened, the Soviet Captain, put the MMG on ambush as it had not valid targets, and advanced the AT rifle and SMG armed former dog handlers while the captain fired, all of them trying to shoot up my centre left squad...
Which they did quite well...
Beside the lucky squad that survived the KV-2 shot, a lone man prepares to sell his life for the Emperor!!!
There was no second chance for the Beast!!!
Enraged they'd have to walk home, the tank riders charged the Engineers, wiping them out over a few turns, and dropping to two men themselves...
The Soviet right is now central...
The Captain receives a Banzai charge, and his team take down two before they die...
My last squad runs up to see if there is any Pug to eat or Ha-Go to salvage, as well as sandwich the remaining Soviets...
TURN 5
The Japanese tide was washing the Reds away, as I got the first dice and charged into the last few tank riders, wiping them out.
The squad that dispatched the Soviet Captain is charged by the dog handlers, but without their pugs, their SMGs don't cut it and they are wiped out, allowing my 3 survivors to drop back and then with my next activation, the AT rifle receives a banzai charge, and my squad drops to two but with the central raised area clear of Russians.
As a sniper finally gets a target, he drops the MMG...
That lone pin on the SMG troops stops them from activating again, so 3 times in a row. My right flank seizes the opportunity with everyone running up, including officer, AT man and another squad... My second sniper advances close to the secondary objective, ready to take it while on my lft I advanced but the 1st Lt goes down and I fail to hit him..,
TURN 6
I get the first dice, and the untouched squad with the pin from the Inexperienced squad last turn, Banzai's the SMG squad, given they have a pin, are at long range and mostly shooting through hard cover... Don't think I lost anyone on the way in, but wiped out the SMG's in combat and consolidate off the board. (Wasn't sure I could, but Tim said so and so did the ref) They were followed off by the Surviving suicide AT guy.
On the Left, the Senior Lt decided he didn't need to go down again, and survived the long range shooting...
While the medium mortar crew decided to sell their lives for the Motherland and claimed a tertiary point by successfully charging in and killing my officer and assistant...
TURN 7
We rolled for a seventh turn, which didn't see much happen other than my sniper take the secondary objective and another squad run off...
The board at game end... Only regular troops and dogs died, both inexperienced units survived but the Japanese won well due to the mission and some appallingly bad dice from Tim. Given that he didn't get his free squad moving much due to pins, ruins and possibility I may have brought reserves on from my left its perhaps not surprising they survived...
SUMMARY: It wasn't the greatest scenario to be fair, but that's the way the draw fell for the table for my report, and for the Allies to be defending on this board given that Tim and his Soviets had a right good mix but was not troop heavy, they fought valiantly and did all Stalin could expect (well apart from those Submachine gunners) Animal lovers everywhere will be lamenting the loss of those cute little bomb Pugs too, The Japanese Consulate guard managed to fight their way out of Berlin, but its a long walk back East.
In the meantime, the Senior Lt got to take his flag and plant it on the Reichstag...
The weekend as a whole was a great success, with everyone getting something for showing up. I managed 3 big wins in the middle, with a tight draw to end the weekend after a heavy defeat to begin it). I faced Paul Wilkinson's Burma force first, losing badly due to him being better than me, then played Tim Haslam's (above) before mauling Mick Wadd's US Marines in a game of attrition through good luck, a superb display from my Ha-Go and generally Mick's poor dice (which is payback for him tanking me up at Blyth earlier in the year). I then had an absolute bloodbath in the streets of Ye Olde London playing Quarters, where Lee Parkinson's US Airborne went toe-to-toe in the centre with 3 times as many Japanese, where quality lost out to quantity. The final game was against Gerry Brawley's Chindit column, which was a rehash of Demolition on a tight board. I pressed early with squads towards his side and lost them heavily, by which time Gerry couldn't go successfully on the offence. I ended up with the Die Waffenkammer DUKW for my US, the shell case conversion for 1st placed Axis and the 3rd place miniature overall from Warlord...
Should also give a well deserved mention to the Overall Winner and top Allied General, Alyx Drake, at his first Bolt Action playing LRDG. Alyx won all 5 games, in style finishing just above Richard Humble who also won all 5 games with 9 dice of Commando's... The Allies overwhelmingly had the upper hand over the weekend!!!
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