Yorkshire Renegades Open Fire Tournament Report

On 10th April, Chris Carr and I attend a one day Bolt Action tournament, the first hosted by the very friendly lads of the Yorkshire Renegades. As we were travelling over to the far East (of England) I opted to take my Japanese. (There were no flamethrowers allowed, in case you were curious as to why you don't see any)

My force consisted of the following:

Vet 2nd Lt +1
Reg Air Observer (For my B2M2 Mitsubishi bi-plane)

Vet 3 x 10 men with NCO smg
Vet 13 men with NCO smg
Vet Sniper
Reg Light howitzer with 5 men
Reg Type 87 armoured car
Reg Battle Bus (General Purpose truck)
Reg 2 x Suicide AT team

My first game was on the wonderful Sally 4th board, playing Demolition against Kenny Wilson's lovely highly mobile British Airborne...

Kenny had a 2nd Lt, Free Artillery observer, Sniper, Heavy mortar, 6 pdr, recce twin MMG jeep, 2 x 8 Para's with 5 smgs, 2 x 8 Para's with 5 smgs on Welbikes and 6 Paras with 5 smgs on Welbikes...

I chose to defend the more exposed side, expecting flankers and keeping my objective centre left near a building with 2 x 10 men and the howitzer nearby... I had the sniper and 13 men far right to attack the lightly held para objective (behind the hand) as Kenny had kept 4 infantry units off, with one squad near it and the heavy mortar. I planned to go straight at it, flanking with 2 suicide AT and a 10 man squad.

My sniper went far right on ambush to target the Paras near the objective, my air observer in the central yard behind the house (to target same squad when it would inevitably run into the house) and also avoid the Para sniper who was positioned to harass my objective alongside his Artillery observer who brought in.

Turn 1. Sure enough, not much happened first round, the Para sniper missed his counterpart, everyone off went down, the 6pdr went on ambush, the squad on my right ran into the house, losing a man to the sniper on ambush.  The howitzer missed, my airstrike was called in on them and the British artillery came down around my objective...

Turn 2. Learned something as the Paras took 12 hits from a strafe, and I thought the building collapsed. Kenny pointed out that it wasn't high explosive, so its doesn't... Only killed 3 men, but planned to assault them with my 13 men on the right. Ken was wise to that and advanced the MMG jeep down closer to my squad, opening up and adding a pin and also meaning any banzai would be to the jeep which would recce away. I didn't banzai, but tested to run successfully and wiped out the paras for the loss of two men, and threatening the objective...Reserves from both sides turned up but two para units didnt (One on foot and the small welbike unit)

Turn 3 saw the heavy mortar hit and pulverise my squad nearest the 6pdr. The Japanese officer came on to assist my howitzer unpin. The 6pder went on ambush, and it became tense as the British didnt want to be last dice out... All reserves bar small welbike came on for the british, I kept my 10 men and one AT man off still outflanking and ran one up behind the building. The sniper ran downstairs to add his weight in keeping the Paras occupied defending... The last 3 dice were two british, both squads near the objectives and my now 11 man squad. Both British came out first, and Kenny did his best to cover the objectives, but I only had to wipeout 1 squad to end up next to it. My 11 men charged out the house at his 8, getting the first hit in... And killed two. I lost 4 back. Fanatic kicked in, but I was now on the backfoot... It ended up with only one Para left and one Japanese but I had lost the previous turn so I lost... Gutted!!!

Turn 4. Well, I had my second wave and a few single men (Air observer joined in running from  a house) and threatening the objective. The odds weren't good...

 This tied up a few units of Ken's, so I was still winning the initiative game... I tried to see off any advance by going after the one advancing Welbike unit with the Type 87, and risked the 6pdr down the street...

Turn 5. I was hoping for the first dice...

Ach well, time to concentrate on the defence now...

One 10 man squad, an officer and a bus v 8 paras, an officer and a jeep...

Well my guys seen off the Paras, killing 2 with point blank fire, then going in to turn 6 with 4 dice charging in with first dice. I lost the bus to the heavy mortar...

Turn 7 came, and I had 5 men and an officer who had to hold off a home run by the officer in the jeep. I put a pin on the jeep, and did my best, but Ken only had to advance the jeep and the officer could have ran onto the objective and win... Unfortunately for Ken, he failed to pass his dice due to the single pin....

Awesome game, could have went my way in turn 3, or Ken's in turn 7. He left me with 3 units and ended up coming second overall, which was very fitting as he payed exceptionally well.

Before game 2, I took some pictures of my favourite armies, Mick Wadd's all inexperienced Home guard with a bus being my favourite, along with Kenny's and Sam's whom I played in game 3.

 

 Game 2 saw me play Leon, a fellow Japanese player in Take and Hold. I won the roll off, and decided to attack as I like to in this mission. Leon moved the objective 12" from the centre nearer the church to avoid the house to house fighting (as I had more veterans)

Second Lt
Kempetai
Sniper
Heavy mortar
2 x 8 man veteran
2 x 12 men grenadiers with 3 mortars
12 x inexperienced Bamboo fighters
2 x Suicide AT
MMG team
Kurogane with MMG

Leon deployed with his kempetai in the church yard and the bamboo fighters in the church

I deployed everything I could, with the sniper in the terraced houses covering the back on ambush as well as a 10 man squad in the bottom right corner on ambush too. Ken's forward deployers saw sniper and 2 AT guys on his right to get my Air Observer, and mortar spotter in church tower.

Turn 1. Leon put a few things down, forgetting his sniper was deployed to target my air observer so my first activation I directed him to the church squad. My whole army surge forward toward the church, bar teh sniper who took out Leons MMG team as soon as they appeared

 

 

Leon's heavy mortar came on his right near his sniper and his 2 AT guys, as did his officer.

Turn 2. The airstrike didnt come in, and never got the chance too as the bamboo sticks assaulted my veterans behind they wall. I lost two, they lost 11... My sniper slotted the heavy mortar spotter, so Leon spent 3 turns getting it re-positioned to fire. His grenadiers advanced with veterans behind them, while my armoured car came on to support my big veteran squad facing them. My unit on ambush killed one veteran up behind the church. Leon had hoped his other grenadiers squad would come on for payback but they failed to...

 Leon's out of position right flank run to re-position below...

Turn 3. I take aim with the first few dice, and decimate the grenadiers

 

I also occupy the church, but the other grenadiers arrive and wipe out my ambushing corner unit

 

Turn 4 and 5, I have secured the church and board centre, and Leons central veterans realise they are outgunned and run into a house

I charge them with my large squad and wipe them out, while my officer's misjudge their banzai after being pinned by a sniper, and ends up assaulting 4 grenadiers rather than teh AT dude... Still, my dice are on fire and the grenadiers are slaughtered... As is Leon's officer, who die simultaneously with my sniper team when they assault.  Leon's other veteran squad wipe out my officer, and then my church squad are wiped out by the heavy mortar...

Turn 6 Losing the church squad to the heavy mortar sees me struggling to try and contain Leon's last remaining squad of grenadiers, who I cannot block having used my squad on the objectives to kill his veterans. He ignores the bait I throw, and runs around to contest. And the game ends...

Another draw, and a really enjoyable game. Leon's force was a mixed bag, and the 150pts worth of knee mortars never hit... Despite some initial and 1st wave deployment issues, he managed to keep me honest with constant harassment after i had secured the objective, sneaking in to contest. Another turn would have seen him lose, but that would have been harsh given with both our forces, the most important roll was for attacker/defender... Leon came 6th overall.

Game 3

Played Sam Layton's exquisitely painted US Airborne in Maximum Attrition...

Sam's airborne consisted of 2nd Lt, Air observer, medic, sniper, LMG team, medium mortar, 3 x 10 Para's and a sherman tank...

Forward deployment saw Sam's sniper and air observer on his right, facing off against my sniper, and I kept my air observer and two AT men out of sight behind building on my right...

Turn 1 and the first waves rolled on. Sam spread his troops out centrally and on his left, with only the mortar on his right near the sniper. I countered by concentrating heavily on my right, with one squad out on the left to go mortar and sniper hunting...The tank came on centrally, not hitting anything but drawing my air observers attention...

Turn 2 Air roll came up a 1... And 13 Japanese veterans in a brightly coloured bus was too tempting not to hit!!! The squad went down and out, losing 2 men. Sam shot them up some more

 However, with no decent targets, Sam ran the Sherman forward to support his left flank and the 2 squad she had there... Setting up a charge with a demolition charge, and trading my Suicide AT man for a sherman!

I ran a  squad into the house, while the type 87 advanced to support the remnants from the bus..

The US sniper took out my second AT guy, and on my left I ran for a second time to threaten the mortar.

Turn 3

I got the drop and banzai'd my bus veterans at the right hand para squad, who were down to 8 men from howitzer and armoured car shots... Assaulting with nine attacks, i killed one paratroopers over two turns and was wiped out...

To make things worse, Sam then assaulted my 10 man squad in the house, clearing me out of there.

I counter-charged the house with my unit by the wall, wiping out the remaining US trooper and consodliating centrally to hunt the US one man HQ units..My light howitzer and armoured car combined to take out the remaining squad over on my right that had seen off the bus troops

 On my left, the squad advanced and killed the mortar with rifle fire, while Sam swung his central squad an LMG over to support that flank.

Turn 4, the armoured car killed te eUS officer behind the house, but was targetted for an air strike. The medic ran over to teh right side near the Air observer and the LMG. My sniper took out his US counterpart, and my squad there, having been subjected to LMG and squad fire and losing 2 men decided to banzai the nearest US squad but were just out of range...

Turn 5. The US airstrike took out the armoured car but didnt put any pins out on my nearest unit. I got the drop and finally got a good bayonet charge in, losing 3 men after killing 5. My sniper took out the medic, and the squad finished off the Air observer. The LMG failed to kill any more Japanese and was bayonetted at the start of turn 6 

 

Sam had me worried early on but losing the tank and his lack of squads meant he couldn't keep up the momentum. I had men to burn in attrition and his small HQ units couldn't get him back in the game after I had taken out the Sherman and his 3 squads... And his Airborne were very well painted.

I came in 9th of 22 with 2 draws and a win, but losing so badly to Kenny first game meant I was well down in victory points.

I did however get this, best painted as voted by my peers...

Not technically the best painted to my mind, as Chris likes to point out. But everybody likes the look of the force, so I am happy!!!

The event was well supported by Warlord, Black Tree, Sally 4th and Yorkshire Renegades put on the best buffet ever... It was a very friendly atmosphere, the boards were terrific and I hope their next event falls on a weekend I'm free. If you get teh chance to go, I'd recommend it, there was some competitive builds but also some very fluffy ones, and a good mix of Bolt Action veterans, regulars and the more inexperienced. 

Operation Breakout: Defence of Hex GB, US infantry defending in Envelopment against 21st Panzer division

Following some hard pressed victories, the US 29th infantry division were withdrawn back to hold hex GB following rumours of a German Envelopment...

In the second game of the evening, Keith rocked up with a nasty looking dual platoon force consisting of the following:

2 x 2nd Lt with 2 men all Assault rifles
4 x 5 Heer Grenadiers, 3 Assault rifles
2 x Hanomags
Sniper
222
Stuka za Fuss
Panzerwerfer 42

The first wave was an HQ, 222, sniper, 5 man squad and both Mutli launchers

The outflanking reserves were below

Although potentially bad, it wouldn't have been so bad on a mission other than Envelopment, where the German had to exit the board to maximise victory points... And Keith also plays for fun and does some mad things!

My US force was same as previous: 2nd Lt +1, 4 x 9 man reg GI's with smg and BAR, 2 x 7 Vet Tough fighters with 2 BAR, Medium howitzer, flamethrower, sniper, Air observer and bazooka team.

I set up my air observer in the bell tower 1st floor, sniper on the roof, 2 regular GI's central and one on the extreme of each flank with the howitzer on the road facing down it to prevent mad dashes. I kept my vets, officer, flamethrower and bazooka in reserve.

1st turn,
1st dice. German sniper in the central small barn takes out my Forward Air observer. Bugger! My sniper goes on ambush, as does the artillery and then I advance up both my flank squad to hedges or go down. Mt resrves adn teh German flankers all go down. The Germans all concentrate in the big barn farmyard out of sight of my howitzer and fire ineffectually. My 2 central squad run up, determined to close with the sniper and in under the arc of the multi-launchers.

2nd turn, 1st dice German sniper clears the church, taking out my sniper. That's it, both central squads go for him, putting pins on th Stuka as they advance over hedges! All German reserves go down,  but both vets come on, one either flank to edge to stop straight drives off. The za Fuss misses. 222 pokes out behind a barn to try getting a bead on my howitzer who ambushes it...

Who's a silly little Lt Gruber???

The panzerwerfer 42 moves up to launch at the howitzer but misses,

Turn 3, 1st dice US. Howitzer fires, panzerwerfer 42 explodes

Who's a silly little Werfer???

Have to say, beats the hell out of an air observer, although any planes in the

area would have had a nice view...

The German sniper went out the back of his barn, pursued by one squad of GIs while the second advanced on the Stuka za fuss, which missed its target. The outflanking forces went down, while the US vets went on ambush as did the flank guard regulars.

Turn 4, 1st dice US, 9 GI's charge the stationary Stuka za Fuss

Then cockily close up on the offficer and small Gren squad sheltrring in the ruined vehicles

The Heer Grens open up and kill 5 GI's who surrender on the spot!!!

The hanomag with 2 squads tries to come on on my left but fails... The US officer turns up with flamer thrower there, bazooka goes right in case... my mistake, both hanomags were due on teh left, and second one came on with officer and squad, who all took 2 pins from ambushing vets and reg GI's. They jump out, and reduce the Vets to 2 men...Aargh!!!

The second GI's in centre chase the sniper toward the burnt out Stuka za Fuss...

Turn 5 1st out is US dice, flamethrower burns out the small Heer squad, who flee and then the flamethrower runs out... Next dice, US, Vets charge the officer squad..

Or rather, they shoot the howitzer up...

 third dice, US officer assaults, Germans defensive fire but miss as teh US then fluff their attacks and get wiped out. 4 th dice, depleted GI's go in and take tehm down, leaving only the NCO. Hanomag drives through the now big gaps and off board. 2nd Hanomag comes on and drives straight off...

My left flank consisted of 2 Vets with bar, a reg GI Nco with smg and a 2 man howitzer, which worked well enough to nail teh German officer squad advancing out behind the barn. The German sniper also died to my other big GI squad. Three units on the right wondered where all the Germans were?

Turn 6, German have 1 dice against my 7. Howitzer targets the remaining 5 men, who go down but still get hit, losing 3 men and taking 2 pins. 

They pass their test. The 2 Vets with bars, advance, but miss. The GI;s who offed the sniper run up and pray for a 7th turn... The right flank advance on the church to try and add their voice to the prayer...

Turn 7...Yes, there is! Big squad of GI's open up, Germans hit the deck and I fail to wound...

Howitzer misses! 2 Bar Vets, need to kill one German to force a test. They do, but the Germans hold on denying me 2 victory points...

This was incredibly tense and hard fought, those plucky Grenadiers staying in the fight meant I killed 7 German units for 14 points rather than 8 for 16. The US lost 5 units for 5 points and this little lot got off for 3 points each... Game ended 17-14 victory for the Axis

That was a very good game of Envelopment, despite the Germans ability to outflank and get off fairly easily. The barnyard became an inferno even without Allied airpower, but the small Grenadier squad were awesome, taking out a full 9 man GI squad, killing 5 in one round and breaking them, then surviving a hail of lead and even a direct shell hit.. Of course, the sniper didnt do to badly in teh first 2 turns either...

Anyway. the second game with Kieth was just as much fun as the first, and as I said, it may look nasty but the launchers never hit and I got stuck in at them. It was a really good game!!!

Operation Breakout: Attack on Hex GA. US infantry v SS, Max Attrition

After holding onto the Allied fuel dump, the US were given order to head west and attack sector GA, held by SS and regular Heer units...

The mission was Maximum Attrition, the board was a very nice layout courtesy of JustPlay games with a large church, some scattered farm buildings and hedged fields.

Keith Backland was my veteran opponent, with a firepower heavy force consisting of the following:
2nd Lt with 2 Assault rifle wielding sergeants, medic with same, 2 MMG's, 2 x 6 men SS with 3 Assault rifles, 10 Heer Grenadiers with 3 assault rifles, heavy mortar, nebelwerfer, quadflak on hanomag, BMW75 and veteran sniper.

My US force had a regular 2nd Lt +1, 4 x 9 man reg GI's with smg and BAR, 2 x 7 Vet Tough fighters with 2 BAR, Medium howitzer, flamethrower, sniper, Air observer and bazooka team.

Keith deployed his sniper in the church tower, medium mortar and nebelwerfer central behind a small barn, an SS squad behind the church and an MMG central. The US were advancing as 1st wave, but the sniper advanced deployed in a barn and FAO up in the corner out of range of the church tower.

A veteran squad, flamethrower team and regular GI squad advanced up my left, 2 GI squads and the artillery central near snipers barn while the second veteran squad and a regular GI followed the officer up the right by the air officer, who targeted an SS squad. For the German 1st wave, the Quad 38 came on centrally with the second SS running up with the officer and medic towards the church while the grenadiers advanced into the farmyard to cover the German indirect support with an MMG in the field...

The airstrike wasn't another rookie, but the skies were clear. The US artillery the quad directly put only put 2 pins on it while the nebelwerfer didn't hit, but the heavy mortar did, killing 3 crew but the remaining crewmen held his nerve. The german sniper was ineffectual, as was US marksman but the advancing GI's put serious pins on the central MMG and took the team on their right to one man...

Turn 3 saw the airstrike kill 4 SS at the top of the road near the church, as the Quad didn't hinder it, and then the air force went away and never came back. (as skies remained clear). The flamethrower took out the sniper, then ran out of fuel, while the central advance took the officer down to a single 2nd Lt. The Nebelwerfer hit the centre left GI's for six, but they hung on in there, while the heavy mortar failed to hit the zeroed in US howitzer. On the left, the vets and GI advanced on the church

On the right, the US had good choices, with the Vets and officer tucked in behind logs in the farmyard and GIs behind the barn taking the attention of the Heer Grenadiers.

Turn 4 saw the US storm both parts of the church, the vets taking the main hall via window and the GIs take the entry and belltower. The SS counter attack saw 4 GI;s dead and the SS wiped out to a man. The Mortar missed the gun again, and the Neb hit the church but the shell exploded on the roof. The MMG in the centre somehow survived again and the bazooka who had moved up near the sniper went into ambush to try and curtail the BMW 75 which had been nipping up and down the lanes unmolested. 

After drawing more fire from the Heer squad, the flagwaving GI's advanced on the right, the 2nd Lt advanced into the field and killed the MMG sole survivor while the Vets charged up near the Heer determined to get stuck in...

Turn 5 saw the US take the fight to the Germans, with the Vets getting teh first dice and charging the Heer, who fought valiatnly but were outmatched... The 3 remaining vets drew back rather than push on, while the officer and GIs ran up to threaten to flank the centre. This was after the German officer went down under multiple shots from the centre right GI squad, the sniper took out the central MMG. The heavy mortar rolled a third one in a row...The quad ripped up the centre right I squad and took them out, and the BMW raced down the lane to assist on their left...straight into the ambushing bazook, hitting with the required six and sending the side car up in flames...

Turn 6 had the german with 4 units left to the US 8, and the vets charged the mortar (half an inch short). The medic team got taken down by the regulars in the doorway and sniper, while the quad flak demolished the Vets in the main church. The heavy mortar finally killed the howitzer.

Turn 7 came up, the vets assaulted the nebelwerfer and won, to be taken out by the quad flak... There was not much else to be done, and the game finished with a 9-6 victory to the Allies...

German losses

US losses

It was a really good, fun, tough game, only turn 5 swung it for the Allies and the Germans survived a lot of fire in the early turns. Fortunately, the German forces in this sector are short on manpower and despite numerous support units... I wonder where the rest of their troops are?

Operation Breakout. Defence of Hex EB, German counterattack

I took the 29th US Infantry division up to Ad Hoc Games in Huyton to defend the Allied forward fuel depots against a German counter attack...

My force consisted of a regular 2nd Lt +1. Air Force Observer  +1, 4 x 9 man regular GI' s BAR and SMG, 2 x 7 Vet GI's with 2 BAR and 2 SMG and Tough fighter, Medium howitzer, bazooka, sniper, and MMG jeep

Jonny's Heer germans consisted of 2 x 8 men regulars with LMG, 1 x 8 veterans with 8 assault rifles, 2nd Lt +1. medium howitzer, medium mortar, mmg, Puma, hanomag, sniper, flammenwerfer and Panzerschrek.

I had two fuel depots in haystacks near my deployment as above and quite secure, the other was far closer to the germans line but had a squad in the ruins on the hill giving the Hun something to think about.  I had sniper to the left of shot in a field, with howitzer on a hill just left of shot, 2 x 9 GIs centre and the FAirO and third squad in the hilltop ruin.

Jonny deployed his MMG and mortar central and to my left (hence the sniper position), his howitzer central opposite mine, and his vets and flamethrower in the hanomag in the central top field to rush the fuel haystack. He didnt outflank anything.

Turn 1. US get first dice and smack the Hanomag  and units for 3 pins forcing it down, followed by the BAR on the hill ruin adding a further one to them. No other shooting was effectual turn 1, bar the MMG losing a man to rifle fire. The Air strike was called in on the German medium howitzer

Turn 2. The Rookie pilot that hurt my advance against the Dan's Germans in game 1 came back again and took out my Air observer (again) and put two pins on teh nearby GIS who stayed down until turn 4.

The Hanomag rallied with officer coming on from reserve to help, and the squads stayed and went down. (failed their orders). The US rifle squad took the MMG team down to one man, who passed his morale but stayed pinned for the remainder of the game. The mortar zeroed in on the US howitzer, but failed to kill anyone thanks to the gun shield. All forces brought on their reserves centrally or near objectives bar the US MMG jeep which didnt show up.

Turn 3. The 1st regular Germans assualt the US in the ruins, both sides killing 4 men until the GIs get the upper hand and wipe out the huns. Mortar killed a man in the US howitzer, before being taken out by the US sniper. The Flammenwerfer ran out the hanomag, which then advanced with the Lt behind to claim the objective and disgorge the still heavily pinned Heer Vets with the Puma adding additional firepower to that flank taking out the remnants of the ruined Gi squad in the ruins. US units went down due to the firepower and artillery coming their way. The bazooka team edged up the hill on the right with a vet squad and another vet and regular squad right of centre...The 2nd regular German infantry squad takes centre of field v two GI squads. Still no jeep, but dead Germans on the hill

Turn 4 The two GI squads take down tcentral German regulars in the field, while the regulars by my right objective concentrate fire on the Flammenwerfer who are using the puma for cover... As it worked quite well, the Vets called the bazooka team up to shift the Puma, who recce'd away but still took a long range hit. The Puma was pinned down, and the Vets wiped out the flamethrower team .

The Heer Veterans on the hill assault my Vets there, wiping them out to easily and the Hanomag advanced to shield them from US retaliation...The jeep comes on and takes up position near the right haystack and pours it on...The German sniper team is taken out by his US counterpart, and the panzerschrek runs forward to threaten the US howitzer/or threaten the left objective...

Turns 5 stars like this....

The Puma has two pins, with a regular GI squad near it in the field. A second GI squad has came back to deal with the Schrek team, the GI LT is centre, with a vet squad and regular GI squad and jeep sitting pretty ready to rock and roll. I have a 9:6 dice advantage.

Turn 5 first dice is German. Does he assault my Vets, or my regulars? No, he calls in  a medium artillery strike  and takes out the whole Veteran squad. Damn! Second dice out, US and my reguar flag waving squad advances and point blanks, taking the sqaud of 5 vet Heer to 3, who then assault me and wipe me out leaving two Heer to advance on the jeep, which opens up and doesnt kill either of the 2 men left.

The Puma takes another flank shot from a howitzer, and is stunned... The squad in the field takes out the pesky Heer veterans for me...

I run the bazooka team back to cement my holding of two objectives, in case the Puma is very, very lucky..

Turn 6 The Puma fails morale to advance and contest, game ends...

It was damn close run thing in the end, the Heer veterans from the Russian front took a lot of fire and chewed through two units with little hurt. Definitely Jonnys Iron Cross winners. (although he may think about giving one to my air observer.) Had they not been advancing recklessly in the Hanomag to start, those Veterans could have been in my face two turns earlier...

Third time lucky I hope for my Air Observer, and at least we held the fuel dump.