Tactics II - Allied Turn 4 - Battle 2 - Oasis Assault.

The last game was September - wow

Back to the Tactics II campaign and the second battle of the Allied offensive, this game sees the British breaking out of the port of Karalan looking to push aside a solitary Infantry formation in a defensive position dug in around a desert oasis. Out numbered by 3:1 including Armour - how long could the Axis last?

If anyone is interested in the wider campaign this was the last post - Dust, Tears & Dice: Allied Turn 4 - The Allied hammer blow falls.

A flash of greenery in a desert landscape....

Hidden amongst the rocks and long grass the German defenders await the advance of the Allies.

Sensing the sneaky Germans might be waiting for them, the allies sent a flanking force to roll up the flank, Vickers Light Tanks and Bren Carriers sweep right, the vehicles are showered in sand as a mortar round lands close to the force.

In the centre a dreaded 88mm AT gun appears through the heat haze.

The 88 immediately makes an impact taking out one of the lead Matilda's as it enters the table.

The race is on, knowing the damage the 88 could do, the allies put their foot down, infantry flooded the table as they looked to close the gap on the defenders.

The allies call in mortar fire and get a lucky strike landing on the 88mm - result... Having ranged in it was only a matter of time.

Across the front the British and Commonwealth forces closed in on the defenders, an Anti-Tank gun was quickly neutralised before it could counter the advance on the left. A second Matilda pushed towards the oasis.

In a final hurrah a section of Africa Korps rush from the undergrowth to assault the approaching armour, they failed to score a hit, the supporting infantry beat the attackers back.

With the infantry attack repulsed and the 88 destroyed by another salvo from the mortar the German morale collapsed, unable to retreat due to a blocking force on the map, the German Infantry Battalion entered into captivity.

It was nice to dust off the campaign again, the loss of the allied heavy tank was quite a point loss but taking an entire unit off the map was a great result for the allies. The road was open on the left flank.

Islamic Infantry - Black Guard

After the cavalry these were a breeze, the fact that the undercoat did most of the hard yards was a bonus. I followed the colour palate of a good friend of mine who had completed a bunch for last years Cotswold game, so using the same occasional mix of greens and purples for head and waist bands will allow us to use them together on larger games. 

Two units of Heavy Infantry under Lion Rampant will give a few more options to the Arab forces the bulk of which are light infantry.

The flag is from Pete Barfield and the Baron's war Facebook group, a really valuable asset whilst I wait for Little Bigman Studio to re-open for some additional flags and shield transfers.

Gripping Beast - Arab Cavalry

Well here we are again...

The Cotswolds day seems a long time ago, but following the mantra of getting stuff done back to the remainder of the Gripping Beast Cavalry. They were prepped and under coated in bulk but have been staring at me across the room for 4 months... other projects kept pushing ahead of them. Time to bite the bullet.

Yet another light cavalry archer unit, get skirmish troops to pester the Christian column on their trek to the Holy City.

Next up a heavy cavalry unit with shield transfers from Little Big Man Studio. 

The shield transfers really bring the figures to life and are well worth the money. 

Finally the last of the Gripping Beast plastics are complete, they do go together really well, nice sculpts enough detail to standout, but not to much to slow down the painting.

Another couple of mounted units to go in metal, but next up some Black Guard types, I am hoping they can be turned around rather quickly, given the limited colours.

Special Ops - Force on Force.

History has a habit of repeating its self, just as we dust off Force on Force for a game of special forces vs a drug baron in a scenario similar to that in Clear and Present Danger. President Trump signs an Exec Order marking certain cartels terrorist organisations.

We picked from the Classified Scenario Book - US Special Ops operating in the Columbian highlands destroying the drug operations and drug manufacturing plants. The Columbians had hired a company of mercenaries to neutralise the Americans. With no more than a dozen Americans rolling back to their exfiltration point they had dug in and were tasked with aggressively defending at the same time.

Limited photo's I am afraid...

The mercenaries were advancing on the main front but also a flanking force which was quickly put under fire by the CO and his radio operator.

The mercenaries were taking a lot of casualties from the very effective American fire power. It turns out poorly trained troops in the open get chewed pretty quickly.

Like all good action movies, things were going fine into the yanks needed to head to the X fill, getting out of the fox holes exposed the fire teams to a number of rounds of concentrated fire which injured a number of the war fighters.

Whilst they were able to escape they left two KIA behind for the mercenaries to take back to there Columbian masters. That could be a problem.

The mercenaries must have taken 30 dead and seriously wounded out of their 40 man force, which found about right given the task they were given.

It was nice to give Force on Force a roll out, the books are a little hard to come by these days and you do pay quite a price for them, but the rules play well and force you to adopt the right tactics if you are to win.

Right back to the brushes.

Dispatches from the front XXXV - Getting stuff done.

February already...

Whilst real life can often get in the way in the final quarter of the financial year, thank heavens for a hobby that keeps me occupied outside of work.

Sticking with the theme of getting stuff done it looks like February is shaping up to be another Crusade month, after the Cotswold day I still have a pile of Arab and Christian forces to get done. But first up a Sarissa Radio Station, a gift from a friend from his to do pile.

The Sarissa kits go together really well and a swift paint job and a bunch of posters to make it suitable for a number of games for Modern Africa and the Visitor mash up in Zikanga.

The Arabs are prepped and based over Christmas so time to get them on the paint table.

Meanwhile another year older a whole pile of inspiration for the year ahead.

So many plans so little time.