It does not get much better than this....?
No Work, No DIY, no Kids a whole day of playing with toy soldiers....
Two of us with a days holiday in the middle of the week, what better time for a wargame, time we to dust off the WW1 collection, we used Mud & Blood from the Too Fat Lardies, the scenario was simple, hold the village by 4.30pm....
Each player would select a unit in secret until one person called a halt to the purchase of units, a unit could range from a section of 10 men to a HMG or artillery piece.
Reinforcements of an additional 4 units would be brought on at 1pm
The Village of Poudre Jambon in the NE of French 1914, the Germans had been pushing hard for the coast, the British & French threw what they could in to the line to slow the German advance, the front was still very static in those days with troops from both sides looking to make the important break through. If the Village could be secured it could be the anchor point needed to push forward.
View of the table facing North.
View of the Table facing South.
Both commands advanced on a wide front looking to spot the enemy early on, with 9 elements each, but with no prior knowledge of the make up of the formations if concentrations of troops could be identified before the other blinds were revealed it may give one of us the early advantage we both craved.
As German commander my plan was simple throw a couple of units to the North of the village to slow the allied advance, place a couple of small close assualt units hidden in the village to give me a foot hold whilst the bulk of the German forces push up the Southern edge of the table sweeping across the bridge and catching any allied forces in the open hidden at the rear of the village.
Whilst the British Commander had placed two Blinds on the Southern river bank I was confident his forces would be merely a token force. I was wrong.
I came off blind with 3 squads supported by a HMG section and Artillery, I had also attached my Big Man Status 3 with the force to keep them moving.
The British forces revealed, 2 Infantry sections, a HMG Section, plus Artillery, we were practically equal in numbers and the British were defending the hedge row, so much for the sweeping right hook.
The German Artillery primed and ready for action it was to spend much of the game swapping Rounds with it's British Counterpart.
Knowing that the clock was ticking there was nothing for it, I threw my Infantry sections into close assault catching the allies before the gun crew and HMG could be brought to bear, I hoped with the extra points for charging and big man present, I could make the extra unit tell and force the British off table before any protracted firefight took place.
The Hedge row proved a tough nut to crack, the extra 1:3 dice gave the British a slight advantage, 2 German units were beaten back with significant casualties, but I had gained a foot hold damaging the crew men on the gun and HMG and forcing back a British infantry section.
In the North of the table the majority of my blinds had be uncovered and my bluff had been unearthed, all that held up the northern end of the village was a single sniper who continued to slow the French as they hopped from hedge row to hedge row.
Other French units began to inflitrate the village responding the my assault on the right river bank. I had to act.
A number of British units had moved out of the corner house being sent to support the defenders on the other side of the river, I activated my two sections in the village and assaulted the house, driving the defending section back 9 inches and putting pressure on the allied defenders how gathering in the fields opposite the village.
1PM the British reinforcements arrived first and massed behind the house, I need to buy some time for my own reinforcements to arrive and deploy, the cards were going against me at this stage, my German defenders pourer fire into the British in the road hoping to inflict a enough shock to slow them down, however the British fire was two great as they out numbered the Germans by 2:1 the volume of fire drove the Germans from the House.
The Germn reinforcements rushed up the roads and lanes to support the defenders in the village, however the French had managed to deploy a HMG at the road junction which slowed the flow of reinforcements and inflicted significant shock on my reinforcements.
A second round of fire from the French HMG and the advancing Germans turned and fled.
However additional German units had now massed behind the house which only a turn before had been in German hands, and pushed into the building which was now held by a fraction of the original British force and already held a number of shock points.
The German reinforcements push into the terrace house in force.
To the North the French had dug in to the farm house and surrounding hedge rows but were to few in number to make a concerted push into the village, their own sniper had run out of ammo before he was able to be brought to play, quickly to be followed by the German Sniper who rolled a double 1 on the following turn and left the table.
On the southern river bank I had recovered sufficently to make a push over the road, but it was to little to late and whilst the HMG continued to pour fire into any British brave enough to line the hedge row, I was to few in number to push over the river into the village.
The British took cover in the hedge row, whilst the Germans tookup positions in the village both of us content to hold our ground after a number of bloody enounters. A marginal victory to the Germans but more importantly a cracking days gaming....
