Tuesday 24 November 2015

Bolt Action Battle of the Bulge Game



 




I had a bit of a rubbish day today but this was cheered up by a visit to the club for an excellent skirmish level game of Bolt Action. This used my new snowy terrain cloth and involved an attempt by my regular US infantry platoon with tank support to capture a bridge over a river, opposed by Mike's veteran SS platoon. The scenario was Hold Until Relieved from the rulebook, so we diced for defenders and attackers first, with Mike taking up his positions in a ruined village adjacent to the bridge and my attacking force advancing into cover behind some entrenchments.
 
 
 
 
 
 
This was a really tactical game with both sides trading long range fire in an attempt to neutralise their respective heavy weapons, prior to an assault going in by the Yanks. In he end, the game was a draw with virtually even losses on both sides and neither platoon occupying the objective, although my brave bazooka team almost made it in the last turn. I lost my MMG team very early on but took out Mike's equivalent team mid-game, only to lose my mortar team to counter battery fire. I knocked out Mike's half track to even the score, even though it tried to hide behind a convenient Xmas tree.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I still have to get my head around some of the mechanisms but Bolt Action does work well at this 700 point squad skirmish level. If I re-played the scenario I'd definitely leave at least one of the bazooka teams out, as they're pretty useless without any armour to target. I'd also pack a Forward Observer for off table fire support, as this would have been really useful if only to lay down some smoke to cover my assault. I was glad that I included the Sherman though, as it was a real headache for the defenders as it trundled up the flank blasting away with HE and MMG fire.
 
A good game!
 

11 comments:

  1. Really nice looking terrain & miniatures. Makes me feel chilly just looking at it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim,

    I agree with Pawn Cocktail, a great looking game. I keep dreaming of some snowy games myself, but don't have anything ready.

    Regarding the bazooka team and no enemy armor, couldn't it have been used against prepared enemy emplacements?

    V/R,
    Jack

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Jack,

    No apparently not, at least in Bolt Action. I wanted to punch holes in the buildings and sandbag positions to pin down the enemy, but the rules don't let you do this.

    :O(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, that kind of stinks. Certainly bunkers were used in real life to pop bunkers and buildings. Nothing a quick house rule couldn't fix ;)

      V/R,
      Jack

      Delete
  4. I think you can technically direct fire at prepared positions but as there's a -1 on firing at long range, -2 for the cover plus the -1 for firing a shaped charge which means it becomes an 'impossible' shot! You'd have to get within less than half range (12") to avoid the -1 and it would still be a 6 to hit. Better still close to point blank for a 5 to hit? Not easy! Check the near suicidal casualty rates for bazooka teams in WW2...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgot to add: the weapon has a +5 pen which means anyone hit by it doesn't have a chance. You just need to get close enough to actually hit with it!

      Delete
  5. ...and great game, by the way :) The plan all came together at the end and honours were even! Wasn't it the bazooka team that saved the day...?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks very effective Jim. Who makes the trench system?

    ReplyDelete
  7. The trench sections are from the old Snapdragon range, now long out of production (I wish I'd bought some more way back when!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jim. They sold some excellent terrain, seems strange that they jacked it in.

      Delete
  8. Thanks for the number crunching Mike...I'll have to try that out next time.

    ReplyDelete

Labels

Bag The Hun (746) AK47 (488) Books (480) Ironclads (474) Wings at War (392) Back of Beyond (234) Pre-Dreadnoughts (228) Coastal Warfare (225) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) What a Tanker (170) Target Locked On (162) Victory at Sea (155) MiG Alley (150) Knights of the Sky (149) Old West (146) Chain of Command (145) Napoleonic Naval (144) Find Fix and Strike (137) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Bag The MiG (117) Naval Thunder (117) Pirates (116) Indo China / Vietnam (114) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (108) Fistful of Lead (108) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (84) Shows (79) Ancients (78) ACW (77) The Football War (75) France's Small Wars (67) Boardgames (66) Corsairs and Cavaliers (66) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (61) Cruel Seas (60) Saga (60) Air War C21 (58) Journals (57) The Men Who Would Be Kings (57) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Gladiators (48) International Naval Wargaming Day (47) Red Actions! (47) Scramble for Britain (44) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Fortifications (41) Cold War (39) Duel of Aces (36) SCW (36) Thud Ridge (36) Desert Spitfires (34) Flames above the Falklands (34) RCW (34) War of the Pacific (34) Death in the Dark Continent (32) Atlantic Wall (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Lion Rampant (30) Bag the Springbok (29) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (29) Algernon Pulls It Off (28) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) One Hour Wargames (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Ancient Naval (18) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (16) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) 2mm English Civil War (14) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Mad for War (14) Arctic Eagles (13) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Zulus! (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) 633 Squadron (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Jungle Green (10) Sharp Practice (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Bohica (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Cry Havoc (8) Dreadnoughts (8) French Indian Wars (8) HYW (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Frostgrave (7) Target for Tonight (7) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) A Mighty Fortress (5) Air War Angola (5) AirWar:1918 (5) Bombers over Germany (5) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) Arab Revolt (4) Continuation War (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) What a Cowboy (4) Battletech (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Wings Over Suez (3) Blood Red Skies (2) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) Whispering Death (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) Load and Return (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Xenos Rampant (1)