Continuation: Star Fleet: ACTA

We have decided to start back up after a break with war gaming in general. After growing dissatisfied with Games Workshop in general we decided that for the next few months we will give Star Fleet: A Call to Arms another try. We had gotten on board right when the game released and it was clear that it still required some play testing, ship erratas were coming down every week or so and so we set it aside at the time. There was also a incredible dysfunction with acquiring the models and original quality of their models that ultimately left a bad taste in our mouth. However, after a year and half break from it we have returned with renewed vigor. So, the first priority was had was getting back into the swing of things. We wanted to continue with our campaign that we had played a grand total of one game so we decided to pick up where we left off and also agreed to allow the redesign of our fleet lists. However, before did that, we sat down and effectively played a non-campaign skirmish game. The following is a battle report of that game.

  

Scenario: A Call to Arms
Location: Celes Sector - Federation Territory (more on this to follow)
Star Date: 173.10.26.2208

The following battle was not part of our official campaign. Since we have not played in a while we both agreed that this should not count. We still allowed ships to earn experience but damage would not be persistent and prestige was not won or lost. We agreed on a simple 500pt intensity and did not roll for +/- 10%.

The Klingon Fleet:
2x D6s - Famine / Plague
2x F5s - Indulgence / Pompous

Federation Fleet:1 CA - Graf Spree
1 NCA - Hoplite
1 OCL - Waterloo


Turn 1:
First turn saw the Klingons win initiative so Federation moved first and simply moved straight ahead. Unsure of the opening turn, the general order was for intensifying defensive firepower. However, the Klingons closed with their two F5s and a D6 so they were pretty much in disruptor range from turn one on. The Plague, broke away and went to the far left flank of the Federation line. The Klingons boosted shields on the F5s and the D6s did nothing.

Shooting saw an exchange of long range Phaser fire from the Federation ships and long range disruptor fire from the Klingons. Very little damage was done to the Klingons because of the boosted shields. A few strikes cut through but little else. The Klingons fire however proved more effective as quite a few disruptors got through the shields. The Waterloo took an Impulse drive hit as did the Hoplite. During the end phase, the Hoplite managed to repair its engines, the Waterloo did not, a theme that would remain consistent throughout the entire game.

Turn 2:
Second turn started and once again the Klingon Empire won the initiative. Already in Disruptor range, the Federation moved forward again, pushing the OCL in close and opening up for attack but it went on evasive action. The rest of the movement revolved around this opening move as the Famine, Pompous, and Indulgence all moved and closed in on the Waterloo. The Federation closed ranks as well with the Hoplite, and then the Graf Spree moved in and set its photon torpedoes on overload. This would allowed the federation to dump the entire fleet's photon strength on the Famine. The Plague was still on the extreme left flank and turned to rejoin the battle. The Pompous was able to overload its disruptors.

The ensuing close range fire fight ultimately saw the Federation come off the better as the Waterloo took a hammering but still came out uncrippled and with shields. It suffered weapon and shield damage but otherwise, was still in action. The Indulgence was battered and the Famine was crippled from multiple photon strikes. Even against their forward shields, at close range, the D6 was hammered by Phaser fire and torpedoes. It was here that fortune shifted in favor of the Federation as the Famine would drift past the Federation fleet, crippled. Multiple fires had broken out but expert damage control saw them all put out and damage system repaired. The Hoplite had suffered damage to her Impulse drive but was able to repair it while the Waterloo still could do nothing about anything as it was just in the fight to take a beating.

Turn 3:
The Federation won initiative and pushed forward, trying to get past the F5s, but the Klingons back pedaled and turned, keeping the Federation in their front arcs. The Waterloo boosted its shields, determined to hang around while both the Hoplite and Graf Spree reloaded torpedos. The Famine shifted all remaining power to the warp engines and was preparing to jump out of the combat zone. The Plague set itself on a pursuit course of the Federation fleet. Now well behind all three ships, it would focus its fire on the Hoplite as the F5s continued to hammer on the Waterloo. All Federation ships were reduced to Phasers only.

The F5s were turned to face the Federation fleet and engaged with close range Disruptors and Phaser fire. We forgot that one of the F5s went on evasive action so when it was attacked, we didnt take in the negative modifiers. This could have changed the outcome, but instead it was damaged and subsequently crippled. The Federation focused on the F5s now, sending only what was left against the Plague. In the end, the Hoplite took a bit of damage from the Plague and the Waterloo was still hanging tough as it weathered the attacks of the F5 and was still uncrippled. The Graf Spree only suffered one point of shield loss.

Turn 4:
At this point there was a real sense that the battle had shifted. The Klingons had damaged one Federation light cruiser badly, and the new heavy cruiser a little. While the Klingons had two crippled ships and the second F5 near cripple point. The Federation won initiative again and it was a point that the Klingon Empire could not afford it.

Movement became more critical then ever, the Klingon player closed on both the Waterloo and Hoplite as I continued to move them away. They ignored the undamaged Graf Spree. Both Federation ships boosted shields to try and stay alive. Noticing that the Plague, which to this point was relatively undamaged, had moved in such a way that the Graf Spree was out of its forward arc, initiated a High Energy Turn. It was close to both F5s and completed a 135 degree turn. The Graf Spree now stood alone against the advancing Klingon Fleet.

With initiative to the Federation the Graf Spree unloaded everything it had. Its previously recharged photons nearly obliterated the D6's shields, phaser fire crippled the Pompous, and a drone fire caused more damage to the already crippled Indulgence. It was not without its cost though as the D6 opened fire upon the Hoplite who had no time to set defensive fire. While its phasor and disruptor fire was anticipated, the drones slipped past the tractor beams and slammed into hull after its shields had been completely reduced. The Hoplite was now dangerously close to crippled, with system damage across the board, and no shields. The Waterloo was finally crippled by combined fire from crippled F5s. Damage control saw little in the way of repairing systems, especially from the Federation who failed on both the Waterloo and Hoplite.

Turn 5:
During initiative, Captain Bennett of the Graf Spree extended a ceasefire offer to the Klingons. The Hoplite and Waterloo could not escape and it was almost certain that one of the cruisers would be destroyed. The Graf Spree had only taken a single point of damage to its shields, meanwhile the klingon fleet was not as lucky. The two F5s were just barely still in it, both crippled with only a few shield points left and even fewer hull points. Both would have likely been destroyed by the Graf Spree. The D6 could claim either the Waterloo or Hoplite, but to do so would have left it open against the Graf Spree which would have been in its rear arc for at least one turn. Its own shields dangerously low from the Photon strike, It would not have survived a duel with the Constitution. The Plague agreed and both Fleets disengaged and went to warp.


Conclusion:
It was late and we did not really have enough time to finish out the game and neither of us particularly wanted to lose any of these ships. We had already agreed that any ship would still get experience for the encounter but it would still be an unofficial engagement. This was the first engagement we have had when neither side has lost a vessel, though three were very close to being destroyed. The Famine left so early because it was effectively out of combat, and would have only risked destruction.

Further information to come on our campaign as I said, we are both redesigning our fleet lists. Some of the ships will be the same and those with experience will be retained. Thanks for reading!

Opening Battle - Starfleet: ACTA

As promised, sort of, I have a report from the first battle for our Starfleet campaign. The mission we rolled up was for 550 points and was based around the Space Superiority Mission.So, we each selected ships from our fleet listing.

Klingons brought the following ships:
Soulblade (D5W), Reaver (D5), Reaper (D5)


Federation brought the following ships:
St. Lo (CA), Intrepid (CF), Opaskie (FFG), Gettysburg (FFB)


After Laying out the board we deployed our ships with the Federation losing the initiative and deploying my ships first and then the Klingons.

-Board prior to first turn moves

-Close up of Federation setup

-Close up of the Klingon vessels. DW5 is in the center D5s on the wings

First turn the Klingons won the initiative so the Federation moved their first ship and off we went. By the end of movement the board looked like this.

I can not speak for my opponent but my plan initially was to move into the asteroids and dust clouds to make it a more close quarter affair. However, I was using the wolverine fast attack cruiser and wanted to get a good feel for her. Which prompted me to make a rather huge gamble when we did our movement.

Shooting was pretty non-existent. It involved a few disruptor blasts, which dinged the Intrepid. Drones were ineffectual between defensive fire and long range targeting. The one thing of note was the Intrepid took a critical to its impulse drive, which reduced my only fast ship to a movement of 10 inches and would rob it of its all power to the Engines, which I had planned to use. However, luckily the chief engineer was able to get the repairs completed at the end of the turn so the damage to the engines was recovered!

So, second turn started and for the first time the Federation managed to win the initiative. This more then sealed my decision to abandon my original plan of action for a far more dangerous one.

This is the end of turn two movement! That is right, the Federation moved straight ahead. I am not sure what I Was thinking. His first ship movement was pretty cautious and when my Frigate moved out of the cloud he had a good idea what I was going to do. So he adjusted accordingly as well as called for evasive actions. Regardless of the outcome I was committed to a course of action now!

Firing from the Federation saw me pepper each of the ships with various Arcs and weapons. In the end I only felt comfortable firing off one of my destroyer's Torpedoes. I didn't have the range I thought I would so held back on those. His entire fire was focused on the Opaskie and it took a beating. No other ship took any real damage but the frigate's shields were worn thin and it was carrying some hull damage.

*At this time, I unfortunately noticed the camera was almost out of juice so there is only one picture left that I Was able to snag and it was the near to end shot.

Turn three saw the Klingons retake the initiative, but they used it to make a tactical error of his own. While, immediately it did not seem a bad idea, it turned out to have long term implications. Effectively the head long rush of the Federation spooked the Klingon commanding captain and the Klingons broke formation. Each one moving off in their own directions to avoid Torpedo fire. However, in doing so his vessels became separated and could no longer "effectively" support each other. It also had the undesired effect of allowing me some "cross the board" side shots on his ships, thus negating his forward arc heavy shielding.

Unfortunately I did not take notes and the combat at this point was chaotic. Before the dust really settled the Opaskie was destroyed and the Wolverine had taken additional damage. Criticals were dealt to her that her Chief Engineer simply couldn't get under control. However, in the exchange the Klingon D5 Reaver was destroyed. It did managed to assist on the destruction of the Intrepid due to a very very bad tactical move I made. I erroneously allowed it to be within overcharged range for his disruptors. The Reaver's crippled gunnery did little with its over charged weapons, however it was the Soulblade that did the bulk of the damage as it came in behind. The Soulblade blasted with all the secondary weapons it could muster as well as the overcharged disruptors, but even with all that it was the Reaper that managed the kill shot and only JUST knocking it out. However this tipped the battle in the klingon's favor. Down two Federation ships to no lost Klingon ships was a bad spot to be in the captain of the St. Lo did not panic. In a next few moments the St. Lo with aft and starboard phasers destroyed the crippled Reaver. Then, with her main weapons pointed at the Reaper, unleashed her four torpedoes and forward and port phasers. Though the Reaper was pointed straight at the St. Lo, three phasers and two torpedoes managed to penetrate her shields and an relatively unscathed Klingon vessel went to almost crippled.

This is the last shot we took. The Gettysburg which did very little during the game simply avoided taking any damage and slipped away into the dust cloud. The Soulblade was unable to get into a position to support the Reaper who was run down by the St. Lo after it reloaded its torpedoes. The Reaper simply couldn't get away due to the critical damage it had taken. In the end, the field was taken by the Federation as the only remaining Klingon Cruiser, the Soulblade

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Also, as mentioned before, in a campaign damage persists. Any hull damage you take  during the game, you will have at the end. You have a chance to repair it at the end of the game based on the hull size of the ship and the rules are pretty lenient on this, so unless a ship is near crippled you will more then likely be able to repair it. So having ships that are still damaged from fight to fight is highly unlikely. The other is the matter of crippled ships, which can be repaired back to one above crippled by spending 1/4 of the original cost. The points used are from your Reinforcement Pool which is also established by the intensity level of the engagement just played + your Fleet's Prestige

For us, we each lost two ships completely. Both his Soulblade and my St. Lo were able to roll and repair the lost damage, so that wasnt much of a factor.

The other concept they give you is experience. Suriving ships earn points which represent d6s. This points can be used for various upgrades, re-rolls, or crew improvements. However, Ill go more into this next time. However for now, just know that the Soulblade's crew managed to increase their skill in battle. Instead of trainees they are now Green. Both the Gettysburg and St. Lo failed to get anything, save their continued existence and knowledge of a job well done! Plus they helped with rescuing the crews of the lost federation ships. (neither of them exploded.)

That's all for now! Stay tuned!

A Return - Starfleet: ACTA

Greetings and Salutations!

Finally getting around to blowing off the dust on this thing. Grossly fell behind due to a shake up in gaming and concentration on D&D. However around November I stumbled upon a very interesting game and have since jumped completely into it.

Starfleet: A Call to Arms

 The link will take you to the Mongoose Publishing Site for the Models. It should be set to the US store but if your prices start coming up in British Pounds, well it should give you a pretty good clue as to which store you are ACTUALLY in! However, if you are interested in saving a few bucks, the following site is a second party provider of the merchandise at a discounted rate effectively

The Warstore

This site provides excellent customer service and excellent response and turn around times for generally all products he carries. I recommend him. Of course nothing is stopping you from buying from the manufacturer directly. They had some serious problems initially in getting their product out however they seemed to have righted their ship. The models are all pewter now and are of a really good quality. (Will have pictures of these within the coming days. Promises, promises...)


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Now that the lead-in is over, my friend and I will be conducting a campaign. His models should be arriving before the week is out. The bulk of my fleet has arrived and is currently being assembled in the dockyards for service. We settled on 2800 points to begin with and will go from there.

Our Fleets look like this:

United Federation of Planets             Klingon Empire           

Prince Edward	Kirov	Admiral Kacang	C8
Gettysburg	Ramius	Void Wolf	C7
Berlin	Ramius	Crimson Star	C7
Stalingrad	Ramius	War Bear	C7
Carabello	Burke	Retribution	D7C
Halifax	Burke	Soulblade	D5W
Opaskie	Burke	Rebel	D5
Graf Spree	Constitution	Reaver	D5
St. Lo	Constitution	Reaper	D5
Trafalgar	Constitution	Plague	D6
Intrepid	Wolverine	Famine	D6
Yamamato	Federation	Carnage	D6
Gotland	New Jersey	Fury	F5
Augustus	Prometheus	Pompous	F5
Hammersmith	Texas	Indulgence	F5
Johnstown	Texas	Exuberance	F5
Victoria	Texas
Waterloo	Texas

The Federation is sporting a few more Frigates then the Klingons but I think their speed and agility will add a nice compliment to the Federation cruisers. I also found that the Texas were a tough little  ship(even if a bit strange looking) for their point cost. The Hammersmith has served me well in several battles. When you are looking at these two lists, the ships that are bold are Veteran ships. My friend and I have been playing several games prior to setting up this campaign so those ships have already seen combat and have earned upgrades or ship crew improvements. They are the seasoned fighters that our newly established combat groups are built around.

This weekend we hope to get our fleets assembled, possibly even get a match in which Ill have posted here with pictures I promise. Ill go into greater details on the campaign rules later in the week. As we were going over them we get the initial impression that they will be fun and compliment the game well. All in all they should give us some good continual story line driven games. Especially as most battle damage incurred during a game isnt automatically repaired! (a tid bit).

Fourth & Final Battle for Castle Hill

We are at last posting the final battle over castle hill. The previous one ended in a Major American Victory and saw the 91st Cavalry retain control of the critical vantage point. The 1st Fallschirmjager-Division has pieced together one more assault to drive the American's off of Castle Hill.

 As you can see, the map is much like it was for the third battle. The only real difference is the rotation in the map. Castle Hill has been turned to show that the Germans are striking from another location. All terrain points work as they did in the previous one and in the bottom left hand corner as small village template has been placed to provide a little difference to the table.

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(Unfortunately there will be no pictures for this battle as it took place before we had our camera back!)

The forces involved stayed the same for the most part. The Americans kept their format down exactly, but the Germans dropped the troublesome recoilless rifles and were issued two MG42s in their HMG platoon. 

The two forces deployed according to a No Retreat mission, the Americans dropped their HMG nest in front of Castle Hill, guarding the flanks of the hill were two Barbed Wire stands that were purchased with the HMG Nest. 1st Dismounted Cavalry was given the lion shares of the LMGs again and placed in Ambush. The Germans deployed across a long front with the 2nd FJ Platoon being split to create a Kampfgruppe. These two platoons were deployed on the German side of the town, the HMG platoon was placed in the clearing between the two broken forest templates and the 1st FJ platoon with my Infantry Ace deployed on the German side of the broken forest template facing Castle Hill.

1st Turn:

Germans have turn one and begin with their platoons advancing. The Kampfgruppe and 2nd FJ platoon moves up through the small Italian hamlet and take up position along the stone wall that divides the Italian yards/gardens. The 1st FJ platoon moves up into broken woodlands. Finally, the HMG platoon was setup in prepared positions with clear shots on American the HMG nest. During shooting, the Germans knock it out in a truely devestating display of firepower. (of the twelve "shots" nine hit successfully followed by two successful firepower checks.) 1st FJ platoon stormtroopers to better position themselves in woods, as do the Kampfgruppe and 2nd FJ platoon.

Americans choose not to spring their Ambush but they receive reserves in the manner of the 2nd Dismounted Cav. Platoon, who move up towards the ruins.

2nd Turn:
Germans HMG platoon repositions and moves up so that it can provide fire upon the ruins and then stormtroopers into their new firing position. The 1st FJ, led by Hauptmann Starke, move out of the broken woods and then stormtroopers to position themselves in the rubble surrounding castle hill. Kampfgruppe and 2nd FJ hold their position for now. 

Americans still hold thier ambush and the 2nd Dismounted Cav moves and occupies the ruins. Mortars arrive from reserve. (Surprisingly ineffective this game, accounting for only one destroyed FJ Team.)


3rd Turn:

Germans prepare to launch an offensive across the entire front. 2nd FJ platoon break cover and try to cross a clearing and make it into a stand of broken trees. 1st FJ, still led by Hauptmann Starke, pushes them through the rubble and within assault range of the 2nd Dismounted Cav. The Kampfgruppe remains in position to provide support and to cover the HMG gruppe's flank. The HMG's direct their fire into the ruins and in another immpressive display of firepower, manage to not only pin the dismounted cav., but inflict a casualty as well. With this turn of events (had not really planned on pinning the platoon or launching my assault this soon), the Infantry Ace Hauptmann Starke seizes the moment and leads the 1st FJ out of cover and into an assault. However, on the otherside of the battlefield, the2nd FJ fail to stormtrooper into the broken trees and are now stuck out in the open...

The Fallschirmjagers charge into the ruins and lose two stands to defensive fire but deliver 3 hits. One of which is the placed on the platoon commander. The company commander takes charge of the platoon and leads his dough-boys into a counter attack, destroying another FJ stand. It now stands 5 American teams to 4 German teams. Germans counter attack and destroy an additional stand. The assault ends with the American's having had enough and are forced out of the ruins. The Germans Consolidate on the outside of the ruins in a defensive posture.  Germans now contest the objective. (For those who have followed these reports, this has been the farthest the Germans have managed to get in their assaults!)

Americans finally pop their Ambush to devestating effect. The 1st Dismounted Cav platoon springs their ambush and mercilessly guns down the 2nd FJ Platoon...to the man. Hope for a stunning German Victory are over. However, the 2nd Dismounted Cavalry platoon fails to unpin so the American's can not capitalize on the pinned German Fallschirmjagers!

4th Turn:
Germans: Hauptmann Starke orders the HMGs to move up into the ruins to support him and the 1st FJ, who manage to unpin. The Kampfgruppe falls back so it can cover the HMGs advance. The 1st FJ is waits for their heavy fire support to reach them so they go to ground in the ruins.

Americans: The Allies now find themselves behind the eight ball. 1st Dismounted Cavalry pull out and move at the double across the clearing towards the Ruins atop castle hill. 2nd Dismounted Cav Platoon recovers from being pinned and advances into the ruins under the cover of their only LMG. They attempt to retake the position so begin trying to pin the Fallschirmjagers with the LMG scoring only two hits. Rifle fire from the rest of the platoon adds another hit but still no where close. Mortars are called in to bombard the position and force their heads down. Ranging in, the mortars manage to score a hit! However, due to their strength of only two mortars, the hit is re-rolled...and MISSES! Fallschirmjager's remain unpinned. However, the American Infantry Ace, T. Highway, proceeds with the assault anyway. He cant afford to let the HMGs get inside the ruins.

The Germans riddle the assaulters with defensive fire from the 1st FJ and Hauptmann Starke, who is covering his men from the second floor of the ruins. The Americans are thrown back by weight of fire and one American Team is destroyed. Unfortunately, the 2nd Dismounted Cavalry fail their motivation check and they break cover and fall back, quitting the field entirely. The Germans now control the objective.

With the German MG42s a move away from the Ruins and the Kampfgruppe a turn behind them, the 1st Dismounted Cavalry have no chance to reach their before the Germans take the position over defensively. The Mortars are in a position to rush in and contest the objective however, they would be unsupported and would not hold it for long. The American's cede the field to the Germans! 1st Fallschirmjager-Division retakes Castle Hill!

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The Game ended in a Major German Victory. My opponent suffered from a few bad rolls in very key moments. Just as my 2nd FJ platoon suffered from a flopped storm trooper move. Overall Im rather pleased with how I played this. I Wish I hadnt lost that one platoon, but it was the dice's fault. I was hoping I could get them into that forest and force his ambush back even further as well as leaving him with no choice but to deploy it on the second objective. My opponent wished that he had done something else with that HMG nest. He had not counted on my knocking it out first turn and felt that he had placed it to far out and exposed.


Hope you have enjoyed the Castle Hill portion of the campaign. Most of our 500pt force has been painted and we are moving on to the next turn and 700pts. Look forward to posts involving the board. This one was rather easy seeing as we had all the terrain for it, aside from our Castle Hill Building. However the next turn takes place within the town of Cassino at focal points: Continental Hotel, Train Station, and Nursery. All which we will hopefully be able to create to some effect.

...And those currently opposing the 1st Fallschirmjäger-division, The 91st Cavalry!

The following are a few images from my friend displaying the work he has been doing on his 91st Cavalry (Recon)!

Command elements of his force. The sniper that wastes ammunition (if you remember him) as well as those damnable Mortars in the back under the command of the 2iC.

An HMG Nest that he created based on the overhead image of one from the Cassino Intelligence Book. Works out pretty well.

Also, a close up of the 1st Dismounted Cavalry Platoon! As they usually are, sporting two LMG teams and four rifles. However, when tasked with holding an objective they tend to add an additional LMG from their jeeps.

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More pictures are coming! As well as the final battle report on the fight for Castle Hill! (however, still no pictures.) Also to look forward to are pictures and layouts for our Cassino & Continental Hotel battlefield that we will be working on. So, while we get our forces ready for that there will be no Battle reports for the next few weeks! However we will have plenty of interesting things to come.

One final picture to send you off! The current 1st Fallschirmjäger-division / Kompanie Starke! All seven hundred and five points of it.

Leading Elements of 1st Fallschirmjäger-division \ Kompanie Starke

Here are the first assembled photos of painted units from my 1st Fallschirmjäger-division. In total, this just encompasses the first 500pts for the Infantry Ace campaign we are running. Its nothing major and everything is either in a state of being based or needs based.

This is my infantry Ace/HQ Command Team and 2iC team. Hauptmann Starke and 2iC Leutnant Lapp

A close up of Leutnant Lapp

This is the HMG Heer Gruppe Fultz. This was the first unit that I started painting back when I was working on 352. Infantriedivision. However, I have since chosen to stick with the Fallschirmjagers and because this unit was already partially painted, I finished them off as a Heer Platoon. I do have a Fallschirmjager HMG blister that will replace them, but right now they proudly fight along side the parachutists!

A side shot of HMG Heer Gruppe Fultz

This is Fallschirmjager Zug Eberhard. Currently it is shown as 1 section strong, the other section is currently being painted and has not yet been "washed/shaded". Once they are, this will be a 2 section strong FJ Platoon which will eventually be a full FJ platoon once we move to 700pts.

A side shot of FJ Zug Eberhard. Still working on getting the base color for the ground right, so that is why there appears to be two different color groups there. The command team and the team in the far back left were done first. However, I like how the other two came out and think I will stick with that setup.

 

 

That is all for now unfortunately. I will have additional photos of the entire kompanie as a whole, however those will be unpainted.

3rd Battle over Castle Hill

This is the third installment of our battle of Castle Hill. Once again, the 91st Cav. is defending, however instead of the mission being Cauldron it is instead No Retreat and all the familiar faces are involved in this battle.

As said before, the 91st Cavalry is defending in this mission and once again, are bringing two platoons of dismounted cavalry, the two mortar sections will be grouped under the 2iC to bolster Platoon strength as well as an HMG Nest.

The 1st Fallschirmjager-division is bringing the usual two FJ platoons with two sections each, along with recoilless rifle weapons platoon. However this time, they will be deployed together and not broken up between the two FJ platoons. The 2iC will also be splitting one of the FJ platoons in half and creating a Kampfgruppe.

Having learned mistakes from the previous battle, I figured I had a good handle on what I wanted to do. Objectives were placed once the board was arranged and as you see, the objectives my friend was forced to defend dictated where his Ambush would be used. (The Objs. are the white circles).

A quick reference key for the above map. The Dark green "blobs" are hills. The two on the table edge were treated as being covered with olive groves and various other foliage. The gray markings are broken ground/rocks and the entire hill in the center was treated as blasted rubble. The two black squares are ruined buildings. The tan brown blobs with dark brown splotches are craters and an the dark green splotches are forest templates. However, due to the German initial preparations of the area, they are not really forests but instead, blasted and cut down forests giving a broken ground feel. IE it provides cover but not bullet proof like the rubble.

Turn 1

The first turn went fairly quick. The Germans advanced with the cautious movement through the broken woods. The 2nd FJ platoon closing on the far left objective marker, supported by the Kampfgruupe. Hauptmann Starke took the 1st FJ platoon to the edge of the woods and waited for the recoilless rifles to move into position and knock out the HMG nest that was sitting in the center of the blasted hill.
The Allies sprung their ambushing dismounted cavalry on the hill right above the far left objective and ineffective fire did nothing but pin the 2nd FJ. The HMG nest attempted to shoot at the rifles but failed to score any casualties.

Turn2

2nd FJ repositions itself to give it a better front facing against the dismounted cav, the 2iC moves up behind to support. The Rifles move in range of the HMG nest and blow it to pieces. With the nest now gone, the Company Command leads the 1st FJ out of cover and surging towards the hill with a stormtrooper move.
The Allies receive both reinforcements, the 2nd Dismounted Cav platoon and the mortars. The 1st Dismounted cav. leaves the LMGs to pin down the 2nd FJ and close for assault. The exchange destroyes the 2nd FJ.

Turn 3
2iC leads the Kampfgruppe into an assault with the 1st Dismounted Cav and win. The LMGs were to far away to provide defensive fire and the platoon commander and supporting rifle sections are killed. The Kampfgruppe is down to the 2iC and one stand of FJ. In the center, Hauptmann Starke leads the 1st FJ to the base of the hill and take cover among the rocks, preparing for the eventual assault into the building. The Rifles move up to join them.
Allies move the 2nd Dismounted Cavalry platoon into the ruins and take up a defensive position. The Mortars are in the rear to provide direct fire and indirect fire support. With the Platoon leader dead the 1st Dismounted Cavalry is stuck on their hill guarding the far left Objective. The Company Commander can not afford to move out and assume command.

Turn 4+
For the sake of sanity, the rest of the battle will be wrapped up here. The 2iC would move to join the 1st FJ and Recoilless rifles infront of the building ruins and add weight to an already intense close range fire fight. Both Company commanders are guiding fire for their men as a battle of "go to ground" or not to "go to ground" erupts. In the end, several turns pass with each platoon attempting to shoot at the other in Bulletproof cover. However, the Allies have effective mortar fire which starts digging the Germans out while the German Recoilless Rifles fail to effectively do anything since it is down to one gun, having already lost one to mortar fire. In the end, an ill-fated desperate assault is launched against the enemy who was unpinned. Casualties are taken but the Germans manage a foot-hold after Hauptmann Starke and the 1st FJ are wiped out in the ensuing string of counter-attacks. However, the net result is a Pinned American Cavalry Unit, so the 2iC charge with his supporting 2nd FJ section, killing another Allied base, but being destroyed in the process. It came down to a final assault by the RR command team, which, promptly fails, and then fails, his platoon morale check. Game ends in a blood bath, leaving few if any Fallschirmjager survivors! 91st Cav. defend the hill AGAIN!

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After-Thoughts:
While the game ends in a Major Allied Victory there is one thing that is learned! The Allied Infantry Ace, T. Highway did not have his second medal which allowed him to re-rolled his failed close combat attack. This is significant because in a couple of the final exchanges, this was a very big decider! So, in a effort to be fair, the 91st Cav still get the victory, however Hauptmann Starke was not counted as being destroyed or fleeing the field for the battle. Thus giving the Germans 3 experience points instead of two! Hurray gamemenship!

Thoughts on the battle? Well I felt I played a better game. My friend once against presented a solid defense and those mortars once again, proved to be the bane of my existence. Im done with the Recoilless Rifles at this point level and going back to my beloved HMG 42s! Their weight of fire is a necessity for pinning and their Range gives them more flexibility then the shorter ranged rifles. We also learned a little more about using our Company Commanders to the full extent as far as command and control.

Also, There will be one more 500pt battle which will get posted and then its on to the 700pt Turn 2 battle of Cassino. Most likely there will not be another battle for several weeks after this next post goes up due to several personal matters that will be dealt with! Also, a trip to Dragon Con at the first of the coming Month will prevent us from playing. However look forward to a few Terrain posts as we get our town ready for the ensuing conflicts. Finally battle reports, after this next one, will start containing pictures on the account that once again, we will have access to our Digital Camera!

That is all!