Leffrinckoucke Bridgehead and Breakout

Introduction

Having failed to stop the Prussians from getting to the beach, Danone-Yoplait had to now hurriedly re-organise his forces to prevent the Prussians capturing the Yoghurt Factory and breaking out into the Dunkerque countryside. His honour and his command were now hanging precariously by a thread and his only hope was to throw the enemy back into the sea with his remaining naval squadrons and the “Singes Capitulards”.

Deployment

If you read the previous post you know that we had intended to play the full game all the way through over a weekend, but circumstances overtook us. We decided to play the land element of the game at the next club night and so the land terrain and about a foot of sea were laid out on the ubiquitous 6 x 4.
We agreed that any land or air resources that survived the invasion game would play the breakout game. All models would be back to full health (just to avoid bookkeeping).
This left the French with only the Tourbillon in the large vessel category, while the Prussians had all except one Pflicht from the previous scenario and all of the armoured forces except the Metzgers. The French did have GNE cruisers and frigates.
The Prussian deployment was fairly standard and broadly mirrored the deployment of the landing force from the previous game. Pflichts on the far left with the Imperium and an Aufseher, then all the landing forces on their barges and the second Aufseher on the right flank.
The French similarly deployed roughly as they had been at the end of the last game. GNE naval assets and the Tourbillon on the right flank (facing the Prussian aerial forces), mainly bombards with some small and medium tank support in the centre and on the French left flank the majority of the medium tanks.

The Battle

The French started as they meant to go on, pushing forward in an effort to deny the Prussian landing any space. In the first turns firepower was concentrated on Prussian aerial assets, while the Prussians fired on targets of opportunity. Prussian ironclad forces and infantry (including cavalry from the elite 12th Oldenburg Grenadiers) were quickly ashore, duelling with advance elements of the French mobile artillery and their ironclad support.
In the following turn the duel became a rout as the Prussian aerial fleet started lending support to the armoured forces on the ground. Two French bombard squadrons were decimated and the French started to fall back on the factory and their GNE support vessels. The Tourbillon stood at bay firing at targets on the ground and in the air covering the retreat below. Prussian fire started to tell and before the Tourbillon could be boarded by Luftmarine squads from the lead Pflicht squadron, it burst into flames and crashed to the ground. Prussian elation was short lived though, as the Aufseher of the Göteborg Commandery was brought down by the concentrated fire of artillery and GNE ordnance.
In the third turn , the second Aufseher was also brought down by concentrated ground fire. However, concentrating on the airlanding ships had distracted the French from the main Prussian force and the Sturmpanzer and A6-V squadrons pushed ashore and spread out along the beach. French medium armour engaged at close range but as more and more Prussian force was brought to bear, the battle of attrition shifted towards Prussian victory. Although the firepower of the French Foucault tanks was telling there were not enough of them to stem the tide and so the Prussians took the factory as the French fell back towards Dunkerque.

The Aftermath

Danone-Yoplait did the best he could, but was heavily outnumbered due to the errors during the landing assault. The plan to concentrate on Prussian heavy air assets while the rest of the Prussians disembarked was probably a good one, but a lot of firepower was needed to bring down the first Aufseher. The second Aufseher was easier to eliminate but it was right in the middle of the French forces and was taking fire from all over the place. By the time both Aufsehers were destroyed the Prussians had landed in force and the Tourbillon had become so much smouldering wreckage in the workers garden at the Yoghurt Factory, so I think the game became unwinnable from there on in.
The star of the game was the Foucault. I’m going to have to pay attention to them in the future. Hopefully the introduction of the HM-1 Recke heavy transport will help beef up the Tesla weaponry of the A6-V which proved woefully inadequate.
I got deployment wrong yet again and hadn’t thought through my landing strategy. Len pointed this out but as part of my counter psychology I pretended I knew what I was doing and as I won it’s patently obvious I must have done! So if I have learnt anything it is stick to what you know. My mine laying and amphibious operations skill are essentially more down to luck rather than judgement.
Len has been a good sport and an excellent opponent in all of our games (not just these last three). I wonder if I can get him to play some sort of harbour raid scenario where the Prussian land and naval forces attack Dunkerque…

Leffrinckoucke Beach Landing

Introduction

Humiliatingly, Rear-Admiral Danone-Yoplait sailed into Dunkerque harbour in his pinnace. The defeat at West Hinder preyed heavily on his mind as he radio-graphed to Legion headquarters to report the predicament he and his command found themselves in. The beaches between Dunkerque and Bray Dunes had some Marteau Bombard batteries and a couple of small fortifications dating back to the Napoleonic era. Along with two regiments of local infantry this was all he could call upon to see off the huge invasion fleet Müller was bringing along the coast. Headquarters, at once both despairing and desperate, had no choice but to send elements of the GNE 12e fleet and a whole armoured regiment from the 9e Legion “Singes Capitulards” to shore up the landward defences and attempt to interdict any Prussian landing.

Deployment

The scenario was effectively Operation Takeda from the Hurricane Season Campaign, scaled up for a large (3000 MFV) game.
The French (commanded once again by Rear-Admiral Danone-Yoplait) had a large number of skimming ships (including a Mk I Magenta, a squadron of Marseille cruisers, a squadron of Alma frigates and a Tourbillon) with some water-bound support (a Couronne and a squadron of Lyon frigates) coming from the west, but only a light scout formation (just a squadron of Lyon frigates and an understrength squadron of Furieux) coming from the east. On the beaches were two shield towers, two regiments of infantry, a squadron of Hotch FT-12 light tanks and two squadrons of Marteau. Reinforcements were a Bastille with L’Aman attachments, three squadron of Focault tanks, another squadron of Marteau and a squadron of Hotch FT-12 light tanks.
The Prussians (now commanded by Kommandatur-General Heinrich von Önken) had a Medium Panzer Regiment (an armoured starter box) on landing barges with two Metzgers and masses of aerial support (an Imperium, two Aufsehers and two squadrons of Pflichts) and an equally heavy naval presence to protect it (two Emperor battleships, a squadron of Konigsberg battle-cruisers, a squadron of Hussar gunships, two squadrons of Arminius frigates, two squadrons of allied Korsor Minelayer and two independent Skagerrak gunships). The French were slightly outnumbered (as the scenario required) by around 200 points.
Actual deployment was determined by the scenario.
French land forces deployed in zone C, reinforcements entered from area 1 on Turn 1 (the Bastille) and from area 2 on Turn 4 (the rest of the 9e Legion).
French naval forces could enter from areas 3 and 4 on Turn 1 (all the naval assets and the Tourbillon were in area 4, the Furieux and some Lyon were in area 3).
The Prussian naval assets deployed in zone B and the landing assets deployed in zone A. Prussian deployment for naval assets was to place the Arminius as close to the French as possible, with some air support. Then the Danish minelayers would lay mines across the landing zone to try to prevent French intervention. Konigsberg and Emperor heavy ships would pound the beaches and any French ships that got through the frigate cordon. The landing force and most of the aerial support were deployed in zone A (all the barges and the Imperium and Ausehers).

The Battle

This was a shockingly one sided affair. The Tourbillon, Alma squadron and Marseille squadron all turned inland and headed for the yoghurt factory objective. The Couronne and Lyon frigates gamely battled the left flank of the Prussian forces. Within two turns though, all the Arminius and most of the Lyon were wrecks, along with one of the Skagerrak gunships, but a quick thrust by the Pflichts got in an unopposed boarding attack against the Couronne, capturing it unscathed. The Furieux fared no better, the first came within range of a UPG generator and suffered the maximum result and then a critical from the main armament which left it critically damaged, with no systems, no defences and very few marines and a temporary reactor leak caused it to flare all the way back to the board edge. The Magenta then had no choice but to turn back out to sea to attempt to rescue something from the debacle. In subsequent turns the Prussians downed a Furieux and captured the other. They also sank the Magenta, wrecking it just off the Bray-Dunes headland in shallow water but not before it had sank a Konigsberg, a Pflicht and damaged a Metzger and the Imperium.
The landward conflict fared little better for the French, long range fire from the bombard squadrons and the towers did little damage until they started concentrating fire on the Metzgers being towed by the Prussian battleships (with Tesla generator assistance). In the end the Bastille land ship crested the dune line just as the battleships released their tow lines and between the combined heat lances and more concentrated fire from the bombards both Metzgers were lost and sank into the mud and soft sand just off-shore. At this point the red mist descended and the battleships both opened up against the Bastille. A critical effect on the Bastille caused a magazine explosion, that proceeded to destroy both L’Aman heavy tanks, but not before one of them flared into the middle of the bombard’s position and exploded there, damaging another three vehicles (the Combustible Cargo MAR is literally da bomb). With one broadside the whole game changed. It was looking as though significant parts of the armoured force would not get ashore in the face of combined artillery and heat lance attacks, but with the Bastille’s destruction and the rest of the “Singes Capitulards” only just entering the table there was now little to stop them.

The view onto the beach from the Aufseher Landing Ship "Hochmeister von Rusdorf"

The Aftermath

I would argue that this time Len (again as Danone-Yoplait) did everything wrong. Concentrating his force, sending significant elements of it ashore and not attacking the landing force (except the Metzgers) specifically were all instrumental in allowing the Prussians ashore. Len’s plan had been to fight them hard on the beaches with both armoured and naval assets, hence the GNE heavy fleet.
My deployment left a lot to be desired again. Even though the French deployed first I didn’t support the left flank enough to prevent a breakthrough if that had been the tactic Len had taken (luckily he didn’t). If he had gone for it I would have probably lost half my landing force! I also totally made a mess of mine-laying… In the end my Korsors were just gunboats taking pot-shots at targets of opportunity (or the towers if there were no targets). I’ll need to practice a bit more.
We ran out of time for the landing element of the game so as we packed up, we made a note of what each of us had left in terms of forces available to play on land and opted to play out the game at the next club night.

Battle of West Hinder

Introduction

Franco-Prussian relations have taken a decidedly precipitous dip recently. Anger over milk product duty and a general perception that the French are simply ärgerlich has led Vice Admiral Graf Johann von Müller to take decisive action. The largest yoghurt factory in Europe, located halfway between Bray-Dunes and Dunkerque and only a mile from the beach, was a prime target. However, to get from Netherlands Protectorate harbours to the landing site without alerting Britannian forces would require the Prussian forces to traverse some dangerous coastal waters.
Rear-Admiral Pierre Danone-Yoplait was aware of the risk posed and sent a significant task force to intercept the Prussians. The Prussians countered with heavy elements of the XIIth Iron Fleet.

The Forces

Republique of France
Rear-Admiral Danone-Yoplait 

• Couronne Battle Carrier (Petits Filou)
• Magenta Mk II Battleship (Taillefine)
• Magenta Mk II Battleship (Entremont)
• 3 x Marseille Cruisers
• 2 x Furieux Scout Ships
• 4 x Lyon Frigates
• 4 x Lyon Frigates 

Prussian Empire
Vice-Admiral Graf von Müller

• Blucher Dreadnought (Karl Franz)
• 2 x Konigsberg Battlecruisers (Köln, Kiel)
• 3 x Pflicht Scout Ships
• 4 x Arminius Frigates
• 4 x Arminius Frigates
• 3 x Wachter Escorts

The French had three full size wings of torpedo bomber TFT’s and a recon wing, while the Prussians had two full size wings of fighter TFT’s.

The Deployment

Hoping to use the large island as cover, the vast majority of the Prussian fleet deployed on the right flank, in hopes that local superiority and terrain cover might help in the coming battle. The French fleet deployed with light vessels covering the larger capital ships and the majority of the air support on the left flank facing the Prussians.

The Battle

Generally, the battle was one sided for two or three turns. The Prussian fleet advanced, with the Arminius frigates rushing forward to attempt to outflank, however they suffered heavily from the Furieux dirigibles and Marseille GNE ships. The two squadrons were quickly whittled down with little in return except a seriously damaged Furieux and a damaged Marseille.
The Konigsberg cruisers opened up as soon as they could and quickly dealt with the Marseille, but not quickly enough to stop the Couronne and Magenta in the French centre from entering the fray. It wasn’t long before one of the Konigsbergs was sunk, and although primary gunnery was telling on the lighter French forces little damage was done to their capital forces.
On the right flank the Pflichts were advancing carefully with a view to presenting a credible boarding threat to either the flanking Marseille or the Couronne, while the Prussian fighters tussled with the French torpedo bombers in an effort to prevent them from damaging Prussian heavy assets. The Pflichts took a bit of a mauling from the Magenta and the Lyon frigates as they moved across the face of the island, with one Scout Ship catching fire and crashing into the North Sea. (I keep forgetting to send my Pflichts into the obscured level).
The end was rapidly approaching with a victory for the French very much in the making. In desperation the Karl Franz activated both Tesla Generators and pushed forward its escorts. The escorts engaged the French frigates and attempted to make themselves massive navigational hazards, while the dreadnought split its turrets between the Couronne and the Magenta. In the last turn the Couronne collided with a Wachter escort, taking a point of damage, while inflicting none on the plucky little ship. The dreadnought and Pflichts moved in for the kill. The remaining Konigsberg fired its speerschleuder at the Couronne, getting a successful hit and making it vulnerable to Tesla fire. The Karl Franz practically won the game on its own, firing on the Couronne (and sinking it) and boarding the Magenta and prizing it, while its escorts continued to damage French frigates. To add insult to injury, the Pflichts descended out of the cloud layer and boarded the other Magenta, prizing it as well. Desultory fire on and from the remaining French frigates had no effect and so victory was won.

The Aftermath

Don’t think Len (as Danone-Yoplait) made any significant errors. Concentrating on the Arminius in the early game and taking shots at the Pflichts at any opportunity shows that he’s definitely learning to avoid or nullify my best boarding threats. Having played a game since this one using Len’s French I’m not convinced that heat lances are all they’re cracked up to be. This was a very rare game where I took my dreadnought, and I think probably the only time (statistically) where the heat lance would be more effective than linked primary fire.
My deployment was off. My frigates should have been inside my dreadnought, rather than out on the flank but in the end sticking to the plan paid off. I intended to use the island as cover and for two turns significant portions of my force were out of sight of the French heavies. We then turned in and pounded and boarded everything in range. Hooray for Prussian tactical doctrine.

Encounter in the Ayun Valley

Introduction

High in the Hindu Kush, north of the fortress city of Chitral, on the very edge of the Britannian Raj, there is a deep cut valley which runs up the course of the Ojhore Gol, and higher still into the foothills of the Himalayas. This area is a flash point for Britannian diplomacy with Russian, Chinese and Persian incursions not uncommon. The most recent incursion had been reported by scouts of the 27th Bengali Guides and consequently forces of the Chitral garrison, supported by the mobile airfield Nawaz Khan (on loan to the Maharaja of Chitral) moved inexorably up the valley towards the passes around Tirich Mir.
From the north a Russian “archaeological” expedition investigating the hills and mountains around ancient Ayun fort had come under attack and military support had been requested. Moving swiftly, the military commander in the Tomsk Oblast had sent elements of the 52nd Heavy Support Regiment and their Polish allies (on practice manoeuvres in the local river valleys). With the Land Dreadnought Boris Godunov in the lead, progress was slow but skirmishes with Afghan, Pushtun and Persian tribesmen had been swift and decisive as the indigenous tribesmen had no answer to the armour of the Tsar’s army.
Late in the evening, while preparing bivouacs on the plains south of Ayun, the Russian forces came under long range shell fire. Unbeknownst to either side, the allies of the Grand Coalition had in fact engaged each other. Reconnaissance flights from the Britannian mobile airfield had reported the position of elements of Russian and Polish armour without determining whose side they were on and the large calibre guns of the Nawaz Khan had opened fire at extreme range. Responding swiftly, and without conducting adequate reconnaissance of his own, the Russian commander arrayed his forces and immediately deployed his Vorkuta drills to engage the enemy.

Image 1: The Plains of Ayun, looking south from the fort. The Britannian ridge position is visible in the mid-ground.

The Opposing Forces

Kingdom of Britannia

• Brunel Class Mobile Airfield (Nawaz Khan)
• Sovereign Class Land Ship
• Squadron of 4 Mk II Class Medium Tanks
• Squadron of 3 Cromwell Class Bombards
• Squadron of 4 Terrier Class Small Tanks
• Squadron of 3 Terrier Class Small Tanks
• Eagle Class War Rotor
• Squadron of 2 Hawk Scout Rotors
• 1 Wing of 5 Fighters
• 2 Wings of 5 Dive Bombers
• 1 Recon Flight   

Russian Coalition

• Kursk Class Land Dreadnought (Boris Godunov)
• Belgorod Class Land Ship (Alexeyeva)
• Vorkuta Class Land Drill (Norilsk)
• Vorkuta Class Land Drill (Usinsk)
• Squadron of 4 Kamchatka Class Medium Tanks
• Squadron of 3 Szpada Class Medium Tanks with 2 Palnik Flame Tanks attached
• Squadron of 3 Burza Class Bombards
• Squadron of 5 Rycerz Class Small Tanks
• 1 Wing of 4 Fighters
• 1 Wing of 5 Dive Bombers
• 1 Recon Flight

Astute readers will note that the Britannian list seems a little light. It is. Dave can’t add up to 1250.

Deployment

The Britannian’s deployment was a classic. With most forces behind the reverse slope and light, fast troops on the flanks, the Iron Duke himself would be proud. The aerial support was deployed on the same flank as the Russian drillers, possibly to provide some sort of offensive power against them as only bombs and concussive charges are effective while the drillers are subterranean.
The Russian deployment was slightly more unconventional, with medium forces on the left flank supported by a Belgorod Land Ship. The Vorkuta drillers were fairly centrally deployed, looking to exploit the narrow passes between the hills. The Polish mobile artillery was deployed with light tank support on the right flank.

Image 2: The deployment of the opposing forces. Note that the markers are indicative of position not unit frontage.

Image 3: The Russian deployment on the tabletop...

Image 4: ... and the Kingdom of Britannia deployment

The Battle

The first turn was mainly jockeying for position. The Polish light tanks rushed forward, with some desultory fire on the advancing aerial forces of the Britannian left flank. The other Britannian forces managed to fire off several long range shots with limited effect. Minor damage on the Kamchatka lead tank and one of the Hawks along with some destroyed Rycerz were about all the damage done.

Image 5: Britannnian medium and light assets advance on the Russian lines

In the second turn the Britannian armour advanced from behind the hills and ridges and engaged the Russians where they could. The Cromwells had parked too close to the hill and found themselves confounded by the slope, but the Mk IIs and the Brunel started to lay down some serious fire. A critical on one of the Kamchatkas led to a magazine explosion which seriously damaged the whole squadron. The destructive ordnance of the Brunel’s forward gun destroyed one of the Burzas. In reply the Russians downed a Hawk and started to damage the Eagle.

Image 6: There had been a whole squadron here before the Mk II tanks engaged

The third turn started to tell. The Russian heavy tanks got to RB2 and started to pound the Britannians with masses of ordnance. In short order a proportion of the Mk II squadron was pulverised by the Belgorod, while the Brunel suffered tremendous damage from the Kursk, ultimately suffering from a magazine explosion in turn. On the Russian right flank the Polish artillery and light vehicles with support from a surfaced Vorkuta and its ground support tanks dealt the fatal blow to the remaining Britannian air assets. The Polish medium armour manoeuvred for position intending to use flamethrowers on the small and medium vehicles left but were out-manoeuvred in turn.

Image 7: The war in the air has taken a turn for the worse with severe damage all around and a Vorkuta about to surface

Image 8: The view from the Boris Godunov... choices, choices

The fourth turn was called. With the Britannian right flank in disarray and under intense pressure and the Britannian heavy vehicles and air support practically eliminated and a Russian Vorkuta driller still underground the Britannians claimed discretion as the better part of valour and withdrew.

The Aftermath

The game ended up being a bit one sided because of Dave’s miscalculation, but as the first two turns had the Vorkutas underground the game seemed quite even (neither Dave nor I realised the MFV was wrong until after the game and we were tallying VPs). On the Britannian side the Mk II tanks maintained their fierce reputation and the Brunel was very scary. On the Russian side, the Poles were the better mediums but as RB2 hove into sight the Russian big guns really started to tell.
I don’t think there was anything wrong with either of our deployments or our strategies. My tactical obsession with the Britannian air assets was a bit unnecessary but I find that I can’t help myself (same thing has happened in a couple of naval games). The game would almost certainly have been more of a slog if Dave could count to 1250!

Death Comes to Agronnax XII

Introduction

Agronnax XII, a quiet Death World near the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy. The very edge of the Imperium. Centuries ago, there had been a colony of the Imperium of Man here, but something unexplained had happened, and the dangerous indigenous lifeforms had overrun the planet wiping out its human population. Too far away and of little consequence to the Administratum, no-one had ever bothered to investigate.

Fast forward 300 years, Hive Fleet Medusa is rising through the galactic plane and scout forces of the 13th Black Crusade are investigating Agronnax XII in case the cause of its destruction can be used to sow chaos and confusion across the periphery of the Segmentum Tempestus.

Terrain

The board was half ruins and half death world. Most terrain was area terrain with a bit of a killing zone in the centre.

Deployment

Deployment - Chaos Space Marines



The CSM were fairly straightforward in their deployment. On their far right flank was a Forgefiend daemon engine. From their centre to their left flank were Marines in Rhino, Daemon Prince, Cultists behind a Defense Line with a Quad Gun Emplacement and more Marines in a Rhino. In Reserve were a squad of Terminators and a Heldrake.

Deployment - Tyranids

Fairly conventional from the Tyranids as well. A Screamer Killer carnifex out on the flank to soak up the Forgefiend, Tervigon with a small brood of Genestealers in front. A brood of two Biovores behind the building in the centre of the Tyranid deployment zone. Finally the key to the attack, Hormagaunts, Warriors and a Hive Tyrant, all ready to rush up the right flank and roll up the Chaos positions. All the Tyranids had in reserve was a couple of Lictors and a brood of Raveners.

Turn 1 - CSM

Everything on the table (apart from the cultists who believed they were safe inside their defense line) pushed forward. Some desultory bolter fire and Havoc missiles from the Rhinos inflicted minor casualties on the Genestealer and Hormagaunt broods. The Forgefiend's plasma cannon missed the Carnifex and its autocannons bounced harmlessly from it's tough hide and chitinous armour plating.
End of CSM turn 1.

Turn 1 - Tyranids

Go, go, go... everything moved straight towards the nearest Chaos object it could see, except the Biovores who sat building up enough spew to disgorge a spore mine cluster across the table. The Carnifex hugged cover a bit and moved through the terrain (forgetting it was a monstrous creature and could move through cover for the extra dice). Mama Tervigon gave forth of her tyranidous bounty and expelled fourteen (6, 5, 3) newborn termagants from her birth sacs.
The Tyranid shooting phase was almost non-existent. Everything that wasn't spitting spore mines in a ballistic trajectory ran towards the enemy. The spore mines hit inside the defence line, though not exactly where intended but still managed to kill 2 or 3 cultists.
End of Tyranid turn 1.

Turn 2 - CSM

Reserve rolls went 50/50. Terminators - No. Heldrake - Yes. Taking advantage of sneaky flying rules the Heldrake came zooming onto the table, while the Daemon Prince (whose mighty pinions had propelled him  into the air last turn) swooped over the Genestealers and Termagants towards the Tervigon, vector striking a couple of Genestealers as he passed. The Rhino borne marines noticed how close the Tyranid broods were and reversed back to their deployment positions (at no point in either turn had any marines got out of their transports).
In the shooting phase the Heldrake did tremendous work squirting Soul Blaze, Chaos napalm substitute all over the Hormagaunts, instantly frying 6 or 7. The gun emplacement and Rhinos again fired on broods, with casulaties amongst the Genestealers (1) and the Warriors (1 warrior, but 3 wounds). The Forgefiend again scattered his plasma blast and rolled even worse for his autocannons and again the Carnifex stood unscathed.
With no assaults, this ended CSM turn 2.

Turn 2 - Tyranids

Here we go, here we go, here we go...
Tyranid reserves were a bit beardie as I'd bought the Hive Commander upgrade. So two Lictors and a Ravener brood appeared behind the Chaos lines.

You know that feeling you get when you think someone's looking over your shoulder...

Tyranids surged forward to try to get within assault range. The Daemon prince in the midst of my line disconcerted me a bit, so when Mama Tervigon disgorged another fourteen termagants (6, 6, 2 so no more spawning) we concentrated on shooting down the Chaos beastie.
Twenty eight termagants in two broods shot the Prince. The first brood did two (!) wounds but failed to ground him, the second brood did another wound and this time did ground the beast (which was lucky as the spine cluster thing on the Tervigon did nothing). When we checked, the Heavy Venom Cannon the Hive Tyrant was carrying was a blast weapon and so couldn't have shot at a swooping Daemon Prince, but a grounded Daemon Prince was a different matter. There were a lot of Tyranids in the potential blast area but in the end the thing scattered wildly missing everything! Spore mines splattered on the red rhino and caught the edge of the defence line, doing a point of damage and killing one more cultist.
In the assault phase the Hormagaunts poured past the Rhino (realising that there was little damage they could do), the Genestealers piled onto the Black Legion Rhino, The Carnifex barrelled towards the Forgefiend and the Hive Tyrant did the honours against the critically wounded Daemon Prince.
The Hormagaunts made it to the defence line and slaughtered all except one of the cultists for very little damage (if any) in return. The cultist held his nerve though and the Hormagaunts consolidated inside the perimeter.
The remaining four Genestealers rending claws ripped through the rhino, destroying it utterly forcing the marines inside to make an emergency exit.
To add insult to injury the Hammer of Wrath charge from the Hive Tyrant killed the Daemon Prince before an assault could be fought (most people around the table were waiting for a termagant to kill it in hand to hand). First blood to the Tyranids!
The final assault of the turn saw the Carnifex win the fight but fail to destroy the Forgefiend.

Turn 3 - CSM

Things were looking bad for the followers of Khorne, but not to worry, the Terminators would be appearing through the Warp any second. Whoops, another 1, so no Terminators this turn either.
Chaos movement was pretty much limited to Marines getting out of Rhinos and the Heldrake descending on the cluster of Termagants near the middle of the board.
In the shooting phase the marines had some success, wiping out the Genstealers and killing three Warriors with fire from everyone who could see them (Quad gun, Khorne berzerkers, Rhinos...). The Heldrake again spewed out its hellish napalm killing 7 or 8 Termagants from one of the spawned broods.
The assault phase was reduced to only those squads already in melee as the Rhino that the Berzerkers were in wasn't an assault vehicle (whatever one of those is... Tyranids just walk). The remaining Cultist died a lonely and horrific death, while the Forgefiend faired rather badly against the Carnifex. Two penetrating hits ripped of an autocannon arm then blew the thing to smithereens, with the resulting explosion bouncing harmlessly off the Carnifex.

This is what happens when you bring an autocannon to a knife fight





Turn 3 - Tyranids

Time was up for the Chaos interlopers. Movement was all about positioning for the assault. Lictors and Raveners congregated around the Black Legion, while the Hormagaunts and Warriors lined up on the Berzerkers. Having despatched the Daemon Prince back to the Warp, the Hive Tyrant turned back towards the fight hoping to lend some weight to the subsequent shooting.
The Lictors and Raveners fired flesh hooks and borer grubs into the Black Legion marines, but with little effect, killing only two of the defenders. The Warriors let rip with their Deathspitters killing two Berzerkers (one of whom was the Aspiring Champion) and the Hive Tyrants Venom Cannon killed only one more Berzerker, but did damage the Rhino.
In the assault phase, the Black Legion Marines were doomed as both Lictors and the whole brood of Raveners got in with no overwatch injuries. The slaughter was almost complete with only two marines running off toward the Tyranid lines because all other routes of escape were blocked.

Usually its the insidious forces of Chaos doing the surrounding...

The Berzerkers fared slightly better. Hormagaunts did little damage and because of the distance only two Warriors could assault and neither of them could reach Kharn. Kharn and his squad accounted for 4 Hormagaunts, but the Warrior's boneswords did the job killing 3 or 4 Berzerkers in return. The Betrayer and his remaining squad held though, even in the face of massively superior odds.

Turn 4 - CSM

It was all over. If the Terminators did make it in it would be into carnage and certain death and so the Chaos Space Marines called it a day.

Aftermath

A good game, which was loads of fun. My first 6th Edition game as well.
I got distracted by the Prince and so pulled my Hive Tyrant and some Termagants out of the line. In retrospect, the Chaos side was a bit wary of close combat and if he was going to let him Swoop all game, occasionally vector striking a monstrous creature or a couple of broods I should have just let him get on with it. No Skyfire, and a preponderance of blast weapons at long range left me with no real defence against the Heldrake. I might need to check the FAQ/Errata to see if there is anything I can do about that.
The Chaos player made the fatal mistake of leaving the boys in the back of the van in turn 1, reversing like a coward in turn 2 (and still not getting out of the van), then finally getting out of the van when the Tyranids caught up. A turn or two of shooting would have broken up my broods and the Tyranid Warriors took a punishing when fire was finally concentrated on them, but basically it was all over when  the Tyranids were within assault range having lost only 7 Hormagaunts, 4 Genestealers and 2 Tyranid Warriors.
Tyranid Man of the Match - Screamer Killer! Not a single wound! Plasma blasts missed, autocannons pitter-pattered off the tough exterior and close combat was amazing.
Chaos Man of the Match - Heldrake. Little I could do against it and its Balefire flamethrower thingy did most of the damage the Tyranids took in that game.
The interested can check out the photobucket story of the game here (http://s249.beta.photobucket.com/user/romizzi/story/13749).

Dystopian Wars - Prussians vs British

Second ever game of Dystopian Wars. 1000 points a side. Naval Core.
I played Prussians. Dave played Kingdom of Britannia (KoB).

Prussian Fleet

• Emperor Battleship - Tesla Generator
• 1 Squadron of 3 Reiver Cruisers
• 3 Squadrons of 3 Arminius Frigates
• 1 Squadron of 3 Stolz Destroyers
• 1 Squadron of 2 Metzgers
• 1 Squadron of 2 Geier bombers
• 2 Tiny Flyer Fighter Wings of 5 tokens each.

Britannian Fleet

• 2 Ruler Battleships with 3 Bastion Escorts each
• 1 Squadron of 3 Agincourt Class Gunships
• 1 Squadron of 2 Hawk War Rotors
• 1 Squadron of 2 Vanguard Submarines
• 1 Tiny Flyer Fighter Wing of 5 tokens
• 1 Tiny Flyer Torpedo Bomber Wing of 5 tokens

The terrain rolls were rubbish. A couple of small area, medium height islands around the centre in the KoB half of the board and a large area, massive height mountainous island on the left flank of the KoB half of the board.

Highlights of the game:

Turn 1: Jockeying and manoeuvring. The Vanguards went down the KoB left flank between the table edge and the big island and I diverted a Metzger, a frigate squadron and the destroyers to intercept. The Britannians stayed broadside on moving from right flank to left flank across their deployment area, while the Agincourts manoeuvred between the small islands. Prussian came head on across the table activating Tesla Schnellen Boosten and Sturginium powered engines where they could (neither of the Metzgers succeeded in activating their Boosts at all).
What firing there was turned out to be insignificant with a couple of points of damage on the nearest Rotor and a dead frigate.
Turn 2: Achtung Minen! The rotors had dropped mines but forgot to move them and when the Reivers moved up and opened fire on the nearest Rotor immediate action was taken. Dropping a mine and moving off as quickly as possible the most damaged Rotor blew up another frigate. The least damaged rotor dropped it's mine right in the middle of a frigate squadron taking out two when it dropped bombs and shot at RB1. In retaliation the Prussians returned fire inflicting significant damage to both Rotors.
On the flank one of the Vanguards went off the table when it didn't have enough room to manoeuvre. The other Vanguard got jumped by frigates and destroyers and blew up on an Magazine Explosion critical taking two of the frigates with it.
In the middle, one of the Agincourts started taking damage from combined battleship, bomber and Metzger damage leaving it at half movement.
Turn 3: The Rotors had to be finished off, so we jumped them with a fighter wing, then the remnants of two frigate squadrons and then the cruisers. Both crashed and burned with surprisingly little damage in return, although the handful of mine markers they left behind would in fact prove critical later on.
The trailing Britannian battleship turned head on towards the Prussian Battleship and bombers and inflicted some minor damage. Ignoring the threat for the moment the bombers and battleship concentrated on the Agincourt squadron inflicting a Fusion leak critical and leaving the centre ship massively damaged.
Some dogfighting in the middle and the judicious use of offensive Ack Ack crippled both of the Brittanian tiny flyer wings and one of the Prussians.
Turn 4: Things get critical! We both played Flash Fire cards on each other. The Britannians played there's on the Prussian battleship when it activated the Tesla Schnellen Boosten. The Prussians played their card when we poured fire on the Britannian battleship and it used it's Guardian generator. We still managed a prodigious critical and put another Raging fire on board.
The Agincourts didn't fare well. The centre vessel was quickly dispatched, and some fire started to knock superstructure of the trailing gunship.
The small ships and the cruisers started to turn in towards the gap in the islands to concentrate fire on the lead Britannian battleship and the lead Agincourt. Torpedoes crippled and sank a damaged cruiser, while various fire tried to deal with the two loose frigates but failed.
Turn 5: Achtung Minen again! With no way to avoid it one of the remaining cruisers hit a mine, and suffered a Magazine explosion critical. The last cruiser plowed through the mines avoiding triggering any to deliver some fire on the Britannian lead battleship. Various small ships (including loose frigates and the Stolz squadron) attempted to engage the battleship or it's escorts with minor results sinking an escort and delivering some hull damage to the battleship.
On the other flank, the Prussian battleship closed with the blazing Britannian battleship and delivered 28 points of damage to a ship already suffering a Fusion leak! The Guardian generator saw off enough damage to reduce it to 3 criticals but a magazine explosion ensured the job was done. The Prussian battleship then unleashed it's starboard broadsides and Tesla coils against the trailing Agincourt and after activating the Tesla Generator, again caused a magazine explosion.
With only a battleship, a gunship and two escorts on the table against two frigates, three destroyers, two Metzgers, two bombers, a cruiser and a battleship; the Britannians conceded defeat...

Good game. Mixture of dice, but I got the right dice at the right moment generating 28 hits from 13 dice against the battleship and 18 hits from 7 or 8 dice against one of the gunships. Dave's dice were average at best.
Post battle I would say that I might have done better with maxed out frigate squadrons and using spare points for some escorts or corvettes. The Metzgers were slow, but did have some long range AD, but with no small targets on the Britannian side they didn't really count for much. For the second game running, God bless the Stolz!! They did a splendid job in hunting down the last submerged Vanguard, and had we gone to Turn 6 might have scored some telling damage on the remaining battleship. On the Britannian side, more Hawk rotors and small squadrons rather than escorts I would say.

Short Reintroduction Post

Just over 7 years to the day. Why didn't Google just delete the blog?
Anyway, I'm back. Everybodies doing blog things. I'm gonna do wargames projects and AAr's and stuff from now on.

Honest.

Told you so...

I knew I would never keep this up. A whole year. Another convention came and went and I still haven't done "Dude! Where's my alien?" Did play a big World War One game though, with a German attack on some Russian trenches. Became a bit of a walkover for the Germans towards the end as my artillery pounded nine shades of crap out of the Russian staging areas.
A couple of games of Memoir 44 were played late in the day and some terrain was purchased. A good day I thought.
I am going to try to keep this more up to date than in the past, but I can make no promises.

Working on a participation game

OK, was supposed to be at the gaming club, and was hoping to get to the clubs annual gaming convention but s**t happens and I can't. I'm still going to run my game though given that I've painted all the aliens. I'll need to dig out the flying saucer piece and dust it off.
"Dude, where's my alien?" will be coming to a gaming club near me very, very soon (though not quite as soon as expected).

And so it begins...

I used to update a website with all sorts of stuff, but then I stopped (about four years ago). Most of the stuff there is still pretty relevant but is a pain to update on FTP and dial-up, so...
I'm going to blog, just like everybody else does. Hopefully this will have more regular musings and insights than the website and hopefully people will pay more attention to this than the website (fat chance).
The topics of conversation are likely to be the same

• Gaming (with toy soldiers)
• Films (quite often with soldiers of some description)
• Miltary History (chock full of soldiers)
• Rugby and Golf (the only sports I watch or play)

Check back if you want. You never know I may actually keep this thing going!