Battle Report: US Tank Destroyers vs. Panzers

Recently I got in a 1750 LW game with a very tough, probably cheesy list that I have been toying with. Although I like 1650 as the new official LW points level, there is a big tournament coming up in July that will be using 1750. The last time I attended a tournament in this area the locals were heavy on both German forces with big cats and on allied lists with Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS) [Editor's Note: Battlefront has now released changes to NGFS]. Although I'd like to see NGFS banned there hasn't been any indication that it will at this tournament.

Therefore I have been fine-tuning a Tank Destroyer (TD) list. TD's are good for many reasons and can take down a variety of opponents, but are particularly effective against slow-moving heavies. Their security sections can also keep them safe from NGFS, since killing the security section doesn't automatically result in the death of the unit. My opponent regularly plays German panzers, and despite my warnings about what list I'd be playing with he brought a tank-heavy force. We rolled Dust-Up for the mission, which would be a good test for my list, as I'll explain below.

Battle Report: HG Panzergrenadiers vs. Nisei

I have been hoping to play an Italy-themed game for weeks now, given the release of the stunning Italy campaign compilation books. These are gorgeous books, with excellently themed and balanced lists. The problem was that in my gaming group everyone has been absorbed in a non-themed campaign. Luckily one of my weekly opponents wanted a break from the campaign as well, and was down to try the Nisei infantry list. For my part I couldn't wait to give my HG Panzergrenadier list a chance to show what they're made of.

This little jerk has taken up a lot of hobby time

We set up the table with what terrain was available. This was the second game to be hosted at my apartment, and so in preparation I completed two hills, made some woods bases, re-configured my green trees, and ordered the "Small Autumn Wood" tree set from Battlefront/GF9. We rolled randomly for mission and got Pincer, with my HG Panzergrens attacking. This is exactly the type of situation I wanted to test out with them! Little did I know that this would become one of my all-time favorite Flames of War games.

1485 Mid-War Batrep: Soviet Tanks vs. German Panzergrens

Continuing with my dual goal of playing more Mid-War games while also using non-veteran lists when possible, I was happy to get a game in a few nights ago with a new army. My opponent and I are both gearing up for a MW tournament on March 16th, but I'm also trying a completely new army for me: the Soviets! Yes, I finally took the plunge and have started collecting a communist horde. I found that my motivation stemmed from the models, not competitiveness, which helped me clear that final motivational hurdle. I really don't have the urge to play Soviets in LW at this stage, but in MW they're so...so...funny... Just look at the KV-2:

We had a shortage of objective markers, so the Sturmtigers subbed-in

The list I was running was built around the goal of fielding the KV-2's, which narrows it down to either Motostrelkovy or Mixed Tankovy. And so, in the spirit of adventure, I took the Fearless Conscript Mixed Tankovy into my first battle fielding Soviets.

Quick MW Batrep: Schwere Panzers vs. US Armor

Our next tournament at my FLGS will be 1485 points Mid-War, which most of us haven't had the chance to practice for. Generally we prefer LW at our shop, but Mid-War offers a chance to get back to basics. Frankly, I think the game is easiest to learn in MW because of the lack of special rules (that said, I love LW - I just think that MW is easier on beginners). So a buddy of mine accepted my challenge to a MW game, and brought a list that you'll see at every MW tournament: Schwere Panzers. This list will rarely win the overall prize, but there is always going to be the guy who just wants to bring his big cats to town.

We rolled randomly for mission and got Breakthrough, and I'd have to defend. This was going to be tough. I'm going to keep this report quick and let the pictures do the talking, so don't expect too much tactical analysis.

February Late-War Tournament Report

Recently my FLGS, Brothers Grim Games and Hobbies, hosted a 1650 LW tournament, with no list restrictions. Having committed to trying Trained troops for a while I decided to run either US 7th Armored out of BG&G (a total cheese list) or Kampfgruppe Pieper, depending on whether we needed to balance Axis and Allied forces. Ultimately I ended up running the 7th Armored, and was soon to find out why many top players call it the best armored list in the game.

Battle Report: US 7th Armored vs. Panzers to the Meuse

I was finally able to play a game! For about three weeks the weather and other scheduling problems have wreaked havoc with my ability to get in some table time. For the next couple of months one of my gaming goals is to play more games with Trained units. Searching around on the intertubes I see a lot of the top players doing very well with Trained armies, and I have never been able to find success with them. My theory is that if I learn how to use them well then I'll eventually have more tools to work with because of the points savings.

And so I set out to try my luck with what is considered one of the top Trained lists in the game: US 7th Armored led by the big man himself, General Patton. Squaring off against me would be a tough opponent in the form of another auto-attack list: Panzers to the Meuse. We rolled randomly for mission and got Hasty Attack. then we had to roll-off for attacker, and I suddenly found myself on the defensive (gulp!). I was in for a tough fight.

The table. I would be defending the nearest long table edge

Tournament Report from Dec. 8th

Recently I had my first experienced as a Tournament Organizer, due to a last-minute family obligation on the part of our normal TO. I was a little disappointed since I had been hoping to play in the tournament, although as it turned out I was still able to throw some dice thanks to an odd number of participants. I'm just going to do a quick recap of each of my games, a summary of the winners podium, followed by a picture dump, and round out with a short list of things I'd like to try the next time I'm a TO.

BatRep: German Panzers vs. Brits in Counterattack

Hi everyone, I know it has been a while since my last post but work and vacation have left little time for our great hobby. Luckily I was able to get in a game the other night against my previous opponent, who was looking for a rematch after having me on the ropes in our last battle. We played a 1650 Late-War game, and I wanted to really try and challenge my army. Since my opponent has Crocs he becomes auto-attack, which can really knock my army off balance in missions with Mobile Reserves, or missions with screwy deployment zones. So, we decided to limit our options to Surrounded, Cauldron, or Counterattack (a highlight reel of most players' least favorite missions).

We rolled for Counterattack, which was fine by me since a similar list really struggled for me in this mission at a recent tournament. Just FYI, my iPhone camera ended up taking a slew of blurry pictures so there may be times in this report where words have to take the place of pictures (never ideal for batreps), so I apologize in advance.

Batrep: 1650 LW German Panzers vs. Brits

Recently I got in a very close game against one of my regular opponents. Unlike many of my battle reports where I go into detail on every move, I thought I'd try and let the pics do most of the talking, and save the blathering for the "lessons learned" section.

We rolled randomly for mission and got No Retreat. With Crocs gaining popularity among British players in the store I am starting to get used to being on the defensive, despite being a tank company. But let's be honest, this fits in with history a little bit since the Germans were almost continually on the defensive in the Late War period. The game was fun and came down to the wire, and I learned several lessons that will serve me well in the future.

Battle Report: LW US Tanks vs. SS-Panzergrens

Earlier this year I used the winnings from a tournament to get Easy-8's and Jumbo's, because the models and the lists for LW American tanks are simply awesome. The models were a blast to put together and paint up, and remain some of the finest examples of my airbrush weathering technique. Unfortunately, in the entire time since I have had them I have been able to get in all of one game with them. Well, I wanted to change that, and so decided to go full-cheese and run a 1650-point variation on Wilcox's crotch-stomping American Armor list.

My opponent, who is participating in the current league at Brothers Grim Games and Hobbies, wanted to try out some Fearless Veteran Germans. With armies in tow we rolled for mission and got Breakthrough, which is becoming one of my favorite missions.

The board, before deployment

Tournament Report from Nanuet, NY

Recently I was able to participate in a 1780-point Late-War tournament held at ToyWiz in Nanuet, NY (about 25 minutes north of NYC). I was eager to get in on this event because it would likely be the last of the 1780 tournaments for a while, since the official LW points levels will be dropping to 1650 (a good move in my opinion).

The rounds were short, roughly two hours and fifteen minutes per game, and so I wasn't able to get any good pictures of games in progress. However, I did get a few shots of the tables, and wanted to use this as a chance to talk a little about list-building and terrain. I'll also drop some historical pics to break up the narrative.

A preview of what's to come *wink wink*

EW Batrep: Japanese vs. Afrika Korps, REMATCH!!!

After a shameful showing against the inaugural battle with the Japanese at Brothers Grim Games and Hobbies in Selden, NY, my Afrika Korps spent a lot of time sitting in the corner thinking about what they'd done, and how they had disappointed me. I was still searching for my first win with them (remember the nail-biter against the French?) and felt that today would be the day that the DAK turned things around. I met the Japanese on the field of battle for a rematch. We rolled randomly for the mission and got Breakthrough.

After deployment

Battle Report: US TD's vs. British Assault Company

I wanted to give my Germans a little break from the tabletop and do something fun with my Americans. The Hellcat is my favorite vehicle of World War Two, and so I set out to design a Hellcat TD list from Blood, Guts, and Glory that didn't include Patton. Frankly, I can see an advantage to being able to defend part of the time, as a Hellcat company can be pretty fragile on the attack.

My opponent was very sporting and went along with my request to play Blind Domination, which seems like an awesome mission that I've never been able to convince anyone to play. We were in for a treat, as this would turn into one of the most entertaining battles we had ever played.

The battlefield

EW Batrep: Japanese Cavalry vs. Afrika Korps

That's right, the new Japanese are making their debut at Brother's Grim Games and Hobbies. Flipping the bird to historical accuracy I would be fielding my Early War Afrika Korps against this new enemy. They have a lot of cool special rules that we knew we would probably screw up at one point or another, but who cares? We were each fielding 1200-point forces in preparation for an Early War tournament later this month. We randomly rolled for the mission and got Cauldron! I tend to like this mission for some perverse reason.

Anyway, on with the report!

After deployment, read on!

6th and Final Overlord Batrep: 21. Panzers vs. British Infantry

This will be my sixth and final battle report for the WWPD Overlord campaign, and will likely wrap-up what has been a month of fevered gaming at Brother's Grim Games and Hobbies in Selden, NY. Although our mega-battle didn't seem to come together, all of the FoW players managed to do their part to contribute to the Overlord campaign.

It was time for my 21st Panzerdivision to redeem themselves after their last debacle, and end this campaign on a high note. For my fictional tank commander, Claus von Slaus, this would be his last Overlord fight, and I had to make him proud. Facing them would be the might of the British army. We rolled for mission and got Free-for-All. This was going to be a slugfest.

The board after deployment

Overlord Batrep: 21. Panzerdivision vs. American Armor

Once again my 21. Panzerdivision was going to take to the Overlord Campaign battlefields. This would be my 5th battle for the campaign, and in addition to earning the badge for my forum account I was hoping to earn the 21. Panzerdivision's third win since I started using them. I would be facing off against Confident Trained American Armor (7th division?) in Counterattack. Little did I know that for Claus von Slaus, my fictional commander of all of my German lists, this would very nearly be his last ride...

View from my table quarter after deployment

Overlord Batrep: 21. Panzerdivision vs. British Assault Company

Apparently it was time for a rematch from the game a couple of weeks ago. My friend and I analyzed some deficiencies in his previous list and came up with something that he agreed gave him more mobility and a wider range of capabilities. His previous list didn't have recon, for example. We simply rolled for mission and got Breakthrough. Normally this is one of my favorite missions as I think it is very tactical and challenging. This time, however, I realized it would be extra challenging because I'd be defending with a Tank company.

Oh well, we all need these kind of practice games! We were one of three Overlord games going on at Brothers Grim Games and Hobbies at the time.

Table after deployment

Short Overlord Batrep

I'll be up-front: we didn't get to play this one to the end, although the way things were going my opponent probably would have been able to pull a victory out. Since the battle was somewhat incomplete I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking today.

Oh yeah, the Stuarts ride again!

Battle Report: 21. Panzerdivision vs. British Assault Company

Recently I have been gaming like mad for WWPD's Overlord Global Campaign, and managed to get in a game against my "white whale" opponent; you know, that opponent who you never seem able to top? I have played many games against him but have never come out victorious (plenty of draws and a few defeats). Would today be the day that I turned it around? It wouldn't be easy. This was my first full-size game in a while where I wasn't also teaching someone. I would also be playing a brand-new list from Atlantik Wall.

As a final challenge, we would be playing Hold the Line and my opponent's Crocs gave him the Always Attack rule.

The table after some of his Turn 1 movement. One objective is in the woods.

Overlord Battle Report: Feldivision vs. American Airborne

Recently I managed to get in my first game for WWPD's and Battlefront's Overlord Global Campaign, a small-pointed affair that would pit the rag-tag pseudo-militia of the Luftwaffe Feldivision against the battle-hardened American Airborne. Given the constraints of table space in my apartment, we decided to play a 1000-point game of Hasty Attack, with the first two turns using the Night Fighting rules. The game would simulate the airborne forces (and their armor support) launching a dawn attack on a German anti-aircraft position.

After Deployment