Operation Market Larden and other ramblings...

A little while since my last post... Apologies... Been busy looking after the parents, there's a turn around!

Anyways, we (myself, Gus, Jason and Panjo) went to Evesham yesterday to the Market Larden event organised by Ade and his pals at Wyvern Wargames Group to playtest and play numerous Too Fat Lardies games, and others... the games were as listed below... sorry if I forgot anyone...

Mud and the Blood Russian / Japanese game

Dux

Tin Star

Steam Punk 1930's air combat

IABNM "I aint been nuked mum"

Sharpe Practice

IABSM

Chain of Command - CoC with Rich Clarke himself running the many games and explaining the rules to those that have not played and also correcting those that have!!

Well Done and thanks Mr. Clarke!

Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera, left it on the dining room table, it was 5.15am when I left home, still half asleep as I didn't have chance top get a coffee first thing due to Jason arriving early to pick me up... Many thanks to Grasshopper for driving there and back, cheers matey... and to the old buggers in the back of the car, who provided entertainment when they were awake that is... poor old fellows...

I managed to get three games in during the day, which I must say was a very entertaining and enjoyable day and look forward to doing it again next year, its nice to play other people who you may never have met before in your life...

First game played was a new rules set in play test at the moment... Tin Star by Geoff Bond... cue the western music... All four of us played the game...
This game system has great potential, plays quick with loads of gunfire, running around depending on your choices, gunfire hits and wounds depend on what you and your target have done in the 3 phase turn, and you roll dice and if the dice roll ends up a statement that has occurred during that turn you have missed etc... if false you have hit, this depends on type of weapon being shot at what range, being shot at during turn, action of target moving etc., cover taken or in, and then type of wound, then there was a melee dice, this sounds a bit complicated but it plays really, really well and with all of us playing it, could not find any flaws or problems with it and we didn't manage to break the system, we liked it so much we asked to play test it going forward...

Then onto some CoC with Mr Clarke running the show... Myself and a chap named Tim taking the Jolly Brits... and Gus and another chap, sorry memory block playing the nasty Boche, a good game was had, as Tim and the other chap had not played previously we let them play as such and we assisted or hindered them... we had 3 squads platoon command section and two tanks, a Cromwell and a Churchill, the germans again 3 squads, platoon command and a Panther!!
There was a village crossroads to capture and hold, we took the village first, and held the buildings to the south the germans had squads flanking our teams and a fire team covering the house and then the panther came on pounding the building, we managed to give the two squads on our flank a bit of a thrashing, however the fire from three german squads with mg42's and the panther firing at our squads caused many casualties, the two tanks of ours arriving too late to play a major part in the action, but the Cromwell rushed in fast to assist the infantry in their final last ditched assault, culminating in the destruction of our forces and the final bit of the units morale levels... Gus managing as usual to save multiple hits and throwing loads of one's on his force morale, jammy git!!!! 

The last game that I played was IABNM the adapted version of IABSM for warfare in the 70's/80's/90's "I Ain't Been Nuked Mum" in testing at the moment... This was run by Nick Overland, a meeting engagement between the Bundeswehr (Me) and Russian Forces (Elton & Noddy) sorry cannot remember yopur real names, but your Clarke nick names stuck!!!, this game was very bloody, the Germans having 2 platoons of infantry in 3 Marders each and a company command in 2 Marders and a FOO in a M113, and a platoon of 3 leopard 1's against a similar Russian force in BMP 1's and a troop of T64's, tough nuts to crack, managed  to kill most of the Russian infantry with fire from the concentration of Marders and infantry, but my flanking leopards only managed to take out 1 of the three 64's, all but 2 of the 8 Marders were brewed up, but the crossroads we were fighting over still being contested at the end of the game, the Russians only having two full squads left at the end and two T64's... The highlight of the game being when I nearly dropped in artillery on the town but the ranging shot dropped 15" short!!!  nearly onto my remaining infantry who had taken cover on the lea of the hills, the FOO screaming "Nicht Fuer, Nicht Fuer!!!" saved me from a hiding from my own guns, a real case of Blue on Blue, a great game which was so to and fro kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through... Loads of shells, small arms, rockets and missiles flying back and forth...
Thanks for a great game guys, again have requested to join the play test group for this game system, look forward to getting my 6mm Germans and Russian forces out again....

Thanks to everyone who attended and organised the games day at Evesham, looking forward to the next one!!!

Only down side was that I missed the Devon Wargames Club day with the excellent looking Pegasus Bridge game, run by JJ using the Battle Group Overlord rules... but unfortunately you cannot be in two places at once, oh if only...

Enough rambling for now... now to try and finish re-basing my 28mm Napoleonic's... PVA, sand, ink, dry brushing and static grassing 100's of bases mmmmmm nice.....

Playtest of Chain of Command...

Friday 12th we (Jason, Gus and myself) playtested the new Two Fat Lardies WW2 CoC rules again... I say again because I was fortunate enough to play my first game with Panjo, under the supervision of Rich(TFL) at the Penarth Show earlier in the year (this show is really quite good and I would recomend it for a visit or any traders) these new rules for those of you have not heard of them yet break from the recent traditional TFL games, and dont have Big men as such, or blinds, there is a very interesting a fun mechanism for "patrol" phase, this is the pre set up phase, using 4 patrol markers each ... once these patrols meet and lock each other down, this then predetermines where you  set up your deployment areas, then you deploy your squads, fire teams, nco's and officer, such a simple but clever idea, and the game then runs on command dice each turn, 1's allowing you to command and fireteam/rifle team, 2's a squad without the nco firing as he is too busy co-ordinating the squad, 3's the junior nco and the squad actions, 4's allows a senior nco or officer to atake command, 5's grows your CoD dice by 1, this allowing you events once you reach 6 on your CoC dice, 6's now here is then fun bit, 1x6 nothing phase goes over to opponent once you have completed, 2x6 you get another go to throw your command dice after you have actioned these command dice, 3x6 you get another go and its end of turn after you have your go, 4x6 same as 3 but you get a special event as well, yeah, however these are good and bad as they can effect both sides positively and negatively, uh oh... 5x6 you win a car... no seriously...

and so to the game we played...

The table was layed out as below on a 6'x4' board

 

I wanted plenty of intervening terrain, cover and zones of fire...
The Germans deployed from the right and U.S. from the left, playing across the board as we wanted flanks exposed and opportunity to move and deploy...
The Germans had first move with their patrol markers, the U.S. following, but as can be seen the Gus soon leaped forward and pinned two of J's patrols, but failed to stop J entering the Chateau area, and equickly  getting his other two patrols pinned as well, leaving Gus with a patrol unpinned...
but forcing the placement of the deployment points, which have to be a minimum of 6" back from your patrol markers and in cover...

                                                        "German deployment areas"

                                                               "US deployment areas"

The Germans then have first go, Gus gets a decent command dice, which is determined by the quality of your grunts on the grounds, this being a play test they both had average platoons closing on each other, Gus rolls decent enough to get all three of his squads into play, taking cover behind the hedgerows, deploying there mg42's covering the road and crossroads, and preparing to advance, however his platoon sargeant and officer are still in the rear areas, smoking and having coffee, confident in their troops and junior nco's abilities...

                                                          "German deployment..."
The US on the other hand starts off with only two of his squads and his master sargeant on the board set up in their deployment areas, his LT remaining behind to bring up the assualt squad as reserve, his sargeant and a lead squad have been able to advance into the chateau area, the other squad deploy in and around the barn, the .30cal in a firing position covering the road and crossroads, can you see whats coming, very similar ideas from the commands...

"US deployment..."

The Germans first command phase, the mg42 opens up on the .30cal in an exchange of gunfire... and the german squads on the left move forward very timidly, as Gus stumbles over the wall and hedges of the French country side, his other mg42 firteam move off into the graveyard to get into a fire position of there own...
J's first bound of movement and action, and starts opening up with his .30cal down the road on the deployed MG42 in the triangle field area...

"German first bounding move..."

"Or not as it transpired..."

Gus's first squad and fireteam saty in position on the right but takes shock on the 42 from the .30cal firefight, and J entering the Chateau area, his move in there being as slow as the germans bounding advance, J then brings on his reserve squad behind the field on his far right trying to counter the german advance in the centre and flank, his centre squad advances out of the Barn to take up positions behind the fence at the crossroads...

"J contemplating his reserve platoons positioning"

 

"reserves on board and advancing, a rare smile from the Welsh Git..."

The exchange of fire between the 42 and .30cal escalates, the US taking hits and kills, where as the German only recieving shock and 1 casualty...  The german nco and officer have now arrived and the sarge is sent off to get the two units on the left sorted out and advancing whilst the officer sorts out the shock and takes command on his right flank covering the Chateau...

"Reserves arrive in time..."

 

"centre squad advance to crossroads..."

 

"and deploy in firing positions..."

 

The US get forward in the nick of time on the flank with the reserve squad being led by the Lt as the Germans are still struggling through the wheatfields, on the flank and centre, although the centre fares better and gets into a firing position in the centre field and in close range firefight causes casualties on J's centre squad and with the increase of casualties causes him to pull the centre squad and mg back to behind the barn so he can reorganise and keep them out of harms way...

"J gets there fastest with the mostest on his right flank..."

 

"shock starts mounting up, and the sarge has to come and sort them out..."

 

"casualties and shock mounts in the centre..."

 

Meanwhile the Germans continue their advance on the left and close range fire fights with the centre squad inflicts casualties on the US in the centre, forcing them back, then switches his fire to the US squad on his left flank who are chewing up the flanking squad and sargeant with withering fire, J getting some multiple plays firing like hell to cause  the german sarge to have to step in to sort out the shock but ends up getting lightly wounded in his efforts...

 

"shock and casualties on the german right mount and then sarge is hit WIA..."

The troops in the Chateau finally motivate themselves enough to get into firing postions at the wall and start exchanging shots at the german squad who have advanced about three inches across a hedge to a low stone wall on the road in this time, across the hard cover at each other shots are exchanged, and force the german squad back to their start point behind the hedge, this brings the US sarge to gather his mens strength and bravery and order them forward to the wall to take the fight to the germans, however on the right flank the fire on both sides is becomeing telling with casualties on both sides mounting up, the Lt takes a hit and is KIA, nightmare...

"US casualties mount, but then the LT is KIA..."

 

However the germans have had enough and have withdrawn this along with the wounded sargeant they bug out causing the german morale to fail, the engaement slips into the patter of small arms and the germans fall back leaving the US to count and bury ther many dead and prepare for the next onslaught...

"Sarge and squad bugging out..."

 

"What's left of the flank, and counting the dead..."

We all enjoyed the game, so much so that we are playing another game Monday night, I really like the prospect of the rules and will definitely be purchasing these when printed in hard copy, great game Lardies thankyou very much, thanks also to Gus "The Murchie" and Jason "Taffy" to entertaining me with your wit, humour and continuous bad dice rolls... may they stay like that when I play you both...

To follow the report from the Sudan game I ran on Saturday at the Exeter club game...