Unboxing: Ruined Village Box Set by Precision Model Design

First order through BattleMart.com was a success - quick turn around and even included a free extra! Nice!
First Precision Design Model building kits as well - they look good!More Precision Design Model kits can be found on the BattleMart.com website:

http://battlemart.com/store/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=21

No Retreat! 2: Scenario 1 - Operation Compass - Turn 2a

Turn 2

Pretty sure the first turn went as expected. Unless they hit a bad streak of luck on the die rolls, the Allies will probably roll over the Italians on Map 4. Let's see if things change on Map 3...

There are three possible routes of supply for the Allies (to the brown hex edges) - one road and two trails. The road and trail in the north meet near Halfaya Pass (see below) which provides for a decent place to hold a defensive position. The southern trail needs to be watched so that the Allies can't outflank the defenses at Halfaya Pass.

After seeing Italian setup, the Allies begin their set up.

With thoughts of divide and conquer, the Allies send two mechanized units south and a pair to the east. If they can break through on one of the flanks, they could cut off the other Italian outpost. But, the Italians still have their mines and boxes to place. 

After the final mine is laid, we begin with the Allies first offensive.

The Allies attempt to focus their attention on the Babini armored division, but out of the Axis hand is a Tactical Feint card, placing a Counterblow on the Mines. Note, mines have a black attack value versus the white attack value of the boxes. Units with a white value are not able to voluntarily attack or participate in counterblows. Black attack value units are able to do so.

The split attack only results in a Counterblow (CB).

The Italians move the 21 Corps south to join in on the Counterblow and roll well. Bad news for the Allies as they are forced to retreat.

O'Connor has seen enough and orders the units in the south to join up with him in the north to spearhead an attack at Halfaya Pass.

The Italians from the southern flank move up to make an attack of their own. O'Connor uses his ability (flips his counter) to force a counterblow.

The Italian counter was unsuccessful and the Allied units take Halfaya Pass and force the Italian armor further south.

The Allies keep the pressure on

...and force the Italians to retreat even further. The Babini unit tries to get clever after his retreat and moves in between the two Allied forces.  He hopes to cut off the northern Allied supply...

But the Allies close in on him and try to lay the hammer down. Things aren't looking so good for Babini's boys...

No Retreat! 2: Scenario 1 - Operation Compass - Turn 1

The latest edition to the No Retreat! Deluxe Edition family by GMT Games - No Retreat! 2: The North African Front has arrived! Here's my initial (solo) play through. 

Turn 1

The first turn of Operation Compass (or the Campaign game for that matter) setup as such:

Be sure to remember those Italian reinforcements coming in on Turn 2 (not shown in the Scenario Book). There's also been an Errata by Carl Paradis on BGG - link here - regarding the 7th Armored unit. It should setup on its 1-step side (the side with Turn 1 indicated on it)

The Allies have the initiative and begin with their first offensive! Combe's mechanized infantry move beyond the Italian infantry while the heavy tanks of the 32nd Tank and the 4th Indian move in from the south and easily destroy the lone Italian unit.

The Maletti mechanized unit held out after a few counter-blows but eventually gave way to the British armored units.

The 21 Corpo infantry pulled back to Map 3 to regroup with the Italian reinforcements entering on Turn 2. Stay tuned for Turn 2/Map 3...

That was a Crazy Game of Bolt Action

Ohh myyy

The Charlotte Area Bolt Action Group has been involved in an Escalation League for the past couple months. Today we held our closing event. Unfortunately, due to some last minute scheduling conflicts, only two of us were able to attend. This is not to say there was a lack of nail biting tension! Au contraire!

Sean and I have been battling it out at the top of the list since Round 1. We met earlier in the week and played a 750-point round of Top Secret to a draw. Today, for the final 750-point bouts, we rolled a '5' - Maximum Attrition. Perhaps the only scenario I like less than Top Secret is Maximum Attrition. 

There was some conversation over on the Bolt Action Facebook Group about transports this past week and with that fresh in my mind - I opted to give the Hanomag another try. 

Overall, it worked out well. There was an instance in the next match where it failed two consecutive order tests to arrive from reserves (holding three other units back), but unsuccessfully rolling a '9' or less on 2d6 two consecutive turns isn't exactly normal. Chances are the half-track will be in my list again - probably greater than the odds of rolling a couple 10's on back to back turns.

Of course, having that 30 point anti-tank rifle knock out my 89 point armored carrier did not have me feeling all warm and fuzzy about it. Luckily, everyone had already bailed out.

Who's up for game two

It then dawned on us that we had played our second consecutive game - one on Tuesday and then the one today. One of the rules in the league was that two players could not play each other more than twice before playing another opponent. So, we went ahead and played a 1,000-point exhibition game. The scenario this time - Demolition. And wow! Was this one intense!! Anything but an empty transport can demo the objective if it is in contact with the objective at end of turn.

His tank needed to adjust its bearing before making its final approach. My tank did as well. (My target objective is the figure on top of the die near the river)

 

However, before we get to the objectives, there was some serious close quarter combat action going on over to the left board edge. His Commandos enter from the flank and immediately assault a 6-man Veteran Grenadier unit. Next order die (German), one of my 8-man Veteran Grenadier units comes in from the same flank and assaults the Commandos. Last man standing!

And then it really got crazy!

His tank, now in line, runs to the objective. But remember, he has to hold it until the end of the turn. No problem, right? My half track has failed two order tests to come out of reserve. I have no AT on this side of the board. The Nebel can hit a nearby squad, but the tank is no longer within 6". 

But wait!

The 251 passes its order test! Next order die, the 8-man Vet Gren squad (w/ PanzerFaust) disembark and assault the tank. They gain 4 hits against the 8+ light tank. They need at least a 5 on a 1d6 roll to even have a chance to knock the tank out. And roll a 6.

Now for the damage roll. 4, 5, or 6 to knock it out.

KO'd!

But wait, there's another Commando team to run up and assault the 8-man Vet Gren squad. Since they're in open ground the attackers have the advantage. 

The Commandos take the ground. 

Okay, now it's definitely over!!

Right??

The Veteran 2nd Lt and soldier disembark the 251 and assault the Commandos. They manage to knock out a couple of Brits before being eliminated. 

Next the German ATR team jumps out and takes out another Commando but also dies in the assault. 

Remember the 8-man Vet Gren from the flanking assaults on the other side of the board? They advance towards the mayhem and fire their assault rifles. 

They take out 3 of the remaining 5 Commandos! 

A morale check! 

But they pass! The Commandos still hold their ground.

Well there's only one thing left - the proverbial kitchen sink. An MMG team rushes out of the building to assault the 2 remaining Commandos. And they pull it off!

But even after that it wasn't a done deal. The StuH 42 runs 18" toward the British object that turned out to be 18-1/2" away!! The British light howitzer fires and pins the German medium tank but can not penetrate it enough to cause any damage. 

Turn 6! 

With 1 pin, the tank still must pass its morale check...

It does! 

The Germans hold and win! Probably the best game of Bolt Action I've played yet!

I say Bolt Action, and you say jah

LNL: A Day of Heroes AAR - Ambush

It looked like a daunting task for the Pakistani contingent of the UNITAF Peacekeeping Force - and that it was. 

After Turn 1, the Pakistani forces were already down 1 counter (start with 6; must survive three turns with at least 4 counters, including the MG-3 counter). They did fight off three Somali squads/half-squads. But the number were too overwhelming. On Turn 2, a Pakistani squad, firing a captured RPG at an adjacent building, gave the militia a taste of their own medicine. The HEAT round wounded Ahmad, a militia leader, and killed another Somali squad. Another Somali squad sitting in a building across the street noticed the smoke trail and open fire with their RPD (MG) causing casualties to the two Pakistani squads in the building, including the MG-3 team. Knowing his men were shaken, Lt. Abbas, risked facing opportunity fire and rushed toward the building. But the OF did not come as he dashed across the street. He entered the building and the shots rang out. A Somali squad and half-squad fired from their fortified position within the rubble at the most opportune time. Lt. Abbas, while trying to save his men from an impending melee, was left shaken himself. A lone Somali squad moved into the adjacent building and then entered the target building with the three shaken Pakistanis (four counters) after passing his modified Morale Check. The shaken Pakistanis surrendered and the Somalis were victorious. 

Scour the Hedges

Scour the web and I'm sure you'll find an article or twenty on making hedges for your 28mm (or other) miniatures. Well, make that 21. 

In hindsight, it may have helped if I had read two or three more, as there may be a more efficient option - but this one isn't bad either. 

Start with some heavy duty scouring pads - I picked up a 4-pack of generic ones at Target for a little over a buck. These I cut in half along the long edge so that I have eight long pieces. These will be folded in half and glued together. This provides some girth and a solid base.

The bases themselves are 1/8" hardboard cut about 1-1/2" wide and slightly longer than the pads. If you want to create long continuous rows you'll want to cut to length or slightly shorter. 

There's a couple insulation board walls in there as well. 

After the scour pads are glued to the hardboard, it's time to paint. I simply spray the base brown - using a piece of cardboard to shield the green pad, though a little brown up the bottom is good for color modulation. 

After the brown, I spray the tops with Army Painter Army Green. Again, some color modulation is a good thing. 

I then add some basing material - although I may need to go back and just do all of the board on te initial one. 

Another option is to add some clump foliage to the hedge for added depth and detail. 

I was also recently turned on to some moss rolls or moss rope at craft stores. This has some potential for "wild" growth or other hedgerow type terrain. 

Comparison shot: