Battle Report - Flames of War Ver 4 - East Front - Game 2!

Hello All,

Time for another Wednesday Wargaming Battle Report! Once again we are messing around with the new version of flames of war, using the more missions method to generate missions. I was to lazy to change around the terrain this week, but new lists and a new mission.

I wanted to try out some vehicles, so I took out my StugG Battery, 10 StugGs, most with tank riders, in platoons of 3, some infantry, mortars, rocket artillery and that is about it. The Russians had a infantry company just loaded with toppings, couple of groups of infantry, HMGs, mortars, anti-tank guns, and 5 ISU 122s (Or I think that is the one). They are AT16 and front armor 9 so not what a bunch of poor StugGs want to be facing! For missions I assumed the Russian Infantry would defend, and there is no way that I want to attack a bunch of anti-tank guns I am assuming they would have with fragile 3 tank platoons. So I opted to defend, as guessed the Russians defended, so this gave us a Fair-Fight mission which ended up being Free For all. (my decision to defend was not popular hah)

Here we are about to get going, I have my infantry 3 tanks on the left Objective, with mortars and rockets behind a hill. They are facing off against a big infantry platoon, half a dozen heavy machine guns, and some big anti-tank guns and mortars by a woods. On the right objective I put most of my tanks and my observer, they are facing off again some infantry and weaker anti-tank guns in the woods, backed up by the Russians and their doom cannons! My goal is to play cat and mouse with the hill and never let them shoot without moving. I guess there goal is to disintegrate me.

For turn 1 both sides mainly just moved up. Due to this being a mobile battle the Russians counted as moving in their shooting step. This meant the tank would need 7s to hit as they have both Hen and Chicks, and RoF 1! So no hits for me, lucky there. On my turn I of course went to the other side of the hill, a lucky shot from a StuH killed one guns, and I let the artillery rain. My rockets had a wide template on the moving infantry which killed a few, and then my mortars ranged in on a guy by the tanks, clipping a couple fo infantry and a gun.

Turn 2, the Soviet Army kept advancing, amping up the pressure. The infantry moved into the fields, but the HMGs failed to unpin and couldn't advance. The tanks started making there move around the hill. I guess the plan is to press the objective and make me fight, but I didn't catch on to that until later.

For my turn I hammered the infantry again, adding in all the MG fire from my infantry, killing a few more stands. The mortars repeated, but no effect. Then got one kill on the AA gun trucks.

The Soviets decided that the impending infantry assault was not such a hot idea, so pulled back and spread out, but the tanks kept coming. They lined up to have some shot at my commander, bu no hits again. The other AA trucks also ducked behind the hill.

For my turn I hid my tanks from the Russians again, and they managed to kill a HMG team. Then I brought my artillery down again, I was able to repeat with the rockets killing another couple of teams. Decision from me seems to be that rocket artillery is even better. Making teams count double is what gives the double wide template now, but there is nothing saying you don't get a ranged in marker, and all normal rules apply so no smoke trails or any of that either. In addition my mortars killed a gun team. So not bad at all. But time is starting to be an issue now. I also started moving over my other StugGs now that the infantry pulled back, assuming I will need more help to fight those crazy Russian tanks.

The Russians just advanced thier tanks and AA, setting up a fight that can't be refused as they are now threatening the objective, but with their flank out of reach. I think the mortars must have been forgotten, but no effect with them anyway.

Next picture is sideways, not sure what that is about. Anyway I did a blitz move with both my commander and the tanks across the woods. Both succeeded and never bogged down (complely changed now just ends your movement), so they would get to shoot but not count as moving. My artillery fired on the stuff to the left again, my idea is that I can soften that area up enough for my infantry to attack. But the HMGs have to be pretty much removed first, and the infantry thinned out which is mostly done. So I am well on the way to being able to advance there. Sine I am being forced to fight the tanks I am trying to get a few lucky shots and then pull back with shoot and scoot. The Germans are allowed to make 2 special moves is they pass. In the end I had the StuH at long range (can't damage), and one tank in the platoon shooting, plus the commander. The tank got 2 hits, and the Russians rolled 2 1s, giving me 2 kills by some miracle! My commander missed both of his shots. The StuH knowing he couldn't hit shot at the AA trucks and killed both.My shoot and scoot mostly worked, just the commander and one tank were left vulnerable.

The Russians tried to retaliate, but only a couple of tanks could now see and they both missed my commander. For my turn I kept up the artillery and moved more tanks to fight. But no lucky hits this time. We ran out of time at this point, so the game ended in a draw with no one taking any objectives. Just for arguments sake we tried shooting the Russian tanks and they obliterated a platoon of StugGs. So I am pretty sure that baring more insane luck, or side shots, they probably would have won. But no time to do it. Also only my tanks are counted as being in my formation, which is just 4 units so it is pretty easy for them to be forced to test once things go south.

But I thought it was a fun game anyway. Some things are hard to deal with, but trying to find out how is fun!

Thanks;
Mike