Back in the red.

Things looked to be going well. The boys were loading the truck with several barrels of whiskey and we had a rivals moll stashed away hoping to gain some cash from the ransom. That's as good as it got. No one was paying attention except maybe the cops and who would have expected that.

The town was quite as two cars pulled in and parked unnoticed along Main st. The cops were out on patrol. With the truck loaded the Boss lead the way across town hoping to sell the liquor for a tidy sum.

Then it happened. Out of nowhere a bast of tommy gun fire ripped through the vehicles. The rival gang in town to get their boss's gal back recognized the Boss and opened fire. An unplanned ambush that went surprisingly well. They killed both drivers and set both vehicles on fire. 

The cops moved in to question the gunmen about their activities and a brisk scuffle ensued. Down on the other side of town the out of towners were questioning the local reporter on the whereabouts of  the girl. They got the information they needed and headed back up town to retrieve her.

One of the boys seeing what was happening rushed over to stop them but went down in a hail of bullets.

We met at Hobby Town were Howard, Nate, Zev and I played the game despite the lack of air conditioning.  Mad Dogs with Guns is released this week by Osprey. The game comes as a hardback and the production quality is very good. We've. played several games in the past and each has been packed with action .  Though I lost badly this was still a fun game.

AGW, The French Invasion.

Thursday night found us at Hobby Town. Howard still packed up from running a game down at Cold Wars suggested a game of A Gentleman's War. This is a game I'm always happy to play and Matt showed some interest so that's what we did.

We played with three players and two card decks. I was the brave and stalwart British and Howard and Matt the Frenchies. The opening moves seemed to favor the French on both decks but soon things came around allowing the British to recognize the avenues of approach and adjust accordingly.

On my right I placed a unit of rifles which were quickly eliminated but as the cards started to favor me Matt was unable to take advantage. On the left The women's league rode up on their bicycles to engage the French. They were able to harass the Zouaves and keep their own casualties down by riding away and forward as needed. Great invention that bicycle.

Meanwhile back on the right the Chassuers kept up a galling fire while three line regiments moved up into position to ford the river and assault.

I moved a cavalry unit over to replace the destroyed rifles and poured artillery fire into the advancing French. Back on the left a unit of skirmishers and the Cameroons occupied the woods and fended of all attackers. My attempt to break the French left with an ill advised charge on the Turcos ended as to be expected with the loss of my Lancers.

Howard continued to move up troops but the stalwart British  held them off. The French attack on the  right continued to gain momentum. The flank was threatened by two units of cavalry and although one infantry regiment was destroyed two more were stacked up behind it and continued the advance. 

The hour was late and the British decided they had held off the French long enough and started to withdraw before they lost anymore units. 

This was a great game. It's really the whole package. The figures look good, painted in as toy soldiers with glossy coats but with a modern touch of shading that makes them stand out, the table bright as it may be accents the miniatures, the buildings are just the right blend of toy and model and the rules capture the feel of Old School gaming just as I recall it was.

This is the fourth game we've played this year and puts me close to reaching the 6x6 challenge but I'm sure there will be many more games played before the end of the year. 

29 Let's go back and get some more support.

Nate and I met at Hobby Town for a game of CoC. We played the second scenario out of the 29 lets go campaign . Once again The Americans were tasked with attacking the Germans and looking capture a jump off marker at the rear of the table.

I remember what had happened the last game and felt I had adjusted my tactics to meet the challenge. A couple of good rolls let me bring on most of my platoon and some support. It was uphill from there. My attempt to advance quickly with advancing fire was crushed by Nate's HMG and the squad in the field consistently rolling five hits each activation Kills and shock started to pile up. I brought up the tank and brought on my Senior leaders to help stop the crumbling of my front line but to no avail. The Sherman was unable to do any damage, several Junior leaders were lost and finally the Sherman was knocked out by the Germans.

I think that I should have brought all my 30 cals on early. Choosing a 50 cal would have been better than the mortar. I'm thinking about the advantage/disadvantage of attaching leaders at long range. Also a little Patience setting up the attack may have helped.

All in all a good game. I'm looking forward to playing again and may even do a practice solo game to work out some ideas.

A few more shots of the action and more detail of the game can be found herehttp://www.addictedtolead.net/2017/03/17/29-lets-go-scenario-2-delaying-action-at-arthenay/

CoC and 6x6

The January update.

On the 12th we played a game of Chain of Command. This is on my list for the 6x6 challenge so a double plus. Nate set the game up and did the patrol phase in advance as time is short when playing at Hobby Town. Howard and Nate were the defending Germans and I attacked with the Americans. Nate started with a triple activation and was able to bring on much of his platoon. Howard then brought on two squads. A decent roll by me brought on a squad and some supports. The attack struggled to get off the ground but started to threaten the German left. Unfortunately for the Americans the German right quickly advanced and flanked the Americans.

We played for about 2 1/2 hours. I'm not very familiar with the rules which is why I put them on the 6x6 challenge. Nate has a good command of the game and guided us through.

Realizing that the challenge would be difficult I jumped at the chance to play another game with Matt at his house. Garrett joined us for an Attack/Defend scenario. The roll for support was much better today giving the Americans two Shermans. We did the patrol phase which is bit of a game in itself that I need to study and practice more. The Americans moved on the board quickly and set up a fire base in the farmhouse. The Germans brought on a FO who although did bring the artillery as desired did occupy the  Americans who where trying to knock him out.

More troops arrived and an aggressive firefight ensued. The Germans used a CoC die to bring on their panzerschreck with knocked out one of the shermans. The American assault bogged down then while they waited for the other sherman to arrive. It arrived and after avoiding damage from a panzerfaust and the returned panzersckreck it eliminated the team holding the German left flank.

The game was much more exciting than my report let's on. Each phase brought both side closer to collapse. Garrett is well versed in the rules and Matt though not having played much had a solid knowledge of them.

This week was a great start to the New Year. Two fun games with great people. I'm three games into the 36 need for the challenge and have improved my knowledge of CoC.