Adventures on the Wargames Table

Yes, it’s the start of yet another project here at the table!  Soviet forces for World War Two, primarily for Chain of Command, hence the Patrol Markers and (temporary) Jump Off Points. George from  http://musingswargameslife.blogspot.com  kindly made the markers for me 😎 The figures for this project will be mainly Artizan with a handful of Crusader models.  The few that I currently have are superb, more about them in a future post.

No prizes for guessing which German special rule I completely forgot in this splendid game of Bolt Action with top chum Steve!  It’s been a little while since Steve and I had a game of BA.  He's been largely focussed on Kings (see report of our recent excellent encounter here ) but was now keen to dust off his lovely Russian army.  We were due to play in his man-cave (a spacious garden shed) but the very hot weather meant we de-camped to the somewhat cooler climes of his lounge. Here’s the table – I particularly like the effect given by the lichen.  Must get me a bag! Somewhere in the east... After the obligatory cup of tea and a good chin-wag we set to with Key Positions again (well, that scenario with Dave was a hoot). Turn 1 With no troops starting on the table (other than snipers and observers) this turn was all about advancing.  My chaps made the best use of the cover afforded by the church walls in the centre and the orchard on the right flan...

With the second edition of the Bolt Action rules almost upon us, Wargames Table chum Steve and I decided to have one more go with first edition! Steve would be fielding his beautiful First Corps Russians whilst I would once again be trying to stem the advance in to Germany with my Panzergrenadiers. Here’s the field of battle. The scenario was simple: German forces must stall the Russian steamroller in this sector long enough to bring reserves up, however this can only be done if the crossroads remain in German hands. So, the usual 6 (or 7) turn game and the winner would be the one controlling the vital crossroads near the centre of the board at the end of the game. Steve and I both decided to commit our entire forces in turn 1 ... no faffing around with reserves here!! First blood went to the Germans as my tank rumbled on to the table and took aim at the only viable target, the Russian sniper in the church belfry... Boom! Steve had an alarming number of troops at his comman...

So game two and it's time for some WW2 action... Bolt Action to be precise. Steve has some lovely First Corps Russians and I must say that these are really characterful figures... very tempting especially as I know a bloke who does a very nice line in Russian buildings ! Anyway - it's late war and the Russians are pushing in to Germany, so I used what scenery I had to do a little rural scene. Here are the forces deployed at the end of turn one. Steve has put everything on the table whereas I've held one squad and the Panzer IV in reserve. The battlefield after turn one. Now, I took a heap of photos at the start but only a few as we played. Mainly because I just wanted to get on and enjoy what turned out to be a superb game. So here's some more pics of the forces. Looking along the Russian lines. Some of my Germans - looks a bit sparse!? Advancing along the road and through the orchard. The advancing Russians. There does seem to be quite a few o...