Andy's German's First Crossfire Game...

...it didn't start so well.


I was playing the Germans, Stan, the Kiwis.

My first initiative, I move forward a couple of platoons, and the Stug, and...


...bang! Stan's first reactive fire from the [76mm] Sherman and he rolls double sixes! So much for my armor support!



Bother it, said I.

Right, move forward the FO so's he can bring some pain.


Meantime Stan brings up his armor, so I tried my luck with a Panzershrek. To no result...'cept a no fire.


My next initiative, I move forward the spotter for a better looksee, and Stan spread a sheet of lead towards him and stops him in his tracks.


Just a pin result, so I try moving up the squad in the centre, with the aim of threatening the Shermans from atop the hill. Stan sprays more lead from his other Vickers gun which stops the whole jolly platoon!


Bother it.

Not only that, but he manages to suppress the FO...


...and then kills it! Arghh, there goes one of my mortars.

Bother it.


Stan then starts to cut the centre platoon to pieces, caught as they were in the open...


...with this jolly chap here.


Rat-a-tat-tat...


...drat, drat, drat!

The view from the other side...


The boys across the pond take on, well, the boys across the pond. (By the way, we were using the green dice for going to ground, the red for no fire.)


...while I sniped away from the wings into the town in the centre.

(Blimmin tanks...)





What's missing here, you ask? My other jolly spotter!

Even after I sent back a platoon leader to help rally him. That's both mortars kerbroken...

bother...


And I still had seven fire missions left!


And there goes the platoon leader!


On my right flank, the platoon in the woods was slowly getting whittled down...


...but at least I got one of his spotters as he tried to move out of the depression!


So what's missing here? My entire centre platoon, that's what!

Stan moved the platoon over on his right into the depression to add their weight of fire into my centre.

It worked!


And so to the beginning of the end.




...all in the space of two initiatives!

Suffice it to say, Andy's early to mid war German's first Crossfire outing didn't go so well. Well, for them anyway.

Still, a good time was had by all.

During the debrief, we decided that we hadn't used enough line-of-sight-blocking terrain, which enabled the tanks to shoot across the board. Next time...

We also had enough time for a DBA game - my unpainted Parthians (led by Stan) up against my unpainted Later Selucids (led by me).

Just as my camera batteries ran out.

Just as well, as it happened. Stan rushed a horde of his light horse out to his left and enveloped my right flank. Two elements down (including general) to no loss of his own, and that was the game!

Thanks Stan,

Nick

Andy's Early Germans

Early WW2 Germans, that is.

Good evening,

Young Andy Gorman has gifted me his 20mm plastic Early to Mid War Germans, all painted and everything. I just re-based them for Crossfire.

Here is one company's worth.



The Company Commander...


...the boys...



...HMGs...


(yeah, I know it should have, well, more than one bloke, but, well...)

...and the FOs with some cute wee bikes!


I'll flock the rebased second company soonish.

The Stugs and heavy guns (incl. a very menacing 88) look great too.

Go Andy! Cheers mate!

Nick

The Fourth Crossfire Game This Week!

Good afternoon,

I have just finished my fourth Crossfire game this week, which is quite unprecedented.

Andy and Dave came round, Andy promptly wiped the board with his (now mine, thanks to his exceeding generosity) Germans against my Kiwis, and then he and Dave sat down, same set up, same forces, to see if Dave could have any more success...


Andy moved up one of his FOs in a cute wee Kublewagon and advanced towards and then entered the town, all in his first initiative...




...while Dave awaited the arrival of Andy's Hetzer down the western flank.


Which it duly did.


Andy pulled the Hetzer back so it couldn't be surprised in the flank, and then had to shoot through to look after his daughter so's his wife could go off and watch some wedding or other on the telly. Something about a prince and a commoner, future monarch of NZ or something.

Anyway, with Andy's departure, I stepped into the role of the German commander. Here was the situation.


(Those empty bases are my smoke stands at the moment!)


Dave laid down some smoke right in front of the Hetzer, and then snuck around its side...


...while he moved two squads of infantry to the edge of the hill, across from the town.


He then moved the 105mm Sherman to bombard the town (at 5 dice, minus one for the terrain the target was in), and missed, passing the initiative to me. The Hetzer lives!

I group moved my infantry to the edge of the town, so they could shoot out, but the 105 reacted to my movement and pinned my anti-tank squad.

During his next initiative, he duly dispatched the said anti-tank squad with the aforementioned 105.



He then moved the 105 to the edge of the town to shoot in. And again, missed!


However, seeing as my closet squad was pinned (and the next one suppressed) by the infantry to their front, I couldn't close assault it.

So I laid smoke in front of the other Sherman, and moved the Hetzer around to shoot at the 105 from the rear.

Dave threw for reactive fire from the 105...


...failed to penetrate the Hetzer's front armour and I was able to finish the 105 off. Cool!


I then wheeled the Hetzer around, drew more reactive fire from the 76mm of the other Sherman...


...which failed to penetrate...


...but then I missed!

The same was repeated over the Dave's next initiative, until I was finally able to finish the 76 off.


(The smoke should have been removed)

I brought up the squad from behind the hill, managed to suppress Dave's HMG on his eastern flank and pinned Dave's PIAT squad in the center with the Hetzer.


Wasn't enough to retain initiative though, so Dave laid down more smoke in front of the Hetzer and laid down some effective fire into the town.


His next initiative saw him sending in a HMG re-enforced squad to assault my suppressed squads in the town.


Against the odds, the assault was thrown back.


(Well, apart from where it wasn't!)

And that was the game. Dave had to call time, he also having to get ready to go round to watch the very same wedding as the one as Andy's wife. Though in different locations. The viewers, that is, not the wedding.

The game was still in the balance...the Germans would most likely loose the town, but they might well be able to win on the East and bring pressure into the centre. Specially with the Hetzer roaming in the West...


Just before he left I got some shots of his Americans.




Cool!

And a good time was had by all. Thanks for coming round boys,

Nick