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IABSM Battle Report;
28/06/06 Brits Vs Nige's Big Cats
I set up a nice little armoured counter attack for Nigel's Panther Company, plus Tiger supports and
set in 1944. The German's were making a thrust towards the beaches and my Brits were to stave
them off.
Nige's task was to exit the southern table edge. The table 6' x 4' featured a railway line on an
embankment, numerous small open copses, a couple of roads and plenty of hedges, along with a
ruined building.
Fwd Observer Forward Observer in Jeep, carrier or Humber scout car in contact with
four 25pdr off-table
· Blast radius 7”
· Harder to spot (-2 spotting on target)
· Harder to hit (-2 hitting target)
· Roll D6 +1
· 1-2 No effect,
3-4 lose 1 ID,
5-6 lose 2 ID,
7 minor damage,
8 major damage.
AT Gun 17pdr Gun (Gun 11)
AT Gun 17pdr Gun (Gun 11)
Armour 1 Two M4 Sherman (Ave, Armour 6, Gun 7)
M4 Sherman Firefly (Ave, Armour 6, Gun 11)
Lt Hugh Jego (D4) Big Man 1
Armour 2 Two M4 Sherman (Ave, Armour 6, Gun 7)
M4 Sherman Firefly (Ave, Armour 6, Gun 11)
Sgt ‘Ripper’ Hymen (D4) Big Man 2
AT Gun M10 Achilles (Ave, Armour 4, Gun 11)
Jeep (Wheeled)
Sgt Les Bow Big Man 3 (D4)
AT Gun M10 Achilles (Ave, Armour 4, Gun 11)
AT Gun M10 Achilles (Ave, Armour 4, Gun 11)
D6 Fake Blinds
NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS CARDS
Vehicle breakdown Rally Hesitant troops Sherman Snapshot x 2
Anti-Tank Bonus Armoured Bonus Move Artillery Air Support
Heroic Leader
Nige's SS Panzer Company
Armour 1 Two PzKpfw V G (Ave, Armour 10, Gun 11) VETERANS
Hauptmann Bereich (D4) Big Man 1 Can act as an FO
for four 105mm Howitzers firing off-table
· Blast radius 7”
· Harder (-2) spotting for target
· Harder (-2) to hit for target
· Roll D6 +2 Vs AFVs in blast radius.
· 1-2 No effect,
3-4 lose 1 ID,
5-6 lose 2 ID,
7 minor damage,
8 major damage.
Direct hit on strike dice = Destroyed
Armour 2 Three PzKpfw V (Fast, Armour 10, Gun 11) VETERANS
Leutnant Pfalz (D4) Big Man 2
Armour 3 Three PzKpfw V (Fast, Armour 10, Gun 11) VETERANS
Feldwebel Ursiger (D4) Big Man 3
Armour 4 Two PzKpfw VI (Slow, Armour 10,Gun 11) ELITE (Four Initiative Dice)
Leutnant Kuntzler (D4) Big Man 4
Obegefreiter Bassermann (D4) Big Man 5
D6 Fake Blinds
NATIONAL CHARACTERISTIC CARDS
Dynamic Commander Heroic Leader Blitzkrieg Bonus
Out of Fuel Breakdown Artillery
the second in the cornfields.
I had deployed three Achilles Tank Destroyers. the first was located in a copse adjacent to the first
AT gun, the second was deployed towards the rear of the cornfields whilst the third was deployed
across the other side of the railway embankment in another copse.
I had deployed a Troop of Sherman's behind the copse in the SE corner of the battlefield whilst the
Squadron HQ and second troop were off-table to enter along the road one blind per turn of the
'blinds move' card being drawn.
The key to my defence as I saw it being my Forward Observer deployed on the train track adjacent
to the crossroads. He was tasked with calling down artillery to hopefully rob the enemy armour of
its initiative dice.
My three fake blinds were deployed in the leading edge of the cornfield, a second adjacent to the FO
and the third one in a copse in the SW corner.
Nige was informed of the need to exit the southern table edge and that he could deploy his forces
within 6" of his table edge, with the proviso that he could keep stuff off-table if he so wished, one
blind entering anywhere per turn of the 'blinds move' card being drawn.
railway track, about mid distance between the two short
table edges.
Nige placed his blinds across his northern table edge,
extending across the table but with a concentration
around the fields and farmhouse.
The action started when a Panther Platoon, and what
turned out to be a fake blind, advanced on the western
side of Nigel's table edge. Spotting the copses one by
one they quickly spotted a 17pdr gun on my table edge.
The powerful AT gun was hit with Nige's last remaining
initiative dice resulting in a kill.
Elsewhere Nige began the process of spotting all likely
deployment areas for further AT guns lying in ambush.
He spotted the fake on the railway line as such but also
spotted a blind in a copse on the eastern side of the
railway embankment. He had actually missed the score
to spot, what was an Achilles by one, but if this happens
a blind is placed on table, instead of the unit, indicating
that something is there.
The next turn saw my 17 pdr roar into action quickly
hitting a Panther and destroying it with one shot at long
range. Nige however rapidly effectively despached it
with two well placed shots which reduced its valiant crew
to only one man with no ID.
My spotting revealed pretty much Nigel's entire force.
Big cats are hard to hide amongst unsubstantial hedges
and crops unless dug in.
The main concentration seemed to be over in the east,
around the farmhouse. Here a Panther Platoon was
deployed with two Tigers coming down the road from the
centre.
Nige's HQ of two further Panther's was deployed to the
west of the farmhouse, utilising a hedge for limited cover.
Nige continued to move cautiously, spotting as he
moved. He managed to spot an Achilles in a copse
adjacent to the one containing the now knocked out
17pdr. This was quickly hit twice by a Tiger, but
remarkably with armour only 2 Vs Gun 11 managed to
knock out its main gun and immobilised permanently,
without actually brewing up. Effectively and tactically
though, it had been removed from the game.
On my next turn I decided that too many targets were
available to warrant staying in hiding, and figured
correctly that once my Achilles were spotted, they were
pretty much dead!
My second 17pdr was revealed in a cornfield and quickly
fired and hit Nige's Company Commanders vehicle,
knocking out its main gun. An Achilles in the corn was
also revealed when it fired successfully hitting a Tiger
coming down the road with a flank shot. Things were
looking a little harder than Nige had expected.
However, when his chips came up Nige quickly hit the
Achilles but again remarkably failed to destroy it. This
time the turret jammed and it was temporarily
immobilised.
My FO called up artillery which landed behind the
advancing Panthers, suffering no damage with the
vehicles out of the blast radius of my 25pdrs.
Nige had managed, albeit slowly, to penetrate the field
system in the west, near the ruined farmhouse. His
Platoon commander made a run for the southern table
edge along the road and using its fast speed (D6+2) and
managed successfully to exit.
I was desperate for either Air Support or my blinds
coming up but due to my successful spotting had
managed to stich myself up by creating a stacked pack,
not in my favour.
Two or three quick turns resulted in little action as the tea
break was pulled pretty much straight away.
A Nige continued to roll forward he successfully hit and
destroyed my second AT gun!
I was now powerless to stop him. The only thing slowing
down Nige was his own paranoia that I couldn't possibly
have so few forces and that somewhere I must have
other forces.
At tea break I decided to use the 'Skelton Gambit' and
voluntarily deployed an Achilles in the copse to the east
of the railway embankment, with a troop of three
Sherman's, one of which a firefly, on my table edge again
in the SE corner.
The Skelton Gambit is a risk but one I judged worth
taking. I placed my chips in the bag and began to pray.
Incredibley, Nige managed to pull both of my unit blinds
out of the hat, straight away. Unfortunately, my luck ran
out though as they failed to score enough on the dice to
move over the embankment and engage, all four vehicles
sitting in the dead ground.
Another of Nige's Panther's made a run for the table edge
and was pulled up short tight on the point of exit.
Another strange twist of fate, my Air Support finally
arrived. We decided to playe the usual roll of D6 with 1
resullting in an attack upon my own forces, 5 or 6 on
those of the enemy. I rolled a five and quickly knocked
out the Panther with a direct hit from the strike dice.
Nige's remaining two Panthers on his western flank were
penetrating the copses and were getting ready to make a
move for the table edge.
Finally my 'Blinds Move' came up and I could bring on
my reinforcements. As they were supposed to be
coming on down the road which Nige had already exited
a Panther I decided that Nige could dice randomly for
their entry point. The Sherman troop entered the table in
the very centre!
With gusto, and chuffed with his luck, Nige quickly hit
two of the vehicles destroying both, one of which was
the Firefly.
My remaining Sherman was also destroyed by a flank
shot (as if it really needed to be hit in the flank with only
armour 6) from a Panther which had manouvred to the
table edge and rolled up my flank.
Finally my AFV's on the eastern side of the embankment
managed to cross the railway line with the exception of
one Sherman which found itself silhouetted on the rise.
This was quickly and predictabley destroyed by a shot
from a Panther.
However, on a gun bonus my remaining Achilles
managed to hit the last Tiger with a flank shot,
temporarily causing it to be immobilised. Sherman
snapshot turned up next allowing one of my tanks, with a
fast traverse to make an extra shot.
My Firefly's 17pdr roared into action hitting the Tiger for a
second time and jamming the turret.
Nige's Company commander in all this time had
dismounted his vehicle with the main gun disabled and
had climbed into another Panther. This sped off to
outflank my AFVs. It fired at my Achilles from short range
and missed!
As the next turn saw my artillery miss yet again by miles, I
finally managed to destroy the brave German
Commander with a close range shot from my last
Achilles.
With the death of the Company commander Nige's last
functioning Panther exited the table leaving the damaged
Tiger on its own.
Suddenly out of the blue skies the RAF arrived! With
great luck the Tiger was brewed up by a rocket hit.
Game over.
Nige had managed to exit with four Panthers - half his
existing total of them, but had lost four Panthers and two
Tigers.
I had suffered both 17pdrs, two Achilles and four
Shermans as losses.
The game was a tactical draw. I still had my HQ off table
but Nige had managed to exit with some of his force.
A really good fast moving fun game.
