All,
So it's been about a month since our last game; it wasn't painting, it was 'real life,' too much nonsense going on, though we did have a nice little vacation down to the Gulf Shores in Alabama, the highlight of which was taking my family aboard the USS Alabama and through its nearby museum.
In any case, I've had the table set up for a bit but just hadn't had time for us to play anything. As a matter of fact, even this one didn't go as planned! I wanted to do something different, so I set up a fight between the US Army and Imperial Japanese Army. Here we have doggies of the 24th Infantry Division closing in on the city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte, attempting to secure a foothold over one of the tributaries of the Palo River. My older boy, Nikki, was supposed to play the Americans, and my younger boy, Danny, was supposed to play the Japanese, but, as usual, real life got in the way. Nikki is involved in Junior Marine Corps ROTC Drill Team, Exhibition, and Color Guard and, as luck would have it, he had drill practice today so that left Danny and I on our own.
Well, I'd be damned before I let another weekend get away without playing a game, so we charged ahead! I offered up sides for Danny, but he stuck with the Japanese, so I took Nik's spot in commanding the Americans on the attack.
Looking east from the American start line.
The Japanese force consists of:
-Three-man command team
Again.
The Japanese right.
He put the other Nambu machine gun in the corrugated tin building at top center right, which we both agreed afterward wasn't his best plan. Behind it he has his flamethrower team and one of the AT teams, while the other AT team is at top right, behind some crates. One of the 50mm mortar teams is at center, behind the bushes.
A closeup of the hull-down revetment.
The Japanese CO (right) looks on helplessly as both his machine guns are knocked out (emplacement at top center right and building at center)! The Japanese 2nd Rifle Squad dashes up to re-man the emplacement (top right).
Emptying the z-trench of opposition.
With one of the Japanese AT teams on the other side of it!
The Japanese line has ceased to exist on the right, is down to a 3-man anti-tank team on the left, and only has five-men left in its sole remaining rifle squad in the center. The Japanese CO looks around and decides it's time to fall back to the next defensive line.
The table, north is down, Americans attacking from left (west) to right (east). The Americans can set up in the far left quarter, the Japanese can set up all the way up to the river. The table is pretty open, actually; in the center, I really opened it up with some bombed out terrain, figuring naval gunfire and Army Air Corps would have given the area a good plastering (without actually hitting the enemy defenses), otherwise it's pretty much flat, perhaps other than the little knoll at right top where the 'z' trench is. There's lots of stands of trees and bamboo, but mostly it's thin enough so as to obscure a target but not actually block line of sight. The river is fordable (bad going) by infantry but not the tanks, and there's some marshy area on the left side of the table that is also no-go for vehicles. There's a small village at bottom center; again, some concealment but not much in terms of cover.
Looking west from the Japanese baseline.
The US Army force consists of the following:
-Three-man command team
-Three-man 81mm mortar team
-Three-man command team
-Three-man 81mm mortar team
-Two-man Forward Observer team (for the 81mm mortar)
-Three-man MG team
-Three-man bazooka team
-Three-man flamethrower team
-Six eight-man rifle squads
-One M-3 Stuart
-Two M4 Shermans
-Three-man command team
-Three-man 70mm mountain gun
-Three-man 81mm mortar
-Two three-man 50mm mortar teams
-Two three-man MG teams
-Two three-man Anti-Tank teams with magnetic mines and 'lung' mines
-Two two-man Forward Observer teams (one for the Mountain Gun and one for the 81mm mortar)
-A Type 97 Tank with 47mm gun
-A Type 97 Tank with 47mm gun
-Three eight-man rifle squads
You might be wondering about the eight-man rifle squads; I'm doing it partly because ten or twelve-man squads are a bit much all clumped together, at least for me, eight-man seems to be decent 'on-campaign' size, and I've been looking at Rapid Fire Reloaded, which used eight men to represent a rifle company, so I was kind of curious what that looks like on the table (did it in the last game, too). Plus, I don't think I have enough figures for the Americans to have six 12-man rifle squads...
The left side of the US line, where you've got the 81mm mortar (bottom center) and .30-cal MG (far left) emplaced), with four rifle squads spread across, CO, bazooka, and flamethrower teams located in the center. Also have one Sherman over on this side (center right), but his mobility will be severely restricted owing to the marchy areas you can see at center top and left.
The table, now with some troops deployed. I put my whole (American) force on the table, while Danny decided to leave two (Japanese) rifle squads off table in reserve.
The right side of the US line, where the Stuart and one of the Shermans are on the road, flanked by rifle squads.
Closeup of the left flank.
Sherman #2 (#1 is on the road, off camera to right), with the CO at far right, FO above and to the left, rifle squads in top left and right corners.
Closeup of the US right, with 5th Squad (yeah, it's Bolt Action, I'm not going with two US platoons, just one big force with 1st through 6th Rifle Squads) at bottom left and 6th Squad at top right, two tanks on the road, the bazooka and flamethrower teams at center, between the trees.
Doggies peering through the wasteland dug up by the swabbies and fly-boys at the Japanese z-trench (just visible at top left).
A look down the road from the Stuart commander; you can see the bridge, and just right of it you can see the Japanese Type 97 tank in a hulldown position.
The Japanese defenders, which Danny heavily weighted to the left, leaving the right side pretty sparsely populated. I asked him why and he said he felt like the table was too open, didn't want to subject all of his men to the Americans' overwhelming firepower right out the gate, plus he knew the tanks would have to come over the bridge (on his left).
The Japanese center. You can just see the z-trench at far right and the village at top left. The Japanese have quite a bit of firepower here: at bottom right, in the emplacement, is the 81mm mortar, with an MG in the emplacement above it, the Type 97 dug-into a hull-down position at top left, with the 70mm mountain gun to its left, where their CO is also located (you can see their flag).
Back on the Japanese right, he's got the other 50mm mortar team in the z-trench, with the mountain gun's FO team behind them in the trench, and the 81mm mortar team's FO in the trees at far right (top right).
We gave each of the FOs their own 'orders dice,' but I don't believe I'll be doing that again, or even having standalone FOs, the ability to get gamey, using them as miniature rifle teams, proved to easy to succumb too, so we won't be using separate FOs anymore, we'll do what I normally do, which is indirect fire may be dropped on any enemy unit that is in LOS of any friendly unit. The only time I might vary from that is if we have some specific scenario where it becomes important, or if we have off-table assets.
On his far left, he's got one of the rifle squads in the bamboo hut at top left. The other two rifle squads are off-table in reserve.
Looking west at the American advance, from the z-trench.
A look down the road and over the bridge from the fortified MG emplacement.
And the Japanese tank commander looking down the road at the advancing US armor.
The game starts off with the US Stuart rolling up (bottom left) and firing on the Japanese tank (top right).
I quickly figured out this was a non-starter; that tiny gun, against a tiny (hull-down) target, getting a hard cover save (due to being hull-down), just wasn't worth the effort, plus the Japanese tank wasn't particularly threatening to my armor, either, so I quickly made the decision to shift fire and use HE in support of the infantry and just ignore that damn Type 97.
It mostly worked ;)
The Army doggies began pushing forward, both sides making good use of indirect fire and machine guns to rough up the other side, putting on lots of pins and a steady, grinding attrition of casualties. The Japanese hit 5th Squad on the US right; I needed to move them up to keep up with the Stuart and 6th Squad, which had already moved up on the far right.
But because 5th Squad had been hit (suffered some pins) I had to take an orders test, which I promptly bunged so badly that it caused a 'Friendly Fire' incident, where they (left) mistakenly opened fire on 6th Squad (top right)...
Causing them a pin and a THREE casualties (the Japanese had already caused them three casualties)!!!
Danny thought that was absolutely hilarious...
Danny thought that was absolutely hilarious...
Now 6th Squad is down to a paltry TWO men (bottom right), 5th Squad has taken some casualties and not moved (left), my Sherman on the road is sitting tight (far left), wasting ammo on the Japanese tank (off camera to far right), which is clanging rounds off the Stuart, racking up pins on it (center right).
The US left is seeing some gains, with 1st Squad up to the bamboo (top center, with the MG team right behind them), though under mortar fire, 2nd Squad up near the river (right), under 50mm mortar fire, 3rd Squad up to the rocks (center, with the Sherman behind them), and 4th Squad in the trees (bottom center).
I've shifted fire off the Japanese tank and really been pounding on the MG team in the shack (center right); Danny moves the Japanese CO up (far right) to help them rally, but everyone else sits tight on the Japanese left, with only the rifle squad in the house (bottom left) getting any shots off (they're the ones that mauled the US 6th Squad, before the US 5th Squad did).
I've also steadily been pounding the Japanese MG team in the emplacement (left top).
And with some MG fire, lots of small arms fire, and some help from Sherman #2, I've managed to knock out the Japanese 50mm mortar team in the z-trench!
This prompts Danny to rapidly bring on his two reserve rifle squads.
But it's getting close to the fat lady singing for the Japanese MG team in the emplacement as I keep pouring 37mm, 75mm, and 81mm HE into it.
On the American right, 5th Squad finally gets moving (and not shooting their own team), getting up to the Stuart, while the paltry remains of 6th Squad hop the wall and move up to the shack (right bottom), and then I move the bazooka team into the trees (just above the Stuart) and start pounding the Japanese buildings across the river.
While on the left, the US infantry push up to the river.
While the Japanese 3rd Rifle Squad moves up to man the z-trench, but not able to get in yet (bottom right). The Japanese FOs (center, in z-trench, and top center) have resorted to opening fire on the encroaching Americans with their rifles.
Sending two rounds at a time from their bolt-action Arisakas ;)
With the MG team in the corrugated tin building knocked out, I turn my attention to the Japanese 1st Rifle Squad (in the bamboo hut, bottom center), and with 37mm, 75mm, and bazooka rounds coming in, they'll not be long for this earth.
The US 2nd Squad sloshes into the river, making good progress, but it's bad going and takes them longer to get across than expected. The Japanese catch them in the open and begin slaughtering them...
Time to go: Sherman #1 moves up, just as the Japanese tank finally scores a good hit on the Stuart, immobilizing it! 6th Squad dashes into the house (bottom right), 5th Squad moves up the road (right), and 4th Squad gets up to the river bank (top right).
Japanese mortars and the mountain gun are really wreaking havoc as the US infantry continues grinding up to the river, and the US MG team (top center) is squeezed out (no longer has a field of fire) due to the advance, so they've got to displace forward to be of any use. Similarly, it's getting tough for Sherman #2 (top left) to support as he can't really advance on this side due to the marshy terrain, and it's getting so that there are too many friendlies in the way.
On the Japanese left, 1st Rifle Squad is knocked out, so one of the AT teams is pushed in to occupy that section of the line (bottom left), while the other AT team and the flamethrower team (center) patiently wait in ambush.
The Japanese 2nd (bottom left) and 3rd Rifle Squads (center top) get into the emplacement and the z-trench, respectively, but immediately begin drawing fire.
We're lucky there are no ammo rules in this game, because all the indirect fire weapons (pictured here are the Japanese 70mm mountain gun (top left) and the remaining 50mm mortar team (center, next to their CO, who keeps jumping back and forth over the wall at top right, unsure of how best to support his troops).
The Japanese tank manages to clang a shot off the Sherman's front armor; no damage was done, but it put three pins on the damn thing and so I end up pulling it out of action for a turn to rally at a most inopportune time...
The Japanese AT Team and flamethrower team at the munitions dump (center top) continue to wait in ambush...
As the Yanks push more men up to the river.
Continuing to pound the Japanese rifle squads in the emplacement (bottom left) and z-trench (top right).
And finally the time comes!
The US 3rd Squad has gotten across the river (far left), so the Japanese flamethrower team springs into action, dashing across the road and unleashing a torrent of jellied gasoline at the unsuspecting Americans!!!
But the poor kid only managed to roll ONE hit on eight D6, at POINT BLANK range!!!
4th Squad (bottom left) immediately opens fire, eliminating the Japanese flamethrower team (top right), crushing little Danny's spirits! He'd been waiting all day for that, and then missed...
US tank fire from Sherman #2 pounds the z-trench (top center), and then small arms fire from 1st Squad (bottom right) finishes it off...
With 4th Squad (top left) having eliminated the Japanese flamethrower team (empty spot at right end of bridge), 5th Squad, who earlier lit up 6th Squad (in house at bottom center left), charges up and over the bridge, getting up to the munitions dump (right)...
The river crossing at the end of Turn 6, pure Hell on earth!
But the doggies did it, established a lodgment on the other side! The US flamethrower team moves up to join the heroes of 3rd Squad, burrowing into the flamethrower-singed ground, pounded by 50mm, 70mm, and 81mm high explosives, with the pathetic remnants of 2nd Squad still pinned down in the river (top left)!
Danny seemed determined to keep fighting on, at this point without a reasonable expectation of winning, so I explained to him how, in real life, the Japanese in particular were known as being fanatical and not giving up (whether that meant surrender or falling back), but how a good commander would make the call to take care of his men once the situation became untenable, either surrendering or withdrawing to preserve his combat capability. Plus I knew he was tired and hungry, we'd been playing for almost four hours at this point!
So, how did it go? Well, it certainly felt like we knew the rules pretty well, didn't have to look hardly anything up, and that the turns were moving right along, but I suppose that wasn't actually true as we only did six turns in four hours... Granted, these were pretty big forces on each side, with each side having a whopping fifteen command dice, so we were certainly pushing some limits, I think, but damn, I still need to get faster, it's just not reasonable for the youngsters to stay in it for that long, plus it makes it more difficult to get more games in (no way you're playing two games on the same day when they take that long).
Regarding table set up, I've recognized that I'm not putting enough terrain in to block LOS, and even when it looks like I am I somehow defeat myself by saying "eh, those trees are spaced out pretty sparsely so they don't block LOS," even when they conceivably could, so I'm kind of turning the table into a massive shooting gallery. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I need some elevation changes, and I'm used to putting 'hills' under my terrain mat but this mat is too small for that, so I'm going to have to figure something else out. I've got some terrain lying around I can try, just not sure how it will look with 28mm stuff.
In any case, Danny was having a great time, up til the end... once again he was pretty hard-done by the dice; I was fully expecting 3rd Squad to get wiped out by his flamethrower team, it was quite the miracle he only rolled one hit out of all that. It was still overall a good time, and he certainly wants to play again, so I'm off to get the table set ;)
V/R,
Jack
