5MAK Combat #1

 All,

I had a little time and felt like playing a quick skirmish game.  I was looking at WWII; mostly I'd used 5 Men in Normandy for WWII and 5 Men at Kursk for modern stuff as, for me, 5MAK is more fast-paced and 5MIN a bit slower, more deliberate, which seems to suit each a bit better.  But I wanted to give 5MAK a shot in a WWII setting, so I did ;)

The table.  The Americans will have the bottom, Germans the top.

Opposing forces, U.S. on left, Germans on right.

The Americans, from top left: Lt Hanley, Sgt Saunders, PFC Kirby, PFC Caje, PFC Littlejohn, Pvt Nelson, Pvt Braddock, and Pvt McCall.

Germans have an NCO with MP-40, three riflemen with Kar98s, and a two-man MG-42 team.

The U.S. starting positions.

And the Germans.  The MG team is in the house at top center, a lone rifleman at bottom left, the NCO and a rifleman in the plaza...

And a rifleman out on the far right.

The German MG team.

McCall blasts away with his Garand (bottom left) as Sgt Saunders and Caje dash ahead (center).

As Lt Hanley and Kirby (bottom right) lay down covering fire for Littlejohn, Nelson, and Braddock (far left).

The German NCO and rifleman in the plaza are both suppressed, while the German MG team (far left) prepares to engage.

The German sentry on the far left peaks out and Billy (Nelson) takes a shot.

While the German sentry on the other flank (bottom right) fires on Littlejohn, Nelson, and Braddock (top center, with Sgt Saunders and Caje at far left).

Lt Hanley and Kirby move up in the orchard, looking to get the BAR into a better spot to support the advance.  They open up on the German MG team.

The gunner is pinned and the assistant is suppressed (top left), as the center sentry rallies and the German NCO moves south, into the building at bottom (bottom center).

Nelson, Littlejohn, and Braddock move through the hedges, heading left.

Sgt Saunders lays down covering fire with his Thompson (bottom left) as Caje moves up (right).

The German sentry in the cener (bottom left) fires on Caje, suppressing him.

Sgt Saunders rushes to the stone wall (bottom left, with Caje at bottom right) and cuts loose on the center sentry (top left).

The German machine gunner sights in on Sgt Saunders (top left) and opens fire.

Sgt Saunders goes down and McCall is suppressed!

Then the center sentry (bottom left) sights in on Braddock (top center) and fires, as his NCO cautiously moves up (far right).

Kirby (far right, in orchard) lays into the center sentry (top left) with the BAR.

Kirby moves up, reloading and firing as he goes (right), as Braddock moves up to the hedge, pinned (left, with Littlejohn at bottom left).

Lt Hanley rushes over to Sgt Saunders' location (bottom left), rallies McCall, and sends him over to rally Caje (right), as he fires on the right sentry (top right).

With the sentry pinned, Caje rushes up and drops a frag over the sandbags...

The German manages to kick it away from him, far enough that he's not hit by shrapnel, but he's suppressed by the concussive effects of the blast.

While over on the left, Billy Nelson continues his game of cat-and-mouse with the German sentry over there.

Littlejohn moves up (center left); "go on, Billy, I'll handle this," and Nelson sprints tot he farmhouse (top center, unaware the German NCO is on the other side of the those doors).

Littlejohn quickly dispatches the German sentry.

Just as the German NCO pops out of the farmhouse, coming nose to nose with Nelson!

Luckily, Littlejohn is willing and able to jump right in...

*Please forgive me, I don't recall exactly how this happened/how I justified this under the rules.

And the German NCO goes down as well.

The MG-42 team (bottom left continues firing on Kirby (top right).

Kirby is suppressed, so Lt Hanley runs over and rallies him.

Kirby (top right) opens fire and manages to suppress the German machine gunner, but then is immediately engaged by the center sentry (center).

Braddock fires on him with his Grease Gun.

Littlejohn dashes forward (center, from bottom left) as Nelson (bottom left) bangs away with his Garand as the center sentry (top right).

McCall moves up on the right and joins Caje on the other side of the sandbags from the German right sentry.

McCall tosses another grenade, which the sentry also kicks away, though it keeps him suppressed.

Which is enough to allow Caje to circle around and move into close combat...

And finish him off.

The German MG team, fearing all their comrades are gone (and being right about it), decide the time is right to bug out.  But his assistant gunner (left), says "you go, I'll cover you."

As does the center sentry, who makes his break for it (top left, from bottom right).

Lt Hanley dashes up the street (bottom center) as Kirby (bottom right) takes a shot at the retreating sentry (top center).

Braddock does, too.

Nelson (far left) and Littlejohn (left center) close in on the German A-gunner (top right).

While Caje and McCall (center) do the same on the right.

Billy and Littlejohn are first upstairs; a frag and a couple quick shots and they were leading this young Uber back out to the courtyard.

So, it was a good time, but didn't feel personal enough, felt too frenetic for WWII.  Gonna try something else I've had my eye on.

V/R,
Jack