WW2 and WW JOHN!

On Sunday we had a full turnout for a WW2 game staged by Dave and Paul.Graham,Brian and Malcolm were the Russians,whilst Paul commanded the Germans,with Dave acting as umpire.It is well known that I have no real wargaming interest in WW2 but enjoy watching the games-so why do certain members of the club insist on trying to tell me the difference between a T34/85 and a T34/76??-they might as well try to teach me how to speak outer Mongolian!!-however,on with the game..................

 Top photo shows Malcolm's advance on his objective-the pill box!! bottom photo shows Graham's advance on to his objective-the village.

Brian's objective was to out-flank the Germans by building a pontoon bridge over the river-this he did,and was immediately mortared(is that a word?) and had his bridge blown up!!!! leaving a tank and his pioneers stranded on the wrong side of the river,with no viable support!!

Paul had all manner of surprises in store(actually in the woods!) for Malcolm and Graham-and he did devilish work with them,however, Malcolm's Russian infantry out-numbered him and he soon took the defences and moved onto his objective-surely Paul wouldn't have any more surprises(??!!)

Oh yes he did-I am reliably informed that this is a King Tiger,and quite powerful!!

Well done Malcolm for achieving the objective-game over???

Top photo shows Brian's bridge,which he successfully re-built,being blown up again!!! and his remaining troops turning to cross at the existing stone bridge(why didn't you think of that before?) Bottom photo shows Graham's tank(a Joseph Stalin?) penetrating(steady!) the German position bringing the game to a close,and giving the Russians a well deserved victory.

Discussions and ramifications!-well done to Dave for controlling the game and keeping everyone in check,and well done to the players too.

What is WW JOHN?-well, although WW2 leaves me cold,I still enjoy seeing tanks etc. on the board,so have my own take on WW2/Modern warfare,using my 54mm figures and my "red pom-pom" rules,so today I played the same scenario to see if my so,so simple rules would give a similar result..........................

Almost the same terrain,and starting positions-however I have random cards marked-tank,infantry,mortar,artillery and placed them facing downwards in the obvious positions that would be attacked,then turned them over and the game began!

Top photo shows the first tentative moves against the pill box and village-bottom photo shows the response by the dug-in defenders(who had 1/3rd less trooops,tanks and artillery)

The defenders spring into action-even the hidden tank exposed itself(now,now!)-I differentiate heavy tanks from the lighter types by putting a green pom-pom onto the model,thus giving it a plus one onto its dice throw(too simple I know,but I don't know the difference between a T34/85 and a T34/76!!!!!!!)-I also do the same to show that an infantry squad has a machine gun attached to it-as a simple soul,I like simple things!!

The assault on the village is reaching its climax-Tanks and infantry giving the defenders hell!-note the green pom-pom on the right of the tank base!

This tank has been destroyed!-a "flash" card(from the pound shop) is placed underneath the vehicle to show it has been knocked out,and infantry must keep away from it.

The game is nearing the end now-the defenders are being overwhelmed by superior numbers,however one unit is being particularly stubborn in its defence-their officer is holding them in their position-so what to do???

Shoot the bugger!!snipers are "elite" types and have a plus one to their dice,hence the green pom-pom!!-he did his job and the last defenders retired(its good being retired!).I thoroughly enjoyed this game,and hopefully will be playing many more in the coming weeks.

I attended Mike Fisher's funeral on Wednesday-it was sad and up-beat at the same time-more a celebration of Mike's achievements and life ,so not too miserable.It gave me a chance to catch up with Charlie Wesencraft's group too,we may even be able to combine for a large game sometime.