Empire to Revolution - Hunting Expedition

 Arthur found the scenario 'A Hunting Expedition' in the Empire to Revolution supplement for Through the Mud and the Blood.  It's actually an excellent intro scenario for M&B.  Each side gets only a single level II leader and a squad of soldiers, so players can quickly learn the basics for movement, spotting, firing and special tasks, as well as the use of blinds.

In this scenario, an ambitious young Austro-Hungarian officer has taken a squad of soldiers (represented by German soldiers as I don't have any A-H in my collection) to seek a prisoner to interrogate, while on the Russian side, a group of Cossacks are on the search for some tasty provisions, which they hope to find in the barn.  In the photo below you can see the table setup by Arthur - I think he did an excellent job, it looks great.  Russians enter on a blind at the top (as seen above) and Germans from the left.

Germans entered on a blind, but were immediately spotted by the Russians.  

Russians were spotted in the second turn!

Russians immediately started to run for the barn.  Thanks to a few turns in which the 'time for a snifter' card came up before the Germans could activate, the Russians had a bit of a head start on the run.  M&B isn't a game to play if you want your troops to activate reliably, but I like the unpredictability - even when it doesn't go my way!

Russians reach the barn while the Germans are still mucking about in the orchard.

Germans reach the edge of the orchard as the Russians emerge from the barn, and immediately start a fire fight.

Russians keep pulling back toward the table edge, but their progress is impeded by the accumulation of shock.

The Germans manage to wound the Cossack officer, who is left behind as the remaining Cossacks flee the field.  

This is a nice, quick scenario.  Our playthrough really demonstrated the effect of the 'snifter' card, as there were many turns where one side or both failed to activate.  This is either a great example of M&B's approach to 'fog of war' or maddingly frustrating depending on your take on the rules.  As I mentioned before, I like the randomness but recognise how annoying it can be for someone who prefers more predictability in a game!

Bolt Action Stalingrad - God of War scenario

 Lisa's Bolt Action Stalingrad campaign is pretty much done, but as a completionist, she wants to finish up the remaining scenarios in the book.  So last night we played the God of War scenario.  The Red Army has launched Operation Uranus, and for the purposes of our battle, an outnumbered German platoon (officially Romanian, but you gotta go with the forces available!) tries to hold back two Red Army platoons, one infantry and one armoured.  The Germans have the advantage of some pretty significant defences, but will it be enough to allow them to hold the line?

My JTFM trenches have been getting some good use in recent games, and I was pleased that I could finally use my German bunker as well.

Arthur was so excited to field his Soviet naval infantry, so decided he needed to dress the part!  In fact, his platoon was pretty diverse and included naval infantry, a squad of partisans, the ever-popular SMG squad, the obligatory free inexperienced rifle squad, and, for the first time in action, the quad Maxim machine gun mounted on a GAZ AAA truck!

The German tripod mounted MG inside the bunker in the centre is nearly immune to the firepower the Red Army can bring to bear, but the crew can still be suppressed.  The red disks are pins that it is accumulating from the fire being brought to bear on it.  You can see that the German defences also included barbed wire and minefields.  These did not slow down the Russian advance but did channel their attack somewhat.

The Red Army has a lend-lease M4, known in Soviet service as the Em-Cha!  I teased Lisa that it showed up with a British crew and markings :)

Red Army T-26 flamethrower tank shows that there is one significant exception to the German bunkers near invulnerability!

German defender with a WWI-era MG08 machine gun tries to hold the line.

Communist-allied Brigata Garibaldi partisans prepare to assault the German trench.  Their allies, the inexperienced riflemen, have already been wiped out!

German defenders defenders are barely holding on, but they repulse the partisans!

Red Army armour overruns the veteran Panzergrenadiers.  They should have been ready, but whiffed their tank terror save and fled from the oncoming metal behemoths.  The German front line folded and move the emphasis to the second line.

My German 88 was another unit making a long-delayed tabletop debut.  It was pretty fearsome at first, eliminating a Russian howitzer with its first shot, but then later struggled to hit anything for the rest of the game.  The army list only allowed the Germans a single artillery piece, so I wanted to be certain they had the best.  With a range that covers the entire tabletop, ability to use direct or indirect fire, a ferocious armour-piercing power, and a large crew that allows it to keep operating after taking several hits, this was worth the points.  Or it would have been if I could have made a few more decent rolls to hit!

But ultimately, it too was taken out!

The Red Army flamethrower tank turned its attention on the German officer hiding in the big bunker, and that was pretty much the end of resistance.  The Red Army triumphs!

Yashka and the Brides of Death

 Lisa and I played the fourth and final scenario featuring Maria 'Yashka' Bochkareva from the TFL Empire to Revolution supplement for Through the Mud and the Blood.  Yashka has taken the lessons learned from her time as an enlisted soldier, and now leads the Women's Battalion of Death.  The scenario is based on an attack by the WDB on German trenches.  They are supported by a unit of Russian officers, as the mutinous, proto-revolutionary enlisted Russian soldiers had refused to assist.

Both sides deployed on blinds (represented by the national flags) - Germans in their trenches and Russians advancing from their table edge.

Although it is daytime, units must still be spotted before they can be fired upon.  The Russians used their spotting efforts to assess the damage to the wire.  The dice indicate the status of the wire, from 4 (impassable) to destroyed (removed). The Germans have started to spot Russian units, and have deployed so they can open fire on them.

Russian officers shelter in a shell hole, while shock accumulates.

Meanwhile, Yashka keeps her troops motivated as they keep up fire on the German MG position.

The fire is amazingly effective, the MG is reduced to a single crewman.

As I carefully read the rulebook to find out if the German officer could transfer soldiers to support the MG, Russian fire finished off the remaining machine gunner.

Women's Battalion cross the wire but take shock as German rifles fire on them.

Despite their shock from being fired upon, the Women charge the Germans and drive them from their trench!

The remaining Russians move up to clear the remaining German trenches.

Through a judicial use of the 'Urrah!' card, three sections of Russians combine to charge the last Germans.

The attack is a success, and the surviving Germans are captured.

The series of games with M&B gave a good intro to the rules.  There was a mix of trenches and open terrain.  Card activation went well, but a lesson learned was to make it really clear what each card represents, especially for the 'special' cards.  I liked using blinds, as it allowed troops to move around quickly before being spotted, so the early game moves faster and the action kicks off when the forces are closer to each other.  That said, I can also see how game development has moved on since 2009 when these rules were first published, and I'm looking forward to the new version of WWI Chain of Command that Alex 'Storm of Steel' Southern is working on!

Russian Revolutionaries!

 Around three years ago, I picked up the 'Defenders of the Manor' from Siberia Miniatures.  And now I have finally painted their adversaries, the enthusiastic Bolshevik rebels.  According to Siberia's website, many of these rebels are caricatures of modern politicians of the 2010s, but most are unfamiliar to me!

Banners are always fun.  Arthur provided the slogans. The one on the right is 'Land Bread and Freedom', the one on the left is 'Long Live the Revolution'.

The other side of the banner says 'Down with Capitalism', because two sides to the banner means two different slogans.  Correction - it means 'Down with Capitalists' - a subtle but significant difference!

Some rebels.  I couldn't figure out why the one on the left is carrying around a big pole.  The accordion player is a caricature of Putin, and the soldier dancing to his tune is based on Medvedev.

The chap with the sabre is based on Turkish President Erdogan.

Two well-dressed women

And a child rebel leading a bear.  Possibly a metaphor for the changes that the revolution brought to Russia!

I also finished up this Copplestone figure that has been in my lead pile for far longer than I care to admit!

And finally a group shot showing all the Siberia figures, defenders of manor as well as the rebels.