587 - Bolt Action Escalation League Begins

Hullo!

Yes, I got the chance to play my first proper escalation league game with my new German Heer.  

I played a very friendly chap called N--, who - like many in the league - is new to Bolt Action, but like any sentient biped, he's finding it really easy to pick up!

N-- had a lovely nascent force of Americans. HQ, 2 infantry squads, M3 halftrack, sniper and bazooka team - all regular.

For me, my 500pt list is a rather unwieldy vet 2Lt, a vet squad with 2 LMGs, a regular squad with LMG and 2 Panzerfausts, a veteran sniper and a Sd.Kfz.251 Hanomag. 

As we both advanced onto the board, the forces seemed fairly well matched...and indeed they were! This was not only the quickest, but also the most nail-bitingly close game I've ever played of any tabletop game!

We start to advance onto the board - that's my twin-LMG vets
this side of the wall, and my sniper team to the right.

On the left, my Hanomag advances with the reg troops + 2Lt

Across the water...

Obviously the curse of the unpainted mini was upon me: turn 1 and a lucky shot from the US halftrack blatted my sniper into oblivion. Boo. Shortly afterwards, his snipers started being mean to my veterans whilst they tried and failed to lay down some fire with their twin LMGs. It goes without saying that despite their special rule, the NCO still ended up being the casualty!

Note the lack of sniper and the advance on the left.

In the meantime, my other squad zoomed up in their Hanomag to face his advancing infantry squad and bazooka team. A quick de-bus and the bazooka team copped it before all of my fire concentrated on the squad and withered them to nothing. The M3 Halftrack retaliated by removing a second order die by .50cal-sniping my bloody Leutnant! Grrr.

The troops on the left do well, but then get whittled away.

At this point, my veterans - bored of being sniped - attacked past the wreck of the M3 halftrack (destroyed through being left too close to my veterans) and into the second US squad. They took a couple of hits on the way in, but their vet status helped them to win through!

The Vets (right) close in on the M3 to 'claim' itt.

The vets charge, and the Yanks absent themselves.

Into the endgame now, and after my luck had started off poorly with some early deaths and dodgy dice pulls, I was now edging it toward a draw. 

At this point, I remembered that my diminishing squad from the Hanomag were, in fact, regs rather than veterans, so I took them off the board in compensation. This left only the remnants of my veterans and my Hanomag (too far back to be of use) against the US sniper team and headquarters unit. So I did the only thing I could: 

I attacked. 

The eagle-eyed buggers managed to slot one of them on the way in, but my few remaining vets prevailed and consolidated toward the last US unit - the HQ. 

At this point the game ended, but N-- being the gentleman he is, he agreed to fight the inevitable final combat between his 3-man HQ and my last two veterans. 

Dun-dun-DUNNNN!

The US die came up (rats!) and they charged from cover so I couldn't defensive fire (double-rats!) ... but luckily the experience of my Heer vets told in the end, and I won the combat. 

Phew!

My remaining two - TWO! - troopers, on the right.

A ridiculously close game, but in the end, I won it six dice to three. All props to N-- for being a very game player and a great sport! :)

Now...can I squeeze in another game before everything escalates to 750pts? Hmmm...

Cheers!

- Drax.

PS: Coming up in the near-ish future: works-in-progress, some Devos IV stuff, and...

...Flames of War?