Control Area and Feats: All warcasters have a control area which is a circle that radiates 2 x FOC from their base. In Rahn’s case that’s a radius of 16”. Only in this area can warcasters allocate focus to ‘jacks, so you need to move your ‘caster if your ‘jacks are advancing. Many spells and feats, a unique once per game mega-spell, effect this control area. A player may measure from his warcaster to any point in his control area at any stage.

It’s down to a slugfest at this stage and unfortunately for Steve his dice luck abandons him. The Mage Hunters only manage another 5 points of damage to the Juggernaut and the Battle Mages kill two of the four Mechaniks. As this is 50% lost in a single turn they must make a command check, which they pass. The Manticore manages to kill the War Dog. Rahn, loaded with focus, however only managed 14 points of damage on the Devastator. He could be in trouble next turn.

Time to finish this. I put three focus on the Devastator and activate the Butcher. He casts Full Throttle again (it isn’t an upkeep spell) and uses his feat, Blood Frenzy, which gives all models in his control area an additional die on damage rolls. The Devastator activates and does a special attack called Rain of Death where it lobs short ranged grenades. Everyone in base-to-base contact with it suffers a POW 18 blast hit! That would have finished Rahn except that the Force Field spell makes him immune to blast damage. Damn! I use a focus on the Devastator to buy an additional attack. It is boosted to hit because of Full Throttle and boosted damage because of the feat. Rahn is squished by the towering ‘jack.

The Aftermath

This was a pretty small game, but I hope it highlights some of the cooler aspects of Warmachine. It is a game of brutal damage and devastating effects, but it is pretty well balanced and no faction is considered vastly superior to any other. Steve played like a true gentleman in this game. He had a chance to finish things early on by hitting the Butcher with all of those Mage Hunter attacks instead of the Juggernaut. It would have been a much shorter battle report had he taken the easy kill, so if you suffered through the report this long you have him to thank!
Hordes is the feral cousin of Warmachine that features fantastic warbeasts and their warlock handlers. It has a completely different magic mechanic, but is fully compatible with Warmachine. Next time I’ll write about this other cutthroat game from Privateer Press. Whatever you play, remember to “play like you’ve got a pair!”.

Related posts:

1. Battle Report for Warmachine Beginners – Part 1
2. Butcher vs Kaelyssa (35pt Battle Report)
3. Irusk vs Shae (25pt Battle Report; VASSAL)

The nation of Khador has been expanding their borders aggressively, having consumed the country of Llael and encroached into northern Cygnar. Their warcasters have been at the forefront of this empire building, leading massive armies to conquer their former neighbours. This activity has not gone unnoticed by the stealthy Iosans and their rapid armies have moved to intercept and assassinate these human warcasters. The Retribution of Scyrah cares little about the wars of other nations. It is the scalps of those warcasters that they seek.

The Protagonists

This battle report is aimed at giving an overview of how the mechanics of Warmachine combine to make a compelling, tactical and exciting wargame. Steve Coleman and I lined up two 25pt armies with a very simple mission – assassinate the opposing players warcaster. 25pts is a smallish game, but sufficient to show the main aspects of the game. I had my beloved Khadorans led by the walking beatstick that is the Butcher of Khardov. This warcaster lives for the sound of battle and the smell of blood. He is an unstoppable monster that can support his troops with his potent magic and push his warjacks to excel in combat. The rest of my force was comprised of two warjacks, a Juggernaut and a Devastator, a couple of small units and a couple of solos. The ‘jacks of Khador have the most formidable armour in the game also have the ability to absorb as well as dish out a lot of damage. They are typically slower than the ‘jacks of other nations, but what do you expect of constructs that are over 10 tons in weight!

Focus: this represents magical ability in Warmachine. Every warcaster has a Focus stat and this finite resource is what they use to cast spells, boost attacks and support their warjacks. It is replenished every turn, but there is never quite enough to go around!

Facing the might of Khador would be Adeptis Rahn, an arcanist beyond compare. His ability to manipulate magic and support other mages in his force is stunning. He has amazing spells to support every element of his army and blast his enemy with arcane blasts while doing so. He has one of the highest focus stats in the game, so he can put out a lot of support and/or hurt every turn. Making up the rest of Steve’s army was made up of two myrmidons (warjacks to you and me), a the much feared Mage Hunter Strike Force with Commander, a unit of Battle Mages and a couple of solos. The warjacks of the Retribution tend to be more specialist and nimble than those of Khador. They also sport an Arcantrik Field that can absorb damage before the ‘jack itself is damaged. Nifty! One of Steve’s warjacks was a light ‘jack named a Chimera. This ‘jack has a couple of nice tricks, but it also has a feature known as an arc Node. All factions (apart from Khador, doh!) have access to arc nodes that allow warcasters to bounce their spells through the ‘jack. This are very useful in keeping your ‘caster out of harms way. Remember, the mission in this game is to assassinate the opposing ‘caster.

The Game

Casting Spells: Every spell has a Focus cost and this is deducted from the wascaster’s total when cast. If the spell is cast on a friendly unit then only the range needs to be checked. If it is in range it’s cast. If a spell targets an enemy the ‘caster check range and then must roll to hit. They player rolls 2D6 and adds their focus (FOC). If this total equals or exceeds the enemy’s defense (DEF) it is a hit. Spell effects are then resolved.

Part 2 of the battle report continues here.

Related posts:

1. Battle Report for Warmachine Beginners – Part 2
2. Butcher vs Kaelyssa (35pt Battle Report)
3. Asphyxious vs Severius (500pt Battle Report)

Overview

Malifaux is a little different to other wargames. For one, there are no dice. It uses cards, pretty much the same an ordinary deck of cards, as the random element. This would be like rolling a 13 sided die apart from one crucial difference – you can cheat the flip with a card from your hand.

The second big difference is the game setting. Because Wyrd had an interesting line of miniatures before the game was launched they had a lot to incorporate. The resultant merging of Victorian, steam punk, gothic horror and old west seems implausible. Somehow Wyrd have managed to weave all if these elements into a cohesive game background. The world of Malifaux is the result.

The third selling point is its small scale. Games have at most about ten miniatures per side. These ‘crews’ are centred around a powerful Master (or two) and each model acts autonimosly.

Anyway, enough of the background – what does the game play like.

Battle Report

Steve and I played a Warmachine game on Tuesday night and documented (lots of photographs and notes) it for an upcoming battle report for the Uplink magazine. Afterwards we decided to play a 25 soulstone game of Malifaux. Soulstones are used like points to select your crew. The Master is free and will have a soulstone cache which can be used in the game. Unspent soulstones from the force selection are added to this cache.

The game was to be a ‘battle box’ game with Steve using Ortegas, a gunslinging Guild crew, and me fielding another Guild crew lead by Lady Justice. My crew have a decent ranged ability, but Lady Justice is a melee monster so getting her up close to the enemy is a priority. I think a little narrative-style battle report is called for.

Since the opening of the Hollow Marsh Pumping Station smaller pumps like this one had fallen into disuse. Somehow everything seemed to rot and decay quicker in Malifaux. Seems fitting that this is were the Ortegas will meet some justice. Sell-swords, or sell-guns in their cases, should never be trusted. They take the Guild script willingly, but then blatantly cooperate with the Union, The last three times they had been sent after Union prey they had failed to deliver. To Lady Justice this reeked of treachery. The relationship between the Guild and the Ortegas has succumbed to the same rot and decay as everything else here.

So that’s it. Malifaux is a nice skirmish level game that reminds me a lot of Inquisitor (which is the game that go be back into wargaming). Each character has a role to play on the battlefield and it seems that Malifaux would be well suited to narrative driven campaign play.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Malifaux Photographs – The Guild
2. Malifaux – Assembly (The Guild)
3. Malifaux – Painting Lady Justice (The Guild)

Honouring the fallen

The scene was one of devastation. The Menite crusaders were all fleeing the battle, inert ‘jacks abandoned and the injured left to die where they lay. The Khadoran jubilation was short lived. Yes, the enemy had been vanquished, but the cost has been high. Irusk lamented the death of every Khadoran soldier. Their blood had been spilt on Khadors own soil and he could think of no more noble death than to die defending this great empire. Still their loss hurt him.

Irusk ordered a nearby Mechanik to return to the camp to fetch medics to see to the wounded and get more Mechaniks to reclaim the damaged ‘jacks. He could sense the confusion felt by the Marauder. Both of its arms had been disabled in the battle and it moved around looking for a target. He could hardly believe it was over himself. The intensity and ferocity of the Protectorate’s attack had been extreme. Had they really expected to bring their crusade to these lands without the Khadoran army reacting? Either way, the last two days had been bloody and costly for both sides. A unit of Widowmakers lay dead in perfect formation to his right and he was surrounded by dead Machaniks who had rushed forward to reach the damaged Marauder. Who knows what the final death toll would be? All of these valiant sacrifices would not be forgotten.

Game 4: 50pt / Break The Line

It all comes down to this. I was ahead on campaign points with 6 against Peter’s 1.5, but with this game worth 5 ultimate victory could go either way. Both of us were suffering from the losses in the earlier games. I had several units that were down on numbers, but thankfully most of my ‘jacks were available and both of my ‘casters were viable for this game. Break The Line is a tough scenario requiring the army to fight on a broad front. Looking at my remaining pool I’m a little light on units. The loss of the Great Bears in the last game was particularly painful. Here’s what I had left before this game and the units marked in red were chosen to fight for Khador in this final battle -

Peter wasn’t faring a whole lot better. With Game 3 going down to a ‘caster kill Epic Severius wasn’t a viable choice for this game. He was still doing okay for units. Two units of Bastions, coupled with the High Reclaimer’s feat, could be game winners. Anyway, here is what Peter had to choose from, with the units marked in brown being chosen for this final game -

As you can see there isn’t a whole lot of army left for either faction! The attrition from the previous games was really dictating our army choices. Between the compromised army selection and the fact that the campaign win was still up for grabs I wasn’t feeling confident. In fact, they’re not the reasons I wasn’t feeling confident; it was Peter’s two units of Bastions…

It all comes down to this …

My turn one was unremarkable with everyone pushing forward and Irusk casting Superiority on the Juggernaut. Peter’s first turn should have been equally unremarkable were it not for the amazing shots from the Redeemer at the Widowmakers. He managed to hit one directly and deviate another shot onto two more making three dead snipers.

On the left the IFP ran up to the Zealots and then used Defensive Formation to ensure their B2B triangles provided them with Shield Wall. I hadn’t damaged the Zealots (they were Invulnerable this turn anyway), but at least they were nearly all engaged by the 2″ reach of the Blasting Pikes. The Manhunter pushed forward a bit on that side too.

On the left the Zealots maneuvered with the IFP killing a couple with bombs and the Paladin. A well placed bomb took out the Manhunter.

On turn four I needed to stall Peter’s army. The Marauder and the Destroyers (one with range the other in melee) got stuck into the undamaged Bastion unit and dealt a lot of damage to it. The Juggernaut took a couple of wild swings, but was ineffective. The Mechaniks moved up to get close for a combat repair if needed and block charge lanes to Irusk. He cast Inhospitable Ground again, but was beginning to feel the heat. The Widowmaker Kaptain who had been taking pot shots at the Zealots on the right continued to do so. On the left the IFP killed a lot of Zealots, but not enough for them to flee, and took out the Paladin.

I needed to finish it in turn five as Peter really had me on the ropes. The Juggernaut was gone, the Marauder was badly damaged and the left flank wasn’t going to hold much longer. I left all focus on Irusk with the intention of putting two Swordcannon shots into the High Reclaimer. Before I did that I decided to fire the unengaged Destroyer at him. It was marginally out of range, but the deviation drifted onto the Reclaimer. The boosted blast damage roll was high. The other Destroyer stepped back from combat with two Bastions to take a shot. The free strikes caused a lot of damage, but no systems were taken out. His shot was in range and on target. The damage roll was again big and the High Reclaimer went down. Arcing fire Bombards are a thing of beauty! Irusk didn’t need all of that focus in the end. Khador wins.

Not quite the final thoughts

Wow, Khador may have won, but it was at a high price. When you look at the remaining Khadoran forces I’m not sure I could field a viable 25pt army from the 100pts that started the campaign.

The win in this game gives me the campaign win by a decisive margin, but every game was close. The result could have easily gone the other way. Peter and I will write up some concluding remarks for the campaign and I’ll post them soon.

Owen

Update Concluding comments can be found here.

Related posts:

1. Let the ANNIHILATION begin!
2. The ANNIHILATION continues!
3. ANNIHILATION – A Campaign System for Warmachine and Hordes (Part 1)

The Khadoran Avalanche…

Irusk’s attempt to blunt the early enemy advance had been less than successful. To add insult to injury he had lost the only Devastator in his force to a rare moment of impetuousness. Severius had brought confusion to the Khadoran ranks, something Irusk was not accustomed to and had managed to sieze the high ground. The first battle had not gone well.

With the momentum back in his beloved Khador’s favour it was his turn to deal damage to the enemy. Severius was again trying to push forward on his damne crusade. Now was the time to bring the Khadoran avalanche to bear. These Menites would have to retreat of be buried by it’s might.

With a win apiece things were close. I was marginally ahead in the campaign points and had sustained slightly fewer losses. Things start to hot up with Game 3 which is a 35pt game played using the Killing Field scenario. I had a win from the last game so I could nominate one unit to gain Advance Deployment. Peter’s Protectorate of Menoth army was led by Epic Severius as in the first game and I had Irusk commanding my force. I’m hoping to avenge Irusk’s loss from the campaign opener.

Game 3: 15pt / Killing Field Scenario

Peter’s force comprised a unit of Bastions, a unit Zealots and Monolith Bearer, a Choir, a Vassal, the Blessing of Vengeance, a Revenger and a Templar and was led by Epic Severius. My army was commanded by Irusk and contained a Marauder, a Juggernaut, a full unit if Iron Fang Pikemen and UA, a unit of Mechaniks, a unit of Greylords, the Great Bears, a War Dog and a Drakhun (with dismount). It was a toss up between the Great Bears and the IFP for my bonus advance deploy unit, but I opted for the IFP.

Killing Field has three objectives marked along the centre line and players receive a point at the end of their turn for each point they hold. The first to 7 points wins.

Peter: Looking at the scenario for Game 3 I was fairly confident that I could win it. The combination of a large control area and Sevvy’s upkeep spell that gave an extra attack and damage dice seemed like they put me in a great position. Then I realised the spell had a range of self and things started to look a little bit shaky.

My plan was to try and contest all three of the objectives, so I had a Templar in the middle with beat back to shift things off the marker, and two Revengers with their repulsor shields to help keep things away from them. Zealots and Bastions were stationed on each flank as they could act without focus.

Of course, the plan did require me getting to the objectives first which just wasn’t to be. Owen got first turn, plus the bonus from the last game meant he could advance deploy a unit. Then Inhospitable Ground went up and I was going to be finding it very difficult to get into the middle of the table without setting myself up to be charged and destroyed.

In the end I took a chance at an assassination and left Sevvy out in the open and was punished for it, but I did take a few positives away from the game. Getting rid of the Great Bears was just fun, and clearing out a good chunk of Iron Fangs will hopefully limit the amount Owen can play outside his control area (I’ll quite happily send a unit of Bastions against a marshalled jack). I think the most important thing is that I only lost one choir member in the whole game, so I’ve now got lots of infantry choices for the final game meaning I can cover a lot more area than the High Reclaimer’s control area.

Owen: Wow, that was a tough game. Losing the Great Bears and pretty much all of the Iron Fangs is really going to hurt in the next game. Failing to take out the Templar and the Revenger was disappointing, but taking out Severius was quite nice! Irusk is a great scenario ‘caster, but when he needs to finish things he’s more than able. An outcome of the game is that Irusk has developed a bond with both of his ‘jacks.

My losses are starting to mount up. I can field a viable force for the last game, but it is going to be ‘jack heavy. This win puts Khador in the driving seat, but everything is still left to play for. I’m really looking forward to Game 4; the empire will either send the Menites packing convincingly or the Protectorate will gain a toe hold in southern Khador.

Owen

Update Game 4 can be found here.

Related posts:

1. Let the ANNIHILATION begin!
2. The ANNIHILATION never ends!
3. Aftermath of the ANNIHILATION

Every war starts somewhere…

The chanting was what annoyed him the most. Let them worship however they choose, but the incessant murmur was what grated on him. The Menites were numerous as they approached this small Khadoran hamlet. It was typical of southern Khador, a homestead with fields of wheat. Irusk wondered how much of it would be left when he expelled these pious invaders.

There were at least two enemy ‘casters guiding the army and there were several ‘jacks. This was no expeditionary force. This was a crusade meant to do in Khador what they had done in Llael. Kommander Sorscha Kratikoff had been sent to protect his right flank. The mighty Maxkrad river offered effective protection to his left.

The delirious chant intensified as a small part of the enemy force broke towards a farm house on high ground. If they held it they would have a commanding vantage point over the entire battlefield. Irusk summoned the Devastator from his army and yelled at some Shocktroopers and Widowmakers to join him. He looked forward to spilling Menite blood on his beloved home soil. They will feel the might of the Khadoran empire.

Okay, enough talking about the campaign. Time to get stuck in. Peter and I are going to play out the ANNIHILATION campaign exactly as described in the PDF. Peter assembled a 100pt Protectorate of Menoth army lead by Epic Severius and the High Reclaimer. My army had Irusk and Sorscha leading from the front. Tonight Peter and I played out the first two games and already the losses are starting to hurt. Before I get into the battle reports let’s look at the full armies. Peter’s army is made up of -

My army comprises -

It’s really tough composing the complete army while trying to anticipate loss. You want to have spares, but you don’t want redundancy. The ‘jacks are potentially quite durable (in campaign terms) as they have to be completely destroyed to be taken out of action. That said destroying them is necessary in MkII games as even a heavily damaged ‘jack can be dangerous.

The other factor in choosing a force is what scenarios will be fought. I’ve generally found Khador to be a good scenario faction as their ‘jacks and units can be difficult to budge from objectives.

Game 1: 15pt / Mosh Pit Scenario

Peter’s force for the opening battle of the campaign was led by Epic Severius and comprised a unit of Bastions, Zealots and the Blessing of Vengeance. My army was commanded by Irusk and contained a Devastator, some Man-o-War Shocktroopers (min unit), a unit of Widowmakers and a Manhunter.

Devastator advanced into the Blessing of Vengeance and used a double handed throw to hurl it towards the nearby Bastions.

With the Devastators armour wide open he was very vulnerable. The Zealots threw their bombs at it causing minor damage. When the Bastions charged however they totalled it. This only left the Man-o-War in the Mosh Pit. Severius moved up and feated. He moved the Man-o-War out of the pit and proceeded to attempt to get the Widowmakers to shoot their komrades, but only killed one. The Mosh Pit was in Menite hands. Game over.

Owen: Ouch! That really hurt. Not only did I lose the scenario, but I also lost my only Devastator. The double-handed throw was the wrong option. Rain of Death into the Bastions would have been a better. I could have (coulda, shoulda, woulda!) contacted three of them with Bulldoze and boosted 2/3 of the POW 18s. Even with their wound sharing shenanigans I could have taken out a couple of them. The loss of the two Shocktroopers effectively makes that unit unfieldable as I’ll need to pay the min points just to field the single remaining Man-o-War. That’s make him a very expensive solo. Between these losses and the loss of a Widowmaker I’m down about 16pts. I only killed 6pts of Zealots! That could really hurt later in the campaign.

Peter: Well, I don’t think I could have asked for a better scenario for Epic Sevvy, everyone needs to get into the middle of the board, well within his control area, and with the limited number of models available at 15 points it was always going to be relatively easy to clear out the Mosh Pit with Sevvy’s feat. Being able to use the Shock Troopers to kill each other was great too.

I’m not sure Owen could have done much more damage to me by using Rain of Death on the Bastions, as I would have only lost a single trooper at most, and if the Blessing of Vengence hadn’t been thrown he could have charged in with four dice on the charge and three for any extra shots.

Sadly I couldn’t take out any extra Widowmakers, they always seem much better shots when they aren’t on my side. I’ll take the win though, and be grateful that I only lost a few zealots.

Game 2: 25pt / No Man’s Land Scenario

For the second game Peter decided to mix things up and go with the High Reclaimer instead. Here’s his list – a full unit of Temple Flame Guard, Vilmon, a Castigator, a full unit Bastions and a Revenger. I decided (after Irusk’s disgraceful defeat) to use my alternative ‘caster, Sorscha. My list had two Destroyers, a unit of Widowmakers, the Great Bears of Gallowswood, a War dog and a Man Hunter.

No Man’s Land would force the two armies into close proximity, but on a broader front than the previous scenario. Peter automatically ‘won’ the starting roll as he won the first game, but he decided to give me the first turn. I pushed my ‘jacks forward in the middle, advanced the Manhunter and Great Bears rapidly up the left flank and moved the Widowmakers forward in a wood.

On my second turn I moved the ‘jacks up into No Man’s Land and followed up with Sorscha and the War Dog. The Great Bears spread out in the hope that the High Reclaimer would struggle to protect the Castigator with Burning Ash clouds. The Manhunter pushed up into the far end of the wood Vilmon was in and the Widowmakers were left with only him to shoot at, but they missed.

The Castigator launched itself towards a Great Bear, but failed to hit with its attacks. In the middle the Temple Flame Guard charged the Destroyers, slightly damaging one of them. The Bastions pressed forward to the edge of No Man’s Land and the Revenger followed up. The High Reclaimer cast a few Burning Ash clouds. Peter forgot to activate Vilmon (which would prove costly).

My turn three would be the last action of the game. I gave each ‘jack a focus and started proceedings with Sorscha. She moved up between them and feated, freezing almost all of Peter’s army. She struck down a TFG and cast Razor Wind at the High Reclaimer doing a few damage. The ‘jacks activated next and trampled across the TFG killing all bar one. The Widowmakers moved up and took out the final one. That was the scenario win, but since I still had a couple of units to activate it I decided to try to do some more damage. The Great Bears charged the Castigator and totalled it and the Manhunter advanced into Vilmon. I got lucky with his damage rolls and took out Vilmon.

Peter: Wow, what a difference 3 focus makes. I went with the High Reclaimer for this match and I think I panicked into keeping everything inside his control area. This meant I only managed to get a unit of TFG into the scenario area in turn 2, and they were depressingly easy to despatch once Sorscha had made them all stationary. Losing them also means I won’t be able to use their attachment in any upcoming games, wasting a couple of points in my full army list.

My original plan for the game had been to set up on one side of the table, run everything into the middle and then work my way along the zone keeping smoke up for cover. I think this would have been far better as a plan, and I honestly don’t know why I changed my mind at the last minute.

The mistake with Vilmon is the most upsetting thing, since he would have been incredibly useful for holding points in the next couple of scenarios, and also losing the Castigator limits my crowd control options in the same way as Owen losing his Devastator. Who knows what effect that will have when trying to clear the larger zones in the final game.

The biggest worry now is making it through the next game without suffering too many losses, I’m getting low on infantry at this point and the next scenario looks fairly punishing if it drags out.

Owen: I almost felt bad dishing out the damage at the end of that battle. The game was won, but I still went after all of the targets I could. This is where the campaign makes you think a little differently. The Devastator was a big loss from the first game and it was nice to see the Great Bears repay the favour. Peter was unlucky to lose Vilmon as had he activated him he’d surely have been impervious to the non-magical attacks of the Manhunter. The Tramples from the Destroyers were a thing of beauty.

The campaign is really hotting up and it is starting to live up to it’s name. With over 85 points still to field (excluding ‘jack points) in the remaining two scenarios we may struggle to field whole armies in the final game!

Two down and two to go. I’m barely ahead in the campaign and we’ve both suffered significant losses.

Owen

Update Game 3 can be found here.

Related posts:

1. The ANNIHILATION never ends!
2. The ANNIHILATION continues!
3. Aftermath of the ANNIHILATION

Okay, this is my last Learning to play Hordes article. Did I hear a collective sigh?! Anyway,I think I’ve got a measure of Saeryn, or at least she’s not a complete mystery to me. I had a game on Tuesday night and everything clicked. My dice luck was poor, but I managed to get a win. Anyway, this article is about that game and some of the hordes tips I picked up along the way. Of course I’m no expert, far from it, but I don’t feel like a complete newbie now!

Lenny had a Haley led force comprising a Centurion, Lancer, Hunter, a full unit of Long Gunners (with UA) and a minimum unit of Stormguards. My army was the same as last time, but I dropped the Legionnaires and replaced them with a minimum unit of Warmongers. I also dropped the Nephilim Soldier and added two Harriers instead.

Here’s a shot of Lenny’s army advancing across the table. He kept the ‘jacks close to Haley accompanied by the Stormguards. The Long Gunners are to the left of the picture.

The Striders clipped the Hunter with a CRA, but the action was about the kick off. The Shepherd moved up to heal the Carnivean just before it hurtled across the terrain into the Lancer and managed to knock out it’s Arc Node. The Angelius flew over the wood and managed to swing it’s tail towards Haley who was behind the Centurion. He missed, but at least had her in melee range. No other damage was done, but Saeryn moved forward and feated. This protected the beasts from the Cygnaran backlash.

What I’ve Learned…
Saeryn needs her beasts front and centre. She has a spell to debuff her enemies and one to wipe out groups of infantry. The beasts are exceptionally powerful on the feat turn. Immunity to melee attacks makes them practically invulnerable just when it’s needed. It can be used offensively and defensively. Saeryn’s defense itself can be boosted, but she needs the fury on her to transfer damage.

Saeryn’s army doesn’t get a lot of support from her, other than the beasts. If the beasts are the hammer, then the rest of the army needs to absorb and stall the opponent. The Striders are a great harrying unit and the Warmongers can soak up a lot of damage. Both have the ability to deal out a lot of damage to troopers and beasts/’jacks.

The Shepherd, Gobbers and Feralgeist are great supporting solos/units. The Shepherd extends the threat range of the fast moving beasts. The Feralgeist makes it very hard to finish off beasts particularly with Respawn in play too. The Gobbers bring just a little extra ranged protection.

So, I’m no expert, but at least I feel like I can play Saeryn without embarrassing myself. I’ll play her a bit more and then I’ll try some more of the delicate warlocks.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Learning to play Hordes: Part 3 (Battle Report)
2. Learning to play Hordes: Part 2
3. Learning to play Hordes: Part 1

Last night the talking stopped and the fighting started. There is no better way to learn a game, faction or new warlock than to dive straight in and get some games in. Anthony brought his 35pt Cryx force up to the house. This was my chance to try out the list and tactics I posted yesterday.

Anthony’s army list looked like this -

• Warwitch Deneghra
• Deathripper
• Deathripper
• Nightmare
• Bile Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
• Mechanithralls (Leader and 9 Grunts)
• Necrosurgeon & 3 Stitch Thralls
• Soulhunters (Leader and 2 Grunts)
• Darragh Wrathe

Anthony won the dice roll, but let me deploy first. I decided to pretty much deploy as planned with Saeryn surrounded by her beasts with the Feralgeist, Swamp Gobbers and Shepherd in close proximity. The Legionnaires would hold the left flank and the Striders would harass the enemy on the right.

Now there was an opportunity. Saeryn moved up and feated, granting her beasts immunity to melee attacks for a round. She threw her Deathspur at a Soulhunter who blocked a charge lane to Deneghra, but missed despite boosting! She then attempted to cast Breath Stealer on Deneghra and again missed despite boosting. The Nephilim Soldier charged over the Mechanithralls engaging him to attack the same Soulhunter. Guess what, despite a boosted attack he missed too! Four of the Striders CRAed against the same bloody Soulhunter and, you guessed it, missed again! I should have shot at it before the Nephilim engaged it, but I originally had other plans for them. The turn was falling apart. To salvage something the Angelius charged Nightmare and did a shocking amount of damage. The Carnivean, who was originally going to charge Deneghra had the Soulhunter done the right thing and died(!) charged in and finished Nightmare. At least my beasts (and Saeryn) would be immune to a melee retaliation.

The Striders took out the Necrosurgeon and remaining Stitch Thrall and Saeryn used Blight Bringer on herself to kill off most of the Mechanithralls. The Nephilim Soldier and Shredder killed off the other two. Things went downhill from here, though. The Soulhunters and Darragh Wrath finished off the Carnivean, Nephilim and the remaining Striders for the cost of two Soulhunters and Darragh’s mount.

That was a great game and I think I played pretty well. Deneghra could have been in real trouble had my dice not abandoned me on my feat turn. It was a game of high attrition, but once my beasts were gone I was in real trouble. In retrospect the Carnivean could have finished Nightmare by itself and I could have kept the Angelius back. That and better use of Breath Stealer could have improved things. That said it was still a close game and I’m happy with my progress so far. I might change the list a little for next time. A Harrier would be useful for its animus and I think Warmongers would be more useful than the Legionnaires. At least it’s not back to the drawing board, more subtle tweaks than a complete redraft.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Learning to play Hordes: Part 4 (Mini Battle Report)
2. Learning to play Hordes: Part 2
3. Learning to play Hordes: Part 1

I’ve had pretty good success with the beat stick that is Thagrosh, but when it comes to the other Legion warlocks I really struggle. I’ve played subtle and tricky ‘casters in my Cryx and Khador (well, maybe not so subtle) factions and I’ve always gotten on okay with them.

The subtle Legion warlocks that I own are a real problem for me – Lylyth, eLylyth, Saeryn and Rhyas – I can’t figure them out! When I win with Thagrosh I think I’m playing the Legion of Everblight as if they were Khador. The Carnivean is pretty close to being a Khadoran ‘jack. He can certainly dish out a lot of damage. Maybe that’s my problem… I need to go cold turkey on the Carnivean. I haven’t really used the Angelius that much, so maybe it’s time to take him out a bit more often and figure out the slightly more subtle side of Hordes.

Okay – I’m off to make up a couple of lists and think about how they might play.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Learning to play Hordes: Part 4 (Mini Battle Report)
2. Learning to play Hordes: Part 3 (Battle Report)
3. Learning to play Hordes: Part 1

Irusk did not like the south of Khador in the middle of the, albeit short, summer. It was hot, too damn hot, and was frequented by the most villainous filth. These pirates were men without honour, fighting for coin and caring about nothing but their own hide. The clear weather allowed them to hit the coast wherever the chose and flee back to the see when the army closed in on them. Repeated raids in this area, and specifically on this Khadoran military outpost, had drawn his attention here. Every raid had a purpose that revealed these pirates to be more than mindless thugs. They were planning something big. Large amounts of black powder had been stolen and they came close taking cortexes in transit past Kulvorn Bay.

They would not get away this time. The ambush had been primed. Irusk could sense the Devastator twitching – it’s boiler was at maximum capacity and it knew battle was about to commence.

Yesterday I smashed my long distance VASSAL record! Admittedly it was only my second game, but this game had 6500km, of mostly ocean, between the players. I had a fantastic opponent in Clayton, who is based in Orlando. He fielded a Privateer force lead by Shae. They would face Irusk in a 25pt ‘caster kill game.

THE ARMIES
Here’s Clayton’s list. I think Clay would agree that the list had one ‘jack too many for Shae to adequately allocate focus to. That said all of the other elements are solid and the Commodore really frightens me. That cannon has some nasty options.

• Phinneus Shae
  • Freebooter
  • Freebooter
  • Buccaneer
• 6 Sea Dog Crew
• 3 Sea Dog Rifleman
• First Mate Hawk
• Commodore Cannon and Crew
• Lord Rockbottom

This is a pretty standard list for Khador, but again it probably has one ‘jack too many. Irusk has one great ‘jack spell, Superiority, and on the Devastator it is fantastic. The IFP will go head to head against the Sea Dogs. I don’t have the solos to go up against Hawk or Rockbottom, so I’ll have to try other tricks to get them!

• Kommandant Irusk
  • Destroyer
  • Devastator
• 4 Battle Mechaniks
• 6 Iron Fang Pikemen
• Iron Fang Officer & Standard
• Widowmakers

THE GAME

He initially sent the Iron Fangs to deal with the cannon up the right flank, but thought the better of it when he saw the speed and ferocity with which the pirates advanced through the middle of the battlefield. He made the ground soft under their feet and ordered all infantry into the centre to meet the pirate threat.

On the left the Devastator ran to engage both a Buccaneer and Freebooter who had earlier cleared out the Widowmakers. Their blows bounced off it’s thick armour and when it opened up to rain death on them they were almost crippled.

The Destroyer stood up and exacted it’s revenge on the cannon. The pirates in the centre were cut down by the disciplined strikes of the well trained Khadorans. The pirate warcaster’s force was now severly depleted.

Realizing that living to fight another day was in his best interest he fired a couple of menacing shots towards Irusk and fled the field.

All of the screenshots are in this set. In the images each round is broken down into two turns a (Clay’s) and b (mine).

That was a good game and Clay is an excellent opponent. My dice luck was ridiculously good. I made an unholy number of tough checks on my feat turn and every damage roll I rolled was massive! Against that kind of luck it was hard to formulate a response.

Sending the IFP against the cannon would have been a mistake. It’s spray attack would have decimated them. The Destroyer did a good job taking out the Commodore and the Devastator gets MVP for taking out two ‘jacks. He had Superiority up all game. It’s a great spell.

Thanks again to Clay for such a great game.

Owen

PS I don’t know why some of the screenshots have white areas. Must be a VASSAL issue.

Related posts:

1. Phinneus Shae is a hard man to kill!
2. 750pts Khador Army (Epic Irusk)
3. eIrusk vs Severius (750pt Battle Report)

This is just a short battle report of a game Steve and I played before Christmas. It was a 35pt game between Khador and the Retribution. Steve’s army was -

• Kaelyssa, Night’s Whisper
• Chimera
• Griffon
• Hydra
• Dawnguard Invictors (Leader and 5 Grunts)
• Dawnguard Invictor Officer & Standard
• Soulless Escort
• Mage Hunter Strikeforce (Leader and 9 Grunts)
• Mage Hunter Commander
• Arcanist
• Ghost Sniper
• Mage Hunter Assassin

The Mage Hunters scare me. Advance deploy ‘caster killers with Stealth. When they lined up across the table I knew I’d have to keep a distance between them and the Butcher. The Ghost Sniper frightened me too.

• The Butcher of Khardov
• Devastator
• Juggernaut
• War dog
• Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts)
• Great Bears of Gallowswood
• Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
• Iron Fang Pikemen Officer & Standard
• Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
• Man-o-war Drakhun (without dismount)
• Manhunter

Okay, my battle plan was to keep the Butcher behind my ‘jacks and let the rest of my army run interference. If I can stall Steve’s ranged threats and let the Butcher get to the heart of his army then I might have a chance. The Manhunter and Drakhun would act as flanking threats.

THE GAME

The IFP performed much better storming forward to kill a couple more Magehunters and take out the Chimera.

The Khadoran ‘jacks were primed to cause havok. The Juggernaut was loaded with focus and had the Griffon in it’s sights. The Devastator was about to show some Invictors was it was like to be up close when he rained down some death. However, before they could do their thing the Drakhun ended it by trampling the Retribution ‘caster with his horse’s attack!

It was a good game. A lot of Khadorans died to the Mage Hunters, but it was necessary to keep them away from the Butcher. The only damage done to the Butcher was with Whiplash and the Ghost Hunter. My ‘jacks were completely stalled by Kaelyssa’s rough terrain AoE. Steve cast is on my Devastator and completely stalled their movement through a narrow gap between rough terrain. They never got into the game and this in turn stalled the Butcher. It meant I had no use for Full Throttle, which was the spell I really wanted to try out!

Owen

PS Sorry for the poor quality photos – I took them on my phone.

Related posts:

1. Battle Report for Warmachine Beginners – Part 2
2. Battle Report for Warmachine Beginners – Part 1
3. Thagrosh vs Xerxis (35pt MkII Battle Report)

Anyway, during the week Harry, a Skorne player, and I fought a 35pt game using the new rules. I had Thagrosh leading my force with a healthy balance of beasts, units and solos. I wanted to try out a bit of everything. Here’s my list (which I wrote up on Forward Kommander as it now supports Hordes) -

• Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight
• Nephilim Soldier
• Carnivean
• Shredder
• Shredder
• Blighted Nyss Archers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
• Blighted Nyss Legionnaires (Leader and 5 Grunts)
• Blighted Ogrun Warmongers (Leader and 4 Grunts)
• Blighted Nyss Shepherd
• The Forsaken

That’s exactly 35pts (when you factor in Thagrosh’s +5 Warbeast points). I’d have to be careful to keep my non-fearless troops away from the abominations in the army, but other than that it’s pretty straight forward. Thagrosh, the Carnivean and the Warmongers can hit pretty hard. The Legionnaires are a great defensive unit and the Archers are decent at taking out lightly armoured troops or combining ranged attacks to threaten moderately armoured enemies. The Nephilim is a decent counter punching beast and the Shredders make good transfer targets with a useful animus.

Harry’s force (which I wrote up in iBodger and emailed to myself) comprised of –

• Tyrant Xerxis
• Cyclops Brute
• Rhinodon
• Titan Gladiator
• Agonizer
• 4 Cataphract Arcuarii
• 6 Paingiver Beast Handlers
• 6 Praetorian Swordsmen

I’m not very familiar with Skorne having only fought them once before, but Xerxis seems like a solid beat stick as are the heavy beasts. I really wasn’t familiar with this army (I even forgot to ask Harry what Xerxis’ feat was until he was about to do it!), but there’s nothing like learning what a unit does by plying against them!

I’m going to write the report in my terrible narrative style again, but I’ll comment on the MkII changes at the end.

Several days ago Thagrosh had send a scouting party of Striders ahead of his force to kill all of the inhabitants of a small mining settlement. His army needed to rest and recuperate after the long march south and the supplies, and fresh meat from the slain miners, should sustain his force for a couple of days. As they approached the miners’ huts the Striders seemed to have done an efficient job as there was not a living person in sight. Thagrosh had been distracted for the last few hours. Everblight’s ever active mind was revealing an intricate plan that sucked him deep into the Dragon’s vision and away from what was going on around him. The real world was a dream through his eyes. Even in this trance like state one unsettling thought began to surface, why had the Striders not reported back to him.

Pain pulled him from Everblight’s mind into his surroundings before he fully registered the significance of the missing Striders. He felt the Carnivean howl as brutal blows smashed the life from it at the edge of Thagrosh’s senses. He tried to see through it’s eyeless vision, but it was too late. Something had destroyed the creature. Thagrosh focused all his will to draw it’s energies back to him. He was at the fore of his army and he could not afford the time it would take to bring another beast from the rear. They had been ambushed.

Black and gold armoured troops appeared on his right. He recognised them as the Skorne, desert dwellers from the East. Maybe they were drawn to this settlement for supplies too and the presence of the Striders had alerted them to his approach. It did not matter. He needed to react quickly. He ordered the Warmongers and Archers forward on the left, hoping to outflank his unseen opponent. The Legionnaires were hopelessly outnumbered on the right, but he ordered them to hold to the last Nyss. He forced the Nephilim Soldier forward and through it’s sight saw the Skorne Titan that had destroyed the Carnivean.

Seeing it made his outflanking plan seem foolish. This Titan could rampage through his moving troops without rapid intervention. He moved forward and called the Warmongers back to take on this beast. The charge from the Warmongers was brutal tearing chunks from the Titan, but still it stood defiant and struck two of the blighted down. To make matters worse a lumbering Rhinodon appeared between the houses. Thagrosh forced the Nephilim forward to finish the Titan which it did with a grace against which the Skorne beast could not defend.

Thagrosh was aware of the Archers shooting at something on the left, but neither he nor his beasts could see at what. On the right the Legionnaires were faring poorly. They had taken down a couple of the large armoured Skorne, but their numbers were dwindling quickly and another unit of the enemy was closing in.

That was the least of his problems, the Rhinodon was now hurtling towards the Warmongers and Nephilim. With a swipe of it’s tail it dropped two more Warmongers, but failed to hit the Nephilim. Thagrosh urged the Nephilim to the right to block the units of Skorne and hoped that the spiked Skorne beast would not strike it down. The gamble paid off and the Nephilim swooped to engaged the enemy troops.

Now was the moment for him to join the fight. He barrelled towards the Skorne beast and swung with all his might. His repeated blows struck home, but it’s impressive armour prevented him from taking it down. In the distance Thagrosh could see the Skorne warlock approach with his maces held ready for combat. Now he needed the Carnivean back in action. Using Everblight’s gift he brought the destroyed beast back by his side.

The enemy warlock urged his force to inflict brutal damage and charged in damaging the Carnivean, but failed to destroy it. The spiked beast attempted to break it too, but was having difficulty hitting the Legion creation. On his right the Nephilim Soldier miraculously held and blocked the advancing Skorne troopers. This was his opportunity. He forced the Carnivean to make room for him to engage, but in it’s fury it started to strike the Skorne warlock. Between it’s vicious jaws and powerful claws the Carnivean, which was the first victim of this encounter, finished it. The Skorne warlock had been felled by it’s anger. The settlement and supplies were Legions to exploit.

So, that is MkII then (well, at least the Field Test). Unsurprisingly it plays much the same. I forgot Vengeance on the Legionnaires twice during the battle, so there is more to be considered during the Maintenance Phase. I also forgot about Abomination early in the battle, resulting in the Archers not taking a Command check when the Warmongers strayed close to them. Neither of these were game changing. Harry got pretty unlucky at the end. He should have wiped the Carnivean out a second time, but then again my damage roles on the Rhinodon were terrible! He also should have taken out the Nephilim soldier, but again his dice abandoned him. When the Carnivean struck down Xerxis he was had four fury for transfers, but Harry had run too hot in his turn and both of his beasts were fully loaded. That said, Thagrosh was sitting on full fury and could probably have finished him too. It was an excellent game, but without any beasts frenzying (there was only one Threshold check in the whole game, and it was successful) or the need to Shake Effect we didn’t get to test out most of the newer aspects of Hordes MkII.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Learning to play Hordes: Part 4 (Mini Battle Report)
2. Learning to play Hordes: Part 3 (Battle Report)
3. Why can’t I play Hordes?

• Karchev the Terrible
• Behemoth
• Kodiak
• War Dog
• Widowmakers
• Mechaniks (5)

I had a slightly altered list from that which I ran recently -

• Iron Lich Asphyxious
• Skarlock
• Gorman di Wulfe
• 2 Defilers
• Bane Knights (6)
• Bane Thralls (6)
• Bile Thralls (7)
• Mechanithralls (6)

Here’s another foray into the narrative battle report …

Was it recently or long ago? Time was inconsequential to the Iron Lich. Immortality was his blessing from Lord Toruk and Asphyxious has embraced it and the opportunities it affords. It was the silliest thing how a shape, a dark shade or a scream could ignite a memory, but his immortal memory spans such a long time that he was not sure when these events had happened. He recalled how Tartarus fell upon and slew the snipers after they had dropped several of his Knights, their deaths reanimating the fallen Banes. These newly risen continued the carnage ruining the man-machine’s entourage of Mechaniks. Mechanithralls had died to the the large ‘jacks bombards. Bile Thralls exploded in a glory of destruction and gore, but they had killed little.

The man-machine’s mechanical cohort was more difficult to vanquish than his flesh and blood troops, particularly the large one with the guns. It had destroyed one of his arc nodes at range and had charged the other. It amused him to remember how it had pounded its large fists down, only to hit nothing. It had not amused him to see the Defiler crumpled as it backed away from the lumbering beast. It was all coming back to him now.

He could see the man-machine limping. The searing blast of Hellfire had done its worst, but with the arc nodes destroyed it would fall to him to finish the job. Yes, yes, he had been hard to damage, but before they were destroyed He had used the arc node to channel his destructive powers at the enemy ‘caster. Tartarus engaged the smaller ‘jack and his Bane Thralls totalled the larger, just after the mercenary had blinded it with one of his concoctions. He knew even in this damaged state that Karchev… yes, Karchev is what they called him… would be dangerous. Asphyxious had ensured the Knights moved to block the man-machine’s charge lanes and finished him with his magics. He was not sure why these memories came to him now, but they pleased him.

Gorman di Wulfe proved invaluable in throwing down smoke clouds and in blinding the Behemoth with Black Oil. He was hurt by Asphyxious’ feat, but it would take a very unlucky role to kill him. He’s ARM12 with 5 boxes and the feat does POW5 to living models. If he is unharmed a role of 12 on 2D6 would be needed to kill him. I’ll take that risk everytime!

Owen

Related posts:

1. Asphyxious vs Severius (500pt Battle Report)
2. Project Cryx: Complete (for now…)
3. My next painting project: Cryx

• Supreme Kommandant Irusk
• Destroyer
• War Dog
• Great Bears of Gallowswood
• 8 Iron Fang Pikemen
• Iron Fang Officer & Standard Bearer
• 3 Man-O-War Shocktroopers
• Greylord Ternion
• Widowmakers
• 4 Battle Mechaniks
• Man-O-War Kovnik
• Man-O-War Drakhun (+dismount)
• Manhunter
• Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

That leaves me just a few points shy at 747 points comprising 34 models and 29 VPs. We’re going to play for the ‘caster kill so VPs aren’t going to matter. Phil’s army was relatively ‘jack heavy with four arc nodes, but these were balanced by some solid troop choices -

• Grand Scrutator Severius
• Guardian
• 3 Revengers
• Choir of Menoth (6)
• 10 Holy Zealots
• Monolith Bearer
• 10 Temple Flameguard
• Temple Flameguard Officer and Standard Bearer
• 6 Knights Exemplar
• Reclaimer
• 3 Wracks

That comes in at 25 VPs and 46 models and whilst ‘jack/troop balanced is lacking in the solo area.

For this battle report I’m going to try something different and write it as a fictional narrative. It’ll probably be rubbish, but here it goes.

Irusk had his eyes closed. The wind was picking up and it carried the undulating chanting of the approaching Menites. They had strayed into this newly acquired region of the Khadoran Empire and trespassers, even those who claim to have a God at their side, will not be tolerated. Irusk could sense his men’s readiness. They were a hammer that was poised and he would decide where the blow would land. No one understood the lands and terrain that armies fight over better than he and it would act as his anvil. He would channel the enemy to the point where he wanted them and would then release the hammer, striking them, smiting them.

Even with his eyes shut he could see every detail of the low hill with ruins atop that stood before him. Whilst it might appear to be a strong defensive position to an inexperienced commander, he saw it as a means to divide the enemy’s strength. He committed the Widowmakers forward on his left flank and sent the mercenary Elf with them. He did not trust her, but knew she could slow any opposing ‘jacks that advanced that way. Behind the hill he deployed the Destroyer with whom he had developed a strong bond in the last months. He could sense it’s strength and it’s eagerness to surge towards the enemy. He would have to work to control it as his plan was to use it as a pivotal point in his army, the centre about which he would divide the enemy. The Great Bears had the Iron Fangs under their command and he had ordered them to advance on the right along the dried river bed when the saw enemy in numbers. He was confident that they could deal with any that came that way. He and his entourage, consisting of of a Kovnik, Drakhun, Greylords and the Wardog Ronoyxa, would stay flexible, ready to react to where the enemy sent the bulk of their force, but he was sure it would be the river bed.

On the wind he caught the acrid smell of coal smoke and as he opened his eyes he could see the massive Guardian ‘jack followed closely by spear-armed Temple Flame Guard and possibly Exemplar Knights advancing towards the Widowmakers. So it began.

He barked orders to the Men-O-War to move to the centre, willing them forward with extra speed. His ‘jack held steady whilst the Bears and their Iron Fangs rush up the right. In front of them he could see the smoke of three small ‘jacks in tight formation as they moved along the riverbed. The chanting seemed to be coming from that direction and he knew that the choir of Menoth had strange powers the thwart the efficiency of the Khadoran guns. The Iron Fangs would have no such trouble. A glint of light flashed from atop the hill and amongst a large group of zealots he spotted Severius. He knew the threat range of this old man and his ability to drain magic from the air was disconcerting. He moved his entourage along the river slightly careful to keep the enemy ‘caster in his slights.

The report of the Widowmakers guns caught his ears and he hoped that signified the deaths of Menites. If the Elf did not delay that Guardian ‘jack then he could be in trouble, but the smoke from it did not seem to be closing quickly. In the centre, the Men-O-War were quickly enveloped by the Zealots. Even these maniacs were not foolish enough to use their fire bombs in close combat and the highly armoured Khadorans began wading through them. Irusk ensured the advancing trio of ‘jacks were slowed by turning the previously dry river bed into a quagmire below their feet. The Iron Fang Pikemen charged to engage one of these smaller ‘jacks which now appeared to be Revengers. He would have to deal with all of them as having even one nearby was as dangerous as getting too near Severius. The Great Bears dodged and weaved through the pikemen to engage the second Revenger, but they did not seem to be dealing with it as quickly as he’d expect. More sporadic shots could be heard from the Widowmakers, but they were now less in number. Irusk feared that the left flank would not hold much longer and as if to add insult to injury he felt all the magic surrounding him dissipate forcing a temporary retreat.

The Iron Fangs and Great Bears became enclosed in clouds of ashes as some troopers seemed to disintegrate, but those remaining were slowly dealing with the enemy ‘jacks. Irusk could see Severius focusing his energies towards them. In the centre the Drakhun launched forward towards the third Revenger and totalled it, but the horse fell in the assault. The Guardian appeared on the hill as, almost simultaneously, the depleted Flame Guard and Exemplars rounded its base. This was bad. Irusk only had a few Mechaniks and the Destroyer in that area as the Men-O-War were still engaged with the Zealots in the centre. Without even being ordered the Mechaniks launched themselves at the enemy spearmen, but were cut down to a man.

This bought a little time and he focused his mind on the Destroyer levelling it’s bombard towards the enemy unit. Four fell in the explosion. As they crowded together and began advancing he attempted to halt them, but only felled one. He urged the Greylords forward and they took care of the rest, but were almost wiped out in the process. Eyriss and the Widowmakers were nowhere to be seen, but they had at least reduced the now leaderless Exemplar Knights to three. On the hill the Guardian engaged the Men-O-War over a ruined wall and killed one of them. The others repositioned to engage the remaining Zealots, who had managed to throw some bombs towards the dismounted Drakhun and the Great Bears. Between the bombs and the magics of Severius the right flank wasn’t looking great either.

Urged on by their leader the Exemplars engaged the Men-O-War to the rear and obliterated them as the Guardian rounded the wall in the direction of the Destroyer. A foolhardy Monolith bearer surged towards the Khadoran ‘jack, his attack barely scratching it’s armour. The dog Ronoyxa bounded towards him and lunged at his neck, felling the fanatic and returning to his master’s side. Irusk saw his chance and focused all of his mind on the Destroyer. Through it’s eyes he could see the Guardian become nearer as the Destroyer hurtled at it. He swung hard rending the lance arm from the Guardian’s body and on the backswing took it’s other arm off. The ‘jack wasn’t disabled, but it was essentially neutered. Just as he returned to himself he was nearly thrown off balance by a fire bomb that landed at his feet. He drew his handcannon and dropped the lone Zealot. The Iron Fangs and Great Bears could not be seen from where he was, but there were several casualties lying near the now destroyed Revengers. Again he fired his handcannon, this time killing a Knight. The dog killed another and with an almighty swing of the axe the Destroyer finished the Guardian and the final Exemplar.

It was only now that Irusk noticed that the choir was no longer chanting and that Severius had retreated into a defensive position on the hill. As he surveyed the scene he noticed that there were no other Protectorate troops standing. Severius’ anger caused him to surge forward frying a Manhunter that Irusk himself did not even spot until he went up in flames. This was the chance, time for the Destroyer to Blitzkrieg the enemy warcaster, who would now be finding the ground under his feet turning to thick gorse. The Destroyer swung, but before it could connect the enemy ‘caster dove out of the way and quit the field as quickly as his aged feet could carry him. The day belonged to Khador. Irusk felt every the pain of every man lost, but he was relieved to see the Great Bears pull themselves to standing from amidst the corpses of fallen pikemen. Many good men of the empire had died today, but losing the Bears would have been a severe blow.

So, there it is, my Khadorans emerged victorious when Phil conceded with only Severius left alive (and standing in combat with my Destroyer). I had the Wardog, Kovnik, one Greylord, the Destoyer and the Iron Fang’s Standard Bearer left alive with Irusk. The bit above about the Great Bears is just character fluff. None of them passed tough checks during the game! It was a hard fought battle, but by performing a refused flank and not attempting to take the hill I was able to only fight half of Phil’s force at a time. That said, when the TFG and remaining Exemplar Knights appeared around the hill in good numbers I thought I was in trouble. The ranged ability of the Destoyer and Greylords, coupled with some shots from Irusk and the Kovnik really took care of them. I forget how good Khador can be at range when needs be. Here are all of the photos I took -

Owen

Related posts:

1. Asphyxious vs Severius (500pt Battle Report)
2. Irusk vs Shae (25pt Battle Report; VASSAL)
3. Butcher vs Kaelyssa (35pt Battle Report)

The Armies
I decided I go with a ranged magic assassination list with a strong Bane influence. I was hoping Tartarus could get close to the enemy troops and scythe through them. Here’s my list –

• Iron Lich Asphyxious
• Skarlock
• 3 Defilers
• Bane Knights (6)
• Bane Thralls (6)
• Bile Thralls (6)
• Bane Lord Tartarus
• Pistol Wraith

That’s exactly 500pts. Phil’s list had his usual two units of Zealots and two arc nodes. Both of our casters had the potential for ranged magic kills, but the big differences are that he had some magical defence and I had a ‘caster that could really do a lot of damage in melee. Here’s Phil’s list -

• Grand Scrutator Severius
• Hierophant
• Guardian
• Revenger
• Choir of Menoth (6)
• Holy Zealots (6)
• Holy Zealots (6)
• Temple Flameguard (8)
• Temple Flameguard Officer and Standard Bearer)
• Knight Exemplar Seneschal

Terrain and Deployment

The Game

Here are all of the images I took of the game -

Owen

Related posts:

1. Karchev vs Asphyxious (500pt Battle Review)
2. eIrusk vs Severius (750pt Battle Report)
3. Project Cryx: Complete (for now…)

BACKGROUND
The loss of Carentan on the 12th June was a heavy blow to the German chances of repelling the the Allied forces as it provided a vital link between two of the main invasion beaches. On the 13th June the resupplied 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment linked up with elements of the 17th SS Panzerdivision, including some Panzer IV H tanks in order to retake the town. At the same time the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne were in entrenched positions to the southwest of Carentan, having extended their defensive perimeter around the town while they awaited support from the 2nd Armoured Division. At dawn on the 13th the German forces were ready to counterattack and moved from the southwest.

Figure 1 [1] – Battle for Carentan

CAMPAIGN
This two game campaign represents the events of the 13th June, with the first battle representing the overwhelming German forces clashing with Dog and Fox companies from the 501st PIR and the second game representing their advance towards Carentan being resisted by Easy company. The Germans are attempting to breakthrough the dug in paratroopers to retake Carentan and the Allies are attempting to repel this assault and hold the town. Game 1 is a Fighting Withdrawal (P.205) with some modifications. The outcome of this battle determines how prepared the Americans are to fight the German advance in Game 2.

Game 1 is a Fighting Withdrawal (P.205), but uses the map from Hold The Line (P.204). This represents the German advances being hemmed in by bocage hedges (players may use the Boacage Special Rules in both games) and the fact that they were using Route d’Auvers (shown in this Satellite Image) for their advance. There are a couple of minor changes to the scenario. The Defensive Battle special rule is not used as the Germans are always the attackers; The Ambush and Prepared Position special rules is not used as the German forces caught the defenders off balance, having just left their overnight entrenched positions in order to push out the defensive perimeter. Otherwise the battle is fought as described in the Flames of War rulebook. In brief, this means the defending American force must place three objectives and incrementally withdraw their forces and remove objectives. While doing so they must not allow the objectives to fall to the attacking German forces. Effectively an American win would hinder and slow the German advance, giving time for Easy Company to bolster their defensive positions. A German win would leave Easy unprepared and in real danger of being overrun.

Two key aspects of Game 2 are determined by the outcome of game 1: the timing of the Reserves and the American’s capability to mount an anti-armour Ambuscade. Game 2 is a Hold the Line battle as described on P.204 of the rulebook. Again the Defensive Battle special rule is not used, with the German forces being the attacking force. If the Americans lost the first game the Reserves special rule become the Delayed Reserves special rule. If the Germans lost the first game the American player may detach up to three bazooka teams from any platoons and form them into a new platoon (that does not count in any way towards the total number of platoons or the number of platoons destroyed). This new platoon may be deployed using the Ambuscade special rule. Regardless of the winner of game 1, the American player must hold all tank platoons in reserve.

The overall outcome of the campaign is determined by the outcome of game 2, i.e. an American win in this game results in them winning the campaign whether they won game 1 or not.

GAME 1: AFTER ACTION REPORT
SETUP

The German force consisted of -

• Fallschirmjager Company HQ (2 SMG Teams) supported by 2 Panzerfausts and a Mortar Detachment
• Fallschirmjager Platoon with three Rifle/MG squads and a HQ with Panzerfaust
• Fallschirmjager MG Platoon with four MG42 teams and a HQ with Panzerknacker
• Fallschirmjager Mortar Platoon with two 10.cm NbW35 and HQ
• Panzergrenadier Platoon with three squads and a HQ with Panzerfaust
• Panzer Platoon with three Panzer IVh tanks (including HQ)

At first glance it is not a very mobile force, but considering the bocage terrain, where tanks can easily bog down, the infantry have an advantage. The MG and Mortar platoons can concentrate on keeping the American’s pinned down while the Fallschirmjager and Panzergrenadier platoons advance under their fire. If the tanks can advance freely they have the potential to rout the American force all by themselves!

My paratrooper force consisted of -

• PIR Company Command Carbine Team and 2iC Command Carbine Team with three HQ Bazooka Teams
• PIR Platoon with three Squads (Cmd R/MG, 9x R/MG, 1x 60mm Mort, 1x Bazooka)
• PIR Platoon with three Squads (Cmd R/MG, 9x R/MG, 1x 60mm Mort, 1x Bazooka)
• PIR MG Platoon with two Sections (Cmd/Crb, 8x LMG)
• PIR Mortar Platoon with two Sections (Cmd/Crb, 4x 81mm Mort)
• PIR Field Artillery Battery with two Sections (Cmd/Crb, Staff, Obs/Crb, 4x 75mm PH)

The Americans were more spread out, with the PIR platoons positioned ahead of the rest of their force. One was in a wheat field and the other was close to the road hidden in hedgerows.

THE BATTLE

Realising that the Americans were withdrawing rapidly the Fallschirmjager infantry and MG platoon advanced at the double up the road and came under intense fire from the 75mm howitzers. This barrage mauled and stunned the Germans, causing their advance to stall. The severely weakened American paratrooper platoon in front of them was ordered to withdraw leaving only the Company HQ to hold the objective. The Germans did not regain their strength on this flank and the HQ and artillery were able to successfully withdraw and as the objective was removed.

AFTERMATH
The American paratroopers had barely succeeded in holding the Germans at bay. Their withdrawal was carried out under heavy pressure and only the Mortar platoon and artillery escaped unscathed. They managed to slow the German advance, but the cost was very high. Had the Panzers advanced more quickly they would have seized at least one of the objectives. It was the initial diversion to deal with the first PIR platoon and the fearless resistance of the MG platoon that gave the Americans time to withdraw. This delay in the German advance may prove costly if the American armour has been given the time to arrive. Game 2 should be interesting.

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS

REFERENCES

1. Wikipedia: Battle for Carentan Map
2. Wikipedia: Battle of Carentan
3. Wikipedia: Battle of Bloody Gulch
4. Ramsbury at War
5. Trigger Time – 101st Airborne WWII
6. Ambrose, S., E., Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler”s Eagle”s Nest (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992)

Standard disclaimer – I am not a historian and I do not claim that everything written in this article is factually accurate, although I strove to ensure that it is. The battle report is fictitious and does not represent the events of the 13th June 1944.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 2
2. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 1
3. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 3

Following on from victories in the first two battles (Game 1, Game 2) on the 23rd November the Germans were threatening to separate off the whole left flank of the American XV Corps. They had pushed into the centre of Schalbach and were now endangering the American supply line. If the Panzer Lehr Division could separate off the XV Corp left flank their advance would stall, giving the Germans valuable time to prepare for the Ardennes counter-offensive (Battle of the Bulge) and prepare the Fatherland’s border defenses.

The final battle in the campaign is a Breaktrough with the Germans attempting to further disrupt the American forces. Figure 1, below, shows the terrain setup, deployment areas and objectives. The American forces would deploy in a defensive position in order to prevent the Panzer Lehr from breaking through to their objectives (in the south-west of the map). They had the night of the 23rd and early morning of the 24th to prepare their defense.

In order to represent how severely battered the German forces had been in the first two battles and the fact that the Americans had reserves in depth the battle would be fought with 1250pts of Germans versus 1500pts of Americans.

Figure 1 – Setup: Terrain, Deployment Areas and Objectives

• Company HQ (plus 3 snipers)
• 1st Rifle Platoon (9 teams)
• 2nd Rifle Platoon (9 teams)
• Tank Platoon (5 M4A1 Shermans)
• Tank Destroyer Platoon (2 M10 GMCs)
• Weapons Platoon (Light mortars and LMGs)
• Artillery Platoon (2 sections of M2A1 105mm guns)
• Priority Air Support (P47 Thunderbolts)

My German force consisted of fewer troops, but they were very well equipped veterans. I decided that creating another platoon (using the Kampfgruppe German special rule) was necessary to give my force a reserve to come on from turn three (using the Delayed Reserves rule). The way the scenario was designed this force would come on right beside their objective, giving them a good chance of grabbing it. The cost of this new platoon was to reduce the size of all of my grenadier platoons. I also added a small AA platoon to act as a mobile deterrent and planned to keep them close to my Jagdpanzers early in the battle. Here’s a list of my units -

• Company HQ (Company Command mounted in a 250 half-track)
• 1st Panzergrenadier Platoon (4 MG Teams and 2 Tank-hunter Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• 2nd Panzergrenadier Platoon (4 MG Teams and 2 Tank-hunter Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• 3rd Panzergrenadier Platoon lead by the 2iC (4 MG Teams and 2 Tank-hunter Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• Tank-Hunter Platoon (3 Jagdpanzer IVs)
• Artillery Platoon (1 section of Nebelwerfer 41 Rocket Launchers)
• Anti Aircraft Platoon (2 Sd Kfz 25/10 AA vehicles)

Figure 2, below, shows the deployment of the forces. The Panzer Lehr have taken up an aggressive position with two Panzergrenadier platoons poised to strike towards their objectives. The Jagdpanzers deployed to their east setting their sights firmly on the Sherman tanks. Their AA chaperones stayed nearby in order to deter American aircraft. The Nebelwerfers set up in the north, hidden and spread out as best they could to avoid barrages and aircraft fire. The 3rd Panzergrenadier platoon (lead by the 2iC) were held in reserve and would come in from the south-west having flanked the American forces.

The Americans set up with their infantry in prepared positions and set to spring on the advancing German forces. Their tank destroyers were held in reserve in order to deal with the Jagdpanzers should they present a difficulty later in the battle. The awesome 105mm artillery had a commanding view of much of the battlefield. The weapons platoon consisting of devastating LMGs and Mortars deployed as a deterrent just to the north of the German objectives.

Figure 2 – Deployment

Overnight the American top brass, led by Major General Wade H. Haislip, hastily prepared defensive positions and arranged their troops to repulse the inevitable resumption of the Panzer Lehr offensive. They knew they had reserves in depth, but maneuvering in the mountainous Vosges was difficult and ensuring the reserves would be at the appropriate point on the line would be difficult.

Early on the morning of the 24th, the engine roar of 250s and their support vehicles could be heard by the entrenched men of the 44th Infantry Division. Bursting from a small group of farm building the mechanized German infantry launched themselves at the American line (Figure 3). In the centre bazookas screamed and a 250 transport exploded in flames, but the German troops pressed their attack. The close quarters fighting shook the American troops and they fell back from their foxholes, firing on the German troops as they moved off.

The Jagdpanzers had their sights firmly on the Shermans. In a devastating hail of fire three tanks were destoyed convincing the remainder of the platoon to flee. A lone Thunderbolt responded against the Jagdpanzers, but failed to hit. The American right flank looked in real danger of collapsing under such a heavy assault.

Elsewhere, the Panzergrenadier 1st platoon, lead by the company commander, lunged towards their objectives and the American weapons platoon moved up to a position where they could engage them. In the north the American 2nd platoon came under heavy fire from the Nebelwerfer rockets, but retaliated by taking out their observer.

Figure 3

The 2nd Rifle platoon moved down towards the weapons platoon to provide support. The Thunderbolts returned in greater numbers and blasted a Nebelwerfer to oblivion leaving a large plume of dark smoke rising from its wreck. They aircraft will have no problems finding the others in their follow up sweeps.

Figure 4

The P47s returned and destroyed another rocket launcher causing the remaining crews to flee. The Germans could not count on long ranged artillery support any longer. The American 2nd platoon pushed forward in support to assist in defending the objectives.

Figure 5

Figure 6

AFTERMATH
The Americans won the day on the 24th turning around their fortunes of the 23rd. The Germans had stretched themselves too far, but their losses and sacrifices will be seen as justified. Despite a loss at the end of this campaign the Panzer Lehr Division had succeeded in severely disrupting the advance of the XV Corps. The Americans would have to rethink their advance into Germany and with the Battle of the Bulge just around the corner the Germans are ready to show there is still some fight left in them.

I stretched myself too thinly in this final game. In retrospect setting up the 3rd platoon by weakening the other two meant the panzergrenadiers were not as durable as they have been in previous games. This was compounded by the fact that I forgot about the tank hunter teams, thus reducing the effective size of each (already small) platoon by two teams. That said, Peter played a solid game. He didn’t rush to engage the Germans and let me come into his kill zone. His 3rd Rifle platoon were amazing and sustained a huge amount of fire, but refused to flee. His artillery was also very impressive and he managed to get Time on Target (forcing me to re-roll successful saves) two or three times during the game. The Americans deserved to win this battle, but this small piece of the war was won by the Panzer Lehr.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 2
2. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 1
3. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Photographs

The terrain was setup as shown with the road junction representing the intersection of present day Route de Hirschland and Rue Principale (Present day satellite image).

Figure 1 – Setup: Terrain, Deployment Areas and Objectives

• Company HQ (plus 3 snipers)
• 1st Rifle Platoon (9 teams)
• 2nd Rifle Platoon (9 teams)
• Tank Platoon (5 M4A1 Shermans)
• Tank Destroyer Platoon (2 M10 GMCs)
• Weapons Platoon (Light mortars and LMGs)
• Artillery Platoon (2 sections of M2A1 105mm guns)

The U.S. forces were deployed just south of Rue Principale with the two rifle platoons at opposite ends of the line, ready to move towards both objectives. The Company HQ setup a command post in the building at the T-junction, providing them with an excellent spotting position. The tank platoons took up a more central position ready to make use move north along the road. Both the artillery and weapons platoon setup near the German objectives to protect them and provide ranged support.

Figure 2 – Deployment

• Company HQ (Company Command, 2iC and Panzerschrecks mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• 1st Panzergrenadier Platoon (6 MG Teams and 3 Tank-hunter Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• 2nd Panzergrenadier Platoon (6 MG Teams and 3 Tank-hunter Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• Tank-Hunter Platoon (3 Jagdpanzer IVs)
• Artillery Platoon (1 section of Nebelwerfer 41 Rocket Launchers)

The German 1st platoon dismounted from their transports and setup with the Command HQ and Panzerschrecks on the north-western U.S. Objective. The artillery set up in a central position with the Jagdpanzers and 2nd platoon, still in their transports, to their east.

The map symbols used in this battle report are -

THE BATTLE
(This battle report is fictitious and does not reflect the events of the 23rd November 1944)

Through the morning of the 23rd November 1944 the Panzer Lehr Division had clashed with the dug in troops of the 44th Infantry Regiment 2km north of Schalbach. By the afternoon the Germans had pushed the U.S. forces south into the town, but the fighting had been bloody. Without the depth of reserves possessed by the American army the Panzer Lehr Division was being stretched. As soon as they approached the town centre the Jadgpanzers and 2nd Panzergrenadier platoon, joined by the Nebelwerfer Observer team, pressed down their left flank, avoiding the exposed road (Figure 3). The M10 GMCs and 2nd Rifle Platoon moved to block their advance, but immediately came under intense fire from the Jagdpanzers and distant Nebelwerfers. Under this barrage the riflemen fled and the two Tank Destroyers were left in flames.

Spotting for their artillery platoon, and identifying the danger the German rocket launchers, the U.S. command called in a strike on them. All three Nebelwerfers were destroyed. The Shermans pushed up the centre and opened up their MGs on the German 1st platoon. The grenadiers had dug in, but the MG fire managed to kill a couple of teams. The grenadiers opened up on the advancing 1st rifle platoon wiping out several teams.

Figure 3

The observer from the U.S. artillery platoon took up a position and set their sights on the German 1st platoon. The Jagdpanzers continued south past the field, but would soon be radioed to to fall back to prevent the Shermans breaking through.

Figure 4

The German 1st platoon continued their unrelenting fire on the American riflemen causing them to quit the battle. American snipers appeared in the hedges of the field and in the northernmost building. The bravery of the Tank-hunters quickly turned to tragedy under the precise sniper fire. The remainder of the 1st platoon kept their heads low as they saw the Tank-hunter teams fall.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Artillery fire again rained down on the 2nd platoon shaking them, but they managed to retain their composure to fire on the remaining Tank Destroyer vehicles and wiping them out. The U.S. forces held on tenaciously, but the increasingly accurate Jagdpanzer fire was beginning to take its toll on the 105mm guns. The U.S. Command, realising the day was lost, ordered a retreat and vowed that the 24th November would see a change in their fortune.

Figure 7

AFTERMATH
The Germans attempts to disrupt the U.S. XV Corps were proving effective, but at a cost. If they encounter much more U.S. artillery tomorrow their attempt to separate the left flank of the Corps from the main body will fail. Their mission is now partially complete. The U.S. forces have been rocked by the speed and aggression of the German advance. Given a night to fortify their positions, the Americans will put up a stiffer resistance tomorrow.

Owen

Related posts:

1. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 1
2. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 3
3. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Photographs

The terrain was setup as shown with the road representing the present day Route de Hirschland (Present day satellite image).

Figure 1 – Setup: Terrain, Deployment Areas and Objectives

• Company HQ (plus 1 sniper)
• 1st Rifle Platoon (9 teams)
• 2nd Rifle Platoon (9 teams)
• Tank Platoon (5 M4A1 Shermans)
• Weapons Platoon (Light mortars and LMGs)
• Artillery Platoon (2 sections of M2A1 105mm guns)

As the defenders the Americans must keep at least half of their platoons in reserve. Peter opted to field the Company HQ with the 1st Rifle Platoon and the Artillery Platoon. The remaining platoons were in reserve (meaning that on the first turn Peter would roll one die – on a 5+ he could choose a Platoon to come on from his table edge. On his second turn he would roll two dice, again looking for 5+. On the third turn he rolls three dice and so on). His forces are deployed on the southern edge of the map below.

Figure 2 – Deployment

• Company HQ (Company Command and 2iC mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• 1st Panzergrenadier Platoon (6 MG Teams and 3 Panzerschreck Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• 2nd Panzergrenadier Platoon (6 MG Teams and 3 Panzerschreck Teams mounted in 250 half-tracks)
• Tank-Hunter Platoon (3 Jagdpanzer IVs)

All of my force was deployed at the north of the map. As attackers my force would have the first turn and I decided to keep them mounted in their transports in order to have maximum mobility. Their mission was to seize one of the objectives and hold it unopposed.

The maps below do not relate directly to individual turns, but rather attempt to capture the flow of the battle. The legend shows which units are represented by the stylised APP-6A symbols.

THE BATTLE
On the morning of the 23rd November 1944 the Panzer Lehr screamed towards Schalbach with all of their troops mounted in transports. The Company HQ and 1st Panzergrenadier Platoon gambled on catching the defending U.S. forces off balance and sped down their left flank to assume a position on the outskirts of the town (Figure 3). They were in relative danger having failed to unmount their 250s (I forgot their Stormtrooper move!). Luckily none of the the U.S. reserves arrived and their artillery was ineffective despite ranging in on the lead vehicle. Meanwhile, the Jagdpanzers pushed forward to hold a commanding position in front of their objective. The 2nd Platoon moved up behind the cover of a hill, remaining in their vehicles in order to act as a mobile reserve.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

The U.S. Company HQ radioed the light mortar teams who had just joined the battle with the coordinates of the 2nd Panzergrenadier platoon. Their shells fell on target killing two teams, but the troops stood firm. An on target shot from the sniper however had everyone ducking for cover and pinned atop the hill. The last of the American reserves, their 2nd Rifle Platoon, arrived and moved through the forest.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

The Panzer Lehr had won the day, but at a terrible cost. Their 2nd platoon was almost wiped out and the 1st platoon was almost and reduced to half strength. If the Germans are going to progress into Schalbach they will need to bring many more troops forward. The American resistance will be fierce.

Figure 10

Owen

Related posts:

1. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 2
2. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Game 3
3. Flames of War – Mini Campaign – Photographs