having another go with BKC III

Started by petercooman, 14 May 2017, 02:01:15 PM

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petercooman

14 May 2017, 02:01:15 PM Last Edit: 14 May 2017, 02:39:16 PM by petercooman
Set up a game last night, This time using a scenario and the points and rules for field defences from bkc II (since Leon said these were going to revert mostly back to II, i avoided having to 'guess' at the point distributions on the BKC III scenarios)

Scenario was number 4, delibarate assault. German defender being assaulted somewhere in normandy, by a british battlegroup.

the forces:

German force 1400

CO cv 9   formation:   88mm FLAK 36  -  infantry (sniper upgrade) - HMG infatry - pak 40 - pzkw VI tiger I - 81 mm mortar - flakvierling
 
HQ cv 8 formation: pak 40 - HMG infantry - panzerfaust infantry - panzershrek infantry- regular infantry

FAO cv 7 - medium artillery

5 minefields (2 dummy, 3 marked) , bunker fortification ,1 AFV pit, 2 gun pit, 5 wire obstacles, 4 trench



British force 2100

CO cv 9  formation: sherman crab - stuart honey (recce) - infantry in bren carrier  - HMG in truck

HQ cv 8 formation:  churchill crocodile - engineer platoon in bren carrier (stubborn upgrade) - infantry platoon in halftrack - 3" mortar in truck

HQ cv 8 formation: 3x cromwell - Cromwell CS - engineer platoon in bren carrier (stubborn upgrade) - piat platoon in bren carrier (stubborn upgrade) - churchill AVRE

FAC cv 8 - hurricane

FAO cv 8 - medium guns

setup:

every german unit setup in a concealed position (trenches and gun pits are considered area terrain, so they can do this), and the defences spread out so that all possible approaches are blocked with minefields or wires, or both.

All terrain was randomly placed by rolling 5 d20 and a scatter die from center point of the table. The ruined BUA ath the center of te german deployment is the objective.






British set up had the cromwells on the left, croc and infantry in the middle, and the co and crab/infantry on the right.







First turn, the cromwell's started the game with a double 1, so went surging forward. One got OP'd by the tiger, revealing it's position to the british (and the FAC), while the engineers got into position, only to be suppresssed by OP fire from the panzerfaust infantry in the woods.


the FAC called in the hurricane, but was aborted by the AA fire. The flakvierling is in the middle of the of the ruins, but the way LOS and AIR units work, they could see the hurricane (the 88mm also added to the AA fire)


Center failed it's command, but the CO got things moving. The truck was KO'd by  a HMG platoon revealing it's position in the woods.The sherman crab got into position to remove the minefield, but was shot at by the pak 40 who completely missed.


Every german command roll failed!

Turn 2 starts with the FAC calling the hurricane back to try and suppress the tiger, but he was driven off again.


The FAO could clearly see the pak 40 and called in a very precise strike (purple die is the target point)


The cromwell troop covered the engineers while they started work on the minefield, but it turned out to be a dummy! (i placed facedown counters with number 1 and 2 on the minefields, 1 is dummy, 2 is real. That way it was still fun to play solo!)



After that the commander of the formation rolled another double 1! The AVRE crossed the minefield, taking cover next to the hill, ready to approach the bunker, while the rest fired away at the tiger on the right, and the infantry in the woods. Nothing got KO'd


Center hq failed again, but luckily the CO stepped in and got the mortar behind the hil dismounted, and the croc and the halftrack to move up once before failing his roll.


German turn started with a less precise (but still hitting the original target) artillery strike, wich suppressed the crocodile.



After that only one actication got through, with the tiger suppressing the cromwell at the back.



Turn 3 sees the FAC failing to call in the hurricane


But the cromwell troop gets another double 1!



They bring down the panzerfaust troops in the woods with combined fire!


In the centre, the engineers get their carrier smoked by the tiger, but escape alive and well.


The halftrack tries to bypass the minefield by crashing through the wire, but gets suppressed by the distant 88mm. the infantry dismount in the bushes.


On the right flank, the CO's formation smokes the pak 40 and suppresses the HMG in the woods. The minefield gets cleared by the crab too.


German turn starts with another pretty precise artillery strike, this time targetting the cromwells...


smoking the cromwell CS and putting some hurt on the carrier and other cromwell. I think this rattled their nerve, as they didn't move again for the rest of the battle! Rest of the turn is over very quicly with a couple of failed command rolls, only allowing the HMG  and the tiger next to it to shoot once.


Turn 4 sees the hurricane finally getting trough, putting a hit on the tiger and the HMG, who had revealed itself last turn


After that A LOT of bad command rolls resulted in just about nothing in both the german and british turns

Turn 5 kicks of with the hurricane getting driven off again.


Only thing noteworthy after that for the british and german activation is the CO's infantry getting their carrier KO'd by the german infantry in the trench while they move up (vulnerable rule!!!)


Turn 6 sees the FAC failing his request roll


The engineer platoon tries to make it to the minefield in the center but gets destroyed by OP fire from the tiger and HMG.


The german turn sees some firing but nothing note worthy.

Turn 7, and the hurricane gets driven off once more


With no more engineers in the centre to clear the minefield, the crocodile decides to be brave and run through it, and finds out the minefield was a dummy!. It gets supressed by OP fire from the tiger




And then in the german turn, it is  the target of another artillery strike, that manages to hit almost the entire formation bunched up in the cover.


followed by a double 1 from the CO...


Allowing the germans to drive back the remainder ofthe centre attack


Turn 8, and the hurricane fails again.


and so does the CO, who tried to command both his formation and the mortars from the centre formation (all hq's failed their command rolls). This just makes everyone move forward, dangerously close to the enemy.


In the german turn the cromwells get pummeled again by cruise missiles, sorry i mean a very precise artillery strike  ;D


And in the centre the infantry gets KO'd by combined fire from the tiger and HMG


And with that, i decided to cease the battle and retreat the British forces to regroup. (was 2.15 AM at this point) I didn't see the British troops occupying the objective in 4 turns, seeing the slow progress they made so far.

The battlefield at the end, lots of suppression markers on the British side:




The casualties, German left, British right (note, the British took one less stand of infantry as casualty, don't know why it is there)



Declaring this a minor victory for the Germans, because the British were not broken, so will be back!


Some observatins on the rules:

-Mortars did squat again, really underwhelming and should be looked at.

-Artillery too accurate again!!

-The new AA system means you go in or you don't, no middle ground. Wich is kind of annpying. Also, with AA fire hitting the plane 6 out of 8 times, it's a bit weird that it can't be damaged

- Can AA artillery now fire in the command phase and shoot AA in the opponent's turn? You couldn't in BKC II, but can't find anything about it in BKC III. If you can find anything, please let me know and say wich page!

- only one recce action in the entire game, because it was constantly out of range, and even then it rolled a 1 so didn't recce anything! Too short range!!!!

- starting to miss the easy way of making your army lists and just printing them out. A lot of book flicking to look up stats and special rules (for those who don't know, when printing the army lists from the battlegroup builder, the notes and explanation of them just came on the sheet)

- the sniper special rule. Hits on a 2+, does this mean suppress on a 2+ as well? was a bit confusing, and a bit too good, as it meant they kept suppressing the british troops right in front of them.

All in all an enjoyable game again, but some choices are just too good (artillery) and some are rather bad (mortars and carriers that can be shot from 30 cm by rifles!)



Still, a lot of potential if these get sorted!!!

PS: you might have noticed that i start each turn with the FAC calling the hurricane, that was just deliberately done, so that whenever i see a plane picture in the album, i know it's a new turn ;)

Sunray

Thanks Peter.  A lot of areas for revision emerging.  Case for mortars and AAA well proved.

petercooman

14 May 2017, 02:36:30 PM #2 Last Edit: 14 May 2017, 02:41:55 PM by petercooman
Quote from: Sunray on 14 May 2017, 02:10:06 PM
Thanks Peter.  A lot of areas for revision emerging.  Case for mortars and AAA well proved.

Yes i strongly believe these need to be looked at. But, knowing there are a few 'glitches', i still find the game plays rather well. 

Only thing that i'm still a bit biased off, is the special abilities you can buy for your infantry. I had a few in my list, but with so many things going on, i just keep forgetting them.

You used to have the fortress troop and veteran abilities in BKC II as well, but they were always bound to a troop type. Allowing them to be added as you see fit, means you can quickly lose track of them.

Edit: Maybe, If the New special rules still make the cut, It light Be a good Idea for Leon To make soms small mdf markers like he die with warband, that we can put behind our stands (like veteran, sniper, stubborn etc)

Sunray

Quote from: petercooman on 14 May 2017, 02:36:30 PM


Edit: Maybe, If the New special rules still make the cut, It light Be a good Idea for Leon To make soms small mdf markers like he did with warband, that we can put behind our stands (like veteran, sniper, stubborn etc)

What a good idea ! I often find that  unless my my vets, elite and SF - have distinctive cammo - so I can remember they have special status, I forget in the heat of the action, and my Oppo fails to remind me.  :d

Is there a good margin in MDF markers Leon?

Leon

Quote from: Sunray on 14 May 2017, 03:42:51 PM
Is there a good margin in MDF markers Leon?

Depends really, basic shapes and letters are OK but words take a longer time to engrave in the machine.
www.pendraken.co.uk - Now home to over 7000 products, including 4500 items for 10mm wargaming, plus MDF bases, Battlescale buildings, I-94 decals, Litko Gaming Aids, Militia Miniatures, Raiden Miniatures 1/285th aircraft, Red Vectors MDF products, Vallejo paints and much, much more!

petercooman

14 May 2017, 06:05:48 PM #5 Last Edit: 14 May 2017, 06:07:56 PM by petercooman
Quote from: Leon on 14 May 2017, 05:46:02 PM
Depends really, basic shapes and letters are OK but words take a longer time to engrave in the machine.


I must say that i gave had good results with printed counters glued To your mdf bases so that might be a way to go for me.

Maybe sticker sheets with the right size of bases  :-

Just brainstorming out loud, don't mind me ;D

Norm

Thanks for putting so much work into your AAR - very enjoyable.

petercooman


Steve J

Good to get more feedback on bits that need addressing.

petercooman

Quote from: Steve J on 14 May 2017, 06:56:39 PM
Good to get more feedback on bits that need addressing.

Hope it helps!

And if not, at least I had a few fun games out of it! With us always playing bkc in group, I had forgotten how fun it is when played solo...