Ronan,

I think it's historical, but I guess I am missing the more infantry-focused games, and I know the next campaign (North Africa) is going to be super focused on the tanks.

A small city, eh?  I don't know man, I haven't heard of too many tank fights in cities

V/R,
Jack

Quote from: bigjackmac on 08 May 2015, 02:58:44 AM
A small city, eh?  I don't know man, I haven't heard of too many tank fights in cities

Stonne, Jack. You know, the one where Bilotte and his crew in the Char B "Eure" single-handedly shot up more German armour than you'll have on table

Nothing like building up a bogey-man to "frit" the enemy

Bet the French tanks pop like paper bags after that!

"...single-handedly shot up more German armour than you'll have on table..."

Yeah Ithoriel, you're making my point!  Being channelized into the guns of a tank you can't knock out from the front sounds like a great reason to avoid tank fights in the city!!! 

V/R,
Jack

... but they still do it ...

He more kind of drove right into the middle of them, didn't he?!

If you're talking about the Sherman that drove up and stuck his nose in the building in Athens, he sure did!  And the BMP in Syria really cracked me up, driving into the building and firing down the hallway.  The best was the very beginning of Syria when the rocket popped out of the building, narrowly missing the tank as the tank popped the building.

In any case, the fellers in KG Klink don't have a deathwish, and none of this convinced me I should run a tank vs tank game in a city (I'm talking 2 or 3 platoons against 2 or 3 platoons, like I did previously)!

V/R,
Jack

All,

It's 1600 on 14 May 1940, and KG Klink, attached to the 7th Panzer Division, is on the move.  Earlier this morning KG Klink attacked and destroyed a strongpoint manned by the French 5th Infantry Division.  Having broken through 7th Panzer Division is on the road to Flavion.  However, an hour ago, 7th Panzer reconnaissance elements on the march came under fire from the (fictional) French village of Riqueville.  7th Panzer continued west around the village, and KG Klink immediately received a FragO to stand detached to reduce yet another French strongpoint.  Colonel Klink decided to lead the assault himself, composed of the better part of his Grenadier Company, two platoons of tanks, a portion of the Kampfgruppe's Reconnaissance Platoon, and a section of 80mm mortars.  Aerial reconnaissance stated the French force as a couple platoons of infantry with perhaps a couple crew-served weapons, with maybe a single tank in support.  Ordinarily a single tank in support wouldn't be something for Colonel Klink to be too concerned about, but when that tank is a Char B, with it's extraordinarily heavy armor...

Regarding rules, I'm messing around again...  Years ago, when my father was still alive, he'd come over pretty much every weekend and we'd play wargames (sadly, this was before I created a blog to record all my wargaming efforts).  In any case, we primarily played three games: Force on Force, Bag the Hun, and I Ain't Been Shot Mum (IABSM).  So it's been awhile, but I've had a hankering for some larger, reinforced-company level games that are a bit grittier that what I normally play, so I decided to give IABSM another try.  I did change some things up, vastly simplifying the shooting and morale mechanics, but I've kept the 'guts' of the game as written: platoon and 'Big Man' activation randomized by cards and further randomized by the 'Tea Break,' starting the game on 'blinds' and having to be spotted, and variable (diced-for) movement.  I say guts; others may have differing opinions, but to me, those items are what set the IABSM rules apart from others.


Overview, north is DOWN, with the Germans entering the table at left (east) and the French defending the right (west) half of the table, including the village, at top right (southwest).  The north is covered with crop fields and bushes which provide neither cover nor concealment, and while the bushes across the entirety of the table might look a bit bocage-ey, they're just bushes.  At far left is The Chateau, which has The Orchard just above it.  At center top left is The Farm (with a wood fence running around it and north *down* through the fields), and at center/center right is The Granary.

The opposing forces:


Ze Germans: at left is the Kampfgruppe Commander, Colonel Klink, proud owner of the Iron Cross 2nd Class for his actions in Poland.  At top is the German infantry company: top center left is the company commander, Captain Freitag (Iron Cross 2nd Class).  He has three of his four platoons, each with a platoon commander and three squads.  There is a two-tube section of 80mm mortars, two Sdkfz 221s from the Recon Platoon, three Pz IIIs (37mm) from 2nd Pz Platoon, and two Pz IVs from 4th Pz Platoon.


The French: they are commanded by Major Renaut (left) and have two rifle platoons of three squads each, a weapons section of a single machine gun and a 25mm anti-tank gun, and a single Char B heavy tank.

The troops are 10mm, a mix of Pendraken and Minifigs.  Basically it breaks out to most of the infantry are Minifigs and most of the vehicles are Pendraken.


The attack is not going well: a Pz IV and a Sdkfz 221 (center top right) push past a burning German armored car on their way into the village, separated from their infantry support, which is lying suppressed in the fields (bottom left and bottom right), being ravaged by French machine gun fire from the village (yellow building at top left).  To see how the fight goes, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2017/11/kg-klink-france-game-5.html

Hope you had as much fun as we did!

V/R,
Jack

Great report, thought the boy had ya!

Thanks Lemmey, and you ain't the only one!  I was already planning my tactical withdrawal, just got lucky.  Of course, if I could have ever gotten my mortars into the action, even if only to lay smoke for the infantry, things maybe could have gone a bit smoother...

V/R,
Jack

Nice one!

Your battlefields always look great! I have some of those fields as well, they work very well!

Gripping stuff! Great AAR and nice clear photos. Thanks for sharing.

Peter - Thanks, and yes, I do love those Hotz fields, they're fantastic.

Poggle - My pleasure, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

V/R,
Jack

All,

It's 0715 on 15 May 1940, and KG Klink, attached to the 7th Panzer Division, is on the move.  The 7th Panzer Division has broken through the French front line and is on the road to Flavion, with reconnaissance elements pushing both north and south of the city in search of a way to by-pass the city, or at least find an undefended back door.  North of Flavion, recce elements of KG Klink have discovered a ford over the River Moiste near a small farming hamlet; led by KG Klink's Reconnaissance Company Commander, 1st Lieutenant Wehner, the Germans quickly push across the river and secure a small bridgehead on the western bank, before sending for reinforcements.  Colonel Klink, the Kampfgruppe Commander, immediately broke off a detachment of infantry and armor to reinforce Lt Wehner at the ford.  But time is of the essence; French forces under Captain Cognac have spied the German bridgehead and are already forming up for a counterattack.


Overview, north is up, with the German baseline at right (east) and the French at left (west).  The River Moiste is at center, running north to south, and the key ford is at center right, where the dirt road intersects with the river.  The ground is flat, rolling fields, with heavy stands of trees at far right, bottom center, left, top left, and far left.  Cabbage fields abound, providing no significant cover or concealment nor real impediment to movement, but there is a stone wall (the sideways 'V' at center left/bottom) that halts movement and is only barely passable to tracked vehicles; similarly, there is a wooden fence running along the northern side of the main, east-west running road.  The fence itself is not the problem, it's the drainage ditch running just below, invisible to the naked eye , the fence.  At top left is The Farm, consisting of a residence, an outbuilding, and a barn.  At center is the tollkeeper's house, and at top center right is Mademoiselle Chevelle's home.

The objective of the game is possession of the ford, with possession being defined as having troops on the enemy's side of the river at the conclusion of the fight.  The Germans start the game in defensive positions, with guidance being to set up a significant amount of their forces on the western (French) side of the river.  The French begin the game at The Farm, in the northwest (top left), which is their marshalling area for the counterattack.


Sgt Graebner's Pz IVC, sheltering behind Mademoiselle Chevelle's home, fires on a Somua S35.  To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2017/12/kg-klink-france-game-6.html

Anyway, hopefully we've given you an entertaining battle report to enjoy, some food for thought regarding the rules, and some food for thought regarding the future of KG Klink (and go ahead and toss your thoughts my way, please).  Thanks for reading, hope you liked it.

V/R,
Jack

Greece, Crete, Desert

Germany rushed a lot of early tanks there, didn't even have time to repaint them, the crews just muddies them up.

I thought the boy played well, a cautious French attack.

Nice one, Jack.

The boy 'done good'. 

Cheers - Phil