Lull in the battle

Apparently last weeks battles were more taxing than anticipated! Only die hard warrior Keith showed up ready for battle, the rest of us were either MIA or AWOL.

A reminder next week is a strategic level turn week. Not sure if we will battle first or move the bits around and then battle. Head on over to Tims blog for details prior to next Wednesday.

Reinforcements!

UPDATE: Those 88's and their little cousins will soon be ready for the field of battle. I used the tank turret magnets for the 20's which fit perfectly under the mount.








Some raw 88's are under assembly with new barrels arriving from the Krupp Iron works.











Under way here are Pioniers, Security troops, and some finishing touches on the old standby SS PzGrenadiers

A note on FJ mortars.

Based on a question regarding HQ attachments posed by Jason Paulus I did a bit of research and discovered the following cool idea. Page 184 in the big book for reference.
Any HQ with this type of optional support can attach them to both Combat and Weapons platoons. Normally, attachments can only be made to Combat platoons. For the FJ's, first Kampfgruppe one section of the mortar platoon and then attach the HQ mortars 1 to one section and 2 to the other section. The effect of this is to make each mortar section into a platoon that have 3+ guns each and thus, a double smoke template! When we escalate to the next level of points, add a gun battery and you will have 3 double size smoke templates to mask a deadly FJ assault.

Last night was the first round of battles with the good guys (us) not doing too well. Do not loose heart though, as this was to be expected due to the overwhelming support our enemies could bring to bear. As discussed, we will plan a strategy to try and strangle the air dropped troops while delaying the Allied push from the south. Whenever possible, we will try to make use of the terrain to cut off and weaken the enemy spearheads and force them to loose the support pieces.
Dylan and I held the line in our own battle, with Allied commander Steve being unable to coordinate the overwhelming artillery advantage he started out with. It was as if each spotter had set their radio to the wrong frequency as barrage after deadly barrage missed the mark. In such conditions, even the reluctant Luftwaffe AA gunners took heart and gave a good fight. In the end, after fending off a mighty US assault, the game was a draw with a slight victory point advantage to the German forces.

Welcome and Greetings!

Welcome Axis commanders! In the interest of learning about blogging and perhaps to establish a medium for us to discuss and plan strategy, I welcome you to join and post with me on Iron Crossed Warriors. Got an idea, tactical pointer or need to borrow a specific unit before the next game day? Post away! For overall campaign updates and information please go to Tims blog