Nice One, Kirill!

Saturday was another participation game, this time at Incognicon in Skarpnäck, a suburb of Stockholm. We used the IABSM v3 rules, and our game was set in Russia in 1942, on the road to Stalingrad, and it was based on the scenario “Nice one Kirill” from Too Fat Lardies' Summer Special 2007. We used slightly different troops, mainly to fit what we had built.

Today’s objective – take and hold the bridge We met at 10.00, and had set up and were ready to play at about noon. As usual we had one of us playing the defenders, in this scenario the Russians, and everyone who wanted had a chance at the Germans. We immediately got a bunch of interested ‘evil nazis’ (even though they seemed very friendly) to take us on. As usual when playing IABSM we start with an empty board. The defenders set up hidden, and has to be spotted, actively, when you’re close enough or when they shoot at you. Attackers enter the board under blinds.

The board from the German side (Yes, we know there weren’t any FW 190:s at the eastern front at this time, but it was such a nice model. We had to use it!)

Farm in the background

First group in was a recce-unit. Vorvärts! After them a blind:  which turns out to be false, i.e., not having any troops under it – it represents maybe a motorcycle, a couple of scouts or maybe a cow. False blinds can move, spot and be annoying.

The hand of God points at the first Russians.

Next in to be spotted is a platoon of grenadiers in halftracks. Oops, Russkies hidden around the downed fighter. They fire at point blank range and damages the Hanomag.

Attack!

Counter-attack!

Where did all the soldiers go…? that was bloody!

Back to the recce. What’s that? It points towards us…

Uh-oh…

Back to the Hanomags – hunting Russian pigs…

…and assaulting Russians in a house…

…but the barn was also filled with commies, totally wiping out the assaulting squad (they are really inside the barn)

Oh, there are enemies behind the fence…

On the other front there materialised a lot of AT-rifles.

First panzers, a mixed platoon of Pz II and Pz 38 (t). The recce unit is having a hard time, the crew has bailed out in the first two vehicles. Those ATRs are bad news to flimsy AFVs.

A 45mm Russian ATG is really bad news to early panzers. One down…

Next platoon of grenadiers to the rescue…

.. but rudely interrupted by a 45mm shell. It’s getting confused and bunched up.

The PSW 222 ‘spots’ another anti-tank gun. Behind that blasted fence…

More panzers- this time Pz III. At the same time the Hanomags pining for action and a shoot-out between an ATG and a PSW 222. It is tense around the gaming table. How to take out the enemies behind the fence. A tank shock, maybe. With a halftrack… that fence sure looks flimsy….

No problem going through a flimsy communist fence. A tiny chance of getting immobilised. Two dice, don’t throw a double one…. Oooops….

Everyone is angry! Close combat!

Run for your lives…. 

Picture this: You’re the commander of a half-track and you see the enemy retreating. They are on the other side of a flimsy fence. If you would also be on the other side of that fence you could cut them to ribbons. That would be nice… 

Picture this: The German player, incidentally the same player who had rolled those unfortunate double ones earlier, saying loudly “Hey, what’s the chance of me rolling another double 1?”

Picture this! Half the Con turned around to look at us when we shouted with laughter.

The anti-tank-flimsy-wooden-communist-fence…

The 222 has a slight accident…

…and halftracks assaulting an anti-tank gun supported by anti-tank rifles is…sporting…

The anti-tank gun is still going strong…

…but they are stormed by angry grenadiers and the AT-line is annihilated. Most German soldiers are wiped out in the process. Close combat is generally short and very bloody.

The German troops advance all over the front. The factory is burning from an early Stuka-attack. Russian troops are retreating, but they are up to something… 

The devious Russian defender had inquired about the stack of drums behind the factory. In my mind they were filled with pickled cabbage, but our umpire said it was a fuel dump. The sneaky Russians had spent a good while rolling fuel drums towards the bridge. They didn't quite make it.

One way to stop the enemy – set fire to everything and swim/ford the river.

Russians retreating behind a ‘smokescreen’. 

Our brave defender declared the game over, as he had no anti-tank capabilities left and all his troops had either fled/retreated over the bridge or were in the process of fording it.

There was much rejoicing in the German camp as they celebrated their victory. But the victory was bitter-sweet as practically all German foot-soldiers had perished and several AFVs were left burning on the battlefield. The crashed Hanomags where an embarrassment but could be salvaged, as could the other damaged vehicles. 

All in all a great game, and we hopefully caught a couple of new players. I enjoyed myself immensely as ‘Propaganda Officer’ (i.e., snaring unsuspecting passers-by, explaining rules and troops, taking pics and eating biscuits). Next Con will be the desert, 1942 and LRDG, and I’ve got a spiffy costume for that. Tally-ho!

The Miniatures Man