A web log of my historical wargaming. Mostly devoted to Field of Glory Napoleonic 2nd edition, Glory is Fleeting, OATHMARK: BATTLES OF THE LOST AGE, Rangers of Shadow Deep, Black Powder, Bolt Action and BATTLETECH.
It annoys me that I can't make a platoon with sections because the special weapons like ATRs and Mortar's go off on their own team, though I can see why they do it for the game. But I should be able to split the LMG off with 2 other men, and have a smaller section of 4! And a full section is 8 not 10.
I presume the 1941 Australian Infantry Platoon was setup the same way. Google is fucking useless at finding it though. I suspect they lack the bicycle in the desert.
Universal Carrier handling and what they carry and act.
Bren Gun use. Interesting it has a tripod for ground use that NO ONE EVER MENTIONS. Only German GPMG's ever get that talked about! Granted it's not belt fed but you probably get as much rounds with quick magazine charges.
British and German tank identification, but includes information about their practice.
Using the 3-inch mortar. Interesting it has 6 man crew, not 3 as in the game, though 2 of them act as a spotters. The smoke screen would cross the entire table, which I guess is is why it's nerfed in V3.
So I found out that inexperienced mortars can't be spotted for by other units. Aka, the Forward Observer can't yell out to them. So to make the best use of them, they MUST be experienced.
I have to drop ALL the platoon and FO runners and go back to a 30 CWT 10 man truck. I could get the 3-ton truck but that leave me 2 points short of 1100 so I got one of the rifle squad sergeants a captured Italian SMG. Not having the max points is more annoying that the better tactical ability of a truck that can fit a squad and commander.
I could afford everyone I want...if I drop thesniper. It's half the cost of a inexperienced Matilda II! I really need to play some games to see if it's worth it or not. I figure with 18 order dice I'll often get to place him first, and put him down to force the other side from avoiding him with their spotters. He should be the scout for the direction my engineers are going to advance through, or in a location to cover where my rifle platoon in carriers came in to take out anti-tank weapons. He's the platoon scouts and needs to be used that way, not as the guy trying to get a boom head-shot on enemy officers.
Sniper: Sniping's a good job mate. Challenging work. Outa doors. I
guarantee you'll not go hungry. Because at the end of the day, as long
there are two people left on the planet, someone is going to want
someone dead.
Sniper: Ooh
Sniper: Dad... I'm a... I'm not a crazed gunman dad, I'm an
assassin. Well the difference being ones a job and the other's mental
sickness!
Sniper: I'll be honest with you, my parents, do not care for it.
Sniper: I think his mate saw me.
Sniper: Yes, yes he did.
Sniper: Feelings? Look mate, you know who has a lot of feelings?
Blokes who bludgeon their wives to death with a gold trophy.
Sniper: Professionals have standards. Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
Sniper: Dad.. dad... Put... Put mum on the phone.
-
Total Points: 1100
Order Dice: 18
Platoon #1
*Version 3 - British - Engineer Platoon Assault on Bardia lead by engineers
1000 point Large inexperienced Italian army of 60+, 3 trucks and light armour vs a very small mobile British army of 2 Matty's, armored car and 4 carriers with infantry. Very long, have not watched all of it. Italians win.
Next one is from Tri-Star Wargaming. Have not watched much of it yet. The Italians win again!
With all this theroycrafting I should watch the existing film of the ACTUAL battle and its aftermath.
A long setup to the battle with the troops getting to the middle east. A ships cat. Weirdly it shows Crusader I's I think, but refers to the Matilda's. Maybe from later on in the war? The camo on them is post early 41. Also has some German troops from much later! Looks Vickers light tanks with the .50 cals on training beforehand. All painted sand colour (or covered in it). Dark colored Bren Gun Carries but caked in sand to the half way point. Has a light colored field ambulance. Captured Italian tanks attacking Tobruk. Mention of the 2/1 Field Park Engineers and 2/3rd Battalion wearing light colored clothes in shorts and short sleeves and cloth covered helmets I suspect are training. Everyone else is in the dark Khaki. A Cruiser tank of some sort WITH Bren gun pintle mount!
Content warning: Dead bodies past the 16:30 mark.
Raw footage that shows up a lot in other videos. Shows troops in dark Khaki tops but most are wearing light shorts, post battle when going on patrol(?). Guards are wearing greatcoats, it must have been very cold. Terrain is filmed from the and consists of buildings, compounds, sand and dirt dunes and lots of abandoned trucks. Whitewashed Libyan buildings for the centre of town. Trucks have camonets over them. The desert has lots of bunkers, sangers, emplacements, walls and ground floor ruins. Lots of flat space with sparse rocks.
Content warning: Dead bodies past the 6:15 mark.
Mostly terrain, destroying buildings and trucks moving about. The staff cars often have a camonet on them.
Looks like the Matilda II's have Cuanter Camouflage, which is going to be very hard for me to paint. I suspect I'll just cover it in sand colour, which they ended up being anyway. I should put a pennant on the command tank.
Content warning: Dead Italian artillerymen who fell a their guns around 2:40 mark
The 18 pounder crews are wearing slouch hats! More Cuanter Camouflage for Bren Gun Carriers, but at least one looks to be painted a dark green. Only one of the many carriers seen has a pintle mounter Bren gun, so it did happen, but wasn't common.
25 pounders and this time the crews wear helmets and great coat, which makes me think the earlier ones were after the battle. Looks like a Rolls Royce Armored car with Boys AT rifle and Bren gun in an open top. So I COULD get one. One of the trucks has a pintle mounted(?) Bren gun behind the cabin. Troops are wearing dark Khaki clothes and great coats., Helmets are light (presumably sand colored). Telegraph poles, small single trees in the town. Also a Vickers light tank with .50cal crossing a tank trap after the battle.
Mostly post battle. Lots of rocks and sangers in the terrain, 4.5" howitzers, though they would not have been on the table! The guns have camo on them, and nets. 18 or 25 pounders and the crews are all wearing dark Khaki.
Content warning: Dead Italian infantry who fell at their posts at 1:30 mark. Sad part is seeing the family photos from one of them.
...And there's another rule I need to take into account. Cancon runs their Bolt Action tournaments and narratives (which sound awesome to play) with a max of 18 order dice. Meaning my 19 order dice army list will not work!
The easiest way to do it is to remove the 2nd light mortar. Or the stretcher bearers. And I like the stretcher bearers.
So back to no platoon runners. The truck DOES get upgraded to a 3-ton truck which means I can move a full squad AND the platoon commander forward from the engineer platoon. But it's now inexperienced but the commander would be in it to get it on the table if needed.
The AT Rifle team and Light Mortar are still inexperienced but the Matty II is now regular. I'd rather have the tank on the field than the AT rifle and mortar that can't lay smoke :(
The AT team can also stay in the carrier and man the pintle mounted Bren LMG.
And just to complicate things, every Bolt Action Tournament in Australia has different points values between
1000, 1100 or 1250! So who knows what size the army would actually need
to be! If I have to drop to 1000 I'd probably drop the sniper,
stretcher bearers and the light mortar squad. If it's 1250 I might get a
second Matilda II and use them as a pair at all times.
Total Points: 1100
Order Dice: 18
Platoon #1
*Version 3 - British - Engineer Platoon Assault on Bardia lead by engineers
So I was reading r/boltaction and read somewhere you MUST take at least 2 vehicles in a tank platoon, so it actually IS a tank platoon.
...So I can't do just one Matty. But I read in an excerpt from the book on the The Battle of Bardia that they DID have 2-pounder portee's (a light anti-tank gun on the back of a truck because it's too much trouble to take if off every-time you want to shoot something) and it DOES increase my anti-tank guns by doubling it. The Portee would come in from reserve or the flank with the rifle platoon to support them and the carriers with some better than AT Rifle penetration shots.
The Matilda II is now inexperienced to better reflect that most of them didn't show up for Day 2 of the assault, and losing a track 2 miles from the start line was a very common occurrence. I think they started the assault with 70+ and by day two had 12 runners left. So this also means it needs to start on the field supporting the engineers on turn 1.
It would make more sense to have the slow Matty come on at the start of the game and have the much faster non-armored truck with AT gun come on afterwards so it's better able to get a flank shot and have less enemy troops firing back. And any AT guns will want to target the carrier platoon too instead of the Portee that does not have a machine gun or a 5 man rifle squad inside.
I'm pretty sure there were no Vickers light tanks at Bardia, they would have been patrolling towards Tobruk. So I can't bring a .50cal machine gun :(
And I have to lose the Company Commander. He's a lot of points and there goes my dream of getting every armored vehicle moving in one command dice pick. But I've made the other platoon commanders regular and got a medic to stay with the engineers so they have a 1-in-6 extra ability to stay on the field a bit longer. I could get 2 more platoon runners but I like the fluffyiness of being able to call for stretcher bearers(so I had to get two of them).
I also upgraded the 30 CWT truck to regular - there are missions where you need to bring nearly EVERYONE on from reserve and being able to bring on a full strength engineer squad or two of the 5 man rifle squads may be useful.
The AT rifle down went down to inexperienced - the fluff reason is they don't know where to shoot enemy tanks because they haven't been playing WW2OL for two decades. Getting a full AT gun is better and they will be with the rifle platoon commander in one of the carriers that also has a Boys AT rifle too with the 2-Pounder Portee with them, and the reserve roll with be the regular carrier they are in too, with the platoon commander being next to them.
...I hope I get the rules with the army lists for Christmas.
Total Points: 1100
Order Dice: 19
Platoon #1
*Version 3 - British - Engineer Platoon Assault on Bardia lead by enginners
