Saturday, 1 January 2022

Back to 1944 game time

 Despite life being pretty darned hectic We did manage to squeeze in a quick game of Airfix Battles a few months ago. 

Turn 1 from the Germans side. 

Unfortunately I completely forgot to take any more photos!

It was a very simple game the first side to get five stars won. The Germans had a Hauptmann with a squad of veterans to form the command squad seen on the far left in the setup. Next up was a section of two MG42's then a section of Grenadiers led by a Leutnant. Finally a Panzer IV Leutnant and a Panzer IV finalised the battle lines.

The British had a Major with a squad of veterans, a section of Tommies, a Vickers heavy machine gun section a Sherman Firefly Captain and a Sherman. As you can see both sides were reluctant to advance to begin with. The Germans sent the Panzer Leutnant ahead to try and outflank the British Sherman. Meanwhile the Firefly took pot shots at the Panzer IV on the German right and rapidly destroyed it. The British Infantry took the ruined house on their right flank and then stayed in cover for most of the rest of the game. The German grenadiers advanced up the right flank and along with the Panzer Leutnant they destroyed the British Sherman.

The Firefly working with the Tommies PIATs took out the Panzer Leutnant which gave the Tommies their 5 stars for a win. This was our first battle involving multiple armoured units and it showed how deadly the firefly can be as it can outreach the German Panzer IVs and do more damage. It also showed how dangerous PIAT's and Panzerfausts can be when you can get them behind a tank. The MG42's and the Vickers were really disappointing in this battle with neither claiming any kills and both sides being reluctant to advance them into the open and infantry staying well clear of their firing zones.