Little Generals' July 2013: WWII Beer & Pretzels

The July game for the club was put on by Jeff, an avid painter and a collector of 20mm and 1/72 WWII miniatures. The rules we used were something he got from the internet, but I never asked him the name of the set. Basically, each command (for this game, each player had a company) is dealt, face down, 2d6 of playing cards each turn. A player can allocate 1 or 2 cards to each stand or can elect to group up 3 stands to act on the one or two cards allocated to them. The color and number of the cards determined how many die would be used to move or shoot (only one action per card) and also the order in which the unit activated in the turn. Everything was placed faced down, with the exception that up to six cards could be collected by not using them during previous turns and these could be placed face up. One hit removed any order cards remaining on the stand or group of stands and two hits killed the stand. Hits could be removed by playing a face down card and then beating the value of the card on 2d6. For this game, I chose to play on the German side, with Dave, Neil, and Brent (who commanded two companies, one of which was slightly over half strength). The Russian players were Ron, Michael, and David, each playing a reinforced company (they had 12 stand companies to our 10 stand and, in one case 7 stand, companies). The objective was to control the table by taking over half of it. The Germans were the attacking force. The town, as seen from near my seat at the table. The German forces The Soviets Jeff's handiwork, as close as my ipad could get and still be clear. My company of infantry. Jeff had glued the figures on temporary bases of card, as he tends to use them as single figures in other games. The forces as deployed. Dave, Neil, and my company were all concentrated against Michael's reinforced company, 30 stands to 12. On the other side, Brent's 20 stands were matched against 24 Soviet stands. After a full turn, I've lost a stand. My lads are in the left foreground, with Dave's immediately to my right. Neil's troops are far right foreground, just a bit past Dave's. Not all of the Germans have gotten onto the table as yet. A turn later, concentrated fire by my company, with some help from Dave, has eliminated the four stands facing us in the first building. More Soviets under fire from Neil and Dave. The orange marker was used to indicate a casualty. Note: If a stand had a hit on it, it could not then receive any orders for the turn. Brent's troops are mostly hidden inside the buildings, but one can see some of Neil's lads on the far right. The Soviets attempted to strike at the Brent's incoming troops, but the terrain and the dice did not favor them. Movement is slow, with the max being 6" a turn. Dave's company happened to be fairly well pinched and I shifted left to make room for him. Terrain gave a 5+ cover save on a d6, being in the open meant the boys took the hit. The view from Neil's position. Brent's weak company, already down 2 stands from fire. Once below 5 stands, a company would only get 1d6 worth of cards for command purposes. The rest of Brent's troops. I took this pic about the time we broke for lunch. Getting some nice rolls for cards gave me the opportunity to place two cards down for groups of squads. Fortune favored me by granting me a movement weighted card and a firepower weighted card at the same time, two turns in a row. This allowed me to shake my troops into a line, within cover, and poor a telling fire on the Soviets. I felt bad for Michael, but he did make some fantastic cover saves, which allowed him to hang on for two full turns than he would have otherwise. Note the dice indicate 3 saves had just fended off 3 hits by Dave. One Soviet stand, slightly to the center right, took multiple hits and Michael saved them all, the picture showing his 5 and 6. Dave had gotten lucky by getting hits needing a 10 on 2d6, but he was again denied the kill. A couple of turns later, and Michael's company of Soviet infantry has been wiped out. The way combat worked out, he lost five stands in a single turn as overwhelming numbers were brought to bear on him. Soviet infantry had taken cover in the fountain, in a vain attempt to stem the tide against Michael (probably should be written as Mikhail for this), but he is caught by Neil who moves to attack. From left to right, foreground, mine, Dave's and Neil's companies advance to take half the map. In the distance, on the right, Brent's troops are finally able to advance and take a building as well. And at this point, the Soviets conceded the game.

With even up forces, it was a slugging match. But, with numbers against him, there was little chance for Michael to halt the tide of oncoming Germans.

It was a fun game and the rules were easily memorized after one turn. Perhaps not a game for rabid gamers, but one we could play without army lists, point values, and arguing about special rules for "unit x" just clarified in the latest online post or magazine.