Blitzkrieg Commander: second rules test - 1 March 2011

Andy and I had another session testing out the Blitzkreig Commander rules.  We played another Encounter scenario (i.e. two battlegroups bumping into each other) but this time with 2000 points each.  I put together a combined arms battlegroup with infantry, armour, guns and aircraft.  I was up against a dozen German tanks plus a few guns.  Gulp.

Turn 1 is the mobile deployment as the various formations entered the table.  In Turn 2, the plucky Brits damaged a couple of advancing German tanks and were feeling pretty pleased with themselves - until the Germans destroyed 4 of the 6 British tanks in their turn!  In Turn 3, the British Forward Aircraft Controller (FAC) was finally successful in radioing through an order to one of the Hurricanes, who promptly flew over the battlefield and created some new holes in the centre of the table but caused no damage to the Germans.  Another British command blunder (a double-six) led to the suppression of their 2-pounder gun.  The Germans gleefully destroyed the remaining British tanks and overran my Commanding Officer, who raced off the table.

In turn 4, the re-energized 2-pounder took out a Panzer III and the FAC, who had moved closer to his target - thus reducing the inaccuracy rolls, called in two strikes from my Hurricane tankbusters.  Bang on target, the first destroyed two Panzer IVs, and the second destroyed another and forced a suppressed Tiger 1 to fall back so far it was also destroyed.

Shells from about 5 German tanks promptly fell on the FAC obliterating him.

At the beginning of Turn 5, I failed (again) to bring on my third formation.  But since they were all infantry and my tanks were all destroyed, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and retreated my remaining forces, conceding a Minor Defeat, but avoiding an inevitable Major one had I waited for the Germans to finish off my infantry.

I think we've got the hang of the rules now (they are jolly good) but next we need to try a more interesting scenario and break up the line-of-sight with some terrain.