Day 1

Roster : German

Unit	Composition		Leaders	Status
	Start	End
Rifle Company	12 x 4-6-7 [A to L]	TBA	TBC	Off-Board
Sturm Company	12 x 5-4-8 [A to L]	TBA	TBC	Off-Board
Sturm Company	12 x 5-4-8 [M to X]	TBA	TBC	Off-Board
PzIIIL Company	3 x PzIIIL [A to C]	TBA	None	Off-Board
Off-Board Observer	n/a	Used	n/a	n/a
Battalion Mortar	Normal 2 Pre-Reg	Used	n/a	n/a
Battalion Mortar	Plentiful	TBA	n/a	n/a
Stukas	TBA	Used	n/a	n/a

 

Roster : Russian 

Unit	Composition		Leaders	Status
	Start	End
Rifle Company	12 x 4-4-7 [A to L]	TBA	TBC	On-Board
Rifle Company	12 x 4-4-7 [M to Y]	TBA	TBC	On-Board
SMG Company	7 x 5-2-7 [A to G]	TBA	TBC	On-Board
SMG Company	9 x 5-2-7 [H to P]	TBA	TBC	Reserve
SAN Increase	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Light Artillery	Scarce	Used	n/a	n/a
AT Battery	2 x 47LL 2 x 2-2-8	TBA	n/a	On-Board
Fortifications	170 FPP	n/a	n/a	n/a

 

AAR Highlights 

Turn 1 :

-  A 47LL Russian AT Gun revealed itself on the upper (fortified) level of I6.  The PzIIIL had deployed in this sector; the first one was missed due to the short time spent in LOS before it settled into a blind spot; the second PzIIIL used the wall to remain hull down, and the third managed to sneak past and reach the gap between Hall 6a and the workshop.  The PzIIIL remaining in sight and hull down decided to concentrate on nearby Russian infantry, as poorly aimed AT shells continued to impact the wall.

-  The Russians obtained battery access despite the handicap of scarce ammunition, and dropped HE onto the Sturm company advancing through the wooden buildings forming the angle of Tramvanaya and Skulpturnaya.  The German offboard observer, having somehow failing battery access previously, now obtained it and dropped FFE onto the pre-registered fire hex in the F5 Workshop...only to see the incoming rounds completely miss their target, obtain maximum deviation, and drop onto the Sturm company already under Russian artillery fire !  Somebody was going to get a court-martial !

Turn 2 :

-  The German Offboard observer corrected his FFE...only to see it deviate once again in the only unhelpful direction possible, and bombard once more his own troops.  Definite firing squad for him...By the time both artillery barrages came to an end, the German infantry was broken or fleeing and flames were licking at the rubble.

-  German infantry entered the warehouse in F5-F6, after copious smoke grenades protected them from the flanking Russian MG fire.  Russian resistance was overcome, and three and a half squads and a precious 9-1 leader taken prisoner.

-  The Russian AT gun in its fortified building broke down and proved to be irreparable.  With Russian ATR fire bouncing off the PzIIIL armour, the defenders were now left with little means to stop the tanks.

-  Or so they thought...a PzIIIL forced its way between factory and workshop in order to get encircling fire on the buildings overlooking Tramvanaya  It bogged down in the debris in L7.  A concealed Russian squad stealthily approached and managed to blow a track, immobilising the tank.  

Turn 3 :

-  The German infantry took the F5-F6 workshop, although a 10-2 leader was wounded and his troops broken by a series of sniper shots.  This led the Russian commander to consider a counter-attack, although he discarded that option in the end.  Instead, he mounted a successful counter-attack against the German spearhead crossing Tramvanaya in E9 

-  The Stukas arrived, three of them !  The first scored a critical hit against the Russian HMG in the Chemist's Shop, destroying it entirely and setting the building on fire.  The second blew up a group of Russian infantry working its way to reinforce the L5-M6-N5 Workshop.  Other German victories in the vicinity made it likely the building would now soon fall.   The third Stuka retained its bombs, waiting for a useful target.

 

At the end of turn 3, the Wehrmacht was making inroads into the north-west corner of the factory, using the F5-F6 workshop as a fire base to support their advances.  They might even have time to make an attempt on Hall 6a.  West of Tramvanaya, there were plenty of Sturm troops, but they were hiding in the houses and rubble, having lost most of their leaders.  If they could be rallied, another attack would be possible, although the only hope of directing it at the large B12-B13-C13 stone building would be if the last Stuka got in a bomb run.

On the eastern side of the battlefield, the German infantry had pushed as far as W5, but their forces were in ruin.  The Russian commander was seriously considering leaving his haven in Z1-Z2 and pushing back at his enemy, although a PzIIIL was a serious threat.

 

Red Barricades - Into the Factory !

Having played some Squad Leader, my best mate and I bought ASL around 1987, as teenagers, and we quickly acquired the Red Barricades campaign.  Since then, I have played the opening days a good dozen times, but have never gotten past that.  I have a small games room, but I'd have to take RB down every Friday to make room for other stuff with my friends.

Now the girls are off to Uni and have moved out...well, I can borrow their room !

Since I can set up the board more or less permanently, this should, at last, be the campaign to end all campaigns, a full playthrough of CGIII of Red Barricades, with its thirty campaign dates.

I made a post back in 2020 that I have just updated, regarding house rules, rules to remember, and some tactical tips for both sides. 

For the first post of this new campaign, I begin with the map drawn from VASL (I couldn't figure out how to get it in one piece, so had to do a series of copy-pastes).  This map has the considerable advantage of place names, and it is a lovely piece of work.  VASL also has an LOS-checker tool integrated, which is very handy indeed.

Stay tuned for Day 1, as the Germans head Into the Factory... 

 

 

 

 

Venetian Guard

Man, I want to paint almost all of TT Combat's Carnevale range.  They keep bringing out new ones, to boot !

Anyway, I at least got this one painted, to join my Patrician faction.  I actually intend to build two Patrician factions, one representing a Noble House, and another representing the Doge's soldiers, those poor souls who are supposed to keep the peace in tortured Venice.

Photo is not great, it is overexposed, but I'm having trouble with my phone camera at the moment.

 

Great figure, a lot of fun to paint.  If you like doing NMM, that is !  

Mistress of Threads

 As George Clooney would say : "Signum Games.  What else ?"

 

 

In the Jungle....

 

A beautiful figure from Signum Games !

I have decided to start a new Instagram account, but parallel to this blog rather than replacing it.  If you want to follow, my moniker is Figurativ_Lee.

Thanks for looking !