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This scenario takes place on the south bulge of the Kursk battle on July 12, 1943.

It was part of the counter offensive by the 18th Tank Corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army. The LSSAH's SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 'T Eicke' and the 3/SS StuG Abteilung along with a pair of Tigers from the 13/ SS Panzer Regiment are holding the hill and village of Andreevka

Lend lease Churchills from the 39th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, infantry of the 32 Motor Rifle Brigade and the 181 Tank Brigade are tasked with taking the position.

Five of the eight T70s were knocked out. Five of the Churchills were also destroyed and two had turret and gun damage. The Russian infantry had only 17 casualties at this point (out of 64 troopers) so was in decent shape, but one platoon was pinned down on the right and would have to retreat soon.

The Grenadiers lost one MMG team and seven other men. The only damage to the German armor was a StuG out in the center.

The game was designed to have at least one more company of T34s. There was another company of infantry available also. The Germans were lucky to be on the receiving end of an uncoordinated attack.

Mark Lutherr

 
 
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Earlier this year with Winter Wonder Lard V then creeping up very quickly, Phil and Jen recruited Andy and I to play-test their new I Ain't Been Shot Mum scenario which featured a change of scene for them being set during Operation Barbarossa where a German reconnaissance unit was tasked with capturing a strategically important bridge...

Near the bridge was a Kv-1, unfortunately it had broken down and the crew were trying to fix it by banging it with spanners...

Starmaskaya village was a nondescript little hovel but had a nice church - and a Soviet supply dump.

The German reconnaissance unit, commanded by Andreas von Krähe, aggressively advanced down the main road to the bridge a Schwerer Panzerspähwagen leading the way.

Not realising the Soviets, commanded by the legendary Bolshevik Krasnyy Stiv, were lying in wait!

But before the Soviets could meaningful react Von Krähe gunned his BMW motorbike combinations down the road to the bridge, though some Germans were caught in the rear by Soviet rifle fire.

The Kv-1 crew manfully fought off the first assault by the now dismounted motorcyclists - more than one fascist receiving a dent in his helmet from a quality Workers spanner - but they were soon machine-gunned down. 

Heroes of the Soviet Union to a man, their sacrifice for the Motherland will not be forgotten and even as their still warm blood seeped into the soil of the Rodina, their noble delaying action allowed the Soviets to bring up more armour in the form of two T-70's!

Pikiruyushchiy Bombardirovshchik!!! With the German advance stalling on the outskirts of Starmaskaya a dreaded Stuka appeared and rained hell on the defenders inflicting casualties and shock!

On the opposing flank German armour appeared over the hill a second Soviet 45mm 53-K anti-tank gun (Sorokapyatka) engaged the panzers, though it soon fell victim to another Stuka attack!

However despite several of its crew lying dead around it the other Sorokapyatka fought bravely on...

An Sd.Kfz.231 falling victim to the deadly "little 45"!

Meanwhile with the Soviets no longer having any anti-tank capability to protect the other flank, Von Krähe aggressively pushed his jack-booted force forward...

The Soviets on the outskirts of the village put up an valiant resistance against the superior numbers of fascist invaders but were pinned under the weight of enemy fire and eventually pushed back into the village itself.

However with dusk starting to fall and the Sorokapyatka AT gun, now down to just one crewman, taking out a Sd.Kfz.222 (another Hero of the Soviet Union here!), Von Krähe realised he was not going to able to complete his mission despite the crumbling Soviet defence and would have to try again another day (assuming he was not sent to a Strafbatallion for his incompetent failings).

Another fun IABSM game owing a lot to Phil's running of it and Jenny's lovely terrain, it went down well at Winter Wonder Lard V and subsequent Lardy Days were P&J ran it - hopefully I'll get a chance to play the follow up 'Return to Starmaskaya' at some point and remove all traces of the fascist from the Motherland!

Steve

 
 
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Defence of Calais 1940 fought between the same group of players including 1st Corps, Jerry Cook , Mark Wilson , Vince Noir , and Chris ‘Fusilier’ Keeber.

A very close game with the British Carrier Plattoon and armour creating high casualties to the Germans whilst at Calais the British defenders stood to at their defences and created a narrow British victory allowing British Forces to slip away to fight another day . 🫡

A great weekend , exciting games, awesome kit and fellowship. All of this possible because of our ancestors bravery and their sacrifice. We Will Remember.

Mercian Miniatures

 
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My second game at this year’s Operation Market Larden was a superb looking I Ain’t Been Shot Mum battle set during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.

I would play the Soviets, advancing onto the table to expel the Germans from Starmerskaya, securing the two bridges over the river in the process.

My plan was fairly simple. With three companies of infantry at my disposal, I decided to advance forward on three mutually supporting axies: left up the railway line, right up the road, and then threading their way through the fields in the centre.

I had two units of armour: a very weak unit of three T-26’s and, later on, five T-28s. The T-26s would also advance along the railway line, and we’d see where the T-28s were most needed when they eventually arrived.

The plan was to advance quickly forward until the infantry made contact, then bring up the armour to help, with each column free to help the others if required. I also wanted to get my one decent 75mm tank gun into a position where it could shoot at anything coming over a bridge.

The first action was on the left hand side of the field, near the railway tracks. #1 Platoon advanced forward quickly, supported by my single T-26 with a proper gun, and ran into a German recce section of three armoured cars.

A shot from the T-26 blew one apart, with another being close enough to get damaged as well. My infantry then swarmed the armoured cars and dispatched them and/or their occupants with grenades and sticky bombs. The only fly in the ointment was that a shot from one armoured car knocked the track off the T-26 so that although it was still operational, it couldn’t move.

Next contact was in the centre, where #2 platoon ran into a strong German position in the town square: a platoon of infantry and a couple of MMGs.

This proved a tough nut to crack, with one squad taking significant casualties (enough to send them flying from the field) before troops from #1 platoon, marching to the sound of the guns, arrived on the Germans’ flank and shot them to bits.

Meanwhile, one of my T-28s had arrived, taking position to cover the bridge at the other end of the road. It was lucky that it did, as a German panzer platoon had just started to cross.

A couple of shells from the T-28 winged their way towards the enemy tanks and was lucky enough to not only hit the lead tank but blow it to bits, utterly blocking the bridge. The ‘corpse’ was also still on fire, so its fellow tanks couldn’t even get close enough to shunt it out of the way. That bridge was firmly blocked, and would be for some time. The rest of the German tanks therefore retreated back to their side of the river and began making their way to the other bridge.

Meanwhile, platoons #1 and #2 had finished off the Germans in the main square and kocked out an anti-tank gun ‘guarding’ the central road. This would prove important later in tne game as I had two T-28’s heading towards that road.

The Soivet infantry then wanted to head over to the far road in order to take out the last German pocket of resistance (another anti-tank gun, another platoon of infantry) but couldn’t get across the square as it was still covered by the last of the recce armoured cars that had retreated away from platoon #1’s advance.

This last Sdkfz-222 proved a real pain to take out: I had to wait several turns until a tank arrived and then the 222 took out one of my HMG-armed T-26s. I needed more armour there!

Back on the elft flank, where the German panzers were now trying to cross the other bridge.

Fortunately by this time I had managed to get another two T-28s onto the table, and fire from them and the original T-26 hit and destroyed the lead Panzer IV.

It didn’t blow up, however, so one of the following tanks managed to push it out of the way…only to be hit and destroyed in turn.

There would be no Panzer IV reinforcements for the Germans!

Back to the right, and I was now in a position to send heavier armour up the central road to deal with the Sdkfz-222.

At the same time, my lead T-28 was now exchanging fire with a German anti-tank gun covering the road, only really surviving because of the intervention of the Soviet airforce who had pinned the gun crew with a strafing attack.

A T-28 then arrived in the main square and blew the German armoured car to bits.

This allowed platoon #1 to advance towards the bridges, and platoon #2 to both advance forward and help suppress the last pocket of German resistance around the anti-tank gun on the right. With another T-28 to help, that wouldn’t be taking very long!

Mindful of the fact that I needed to secure the bridges, I now had infantry from platoons #1 and #2 on the river road, shooting up the last German infantry platoon who had arrived from the right hand bridge after a hair-raising traverse past the burning panzer.

Soon they would be supported by the T-28’s who were just turning onto the river road from the left, past the smoking remains of three Panzer IVs.

Job done!

A great game of IABSM superbly set up and run by Phil and Jen.

I did have the luck of the devil in my initial firing, blowing armoured cars and tanks to pieces with ease, but I also succeeded by keeping the initiative and making my opponent react to my movements rather than vice versa. As ex-army man himself, he was kind enough to say that I had delivered a masterclass in how to play IABSM.

My thanks to everyone for the game: a cracking afternoon’s wargaming.

 
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Brilliant test of the rules as loads of kit in table.

Massive effort by the boys at 1st Corps . Massively appreciated. Great fun as always.

Mercian Miniatures

 
 
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Towards the end of September 1939, the remnants of the Polish army fighting in the North fought the Germans for control of the city of Tomaszow Lubelski, but their attacks arrived piecemeal rather than as a co-ordinated effort.

This scenario is a brawl in one of the outskirts of the city, where both sides fight for control of the centre of the table, represented by four objectives, three of which have to be taken to get a win. Two are at either end of the main road bisecting the table, and two are in each of the more built up areas.

Things began well for the Poles, and my Blinds were soon dominating the table (the left hand photo, below).

Unfortunately, I had expected more German Blinds to arrive before I could deploy, so had used a Dummy Blind on the left to scout forward. Had that been an actual unit, then I would have won the game almost immediately, as that and the advance of more of my Blinds into the main town would have given me control of the three objective markers I needed.

As it was, when the Germans de-cloaked their single Blind in the centre of the table to reveal their Panzer platoon, I was a bit stuffed: I didn’t have anything on the table apart from infantry and cavalry, neither of which (at this stage of the war) were particularly good at taking on tanks, especially not tanks armed with 20mm auto-cannon!

Almost as bad, the Germans had also advanced an infantry platoon right up to the edge of the main town, forcing my cavalry to deploy on the narrow main street and then shooting this inviting target to significant effect, forcing the survivors to make a rapid retreat into the graveyard!

By this stage I had amanged to get one of my infantry guns into action and had destroyed a Panzer II, but the cornfields were preventing me getting a clear shot off at the others.

Meanwhile, the Germans had taken the smaller village and were moving in on the main town. Cleverly, they were using internal lines to concentrate their forces, whereas I had split mine into two parts…and was now paying the price.

With half my infantry tied up on the other side of the battlefield, I just couldn’t stop the Germans moving in on the main town. Yes, I damaged then as they advanced, but not enough to stop them: there were just too many of them: effectively two platoons and a platoon of medium MGs versus my single platoon, remnants of the cavalry, and a single taczanka!

Meanwhile, I had received a platoon of armoured cars as reinforcements, and was well on the way to finally eliminating the Panzers that had so successfuly held up my southern advance.

This was, however, far too late to make a difference to the battle and, as my men were forced to pull back from the larger town, the Germans captured the third objective they needed and the game!

Well that had been a neat lesson in the tactics of using internal lines and concentrating your forces from the Germans!

I really lost the game the moment I deployed one of my platoons of infantry to the south of the battlefield and was forced onto the defensive there by Rob’s five Panzers. Without those tanks, I would have had three objectives early on in the encounter, but as rushing infantry acorss open ground in the face of mass autocannon fire is not a wise thing to do, they effectively held me up for long enough for the rest of the Germans to arrive and win the battle.

A great game of I Ain’t BeenShot Mum.

Robert Avery

 
 
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Playtesting our IABSM game for “Operation Market Larden” at Evesham this weekend. The Germans held off the Russians with massive casualties to both sides.

Phil Turner

 
 
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This scenario was directly from Rob Avery's Anzio: Wildcat to Whale book. It is Game 5 - The Huts, an action that took place January 26th, 1944.

I wanted a basic setup to use as a teaching game. The table is flat. The forces are small with mainly a weak British company from the Grenadier Guards and an attacking company of Germans from 29th Panzer Grenadier Division.

The Brits were overwhelmed and the survivors made it back to the heavy cover.

Mark Luther

We ended the game at this stage since there was no hope of the Brits recovering the Huts. The German MMG team hadn't even been committed and the 2 Tigers were a pretty effective deterent.Final casualties were 29 out of 72 German infantry hit along with 2 Big Men The Grenadier Guards had 14 of the 28 men down.Not the best learning game for Bill P but everyone enjoyed it.

 
 
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6mm I Ain't Been Shot Mum game played at Gigabites Cafe in November 2024.

Mark Luther

 
 
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Fantastic game over two days on 16 x 6 table at 1st Corps Miniatures HQ.

Terrific scenario and play using IABSM rules with the superb 28mm collection of Michael and Simon.

The game went to the wire with the German advance reaching the Russisn entrenched positions on the high ground . Having taken those they reorganised having taken heavy casualties before continuing the advance.

Russian counter attacking forces were robust in grinding down the Germans with heavy losses on both sides.

Both sides had valid reasons to claim a victory .

Mercian Miniatures

And here’s a few more pictures of the game from Michael Curtis:

 
 
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This scenario is based upon the Dec 2, 1941 Soviet counterattack on the leading edge of the German drive towards Moscow.

The German 258 Infantry Division had punched through the Russian 222 Rifle Division and was only 27 miles west of the capital. At this point, with the weather down to -30C, the Russians launched an attack at the point of the German spear. Meanwhile tanks of the 136th and 140th Tank Battalions came in from the South East to cut off the Germans. This is the basis of this game.

We decided to call it at this point. Bryan was out of infantry to support his three Valentines. With two +1 Tank Aces in the StuGs, they would probably take out those survivors.

However the German defenders were out of PaKs and there was another unit of Russian tanks coming: T-34s from the 140th Tank Battalion, so that would be interesting. At least the Germans would have a chance to get into some defensive positions and hope for reinforcements.

Final casualties were:

  • All five T-60s KO'd and four of the Valentines were gone. Only a third of the Russian infantry was left and they were considered ineffective.

  • The Germans lost only five infantry but also both PaK 38s and the 2cm AA.

This was small but fun game with some interesting kit.

Mark Luther

 
 
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We played “Citadel:the Breakthrough”, scenario 4, CoC PSC, biggered up to company-size with Des Darkin’s CoC dice activation at Bruce Ross’s.

In the Grossdeutschland sector of Kursk, Soviets fell back to Syrtsevo after managing to force a new Tiger to bail on the outskirts in the last game. This time, GD brought a platoon of Panthers (with the teething issues) along with MkIVs and a PG kompanie. While the Reds got two T-34 platoons and a battery of ZIS-3s(bonus support from last win) and a battered rifle company.

It started with a stonk that forced a bail out of a Red tank, while the German tank platoons approached the village on the short side. The T-34s showed themselves on each village end, and the cannons revealed in the center, just as the Panthers pulled out of an orchard.

Only one PG platoon revealed, and Red inf. stayed under blinds, so very much a tank game. Another T-34 was immobilized. German losses were a brewed Mk. 4, a bailed Panther (“Ronson” rule made them -1 to morale, from 4) with possibly more later from the Zis-3s being only 12in. away.

So GD pulled back, giving the Soviets a win to defend this table again. Thanks, Bruce! IABSM with CoC dice is becoming the 15mm go-to ruleset for the close-in segments of Kursk tank fighting.

Wil Depusoy

 
 
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Friend Rob fancied a go at I Ain’t Been Shot Mum so what better way to start than to play the first scenario of the two Polish campaign books: Chojnice.

This game is set on 1st September 1939, and involves the Poles (played by me) trying to hold a vital railway bridge for long enough to blow it up whilst Rob, playing the Germans, attempts to take the bridge and defuse any charges that have been laid.

The start of the game, viewed from the German end of the table

Polish spotting forced the deployment of the first wave of Germans: a zug of light armoured cars heading up the right of the railway line, and a zug of machine guns deploying right on the edge of the wood just by the bridge.

Likewise German spotting revealed a platoon of Polish infantry in trenches just by the bridge. The die in the middle of the bridge shows how many times the Turn Card has appeared: once it reaches a certain number, the Polish engineers may try and blow the bridge up.

The action then switched to the small road bridge on one edge of the table, with a German kradschutzen (motorbike-mounted) platoon trying to get over the otherwise impassable river. They were trying to get to the small copse of woods at the far end of the table where a couple of Polish mortars had deployed and were busy ranging in on the German machine guns in the centre.

Unfortunately, the homestead near the road bridge was packed full of another Polish platoon, one squad of which opened fire on the lead element of kradschutzen and, with a cracking roll of the dice, wiped them out!

By now the Polish mortars were properly ranged in, and had started dropping shells onto the German machine guns. These had, however, already managed to severeky damage one squad of the Polish platoon protecting the bridge. The German armoured cars were also now in a position to blast away: their 20mm autocannon keeping Polish heads firmly down.

In return, however, off-table Polish artillery fire had also now begun to rain down on the Germans in the central wood.

Although the Poles were taking casualties, so were the advancing Germans, and it wouldn’t be long before a platoon of taczanka horse-drawn machine guns also added their weight to Polish firepower.

The Turn Card had also now appeared the requisite number of times, with the Poles just waiting for the right combination of cards and dice to blow the bridge: their first attempt having failed.

The pressure was therefore on the Germans to break the deadlock, and luckily for then, their missing third platoon finally found their way to the bridge and deployed in position to assault the bridge.

More Polish mortare and artillery fire rained down, severely damaging the third platoon of Germans as they waited for the order to charge the bridge.

The Poles had another go at blowing the bridge, and failed again, which gave the German commander the opportunity to send in his men.

It was carnage: the Poles were already battered by constant machine gun and autocannon fire, and just couldn’t defend themselves against frsh German infantry keen to get out from under the artillery and mortar bombardment.

The Poles were largely wiped out and the bridge was now in German hands, charges removed, and the rest of the Poles were forced to retreat.

Could the Poles have re-taken the bridge?

Possibly, although it would have been very difficult for them to do so, especially with the German armoured cars still very much in the game.

In the end we called time at this point, giving the Germans the win, although they had taken just about 50% casualties to their infantry. A victory, but a very costly victory indeed!

 
 
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Great Eastern front game this weekend with John and Cookie.

Russian rearguard trying to hold on while waiting for a counter attack to push the Germans back. Germans achieved their first objective by capturing the first defence line but were held by the end of the game by the Russian counter attack.

All figures , vehicles and buildings by 1st Corps on an 18 x 6 ft table. Rules used I Aint Been Shot Mum .

Michael Curtis

 
 
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June 16th 1940: Western Desert

The gaggle of British officers clustered on the ridge could scarcely credit their eyes, below on an open plain the lorries of the column Lieutenants Dier and Gape (11th Hussars) had attacked earlier were drawn up in some kind of wild west wagon-train laager whilst around them swirling dust clouds indicated the presence of those pathetic tin-cans the Italians called tanks.

Two thoughts crossed Lt Colonel Combe’s mind as he surveyed this remarkable scene – “Who do they think they’re fighting, and do they have any concealed artillery?” Turning to Lieutenant Seymour-Evans (7th Hussars) he ordered “Take your chaps down there and stir up a hornets’ nest but keep your eyes peeled for any concealed guns”.

Inside the Italian laager Colonello D’Avanso was in a bit of a state: since the attack by swarms of British armoured cars (valiantly chased away at some cost by the attached armour of IX Battalion) his column had fragmented into at least two, possibly more parts, with lorries requiring repairing and his Libyan troops in need of a respite he had little option but to halt and attempt to collect his scattered Raggruppamento together.

The utterly flat and featureless terrain offered no protection and in order to lend some semblance of a defendable position he formed the transport column into a laager box for his anxious and alarmed infantry to reorganise themselves behind – in reality it offered no defence whatsoever but it provided a morale boost to the Libyans. The only real defence against any renewed attack by the British was the armour of IX Battalion and the guns of 17th Battery (carefully concealed at the corners of the laager). Now he sweated and waited – who would arrive first; the rest of his column or those damned British armoured cars!

With a roar and generating the usual clouds of dust Lt Seymour-Evans tanks crested the ridge and began the descent into the plain below – to his left was B Troop (2 Mk VI light tanks), to the right C Troop (2 A9 Cruisers), in the centre his own Mk VI was accompanied by a Marmon Herrington from 11th Hussars to act as a radio net vehicle.

Reacting promptly to their appearance the Italian armour advanced to meet them, closing rapidly and then at the last moment turning and haring off again (the Italians in their L3s had been expecting more armoured cars – they advanced, spotted the heavier British tanks and sensibly immediately withdrew without being spotted in turn).

The British armour continued to advance but was making slow progress over the rough ground; visibility was poor as they bounced around at full speed, although C Troop did identify the armour to their front as 3 Italian L3 tankettes, the other mobile Italian force retired to the rear of the laager – the British HQ Troop was also spotted and placed on table.

Slowing the headlong rush, Lt Seymour-Evans peered closely at the laager wall facing him, identifying infantry flattening themselves under the trucks – no sign of any heavy weapons, B troop promptly sprayed the line of trucks and infantry (causing minor amounts of shock and some KIA among the Libyan infantry of the two CHQ squads). The lead A9 (the severe terrain had caused some straggling) opened up on the nearest L3, missed, tried again and saw it explode into flame, the other A9 opened up causing engine damage to another L3.

The Cruisers of Troop C activated and with two shots destroyed the remaining L3s to their front, the lead A9 full of confidence charged forward towards the laager. But here the Italian Poor Fire Discipline worked in their favour, enabling them to deploy both field guns in the southern corners of the laager, needing 1 dice to reveal their position, the first gun had one aimed and one snap shot at the A9 sitting at point blank range – and missed both times, the other gun also performed poorly, failing to get a hit on the Mk VI tanks (although it did force a retirement by one). A short burst of activity – the retiring Mk VI rolled a spectacular 18 and disappeared back almost to the ridge.

An even shorter “turn”, with only three cards being drawn: on the Italian Blinds card elements of 1st platoon deployed and assaulted the close A9, forcing it back (but not very far) on its activation – the other A9 sprayed the gun crew, causing KIA and shock. The next (and final) activation was the Italian guns who between them managed finally to knock out the A9 – this was to be the high water mark for the Italians.

As is the way in IABSM two very short “turns” were followed by one where every last card had to be played through. On the Italian side more infantry were spotted or voluntarily deployed (including finally the Big Man D’Avanzo himself), some shock was removed from the gun crews, who were suffering terribly out in the open, and they were all but silenced by concentrated British MG fire. The remaining L3s emerged on the western side of the laager and opened up on the MK VI opposite (the retired MK VI was making slow progress in recovering from its head-long flight – Lt Seymour-Evans was furious at their conduct!) to no effect.

From here we played through to Tea Break Ten, when the real-life clock meant we had to bring the game to a close. The remaining L3s were shot up badly, one had a turret jam and engine damage, another was immobilised and abandoned, the third knocked out in the dual with the Mk VI’s of B Troop. The HQ MARC and Mk VI together with the remaining A9 concentrated on sweeping the enemy guns (who quickly disappeared) and infantry causing considerable losses.

Long before we actually ceased playing it had become very apparent that there was absolutely nothing the Italians could do, although it was quite surprising how long it was taking to break the Libyan infantry, even with only one D4 Big Man to assist. The armour was reluctant to close into close range as the resultant infantry fire all too often caused a retirement which ate up time and dice, so most of the engagement was conducted at effective range – the A9 though we discovered could really lay on a hideous amount of fire with all three MGs (it benefitted on several occasions from the Armour Bonus card to move and then activate and remain stationary on its own card, which allowed the third, driver’s, MG to be used).

Comments

Well it was an odd game – in that it genuinely reflected the hopelessness of the Italian situation the scenario should be considered accurate, however as a game it was less appealing – once the guns were silenced there just wasn’t a game to be played anymore and credit goes to both players for persevering through what had quickly become an academic exercise. That said the Italians did knock out an A9 thus diminishing the quality of the British Victory and with better dice when the guns were revealed could have caused acute embarrassment.

So as a historical scenario it was fine, but as a game I’m not so convinced – if (and that’s a big if!) I were to play it again I’d be seriously tempted to allow the L3s to have their normal MMG factors; this would at least allow them to engage the British armour. On the other hand the concealed field gun ploy couldn’t have worked better – and if they had hit four times instead of missing four times when revealed (it sucks not to get a single 5 or 6 on 24 dice!) this AAR would read rather differently.

Given that we played in 6mm on a 6’ x 4’ table – I do wonder (despite this being accurate scale wise) how much of a different game it would be in 15mm. Not least the footprint of the Italian laager would be very considerably larger – I managed to fit 16 trucks, 1 car, 2 field guns and 14 sections into a 6” or 7” square, which meant quite a lot of manoeuvre room. Not sure how big a square 16 15mm trucks would be but I’d expect it would comfortably fill the centre of the table!

We did make some errors, for which I take full responsibility – this mostly involved the ‘desperate straits’ small arms attacks by infantry weapons to force morale effects on armour. Given that the L3s had been degrade to LMG so had no AT capability, I had decided to allow them to roll for the morale effect at whatever range – this at least allowed them a use, and I figured the British had no way to know that the fire couldn’t penetrate...unfortunately, somehow, we managed to translate this to the infantry fire as well and it wasn’t until the after-game analysis that we realised/remembered that it should be limited to close range! And this despite several comments from all involved during the game that the effect seemed odd!

Oops, mea culpa! Not that this had a ‘major’ effect but I think it did extend the game a bit as the British armour kept having to make up unnecessary ground – anyway it wouldn’t be IABSM if we didn’t screw something up!

Zippee

Gallery

 
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Early June means its time for the annual Operation Market Larden games day in Evesham. This year, 2016, I had volunteered to run a couple of games of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! and had decided to run a couple of games from my Bashnya or Bust! late war, eastern front scenario pack.

As Bashnya or Bust is a five-level pyramid campaign, I decided to make life easy for myself by using the same setting for both games, but to use two of the different scenarios set there. The morning game would therefore use scenario 3D (q.v.), the afternoon game would use scenario 4F.

Scenario 4F: Zhena

Zhena is a small village that lies to the north of Devyat. The main feature of the village is the junction of the three roads leading to Zima, Devyat and Vcheva. The villagers are very proud of the 'avenue' of seven trees leading south from the junction: their neighbours considering it very French, very cosmopolitan!

Otherwise, Zhena is a collection of wooden huts and a burnt out church, surrounded by waist-high crop fields. Outside of that, the terrain is open grassland studded with clusters of trees. There is a large hill just to the north of the village.

For this version of the game, the Soviets would start with a small force on table. A large German force would then appear and launch an attack. After 2-3 appearances of the Turn Card (determined randomly), a hefty force of Soviet reinforcements would join the fray. Each side's objective was to take and hold the road junction in the centre of the village.

The Soviets

The initial Soviet force that would begin the game on-table consisted of a single BA-64B armoured car and a couple of squads of infantry.

The Russian reinforcements consisted of a two-company battalion of infantry, with each company consisting of two two-squad infantry platoons. The infantry was backed up by the battalion anti-tank guns and mortars, and a platoon of JS-II heavy tanks (with tank riders) from division. The Soviets also had access to air support (a Sturmovik armed with cannon).

The Germans

The German attacking force consisted of a reduced tank company of five Panzer IV Js backed up by Schwerer Zug of a couple of Tiger IIs. In addition, the Germans fielded an infantry company of three platoons of assault-rifle-armed infantry, supported by a couple of Wespe self-propelled 105mm guns.

What would be interesting about this game was the contrast in the forces. The Soviets were very infantry heavy, and the deciding factor was likely to be the result of the battle between the Rusian JS-IIs and German Tiger IIs.

The Game

The attacking Germans poured rapidly onto the table. Throwing caution to the wind, their lead Blind, advancing along the road, was revealed to be the platoon of Tiger IIs. These quickly neutralised the Russian infantry on the edge of the village, and it looked as if the Germans would quickly achieve a dominant position.

Soviet reinforcements, however, were quickly on their way. Equally boldly, their lead Blind was revealed as the JS-IIs, with this Blind dropping off single heavy tanks as it advanced towards the village.

As the heavy tanks battled it out at long range, the rest of each side's troops arrived. The Soviets sent one force around the back of the big hill to the north of the village and another straight towards the village, but kept all their units on Blinds. The Germans kept to the southern arc of the village, de-cloaking most of their units and so managing to 'stack the pack' as far as activation cards (or chips in this case) went. Their Wespes managed to get to the top of the hill to the south, setting up and looking for targets.

Meanwhile, the battle of the heavy tanks had firmly been decided in the Germans' favour: with all three JS-IIs being knocked out in exchange for one Tiger II being disabled on the main road. This left the Soviets with nothing but infantry and a couple of 45mm ATGs to face the mass panzers and, worse, all their units were on Blinds and so would only activate if that single chip appeared.

The Germans took full advantage of this dominance, and swept their tanks forward into the village. Their tanks, yes...but not their infantry: they lagged behind. This proved to have unfortunate consequences for the Germans when, after a long wait, the Soviet Binds card finally appeared.

Now desperate, the Soviets hurled their infantry forward and effectively swamped the unaccompanied German tanks. Panzer IVs were being taken out by infantry sticky bombs right, left and centre and, worse for the Germans, the second Tiger II had by now broken down in the middle of the village. The Russian infantry couldn't get into it, but neither could it do them a lot of damage either!

Meanwhile, the Wespes and Soviet anti-tank guns had started a long range duel that would carry on until the end of the game; and the Soviet Sturmovik had taken out the last Panzer IV with its cannon.

Finally the Germans managed to get one of their infantry platoons up into the centre of the village, and a series of horrific hand-to-hand combats caused rapidly mounting casualties to both sides, with control of the junction changing hands every five minutes or so.

The battle was now a horrible meat-grinder of a game: no tactics anymore, just who could feed infantry into the centre of the village the fastest. Unfortunately, time was just about up (we only had three hours for what was an enormous battle) so after one more turn of carnage I called the game as a draw...although both sides agreed that had things continued the Germans would have eventually gained and held control of the junction, the Russians having used too many of their infantry up in their desperate killing of the German Panzer IVs.

Aftermath

Was this a good game of IABSM? Well, it was certainly a meat grinder, with enormous casualties on both sides!

There was a significant lull for the Soviet players, Bob & Noddy, when the deck was stacked against them, but then one could say that their approach then played dividends when they could suddenly slam all their Blinds into action almost at the same time.

Dave was playing the Germans on his own. Perhaps he wouldn't have rushed his armour forward unaccompanied if he had known he had more time to bring up his infantry or hadn't felt the pressure of having two opponents glaring unhappily at a stack of chips largely coloured black!

On reflection, the game was probably too big to be played out successfully in only three hours: there were, after all, more than a company of troops on either side. We got through it, but another hour, perhaps even half an hour, would have given a much more clear cut result, probably in favour of the Germans.

In summary, then, I'm going to say that this was a meat-grinder of a game that probably epitomised at least some of the contemporaneous actions on the eastern front. My thanks to Dave, Bob and Noddy for dealing with it so well.

Robert Avery

 
 
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June 2015 saw the annual Market Larden event in Evesham. Around fifty Lardies travelled deep into the heart of tractor country to play a variety of TooFatLardies' games. I was originally due to attend just as a player but, when one GM dropped out, stepped in to run the morning game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! Ralph Plowman and Noddy would play the Soviets, Jamie Burrell the Germans.

As I didn't have time to prepare something new, I delved into my library of scenario packs and decided to play one of the games from the Bashnya or Bust! book i.e. late war, eastern front. I settled on Scenario #4E: Holm but, worried that some of the players might be familiar with the pack, I swapped the German OB with that used in another of the Bashnya scenarios: something I hadn't thought of doing before but proves to me just how flexible the packs are.

The background is simple: it's Operation Bagration, the Kaunas offensive. The Soviets are attacking dug-in German forces around the small village of Holm. The Soviet force consists of a three-platoon company of infantry backed up by a collection of armour that includes three BA-10 armoured cars, three T-34/85s; two T-34/76s and a couple of SU-85s. The Soviets also have three MMGs, three mortars and potential air support.

The Germans, on the other hand, have a couple of two-squad zug of infantry, three MMGs, a couple of Panzerschrek teams, one Panther and, their secret weapon, two Jagdpanthers: very powerful, but accompanied by the dreaded Vehicle Breakdown card. In support, the Germans had a mobile artillery platoon of two Wespes and a couple of SdKfz 251/2 mortar-carriers.

The battlefield was typical Lithuanian village on the steppe: a collection of log houses with a more robust church surrounded by lush grass and crop fields. The terrain was largely flat, but there were a series of low hills that would prove very useful to both sides in terms of cover. Here are three views of the tabletop looking North; the Soviets will enter from the north-eastern corner (where the pile of Blinds is).

After their initial pre-game Stonks had gone in (unfortunately missing all the German positions) the Soviets advanced onto the table behind a screen of Dummy 'scout' Binds that were quickly spotted and removed from the table. The Germans were then able to spot and reveal the second wave of 'real' Soviet troops: a couple of T-34/85s that took up position hull-down behind the central hill; a reconnaissance force of three BA-10 armoured cars; all supported by two SU-85s.

The Soviets had done their own spotting, of course, but were hampered by the fact that their opponents were dug-in under cover. Nevertheless, they did manage to at least get some German Blinds onto the table. In the picture, below, the Blind in the middle by the hut is Dummy; the one front-right is the two Panzerschrek teams; the one back-left is the Jagdpanthers manoeuvring into hull-down positions of their own; and the one back-right is the Panther, also moving up into a hull-down position. The shell holes show where the Soviet Stonk landed.

The Jagdpanthers quickly opened fire on the T-34/85s in front of them, immediately brewing one up. The other quickly reversed back off the crest of the hill! The Panther also revealed itself, in order to get its card and Big Man card into the pack, but held its fire for the moment.

More Soviet Blinds arrived, one of them heading into the corn field in front of the church. The German Panzerschrek teams ignored this threat: moving under their Blind to the edge of the cornfield and then revealing themselves to shoot into the flank of the advancing Russian armour. One BA-10 was brewed, but that was all...and the bazooka teams were quickly annihilated by a wave of Russian infantry emerging from under their Blind.

Ralph and Noddy contemplate the situation!

Next turn, the Soviet infantry decided to advance further. Two squads headed for the church, one squad headed towards the nearest log house.

Unfortunately for the brave infantrymen, both buildings were occupied by enemy forces. The church itself had an MMG team dug-in behind the first floor window, with another two MMG teams dug-in at ground level, one either side. The log house (and its garden) contained a whole zug of German infantry.

The carnage was terrible. Dealing with the smaller combat first, the single Russian squad was wiped out by the entrenched German platoon. It did do a couple of casualties in return, but nothing significant. At the church, so many dice were being rolled for the close combat that it looked as if one bucket just wouldn't be enough (see pic right for the German roll). Suffice to say that when the smoke had cleared, and the screams died down, not a single Russian remained alive from the two squads, including the Big Man. More significantly, perhaps, two of the German MMG teams had also been wiped out, with only the one actually in the church surviving.

Noddy, responsible for the Soviets, was, however, very philosophical about his losses: believing that two squads of infantry was a worthwhile exchange for two MM42s. How very Stalinesque!

After all the excitement at the church, a brief pause occurred whilst the Soviets waited for more of their troops to arrive on the battlefield.

Two more infantry platoons arrived, both heading towards the cornfield containing the bodies of their fallen comrades. One would get hammered by the one remaining machine gun in the church and HE fire from the Germans Wespes and mortar carriers: it would effectively play no part in the battle except to soak up casualties! The other would eventually charge and annihilate the German infantry platoon in the house near the church, losing one squad in the process, and then staying there for the rest of the game as the Soviet attack stalled.

The remaining T-34/85 carefully backed off the hill and made its way, under the lee, round to where it could see the church. It then proceeded to blow the church tower to pieces, forcing the German MMG team to start packing up to move out of their nest on the first floor. Before they could make a move, however, another shot neatly entered the window and blew them to pieces too. All that is except the Big Man accompanying them, who survived the blast and made his way to the infantry platoon in the nearby house. When they were wiped out by the Soviet infantry charge, he ran down towards the road junction, seemingly intent on taking out an enemy armoured car that had managed to get there and was hiding behind the nearby house. Unfortunately before he could engage the armoured car (his blood was up!) he was shot down by the approaching Russian armour.

The objective for both sides was to get troops onto the road junction. The Soviets had managed this with their one remaining armoured car. As the end of the game approached (well, lunchtime), the Germans decided to do something about this. One of the Jagdpanthers (the other had broken down) moved from its hull down position behind the hill and approached the hut. An amazing die roll for movement meant that rather than stop behind the hut, it carried on round the building...neatly running into the armoured car in the process! Forty-five tonnes of tank killer vs five tonnes of armoured car: no contest. The BA-10 was pancaked!

Dead tank corner!

The Soviets had, in the meantime, moved up two SU-76s and their last T-34/85. The T-34/85 attempted and lost a duel with the German Panther; the two SU-76s tried the same with the Jagdpanther by the hut, and although they scratched its paintwork a bit, a couple of shots blew them into little pieces.

At this point I called the game as a German win. Just about every Soviet vehicle was on fire, and they only had a few squads of infantry left. Worse, their MMG platoon had taken a couple of critical '17' hits, each of which removed one gun. There was no way they were going to win now.

It had been a great game, with the Soviets really stymied by the traffic jam that had developed just past the corner where they entered the table. Their armour had got jammed in here, and been unable to make any headway against the long range shooting of the German tank and tank-killers. The Russian infantry had been used incredibly boldly, but there wasn't enough of it available for such bold tactics.

But it was close. As Noddy said "if I'd have had just one more infantry platoon..." meaning that he would have been able to get that platoon onto the road junction from where the Germans would have been hard pushed to move them within the time limits allowed.

My thanks to the three players, Ralph, Noddy and Jamie, and to Ade and everyone else for putting on a great day's gaming.

Robert Avery

 
 
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My regular opponent, Neil, and I recently played the fourth game in our Bashnya or Bust! campaign, based on the IABSM scenario pack of the same name covering the Kaunas Offensive of late summer 1944. 

The last battle, Zima, had ended in a game-victory for the Soviets but a campaign victory for the Germans i.e. although the Soviets had won the battle, they had failed to win it quickly enough to achieve their campaign requirements. This therefore gave the Germans a chance to counter-attack, which they promptly did, aiming to loop around to the south and strike at the soft underbelly behind the Soviet spearhead. In order to do this, they need to capture the ford at the small hamlet of Sorok.

The game would also see the first use of my new gaming mat from Mat-of-War via Antenocitis Workshop: an upgrade from the furry green blanket I've been using for years. The mat looked jolly good, too...except for the fact I should have put some contours under the mat rather than using a few on-top hills: must be the first Lithuanian village that can be used as a bowling green! Also bought specially for the game were three doormats from Robert Dyas (total cost £21) which worked very well as wheat fields. The wooden houses are from Foreground.

The Germans had a very simple objective:  clear the village side of the river of all opposition. To do this, they had a company of Panzergrenadiers in their half-tracks supported by six Panthers and a Schwerer gruppe of two mortar-carriers, two gun carriers and two MMG-carriers. The Soviet objective was equally simple: technically to prevent the Germans taking the ford but actually to prevent the Germans fulfilling their victory conditions. To do this the Russians had two Zis-3 guns, two 45mm anti-tank guns, two small infantry guns, two small platoons of infantry and a squad of scouts. They had a few MMGs and, on the other side of the ford, a platoon of three 82mm mortars. They were also well dug in.

Although it might seem that the Germans have an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers, it must be remembered that their victory conditions are particularly onerous: not just to take the ford, but to clear the village side of the river of all opposition, and to do so within the normal duration of a game.

The battle began with the Germans sending on a couple of Panthers and a platoon of Panzergrenadiers. The grenadiers were dismounted: leaving just a driver and a two-man gun crew in the vehicles as the rest of each squad advanced forward behind the 251s. They paused at the edge of the first wheat field: their scouts having spotted the first line of Soviet trenches.

At the same time, the first ranging shots from the Soviet mortars began to land, so the German schwerer group deployed, with their mortars quickly bracketing the less-efficient Russian tubes and, really, keeping them from having much of an influence on the game. 

With the first line of Soviet defences now revealed, the Germans pinned the infantry manning them with MG and HE fire, and sent one Panther off to the flank. Cresting a small rise, the Panther found itself beautifully lined up to fire down into the Soviet trench. 

A quick burst of fire did enough damage to force some of the Soviet infantry back to the only stone house in the village, leaving their comrades unable to move and slowly being whittled down from their flank. 

This move forced the Soviet commander to unmask his main gun position in the centre of the village: a well dug-in brace of Zis-3 infantry/anti-tank guns. Both guns targeted the Panther on the hill, but despite multiple hits, all the big cat suffered were a few scratches on the paint work. Unless the German tankers were careless enough to expose their weaker flanks or rear, there wasn't going to be much the Soviet gunners could do to them. Excellent news to me, the German commander and, given what I needed to achieve, the signal that I should stop shilly-shallying around firing at well dug-in guns from a distance, and just get stuck right in!

Quickly bringing on my remaining Blinds, I decided on a two-pronged assault. A couple of Panthers and a Panzergrenadier platoon would head up the right flank, with the Panthers turning in to directly drive over the gun pit holding the Zis-3s whilst the infantry protected their flank. Meanwhile, another two Panthers and another platoon of grenadiers would head up the left flank, rolling over anything they found there.

The Right Flank

The grenadier platoon duly moved forward, all but the drivers dismounted, covering the flank of the Panthers. These headed straight for the gun pit at top speed, with the two MMG carrying half-tracks from the schwerer gruppe backing them up in case of sudden infantry assault.

The Panthers crashed across an empty set of trenches and into the gun pit, taking ineffective point blank fire from the Zis-3s as they did so. Despite giving the Soviet guns lots of extra penetration dice for having their gun barrel practically kissing dunkelgelb, it seemed that nothing could stop the German tanks. After some very messy grinding, the Soviet guns in the battery ceased to exist.

What was worse for the Soviets was that the German advance also uncovered the two Russian 45mm anti-tank guns, lurking behind the main gun pit in the ruined church, hoping to get a flank shot at the half-tracks advancing down the left side. In went the German MG-carrying half-tracks and some of the panzergrenadiers, and one anti-tank gun crew was killed to a man, with the other rapidly limbering up and retreating.

The Left Flank

The German weren't having it all their own way, however. A couple of 251s had been destroyed by the Zis-3s before their untimely demise, and one of the two initial Panthers had actually been immobilised and abandoned.

This still left two Panthers and an infantry platoon to sweep down the left flank. This they did, quickly uncovering another line of Soviet trenches near the hut by the river bank. This set of works sheltered the two Russian infantry guns, seemingly unsupported by foot. Well, as the initiative was mine, this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, so the entire panzergrenadier platoon charged forward at the guns.

Neil then revealed a nearby MG team which he wanted to bring into the combat but, and here I do slightly hang my head in shame, I pointed out that I was easily able to close combat both enemy guns without actually coming into the four inch range that would bring the MG team in as well. Gamey? Perhaps a little...but it's not often you get to charge the guns in WW2!

Despite having to use lots of dice to get there, the grenadiers took both guns for the loss of only three men, sending their crews stumbling into the river in an attempt to get away. Unfortunately a Tea Break card then allowed Neil to shoot his MG into the victorious grenadiers, who suffered quite bad casualties. Even I couldn't deny it wasn't a Great shot! Worse, he even had some scouts in another nearby trench, who threatened to charge in next turn.

Time for more drastic action! All I had ready to use (the grenadiers were still shaken or certainly pinned at this point) was the company commander's Panther, with Level IV Big Man aboard. He zoomed his tank forward onto the Soviet MG team, squishing them to death before they could fire again.

The Panther was then close assaulted by the scouts and, to add insult to injury, there was an anti-tank rifle team just behind the hut which emerged to send a round or two up the Panther's backside!

All to no avail however: the Panther shrugged off both assaults and prepared to do battle.

The battle was now definitely won, and it was just a question of the German mopping up the last Soviet resistance. The problem, of course, was that we had been playing for three hours or so, a normal game, and Neil had to go. So a reversal of the last game's result: a game-win for the Germans, but a campaign win for the Soviets.

How very annoying!

Still, it was a great game with plenty of moments of drama and tension despite the fact that the Germans had force-superiority over their enemy. There was a definite sense that the Russians were desperately hanging on, determined not to let the Germans through to the ford. Now onto the final battle in the campaign: the initiative swings again to the Soviets so it's 5C: Ploschad up next..

A couple of shots of the table at the end of the game:

 
 
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Ah, Ploschad...lovely Ploschad. Actually, my friends, Ploschad is an awful 'hole of a place: a collection of a few wooden huts somewhere deep in the heart of Lithuania. Or should that be "deep in the heart of the new Fatherland"? Not if the Ruskies have anything to say about it, that's for sure: in fact, the new Fatherland will find itself getting well and truly 'done' by the new Motherland at this rate! But I get ahead of myself...

Ploschad and its bridge...but who's that lurking in the woods?

My name is Hauptmann Siggi Starkbier, leader of the 1st Kompanie, 1st Battalion, 1001st Infantry Regiment, and I have been fighting in this verdamnt war ever since the little corporal made the decision to visit Warsaw by tank. I've fought the Russians going east, fought the British and the Amis in Normandy going east, and now I'm fighting the Russians again, this time going west!

It is late summer 1944. The city of Vilnius has fallen and 19th Panzer Division’s counter-attack has failed. The Fourth and Third Panzer Armies of Army Group Centre have fallen back on the Lithuanian city of Kaunas in disarray. Now the Soviets are driving forward again, seeking to capture Kaunas before the army can properly regroup. One route to Kaunas takes the Ruskie advance through the Chera valley towards the walled city of Bashnya. I am part of the force sent to stop Bashnya falling to the Slavs...but I have to say we are not doing too well so far!

After the long journey from Normandy, me and the lads ended up in Osen, further up the valley. Not much to Osen: the remains of a big church and, more importantly, two bridges over the river Chera. The Russians wanted the bridges, Command wanted them blown to smithereens. Regrettably it was the Soviets that got their way. There were just so many of them!

Now the Slavs have launched another attack: this time trying to swing round south of Holm, via Ploshad, and hit Bashnya from the flank. As the Kolonel explained to me, this is not good news. Although Bashnya is being prepared for defense, and more of the Fuhrer's wonder weapons are on the way (blah, blah, blah!), someone has to delay the Russians at Ploschad for long enough for a larger, more powerful force to be gathered together to stop them more permanently. He smiled as he said this, and I knew who was going to be leading that force!

He went on for a bit about my year's of experience and quality of my men etc, but I knew it was Normandy and Osen that were the reason I was once more heading into the storm! Now I sit in Ploschad, writing this diary, waiting for the Soviet steamroller to arrive. It's not all bad: I've got the lads with me, four squads' worth with some Fausts; plus Oschsenbohnen's PaKs and, more importantly, Mohntorte's StuGs.

Ed's note: the diary breaks off at this point, seemingly resumed after the battle was over...

Well I'm glad that's over, and ever gladder that I'm still alive and in one piece. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, actually. The Ruskies tried to be clever, but luckily my strength-in-depth approach when placing the men paid off.

We'd been aware that there were Russians in the woods in front of the village for a bit of time, but had been keeping our heads down so as not to be spotted. I'd put the infantry in the village itself, one platoon either side of the road, but kept everything else back, splitting it between the two sides of the road. One PaK on the left, one PaK on the right, one in the village. Two StuGs on the left, two StuGs on the right, but both behind the village as a mobile fire brigade ready to go wherever they were needed.

Suddenly a mass of enemy troops burst from the woods on the right. And when I say "mass", I mean "mass". There were so many of them that the dust they kicked up made it hard to pick targets! I quickly realised that their plan was to by-pass the village entirely, presumably just trying to get past us so that they could head for Bashnya.

The enemy column headed top speed down the right flank, not even trying to suppress my men in the village. The lone PaK on the right flank right at the back (skulking in the woods) managed to spot and take out the lead enemy T-34, but it looked as if the Russians would just punch past us before we could stop them.

Fortunately the Mohntorte fire brigade was in reserve and ready for action. I ordered him just to head right and try and hit the enemy column in the flank with everything he had. The trouble was that the Russians were moving so fast. Desperate measures were called for. Reluctantly, because it seemed like a suicide mission, I ordered Freddi Feuerzangenbowle to take his two squads out of their trenches in the village, hop the low hedge bordering the hamlet, and head out into open ground and try and delay the column by shooting at them with his 'handful of fausts.

Freddi grimaced, but didn't argue (he knew it had to be done) and, before I could even wish him good luck, was over the hedge with his men and engaging the Ruskies.

Unfortunately the 'fausts were ineffective: the Soviets were seemingly just out of range, and I closed my eyes to what I expected would now be the massacre of Freddi and his men.

But no: the Soviets had a plan, and were sticking to it. Ignoring the brave Freddi, the enemy column just kept going. It really was going to be all up to Mohntorte and his StuGs, especially as the PaK at the back was under heavy fire.

The lead StuG, crewed by Otto himself, burst round the corner of the village and engaged, quickly dispatching the two lead T-34s with a couple of crackingly good shots. This was the delay we needed to get the rest of his platoon into action. After that it was almost an anti-climax. With Mohntorte on its flank, the PaK at the back still bravely shooting when it could, and Freddi's chaps still threatening its rear, the Soviet column was doomed. A short ten minutes of intense action later, the Ruskies melted away, back into the woods from which they'd come.

Ploschad is still a hole...but at least it is still a German hole!

This was as far as the Soviets got

A cracking game of IABSM where a bold Soviet plan came so close to working. Neil utterly surprised me with his 'smash down the flank without stopping' tactics, and it would have worked if I had deployed my men further forward. As it was, he totally bypassed my first line of defense, avoided half my defenders entirely, and it was only because I had the StuGs as a very mobile reserve that I managed to stop his column at all. Yes, the final clash was a bit of a duck shoot, but you really had to be there to realise just how close he came to victory. A great game, with Neil consoled by the fact that he had still won a minor Soviet campaign victory.

Robert Avery

 
 
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Introduction

This report is from the game played on October 15th 2016 at the first ever TFL Llardiff Games Day that took place at Firestorm Games in Cardiff.

The idea of this games day was that gamers not necessarily familiar with TFL products could come and have a go at a variety of different games, getting a taste of Lard and then hopefully coming back for more.

I was tasked with showcasing I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!, and told that I should prepare for a series of different players dipping in and out throughout the day, with my efforts focused on setting up and umpiring one game in the morning and one game in the afternoon.

Hmmm, I thought, multiple players dipping in and out: my favourite - not! No matter: Lard calls and I answer...so I decided to bring to Cardiff one of the larger (if not the largest) games from my Bashnya or Bust! scenario pack: scenario #4C, Holm. This is a late war game where a battalion of Soviet infantry (and remember IABSM is a company-sized game!) supported by just a few tanks tries to overrun a German force defending a small village on the Kaunas front. You can see the set up in the rather blurry picture, top right. The Germans would start the game dug in under hidden Blinds anywhere from and to the left of the church; the Soviets would enter the table from the right.

This would be an ideal scenario for Llardiff, as I could play the Germans with a variety of players taking control of one or more of the huge mass of Soviet units attempting to roll over them. Players could therefore drop in and out with no problems.

As it happens, for the morning session, I only had two players: Andy, who had come down from Glasgow specifically to play IABSM (above and beyond, eh?); and, I think, Nick, who wanted to gain more experience in the game at the hands of the master (i.e. me, apparently).

The Game

The battle opened with the Soviets ignoring the central road and advancing strongly up either flank of the table.

On the Soviet right, the Battalion commander led a company of infantry supported by a platoon of mortars and a platoon of three IS-2 heavy tanks towards the church (the tanks are still on a Blind in the picture below).

Spotting quickly revealed a German entrenchment around the small village church, and another around a couple of huts slightly further up the road.

One Soviet platoon of infantry moved forward quickly, hoping to get the drop on the Germans, but were largely annihilated as their advance slowed down in amongst the heavy crops just in front of the church. At least, with their tactics of spotting by dead body, the Russians established that each of the church and the hut entrenchments only held a small infantry platoon supported by an MMG.

Having learnt the dangers of advancing against an unprepared target, the Soviets now used their mortars and their tanks to pound the churchyard, priming the Germans there for a second quick charge into melee. This second attack was a success, and the German platoon was effectively wiped out.

Meanwhile on the left...

Meanwhile, on the Soviet left, a second company of infantry had headed forward towards a large German gunpit holding a PaK40 anti-tank gun. The Russian aim was to knock it out so that their heavy tanks could advance properly down the middle of the table rather than skulking around near the church.

The first platoon headed up the table under a Blind and, unbelievably, got level with the gunpit despite multiple spotting attempts by the Germans. However, not wanting to risk whatever it was under the Blind, the Germans withdrew their gun, replacing it with a squad of infantry 'borrowed' from the entrenchments around the hut.

The Germans also now revealed their secret weapons: a couple of StuGs and a couple of Hetzers, lurking amongst the huts. These started, respectively, bombarding the advancing Soviet infantry and exchanging fire with the three IS-IIs.

The Russian infantry platoon charged across from their flank and quickly disposed of the the German squad manning the abandoned gun pit. Worse for the Germans, one of the IS-IIs managed to get a shot at the SdKfz 11 half-track towing the gun away, blowing it and the gun, and its crew, to kingdom's come!

The Soviets now advanced strongly across the board. Things were not looking very good for the Germans, but they weren't finished yet. Some neat anti-tank shooting took care of two of the IS-IIs in the same turn, and suddenly it looked as if the tables could turn.

Endgame

But it was not to be. Although the German StuGs and Hetzers would be a pain for the Soviets, the Germans had now completely run out of infantry! They had started the game with only two, two-squad platoons, and now had precisely one five-man MMG team left, and that was pinned down! As the objective of the game was to hold the road junction in the village, I ruled (against myself!) that you needed infantry to hold something, not just AFVs, and that therefore the German could no longer win and, eventually therefore, the Russians would take out the Germans tanks and stroll one of their remaining infantry squads into a winning position.

The Soviets therefore won the day in what was one of the biggest games of IABSM I've ever played with only three people. What's more, we finished the game in almost exactly three hours: Speedy Gonzales or what!

A great game that did exactly what is was supposed to do: showcase I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! to a non-Lardy audience.

Robert Avery