The Augustan Assault

 I introduced a buddy to Battlegroup the other day, and these are pictures of the game (yes, we just used my collection so we had a Soviet vs. Soviet disagreement!).

My 57mm claims a lucky kill on an encroaching T-34.

My two flanking T-70's fail to spot the side of the remaining T-34...four times in a row.  They are subsequently shot to pieces by the T-34 and a Zis-3.

One of my infantry squads is pinned by mortar fire in the woods.

A Zis-3 gun takes aim at the T-70s after they fail to engage the T-34.

Late game, as reinforcements arrive for both sides.

The last kill of the game, a T-34 shoots the supply truck which was supplying an immobilized KV-2.

I deployed in this corner of the table, while my buddy drove on from the far end.

Reinforcements drive on for my buddy.

"Game over comrade, game over!"

My Su-76M which caused my opponent to draw four tokens in a single turn...

Mid-game...the fight hasn't yet gone completely against me!

As the T-70's fail to spot anything, one is pinned...another blown up...all of the T-70s meet a grizzly fate.

A KV-2 arrives to help m y forces...firing big, fat, juicy 152mm high explosive rounds around the table.

Surveying the table while my buddy takes his first turn.

My buddy's units roll onto the table at the start of the game.

August of all things...

 Playing catch up for a bit here...

I had a wickedly wild game of Shoot N' Skedaddle the other weekend - a narrow victory in a game spanning nearly four hours.  Nice to bust out the Old West stuff after a five month hiatus.

 I've also been working a lot on my Soviets (big surprise!).  The factories have been thrown on trains and moved back from the front, and the production is back underway.

 A pair of Su-85 tank hunters (Battlefront Miniatures)

 

A scratch-built crane insert for a recovery or repair truck (fits my Zis-42M halftracks and my Zis-5 trucks)

 

A set of 4Ground cabins.  I painted some of them and added a ghetto thatch roof from felt.

 

A collection of two new Zis-42M, two M3 White Scout Cars, and another Zvezda Su-76 to complete the small three-machine platoon.

 

A group of three additional KV-1's (ignore the one kit-bashed turret...)

 

Two Zis-42M halftracks and one Zis-5 truck.

 

Supply "inserts" - an easy way to convert trucks around to different purposes.

 

Games!: A bumbled ambush...

Played a game of Battlegroup yesterday.  Through some poor luck on my opponents side, and excellent luck on my side - the scenario more or less fell apart.

It was a good learning experience though!

The scenario began with a platoon of German infantry re-inforcing a single German Tiger Ace...against a random onslaught of Soviet units.

 

My initial roll resulted in almost all of my armour showing up first!  Bad news for the Germans.

 

The game goes poorly for the Germans almost immediately.  Several halftracks are shot to pieces, and the Tiger Ace - having rolled terribly, only knocks out a single T-70 before flanking T-34s immobilize, then kill it. The German infantry are at a loss as they lack weapons to counter the armour.

 

 Despite his superb training, the lone Tiger Ace rolls poorly and T-34s are able to close the distance, firing at near point blank into the side of the Tiger.

 

 The second reinforcement arrives, a Panther - which is immobilized by a token while on the bridge.  It fails to kill the T-34s nearby and...then realizes it too will be flanked by the speedy Soviets.  German infantry begin to abandon the town/crossroads.

 

Realizing the bridge is clogged with units, some German infantry and halftracks flee to the fields to escape the Soviet onslaught.

 

The Panther is flanked by the T-34s as well, and explodes.  A KV-1 (off screen) is immobilized so badly that it explodes, and a German halftrack with a 37mm gun attempts to save the day but is wrecked by a T-34 round.

 

The dice were against the Germans in this game, and the Soviet rolls were excellent.  The scenario went a bit sideways, but was still fun.