Flames of War after action report

On Wednesday night, Devon and I played our second game of Flames of War. We are still learning the ropes, and don’t have huge forces painted up so essentially played another “Play what you have” sort of game. For Devon, this included one platoon of Falchimjaegers including two mortars, a platoon of five Panzer IV F’s, and the monster: a Tiger heavy tank.

I have been focused on painting the Russian horde: a huge number of low quality troops, that constitute a human wave on the battlefield. I was pretty prolific during the month of January, so now have the following painted up: Battalion command consists of the command stand, the 2nd in command, and the Kommisar. They have a platoon of soviet Anti-Tank rifles attached. I have two platoons of Soviet Infantry; one unit is armed with rifles, and the other with Submachine guns. These platoons are supported by a Maxim heavy machine gun, and a light 50mm mortar. I also have an artillery platoon of 2 Zis-3 76mm cannon and the support stands. These guns are great as they can be used either as artillery weapons, or in an anti-tank direct fire role. The infantry and guns are supported by a unit of 5 T-34 medium tanks. To round it out, my sniper made it into the game as well.

The game was played on a small 4x4 board, probably better suited to an infantry-only engagement. The east side featured a small village on the Russian steppe, and we agreed this would be objective of the game: Devon’s tanks with Falchimjaeger support would attempt to clear the village, while my soviets would need to defend it. Despite the soviet advantage in numbers, the real advantage went to the Germans with that big Tiger tank.

With the village to the east surrounded by stone walls and hedgerows, the center of the board was dominated by a low line of hills and cleared forest running north to south; Farther west was a broad open area that acted as the German jumping off point. A dirt road ran down the table center, from West to East.

The soviets deployed first, in a two-line formation- The platoon of riflemen spread out along the walls to take the initial German thrust, while the sub-machine gunners dug into the village to await the close-quarters fighting that was sure to ensue. On the soviet left flank, I deployed the AT rifles along a hedgerow to act as a tripwire and to slow any armored advance. The T-34’s would arrive later in the game, and I held the Zis-3 guns back anticipating using them in an Artillery role.

Devon, meanwhile, split his units into two sections, with the PZ-IV’s on my right flank, and the Falchimjaegers on the right. His big cat would also make an appearance later in the game. As dawn broke over the scene, Devon launched his attack by throwing everything forward. The ridge and trees broke LOS from the Soviet lines, but he punched the tanks through the cleared woods; None bogged, and the established a good concealed base of fire from the tree line overlooking the defensive lines along the village.

The soviet command responded by realizing the big guns would be needed to counter this threat, so rolled them forward into an anti-tank roll along the stone walls. Troops began shifting to the left flank to counter the Falchimjaegers, who were probing through the tree line at the center of the theatre. First blood went to the Germans, as a pair of PzIV’s opened up on the Soviet AT rifles, ripping one section to pieces. However, the German commander’s gloating was short-lived when the Soviet artillery destroyed one tank, and forced the crew to bail from another. Things also looked more daunting when the platoon of T-34’s joined the battle by supporting the soviet right flank.

Mid-operation saw two Panzers threaten and overwhelm the AT rifles, while the remaining German tanks maintained a base of fire from the tree line on the right. This enabled the Falchimjaegers to press their attack, which was only briefly disrupted by the brief and futile appearance of the Soviet sniper. The Soviet line began to quail as the ground shook and the big Tiger began rumbling down the road towards the village. The soviet artillery and tanks traded fire with the German tanks along the treeline until they were eliminated; Then the Soviets pushed their armor forward in an attempt to out-flank the big German Cat.

While the right flank seemed manageable, the left flank was in near collapse: The two Panzer IV’s supported an aggressive attack by the Falshimjaegers that found the left edge of the Soviet defenses, then swept around and behind them. The Village was now been pressed from both the West and the South, and the Soviet command was desperately feeding troops in to fill the gaps as the tanks and supported infantry let rip with machinegun fire and SABOT rounds.

It was clear that there were two desperate struggles that would determine the battle—Fist, the Tiger was being enfiladed by the Soviet tanks and artillery; To counter, it fired it’s big 88 at the soviet artillery: Phoom! One gun down… Whump! The second was eliminated…. Then is slowly swung the big turret back towards the Soviet tanks….

Second, the battle for the Pig Barn had developed into a conflagration: The PZIV fired a SABOT into the building, crushing the defenders and covering the structure in a cloud of dust, debris and smoke. As the soviet resolve began to waver, the Kommisar grabbed the nearest unit that was about to run, and promptly shot the desperate troops. The remaining defenders realized it would be better to stay and face the Germans then to run in defeat, so they steeled their resolve. More units were sent into the barn to defend it, and as the Falchimjaegers prepared to assault, they were thrown back in a spray of submachine gun fire.

Victory hung in the balance. As the T-34’s approached the tiger for a clear flank shot, two more were gunned down, and the unit broke. The Falchimjaegers launched a second assault, finally taking the Pig Barn and the log house, but were met by the second line of resistance as the Maxim HMG opened up. Two sections- a whole squad- were ripped to shreds, as their comrades fell back in horror….

In the end, both sides fell back, exhausted and depleted. The soviets had nothing that could crack the German Tiger, but the Germans lacked the troops to clear and hold the village. So, the game ended in a draw, and both Devon and I resolved to press forward, painting up more units to flesh out our forces.

Kudo's to Devon for some beautifully painted miniatures, and a well played game!