WWII Eastern Front Double Bill

A brace of WWII Eastern Front games were played out on Monday night.

The first was a late war Flames of War game, set in Winter ‘44. The second was an early war encounter using Rapid Fire rules.

‘Blue on Blue, but Orange Prevails’ – 1980s Dutch in Action

In this NATO vs NATO / Blue on Blue 120pt Team Yankee clash, the Hollanders managed to overcome an air-heavy US force to notch up their first victory. They were helped by the American player plumping for a rather imbalanced force consisting of small mechanised infantry platoons, zero AA cover and, the very expensive, M1A1HC Abrams option.

A combination of Leopard 1s and 2s assaulted a small pinned down infantry platoon to take an objective and secure a win in the ‘Contact’ mission. It should be pointed out that the Netherlands had to be aided by the arrival of West German allied BO-105 helicopters that managed to neuter the Abrams ‘Heavy Commons’, to help out their Dutch friends (and rivals).

Team Yankee Dutch

Irish Civil War - Battle of Rochestown, Co. Cork, 1922

In this scenario, based on fighting during the Free State Offensive of 1922, the Free Staters were able to bring their superior weapons and training to bear to defeat the Anti-Treaty, hardcore 'Irregulars'. Republican bombers attempted to knock out the Pro-Treaty Rolls Royce several times, without any luck. Their own Peerless armoured car eventually succumbed to a well placed HE round.

The Irish Civil War was characterised by lots of relatively small, though bitterly fought, engagements. Hardware is limited to a few armoured cars, maybe an 18pdr and some machine guns.

Irish Civil War Wargame

The Swedish Crusade on Novgorod, 1348

The players used the Osprey Rules, 'Lion Rampant' in this medieval scenario. Swedish knights bore down on the Russians, but they seemed to get bogged down in a marsh and the Novgorodian Rus stoically held out.

The rules seemed to work OK, although some commented that the mechanism that means you have to settle each combat unit-by-unit, doesn't enable you to swamp your opponent, even when you have larger numbers.