Christmas Score (from myself).

I found these on Ebay a while ago, being sold as a set. I remember wanting these as a child. My brother bought the gun emplacement, pre-made and airbrushed from a wargames show, and I remember being insanely jealous. Well now I have them both, and the figures that came with them. Admittedly the figures aren't the best ones in the world, especially the paratroops, but they give me something to keep in a box and let my future children play with once I have gotten them interested in WW2, wargaming and modelling.

I cannot wait to put the forts together. I get that they aren't historically accurate, but I want to run commando raids on them, using the Flying Lead rules, although I don't think the trenches are big enough for my bases.

Flying Lead game 2.

Finding mself with some spare time again today, I thought I would take Flying Lead for another spin. I also remembered that I had acquired a Woodland Scenics grass mat this summer (house mate was moving to America and couldn't take it with him), so thought I would see if it fit over my table. It was a perfect fit, and is a noticable improvement from my big green felt sheet.

German force:

NCO with five rifle armed grenadiers.

Corpral with MG-42 team.

2 man Panzerschreck team.

British force:

NCO with four riflemen.

Corpral with Bren team.

Cromwell (medium WW2 tank).

The German objective was to hold the junction. Their original plan was to set up in the ruined house with the MG-42 coverint from the corner of the field. The British were probing the front lines to see what they could find.

The British managed to advance quickly up the field towards the ruined building.

After two turns each the British were at the farmhouse, while the Germans were making a risky move running across the lane. Their hope was to get into cover behind the hedge to provide a crossfire into the house.

Unfortunately they didn't activate very well (even though this game I remembered that their NCO gives them +1 to their quality roll) and the British put them under fire causing an immediate casualty and forcing one of them back behind the hedge.

He still had a shot at the British, but didn't hit.

Unseen by the British, the Panzerschreck team managed to move into position to try and take a shot at the Cromwell. The Germans couldn't afford to let the Cromwell live with its HE capabilities. It could ruin their day very quickly.

One successful shot later, and the Cromwell was just a pile of junk. At least something went the 

German's way. 

With  fire being exchanged by both sides across the lane, the scene was becoming a blood bath. The MG-42 was doing a good job of clearing the house, but the Bren team and the survivors in the house were pouring fire down on the Germans in the road.

So effective was the MG-42, that the NCO retreated back into better cover, leaving behind a good portion of his squad. Brave fellows.

However, the Bren team effectively silenced the rest of the grenadiers. With one shaken survivor, they were not going to be much help to anyone, especially no that he needed to roll 4 or higher to rally himself, which seems an impossible feat to these Germans.

The Panzerschreck team gets ready to lay down fire on the others. I don't know what to do with the guy armed with the Panzerschreck though. Can I use him as a rifleman? That is a question for the yahoo group.

The MG-42 team decided that without the squad covering their flank, they would be served better on the other side of the road. This proves a good decision when the Bren team rushes across the other road but their corpral gets caught in the open.

In this poor shot, you see the German final positions. The MG team can cover the house and road. The Panzerschreck team protects their flank.

In the final move of the engagement these Germans pick off another rifleman. Considering their positions, and the British losses, the NCO calls a retreat. This junction will have to remain in German hands for the time being.

This game was much better than the last one. I am enjoying these rules and am seriously considering getting some modern forces to play a Counter Strike: Globabl Offensive type engagement.

First game of Flying Lead.

I picked up the ruleset "Flying Lead" a while back, and finally got around to putting together a little game for myself. With my limited time, and very limited space, I was looking for something that could satisfy my gaming need without taking over the entire house for an evening. Tonight I was able to take over the table for 90 minutes and smash out a game (including set up time). The game did not last long, at all.

The burning Panzer IV was the objective. The German squad was supposed to set up a perimeter around the tank and look for survivors. They set up on the left with the plan of running up the open field to the road junction, then fan out.

The British were tasked with investigating the pillar of smoke. They intended to set up along the hedgerow on either side of the road.

The British managed to successfully advance up to the hedgerow with the bren team ready to dive across the road to try and cover the field from the left flank.

The German squad barely managed to advance on their first turn. Most of them were Q4, and it really seems to make a difference. The Q3 Brits seemed to get a lot more successful activations.

That being said, on the second British turn, only the bren team managed to activate, so they jumped the hedgerow and stormed across the road, getting ready to flank.

The Germans advance inexorably across the field. Will they get caught in the open?

Yes, they will. Two plucky Tommies have approached the burning tank, and one of them takes an aimed shot at the MG-42  gunner, taking him out.

Again, the German advance stalls. It just wasn't going to be their day.

Caught in a crossfire, the Germans start dropping like flies. Their NCO did, however, manage to shake a Tommy. I think this might have been the only shot they got off the entire game.

More failed activations and a couple of bursts from the bren team put an end to the German mission. The couple of men left standing retreated to call in reinforcements.

This wasn't the most interesting game in the world. The rules felt really simple, but deep enough to force me to think about my tactics.We will see what happens next time they come up against eachother.