Hit Me Ivan, One More Time

It being a Bank Holiday, we took the time to revisit the last epic RCW encounter, that you will recall ended in a crushing failure for the Whites.

As is my tradition around Christmas time I run a game on a bank holiday during the day, so we met in the afternoon. I say "met". There were three on-line, being Richard, Steve and Ian. Chris K had forgotten it was an afternoon game, Will couldn't make it and Jon was snowed in with family.

As you can see I was able to deploy my brand new Christmas gift of a Deep Cut gaming mat. This is the full banana neoprene rubber version of their "steppe" variant. It looks nice and rolls out over hilly bits really well. The Red forces can now be placed on the edge of the board, concealed from the camera by the contours.

Although Jon was not present the three players - all running White against a plumpire Red commander -  went with his plan. It's a good plan. Here they are, all lined up and raring to go.

The White guns opened up, splattering the Red defences. I made new bombardment markers for the game, and used new standee bases.

The artillery provoked one of the Red machine guns to open up. Its fire was ineffective as it had taken damage already.

With the Whippets leading the way the Ian's Whites stormed up the slope, through the wire entanglements.

Steve's Mark Vs rumbled out of the woods more successfully than last time.

The Red armoured train "Victory" steamed into the station.

The MG nest inflicted a hit on one of the Whippets, stalling the armour assault, but the infantry pressed on and overran the position.

The Mark Vs overrun the other MG post, and the crews flee in terror.

As the Mark Vs crash into the centre of the Red position, the defenders unmask a field gun deployed in anti-tank mode.

The tanks turn on the gun emplacement. The tank on the left suffers a malfunction in its main gun, and the one on the right suffers an engine fire.

The remaining mobile Mark V, undaunted, runs over the gun, and the crew flee in terror.

What's this? A lone Sopwith Camel appears, and flies over the Red positions.

The Camel strafes the other anti-tank field gun. It causes little damage, but the crew fail their Terror Test, and flee.

With the Red line comprehensively pierced, the White second wave, accompanied by two Renaults, emerges from the woods.

Ah ha! Just what the Reds have been waiting for. They unmask their massed batteries and together with the armoured train, start to shell the White support lines. The gunners needed a bit of a talking to before they were prepared to fire, however.

Ian's position in the woods is comprehensively plastered.

But was the Camel a harbinger of what was to come? In comes an RE 8 bomber flight, accompanied by Sopwith Camel fighter escort.

The Reds play a Joker as an interrupt, and a lone Red pilot tries to intercept the bomber, but is driven off by one of the escorts.

The planes complete the attack run, and hit both gun batteries.

Again the gunners fail their Terror Tests, and high tail it out of Dodge.

Taken from behind Red lines, this picture shows the Whippets driving through a Red infantry company. They too fail their terror Test and flee. Things are not going well for the Reds.

An MG company is revealed and opens up on the Whippets to little effect. Again, their commander had to speak sternly to them.

The White infantry storm into the position and bayonet the Machine Gunners.

Supported by the Whippets, the lone Mark V and its infantry support breaks into the last line of defences. "Victory" steams away to avoid capture. A comprehensive White win.

Compared with the last playing things went much better for the Whites. The armour performed magnificently, and the carefully sited Red gun positions were unable to inflict any damage on them. Careful use of the White artillery suppressed the Red positions prior to the armour assaults, enabling them to break into the positions with minimal losses.

The Reds suffered from some terrible luck. The ersatz activation system I put in place for this game did not serve them well, as they failed to activate when needed, and when they did activate they couldn't hit anything. The troops failed all of the Terror Tests they were required to take, making most positions a walk over.

So, much more satisfactory for the White players than the last game, and all done in about 3 hours. A more aggressive Red defender might have made things more difficult for them. I should have brought on the armoured train earlier and shelled the troops and tanks moving in the open. The centre crumbled much more quickly than I expected. The Whites gambled on their infantry having to take Coercion tests to preserve their armour, and this paid off. They didn't fail a single test. The Reds, however, failed several.

Such is the way of things.