Great War Battle Report

With the 100 year anniversary of the end of the Great War my friends and I decided to play an alternative history game.  We will be using late war lists from the warhammer historical Great War rules and a home made White Russian list.

The Russian conscripts would suffer from an animosity type rule with a roll of 1 resulting in a stop work meeting, 2-5 acting normal and 6 a ferocious rush of blood or vodka surging them on.

The game set up was pretty simple with the Germans occupying a village and a strategic rail line that would deliver the Russians from turn 2.  The French plan was to take the village as quickly as possibly before too many of the Russians arrived.

The French would be lead by this little guy.

In a roll off for the first turn the Germans won the advantage and would start the game.

The German High Command and artillery took advantage of the ruins at the back of the battle field with the infantry and a couple of the deadly hmgs deployed forward behind the low walls.

With approximately 1400 points on each side the French deployment was pretty congested.

The cavalry would not last two turns before the artillery and hmgs would wipe them out.

The right flank of French infantry and a FT17.

The left flank of French marines / veterans would be delayed throughout the game by the forest in front of them.

The St Chammond would assist and survive the game.

The first turn involved shots across the board but things heated up on turn 2 with the arrival of the Russian train and hmg.

The arrival of the Russians also resulted in a lucky conscript rifle shot that destroyed the FT17.

Turn 3 the German bombers took the central right buildings and destroyed the French infantry threatening.

Turn 3 also meant more Russians arriving by train including another field gun for the Hun.

The Russians from turn 2 also decided it was time for another stop work meeting to discuss payment that appeared to be late this month.

Another unit of French infantry decide turn 4 was the time to retake the ruins their bros lost. The st Chammond vehicle guns would assist.

The French also emerge in the centre to challenge the German tank.  They would not survive the crossfire of hmgs that greeted their courage in emerging from the safety of the ruins.

The Russian flank consolidates in the face of advancing French infantry.

A vastly outnumbered French infantry platoon fixes bayonets for the charge into the Russians.

The Russians hold their line and after two turns wipe out the French platoon.

After witnessing their platoons wiped out, the infantry command charge the German tank that had been disabled by an earlier charge from their now departed comrades.

This time the command find the proper place to fix their grenades and the tank is destroyed.

The command group consolidate into ruins close to the German deployment zone.

Over on the left flank the forest delayed the French veterans and the Germans controlled the cemetery ruins.

The Germans had already withstood two platoons emerging from the forest and the ruins next to it but the final platoon enticed an enemy platoon out.  The Germans suffered heavy casualties from the supporting hmg and Mark 5 tank fire before the last unit of veterans charged and routed the Germans.

With that last combat, the six turns were finished and although the French did not take the German village both armies suffered tremendous casualties with most infantry units (and the unfortunate French cavalry) wiped out.

A bloody stalemate was the result with no side gaining any new foothold on the table.

An excellent game with even better bros with the Russian list requiring a few tweaks but is fundamentally sound.

Lest we forget.

Fantastic Great War blog post

Check out this great post set in Bagamayo 1916

Really inspiring to see a sea land battle fought out.

Battle Report Late War Germans vs Russians

It was the second outing for my draft Russian list wih this time incorporating core units of conscripts as compulsory who were subject to the new Collective Seeds of Rebelln rule.

My opponent Troy took a late war German list which was always going to be outnumbered by my conscripts but would outnumber me in the artillery stakes.

This list I chose included two conscript companies and with three and two platoons respectively, a cavalry company with command and two cavalry troops of nine each, a medium field gun, a HMG and the obligatory Batallion command (made up of the excellent west wind Romanov holiday set).

Approximately 837 points under my draft army list.

The Germans went artillery and hmg heavy with a couple of platoons of old boys who decided it was better to look after their chums with the big guns than volunteer for the storm trooper batallions.

With the wind at their backs the Russians sally forth with only one failing their rebellion test.

The Germans consolidate their positions within the two homesteads and await the advance of the unruly conscripted Russians 

The Russians on their far right decide singing revolutionary songs was better than advancing into the teeth of the German menace

Forward you conscripts 

A devastating German hmg attack whittles the Russian (French substituting) cavalry troop but survives the required morale check

The second cavalry troop make it through the firestorm to defeat the Hun hiding behind the hedge only to be left exposed to a German counter attack

Revenge on the last trooper is served with a side of sour kraut

The Russians seek the protection of the hedge - it won't save them from the two hmgs lurking in the forest on their far right 

 The advance on the Russian left flank has faltered so the Germans advance

Likewise the Russian conscripts on the right and the centre are either fleeing or no longer in a position to threaten the other village so the Germans advance over the stone walls 

The second conscript platoon command ponder the loss of the left flank from the safety of the forest

The Germans continue to advance in the absence of Russian opposition 

The German artillery send a couple of shells over the head of their victorious infantry

From the safety of the village the German high command celebrate the decimation of the Russians 

Another fantastic game but I made a couple of mistakes on my draft rules as well as some other basic mistakes - I need to be released to play this game more so I don't make so many mistakes I keep telling my Wife.

The final result was a clear German victory as they held their nerve to let the artillery and rifle fire do what they do best and the Russians fell and or fled with only one unit of cavalry making contact with the Hun.

My opponent Troy is not only a top bloke but also has some of the best Great War Germans you will find on any table top.  My apologies for the under coated dudes and the blurry pics but things will get better in future reports

New Great War Russians

Thanks to those legends at Footsore miniatures here are some new additions to my expanding Russian troops.

They are slightly slimmer than the White Russians from Copplestone Castings but this is only noticeable on very close examination.

Footsore also produce an excellent Battalion command group including tsar Nicholas himself.