Battlegroup Kursk - 15 mm

This afternoon I was introduced to Battlegroup Kursk, a ruleset by The Plastic Soldier Company. We were six players playing on a 6 x 8 foot tabletop at the Abyss. I elected to play Soviet and was given command of six T-34s. After my force had been reduced to one tank, I took command of three T-70s. 

Having been recently introduced to Battlegroup NORTHAG, I was interested to see how similiar the game flowed. One new action I appreciated was the ability to double tap.  The option of two shots was unavailable with the modern period rule set. There are a few changes I would like to see. For example,  you had multiple chances to acquire a target. IMO if you fail the first attempt then you should not be able to try again in the same turn.

At the end of the Game - A Bloodly Affair

We kicked off play at about 2PM and were finished just after 5 o'clock. My command was the 5 burning T34s on the right side of the playing field. A sixth is below the hill's crest but within 5 inches of the red objective marker, allowing the Soviets to claim the point. After the majority of my tanks were brewed up, I was handed three T-70s to have fun with. They had started near the white farm building (another objective) at the far end of the table and rushed across the open ground, closing with the enemy. I reached shelter in the central woods, which is covered with smoke, but under the gaze of two of the Tigers. In the final move of the game, two of the light tanks outflanked the big cat and opened fire on its exposed side. Unfortunately it was to no avail. 

A fun afternoon, rolling dice, with a friendly group of like minded gamers. At the end of the day, everything but the Tigers seemed to be burning. I was content to be the target while my comrades destroyed the enemies of the Soviet peoples. I was only able to claim one destroyed PZ III, despite my losses. 

15mm Early Cold War

 Something I swore never to do was to fall down the 15mm Cold War rabbit hole. However early last month a sale on FB marketplace caught my eye and here I am. Late this afternoon twenty Soviet vehicles arrived in the mail. UPS will be delivering the NORTHAG Rulebook and the CENTAG Supplement tomorrow. 

T-54s

ISU - 122

ISU - 130

IS-3s

The WILLS box in the background is a box the cat likes to curl up in. Wills Brewery and Bar are a local success story with their craft beers.

Battlegroup Northag - Intro

 Today I got to revisit my early to mid 1980s wargaming, with an introduction to the Plastic Soldier Company Battlegroup NORTHAG. I was given a Soviet Recce force and thrown into the fray. In the 1980s the group I gamed with in Halifax mostly played the WRG Armored and Infantry Rules 1950 to 1985. Over the years we did occasional forays into TacForce, OMG and early in the new millennium Cold War Commander. However for the majority of the past 30 years my microarmor collection quietly sat on the storage shelf. I enjoyed today's revisit of the period. I am personally very happy that we didn't go through the hell of the Cold War becoming hot, but at the time it seemed that it was quite possible.

The powerplant objective at the far end of the table

The Crossroads that became today's focal point.

The T-64s of my Recce Platoon advance across the fields.

More Recce advance trough the countryside.

My luck runs out as the Germans start shooting down from the highrises. I lost 50% of my artillery spotters in an early firefight.

Turn 4 My Motorized infantry arrived last turn. First platoon advances trough the parkland towards the built up area. In the distance my tanks are engaged with the West German Recce

Today's game was a small meeting engagement between the Soviets and West Germans. The Bundeswehr gained control of two of the three objectives. The Soviets achieved only one. Both of the the T-64s were destroyed by infantry AT weapons on the 10-20 inch table on their frontal armor. Both times the German player (William) needed 10 or better on two dice to destroy the tanks. In both cases 11 was thrown. That plus a well placed artillery barrage, which destroyed three of my fire teams drove me above my BP limit. 

I have ordered a copy of the rules and intend to get my 6mm troops back onto the table