2nd FOW League Game: Free for All vs Adam's US Cavalry

Last night I played my second League game vs Adams very nicely painted US Cavalry. The Cavalry are a very light force normally but vs my equally lightly armoured carriers, half tracks and armoured cars I was quite confident I would be in for a struggle...and I wasn't proven wrong!

Adam had a nice mix of armour and armoured car patrols with a smattering of infantry. IIRC it was:

• Cav HQ in M8's
• 2 Cav Patrols
• 3 Scott HMC's
• Smallish Armoured Rifle Platoon
• 3 Sherman's
• Full M10 Tank Destroyer Platoon
  

The mission was originally Break Through, but as I always attack we took a look at Adams list and decided that it would be a very short and unfair battle as he could only deploy one platoon!. A one was duly rolled and we set up for a Free For All.

Soviet Deployment. Panthers near the close objective, M10's in the centre and the rest of the Rota massed down by the far objective ready to nip round the far hill towards the objective on that side.

American Deployment: Adam deployed his infantry guarding the objective opposite the Panthers. There are M10's lurking in those trees with a Cav Patrol, the Scott's and Sherman's deployed center. The last Cav Patrol is guarding the far objective opposite my Gypsy horde with the Cav HQ

I managed to roll a "7" for first turn and after we did Recce moves started to creep forward. My M10's managed to not bog going up the hill and blew all three Sherman's away in the opening salvo!. That was lucky.

The Gypsy Horde masses behind the big hill. Note that the M7 Gun Tractors are actually "cunningly" disguised BA-64 Armoured Cars that we acquired from Poochie when the proper BA-64's failed to show up for duty (read: left at home)

In Adams first turn it appears that those M10's were closer then I thought, and promptly blew up one of my M10's and bailed the rest...who then ran away :(


In my second turn I swing the Rota round the hill and start pumping 50cal rounds into the AC's in the woods, to little effect. The UC Rota park up by the woods near Adams objective and prepare to debus.

Adam retaliates in his turn by racing the Scott's over (I forget how light tanks can MOVE) and then hosing me with 50cal fire in return. Its crazy how the Americans stuck a 50 on anything that could move!) I get of lightly with a few bailed vehicles as Adam is unlucky and cant get those 5+ Firepower rolls going.



Meanwhile in the centre the M10's and Panthers are both hiding from each other on either side of the big hill. His Cav platoon come down the road and have a crack at my BA-64's to little effect.

The Panthers decide to 'man up' and move up to the ridge line and get lucky, the M10 threat is halved.

I have swung round to the other side of the woods now and have the flamethrower assault all prepared and good to go. Adam drops a bombardment on me from the Scott's and 37mm fire takes out the 2iC in his M3A1.


I didn't get a Photo but in our last Turn (as we were running out of time) Adam storms out of the woods with his Cav Patrol, Cav HQ and the Scott's and MG's the UC Rota platoon to rags. They promptly flee and take the CO with them. While I still have the HT Rota intact they are out of position to force the Cav in the far woods away from the objective and form an effective cordon.

In this final photo the Panthers have got another M10 but the platoon is still above half due to the Scout and Command teams. The Cav Patrol has lost its jeeps due to BA-64 MG fire but the M8 passes its morale test and gets 2 BA-64s in revenge. In the last act of the game the last M10 puts a shot through the closest Panther but only bails it luckily.

So in the end neither of us were on an objective so we both lost. I had lost 2 platoons to Adam's one but as the mission is Fair Fight we ended up with a 2-2 Draw

Good game Adam, your force is nice and quirky and a real pleasure to see on the table.