Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Bolt Action, Italy, summer of 1944
U.S. supply dump. MG team moving to set up in sandbag emplacement upper left

 
I played a game of Bolt Action with Mike Covell today. I like the game but haven't gotten around to playing it in about a year, so we lost some time relearning it as we went. Still enjoyed it though. Each side had 6 infantry squads supported by assorted heavy weapons. The Germans had one PZKW IV tank and the Americans had a Sherman with a 75mm gun plus an M3 halftrack.
German infantry advance on one objective, the American supply dump
There were three objectives, a ruined village held by the Germans on their left, a supply dump held by the Americans on their left and a bridge across a stream held by noone in the center.
U.S. tank & infantry move to capture the village
Both sides held reserves off table and fed them in as the situation dictated. The German tank supported by well positioned infantry quickly moved to control the bridge in the center. The Americans were unable to get any of their 3 bazooka teams in a position to strike at the tank without being shot down. The Germans also made a play for the supply dump on the American left, but were pinned down by a .30 cal machine gun ensconsed in a sandbag emplacement backed up by an infantry squad and a sniper team. Meanwhile, the Americans committed most of their reserves on the German held village. Sadly, at this point we ran out of time and had to cut the game short. A good time, but too much time lost relearning the rules. I have another Bolt Action game scheduled with Pete this weekend. We should be able to move it along quicker now that we are brushed up on the rules.