Inspired by a recent WSS article about Norway in 1940 and the battle for Kvam I have been exploring a bit of WW2 history which I was not very familiar with and which surprisingly I have many of the necessary figures already. What’s not to love it also gives me the opportunity to expand my early war collection a little which is always fun. The original plan had been to re-fight the Battle of Kvam in a single scenario. But as this was to be a virtual game with Jonathan and his first experience of Bolt Action we reduced the size a little to use this ‘skirmish’ on the outskirts of Kvam as a bit of a tutorial.
The scenario is a simple breakthrough, the British are holding a line along the main road where it is crossed by the railway. The Germans must push through 👍
German infantry advance on their right flank using the cover of the railways buildings and their Pz II armoured support
The ‘deadly’ British anti-tank rifle lies in wait ! (NOT)
A unit of elite Gebirgsjager hold back a turn then advance across the open ground
Light mortar has successfully dropped smoke to cover the advance
The Germans make a break for the defenders
The British keep up a steady fire holding the advance and forcing some of the attackers to occupy the station building for cover….slowing their assault
The Pz II has pushed up to the road junction with no ‘big’ targets it effectively is a mobile machine gun but opens up at close range on the defenders
Both Germans units in the centre are pinned down but the British are struggling to actually any cause casualties
The British take their life into their hands and assault the tank, they are able to set it on fire but the crew are able to extinguish it…..the British will pay for this !
Clearing the smoke form their eyes the German crew crash through the defending line scattering(wiping out) the squad which attacked them, luckily the machine gun sees what is happening and jump out of the way
Weakened though the German infantry and now within range to assault and the charge in brutal as always the British commanding officer is a casualty
The Germans have broken through
……and the British will have to regroup further back in the town
A nice little scenario it looked for a while that the Germans wouldn’t make it , in fact if the tank had blown or the crew failed to extinguish it the battle would have gone the other way I think. I’m already thinking about some more terrain although the ACW buildings work surprisingly well I think. I need to find some better snow for the roofs but this was some cheap felt I picked up in town on the Saturday.
May has been a challenge weather wise in the North of England but not bad all the time
And occasionally a lovely sunning evening
Oh and picked this little piece up in a charity shop for £2 I wonder if they have these in Norway ?
Lockdown is on the way out so more face to face gaming on the way and hopefully the Hessians will be finished soon ? Take care😀
New fighting arena, excellent. next up the invasion of Greece:)
ReplyDeleteYes we might be able to get your french involved, I was looking to Greece before but it really didn’t last that long !
DeleteI think Greece lasted longer than Norway though Matt?!
DeleteInterested to know your thoughts Keith, I guess I was thinking of the actual conflict between Greek army and german army which according to my limited knowledge was over in about 3 weeks ? Of course a lot of guerilla activity but that has slightly less appeal as they would be very small engagements. There is the Italian /Greek conflict but that would require two new armies and although very inviting I wasn’t ready to make that commitment just yet. The benefit in Norway is I already have two of the main protagonists who I can supplement with polish, french and Norwegians. Do let me know if my knowledge of the Greek german conflicts is off the mark.👍
DeleteI was probably being Angle centric (odd for a Scot perhaps) and thinking of the whole Greek campaign, from when the Italians attacked them to when the British evacuated to the Mediterranean Islands. Even then, my knowledge is pretty limited, so I could easily be wrong, its just my impression all that took longer than the campaign in Norway - but its completely feasible I am mistaken!
DeleteThink you are right Keith the whole ‘Greek’ campaign definitely took longer but I was focussing on the German involvement which in Greece actually only took about 3 weeks, partly because the Greek army had been fighting in places very successfully against the Italians. Whilst the Greeks put up a good fight against the Italians they were effectively outclassed completely by the Wehrmacht and capitulated very quickly and moved to occupation. Certainly the British battles on the Mediterranean islands is another interesting aspect.
DeleteOhhh, that's looking great Matt!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal
DeleteExcellent battle report
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil 👍
DeleteGood report, terrain looked effective, bloody kraut fire extinguishers!
ReplyDeleteThanks you sir I luckily didn’t need to do much to pull the terrain together . Very frustrating as the tank being blown up would have been a real blow to Germans
DeleteExcellent stuff, a nice little sojourn to Norway, bet the weather is better there than here at present 🙂
ReplyDeleteSadly it might even be warmer in Norway certainly drier !
DeleteA visual treat as always, Matt! I did not expect a German victory until everything seemed to turn on the last turn when the Brits were mown down after their failed tank assault. Great fun!
ReplyDeleteIf only the tank had blown that would really have put the Germans on the back foot and altered the outcome !
DeleteA lovely looking game and nice to see Norway on the games table. I have an excellent book on the campaign, with lots of detail but not an easy read I'm afraid. It is something I want to game, along with lots of other things of course!
ReplyDeleteSnowy terrain is one thing putting me off and I should at least make some attempt at bits of snow here and there to get the right feel and look.
Nice find in the charity shop and now the weather has taken a turn for the better at last, let's hope we can all get out and about more.
Thanks Steve a mate of mine has lent me a couple of books to scan through, as I learn a bit more it is clear the theatre has lots of potential for smaller company type battles. The base terrain is actually my desert mat upside down, then only a small number of scatter item. I think I might create a few more of these.
DeleteNice sized action for internet play. The rail line and barbed wire barrier add nice touches.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm was fun to play something different 👍
DeleteExcellent games table, nice AAR & always a pleasure seeing early war games!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Terry and thanks for taking the time to come to nice to know there are other fans of early war gaming 😀
DeleteSplendid game there, very visual as we'd expect. Lovely, uplifting landscape pictures too, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks David👍
DeleteA lovely looking and sounding game Matt...
ReplyDeleteThe Norwegian campaign is certainly an interesting subject a nice mixture of troops and vehicles and not Tiger in sight...
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly it seems an obvious extension to my early war gaming and allows the collection of a few more interesting toys !
DeleteGreat looking BA game, Matt. I hope Jonathan liked it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean a fun game, I might have wiped the smile of Jon’s face had the PzII blown up 👍
DeletePerhaps but unlikely. I was having a great time no matter the outcome.
DeleteVery nice indeed and this size of action is more and more attractive to me! As you say, lots of scope for small scale engagements in this campaign, plus a mix of troops, with Norwegians and the French also involved!
ReplyDeleteAnd Poles!
DeletePossibly a few Norwegians to start with ?
DeleteA small force of Norwegians have been duly ordered from across the pond 🙂
DeleteI think Pat at wargaming with silver whistle used Germans in greatcoats with a ski cap and painted conversion, thought that might appeal to your economical nature!
DeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain I will look into those for sure 👍
DeleteGreat looking game, the ACW terrain works really well!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Very impressive versatility there, Matt, great to see some gaming early war in Norway. The table and troops looked great, I would have never realized those were ACW buildings, they fit right in.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent skirmish, and now I look forward to seeing what you and Jonathan get up to next.
V/R,
Jack
Thanks Jack yes I was searching through some pictures of the conflict when I realised they often have timber clad buildings, the roof pitch would be different to keep the snow off but other wise they work for a wargame. Thanks for watching 😀
DeleteSuch a marvellous game Matt. Your terrain, figures and tank, so brilliantly photographed make it look like stills from a film!
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
Your are too kind, for those that have experienced dungeon gaming know my approach which is to grab a few snaps after each turn, certainly nothing professional, I should put the pictures in black and white as that hides a lot !
DeleteThe scenario seemed to work like a treat. 😀
ReplyDeleteNice action on the table.
Good luck on the lifting of your lockdown.
Thanks Stew👍
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