The relentless pressure of Holidays is getting to me now but I did squeeze in a game at the weekend, a chance to give the Italians a run out in Sicily. As my opponent is an infrequent gamer I set a simple scenario the Americans needed to break through. The challenge is giving the Italians a chance with out simply making them useless, plying bolt action on this occasion I gave them 1 point lower leadership but kept the rest of their stats as regular.
Half the Italians are on the table already, the Americans get a preliminary bombardment and assault from the left seeking to break through the Italians lines.
A closer shot of the Italian defenders, spread out but a greater concentration in the centre
The Americans advance along the two forks of the road
But also move onto the rocky hill to the south, American paratroopers lead the way towards the church but get badly mauled in cross fire
Both sides have some reserves the Italians have managed to find a Semovente assault gun which faces down the American Sherman
The American advance grinds forward, with the Italians taking the greater casualties
But they are still holding for now
The American concentrate at the fork in the road, but those attempting to cross the open field at cut down, and finally the Sherman is knocked out and burning seen to the right of this picture
As time and turns are running out the Americans make a dart for the finish line
The Italians through everything into the defence, even trying to block the road past the fork !
Leading from the front the American Commander is nearly killed but just survives, in a twist of fate both American infantry units within reach of the ‘end zone’ fail to activate 😀 but in an underhand and suitably sneaky way the Americans run the antitank gun over the line. A great game and fun to play, the Italians held their own, with the leadership giving some challenges especially when reserves failed to arrive when ordered. Technically it was an American victory as too many Italians had given their lives defending a fairly worthless piece of Sicilian countryside, but only a minor win could be claimed.
Tenby where we were staying has some impressive medieval walls around the old town centre
Tenby itself has a small castle on the hill
We also visited the much bigger Pembroke Castle , birthplace of HenryVII
We had a trip to Manorbier where a lovely castle overlooks a stunning beach
We also walked across to the 1870’s gun fort overlooking Tenby harbour and coastline, now fairly derelict inside but still an impressive location, not sure why we were building forts like this in 1870 ? But I believe it replaced an earlier Napoleonic structure which might have made a bit more sense.
For those that love them I have also been out in the lakes, a shot here of Sca Fell from the west
The van parked in Wasdale, for those unfamiliar with the Lake District this is one of the most famous views you will see
and finally to prove that the sun doesn’t always shine….in Cumbria, be prepared for the weather !
Thats it for now two more games in the diary over the next few days and hopefully some painting although I haven’t had much of a chance recently.
Thanks as always for checking in
Matt ❤️
