Over 16 missions, Joe & Andrew will battle through the full campaign – each trying to secure victory in a desperate fight for control of Fortress Budapest.

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Andrew’s Axis victory in Game 12 has once again brought the Campaign to a tie. There are only four games left in the campaign and time is running out to secure overall victory. Game 13 – The Buda Hills, again focused on a single close-quarters battle for a single Villa within the city.

Andrew built his attacking force from the Budapest Pocket Defenders (Fortress Budapest) Theater Selector and Joe lined up the Operation Bagration (Armies of the Soviet Union). Our battle-hardened commanders arrived at the home of Campaign: Fortress Budapest – Michigan Toy Solider – fully prepared for a vicious battle.

The only objective is to control the Villa. To control the Villa, the entire building must be clear of enemy Infantry. If the Villa is destroyed (HE, Flamethrower), the game ends in a Draw.

• Soviets:
  • Control the Villa (no enemy Infantry on any floor).
• Axis:
  • Control the Villa (no enemy Infantry on any floor).

The Pre-Game

The Axis Strategy

On the attack once again! After holding the line in the cemetery it’s time to storm the Villa. I really leaned into assault potential for my list. Two units of Grenadiers with a mix of SMGs, ARs and Panzerfausts, a full seven-man Pioneer squad, all with SMGs and two squads of Fanatic Vanney Battalion. Backing up this tide of infantry I brought forth a Sniper Team, Med. Mortar, Medic and the 7/2 AA Half-track with a single Heavy Autocannon. I wanted to rush the Villa as fast as possible and just get into the first floor. I didn’t need to clear out all the Soviets (I figure there will be a lot of them lol), but I need a toehold. I left the StuH-42 at home. My thought being it’s just too many points and I could bring forth more assault troops by dropping that SPG. We will how it goes! – Andrew

The Soviet Strategy

Another Attacker/Defender mission, but wait! I would be the Defender? This would be a nice change of pace. Because I only had to defend a single Villa, but would start the game with Pins on every one of units units, I went with a Veteran-heavy list with lots of Tough Fighters to make the German assault on the Villa as bloody as possible. I took an SU-76 to try and counter what I assumed Andrew would take, his STuH-42. My plan was simple, I would stack the Villa with Vet Tough Fighters and dare the Axis attackers to try and breach the walls. I would set up the remaining units behind the garden walls surrounding the Villa to help slow down the Axis advance. I would use my SU-76 to engage any artillery or armored vehicles that Andrew brought. I would hope for an early Dawn again so I would have time to clear Pins and then fire on the advancing troops quickly. Time would tell how well this would work! – Joe

The Game

Deployment

• The Villa was placed in the center of the table – we played is a three-story building and Joe deployed the free 12-man Inexp. Rifle Squad on the first floor and a 7-man Vet Tough Fighter Rifle Squad on both the second and third floors.
• The rest of the Soviet force was required to be deploying within the low wall surrounding the Villa. We played the wall as Hard Cover.
• The Axis force would arrive via First Wave from the Axis Table Edge or either of the Neutral Tables edges.
• Andrew deployed two Vannay Battalion Flying Squads on the right flank using their Home Ground special rule.
• Each unit in the Soviet force then took d3 Pins due to the Spoils of War mission special rule – 22 Pins spread across 10 units.
• Spoils of War combined with Dawn Assault would ensure the attacking Axis force would arrive onto the table in good order.

Turn 1

• With Dawn Assault in play, visibility was cut down to just 2d6″ (roll each time a unit activates). Both Commanders knew that the defensive fire wouldn’t be taking place this turn.
• Andrew’s Axis attackers arrive on the table from three sides and start to close in on the Villa.
• Early in the turn one of the two Vannay Battalion Flying Squads assaulted a Soviet ATR Team up and over the defensive wall. The assaulting squad then took heavy casualties from the units inside the Villa but, as Fanatics, ignored the punishment.
• The Soviet Med. Mortar bailed out and away from the second Vannay Squad who were poised to launch a second assault.

Turn 2

• The Dawn did not arrive, reduced visibility for at least another turn.
• The SU-76 pivoted and opened up on the Vallay Squad out in the open above the Villa. The squad goes Down and take two casualties.
• A Grenadier Squad makes a made dash towards the defensive wall and take four casualties from a Vet. Soviet Rifle Squad Ambush fire.
• The 7/2 AA Half-track let loose with it’s Heavy Autocannon but only killed a single Inexp. Rifleman in the first floor of the Villa. This single casualty triggered the Green roll and popped the Inexp. squad to Reg! The Villa was now held with 11 Reg. Riflemen on the first floor, 7 Tough Fighter Vets on the second floor and 7 Tough Fighter Vets on the third floor.
• The two remaining Vannay troopers throw themselves into assault against a Vet. Soviet Rifle Squad on the outside of the Villa. 2v6 in the combat and managed to kill a single Vet before being wiped out.

Turn 3

• Dawn Arrives. Line of sight is no longer impacted for the remainder of the game.
• The Vannay Squad on the outside of the Villa assault the Soviet Med. Mortar Team with an Insane Courage Order Check roll. The Med. Mortar is killed in the assault.
• SU-76 advances and misses a Point Blank shot against the Grenadiers moving up to the Villa from below.
• Seeing an opportunity to remove the Soviet Armor threat, the 7/1 fires, hits with its Heavy Autocannon and sets the SU-76 on fire. Sadly for the attackers, the tank crew keeps their nerve and holds.

Turn 4

• 7/1 advances up to the perimeter wall and kills the Soviet Lt’s buddy. The Lt keeps his nerve but won’t survive for long…
• In a wild turn of events the Vet. Soviet Riflemen outside the Villa roll a FUBAR on their Order Check and open fire on their own Lt. via Friendly Fire. What the Axis have been unable to accomplish, the Soviets do themselves.
• In a desperate play, the Grenadiers on the bottom of the Villa assault the first floor. The Germans kill four of the Soviet defenders but all three are killed in the counterattack. There are now five Reg. Riflemen holding the first floor.
• The last man in the Vannay Squad that previously assaulted the Med. Mortar is killed by a well-placed ATR shot.
• The SU-76 advances, lands a shell on the German Lt and turns him into a smoking crater. The HE blast also catches one of the Pioneers, who lives, but the unit takes two more Pins – now looking at 7 Pins total!

Turn 5

• The Vet Rifles on the Third Floor of the Villa catch the last two remaining Pioneers with precision fire.
• A Vet. Rifle squad on the outside of the Villa assaults over the wall into the 7/2. Hitting on 4s they score 5 hits and wreck the soft-skin AA half-track.
• The Axis Sniper missed the AT Rifle Team for a final time. There would not be another chance to remove that pesky ATR.
• The MMG Team attempted to make a mad run over the wall and into the Villa but failed their Order Check.
• The SU-76 pulled back and out of the Mortar’s line of sight.

Turn 6

• With only four Axis units remaining and no hope of making it to the Villa, all that was left to do was some Soviet cleanup.
• The Vet Rifles on the Second Floor fired down and killed the Axis Sniper Team.
• The Axis mortar missed the Vet Rifle squad surrounding the wrecked 7/2.
• SU-76 pivoted and advanced through the wall into Point Blank range of the MMG Team and blasted it off the table.
• The game ended after Turn 6 with the Soviet Defenders with control of the Villa.

Soviet VPs	Axis VPs
Controlled the Villa	Did not control the Villa

Soviets: Controlled the Villa
Axis: Did not control the Villa

Final Result – Soviet Win
The Soviet War Machine takes the lead in both Campaign Score and Kills!

The Post-Game

The Axis Conclusion

My goodness that did not go well. I think I fell into the classic plight of the Attacker – caught in the middle. I didn’t follow up my early assaults with more assaults. I committed my forces piecemeal when I should have thrown everything forward right away. I also really missed the StuH 42. I was too concerned with the big Med. Howitzer HE against my own troops that I didn’t really consider using it against the Soviet troops that I knew would start the game in the Villa. Having only the Heavy Autocannon on the 7/2 was simply not enough punch to clear out a floor. The Vannay Battalion Flying Squads were awesome but I didn’t support their assaults properly so Joe was able to pick them off one by one. Sadly my always dependable Med. Mortar failed to land a single shell and the Sniper Team was completely ineffective. I should have used those points for another assault squad.

Joe had the right idea, just a of Vet Tough Fighter Rifle Squads holding the Villa itself and walls surrounding. He had so many infantry that I needed to cut through and I wasn’t able to make it happen. An expert defense all around!

In hindsight we might have made the Villa too powerful by giving it three floors. But we wanted a scrap across multiple floors for control, too bad I didn’t even make it into the building! Joe had a thought that the defensive wall should have been a wooden fence instead, that is probably the change we needed to make to give the Attacker more of a chance.

All in all, another fantastic Campaign game. There is a lot I would do differently if I played again. Well done the Soviet Commander! – Andrew

The Soviet Conclusion

This mission seemed pretty stacked against the attacking Axis player. Even with a large number of Pins all across my units, the Axis forces would still need a turn to get within line of sight range during the first turn of Dawn Assault. By the time they would be close enough, I had Rallied and was able to fire upon them. The Attacker cannot destroy the Villa as then the game would be a Draw. My plan worked so well Andrew was unable to even occupy a single floor of the Villa. It turned out Andrew didn’t bring his STuH-42, so to my surprise SU-76 wasn’t as useful as I would have hoped. But unfortunately for Andrew it didn’t seem to matter. The chaos of the 4×4 games never gets old. Drawing all units in towards the center of the table, all over one main objective is absolutely some of the most fun in Bolt Action I’ve had. I would like to once again like to thank my opponent Andrew and the gracious host of Michigan Toy Soldier. – Joe

Soviet Campaign Score	Axis Campaign Score
7	6
6-5-2	5-6-2

Soviet Campaign Kills	Axis Campaign Kills
57	56

Game 12 – Farkasreti Cemetery | Game 14 – Supply Drop