The Chicago Dice Bolt Action Learning League has officially begun. Follow along as we recap the weekly games during the Bolt Action League.
Week 3 – 500pts – Flare!
The Mission
Flare! is an AdeptiCon Combat Patrol classic. As the battle takes place at night, line of sight is reduced to just 12″ until a flare goes up and illuminates the entire battlefield! Each turn begins in darkness, and only once the Flare Order Die is pulled from the bag does LoS increase beyond 12″. There is only a single Flare Order Die in the bag, so players have no way of knowing when the LoS will increase.
Players score 1VP per enemy unit destroyed and 3VP per friendly unit wholly within the enemy Deployment Zone at the end of the game. It’s a wild mission that fits the Combat Patrol game size perfectly.
Andrew V (Italy – East African Campaign) v Zak K (Poland)
Zak and I did something a bit different from our Game 3. Instead of playing Flare! at Combat Patrol level, we went all out and played a full 1,100pt Border Wars practice game with a new mission, Fog of War. Three objectives across the middle, 2 VP for holding an objective at the end of the game, 1 VP for each enemy unit destroyed. The catch? There are three additional Order Dice in the bag that are not mine or Zaks. These are the Fog of War dice. And once the third Fog of War die is pulled, the turn ends. Immediately. Makes no difference if there are still Order Dice in the bag or not. This creates an exceedingly tense game with both players never knowing if they will get to activate all their units on a given turn. Highlights of our game include:
- On Turn 1, Zak landed a Med. Mortar shot onto my unit of eight Colonial Cavalry. Killed four and the rest fled off the table. Tough start for the Italians!
- Zak assaulting and destroying not one but two of my Semovente 47/32. Turns out Armor 7 and Open-topped are not good defense against charging infantry.
- My Artillery Barrage brought down a building and created a ruin right next to the middle objective.
- Zak’s Heavy Howitzer fired once all game … and it missed.
- My Autoblinda was locked in a duel with a Polish Light AT Gun for at least three Turns. It was embarrassing for all involved.
- My Med. Howitzer blasted a squad of seven Vets over open sights, leaving only the NCO standing. He bravely passed his Morale Test … only to take a direct hit from the same Howitzer the following turn.
- A squad of 10 Inexp. Colonial Infantry somehow survived all six turns to contest an objective at the end.
At the end of Turn 6 Zak was up by 1 VP, not enough for the win. It was a close game the whole way through. We both had opportunities to secure the victory, but we couldn’t close. It was a fantastic game filled with clutch rolls and total blunders. I’m happy to report that Fog of War worked, and I can’t wait to get the mission played by more folks at Border Wars next weekend. – Andrew
Dave F (Italy – Bersaglieri) v Giuseppe I (Germany)
A clear win this evening for Giuseppe’s Germans in Game 3 of the league. Despite some early success with ranging in their Light Mortars on Turn 1, my Italians couldn’t direct enough fire to slow down the Germans. Then, to add insult to injury, the Italian Platoon Commander FUBAR’d and killed one of his own men with his SMG! Thanks again for the game, Giuseppe – a tough loss, but a fun game and a great opponent! – Dave
John V (France – Colonial Vichy) v Logan X (Germany)
Another good game and another Vichy loss last night, this time to Logan and his Veteran Germans. Some failed German Order Tests in Turn 5 kept a glimmer of hope alive, but in the end, the Vichy lacked the firepower to halt the German advance. On the bright side for the Vichy, the FTs remained intact, this time weathering several panzerfaust shots. – John
Those Vichy French are hiding something. Sneak some men under the cover of darkness and find out what it is. With their orders in hand, the Germans launched three infantry squads. One squad down each flank, and the third took cover in a central building. Almost immediately, flares went up. This was not going to be easy. Three FT-17s were mobilized to deal with the German forces. The central infantry squad came under heavy fire from a Sniper, ATR, an AT FT-17, and infantry squads, but they pushed forward into another building. Then, one of the Vichy infantry squads closed in on them for a shootout. The German Grenadiers suffered a casualty before firing back. The German infantry squad from the right flank pushed forward and finished off the attacking Vichy French infantry squad. Meanwhile, the left flank Grenadiers closed in for a point-blank shootout with another group of Vichy infantry and their Commander. Heavy casualties were suffered by both sides before the German Commander followed up to assist, allowing the lone German infantryman to run past, protected by a copse of trees. The German Light Mortar Team kept an FT-17 busy on the right flank before running past the enemy to infiltrate their base of operations. In the center, the German Grenadiers and Sniper Team continued to be the focus of the Vichy French’s fire. They were pinned down and took a while to regroup. Seeing this opening, the Vichy French AT Rifle Team ran past the German line. Finally, the German sniper team, threw caution to the wind and ran to meet the other German squads that had pushed on to the objective. The final tally was 12-3 with three Vichy French units neutralized, three German squads infiltrating the opponent’s operations, and one Vichy French squad fighting past the German line. It was a fun game. – Logan
Rob R (Soviet Union) v Russell R (Germany)
The dirty American GIs were attempting a daring nighttime raid on a hidden stash of Russian vodka to celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Fueled by ambition and perhaps a bit too much pre-celebration, the Americans advanced boldly across the countryside under the cover of darkness. The mission was clear: secure the vodka at all costs. But as they crept forward, a flare suddenly burst into the sky, casting an eerie glow across the battlefield. That was when disaster struck – Russian eyes spotted the GI Commander answering nature’s call outside a field, pants around his ankles. The Russian Rank Commander wasted no time. A shot rang out, and all the Americans could bring back were his boots. Turn 1 ended with Rob scoring first blood.
Shaken by the loss of their Commander, the American troops hit the dirt, hugging the ground as Russian forces began sweeping the area for intruders. The final Order Die of the turn was another flare, casting more light on the silent, tense terrain. Turn 2 passed with little action – just the quiet shuffling of feet and nervous glances in the dark.
Turn 3 brought maneuvering. Russian infantry and T-60s crept into ambush positions. Meanwhile, an American M8 Greyhound rolled forward and opened fire on a T-60, stunning its crew. A second flare revealed the Americans’ positions. The M15 halftrack, now boxed in by multiple ambushes, managed to pin down a Russian squad holed up in a farmhouse.
Turn 4 erupted into chaos. The previously stunned T-60 recovered and fired on the Greyhound – only for the shell to bounce harmlessly off. The M8 swung to the side and blew the T-60 to pieces. The M15 then returned fire on the Russian Command T-60, stunning its crew. In desperation, the Russian Platoon Commander charged the M8 but failed to destroy it and was forced to retreat.
Turn 5 saw Russian Veterans launch a more effective assault from the ruined farmhouse. Three grenades hit home, destroying the M8. Meanwhile, the Command T-60 closed to point-blank range on the M15 and scored two hits – but rolled snake eyes for damage. The M15 hastily withdrew. Sporadic gunfire followed, with both sides taking light casualties. Rob now led with 2 Order Dice to 1.
In Turn 6, the Russians acted first. The T-60 again advanced on the M15, landing two more hits but failing to cause damage. The M15, now rattled and with four Pins, failed its Order Test and couldn’t respond. A GI squad tried to assault the T-60 but failed. Elsewhere, scattered exchanges of fire continued. The lone U.S. Mortar crewman clung to life, pinned under heavy LMG fire.
Turn 7. A final assault attempt on the T-60 failed a Morale Test, and the M15 limped away, dodging the last shots.
The Russians successfully defended their precious vodka. Final score: 2–1 draw. – Rob
Hayden R (United States) v John M (United States)
Solid game with John, US vs US, seeing who could stack more rifle shots. John crumpled my ass on Turn 4 and 5 under the weight of his Autocannon HMG Half-track. I’m not sure the final score, but John locked in the win! – Hayden
Jacky L (Great Britain – Polish Independent Brigade) v Sammie A (Great Britain – ANZAC)
A good game today with Sammie. My new dice are on my side today, except when making Order Tests with two FUBARs in a row. I managed to push up three squads to Sammie’s Deployment Zone and take out 7 Order Dice to the two I lost. Another win for me with Flare being on my side like last time ha! – Jacky
League Standings After Week 3
| Player | Force | Games Played | Wins | Losses | Draws | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zack D | Yugoslavia (France) | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Maple S | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| John V | France – Colonial Vichy | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| Andrew V | Great Britain – BEF | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | 8 |
| Sammie A | Great Britain – ANZAC | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| Dave F | Italy – Bersaglieri & France – FFL | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| Zak K | Poland – Partisans | 3 | – | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Terry D | Finland | 1 | 1 | – | – | 3 |
| Adam S | Great Britain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Kevin K | Germany | – | ||||
| Logan X | Germany | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | 8 |
| Jacky L | Great Britain – Polish Independent Brigade | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Rob R | Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Lexx D | Great Britain – SAS | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 |
| Kevin C | USA | – | ||||
| Giuseppe I | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Nate B | USA | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| John M | USA | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | 8 |
| Russell R | USA | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 7 |
| Hayden R | USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 |
Dispatches from the Front
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 – 500pts
Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 – 750pts
Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 – 1000pts
Chicago Dice 