The Chicago Dice Bolt Action Learning League is well underway. Follow along as we recap our weekly games during the League.
Week 5 – 750pts – Scattered Drop
The Mission
Scattered Drop was pulled from the Polar Vortex 2023 packet and adapted to Third Edition. Three objectives are placed across the middle of the table, and whoever controls more objectives at the end of the game wins. Simple as that. Oh, except for the part with half of each player’s force deployed via a “scattered drop”.
Scattered Drop – Each player selects half of their force (rounding up) to Airdrop. The chosen units cannot be vehicles. All other units will arrive via Reserves (no Outflank). Put all Reserve units to the side along with their Order Dice. Put the Order Dice for all the Airdrop units into the bag. Pull an Order Die. That player then places one model from an Airdrop unit anywhere on their half of the table. Once the
model has been placed, scatter it 2d6” in a random direction. If the model would scatter off the table, place the model on the edge of table. The unit then takes d3 Pins. Once the model is placed, “deploy” the rest of the models in the unit within 3” of the first model. If the model scatters into terrain (woods, a building, ruins, etc.), the unit will “deploy” in the terrain. Pull the next Order Die and continue until all Airdrop units have been deployed.
The objective is a simple (take and hold), but the deployment can get pretty wild.
Andrew V (Great Britain – BEF) v Jacky L (Great Britain – Polish Independent Brigade)
This was a tough go for Jacky. After a solid deployment and first turn, the Poles decided not to follow orders. Jacky commanded his forces gallantly, but there is only so much you can do with back-to-back FUBARs on a critical flank, and his Humber Armored Car in Reserve only arrived on Turn 6 after failing four Morale 8 Order Tests in a row to arrive. On the other side of the table, my BEF were firing on all cylinders. Both my Matilda IIs in Reserve rolled up and hit with their Light Howitzers the turn they arrived. In this pre-Overlord training mission, the BEF upstaged the Polish Independent Brigade. My full compliments to Jacky for keeping his composure while his forces crumbled around him. Although Jacky’s troops failed to accomplish their objective, they sure looked fantastic. Full points for painting! – Andrew
Rob R (Soviet Union) v Giuseppe I (Germany)
My Russians prevailed with two objectives to none. Dog Mines hit my own Command T-60 and Giuseppe’s Marder simultaneously: killing the Marder and knocking out the T-60 crew. – Rob
Sammie A (Great Britain – ANZAC) v John M (USA)
John’s Americans and my Mallrat Aussies met on the battlefield around a Hobbit windmill. The Mallrats were airdropped very comfortably in forward positions, allowing them to cut off advancements and send out heavy harassment from the beginning. Unfortunately for the Americans, the flow of battle never gave them space to breathe. In a welcome reversal to my last game, I was rolling pretty hot. Matilda Van Halen and the Food Court Commandos held down the left flank, while my Mallwalk Regulars refused to give way on the right. The real MVPs were my pair of janitors (Light Mortars) who managed to range in like six times and even beat an American Platoon Commander in close combat to secure the right objective. In the end, Aussies got the victory 2-1. John was a great sport, very helpful to a new player, and a general joy to play 🙂 – Sammie
John V (France – Colonial Vichy) v Maple S (Soviet Union)
Maple’s poor ZiS-3 got hammered after a failed 1-Pin Order Test, freeing up the FTs to (slowly) advance towards the objectives. The brave Veteran Soviets were able to occupy a ruined house for a while, but the Vichy were eventually able to clear the ruins out after pouring a ton of firepower into them. A fun game, though Maple’s dice were certainly a factor with a few critical Order Test failures and lots of unexpectedly failed Cover Saves. – John
Logan X (Germany) v Zack D (Yugoslavia (France))
Sensitive information was hidden in three vehicles. Those vehicles are wrecked in Yugoslavian territory. Drop in and retrieve the information.
The German forces dropped in, but quickly realized that Yugoslavian troops had scattered themselves, ready to ambush. A German Anti-tank Rifle Team pushed up to take cover behind a rocky pillar, but an MMG hidden in ruins on the right flank opened fire. The German Sniper Team fired into the MMG before a German Platoon Commander came in to finish the MMG team. Meanwhile, the German Light Mortar pushed closer to the left-most objective vehicle before being shot down. A team of German infantry pushed into some ruins by that vehicle, applying pressure and causing a Yugoslavian infantry squad, Sniper, and Platoon Commander to fall back into cover as they exchanged fire. Near the central objective, a German Platoon Commander cracked after his men had been shot down. A nearby infantry squad covered him from another set of ruins. Two Renault 35s approached, supporting the ambushing Yugoslavians. The German Anti-tank Rifle managed to fire at one of them a few times before a Nebelwerfer was brought in to deal with it. While the Nebelwerfer managed to hit the R35, it was not destroyed. This bought the Germans some much-needed time. As the evening drew to a close, all three objective vehicles were heavily contested. It was a hard-fought battle, but little resolution came from it.
This was a great game with Zack. We were pretty well matched. I think I failed a few more Order Tests than he did, but I had some very important successful Order Tests that beat the odds. Our game was cut short near the end of Turn 5, so we just talked out the rest of the turn. I really think it would have been up to the luck of the dice during Turn 6 and potentially Turn 7 that would have decided a winner. Good game.
Zack D (Yugoslavia (France)) v Maple S (Soviet Union)
Week 4 Game
Maple and I had a bloody game today. We played last week’s mission, but at 500pts to keep quick. Ended in a perfect tie with 5VP for Maple and 5VP for my guys. The Soviet Vets had their Truck shot out from under them on Turn 1, but that didn’t stop them from footslogging their way across the table despite turn after turn of MMG fire. Soviet Light Mortars put in work – reducing a MMG Team down to one man and ranging in on several infantry squads during the game. The Yugoslavs, on the other hand, were able to push effectively up the flanks, VB Launchers and rifles whittling down several Soviet squads. Soviets made several amazing Order Checks to get off the board with one squad, and then two ended in the Deployment Zone, while the Yugoslavs managed to run off a squad and get another squad, plus a Platoon Commander, into the Deployment Zone. Traffic was bad and bloody! – Zack
League Standings After Week 5
| Player | Force | Games Played | Wins | Losses | Draws | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zack D | Yugoslavia (France) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Maple S | Soviet Union | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| John V | France – Colonial Vichy | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |
| Andrew V | Great Britain – BEF | 5 | 4 | – | 1 | 14 |
| Sammie A | Great Britain – ANZAC | 5 | 1 | 4 | – | 7 |
| Dave F | Italy – Bersaglieri & France – FFL | 5 | – | 5 | – | 5 |
| Zak K | Poland & Partisans | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Terry D | Finland | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | 5 |
| Adam S | Great Britain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Logan X | Germany | 5 | 3 | – | 2 | 13 |
| Jacky L | Great Britain – Polish Independent Brigade | 5 | 2 | 3 | – | 9 |
| Rob R | Soviet Union | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Lexx D | Great Britain – SAS | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 |
| Kevin C | USA | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Giuseppe I | Germany | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | 11 |
| Nate B | USA | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | 8 |
| John M | USA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Russell R | USA | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Hayden R | USA | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
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 