The Chicago Dice Bolt Action Learning League is well underway. Follow along as we recap our weekly games during the League.
Week 7 – 1,000pts – Just A Good Old Fashioned Fight
The Mission
It’s the first 1,000pt game as we enter the final phase of the League. By design, there is nothing fancy going on here. Up to half your units can be kept in Reserve, and Outflanking is allowed. Infiltrator deployment is allowed, and everything else is First Wave. The player who destroys the most enemy units wins.
Logan X (Germany) v Hayden R (Partisans)
Partisans are attacking. Mobilize whatever’s left and drive them off.
Two squads of German infantry ran to gain cover, one on each flank. A Panzer IV, a Panther, and a Platoon Command squad pushed up centrally. The Partisans were spread pretty evenly across the line. Their Medium Mortars launched from the flanks. Their MMGs were perched more centrally. The German Tanks exchanged fire with a sniper and one of the MMGs. Then, a Truck flew up the right flank, depositing a Bazooka team and a squad of infantry. This Partisan SMG squad fired into the German infantry. The Germans used the trees for cover, but they were eventually picked off. Another squad of Partisan infantry pushed up to that battle and alternated charging the Panzer IV with the SMG squad until they were able to neutralize it.
On the left flank, the German infantry took lots of fire from two Partisan infantry squads, pinning them down until the Commander came to support. Eventually, they fell to Partisan fire. The Panther took fire from both mortars until it retreated.
This was a decisive victory for Hayden. My goals with this league are to learn Third Edition using only the models I had already purchased for Second Edition and make some more progress on painting them. Now that we’ve stepped up to 1,000pts, I can run lots of small units or some hefty Tanks. I thought the Tanks were the better option for this scenario. I learned the importance of having enough squads to put Pins on your opponent. It was a fun game with Hayden R winning 5-1. – Logan
Maple G (USSR) v Dave F (Italy – Bersaglieri)
Reporting a 5-4 Loss for my Soviets against Dave in a game which a 10-man squad of SMGs firing at point-blank hit 13 times and didn’t kill a single model. – Maple
The dice were rough for Maple this time around for sure! Especially on the artillery not going off for two whole turns. – Dave
Russell R (USA) v Zack D (Yugoslavia (France))
After Action Report for June 23, 194X: Elements of Afks.abt 6-8 were ordered to proceed to a remote area on the Yugoslav border to scout sources of fresh water. A small spring was located, but a group of Free French Troopers had been dispatched to set up position and hold the springs. Both forces reached the objective at the same time, and a fierce, bloody engagement broke out.
Zack’s French/Yugoslav Force: x2 MMG Teams, x3 Medium AT Guns, a Heavy Howitzer, x3 Platoon Commanders, x4 Infantry Squads, and an Artillery Observer.
Russell’s Germans: Panzer I, x2 Sd.Kfz 222 (Panzerbusche) Armored Cars, x2 Sd.Kfz 234/3 (Light Howitzer) Armored Car, a squad of Veteran Infantry, x2 squads of Regular Infantry, x2 Light Mortars, a Sniper Team, and a Platoon Commander.
It was an epic battle between Zak and I. Great fun, toe-to-toe slugfest, though still with opportunities for tactical maneuver. Germans jumped out to a quick lead, up to 3-0, before the French were able to get their first kill. After that, the two sides went at it like a heavyweight boxing match. Pounding on each other in the middle while trying to force the flanks.
The French were able to close the gap and force the first tie by the end of Turn 3, with both sides down four units each. And that was the pattern up until Turn 6. The Germans would get a kill the French would catch up. We went into Turn 6 with six kills each – busted, burnt out, or butchered. The French had eight Order Dice remaining to the German six. The Germans get the first OD and kill a French Platoon Commander. A couple more dice get pulled, and Zack is down to his last strike … if his one Medium AT Gun (that must pivot to engage) is not able to kill my Command Vehicle (the Panzer I), then the game would end in a German victory. The final shot of the game was captured on video:
It ended in a 7-7 tie and it had to be one of the most fun and most epic 1000pt games I’ve had. – Russell
League Standings After Week 7
| Player | Force | Games Played | Wins | Losses | Draws | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zack D | Yugoslavia (France) | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Maple S | Soviet Union | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| John V | France – Colonial Vichy | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |
| Andrew V | Great Britain – BEF | 6 | 5 | – | 1 | 17 |
| Sammie A | Great Britain – ANZAC | 6 | 1 | 5 | – | 8 |
| Dave F | Italy – Bersaglieri & France – FFL | 7 | 2 | 5 | – | 10 |
| Zak K | Poland & Partisans | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Terry D | Finland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Adam S | Great Britain | 4 | 1 | 3 | – | 6 |
| Logan X | Germany | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Jacky L | Great Britain – Polish Independent Brigade | 5 | 2 | 3 | – | 9 |
| Rob R | Soviet Union | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Lexx D | Great Britain – SAS | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 |
| Kevin C | USA | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Giuseppe I | Germany | 6 | 3 | 3 | – | 12 |
| Nate B | USA | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| John M | USA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Russell R | USA | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| Hayden R | USA & Partisans | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
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 