Back in August I had the privilege of attending the “Battle of Buckeye Bend” Bolt Action tournament hosted by my good friend, Christian Bellitto, in Port Clinton, Ohio. The tournament was hosted at the VFW Post 2480, right in downtown Port Clinton near the shores of Lake Erie. It was his first time hosting an event and it truly was a day to remember. 18 players vied for the coveted “Golden Walleye” trophy and a mix of prize support from Warlord Games, Rubicon Models, and Port Clinton’s own Firelands Games.
Being a regular competitor and attendee at many tournaments across Ohio and Michigan himself, Christian’s event was familiar with 3 games at 1100 points and a cap of 18 order dice and featured some really funky missions for players to accomplish throughout the day. I have been looking forward to this event for months and was inspired to paint up my metal Paracadutisti squads as the main feature of my army. That’s right – my Italians fresh off their new book were ready to take the fight to Ohio. I have always loved my Italians due to how colorful each unit’s paint scheme was. Tri-tone camo paratroopers, blue engineers, yellow bersaglieri with their striking black feathers, and the airbrushed camo pattern of their tanks. I took some liberties with my custom pizza decals on each of my tanks inspired by the Anzio school logo from the “Girls Und Panzer” anime.
The stage was set – The sky was clear, waves were rolling, and I was joined by my friends to play a game we all love. Win or lose, I was riding high with a newly painted army, a fresh pot of coffee, and an easy drive from Detroit along the lake. Let’s roll!
My Force
| Rifle Platoon | |
| Platoon Commander – Veteran +4 buddies, 3x SMGs, Paracadutisti | 108 |
| 8x Nembo Paracadutisti – Veterans – NCO has SMG, 5x SMGs, 2x Rifles, Stubborn | 136 |
| 8x Nembo Paracadutisti – Veterans – NCO has SMG, 5x SMGs, 2x Rifles, Stubborn | 136 |
| 5x Carabinieri Military Police – Veterans – NCO has SMG, 2x SMGs, 2x Rifles, Traffic Direction, Get Back In The Fight | 82 |
| 7x Bersaglieri Light Infantry – Veterans – NCO has Rifle, 2x LMGs, Rifles, Di Corsa | 128 |
| Anti-Tank Rifle Team – Veteran – High Rate of Fire, Fixed | 39 |
| Armored Platoon | |
| CV33 Tankette – Regular –Armor 7, Twin Hull-Mounted HMG – Command | 95 |
| CV33 Tankette – Regular –Armor 7, Twin Hull-Mounted HMG | 85 |
| M15/42 Medium Tank – Regular – Armor 8, Turret-mounted Light AT Gun, co-ax MMG, twin hull-mounted MMGs, Improved Ballistics, Vulnerable, Ferrea Mole Ferreo Cuore! | 145 |
| M15/42 Medium Tank – Regular – Armor 8, Turret-mounted Light AT Gun, co-ax MMG, twin hull-mounted MMGs, Improved Ballistics, Vulnerable, Ferrea Mole Ferreo Cuore! | 145 |
| Total Order Dice: 10 | 1099 |
The army was a bit unusual with the all-veteran rifle platoon in true Chicago Dice style and was something I wanted to challenge myself to pilot considering the low order dice vs the cap. I was inspired by a constraint from Caleb Addie’s “Operation: Unwavering Resolve” event requiring full strength squads for the command and compulsory infantry sections, so I decided to feature the core of a full command paratrooper squad and 2x 8-man sections bristling with SMGs.
My Italians have always featured an armored platoon and the update from the PDF to the full book saw the humble CV33 tankette carry twin hull-mounted HMGs instead of its usual twin MMGs. This change in firepower, along with V3 allowing tracked vehicles an additional pivot vs V2 rules has been crucial to position and land tough shots where needed. In a few casual games, my pair of CV33s have become a hallmark of my army and Christian dubbed them “the bees” after their constant annoyance against his Americans. Also featured are 2x M15/42 tanks. They used to be the classic “dakka” tank back in V2 with twin-MMGs in both the hull and turret, but V3 changed them to nasty little tanks that punch above their weight with the combination of “Improved Ballistics” and the “Ferrea Mole Ferreo Cuore!” rules. Pen +5 within half range and rerolling advance and run rolls mean these tanks get where they are needed and fire with enough juice to take out even the mightiest of foes.
The Carabinieri military police squad meshed well with my armor since I tend to favor heavy use of reserves and outflank, and their “Traffic Direction” rule avoids the -1 reserves penalty for any vehicles if the squad is also in reserves when you make the order check). The staying power of the paratroopers, mobility of the bersaglieri, and synergy between the armored platoon and the police squad combine to make quite the potent force. My Italians are mobile, hard to get rid of, and keep their potency as the game progresses.
Game 1 – Timely Objectives vs Ben (Canadians)
The game was Timely Objectives that yielded points from turn 2 onward to whoever controlled them and the objectives were sticky, so there was an incentive to take the objective early and hold on for dear life. Ben’s list featured 4x units of vet fieldcraft tough fighters with serious SMGs in scout cars, 2x 75mm gun carriages, and 2 crusader tanks with twin light autocannons. The objectives were placed all on the right flank with one in the center of the table. I threw 4 units into outflank on the side with Ben’s home objective (2x M15/42s, 1x paratrooper squads, and my Carabinieri) with the remaining force going into first wave. Ben opted for his whole force to be in first wave.
Turn 1, we each claimed our home objectives and threw pins all around – no casualties on either side.
Turn 2, I pulled the first dice and rushed up the middle with my Bersaglieri squad to secure the center objective, and I was surprised that they weathered blistering heavy machine gun and autocannon fire from the tanks and transports with 5 men still standing. Bad dice from ben saw the Bersaglieri stick around, unyielding to the last! End of T2: Jackson – 2 // Ben – 1
Turn 3, my outflanking M15/42s destroyed 1x crusader and 1x half track. Ben’s scout car team which had been prepping to secure the center fell back to defend his home objective when my 8 man Paratrooper section threatened to take it. Further struggling dice from Ben allowed me to continue to hold the center in Turn 3. The Bersaglieri continued to weather blistering fire, but had 3 men left with a whopping 8 pins on them… I really hoped I got the first pull to rally my squad. End of T3: Jackson – 4 // Ben – 2
Turn 4: Ben charges my paratroopers on his back objective. Rolling 7x tough fighter dice to my 5 tough fighter dice, he has the advantage, but the dice critically fail him! I got 3 kills to ben’s 2 even after rerolls and the paras take the back objective. In the center, Ben finally destroys the Bersaglieri and swamps the objective with a vet squad and 3x vehicles. My tanks pepper his armored gun carriers with pins forcing his M3 with the 75mm to fubar and run off the table. End of T4: Jackson – 6 // Ben – 3
Turn 5: I have all vehicles and Ben has 1 squad of his infantry left. Shots from the crusader kill a squad of paras on my hme objective, but my M15/42 counters and immobilizes the crusader. I now hold both edge objectives with Ben holding the center. End of T5: Jackson – 8 // Ben – 4
Turn 6: After all is said and done, there wasn’t much to clean up. A final assault from Ben killed my platoon command squad, but they could not stomach the whole Italian army around them. End of T6: Jackson – 10 // Ben – 5
Result – Italian Victory
Game 2 – Sectors vs. Mike (Late War Germans)
The game was a combination of Sectors and kill points with table quarter deployment, and this jungle table was DENSE. It featured no less than 8 sources of dense cover from woods and a few ruins and buildings led to very few consistent firing lanes. Mike’s list featured a seriously deadly combination of a veteran Kugelblitz (medium tank with 2x heavy autocannons), and a veteran Panzer 4 with heavy AT gun and Panzer Ace allowing for a +1 to penetrate armor and a +1 to the damage roll – if I got hit with any of these, my tiny tankettes and vulnerable light tanks would be split open easily.
In this game, both players were required to throw half of their army in reserves, so I opted to have my 2x M15s, 2x CV33s, and the Carabinieri in reserves to minimize fire from Mike’s tanks. Mike threw 2x half tracks loaded with vets with SMGs and panzerfausts in reserves to counter my armored threats and make the most of the dense terrain.
Turn 1: All infantry moves onto the table. Mike’s tanks take position, but advances his Kugelblitz deep into no man’s land and kills 1 man in my command team.
Turn 2: Mike pulls the first dice and advanced up the vet kugelblitz into close range of my command squad and fails to kill them. I spring into action and my first M15/42 comes on from reserves and blew it up with a point-blank shot.
Turn 3: My CV33s advance on the opposite board edge and Mike’s mechanized infantry disgorge 2 fausts into my tankettes. 2 hits, 2 1s! … ouch. The CV33s survived 2 panzerfausts and multiple panzer ace heavy AT gun shots – mike only rolled 1s to pen or damage with them. Brutal. They weather the storm and the legend of the bees lives on.
Turn 4: I rush up the table and do some chip damage on his squads and kill his Anti-Tank rifle team with my two M15s. The CV33 attempts to line up a point-blank shot on Mike’s vet squads and FUBARs! Mike fired 6 HMG shots into the rear of the companion command tankette and rolled snake eyes on damage – double stun! The Panzer 4 lines up a shot on an M15/42 but misses its mark.
Turn 5: Both M15s shoot the Panzer 4 and “Improved Ballistics” really pulled its weight showing 1 glance from each tank. The tank was stunned and on fire, but passed the morale check.
Turn 6: I rushed Mike’s deployment zone to capitalize on sector points and killed the panzer 4 with a penetrating shot from the M15. Mike was tabled and the game was over. Win 20-1
Result – Italian Victory
Game 3 – Modified Priority Targets vs Jay (Early War Germans)
Jay and I have been wanting to play each other for a while. We both are regulars at Adepticon and events throughout the Midwest. Back at Jeff Ashley’s tournament in Parma, Jay and I played on tables next to each other for the whole day and managed to both go undefeated that event, but he won the tiebreaker and thus claimed first prize. I knew that Jay and I would have a game where each decision was carefully thought over and no mistake would go unpunished. Christian offered grudge matches for round 1 but Jay and I had a goal that our rivalry would be settled in round 3, and as fate would have it, we were matched up on the top table!
The game was modified kill points going off of what was spent on each unit rather than 1 pt per order dice killed. (e.g. a vet ATR team killed would provide 39pts) Each player chose 3 priority targets that would yield double points if killed. All priority target units were required to be in the first wave. This caveat forced a true mind game of what to decide to kill, as we had to balance what was an easy target and cheap vs what was an essential contributor to the game and expensive.
Priority for me to kill: panzer 3 G (medium AT gun), inexperienced panzerwerfer command vehicle, and 1 squad of vet motorcycle feldjagerkorps
Priority for Jay to kill: Command CV33, both M15/42 tanks
We played on a bombed out city table with plenty of dense cover but many open firing lanes due to unobstructed roads throughout the table. I opted to place just my CV33 that was unmarked and my Carabinieri in outflank to show up on the right side.
Turn 1 blew by quickly as we both played cagey and limited firing chances since both of our armies could counter any threat the other threw out. Pins were given across the table, but no casualties.
Turn 2 saw BOTH of my M15s immobilized and my command tankette stunned thanks to lucky light mortar fire (thanks vulnerable… haha) and a good shot from the panzerwerfer. Against all odds between Jay’s dice rolls and my cover saves where applicable, still no casualties were taken by either of us. Hard cover was abundant and we both had a highly veteran force.
Turn 3 and my Carabinieri start the show arriving from outflank and target the marked Feldjagerkorps on motorcycles but yield limited kills. Jay then springs into action and catapults his motorcycles up the board and advances a crazy 24 inches on the road to fire a panzerfaust at my command tankette and kills it. My tankette then outflanks to counter and destroy the FJKs.
Turns 4, 5, and 6 saw a theme of cagey and conservative play since any jabs would be immediately countered by both parties. Jay would shoot, hit, but not convert his hits into casualties. My dice were consistent and steadily crept an advantage over the late game, though any point could change since most of my kills were small (light mortar teams, AT rifles, etc).
After a mind-boggling 6 turns of throwing haymakers at each other, the steady advantage I built in the mid-game snowballed into a victory where the points belied the game. I won ~729 to 190 (win by 200pts), but each roll of the dice could have gone either way. Jay was a fantastic opponent and I am looking forward to our next chance for a rematch.
Result – Italian Victory
Results
Well folks… we did it! Three challenging games saw the Italian paratroopers emerge victorious and claim the trophy. I had a wonderful time with everyone and am so thankful to Christian for running a fantastic event. It is not easy to coordinate venue, army submissions, prize support, mission design, and he handled all aspects with character becoming a world-class TO.
Final Thoughts
Throughout the day, veterans from the VFW hall came by to watch games and talk to us about the history behind the battles we were playing. It was great to show them our games and the staff and members eagerly welcomed us back anytime. They even voted for Best Painted and broke a tie between Jacob Staverman’s US Airborne and David Naugle’s winter Soviets, though I suspect the “we gotta support our troops” line from the vets caused David to lose out in the voting, haha.
I had a fantastic day of gaming and am excited for the next event. Port Clinton has been a mainstay of Ohio Bolt Action for years now thanks in large part to the support of Firelands Games and TOs like Christian. There was a great mix of experienced players and several folks who were participating in their first ever tournament! It is exciting to see and be a part of the growth of the hobby in the area. Lake Erie in the summertime is a beautiful part of the country and is certainly worth the trip.
