Fire and Fury Games' Battlefront WWII HISTORICON 2008

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HISTORICON 2008

This convention shows that BF:WW2 and F&F still have "legs". There were lots of BF and R F&F games and some enterprising souls decided to stage the full 3 days of Gettysburg using the original F&F. In addition to the usual suspects (Pete Landry, Mike Sincavage, Steve Keyer), the BOGS wargaming group put on a continual series of BF games. I want to thank Pete Landry for giving me lots of pics.

Tiger Unleashed - or "Read the Victory Conditions"

This Tunisia scenario was put on by Pete Landry and Mike Sincavage. The Germans find themselves outnumbered and surrounded in bad terrain, but with a significant discipline rating and equipment superiority. Their only victory condition was to safely withdraw the single Tiger unit off the map, forcing their way through a swarm of Stuarts and Grants. After starting well, the scenario came to an abrupt and unexpected end when the German player decided that his Tiger was invincible and charged it into close combat with a Stuart. Guess what happened :-)
I want to thank Pete for these photos.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Starting Positions	The US has cut off the Germans from their base. Note that if vehicles leave the road, all but the Stuarts need to check for bog-down, and the Tiger needs to check for bog-down every 4 inches it moves off road. Also, anything outside the curving brown outline is completely impassable.
German Column	Leading the German column, Tiger 212.
Retreat Begins	The Tiger starts to fall back.
Charge of the Light Brigade 1	The lead companies of the Stuarts charge the lead German tanks. In an attempt to cut off the trailing German tanks, A French battery supports the US with a smoke mission (white Cards). This temporary smoke screen is rapidly replaced by a more permanent screen from burning Stuarts.
American Reinforcements	A 3rd company of Stuarts and a company of Lees carefully approach the battle.
Casualties	4 Stuarts and a Mk III are quickly turned into wrecks. The U.S. outnumbers the Germans by about this ratio, but this is still not a good exchange rate.
Stuarts hold off the Juggernaut	The Stuarts are taking one for the team until help arrives.
U.S. Infantry carefully moves out	The battle rages to the east while the U.S. infantry and AT units carefully prepare to leave the town.
Stuka attacks	A Stuka dives on the Stuarts, but AA fire shoots it down.
Junkyard	The scrap pile is growing as both sides feed their tanks into the melee.
Tiger Backs up	The Tiger backs up through the smoke while U.S. reinforcements approach the battle.
US forms 2nd defensive line	The US form a 2nd defensive line away from the brawl, using the flaming wrecks to interfere with long range fire. When the Panzers emerge from the smoke, the U.S. guns might be able to do more than scratch the paint.
Oops	The Germans decide to force their way through the defensive line using close combat. In the middle of the picture, the long barrel of the Tiger can be seen emerging from the smoke as it hits a Stuart in close combat. The Stuart's defensive fire (10!) suppresses the Tiger(!) and in the point blank melee disables the Tiger (10!) forcing the Germans to destroy it before they flee. The scenario ends suddenly with a U.S. victory.

Somewhere in Hell - Kursk

Pete Landry and Mike Sincavage put on a second BF game based on the Kursk battle. Some very good German armor was attempting to push some Russians out of a town. It is always interesting to see how players handle their forces in convention games. In this game the Germans had armor that easily outranged all of the Russian equipment. They sent a significant portion of it into the woods, where the Russians were able to delay them until they went around the flank. The Germans did not make full use the open terrain on their right, and later chose to send their Nashorns into close combat in the woods.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Dash for the Woods	All of the German infantry and most of the PzIV dash into the woods.
German First turn	While the left flank of the Germans go into the woods, the heavy German armor assaults a town held by some Russian scouts.
On the German Right	Looking down the line from the other end. Note the open space with no tanks, where the Panthers could cover the advance.
Russian Response	The Russian response was to set up a defensive line with their infantry in the woods just outside 2" from the Germans, and their tanks just under 5" from the woods edge. Any German moving up would be subject to multiple ambush fires.
Parking Lot	The Russian response slowed the Germans down until they decided to send some PzIV around the left flank.
End Run	The Germans flanked the Russian position, and started working down the delaying Russians.
Village Cleared	The heavy armor finally cleared the village and started moving up. Finally, some long range guns moved out into the open.

Wrong Turn On the Way to Obayan : Kursk 10-11JUL1943

Steve Curtis and Martin Hudson ran this scenario of the attack of 48 Pz Corps on the Soviet 3rd Mechanized and 6th Tank Corps.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Soviet Reserves	A gaggle of Russian tanks wait for the German offensive to get involved with the forward infantry.
German Tanks Approach	Heavy German Armored formations approach a defended town.
German Infantry Assaults	German infantry assaults across the open into the first Russian fortifications.

Thala

Greg Lyle's new standard scenario is Thala, which is one of the important actions of the Kasserine Pass battle.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
British tanks defend	British Tanks confront the Germans in the rugged terrain.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder	A concentrated line of Germans moves up.
Slugging it out	Valentines and PzIIIs exchange fire.
Slugging it out 2	Casualties on both sides.
Slugging it out 3	Another view.

Saunders Field

This RF&F ACW scenario was put on by our own Mark Hayes, who also supplied some of the photos and commentary.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
View of Battlefield 1	From behind the Union Right Flank
View of Battlefield 2	From behind the Union Left Flank
View of Battlefield 3	From behind the Confederate Left
The right moves up quickly	The right side of the Union line moves ahead of the left
Another Angle	Another view of the Union Push
Iron Brigade Attacks	Iron Brigade on the attack through the Wilderness south of Saunders Field.
Iron Brigade Slugfest	Iron Brigade slugs it out with Jones' and Dole's Confederate brigades.
Zouaves Attack	146th New York Zouaves attack through the Wilderness north of Saunders Field.
Bartlett's Brigade Attacks	Bartletts Brigade struggles across Saunders Field into the Confederate brigades of Jones and Steuart.

7 Pines

Rich Hasenauer and Mike Pierce ran this RF&F ACW scenario based on a Confederate attack on a surprised Union camp near Richmond in May 1862. I want to thank Mark Hayes for some of the photographs.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Long View	A view of the start of the battle, showing the successive Union positions and the massed Confederates.
Union Right	On the Union right flank, Negle's Brigade awaits the Confederate onslaught
Garnett Attacks	Garnett's Confederate Brigade of D.H. Hill's leads the Rebel attack
Rodes Attacks	Rodes' Confederates crash into Palmer's Brigade on the Union left flank
Right Flank crumbles	Garnett, G.B. Anderson, and Jenkins overwhelm the Union right
Union tries to hold the line	Union troops rush forward to support the crumbling line.
Back to the first trench line	The Confederate left hits the trenches while other Union troops fall back.
Confederate Massed Attack	A better view of the Confederate push on the left.
Breaking Through	The Confederates are breaking through the trench line.
Forward	The trench line is in Confederate hands, but another defensive position is forming.

Wandiwash

One of the neat things about RF&F is that it lends itself well to smaller battles throughout the entire horse/musket/early rifle period. The battle of Wandiwash, which occurred in Southern India in the Seven Years War. This is essentially a linear battle between colorful (but often not very good) troops around a core of regulars.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
The French lines	The French lines
Start of the Battle	The two sides line up opposite each other.
Center of the French	The center of the French Lines.
Looking across no man's land	The English line moves up, as seen from behind the French position.
Another View	Another view from behind the French lines.
Looking down the line	Looking down the French line to the redoubts anchoring the left flank.

Yatay

Another interesting battle is Yatay, from the War of the Triple Alliance in South America in 1865, which featured Paraguay vs Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Unlike Wandiwash this is definitely NOT a linear battle. The Paraguayans start entrenched but essentially outflanked, but their reinforcements pitch into the flank of the attackers, resulting in a swirling melee. One of the neat things about this battle is the variety of colorful uniforms from the different countries.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
The Paraguayan Position	The Paraguayans defend entrenchments, but the bulk of the enemy is off to their right flank.
The Alliance Forces	The Alliance forces move up to outflank the entrenchments.
The Alliance Forces 2	Closer view of the Alliance forces.
The Alliance Forces 3	Closer view of the Alliance forces 2.
The lines engage	Some Alliance forces engage the trenches while the bulk move up on the flank.
The flanking sweep	The Alliance flank move.
The Paraguayan reinforcements arrive	While other troops delay the flanking maneuver, large numbers of Paraguayan reinforcements can be seen in the distance moving into the Alliance flank.
The Alliance Flank guards engage	Alliance Cavalry on their right flank engage the Paraguayan reinforcements.

Bir El Hurmat

Ralph Hoegermeyer and Malcolm Sleight of HMGS Great Lakes put on a Western Desert scenario that featured some interesting modifications to the standard visibility rules to incorporate dust clouds and hidden movement. I would really appreciate it if they could send these to me for inclusion on the site, as they added some extra suspense and gave fast, light recon vehicles an important role.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Recon moves up	Light recon vehicles lead the way, while the large forces remain hidden in the dust.
Hidden movement	You know something is there, but what is it? Dust clouds obscure long range visibility.
Forces collide	German and British tanks reveal themselves in the dust.
Grants	British Grants lead the way.
Mixed German tanks	The Germans expose PzIIs, IIIs, and IV and IIIs.

Battlefront for Dummies

Brian DeWitt and NOVAG presented a stripped down version of BF that kept the combat system, but simplified everything else. It was a quick way of playing an armor-only scenario.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Germans Advance	German armor moves up, and a halftrack finds out why it should not be out in front.
Heavy Metal	This scenario featured some big tanks. You can see King Tigers in the background, and they were up against JSIIs and T34-85s.

Oldie but Goodie

The original F&F is still one of the best rules for larger ACW battles. The Southern Maryland Partizans put on a Shiloh scenario, and Michael Panzer, Kurt Kramer and the Rogues put on a continuous Gettysburg scenario lasting for 3 days of the convention. I just have a few pics of each.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Union Forces deploy	Gettysburg-day one, the Union forces deploy to meet the initial Confederate advance.
Facing West	Gettysburg - Artillery and Infantry set up.
Another view	Gettysburg - Another view of the Union line.
Union Camp	Shiloh - The Union camp is surprised.
Union Camp 2	Shiloh - Surprised Union forces attempt to organize.
Battle Begins	Shiloh - Confederates hit the first Union line.
Confederate Attack	Shiloh - The Confederate Attack.

BOGS Wargaming Group

A welcome addition to the hardcore BF:WW2 gamers is the BOGs (which I understand stands for Bunch Of Guys) Miniatures and Strategy group from Massachusetts, which also includes Steve Keyer. They put on a continual stream of BF games which were well attended and well run.

Armour Forward

Steve is working on a new scenario book covering the minor Axis powers and this scenario is from that book. As with his earlier books on the Italian/Greek and Winter War (see the link to Two Tin Soldiers), his idea is to present historically accurate but manageable scenarios. This game is a meeting engagement between Romanian and Russian forces in the Battle for the Village of Brinzeni, 4-5JUL1941. Elements of the Romanian 1st Armoured Division clash with the Soviet Mechanized Corps. Neither side has particularly good equipment, and one of the challenges in this game is to see how well you can handle the early tanks. I want to thank Mark Hayes for some of the photos and commentary.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Russians Deploy	Russian Tanks deploy with tank riders to move to the town quickly.
Romanians Advance	Led by a company of R-2 tanks, Romanian infantry close on the Russian village.
Romanians Advance 2	A different angle on the Romanian advance, showing the left flank tank company.
Russians reach the town	The Russians reach the town first, barely ahead of the advancing Romaniansan advance.
Romanians race to catch up	The Romanians move their forces forward as well. The left flank tank company is a bit out of the action.
Russian T28s	Russian T-28's take up a strong position to prevent the Romanians from flanking the village.
Romanians attack	Beaten to the village, Romanian infantry struggle to fight their way in.
View of the battle	When the attack on the village begins, the left flank Romanian tank company is content to engage in a long range gun battle with outnumbered T26s. This was probably a critical error, as their support might have been crucial in the center.
Charge!	A flanking effort by the T-28s is couragously met by the inferior R-2s.
View of the Battle 2	The central part of the battle at the time of the charge.
Close Combat	Close range tank battle proves deadly for both sides.
The End	Heavy losses lead to a morale collapse for the Romanians. Soviet tanks rampage through the Romanian rear.

State Farm 41 - Armor Attack

The magazine "Wargames Digest" contained a series of tactical problems with proposed solutions. The BOGS group adapted one of these to create this scenario. A German Armored force is attempting to clear a Soviet village (collective farm). The Wargamer Digest solution recommended pinning attack across the stream with a main attack as a flank sweep to the right. With the usual target fixation found in conventions, the German players went straight at the Russians across the stream and sent a small force to the right. The main attack was slowed by the bad terrain and Russian artillery and I understand that they failed to clear the town in time to win the scenario.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Charge!	The main German attack goes right across the stream using the shortest distance between two points. Some, but not many units go off to the flank.
Another View	The German attack from a different angle.
Traffic Jam	The bad terrain has slowed the German advance and Russian artillery drops on the concentrated target.
Another View 2	A different view of the traffic jam, while the lead elements of the flanking column approach the outskirts of the town.
Another View 3	Yet a different angle shows that the terrain is extremely effective in blunting the German attack. Note that no Russians have yet revealed themselves, but their artillery is dropping effectively on massed targets. The German attack is approaching the town, but piecemeal insted of en masse

State Farm 41 - Recon Defense

The BOGs group put on a second scenario based on the State Farm situation. To the right flank of main battle, a veteran German recon element must slow the advance of an infantry battlion with armor support. We played it twice, as the Germans lost the first one when they charged forward with armored cars and found out that early war T34s were not to be fooled with (see pictures below). Your not-so-humble webmaster was in this one, first as the Russians and then as the Germans. Unfortunately, I got so involved that I forgot to take many pictures. The second time, we replaced the T34s with T26s and the Germans were able to blunt the Russian advance, but it easily could have gone the other way. This has the makings of a very good scenario if the proper tanks (T26s or BT7s) are used on the Russian side.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
T34s rule	The armored cars charge forward and encounter T34s at close range. The guns on the T34s dispatch two of the ACs and the battle is essentially over.
Another View	The armored car in the center has fallen victim to one of the direct fire 76mm guns that is supporting the attack.

Dutch Holdem

The BOGs group presented this scenario featuring early war Germans attacking Dutch defenders. The Blitzkrieg era is interesting because none of the equipment really dominates the battlefield, as the big cats and JS types do later in the war. Here two columns of German troops need to fight their way through a defensive position with restrictive terrain.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
We found them	Close range AT fire reveals Dutch defenders in the village.
Another angle	Another view of the same situation. A German AC has been destroyed.
Another angle 2	Yet another view of the same situation. Advancing down a road without scouting it first can be dangerous.
Defenders wait	On the German right flank, dutch defenders wait for the advancing motorcycles.
German 2nd column	A column of German recon troops advances up the right flank.
Motorcycles deploy	German motorcycles deploy to support the left hand column.

Finland Forever

Steve Keyer and the BOGs group presented this scenario from the continuation war in Finland (1944). A Russian force of infantry and T34-85s assaults a dug-in Finnish position. Both sides receive reinforcements, which entered at critical points in the battle. Your not-so-humble webmaster commanded the Finnish left flank.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
The horde	Russian T34-85s with tank riders and a supporting infantry company line up on the board edge. The Finns start hidden.
The horde advances	Moving as fast as they can, the Russians head toward the village.
Armor Breakthrough	A Finn veteran jaeger company defended the village for several turns, taking out most of the tankriders and a tank. 3 of the T34-85s head for the objective town in the rear, but another is stuck in combat with a Finnish panzerfaust infantry. Although this looks bad, none of the Russian infantry advanced past the forward village until the end of the game.
Locked in combat	The T34-85s engage the Finnish armor while the jaegers fight for the village.
Another tank kill	The Finnish panzerfaust unit knocks out another T34-85.
Timely reinforcements	The company of Finnish Sturmgeshutz arrive to combat the forward Russian tanks. The battle for the village rages.
Russian SU-100s	Just after the Finns receive their Sturmgeshutzen, the Russians receive A company of Su100s. These vehicles are really deadly, easily comparable in armor and gunpower to some of the German big cats. They quickly force the initial Finnish armor (captured T34-76s) to retreat off the hill they were occupying.
Slugfest	The Sturmis and the T34-85s fight it out, with casualties on both sides. At this point a second Finnish infantry company arrived to strongly occupy the objective town, and the game ended in a Finnish victory.

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