Battlelore 2nd Edition

Picked up a copy of BL2 from a trade on TMP. The models are nice and from what I've read are a little larger than the models in the first edition. Which hopefully I'll see soon as I'm bidding on one on eBay now. From what I've read the gameplay in BL2 is very different than Battles of Westeros (a BL clone.)  There are a couple of items, one I really like, the other I am not pleased with. First the unit cards are smaller than the the other game cards thereby taking up less space on the board. I really like that. However the board hexmap has the largest hexes I've ever seen for a Borg type game. Due to the board setup the terrain hexes are all large. Which means no mixing and matching with my previous C&C games like Memoir '44, Battles of Westeros, Battle Cry etc.  In fact this was the primary motivation behind ordering the 1st edition BL game to have standardized terrain tiles. I'll set the game up within a week and give it a go and will report my findings here.

One more item of fuss, the box is more or less just an empty compartment similar to Battles of Westeros with bags to keep models and cards separate. Whereas with Memoir '44 and others they gave you a box with compartments to keep everything neat and tidy.

BL2 made by FFG, BL1 was made by DoW.

Roc Warrior.

An Obscene (Chaos Brute)

Riverwatch Rider

Command card on the left, Lore card on the right.

Unit cards much better than the ones in BoW.

WW2: 6mm World War II Project: Battle of the Little Volga River on the Ostfront.

 

German 7th Panzergrenadier Brigade Schleiffen vs. Soviet Union 1st Brigade The October Guard

In its opening advance on the Ostfront the 7th Panzergrenadiers were ordered to take the twin villages of Krilna-Kinsk that set astride the Little Volga in the Ukraine. The 7th was promised that the Luftwaffe had gained full air superiority in the area and that there would be no trouble from the Soviet Air Force. Indeed this held true.  Aerial reconnaissance showed no military activity in the area at all but intelligence pointed out that a Soviet brigade sized force was probably heading that way to plug the gap at the two bridges that crossed the Little Volga at Krilna-Kinsk. 

Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photograph of the battlefield.

The 7th Panzergrenadiers arrive.....

To find the October Guard Brigade on the other side of the river.

And to find Soviet Militia in Krilna....

And in Krinsk....

Done posting pictures.  Blogger keeps throwing the pictures back up at the top of the post vice where I keep the cursor. Makes the write up very difficult.  Both sides took heavy casualties. The 7th took 4 and was victorious as the October Guard lost 6 and both towns.  In fact the 6th element lost was that which controlled the village of Krinsk.  This game was very hard fought and at one point I thought the Soviets might win as they kept the bigger German tanks from coming across.  The 1st Infantry BN, 7th Panzergrenadiers paid a high price in men to capture the two towns.  In fact it was only due to the resourcefulness of the attached Foreign Volunteers Companies that made it possible for the 1st INF BN to accomplish its mission.

One last try at posting more pictures......  Go figure it worked this time.

Heavy fighting at the twin villages bridge.

German Armor falls back.

German Artillery continued its hail of death at the Soviet Engineers and destroyed them.

Last Soviet element goes down. German Foreign Volunteers capture Krinsk.

Principality of Huack: Moden Guards Conduct Mountain Warfare Exercise

Game of Thrones Battles of Westeros

Battles of Westeros - The Battle of the Green Fork

Robb Stark, King in the North.

"The outriders had warned us that a forced march was bringing the Starks to our camp earlier than we had anticipated. The change mattered little, as we were already waiting and well-prepared. When their army finally poured over the horizon to the sound of thundering drums, we saw a vast array of spearmen.

Charging through the rain of their archers' arrows, we tested the strength of their spears against the spirit and armor of our horses. It was certainly hazardous for us to ride into their lines this way, but once we had engaged them, they found themselves unable to withstand our onslaught of steel and steed." -Ser Clement Marbrand.

The Stark player wins if he has gathered 4 Strategic Locations and Stark morale is green or better at the end of round 5.

Ser Clement's account of the battle is not quite accurate.  While House Stark took a few casualties not a single unit was lost.  King Robb had achieved his victory conditions early on turn 4. However the last half of turn 4 saw one of his units fall back from strategic position while retreating from a Lannister charge, probably the one Ser Clement mentions.  At any rate the King quickly ordered another unit on turn 5 to move up and capture the vital position. House Lannister was unable to bring any further units against the Kings men on the right and his men in the center stood firm despite heavy casualties.

  

Royal Cavalry Officer of the Principality of Huack.

Battle Cry: Battle of Pea Ridge March 7th, 1862

"The Battle of Pea Ridge (also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern) was a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 6–8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Garfield. Union forces led byBrig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis moved south from central Missouri, driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas. Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn reorganized the Confederate army and launched a counter-offensive, hoping that a victory would enable the Confederates to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri. In a two–day battle, Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn's force off the field on the second day. The outcome of the battle essentially cemented Union control of Missouri and northern Arkansas. The battle was one of the few during the war in which a Confederate army outnumbered its Union opponent." from Wikipedia.

The battle started out with a few early Confederate victories but quickly turned into a stalemate. After a few decisive actions by the Confederates the CS Army looked to be on the verge of victory (5VP to 3.) However this is when Union Colonel Dodge (Union General Curtis' field commander on the Union center and right flank) displayed his tactical brilliance and ordered hit and run cavalry attacks in both the center and the Union left. Both attacks caused large casualties to the Confederates.

Confederate General Price feeling that victory might slip through his fingers despite his numerical superiority ordered his sharpshooters to kill Colonel Dodge and this they did with great expediency and bloody accuracy.

The US Army on the Union left in the bluffs above the battlefield charged and attacked the Confederate lines in another hit and run attack. This almost brought ruin to the Confederate right flank. At his command tent General Price and his officers gathered around carefully considering their options as it may well be their last of the battle as everything now teetered dangerously close to defeat (5VP to 5.)  It was generally agreed that Major W.E. Morgans cavalry unit (the last Confederate cavalry still operating as an effective unit.) should pull back to avoid giving the Union the target they needed to push the CS Army back South.  But Major Morgan and his officers pleaded with the Officers Council that if this was indeed their last fight then let it be a grand one and allow them to charge into the fray. Major Morgan would feint towards the last Union regiment left on the bluffs while the Arkansas 4th Infantry led by Lt Col Arthur C Butler led his regiment in a flank march attack on the same position. If in Major Morgans opinion his charge coupled with Col Butlers flank attack caused the Union regiment to route then his cavalry would at the last minute turn and attack the Union cavalry regiment in the bluffs. This is exactly what happened. Col Butlers Razorbacks smashed the Union soldiers atop the bluff allowing Maj Morgan to catch the Union cavalry by surprise and caused a great slaughter of their men and horses (two thirds of the Union cavalry was killed in the attack.) This daring action brought about the collapse of the Union left flank making General Curtis' position at Pea Ridge untenable resulting in a Confederate victory and the opening of Missouri to the Confederacy and the potential of placing Union General Grant's campaign in danger of being flanked from the West.