24 July 2018

D-Day Event



Last month my LGS (Ogre’s Den in Orangevale, California) held an all-day D-Day Bolt Action WW2 event with umpteen players all eager to help recreate this most epic moment of the Second World War.

With multiple players bringing armies to represent both attackers and defenders of the conflict, there really was a LOT to see along with some amazingly well constructed terrain pieces (As the pics will show). As any who’ve followed my blog for at least a little while will know, I do not have a Western Front army for Bolt Action (Mine currently being restricted to Winter Eastern Front games) so I was lucky enough to borrow one from my good pal Densmol and was assigned as a defender on one of the gorgeous beach tables with my partner for the day, Andrew. We were to face the US Ranger landings – us having only 1000 points each and each of the THREE Rangers generals able to make lists of 1500! *this was going to be a heck of a tough, tough game*
This was the beautiful Beach Landing table (Actually two tables long). The top half represented the British landings, whilst the bottom half was where Andrew and I defended against the American landings. *Please note, each table was not allowed to affect the other, so no shooting across tables, etc.*

Other tables described the other action that went on during that storied day – a beach landing by the British on the table next to mine, paratroop drops by both American and Commonwealth forces who were attempting to take out some Flak 88 gun-nests that were providing supporting artillery fire on the beaches and a Commando beach-landing into a German-held French town (Town’s name escapes me now.). Each table looked fab and it sounded like everyone attending had as much fun as I did.

As usual with my battle reports, I’ll keep the blurb brief and leave it to the pics to tell the story with brief commentary beneath. Suffice to say, as history describes for us, the Allied players lived up to their namesakes on almost all of the tables and took the day. But goodness the carnage! Full props to the organisers for designing fun and difficult scenario rules and to Joe the owner of Ogre’s Den for hosting. I believe the next big event will be later in the year where the shop will be running a “Battle of the Bulge” event – perhaps I can use my Winter Germans in an appropriate setting afterall? J

Andrew and I set up our forces, largely consisting of inexperienced Osttrupen and Strafbattalion squads!

This Pak40 Anti-tank gun was the MVP for my force. Long range shots sank 3 landing craft destroying or drowning 6 or 7  squads, vehicles and Officers.

This was the objective area that my force had to defend at all costs. 

Lovely looking trenches with my Straf lads hiding out back and my regular Grenadiers up front, ready to take the brunt of the assault.


 
Meanwhile, over on the Airlanding tables, Flak88's are being defended by both German paratroops and regular Grenadiers. Densmol ran his Fallschirmjagers on one of these tables and I beleive managed to hold off his attacker, though lost his Flak88 in the process. 

There were three 88's on the airlanding table.

The 88's had an ability to be able to fire directly at targets on their own tables or choose to allow the Beach defenders to use them instead to call down a possible indirect artillery barrage. When I got the option to try to call one down, mine failed to hit a bloody thing, but Andrew managed to do some damage to a landing craft and the troops inside on one of his attempts.

The allied preparatory bombardments were rather brutal with both Andrew and I seeing casualties and pin markers aplenty strewn about our forces. The Uphill battle had begun.



So much suppression by those huge naval guns. 

And then the landing craft arrive and start disgorging their desperate cargoes - right into hails of Machine Gun fire by the terrified German defenders.

Each of the black dice represents a Forward Artillery Observer or mortar trying to zero in their nasty payloads on the beleaguered defenders. Yikes.

The Brits on the other beach looked like a bloody swarm.... 

This was my view and I did my best to tackle my immediate opponent's advance, hoping that whittling him down would make it easier to bring to bear whatever I had left against our other two opponents. No, it didn't work.

Already the difference in troop quality (Veteran Rangers and mostly Inexperienced Germans) tells. Glad both Andrew and I brought along a Captain each to help shift our otherwise pinned boys.

Even through all the MG fire, the Rangers start making headway.

And drop a smoke bombardment on my MVP Pak40! No fair.

Commandos assault this town.

Hot Para on Para action.
Off table barrages and mortar bombardments all seem to drop at once and suddenly our center line looks horrifyingly bare! I try to rush my Straffbattlion up to shore the gap. 

Conveniently placed measuring tape will block the objective, right?

Suddenly I am left with three of my squads having barely two members each! Thankful I kept that Captain around to make them pass morale tests!

Fortune favours the bold! I've managed to kill enough stuff on my side to snuff out my immediate opponent's attack, but goodness, there are still enough Rangers in the center advancing!

And so many of them pouring through gaps made in our barbed wire obstacles!

Andrew also is seeing significant troop losses now, we just can't hold on. 

The end game.

I charge those pesky yanks to show them what for. And win.

But it doesn't matter - in the center, Rangers pour over the cliffs and kill everyone in the trenches.

It's not a pretty sigh for the Germans.

Andrew's last stand goes.... poorly. We have lost the beaches and surrender, well, what's left of our forces surrender. 

The 88's all three, were destroyed on the other tables.
One of the attendees set up this nifty display of headwear and uniforms. 
Write-up was a bit of a while coming together, but I've had some stuff come along in my personal life (Trip to the UK, Promotion at work, looking for a place to live.) so hobby has really been on the back burner in general really. Some purchases have been made, namely buying into Burrows and Badgers and I'm waiting on delivery of the new starter set for Relic Knights 2nd Ed sometime in August. Will the buying ever end? I'll try to get some paint on minis some time soon to show off. Thanks for reading.

30 comments:

  1. Awesome posting, Dai. Love the pics and penmanship. It looked ruddy good fun despite the "pesky" Rangers swamping your positions :-)

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    1. The game largely mirrored what happened historically, so as an event was very successful.

      But yes, Andrew and I had a smashing time of it, with lots of laughing and even some actual tactics involved!

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  2. That's absolutely incredible! Easily one of the most impressive BA D-Day events I've seen. If the planned Battle of the Bulge is even half as impressive as this I can't wait 🙂

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    1. Kind of you to say so Ivor.
      I'm anticipating the BoB event to thoroughly impress as well.

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  3. Welcome back Dai!!
    Sounds like a great event and cool pics. Tough luck on the Germans bc we always want them to loose any D day event. But it looks like a tough beach to defend. 😀
    Hope the other stuff goes well.

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    1. Thanks Stew. Here's hoping that you'll be able to join one of these in the future - the lads are a very fun and welcoming lot.

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    2. First I’d have to learn BA... 😀

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    3. Easy peezy rule set to learn mate. A clever chap like you will have it down quicksmart no doubt.

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  4. D-day games are always great. I've played in two and enjoyed them as much as you guys seem to have. Great batrep!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the read mate, cheers.

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  5. What an amazing game, perhaps less so for the Germans! ;) Great news on the promotion too, bravo!

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    1. Heh, no doubt there. Appreciate the kind words Michael. :)

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  6. What a fantastic game, probably one of the best and most ambitious D-Day games I've ever seen. It looks like you put up a good fight! Congratulations about the promotion as well.

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    1. I tried, O how I tried. But in the end, the result was already written, as it should have been.

      Thanks Ed.

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  7. Looked like a great day of gaming. I also need to curb buying and paint more.

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    1. It most certainly was.

      It's like a disease in this hobby... and I'm envious of those who've described on blogs that have the ability to curb their impulse-buying urges and follow through on their claims that "Nothing new gets bought until the current project(s) are fully painted".

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  8. What a great event to attend, looks like an enormous amount of fun. So were you visiting the UK for business or just to see how small it is here in comparison ? LOL Nice to see you back and posting again

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    1. It was an excellent, though tiring, day of gaming Dave, thanks.
      Heh, I'm from the UK originally, so for me it was a bit of a homecoming really.

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    2. That's cool, was it good to visit for a while and congratulations on the promotion

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    3. Was nice, though I was looking forward to enjoying "proper" British Summer weather and instead got almost the same heat I endure here in NorCal! Heh.

      Thanks Dave!

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  9. Great looking game and sounds like fun whatever the result,I hope you're postal address is still the same, package,well is now a package and sitting in the boot of the car waiting for me to visit a post office,if it changes drop me a line and Ill send it there.
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. :)

      Nah, keep using the same address - my ex and I are cool and she'll just hold it for me.

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  10. Damn that looked absolutely epic!!!

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  11. Mate: this looks - and really must have been - absolutely AMAZING!

    Grats on the promotion at work too.

    I'll be in your fine State in five days now...

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    1. You'd have loved it Drax.

      Cheers!

      But in the wrong part! >_< (Or the right one if you wantt o stay away from this nasty ash-filled air cos of wildfires...)

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  12. Everything about this looks utterly glorious!

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    1. Thanks Kieron. We had a smashing time for sure.

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