El Alamein railway station skirmish game - Bolt Action

Covid restrictions have been limiting the amount of games we've been playing lately, and this game had been planned before Christmas but the local authorities here ramped up the restrictions on people from different households from meeting up and so we had to cancel. 

Now restrictions have been eased up slightly here on a regional level, and so four of us were able to get together again for this game. This was a skirmish scenario put together by my gaming buddy Carlos, German forces attacking with British and Commonwealth forces defending

We used Bolt Action rules. The game was played on a 1.60 x 1.20m sand table 

The British and Commonwealth forces were made up of a HQ, 2 x infantry squads, a Vickers MMG, 1 x 25 pounder, 1 x Matilda and a Boys AT rifle team. 

Attacking German forces consisted of a HQ + medic + FO in an Sd.Kfz. 250 hafl-track, 4 x motorised infantry squads transported in 2 x Opel Blitz & 2 x Sd.Kfz 251s + 1 off table mortar and a pre-attack bombardment. 

The Commonwealth troops started the game dug-in hidden, their positions noted down by the allied players. Allies also had hidden minefields covering the ground in front of the railtrack. 

German objective, cross the railway line and neutralise allied defensive positions

 

Germans group before beginning their advance towards the objective

 

Artillery shells fall

  

 

 

 A Matilda crosses the tracks, takes aim and shoots at the leading half-track.

  

 The first casualties are taken and the remaining troops dismount and hunker down.

 

 Indian troops with a Boys AT rifle shoot but miss miserably, and reveal their position in cover behind concrete filled oil drums.

 

 Another hit from the 25lb gun. this time on a lorry trying to ferry troops to the front along the left flank

 

 

 Aussies manning a Vickers open fire on the dismounted infantry.

 

 More British and Commonwealth troops start revealing their positions as they open fire on the advancing German infantry

 

 The Germans continue their advance and a half-track crosses the railway line, revealing a hidden group of British troops who are quickly mown down with fire from the vehicle MGs.

 

The half-track now supported by a Panzer III also having crossed the railway track, dismount and charge into the railway station and in bloody hand-to-hand combat overcome the allied troops inside

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 More Germans arrive and the the Commonwealth players decide that enough is enough and concede victory to the Germans.

   

 The game played out well, it was well balanced and the Commonwealth players were hindered by adverse weather conditions, a haze in this case, the result of an unfortunate die throw, which reduced visibility considerably and allowed the Germans to advance without suffering too many casualties.

Bolt Action Wargame in 1/72 Scale

A few evenings back we had a game (and a few beers) at our mate Alex's place.

Carlos put the scenario together and acted as umpire. The rules used were Bolt Action by Warlord Games.

A WW2 skirmish encounter in a small village between British 8th Army squads versus Afrika Korps supported by a squad of Italian infantry.

A nice touch was in the middle of the game when a group of armed, and very angry, male inhabitants of the village entered into play, shooting at both the British and the Germans.

The objective was to capture and bring out alive a double-agent being held in a heavily fortified old colonial fort in the centre of the village.

The game was nicely balanced, we played it out twice - the Germans took the objective in the first game and the British the second time around.

Some pictures below from various turns during both the games

Brits enter the village



The 8th Army figures are mostly Airfix with a few Revell and Esci 8th Army mixed in.



Germans deploy, coming out to meet the desert rats







DAK are mostly Airfix with a few Revell, Esci and Matchbox figures.



Colonial fort in the centre of the village. Italeri North African House. Lovely sturdy and detailed kit, paints up really well.







Pegasus models "German Truck". One of Carlos' models, the passengers are seated Revell artillerymen with headswaps.



A large Italian squad takes up a defensive position on one of the roofs in the village. HäT and Esci/Italeri figures. The mortar team are from various sets with new heads.



In the midst of the battle, armed villagers attack both allied and axis forces.





The guy with the revolver is the Lawrence of Arabia figure from the Esci Muslim Warriors set. The rest of the figures are Airfix Arabs-Bedouins





Meanwhile the battle raged on

SAS / LRDG Night Raiders

Some photos from two successive games comprising of night-attacks on a joint Italian-German airfield and fuel-dump.

yes... the Toyota fuel truck is a long way from home.

Nobody took notes on the turns, it was a very intense game, but to cut it short, the British won !!

LRDG conversions using Hongwell die-cast jeeps.





The Chevrolet was from the remains of a very old Matchbox unfinshed LRDG set that I recovered from the spares' box (painted green by me back in its day lol ).

A few books covered with towels and old sheets, add some scrub, sprinkle on some sand and add a few palm trees and there you have the table.