AAR: Bolt Action: Tuesday Morning Fight

"Nice shooting, Tex!"

       I have had some recent time on my hands while I have been searching for a new job. This is not to say I am not keeping busy. But in a way, it is kind of nice to have some free time to play games with friends. Besides, I do have some projects I am making for the rest of this week for various people. The good news it that it is easier to arrange game times. I have heard my wife refer to them as "play dates". Yeah! That's right! We are kids at heart! And we can do whatever we want, because we are adults, damn it! Or that is at least my illusion....
        So, my friend, Danny and I have decided to play every Tuesday until I get a job to mess that all up. So far, this game has been the second Tuesday game. Since Danny had not played Bolt Action for about a year before last Tuesday, it was a little rough for him with rules. But already, he has had a greater grasp of the rules. We ended up playing a "Hold Until Relieved" mission. This is not one I have played as often. However, Danny chose to be the defender. He had two American Airborne squads in the middle with the objective, with three Sherman tanks and an Airborne squad on the first wave, and three Shermans, a command team, and another Squad on reserve for the flanks. He really did not need the second wave, since this was about taking and holding an objective with infantry only.
      At first, Danny thought that I had the better ground with the Germans. I had a stone wall and church on the higher ground where I placed my armor. I had four squads of infantry for the job, a 1st Lt. team, and a Panzershrek team that could attack the objective. They had support from a Marder III, Stug III, Jagdpanther, and a SD KFZ 251C halftrack with a light AT gun. I had on squad out there near his edge of the table as a speed bump for anything that came, as well as, a Panzershrek team in the woods for the other side of the board. I was going to run in a shoot the two Airborne units up, then assault them to claim my prize!
   This was all interrupted by the Sherman tanks who had fantastic killing power. Also, it seems the Airborne were fairly stubborn. I could not really kill them, but their return fire was quite murderous. By the end of turn four, I only killed two of the Sherman tanks and disabled another. I lost a half-track and all of my infantry with the exception of my command. I think the two squads holding the objective were mooning them after that! A win for the Americans.
 

My side of the board.

My right flank.

Danny's side of the board.

My left flank.

Church yard starting positions.

A Stug III hiding. Danny forgot about this guy, because he was so well hidden.

Moving in.

German armor moves up and fires at American tanks in range.

The Airborne are used to being surrounded!

A Sherman crew is lucky surviving a hit from a Jagdpanther tank destroyer!

This crew was not as fortunate.

An HE round makes a nice crate to where the Panzershrek team was! A half-track took a direct hit from an AP round!

The Airborne uses the tank crew for extra cover.

The German infantry speed bump is destroyed by Sherman fire and small arms!

Bodies are stacking up for the center Airborne, but they will not yield to the Germans!

These Sherman tanks were just flat out evil!

This one Sherman came on the scene, fired all of it's armaments, and killed all but one of a full German unit!

My final shot killed a Sherman in the side from a Jagdpanther round.