KGN my thoughts after 1 mega game

[Colonel White]

First of all I would normally not use the word mega as this tends to be a word overly used by GW. HOwever after seeing the board and many thanks to Brian who was putting this together since around 6.00am in the morning for us to start around 11.00 am.The board was "mega " being around (I think ) 16x8.It had everything on it fields, a very large town , railway branch line including engine shed(more on this later),woods , A church on a hill ,farm ,river and hills.

The mechanics of the game stood up quite well especially for a game this size ( excess of 60 tanks and selfpropelled guns per side). For me the proof of a good ruleset is the fact that you still enjoyed the game even when losing. For me this was a deinate yes to both accounts, Yes we lost! and Yes we enjoyed the game!

We will do some more modifications in the future when a re match is arranged. Those being more out of ammo chits (drawn out with the morale counters) which we apply to any vehicle as an alternative to the supply rules. I must stress IMO there is nothing wrong with the supply rules per se but to log the ammo used by every AFV in a battle this size would be a difficult and time consuming job and very reliant on every tank having some form of number or ID means.

Another modification we used was that if the allies drew out a Plane chit and decide to use it and the same follows for the Germans, the likelihood of 2 planes straffing ground targets is highly unlikely. THerefore we decided that if 2 opposing planes are in play , we simply throw a dice and the highest score chases the opposing aircraft away and is able to re-enter the game next turn.

[Colonel White]

Anyway onto the game itself. This was a German defeat as already stated , though it wasn't quite as bad as the Falaise pocket , it was far worse than the Bulge!

The axis plan was a 3 pronged attack all to coverge onto the main town , THis we decided to alter into a fiegned centre attack and 2 flank attacks ,after one of our team left the plans out for the allied inteligence to see from a time out( DohHHHHHHHHHHHHH! .As I arrived a little later because the car park I was about to use was Closed ( ticket machine failure), I decided to place all my forces with the exception of the HQ elements with the AA units and the 4 Wespe battery into reserve.Believe me there was more than enough vehicles on the board at this point to start the offensive.

The axis forces as you may have gathered did the assault. The attack began to falter badly on the axis right flank as Mike found the suppressive barrage from Allied artillery a pain in the posterior. Suppresive fire plays a very important part in KGN and the most effective way of delivering it is through artillery and mortars and believe me Brian had placed lots of spotters within the church on a hill which more or less overlooks everything on the board.Mikes tanks were taking a battering from 25 pounder batteries, mortars and 5.5 Inch guns and variable amounts of off board artillery . His lead tanks were all suppressed( not knocked out) which means they couldn't move or fire and were causing a "log jam" for the tanks following up . To make things worse Brian hid many Piat teams and a Sherman was hidden in the Engine Shed which let rip into the side of a Tiger at point blank range . The PIats took many more tanks out and so you ended up burning mass of Panthers and Tigers. Mike IMO made a "school boy" error here in sending tanks without any supporting infantry and paid the penalty big time. This action also prevented any progress by my 2 Panther Platoons, supported by a platoon of panzer grenadiers who were just stuck behind Mike's rear elements.

[Colonel White]

Karl on our left wing was making far better progress and with his leading tanks destroyed many Shermans and M10s. However because of our faltering right wing , the allies easily brought reinfocements and began to hold our left wing and prevent Karl from amking any more progress. In the center there was not enough forces available to make an attack and my Stug platoon with Eddies small force of Panthers and Tigers just did enough to hold the center. I tried to redeploy my 2 completely intact Panther Platoons and rush them to the center but alas time ran out to a very much deserved allied victory. The game itself lasted 6 hours and many thanks must also go to Michelle ( Brian's Mrs) for keeping us all supplied with refreshments. In all it was a fantastic game and I know Brian did take some pictures and I am hoping (can't make any promises) to try and get these onto the form as I know Mike (MIkeland ) has kindly offered to assist in this matter.

My own losses were very light indeed being 1 Stug 3 , 1 Wirbelwind, a Pak 40 and crew ( the tractor survived) and a Wespe SPG.

Yes I give KGN a big thumbs up because all the victors and the vanquished enjoyed the game.

[Parus Ater]

Excelleny report!
I admit I've been eagerly awaiting you recounting your game to get a different angle on things and how you found it. I'm getting quite interested in this game.

[Colonel White]

Thanks ,
by all accounts it was probably the worst type of game for a beginner like me. But I began to pick certain things up and I was watching especially the reactions of our team as they began to lose the game. However the smiles and laughter were all still there , which I think is the most vital element of a game.For me this is a very important difference between a game and a sport.

[Parus Ater]

Yes, the fun is in the wee stories and actions that pan out in games and not about counting victory points. Some of the best and most memorable games I've ever had involve things going wrong and the laughs I've got out of it and doing assualts and getting really caught up in it.

[Colonel White]

i just thought I may as well place my observations which really are just a bit of food for thought.

Suppresive fire IMO from artillery I feel is far more damaging the direct fire . I appreciate that it does take up a lot of actions but it is far more effective at stopping a wave of tanks in its tracks as it did in our game. For me this was the game winner as it is only after the movment phase that units may be unsupressed which costs ( in this case us) more morale chips . They were of course subject to futher barrages next turn surpressing them again. The only way to counteract this is to try and find the observers ( easily said than done if on foot) . IN our game the observers were in the church which we tried our damned hardest to take out with our own aartillery but only succeeded in destroyibg the surrounding area . Quite a few infantry units and M10s got destroyed from our misplaced shots!

Do not even think about sending in tanks without infantry support. This is suicidal and costly . Remember its infantry that take and hold objectives as well.

If possible do not bunch your tanks to close together. On a cluttered Normandy board, like the real thing this is not always possible.On the same understanding do not send in tanks piecemeal as these will be easily taken out as well.

If you are an Axis player , make sure you max out on AA guns. Without these you are mincemeat. My Wirbelwind before it was knocked out must have destroyed 3 allied aircraft and my QuadAA SDKFZ7/1 halftrack must have destroyed al least another 2. These 2 items are also useful in the ground attack role , if you can spare them!

[Piers]

Suppresive fire IMO from artillery I feel is far more damaging the direct fire . I appreciate that it does take up a lot of actions but it is far more effective at stopping a wave of tanks in its tracks as it did in our game. For me this was the game winner as it is only after the movment phase that units may be unsupressed which costs ( in this case us) more morale chips . They were of course subject to futher barrages next turn surpressing them again. The only way to counteract this is to try and find the observers ( easily said than done if on foot) . IN our game the observers were in the church which we tried our damned hardest to take out with our own aartillery but only succeeded in destroyibg the surrounding area . Quite a few infantry units and M10s got destroyed from our misplaced shots!

Well it takes a '6' on a d6 to suppress an armoured vehicle. As you only get one chance of suppression (not multiple attempts as with direct fire) its actually very hard to suppress tanks with HE fire. Also dont forget the cover saves also apply to suppression fire in certain cases. Suppression fire is only ever a single d6 per unit firing.

Open topped armoured vehicles are easier to suppress with indirect HE.

So we find that trying to suppress armoured vehicles with HE is a tactic of desperation and not a 'game winner'. Are you sure it was done correctly?

Dont forget in artillery fire the first 'hit' is always applied to the unit nearest the impact point and worked outwards after them.

My Wirbelwind before it was knocked out must have destroyed 3 allied aircraft and my QuadAA SDKFZ7/1 halftrack must have destroyed al least another 2.

But there are only two aircraft chits in a morale pot! How in gods name did they get 5 aircraft in one game???

[Piers]

RE - PIATs and HEAT attacks

They were doing the PIAT attack correctly? It is different from normal AT firing and you must roll 2d6 and BEAT the armour value.

[Colonel White]

Not sure on either points to be honest as I am only learning the game and wasn't directly involved. The brits 5.5 inch Howitzers however were situated on a hill so they could have been firing directly but I believe the mortor rules are a little different ?As Mike was on the receiving end of all this HE, I will ask him next time I see Him and not Brian!

THe aircraft chits is an easy one to answer. Because of the game size we did allow the aircraft chits to be recycled when used hence the number of aircraft mentioned. There could also be some skulduggery going on as well! All adds to the fun !!HOwever I can say that apart from one Wespe destroyed and my Wirbelwind , the damage from aircraft was minimal as we tended to blow them out of he sky. We had in total 4 AA guns 1 Wirbel wind ,2 quad AA Halftracks and one FlaK Marder 38t.