This Doesn't 'Swo-bode' Well!

So, Patrick and I got in a practice game for FlamesCon. Our 1500-point late war lists were put to the test in a game of Free-for-All.

Patrick has been building his Swoboda list since the playtest days of Bridge By Bridge, so he was very keen to get it some table time, especially before FlamesCon!

For my part I've got a couple of Ringer armies that I need to test, and I've got a silly idea to run a nearly full Sherman company. I cheated a bit by adding a Cav patrol, but I needed it!







My list:
US Tank Company
Confident Veteran

HQ	165
upgrade: 2x M4A3 (late)	40
Tank Platoon (5x M4 Sherman)	415
upgrade: 5x M4A3 (late)	100
Tank Platoon (3x M4 Sherman)	250
upgrade: 3x M4A3	15
Assault Gun Platoon (6x M4A3 105)	420
Cavalry Patrol	90

My list was built exclusively to test out the 6x M4A3 105mm assault guns. Their Breakthrough gun, combined with a six-tank (or eight with the HQ tanks) assault, should do the trick.

The aerial reconnaissance revealed this as our battlefield

Patrick's List:
Kampfgruppe Swoboda
Reluctant Trained

HQ	25
Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery (4x 8.8cm FlaK36)	180
add Crew	40
add Gun shields	20
Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery (4x 8.8cm FlaK36)	180
add Crew	40
add Gun shields	20
Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery (4x 8.8cm FlaK36)	180
add Crew	40
add Gun shields	20
2cm Anti-aircraft Battery	115
Machine-gun Company	180
with 2x Schreck	40
SS-Rocket Launcher Battery	120
Hummel Schwere Panzer Platoon (2x Tiger I E)	290

For those keeping score, thats 12x 88s! and 2x Tigers ...

With a great big killing field in the middle of the battlefield, I bunched up on the right flank and left a small distraction on the left flank. I was hoping to get Patrick to spread out a bit, but it was evident pretty quickly what my plan was and Patrick's 9 platoon force could deploy against my main effort. This was going to be tough!

In the first turn, I moved up and took cover in the woods. The small Sherman platoon moved up to hopefully snipe out a few guns while the rest tried to put down a smoke screen. Unfortunately all of my tanks missed their targets! Luckily Patrick's guns either failed to hit or were too busy digging in to be effective, so I had a fortunate turn.

The following turn my assault guns moved up but totally whiffed their volley needing 6s. I was hoping to get one at least! I had the 5 M4A3s ready for backup, but they too missed all, and I mean all, of their shots too, needing 5s.

The following turn, Patrick moved his Tiger I Es through the forest to engage the M4A3 (late) platoon, and bagged one. I also lost a couple of 105 Shermans and one of the 'light' Shermans on the left. Again, I got off rather well for now...

Next, I got off a proper volley with my assault guns and they knocked out three 88s! Success! Once again, the Shermans fail to cover the assault in smoke, and Pat's guns don't run (Reluctant, indeed!) and their return fire wiped out the M4A3 (late) platoon and the CiC.

With a vital component gone, I try to push forward. The 'light' tanks on the left push forward and knock out an 88, but one is bailed out in return. The 105s try again, but fail to knock out targets.

Patrick smells blood int he water and begins attacking.... with his gun teams! 20mm guns, machine-gunners, and Panzerschrecks leap into action and push forward. My 105s are wiped out, and all that remains now are my 2iC, the Cavalry Patrol and a single operational (and one bailed) M4A3 tank on the left.

In my turn I decided to burn out bright, and came at the Reluctant Trained troops guns blazing. On the left I machine-gunned down a few machine-guns, assaulted, and pushed the grenadiers back. The cavalry patrol's .50 cal and 60mm mortar rip through the 20mm platoon, while the 2iC shot up the other Machine-gun platoon, killing 5 out of 5 hits! Patrick lost that HMG platoon, but the others remained and the return fire knocked out the small M4A3 platoon and a Recon jeep.

With what was surely going to be my last turn, my 2iC remounts after being bailed out by one of Pat's Tigers. He whips around and hits one Tiger twice in the flank with stabilizers. I got a penetration, but alas my firepower was poor and I only bailed him out. The cavalry kept shooting and knocked out another pair of 20mm guns, but the massive platoon was still just above half-strength, so that was all I could hope for.

Patrick finished off my teams, knocking each one of them out and saving me from having to roll for company morale (which given my rolling in this game was going to be a failure anyway!).

So I ended up killing one of Pat's platoons, but he had 9 of them, so I still couldn't get anything better than a 1-6!

Thanks Pat for a great game! I say so because I was able to test my real thesis about the 105s, and that was they were awesome and they still have potential. I've got some ideas on making the list a little better, but that's for another day!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see some of you at FLAMESCON in 15 days!