ETC experiences 2013 - ESC

So better late than never, I guess... I took my Fallschirmjägers to the Novi Sad, Serbia to fight friendly wargamers from all over the world.

I started my games very tired and thirsty in the singles tournament, had a cassino list and started by having to fight Cossacks in dust-up, I did my best to try to take the objective but just did not have enough umph to make dent in the soviet masses, in the end I did not have enough to hurt even the lowly Lees, whiffing all of my 3 schreks shots and stuff. Anyway, the best I could hope in this would have been a tie, so better to lose so at least somebody is happy :) 1-6

Next game was versus my team mate, very drunken now after loosing his first game as well, was defending against 30+ Beutepanzers in surrounded, happily survived the grumpy, drunken maneuvers to 6-1 win. Shame on the TO's for the match-up though, traveling to Serbia to fight a club mate is not too fun.

Last game I faced a Trained BBB Fj list in counterattack, had been drinking a lot at the time and when I got to defend, was over-confident... although maiming the opponent, his fearless Stugs stayed alive long enough to kill my CiC/2iC and 4 platoons... 3-4 and a good lecture on not drinking while gaming...

ESC / ETC 2013 - Tournament up next week in Serbia!

So it begins, it's my first international competition and not too little at that. First on Friday, I'll be moving my Cassino Fallschirmjäger in Dust-Up, Counterattack and Surrounded.

Thanks for WWPD's Eric Riha for the concept.

There seems to be 47 players in the Singles tournament, so some action guaranteed.

After the ESC, there's the Dinner Party, guess will need to tone down on drinking a bit, there :)

The main event will be the ETC and it's 3 games on Sat, 2 on Sun.

Bridge by Bridge list for that, the emphasis here is winning more than not loosing platoons, so I have stuff I wouldn't normally use, like 3 tank platoon and trained 88's, although I'm gonna try the twin battery in near future.


I'll try to update the blog a bit from Novi Sad as well, but might not be able to.

Faerie Story - 2ID meets the 6th FJR in a magical dust up

Once upon a time, in a Land far, far away, the Necromancer was brooding, the nasty forces of good had invaded his land, and won a battle or two, against the superior armies of evil..

As the dawn broke, the Scouts reported a disturbance in the Force, and further investigations made it clear that a contingent of Mighty Wood Elves was in the vicinity, the Necromancer shivered at the thought, then hardened himself for the up and coming onslaught...

So, still trying to get as many practice games before the ETC I can, sometimes making my Significant Other  not too pleased...

We played a Dust-Up Mission with the following lists at 1780:

2ID from the Devil's Charge

6 FJR from the Bridge By Bridge

I won the first roll and chose a quadrant where I got a good fields of fire, and the stone church to move from, My paks did do nothing, until in the very end, they had a few misses against US reserves.

I choose to put a 2iC with a stummel, my recon, the StuHs and FJ2 to delayed reserves,

The US deployment, and the village, where it all went down...  the US player deploys the 155mm, AT guns, one SS and Infantry platoon.

This was also the last picture I took, sorry about that. 

FJ turn 1 : The FJ1 moves inside the church, paks dig in, stummels try to, 88 takes shots at the 155mm's but misses. I pop a Faust trap, that assaults the Guns, but misses, gun team did not...

US turn 1: US arty targets and kills the 88, also kills a team or two from the FJ1 IIRC. Digging-in Stuff, the SS moves forwards, Infantry truscott trotts teams across the clearing, into the building... (pfft, my first ever 2ID encounter this..).

FJ turn 2 : The FJ1 moves through the Graveyard and preps the Doubled up platoon for assault, Stummels smoke, Direct Fire from 88 and FJ1 is enough to pin the platoon and the assault goes in, and slays the teams in the building next to the objective.

US turn 2 : The TDs Deploy to the Village Square. Using .50 cals to root out FJ1, Infantry platoon fails to un-pin. Guns fail to hit the building (1 shot from a bunker buster hits on a 6. 4 teams in the building, brrr..)

FJ turn 3 : I get reserves, StuHs arrive. I deploy two Faust traps, who promptly shoot their Fausts at the TDs, scoring 2 bails,  StuHs bail one, the Infantry is Pinned so I assault...

Schreck team destroys the last active TD, the battle with the US infantry goes a bit against the odds, with the US staying for the end, and finally killing the last of the FJ1 including the CiC. The TDs leave though, and the Infantry platoon consolidates, now with 2 teams..

US Turn 3:

No reserves.

 Artillery ranges on a StuH, bailing the assault gun, the AT-guns fire on the Stuhs, bagging one.

Then the US player makes a rather bad move, by doubling up his 2iC to help with holding the OBJ.

FJ Turn 4:

2 Reserves :)

I bring the FJ2 and the Scouts.

Last Faust trap assaults a 155mm gun, kills it and consolidates another one.

StuH fail to un-bail, last active StuH fires at the doubled-up 2iC, who promptly attaches himself to the AT gun platoon, whose bazooka team was linking them here.

3 Kills later, the 2iC is still there (2 warrior saves, live and let die...) , but the AT gun platoon loses a Baz, Gun  and the Cmd team.

88 shoots at the 2iC scoring 2 kills, the CiC gets it, and the 2iC removes bravely the second last team from the infantry platoon. 

US Turn 4 :

Sole survivor check for the Infantry platoon succeeds and the team promptly kills the last Faust team.

1 Reserves, he gets the Mortars against my advice, and moves the to effective range. The 155mm unpin and 

fire a 2 gun bombardment on FJ2, 1 kill.

the At guns fire at the FJ2 1 kill.

FJ Turn 5 :

StuH fails to unbail. FJ2 moves to assault range of the AT Guns. Fail to pin. StuH shoots at the 2iC but fail the FP check on 2+... 

Stummels bombard the snot out of the moved Mortar platoon and 88 adds to mayhem.

FJ2 Assaults and the At guns are no more.

The Mortar platoon breaks.

US turn 5 : the sole survivor check fails for the infantry, company morale with 2iC: 2!

It's all over.

5-2 for the Germans.

 

Preparation game vs. Hungarian HBG list from hell :) Pics and thoughts... Not a proper AAR

Sorry not a proper AAR at all, just wanted to share my thoughts after meeting the worst thing I could imagine, and surviving... well almost, fearless isn't...

Had a list from BBB with VDH all the traps, Stuhs, 88's(my first time with these and lost them without firing them at all...) , Pak40s, mortars, no 'real' artillery and short scouts with PzF

OpFor was 10 Zrinyi II's (Hungarian StuH with HBG), 3 panthers, pioneers, nebs, Toldi recce tanks and nebs.

We chose to play the Breakthrough as I haven't really played that before. The game proceeded very quickly, and ended on round 8 or 9 when Vdh rolled 1 for company morale, Hungarians having passed theirs before...

I really feel this list can win vs. anybody given the player(me..) is up to his game... I would not play this kind of list if the scoring was done BF style only, but with the upcoming ETC, the winning is more important.

Setting Up the factory did not block LOS, my bad placement of 88s seen below...

Finally got a proper Feldherr backpack with right sized slots...

FJ 1 ready to move to seize the objectives. Mortars seen behind them.

FJ 2 with it's attached stummel, holding the another flank with Paks.

Recon move.

Nebs, blissfully unaware of the fanatical faustmen, Eric and Karl, ready to drive them off the table... 

Reserves of the Hungarian, they did not fare so well after entering..

Perceptions of the units:

The trap teams were wonderful again in directing and delaying the enemy, one trap team eliminated the nebs in first 3 turns...

88's got smoked, then killed by the HBGs, Vdh resurrected one, these I need to think again, how to use them successfully.

StuHs were not stars here, but they forced the enemy to move the longer way.

The Recon caused trouble for the enemy by having that Faust and being a buffer for possible infantry early attack through woods, these I think will be useful.

Paks I really like, they were not stars of the game, but really forced the enemy movement again.

FJ with Schrecks and Fausts is the bomb, pure staying power and willingness to assault tanks... :)

Stummels were essential in keeping the enemy's no save guns to minimum fire.

ETC 2013 - Big Points vs. Little ones...

So gonna be going to the ETC - Fow Tournament as part of the Team Finland, and it's gonna be my first big tournament, 5 rounds of pure fun... Or not.

Well to the point of the title. Last year the big points as in Wins, meant that a team that scored less on BF scoring than some in the last ladder, actually managed 5th place, for they had more wins. I'm not criticizing this, but it means new approach to the lists, you can have 'glass cannons', you don't need 9 platoons, you can sacrifice platoons f.ex. As the 4-3 is a lot more valuable than 1-1, or 3-2.

Certainly, a list that does not leak points is not a bad approach, but there is also the possibility of always meeting the worst possible opponent, due to pairing, so it's not completely random, and you can't count on meeting all-comer lists, but it's quite probable to meet some specialized ones, all in theory certainly.

Looking forward to this experience and hopefully meet some of the fellows from forums I've had the pleasure to share thoughts with.