Bolt Action: Belgium 1940

 I recently played another small 500 point skirmish game against Andy Singleton at the Medway Wargames Club.

Strategic Situation: Waffen SS  infantry infiltrate down a road in southern Belgium. A scratch French regular infantry platoon of just two sections, a junior lieutenant, French 75 and MMG are sent to support a squad of Belgian Police Militia attempting to halt the SS. The French also have the support of an R35 heavily armoured light infantry support tank with an inexperienced crew.

The SS consist of small elite sections well equipped with Hitler's Buzz saws. They have a mortar in support and have organised an assault section armed with SMGs.

The forces meet at a French farmhouse surrounded by hedges. The surrounding land is flat, swampy, with clumps of trees and the remains of an old ruined village on one flank with recently shelled and burnt out houses on the other.

The battle opened with the SS firing smoke. Unfortunately it went astray and was more use to the French than the Germans.

I sent the French infantry sections out to the wings in a double envelopment with heavy weapon support.

While the Belgian militia moved to cover the hedge where they could fire into any German move up the centre. I stiffened their morale with the French officer.

The moment of crisis came when the SS assault section moved in on the Belgians and, supported by MG fire, scattered them. The officer took cover behind the tank where he could stiffen the crew's moral.

The German player kept peppering the tank with anti-tank rifle fire, which couldn't penetrate but unnerved the crew. The officer was vital to keep them firing their two MGs.

The French 75 proved to be the star of the show. It wiped out three SS sections in succession, including the assault team, by rolling to hit over open sights and then rolling three sixes in a row for casualties. The remaining SS section was pinned to immobility by streams of MG fire.

A French win but I confess I was lucky. Artillery is truly the God of war in that it is so unpredictable. Often it achieves little or nothing but just occasionally it hits with the power of, well, an Olympic God.

I do like these 500 pt games. Win or lose they are great fun and a great challenge.