Sturm Division vs Soviet Guards Armor

 Some where in Russia a German Sturm Company has been caught in the open by a Soviet Armor company.  Mark is running the Guards armor from Red Bear I have the 78th Storm company from Gray Wolf. The Mission is free for all played at 1900 points.

 Mark advanced a platoon of ISU-85s on the right the rest of his armor is hiding on the left.

 Mark got a lucky hit early taking out one of my guns with direct fire making me a 2 gun battery.

 I tried to return the favor but didn't get any kill.

 I sent my platoon of Pioneers with two Panzershrieks into the village trailing my SutGs.

 I wanted to threaten his troops and guns and draw off his armor if I could... Shooting

 and Assaulting drove them back and got me in some cover against return fire.

 Forcing Mark to move for shots...

 But he still got one.

 The rest of the armor is advancing on the left and killed on of my 88s.

My StuGs continue their advance but the Soviet infantry keeps making its moral tests and sticking around.

 I got one Soviet tank before my 88s died from a combination of gunfire and assault.

 My infantry Pioneers advance and missed with Shrieks and then got pinned in the attempted assault... Mark had six shots and got 5 hits.

We have a shot at the Soviet Commander... but can only bail him.

Here come the Soviets but as has been the case much of the day I can't get fire power tolls when I need them...

I bail out only one tank and mark misses but I guns must fight or die and my men fail their moral check and abandon the guns at the key moment.  We are out of time... the game is technically a draw but Mark has me on the ropes with careful play and decent luck he would eventually overwhelm me. Lets call this one a victory for Mark and the Red Army.

The Ruined Church

 I picked this up a the Huzzah yard sale for $1! a great find I have no idea who made it buts a resin piece and very well done.

 I tried to give it a burned out appearance and I think it looks reasonably good but maybe some additional layers of wash are needed or maybe I should try some kind of weathering pigment. I am considering removing the window as its survival in tact is a little odd given the damage to the building as a whole.

 I sprinkled the ruble with a sooty gray flock that I got as part of the Gail Force 9 tundra sent. It adds some depth and makes things look more burnt out but doesn't show too well in pictures.

This should find its way on to a game table be fore too long.

1st Battle of Landshut

 Mike ran two games of the 1st Battle of Landshut  and I got to run part of the Prussian force in the second game. Its really not a fight the Prussians can win but we came up with a plan that would at lest scare our foes.

 We advanced on the right with most of our men the left...

 Drawing Austrian fire.

 We sent one unit marching to the right to threaten that flank.  We should have sported them with our one unit of light cavalry.

 Here you can see the full scope of the battle field we are the small force and wisdom says we should stick together but we are betting that wisdom is wrong.

 The units on the right exchange fire

 The Austrian infantry break off under fire...

 so do the Prussians and they are run down by cavalry... we realy should have sent that support.

 We are lined up at the base of the hill and up we go in the style of Bunker Hill or Picketts charge.

  Our fist volley is quite effective doing damage and driving back the cavalry and the unit of Grenzers

 Artillery does its own damage and the Austrians win in on our garrison regiments flank

 The attack goes in and drives our garrison regiment back but they are now out of position

 Pioneers strike hard at Grenzers and Grenadiers charge guns...

 other grenadiers take the big Austrians in the flank..

 For a moment it looks like we might have won... Austrian troops fall back... but the Grenzers on the left rally and Austrian cavalry moves in on us.

 The Pioneers break under fires and my Grenadiers must turn to face the cavalry.

 But that open our flanks and on come the Austrians.

Only two of our units are still in place.  We haven't won but the Austrians knew they were in a fight.

A good find at AC Moore

Yesturday I was at AC Moore its not a craft store I typically frequent but Ariana was on the hunt for some nice looking gift boxes for a project.  While at the store I took a look around for potential gaming supplies and found this little gem.

The bridge is supposed to be for decorating gardens but its a good size for gaming in 15mm.

The Scale is quite right but it makes a good foot bridge for a village or small farm as the lady with the umbrella indicates.

Its a little small for World War II vehicle... but that's not terribly unusual and even here..

It could just squeeze across it would knock the walls out into the water (assuming it didn't get stuck) but a Sherman tank could just manage to cross this.

The Huzzah! Haul

One last Huzzah posting, after all one of the things we all go to convention to do is shop and get new toys.

I picked up 2 feet worth of flexible stone walls form WarGamers' Terrain . They really do bend as you can see above. You may recognize the river in the back ground as looking a lot like John's and you would be correct as they are from the same company.

From the Footsore website

I also picked up a bunch of miniatures from Footsore Miniatures to fill out my dark age war band.

Ken's Jousting wargame lead to a bunch of loot, including a DVD, a bottle opener, a pedometer, a rubber ducky (dressed as a knight) and some Princess Shades (my nice will like those)

Finally on Sunday there was a great "yard sale" I picked up a bunch of old 25mm miniatures. They are true 25s so they are a little small compared to my current selection of dark age warriors but they should work regardless.   I also picked up a knight that will be used in Ken's game next year.  The ruined church was a steal at $1! it reminds me a bit of the Joan D'Arc Chapel at Marquette(the university I attended) if it were ruined.

The Footsore miniatures and church are nearing completion si you should see them fairly soon.

Yankee Officers and Cavalry

Some more Essex Cavalry this time for the Union five more stands including one that can double as an officer(see the right)

Also 4 more officers to fill command slots in rule sets that will require one

I've seen images of Kepi's with a light blue band around them and in order to give these guys a little bit of a cool look I went with it.  It may not be historically accurate. 

I hand painted the flag it came out fairly well.

The officer who might also play with the regular troopers to fill them out.

Now for some brigadiers or senior colonels

the Kepi is a bit unusual for senior officers but some of them are eccentric

Some senior officers are a bit flamboyant like this fellow with his sweeping gesture and red plumage.