Back to the Queen of Scales...

A Table Recycled...

A little jiggling and the table from last week becomes a new playground for a (rare for me) WW2 skirmish while I'm 1) reading and working on some drawings, writing, the pond and the house, 2) messing with my "Sanders" project, 3) pulling my hair out over a "never drying varnish" issue (tried everything except talcum powder or stripping back to the plastic and starting again... Grrr....), 4) musing on some "Commander Character" ideas (of which more anon..).

The Skirmish:
Very simple; the Australians have instructions to set up an O.P. on the ruined temple. No (Japanese) enemies in sight. My "hidden enemy rules" in play.

The squads move off, but at once some under fire (the usual one dice to activate, playing card for enemy number type, 4 dice for max range process). There is an exchange. NOT a good start...

Oh great.. More of them.. In the rocks...

My squads lay down covering fire, pinning the enemy as the main body rushes onward. 

Things go pretty well. One casualty thus far, but the Bren guns and accurate rifle fire from my squads are making the enemy keep their heads down. 

A couple of snipers pop up, but no large groups of new enemies emerge as I flank the enemy in the centre to hold them there, and the commander and radio group press on to the  target.  

My guys get to the target - no occupants (phew) - and the job's done... That's that....

Sod's Law however; one of my squads prompts a new enemy appearance on the very last move - a squad with a machine gun. Too late to affect the game - but not too late to inflict another two casualties...

Target achieved. However, all four of my casualties prove to have been mortally hit... Not good at all... Japanese casualties; two dead, four wounded. .

A quick, exciting mini exercise...

In theory that is the end of the game (target achieved), but hey, the guys are out there.. I decide to play on (solo - my game, my rules) to get rid of the machine gun...

Private Bruce takes a Brave Deed test, and under covering fire from his mates, rushes in with his grenades. Excellent work that man.. Game over....

Or not...

I test for Enemy Action - a six for Bruce's squad, so MORE enemy.. They draw a KING (!!) Banzai Charge.. The Range Throw puts it's point of origin in the rocks, alongside where the machine gun was...

The charge inspires the Japanese in the nearby rocks to also make a sortie - suddenly things are complicated. 

Despite the gunfire and another grenade from Bruce - which luckily takes down the Japanese officer - the enemy charge home.

There is a tussle with the rest of Bruce's squad, and they go down fighting hand to hand with the Japanese - as does one of the Australian sergeants (with a sub-machine gun) to small arms fire at close range.... 







But the combined firepower of the squads (two Brens, two rifles, crossfire from the temple and Bruce shooting into their backs from the forward rocks) is too much. The charge is halted.



From then on it is just mopping up - with Bruce ending the job with another grenade.. Looks like someone's going to be mentioned in dispatches....   

One more Australian dead and two more wounded.. Not good. But with no prisoners being taken by the Australians ("Too late chum") there are nineteen additional Japanese dead on the field. All in all we can count this a success...

Well, that was a quick and fun game with an unexpectedly exciting ending. I'l be tweaking the table again for another clash shortly, before launching into a bigger game.... 

As always, thoughts, comments, queries etc. welcome.