D-Day! A Battle report for Flames of War

Nothing is better then a day or two of gaming to help unwind after a long week at work.

This weekend I participated in a Flames of War D-Day event that was hosted at  Empire Games 

http://www.empiregamesaz.com/  (A great store if you  are ever in the area check them out!)

My son and I filled out car up to the brim with Flames of War stuff, including my Beach table.

Friday night was D-1 and we had 8 folks playing 4 games. Three of them Seize and Hold. I forgot my Camera but did take my 101st Airborne against a friend's German defenders. It was a bloody game that ended with a 5-2 victory for the American invaders.

Saturday morning was  Beach Landing. We had three tables, Empire Games has a large beach table in the store, so big in fact that my son, Jake and three others played a massive3000 point assault! With British storming the beaches there.

Mark Francis brought his Sword beach table. With meticulous research in the defenses and layout his board was probably the most historically accurate.  ton of bunkers presented a formidable obstacle for his 3rd Division.

I  set up my table to represent Easy Green on Omaha Beach. We used a modified version of the scenario presented in Bloody Omaha.  I would be landing my US Assault Company and Mike M, a great guy, would lead the German defenses.

Below is my table, The Bunker is a defilade 5cm bunker that we proxied with a Standard BF Bunker. In addition to the 5cm gun, the Germans had 3 MG Tobruk bunkers and 1 Tank Turret bunker. Static Rocket launchers and a single Grenadier platoon rounded out their initial defenses.

Beach Table at Start of game (Click for larger Picture)

US Forces struggle to get ashore. Of my 4 DD tanks 2! of them are swamped and sink in the channel, 1 does make it ashore, the other stuck in the Sea zone. Only 2 other platoons make it ashore in the first turn.

The First DD Tank struggles out of the surf



US Troops begin to pile up, only a few German Machine guns can draw fire to the beach but I'm already losing stands.

Engineers make it to the shingle

The DD Tank  churns through the sand and heads up the left draw, leaving behind a pinned Assault platoon.

Starting to get crowded on the beach

Engineers hit the wire... here is were things get tough... Though my Engineers remove some wire they are now in range of several Machine Gun tobruks and static rocket launchers.I get lucky when my expensive Naval Gun fire bullseye's the Rocket battery, destroying the remaining launchers!

Engineers make it to the Barb Wire and cut through

I'm stalling on the right flank under heavy machine gun fire, the left flank is looking better for a breakout, led by my plucky DD tank!

The Tank that wouldn't quit keeps going

Follow up waves arrive, including more troops and my Armored Field Artillery Battery... sadly two of the beasts bog in the soft sand as they try to drive ashore.

Armored Field Artillery makes it ashore but 2 bog in the soft sand

On the left flank things are looking better...

On the left Assault platoons and the DD Tank push forward

 As an Assault platoon makes it through the interlocking defensive fire of the Bunkers to destroy  the 5cm!

Assault Platoon destroys the 5cm Enfilade Bunker

The left flank attack progresses, hitting the  German Strong Point...With Smoke the troops go in...

Assault on the German Strong Point

Breaching the defenses....

Breaching the Strong point

The DD Tank proves it's worth, killing the Turret Bunker, and a Machine gun Tobruk on consecutive turns! As a result, the weak German resistance is swept aside and the Closest objective falls to the Americans.

Knocking out the Bunkers in the Strongpoint the Americans take the first Objective!

Though I spaced taking any more pics of my battle the main fighting was over, German reserves do trickle in. Another Grenadier platoon, a 8cm mortar Platoon, and a Pak (anti-tank gun) Platoon arrive, template weapons are deadly to the tightly packed US Troops, but Naval Bombardment, and my own artillery turn the tide.
Between Naval Artillery and Priests on the Beach these units are neutralized without too much loss.

The Battle wraps up from there, going down to the wire on turn 12, when the last Objective is captured, give the US a 5-2 win in a great and exciting game!  Thanks to Mike M, a gracious and kind opponent!

The Standout unit for me was the lead DD Sherman, making it out of the Sea, it's 75mm  gun was instrumental in taking out Tank turret bunker and MG Tobruks.


Meanwhile the 2 versus 2 match looks interesting. The Brits are stacked up but manage to break the German defenses and win 5-2 (I think)

Empire Games Beach Table

My son Jake plotting his attack!

British assault the German bunkers

Over on Pegasus beach Mark's British find it tough going....The German defenses are amazingly tough and reserves, including Mk IV tanks put the kibosh on the British Assault for a 5-2 German victory. Below are some pics I snapped of that game in progress.

Mark's Beach Table -The British assemble

More Brits hit the Beach, they brought heavy armor

AVRE goodness

Brit Armor litters the beach exit...

Good pic of all the wonderful British assault vehicles

I also set up a Bocage table... we used this for my Airborne fight Friday night and two other games were played here on Sat.

Bocage table!

More bocage

All in all we had a good turnout... 8-10 folks on Friday night, I think 12 playing at various times on Sat. It was a blast to play an event where Victory points aren't everything. Tournaments are great fun but friendly get togethers like this, with a specific theme, make for really memorable gaming.

Enjoy!