Flames of War Tournament Report - Late War 1575

The Arizona Desert Rats 2012 Tournament season continues with a Late War Tournament held at Game Depot in Tempe, AZ.  This tournament was a late war event at 1575 points. We had 12 participants show up.

I took my old standby, US Armored Rifles however this time I would be fielding them from a list out of the new source book Blood, Guts and Glory.

My list was as follows.
4th US Armored Division
Armored Rifles

HQ
Full Armored Rifle Platoon
Full Armored Rifle Platoon
SP-AT Platoon (4 x Hellcats)
Assault Gun Platoon (3 x Scotts)
Armored Mortars (3 x 81mm tracks)
1 x Cavalry Recon Patrol


Abrams in Thunderbolt VI - M4A3(76)

I was counting on the rather awesome Abrams and the Hellcats to be my Primary Anti-tank threat and then count on the Armored Rifle platoons to carry me through.

The Boards


The selection of boards was pretty good with a few exceptions.

My Normandy themed table

Round 1 
Fighting Withdraw
Opponent - Shane (Soviet MG Battalion- Fortified Company)

This was a tough battle played over my Normandy hedgerow table. I stacked my attack on my left flank and deployed my single small Cav Recon platoon on my left. I was hoping the threat of that one platoon would keep him from shifting everything to counter my main push.

American Starting line

pushing into the fortified platoon... my platoons stay pinned

Hellcat Platoon assaults into Trenches

The initial assault goes well taking out the lead MG nest, however Arty and Air attacks are taking their toll.

I wait until The Soviets reveal their SU-100 ambush, once I know where they are I pop my Hellcats next turn, scouring 6 out of 8 hits and destroying 3 and bailing 1. Abrams allows them to Stormtrooper away from the hedges and avoid heavy AT fire in return.

My main assaulting Armored Rifle platoon manages to get pinned and, despite the presence of the company Commander, will not up-pin for 4 turns

My Hellcats and Abrams flank the fortified Platoon on my left and take it out, however it is too little to late as time is called.


3-4
Conclusions: Shane's Soviets put up a terrific fight and lasted long enough to take the win. I took out the SU-100 platoon and one of the Fortified platoons but wasn't able to win before time was up.


Round 2 
Encounter
Opponent - Gary (SS Infantry?)

Gary was a real treat to play. He had a very nicely painted SS Infantry company with very accurate (and very tiny) markings for all of his troops.

Encounter can be tough for elite armies and my opponent was spread this to cover two objectives. He started with an SS Platoon, Tigers and Nebs.

Sorry for the quality,  US swings right!

I pushed quickly on my right with an Armored Rifle platoon. Thanks to Abram's Spearhead I was able to get close and launch an assault on the objective. However once again I was pinned by Artillery (Nebs) and couldn't motivate for a crucial turn.  The Delay allowed Gary to get StuGs in from reserve on turn 3 and also redeploy his Tigers.

Armored Rifles move in practically unopposed!

StuGs arrive from Reserves in the right spot! Still the Armored Rifles keep trucking!

German AA arrives in the right spot... the Armored Rifles finally break!

Hellcats wiff on their ambush of the Tigers, only killing one. My Armored Rifles spend themselves taking out the StuGs only to fail morale when I am taken just below half. My Hellcats also fail morale, taking Abrams with them!!   At this point there are some serious morale issues in the 4th Armored Division!

Tigers move into support

Hellcats all over them like a cheap suit!

My powerful attack is totally gone and my right flank is exposed!

I have to go on the offensive on the left. Between my other ARP, Scotts and Cav Recon I power through both SS platoons and take the objective.

Left flank moves out!

They power through two SS platoons to win

Gary's awesome Objective!

4-3 win to me.

Conclusion:  This was a very enjoyable game and playing people I've never met before is one of the reasons I like tournaments.

 I thought I had the game in the bag early only to have some good defensive play from Gary wipe me out. (Failed Moral didn't help). My Support units had to lead the charge and take the objective. My Hellcats under performed but they were crucial in keeping the Tigers in check. It was also good to have my small units step up and help win the game. The Scotts and Cav Recon patrol proved their worth.


Round 3
Counterattack
Opponent - Buzz (US TD Company)

Blue on Blue... this battle was against a fellow US player using the deadly Tank Destroyer Company from B,G&G. The Mission would be counterattack and I won the crucial roll to determine the attacker. Immediately my opponent was hindered by the "Mobile Reserves" rule and could only deploy a Single Rifle Platoon, 105mm Arty and 1 Hellcat Platoon. I would attack with my whole Army.

US TD Defensive line

Armored Rifles move out!

Hellcats shooting M3 Halftracks? Has the world gone mad?
 Fortunately they only kill the 2iC's halftrack!

Right envelopment, for the win!

The Battle was brutal but I had to win before he could get reserves across the table. I targeted his defended Objective and sent my Cav Recon to hold the other objective. My two Armored Rifle Platoons and the armor stormed into his platoons. took out the Rifles, followed by the 105mm and lastly the Hellcats. Once his Hellcats were gone along with his C/O the game was in the bag.

6-1 to me.  About the ideal setup and mission match meant I could control the game. The Armored Rifle platoons showed what they could do, taking out Infantry and tanks to secure the win.


Conclusions


I finished 2nd with 13 points overall. The Tournament was a close affair as we have seen the skill rise in the local gaming population.


I've always been a big fan of Armored Rifles and this experience only confirms how awesome they are. The inclusion of Abrams was a tough decision as his 210 points could have added an artillery battery or infantry platoon, but the ability to Spearhead and Storm Trooper is fantastic. and his tank added to the Hellcat platoon means I can put 10 AT 13 shots downrange.

Some Random Photos from the Tournament

Hope you enjoy!