This time I dusted off the Flames of War: Fate of a Nation army and took it for a spin against my friend Mark's Jordanians. The battle was Cauldron.
The Lists:
Israeli
I would be using some seriously heavy armor. Israelis have the best tanks in the game but you pay a LOT for them. My list was only 5 platoons (Which meant I was only starting with 2 platoons on the board) but I did have a large HQ section made up of a CO and 2iC in beefy Magach 3 tanks
A platoon of old Ishermans and a platoon of AMX Light tanks for my armor.
A small platoon of Anti-Tank Jeeps and Mortar halftracks (For Smoke) rounded out my list.
Jordan
Mark's army had 11 Patton Tanks total and would be starting the game with 7 of them on the board.
He also had two Artillery Units, 25lbs and some scary 155mm guns that could do a number on any of my tanks. His list was rounded out with Infantry and some Anti-tank Jeeps.
The Battle
Cauldron provided some interesting wrinkles to the normal battle. As the attacker (Jordan auto Defends) I couldn't sit back and shoot. Mark's Delayed Reserves would be coming in from the my table edge. in essence driving right in behind me. My reserves would arrive on either side. There was really no way to insure that your front armor would be facing the enemy.
Deployment:
I Deployed my Magach 3 and ISherman Platoons, Mark deployed two 3 tank strong Patton Platoons, 155mm Ary and Infantry.
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| Israeli left Flank |
Turn 1:
After Deployment Jordan had the first turn. Artillery did nothing, on my left Jordanian tanks hid in the woods with on the right a platoon of Pattons lead a sweeping move to flank my Ishermans.
The Israeli turn was similarly uneventful. One gun was destroyed from the 155 battery and a couple of Infantry stands were hit.
Turn 2:
Jordan: Mark kept his Pattons safe in the woods, not bringing them out to play. On my right his Patton's tried to snipe my central Magach Platoon with no success. Artillery was also ineffective.
The Israeli turn was a little better. I got a lucky reserve roll and brought on my AMX Light tanks.
This guys are fast moving light tanks with a single ROF gun that doesn't have a shooting penalty due to their Auto-Loaders rule.
The AMX tanks pounced on Mark's vulnerable Patton Platoon on my right. They knock out 2 Pattons and then the third runs when the Platoon fails moral.
I move the CO and 2iC into range of the Pattons in the woods, but manage to bail a single tank. And also drive up my Magach platoon to get within Range next turn.
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| Magachs versus Pattons at close range. |
I also move my Shermans up to get better shots on the Artillery but don't knock anything out.
Turn 3
Jordan: Mark gets a break and reserves arrive. He brings on a platoon of 2 Pattons behind my Ishermans.
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| Pattons arriving from Reserve bushwack the Ishermans! |
The Ishermans are shot at by the newly arrived Pattons and the Jordanian Command Tank but they only manage to knock out one of the Ishermans.
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| Situation on the right flank |
On my left I am not so lucky, Artillery and Pattons manage to kills both the C/O and the 2iC! I'm down 3 tanks in 1 round of fire!
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| Oh no! |
Israeli Turn
I successfully bring in my Anti Tank Jeeps from Reserve. They drive in from my left flank, heading towards the woods concealing the Patton tanks.
On my right the AMXs swarm the Jordan C/O in his Patton Tank with predictable results. One flaming wreck later and the AMX are ready to roll.
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| No more Jordan C/O |
The Ishermans turn around and look for revenge.... Managing to kill one of the flanking Patton Tanks.
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| one more Patton down. |
Jordan Turn 4:
On the Israeli left the last Patton takes out a Sherman.
Jordan Reserves arrive, bringing on another platoon of 2 Pattons, this time behind my advancing Magach tanks.
in Danger of being Flanked the Pattons in the woods move out,.
Jordan Infantry attempts an assault but is repelled with 5 hits on 6 dice!
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| The last of the Pattons Arrive |
Fortunately they miss the Magach tanks but it puts me in a tight spot.
Israeli Turn:
Anti Tank Jeeps had flanked the Pattons, flushing them into the open. The Magachs risk staying put for full rate of fire and destroy the platoon. I am counting on their "Stormtrooper" move to get them out of line of sight of the newly arrived reserves but fail! oh no!
The Last remaining ISherman and the AMX light tanks combine to take out the last Patton on my right flank and start to head towards the action on the left.
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| Last of the Magachs are knocked out |
Another reserve arrives, this time the 25lb Battery. They take shots at the AMX platoon, hoping to thin them out but fail.
to balance things out however...
The Jordanian Pattons get revenge killing both of my Magachs!
With my Heavy Armor all dead it would fall on the little guys to carry on.
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| 25lb guns miss the AMX Tanks |
Israeli Turn
The AMX and Shermans swoop down on the newly arrived Artillery Battery but knock out all the guns but the platoon stubbornly stays.
However in the Jordanian back field the Mortar Halftracks and Jeeps combine to kill of the last of the 155mm Artillery Platoon.
At the Start of the Jordanian turn they are down 4 platoons with only 3 on the board, with no C/O they auto fail moral and the game is over! Israeli victory 5-2
Game thoughts:
This was pretty close. At the end of the game I was down to 4 tanks, the AMX and 1 Isherman.
the Jordanians still had two active Pattons. I was lucky that Mark didn't get in all his reserves in a more timely manner.
the Magachs underperformed for me. Granted I wasn't the smartest with the C/O and 2iC, but if their attack had worked the game would have been a lot quicker. I might have been better served by infiltrating them around the flank, driving through the town, rather than facing them head on.
All together the 4 Magachs only accounted for 1 platoon of Pattons and a couple of Infantry stands. Not a good turn on investment.
The AMX on the other hand were awesome. They took at a Patton platoon, then took out the C/O, then finished off another Patoon platoon and then helped nearly annihilate the 25lb Battery. There wasn't a turn on the board that these guys weren't productive.
Next Game:
I would be remiss if I failed to mention our next game. I started documenting but forgot failed to take pics most of the game. We played another Game, this time Free for All and Mark kept the same list.
so this isn't a detailed battle report but I'll post pics below
I changed up my list, trading out the 4 Magachs for
HQ Isherman
3 x Isherman
2 x Sho't
3 x AMX
Limited Air
2 Mortars
2 AT Jeeps
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| Left flank Ishermans would duel with Pattons all game with no victor |
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| Jordanians on my right. This guys would make straight for my objective, only covered by two jeeps! |
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| Sho'ts take a toll on the advancing Jordanians |
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| Jeeps hung on for 2 turns but on the last turn the Pattons knocked them out. |
I lost 6-1 but most of Mark's Armor was in tatters. Most of his Patton plattons were down 1 or two tanks. I lost both Sho'ts a couple of AMX and a couple of IShermans. It was a bloody game that was lost because I didn't move enough stuff over to the right to stem the tide. By the time I started moving Sho'ts that way it was too late... and then the were destroyed.
Overall it was a great pair of games. The Israelis are an amazingly elite Army but the can be beaten. Patton tanks with Semi-Indirect fire is deadly.
hope you enjoyed!
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