Victory Decision Battle

Last night was a WWII night at the Baron's.  We hadn't played Victory Decision in quite some time, but Jaye recited the rules in pretty simple terms, thus we were off and rolling.  Unlike our previous games using these rules, this time with the help of assigning a playing card to each unit to determine order of activation, each turn would introduce a new unit to the game (we would later learn while this system offers a more realistic effect, more thought will need to be used in choosing which unit(s) should be placed on the field to begin the game).

The scenario featured a battle pitched within a small, French town.

Contact was made between a squad-size element of the 2nd Rangers and a fire team of German Spahtrupp (recon).  The U.S. squad did a great job of not letting the German team set up an MG-42 in an upper floor of a bombed out church.  After several attempts (and lighter on personnel), the Krauts had to pull back.

While all this was going on, a larger mixed unit of Wehrmacht and Waffen SS moved up on the right and a Panzer IV started to move on the town center.  To counter this, the first of three Shermans (with a second squad of 2nd Rangers in tow) made a move on the town as well. A nice shot from the Panzer turned the Sherman into a burning hulk for the Ranger unit to find cover behind.  It appeared the Panzer might be able to control the town center...until a second Sherman moved up shortly thereafter. This second Sherman would put two nice rounds into the Panzer and things would begin to turn with the Krauts flat out of armor and only a PaK40 to try and stem the tide of oncoming U.S. armor (the PaK40 would never really be a factor).

The German infantry unit on the right made an attempt to flush out the first Ranger unit out of a building where it had been wreaking havoc, but the attempt turned fatal by return fire from the Ranger unit and a third Sherman that had moved in on the German left.

Following the third Sherman was a unit of 101st Airborne. After linking up with the second unit of Rangers, it became apparent the Germans were in real trouble as a team of another unit of mixed Wehrmacht and SS got caught with their pants down in the open and was chewed up in no time.

The Krauts were never able to take advantage of a medium mortar team that began to move up (and never even got a sniper team on the field) and the Americans wrapped up a pretty easy victory with minimal casualties.  There was some debate over the minimal effectiveness of the German MGs compared to some U.S. BARs, but with some careful planning the next time around, the Germans should be able to take advantage of what was historically a much more feared weapon in the MG-42.

Battle Through Normandy

Last fall I met a group of gamers from the Kansas City area named The Basement Generals, founded by  BaronVonJ.  These guys do anything from many historical periods to sci-fi. So far I have found ACW and WW2 (with the exception of Flames of War)  to be some of the less popular periods in our area, but with the BGs willing to play about anything, I can get my fix.

Recently we have delved into a ruleset called Victory Decision. A thread for asking questions and new ideas can be found within the WW2 forums at Lead-Adventure.com. Feedback is outstanding (the writer, Agis, regularly participates in discussions). With little experience with WW2 gaming, I have found VD to be enjoyable. The rules are fairly simple to pick up with some play and according to some of the other fellas, the play seems to mimic what probably took place on the battlefield better than other sets. We have found with VD that recklessly leaving units in a firefight can lead to disastrous results. Players must draw units back from the fight in order to regroup if they expect to stay in the battle for very long.

Last night we played out a scenario involving a platoon-sized force of mixed Wehrmacht/Waffen SS infantry supported by a lone Panzer and a U.S. force consisting of 101st Airborne And 2nd Ranger infantry supported by a pair of Shermans.

The Americans look confident

The two forces began their attacks by  making an all out run at a small cottage located at the center of the field. 

Hedgerows make for careful maneuvering by the Americans

While Scott started the game by rolling two saves to emerge unscathed after a Sherman fired on his PaK 40, he kept the German left flank secure. Elsewhere, heavy fighting broke out on the right.

Angreifen!

Fighting began to concentrate in the center of the field as one of Jay's units advances on the cottage but is repulsed by mortar and MG fire from multiple locations, but it proves to be stubborn and eventually re-takes the position to knock out the only piece of German armor in the battle. Subsequently, the German left flank begins to feel pressure and with two Shermans bearing down, things could only get worse for the Germans.