Southcon 2012- Day 1

 Southcon 2012

This was the 9^th running FoW at Southcon and I’ve been to all 9. I think Noel and Pete Black would be the next most regular attendees with 7-8 each.

My MW Tankovy (FC)

• ·         1x HQ Stuart
• ·         8x Stuarts
• ·         8x Shermans (6x 50 cals)
• ·         4x SU 2122
• ·         3x BA 64
• ·         9x Razvedki (SMGs) in M3A1s
• ·         Sporadic 1-153s

Game 1: Dust up vs Stephen Falconer (Panzerspah)

Frist up Stephen Falconer- great.  Top player from Invercargill. Stephen was running a pak front pretending to be a panzershpah. This was not going to be an easy game.

• HQ 250
• ·         2x 250 patrols
• ·         1x 232 patrol
• ·         3x 233s (yes!)
• ·         4x pak 38s
• ·         3x pak 40s
• ·         2x 88s
• ·         Nebs

• ·         Priority (IIRC) stukas! 

Stephen deployed his paks and 233s defending his objectives, I placed Shermans and razvedki. Trun 1 Stephen moved his 233s forward to get round my flanks of my Shermans moved out to hunt them and KOed a couple of a couple of turns later. His air caused me all sorts of problems, killing my Sherman commander and a couple of Shermans. I managed to deal with the last 233 and by then my reserves had started to arrive so they double timed away form the 88s that had a great field of fire and my Sherman’s and stuarts concentrated on intercepting his reserves. 

Stephen’s recon was damaging my razvedi and air nibbling away at the Shermans. He managed to push a pak 40 forward just far enough to hit a Sherman frm the rear and destroy it, putting them under half strength, the same turn my  razvedki were knocked under half strength by the 250s patrols. His 232 patrol double timed back behind the safety of his pak front (the ensure he still had 4 platoons alive) but I pushed my 122s through a wood and one got a bead on the double timing 233s and hit them both on 5s- knocking them both out. Alas his pak hit put my shermans under half strength and both they and the razvedki legged it- yep more failed morale tests for me!

I then cleaned up the rest of the armoured cars with stuarts and nervously avoided the now rapidly advancing pak 40s and pak 38s, MGing the pak 38s and forcing company morale tests. Stpeh passed a couple and got closer and closer to my forward objective with his At guns but eventually failed a morale test.

4-3 to me. His gun line was a pain and I never really entertained trying to take it on, double timing everything away from his 88s. I was a bit annoyed to lsor both companies the same turn and would have preferred it if one had hung round. His force was interesting but a wee bit light vs the stuarts/shermans and as he himelf said he srewed up the first trurn moing the 233s forward and should have proably had them in reserve. A good game though, tense all the way through and ended up quite close. I got revenge for our game a few years back where he trounced my razvedki- so we are now 1-1.

The 233s advancce on turn 1.

The first of many airstrikes focusing on my command tanks- sensible play that!


Shrmans retreat to incercept the reserves.


The 250s focus on what they can kill- my razvedki!


The paks advance up the road towards the objective!

Game 2: Pincer vs Peter Black (Carri company)

Pete is another of the Invercargill guys I rate very highly- he has won Southcon 2 or 3 times so I was wary going into the game. We were both armoured by my Sherman’s trumped the armour on his Carri, but his 88s trumped my Shermans. I got to defend and although I entertained the idea of ambushing with Stuarts put 8 Sherman’s into ambush.

Pete was running;

·         HQ cari

·         3x carri platoons (4-5 strong)- FV x1, CV x2 (IIRC)

·         5x L60s (CT)

·         2x 88s (FV)

·         4x Semevontes (CT)

I hid the stuarts and left the forward objective open. He advanced (surprise, surprise) and I ambushed on my far left with the shermans, killing 2x L60s and 2x carri)-  the starts ahd moved round to help the shermans and did bugger all but I had anticipated killing the carri at least- oops. This left the objective open and covered by 88s but my Shermns were protected by buildings so couldn’t be targeted while my stuarts were fed forward to contest. Soon it was a bun fight between semoventes and carri (and 88s whenever they spotted a stuart) and shermans and stuarts- with me being forced to expose tanks to keep the game alive .

 In the end my heavier shells  (and armour) of the Shermans were the decider and I broke Pete’s  force about turn 5 although I was down to 2x stuarts but finally passed a morale test (yeah!) to keep them on table.

6-1 to me but if I had been attacking vs those 88s it would have beena different story. Alas Sherans completely outclass carri and as long as I could staty out of the way of the 88s and concentrate on the semevone’s first he was in trouble. Pete palyed well and I nearly screwed it up by leaving the objective too open, but the good ridgeline was never an option to ambush from as the 88s had a clear LoS on it.

Stuarts on table, ridge line covers the objective but well within range of 88s.

 Surprise. Why ambush vs L60s? Because I could!

 The firefight continues but the Shermans have a definite edge.

 Stuarts tangle with carri- inclduing the Italian company commander.

Game 3: Surrounded vs Noel Black’s FJ

Richard’s very cool looking Stalingrad rubble table- lots of bogging checks with conscripts, oh yah!

Noel had

·         Van De Heyte:

·         2x full FJ

·         2x recoliess

·         2x stugs

·         4x pak 36

·         3x werfers

I placed Shermans on one side, everyhtring else together on the other. Turn 1 I only bogged 1 Shermman and the stuarts, SU 122s and razvdki advanced on the far side. My rata managed to hit and bail a stug (first rurn of 4 in a row I bailed a stug with planes or shermans only to fail a 3+ firepower test). Noel hit my razvedki and stuarts with werfers and knocke out a couple of 122s with stugs (which had of coruse remounted).

Turn 2 another airstrike, another bailed stug ((briefly). By turn 3 my sherns were finally in positon, y stuarts continued to pour fire on the pak 36s and infantry- my BA 64s lifting GtG. To get some flank shots my Shermans had to get close to the innocuous looking doorknockers- the Sherman’s bailed another stug (stupid 3+ firepowers) then the lost 3 in return fire and another to a door knocker's steilgranate! Oh crap- Noel’s first ever victim apparently! My stuarts and SUs continued to throw everything they had at the paks and had killed a couple but on De Heyte managed to bring one back!

It was now 4 Shermans vs  stugs so the stuarts rushed the stugs. I couldn’t get side shots but they would the following turn. The Sherman’s had to stay still to maximise shots and only managed a single bailed stug (yep, couldn’t roll a 3+ to destroy again) which again remounted- 4 turns and 4 failed firepower tests to kill stugs (grrrrr) then the return fire killed a 5^th sherman and the doorknocker bailed another- once again my fearless morale fails me and the shermans leg it- 6-7Stuarts vs 2 stugs?

The game as slipping away. I surrounded the stugs with stuarts and blasted the last of the paks with volley firing 122s. Van de Heyte tried to keep the survivor and commander on table but they all legged it! I had 5 side shots at the stugs (on 5s), 2 hits, 2 failed side armoured saves, 2 passed firepower tests. Typical! Fail with multiple  3+ tests, pass needing 4s.

At that point Noel surrendered- he had 6 team on the objective, no AT, was down to 1x werfer and his other FJ platoon could not intervene- it was simply a matter of blasting him out of his foxholes with volleyfire and stuarts after the BA 64s lifted GtG.

5-2 to me. Stugs, we hate them- but at least Sherman’s have a chance vs threat front armour- if they ccan pass firepower tests! This game was a great example of how conscript tanks cannot stand a couple of rounds of attritional warfare vs the likes of stugs- they simply melt away so its really important tominimise losses or opprtunits to take return fire.

Noel's deployment- great looking table.

Stugs snipe 122s on turn 1


Havng forced their way through the rubble for two turns (only lost 1 tank) the Shermans draw LoS on the stugs.




And it all goes horribly wrong!

End of Day 1

I was first equal for allies with Keith’s staghounds. Keith had despatched two forces I did not want to face- Bob Pearce’s tiger company and Rob Shirley’s panzer grenadiers with 3x panthers- both tanks which were designed to kill conscript tanks in droves. I knew Bob was doing well as the Axis and was right up there and Kent had 3 wins but were were unlikely to face ach ther until the final round, if at all, as the TO was making sure people played people from other parts of the country whenever possible- so odds were on day two I’d face one or both of Bob and Rob.

To be continued...