'O' Group: Ishun, Crimea, 1942.

26 sierpnia 2024

'O' Group: Ishun, Crimea, 1942.

I must admit that it's been a while since I last played any games from the TFL/Reisswitz collection. They used to be quite popular, but not so much anymore. I was happy to accept Andy's invitation to play one of these games. I have never played 'O' Group before, so it was my first time encountering these rules. These rules allow us to play really large-scale battles, and if we use smaller scales like the 6mm scale we used, the battles can be huge.

SCENARIO: From Supplement
UMPIRING: Andy Valdez-Tullett

SCENERY: Andy Valdez-Tullett, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Andy Valdez-Tullett

1. Forces.

SOVIET UNION

(Bartek, Michael, Peter)

Battalion HQ:

HQ
82mm Mortar
FOO

Naval Infantry Company

CO
3 x Infantry Platoon (3 x Infantry Section each)
Maxim MMG

Infantry Company

CO
3 x Infantry Platoon (3 x Infantry Section each)
Maxim MMG

Infantry Company

CO
3 x Infantry Platoon (3 x Infantry Section each)

ATG Platoon (45mm ATG)

Light Tank Platoon (2 x T-26)

THIRD REICH

(Alasdair, Fred, Mike)

Battalion HQ:

HQ
80mm Mortar
FOO

Infantry Company:

CO
3 x Infantry Platoon (3 x Section each)
MMG Platoon

2 x Infantry Company:

CO
3 x Infantry Platoon (4 x Section each)
MMG Platoon

AT Platoon (1 x PaK 36)

Light Tank Platoon (2 x Pz38(t))

Medium Tank Platoon (1 x Pz IV)

2. The Game.

Andy used a scenario from the rules supplement depicting the struggles on the Eastern Front from 1941 up to the Battle of Kursk. This scenario showed the battles between the Germans and the Soviets in Crimea in 1942. The Soviets were assigned to defend a line based on a road, two villages, and a factory. The Germans initially attacked head-on, which resulted in heavy losses. They then changed tactics and launched a systematic, concentrated attack on the Soviet positions, which proved to be more effective. They eventually broke through the centre of the Soviet forces, but the Red Army was able to regroup and defend the breach. On the left flank, there was a small tank duel that ended with the German tanks being stopped. Ultimately, the Germans failed to break the Soviet defence, although they inflicted high losses, and each subsequent attack posed a threat to the Soviet positions. As a result, the game ended in a draw.

Now, as usual, let's talk about the rules. The game is a level lower than my favourite Rapid Fire. However, you can still easily depict large battles. Like other products from David C.R. Brown, it includes a lot of tables, which may seem intimidating at first, but they become very helpful after a while. The rules are intuitive and after just one evening, especially the last rounds, we were already able to play independently without Andy's help. These rules certainly deserve our attention.