Bolt Action Western Desert/North Africa Game

Thanks to several of my gaming crew, got in a nice Bolt Action game using the recently completed Wargames Atlantic Italians and French Tirailleurs. The Perry Fallshirmjager and several tanks painted last year were also bloodied for the first time. We played 6 turns using a defender/attacker scenario. Unfortunately, the Allied British-Free French attackers were outgunned by the defending German-Italians. I tired to have this balanced by allowing only the British to have an opening artillery barrage, and also air support with a forward observer. These weren't enough to help the attack, however, as the Germans had a lot of hot die rolling with their more numerous automatic weapons. I failed to take enough pictures to capture all of the action, as I was running some of the Free-French forces before one of my buddies showed up. Hopefully, I captioned the images below accurately.

Grant tank taken out after numerous hits from a Panzer III.

Tirailleurs in the foreground and French Foreign Legion behind them with a Grant tank holding the Allied right. The lone figure in the center background is the British forward air observer. His one allowable airstrike only resulted in a single pin a  Panzer IV. The initial opening artillery bombardment only resulted in a few pins on the defending Germans. These pins were quickly Rallied off in subsequent turns.

DAK infantry squads and a Panzer II moving out of their defenses to take the action to the Allied army.

A Crusader and Matilda cautiously maneuvering into position on the Allied left.

DAK infantry and a Panzer II taking advantage of cover in a bombed out building.

An Sd.Kfz. 7 used to tow the Pak 38.

Tirailleurs and French Foreign Legion advancing into no-man's land.

Italian Bersaglieri in the center of the line with a Panzer IV in the distance.

The Axis right flank with a Panzer IV and Italian and German Paratroopers.

Fallshirmjager advancing to the top of a berm with a mortar team and spotter to their left.

Fierce fighting in the center of the battlefield. 

End of Turn 6. An Axis victory with the Allied army's Grant and Crusader tanks destroyed, and their infantry floundering in the attack.

It was a great refresher game for all of us. As the last time I played the rules was for a Franco-Prussian War scenario, I was particularly rusty with the use of tanks and mortars. Still, the rules are easy to pick up and flow well. All in all, a good time gaming and just shooting the breeze with folks I hadn't seen since a month ago at Enfilade. Thanks for stopping by and hope you're all doing well.