AAR EW V4 Tankovy vs Lend Lease Tankovy

I headed down to the Panzer Angriff club at the Mega Games store in Penrith on Sunday a week or so back. Dave and I had another EW game planned. Unfortunately, that was all the pre-planning we had done prior to the day so we both turned up with a Tankovy. Fortunately they were different...

Dave had a T34 company with a unit of flame tanks, an I153, some scout tanks and some AA trucks. I had a Lend Lease company with Valentines, Matildas, T60s, Pioneers, a Sturmovik and some AT guns.

The mission was rear-guard and I defended.

Right Defense.

The objectives were spread widely forcing me to split my forces to cover both objectives. I dropped my three minefields in front of the left objective forcing Dave to choose between crossing the minefield and channeling his attack against my right objective. Dave chose the latter.

Battalion commander deployed.

I dropped my unit of Matildas on the left objective expecting to move them all or partially off depending on what Dave opposed this objective with. I set my pioneers on the right hand objective with the AT guns adjacent. The Valentines were in Ambush and the T60s were located centrally ready for a fire-fighting role.

The first of many successful raids by the I153

 The early turns were pretty uneventful with forces simply moving up. The flame tanks pushed down the right hand flank with the 5 T34s beside them. The AA also moved up against the unarmed pioneers in front of them. The Scout Tanks pushed up on the left to try to force my Matilda Company into staying there. The planes arrived and bagged an AT gun.

T60s

 I dashed my T60s to behind the forest on the right where my objective was. Thank you halftrack movement! The Matildas moved towards the right and were able to brew up a Scout vehicle.

Soviet Sentinel.

 Dave’s attack was developing. The flame tanks were still out of range and the AA and T34s couldn’t convert hits to casualties on the pioneers. The scout tanks skulked back to cover. The dreaded air arrived again and bagged another AT gun and bailed my commander.

Repositioning behind the minefield.

I withdrew my T60s early. Given the presence of T34s, their AT 5 wasn’t going to bring much to the fight and the other on-table units were needed. I dropped my Valentines from ambush behind the wood so they could shoot at the T26 flame and AA trucks tanks without being seen by the T34s. This worked, with 2 AA trucks dying to machine gun fire, 2 T26s succumbing to 2 pound fire and a further T26 being bailed out. Leaving a Matilda behind, the other 2 tanks moved further towards to the main fight on the right.

The dreaded biplane arrived three times from three in the early turns, it made short work of the AT platoon and kept the commander bailed as he remained in position to bolster the morale of the guns. The T34s redeployed and starting working on the Valentines. The remaining T26s moved up and delivered flaming death to more than a few pioneers.

Ruddy Biplane.

The game quickly developed into a stalemate on the left. The remaining Matilda couldn’t leave the objective and the scout tanks couldn’t leave their hiding hole for fear of losing another vehicle. The real action was all on the right. The pioneers spent turn after turn being whittled down and breaking off from assault from the flame tanks and the BT7s who had joined the fight. It was only their numbers that kept them in the fight. The T34s were table to fire with impunity easily bouncing shells from the Matildas and Valentines.

Valentine Ambush!

The game really heated up when one of the units the T34s boldly moved forward to take some side shots on the Matildas. They were unsuccessfully and eventually were lost to some knife fighting where some lucky 2 pound shots found weak points in the Soviet steel.

Brewed T34s

The fighting progressed in a circular motion around the wood with the pioneers in the thick of it and the BT7s and flamers chasing them. The objective, by now under severe pressure was reinforced with 2 Matildas who had finally arrived from the far flank and the commander Valentine. Sadly the unit of Valentines couldn’t continue to sustain turn after turn of T34 fire and were destroyed.

Destroyed Valentines

Rear-Guard is a timed mission with the defender winning in turn 9. The Lend Lease tanks were still barely alive at the end of the game. My forces had taken severe losses in what was a tightly contested game. The Valentines and AT guns were dead, the pioneers were down to 6 stands and the T60s and Sturmovik were withdrawn. Given that I didn’t have a huge unit count and taking fairly consist loses (AT guns, Valentines) I often picked up a counter rather than having to withdraw units. This kept me in the fight with my relatively robust units.

Time Gentlemen Please.

This was another good V4 game. Considered piece-meal, there are aspects of the game that stand out as different to V3. For example, the morale rules are certainly different and kept the pioneers in the game where they would have been testing earlier in V3. However the morale rules have also forced me to run Matildas in units of 3 rather than 2. This tied up a considerable amount of points in a single unit. Small units of 2 tanks can be testing after a single loss or bail in v4. Overall, I think that V4 is a fine game. Even with the old lists being used for the new version, the game is still fun.

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Battlefront Matilda II

So with V4 being played in my group, I am starting to make some changes to existing armies to refresh them for the new version of the rules. One of the biggest changes in V4 is the morale rules. Tank units now take a last stand test when they have less than 2 active tanks. This means for a unit of 2 tanks, a single bail or kill means a test. In V3, the unit needed more destroyed than active tanks to test. So, my unit of 2 Soviet Matildas need reinforcing with a third AFV.

My 2 Matildas were only painted up this year. Strangely enough, they were painted with V4 in mind. It goes to show that I was still working out what V4 meant when I painted up just two. That article was more of a trash to treasure post than a proper review, so here is a review.

I am not covering any new ground here. The Matilda blister has been around for a while. You will see that I painted up mine up as a Lend Lease Soviet Vehicle but given that battlefront are currently releasing MW books for V4, I expect we might see Matildas featured in a future book. This is pure speculation based on historical usage. Will we use plastic Matildas from our friends at Battlefront? I hope so.

Review:

The blister contains a resin hull, 2 metal tracks, a CS and a 2 pound gun, two hatches and commander. This is my 5^th Matilda and I have not had a problem to date. Inspection of the pieces revealed no obvious issues. The distinctive tracks and sides are clean and without casting issues. The hull is nicely detailed including rivets. I particularly like that there is an option to have both turret hatches open. Finally the CS is a simple but well thought out inclusion.

 After a quick clean-up, dry fitting was a breeze and after just a few minutes, I had a fully assembled tank. Given that this is to be a 3^rd tank in a unit with an existing commander, I simply glued both hatches closed. I fitted the turret with a 2 pound gun barrel.

Unlike the recent Valentine I reviewed earlier, the Matilda hull is not recessed for a magnet. Not a big issue to add one, I chose not to.

Painting:

As I am matching an existing unit, I again painted up this tank in Green. You might recall in the original article I covered that the Soviets generally didn’t repaint lend lease tanks unless they were repaired. At the time, I painted my first 2 tanks up as repaired as I had literally dragged them from the spares pile and completed my own repairs on them prior to painting. I have simply followed the same scheme on this one. After putting this one away, I noticed that I had originally used VJ German Camo. Medium Brown on the exhausts of the first two. This one had the exhaust painted VJ Cavalry Brown with a highlight of VJ Red Leather.

I will add some decals as soon as I can find them.

Conclusion:

The Matilda is one of those great models that I keep coming back to. It was used in a number of theaters (Desert, Eastern Front, and Pacific) by a number of the allies. There is also an option for Germans to run a Beute Matilda! The model is nicely detailed, easy to put together and cuts a fine figure on the table. If Battlefront bring out a plastic model, I could well see myself to buying 20 or so more to run in Late War.

I hope you enjoyed this review.

On the Prowl in a recent game.

AAR - EW V4 Soviet Tankovy and Czech Panzer

Today I report on a V4 EW game and look at the new version. Is it best in show, a dead dog or somewhere in between? Lets find out.

I dropped down to the club for a game. I had been playing a lot of V4 MW so it was nice to play a game of EW 1650 points. The list I packed was:

Lists:
Czech Panzers from Barbarossa (CV)

HQ 2 Panzer 38T

4 Panzer 38T

3 Panzer 38T

1 Beute Panzer T34 (CT)

2 Nebs

1 88 with extra crew

2 8-Rads

6 Stands of Schutzen

Limited Stukas

Czech Panzers

David ran Tankovy (CC)

HQ T26

3 x 8 T26s (there was a total of 5 tanks in the 3 units that were upgraded to T26E but this didn’t really have a big impact on the game)

9 Flame tanks

4 45mm guns (FC)

3 AA Trucks

6 BT6

I153

AAR:
All side or flank reference will be from the point of view of my side of the table. 

We rolled up Free for all. We were not sure how to treat the plane as it isn’t listed on the new LFTF plane listing. Given that it was rocket armed and every rocket armed plane is listed as AT5, FP 3+, we went with that. Please shout out if we missed something here.

At the end of deployment I had my HQ section deployed centrally. My left objective was held by an 88 on a hill, Nebs behind the hill and the T34 loitering with intent. My right flank had the Schutzen platoon on the objective and my 2 units of 38Ts nearby. The 8 rads spearheaded to behind the central wood, ready to go either way as required.

David deployed with his flame tanks, AA trucks and 8 T26s on the right objective. The 45mm guns and 2 units of T26s with the HQ were on the left objective.

David seized the initiative and rolled high for first turn. All the T26s rumbled forward. The T26Es lagging slightly behind. Despite needing an 8 to hit, they scored a single hit on my 88 who saved.

Center Left T26s

Flame Tanks (L) and T26s (R) on the Right Flank.

Turn 1
The Stukas arrived first turn and settled on a nice clumped bunch of T26s. This was actually most of both platoons on that flank. The result from hitting 13 tanks was 2 bails. The 2 units of Czech Panzers moved up and destroyed another T26. My T34 moved up to the hill for a shot. The 1IC took a long range shot bagging a T26 from the platoon on the right of the Church. The 88 hit and destroyed a vehicle from the same platoon.

Right Flank Panzers engaging T26s and Flame Tanks

Turns 2 and 3
The next two turns followed a very similar pattern. The 4 units of tanks moved forward but could only knock out my 88 on the left hand side and a single 38T on the right. In exchange, the 38ts dished up 3 T26s on the right and 3 on the left.

Turn 4

Things started to change. The BT6s rumbled forward looking to add their weight to the fight but did no damage. The AA trucks moved forward hugging the village on my right. The T26 platoon on my far left flank had managed to move up virtually unmolested to striking distance of the objective. It was firing on the way but with concealed vets and Hens and Chicks, there was much happening. The 45mm gun crews dragged their guns out of their foxholes and forward. The central left unit of T26s was by now in a reasonable position to shoot but were suffering from poor remount dice and were not doing much. All the action was happening on the right. The flame tanks had moved up and 5 vehicles opened fire on a single unfortunate Schutzen squad. 11 dice of flame throwers was just enough to eliminate the stand!  J The unit of 4 38s were now down to just 2 hulls. The air arrived but wasn’t able to brew up a T34 or an HQ panzer.

Center Left T26s in trouble

Soviet forces probing the right flank.

The Stukas were back and lined up again on the 2 units on the RH side. The panzers were joined by the 8 rads who moved up to try to add some weight to the fight. The 2 remaining Panzers from the Zug of 4 moved over to contest the objective knowing that the Schuzen were under extreme pressure. After the smoke cleared, the T26s on the right were down to 5 and the flame tanks were down to 3. On the far left the T26s were down to 8 with just 2 tanks alive and 3 bailed on the central left. The nebs finally managed to do some damage taking out a 45mm gun. The Schutzen mowed down 2 AA trucks. They would be testing next turn. The Soviets were doing just what they needed to, they were bearing down on both objectives ready to deliver a killing blow.

Central Left T26s

8 Rads join the fray.

Left Objective

Turn 5.

Would the T26s wipe out the Germans? Could the panzers hold out?

On the far left, the T26s pushed just outside of 4 inches from the objective and launched an assault wiping out the nebs. The central left T26s were still suffering all sorts of command and control issues and were not able to remount anything. On the right, the flame tanks were now in a great position to flame the Schutzen and managed to destroy another team. The T26s ran to the flanks of the panzers but could only bail one. The I153s arrived again but did no damage.

Right Objective

T26s on the Left Objective

At this point we called it. We had spent quite a bit of time knocking off the rust and looking up rules. It had been a good game, but slow. No question the Soviet tanks had the better of the conditions and would likely have taken out the win on either of the flanks.

Learnings:

Yep, V4 is a very different game. We intentionally set out for this to be a learning game and we were more worried about the rules than the game. It still was fun though. I think armour on armour games are like that.

The air was wildly different. The I153 was a real potential threat with AT5 and FP3+. Contrast this with the Stuka which is only AT3 and FP 2+. The Stuka is just completely underpowered when compared to the biplane. I am not sure if the biplane has been missed or there is another update coming but this one needs a tweak.

Big platoons of tanks are tough to kill. I had my chances but couldn’t manage to get any T26 units to test. Likewise they couldn’t do any real damage to the panzers at long range concealed.

My list wasn’t ideal against the green swarm. I wanted to take a fun and varied list. However I would have been better off spending my points on more 38Ts rather than a T34 and the 88. I suspect I could have had roughly 4 or 5 more which might have made a difference.

David manoeuvred in the early turns looking for hits on my 88. In fairness, he was able to knock it out. I think it might have been interesting if he had dashed for the first 2 turns and made up the maximum possible ground early on.

Summary:
V4 provided a good game. The air wasn’t quite right but this didn’t play a big part in our game. Flamethrower tanks shot more than once. Again this didn’t heavily impact our game. What did impact the game was the tests for last stand. If this was V3, I would have had to test my unit of 4 panzers and Dave would have tested 3 of his T26 units. As it was, there were no last man tests at all. Others have found games finishing after just a few turns. I think this could have conceivably gone for a few more turns without a result. More games needed before I am comfortable with V4 EW but I suspect what is actually needed is a change of tactics and list design, not a change of rules.

Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed this AAR.

Review: Zvezda Lee

Today I review the recently release Lee from Zvezda. Per the standard from Zvezda, the Lee is packaged one to a box. However rather than a single frame, the box contains 2 frames with the parts for the vehicle. The frames come packaged in a plastic bag with a double sided instruction sheet. The instructions are pretty easy to follow, even if there are significantly more parts than is usual with a Zvezda model.

I clipped all the parts and removed mould lines. This is where I started to have problems. The 37mm gun is very fragile and I broke mine in half removing it from the frame.

I then starting assembling the model. I am not the best modeler in the world but after assembly, I was left with significant gaps between panels. I expect that future ones would go together better but I am not impressed by the model. The traditional strength of Zvezda models has always been low cost, low part count, straightforward models. Whilst this is at a low cost, I don't see this as a straightforward model and it is certainly not a low part-count model.

I had to raid the parts box for a gun barrel to replace the one I broke during assembly.

Overall, the level of detail is good. I think what detail there is is crisp and to the normal Zvezda standard. Like normal, the detail is simplified and not oversize in the way that Battlefront is.

I picked up this model as a trial. I expected to eventually buy 20 or so for a Russian force if this first one went well. I wont be rushing out to buy another 19 at this stage.

I hope you enjoyed this review.

Treasures from the Top Drawer III: Battlefront Matilda IIs

Today I take some Queens of the Desert through their paces.

These old Matilda tanks have been sitting in my spares box for a while. A friend of mine had them sitting in his spares box before that. About time they received some attention. I don't have any Soviet Matilda IIs, so I will paint them up as Lend Lease vehicles.

Bits from the box.

Here they are in their full neglected glory. These are very old, dark resin Battlefront models. Sadly they are not in great condition. Aside from needing flash removal, some of the tracks and one of the hulls are cracked. One of the hatches seems to have been made by being filled with glue or epoxy and moulded into shape. There are 2 hatch covers missing totally. One of the barrels has been replaced by metal rod, the other is missing all together. So, some work to do!

I cut the mantlet off a metal Sherman 75mm gun sprue to make a new Matilda barrel. The small hatch was made from the casting attached to the gun. It was simply trimmed to size. The commander was from my spares box. I chose not to try and find a hatch for that as I couldn't think of a good way of doing it and figured people were unlikely to notice it was missing. Finally I cleaned up and assembled the model.

Doing some research, it seems that most but not all British Lend Lease vehicles were left in their original colours. Some were painted as they were sent for repair. I have chosen to paint mine as repaired vehicles. Given their cracks and scratch built parts, it seemed appropriate.

It has been raining solidly for a week here in Sydney so I brushed on a white undercoat rather than spraying. I then base coated the model in Soviet Green. I then washed the model in Strong Tone. I highlighted the tank with a mix of the base colour and some Iraqi Sand. I followed this up with a light edge highlight of green gray. The tracks were painted black and dry brushed flat earth. I tried something different and brushed on matt varnish. It seems to have worked well.

Not bad for old models that have been sitting unloved all this time.

I hope you enjoyed this post.