The Little Wars TV people asked me to come to their clubhouse and run a Combat Patrol(TM): WWII game for them. Greg and I drove up there yesterday after work to set up and run a 1939 Polish scenario that I have run in conventions previously.
The scenario involved a German attack toward a Polish armored train that was sitting astride their route of advance. The turret on the train was out of ammunition, but there was a Bofors gun on top that the Poles used effectively throughout the game.
The Germans had two 38(t) tanks, a Pz. I, three halftracks, a full platoon of infantry, and a command car. The Poles had a platoon of infantry, the Bofors on the train, two Wz-34 armored cars, three tankettes (one with a 20mm cannon). The Bofors had a limited field of fire down the center of the table, but fortunately for the Poles, the Germans pretty much pushed up the center of the table.
Despite losing a halftrack early, the Germans advanced steadily across the table, but mostly where they weighted their attack on their right. The Poles began to lose a lot of infantry across the table They had occupied the building in the center of the table, and for a while, that was the Germans’ only target. While the Germans only had a little more infantry than the Poles, the Germans made good use of the machine-guns on the halftracks.
While the Poles had lost much of their infantry and the Bofors, they had lost no vehicles. The armored cars and the machinegun-armed tankettes were advancing on the Polish left, threatening to overwhelm the Germans on that flank. The tankette with the 20mm cannon was causing the remaining German halftrack (with half a squad of infantry) to seek cover.
At this point, we called the game a Polish victory. It appeared that all the members of the club really enjoyed the rules and the game, which was gratifying.
The Little Wars TV club is a great bunch of guys. Greg and I had a very good time with them. They also have a great facility for gaming.
