Last Post for the Year (Probably)

On the one hand, the less said about 2020 the better, I suppose. On the other is my natural inclination to ramble on about my hobby. The latter has clearly won!

The biggest surprise to me this year (on the hobby front) was letting go of a portion of my figures and stalled/not-yet-started projects for which plastic had accumulated (some *still* awaiting mailing. I am the worst - this is why I don't charge for anything). The lightening of the load was inspired in part by a move, but also in part, by a desire to focus on what I have and actually use, and with a desire that each collection offers something different on the table.

 Indeed, I intend to offload much of my 15mm collection in the coming year.

While I had dreams of several small campaigns, in the end, I fielded only one, albeit very satisfying, based on Operation Citadel. It allowed me to field most of the vehicles in my collection, plus guns, and a variety of figures using rules of my own design. 

I started the year with a small One Hour Skirmish Wargames campaign, but life happened. I think the idea has merit, and I may return to it, but I also need to re-read the rules to see if there is anything mentioned specifically about buildings. It was a sticking point during play.

Boardgaming-wise, I played Hold the Line (1st ed) for a scenario or two, Long Range Desert Group: Special Operations Against Rommel 1941-1942, and some of the simple starter scenarios for Enemy Coast Ahead: The Doolittle Raid. ASLSK didn't make it to the table that I recall, but then I don't document my boardgaming as diligently as my figure games.

My WWI figures were not even touched this year - which I find somewhat disappointing, but not surprising as I have had very little painting mojo. So for 2021, they figure (no pun intended) prominently in my planning.

Finally, I cannot express well enough how much the wargaming blog community means to me. I had some wonderful exchanges with people here and on their blogs and via email (I am terrible at replying to emails, and for that I humbly apologize to all of those who wrote me this year). In a year when many saw their hobby enjoyment diminish because of a lack of face-to-face gaming, mine, if anything, expanded. I offer my sincerest  appreciation for everyone who took the time to to read my ramblings, to comment, to email, or to post your activities on your own blog for the rest of us to share in.

I hope you and yours are safe and well as we go into the New Year!

 

Goodbye 2020!

Best Wishes and a Happy Holiday

There are no gaming related items under the tree this year, although I did take advantage of the Armies in Plastic sale to order some guns for my colonial forces. Instead, I am looking forward to time spent reading everyone's holiday blog posts - and the soon-to-follow year end review and coming year goals posts. 

Of the gifts under this tree, the one I am excited most about for my son, is a Lego "the child" (from the Mandalorian). It is *so* tiny, so of course I put it in the biggest box I could find.

Merry Christmas, if you celebrate, and if not, I hope you at least have the day off and can spend time with either family or friends, in-person, via a phone call, or Zoom/Skype/etc.

Budget Housing

 While running an errand the other day, I came across this pair of ceramic light-up buildings for $5 USD at Target.

 

"Papers please!"
Lady Penny Farthingsworth flicked the hidden switch on her umbrella, arming the poison gas jet within.

Their size is just about perfect for my uses, although I do have concerns about breaking them eventually (I'm a klutz). While they could be painted, I rather like the white look at the moment.

I am tempted to pick up another pack or two so I can have a small village at the ready.

Not pictured, I have been working on my latest batch of Imperial Russians, hoping to knock them out by the end of the year.

Counter-Attack! (One Hour Warames Scenario 18)

The Soviets hold the village and are advancing to take the bridge. Meanwhile, the Germans, holding the bridge with a small force, are organizing a counter-attack, with the intent to capture the village. Unbeknownst to the Soviets, the Germans have identified two fords by which they can cross the river.

Soviets: 3 infantry, 2 ATG, 1 mortar

Germans: 3 infantry, 2 mortar, 1 tank.

A lovely day for a battle.

Soviets send two of their infantry and an ATG to take the bridge.

The ATG has an advantage of range but their aim could use some work; the German defenders avoid any serious casualties.

I just like this picture of the ATG deployed.

The ATG calls in a mortar strike which is much more successful - the bridge defenders are in disarray.

They hold on long enough for the main force to arrive.

A battle for the bridge ensues.

The Panzer unit engages Soviet infantry at the bridge, supported by mortar fire, while German infantry cross the ford.

The Soviet reserves look on towards the sound of battle, waiting for their moment.

The village defenders pre-register targets on the road in the event of a Panzer break through at the bridge.

The lead ATG  unit prevents that possibility - disabled tanks litter the road to the bridge.

German infantry across the river.

Both sides infantry are too far apart to engage, so mortar fire plays the biggest role.

Things don't look good for the Germans - cohesion and combat efficiency toes the breaking point.

However, effective mortar fire and an incredible effort by the officers pushes them onward behind the creeping fire of the two mortar units. The Soviet infantry breaks and quits the village, the ATG unit abandons their guns, and the mortar unit outside of town, at full strength and having a banner day, is forced to concede without any meaningful way of staving off the Germans.

 

*****

Rules used were my own Modified Morschauser modern rules (linked in the side bar). The scenario is from Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames - modified to fit on a 4' x 4' table (plywood on a bed). This was the first time where mortars played a decisive role in one of my games with these rules - in a way they typically do with NT's own WWII rules from OHW. 

I may have given the mortars too many strength points - 3 points each. That's what I've been doing, but I wonder if it should be more like the ATG, tanks, howitzers, etc. and only have 2? I'll think more on that.

1:1 Scale Gaming

Last weekend my son expressed a renewed interest in an augmented reality game named Ingress. It's a science fiction game about capturing portals - actual locations in the real world that have in-game significance. It's a very mobile game - you walk around and look at your screen to see what is a GPS type map overlaid with portal locations (and a cool futuristic - ie. 80s lazer tag - color scheme) and who if anyone, controls them. You want to capture as many as you can.

Or at least that's how a 9-year old described it.

There's XP to gain, special defenses, keys, and other accoutrements of video games. So, it gamifies walking and exploring your community, which is something I can get behind even if part of the time you spend it looking at a screen. After all, you're still out and about walking to areas that maybe aren't part of your every day travels.

The young lord by a giant rhino head sculpture - and portal - that we had only heard rumor of before but had never seen.

In addition to a fun game and getting out in nice weather, it allowed for mini-lessons in map reading skills and geometry, as we planned the best route to capture the most portals. There was quite a bit of walking (and skipping on his part) involved and the end result was something like 23 captured portals.

Even better, a few days later we learned they were under attack or had been captured by an enemy -much to our pleasant surprise, as that means at least someone else is playing, too. Plotting of a counter-attack is underway.

This weekend, I want to get something on the table - be it hex-and-counter or toy soldiers, I don't know, but it will be something. I have those imperial Russians awaiting completion as well, so a marathon painting session or three may be in order.

Twin Objectives: Modified Morscauser Modern Rules and One Hour Wagames #21

 As hoped I managed to setup a game this weekend - scenario 21 from One Hour Wargames. The scenario was played using my modified Morschauser Modern rules.

The Soviets have four units to hold the hill and the town, the Germans have six units to take them, and 12 turns to do so.

To win the Germans need to be in exclusive occupation of both objectives, otherwise it's a Soviet victory. In keeping with some of the restrictions of OHW, only leg units may occupy the wooded hill or village. Therefore, as an added challenge, the Germans have to shield their infantry from elimination in order to win. 

OOB (generated using OHW):

• Soviets: two infantry units, one AT unit, one mortar unit
• Germans: three infantry units, one AT unit, two tank units.

I created a plan for the Germans pre-deployment. However, there was some confusion in the arrival on the battlefield. 

Overview of the table. Early morning sun streaming through the blinds.

Soviets deployed per the scenario, Germans used random deployment (cards, 1 per unit plus 3 blanks)

Lovely day for a scrap.

A less than ideal arrangement for the Germans meant some change in plans were necessary. The AT unit was supposed to support the hill assault while both armored units attacked the village .However, given their proximity, tan Panzer company was ordered to assist infantry in capturing the hill.

The Soviets deployed mortar and infantry in town. 

The Soviet AT would move at first opportunity to support the hill or defend the town as needed.

Soviet hill company is dug in  (unnecessary given the hills are wooded, but it reminded me they had cover)

While half of their force advanced across the battlefield, the Germans launched their assault on the hill with infantry supported by armor, and the AT on the way. The Soviet hill company was able to call down mortar strikes on the attackers although they took quite a beating regardless. 

And yet, they held on for several turns, despite a compete inability to rally and regain any lost combat effectiveness.

The German infantry were eventually eliminated- forcing the German center company to try to take the hill instead - again, only infantry can occupy the wooded hill top.

The Soviets in the village could see the infantry and Panzers advancing but could do little, read: nothing, to slow its progress at that range.

The Soviet commander, seeing the hill as possibly a lost cause, deployed the AT unit West of the village to unload on the German tanks.

Soviet guns in position - but they can't fire the same turn the unlimber.

Overview of battle. German assault on village in foreground, assault on hill in background.

The German right company advanced to silence the guns but were only partially successful.

With the German infantry occupied, the Soviets sallied forth to close with the Panzers and unleashed ATR rounds with great devastation. This left tan Panzer company to break from the hill and deal with the Soviet guns at long range. 

Salvos detonated transport vehicles and ammunition supplies, resulting in a catastrophic explosion.

A fiercely contested battle for the hill - the Soviet defenders would be sung about and praised for years after.

The German AT deployed to flank the Soviets on the hill. This was a tactical error as the Soviets were then able to withdraw to try to regroup behind the hill, out of sight of the German guns. Unfortunately for them, the advancing German infantry were able to fire on them from the superior position, eventually devastating the unit.

With the German AT freed up,  the Germans concentrated tank, gun, and infantry fire on the village (although the AT would prove to be useless - apparently they didn't bring many anti-personnel shells). 

It took house-to-house fighting to clear the last of the Soviet defenders.

Mortars gave a good accounting of themselves but could not hold out. They have a melee value of 2, compared to the 4 infantry have, so it was a surprise they dealt any damage at all.

A German victory on the last turn allotted to the game.

Weekend Plans

Last night, to my own surprise, I managed to get the next batch of Russians started.

Small steps mind you - they were dipped into hot water for some minor bayonet straightening and then glued to their bases.

Minty green Russians. I actually really like this color despite a complete disconnect from anything in reality.

The "plans" referred to in the subject line include priming the figures and getting painting started - blocking in the uniforms hopefully. 

And, hope beyond hope, fingers crossed and all of that, getting some kind of game in. I probably should put some brain power to thinking about that so I'm not caught flatfooted when the opportunity presents itself. 

It might even be some ASLSK, as I've been feeling the hex and chit itch lately. 

(Is it me or does "chit itch" sound like something you catch while camping or hiking?). 

(p.s. if you're still waiting for a package from me, it's coming. They are being sent out in a slow trickle, but out they are going!)

Update

This isn't much of an update, as little has been happening on the hobby front.

I have moved my hobby desk around the apartment 4 or 5 times since relocating and believe it has finally found its more or less permanent space for now. 

Currently out on the desk (and not pictured) is my next batch of Russians. Factoring the present pace of activity, I'll consider it a miracle if they are finished before the end of the year.

I am hoping to get in some kind of not-a-video-game with my son this weekend (it's like pulling teeth). Likely candidates are Hold the Line (1st edition. He's been studying the American War of Independence so it's a nice tie in - we played the first scenario a few weeks ago and he enjoyed it) or perhaps a table-top RPG.

For some visual fare, here is the current state of the shiny British forces:

The thin khaki line.

Ooo shiny!

The gloss has been applied and they look like proper soldiers now. 

If my phone has a white balance, I can't find it.

The thin khaki line.

In other related news, I have the map a bit further along. The shore line is not finished - right now it's still hex-y.

The original source map is accounted for and I have added what seems a reasonable terrain and island shape, but perhaps I'm constraining myself too much by filling in the unknown.

 It could, after all, make an enjoyable game in itself to play out the exploration of the unknown portion of Blueland.

The current map of Blueland

Farmhouse Assault!

The first game at my new place was an exceptionally brief affair, using one of my favorite small scenarios, which is from what to my shock is now considered an old set of rules (Two Hour Wargames's MG-42, a demo version of Nuts!, 1st ed. and thanks to the wonders of technology, available via the Wayback Machine).

 In this case, I fielded four British paratroopers, led as always by Lt. Hardcastle.

Hardcastle and company reach the edge of the woods and observe two German sentries.

The sentries are oblivious to what is about to happen.

I used One Hour Skirmish Wargames for the rules. It might seem an undersized game for OHSW, but multiple move actions by the same figure chew up points quickly, so at worst, the downside is two moves per figure, instead of one, or points unspent. 

 

Unfortunately for the Germans, their random deployment per the scenario had the MG team and NCO heading to the house from the woods, so no cover bonus when being shot, and then a poor card draw on their phase (an ace) left them stuck in the open. 

 

It turned out that the British were all skilled shots, drawing high cards, and the Germans were poor at avoiding damage: the British had downed the sentries, claimed the farmhouse (killing the sentries) and the small woods across the road, and also downed the machine gunner and the NCO, by the time the first Joker came up and the turn ended. 

 

I decided it wasn't worth checking the status of the remaining downed figures - they would have been in the open and that stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit too far.

For giggles, I tried MG-42 as written and then remembered why I had given up on the idea of trying Nuts! until the 2nd edition. 

 

It played fast -  a hallmark of THW - helped, in part, because I have played THW games many times and understand, to a degree, how it works.  If you're not familiar with their rules, you may not want to start with this old, and less clearly written, demo set.

 

I played three initiatives, but the Germans again had issues: failing In-Sight opportunities, missing when shooting, and being knocked out of the fight whenever they were hit. The base movement range is far more generous than OHSW, and so it took no time at all before the paratroopers were storming the one remaining German (a Rep 3 sentry) and I decided he'd surrender.

This scenario would probably work well with Fistful of Lead and I will give that a try soon.

The Grass is Greener

For the first painting endeavor at my new location, I finished up the solid green bases for my khaki British unit:

Men of the 2nd Popsicornia

In the next few days I hope to slop on the Mod Podge and then the acrylic gloss and call them done. 

Campaign Map Progress

Packing and driving my stuff to the apartment one carload at a time took up most of my free time outside of work the last two weeks. So, for those of you waiting for me to send you something, I'll be shipping items shortly (a benefit of the new place is that it's a short walk to a post office). There is still a sofa to move and the rest of my partner's belongings (which we'll bring over when I pick her up and drive her to GA) but those will happen later this month.

In the meantime, unable to game or paint, what with everything in boxes, I played around with creating my hex map of Blueland. Following Maudlin Jack's revelatory comment, I imported the picture posted previously, sans grid, and then made the terrain map in Hexographer. 

The Awful Desert (to the left of the mountain range) has some questionable cactus hexes (as in, I'm not sure I want cactus hexes) but for now, I have filled hexes based mostly on the original map (hiding underneath). I have added additional  towns and forts - they may be rearranged before I consider it done and the infrastructure expanded a bit with additional roads. There is also much labeling to be completed.

I am thinking that the desert won't play a role in my planned invasion, and I may instead clear most of the hexes and leave them to discovery - playing a modified version of Adventures in Jimland. 

A Decision Has Been Reached

After many hours lost reading various opinions and suggestions about campaign settings, I have decided to start with the compromise method despite Tony Bath's misgivings. That method, again, is historical factions over fictional geography.

However, taking a cue from his suggestion to look to fiction for lands to fight over,  I will use as a basis the previously shared maps from Tales of My Father's Dragon.  The idea for the campaign is based ever so loosely on the alternate history concept of "what if Russia really did invade New Zealand?"

Instead of New Zealand,  we have Blueland - by my estimates (I'm assuming 10-20 miles per hex) it's just a few thousand square miles and only a very small portion is inhabited. Tangerina, while not part of this campaign as ground to fight over,  may still have a role to pay in the action, if only via the narrative.

That decided, I needed to convert the map into something I can use for a game.

Enter Google Drawing:

Blueland with hex overlay

All I've done here is to upload the picture I took the other day into Google Draw, and then using the hexagon shape tool, added a rough overlay. 

To speed the process up, I laid down two or three rows by 8 wide, grouped them, and then copy and pasted. I quickly lined the groups up, and while I could have done a better job, it's good enough that I can use it to convert the map into Worldographer / Hexographer.

Converting does require decisions to be made, such as, is the hex with part of a mountain and part flat land mountainous or flat? 

This is the same kind of decision those of us who enjoy grid based games make all of the time. There is no wrong answer - I tend to choose what I think is more appealing visually when looking at the resulting map. If you're new to this idea, I highly recommend Bob Cordery's The Portable Wargame to see how he converts the well-known Hook's Farm to a grid.

I also decided to draw the entirety of Blueland, which requires filling in with my imagination what the rest of the map looks like. In this way, I can limit the scope to an island invasion campaign, rather than a continental war. Conveniently, this is a campaign-type addressed by C.S. Grant in his book on campaigns.

Because I want the desert portion to serve as the backdrop for handful-of-figures skirmish / RPG-lite exploration games - I am walling it off behind imposing mountains on all sides. Assuming a way to access the interior easily is eventually discovered, it could also open up ground for future battles.

Campaigns and Starting with Earth

Packing continues for my move - but I have kept my khaki Brits out as I hope to finish them before I move.

Cutting-in complete. Remaining: touching up the boots, finishing the bayonets, and painting the bases. Then I can seal and varnish. And yes, that's Gary the Snail.

Thought and internal debate on a Victorian-era campaign continues apace, with nothing to show for it but reams of illegible hand-written notes and sketchy maps as I explore the various options. 

Seeking inspiration and perhaps a voice from the heavens saying "Do it like this!", here is RPG, setting designer, and one of my favorite podcasters, Kenneth Hite, discussing  his "Start with Earth" game design mantra:

This goes a good deal bit further and far afield than I care to go for a solo campaign primarily intended to generate tabletop battles with at least historical looking figures, none the less, lot's of things to think about.

If you're even a remote fan of roleplaying games and oddball history, and you are not a listener of Ken & Robin Talk About Stuff, I highly recommend it.

 

Early Thoughts on a Late 19th C. Campaign

I have been re-reading Tony Bath's magnum opus on setting up a campaign, and perusing Donald Featherstone's and C.S Grant's works on the subject. I've also been reading Henry Hyde's Wars of Faltean Succession and William Silvester's The Solo Wargaming Guide which has extensive chapters dedicated to the subject. [The latter two are available on Wargame Vault. The former are available from John Curry's History of Wargaming Project in reprint form.]

Spoiler alert: they all make maps sound really appealing. 

However, I have only ever used a map for a campaign once, where the map was serving any other purpose than to show where battles took place (the others were linked or point to point campaigns, the maps were window dressing). I have used maps dozens of times for RPGs however, and rather enjoy making and populating them. 

The issue arises however, whether to campaign on historic geography or fictional geography, with historical factions in a historic campaign, historic factions in a fictional campaign, or fictional factions in a fictional campaign. You probably recognize this as a mildly expanded view of Tony Bath's campaign taxonomy.

I think I can throw historic factions fighting a historic campaign over historical geography right out the window. Russia and England didn't come to blows in the late 19th C., despite "The Great Game". However, as an alternate (read: fictional campaign) that has merit, I think, despite Bath's assessment of that combination as being a compromise bearing all of the negative hallmarks of all compromises.

Two obvious what-if events of the alternate history variety that stick out at me: 

1. What if the Panjdeh Incident turned the Great Game into a Great War (not the Great War, but maybe, a prequel set 20 plus years earlier)?
2. What if Russia did actually invade New Zealand? 

These would be fictional campaigns over historical geography.

 But what if they were, say battling on Mars?

 

I had the Heliograph reprint of Space: 1889 in print. Gave it away. Bought the PDF. Which might actually be more useful.

Space: 1889 gives you pretty much everything you need, if not in the core book, in the course of some of the supplements (Conklin's Atlas comes to mind) to run a campaign set on Mars. I would probably do away with some things from the setting - particularly the Martians. I prefer my Mars to be in a period post-Martian civilization where nature has reclaimed the planet and terrifying eldritch horrors lurk in long abandoned cities.

The factions would be historical, the campaign and the geography fictional (that is, the Victorian view of Mars, not the reality). In any case, I may use some of the RPG bits for the interludes to the main action regardless of which campaign option I settle on.

Similarly, there is using literary fiction (as opposed to RPG fiction) as a basis. 

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet contains maps that I find visually appealing (so much so that I saved this from being tossed in our donation pile as we cleaned out my son's bookshelves. The stories are quite enjoyable, too.):

Inside the Front Cover

Inside the Back Cover

I could of course have England and Russia fighting over one of these maps - or even one of my own creation - but I could also go all in, having disposed of the historical campaign and historical geography, and go with fictional factions as well - the method preferred by Tony Bath, William Silvester, and Henry Hyde. 

So, while the toy soldiers may be clad like British or Russian forces, they could be Ginland and Vodkalandia (I was using Vodkia, but I just don't like it). Using the locations on the maps, what if the Tangerinans invaded Wild Island or the Bluelandians battled the Popsicornians? Or the city state of Nevergreen fought the city state of Seaweed Bay for control of Blueland and the mineral riches of the Awful Desert?

And finally of course, the ultimate variation on this theme: it could be Ginland and Vodkalandia fighting over a land I have yet to create or name, but for the sake of my wargaming history, I'll call, for now Jimland.

That's a whole lot of words to end up with me saying, I have no idea which one I want to pursue.There are too many appealing options. And yes, sure, I could do them all. However, knowing there's never enough time to do everything, forces me to consider, "which one should I start with?".

More Ebay Acquisitions

As mentioned, I've been turning attention to the colonial forces and I have been contemplating the use of smaller missions of adventure and daring in between more typical battles (inspired by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.'s lightheartedness and Space: 1889, as well as the fiction of the period). Certainly some of the military figures will be useful, but civilians are also needed (I posed a question about this over at Little Wars Revisited and got several good suggestions.)

One thing I came upon in my research was the Britain's Petticoats series of figures covering 19th century women's fashion. 

The one that most met my conception of a female adventuring sort is "Sarah" (the figures in this series are named as a means of identification).  She is a bit dainty in proportion to the AiP figures. Her stature is a bit under average as well, but placing her on a base relieves the visual disparity.

Here she is pictured with a fine bloke from the khaki unit that is currently mustering:

Don't be fooled by her choice of weapons. The umbrella is more than you think it is.

She may not look of even average height here, but that's an optical illusion. Swapping the figure positions she's clearly much closer in height:

Defending Queen and Country with a spoon full of sugar.

I think she fits rather well. Now whether I keep her given name of "Sarah" or not, remains to be seen. She may be a "Lady" something or other or perhaps she bears the last name of Poppins and all that implies.

In addition, I picked up to what amounts to a job lot of Britain's Big Red 1 figures. I have these three already (I think I have the entire series - although at least one needs significant weapon repair). These are in solid condition, and just need some touch ups here and there.

  

I really didn't *need* them, but at $4 USD-ish per figure I wasn't passing them up. I have moved the existing collection to be used for 1:1 games against my Britain/Conte SS figures, but I have enough that I could use them for G Company with maybe one painted TSSD figure in support.

Operation Citadel : Soviet Counterattack (Final campaign game)

On July 10, 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily. In response, Hitler called off Operation:Citadel despite what amounted to a successful, if slower than expected, operation, in order to return forces to Italy.  For this final battle in my campaign, I opted for a  hypothetical Soviet counter-attack on the withdrawing Grossdeutschland division.

The scenario is a slightly stretched out version of scenario 20, Fighting Retreat from One Hour Wargames.

GD Pioneers, a Panzer unit, and GD PanzerJagers prepare to cross the ford on the German left. GD PzGrenadier Regiment and Division HQ would cross on the right.

The Germans crossed uneventfully with the Soviets on their heels - six battalions of infantry, a mortar battery, regimental HQ,  and an AT battery.

The view on GD's right. I and II/PzG hold up the Soviets  at the ford.

The GD panzer battalion was the first to fall. The Pioneers fell back to join elements of GD already on the hill.

HQ ordered the PzGrens to fall back and allow the Soviets to cross in order to draw them into range of more of the unit.

I/PzGren held off the Soviets.

On the G right (they're now facing the opposite table edge so their direction reversed), the pioneers would hold off several attacks by the Soviets.

The Soviet steamroller sets its sights on taking out the pioneers an then advancing on the hill.

The pioneers force them back, and III/PzGen sweeps down to flank the Soviets.

GD HQ orders a counter-attack and I and II/PzGren descend on the Soviet forces causing them losses and pushing them back across the river.

Soviet infantry takes to the woods in an effort to mass for a concentrated attack against the pioneers.

The pioneers finally fell after gallantly holding out. The Soviets attempted to roll up the PanzerJagers only to find out that they were outmatched. 

Forced to fall back to the woods to lick their wounds, it would be the last effort of the Soviets.

With the elimination of the mortar battery, the Soviet HQ was forced to call off the attack and withdraw.

*********************

The big lesson learned here is that I should have given the Soviets some motorized infantry, and that veteran troops (like the GD pioneers and Panzergrenadier regiment) are very hard to eliminate even if you're scoring hits on them (which is fine, that's how I want my rules to play).

Grossdeutschland lost pioneers and their Panzers but wore out the Soviet attack and held the hill uncontested.

The Soviets took heavy losses (5 units).

GD earned 2 points for units eliminated and 2 points for the win. The Soviets earned 1 point for the units they eliminated.

Grossdeutschland 17, Soviets 11. A German campaign victory. 

It was quite enjoyable to pretend I was fielding a division or close to it in each scenario - and while my units don't look anything like a battalion, 2 infantry stands or 1 vehicle = 1 battalion worked for me once  was playing (i see them as counters in hex-and-chit game). I'm not sure I did anything that fell into that level of gaming though or if I was focused to low in the action. No matter, I had fun.

I plan to play this campaign again, but less like a tournament, and more like a campaign, with Grossdeutschland's losses carrying from battle to battle, weather, and of course air support. I also think artillery should have played more of a role in some of the scenarios.

However, that will wait a bit. I am turning my focus to my late 19th century forces and any gaming in between now and then will probably be just one-off WWII games to tie me over - I want to play some lower level games with Battalion Squares, G Company,  maybe try Crossfire, and some 1:1 with One Hour Skirmish or Fistful of Lead.