April 1945. Combat Command A, 45th Armored Division is driving into the collapsing Reich. A kampfgruppe of Fallschirmjaeger with attached antitank assets is trying to block the American capture of Isabelstadt, the capitol of the medieval Kingdom of Mantovia. The Germans make their stand at Altmarienmarkt.
Big Scott was free from the Forges of Isengard this weekend so we had a game. Leaving my Seven Days to the River Rhine table set up we played some WW2 using I Ain't Been Shot Mum, which was interesting as it's been a few years. But this got his Americans and my Fallschirmjaeger out of their boxes after a couple of years.
His Americans are obnoxiously well equipped as is only fitting, and they should get artillery and air support too. So I thought to stand a modicum of a chance I'd take my elite paratroopers with lots of Pak40s and some StuGs.
Scott had two Armored Rifle platoons, Company Weapons Platoon, Platoon of M5 light tanks, two platoons of Shermans, three M18 tank destroyers, a FO with a battery of 105s attached, and the chance of air support.
I had two rifle platoons, a MG platoon (4 teams), Company HQ with three 80mm mortars and two panzerschrek teams, a platoon of five StuGs, a platoon of three Pak40s and an infantry gun section of two recoilless rifles.
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| MG42 covering the center of town |
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| Peter Pig FJ recoilless rifle, finally used in a game after 16 years! |
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| US Armored Infantry platoons coming under fire. Two M3s get blown up before their squads dismount |
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| M18 tank destroyers getting their revenge. The next StuG would be hit so much the crew abandoned it and the Pak40 will be eliminated by MG fire. This left that flank free for a platoon of Shermans to come around the woods |
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| M18s providing a good base of fire |
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| US Weapons Platoon |
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| US infantry storm into the town eliminating one of my sections |
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| Pak40 worried about Shermans coming down the street to the flank now |
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| This platoon of Shermans are shooting across the ruins of the town to engage the three StuGs on my right flank, who are now caught between TWO platoons of Shermans |
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| StuGs covering the right flank |
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| A worried Pak40 way out on my right flank |
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| Shermans doing what they do best; arrving in large quantities |
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| Last card of the night, Scott's P47 finally arrives and brews up a StuG. The two survivors are now caught in the crossfire of 10 Shermans! |
My antitank fire was pretty dismal when it came to rolling for penetration. I only knocked out one M5 and damaged another. But Scott maneuvered so a lot of my AT assets were out of position and he could put fire on my infantry instead. I did better shooting up his infantry, inflicting about 50% casualties on his rifle squads, but he also killed a lot of mine, driving my forward platoon back from the tree line and pushing in on the flank of the town, and eliminated two of my MG42 teams as well.
I Ain't Been Shot Mum is a very crunchy game considering. Maybe I'm always trying to put too many platoons on the table? If I played it more often I think I'd streamline tank damage and casualties.
But still fun. It's always nice getting old toys on the table for a roll of the dice.
The figures are a mix of Battlefront, Plastic Soldier Company, Peter Pig, Old Glory and some old random ones I cannot remember.
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