Bolt Action: Operation Torch Part 2

15 November 1942

Pushing out further into the desert our heroes in the 92nd infantry were tasked with securing two high points and an oasis nestled between them! A platoon and two tanks were despatched to clear off any Vichy that might be trying to hold on to them. 

My copy of Bolt Action arrived today. Usually on Tuesday we play Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound. But Nick was busy working on a costume for a show this friday, so we cancelled... but then Orion came over to play some more Bolt Action! 

I still haven't had a chance to fully read through the rules. I'm mostly going on memory of how the first edition worked and the quick reference sheet. I looked up a few things to clarify stuff I hadn't bee sure about, but I really need to give it a thorough read-through... 

We played Points Defence (a "story scenario") where a small force of Vichy French were holding three objectives and the Americans had to wrest at least two of them away from the French. 

We both used similar forces to last time. Orion dropped the M10 and added a Mortar team and made a few of the units veteran. I ditched the tank and a squad of regulars and all the VB launchers and added an understrength platoon of French Foreign Legionnaires. 

The French position from the South East. Point 435 in the foreground had a Machine-Gun Team sitting on the ridge with a Squad of Moroccan Tirailleurs on the reverse slope. The Tirailleur Platoon Headquarters was stationed in a ruined tower (along with the platoon medic). The Second Squad of Tirailleurs was stationed in the Oasis. 

 

From the Southwest corner. A Forward Observer Team sits atop Point 437. Behind the rise are Mortars and a close-supporting 75mm Howitzer (and some accompanying staff)  

The second squad of Moroccan Tirailleurs waiting in the Oasis. 

The French Foreign Legion Platoon was waiting in reserve. 

After a brief preperatory barrage, the Americans started to close with the Oasis and Point 435 - the tanks hammering the latter with shell and machine-gun fire, destroying the MG before it even got off a shot. 

Mortar, Sniper Team, Forward Air Controllers and a Bazooka Team moving into positions in the foreground, above. 

The first Moroccan Tirailleur squad, behind Point 435 was ordered to reposition into the Oasis, to support the solitary squad holding it, which seemed the more likely main destination of the attacking Americans. 

Tanks moving up supported by infantry squads. 

POW! firing upon Point 435 and destroying the MG team positioned there! 

At the beginning of the second turn, the artillery barrage my Forward Observers had called in on the first turn arrived. It went wide... but saturated a rather large area and still hit the original target - and a few others as well!! 

I'm going to be sad when I play something that ISN'T French and doesn't get these two barrages per game... 

Initially I was just trying to hit the Mortar Team, but the barrage ended up catching the Bazooka and the Snipers AND the Forward Air Controllers!! It didn't kill anyone - or even seriously injure anyone - but it sure did make a few people keep their heads down! 

Orions Forward Air Controller had called in an air strike... unfortunately a rookie pilot thought the attacking American Stuart tank as a "Kraut tank" and attacked that instead of the French holding the oasis! The Tank survived the attack - but was damaged and the crew extremely rattled! 

The next round another French artillery barrage landed among some of the attacking infantry and the Sherman tank. Again, there were no serious injuries, but it did momentarily blunt the attack and pin many of the Americans down. 

Eventually the part of the platoon of French Foreign Legionairres arrived to hold behing Point 435. 

The Stuart and supporting squad of US infantry regained the advance on the Oasis, but the infantry began taking fire from the Moroccans within, taking serious casualties! 

The Bazooka team maneuvered to a spot where it could fire on the French 75! Their first shot killed of the guns crew! 

The American attack stalled as more artillery and mortar fire was brought to bear! 

The Tanks started filling the treed area around the oasis with fire, causing some casualties among the Moroccans! 

Another air attack... another rookie pilot... completely missed the forward observers on Point 437 and instead attacked the Artillery Battery Commander - killing him - but leaving the guns and crews and forward observers untouched! 

The Platoon command team maneuvered around to a position where they could close assault the American Bazooka Team! After a brief and violent melee, the two Americans were killed and the Platoon Sergeant and Runner were seriously injured - but the American threat had been neutralized! 

(and we learned how close combat worked!) 

Not to be outdone, the single surviving member of the infantry squad that had been following the Stuart, charged the French in the Oasis! Grossly outnumbered, he was almost instantly killed... but not before injuring two Moroccans in the spray of bullets from his Thompson Submachine-gun! 

The Stuart also decided to assault the Oasis and cleared away the rest of the Moroccan Squad. 

At that point, however, we called it... there was NO WAY the Americans were going to get enough infantry onto the objectives before the end of the game! 

I guess that's why you give squads anti-tank grenades - especially when you don't really have ANY other anti-tank weapons!

I'm still hopeful and think the game has definite possibilities... there are a few things that I'm not so sure about... but hopefully a full read-through of the rules may clear things up. 

I don't know about scenarios where you attack troops holding a position with a roughly equivalent force!? That seems odd to me... 

We agreed to try and play the same scenario on Friday but in reverse roles - a Vichy counter-attack trying to shift Americans off of a position that they're holding!