Tall Ships sighted up the Derwent River

 Back in February I was lucky enough to go to the Vapnartak wargames show in York. It was the biggest show that I have ever been to and it was packed. Anyway I bought a couple of things and one of them was this.

I had fancied it for a while and snapped it up when I saw it for eight quid. The drawings are great but the process of cutting out the masts and sails is beyond me. I am six foot six with big hands and to be honest quite clumsy, so I modified the process to suit.

I coloured in the sky with a coloured pencil, cut around the ship and clagged the flags on. Happy days!.

I got five done last night and five done this afternoon.There are more than seventy in the book, I don't think I'll get all of them done though but there are plenty to choose from.

I found a set of rules cheap on Ebay so I should get then into action soon.

Grunbrucke bridge part two.

 After being repulsed by the Soviet VDV the USMC sent a platoon of their new M1A1 Abrams tanks to help the remaining Marines to take the bridge.

Moving up through the village.

Another brace of tanks await the order to attack.

And the Marines prepare to advance up the right flank.

The Soviets took the pause as a chance to redeploy.

After a preparatory bombardment the Abrams move out. However the Soviets manage to rally from the fire quickly.

The Marine carriers dash to cover.

While an M1 takes a shot...

And takes out a BMD, the explosion causes nearby units to keep their heads down.

The other M1 takes aim at another target.

The ASU-85 crew fail to react and the vehicle is destroyed.

A "Hind" helicopter gunship arrives to shoot at the Abrams.

But only causes the crew to duck.

Another Hind pops up.

And manages to destroy the M163 anti aircraft vehicle.

The other M163 moves to protect the tanks but suddenly explodes.

As an ASU-85 reacts to the movement and shoots.

A VDV squad advance to engage an M1 but are coming off worse when the M1 blows up...

The culprit is another Soviet Hind gunship. The Marines had some success when they destroyed a hind with a Stinger!.

Things have gone a bit awry for the Marines so they make a bold move by storming forward over the bridge.

They destroy the Soviet command vehicle and engage the infantry.

Another Hind takes out the lead tank.

The second tank onto the bridge gets into a fierce battle with the paratroopers, RPGs and ATGMs from the helicopters fail repeatedly to defeat the M1.

A Marine APC comes racing up the road only to be destroyed by another Hind.

At about this point I ran out of camera space, a real slog took place around the bridge between the tank supported by a squad of Marines and the Soviet infantry, helicopters and an ASU.

There was even a failed Soviet airstrike, as the marines held on to the bridge.

Eventually though the tank was destroyed by a helicopter. I uploaded the camera and took some pics after the game.

USMC taking on all comers.

The Marines amidst all the carnage still holding the bridge. Semper Fi.

Technically the USMC had reached their break point but their magnificent defence of the bridge gives them victory in this battle. 

Another cracking game with Seven Days to the River Rhine.

Battle for Grunbrucke

 

The Grunbrucke bridge has been captured and is now defended by Soviet Airborne elements who await the Soviet tank divisions who are pushing westward. US Marine Corps units have landed on the coast to the north and are racing to retake the bridge.

The Soviet defence has ASU-85s, paratroopers and a pair of BMD carriers.

Helicopter support is available too.

The USMC arrive and rush for the bridge.

AAVP-7s move up through the village.

And through the fields, the Marines are mounted.

LAV-25s with mortar teams deployed to the rear.

After a preliminary bombardment the USMC engage the Soviet paratroops.

But the return fire from the ASU-85s, BMDs and a helicopter gunship devastate the lightly armoured LAV-25s and AAVP-7s.

It was too tough of a nut for the light Marine advance guard to crack, they will have to try again with some heavier units. Time is short though, as the Soviet tank columns are approaching fast.

I have had the ASU-85s and BMDs since I was a teenager.  It is nice to get these models on the table, for some reason I bought five ASUs and only two BMDs. 

I was obsessed with all this stuff back then and used to make boardgames with graph paper and cardboard. They were a bit crap but it kept me out of mischief.

Happy days!.

Seven Days more

 I am still playing Seven Days to the River Rhine, this time I am using 1/300 scale models. Here are some mid game shots of my US and Soviets in action.

Another cracking game, these rules have certainly hit the spot for me.