Fire and Fury Games' Battlefront WWII HISTORICON 2002

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HISTORICON 2002

One of the centerpieces of the HMGS East conventions has always been the huge demonstration games hosted by the veteran gamer Duke Seifried (also known as "Uncle Duke"). This year he tackled World War II with his "SUMMERTIME FOR HITLER Beyond the Beachhead" scenario. Usually he develops his own rules, but he found Battlefront:WW2 so much to his liking (grin) that he decided to use them as a basis for his game. Duke had these kind words to say about BF:
"Thank you for a fine piece of work. It is an exceptional system a gamer can rapidly assimilate and utilize to realistically simulate the multi-faceted elements of WWII combat. It successfully integrates the wide variety of WW II equipment without losing the basic core of battle, the infantry, who play a critical role in the game. I like it...it plays well; and it lends itself to alternate scale variation. I highly recommend WW II Battlefront!"
Duke Seifried HISTORICON 2002

Our Blitzkrieg supplement made its debut at this years' Historicon. It was well received (we went home with empty boxes talking about the next set of supplements). In addition to Duke's game, many BF Grognards attended the convention. Pete Landry put on his Mortain Counterattack scenario (unfortunately I did not get any pictures), Mike Pierce put on a new Stalingrad city-fight scenario twice, and Mark Hayes used the Blitzkrieg rules to put on the Battle of Merdop. Great fun was had by all and the F&F team was gratified to see how well our rules are being received. We were able to meet our long-time correspondent, the irrepressible Rob Wubbenhorst.

Summertime For Hitler - Duke Seifried's demonstration game.

Duke modified our rules to use hexes to regulate movement and used a lower unit scale (1:1 for tanks), but the basic system remained intact. The F&F team helped him run the game. While we thought that the unit density might have been higher than was optimal for rapid play, the players enjoyed themselves and quickly learned the mechanics of the rules. As Duke usually develops his own rules for conventions, we were gratified to find that he found ours to his liking. I think there would have been a lot more maneuver if he had not altered the scale of the game, but the result was certainly visually spectacular.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Chateau	Duke's terrain setups are spectacular and need to be seen in person to be truly appreciated. Here is a chateau in the middle of the battlefield looking toward the Bocage.
Panoramic view of the battlefield	When you realize that the table is about 20 feet long, you get an idea of the scope of the battle.
U.S. Armored Infantry	U.S. Armored Infantry move up. One of the consequences of Duke's decision to go to a lower organization level was that there were a LOT of miniatures on the table.
Gestapo in the Chateau	A Gestapo unit occupies the chateau.
Aircraft Attack.	A Group of P47s pay a visit to some advancing German Infantry. This game had it all!
Armored Clash	Two massive armored forces meet in the open area at one end of the board. The result is carnage.
Bocage	At the other end of the board, U.S. units fight their way through the bocage
Another look at the Armored Clash	M36's and Panthers "Duke" it out.

Merdop

Mark Hayes put on the Battle of Merdop. This is an historical scenario where the Germans and French fought over an important terrain feature in Belgium. I am trying to get Mark to give me the scenario, so stay tuned. Our friends from the UK (Bob Connors, Bob Chapman, and Malcolm (of the secret last name)) were much in evidence in this game (they were going to visit Richard H. at his house over the next week and threatened to feed him some haggis) and long time Battlefront fan Rob Lockley also took part.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Initial French Postions	A view of the initial French positions on top of the ridge. The Germans will be entering from the top of the photo.
Initial French Postions 2	A different angle on the initial French positions. The Germans will be entering from the left in this photo.
Germans Move Up	The Germans move to the attack, holding on the left and sending the bulk of their forces to the right. French Artillery is much in evidence.
Another angle on the German advance	A better view of the main German push.
Light Forces Face Off	On the German left flank, light tanks of both sides confront each other.
From the German side	Looking at the position from the German side, you can see the German infantry moving up alongside their main armored thrust.
Another Angle	The Germans use smoke to cover their advance.
Close View	You can see the disorder markers around the German Infantry caused by the French Artillery.
Charge!	Taking advantage of some lucky suppressions, the French light tanks charge the Germans.
German Advance hits French line	The German armor hits resistance on the right flank. The charging French light tanks can be seen in the background.
Charge repulsed!	The French light armor comes to grief as the Germans recover in time. Most of the advancing light armor is destroyed.
French Artillery	Despite the defeat of their light forces, the French artillery is much in evidence.

Red Barricades Friday Night

Mike Pierce is developing a new scenario based on street fighting in Stalingrad. It was played on both Friday and Saturday night. It looks to be a vicious fight, with the Germans attacking through the city against dug-in Russians who have a factory that can occasionally spew out reinforcing armored vehicles. Although I took a fair number of pictures, it is a little hard to get the feel of the battle from outside, as both sides soon entered the maelstrom of the city fight (sounds historical, doesn't it!). The destroyed city looked spectacular, but soon swallowed up the battle.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
Initial Russian Postions	A view of the city from the right flank of the German line (South?). Russians lie in wait. The German main thrust will be coming from the lower left of this picture.
Another view of the city.	This angle shows the city from the German side of the board. The lead German infantry can be seen moving up on the right.
Germans Move Up	Seen from the Russian side of the board, lead elements of the German right flank advance can be seen at the top of the picture.
Russians Lie in Wait	A Russian anti-tank gun and supporting infantry wait for the German advance.
Here they come!	The first two lines of German infantry with armor support move to the attack.
From the German side	The same situation from behind the German position.
The German left flank	On the left, another German column advances. The German left in this game was intended to be a pinning attack.
Close View	You can see the disorder markers around the German Infantry caused by the French Artillery.
Charge!	The attack moves in.

Red Barricades Saturday Night

The second time that this scenario was played was significant for the experience of the players involved. Pablo Gonzalez, Rob Wubbenhorst, Pete Landry, and Michael Panzer are long-term BF players (Pablo bought one of the first games we sold). In this replay, Mike Pierce started the Germans closer to the Russian positions and the battle was joined almost immediately. We are all looking forward to publishing this scenario when Mike gets it ready.

Click on the Thumbnail for a full-size photo	Description
The city	The ruined city buildings (courtesy of Michael Montemarano) made the terrain in this battle look extremely realistic.
The battle is joined in the center	Leading Germans hit the Russian positions covered by smoke.
Another angle	The German advance seen from the center of the city.
The view from the left	Looking from the German left flank towards the city, you can see how devastated and forbidding the terrain looks.
Another view of the German Assault	The view from the German right flank.
Russian Reinforcements move up	Russians move up to support the threatened sector.
Pioniere attack.	Supported by armor, Pioniere troops assault the city.
Rob and Pete	Rob "Close Assault" Wubbenhorst (left) and Pete Landry ran the center and left of the German attack. Pablo ran the right. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Pablo.
Michael Panzer	Michael Panzer ran the right flank of the Russians.
Clash on the Right	Assaulting Germans run into the German positions.
German Left Center	Pete's troops on the German left ran into a meat-grinder, so some of the center forces move over to help.
Battle in the Center	Rob's elite engineers are at 75% losses, but they have driven a wedge deep into the Russian position. The transport vehicle is carrying the Regimental commander, who is supporting the Engineer's morale rolls.
Fight on the German Right Flank	The Russians move up to counter the German move on the edge of the town.

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