Got a chance to play Reno the other night, possibly for the last time. Reno quickly became one of my favorite opponents and it's been awesome gaming with him. He's also a wild and crazy guy and a great friend. I was supposed to be packing in preperation for my move to New Mexico, but when Reno called me and asked if I was up for a game, I decided to put off the work for a few hours. Thanks mucho for the desperately needed diversion!
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Both of us used the armies we want to bring to Shifting Sands in January. I ran the custom Stugbatterie and Reno had a SP Artillery Regiment. We decided to play a Fighting Withdrawl since that is one of the missions being played at Shifting Sands. The board is pretty standard with trees, buildings, a river, etc. |
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My deployment: StuHs on the far side, StuGs on the close one. Scouts holding the center with the CiC, Marders in Ambush. Reno lurks in the background. |
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Reno's side: Su-122s on both flanks, 45mm ATGs on the left, 57mm guns in the center. Rota platoon and Recon supporting the right side Su-122s. |
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Pre-game Recon moves from us both. |
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Reno's Turn One: Armored cars try to MG my Scouts but miss. Other stuff advances. |
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My Turn One: The CiC (not a Panzer III, it's a StuG D!) moves through the trees to support the Scouts, destroying one. |
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StuHs roll out from behind the trees and shoot at some Su-122s, but miss. |
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A StuG fires at a single 122 through the buildings, but also miss. |
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Another fires on the Rota and gets a transport, killing one of it's passengers. |
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Rota gets dumped out! Weird blue tint can be blamed on my aquarium light... |
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Reno's Turn Two: 57mm guns fire at the StuGs but miss. |
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Armored cars push onwards, firing at the Scouts, but they've Dug In. |
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Rota unpins and charges towards the center objective supported by Su-122s. |
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More Su-122s attempt to engage the StuGs in the trees, but miss. |
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My Turn Two: Marders appear from Ambush! |
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StuHs fire on the Rota, killing two stands. |
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Marders destroy two Su-122s. |
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StuGs fire on and destroy 3 of 4 Su-122s. |
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Scouts withdraw from the Rota threat, CiC moves to counter the armored cars. |
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Reno's Turn Three: Lone Su-122 Bails Out a StuG. |
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Armored cars get crazy and kill a Scout stand. Rota keeps charging forward. |
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My Turn Three: StuGs finish one of the Su-122 companies. |
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CiC gets another armored car. |
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Marders Bog Down... (what else is new?) |
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StuHs continue to fire on the Rota, killing two more. |
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Reno's Turn Four: Su-122s get a little revenge, knocking out a StuH! |
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Rota keeps advancing, bringing the CiC with them. |
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They Assault after hitting two stands with their flamethrower. |
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The Rota quickly finish the Scouts and consolidate towards the objective. |
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My Turn Four: StuGs move to assist the CiC, killing another armored car. |
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CiC MGs a Rota stand. Both platoons make their check. |
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Marders unbog, then re-bog... StuHs Bail an Su-122. |
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Reno's Turn Five: 122 gets back in and Bails a StuH. |
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Rota Digs In, CiC and armored car fire on the StuG D, but miss. |
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Unfortunately for me, I forgot about the 57mm guns across the board... They quickly made me pay for my mistake, killing a StuG and Bailing the other. |
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Reno's CiC then Double Bails the remaining StuG which then fails it's platoon Morale... |
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Allowing his 45mm guns (!?) to capture my objective. Seriously, has this ever happened before? 5-2 for Reno!! |
Reno, I love you man. You have made the NorCal circuit an awesome place to roll dice. You travel more than any of the other regulars and paint some beautiful communists. I really hope you get down to the desert in January. Some hotel down there must have a bathrobe that needs flung out a window.
I'm digging the Stugbatterie! Even though they lost, it was looking good until Reno made all of his Morale checks and I failed the important one. Also, Marders why can't you ever drive?!, lol. I've never seen an anti-tank gun capture an objective, so this game immediately makes the list of awesome.