Saturday 4 October 2014

Bolt Action Game Report - Defence of the Lisieux Library

Now updated with more images of the battle.

Hannes and I played a game of Bolt Action this week, he came at my small American and British force (ca.1500pts.) with a large elite formation (ca.3000pts.). Two Stug and two Tigers alongside a mechanised Waffen SS and Pioneer force. We had a great game over six turns, late into the night. As befits a a game that was more focused on the challenge of the battle and the story we didn't call a winner at the end of the game.




The Americans had hunkered down in the second floor of the Lisieux library where the British Chaplain had told them the Germans would be heading. They knew they were out numbered but couldn't let the Germans get a hold of the Grimoire of Olkoth. They only had to hold on long enough for the British Commandos to come and retrieve the book.

The Germans advance was a powerful spearhead of armour, a classic assault of the style the German commander, Obersturnfurher von Moltke favoured. However, an American bazooka the British Artillery fire that was called in by the Chaplain's command group and lay down a weathering barrage on the tanks and machine guns that were surrounding the town centre.




















The going was slow, even for the mechanised Germans. With such a heavy firefight across the streets and ruined buildings it took time before the Pioneers got to the library doors. When they did however their flammenwerfer was a force of destruction. Many books and many Americans went up in flames.




















Soon after though the Commandos arrived forcing back the SS squads coming to support the Pioneers. The Commandos stopped the troops, but with the Americans in the library falling to the Pioneers von Moltke's tanks began to advance again.



As the town of Lisieux was overrun by Germans the British Chaplain escaped in a Bren Universal Carrier with the Grimoire of Olkoth.

We had a really great game, the Germans were unstoppable, but with a strong set up and a lucky Artillery barrage the game had a great feel to it. The German flamethrower was deadly, and my Matilda II felt pathetic compared to the German Tigers. British Commandos are deadly in close combat, just eating through the troops and the Regular American G.I.'s in the library were really hardy, the last men being blown up by a tank shell the same time they reach 10 pins.

I'd recommend anyone to play an unbalanced points game as long as you understand things will go they way you expect them to most of the time. I'm looking forward now to getting some more Bolt Action games in with my Commandos, the troops are almost finished now so soon I'll be turning to transports. Seeing the Tigers in action I'm also a little tempted by a Cromwell or Firefly. 

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