Over the Rhine, April 1945

Ian has been itching to get a Bolt Action game going.
I've got some super heavy tanks both for the British/Canadian forces and the Germans have some pretty heavy hitters.
So as the weather is planning on being warmon Easter Sunday I shall do battle in my garage

Canadian 1st Division moved from Italy to Northwest Europe, Spring 1945

Canadian and British troops begin to assault the Siegfried Line

The first Armoured assault goes in

and the Waffen SS begin to hammer the allied lines with well placed artillery fire

and the Waffen SS have amassed their heaviest armour to take on the British-Canadian attack

Osprey publishing Sherman Firefly

I have the book of the Firefly vs Tiger but picked up the stand alone book on the Firefly used from a collector in Nova Scotia.
His collection is getting too big and he'd like to downsize.
So I got a very good deal.
So I'm going to have to take some pictures of my growing collection.

In the summer of 2020, I increased my collection by 2 more in 15mm.

I also have two books on the subject which I will add. And shots of the Fireflies I have.

Point Defence: 3rd Canadian Division holds off 1st SSLSAH

This battle is a scenario being fought on the Dutch-German border in early 1945.
The 3rd Canadian division with support from the 4th and 5th Canadian divisions are holding a crossroads. The Germans, are throwing every heavy tank and veteran troops they have at the position.
Pictures to follow.

German Panzers move in

Elements of 9th Canadian Brigade hold out with elements of 5th Canadian Division

ANZAC Division and Indian Division assault Tunisia, 1943 Bolt Action Scenario

Playing Scenario 10, the ANZAC Division and Indian Division assault Tunisia. This was the first game with some of the new kits I got for Christmas.
The Australian and New Zealand Armor consists of a Sherman each, a Stuart each, the New Zealand's M5 Half track and a Universal Carrier. As well a few Australian recce Stuart's were being used as carriers for Vickers MG groups.

the first wave. The Sikhs advanced to the forward German positions and pinned down some Germans but they were checked by the wire and were cut down.

the second wave consisted of the ANZAC force, supporting an Australian Battalion. The Germans

were holding a position with Paratroopers, supported by elements of the Afrika Korps. The initial allied artillery bombardment knocked out a Tiger tank and a Panzer III. Only one squad of paratroopers were taken out. 

the ANZAC charged forward and cleared out the German right flank. However this stirred up a hornets nest of retaliation. The Germans blasted the first wave of Gurkhas and the remaining Sikhs. The ANZAC force hit their flank.

counter attacking, the Germans counter charged after having taken out the armor and headed straight for the third line of allied troops. The Maori Battalion rushed forward and cleared the area capturing a German half-track. The intention was for the ANZACs to hit the German left as my son had shifted all his armor support to the German right. His move straight at the final ANZAC force halted the attack. With all their transport gone, the remaining units surrendered. 

On a points basis, this was a tie. Ian had succeeded in taking out my force, however I had taken out most of his armor and a quarter of his infantry. 

The next scenarios will include part of the 8th army. More tanks, more guns!

Bolt Action Scenarios in North Africa and Mediterranean

Market Garden, Netherlands Fall, 1944

A German force probes towards the British Airborne positions

a scratch force of Panzergrenadiers and an augmented Panzer regiment

The Germans advance

The Paras hold a small foot bridge

Paras take position in town

a battalion hold a bridge

Royal Ulster Rifles hold the farm

1st Airlanding Regt RA lines up its guns

Jeeps holding this bridge

the local office building becomes the Para HQ

Paras hiding in the woods

A new Armored Jeep Recce unit debuts on the tables, it only took me 18 months to get them finished

1st Air-landing Battery, Royal Artillery.

Halifax Rifles Monument

This Sherman tank nicknamed Hellfire, was previously posted outside the Halifax Armouries. It was in memory of The Halifax Rifles RCAC, which originally had been a militia regiment for the city of Halifax, but was converted to an Armored regiment for WW2. 

It now sits in a holding yard on a Canadian military base due to the fact that it was vandalized by people opposed to the War in Afganistan and Iraq. This I find is a shame. I support people's right to protest, but defacing a monument to the men and women who fought and died for our country, so that they could have the right to protest I find disgusting. As far as I know, there are no plans to put this monument back.

Operation Varsity: Canadian Second Division Maximum Attrition SS Division

A German defensive position with a lock house ready to flood the countryside

Canadian armor and troops cautiously advance to contact.

79th Armored Division units prepare to take Canadian troops across a canal

which are then blasted apart by German Anti-Tank weapons.

Followed by a German artillery barrage.

A Tiger makes short work of Canadian tanks

the shock of explosions shakes to observers camera

with more Canadian equipment brewing up, the battlefield is chocked in smoke.

Once again, the Canadian advance is foiled.

I played another game on June 7 with similar results. I have figured out what I need to do. Same as what happened in some of my previous battles. Don't bring in my heavy stuff until turn two. Allow the Germans to take out my light kit, then hit them hard with armor and infantry.