Upcoming Flames of War Events in Regina Area: 2017

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Well that's another exciting year for Flames of War!
Hope you enjoyed the action:
If you are curious about the game (there are eras from WWI through till WWIII) or are interested in a demo please follow us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/groups/fowreginarifles
Alternatively please e-mail me directly at:
cigamnogard@sasktel.net


Previous year:
http://sask.games/index.php?topic=5328.0

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Demo: Team Yankee (WWIII)
♠ January 4th @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 80 point World War III armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – Team Yankee!
January 4th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

With the weather at -40˚C something; it was unbelievably cold and I expected all those who told me that they were interested in WWIII (yes, World War Three – you read that correctly) would not be there. Again, I was wrong – two months in a row now – everyone showed up Alex, Brett, Chris, James, Jason, Justin, Kyle, and Michael. They had all braved the extreme cold to come and try out the Cold War at its hottest!

Everyone was keen to try out the game. However, everyone wanted the newest players to give it a go while the veterans stood back and observed. So, Alex stepped up and wore the Warsaw Pact hat while Brett gave the NATO's West Germans a shot. Alex and Brett rolled up Counter Attack with Alex defending with half of his troops.

Brett was quickly confused but Justin stepped in to assist while I gave simple suggestions to Alex. Alex began to bash Brett and Justin's West Germans with all his support platoons. First went the NATO AA (anti-aircraft) clearing the way for a reserve platoon of Hinds to eventually arrive a few turns later (which raked the Leopard IIs and broke the platoon). Next, went three quarters of the Luchs on the table to Shilka direct fire. Justin and Brett remained on the defensive and eventually broke when Alex finally deployed his ambushing T72s.

Thanks again for Justin in loaning his gorgeously painted West Germans. I hope when the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik / East German / Volksarmee) is out they can face off in a terrific struggle! This coincidently is what the Warsaw Pact troops are painted in the pictures. I am anxiously waiting for the release of the Volksarmee book (expect it at Tramp's any day) to finish building the army – expect the next Team Yankee Demo to include the DDR!

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Demonstration Team Game - Stalingrad (MWWII)
♠ January 7th @ 10:30am
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1500 Mid War point World War II  per player
Total War Stalingrad Game   
  Multi Part Team Game:   
  Large Cauldron Table   
- Any Axis lists from Eastern Front Book except Finns
- no restrictions on Soviet lists from Eastern Front Book
  Secondary Tables (attempting to link up/relieve Cauldron)   
- German mechanized & tank lists only from Eastern Front Book 
- no restrictions on Soviet lists from Eastern Front Book

Stalingrad – Flames of War Total War
January, 7th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Huge turnout for one of the most epic battles in history; we (the Flames of War Regina Rifles) had a total of twelve players – six Soviets and six Axis! We certainly had done our best to 'represent' the two plus million personnel involved in the five month long battle of history. Massive close quarter assaults, devastating bombardments,  multiple areal dogfights and air strikes – we had it all. With such a large turnout we occupied the back half of Tramp's Comics and Games main floor. For the main event three tables were set up in a "v" engaged the main battle forces and for the side event we had two other tables lengthwise for the relief column. 

Team Kaptain Kip of the Axis forces deployed on the left "v" table, Chris deployed in the centre, and Jace deployed on the right part of the "v". To oppose Kip Team Comrade капита́н Jace sent Sean and Tyler to double team his adversary. Matt with his Mixed Tankovy slammed into Chris on the centre and Jace himself took on Jarrod. At centre stage the main battle played itself out mostly like it did in history with massive casualties and broken companies!

Along those lines the side stage battle of the relief column also went the same as history. However, this is where I learned that I had set up the relief column in a poor position. With two 4' x 6' tables lengthwise = it was twelve feet of 'too far' to make it on to the "v" table and relieve Stalingrad proper. In other words I had set myself up to fail with no way to change history and forcing five players to mostly sit on their laurels as the action took place elsewhere – once again my apologies Brody, Justin, Stephen, and Tim.

However, we were observed in our natural habitat by quite a few people who stopped by to gander at the massive game, the hordes of troops, and the groans and cheers of miniature battle! Also, with a bit of time to kill Tim took the time to check out the AIW (Arab-Israeli era) book – which he later purchased.

Thanks again for everyone who attended and made such an event a great time! And, once again thanks to Tramp's for letting us hold these large scale battles! Our next event is a Late War Tournament on February 25th! Also, our next large scale event is a WWI Event entitled Vimy Ridge on April 8th. I will also remind the reader that every first Wednesday night of the month at Tramp's we do a Flames of War Demo from 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm). February is the Great War (WWI).

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Demo: Great War (WWI)
♠ February 1st @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point World War I armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – The Great War!
February 1st, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Flames of War WWI seems to be the least popular choice – at least here in Saskatchewan – which is a shame as it is a very quick fun game that is perfect for demos! The table size is 4' x 4' with the terrain playing a pivotal role in the setup of each scenario. And, when I say terrain I mean exactly what you envision – trenches. Trench warfare is the signature of the Great War or also known as World War I.

Brody and Kyle were on hand – we waited a bit for another player to show up but I am guessing the return of the cold aka -30˚C had something to do with. Also, Brody had his Drama class to attend so in the end it was just Kyle and I who faced off against one another. I selected the mission: Through the Mud and Blood. It is one I have always wanted to try and looked very quick and fun.

Through the Mud and Blood has the attacker starting in on two different flanks; one flank (half of the attacking force) is through the trench lines [centre] and the other (the other half) is through the far

side. The defender sets up at the end of the trenches [centre] and the reserves arrive near where the objectives are in the right hand side of the table.

We rolled off and Kyle rolled a four and I rolled a five – I was the attacker! I prefer to be the attacker as I am terrible at getting reserves in to assist my troops. As per the scenario I put one of my infantry platoon and a tank platoon on each attack zone. Kyle had already put his HMGs {Heavy machine guns} and one of his infantry platoons on - both were inside the trench line. Kyle had first turn and managed to pin me down with his HMG and platoon fire into my infantry platoon; he also managed to kill a couple of teams. I am not a fan of assaulting into HMGs so for two turns I remained gone to ground and dug in with my infantry. However, I after this game I became a big fan of the A7V. The A7V's front armour is impervious to infantry and HMG fire – where the British Mark IVs are not – which I mercilessly exploited to wipe out Kyle's HMG platoon. However, the damage had already been done Kyle had killed three of my centre platoon teams making my infantry a poor assault force to go into the trenches with to do battle with Kyle's entirely intact British platoon.

Meanwhile, my left flanking force had been slogging along unmolested unlike my centre force. And, by turn three Kyle was finally granted a platoon of reserves. It would seem Kyle is not any better at rolling for reserves than I am. Kyle chose his infantry to come to the rescue and secure the objectives and drive off the Hun! Needing to advance towards the objectives I did so firing as I went. My shooting was extremely effective; so much so that I broke Kyle's infantry platoon and then his entire company.

It was a fun game and an easy clean up. Kyle and I talked about the Vimy Ridge Total War Game coming up on April 8th to mark the 100th Anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge; a historic event to check out if you are interested in WWI history, Canadian history, or especially if you are interested in getting into Flames of War.

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Tournament: February Fate (LWWII)
♠ February 25th @ 9am - 1700
* Version 3 rules
$5.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1625 Late War point World War II armies  - please e-mail list no later than February 11th (cigamnogard@sasktel.net)

Results:
February Fate   2/25/2017   3
Player Name   Army   Position
Jace Ryan   German   1
Lance Mathew   British   2
Shawn Morris   Soviet   3
Tim Miller   German   4
Brody Mazurick   German   5
Jason Berkan   German   6
Alex Berkan   USA   7
Nathan Rinholm   British   8
Scott Miller   Japanese   9
Dana Madsen   German   10
Doug Amelia   USA   11
Don Matwe   Soviet   12
Sean Froc   British   13
Sean Kernick   Canadian   14

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Demo: EWWII (Early World War II)
♠ March 1st @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
* Version 3 rules
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point World War I armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – Midwar (by mistake) Demo!
March 1st, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Reviewing my notes as I write up this AAR (After Action Report) I was to have done an Early War Demo instead of the Midwar one I did...whoops! Well, in my defense the last Version 3 MW (Mid War) tournament is on the 25th of this March month so I can kind of see where I went off the rails...maybe...but I digress. If you looking to check out the action please come see the tournament – Last Kick of the Katyusha. Or, when we launch the new Version 4 at Tramp's on the 18th! Going to be a busy month!

Meanwhile, Cupcake arranged my demo attendees this time; well pointed them in the 'right' direction. Cupcake is their hair stylist and I am sure in the course of their hairs being cut she has discovered these young gentlemen are interested in both history and table top play – hence her pointing Christopher and Nicholas in the direction of Flames of War.

Christopher had let me know he was coming but had not mentioned that he was dragging along his brother Nicholas.  Although I do not think any dragging transpired as when I asked if Nicholas wanted to some Soviet tanks play he immediately replied in the affirmative. Previously, Christopher had mentioned his interest in trying out the Finnish.

Christopher and Nicholas randomly rolled the mobile battle mission – Breakthrough. With only two tank platoons Nicholas was the attacker with half his tanks in delayed reserves and Christopher was in the same boat with half his stuff also off in reserves but only in regular reserves.

Nicholas as the attacker went first and attempted to get his tanks well away from his brother's Pak40s (antitank guns{AT}) but meanwhile shooting at the infantry in front of him. Unfortunately, in Version 3 Nicholas was unable to roll 8s on his 6 sided dice and therefore could not hit/shoot the Finn Infantry. Christopher's first turn was a tricky one of decisions:
–   Should he move his infantry away from the safety of their foxholes to move towards the objectives?
–   Should he move his AT guns away from the objectives to hit more tanks or split them up leaving one in position to fire while the rest head towards the objectives?
Christopher like most commanders choose to head for the objectives as that would be where the game would be won or lost. Christopher's lone Pak40 blasted into the Lend Lease Lee tanks brewing up two.

Nicholas unperturbed at losing two of his seven tanks caught the Finnish infantry in the open and machined gunned them down scoring hit after hit. Christopher's save rolling was abysmal and saw half the infantry wiped out. The next few turns was much the same with more tanks being brewed up by the Pak40s but also more infantry mowed down until when Nicholas finally got his reserve T34 tank company/platoon on - they simply moved up to the open objective and claimed it for the Motherland.

Everyone had fun and the boys were very pleased how balanced the game was and how quick and easy it went. Hope to see them again soon!

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Tournament: Last Kick at the Katyusha (MWWII)
♠ March 25th @ 9am - 1700
* Version 3 rules
$5.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1715 Mid War point World War II armies  - please e-mail list no later than March 11th (cigamnogard@sasktel.net)

Cancelled

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Demonstration Team Game - Vimy Ridge (WWI)
♠ April 8th @ 10am - 16:30
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1900 Great War points per player
100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge


Vimy Ridge
Total War WWI Stlye
by Lance Mathew

On April 9th exactly one hundred year ago four divisions of Canadians faced off against three German Divisions during the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  Unfortunately, Battlefront has yet to create a Canadian list/army so our Allied players were forced to play a combined British and a French Force. Kyle played the British while Jace looked after the French. Meanwhile, I was stuck playing the black hatted Huns aka the Germans.  Both Doug and Shawn who also own WWI Germans were busy this past weekend. However, Brody my son tagged along at the last minute and offered to play my A7Vs (German tanks).
So, there we were at Tramp's at high noon on a Sunday playing for a ridge that had been won a hundred years ago. We decided to play a combination of Total War and The Big Push from the Great War book – this was a mistake we should have just stuck with The Big Push Mission. The mistake was mine alone. In my opinion it would have allowed the Allies to storm the hill with their tanks a lot easier however, in contrast Brody's tanks would have emerged from Reserves unscathed from the first round of shooting). Also, there would have been less antitank guns on the board to blast away.
Here are copies of the armies we used:
Great War Rifle Company HQ (Line)   
2 Cmd Pistol team

Combat Platoons

Rifle Platoon (Line) 
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Rifle team
2 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Rifle Platoon (Line)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Rifle team
2 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Machine-gun Platoon (Line)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Vickers HMG

Heavy Tank Platoon (Line)
2 Mark IV female
2 Mark IV male

Medium Tank Platoon (Line) 
1 Mark A Whippet

Royal Artillery Detachment (Line)   
2 OQF 18 pdr gun

Companie de Fusiliers HQ (Colonial)   
2 Cmd Pistol team
2 Flame-thrower team
2 37mm mle 1916 gun
1 Sniper team

Fusiliers Platoon (Colonial)   
1 Cmd Rifle team
4 Rifle team
2 VB team
2 MG team

Fusiliers Platoon (Colonial)   
1 Cmd Rifle team
4 Rifle team
2 VB team
2 MG team

Fusiliers Machine-gun Platoon (Colonial)   
1 Cmd Rifle team
4 Hotchkiss mle 1914 HMG

Trench Mortar Platoon (Colonial) 
2 58mm Type 2 mortar

Char d'Assault Platoon   
1 Schneider CA.1

Char d'Assault Platoon   
1 Char Saint Chamond

And the Germans:
Infanteriekompanie HQ (Infantry) 
2 Cmd SMG team
3 Anti-tank Rifle team
3 Flame-thrower team
2 Granatenwerfer mortar

Combat Platoons
Infanterie Platoon (Infantry) 
1 Cmd SMG team
5 Rifle team
1 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Combat Platoons
Infanterie Platoon (Infantry) 
1 Cmd SMG team
5 Rifle team
1 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Infanterie Machine-gun Platoon (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Maxim HMG

Infanterie Machine-gun Platoon (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Maxim HMG
Infanterie Machine-gun Platoon (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
3 Maxim HMG

Minenwerfer Platoon (Infantry)     
2 7.6cm Minenwerfer mortar

Panzer Platoon   
2 A7V

Infantry Gun Platoon (Infantry)     
2 7.62cm Krupp IG gun

Artillery Battery (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 7.7cm FK96 n.A.

The first turn for the Allies allowed them to move up from half way (as per The Big Push) and in some cases get right to the wire (literally). Jace used his flame throwers to burn out a German infantry team in each one of my Infantry platoons. Kyle was lucky enough to destroy one of Brody's tanks and heavily damager the other. Also, as per The Big Push every single German platoon began the game pinned down – which if I had had reserves would have to be rolled on but would not have been pinned down. But, if you know any of my other AAR (after action report) you know I cannot roll reserves in to save my life. However, that was it. Meanwhile, my first turn was devastating with all of my infantry, artillery, and MG platoons unpinning allowing me to cut down the valiant British and French infantry and tank teams. Jace lost all of his beautifully painted French tanks and Kyle suffered half of his tanks to bail outs. The infantry losses resulted in both French platoons losing half their number. Things had already begun to look grim.
Turn two for Kyle and Jace was unbelievably bad shooting and even worse firepower rolls resulting in a German anti tank gun and a single MG platoon command team loss. My second turn saw both of Jace's French infantry break and both of Kyle's infantry were broken. Meanwhile, more British tanks also now joined the French ones burning in front of the barb wire. Brody continued to duel with British tanks in range but the landship rule stymied him.
Turn three saw Jace doubling up to outside the HMG range and his shooting removed an entire MG platoon. Finally, things were beginning to swing in favor of the allies. However, again Lance began to concentrate his fire on single platoons until they ended up on boot hill. By, the end of turn three Kyle was ready to break and Jace wasn't far behind. The Germans while battered were still in amazingly good shape. In the end Jace had lost four of his two infantry platoons and Kyle both of his two (they 'respawn' as per the Overwhelming Force rule from The Big Push).
In hindsight I should have gone every rule for the Big Push instead of the Big Push and Total War. However, even with reserves I would have had most of what I had on the table except for the two antitank guns, the two tanks, and the two mortars. In hindsight I think the allies should have concentrated on one side and pushed through it yes, they would have tripped over themselves but they would have overwhelmed one side and broken through.
If only the Canadians would have been there I am sure they would have smashed through – if only! However, it is fitting that the British and the French failed in their attack as they did so historically – guess we for sure need those Canucks! Also, I have also included the following by Tim Cook from the Canadian War Museum:

The Battle of Vimy Ridge, 9-12 APRIL 1917
Tim Cook
Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded.
The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties.
To capture this difficult position, the Canadians would carefully plan and rehearse their attack. To provide greater flexibility and firepower in battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers. These same soldiers underwent weeks of training behind the lines using models to represent the battlefield, and new maps crafted from aerial photographs to guide their way. To bring men forward safely for the assault, engineers dug deep tunnels from the rear to the front. Despite this training and preparation, the key to victory would be a devastating artillery barrage that would not only isolate enemy trenches, but provide a moving wall of high explosives and shrapnel to force the Germans to stay in their deep dugouts and away from their machine-guns. "Chaps, you shall go over exactly like a railroad train, on time, or you shall be annihilated," warned Canadian Corps commander Sir Julian Byng.
In the week leading up to the battle, Canadian and British artillery pounded the enemy positions on the ridge, killing and tormenting defenders. New artillery tactics allowed the gunners to first target, then destroy enemy positions. A nearly limitless supply of artillery shells and the new 106 fuse, which allowed shells to explode on contact, as opposed to burying themselves in ground, facilitated the destruction of hardened defences and barbed wire. The Canadian infantry would be well supported when it went into battle with over 1,000 artillery pieces laying down withering, supportive fire.

Attacking together for the first time, the four Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at 5:30am on 9 April 1917. More than 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the Germans all along the front. Incredible bravery and discipline allowed the infantry to continue moving forward under heavy fire, even when their officers were killed. There were countless acts of sacrifice, as Canadians single-handedly charged machine-gun nests or forced the surrender of Germans in protective dugouts. Hill 145, the highest and most important feature of the Ridge, and where the Vimy monument now stands, was captured in a frontal bayonet charge against machine-gun positions. Three more days of costly battle delivered final victory. The Canadian operation was an important success, even if the larger British and French offensive, of which it had been a part, had failed. But it was victory at a heavy cost: 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000 wounded.
The capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory. For the first time all four Canadian divisions attacked together: men from all regions of Canada were present at the battle. Brigadier-General A.E. Ross declared after the war, "in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation." 
Vimy became a symbol for the sacrifice of the young Dominion. In 1922, the French government ceded to Canada in perpetuity Vimy Ridge, and the land surrounding it. The gleaming white marble and haunting sculptures of the Vimy Memorial, unveiled in 1936, stand as a terrible and poignant reminder of the 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France who have no known graves.

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Regionals Tournament (LWWII)
♠ April 22nd & 23rd @ 9am - 1700
* Version 3 rules
$50.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & Games
♥ 1625 Late War point World War II armies  - please e-mail list no later than March 31st (cigamnogard@sasktel.net)

Results:
Player Name   Army   Position
Tim Miller   Soviet   1
Rob Duchene   Soviet   2
Scott Miller   USA   3
Dana Madsen   German   4
Jace Pippin   Gurkha   5
Wayne Gardner   Soviet   6
David Nelson   German   7
Brody Mazurick   German   8
Derek Young   German   9
Lorne Sveinbjornson   German   10
Hugh O'Donnell   Canadian   11
Matt Valgardson   German   12
Lance Mathew   British   13

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Demo: V4 LWWII (Late World War II)
♠ May 3rd @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point Late World War II armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles[/color]

Flames of War Demo – Fourth Version – Late War!
May 3rd, 2017
By Lance Mathew

After work I dropped Cupcake off at the gym, then Minnie-me at his Minecraft management class, which left me early for the V4 Flames of War demo at Tramp's Comics and Games. With it being the first V4 Demo, the weather gorgeous at 17˚C, plus the demo was the popular era of Late War = I brought a total of four armies:
a Schwere Panzerjägerkompanie
a Canadian Armoured Squadron
a Hermann Göring Panzerkompaniem
and a Tankovy Batalon
I had everything all laid out when a couple of gentlemen showed up - Michael and Marc.

Michael is a V3 veteran but Mark is/was completely new to Flames of War. We all introduced ourselves and got right down to the demo. Michael offered first pick to Marc who found the Schwere Panzerjägerkompanie to his liking (how can you resist Jagdpanthers?).  Michael went with the Crazy Canucks and the battle was on! The mission rolled up was Dust Up and with a quick set up even at sixty percent on the table it would be hard to cover both objectives.  Michael gambled big with his Stuarts spearhead flanking forward at an impressive cross country dash leaving his objectives wide open and undefended. Marc responded by placing his StuGs in the middle of his two objectives. Not quite going all in with his gambling Michael placed his Armoured platoon behind a hill within a tactical move of both objectives. Marc placed his company commander near the front objective to both guard and put pressure on Michael.

The two gentlemen rolled off and again Michael rolled higher to get the first turn. Michael blitzed both his platoons and then moved them tactically as well. His sneaky Stuarts were able to emerge from behind Marc's StuGs and the Armoured platoon attained gunslinger status by sauntering into view for a lone shot by the Firefly. The Stuarts only managed a single hit which Marc was able to deflect however, the Firefly also managed a hit which Marc was not able to stop and his untested Jagdpanther went up in flames! Marc later commented that the game was very lethal but both Michael and I replied that it was a lucky shot and then an unlucky save. Marc's return fire from the StuGs succeeded in a single hit which instantly brewed up a Stuart. Marc followed up with a scoot and shoot that prevented more rear shots from the Stuarts in Michael's next turn.

Michael's second turn saw the sneaky Stuarts park themselves on the back objective and the Armoured platoon slid in to shoot at the StuGs. However, Michael was not as lucky as his first turn and he whiffed with all his shots. Now, Marc was threatened by the Stuarts on the back objective and the Shermans knocking on the forward one. I advised he blitz to blast at the Stuarts and then scoot and shoot back into position. Unfortunately, Marc failed his blitz move and had to tactically move and shoot at the Stuarts with a +1 to hit. So, Marc doing his best spread out his StuGs to blast at both platoons. His firing was at least partially successful in hitting and brewing up one of the two remaining Stuarts – forcing a last tank standing test for Michael!

The Stuart – all alone on the objective, facing a zug of StuGs defiantly made its check and Michael won the game! It had been quick and nasty game full of tactical brilliance and lucky/unlucky die rolls – welcome to version 4 Flames of War!