Five Men from Algeria, Battle to Seize the Compound, Part Two (AAR, Five Men from Normandy by Nordic Weasel Games)

This is the continued battle report for my second game of Five Men from Normandy (.30 Caliber Edition).  I am calling it Five Men from Algeria, because I am playing out the campaign of a group of US soldiers from the 168th Infantry Regiment as they move into Tunisia in 1943 after the Torch landings.  

In the current mission, the squad had orders to seize a residence near an important crossroads.  Most of the opposing DAK squad was caught out in the open and taken out by mortar fire or rifle fire.  However, a DAK LMG gunner and a rifleman had taken cover in the residence. Sarge and Clay were advancing laterally, moving from cover to cover and attempting to assault the residence.  Here is the scene when we ended Part One...

Clay attempted to go left around the rock formation to close on the residence.  However, guard fire from the DAK inside drove him back, so he flinched and hunkered down behind the rock formation.  Sarge then got ready to advance around the right side of the rock formation, and Sutton moved up to join their position. 

On the next US turn, Sarge darted around the right side of the rock formation, dodging DAK guard fire and managed to take shelter in a blind spot behind the residence where there were no doors or windows.  (I had forgotten about this feature of the building when I originally had the DAK soldiers enter the building in that same spot, as they fled from mortar fire on turns one and two.)  The DAK rifleman then reacts by moving to the other side of the house.  (Remember, on a typical turn, only half of the figures will activate.)  He's ready to provide guard fire if Sarge attempts to come around the far side of the building. 

While the rest of his squad held various positions and tried to occupy the Germans' attention, Sarge did attempt to dart around the far side of the building.  The DAK guard fire caused him to flinch back to the blind spot where he started his move and hunker down.  The remaining US figures held their positions and tried to rally.  

Sarge was armed with a trench knife that provided him with a close combat bonus, and I wasn't playing with any grenades in this mission.  So, after he recovered from being hunkered down, he again tried to charge around the far side of the building.  He rolled well for his movement and burst through the front door.  The LMG gunner was still facing out the window and not in a position to open up on Sarge when Sarge came through the front door.  

The attacking player gets to add +1 to their D6 roll.  Sarge didn't need that bonus.  He rolled a 6.  The DAK LMG gunner rolled a one.  The LMG was out of the action.  

I was originally concerned that Sarge had advanced too far without support and was about to be finished off by the remaining DAK soldier.  However, I then noticed a particular feature in the close combat rule: the winner of a close combat has the option to advance 2 inches and engage in another close combat, just without the original +1 bonus.  

Sarge presses his advantage.  After taking down the LMG gunner at close range, he gets up close and personal with the remaining DAK soldier...

 

Then Sarge eliminates the remaining threat, rolling 6 versus 2. 

The objective is secured!  The opposition is eliminated.  Mission success!  Somebody give Sarge a silver star!  (I'm playing with an older edition of the rules.  I wonder if there are medals in one of the newer editions?)  

The butcher's bill is pretty modest for the US.  Only Sundstrom was wounded in action (for the second time in two missions).  Rolling on the after mission chart, we learn that he is moderately wounded and will be hospitalized for 13 days.  Sarge has rolled and earned the new skill of Guts.  This is very fitting and probably more useful than a silver star anyway.

Sarge's section has earned some much needed R and R.  However, they are not going to get it!  Hostilities are too hot in this sector.  Just when they have finished securing the objective a US Jeep comes squealing up.  There is a major in charge of intelligence at regimental HQ, and he has some urgent new orders for Sarge's men.  Tune in next time!  

Five Men from Normandy is proving to be very cinematic, narrative driven fun.  I am thankful for a rule set where I can have fun with a pretty small amount of figures on the table.  I would like to paint up enough figures to play some Bolt Action games.  However, right now, that doesn't seem like a high priority, because I am having so much fun with Five Men.  

Thanks for reading!

Five Men From Algeria, Battle to Seize the Compound (AAR Five Men from Normandy by Nordic Weasel Games)

January 13, 1943.  Tunisia, west of the Atlas Mountains

Near an important crossroads on the US 168th Infantry Regiment's right flank was a small, abandoned dwelling.  Three days earlier, Sarge's section (members of Fox Company's Fifth Squad) completed a patrol and skirmished with a small group of Deutsche Afrika Korps soldiers that had been using the house as a staging point.  That skirmish sent three of Sarge's men to the hospital; two of them were severely injured and were being sent back to the States.  Still, they all of the American GIs survived the battle, and they had taken two of the Jerrys prisoner for interrogation by the battalion's intelligence staff.  The brass was happy with their accomplishments, and unit morale was high.

Still, no good deed goes unpunished...

Now, Sarge's men were being sent back to secure the dwelling.  No longer just a patrol, the mission now was an assault to take and hold the objective.  The sections numbers had thinned out, but at least they would have some mortar support this time...

This will be my second game of Five Men from Normandy (.30 Caliber Edition) by Nordic Weasel Games.  Son #4 and I played the first game on Christmas Eve and had a lot of fun.  

 

Sundstrom, Sarge with and SMG and a trench knife, Sutton, Rasmussen, and Clay kneeling with his sniper rifle move within sight of the building and take up cover behind a low rock formation.  They spot a DAK patrol a hundred or so yards away also taking cover behind a rock formation.  The DAK opposition that I rolled up consists of 4 riflemen, 1 pistol armed figure (I didn't have any pistol armed Germans, so I am proxying with the gray uniformed figure in the very middle of the DAK formation), 1 MP40 SMG, and 1 MG42 LMG. 

Our GIs are outnumbered against the DAK.  (Part of why they are outnumbered is because after the first mission of the campaign we rolled a campaign event indicating that the war effort has been going badly for our battalion generally.)  Being outnumbered is never a good sign for the attackers.  But orders are orders, and hopefully the mortar support will be a difference maker.  

The mortar crew is set up off board in this rule set.  In order to act as a spotter, any one of the US figures must either be within six inches of their starting edge or on an elevated terrain feature.  I'm going to use the heavy mortar rules (6 kill dice and 4 inch radius instead of 5 kill dice and 3 inch radius), because I think these GI's are going to need it and it seems reasonable that heavy support would be deployed to help seize this objective.  The spotter selects a target location (presumably within line of sight) in one turn and the incoming fire comes in the next turn.  Then we roll 1D6 for the mortar's effect (whether the rounds land on target or not).  

Since the Americans are outnumbered, my initial strategy is to try to stay at range, keeping our heads down, and make maximum use of that mortar to soften up the DAK.  However, our orders are to seize the building, not obliterate it.  So, we won't want to call in any rounds too close to the building because if the rounds drift and we destroy the building, then we are not going to be facing a very happy captain back at HQ.

So on the Americans' first turn, they primarily keep their heads down behind cover, but also call in a mortar strike aimed at the center of the rock formation right in front of the DAK patrol.  

The green D20 marks the location where the Americans have called in the mortar fire for their next turn.  On the Germans' turn, half of their formation starts running for the building.  (In Five Men from Normandy, the activation rules require a roll at the beginning of a turn.  The most common result is for half of your force to activate that turn.)

At the end of the Germans' first turn, their LMG gunner has made it into the residence.  One of the riflemen has made it to cover behind the building.  However, the officer with the pistol and the second riflemen are still out in the open, running to the building.  The NCO with the SMG and the final two riflemen are still crouching behind the rock formation.  They are hoping the mortar fire will be off target!

At the beginning of the Americans' second turn, they roll for mortar results.  Good news for the DAK: the mortar round drifts off target.  Bad news for the DAK: it drifts right into their laps!

After rolling for damage, both of the riflemen are out of the fight.  The NCO with the SMG is knocked down, with a serious ringing in his ears. 

The American patrol opens up with rifles on the DAK figures that have not yet made it into or behind the building.  The rifleman is hit bad, clearly out of the fight.  The officer with the pistol is knocked down, still out in the no man's land between the rock formation and the building. 

I used the green fives to represent Americans who had poked their head up over the terrain and were at risk of return fire.  So far, I like the way Five Men handles cover rules.  

On the Germans' Turn Two, the NCO and the Officer both managed to shake it off and get back up on their feet.  Then the LMG gunner took up a firing position in the doorway of the residence.  (I may have given the Germans one too many activation here.)  He fired a quick spray at the Americans, forcing Clay to Hunker Down.  I would learn that it is very hard (impossible?) to score a kill on a figure in cover.  It seems like you can stun them but not kill them?  I will need to review the rules again more carefully later. 

On the Americans' Turn Three, the mortar fire drifts, but not far enough for the DAK NCO.  He's hit and out of the fight.  Then Rasmussen fires his rifle and eliminates the German officer outside of the house.

On the Germans' Third Turn, both of their remaining models are in the house, firing at the Americans from the doorway.  Since the Americans are behind heavy cover, there are no casualties, but several Americans are forced to hunker down.  At the beginning of the Americans' fourth turn, Sarge runs over to try to rally Sutton, Rasmussen, and Clay.

None of the Americans are peering over the rock formation, so the Germans hold their positions ready to take a guard shot when the Americans break cover.  On the Americans next turn, Sarge and Clay are able to dash to the next rock formation, spreading out laterally, but still advancing on the house.  The Americans are hoping to get in position to catch the two remaining Germans in a crossfire.  (I don't recall if I rolled a Scurry result for the turn, allowing the Americans to advance without attracting reaction fire or if the reaction fire just missed.)  Sundstrom also makes a break for this next rock formation, but he isn't quite able to get behind cover before the Germans' next turn.

On the Germans' next turn, the LMG opens up on Sundstrom.  He's hit and goes down hard.  He's out of the fight: the first American casualty today.  On the Americans' next turn, Sutton is able to dart out from cover and pull Sundstrom into cover so that Sundstrom isn't just lying there as a bullet magnet in the open.  These American GIs are a tight band; they don't leave anyone behind.  

Clay and Sarge keep advancing, moving from cover to cover, and flanking the German position.

Part Two coming up soon!

Hobby Goals for 2023

 

Battles

Use my Stonehaven Old Troll miniature in a game of Middle Earth SBG or Song of Arthur and Merlin.  This miniature just looks so cool, even though mine isn't painted.  It's a pity that I've only gamed with it one time so far...

Play Treachery of Rhudaur (LoTR LCG).  Son #1 gave me this adventure pack for Christmas.  I will have to get it on the table.

Play Desert Crossing (LoTR LCG).  I have owned the Sands of Harad deluxe expansion for several years, but I still have not beaten this quest.

Play a Middle Earth SBG Narrative Scenario with Uruk-Hai Scouts.  I recently painted up Mauhur and Vrasku models.  I want to play through the Scouring of the Westfold scenario from the old Two Towers journey book.  I may adjust the force composition a little bit to use some named heroes and edit out the Dunlendings.  I purchased three very nice Saxon houses from Sarissa Precision last year with this scenario in mind.

Play a combat patrol sized game of Farsight Enclaves vs Necrons.  I have never played much 40k.  I like some of the models and some of the lore, but I don't want to keep up with Games Workshop's rules.  I may use One Page Rules, Clash on the Fringe or Xenos Rampant.  I need to build and paint the T'au Piranha that my cousin gave me for Christmas.  I have most of a Farsight combat patrol in various stages of assembly and paint.  I don't have any Necrons yet, more on that below.

Play a Black Ops Game with SHIELD Heroclix figures.  I am interested in trying out Black Ops by Osprey Games.  I have a lot of old Heroclix figures for this purpose.  I will use Agents of SHIELD figures, and I have a few different ideas for the OpFor. 

Play Another Game of Song of Arthur and Merlin, Welsh King.  Son #3 and I played our first game of this in 2022.  We enjoyed it.  It gave us an excuse to match up his Romans versus my Rohan (Saxons).

 

Campaigns

Play a Warfighter Mediterranean Campaign.  I pre-ordered this DVG game and am really looking forward to getting it on the table.  My WW2 miniatures are more North Africa focused.  So I look forward to a more Italian theme here.

Play a Corsair Leader Rabaul Campaign.  Son #4 may enjoy this with me.  I would like to read up on the Japanese base at Rabaul as inspiration for this campaign.

Continue Five Men from Algeria Campaign.  On Christmas Eve, Son #4 and I played our first game of Five Men from Normandy (Nordic Weasel games).  It was nice to get a low model count WW2 game on the table.  I'm calling our campaign Five Men from Tunisia, because we are playing the US Army's 1943 campaign in Tunisia.

Play an Age of Sigmar Path to Glory campaign with Stormcast Tempest Lords.  Last year, I played several games of Age of Sigmar Path to Glory at my local GW store.  I recently painted up several new Stormcast in a Tempest Lords paint scheme.  I am waiting on getting a hero to paint up and lead them. 

Play a Platoon Level Desert War Tunisia 1943 campaign in 28mm.  Years ago, I got a Bolt Action starter set.  It's taken my years, but I have finally assembled all of the figures.  I'm in the process of painting them up to represent the US Army's 34th Infantry Division vs. DAK in Tunisia 1943.  I would like to learn Bolt Action rules, but I also recently pre-ordered the Two Hour Wargames Nuts supplement Desert War on Kickstarter.  I'm looking to implement some ideas from that supplement. 

Play an Alpha Strike campaign, Battle for Sadurni.  I have the BattleTech Alpha Strike Commander's Edition.  I have only played a couple of games, and I have not used special pilot abilities yet.  I like the Duchy of Andurien in the current lore.  I'm looking to continue painting up some 5th Andurien Rangers and 3rd Capellan Chargers for use in a campaign where the Rangers look to reclaim their homeworld from the dastardly Capellans.  I have the BattleTech Deserts Map Pack for use here.  I picture most of Sadurni as desert, populated by hardy, self-reliant types, similar to my view of the Australian Outback. 

 

Modeling/Painting

Paint a Ghost Bear Omega Galaxy Binary.  After several tries, I finally hit on a color scheme that I like for my Ghost Bears.  My Summoner and Stormcrow are painted up and look pretty good for battle ready.  The Fire Moth, Shadow Cat, and Nova Cat are waiting for their paint.  Then, I will need another star of Mechs and maybe some battle armor.  

Collect Desert War Terrain including buildings.  I started to scratch build some rough areas and rocky outcroppings last week.  I want to continue that project.  I am also looking for some suitable 28mm North African buildings.  I may go with Sarissa Precision kits, but I am undecided.  I'm looking for something that evokes a simple, desolate North African feel.  Suggestions welcome!

Collect Lava Mat and Terrain.  My growing 28mm sci fi forces need a suitable battle field.  (Yes, they could fight in the desert with my growing WW2 terrain, but that's less fun.)  I'm inspired by the scene in Revenge of the Sith where Obi Wan and Annakin battle it out near lava pools.  I'm looking at the Frontline Gaming lava mats and the Lava River Set from Green Stuff World.  I have some existing dark gray rock formations that should work, too. 

Buy, Paint to Battle Ready a Necron Combat Patrol.  For years I have dabbled at the edges of 40k.  I like games with a clear good vs evil.  40k has some cool models but doesn't really satisfy that.  Now that my T'au collection is growing, I am looking at Necrons as a thematic OpFor.  As a bonus, I like using Army Painter gunmetal primer.  So, these guys should be battle ready with less work that a different force like Orks. 

Collect and Paint 24 Uruk-Hai Scouts.  Speaking of Orks.  I have always loved the Isengard vs Rohan part of the movies.  I like the thought of gaming out the border skirmishes more than the big set piece battle at Helm's Deep, at least for now. 

Collect and Paint two more Lances of 5^th Andurien Rangers.  I'm not sure why I like the Duchy of Andurien.  Is it because they are underdogs?  I like the 5th Andurien Rangers because they seem like a rough and tumble lot of country boys.  Easy to overlook, fun to root for.  Plus, when the Capellans grab their home world of Sadurni, I figure that it's on like Donkey Kong!

Collect and Paint two more Lances of 3^rd Capellan Chargers.  There are not a lot of Capellan units with color schemes or lore that grab me.  However, the sand colors with red highlights seem like they would look good without too much work.  Also, I like that this unit is historically known for hit and run tactics.  I like hit and run tactics.  Finally, they were re-activated as part of Operation Hidden Lion, which just sounds cool.