David Bickley's Wargames Blog

The occasional ramblings of an average gamer, journeyman painter, indifferent modeller, games designer, sometime writer for Wargames Illustrated and host of games in GHQ.



Monday 13 July 2015

Dawn of Destiny

Some shots from a very recent RAPID FIRE! game here in GHQ between Phil, as the British attackers, and myself, as the German defenders of the Atlantic Wall. The opening scene ~
6' x 6'6" tabletop











German fire control bunker




















105mm battery in action


















German forward field hospital was kept busy














German forward command in the coastal town coordinated the defence
















Alarm!















The first assault wave comes ashore!


















Despite high losses the defensive line is breached!


















The second assault wave arrives on the beaches.


















The DD tanks are off the beach with infantry in close support.


















The third wave sees self propelled artillery ashore.


















Limited German counter attack threatens the beachhead!


















The German defences finally collapse in Turn 8! The Beachhead is secured.




















The game lasted some eight turns over three hours, with a welcome break for lunch of course during proceedings. The German defence was not helped by very wayward artillery fire and very poor anti tank fire from the fixed positions ~ the dice did not love either of us actually when I look back. Once the British tanks and infantry supports were off the beach the Germans were really up against it, loosing their supporting anti tank capacity early on and being unable to establish radio contact with the 105mm battery at a crucial juncture. Never the less, a grand game which we both enjoyed to the full.
The figures, terrain, scenic effects and buildings are all from my collection. The 20mm figures and vehicles are from many sources: Britannia, Hinchliffe, SHQ, FAA,AB Miniatures,and Grubby Tanks to name a few I can recall. I can say that I painted all the vehicles and figures back in the day, but Colin Rumford painted the buildings for me and made up the scenic bases for them. The vegetation is from The Last Valley of course. Jon will be along later in the week I hope for a second bite at the game, although the layout will change slightly before then of course to keep it fresh.

8 comments:

  1. A grand (D) day of gaming, you can't beat Rapid Fire for a fast flowing WWII game, they have certainly stood the test of time.

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  2. Stunning pictures of a great looking game, no doubt!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Phil! Glad folk approve my efforts.

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  3. That's a great looking game David!

    Christopher

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