The Fat Tanker 4. Fast and Slow

The great Axis push from Benghazi began this week, ending once again at Tobruk.

Bumfluff advances into the table centre, using the speed of his tank, and wrongly assuming that the obviously huge hill was a huge hill.  Turns out not...

Low terrain with ridge lines.

The Axis creep forward

Bumfluff has stuck his neck out, and his tank is damaged.  Meanwhile a dust devil swirls around the right flank 

Some colourful tanks going on!

And as per usual Bumfluff does something rash

An Italian tank gets into our flank

Bunfluff goes for it, running for the ridgeline, and is pretty much saved by the time, as the game runs down to its last turn.

A shot of the second game's action, with a lost convoy appearing.

The Norman Bishop's sticky end! Dark Ages Rampant.

Sir Norman (the Norman) has fallen ill in the small northern village of Arsend.  Bishop Hugo the Huge has gathered his retinue and is rushing to rescue the poor fallen knight from the peasant women.  

Unfortunately for the Bishop`s plan the Welsh of Dai Quincy and the Anglo Danes of the Earl Quilp have heard of Sir Norman's terrible position, and are also rushing to capture the knight and foil the Bishop...

It`s a Dark Ages version of Lion Rampant...

Burt the peasant prods Norman with his sharp stick...

The Bishop deploys in the south west corner.

The Welsh march on tble in the North East

The Danes from the North East

The Danes get a move on, heading for the village

The Bishop dithers, taking three moves to get through that gate

Good looking boys these Normans

Anglo Danish Bidowers reach poor Norman first

The Bishop charges in, driving the Bidowers to destruction, but he tramples over poor Norman to do it

But the Bishop has left his Infantry behind, toiling to catch up

The Bishops's Noman Cavalry is fierce but the bishop is soon shot to death by rampaging Danes

Yet more cavalry cram into the village.  Poor Bishop Hugo has been done to death up an alley... Not traditional cavalry terrain a village!

View from the drone as the Welsh almost take their turn capturing poor Norman.

The stand off, as the Anglo Danes grab poor Norman again the Bishop's army finally approach.  But too late the Danes have held Norman for five turns and it's game over...

The Fat Tanker 3: Burning Ring of Fire

1942 began with a light terrain battle in Durham Wargames Group's Western Desert campaign.  The British were favourites for this first leg, two crusaders and three Valentines versus two Italian M13/40s and two Panzer IIs.

Bumfluff was unduly valiant in choosing the Crusader II.  Well it was the cheapest model I could source.  We diced for Scenario and once again it was fat boy.  Did the dice know something I didn`t? 

Those low rises didn`t provide much cover, but there were a lot of them, and the Allied Commander's plan was to push the two fast tanks onto the left flank and hold the Valentines back to shoot.

In retrospect the Valentine's armour meant that they could absorb punishment the Crusader's couldn`t, but we stuck with the plan and Bumfluff with his pal Dundas motored their Crusaders up the blue towards the Axis.


With our senior officer on the far right Dundas and I were left to it, and to be honest it didn`t go well.  Not that either of us would get unduly snippy with our senior officer would we!  Honest!  

Today's battlefield.

Bumfluff's tank, sporting dark wave and wheel camouflage goes hull down

Literally my view of the other side of the table.  I find that I become myopic, focused on the immediate danger.

Dundas comes to a sticky end, bailing out.

Bumfluff goes forward using that "fast."

Across the table the Valentines use a formation!

Bumfluff gets his rear end shot up by Bad Alphonse in his M13/40, loads of temporary damage accruing. 

Bumfluff reverses into his own dust!  Fat tanker tactics 101, but too late he is brewed up, not by Bad Alphonse but by that goal moocher "Ace" Rimmer.  Our fat hero is last seen running for his life with his turret ring on fire... Makes a chap downright snippy!

The three Valentines in formation, all picking on a single Pz II, whilst Bumfluff's Crusader took on two Axis tanks to himself...

"Ace" Rimmer motors across the table, having killed Bumfluff`s tank he now sets his sights on a Valentine...

A duel with the two Axis tanks on the flank begins.

 

Rimmer's tactics seem to be fire and lots of movement.
But too late for the Axis they are reduced to 2:1, and withdraw from the table...

At least I think that's what happened.  my myopic view of the battle was quite limited.  Poor Dundas, ended up bailing.  Bumfluff meanwhile had his tank explode, and was last seen running through the sand dunes with his turret ring on fire!...  a fraught little game... best described as a snippy situation...

The Fat Tanker's second game

What Ho chaps,
Bumfluff here, 2nd Lt "Bumfluff " Farthingdale  2RTR. This week we were at Gazala, and Benghasi, shocking sanitation.

My tank is still not running properly, colleagues in the Regiment have pointed out that this is probably due to my weight.

Benghazi, Jewel of the Med... what a dump

The allied plan, go right wing!  What could possibly go wrong!  Bumfluff's tank once again refuses to start...

Is that a panzer up that alley?

 As Lt. Elworth Beest and Sergeant Dundas motor past him Bumfluff's engine stalls.  he declares that he is kicking his driver... 

Its cat and mouse round two... Benghasi

The Axis mass on the right

Bumfluff hides, and fights a duel to his front

The A9s of the Allies swing out wide onto the right dealing out some punishment...

"Ace" Rimmer appears, having motored across the table

Why is it that tactics seem to be to snuggle up

Bumfluff backs up, protecting his shiny metal ass

The bird's eye view, as Bumfluff backs up again.  Careful of his arse that boy!

"Ace Rimmer" motors around to try to take Bumfluff up the rear, but its too late. Phase One is over, Win for the Allies in phase 1

Phase two, still in Benghasi, still a dump

Phase two, Cesare Pavarotti puts his tank into a trap

As the British tanks swarm

Three to one, and one of those three is a Valentine.  Still the laugh is on them when they try to get Cesare out of his turret hatch  The Axis win the second phase!