I arrived just before 9 AM on Friday, which provided ample time to pick up my badges from the registration desk and get the lay of the land. Then, it was off to my first game at 10 AM. The conventions theme was "Poland at War", and while there were numerous opportunities to lead Renaissance-era winged hussars or Napoleon's czapka-wearing Vistula Legion into battle, I opted for something a little more familiar - Poles in Normandy.
The story of the 1st Polish Armoured Division at Falaise is the stuff of legend (for more see John Keegan, Six Armies in Normandy). Part of the Free Polish Forces who fought alongside the Western allies (comprised mostly of Polish soldiers who had escaped their country in 1939), these men were flung into battle with their American and British equipment in the latter stages of the Normandy campaign. The Germans were on the run and with the British/Canadian/Polish 21st Army Group advancing from the north and Patton's 3rd Army moving swiftly up from the south, the hope was the complete destruction of the German 7th Army. Though a link between the two Allied advance occurred at the town of Chambois, the Germans fought tenaciously to break free. At Mount Ormel, the Poles were attacked by remnants of 20 German divisions (many of them armored) but held firm. Though roughly 100,000 escaped the "Falaise Pocket", more than 50,000 became prisoners and hundreds of tanks and other vehicles were destroyed.
Unfortunately for me, this scenario would not be replicating the epic fight on Hill 262 where the Poles covered themselves in glory, but rather the meeting engagement between the German 2nd Panzer Division and the Poles' reconnaissance regiment, the 10th Mounted Rifles (equipped with British-made Cromwell tanks). We were using Brazen Chariots WWII Tank Battle Rules, which I had never played, but thankfully the gamemaster, Adam, was the author of the rules, so picking up the key points was not a problem. Adam also happens to live on the other side of Gettysburg, and we've already made plans to meet up for a game session.
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| My Cromwell tanks prepare to advance |
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| Our advance (my troop are three tanks to the right) just before it bogged down and came under fire |
The objective for me and my Polish comrades was simple: drive across the field and get 3 of our Cromwells across the enemy's edge of the table. Sadly, it was not to be as simple as we hoped. Our advance was quickly broken up by a village and rough terrain as we reached the middle of the table and it was about that point that we began taking withering fire from the German Panzer IVs. My tanks fired back one (through two small hedgerows) but did not penetrate the looming enemy tanks. In quick succession two of my crews were quickly knocked unconscious, which made them even more sitting ducks than they had been already. That left one surviving Cromwell for me, which soon found itself outnumbered 7-1. Though the crew passed a morale check on a 20, and thus made it heroic, their gun could simply not match the power of the German weaponry. Before I knew it, all three of my tanks were burning in the fields of France. Some of the other Polish troops managed a little better for a time and we returned the favor by destroying a number of panzers, but it became apparent that we would not reach our objective without help and that our line was in trouble. Thankfully, the Germans had wasted quite a bit of time towards getting to the objective (our edge) and when the time slot for the game ended at 1 PM, Adam announced that we were about where the fighting was historically, just as Allied aircraft were about to arrive to reduce the menacing German tanks to burning hulks. A Pyrrhic victory for the Poles, but as I mentioned earlier, greater glory awaited them down the road.
By the time the game finished up, the vendor hall was open, so I made my way over there and moseyed around a bit. Since I was coming Saturday, I figured I'd just use Friday to plan my purchases for the show. While working my way through the stands it was also nice to catch up with some old friends, including Chris and Steph Bennett of the Phalanx Consortium (https://www.facebook.com/thephalanxconsortium/?fref=ts) and Lon Weiss of Brigade Games (http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/). After working through the vendor hall, I made a quick visit to the flea market and then took a casual stroll through the gaming areas. This was the first wargames convention I've ever attended without friends or my dad, which allowed me to wander as I pleased and take as much time in the various areas of the show.
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| Some attendees getting into the spirit of things in their French-Indochina War game |
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| Some French air support causing havoc for the Viet Minh |
When the vendor area closed, I met up with Chris, Steph, and their daughter again for dinner. When I lived in Williamsburg, Chris was the fearless leader of our gaming group and the Bennetts frequently opened the home, and kitchen, to me as a welcome escape from campus (and, later, my bachelor pad). Chris is also the artistic force behind all my painted scenery and miniatures. During my three years out in California, I only saw Chris twice and Steph once, so catching up with these dear friends was a great way to end the first day of the convention.
The next morning, I left Hanover at the same time and arrived at the show just in time to meet up with my father who had driven down from my hometown of Bethlehem. My dad attended my first wargames show with me (Fall In! 2001) and had tagged along to many more during my grade school and college years. We hadn't been to a show together since 2012 and he was really looking forward to this one (I should note that he isn't much of a gamer, but really enjoys the good deals on books that can be found at the conventions).
We started our day in the vendor area, where I began working through my wishlist. I picked up a new carrying case and storage trays for my new World War II minis from Dave's Baggage Train (http://www.davesbaggagetrain.com/) and the Mixed Ground gaming mat from Cigar Box Battle Store (http://cigarboxbattlestore.bigcartel.com/). Over in the dealer hall, I picked up some really well-made trees (a wargamer can never have enough of them) and a copy of Lord of the Rings Risk, which I figured I could convince Becca to play.
Since my father isn't always one for in-depth miniatures games, we had not signed up for a formal game, but he had indicated that he was interested in finding some kind of demo to play, so we went back to the Brigade Games stand in the vendor hall, where we played through a turn of the forthcoming World War II skirmish rules, Disposable Heroes 2. I had played the first version of DH at HMGS shows year ago (back when my limited budget meant even a platoon-level game was well out of my price range), and remembered that though I generally liked them, some parts of the rules felt a little clunky (especially regarding vehicles). In any case, our brief playthrough with the author showed how a lot has been streamlined and the game has a very nice flow to it.
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| One of my MG34 teams taking cover from a shower of French grenades and light machine gun fire |
Our scenario was a probe/attack on an objective engagement during the German invasion of France. I had a platoon of German grenadiers, while my dad took command of a basic French infantry platoon defending a small village crossroads. The first few activations saw a pretty vicious duel between my light mortar and my father's VB grenade launchers which claimed half of my platoon HQ, so I brought up a infantry squad in support, which soon began exchanging fire with a French LMG team in a nearby house. Though I was able to force the enemy at the crossroads to occasionally put their heads down, I really was unable to inflict any casualties. Realizing I'd have to find another way to take my objective, I began ordering one of my squads to advance through an orchard on my dad's flank. He soon detected what was going on and brought up a squad of his own to check my attack, but a hailstorm of lead from my section's snap fire sent the Frenchmen running. As our demo turn was coming to a close, my advancing grenadiers seized one of the objectives. A quick, but stress-free game that we picked up after a few goes. My father even said how much he enjoyed it, which says a lot about the game, and how he would enjoy playing it at my house if I picked up the rules.
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| My flanking section on the way to victory |
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| A rather stunning ACW game we passed |
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| Some Polish winged hussars in a theme game |
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| British gliders feature in a Market-Garden-themed game |
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| A stroll through the tournament section revealed the most creative use of an onion saver I've ever seen! |
After our game we strolled through the gaming area and eventually decided to take over a vacant table in the ballroom for a pick-up game of SAGA, which though I have played for years my dad had never tried. Since we set up with a much deeper table than I typically use for the game and were a bit stretched for time, we modified the movement distances to allow our troops to get into combat sooner. My father's Scots and my Anglo-Danes hurled themselves into the fray and by Turn 3, we were in the thick of some intense melees. The first scrap saw a unit of my hearthguard suffer at the excellent dice rolling on behalf of my father's warriors. The balance quickly swung my way the next turn, when my warlord and a group of warriors inflicted serious casualties on a group of Scottish warriors and my Danish axe-armed hearthguard made short work of a unit of Scottish warriors. At the end of the turn, my dad realized that he had to get on the road, so we called it and figured out the my old man beat me by a score of 7 to 6.5. Beginners luck is a real thing!
I walked around a bit more, heading back to the dealer hall to say my goodbyes, and then it was time to hop back in the car and go home. All in all, it was a great little show and I look forward to Cold Wars this March!
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