Nuts! Blood upon the Risers campaing #2

March 17, 2024

Nuts! Blood upon the Risers campaing #2 - Sound of the Guns

Front note: This is my second time with this scenario. The first time I blew through it fairly easily. Then during my next game, I realized I had made some mistakes so I decided to start the campaign over. I was kind of lucky in the first scenario this time around and ended up with a full-size squad (14). Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to collect any MGs or even a BAR – just a bazooka with one round left. I thought it would be easy again. Boy was I wrong. No spoilers, but this game was about as close as it gets.

On a fairly regular basis (but getting better as I go) I fall into old solo habits and treat the Germans as if I were running them (rolling for activation etc.) rather than use the non-Player-enemy reaction chart.

Objective. The platoon has to clear six buildings, spread all over the board – but only has 12 turns to do it. They will have to move fast and won’t have the time to try too many stealthy approaches. SSG Rockstar decided the only way he could accomplish his mission was to split his squad into two groups. He also needed to distribute the leaders evenly, in case either squad had to split up again. Rockstar took a few minutes to redistribute ammo & supplies. At the beginning of the scenario, the two groups looked like this:

Rank	Name	Rep	Wpn	Attributes	Extra Equip
SSG	Rockstar	5	Carb	Steel Nerv: DB=CO; +1D6 NOG	HG,GG,xx
				Quick Rflx: +1D6 In Sight
Sgt	Kelly	5	SMG	Rage +1d6 charge/mele	HG,GG,ATM,x
T4	Shivers	5	Carb	Steely eye: +1D6 in sight test	HG,xx
T5	Dymowske	5	SMG	Stealthy: Opp -1D6 for In Sight	2xHG,GG
	Stohler	6	M1	Crack shot: extra D6 when shoot	GG, Bz(1),xx
	Skinner	6	M1	Unlucky: On D1-2 take friend’s H <3”	HG,ATM,x
	Guidas	5	M1	Initiative: Rep +1 init if alone	2HG,x

Sgt	Baker	5	SMG	4-3 Quick Rflx: +1D6 In Sight	GG, ATM,x
Cpl	Caracci	4	M1	1-4 Born Leader: troops will follow	ATM,x
PFC	Jones	5	SMG	Lucky: RR any result 1x mission	HG
PFC	Sonka	4	M1	None	HG,x
	Nocera	5	M1	Wussy: Only roll1D6 for recovery	2HG,x
	Miller	5	M1	Brawler: +1D6 in mele	ATM,x
	Bisetti	4	Carb	Shirker: Always outgunned	GG,x

HG: hand grenade; GG=Gamon Grenade; ATM = anti-tank mine, x = extra ammo, Bz=Bazooka(rounds)

There is a paved road dividing the map in half. Rockstar will take his group down the left side and Baker will take his group and clear the buildings on the right.

The view from American entry point:

Turn1: Activation 3/1 Germans

SSG Rockstar decided he didn’t have time to go around, so it was “Hey diddle-diddle straight up the middle.” He stops just close enough to identify that there is an MG42 team in building H5 and then retreats back in the darkness. Safe for the moment.

Sgt Baker rounds the hedgerow and sees and anti-tank gun in building H1. The inexperienced crew is ready, but fires wildly. Pvt Nocera throws a hand grenade, killing one and wounding another. Baker and Jones use their Thompsons to provide covering fire, Jones killing one and Baker forcing one to duck back under cover. Covered by their comrades, Cpl Caracci leads Privates Sonka, Miller and Bisetti in a charge against the surviving two crewman. Soldat Nissen manages to get a shot off and kills Private Bisetti before he and Soldat Keppel are killed in the melee.

Rules note: I forgot that Bisetti had a gammon grenade, which means I should have tested to see if it went off when he got hit. I tested a couple turns later when I remembered. It did not go off – that would have been bad news for his group. Carrying gammon grenades around is dangerous business.

Turn 2: Doubles – Another PEF placed in sector #3 – then 4/2 Germans

SSG Rockstar readies his men, he thinks he has enough firepower to deal with the MG42. Thanks to his “quick reflexes” Rockstar wins the “In sight” test. to duck back. After the smoke clears, the loader fails his “Man Down” check and leaves the battlefield

Rules note: The scenario rules call for a scenario-specific test for occupants in certain buildings. Of the six buildings, three of them are two stories. I decided that I would need to T5 Dymowske gets a kill shot on the gunner, whereas the fire of Sgt Kelly and Private Stoler causes the loader check twice for the two-story buildings, The first check would use the scenario specific rules. After that was cleared, I would then use the general “building PEF” rule to see if the second floor held anything else.

After disposing of the AT gun and its crew, Sgt Baker searches the second floor of building H1, but finds nothing.

Turn 3: Activation 5/4 US

Rockstar and his group move up to the building. Pvt Skinner stays behind to search for a bundle – he finds a gammon grenade.

Sgt Baker leads his group out of the building and across a hedgerow, but only he and Pvt Nocera make it across.

Turn 4: Activation 3/2 US

Rockstar and his group search the 2^nd floor of H5 and find nothing. Pvt Skinner collects the gammon grenade.

While the rest of his group negotiates the hedgerow, Pvt Nocera searches for an equipment bundle and finds .30 cal ammo – not particularly helpful as they don’t have a .30.

Turn 5: Activation 4/3 Germans – reinforcements (see below)

Rockstar leaves H5 and gets ready to move on H3

Sgt Baker peaks through the hedgerow at building H2 and does not like what he sees at all.

There are two PEFs – one on either side of the building, and reinforcements. They are:

Left of the building: Lt Meyer (MP40), Sgt Steiner (PPSh), Medic & 2 riflemen

Inside the building: Pvts Forst & Kranz (St44 & panzerfaust)

Right of the building: Cpt Stransky, Lt Bertink, Lt v. Witzland II, Cpl Rohleder, RTO and 2 riflemen

Baker ducks back out of sight behind the hedgerow.

Turn 6: Activation 6/2 Germans – with no one in LoS, all remain in place.

SSG Rockstar examines building H3 – it is empty

Sgt Baker leads his group to the right, using the hedgerow as cover, hoping to take on the enemy one group at a time.

Turn 7: Activation 5/1 Americans

Running low on time and with three building still to go, Rockstar sends Sgt Kelly off to take a look at building H6. He is ordered to be cautious. Meanwhile Rockstar enters building H3 – but stop short of the windows.

Sgt Baker and his group enter the hedgerow and get the drop on Stransky’s group. When the smoke clears, Lt Meyer and Soldat Katzcinski are dead, the RTO is wounded and out of the fight and the rest have ducked back behind the building and Pvt Nocera is out of ammo. Sgt Baker is also wounded and out of the fight; Cpl Caracci takes command of the group. Once under cover, Stransky manages to rally the survivors.

Turn 8: Activation 6/4 Germans

Cpt Stransky leads his men in a counter attack into the valley of death. There are no survivors.

Soldaten Forst and Kranz move to the window and now have a clear shot at Cpl Caracci. They both fire their panzerfausts: Caracci is killed, Pvt Nocera is wounded and out of the fight; SFC Jones and Pvts Sonka and Miller duck back behind the hedgerow and “Hunker Down.”

Meanwhile Lt v. Witzland II leads his men into a charge of building H3. The charge does not go well. When the smoke clears, Soldat Leer is killed, v. Witzland II is out of the fight and the others have retreated into building H2

Sgt Kelly examines building H6 and finds it empty.

A counter attack would put them in range of the MG42 in building H4, so Rockstar leads his men out of the building and take cover behind a hedgerow facing H4.

PFC Jones, the new leader of what's left of Baker’s group rallies himself.

Turn 9: Activation 3/1 Germans

The German medic begins working on Sgt Steiner, who shows signs of improving.

Soldaten Forst and Kranz move to the other side of the building and attempt to lay some flanking fire on Rockstar’s group. The “in sight” test is a tie (so the non-moving Rockstar fires first). The deadly accurate Stohler drops Forst, Kranz scores a near miss on Rockstar (saved from DB by “star power”) but is himself then wounded by T5 Dymwoske.

PFC Jones takes advantage of the chaos and charges in the back door, with everyone inside now either wounded or hunkered down – all surrender.

Rules note: Thanks to the medic, Sgt Steiner was supposed to improve to "Carry on" at his next action phase. However, since PFC Jones entered before that happened, i decided he was still at "Hunker Down" status and thus surrendered to Jones before medic completed treatment

Turn 10: Activation 5/1 Germans

At present, the only Germans left in the fight are the two MG42 teams in building H4, but since they don’t have LoS to anyone – they stay put.

Sgt Kelly fires a burst at one side of the building. He is lucky, ducking back into the hedgerow and escaping injury.

SSG Rockstar and his group open fire at the near window. Pvt Stoler continues to show his marksmanship and kills the gunner. T4 Shivers wounds the loader, knocking him out of the fight.

Turn 11: Activation 4/1 Americans

Sgt Kelly recovers from his “Duck Back.”

SSG Rockstar leads his group forward and orders Pvt Guidas to throw a grenade in the window, Guidas fumbles it, causing everyone but Stoler (just out of blast range) to drop prone. Stohler continues on and finds the bottom floor empty.

Turn 12: Activation 4/3 Germans

The last remaining MG team moves to the other side of the building to fire on Rockstar. However, Rockstar was ready for it, and he and his men kill both Germans. This enables Pvt Stoler to declare that the last building has been cleared.

Victory to SSG Rockstar – just

Casualty List:

KIA: Cpl Caracci, Private Bisetti

WIA: Sgt Baker, Pvt Nocera

And some photos:

Yikes! Sgt Baker finds an anti-tank gun