Bolt Action at Broadsword 4

A short while ago, at Broadsword 4, Dave Lamers and Randall Carder ran a demo game of Bolt Action. In this game, players assumed one of the nations (French, American, British or German) in a non-historical four-way free-for-all. This Battle Report focuses on the highlights of the game. Below is a picture of the board in action.

Bolt Action at Broadsword 4. Picture taken by Randall Carder and edited by Jacob Stauttener.

All of the images in this Battle Report are from Randall Carder and edited by Jacob Stauttener. One of the participants asked that his name not be released, so I went a little wild and greyed out identifying features of the players in all the photographs to respect their wishes.

Below are the forces they could choose. How cool is it to see Early French on the table? This is the first time that I ever saw these miniatures in my local area.

French

The French brought two 10 man squads, a light howitzer, an armoured car, a light tank and a lieutenant. All of their figures are rated as Regulars.

Americans

The Americans brought 2 eight man squads, a lieutenant and a Sherman tank. Their entire force is rated as Veteran.

British

The British brought 2 ten man squads, a PIAT team, a Forward Observer, a Cromwell and a lieutenant. All of the figures are rated Regular except the lieutenant. He is a Veteran.

Germans

The Germans brought a highly elite force with 2 seven man squads, a Panzer IV and a lieutenant.

All of these forces came out to be about 550 points each.

If I were the German player, I would have been pretty nervous about having three Allied armies on the table. Fortunately for that player, this was a free-for-all mission.

The middle of the table would remain mostly untouched. The players instead decided to go head to head focusing on player elimination around the edges of the board.

A lonely destroyed tank that would remain mostly untouched in the middle of the board. Instead, the players would fight around the edges of the board. That blown up tank was placed there mostly for decoration anyhow.  🙂

The Americans quickly secure a field while their Tank holds the road. By the way, zoom in on that tank. “Fury” is printed right down the side of the barrel. How Cool!

The French advanced towards the Germans. The German Panzer IV took out the French P15 Armoured Car from long range on its very first shot of the game!

A great shot showing the position of the French. Notice that the small French R35 tank veers away from the Panzer IV (having seen his armoured car brother go up in flames) and decides test its odds against the American Sherman instead.

The British troops advance on the German forces.

But their Forward Observer decides to call in a bombardment on the American forces.

The French decide to continue redirecting their attacks away from the German army to the American army instead.

It is at this point were we are at the introductory image of this article

The Artillery strike comes in and severely pins down the American Paratroopers. Look at that two to three pins on everything. Ouch!!!

The French R35 takes on the Sherman and manages to stun its crew.

The Cromwell takes aim on the Panzer IV.

And takes the tank out of the game.

The French continue to press their attack against the Americans. The R35 manages to jam the turret on the Sherman with a lucky hit.

Here we have Dave Lamers, the primary game master for the session, clarifying instructions from one of the players. I would like to draw my readers’ attention to the front-middle of the table. The French have committed pretty much everything to taking on the American army at this point. You can see their infantry charging across the field here along with their R35 tank.

A look at the table from the British player’s perspective. Notice how little infantry the American player has left (to our near-left). The Germans are also taking a beating.

Yep… That’s all the Americans have left for infantry. They also happen to have 8 pins on them. Not good at all. They are taking a pounding from both the French and English!

The little R35 tank continues its assault on the American Sherman.

And the R35 brought friends!!!

This is where the game ended. I think that it is really interesting that the elite (veteran) forces are the ones that took a beating in this game. On the local tournament scene, most players take veterans for their durability.

Special thanks goes out to Dave Lamers for running the table and to Randall for helping Dave and for taking this report’s pictures.

Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!

Written by Jacob Stauttener

Photos and Point Form Highlights by Randall Carder
Photos edited by Jacob Stauttener

Fact Checked and Hosted by Dave Lamers

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