Upper Canada Regionals 100pt LW Flames of War, and the new Battle Planner

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell,

photos by me and James Smith

On the first weekend of November 2019, we had an event, the first Upper Canada Regionals, in Kingston ON (on the NY State border) for Late War 100pts.   It was held at Royal Military College (our version of Westpoint) and put on by Ryan Sullivan and his gang.    It was a good time, but more importantly, we were able to guinea-pig a new iteration on the Battle Planner, as below document and matrix:

“Scariest thing in the British Army? An Officer with a Map”

The only twists we made on this matrix is that we did NOT play Rearguard, and that once the two players chose their respective stances, Ryan the T.O. would roll a die and tell us what number to pick from whatever box we had so all games started at that time.    I have QUITE a lot of pictures, so will save what tactical advice and so on for perhaps a later article, though Ryan did say he has all the data as to who chose what stance in each game and so on,  maybe Battle Rankings HQ could use that info?  I do not have it at time of writing.

Game 1, I played Jeff Burnett’s 4x 88s, 2x PaK-43s, and 2x PaK-40s and big infantry beach bum units with Tigers in support. I used my Universal Carriers to forward deploy my Shermans and Achilles into the lee of the hill that had his 2x Pak-43s and was able to knock both out on turn 1.

My Shermans are using the hill to keep away from the Tigers, while I play keep-away from the 2 Shrecks and omni-faust in that unit of beach defenders. My Universals were going to assault his Mortars by the creek but not with the Tigers there now. 

I refused this flank, that’s for sure! My Churchills deployed over here were moving towards the other flank all game

 

He moved his Tigers to a hull-down position on the hill and only bailed an Achilles. My Fireflies were able to knock both out in return.

 

Achilles use their .50 Cal’s and finish off the schrecks, and they finish off the assault, breaking them off the objective for the 7-2 win.

 

In other games, Jed Byrtus loses a few halftracks in this crop, but since he took 30+ its no worries for the Wehrmacht!

 

Two Ottawa locals, Andrew Buchan and Gary Godding duke it out on the mesa table

 

Game 2, Cornered vs Chris Rankin’s Soviets. I use my recce to spearhead pretty much EVERYTHING not facing his AT guns and infantry. I would have to contend with his ambushing 57mms and the Il-2s

 

Check out the wrecked kubelwagen on the base…

 

I make my push to the objective with my Churchills, and he deploys the ambushing guns, thankfully the crater grants me concealment. I am on the objective and have to survive til turn 6, the Il-2s and 57mms smash my HQ platoon down to the CO.

 

Meanwhile, my Shermans and Achilles are awaiting his reserves which are tank hunters and KV’s. In a desperate ploy, I try for a PIAT shot but miss.

Turn 6, all I have to do is kill this one BA-10. I don’t actually kill it, but manage to double bail it and it runs 🙂 7-2 victory 

James Smith and Matt McAdoo fight on the mesa table. Matt ordered P-47s and an L-4 observer AOP, the local store instead put his order on the store shelves and they sold.. hence the silver P-40 with L-4 painted on the wings. for his Naval Bombardment

 

Gary Godding’s Shermans have Imperial Laser Cannon technology??

 

These Sextons apparently caught some M-10s in a barrage, killing 2 bailing one and making the unit rout!

 

Ernst and Morgan duke it out whilst Jed chats up the bartender girl about how awesome his halftracks are. Let me say, playing in a Cadet Mess Hall with Bar Service is TOP NOTCH!

 

With 2 wins, I am up against Jeff ‘The Professor” Young, with a similar list to mine, but he had more Churchills and I ended up Defending in Bridgehead. I just couldn’t stop his advance at all…

 

 

Knowing he would spearhead closer I spearheaded into the middle to keep him back, but it only bought me a turn..

 

Couldn’t kill his US ARP support platoon halftracks, so this seals the deal for my Shermans which are need to kill tanks..

 

 

Monte Cassino map

 

The international game, as Ernst (from Germany) fights Preston (from Upstate NY) on the desert crossroads map

 

“Are we counting these as buildings or ruins?” “Ruins is fine”               hahaha, love the perfectly shaped ruin for this Ferdinand.

 

Sylvain’s eastern front Panzers forest camo out of place here in Tankograd..

 

 

 

Day 2, Game 1 vs Mat McAdoo’s Rangers riding tanks with Mortar, Armoured Mortar, P-47 and Naval Gunfire support. I again push up with my recce elements to deny him any spearhead. I place my guns as AT assets in the long building with Shermans / Firefly in Ambush

 

“He probably won’t get both P-47s and Naval Gunfire on Turn 1, right?” Wrong!

 

I fire my recce carriers at his tanks just to kill the Ranger tank riders, then open up with everything to kill 3 of 5 Sherman 75’s

 

 

Yes I ‘ambushed” from that tiny area of palm trees. I reposition other Sherman unit to take on his Sherman 76s… right under ranged in templates.

 

His Naval Gunfire would come in 5 out of 6 turns, killing the weakened Sherman platoon and some of my infantry holding down the objectives. However my Achilles comes in from reserves and finish off the Sherman 76s, and his assault stalls, and I win by having no attacking teams in range of objectives. 7-2 win for me, putting me in 5th overall after 4 games

 

Other games.. a LOT of British players, I think this was the Golden Age of the Churchill, where they do not have to be against King Tigers, IS-2s or Jagdpanthers….

 

Darko’s Russians vs Preston’s ‘Muricans

 

Killing field on the mesa table

 

Jeff Young vs Marc Viau on the Top Table for the last round.. BUT as they both have Churchills whose shots bounce off each other, they fought to a 3-3 draw on Monte Cassino!

 

Which means if Christian or Jed can get a decisive victory, they will take top spot!

 

 

My last game vs Ryan Sullivan, the T.O. who had to Ringer due to dropouts.. Dust-Up He has Lafayette Pool and the 76’er Shermans in reserves thanks to the French FTP squad from the card.

 

His deployment, he would sweep forward with all his infantry in order to flood my tiny Motor Platoons…

 

Easiest way through the forest was to use the rails, but it makes my recce carriers look like an amusement park ride! “you must be 8mms or taller to take this ride!”

 

Ryan advances as my Shermans await his 76er Shermans

 

He keeps making his Dash / Follow-Me’s so he will slaughter my 25pdrs unless my Churchills come from reserves soon…

 

The 25pdrs regret deploying in the crops… they get overrun

 

 

 

In the end, the lone US platoon commander, after my greedy assaults, gets within 4 inches of the objective. All he has to do is take ultra-long range pot-shots and kill my recce carrier. The us Towed TD gets the 6+ to hit and kills it, for the win. 8-1 loss for me, I would go 3-2 for the weekend, where this last game should have been a draw, but I got ahead of myself and let him consolidate closer to my objective….