Italy After Normandy - AAR - Step by Step Part 4 - 3rd Mission

The Set Up
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Situation

Your Company has just seen a US Piper Grasshopper Observation Plane go down into a field in no-man’s land. You have to get out there and retrieve the pilot ASAP as you know there are Germans out there with the same goal.

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The whole area is covered in low lying crops - tomatoes. They will slow us down a little, but no cover and too short for concealment unless we're lying down. Sarge splits us into two groups. He'll hang back to provide cover while Cpl. Leitz leads the rest of us to the plane. It's easy to spot. I bet the Germans have spotted it too.

We reach the plane and the pilot's just getting out of the cockpit. He says he has to grab a camera before we leave. Then they're on us.
 

 Lucky for us we saw them first. We fire and take down a couple...
 

 But their LMG sends us ducking for cover, except Allan gets hit!
 

 Another Squad comes into view.
 

 Sarge wins the In Sight and the second section suppresses the enemy.

Outnumbered, it's time to get out of there. I run and grab Allan, the LMG blazing away.
 

 Can't get the camera, so we blow it up with the plane.
 

We make it off the field with only Allan as a casualty.

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Game wise, I got hit by the LMG when it opened up the first time and had to use Star Power. In IAN the rule is, use Star Power, and you can't roll to increase your Rep no matter what you did during the Mission.

I wasn't going to leave anyone behind so being the closest guy to Allan, I went out there for him. Lucky for me he was only 2" away, so that meant I could grab him before the In Sight was taken.

I lost and the LMG fired, but both hits resulted in Duck Back - as I use the NUTS updates. Speeds up play.

I decided that running to retrieve Allan in the open and facing an LMG was above the call of duty so rolled for Medals. It's a rule in IAN back from the original NUTS; passed 2d6 and got promoted to Corporal. This meant Cpl.Leitz would get a transfer out.

Making each figure personal by giving them names of guys I went to school with, changes how the game feels. It was pretty cool going back to save Allan - not just another figure on the table.

Allan rolled for After the Battle Recovery and is too badly hurt. He's sent home. That's three of the original Squad gone after 3 Missions. Pamaroyan was promoted to Sarge in 3rd Squad, Allan sent home from wounds, and Jerome KIA.

The cool thing is each Mission  influences future Missions. In this case,  because we saved the Pilot, whenever we score as Random Event of Strafing - it's always one of ours, instead of rolling randomly.

The bad thing is because we didn't recover the camera, the Germans will be underground next Mission!

Cool Sports Games Miniatures

Not exactly miniatures, but I had to share these paper miniatures for Wire to Wire and Friday Night Fights. Kudos to Stan Hannan for some great work. Enhances the games and opens up a new aspect of the hobby.

 

Italy After Normandy - AAR - Step by Step Part 3

Part Two
Having failed in the first Mission, the Squad got sent in a second time. This time it was an Attack Mission and we had the 2nd Squad for help. My Squad, 1st Squad, went over the bridge while 2nd Squad would flank them through the woods and creek to the right.

 While 2nd Squad advanced  we ran into a German Squad. We exchanged fire and their LMG forced us back into the woods. My Star took an Obviously Dead result - but thank goodness for Star Power.  

Sarge sent Corporal Pamaroyan and 4 others to the left of the building where the Germans were while we popped out and pinned them down. Lucky for us we won the In Sight.

Here's the Corporal on the side of the house.

By this time the German LMG was back into play and had us pinned down again, one of our guys taking a hit.

Meanwhile, 2nd Squad ran into the rest of the German Platoon - 2 Squads.

A brief firefight took place and 2nd Squad was forced to Duck Back, with a couple of casualties.

As the fire intensified Pamaroyan and the boys made a rush towards the LMG. The LMG fired and took down a couple more of our guys, but the Corporal got within range and tossed a grenade. That cleaned up our side. 

2nd Squad popped back out, and caused some casualties on one Squad, forcing them to seek cover. Unfortunately the other Squad forced 2nd Squad back.

 Sarge gave the order to move against the German flank. As we hot-footed it over the clear ground Pamaroyan and the boys opened fire on the huddled Germans onto their flank. Lucky for us their LMG Ducked Back.

Reinforcements arrived and it was our Platoon Leader and 3rd Squad came in behind 2nd Squad.

2nd Squad moved up and we got the Germans in a cross fire. We finally made it to the Farmhouse and I readied a grenade. Giving it a toss around the corner, it exploded, taking out a couple more Germans and sending the rest ducking for cover.

The German NCO tried to rally them but ...

They weren't having any of it. The Germans left and headed off the table.

After the fight it was kind of quiet. Shelton was KIA. He was a newbie and that might have had something to do with it, maybe not. Wolke would get 5 weeks in the hospital, Mountz would get 3, but both would recover. Both would also get Purple Hearts.

Later that night we received 2 replacements. Pondok (Rep 4) had seen the shit, but the second guy, Sootz (Rep 3) was another newbie.

Oh yeah,  Corporal Pamaroyan received a Medal of Valor and was promoted to Sarge, but sent to 3rd Squad. He was replaced by Corporal Lietz (Rep 3). Pondok said he had heard that Lietz was a Greedy Bastard. We'll see. 

At least we'll get some rest.

NHC City Tiles - Long Time Coming

WHAT ARE 5150 CITY TILES?
It’s a set of 9 double-sided cardboard tiles that has 72 buildings and over 200 potential NPC interactions for your
New Beginnings, Urban Renewal, or Fringe Space games. heck, you can even use them in your ATZ games.

WHY USE 5150 CITY TILES?
When adventuring in New Hope City the locales can change
pretty quickly. Using the tiles allows for you to move about
the city without having to set up terrain for each game. This
lets you spend more time gaming and less time setting up
terrain.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
There are 9 double-sided tiles that can be laid out any way you
like plus one NHC Information Card.

COUNTERS
We’ve also included a sheet of character counters that you can
print and play with. We suggest using one to move on the tiles, keeping track of where your group is.

 

When it’s Contact time, use them to fight your battles on the
Battle Board (page 3).

City Tiles are now available in PDF or Print form - which includes the PEF.
NHC Tiles

The Farm - 1st Mission Italy After Normandy

Part One

The Germans are rapidly withdrawing from Rome through the farmlands of Vitterbo – June 1944.

Situation

Your Squad is ordered to scout up to the farmhouse.  You have been traveling so far without incident.  A delaying force of the enemy is estimated to be settling in 3 miles to your left, but they may have outposts anywhere. The area is modest farmland.

From far away, while on the road, you could see the two-story farmhouse, smoke rising from the chimney.

Patrol Mission

June 14^th 1944

Sergeant Lindsey, me, and four others of us headed left to creek crossing. Corporal Pamaroyan and the other five headed to the right. They were going to check out the farmhouse while we we’re going to check out the other house.

We hoofed it up to the crossing, Shelton lagging behind as usual. Smith and I were in front with the Sarge right behind. As we cleared the other side of the creek, we saw some Germans coming out of the woods up ahead. They saw us too. Smith and I got the drop on them and we opened fire. We dropped two of them, but a few more fired back. We continued to fire, but they kept coming. As a second squad came into view, the Sarge ordered us to hightail it out of there.

Later on Wolke, who had been with the Corporal, said he saw 30 or more Germans himself so Corporal was quick to tell them to sneak away. Not sure about what’s so important at that farmhouse, but I’m glad the Sarge ordered us out of there. That didn’t last too long though, as the Sarge just came by and said we were going back in tomorrow. This time we’d be taking 2^nd Squad with us.

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I had split the Squad into two sections. One would head up the right side of the board and check out the farmhouse. The other would cross the creek and check out the other house.

We activated first, the Germans scoring too high to activate.

We fast moved, with Shelton (Rep 3) only passing 1d6 so he was left behind a bit. As we hit the other side of the crossing, one PEF was resolved. Passing 1d6 on the new IAN PEF Resolution Table meant another d6 roll. 1 – 4 would be like the one in NUTS – resolve the remaining PEFs with 3d6, while a 5 or 6 could be Civilians or Partisans. I scored a 4. 

Next turn the Germans went first and the PEF in the woods came out into view. Rolling to see what it was resolved as, I rolled 3d6, passed 2d6 and we had Contact. Another roll on the Reinforcements Table and we had run into a whole Platoon.

Rolling the In Sight, we won and fired. One dead German and one Out of the Fight German was the result. That didn’t faze them and they returned fire. After a second round, Smith ducked back. The Germans moved their 2^nd Squad into view and another In Sight was taken. I won, as I was the only one that could see. I ducked back.

There’s a new rule in Italy After Normandy called Ending a Mission – Retreat. You can decide to leave the table if you feel you can’t win. Where the rule kicks in is the NCO or Officer that ordered the retreat could be forced to answer to the higher ups – called Paying the Piper. Lindsey rolled 2d6 on the Pay the Piper Table and lucky for him, he fast-talked his way out of it.

The other excellent thing about Italy After Normandy is each Mission has detailed outcome results. Not only based on whether you succeeded or failed, but also how well or badly you did when succeeding or failing. In this case, having failed, we were sent back in the following day – this time with 2^nd Squad on an Attack Mission.

I had set up the table to take pictures and started. But as the game ended so quickly, I thought I'd just write this one out. Hopefully, the next one will go better.

Step-by-Step Italy After Normandy - NUTS Scenario Book

Here's a step-by-step set of AAR's showcasing the upcoming NUTS FV supplement - Italy After Normandy.

First thing to do, roll up my Squad. I start as a Rep 4 Star and am not in charge of the squad. Stars get two Attributes - I roll for the first and got Tank Killer. Not one I'd pick myself, but at least it's not a bad one. I choose Tough for my second Attribute.

Time to roll for my sqaud starting with Reps. Eleven rolls and I get one Rep 5, six Rep 4, and four Rep 3. The highest Rep is the NCO, so I get a Rep 5 Sergeant, make the Corporal Rep 4 and spread the rest among the squad. Time to roll for Attributes.

That's where things get bad. Sarge - Coward?!

Six others get Slow, Shirker, Greedy, Poser, and Sickly (2).

The last five were Born Leader, Crack Shot, Quick Reflexes, and Ball Player.

One thing I did one thing to make it a bit more personable. I named each NPC after my old teammates from high school.   

Looks like it's going to be fun?! Okay, at least interesting.

NUTS FV and NUTS Big Battles - Moving Between Rules

 

 

Moving Between Rules

NUTS FV and NUTS Big Battles are very compatible. This allows your character to move from one to the other. Here’s how we do it:

·        Your multiple figures NUTS FV Squad becomes a one stand Squad in NUTS Big Battles.

·        When your Squad receives fire one of two things will happen:

·        The stand will be removed.

·        The stand will check its morale.

·        If the stand is removed, there is a chance (1) that your character was hit by fire. Roll on the Ranged Combat Damage Table (NUTS FV page 95) versus an Impact of 3.

·        If the stand scores a result of Break, your character counts as scoring a result of Leave the Battle in NUTS FV.

NUTS Big Battles is in heavy play testing - out sometime this summer.