ITLSU - The Labyrinth, 1st Gaza 1917

[fred.]

Fred - As for the 'mines', they are to depict HE detonations and mark the artillery fire zones. The smaller ones for field guns and the larger, darker ones for the heavies. The rules make no distinction between types of fire. HE was the easiest. I'll have to have a think about depicting shrapnel.

Thanks, I'll need to go and check the rules again - not sure I have spotted the need for these. But we have also only used direct fire artillery in our games (perhaps because I've never got around to reading the indirect fire rules...)

[paulr]

       

A great looking game as always Martin

We've used barrage fire a few times but have just measured the blast area and haven't used any markers for the corners. We use explosion markers (black ad red cotton wool) to mark the point it lands

...
Your experience with the defenders in the trenches is very similar to what we have seen, that the defenders take very few casualties, but take huge amounts of suppression, which they can't rally off. I can't decide if this is realistic or not. I do wonder if troops in trenches should be able to rally off shock more easily, or even just ignore the first point of shock caused, by an attack.
...

Using suppression to open a way into a defensive position is the only option for the attacker. As the defender you have to do everything you can to minimise this. The Austrian howitzers should have been firing on the British MGs to stop them inflicting so much suppression. Having a time limit for the attack would also have limited the British ability to wait for the suppression to build up...

[Martin1914]

Hello Paul. Thank you.
I do prefer to let games run, but for this scenario a time limit seems appropriate to impart some balance. Afterall, Dallas GOC 53 Div was under pressure from Chetwode and Dobell to carry out the attack. My mistake was being too focused on keeping turns of artillery fire (I only rolled for 3) to use on the FPF. I should have adjusted on to the hillock and kept going. Massed MG fire is the Games' most potent weapon. Lesson learnt.

[paulr]

We raised some questions the first time we used massed MG fire, we thought we must have misinterpreted the rules

They are indeed extremely potent, and we now treat them with the utmost respect