My buddy Arnaud and me tried out yesterday Raging Furnace. This is a total BLAST. Replayability seems as high as you can get.
Of course, given the slugfest that this is supposed to be, we took both optional rules so that we had a 80mm OBA each and Air Support (with special AT FB, cool 37 flighing guns).
This scenario has simultaneous set up with most of the set up area being common. SSRs apply to resolve the "problems" this may originate (set up on ennemy minefield, melees,...). ALso, you don t know who gets to start!! He who does could also be fired at, at his Prep with a Gun duel based rule... Tension is hight when rolling who gets to start and when solving ties on duels....
Arnaud set up in one big swerepunkt right in the middle of supposedly russian area with relatively minor flank nuisance (2 658 with MMG , a StugIII and a 8-1 for one of these "nuisance") and two AFV (a PzIV and a 81mm MTR HT) away on the top of a hill.
GIven my set up, he found 2 KVs right on the butt of the two above mentioned AFV and a 628DC+hero ATR ADJACENT to the HT! He knew those AFVs were goners...
One of the flank was facing all the wire/mine 458MMG,8-1 waiting trap, so no problem. The other flank was facing a 458,458,MMG,8-1 in Trench plus a 127 MTR (and he was in woods) and a KV. I was feeling confident there two. The problem was the swerepunkt... To start with, a nasty (658, HMG, 10-2, hero) stack. And then the CE Tiger with the 10-2 armor leader... Then 3 PzIV all lined up facing my three T34, one of them HD in a trench but facing the other way.
My (.50,458,10-2) was in sight of both Mr Tiger and 10-2+Hero combo...
And he gets to start! My 10-2 directed guys hold against his 10-2+hero and declares a duel against the CE Tiger but the 10-2 survives the 12 flat shot given his 10 morale... Fires , misses. The MG and I survive. Arnaud gets pissed off intensive fires and breaks the MA of the Tiger. Bad move, bad news. The Stug in his flank tries against my trench and misses. Arnaud feels like intensive fire and breaks the gun. Bad move, bad news. I start feeling good. Too early. The PzIV guys start shooting and keeping their 1 ROF and killing and ELR my infantry right in the middle of his swerepunkt without my gun dueling giving a sh**. They also brew two T34s but at last the ROF disapears. Then Arnaud intensive fire on the HD but flank facing KV in his trench. Since it is IF, I declare gun duel. He rolls snake eyes!! Bad move, good news though. We are already going to do something else and I say :"wait a moment, there was a tie on the Gun Duel!" I need snakes. I got them!!! This could have been one of our all time best war story : a double CH resolving a tie on a gun duel! Alas, I had forgotten that I need to spin twice to hit, so I was losing the Gun Duel. Dam! Now there is a blaze where my 10-2 is... Bad, bad news. On my DFire, I malf 2 MA (without using IF, I m no fool, just plain box cars. One of them is the 152 with its 23 TK, the lethal weapon to dispose of the tiger... I manage to kill his butt showing AFVs. Normal. He gets cocky and advances his kill stack on the road. Only my smoked kill stakc was left in there.
He advances a hero and a 658 (who had survived thru a DC attack) on the deliverer of this DC, a brave fanatic 127. This wimp was going for a 7to1 CC, I mean, the hero should not be able of such a coward move. Then I talk to the dice (they are mine!) : boxcars! And 12 came. Withdrawal...
Things look grim. My turn one. I decide to prep with my kill stack. Then I get this ROF from hell and kill his hero, break both the 658 and the 10-2. Ouf.
German Turn 2. was a killer to my russians. I could not pass a morale and the german would pass everything, including a NMC,1MC and 2MC without even a PIN result on the deliverer of a DC that killed my 628. Nasty, nasty. I had lost 45 CVP in 2 turns!
Russian Turn 2. My reinforcement arrived and my .50 kept such a ROF that eliminated completely all the ennemies in sight. One flank was swept. The other one two. I, alas duded a shell on the side of the Tiger and also, malf on 12 the 3 MA , it was a crucial reinforcing KV. Other than that, made up for the previous turn.
German T 3. Ther Germans were low on Infantry but had 5 tanks against just 2 on my side. These AFV should decide the contest. Not much happened but at the end of his movement the Tiger was to set in motion. He rolled for red numbers, I talked to my dice again and ... boxcars! He gave up. And I accepted readily for things weren t as grim as he could see them after that immobilization of a key piece in a useless spot. He had 2 impulses to go to take 2 hills. One was no problem but the other had my 10-2, my hero, my .50 and a MMG with a few infantry. He only had tanks to take it and without the Tiger and with some other AFVs far away in fire support, he had something like 2 or maybe 3 AFVs for the task. I had very little anti tank weapons though so that....
Great game. Try it out.
-Bruno