- This topic has 13 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 9 months ago by John D Salt.
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08/06/2021 at 17:37 #157375AbwehrschlachtParticipant
I can’t wait any longer, here is my response to the recent Little Wars TV Quick Strike Challenge! A ten minute O Group battle report of the landings of Kota Bharu 1941, a longer version will be along later in the week, but here is the QS version:
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/stormofsteelwargaming
Blog: http://www.stormofsteelwargaming.com
08/06/2021 at 22:08 #157384Tony SParticipantGood Lord! When you say “quick strike” you weren’t fooling around! I think you should get bonus points from LWTV for filming and editing your entry in the time it took me to watch their video announcing the contest!
I really must get these rules. You certainly told an exciting story! And your table looked fantastic!
Felt rather sorry for that poor FO facing an entire Japanese bayonet assault alone. I imagine had he lived, or had the offtable batteries gotten the correct coordinates, the game might have been closer?
Out of curiosity, do you have a decent real camera, or do you use your phone?
09/06/2021 at 07:51 #157400AbwehrschlachtParticipantThank you Tony, Very much appreciated and I am glad you enjoyed the video. I’ll let you into a little bit of movie magic secret: LWTV asked me a while ago to make a video, they also approached a few other wargaming Youtubers and we’ve had a few months to prepare! They wanted to have a clutch of videos to show what they meant by the QS format.
O Group is an excellent set of rules and well worth checking out. As for the camera, I use a Panasonic HC-V180 which I’ve had for a while, so this was a slight cheat with the QS challenge. I’ve also just recently upgraded to a Lumix G7, so in the next couple of months my videos should improve in picture quality at least…
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/stormofsteelwargaming
Blog: http://www.stormofsteelwargaming.com
09/06/2021 at 08:40 #157404General SladeParticipantI was very impressed with that. Your narration in particular is excellent. This is the first one of your videos I have watched but I will definitely be checking out more. Great stuff.
09/06/2021 at 13:29 #157426John D SaltParticipantVery slick presentation.
I’m not familiar with the “‘O’ Group” rules, but from the narration it seemed there were at least two occasions on which Japanese platoons overran entrenched and unsuppressed Dogra platoons by a frontal bayonet charge up a hill. While such things are not entirely unknown (Clive Dytor’s marines in the Falklands, for example) do the rules make them likely, or was this the result of some very improbable dicing? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick, and the defenders were suppressed? (perhaps by Japanese naval gunfire support, which gets a mention at the beginning then seems to vanish).
All the best,
John.
09/06/2021 at 15:51 #157433AbwehrschlachtParticipantCheers chaps, glad you enjoyed the video and I’m glad you are going to check more out, General Slade.
John, as for the bayonet charge, I think I forgot to remove the two dice for assaulting a trench or fortifications, which is quite a significant reduction when you are rolling six dice. But I also gave the Japanese a +1d6 in close combat due to their fanatical nature during the Malaya campaign, so it was slightly balanced out. Also, IIRC (I recorded this game a few months ago now…) there was firing and previous attacks on the positions before the ones I showed in this shortened version of the game. The Japanese never got to fire their naval batteries though.
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/stormofsteelwargaming
Blog: http://www.stormofsteelwargaming.com
09/06/2021 at 17:42 #157437Tony SParticipant<p style=”text-align: left;”>Well spotted John. I missed that possible rules wrinkle.</p>
That said, I’d agree with Abwehrschlact’s addition of an extra die. Not only was it a surprise attack, but they weren’t even at war a day before. And then facing a horde of soldiers charging at you with bayonets of all things, yes, I’d be a trifle inclined to retreat too!09/06/2021 at 18:13 #157439AbwehrschlachtParticipantAdd to that they were poorly trained, and equipped, the defences were not in a great state and the attack came it just before dawn. In the real life battle the Japanese were not held up in the slightest.
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/stormofsteelwargaming
Blog: http://www.stormofsteelwargaming.com
09/06/2021 at 23:10 #157447John D SaltParticipantIn the real life battle the Japanese were not held up in the slightest.
I think that’s a bit of an exagerration.
According to the document at
tinyurl.com/jfavhu2c
the Japanese official report acknowledged 700 killed and wounded from Takumi detachment, which a pretty big bite out of a regimental group. The first and second waves were pinned in front of the wire on the beach for a long time, and the CO of 3rd battalion killed leading the first wave.
[Edited to add] That’s proportionately more losses than were suffered by the two US Divisions that went in at Omaha.
All the best,
John.
10/06/2021 at 16:13 #157468DCRBrownParticipantJ,
it seemed there were at least two occasions on which Japanese platoons overran entrenched and unsuppressed Dogra platoons by a frontal bayonet charge up a hill. While such things are not entirely unknown do the rules make them likely, or was this the result of some very improbable dicing?
We may have missed it in the Quick Strike video but a defender can React Fire to enemy movement, Orders permitting.
So the defenders should have had between 7D6 to 6D6, with no spotting dice as the attackers are in the open. An average roll would see 3 to 4 hits followed by perhaps 2 morale tests saves, so on average a 2 Shock result.
All units are Suppressed on 3 Shock, so if the attackers were already holding any shock they wouldn’t make it into combat. Even if they did make it into combat they are likely to take casualties, win or lose.
Now if that were Panzergrenadiers, they would be on 8D6 and a reroll for a miss…..ouch!
Hope that helps.
DB
10/06/2021 at 17:27 #157470AbwehrschlachtParticipantI thin k you’re also forgetting the most important thing here, I probably forgot some rules…
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/stormofsteelwargaming
Blog: http://www.stormofsteelwargaming.com
10/06/2021 at 20:31 #157474John D SaltParticipantAssuming the defenders had 6 fire dice, and further assuming — from a state of near-complete ignorance of the “‘O’ Group” rules, as I have only watched fragments of a tutorial video — that it needs 4, 5 or 6 to hit and 3, 4, 5 or 6 to save, then by my reckoning the chance of making such an attack without suffering more than one effective hit is 35%. So on those assumptions the results could have been a spot of luck for the Japanese player, but nothing so outrageously lucky as to risk being burnt as a witch.
All the best,
John.
11/06/2021 at 22:09 #157505DCRBrownParticipantJ,
Units “save” on only a 4,5,6; so it’s even lower then 35% – so yes, more than a spot of luck for the Japanese player!
DB
12/06/2021 at 12:14 #157521John D SaltParticipantSilly me. I was holding one of my probabilities upside-down, and so calculating for a one-third chance of a save, rather than a one-third chance of a hit being confirmed.
Re-twiddling to the right numbers, 50% chance of hit and 50% chance of success, on six dice that means an expectation of 1.5 hits, mode and median of 1 hit, and a 53% chance of getting away with no more than one hit. So entirely believeable the thing could have been non-outrageous luck.
All the best,
John.
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