Miniature Hobby Gaming

Ever since I started playing Bolt Action, I’ve wanted to play not just tournament-style games, but narrative games, based upon historical events, or at least as close as I can get. I’ve also had a good sized obsession with the end of the war in Berlin. I’ve even built terrain for 20mm/1:72nd scale games, that I have also used with 15mm Flames of War. So, I pulled out my terrain, and worked quickly to finish up one piece in particular: The Reichstag!

I set it out, along with a bunch more seldom used terrain pieces, on a 12 foot by 4 foot table to create a version of the Berlin fighting. We made a few compromises, such as proxying British for Soviets, and using early war Germans in place of late war. But to be honest, it was very hard to tell from half a table away.

We had eight commanders, four Soviet and four German, with each controlling approximately 1000 points. There was no Order Dice limit, though most players had around 10 or fewer.

I made up some scenario rules, which I hope added a bit of color, and helped define the battlefield. These were as stated below:

1. All rules for Bunkers, Barbed Wire, and Trenches are as stated in the Bolt Action main rule book.
2. German deployment is 1/3 off board in Reserve, 1/3 deployed from the edge of the board up to 12”, and 1/3 from 12” to 24” from the board edge.
3. Soviet forces enter the board on turn 1. They may keep forces in Reserve. Infiltrators may start the game on the board, including all observers, spotters, and snipers.
4. At the start of Turn 1, the Soviets fire a Preliminary Bombardment.
5. The Reichstag building can hold up to four (4) German Infantry units only, but no vehicles or artillery. It counts as a fortification/bunker.
6. Turn 1 counts as limited visibility/night, i.e., 12 inch visibility.
7. We will be using a shared dice bag, with each side having as many order dice as the command with the largest number of dice has. Commands with lesser numbers of dice can choose to “Pass” until all extra dice have been drawn.
8. On each turn, when the first German Order Dice is drawn, roll that die. If that results in a “Fire” order, they may immediately fire a single off-board Super Heavy Anti-tank shot, which hits on a 3+. It counts as hitting top armor. It must be fired at a Vehicle.
9. Victory conditions are based upon control of objectives and loss of order dice. Objectives will be placed prior to the start of the game from 12 inches to 36 inches from the German board edge. Each side places half of the objective markers, alternating, starting with the Soviet player. One point per objective held at the end of the game, and one point per order dice lost by the opposing side.
10. The Game will last a minimum of 6 turns. At the end of Turn 6, roll a die. The game ends on a 1 or 2, and continues on a 3+ for one turn. At the end of Turn 7, roll a die again.  On a 4+, the game continues for another turn, Turn 8.

Factory, ruins, trench lines, and the Brandenburg Gate. Note, while the models are not exactly in scale, they did serve the purpose.

Train station (misplaced from where it would have been in 1945) but which looks very cool on the board!

Close-up of a Soviet medium mortar within the ruins. “Running” on turn 1.

Russian infantry squad moved down an alley toward the Fascist enemy!

A second Soviet squad occupies a ruined factory.

Turn 1 was fairly uneventful, with a Bombardment by the Soviets that little damage to the well dug-in German forces.

Soviet special troops atop a heavily fortified train station building. These troops took plenty of fire during the game, but withstood it. Their elevated position allowed them to harass the Germans across this section of the city.

A ruined railway platform bordered by an open wooded park filled with shell holes on the southern portion of the battlefield. The woods were heavily contested during the entire fight.

A close-up image of the platform and the “Soviet” (i.e., British proxy) troops along the rail line.

A mass of Germans advance out of the ruins in an attempt to drive the Soviets from the woods!

Soviet M4A2 76mm Sherman advances up an alleyway toward the enemy. It was only one of several Lend-Lease vehicles fielded by them in this battle.

A view across “No Man’s Land” toward the Reichstag. I think that they may have even recruited some of the BDM into the Volksturm for the final dying fit of the Third Reich!

A factory smokestack towers over the fighting as a Sherman supported by infantry moves up to face their opponents.

Soviet soldiers come under fire from the Germans occupying and/or in front of the Reichstag.

The Railroad station square was a point of severe contention during the battle, with the Soviets claiming the objective point. Unfortunately, the cost paid was too dear, as German indirect fire constantly harassed the Soviet units daring to advance this way.

The enemies come into close range as the fighting during turn 4 continue to intensify.

A look behind Soviet lines at the conclusion. The Germans were pressing hard, and losses on the Soviet side could not be favorably compared to units lost in the course of trying to either retain of capture them.

The final result was the Soviet inflicted a loss of only 4 units on the Germans while capturing 4 objectives, for a total of 8 points. The Germans gave the Soviets a total of 9 unit losses but only captured 3 objectives, for a total of 12 points, resulting in a German victory. A long 3-hour plus slog, but I think the participants enjoyed it. And most importantly, having this event encouraged me to paint up a 1000 points of Soviets quickly so that now I have them ready for any other Eastern front game!