'Lucky 7th' was the name of the demonstration game put on at SALUTE 2005 by Tim Gow and me on behalf of Wargame Developments.
The scenario was a simple one, and concerned a 'race' between various Combat Commands from the 7th Armored Division and the 9th Armored Division of the US Army to capture a vital bridge over a river. The players each took command of a Combat Command and the German defenders were controlled by the game umpires. The positions occupied by the Germans were indicated by small dice, and the type and strength of the German units was randomly generated when they came into contact with the advancing America forces.
The Combat Commands looked like this ...
... and the German defenders were drawn from these units.
The game was fought through several times during the day, and it was interesting to see the inter-action (or otherwise!) between the two American players as well as the ways in which they coped with the various German defenders.
The following photographs are a sample of those taken during the day.
The scenario was a simple one, and concerned a 'race' between various Combat Commands from the 7th Armored Division and the 9th Armored Division of the US Army to capture a vital bridge over a river. The players each took command of a Combat Command and the German defenders were controlled by the game umpires. The positions occupied by the Germans were indicated by small dice, and the type and strength of the German units was randomly generated when they came into contact with the advancing America forces.
The Combat Commands looked like this ...
7th Armored Division.
9th Armored Division
The game was fought through several times during the day, and it was interesting to see the inter-action (or otherwise!) between the two American players as well as the ways in which they coped with the various German defenders.
The following photographs are a sample of those taken during the day.
Reconnaissance troops of the 7th Armored move forward.
The leading elements of 9th Armored pass a defending German unit ... a field kitchen!
The 7th Cavalry in action.
A detachment from a German Fusilier unit (i.e. reconnaissance troops on bicycles!) are about to encounter the armoured cars of an American reconnaissance unit.
The Americans run into a traffic jam ... cause by retreating German transport units.
The results of the traffic jam! Two armoured divisions are held up by a German horse-drawn transport unit.
Another view of the traffic jam. Where are the MPs when you need them?
Hopefully the bridge is not mined or heavily defended.
Oops! How did they get there? One result of the confusion of a retreat is that units from both sides end up in the same place at the same time.
Across the bridge in one piece!
Reconnaissance units of the 7th and 9th Armored Divisions reach the same place at the same time.
German air support is chased away by aircraft from the United States Army Air Force.
Ambush!
Another game, another traffic jam caused by a German horse-drawn transport unit.
One way to avoid the traffic jam is to go around it.
Some of the American reconnaissance troops run into a unit of Tiger tanks whilst others prepare to defend the bridge from a counter-attack.
A Combat Command on the move.
American armoured infantry.
American armoured infantry, supported by units of tanks and tank destroyers.
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That looks great! How long did the games last, please?
ReplyDeleteCheers, Simon
Did you get there this year Bob?
ReplyDeleteLooks great- really must get round to a game of Megablitz myself. I hope it went down well with the punters.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Pete.
As far as I can remember the games each lasted around 1.5 hours. Bear in mind that this wasn't a 'proper' Megablitz game as such, rather more of a showcase for the game system.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great little game - thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteBigRedBat (Simon),
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can remember, each game lasted about ninety minutes.
All the best,
Bob
Steve-the-Wargamer,
ReplyDeleteI am afraid that I was on my way to the Caribbean at the time … but I hope to go next year.
All the best,
Bob
Pete,
ReplyDeleteThe game went down very well with everyone who played it and it also attracted a small crowd of onlookers each time we staged a game.
You really ought to give it a go yourself.
All the best,
Bob
Tim Gow,
ReplyDeleteThat supports my memory of how long each game took to play … and it certainly provided an excellent grounding in the basic game mechanisms.
All the best,
Bob
CWT,
ReplyDeleteIt was great game, and I very pleased that you enjoyed reading about it.
All the best,
Bob