World of Tanks Miniatures Game AAR - in 15mm Sci Fi

 This Christmas my youngest son surprised me with a gift of miniatures: The World of Tanks Miniatures Game.  I was formally a WoT player on the XBox for 7+ years, so he knew I would like this.  Sadly, I dont have any WW2 tanks painted, so I thought: why not use my 15mm Sci Fi vehicles for the interim.  A tank is a tank.  There are many reviews online for this game so I will not go over the rules here.  Suffice to say, they are simple.  The game is similar to X-Wing, where you can equip your stock tanks with upgrade cards such as crew, modules and consumables (ammo, supplies, ect).  This creates a varied play experience each time.  The game avoids the movement fussiness of X-wing, which was very refreshing.  

We setup a relatively simple battle: Base Capture.  Soviets vs the Germans.  The Germans used two stock Tiger tanks and two Panzer IVs, while the Russians fielded a single IS-2 and three T-34s.  Each side had a single base: a Soviet forward command bunker and a German supply dump.  Civilian vehicles, trees and other stand alone terrain pieces served as walls, allowing cover and a temporary hull down position before being destroyed by incoming fire or movement  

The Battle of Villin Farm

For the Germans, I used Old Crow vehicles: Sabre tanks for Tigers and Gladius tanks for Panzer IVs.  Soviet forces were equipped with Khurasan Red Faction tanks.  

The goal was simple: the Germans were attempting to breakthrough a narrow pass in the Caucuses Mountains and had built up a forward supply base to support the attack.  The Soviets mission was to disrupt the attack by destroying the supply depot. 

The odds favoured the Soviets slightly.  Their tanks have a higher Initiative rating than the Germans and their T-34s can move three times whereas the none of the German tanks could move more than twice.  Their higher initiative meant they moved last and fired first, giving them a tactical advantage and their increased speed allowed for greater mobility and flexibility.  The IS-2 also boasted a heavier gun (122mm) than the Tiger (88mm); it is a serious threat to any of the German tanks, especially the Panzer IVs. 

Turn 1: Both sides cautiously advance, attempting to get into defensive positions.  Fire is exchanged between both forces, but, was inconclusive. 

 

Turn 2: The Panzerwaffe moves up aggressively on both flanks while Soviet forces take hull down positions opposite to their advance.  The IS-2 remains on the central hill, hull down and in a commanding position.  

Furious fire is exchanged between both groups.  The lead Panzer IV is caught in the open and is disabled by a lucky shot to her tracks, leaving the vehicle exposed and vulnerable.  The Soviets come off worse, with shells shattering both solar panels a T-34 had been using for cover and knocking it out after suffering multiple critical hits.  

Turn 3: The Panzerwaffe begins an  aggressive push towards the Soviet base.  In the north the Panzer IV fails its repair roll, leaving it disabled in the open, and in the sights of the IS-2 and a T-34, both in hull down positions.  In the south, a single T-34 takes up a firing position in the woods beside their base.

Fire is exchanged, with both sides suffering heavily.  The immobilized Panzer IV is easily knocked out, while the T-34 defending the base suffers 3 hits, taking it down to 1 hull point.  

Turn 4: The Panzerwaffe continues its advance, slowly against the Soviet base.  The Tiger defending the German supply dump remains on the hill in a hull down defensive position.  Russian forces re-deploy slightly, with the damaged T-34 falling back to block the Tiger's line of sight to it, while the IS-2 moves slightly to cover the southern approaches.  

Fire is exchanged, with both sides suffering losses.  The damaged T-34 is knocked out, while the other Panzer IV suffers a minor hit while the crew of the northern Tiger tank bails out due to a lucky critical hit.  This is potentially disastrous for the Panzerwaffe since their base is potentially wide open to capture.   Until they pass a repair roll the tank will remain inert.  

Turn 5: The crew of the Tiger remounts their vehicle due to a successful repair roll, which is crucial to their defense of the Supply Dump.    In the south, their Schwerpunkt advances boldly, with the Panzer IV and Tiger rushing the Soviet base. Russian forces redeploy to save the situation, with their remaining T-34 moving to cut off the German advance.   This is bad news for the Panzerwaffe, since their defending Tiger has no targets.

German boldness is punished: the Panzer IV is knocked out by a devastating shot from the IS-2.  The Soviets suffer no losses from return fire from the advancing Tiger.  

Turn 6:  German forces continue their desperate attack, with both Tigers advancing: one towards the base, taking cover behind a Soviet wreck, and another advancing down the center.  Russian forces see an opportunity and pounce on the lone Tiger near their base.  If they can overwhelm it victory is all but assured.

Several lucky shots later and the Tiger is in rough shape: 4 damage and the crew bailing out due to a critical hit.  The German offensive has collapsed.  

Turn 7: The Tiger fails its repair roll, meaning the crew refused to remount their vehicle, leaving the tank inert.  This spells doom for the Tiger.  Soviet forces pounce and easily knock it out with multiple critical hits, with the final blow coming from an ammo detonation.  German return fire from their sole remaining tank is ineffective.  

At this point we called the game.  The Germans had no realistic chance of capturing the base and were in danger of being surrounded.  It was a good game, with excitement for both sides.  WoT the Miniatures game is an excellent introductory wargame and provides a fast play experience without undo complexity.  

I need to get collecting I think.