Firestorm Gazala Turn 1- Join today

Today Breakthrough Assault in partnership with No Dice No Glory (NDNG) is proud to launch Firestorm Gazala made by our mutual friend Jokull in Iceland.  We have already talked about the campaign and whats involved here, and we have had loads of positive feedback keen for it to begin.  Well we are ready!

Tom Burgess from NDNG has taken the British and I am playing the role of Rommel as he looks to sweep across the desert.  All the strategic moves have been completed for turn 1 and you can watch exactly what has happened on with a video our new Youtube channel here.  Please subscribe and you can keep up to date with all future turns as well.

Five Battles can be played each affecting the outcome of this turn.   I’ll take you through everything you need to know for this turn.

How to I take part?

Easy just pick one (or more if you want) battles below and play a game of FOW.  

What forces do I need?

Ideally you would play an Africa Korp force vs the British from Armoured Fist (or Desert Rats).  You would also use the correct Firestorm troops as detailed below.  However we know not everyone has this and we want people to join in as much as possible.  With that in mind try and be as close as your collection allows.  The games will need to be Midwar but if you haven’t got the Firestorm troops you can take the equivalent extra points instead.  If you lack a British Army then perhaps use US or if you lack Germans use Italians.  Its up to you, its your game, however all we ask is you try and play as close as you can to the spirit of the period/campaign.  

What points level?

Again completely up to you.  A normal game is 100pts but remember you have Firestorm troops in most (in turn one all games have extra troops) on top of your agreed points.  Therefore you may want to use less points knowing Firestorm will top them up.  Maybe you have a big board and want to fight a massive game.

Who attacks and defends & how do I choose a mission?

Each battle below details who is the attacker and the mission is to be determined using the Breakthrough Assault expanded mission matrix here.  The attacker must pick the Attack or Maneuver stance and the defender can pick any stance he/she likes.  If the defender picks anything other than defend, then may not use minefields or barbed wire granted by fortified positions or the attacker crossing a minefield on the strategic map (see below).  Also when calculating points for minefields you do not include Firestorm troop values but points if your standard force. 

The side marked as the attacker in the battle description are always the attacker in any mission and this overrules special rules such a night attack.  For instance if the Germans are attacking and encounter is rolled, the Germans would be the attacker, there is no need to roll off.

When calculating the 40% of your force to be held in reserve you should include the cost of the Firestorm Troops (as listed below).  Eg a 100pt force with 18 pts worth of firestorm troops is treated as a 118pt force and therefore holds 48 pts in reserve. 

Firestorm units always count as support so do not form part of any of your formations. 

How do I submit results?

Easy, just email breakthrough.assault.blog@gmail.com including the battle you fought, player names, forces used and the result.  Please put in a few pictures if you can and a para or two on what happened.  You never know, you may get a mention in dispatches!

How long is each campaign turn & how is the final result determined?

The first campaign turn (the battles below) last until Sunday 5 Jul 20.  At that point we will collate the results and work out who won each area.  A new video will  be filmed showing the results and laying out the next turns battles.

Campaign Turn 1 Battles.

As shown in the video here, there are 5 battles to play out.  

Battle 1  C2 into C4

German player is the attacker and has the following Firestorm troops.

Panzer Regiment 8 – 15^th Panzer Division – 
Reinforce your company with a Panzer Platoon with three Panzer III (short 5cm) and one Panzer III (long 5cm).  Equivalent to 22pts

JU87 Stuka Dive Bomber Flight – Reinforce your army with a JU87 dive bomber flight equivalent to an extra 9pts.

The British player gets the following firestorm troops.

4th Armd. Bde. – 7^th Armoured Division  – Reinforce your company with a Grant Armoured Troop, with three Grant tanks, equivalent to 18pts

Hurricane Tank Buster Flight – Reinforce your company with a Hurricane Tank Buster flight the equivalent of 9 pts

Battle 2 B1 into B3

German player is the attacker and has the following Firestorm troops.

101° Divisione Motorizzate ‘Trieste’- reinforce your company with a Italian Rifle Company consisting of 9 rifle/mg stands as well as either the softskin transport or Motociclisti command card, the equivalent of 10pts.

CR42 Falco Assault Section – Reinforce your company with a CR42 Falco Assault Section, equivalent of 5pts.

The German player attacked over a line of minefields.  Therefore the British player may add a minefield and barbed wire  
(rules detailed at the end of the article), for every 25 points or part of in the battle (not including Firestorm troops). This is for all missions.   If the mission being played already uses minefields the defending player does not gain any extra minefields.  Put simply, the defending player will always have minefields and barbed wire in this battle so long as they pick defend.  If the defender picks anything other than the defend stance then they get no bonus.

The British player gets the following Firestorm troops.

22^nd Armd. Bde. – 1^st Armoured Division –  Reinforce your company with a Crusader II Armoured Troop, with three Crusader II tanks equivalent to 5pts

Hurricane Tank Buster Flight – Reinforce your company with a Hurricane Tank Buster flight the equivalent of 9 pts

Battle 3 A3 into A2

British player is the attacker and has the following Firestorm troops.

1st South African Division – Reinforce your company with a full rifle platoon with the South African Rifle Company Card (5+ last stand) which is the equivalent of 9pts.

1^st Artillery Regiment 2^nd South African Division -Reinforce your company with 4 x 25pdrs the equivalent of 14pts.

The British player attacked over a line of minefields.  Therefore the German player may add a minefield and barbed wire 
(rules detailed at the end of the article), for every 25 points or part of in the battle (not including Firestorm troops). This is for all missions.   If the mission being played already uses minefields the defending player does not gain any extra minefields.  Put simply the defending player will always have minefields and barbed wire in this battle so long as they pick defend.  If the defender picks anything other than the defend stance then they get no bonus.

The German player may add the following Firestorm troops to their game.

102° Divisione Motorizzate ‘Trieste’- reinforce your company with a Italian Rifle Company consisting of 9 rifle/mg stands as well as either the softskin transport or Motociclisti command card, the equivalent of 10pts.

Infantrie Regiment 155 – 90 Leichte Afrika Division – 
Reinforce your company with an Africa Rifle Platoon with 4x MG34 teams, 1x 2.8cm anti-tank rifle, 1x sMG34 HMG and 1x 8cm mortar. In addition, they have the card Softskin Transport. This is the equivalent of 11pts.

Fortified – The German player may add an extra 5pts to his/her force or 2 minefields (in addition to the minefield rule above).  This bonus can only be used if you pick the defend stance.

Battle 4 C2 into C6

German player is the attacker and has the following Firestorm troops.

Panzer Regiment 5 – 21^th Panzer Division – 
Reinforce your company with a Panzer Platoon with three Panzer III (short 5cm) and one Panzer III (long 5cm).  Equivalent to 22pts.

132°Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’- Reinforce your company with 4 x M14/41 tanks.  This is the equivalent of 9pts.

The British player may add the following Firestorm Troops.

7th Motor Brigade Group – Reinforce your company with a full motor platoon with the softskin transport card.  This is the equivalent of 9pts.

Battle 5 C2 into C5

German player is the attacker and has the following Firestorm Troops.

Infantrie Regiment 200 – 90 Leichte Afrika Division – 
Reinforce your company with an Africa Rifle Platoon with 4x MG34 teams, 1x 2.8cm anti-tank rifle, 1x sMG34 HMG and 1x 8cm mortar. In addition, they have the card Softskin Transport. This is the equivalent of 11pts.

JU87 Stuka Dive Bomber Flight – Reinforce your army with a JU87 dive bomber flight equivalent to an extra 9pts.

The British player adds the following Firestorm troops.

3rd Indian Motor Brigade  – Reinforce your company with a full motor platoon with the softskin transport card and Indian Motor Company Card.  This is the equivalent of 10pts.

Barbed Wire

Barbed wire is represented by a marker the same as a minefield (We suggest using a different colour to your minefields) with a 2 inch diameter.  Infantry teams wishing to cross or move into barbed wire must pass a skill test or immediately stop on the edge.   Tanks treat it as difficult terrain.  Infantry may clear wire if they start their turn in it exactly as they would a minefield.

Well thats it for turn 1, all that left now is for you all to play the games report back.  Good luck in the field and may your dice be 6s (unless you are playing British, then roll 1s 😉 ).