Wargame: European Escalation: Ride of the Black Horse

So with the pre-order beta releasing for Wargame: Airland Battle sometime today (I hope), I thought I would dive into the free "Fatal Error" DLC for European Escalation.  Mission 1 "Ride of The Black Horse" is twenty minutes long and is about a Soviet Guards attack against the exposed flank of a NATO spearhead east of the Fulda Gap.

I had some issues with the map and was too cautious throughout the battle.  I was fearful of an attack on my flanks so I kept infantry and armor resources tied up waiting for attacks that never materialized.

The screenshots below are from the final minutes of the battle.  After being driven back, US and German units have patched together a final line of defense west of their headquarters.

A platoon of M60 Patton tanks hammers Soviet T-62s and T-55s as they cross open ground. 

The attack is driven off and while the Soviet Guards regroup for a final push, Bundeswehr Jupiter supply trucks re-supply the American and German units.

NATO forces resupply before the Soviet attack resumes.


With a minute to go the Soviet attack resumes...

Soviet armor and infantry units mass for a final attack.
I ended up losing this mission but enjoyed it very much.  I held my own ground but lost on points at the end of 20 minutes.  Can't wait to replay it and be more aggressive.  The Patton tanks had awesome range and had I deployed more of them early on I think I would have beaten the first attack and not been driven back.

Comments

Doug Miller said…
I haven't played this since all of the DLC came out. Are you now able to assemble a more realistic TO&E for a scenario, or are you still limited to just units you've unlocked through playing other scenarios?
April 24, 2013 at 7:41 PM
Chris said…
Hi Doug. I am not sure if the new Airland game will give players that ability. I pre-ordered the game last night and gained access to the multi-player beta. For multi-player they give you pre-set decks (various battlegroups built by nationality). I didn't see deck customization for this beta.

I am disappointed the beta is for multi-player only as I almost never play multi-player. They do have the option to save games (which I don't remember them having) and the battlegroups made it interesting. The Germans for instance don't have any attack helicopters which I think is historically accurate. The pre-set battlegroups though had all of the cards unlocked which gave me access to unit types I never had before. For EE I never played the game enough to unlock all of the units.

The graphics are great and the use of aircraft seemed well done. They won't dominate a battlefield and they add an important tactical element.

The three maps I saw seemed full of possibility. Urban areas are still a little weird but at least you can access these sections of the map now.
April 25, 2013 at 6:19 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John Tiller's Campaign Series - Buy It Now

Image
John Tiller's campaign series game for $9.99 at  Matrix Games Ltd.  is a steal. There are so many great scenarios. I have been playing a Fastov scenario this morning detailing the 25th Panzer Division probe into a Soviet armor formation in 1943. If my memory is correct, the division commander is killed and the reconnaissance battalion is wiped out. The Campaign Series game lays this meeting engagement out on a beautiful map with the full OOB (over 300 unit counters are present). I have considered setting up this battle before for Panzer Battles and Command Ops, so to find it in this title's scenario list this morning was very exciting! This is a zoomed out view of the northern portion of the Fastov map in the map editor. Each hex is 250 meters. In the image below, 25th Panzer is probing north towards Fastov along both sides of the Unava river. The scenario designer set a minor victory at 600 objective points and a major victory at 1200 points. You can technically achieve
Read more

Maxwell's Marauders: Find the Observation Post

Image
Maxwell’s Marauders, 1st Platoon, C Company of the 7th Marine Regiment is a fictional unit, filled with characters that I have created to deepen my connection to my Squad Battles “ Proud and the Few ” gaming. The New York boys, Bullseye, Sgt. Rock and the rest are going to be persistent characters (unless they die on my digital battlefields) that take me through the War in the Pacific. From Guadalcanal to New Britain to Peleliu and finally Okinawa, the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment served with distinction and so too will Maxwell’s Marauders. Along the way, my hope is that by investing in the backstories of the soldiers on the map, I will play smarter and take fewer risks with them, enjoy my gaming and appreciate this great Squad Battles system in a deeper way. About these scenarios The scenarios are short (under 20 turns (100 minutes or less of combat). They are historical, even though the unit is fictional. Each battlefield map is an approximation of the terrain Frisbie’s
Read more

Edson's Ridge

Image
September 12, 1942, just before sunset: [Historical scenario] Japanese Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi has come to Guadalcanal to lead the attack against the Marine foothold on the island at Henderson Airfield. The I and III battalions of the 124th Infantry regiment are to attack from the south, along with the Kuma Battalion, II battalion of the 4th infantry regiment 19th engineer battalion. Kawaguchi will personally lead these battalions. A composite of Japanese engineers, special naval landing troops and the Oka Force, II Bn 124 Inf Rgt are to attack from the West. The Japanese objectives are the Marine bridge over the Lunga, the air traffic control tower on Pagoda Hill, the main runway hangars, and the Fighter One airstrip. Kawaguchi has grossly underestimated the strength of the Marine force facing him. The Marines have also disrupted his supply base along the coast at Tasimboko, dispersing a small reserve force, his artillery, and supplies. Special Terrain rules: The Lunga River
Read more