Blazin' Chariots, what'd I do wrong?

[Grunt]

Played Blazin' Chariots twice the other day. Twice, because I didn't last past turn 2 either game. I was the Brits. In the first game my plan was to drive up along the right flank and try to get around or behind the Germans. The Germans set up spread evenly across the the front. I had three tanks on the left to try and get side shots as the Germans turned to face my attack. The Brits are hampered by +2 sun blindness. My troubles began as I moved onto the boards. The Germans opened up and nailed three of my tanks during my movement. Then, in their prep fire the Germans nailed three more. This with me remaining in motion too. I resigned then and there. My opponent was pretty hot with the dice as well so I thought I'd give it another try. He can't be that lucky two games in a row, right? My strategy for the second game was basically the same. I just don't think the Brits should attack frontally into that sun. Ther Germans set up as before. This time I used smoke where I could get it and remained in motion. This time only one tank was killed during my movement. In my opponent's prep fire he killed two more with the help of acquisition. My turn two movement saw me lose three more. I resigned then. In both games I never fired a shot since I remained in motion at all times.

On the ROAR this is an evenly balanced scenario. But I fail to see how the Brits have a chance. What'd I do wrong?

 

[SamB]

Well, its been awhile since I've played this one, but here's a few pointers...

The Brits should divide into two fairly even forces and drive hard up the board edges. Close the range - and get where you can fire at the OPPOSITE German flank uints without the sun blindness DRM. Only when you are in such a postion should you stop and fire.

Remember smoke - the Brit tanks have tons of it. Us hte Smoke Mortars, Smoke Dispensers, etc. Whatever gives you the best chance of laying smoke.

You might also try platoon movement - but I'm not sure this is a good idea in this case.

Sam

 

[Brian W]

Remember smoke - the Brit tanks have tons of it.

Too bad they are driving American tanks!

It is a wild scenario; as Sam said, driving hard along both flanks is probably the best way to go. The main advesaries for the stuarts are the PzIII's. Once they are gone, the other german tanks are in trouble. After you get behind the sun blindness the game should turn around.

Of course, it is a desert scenario and that means dicefest. So, a lot of PzIII rof could mean game over quite quickly. However, The same is true for the brits: get lucky and only lose 4 tanks coming in and then slaughter the 5(?) PzIII's in one turn and it quickly feels very pro-British.

There is a cross-fire in a magazine that analyses this scenario. I think it was Mark Nixon and Rob Bonznic (sp?). One though it pro-british, and one thought it pro-german.

One thing is for sure, it will teach you all the armor charts by the end of the game!

Brian

 

[rtroha]

Blazin' Chariots: British Should NOT attack

The major British advantage is their LL guns, closing with the Germans eliminates that advantage. Instead, the British need to enter the playing area, but NOT attack. Just sit there CE (to maximize TH chances) and start firing at the Germans. Remember, the German guns all have much poorer long range TH ability.

I also have my tanks shoot diagonally across the board to eliminate the Sun Blindness TH DRM.

After a couple of turns of Brits scoring more hits than the Germans, the German player will start getting nervous. If those hits generate kills, the German player will eventually figure out his only chance is to charge the British AFVs.

The British player should win this scenario most of the time as long as he doesn't malfunction too many guns. The only reason there are so many German wins as there are, is too many British players think they have to charge the Germans.

 

[TankDawg]

Remember smoke - the Brit tanks have tons of it.

Sam

Then Brian writes:

Too bad they are driving American tanks!

That's what is fun about Sam - nothing stops him! He uses smoke for all vehicles as if they were British tanks. I once saw him use a sM and a sD on a Jeep!

:wink:

 

[Brian W]

Re: Blazin' Chariots: British Should NOT attack

The major British advantage is their LL guns, closing with the Germans eliminates that advantage. Instead, the British need to enter the playing area, but NOT attack. Just sit there CE (to maximize TH chances) and start firing at the Germans. Remember, the German guns all have much poorer long range TH ability.

I think this is insanity. The LL guns are also American (red TH#'s) and 37mm (additional -1 TH at ranges > 12). With +2 of Sunblindness, you will never do better than +2 worse than a german 50/75*, and even against the german 20L (or even/-2 if you avoid sunblindness--good luck!). Going CE when the German still has a 75 on board is probably a mistake as well. It makes a lousy AT weapon a very nice anti-crew weapon. The german crews will be CE as the brits have no long range IFT firepower to speak of.

Edit:
Also, the differences in the Final TH DR needed are significant as well. At 19-24 range the Basic TH # for the Germs vs Brits is 6 vs 5. Add in Sun Blindness and it is 6 vs 3 needed. You can avoid sunblindness on some of the PzII's due to set up restrictions, but probably not against the PzIII's, which are the brit's main target. After one turn of fire, the base TH's will be 7 vs 4, with the germans shooting first in the next turn. After PFPh, it's 8 vs 5. That is a big chunk of percentage difference. Of course the brits have more tubes so it may work out, but I think the extra rof and PzIV's make up for it, especially when you are going to go CE to get the 5 final TH#.

 

[Perry]

Mark Nixon analyzed this scenario in The GENERAL along with all the WoA scenarios, but I don't think he did a Crossfire on it. Someone else may have. I know Mark considered the "don't attack" attack, but I thought he rejected it based on the probabilities.

 

[Brian W]

Mark Nixon analyzed this scenario in The GENERAL along with all the WoA scenarios, but I don't think he did a Crossfire on it.

I dug it out; it was Rob Banozic and Rich Summers in HOB's Recon ...By Fire! magazine. Banozic rated it 65% pro-german and Rich Summers rated it 65% pro-British. It's a decent crossfire (with some editing errors), although I generally do not like crossfire articles.

 

[JOS]

Blazin Odds

A couple of points on this one.
First, the enter the board and fire at long range strategy is somewhat viable for the British, certainly not 'insanity'. The Stuarts just need to stay at 25-30 hex range, where their TH # equal those of the German 50s (4 each), and obviously fire at targets outside the Sun-Blindness zone. In this case, the hope is the greater numbers of effective British Guns (12) outweigh the better rof/AL on the 5 equivalent German guns. This has the advantage of taking away the slight but not ignorable threat of APCR and the 20Ls. The disadvantage is that it can become difficult to find targets outside the sunblindness cone, the Germans can just back up to 31+ range where they again have an edge in TH numbers, the need to stay CE makes the 75s useful after they burn out their AP, and it just isn't as much fun as an all out charge!
Second, assuming the British player does go ahead and charge most of his tanks up the two flanks, there are still issues to think about. One is whether to move the maximum distance the first turn, or to remain in motion at 13 hexes. The German TH numbers jump from 7 to 9 at 12 hex range, and the Stuarts have plenty of MP to get into the German line on turn 2, so it is probably best to hang back. The other question is whether and how long to remain CE. I would probably have the Stuarts CE at most for a round of sD attempts at 13 hex range but not much longer.
I do think this is a fun and fast scenario that really gives both players an appreciation for the nuances of AFV combat. Also, the usual 7 TK for the Germans and 5-8 TK for the British produce a pleasant supply of shocks and immobilizations. Of course, once the Stuarts get into the German line is when the fun really starts ... wish I had my old Generals around to see what Nixon said.
Enjoy, Joshua

 

[Anonymous]

Here's the secret-- don't get hit!