by Marc M, 3 August 2025
Turn 9 of my Blood and Fury playthrough ended with most of the formations not activated. So, we’re holding out one of the End Operations cards until the 66th AR, the 200th GMR, the 245th GMR and the 48th GTR all activate. The Soviets have the edge by a wide margin, as I said in Part 5, I’m not convinced we’ll get to the final turn. But we’ve got several to cover in this last installment, so let’s get to it.
most images can click to enlarge
With very few units left, and Objective A lost, the US needs to focus on keeping six Soviet units from exiting at Objective B.
The 66th AR activates first, so we can deploy their HQ. There aren’t a lot of options for where. It stacks with the infantry in hopes they have a chance to use their ATGMs. The Infantry need a 7 to recover from Disruption and get a 9. Another brief activation for the US. It’s unfortunate the HQ didn’t deploy with the M-163 Vulcan AA unit. It can fire on ground units, so it opens fire on a nearby Reduced T-80 unit. At Point-Blank range, it gets a -1 To-Hit modifier, so even with only two dice, the chances are better.
They get a hit, but the T-80 rolls a save. No result and the 66th AR activation is already over.
This is the final episode in a running playthrough of World At War 85: Blood and Fury from Lock ‘n Load Publishing; you can find the links to all published episodes at the end of article
The AR gets their second activation. This time the HQ stacks with the Vulcan unit and the infantry recovers from Disruption. The 200th GMR is probably the most imminent threat, since Objective A is lost. Plus, the light armor BMPs are good targets.
The infantry fires on the leading BMP at point-blank range, so the To-Hit number is 3. They score three hits but fail the Reload Check. The BPM is in clear terrain, so it only gets one defensive die. It gets a save. It’s Disrupted and Reduced, but it’s still on the map, and a die roll indicates the infantry onboard are unaffected.
The Vulcan unit fires, but even with two extra dice from HQ support, only gets one hit. The defensive die from the BMPs rolls a save. This was another disappointing activation for the US.
The activation of the attack helicopters gives the US another chance. The helicopters closest to Objective B come out of Nap of the Earth near a city and transition to Flight for Move and Fire. The Soviet tanks might attempt a shot, but, as I read the rules of obstacles and unit heights, I think they’re in a blind spot. The Apaches close to Point-Blank Range on a BMP. The tanks adjacent to the BMP fire, but with only one attack die and a to-hit number of 6 against aircraft, they miss.
The helicopters use a High Rate of Fire HE attack against the BMP and score two hits. The BMPs roll no saves and are Disrupted and Reduced. The infantry rolls as unaffected.
The other helicopters fire on the SA-7-armed infantry and score two hits. The infantry unit rolls no saves, and since they’re already reduced, they’re eliminated, along with the SA-7 support weapon. The activation ends with moderate success for the US. And one less AA weapon on the board means the helicopters can move more freely.
The next draw is the first End Operations card. We’ve still got a couple of activations before the second one goes into the deck.
The 148th GTR activates, and the HQ deploys with a T-80 near the remaining AR units. All units are in Command Range. The HQ-supported tank fires on the Vulcan unit. At Point-Blank Range, they roll four hits. The Vulcans are in an Improved Position, so they can ignore the first hit. They roll no saves, and as a one-step unit, are Disrupted and destroyed. The extra hit typically spills over to the next unit in the stack, but since that’s an infantry unit, the AP firepower is ineffective. The HQ unit was stacked with the Vulcans and is automatically reduced and moved to the Suppressed HQ Holding Box. The end is near for the 66th AR.
The other T-80s fire on the infantry and score three hits. The infantry ignore the first, but in otherwise clear terrain, they have no defensive dice, so the remaining two Disrupt and Reduce them. A reduced tank unit fires on the infantry but scores only one hit, which the infantry ignore.
A full-strength tank unit fires and scores no hits. A reduced tank fires and both dice score hits. The first is ignored, but the second makes it through. The infantry have no defensive dice and are already Disrupted and Reduced, so they’re eliminated. That’s the final unit of the 66th AR. They held out much longer than I expected, but I think once they lost the tanks, it was only a matter of time. We pull their formation cards from the deck. The remaining GTR units stay in place and in cover. The woods give some protection from helicopter attacks and at this point, there’s no real need for them to move.
The Battlefield Event card is next, and the roll resolves to Battlefield Friction, the first of the game. But a roll of 7 shows All Is Quiet and nothing happens.
The 245th GMR activates next, and the HQ deploys to one of the T-64s. The BTRs are out of Command Range, but all roll as In Command. The T-64s move west a couple of hexes to fully control Objective A and remain in cover. The BTRs move west as well, ending in Objective A.
The 200th GMR activates, and the reduced HQ deploys to the leading T-80. The trailing units are just within Command Range. However both Disrupted BMPs fail to recover. The T-80s fire on the helicopters but don’t get a hit.
The Disrupted BMPs can’t move, since they would be reducing range to the enemy Apaches. The trailing units move forward toward the Objective B exit, ending the activation. All of the units that didn’t activate last turn have done so now, and the second End Operations card goes back into the deck.
The Attack helicopter squadron gets its second activation. The westernmost unit transitions to Hover and fires ATGMs at Point-Blank Range to finish off a Disrupted BMP. They score four hits and pass the Missile Reload Check. The BMPs don’t have a chance. They’re destroyed, and by die roll the infantry on board are also eliminated.
The second helicopter unit fires ATGMs at a T-80 unit in a nearby woods hex. They get two hits but fail the Reload Check. The tanks get one save and are Disrupted.
The second End Operations card is next and Turn 10 ends. We remove Ops Complete markers and reset Concealment. Three turns to go.
Turn 11
The 200th GMR activates first. All units are In Command. The Disrupted BMP again fails to recover. The leading BMP moves and is the first to exit at Objective B. With the Apaches at hover, they’re not high enough for Opportunity Fire beyond the woods hex.
A T-80 unit isn’t as fortunate. The helicopters fire at Point-Blank range as the tanks move, using a High Rate of Fire HE attack. Three hits and only one save leaves the tanks Disrupted, Reduced, and stopped.
The final T-80 rolls forward, drawing within two hexes of the exit. We get the first End Operations card, followed immediately by the second. Well, Turn 11 was quick.
Turn 12
We get an End Operations card right off the top. But three formations didn’t activate last turn, so the turn won’t end for a bit.
The helicopters activate. The unit near the eastern edge of the map fails to Reload. The unit covering the Objective B exit launches an HE attack on the reduced GMR T-80, scoring three hits. The tanks roll only one save and are destroyed.
The other helicopters switch to Flight mode and head toward Objective B for a Move and Fire. A T-80 unit from the GTR takes an Opportunity Fire shot but scores no hits. The helicopters fire HE at a light-armor BTR but also get no hits.
The helicopters draw a second activation. The units near the southern end of the map again fail to Reload. They fire with HE again at the BTRs. With the Point-Blank -1 to hit modifier, they get three hits this time. The BTRs get three defensive dice – their inherent light armor die and one each for Concealment and the city hex terrain – but roll no saves and are destroyed. Bad targeting for the US though. The BTR was empty and wouldn’t have counted for exit points anyway.
The other Apaches fire on the wounded BMP with an HE attack, scoring only one hit. The BMPs throw one save and survive for a bit longer. Missed opportunities for the two remaining US units.
The 200th GMR activates. The Disrupted BMP is just within Command range and manages to finally recover from Disruption. The T-80 makes it off the board, raising the exit tally to two units. Four to go. The BMP moves within two hexes of the exit.
The 245th GMR is next. They head for the exit. If all goes well, they should exit on the last turn. This is going to be a near thing for the Soviets.
The final Soviet formation activates, and we can add the second End Operations card back to the Formation Deck. The Disrupted T-80s fail to recover. I count hexes and realize the missed activation on the previous turn might’ve been costly for the Soviets. I think at best two units of the GTR will only make it to the exit hex. Since the half hex counts as playable area (as I understand it), they can’t exit and count toward victory.
The next draw is End Operations and Turn 12 ends.
Turn 13
The final turn of the game begins, and at this point, the order of activation might decide the winner.
The helicopters activate first. A bad sign for the Soviets. The easternmost unit finally passes the Reload Check. The other unit switches to Flight mode for Move and Fire, triggering Opportunity fire from a lone T-80 that’s just barely in range. They need a 6 but get a 5.
The helicopters continue on and attack the reduced BMP. They get two hits. The BMP rolls no saves and is destroyed. The infantry survive but are Disrupted and Reduced. Even if they could move, they wouldn’t count toward exited units for the Soviets.
The other Apaches Move and Fire as well. Three tanks from the GTR attempt Opportunity Fire but get no hits. The helicopters fire on a BTR and, with the benefit of Point-Blank Fire, get one hit. The BTRs roll a 6 for a save. They’re able to roll on and the balance shifts a bit back toward the Soviets.
The GTR activates. The two trailing tanks are out of Command Range and both roll Out of Command. They won’t be able to move or fire, but that doesn’t matter in terms of the scenario now. The Disrupted tank unit remains Disrupted. The remaining units move for the exit, but due to stacking limitations and the 245th GMR, they can’t move along the road and must stop just east of a river bridge and far from the exit.
The first End Operations card is next.
The 245th GMR activates. With the helicopters already Ops Complete, there’s nothing to stop the Soviet units from exiting. Four more units exit the board at B, bringing the total to six, and handing a narrow victory to the Soviets at very nearly the last moment.
Well, the US held out longer than I expected, but ultimately couldn’t stop the advance. But it was close. One more unit destroyed would’ve meant a US victory. The last four turns I really wasn’t sure how the game would go.
I think my tactics for the US were off from the start. It might have been better to focus on one objective rather than trying to cover both. And maybe it shouldn’t have been so close for the Soviets. Might should have played them more aggressively, but they got there in the end.
Regardless, the playthrough was enjoyable, especially since it came down to the last turn. While it wasn’t huge, this was the largest scenario I’ve played in the World at War 85 series. Blood and Fury played smoothly and while I spent more time shuffling through the player aids than I’d have liked, the shuffling decreased with every turn, and they certainly helped keep me out of the rule book. The two things I had to regularly check were the rules on line of sight relative to the heights of the units and obstacles and the details of what exactly happened during each phase of the turn. I’m sure I got a few things wrong there, but for me a level of detail was nice that required those double-checks was nice…even if it took me a while to get it.
The two things I like best about the gameplay are the simplicity of combat – no charts, just dice – and the activation system. The first streamlines the turns and the second adds a nice bit of randomness to them.
This scenario had some interesting elements, the helicopters, the close air support, and several types of artillery strikes, I’m interested in trying the rules for electronic warfare, chemical strikes, bridge and pontoon units and weather effects. And to actually make more than a single CAS attack. Definitely worth continuing to play.
World At War 85: Blood and Fury AAR – By Their Deeds Alone
PART 1 ~ PART 2 ~ PART 3 ~ PART 4 ~ PART 5 ~ PART 6
Thank you for visiting the Regiment of Strategy Gaming and riding with The Armchair Dragoons.
Rather than list a bunch of social media links, the easiest thing to do is to check out our LinkTree, which connects you to all of our various locales around the web.
You can also support The Armchair Dragoons through our Patreon, and find us at a variety of conventions and other events.
Feel free to talk back to us either in our discussion forum, or in the comments below.
