by Marc M, 3 August 2025
As we approach the halfway point of this 13-turn scenario, I think the US is in dire straits. Honestly when I was setting up the game I really didn’t notice how heavily balanced toward the Soviets it was. I didn’t really count the number of T-80s that would arrive. Or maybe it all goes back to that lack of familiarity with Cold War tactics I mentioned in Part 1.
Turn 6
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That’s a lot of Soviet units. That’s not a lot of US units.
Here’s where we left things at the end of Turn 5. Turn 6 adds A-10 and SU-25 units for close air support, so we’ve shuffled their CAS cards into the deck. The Warthogs and Frogfoots are ready to enter the fight.
At the start of the turn, we’re holding out one of the End Operations cards, so the turn won’t end until the 200th GMR activates.
The US AR formation activates first, and the HQ deploys to the infantry unit. The infantry fires ATGMs, gets one hit on a disrupted tank unit, and fails the Reload Check. The tanks get two saves thanks to the modifier for composite/reactive armor. The Bradleys fire ATGMs next, get no hits but Reload successfully. The US keeps their tanks in Concealment for Opportunity Fire once the Soviets move out of cover and into range.
The 245th GMR activates. The HQ deploys to the infantry with ATGMs and the infantry fires on the nearest US tanks, resulting in two hits and passing the Reload Check. The Pattons ignore a hit, thanks to the Improved Position, but roll no saves. The second hit destroys them.
One of the GMR tank units fires on Pattons in Objective A and scores three hits. The Pattons roll two saves but the unsaved hit disrupts them.
The second T-64 unit scores three more hits. The Pattons again roll two saves, but the unsaved hit reduces them.
The US attack helicopters at the north end of the map are up. The easternmost unit passes the Reload Check. It stays in Hover and uses its High Rate of Fire ability to attack the disrupted BMP with HE firepower. Two hits and no saves finish the target. A die roll indicates elimination of the onboard infantry as well.
The second helicopter unit changes to Flight mode, triggering Opportunity Fire from the nearby Shilka. One hit and one save let the Apaches continue on. They use Move and Fire to attack one of the T-80 units with High Rate of Fire HE at point blank range. Helicopters don’t lose attack dice in Move and Fire, but three hits and three saves amount to no effect.
And, as is not uncommon, the helicopters activate again (I promise, I’m shuffling thoroughly). The helicopters shadowing the trailing units of the GTR remains in hover and attempt to pick off another BMP with an HE attack at High Rate of Fire. Three hits and two saves leave the BMP disrupted.
The other helicopters switch to Hover and again attack the T-80s from the 200th GMR but score only one hit against three saves.
Back at Objective A, the 66th AR activates again. The disrupted Patton unit in the city recovers. The infantry unit passes the Missile Reload Check and fires on disrupted T-80s from the 48th GTR. They get two hits and pass the Ammo check. The tanks roll one save by means of their composite/reactive armor, but the hit that lands reduces them.
The Bradley’s fire ATGMs at the undisrupted tanks in the same hex. They roll two hits but fail the Ammo Check. The tanks roll a save but suffer disruption.
Since the 245th GMR to the east has already activated and is no longer a threat this turn, the Pattons in the objective hex attempt long-range fire on the Soviet tanks of the GTR. The reduced Patton unit gets one hit on the reduced T-80s. The Soviet tanks roll no saves and are destroyed. The remaining Pattons fire at the remaining unit in the hex, but with the Long-Range Fire penalty, get no hits, closing the US activation.
The 200th GMR activates, so we shuffle the second End Operations card into the Formation Deck and deploy the HQ, in this case to a tank unit. This allows the HQ to spot for an Off-Board High Explosive artillery strike on the US infantry. The strike lands on target and the infantry takes two hits. Since they’re in an Improved Position, they ignore the first hit, but the second disrupts them. The Bradleys don’t fare well. They ignore one of three hits, but the second and third disrupt and reduce them.
The HQ-supported T-80 fires on the Bradleys, rolling two hits. While they can ignore one, the second one destroys them.
The rest of the GMR heads southwest toward the Objective B exit, ending their activation.
A Battlefield Event card is the next draw. It resolves to Working as Intended. The Soviets are the benefactors and can attempt to reduce a US unit. By die roll they succeed, reducing the remaining full-strength Patton unit.
The 148th GTR activates. Two tank units recover from disruption, two fail. The disrupted BMP recovers. The Soviets use their Off-Board smoke strike and place three smoke markers in the center of the board. Using this cover, the undisrupted GTR units head south.
The Soviets draw Close Air Support from their Frogfoots and attacks the Patton units. The adjacent Vulcan AAA unit engages, and with the benefit of a point-blank -1 modifier, scores a hit. The Frogfoots get one save and continue with the attack, scoring five hits to destroy a reduced Patton unit. We roll to see if the attack reduces the hex to rubble but get no effect.
The second Patton unit escapes, rolling two saves against one hit. The CAS unit fails the Ordinance Expenditure Check and just like that, it’s out of the game.
The US Warthogs activate next. Unfortunately for the US, the CAS rolls Interception is also out of the game. So much for Close Air Support I was so looking forward to.
This is the latest 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, with new installments each Sunday
The final two cards are End Operations, so Turn 6 ends with the US forces under ever-increasing pressure. I had really hoped the A-10s would make a difference, but they never made it to the battlefield. Time to reset Ops Complete markers, flip the smoke markers to “thinning” and mark concealed units.
Turn 7
The 48thth GTR starts Turn 7. The formation is spread out a bit, so we check and ensure all units are in command range. They are, so no one is Out of Command. The remaining disrupted tank units recover, so all units are fully active as well.
The tanks begin to move toward the town at Objective A. The remaining Pattons break Concealment and try Opportunity Fire at half range, getting a -1 Hit modifier for Point Blank Fire. They get one hit, but the tanks roll three saves and are unaffected in their woods hex.
The rest of the formation moves, and I notice that the Soviets probably should’ve targeted hexes further south for the smoke strike to provide more cover.
The attack helicopter squadron activates. The westernmost unit remains in Flight mode and moves to engage a GTR BMP unit at point blank range. The Shilkas attached to the 200th GMR attack the Apaches with Opportunity Fire but get no hits. The Apaches get two hits with their High Rate of Fire HE attack. The BMPs roll no saves and are disrupted and reduced. We check for the status of the infantry onboard and they are reduced as well.
The remaining helicopters Move and Fire as well. The Apaches open up on a T-80 unit with a point blank High Rate of Fire HE attack and roll three hits. The tanks get a fifth defensive die for the woods hex but roll no saves and are destroyed.
The 245th GMR is next. The HQ deploys to a T-64 unit. With LOS to the objective city, the HQ spots for an Off-Board multi-launch rocket system strike. A couple of die rolls indicates the MLRS strike is on target at full strength.
The Pattons take a hit. Under the strike rules, they only get one defensive die for heavy armor plus two more for the city hex and wreck marker. They roll no saves, so they’re disrupted. As an MLRS strike, the six surrounding hexes also get hit. That only affects one unit, the Vulcan in the center of the city. The Vulcan takes a hit and gets two saves, thanks to the terrain bonus and the bonus die for concealment, that save on 5s or 6s. A lot of firepower rained down, but not a lot of results for the Soviets.
The tanks and the loaded BTR advance west to the next city, closing in on Objective A. The dismounted infantry of the GMR load into their BTRs and stay behind.
The helicopters activate again. The Apaches to the north stay in place and again attack the disrupted and reduced BMP. Taking one hit and rolling no saves, the unit is destroyed. By die roll, the reduced infantry is also eliminated. The other helicopter unit remains in place as well and fires at a T-80 unit. They roll two hits, but the tanks roll two saves.
The Battlefield Event card is next. Die rolls indicate Overwatch Set and that the US gets the benefit of removing Ops Complete markers. We choose the helicopters, since there’s a slim chance they might have a chance for Opportunity Fire when the 245th GMR activates.
However, the next two draw are the End Operations cards, ending turn 7 early. We remove the Ops Complete markers, the smoke, reset Concealment, and, since the US AR 66h AR and the Soviet 200th GMR didn’t activate, we hold out one of the End Operations cards from the Formation Deck.
At this point, I don’t see any way the US can hold Objective A and prevent the Soviets from exiting at B at the top of the map. I’m wondering if the US should just choose one…or if the scenario will run the full 13 turns.
World At War 85: Blood and Fury AAR – By Their Deeds Alone
PART 1 ~ PART 2 ~ PART 3 ~ PART 4 ~ PART 5 ~ PART 6
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