by Marc M, 10 August 2025
We’re about 2/3 of the way into By Their Deeds Alone, and things have gone more poorly for the US than I expected. The eliminated units are stacking up for both sides, but the Soviets still have three formations with a lot of firepower and the US forces are greatly reduced. Thankfully for the US, the attack helicopters have been reasonably effective and haven’t suffered any losses yet
Truthfully, it’s feeling like a question of how long the US can hold before the Soviets win.
Turn 8
most images can click to enlarge
Turn 8 starts with the US helicopters activation. The helicopters to the south switch to Hover mode and use a High Rate of Fire HE attack against a 245th GMR tank unit. At Hover, they get four attack dice but get no hits.
The second helicopter unit also transitions into Hover, triggering Opportunity Fire from the 245th’s Shilka. The AA unit gets no hits. The helicopters use High Rate of Fire to attack a reduced T-80 from the GTR. They score a hit, but it’s countered by a save roll.
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 helicopters activate again. Staying at Hover, the southern group fires ATGMs. At Point Blank Range, a roll of two or more is a hit and the Apaches score four. Unfortunately for them, they fail the Missile Reload Check (this possibility is the reason I’ve been relying on the HE attacks). The tanks roll two saves, but since they’re already reduced, they’re destroyed. The other Apaches fire their ATGMs and get three hits but fail Reload. The tanks counter with three saves. (Ok… I realized far too late I misjudged LOS here with the southernmost helicopters. At a height of 1, the woods in N12 obstruct LOS from hovering helicopters that are also at level 1. It was too late to fix it, so it’s a learning experience.)
The 66th AR activates. The HQ can deploy now and stacks with the infantry in hopes of bolstering their ATGM fire. All units are in Command, but the infantry fails to recover from Disruption. No ATGM fire this time. The Pattons fail to recover as well. This will be a short activation. The Vulcan is the only good order unit left. Since this AA unit has a white range factor, it can fire at ground targets. It fires at the nearest tank unit but gets no hits. It was worth a try.
The Battlefield Event card is next. It resolves to High-Speed Approach, giving one formation a chance to Move or Move and Fire. A die roll selects the Soviets and the tanks of the GTR begin Move and Fire actions. The first attack gets one hit but fails against two saves. The second attack yields two hits, but three saves counter them.
The next tank unit moves and uses Long Range Fire against the infantry. With the Long-Range +1 to-hit penalty, they get one hit, but it’s ignored due to the Improved Position. A second unit fires on the infantry and gets one hit, but the infantry can ignore it as well. Another Move and Fire with no hits, thanks to Long-Range fire. Another gets one hit, but it’s ignored. The final tank unit moves and fires but scores no hits. Well, that was a lost opportunity for the Soviets. Things could have gone really badly for the US, but they turned out ok. The remaining BMP executes a Move and Fire but doesn’t fire.
The 200th GMR activates, so the second End Operations card shuffles back into the Formation Deck. The HQ deploys to the Shilka and, since a lone T-80 unit is lingering in the woods, we check and confirm everyone is in Command range. The AA unit takes a shot at one of the Helicopter units that’s been harassing the GTR. They score two hits, and the helicopters roll one save, resulting in Disruption. The 200th GMR is the closest formation to the Objective B exit, so the rest of the formation heads for the exit. They’re strung out a bit but are able to keep the trailing BMP in cover.
The 148th GTR is next. Again, the units are a bit spread out, so we confirm that everyone is in Command range. That done, an HQ-supported T-80 unit fires on the remaining US tanks. The Pattons are already reduced and disrupted so any hit destroys them. With Point Blank Fire, the -1 to-hit modifier allows three hits, destroying the Pattons. We do a defensive roll anyway, for form’s sake and to see if we need to check for rubble. One save doesn’t help the Pattons, but since only two hits make it through, the attack doesn’t reduce the hex to rubble.
The rest of the GTR continues full speed toward Objective A.
The 245th GMR activates to the southeast. The tanks advance and enter the easternmost hex of Objective A. With only a light armor AA unit holding the objective for the US, I think we can call this a success for the Soviets. Soviet infantry unload in a city hex to the east, arming with SA-7s to counter the attack helicopters. The remaining BTRs head west, taking shelter in a city hex.
The remnants of the 66th AR get their second activation, but they’ve only got a disrupted infantry unit and a light armor AA unit left. The HQ remains stacked with the infantry – hoping for ATGM fire again – and both units are In Command, but the infantry Disruption recovery die roll is one too high, so no joy there. The Vulcan unit retreats from Objective A to share the Improved Position with the infantry. The activation ends, and with two End Operations cards up next, Turn 8 ends as well.
We clear the Ops Complete markers, reset concealment, shuffle the Formation Deck and wonder what the two remaining units of the 66th AR and the helicopter units can do at this point. The Soviets are close to winning. They need to control all hexes of Objective A (we’ll call that done) and exit at least six units (at this point, tanks or loaded transports) from Objective B.
Turn 9
The US Apaches start Turn 9. The Disrupted helicopters successfully reload ATGMs, but the other Apache unit does not. The Disrupted unit recovers. The unit to the south fires on the SA-7-armed infantry with an HE attack. I’m not sure this is the best target but those SA-7s are a big threat to the highest-firepower units the US has left. They get one hit, but the two defensive dice from the city hex both roll saves.
Using the same logic, the other Apaches fire ATGMs at the Shilka, scoring three hits with the benefit of the Point-Blank -1 to-hit modifier. The Shilka is a one-step light armor unit in clear terrain. It gets only one defensive die, so It’s automatically destroyed with two hits. The Soviet decision to deploy the HQ unit with the Shilka last turn works poorly for them. The HQ is automatically reduced and suppressed, removing it from play until the next turn. When it does return, it’ll only add one attack die as support.
The helicopters activate again. The southernmost unit successfully reloads missiles and fires HE again on the infantry, but scores no hits. The other Apaches transition to Nap of the Earth and head to defend Objective B. Since non-AA units can fire on aircraft (albeit with a considerable penalty) they pick a route that keeps them out of range of the Soviets as much as possible. However, they come into range of a T-80 unit from the 200th GMR. The tanks attempt Opportunity Fire. With the non-AA penalty, they only get one die and need a 6 for a hit. They miss and the helicopters continue on at NOE to the line-of-sight obstruction supplied by several city hexes.
We draw the First End Operations, followed by the Battlefield Events card. The Event is Overwatch Set. By die roll, the US gets the benefit of removing Ops Complete markers. The helicopters are the only units that are Ops Complete, so they remove the markers, making them eligible to engage with Opportunity Fire.
It’s all for nothing though, because the next draw is the second End Operations Card, wrapping up a very quick Turn 9. So. Two turns closer to the end of the scenario and the US hasn’t lost yet. I honestly expected them to be completely overrun at this point. Let’s be honest, for all practical purposes, they are overrun, and I’m not sure of the real-world practicality of continuing the defense. However, we’re playing out the scenario, so let’s see how – and when – it wraps up.
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.
