Arcanacon XXVI "Flames of War in Action" demonstration game report.

Flames of War in Action was a demonstration and participation event using the Flames of War miniatures rules. Players controled companies of World War Two troops in battle using 15mm scale miniatures.

The event was a large game loosely based on the battle for Alam Halfa ridge during the first battle of El Alamein using the organisers miniatures.

Historically the Deutch Afrika Korps was running low on fuel so made a short flanking move which the British were prepared for, holding the German advance at Alam Halfa ridge.

Several players, most of them new to Flames of War, took command of the forces and a most enjoyable 6 hours was had by all!

The game table had a row of hills diagonally across the table from the northwest to the south east corner with the British infantry company deployed on the hills with antitank gun support with artillery behind them to the north east while the Germans entered from the southwest corner. A number of lesser hills etc provided some cover elsewhere on the table.

The British had a company of Crusader tanks coming from the NW and a company of Grants coming from the SE.

The Germans attacked with an armoured recon company supported by infantry guns and antitank guns to the left, a Panzer grenadier company with artillery and more antitank guns in the centre and a Panzer company with mixed PzIII and PzIV tanks to the right.

Things initially went badly for the germans with their artillery failing to range in for several turns while the british guns destroyed the panzer companiy commander with their first shot! The Recon troops attempted armoured assaults on the left that were repulsed by the British infantry supported by 6pdr AT guns, they then settled back to a ridge and started to set up a pakfront.

The Panzers on the right managed to clear the extreme SW end of the ridge and quickly destroyed a platoon of Grants but suffered heavy losses to 2pdr AT guns when trying to clear the rest of the SW half of the ridge. Just as the panzer grenadiers arrived to help the Panzers the rest of the British tanks arrived, finishing off the Panzers at the SW end.

At the NW end the german bombardments had finally cleared most of the 6pdr AT guns but the Crusaders arrived in force in the nick of time and a swirling melee between them and the german armoured cars and AT guns occured which left few vehicles left on either side but the field in the control of the British infantry.