"Sand Wars 2025 - "Stemming the Tide"" Topic

We had a great Sand Wars Convention here in sunny Arizona on June 7th and 8th.

I had the opportunity to run my Mein Panzer, "Stemming the Tide" game on Saturday, June 7th using GHQ minis with the GHQ Terrain Maker.

The scenario takes place on the Russian Front in August 1943 following the Battle of Kursk. The Russians have gone over to the offensive and have achieved a penetration of the German lines and are sending in elements of a tank brigade to exploit the opening. Meanwhile the Germans are rushing some mobile reserves in the form of 2 Tank Companies from a Panzer Division to try to plug the gap.

I designed this game to be easy for new players to get into but also challenging for both sides. There are 3 divergent geographic objectives for both sides to take or hold plus points for knocking out or brewing up enemy tanks. The Russians also could get points for exiting units off the West map edge while one of the German goals was to get the T-34 Battalion to 40% or less of its starting strength.

I had 4 players for this game with 2 brand new players, 1 player that has not played in several years at least, and 1 that has 2 games under his belt. I almost had 6 players but 1 of them had a family emergency while the other had a scheduling conflict with another game at the same time.

After briefing the players on the basics of the rules, I gave the German side a pregame move to get their forces on the map. This enabled the Germans to arrive first but not have any great advantage of being already in good defensive positions.

The Forces. The Russians had a T-34 Battalion of 3 companies each of 10 tanks. The Germans had 2 reduced Tank Companies of 13 tanks each with a mix of Panzer IIIs and IVs.

The Russians overall had better tanks in the T-34 but I balanced this out by making the Germans Veterans with some advantages for bonus shots and more command flexibility. I also gave the Panzer IIIs some limited special ammunition for the Panzer IIIL/Ms and HEAT for the Panzer III Ns.

Troop Quality is the base for everything in the game. Die rolls are done with a single 20 sided die and rolling low is good in this game.

The German TQ was 12 while the Russian TQ was 10.

Geographical Objectives. The main objectives here were a village in the Northwest area of the map, 3 bridges in the South of the map, and the hilltop in the Center.

Pregame Move. The Germans came on the map with one company settig up around the village. The other company took 2 Platoons to contest the hilltop while the 3rd Platoon of Panzer IIIs were sent to guard the bridges.

Turn 1. The Germans won the initiative and started consolidating their positions in the village, on the hilltop, with the 3rd Platoon keeping an eye on the bridges.

The Russians brought the T-34 Battalion on the East map with one Company heading toward the bridges to the South and the other 2 Companies heading toward the hilltop in the Center.

Turns 2-5. In the South the Russians seized the 3 bridges over the river and destroying the Panzer III Platoon that was guarding them.

In the North, the Germans easily held the village and were able to bring flanking fire onto the 2 T-34 Companies heading up the hill. Because of the strength of the Germans in the village, the Russians did not make a serious attempt to take it.

The big fight occurred in the Center as the 2 German Platoons defending the hilltop were assaulted from the front and later their right flank as the T-34 Company that had taken the bridges in the South was starting to provide assistance in the Center.

The climax happened on Turns 4 and 5 as the battle developed into a close range "knife fight" for the hilltop. We even had some reaction fire in this game which occurs when vehicles are within 2 inches (100 yards) of each other.

At the end of Turn 5 we had to call the game as a couple players had to be at another game about to begin. Losses were heavy but pretty even on both sides with 1 German Company down to 2 tanks but the Russians had also suffered many losses as well. The Germans held the village, the Russians held the bridges while the hilltop in the center was still hotly contested with the Germans sending reinforcements from the village and the Russians coming from the South.

At the end we assessed the results as a draw with no clear winner. It was definitely a hard fought battle.

All in all, it was a great game and the closest result I have had in 3 playings of this scenario.

I want to thank my Russian players, Michael J and Rob G who were brand new to the rules and also my German players, Chris B and Richard B. It was a great game!

Of course, here are some pictures of the action.

A very good looking game, was it just tanks for simplicity?

Ain't that the kit!

Pete's puttin' it all to great effect too, as a battle problem he can readily deploy, and use as an intro/instructional scenario, and likely a damn fun game too.

"With the big picture in mind" – this is a great example of kit that entices players to the table (1st-w/super looks), and immerses them within a clear-cut game action.

(callin' this a perfect style of template/fit for conventions….and hobby outreach!)

You're still killing me with that great looking table and minis! There's no way I could make something as beautiful as you did with the GHQ terrain maker hexes, but you've had me spending quite a bit of time perusing Kallistra's website, pondering if I could make a reasonable facsimile with their Hexon terrain.

V/R,
Jack

Thank you very much, Billy, FlyXwire, and Jack! I really appreciate it.

Billy – I kept it to just tanks for simplicity and to keep the game moving along. In Mein Panzer, the core rules are about the tanks but there are additional rules for infantry, artillery, airpower, engineering and more.

FlyXwire – Yes, I did design this game for beginners to learn the basics of the Mein Panzer rules but also to provide a challenging and enjoyable game for more experienced players.

For this game, I had 2 players totally new to the game, 1 player that had not played in years, and another that had more recent experience but had only played a couple times before. The newbies were able to get into the game after 10 to 15 minutes of basic instruction and I provided some tips and advice as things progressed.

This particular game was the closest of the 3 of this scenario that I have run. The 2 previous games looked to be swinging in favor of the Russians when we called them and I can honestly say that this one might have gone either way. The players definitely had fun.

Jack – Thanks very much again for your kind words. Hexon has preflocked hexes and might be a viable alternative. I have been playing with Terrain Maker for over 30 years and I actually like the modeling aspect of making terrain for my games.

The Hexon terrain might be a viable alternative.

I remember starting out trying to make the slopes by cutting with a coping saw as recommended. I certainly butchered a few hexes and never got the knack of it. I then learned about using a floral cutter (hot wire) to cut the slopes and things turned out a whole lot better.

Cap'n,

Your terrain is beautiful, and I'd love to do it, but I know myself and 2 years after purchasing a million dollars worth of Terrain Maker hexes I'd have stuff stacked everywhere and a grand total of three completed hexes, so it would have to be Kallistra Hexon for me, but their roads and rivers are actually raised so I don't think I can do it.

V/R,
Jack

Thanks very much again, Jack!

Wow, great AAR for a great game, Captain Pete! Wish I'd been at the convention to see it -- or if I was lucky play it -- in person.

Great terrain and game! I am sure fun was had by all.
Jack, get the hexon terrain; it is great stuff. Their hills are good as well. Get wargamer terrain or battlefront roads though that lie flat.

Joe

Thank you very much, Mad Guru! I would be happy to have you play if you are ever in town.

Thanks very much, Joe! I think there was fun had by all of the guys that played.

I played and found myself wearing a hauptmann cap. Thanks Pete for a well run and entertaining scenario!

I was fortunate enough to be assigned to cover the left flank (north) and set up in and around that village. From the start, we immediately and rapidly approached various gullies and established hull down positions as the enemy was entering the battle. Overwatch established. Kill zones had solid coverage.

The Roar of Soviet steel was first heard, then rounding the forest edge and flowing into the meadow they appeared in force. Headed my way! We let loose a large volume of hardened penetrators quickly bringing the beasts up front causing the company to a halt. Return fire came in, our profile given the positions was minimal, no hits were scored. Given their predicament, the Soviets changed course and both enemy platoons decided to converge on my partner. Now I was doubly fortunate. Additional hits were scored on the flank and rear. Personal losses: One tank rolled double "1"s (D10) while shooting. Critical misfire! Gun was knocked out and the crew bailed.

We continued to take shots of opportunity while the opponent was in sight and then realizing the imminent danger of my partner's position and situation, we split, leaving one platoon in place to provide support while the other 2 platoons rushed in to provide much needed numbers. By the time they arrived, having rounded the protected side of a forest area, the bears were dangerously close and starting to overrun the position. My reinforcing platoons were forced to back off taking losses.

I was fortunate to have started in a strong position. The Soviets did quite well given their entry point was difficult. My partner did a great job of picking off and stalling the swarm.

Excellent AAR ThunderAZ.

I'll wager most GMs would enjoy hearing/reading player accounts like this of how their games were experienced.

Win or lose, if a game gives a great 'passage back into the past', it's one of those good times our hobby can deliver for players, but, tell your host – "they did good"!

ThunderAZ you did good here also, letting us feel some of the excellent gamin' you enjoyed.

Now to carry-on – games here like Cpt. Pete's above don't come out of thin air………(this comes with craft-ability (multiple skills in fact), historical research, rules knowledge, good people skills, and an overriding devotion to excellence, and $$$).

If you get to play historical games like this for free, or at times for a fee by attending a con…….it's actually a GIFT.

Thank you very much, Thunder! It was great to have you play in one of my games again after I don't know how many years.

Your AAR is excellent and greatly appreciated. It shows very well the point of view and thought processes involved in playing your German forces in this game. For not having played for a long time, you played like you just played yesterday and definitely picked up on the rules quickly.

Your position was very well constructed and kept the Russians out of the village. In fact, I would say that in this particular game the Russians opted not to make a big play for that objective.

Thank you, FlyCwire! I am very happy you enjoyed our AARs for this game.

What you say about hosting a game is spot on. It ain't easy and there is a lot of work that goes into running a game and trying to make an enjoyable gaming experience for all the players.

Thunder – Great pictures of the game! It is okay with me to show my face. For those that may not know, I am the guy in the green shirt.