Tarawera Week - Day Four

Saturday dawned brilliantly sunny, although a little cool. After our usual hearty breakfast we stared our fourth game for this year that was set during the Spanish Civil War using one of our members' fabulous collection from various manufacturers (but chiefly Empress). 

I fought with the Nationalists with a command made up of two groups of Carlist Requetés and two of Falangists. I also had an armoured car. Supporting us were elements from the African army, a significant Italian force and elements of the Condor Legion. A Soviet backed force from the CNT, the Popular Front and the International Brigade opposed us. Because I was heavily involved in the early stages of the game I didn't pay much attention to what was happening elsewhere on the table, so this will be only a brief written description and I will depend largely images.

The Nationalist advance

 The Italians advance

My Carlists and Falangists advance 

The action centred on a small fictional village outside of Madrid that was occupied by the Popular Front and the CNT. 

The aircraft attack 

The Italian tanks sneak along the railway line

I don't remember which unit these were, but they look good!

The Italian artillery in action

My game started with an early encounter with the International Brigade in which I came of the worse. When two Soviet T26 tanks came forward my force was put to flight and the defence on that flank fell to the Italians, who also recoiled in the face of the Soviet armour before the the Russian tanks were destroyed.

Those damned Soviet tanks!

Assaulting the railway station

My Carlist Requetés come under artillery fire

The Falangists are attacked by the International Brigade...

...and the Carlists Requetés join the fight (the picture is taken just before the Soviet tanks dispersed my command)

International Brigade command

The Condors had a poor showing and their 88 gunners must had had too much Schnapps because they failed to score a hit all day!

The 88mm that missed every time!

Those damned Russian tanks again...

...and an armoured car

The Condor's 105mm finally finds a target 

And the Italian airforce flies over...

The contest in the village continued all day, although by the end of the day half of it was ablaze. In the end neither side held the advantage and a a draw was called.

Above and below, the fighting raged on in the village

Meanwhile the day outside was gorgeous 

Champagne closed out the afternoon, which I enjoyed on the deck with our host while others sat inside and watched a DVD. For dinner we devoured a fillet of beef, fresh beans with pine nuts and mashed potatoes, followed by a magnificent sticky date pudding, washed down by a few bottles of red.

It was pretty much a prefect day really!