Dust Battle Report: Allies vs. Axis @150AP

On the 4th of July I was able to play a Dust Warfare game with BoLS's very own Lux on the Dust Warfare table from the 2012 Wargames Con. In case you missed that table - it will be back for the 2013 WGC. ^^

We played a game at 150AP (army points) each since we are both rather new to the game. I was playing Allies, Lux played his Axis. Using the battle builder we came up with the following scanrio:

Objectives - Break The Line
Deployment - Unprepared
Conditions - None

This was going to be a very difficult game as Break The Line meant we had to move into each other's deployment zone, but Unprepared meant that all units arrive from reserves in piece-meal over three turns. I had a slight advantage because my army didn't have any support units which would have arrived in turn three, so I was set to have everything on the table in turn two.

My list:

1 Ranger Attack Squad ("Hellboys")
1 Heavy Ranger Assault Squad ("The Hammers")
1 Heavy Ranger Attack Squad ("Grim Reapers")
1 Heavy Ranger Tank Hunter Squad ("Tank Busters")
1 British Paratroopers ("Red Devils")

So I had an all infantry elite army and I knew I had to be careful with my units as you need to be with just about any elite army no matter what game system you are playing.

According to the scenario, the Hammers and the Hellboys start the game on turn 1. As Lux was going second I decided to control the center of the table with my units. His units appeared on 11 o'clock.

Turn 2, everything from my army arrives. The Grim Reapers jump onto the roof of the house, but are still outside of firing range. At 12 o'clock, the Hammers jump into the last piece of cover before assault. On their 3 o'clock, the Red Devils come in with their parachutes and hide behind cover as well. The Red Devils are supposed to walk towards Lux' table edge to score mission points at the end of the game. The Hellboys move along the house in the center while the Tank Busters follow up behind them.

The Hammers at 12 o'clock are being eradicated by disciplined German fire despite being behind cover. The Red Devils move into their previous position instead. The Grim Reapers jump and go incover behind the house at 10 o'clock. The Tank Busters move into the Grim Reapers' previous position on the roof of the house in the center. The Hellboys continue to move along the house below them.

The Grim Reapers jumped onto the roof in front of the German positions and opened fire, but did only little damage. The returning German volley killed them all. The Hellboys attempt to break away from their building in the center and move towards the same building, but the precise German fire kills them as well. The Tank Busters move up and hide behind the wall. The Red Devils decide to just stay in cover and be pretty.

In our last turn, my Tank Busters jumped back to hide behind the building farther  away from the Germans so they can't be shot. At this point it was obvious that Lux' slow troops would never reach my deployment zone whereas any of my units moving into his zone would get shot immediately. Since he would win if he managed to kill all my units, by playing chicken I was able to secure at least a draw.

So this was my first "real" game of Dust Warfare. In conclusion I learned how important reactions are because pretty much anything of my army that got close enough to the Germans was immediately gunned down.
From a technical point of view, my problem was that I wasn't familiar enough with my own firing capabilities and those of the Germans.
From a tactical point of view, after securing the center, I should have sent a minimal detachment towards the Germans at 11 o'clock (just to keep them busy) whereas as many units as possible should have moved strictly towards Lux' table edge at 2 o'clock. That way I could have scored scenario points while potentially still be out of reach of his ranged weapons.