AQMF - US Command Post

Ready for action, I have finished the Command Post for the US Forces as they battle the Martian Invaders in All Quiet on the Martian Front.

The observant of you will notice the Commanding Officer is reading a dispatch from a runner of the 24th Michigan! http://pzgeneral08.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html

 The US Army still relies on semaphore flags to give instructions to the platoons on the lines.  A radioman sends and receives transmissions to higher command.

 "You Michigan boys stopped the Martians and counter-attacked at the Temperance crossroads?  BULLY, Man....BULLY!!"

"Anyone who tells you lads they aren't scared is either insane, a damned fool or a liar....but I have no doubt you men will do your duty...."

B-17 Queen of the Sky

The Avalon Hill game B-17 Queen of the Sky has long been a favorite of mine.  As a matter of fact I own a copy of the original version from a small company called "On Target Games". 

As the years drug on I introduced my friends to it and they became fans too.  Soon we began playing missions as a "Squadron"...3 or 4 of us would get together and all fly missions together....we'd take turns running the charts or roll the dice for each other.  Good times.

Then Mike had an idea....and some cash.  When WotC came out with "Angels 20" he bought up the number of planes that appear in the game and enlarged the game display.  Now the second Tuesday of every month is "B-17 Night" and thanks to Mike we've taken the game to all new heights! (Pun intended).

Our Game ready to start, original display on the right, Mikes version on the left
 

P-51s and a Spitfire indicate our fighter cover

The Luftwaffe
 



A close up of a frontal attack!

 

Kevin's got problems!

The 24th Michigan

With the coming of the Martian Invasion of the United States, a Patriotic fervor swept the country.  When the call for volunteers to join the Army was placed, men of all ages and backgrounds rushed to join and fight the Martian Invader.  In the early 1900s America was still a mostly rural Nation; but the enlistment centers were located in the cities.  Not everyone who wanted to join up could afford the trip “to the Big City” so States began to recruit for local Militias.  These Militias were designed to get men organized and trained and to supplement the formal Army units when the fight came to the State.

Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula were no exceptions.  The Lumbermen and Miners there joined the Michigan State Militia and received their Military training at Camp Grayling.  Because of the distances involved and the crush of volunteers to the regular Army, there were not enough of the 1906 pattern uniforms to go around.  To get the men outfitted quickly the uniforms issued to this Militia were of the 1880 pattern last worn at Fort Mackinaw.  When first publicly seen, the Michigan Militia became known (rather disparagingly) as “The Mothball Militia”.

 

Hopping the rails and heading south, the unit found itself outside Detroit.  Near the rail yards a number of Baldwin Mark II tanks were found awaiting scrapping.  Using the ingenuity and skills gleaned through their hard mining and timber jobs, the men soon repaired and repainted these tanks and they traveled with the Infantrymen to the front lines.

 Seeing hard fighting near the Ohio-Michigan border the unit took part in “The Frenchtown Campaign”.  Because of their determined resistance to the Martian attack on the town of Monroe the unit was officially renamed the “24^th Michigan”, a name that brought back memories of the famous State Civil War Regiment.

 

 

 

During “The Battle of the Temperance Crossroads” the 24^th Michigan not only held the line when regular Army units fled, but mounted a counter-attack on the Martians, destroying one of their Power Nodes.  It was after this performance the 24^th shed the name “Mothball Militia” and began to be called by a name once earned by their Fathers and Grandfathers in battle during the Civil War. 

They became “The Iron Brigade”.

 

HMGs and Rough Riders ready for battle!

I have a Heavy Machine Gun Squad and a "Rough Rider" squad ready to face the Martian invaders.  There has been some rumbling on the AQotMF forums that these units are over powered, I hope to find out tonight.  I'll let you know in my next post.......

All Quiet on the Martian Front -- So it begins......

     As some of you may know I invested in the Kickstarter of the game "All Quiet on the Martian Front".  I've been painting my fingers off to get stuff to the table.  On the July 21st Scott came to town, so I called Danny and after dinner with my wife we hit the basement for some Interplanetary Warfare.  The war begins somewhere in SE Michigan........


US Forces assemble near a farm
 



The Martians approach.
Two Assault Tripods and a Scout

 



MOVE OUT!!

 



The Martians sweep around a woods.....



.....Advance on a farm.....



And draw first blood!!  The two Platoon Mates of the burning tank turn and run!



The Martian Overlord gloats, "You puny Humans are no match for my Intellect or Warmachines!!"



But the Humans came to fight.  They line up and.......


 

BOOM!!!


 

KA-POW!!!!



KA-BLEWIE!!



Unphased by the destruction of the Scout, the Martians begin to flank the Humans Battle Line.



The Infantry begin to pour out of the buildings





REMEMBER MEMPHIS!!



The Martians are relentless in their attack.  They begin sweeping their Heat Rays across the Human tanks turning them into piles of melted steel.



The Infantry tried a last ditch assault, but to no avail.  The Martians finished off this delaying force and continued their advance on the nearby city......

     Our first game of AQMF was in the can and we had a blast, I ran the game while Scott and Danny played.  They both enjoyed it, made some mistakes, learned a few things and the battle actually swung momentum twice.  When the Humans broke (3 of 5 units destroyed) the Martians were only one Tripod destroyed away from defeat.  And Scott had a Tripod that was seriously beat up.

 

I plan on paining a few more units before our next game.

Stay tuned.......