Second game of DUST.

Last night Troy and I mett up for our second 700 point game of DUST. Once more it was a very enjoyable game that went down to the wire, with an Allied win. I promise a better battle report next time when I bring my camera. These pics were taken by Stelios who watched part of the game.

H-Hiour 10mm 1914 Campaign Game

H-Hour is the working title of Kurt's WWI rules, which have been in the works for at least 5 years. Recently Kurt retired and suddenly found time to step up his 1914 campaign in the Ardennes.
Yesterdays battle pitted  Eli and John's German Divisions  against Jim's French Division. I was happy not to be in that sector when the barrage began. Surprising enough the French held the bridges in that sector but that Division was pretty much wrecked.

Here is Kurt's write up.

I'm the game designer. (Thanks for posting Mike).
It's hex based, which allows the easy calculation of area effect against targets in the hex. We apply all the firepower against each hex to every stand of troops in it. One can spread out to save on losses, but winning close combat requires mass. So as an attacker masses to charge an enemy strong point, they begin to draw more effective fire.
The rules are still being play tested so I'm not ready to send them out yet.
Anyways, in our campaign, we are playing an alternate Lorraine 1914 Campaign. Von Moltke has denied the Ersatz Divisions to the German 6th Army, so the sides are close in strength.
In the game shown, the French 30th Division (XV Corps) had approached the rail junction at Bensdorf, southeast of Metz. Crown Prince Rupprecht (German 6th Army Commander) had railed in three battalions of 21cm and two battalions of 15cm guns to the XXI Corps, and had them counterattack. General Espinasse, commander of the French XVI Corps had suspected such a move and dug in, in response to orders to attack Bensdorf "if practicable."
The opening barrage was very effective, the French being baited into giving their partial-defilade gun positions away by a weak opening before unleashing the full weight of fire. Half the French artillery was destroyed and the other half silenced. The whole front line of French positions were suppressed.
The Germans surged forward and over ran the front line positions easily, taking many prisoners and capturing the 30th Divisions HQ. A brave surrounded French battalion at the village of Guebling was the only real resistance keeping the Germans from sweeping down to the town of Dieuze and cutting off large numbers of French. They were wiped out after 2 hours resistance, but the time they bought allowed the French to rally many survivors.
The attack bogged down shortly thereafter at a low ridge. The German guns were at their range limit and at this distance couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Couriers failed to reach the guns in a timely manner, and sometimes German artillery fire held up their infantry advance.
So the Germans held all artillery fire, and tried to cross the low ridge that separated them from the surviving French with rifle battalions and a few MG. The surviving French artillery had recovered and were firing at 1000m from behind the ridge, in a reverse slope position which was safe from counter battery. This fire ended the advance.
A final German infantry attack, again with no artillery support, through the Forests of Koecking and de Bride that attempted to outflank the French ran into large numbers of dug in French armed with MG. That failed too.
So German infantry losses which were initially negligible rose rapidly, until they had taken about 25% losses and called it a day.
The French 30th Division was wrecked, as well as their Corps artillery. They had taken over 50% losses (many of these were POW). The surviving should have routed but their die rolls were exceptionally good.
So that's what you are looking at.

View from German Artillery