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SoCal SmackDown Tournament Report (9/22-23)

Hey all,
Finished up five games with my Nisei American Rifles this last weekend over at the Anaheim Convention Center for the SoCal Smackdown. Many thanks to Tim Knapp for running the tournament and to all five of my opponents, all wonderful people to play against.

My list was as follows

2 HQ carbine teams w/ 2 Bazookas
Full Nisei Rifle Platoon w/ Bazooka
Full Nisei Rifle Platoon w/ Bazooka
4 tube Nisei Mortar Platoon
3 gun Nisei 57mm Antitank Platoon
3 gun Nisei 57mm Antitank Platoon
4 gun 105mm Field Artillery Battery
4 gun 155mm Field Artillery Battery
AOP
1 Cavalry Recon Platoon (2x M3A1 Scout Cars, Recon Jeep, Mortar Jeep)
5x T28 Turretless Stuarts
Warrior Daniel Inoyue

Game One (Encounter) vs. Marco’s German Fallschirmjaegers

2x Fallschirmjaeger Platoons
1x HMG Platoon
1x Mortar Platoon
3x Tigers
A couple of platoons I’m forgetting

I win the attacker role and deploy both Rifle Platoons, the 155s, and the Stuarts. Marco deploys both Fallschirmjaegers and the Mortars, with the HMGs combat attached out to the infantry. All the objectives are pretty much on the corners of the board. The game starts off with both our infantry advancing across the board through cover on the opposing objectives. Two consecutive TOT bombardments (lucky) knock one FJ platoon down low enough to get overrun by the Nisei Rifle Platoon and the Stuarts. The Tigers show up late and on the wrong side to contest, leading to a win by objective.

Win (6-1)

Game Two (Fighting Withdrawal) vs. Eric’s American Airborne

2x Parachute Platoons (one full, one short)
1x Parachute Engineers
2 tube Mortar Platoon
3 gun 75mm Pack Howitzers
4x Recon Jeeps
4x 57mm ATGs
2x Sherman + 2x Firefly Tank Platoon
Again, missing some platoon or another

I manage to “win” the roll-off, getting to defend (lucky again). Eric advances in a line on 2 objectives, with the tanks and ATGs providing overwatch support. Smoke rounds fly back and forth on both sides, making a mess of visibility. I manage to isolate one set of paratroopers and mow them down with the Cavalry Recon and Stuarts, while the other 2 paratrooper units manage to make it to my lines, but are thrown back repeatedly by mass defensive fire. With 3 templates raining fire down on the exposed remnants of the infantry and no feasible way to break through, Eric concedes the game.

Win (6-1)

Game Three (Breakthrough) vs. Pete’s American Armored Rifles

2x Armored Rifle Platoons
1x Tank Platoon w/ 4 Shermans
1x TD Platoon w/ 4 M10s
1x Cavalry Recon
1x 4 gun 105mm Field Artillery Battery

Pete advances quickly, with the Shermans moving to pressure my artillery while the M10s and one ARP take the direct route towards the objectives. 1 Stuart goes up in flames, but GTG saves most of my force from the opening volley. On my turn, artillery and the remaining Stuarts shred the ARP, leaving the M10s for a second volley, which thankfully fails to do any damage. Shermans make their way into my artillery park, taking out a few guns but are killed in return by ATGs. Pete’s main thrust bogs down as the badly damaged ARP is overrun by one Nisei Rifle platoon while the other secures the back objectives. The outflanking ARP arrives on turn 3, but with no support arriving and 3 more turns to hold out, Pete concedes the game.

Win (6-1)

Game Four (No Retreat) vs. Billy’s German Panzer Brigade

A lot (9? 10?) Panthers
4x Panzer IVs
3x StuGs

I deploy both Rifles (one ambushing), an ATG platoon, and the 155mm guns, while Billy masses his tanks and comes straight at me. The center of the board is taken up by a large town, which gives my infantry plenty of opportunities to sneak up on isolated tanks. Artillery is surprisingly ineffective this game as Billy makes saves like a champ (even against TOT AT5!) consistently. There’s even an assault that gets through defensive fire to put pressure on the forward objective. Eventually though, I manage to get enough tanks to stay bailed for my infantry to finish them off in close combat and Billy fails his company morale check.

Win (6-1)

Game Five (Free For All) vs. Ed’s Soviet Motostreklovy

2x short Motostrelk platoons
5x ISU-122
5x SU-100
Reserve Artillery Batallon
12x ZIS-3 mounted in 50.cal M3A1 transporters (!!!)

Last game of the tournament and against the indomitable Ed Forbes. I just want to say that Ed comes up with the most hilarious lists, and the 12 guns running up the board at full speed is AWESOME. Ed wins the first turn, and 12 mounted guns come 24” straight up a road right near my left objective. Artillery and ATG fire pounds the heck out of the guns, but the surviving guns dismount and volley fire right back into my lines. Meanwhile the assault guns are closing on the same objective and blasting the infantry there with breakthrough guns, further making a mess out of things. Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of bodies to absorb hits and Ed bogs down a few guns on the approach. I throw one infantry platoon into grinding down the ZIS-3s, while my second one starts charging the assault guns to force them back (no MGs on the guns). After about three charges, I push the assault guns all the way back to their far objective, capturing/killing most of them along the way. The game ends with 2 lone bazookas and the 1iC taking the objective while the ZIS-3s have been stalemated on my objective.

Win (5-2)

So that’s the tournament. I take 1st place and qualify for Nationals. Eric (the American Airborne) comes in 2nd and also qualifies. If there’s gonna be one on the West Coast (San Jose?), I’ll definitely try to make it out. Again, my thanks to the TO, Tim Knapp, and all five of my opponents. Thanks for reading.