Maginot Line December 1944

A little probe from the first Germans

It's that time of year and we are getting ready for a new Bolt Action Boot Camp at Cancon 2017 over the Australia Day weekend Fri 27 and Sat 28 January.
This year we are trying a few new ideas.
Firstly the key to a good game with enough variety in the time available is not just the points, but more the dice count.
Secondly in the past we have kept the multiple player matches aligned so that each pair of players share a dice bag but wait for the other player's to finish before the next turn starts. We are trying some flexibility by having 2 games on the same 8 x 4 board which is really two 4 x 4 boards joined together. This way we can start a game as soon as we rest after the previous one.

A little counter probe from the US

This side

And that side

Background:

In December 1944 the Maginot Line near the border of France and Germany was basically a shell of it's former "glory". Having been bypassed in 1940 and forced to surrender when race surrendered it had never been tested. By 1944 it had been stripped of most of it's guns but still formed a formidable fortress.
The Germans did not like a static defence and so used the fortress as storage rather than a place to hold and preferred the areas around the fortress so they could stage their favourite tactic of counter attacking and fluid defence.
(More information can be found at Military History Online - a fascinating read.)
We also first heard about this series of battles in the amazing book Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck.

The Game:

We have two armies for each of the Germans and the US. One a lighter force of 750 points and the other tougher with some armour of 1,100 points. To simplify the game each half of the board has two objectives and both sides start from the edges.

Germany - 750 points:

85 - First Lt + Minion (Regular)
2 x 127 - Volks Grenadier (9 men: NCO Assault Rifle, 1 LMG, 4 Assault Rifles, 3 Rifles, 2 PzFaust)
30 - Medic (Veteran)
2 x 120 - Heer Regular (10 Men: NCO Rifle, 1 LMG, 8 Rifles)
50 - MMG Team (Regular)
95 - Sdkfz 222 (Regular)
754 Points - 8 Dice

US - 750 Points:

85 - First Lt + Minion (Regular)

4 x 120 - US Regular (11 Men: NCO Rifle, 2 x BAR, 8 x Rifle)

50 - MMG Team (Regular)

135 - M8 Armoured Car (Regular - With Pintle HMG)

750 Points - 7 Dice

Germany - 1,100 points:

95 - First Lt + 2 Minions (Regular)
2 x 185 - Heer Veterans (10 men: NCO Assault Rifle, 2 x LMG, 7 x Rifle, 2 x PzFaust)
30 - Medic (Veteran)
2 x 135 - Heer Grenadier (Regular) (10 Men: NCO Assault Rifle, 1 LMG, 8 Rifle, 2 x zFaust)
245 - PzIVH with Schurzen (Regular)
89 - Sdkfz 251 Hanomag (Regular)
1099 points - 8 Dice

US - 1,100 points

85 - First Lt + Minion (Regular)
2 x 208 - Paratrooper Veteran (12 men: NCO Rifle, 2 x LMG, 9 x Rifle)
2 x 110 - Regular Infantry (10 Men: NCO Rifle, 2 x BAR, 7 x Rifle)
60 - Bazooka Team (Regular)
230 - M4A1 Sherman with Pintle HMG (Regular)
99 - M3 Half Track with Pintle HMG (Regular)
1,110 points - 8 Dice

Now for the play-testing tomorrow!

Cancon 2015 - A great success

Day 1 - Click for a closer look

We have completed our very successful Cancon 2015 Bolt Action Boot Camp.
At the end of every game as the last dice rolls came to a stop and the result was finally known there was a collective sigh from all players and our Demo Gamer Sergeants as we gazed across the board contemplating the adventure we had all just been through. A short quiet descended on us all, grins emerged and then conversation resumed with comments such as, "If that bazooka only..." and "That combat was so close!" and "How did that happen?"
We always claim that Bolt Action is very cinematic and the various dice rolls allow for a wide variety of results.  Our first instinct is often to think, "That wouldn't have happened," but then we remember the reports on those soldiers which have won a Victoria Cross or other medals for bravery. The tales of one man assaulting multiple machine gun nests, or charging tanks in desperation show that it isn't impossible - just unlikely.  And that is why our highlights are the exceptional occurrences.
You wouldn't plan for one man to defeat a unit of 9 men, or a Chi Ha light tank to survive multiple hits by a much more powerful Sherman tank.  But it can happen.  Or as players remind each other, "Bolt Action Happens".

Day 2 - Click for a closer look

Every game of the St Mere Elise board was full for 8 games over the three days and our extra Far East board was played on over 7 games.
We play tested for quite a while to get the St Mere Elise board balanced and the results proved it was time well spent: 8 games with 3 German wins, 3 American wins and 2 draws.
A total of 64 people played with us over the 3 days and although tired, we are very pleased with the results. Rough age groupings are 25 Young (17 and below), 19 Young Adult (18 to 29) and 20 Adults.
Our aim at The Demo Gamers is to bring the enjoyment of Historical Wargaming to as many people as possible, especially younger people. Much as I caught the wargaming bug when I was 12, we are seeing the same excited look in the eyes of new players that have joined us at our various demo games. We have included a few highlights of our weekend's games here, but the weekend was more than just these highlights.
Every game had the same last turn excitement and end of game "coulda-woulda-shoulda" review.

Day 3 - Click for a closer look

We had planned and prepared for months leading up to the convention. Running an event as large as Cancon takes a lot of planning and co-ordination. With many hundreds of players participating in tournaments, trade stalls, food, security, promotion and so on it is not too surprising that some sections get missed.
Unfortunately in the planning for the event, the Cancon organisers missed our Boot Camp from all official advertising for Cancon, promotional posters weren't printed and we ended up at the back corner next to the traders, away from the front doors.
But this did not affect the success of our Boot Camp.  Our board was very impressive and being so busy all passers-by were attracted by the excitement and noise of the players.  My son and I were always looking for anyone that expressed the remotest sign of interest and we drew them in. One player was a very experienced player of board games who had never played a miniature game and had been coming to Cancon for about three years. He had never realised these games were open to anyone wanting to play.  He had a great game one on one with one of my sons and even though he "lost" the battle, he loved the game. As we say, playing the game is a win in itself.

Our Far East Board - Japanese vs Australians and US Marines.

All of us were dressed in similar T-shirts and groovy vests with Demo Game name badges. Anyone watching knew we were a professional outfit.
Also, I suspect our enthusiasm is what attracted the local news network during their visit to the convention. We were interviewed and appeared on the local 6pm news as representatives of what can be done on Australia Day.  We were very happy to be representatives of the wargaming hobby.

Thank you to all of those that joined us for this year's Boot Camp.  We had great fun and look forward to meeting you again next time.

Another battle of St Mere Eglise over. 

The Demo Gamer Boys are ready for Cancon

We're ready for action

We are all set up and ready to go for our Cancon 2015 Bolt Action Boot Camp. We have the St Mere Elise board ready and a second board for a Far East game with Japanese, Australians and US Marines.
This means we can handle up to 10 players each session at 9:00am, 12:00pm and 3:00pm.
If you're anywhere near Canberra, pop in the the EPIC complex and visit us at Cancon.
We'll have reports each day so stay tuned.

The Building Personalisation Project

Everyone helps out. But there's a cost. Girls add pretty bits.

As you may have noticed looking over our blog, we have quite a few buildings from a number of different companies.  One issue with this is having our buildings stand out and have more of a personalised nature.  Through various means, we have collected many 4Ground terrace houses and they all look pretty much the same. So, in preparation for Cancon 2015 we have finally sat down, done the work and put our own touch on the buildings.
The paint we have used is all from sample pots purchased from the local paint store. We asked the store clerk for any colours which would match the WWII period.  It is a sort of restoration, we explained.

Now there is daily Mass at our St Michael's church.

The Church needed some long planned customisations.  We built an inner wall with two side doors leading to the rear changing rooms and church office. Then we added a stone floor to the church and lots of different touches such as the stained glass windows and crucifix. My son looked at the bare church and thought, "Why not?" and constructed the altar and sanctuary and then went a little over board and created the altar cloth, candles, host and chalice too. Add in a few religious pictures and of course Saint Michael, patron saint of paratroopers, and the church was finally complete.
Then my wife and daughter got creative and looked in my son's box of many colours and selected lots of bright colours.  These made the doors and window sills very special.

A good place to hide a bazooka team

If you are visiting Cancon next week, pop over and you will see lots of special touches.  There are carpets and rugs in some of the houses, chairs and tables, glass in some windows, edges highlighted, smoke from chimneys and more.  Basically, we wanted to create a town in which people would live so the battle makes a lot more sense.
We did a short video walkthrough of some of the personalisations.
Enjoy.

These citizens have made their homes special.

Lime Green and Blue are perfect colours.

Bolt Action St Mere Eglise - the video

Here is our YouTube video showing the St Mere Eglise board we will be playing at Cancon 2015.
You can see the US Paratroop drop and the initial close combat and re-organisation phase before beginning turn one.
Enjoy.

Cancon 2015 - The Extended Ste Mere Eglise battle

You know you want to play!

Cancon 2015 is almost here.  On the Australia Day weekend from 25 to 27 January in Canberra the biggest games convention will be held and the Demo Gamers will be running the Bolt Action Boot Camp.
We will be right next to the Combat Company's trade area in the main hall with lots of other public participation games and other tournaments.
We have been play testing our St Mere Eglise game and have extended it so we can have 6 players by having reinforcements for both the US paratroopers and the Germans.  To add a lot of spice, the Germans will be coming on with a Panzer IV H and the paratroopers will have 2 bazooka teams.
You can download a detailed Scenario guide here with all the special rules for the US paratroop drop directly onto the town, night fighting and reinforcements.  It should be very enjoyable.
Do you want to join in?  Just rock up to Cancon and play.  Everything is provided and entry for spectators and public participation games is free.

Bolt Action for Beginners at BoltAction.net

Teach them young.

I have written an article summarising our journey to and playing at Cancon for BoltAction.net called "Bolt Action for Beginners".

Cancon Reviews

Ready. Aim. Shoot.

There have been a number of reviews of our efforts at Cancon and we appreciate all the feedback.  We had a really good time, enjoying hosting Bolt Action games for the whole weekend but it is really encouraging finding out what players and visitors thought of all our efforts.
Thanks.

The Man Cave:

Thanks so much for our battle royale in the Hotel in the afternoon session. A most enjoyable game and very well run it was too. Your table and terrain were fantastic. Thank you for all your efforts. I have posted some extra pics at my blog The Man Cave.
Best wishes!  [A fine blog too]

The Pudding Wrestler:

A game of great magnificence, taught by youth of surpassing knowledge, and fought over scenery sufficient to cause envy in hippos. Truly a great day's gaming (and I should know, I was there and got my Germans pounded...)

Anonymous: That looks amazing! Great work bringing in new players and hosting such spectacular events. On behalf of the entire Bolt Action community, thanks!

Comments from the Bolt Action Forum: (A great place discussing Bolt Action)
Offler:

I dropped by on Sunday afternoon after the BA tournament had been played elsewhere in that cavernous hall (and there were two such halls) and the photos - good as they are - do not do David's work justice. The two tables were awe inspiring, and David had a veritable party atmosphere cooking in his set up, which was perfectly placed immediately adjacent to the entrance of the corridor which connected the gaming/ trade halls, and through which literally everybody passed repeatedly over the course of the weekend.
His certified stats are also only the tip of the iceberg, as my own brother was one who came, saw and was utterly inspired, but who did not stop to play (in his case, because his back was playing up). There were undoubtedly countless others, especially from the 660 players in tournaments other than Bolt Action, who would have come by and had their imagination synapses woken and inspired by this amazing vision splendid (and we certainly had literally dozens come through the competition, get all excited and then express a sudden desire to play our amazing game).

Anfernee:

Big thanks to you and your boys

Now.  Planning for next year...

Cancon Day Three review

Three more new players - all with fine hats

Phew.  Day 3 and Cancon is over for 2014. Sure, my feet are sore and I have regained my "convention voice" which means I can have a great deep James Earl Jones voice, but it was worth it.
Our plan for the weekend was to bring more young players into wargaming.  I'll do a post shortly listing the benefits of wargaming, but for the moment, seeing the gleam in the young lads eyes as they play the game is a flashback to how I felt when I first started gaming.  And seeing the parent's faces as they see their sons obviously not just enjoying but revelling in this new game is also a delight.

I told you the photo was for the blog.

Over the weekend we had 25 players who participated enough in the game to be given a name badge.  This means they played at least 2 to 3 hours with their parents either backing them up or going away and coming back, wondering how their sons were still involved.  My job was spruiking and catching passers by, but really the boards did most of the hard work.  The Pegasus Bridge, the Church and town, Stone Hotel and Beer factory boards all looked magnificent and we had many people stop to take photos.
This is how I began wargaming - at a games day organised by a local club.  I still remember destroying the other guys tank.  Mum and Dad were very good and drove me to club meetings.  Of course then I was time rich and money poor and I had to make do.  That is why we put in tutorials on this blog so you can make things cost effectively.
The boys that played today already know of friends of theirs that would be interested or were looking into it and now they know how to play after their games this weekend.

"That blue box keeps popping up!" said one young lad.

I was also really impressed with the way my boys guided the games and instructed players in how Bolt Action worked.  Their voices are also a little lower after all the talking!
We also gained experience from seeing all the players in the Bolt Action tournament - 40 players! - and all the great looking boards and armies.
The retailers at the convention told me that Bolt Action was doing really well. They knew what we were doing and were grateful for the support and we were grateful for their support and discounts they provided.
We had a number of Flames of War and Warhammer and Fantasy players curious about all the noise about Bolt Action.

"No! Stop the killer rabbit!" and the cameras kept rolling.

With a quick review of the unique mechanics and watching some games being played they saw this was a great game to get into with the ability to start with a relatively small army and easy rules to grasp.
(The picture with the rabbit is from a fellow that was putting his rabbit on a number of boards and taking photos.  He was amazed at the positive response he had from all the gamers obligingly moving figures and scenery to make room for a stuffed rabbit.)
Thank you to all who stopped by to play, ask questions, give us compliments and introduce themselves.  My sons were surprised how quickly the weekend passed as we were playing games almost non-stop for the 3 days.
Now a rest before we start planning our next demo game.

Cancon day two review

Day 2 is finished and despite sore feet and fading voices we are looking forward to day 3.

Pegasus Bridge with our intrepid Generals.

Today we set up the Pegasus Bridge board with the 3 stage game.
The best part was our new young player who played a short battle yesterday with me and who today played the FULL DAY.  Thanks to his Mum and Dad who saw the light in his eyes and let him play for the day. This is an impressive effort from an 8 year old, energised by the excitement of playing a fun wargame.
Part 1 was the initial assault with the first glider of 28 veteran tough fighter British Airborne including Major Howard verses the much outclassed inexperienced shirker Germans defending the bridge.
Although over matched, the German challenge was to cause as much casualties as possible.  Our new recruit did much better than me in our test games and only lost about 10 men.

The reduced squad which close assaulted the bunker

The end of this game had the second glider landing and once all opposition was cleared rushing along the bridge ready to confront the awakened German defenders on the other side of the bridge.
Although they were also inexperienced shirkers, the Germans were in cover and all facing the open end of the bridge.
So it was a matter of charge ahead and get in range for more close assaults.
It takes a bit of practice to ignore all the guns facing you and charging right in.  The veteran tough fighters were able to minimise their own casualties until they ploughed into the defenders and defeat them in close assault.
At the end of this part the survivors had to reposition themselves and wait for the German counter attack.

We're ready!

Once more our new player did better than me and there were enough troops to mount a defence. 7 order dice across about 20 men to stop the German counter attack with a Marder III, 2 10 man regular squads, 2 8 man Volks Grenadier squads, a sniper and 3 man HQ.
"Hold until relieved" were the orders, and even though Major Howard died in a heroic frontal assault in game 2, the British held out.
Great fun all round.

Overall we have continued to enjoy ourselves supervising the demo games.

Stop shooting me and let me fire back!

The other game had Russians vs British (we ran out of Germans with the rather large requirement of the Pegasus Bridge game).
In the photo to the right the Russian T34/85 had 4 pins as he was being fired at by the Cromwell, 6 pounder and PIAT for continuous turns.  No penetration, just pins.

Tomorrow we will have the same boards for more of the same.

Thanks to all the guys who popped over during breaks in the tournament.  It was great getting to meet the real people behind the names I had liaised with on Facebook and the forums.
The strong and supportive Bolt Action community, consisting of fellows spread across Australia, is a great feature of the Australian Bolt Action scene.  Keep it up guys!

Cancon day one review

The Stone Hotel about the be boarded

We have survived day one.  Sore feet and weary throats bode poorly for our state by Monday evening.
But we are pretty happy with how it has gone.  13 players joined our games, most having played only one or no games of Bolt Action before.
Every game ended with smiles and satisfaction, with plenty of tense moments as plans failed and dangers were averted.
We set up last night so we could start pretty promptly at 8:30am when the public started coming in.  The day built up and we had the two tables going non stop.

I'm just leaning on my post laying my banjo.  Don't shoot me.

We had a handout for all players and spectators which showed a selection of our "eye candy" - the collection of interesting bits which enhance the table enjoyment.  If you have a close look at the photo here you can see the War Memorial and also a fellow leaning against a light pole playing his banjo.
It was a pleasure to see so many players and spectators lean down and take photos of many bits of scenery and some of the well painted figures.
The Hold Until Relieved board with the Stone Hotel complex centre piece was a great board for players with past wargaming experience.  The challenges of fighting through the building with all of it's myriad rooms and stairwells required some special rules.

These stairs are Mein!

Our special rules for the Stone Hotel (and other large buildings with detailed interiors are:

1. All movement in the building is as per rough ground. i.e. 6 inches.
2. All firing has hard cover protection.
3. All Close Assaults are with intervening terrain so both fight at the same time.
4. Squads can split fire across rooms, but must be on the same floor.
5. 2 weapons per window or double windows can have 3 or 4 weapons depending on the width.
6. Movement is determined by just using your tape measure.  Wrap it around up to 6 inches.

These rules worked out really well.

Men pouring in from all sides, with the objective flag on the back steps.

Our other board was the Battle for the Beer Factory which had plenty of challenges too, with lots of lines of fire.
Tomorrow we have the Pegasus Bridge board and a Battle for Little Big Town. More photos tomorrow.

The sore feet and weary throats are worth it all.  The boys and I have really enjoyed the games.  Even operating as advisors we have all still gotten involved in the games, riding the highs and lows with the players.

Now on to tomorrow!

PS: You may be interested in our planning battle report for this game too.

A couple of Germans for Cancon

Danger! Paratroopers!

We are almost ready for Cancon and just finishing a few final bits and pieces.
***
At around 00:18 June 6, 1944 Private Romer, an 18 year old schoolboy who hardly knew how to fire his rifle, was guarding Pegasus Bridge.From out of nowhere he saw 22 British airborne troops in their camouflaged battle smocks, their face grotesquely blacked, giving the most eerie sensation of a blending of savagery and civilisation, ready to fire their Stens, Brens and Enfields. Romer could see in a flash, by the way the men carried their weapons, by the look in their eyes and by the way their eyes darted around that they were highly trained killers. He turned and ran shouting "Paratroopers!" at the other sentry as he passed him. That sentry fired his Verey pistol. He was the first German to die defending Hitler's Fortress Europe.
(Taken from Pegasus Bridge by Stephen E Ambrose)

I'm out of here!

Later on Private Romer and a couple of others hid behind some bushes for about 36 hours and when the fighting had calmed down, they surrendered, very happy they didn't get shot.
Considering we will be having the big Pegasus Bridge battle, Peter wanted to make a small memorial to these first defenders of the bridge.
***

Right, who needs a bandaid?

In preparing the army lists for use in our games we have reworked several armies.  Due to some point changes in the Bolt Action army books, we had some changes in units which meant we could fit in a German Medic.  So Peter quickly whipped up this fellow, made from a Warlords plastic German, with a British backpack as a satchel and some paper as the satchel's strap.

Cancon - let us know you're coming

"Landing" the Horsa way.

As you should be aware (see our "Almost There" post or the "Cancon" series of posts), we will be running public participation games every day at Cancon from Saturday 25 January to Monday 27 January. We figured we would take on whoever wanted to join in as they came along and run a player's roster on the day.
But we have been getting interest from people wanting to know if they can book in times.

Our principle aim is to get brand new players, especially young lads, into wargaming, but we have structured the games so we can have multiple players. So if you are coming to Cancn and want to join in, let us know by leaving a comment to this blog post. Tell us your first name and last initial (no need for full names on the Internet) and when you will be around.

We will be starting at 9am each day and gaming till 5.30pm.  Game timing is typically 2 hours or so with breaks between games so we expect game start time of about 9am, 12pm and 3pm.

"Go! Go! Go!" yelled Major Howard.

The timetable:
Saturday - 2 boards, probably 5 or 6 games depending on demand and play time.

• Battle for the Beer Factory - Winter board Germany vs Russia
• Hold Until Relieved The Grand Hotel - Country board with massive Grand Hotel as centrepiece.

Sunday and Monday - 1 huge 6 ft x 8 ft table.

• Battle for Pegasus Bridge.  

This is actually a 3 part game where players can join in for any part.
We will also have a second table for anyone that wants to get in a quicker game using 700 points which equates to about 90 minutes.

Cancon - almost there!

T-shirt and hat. Yeah!

There are only 2 weeks to Cancon and we are almost there.  In less than 12 months we have gone from Bolt Action newbies to being ready to run lots of public participation games at Cancon 2014.

If you are coming to Cancon and want to try a game of Bolt Action, drop by.  We will have space, even if we have to set up another table for you!  We want everyone to give Bolt Action a go.

To let everyone know who is running the games we will al be wearing the same coloured T-shirts each day. (Different shirt per day as this is Canberra in Summer in a tin shed!)
We have the hats to distinguish ourselves and enough spares for players to wear too.
Combined with name badges it should not be too hard to chat with the responsible people running the games.
Our resources include Periscopes, Turn Counters, Rulebook index, Ready Reference sheet,  Dice bags and Unit Cards.

We have the boards with all the appropriate terrain including:
Winter Board (Battle for the Beer factory), Stone Hotel, and the double board Battle for Pegasus Bridge.  We have made Hedges, Buildings, Ponds, Roads, Trees, Sandbags, Objectives and more.

And of course we have had to build, organise and paint the armies.
British 1000 point army:

The 1000 Point Army

 The standard 1000 point starter army is incorrect as it includes a Medium and light mortar in contradiction of the rules.  So we swapped a medic for the light mortar for the same points.

Posing dramatically around an objective

The medic

The German 1000 point start army:

1000 points as per the box

 The standard starter armies provide a good mix of infantry, armour and AT guns.  This has taught us a lot about each of the various options before we started experimenting.  Playing out the battles on the table top has shown that many troops fight better - or worse - than our reading suggested.

The MMG with action flash!

 Although MMGs are considered overpriced, they still play a useful part.

The squad posing beside the objective and Hetzer.

The 1000 point Russian army:

A mass of infantry and a mean T34/85!

The pose in front of the war memorial

The 1000 point US army:

1000 points on a little diorama

The pose in front of the WWI memorial

The standard 1000 point starter army includes a M3 Halftrack.  We felt this was a complete waste of points being open topped and transport, so we replaced the halftrack with a bazooka and 57mm AT gun.

Bazooka and 57mm AT gun

We have also created about 1,100 points of British commandos/light infantry for the raid on Pegasus Bridge and extra Germans for the same battle.
Add in the Australian army, Japanese and US marines and we have been quite busy over the last 12 months.
See you at Cancon!

Pegasus Bridge replayed - don't rely on first impressions!

Cancon is looming (January 26) and we continue to play test and prepare our games.  We will be having an extended Pegasus Bridge game with 3 gliders and 75 British tough guys vs 50 Germans plus lots of reinforcements over a double board to be played as 2 x 6 turn games, the second following directly after the first using survivors plus German reinforcements.  It should be fun.  

Here are two views of the double board (6 ft x 8 ft):

The full 6 x 8 board

Both sides of Pegasus Bridge

When we first played the official scenario that came with the Pegasus Bridge set we were sure it was unbalanced and the Germans were way outmatched by the Veteran Tough Fighter British. "Warlord games mustn't have play tested this much," we thought.
It is often easy to judge the strength or weakness of units or scenarios from one's armchair or around the table or bar. But Bolt Action is a fascinating game system whereby what seems overpowered or underpowered has hidden strengths and weaknesses only revealed through the pain and suffering of hard experience.
In our first game last week, the British romped it home and had a solid draw at the end because the Germans retained a few guys on the bridge.
Today was completely different.  We played the official scenario twice.  It only takes about 75 to 90 minutes.  One of our friends who is new to the game played British and we were stunned that every man of his was wiped out.

A failed British frontal assault.

The Germans are inexperienced and shirkers which meant they had to roll morale EVERY turn to do anything and needed to get an 8 or less to perform orders.  Any pins were doubled. And every shooting roll had an additional -1.  And they needed a 5 or 6 to kill a British soldier if they did score a hit.
"Doomed!" we thought, "Way underpowered."
But numbers did make a difference.  There were not many British figures and they had to brave the open to get to the bridge. In this photo, a British squad attacked a German squad clambering up the bridge stairs.  The Germans could shoot reaction fire and killed 2 of the British guys. The last one killed one of the Germans and the surviving troops killed him.

Major Howard showing the way.

Like last game, Major Howard stayed in the Glider until turn 5!  When he finally emerged, only one other part squad remained so he charged directly onto the bridge and assaulted a German unit.  With just 2 men they defeated the German unit. Easy.  Like how we figured it would normally happen.
Then the remaining German units finished him and his other guys off and won the game.
"Ha!" I said, "It must have been the inexperience of the commander, let me play."

Once more Major Howard remained in the glider until turn 5.  There is a 1 in 3 chance a unit remains in the glider each turn.  So over 3 games, Major Howard has remained in the glider for 12 turns.  A 1 in 3 chance to the power of 12 or 1 in 531,441 chance.  Or stupid numbers, but it happens!

Come closer and I'll bite your leg off.

By turn 5, when Major Howard decided to do his job, only one other British soldier remained alive.  Only 3 Germans had been killed.
He raced up to the barbed wire, then in turn 6 raced onto the bridge, close assaulting a German and throwing him in the river.  There were Germans in the control box meaning the bridge was contested so it was a draw!  But wait - there was a turn 7!
The British Order dice was drawn first (a 1 in 7 chance) so he ran 12 inches further along the bridge hiding behind the bridge wall for safety.
Then every German unit either failed morale or was too far away to see or shoot him.
Phew.  Still a draw.

So, my apologies to Warlord Games.  The scenario is balanced. It serves me right for smugly believing one game was enough to judge a unit or scenario's balance and effectiveness.

What did we learn?
Shirkers are painful, but when in defence and with enough of them they can do reasonably well.
Veterans and tough fighters are great but they aren't invincible.
Once more Bolt Action provides a fun and memorable game.
PS. Is Major Howard really jinxed to stay in the glider?