IHMN: BRING HIM BACK ALIVE!

Our Wednesday game this week saw my Scotland Yard company take on David's Tottenkopf Battalion company. The scenario was Bring him back alive! Scotland Yard had become aware of a threat to John Cayley, an aeronautical engineer. They had to ensure his safety before the Damned Prussians got to him or to make sure that they couldn't benefit from his knowledge, killing him if that's what it takes!

The Tottenkopf make their way into the engineering works.

The coppers of Scotland Yard make their approach from the other end.

Sergeant Forbes is felled by a rifle bullet. The good Dr Fraser rushes to his aid. Meanwhile, two constables rush to the foot of the stairs, determined to test out their Edison arc truncheons on the Prussians on the balcony.



One of the Prussians fires a grenade launcher and manages to land a grenade in the centre of the group. The poison gas grenade takes out both coppers and Dr Fraser. 

The two constables scatter to avoid a gas grenade rolled down the stairs. Meanwhile Herr Doktor and his hench men emerge with their prisoner.

The end of the game, the Prussians make their escape. One of the Tottenkopf Kommandos bayonet charges constable Piece, which stops him from attempting to shoot Cayley.

Not shown in the pictures was a brief but decisive action inside the engineering works. Chief Inspector Straight and three men tried to approach through the turbine hall. They were stopped by accurate rifle fire and two poison grenades which made the hall impassible. The men had to take the long way round and were too late to influence the outcome. It was a decisive victory for the Prussians, who won by 39 VP to 2 VP.

This was the first outing for David's Tottenkpf. I don't think that even he expected the poison gas grenades to be so effective. They do cost a bit, and have to be paid for individually and, now they have been seen in action, simple countermeasures and tactics can be employed.

I had also tweaked my coppers to allow use of equipment and talents from the expansions. Sadly, I never got close enough to use the arc truncheons much. You may also wonder what happened to Professor House, the consulting detective? He was there, although he was using his 'master of disguise talent' but never got in to a position to make a really effective 'reveal'. He did make himself known to use his 'erudite wit' in the last turn.

Despite the loss, I enjoyed the game. It was played in a spirit of narrative interpretation, which reall helped create a great gaming atmosphere.