As promised a recap and photo dump of our Bolt Action game from AdeptiCon 2026. Our gaming club, Iron Dice Gaming decided to go very early war with this Bolt Action battle which we also played out with Chain of Command the next day – Battle of Hannut early war French vs. Germans. This was the largest tank battle the world had ever seen up to this point in history as the Germans rolled into Belgium and were challenged by a determined French defender.

Three objectives were on the board that needed to be captured by the end of the game. The water tower on the ridge the French were using as an artillery observation point, the walled farm and the crossroads. The Germans deployed mainly on the road to the village, staying clear of the big field and piling up on one side, while the French deployed all along the ridge and the village. Their heaviest tanks would be in reserve to simulate the armored counterattack they had staged in this particular battle.

The Germans aggressively raced forward while the French took a more cautious approach. A brave unit of Frenchmen moved into the drainage ditch and drew a ton of fire from the advancing Germans Casualties were very light the first couple of turns. The French guns were very accurate however they defied statistical probability and failed to penetrate any enemy tanks until close to the end. The French reserves also failed to materialize until near the end as well.

This all proved devastating for the French as the Germans retained all their mobility and firepower by keeping all their armor. This coupled with a very aggressive German approach moving forward didn’t do the French any favors as near the end the French had lost most of their infantry forces they needed to take objectives.

The walled farmhouse proved to be the most costly objective with assaults and firefights taking place at extremely close range. The game ended on turn 5 with a surprising draw as the French contested the farmhouse objective at the buzzer. Hopefully I got all the major points correct.

If you were there please add or correct anything I may have missed. We had a great group of players and the game was a blast to watch and run. Thanks to my Iron Dice buddy Teddy for his help in running things and providing prize support from Kick Ass Mail Order.

Next up in progress shots of the Raid on Innsmouth and terrain building and prep for a Dead Man’s Hand scenario I’m running a couple times at Little Wars in a couple weeks called “Them Dirty Vultures”. Thanks for checking it out!