Down at the Club

Anyone remember the Drifters' hit? Maybe not. Anyway, I was down at Portbury Knights Wargaming Club last Friday and took a few photos of what was going on. Among the many good things about Portbury Knights (friendly club, well attended, lots of variety) is the fact that they open at 3.30pm on a Friday evening (the normal club night), and go on until 11.00pm. So if you can wangle that early stack from work, you have time for a relaxed big game, or two or three smaller games.

To be fair, this was a fairly quiet night. On some evenings the hall can be jam packed. And there was also a distinct WW2 flavour present, when usually there is greater variety. There were a couple of tables of gamers playing some kind of fantasy card games but I have rudely ignored them in the following photos - only historical miniatures here!

Your host for the evening is Alan Vowles, Club President. Yes, a bar is available in the hall. Beer and toy soldiers - the perfect Friday evening beckons.

Those Redcoats have moved from the bar counter to their more natural home on the wargames table. A Black Powder game set in the Sudan is in progress

Overview of the Sudan game. Black Powder is popular at the club  at present for Horse and Musket games.

My own first game was a Greeks vs Italians game set in 1941. I had the pleasure of using Steve Johnson's 10mm forces, and the Blitzkrieg Commander rules. Naturally, under my command the Greeks stopped the Italians in their tracks.

Steve is gracious in defeat as usual. Though his comment that he was 'playing in character' as the Italian commander was highly suspect.

Club stalwarts Stefan and Craig discuss Steve's charity moustache. A bit frightening but all in a good cause. Well done that man!

Stefan played this Western Desert game with his son. A distinctly 'old school' feel here, I felt. Nice!

Another view of Stefan's game.

Steve and I moved on to a game against Craig, using his 15mm figures and outstanding bocage terrain.  Germans vs Americans in 1944, using Blitzkrieg Commander again. Here we see German tanks in an outflanking move.

View from the American side.

Craig gathers the dice for another sickening set of saving rolls.

Towards the end of the game. German tanks doing well, infantry lagging. But in the end Steve and I were victorious.

A very relaxing seven hours which flew by in the company of some very nice people. Two games, plenty of discussion and conversation, plus beer and sandwiches. The perfect start to the weekend!

More Free Downloads!

Following some recent playtesting, my SYW rules have reached a new iteration, which I hereby share with you on the same basis as before: the link will take you to a Mediafire page where you may safely download the rules.

Similarly, click on the link to the notes to get some background to the rules and a bit of explanation of where I am coming from.

Best wishes as always.

SYW Rules     SYW Rules: notes

Scenarios...getting it wrong

I had conducted a couple of playtests of my own SYW rules using the scenario 'Vanguards Collide' from the pilot issue of The Classic Wargamer's Journal. This is a great little scenario which was fun to play (even solo) and gave the rules a good workout. Looking for something a bit more ambitious for an evening game against a live opponent (well, fairly live: we're talking Paul James after a long day at work) I came up with 'The Battle of Pfaffendorf'. This would be a basic encounter game livened up by making an effort with the terrain, which would represent a river valley across which the armies would fight.

The map and deployment are shown above. Table was 6' x 4'. Forces were:

Prussia

1 - Grenadier infantry brigade: 3 grenadier battalions, 1 gun 

2 - Line infantry brigade: 3 infantry battalions, 2 guns

3 - Cavalry brigade: 2 dragoon regiments

4 - Hussar regiment (independent)

5 - Jager detachment (independent)

FK - Freikorps battalion (independent, in Pfaffendorf)

Austria

A - German infantry brigade: 2 infantry bns, 1 grenadier bn, 2 guns

B - Hungarian infantry brigade: 2 infantry bns, 1 grenadier bn, 1 gun

C - Light infantry brigade: 2 Grenz bns, 1 Bavarian infantry bn

D - Cavalry Brigade: 2 cuirassier regiments, 2 dragoon regiments

The three photos below show how the terrain came together: TSS tiles and hill contours were laid out, which were covered by two Games Workshop battle mats and then dressed with a FoW river and the usual bits and pieces. I decided to lay out the forces in full to save time deploying. My opponent would choose which side to play, or we would dice for sides if he had no preference.

I thought this all looked pretty good, for a quick evening game.

Prussian deployment.
Overall view and detail of the Line infantry brigade and its guns.

So far so good. But the weakness of the scenario was pretty obvious once we started playing. I had allowed for the river to be fordable within the woods and also for a section between the 2 streams, but it was still supposed to be a significant obstacle, taking a whole move to cross without being able to fire. Deployment was also pretty cramped, with little room for manoeuvre. The result, of course, was that a stalemate ensued with a firefight taking place across the water for the whole length of the river from the wooded table edge to Pfaffendorf. Neither side wanted to cross in the face of enemy fire.

At this point, the Prussians are getting the best of it,
having driven the Austrians back from the river bank.

I had hoped for some manoeuvre on the flanks, where I had given the Austrians an advantage in numbers. The Prussian left flank was, however, easily closed off by infantry units. Only on the Prussian right flank did some manoeuvring take place, when the weaker Prussian cavalry were predictably destroyed by the much stronger Austrian force, despite flanking fire from the Freikorps battalion. However, even here the flank was easily sealed off by a Prussian grenadier battalion (see below). In the end, both sides reached their breakpoint in the 5th move and the game was drawn.

The rules worked well and the battle played out as it might well have done in real life, but there was definitely some sparkle missing.

Consulting my copy of Scenarios For All Ages, by those kings of the scenario Grant and Asquith, I quickly found that where a river has to be attacked across in one of their games it costs a bit in movement but nothing else, and is usually fordable for its entire length. Pfaffendorf was inspired by the fictional Battle of Otterlitz in Volume 1 of the Classic Wargamer's Journal, but on closer inspection I found that the river valley in that battle (dating from 1957) was occupied only by a stream, which was easily fordable.

Ho-hum. The lessons are obvious. If almost the entire table is divided by a river, make it easy to cross. Or restrict your river to a small section of the table so forces can move around it. And if the table is filled by the opposing armies, give them the ability to get at each other and create gaps that can be exploited. Wargamers like manoeuvre: real battles may have often been a slogging match, but for our fictional wars we appreciate the dashing cavalry charge and the outflanking infantry advance.

However, all is not lost. I did like the look of my table when set out, so I will refight Pfaffendorf with the river removed and replaced by a road, and the town moved a little towards the centre to give the cavalry more room. We'll see how that goes.

See you soon!

And for that classic look...

Always on the lookout for terrain items to enhance the table, I chanced upon these Javis walling sections at my local model shop. They only had a couple left so I decided to order a whole box online. Only £10.75, including p+p, for 9 sections, each 140mm long and 22mm high. And they come ready to use, flock and everything. They also come in their own box which you can use for storage. Very old school.

 

Specifically, these are OO gauge Garden Walling from the Javis 'Premier' range, code PW3. Javis only do online ordering for trade customers, but just type in the product name and you'll get 2 or 3 suppliers to choose from in the UK.

Here are the walls in action in a recent game, sheltering some Prussian jager.

And for that Classic read...

Have just received issue 1 of the Classic Wargamer's Journal, Phil Olley's new project. It really is just the thing for Old Schoolers, being a non profit making, basic magazine in an old fashioned, stapled together style, with no adverts. Just the antidote you need to Wargames Illustrated...

Only joking. I like WI as well. See Phil's 'Classic Wargaming' site if you're one of the remaining few who haven't heard of the project.

Best wishes 'til the next post.

My Seven Years War Rules

My Featherstone-inspired Horse and Musket rules, now optimised for Austro-Prussian SYW battles, have continued to evolve. Rather than present them as a mega-long post, I have uploaded them to a file sharing site (as 'Horse and Musket Rules') so that you can download them as a PDF and see what you think. One major recent change is to move away from figure or base removal and just record casualties a la Black Powder. This keeps all your miniatures where they should be - on the table.

Anyway, I invite you to take the plunge, download the rules and see what you think. Need I add that comments are welcome? Surely not!

Download PDF

Airborne Armour - Now in Paperback!

Just a note to say that my book on the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in WW2 is now available in paperback. The initial printing of 1000 in hardback has run out, but thanks to the miracle of digital publishing the paperback edition can be printed pretty much to order, so the book will remain available in brand new condition for a good while yet.

You'll find the cover is the same. A couple of minor printing errors have been corrected but be advised that there is no new content. However, the good news is that the RRP is a little less than the hardcover edition.

My thanks to Helion for keeping the book in print. Happy reading!

Lobositz: It's A Town Of Two Halves

Not knowing exactly who would be able to turn up, I booked myself a table at Colours 2010 under the name of the North Bristol Wargames Collective. A daft name, but nobody seemed to mind. I did know what battle I was putting on: The Battle of Lobositz (1756), the first battle of the Seven Years War, between the Prussians under Frederick the Great and the Austrians.

I won't provide a potted history of the battle: good accounts are available at www.kronoskaf.com (follow the links) and The Wargames Room (NZ site - follow the links to Volley and Bayonet then 18th Century Battles). The map above is the Prussian General Staff map made in the 19th century. I was looking for a real battle to have a go at and Lobositz ticked all the boxes: an interesting encounter, relatively small armies, terrain do-able, etc.

When recreating an historical battle I like to keep things as historical as possible, so deployment would be as per the original battle and some scenario rules were enacted to keep things moving along historical lines (all based on using Black Powder of course). For example, the Lobosch hill was classed as rough ground, there were some special rules to limit charges and firing during the 3 moves at the start of the game when swirling fog was deemed to be present, and the Austrian left wing was limited to staying behind the Morellenbach for the first 3 moves. Frederick had to leave the battle after 5 moves in line with his behaviour on the day: the game was expected to last around 9 moves.

The historical forces were around 30,000 on each side. I found I could just about manage to represent them, on a ratio of roughly 1 model battalion to 3 actual battalions. My orders of battle were as follows:

Prussians

C-in-C: Frederick II, King of Prussia (SR10)

2nd-in-Command: Feldmarschall James Keith (SR9)

Left Wing Infantry (1st line): Generallieutenant Prinz von Bevern (SR9)

1 infantry battalion

1 grenadier battalion

1 jager detachment

1 medium gun battery

Left Wing Infantry (2nd line): Generallieutenant von Kleist (SR9)

2 infantry battalions

1 grenadier battalion

Right Wing Infantry: Generallieutenant Ferdinand (SR9)

2 infantry battalions

1 grenadier battalion

2 medium gun batteries

Cavalry: Feldmarschall Gessler (SR9)

2 cuirassier regiments

1 dragoon regiment

Cavalry: Generallieutenant Schwerin (SR9)

1 dragoon regiment

1 hussar regiment

Artillery on the Homolka Berg (under von Kleist)

1 heavy gun battery

1 medium gun battery

Austrians

C-in-C: Feldmarschall von Browne (SR9)

Left Wing Infantry: Generallieutenant Kollowrat (SR8)

3 infantry battalions

1 grenadier battalion

1 medium gun battery

Left Wing Cavalry: General Feldwachtmeister Lowenstein (SR8)

1 dragoon regiment

Centre and Right Wing Infantry: General Feldwachtmeister Lacy (SR8)

2 infantry battalions

1 grenadier battalion

2 medium gun batteries

Right Wing Cavalry: Feldmarschall Lieutenant Radicati (SR8)

(deployed in centre)

2 cuirassier regiments

1 dragoon regiment

Light Infantry Corps: General Feldwachtmeister Draskowitz (SR8)

2 grenz light infantry battalions

The Game

Four gamers turned up on the day: myself and my eldest son Sam (we would be the Prussians), along with Paul James and Andy Potts (both Austrian to the core). We had all run through a practice game on the previous Wednesday, which ironed out a few wrinkles and gave us all some food for thought on tactics. In particular we all resolved to be more cautious on the day, rather than risking a broken brigade or two at the end of the first move!

10.00am on Sunday and we're ready to go. We had a nice big table near the window with plenty of room to store all our stuff and keep the table clear of clutter. That's Sam, by the way. You'll have to smoke that roll-up outside, boy. I just hope it's ordinary tobacco.

A closer view of the set-up. Austrian left in the foreground behind the Morellenbach stream. Lobositz right background, Lobosch hill centre background. Polyester swirling fog in place. Sam adjusts the position of Schwerin on the Homolka Berg: the King of Prussia can be seen nearby on the same hill. We deployed the cavalry forward of the infantry on both sides, ready for the opening cavalry encounter as per the real battle.

Prussian deployment. In the foreground, Bevern's brigade faces the Grenz light infantry on the Lobosch.Ferdinand is deployed to Bevern's right, with von Kleist's line backing them up. Village in background (blue houses) is Wchinitz.

The Prussian cavalry peers through the mist, ready for the off. Initial cavalry moves were fairly cautious. Frederick is seen behind on the Homolka berg.

As the light infantry on the Austrian right were pushed back, one of Lacy's battalions fell back a short way to occupy Lobositz. Gun position on the right of picture would prove to be the Prussian's nemesis.

General view as the game got under way. Bevern makes good progress, but in the background two of Gessler's cavalry regiments have been forced back.

The Austrian players in action.

Prussian infantry continues to make steady progress in the centre and left. Frederick decided to personally lead a dragoon charge on move two to restore the cavalry situation in the centre, but miserable dice throws saw the unit and its King thrown back behind Wchinitz (bottom left). At least the Monarch survived!

Oh dear: those Prussian infantry are going to get a pounding from the Austrian guns.

The fog is about to clear. Bevern has taken the Lobosch Hill. A second Austrian battalion is moved back into Lobositz: the unit that moved back previously now occupies the rear block of the town.

Heavy pointing action in evidence around move 5. In front of Lobositz the Liccaner Grenz battalion make a 3 move stand against a battalion of Prussian infantry, badly holding up the Prussian attack. Damn them! The Austrian left wing is beginning to move across the bridge to support their centre.

After 3 moves of hand to hand the Liccaner regiment breaks. Andy is torn between pride and sadness as the grenzers return to their box. A touching moment indeed.

A couple of moves later. Having blasted away 3 Prussian infantry battalions, the blasted Austrian guns have been blasted in turn by Prussian artillery and have broken. A lack of understanding of the rules (and a lack of common sense) cost the Prussians dear: the Austrian guns should have been bombarded before the infantry went in, which would have saved a lot of casualties. On the plus side, close range infantry fire has broken the Austrian battalion in Lobositz. A nice little hole opens temporarily in the Austrian front.

Final move (move 8). The Austrian left wing infantry replaces the cavalry which move round in turn to plug the gap by Lobositz. Austrian grenadiers sally forth from Sullowitz in the foreground. Schwerin's Prussian cavalry are still active as well and manouevre towards Lobositz (centre left of picture). But time is up. By this time (16.30) we were about the only ones still actually playing on our floor.

Lobositz at the end of the game. The town was formed of two blocks (hence the title of this report), and one each is held by the Prussians and Austrians. The town is burning as a result of the Prussian bombardment (a scenario specific rule which aided the eviction of the Austrians). Though there was still some life left in the game, a Prussian victory seemed unlikely, so the day was awarded to the Austrians. History had been reversed.

All in all, a truly excellent day's gaming. The scenario worked well and both sides hopes were maintained until the end. Colours itself was as good as ever: a great selection of games and traders in a cracking venue.

Some very good friends of the NBWC were putting on a Spanish Civil War game on the floor above: see the Blitzkrieg Commander forum under 'Shows and Conventions' for a link to a report of their game.

Here's hoping we can think of something equally good for next year!