Fort Capuzzo, June 16th 1941

Following an autumn dedicated to SYW gaming, I have finally turned back to WW2. I decided to get the 6mm Western Desert stuff out, using (of course) Blitzkrieg Commander as my ruleset. Funny really: at the height of my concentration on SYW, I had actually considered selling my GHQ Western Desert collection to make money for more SYW purchases. Luckily I had the sense to realise I would return to my other interests in time.

This will be a fairly long post: as with some previous Western Desert reports, I find it fun to mix in some real photos of the actual area and consider some of the scenario alternatives. Once again I turned to the Command Decision scenario book Benghazi Handicap by Frank Chadwick for inspiration, and chose the scenario 'Rally Forward', which covers the German attempt to recapture Fort Capuzzo from the British on the second day of Operation Battleaxe, June 16th 1941. In the original battle the Germans failed to re-capture the Fort, due it seems to a stubborn, well conducted British defence supported by tanks, an unusual lack of tank/infantry cooperation on the German side, and a lack of German resources in infantry. I went with the forces and map given in the book, though Barrie Pitt's Crucible of War: Wavell's Command might suggest some alterations, which I will mention at the end.

Here then is the game map reproduced from the book. Designed for a 6' x 6' table using 15mm miniatures, 4' x 4' would be fine in 6mm:

Below are the German forces as outlined in the book. It is easy to convert to the BKC equivalent as Command Decision uses the same ratio of models to real troops. However, the BKC website includes a download called 'Converting Orders of Battle' which gives some useful advice if you want it.

So for BKC these forces came out as:

CO, CV10. 1 recce unit (PzII)

1st Bn, 8th Panzer Regt

HQ CV9, 2 PzII, 2 PzIII, 1 PzIV

2nd Bn, 8th Panzer Regt

HQ CV9, 2 PzII, 4 PzIII, 1 PzIV

Regimental Troops, 8th Panzer Regt

HQ CV9

3 infantry units + ATR upgrade, 1 MG unit, all on motorcycles

3 infantry units + ATR upgrade, 1 MG unit, all in trucks

1 37mm ATG unit with tow

1 50mm ATG unit with tow

1 88mm ATG unit with tow

2 20mm Sdkfz10/4 units 

1st Bn, 33rd Artillery Regt

FAO CV8, 3 105mm artillery units (off table). 6 artillery assets.

Below is the British OOB from the book and the BKC equivalent I used:

CO, CV8. 1 recce unit (scout carrier)

1st Bn, The Buffs

HQ, CV7

12 infantry units + ATR upgrade

1 mortar unit

2 2pdr portee units

1 2pdr ATG unit with tow

7th RTR

HQ, CV7, 4 Matilda II

Battery, 31st Field Regt

FAO CV7, 1 25pdr artillery unit (4 gun, off table). No assets.

This gave the Germans 2745 points, with a breakpoint of 11 (13, minus 2 for flexible doctrine). The Brits had 1580 points, breakpoint 10. I decided to play the game as an Assault scenario, but allowing no flank deployment as this was not indicated in Benghazi Handicap. The points advantage for the Germans was well over the 50% allowed for in BKC, but it still seemed the Germans had their work cut out. They had half the infantry the Brits had, and a limited advantage in tanks, especially considering how tough the Matildas are. Their main advantage was in artillery, and their superior CVs. As all the Brits would be able to dig in, we decided to use the 'auto suppress' optional rule, and extend it's use to on-table HE fire from mortars, infantry guns and tanks etc. In particular this would give the Germans the option to use their PzIVs in their historical role of bombarding and suppressing the British 2 pdrs.

For a bit of period flavour, the photos below give some contemporary views of Fort Capuzzo and the surrounding terrain:

The Game

First photo shows my interpretation of the game map, looking from the north (German) table edge. Tarmac roads in dark grey, tracks in yellow. Shallow wadis are represented by brown felt shapes: these are treated as high area terrain for movement purposes. Units in a shallow wadi can claim partial cover but do not receive a save value. The rough ground (shown by the fine gravel scattered in the bottom right hand corner) attracts the dense terrain command modifier but offers no cover.

British set up. All 4 Matildas are dug in on the British right flank, an interesting tactic which shut off this flank from the possibility of attack as far as I was concerned (as the German player).

If any reader doubts whether the Brits would have dug-in their Matildas, here is a photo from Tobruk around the same period. With only the turret exposed, a very tough nut to crack.

The Germans enter the table, with the stronger panzer unit aiming for the weaker British left flank. They would have to find gaps through the wadis, relying on arty and direct HE to suppress the British 2 pdrs. The weaker panzer battalion is on the German left flank and would play a waiting game. Infantry support in the centre, with ATGs leading.

The auto-suppress rule payed off well for the Germans throughout the game, as can be seen by the measles rash of red dice in this and later photos. We thought this historically sound.

German right flank creeps steadily forward. One portee 2pdr has been KO'd, but the British mortars have claimed the 88mm near the road.

The threat to the British left forces Paul to move his Matildas out of their pits and move them round the back of the fort. The HQ of 7th RTR has been knocked out by artillery in a freak rash of sixes (bottom right).

Now is the time for the German left flank armour to advance, but in typical BKC fashion the command rolls failed at the crucial moment. German FAO in foreground, who was vital to the advance.

Auto-suppression cuts both ways. We were using the 'reduced artillery fire zones' optional rule, which gave the Brits only a 10cm circle for their arty. Nevertheless, here they have a successful shoot against German tanks and infantry bunching up as they negotiate the line of the wadis.

As the game nears its end, the Germans close in on the fort, aided by suppressive artillery and direct HE fire. The tank duel between the panzers and Matildas (centre background) starts to go in the German's favour, now that the Matildas are in the open. The British were hampered by their low CV, not getting in enough fire orders to tip the balance in their favour. The German left flank Panzer Battalion has caught up.

Last move, move 8. The German infantry have broken through on the British left flank following a close assault, and have managed to get 2 units into the fort, but this is not enough. The Matildas are scattered, with 1 knocked out, 1 suppressed and fallen back, and a third skulking behind the fort to avoid German fire. In a desperate final charge the German 1st Panzer Battalion lunge towards their objective but lose 2 tanks destroyed and 1 suppressed (the latter out of picture to the left), demonstrating the likely result of doing without covering fire. Overall, the Germans have been cautious, advancing under the cover of suppressing fire, and have lost only 5 out of a breakpoint of 11. The British end on 6/10, including their destroyed HQ from 7th RTR. The result then is a minor victory for the British.

And in conclusion...

A most enjoyable game. Just for once I tried hard to think about my tactics rather than just charging in, and it almost worked. Things would have been much tougher for the attackers if the auto-suppress rule had been limited only to artillery, though I leave it to you to decide whether our modification is justified.

In Wavell's Command, Barrie Pitt indicates that 15th Panzer Division had 80 tanks available for this attack, which would work out to 16 tanks rather the 12 we used, if you assume 5 tanks in a German tank platoon. He also suggests the presence of German engineers, so perhaps a company of these could be included. His battle account is not detailed however, so for this game I took Frank Chadwick's word for the balance of forces. Having the British 25pdrs on-table (another option suggested by Pitt's account) would make the British anti-tank defence rather too strong, in my opinion. Despite the historical validity of digging in Matildas, I don't think this was actually done in the battle itself, so perhaps only the British infantry should be allowed to dig-in, which would help the Germans.

And finally...

A couple of photos I found online showing how other gamers have represented Fort Capuzzo. The lower photo in particular shows a rather different interpretation of the surrounding terrain.

http://willwarweb.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html 

(A game put on by the Society of Gentlemen Gamers)

http://saskminigamer.blogspot.com/2008/02/wargames-weekend-08-part-2-saturday.html

Hope you enjoyed the post. Once again, best wishes for 2011 to all visitors. Leave a comment!

The New Wargaming

I'm very happy to say I have finally managed to get an article into one of the wargames glossies: and not just any old glossy, but the best of them. Battlegames 24 has my article entitled 'The New Wargaming'. According to the blurb, 'veteran wargamer Keith Flint takes a long hard look at the commercial tendencies in modern wargaming and asks us to think hard about how we respond to marketing messages'. How about that: I'm officially a veteran wargamer! 

The article was inspired by reading comments on a number of forums over the last year, and by recent publications that have interested me like Wargames Illustrated and Black Powder. It occurred to me I was not particularly happy about some of the more commercial developments in current wargaming, which others seemed to welcome with open arms, so I decided to write a 'think piece' expressing my thoughts. Thanks to editor Henry Hyde for publishing it. 

Whilst the commercial growth of wargaming suppliers has provided us with a better level of choice and quality in wargaming products than we have ever enjoyed, some tendencies seem to me to be getting a bit out of hand, whilst others are being forgotten. For example, I'm afraid everything is getting a little too glossy and upmarket for my taste (and therefore increasingly expensive), whilst concepts like the pleasure of sharing things for free, or doing your own research instead of relying on supplements and army lists, seem to be fading into the background. Perhaps if one thing can be considered to have tipped me over the edge and into print, it was reading this comment regarding Black Powder on TMP:

First impressions: well, even if the rules are no good, the piccies by themselves will be worth the cost alone!'

If you agree with this sentiment, or in the unlikely event that its author ever reads this, I apologise in advance. But really! There we have a wargamer happy to shell out thirty quid for a few posed pictures of wargames figures, when they are available by the gross for free online. Alright, maybe the comment wasn't meant to be taken entirely literally. But it seemed to me some gamers were losing their perspective, not to mention their self respect and common sense, in becoming too enamoured with surface over substance.

I'm afraid the approach of Games Workshop and Flames of War to wargaming takes a bit of flak in the article as well. On the other hand, I applaud a project trying to take things the other way, namely Phil Olley's Classic Wargamer's Journal, which is not produced for profit and also contains no adverts.

Enough of me and my soapbox. I would say that Battlegames 24 is an excellent issue, with or without my article, being crammed with ideas and inspiration on a variety of topics. Indeed, it re-ignited my enthusiasm for this particular magazine after a few recent issues which I have found a little flat.

And finally, Happy New Year! See you in 2011.

Black Powder SYW Stats

For any Black Powderers out there (is there such a phrase?) who game the SYW, these are the stats I'm currently using, placed in the tables available from The Last Hussar's website (see my favourite links). Note I use First Fire to represent the better fire discipline of Prussian line infantry, and the hand to hand stats of the Austrian cavalry are all reduced by one as they appear to have been generally inferior to their Prussian counterparts. 

To discourage successful cavalry charges against line infantry (and successful charges in general) I am now using a modifier of +2 for closing fire. Cavalry do not get the +1 for charging frontally vs infantry unless the infantry they are charging are shaken, disordered or not supported.

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.