That Was The Week That Was

So, last week was both unusual and interesting from a wargaming point of view. Not only did I end up with three events planned in 5 days, but they all involved me joining in with other people's games, so I could be lazy and let the other guys do all the work of providing toys, rules and scenarios. Nice!

Monday - Edgehill

Monday saw me making a visit to the Oxford Wargames Society. I am fortunate to have contacts at both the Oxford and Abingdon clubs, both of which are great clubs and have been the source of many new wargaming friends. Unfortunately my shiftwork patterns and the demands of Real Life mean I don't visit either as often as I would like.

It was most kind of Bob Medcraft at the Oxford Society to invite me to join in with a refight of Edgehill, using the Field of Glory Renaissance rules (hereafter FOG(R)). Not only do I not play the ECW, but I had never used or even read any of the FOG series, so there would be a steep learning curve, and I would need a lot of help. When Bob sent me the cheat sheets for FOG(R) as an introduction, I was a bit intimidated at first as there were 8 of them! Were these rules going to be a bit too complex for a beginner?

Not bad for a club night!

Needless to say on arrival at the club I was welcomed in to the group of players and given a cheerful crash course in the scenario and the rules. Ben, who had done the research and sorted out the set up, had deliberately kept things simple, so the 18' x 4' table was quickly in place along with the 15mm figures. The others were all long time FOG(R) players, so things cracked along at a good pace. The rulebook hardly came out at all, and even the playsheets didn't get much use - I had the usual experience in such circumstances of being heavily guided, and there was plenty of "roll 3 dice Keith, you need 5 or 6!".

Ben braces himself for another roll of the dice, whilst Tom and Bob look on.
Meanwhile, Jerry gets on with a bit of cheating. I'm sure this was the case, as he kept getting the better of me.
What other explanation could there be?

It was all good clean fun, with plenty of banter and much cheering of successful die rolls, and after just over 3 hours gaming it was getting towards time to pack up. The battle was a close run thing, as was the original. The cavalry flanks had engaged first, and the infantry was just becoming seriously engaged as we finished. Both sides still had a chance, but maybe Parliament had a slight edge, with all that low class Royalist infantry around. What was really impressive was that a major battle, with all units represented on the table, had been set up, wargamed and cleared away in around 4 hours. This is a tribute to the enthusiasm and knowledge of the other 4 players, and also to the rules which coped admirably, although of course it helps immensely to be well practised in their use.

Parliamentarian left wing cavalry on the right, Royalists on the left.

Wednesday - Sittangbad

A few weeks ago a comment appeared on my blog from a wargamer who just happened to live in the same little town in the Cotswolds as me. This was a great piece of good luck, but what was really interesting was that he signed himself Stuart Asquith. Naturally, my first thought was, I wonder if...? And indeed it was. It turned out I live about 15 minutes walk away from the former editor of Practical Wargaming, the author of a stack of books on our hobby, and someone who has known and gamed with all my old heroes, including Donald Featherstone, Charles Grant (senior and junior), and Terry Wise. In the picture below he gives a masterclass in the art of pointing in a wargames photo.

The building prominent in the centre of the photo featured in the book The War Game, (Charles Grant, 1971).
It was a gift to Stuart from the author. I handled it with care.

On moving to the Cotswolds, Stuart had to downsize his wargaming somewhat, but he retains his love of the hobby, and in particular his enthusiasm for the collection and painting of classic figure ranges in 30mm, such as Willie, Tradition and Holger Eriksson. He is also a stalwart fan of the Charge! rules, which continue to be his favourite set, and cover his favourite period. So what could be better than to be invited over for a dining table recreation of the classic Battle of Sittangbad, where a young whippersnapper such a myself could be instructed in the finer points?

Stuart has adapted the rules for smaller units of between 8 and 16 figures, and he provided me with a playsheet and rules summary to help things along. Naturally these smaller units make things a whole lot easier than handling the 48 figure, individually based infantry regiments which featured in the original book.

And so we set out the figures and got started. This was my first game at Stuart's and it was old school all the way - in fact, a real bit of old school magic. It's been a while since I handled units with individual soldiers, but with the smaller regiments it was no problem at all. This was a very different experience to Monday - a wonderfully relaxing time with rules of a very refreshing simplicity that could be picked up as one went along. The respective forces were very much in the Grant/Young tradition, being a mix of various units from a variety of horse and musket campaigns, but all lovely figures beautifully painted. Stuart's forces (in the original battle, the Electoral forces under Herzog Johann) were commanded by his favourite general, Soubise, whose figure has been with him for a long while and always appears with an ADC and his favourite... erm, niece, as Stuart puts it!

General Soubise and his suite on Eisenberg Hill, with the 'conspicuous pair of trees' duly represented.

I took the role of General Lentulus, commanding the Imperial forces. As you can see, the terrain was very much in keeping with the rules and figures - some of the old Merit trees which I remember fondly from Charles Grant's Practical Wargaming (1972), some cardboard houses bought in a local shop, and hills from wooden contours. After a cup of tea and a ham roll, I think we called it a draw. My forces had been defeated, but Soubise had been detained for too long to cross the Weser on schedule.  I'll let some pictures give you the flavour - unfortunately my second-rate photos don't really do the figures justice.

Imperial forces in Sittangbad

Unpainted base edges! Disgraceful!

One of Stuart's favourite pieces - here performing as an Electoral battery.

Imperial cavalry. The kettle drummer was particularly impressive.

The battle for Eisenberg village.

Imperial infantry advance from Sittangbad.

Cavalry melee in full swing.

Stuart insisted I include this one - the closing shot of the game
when his favourite artillery battery destroyed my grenadiers in one go.

All in all a fine bit of wargaming. Stuart has some of his figures on multiple bases and so we might try a bit of Honours of War with these, which should be good.

Friday - The Death's Head At Andreevka

And so on Friday an hour or so's drive took me to the northern outskirts of Bristol for some Battlegroup Kursk, laid on by the very lovely Paul James. Paul was the gamer who first introduced me to the Batttlegroup rules, around 3 years ago. I remember when he showed me the rulebook I thought he was nuts - thirty quid for a set of fancy WW2 rules and they only cover the Battle of Kursk? Crazy! But I came round eventually and as readers of the blog will know, I am very much enjoying using my 1939 Polish and German troops with Battlegroup Blitzkrieg. 

Anyway, Paul had set up one of the scenarios from the BGK book, using his 20mm collection. It always surprises me how big these 1/72nd models look when one is used to 15mm. I was a 20mm WW2 gamer from the 70s through to the 90s, but traded down to 15mm when I moved from North-West Europe 1944-45 to Poland 1939. I don't regret it. And to think WW2 in 28mm is growing as well - that must be a bit limiting on space.

Paul would be the first to admit he is not the world's best modeller and painter - he relies on his son for tank kit construction and painting. I well recall one occasion when Paul had been preparing some plastic Russian anti-tank guns for a forthcoming battle - a frustrating life or death struggle with the multi-part crew delayed the project, and so with the deadline looming Paul just glued the guns and figures onto cardboard bases and spray painted the whole lot from close range in one shade of green. The instructive thing was, once they were on table and the game was in full swing, one hardly noticed the basic paint job.

Anyway, without going into too much detail, the game involved the Russians attacking a German-held village, with German reserves coming to the rescue later in the game. The photos below show the German defensive positions.

I had some model building nostalgia in this game as well - I gave Paul some of my old 20mm buildings when I changed scales, and it always gives me a kick to see these old friends given a run out. 

The Andreevka scenario is a good one and I may well adapt it for a Poland 1939 game. Paul had to substitute T-34s and T-70s for the Churchills used in the real battle. The leading Russian tanks managed to penetrate into the village despite heavy losses, and threatened the objective (the church, represented by a Flames of War ruined monastery), but the German reserves arrived to save the day before the Russian infantry could arrive to support them. We didn't quite get to the end of the game according to the official victory conditions, but we reckoned the Germans had held on and won.

Despite many destroyed tanks,  two T-34s can just be seen on the right,
 entering the village behind the main defensive line.

The entry of the German reserves (mainly STUGs and Panthers) prevents a Russian victory.

A final point - in classic wargaming fashion, Paul had resolved his need for a fair amount of cornfields at short notice by a visit to B&Q, where he had obtained the doormats you can see for a quid each. And of course, our imaginations supplied the rest. Doormats? What doormats?

On Variety In Wargaming
Being made redundant from my job in Bristol and moving to Oxfordshire was of course initially unwelcome, and an upheaval my wife and I could have done without, at the time. But overall things have worked out. In wargaming terms, I have managed to keep in touch with old buddies in the Bristol area, and have made a number of new friends in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire who have really enriched the hobby for me.

What these three games demonstrated to me was that despite all the different rules, different periods and different model scales, it's the wargamers themselves that make for such a variety of experiences in the hobby. Even with the same rules and the same period in the same scale, you can have very different games as your wargaming company changes. This is both enjoyable and instructive, as one is exposed to different approaches to the hobby. Intense or relaxed games, beautifully painted or quickly produced models, big or small scenarios - take your choice, or if you're lucky like me, don't choose at all and enjoy the variety. Long may it continue.

Polish Counter-Attack 1939 - Revisited

A couple of days ago Paul and I had the opportunity to re-fight our Polish counter-attack scenario: this was the one that I screwed up a bit the first time we played it.

The good news is that, having corrected the cock-ups, the scenario worked out much better. We played 5 moves in just over 3 hours, and the game was concluded in Polish turn 5 when the German losses reached their Battle Rating. The Poles were only about two thirds of the way towards their own battle rating, so the victory was pretty clear.

Paul, playing the Germans, had been determinedly propping up his units in his advance line, placed in the centre third of the table (see map in previous post). He had been doing this by using the rally rule at the end of most turns, and also by using the Tactical Co-ordination order. This had made the defence very stubborn, and had cost the Poles significant casualties whilst slowing their advance significantly. However, Paul had got a little carried away, and had been unlucky by drawing a few '5' battle counters. By the time he realised he was gobbling up his battle rating, it was too late.

Thus the Germans lost the game, but their main line of defence in the village was hardly touched. The Poles had lost an entire tank platoon and some infantry and had hardly advanced much beyond the mid-point of the table: but they had won. Presumably the German commander on the ground had decided that the Poles were sufficiently determined, and in sufficient numbers, to make his defence of the village untenable. Or perhaps the 'higher ups' had ordered him to pull out. Whatever the rationalisation, I liked the result - not because I won, but because it demonstrated that the rules generate interesting tactical decisions whose consequences need to be considered. 

It felt like we had battled for a fairly long time to get 5 moves done, but it was interesting to see that this is about the length the authors would predict for a battle of this size. The main rules don't give any guide to expected game length in time, but there is a very worthwhile example game on the Iron Fist Publishing website which gives some guidance - apparently platoon-sized games can be expected to last 2-3 hours, whilst battalion games might take all day. Thus, for a cross between a platoon and company-size game, 3 hours and a bit is about right. It is comforting to know we are not playing the game too slowly. We are getting used to the rules now, so delays with our heads in the rulebook are much less.

Some Pictures

The German defence line in Werba, south of the road. The black dice show
8 rounds of main armament ammo available to the Panzer IV.

A bit later in the game, and the same defence line from the north.
The Panzer IV has moved out to engage the Polish tanks.

Overview in the third move. The leading Polish tank platoon has taken a beating from the
anti-tank position in the ploughed fields - a 37mm gun and an anti-tank rifle were both present there.
Polish infantry are stalled in the woods to the right following a timed barrage, whilst the left flank platoon
is facing stubborn resistance from the dug-in Germans on the hill.

The second 7tp platoon advances through the burning wrecks of the first and makes a partial breakthrough.
Ignoring the pinned anti-tank rifle to their front, they engage the Panzer IV to their left.
Top right of picture - the German position on the hill is finally overrun.

Polish tank graveyard west of the bridge. To the left, the towed 75mm gun
braves another barrage of artillery fire falling into this area.

Polish platoon-command stand in the woods.

Polish infantry held up in the edge of the woods on the Polish left flank.

The German defence line in Werba has not been tested - this was taken after the final turn.

Overall, a pretty intense gaming experience and one thoroughly enjoyed by both players. As I have said so many times before, it's not just the rules that make a good game. You need a good scenario. Thanks to Piers Brand, Battlegroup author, for this one.

Battlegroup Blitzkrieg - Polish Counter-Attack, 1939

I was lucky recently to come across a Battlegroup Barbarossa scenario in issue 73 of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy. I had only kept the magazine because it was a SYW-themed edition, and somehow I had missed the Battlegroup article the first time around. It was immediately obvious that this was a setup that could easily be adapted from 1941 to 1939, and which could have the added bonus of the Poles attacking for once. And it was by Battlegroup author Piers Brand, so it was likely to be well thought out.

Maps

The map from the magazine article is shown below. I have added the two dotted lines to show what I take to be the 'centre third' of the table, as this is important for deployment. The Germans mostly deploy left of the fence line in front of Werba, and the Russians (or Poles) deploy right of the stream, so I had to define the area I thought was appropriate. The recommended table size was 7' x 5' - I used a 6' x 5' table with 15mm figures, which I hoped would make the Polish task slightly easier and get the fighting started more quickly. The 'angling' of the stream and fenceline (and thus the opposing start lines) is worth noting, and adds to the interest of the setup.

The stream is classed impassable to all vehicles due to its steep banks, but may be crossed by infantry without penalty. The marsh counts as difficult ground for tracked vehicles, is impassable to wheeled vehicles, but is no impediment to infantry. The hill is gentle and no problem to any movement.

© Karwansaray BV. Many thanks to Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy magazine
for permission to use the copyright map.

The original scenario covers an historical action from a Soviet counter-attack in June 1941. I kept the Germans as defenders, but substituted the Poles as attackers. Obviously the forces had to be tweaked, quite extensively on the Polish side, to fit a fictional September 1939 action. The scenario conditions I kept as per the original article.

Deployment

German forces deploy west of the fence line, except the following:

• recce units must deploy in the centre third of the table
• 1D6 other units must deploy in the centre third of the table (they may have defences)
• 1D6 units may start on ambush fire

The minefield may be placed in the centre third or German third of the table. The Panzer II platoon is in reserve and will deploy via the road from the west table edge on turn 4.

Polish forces deploy east of the stream, except the following:

• 1D6 units may deploy within 10" of the bridge, on the western side of the river.

Preparatory Bombardment
Before the game starts, roll 1D6 per German unit on the table. On a roll of 6, the unit begins the game pinned.

Objectives and Victory

The German player places 3 objective markers. One must be placed at the small farm complex beside the road, one must be placed in the central third of the table, and one must be placed in Werba. The Germans don't count as in possession of any of the objectives for the purposes of taking Battle Counters, unless they recapture one from the Soviets.

The Soviets win by taking all three objectives or breaking the Battle Rating of the Germans. The Germans win by breaking the Soviet Battle Rating.

Forces for 1939 (BR in brackets, special rules in italics)

Germans (all regular)

Forward HQ (3) senior officer, artillery spotter

Comms relay team (0) communications

Infantry

Infantry Platoon + supports (15) officer

MMG team, ATR team, 50mm mortar team, towed 37mm ATG with loader team, towed 75mm IG.

Tanks

Pz II platoon, 3 tanks, arrive turn 4 (6) officer

Pz IVC (3)

Artillery

Forward observer team (1) officer, artillery spotter+

2 x 1^st target priority off-table artillery support requests (up to division only)

Pre-registered target point (0)

Timed 105mm barrage (0)

Recce

Infantry foot patrol  (2) scout x2

Motorised panzerjager (2) scout

Specialist support

SP 20mm flak (1)

Timed Ju-87 strike

Defences

Infantry units are dug-in (reinforced cover)

ATGs are poorly dug-in (hard cover)

1 minefield

BR=33, 4 officers, 3 scouts

Around 675 points

Poles (all regular)

Forward HQ (3) senior officer, mortar spotter

Infantry

2 infantry platoons (24) officerx2

Each has MMG team, ATR team, Light Mortar team

Tanks

7tp platoon, 3x37mm, 1xmg (8)

7tp platoon, 3x37mm, 1xmg (8)

Tankette platoon,1x20mm, 2xmg (3)

Artillery

Timed 105mm barrage (0)

Pre-registered target point (0)

Counter-battery fire mission (0)

Towed 75mm gun with loader team (2)

Forward observer team (1)

Off-table mortar battery (0)

Recce

Cavalry patrol (1) scout, brawura

Logistics

Supply truck (1) resupply

BR=51, 3 officers, 1 scout

Around 800 points

It is worth mentioning that in the original scenario, the Battle Ratings for each force were about equal (Germans 45, Soviets 44). I reckoned this made the game a very hard one to win for the Soviets, which accorded with historical reality (they were stopped at the edge of Werba and fell back, 'lacking enough strength' as it says in the magazine). For our game I made the Poles a bit stronger and the Germans a bit weaker, which seemed to work out; apart from the three cock-ups described below, the balance seemed right.

Playing The Game

I was pleased with the table I produced, and deployment was straightforward - we marked our registered aiming points on our own printed-out maps, noted the moves for the timed barrages and airstrikes, then deployed the Germans first followed by the Poles.

The table viewed from the south prior to deployment.

Early in the game - the Ju-87 strike hits the bridge area.

The leading 7tps come under pressure - one destroyed and 2 pinned.

We gamed for three hours, and managed five moves, at which point things were getting interesting but it was still all to play for. Both sides were around half way to their break point. We had enjoyed ourselves and seen enough to be sure this was a really good scenario, but I had made three cock-ups which had spoiled things a bit.

Cock-Up One - Terrain

All vehicles need to cross at the bridge, so the attacking infantry inevitably make use of crossing the stream on foot, which brings them to the woods and marshes. Like a total fool I forgot that in Battlegroup infantry don't deduct for difficult ground, and the attack bogged down as I took off D6 inches each move through the woods and marshes. I think I was in Honours of War mode, where of course infantry always moves slower through woods and such. Anyway, by the time we twigged after three moves it was a bit too late. On reflection, I think I actually would deduct 1D3" (rather than nothing or 1D6") on moves through the marshes only, as the article does say that the marshes 'partly protected' the German left flank. Having the stream, woods and marshes on table without any effect at all on infantry movement doesn't quite make sense to me.

Cock-Up Two - Points

I mis-calculated the points and missed the fact that the Polish force is company level (the total of about 800 points quoted above is the correct number). Thus they missed out on one extra order dice per move which also slowed them down. Calculating points was a bit rough and ready anyway - I decided to make both sides regular (see Cock-Up Three), and how much to increase points and battle rating for this requires a bit of guess work. Unfortunately the rules are rather opaque on how the points system is calculated.

Cock Up Three - Experience Levels

Out of respect for how well the troops on both sides (especially the Poles) actually performed in real life, I have been inclined to make most troops regular in 1939, rather than inexperienced as described in the army lists. On reflection, I think this is a mistake, apart perhaps from the Polish cavalry and motorised brigades which were definitely the cream of the Polish army. The German Panzer troops later in the campaign might also be counted regular, but on the whole inexperienced is a good rating for this campaign. It is worth noting that under the Battlegroup rules, there is not a major difference between the two ratings, but the most important difference is that the battle rating is higher with regular units, making your force more resilient.

So making both sides inexperienced would have been better. As I calculated it, this would have reduced the Polish battle rating by 4, and the German battle rating by 2. This would have tended to bring the game to a quicker conclusion. 

Overall

With the three cock-ups corrected, this scenario will play very well, and the chances of finishing the game in an evening seem good. We are looking forward to having another go.

Best wishes 'til next time!

Overlord 2016, Abingdon

Following a couple of very pleasant visits to the Abingdon Wargames Club recently, there was a very kind offer to make a table available for an Honours of War display at the forthcoming club show, Overlord 2016. So it was my privilege and pleasure to turn up last Sunday at the venue in Abingdon (a local senior school) to put on a quickly devised demonstration/participation game.

Having made the commitment, I suddenly realised I faced a lonely vigil at my wargames table, having failed to arrange any sort of team. Luckily, my old wargames buddy Paul was free, and a couple of guys from the Oxford Wargames Society promised to pitch up and lend a hand when they could. Thanks Bruce and Peter.

This was my first time at Overlord, and I was pleasantly surprised to find this a well-attended and friendly medium-sized show, with about 30 traders in attendance. Local intelligence sources told me that generally around 300 punters turn up (excluding traders, participating gamers and helpers), and the Abingdon club are to be congratulated on this fine contribution to the wargames show circuit, all made possible by the hard work of club members. I should mention in particular the Overlord of the Overlord show, Simon Davies, whose suggestion led to my attendance.

The Photos

As you can see, this was a very basic presentation. The scenario was one I had developed a few years back, designed to pack a good number of units on a standard 6' x 4' table. Austrians vs. Prussians in 28mm, of course.

The Austrians were faced with a weaker Prussian force, which they intended to attack. However, Prussian reserves in the form of a grenadier brigade were on their way.

That's Bruce and Paul. The Prussian cavalry threw themselves into a reckless charge to buy time,
 as you can just see in the centre of the photo.

Our presentation came equal second in the "Most Junk Food Consumed' category.
My Twix and cup cake were sadly eaten too rapidly to make it into the photo.

This was the first time the recently modelled Count von Lenzbourg had seen active service in a wargame.
Here he berates his dithering cavalry commander for lurking in a cowardly manner near the Austrian baseline.

There is nothing like burger and chips to cheer up a wargamer.

My own quickly knocked up display was surrounded by games which had been the result of rather more hard work, and were consequently a bit more impressive. This was an ancients game using the 'To The Strongest' rules.

Right next to us was this impressively modelled naval game.

It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise to find my old friend Craig was at the show running a participation game of Skirmish Sangin. As usual, his great-looking terrain and professional display kept him busy with interested gamers all day. 

Another great looking game across the way from us was this Rapid Fire desert game in 20mm.
It is good to see how these rules have lasted and still have plenty of adherents.

The Austrians lost (again) in a re-run of the result from 3 years ago. Perhaps the scenario needs a bit of tweaking. If you check out the old post, you will see the Austrian right wing is composed of cavalry and light troops. If the Prussian grenadiers get across the bridges, there is not much that can be done to stop them. And the frontal assault by the Austrian main body against the Prussians on the ridge needs to be very well managed in order to succeed. The impetuous tactics of myself and Peter failed with high casualties.

During our adjournment for lunch I was able to get around the traders and the excellent Bring and Buy. There was plenty on offer, but my only purchase was a pot of black acrylic paint for £2. This was not really evidence of good self control - rather it resulted from all my recent wants having been satisfied by online purchases.

To conclude, we had a very enjoyable day. I chatted to a number of people interested in the rules, some who had already tried a few games and some who were intending to get started. There was more than one tale of an old collection due to be revitalised as a result of Honours of War - this was very rewarding to hear. I tried my best to engage anyone who came up to the table in conversation, rather than just ignore them and get on with the game. This was, of course, the point of the day, but it is easy to have a one track mind when gaming pleasurably with friends. I only managed to get one gentleman to actually join in with us for a few turns - I wish I had managed more. But I reckon many gamers who attend a show are rather like me - they like to stroll round, soak up the demo games, check out the traders and chat to friends in a relaxed manner. They have perhaps decided to leave active wargaming aside for the day. And sometimes, joining in a game with a bunch of people you don't know isn't a particularly relaxing or inviting prospect. All this is very understandable.

'Til the next time!