OSTFRONT YAKHROMA 1941 FEATHERSTONE TRIBUTE WEEKEND KLISSOW 1702 IN 6MM THREAT GENERATION FOR SOLOISTS AN HOMAGE TO OGRE ...and much more!
MAY 2014 £4.25
issue
with
BATTLEGAMES
373
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario Painting designed by
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Alan & Michael Perry Coming soon!
American War of Independence
Hard PlasticContinental Infantry 1776-1783 28mm figures designed by Alan Perry The box contains 38 Continental Infantry with the option of four to six command figures and up to four Riflemen. All the rank and file can be assembled in either formal or informal marching poses. Four figures on the ‘Rifleman’ sprue can be made up as either riflemen skirmishing or Continentals marching (formal or informal) in hunting shirts. These can be mixed in with the rest of the infantry, who are wearing coats, to create a less regular look to the unit.
The command sprue offers the option of up to three officer types and up to two standard bearer options. A drummer and two sergeant arms are also included. With all the figures in the box you also have the choice of three different types on headgear; the cocked hat, the short-brimmed round hat and a peaked cap.
Although the box is dated from 1776 when the Continental system came in there are many regiments from 1775 that can be built and are included in the painting guide. A full painting guide, flags and unit bases are also included.
Masters in Miniature by Alan and Michael Perry
Coming Soon! £29.50 +P&P
This is a fully illustrated book covering all our ranges from Crusades to World War 2, shown in action. The book opens with a forward from Rick Priestley and concludes with a brief biography of us (!) by Henry Hyde. Published by Atlantic Publishers
Also available
ACW 90 American Civil War Artillery
Over 370 colour photographs (the culmination of six months of photography) fill this lavish 160 page hardback book. All orders and cheques by post: Perry Miniatures, PO BOX 6512, Nottingham NG7 1UJ. Cheques made payable to Perry Miniatures. All major credit/debit cards accepted. Please add postage & packing: UK 12%, Europe 17%, Rest of World 20%. Our website has a secure online ordering service. Also available from Dave Thomas at shows around the country. contact us at :
[email protected] WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM 2You can
Models not shown at actual size.
Although we read all questions,we can’t guarantee a reply to each one as figure making is time consuming! For updates please see our website.
www.perry-miniatures.com
Editorial
News/Events
Column
MINIATURE WARGAMES with BATTLEGAMES
ISSN 0266-3228 Published monthly by
www.atlanticpublishers.com Publisher: Trevor Ridley Editing and Design: Henry Hyde Additional layout: John Treadaway Copy proofing: Steve Gill Advertising: Alex Robinson Tel 0845 2260477 Fax 0845 2260377 Email
[email protected] Advertisement production: Juliet Arthur Administration: Tony Read Email
[email protected] Distribution: Warners Trade Sales Tel 01778 391150 Printed by: Warners Midlands plc Subscriptions: Tel (0)1778 392494 Fax (0)1778 421706 Email:
[email protected] West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH UK & BFPO £46.75 Rest of Europe £63.00 Air Mail Outside Europe £75.00 Air Mail You can now manage your subscription online at www.atlanticpublishers.com Back issues: Tel 01778 391180 Email:
[email protected] Atlantic Editions Limited, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH Tel 01778 392032 A full list of available back issues appears on our website at www.atlanticpublishers.com Distributors UK News Trade, Warners Distribution Tel: 01778 392417 Model Trade, Warners Trade Sales Tel 01778 395002 Australia Mainly Medieval, PO Box 189, St Peters, NSW 2044. Tel (02) 9519 2131 www.mainlymedieval.com Denmark Models & Hobby, Frederiksborggade 23 DK-1360, Kobenhavn K. Tel 3314 3310. Italy Strategia e Tattica,Via Cavour, 250, 00154 Roma. United States On Military Matters, 31 West Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525 Tel 609 466 2329, Fax 609 466 4174 www.onmilitarymatters.com Other territories Representation invited. Reviews: Manufacturers and publishers are invited to send figures, kits, books and rules for review to the editorial office. However, we prefer items to be sent direct to reviewers to save time and postage – please contact the Editor for our official reviewers list. © Atlantic Publishers Ltd 2014 All rights reserved. Material is only accepted on the understanding that there are no copyright restrictions. Although every care will be taken, all materials submitted are at the owner’s risk and Atlantic Publishers cannot be held responsible for loss or damage however caused. Copyright on all materials in this magazine remains vested in the Authors and Atlantic Publishers. Reproduction of the whole or any part is forbidden without the relevant permissions. Atlantic Publishers and the Editor cannot be held responsible for any error that might occur in text or advertisements. Reliance placed upon the contents of the magazine is entirely at the reader’s own risk. We support Combat Stress: Donate to the Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal at www.justgiving.com/battlegames
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
I N S H O P • D I G I TA L • M O B I L E • A P P
CONTENTS
5
Briefing The Editor
6 Forward observer Neil Shuck, UK 10 Steaming ahead Diane Sutherland, UK 15 Fantasy facts John Treadaway, UK 21 Threat generation Martin England, UK 29 Send three and fourpence Conrad Kinch, Ireland
Steaming ahead > Page 10
30 Ogre Ashely Pollard, UK 38 Fighting for Featherstone Henry Hyde, UK 45 Keep lunch warm: Klissow 1702 Nick Dorrell, UK and Per Broden, Sweden 55 Command challenge:Yakhroma 1941 Andrew Rolph, UK 65 Recce Our review team
Ogre > Page 30
68 Cavalier & Hammerhead John Treadaway, UK 70 Salute 2014 snapshot 72 Competition More goodies to win 74 Combat Stress Appeal The Editor NEW WEBSITE: www.miniaturewargames.co.uk www.facebook.com/MiniatureWargames @MiniatureWG and @battlegames
Contributions to Miniature Wargames We are always keen to receive contributions to the magazine, whether you are an experienced writer or a novice. All submissions and ideas for articles should initially be sent to the Editor, preferably via email to
[email protected]. Please read a few issues and consult our Contributors’ Guidelines first – they can be downloaded free from the Editor’s blog at http:// henrys-wargaming.co.uk/ or send an SAE to: The Editor, Miniature Wargames, 17 Granville Road, Hove BN3 1TG.
Keep lunch warm > Page 45 COVER: Charlie’s Charge. Confederate troops of Johnson’s Division, commanded by wargaming legend Charlie Wesencraft during the Don Featherstone Tribute game at the Wargames Holiday Centre, heroically launch themselves up Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg – again!
NEXT ISSUE 374 OUT 23rd MAY 2014 MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
3
Editorial
4
News/Events
Column
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Briefing Henry Hyde Editor
T: +44 (0)1273 323320 E:
[email protected] A: 17 Granville Road Hove BN3 1TG East Sussex, UK
Exhilarated by the experience of Salute 2014, The Editor conquers his fatigue to go on the campaign trail again, dealing out mayhem to the hapless victims of his imagi-nation.
H
“
ow do you find the energy to do all this campaign stuff?” someone asked me recently. Well, the truth is, I don’t find any extra energy: I just do it anyway. In my experience, if you wait around, hoping that the energy/inspiration/ right time to do something comes your way, you’ll be waiting a very long time... So, not long after this issue is published, I’ll be in a village hall in Yorkshire, doing my best to keep a disparate group of a dozen or so grognards entertained and mildly nervous as the most recent instalment of my imagi-nations campaign comes to a climax. The plucky Granprixians and their allies will be attempting to liberate their homeland from the clutches of the greedy Grenouissians and their axis of mercenary forces. The only dice I shall be rolling myself will be to decide the fate of careless couriers and the ineptitude of subordinate commanders, as the befuddled players do their best to extricate themselves tactically from the strategic mess they have created. Actually, to be fair, the lads have generally done rather well, throwing themselves into the complexity of planning a campaign from the moment I declared proceedings open. Their enthusiasm was virtually overwhelming: within two days of declaring the campaign ‘live’, I had received nearly a hundred emails from them! The volume of information flowing between players and umpire, and between the
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Dates for your Diary players themselves when a ‘conference’ was declared (the only time I allow players to communicate directly with one another is when they are adjudged to be literally in the same room) was extraordinary. In fact, in order to get this magazine to press on time, I had to call a temporary halt to proceedings, literally on a cliffhanger! Now, whilst this doesn’t fully solve the problem of the lack of games I get to play nowadays, it certainly goes some considerable way to restoring my own levels of enthusiasm for the hobby, as well as providing me with a wealth of inspiration and a not inconsiderable degree of satisfaction. After all, here is a bunch of guys who have thrown themselves into a world I created and made it as much theirs as mine. Seeing the way in which their forces have grown from just a couple of units each into, in many cases, considerable armies with distinct personalities has been simply amazing. Andy McMaster has even been collecting his army in two scales, and Paul Bright has added a chunk to one of my continents! You can follow the campaign on my blog at http://henrys-wargaming.co.uk. Meanwhile, my enthusiasm was also boosted recently by the tremendous success of our very first Donald Featherstone Tribute weekend, which you can read about in this issue. The gathering was held at the Wargames Holiday Centre near Basingstoke on 21st-23rd March, and a finer group of wargamers could not be imagined. Organised by WHC head honcho Mark Freeth, the gamers gambled their reputations at Gettysburg, and much wailing and gnashing of teeth was in evidence as dice rolled awry and miniature men refused to do their masters’ bidding! Quite apart from the fun to be had gaming, the event was a marvellous social gathering, and we also managed to raise a staggering total for Combat Stress in the process. Huge thanks to everyone who took part – I’m looking forward to next year already. Roll ‘em high!
2nd-4th May Border Wars Overland Park Ramada 7240 Shawnee Mission Parkway Overland Park, Kansas USA www.hahmgs.org/bw2014.html 3rd May Legionary 3rd May Matford Centre Exeter EX2 8FD www.exmouthwargames.org.uk 3rd May Mayday Riverbend Community Centre 258 Rhatigan Road East NW Edmonton Alberta T6R 2P7 Canada www.maydayconvention.com 10th May Carronade Graeme High School Falkirk FK1 1SY www.falkirkwargamesclub.org.uk 16th-18th May CanGames Rideau Curling Club 715 Cooper Street (at Percy) Ottawa Ontario, Canada www.cangames.ca 16th-18th May Huzzah! Double Tree by Hilton Hotel 363 Maine Mall Road South Portland Maine, USA www.huzzahcon.com 17th-18th May Triples The English Institute of Sport Coleridge Road Sheffield S9 5DA www.sheffieldwargamessociety.co.uk 22nd-25th May Nashcon Franklin Marriott Cool Springs 700 Cool Springs Blvd Franklin Tennessee 37067, USA www.hmgs-midsouth.org/conventions/nashcon 23rd-25th May San Marino Game Convention Best Western Palace Hotel Via Cinque Febbraio San Marino www.dadiepiombo.com/dadicom.html 23rd-26th May Kublacon Burlingame Hyatt Regency 1333 Bayshore Highway Burlingame CA 94010, USA www.kublacon.com Please note that this list is far from exhaustive. For details on more events, we recommend the Wargames Calendar on the Newark Irregulars website at http://www.newarkirregulars.org.uk/ With thanks to Steve Gill for compiling the diary.
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
5
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Forward observer
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Neil Shuck does a little scrying in his shew stone and looks at what might, or might not, be a hit at Salute. You’re about to meet a tall dark ranger... CRYSTAL BALL GAZING…
There are times when writing a column, even for a monthly magazine, falls at exactly the wrong time. As I sit at my desk, merrily typing away, Salute is still two weeks away. Yet, thanks to the wonderful world of print deadlines, you will be reading this with the show already fading into memory. So how was it? Did your wallet survive intact, or was your flexible friend mercilessly pressed to within an inch of its credit limit? It is difficult to predict what will be ‘the hit’ of the show, especially these days, as the event has become such a focal point for new releases from the industry over the past few years. Luckily, with the advent of the internet and the wonders of previews, I can already predict what some of my highlights of the show will have been. Last year, new company Agema Miniatures appeared with their first box set of 28mm plastic miniatures: Republican Roman Velites. This year, they are back with a follow up box set featuring Republican Roman Legionaries: 40 miniatures including 16 Hastati, 16 Principes and 8 Triarii. By the time Salute arrived, we had only seen a few photographs of assembled figures on the Agema Facebook page, but even this glimpse showed that Crusader Warriors and Knights from Gripping Beast.
6
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
they were streets ahead of the previous Republican Romans from Wargames Factory (although many would argue that wouldn’t exactly be difficult). It’s also intriguing to discover that Agema are currently developing a set of Ancients wargame rules, under the working title of Warbands, with designers Echidna Studios. This is the same company that is partnering with Alban Miniatures to produce the Bugle and Shako Napoleonic rules, so a couple of interesting projects to keep tabs on over the next few months. Sadly missing from Salute was the new Saga: The Crescent and the Cross. Production delays meant that they missed the show, but the first two warbands, the Crusaders and the Saracens, along with the plastic Arabs box set, were available. This box set continues the fine range of plastic figures that Gripping Beast has released over the last few years. Not only that, but the more traditional metal miniatures also look particularly nice. You may know I have a weakness for mounted troops (despite my total inability to paint horses) and both the Saracens and Crusaders having mounted forces for Saga, I’m sorely tempted – particularly with the new Crusader Saga dice, which show emblems linked with the Knights
28mm plastic Arabs by Gripping Beast.
Templar. With these new releases, and especially the plastic Arabs, Gripping Beast may well have stolen a march on Fireforge Games. Fireforge have produced several box sets of medieval infantry for their Deus Vult! rules in the last two years but, somewhat mysteriously, have been waylaid into producing the Mongol horde of Genghis Khan on horse and foot in the last few months, rather than producing opponents for their Crusaders. Whilst the Mongols are great figures (especially the horse archers – I told you I have a weakness for mounted troops), I can’t help feeling that an opportunity has been missed. Were you lucky enough to scoop up one of the limited number of Jugula that Gripping Beast had available? I’ve talked a lot about this game in recent months, but I just have to say that the vinyl play mat they have produced for the game looks beautiful, and is worth getting for any gladiator game, not just Jugula. Another unexpected new range of miniatures came in the shape of new Vikings from Steve Barber Models. These models are multi-part metal, with separate legs, torsos and heads, meaning that they can be posed in a multitude of
Editorial
News/Events
Column
ways; perhaps a compromise for those for whom the appeal of the flexibility of plastic is tempered by the lack of a figure’s ‘heft’. Whilst Steve’s style is not to everyone’s taste, he is a very talented sculptor – I only wish he would finally release the 42mm Mounted Samurai that he’s been promising for more years than I care to remember… And on the subject of the Dark Ages, I won’t say any more about Dux Britianniarum: The Raiders, apart from that it’s great to finally see it in print. One of the highlights of last year was the launch of Dead Man’s Hand, the Wild West skirmish game from Great Escape Games. Not only was this a very good set of rules, but it was supplemented by a great figure range and some wonderful frontier buildings from 4Ground. The building range has grown throughout the year, and now, twelve months on, we are seeing The Legend of Dead Man’s Hand – a supplement that not only includes new gangs for the game (Banditos, Pinkertons, 7th Cavalry and Indian Renegades) but also a full campaign system. The new miniatures, especially the Pinkertons and Renegades, are very nice sculpts indeed. Moving to more modern times, the inexorable advance of campaign supplements from The Plastic Soldier Company and Iron Fist Publishing continues. Having overseen the end of the war in its last release, PSC return to the Russian Front during the early days of German success with Battlegroup: Barbarossa. Here we see the German Panzer and Infantry divisions almost at the height of their powers as they invade Russia in 1941. This book continues to show an excellent set of production values for this ruleset family, and whilst the book does major on army lists for Battlegroup, the additional history and campaign scenarios are worth a look for any WWII gamer in this scale. Whilst the 15mm releases from PSC have continued to concentrate on the late war (their latest release being the IS-II) they have been steadily adding to their early war arsenal in
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
20mm with the addition of early German armour from the likes of S Models, Minairons and First to Fight, although we are promised both early war German Infantry and the Panzer 38(t) in 15mm in the not too distant future.
TWO YEARS ON I’m sure that there were more than a few raised eyebrows last year when the Perrys unveiled their intention to produce new plastic box sets of 8th Army and Afrika Korps (probably with the exception of those gamers who suffered their first taste of victory or defeat whilst fighting with their 1/32nd Airfix soldiers across the bedspread). However, once again, the twins have shown that all they touch seemingly turns to gold (or in this case, sand). In the past two years they have produce a sizeable range of British, Italian and German troops and vehicles for this theatre, plus sourcing a nice range of resin vehicles from Blitzkrieg Miniatures. Not to be outdone, Warlord has produced a large range of resin and metal vehicles for the Western Desert (plus the odd motorbike and anti-tank gun), all of which means that it’s currently a very good time to be a gamer of the Western
Desert in 28mm. Those of us who play with smaller scale figures will have to wait until the autumn for their next fix, when PSC and Iron Fist turn their eyes to Africa. If you wanted to play this theatre, I’d recommend a look at Chain of Command. Not only did the Lardies recently feature a Western Desert campaign on their blog, but they have also now released the army lists, which are free to download. Visit www. toofatlardies.co.uk/blog for more details (including other army lists, battle reports and many other useful titbits). Finally on the subject of the desert, Renedra have released a new plastic building kit for a Middle East mud-brick house. Whilst these structures are probably some of the easiest for the aspiring terrain modeller to construct, this kit will give hope for those of us who feel that they are destined to be the model making Petrocellis of this world. Perhaps of equal use as the building itself is the accessory sprue, which provides various plates and vases, plus an awning and a dome. Buildings such as these have changed little over several hundred years, so this is a very useful model indeed. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
7
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER? It’s been several years since the start of the hard plastic miniature revolution and its seeming myriad of boxes of Napoleonic infantry. Whilst we saw a lot of boxes of troops, the British forces available were always multi-part and thus potentially time consuming to construct. Now Warlord have released the latest in their plastic box sets of Napoleonic troops in ‘March Attack’ pose – the British of the Peninsular and Hundred Days Wars have joined their French, Prussian and Russian brethren. Whilst these miniatures offer less in the way of pose variation, they do offer simplicity of construction (only three pieces each) for those gamers who want to build their armies quickly and relatively cheaply. Both boxes offer 30 troops in total, including six metal command figures. This for slightly less than the Victrix box set (which offers 52 figures, all plastic) or the same price as the Perrys’ box set (40 figures). Since the Perry & Victrix box sets
have been available for some time (can you really believe they are six years old?) it may seem that these latest additions are a little late to the party. However, given that many gamers are discovering Warlord for the first time through the likes of Bolt Action, having these troops available in their range will certainly help those who want to try different offering from this company and are tempted by BlackPowder. You may have also noticed that it was recently announced that Warlord has formed a partnership with veteran modelling company Italeri to produce 1:56 scale plastic vehicles. Since many vehicles in this scale are still produced in resin and plastic, this may well be good news for those gamers with both an eye for detail, and half an eye on their wallet. Top and above: Mongols from Fireforge Games Right: 40mm Robin Hood figures byTrident Designs
8
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
WHEN BIGGER WAS BETTER Before Saga dragged me back (not really kicking and screaming) into gaming with 28mm miniatures, I actually gamed the majority of my skirmish games in 40mm – I was a big fan of the scale (pun probably intended!).
One of my favourite miniature ranges was the medieval range from Trident Designs, including all their ‘Robin Hood’ personalities. I still own all of the miniatures that were produced at the time (although if you asked me if they
were painted, we could be in danger of falling out). Several years ago now, Trident Designs were bought by the Miniature Service Centre and the range disappeared across the pond. Since then, there have been a few additions to the foot knights – eight Hospitallers to be accurate – but nothing much until a recent announcement that they are starting a major release for this range. The first miniatures are the Welsh, with a combination of 30 different figures and weapon combinations, plus approximately 40 separate heads, which give a large number of potential variations. Following on from this, they are promising more mounted and dismounted knights, followed by Scots and Irish. As I said, I’ve always been a fan of this range, so a major expansion such as this certainly tempts me back towards them. As a UK resident, the potential extra import cost of any sizeable purchase still makes me somewhat reticent to invest, but one can always hope that they once again find a UK distributor. Did I mention that they also do a great range of ACW and AWI miniatures? Have a look at www.miniatureservicecenter.com
Editorial
News/Events
NEW 28mm
Mesoamerican
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Aztec range NEW 28mm
Reviews
Advertising
NEW 28mm
Mesoamerican
Mesoamerican
“Montezuma” Painted by Andy Taylor
NEW 28mm Napoleonics
Painted by - Andy Taylor New additions to our 28mm Mesoameican range. Range includes Mayans, Conquistadors and now Aztecs!
NEW 28mm
Conquistador
“Jaguar Warrior” Painted by Andy Taylor
NEW!
Command figures
“Murat on foot” Painted by Andy Taylor
“Pedro Alvarado”
“Henan Cortez”
Painted by - Andy Taylor New additions to our 28mm Conquistador range.
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
9
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Steaming ahead
The continuing tales of a wargames widow When Diane Sutherland’s husband Jon suggested something hot and steamy, this isn’t quite the outcome she had in mind. Still, it’s better than paddling her own canoe...
A
wargamer was showing me some illustrations of a succession of ever more expensive resin paddle steamers. He wanted some river craft for his Darkest Africa games. “How much?” I spluttered, nearly choking on my coffee. “They’re lovely, but are they £150 worth of lovely?” I added, trying to regain my composure. “Yeah, you’re right. And I need at least two of them,” he replied, resigned to having to rethink his plans. How could I let him walk away with his sad face? b I spent some time googling “paddle steamer” and came to the conclusion that pretty much anything goes as far as the design is concerned. There are side-wheelers, rear-wheelers, some with the paddles visible, others with the paddles hidden inside arched wooden structures. If you don’t have the patience or inclination to bother with the paddles, then by all means hide them inside a box on the side of the steamer. There’s no getting away from the fact that this project is tricky and time-consuming. There are lots of different stages involved and you will need to factor in drying times (not to mention cutting dozens of coffee stirrers). To make your paddle steamer you will need: • Polystyrene foam or balsa block for the basic structure • Cardboard tube • About 50 coffee stirrers (depending on the size of steamer) • Lollipop sticks • Thin card • Dress-making pins • Cocktail sticks • Thin string • Two 2½" nails • White wood glue (concentrated or standard strength) • All purpose adhesive The first decision to make is to determine the size of your paddle steamer. Mine were designed to be used with epic-sized ‘28mm’ figures. This means that the scaling has to take into account the ‘head-room’. My doors are around 35mm and the canopies perhaps 45mm. 10
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
The hull with the positions of the cabin and chimney stack marked. Use a based figure to make sure you have sufficient “fighting room”.
Paddle steamers haven’t got a great deal in common with sleek yachts. They are more, well, dumpy. You’ll want to have some space to place your crews. The wargamer uses 2p for all his so-called skirmish periods, so that means you need to allow at least 30mm for walkways. The dimensions of my side-paddler were 11" x 4" with a deck height of 1". The larger Royal Navy rear-paddler topped out at 15" x 6". The deck height was 2" with a further 2" high cabin area. Don’t forget that paddle-steamers were not really designed for the oceans. They were river or lake craft and consequently do not need a deck as high as a sea-going vessel. The first task is to cut out your rectangle. You will save yourself a lot of pain by having a very gentle curve on the front of the boat. You are going to be wrapping the hull with thin card later on, so bear that in mind. If you are making a sidepaddler, you will need to slightly curve the back of the boat. If you are making a rear-paddler, then it will need to be fairly flat. I’ll focus on the rear-paddler first as this has the exposed paddles at the back. Before I did any shaping, I rough-fitted the main components of the build onto the hull. With a width of 6", I had to allow an inch and half either side of the cabin to accommodate the bases. This left me with a 4" wide cabin structure. Length-wise, I wanted some ‘fighting area’ at the front; perhaps the wargamer might want to mount a gun on the bow later. At the back, you will need something to suggest the boiler and chimney stack propulsion system for the paddles. I found an old board game counter box, but an old-fashioned matchbox would do just as well. I also used two small vials that contained
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
The cabin structure nearly completed with the windows and doors being stuck into place.
vanilla powder to use as the chimney stacks. A pair of 2" pieces of balsa dowel are an ideal alternative. Once I was happy with the size and position of the cabin and chimney block, I marked their positions on the foam. I then marked the centre of the front of the boat and drew a curve by hand. I cut off the excess with a kitchen knife and sanded everything down. It is very hard to get everything square and even, so take this step carefully and keep looking at the hull from different angles until you are happy. There’s no easy way of tackling the next job: you need to ‘plank’ the deck and the whole cabin. Don’t fix the cabin to the hull at this point. You will find it a lot easier to do them separately. Ideally, the planks need to have that rough and ready look, so once you have snipped off the rounded ends of the coffee stirrers, cut your planks into a variety of different lengths. Now it is just a question of putting on your favourite CD, having a steaming cup of coffee in reach and getting on with it. One cautionary note is that the more watery your PVA, the greater the chance that the coffee stirrers will expand. Bear in mind that they are not made from the highest quality wood, so they will absorb moisture and will bend. For this reason, I used concentrated PVA. If you don’t have any, then use normal PVA, but leave the PVA for half an hour under your painting light. Trust me, the water loss is remarkable and the PVA is more tacky too. Remember that you don’t have to plank the hull where the cabin will be fixed. I went ‘over the line’, just to make sure I did not leave a visible gap. By the time you have planked the whole deck, most of it will be dry. Work around the edge of the hull with a piece of sandpaper and get rid of any protruding bits of coffee stirrer. I then gave the deck a thorough coat of Burnt Umber. I followed exactly the same procedure for the cabin. I would recommend doing the sides of the cabin first. Sand down any rough edges, then do the top. Sand down again and then add some longer sections of coffee stirrer to hide the join between the side planks and the top. The wargamer had a stock of doors and windows. He’d made them from balsa and matchsticks and mounted them on card. I added an open entry hatch on the top. The last construction job for the hull is to deal with the sides. You are going to have to cut four rectangles of card. Wrap a flexible tape measure around the front of the boat. Start your measurement about 2" or so from the beginning of the curve on each side. Check the height of your hull. Bear in mind it will be slightly taller than 2" as it now has a coffee-stirrer-clad deck. You should find it is about 1/16" more. Repeat the process for
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
the back of the boat. I opted to have the card finish in line with deck, but you may want to have a slight lip. About a quarter to half an inch is ideal. Use thin card (about the thickness of a cereal packet) and cut out your rectangles. Give it a test-fit first. When you are happy with it, liberally coat the card with all-purpose adhesive. Let it rest for a couple of minutes. Carefully wrap the card around the hull. It should stick pretty well, but I would recommend inserting dress-making pins. These will fix the card nice and flat and give you a chance to detail the sides of the hull with little ‘rivets’ here and there. Two or three at the end of each section of card, the same around acute corners and a couple at the front should do it. Repeat the process for the rear of the boat. Now measure the gap either side of the hull between the two sections of card. No matter how careful you have been, you will find they are slightly different lengths! Test fit it to make sure the height of the card matches the two pieces already glued to the hull. Glue and pin the card to the side of the boat. The next job is to focus on the paddles. Line up the cardboard tube with the back of the boat. My tube was about 2" in diameter. The tube length needs to be slightly less than the width of the boat. Cut the tube and then use foam core to create a pair of plugs for each open end of the tube. Punch a hole in the centre of the foam core circles. I added a metal washer to strengthen the area around the hole. The washer will also act as a guide for the paddle struts. Cut six lollipop sticks (about 2" long) and stick them at even intervals around the washer. Make sure that you match the spacing exactly on the other side of the paddle wheel. I then undercoated the wheel and struts with grey paint. Drill a hole either end of another lollipop stick and assemble the struts that will fix the wheel to the hull. I used the top of a
Gluing the thin cardboard around the hull. This is the first of four pieces that will need to be glued into place.
The completed and dry brushed paddle wheel assembly ready for a final fitting to the hull. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
11
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
vanilla powder tube, but a short length of dowel with a hole drilled through it would be fine. Push the nail through the lollipop stick, into the dowel and then into the hole in the paddle wheel. Repeat the process for the other side. Test fit your paddle wheel with the hull. This will show you where you need to make holes in the side of the hull to take the second pair of nails. Line up the paddle wheel and struts so they are square and at the right height. Mark the hole for the nail. I glued another pair of washers to the hull to strengthen the hole. Now measure the distance between each of the pairs of paddle struts. You will need to cut four coffee stirrers for each of them. I undercoated the coffee stirrers before fitting them to the struts. Place a spare coffee stirrer at the bottom of the paddle strut and then glue two undercoated stirrers above it. The positioning should mean that you will be left with a gap underneath the pair of stirrers. Remove the spare stirrer and repeat the process around the paddle wheel. I used superglue to get a quick and accurate fix. Once this is done, you can dry brush the paddle wheel assembly.
The final construction job was to drill a series of holes around the top of the cabin and create the ship’s wheel platform. The former can be achieved with either a small drill bit or bradawl. Cut cocktail sticks in half, drop a spot of glue on each pointed end and drive them into the holes. Make sure that they are all broadly the same height. When these were dry, I painted them black, and then gave them a flick of brass. For the ship’s wheel platform, I mounted a rectangle of balsa on a pair of trimmed matchsticks. I then stuck a small block of balsa onto the rectangle and used an old 15mm wagon wheel as the steering wheel. Once the cocktail sticks were solid, I tied thin string to the first one and then looped the string around each of the sticks, tying off the last one. I added a drop of superglue to each loop to make sure they were secure. Painting was fairly straightforward. Burnt umber, fawn and white for the decks. Two coats of cheap black acrylic for the hull. Mid grey, light grey and white for the cabin and paddle Top: Madiba, my side-paddler towing a barge with trade goods. Figures by Dixon and Wargames Foundry. Above: Matilda, an old trading steamer. Note the converted Airfix cabin. Darkest Africa figures by Dixon Miniatures and Wargames Foundry. Right: HMS Africa with her Wargames Foundry Naval Brigade contingent. The anchor is manufactured by Dixon Miniatures.
12
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
wheel. I also went around the hull and put a spot of brass on the heads of each of the dressmaking pins. You are now ready for final construction. I pushed three cocktail sticks into the bottom of the cabin and used these to secure it to the hull. The chimney block was stuck in place with all-purpose adhesive. I then gently pushed the nails in through the lollipop stick and into the hull. All of the nails were then given a brush of brass. I christened her HMS Africa. My smaller paddle-steamer was a side-wheeler. She is 11" long, 4" wide and the deck is just 1" from the surface of the water. I followed exactly the same procedure with the following exceptions. She could have a much more rounded stern and the deck was fully planked with a covered steering section in the centre. I also decided that the cardboard hull sides would be tall enough to create a small lip around the deck area. For the side paddles, I cut a pair of 1½" sections of cardboard tube. I wanted to suggest that the bottom paddle was underwater. You will need to cut out a section of the tube so that it sits flat. In practice, this means removing about a fifth of the tube’s diameter. Do one of them and use it to measure the second tube so they are identical. The assembly was exactly the same as for the larger paddle wheel. This time, I used coffee stirrers for my struts and lollipop sticks for the actual paddles. The pair of paddle wheels were fixed into the hull with a pair of 2½" nails. By the time I had finished the pair of paddle-steamers, I couldn’t stop myself from making a little barge and some packages of ‘trade goods’ for the smaller boat to pull. I also made a dumpy tug boat with a deep hold. For the cabin I used parts from an old Airfix crane set enlarged with a lollipop stick base. The funnel was salvaged from the wargamer’s ‘odds and sods’ box! b The combination of coffee stirrers, card, pins and PVA make these little boats amazingly robust. Whilst the two little steamers ply their trade up and down a murky African river infested with crocodiles, HMS Africa will be seeking out the dastardly Zanzibari slave traders. At least that’s what I’m told. I’m more interested in how I’m going to spend that £300 I’ve just saved!
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Add a new dimension to your wargaming! If you like military history and recreating the world’s great battles then you will love HISTORICON, America’s leading historical miniatures wargaming convention. Imagine yourself in command of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, attacking the German positions at Pointe du Hoc; or take the place of Maj. Gen. George Pickett, leading the Confederate charge on Cemetery Ridge. Now imagine that your troops are not cardboard counters or electrons, but instead hundreds or even thousands of beautifully painted miniatures maneuvering on realistic three-dimensional scenery. That’s miniature wargaming! These are the types of games you will find at HISTORICON, an event so impressive it was called “the mother of all wargaming conventions” by the Wall Street Journal. And you don’t need to bring anything. Just show up to choose from the hundreds of elaborately staged wargames from all time periods. A giant vendor hall offers thousands of hobby products, including board games, miniatures, rules books, and accessories. There are national tournaments, internationally famous War College speakers, flea market bargains and much more. Mark your calendar now and make plans to attend HISTORICON 2014!
Special News for 2014 Great Location
The Fredericksburg (VA) Convention Center is conveniently located and offers thousands of free parking spaces and a variety of nearby hotel choices at all price points. See ‘Convention Lodging’ link at www. HISTORICON.org for hotel and other details.
Tournaments
Everything from DBA, DBR, Warhammer Ancients to Field of Glory (FoG), plus a few others, including the Flames of War WWII (FoW) Nationals!
Games
Hundreds for all historical periods, from ancient history to the near future. You can also visit three ACW battlefields in the area as well!
Osprey Publishing
This major publisher returns with some great new titles on display along with news on alltheir latest releases, and sneak previews.
The War College
Includes speakers presenting seminars on a wide range of topics covering many military periods as well as wargaming in general. Other special things are being planned – check www.HISTORICON.org for updates!
Join the thousands of gamers who will meet at the Fredericksburg Exposition Center Convention Plaza in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA on July 17-20 for HISTORICON 2014. For more information and the latest convention updates, visit WWW.HISTORICON.ORG HISTORICON is produced by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, HMGS Inc.tm
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
13
Editorial
14
News/Events
Column
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Fantasy Facts
From Doggerland to Planet of the Apes John Treadaway has a mountain of goodies to get through again, ranging from fantasy cavalry for a long-lost civilization, through characters for ray-gun fans and hardware for hard sci-fi battles.
EDITOR’S NOTE John’s a talented chap, so unless stated otherwise, take it as read that he assembled, painted and photographed all of the items shown in his column.
B
y the time you read this, Salute – that mad day of gaming mayhem – will be over and done and I, for one, will be sitting at home with my feet in bucket of warm water. But, in the here and now, I have another fairly packed column this month with a mix of fantasy and SF and both 28mm and 15mm. So let’s get straight at the reviews:
DOGGER: FAIR TO EXCELLENT Just for a change, I thought I’d start with some Fantasy. Over the last couple of years, Mark Copplestone www.copplestonecastings. co.uk has released a 15mm Fantasy Barbarica line and the range is slowly building, with two new sets just released. They are aimed at what I, at least, think is a very interesting quasi-historical background: a just post-ice age Britain, with the ‘sceptred isles’ still connected to mainland Europe and an additional island present in the north sea called the Dark Isle (an actual island in the historical period, often referred to by modern archaeologists as Doggerland). These new figure packs – two mounted cavalry command units for both the Barbarians (clean shaven and mighty thewed) and Northlanders (bearded and slightly less ‘Schwarzenegger’) – add six (each) mounted figures apiece to the range, all unique,
of the extant mounted Northlander and Barbarian packs (themselves having six figures per pack) and they come with a couple of standard bearers and horn blowers each to add to the guys with axes and swords in the other sets. This means you could field a dozen unique figures in each force. Sculpting and facial detail are, as ever from Copplestone, excellent. The foot figures are around 18mm tall and the cavalry are in scale: the proportion is pretty fine, too, with a good compromise of robust weaponry versus them not being too ‘comedy’. If I would criticise them for anything (and I’m struggling to do so), then a couple of horse variants would be nice (the twelve horses in the two packs were all superb, but identical). The metal is not too brittle, though, and takes a bend: having first protected the areas I wanted to work on with some masking tape, I tried two or three of the horses’ necks and legs with my trusty pliers and got some good variation in just a couple of minutes. The range already has foot versions of these mounted Northlanders and Barbarians, plus heroes, archers, some simply stunning wolves, three excellent Northlander Warchiefs (on a bear, a stag and a pony; the latter three are jaw-dropping examples of one-part castings of rider and mount as a single item) plus a couple of giants (that I reviewed a few months ago), some bears and a few snow trolls. The Barbarica figures are a superb range only hindered by one thing: Mr Copplestone is a great sculptor, but he just can’t seem to turn the stuff around fast enough! Brilliant work that we should all be seeing more of and a good price for this level of sculpting at £7.50 a pack.
Below: Northlander command pack on the left and the Barbarian Command pack on the right. It’s hard to believe these figures are 15mm! Copplestone Castings – picture supplied by the manufacturer.
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
15
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Shaman and Gallieni in 15mm by Brigade Models. Picture supplied by manufacturer.
14 HOURS TO SAVE THE WORLD This is the first of a couple of review items from ‘across the pond’ this month. Hydra Miniatures www.hydraminiatures.com have been hard at it for a few years with a very ‘Flash Gordonlike’ space ship game called War Rocket, featuring rules and resin and metal ships, plus other ranges including a 15mm SF range called “Xeno 15; Primal Dawn” – a 30mm alien creatures range; and “Retro Raygun”. These latter items are also very ’30s SF pulp in style and are split into four sub ranges: the “Space Aliens” (a nice range and less primitive than the “Primal Dawn” figures: some of them have ray-guns!); “Robot Legion” (mostly clanky, ’30s style robots, but not too comedic); “Valkeeri” and “Galacteers”. The latter are mostly chaps (with the odd female, old professor type, robot and chimp thrown in for good measure!) and they all tend to have ‘jet’ style space helmets, ray guns and back-packs. The Valkeeri are, to be frank, sexy girls in revealing, but still modest, costumes, often with helmets, and pretty much all with ray-guns. I keep saying “ray-guns” because, style wise, that’s what they really are: they are very true to their mythos! As examples of recent releases, I was sent the Valkeeri Rocket Sled, Empress Xenovia and Princess Alluria plus a Galacteer Engineer for review. The engineer is holding his ray gun up and has a comms unit (or something similar – a ‘wireless’, perhaps…) in the other hand. He’s wearing an all-in-one suit with excellent padded knee details and a helmet with a visor, and stands abut 34mm to the top of his head, 36mm to the crown of his helmet. He’s a two-part model with a separate back pack. The Princess and the Empress are less statuesque at about 32mm tall. Alluria has a brilliant looking ray-gun and Xenovia has some sort of sceptre and a separate left arm which has a pin and socket to aid gluing. Both have attractive, well sculpted faces. Inevitably, I’ve saved the best till last. The Valkeeri Rocket Sled is a grey resin, winged, ‘flying jet-bike’ affair (and faultlessly cast in one piece, I might add) and metal Valkeeri rider consisting of a pilot body and a sprue containing three heads with different pony tails and three right arms (two with rayguns drawn) and separate torso and legs. Hydra also give you a clear acrylic rod to raise the sled off of the ground for flying and it has a metal base connector, but you’ll need to stick it on a bigger base with some weight on it to make it stable for gaming. Hydra sells these in packs of three as well as singletons, so it’s nice to have the chance to make them all different. Sculpting and casting are top notch and mine went together with a little 16
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
cyano glue without issues. Price wise, the Galacteers seem to fall between $4 and $4.50 (the engineer was the latter price) but the ladies are around $6.50 each or $18 for the Rocket Sled, with a slight saving if you buy three for $48.50. I’m not sure why the single ladies are more expensive than the single chaps. Perhaps that’s just the nature of ladies!
BRIGADE Brigade Models www.brigademodels.co.uk sent me some new 15mm SF releases, mostly from their Euro-Fed range, but some other items as well. The Euro-Fed releases include two variants on their (previously reviewed in this column) Montsabert tank hull, an ACV hover AFV. One is an MLRS missile turret and the other is a low slung tank destroyer. The latter, called the “Gallieni”, has a modified hull with a super-structure moulded on the top where the turret ring usually sits and a big gun (£8). The MLRS (the “Weygand” rocket launcher) has a three-part box turret cast in white metal with missile nose cones moulded onto the front panel. This sits on a standard Montsabert hull. Next up is a Turret Bunker: this resin structure, sloped and rectangular with buttresses and a small armoured door, comes with optional tank turrets from Brigade’s various ranges (mine was supplied with one of the German turrets, but most
Valkeeri Rocket Sled in 28mm from Hydra Miniatures. Picture supplied by manufacturer.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Checkpoint Charlie 15mm barrier to progress by Brigade Models. Picture supplied by manufacturer.
of Brigade’s larger tank turrets will fit). These cost £9 each, including the metal turret. Another piece of scenery supplied was a Check Point. This would make a fine guarded entrance to a military complex or space-port. There are two pillbox elements and two separate barriers, all in resin, with two Gatlings on remote mounts guarding the entrance. This group will set you back £5. Last in the resin AFV department are some new ‘mercenary’ forces vehicles. The “Shaman” hover tank (£8) has a solid metal turret with the short main gun moulded on with a separate hatch, remote weapon station and driver’s hatch to go onto the resin hull. This vehicle has a soft ACV skirt, like the Montsabert, but with what appears to be armoured covers to protect it. The turret comes with a cracking basket moulded onto the rear that just shouts out for lots of stowage. The vehicle is of a similar size to the Montsabert hull, perhaps 60mm long, but with a flat, low turret. It rather reminds one of an SF version of an M551 Sheridan. I know this was sourced from a different digital designer from Brigade’s usual work (i.e. themselves) and it’s nice to see something with a different look in their range. Lastly from this manufacturer comes a sneak peak at one of the new Neo-Soviet forces – a “Laska” tankette. Yet another
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
upscale from their 6mm range, this is an all-metal kit with a 32mm long hull, two track units and three optional weapons: This little gem will set you back a very reasonable £4. One final release are some figure bases. For those who, for example, play a rule set like (say) The Crucible with figures that need to be based in small teams, but who wish to use the same figures for another system where you might like your figures based singly, perhaps Gruntz, then the good news is that you are faced with a basing conundrum no longer. Brigade now make some resin bases that have between 1 and 4 holes in them to take single figures, provided that your figures are already mounted on 1p or 2p coins. The bases are 75p each and are 40mm square. They have some slight texture and include recesses for small rare-earth magnets to keep the figures in place (providing that the coins are magnetic, of course…). I like all of this month’s releases, but the Shaman is probably my favourite, closely followed by the excellently brutal looking Gallieni.
CHUCK ANOTHER PRAWN ON THE BARBIE GZG www.gzg.com have sent me a sample of some new “Crusties”, their ‘not District 9’ alien race. Aliens are often difficult topics in SF games: people love them or hate them and I’m glad to say that the GZG ones are not only well supported by the manufacturer (in 15mm and space ships for Full Thrust) but have also proved very popular with gamers. The release includes a Crusty Riding Beast (or ‘riding prawn’), which – as the name implies – is a multi-legged creature with a Crusty rider armed with an arc rifle sitting on its back. They’ll come as a two-pack, with different poses for each of the mounts and riders. GZG also sent some Crusty ‘scuttlers’ – vicious little prawnlike animals (with scorpion-like overhead ‘stinger’ strike) – that will come in two poses, with multiples in a pack with a Crusty ‘handler’ with a big pointy stick to prod them towards the enemy! These are planned for a Salute release so no prices yet.
A Turret Bunker with a German type turret by Brigade Models. Inset are other turret options. Pictures supplied by manufacturer. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
17
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
CLEAR HORIZON My other selection of samples from the US this month came from Clear Horizon www.clearhorizonminiatures.com. They have been making big inroads into the now well established 15mm SF market and have sent me the latest additions to their “Helldivers” figure range with two of their VTOLs: a Sparrow Hawk and a Raven. First off, what I do like about Clear Horizon is their presentation. The figures come in nice little blisters with a coloured card behind them and the two flyers are bagged with – again – a nice little card. They were also accompanied by some coloured unit cards for use with Gruntz rules. I know that these things aren’t fundamental to the models themselves but I applaud the attention to detail from such a new – and small time – manufacturer. But what about the actual models? Well, like their drop pods I reviewed a couple of months back, they are both very well cast and come in lots and lots of fine resin bits. The Raven is some 130mm long and has two stub wings and a tail plus two shoulder mounted engines. It has under-wing stores and an area in the rear for personnel with a ramp to allow egress. I think you can model the undercarriage deployed or folded and you can have the ramp up or down but there are a couple of items that I can’t easily locate positions for on the model: what it really needs is an instruction sheet! The Sparrow Hawk is a smaller ‘bird’ – around 90mm long with a flat panel tandem cockpit rather than the smoother one on the Raven. This – like its bigger brother – has a chin gun, but no room for passengers inside. Instead, the brave Helldivers can ride on the outside above the fixed landing skids, sitting on ledges! Both the Sparrow Hawk and the Raven have rotating engines; you can stick them in position, as I have done, or get clever with magnets for play value when mounting. And talking of Helldivers and VTOL riders, the manufacturer sent me some packs of the latest in the Helldiver range of armoured infantry. Wearing their tight-fitting suits, I think the best of the bunch are the six character poses in the Omega Squad. These have their helmets off and are in some striking poses: one with his main weapon slung and a pistol, one talking and chewing a cigar with his weapon held up and resting on his hip. Another couple are crouched. But the riders for the Sparrow Hawk are good too: six figures in a sitting position (six riflemen and a sniper) and useful for a variety of roles –wherever a sitting figure could be put to good use. All of the Helldivers come with separate backpacks and the Omega Squad has some separate weapons to add in the slung position. Price wise, the Sparrow Hawk is $15.99 and a Raven $21.99. The Omega team and the insertion team for the Sparrow Hawk are both $5.99. I think that makes them excellent value and the resin flyers are certainly some of the best I’ve seen.
18
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
MONKEY BUSINESS Ainsty www.ainstycastings.co.uk sent me a mounted Ape Patrol in 28mm. Saddled on regular horses (two different ones) you get, not surprisingly, six assorted simians in a very Planet of the Apes style. There are four types, two of a fella waving his carbine, two of them with the carbine across the horse’s neck, one with the carbine down at his side and one leader with a big helmet and holding what looks suspiciously like a silenced Ingrams sub machine gun. Detail’s good: the carbines are M4s, so I guess that makes them ‘Mark Wahlberg’ rather than ‘Charlton Heston’ monkeys and – for £27 – they’re all yours. Top: Sparrow Hawk by Clear Horizon Miniatures. Above: Raven dropship by Clear Horizon Miniatures. Below: Omega Squad by Clear Horizon Miniatures. All pictures supplied by manufacturer.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Sponsored by Colonel Bill’s
SUNDAY 13TH JULY 2014 Free entry to the show. Opening time from 10am to 4pm Venue
202 Field Hospital (V), Army Reserves Centre, Waterloo Road, Cobridge, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST6 3HJ Competitions held at this year’s event:
15mm DBMM, 28mm Saga, 28mm Dead Man’s Hand, 28mm Bolt Action, Armati (entries closed) Traders confirmed:
Black Pyramid Gaming, Colonel Bill’s Wargames Depot, Lanchester Books, Sgt’s Mess, Warlord Games For more information see our website at
www.cobridgeoldcontemptibles.co.uk
FRee
Fundraising for
The Royal Army Medical Corps Association
40mm figure for the first 25 visitors
WWW.COLONELBILLS.COM
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
19
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Colonel Bills Home of the ‘Depot Battalion’ figures, mdf bases & accessories
The Colonel sends his troops to most UK wargames shows and he offers a 10% pre order discount on most items Stockists of 4Ground, Heroes of the Dark Age, Polly Oliver, Ainsty Castings, Belt Fed Gaming, + 1000’s of quality used painted and unpainted figures Like us on facebook to get all our up to date news
www.colonelbills.com 20
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Threat generation
Active opposition for tabletop wargaming Stymied by the inability of tabletop wargames to provide the immediacy and tension of computer wargames, Martin England was close to giving up – until one day, he had his “Eureka!” moment, which he shares here with us now.
A
n almighty, deafening clang and the tank shuddered to a halt as the engine stalled. “Reverse! Reverse!” screamed the tank commander, choking on the smoke and dust. The driver frantically tried to restart the engine, knowing full well that another round would be on its way in seconds. The engine turned and coughed but would not start. “Abandon now?”, thought the tank commander – and then he remembered – smoke! He reached down and triggered the smoke dischargers on both sides of the turret. As he did so, the engine sprang into life, the driver hit reverse and, just as the white smoke started to thicken around the tank, they lurched backwards, crashing through the undergrowth and back down the slope they had just climbed. “Anybody see anything?” asked the tank commander. “Nothing,” reported both the other tanks in the troop that had been providing overwatch. The only thing they had seen were the troop commander’s smoke dischargers going off and then they watched as his tank reversed past them at a speed they would have sworn was impossible going forwards, let alone backwards. “Now what?” thought the tank commander. “No idea what fired on us or what it was. Where are the bloody infantry? Lagging behind as usual.” To be fair, he had been urged to press on, ‘at best speed’, by the CO at the O Group. Should he wait for the infantry to catch up? Or, sneak forward slowly, hoping to spot the gun this time, before it spotted them? Call for artillery support? But with no target to give them... He needs to make a decision fast – there are only a couple of game turns left. This description is why I play computer wargames. I really enjoy small-scale, tactical level, turn-based wargames, and it is only computer games that can provide a decent ‘hidden’ enemy and deliver that feeling of tension and sudden shock when the unexpected happens. The classic computer games such as Steel
Panthers, Panzer General and the Close Combat series all do this and provide a game impossible to recreate with miniatures. This is a great shame, because although I really enjoy my computer games, they just do not provide the visual and tactile pleasure of a tabletop game, with good scenery and the satisfaction of seeing the hours of effort put in to building and painting both scenery and forces translated into actual combat. I have always enjoyed regular wargaming against a live opponent, and although often outwitted, out-thought and thoroughly beaten, I have never managed to achieve that level of tension and complete surprise that you get in a computer game, that results from fighting a totally hidden enemy. We have tried ‘dummy’ units, ‘event’ cards and even ‘programmed scenarios’, but they have always only been partially successful – ‘dummy’ units are still reacted to, as they cannot be ignored and may be real; and event cards are okay, but as my opponent and I have written them, we know what to expect, if not when! And programmed scenarios inevitably follow a script. It appeared to be an impossible dream: to create a mechanism whereby I could recreate the advantages of a computer game on the tabletop, with this mechanism able to be used either in a solo game or with an opponent to provide totally hidden units and recreate a level of tension and surprise as intense as a good computer wargame. I just never had the time to devote to the problem – and anyway, I thought, it is probably not achievable and will be a waste of time. Enjoying now a thoroughly deserved retirement from the military, it is only in the last few months that I have found the time to really think about the problem again, and at long last, I believe I have found a mechanism that works: the Threat Generation System or TGS. I began by breaking the problem down into its simplest components. As a ‘commander’ in the field with a task to carry out – be it ‘advance to contact’, ‘defend a location’ or any other mission – there are really only three basic things I need to know about the enemy, or the ‘threat’ in military speak: • What is it? (Tanks or infantry, A/T gun etc) • Where is it? (In what direction and at what distance) • What is it doing? (Moving in the open, dug in, retreating etc) It is then up to me as the commander to deal with this perceived ‘threat’.
Although often outwitted, outthought and thoroughly beaten, I had never managed to achieve that level of tension and complete surprise.
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
21
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
An overview impression of the battle area.
Put in these simplistic terms, I thought it should be possible to come up with a mechanism to ‘trigger’ the appearance of enemy forces and answer each of these questions. Any standard set of wargame rules could then be used to play out dealing with the ‘threat’. After some error and a lot of trial, I believe I have come up with something that is not too complicated, requiring only one chart and one tabletop ‘device’ – again very simple, but it really does work! How do I know? Because this happened. I decided to test my TGS with a typical tabletop wargame scenario, set in the Western Desert, 1942. The British were advancing to the west along the coast road, on one of their ‘trips’ up and down the North African coastal path. The map was as shown. There was an Arab village and oasis to the centre right of the map, several low hills and plenty of soft going. I played an advance element of the attacking British, operating on the left flank of the main force. My orders were to: • Occupy the village and the oasis, which will be utilised as a supply base as our forces advance. • Recce to the end of the game board to ensure no enemy forces remain in the area. • Report when the village was occupied and could confirm the area is clear of enemy. The game lasted only five game turns. By the end of game turn 5, I was cowering in the bottom of a ditch with the few survivors of my infantry platoon waiting to be rescued, if possible, by my other surviving forces – or more likely having to surrender next game turn. So, what went wrong? Nothing, apart from my poor tactical ability and lack of proper recce. This was when I had my ‘eureka’ moment! Hey, this TGS really works! I have been defeated by an enemy who took me by surprise and appears to have out-thought me! And in a solo game – on the tabletop! Here’s a brief outline of what happened. I had decided on the following forces: • One Infantry Recce Platoon in three Bren Carriers • One Armoured Recce Troop with three Crusaders • One Platoon Lorry Infantry with three trucks and one Jeep. (I placed myself as ‘Commander’ in the Jeep, equipped with radio.) • One Off Board 25pdr Battery, On Call. As will be seen later, the number of on-table units chosen has an influence on the TGS mechanism. My plan was simple and, of course, foolproof. I would send the Crusaders in on the left flank. Their job was to occupy 22
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
ground to the south west of the village and provide cover for the infantry as they entered the village, as well as providing covering fire to the west. At the same time, my recce infantry in the Bren carriers would advance up the hill to their front and, on reaching the summit, observe the village, radio back if clear, and I would then send in the lorry-borne infantry to occupy the village. The Crusaders could then advance to the end of the table. Game over. Superb plan, what could possibly go wrong? Game turn 1: nothing to report, both Crusaders and Recce Infantry advancing. Game turn 2: the Crusaders spot a German infantry platoon advancing towards them at a distance of about 750 metres. The German infantry have not spotted the Crusaders. The Crusaders watch and wait to see what the Germans are doing, hoping they will get just a little closer. Game turn 3: the German infantry continue to advance towards the Crusaders, who open fire and, taking the Germans completely by surprise, inflict some serious casualties. The German platoon goes to ground. On reaching the crest of the hill, my recce troop in the Bren carriers is spotted by another German infantry platoon which is dug in on the hill to the north of the village. A firefight starts between the Bren carriers and this platoon, with little effect on either side. The recce platoon dismounts and moves into good firing positions with the carriers providing cover fire. Game turn 4: the first German infantry platoon caught in the open by the Crusaders continues to take casualties and stays down and pinned. The second German platoon takes some casualties from the recce platoon, which is on higher ground. Game turn 5: I now decide to bring on my lorried infantry, with me leading the way in my Jeep. It is now that the Germans spring their ambush – another German infantry platoon is dug in, in good cover, just 300 metres to the north of where my convoy enters the game board. I don’t even see the Germans, but they pour fire into my lorries, setting two on fire immediately. My survivors abandon the remaining vehicles and dive into the ditch to the left of the road. My radio, of course, remains in the by now burning Jeep! In the distance, the Crusaders keep inflicting casualties on their pinned German platoon. The recce troop are now locked in a firefight with the German platoon to their north, and I am unable to contact either them or my artillery support. End of game turn 5, the map situation was as in Map 2. Unable to contact either the Crusaders or the Bren carriers, I just had to hope they would spot the burning lorries and Jeep to
The Germans ambush the lorries – disaster! Photos by the author.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
their rear and come to the rescue. Could I now win? I had no infantry to occupy the village, so I stood up and put my hands in the air. (Actually, I reset the game and restarted with the same forces to have another go!) Was it a little unrealistic to have missed the dug in German platoon that ambushed me? Or perhaps a little too realistic? The German infantry platoon had been dug well in to the east of the village, perhaps to delay the British advance. They had let the Recce unit pass, (as a good ambush would). The Crusaders were too far away and were not a viable target. But a soft vehicle convoy, led by an obviously incompetent officer in a jeep was far too tempting a target to resist! And, if an infantry platoon is well dug in, they are very difficult to spot, especially from moving vehicles. I restarted the game and just managed a not too convincing victory this time by game turn 10. It was a lot closer second time around, and my artillery saved the day by pinning down the German infantry as they were spotted. I still took far too many casualties whilst advancing, having run into a couple of dug in AT guns as well as a couple of PzIIIs this time. But it was a really enjoyable and tense game. I have since played several more games using the TGS, using both Flames of War and Bolt Action, but the system will work with any ruleset, and each time the games have been exciting, tense and have never turned out as expected. With each game played, I have tweaked the TGS a little and can thoroughly recommend the system. So, how does it work? The first thing to do is to make a ‘Unit Card’ for each enemy unit. I use small 2" x 2" cards and write the type of unit on each of them. For example, for Flames of War, which is platoon-based, I write “PzIIIJ Platoon” or “PAK 40” or “Regular Infantry Platoon”, for example; or, for Bolt Action, which are single vehicle based, they might be “Regular Infantry Section” or “Pz IVH”. I also write on these cards basic details for each unit according to the rules I am using, which helps to speed up the game and saves constantly looking up unit or vehicle stats. For example (Flames of War):
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
the Arab village” example, I would add three more blank cards, one for the Crusader platoon, one for the Bren recce platoon and one for the lorry-borne infantry platoon. Now shuffle the cards once again. The number of cards is important, as this is the length of the game. Once all cards have been drawn, play out this game turn and one more turn, obviously without drawing cards, and then the game ends. At the end of each of your units’ moves during the game, one of these cards is drawn. If it is a blank, it is discarded; if a unit is shown, then the TGS system is used. It is important to understand that a card is drawn whatever action your unit has just completed. Drawing a card is not about ‘spotting’ an enemy unit – it is about activating the TGS or not. Why is this important? Well, you may have one of your units ending its turn by cowering in a ditch, or reversing out of a smoke screen (sounds familiar?), and the only action that unit can take is to attempt to rally, but it still draws an enemy unit card. Why? Because the last thing you want is to ‘activate’ another enemy unit whilst in this condition – and that is exactly what may happen! Having activated a unit, we now know the ‘what’; the next step is to find out the ‘where’. For this, we need our TGS ‘device’. This is called the ‘Direction Finder (DF)’.
Panzer IIIJ (Late) 5cm Kwk39 Gun 24” F: 5 S: 3 T: 1 ROF 3 A/T 9 FP: 4+ Co-ax MG, Hull MG, Protected Ammo or for Bolt Action: Panzer IIIJ (Late) 1 turret mounted medium AT gun with co-axial MMG and 1 Hull MMG. Damage Value: 9+ (Medium Tank) Special Rules: Reinforced rear armour (+1 instead of +2 modifier) I make one of these cards for each section/platoon or team (sniper, observation team, PIAT etc) that I have as a model and wish to use in the upcoming battle. I now add the same number of blank cards. (So, if I have ten enemy unit cards, I now add ten blank cards.) Shuffle these cards really well and now, without looking, discard one third of the cards, rounding down. (So, if I have 20 cards, I now discard six.) Now add one more blank card for each unit you will be using (one card for each section/platoon). So in the above “Take
The Direction Finder
The DF I use is 15cm by 15cm. The large arrow at the top is the ‘Expected direction of enemy’. So in the scenario described above, the DF arrow points West. The DF is placed as near as possible to the middle of the table. Roll 2D6 and this gives the sector in which the enemy will appear. The DF is designed to favour enemy units being activated somewhere to your ‘front’, but enemy units can and do appear on your flank and occasionally in your rear. (Consider this to having been ‘stalked’ by the enemy, or enemy you have bypassed (a not uncommon occurrence in all theatres at all times). There is only one modification to the DF dice throw: if you have any infantry on foot in the 12 sector of the table and you throw a double 6, then roll again – this represents infantry being able to clear the ground better than any other units. Next, roll one D6 for distance from the centre of the DF: MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
23
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
6= 50m, 5= 100m, 4=250m, 3=500m, 2=750m, 1= Edge of table. Amend these distances according to your rules’ scale, or just split the distance in 1/6 sections; or just call the distances on the DF ‘Very Close, Close, Medium, Medium Long, Long and Table Edge. It will all work. With the DF in the middle of the table, measure the distance from the edge of the DF and place the drawn unit card (not the unit itself) at this position. If this places the enemy unit at a location that cannot be seen by any friendly unit, then slowly move the unit card outwards from the DF, keeping in the same sector until it is visible to any friendly unit. If still not visible, then place the card at the table edge in the same sector. This now represents off-board reinforcements arriving. For example, I roll 8 on the DF and 3 for distance. The Enemy Unit card just drawn will be placed in the ‘8’ sector of the table at 500M from the edge of the DF. Next, we want to know ‘what’ it is doing, and the following table overleaf is used:
Scenario
Painting
Small vehicle
Artillery or large A/T (88mm+)
A/T Gun
Infantry
Infantry A/T Team or MG team or sniper team or observation team
24
Advertising
Initiative Table Roll 1D6 for friendly unit, 1D6 for enemy. Higher score has initiative.
Where is it? And, if moving, what direction? Use DF table
Tank/Large AFV/ Truck/ Limbered Artillery
Reviews
This looks a bit complicated, but it really isn’t. Roll a D6 and read down the second column. For example, if the activated unit is a tank and you roll a 1 or 2 it is moving, 3 it is stationery and if a 4, 5 or 6, it is dug in or hull down. (Tanks hate being stationary in the open, and will use every fold in the ground to find a hull-down position if possible). If the unit is moving, reverse the DF (so the arrow is pointing towards your baseline) and roll 2D6 again on the DF. This is the direction the unit is moving – again, there is more chance that it will be moving towards you, but it may be retreating! If a unit is in soft cover, I place some hedge/scrub or similar directly in front of the activated unit; if in hard cover, a section of wall or, if dug in, a section of trench. (I also have markers to show that a tank is hull down). The next thing to decide is who has the initiative, you or the enemy? Does he get the drop on you, or you on him? The following table is used:
What and Where Table
What is it?
Modelling
How far is it? D6 What is it doing?
Edge of table 1
750M 2
500M 3
250M 4
100M 5
50M 6
Moving 1,2
75 or below
80 or below
85 or below
90 or below
95 or below
98 or below
Stationary 3
65
70
75
80
85
Dug in/hull down 4, 5, 6
60
65
70
75
Moving 1, 2, 3
70
75
80
Stationary 4, 5, 6
60
65
Ready to fire in soft cover 1, 2, 3, 4
20
25
Dice modifiers for own unit +2
stationary
+2
specialist recce unit
+2
elite or veteran
90
-2
moving
80
85
-3
unable to take normal action (e.g. rallying or broken)
85
90
95
-2
raw
70
75
80
85
35
85
95
98
Dice modifiers for enemy unit +1
if best target* is at long range
+2
if best target* is at medium to short range
+3
if best target* is within short range
+2
sniper or artillery/air observation team
+2
stationary
-2
moving
+2
elite or veteran
-2
raw
Ready to fire dug in or hard cover 5, 6
15
20
25
60
85
95
Ready to fire in soft cover 1, 2, 3, 4
10
15
20
60
85
95
Ready to fire dug in or hard cover 5, 6
5
10
15
40
70
90
Moving in the open 1, 2
75
80
85
90
95
98
Stationary (soft cover) 3, 4, 5
65
70
75
80
85
90
If the activated enemy unit has the initiative, it will open fire if within its maximum range at the nearest best target. Resolve this fire.
Dug in or hard cover 6
20
25
35
60
80
95
SPOTTING THE ENEMY
Moving 1
70
75
80
85
90
95
Stationary (soft cover) 2, 3, 4, 5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Stationary (hard cover) 6
5
10
15
20
25
30
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
*where more than one target is available. Choose the best target e.g. tank target for A/T or tank, infantry target for sniper or MG.
The unit fired on (not necessarily the unit that activated the enemy) may not have seen where the shot or shots came from and must now attempt to spot the enemy unit. Roll percentage dice and again consult the What and Where Table. For example, if attempting to spot a hull down tank at a range of up to 500m from the targeted unit, a score of 70 or below is required. The following modifiers are used:
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Spotting Modifiers
+10
for each time this activated unit has fired (cumulative) Plus a further (once per shot if):
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Return to 2 above. Repeat for any other activated enemy unit cards which have not yet been spotted. (The unit has not been placed on the table).
A DETAILED EXAMPLE
-20
if sniper (snipers are very hard to spot)
-10
if sub-88mm gun
-10
if infantry
+30
if 88mm+ gun (lots of dust and smoke!)
Game
+40
if MG
-40
if spotting unit is moving fast
-25
if spotting unit is moving
My Crusader tanks moved onto the table. I drew a blank enemy unit card which was discarded. I then moved on my Bren carrier recce platoon. I drew a blank enemy unit card which was discarded. I kept my lorry-borne infantry platoon off table.
-25
if spotting unit has taken a casualty this turn or is suppressed
Game
So for example, a hull-down German PzIIIJ has just fired on a moving Crusader from a distance of 500m. The base chance for the Crusader to spot the firer is 70%, +10% as the PzIIIJ just fired, -10% as its 50mm gun is sub-88mm, -25% as the Crusader is moving = 50% chance to spot. If the unit is spotted, the unit card is replaced by the actual model of the unit and you may return fire or react as appropriate. If the unit is not spotted, the unit card is removed from the table. The unit card is, however, retained by the player. From now on, each time a unit card is drawn, this previously activated unit which was not spotted is also activated again. This is repeated until the unit is finally ‘spotted’ and placed on the table. This will allow, for example, a dug in tank or AT gun or sniper to fire a round but you may fail to spot its location. The marker placed and then removed becomes just a ‘guess’ of where you thought the shot came from. The unit may well appear somewhere else and fire again before you spot it. Each turn this unit fires, the chances of you spotting it increases, but it may happen that a dug in AT gun or sniper may hit several targets before being located. (This happens all too often in reality and needs to be recreated). So, let’s summarise and then close with a couple of examples. For each unit you have on the table, every time that unit ends its turn: 1. Draw enemy unit card. If blank, discard. if not blank: Dice for how far away it is on the What and Where chart. 2. Place DF in centre of table and dice for direction. 3. Dice for what it is doing. 4. If moving, dice for direction of travel using reversed DF. 5. Place unit card on table in designated sector at designated distance from edge of DF, or at first point of visibility to any friendly unit. 6. Dice for initiative on initiative table. 7. If enemy unit has initiative, it will open fire at nearest best target if it has any visible target within maximum range. Resolve this fire. 8. Dice to spot enemy unit on What and Where chart, use Spotting Modifiers. 9. Place unit on table if spotted. Remove unit card if not ready to be activated again next game turn. 10. If enemy unit is spotted, all friendly units with line of sight may respond if they wish and if able. 11. Next friendly unit takes turn - draw an enemy unit card.
So, here now is the advance on the Arab village scenario in a bit more detail to give a few examples of the TGS and associated rules in progress. turn
turn
1
2.
I moved the Crusaders again and drew an enemy unit card. The card was Infantry Platoon. I rolled 10 on the DF and I threw a 2 for distance from the edge of the DF (750m). I placed the infantry unit card 15" (1" = 50m in these rules) in the ‘10’ sector, which is to the SE of the village. Next – what is it doing? I rolled 2, so it was moving in the open. I therefore needed to throw another dice on the DF for direction. I reversed the DF and rolled 8. They were advancing towards my Crusaders. Not so good for the German infantry! I now rolled for initiative. The Crusaders threw high, the Germans low. The Crusaders won the initiative and attempted to spot the infantry. If the Germans had won the initiative, they could have opened fire on the Crusaders, (unlikely), or gone to ground (more likely). The Crusaders had a base chance of 85% of spotting infantry moving in the open, -25% because they were moving. They needed to score 60% or less and did so. They could have fired on the German infantry, but decided to wait in ambush. Next, I moved the Bren gun recce platoon, drawing an enemy unit card. Another German infantry platoon. I rolled 11 on the DF and 1 on the distance table. This placed them on the edge of the table in the ‘11’ sector. I placed them on the hill to the NE of the village and in line with the recce platoon that had advanced up the hill. On the ‘What are they doing’ table, I rolled a 3, which placed them in soft cover. I placed this unit’s card on the table as the Bren carrier recce platoon had still to spot them. I now rolled for initiative. Recce platoon rolled a 4, plus 2 as they were a specialist recce team, which gave them 6. The Germans also rolled a 4, +1 because their best target (recce platoon) was at long range and +2 because they were stationary, giving them 7. The Germans won the initiative and opened up with all weapons at the Bren carriers. They managed to suppress the carriers, but inflicted no casualties. The recce platoon now attempted to spot the German platoon. The German platoon was 700m from the recce platoon, giving a base chance of 75% to spot. Add 20 as the firing unit was infantry, -25 as recce platoon was moving and - 25 as they were suppressed. (95 - 50 = 40% to spot). The recce platoon threw 28, so managed to spot the German platoon that was firing on them. They could not return fire that turn as they lost the initiative.
Game
turn
3
The now stationary Crusaders opened fire on the still advancing Germans, and unsurprisingly caused considerable damage. The surviving Germans went to ground, heavily suppressed. I drew an enemy unit card – it was blank. The Bren recce platoon opened fire on the German platoon MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
25
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
that was shooting at them, without much damage to either side. Again, I drew an enemy unit card, which was again blank.
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
corner of my eye as I went to ground. The German platoon was placed on the table. So it was at this point that I took stock and realised that the Game turn 4 TGS appeared to work. With just one table and one DF tool, I The Crusaders continued to pour fire into the German platoon had managed to produce something special for a solo tabletop causing more casualties. I drew another enemy card – another game, a game of high tension which took me completely by blank. surprise and looked like beating me! The Bren recce team continued its long range firefight. Both It was also quite believable. The German commander had sides received some suppression. The enemy card was again sent one infantry platoon to his left front of the village, the blank. one which was fired on by the Bren carrier recce platoon. He had sent another platoon out to his right flank – but this Game turn 5 platoon was caught in the open by the Crusaders. He had also I needed to do something. The Crusaders were doing their job sent out a third platoon to watch the road from the East. It was and covering the village and had by now decimated a German this platoon which had let the recce and tanks go by and then infantry platoon. The recce platoon had taken the high ground, ambushed the target they had been waiting for – a soft-skin but were locked in a firefight. So I decided that with the tanks vehicle convoy. in position to cover me into the village, I could risk bringing A further note on solo gaming: once an enemy unit is on my lorry-borne infantry and would dismount them, to enter activated, I then play that unit to the best strengths of the enemy the village on foot, when parallel with the Crusaders. The recce for the remainder of the game. I roll a D6 for each activated unit platoon was covering my right flank, although they were locked which gives the ability of the officer or NCO in charge of that in a firefight. unit as follows: The enemy unit cards were being drawn and the pile was 1 = Fanatic going down – when all were drawn, the game would be over, 2 = Motivated to succeed (medal hunter) and I needed to advance to the end of the table as well as 3 = Well trained and capable regular occupy the village. 4 = Well trained and capable regular So, on I came in my Jeep, leading my platoon. I made one 5 = Cautious, will take no risks move onto the table for me and my convoy and drew an enemy 6 = Extremely cautious (will retire if possible) unit card. Another German infantry platoon! I threw a 3 on This aids me in the way I play the unit and adds a lot of the DF and a 1 on the distance table. This put them right on enjoyment. I mark the unit card in pencil so I don’t forget the the edge of the type of commander table and about I am dealing with. 6" (300m) away Each and every from my little time I play with convoy. I rolled the TGS, I am a 3 on the ‘What surprised and have are they doing’ to work very hard table, which made for a victory. Now them stationary, it’s even better in soft cover. I than a computer put their unit game as having card on the table the same level of 6" to the right of tension and that my convoy! We constant feeling of diced for initiative, not knowing what which the German is going to happen platoon won next – but on easily (they threw the tabletop with a 5, +2 for being miniatures! stationary and +2 I urge you to for medium range have a go with the target). I rolled a TGS. But don’t measly 2, -2 for be surprised if you moving, so actually lose to an invisible An overview of the game in progress. In the centre, you can see the Direction Finder in use, the Bren carriers and recce platoon deployed onto the central hill, and the marauding Crusaders on the left scored zero. opponent who (southern) flank. At the bottom of the picture is the ambush that caused such consternation! German This German somehow always units have appeared entirely at random, making use of the’What and Where’ table on page 24 which, when platoon opened fire seems to be one combined with the DF, is guaranteed to keep you on your toes throughout your games. and immediately step ahead! destroyed two of my trucks and their passengers. My Jeep was I now intend to further develop the TGS for use with disabled and I dived for the ditch with the survivors. I now skirmish games from ancient through to colonial and also attempted to spot the enemy, for which I needed 75%, +20% as to use the same mechanisms with a live opponent, with one being fired on by infantry, -25% as moving (into my ditch) and side playing the enemy units once activated, which should be -25% as taken casualties, therefore 45% was required. I managed interesting as even the enemy commander will not know where to roll below this, and therefore spotted the enemy out of the his units are. Now, there’s realism! 26
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Old Glory UK� Institute House.� New Kyo,� Stanley� Co Durham.� DH9 7TJ�
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
28mm Magyars�
Tel 01207 283332�
[email protected]� www.oldgloryuk.com�
New 15mm Argentinians� Drabant 28mm� Normans�
NEW 15mm Falklands War/� 1980s British�
Don’t forget.þ The ”6 for 5 “deal on showþ and telephoneþorders.þ
28th - 29th JUNE 2014 At Scarborough Spa in North Yorkshire
3 dedicated wargames rooms for late night wargaming Set up Friday to wargame Friday, Saturday and Sunday 2 Mantic Tournaments to be announced check websites for more details
• Mantic academy games for new gamers • Mantic demos of Deadzone and Dreadball Alessio to demo LOKA • Dropzone tournament • Magic the gathering tournament • 40k tournament • role play room(if we have enough interest) New for 2014: Scarborough Library Exhibition check website for more details
• Hundred years celebration for World War I • 2 Historical talks more information to follow!
Warlord Games to demo Beyond the Gates of Antares Rules System and Dad’s Army demo game Mantic, Old Glory, Warlord Games, Dave Thomas, Bring and Buy, 30+ trade stands, 30+ demo and participation games - see website
www.wartornuk.com Display game, trade stands and competition enquiries to Kelvin on 01723 373852
Untitled-3 1
MINIATURE WA R GA MES 18/03/2014
27
14:35
Editorial
28
News/Events
Column
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Send three and fourpence Conrad Kinch considers the thorny problem of prisoners in wargames, an aspect that is often overlooked.
“When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains, And the women come out to cut up what remains, Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.” Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier
I
have a friend, a distant relative in fact, who served in the Irish Defence Forces from the period 1939-1945. There was something happening in Europe around that time, I can’t remember what exactly, but in Ireland at least there was what was known as “The Emergency”. Like that other great piece of linguistic circumlocution, “The Troubles”, “The Emergency” has that particularly Irish trait of being descriptive without being enlightening. A bit like me. So around 1940 or so, my relative had been issued two magazines of .303 and been given the job of defending Dun Laoghaire Harbour from the avaricious navies of the world. Setting off in a brisk and soldierlike fashion, he was completing his second round of the pier when he noticed a man with a camera lurking underneath it. When challenged, the photographer could not account for himself and did not respond to a shouted, “Hände hoch!” And so it was that a visiting Swedish naturalist with an interest in wading birds was taken in Dun Laoghaire pier’s first bayonet charge. Having secured his surrender and bound his hands with a rifle sling, my relative marched his prisoner to the local barracks, where there was a spot of sorting out. I am told he got his camera back eventually – pictures of Boobys intact. You may smile, but I attribute my great nation’s freedom from the dastardly Swedes to his actions. But, as it happens, you will be hard-pressed to replicate his feat in most wargames rules. Prisoners are few and far between on our miniature battlefields, no matter the fact that they are rather more common on real ones. I suppose we don’t
like to think about our gallant little men throwing in the towel. For all the debates I’ve read online on whether or not it is pointless to paint casualty figures, I’ve never come across an argument about the need for surrendering figures. I never really thought about prisoners until I started playing Little Wars. H G Wells’ little book may have been a distraction from proper writing for him, but it’s proved endlessly interesting to me. Melee combat in Wells’ rules is rigidly mathematical: any group of men attacked by twice their number will surrender. In fact, almost all bayonet charges in Little Wars result in some prisoners being taken; once the smaller side has been whittled down to half that of the larger, the survivors surrender. These men are then taken under escort and brought to the rear. In our experience, this tends to mean that towards the end of the game, there is a substantial POW cage at the rear of the field. Little Wars isn’t unique in accounting for prisoners. Charge! by Brigadier Peter Young and Lt. Col. J.P Lawford also allows for them: troops defeated in melee that fail a morale roll or that are cut off, surrender. Ambush Alley Games’ Force on Force ruleset also includes them, though for the most part, they only really occur when wounded men are overrun. I don’t recall a single instance in our games of Force on Force where the rules dictated that an uninjured man throw down his arms. The Sword and the Flame forces Imperial players to keep a careful eye on their wounded lest, like the young British soldier of Kipling, they fall into the hands of the Native player, who then has the option of torturing them for information. Grim stuff indeed. I’ve never been shy of cross-pollinating ideas from one game to another, and I can’t think of a multi-player game I’ve played in the last few years that doesn’t owe some debt to Richard Borg’s Overlord rules, for example, but prisoners have yet to appear in any of the games in which they don’t already feature. The argument is, of course, that prisoners are taken in real war and should therefore be taken in miniature war. However, there are plenty of things that occur in real war that never appear on the table – we rarely see casualty dressing stations or USO shows, though those are usually
behind the front lines. I have been thinking of ways of weaseling prisoners into tabletop wargames and I’ve come up with a couple. Most of these are only really of use in campaign games, but campaign games are the best games anyhow.
VICTORY POINTS OR VICTORY CONDITIONS In some games, capturing the prisoner (by whatever means are set down in the rules) is the main thrust of the scenario, but there are also situations whereby a prisoner is more use than a casualty. Ancients players may be keen to take prisoners, which can then be sold as slaves, while Force on Force allots Coalition prisoners a high victory point bonus, as the Irregular player can parade them in front of Al Jazeera. The ransom of high ranking prisoners in medieval games could also finance further operations.
INTELLIGENCE Prisoner interrogation is an art in itself and, while it is unlikely except in very unusual circumstances that an interrogation is going to yield usable intelligence in the timeframe of a typical battlegame, in the context of a campaign there are certainly things worth looking at. I would recommend Chris Mackey and Greg Miller’s book An Interrogator’s War as a fascinating look at the subject. The information gained could take the shape of strategic intelligence (where the enemy are headed in a map game, for example) or possibly a look at his order of battle.
MORALE Prisoners are awkward, need feeding, get in the way and are generally hassle which has caused many a bloodthirsty commander to order that none be taken, including sadly, my old chum Harry V. However, the side that does take prisoners and that does not mistreat them has the inestimable advantage that the next time they do battle, the opposition will be aware that fighting to the last man is not absolutely necessary. Contrast the resistance offered to the Western Allies with that offered to the Red Army in 1945. There’s an argument to be made for allowing a victorious army which has taken prisoners to reduce the morale of an opponent when they face them next. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
29
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Ogre
Everything from Texas is bigger Ashley Pollard confesses her love for one of the classic sci-fi games, first produced in the heady ’70s when everything was new and exciting. Quite an achievement, then, for one of those games to still be pulling in the punters in the second decade of the 21st century.
T
his is not so much a review as a paean to my love of the first wargame I ever bought, back in 1977 from Just Games in Piccadilly, a shop that is sadly long gone. This game was called Ogre and the two main attractions were its price, and the fact it was a Science Fiction wargame. It is hard to imagine a time when SF wargames were rarer than a rare thing now that we live in a Golden Era that caters for Star
Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek and numerous other franchises, of which there are far too many to mention. So this article will sing the praises of one of my favourite wargames that has a new edition for the 21st Century, marking thirty-six years from its first introduction to the world. I’m also going to take the time to discuss what I think it is about Ogre that has struck the imaginations of so many players around the world over the years. This new box set has raised not only the production values of the game, but also the number of components and sheer physical size of a game, which now matches the epithet that applies to Ogres of being a bit of a juggernaut. En passant I will comment on the experience the game delivers, how playable it is and why you should run out of the house and get down to your local friendly neighbourhood games shop and buy a copy today. Or, if you lack one of those, Ogre attacks: a recreation of the classic Ogre Miniatures Rules cover using the author’s collection Ogre miniatures. All photos by the author.
30
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Editorial
News/Events
Column
THE LAST WAR When the rules were first written circa 1977, 2014 was the future. Now we have arrived in the future, some of the assumptions made in 1977 have moved the Ogreverse into an alternate reality where things happened differently. However, the main assumptions behind the game remain largely intact. These were the introduction of better armour, power-armoured infantry, AI cybernetics to control machines, lasers able to shoot down missiles, ECM and ECCM, including stealth, that make targeting things more difficult. About the only bad call is the inclusion of air cushion vehicles, and even then the Russians did develop the Ekranoplan, so even this is only a near miss. The one big thing Steve Jackson got right was the presence of ubiquitous battlefield surveillance by orbital and other assets. We can only hope that the tactical use of nuclear weapons doesn’t become widespread. The background to the Ogreverse is built around what is called The Last War, which kicks off ten years after the introduction of the Mark 1 Ogre circa 2060. Steve Jackson Games has printed two versions of the timeline, the first in the Ogre Miniatures rules that starts in
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
1995 and goes up to 2105. The second was in GURPS Ogre that starts in 1944 and again ends in 2105, which in the Ogreverse is when the Factory States period begins; think of a world where automated factories have decided that they need to run things, because humans are so bad at doing so – it’s sort of Skynet light. By the way, the latter timeline just unpacks more events in the Ogreverse. The Last War covers the period from 2070 up to 2092, but the recommended playing era is to start with 2083, because this is when all the variants of the Ogres are available. Within the game timeline, 2087 is when the first of the AI Ogres accidentally becomes sentient, which, as you can imagine, changes the nature of warfare. The main two factions in the game are the North American Combine and the Pan European Federation. Politically, the background of Ogre is loosely inspired by Orwell’s 1984, in that none of the main combatants can really be called ‘the good guys’. The Combine represents a union of Canada, the USA, Mexico and Central America, with aspirations to control all of South America too; the stylized hour glass emblem for the Combine is an abstract image of both continents joined together. The Pan Europeans are an
throw all your money at the computer screen now and order your copy online; Leisure Games of Finchley has an excellent mail order service. I should add as a disclaimer that I recently became a Steve Jackson Games (wo)Man In Black and have been running demonstration games of Ogre for the last two years. I’m jokingly called the official Ogre demo agent in Britain. However, saying that, the only reason I volunteered to be a MIB is because I love this game so much. So, yes, I’m biased, but I will endeavour to be as critical as I can during this article. You are free to call me out on any displays of over-enthusiasm.
HISTORY There are now six editions of the Ogre rule set. The changes made to Ogre have been, in the tradition of Old School Rules, rather minimal. By minimal, I mean they make the revisions of some of the rules in the SF BattleTech game look like complete rewrites by comparison. This can be put down to Steve Jackson being the sort of game designer who likes to playtest his games thoroughly. The only rider I would add to the above statement is that the introduction of new units over the years has required more rules to be added to account for special attack conditions, or alterations in movement and so on. In the bigger scheme of things, these are all rather small beer in comparison to most other games in their second or third edition of their rulesets. Think growth through evolution, rather than revolution. The first edition of Ogre was launched in 1977 as Microgame 1, the first of what became a series of twenty-two games
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
extended European Union that includes Eastern European countries, including Russia. For some reason, Britain stands apart from being involved in all of this continental shenanigans and allies itself to the Combine. You can see where this is going, and it doesn’t end well either. China is another major player and is looking to move Westward, but Japanese Nihon Empire wants a slice of the action too and initially it’s a Combine ally, which all makes for strange bedfellows as the war progresses and allies turn on each other. South America is split into two main factions, with Brazil nominally allied to the Combine, while Argentina is supported by the Pan Europeans, providing them aid against the Combine incursion, not that anything goes according to plan and lots of real estate ends up glowing at night. As for the rest of the world, it pretty much all goes to hell in a hand-basket as the war spreads its way across North Africa, into the Middle East, ending up in Pakistan and India. So, there are lots of opportunities for players to get down and dirty and fight over the radioactive wastelands of Earth. I did say this game is a bit grimdark didn’t I? Oh well, if I didn’t, I have now.
published by Metagaming (Concepts) Microgames. Ogre came in a plastic bag and you had to cut apart the counters to be able to play; the rules were printed in black and white with the only luxury being the use of red as a spot colour on the cover. We are so spoilt for choice that gamers today don’t know they are born. The Ogre game introduced us to two variants of the eponymous cybertank, called the Mark 3 and the Mark 5, which had to be stopped from destroying one’s command post by using a combination of power armoured infantry, howitzers, heavy tanks, missile tanks and ground effect vehicles. There were two introductory scenarios, one for each of the Ogre variants, with four variations combinations to spice things up. I can recommend the two Mark 3 Ogres attacking as extremely challenging fun to play.
The Designer Edition provides a number of 3D building that act as either objectives for specific scenarios, or are used in conjunction with certain pieces; for example, if you are using cruise missiles, then laser turrets or towers will allow you to intercept them before they reach the target. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
31
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
The only minor gaffe in the first edition rules was in the stats for one of the units, which unbalance the way the game played. The GEV (Ground Effect Vehicle) tanks had a bonus move that could make it impossible for anything other than an undamaged Ogre to catch them. This hadn’t been picked up in playtesting, for two reasons. The first was that no one had thought to see what happens when one fielded a whole force made up of GEVs, because that would be a totally stupid idea. The second was that when the game was printed, there were twice as many unit counters included than originally planned, which allowed players to field whole forces made up of one unit type. Steve Jackson’s new mantra became “test the stupid ideas”. The corrections from player feedback led to the second edition of the rules that reduced the GEVs second bonus move by one movement point, and increased the speed of the heavy tanks by one movement point, thereby showing what a difference a single point makes. The other change occurred in the scenario set-up conditions: from being based on choosing the value of the defending force based on attack points, it was altered to allowing a simpler fixed number of armour units
LITTLE BIG GAME
Ogre was the first Microgame from Metagaming (Concepts) Microgames, and its sequel was called GEV. This was released as Microgame Number 8 a year later in 1978 and again went to multiple print runs. Its appeal lay in expanding the Ogreverse, giving a wider purview of the world of autonomous cyber-tanks that fired atomic munitions to lay waste to all those that opposed them. New units were introduced into the mix, including mobile howitzers and light tanks that could now fight over expanded terrain features that were not on the original Ogre map. The biggest change was the introduction of overrun attacks to replace the ramming of the original game, which simplified what was actually happening when an Ogre entered a hex containing enemy units. Four new scenarios were described, including one of my all-time favourites “The Ceasefire Collapse”, which I adore for the fact that no two games are ever the same. By 1982, a hundred thousand games of Ogre/ GEV had been sold and to support the fan base, Steve Jackson games released The Ogre Book, a 40 page softbound booklet to support the game. I read my copy of this so many times that it fell to bits and I had to put the individual pages into sleeves, but luckily, a couple of years ago, I found another copy in reasonable condition. It’s chock full of scrummy Ogre goodness, including the designer notes and the rationale for both Ogre and GEV. Battlesuit was released in 1983 and this was a spin-off game dealing with power armour infantry in the world of Ogre and is non-compatible, dealing as it does with the individual at a much smaller ground scale. This was a microgame that dealt with micro-tactical combat, rather than the macro-tactical combat of Ogre/GEV. The first expansion game for Ogre/GEV was
32
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
and infantry. It also had a colour cover, and this version went through three print runs. Then Metagaming Concepts went down the pan, but the eponymous Steve Jackson Games brought Ogre back into print with two versions of the third edition being produced. The first came out in 1982 and had a colour map for the first time, while Ogre: Deluxe Edition came out in 1987 in a larger box with the first colour cardboard map. The counters could be stood upright with small, clip-on bases. The first Ogre/GEV combined set that came out in 1990 was called the ‘Fourth Edition’, while the next production run in 2000 with the same title came in a videocassette box and was labelled the ‘Fifth Edition’. Again, there were two versions of the Fifth Edition when SJG produced Deluxe Ogre in 2000, with miniatures that came in three videocassette boxes with a wraparound cover and that reorganized the rules using the SPI games numbering system. Both of these had colour paper maps. That brings us up to 2013 and the Sixth Edition of Ogre which is currently being produced in two versions; the Ogre Designer Edition that has colour cardboard maps and self-assembly
Shockwave that came out in 1984. It introduced new units to the game, like cruise missile launchers, lasers to take the cruise missiles down with, super-heavy tanks and two new GEV variants; the light GEV and the GEV personnel carrier, with expanded rules to cover the use of trucks, marine infantry, buildings and infantry riding on top of, or in vehicles. Rounded out with five more scenarios – two for use with the Ogre rules, and three for use with the GEV rules. Three years later, Ogre Reinforcements came out in 1987, only reinforcing the popularity of the game, and the demand for more Ogre goodness. This was as much a product designed to replace worn out components, or expand your collection allowing for larger games, as it was anything else. However, saying that, it introduced Ogre variants from the Ogre Book by providing specific counters for them and rules to allow things like towing immobilized Ogres off the board. The biggest additions that this supplement brought to the Ogreverse were the three multi-map scenarios that were included. Ogre Miniatures, published in 1992, was a rulebook for playing games of Ogre on a wargame tabletop terrain maximizing the use of the then recently released miniature range from Ral Partha Enterprises (see “And It Comes in Pints” sidebar for more information about the miniatures themselves). The rules used a ground scale of two inches to the mile, with a suggestion that three inches to the mile would work where one has a large enough space to play on. Given that the minimum recommended table size for the game was three feet by five feet, I’ve never had the luxury of having a large enough table to play a game with these rules, given that my new ‘enlarged’ table is approximately three by three feet. Slightly left field, and included because I have it and therefore it must be worth mentioning, is
the GURPS Ogre book that was published in 2000. I play GURPS, but I didn’t buy this for role-playing games in the world of Ogre, rather I bought it for the background information that is included in the book. In my opinion, playing in Ogreverse is the equivalent of playing Call of Cthulhu, because when Cthulhu turns up, all the players go insane, whilst in Ogre they are irradiated and start to glow. I would run games if I could find anyone willing, but for some strange reason, the people I know are less than keen about rolling up characters who will end up glowing in the night than they are of having their characters go insane. Go figure? No sense of humour, in my opinion. The second edition of The Ogre Book was released in 2001 by Steve Jackson Games that expanded from the original book from 40 pages up to 128 pages of articles on the Ogreverse. It included a combination of reprinted old material updated in light of revisions to the rules together with new material. Fortunately, while GURPS Ogre and both editions of The Ogre Book are out of print, you can buy and download the PDF versions through the online Warehouse 23 store. An ideal use for one’s Kindle, I would have thought. As a result of a competition, the Ogre Scenario Book 1 was produced in 2001, featuring seven new scenarios for aficionados of the Ogre game. This was followed by Ogre Battlefields, which also came out in 2001 and introduced four new maps with rules for militia, combat engineers and revetments. There were nine variant scenarios using different maps to make changes in each. And that, as they say, is a brief journey through the history of the products released over the last thirty-five years since Ogre first came out. Now the new Ogre Designer Edition allows you the chance to purchase the game with all the units and rules, with enough maps to satisfy all but the most rabid Ogre fan in one package.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Ogres, and the Ogre Pocket Edition, which replicates the first edition of the game in all its elegant simplicity. The latter is also priced at the original $2.95 as a “thank you” to all the fans that made the KickStarter a success. The 6th Edition rules are effectively a compilation of all the expansions that have been introduced to the game over the years, tidied up to remove any confusion that might arise in particular cases that push at the edges of the games design envelope, which adds up to a couple of minor things, including a new terrain type and the ability of infantry to treat railroad tracks as roads.
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
While the game universe is based on the North American Combine versus the Pan European Federation, the designer edition includes grey coloured ogres to represent third party powers that one might like to play with. You get two Mark 5 Ogres and four Mark 3 Ogres to add to the two third-party factions that come with the game.
OGRE DESIGNER EDITION BOX SET: BIGGER IS BEST Steve Jackson Games, from Austin Texas, has brought out a new edition of Ogre that grew from Steve’s desire to give the first game he ever designed an ultimate makeover. The goal was to make a big, beautiful edition of the game. The thought behind this started simply enough in 2008, but by 2013 it had grown into a monster through the auspices of a KickStarter campaign that was designed to raise just $20,000, but which ended up raising a staggering $923,680, confirming that everything that comes from Texas is bigger than anything that comes from anywhere else! It was also an indication of the enthusiasm of old time players, who were happy to put their hands in their pockets and dig deep to bring about this new version of a game that they loved. At the time, I couldn’t afford to contribute to the KickStarter for lots of reasons, and as a consequence was kicking myself about it later. If you missed out on the KickStarter edition with its benefits from meeting stretch goals, you can still buy the Designer Edition. This is the edition I am reviewing, but I think it appropriate to mention some of the extras that are available separately, or upcoming. If you want to peruse the KickStarter page then go here: www.kickstarter.com/ projects/847271320/ogre-designers-edition So what do you get? It would almost be easier to say what don’t you get? Well, for starters, no kitchen sink, sorry about that, but you can’t have everything. I’m not going run off a string of superlatives about how big the Ogre Designer Edition is, because until you see it in the flesh, the figures are so large as to be almost meaningless. For a start, it weighs 28 pounds and even when you’ve assembled all the card models inside and
The North American Combine Ogre designs are the classic signature cybertanks that are used by Steve Jackson Games as their trademark for the game. What you see here are a selection showing the different 3D Ogres and the Combine mobile command post.You only get one each of the Mark 6 and the Mark 4, but all the other Combine Ogres come in multiples, so you are not likely to run out even when playing the largest scenario.
Here you can see all the Pan European Ogres that come with the designer edition, including the unique Fencer and Doppelsoldner variants. The Pan European player tends to field more conventional forces with cybertanks in support, whereas the Combine uses Ogres as raiding units.
The Pan European Federation fields its own unique Ogres called the Fencer and Doppelsoldner, as well as the Combine Mark 3 and Mark 5 designs. The game’s background explains the use of the Combine designs from Pan European capturing the Combine Ogre manufacturing facility when Britain falls to them during The Last War.
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
thrown away the frets, it will still weigh in at about 25 pounds. They say mind over matter, but in this case, size really does matter. Trust me when I say you will know in your mind how heavy carrying this box is, because like the eponymous Ogre, this box set is the largest game you are ever likely to encounter. When I went to collect my copy from the Post Office, I lugged it from the counter to the car, struggling to balance it while opening the door to my Polo and get it home. Once home, I had to carry it up three flights of stairs to my flat and by the time I got into my living room, I was fit to collapse and decided that I probably didn’t need to go to the gym as I had done my workout for the day. On speaking with Brian Engard from SJG, he told me “SJG recommends carrying the Ogre box set around can be used as part of one’s daily exercise regime.” Let’s just say that on the thirty-two counter sheets, you get a mix of more than 500 armour and infantry units, 72 Ogres and lots of 3D buildings to assemble. It took me three nights to punch out all the counters, sort them out and assemble the Ogres. Once you have punched out and assembled your forces, you have five main map boards to play over; the classic orange crater wasteland of the original Ogre game in two parts, and the four GEV maps each come in two halves that fold out, with overlay counters to customize the maps as needs be on top of all that. Oh, and the box has three moulded trays for storing everything inside. Not to mention the usual things like a rulebook, record sheets, scenario book, two quick reference sheets, a pair of Ogre dice and a blue print poster. So, quantity really does have a quality all of its own when it comes to the Ogre Designer Edition.
THIS IS MADNESS, THIS IS OGRE: PLAYING THE GAME So much for all that game development background stuff and the shiny box, I hear you say, tell us about the game and how it plays! For the games in universe background history see “The Last War” sidebar. The basic Ogre scenario is to defend a command post with an under-strength battalion against the eponymous cybertank. The cybertank is controlled by an AI, and is therefore a bit like facing the T101 Terminator, except that the Ogre is a bit larger than Arnold Schwarzenegger who appears in the movie. Back to the game, each hex represents one mile, and MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
33
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Top: Ogre Expansion Sets The first expansion to Ogre was the game GEV, which expanded the Ogreverse into mass combat between conventional units as well as using Ogres to knock down the command post. Over time, new units and maps were added to expand the game further, and for those who had either worn out their counters, or just needed more units SJG offered a reinforcement pack too. Centre: Ogre Books The first Ogre Book was incredibly popular and was expanded upon the printing of the second edition, which included all the old articles as well as new ones to expand Ogre with more material on the background world of Ogre, and new units. GURPS Ogre took the game gave enough information for players to play RPGs in the Ogreverse. Not as popular as other supplements, it does however provide the most technical information on the various units for those who want to know about such things. Bottom: Ogre Miniatures Rules With the launch of the Ral Partha miniature line in 1992, a set of miniatures rules were released allowing you to play games without hexes using approximately 2" = 1 mile as the ground scale. The book included templates for blast effects and new rules and units. My only complaint is that I’ve never had access to table large enough to play the game using these rules.
each turn lasts one minute. Each turn consists of moving your units and then firing them. The Ogre moves first and fires, followed by the defender who moves and fires, which completes one combat round. Most units have a movement point allowance with a couple of exceptions. Those are the command post and howitzer, which are both immobile, as both are units that have been placed where they are for the duration of the battle. Each unit’s weapon has an attack value, and all units have a defence value, while Ogres have individual parts, each with their own defence value. The combat is resolved by adding up the number of attack points of the weapons firing and dividing them by the defence value of the unit being attacked, thereby generating an odds ratio. One D6 is then rolled and the combat results table is consulted. The results range from no effect, to disabled and destroyed. A disabled result means that the unit cannot move for one turn, which means it is easier to destroy. Ogres, however, are 34
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
not affected by disabled results. In addition, the Ogre can ram armour units, and overrun infantry during its movement phase, which can destroy, or disable armour, and will reduce the infantry unit by one squad. As the Ogre player, you really want to take advantage of these movement attacks to weed out the defenders and reduce them to a more manageable number of targets. The defender, on the other hand, must prevent the Ogre from defeating them in detail by maximizing the number of attacks per turn, and understanding the probabilities that the different odds ratios offer. This game is good for teaching youngsters basic mathematics and probabilities. GEVs are the fastest unit in the game, with a move of four hexes, and the ability to move another three hexes after firing. The downside is that they are fragile, with a defence of 2 and don’t have much of a punch with an attack of 2. Heavy tanks move three hexes per turn and have a good attack of 4 and a defence value of 3. Missile tanks only move two hexes per turn, and given that Ogres move three, this means that they are slow and can get left behind. However, they have a four hex range and a pretty good attack of 3, but only have a defence of 2, so they tend to die if the Ogre looks at them too harshly. Last, but not least in my opinion, are the PBI who get the short end of the stick, despite being in power armour and having the equivalent firepower of a contemporary tank. They move two hexes per turn, and have a range of 1, so keeping them in contact with a fast-moving Ogre is difficult. Their attack and defence value depends on the number of squads left in the platoon. You start with three, and you can choose to divide the platoon into squads as well, but in the bigger scheme of things they tend to be degraded quite quickly by the Ogres antipersonnel defence batteries. Ogres, being the stars of the game, have an extended repertoire of weapons and have treads, which are a way of keeping track of how fast the Ogre can move during the course of the game when it takes damage from attacks aimed at slowing it down. A Mark 3 Ogre starts with one main battery that has an attack value of 4, a range of 3 and a defence of 4. The defending player really needs to take this sucker out first, because this will rip your units apart at a distance. Next up are the four secondary batteries that have an attack and range of 3, and a defence of 2. Given the Mark 3 Ogre starts with four of these on board, it can combine attacks together to cut a swathe through your well-laid attack plan. So these should be your next set of targets to prioritize. Then, to add to the misery, a Mark 3 Ogre has two one-shot missiles that
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
OGRES ARE CYBER-TANKS
Profile
Scenario
Painting
beginner usually just turns into a bloodbath of attrition. Who am I kidding? All games tend to end up as bloodbaths of attrition, but more experienced players know this and don’t tend to sacrifice units with quite the same sense of blithe abandonment. Since the introduction of the Marks 3 and 5 Ogres, the range has been expanded both forward and backwards. The Mark 1 model represents the first deployment of an AI cyberbrain in what is an enlarged heavy tank with beefed up anti-personnel array to keep the infantry from swarming it. The Mark 2 is the first step to the multi-weapon Mark 3, having a main gun, anti-personnel array and two secondary batteries. Both of these smaller Ogres have their uses and I recommend trying out attacks using three or four of them as a useful exercise in seeing how it changes the game’s tactics. There is also a Mark 3B variant, only generally available to the North American Combine player, that has more weapons – more weapons being a very good thing for an Ogre to have, and there is a Mark 3B variant called the Vulcan that is configured for repair and retrieval of damaged Ogres for specific scenarios. The Mark 4 Ogre is a missile carrier that goes faster than the two original Ogres and is a
The original game of Ogre only came with two cybertank variants for the players to choose from. Since then, Steve Jackson Games has introduced a number of different cybertank designs that have expanded the number of Ogres one can choose to play with. In my not so humble opinion, there is still plenty of room for more variant designs, both from the combat stats perspective, and especially from a miniatures range point of view. So now there are a quite a large number of Ogre variants to choose to play with, and most are commonly available to all sides. The original Mark 3 variant is the one I use the most, because it allows for quick games that can be played in less than an hour, whereas the iconic Mark 5, which appears on the covers of the books, is a bit of a beast. It’s not that one can’t have quick games when playing this, but if both players are experienced, then there are more choices to be made, which can take the game over the hour as both sides feint for the best positions. On the other hand, a Mark 5 in the hands of a beginner against another
4
1
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
very good unit for raiding scenarios. The Mark 6 is the toughest of the Ogres that exists officially within the Ogreverse. Finally, there is the Ogre Ninja that was designed to be stealthy through the use of advanced materials and complex ECM/ECCM countermeasures that means it is fast and sneaky. Well, for definitions of “sneaky” that include the concept of a giant cybertank that is hard to target even when you can see it. There are stats for the Mark 7, but unless the Word of Steve changes on this, none were ever fielded during the last war. I’m hoping he will change his mind; call me an optimist. In addition to the standard Ogres, there are several other Ogre variants. The first two are the Fencer and Doppelsoldner fielded by the Pan European Federation. In-game, the Fencer is their first homebrew Ogre design. The Doppelsoldner is described as the largest Ogre fielded during The Last War. Both designs have distinct designs, which adds more variety to what one can field. Then there are the Nihon Empire Steel Oni and Samurai, the Israeli Golem, and late in the war, the introduction of the Chinese Dragon variant fills out the last major power’s choices. All these Ogres have their own distinct visual style and variations on the standard Marks 3 and 5 combat stats to boot. 7
2 5
3
8
6
All photos by the author of models from her collection. Not actual size.
9 1: Two Ogre Mark 3 miniatures. 2: Ogre Mark 3B which first appeared in the original Ogre Book. 3: the Mark 4 Ogre was a late addition to the Ogreverse, and it can best be described as a ‘light’ raider unit. 4: this Mark 5 model is a very old Grenadier Models casting from back in the day before the Ral Partha line, and you can tell this from the secondary cannon mouldings, which are different to the current casting, and some other minor details. 5: Ogre Mark 6, the toughest of the Combine Ogres, but not physically the biggest model in the line. 6:The original defending units for Ogre from Martian Metals were all from the Pan European faction, and included a howitzer, heavy tank, missile tank and GEV, but no infantry. 7: When Ral Partha launched the new line of miniatures in 1992 the first releases of the Pan European Federation conventional forces were expanded to include the super heavy tank, mobile howitzer, GEV Personnel carrier, and a cruise missile launcher. I’ve also included the infantry heavy weapons team in the picture. 8: Detailed Castings Products produced a line of resin accessories for Ogre, including these rather lovely Pan European Laser tower and turret. I’ve included my much modified Pan European command post here too. 9: When Ral Partha brought the Ogre line to market the much neglected North American Combine forces finally got some miniature love. These are a few of mine including another Pan Euro Federation command post, but this time in my NAC colour scheme. Here we have a howitzer, GEV, GEV Personnel Carrier, and missile tank. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
35
Editorial
News/Events
Column
AND IT COMES IN PINTS
In 1979, the now long defunct Martian Metals company introduced in the first line of metal miniatures for the game by making a model of the Ogre Mark 5, thus making Ogre one of the first composite board/miniature wargames that are so common nowadays. They also produced a Pan European heavy tank, GEV and missile tank to go with the Ogre in the first run of this line. The second run included the howitzer and the mobile howitzer. When Martian Metals went out of business Steve Jackson Games produced the miniatures for a couple of years and added a command post and Combine GEV, and revised the master for the Ogre Mark 5. All these are now out of print with, the Martian Metals Ogre being a much sought-after rarity. Even I don’t own one. The production of the line then passed to
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Grenadier Models, who dropped production in 1985, and they later went out of business. Ogre models were unavailable until 1992 when Ral Partha brought out a new range of re-mastered miniatures. In my opinion, these were the nicest models produced for Ogre and the masters are still being used today. The line was released in three phases, with the Ogre Mark 5 leading the way with Pan European GEV, missile tank, howitzer and both the heavy and light tank. This was followed by the Ogre Mark 3 with more Pan European models of the mobile howitzer, super heavy tank, GEV personnel carrier, missile crawler and infantry. Finally, the Combine models were released with a new missile tank, GEV, heavy and light tanks, howitzer and rounded out with the release of a Pan European Fencer. Various prototypes were also made, but not brought to market before the line went out of production again in 1996; Ral Partha changed hands a couple of years later and are no longer in
can reach out to five hexes and deliver a 6 point hammer of god attack on any unit that is usually pretty fatal. The good news is that once used, they are gone, so my advice is ignore them and accept the inevitable demise of two units. Finally, just to rub the salt into the defending force’s wounds, the Mark 3 Ogre has eight anti-personnel batteries that can be used against infantry and the command post. Note though that an Ogre can only attack each squad once per turn with these so, for instance, if a 2-point squad were in range, it cannot choose to do two 4-point attacks, which increases the odds of destroying the squads. Saying that, an 8-point attack only has a 1-in-6 chance of not destroying the 2-point squad, so this is a bit theoretical, all things considered. The Ogre Mark 5 has more of everything than the Mark 3; with two main batteries, six secondary batteries, six one-shot missiles and twelve anti-personnel batteries. It is a total pain in the proverbial to run up against. The basic Ogre scenarios also allow for multiple Ogre attacks, and using an Ogre to defend a command post is quite challenging, because the Ogre can’t be everywhere at once.
CONCLUSION At its core, Ogre is an asymmetrical wargame, which is something that not all wargamers find easy to assimilate, as it can be quite depressing to face up to the less than heart-warming idea that whatever you do, and however well you may play, even victory can often feel like you have lost. Something said by Pyrrhus is apposite here, as quoted by Plutarch: “If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined”. Saying that, what do you expect from a game that allows you play in The Last War, throwing atomic warheads around the battlefield? The basic Ogre attacking the command post scenario can be played in under an hour, even with complete beginners when teaching them the rules, so I think it is safe to say that we can call this a fast-play wargame. Each year I grow older, I seem to have less and less time to play as many games as I would like. Therefore, a game where I can play lots of scenarios during one
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
business under their original name. In 2000, Steve Jackson Games acquired the Ral Partha masters and brought the Ogre line back into production, adding new models to the range. These included the Combine super heavy tank, light GEV, infantry and more Ogres; including Marks 1, 2 3B, 4, 6, the Ninja and Doppelsoldner. I may have missed a couple of other things, but in principle, it was now possible to play full-on games with miniatures rather than cardboard counters. However, they were unable to keep the miniatures line in production, as they are primarily a board game company that produces paper-based products, rather than a casting firm, and the more popular items sold out. The good news is that with the Ogre Designer Edition KickStarter success, the miniatures have been brought back again through Grey Cat Castings, but are only available direct from Warehouse 23; Steve Jackson Games’ online store at www.sjgames.com/ogre/sponsored-counters/
day is a very good thing indeed. Ogre also has another good thing going for it, which is that it’s an open ended game that allows one to set up different battle scenarios with no two games ever playing out exactly alike. So in terms of bangs for your bucks, where number of games equals number of bangs, Ogre Designer Edition delivers the goods. It is one of the few games where I have truly lost count of the number of games of Ogre I have played over the years. Moving on now to talk a bit about how the Ogre game is expanded, the original scenario remit of the ‘destroy the command post’ game was expanded into the full-on world of The Last War, through the GEV game and supplements (see Little Big Game side-bar). In the new Designer Edition, all the rule expansions are now included to allow you to venture forth and play games where Ogres may not even appear during the course of the battle. One might think that such games are inherently less for not having an Ogre, but the inclusion of objectives, along with the fast play and simplicity of the combat system, makes for a different sort of challenge. My favourite scenario is the “Ceasefire Collapse”, as it clearly illustrates the tactical complexity of the basic game, which can result in games where no one actually fires. This, to me, speaks volumes about the design of the game. Also, now that all the rules are combined, one can of course choose to have Ogres and all the various standard units swirling across the battlefield, raining down nuclear death on your opposition. Call me perverse if you like, but this makes for a fun-filled wargaming session where one finishes a game with a sense of a real story being fought out on the table. For all the number of times I have played games in the Ogreverse, I have still yet to reach a stage where I have tried every combination of map and units. The richness from Ogre’s development over the last thirty-six years means you are going to have to work really hard to exhaust all the options that it offers you. On that note, my ode to the Ogre Designer Edition ends, as I can’t really offer any higher praise for a game than telling you it offers lasting enjoyment from repeated play. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
36
Across A Deadly Field Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Coming Soon from Osprey Games
The American Civil War was a turning point in the history of warfare, as Napoleonic tactics met deadly new technology. Cannons and rifles had become more accurate at longer ranges, rapid-fire pistols gave cavalry a new weapon, and the telegraph and railroad completely altered both strategic and tactical thinking. Across a Deadly Field, the new regimental-level wargame from Osprey Games, allows players to recreate this tumultuous period of warfare on the tabletop. Its versatile rules make it possible to refight any battle, from the early skirmishes of Ball’s Bluff and Big Bethel to the grand, set-piece battles such as Gettysburg that decided the war. Written by John Hill, designer of the Johnny Reb series, Across a Deadly Field offers both new and experienced wargamers a fast-paced and dynamic game where even a single regiment can make the difference between victory and defeat. F U L L - C O L O U R , H A R D B AC K , £27.99/$39.95
37
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
www.ospreypublishing.com
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Fighting for Featherstone Tabletop fun in memory of a great gamer The Editor presents a visual diary of a magnificent weekend of American Civil War battling and the presentation of the very first Donald Featherstone Trophy, all held in honour of one of the hobby’s legendary figures and conducted in the spirit of wargaming. his isn’t a report about a wargame, though there was indeed a game played, and a mighty one at that. Gettysburg presents sufficient challenges for any gamer, at any time, being one of the bloodiest and most critical battlefield contests there has ever been, and the participants at this event, guided by Wargames Holiday Centre supremo Mark Freeth, and using a variant of the Regimental Fire & Fury rules, did not falter in their devotion to duty. Time and time again, the Rebel commanders threw their men forward into the attack; time and time again, the Union men facing them threw them back, until at last the incessant waves of Rebels wore them down and they began to look nervously over their shoulders, wondering whether the road to Washington would remain open. No, this is a report about an event, which happened to last
an entire weekend and at which a game was played. The reason we had gathered in the Berkshire countryside, not far from Basingstoke, was to honour the greatest wargamer of them all, Donald Featherstone, at the behest of his dear friend Ron Miles. Those of you who take MWBG regularly will recall the publicity in the magazine, and perhaps on the View from the Veranda podcast. Don passed away on 2nd September 2013, and in issue 366, I ran an obituary section. At the same time, at the Colours show in Newbury, what is now affectionately referred to as “the broom cupboard meeting” took place, during which Ron Miles, Trevor Halsall, John Curry and I discussed ideas for an event to commemorate the great man. To this cabal was added Mark Freeth, who was almost literally squeezed into the meeting, and it is as a result of his good offices that the event described here came into being at all. It was with some trepidation that I drew up the first advertisement which went into issue 368. Ron had donated the trophy, Mark had arranged the venue, accommodation and, of course, the game – but would anyone actually want to come? After all, we had pitched the priceline relatively high, the idea being to also raise funds for the Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal, and the timescale between launch and first event was relatively short. Would it all fall flat?
A view from behind Cemetery Ridge, which was never threatened in the game.
Confederates bravely assault Little Round Top... again.
T
38
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Alan Charlesworth sees humour where Grant Pettit evidently sees only pain! A lighter moment as yet another die roll goes awry for the Confederates.
Confederates swarm across the Plum Run at Devil’s Den. The Rebels launched repeated attacks from here during the game.
Charlie Wesencraft launches yet another Rebel attack against nemesis Steve Thompson’s Union troops holding the crest of Culp’s Hill: it was a bloody day!
‘Sid’ Bennett, Andy Powell, Steve Clarke and Alan Charlesworth view Round Top early in the game before its slopes were slippery with Union and Rebel blood!
Of course, I needn’t have worried, and the guest list filled up rapidly. I was particularly delighted that we had managed to persuade Don’s friend Dr Chris Scott to come along as a guest of honour to speak at the dinner on Saturday night, but as it turned out, he was far from the most senior gamer present. Ron, who had spawned the idea, came along too, joining us on Saturday, and sat at the head of the table, 87 years young; and next to him, a man we have interviewed just recently in this very magazine and a wargaming legend in his own right, none other than Charlie Wesencraft. This also gives me the opportunity to correct an error which crept into that article: Charlie is not 75 – he’s 86! Moreover, he had driven himself all the way down from Newcastle to be at the event. At dinner on Saturday night, sitting next to his contemporary and chum Ron, he had us all in stitches when he quipped “It’s great to be here, considering the alternative, but I didn’t expect to find myself sitting next to my father!” Chris Scott – himself no spring chicken these days – regaled us with tales of Don, garnered from the years they had spent together as friends, especially travelling the battlefields of the world. It turns out that Don was quite the stickler for history and wanted to ensure that all his games were based on a proper appreciation of the ground actually fought over. The Featherstone sense of humour was also much in evidence, with Chris providing a remarkably accurate mimicry of the great man, who was never anything other than down to earth. Ron also spoke movingly about the man he had known since
just after the Second World War. They met in Italy and a firm friendship was formed when they met again a little later back in Blighty. Ron and Don both lived in Southampton and gamed together for decades, and Ron himself achieved a degree of fame through his memorable series of articles about the Siege of Dendermonde that ran in Battle for Wargamers. That the atmosphere throughout the weekend was nothing less than convivial is due entirely to the personalities of the gamers who gathered for the event. As well as Charlie, Ron and Chris, we were delighted to have Steve Thompson, Paul Wisken, Andy Powell, Alan Charlesworth, Brian Fish, Marcus (Sid) Bennett, Grant Pettit, John Secker, Steve Clarke and Melvyn Jenkins-Welch present. They ranged in experience from seasoned ‘big game’ players like Grant, through to primarily solo gamers like John, to ‘sort of’ newbie Brian Fish. I say ‘sort of’ because Brian had been collecting miniatures and buying rules for a long time, but had hardly ever played a game in anger. Talk about in at the deep end! He will have returned to Leeds a transformed man. The Wargames Holiday Centre is really just an industrial unit near Basingstoke – hardly the Greek island paradise of John and Diane Sutherland’s Wargames Holidays in Crete – but it works perfectly as a venue for intense gaming, with no distractions. Moreover, you sense you are on ‘hallowed ground’, surrounded by thousands of miniatures and stacks of terrain from the collection of the great Peter Gilder. Shelf after shelf of those wonderfully animated sculpts in glorious, shiny colour: what’s MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
39
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
The gathering at the inaugural Donald Featherstone Tribute weekend. From left to right: Steve Clarke, John Secker, Brian Fish, ‘Sid’ Bennett (almost hidden), Steve Thompson, Chris Scott, Charlie Wesencraft, Andy Powell, Grant Pettit, WHC owner Mark Freeth, Alan Charlesworth, Melvyn Jenkins-Welch and Paul Wisken. Ron Miles arrived later. The lavish terrain was almost entirely created by the late Peter Gilder and many of his miniatures grace the shelves on the back wall.
40
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
A magnificent moment late in the game when, literally against the odds, JEB Stuart arrived and the Confederate cavalry launched an all-out attack from the northern end of the battlefield, commanded by none other than Ron Miles, ably assisted by Chris Scott. Everyone stopped to watch as hordes of wonderful cavalry figures swept across the table, only to be scythed down by withering fire from the Union lines. However, their presence tipped the balance for the Rebels.
Main picture: Longstreet’s Confederate Corps launches another desperate attack towards Round Top at the southern end of the battlefield. Grant Pettit, playing General Lee, launched repeated attacks against this famous landmark over the weekend, resulting in a gritty battle of attrition which sucked in Union reserves. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
41
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
not to like? The word I would use is “inspiring”. Meanwhile, Mark Freeth ensured that no gamer went thirsty or hungry, and drinks both hot and cold were available throughout, with a tasty buffet lunch on offer both Saturday and Sunday. We extend our thanks also to Mark’s lovely wife Karen, who helped out with the catering on Sunday. The formal dinner on Saturday night was not, in fact, the first social occasion. The night before, those of us present had strolled into Basingstoke from the hotel, where we found an ‘all you can eat for a tenner’ Oriental establishment, and put their claim to the test! Now, you may recall that the point of our gathering was not merely to remember Don and to have a great time, but also to reward the individual most admired by the other participants for their gentlemanly behaviour and good-natured gaming. We had planned to have a secret ballot; as it happened, none was necessary. Early on Sunday morning, a few people muttered in my and Mark’s direction that to make the award to anyone other than the author of Practical Wargaming would be frowned upon; a few whispers to the others present confirmed this sentiment to be generally held, and so the decision was made. On Sunday afternoon at teatime, I was delighted to utter these words to crown the inaugural winner of the Donald
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Featherstone Trophy: “Would Mr Charlie Wesencraft please step forward.” The applause was generous and sustained, and you can see the occasion for yourself on YouTube at www.youtube. com/watch?v=gcUBukOPFp0 where John Curry has uploaded a short video. We were particularly blessed to have another special guest: Jane Winmill, one of Don’s daughters, came specially for the presentation, together with her husband Mark who, I suspect, may just have picked up the wargaming bug over the course of the afternoon... Not only did she present the award most gracefully, but she also brought with her a selection of books from her late father’s personal collection, almost all of them signed by Don, most of them also signed by their authors too, and many filled with notes and cuttings that Don had placed there. This made a few of them extremely rare, and our auction at the end of the day reflected this: we raised an amazing £380 as a result. Special thanks are also due to Paul and Christine Eaglestone of Empress Miniatures and painter Keith Ainslie, who donated the exquisite Zulu Wars vignette that Charlie will by now have placed on his mantelpiece; and John Curry of the History of Wargaming Project who gave two of Don’s books as extra prizes. I can hardly wait until next year. Word is that it’ll be Arnhem.
During the weekend, the Confederates launched repeated attacks from the Wheatfield and Peach Orchard area towards the gap between Little Round Top and Cemetery Ridge. Eventually, this tactic proved successful and they managed to break through onto the Union’s ‘back board’ – see the photos below.
The Confederates threw attack after attack into the Union left centre which eventually paid dividends. Here, they have managed to bring artillery to bear.
42
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Sedgwick’s VI Corps arrived to cover the Union centre left, but found itself assailed by Rebels, marking the high water mark of the Confederate advance.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
1 2
3
4
5
6 8
7
9
10
11 The main events from the weekend. 1: for the dinner at the Basingstoke Hilton on the Saturday night, Chris Scott kindly brought along some Don Featherstone memorabilia conssisting of honours bestowed on him by organisations around the world. This included his Legion of Honor from the HMGS East in the USA, his coveted Jack Scruby Award and his certificate of Honorary Membership of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. 2: the private dinner on Saturday night. 3: honoured guests Ron Miles and Chris Scott (yellow jacket) share memories with Charlie Wesencraft. 4: Brian Fish won an award for ‘Best Newcomer’. 5: Mark Freeth presents me with a cheque for £300 for Combat Stress. 6: Books from Don Featherstone’s personal collection that we auctioned, raising a further £380 for Combat Stress. 7: Melvyn Jenkins-Welch won an award for ‘Best Attitude’. 8: Paul and Christine Eaglestone of Empress Miniatures donated the stunning vignette for the winner. 9 & 10: the beautiful Zulu Wars vignette, painted by Keith Ainslie. 11: the climax of the event – Charlie Wesencraft is presented with the Donald Featherstone Trophy by one of Don’s daughters, Jane Winmill. The beautiful glassware was donated by Ron Miles. Charlie also won Don’s ‘lucky dice’. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
43
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Wargaming Books for Schools
The death of Don Featherstone was a milestone for many a wargamer of a certain age. For me, and I am sure for many, many others, this was because he was the key which unlocked the hobby of wargaming for me. It was in my first week at senior school that I discovered his book War Game Campaigns and I was hooked. In those days, my school library had a wide selection of books on wargaming by Don and others, such as Terry Wise and Charles Grant, so I was able to slake my thirst for knowledge about this new hobby easily by getting books out on loan. Now, I may be wrong, but the impression I get from talking to teachers is that those books are no longer on school library shelves and, given their age, they are unlikely to return. However, what Henry has created with his Wargaming Compendium is, to my mind at least, the modern equivalent of those books all rolled into one. It is the perfect access point for a youngster looking at historical wargaming to find out what they need to know and get started. I was recently contacted by a gentleman from a school in Wales who had been asked by his head teacher to form an historical wargaming club in the school. The head had apparently been impressed by the mix of historical research, practical maths, artistic skills and all of the other bits which combine to make historical wargaming so much fun, but also, for a youngster, such a well-rounded hobby. I offered to donate a copy of Henry’s book to their school library in order to support his efforts and, after getting the relevant approvals, I am very pleased to say that the book has been delivered to the school. This was a one-off conversation with one member of a school staff team who is giving his time freely to help the young people there and to promote the hobby of historical wargaming. I am sure his efforts are being replicated in numerous schools across the country by staff members who are probably provided with little in the way of support and assistance. Hinds_MW373_Half_Layout 1 01/04/2014 19:47 Page 1
In view of how much pleasure historical wargaming has given me, I thought it would be a nice idea to try to support the efforts of these individuals by providing them with one additional weapon in their armoury: specifically, a copy of Henry’s book in their school library. This would allow the youngsters who are interested to find out more about the hobby and see that their new found interest is not just something run by Mr X on a Thursday after school, but is a worldwide hobby with a huge following. To that end, I thought it would be a good idea to create a scheme where teachers and school staff members starting or running such schemes in their schools could get access to people like me who were keen to support their efforts as a way of repaying, in some tiny way, the debt we owe to those books in our school libraries. I am personally keen to donate a dozen copies of The Wargaming Compendium, but I am also happy to act as the link between schools and potential donors. If a school is undertaking such a project which includes historical wargaming, then they can contact me. If a gamer wishes to donate a book, then they too can contact me and I can then facilitate getting the book purchased and delivered. This will be done with no element of profit to me, indeed any postage charges I would continue to cover by way of a charitable donation after I had already paid for the first dozen books. This is an entirely non-profit venture, in fact it will undoubtedly generate an ongoing small financial loss for me, but I am very happy to be doing something to promote our fantastic hobby. I am also delighted to report that Pen & Sword have consented to a special price of £21 per copy, which not only matches, but in fact slightly beats the ludicrous discount offered by Amazon. Moreover, I have spoken to Henry himself who is extremely pleased to endorse and support this initiative. Therefore, if you would like to help get copies of The Wargaming Compendium into schools, then please contact me either by emailing
[email protected] or by writing to me at 64 Tollgate Road, Colney Heath, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL4 0PY, United Kingdom.
Richard Clarke TooFatLardies, http://toofatlardies.co.uk
www.hindsfiguresltd.com FIGURES
Ready to use painted figures & units available in 6mm, 15mm & 25mm scales
LTD
Wargames Fantasy and Sci-Fi figures always sought for cash, part exchange or swaps.
99 Birchover Way, Allestree, Derby DE22 2QH Telephone: 01332 559025 Email:
[email protected]
Next Website update
due 1st July 2014
HINCHLIFFE MODELS A P A R T O F H I N D S F I G U R E S LT D
www.hinchliffe.co.uk
SECONDHAND WARGAMES FIGURES BOUGHT AND SOLD 15mm & 25mm Classical to WWII Eras in stock Trading in figures, books and games since 1993 Figures wanted for cash, part ex. or New for Old Visitors By Appointment Only
44
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
•
We accept Cheques, Credit Cards & Paypal
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Keep lunch warm
Reviews
Advertising
The battle of Klissow 1702 Nick Dorrell and Per Broden staged a magnificent 6mm demo game at The Joy of Six show last autumn, and here they describe the historical battle from the Great Northern War and the wargame that followed.
M
any gamers are attracted to stories from history of doomed struggles against the odds. There is a certain kind of romance to the stories of the American Confederates’ and British Royalists’ struggles against the odds. The Great Northern War (1700-1721) is less wellknown, but is a similar story. From this war, the best known battles are those between the Russian hordes and the plucky, but small, Swedish band. Yet for much of the war, the main enemy of the Swedes was the Saxons. This article is about one of the major actions of the war against the Saxons who, on this occasion, fought with Polish allies – the Battle of Klissow (also spelled Kliszow or Kleszow). This battle was recreated in miniature by Per Broden, and fought by Per, the author, and members of Wyre Forest games club at the Joy of Six show in Sheffield, July 2013. The battle offers both sides a variety of tactical opportunities. In most
1
2
3
4
battles, one side stands on the defence while the other attacks, whilst in this battle, both sides can attack or defend as the battle changes. It also offers the opportunity to use the famous Polish winged hussars against a more unusual opponent. In addition, the battle offers a number of different points in the build-up to the actual combat for the gamer to try and with a variety of challenges to the gamers.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Great Northern War opened in 1700 when a coalition of Sweden’s enemies – Denmark, Saxony and Russia – launched attacks on various regions of Swedish-owned territory. Charles XII, the Swedish King, responded with a lightning move that forced Denmark out of the war. Charles XII followed this up by striking out against the Russians. The Swedes inflicted a crushing defeat on the Russians at Narva, which temporarily knocked them out of the war. Despite the scale of this victory against steep odds, it was widely seen as no great achievement at the time. The Russian army was generally considered as little more than an armed mob who could easily be beaten. Charles XII next turned to the third member of the original hostile coalition, the Saxons. First of all, the Swedes drove the Saxons out of Swedish territory they had invaded in 1700. Then in 1702, the Swedes advanced into Poland to settle the issue
5
6
7
8
A
B
C
D Map by Daniel Wharton
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
45
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
servants to keep lunch warm, as they would be back soon. Unfortunately for the Saxon officers, the next time they came back to camp they were fleeing from the victorious Swedes. It was the Swedes who were to enjoy this day’s meal.
TERRAIN
An overview of the game at The Joy of Six.
with the Saxons. The Saxons were in Poland because Augustus, Elector of Saxony, was also King of Poland and the Saxon army was based in Polish territory. Despite Augustus, as Saxon ruler, being at war with Sweden, his other territory Poland had not yet got involved in the war. It was therefore not clear at the time if the army that saved Vienna 20 years earlier would get involved in the war. The Poles were deeply divided over various issues and many saw Augustus and the Saxons as the real enemy. They were also exhausted by a period of long wars. Poland was tottering on the edge of a civil war and the current events were going to push them over the edge into it. Even without the help of the Poles, who had a fearsome reputation at the time, it was generally thought that things looked bleak for the Swedes. Not counting the easy victory at Narva against a sub-standard opponent, the Swedes had no recent combat experience. Their army was mainly a part-time force and they had not fought a war for over 20 years. By contrast, the Saxons were a well-respected force that had fought with distinction in all the recent wars of the time. The veteran Saxon army outnumbered the Swedes by about a third and with the addition of the Poles, the combined army was nearly twice the size of the Swedish army. The Saxons were already justifiably confident that they would teach the Swedes a lesson. As the battle approached, this confidence grew. The Saxons took up a strong position near Klissow and waited for the Swedes to attack. The Swedes took up a similar position and initially hoped that they could tempt the Saxons out of their position to attack them, but this failed. Instead, the Swedes marched to attack the Saxon position, but most of their artillery fell behind because of the speed of the advance and the terrain. Only four light guns continued with the army as it emerged from a wooded area to confront the Saxons. The Swedes arrived near the Saxon position just as lunch was about to be served to the Saxons. The experienced Saxon army, with a large numerical advantage, a strong defensive position, massive artillery advantage and the help of Polish allies, was totally convinced that the upcoming battle would be a walkover. So convinced were they, that the officers told the cooks and 46
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
• The table is 8 squares by 4 squares. The size of each square should be approximately the frontage that five infantry battalions would occupy under the rules you use. In the rules we use, an infantry battalion has a frontage of 60mm and so a square is 300mm (about 12 inches). • The Nida River runs from B1 to D1 and is impassable to all troops. The two streams running from the Nida River to B5 and C5 are minor obstacles. They should be relatively easy to cross, perhaps lose half a move and cause some disorder, and a minor bonus in a melee. • The various villages are mostly wooden buildings and so should give a relatively small combat and defensive bonus. • There is marshy land mainly between the two streams in squares B5, B6, C5 and C6. This should be relatively easy to cross, perhaps lose half a move and cause some disorder, and a minor bonus in a melee. • The woods are standard, open woods. • The hill at C3, D3, D4 and D5 is a standard low hill. It will give a defensive bonus and block or aid line of sight, but will have little or no effect on movement. The area on the right hand side of the map is rising ground and has no effect on the game. • In squares D2 and D3 is the Saxon encampment.
THE ARMIES This section will provide some details of the armies, the tactics they used and the quality of their units and commanders. I have tried to present this in general terms so that you can organise the armies according to whatever rules you want to use. I have rated units as being Levy, Raw, Trained, Veteran or Elite, with Levy being the worst quality and Elite the best. Some units are rated as two qualities, for example Trained/ Veteran. In these cases, you could rate the units as either grade or a mixture of the grades. Notice that I have listed the numbers of real units present. Particularly with the cavalry squadrons and artillery, the players will have to convert these to wargaming units. For example, the rules you use state one model gun = four real guns, the Swedes will have just one model on table. Similarly, it is common to combine squadrons to make an on-table cavalry unit.
The Polish cavalry advance on the Saxon right. Photo by the Editor.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
The Swedish right/Saxon left early in the game. Photo by the Editor.
The Swedish Army Army Commander: Charles XII, King of Sweden
Artillery
4 Veteran light guns
Right Wing: General Rehnskiold
Life Dragoons
2 Veteran squadrons*
Drabant
1 Elite squadron*
Life Guard Cavalry
10 Elite squadrons
Ostgota Cavalry
8 Trained squadrons
Centre: General Von Liewen
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
and used disciplined charges at the gallop. On the face of it, this will not surprise many readers but, at the time, this form of attack was not common. Most nations used relatively sedate charges at slower speeds or disorganised charges at higher speeds. Only later in the eighteenth century did the Swedish style of charge become standard for all cavalry and this gave the Swedes a distinct edge against units using other tactics. It should also be noted that in the Swedish army, there was no real difference between cavalry and dragoon units. Units raised in Sweden and Finland were usually called cavalry, while dragoon units were generally raised in other parts of the Swedish empire. Other than this, there was no difference between the unit types. The quality of the Swedish commanders was also a factor in the effectiveness of the Swedish army. Charles XII was a very good, if perhaps flawed, commander who is often numbered amongst the Great Commanders. Rehnskiold was also a very good commander who is often overshadowed by Charles XII, but who was certainly well above average as a general. Overall, the Swedish army was very effective, but can be difficult to portray on the tabletop. Hopefully, your rules will reflect the tactics and character of the army and allow them to defeat a competent enemy that outnumbers them by nearly 2:1.
The Saxon Army Army Commander: Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland Right Wing: General Flemming
Leib Dragoons
6 Veteran squadrons
Life Guard Foot
3 Elite battalions
Narke Varmlands
2 Trained/Veteran battalions
Vastmanlands
2 Trained/Veteran battalions
Dal
2 Trained/Veteran battalions
Upplands
2 Trained battalions
Vasterbottens
2 Trained battalions
Kalmar
2 Trained battalions
Saxon Guard
Tremanning
2 Raw battalions
Polish Guard
2 Elite battalions
Kurprinz
2 Trained/Veteran battalions
Konigin
2 Trained/Veteran battalions
Left Wing: General Vellingk
Sodra Skanska Cavalry
8 Trained squadrons
Smalands Cavalry
8 Trained squadrons
Life Guard Cavalry
2 Elite squadrons
Life Dragoons
2 Veteran squadrons Reserve
Albedyl’s Dragoons
4 Trained squadrons*
The army consisted of about 4,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry at the time of the battle. This meant that, on average, a squadron was about 85 to 90 men. The units marked with a * would be a little stronger, perhaps 90 to 100 men. The infantry battalions were about 470 men strong on average. The Swedish army used very aggressive tactics which were completely different to those commonly used during the period. Indeed, they were one of the most aggressive armies of all times. The infantry units still contained a large number of pikes (about 1 in 3 men were pike-armed), at a time when most nations were replacing pikes. This was not because the army was backward, but because they used shock action. Unlike most armies, the Swedes relied on charging with pike and bayonet, rather than firepower. They did not engage in firefights, but instead closed quickly and charged ferociously. The attacks emphasised the shock value of the charge and often swept away the enemy. Similarly, Swedish cavalry tactics emphasised shock action
Goltz Dragoons
6 Trained squadrons
Garde du Corps Horse
6 Elite squadrons
Leib Horse
4 Veteran squadrons
Kurprinz Horse
6 Trained squadrons
Eichstadt Horse
6 Trained squadrons
Centre Infantry: General Schulenburg
2 Elite battalions
Steinau
2 Trained battalions
Pistoris
2 Trained battalions
Gortz
1 Raw battalion
Beichlingen
1 Raw battalion
Zeitz
1 Raw battalion
Flemming
1 Raw battalion Left Wing: General Steinau
Jordan Horse
6 Trained squadrons
Steinau Horse
6 Trained squadrons
Konigin Horse
6 Trained squadrons
Leib Horse
4 Veteran squadrons
Kurprinz Dragoons
6 Trained squadrons
Milkau Dragoons
6 Trained squadrons
Artillery 24 3-pounder guns and 22 12-pounder guns, Trained. The Saxons also have enough chevaux de frise portable obstacles to equip up to 10 battalions.
The army consisted of about 9,000 cavalry and 7,500 infantry at the time of the battle. This means that, on average, a squadron was about 130 men, with infantry battalions of about 470 men. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
47
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
The stoic Saxon infantry in the centre awaits the Swedish onslaught.
Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was nominal commander of both the Saxon and Polish armies, but didn’t exercise real control. In practice, he left the command of the Saxon army to General Schulenburg, while the Polish army was, in reality, independent. The Saxon army was a well-respected force with a good recent combat record. Their performance in the wars before this had been at least above average. The infantry was solid, rather than spectacular, and fired by rank. Similarly, the cavalry used German style tactics which emphasised maintaining order over speed in attack. Schulenburg, the real commander of the army, was experienced and very competent. He was, at the time, probably considered a better commander than the youthful and inexperienced Swedish King. Most people at the time considered the Saxons to be militarily superior to the Swedes in general which, when combined with the numerical advantage the army had and other advantages, was thought to make the coming clash one-sided in favour of the Saxons. Even members of the Swedish high command tried to talk Charles XII out of the attack because of this. As the Saxon army sat down for lunch, news that the Swedish army was advancing to attack arrived and the meal was confidently set aside for later consumption.
The Polish Army Commander: Grand Hetman Lubomirski 1st Line: Under Lubomirski
King’s Regiment
225 Hussars, 370 Pancerni
Prince August’s Regiment
95 Hussars, 290 Pancerni
Hetman Lubomirski’s Regiment
190 Hussars, 290 Pancerni
D. Lubomirski’s Regiment
50 Hussars, 240 Pancerni
Miaczynski’s Regiment
345 Pancerni
2nd Line: Field Hetman Sieniawski
Hetman Sieniawski’s Regiment
145 Hussars, 335 Pancerni
Radziewill’s Regiment
145 Hussars, 280 Pancerni
Katski’s Regiment
95 Hussars, 305 Pancerni
Leszczynski’s Regiment
95 Hussars, 195 Pancerni
Potocki’s Regiment
400 Pancerni
Sobieski’s Regiment
315 Pancerni Others
Jazda Lekka
570 Light Cavalry
Combined Infantry
400 men
Noble Levy Cavalry
400 Levy Cavalry
Artillery
4 or 5 guns, probably light
The numbers given above are an estimate of the probable numbers of men in the units given the reported size of the whole army. 48
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
The Polish army of this period was unusual and a throwback to the previous century. There was little standardisation of organisation. Cavalry units were composed of a varying number of ‘banners’. Banners had a nominal strength of 40 to 120 men, but always had considerably fewer than this in practice. The heavy cavalry units had between six and nine ‘banners’. Often there was a mixture of Hussar and Pancerni banners within a regiment, but some were all Pancerni. The light cavalry had 13 banners. Finally, the Noble Levy cavalry were a throwback to feudal times. The Hussars were the famous Winged Hussars as during the previous century and were heavy, armoured cavalry. Their tactics were disciplined charges at the gallop which were also the basis of Swedish cavalry tactics, and so subsequently those of all nations later in the century. The Hussars were always in mixed units with Pancerni. The Pancerni were a dual purpose type of cavalry. They helped prepare the, hopefully, decisive charge of the Hussars with fire and would charge in support of the Hussars when they charged. They were also capable of acting on their own. Jazda Lekka were standard light cavalry who normally fought in open order. Their tactics consisted of the usual activities of light cavalry such as skirmishing, scouting, screening, and so on. The Noble Levy cavalry were a very low quality group whose main ‘tactic’ was to run away as soon as possible. They were not normally used at this time, because of their very poor performance. They were probably only called out because an easy victory was expected and so they would boost the Poles’ numbers and thus their share of the glory from the victory. All of the cavalry were dressed in styles common in the previous century. They were also frequently armed with a variety of weapons common to that period as well – lances, spears, axes, bows, and so forth. The Hussars and Pancerni wore armour, just as they had in the previous century. Yet, despite all this, the cavalry usually relied on their pistols, carbines and swords when actually in action. Armour and old-fashioned weapons and equipment were disappearing from the army, but were not yet totally replaced. The infantry was actually two very under-strength battalions. One was a ‘Hungarian’ unit and so, in theory, should look ‘Eastern’ in dress, something like what was common for musketarmed troops from Eastern Europe in the previous century. The other unit was ‘German’ and so should look ‘Western’ in theory; in other words, they should look like standard infantry of the period. Little is known about what was actually worn at this time, but later on, Western style uniforms were always worn. Similarly, little is known about the tactics used by the Polish infantry. It is likely that they would use a rank-firing system and may have continued to use a proportion of pikes, as was common at the time. Assigning a quality rating for the Polish troops is a little difficult. The Polish troops, with the exception of the Noble Levy cavalry, were good, but were not motivated to fight. The Polish were, at the time, deeply divided over various issues and in dispute with their Saxon king. As already mentioned, it was thought that the battle was going to be an easy victory for the Saxons. Because of this, the Polish troops were mainly present so that the Saxon king could not claim all the glory. Individual Polish leaders were often motivated more by not wanting rival Polish commanders to benefit from any success, rather than achieving success for the army and certainly not for the disliked Saxon king. The Polish troops therefore launched three attacks, probably with less conviction than normal, before withdrawing
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
from the battle intact. The attacks were repulsed, but the Poles were not defeated. The consensus amongst the army was that they had done enough, so they simply left the field of battle! Because of this, the best way to simulate the Polish army’s behaviour at the battle is to have some kind of special rule to reflect their behaviour. In the rules our group uses, you can rate troops as ‘Wavering’, in addition to the quality of the troops. So, for example, a unit might be Veteran and Wavering or Raw and Wavering. Units which are ‘Wavering’ generally fight as their quality, but suffer a deduction when attacking and also when taking morale tests for the whole group or command. So they are less effective at attacking and likely to withdraw quicker than similar troops who are not ‘Wavering’. This rating is often used for troops who, for one reason or another, are reluctant to fight. The Poles at Klissow are a classic example of an occasion to use this rating. If using a rule similar to the above, then the Hussars should be rated as Veteran and the Pancerni, Jazda Lekka, infantry and artillery as Trained. The King’s regiment and the two Hetman’s units could be rated higher. The Noble Levy cavalry are Levy quality. If not using a rule similar to the above, then careful thought should be given to the Poles and how to handle them in the game. If possible, an attempt should be made to reflect the real army, but if all else fails, then perhaps rating the troops as ‘poor’ can be used.
DEPLOYMENT The deployment of the armies will depend on the stage at which you want to start in the historical build-up to the battle. You could, for example, start with the Saxons in camp and the Swedes marching onto the table. At the other extreme, you
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
could start with the armies deployed as they were just before the combat started. These are the most obvious choices.
Begin
at the beginning
In this option, none of the armies are deployed and they will have to march into battle positions. On the first turn, the Swedish army enters the table in column of march from the table edge of squares A3 or A4. It arrives in three columns, each with the units in a single column, i.e. it will take some time to get the rear units in the column onto the table. The Saxon army is in its camp and on the first turn, the units may move out from that area. The Poles will arrive on the edge of the table in squares D7 or D8 in march column. A dice roll based on how long it will take for the Saxons and Swedes to deploy under the rules you use should decide the time at which the Poles arrive. So, for example, if you estimate that it will take five turns for the other units to deploy under your rules, you should perhaps start rolling for the Poles to arrive from turn 4. On turn 4, a 6 on a D6 would be required for them to arrive, on turn 5 a 5 or 6, on turn 6 a 4, 5 or 6, and so on.
A Nasty Surprise In this option, the Saxons are deployed in squares C2 to C5 and D2 to D5. The Saxons cannot be across the lower stream and have placed their chevaux de frise. The deployment can be free if desired. Historically, the Left Wing were in squares C2 and D2. The infantry and up to half of the artillery were in C3, C4, D3 and D4. The rest of the artillery are on the hill in the deployment area and finally, the Right Wing cavalry were in C5 and D5. They should be in at least two lines.
The centre of the battlefield from behind the Swedish position, looking towards the Saxon right, clearly showing the difficult ground. Photo by the Editor. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
49
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
The Swedes are deployed facing the Saxons in A2, A3, A4 and A5, but outside effective artillery range. They too can be deployed freely, but if deployed historically, then they deploy matching the Saxons, i.e. with the left wing in A5, the right in A2 and the infantry in A3 and A4. The game organiser can choose whether the Poles have arrived at the start of the game or are yet to arrive. If the Poles have yet to arrive, then a random dice roll, similar to above, should be used to determine when they do. Perhaps 5 or 6 on the first turn, 4, 5 or 6 on the second, and so forth. Alternatively, the Poles could arrive automatically during the first turn. In either case, the Poles will arrive at the edge of the table in squares D7 or D8 in march column.
Let
battle commence
All of the armies are deployed ready to fight. The Poles have arrived and the Swedes have redeployed to counter their arrival. This is the historical deployment at the time the fighting started. If you choose the ‘Let battle commence’ deployment, the two armies will be able to quickly engage and so the battle will take less time. The other two options will take longer to play, as the armies will have to move into position before engaging, but these options do, of course, give greater scope for different approaches to be tried. The Saxons are deployed as for the ‘Nasty Surprise’ scenario above. The Swedish army has been reorganised. Half of the infantry from the Centre has moved to the left wing. They can be deployed in the A2 to A6 squares and also the B2 to B5 squares, but not across the stream. The right wing is in A2 and B2. Half of the centre and the artillery are in A3, A4, B3 and B4. Both of these are facing across the stream towards the Saxons. The left wing is in A5, A6 and B5. They are facing at an angle towards the Poles, but with their right resting on the centre. The infantry in the centre are in a single line, but the two wings are in at least two lines each. The Poles are facing at an angle the Swedish left wing and outside of effective artillery range, so they should deploy after the Swedes. They are in the area A8, B7 to B8, C6 to C8 and D6 to D8. They must be in at least two lines.
THE HISTORIC ACTION The Saxon army left their hot meals behind them and moved out of their camp to take up positions facing the oncoming Swedes. Their position was based on high ground and behind a marshy stream. To further enhance the position, chevaux de
Swedish cavalry in full cry towards the Saxon right flank. Photo by the Editor.
50
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
“The whole Saxon army advanced, but their own defences now worked against them.”
frise and similar defences were deployed, although as events would turn out, these proved to be a handicap rather than a help. Undaunted by the strong position and superior numbers of the Saxons, the Swedes deployed directly facing the Saxons in preparation for a frontal assault. The Saxon and Swedish deployments were standard for the period, with the infantry in two lines in the centre and flanked by the cavalry on each side. It was at this point that the situation changed dramatically. On the left of the deployed Swedish army, the Polish army suddenly appeared. Luckily for the Swedes, the Poles were not in position to attack and the Swedes had not yet started their own advance. The Swedes reacted to this by switching to the defensive and rearranging their army. More than half of the infantry were stripped from the centre to reinforce the exposed left wing. The left wing was bent back at an angle to face the arriving Poles and the infantry from the centre was mixed into the formation. In this new formation, the Swedes awaited the Polish and Saxon attack. The Polish army deployed and moved to confront the Swedish left wing. In support of this move, the whole Saxon army also advanced, but their own defences and strong position now worked against them. The Saxons struggled to pass through the various obstacles they had placed and the difficult terrain they had deployed behind and their attack was delayed. The Poles launched three attacks, but could make no headway against the steadfast Swedes. This was despite one of the Swedish commanders on this flank, the Duke of Holstein-Gottrup, the Swedish king’s brother in law, being killed in the early stages of the fight. This, the Poles felt, was more than enough for their purposes and so [no doubt to the relief of the Swedes! Ed.] they now made an orderly withdrawal from the battle. At this time, the Saxon left wing cavalry were pressing hard against the opposing Swedish cavalry. The Swedish cavalry was outnumbered by about 2 to 1 and fighting to avoid being outflanked. Because of the delays imposed by the terrain and obstacles, the forces in the centre were barely engaging their opponents and bringing their great superiority in numbers to bear. The Saxon right wing cavalry had yet to get into position because of the difficult terrain, but also because of the advance of the Poles across part of their path. This last failure had contributed to the ineffectiveness of the Polish attacks and was to have further ramifications. The Swedish left wing was relatively unscathed after the Polish attacks and now was perfectly placed to counter-attack against the tardy Saxon right wing. So, a few squadrons were detailed to watch the Polish withdraw and the rest of the Swedish cavalry and infantry of their left wing switched over to the attack. The Swedes now had a numerical advantage at this point and an inviting open flank. The Swedes, under the personal command of their king, were quick to exploit these advantages and the combined arms force fell on the Saxon right wing. The Saxons on the right were in a hopeless situation and, after a short but heavy fight, they routed. This in turn meant the Saxon infantry centre was now exposed. The relatively successful Saxon left wing were also now being forced back, as the Swedes exploited the disorder
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
The Swedish infantry about to clash with the Saxons whose fire has been ineffectual. Photo by the Editor. All figures Baccus 6mm in the authors’ collections.
from the Saxon advance to check them. Clearly, it was time for the Saxons to withdraw from the battle while they still could. The remaining units of the Saxon army started to retire off the battlefield. But the Swedes did not want to just let the Saxons go and so they pushed forward. The Swedes swept into the flanks of the withdrawing Saxon infantry and into the Saxon camp. Here they captured, amongst other things, the still uneaten Saxon meals. Schulenburg, the Saxon commander, countered the Swedish advance as best he could with units of the Saxon infantry and bought some time for the other units of the army to withdraw. These actions could only delay the victorious Swedes and not stop them, yet they were enough to prevent the total destruction of the Saxon army. The Saxons and Poles, but mainly Saxons, lost 4,400 men killed, wounded and captured. This was about a quarter of the army. The Saxons also lost all their artillery, the war chest and Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland’s personal baggage. The Swedes had lost about 1,100 killed and wounded but had delivered a crushing defeat. This victory put the Swedish army in the limelight and proved that it was a force to be reckoned with. They had secured an advantage over the Saxons which they would not lose for the rest of the war. They had also secured a nice meal after their exertions; hopefully it was still palatable by the time they got to it.
THE REPLAY The battle was re-fought at the Joy of Six show in Sheffield. Per Broden was the main umpire, with Nick Dorrell on hand to help and answer any questions. The game was played by members of the Wyre Forest gamers club: Gordon Hazelton,
Dave Morris, Ross Owens, Harry Ryder and Matthew Terry. This was quite a large group to play the game, but when the club runs a demo at a show, we ensure there are plenty of participants. Partly this is because by having more players than needed it means that individual players have time to look around the show, shop and so on. Also, for this reason we usually play as teams, rather than individuals with specific commands. This also helps maintain the pace of the game. The club feels that the most important aspect of a demonstration game is the interaction with people that come to view it. So, the first priority of everyone involved is to talk to visitors to the game. To get to the action quickly, the game was started at the point where the Polish army had arrived and the Swedes had reacted to this, the ‘Let battle commence’ scenario above. In the circumstances of putting on a public display, this was the best choice. The game opened with two contrasting styles which were to ultimately decide the game. The Saxon/Polish players were still feeling the after-effects of a heavy fast food ‘snack’ on the way to the show. As events turned out, they might have done better to put off eating until later, but with the false confidence of a ‘happy meal’ or two, they decided to rely on pure numbers. The infantry centre would advance, but try to keep its distance and shoot the Swedes down at long range. Meanwhile, the great mass of cavalry would swarm forward and engulf the vastly outnumbered Swedish cavalry. So, in effect, the whole army was to amble forward and jump on the poor Swedes who, it was presumed, would be quaking in their boots, awaiting the onslaught. Unfortunately for the Saxon and Polish players, the Swedes had other ideas. Rather than standing totally on the defensive, the Swedes had a plan – they called it their ‘revolving door’ plan. They were MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
51
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
going to attack the Poles and try to destroy them before the The Swedes in this area were as disorganised as their opponents, Saxon cavalry on that wing could come to the assistance of the but pressed on regardless. Rather than push on with the Poles. To do this, they sent the infantry on the left to block the infantry, the Saxons allowed themselves to be tempted into a Saxon cavalry and massed their left wing cavalry to knock the rash advance on the left flank. Poles out of the battle. The centre infantry would push forward The game now entered the final stages. In the centre, the to maintain contact with the advancing left despite the odds, now confident Swedes pushed forward and exposed themselves and danger, facing them. The right wing would not stand on the to attack, but this potentially fatal advance was not punished, as defensive, but would pull back when threatened and try to draw no large scale attack came with the Saxons concentrating on the the attacking Saxons on. The Swedes on the right hoped they action on the two flanks. The Saxon left wing cavalry lunged would be able to hit the disorganised Saxons as they attempted forward, but that meant that isolated groups of units were to follow them across the difficult terrain that separated them. exposed to Swedish counter-attacks. On the Saxon right, the During the early turns, the Saxon/Polish players were emphasis was on buying time to re-organise and again, this left surprised by what the Swedes were doing but pressed on, sections of the army exposed to attack. So it was that the Swedes rather haphazardly, with their plan. This included moving the were able to chip away at the Saxon cavalry. On the Saxon Polish army to engage the Swedish cavalry advancing towards left, the Swedes were particularly successful, as the position them. Perhaps it would have been better to hold back with they had chosen meant that despite being greatly outnumbered these troops and wait for the Saxon cavalry on that side of the overall, they actually outnumbered the Saxons in units engaged. battle to join the fight. At first, it looked like the Poles had The Saxons were fighting at a disadvantage and, as casualties made the right decision. With support from the Pancerni, mounted for both sides, the Saxons were suffering the most. the Polish Winged Hussars gave as good as they got, but the On the final turn, three commands had to take morale Swedes soon learned to concentrate their efforts on the weaker tests. The Saxon right wing cavalry and the Swedish opposing support troops and mask the left wing both faced tests, dangerous Winged Hussars. So but these were unlikely to far, the Poles being ‘Wavering’ be decisive because neither had not been a great command was seriously disadvantage, but as losses damaged so far. They both mounted on both sides, the failed their tests, but only effect of this came into play. just, and so while both were Both sides needed to take now battle-weary, they could morale tests for the commands continue fighting, although engaged. The Swedes had the Swedes in this sector a relatively small chance of retained their advantage failing and, if they did fail, it following the earlier Saxon would be a setback, but not morale failure. But at this necessarily decisive. Because point, the decisive morale test Saxon left wing infantry wait in vain. Photo by the Editor. they were ‘Wavering’, the needed to be taken by the Poles had more chance of Saxon left wing. This wing failing the test and, if they failed, they would withdraw from the was badly beaten up and so was likely to fail, and if they failed, battle. The Swedes passed the test, but the Poles failed and so a lot would depend on how badly they failed. It was a classic had to withdraw from the battle. “don’t roll a 1” situation, although with the rules we were The retreat of the Poles was clearly disconcerting, but not using, it was “don’t roll high on three D6”. unexpected and, indeed, the Poles had done better than in the The player rolled his three dice and the result was 6, 6, 6... real battle. This alone was not a disaster, as the Saxons were 18 – catastrophe! still a great threat, but the right wing cavalry now had to take The Saxon left wing cavalry broke and fled, amongst howls a command morale test because of the Polish withdrawal. of Swedish laughter. This, in turn, was enough for the Saxon Because, at this stage, this part of the army had not been heavily army morale to collapse, and so the battle was over. The Swedes engaged, there was only a small chance of a negative result. had a plan, stuck to it and it eventually worked. In contrast, the Despite this, and as often seems to happen, the dice were rolled Saxons/Poles had a vague general idea of what they were going and the command failed its morale test! Morale test failure is to do, but they allowed themselves to be distracted by events. graded, so in this case the result was that this command fell They ended up reacting to what the Swedes were doing and so into disorder. This had an enormous impact on the game, not did not seize chances that they had. After the game, the Swedes because of the actual effect but more because of what it did to confessed they were very surprised that the Saxon infantry the thought processes of the Saxon players. From now on, their were not more aggressive and even neutrals thought they had main thought was to try to re-organise this part of their line, been under-used. It was not a good day for the Allies and they rather than pressing advantages elsewhere. did have a couple of bad dice rolls. Overall, the Swedes had Up to this point, the Saxon left and centre had been recreated history and so, once again, they got to eat the Saxons’ advancing cautiously. The Saxon left wing cavalry had been waiting lunch. pushing forward slowly with care to maintain formation. The If you have any questions, you can contact us at infantry centre had been more aggressive, but had mainly been
[email protected]. For 2014, Per is busily shooting at long range. They had done this with some success constructing and painting another interesting Great Northern and probably should have pressed their advantage more here, War battle, Kalisz 1706. You can see this battle with Swedes, but the Saxons were obsessed with restoring the Saxon right as Saxons, Russians, Cossacks, Kalmucks and four groups of Poles they started to engage the piecemeal Swedish attacks. at the Joy of Six show in Sheffield, July 2014. 52
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
53
Editorial
54
News/Events
Column
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Command challenge Yakhroma 1941
Andrew Rolph returns with a really testing bridgehead scenario from Operation Barbarossa in 1941, with Germans and Soviets struggling in the snow. Can you capture the bridge in these testing conditions?
T
his scenario arose from a reading of the Osprey book on the Moscow campaign by Forczyk and Gerrard and, more particularly, the illustration of the battle around the Yakhroma Bridgehead 27th-29th November 1941. That illustration and the accompanying text virtually write the scenario by themselves. I looked up a few other things in Carell’s Hitler’s War on Russia and Glantz’s Barbarossa, but most of what follows is straight out of the Osprey book. The designations of the formations are largely accurate and
the OBs are at least plausible and (with an exception or two) are probably reasonably accurate. The terrain is somewhat hypothetical, since the illustration I was working from was of a snow-covered battlefield, making features difficult to identify (but see the end for an alternative). I have omitted some towns/ villages on the eastern bank of the Moscow-Volga canal and may have overdone the woods. The game doesn’t involve a great number of figures but is quite long (6 hours or so) because of the number of turns. Some options for shortening it are presented at the close. The game represents the German Army’s easternmost advance of 1941. The Third Panzer Army under Generaloberst Reinhardt was the northern spearhead of Operation Typhoon, the German operation to take Moscow before the end of 1941. The 7th Panzer Division, under Generalleutnant Freiherr von Funck, was the tip of that spearhead and a Kampfgruppe (under Oberst Hasso von Manteuffel) of the division was charged with
Panzers advance during Operation Barbarossa. Photo courtesy of Warwick Kinrade, author of Battlegroup Barbarossa for Iron Fist Publishing/PSC. MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
55
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
taking the bridge over the Moscow-Volga canal at Yakhroma about 35 miles north of the Kremlin. The 1st Soviet Shock Army under Generalleytnant Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov was forming in the area (predominantly or wholly from Naval personnel – for those of you who want to use the right figures) and Stalin ordered that no enemy forces should cross the canal. Over the course of a long day, the two formations struggled for supremacy over the eastern bank of the canal. The German forces were depleted by the casualties of a long campaign and they lacked any air support. The Soviets were equally as stretched, with the army in the process of formation, being itself a number of separate brigades and the remnants of the 19th Army supported by 58th Tank Division (at minimal strength in AFVs). The Germans established a bridgehead and were subject to repeated uncoordinated counter-assaults. In the end, they held on, only to be ordered to withdraw by Reinhardt two days later. The last attack north of Moscow had come to an end.
RULES AND CONVERSIONS The scenario is written with the Spearhead rules (SH hereafter) by Arty Conliffe in mind. These are a little old now (published in 1995), but I find them very suitable for what I want from a game. They emphasise planning for the whole battle and the flexibility (if you are playing the German side) or lack of it (if you are the Soviets) in responding to the situation, which makes your plan less than ideal when you attempt to execute it. However, I recognise that they are probably not the most popular set around at the moment, so I will clarify particular aspects of the scenario where I have used specific SH terms in order to assist in converting the type of restriction implied by the SH terminology to the provisions of your own preferred set. I’ll start with some basic parameters of SH. The scale is one inch to 100 yards and 15-30 minutes to each turn (I have tended to treat night turns as longer). The rules use battalions as the main unit of manoeuvre and the platoon/battery is the smallest individual stand on the table. Casualties are inflicted on a stand-by-stand basis. Generally, movement in snow is around three inches for infantry and four and a half for tracked and half tracked vehicles – half that if firing. So that’s 8-12 full moves across this table and 12-18 along its length, ignoring any terrain restrictions. Firing ranges are six inches for small arms, nine for HMGs and up to twelve for tanks. Indirect fire is conducted at considerably greater ranges, but all fire is limited by spotting. Unless firing, infantry will be seen only nine inches away and three if in cover. Vehicles are seen at double that. A platoon firing will be spotted at at least twelve inches regardless of cover. These numbers/space/time ratios are the sort of thing that need to be maintained as far as possible in converting to another system. Additionally, your rules need to be able to cope with a fairly severe disparity of forces. In the scenario, 44 German platoons will assault twice as many Soviet ones across a river and the Soviets will have twice as much artillery support. Whilst the Germans (probably) won’t meet all the Soviets at once (and they will therefore have the opportunity to defeat the Soviets in detail), they will nevertheless need to have some ‘staying power’ and/or other advantages to help make it a worthwhile contest. In SH, this is brought about partly by the quality of the German troops (well, the infantry anyway), but mainly by the relative lack of restriction placed on German battalions’ responses as they spot enemy formations. Finally, the following phrases, which have particular meanings within SH, appear underlined in the main body and 56
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
are explained here: • Attach out – support units (regimental troops, artillery, mortars etc.) are attached to (become part of) a given battalion for the duration of the game. • No support stands may fire through any non-support stands – ordinarily stands cannot fire through friendly stands. Support stands (HMGs, ATGs, IGs etc) can usually fire through stands of their own battalion or the one to which they have been attached for this battle (because they’ve practised it). However, ad hoc kampfgruppen might not get such an opportunity. • Veteran/regular/random morale/1943 table – morale is straightforward in SH. ‘Green’ troops test for morale at 33%, 50% and 67% casualties, ‘Regular’ troops test at 50% and 67% and ‘Veteran’ troops test at 67%. A 5+ on 1D6 is a pass. Otherwise, the unit is removed from the battle. Additionally, Veteran troops fire more frequently because they recover from suppression (an adverse effect of combat which prohibits fire) more often. The Soviet troops in the scenario have random morale which makes them Veterans one sixth of the time, Regulars one half of the time and Green one third of the time. This is determined at the time of each battalion’s first casualty. • Reserves/attack arrow/Defend – the command and control rules for SH are the heart of the game. The rest of the game (other than target priority – stands follow a strict order of precedence in what they fire at) is quite simple. The command and control rules severely limit what is possible for a battalion. So, for example, a battalion with Defend orders which cannot spot any enemy cannot move…at all. That’s pretty restrictive! A unit with Attack orders has an Attack arrow drawn for it at the start of the game and essentially follows it, maintaining its original formation for as long as it fails to spot any enemy or until it reaches the end of the arrow when it changes to Defend orders and stops. Once the enemy is spotted, things loosen up considerably, but the HQ stand of the battalion is still tied to its arrow or to its defence position and all other platoons within the battalion are, in turn, tied to it (basically, they are required to stay within twelve inches of their HQ). So, a battalion on Defend orders can shuffle around in response to a threat, but it will not move far from its original deployment area. Changing orders is easy for the Germans and nearly impossible for the Soviets. Finally, Reserves are battalions which are ‘primed’ to receive new orders – they can automatically go into action at the first time of asking. • Pre-planned artillery – artillery is attached (see above) to a battalion or is in ‘General Support’. In both cases, a Forward Observer calls for fire on targets he can spot. Artillery battalions respond less frequently when they are in General Support than when they are attached to a specific battalion. Alternatively, the artillery is pre-planned – at the start of the game, a three inch square template of fire is plotted for each battalion of artillery up to its number of turns of ammunition. Anything in the template on the turn it arrives is hit once. • Town sectors – these are subject to a number of special rules in SH. Each one is three inches square – Yakhroma consists of 15 such sectors – and stands in town sectors cannot be targeted with direct fire. Additionally, they can only be suppressed by indirect fire (infrequently) with 105mm or greater calibre guns. Conversely, occupants cannot fire directly out of their sector. Town Sectors have to be taken
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
by close assault. Three platoons at most may occupy a Town Sector. • Initiative die roll – throughout the game, each player rolls 1D6 prior to each turn. Whoever rolls higher determines who moves first that turn (all fire is simultaneous within various subsections). • Morale retreats – as stated above, the basic morale rules are straightforward. Morale retreats extend them somewhat by forcing a two turn retreat on a roll of 3 or 4 when checking morale. Thereafter, the battalion returns to the battle once it rolls a 5+. The foregoing ought to give you a flavour of the peculiarities of SH and help you to understand the restrictions/conditions of the scenario. In turn, you can then decide which parts need to be represented to make the scenario work for you and how that might be achieved within your own rules – whether that be by an existing rule or some special convention specifically for the scenario.
permitted. Up to (but no more than) 50% of your battalions may be designated as reserves if desired.
GERMAN BRIEFING Mission
Anticipated
Clear the town of Yakhroma of enemy forces, capture the bridge across the Moscow-Volga canal intact and establish a bridgehead on its eastern bank. Hold it until the end of the day. See common briefing for victory conditions.
Available Forces The majority of the remaining functioning elements of the 7th Panzer Division – namely two weakened Motorised Infantry Battalions, half a battalion’s worth of Panzers and a dozen or so platoons of support troops drawn from the Regimental HQ Company and the Motorcycle Battalion. The tanks are veterans and the rest are regulars. The division’s artillery is at your disposal, but there is no air cover. See OOB for details.
Anticipated
enemy forces
Before you, on the western bank of the canal, you can expect little organised resistance. The remnants of the 133rd Division at about battalion strength may be located in or around Yakhroma. The bridge is likely to be set for destruction, so a swift coup de main is in order. On the eastern bank there is nothing for at least a mile, but there are some vague reports of yet another Soviet Army forming beyond that.
Deployment Your forces can be organized into three or four units based around the two Motorised Infantry Battalions and the weak Panzer Battalion. A fourth Kampfgruppe (KG) may be formed using the Regimental HQ as its HQ and some or all of the additional platoons of the M/c Battalion and the Regimental HQ Company. Alternatively, these stands may attach out to any of the three existing battalions. Additionally, the three gepanzerte rifle platoons of the 1st battalion of Motorised Infantry may be detached from their parent battalion and added to the Panzer battalion or the fourth KG (if one is formed). The fourth KG must comprise more rifle/SMG/Engineer stands than support stands (mortars, IGs, ATGs etc) and no support stands in its composition may fire through any non-support stands. The Panzer Battalion may retain its veteran rating as long as no more than six additional platoons are attached to it – if more are added, it drops to regular morale. All battalions are eligible to enter the western table edge on Turn 1. They may be delayed if desired. No flank marches are
SOVIET BRIEFING Mission Deny the Germans a bridgehead across the Moscow-Volga canal by holding the bridge across the canal or by holding the key terrain on the eastern bank. See common briefing for victory conditions.
Available Forces You have two Rifle Brigades (44th and 29th) – a significant part of the newly forming 1st Shock Army. They have random morale, but may roll on the 1943 table to represent the ‘last ditch’ nature of the operation. Additionally, a whole, but severely depleted, tank division and a good deal of artillery are available, along with some air support. See OOB for more detail. enemy forces
The Germans are significantly weaker than they have ever been. Although reports indicate that the majority of the 7th Panzer Division is attempting to force the canal, as a consequence of losses to date, you can expect a force well under half the usual full strength size of that division. It will be approaching from the west and no enemy forces have crossed the canal to the north or south of this battlefield.
Deployment This is a rushed operation, with troops deploying off the march from their forming up areas. You can be sure neither of when your forces will arrive nor in what strength – see OOB below. Your planning will therefore be somewhat haphazard. You need to attach a company of SMGs to a battalion in each brigade. After that, draw an attack arrow for each battalion prior to the start of the game; then plot all pre-planned artillery fire; then roll for the arrival turn of each battalion. On the turn of its arrival, roll for its composition (each battalion has a random number of rifle platoons based on the roll of an average die plus a modifier – generally four). You are not permitted any flank marches (other than that some of the arrival zones below are on the flanks), battalions may not delay their arrival and you may not designate any as reserves. • The 58th Tank Division’s attack arrow must start on the northern table edge to the east of and within one foot of the canal. • The 11th Independent Ski Battalion’s attack arrow must start on the northern edge within one foot of the northeastern corner of the table. • The attack arrows of battalions of the 29th Brigade must start on the eastern edge of the table within two feet of the northeastern corner of the table. • The attack arrows of battalions of the 44th Brigade must start either on the eastern edge of the table within two feet of the southeastern corner of the table or on the southern edge of the table within one foot of that corner. • The remnants of 133rd Division set up within Yakhroma on ‘Defend’ orders. They are split into three groups as evenly as possible and assigned randomly to three town sectors. Special – after a morale failure (even if simply an enforced retreat) this battalion will not rally and will take no further part in the battle. Artillery is available only from the latest possible turn that MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
57
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
any battalion of its associated brigade could arrive on table. The IL2 sorties are controlled by an Air Ground Controller attached to 3rd Battalion 29th Brigade and will be available when that battalion arrives on table.
COMMON BRIEFING All hills are gentle, adding three inches to the spotting capability of units on top of them but having no effect on movement. The Moscow-Volga canal is impassable for all stands except at the bridge. The town sectors are standard ones for the determination of the effect of artillery fire. Note that the bridge over the canal originates in a town sector of Yakhroma. It may only be crossed from west to east by stands beginning their move in that sector. As such, only three stands (and a dedicated Forward Artillery Observer or Air Ground Controller) may cross the canal each turn. This is a considerable choke point. This is also true from east to west as only three stands may enter the town sector each turn. The whole table is covered in snow with a consequent effect on movement. It is not actually snowing, however, so spotting is as under the standard rules. See below for night turns, however. The German player adds 2 to his initiative die roll throughout the game. The game is 32 turns long. (0200 until 2130 28th November). The first eight turns (0200-0800) and the last four (1830-2130) are definitely night turns. Additionally, turns 9, 10, 27 and 28 may be night turns. Roll 1D6 at the start of each of these turns with the following results: • On a roll of 1 or 2 at the start of turn 9, dawn breaks on that turn. Otherwise it is still night. • If dawn did not break on Turn 9, then a roll of 1, 2 or 3 on turn 10 means that it breaks on that turn. If not, then dawn breaks on Turn 11. • On a roll of 1 or 2 at the start of turn 27, night falls on that turn. • If night did not fall on Turn 27, then a roll of 1, 2 or 3 on turn 28 means that it falls on that turn. If not, then it falls on Turn 29. At night all spotting distances are reduced by two thirds.
VICTORY CONDITIONS • If at least one Soviet platoon occupies the town sector where the bridge across the canal originates, then the Soviets win the game. • If all the Germans or all of the Soviets have been eliminated or have routed and been permanently removed from the game, then the other side wins as long as they have troops in good order remaining. • Otherwise, each side secures one victory point at the end of the game for controlling each of the Hills numbered 103, 106 and 107 on the attached map. • “Control” is defined as: ◽◽ occupying the feature exclusively of any enemy stands or ◽◽ not currently occupying, but being the last to have exclusively occupied it with a battalion which has not since been wholly eliminated or permanently routed. • If enemy troops contest the occupation of a hill or the battalion which last occupied it has since been eliminated or routed, then neither side earns victory points.
NOTES I recommend that players use the advanced rules covering Morale Retreats for both sides and hidden movement rules for 58
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
the Soviets for this scenario, even if you don’t usually do so. The length of the game makes a battalion breaking and returning to the fray a possibility and the uncertainty for the German of not quite completely writing off Soviet battalions keeps him on his toes. Similarly, however, the potential retention of part of a battalion following a morale failure for the Germans is reassuring, since those remnants can then become a useful reserve in a few turns’ time. Hidden movement is also a good way of keeping the German player honest. If all the stands are on table as soon as they arrive, then it’s a saint-like German who will take no account of another three Soviet battalions massing out of spotting range two miles away in the south whilst he already has tanks and a couple of other battalions which he is engaging in the north. Keep the stands off the table until spotted (then, for convenience, leave them on, even if they cease to be spotted) and the German player cannot be tempted to change his plans (inadvertently or otherwise) in response to a threat his forces cannot see. Infantry stands only move at three inches a turn, so have the Soviet player form up his battalions in their attack formation at the start of the game, and then simply measure their movement since arrival. This also speeds up play – for the Soviet player, if all the stands are on the table, there will be eight or ten turns’ worth of laborious shuffling forward of 30 or 40 stands, three inches a turn. Finally, regarding the note in the German briefing about the risk of the bridge being blown, this is merely a misdirection to ensure that the German player feels the need to ‘get a move on.’ There is no risk of the bridge being blown. In reality, the Soviet platoon guarding the bridge was surprised and I have taken this as a given within the scenario. Otherwise, the game would be engineers building a bridge for 32 turns (or even 32 turns waiting for the engineers to arrive to build a bridge).
TOO LONG? I have played the scenario twice and each time has taken around six hours. I played a truncated version in about three hours at the club I attend and have given some thought to further possibilities for shortening it. Many may not be lucky enough to have the time available and, within the long version, there are turns with not too much happening beyond some slow trudging around. So, here are three alternative versions... 1. Omit the first eight turns. The 133rd Division is barely a speed bump in the German advance anyway, so do away with it. Reduce one or two Motorised infantry battalions by a total of 1D6-3 rifle platoons (i.e. between 0 and 3 stands total between them) to represent the remnants’ efforts. The German player sets up his forces in a column of march grouped in threes and they enter the table in that order at the eastern end of the bridge. Reduce the Soviet entry and artillery availability turns by eight as well. You could also decrease set up time by treating the canal as a straight northsouth affair and making it a table edge – just deploy the eastern terrain on a 2 foot 6 by 6 foot table. Playable in four or five hours? 2. Omit the last 12 turns of the game. Reduce the Soviet OB by the ski battalion and 2/29th and 3/29th battalions. Reduce the artillery by that attached to 29th Brigade. Remove the M/c attachments from the German OB and reduce their artillery to three turns of fire. This would recreate the early attacks of the Soviets (which were less successful historically), so bias the victory conditions by giving the Soviets a half a victory point automatically. If they
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
can take one hill and contest another they win. Playable in three or four hours? 3. Combine 1 and 2 and play only turns 9 to 20 inclusive. Should be possible to play in a couple of hours or so. Refer to the map on page 60.
ORDERS OF BATTLE OOB comments The German forces are based on standard OBs with some infantry stands deducted as losses. The 7th Panzer Division was still running Pz38(t)s at this point and the battalion here represents just over 50% of the strength returns for this time period (I regret I can’t remember my source for that). The Osprey title certainly talks in terms of company strength armour commitments, so the numbers are about right. I have no reason to believe any part of the division’s M/c battalion was involved, but it was necessary to build the German forces slightly for play balance. That, and the Regimental support company (which was there) also permit a little more flexibility in deployment terms (i.e. the formation of a fourth battalion-sized Kampfgruppe). The artillery is also primarily a guess – although two battalions were the entire complement for the division at the time.
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
For the Soviets, the Rifle Brigade is not a standard TO&E within the SH rules, so I’ve (broadly) followed Zaloga and Ness’ Red Army Handbook description (a third of a division with a divisional volume of artillery in support). The Ski Battalion’s TO&E is from the same source (its designation – 11th – is entirely fictitious). There are no rules for skis, so I allow them to ignore the impact of snow on their movement. The mortars and 76mm artillery represent a full complement for a single brigade. The other artillery represents some attached army level assets. Certainly the Osprey title talks of a fair volume of artillery fire (and, specifically, of Katyusha and IL-2 strikes). I wanted to limit the flexibility available to the Soviet player to represent the urgent and ad hoc nature of the counterattack – hence the restrictive deployment/artillery fire conditions and limited scope for attachments. Each brigade could have a platoon of engineers as an attachment (and I have attached the Brigade ATG to an arbitrary battalion), but the value/rarity of such specialists at the time has led me to omit them – they are deemed either to not be available or are available, but cannot be wasted as ordinary leg infantry. The remnants of the 58th Tank Division certainly disposed of T26s, but the Matildas are entirely conjectural. Matildas were deployed in the area for the first time around this date and were
Soviet OOB – elements of the 1st Shock Army with remnants of 133rd Rifle Division and 58th Tank Division Battalion
Morale
1/29th Rifle Brigade
Constitution (platoons)
HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 HMG HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 HMG, 1 45mm Random 43 ATG Random 43 HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 HMG 3 SMGs (to be attached to any battalion of the Brigade). Attach Soviet battalions Random 43 HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 82mm Mortar Random 43 HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 HMG HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 HMG, 1 45mm Random 43 ATG Random 43 HQ, 4+1DAv Rifles, 1 HMG 3 SMGs (to be attached to any battalion of the Brigade). Attach Soviet battalions Random 43 HQ, 6 T26S’s, 3 Matilda IIs Green HQ, 2+1DAv Rifles
Arrives on Turn
Random 43
2/29th Rifle Brigade 3/29th Rifle Brigade 29th Brigade Attachments 11th Independent Ski Battalion 1/44th Rifle Brigade 2/44th Rifle Brigade 3/44th Rifle Brigade 44th Brigade Attachments Remnants 58th Tank Div. Remnants 133rd Rifle Div.
10+1D3 (11-13) 14+2D3 (16-20) 14+2D3 (16-20) prior to rolling for the arrival time and constitution of the 14+2D3 (16-20) 10+2D3 (12-16) 10+2D3 (12-16) 10+2D3 (12-16) prior to rolling for the arrival time and constitution of the 6+2D3 (8-12) Sets up randomly in Yakhroma
Artillery
Field Artillery of 1st Shock Army attached to 44th Rifle Brigade Mortar Battalion of 44th Rifle Brigade Guards Mortar Battalion attached to 44th Rifle Brigade Field Artillery of 29th Rifle Brigade Mortar Battalion of 29th Rifle Brigade Air Ground Controller
3* 122mm Field Gun batteries. Off board and pre-planned. Available from turn 16 inclusive. Six turns of fire 4* 82mm Mortar platoons. Off board and pre-planned. Available from turn 16 inclusive. Six turns of fire 2* Katyusha batteries. Off board and pre-planned. Available from turn 16 inclusive. Three turns of fire 3* 76.2mm FG batteries. Off board and pre-planned. Available from turn 20 inclusive. Six turns of fire 3* 120mm Mortar platoons. Off board and pre-planned. Available from turn 20 inclusive. Six turns of fire 2 bomb armed IL-2 sorties. Attached to 3/29th battalion
German OOB – Kampfgruppe of 7th Pz Division Battalion
1/6th Motorised Infantry Regt 2/6th Motorised Infantry Regt 1st Battalion 25th Pz Regt Attachments, 6th Motorised Infantry Regt HQ Attachments 7th M/c Battalion
Morale
Constitution (platoons) & Notes
HQ, 8 Rifles (3 gepanzerte in half tracks), 1 Engineer, 1 PAK 35/36, 1 75mm LIG, 1 HMG. Half tracked Company may Regular detach and fight as part the ad hoc KG (if created) or the Pz Battalion (but not as part of the 2nd Motorised battalion) Regular HQ, 7 Rifles, 1 Engineer, 1 PAK 35/36, 1 75mm LIG, 1 HMG Veteran HQ, 1 PzIIf, 3 Pz 38(t)s, 1 Pz IVe 6th Mot. RHQ, 3 half-tracked Engineers, 1 SMG M/c, 1 These elements may attach to any of the three core battalions. Some (total Engineer, 1 75mm LIG (or StuG D), 1 150mm SIG (self Engineers, SMGs or Rifles > total support stands) may be attached to the Regt propelled or not) HQ to form a fourth ad hoc Kampfgruppe with Regular morale. No more than six stands may attach to the Pz Battalion for it to retain its veteran status. 3 M/c Rifles, 1 PAK 35/36, 1 75mm LIG Artillery
1st Battalion 78th Arty Regt 2nd Battalion 78th Arty Regt
3* 105mm Howitzer batteries and a Forward Artillery Officer. Off board. Attached to any battalion/KG or in general support as the German player sees fit. Five turns of fire 3* 105mm Howitzer batteries and a Forward Artillery Officer. Off board. Attached to any battalion/KG or in general support as the German player sees fit. Five turns of fire MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
59
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
mixed in with Soviet models – so I thought I’d stiffen that force somewhat. If you feel this makes the Soviets too tough, then exchange the Matildas for more T26s. However, there is a case for weakening the 58th further. According to Glantz’s Barbarossa, the Division was transferred from the Far East with a full TO&E (but made up solely of T26s) in mid November and thrown into Rokossovski’s spoiling attacks immediately prior to this German offensive. It was unused to the terrain and had no time to scout – leading to 60% of its vehicles ending their days in a swamp. Thereafter, it (along with all troops involved in those spoiling attacks) suffered dreadful casualties and was reduced to 15 vehicles and a handful of guns by the time the German offensive began. For the purposes of this scenario, I have presumed it was built back up again (slightly), but you may want to ignore that (slim) possibility and field three platoons of T26s only – probably as an attachment to 1/29th battalion. If so, it would probably be best to remove the German M/c attachments for play balance purposes (and give the Soviets their engineers). I made it bigger partly for the Soviet player’s interest and partly because the Osprey account does indicate it was a worrying assault for the Germans – which would not be the effect with just three stands. Alternatively, if the Soviets are too weak, a further Ski battalion with the initial assault by 1/29th Rifles or with the 44th Brigade is entirely justifiable – it’s not absolutely clear how many such battalions were present.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS As noted previously, I have played this scenario twice in its full form and once as truncated at 2 above. The truncated version was something of a playtest of the basics and resulted in a German victory. That result led me to modify the victory conditions for that version of the game – as 60
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
originally written, it seemed that a Soviet victory was quite unlikely. In the game, the 1/25th Panzer with gepanzerte rifles and engineers attached swept through Yakhroma, suffering a Pz 38(t) casualty on the way. They turned north and ran straight into the 58th Tank Division. This division rolled for its morale and turned out to be Green. It was soon stripped of its T26s, at which point it routed. I am not sure the Matildas fired a shot. The whole of 6th Motorised filed across the bridge (slowly), whilst the 1/25th Panzer kept the single battalion of the 29th Brigade (which was assaulting Hill 107) occupied. In due course, the 6th Motorised marched onto hill 103 and occupied the woods to its west and arced to the canal as a secure flank. The Soviet pre-planned artillery was uniformly poor, as it failed to form up effectively (the Katyushas), failed to fall anywhere near the enemy or failed to inflict casualties if it did. As a consequence, the big attack of the game by 44th Brigade from the southeast was a difficult affair. They successfully overran Hill 106 before the Germans reached it (as it happened, the German player in this instance had decided not to even attempt to take that hill), but the advance then went little further. The Soviets fought a grim battle of attrition in the woods west of Hill 103, but any movement to contest the hill itself was swiftly repulsed by the well set German forces. Meanwhile, the 1/25th Panzer had forced 1/29th battalion away from Hill 107 and occupied it. The Soviet battalions started to fail morale tests and after 18 turns, the Soviet player conceded the game – unsurprisingly, three Soviet battalions with ineffective artillery cover versus two German in defensible terrain had been too big an ask. The second and third tryouts were of the full version of the scenario and both were Soviet victories. Both, however, looked like possible or even probable German victories until the last few turns.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
The plans for the two games were dissimilar, although the games played similarly in the end. The Soviet plan was identical in each case – based on the actual Soviet attacks on the day. The German plan in each case was a swift advance on Yakhroma and thrust to Hill 107 by the Panzer Battalion, with the battalions of the 6th Regiment following up thereafter. In the first case, one battalion was to turn south and set up defensive positions on Hills 103 and 106, whilst the second was to act as a reserve. In the second game, one battalion was to move on Hill 106 whilst the other relieved the tanks on Hill 107 and the tanks, in turn, would then move off to Hill 103 in the south. As it happened, in both cases the Soviet assaults caused those plans to change. In neither case was an additional Kampfgruppe created (I didn’t give them that option at the time – still tweaking the set-up!). In both cases, the gepanzerte rifles and gepanzerte engineers were attached to 1/25th Panzer. In the first game, 1/25th Panzer lost a tank platoon in the assault on Yakhroma, but then successfully crossed the canal and took Hill 107. However, the 58th Tank Division intervened and by about 0930, all the German tanks had been destroyed. The attached gepanzerte rifles permanently dismounted and fought off the tank attack between the canal and Hill 107, whilst 1/29th battalion swept over the now undefended hill. As 1/6th Motorised crossed the canal and turned south, 1/25th Panzer (with no tanks) formed the best defensive shoulder it could facing north, allowing the infantry to proceed unimpeded. Within a short period, however, the Germans were becoming hemmed in near the canal bridge and the depleted 1/25th Panzer and 2/6th Motorised were finding it difficult to deploy. 1/6th Motorised successfully moved southeast into the woods to the west of Hill 103, but 2/6th was getting into a muddle
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
within 4 or 5 inches of the bridge. Eventually, 2/6th became desperate enough to charge (in company strength only – that’s all that would fit) the Soviets just to the west of the woods south of Hill 107. This was surprisingly successful and freed up space to deploy a couple of AT guns, which drew the fire of the 58th Tank Division, itself up to this point desperately overrunning the (un)gepanzerte rifles. It hadn’t helped that the 58th had turned out to be veterans. At this point, the 1/25th Panzer broke (67% losses) as did the Soviet Infantry resistance around Hill 107. 1/25th retreated to the bridge and rallied as a single company of gepanzerte engineers as a reserve. However, the first Soviet assault had been successfully repulsed (just) and 2/6th Motorised moved to occupy Hill 107. ATG fire and IG/SIG fire from across the canal did for the remaining tanks of the 58th Tank Division. At around noon, attention shifted south to Hills 106 and 103, where the 44th Brigade was closing with 1/6th Motorised. A massive preplanned bombardment on Hill 106 had achieved nothing but the destruction of half a battalion of Soviets (who arrived too early and strayed just too close to the barrage’s extremities). The remnants of that battalion were the first to engage the Germans around Hill 103 and almost instantly routed. Meanwhile, two further Soviet battalions had overrun Hill 106 and were moving alongside the canal and into the woods west of Hill 103. They were somewhat cramped – unlike the Germans who now had space (and fewer troops) to deploy effectively. After a few turns, one of the Soviet battalions retreated, leaving the last in a hand to hand contest in the woods. The German line now saw the 2/6th Motorised anchored on the canal bank and arcing over Hill 107 and into to the woods to its south, whilst its sister battalion occupied Hill 103
A KV-1 stands like a giant pillbox, fending off Panzers. On the other hand, that immensely tall turret makes it difficult to hide! MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
61
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
by three Soviet battalions. That they destroyed two of them coupled with the early sacrifice of 1/25th Panzer allowed the German player to put together what looked like a fairly solid defensive line (certainly more stable than anything prior to that point) very late in the game. A little bit of luck and some good tactics were required to see them off, but it could easily have been a German victory. So it seemed like a reasonably fair scenario. The second full scenario playtest followed a not dissimilar pattern – not least because of the repeated Soviet plan and, strangely, the 58th Tank Division turned out to be veteran again. Critically this time, however, 1/25th arrived at Hill 107 early enough to stop and achieve hull down positions. This increased their survivability a good deal and saved the Hungarian troops played their part in Barbarossa too. Photo courtesy of Warwick Kinrade. accompanying infantry from the enemy tanks’ attentions. The Germans cleverly and a line halfway through the woods to its west and then back moved assault engineers to close the gap between the canal and to the canal. There was a gap between Hill 103 and the woods that hill and the lack of supporting Soviet infantry meant that to its north. It was now that the final Soviet assault (the rest of they could use flamethrowers and Teller mines on the tanks. As 29th Brigade) came into view, with a battalion approaching that a result, the initial Soviet assault in the north did not achieve or gap directly from the east and another approaching Hill 107 threaten as much as in the first game. By 1300, the Germans had from the northeast. German casualties had been fairly heavy – taken Hill 107, been assaulted, held on and broken the Soviets – maybe 20% or 30% (worse in the 1/25th Panzer), but 1/25th although at a cost of almost all the German tanks. Consequently, Panzer had rallied and was now ready to receive orders again. Its 1/6th Motorised was able to cross the canal unmolested and remnant company of engineers in half tracks dutifully filed into with some room to deploy. It moved southeast towards Hills the gap in the lines. At this point (around 1700), the Germans 103 and 106 where, in due course, it ran into the Soviet 44th were facing the best odds they had had all game (perhaps 25 Brigade. stands to 35), the line was stabilising and they held two out of This led, however, to what turned out to be (with hindsight) three objectives. The Soviets were down to four battalions (one a mistaken commitment by the German player. Feeling the of which was very battered near Hill 103) and some remnants north to be secure, and noting the mass of 44th Brigade awaiting changes of orders. engaging 1/6th Motorised on or around Hill 103 and to its That the Germans lost over the next three game hours was west, he abandoned his plan to relieve 1/25th Panzer with due to the twice successful calling in of IL-2 strikes which 2/6th Motorised. Spotting the inviting gap between the canal eradicated 1/25th Panzer and the infantry guns supporting 1/6th and the woods to the west of Hill 103 and seeing no enemy, he Motorised, the heroic resistance of the remaining battalion of spied an opportunity for a straightforward 3-0 victory. Instead the 44th Brigade (whose SMG platoons close assaulted 1/6th of relieving 1/25th Panzer of its defensive duties, he turned Motorised repeatedly in the woods) and a nifty little outflanking his second motorized battalion south to begin an assault on manoeuvre on Hill 107 which allowed the Soviets to bring Hill 106, directing it through that inviting gap. However, just more fire to bear on the Germans occupying the hill than they because his first battalion had seen no enemy over towards the were able to return. The heroic last battalion of the 44th Brigade canal, it did not mean they weren’t there. Within a turn or two, passed two morale tests in one turn and one of the Brigade’s he found his way blocked by more troops of the 44th Brigade. battalion remnants (a few platoons only, which had previously These he engaged, but progress was slow – he certainly had been forced to retreat) successfully rallied and changed orders, enough troops available to inflict grievous damage on the Soviet allowing them to occupy Hill 103. That hill and Hill 107 Brigade, but not enough to do so quickly and to break through had become suddenly vacant when, at 2000, both remaining to Hill 106 – especially not in the wooded terrain. German battalions (all the motorised infantry – 1/25th had Nevertheless, at this point (around 1600) it was looking already gone) reached 50% casualties and catastrophically failed fairly rosy for the Germans. The few remaining tanks of 1/25th their morale tests. They both routed and all German resistance Panzer and its attached gepanzerte infantry/engineers were east of the canal ceased. The Soviets occupied all three hills on deployed in a straight line NW-SE across Hill 107 and into the the last turn and turned a likely 2-1 defeat into a 3-0 victory – triangular woods. The whole of 6th Motorised was engaged in despite casualties around the 75% mark. an uneven contest of attrition (in its favour) around Hill 103 and Definitely a grim, gritty battle, but with a real see-saw feel the woods to its west. Hill 106 was Soviet and it was out of the to it. The German position looked precarious early on, with the question to launch an assault on it (unless the Soviet battalions in initial Soviet attack retaking Hill 107 and pressing them back the woods and by the canal routed and cleared the way), but the to the bridge. The fight for the woods west of Hill 103 looked odds looked good for a 2-1 German victory. hopeless, as eight or so German platoons were initially assaulted And of course, this is just the point at which the third Soviet 62
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
assault (remainder of 29th Brigade and the Ski battalion from the north east) arrived. The German player, feeling that the somewhat battered 1/25th Panzer might not be best suited to static defensive duties, issued another change of orders (the third in the game, I believe). He now abandoned the assault in the south by peeling 1/6th Motorised away from Hill 103 and northwest towards Hill 107, where three fresh Soviet battalions were converging. Meanwhile, 2/6th Motorised extended its line east to occupy Hill 103... but it now faced 44th Brigade alone. At this point, the IL-2 should have played a critical part, but it wholly failed to inflict any casualties on German gepanzerte infantry defending the eastern edge of the triangular woods. However, a couple of turns later (around 1830), it did all come right for the Soviets when the SMGs attached to 3/29th battalion close assaulted those infantry; the Ski battalion’s mortar suppressed a critically placed German stand; the preplanned artillery battered the Germans who had taken up residence on Hill 107; the HMG and two platoons of rifles of 3/29th could fire first against 1/6th Motorised moving across their front in the open between Hill 103 and the triangular wood; and the IL-2 did arrive and shattered several platoons in that same spot! 2/6th Motorised continued to maintain its position on Hill 103 and the woods to its west, but 1/6th broke and retired to the bridge. 1/25th followed suit (especially after a Soviet 45mm ATG started making a mess of the gepanzerte infantry around Hill 107) and the Soviets advanced onto Hill 107. Both retreating German battalions rallied before the end of the game and were given orders to assault Hill 107 again – but there was insufficient time (a turn or so) to bring any pressure to bear. The result, therefore, was a 2-1 Soviet victory with 70% casualties for the victor. Again, however, had the German player retained a motorised battalion as a reserve a little longer, had the IL-2 not arrived (a more than likely proposition) and had, even,
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
a German battalion broken sooner so that it could have rallied in time to counterattack, then a German victory was very likely. Also, it might have helped had the German artillery been better. One battalion failed to respond on a couple of occasions and over the course of firing all its ammunition, it suppressed only a couple of stands and killed one. Another gritty battle and perhaps less free-flowing than the first outing. It definitely looked and felt safer for the German – there was no real Soviet threat to the bridge. Unlike in the first game, the closest the Soviets got to the bridge was around 18 inches. It seemed entirely likely that it would be a German victory and, curiously, had the plan to relieve 1/25th Panzer been carried through, then it might well have been.
MORE ACCURATE TERRAIN? Since playtesting the battle, I have had the opportunity to examine some 1:50,000 maps of the actual terrain. These have served to demonstrate how inaccurate the original was, so we have reproduced a somewhat better version here. It is by no means 100% accurate, but is closer (as best I can tell) to the ground over which the battle was fought. It turns out that there are areas of higher ground sloping up from the canal. All the hill numbers are fictitious. Some readers may wish to try the battle over this terrain. Noting that I have not played it, I can only suggest victory points awarded for control of Hill 101 (one point), Perimilovo (one point) and Hill 102 and Sameshki (one point for the two) for the Germans. The Soviets gain one point for controlling each, but may ignore the need to control Sameshki as well as Hill 102 for their single point (i.e. controlling 102 whilst the Germans control Sameshki earns the Soviets a point). I have no idea which side this version of the game would favour. Good luck with it if you try it!
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
63
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Peter Pig
Innovative Rules and quality 15mm figures
LATE WAR Germans : All Fronts
Basic packs £2.90 each (plus postage) - 8 infantry or 4 cavalry figures All in 15mm metal . Brookhurst Hobbies has the range in stock for US Customers
66. Assault Rifles – adv. 67. SMGs (NCO) - kneeling 68. Rifles Adv 69. Command in helmets 70. LW Panzerschrek troops 78. LMG’s – standing,firing 336. MG42 Tripod LW 358. Rifles- standing,firing 359. LW Panzerfausts 405. 2 Goliath teams 445. Assault rifles firing 446. Surrendering 447. Dead 448. Rifles – firing, kneeling 449. LMGs – lying, firing 450. LMGs – advancing 451. SMG (NCO) – standing 452. Command in Cap 453. Radio operators 454. LMG Ammo carriers 455. Grenadiers 456. Gun crew kneeling 457. Infantry lying 458. 81mm mortars 459. Advancing under fire
www.peterpig.co.uk
64
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
461. Flamethrowers 462. Mine team 463. 120mm mortar teams 464. Medics and casualties 465. Higher command LATE WAR British : (scrim helmets) 413. Snipers 115. PIATs 143. NCO Stens 195. Infantry Grenades 214. Inf. Firing 215. Inf. advan 482. Inf. Kneeling 483. AT Gun crew 484. Stens 485. Grenades
486. Rifles with Leather coat 487. Sten/Rifle lying 488. Rifles adv ( light kit ) 489. Bren sections adv. 490. Bren sections firing 491. Bren sections lying 492. Radio men 493. Platoon commanders 494. Company commanders 495. 2” Mortars 496. Surrendering 497. Medics 498. 3” Mortars 499. 4.2” Mortars 501. Gun crew standing 502. HMG’s 503. LW dead 504. Greatcoat advancing
US NORMANDY + 381. Para Rifle Adv 382. Para Rifle Firing 383. Para Platoon cmnd 384. Para Coy Command 385. Para SMG 386. Para BAR 387. Para bazooka 388. Para 60mm mortars 389. Para 81mm mortars 390. Para dead 391. Para carbines 392. Para 30 Cal 393. Para seated 394. Para gun crew See Range 21 for buildings and barricades etc.
36 Knightsdale Road, Weymouth, DT4 0HS, UK
07552 734 872
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Recce
We strive to give fair, unbiased and truthful reviews. Reviewers are asked to express their honest, measured opinions, which are not necessarily those of the Editor.We will never submit to intimidation of any kind, howsoever disguised, and though we do not publish critical reviews lightly, we reserve the right to do so where we believe constructive criticism is justified.
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
analyses (many in German). The author avoids a dramatic style, but still conveys the physical and emotional brutality of close combat, supported by good illustrations and clear strategic and tactical maps. The lengthy captions to the illustrations tend to repeat what is in the main text, but this is a minor drawback. All in all, a good demonstration of the impact of terrain on a battle – same foes, but three very different outcomes. Chris Jarvis
Rules reviews categories: Readthrough; Dabbled; Played; Multi-play. ROMAN SOLDIER VS GERMANIC WARRIOR: 1ST CENTURY AD Lindsay Powell, Osprey Combat Series, No 6, 2014; £11.99 As a reviewer new to the Combat series, I found this to be a compelling read. The emphasis is on what might be called ‘style of fighting’: it describes well the close combat techniques and equipment of these two foes. Three battles form the basis of the book – the Teutoburg Pass (AD 9), Idistaviso (AD 16) and the Angrivarian Wall (AD 16). Each is described in detail, and show respectively the techniques of ambush, open battle, and the assault on a defensive earthwork. There is a useful bibliography, both of ancient sources and modern
IMPETVS GUIDE 1 – THE PARTHIANS Jim Webster, Dadi & Piombo 2013, PDF £3.95 from Wargame Vault www.wargamevault.com The stated intent of this guide is twofold: to provide a simple guide to the Parthians and to offer up army lists for use with the Impetus ruleset. Did the author achieve this goal? Yes, with a few technical problems along the way. The Parthians is divided into four sections. The first section covers the history of Parthia in the western half of the ancient world. The second describes some of Parthia’s western allies. The less well documented history of Parthia in the east forms the third section. Finally, the fourth section presents a brief campaign system. In each of the first three sections, a brief history of the period is given along with an analysis of infantry and cavalry of the period and an appropriate list for Impetus. Unfortunately, this is where technical problems arise. The presentation of the histories is rather dry. This is aggravated by the lack of any paragraph breaks, which forces the reader to work
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
through a continuous wall of text. In fairness to the author, a number of PDF readers were tried and all had the same problem. The infantry and cavalry analyses are quite insightful and useful to the wargamer. As expected, there is good discussion of the nature of the Parthian army as it moved from horse archers to cataphracts. The infantry, never the main feature of this army, also receives good coverage. I would have preferred to see more time spent here than on the minutiae of Parthian politics. The lists also have some formatting issues, but of less impact on the reader. While specifically constructed for Impetus, they are generally useful as they provide ratios for each of the troop types used in the different periods covered. Wargamers using rules without a Parthian list can use this guide to create an army that has the right flavour, if not the precise organization. The allies section was informative. Not having read much about the region, the information on the Commagne was interesting, as were the descriptions of the Nehardae and the legions of Labienus, neither of which I had heard of before. In the third section, the author is clear that reliable sources for the Parthians in the east are much more difficult to find than for the west. He gives what information he can and clearly specifies when he is making conjectures or expressing his personal opinion. Although I have not been able to try it, the short campaign in the final section looks well put together. It should play out over a small number of sessions, a bonus for the time starved gamer. Impetus Guide 1 – The Parthians will be of interest primarily to Impetus players and for them it represents a good value. While I do not include myself in that category, it is a ruleset my main gaming partner and I have been meaning to try. Thanks to this supplement, I suspect I will be playing Parthians. Patrick Gilliland
WILDERNESS AND SPOTSYLVANIA 1864: GRANT VERSUS LEE IN THE EAST Andy Nunez, Osprey Campaign, No 267, 2014; £14.99 The advent of Ulysses S Grant as Union C-in-C saw a new determination to use superior forces in a relentless drive to crush the Confederacy. This campaign was the start of the new offensive – MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
65
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
JUSTICE 4.1 (TSARINA SECTOR)
tactically, a learning curve for Grant in his first confrontation with Lee, but strategically the beginning of the end. This was an interesting campaign, with a scrambling series of meeting engagements plus assaults, and with a high degree of uncertainty over your opponent’s dispositions and numbers. In my experience of reviewing around 120 titles by this publisher, a duff Osprey is an extremely rare event, but this title is frankly way below standard. There are orders of battle down to regimental level – but no indication whatever of unit strengths (even at corps level). There isn’t even a summary of casualties. There are too few maps; many places mentioned in the text are not shown on the maps; and the maps are generally placed too far from the text to which they refer. I hesitate to criticise an author’s writing style, but the many dramatic statements like ‘a wall of musket fire’ and ‘even the grass was stripped bare by the unceasing gunfire’ are just irritating after a while. A reference to one Union attack on May 10th describes it as costing 5,000 Union dead, whereas total casualties on that day were 4,100 dead and wounded across the whole Union army, according to the Civil War Dictionary. The author is apparently editor of Against the Odds wargaming magazine, for which he has won an award in four successive years for ‘Best magazine’. Bearing in mind that this book is virtually useless for a wargame re-enactment, one wonders who on earth gave the award. Osprey Publishing are a fantastic resource for the wargamer and historian alike, but I hope we hear no more from this particular author. Obviously – not recommended. Chris Jarvis 66
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Jim Webster, £7.99 paperback, 75p Kindle I’ve seen Jim’s games at shows over the years and, based on that, know him to be an ‘out of the box’ thinker. I didn’t realise he’d written some fantasy titles but this one is, apparently, his first SF venture. Available from the likes of Amazon both on paper and as a download, I’m glad to have it on paper as at least it meant I could read it in the bath! I’m a bit of a slow reader at the best of times, so I was glad that the 150 or so pages were something I could lug around and get damp (I try not to do that with my Kindle). Oh, but what about the story, you ask? Space cop Haldar Drom teams up with a journalist and an insurance assessor to investigate murder and – as it turns out – greater intrigue on a backward area of planet Tsarina, in a backwater sector of the galaxy. There’s piracy, genetic engineering hokeypokey, smuggling, marine attacks, a fashion parade raided by bandits, the wonders of largely yak-based diet, huge space stations and assassinations… A whole lot crammed into a slim novel. Did I like it? Yes: a good yarn with sensible, gritty but still dry (I have to say very British) humour sprinkled throughout. A good plot – effectively an SF who-dunnit (with a ‘and why did they do it’ tacked on for good measure) – without unnecessary leaping about. However, it started off with a ‘cast list’ on one of the opening pages which immediately put me off. Many years ago,
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
I stopped reading books with huge casts with ‘leap about’ stories after busting my brain on the likes of Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (one of what I would consider the worst offenders of a vast dramatis personae that needs listing and the first twenty chapters that open twenty different threads which ultimately weave into one canvas): I hate them. So, the cast list in Justice 4.1 initially put me off, but it needn’t have done: the story is quite linear – not completely, but enough, and the cast list is not huge, but is necessary as, to be honest, I found some of the characters a little ‘samey’ and I had to keep reminding myself who was who. I found the story reads like a good role-playing scenario: and that’s not a criticism (not from me, at any rate). Sure, I could pick up on a couple of things: I find brackets used in dialogue to be jarring. I thought the cover was a little dull (not that you’ll care f you’re reading it as an ebook) and, as I said, I found the characters all slid into each other a little but – if that’s my only criticism (and it is) I think that’s pretty good going. If you like your SF grimdark and armoured flares for the emperor, this won’t be for you. If you liked the 1980s TV series Star Cops (as I did) then buy this book: it’ll probably appeal greatly. John Treadaway
BAYONNE AND TOULOUSE 1813-14: WELLINGTON INVADES FRANCE Nick Lipscombe, Osprey Campaign Series, No 266, 2014; £14.99 This is a useful operational-level account of the key actions from July 1813 to the armistice in April 1814, including a good account of the bridging of the River Adour – in itself a challenging wargame. The orders of battle and strengths are a little skimpy below divisional level, or (on the French side) vague in terms of numbers of battalions. The necessity of covering nine major actions means that each receives too little detail to refight a specific battle – but then this is a campaign book, not a description of an individual battle. I confess that I find the two-page ‘three-dimensional birds-eye views’ of the battles to be somewhat irritating in the Campaign series: it is impossible to gauge the topography (especially hills) accurately, and the campaign maps are far more useful. However, the author’s photographs give an excellent feel for ground. Overall, this title may not add much
Editorial
News/Events
Column
to your sum of knowledge if you possess the relevant volumes of Oman or even Weller, but it is a good portrayal of an interesting campaign. Chris Jarvis
HORDES OF THE THINGS Phil Barker, Richard Bodley Scott and Sue Laflin-Barker, Wargames Research Group, 86pp A4 + covers, £14.99 Readthrough Now, I’m not going to claim to be an expert on HOTT, nor on the mightily popular DBA ruleset on which HOTT is based, but having received this updated – and, one might almost say, ‘glamourised’ version of the ruleset, with it’s shiny black cover, I’m now more than tempted to give it a go. Until now, my primary contact with HOTT has been, over the years, a result of bumping into the Southend Wargames Club at various shows, where they have frequently staged all-day HOTT demo and participation games, alternating with their equally frequent DBA bonanzas. Around a relatively small terrain set-up – never more than about three feet square, to my recollection – they have displayed the most bizarre collection of forces on parade that you can imagine. I recall with particular affection what appeared to be an entire air force consisting of rather plump gentlemen astride magic carpets. Well, for those who have no idea what on earth I’m talking about, you simply need to be made aware that doyen of the hobby, Phil Barker, has not only maintained a love of ancient warfare throughout his long life (he is now 84 or thereabouts, I believe), but also an enthusiasm for fantasy. Never forget that he played the role of Conan in Tony Bath’s famous Hyborian campaign that
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
ran for many years and featured in the pages of Battle for Wargamers. So, what’s in this edition, encouraging you to part with your fifteen quid or thereabouts? It opens with the standard fare, including a glossary of specific terms used in the rules, an overview of the play sequence and a page on design philosophy. The latter is interesting, because it makes it perfectly clear that the writers aim to reflect existing works of fiction and mythology, rather than invent stuff of their own: “We aim at the maximum possible consistency with such works and folk lore, and tend to lack sympathy for game designers who compensate for lack of reading by wholesale invention, turn the friendly and helpful solitary household brownie into a pack of midget fiends, drag broggarts from under their bridges, allow unicorns to be ridden by the less than virginal, and make up strange monsters and machines wholesale.” So there! Next we have a description of the playing equipment required, the representational scales employed (elements totalling up to 24 army points), troop definitions (terms such as GODS, HEROES, BEHEMOTHS, BLADES, LURKERS and so on), then basing conventions, element costs, terrain effects and a discussion of strongholds before plunging into the rules themselves. The section entitled “Fighting the Battle” describes deployment, ‘PIPs’ and sequence of play. ‘PIPs’, in case you still haven’t encountered them, are simply initiative points generated by the roll of a die – quite why that isn’t included in the definitions, I can’t imagine: the knowledge is assumed. Carrying out actions with your troops uses varying numbers of PIPs according to their type. In HOTT, the addition of exotic types such as gods, dragons and goodness knows what obviously adds to the tactical choices to be made and therefore the rate at which PIPs are used up. Deployment, too, becomes an interesting exercise once you have to take lurkers, hordes and magicians into account. Movement comes next, adding gods, dragons, flyers, aerial heros and airboats to the selection of lesser units confined to moving on foot and riding beasts, and rounded off with types that move through water, marsh and so on. This is followed by magical attacks, distant shooting and close combat which, due to the relative complexity of rules encompassing a wide range of effects both real and imagined, are quite comprehensive. Ensorcellment,
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
recoiling, fleeing, pursuit, lost elements and winning and losing a battle round off the standard rules. Considering the subject matter covered, a ruleset of not much more than a dozen A4 pages represents admirable economy! The next ten pages are filled with useful and simple diagrams explaining most of the major tenets of the rules, before we move on to mass battles (48 army points or more) and a nice section on campaigns. But the second half of the book is filled with army lists, and it’s here that you can see the authors’ ‘scholarship’. The selection of forces described is simply astounding! The lists are helpfully divided into sections, representing ‘Generic armies’ (types well-known in standard fantasy gaming – think Orcs, Undead, Ratmen, Barbarian etc), ‘Myths, Legends and Epics’ (Homeric, Arthurian, Norse and so on), ‘Fantasy Writers’ (Robert E Howard’s Hyboria, Fletcher Pratt’s Well of the Unicorn, Bram Stoker’s Dracula Terry Pratchett’s Discworkld and many more – surely Game of Thrones should feature too?), ‘Semi-Historical’ (fictional equivalents of historical armies such as Atlantis, Da Vinci Italian, Münchhausen 18th century, Victorian Science Fiction and more) and, finally, ‘Just Plain Silly’ (alien invasion, Christmas Wars, Garden Wars... Yes, there’s no gnome business like show business). The book rounds off with some extra information and a very helpful rules index – if only more rulesets did this. Now I’ll go away and play some games so I can provide a much more in-depth review. Where can you buy magic carpets? Henry Hyde
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
67
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Cavalier & Hammerhead A tale of two shows
John Treadaway went to these two early season shows with his camera and reports back with a comparison of these two popular events.
CAVALIER This is a show I have attended off and on for the last twenty years or so and I’ve seen it move venues from a school hall to its current location. As a venue, it leaves a little to be desired, being quite poorly lit, but it has a fair degree of space, with a main sports centre hall and several adjoining smaller rooms. Over thirty traders and seventeen games, both party and demo, make for what should be quite a busy show but after lunch, the show suddenly fell very flat as people streamed out of the door, having made their purchases, I suspect, and headed for… Well, anywhere else, I guess. I wouldn’t like to say what the participation to demonstration ratio was, but I’d be surprised if it was 50/50. I would guess there were slightly more of the latter than the former. There were some pretty demos – the Maidstone Wargames Society’s “Somewhere in Belgium 1914” featured some very impressive buildings and 28mm skirmishing Germans and Belgians, for example. However, there’s no reason why party games can’t look good too and the Staines Wargamers’ “Schweinfurt 1943” with B17s in 1/144 was a good example of that. But, in the end, my estimation is that perhaps seventeen games, of which maybe seven or eight at most were intended to be participation games, isn’t enough to keep people hanging around the show?
68
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Above: “Somewhere in Belgium” by Maidstone. Below Left: Staines Wargamers “Schweinfurt 1943”. Below Right: The Belgian troops defend a makeshift barrier. All photos by the author unless indicated otherwise
HAMMERHEAD This was a rather different animal. The new venue is small, certainly rather smaller than its previous home at Kelham Hall. The problem here is that I have never really liked Kelham Hall. Everyone tells me it’s great and the architecture is very pretty, but I’m not there for the venue, I’m there for the gaming (and I’ve attended many shows there over the years). I find the new venue, with its carpeted floors and open, well-lit space, to be superior to both Kelham Hall and – more importantly in the context of this article – Cavalier’s Angel Centre. The venue itself could be the subject of a whole article on what I like or don’t like about show venues (Colours is very
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
A column of home 3D printed 1/144th scale vehicles by KB Club members.
Prize winning game “Hostilities at Haribo” by the Leicester Phat Cats.
nice, Salute Excel is a huge shed, Salute Olympia was good but too dark, SELWG smells of chlorine etc etc) but, as I said, that’s not what this article is about. I’ll simply say that the venue was good, but in my opinion needs to be bigger for the show to realise its full potential. Organised by Kallistra and a local club (The Forest Outlaws), the event had only eighteen traders, but had twenty five games: a very different ratio to Cavalier and I’m not picking on them. The Tonbridge show is pretty similar, proportionally, to Salute and many other shows. Another thing I found interesting was that, unlike the last Hammerhead I went to a couple of years back – when it was still transitioning from Fantasy Partizan – this show’s games were from all periods, both historical and non-historical, but they had one simple proviso: they all had to be participation games! There were many good ones featured and some I didn’t really understand (Peterborough Wargames’ “Battle for the Patio” with full-sized garden gnomes certainly attracted the youngsters), but there were also some real bits of eye candy. The Leicester Phat Cats “Hostilities at Haribo” was a fine example of 20mm modern warfare and justly won a prize (I like any game that manages a 1/72 TU22 on the table as well as tanks!) and the overall winner – Bingham and District’s “Shaun of the Dead” – was a splendid thing to behold, but there were many other pretty games. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that there wasn’t a clunker amongst them. Of the many, many innovative efforts – including Dragon boat Racing from Doncaster WC and a reworking of the
Memoir ’44 board game using (not surprisingly) the Kallistra hexon system – was a Cold War Germans v Russians game by the KB club that’s worth a special mention. It featured models and buildings entirely produced by the gamers themselves. The buildings were cardboard and, to be honest, rather basic, but the game was surrounded by a fake horizon of printouts which was an unusual approach. However, the interesting part for me was that pretty much all of the (many) vehicles in 1/144th scale were printed on a home 3D printer. It astonishes me to report that the result was pretty good. A £1,500 piece of kit has resulted in, they told me, around the same value’s worth of printed vehicles and – when painted – I’d have been very hard pressed to tell that they weren’t resin or white metal. The future may be upon us sooner than we thought...
Andrew Hubback and Kevin Dallimore slug it out in Clyde City. The Prize winning “Hammer’s Slammers” game by the author’s club The Warlords.
Zombie Apocalypse: the prize winning game “Shaun of the Dead” by the Bingham & District Club
WHO’S TOP DOG? Which of the shows did I prefer? Well, there was more to buy at Cavalier but – frankly – a more interesting (to me personally) selection of traders at Hammerhead. There were better games at the latter, I thought, certainly more good ones and – if I hadn’t been running a Slammers game all day long – I’d have loved to have played in one or two of them. Tonbridge is forty minutes from my house and Newark is three hours, but that’s just laziness on my part! After that, it’s down to the venue, I guess – but that just makes me a hypocrite as I said earlier that I didn’t care about that. Overall I’d pick Hammerhead but, being greedy, I want both of them.
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
69
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Salute 2014 snapshot
Armed and dangerous: the ever-popular MWBG girls (from l to r Sammi Welcher, Juliet Arthur and Katie Ayres) pose with WWII re-enactors from the Woolwich Firepower Royal Artillery museum. The lads couldn’t believe their luck when we stormed their encampment in the middle of the show! Our sincere thanks to them.
15mm WWII action by Jersey Privateers, one of several WWII games this year.
70
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
A lovely looking 28mm Crusade siege using Sage: The Crescent & the Cross.
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
NextIssue_MW373_Eighth_Layout 1 03/04/2014 11:02 Page 1
NEXT ISSUE
ISSUE 374 JUNE ON SALE FRIDAY 23RD MAY
www.atlanticpublishers.com MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
71
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
WIN A SIGNED COPY OF MASTERS IN MINIATURE We have two copies of Alan and Michael Perry’s beautiful Masters in Miniature, signed by the authors, to give away to our lucky winners. To be in with a chance of winning a copy, just answer the following questions correctly:
1. Name the other Nottingham-based company where Alan and Michael used to work as sculptors besides GW. 2. In which year was Perry Miniatures launched? 3. How did Michael lose his right arm? 4. On which range of miniatures to accompany a famous movie trilogy did Alan and Michael work as sculptors? 5. Which range of miniatures did Alan rethink completely after being contacted by a customer? Answers (in English only) can be sent by post with your name and postal address clearly marked, to: Competition, Miniature Wargames, 17 Granville Road, Hove BN3 1TG, East Sussex, UK or by email to
[email protected] BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS. CLOSING DATE TUESDAY 6th MAY 2014.
Our lucky winner of the Encyclopedia of Warfare competition in issue 372 of Miniature Wargames with Battlegames is Joakim Ström in Sweden. An honourable mention in dispatches for the runners up, Eddie Rainford, Simon Skinner, Bryan Davies and David Logan. The answers were: 1) The book covers from Hayk Nahapet defeating Nimrod in 2492BC up to the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War in 2013; 2) the Dictionary of Wars was written by George C Kohn; 3) in 2011, Casemate took over Oxbow Books; 4) the book by Phillip Thomas Tucker is Barksdale’s Charge; 5) the company famous for creating the range of 1866 figures, whose books are distributed by Casemate is Helion & Company. (That seemed to catch a lot of you out as the range is now owned by North Star.) EDITOR’S NOTE TO WINNERS: when you have been sent a prize, a short note or email acknowledging safe arrival would be appreciated.
DOWNLOAD MINIATURE WARGAMES TO YOUR SMART DEVICES
GO DIGITAL!
ExactEditions_MW373_Half_Layout 1 07/04/2014 14:23 Page 1
72
Issue 373 Now Available!
SAVE £17.25
COMPARED TO PAPER SUBSCRIPTIONS
Apple iOS
VIEW A SAMPLE ONLINE AT:
www.exacteditions.com/miniaturewargames
MINIATURE WARGAMES is available to read digitally on your computer and on your Apple and Android devices. Priced at just £29.50 for a One Year subscription, or £8.00 for a Three Month recurring subscription, it saves you £17.25 on a paper subscription! This also includes immediate access to several years of back issues, available right at your fingertips. A digital subscription bought from the Exact Editions website includes access to both Exactly for Apple and Android. Simply log in to the apps using your Exact Editions log in details for instant access to your digital subscription. NB. Subscriptions bought through the GardenRail or Miniature Wargames iOS Newsstand apps are App only and do not include access to the Exact Editions website. To access both please buy a digital subscription from the website. You will then be able access the app simply by entering your Shared Access Code when prompted to do so by the app. Your code is found under the ‘Preferences’ part of your account. NEW! PDF VERSION COMING – CHECK THE ATLANTIC WEBSITE FOR DETAILS WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
AVAILABLE NOW! Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
from the perry twins
ORDER YOUR COPY NOW! Illustrated with photographs taken by the Perry twins themselves, displaying armies from many historical eras in mouthwatering dioramas and vignettes, created by Alan and Michael Perry with help from their wargaming friends. The book opens with a foreword by Rick Priestley and concludes with a brief biography of the twins by Henry Hyde. The First Crusade 1096-1099 • Agincourt to Orleans 1415-1429 • The Wars of the Roses 1455-1487 and European Armies 1450-1500 • Samurai Armies 1550-1615 and Choson Korean Army 1592-1598 The English Civil Wars 1642-1651 and the Border Reivers of the 1580s • The American War of Independence 1775-1783 • Napoleonic Armies 1809-1814 • Napoleonic Armies 1815 • The First Carlist War 1833-1840 The American Civil War 1861-1865 • The Mahdist Uprising in the Sudan 1881-1885 • World War II 1939-1945
A book destined to be treasured by wargamers, modellers and military enthusiasts.
ORDERING DETAILS
Masters in Miniature £29.50 + p&p (UK £2.95; Europe £5.90; RoW £7.38) Make cheques payable to Atlantic Publishers and send to Masters in Miniature, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH Tel: 01778 392032 Email:
[email protected] Or order online at https://subscribeme.to/miniaturewargames/products MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
73
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal After an exceptional month, we have surged towards our current target of £20,000 and our running total now stands at £14,840.92 plus Gift Aid, a massive jump of £1,170 since last month! The Editor brings you up to date. A TRIUMPHANT TRIBUTE
T
he quite astonishing jump in our running total is due primarily to two events. Firstly, as you can read on pages 38-43 of this issue, there was the Donald Featherstone Tribute weekend where we managed to raise a mighty £730. This came from three sources: all the participants paid £25 as part of their ticket price for the event; Ron Miles insisted on donating a cheque for £25 of his own; and finally, we raised an amazing £380 by auctioning a selection of books from Don Featherstone’s personal collection, donated by his daughter Jane Winmill, who has also generously donated £25 to the fund herself. Not only did all these volumes have a connection with Don – and many were signed by him – but quite a few had been signed by the authors, with dedications by the authors to Don. One of the books (Firepower by Maj. Gen. B P Hughes) was not only signed by the Major General – a rare enough find – but also contained an extraordinary discovery: some typewritten sheets attached to a handwritten letter, which turned out to be an article written for Don’s Wargamer’s Newsletter, together with a covering note, from the hand of none other than the late Paddy Griffith!
CAVALIER GENEROSITY FROM TWWS As well as the DF event, another donation was made to the cause just after MWBG 372 went to press: the Tonbridge Wells Wargames Society added a magnificent £400 to our total, thanks to contributions collected at the door of their popular Cavalier show in Tonbridge, Kent on 23rd February. Once again, the TWWS have done a magnificent job. Sadly, I couldn’t get to the show this year because of illness, but I want to extend my heartiest thanks and congratulations to the club.
OTHER DONATIONS £20 has come through to the JustGiving website from three donors thanks to Malcolm Johnston of the Grimsby club and those lovely flags of his. And finally, a very nice chap called Barry Sweeney thrust a couple of £10 notes into my hand at Salute for me to donate to the cause on his behalf. Thanks Barry! 74
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
COMBAT STRESS 24-HOUR HELPLINE The Combat Stress 24-hour Helpline is for the military community and their families who are seeking help and advice for mental health issues. The Helpline number is:
0800 138 1619
Please pass this number on to anyone who you feel might benefit – for example, your local General Practitioner who may have ex-services patients suffering from PTSD. You can also now text 07537 404719.
HOW TO DONATE Donate online at www.justgiving.com/battlegames/ This method is quick, easy, totally secure and the most efficient way to raise funds: Combat Stress gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation. You can also send a cheque made payable to Combat Stress to the following address: The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal 17 Granville Road, Hove BN3 1TG East Sussex, UK Your support is greatly appreciated. Together, we really are making a difference.
Editorial News/Events Column 1 03/04/2014 Feature 11:12 Page Profile1 MagsAndWebsite_MW373_Half_Layout
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Magazines...
Website...
w w w. a t l a n t i c p u b l i s h e r s . c o m MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
75
Editorial
76
News/Events
Column
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
77
News/Events
Column
Feature
CLASSIFIED
Editorial
FOR SALE 25mm painted Napoleonic figures – 120 Infantry, 48 Cavalry, 3 guns + crews. Mainly French, few Saxon. Email:
[email protected] Polly Oliver AWI – well painted, plus books and other odds and ends. Phone: Mark 07979612915 Email:
[email protected] Waterline Ship Models and Kits – 1/1200 and 1/1250. Warships and Merchant. For more information or a list – Phone: Dave 02392 352383 Email:
[email protected]
Profile
Scenario
Painting
WANTED 1950-70s – plastic toy soldiers,Vikings, knights, cavaliers, cowboys, wagons, forts and buildings wanted. Farm. Plastic and lead garden. Timpo trains. Toy soldiers catalogues, adverts. Phone: 01455 286510 Turn Your Lead to Gold – have you got piles of figures that you are never going to use?
LTD
Figures wanted for cash, part ex or New for Old
Tel: 01332 559025 (visitors by appointment only) 99 Birchover Way, Allestree, Derby, DE22 2QH. UK
[email protected]
www.hindsfiguresltd.com
This space
could be selling
for you! Contact:
Alex Robinson Tel: 0845 226 0477 Fax: 0845 226 0377
[email protected]
78
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Advertising
Trade Advertisers: 20p per word (minimum 20 words; phone numbers, email and web addresses count as two words). Box No. £5.00. Adverts must be paid for in advance of publication. Booking Deadline: JULY Issue 375 16th May 2014 (Please email your text to:
[email protected])
I buy collections of painted or unpainted figures, any make or scale including Games Workshop and historical figures. Also Board Games, RPGs, model kits, books and terrain. I will buy your entire collection (not just the good bits), pay in cash and collect the items from your door. No distance is too far. Phone: Rob Palmier 07914 609709 Email:
[email protected] Address: 23 Clanfield Avenue, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV11 2QU
PAINTING SERVICES Elite Company – figure painting. I am a long established painter, 5mm to 40mm. Collectors and basic standards available. For 28mm sample send £4 – Address: Applewood Cottage, 73 Enfield Road, Hunt End, Redditch, Worcs B97 5NE Email:
[email protected] J.A.D. Designs – high quality painting and basing services for the wargamer and collector. Phone: 01283 521247 Website: www.quarks-bar.co.uk The Loaded Brush – figure painting service. Sci-Fi, fantasy and historical periods in all scales, finished to your specified standard. We supply new miniatures, or select from our regularly bought and sold used miniatures. For more information or a quotation – Email:
[email protected] Phone: 07909 556644 Address: Enterprise House, Houghton-Le-Spring DH4 4JW
INFORMATION Craonne Wargame Sunday 22nd June 2014 – Commands appointments are now available Email:
[email protected] or Phone: 01428 725193; more information at www.napoleon200.org
Vorhut – figure painting. Historical, fantasy and science fiction wargame figure painting and model making. 6mm to 30mm scales. Email:
[email protected] Phone: +61 (0)8 99642237 Website: www.vorhut.com.au Address: Geraldton, Western Australia
CLUB NEWS West Norfolk Wargamers – See us on Facebook; Historical Wargamer seeks opponents near Downham Market, Marham, Littleport areas. Phone: 07909 020522
Warrior F I G U RES
Reviews
Private Advertisers: FREE (maximum 20 words; phone numbers, email and web addresses count as two words). Up to three insertions PER YEAR only.
Books wanted – Osprey MAA, Elite, Warrior, Vanguard, Campaigns, Uniform books etc. Must be tidy. Cash paid. Phone: 07855358229 Email:
[email protected]
Geo hex for sale – 5 large storage boxes of Geo-hex terrain for sale, buyer to collect. Consider offers. Email:
[email protected]
Modelling
= = = MAGNETIC DISPLAYS = = =
MINIATURES
Coritani
14 Tiverton Avenue, Glasgow G32 9NX. Tel/fax 0141 778 3426
Mail order only
Over the Wire Games
est.1987
England Invaded, basic skirmish wargame... £12.00
www.magneticdisplays.co.uk
See website for full range of Over the Wire Games.
Contact: Trevor Holland
[email protected]
Dragon Fantasy Miniatures from £1.00 each
All figures made of top quality metal. Prompt delivery wherever possible. We take all debit and credit cards in payment, Plus cheques, postal orders and Pay-Pal.
6 Lumley Cres, Skegness PE25 2TL
Tel: 01754 761383
www.warriorminiatures.com
OPENING TIMES Mon 10-6. Tues 9-6. Wed 9-6. Thurs 9-6. Fri 9-6. Sat 9-5.30. Sun 10.30-2 Closed last Sunday in month
227 Droylsden Road, Audenshaw, Manchester, MR34 5RT Tel/Fax: 0161-370 3235 (DEPT. MW) – Email:
[email protected]
STRELETS 1:72 SCALE STR116 Roman Transport Set 1 STRM094 Napoleonic British Line Infantry in Overcoats STRM095 WW11 Polish Peoples Army STRM096 WW11 Finnish Army
£8.99 £5.25 £5.25 £5.25
ARMOURFAST 1:72 SCALE ARM99030 Valentine MK 11
£7.99
AIRFIX AF75015 AF75016 AF75017 AF75018 AF03311 AF06382 AF06383
1:72 Polish Bank - Resin 1:72 Czech Restaurant - Resin 1:72 European City Steps - Resin 1:72 European City Fountain - Resin 1:72 1WW11 RAF Vehicle Set 1:32 Bamboo House 1:32 Frontier Checkpoint
CAESER MINIATURES 1:72 Scale CMHB06 WW11 German Army Combat Team 1 CMHB07 WW11 German Army Combat Team 2 CMHB08 WW11 German Sturmpioneer Team CMHB09 WW11 German Army In Stalingrad CMHB11 Modern US Soldiers In Action
ITALERI 1:72 SCALE IT7505 Pzkpfw V1 Tiger 1 Fast Assembly IT7071 Nebelwerfer With Crew
£9.50 £13.99
MASTERBOX 1:72 SCALE MAS72001 Mk.1 Male Br. Tank Somme Battle 1916 £12.99 MAS72002 Mk.1 Female Br. Tank Somme Battle 1916 £12.99 PERRY MINIATURES ACW90 28mm American Civil War Artillery 1861-65 £20.99
£29.99 £14.99 £19.99 £19.99 £10.99 £19.99 £19.99
MARS FIGURES 1:72 SCALE MAR72066 Lithuanian-Russian Heavy Inf. 1st Half XV MAR72071 Barbarian Pirates MAR72077 Polish Field Artillery XV11 Century MAR72078 TYW French Dismounted Dragoons
£7.99 £7.99 £7.99 £7.99
£6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99
PEGASUS 1:72 SCALE PG7224 WW11 German Fallshirmjager PG7267 Russian 'War Against Fashism' PG7271 WW11 Russian Infantry In Greatcoats PG7272 WW11 Russian Infantry In Winter Dress Set 2 PG7273 WW11 Russian Mortar Teams In Greatcoats
£6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99
PG7274 PG7627 PG7661 PG7663 PG7664
WW11 Rus. Support Weapons Teams Greatcoats £6.99 German Tiger 11 Heavy Tank £8.99 T34/76 £8.99 SU85/100 £8.99 SU-122 £8.99
PEGASUS 1:32 SCALE PG3204 WW11 German Fallshirmjager
£10.99
PLASTIC SOLDIER COMPANY 1:72 SCALE WW2020007 US Infantry Heavy Weapons £12.99 WW2G20004 Br. 6pdr Anti Tank Gun & Loyd Carrier TOW £13.99 ZVESDA 1:72 SCALE Z5003 Ballistic Missle Launcher 'Topal' £28.99 Z7412 Mod. Soviet AA Missile Launcher 'IGLA' with Crew £2.99 Z7416 Mod. US SAM FIM 92 Missile Launcher with Crew £2.99 REDBOX 1:72 SCALE RB72048 Kamikaze RB72052 Japanese Airman
£5.99 £5.99
A CALL TO ARMS 1:72 SCALE PRO67 British Infantry 1970's
£5.99
PRICES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRESS – Visit our brand new Website: www.fandsscalemodels.co.uk
PLEASE NOTE NEW POSTAGE RATES AS FOLLOWS:
UK: £1.00-£60.00 (+£4.50) – £60.00 and over (+£5.99) EUROPE: 20% of Order (Minimum £4.50) – WORLD: 30% of Order (Minimum £5.99)
Please send 65p Stamped Addressed Envelope for Mail Order List (Please state interest)
Editorial
News/Events
Column
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
Enter a World of Bravery & Valour
Book 1
The Joust and Mounted Melee Two complete games in one book
Book 2
The Foot Melee and Archery Competition With crowd events and intrigue plots that bring both books together as one complete tourne’
Available from WWW.CROSSEDLANCES.COM Also available from our supporting partners: WWW.CURTEYSMINIATURES.CO.UK, WWW.SALLY4th.CO.UK and many other stockists of Wargames rule sets All trade enquiries to
[email protected].
MINIATURE WA R GA M E S
79
Editorial
80
News/Events
Column
WWW.ATLANTICPUBLISHERS.COM
Feature
Profile
Scenario
Painting
Modelling
Reviews
Advertising
