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Introduction A Festive greeting from Lard Island. Grab a mince pie and feel the love... Cocking Up Through the Mud and the Blood We present a merger between Chain of Command and Through the Mud and the Blood. Great War gaming just got even more exciting.
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Kaiserschlacht 1918 Amid a storm of steel, we present a Great War “Pint‐ Sized” campaign for Through the Mud and the Blood or the Chain of Command Great War adaptation. Can you win for the Kaiser? Sturm Auf!
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Fondler’s Rebels In the Year of Our Lord 1976, Richard Fondler takes on the United Irishmen and their French friends in a battle to save Ireland for the Crown! 4D6 Shades of Green The Dux Peterboroughiarum himself, Mike Whitaker, presents more terrain ideas for the Dux The Raiders.
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29, Let’s Go Large! We convert our Normandy Pint‐Sized campaign for use with I Ain’t Been Shot Mum and company sized actions. Let’s roll!
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Catch the Pidgeon! An Eastern Front scenario for Bag the Hun from Winchester based Ace, Jim Jackaman. Tally Ho Comrade! The Irish Question Pay attention at the back! A nautical Kiss Me Hardy scenario to partner with Fondler’s Rebels. Mr Baines, set course for Bantry Bay. I’m for the Oysters! The Roundwood Report Star of stage, screen and his own vivid imagination, Sidney La Roundwood, chats to Big Rich about maps, and looks into the future with his crystal balls. Fighting Season Respected author, Leigh Neville of Sydney, introduces us to Fighting Season, our forthcoming modern counter‐ insurgency rules for Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. As we go to press Leigh will be walking down the aisle and committing himself into perpetual marital bondage. Another good man down... Building the Deutsche Reichsbahn Star of the blogosphere and beyond, Pat “Sliver Whistle” Smith, shows us how to build railways for wargaming. Toot toot!
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Last Train to Fischhausen April 1945, a scenario for Chain of Command on the Eastern Front. Can you keep the trains running on time?
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Battle of Britan – Over the Mediterranean Jon Yuengling of Pennsylvania steps into an alternative reality with this “what if” history of 1940 for Bag the Hun.
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Of Mines and Men Da Nang is DAMN HOT in this scenario for Charlie Don’t Surf from the pen of Abingdon’s finest, Ross Bowrage. Are you a mine or a man?
Bloody November Alfredo Vitaller and Annibal Invictus of Madrid play a home fixture with this Pint‐Sized campaign for Madrid in 1936 using Chain of Command España. To Parsaran, or not to Parsaran, that is the question! The Battle of Mahiwa Charles Eckart of Denver takes us to Africa and the exploits of von Lettow‐Vorbeck, with this Great War scenario for If the Lord Spares Us. Heia Safari! To the Bitter End April 1945 and the Kings Own Scottish Borderers are still meeting resistance in the heart of the Reich. This scenario for I Ain’t Been Shot Mum recreates a company sized action on the Elbe River.
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Boots & Saddles Myron Shipp of South Australia mounts up to present some ideas for matching US Cavalry and Plains Indians with Sharp Practice. Additional material from Essex’s own diamond geezer, Simon Walker. Tweetface with the Lardies Providing addicts with a daily dose of Lard through the limitless joys of social media, ahem. We provide a guide for the cool kids in 2014. Kicking innnit!
On top of that we have Ben’s much anticipated Terror Mundi, a Dux adaptation for Normans in Sicily in the 11th century which is looking splendid. That will be equally rapidly followed by more pint‐sized campaigns from myself, Nick and new team member Monty who joined us in 2014. Truly, the cup of Lard runneth o’er! My thanks to all of the Lard Ambassadors who flew the Lardy flag, literally in many cases, at wargames shows around the globe. Their role in increasing our profile around the shows has been truly amazing to watch, from Australia to the Arctic Circle (well, Sweden) Lardy banners have been spotted in show reports on wargaming web sites everywhere. We’re always on the lookout for more Ambassadors, so if you fancy doing your bit for the cause then drop us an email and we can tell you what it involves. Finally, let us raise a glass of Christmas cheer to the Lard community as a whole. Once again, on the Forum and the Yahoo group, we have seen the fantastic spirit of providing help, advice and assistance for fellow gamers across the world in a friendly and positive environment. To you all, good health and best wishes for 2015! Rich and Nick Lard Island December 2014
A large slice of festive greetings to the 2014 Christmas Special. Before we go any further I am very glad to say that it is another bumper edition; although, as I type, this that does seem somewhat superfluous: it’s always a bumper edition! Once again we have attempted to stick to the original principles of what our Specials are about; namely providing supporting material for our rule sets. I had a complaint from one reader after the Summer Special was released that there was too much material for one rule set, Chain of Command. Well, the reason for that is that with any new rule sets there is little support material available. It takes time for a gradual build up of support material to emerge, in the way that Robert’s supplements for I Ain’t Been Shot Mum now provide us with a huge library of off the shelf gaming. The idea now, and always was, that the Specials allow us to provide at least a small selection of scenarios and ideas for the newer rule sets fairly rapidly. That said, we have always attempted to provide some balance, and that’s why of the 139 pages in the Summer Special, 91 were devoted to rules other than Chain of Command. Christmas is always an opportunity to cast an eye back over the past year and mull on what has been. We have certainly had fun on Lard Island and the success of Chain of Command has allowed us to take a bit of a pause for breath before we launch ourselves into what promises to be the busiest year ever for Lard. We have a lot of modern material for Chain of Command in the pipeline, be that the imminent Fighting Season for ultra‐modern warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, a more Euro‐centric set for NATO/WarPac fun in the Cold War or the truly spectacular Rhodesian War rules being worked on by Rolf in Australia and Jim in Spain.
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Those familiar with a broad range of TooFatLardies rules will be aware that the DNA of the “family” is something of a tangled web, but with several distinct branches emerging over the years. The founding family was I Ain’t Been Shot Mum with its direct descendant including Troops, Weapons & Tactics and Charlie Don’t Surf. The second branch was begun with Sharp Practice and continued with Through the Mud & the Blood, Dux Britanniarum and, most recently Chain of Command; four very different rule sets, but all sharing some striking family resemblance. Chain of Command began its life when people playing and enjoying our Great War large scale skirmish rules, Mud & Blood, began asking if we could produce a WWII version of the game. In fact the very first playtest version, now ensconced in the Lard Island museum, was nothing more than a set of adjustments to the fire table to reflect more modern weapons. Of course, the seminal moment in the development of Chain of Command was the introduction of the Command Dice and the Chain
of Command points which, combined, make for a very different and, we think, more dynamic and fun game. Naturally it didn’t take, long for the question to be asked “Can we use this with Mud & Blood?”. So, in the spirit of retro‐engineering, we thought we’d take a look at how the “Son of Mud & Blood” could teach the old dog a few new tricks. First a word of warning; I am not going to replicate whole sections of the rules book here, but rather it is my intent to take tranches of the rules, be they Chain of Command or Mud & Blood, and apply them carte blanche. However, the most important guiding principle is that we are using Chain of Command as the core rule set and taking bits from Mud & Blood to apply where certain issues, such as gas, are just not covered in the WWII rules. If viewing both rule sets and finding a conflict between the way in which certain subjects are resolved, it is always presumed that Chain of Command takes precedence.
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My thoughts are that these rules will really apply from 1916 onwards, when the armies on the Western Front have evolved from a mass of riflemen to develop specialist weapons which add lots of colour and interest. That said, the rules can be used for earlier fighting. One will simply find that the forces are more reliant on the bolt action rifle and, as a consequence, are somewhat “vanilla”. I am not going to repeat here the numerous references I have made to the way men in the Great War fought; the Mud & Blood rulebook gives a good appraisal of tactics and we have covered the subject in a number of Specials over the years. Here, we simply focus on the rules.
into the latter, there is much common ground which allows the rules to be used for both wars with a minimum of adjustment. The following areas are where we need to make adjustments to Chain of Command to better represent the unique character of the Great War.
THE PATROL PHASE Chain of Command uses a unique pre‐game phase in order to reflect events occurring prior to the main game which determine where troops may deploy onto the table. In a Great War setting the Patrol Phase reflects the importance of patrols in No‐Man’s‐Land and are played through as normal. However, when placing Jump‐Off Points, a player whose force is defending fixed defensive positions, such as entrenchments, will always place four Jump‐Off Points. Two of these will be generated as normal using the system in Chain of Command. The other two may be placed wherever the player chooses within his entrenchments. On the conclusion of the Patrol Phase, the defending player will immediately place two Jump‐Off points in his positions of choice. After that, the players will take it in turns to place their remaining Jump‐Off Points, beginning with the attacking player.
THE BROAD BRUSH As already stated, Chain of Command is the primary vehicle for this project, so this means that the core rules, such as Movement and Firing, are applied wholesale, albeit with the small‐print changing to reflect earlier weapons. Some of the rules we saw in Mud & Blood are removed entirely; there are no cards as we are using the Command Dice and Chain of Command points to replace those. This will mean some changes are required in order to replicate some of the national characteristics which we saw in Mud & Blood with Chain of Command Dice options. Equally, Spotting in Mud & Blood is entirely removed, as is the system of Blinds for hidden movement. However, we do make some amendments to the Patrol Phase and the Jump‐ Off Point placement where we are representing positional warfare.
COMMAND & CONTROL The Command Dice in Chain of Command give the game its unique flavour, presenting the gamer with a number of choices in each phase of play. This works in precisely the same manner, with details of what counts as a team and a section being found in the Army Lists. In the Great War version, grenades are not thrown individually, as in Chain of Command, but by specialist bombers whenever they are activated.
CHAIN OF COMMAND POINTS
The generation of Chain of Command points and subsequent use of Chain of Command dice remains the same as in the main rules. However, the following general options are added. Reduce your opponent’s Command Dice by one in the next Phase. This must be played
THE FINE DETAIL Chain of Command is a WWII rule set but with just over twenty years passing between the end of the Great War and the beginning of the Second World War, and with the experiences and tactics developed in the earlier conflict feeding straight
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before your opponent rolls his Command Dice. Add two Command Dice to your hand in this Phase. This must be played before you roll your Command Dice. Change the target for an off‐table machine gun by 18”. Other national characteristics will be covered in the Army Lists.
MOVEMENT This is conducted as per the rules. Terrain definitions in Chain of Command should be amended to show that trenches are considered to be Broken Ground as is muddy ground. Waterlogged and shell cratered ground is Heavy Going. Dry ground, even when cratered, is considered to be Open Ground. Cavalry are a troop type not represented in Chain of Command. These move with up to 3D6, adding +2 pips per dice. Manhandled artillery move with 2D6, discarding the lower dice rolled for light infantry guns or the higher dice for Field Guns. Heavy guns may not be moved.
TURN & PHASE SEQUENCE This works in the same way as in Chain of Command; however, when a random event is generated, a roll of 3 will be a building fire as normal where buildings are present. Failing that, where there are no buildings, a random gas shell drops onto the table. Roll to see which are of the table is affected using the same grid as the random mortar barrage for a roll of 1. The gas cloud remains over that area of the table for all of the next Turn.
Weapon
Firepower Close
FIRING This is done in the same way as in Chain of Command, but the Arsenal Table below is used to reflect the weapons of the Great War. In some instances line‐of‐sight rules in Chain of Command
INFANTRY WEAPONS Effective
Pistol Rifle Rifle grenade Grenade
1 1 2 2/3
0‐9” 0‐18” ‐ 11”
Over 18” 18”‐60”
Automatic Rifle Lewis Gun MG08/15 MMG Flamethrower Granatenwerfer
3 6 6 10 12 2
0‐18” 0‐18” 0‐18” 0‐36” 0‐9” ‐
Over 18” Over 18” Over 18” Over 36” 18”‐60”
Notes
Reduces cover by one level 2 firepower in open, 3 in confined space. Roll for hits as in open. Lose two firepower when crew reduced to one man Lose two firepower when crew reduced to one man Lose three firepower when crew reduced to one man All cover is ignored. All Shock doubled Reduces cover by one level
MORTARS Weapon
Firepower
Notes
Up to 60mm 61mm to 100mm 100‐175mm
3 4 5
Over 175mm
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Targets one Team and also hits any neighbours within 4” May not fire in two consecutive phases. Targets one Team and also hits any neighbours within 4”. Double Shock May only fire twice in any Turn. Targets one Team and also hits any neighbours within 6”. Double Shock ARTILLERY
Weapon 37mm/1 Pdr 60mm/6 Pdr 76.2mm/13 Pdr 77mm +/18 Pdr
Firepower 3 5 6 7
Notes Reduces cover by one level Reduces cover by one level Reduces cover by one level Reduces cover by one level
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are ignored, such as for bombers throwing their grenades around trench traverses, or rifle grenadiers firing indirectly. For such weapons, any enemy unit on the table may be targeted if it has been located by friendly troops. Hits and effect are caused in the same way as in the main rules; however, any troops wearing gas masks fire with a ‐1 on their “to hit” roll. When targeting mounted men, roll for the effect of each hit as normal with any kills being re‐ rolled. On a 1 the horse is hit but it ignores the effect. On a 2 or 3 the horse is killed and the rider must now operate on foot. On a 4 to 6 the rider is killed and the horse removed from play. Tripod or sled mounted machine guns may fire in a sustained fire role. If they do so they MUST remain firing in that manner for the remainder of the Turn. A machine gun firing sustained fire is effectively on a sustained Overwatch. It must mark a point on the table as its target. Any troops moving within 6” of that point will be fired on immediately in the phase in which they move. The machine gun may also fire on any single Team or Section within 6” of that point when it is activated on a roll of 1, or when activated by a Senior Leader. If firing against a Section, it must fire against the whole section and not pick out one Team as its target. It may, however, fire against an isolated team in that area. The target marker is removed at the end of the Turn.
2D6 and fire secondary armament at half effect. Wheeled vehicles move as normal in the rules. In addition to the AFV commander activating weapon positions, other positions may activate on a Command Dice roll of 1.
ANTI‐TANK FIRE Anti‐tank weapons can be either designed for the role or impromptu weapons that find themselves facing tanks. They roll to hit as normal and their Armour Piercing firepower rating is as follows:
WEAPON Grenade Bundle Anti Tank rifle Armour Piercing MG ammunition 37mm Anti Tank gun 37mm low velocity gun 57mm/6 pounder gun 75mm/77mm M1896/13 pounder gun 75mm Anti Aircraft Gun 77mm M1916/18 pounder
STRIKE DICE 2 1 1 4 2 3 5 6 7
ARMOURED VEHICLES Armoured vehicles will only be available for scenarios marked as such. If no armour is present, no Field Guns may be deployed on the table. The Armour rules from Chain of Command should be used with the national vehicle tables providing the relevant data. Speed is altered to reflect the primitive state of the vehicles. Tracked AFVs may move at the following rates: Slow: Move with 1D6 but may fire their secondary armament at full effect. Fast: These may move with 1D6 and fire their main gun at full effect or may move
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opportunity to surrender. To see if they choose that option roll a D6. On a 1‐4 they will surrender on a 5 or 6 they will come out fighting, entering Close Combat with their opponents counting as defending light cover. Add one to the roll if they are accompanied by an officer Big Man. Alternatively the attacker may throw grenades into the bunker or dugout, rolling 8 dice on a target counting no cover. After this the troops in the dug‐out will roll a D6 for their reaction, applying a ‐1 to the roll for each man killed by the grenades. On a 1‐3 they will surrender, on 4‐6 the survivors, incensed will come out fighting, entering close combat with their opponents counting as defending light cover
CLOSE COMBAT The Close Combat rules from Chain of Command are used; however, the list of adjustments is now as follows:
CLOSE COMBAT Add 1D6 for the Command Initiative level of every one of your Leaders present in the fight Add 2D6 for each troop quality level higher than the enemy Add 1D6 for each D6 of movement the enemy moved to get into contact (1st round only) Subtract 1D6 for each two points of Shock Aggressive Troops add 1D6 for every three men Add 2D6 for each trench broom present Add 1D6 for each bomber present Add 4D6 for each LMG or 6D6 for each MMG the defender has if the attacker advances to contact through their arc of fire (1st round only) If you are defending light cover, add 1D6 for each three D6 you already have (1st round only) If you are defending heavy cover or a bunker, add 1D6 for each two D6 you already have (1st round only) If you have been hit in the rear, remove half of your dice (1st round only) If you are Pinned, remove half of your dice Cavalry advancing to contact double dice against infantry in the open
THE ARMY LISTS The following lists are based on the force structures for the majority of 1917 and 1918 with the relevant support options for that same period. Each list will have a number of generic support options which are common to all nations, such as bombardments, but also options specific to the individual nation. Generic support options are covered below, nation specific support options are covered in each nation’s section. Support options show in red are limited to one being present in any game for that force. GENERIC SUPPORT OPTIONS Most of these are precisely as listed in Chain of Command. The following differ to reflect the nuances of the Great War.
CROSSING WIRE Troops may attempt to cross an undamaged section of wire. In order to do so a Section or Team must be placed adjacent to the wire and roll a D6 in each phase it does nothing except make this attempt. On a roll of 6 they are able to remove one section of wire.
CLEARING BUNKERS Large bunker or fort complexes must be treated in the same way as buildings, being cleared one area, rather than storey, at a time. Normally bunkers or dug‐outs will be significantly smaller affairs, more shelters than fighting positions. These tended to be captured once the enemy had reached their entrance and the occupants had no route of escape. If a Group of attackers reaches the entrance to a bunker or dug‐out the occupants may be offered the
TRENCH BROOMS Trench brooms are weapons devised to clean up enemy trenches rapidly, either through a high rate of fire, such as the sub‐machine gun, or blast effect, such as shotguns. These weapons do not have any ranged fire capability, but provide an enhanced ability in close combat.
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more than two H.E. on the wire components may be selected. Bombardment on enemy trench line in the pre‐ game barrage will not kill any of your enemy, but it can reflect the disorder it causes in his ranks by disrupting your enemy’s ability to deploy onto the table. During the first Turn of the game, Units and Leaders which have been bombarded must roll to deploy onto the table as though no Senior Leader is present with their force. This lasts only for the first Turn of the game, after which it has no continuing effect. No more than one Bombardment on enemy trench line may be selected. If a “Feurwaltz” option is added to the barrage, the bombardment rule above is applied, but the enemy attempting to deploying onto the table do so on a roll of 5 and 6 rather than 4 to 6. This lasts for the first Turn only. A “Feurwaltz” is a complicated and carefully orchestrated fire plan which must be drawn up based on a good knowledge of enemy positions. As a result this component may only be selected when gaming the first actions of a battle or, in a campaign setting, the opening game. Gas on enemy trench line will add gas to the barrage. If this is used, the defender reduces the number of Command Dice rolled by one during every phase of the first Turn. No more than one Gas on enemy trench line may be selected. Counter‐battery bombardment reduced the enemy chances of being able to call for an SOS barrage during the game. See the SOS barrage rules below. “Feurwaltz” is a catch‐all phrase to cover the use of a more complicated barrage. The term refers to the capability to “dance” the barrage across enemy positions in order to confuse your opponents as to your intentions. The British used the term Chinese bombardment to cover this. In‐game barrage phases can only be used in conjunction with a pre‐game barrage, continuing the bombardment into the game itself. The in‐
THE TRENCH BLOCK Assault units would carry with them the means with which to secure a captured section of trench, with wire or Chevaux‐de‐frise, coiled French wire or similar. These may be deployed by any squad or section with their Leader using all of his Command Initiatives in a phase to do so. Where the block is deployed, a 4” section of trench is unusable for the rest of the game.
ENTRENCHMENTS AND BUNKERS Entrenchments are normally Team sized to hold support weapons. Two entrenchments may be selected to hold a section or squad of up to ten men; three for a single squad of up to twenty men. Bunkers, whether wood and sandbag or concrete, these are assumed to be large enough to hold one squad of up to 12 men, or one support weapon team.
PRE‐GAME BARRAGE A pre‐game barrage is designed to disrupt the enemy immediately before an attack commences, or to break up an enemy attack in its assembly area. We use a simple “build a barrage system” where the player selects a number of barrage components to create the barrage he wants.
Barrage Components The player may select from the following components: H.E. on the wire Bombardment on enemy trench line “Feurwaltz” tactics Gas on the enemy trench line Counter‐battery bombardment In‐game barrage phases These achieve the following: H.E. on the wire will, hopefully, clear paths through the wire for your troops. For each 6” section of wire, roll 1D6 the first time that attacking troops move to within 12” of it. If one H.E. on the wire component has been selected, a roll of 5 or 6 means that this section is removed. If two H.E. on the wire components have been selected, it is removed on a roll of 4 to 6. No
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removed at the end of a Turn. Off‐table machine guns may have their aiming point shifted by up to 18” by the player using a Chain of Command Dice.
game bombardment must be targeted at a single enemy Jump‐Off point or, if two Jump‐Off points are within 18” of each other both may be targeted. While the barrage continues these points may not be used to deploy troops. However, any Teams of either side coming within 18” of these Jump‐Off Points, or 12” if in entrenchments, will test for friendly fire from the barrage using the mortar barrage rules in Chain of Command. No matter how many phases of In‐Game Barrage are selected, the barrage will end once the first Turn ends.
THE SOS BARRAGE An SOS barrage is limited to pre‐registered targets and, as a result, may only be selected by a player in a defensive position. The player must identify two targets before the game begins, noting these or marking them discretely. We suggest using several casualty figures to scatter on the table, two of which are marked underneath as the real targets. To initiate an SOS Barrage, the highest ranking Senior Leader must use all of his Command Initiatives in a phase to send a message to battery. The battery is then subsequently activated by a Command Dice roll of 1. If the enemy initial barrage included a Counter‐ battery bombardment, roll a D6 when this is called for. On a roll of 10‐3 the guns have been silenced and no SOS barrage will be available for the duration of this Turn. The player may attempt to contact the battery in subsequent turns. An SOS barrage is treated in the same manner as a mortar barrage in Chain of Command; however, it may not be adjusted nor may it be continued longer than the turn end by playing a Chain of Command Dice.
OFF‐TABLE MACHINE GUN Off‐table Machine Guns will fire in a sustained role throughout the game using the same technique as on‐table weapons, however their target is fixed for the entire game and will not be
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The French were at the forefront of developing new infantry tactics based on the availability of new weapons, structuring their platoons to allow effective fire and movement tactics. All French infantry count as Regular but some colonial infantry may count as Elite. FULL STRENGTH PLATOON
REDUCED STRENGTH PLATOON PLATOON FORCE RATING: Regular: ‐3 Elite: +1
Command Dice: 5
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Lieutenant, Senior Leader, with pistol
DEMI‐SECTION ONE Sergeant, Junior Leader, with rifle
GRENADIER‐VOLTIEGUR SQUAD Caporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Two bombers Four riflemen
SUPPORT SQUAD CHAUCHAT TEAM VB TEAM
PLATOON FORCE RATING: Regular: ‐1 Elite: +3
One Chauchat with Three V.B. launchers two crew with two crew each One rifleman
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Lieutenant, Senior Leader, with pistol
Sergeant, Junior Leader, with rifle
Command Dice: 5
DEMI‐SECTION TWO
GRENADIER‐VOLTIGUER SQUAD
DEMI‐SECTION ONE
Caporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Two bombers Four rifleman
Sergeant, Junior Leader, with rifle
GRENADIER‐VOLTIEGUR SQUAD Caporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Three bombers Five riflemen
SUPPORT SQUAD CHAUCHAT TEAM VB TEAM One Chauchat with Three V.B. launchers two crew with two crew each One rifleman SUPPORT OPTIONS The following support options are available.
SUPPORT SQUAD CHAUCHAT TEAM VB TEAM One Chauchat with Four V.B. launchers two crew with two crew each Two riflemen
DEMI‐SECTION TWO
FRENCH SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
Sergeant, Junior Leader, with rifle
GRENADIER‐VOLTIGUER SQUAD
Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Minefield Static Barbed Wire Adjutant Single Team Entrenchment Trench block or Chevaux‐de‐frise One barrage component Add two trench brooms to one Grenadier‐ Voltigeur Squad
Caporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Three bombers Five rifleman
SUPPORT SQUAD CHAUCHAT TEAM VB TEAM One Chauchat with Four V.B. launchers two crew with two crew each Two riflemen
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LIST TWO Canon de Infantrie 3.7cm M1916 with 5 crew and a Junior Leader Mortier de 58mm firing from off‐table Sniper Team
LIST THREE SOS barrage Hotchkiss M1914 MMG with five crew Off‐table Machine Gun Wood and sandbag bunker (hard cover) Charron Armoured Car with a Junior Leader LIST FOUR Concrete bunker White Armoured Car with a Junior Leader
LIST FIVE FT17 with a Junior Leader Canon de 75 M1897 with five crew and Junior Leader
LIST SIX Schneider CA 1 with a Junior Leader St Charmond with a Junior Leader
VB LAUNCHERS The VB Launcher is treated as a rifle grenade launcher in the rules.
MORTIER DE 58MM The 58mm mortar was a spigot mortar with a much larger charge than the calibre suggests. As a result treat this as a 100‐175mm mortar. It is assumed to be firing from just off‐table with an observer well‐positioned to view and correct firing. As such, any enemy unit on the table is a potential target.
FRENCH NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS LA BATAILLE CONDUITE Under Marechal Foch’s leadership, the French Army believes in the Bataille Conduit, literally “battle by guidance” but more normally referred to as the “Methodical Battle”. It represents an orderly and structured approach to warfare. To reflect this doctrinal embracement of the importance of central command, the French Platoon Sergeant is focussed on controlling the fire of the Support Squad. When using two Command Initiatives to control the fire of the Chauchat he may add two firepower dice to its firing in the current phase. EN AVANT MES BRAVES The French placed much emphasis on their officers leading by example and gaining the absolute trust of their men. As their manual says, “Troops are a reflection of their commander. They wish for nothing more than to admire him and follow him blindly”. As a result, a French officer spending all three of his Command Initiative to rally a Group or Squad may remove on additional point of Shock in that Phase.
FRENCH ARSENAL TABLE VEHICLE Schneider CA 1 St Charmond FT17 Charron Armoured Car White Armoured Car
ARMOUR 3 3 4 2 2
ARMAMENT
SPEED
One 75mm gun, two LMGs One 75mm gun, four LMGs 37mm gun or one LMG One LMG One 37mm gun, one LMG
Slow Fast Fast Wheeled Wheeled
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Starting the war with the smallest army of all the major powers, Britain was obliged to stand on the defensive for the first two years while her forces and her industry prepared themselves for battle. With the nightmare of the Somme battles behind them, the British were quick to harness technology and tactical advances to create a hard hitting force which, in 1918, dealt the killer blow to Imperial Germany. All British infantry count as Regular. 1917 PLATOON
1918 PLATOON PLATOON FORCE RATING: Regular: 0 Command Dice: 5
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Lieutenant, Senior Leader, with pistol Sergeant, Senior Leader, with rifle RIFLE SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Eight riflemen BOMBER SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Three bombers Five riflemen RIFLE BOMBER SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Four rifle grenade launchers with two crew each LEWIS GUN SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle LEWIS GUN TEAM LEWIS GUN TEAM One Lewis gun with One Lewis gun with two crew two crew Three riflemen Three riflemen
PLATOON FORCE RATING: Regular: ‐1 Command Dice: 5
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Lieutenant, Senior Leader, with pistol Sergeant, Senior Leader, with rifle RIFLE SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Eight riflemen BOMBER SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Three bombers Five riflemen RIFLE BOMBER SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Four rifle grenade launchers with two crew each LEWIS GUN SECTION Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle One Lewis gun with two crew Six Riflemen
SUPPORT OPTIONS The following support options are available.
BRITISH SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Minefield Static Barbed Wire Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One Barrage Component Add two trench brooms to one rifle section
LIST TWO 2” “Toffee Apple” mortar firing from off‐table Stokes 3” mortar firing from off‐table Sniper Team
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which inspired the modern infantry mortar. Up to three of these may be selected and group together, off‐table, as a single mortar section, activating on a Command Dice roll of 2. Individual mortars will activate as a Team on a roll of 1. BRITISH NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS MAD MINUTE The British soldier is taught to love his rifle and the mantra that delivery of fast, accurate fire is the key to success. When a Leader is attached to a rifle Team and uses two or more Command Initiatives to activate that Team, he may add that many D6 to the Team’s firing dice to reflect his controlling their rapid fire. THE PLAYING FIELDS OF ETON The British Army’s emphasis on sports and physical fitness, combined with their officers being chaps who know how to play the game, will allow any assault lead by a British officer using two Command Initiatives to add an additional D6 of movement. This will not count as an additional dice of movement when calculating the defender’s close combat dice.
LIST THREE SOS barrage Vickers MMG with five crew Off‐table Machine Gun Wood and sandbag bunker (hard cover) Rolls Royce Armoured Car with a Junior Leader Lanchester Armoured Car with a Junior Leader
LIST FOUR Concrete bunker Austin Armoured Car with a Junior Leader
LIST FIVE Mark A Whippet with a Junior Leader 13 pounder Field Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
LIST SIX Mark I tank with Junior Leader Mark IV tank with Junior Leader Mark V Star tank with Junior Leader LIST SEVEN Mark V tank with Junior Leader
2” TOFFEE APPLE MORTAR The 2” trench mortar was a spigot mortar with a much larger charge than the calibre suggests. As a result treat this as a 100‐175mm mortar. It is assumed to be firing from just off‐table with an observer well‐positioned to view and correct firing. As such, any enemy unit on the table is a potential target.
3” STOKES MORTAR The 3” Stokes mortar was the innovative design
BRITISH ARSENAL TABLE VEHICLE
ARMOUR
Mark I Male Mark I Female Mark IV Male Mark IV Female Mark V Male Mark V Female Mark V Star Male Mark V Star Female Mark A Whippet Rolls Royce Armoured Car Lanchester Armoured Car Austin Armoured Car
2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 1
ARMAMENT Two 6 pounder guns, two LMGs Four MMGs, two LMGs Two 6 pounder guns, two LMGs Four MMGs, two LMGs Two 6 pounder guns, three LMGs Six LMGs Two 6 pounder guns, three LMGs Six LMGs Four LMGs One MMG One MMG Two MMGs
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SPEED Slow Slow Slow Slow Fast Fast Slow Slow Fast Wheeled Wheeled Wheeled
Arriving in 1917, bringing fresh enthusiasm for the fight to the Western Front, the US forces adopted an enlarged French platoon model with a greater emphasis on firepower to break the deadlock of trench warfare. US infantry count as Green troops in their early encounters, becoming Regular from September 1918. US Marines will normally be rated as Regular troops. US INFANTRY PLATOON
PLATOON FORCE RATING:
SOS barrage Hotchkiss M1914 MMG with five crew Wood and sandbag bunker (hard cover) Off‐table Machine Gun
SUPPORT OPTIONS The following support options are available.
US SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Minefield Static Barbed Wire Adjutant Trench block or Chevaux‐de‐frise One barrage component Add two trench brooms to the third, rifle, section
LIST TWO 1 pounder 3.7cm M1916 with 5 crew and a Junior Leader Stokes 3” mortar firing from off‐table Sniper Team
LIST THREE
Regular: +2 Green: ‐3
Command Dice: 5
LIST FOUR
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Lieutenant, Senior Leader, with pistol
Concrete bunker
Sergeant, Senior Leader, with rifle
FT17 with a Junior Leader 75mm M1897 Field Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
LIST FIVE
SECTION ONE Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Five bombers Six Riflemen
LIST SEVEN Mark V tank with Junior Leader
SECTION TWO
VB LAUNCHERS
Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Three VB Launchers with two crew each Three riflemen SECTION THREE Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle Seventeen Riflemen
The VB Launcher is treated as a rifle grenade launcher in the rules.
3” STOKES MORTAR The 3” Stokes mortar was the innovative design which inspired the modern infantry mortar. Up to three of these may be selected and group together, off‐table, as a single mortar section, activating on a Command Dice roll of 2. Individual mortars will activate as a Team on a roll of 1.
SECTION FOUR Corporal, Junior Leader, with rifle
CHAUCHAT TEAM
VB TEAM
Two Chauchats with Two Chauchats with two crew each two crew each Two riflemen Two riflemen
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US NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS SHOOT ‘EM OUT BOYS! General Pershing was convinced that US forces could break the deadlock with their superior firepower. He was somewhat over‐ optimistic in this, but it did lead to an emphasis on the use of concentrated firepower. To reflect this, when both Chauchat Teams concentrate their fire on the same target, they will cause an additional point of Shock on the target unit. If multiple units are present, the US player may select which target unit has the additional Shock applied to it.
THE “ONE POUNDER” GUN The French 37mm infantry gun in US service was known as the One Pounder and used very successfully to assist attacks on enemy positions. Up to three of these may be selected and group together, off‐table, as a single gun section, activating on a Command Dice roll of 2. Individual guns will activate as a Team on a roll of 1.
WEAPON VARIATION The United States entry into the Great War saw it with a huge shortfall of the amount of both trained men and readily available equipment. As a result they purchased weapons from other nations to fill the gap. Where we have listed specific weapons, such as the Hotchkiss M1914 MMG, the player may feel free to replace that with other weapons, such as the M1917 Browning MMG if that is the model he has in his collection.
US ARSENAL TABLE VEHICLE FT17 Mark V Male Mark V Female Mark V Star Male Mark V Star Female
ARMOUR 4 3 3 3 3
ARMAMENT 47mm gun or one LMG Two 6 pounder guns, three LMGs Six LMGs Two 6 pounder guns, three LMGs Six LMGs
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SPEED Fast Fast Fast Slow Slow
With the onset of trench warfare, the Germans were keen to develop new infantry tactics in order to break the deadlock in the West. As with the French and the British, they increased firepower with additional automatic weapons. However, the main development was the training of elite Stormtrooper units. INFANTRY ZUG All German infantry count as Regular.
STOSSTRUPPEN ZUG PLATOON FORCE RATING: Elite: +7
Command Dice: 6
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Letunant, Senior Leader, with trench broom Vize‐Feldwebel, Senior Leader, with trench broom
ASSAULT GRUPPE ONE Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle Six bombers two riflemen
LIGHT MACHINE GUN GRUPPE ONE Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle One MG08/15 or Lewis Gun with two crew Six riflemen
PLATOON FORCE RATING:
ASSAULT GRUPPE TWO
Regular: 0
Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle Six bombers two riflemen
Command Dice: 5
LIGHT MACHINE GUN GRUPPE TWO
PLATOON HEADQUARTERS Feldwebel‐Leutnant, Senior Leader, with
Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle One MG08/15 or Lewis Gun with two crew Six riflemen SUPPORT OPTIONS The following support options are available. Items in blue may only be selected by a Stosstruppen force.
pistol
RIFLE GRUPPE ONE Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle Eight riflemen Two bombers
LIGHT MACHINE GUN GRUPPE ONE Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle One MG08/15 or Lewis Gun with two crew Eight riflemen
GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
RIFLE GRUPPE ONE
Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Grenade bundle compound charge Anti‐tank rifle with two crew Minefield Static Barbed Wire Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One barrage component One M1916 Granatenwerfer Add two trench brooms to one rifle or Assault Gruppe Add one captured Lewis gun to one LMG Gruppe
Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle Eight riflemen Two bombers
LIGHT MACHINE GUN GRUPPE ONE Gefreiter, Junior Leader, with rifle One MG08/15 or Lewis Gun with two crew Eight riflemen
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roll of 1. The Minenwerfer will be deployed off‐ table, whereas the Granatenwerfer may deploy either on or off‐table.
LIST TWO Light 7.85cm Minenwerfer firing from off‐ table Sniper Team
MARK IV TANK “BEAUTEPANZER”
LIST THREE
This is a captured British tank pressed into German service. Use the vehicle figures from the British Armoury. GERMAN NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS STURMABTEILUNG VOR! To reflect their focus on rapid movement and infiltration tactics, Regular Stormtrooper units may deploying within 9” of a Jump‐Off Point, whilst Elite troops deploy within 12”. HANDGRANATEN! The German army used the hand grenade as their close quarter weapon of choice. To reflect this, when a Leader attached to a Team or Squad uses two Command Initiatives, he may lead a charge against any enemy within 12” preceded by a hail of grenades. Roll 1D6, subtracting 1 if the enemy is in light cover, 2 if in hard cover. On a roll of 1 or 2, one hand grenade has hit the target unit; on 3 or 4, two grenades hit; on 5 or 6, three grenades hit the target. Roll for the effect of these and the Team or Squad may then move with up to 3D6 to try to initiate Close Combat.
SOS barrage Maxim 08 MMG with five crew and Junior Leader Off‐table Machine Gun Wood and sandbag bunker (hard cover) Flamethrower team, three men Erhardt E‐V/4 Armoured Car with a Junior Leader
LIST FOUR Maxim 08 MMG with armour piercing ammunition. Ffive crew and Junior Leader Concrete bunker LIST FIVE 7.62cm Infantry Gun or 7.7cm Nahkampf Gun with five crew and Junior Leader 7.7cm Field Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
LIST SIX Mark IV tank with Junior Leader LIST SEVEN A7V tank with Junior Leader 7.62CM INFANTRY GUN These cut‐down, captured Russian Field guns were designed to be relatively light and able to keep pace with an infantry advance. When moving they roll 3D6 and discard the highest dice rolled
M1916 GRANATENWERFER 7.85CM MINENWERFER Up to three of either of these options may be selected and grouped together as a single section, activating on a Command Dice roll of 2. Individual weapons will activate as a Team on a
GERMAN ARSENAL TABLE VEHICLE Erhardt E‐V/4 A7V
ARMOUR 2 4
ARMAMENT
SPEED
Three MMGs One 57mm gun, five LMGs
Wheeled Fast
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forward from their friendly edge to the front line trench. Three concrete bunkers and three wood and sandbagged bunkers with up to 24” of communication trenches between them. The attacker has 2D6+6 points of support. The defender has 1D6 points of support. Armour and artillery may be present on the table. An artillery barrage may be selected by the attacker, an SOS barrage may be selected by the defender. This scenario must be played along, not across, the table.
THE SCENARIOS The six scenarios in the main Chain of Command rule book are still used, but with the following amendments.
Scenario Four – Delaying Action
The table is either of the following: A stretch of front line trench running across the table 24” from the attacker’s base line and a similar stretch of trench running across the table 24” from the defender’s his base line. Two communication trenched connect the two, there being at least 24” apart. A single communication trench runs from the defender’s friendly edge to the nearest trench line. One concrete bunkers 24” from the defender’s edge; one concrete bunker and one wood and sandbagged bunker 36” from the same edge; one wood and sandbagged bunker 40” from the same edge. One damaged building will be within 24” of the defender’s table edge. The attacker has 2D6+6 points of support. The defender has 1D6 points of support. Armour and artillery may be present on the table. An artillery barrage may not be selected by the attacker. An SOS barrage may be selected by the defender. This scenario must be played along, not across, the table.
Scenario One – Patrol This scenario represents the clash of two patrols in No‐Man’s‐Land. No trenches will be present (unless abandoned and largely destroyed). No armour or artillery may be used in this scenario. This scenario may be played across or along the table.
Scenario Two – Probe This scenario represents an attacker probing against forward positions ahead of the front lines. The defender has three squad sized entrenchments which they may place within 24” of their table edge. One sap runs forward from their friendly edge to one of the positions. The attacker has 1D6+6 points of support. The defender has 1D6 points of support. No armour or artillery larger than infantry guns may be used on the table in this scenario. An artillery barrage may be selected by the attacker, an SOS barrage may be selected by the defender. This scenario must be played along, not across, the table.
Scenario Five – Flank Attack This scenario represents a breakthrough battle once the initial defensive belt has been penetrated. As such, the defender must place three 12” sections of trenches or squad sized defensive positions based on damaged buildings. A mix, such as two buildings connected by 12” of entrenchments, is allowed. These must be at least 24” from the defender’s table edge
Scenario Three – Attack & Defend The defender has either of the following: A stretch of front line trench running across the table up to 24” in from his base line. One communication trench runs
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The attacker has 1D6+6 points of support. The defender has 1D6 points of support. Armour may be present, but no artillery heavier than infantry guns may be present on the table. No artillery barrages may be selected. This scenario must be played along, not across, the table.
must place two 12” sections of trenches or squad sized defensive positions based on damaged buildings and one concrete bunker. A mix, such as two buildings connected by 12” of entrenchments, is allowed. These must be at least 24” from the defender’s table edge. The attacker has 2D6 points of support. The defender has 1D6 points of support. Armour may be present, but no artillery heavier than infantry guns may be present on the table. No artillery barrages may be selected. This scenario must be played along, not across, the table.
Scenario Six – Attack on an Objective This battle represents the final attack on the main objective and, as such, it is behind the enemy main defensive lines. In addition to the main objective, the defender
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stopped there. To compound the manpower problem further, Lloyd George committed, without consulting with Haig, the British Army to take responsibility for an additional thirty miles of the front from the French. It was to prove a dangerous combination. On the German side, the end of 1917 was a time for mixed feelings. At home, the Royal Navy blockade was biting, causing real shortages and some political mutterings from the Left. The involvement of the USA in the war was seen, at all levels, as a disaster. Fortunately, Pershing’s insistence on his Army taking the best part of a year to train before being committed to action allowed a breathing space before the real impact was felt. What was more, events in the East, with Soviet Russia abandoning the war, turned this breathing space into a window of opportunity. The Divisions released from Russia could now be transferred to the West to allow one final great offensive to be launched, aimed at removing Britain, now the key enemy, from the War. It was a final toss of the dice in which Lloyd George and the politicians had naively conspired to stack the odds against Haig and the British Army. For the previous two years of the war, the Germans had spent their time on the defensive. In the same way that the Entente powers had developed more sophisticated offensive tactics, the Germans had been able to hone their skills of defence to a fine art. Concepts such as the “elastic defence” had been developed which would set the standard for the German Army up to 1945, and for many others beyond that point. Aware that their own manpower shortages, combined with the German glut of reinforcements, meant that the next phase of the
By the end of 1917, the Great War in Europe seemed no closer to a conclusion than it had at the end of 1914. Advances made in the west, whilst significant, had been paid for in blood and the political capital of Field Marshall Haig was running low. In the French sector, open mutiny had been seen during Nivelle Offensive resulting in Petain assuming command with a tacit understanding that France would stand on the defensive, at least for the immediate future. In London, the government of Lloyd George was intent on pursuing a strategy based on winning the war against the Ottomans; certain that the deadlock in the West could not be broken. To that end he began starving the British Army in France of replacements, keeping a quarter of a million men in uniform in UK depots. Haig, on the other hand, believed firmly that the war could not be won anywhere other than in the West. He was equally convinced that, with the French surrendering the initiative, the war could certainly be lost in the West if the British Army was not kept up to strength. In November of 1917 he reported as much to the War Office and stated that, of the 57 Divisions he had under his command, 15 of them would need to be broken up in order to bring the remainder up to strength. The politicians disagreed. Despite the strongest objections from their military advisors, they insisted that all the Divisions should be retained, but with a reduction of the number of battalions from twelve per Division to just nine. This pronouncement rode roughshod over the way in which the Army had been equipped and trained to fight but, as always, the politicians believed they knew best. However, they hadn’t
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thinly. The British relied too much on their artillery to do the job of supporting their strongpoints, often leaving them isolated and without the inter‐locking fields of fire which the Germans saw as the key to their system of defence in depth. It was a fault which was to have major consequences on the 21st of March 1918.
war would be defensive, the British attempted to mimic the German system of a deep defensive belt, of the kind they had encountered at Paschendaele. In January 1918 they took over the additional areas of the front where they found that the French defences were woefully inadequate. The British set about constructing defences comprised of a Forward Zone and a Battle Zone; the former to hamper and break up the coherence of any attack, the latter being where the actual battle would be fought, against, in theory, a disorganised enemy. On paper, the defensive plan was sound. All participants knew that an attack supported by a powerful barrage was almost unstoppable. However, as soon as the attack began and contact was lost with the supporting artillery, plans began to unravel. In an ideal world, the German attackers would have lost their artillery support by the time they advanced into the Battle Zone, whereas the British would have the ground carefully surveyed and their artillery ranged in to provide overwhelming support. In practice, the old French front line trenches, designed as they were to provide one continuous firing line, with two or three supporting lines, were lightly garrisoned with outposts based around platoon “keeps”; strong defensive outposts well protected by wire. Immediately to their rear, each British sector of the Forward Zone had one redoubt. It was hoped that the German barrage would fall on the lightly manned outposts, thereby minimising casualties, whilst the redoubt survived to provide the real point of forward resistance. To the rear, the Battle Zone was more open, providing less trenches through which the enemy could infiltrate, but contained another redoubt, again well protected by wire. With the newly “triangulated” British Divisions, one battalion would hold the Forward Zone, a second on the Battle Zone and a third would be kept in reserve in order to intervene decisively. It was a fine theory. In practice, the British Army had been over‐ extended by the extension of its frontage, and that meant that the defenders were spread too
RED HAND DEFENDERS To the South West of St Quentin, the British sector was manned by the 36th Ulster Division whose defences typified the entire British sector. Originally the Division had been made up of Loyalist volunteers from the Ulster Volunteer Force who had assembled to oppose Home Rule in Ireland. By 1918 the Division had changed significantly, being made up of men of a broader background. The Regimental historian, Cyril Falls, stated that “Ulster‐Scot and Celt intermingled and received English recruits as well”. On their left, the 109th Brigade had the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in the Forward Zone, their defences centred on the Boadicea Redoubt to the South of Giffecourt. In the Battle Zone the 1st Battalion of the Inniskillings were to the North of the St Quentin Canal based around the Ricardo Redoubt. The 9th Battalion Inniskillings formed the reserve. In the centre, the 107th Brigade had the 15th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles in the Forward Zone including the Racecourse Redoubt. To their rear, the 1st Battalion of the same Regiment held the Battle Zone and the Quarry Redoubt and the 2nd Battalion was in reserve.
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extremely misty. The initial bombardment saw trench mortars being used on the forward positions with artillery firing a mix of H.E. and Phosgene gas onto the redoubts. The Battle Zone and the crossings over the Canal de St Quentin were shelled by the 105mm, 150mm and 210mm guns. The absence of the standard German Field Guns, the 7.7cm gun, from the barrage was noteworthy, with these being held ready for the advance to support the advanced infantry elements. Before the actual attack, the gas component of the barrage was reduced and the H.E. shells alone continued. At 0830 the attack came. On the Division’s right, where they joined with the 14th Division, the line took a sharp right turn at Sphinx Wood; the line which had been running approximately West to East turning to approximately North to South. The German main point of effort was at that junction and the troops attacking the 36th Division came in from the East, flanking the forward outposts, as opposed to hitting them head on. The first troops simply by‐passed the outposts and pushed onwards through the mist, leaving the forward positions to be mopped up; there were even reports of the Race Course Redoubt being attacked before the outpost line. With the arrival of the second German wave, a number of small private battles began across the front of the 36th Division. Isolated units fought on with varying degrees of success. In one report we hear that one platoon was almost entirely devastated by a single heavy shell and was
Finally, on the right, the 108th Brigade had the 12th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles in the Jeanne d’Arc Redoubt and the Forward Zone, the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers was in the Station Redoubt in the Battle Zone and the 9th Battalion of that same Regiment was in reserve. In the Forward Zone, the arrangement was common across all three Brigades. The Forward Zone outposts would be held by two companies in platoon‐sized outposts. Supporting these was a third company which was available to counter‐ attack against any German in‐roads. Finally, the fourth Company was in the Forward Zone redoubt, designated (remarkably) as the “passive resistance company” where it guarded the Battalion HQ. KAISERSCHLACHT The much anticipated German attack came on the morning of the 21st of March which, not unusually for that time of year in this area, was
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troops. Manufacture Farm, on the Northern outskirts of Essigny fell and the Station Redoubt came under attack. However, the Lewis guns and Machine Guns were now able to fire effectively and were holding off the German advance. On the left, the 109th Brigade was holding its Battle Zone, although 30 Division to the North had been obliged to call in artillery onto its own Battle Line redoubts before midday. Ricardo Redoubt, commanded by Colonel Crawford was standing firm and the division was able to shift the reserve battalion in this sector to prop up the right flank. At this point it is worth taking a break from the action and assessing where things stood at around 1600. Firstly, it is clear that the mist had completely ruined the British defensive plan. The Machine Gun Battalions had deployed their men in nests right across the front, but these small groups had largely been overcome without firing even a handful of rounds. The Forward Zone troops were very effectively surrounded and entirely lost to the Division, even where they held on heroically for many hours. Ultimately, by early afternoon three out of nine battalions were no longer fighting as part of the Division and had been reduced, largely, to a isolated pockets of resistance. In the main Battle Zone, the 36th Division’s redoubts may well be holding the enemy at bay, but with contact lost with the 14th and 30th Divisions on the flanks these could be isolated and ignored by the German attackers who could outflank and isolate them in turn. From a German perspective, the strengths and weaknesses of their stormtrooper tactics were clearly on display. Their initial attack had been successful in by‐passing the British outposts, but they had not shattered the defenders in doing so, but rather had left them intact. The troops allocated to “mop up” had found themselves fighting full scale battles with the intact outposts, a job which in many case had proved to be more than they could achieve on the schedule they were given. Indeed the remnants of the British Forward Zone outposts were successful in stopping reserves and support units advancing to assist the first wave and their absence was what
overcome with no resistance; at other points resistance continued on into the afternoon. At several points the lifting of the fog, happening at around 1300, saw German reinforcements pushing forward along the main roads being literally mown down by defenders who had been by‐passed initially but had not then been cleared out by subsequent follow‐up troops. It was only at around 1630, when the Germans brought up some captured Mark I tanks, that the outposts Forward Zone was eventually cleared. The Forward Zone redoubts fared somewhat better. Jeanne d’Arc fell at about midday, whereas Racecourse and Boadicea both held on until about 1730, albeit in very different situations. At the Racecourse Redoubt fighting was intense as Colonel Cole‐Hamilton and his men fought at close quarters with the attackers. Lieutenant Edmund D Wind was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in repelling numerous attacks, but he was not alone. Captain Stewart, the Battalion adjutant, held back the Germans for some time, armed only with a rifle grenade projector. In the end, however, resistance was overcome in the last corner of the redoubt. In the Boadicea Redoubt, the British defenders held out for just as long, but largely, it would seem, due to the reticence of the German follow‐ up troops to bring the matter to a conclusion. Casualties among the defenders there are remarkably light, with no officers being killed. German records recount the tale that once sufficient heavy mortars had been brought up, an ultimatum was delivered to the garrison. Its commander agreed to surrender on the proviso that two of his carrier pigeons could be released bearing a letter from the senior German officer present to attest to the fact that he had fought gallantly. What is key to note here is that the pressure was being applied from the right. It is no coincidence that Jeanne d’Arc fell first, for the fact is that a gap had been torn between the 14th and 36th Divisions and the Ulster Division’s right flank was being rolled up. By 1300 Urvillers had fallen and the roads south, now no longer shrouded in mist, were seen to be teaming with advancing German
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exposed by the retreat of the 30th Division, presented the British with a critical decision. All three Forward Zone battalions were completely lost. Some men from Crawford’s 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers fought their way out of the Ricardo Redoubt but, essentially, this was a fourth battalion wiped off the rolls. The battalions in the Station and Quarry Redoubts had both been reduced to around 250 men, meaning that what remained of the Division was now approaching an old Brigade sized formation. The decision was taken to blow the bridges on the Canal de St Quentin and then to pull back top new positions behind the Canal and the Somme between Ham and St Simon. The 16th Rifles had been preparing new positions since lunchtime and the arrival of the 61st Brigade, released by Army HQ to join the 36th Division, meant that the Division could withdraw to lick their wounds.
was halting the advance before the Station Redoubt. Until the Forward Zone was cleared by the second wave, the main advance was in danger of running out of energy. It is especially worth commenting on the German crewed Mark I tanks, an incredibly rare commodity in the German Army which should have been at the spearhead of the advance, being used to clear out the residue of the outposts late in the afternoon.
As we can see, the day’s events matched neither side’s plans but, for the British, the fragmentation of the front presented the greatest challenge. Towards evening the fall of the Ricardo Redoubt
On the German side, the Kaiser was confident that the results of the first day were indicative of the collapse of the British front, but cooler heads
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Division’s sector. In a thick morning mist the stormtroopers have infiltrated through the British Forward Zone and are looking to break through to the Battle Zone where the more open ground will allow them to advance rapidly and bring forward support units to assist them overcome British resistance. As such, the German objective is to reach the village of Grand Seraucourt which will then allow them to capture crossings on the Canal de St Quentin. However, things are not as simple as the German plan suggests. In order to bring forward both artillery support and fresh troops, the Germans need their second wave to clear out the British Forward Zone rapidly. Resistance there can leave the first German wave starved of the assistance it needs to maintain the initiative and keep the offensive pushing forward. TWIN LADDERS As with all campaigns based on At the Sharp End, we will use a ladder format here to represent the overall battle being fought by the first wave and then their reinforcements. However, a second, shorter, ladder is also used to represent the fight in the Forward Zone. How long it takes the Germans to overcome resistance here will determine how quickly the roads South can be opened for use by advancing German units. On the Campaign Master Map, the main ladder of the attack is represented by four games with tables indicated by the numbers 1 to 4 and connected by solid arrows. These are as follows:
could see that the British may be battered but, as yet, were not broken. For the British, the first day of the Kaiserschlacht was a terrible shock. Thanks to Lloyd George, 26 British Divisions faced over seventy German Divisions. In the Fifth Army sector, Hubert Gough’s men were outnumbered by five to one and the General was shocked that the attack was at all points across the front, thereby leaving no quiet area from which he could move troops to support hard pressed sectors. And this was just the first day. What was to follow was a remarkable tale of heroism and sacrifice on both sides. Whether the “Kaiser’s Battle” came close to defeating the British and ending the war is a moot point. For us this, the first day, gives us the opportunity to play an interesting and challenging campaign with Through the Mud & the Blood, either in its original format or with the Chain of Command variation presented in this Special. In either case, the campaign will be played out using the At the Sharp End Campaign Supplement.
The Campaign For anyone with an interest in gaming the Great War, the German Spring Offensive of 1918, the Kaiserschlacht or Kaiser’s Battle, has a real draw. By this time both sides are fighting according to their own version of modern infantry tactics and, for once, the promise of the open battle provides a contrast to the mud and blood of the trenches. To a degree this promise is illusory; the ground fought over was very much the same old ground which had been fought across in previous years as the Entente powers edged Eastwards. The old Somme battlefield, abandoned to its ghosts and the small Army of deserters who lingered amongst its old dugout, was once again in the front line. This campaign is designed to represent the first day of Operation Michael in the British 36th
Rung Name 1 2 3
Infiltrating the Forward Zone Into the Battle Zone Attack on the Quarry Redoubt Grand Seraucourt
Scenario 2 4 3
4 ? As can be seen, the scenarios follow the structure in Chain of Command with the amendments suggested in the accompanying article in this Special. The first three scenarios are set whilst the fourth scenario in this ladder will depend on what successes the Germans have had at this point. If the Germans have completed scenarios
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The Campaign Master Map
A and B in the second ladder, below, then the fight at Grand Seraucourt will be a Flank Attack, Scenario Five in the main Chain of Command rules. If they have not cleared both A and B, this game will be Scenario Six, an Attack on an Objective. The second, supporting, ladder is shown on the map as a dashed arrow, connecting tables A and B. These represent the second wave of German forces attempting to clear the British Forward Zone and are as follows:
main attack ladder always used a Stosstruppen Zug and the supporting ladder uses an Infantry Zug. If players wish, they may use two platoons per side, but they will need to increase the table sizes to 6’ by 5’ to do so. If this option is taken with Through the Mud & the Blood simply add additional cards to the Game Deck. With the Chain of Command Great War amendments, each platoon will have its own set of Command Dice and use the rules in Big Chain of Command for running multiple platoons.
Rung Name
The first scenario to be played is Scenario One with the Germans holding the initiative at the start of the campaign. Once this is completed successfully with a German victory, the second wave will start attempting to clear the Forward Zone, with scenario A being played. After that the scenarios will alternate until either ladder is cleared. So, if the Germans win Scenario 1, the next game will be Scenario A. Win or lose at A, the next game will be Scenario 2, with Scenario A, or B if A has already been won, following. Two consecutive games may not be fought on any one ladder until the other ladder has been cleared of enemy resistance. In theory it is possible for the Germans to complete the main ladder whilst the support ladder is still being fought over. In practice it is far more likely that the Germans will clear the support ladder and then go on to finish the main ladder in sequence. To reflect the importance of clearing the support ladder, the Germans will be limited to their selection of support options until Scenarios A and B have been won. This works as follows: MAIN LADDER INITIAL SUPPORT OPTIONS The following support options are available at the start of the campaign on the main ladder, before Scenarios A and B have been won. For this campaign, barrages are allocated to specific scenarios as they have been pre‐planned in advance.
A B
Flanking the Forward Zone A Day at the Racecourse
Order of Play
Scenario 5 3
This is a short and simple ladder, with A having to be cleared before B is attacked. To reflect the significance of these positions, the amount of support and type of support that the German player may call for on the main ladder will be determined by what is happening at A and B. Broadly, clearing A will allow infantry to move forward in small numbers to support the main attack. Clearing B will allow greater numbers of infantry and heavier support options to move forward and take part in the main effect.
SETTING UP THE CAMPAIGN The Kaiserschlacht Campaign is designed to be played with a standard 1918 Infantry Platoon on the British side whilst on the German side the
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GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One M1916 Granatenwerfer Add two trench brooms to one rifle or Assault Gruppe Add one captured Lewis gun to one LMG Gruppe
Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Anti‐tank rifle with two crew Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One M1916 Granatenwerfer Add two trench brooms to one rifle or Assault Gruppe Add one captured Lewis gun to one LMG Gruppe
LIST THREE
LIST TWO
Maxim 08 MMG with five crew and Junior Leader Flamethrower team, three men
Light 7.85cm Minenwerfer firing from off‐ table Sniper Team
MAIN LADDER ENHANCED SUPPORT OPTIONS
LIST THREE
The following support options are available once Scenario A has been won.
Maxim 08 MMG with five crew and Junior Leader One LMG or Assault Gruppe and Junior Leader Off‐table Machine Gun Flamethrower team, three men
GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One M1916 Granatenwerfer Add two trench brooms to one rifle or Assault Gruppe Add one captured Lewis gun to one LMG Gruppe
LIST FOUR
LIST TWO
LIST SIX
Light 7.85cm Minenwerfer firing from off‐ table Sniper Team
Mark IV tank with Junior Leader
LIST THREE
The support ladder will be restricted to what support it may call on initially, but when Scenario A is won and the main support options are released to advance from St Quentin it will have a greater selection to choose from. These support options are as follows:
Maxim 08 MMG with armour piercing ammunition. Five crew and Junior Leader
LIST FIVE 7.62cm Infantry Gun or 7.7cm Nahkampf Gun with five crew and Junior Leader 7.7cm Field Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
SUPPORT LADDER SUPPORT OPTIONS
Maxim 08 MMG with five crew and Junior Leader One LMG or Assault Gruppe and Junior Leader Flamethrower team, three men
LIST FOUR Maxim 08 MMG with armour piercing ammunition. Five crew and Junior Leader
LIST FIVE
7.62cm Infantry Gun or 7.7cm Nahkampf Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
MAIN LADDER COMPLETE SUPPORT OPTIONS The following support options are available once Scenarios A and B have been won.
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SUPPORT LADDER A OPTIONS
CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC RULES
These options are available for Scenario A:
The following rules apply specifically to this campaign.
GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
British Forces The British defenders in this campaign are representing a number of platoon sized positions. As such, a fresh platoon will be present for each scenario. Where the British lose a game, they will have a fresh platoon available for the next scenario. If, however, the British win a game the next action will be fought at the same place and their force will be reduced to reflect casualties suffered. Use the standard casualty system in At the Sharp End at the end of the action. This allows lightly wounded men to return to their position, something which is possibly a little bit unrealistic when considering the time scale, just one day, over which this campaign is fought. We rationalise that by assuming the stragglers on the battlefield will join up with outposts still holding out. It is, admittedly, a fudge, but it does make for some good games whilst retaining the overall feel of the action. British support options are as follows:
Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One M1916 Granatenwerfer Add one captured Lewis gun to one LMG Gruppe
LIST TWO Light 7.85cm Minenwerfer firing from off‐ table Sniper Team
LIST THREE Maxim 08 MMG with five crew and Junior Leader One LMG or Rifle Gruppe and Junior Leader Off‐table Machine Gun Flamethrower team, three men SUPPORT LADDER B OPTIONS These options are available for Scenario B:
GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
BRITISH SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
Engineer Wire Clearing Team, 3 men Adjutant Trench block or French Wire One M1916 Granatenwerfer Add one captured Lewis gun to one LMG Gruppe
Minefield Static Barbed Wire Adjutant Trench block or French Wire
LIST TWO 2” “Toffee Apple” mortar firing from off‐table Stokes 3” mortar firing from off‐table Sniper Team
LIST TWO Light 7.85cm Minenwerfer firing from off‐ table
LIST THREE
LIST THREE
SOS barrage Vickers MMG with five crew Off‐table Machine Gun Wood and sandbag bunker (hard cover)
Maxim 08 MMG with five crew and Junior Leader Off‐table Machine Gun One LMG or Rifle Gruppe and Junior Leader Flamethrower team, three men
LIST FOUR Concrete bunker
LIST FIVE
LIST FIVE
7.7cm Field Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
13 pounder Field Gun with five crew and Junior Leader
LIST SIX Mark IV tank with Junior Leader
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German Forces
Characters & Personalities
The German player will begin the campaign with two forces; one Stormtrooper platoon attacking on the main ladder and one Infantry platoon attacking on the support ladder. For the forces on the main attack ladder, these represent a single platoon at the spearhead of the advance. As a result this unit will fight from scenario to scenario with its losses carrying over from game to game. However, once Scenario A is won, the player on the main ladder gains the ability to call for replacements once during the remainder of the campaign. Once Scenario B is won, the player on the main ladder gains the ability to call for Reinforcements during the remainder of the campaign. The Infantry platoon attacking on the support ladder represents one Infantry platoon in the second wave. Once Scenario A is won the player gains the ability to call for one platoon of reinforcements for subsequent games on the support ladder. Reinforcements or Replacements for one ladder may not be used on the other ladder.
For those gamers wishing to enhance their gaming experience by adding characters to the campaign, we would point you to the 2012 Summer Special and Sidney Roundwood’s article “Just the Right Sort of Chap” which gives the same type of Great War backgrounds as At the Sharp End does for WWII. THE BATTLEFIELDS The following illustrations show all six tables which will be used in the campaign. We have intentionally left these as schematic representations as, with any game involving trenches, the layout the gamer actually uses will largely depend on the terrain they have available. Try to get as close to the diagrams as possible, but having the wire represented is the most important part. The ground should be liberally scarred by shell holes but is firm and does not impede movement. The German Patrol Marker deployment option is shown with the blue arrow, the British with the red. All Patrol Phases are undertaken as indicated in the rules. The support options for each scenario are noted below each map. Where a second platoon on each side is used to get a larger game, increase the support level by 50% for both sides.
Scenario 1
The German player has a total of seven points to spend on a barrage with a further ten points on other supports. The British player may select two points of support. If this scenario is played more than once, on subsequent plays increase the German support
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by three whilst reducing the British support by one each time.
on other supports. This number is reduced to twelve if Scenario B has not been won and to eight if Scenario A has not been won. The British player may select eight points of support. If this scenario is played more than once, on subsequent plays increase the German support by three whilst reducing the British support by one each time.
Scenario 2
Scenario 4
The German player has a total of four points to spend on a barrage with a further ten points on other supports, with this number halved if Scenario A has not been won by the Germans. The British player may select three points of support. If this scenario is played more than once, on subsequent plays increase the German support by three whilst reducing the British support by one each time.
Scenario 3
This table represents a damaged French village behind the main British lines, so the buildings should reflect that. Add suitable bric‐a‐brac to the table for fences, supply dumps, carts and the general detritus of war. The German player has no barrage but has sixteen points of supports. This number is reduced to ten if Scenario B has not been won and to six if Scenario A has not been won. The British player may select two points of support. If this scenario is played more than once, on subsequent plays increase the German support by three whilst reducing the British support by one each time.
Scenario A
The German player has a total of two points to spend on a barrage with a further sixteen points
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However, there are time constraints. The British are already constructing new defences on the Canal line and will be diverting reserves to hold this line, so alacrity is important. If the Germans have not captured Grand Seraucourt within six games on the main attack ladder (i.e. not including any games on the support ladder), then night will have fallen and the canal line reinforced. For the British, the game is about delaying the Germans wherever possible, but victories on the support ladder are doubly important. While the Forward Zone is still held, the Germans will find the amount of support they can call upon reduced and critical replacements and reinforcements will not get through. We recommend that the Post‐Battle tracking system is used as morale will play a vital role in determining the outcome of the campaign.
The German player has a total of seven points to spend on a barrage with a further six points on other supports. The British player may select two points of support. If this scenario is played more than once, on subsequent plays increase the German support by three whilst reducing the British support by one each time.
Scenario B
The German player has a total of five points to spend on a barrage with a further twelve points on other supports. The British player may select eight points of support. If this scenario is played more than once, on subsequent plays increase the German support by three whilst reducing the British support by one each time.
WINNING THE CAMPAIGN
For the Germans, victory is about breaking through the British Forward and Battle Zones to reach the open, defenceless, ground to the rear.
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The life of Richard Fondler has been known to us largely through nineteenth century accounts of his exploits; however, these have provided only the most superficial detail; little outside of his military exploits has ever been revealed. We know that his mother was a barmaid from Bedfordshire, but the place of his birth was unknown to us. We know that he took the King’s Shilling in Borsetshire in 1798, but of his life before that point we know almost nothing. That is, until now. A chance purchase of a consignment of old papers in a Leicestershire sale room in Spring of 2014 has led to the discovery of what appears to be a full rendition of the life of Richard Fondler. Surprisingly the papers are in French and appear to have been laboriously written out by an unknown scribe. It would seem that some narrator was present, although whether that was Fondler himself is uncertain. Extensive tests on the paper and the inks used suggest that the works were complied sometime soon after 1850. The first tranche of papers translated reveal that Richard Fondler was, in fact, born in the
garret of a Bristol tavern in 1777. Bristol was then Britain’s second city and one which had become rich through trade. One can but presume this was what enticed his mother to leave rural Bedfordshire to seek the excitement of a truly international city. It also goes some way to explain how Fondler found himself in Ireland, just across the St George’s Channel, in 1796 where, three years earlier than we had originally presumed, he gained his first experience of soldiering. In the 1780s, attempts by liberal Protestants in the Irish Parliament to force through emancipating reforms for their Roman Catholic compatriots had failed to achieve the results they desired. The response was the setting up of the Society of the United Irishmen in Belfast in 1791, a body determined to end England’s rule in Ireland and provide for greater and more equal rights for all. Inspired by works such as Paine’s The Rights of Man and lauding the ideals of the French Revolution, it was clear that London could not tolerate such a movement with the spectre of aggressive republicanism just across the Channel.
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whether French or the King’s none could be sure. We slept the night in cold and terrible rain at Glengarriff amid a grove of wind beaten and gnarled trees and it was here that word came from Castletown that a party of French had, despite the storms, landed in a cover in Dunboy and were looking to raise the Phrygian cap of revolution and set abroad the malice of rebellion. Of numbers we had little idea, but Captain Farrel was of the opinion that we must do all we could to oppose this force. Two days march, as we must be, ahead of the Regiment’s main body, we seemed a poor force to oppose a French landing, but the Captain was of the mind that a small body of Frenchmen could soon be reinforced by rebels of numbers unknown, and with the land thus ablaze with revolution, no body of troops, however large, could stand against them. Now, though, we had hope that small as our numbers were, we could call to our aid some brave men of Ireland loyal to His Majestie who would assist us in our task. Such was to be our plan, poor as it was, to snuff out the spark of rebellion before it could burn to destruction the peace and safety of this fair land. Advancing Westwards along the coast of the bay, our half company of the Militia moved to Reen, the Hungry Hill above us. Now, with the mountains on our right we met with a Minister of the Church who had fled Brandyhall with the advance of the French from Castletown. The Reverend reported that, in addition to the French troops, a body of United Irishmen had taken up arms and were intent on destruction of property and the lives of those who stood for the Crown. However, he also confirmed that for every man in Castletown and its parish who supported the desires of the rebels, there was at least one more who was for the King. Captain Farrel now declared that as they advanced on Casteltown the local population would be called upon to declare their support for their rightful anointed monarch and to
In all of Ireland’s counties, militias were formed to protect the land from French invasion and to free up British regulars for the war in Europe. Throughout Ireland, the commissioned officers were drawn from the ranks of the land‐owning Protestant Ascendancy, but the rank and file was open to both faiths, Protestant and Catholic and. It was in the ranks of the 1st Monaghan Militia that Richard Fondler first swore loyalty to King George and donned the red coat. A year later, in 1796, Corporal Fondler was among the first contingent of men sent South when Irish exile Theobald Wolf Tone, carrying a commission as Adjutant General in the Army of France, sailed into Bantry Bay with a French force. Wolf Tone’s intent was to precipitate a rising of his countrymen against the English; however, the accepted fact is that the French were stopped from landing by poor weather and then dispersed. Wolf Tone himself wrote "We were close enough to toss a biscuit ashore in Ahabeg in Berehaven Harbour." However, examination of the first package of the Fondler Papers suggests that whilst it was true that Wolf Tone himself did not land, and that the vast majority of the French fleet was dispersed by the Royal Navy and foul weather, some French troops did in fact get ashore and were involved in a short and violent fight which could have served as the tinder box to light a spark across the whole of Ireland. That it never reached the ears of the press must suggest at some conspiracy at the highest levels. Here we present that story.
“As I was going over the Cork and Kerry mountains, I met Captain Farrel who had come up from Bantry City where he had word of the French. It seemed that, despite our march from Killarney taking three full days, still no landing had been affected. Reports from Three Castle Head had come in which spoke of the storm still raging out at sea and the fleeting glimpses of ships, although
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show their loyalty by bearing arms against the invaders. In that way we should hope to meet the enemy with some parity of numbers for, most certainly, it would fall to our small party to end this terrible invasion or die in the attempt”. This scenario now tracks the approach of the two parties, French and Crown, and their attempts to raise the population in their support. The above map shows the area on the northern coast of Bantry Bay, around the small town of Casteltown, where the action will take place. The Two main forces are as follows: FRENCH REPUBLIC Capitaine Daniel Laroux, Status III Lieutenant Visage du Vache, Status II One bugler Four Groups of eight men armed with muskets. These troops are rated as Regular.
MONAGHAN MILITIA Captain Tanquerray Farrel, Status III Lieutenant Horatio Cross, Status II Corporal Richard Fondler, Status I Four Groups of eight men armed with muskets. These troops are rated as Regular. When rolling for characters prior to the battle, Farrel and Cross are Gentlemen whereas Laroux and du Vache are Foreign Johnnies in the grip of a revolutionary fervour. Epinace and Fondler, naturally, have no breeding.
ADDING RECRUITS On the map, all of the significant points of inhabitation may render either side support or, in some cases, resistance. The first time a force passes through one of the following villages, roll a dice for the outcome depending on the nationality of the force.
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Mob you add a second Status I Big Man. If you have 40 or more Mob add a further Status II Big Man to that force. Mobs on foot should be divided into Groups of ten men. If you have less than sixteen Mob on foot with your force, you may organise them in Groups of eight men. The French may elect to put six Mob on Horses. They fight with cudgels and pistols. Pistols fire as muskets, but with a maximum 9” range. They may be fired when moving or stationary. GENTLEMEN Gentlemen are men of breeding and principle. They would set fire to anyone else’s Granny if it benefitted them. They are usually able to supply ample bottled refreshments to persuade their neighbours to follow their lead in whatever worthy cause involves killing Grannies, or anyone else for that matter. Gentlemen are always organised in Groups of between four and six men each. For up to 12 Gentlemen joining your force add a Status II Big Man. For 13 or more Gentlemen add a second Status II Big Man. UNCERTAIN GENTLEMEN OR MOBS Where Uncertain Gentlemen or Mob are noted, this is because you are unsure how the local population will react to being called on to support your case. In such cases roll 1D6. On a roll of 1 or 2 your force is opposed by the local Gentlemen or the Mob. You must spend one turn overcoming this resistance and teaching the locals a lesson before continuing your advance. On a roll of 3 or 4 you recruit 1D3 locals of that type. On a roll of 5 or 6 you recruit 1D6 locals of that type. STARTING THE GAME The game begins with a pre‐battle phase which sees the French start at Castletown and the Crown forces at Reen. Both sides roll their dice on the recruits table, noting the additions to their force. With that done, both sides
RECRUITS Castletown
Brandyhall
Derrymiken
Bolhuskey Mill
French 6+4D6 Mob Six may be mounted 1D6 Gentlemen 1D6 Mob Uncertain Gentlemen 1D6 Mob Uncertain Gentlemen 1D6 Mob
Rossmacowen 1D6 Mob Moyng
1D6 Mob
Reen
Nothing
Crown Nothing
1D3 Mob 1D6 Gentlemen 1D3 Mob 1D6 Gentlemen 1D3 Mob 1D6 Gentlemen Uncertain Mob Uncertain Mob 1D6 Mob 1D6 Gentlemen
Any Mob recruited will be armed with short pikes and count as being armed with Big Choppers in close combat. Any Gentlemen recruited are armed with fowling pieces which are used as Muskets but with a maximum range of 12”, as covered on Page 38 of the main rules. Where a number with a D6 value is given, for example 1D6 Gentlemen, roll 1D6 (or the number shown) and add that many men to your force. Keep a track of the numbers of both the Mob and Gentlemen joining your force as you advance towards the enemy. THE MOB The mob are excitable sorts of chaps who will set fire to their own Granny for sixpence. They are easily motivated to follow a cause which has ample supplies of bottled refreshments. When up to twenty‐four Mob join you, add one Status I Big Man. If you have 25 to 39
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advance towards each other by one location on the map; the French to Brandyhall, the Crown forces to Moying. Now both sides roll again before advancing; however, meeting Uncertain Gentlemen of a Mob could delay them for one turn at that place if they meet resistance. If that is the case, their opponent advances (if not delayed as well) while they remain at their location. They do not roll a second time on the Recruit table if delayed for one turn, but are presumed to be busy showing the locals who is in charge. The advance continues until both sides are at the point where next move will see them collide. At that point the two forces advance and the battle occurs at that location. If the end of a move the two forces are in adjacent locations, the Crown forces will stand their ground and the French and associated rebels will advance to attack them. So, for example, if the Crown force is at Rosmacowen and the French are at Derrymiken, both will advance and the battle will take place at Bolhuskey Mill. Were the French already at Bolhuskey Mill then the British would stand at Derrymiken and the French attack them there. The following maps show the terrain at each of the key locations. They are presented in order from East to West. As is normally the case with Fondler scenarios, the tables shown are 6’ by 5’.
Rossmacowen
Bolhuskey Mill
Derrymiken
Moyng
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capture the bridge at Brandy Hall the French will surrender, their allies will flee for their homes. If Crown forces are defeated at Moyng, they will abandon Reen and fall back to await the arrival of the main column. Either such result will indicate a complete victory for their opponents. NAUTICAL BUT NICE A further opption here is to combine this campaign with the Kiss Me Hardy scenario which Nick presents in this Special, with the French fleet being harassed by the Royal Navy. In that scenario, a number of French merchantment are being used as troop transports to bring the invaders to Bantry Bay. The number of French troops starrting the game ashore could depend on the number of transports which are able to make the safety of Bear Haven. We would suggest that in such a scenario, each transport above two which reaches the safety of Bear Haven adds a further ten Frenchmen to the numbers who make it to shore and also adds one further Status I Junior NCO. However, in order to keep the game balance, this also increases the number of Militia under Captain Farrel’s command by four men. This gived the French an incentive to land men, but it also gives the Crown forces a fighting chance. If eight or more men are added to the Militia, they also add one further Status I Junior NCO.
Brandy Hall
GAME OPTIONS Clearly, the simplete way to fight this scenario is to follow the instructions above, with the French and Crown forces ammassing what support they can muster as they advance towards each other. Where they meet, the battle will take place. However, there is also the option of treating this as a mini campaign. If that option is chosen, the forces will meet for their first engagement as indicated above. However, either side may decide at any point during a game that they wish to retire in the hope of raising more supporters. To do this they must retreat off their table edge (East for the Crown, West for the French), surrendering the battlefield to the enemy. They may then attempt to raise more recruits. RAISING MORE RECUITS Both sides may make a seocnd attempt to raise more recruits at any location during the campaign. In order to do so, their force must be in that location (forces may never be split into smaller detachments) and they will roll again on the Recruits Table, adding the relevant number of Mob or Gentlemen to their forces. If a roll for Uncertain Gentlemen or Mob suggests resistance, that does not occur. Instead 1D3 men of the relevant type will desert your force. This campaign option will likely extend to two or possibly even three games. If Crown forces
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“And ’tis thanking you we are for your hospitality, Aelfric the Cyning,” grinned Cormac, the Saxon word for ‘king’ sitting oddly with his Irish accent. “And for the share of the spoils for your victory. But home calls us now.” “What’s your home like?” asked Lavinia, lifting her head from Egwine’s shoulder. He laughed. He’d been flirting with her for the whole time they’d been with us ‐ not that she minded, but, as usual, Egwine bristled at it, till Lavinia rested a hand on her man’s knee, smiled at him. Cormac looked thoughtful. “Less flat than here, surely. And less wet. And much, much greener. Fair and green, with rolling hills as far as the eye can see.”
result, the terrain rules change slightly in the supplement, and our modifications here change accordingly. In general, too, the terrain types tend to be more severe in terms of movement penalty. As before, both players dice off. The winner gets to choose whether to select which large terrain pieces to use from table 1, or place them ‐ ties add a river and a reroll, as before. The loser gets the other choice. Rôles are reversed for the small terrain pieces (which are ‘local’ terrain and need not be chosen from the table). The player who placed the large pieces then gets to move two pieces up to 6”, then the other player does. As per the Raiders supplement, the terrain is modified by the table on page 19. This table has been modified slightly, since the terrain tables in this article already assume generally denser terrain than the core rules.
The addition of the Raiders supplement for Dux Britanniarum means I get to expand my piece from last year’s Summer Special to cover terrain tables for the lands of the Irish, Scotti and Picts. If you want the full details, I recommend treating yourself to a copy of the 2013 Summer Special anyway, but I’ll summarise the changes to the setup rules briefly here. The terrain in the lands of the Raiders is wilder, more primaeval, than that of Dux Britanniarum, the latter having been civilised and settled by the hand of Rome for almost half a millennium. As a
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Notes • the special terrain piece ‘coast’ means that part or all of one edge of the table (modelled as you prefer, but covering at least 3’ of edge) represents the sea shore. If you have the option of multiple coast pieces, you can be creative with inlets, peninsulas, etc. (Some of the terrain under discussion does have very impressive crinkly bits!) • two (or more) terrain pieces separated by a slash means ‘either but not both’ ‐ for example, “fen/forest x 2” means that you can pick one or two bits of fen, or one or two bits of forest, but not one of each. • if a province is described as ‘well‐watered’, a river is present if the two dice rolls for the large terrain pieces are equal or differ by only one. • ‘bog’ equates to ‘marsh’ in the Dux Britanniarum version of these tables ‐ medium terrain, ‐2/dice effect on movement. So ‐ enjoy. To do this properly, you could have fun building a few pretty striking large pieces of hill or mountain, as well as some dense bits of primaeval forest, heather‐covered moorland, and peat bog.
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tailor made for this campaign. However, hopefully they will serve as a pattern for anyone wanting to convert other scenarios. The core German force for the campaign now becomes the Infantry Company as presented in IABSM. This is as follows:
One of the great things about historical wargaming “fluff” is that, unlike some system specific background material, it is real and can, therefore, be applied to a whole range of wargame rules. One of the first things Robert Avery and I discussed when we published Chain of Command was whether it was possible to apply a simple formula to his supplement for I Ain’t Been Shot Mum so that they could be used with a platoon level game. It because rapidly apparent that whilst one could take a broad brush approach in certain area that, if one wished to retain the original scenario balance, it would necessary to take a bespoke approach. One of the highlights of 2014 for me has been our playing through the 29 Let’s Go! Campaign. It became readily apparent that the campaign could be run just as effectively with IABSM as with Chain of Command. We have the period maps to allow us to enlarge the playing area for each game and, with the support lists re‐worked, we could duplicate the system to provide Company sized scenarios. GOING LARGE Of course, the historical background to the campaign and the associated victory conditions can remain precisely as they are; what needs adjusting are the force lists and some minor detail. These we present here. As with 29, Let’s Go! These lists, specifically the support lists, are
KOMPANIE HEADQUARTERS One Big Man Level III Two MG42 tripod mount with five crew each One Panzerschreck team of two men
PLATOONS ONE TO THREE One Big Man Level III Three rifle squads of 8 men Two Panzerfaust 30 per squad The German force will begin the campaign rated as a Veteran force, using the following table for Actions: 0 1 2 3 4 1, 2, 3 4 5 6, 7 8 They have a card in the Game Deck for each Big Man and each Platoon present with the force and use the Bonus Cards listed in the main rules on
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The core US force for the campaign now becomes the Infantry Company as presented in IABSM. This is as follows:
Page 80. For this campaign these will be as follows: Rally Heroic Leader Dynamic Commander Tank Killer Bonus MG Bonus Sniper The German support Options are as follows:
KOMPANIE HEADQUARTERS One Big Man Level III One Big Man Level II Three bazooka teams, two men each
GERMAN SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE
PLATOONS ONE TO THREE
Panzerschreck team for one platoon Roadblock Minefield, 6” by 2” strip Barbed Wire, 6” length Entrenchments for one squad Sniper
One Big Man Level II Three rifle squads of 10 men One bazooka squad of 2 men
WEAPON PLATOONS One Big Man Level II Three 60mm mortars with three man crews Two 0.30 MMG teams, four crew each The US force will begin the campaign rated as a Good Regular force, using the following table for Actions: 0 1 2 3 4 1, 2, 3 4 5, 6 7, 8, 9 10 They have a card in the Game Deck for each Big Man and each Platoon present with the force and use the Bonus Cards listed in the main rules on Page 83. For this campaign these will be as follows: Reconnaissance Bonus Rally Armoured Bonus Move Heroic Leader Sniper If the US forces lose a game and are obliged to replay that scenario they will add a Hesitant Troops card to the deck for any subsequent games at that location.
LIST TWO MG42 team, five crew le IG18 with five crew Pak 38 AT gun with five crew
LIST THREE Mortar Platoon with FOO Hilfswillinge Volunteers Pak 40 AT gun with five crew
Hilfswillinge Volunteers As with the original Chain of Command campaign, the German player may elect to replace his losses by using the Russian volunteers who form a non‐ combatant part of his force. If this is done once, the following Action Table is used: 0 1 2 3 1, 2, 3 4 5, 6 7, 8 If this option is selected twice, the following Action Table is used: 0 1 2 3 1, 2, 3 4, 5 6 7, 8 The Hilfswillinge option may not be selected more than twice during the campaign.
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The US support Options are as follows:
At St Germain‐du‐Pert and Cardonville the German player will have two fresh Companies, but their losses will need to be tracked for any subsequent games at the same locations. As with the original campaign, the scenarios are played until the US player obliges the German player to withdraw. We did produce a set of notes for adding Force Morale to IABSM which appeared in the 2103 Christmas Special, whether the player uses that is up to them, but we do recommend some form of force morale at St Germain‐du‐Pert and Cardonville or the German player will be free to fight to the last man, and that’s not very realistic. An alternative is to set a numerical target of 50% losses in the Infantry Platoons and oblige the Germans to retire when that figure is reached. Where individual support weapons or teams are selected, such as Panzerschreck teams or MMG teams, these should be allocated to one of the existing platoons. Unlike Chain of Command, IABSM does not use a Patrol Phase and jump‐Off Points. However, the Blinds system which the rules use does allow us to use the standard Chain of Command set up. Simply allow the attacker to move his Blinds the number of “free” moves which the Chain of Command scenario allows for the Patrol Markers. After that play the game with Blinds as normal. We have noted the start point for both sides’ Blinds in the scenario notes which follow. For all scenarios, the US player should have one dummy Blind in addition to one for each platoon present. The German player should have two dummy Blinds.
US SUPPORT LIST LIST ONE Engineer Mine Clearance Squad, 8 men Engineer Wire Cutting Squad, 8 men Engineer Demolition Squad, 8 men Engineer Flamethrower Team, 2 men Sniper
LIST TWO 0.30 MMG team, five crew LIST THREE 0.50 HMG team, five crew M4 Sherman Engineer Squads These are slightly different to the Teams in Chain of Command in that they are eight men strong. They should have an Engineer card included in the Game Deck when operating on their own or, more sensibly, can be attached to one of the infantry platoons. These squads operate with three Actions until they are reduced to three men, at which point they are removed from play. They have no function other than the specific engineering task to which they are dedicated. They may not engage an enemy with fire, but if contacted in close combat will fight with 1D6 per man.
M4 Sherman Where these are selected add one Platoon card to the deck. Where more than six are selected, these must be divided into two platoons with an additional card added to the Game Deck. One Level II Big Man will be present for each platoon or three or more tanks. REPLACEMENTS & REINFORCEMENTS As with the original campaign, the US player will get a fresh company for each game. The German player will track the casualties for his core Company and use the casualty table on Page 19 of At the Sharp End to deal with wounded men returning to their platoons. Clearly the numbers of men affected will be greater, but simply use the system as it is without any changes.
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the off‐table Marders will have their own card in the deck, one Marder firing each time this is dealt.
Scenario One: Probe at La Cambe
Scenario Three: Flanking St German‐du‐Pert The US Player begins the game with his Blinds deployed on the Northern table edge but with two Blinds deployed on the Eastern table edge as far South as where the hedge is shown exiting the table. The German Blinds may deploy anywhere on the Southern table edge or within the village. Support Options are exactly the same as in the original campaign; however, the US player must select at least three Shermans. The Germans have a platoon of three Marders under a Big Man Level II.
The US Player begins the game with his Blinds deployed on the table edge within 12” of the point where the road enters the Eastern table edge. The German Blinds may deploy anywhere on the Western half of the table. Support Options are exactly the same as in the original campaign; however, the US player must select at least three Shermans. The special rules in the Umpire’s Notes are not changed. However, the 88mm guns may only fire when the Most senior Big Man’s card is dealt and then only when he does nothing else in that turn.
Scenario Two: Delaying Action at Arthenay
Scenario Four: Radar Station at Cardonville The US Player begins the game with his Blinds deployed on the table edge within 12” of the point where the road enters the Eastern table edge. The German Blinds may deploy anywhere on the Western half of the table. Support Options are exactly the same as in the original campaign for the US player; however, he
The US Player begins the game with his Blinds deployed on the table edge within 12” of the point where the road enters the Eastern table edge. The German Blinds may deploy anywhere on the Western half of the table. Support Options are exactly the same as in the original campaign; however, the US player must select at least two Shermans. The special rules in the Umpire’s Notes are not changed. However,
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must select at least two Shermans. The German player is limited to eight points of support. The bombardment from HMS Glasgow counts as a pre‐game Stonk which covers the whole table.
Shot Mum the number of Big Men is pretty much the same, just at a higher level. Where a force reaches a point where At the Sharp End says they have a +2 or more on their Force Morale roll, upgrade the force to Elite status and increase two Big Men by one level. Where a +1 Force Morale roll is indicated, increase the company commander’s Big Man status by one Level. Where a ‐1 on Force Morale is indicated, add a Hesitant Troops card to the Game Deck. Where a ‐2 is shown, additionally reduce the Level of two Big Men, one of which should be the company commander. The force commander’s opinion is treated slightly differently; whereas Chain of Command sees that reflected in the Force Morale system, here we need to represent that in a way which meshes in with IABSM. As a result, if the commander’s outlook falls into the light blue zones, remove the Heroic Leader card from the Game Deck. If it falls to dark blue, remove the Dynamic Command card. CONCLUSION And that’s it. As can be seen, there are actually a significant amount of minor changes to be made in order for the system to work for a different game system, but none of these are particularly complex. Most of the variations indicated here, especially those for post‐game opinion tracking, can be applied carte blanche if we are looking to amend any other campaign supplements for IABSM. Where some thought needs to be applied is the points for the support selection. These need careful consideration in order to retain the knife edge balance which makes the campaign so much fun. Hopefully this piece unlocks 29 Let’s Go! for IABSM gamers and provide an insight into how to use At the Sharp End for other systems.
Scenario Five: Home Run at Osmanville The US Player begins the game with his Blinds deployed on the Eastern table edge. The German Blinds may deploy anywhere on the Western half of the table. Support Options are exactly the same as in the original campaign for the US player; however, he must select at least three Shermans. The German player is limited to ten support points. This section of the campaign mirrors the original in all details. For the US player the effect of each action on the Colonel’s Outlook is all important and needs no special rules over and above the table on Page 30 of 29, Let’s Go! For the Germans, the normal range of opinions should be checked: The men, the CO and the platoon (in this case the Company) commander’s opinion. This will need some slight alteration to handle the larger scale action. The CO’s opinion works in the normal manner with no changes required. When calculating the men’s opinion at the end of each game, divide the number of men lost by three and then use all of the original tables in At the Sharp End. Losses of Leaders are kept the same as in I Ain’t Been
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“CATCH THE PIGEON”
A SCENARIO FOR BAG THE HUN BY JIM JACKAMAN
Suggested Playing Time: Complexity Rating:
BACKGROUND
1 hour Junior Ace TABLE SET UP This is how your table may look if you are using a basic sky blue hex grid. The starting positions and angle of the sun are clearly shown.
Operation Bagration. June 1944. On the 1st Byelorussian Front, armoured units of the Soviet 65th Army have assembled for an assault on the 9th Panzer Army, positioned north of the Pripyet Marshes. To maintain the vital element of surprise, the tanks and vehicles of the 1st Guards Tank Corp have been concealed and camouflaged in dense woodland. Despite these precautions, a low level reconnaissance flight by a single Fw189/A2 of Auf.4.(F)/11 has penetrated the ‘maskirovka’ screen and has taken aerial photographs of a heavy tank concentration.
GAME OUTLINE The game commences with the Fw189‐A2 entering on Turn 1 from the East at Level 2. It must make a successful landing on the forward air strip at the Western end of the map. This is six hexes in length and is protected by two light flak positions, which may be placed anywhere within ten hexes of the airstrip. A fighter sweep of four FW190/F8’s of I/SG10 will enter on Turn 4 at Level 4 from the North, having been vectored in to escort the Fw189 as it tries to evade the pursuing Soviet fighters. On turn 3 a Zvenyo of six La 5‐FN of the 143rd IAP / 229th IAD will enter from the East at Level 3. The objective of the Soviet fighters is to shoot down the Fw189 before it can make a successful landing. The objective of the Luftwaffe player is to ensure that the Fw189 gets through and makes a successful landing at the forward air strip. The sun is in the South. All aircraft may operate as pairs.
ORDER OF BATTLE Lufwaffe: Fw189‐A2 Auf.4.(F)/11) Position Lt Tannenbaum
Pilot Type Veteran
Fw190/F8 I/SG10
Schwarm One: Position Schwarmfuhrer Wingman Rottefuhrer Wingman
Pilot Type Veteran Regular Veteran Sprog
VVS: Zvenyo One: La5‐FN 143rd IAP / 229th IAD Position Zvenyo Leader Wingman Para Leader
Pilot Type Junior Ace Regular Veteran
CARDS This scenario will use the following cards (cards marked * are in the deck from the start, others are added as units appear)
Fw189 Move* Altitude Bonus* Fw189 Fire* The Blank Card* Air Gunners Fire* Bail Out!* Schwarm Move Schwarm Leader
Zvenyo Move Luftwaffe Formation Bonus Zvenyo Fire Soviet Formation Bonus Zvenyo Leader Soviet Junior Ace Bonus Schwarm Fire Flak!*
VICTORY CONDITIONS The Soviets must destroy the Fw189 or make it crash land. The Luftwaffe win if the Fw189 survives and lands safely, even if it is damaged. If the Fw189 makes a successful landing, the Soviets may strafe the airstrip to destroy the plane on the ground but this must be accomplished within two turns to achieve the victory conditions. If they fail to destroy the Fw189, the Soviets will be forced to withdraw via the eastern edge of the playing area. If the Luftwaffe shoot down half or more of the Soviet fighters before they exit the table they can achieve a draw, even if the Fw189 has been destroyed. If any fighter aircraft inadvertently exits the table, it is assumed to have run low on fuel and returned to base.
NOTES The Fw189 A‐2 had a maximum speed of around 220mph equating to a SPD rating of 5 rounding up. It was also very agile for its design, so I've set a MAN rating of 7* to give it the ability to wiggle its way out of trouble. The ALT rating is 5 although this is academic given the low level at which it will be flying in the scenario, with an average ROC of 2. Of greater importance is the ROB factor, which is a pretty substantial 4 thanks to the extra armour plating that was installed to protect vital sections of the airframe. The SIZ rating will be a 3 in line with similar aircraft and to reflect the twin boom design. The FF are also a bit of a surprise, given a relatively light forward armament of 2 x 7.92mm MG17's but with two twin 7.92mm MG18Z machine guns in flexible mounts to the rear. This gives a Forward FF of 2 but a Rear FF of 4, so a bit of a sting in the tail for any over ambitious Soviet fighter pilot. Forward firing guns will get an AMMO LIMIT of 12. 49
The Irish Question A KMH scenario by Nick Skinner
Introduction and Background
The destination was Bantry Bay and among the men on board the ships was Wolf Tone, Irish lawyer and exiled revolutionary, heading home to Ireland to raise forces against the British.
In 1796 the French Navy was a shadow of its former glorious self. The revolution, so extreme and so bloody, had deprived the service of many of its best officers. Morale was low and so was the fighting ability of many vessels. Yet despite this, French revolutionaries, their passions raised by Irish exiles who sang of the possibility of inciting rebellion in Ireland, thought they could defy the strongest navy on the planet – and some of the roughest seas – and embark on a huge naval and military expedition mission that would involve an amphibious landing some 15,000 men on the wintry shores of southern Ireland.
The expedition, under General Louis‐Lazare Hoche and Vice Admiral Morard de Galles consisted of seventeen ships of the line, thirteen frigates, five corvettes, two gunboats and six transports and almost 15,000 men – as well as arms, money and clothing for the rebels that they felt would flock to their colours. Hoche’s second in command was an up and coming young officer named Emmanuel Grouchy, a man whom history would never forgive for not marching to the
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sound of the guns at Waterloo some 17 years later.
campaign. The December weather in the English Channel, whilst useful for keeping Admiral Colpoys’ fifteen Royal Navy ships off station, was notorious for the frequency and strength of easterly gales, and this was to prove the downfall of the expedition.
A fine place to land The fleet set sail in mid December 1976. They had a cunning plan and had settled on an excellent landing site. The anchorage at Berehaven, on Bantry Bay would have been the ideal place for a fleet to land troops, provided they could give the Royal Navy the slip. The harbour offered many attractions for a landing. In his 1916 text Early Irish History and Antiquities and the History of West Cork O’Halloran describes the Berehaven anchorage thus:
Another fine mess The fleet set out ‐ in disorder from the beginning – and things soon got worse. Much to Tone’s annoyance, the weather, the seas and incompetent French seamanship soon made the unlikely look impossible. Strong winds were blowing. Much of the fleet was scattered in the bad visibility and bad weather. Slovenly handling in these conditions made matters worse. Two 74 gun warships, the Seduisant and the Nestor were lost within days of leaving Brest with terrible loss of life. Two more followed on arrival off Ireland when the Surveilant had to be scuttled in Bantry Bay and the Impatient was wrecked off Sheepshead. The frigate Tartare was captured by the Polyphemus and brought into Cork harbour; the Ville d'Oriente, with 400 hussars on board, was taken into Kinsale by the Unicorn. The transports fared just as badly, particularly the Justin which foundered at sea and all on board perished. There were one or two brighter points though. The 74 gun vessel Droits de l'Homme, for instance, arrived at Bantry Bay and cruised off the coast, capturing the brigs Cumberland and Calypso. But the victory was short lived and the Droits de l’Homme was, of course, famously engaged by Sir Edward Pellew’s 44 gun frigate Indefatigable just two weeks after the failure of the Bantry Bay landing in an action that saw the French ship run ashore.
“It lies between Beare Island and the mainland, and is seven miles long, and from one to four wide. It is of considerable depth, having 2,900 acres covered with from six to fifteen fathoms at low water spring tides; and 1,900 acres with over five fathoms at low water. It has two entrances, one at the east, the principal one, which is well lighted by two lighthouses, and one at the west, which is of considerable width and great depth, so that sailing ships may go in and out in any weather….The harbour presents many advantages for trade purposes. It lies well for vessels trading with Western and Southern Europe, also the West Indies and America. Some centuries ago it was a busy place, and ships from France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal brought their merchandise hither—wines, brandy, etc., and carried home wool, fish, etc”.
Tone’s frustrations about all of this – much of which was of course unknown to him at the time ‐ are clearly seen from his diaries. On the 18th December he wrote
But for all their planning and rational thinking this was not a good time of the year to plan a
“December 18th.—At nine this morning a fog so thick that we
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The terribly weather continued, and so did Tone’s misfortunes. His journal entries for that time show a man frustrated at each turn. On the 26th December he wrote:
cannot see a ship's length before us. Hazy weather, master Noah, damn it!.....This damned fog continues without interruption. I asked General Cherin what we should do in case they did not rejoin us. He said that he supposed General Grouchy would take the command with the troops we had with us, which, on examination, we found to amount to about 6,500 men. The Captain has opened a packet containing instructions for his conduct in case of separation, which order him to cruise for five days off Mizen Head, and, at the end of that time, proceed to the mouth of the Shannon, where he is to remain three more, at the end of which time, if he does not see the fleet or receive further orders by a frigate, he is to make the best of his way back to Brest."
“Notwithstanding all our blunders, it is the dreadful stormy weather and the easterly winds, which have been blowing furiously and without intermission since we made Bantry Bay, that have ruined us”. A few days later it was clear that all was lost: “December 29th.—At four this morning the Commodore made the signal to steer for France; so there is an end of our expedition for the present, perhaps for ever.” So the rebellion never was. By the middle of January, just over thirty of de Galles’s original fleet of forty three had made it safely back to France. In all, the weather claimed seven ships, the Royal Navy six. But who knows what might have happened had the weather been different and if Wolf Tone and his French colleagues had been blessed with better luck?
In the end, just seventeen ships made the Mizen Head rendezvous by 19 December, and on 22 December, by which time more had gathered, 15 ships carrying 6,400 men entered Bantry Bay. But still the weather made landings impossible, and the French knew that before long the Royal Navy would be breathing down their necks. Tone, whose ship had made it to the Bay, was downcast: “December 22nd.—This morning, at eight, we have neared Bantry Bay considerably, but the fleet is terribly scattered; no news of the Fraternité. . . . Two o'clock; we have been tacking over since eight this morning, and I am sure we have not gained one hundred yards; the wind is right ahead, and the fleet dispersed, several being far to leeward. ... At half‐past six, cast anchor off Bere Island, being still four leagues from our landing place”
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Bantry Bay Scenario for KMH
The British Fleet
This scenario allows us to create an encounter that never was. On the one side, French Sans Culottes, buying time for their transports to slip inshore to commence landing men and equipment. On the other, the Jolly Jack Tars of the Royal Navy, outnumbered and outgunned, but with the tenacity and close hauled skill needed to force the day….
At the time of the campaign, Brest was under observation by the Royal Navy’s inshore squadron, under Captain Sir Edward Pellew. It consisted of four frigates, Pellew himself in the Indefatigable, a 44‐gun heavy frigate, as well as the Revolutionnaire (a French prize taken into British service), the Phoebe, and the Amazon. When Pellew saw the French emerge he sent off the Revolutionnaire to alert Admiral Sir John Colpoys, who with fifteen of the line would have normally been closer inshore, but who had been blown off station by the same strong easterly winds that facilitated the French departure. In this scenario we assume that Pellew, aggressive as he was, moves into action with the French ships he has been stalking, as the top gallants of Colpoy’s vanguard draw up behind. The Inshore Squadron (Sir Edward Pellew) Indefatigable (44) (Elite Jolly Jack Tars) Phoebe (36) (Elite Jolly Jack Tars) Amazon (32) (Average Jolly Jack Tars) Elements of Colpoy’s Squadron: St. Albans (50) (Average Jolly Jack Tars) Majestic (74) (Elite Jolly Jack Tars) (Fast Sailor) Swiftsure (74) (Average Jolly Jack Tars)
French Fleet The French fleet for the scenario includes four 74s, two frigates and four transports, although of course this could be varied to suit whatever models you have available (provided you keep the game in balance!) La Surveilant (74) Average Sans Culottes Tourville (74) Average Sans Culottes Eole (74) Poor Sans Culottes Mucius (74) Poor San Culottes Plus Frigates Luminiere (36) (Average Sans Culottes) Jaspe (28) (Average Sans Culottes) Plus Troopships: Felix, Marie‐Rose, La Vie and Rene Artois
The British squadrons must prevent the French from getting their transports through to Bear haven
The French must get all four tramsport through to Bear haven. The transports have a broadside factor of 1 dice.
Table set up
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No shore batteries are provided in this scenario, but adding them might prove an interesting challenge for the French player.
The table should be set up as shown on the map, which assumes a 42 by 3” table, although this is flexible depending on the size of your own gaming table. The French ships may deploy anywhere in the NW quadrant of the table, and must do so before the British entry point is declared.
Cards This scenario will require the following cards: Wind Change Test Fire Test Steering Damage Test Boarding Party Strike Test Getting Choppy Test card French Squadron Move French Squadron Fire Transports Move Ships Boats Move Pellew’s Squadron Fire Pellew’s Squadron Move Copley’s Squadron Fire Copley’s Squadron Move
Exact locations depend on table size, but the French transports should start the game no closer than 30” the entrance to Bear Haven. Initial progress will be against the wind, so this will be a slow and dangerous voyage where the transports will look to the larget ships for protection. For the British, Pellew’s Inshore squadron enters one turn one, with Colpoy’s reinforcing force entering on Turn 4. Both these forces enter from the same position as shown on the map.
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Victory Conditions
The French can claim a victory by getting their transports through to Bear Haven.
For the British, victory can only be recorded if at least two of the French 74’s are captured or destroyed, plus 50% of the transports.
And finally
This scenario dovetails nicely with the Fondler and the Rebels scenario for Sharp Practice contained elsewhere in this special. Indeed, the two games can be linked so that the outcome of this game directly influences the make‐up of that game.
The number of French troops starting the Sharp Practice game ashore could depend on the number of transports which are able to make the safety of Bear Haven.
Full details of how this affects play can be found in Fondler and the Rebels.
So what are you waiting for…set sail for Bantry Bay!
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Hello, and, once again, welcome to this edition of the “Roundwood Report” where, for a change, I thought we’d take a different approach and focus on not just on the past year and the traditional look forward, but also to take the opportunity to get some practical tips from Richard. Quite how much he’s prepared to tell, we will find out!
Rich: The result has been that I haven’t really done much marketing, but I have really enjoyed an extra year playing Chain of Command. I have painted a load of new armies, collected an absurd amount of terrain and Corgi diecast vehicles. It has been fantastic fun! Sidney: But from a business perspective, has that worked for you?
Sidney: Richard, welcome to the “Roundwood Report”. Tell us, how has 2014 been for you?
Rich: I’m still here, I am not yet boiling up my boots for lunch. What I do know is that it has filled me with a great deal of enthusiasm for lots of other projects, like the Pint Sized Campaigns, which I am having so much fun with. I haven’t been so motivated in years.
Richard: I really don’t know. As we sit here talking I’m still in the middle of editing the Christmas Special as well as having two other projects to conclude before we shut up shop and deck the halls. I suppose that sums the year up actually – hectic!
Sidney: Really?
Sidney: That’s interesting, as I look back over the years 2014 is the first year in which we haven’t had a major new rule set released for ages.
Rich: Yup. When you read this issue of the Special you’ll hopefully see that in several areas. The latest Fondler scenario, for example. I haven’t written anything for Fondler in ages, but now I am really excited by the idea of leaping into all sorts of stuff. I don’t know if that’s good for the Lard business, but it’s certainly been good for me!
Richard: True. We did have The Raiders for Dux which was a big release for us. It was the first time we have gone with a hard copy supplement and that kept us busy at the front end of the year. But you are right, and that break is intentional.
Sidney: That sounds like a great result for you. How will the rest of us see the benefit of a new vibrant Richard?
In the past we have always put a lot of work into the testing and preparation of our rule sets, but we have never really allowed ourselves the time to then promote them after the release day; we’ve been straight on to the next project and really relied on word of mouth to do the marketing for us. This time I wanted to do it differently.
Rich: Well, over Christmas I want to get the Chain of Command master weapons list completed and review all of the existing lists plus add some more. In terms of core lists we are not that far off covering the whole war. It will be good to complete that. Then more pint sized campaigns which will allow us to flesh out the basic lists for specific battles and campaigns. That’s where I see us really adding value.
Sidney: And what has the result been?
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Sidney: So how does £3.50 stack up in the Pint Sized world of business. That seems a remarkable price for something which, I know from playing the campaign at the club, provides so much fun.
Rich: Yes, certainly. I started using Powerpoint years ago when most wargame publications used very simple images to reflect terrain. Green dots for trees, lines for roads, boxes for houses, that sort of thing. Over time what Powerpoint could do became much more impressive. I think it was Vista which first really provided some clever tools for shadows and 3D shapes and since then our maps have got a bit better.
Rich: Ah, well, it’s not the best pricing decision in the world as things stand. It is very difficult to make any money on something which brings in £3 a time after PayPal take their slice. But the truth is that as we build up a portfolio of these, people will not just buy one; they will buy the set. For example, someone with a US force will not only be able to get 29, Let’s Go!, eventually they’ll be able to follow that force all the way into Germany with a series of such campaigns. That’s when the finances will eventually stack up.
If you like, I can run through a few simple tutorials for what, houses, trees, roads? That sort of thing? Sidney: Fantastic! That would be really helpful. Let’s do that. Rich: Okay. Let me say first of all that part of the process has been building up a small library of key images. For a start have several images of the background surface which ranges from pure green grass to a very muddy field. These have been created by taking photographs and using them. Now, I don’t mean taking photographs of actual grass; that would be too detailed. What I did was purchase a sheet of model railway grass and photographed that. I use the camera to get lots of other images of mud, puddles and other such bits which I used a basic image manipulator to mix together. So, now I have the following basic images ranging from this:
More importantly, writing supplements like that is, for me, absolutely what I enjoy doing. So I’m getting paid to have fun. That’s good enough for me! For the customer, I want them to play the games, and having access to such material at a price where they don’t have to save up for it or think about whether they buy that or something else instead makes it an attractive product. If nothing else, we are breaking the mould of the high prices being charged throughout the hobby, and my hope is that people will tell their friends and this will make Chain of Command more attractive as a whole.
Grass
Sidney: Sounds like a business plan to me! Are you changing your ways and planning ahead? Rich: Yes, but still no time schedules I’m afraid. I find myself perpetually run off my feet and I literally have to resort to booking empty time in my diary in order to achieve things. What I do have is a good general idea of what is in the pipeline for the future. Sidney: That’s a relief as I’ll be asking you about that shortly. Before I do, there is a burning question which I and numerous people want me to ask.
To this: Trench Grass
Rich: Oh yeah? I’m worried now. I can assure you I am a happily married man Sidney! Sidney: Ahem. Nothing like that. For a change, I thought we could make this chat into something a bit different to our usual peer into the crystal ball and discuss something practical. One of the questions that I have been meaning to ask you, and I know a lot of other people have asked, is how do you draw your maps? I know you have often said you use Powerpoint, but I’ve looked on my version and I don’t see any map drawing tools. Can you tell us how it’s done.
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In between I have fields, arid grass, muddy grass and a couple of others. Getting these sounds like a bit of hard work, but most mobile phones have a camera built in, so you can capture imaged whenever they pop up. Of course, once you have the photos you can use them again and again.
Here I use the freehand option in Shapes. It gives you a pencil icon which you control with the mouse to just do multiple rough lines where you see the wagon ruts having been. I’ll show it here in black so it’s clear.
Sidney: Right, so how would you add a road to that? Rich: That is simply Power point. Here’s an example of that. I use the Shapes tool to add a curved line. That works best for roads as there are few very sharp angles. You can always adjust that with the Edit Points tool if you want to get a more angular effect. Here you can see I am creating a T-junction. The colour I have chosen is a basic one from my standard palette, but for those who use a different colour scheme this can be customised setting the colours as red 221, green 217, blue 195. For most work I select a line thickness of 20 or 24 points and then, from the Shape Effects menu, I select a faded edge of 2.5 points. For a dusty gravel or dirt road this works fine for me.
Now that is done, I convert the lines to our dusty colour and set the thickness to 4.25 and then, again using the Shape Effects menu, I select a faded edge of 2.5 points. Essentially its just the same process, but we want to individual lines to merge into one and leave clumps of grass in the centre of the track.
You can see that I am not trying to keep within the space represented by the tabletop, we can just trim this up later when we are finished.
Sidney: That looks good. Surprisingly easy to get that effect.
Sidney: Looks straightforward to me. use that for all roads?
Rich: I can assure you Sidney, nothing I do is very complicated. If it gets complicated my brain melts!
Do you
Rich: Not all. I use grey for surfaced roads, again with the faded edges to suggest grass growing into the edges. What you want to avoid is making it look like geometrical hard lines out of a school exercise book!
Sidney: So I’ve heard. Okay, so how would we add a house at the crossroads? Rich: Now that is very simple. Just add a rectangular shape in whatever roof tile colour you want and then select the Shape Effects option and add a bevel. It’s the one they call Angle. The select the correct width of the bevel so that it forms a roof with a clear ridge. Once you have done that, select a shadow option for the shape and that’s it.
The other type of simple road is a track. Here I am looking to suggest something where just the wheel ruts are showing. I’ll add one of them to make a crossroads.
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I used to use images of roof tiles to get a super realistic effect, adding chimneys and other bits. Then I came to the conclusion that keeping houses nice and simple, almost like a house from a child’s building blocks, does the job just as well with far less messing about.
the size for smaller or larger trees. The important thing is that once you have made one such tree, you keep that and use it for all subsequent trees you ever draw. At least for trees of that type. For trees such as poplars the system is very similar, as you’ll see below.
I’ve even used the same initial shape but reduce the size and lightened the image colour. Then I draw the extended shadow before adding the two together. The original shape is the same, what is different is that the shadow infers a very different shaped tree – long and tall – and when the reader sees it their mind tells them that is the case. As you can see below.
Sidney: I do know what you mean. Sometimes less is more when it comes to detail. Things can get too fussy. Rich: That’s precisely it. What I am attempting to do is to present an image which shows the gamer how to set up his table whilst at the same time being easy on the eye. I am not painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! Sidney: Can we add some trees now? Rich: We’ll do better than that Sidney, we’ll add two types of trees. Have you ever seen how architects draw trees in a plan, like an odd vaguely round thing with a little circle in the middle to show the trunk? Well, that’s how I make a tree. Here are the three stages.
What is important is to decide where your shadows are going to be and use that set-up for EVERY map you produce. Mine always fall to the South East, or at least the bottom right, and that means I just recycle images I keep on one document in Powerpoint called, funnily enough, IMAGES. Once you’ve done a few maps you’ll find that, apart from the roads things are pretty much cut and paste.
First I use the basic shape thing in Powerpoint to draw a circle. I then roughly stick to that to draw the shape of the canopy. Once that is done I add an image to that which is a photo I took of a wood across the fields from my house in the summer. It gives me a vaguely dappled green look. I then copy and paste the shape to make to shadow. To do this I remove the line and give it a 1 point soft edge. They the fill is plain old black with about a 60% transparency. This is for the summer. In the winter a 75% transparency works better. Once that is done, add the two together with, obviously, the green bit on top and save that as a single shape. Then you can copy and paste to your heart’s content. Change
Sidney: What about hedges and walls? Rich: Walls you can just use the straight line drawing tool for, increase them up to the right size and then add shadow. That’s simple. With hedges things get a bit trickier as there is a bit of free-hand drawing involved. But it isn’t too arduous as once you have the first bit done you can recycle that a lot. Set the shape you use for your tree as default shape and then draw the
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hedge with the free-hand drawing tool. In absurdly simple terms, try to remember that a hedge is simply made up of a lot of Mickey Mouse’s ears, a bit like Mickey Mouse camo that the British used in WWII. Draw a moderate lengths of that and then you can copy and past, using trees to hide the joins, as below.
girder bridges where you have to draw the shadow in a semi-transparent, soft-edged shape, but stuff like this is a matter of practice to make perfect. For most gamers what we have covered today should really get them started. Sidney: And you then trim the map up I take it? Rich: Yes, sorry. You can either save that as a jpeg, paste in into your document and use the basic image trimmer in Word to cut it down to size or you can use any simple image package to do that.
You will need to create a bit of variety with hedges, but make four or five different looking lengths and then you can just fill in any gaps. This is undoubtedly the slowest part of most maps (unless you game in a desert!) but it’s worth it to get a nice looking end result.
Sidney: That’s really interesting. Thanks for running through that with us. Tell me, when you are putting a map together for a game, do you use historical maps as a guide? Rich: Very much so. I tend to use the scale on a map to draw up a box the scale size of the wargames table. I then use that to determine the area of the game I want to play and the save that image, often with a screen capture. I then paste that image into Powerpoint and build the picture of the table on top of that. All of the images in 29 Let’s Go!, for example, were built that was on the basis of proper 1944 BIGIOT maps. Why bother making a tabletop up when you can consult the real map?
Sidney: Anything else you’d like to add. Rich: Only really rivers. I use the curve tool most of the time for these. I draw them as a large extended balloon or sausage shape. The Soft Round bevel tool gives this an indented look. The shape has a blue fill and a tan brown line. Setting the line to 1.5 thickness and the 3D format to a top width of 2.5 and depth of 2.5 makes this tan edge appear to be a bank.
Sidney: And that leads us back very nicely to Pint Sized Campaigns! What do you have in the pipeline for them in the future? Rich: Well, soon after Christmas we should be publishing the next one; a bash between British Paras and 21 Panzer Division post D-Day, with the Germans attempting to push through the village of Ranville, to the East of the Orne, and capture Pegasus Bridge. It’s very much in the same vein aas “29”. You’ll have lists specific to the troops fighting there and about five scenarios which will provide a nice manageable campaign. After that, well, I haven’t decided yet which one I’m going to work on over Christmas, but my present to myself will be a week off to just read
That essentially completes 99% of our images. You are always going to get oddities, such as
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and crunch through maps and books. That’s my idea of fun. Sidney: much?
Sidney: Is Richard Branson involved? Rich: I certainly hope not as I’d like this to get off the ground! Actually I am working with a figure manufacturer who are creating a range of figures to accompany the rules as well as vehicles and scenery. By the time the rules are produced we will have the whole project ready to buy off the shelf.
You really enjoy the research that
Rich: I do when it is combined with a wargame. To some degree, the game I produce at the end is what ensures that all of my research is actually stored away for good. I have a terrible memory, but writing the campaign will mean I can refer to it in ten years time and that will remind me of all the research I did. In the more immediate world, I get to play a campaign which has all of the nuances and variables which only a campaign can provide. It’s a win win situation.
Sidney: So, when you say Chain of Command in Space, what is this aimed at? Rich: Hard sci-fi, but with a plausible backdrop narrative. Essentially the game is based around the search for carbon based resources and a campaign system of Dux-esque proportions which provides a long-term agenda for your games. It’s set around 300 years in the future on an Earthlike planet and the competition between three corporations sent to this brave new world to harvest resources really take a more military turn when they are cut off from Earth. All of a sudden, this isn’t competition between three listed companies, it is a fight for survival. Chuck in a wild card, literally, in the shape of a Snake Plissken stlye “Escape from New York” band of escaped convicts and you have a very exciting and gritty environment in which to game.
Sidney: Okay, so lots of campaigns, but what else for 2015? Rich: Two very big projects. Starting in January I will be touring the shows with a new set of rules; the modern version of Chain of Command. You’ll be able to read an introduction to it in the Special, but Leigh Neville down in Australia has been working hard on that for the last year. Sidney: Leigh Neville? Hasn’t he penned a number of Ospreys on the subject...in fact didn’t he do some work with Force on Force rules for Afghanistan?
Sidney: And this from the man who coined the term “Space Pixies”?
Rich: I believe so. Anyway, he’s been using Chain of Command for the past year and has done a blinding job on that. I unleash the beast at Penarth in January!
Rich: Hey, I know. Sell out and all that. But really, it appeals to me. The idea of a post apocalypse narrative as always had a lure, and this presents a plausible version of that. I make no apologies for the term Space Pixies; I don’t want to create a strange future where perpetual war goes on in a weirdo techno-magical world with blokes dressed up in oversized suits fighting rats with pole arms and skeletons with ray guns; I’m keen to examine the near future and the development of weapons technology. I like the setting of man’s first steps into space for very practical and commercial reasons. If you like, these are the new East India Company and their rivals. How they interact will make for a fun and long-term gaming universe to which we can add as time goes on. I can’t say a lot more as this is drawing board stuff, but that’s scheduled for the second half of 2015. Possibly as a Kickstarter.
Sidney: Wow! So have you got all of the figures painted and new terrain ready? Rich: Ah, that is but mere piffling detail, Sidney. Fear not, all will come right over the Christmas hols! Sidney: So how much have you got done at the moment? Rich: Um, nothing yet. But I have bought the toys. I shall whirl my brush like a demented painting dervish and crash them out. Sidney: Empress Miniatures?
Sidney: A Kickstarter? Why that route.
Rich: Yes, well them and Eureka. The quality of both ranges is simply fantastic and between the two of them they have really got all bases covered for me.
Rich: Well, it’s not so much the funding. It’s more of a marketing imperative. We are not know for rules of this genre and a Kickstarter would be a great way of showing people that this is a fully developed project, all ready to go. This won’t just be a few drawings and the odd sculpt. The whole thing will be ready to go. This can
Sidney: Right, so that is one project. What’s the other? Rich: CoC in Space?
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only allow us to promote the whole scheme more effectively and get a better platform from which to promote the whole thing. I’m really excited about it.
Of course that doesn’t mean that we aren’t seeing Chain of Command around the shows. At Fall In a superb Pegasus Bridge game run by Thomas Uhl from Pennsylvania looked absolutely stunning and we have games put on regularly around other conventions and stores. But what I have realised is that these guys are bravely swimming against the tide of conformity. I respect them greatly for doing so, indeed I have come to realise that being a Lardy in North America is a tougher job than it is over here. Fortunately we have a loyal band of guys who keep plugging away and I am very grateful to them for that.
Sidney: So will the ultimate stretch goal be dinner with you? Rich: Actually I thought it could be a night of passion with you Sid. That’ll get the money coming in! Sidney: Possibly the wrong sort of money. Rich: That is a fair point.
Sidney: How do you think you can break the stranglehold that the big brands have in the States?
Sidney: So from a quiet year in 2014 to a very busy one in 2015. Looking back, do you have any regrets over the past year.
Rich: I think it would need a full-blown points based rule set, and that’s not on the agenda. I really do find it unsettling when I see people showing off their new “platoon” of troops on the forum which have the most incredible mix of troops, clearly designed to be some kind of uberarmy with that system. I consider that to be riding roughshod over history and that isn’t anywhere you’ll find me.
Rich: If I am very honest, I am disappointed that Chain of Command has not made greater inroads in North America. We have really done well with the rules in the UK, Europe and Australia; in the independent magazines like Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy and Miniature Wargames with Battlegames you will see Chain of Command mentioned just as often as any rule set. We have really been successful, along with our Lard Ambassadors, in getting people playing and enjoying the rules. In North America it seems to be more of an uphill struggle.
Sidney: Any New Year’s Resolutions lined up? Rich: Drink more beer, read more books, play more games. Then drink some more beer.
Sidney: Why do you think that is?
Sidney: Sounds like a suitable inscription for your gravestone! My thanks to Richard for spilling the beans once again. I look forward to talking with him again soon.
Rich: I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and essentially I think it is indicative of the same hobby being configured in a very different fashion over there. My impression is that wargamers across the pond are more likely to stick to the big brand products because they aren’t gaming at a local club every Tuesday; they are gaming at Conventions which they attend sporadically through the year. For them, turning up with an army which they know they can get a game with is an imperative.
That’s all from me, but don’t forget you can read all about me, myself and I on my blog at Roundwood’s World, which can be found at: http://sidneyroundwood.blogspot.com/ And remember...keeeeep dancing!
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Chain of Command is a remarkably adaptable set of wargame rules. In the short year and a bit since its release we’ve seen a glorious, and substantial, Spanish Civil War version and great strides made toward a superlative Rhodesian Bush War variant. Between those two conflicts there’s forty years and some pretty substantial changes in technology but the core rules handle both with aplomb and with more than a genuine whiff of period flavour‐ both variants feel like they were written expressly for the period they cover. This is a remarkable achievement not just for the authors of these adaptions, but for Rich and his play testers. Chain of Command is strong enough to be messed with. For the past year, my long‐time gaming partner Mick Collins and I have been working on a set of variant rules known at this stage as Fighting Season. The name is inspired by the cyclical insurgent campaign in Afghanistan where the fighting starts after the crops are harvested and before the winter sets in. Fighting Season aims to provide a framework for players who would like to extend their Chain of Command games to the post 2001 counter‐insurgencies in Iraq and Afghan. It’s designed from the ground up to use as many existing mechanisms as possible and designed solely to game asymmetric warfare‐ it won’t really work for hypothetical PLA versus USMC for example without a lot of modification. Conversely it would be reasonably straight‐ forward to convert the game to cover the Chechen Wars. The rules require one player to
take on the role of the insurgent and the other the Coalition, or regular, forces. When I first read CoC, watched the excellent YouTube films, and began to understand the Patrol Phase, the Jumping‐Off Points, the Shock and Force Morale system and the piece de’ resistance, the Command Dice, I thought perhaps that the system could be stretched to my preferred gaming period‐ the present day. Or more specifically the recent insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. I suspected a lot of the elements that make CoC such a good Second World War platoon‐level rules set could be applied to modern asymmetric war and many without substantial change. My ancient grey matter was soon considering how CoC would look in Fallujah or Sangin and what was needed to give the player a hint of the challenges faced by a modern infantry platoon commander in such environments whilst still delivering something that provided the players with an enjoyable gaming experience. This could be no po‐faced sand table exercise. We wanted folks to be inspired to read up on the historical accounts, start to understand and use modern platoon level (and insurgent) tactics in their games, and have fun. I also wanted to ensure that the adaption didn’t dissolve into the whack‐a‐mole approach of Coalition Forces effectively engaging every insurgent that is foolish enough to raise his head in front of Coalition guns ‐ in most cases this
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simply doesn’t match reality anyway. Insurgents are poorly trained in the ways and means of modern war, but they are certainly not stupid (and those that are die first). Some of the early contacts against the paramilitary Saddam Fedayeen during the initial ground invasion phase in Iraq (read Carnivore by Sergeant Dillard Johnson for an incredible first person account) and some would argue the infamous Battle of the Black Sea in Mogadishu were reminiscent of this trope. But even the briefest review of some of the excellent AARs and Lessons Learnt from both Iraq and Afghanistan, or even an hour spent in the televisual company of our good friend Ross Kemp, will give you an insight into the nature of modern infantry combat in an asymmetric environment. The average troops‐in‐contact (if ever there was such a thing), even in Afghanistan’s deadly Helmand Province or at the height of the insurgency in Al Qaim or Baqubah, Iraq; did not routinely result in scores and scores of enemy dead ‐ often only a handful of insurgents were killed, sometimes none. Most of the time, effective suppressive fire and the timely deployment of supporting assets like mortars and attack helicopters caused the opposition to break off the contact. Discretion being the better part of valour, even for the Taliban. Often patrols have been involved in contacts where they have had no clear view of the enemy’s location, size or disposition and thus resort to engaging suspected firing points with no real idea of any losses inflicted on their opponent. The insurgents don’t help as they tend to take their dead and wounded with them whenever practicable. Of course there are the rarer, large scale contacts that go on for hours or, in some cases, days where men win Victoria Crosses or Medals of Honor and the insurgents are killed in staggering numbers. These types of encounters tend to occur when an insurgent base area or a High Value target such as a master bomb‐maker or leadership figure is threatened (and hence why many of these battles involve Special Operations Forces). As mentioned earlier, insurgents aren’t stupid, many are downright cunning, and will try to fight on their terms and at a time and place of
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their choosing‐ which of course fits beautifully with the concept of JOPs in Chain of Command. Another element we’ve tried to include in Fighting Season is variable objectives for the insurgent. Sometimes these guys will fire off a few rounds, hope for the best and then skedaddle ‐ the iconic shoot and scoot. Other times they will hook in with Coalition Forces, using tactics like hugging to counter Coalition air or indirect fire support, and only break contact to blend back in with the natives after inflicting a casualty on their enemy. The insurgents know that casualties are the Achilles heel of Coalition Forces ‐ both tactically and politically. In Fighting Season both elements are represented‐ Coalition wounded will suddenly limit your command options as a frantic race begins to firstly stabilise and then extract the casualty, all the while coping with reductions to Force Morale that represent your commander becoming increasingly cautious and risk averse. And of course that MEDEVAC helo offers a big juicy target for that Dushka you’ve been holding back… Insurgents in both Afghanistan and Iraq were, and are, unpredictable. Their fighting spirit was governed by a range of factors from the purely logistical ‐ “how many of my guys actually showed up to fight today?” or “how many RPG rounds do we have?” or “are the infidels jamming our cell phones?” to the more morale based ‐ “we need to fight today to impress the visiting Imam/al Quds/ISI/al Qaeda delegation” or “the Americans need to be taught not to attempt to enter our valley” or simply “I need to get home to the wife ‐ things are getting too hot around here!”. This variability of insurgent motivations is a strong thread in most real world AARs and is utterly at odds with the ordered military objectives of a Coalition platoon. In Fighting Season, insurgent objectives are both random to the insurgent player and unknown to the Coalition player. Playing the insurgents needed to be challenging, for sure, but it also needed to be enjoyable. I really feel we’ve struck a sweet spot where playing the Coalition is as equally difficult in its own ways as playing the insurgency but somehow triumphing against all of that Western technology and training is almost more rewarding
when you scrape a win. The insurgent player, particularly with his poor C2 (command and control) and his widely variable objectives, must fight hard for his every win. Using real world insurgent tactics, like channeling Coalition Forces into ambushes with IEDs or sniper fire or swarming isolated Coalition units from multiple directions will pay dividends. Engaging in a stand‐ up fight won’t ‐ you will be killed in short‐order. The insurgent player must remember that inflicting even one serious casualty on Coalition Forces will start to swing the battle their way. The platoon commander must do everything in its power to save that wounded man. If not, and he bleeds out on the battlefield, he will find his soldiers increasingly resistant to pushing forward as Force Morale dips and Command Dice begin to disappear. Whilst playing the insurgent is not easy, in no respect does the Coalition player have it all his own way. Indeed far from it. During our play‐ testing, we both agree that running Coalition Forces is more nail biting as you try to do everything in your power to minimize potential casualties. The Coalition player must deal with troops who are too heavily encumbered by body armour and plates, water, ammunition, first aid kit, batteries, radios, GPS, mine detectors and manpack ECM to be able to even keep up on foot with their adversary. They are required to positively identify each and every target as showing hostile intent before they can engage them or the accidental shooting of a civilian or unarmed insurgent could led to far greater political (and legal) consequences ‐ this is truly the age of the strategic corporal. They cannot use their vaunted firepower indiscriminately ‐ every time they drop a bomb impacts on their ability to win the fight and in the scale of CoC, many of the most effective weapons systems cannot be safely employed (the only artillery available for instance is the GPS‐guided Excalibur or the GMLRS missile). They must operate in the environment of the three‐block war. On one block they will be conducting a humanitarian mission dealing with civilians, on the next they will be patrolling through an insurgent held neighborhood whilst on the third block they will be involved in full‐scale
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warfighting. They must watch for IEDs at every step. That civilian car coming toward them could be a confused Iraqi family or it could be a suicide bomber… In some ways, playing the insurgent is the easier option. The Coalition player does receive some advantages to try and balance this out. New tactical options allow section (squad) leaders to advance their men in bounds with one fire team providing overwatch whilst the other moves whilst under the watchful eye of a Designated Marksman. Fire teams can deploy into 360 degree security when halted and machine gun and sniper teams now automatically deploy on overwatch. Communications are vastly improved as are vehicles‐ an MRAP with a remote weapon station can tie down large areas of the board if sited correctly. If you try to use it as a tank, unsupported by infantry, it will become IED fodder. Fire support, when available, is deadly accurate. Apaches and UAVs will soon become your best friends but solid infantry tactics ‐ movement in bounds, smoke and lots of it, overwatch and snipers will win the fight. So that’s a bit of the why and a bit of the how, now what does Chain of Command Fighting Season actually include? Well besides mechanisms for playing modern asymmetric games (and that includes Helicopters, Air Support, Rules of Engagement, IEDs and Counter‐ IED, Collateral Damage and custom Force Morale charts for both sides), it contains a number of force lists broken by date and theatre. For Iraq, there are several US Army and USMC lists along with the British forces in Basra. Opposing them are lists for Iraqi nationalist insurgents, Saddam Fedayeen irregulars and the foreign fighters of al‐ Qaeda in Iraq (we’re also looking at including a sample list for al Qaeda in Iraq’s current incarnation, Islamic State or ISIL for those who wish to game hypothetical future conflicts between Western forces and these psychotic thugs). For Afghanistan, we have included lists covering the principal combatants ‐ the US, Britain, Canada and Australia. As ISAF has included so many countries over the years, a case could be made to include any number of other nations however
both space and validated TO&Es preclude their easy inclusion. If there is interest in particular nations we will endeavor to provide those lists as per the original Chain of Command; free of charge on the website. And if we can’t we’ll explain why ‐ most of the time this boils down to the availability, in English, of TO&Es and tactical manuals. For opposition we have included both the full‐time insurgents of the Tier One Taliban and the less committed but no less dangerous Tier Two Taliban ‐ the local militias of warlords vying for influence and hired gunmen protecting opium crops. Also included is the foreign fighters from both Pakistan and further afield including al‐ Qaeda’s notorious Brigade 055. We have also included a new set of scenarios all based on typical mission profiles undertaken by Coalition Forces in both countries. These include cordon and search operations, targeted direct action missions and presence patrols hoping to reduce insurgent freedom of movement. In all of these, players will face varying levels of support based on the mission profile and the whim of the dice. Both sides will have clear objectives but only the insurgent will know his own true aim. Special Operations Forces are included allowing you to field a US Army Ranger platoon or an SAS patrol and we hope to release a much more detailed set of specific rules and scenarios covering Special Forces later in 2015 as a supplement to Fighting Season. So, how does it play? Let’s look at a recent play‐test game. The Coalition Forces objective was to enter an Afghan village to search a nominated compound for a suspected insurgent arms cache. The insurgent player was to try and obviously stop this happening but he could leave the field of battle at any time after inflicting a minimum of two WIA (Wounded‐In‐Action) on the Coalition Forces. He also needed to escape with at least three of his units‐ these units can escape via JOPs or board edges. None of this was known to the Coalition platoon commander who has to plan for any possibility. With Force Multiplier points awarded by the scenario, the British platoon (an understrength
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“multiple” as all Coalition platoons begin the game) has eleven points to spend. He adds a mine detector to sweep for IEDs; a JTAC (Joint Tactical Air Controller) to his headquarters party to call in air support; a supply of anti‐tank bar mines to breach compound walls; and a Military Working Dog team to assist with sniffing out both IEDs and weapons caches. With his last two points, he adds an off‐table sniper team equipped with an L115A3 .338 Lapua Magnum sniper rifle that will keep the patrol under Overwatch. The British player’s force looks like this; Platoon TAC HQ ‐ Platoon Commander (Senior Leader); Platoon Sergeant (Senior Leader with 51mm mortar); Signaler; and Medic ‐ Two sections of four fire teams in total, each comprised of four‐men (one of these fire teams included a GPMG replacing a Minimi LMG). Each section is commanded by a Junior Leader. ‐ JTAC and the MWD team Total on‐table strength is 22 men (and one dog). The Taliban player receives sixteen Force Multiplier points to spend. Knowing that he will need to conduct a robust defense until he can manage to inflict a casualty, he adds a DShK heavy machine gun team; a 50mm light mortar team with a Dicker as an FO (unarmed spotter with mobile phone); a sniper; and a solitary PPIED (Pressure Plate IED) to his force. His remaining points are spent bolstering his C2 capabilities‐ the Taliban have few junior leaders and must purchase them as an additional and costly resource‐ he spends the points on a Mullah who can reduce Shock through his religious exhortations (and who, like the Dicker, cannot normally be shot by the Coalition without a potential Collateral Damage/ROE impact) and on a Junior Leader that can increase his tactical capabilities. The Taliban player takes to the field looking like this; ‐ Senior Leader, Mullah, Junior Leader
‐ Four rifle teams of six insurgent gunmen with rifles and LMGs ‐ Four support teams of three insurgents armed with RPGs and PKM medium machine guns ‐ Sniper, Light Mortar Team and DShK heavy machine gun team Total on‐table strength is 46 men, roughly double that of the Coalition. These are tier 1 Taliban, the committed full‐timers. They operate with five command dice to reflect their overall competence in guerrilla warfare but with a seriously restricted number of leaders to reflect their generally poor C2. They, like all Afghans, also suffer from always shooting at Effective range no matter the actual range ‐ this simulates their exceedingly poor marksmanship and endemic eye problems in Afghan society. The Brits step off in the pre‐dawn darkness. The insurgents know the Brits are coming (they have Dickers watching the FOBs and Patrol Bases) but they don’t know from exactly where and in what strength. The Brits receive 1D6 free moves (four) in the Patrol Phase which gets several of his four Patrol Markers a good third along the table before the Taliban begins to respond. After some crafty moves, the Taliban have established three Jump‐Off Points in strategic positions around the village with a forth placed on a central compound. The Brits are in a good position in light cover in a wadi and behind some outlying ruins that will allow a covered approach to a solid overwatch position on a low rise overlooking the village. Force Morale is high for the Brits at 11 whilst the Talibs are at a lowly 8 ‐ perhaps they were feeling the pinch of the ISAF offensive. The Brits kick off and get their Platoon Sergeant with his 51mm mortar, the JTAC and the fire team with the GPMG on the table and headed for that low rise to establish a support by fire position. He also rolls a pair of 6s and has the next Phase. Phase two sees the Brits roll an incredible four 6s! End of Turn, a Chain of Command dice and a random event‐ rolling on the Coalition Forces chart we get a sudden sandstorm and visibility is suddenly cut to 12 inches or about 40 metres in real terms. This is a boon for the British player as it will allow him to establish his support by fire position
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unmolested by several gangs of Taliban gunmen who begin to probe forward. It also allows the Taliban to deploy a 12.7mm DShK Dushka heavy machine gun in LOS of the Brit support by fire position‐ should the sandstorm ever let up. The Brits move a section on up the eastern edge taking cover behind a compound ruin, swiftly followed by a dog handler with his Explosive Detection Dog. Eventually, the Taliban decide to try their luck and advance up to another ruin and to within 12” of the Brit support by fire position and attempt to open fire. The Brits play their Chain of Command dice to interrupt and as they’ve seen the Talibs display hostile intent they are permitted to open up. The GPMG and a number of L85A2s suffer from some bad rolls and only kill one insurgent and apply two Shock. The Talibs manage to hit two of the Brits but both rounds are stopped by their combat body armour. The Brits do receive Shock to account for the blunt force trauma of the rounds. On the next Phase the Brits bring up another fire team on the eastern flank whilst the support by fire team opens up on the Taliban ahead of them that had shot two of their guys. The GPMG does most of the work, killing two and piling on the Shock‐ the Talibs are routed and Break and take to their heels at full speed, managing to run directly past a recently arrived Junior Leader who takes the excess Shock and is himself routed. On the eastern flank the Brits have deployed into a ruin a stone’s throw from the first village building. The insurgents deploy a Dicker on the roof to act as a spotter‐ within 12” of the Brits. The off‐board sniper team could engage him if the sandstorm would let up (the JTAC is also left twiddling his thumbs whilst air support is grounded by the storm). The Dicker manages to talk in a 50mm light mortar bomb from a recently arrived mortar team but luckily the bomb goes wide. On the next Phase, the Taliban deploy a PKM machine gun team but the Brits interrupt again with a second Chain of Command dice. The lead fire team opens up, killing two and sending the PKM team packing before they could get a round off! The Taliban Force Morale is beginning
to take a bit of a battering. The Talibs try to fire the mortar again to only roll a double 1‐ they are out of ammo! Everything is looking pretty good for the Brits at this stage. With the PKM team out of action, the Brit player gets a little Cocky and makes his first, but his most costly, tactical mistake. He sends a fire team forward to attempt to capture the Dicker but as they break cover, the Taliban deploy a PPIED or Pressure Plate Improvised Explosive Device. Thankfully one of the squaddies carrying a Vallon mine detector spots the device before they step on it. The fire team halt in place, preparing to bypass the suspect device. The Brit leader, with his blood up, immediately moves forward a section to capture the dicker. The canny Taliban plays his solitary Chain of Command dice to spring an Ambush and a gang of Taliban gunmen pop up from around the edge of the building and brazenly open up at close range. Whilst the Taliban always fire at Effective Range, they do receive an extra dice at Close Range and they predictably get a result with 14 dice of 7.62x39mm in the air. One of the Brits drops, seriously wounded and another guy hit but the round stopped by the plate in his vest. With his first WIA, the Brit Force Morale takes its first hit. On the following Phase, the Taliban manage to deploy another PKM team into the building, firing from the windows. The British player hasn’t used his Bounding Overwatch tactical ability to leave one of the fire teams on Overwatch as he would have done if he hadn’t become so fixated on bagging the Dicker. It also nicely simulated a classic Taliban come‐on ambush. More fire poured down on the exposed section with one man saved by his body armour and another seriously wounded. Shock began to stack up. Finally the Brits get to fire back and try to even the score. The fire team back in the ruins engages the Taliban gunmen out in the yard, killing one. The section decides to fire on the same target as they are concerned the Talibs will attempt to close in on them (plus the PKM team are in heavy cover). One more insurgent is killed and they are finally Pinned, getting down on their belt buckles. The Taliban have the next Phase and make the most of it with some hot dice‐ the PKM team hits
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and kills two of the Brits outright with a nasty impact on Force Morale. A Taliban sniper deploys further back in the village and takes a shot nut misses. In the next Phase, the off‐table Platoon Commander dispatches the Medic toward the wounded men, desperately trying to get there before they bleed out. The dog handler engages the PKM team from cover and kills one insurgent. With a pair of 6s, the Brits get the next Phase and manage to kill another of the Taliban gunmen in the yard and send the rest racing for the rear. The remnants of the section, now with two KIA and one WIA, only manage some ineffective fire at the PKM team. This was another tactical mistake by the Brit player‐ grenades would have been a better bet here, even with collateral damage considerations. They needed to silence that PKM before it did any more damage. The support by fire team could hear the firing and could have intervened with their GPMG and the 51mm patrol mortar ‐ if only the bloody sandstorm would let up! The insurgent player now rolls three 6s and ends the Turn. The two wounded Brits are now considered KIA and their Force Morale takes another hit, losing three points ‐ things are beginning to look really bad. The Taliban now begin to break contact and the Brits know he’s inflicted enough damage and fought for long enough to meet his objectives and was now trying to get the hell out of dodge before an Apache showed up. The End Turn also meant the sandstorm finally died down. The Brits had the first Phase of the new Turn and began to fight back. The Taliban sniper received a .338 headshot from the off‐board sniper team, dropping insurgent Force Morale again. With the sandstorm gone, the Platoon Sergeant lined up his 51 and dropped a remarkably accurate round amongst the retreating PKM team, scoring three kills and wiping them out. The base of fire GPMG shot up another Taliban gang as they attempted to make it to a nearby JOP and sanctuary, forcing them to Break. With only three Command Dice left, the Taliban rolls a 6, a 5 and a 4 which he uses to activate his Mullah to reduce some Shock. The Brits have the next, and what turns out to be the
writing, no similar series of documentaries exist to chronicle the average soldier’s war in Iraq apart from the odd History Channel potboiler. The future for Fighting Season includes a Special Force supplement including new scenarios based on Special Forces Capture/Kill missions, some new force lists and hopefully some Pint Sized Campaigns based on historical campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fighting Season itself should be available sometime in Quarter Two 2015, soon after Salute. Editor’s Note: Thanks to Leigh for this fantastic insight into Fighting Season. When Leigh offered to get involved with creating a modern set of rules for ultra‐modern conflicts with Chain of Command we naturally bit his hand off. With a number of books in print covering the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan and his forthcoming British Army in Afghanistan, 2006 ‐14 due for release this coming summer we knew that Leigh would be happy to work with us to combine real tactics with a challenging and fun set of rules. For those on the UK show circuit, we’ll be taking Fighting Season on tour during 2015 and I know some of our Lard Ambassadors will be doing the same around the globe. We hope you’ll join us for a game of what is possibly the most exciting and challenging project we have yet undertaken. Keep your eyes peeled for plenty of game reports on Lard Island News in the New Year!
last, Phase and the GPMG again earns its pay, killing two more insurgents and forcing another Taliban gang to Break, pushing their Force Morale to zero and winning the game, admittedly at a far too high price. The butcher’s bill was four Brits KIA and nineteen insurgents dead or routed. Had the British player not made the mistake of not placing one of his fire teams on Overwatch as he advanced up to the building to capture the Dicker (itself not one of his objectives and, after the mortar running out of ammunition, certainly not a priority target), he may well have reduced his casualties substantially. Additionally the sandstorm had been both a boon and a disadvantage ‐ it gave him a covered approach but negated his JTAC and any possible air support, fire support from his GPMG team and the mighty 51mm and his sniper team. The insurgents played well, using their Mullah to lower Shock and conducted a perfect come‐on ambush. Because of the weather, his Dushka and any attempt to volley‐fire RPGs were also negated. All in all a very close and very nail biting game. Hopefully that gives you some idea of how the system plays. Of course, some people won’t play Fighting Season purely out of moral objection to the subject matter and that’s fine and understandable (Rich Clarke himself wasn’t comfortable playing these subjects until the recent drawdowns of British troops). What we hope is that everyone who does pick up a copy will be inspired to learn at least a little of the history of the conflict and play with some respect to the participants involved. There are many, many outstanding books chronicling the infantry war in both Afghanistan and Iraq and a bibliography of recommended works is included in the rules. There are also a good number of excellent and often harrowing documentary films available ‐ Restrepo and its sequel, Battle Company: Korengal are among the finest for a glimpse of US forces fighting in the inhospitable Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan whilst both the BBC’s Our War and Sky’s Ross Kemp in Afghanistan offer a British view of the war in the south. Sadly at the time of
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At the time of writing this, I am in the middle of playing the Konigsberg 1945 Westwind Campaign which was in the 2014 Summer Special. Scenario Four of this campaign, ‘The Signal Box at Seerappen’, ideally requires a two line railway track, a signal box and a fair amount of barbed wire fence. As I didn’t own any railway track or have anything suitable for a signal box I thought I would check out eBay for any cheap second hand items that might do. As I game with 28mm figures (or 30mm these days), I started looking for ‘S’ scale, which is supposed to be 28mm or 1:64, or ‘O’ scale which is 37.5mm or 1:48. At the time of looking, there was very little in this scale, especially as I was ideally looking for second‐hand as I didn’t want to be paying silly money for new kit. What there was in abundance and going very cheap was ‘OO’ scale which is 24mm or 1:76. Now this may be a little smaller than what I had originally intended but with railway track you are only looking at a very slight reduction in width and spacing and there is no height
factor to worry about when you’re modelling railway line so I reckoned that it would work for 28mm. Whilst on eBay looking for track, I couldn’t help noticing how much rolling stock was available and how cheap it was going for. This got me thinking, I wondered if I could get away with this scale for 28mm, I was only going to be using it as a kind of backdrop; as long as it was not placed next to a 28mm vehicle it would be fine (hopefully). So, I bid on a single piece which cost me £3 with postage and would not break the bank if unsuitable. In real life, rolling stock tends to be quite large, so in ‘OO’ scale these items, although not to scale with 28mm, I found were still large enough to get away with visually for the average gamer. If you are a perfectionist or want to spend lots of money on getting the right scale for 28mm then this is not for you but as my interests don’t lie with model railways but wargaming, I am happy enough with the scale.
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Firstly, cut your base and track to your required length. I made mine in one and two foot lengths, using wire cutters for cutting the track. Mark out where the track is going on the hardboard and then cover the entire surface with PVA glue, I added some thicker wood glue on the underside of the track in places for extra strength. Now is the tricky part. When you have positioned the track down on your hardboard base, you then need to cover the whole thing in ballast whilst the glue is still wet. If the track lifts whilst you are doing this, the ballast will get underneath the track and it won’t sit properly on the base. You can get railway ballast from model railway shops. Get the fine ballast and mix it with fine sand. Here you may find doing one foot lengths easier to handle, but the two foot lengths do give a better visual look. The other option is to just glue the track down and wait for it to dry, then glue in between all the sleepers and around the outside of the track and then ballast but I imagine this would be very time consuming getting it between all the individual sleepers. In addition to the longer stretches of track, I also made a couple of pieces of one foot track with a road crossing them. All you need to do for this is measure the width of any existing road that you may have in your collection and use this measurement when making your track/road. I used the tile grout and filled in the road area, bringing the tile grout up flush with the rails but make sure you don’t cover the rail itself. For your bigger bases where you are going to have track combined with buildings, mark out the track where you want it to go, then make your buildings to fit in the space that you have left. Also plan anything else that you want on the layout at this stage. I glued some matchsticks down on the edge where I would have some fencing, also a coal box and rail buffer at the end of one of the tracks. I then glued my buildings down on the base. Once that was dried, I then glued the track and
I managed to pick up about 20ft of track for less than £10 and the price of rolling track averages from about £2 to £5 depending on the condition. If you want an engine for the front of your train then these are a little bit more expensive but if you look under ‘non‐ runners’ you can pick them up quite cheap. The one I bought was just a plastic kit that had been built and painted and I paid £7 for this. Again, you only need to pick up old tatty stuff if you are going to be repainting them.
The Train Standing at Platform One... I wanted to give my train a military rather than civilian look, by 1945 nobody was day‐ tripping to the coast and also it would be a lot quicker and less fussy to do. I used the following colour scheme: 1. I started off by spraying the train and carriages black all over. 2. Then I used German Panzer Grey spray paint from Plastic Soldier Company and gave this a lighter spray over the train. 3. I then used a raw umber wash which I put all over the train to dirty it down and to give it some shading. 4. When dried, I then dry brushed the train using Vallejo 995 German Grey and white mixed 60/40. 5. Rust effects were then achieved by using Vallejo 822 German black brown, followed by Vallejo Panzer Aces 301 light rust. 6. Where the wheels touched the track would be bright metal so this was dry brushed with Vallejo gun metal. 7. The bottom parts of the carriages were then dirtied a little with a dry brush of Vallejo 824 Germ Cam orange ochre. 8. The whole thing was then giving a spray of gloss and matt varnish
Men Working on the Line! With my train painted, I needed to base and paint my railway track for it to run on. For bases, I used 3mm hardboard with the smooth side up. This is less absorbent than the rough side and will be less likely to warp.
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ballast as I did for the one and two foot track sections. When dry, I then coated the whole thing in watered down PVA glue to strengthen it and to help keep the ballast from coming off.
effect. Again, the bases are 3mm hardboard with the smooth side up. The walls on the buildings I made from either pink insulation polystyrene which I had cut into strips from a large sheet that I had, or I used foam board. Any other materials that I used were balsa wood or thin card. I cut the sections to the required size and then glued together with wood glue, holding them in place with pins pushed into the joints whilst they were drying. As mentioned earlier, windows, doors and brickwork glued on and then the whole thing covered in tile grout. Don’t be tempted to use plaster as this stuff will flake off and spoil all your hard work but with the tile grout, it dries rock hard. For making wire fencing I cut six inch lengths of plastic card for my base, you could use thick card or hardboard. I then cut matchsticks in half, which is about the right height for your fencing and glued these suitably spaced apart, using a hot glue gun. To strengthen the fencepost, cover the glued joint with tile grout. Then when dry PVA glue this joint and the rest of the base and cover in sand. It will then be ready for painting. Once painted and flocked to your required taste, you can then fix the wire to the posts. I use the barbed wire from Antenocitis Workshop but there are quite a few traders out there that sell barbed wire. You don’t need to glue this to the fence post as it grips really well just by wrapping it around as you go along threading it around the posts. The wire is a little too bright and shiny for my taste so I finish it off by giving it a wash with a suitable rusty colour. I use an old Games Workshop chestnut wash. The coal box was just made out of a couple of pieces of pink insulation foam glued together and scribed some planking effect along them with a pencil. This was then giving a coating of PVA glue to strengthen it up and filled with some ballast and painted black for coal.
Never Mind the Gap... In addition to the rolling stock and tracks, also needed to make a signal box as this is central to the Seerappen scenario. Railway Model buildings in this scale are just too small, especially for skirmish games, so I would have to scratch build myself a signal box. As usual, things got out of control somewhat, and I ended up making a station and a couple of sheds as well. The Signal Box I made can also be used as a stand‐in for the Pump House in scenario two of the West Wind Campaign and as Dave Green suggested to me, it could be used as a small control tower for an airfield. So there is another project worth considering. The key to the build section is that there is no fine modelling skills with this. I just wanted to make something really quick and then get back to painting wargame figures. So there was very little measuring, if it looked about right I would cut it and stick it together, the odd gap won’t matter as it will be covered up later. You may notice with the station and sheds, there are no windows and doors, I just stuck on window shutters and doors (these are from warbases.co.uk) to the outside walls, used some bits of plastic sheet brickwork glued to the walls and then covered the whole thing in tile grout, leaving bits of the brickwork showing through. The roofs, which lift off, are either made from corrugated card that I bought from a model shop or for the station roof tiles, small pieces of card cut from a cereal packet and glued onto some thicker card. With the signal box, I actually cut the window and door openings out of the top floor walls and put Warbases window frames in. The roof for this was again made out of corrugated card, which was curved over to give a rounded
Wash & Brush Up As you can see from the pictures, to start with I paint everything in a watered down dark
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these off. I then glued them to thin card and cut them out. They were then blue tacked to the buildings, so I can change any or all of the signs and posters for a different setting, location when the need arises. The eagle eyed German Speaking Lardies out there may notice that I have put some of the signs in totally inappropriate places. This is not a test to try and catch out any escaping POW’s trying to get the fast train home but down to my laziness to use the translate button to find out what the signs are actually saying! The end result is certainly the look I originally wanted but without a huge amount of work. If you wanted to just create the railway lines and the signal box then the whole venture comes in at under twenty pounds allowing for hardboard and the other bits and pieces you’ll need like railway ballast. However, that will also leave you with spare ballast and board for future projects. The buildings railway buildings and additional rolling stock, particularly the engine sheds and small shunting engines, really add to the whole picture so I think it’s worth investing that extra bit of cash at this stage and enlarging the project so that you can use it for something else. By having my signs just tacked on, the station could very easily be transported to Russia or France for future gaming projects. A Stalingrad project with part of a factory on the table would look fantastic with the railway line running past loading bays. The engine is really not needed for gaming purposes, but again it really adds to the look and allows me to play some of the more exciting scenarios in Operation Winter Storm. At the end of the day the only limit to its use is our imagination! Ed: Pat Smith’s truly inspirational wargaming blog can be found at: http://wargamingwithsilverwhistle.blogspot.c o.uk/
brown paint. I use household paint that you buy from DIY stores and big brushes on my terrain. Once the brown has dried, usually overnight, I then start dry brushing everything. You don’t actually need that many different colours for this stage. I use Sandtex Masonry Paint in Chocolate Brown, Mid Stone and Brick Red. I also have a mid‐ grey paint and a mid‐brown paint. I did use model paints for the greens, blacks and whites. I use these as follows: Ground Cover Dark Brown/Mid Brown/Mid Stone. Walls Dark Brown/Mid Stone Brickwork Dark Brown/Brick Red/Mid Stone Woodwork. Dark Brown/Mid Brown/Mid Stone Sleepers and Ballast Dark Brown/Grey/Mid Stone. Railway Lines Dark Brown. Try to avoid getting any grey paint on these when painting the sleepers and ballast. Then a light dry brush with Brick Red for rust effect. Corrugated Roofs Dark Brown/Grey/Brick Red blotches.
The Small Print The bottom of the walls and the roofs you can use a small amount of green paint to give the effect of damp moss. Any buildings with their walls near the railway track I blackened slightly to give the effect of grimy soot from the train. I don’t varnish my buildings or terrain, I find them robust enough as they are. Static grass near the track would also be darker, I used Woodland Scenic Burnt Grass. When I finished all the painting I went on the internet and found some images of German Railway Station signs and posters and printed
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isolate and then reduce the ancient fortress by assault. With the city being attacked on all sides, the initial phase of the Soviet plan involved cutting all links with the coast so that no reinforcements could be sent up and the five Divisions defending the city could not break out. To the West of the city, defending the railway line to Fischhausen were the 561st Volksgrenadier Division and the 1st Infantry Division; the latter being an East Prussian formation defending its home soil. For the purpose of our game, I decided that the attack towards the railway line by the 6th Guard Rifle Corps would give us an opportunity to recycle the terrain we had used for the Westwind Campaign to represent this part in the final conquest of the fortress city. I have to say here that this is not a game based on a specific action, but rather one which was designed to give a flavour for the final action in a typically Götterdämmerung‐esque setting. The real objective was to just enjoy playing a game on Pat’s fantastic terrain. Pat’s table is a luxurious 10’ by 5’, ensconced in his dedicated gaming room complete with every Lardy gamer’s ultimate accessory: a well stocked drinks cabinet! I suggested that Pat lay out the terrain and send me a photograph and I would use that to create a scenario. Here’s one of them:
In the last Summer Special the Operation Westwind campaign looked at events in January 1945 when the defenders of the East Prussian city of Konigsberg established a life‐line by opening the rail link with the coastal city of Pillau on the Baltic. In this Special we have a great article by Pat “Silver Whistle” Smith about how he made his railway set up for that campaign. With his railway complete, Pat invited us to come over for a game; all we had to do was sort out a suitable scenario. What follows resulted in a rather fun game using the BIG Chain of Command notes which are available as a free download.
A Brief Historical Background Remarkably, the German counter‐attack of February 1945 was sufficiently effective to allow Koningsberg to remain in German hands until April 1945, with the city eventually falling on the 9th of April, just three weeks before Hitler’s suicide and less than a month before the end of the war. The city’s continued resistance, isolated hundreds of miles behind the main lines, was remarkable for the bravery of the troops in the pocket, but also noteworthy for the Nazi Party’s refusal, or inability, to evacuate some 200,000 civilians who remained in the city. On the 6th of April 1945 Aleksandr Vasilevskiy, commanding the Soviet forces in the area, launched the final offensive which would first
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Using this as a basis, I determined that the scenario would feature a Soviet armoured spearhead with the objective of seizing the station as this would serve to control both the road and the railway to Fischhausen and Pillau. This would give me an opportunity to use my Soviet SMG platoon, one of my favourite platoons, in combination with an armoured platoon. On the German side I wanted there to be a rather rag‐tag group of defenders with a mix of Army, Volksturm and Hitler Youth as this very much typified the actions of this period. I also wanted to introduce some additional elements to the game as we progressed through it as, with a big table like this, the drip‐feeding in of new forces can work really well. In the end I settled on the following core forces:
One Maxim MMG with five crew One T34/76 platoon of three tanks. These have no radios.
Germans One Infantry platoon of two squads, Regular status. These are straight from the main rule book, but they have just two squads as opposed to the normal three but would have two Panzerfaust 100s. One squad of Volksturm. These are organised as a normal infantry squad with their own Junior Leader, but they count as Green troops. They have two Panzerfaust 100s. One Hitler Jugend Panzerfaust team of four children with one Panzerfaust 100 each One Hitler Jugend Panzerknacker team with one LMG team of two children, one
Soviets One SMG platoon, Regular status. We took these straight from the main rule set.
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armour. Just another evil, but fun, bit of scenario design. The map below shows an approximation of the table, you can get the fine detail from Pat’s photo. Both sides begin the game with five Patrol Markers, the Soviets beginning with theirs on the North‐Eastern road. The Germans being with theirs on the game objective, which is the road and rail junction. This is an Attack on an Objective, Scenario Six game, so all the other set‐ up instructions from that scenario apply. What we have added is a fixed German jump‐off Point in the railway cottages on the South Eastern corner of the table. If any Soviet Patrol Marker comes within 12” of that point they will be locked down. I added this as it presents the Soviets with an immediate threat on the flank of their advance which, with them ranging ahead into enemy territory, I thought was appropriate.
child with smoke grenades and one child with two hand‐held magnetic charges. One Pak40 with five crew and a Junior Leader Additionally, the German player would begin the game with two Chain of Command Dice. He could use these for any purpose, but it gave him a real chance to get a couple of ambushes in early, reflecting the troops’ knowledge of their home area.
Reinforcements Unknown to both players, the Germans had some armoured support on its way in the shape of an ad hoc tank platoon. This was made up of one Tiger I and two Panzer IV. The Tiger I has a Senior Leader and is the platoon leader with a radio. These were to arrive at the start of Turn Three on the South‐Western road, just off to the left in the photograph above. I rather like the idea that the player could actually get these on the table pretty much immediately by using their CoC dice, but they are quite unaware that they are on the way. If you’re playing as an umpire, you may as well take the opportunity to be a total bastard! For the Soviets, they know that a Platoon of T34‐ 85 tanks are on the way and will arrive at the start of Turn Four. Again, allowing the Soviet player to influence this by spending whatever Chain of Command dice he accrues in order to make this happen will potentially mean that it is he who initiates the arrival of the German
Playing the Game So that’s the set up. Each Platoon should, as per the BIG Chain of Command notes, have its own set of Command Dice. The Soviets will be hampered by their lack of tank radios, a feature which I think shows up the problems they would have had and the Germans are bristling with decent anti‐tank weapons. As such the Soviets should be fairly careful in their approach. On the German side, the use of Hitler Jugend children and elderly Volksturm presents its own issues. If these units of children and
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Grandfathers are killed (not break) we add a +1 to the resulting Force Morale roll to reflect the shocking effect of having to deploy these troops into battle. This should mean that the German player will be circumspect about their use. A good tactic is to keep the Hitler Jugend teams for hit and run ambushes combined with a Chain of Command dice, something which should keep them relatively safe and which reflects the way in which they would fight in reality. So, how did it go? Well, in a fun day’s gaming we managed to play the prototype scenario through twice (the scenario presented here is slightly different based on our test game), with the Germans scoring two victories. The first was because I simply chose to ignore the threat from Railway Cottages and had two T34’s blow apart by those annoying Hitler Jugend youngsters as a result. The second game saw a rather more equal battle with the SMG troops getting into close quarters and blowing away the German defenders, or so they thought. A lone German Junior Leader, who had been rendered out of action, jumped up at the turn end, just as the heroic Soviets came into close quarters. Behind a hedge and armed with
an SMG he rolled some remarkable dice to mow down six Soviets, including their platoon leader, thereby snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but dying in the process. It was a suitably Wagnerian end to the scenario. In my defence, all I can say is that if it wasn’t for those pesky kids, I’d have gotten away with it! My thanks to Pat for his hospitality and the opportunity to play on one of the most stunning gaming tables I have ever had the chance to game on. It certainly proves the point that a little time and a nominal amount of funds invested in terrain will repay the gamer with the most enchanting of games which really allow us to suspend our disbelief and immerse ourselves in the fun of wargaming.
A Pint Size Alternative Not a campaign, unfortunately, but clearly we are not all fortunate enough to have a ten foot table to game on. For the rest of us mortals, I have produced a smaller 6’ by 4’ map of the table which the rest of us can use whilst retaining the core elements of the scenario.
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Battle of Britain – Over the Mediterranean For Bag the Hun Jon Yuengling But it did not have to happen like that. As a wargamer and historian I enjoy asking the historically based “what ifs”. My ideas do not fall into the category of “alien space bats” of the counterfactual world. More like, “What if the Kaiser did not take his traditional summer cruise” in 1914, or if “Robert E Lee accepted the offer from General Winfield Scott”?
Many Americans look at France as anything but the true military power she has been. In the 20th Century her military has been studied and copied throughout the world, including here in the United States. And yet we look at World War II as being a conflict were France gave up, surrendering quickly, barely putting up a fight. France was one of many countries to be quickly overrun my Nazi Germany. While the Free French fought on, a new government was established in the unoccupied zone of France in the town of Vichy.
This is to be a short article looking to combine an interesting “what if” with the TOOFATLardies rules, Bag the Hun. For this we will assume that France does not surrender but continue the war from North Africa. The reason, at least for now, is not important. Maybe Prime Minister Paul Reynaud has a different
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mistress or the 51st Highlanders hold off the 7th Panzer. The point of departure though will be in the period from June 11th to the 13th 1940.
major roll in the French Army in North Africa. As Prime Minister Paul Reynaud establishes his new government and military command the first order of business is to show that France is not giving up. The leadership will be restructured with many generals offered training positions and diplomatic posts allowing you younger officers to move into leadership roles. This renew military will look to take the war to the enemy at the earliest opportunity. This could be done with border raids against Italian Libya, sorting the fleet against the Italians or bombing raids on Rome or Sicily.
So with France pulling their forces south towards North Africa several questions will come up including the status of Corsica, what forces can be removed from the mainland and how will the United States look on this transfer of the government from Paris to Algiers. The short answers are; the new government will attempt to hold on to Corsica, the technical fields will have precedence on traveling to North Africa and England and the US will look kindly on France. I do not see the United States intervening yet. Corsica is the new Malta with the Axis will try to starve it out and the Franco-British Allies run convoys keeping the population supplied and in the war. It will be a hard fought battle but interesting. Manpower for France will not be as crucial as their technical skills. Tanks, trucks, and aircraft can be purchased; technically trained men are a harder commodity to come upon. France will look not only at the troops that are removed from the mainland, but to the colonies and volunteers from the Americas. The Poles will also play a
Heavy Farman and Bloch bombers can attack Rome while the medium bombers from Amiot, Martin and Lioré et Olivie go after targets in Sicily and Sardinia. Losses would be heavy in day light raids. While the physiologically effect would be greater with such a raid, to save the precious heavy bombers, the French will quickly change to night attacks. These night raids will get the attention of Italy and the world, but they will not be a lot of fun to play out for the wargamers. Although a dozen or so Farman F.220 on the table would look impressive.
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It is the fighter battles over the Mediterranean Sea and along the Libyan border were Bag the Hun will come into play. Before the French forces in North Africa have a chance to rearm with British and American planes the Armée de l'Air will have to fight with what is at hand. This means the remnants of the 1940 air force. The squadrons will mostly be French units that have escaped from the mainland to reform and rebuild in North Africa as well as existing units already in North Africa. Additional pilots will come from the French colonies, expatriates, allies, and the Americas. Two squadrons we will look at for Bag the Hun are the already established Poles with the GC I/145 and the new American volunteers with the ECD 1/76 Lafayette Escadrille.
With limited modern aircraft available the French fighter units fly the better Hawk H75 and the Dewoitine D.520 with the more dated aircraft going to the volunteer and training units. The Lafayette Escadrille, along with the Polish 3rd 'Dęblin' Fighter Squadron under Maj. Józef Kępiński, will use whatever aircraft are at hand. The 3rd Deblin flies a mix of Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and Caudron C.714 fighters and the Americans receiving older Dewoitine 510 and SPAD S.510 slowly being replaced with the M.S.406. The Bloch MB.152 having short legs, and access to the limited number of drop tanks, will remain covering Corsican airfields and towns. The Polish GC I/145 is stationed outside of Annaba, Algeria covering the eastern coast of Algeria and Tunisia. The squadron is initially made up of six Morane-Saulnier M.S.406s, four Caudron C.714s and two Bloch MB.152s courtesy of those few drop tanks. The Poles have conducted fighter sweeps and training missions engaging Italian units from Sardinia.
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Recent missions include:
appearance of a training squadron. Their results show a squadron with a great deal of fight in them.
A fighter-sweep involving three Morane-Saulnier M.S.406s, three Caudron C.714 against nine Italian CR.42s from Sardinia.
Most of their battles involve dogfights with CR.32s and CR.42s with the occasional appearance of bombers coming from Castel Benito field.
Bomber intercepts involving three Morane-Saulnier M.S.406s against nine Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s flying out of Sardinia.
Recent Engagements include:
Three Caudron C.714s intercepting a German reconnaissance He-115 escorted by two Me-110C.s.
Intercept between three Dewoitine 510s and an Italian Ro.37 escorted by three CR.42s.
Fighter sweep over the Strait of Sicily between six CR42s and three Dewoitine 510s and three SPAD S.510s.
Desert sweep with six SPAD S.510s tangle with six CR32s.
Encounters between the Armée de l’Air and the Axis will be more akin to The Great War than the more high tech latter battles of World War II. Radio intercepts are the only form of electronic intelligence available. The Mark “1” eyeball will need to make up for the absence of radar. It is hoped by pilots and the government alike that the British will come to the aid of their ally with radar.
The GC I/145 is active engaging the Italian bombers. Without radar the French have to rely on coastal shipping reporting the location of the approaching bombers or with fighter sweeps looking for the bombers near the coast.
Pilot combat training was starting to show results before the German Blitz. Now in North Africa with the exception of certain veteran squadrons training will start afresh.
The Lafayette Escadrille initially stationed at Sidi-Ahmed fly sweeps along the Strait of Sicily and from border fields close to the Libyan frontier. With eight Dewoitine 510s and six SPAD S.510s this squadron has the
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I hope this new timeline will allow you the opportunity to take another look at the French Armée de l'Air. The historic aircraft and pilot histories are interesting and worth giving a try. Allowing them to continue the fight after June 1940 makes for some wonderful historic “what ifs”.
Models are available in many scales for this period. While I prefer 1/600 scale aircraft for Bag the Hun, 1/300 and 1/144 scale models are available. For 1/600 scale can be found at both Tumbling Dice Miniatures and Pico Armor. 3D printers are another source for multiple scales from Shapeways and other 3D distributors.
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to the line of march. Relieved at the lack of fire you experienced at this location yesterday, you ordered the lead LVTP to “Rip that thing apart! Really tear it up!”. This it did, before slipping into a ditch behind the fence. As the second LVTP now moves forward to retrieve the other, you and your marines pick a path forward in its tracks, only to hear an explosion to your rear... This is a Priority 2 Sweep mission. Primary Objective: Locate and clear enemy mines (Military Victory value 20 points) Secondary Objective: Clear the area of any enemy presence (Military Victory value 10 points)
TIMELINE By June 1966, one of the most notorious areas in I Corps was the area around Hill 55, some seven miles southwest of Da Nang. This was where two French battalions had been decimated during the Indo‐China War. 9th Regt USMC were ordered to clear the area, and Colonel Edwin Simmons and his men found that no‐one envied them this task. In carrying out their role, Delta Company dropped from a peak strength of 175 to 120 in a five week period. All but three of these casualties were inflicted by mines, which became the enemy that the US troops hated more than the VC. Amongst those wounded and killed were also a high proportion of the company’s leaders. At division level, it could be seen that the VC infrastructure was slowly and surely being rooted out, but for the men undertaking the patrols, it was ugly and difficult work, in the face of an enemy that had learned to limit encounters to sniping and the laying of mines.
US FORCES 1ST PLATOON Sgt William Cunningham (Level 3) 1 x Corpsman (Hospitalman 3rd Class Robert E. Perkins) 1st Squad (8 men) 2nd Squad (12 men) 3rd Squad (12 men) There are also six LAAWs which may be distributed amongst 1st Platoon’s three squads as the Free World player sees fit.
US BRIEFING At 11.00am, 8th June, under a blazing sun, 1st Platoon, D Company began patrolling again, under your command, Sergeant Cunningham. With no shade or breeze, every marine was soaked in sweat within five minutes. It’s now 11.30am, and the advance has halted before a thorn and bamboo fence that lay at right angles
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ELEMENTS FROM D COMPANY WEAPONS PLATOON
VC BRIEFING
Sgt James Gibbs (Level 2, travelling in the second LVTP) 2 x 3.5” rocket launcher teams (5 x HE and 5 x WP each) 1 x 3‐man 60mm Mortar (travelling in the second LVTP) 1 x 10‐man MG squad
We have traditionally enjoyed a strong presence in this area, even back to the time of the French. However, we are slowly being rooted out by the Americans who seem to have replaced our former colonial masters. Our use of mines and snipers has been effective in making them pay for the ground the clear, but we must go on the offensive. As expected, an American patrol has returned, using the same route as yesterday. Today, we hit them even harder! Be ready to hit hard and cause maximum casualties on the enemy. Remember, plan slowly, then quick advance, quick attack, quick clearance and quick withdrawal! This is a Three Strongs mission. Primary Objective: Ambush the US forces (Military Victory value 20 points) Secondary Objective: None.
OTHER ASSETS 2 x LVTP‐5s (from 3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion) 1 x 9‐man detector squad (has three man‐ portable mine detectors; travelling in the first LVTP) If the Free World player wishes, the MG squad can be split into two five‐man teams. Similarly, the bazooka teams could be attached to squads in 1st Platoon if desired. Do not roll for additional Big Men, to reflect the losses sustained by D Company amongst its leaders. The US force has no blinds, but will have good fieldcraft due to its time in country.
VC FORCES 1 x Big Man (Level 3) 1 x RPG team (attached to a squad of the VC player’s choice) 2 x Sniper (both skill level 2)
DEPLOYMENT One LVTP will be stranded in the ditch at the breach in the fence. The other will be directly behind it. Cunningham, the corpsman and 2nd squad will be within 6” of the breach in the fence, along with a critically wounded marine. The VC player will make you aware of the location of a minefield within 6” of the breach. The remainder of US forces can be deployed along the line of march as the US player sees fit.
LOCAL FORCE PLATOON ONE 3 x 9‐man Obsolete Rifle squads 1 x 5‐man LMG team An additional Level 1 Big Man will be present on a D6 roll of 6. The VC have one blind per platoon, plus one dummy blind. Fieldcraft is good. The VC have either two 6” x 6” minefields or six 6” x 2” mine strips to place. One mine field/strip must be placed within 6” of the breach in the fence, and its position made known to the US player before he deploys. The VC may also place either one complex booby trap or two simple booby traps within the hamlet. Finally, the VC may place two tunnel entrances up to 18” apart. This reflects the marines’ observation after the encounter that the VC had removed their casualties and slipped away very
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effectively, leading to the presence of a tunnel network being suspected.
See the Bogging Down in the rules (section 5.3.1) for details of how the stranded LVTP can be recovered. Note that the Dust Off card begins in the deck, as it has already been called for.
DEPLOYMENT VC forces cannot deploy within 12” of the table edges. They may otherwise deploy as they see fit.
CARDS
UMPIRE’S NOTES Buildings are chiefly plant fibre thatch, offering light cover. Two groups of civilians are present. The jungle is heavy terrain. The bamboo/thorn fence is high and thick enough to block line of sight, except where breached. It offers light cover, as do the ditch and embankment to anyone sheltering in or behind them. The breach itself should be represented by a 2‐3” gap in the fence. The embankment before the hamlet
Free World
Communist
General
Platoon 1 Weapons Platoon Detector Squad LVTPs Big Men 1‐2 2 x Critical Wound Corpsman Dust Off
Blinds Platoon 1 Big Man 1 Sniper x 2 Di Di Mau
Civilians Move Time Out Possible Requirements Ammo Shortage Authorisation 81mm Mortar Support Artillery Support
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the village by pairs, only to discover that the VC had withdrawn‐ and had left behind punji traps and bamboo stakes. Finally, apologies for the title. In my defence, I point to Captain F. J. West’s decision to name his original account ‘Mines & Men’, to which I could not resist adding ‘Of’.
OPTIONS Barbecue Weather: Temperatures on the day we are concerned with reached 102o Fahrenheit/38o Celsius (for comparison, I believe that’s the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK). You may wish to add a ‐1 pip penalty to US movement on foot to reflect the impact of such heat. In addition, the rules on burning buildings might be worth reviewing, as the account of this action states that soon the hamlet was ablaze as a result of the firefight. In fact, one LVTP commander was reluctant to get too close to the blazing hamlet, for fear of what might happen to the explosives and 500 gallons of fuel he was carrying. Alternatively, for less predictable weather, get your hands on Nuno Pereira’s 2013 Summer Special article, Hotter Than A Snake’s Ass, which presents a nifty way to determine weather for Vietnam‐based games.
REALITY Historically, Cunningham had been to the area the day before, and deliberately chose to return by the same route so the AMTRACS could destroy the enemy’s limited supply of mines. The idea was that the AMTRACs would smash mined fences and tear up known minefields, whilst the troops followed in their tracks until ordered to do otherwise‐ Cunningham took great pains to warn his men to stay in the tracks of the LVTs. Events unfolded pretty much as described in the scenario’s preamble. VC snipers were to the east of the US forces, with the balance of VC forces to the west in the hamlet, with the LMGs at the hamlet’s southern end. Mines were between the marines and the treeline, screening the hamlet. In the face of what was a carefully planned trap, the initial US response was coordinated more by individual initiative than design. 1st Squad targeted muzzle flashes seen in the hamlet, and soon Gibbs’ mortar team had debussed and were adding to the fire poured into the hamlet. In the meantime, 2nd Squad moved to secure a landing zone for the helicopters by the breach. After some direction, the LVTPs began to advance towards the hamlet, allowing the marines to advance with some cover, and also through an area they now realised was mined. On reaching the hamlet, the marines broke cover to sweep
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country, and besides they were defending their homes and families.
INTRODUCTION After the failed previous July coup, Franco’s Spanish colonial troops in North Africa had crossed the Mediterranean by air, landing around Sevilla and advancing rapidly North. They reached the outskirts of Spain’s capital city by early November 1936, in an unstoppable drive, brushing aside all armed opposition found on their way.
On the left of the advance, a Nationalist column was expected to take La Casa de Campo, a popular natural park close to the Manzanares river West of Madrid. Widely used by the madrileños as a shelter in the hot summer afternoons and to picnic on the bank of its artificial lagoon during weekends, it was now to become a major place of the fighting.
With the enemy at the gates, the Republican Government has shamelessly evacuated the capital, escaping under a cloak of darkness at night, avoiding public notice, and heading for Velencia. Just before leaving, it appointed the dull and largely unknown General Miaja as commander of the garrison defending the city.
The attack was launched in the early hours of November 8th but quickly petered out, although not before conquering a dominant hill within the park called Cerro Garabitas. This elevation allowed the Nationalists observers to direct their guns and to merciless pound the central area of Madrid over the next three years of war.
In the War Office during the early hours of November 6th, Miaja opened the orders left for him in a sealed envelope. They made it clear that the Government lacked any hope of the city surviving the Nationalist steamroller; instead it was suggested to put a token resistance at best and then to pull back with whatever remnants towards a new defensive line on the road leading to Valencia.
However, the failure to enter Madrid in this first push also represented a much needed infusion of morale for the Republicans and the cry of ¡No pasarán! now reverberated across the city. In the same way that Petain had appeared at Verdun as the saviour of France, Miaja unexpectedly became a people’s hero and the symbol of the resistance.
But miracles do happen and, against all odds, the city resisted the attacks of the rebel columns. The milicianos surprisingly (and unexpectedly) put up a fierce fight in the southern suburbs of Madrid; this time, in the urban landscape, they were not as easy to outflank as in the open
The following days saw renewed Nationalists efforts and much hand‐to‐hand fighting among the trees of Casa de Campo woods until, on November 13th, they finally reached the river Manzanares.
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They now were in control of a 500 metre strip along the river's west bank, extending from El Puente (bridge) de los Franceses and Puente Nuevo on the right, to the crossing overlooking La Ciudad Universitaria (the University District) on the extreme left.
was only knee deep, most of the tanks bogged down in the muddy banks and bed. The few negrillos which eventually crossed the Puente Nuevo, had later to surrender after being cut off with the demolition of the bridge by the Republican engineers.
On the 15th General Varela ordered Coronel Asensio to take these bridges and to move inside Madrid, allocating a squad of Panzer I tanks, nicknamed negrillos due to their dark grey panzer colour, to provide more weight to the attack.
However, it was too early to declare a Republican victory. The forces in Madrid were hardly more than a bunch of militia units with different political colours, still a long way from becoming an organised military machine; lacking modern weapons and effective leaders, despite the increasingly amount of supplies from the Soviet Union, especially planes and tanks, and advisors.
Asensio promised “tomorrow I’ll cross the river, with or without tanks” and another bloody fight developed when attempting to reach the other side of the Manzanares and to break the Republican defensive system. Although the river
On the Nationalists side, the rate of expenditure of the African veterans was starting to make a dent in their efficiency and moral. Lacking enough men to push the attack through various fronts, General Varela decided to focus now all efforts on the left flank: the crossing of Manzanares at the Parque del Oeste‐Ciudad Universitaria line
The image below shows the Nationalists Attack Plan for the 15th November 1936 and taken from the author’s library from General Vicente Rojo’s “Así fue la defensa de Madrid”
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interlinked games. This is an abbreviated full map campaign setup focussed on the attack through the University District (Ciudad Universitaria) during the dramatic and decisive days between November 15th and 19th 1936. The ladder is made of five rungs, as follows: 1. No time for a picnic at Casa de Campo: The initial opening move, testing the line and determination of the republican forces defending at the Casa de campo park. Use the Patrol Scenario 1 rules of the Chain of Command book. 2. The Wall: The arrival to the wall of La Casa de Campo, the dividing line between the park and the Madrid suburbs, overlooking the river Manzanares and where the first outposts of the Republican defences were located. A key objective of the Nationalists to jump‐start the attack on Madrid. Use The Probe Scenario 2 rules of the Chain of Command book 3. Puente de los Franceses: The crossing of the river, where the main defensive line of the Republican forces in Madrid stand. Use the Attack & Defend Scenario 3 rules of the Chain of Command book 4. ¡A Madrid!: if eventually breached the Republican defences, the forces will retreat into the University District area, pursued by the victorious Nationalists; a fight to control the main buildings and faculties develops. Use the A Delaying Action Scenario 4 of the Chain of Command book 5. Facultad de Medicina: Ciudad Universitaria is now liberated soil for the Christendom and the only obstacle for a complete Nationalist victory is the Medicine School, still under Republican control. Us the Attack on an Objective Scenario 6 of the Chain of Command book.
with three of its available columns while making some diversionary attacks in the southern Madrid districts. A decisive week for the survival of the Spanish Republic is about to start...
THE CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION The situation described above presents us with an opportunity to create a campaign which combines the three main companion Chain of Command supplements released so far. Firstly, Chain of Command España, the free‐ downloadable adaptation to the Spanish Civil War, including many new special features of this conflict not covered by the main book. All necessary army lists and their support assets as well as a detailed analysis of the different forces involved and may be found on the TooFatLardies Forum. Secondly, we used Big Chain of Command, introducing new game mechanisms to play with more than one platoon per side and also available as free download. Finally we have the key component to the campaign, At the Sharp End, the campaign handbook available very cheaply from the TooFatLardies website and an indispensable tool when building a campaign. The campaign follows the At the Sharp End’s original ladder system where you can follow the exploits of your forces through a series of
THE CAMPAIGN MAP The campaign map may be found on the next page. We will provide a detailed description of
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the terrain features for each one of the scenarios in the appendix of the article For the Nationalists the objective was simple. Once all resistance at Ciudad Universitaria was overcome, they would move along the main avenues towards the Moncloa and Arguelles suburbs and would finally take control of Spain’s capital city. The foreign non‐interventionist governments of France and the UK would then bow to the inevitable; recognising Germany and Italy‐supported Franco’s government as a legitimate one. The Soviet Union and Stalin, unlikely to desire a head‐on confrontation with the main European powers, and would force a negotiated (or not) surrender of the Republican Government. Spanish and other international communists would be rescued and sent to Russia where they would fight against the fascists in 1941 among the ranks of the Red Army... but that’s another story altogether. With this in mind we set the victory conditions as follows:
Victory Conditions The Nationalists win the campaign after taking the last objective (Facultad de Medicina). The Republicans win the campaign by preventing the Nationalists from fulfilling their victory conditions. If any one of the scenarios is won by the Republicans, they have the option to counterattack or stand, as per the At the Sharp End rules. The scenario is replayed for the second time and, if the Nationalists fail to win, the campaign is concluded with a Republican victory. OPPOSING FORCES The Nationalist forces are those of Columna 1 led by the Teniente Coronel Asensio. The column was made up of units from the Spanish Army in Morocco specifically the Primer (first) and Tercer (third) Tabor de Regulares de Tetuán and a the Sexta (sixth) Bandera del Tercio de la Legión. This columna was supported by field artillery and tank units.
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For game purposes, the Nationalists players will receive two platoons of Regulares and one platoon of Legion, with the full allotment of men as for the lists in Chain of Command España. On the Republican side, the area between the Puente de los Franceses and Ciudad Universitaria were defended by several groups of militias of different political colours and yet to be absorbed in the recently created Ejercíto Popular de la República. They were still denominated as the early war columnas but with an increasing resemblance to ordinary military units.
TERRAIN What follows are some (hopefully) useful guides on how we think the gaming table may look for each of the scenarios in the Campaign Description section. The maps are suggestions which give a general feel for what we are looking for, but ultimately you will need to approximate this with what terrain you have.
Scenario 1: Patrol at Casa de Campo Casa de Campo is a large wooded park in the outskirts of Madrid. The terrain is mostly flat with some smooth elevations that may block LOS and scattered group trees (mostly pines); as the date is November, it is rain‐season, so most likely the soil will be muddy and intersected with small water streams. Rocky craggy formations, low stone walls, small stone or wood construction to store gardening tools will be found here and there, providing useful cover to the forces moving through the table.
For game purposes we have selected three distinctive units that historically fought in the area of the campaign: elements of the Comandante Romero column (communist), the Columna Libertad (anarchist) commanded by Durruti himself and the International Bon Edgard André. As in the case of the Nationalists platoons, each force will be organised as per the Chain of Command España list: Comandante Romero’s column will use the 5th Regiment lists; the Columna Libertad’s unit will be organised as for the People’s Militia list; Edgard André’s will use the International brigade organisation included in the Popular Army of the Republic lists.
Scenario 2: Probe Towards the Wall Similar to the Scenario 1 terrain; the Casa de Campo is surrounded by a fairly high brick and masonry wall which will be close to the edge and defended by the Republican forces.
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Scenario 3: Puente de los Franceses
Scenario 5: Facultad de Medicina
The Manzanares is a very narrow river just a few meters wide and in the drought summer season runs almost dry. However, according to battle reports, the banks and the river bed were, in that mid‐November, quite muddy, contributing to bog most of the tank force supporting Asensio´s columns. The wall is located close to the Nationalist table edge and must be blown to enable the tanks to cross and reached the river. When crossing the river, the Regulares had the water at knee level only but they were hampered by the slippery mud and bank slopes. The terrain should be considered difficult going for infantry.
The Faculty of Medicine was one of the largest building compounds of the university deep in the end of the Madrid University campus, flanked by the Veterinary and the Odontology Faculties buildings. The fight for the control of this building may involve floor to floor close combats as well as room to room, floor to floor melees; like in Stalingrad several years later, this is the place where the bayonet and the hand grenade reigns.
Scenario 4: ¡A Madrid! Ciudad Universitaria was the University district of Madrid, built in the early 1930s in the outskirts of the city. By the time of battle it has not been fully developed. The area had several large multi‐ storey buildings, wide avenues and gardens. During the battle almost a small “Stalingrad”: to game this scenario you can use large semi‐ruined building models debris piles, shell craters, walls, barricades, even some destroyed tram model or bus and civil use vehicles etc.
CAMPAIGN SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS We designed the campaign to accommodate three players per side, each player commanding one of the platoons described. Each side must appoint a supreme commander for the campaign, who will plan the orbat for each scenario and will distribute reinforcements according to his assessment of the battlefield conditions, moral of its own forces and numbers of available effectives.
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In each game a maximum of two platoons could be deployed by each side, with the third platoon being held in reserve. We suggest playing on two different but adjoining tables of standard size, with one friendly and one enemy platoon on each. The table delimits the area of influence of the respective platoon commander and the boundaries must be respected and never breached. Boundaries must be clearly marked. Players on each side are absolutely forbidden to talk or pass information to each other by any means once the game begins, including level of Force Morale, casualties or Chain of Command dice accumulated. The actions of his respective commands are independent from each other. Nonetheless, and at the cost of two Chain of
(1) No time for picnic at Casa de Campo: Artillery support and AFV are not allowed to any side (2) The Wall: No special instructions (3) Puente de los Franceses: Nationalists have 9 support points in addition to the scenario´s normal allocation, to spend in AFV supports (only Pz I or CV 33). Republicans are allocated 9 additional support points that can used in the way they wish. The Casa de Campo wall is a high obstacle. Nationalists engineer teams (bought as supports) can blow one or more holes in the wall to let the AFVs cross. The demolition is successful on a 3‐6 roll of a D6 die. If the team fails to ignite the charge, the team will need two phase activation to place a new charge. The river banks and bed are muddy; use the AFVs bogging rules (page 52 of the main rules book). Engineer teams can search for fords; the search is successful on a 1 roll from a D6 die. (4) ¡A Madrid!: Nationalists cannot choose AFVs or on‐board artillery supports (5) Facultad de Medicina: same as per (4) ¡Es Durruti! rule: when Durruti (senior leader of the anarchist column) is on board and attached to a unit, the unit can recover 3 shock points for every initiative spent by the senior . If wounded or killed, all anarchist units deployed must take a moral dice roll with a +1 modifier.
Command Dice, any side can declare the boundaries eliminated and move, fire or attack their enemies in the adjacent area. From that point onwards, the Big Chain of Command force morale rules apply. However, having said all of the above, there is no problem in scaling down your campaign to accommodate a smaller number of players and/or platoons, or using the Big Chain of Command guides straight from the book. In addition here are some specific‐scenario instructions:
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Finally, the authors will be happy to receive any comments and are also open to questions on clarifications about the campaign or any other related aspect (reading materials, uniforms painting advice, etc) in the following email address:
[email protected] Photos from the authors collection. All infantry minis are Empress Miniatures and painted by Kate War Paint services. AFVs are Empress Miniatures and Perry Miniatures Editors Note: In the spirit of assisting new businesses in the hobby we suggested to Benito that Kate War Painting might like to introduce themselves to the Lardy community with a few photographs of her work. Kate very kindly supplied us with the images shown below. Good luck to her with her venture; with results like these we can see why she is in demand!
CONCLUSION This campaign was fought during November 2014 by a group of fanatic Spanish Lardistas in the Club Dragón premises in Madrid. Battle reports with lots of photos and illustrations can be found in one of the authors’ blog (http://mylardiesgames.blogspot.com.es/) to guide through the de sign of your own campaign. The campaign as we have described above worked extremely well and all players involved said to have had an excellent time playing. The use of the two simultaneous games and tables provided an additional element of friction and of tactical decision, given that breaching the boundaries and catching your enemy off‐guard by the flank or rear could potentially destroy in one blow a significant portion of his available forces in just one hit. For those curious enough, the campaign was won by the Republican side in the third game when the Nationalists failed to cross the river Manzanares for two consecutive games. Next stop will be El Jarama, where “death grows among olive trees”.
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The Battle of
MAHIWA 15th October, 1917 An ITLSU scenario from Charles Eckhart
When it comes to First World War scenarios in Africa most games focus on the 1914 attempt by the British to capture the town of Tanga in East Africa. But the campaign in German East Africa has much more to offer. There are troop varieties a plenty, from European troops like the North Lancashire and the 25th Fusiliers (the colourful Legion of frontiersman), soldiers of the Indian Army, the Kings African rifles, Nigerian Regiments, South Africans, Rhodesians and West Africans all contested East Africa with German led Askari's, Ruga Ruga mercenaries, sailors from the KMS Koenigsberg and blockade runners. Even some spear toting indigenous tribesman became involved on both sides.
airship was aborted after the Zeppelin spending 95 hours in the air. Actions in East Africa were not restricted to dry land. Naval actions were fought on the lakes and in the Rufigi delta. On land the fighting was an assortment of contests. During 1914 to 1915 there was the battle of Tanga, smaller fights around Kilimanjaro, a German attempt to capture Mombasa, arather infamous British amphibious attack on Bukoba and German raids to The Uganda Railroad. In 1916 South Africans, Rhodesians and Belgians overran the north and central parts of the colony gaining control of the two German railroads. The coast was dominated by the Royal Navy
The terrain of the campaigns that these men fought over was varied and the climate was harsh. Wildlife and disease abounded and maps were mostly useless. By 1917 European troops were in the minority, Africans were better able to cope with the conditions and besides, the ‘real’ war was elsewhere. Supplies were precious and hard to find, and novel supply routes were tested- one German attempt to supply troops from Europe by
By the end of 1917 the British thought the campaign was nearing its end. But German commander Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck thought otherwise. Into Portuguese East Africa, back to German East Africa and into Rhodesia, this amazing soldier carried on a high impact campaign that is still studied today and which he maintained, despite the odds, until finally
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being informed that the war in Europe had ended.
BUSH WAR WW1 After 1915 the campaign in German East Africa, now Tanzania, becomes increasingly difficult to follow in regard to the actual numbers engaged on various far spaced fronts. Due to difficult terrain and climate both sides manoeuvred in relatively small columns continuous with supply lines frequently threatened by wildlife. By the end of 1916 Lettow-Vorbeck had been manoeuvred out of Mahengi-Kilwa and back to the Lindi area. This had required some heavy fighting on the Kilosa-Iringa-Lupembe and Kibata-Kilwa fronts.
An interesting epilogue to this campaign was reported by the BBC in August 2011. The vessel Graf Goertzen was scuttled when the Germans abandoned Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika, it's machinery carefully greased for reuse after the war since the Germans expected to win. As in so many parts of the world, nothing abandoned here was left to waste for long, and ten years later the ship was raised, the engine still worked after minor repairs and the vessel was soon back in service as a ferry run by Maritime Services between Tanzania and Zambia.
The last big battle of the campaign, Mahiwa, took place on 15th October 1917, where the forces of Empire intended to finally trap and destroy the Germans. This battle, along with the previous fighting at Kondoa-Irangi in mid 1916 would be the nearest the conflict in East Africa would come to the trench warfare in France.
East Africa offers many unusual scenarios for Through the Mud and the Blood (M&B) and several more for If The Lord Spares Us (ITLSU) While aircraft were present they were ineffectual except for the discovery and destruction of the Koenigsberg in the Rufigi. Knowing manpower and resources lost could not be replaced, Lettow-Vorbeck avoided decisive battle. Instead he decided he would hold the position until superior enemy forces were about to close around him and withdraw at the last moment - offering many small scale rearguard and encounter scenarios for M&B. Even some ideas from Charlie Don't Surf (CDS) could apply to scenarios for M&B and ITLSU.
At this time two British columns – known as the Kilwa and Lindi columns, were only a dozen miles apart with the German forces in between. Lettow-Vorbeck needed to gain time to withdraw his remaining men and supplies across the Rovuma river into Portuguese East Africa, now Mozambique. This action provides the scenario for this ITLSU game.
If desired, some simple rules may be constructed to represent German blockade runners trying to supply the Schutztruppen, or the destruction of the Koenigsberg by Severn and Mersey. Someone has already catered to the Toutou and Mimi on Lake Tanganyika
Luckily for the Germans, neither British force made much progress. The 1st and 4th Nigerian regiments along with the Gambia company became cut-off and pinned down by the Germans. The sun beat down on shallow sandy trenches and the only waterhole was under German fire. The rest of the Kilwa force was unable to reach them.
In 2011 maritime services made a request to Germany for help in refurbishing the buy now rather battered vessel (renamed Liemba) that still transported hundreds of people. Last news was that Germany was considering providing a new vessel as the cheaper alternative.
The Lindi column was able to approach close enough to give covering fire for a Nigerian breakout. The fighting that followed was described as ferocious. African troops on both sides yelled war cries, the Nigerians occasionally leaving their trenches dancing and waving their rifles.
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With the Nigerians pinned, Lettow-Vorbeck led five companies with two guns to strike a Lindi column from the rear. The column was practically annihilated and supplies at Nyangao were captured.
concentrated at Nambindinga North of the Rovuma River. The war had reverted to skirmishes between British advance and German rear guards Tafels column was unable to join Lettow by a close margin and with the exception of 6 Europeans and 20 Askari who did manage to rejoin the German main body, Tafels 2,500 surrendered.
The Nigerians eventually found a gap in the German defences and broke through. By October 19th the Lindi force and the Nigerians were in contact once again but losses had been so high it was decided to withdraw.
Lettow-Vorbeck was ultimately able to cross the river and from December 1917 to September 1918 chased the Portuguese around Portuguese East Africa pursued by British forces. He probably had no more than 2,000 fighters left accompanied by porters and camp followers.
The Lindi and Kilwa columns made no further attempts to advance and Lettow-Vorbeckuse the time to reorganise am prepared to withdraw towards Portuguese territory. Out of about 4,900 British African forces engaged 2,700 were casualties. About 1,500 German troops were involved for a loss of 519. Mahiwa was one of the bloodiest battles fought with modern weapons on both sides in Africa up to that time.
In October 1918 the Germans recrossed the Rovuma into German East Africa causing significant alarm. The German led his force into Rhodesia and on November 13 of 1918 was informed that the war in Europe had ended.
By mid-1917 the German forces, with the exception of a column of about 2,500 men under Tafel (another 800 men were raiding northward towards Kilamanjaro) were
On 25 November 1918 Lettow-Vorbeck, with 20 combat, 9 other offices 125 Europeans including some from the Königsberg 1156
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Askari's 1598 porters and over 1100 women and herders surrendered at Abercorn in Rhodesia. They still had seven German and 30 British machine guns, about 1100 rifles and a Portuguese field gun with an abundance of ammunition.
artillery battery with a forward observer, three machine-gun bases and Brigade headquarters. The following two forces are on blinds. The British have two blinds the Germans have three.
WARGAMING MAHIWA
The Lindi Column: This column enters as a blind on turn six with one battalion of 4×3 based companies and 2 machine-gun bases. The battalion may split the 4 infantry companies and 2 machine-gun bases between the two blinds or all 14 bases may be on one blind. There is however only one battalion headquarters.
Mahiwa is presented here as a scenario for If The Lord Spares Us. The table is six feet by four feet with this scenario played over the length. German forces are described as entrenched on a low ridge overlooking a dry river. They were well equipped with machine guns and had several batteries of field guns in support. The first and fourth Nigerian regiments are on the opposite side of a dry river in shallow trenches. Terrain on this side of the bridge scrub and waist high grass.
German Blinds: Blinds are placed on the ridge facing the relief column's edge of the table. They have three groups of five infantry bases and one machine-gun base per group. Each of the three groups has a battalion headquarters. There may be up to 10 infantry, two machine guns and two Battalion HQ on the one blind.
Behind the German ridge a British column is approaching from the opposite table edge. Behind this column is the tiny village and supplied dump if Nyangao, positioned within 12 inches of the right table corner.
UMPIRES NOTES
Terrain here is tallgrass and jungle. The village has three or four buildings in a small clearing.
The German commander had personally reconnoitred the area so all-German movement is as open ground.
A second British column enters on the lines on turn six within 12 inches of the left corner.
The Nigerians had been without water for days and were desperate. They move as in bad going. British relief columns move as in loose sand.
The following three forces have been spotted and are placed on the table: The Nigerians. They have been without water for three days and have taken heavy losses they are in shallow trenches (light cover). They have 2X8 stand battalions each with a machine gun base, a two stand Gambia company and a Brigade headquarters.
The British columns did include some artillery and even some Stokes mortars but they apparently had no effect on the battle so are not included. One amusing anecdote relates how German Askaris thought the Stokes unfair because they couldn't hear the rounds coming.
The British column. This is approaching the reach from the village the strength is one Battalion with 4×3 stand companies and one machine-gun base. The Germans. These troops are on the ridge facing the Nigerians. They have two battalions each with 3x2 base companies, a 2 base
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VICTORY CONDITIONS
Other cards
British: the Nigerians must cross the ridge and join the British relief column. British total losses must be less than 50%
Tea break (with optional x2) Optional: wildlife cards The wildlife card Rhino, elephants, lions and hippo when known to cause troops to scatter. If the optional wildlife card is used any group of stands not on the ridge and not Nigerians drawn immediately after the wildlife card removes 1D3 bases of troops. Wildlife card should be removed after the first bases are scattered.
German: cause British forces at least 50% casualties and lose no more than 35% of their own force. If the village is captured place a base of noncombat porters with the combat bases and count an extra 5% towards success if the porters are not captured by any British fighting stand moving into contact with them. Porters may not be fired upon
OTHER NOTES All troops on both sides have a spunk rating of 1.
THE CARDS British
If the British find the scenario too difficult to win only allowed German blinds and forces to move as though in bad going. Essentially a draw is a German win.
Nigerian brigade command (x2) 1st Nigerians 4th Nigerians Nyangao Column Lindi Column (from turn six) Stiff upper lip British Blinds
Germans on the reach are in hardcover. The trenches and the dry riverbed give the Nigerian Brigade softcover. Fire towards, from and on the ridge is limited to effective range.
The Gambia company may be attached to either of the Nigerian battalions.
Terrain on the British relief columns side of the reach reduces spotting and infantry and machine-gun fire to 12 inches. Keeping it simple, this terrain provides no cover. The fighting was described as "ferocious" (but if losses are absurdly high make it softcover).
German cards Schutztrupp command (x2) First second third fourth and fifth 1st Schutztruppen, 2nd Schutztruppen 3rd Schutztruppen 4th Schutztruppen Artillery Forward Observer, German Artillery “Jambo Askari”, German blinds
The Germans on the ridge facing the Nigerians are spread fairly thin. Without giving too much away the Nigerians should try to weaken a portion of the defence while waiting for the relief column to arrive near the ridge before making their attack. The Germans should try to cover their front against the Nigerians with fire while manoeuvring to hold all destroy the relief columns as far from the ridge as is possible. Capturing the village and the supplies therein gives them a bonus of 5% if they keep control of the porters.
“Jambo Askari” replaces Turkish delight (This is a greeting in Swahili I have reason to believe the pronunciation is "yambo" or eambi
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By early April 1945, Allied advances were being measured in map sheets rather than miles, as German resistance collapsed before the unstoppable drive East. Yet, in places, the Germans could still put up a fight, despite the fact that defeat was now the only possible outcome. On the Elbe River at Uelzen, some twenty miles East of Munster and twenty miles South of Lüneburg, the British Airborne Division was meeting stiff resistance, so much so that 15th (Scottish) Division was ordered to make an attack from the South to outflank the defenders. This attack would involve the capture of a series of villages stretched out along the main road heading South from the town, thereby opening up a route for a a flank attack on the town, effectively rendering it indefensible. The 6th Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borderers were tasked with capturing the village pf Hambrock where patrols had found to be strongly defended with a number of 20mm Flak guns, presumably taken from the defences of the Elbe bridges in the area. The following scenario for I Ain’t Been Shot Mum recreates the attack by D Company on the German positions. BRITISH FORCE D Company, 6 KOSB Major Smith, Level IV No. 16 Platoon Lieutenant Riley, Level III Three rifle sections of seven men One PIAT team, 2 men One 2” mortar team, 2 men
No. 17 Platoon Sergeant O’Neal, Level III Three rifle sections of seven men One PIAT team, 2 men One 2” mortar team, 2 men No. 18 Platoon Sergeant Snowball, Level II Three rifle sections of seven men One PIAT team, 2 men One 2” mortar team, 2 men In addition to the above force, the British player may select two of the following support options: Two sections from the Carrier Platoon Pre‐game stonk Mortar Platoon with FOO Two Vickers MGs from the Machine Gun Platoon The British force is rated as follows: 0 1 2 3 4 1, 2 3 4 5, 6 7, 8 The British begin the game on Blinds with one dummy Blind present in addition to one Blind per Platoon plus additional Blinds if the Carrier Platoon or Vickers Platoon support options are selected. The British begin the game with their Blinds deployed anywhere on the Southern or Western table edge.
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Platoon. All of the Flak guns must be allocated to the infantry Zug.
The Germans begin the game with two Blinds deployed anywhere within the village in the North‐Eastern corner of the table. Any other troops may enter the table on subsequent turns, rolling a D6 to do so. On a roll of 3 to 6 they do so successfully and arrive in the North Eastern corner. If the British have selected a Stonk option for support, add +1 to the roll. TERRAIN Hambrock is a small farming village with barns and outbuildings, along with orchards, surrounding each farmhouse. The village lies in a dip, with the terrain sloping up to the South and West, as such any British troops on their table edges will be looking down into the village. GAME DECK Include one card per platoon and each Big Man. The British also get a Rally card. The Germans have a Dynamic Commander card. HISTORICAL OUTCOME The British advanced through the woods to the West of the village, establishing good observation positions to allow them to call in a preparatory bombardment followed up with a 3” mortar barrage supplemented by smoke from the 2” mortars. Behind this screen the infantry advanced rapidly across the open ground and took the village after a brief but “lively” fight. Sixty three prisoners were taken along with eight 20mm Flak guns. Sergeant O’Neil was awarded the Military Medal for his role in leading No.17 Platoon on the day.
GERMAN FORCE Leutnant Strudel, Level IV
Zug One Feldwebel Flügel, Level II Two rifle sections of seven men
Zug Two Unteroffizier Rudel, Level II Two rifle sections of seven men
Zug Three Unteroffizier Grudel, Level II Two rifle sections of seven men Leichte Flakzug Unteroffizier Forst, Level II Four 2cm Flakvierling 38, five crew each In addition to the above force, the German player may select two of the following support options: Two sections of barbed wire, 6” in length. Two minefields, 6” by 2” Foxholes for two squads or Flak teams Foxholes for two squads or Flak teams The German force is rated as follows: 0 1 2 3 1, 2, 3 4 5 6, 7 The Germans begin the game on Blinds with one dummy Blind present in addition to one Blind per
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Shamelessly adapted from some fine work by Myron Shipp with some further thoughts by Simon Walker
there are hardly any changes and the rules remain entirely true to the original, with possibly a few tweaks to place them in North America.
I have been interested in the American Plains Indians Wars all my life. One of my earliest photos is of me as a toddler waving toy six shooters in front of a Tepee in my parents backyard, this then led to playsets such as the Airfix Fort and then on to boardgames such as Cavalry and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which came with painted toy soldiers as playing pieces. Once I joined an adult wargames club my favourite game was TTG”s Pony Wars, sadly this is now out of print and the author has passed away and so I was encouraged to adapt Sharp Practice for this period incorporating some of Pony Wars ideas, such as cards and the idea of everyone being on the same side and the Indians moving by a matrix. Other gamers may want to play both sides so I have decided that both should be catered for.
As well as rule amendments , Boots and Saddles contains a campaign system of sorts which replaces scenarios, the same basic set up unfolding differently every time due to the random event cards. Finally this supplement contains all the data you will need to field your forces, looking at the characteristics of both US and Native forces throughout the whole period of the wars. As with Sharp Practice the rules have been designed to provide a fun game with about thirty to a hundred figures a side that can be played in a couple of hours. Unlike other more “Hollywood” depictions of the period, I hope that the gamers will enjoy the fact that efforts have been made to make the game that emerges is a credible model of the
What follows is a series of amendments for Sharp Practice for the American Plains Indian Wars 1865-1891, so you will need a copy of Sharp Practice. In some areas there are many changes, in other areas
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Seize the moment cards, marked by US or Indian and status level. The blank card Sarsaparilla Card Repeater card at the rate of one per two groups armed with repeater weapons.
warfare of the period. Indeed I hope that playing Boots and Saddles will allow the gamer to form a greater understanding of the conflict. Inspiration from Peter Gilder and Ian Beck Vale.
All replacement cards work as their predecessors with the exception that the sarsaparilla card is not added to the deck until the first unit fires or the first fisticuffs begins. The repeater card or cards are added to the game deck when these weapons are present. When it is dealt one group or formation may fire with one action dice.
Whilst Sharp Practice as it stands can be used for most wars of the black powder period we were keen to expand and develop certain aspects of the rules to produce a game that better reflects the American Indian Plains Wars. In order to achieve this we have altered certain aspect of the rules. Some of these are simple tweaks to reflect the advances in technology and these need little comment. Where we have made more substantial changes we will explain the rationale behind them. Where some sections are ignored this is because they stay the same as in the original rules.
Big Men and Initiative Status, initiative levels and ranges are as follows: Status IV III II I
The Turn Sequence
Initiative Level 4 3 2 1
Influence Range 18” 14” 10” 6”
The turn sequence is exactly the same as in Sharp Practice but on the end of turn card (now named “Sarsaparilla” or peace pipe) all units that have not moved do so with 2 action dice (not just attacking cavalry). Also, the Grasp the Nettle card becomes “Seize the Moment” and the sentry and smokin’ cards are done away with.
Big Men work exactly as in the main rules with the exception being that when in formation Big Man can command any size formation, he is not limited to one group per status level as is currently the rule in section 2.3.
“Repeater” is included if such weapons are used which, by this period they almost always are.
There are two small changes in this section, both in the table for action dice, section 2.4.1 .There is no longer an option to tap load a musket due to the improvements in rifles. Troops may also hunker down using two action dice. This increases the level of cover they are in by one level however it does mean that they do nothing else that turn. See cover defined in section 7.2 later.
Actions
The list of cards now reads thus: One card for each Big Man Blinds cards: 1 for each group not spotted by the other side
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Troop Types and Organisation All US groups should now be eight men strong, this reflects the four man “buddy” system used from the Civil war onwards. The troops used on the US side in the Plains Wars were more homogenous in their nature than Napoleonic troops. So in the cards we refer to full groups of eight or “teams” of four men, these may for instance be manning a gun or be scouting. The Hostiles (Native Americans) count with their fingers so they come in groups of ten or half groups of five. Civilians in the game such as wagon trains, settlers etc are in no specific teams and are in random numbers as per the cards or scenario. Even with this homogeneity there were numerous differences between the Plains Wars and the Napoleonic and Civil wars so the number of classifications for troops increases in Boots and saddles. The ratings of Elite, Good, Regular, and Poor are dropped in favour of a multi layered system that looks at Experience, Training, Marksmanship and Belief as well as what type of troop type they are.
Troop types used are: US Cavalry US Infantry Indian Scouts Volunteer Scouts US Artillery The Ammunition Wagon Civilians /Settlers Hostiles
US Cavalry These are the most common troop type on the US side in the game. These are not the Hollywood types, so no yellow neckerchiefs and mostly Sharps and Springfield rifles, with colts and sabres to taste. The basic group of the Cavalry is the 8 man “Section” made up of two four man “Teams” and is commanded by a non commissioned officer. Four or five of these usually made up a Company with one or two officers, sometimes these men held ranks much higher than usual for such a small unit. Less well-motivated or experienced men may also be used in groups of 6.
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The following specific adjustments apply for US Cavalry:
four man teams often accompanied by a US Officer. Their primary function in the game is scouting which usually means springing ambushes and checking out blinds.
It costs 1AP for cavalry to switch weapons between carbines and revolvers.
US cavalry engaging mounted Indians will use their pistols in the absence of sabres. In the first round of Fisticuffs against mounted Indians they should roll their dice and inflict any Kills or Shock as normal before the Indians roll theirs, reducing the Indians’ effectiveness, to reflect losses caused by cavalry fire just before contact. Second and subsequent rounds of Fisticuffs are determined as usual.
Volunteer Scouts
When dismounting, 1 in 4 men must act as horseholders.
Some volunteer scouts are VERY big men and can often persuade settlers to follow his orders. This man is the sworn enemy of Indian Chiefs and can challenge them to personal combat which will always be accepted, if he wins he then leads the dead chiefs warriors off the board and off to the reservation. Historical examples include, Kit Carson, Jim Beckwourth (a free black) Mariano Medina, Mitch Bouyer, Al Sieber, Mickey Free, William F Cody, and James B (Wild Bill) Hickok.
These are white or Black civilian backwoodsmen, famed Indian fighters like Kit Carson or Militia like the Texas rangers. They are heavily armed with Superior rifles, revolvers, tomahawks and anything else they feel like buying for themselves. They also operate in four man teams commanded by a famed Indian fighter who has no formal rank but is treated as a Captain by the US Forces. He is known by his name not rank though.
US Infantry Infantry are organised basically the same way as the cavalry but travel on foot (although mounted Infantry were common) and fight on foot with rifles and have no colts or sabres but bayonets so are not as good at hand to hand fighting, the Infantry did most of the heavy lifting in the war but in this game they play a minor role as the Cavalry do most of the quick reaction actions mostly found in the game.
US Artillery Fairly rare in the game these are mostly Cavalry or Infantry manning guns rather than members of the Artillery Corp. In this game we have two types of gun, the cannon (such as a 12 pounder Napoleon or Parrot) and the Gatling gun. The gun is manned by 5 men one of whom is an NCO or Officer. The Gun Commander rides a horse and the crew ride the limber and limber horses. The gun can only be fired if it is within easy reach of its limber but can be manhandled into difficult terrain provided the limber remains within half a move away.
Indian Scouts These are Indians employed by the US Government to provide the Army with local knowledge and tracking skills, they could be renegades from the tribe causing the immediate trouble or could be from a tribe hostile to the ones causing the trouble, they often wore items of uniform mixed with native garb and operate in
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The Ammunition wagon
Hostiles
The Ammunition wagon has one driver armed with a carbine and has almost unlimited ammunition from the wagon, The wagon starts the game at the Fort and can resupply groups it comes within four inches of. The driver will not let the wagon fall into Hostile hands and will blow it up if attacked by Hostiles and has no friendly troops one move away.
The Noble Savage or Dreaded “injuns depending on your point of view.
Plains Indians should be organised in Groups of 4-6 men, but with slightly more low grade Big Men than usual. This, combined with the additional Shock incurred when casualties are suffered, makes them risk-averse, and likely to retire at the first rebuff, but equally likely to rally and return to the fight, which seems historically accurate.
Civilians/Settlers All civilians start the game knowing nothing of the impending danger and will move as per reaction/random event cards until taken under command by US forces, all male settlers have a rifle and a small amount of ammunition, some such as Cowboys will have revolvers and be mounted. Civilians start the game as per the scenario instructions or off the table and come on due to random event cards. Civilians also include the Wagon Train, Stage Coach and Pony Express rider, more of them later.
They are mounted on horses in the main but also can be found on foot, particularly during ambushes, if a card brings Hostiles on to the table you can choose whether they are mounted or on foot. They are armed with a mixture of weapons including everything from spears to repeating rifles, the player can choose but I prefer a what you see is what you get approach were the Brave is armed with what the miniature is armed with. In Boots and Saddles the Hostiles/Natives can be controlled by players or can be moved by a reaction chart with all the players being on the US side. More of that later. Until they are spotted by the US forces Hostile groups move as a blind. Specific rules amendments for Plains Indians:
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Chiefs will always accept a challenge to personal combat by the famed Indian Fighter. Famous Chiefs of the Plains Wars included Rain in the Face, One Bull, Moving Robe Woman ( a Female), Bad heart Bull, Two Moon, Brave Wolf,, Wooden leg, Scabby, No Two Horns, Little Bird, Sun Bear, Standing Bear, Young little Wolf, Gall, White Elk, Crazy Horse, Roman Nose and Sidney Roundwood (that last one might be wrong - ed).
Indians may not form larger Formations and each Group must be individually activated. All Indians may Skirmish whether on foot or mounted, and count as light troops skirmishing when firing.
Indians add +1” per movement dice in all situations, whether on foot or mounted.
Indians on foot do not incur Shock if moving through rough terrain. Indians on foot moving through difficult terrain, or mounted riding through rough terrain, ignore the first ‘1’ rolled for Shock purposes. (rules in Indian Mutiny ‘War Without Mercy’ apply Shock when rolling more 1’s than 6’s for movement)
further 1 Shock for every point of Status he has (had?) to a Group to which he is directly attached, and Shock equal to his Status +1 to any other Group under his command within line of sight and influence range.
The death of an Indian Big Man will inflict 1D3 Shock plus a
Indian Big Men leading an attack adds +1 Fervour dice to the dice rolled during the first round of Fisticuffs.
Indians that draw a round of Fisticuffs treat it as a -1 loss instead.
Yellow Bellies Troopers/Warriors Hardened Fighters Old Sots Let’s look at each in more detail:
Yellow Bellies
An Indian Group in medium or heavy cover ignores the first ‘K’ suffered from Firing, taking 2 points of Shock instead (1 Shock +1 for the unadjusted ‘K’ suffered as above).
There are four categories:
Indian Groups that suffer a ‘K’ during Firing or Fisticuffs will suffer an additional point of Shock.
Indians fired on by artillery will double the Shock suffered.
Indians count as Aggressive in Fisticuffs but only during the first round.
Troops are further categorised according to their experience and training.
Indian Groups are assumed to be uniformly armed, regardless of how the individual figures are depicted. Most Indians during this period would have access to firearms of some sort, with only a minority of poorer Indians (or traditionalists) using bows and arrows as their primary weapon.
The most cowardly troop type, Yellow Bellies have seen none or at most one action, they will have lower quality Big Men, lower standards of drill and musketry or skill at arms, but may be more ready to charge than more experienced troop, They ignore the first point of shock inflicted in the first round of fisticuffs, however they will always break and pursue an enemy they beat in
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fisticuffs. Unlike Sharp Practice all troops in Boots and Saddles may skirmish. This rule mostly applies to the US Troops and they are categorised by how well they are trained, especially as regards drill, Warriors could also be rated this way as to how well they operate as a group rather than as lone warriors.
Troopers / Warriors Troopers (US) and Warriors (Indian) are men who have seen a few actions, they are your average trooper/warrior in the game. They may pursue an enemy they beat in fisticuffs but will break formation to do so.
Three training types are covered: Rabble Drilled Elite
Hardened Fighters These guys are grizzled veteran Troopers or Warriors who have seen lots of fighting, and they may warrant a +1 or +2 on musketry. US Troopers are automatically drilled at worst and may be aggressive in fisticuffs. When pursuing a defeated enemy they retain they formation.
Rabble The Rabble is pretty much untrained, they can march along a road, stand in a line but are hopeless at pretty much everything else. These may form a line or march column formations but Big Men may only rally the group they are attached to. Any roll of 1 or double 6 will see them break formation.
Old Sots These troops are older men who are perhaps beyond their best. They are good troops/Warriors with many benefits that come from experience but are more interested in self-preservation than heroism. They have the same added bonuses as (Previous) however they will never pursue a defeated enemy, and they need two Big Men Command initiatives to get them to charge to fisticuffs and may never do so with added fervour.
Drilled A drilled formation is competent at basic drill and the manual of arms. These are the standard Troops in Boots and saddles with few benefits but also a few penalties, Drilled Troops may use extended order when in formation, however this will be broken if they come under fire.
Elite An Elite force may utilise the “Gymnastic Pace” cards in the bonus deck. They may retain formation when in extended order even if under fire and may reform existing formations that have become disordered, possibly moving across or through rough terrain, even when encumbered with shock.
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Troops/Warriors are rated according to their ability with their weapons.
Troops belief levels represent the fervour of belief in their cause, their appetite for the fight and there underlying morale. As such they are categorised according to how well they have fared in recent engagements.
Musketry ratings are as follows: Poor shots Acceptable shots Fine shots Sharpshooters
Belief ratings are as follows:
Poor Shots
Downcast Determined Triumphant
Any troops fired on by poor shots may adjust their hit effect dice roll by one pip (in total, not per dice). Big Men hit will roll with a -1 on the table in section 7.4 when hit by poor shots.
Downcast Downcast troops/warriors have been defeated in their last two engagements. They are penalised in fisticuffs and if they lose their bottle they retire 4” per point of shock.
Acceptable shots With a decent level of accuracy and fire discipline these troops are the standard troops/Warriors in Boots and Saddles.
Determined Determined troops have either never fought before or have won one of their last two engagements. If they lose their bottle they will retire at 3” per point of excess shock.
Fine shots Troops or warriors who are classed as fine shots are well trained with their weapons. They may adjust one of the dice rolled when firing by +1 pip. Big Men hit will roll with a +1 on the table on the section 7.4 when hit by fine shots.
Triumphant Triumphant troops have won their last two engagements. Triumphant troops/warriors get a bonus in fisticuffs. If they lose their bottle they retire 2” per point of excess shock.
Sharpshooters Troops/Warriors may be rated as Aggressive or Weedy Coves just as in Sharp Practice.
These guys are superb shots with good weapons. They may adjust the dice rolled when firing by +2 (so+1 to 2 dice or +2 to 1 dice). Big Men hit will roll with a +2 on the table in section 7.4when hit by Sharpshooters.
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Cavalry troops are rated in the same way as Infantry; however their horses are rated individually as follows
All of the rules regarding Groups and Formations stand but in Boots and Saddles most of the time all Troops/Warriors will be in skirmish formation. US Cavalry on the march will usually be in column of twos. Formations are broken as usual in Sharp Practice. However note that lying down costs no Action Dice for the reason that Troops/Warriors are assumed to be making best use of available cover at all times.
Old Nags Well Bred Prime Horse Flesh
Old Nags These may not gallop. When moving they may only accelerate one speed level per turn, stationary-walk-trot. They may decelerate two levels per turn.
Well Bred (or Well Mounted) When moving, well bred horses may only accelerate one speed level per turn. Stationary-walk-trot-gallop. They mat decelerate two levels per turn.
Prime Horse Flesh When moving they may only accelerate two speed levels per turn. Stationarywalk-trot-gallop. They may decelerate three levels per turn.
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7
The Random event table and the Bonus Deck works exactly the same way as in Sharp Practice but are used for slightly different things , both Random events and the arrival of reinforcements from off the table. In a turn if more 1’s than 6’s are rolled when a Group or Formation is firing or moving then roll 2 D6 on the following table to determine the outcome. 8
Random Events Table DICE 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 1 1 2 6 1 1
3 1 1 3 7 1 1
4 1 1 4 8 1 1
5 1 1 5 9 1 1
6 1 1 1 1 1 1
1
Draw a card from the Bonus Card Deck
2
Ho Down! One of the settlements (chosen by random Die role) and not under command by US forces will pack up a wagon and go visit one of the other settlements (again Dice for which one) It’s Sunday! Any settlements not under command by US Forces and not in sight of Indians will pack up and head for the Church/Mission. Wagon Train! When this card is drawn a wagon train of 3 wagons and 3 groups of settlers arrives at the table edge (roll for which entry point.) Stage Coach! A stagecoach arrives at a random table edge (roll a D6) with a Stage and 5 Civilians including a Famous Indian Fighter and heads to the Staging Post waits a D6 number of turns then moves of to the opposite side of the table it entered. All on board are armed if male. Pony Express Rider! A Pony Express rider will enter at a random point and
3
4
5
6
9
head for the Staging Post, wait a D6 number of turns then leave if no Indians are visible and exit opposite where he entered the table, he is armed with a repeating rifle and a revolver. Cowboys! A herd of cattle (however many models you want or have) accompanied by 6 Cowboys appears at the table edge chosen by a D6 roll (see later for how this works) and heads across the table to exit opposite. The Cowboys are well armed with Repeating rifles and revolvers. If Indians appear they will head to the nearest Homestead unless under US control. Avalanche! A pass chosen at random by a roll of a D6 has an avalanche, this fall of rocks kills all in the pass and blocks the pass making it very difficult going. Out of Ammunition! No firing by that unit until resupplied.
The Bonus Cards The cards are played as they are drawn and become the card in the movement deck Card Gymnastic Pace
Bugle Call
5 Hostiles
10 Hostiles
20 Hostiles
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Effect Any Polished Group may surge forward with +3 pips per movement dice A US Cavalry number of Groups or formations that are all within 6” of each other may attack with elan. 5 Hostiles appear at D6 entry point roll 10 Hostiles appear at D6 entry point roll 20 Hostiles appear at D6 entry point roll
Number in pack 2
2
10
10
2
30 Hostiles
Famous Chief and 30 Hostiles
Smoke signals start
US A Troop
US B Troop
US C Troop
A Battery
A Company
US D Troop
B Company
Ammunition Wagon
US E Troop
30 Hostiles appear at D6 entry point roll A Famous Chief (name your own) and 30 Hostiles appear at D6 entry point roll Smoke Signal Start on a randomly chosen hill, until stopped (by force) all Hostile cards are doubled in number. (not sure about this rule) 8 US Cavalry and a 12pdr cannon appear at a D6 entry point roll. 4 US Cavalry and a Gatling Gun appear at a D6 entry point roll 8 Cavalry appear at a D6 entry point roll 4 US Gunners and a 12pdr appear at a D6 entry point roll 8 US Infantry appear at a D6 entry point roll 4 US Cavalry appear at a D6 entry point roll 8 US Infantry appear at a D6 entry point roll Ammunition Wagon and 4 escort cavalry appear at a D6 entry point roll 8 US Cavalry appear at a D6 entry point roll
1
US F Troop
1
Scouts
1
Famous Indian Fighter
Famous Indian Leader
1 Indian Scouts
1
4 US Cavalry appear at a D6 entry point roll 4 Volunteer Scouts appear at a D6 entry point roll A Famous Indian fighter (name your own) and 4 Volunteer scouts appear at a D6 entry point roll A Famous Indian Leader appears with 4 Indian Scouts at a D6 entry point roll A party of 4 Indian Scouts arrive with a US Officer at a D6 entry point roll.
5
2
1
1
2
Where there is more than one card for a Troop types number or mark each in such a way as they can be told apart once in the pack, such as F Troop/1, F Troop/2. The card then becomes the card for that group and is put into the deck.
1
1
1
1
All movement rules remain exactly the same, however note the cavalry rules covered in section 2.5.1 (repeated here) and the following rules.
1
1
Cavalry Movement Old nags may not gallop. When moving they may only accelerate one speed level per turn, stationary_walk_trot. They may decelerate two levels per turn.
3
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Well mounted troops may only accelerate one level per turn from the sequence Stationary – Walk – Trot - Gallop. They may decelerate two levels per turn. Prime horse flesh mounted troops may only accelerate two levels per turn, Stationary-WalkTrot-Gallop. They may decelerate three levels per turn. In woods cavalry may only move at the walk. Any formation will be broken.
Musket
Cavalry turning more than 90 degrees must be at the walk to do so.
This covers smoothbore flintlock or percussion cap weapons of any make. Both are presumed to fire buck and ball making them effective at short range. These fire with one action dice and take one action dice to load.
Cavalry armed with firearms may only fire when moving at the trot or walk. If using firearms in fisticuffs they may not be moving at the gallop. Bows may be fired at the gallop.
Rifled Musket Enfield, Spingfield and other ex ACW rifles firing the expanding Minie’ round, loading with one action dice and firing with one action dice.
All the spotting rules stand exactly as in the main rules with 2 additions. If the Commander has field glasses he may use two initiatives to spot, in which case he adds +3 to any spotting roll. Scouts both White and Indian add +2 to any spotting roll.
Inferior Rifles These could be poor quality weapons such as the Belgian ACW or older weapons not functioning properly or using the wrong ammunition, these are often found being used by Indians sold to them buy gun runners. These take one action dice to fire and one to load.
The following weapons are catered for Muskets Rifled Muskets Inferior Rifles Superior Rifles Fowling Pieces Mounted Pistols and Shotguns Indian Bows
Trusty Rifles In the hands of marksmen what are generally called Inferior Rifles can provide superior accuracy due to their higher muzzle velocity, however they are slow to load. When skirmishing from cover these take one action to fire and three actions
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to load but benefit from the Trusty Rifles improved accuracy. When used in the open they revert back to being Inferior Rifles.
made for the individual armament of figures. Their effectiveness is averaged out across the unit. These fire with one action dice and load at no cost.
Carbines
Bows
A catch all term for the smaller weapons usually used by Cavalry These could be the older muzzle loading variety or the modern Henry/Winchester. The difference between them is represented not in their accuracy, but their rate of fire, Muzzle loading carbines (rare by this era) take one action point to fire and one action to load. Breech loading single shot carbines such as the Sharps carbine load at no cost and fire with one action Dice, allowing them two rounds of fire per turn.
The established missile weapon of choice for the Indian Brave. A group or half of a mixed Group may be armed with bows. Bows fire and reload using 1 AP
All rules regarding firing such as who can fire and at what are exactly the same as in Sharp Practice, with the exception that the variable number of dice rolled depending on troop quality, such as Elite Good etc, is now replaced by the Musketry rating as set out in section2.5 above. There are some changes to ranges and the way that skirmishers qualify for their better fire table. Skirmishers (almost everyone) in the Plains Indian Wars performed best when firing with the benefit of cover. In order to use the advantageous Skirmishers fire table they must be operating from cover.
Superior Rifles Magazine fed Rifles count as Superior Rifles and take one action dice to fire and reload at no cost. They are exempt from the “Smokin’” rule and once per game Groups thus armed they may have a “Mad Minute” of a bonus round of fire (one action Dice).
Fowling Pieces These are the rag tag collection of hunting weapons, from small-bore rifles to shotguns. These are mostly used by civilians such as Cowboys and Settlers but can also be found being used as personal weapons. These weapons are for use on foot. For exotically armed cavalry such as Texas Rangers use the Mounted pistols and Shotguns table. They fire with one action dice and load with one action dice.
Firing Dice One dice is rolled for each man firing with the Big Men not counting to this total. This is then adjusted as follows: Firing on a Big Mans initiative: +1D6 for the big Mans status level Each two Shock Points on the firers: Remove one firing dice
Mounted Pistols and Shotguns
Modifiers Initial volley +50% dice (rounded up)
These weapons are mostly used when mounted and firing. No distinction is
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Skirmishers firing from cover
Target in Light Cover -33% of dice (rounded down) Target in Medium Cover -50% of dice (rounded down) Target in Heavy Cover -75% of dice (rounded down) Firing through smoke -50% of dice (rounded down) Firer is mounted -50% of dice (rounded down)
This typically includes settlers and other defenders of homesteads
Rifled Musket Trusty Rifles Superior Rifles Carbines
Cover Defined Cover
Example
Light
Brush, rocks, fence, dead horse Woods, breastworks, wall, wood house Brick house, solid trench, foxholes, Fort walls
Medium Heavy
Musket Rifled Musket Inferior Rifles Superior Rifles Carbines Fowling pieces Mounted Pistols and Shotguns
2436” 6
3648” 6
5-6
6
6
6
5-6
5,6
6
6
5-6 5-6
5,6 6
6 -
-
46(06”)
_
-
-
2436” 5-6
3648” 6
5-6
4-6
4-6
6
5-6
4-6
5-6
6
4-6
4-6
5-6
-
A group or half of a mixed Group may be armed with bows. Bows fire and reload using 1 AP Firing ranges and result 01212” 24” Bow 4-6 5-6
2436” -
3648” -
Effect of hits from bows 1-3 no effect 4-5 shock 6 kill.
Musketry 1224” 0 5,6
1224” 4-6
Bows and Arrows:
Once the total number of dice to be rolled has been established check the following table to check the number required to hit the target at the appropriate range. If a formation is in line or column use the factors as in Sharp Practice however most troops will be in skirmish or open order.
012” 4-6 5-6
012” 5-6
Artillery Fire Artillery fire is handled slightly differently to the main Sharp Practice rules in that the player must nominate the type of ammunition being used when firing. This should be subject to limitations as at the ranges typical of the period we are faced with the fact that the small amount of canister carried by the guns will not last long. These limitations are not extended to other types of ammunition as these were available in plentiful quantities, Canister ammunition should be limited to 5 rounds per game. We also have a new type of Artillery to consider in the Gatling
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Gun, these weapons have the range of rifles but the lethality of canister.
Shock caused by rifled canister is increased by 50% rounded up.
The number of dice rolled by an artillery piece depends on the type of weapon and the type of round being used, as follows.
Effect of Hits from Artillery:
Type of gun Heavy eg: 12 pounder Napoleon, 10 pounder, 3 inch Light eg: 6 pounder Gatling Gun
The effect of hits is exactly the same as in Sharp Practice, however troops in skirmish formation (almost everyone in this period) or Artillery Crew ignore the first Kill, and take a point of shock instead.
Dice 12 8 16
The player may choose to use a double shot of canister, adding 50% more dice but using two rounds in doing so.
Troops/Warriors who lose their bottle and are obliged to retire due to an excess of shock will now do so as they receive the shock rather than waiting until the end of turn card is dealt. Units that fall back due to loss of bottle will not continue to fall back on subsequent end of turn cards unless they have double the amount of shock, or more than men present, groups that have not reached double the amount of shock may not advance, but they may undertake other activities with the relevant penalties.
Once the number of dice is ascertained use the following table to see what dice score is needed for a hit. U se the adjustments to firing dice as listed in 7.2 above.
Smoothbore & Howitzers Ammo
0-12”
3648” 5-6 5-6 5-6
48”+
4-6 5-6 -
1236” 3-6 5-6 6
Canister Ball Shrapnel Bullets
3-6
4-6
5-6
6
1236” 4-6 6
3648” 6
48”+
1236” 4-6
3648” 5-6
48”+
6 5-6
Artillery crews that take double the amount of shock as men present will limber up and retire. If no limber is present then they will abandon the gun.
Rifled Cannon Ammo
0-12”
Canister Shell
5-6 -
-
The Fisticuffs rules remain essentially the same, using one D6 per man on each side and then adjusting the total to be rolled on the following list:
Gatling Gun Ammo
0-12”
Bullets
3-6
Roll 1D6 per man present, not counting musicians or Big Men.
6
Add 1D6 for each status level of the Big Man who led the charge using his initiative.
Shock caused by Canister and Gatling Guns is doubled.
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Add 1D6for each point of fervour added with the Big Man’s initiative.
Superior mount in a Cavalry fight: Add 2D6 per level
Add 1D6 for every two status levels of all other friendly Big Men in the charge
Pistols and Shotguns in Fisticuffs
Each Experience level higher than the enemy: Add 2D6 per group
Pistol and Shotgun armed Cavalry In this period Cavalry were often more confident in firepower in Fisticuffs then cold steel. If they are involved in Fisticuffs the fight is broken down into two parts. First the Pistol/Shotgun cavalry roll their dice, inflicting any kills and shock as normal. After that the other Cavalry roll their dice, reducing their effectiveness to reflect losses from the Pistol/shotgun fire.
Each belief level higher than the enemy: Add 2D6 per group Aggressive troops: Add 2D6 per group Weedy Coves: Subtract one D6 in every four Attacking Light Cover: Subtract one D6 in every three Attacking Heavy Cover: Subtract one D6 in every two
Before rolling the dice during the first round of Fisticuffs, the Indian player may declare that the warriors in one or more Groups will attempt to ‘Count Coup’ on their enemies. Resolve the combat as usual but any Kills inflicted on their opponents are converted to 2 Shock instead.
Attacked in the flank or rear: Subtract one D6 in every two Ambushed: Subtract one D6 in every two Cavalry charging with elan: D6 in four (25%)
Add one
Formed Cavalry at the gallop D6 in four (33%)
: Add one
For every successful Coup counted, the Indian Group may deduct 1D3 Shock at the end of Fisticuffs. A Big Man leading the Group into Fisticuffs has a chance of increasing his Status by +1 for the duration of the game – roll 1D6, needing to roll equal or less than the number of Coups counted.
Cavalry versus Unformed Infantry in the open: Add one D6 in two (50%) Cavalry versus a Line Formation: Subtract one D6 in three (33%) Cavalry against troops in Light Cover:Subtract on D6 in three
Note that the tradition of Counting Coup had virtually died out by the 1870’s.
Cavalry against troops in Medium Cover: Subtract one D6 in two Cavalry against troops in Heavy Cover: Subtract two D6 in three There is the chance that Indian warriors who successfully drive back their opponents in Fisticuffs will be distracted from the combat to take scalps.
Sabre against other weapon armed Cavalry: Add one 2D6 per Group
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Vamoose!
Roll 1D6 for each Kill inflicted on the enemy in the previous round of Fisticuffs. For each 1 rolled, one man in the victorious Group will drop out to scalp his fallen enemy. Amend the dice roll by +1 if the men are mounted and/or veteran, by -1 if raw. A mounted warrior must first dismount in order to scalp his victim. They may rejoin the Group only when activated to do so by a Big Man in the next turn, or when The End card is dealt at the end of the turn in which the Fisticuffs took place provided their Group is within 6”.
Place three of these cards in the pack. When used, one Indian Group out of line of sight from the enemy may revert to Blinds. Two are used, one representing the Group, the other a dummy.
War Cry Indian bonus card. Place two of these in the pack. When used, one enemy Group of the Indian player’s choice within 18” of an Indian Group is struck with fear and suffer 1D6 Shock.
“I don’t like it… it’s too quiet” Optional Indian bonus card. When played, roll for one bow and arrow hit on a randomly selected US soldier within 24” inches of the enemy.
To further enhance the period feel a number of bonus cards can be used in the card deck:
Bad Medicine This section of the rules completely replaces the Honest Injun section of Sharp Practice. The Game can be played two ways as a two sided game based on scenarios or real Battles or the more common way which is having all players on the US side and having the Indians controlled by a matrix, this can also be used for solo play. This we call “The basic Game”.
Place one of these cards in the pack. When drawn by the Indian player, or played by his opponent, the Indian Group that has lost the most men killed will retire directly from the table (using 3 action dice on each The End card dealt thereafter). It may only be brought back into the fight by a Big Man attaching himself to the Group and then rolling equal or less than his Status on 1D6, adding +1 for each additional IP used to rally them.
The basic game is inspired by earlier games by the late Peter Gilder and Ian Beck and features all the players on the
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US side and the Indians moved by a random movement table.
to round up all the Civilians and bring them back to the Fort, so each players command will try to bring the Civilians under control and bring them back to the Fort. The initial force is determined by each player rolling a D6 for his force 123 being a group of Cavalry, 4 a group of foot, 5 a gun either Cannon or Gatling gun (only 1 Gatling gun at the start of the game), 6 a group of scouts. The US force must be a minimum of 4 groups so if less than four players are playing the game they roll as much as needed. Players can choose to start at the foot if Cavalry or enter randomly, foot and guns must start from the fort. Cavalry can roll a dice and use the same method as reinforcements point of entry.
The Board The game board id set up differently for each game but every basic game has the same common features, the ideal size board would be a table tennis table but most games will probably be played on a 6 X 4 foot table. Terrain always features a Fort at the centre of the left end of the table (the short side) and is at the table edge. There is always a Staging Post/Pony Express station in the centre of the table, if there is an Indian Village it will be at the centre of the opposite edge to the fort. Dotted around the table are usually 4 sometimes 5 (one in each quarter of the table) other buildings including a Church/Mission, and 3 or 4 homesteads or Miners camps. All of these buildings count as hard cover. These are surrounded by other terrain features such as hills, Forests or Rivers, they should be placed so that a track runs through each making the shortest distance to the building beyond but meaning an ideal ambush spot is created which can be avoided by going the long way around the terrain piece. These paths between hills or through Forests are known as “passes”. D6 entry points are 2 a side as shown 12 on one side 3,4 on the end opposite the fort and 5,6 on the other long side.
Indian reaction The Indians take a test on the chart below when one of the following events occurs. Appearing on the board for the first time (tests 1,2,3,4,5,6) After receiving 10% or more casualties from shooting (tests 2,3) On seeing previously unseen enemy (tests 2,3,4,7) On losing a Melee (test 5) Whenever there current order no longer makes sense/applies. Choose the most appropriate test from the chart below, throw 2D6 and read the results on the table below. TEST 1: Is used when US troops or Civilians are in sight and not in combat. TEST 2: This is used when sighting enemy in the open, compare the strengths of
US Forces Mission. The US forces believe the Indians are restless and may go on the warpath, consequently they are sending out patrols
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each side to determine which chart to use.
RESULTS: A: Indians charge, they will keep charging until contact is made or the situation changes B: Indians will close to within 3 to 6 inches and skirmish C: The Indians will combine with friends and do as they do. D: The Indians head to the sound of the guns looking for the enemy. E: The Indians head for high ground F: The Indians look for friends and then combine for the rest of the game. G: The Indians stay where they are and do nothing this turn. H: The Indians head across table to the point opposite where they cam on until something happens. I: Indians attack the staging Post/Pony Express station or head towards it. J: The Indians rout off table at maximum speed and do not react again. K: The Indians attack the enemy either ones they are fighting already or new ones. L: Indians withdraw out of small arms fire range of enemy. M: The Indians continue to melee N: If outnumbered withdraw out of small arms fire range otherwise they attack.
TEST 3: As for test 2 but the US forces or Civilians are in cover. TEST 4: This test ids used when the group comes upon an existing fight, use common sense to decide who is winning and losing. TEST 5: This test is used when an Indian Group have lost a melee, if Indian losses are 3 times the US or 20% losses they are losing badly. TEST 6: This test is used when no US Forces or Settlers are in sight but they are aware of their presence due to the sound of firing etc. TEST 7: This test is used when Indians already engaged with US forces or settlers become aware of reinforcements arriving.
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Civilian reaction. RESULTS
Civilians should test reaction by rolling 2d6 and cross referencing the score obtained with the situation using the table above and should do so in the following circumstances:
A: The Civilians send out a someone to the nearest piece of high ground or nearest homestead to see what is going on, test again when he returns with any new knowledge. B: Civilians head for friends (US Forces or other Civilians) a settlement or the fort and join them. C: They stay where they are and do nothing. D: They head straight across the board at 90 degrees to the table edge. E: They head straight across the board through the centre. F: They head for the fort. G: They blow up the wagons and make a run for it away from the Indians H: They make a run for it driving the wagons at top speed. I: They form a circle and defend the perimeter. J: The obey orders for the rest of the game. K: They carry on as normal. L: They fortify their buildings but otherwise stay put.
TEST 1: When first appearing on the board TEST 2: When sighting Indians TEST 3: When hearing firing/combat but no Indians are in sight. TEST 4: When asked by US Forces to come under orders. When Civilians come under orders there is no need for further testing unless they become separated from US forces. The Stagecoach never tests reaction and will try to complete its trip across the board no matter what.
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