Force on Force: Modern skirmish- Again!

A gathering of the lads saw the table laid out for an epic fight that lasted all day and into the early evening. Spyros, George, Evan, Connor, Nick (Junior), Paul and myself were all present for a game that had more twists and turns than a First World War trench system!.
The premise was simple: 3 US Marine recon teams had been carrying out reconnaissance on a Taliban held town and were discovered by some wandering insurgents. They had to get out, but the nearest suitable extraction point was, you guessed it, on the far side of town. So they had to get their way through the town, call in the Black Hawk and get out. Simple!

Remember the '19! Battle of Glen Shiel June 10th 1719

I received a call from Paul who asked me if I knew anything about the Rebellion of the '19,  probably one if the least known of the Jacobite Rebellions. Do I know anything about it I said?....I had relatives there! And I had gamed it once long ago! 
Well given my collection and the campaign of 1715 that we did last year he asked if it was possible to have a rerun and change history. I told him yes and no. Yes to the rerun, no to changing history...I was certain that the Jacobites didn't stand a chance.....how could I be wrong???
Paul would have me eating my words!

General Wightman commander of the Hanoverians

Beau Geste lends a hand- Vive La Legion

Phil came past the other day with his Colonial skirmish collection in tow. It has various bits and pieces including French Foreign Legion, Italian Bersaglieri, French Marines, Senegalese Tirailleurs, and Marine Fusiliers. Great I thought....this calls for a game! So Phil devised a cunning scenario where the Tirailleurs and the Bersaglieri were pinned down at separate locations by hordes of Arabs/Tuareg/desert rabble/Lost Armies of Middle Earth and other assorted such trouble makers. The Legion was tasked with marching to their rescue with the Marines to extract them.

Now Phil also wrote the rules which are undoubtedly inspired by years of scholarly research, wide reading, learned debate, deep reflection, personal experience........and Hollywood.

In this game the colonial troops are able to outshoot and out fight their opponents unless the attacking rabble outnumber them approximately 500,000 to one......well that may be overstating the case but the irregulars do have a tough time!



The Italians face their first attack

Bolt Action (Triple)

A touch of megalomania led me to think that I could run three...yes three....Bolt Action games simultaneously. Some of the boys came over and had seen the game played but never actually had a go. So I set up three tables- the first was with a small village with forest around it- the objective  for the approaching British and German forces was to capture the village. Both sides had 3 squads, one mortar, one MG and a tank.
The second was a sprawling French town with a small river and at one end with the approaches to the bridges being protected by British paras- the SS had to retake the bridges.(shades of Arnhem). Three para squads, a 6pdr two MGs and two PIATs took on double their number and four armoured vehicles.
The final table had an entrenched Japanese position being stormed by US Marines- similar to a previous game. Three Japanese squads with an MG's were against 5 Marines squads, two MGs, a flamethrower and a mortar.

Game Two- Paul and Chris advance their SS into the town.

Arnhem game in Goulburn

The boys in Goulburn  put on a BIG Arnhem game over a weekend (actually starting on Friday). I took the drive down on the Sunday to have a look! Impressive stuff! The result was an historical result with the Red Devils getting pulverised in Arnhem!

ACW: Battle of Port Republic June 1862

The Brothers gathered for some more ACW and the battle chosen  was Port Republic fought in 1862. One of Stonewall Jackson's battles it provided a nice compact game for 6 of the brothers. Geoff, Ralph and Chris played the Rebs and Phil, Liam and Paul were the boys in blue.

The Table- the Union at the Far end and the Rebs this end advancing.

World War II Action

Spyros came by the other day with a USB full of images from games distant past and although I couldn't remember the narrative ....I liked the pictures and put them in a Blog!

Bolt Action: US Marines vs The Imperial Japanese Army

Another day, another Bolt Action game! My son Nick, myself and John sat down for a short sharp action that saw a group of US Marines attempt to clear a village and some nearby entrenchments of some determined  Japanese defenders. John and I were the Marines and Nick was the Imperial Japanese Army troops.

Nick focused most of his troops on his right behind the entrenchments- so John and I headed for the other  side of the table - our objective!

This was going to be a tough task for the marines but some initial deployment mistakes by the Japanese made it a little easier. Nick had deployed his heavy machine guns and two light tanks in and around the entrenchments but the long grass, hill and trees cut line of sight to the village and so most of the Marines' advance was unimpeded.

The Terrain- the village in the distance...the Japanese entrenchment in the foreground. The Marines entered from the right.

American Civil War 28mm

 

  One afternoon recently, Phil came past with some of his very nicely painted ACW regiments. Back in the heyday of Fire and Fury, ACW was on the cards just about every week- and mighty were the battles that the Brothers fought in. 

I know my collection has sat in its boxes for too many years and Phil's also hasn't seen the light of day for a long while too! So with just the two of us one quiet afternoon we put a small contingent through their paces; 6 Regiments a side and three guns. The object being to secure the hills in the middle of the battle field and drive the Rebs....er...the enemy off. I was the Union and Phil was the rebellious secessionist ratbags that needed to be.....oops sorry.....showing my true (blue) colours again.



One of Phil's Zouave Regiments marches past the cornfield



 

Bolt Action. Red Berets vs the SS

Spyros and I fought our boys, Evan and Nick, one afternoon during the school holidays. It was a simple scenario. Some Diehard SS were defending two bridges and some British Airborne, less their parachutes and on foot were given armoured support. They had 6 turns to capture two bridges. Spyros and I were the Paras, the boys were the SS.

 

 

SS Squad in a ruined house with a Sturmgeschutz in support to the right

Bolt Action- vehicle purchase

I've already got loads of World War II stuff but I bought these on ebay at a very reasonable price! A couple of Marders for my Germans. I like the idea of having stuff other than the usual loads of Panthers and Tigers every one seems to have! At 1/48th scale they make a nice addition to all my other vehicles and figures! It's one of my favorite gripes that I can buy loads of diecast 1/32nd scale armoured vehicles.....but the ready made 1/48th or 1/56th diecast is hard to find!
 (You can tell that gaming is a bit thin on the ground ..I'm resorting to blogging my purchases!)- Hopefully they will be on the table for a game soon!

Indian Mutiny Artillery.

I had some time the other day to dig some bits and pieces out that I haven't seen in a while- and it has been a very long time since these were last on the table. I used to play a lot of Indian Mutiny and had both sides. I forgot that I had so much British artillery! It's a  shame such nice pieces have sat in a box for over 10 years!! So I figured it was time to get them out. They've been rebased and are ready to go!

The Army of Louis XIV vs The Grand Alliance: January 2013

Each year I try and get a very large game in with my Marlburians. At this point there are 52 Battalions of Infantry and 50 squadrons of cavalry....and still growing. I try to get as many on the table as I can depending on the number of players and the scenario. This time, in January  of this year, I decided to base the scenario on the Battle of Dettingen in 1743. Now that was a later war- not my usual fare of Spanish Succession but it is a fascinating tactical situation.  In my game the armies were switched and the names of the historical places changed and it was Marlborough' s army of the Grand Alliance that  was attempting to trap the Army of Louis XIV.

Two pike and shot Regiments for the Army of Louis XIV

I got a very nice suprise recently when an old friend of mine, Chris,  handed me a box and said 'These are for you.' At first I assumed it was an IED and he was wanting to inflict some sort of grievous bodily harm on me. He insisted that it wasn't. When I opened the box I was very pleasantly surprised to find two nicely painted units from the North Star 1672 range. Two French regiments of Foote: the Regiment Bourbon (red cuffs and stockings/breeches) and the Regiment Dauphin (with the multi coloured flag).
I was very impressed! Thanks mate! Much appreciated!!!!
I rebased them for my 'Vive Le Roi' rules and they're ready to go. There was also two artillery pieces which I have yet to base up!
 ( ps I did kill the large poisonous spider that he had hidden in the bottom of the box).

Louis XIV's Swiss Guard: North Star 1672

As anyone who has merely glanced at this blog can tell you, one of my favourite periods is the Age of Marlborough, or Marlburian, and more specifically the War of the Spanish Succession. I love the colour, the pageantry, the flags and the figures! Actually I'm beginning to think it should be called the Age of Louis XIV! If you are a fan of the League of Augsburg website then you'll now this period has so much to offer the wargamer! Anyway I was looking on ebay the other day and spotted this unit. Now it's a little bit earlier than the vast majority of my figures....but it was too nice to pass up. They were painted by a guy called Ian Clark form Eye Pro-Painted Miniatures and I was so impressed I just had to grab'em! They're a battalion of the Garde Swiss of Louis XIV from the North Star 1672 range. I think I've gotta get more of these! Enjoy the pics. One day when I grow up I want to be able to paint like this!!

A big thank you!

I just realised that my Blog has just clocked up 10,000 views- thank you one and all for your interest and support!  I enjoy writing the blog and even more I enjoy reading other people's! And it's time for a new look too!

Bolt Action- Canadians vs German Fallshirmjager

 Spyros, our boys: Evan, Nick, Michael and I got together one afternoon to try out the new World War II rules 'Bolt Action' from Warlord Games. These are a great set of rules; very easy to play, quick to learn and for first time gamer Michael he was able to get his head around them by the third turn. A nice simple scenario based on the fighting in June/July 1944, the Canadians were given the task of storming a village held by German Paratroopers supported by some fanatic SS units. 

 

 

the German paras move behind a ruined house

Force on Force, Modern Skirmish: US Recon Snipers and the Foreign Legion in trouble

Mission report:

A US Marine sniper recon team had been positioned to carry out surveillance on a known Taliban held village. The two man team was uncovered when a local shepherd led his flocks through their hidden bivouac. The team quickly moved out as soon as they were discovered but as luck would have it the nearby Taliban moved quickly and cornered the two Marines in a 19th century British fortification. The recon team were able to radio their last position and approximated troops strengths and locations of the opposing forces before contact was lost. Response time for the Black Hawk extraction flight was approximately 55 minutes. It transpired that NATO HQ was able to confirm the presence of a nearby French Foreign Legion patrol. The Legion responded that their ETA to the sniper team was less than 30 minutes and quickly deployed for action.

The Table at turn 3: With the Taliban in various firing positions. In the immediate foreground the old fort where the sniper team were holed up. The first Legion patrol is visible at the far end of the table behind the ruined vehicle. The second patrol is to the far right corner moving along a stone wall. It was here that the patrol caught a Taliban cell in the open and wiped it out.

Outskirts of Stalingrad, August 1942

Ralph invited the Brothers around for a Flames of War (FOW) game. I know this is a very popular rule system and all the Brothers have vast arrays of troops, from Paul's Polish trains, to Chris' Afrika Korps companies. I don't have any...but I hope to remedy that soon!
The situation was simple- a Russian battalion with armour support- well 3 very understrength companies, a pioneer platoon, two SMG platoons and two platoons of T-34s were to retake a series of buildings with a large building at the far end of the table, beyond the park area- was to be the main objective.



The Table: The big building in the center front of the photo was the Soviet objective- They started at the far end.

Polygon Wood- September 1917

I had the privilege of walking the ground that was covered by the attack of the 5th Australian Division in September of 1917. I started at the point known as Black Watch Corner and walked along a track that followed the path of the 5th Division's assault.

The capture of this wood by the Australians and the neaby by town of Zonnebeke by the 4th Australian Division enabled British and Canadian troops to then advance on Passchendaele. The battle of Polygon Wood was the I ANZAC component of a larger British and dominion operation staged as part of the third battle of Ypres. This operation was the second of the "Plumer battles", a serious of well-planned, limited advances supported by large volumes of artillery, masterminded by the British general Herbert Plumer. The name "Polygon Wood" derived from a young plantation forest that lay along I ANZAC's axis of advance.





The Forest Today......there was no undergrowth in 1917 and just a few shattered tree stumps.