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| US Sniper team on Over watch |
Force on Force: Modern Skirmish game.
My son, Nick, has always been a big fan of computer games like Battlefield and Call of Duty Special ops and those sorts of games- principally those with more modern settings. So my journey was on to find something like that for the table top. Last year we went to MOAB, a convention here in Sydney and there was a display game (I can't remember by whom) of the game Force on Force by Ambush Alley games and published by Osprey. Well he and I played the Vietnam War scenario and we were hooked. We bought a copy of the rules from the War and Peace Games stand and then a whole stack of modern US Marines and Taliban from Nick Robson of Eureka Miniatures. Within a few days we had them painted and ready to go. Since then we've played quite a few games.
Latest addition to my Marlburians- The Garde Suisse (Swiss Guard)
As most of the Brothers know, my obsession over the last 6 years has been my War of the Spanish Succession Collection. It has become pretty extensive over that time and we've had some great games- as well as our recent Jacobite Rebellion of the '15 campaign.
Richard's Late Imperial Romans
One of the Brothers, Richard, has begun assembling a Late Imperial Roman Army for Impetus- much to the dismay of the Armatans (see previous blog- Battle of Asculum March 2012!). Anyway, he has photographed a couple of the units and I put them on the blog for the rest of the Brothers to admire! The figures are Armorum and Aquila Minaitures. Check the link under "Essential Supplies". Enjoy! Richard probably spends more time painting a single figure than anyone else that I know....and the results are always impressive! - he has a real gift for blending shades and a real feel for the paints and colours that he used. Nice one mate!
Our Rebellion of the '15: The Heralds Proclaim a Hanoverian Victory!!
T’were a sad and sorry day for the Jacobite cause at the
last Gathering of the Clans….er sorry…I mean : the Brothers . We assembled, once
again, amidst the wargame detritus and debris and the understated elegance of
my garage (read : Man Cave) to determine the fate of the Rebellion of the ’15,
Scotland, The British Isles and the course of European and possibly WORLD History. Well I may be overstating the case –
it may have just been to push little toy soldiers around a table top and hurl
abuse at one another- of which more later on. Anyway enough small talk and poor
displays of alleged wit- but suffice to say that the Duke of Argyll has
redeemed the Honour of his Family Name, and his Clan, in the eyes of his
nation, his king, Western Europe, God and…….ooops sorry I’m waxing lyrical
again. Well he won.
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| The Battlefield: Hanoverians on the left, Jacobites on the right. |
Rebellion of the '15: Prelude to our Battle of Edinburgh
After the defeat at Braemar, Argyll retreated to Perth, where
he was greeted by General George Carpenter, 1st Baron Carpenter, who
was advancing through Perth with a Regiment of Foote (Harrison’s 15th)
a Regiment of Horse (Montjoy’s 3rd) and a Squadron of Dragoons
(Stairs- The Inniskillings (6th) ) and a battery of Medium guns.
These went some way to making up the losses from Braemar. Argyll continued to retreat to Stirling and
with the addition of the garrison there (Egerton’s -36th Foote)
decided to leave his troops to await the Jacobites while he went south to face
the Court of Inquiry.
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| Clansmen from the Macdonalds of Clanranald |
The Court of Inquiry- The Duke of Argyll under investigation.
In our very unhistorical campaign, after the Battle of
Bramaer, the Captain General (the Duke of Marlborough), ordered a Court of
Inquiry into the conduct of the battle. Marlborough, not at all happy with the
defeat, or Argyll, decided it was time to remove his senior commander in the
Highlands. The Court’s vote narrowly exonerated Argyll by a vote of 2-1. The
dissenting vote being Marlborough himself. The reasoning of the Court in deciding in
Argyll’s favour was that if he was removed the Hanoverian cause may lose the
crucial support of Clan Campbell (Argyll was a Campbell). And more specifically
his written orders from the Duke of Marlborough expressly ordered him to
advance against the enemy (which he did) engage the enemy (which he did) and
defeat the rebels (which he didn’t). Two out of three ain’t bad! Stay tuned for the Battle of Edinburgh!
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| Above and below: Marlborough- the Captain General- restores the command to Argyll |
First World War Trench Action
This game was played in late 2011 and used Phil's and my figures. Mine are the original Wargames Foundry range and Phil's are Renegade Miniatures which are a little bigger and chunkier but are very nice (and well painted).
The game was played on an 8'x 5' table.- lengthways. The scene was 1918 and the German Storm Troopers had to cross a thinly held line of trenches and establish themselves in the town beyond. The trench system was held by British troops who were waiting on reinforcments from the Australian Division to the rear. .......
The game was played on an 8'x 5' table.- lengthways. The scene was 1918 and the German Storm Troopers had to cross a thinly held line of trenches and establish themselves in the town beyond. The trench system was held by British troops who were waiting on reinforcments from the Australian Division to the rear. .......
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| Plane Reconnaissance over the village |
Battle of Asculum 279BC: The Impetii in Goulburn
The Brothers were dedicated disciples of Armati for our Ancient games for nearly 15 years and then a heresy reared its ugly head in the last year or so with the arrival of Impetus. Two Brothers became immediate converts but despite their crusading with missionary zeal they were unable to win over the other Brothers who refused to apostasize. This has led to some interesting times and discussion over the last 12 months and suffice to say that the Brothers, when it comes to ancient rules, are divided into two fervent groups- The Armatans and the Impetii. .........
In an attempt to spread the heresy, Richard and Ralph (aka The Impetii) travelled to Goulburn a week or so ago and played with a couple of the lads down there: David and Richard.
They fought the battle of Asculum 279 BC using Impetus - Republican Romans under the command of Consul Publius Decius Mus and the combined Tarantine, Oscan, Samnite. Epirote forces, under the command of the Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus.........
In an attempt to spread the heresy, Richard and Ralph (aka The Impetii) travelled to Goulburn a week or so ago and played with a couple of the lads down there: David and Richard.
They fought the battle of Asculum 279 BC using Impetus - Republican Romans under the command of Consul Publius Decius Mus and the combined Tarantine, Oscan, Samnite. Epirote forces, under the command of the Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus.........
The Battle of Braemar: Our second battle in the Jacobite Rebellion of the '15
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| The Table before the Deployment |
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| After Deployment: Jacobites on the Left, Haonoverians on the Right |
The Brothers assembled on Friday evening to continue the
current campaign. The Jacobite Commander, The Earl of Mar, (Paul) had taken to
his camp tent with a case of the virulent Flux (or was it the Pox?) and his
second in command The Laird of Borlum-
(Ralph) stepped up to take command with his
trusty subordinates Geoff ( as Rob Roy
McGregor) and Richard ( John Cameron, Chief of Clan Cameron).......
Battle of Braemar :The forces prepare in the Jacobite Campaign of the '15.
The forces have assembled and some interesting developments have taken place in our campaign as the second major engagement is about to take place (next Friday in fact). Clan Campbell has joined the Hanoverians and the forces of the Duke of Argyll have been bolstered by a clan regiment. The Old Pretender has brought two veteran regiments of foot (loaned from Louis XIV) with him to further his cause and has managed to reconstitute a number of his mangled clan regiments from the last battle.The Royal Navy reports that a French naval squadron has evaded their blockade of the coast and is headed to Scotland with troop reinforcements for the Rebellion. They won't be in time for this battle, but will be available for the next one. The Hanoverians are raising more Regiments and have called on their old allies the Dutch to commit a brigade to help quell those pesky Highlanders! Argyll is under pressure from the Captain General and Master General of Ordinance- The Duke of Marlborough ( yes THAT Marlborough) to smash the rebels before the situation gets out of hand. ...........
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| The 'Old Pretender' confers with an officer. |
A Jacobite Campaign- First Clash: 'The Battle of Dundee'.
We started a campaign that was loosely based on the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. Ross played the Hanoverian commander, The Duke of Argyll. Paul was the Earl of Mar who raised the standard of Rebellion at Braemar in September 1715. The Rebels (Paul, Chris, Ralph and Richard) were initially successful in capturing a number of towns with little or no opposition. Aberdeen, Forfar, Dunblane, Montrose, Dundee and Perth all fell in quick succession.
They passed by Fort William, but due to the lack of siege guns, made no impression on the fortifications. They then moved south and unable to take Stirling due to the garrison of redcoats they fell back to Dundee by mid November (campaign time), all the while gathering clansmen to their cause. By the time they clashed with the Redcoats , they had 11 Highlander clan regiments, 3 small units of Horse, a light gun and one Lowland regiment that was equipped with Pike and Shot.
The Hanoverians (Ross, Phil, Nick)had assembled a small force (5 Battalions of Foot and 3 Squadrons of Dragoons) at Newcastle and advanced into southern Scotland. The Duke (Ross) withdrew the small garrisons from Fort Augustus and Fort William to meet up with the garrison of Stirling and the advancing force from the south. When the total Hanoverian forces assembled in Stirling 6 Foot Regiments and 5 squadrons ( 1 dismounted) of Dragoons as well as one battery of guns and a battery of the newfangled Coehorn Mortars were mustered. The Duke then ordered them in pursuit of the Rebels and in the second week of November (campaign time) they met the sizable Jacobite force just west of Dundee.......
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| The Mapboard! |
They passed by Fort William, but due to the lack of siege guns, made no impression on the fortifications. They then moved south and unable to take Stirling due to the garrison of redcoats they fell back to Dundee by mid November (campaign time), all the while gathering clansmen to their cause. By the time they clashed with the Redcoats , they had 11 Highlander clan regiments, 3 small units of Horse, a light gun and one Lowland regiment that was equipped with Pike and Shot.
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| The Jacobites deploy- the Left. More units would arrive to the right and the woods harboured two Highland units in ambush. |
The Hanoverians (Ross, Phil, Nick)had assembled a small force (5 Battalions of Foot and 3 Squadrons of Dragoons) at Newcastle and advanced into southern Scotland. The Duke (Ross) withdrew the small garrisons from Fort Augustus and Fort William to meet up with the garrison of Stirling and the advancing force from the south. When the total Hanoverian forces assembled in Stirling 6 Foot Regiments and 5 squadrons ( 1 dismounted) of Dragoons as well as one battery of guns and a battery of the newfangled Coehorn Mortars were mustered. The Duke then ordered them in pursuit of the Rebels and in the second week of November (campaign time) they met the sizable Jacobite force just west of Dundee.......
Hannibal ad portas- Hannibal at the gates
I got an email early in the week before our end of the month fight challenging my Romans to a showdown. The opponents were to be Nick's new Carthaginians and in line with his determination to have more figures in the world than anyone else - he also supplied some more Romans. Nick's Carthaginian force was still too big so we called in some of Ross' veteran Legions to help. Well, Nick got his troops packed and sent to my place in a fleet of road trains- he always does things to excess and as the Band of Wargame Brothers assembled for the end of the month meeting in the understated elegance of my garage - we had an historical rematch- Carthaginians vs Republican Romans. Seven of the Brothers assembled and four played the Romans - Ross, Roger, Geoff and myself as C in C. Hannibal was played by Nick. Paul and Phil were his subordinates....
Republican Romans
A few years ago in 2008, Nick M handed me a box full of lead and said 'You can have these!' There was half a ton of metal and loads of figures. They sat in my garage for two and half years and then one day I sorted then out. There were enough figures to complete a Republican Roman army for Armati! So now four years down the track the figures are painted and ready to fight! With the inclusion of an HCH elephant from Essex Minitures ( Hi Ray!) I had a Core army and 96 bonus points. Now it's time to find an opponent!
Battle of Rorke's Drift in 28mm!
Well the Friday night game came around and it was the much anticipated 28mm Rorke’s Drift. It was a good turnout with 9 of the Band of Brothers in attendance. One popped his head in to say hello but went home early due to illness. He should have stayed to defend the hospital! Of course most of us have seen the movie Zulu far more times than we’d care to admit and I went to Youtube and had the theme tune and some Zulu war chants open and playing alternatively to set the mood!
Half of the Brothers had already decided which side they wanted be on. Chris said ‘I ‘m a Redcoat- don’t argue and do be quiet, you’ll upset the lads - there’s a good gentleman.’ In fact for the whole night he continued to finish all instructions, questions or requests with ‘there’s a good gentleman’. He ended up as CSM Bourne. Ross was Bromhead and Nick was Chard- who was there only because he came to build a bridge.
THE IMPIS ARRIVE
The Zulus were commanded by Richard and his offsiders were Roger and Geoff. Paul and Phil also took the side of Cetshaweyo’s impis. And I was umpiring. For further atmosphere, Nick and Chris suggested that all the Zulu players should play just wearing loin cloths but Ross said that, given our rather stout physiques, that was a disturbing mental image. So for atmosphere we stuck to the theme and warchants.
THE DEFENDERS AWAIT
Initially the action pretty much followed the historical version with the Zulus launching attacks against the hospital and the mealie bags to its front. Ross, in command of that sector put up a very stout resistance and the troops in and around the hospital took a terrible toll on the attackers who proceeded to climb onto the roof. At the back of the hospital, some of Phil’s Zulus broke down one of the doors only to find that it was a dead end and insultingly failed to knock down any more before they became casualties. The Zulus then set fire to the thatched roofing. Rather than attempt to stop the flames, the British cleared the intruding Zulus from the roof (they couldn’t do that AND put out the fire) and by then it was too late and Chard (Nick) reluctantly gave the order to evacuate the, by now, fiercely burning hospital.
THE MISSION STATION
It was at this point that an enormous cheer went up from the Zulus as they inflicted their first casualty on the Redcoats. There were pats on the back and some cries of 'Usuthu' and 'Zulu' as Roger took the honour of killing the first redcoat. In the next melee Roger killed two more and was being hailed as the next recipient of the Cetshewayo Cross (the Zulu equivalent of the Victoria Cross) as he proceeded to storm the barricades in front of the burning hospital. In fact by turn six, 84 Zulus were dead and 5 men of the 24th- all courtesy of Roger’s troops. But the pressure was building.
THE REDOUBT
The barricade in front of the hospital became the main focus of the Zulu attack and Geoff’s Zulus accounted for two more redcoats as the hospital roof caved in killing another five who had been forgotten inside! There were cries of ‘Shame!’, ‘Scum!’ ‘Irish building standards!’ and ‘Disgrace!’ hurled across the table by the redcoat commanders. This was accompanied by the jeers and cheers of the Zulu players- the impartial umpire, yours truly, of course said nothing- only to be accused of bias against white men (by Chris), against black men ( by Phil ) and against all humanity by Paul who claimed that I was making the rules up and pulling clauses out of my nether regions.
A LINE OF RIFLES- "FIX BAYONETS!!"
THE FIRST ZULUS ARRIVE
THE ZULUS ATTACK THE HOSPITAL
As the pressure built up on Ross (Bromhead), Chard (Nick) decided to withdraw his portion of the defenders to the redoubt and Ross exclaimed in exasperation ‘What the #$%@ are you doing?’
Nick responded by saying he was moving his troops back because ‘We’re gonna watch!’
Richard cheered, nudged Ross in the ribs and said “You’re f&a*%d now mate!’
Ross merely shook his head and soldiered on.
Things weren’t going the way either side had planned and the British were being forced back and many Zulus had entered the compound. But at horrendous cost. By turn eleven, 12 redcoats were dead but the Zulus had suffered just over 200 casualties.
THAT MAN THERE! FIRE!!
MORE ZULUS ARRIVE
THE ZULUS AND REDCOATS FIGHT IN FRONT OF THE HOSPITAL
Half of the Brothers had already decided which side they wanted be on. Chris said ‘I ‘m a Redcoat- don’t argue and do be quiet, you’ll upset the lads - there’s a good gentleman.’ In fact for the whole night he continued to finish all instructions, questions or requests with ‘there’s a good gentleman’. He ended up as CSM Bourne. Ross was Bromhead and Nick was Chard- who was there only because he came to build a bridge.
THE IMPIS ARRIVEThe Zulus were commanded by Richard and his offsiders were Roger and Geoff. Paul and Phil also took the side of Cetshaweyo’s impis. And I was umpiring. For further atmosphere, Nick and Chris suggested that all the Zulu players should play just wearing loin cloths but Ross said that, given our rather stout physiques, that was a disturbing mental image. So for atmosphere we stuck to the theme and warchants.
THE DEFENDERS AWAIT
Initially the action pretty much followed the historical version with the Zulus launching attacks against the hospital and the mealie bags to its front. Ross, in command of that sector put up a very stout resistance and the troops in and around the hospital took a terrible toll on the attackers who proceeded to climb onto the roof. At the back of the hospital, some of Phil’s Zulus broke down one of the doors only to find that it was a dead end and insultingly failed to knock down any more before they became casualties. The Zulus then set fire to the thatched roofing. Rather than attempt to stop the flames, the British cleared the intruding Zulus from the roof (they couldn’t do that AND put out the fire) and by then it was too late and Chard (Nick) reluctantly gave the order to evacuate the, by now, fiercely burning hospital.
THE MISSION STATIONIt was at this point that an enormous cheer went up from the Zulus as they inflicted their first casualty on the Redcoats. There were pats on the back and some cries of 'Usuthu' and 'Zulu' as Roger took the honour of killing the first redcoat. In the next melee Roger killed two more and was being hailed as the next recipient of the Cetshewayo Cross (the Zulu equivalent of the Victoria Cross) as he proceeded to storm the barricades in front of the burning hospital. In fact by turn six, 84 Zulus were dead and 5 men of the 24th- all courtesy of Roger’s troops. But the pressure was building.
THE REDOUBTThe barricade in front of the hospital became the main focus of the Zulu attack and Geoff’s Zulus accounted for two more redcoats as the hospital roof caved in killing another five who had been forgotten inside! There were cries of ‘Shame!’, ‘Scum!’ ‘Irish building standards!’ and ‘Disgrace!’ hurled across the table by the redcoat commanders. This was accompanied by the jeers and cheers of the Zulu players- the impartial umpire, yours truly, of course said nothing- only to be accused of bias against white men (by Chris), against black men ( by Phil ) and against all humanity by Paul who claimed that I was making the rules up and pulling clauses out of my nether regions.
A LINE OF RIFLES- "FIX BAYONETS!!"
COMMISSARY DALTON LOADS
THE FIRST ZULUS ARRIVE
THE ZULUS ATTACK THE HOSPITAL
As the pressure built up on Ross (Bromhead), Chard (Nick) decided to withdraw his portion of the defenders to the redoubt and Ross exclaimed in exasperation ‘What the #$%@ are you doing?’
Nick responded by saying he was moving his troops back because ‘We’re gonna watch!’
Richard cheered, nudged Ross in the ribs and said “You’re f&a*%d now mate!’
Ross merely shook his head and soldiered on.
Things weren’t going the way either side had planned and the British were being forced back and many Zulus had entered the compound. But at horrendous cost. By turn eleven, 12 redcoats were dead but the Zulus had suffered just over 200 casualties.
THAT MAN THERE! FIRE!!
MORE ZULUS ARRIVE
THE ZULUS AND REDCOATS FIGHT IN FRONT OF THE HOSPITAL
THE BRITISH UNDER PRESSURE
THE ZULUS FORCE THEIR WAY OVER THE BARRICADES
"GET A PLATOON OF GOOD BAYONET MEN!"
THE ZULUS FORCE THEIR WAY OVER THE BARRICADES
"GET A PLATOON OF GOOD BAYONET MEN!"
"IT'S STILL A HOLDING ACTION IS IT?"
'ADENDORF, WHAT'S HE DOING?'
'HE'S TESTING YOUR FIREPOWER WITH THE LIVES OF HIS WARRIORS!'
THE ZULUS ATTACK THE BARRICADE BETWEEN THE STOREHOUSE AND HOSPITAL
THE ZULUS SWARM IN
THE BRITISH FALL BACK AND VOLLEY FIRE
FRONT RANK- FIRE!
'ADENDORF, WHAT'S HE DOING?'
'HE'S TESTING YOUR FIREPOWER WITH THE LIVES OF HIS WARRIORS!'
THE ZULUS ATTACK THE BARRICADE BETWEEN THE STOREHOUSE AND HOSPITAL
THE ZULUS SWARM IN
THE BRITISH FALL BACK AND VOLLEY FIRE
FRONT RANK- FIRE!
REAR RANK- FIRE!
THE ZULUS HEAD FOR AN UNDEFENDED GAP
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
THE STORE HOUSE UNDER PRESSURE
THE PRESSURE CONTINUES TO BUILD
'THEY'RE ON THE ROOF!'
HOLD THEM!!
' A BAYONET WITH SOME GUTS BEHIND IT'
A VERY CLOSE RUN THING!
THE INDUNA URGES HIS MEN ON
THE ZULUS BREAK IN!
THE ZULUS HEAD FOR AN UNDEFENDED GAP
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
As the casualties mounted the evening wore on and when the Zulus had lost 293 man and the 24th Regiment had lost 16 we called it a night. It was a great game and the clock beat us rather than one side beating the other. The after game brief revealed that the Zulus couldn't coordinate themselves to hit several places hard. The redcoats were happy with their efforts although many blamed poor dice rolling on wet powder!! So to the rousing tunes of 'Men of Harlech', it was agreed that a rerun was in order- but that's another blog.
MORE PICTURES:
HOLD THEM!!
' A BAYONET WITH SOME GUTS BEHIND IT'
A VERY CLOSE RUN THING!
THE INDUNA URGES HIS MEN ON
THE ZULUS MASSING FOR ANOTHER ATTEMPT
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