The Last Crusade Scenarios

As mentioned previously this rule book is a veritable goldmine of information and ideas

As the dust from COW slowly settles I am now in a position to get back to what passes for normality in my wargaming world. I have a lot of things to do - mainly administrative in nature - and of course there is also the ongoing disposal of Eric's collection to consider but I would say that I feel properly enthused following my weekend away. Being surrounded by like-minded souls, albeit briefly, does wonders for one's spirit and I am now looking forward to the rest of the year with renewed vigour.

One of the things I have been doing is reading through the above set of rules that came from the bring and buy at COW and I have to say that my interest in the theatre in question has been properly reignited! In truth I cannot see myself using the rules as such - although they are not as complex as I first thought - but the information and ideas contained within its pages is invaluable.

Aside from the extensive orders of battle for Palestine, Gallipoli, Caucasus, Mesopotamia, East Africa and Arabia there are also a number of theatre specific scenarios. These are as follows:

1. Tank Redoubt, Second Gaza, Palestine, 19th April 1917

2. "The Lighthorsemen", Beersheba, Palestine, 31 October 1917

3. Gun Ridge, ANZAC Landings, Gallipoli, 25th April 1915 (ANZAC Day)

4. Second Krithia, Gallipol, 6 - 8th May 1915

5. Sarikamis, Enver's Offensive, Caucasus, 31st December 1914

6. Battle in the Garden of Eden, Qurna, Mesopotamia, 7th December 1914

7. Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia, 22nd November 1915

8. Salaita Hill, German East africa, 12th February 1916

9. Kisaki, German East Africa, 7th September 1916

10. Tafila, Arab Revolt, Palestine, 25th January 1918

All of the above feature maps, orders of battle and scenario specific rules along with the victory conditions. Mulling them over I have come to the decision  that here is my gaming schedule for the rest of the year as it would be great fun to turn them into something Portable Wargame based using the block armies. It would be relatively straightforward to organise each one and as the entire theatre is something I am really interested in I will certainly enjoy the process. 

The Plan

I will be fighting these scenarios in the order above and on a 12 x 8 3" square grid (I have two boards this size - one green and one sand coloured). I will be using Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame for the rules. The block armies will be used and for identification purposes and so I will need to get the command blocks with flags and numbers ready in the first instance. I will use all the scenario specific orders of battle and victory conditions and the maps after having adjusted them to a grid. I have even set up a folder on the blog called "The Last Crusade" to store the after action reports in. I am also go to get all these games in by the end of the year!

Best I crack on then....