A Gunboat Distraction

Where I am at so far. The ‘sandwich filling’ is a piece of 1mm thick card - the hull is not glued yet and is posed solely for the picture - which will painted prior to assembly for the black line around the hull you see below. The end result will bear a passing resemblance to the model in the picture but as usual there will be shortcuts taken and detail fudged!

A rather lovely model of the USS San Pablo

I know, I know - I should be building ironclads, models for Lake Tanganyika, designing models for the ‘Afrabia’ or writing Developing The Portable Ironclads Wargame! So what am I doing then?

Well it is still something Steamer Wars related - but it is something of a minor diversion all the same.

I offer no apologies, I am as weak as the next wargamer!

It was only a couple of years ago that I first watched the film The Sand Pebbles starring Steve McQueen, Richard Crenna and Richard Attenborough. The film tells the story of the fictional US gunboat - the San Pablo - serving in China in the early 1920s. She is there to protect US interests in the area set against a backdrop of increasing anti-foreign sentiment. 

I decided to build a model of the San Pablo and obviously I will need to build some opposition in the shape of some armed Sampans and Junks. Thinking about it, China gunboats could make for a cracking mini campaign or Steamer Wars supplement - all the Great Powers had a presence of sorts following the Boxer Uprising and the revolution of 1911 that ultimately led to civil war.

The model I am building is 4” long with a beam of 1 1/4”. The hull consists of two pieces of 3mm thick MDF and the 1mm card ‘filling’ making it 7mm from the main deck to the waterline. I will not be adding the awnings and the ventilators amidships will be missing. As you can see from the picture above I have fashioned what will be the main deck superstructure so next will be the upper deckhouses etc. I will be painting as much as possible prior to assembly so this build will have incorporated several lessons learned from the Lake Tanganyika collection.

I also need to think about the aforementioned sampans and junks, not to mention a rope barrier…. ;-)

Another Birthday

I tend to be a little behind the curve in respect of Osprey titles but the arrival of the above could not be more timely! Very helpful having the pertinent information readily to hand rather than trawling through several other volumes. There are a few others in this series that will be added…. 

Yesterday, the 28th of September, was my 64th birthday or as I described it ad nauseam, my ‘Beatles Birthday’. I was spoilt rotten by the family - my son kicked off the day with his delicious scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast and the family takeaway dinner - and our tradition is whoever has the birthday chooses the takeaway and so for a change from our usual Indian or Turkish we enjoyed a quite scrumptious Chinese. I was fortunate to receive a wonderful selection of presents. The Memsahib has paid for a massage for me along with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, some aftershave and a pair of slippers. My son got me a sleeve for my new laptop and the four Osprey titles you see in the picture - very useful indeed and certainly timely! From my daughter a new pair of Bluetooth headphones and some nibbles - I am a sucker for Fruit Pastilles and chocolate covered Brazil nuts!

It was a lovely day and I was definitely both moved and humbled by all the good wishes from friends and family.

Meanwhile, back at the modelling table….

Developing The Portable Ironclads Wargame

The latest addition to the library and a fairly significant clue as to where my current focus is for the period!

As it has been quite a while since this title was first mooted I figured that it would be a good time to outline what it will consist of - and what it will not! This has been prompted by a couple of things. Firstly, I have chopped and changed my mind about certain elements over time which has proven to be rather confusing - especially when I was revisiting the draft text! Secondly, I have recently exchanged emails with Simon Wilson, one of my blog readers and a play-tester extraordinaire for the original Portable Ironclads Wargame, in which questions were raised about the new book.

Taking these two points together I decided that the time was nigh to describe what ‘Developing’ will look like and hopefully allay any concerns about ‘new versions’ and suchlike. 

What is in it

DTPIW is first and foremost a collection of optional rules for use with the original version. Players can use some, all or none of these as they are suggestions only - just to mix things up a little and to tailor their gaming experience to what works best for them. In keeping within the spirit of the Portable Wargame the core rules are designed to be a toolkit that can be tinkered with to suit a player’s own ideas for the rules governing naval battles during the period. If something does not feel right then it can be changed or discarded as required.

There will be included a full square grid based adaptation - this will include firing arcs and adjustments to the rules where needed. Originally I wanted to use a square grid but I really struggled to get it to work but after experimentation etc I reckon I have nailed it down at last.

There will be a full errata to the original version. I am working on a PDF that is concerned solely with the rules - to be honest this is more of clarification of certain points than a wholesale change - which should be available shortly, free of charge. There are a few errors in the supporting text but nothing major and so tidying these up makes sense.

At the time of writing there is only one change to the rules that is recommended - that of firing arcs which has featured in my two recent blog posts. I have added to the armour and gunnery factor tables so that the rules can use broadside battery ships of the line - two and three deckers still in service. 

The ACW ship specification list will appear in an expanded form featuring more ships. There will also be some more model pictures as I have added to the ACW collection since publication (although I still have some to build!).

There will be an action fought on a square grid and for this I have chosen to go down the fictional route rather than looking at a historical campaign. I will be featuring a battle taken from the war of 1880 between Great Britain and Turkey and so am currently designing and building the models for this.

What is not in it

This is not a second edition, it is merely the first edition tidied up and with a suite of optional rules to try. 

There is no expanded historical background nor details of technical evolution. Lissa or the War of the Pacific will not be appearing as they have been extensively covered elsewhere - I wanted something a little different - which is why I opted for a fictional campaign. 

Final Thoughts

At the risk of repeating myself, most of what will be featuring in DTPIW is what could have been in the original Portable Ironclads Wargame but time and circumstances were not on my side in 2022. I hope that this volume will help to round out the rules for the period 1860 to around 1880 and to demonstrate that they are usable beyond the American Civil War - fascinating though it is!

My thanks to Simon Wilson for helping to prompt this post!

Firing Arcs - Revised Edition and the Rule of One Hex

A busy day for the CSS Tennessee (in the centre). Her opposition consists of the USS Kearsage (on the left side of the Confederate ship), the USS Keokuk (top right) and the USS Sassacus (bottom right.

Following on from my last post I wanted to explain further how this works in practice and so have set up the hypothetical engagement you see in the picture above. The following text is not how it will appear in the final PDF but I hope it serves to make things clearer.

The Port and Starboard firing arc of the CSS Tennessee is the area marked by the coffee stirrers designated P and S. Now the eagle eyed among you will have no doubt noticed that alternate hexes are in fact cut in half by the aforementioned coffee stirrers. What does this mean?

Allow me to explain.

In these rules warship models for the most part occupy two hexes. In order for them to be fired upon at full effect then both hexes occupied by the target ship MUST be within the firing ships firing arc. Note that a ship that occupies one full hex and one hex that is cut in half - essentially a partial hex - within a given arc may also be fired upon at full effect. If a ship occupies only one hex within a firing ship’s firing arc then the fire is at half effect, rounded down. This is the Rule of One Hex.

Taking each target ship individually I will explain the arcs and effect on firing.

USS Kearsage - she is in the Port, Forward Wide and Aft Wide firing arcs - and heartily wishing she was elsewhere! For the Port arc she has her stern hex fully within the arc whilst her bow occupies a partial hex - this counts as being fully within the arc. For the Forward Wide arc only her stern is within the arc so any fire received will be at half effect. For the Aft Wide arc her stern occupies a partial hex and her bow is fully within the arc so she can be fired upon at full effect.

The upshot of all of this is the USS Kearsage can be engaged by the CSS Tennessee using her Port and Aft Wide guns each at full effect and from the Forward Wide arc at half effect.

USS Keokuk - she is fully within the Forward Wide arc but only her stern hex is occupying a (partial) hex within the Starboard arc. The USS Keokuk can therefore be engaged via the Forward Wide arc at full effect but only at half effect via the Starboard arc.

USS Sassacus - she is fully within the Aft Wide arc but only occupies a single hex within the starboard arc. Similarly to the USS Keokuk she can be engaged fully via the Aft Wide artillery of the CSS Tennessee but only at half effect from the Starboard guns.

In addition to the above it should be noted that all firing is adjudicated on an individual firing arc basis, even against a single target and a ship may only fire once per firing arc.

In summary

If a target ship only occupies a single full or partial hex within a given firing arc then it can only be fired upon at half effect, rounded down. 

A firing ship can fire once from each arc that it has artillery for and a target to potentially hit.

I hope this has made things a little clearer and please by all means offer any comments or observations - anything to make sure the end result is clear, fair and not misleading.

Firing Arcs - Revised Edition

Firing Arcs version 2. F - Forward, FW - Forward Wide, P - Port, S - Starboard, A - Aft and AW - Aft Wide. F and A are the single row of hexes directly off the bow and stern respectively, P and S are the rows of hexes that lie between the upper and lower horizontal coffee stirrers whilst FW and AW are everything above or below the coffee stirrers placed amidships on the model. The coffee stirrers are a scratch builders friend and can be found in many places, the letters came from the Works whilst the ship is the CSS Tennessee

Converting the Fire Arcs that David Manley used in his Dahlgren and Colombiad rules to be usable on a hexagonal grid presented a few challenges but I managed to make a reasonable approximation of them for use in The Portable Ironclads Wargame. Unfortunately, I seemed to have been beset by a bout of ‘Barkerese’ when it came to describing them, along with references to bisected and straddled hexes! It was a part of the rules that needed to be tidied up and so I have done so.

The picture above will feature in DTPIW, along with some clarification of firing in general - I should emphasise that there are no major changes, just a few little tidy ups!

Hedwig Von Wissmann - Version 2

Hedwig Von Wissmann - note the extensive awnings present

My original model for Hedwig Von Wissmann was lacking a certain something. In common with many ships when operating in tropical climates, Hedwig Von Wissmann was often photographed with awnings in place as protection from the sun.

Hedwig Von Wissmann - version 1 (bottom left)

My first attempt at building her dispensed with the awnings - these would probably be taken down when clearing for action - and I was not entirely satisfied with the height of her bridge superstructure.

The days wore on and so the satisfaction level diminished even further so inevitably, steps had to be taken - the result of which you can see below.

Version 2. I opted to leave the bridge awning in place and by placing a 1cm square piece of 3mm MDF painted black on the half inch square lower bridge. The awning itself - the ‘roof’ - is a half inch square of card.

The side profile. The smaller recessed black piece gives the perception of depth and raises the height of the structure to something more suitable.

I realise this is a but a small piece of work but the end result is something I am far happier with and it certainly looks better. It is also another modelling technique that could be readily used on similar vessels and so has been saved in the brain cell.

Flags and Forts

The African Queen continues on her way past the fort at Shona - I know, it is Turkish but it’s the only one I have that is vaguely close to the original! 

I managed to get the Union Jack applied to the African Queen - in the film she only sported it when going to attack the Louisa - but I like to see my models with flags!

I did hit a small problem in that the flag is only the right way round on one side - The Union Jack should be flown with the wide diagonal stripe at the top nearest the flagstaff. It is correct when viewed from one side but not the other.

Right on the starboard side….

Wrong on the port!

The fort is there just as a backdrop to represent the fort the African Queen had to pass by on her way to the lake. She came under rifle fire from some Askaris but as she had the sun behind her it was mostly ineffective.

Am I going to build a fort for the Germans? Absolutely!

Research Material. Sort of….

I am sure the Spanish American War of 1898 was similarly described!

I have owned a copy of this book before but like a number of others it mysteriously vanished a few years ago. I have been trying to source another copy - not with any degree of urgency - but had been put off by the secondhand prices quoted. When I looked I was seeing north of £60 which was a little excessive! 

Anyways, eBay came to the rescue for a more reasonable £11 and I promptly (re)acquired it - mainly due to my current mini-project for DTPIW.

The seemingly heightened degree of urgency about getting hold of another copy of this book, you will have probably guessed, is because includes a useful chapter on the bombardment of Alexandria. Now I am not going to replicate that engagement but it will be handy for background etc. In fact, the lead up to the invasion is also of interest as I may look to weave elements of this into the back story of the Anglo-Turkish War which will be set prior to 1882.

As for the land side, I have not given any thought thus far but who knows? One thing at a time (said no wargamer ever….:-)!

More thoughts on Models for DTPIW

 HMS Superb. There are a few little tweaks I need to make to her - mainly paintwork related - to bring up to the current standard. I want to start adding ship’s boats to my models to break up the vast expanses of deck.

I have been spending some rather pleasant time poring over naval reference books to flesh out the details for the Anglo-Turkish War of 1880. I am looking at around eight models for each fleet and these will have two divisions of four apiece. The first division will be the main battleships whilst the second will consist of smaller types. 

One of reasons I spent some time on this is so that I am able to work out what hulls I need and how many. Luckily most of these are known to Warbases so it will simply be a case of reordering - particularly in the case of the four Turkish ironclads that will be rebuilt - and the number of new designs will be quite modest.

As it stand as at present the makeup of the two fleets will be something like this.

Royal Navy

Superb - 332ft by 54ft - 5” by 1 1/4”

Audacious/Invincible - 280ft by 54ft - 4” by 1 1/4”

Belleisle/Orion - 245ft by 52ft - 3 1/2” by 1 1/4”

Alexandra - 325ft by 1 1/4” - 5” by 1 1/4”

Temeraire - 285ft by 62ft - 4” by 1 1/4”

Penelope - 260ft by 50ft - 4” by 1 1/4”

Monarch - 330ft by 60ft - 5 by 1 1/4”

I am torn between Penelope and Temeraire as there are 9 ships listed above. This will probably mean I will end up building both….

Turkey

Messudieh - 331ft by 59ft - 5” by 1 1/4”

Feth-i Bulend (x2) - 236ft by 39ft - 3 1/2” by 1”

Avnillah (x2) - 226ft by 35ft - 3 1/2” by 1”

Assar-i Tewfik - 272ft by 52ft - 4” by 1 1/4”

Assar-i Sevket (x2) - 217ft by 42ft - 3 1/2” by 1”

Iclaliye - 216ft by 42ft - 3 1/2” by 1”

Osmaniye (x2) - 299ft by 55ft - 4 1/2” by 1 1/4”

Luft-u Celil (x2) - 211ft by 54ft - 31/2” by 1 1/4”

Straightaway you can see that there are more than the target eight ships listed above - so I will need to drop five of them or, more likely, just build the whole lot….

The above also shows to highlight the difference in size between HMS Superb and the four ironclads I have already built for the Turks. The latter are roughly one hundred feet shorter than the British ship - a difference I cannot really ignore and so the Turkish ships will be built anew.

There is a plus side to this rebuilding. A number of the Turkish ships had long service lives and were often rebuilt and ‘modernised’. Messudieh is a prime example and indeed, she saw service in both the Balkan Wars and WW1 when she was sunk. Feth-i Bulend and Muin-i Zafir both underwent rebuilds as well and so having the basic hull template means that I can build both earlier and later versions - which has implications for Afrabia/Madasahatta.

This is going to be fun - especially when I start work on the back story!

Flags for Afrabia

1:900th on the left and 1:1200th on the right. The Union Jack, Belgium and WW1 German.

I mentioned previously that I was waiting on some more flags for my Lake Tanganyika/Afrabia project. I have these printed by Tony at Brigade Games and the first thing that struck me when building the original batch of models was that my usual size of flag would be too large for the smaller vessels! Happily Tony is used to resizing this type of things so getting a selection printed in 1:1200th and 1:900th was easily done.

In truth I did not need many and so now have plenty of spares but the selection you see above will come in useful for the additional models I am planning. 

To start with I need to build some Belgian ships - only two or three - and I am also planning some forts/harbours etc. This will explain the national flags rather than the naval ensigns. One of the Union Jacks will feature on the model of the African Queen to finish her off. 

All being well I should have the Belgian ships built over the weekend - along with a couple of surprise items….

All will be revealed soon.

Thoughts about Models for DTPIW*

The start of the collection. The model of HMS Superb was built as a one off originally whilst the Turks were intended to be the start of a Russo-Turkish set up.

Now that the decision has been taken to opt for fictional war for the example game in Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame I took some today to reacquaint myself with some of the models. These have all seen action previously - on squares and hexes - and in truth it was always my intention to expand the fleets. I did look seriously at the Russians but for one reason or another did not pursue the idea, mainly due to the relative paucity of Russian warships in the Black Sea during the war of 1877/78.

HMS Superb - the largest model in my entire collection. 

For the time being I am looking at what models I want to build for each fleet - seven for the Royal Navy and four for the Turks - but one thing is certain. HMS Superb and her sister, the Turkish Messudieh, will both feature.

The two ships of the Feth-i-Bulend class - Mukaddeme-i Hayir being the other.

The two ships of the earlier Avnillah class - Muin-i-Zafer being the other.

The final part of the collection as it currently stands - a stylised Turkish fort.

I am on the horns of a dilemma in respect of the Turkish ship models in that compared to HMS Superb they are really too large. To maintain the relative differences in size they should be roughly around an inch and a quarter shorter. It would be easy enough to build these to the correct relative size as the hull templates are safely within my file at Warbases so reducing them down should not be too difficult. The models are fine as they stand and would be usable against the smaller and largely ex-civilian vessels the  Russians made extensive use of. 

The Turkish Feth-i Bulend fighting the Russian steamer, Vesta.

I will have to think about this in more detail, especially as the planned additions to the Royal Navy and even the other Turkish vessels will be of assorted sizes. Whilst I am not too picky about actual sizes I have become more concerned about relative dimensions so that the models look better alongside one another.

Meanwhile though, back to Lake Tanganyika and the Belgians…..

*DTPIW - Developing The Portable Ironclads Wargame

Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame - An Update

A true wargaming classic

It has been a while since mention has been made of Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame - Lake Tanganyika and Steamer Wars Hexed kind of took me down a side alley - so I have spent some time today sorting out what has been drafted so far and seeing what needs changing. In short, there is a degree of rewriting to be undertaken but not excessively so.

The big decision though, is that I am abandoning the idea of featuring Lissa. There are a number of reasons for this. To begin with the models will take a while to get organised. Also, Lissa has been 'done' many times previously and so the feeling of treading over old ground is not one I have been able to shake off! Another obvious candidate would be the War in the Pacific which features few ships and would work quite well in terms of the models required and the gaming mileage. Again, the war had been gamed extensively so what I believe is needed is something a little different, a naval engagement towards the end of the 1870s or early 1880s featuring a choice selection of warships, old, new and state of the art.

After careful consideration my plan is to tackle the Anglo-Turkish War of 1880. Yes, I know there was never an Anglo-Turkish War of 1880 but I am not about to let truth get in the way of a good story and besides, I already have five of the target sixteen models ready to use!

The opening blurb for the Battle of the Hellespont, 1881 - the start of the Royal Navy order of battle is at the bottom of the page....

....and the rest, including the Russians, follows on.

The planned game will be very much a homage to the battle fought in Paul Hague's book Sea Battles in Miniature published way back in 1980. The battle in question was fought between the Royal Navy and the Russians but substituting the Turks would be easy enough.

Ideally I will need to build a dozen models to finish this which is not in anyway excessive. There will be some bespoke pieces needed from Warbases but these will be relatively few as much of the building material required is available from my stock of bits and pieces.

This is something I can run alongside the Belgians for Lake Tanganyika and whilst I am designing the rest the WW1 collection. It looks a lot but based on my experience with the ACW models is all eminently doable - especially as much of the remaining stuff for the Spicer-Simson campaign consists mainly of small craft.

Famous last words eh? :-)

Designing a WW1 German Light Cruiser….Part 1

Getting closer. This model will measure 4” x 1” and the finished draft will of course feature all the necessary measurements!

I had some unexpected spare time today and so sat down to continue drafting the plans for the first vessel in my planned ‘Afrabia’ collection. As the next part of this project is the Rufiji Delta I decided to start with the German light cruiser SMS Konigsberg. 

As is usual with my models I plan to ensure that there is plenty of mileage in terms of the pieces that I shall design and order from Warbases. In this case the design of the German light cruiser SMS Konigsberg  this is helped by the simple fact that she is one of a class that follow the same basic shape as several others. The differences are modest so I plan to build three copies of the above design to represent the Bremen and the famous Emden as well as the Konigsberg.

My usual hull template - offended purists should look away now!

The overall layout viewed from above and tailored for hull template.

The hull will be made from two layers of 3mm MDF measuring 4” by 1”. On top of that will be a layer of 2mm MDF that has the sponsons and cutaways from the hull fore and aft. On top of a further layer of 3mm MDF that will have the same cutaways and fore and aft sponsons as the 2mm layer but with the raised fore and quarter deck and the adjoining section upon which the funnels will ultimately be placed. The dots you see are holes for the masts. There are two 4.1” shielded guns forward and aft and these are a dark higher than the other six - four are in sponsons ‘at each corner’ whist amidships are a a further part of shielded guns, more or less on the centre line.

This is what I am aiming for although nowhere near as delicate! A 1:1200th scale model on the SMS Konigsberg

I am happy with the design for this and I know Warbases will produce the sections I need exactly how I need them.

The next part will feature the deign I have in mind for the bridge and the aft deck house. For now though, getting the hull right is the priority.

Inevitably there are compromises required in terms of detail and scale but as long as the overall look is close enough then I am happy and besides, the end result will fight just as well!

Boot Sale Odds and Ends

As is usual with most wargamers, what you see above will be used in ways probably never considered by the designer!

Now that Autumn is upon us the boot sale season is, for the most part, starting to wind down. Although ours is located in a Park and Ride car park as the weather becomes more seasonal less sellers want to brave the elements, along with similarly disposed buyers!

Laurel and I ventured out yesterday and my purchases can be seen above. The miniature cribbage board I wanted for an experiment and I am happy to say that it worked out nicely, so much so that I shall look to buy a full sized version although, as you have probably guessed, it is not being used for its intended purpose (I do not know how to play cribbage in any event). For anyone that has a copy of Steamer Wars: Hexed there is mention in the rules of a speed track. This is to record a ships actual speed in knots. All I did was stick an identifying number next to each block of ten holes and used the pegs to record the speeds. Given the low number of vessels involved this worked perfectly.

The Bottle Top game includes 100 34mm wooden discs (3mm deep) so as a source of bases this was a bargain at £1 or 1p a base. Of course I need to find something to put on them….

The small, travel sized cribbage board set me back 20p!

So useful acquisitions albeit perhaps not obviously so!

The Second Battle of Lake Tanganyika, 10th February, 1916….Game Number 78

Whereas the first battle was historically based this action is slightly different, simply because I currently have no Belgian ships built! Instead the Royal Navy will be represented by HMS Fifi (ex Kingani) along with HMS Mimi as well as HMS Toutou. Historically HMS Toutou was undergoing repair and so was not present. The Germans will have the Hedwig Von Wissmann and the Graf Von Götzen.

Newly promoted Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson (Command) will be flying his flag aboard HMS Fifi along with Fundi (engineer) the engineer, whilst Mimi will be commanded by Lt. Wainwright (Gunner). On the German side the Graf Von Gotzen will be commanded by Captain Gustav Zimmer (Command). The descriptions in parenthesis refer to the named individual’s special abilities within the rules.

I shall of course be using Steamer Wars: Hexed for the action and as usual, this will be fought on my 13 x 9 Hotz mat - I now definitely need to get a larger one!

Once again the question of initiative is irrelevant (especially when fought as a solo game!) as both of the German vessels are size 1 meaning they have to move first. HMS Fifi is size 2 whilst Mimi and Toutou are size 3. Spicer-Simson’s Command ability D6 roll comes up as a 4 so incurs no positive or negative benefit to the British force.

Lake Tanganyika, 10th February, 1916….

Following the disappearance of the Kingani (previously captured by the Royal Navy and taken into service as HMS Fifi) the German Commander, Captain Gustav Zimmer, ordered the Hedwig Von Wissman to search for her inshore with the Graf Von Goetzen remaining in support. Unbeknownst to the commander of the Wissmann, the Royal Navy had seen her approaching and had put to sea to engage her, HMS Fifi in the van.

The initial set up. The Hedwig Von Wissmann is steaming directly towards the Royal Navy flotilla, mistakenly believing that they are Belgians. The looming bulk of the Graf Von Goetzen stands out into the lake, ready to support if required.

Turn 1. At a speed of six knots the Wissmann heads toward the approaching ships, confident in its ability to deal with the threat. Her gun crew make ready to open fire when suddenly a cry is heard from the lookout “Britische Kriegsschiffe direkt voraus!” (“British warships dead ahead!”). Immediately her commander orders maximum speed (plus one knot per turn so now at 7 knots or two hexes) and orders the helm hard over to port. 

The Goetzen, seeing the Wissmann turning towards her immediately begins to follow suit (now at 7 knots or two hexes BUT requiring to enter three hexes before turning. The red counter indicates a the point and direction of the tune, in this case red for port) with the intention of providing more immediate support.

Spicer-Simson in HMS Fifi immediately orders full speed (now at 9 knots or 3 hexes )and prepares to engage. Mimi and Toutou prepare to swarm all over the stern of the Wissman, where her firepower is weakest. They both accelerate to 12 knots or three hexes.

Firing commences. The nearest ship to the Goetzen - Toutou, is at range 8. She has modifiers of minus 5 being target size (3 therefore minus 2), target speed (12 knots therefore -2) and firers speed (7 knots therefore minus 1). She rolls an 8 which gives a net score of 3 which is insufficient at that range - 7 plus being required, in other words, no chance of scoring a hit! A great plume of water washes over the little motorboat!

Hedwig Von Wissmann is only able to bring her forward gun to bear on the Toutou at a range of four hexes.Her modifiers are identical to that of the Goetzen - minus 5. The roll of 9 is close but 5 or more is required to hit. Another plume of water drenches the plucky motorboat!

HMS Fifi opens fire with her forward 12pdr. The modifiers are minus 3,  -2 for the target speed (7 knots or two hexes) and -1 for firers speed (9 knots). The roll of 6 is not enough as the adjusted score of 2 was three below the required 5. For firing this weapon HMS Fifi loses three knots of speed due to the excessive recoil meaning she is now at 6 knots or two hexes. HMS Mimi opens fire. 

Lt. Wainwright gains a plus 1 when firing at ships sized at 2 or 3 and +2 when doing so at Size 1. Ordinarily the modifiers would minus 3 (target speed and size and firers speed) but this is reduced to minus 1 due to Wainwrights handiness with artillery. You would not think so though, as the roll was a miserable 2! Toutou rolls at a minus 4. She rolls a 9 which drops to 5 which is just a miss!

The situation at the end of Turn 1. The splash markers serve no game purpose other than to show where the firing has been. Note the red counter in use to mark the turning point for the Goetzen.

Turn 2. The two German vessels accelerate to their maximum speed of 8 knots. The Goetzen completes her turn to port which now means that her forward 4.1” has its optimum firing arc. The Hedwig Von Wissmann heads straight ahead, sacrificing the use of her forward artillery but in the hope that the covering fire from the Goetzen will force her assailants to retire or at least keep their distance. 

The Germans had not considered the calibre of their erstwhile opponent as Spicer-Simsom immediately increased speed to seven knots and bore down on the Wissmann. Mimi and Toutou followed suit with Mimi swinging around the stern of HMS Fifi whilst Toutou, despite her recent drenching, swung around directly onto the stern of the Wissmann.

Turn 2 After Movement. As the Wissmann attempt to both evade her pursuers (unlikely given that she is slower than any of them) and gain a measure of protection under the gun of the Goetzen the Royal Navy continue to dog her wake.

The Goetzen attempts to fire at the largest of the Royal Navy vessels - HMS Fifi. Her modifiers are minus 4 (the usual suspects of firer speed and target size and speed). She rolls a 7 which, adjusted to 3 is not enough. Meanwhile the Wissmann, with only a machine gun at her disposal, opens fire at Toutou. Her modifiers are a whopping minus 6 so she needs to roll a 10 to have any chance of inflicting damage. The roll of a 9 is close, but not enough!

HMS Fifi continues to fire at the Wissmann. Her modifiers are minus 3 and she rolls a 6 which is not enough. She also loses3 knots of speed again due to the recoil taking her down to 4 knots.

Toutou is in the van and so fires at the stern of the Wissmann. Her modifiers are minus 4 in total - Target speed, speed and also for the additional turn she made. She rolls a 7 which is not enough, a 5 or better being required.

Lt Wainwright in Mimi opens fire. His modifiers are minus 2 in total. He rolls an 8! Minus 2 leaves a score of 6 which is more than the required score to hit of 5. A Light Gun gains a minus 1 to its damage roll. Lt Wainwright rolls a magnificent 10! Although this is reduced to 9 it is heavy damage. The Wissmann is suppressed and sustains three rolls on the damage table. The first roll is a 7 which is 1 point of hull damage. The second roll is a 2 which is Heavy Suppression - a minus 2 modifier on any gunnery next turn. The final roll is a 9 which equals engine damage. Her speed in knots is reduced by the roll of a D6. A superb 6 is rolled! Wissman’s speed is reduced to a meagre 2 knots! The Wissmann will need to test her morale.

A D10 is rolled with a minus 1 applied due to the damage suffered. The roll of a 2 is reduced to 1. The result is a Withdraw so she must immediately turn away from the enemy one hex side and move one hex. She must also check her morale again next turn.

The situation at the end of Turn 2. With steam and smoke billowing from her engine room, and with her speed greatly reduced, the Wissmann limps away from her assailants. The Goetzen is steaming as hard as she can in support but the Royal Navy ships are faster and can pick and choose where they attack from. She is outnumbered but could she survive a determined attack from three faster opponents? 

Endgame. I decided to call it at his point which may seem a little early on but I am wearing my semi-historical strategic hat! The Hedwig Von Wissmann was not going anywhere and next turn would be assailed at point blank range by three enemy ships with nothing to reply with (excepting the machine gun which has a minus 2 modifier to start with). The Graf Von Goetzen could make a difference but protecting a vessel in such dire straits more or less on top of the oppositions base whilst fighting off three faster warships would be an undertaking fraught with danger. As it is she would not be able to outrun the opposition if they were determined to follow her. Trusting to luck then, the Graf Von Gotzen reluctantly abandoned the Wissmann so that she could at least maintain the status of being a ‘fleet in being’. She could fight another day and at better odds. 

As her Captain ordered the helm hard over the ponderous bulk of the Goetzen passed close by the hapless Wissmann, the only aid he could offer was to salute her gallant crew. Meanwhile, HMS Fifi, Mimi and Toutou closed in on the Hedwig Von Wissmann and prepared to board her as the white flag of surrender was raised and the ensign of Imperial Germany lowered.

Thoughts

Now I realise that a game of only two moves can hardly be described as an epic encounter but this really was a lot of fun! Shooting from or against fast moving targets is difficult and even a single hit against a lightly built vessel can cause problems way above the calibre of weapon being used. I am happy with how this all works and the all important period ‘feel’. As mentioned, I opted for what I saw as a reasonable outcome to the action. Based on Spicer-Simson’s historical performance I believe that he would have been satisfied with the capture of the Hedwig Von Wissmann (historically she was sunk with the Goetzen taking no part in the action). He had little appetite to take on the Goetzen and spent some time trying to source a larger vessel to engage her with.

Could the Hedwig Von Wissmann have gotten away? Potentially she could have repaired the engine damage (at the rate of one or two knots per turn) but the chances of her avoiding further damage from the three Royal Navy ships hanging off her stern would be slim to zero.

What of the Graf Von Goetzen? There is no doubt that she could have potentially wreaked havoc among the British ships - that ex Konigsberg 4.1” could have ruined Spicer-Simson’s day in no uncertain terms - but at the risk of sustaining damage that could be difficult to repair. Bearing in mind that the action was fought on the British side of Lake Tanganyika so damage similar to that sustained by the Wissmann - major engine damage - could have been fatal to German plans. 

And of the British? The expression ‘low hanging fruit’ springs to mind when one considers how the British set about the Hedwig Von Wissmann and largely ignored the Goetzen - who was a long way out in the lake in any event (probably not as far as she should have been so a larger cloth is now essential methinks!). Spicer-Simson could truthfully report a successful action and so the problem of the large and powerful German ship could be solved another day. Perhaps.

Postscript Next up are the Belgians and I also have in mind something a little different. Suffice it to say it involved a fort….

Playing Drafts

Although I still have to build a few more models for Lake Tanganyika - these will be on the small side, motorboats and similar - my thoughts have already stepped forward into the rest of the ‘Afrabian’ collection. As an aside Afrabia - a mixture of Africa and Arabia - is a fitting name for the theatre of my planned WW1 naval project which of course will include Madasahatta.

Thus far I have been wary of tackling ‘modern’ style warships - in this case WW1 - as there tends to be a lot more detail from the main deck upwards. Flying bridges, conning towers, searchlight platforms etc, not to mention shielded and un shielded guns of all calibres and of course turrets. For the ACW the ships tended to be a lot simpler looking!

In many ways the model of the Graf Von Goetzen convinced me that actual warships for the period would be doable - mainly due to the provision of the bridge and boat deck - but that they would need a little more in the way of planning than the earlier ironclads. 

My standard template for warship hulls - this one is 4” long by 1” wide. In my world the 1” beam is usable for ships with an actual beam of 30 to 45 feet.

Rightly or wrongly my standard hull template will form the basis for these models - mainly because I have quite a supply of some of the key sizes I will need. It is probably worth mentioning why this template is the shape it is. Basically I needed a shape with straight sides, primarily for the casemate ironclad types. It is simpler to make straight sided box like structures than curved, at least using my technique and the  materials that go with it. Practicality over style is definitely my modelling mantra!

Anyways, for the Afrabia project I have drawn up a list of the principle ships to be built although I have not included things like merchantmen, colliers, tugs etc. It is a fairly lengthy list but nowhere near the size of the ACW collection. I have yet to finalise the Lake Tanganyika collection but reckon around half a dozen or so models will do it.

So without further ado here are the named models that will need building.

Rufiji Delta

SMS Konigsberg

HMS Severn

HMS Mersey

HMS Weymouth

HMS Chatham

HMS Dartmouth

There will be some smaller craft involved in this as well but they can be built quickly and from stock.

Another force that will feature as part of this consists of the following:

HMS Astraea

HMS Challenger

HMS Hyacinth

All the above are historically ‘in theatre’ but where things get rather more interesting is when you factor in the ‘what could have been there’ types and the ‘never was-ers’. A good example of the former is the light cruiser SMS Bremen. She put into one of the German West African ports early in 1914 and her captain prepared a detailed report for its defence. Luckily for the allies this was never followed up on.

SMS Blucher from the film Shout at the Devil. 

The latter will be the planned twin sisters of the German navy taken straight from the pages of fiction - SMS Blucher and SMS Ziethen. I need to read both Shout at the Devil and Brown on Resolution for any further details - assuming there are any! I have yet to consider any similar heavier metal for the Royal Navy but it will feature - as well as some pre dreadnoughts.

A (very) rough initial draft of what will eventually become a German light cruiser - and I shall be building three of them.

The rather crude drawing you see above is the first draft of the design for what will be a German light cruiser. I tend to do this to get my ‘eye in’ so to speak so that I can then translate this into a more accurate drawing with measurements etc. Once this is done then it is off to Warbases to have the requisite pieces produced. Having some good references is invaluable at this stage! 

SMS Konigsberg having a bad day.

For the model above I shall have a single bespoke main deck piece - the actual ship (this could be any of the earlier German light cruisers as they all had a similar layout) has a raised fore and quarter deck joined centrally (the circles are the funnels) and with four sponsons, each mounting a 4.1” gun. There are two shielded deck guns mounted amidships and two pairs each of two guns fore and aft. 

This will mean six shielded guns to build and four fitted into the sponsons. The masts are no problem but the searchlight platforms (and the searchlights) will need to be made, as will the forward bridge structure and the aft deckhouse. 

Whilst the end result will not be a super detailed scale replica it will look like that which it is supposed to!

As ever, ‘based upon’, ‘purely representational’ or even ‘Hollywood style’ will be the building technique of choice. All I now need to do then is to get drafting and crafting!

Steamer Wars Tactical Rules Hexed Adaptation

Delighted to get this out in the world and looking forward to developing and expanding the system

Its here! Today sees the publication of Steamer Wars Tactical Rules Hexed Adaptation (phew!) via David Manley’s Long Face Games label and available from the Wargames Vault for £3.50. This version contains only the tactical rules - the original version has the campaign system and Spicer-Simson’s own account as described at a lecture.

My thanks to David Manley for allowing me to take this on and I have to say that it has not only been a lot of fun but it has also firmly cemented my resolve around the Africa/Arabia/Madasahatta campaign idea! I plan to add further ships to the Lake Tanganyika collection and then it will be on to the Rufiji Delta, followed by West Africa and finally the Red Sea.

As it stands I am looking at building around 15 assorted cruisers, a couple of monitors and two or three pre-dreadnought battleships - all in my usual simple style and designed to offend the purist!

This is going to be a whole lot of fun!

Mimi and Toutou Go Forth*....Lake Tanganyika, 26th December 1915, Game Number 77

It is hard to believe that this is in actual fact the first game I have fought this year! I started one in February - an ACW naval test game - but never got around to completing it. So we are where we are, seven months on and gaming something entirely different!

Steamer Wars: Hexed

The following action was fought using the soon to be available hexed version of David Manley's excellent rules Steamer Wars which are designed for use with warships at the lower end of the scale so gunboats and the like are the main combatants rather than battleships and cruisers etc. Having said that I shall be featuring some cruisers in due course within this system for use in my planned African/Arabian/Madasahatta style campaign, more of which will feature in a later post. For now though, back to Lake Tanganyika where battle is about to be joined - after a few points about the rules.

This is a small action, even by the standards of Steamer Wars as it consists of a pair of Royal Navy motorboats (Mimi and Toutou) and a small gunboat (Kingani) and this has an impact on some of the rule mechanics, entirely intentionally naturally!

Rule Observations

Ships movement is determined by their size in the first instance and then by the player’s initiative. For this action this can be ignored as the largest ship - the Kingani (size 2) - will always move first followed by Mimi and Toutou (size 3). 

Spicer-Simson, as a personality, can be both a blessing and a curse to the Royal Navy but in this case his command ability is satisfactory as his roll of 3 equals no effect. 1 or 2 would have helped with initiative (not relevant for the reasons above) whilst 6 has a negative effect on morale and stops the Royal Navy from getting too close to the opposition.

Fundi, the engineer on the Kingani has the ability to increase the acceleration of the Kingani or with any engine damage however there is a risk of injury in the case of the former.

The starting positions. Kingani at the top of the picture being stalked by Mimi (left - Spicer-Simson commanding) and Toutou.

Lake Tanganyika, 26th December 1915

Action at last! The steamer Kingani appeared on its regular patrol route, oblivious to any obvious danger. Little did she know that she was about to be engaged by two small motorboats of the Royal Navy - even in this unlikely part of the world.

“It is both the duty and the tradition of the Royal Navy to engage the enemy wherever there is water to float a ship” Admiral Sir Henry Jackson, First Sea Lord

 Turn 1. The commander of the Kingani, currently cruising along at 8 knots had spotted the fast approaching Royal Navy motorboats and immediately knew that they could be in trouble. The only meaningful artillery they carried was deployed forward so the enemy could hang off his stern and engage the ship with impunity. The Kingani could not outrun them so she would have to turn to fight. She increased her speed to 9 knots and threw her helm over to port.

Mimi and Toutou immediately accelerated to their maximum speed of fourteen knots with Toutou attempting to get to the stern of the German vessel. Mimi however, went straight towards the enemy.

Turn 1 after movement. Toutou is poised to get behind the Kingani whilst Mimi has gotten uncomfortably close to the Kingani. Fortunately for Mimi, her headlong rush at the enemy vessel has positioned her bow just out of the firing arc of the enemy vessel (in rule speak Mimi’s bow is technically in the aft firing arc as the hex is bisected).

The Kingani is unable to fire at present due to restriction of her firing arc whilst Toutou is just out of range  - light guns have a range of 4 hexes whilst Kingani is 5 hexes away. Mimi rolls a D10 to hit with the following modifiers being applicable: -1 for the target being size 2, -2 for the target travelling greater than 6 knots, -1 for the firer moving greater than 7 knots (2 hexes) making -4 overall. The roll comes up as a magnificent 9! This is reduced to 5 which equals the minimum score of 5 required. A further roll of a D10 is required to potentially inflict damage. At this stage the only modifier is a -1 from the D10 roll as the firing weapon is a light gun. This time the roll is a 6, minus 1 making 5 overall. Against a size 2 target the effect is Light Damage which affects gunnery next turn, has a morale impact and requires a roll on the damage table. 

This is a 10! Royal Navy gunnery seems to be in fine fettle! This is a critical hit which requires the roll of a D6. The roll of 2 equals Heavy Suppression so next turn the Kingani, should it be able to fire, does so at a minus 2 alongside any other applicable modifiers.

As the Kingani has been suppressed she is required to check her morale. There are no applicable modifiers so it is a straight D10 roll which comes up as a 9 so her morale is unaffected.

Turn 2. The Kingani increases speed to her maximum of 10 knots (3 hexes). Mimi and Toutou, already at their respective maximum speed of 14 knots swing around on the Kingani who is unable to outmanoeuvre her harrying assailants.

Turn 2 after movement. With her helm hard over and at maximum speed Mimi positions herself at point blank range off the stern of the Kingani whilst Toutou approaches in a more measured way.

Once again the Kingani is unable to fire but now both of the Royal Navy gunboats are able to do so. Mimi fires first at a range of 1 hex. Her firing modifiers are as follows: size 2 target -1, target 6 knots or more -2, firer 7 knots or more -1, firer turned more than one hex side -1 making -5 in total. The roll is a miserable 1! Clearly the high speed manoeuvring of Mimi was sufficient to put the gunner off his aim! Toutou opens fire with the following modifiers: target size 2 -1, target speed 6 knots or more -2, firer 7 knots or more -1 making -4 in total. The roll is a 6 which is reduced to 2 which is a miss at that range (a minimum of 5 is required.

Turn 3. Kingani tries a new tactic. She decelerates at her maximum rate down to 8 knots (2 hexes) whilst putting the helm hard over. She is banking on the high speed of her opponents working against them as they frantically try to avoid coming into range of her artillery. Mimi has to take drastic action to avoid doing exactly that and so decreases her speed down to 12 knots (3 hexes) in order to maintain her advantage. Toutou, once again adopts a more thoughtful approach - keeping her speed up but avoiding excessive manoeuvring - and gets her reward by appearing of the port aft quarter of the enemy vessel. Kingani is in deep trouble.

Turn 3 after movement. Kingani slammed on the brakes and turned as tightly as she could but to no avail as Mimi, by dint of some braking and swerving of her own, managed to stay on the enemy ship’s stern. Meanwhile Toutou has nefarious designs of her own as she prepares to open fire at point blank range.

Once again Kingani is unable to fire and once again, both Mimi and Toutou are able to and at point blank range! Mimi fires first and the modifiers are as follows: target size -1, target speed greater than 6 knots -2, firer speed greater than 7 knots -1, firer turned more than one hex side -1 so minus 5 in all. The roll of 7 was not enough as with a whopping minus 5 in modifiers leaves a score of 2. This is 3 below the minimum required to score a hit.

Toutou has a number of modifiers of her own but has only turned a single hex side so hers are -4 in all. Again the roll of 2 is not enough. 

Thoughts so far.

Excessive speed and manoeuvring certainly wreak havoc with gunnery - even when you are able to fire!

Turn 4. Kingani drops her speed to 7 knots and continues her attempt to at least get in a firing position. Mimi decelerates to 9 knots and closes on the aft port quarter of the enemy ship. Toutou similarly slows - 12 knots in her case - but needs to turn rather more than Mimi which will affect her gunnery.   

Turn 4 after movement. Kingani continues in her attempt to shake off her dogged pursuers to at least cause one of them to overshoot her. Thus far this has been unsuccessful. Mimi is on her aft port quarter whilst Toutou is now positioned off her stern. All three vessels have slowed down.

Kingani is still unable to open fire but as ever, both Mimi and Toutou are able to do so. This time Mimi only has -4 in modifiers whilst Toutou has a -5. Both need to score high to hit - 9 and 10 respectively. The scores are 3 and 8 which is not enough in either case, a minimum of 5 being required.

Turn 5. Kingani slows even more - this time down to 5 knots (2 hexes) meaning that she will be an easier target to hit but there is a plan of sorts. Mimi slows even more - now at 7 knots (2 hexes) - whilst Toutou carries on at 12 knots (3 hexes).

Turn 5 after movement. Kingani still has both Mimi and Toutou dogging her every move and preventing her from engaging either. Her captain is becoming increasingly anxious as he can see no successful outcome to this action unless….

Kingani is still unable to open fire but as ever, both Mimi and Toutou are able to do so. This time Mimi only has -4 in modifiers whilst Toutou has a -5. Once again, both need to score high to hit - 9 and 10 respectively. Mimi rolls a miserable 3 and misses whilst Toutou scores a truly magnificent 10! Her damage roll is -1 due to having a light gun. The roll is an equally impressive 9 which drops to 8. This is heavy damage so she is suppressed for next turn and has three rolls on the damage table. 

The first roll is a 1 which is a heavy suppression next turn (-2 gunnery modifier). The second is a 4 which knocks out a randomly determined gun - Kingani only has a light gun forward so this has been knocked out! The next roll is an 8 which is engine damage. Her speed is reduced by 1D6 knots - the roll is a 4 which takes her speed down to 3 knots. Fundi, the engineer, adds a modifier to any non-critical hit engine damage repair attempts starting next turn.

Kingani requires a morale check due to being suppressed and damaged. The D10 roll has two modifiers each of -1 - the first is for sustaining actual damage (the loss of the gun) and the second is because she is now disarmed. The roll is a 1.

As the adjusted score is now -2 which is a ‘Flee’ result. The vessel must turn away from the enemy and attempt to leave the table. If the vessel is unable to move it surrenders.

Endgame

I decided to call it there as the likelihood of Kingani getting away at 3 knots - even if Fundi works his magic - was pretty remote. All Mimi and Toutou had to do would be to hold station and batter the Kingani into scrap so a fluttering white handkerchief would doubtless have been seen as she surrendered (her only option really).There would have been a chance of the Toutou colliding with the Kingani but the outcome would have been the same. Spicer-Simson had secured his place in naval history although not in quite the same way as historically - the gunnery was abject to start with although rendering Kingani’s gun hors de combat was historical!

The rules worked really well and are suitably manic. Gunnery and high speed manoeuvring do not go together comfortably and so once Mimi and Toutou had gotten into Kingani’s aft and stern and more importantly out of her forward firing arc it was only going to be a matter of time - especially as Kingani obligingly slowed down.

This was a lot of fun to fight despite the skewed initiative due to the differing ship sizes. The next action will feature five ships and initiative will certainly play its part. In the meantime though, I need to think about some more ships for Lake Tanganyika - Belgians and assorted odds and ends oh, and a gun barge….

It is good to be back!

Available really cheaply secondhand and a great companion to Peter Shankland’s The Phantom Flotilla

*Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika by Giles Foden - an excellent account of the expedition and battle and a constant source of inspiration.