Thoughts on the Balkan Battle of Hook's Farm

Much as I enjoyed enormously game number 39 - the Battle of Kanca Ciftlik or Hook's Farm - it did give me cause to think about a couple of 'tweaks'. Bob Cordery's 'Memoir of Battle' is derived from a fusion of the Command and Colours system with a dash of Morschauser thrown in for good measure. As a game system it works really well and Bob's tinkering has produced a set of rules for the late 19th and early 20th century that are easy to play, fast flowing and with that all important 'feel'. He has also added a very neat solo version which does not use the usual command cards and it is with this adaptation that this post is mainly concerned. There are a number of areas that I would like to expand upon though - and I must emphasise that this is purely a personal whim - and these will form the subject of this post.

Exhaustion Levels

The exhaustion level is quite simply the point at which the army is no longer capable of offensive action. This is usually reflected by the number of strength points the army has lost - when it has accumulated casualties equal to or greater than the predefined exhaustion level the army may no longer conduct any offensive actions such as moving forward towards the enemy. As a general rule this figure is usually equal to around a third of the total strength points although I would tend to define this on a scenario basis.

Battle Back

The concept of Battle Back - whereby a unit that is attacked may immediately counter-attack depending on various circumstances -  serves to level the playing field to an extent in that an attack will require rather more thought than previously. I do not envisage using this for every type of combat - only that which takes place in an adjacent hex. In effect it could been seen as a local response to an attack. Ranged combat would not be effected by this rule so straight away you can see that the effect of such a measure would be ensure that under normal circumstances a proper fire plan against the target unit would be employed to 'soften' up the defences before an assault when in.

Saving Activations

With Bob's solo version of his rules the player rolls a number of combat dice to determine what units he can activate during the game turn. This is s simple and effective way of replacing the use of the command cards. However, it makes no allowance for activations being stockpiled for future use - or, put another way, command cards being held back to launch and sustain an attack in a particular sector. Using dice means that each turn can be very different in terms of what you can and cannot do.

The rule I am considering is this. A player may hold back activations for future use but may never use more activations in a game turn than are allowed by his commander rating - this is either 6, 5 or 4 for good, average or poor respectively. Also, when a player rolls for his current activations for his game turn, should any flags be rolled these will have the effect of reducing any 'banked' activations for each flag rolled. This will allow a player to gamble on building up a bank of, say, infantry activations but these could be jeopardised by rolling a hand full of flags.

I believe that this rule will have the effect of giving the commander the ability to plan ahead to an extent but it is not a 100% certainty. It is a gamble and could have potentially a battle winning impact but it could also paralyse a part of the army for no reason. When using command cards a player is able to hold back those cards that he thinks will give him a fighting chance of landing a telling blow in due course. Hopefully using the system outlined with the dice will have the same effect.

I am hoping to run another action next weekend to try these ideas out and of course I will report the findings on the blog.

The Battle of Kanca Ciftlik, May 1913....Game Number 39

I am not ashamed to admit that the inspiration for this action came solely from the excellent article in Miniature Wargames Number 361 by Arthur Harman - Little Wars for little money in little space. The article was described by the author himself as 'Being an adaptation of Mr HG Wells' toy soldier kriegsspiel according to the principles of Messrs Morschauser and Cordery, for the entertainment of impecunious gentlefolk in these recessionary times, by Arthur Harman, resplendent in his stripy blazer and straw boater.'

The following action represents a further spin on the immortal Battle of Hook's Farm in that I am using a hexed grid (my Hexon tiles), Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle rules and my own particular homage to wargames in days gone by - my wooden block armies.

The Set Up

The combatants for this action comprised the Turks and the Bulgarians rather than Red and Blue and each side consisted of the following forces:

1 x 2 block command unit

6 x 4 block Infantry units

3 x 3 block cavalry units

3 x 2 block artillery units

This means a total of 41 strength points each and both sides had an exhaustion level of 14. As a game turn consists of both sides completing their respective actions I decided that in the event of both sides reaching their exhaustion level in the same game turn then the side that had lost the least casualties was deemed the victor.

The battlefield was a standard Command and Colours sized 13 x 9 hexed playing area. The buildings are from my collection of ceramic souvenirs. 

The Battle of Kanca Ciftlik, May 1913

The initial dispositions viewed from the Bulgarian start line. Kanca Ciftlik is to the left of the central clump of pine trees whilst Yangin Kilise is the blue roofed building on the right. The Bulgarians are fairly concentrated with the infantry deployed to either flank and the bulk of the artillery in the centre and most of the cavalry on the left.

The view along the opposing battle lines with the Turks on the left of the picture. The Turks have four of their six infantry regiments facing Kanca Ciftlik and their cavalry deployed in the centre and left flank.

Turn 1 sees the Turkish advancing on either flank and securing Yangin Kilise (the church at the top of the picture) unopposed. Meanwhile the Bulgarians move up their artillery with infantry support for the assault on Kanca Ciftlik.

The Turkish advance guard secure Yangin Kilise with the cavalry screening their left flank and the artillery moving up in support.

Turn 2 and whilst the Turks are able to move into Kanca Ciftlik the Bulgarians response is swift and deadly as the farm is assaulted by their infantry and heavy casualties are inflicted on the defenders.

Meanwhile the Turks consolidate their hold on the church with infantry moving up in support.

Turn 3 sees the battle for the farm swinging first one way and then the other as the Bulgarian assault inflicts a further casualty on the Turks whilst they suffer heavily in return. The Turkish artillery joins the fray and opens up on the massing Bulgarian infantry in the centre.

Turn 4 and the massed Bulgarian infantry in the centre secure the central building, thereby threatening both Turkish flanks. The Turks manage to beat off the assault on the farm and on the other flank, send the cavalry around to attack the Bulgarian rear.

The gallant Turkish horsemen are driven back by the Bulgarians but a further regiment of Ottoman cavalry is on the way.

Turn 5 and at last the Bulgarian attack in the centre begins to take shape although casualties are suffered  from Turkish artillery and long range rifle fire. The Turks supporting the church are temporarily pushed back by the Bulgarian artillery.

The Turkish cavalry are repulsed by the Bulgarian horsemen.

Turn 6 and the remaining Bulgarian cavalry push into the wooded area on the left of Kanca Ciftlik whilst the infantry make ready to assault the farm.

Disaster for the Turks! The Bulgarian infantry assault the farm and the remaining Turkish defenders are forced out (note the two flag results). The Bulgarians rush in to occupy the scattered buildings formerly occupied by the Ottomans.

Turn 7 and the Turkish cavalry fight back against the Bulgarian horseman at the bottom of the picture.

Meanwhile, the battle for farm increases in intensity as the Bulgarians come under heavy rifle fire from no less than three Turkish units. Can the Bulgarians hang on?

Over on the Bulgarian right flank the last of the Turkish horseman are driven off and the Bulgarian artillery pounds the Ottoman infantry by the church.

Turn 8 and at last the Turks begin to prevail against the Bulgarian right flank. The second Turkish cavalry unit gallantly charges into the Bulgarian horse and routs them whilst the Ottoman artillery continues to pound the Bulgarian infantry on the crest. The Bulgarian return rifle fire inflicts heavy casualties on the Turks by the church by way of returning the compliment.

Meanwhile the farm of Kanca Ciftlik changes hands for the final time as the remaining Bulgarian defenders are destroyed and the Turks reoccupy the buildings although not without heavy losses. The Bulgarian cavalry engage with the Turkish infantry at the far side of the wood with each side suffering minor casualties.

At this point both sides has reached their respective exhaustion levels - Turkey 15 and Bulgaria 17 so the Turks were declared the victors in a hard fought and close run action.

Aftermath

I really enjoyed the battle as it is the first game I have played for a while. The rules (Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle) worked really well although I may incorporate the 'battle back' facility whereby units can fight back against attackers if they are not destroyed as per the normal combat rules (not against artillery though). The solo mechanisms worked well but I will think about banking activations in some way - I will post about this in more detail later, once I have thought about it - so that game turns can potentially have a little more control over them.

It was great fun to fight and many thanks to Arthur Harman for the idea - along with, of course, Messrs, Wells, Morschauser and Cordery....;-)

A Gentleman's Aeronautical Conveyance....

I am really looking forward to repainting these (I have four of them) from their RAF plumage and interestingly enough, the Turks refitted the Mk1 with two 20mm cannon in exchange for four of the .303 machine guns.

I am of course referring to the Hawker Hurricane in the title of this post - with grateful thanks to Mr.Fox for continually reminding me of the fact....;-)

The club night was a welcome change and we took to the skies over Southern England in 1940 once again with a match up of four 109 Es, a pair of Spitfires and a pair of Hurricanes. Yours truly was driving the Spitfires and rather carelessly managed to lose one to the eager attentions of the marauding Germans. I managed to down one of  'yellow-nosed bastards' but  the real stars were the Hurricanes. They fired twice in the entire game and shot down two fighters. My remaining Spitfire managed to nail the third of the four 109s so the final score finished up RAF 3 Luftwaffe 1 - no need for penalties then....;-)

I have mentioned previously about my project list and my long time tradition of buying myself something when I have gotten back into work. Well, the parcel arrived yesterday and very nice it is as well. However, I needed to send off for some rather essential additions to the collection and so it will not be unveiled just yet.

My decision not to proceed with a Pacific set up for the WW2 aerial game has served to enable me to concentrate rather more on what I want to do in regards to the Middle Eastern project. I have come up with a provisional list for each of the four forces based on what models are currently available in the range and are suitable for 1941.

Germany

4 x Bf 109E (the tropical version), 4 x  Me109F, 2 x Bf 110 and a pair of Ju87s. I currently need to get the 109Fs and the Stukas. I have 4 x FW190A on the way from the US but am undecided about how I am going to fit them in as they are rather good....;-)

Turkey

4 x MS 406 and 4 x Hurricane. I originally intended on using P40s but decided on Hurricanes simply because I wanted them 'in theatre' and the RAF would have access to Spitfires. This does raise the spectre of Spitfire versus Hurricane dogfights which should be interesting, to say the least!

RAF

4 x Brewster Buffalo and 4 x Spitfire. The Spitfire will be the Mark 1 - I would have preferred to use a Mark 5 but they do not make one yet in the range yet. I rather liked the idea of a Fleet Air Arm contingent of Fulmars and Martlets given that the old fields being protected are primarily for the benefit of the navy. I may do something with this and if I do then it will require two of the former and four of the latter.

Soviets

4 x Polikarpov I-16 and 4 x Yak 1. I want to get a pair of IL2 Sturmoviks for them as well - Mr Fox has one of these and it is a nice model for sure.

If I ever add the French into the mix then four each of the D.520 and the MS.406 would more than suffice.

If you have not tried the Axis and Allies WW2 air game then you really should - it is enormous fun to play and is quick and easy in its execution.

We enjoy it anyway.

Goodbye to all that....

A variety of Zero paint schemes - gotta love the orange underside of the example at the bottom! Sadly these will NOT be appearing in a blog near you any time soon....;-)

It has been as busy as stink in my new job over the last few days but I have been enjoying what I am doing so that is the main thing! I have spent a little time on the hobby at odd moments and as a result have made a fairly big decision concerning my Axis and Allies Angels 20/Bandits High aerial collection.

I am going to drop the Pacific theatre.

The reason for this is very simple and comes down to the fact that I will need an awful lot of kit in order to do it properly. If I represented every type available thus far the collection would run into around 60 odd models and I simply cannot justify it - especially as the Middle East/Army Group South set up will finish up at around 40 odd models spread across four nations! In truth I only own a few models for the Pacific at the moment but the prospect of acquiring great wads of assorted Japanese and US aircraft was quite daunting (or should that be Dauntless?).

The models I need to get for the aforementioned Middle Eastern set are far fewer in number and I have sourced most of them in any event. Without exception repaints will be needed as most of the airframes will be in a desert style paint scheme.

I have a few replacement command packs on order for the ACW 15mm set up simply because all the Essex standard bearers have cast on flags which are far beyond my level of effort and concentration to paint despite being lovely figures.

I also have a model arriving that is the forerunner to something else I have in mind - I won't spoil the surprise but all will be revealed in due course.

Give Aways - the Gift that keeps on Giving!

That incredibly generous, gifted, witty and all round good girl, Tamsin P over at Wargaming Girl is giving away, via her prize draws assorted hobby related goodies so - you have gotta be in it to win it!

Well done Tamsin and I would like to publicly apologise for not following you sooner!

(Grovelling earnestly....;-)

Phew! That was the week that was....

I am a huge fan of this series of ACW pictures - the reality was somewhat different though!

I know I was only in the office for a mere three days but it feels like a whole lot longer! I have had three days of intensive training using new software and reading procedures manuals until my eyes bleed. I actually made contact with a live potential candidate today and have sat in on three interviews so all is moving along nicely. Next week I will be unleashed on an unsuspecting city so watch for the FT Index going haywire and shares of Starbucks going through the roof!

I am absolutely loving it so far.

One thing that did occur to me though is that as yet I have not kept to my time honoured tradition of buying something for myself to celebrate being back in employment. Such a tradition cannot lightly be set aside and so I will be splashing the cash in due course although probably in a direction that may come as something of a surprise. Of course with Broadside just around the corner I may wait until then.

I will say no more on this.

In the meantime though, I have been reading Rally Once Again by the late and great Paddy Griffith. The book is a study of what battle in the American Civil War was all about and it is one of the most thought provoking titles on the war I have ever read. Revisiting this title is to maintain my enthusiasm for all things blue and grey prior to the great paint fest. I will need to get a couple of packs of figures though to finish this off completely but nothing major.

I have also been applying the brain cell (or rather what ever is left of it after some 16 hours of 1980s VHS training goodness - did we really look like that back then? If so, WHY?!) to the ancient galleys or rather reacquainting myself with the Salamis campaign, again, prior to starting the painting.

My final instalment of models from Stonewall is still en route but oddly enough painting these is not worrying me in the slightest. All the models I have in stock are cleaned up and ready to base and paint and as mentioned previously will be tackled on a blitz basis.

That's the plan(s) anyway.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more....

Henry V in his 'King of the Swingers' mode....

Tomorrow sees me going back to work for the first time since September 21 last year. The DIY list has been blasted into a million pieces, the project list has grown and shrunk more times than the UK economy; my library at home is now a lean, mean repository of selected tomes as I have been busily financing my hobby from my own resources, so to speak and I have even managed to get a lot of stuff painted (well a lot by my standards anyway!) during my enforced absence from the land of gainful employment. However, all good/bad things (delete as applicable) come to an end and so the inevitable reality of the workplace looms large once again. I am truly delighted to be doing so - especially as the job I am embarking upon represents a change of career and a new direction and challenge. It will be a grand adventure and so I wanted to write something suitably witty and original but instead decided to let the bard himself do the talking as he can describe the situation and how I am feeling far better than through the medium of my own humble efforts! 

SCENE I. France. Before Harfleur.

Alarum. Enter KING HENRY, EXETER, BEDFORD, GLOUCESTER, and Soldiers, with scaling-ladders

KING HENRY V
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Over the top? Probably, even by my standards - but then I have never been one for the subtle or understated turn of phrase....;-)