The Birthday Weekend

For a variety of reasons I have not been anywhere near the blogosphere this weekend - chief of which is simply because I have been too tired. Friday was a particularly draining day; both mentally and physically and so the last couple of days, including my birthday on Saturday, have been spent relatively quietly.

However, there was still the small matter of my birthday on Saturday to celebrate and so the family duly rose to the occasion in its usual inimitable style. The birthday present haul was a very satisfying one with the gifts of interest to readers being a number of Blu-rays including the extended versions of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy - over 12 hours of Middle Earth - and also the extended version of The Kingdom of Heaven, the crusader epic by Ridley Scott. As well as various consumables (one can never have too much chocolate in my opinion....) I have also received £75 in vouchers for Waterstones so the library will be receiving some TLC in due course.

As far as the 42mm 1930s/WW2 project goes I was able to make some significant progress although not quite as much as I would have liked. The figures for the first batch of painting have been washed, cleaned up and based in readiness for the first round of treatment. This will be some form of sealer prior to being undercoated. I have more or less settled on the uniform schemes I shall be using and the style of painting I shall be employing. The three forces I shall be creating (the third has yet to be started) will use green, brown and grey respectively as the base colour. The paint style will be 'old toy soldier' as it suits the detail of the models better than anything more detailed. the only debate I am still having is whether or not to do anything with the bases. I am not sure properly textured and flocked versions would be within keeping with the tone of the figures and so plain and unadorned bases will probably be the order of the day. I will wait and see when the figures have been completed before I make a final decision on this one though.

Similarly, I am undecided about vehicles and artillery but I will fall off that particular bridge when I get to it - after the first batch of figures are completed..

A tiring day but one with optimism...

I have been off work today as my company gives you a free day on the occasion of your birthday (which is tomorrow) which was much appreciated. The day has been a tiring one though - not least of which because my son, SWMBO and I had to drive to Reading and back (nearly five hours for the round trip). I won't bore you with all the tawdry details but suffice it to say it was worth the trip and the outcome went a long way towards a particular goal.

After we had got home SWMBO decided that tackling the weekend shopping would be a good idea this afternoon rather than tomorrow and so after having undertaken this as well I am now feeling rather tired. However, I am going to tackle something on the gaming front and so I will be preparing the first of the figures for use with my 42mm 1930s/WW2 project. I previously mentioned that I am going to use 30mm square bases and so have a supply currently winging their way from Peter Pig. Inspired by Battle I have decided on the composition of the forces I will be aiming at from the outset. They are quite modest and can be added to as required in the future. I am going with the following organisation:

• 4 x 8 figure sections, each of an NCO (Smg), 2 x Smg figures, 3 x Rifles firing, 1 x Rifle advancing and 1 x grenade thrower.
• HQ of an officer, a radioman, a senior NCO and a Rifleman
• 2 x HMG each of two figures 
• 1 x Mortars with a crew of two figures 

I have yet to decide about artillery and vehicles although I have seen some rather cunning and top secret ideas currently in progress by a renowned fellow blogger.

The organisation started out as mirroring that in Battle but as written these were intended for 1944 -1945 whereas I am looking at much earlier so I will have no need for rocket launchers. I have fudged the line up slightly to allow for HMGs and a Mortar at quite a low level but as we are missing LMGs this does not seem too harsh - fewer HMGS than LMGs seems better compromise in my opinion.

I have been thinking about uniforms and have decided to go with green and brown as the base colours, one for each side and thinking ahead will use camouflage jackets for units designated as elite so they are easily identifiable. 

The next step will be ready the 84 figures I will be suing and so my plan is to have these based and undercoated before the end of the weekend.

Battle and a very Civil War

No prizes for guessing what my two choices of reading material currently consist of - the updated edition of Charles Grant's Battle and Three Weeks in November - the military history of the Swiss Civil War in 1847. Both have been very inspiring in different and occasionally similar ways.

Battle has given me much to think about for my 42mm plastic WW2 project - both from the rules perspective and how I will be organising my collection. I am very fond of the rules and could easily turn them into a hex-based set for use with my Hexon set up if needed - I should mention perhaps that my original intention was to use a version of MOMBAT by Bob Cordery or even just go with Memoir 44 as they stand. Either way it is no big deal and I am quite relaxed about the rules side of the project.

My initial forces for this collection will be fairly modest in terms of numbers and will equate to roughly a Grant sized platoon of around 30 figures. By careful choices in respect of figures this will also double up for any '4 figure unit' style games - such as the aforementioned MOMBAT or Memoir 44. I have settled on 30mm square bases for the figures and have a supply en route from Peter Pig. No mention yet of vehicles or artillery as I am still thinking about this.

The Swiss Civil War of 1847 has really given me a lot to think about. Whilst I have no plans to refight this in its entireity I shall, after some gentle persuasion, fight a couple of the actions using the block armies - what I have in mind would make for an interesting game in any event. The main inspiration for me from this book though is the sheer potential from an imagi-nation perspective and also the way it has made me think about tackling a Napoleonic era set up along those lines. The uniforms worn are largely late Napoleonic in style and so producing armies would not be a problem using a selective repaint. I am not about to do this but it has made me think about how the concept of cantonal armies in the later part of the century - after the war of 1847 or, assuming that in never took place. With a little artistic licence with the geography - perhaps reducing some of the mountains and enlarging the lakes (one has to think of the naval dimension!) as well as combining the cantons into larger 'national' groupings you have a ready made area for fighting over. Allow the Austrian border to be disputed by the Turks so they have a presence (I simply could not leave them out!) and you have all the ingredients for something rather special and late 19th century.

I need to develop this a little further and so my first port of call will be to look at a decent map of Switzerland to see how it could be, ahem, carved up....;-)

Where did that come from?

I know, I know....but I can resist anything except temptation....

By now most readers of the blog will have gathered that I am a very single minded and determined person, not easily swayed by anything other than chosen path I happen to be on at the time....

I know, only kidding!

Today has been a pleasant day for a number of reasons. To begin with, I spent the morning at the Skirmish Plastic Soldier fair at Sidcup in Kent - originally planning to pick up some bits and pieces for my old toy soldier WW2 based collection. Despite some earnest rummaging I did not manage to get anything I set out to but I did come away with some cracking ideas that I will share in due course. I met up with some Skirmish stalwarts in the shape of Fran and Postie from the Rejects, Clint and Bob Cordery - with whom I spent a very pleasant half hour or so discussing projects many and varied.

We discussed the advantages that Postie would have if he was to get some air conditioning in his den (if only to avoid certain wargamers taking their clothes off when the temperature rose!) and also the the fact that as wargamers get older they appreciate their creature comforts rather more....

Bob was on fine form and regaled me with tales of his huge collection of Roco vehicles and the plans he has - as well as the Aladdin's cave that is his shed that, the contents of which are soon to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting public, once he has hacked his way, Indiana Jones-like, through the undergrowth to find it.

Those very nice people from Pilum Painting were present, eager to chat and listen to me droning on about my latest bout of project insanity as was also Dave Lanchester of David Lanchester Military Books who, as usual, managed to have a couple of items I simply could not do without.

The book you see in the picture above is just one of those and is something obscure even by my standards - but what an absolute treasure trove it is! Although it is less than 90 pages long this slim little hardback really punches above its weight in terms of the information contained therein. Lets see now, a usual checklist of a good book for a wargamer has the following:

• Maps
• Line drawings
• Colour uniform plates
• Organisation
• Orders of Battle
• Campaign history
• Biographies of some of the leading personalities.

Ron Weaver's book has them all covered and the colour plates are really good. The uniforms look like formal late Napoleonic types and there is plenty of colour to be seen as each of the Swiss Cantons had their own armed forces and uniforms. It would be easy enough to raise armies for this 'period' if needed but I have a rather different agenda with the contents of this book. There is much be inspired by - but to what end?

Well, that is an easy one to answer. I have absolutely no intention of fighting the Swiss Civil War of 1847, not now, not ever but that will not stop me using this book as a guide to some central European 'imagi-nation' type action. Off the top of my head you could merge some of the cantons into nations, call the entire country a continent, flatten some of the mountains, enlarge the lakes so you could factor in the naval dimension and away you go!

Now if only I could somehow add a Turkish frontier (possibly via Austria) this could work out rather nicely.

Joking aside, the potential for me with this is rather alarming albeit in a good way.

As a postscript, Switzerland has featured rather a lot for me recently so I am wondering if a higher power is at work - I have large business deal in the offing through work and centred on Geneva, Chelsea were beaten by a Swiss team at football during the week and now this....

Cue the X Files music....

End of an era - or the start of a new one?

I have been spending some time today sorting out the man cave and have decided that I am going to forego anything smaller than 20mm for my gaming. So my 15mm unpainted lead mountain is now surplus to requirements and some of it has found a home already! The ACW kit is next and I have already taken advantage of the free listing weekend on Ebay to stick the whole lot there.

What does this mean going forward then? Well, the short answer is I am not really sure! Many of my games are happily catered for using the famous block armies but even I am not so soulless that I would forego using models entirely. The cheap plastic 42/45mm figures will certainly provide me with much to mess about with for 20th century games and from what I have seen even other periods could be tackled quite cheaply if one is not too fussed about detail and quality.

A subtle change perhaps?

Who knows - but something is beginning to itch.

A Piece of Wargaming Nostalgia

A blast from the past

I expect that many wargamers 'of a certain age' are familiar with the original version of Charles Grant's classic book devoted to WW2 wargames. I have used these rules for probably more games than I can remember back in the early days of my wargames career and to this day I believe they are still a great set of rules. When Caliver Books announced that they were bringing out an expanded edition which includes some 6 chapters that never made it into the original I was intrigued. So intrigued that I decide to buy a copy. I am delighted that I have done so, albeit it with but a single reservation.

I will not describe the book in detail as it is so familiar. The extra chapters are mainly devoted to the effects of terrain and the use of maps and so are very handy for completeness sake. You also get a couple of playsheets for the rules which are rather handy.

The only reservation I have is the price - at £29.50 it does seem a little on the expensive side but I will enjoy it for all that. I recall the author's battle reports therein with some relish and the main thing for me in acquiring this book (aside from the sheer nostalgia value) is seeing the whys and wherefores of the rule mechanics being described in some detail - which is always helpful when writing one's own rules.

Needless to say you probably have a good idea where this might be going....

Last Stand at Aghios Margarita, The Aegean, 1943....Game Number 42

Of the many desperate fights for control of the small Aegean island of Kalimtos the action at Aghios Margarita was by far the most vicious. A small British infantry force, supported by machine guns and mortars, was attacked from two directions by a vastly superior German battle group made up of elements of both paratroops and mountain infantry. The object of the German assault was the small village of Margarita with its dominating church. The village was unremarkable except that it was located along the main road to the coast and so would provide a convenient staging post for the German attackers.

The British

1 x command (2 SP)
3 x infantry (each of 4 SP)
2 x MGs (each of 2 SP)
1 x Mortar (2 SP)

The Germans

1 x command (2 SP)
7 x infantry (each of 4 SP)
2 x MGs (each of 2 SP)
1 x Mortar (2 SP)

The Rules and Scenario Details

This was a bit of an experiment in that I fought the action using Bob Cordery's Memoir of Modern Battle rules (MOMBAT) but on a square grid rather than using hexes. I had set this game up a couple of weeks ago for Bob's Morschauser based set but never got around to fighting it as planned and so I thought it would be shame to waste the set up!

Much of the game was in the nature of an experiment and so the salient points of note were:

• Victory conditions were as per Memoir 44 i.e. complete units had to be destroyed - I decided on 6 for each side.
• Memoir 44 combat dice were used to additionally decide which units could be activated each turn.
• Adjacent units could 'battle back' if still in place after close range combat i.e. not destroyed or pushed back.
• Units were allowed the use of a single diagonal when moving or measuring ranges which counted as one.

The island of Kalimitos, somewhere in the Aegean, 1943....

The opening dispositions. The British had occupied the town with the command, the mortars, a machine gun and an infantry unit whilst a single infantry unit deployed in the small walled enclosure to the south and the reaming troops, with a machine gun, took up a position on the hill to the west. The Germans were attacking from the east and the south west, their approach being shielded by the low hills and small copses of pine trees.

Turn 1 saw the Germans advance from the East and the central unit was promptly plastered with mortar fire.

Turn 2 and the Germans continue their advance. The northernmost unit came under rifle fire from the town and suffered casualties as a result.

Turn 3 saw the German attack run into fierce resistance with the unit in the north pushed back with casualties, the unit in the centre was destroyed by machine gun fire and in the south a telling and accurate round of rifle fire virtually annihilated the luckless infantry assaulting the walled enclosure. 

Turn 4 and the southernmost German unit meets in nemesis beneath the walls bristling with Lee Enfield rifles. The Germans fought hard and to the last as the British suffered their first casualties of the day.

Turn 6 sees the German survivors in the north finished off at long range whilst the British mortars continue to plaster the hill and causing losses to their opposite numbers, trying gamely to salvage something from the situation. The German attack from the east has been roundly defeated - but what of the west?

Turn 7 and the Germans in the south west make some telling progress as they attempt to outflank the hills and enter the town from the west. The British infantry in the walled enclosure leave the safety of their position in an attempt to support their comrades in the west - with disastrous results!

Turn 8 and the outlying British forces fall back to the town with the Germans in the west in ragged pursuit.

Turn 9 and the sting in the tail. Although the British have been battered and are being chased into the town they are still able to inflict telling casualties on their pursuers.

Turn 10 and the remnants of the German assault force hastily reorganise themselves prior to rushing the town. Their casualties have been horrendous so this last assault is critically important.

Turn 11 and the Germans have almost cleared the way into the town. One of the British machine guns and the mortars have at last been silenced and victory is in sight!

Turn 12 and a knockout blow! The sole remaining British machine gun opens fire at point blank range and scythes down the attacking Germans at the entrance to the town. This is the final straw as it was the sixth and final German unit destroyed and so the British had held on.

The final score was 6 - 4 to the British.

The action worked surprisingly well and considering that a number of the mechanisms I was using were very much by way of experiments this was perhaps surprising. I was particularly pleased with the 'one diagonal' rule which made the effect of the square grid far less noticeable. The battle back rule worked very well and this I will certainly keep for future use. The only thing that I am leaning towards is the Command and Colours Napoleonic idea of using the number of blocks/bases/figures in a unit as being the determining factor in respect of the number of dice rolled. That will be something to ponder going forward though.

At a personal level this was the first game I have fought for a while and very enjoyable it was as well. It more than made up for the disappointment of a couple of parcels recently delivered that are both wrong for a variety of reasons and have needed to be sent back/reordered.

I have also made a promise to myself that I will play another 10 games before the end of the year so that I would have completed 52 in two years or one a fortnight.