The Naval Dimension of the Arab Revolt

This is a great read although there are a couple of editorial errors. Pen and Sword are guilty of this occasionally but still get my vote (and a fair amount of my money!) for the subjects they cover.

It must be said that when one thinks of the Arab Revolt during the Great War that one's thoughts do not naturally alight on the subject of naval warfare. Indeed, the most common 'ships of the desert' are usually of the humped variety rather than coal burning. However, control of the Red Sea was of paramount importance to the Allied cause due to the Suez Canal and the shipping routes to India.

By the time the Arab revolt started in 1916 the Royal Navy had pretty much cleared the seas of German warships and so only the odd raider or submarine was likely to feature and even then their activities would be well away from the Red Sea. The Turkish Navy was focused primarily in the Black Sea and so, for all intents and purposes, the Turkish Arabian armies had no naval support. To be honest this was not a major inconvenience for them but it did mean that the Allies could not afford to allow them the luxury of having a naval presence astride the route to the Suez Canal.

The Allied Red Sea Squadron was made up of some arthritic Royal Navy cruisers and gunboats and a smattering of ships (including some very useful troopships) supplied by the Royal Indian Marine. These were used for patrol, policing, revenue protection, troop transport and supply purposes and occasionally in support of land actions. The book above tells the story of the Red Sea Squadron and the role it played in support of the Arab Revolt. In addition to this I also have a couple of PDFs of some old editions of the Naval Review for 1924 to 1926 that has some further details.

This was not the war of great lines of battleships and fleets manoeuvring; rather it is the low level routine bread and butter naval duties that are no less important for all that.

I fully intend exploring the naval dimension but with a little twist. If I am honest gaming the naval side of the Arab Revolt historically would be of limited shelf life. For sure there are some good games to be had but these would be very scenario specific. I want something with a little more depth to it so that the naval dimension becomes equally as important to both sides and not just as a one-sided area denial exercise.

My plan is to work on the basis that the Turks have a naval presence in the area supported by the Germans. There will be a number of assumptions. German East Africa will still be holding out, albeit surrounded by the Allies. Madasahatta will also feature - at least in its naval capacity.

I need to work out the specifics for each side but the best news of all is that I can make use of the range of 1:2400th scale models from Tumbling Dice.

Again, this will be quite low level in terms of the number and type of ships in use although I may spring a couple of surprises for each side. For the most part the forces will consist of older warships supported by requisitioned merchantman with the odd dash of modernity thrown in for good measure.

I shall be using Bob Cordery's excellent Gridded Naval Wargames as the rules of choice for this little 'sideshow of a sideshow'.

On Painting and WW2 Coastal Combat

A selection of S Boat colour schemes - I suspect that mine will probably be overall white....

It is really strange how the smallest of things can re-energise and reinvigorate the creative juices. Having my ‘pop up’ painting station has given me a massive injection of what I would call focused effort. The table I use is 3ft by 2ft so can only support a specific piece of work at a time. For me this is very important as it is a good way of ensuring that I concentrate on a particular project rather than flitting from one thing to another! I spent some quality time working on the 1:4800th scale WW2 ships Sunday afternoon and the progress was very satisfying. This coming weekend I will have both Saturday and Sunday afternoon spare so the plan will be to get the highlighting taken care of and also the decks – in fact, should everything go to plan I may be able to get the ships finished bar the varnishing and basing. That would be just peachy!

With the accelerated pace of painting (and trust me, that is NOT an expression I would have ever used about my humble efforts!) the project paperwork now needs some immediate attention in the shape of the fleet lists and the name labels for the bases. This will be straightforward to do, as will the inevitable play sheet. If I am honest it would be really handy to get this first batch of models completed by Christmas as it will enable me to get a couple of games in over the holiday period.

With the start of the new year I will be tackling the Kurz and Allison ACW Spencer Smith 30mm project which I am very excited about – even more so with the planned scratch built ships I will be building alongside the figures. There is also of course, the looming spectre of Cruel Seas by Warlord Games being released in December….

Not long to wait! I am really excited about this.

I have followed Warlord Games’ Cruel Seas with interest and am excited about the prospect of this. I took a look at the Heroics and Ros website as they a very nice range of metal ships in the same scale (1:300^th) which will add to the variety of types that can be represented. It is rather strange in that whilst I have been keen on the subject matter for many years now I have yet to tackle the subject using models. I have also completely missed a number of very good sets of rules concerning coastal warfare by David Manley which is basically unforgivable….

My particular interest in this regard is the Mediterranean and Aegean which saw a lot of activity using smaller craft – all of which is eminently gameable. The challenge will be locating suitable models for some of the more locally requisitioned craft.

I acquired the Kindle version of the above during one of Amazon's sales for 99p - I enjoyed it so much that I went and bought the hardback version!

In preparation for the release of Cruel Seas I have been dipping into a couple of books I have on the subject including The E Boat Threat by Bryan Cooper and the superb Schnellboot: An Operational History by Lawrence Paterson. I also have a copy of Motor Gunboat 658: the Small Boat War in the Mediterranean by L.C. Reynolds which is very good. There are few other books I am keen to add to this section of the library but at this stage I do not need to go too mad. I note there are a couple of Ospreys in their Vanguard series which are of interest and I suspect that some of the artwork will appear in the Cruel Seas rulebook.

It looks very much like next year will be rather a wet one in that there are a number of naval projects I shall be tackling. After the 1:4800th scale North Atlantic set up is complete (including destroyers) I shall be scratch building ACW river gunboats as well as whatever I need to do for Cruel Seas. There is also the germ of an idea I have in connection with the Arab Revolt project involving, yes you've guessed it, more ships....

In 1:2400th this time....

The Weekly Sitrep....Number 1

As ever in Chateau Crook the weekend has been a busy one. To begin with my daughter and my grandson were home for the weekend and as it is close of November the 5th we headed out to a local firework display on Saturday evening. It was great fun albeit rather chilly - especially when you had to wait around 45 minutes in an open field for it to start. It was good fun though and my grandson loved it.

SWMBO and I made three separate shopping trips over the course of Saturday and Sunday which included the Christmas drink shop. As a result of a special discount (as well as her 20% staff discount we hustled up a dozen bottles of wine of various sorts at rather less than half price - for the nth time I am really pleased that my good lady wife works for M and S!

Sunday afternoon was spent on some gaming related items including the first dry brush on the WW2 ships for my North Atlantic project. I was able to tackle all the ships at this first stage with the second next weekend. I always like this part of the painting at the dry brushing really ‘pops’ the outline of the model. The next step will be the highlighting followed by the decks. As mentioned before the plan is to have these ready by the end of the year at the latest. I also have some forty-odd destroyers to go with the first batch but as these are not essential for the Bismarck operation there is no immediate rush to get them done. 

The two styles of basing under consideration. That on the left will give a closer ‘Kurz and Allison’ look although that on the right looks better.

The other task I undertook was to see what the Spencer Smith ACW figures looked like on the bases. I have been exchanging emails with Bob Cordery about the merits of using his basing system as opposed to what I originally intended using. The standard base I am using is 2” by 1” and originally I was going to have two figures on such a base. My entire infantry organisation was arranged around this so, for example, I could field a 4 strength point unit of four bases each with 2 figures making 8 in total. This in turn means that I will have 6 sub units from my planned 48 figure regiment. So far so good but, the figures look a little too spread out for what I am planning.

When you look at the battle scenes depicted in the Kurz and Allison prints the infantry are always deployed virtually shoulder to shoulder. This is what clinched the decision for me - as well as wanting a uniformity of approach in respect of basing (my Arab revolt collection will have the infantry based in 3s) - and so I shall be using 3 figures rather than 2.

The work station viewed from the kitchen. Lined up are the Germans in the top row with the Royal Navy underneath.

The view from the lounge. 

I figured it was probably about time that I revealed my new, lounge-based work station which has made a huge difference to what I can do and when I can do it. The location is far better than in the loft and also the benefit of being near a radiator, a fridge and the downstairs bathroom!

On a separate matter I have decided that from here on in I shall be writing a weekly summary of what has been going on in my world and so this is the first edition of the Weekly Sitrep. Naturally I will be reporting anything else that happens on an as and when basis.

I hope you like it.

North Atlantic Operations....Part 3

The Axis and Allies: War at Sea rules from the second edition starter set. I am using a variant of these for my North Atlantic project.

Work on the 1:4800^th scale WW2 ships continues apace and the other parts of the project are gradually falling into place. I shall be using a variant of the rules from Axis and Allies: War at Sea as these have several practical advantages in the short term. To begin with I have the map sheets that came with the starter set laminated and ready to use. They have an offset square grid which coincides with the search boards of the North Atlantic contained in the Avalon Hill game Bismarck. As an aside I once ran a mini campaign on a similar theme with a self-drawn map based loosely on the Bismarck search boards – the scale was much larger but it worked Ok for a club night game.

A ship stat card from the game. The variant rules I am using do not use the special abilities. I was never a fan of special abilities as it meant that a one off event that occurred historically was replicated every time that particular ship was used. It also made a virtue of abilities that were not limited to a particular ship or even navy.

Whilst I no longer have the ship cards for the original Axis and Allies: War at Sea game I do have all of the stats in tabular form so will be able to fight any number of actions readily enough. At this stage all I need to do is to prepare some national fleet lists which will be easy enough to do.

The paper playing mat that comes with the starter set being used for a game. The mat is two sided with the reverse being a plain seascape. Note the island tiles in use above. My own version has been laminated as the paper wears out along the folds very quickly. The squares are 3 1/2" across.

The rule mechanics are very straightforward. Essentially ships have a number of hits based primarily on their tonnage and have two armour ratings that are used to assess any damage. Ships typically have between 2 and 6 hull hits. There is a normal armour rating which represents the number of hits or ‘successes’ as they are known that need to be scored by the attacking player in order to score a single point of hull damage. The second armour rating is described as ‘vital armour’ and should an attacking player score successes that equal or better this rating then the target is destroyed. Each d6 the firing player rolls score 1 success for a roll of 4 or 5 and 2 for a 6. Anything else is a miss. This mechanic is also used for all other types of combat. Ships roll a number of d6 depending on the calibre and number of guns or other weapons being used which reduces with range. As a result of hull hits a ship may lose some of its special abilities but when it is down to a single remaining point it is classed as crippled which impacts just about everything. Ships generally have a maximum speed of anything from 1 to 4 with certain ships requiring a successful dice roll to use a higher speed. This is typically for things like modernised WW1 era battleships.

It is quite s ‘gamey’ system – rolling great fistfuls of d6s is always enjoyable - but is good fun to play. As I have everything I need to use these rules it would churlish of me not to.

The variant I am using makes the rules a little more ‘naval wargame-ish’ in that, for example, ship facing is taken into consideration as well turning ability. Although they have been written with hexes in mind there is no reason why I should not persevere with offset squares as the relationship between hexes and offset squares is mercifully quite close.

The plan is to have the collection finished by the end of the year when I can then start on the Spencer Smith ACW collection - Warlord Game's Cruel Seas notwithstanding....

North Atlantic Operations....Part 2

HMS London returning home at the end of 1945

I had a busy weekend with various things but have managed to put a shift in with the 1:4800th WW2 ships and other parts of my North Atlantic project. The ships are all based and undercoated (not the destroyers as yet as these will follow once the larger stuff has been completed) so the real work can now commence. My new painting station - by the patio doors in the lounge - is an ideal location for daylight so I am actually enjoying the process for a change (my aversion to painting being well known). Setting up the area is quick and easy as the table folds away in seconds and everything I need is in the sideboard about 3ft away.

I have settled on another shade of blue for the ship bases as my previous and long serving Humbrol Matt 25 is a little on the dark side for these diminutive models. Whilst we were out on Sunday for some shopping I had a quick look around in Hobbycraft and found a good medium blue/grey enamel - Matt 89 Middle Blue as I recall - that is a pretty close match for the main shade of the Axis and Allies: War at Sea maps.

Now I know this is a little on the sky blue side but the plan is to wash this with blue/green ink before adding the waves and wakes. The ship name label and national ensign will also help to reduce the 'blueness'. I am not a fan of mixing colours and I must confess to preferring my sea to look blue rather than grey or green.

I dug out the aforementioned maps to reacquaint myself with them and will be fine for what I am planning and best of all the squares are 3 1/2” across the flats. This means that the largest ship base of 7cm will fit in with no overhang. I was also able to locate the printed copy of Axis and Allies: War at Sea using miniatures with  all the ship and aircraft stats in tabular form. I no longer have the ships or cards that came with the original game but this little lot will more than do the job - all I need to do is draw up some fleet lists with the stats. The rules and the stats are now safely in a folder for me to read whilst on my daily commute.

The classic profile of a County Class Cruiser

Something I did with the models over the weekend that I am rather pleased with is convert a Royal Navy County Class cruiser into one of the quite different looking sub classes. I needed a model of HMS London but MY Miniatures do not make one. I read somewhere that she was refitted using  a similar superstructure layout to a Colony class cruiser so as I had one of these spare, plus a slightly miscast County class I was able marry the two together to give a reason approximation of the type. the main differences were that the London had a much lighter rear superstructure and only two funnels - the forward of which was partially encased in the forward superstructure.

Port and Starboard profile drawings of HMS London

It was quite straightforward to do albeit a little time-consuming and fiddly. The worst part was filing odd pieces of superstructure to size but I got there in the end. Whilst it will not win any prizes for super-detailing the end result will definitely pass muster. The model is currently undercoated with its near sisters awaiting its topcoat. Once I have this lot finished I will of course being posting to the blog with pictures of everything.

I really feel like I achieved something this weekend as aside from the above I was also able to sort out the 15mm WW1 Turks and Arabs. There are a couple of items I need to add to complete this but nothing too involved. For the Arabs I need some Rolls Royce Armoured Cars, some machine guns and some French artillery. I will also need to change the command groups slightly but nothing major. The Turks are good to go as they are.

All in all then, a very positive start.

Being Mostly Back in the North Atlantic....

1:4800th scale WW2 Japanese produced by Shapeways. These are superbly detailed models (note the aircraft on the flight deck of the carrier) but are not cheap. then again, compared to MY Miniatures very little is!

It has been a busy few weeks since my birthday at the end of last month (28/09). We seem to have had a lot of things going at home and so my dedicated home based hobby time has been a little restricted. I say home based as this is where the painting and gaming take place - my commute to and from work is spent reading and researching so I am still making progress albeit in a different direction.

This weekend sees what passes for normality in our house in that SWMBO will be at work tomorrow afternoon (she works alternate Fridays and Saturdays) as will my son. He is currently working 6 days a week - he is a self-employed electrician - and doing rather well. Finally my daughter is back at university (in Reading) so it means that for five glorious hours I will have the house to myself.

I have a couple of things to take care of on the domestic front but for the most part I will finally be able to get down to some painting.

I came across the above picture of some painted Leicester Micro Models 1:4800th scale warships (now produced by MY Miniatures) and a copy of the catalogue from the late 1970s. Compared to Shapeways and C in C these are very basic by comparison but manage to capture the profile of the ships represented rather nicely. Crucially they are also very modestly priced compared to the others at 40p per item for all but the largest vessels.

I have the last of the models from MY Miniatures for the 1:4800th scale WW2 North Atlantic project - if you recall this is based on the Avalon Hill board game Bismarck - so will be basing and undercoating them. I will also need to make sure that I have the appropriate name labels so I will need to spend some time on the Mac as well. I know I have most of these but it will be easy enough to print out a fresh sheet. I also have sufficient ensigns as well although I will probably need to get some more Royal Navy types for when I venture into the Mediterranean.

I am feeling pretty positive about my projects at the moment as for the most immediate ones I have everything I need to tackle them. I have all the figures I need for the WW1 Arab Revolt in 15mm for the Portable Wargame, I have all the Spencer Smith 30mm ACWs for the Kurz and Allison project as well as everything for OGRE.

When I say everything I should qualify that by saying I have everything I need for the first phase which would be more than enough for gaming purposes. The Arab Revolt will need some armoured cars and possibly some French mountain artillery. Some tropical service uniformed British specialists would be useful - I am thinking machine guns and similar - so I will keep an eye out for some. Apart from the armoured cars none of this is really urgent and indeed, even the cars are not really compulsory.

For the Kurz and Allison collection the only other thing I need would be some ships but again, these are not essential in the short term and as they are being scratch built will form a side project in any event.

That is the plan then and I only hope I can stick with it - Cruel Seas by warlord games not withstanding....

Cuba? You're Havana laugh....

The national flag of Cuba

“From Little Acorns Do Mighty Oaks Grow” or so the saying goes. In this particular case it is very apt as it concerns the usual fate that befalls me when I fall victim to a single source of inspiration. In this particular instance it all started when SWMBO and I finally settled on our holiday location for next year. For a variety of reasons, too numerous to go into, we have booked two weeks in Cuba in June on an all-inclusive, adult only basis.

Cuba will be a first for us in that we have never flown long haul before as our usual holiday destinations tend to be in the Mediterranean with the occasional foray into the Atlantic to the Canary Island or even more daringly, Cape Verde. To be quite blunt about it the cost of going to Cuba for two weeks on an all-inclusive, adult only, 5 star basis was only a couple of hundred pounds dearer than going to the European part of the Mediterranean on a similar package. You can get some good deals but sadly in my experience the all-inclusive European option nowadays tends to be on the basis of the absolute bare minimum they can get away with so diluted drinks, limited choices of food and charges for whatever they can seem to be the order of the day. All inclusive for us is a huge convenience and whilst I must confess to missing the flexibility that a self-catering/bed and breakfast/half or full board basis can offer, the pros usually outweigh the cons.

We will be flying onto Holguin on the way to our resort which is roughly an hour from the airport (located on the coast where it says Holguin on the map, facing the Atlantic Ocean). 

We will be based towards the Eastern end of the island and the airport we will be travelling to is at Holguin. We are staying on the Atlantic coast of the island and the plan is to tackle a few trips whilst we are there – Havana being an obvious choice – instead of lazing on the beach with a Kindle in one hand and a Cubre Libre in the other.

As part of my inevitable reading around the history of the island (and largely ignoring anything Castro/Bay of Pigs/Missile Crisis related) I have found myself looking at the Spanish American War of 1898 and the fighting in and around Cuba.

I have never considered the war of 1898 as a gaming choice and at this stage I am certainly not planning to do so but that would not stop me from reading about the conflict. The war was quite low level in terms of numbers but the outcome certainly established the US as a world power. At a more personal level I note that Kurz and Allison – of ACW fame - produced a series of prints on the war (8 in all as I recall)  which look suitably heroic and inspiring in an old toy soldier kind of way.

Picked up for a song and highly regarded.

I picked up the above book (which is a hefty 740 page doorstop of a volume) from Ebay for a mere £4. I have read Ivan Musicant’s book Divided Waters which is a great history of the American Civil War afloat and so when I found out, via a Facebook group I belong to, that he had written a title about the war my curiosity was piqued. I am after a couple of other titles – purely for completeness sake of course – on the war and who knows? One day I may game elements of it. The Osprey Campaign Title on San Juan Hill by the indefatigable Angus Konstam is supposed to be pretty good as well so I may well look that out and the new Men at Arms title which also covers the US in the Philippines.

The ships for the naval side are available from Tumbling Dice and Navwar (amongst others) and the land actions lend themselves to both the Portable Wargame and The Men Who Would be Kings. Figures are available from Old Glory amongst others and if I remember correctly there are a couple of Volley and Bayonet supplements covering the war.

Is this another project for DC to tackle at some point? To be honest I am not sure without having read about the war in more detail. Certainly the scale lends itself well to the style and size of action I prefer fighting but for now I have more than enough to be getting on with.

Of course those darned acorns have a nasty habit of growing into something much larger....