By Dawn’s Early Light....The North Sea, 1914....Game Number 57, Part 1

Battle cruisers opening fire

The following game is dedicated to the memory of Alan Cook who recently lost his long battle against illness. Both the models and the copy of the Avalon Hill game Jutland were donated to me shortly before his death in the hope that good use would be made of them going forward. Unfortunately I was unable to get a game organised before his death but I hope that the following will serve, in a small way, as a fitting tribute to his memory.

R.I.P. Alan Cook

Somewhere in the North Sea, Autumn 1914....

H.M.S. Tiger

Captain I. M. Hyde-Bowned of H.M.S. Tiger was not in a good mood. His ship was bringing up the rear of the line and due to a faulty interpretation of a signal from the flagship had missed the turn ordered some fifteen minutes earlier. This had been rectified but the ship was now some way behind where it should be. To make matters worse, the rest of the squadron seemed to have gone to full speed so Tiger had to work up from the 12 knots she was making in order to merely hold station, let alone catch up and assume her correct station. Under his breath Hyde-Bowned cursed his squadron commander as being a hot headed fool - why did the flagship not wait for an acknowledgement of the signal? Why had they suddenly gone to full speed? These would be questions for another time he mused as all the while the great ship thundered ahead to reestablish contact with the remainder of the squadron.

H.M.S. Lion - Flagship

Whilst the Tiger was busy attempting to catch up with the rest of her squadron the bridge of the flagship, H.M.S. Lion, was a flurry of activity and of tense anticipation. Ever since the turn had been ordered in response to a sighting of heavy smoke and the ship cleared for action the buzz of excitement throughout had been tangible. The ‘hot headed fool’ of a squadron commander, Rear Admiral R. U. Inept,  had ordered full speed ahead (to maintain formation the order was for 25 knots) and had also instructed the accompanying destroyer escort to follow at best speed to the rear and off the aft quarter on the port side. The last thing he wanted was for smoke interference across the great ships firing arcs. Inept was champing at the bit to engage the enemy as recent muted, but nonetheless rumbling discontent in the press, due to his handling of the battlecruisers, had cast something of a pall over what had thus far been a stellar career. Inept was destined for high command but even so, a telling victory would allay any fears as to his suitability as well as cementing his place in both society and public opinion.

The approaching column appeared to consist of three heavy ships with a small escort all heading due south at what appeared to be around 24 knots. Inept’s squadron was steaming north east and ideally wanted to come between them and their escape route back to German waters. It would be a race to make sure that did not happen.

S.M.S. Derfflinger - Flagship

With his command on the return leg of yet another fruitless sweep just outside of Norwegian waters, Konteradmiral Noel Von Dervall was delighted at the reports of heavy smoke coming from the South West. He reasoned that this was a small force as the speed it was travelling at meant that the so called Grand Fleet would be left far behind. This was an important consideration as he had no wish to engage with superior numbers of heavier metal than he had at his disposal. It would be battle cruisers and knowing the British ships as did was confident that he could beat them. Whilst his orders did not permit him to engage the enemy unless in overwhelming strength he was able to do so in self defence. The British were attempting to get between him and Wilhelmshaven so he would need to either avoid them entirely or to fight past them. The former held little appeal and so the order to engage the enemy was given. From the bridge of the Derfflinger the orders went out to the rest of the squadron as the three ships made ready for battle.

The Opposing Plans

The Royal Navy aimed to cut off the German line of retreat and then rely on their heavier artillery to beat the Germans. Inept knew that H.M.S. Tiger would enter the fray at some point which would give them an additional ship advantage. Moreover, their weight of fire was superior as only one of the three German ships carried 12 inch guns whilst half of the British ships Mounted 13.5 inch guns. With the Royal Navy between the Germans and their base it would only be a matter of time before superior numbers and weight of fire would tell.

The Germans had no intention of being trapped by the British and in Von Dervall they had a commander that was not afraid to engage the enemy with his full force or required. Once his squadron was ‘base side’ of the Royal Navy he could dictate the course of the action as he knew that they would not dare follow the Germans too closely for two reasons. Firstly they would not want to be too close to the main High Seas Fleet base in case of a sortie by the fleet and secondly, there was always the risk of submarines or even minefields.

In either case, both sides would desire a speedy conclusion to any action.

The combatants. 1:3000th scale ships by Navwar as painted and based by Alan Cook. The only change I will make will be to repaint the bases to my usual standard with the name and ensign added and undertake any minor touching up required. 

The Game

The battle was fought using 1:3000th models and a slightly tweaked version of the rules from the Avalon Hill game Jutland. The firing rules assume a scale of  1 inch to 1,000 yards meaning a maximum daylight sighting range (again, within the game) of 24,000 yards or 24 inches. For movement a movement point equals 5/8th inch or 2.625 Knots.

For firing ranges I am going to use a scale of 2 inches to a thousand yards and for movement I am going to use the simple expedient of taking the ships maximum speed and dividing this by three to give the movement distance in inches.

The ships will be starting initially deployed at maximum daylight range (24,000 yards) with the Germans facing due South and the Royal Navy North East. Initially H.M.S. Tiger will be out of sight and off table, similarly there will be no light ships, destroyers or light cruisers, involved. All other rules remain as per Jutland although I am using the updated version which allows for secondary gunfire and a slightly different damage system.

Part 2 will see the action fought.

To be continued....

The road goes ever on and on....

50p for the very smart hardback title and 20p for the travel edition of Othello - with 15mm squares you may think it is a little on the small side for a Portable Wargame but I couldn’t possibly comment....It is magnetic and complete with 52 black and white counters that are very useful for relatively inconspicuous hit markers.

It has been a good weekend in many ways but with a sobering conclusion. To begin with I scored a couple of useful items at our local boot sale - for the princely sum of 70p - as well as picking up the latest copy of Wargames Illustrated.

I have now purchased this magazine for two months running and I cannot remember the last time I did that! The main reason for getting this edition is for the set of rules by that very nice Mr. Andy Callan - needless to say there is a cunning plan....

The sobering conclusion I meant ironed at the start of this very brief post concerns the gaming gentlemen from whom I recently acquired the 1:3000th WW1 collection and copy of the Avalon Hill game, Jutland. He had been seriously ill for some time and has finally lost his battle. I never met with him personally although we spoke on the phone quite recently and despite his illness his passion for our hobby shone through. I had hoped to get a game in using his collection so he could see it in action but sadly was unable to get anything organised in time in the man cave for various reasons.

What I am going to do though, is to celebrate his collection and his life with a game in the next few days that will appear on the blog.

I only hope that if he is looking down from that great wargames club in the sky he will forgive the delay and enjoy the game in any event.

R.I.P.

WW2 Japanese for Burma

Japanese Type 97 Tank Chi-Ha. I remember building the Airfix kit of this many, many years ago

Well this is a post that I would not have thought of drafting six months ago! Since the whole Burma/Pacific WW2 thing became a thing I was mindful of the fact that of course I would need some Japanese opposition. I spent a pleasant couple of hours on and off over a few days looking at various ranges of figures to match up with the 14th Army opposition. I finally settled on the range produced by Frontline Wargaming, based in the wilds of deepest Kent at Gillingham.

A selection of codes from the Frontline 20mm Japanese range....

....including the sword wielding officer and a rather stout ‘knee’ mortar.

The range covers all the basics of infantry, support weapons, command and various personality types including the inevitable sword wielding officer, banzai charging types and ‘knee mortars’.

My modus operandi with this lot is quite simple. I shall be raising a force of around 50 or so riflemen with support weapons and gun crews etc bringing the overall total to around 100 figures in total. This will also be the size of the 14th Army and after having had a look through Eric’s collection this is slightly less than a quarter of the whole!

I have the artillery I need for the 14th Army and a quick look at the Irregular Miniatures Really Useful Gun range will furnish me with what I need for the Japanese.

I shall be adding a smattering of vehicles in due course - who can resist the lure of some Japanese armour? - and for buildings I reckon that something from any of the Vietnam ranges would work although I do not expect to be needing many of them.

After a period of sorting out an immense of amount of Eric related stuff it will be good to get back to attending to some of my own bits and pieces in earnest. The Del Prado collection and the Spencer Smith 30mm ACW set up has been staring at me as if to guilt trip me into action with them - and they would be quite right to do so!

I shall look to attend to the Burma front later in the year once the priority stuff has been tackled and it will be something to look forward to.

An 18th Century Interlude

The 2019 revised edition of the book first published in 1964 tells the story of the son of an Irishman fleeing to Catholic Europe and rising to high rank in the Austrian Army. Published by Helion but I got my copy during the Naval and Military Press summer sale.

I have always had a soft spot for the 18th century. Ever since I first clapped eyes on a copy of Charge! And also The Wargame I have been interested in the stately machinations and ‘civilised’ nature of warfare during that dramatic century. Throw in the concept of the imagi-nation and you have a veritable smorgasbord of temptation for a multitude of gaming projects.

For me the only drag would of course be painting the figures....

There are number of solutions to this dilemma and realistically the only one that would be viable for me would be painting the figures myself and luckily there is a wonderful selection available from Spencer Smith in 30mm that would be just the ticket. This is if should I wish to explore something during the Tricorne era in the traditional manner. I have certainly not dismissed this idea and so the Grand Duchy of Artois and the Electorate of Kronenbourg may yet see the light of day but for the movement. Have something rather more radical to experiment with.

In terms of the periods of interest there are many. I rather like the French and Indian War along with Clive’s adventures in India, the various Jacobite rebellions and I have also looked at the American Revolution. Of the four the former would be most likely to ever see the light of day but to be honest I would prefer something a little more, for want of a better word, regular. I am not so keen on the Seven Years War in Europe but the slightly earlier War of the Austrian Succession ticks the requisite number of boxes. If I am honest the main one these being that the uniforms tended to be of a simpler cut meaning easier to paint!

In 30mm using Spencer Smith there is a dedicated range for this period based on the classic 18th century range and the figures therein, especially the cavalry, are far better than the original versions but still with that old school charm. I mentioned ‘something rather more radical’ so it should come as no surprise to mention that I have a modest set up read to paint using 1:600th scale troops.

Guilty as charged M’Lud - I have my very own lead mountain albeit more like a lead speed bump given the size of the figures!

I have a goodly selection of 1:600th bits and pieces and the range of stuff available from Magister Militum is pretty expansive. Recently I have been looking more and more at this part of the collection and so am keen to do something with it. The Tricorne element came about simply because someone made me an offer I could not refuse and as the set up is pretty much complete I would not need to add anything to it other than paint! I have some other things in front of this though but as an useful aside these figures are the same scale as the ships from Oak and Iron which, although slightly earlier, could be readily used alongside if required.

The book at the top of this post was a little lockdown treat and I am really pleased to have acquired it.  Von Browne was very highly regarded by the Austrians and the book covers his campaigns very nicely with events in Italy and against the Prussians during the Seven Years War. Interestingly it also looks at the perennial Turkish question along the borders of the empire with that of the Ottomans.

One of my all time favourite films - great story, beautifully shot but s-l-o-w!

Wonderfully inspiring and with my recent borrowing of the soundtrack to the film Barry Lyndon (many thanks Mr Fox - much appreciated) I am experiencing something of a ‘fighting Irishmen abroad during the 18th century’ distraction at the moment BUT.....the Del Prado Napoleonic need some TLC as do the 30mm ACW Spencer Smiths, not to mention the gazillion counters that need cutting out.

These must come first but in the meantime I will play and enjoy the aforementioned soundtrack....

Purely for recreational purposes to be sure....

Even More on Eric’s Napoleonic Collection

It is not Napoleonic but it does have a bearing on this post

I have to say that sorting out this portion of Eric’s overall collection has not been a pleasurable experience! Frankly it is a mess. There are jumbled units, figures off bases and guns, crews and limbers residing in separate boxes. Throw in the usual Eric mixture of manufacturers - usually within the same unit - move on from the period in question (as Eric did), dispose of a big chunk of it, put the remnants into boxes and store, throw in several house moves and voila! You have me reduced to a gibbering wreck ‘Trying to make some of it all, when you see it makes no sense at all.....’ I should point out that in no way am I blaming anybody for this, least of all Eric, but time and circumstance have conspired to make a pig’s breakfast of what must have been originally a truly magnificent collection.

It has been a real effort to sort this lot out but I think I am finally getting a handle on it. In truth a lot of bits and pieces are moving on to their new homes but there is still a fair amount of stuff left. Luckily this can be partially offset by the fact that my Del Prado collection can make use of the old and unloved - a quick rebase, a touch where needed and lashings of gloss varnish Will hide a multitude of sins! I have been wading through what I thought was the last of it  - the aforementioned and thrice cursed artillery - when I came across a box of cavalry, specifically French Cavalry.

Line Lancers, two regiments of Dragoons (note the 24 figure unit - proper ‘old school’!) and some Hussars

More Hussars and some Line Chasseurs a Cheval and one of the numerous mounted command figures

These appear to be a mixture of Lamming and Minifigs S Range and despite the prolonged period of storage are not in bad shape at all - certainly nothing a dab of superglue here and there, a rebase and lashings of gloss varnish wouldn’t put right. Assuming that no buyers can be found for them then I shall take a few figures from each to add to my Del Prado collection - bearing in mind that my cavalry units are anything from 2 to 5 figures strong. I have to say that I am quite excited at the prospect of adding a few of Eric’s figures to me collection and it would be good to see them take to the tabletop once again.

Now the photo at the head of this post is that of a book I have read many times in the past but have been without a copy until very recently. It is quite superb and it is a theatre I would like to explore in rather more detail. Eric served in Burma from late 1944 I believe and during his retirement years when his wargaming moved into WW2, he amassed some truly Eric sized armies. The painted collection  - which Bill assures me is enormous - will be the next up for disposal but there was also a fair amount of unpainted stuff. Eric was very fastidious at organising his units and so boxes of figures with the name of the unit and all the required figures was a major help when I was sorting it all out.

The last unpainted army of his was for a 1944 14th army and in true Eric tradition this is complete with the usual range of manufacturers, all the appropriate supporting arms and organised down to platoon/section level. His rules of choice were, I believe, Rapid Fire which are a very ‘Eric’ style set.

Where do I come in?

Well, I have been looking out for a WW2 project that would not be too armour heavy and would be a little off the mainstream. I wanted primarily an infantry style set up so the theatre certainly ticks that particular box. For vehicles there are of course those wonderful Japanese tanks as well M3s amongst others for the allies. The fighting was intense, brutal, up close and personal and with little quarter asked or given. Horrible stuff in respect of history and very challenging to work effectively on the tabletop. For my tank battle fix I would naturally be looking at Europe and 1:600th - the desert would be fun but everything I have is for the former.

To be honest I could take an expanded Portable Wargame sized force out of the number of figures that Eric had amassed with it scarcely making a dent in the entire collection and so this is my plan. I have some Japanese on order and will think about the vehicles in due course. The Japanese force will be key as they can take on plenty of other armies so the prospect of tying this in ultimately with island hopping and Flat Top (bring on the US) is a compelling one. 

It would also be in a small way a tribute to the man that made this all possible.

More to follow in due course.

More on Eric’s Napoleonic Collection

A mystery unit that after investigation turned out to be French Garde D’Honneur. In my Napoleonic set up there are 2 or 3 units worth present!

The uniform plate from volume 2 of the Funcken Napoleonic titles

The sorting out of the remnant’s of Eric’s Napoleonic collection continues apace - it is a pleasant diversion in the evenings - and homes have been found for a goodly chunk of it. There is a fair bit left  but I have Carte Blanche to cherry pick any bits and pieces that might take my fancy to add to my own collection. In truth this would probably only be of use to someone that uses small representational units a la Command and Colours or the Portable Napoleonic Wargame so infantry units of 3 to 5 figures, cavalry of 2 to 4 or artillery with a gun and two or three gunners are perfectly acceptable.

The figures that are left over seem to be a mixture of classic Minifigs and Hinchliffe although some others are present - Lamming for example. There is a lot of stuff that to be honest is probably beyond saving but given that this collection has for the most part been in storage for nigh on fifty years and has undergone numerous house moves it is hardly surprising. The figures that remain that I shall be using will be rebased, refurbished where needed - mainly dusting - and given lashings of gloss varnish. It will be good to get some of these veteran warriors on the tabletop once again.

The infantry units that are going to be used in this way consist of Nassauers, Brunswick Avant Garde Jägers,  Old Guard Grenadiers in Greatcoats and Highlanders. There is also a lot of gun crews - British and French - that could be used, not to mention a selection of gun models on a truly biblical scale!

The rather dashing unit at the top of this post - the Garde D’Honneur had a rather short service life being raised in 1813 and disbanded the following year. They were originally the sons of the wealthy and ‘nobility’ that volunteered to help address the crippling losses that the cavalry sustained during 1812. The volunteers supplied their own mounts and equipment and initially there were around 15,000 of them bringing some 20,000 horses. Originally they were known as Lifeguards but thanks to a high rate of desertion this was downgraded to Garde D’Honneur. They served with the Imperial Guard but did not have guard status. Although not around for 1815 this is a lovely looking unit that is too good not to use!

Thoughts on WW1 Afloat

Elements of the Royal Navy....

....and their High Seas Fleet opposition - and a couple of stray Frenchmen!

I seem to be caught on the horns of a very pleasant dilemma! I am in the fortunate position of being able to look at gaming WW1 naval actions effectively in three scales. At the top end - 1:1200th - of course there is the recently rediscovered portion of the Turkish imagi-navy from Eric’s South East Asia campaign of long ago. Then there is my recent acquisition of a 1:3000th set up and finally there is the  considerable collection of ship counters I have based on the Avalon Hill game of Jutland - and these are roughly 1:4800th.

I will outline my thought processes behind each collection and how I tend to make use of this wide variety of scales. For the record I will not be looking at 1:1800th although 1:2400th may well be an option at some point. I should also mention that I fully intend using a table top with a maximum size of 6ft by 4ft.

1:1200th

This is the scale of the collector and the models available tend to be expensive although there are a few cheap alternatives that can be used - M.Y. Miniatures have a small range for the period and there are also some plastic kits - Airfix and Revell. With a battleship being 6” long or more it follows that using only a few models a side would make sense in the available sense. This is good in another way as it would keep the expenditure down. I have said that I am keen to make use of the Turks once again so with a few selected purchases it would be all I need.

1:3000th 

My newly acquired collection in this scale will work for large actions and small so has a lot of practical versatility. It also has the advantage of there being a huge amount of material available from Navwar (which is only half and hour up the road from me!). The only drawback for me is that the models are a little on the small side but this is largely offset by the huge variety that can be called upon.

1:4800th

I have no intention in using models for this scale but I do have a huge number of counters derived from the Avalon Hill game Jutland. This is the scale for large actions and to be honest, I can see me using this scale exclusively at this level.

These 1:1200th models appeared in one of the boxes of 18th century infantry that I collected from Bill as part of the very first batch from his father’s collection. These must have been acquired after the conclusion of the campaign as they certainly never appeared during the fighting

Invincible class battle cruisers

Koenig class battleships

Helgoland class battleships

Of the two scales I have models for both will need some work to get to readiness. I do not mind this as the scale of game I am looking to fight in either scale would not need a lot of work. In 1:1200th I would need some suitable opposition for the Turks and indeed, the Ottomans will need rebasing but it is all fairly straightforward stuff. For the 1:3000th collection there would be an element of rebasing involved and a larger degree of acquisition but luckily it is all low level stuff - destroyers, light cruisers and for the Germans, SMS Seydlitz.

There are a few rivers to cross before I would be ready to roll either model option out but it does not hurt to have a plan in place. The thing with the 1:1200th option is that using the available range of plastic kits available - Airfix, I am looking at you! - There is a lot of fun to be had just chopping them about, using the bits and pieces, and seeing what comes out!