Change In Plans

Boardgames

Finally made it to Portland for a wargaming weekend. The first two attempts were stymied by weather and family.

The plan was for a third playing of the “Fate of Nanking” scenario from War of Resistance (WOR). Set the scenario up, then just stared at it. Started talking, having a couple of beers, and three movies later it was time for a good night’s sleep.

Enthusiasm was limited Saturday morning, so we bit the bullet and took it down. Instead of WOR, we had fun playing Paths of Glory, which we hadn’t played for awhile. We didn’t get that far into it, but it was a lot more fun then doing the supply book keeping for KMT units fighting in the suburbs of Shanghai.

The plan is for Tim to come over to Central Oregon in March. We’ll get Wavell’s War out and play the East African campaign game. That will be something!

Something Different – Hordes of Dervishes – DBA Variant

Colonials, Miniatures

Very cold, bad TV, no sports,  not even a movie to get excited about.  So, I dove into a DBA variant, Hordes of Dervishes by Bob Cordery,  that had been on the playlist for quite a while.  Bob is a wargaming stalwart, with his own interesting site.

There are any number of DBA variants out there.  This one is colonial.  It’s an excuse to pull out the British 15mm troops that I’ve had for decades, and were lingering out in the shed,  patiently waiting for this opportunity.  They were all that was left of what had been a rather substantial force of British and French colonials, painted for the aborted World War 1896 campaign,  that I sold off a few years ago.  I used some of my 15mm figures painted up for the East African Renaissance as the “Dervishes”.

With all my usual finesse, I just lined them up at went at it.

As with DBA, there is a lot of wristage, and the Brits’ roles were horrendous.  If the Dervishes get into contact, there is real trouble.  While a Dervish element’s (I’m talking Lingua DBA here) combat factor is 3 as compared to 5 for the British, any favorable ratio – not the typical “kill” ratio of over half – will destroy the British element.  So it is  absolutely critical for the British player to roll well not only in melee but also for his rifle fire to be effective.  Especially because the Dervishes are rated as Warband, and can use 2 pips to move 6 inches (600 paces), if that puts them into contact.  Rifle range is 5 inches (500 paces).

With the bad rolling, things did not go well for the Highlanders.  Here’s a flashbulb view of the battle (the game was played after dark in bad lighting in the dining room).  Good game, and I’ll probably play it again this evening.

Set Up. Hill Rated Bad Going. I Constructed The DBA Board Many Years Ago.
Set Up. Hill Rated Bad Going. I Constructed The DBA Board Many Years Ago.
Highlanders. Old MiniFigs.
Highlanders. Old MiniFigs.
Dervish Horde. Old MiniFigs.
Dervish Horde. Old MiniFigs.
Closing To Contact
Closing To Contact
Contact and Flanked!
Contact and Flanked!
Highlanders Withdrawing. A Dervish Victory.
Highlanders Withdrawing. A Dervish Victory.

Renaissance Wargame – The Battlefield

Miniatures, Renaissance, Sessions

Took RedActions! off the table yesterday.  Cleared off the old and dug out some new terrain and buildings in preparation for a battle between Russians and Poles circa 1625.

I’ll use Phil Barker’s De Bellis Renationis (DBR) rules.  The scenario is based on the Battle of Roundway Down as diagrammed and described in C.F. Wesencraft’s “With Musket and Pike”.  Why?  Because the book was at-hand and it’s a interesting little challenge.

The Russians are besieging a town, with Polish mounted units advancing  to lift the siege.  The Russian command decides to meet and destroy the Poles in the field, and then finish the siege.  In the historical battle, the besieged brushed aside forces masking the town, and attacked their enemy’s flank.

I’ve tweaked the layout of the battlefield by substituting a village for Blagdon Hill.  Wanted to get the buildings out of their box!

While the published scenario calls for the flank attack forces to come on-table during the fourth turn, I’m going to come up with the mechanics for a variable arrival sometime after Turn 2.

Here’s a few photos

The Battlefield Looking South
The Battlefield Looking South
Initial Dispositions.
Initial Dispositions.
Close up of The Village. A mix of purchased and scratch built buildings.
Close up of The Village. A mix of purchased and scratch built buildings.

Convoy Ambush – Red Actions! Pt 2

Back of Beyond, Miniatures, Sessions

Turn 1:  German machine gun engaged the lead Machine Gun (MG) Truck.  The MG Truck failed the ambush morale check, causing it to rout.  Machine gun fire resulted in a terror result.  The Partisans moved out of the woods, one group to attack the convoy, the other to act as security to engage the escort and/or any reaction force.  The second vehicle in line failed the ambush morale check.  It routed and took a terror hit from the German Infantry’s rifle fire.   The Warlord Escort carried in the trail vehicle dismounted.  The MG truck Rallied.  However, the routed cargo truck did not.

View From German Machine Gun Position As Convoy Approaches
View From German Machine Gun Position As Convoy Approaches
Partisans In The Woods. Ambush Group to Left (one stand behind tree), Security Group to Right
Partisans In The Woods. Ambush Group to Left (one stand behind tree), Security Group to Right

Turn 2:  Germans again engaged the MG Truck, but failed to inflict any damage.  Likewise with the advancing Ambush Group’s fire on the stalled cargo truck.  The Security Group reached the crest of its objective.  The Warlord Escort advanced down both sides of the road towards the front of the column.  The stalled cargo truck again failed its morale check, but the MG Truck maneuvered to engage the advancing Partisans.  The MG Truck’s fire was ineffective.

Partisans Emerge From Woods After Machine Gun Truck and Lead Cargo Truck Retire Due To German Fire
Partisans Engage Convoy and Move to Security Position.  Warlord Escort has Dismounted.

Turn 3:  The Partisans advanced,  masking  the Germans’ field of fire.   Once again, Partisan fire at the stalled cargo truck was ineffective.  The security group attacked the nearest Warlord Escort, inflicting a terror hit.  The MG Truck could not hit the Partisan ambush group.  The Warlord escort maneuvered towards and ineffectively engaged the security group.  The other Warlord Escort continued to advance to the head of the column.

Partisans Engage Convoy Escort
Partisans Engage Convoy Escort

Turn 4:  Poor die rolling continued, as the Partisans once again could not damage any of their targets.  However,  both the Partisan Security Group and Warlord Escort recoiled in the fight for the hill.

Partisan Security Team Pushed Off Hill. Assault Group Continues to Engage Convoy Escort
Partisan Security Team Pushed Off Hill. Assault Group Continues to Engage Convoy Escort

Turn 5:  The Partisans again attacked both the stalled convoy and the escort.  Again, their fire was ineffective.  While the MG Truck and Escort both inflicted terror hits on the ambush and security group.

Turn 6:  According to plan, the Partisans disengaged, falling back to the woods, and prepared to move to the rally point.  The Chinese did not pursue.

Partisans Withdraw Into Woods
Partisans Withdraw Into Woods

Comments:  Fun little scenario, horrific die rolling for both sides.  I thought the Partisans would make short work of the convoy, but their low firepower (4 factors for each stand) was consistently ineffective.  The Germans should have been able to do more damage to the convoy, but again, the marksmanship (die rolling) was bad.  The Warlord unit engaging the Security Group did its job, and the resilient MG Truck forced the Partisan Ambush Group to retire.  A decisive victory for the Warlord’s forces.

Convoy Ambush – Red Actions! Pt 1

Back of Beyond, Miniatures, Sessions

After much procrastination, started playing this scenario.  I posted up some preliminary thoughts and photos of a couple of turns  back in December.

The scenario involves a Chinese Warlord convoy carrying all classes of supply.  The mission of the ambush force is to destroy the convoy and, if possible, remove weapons, ammunition and medical supplies.

Since the best ambush point was near a Warlord controlled town, there is the chance that a reaction force will appear.

The first step was to construct a simple situation generator, which hinged on the awareness level of the convoy.  The levels were clueless, cautious, and, know something will happen.  This status was settled by a die roll.

If clueless, the convoy had little discipline, moving at maximum speed and bumper-to-bumper.  If cautious, distance was greater, speed lower, with armed vehicles at head and front.  If an ambush was suspected, there was a reaction team attached, in addition to an escort.

In each case, there was the chance of a reaction force coming to the aid of the convoy, but again, a die roll settled that with modifiers to decrease the size of the force the less “aware” the convoy was.  The number of turns it took the reaction force to arrive on table was again a function of the Warlord force’s awareness level and die roll.

The required wristage created the following:

A clueless convoy, moving at maximum speed, with little dispersion and an escort of only two stands of troops.  Feeling sorry for these poor bastards, I threw in a light truck armed with a machine gun.

The ambush force consists of two stands of Germans, one machine gun, along with five stands of White Russian partisans.

It is a classic “L” shaped ambush.  The Germans are to engage the convoy, bringing it to a halt, and if possible, continue to support the Partisan attack.  The Partisans are to attack the convoy from the wooded flank alongside the road.  Two partisan stands will move to the rear of the convoy occupying a small hill taking up a position to engage either the convoy escort, or a reaction force.  The remaining Partisans will, using fire and maneuver, destroy the convoy and, if possible, retrieve needed supplies.

The Partisans are low on ammunition and cannot engage in a lengthy firefight with the convoy.  If this occurs, they are to withdraw back into the woods, covered by the Germans.  All units will then proceed to a rally point.

I’ll post up the results tomorrow.

Demolition Derby

Aircraft & Vehicles, Back of Beyond, Miniatures

A couple of months ago, I posted up about using Matchbox vehicles for RedActions!

Need to fabricate destroyed vehicles, so I decided to experiment on a Matchbox truck that was too large for 25-28mm.  Here’s a picture.

DSC01335

Here’s what it looks like now, in the process of, shall we say, “modification”?

DSC01341

DSC01342

After I experiment with painting the destroyed vehicle, I’ll scour E-Bay for a couple of low cost trucks for similar treatment.  Now I just have to work out the explosion/flame/smoke effects.

Drive On Washington – Finale – GBACW

Boardgames, Sessions

Long overdue wrap up on the game.

Since the fighting at the Railroad Bridge and northern fords had devolved into ineffective firefights, I played the Truex-Gordon fight for the last three turns.

Gordon was able to flank Truex and force a retreat to cover the Washington Road Turnpike.  The Confederates enveloped individual Federal units and, while taking fire casualties to units in one hex, were able to bring overwhelming odds to bear for close-combats.

Truex’s regiments took a terrible beating.  If I had kept track of Brigade Effectiveness, I’m sure they would have been rendered incapable of offering any resistance.  As it was, without the book keeping, they were rendered incapable of offering any resistance.  Note the similar outcome.  Note I did not have to act like a bloody accountant (Sorry Tim).

On the other hand, the Federals had prevented any Rebel units from exiting the map.

I’d call it a draw.  Good game.

Start Turn 13. Gordon enveloping Truex. Railroad Bridge fight a stalemate.
Start Turn 13. Gordon enveloping Truex. Railroad Bridge fight a stalemate.
Turn 13. Confederates close, flank and melee with hard-pressed Union regiments.
Turn 13. Confederates close, flank and melee with hard-pressed Union regiments.
Turn 13. Truex disengages and falls back to Turnpike Road
Turn 13. Truex disengages and falls back to Turnpike Road
Turn 14. Gordon pursues. Sets up for fire combat to be followed by close combat.
Turn 14. Gordon pursues. Sets up for fire combat to be followed by close combat.
Turn 14. Truex's forces attritted.
Turn 14. Truex’s forces attritted.
Turn 15. Positions at Game's End.
Turn 15. Positions at Game’s End.

Air Support

Aircraft & Vehicles, Back of Beyond, Miniatures

DSC01336

DSC01337

Found this little guy while looking for balsa wood at Hobby Lobby. The cost was a whopping $7.99. It looked like the right scale for RedActions, although the headrest is a tip-off that this piece of decor is really based on a Boeing F4-B fighter of the 1930’s.

The scale might be a 1/48, and therefore a little large for 25-28mm. Using a figure as a type of measuring stick, I was able to estimate the little guy’s dimensions and check it against some info on planes of the late 1920s and 1930s. It’s definately in the ballpark. So, there’s a little era problem.

I do need to cut off the spats and replace the front tires as they are way too big. The rear skid needs to be cut down, and the cockpit is too big, but I’m not going to sweat that.  On second thought, maybe remove the headrest and make room for an observer/gunner.  This might mitigate the size problem.

It will have to be painted. My table isn’t ready for a Yellow Peril.

What Happened?

General

Been TAD the last week.  Deployment was scheduled, but moved up 48 hours with only 45 minutes to get packed and moved.  Lots and lots of backstory.  Planned to use some of the lost time to post up here about GBACW and RedActions.  Didn’t get the chance.

Also had plans for gaming, but didn’t have the time or presence of mind to grab the right stuff.  Stuck with Ram Speed (don’t ask), and my trusty IPad with 4 years of Miniature Wargames back issues.   Also had some GoodReader PDF DTP game files.

Played two games of Ram Speed.  This is an old micro game.  The review is a little harsh, but you can get the picture.

Also played Eindekker from Minden Games.  This is a solo game of early WW1 aerial combat.  Lots of wristage, but not a bad way to pass the time.  Maybe it was the low grade virus I contracted, but it was difficult to get into the narrative.

And, despite the eye-candy in Miniature Wargames, was not seduced into buying lead to start something crazy like 6mm Napoleonics or 54 mm Wild West Skirmish.

Will be catching up on old/delayed blog business over the next few days.