Skirmish Games

Skirmish,

Somehow became enamored with skirmish games while finishing up my TSATF miniatures.

What ensued can only be described as a “frenzy” of rules purchases.  Learned a lot.  First off, what the hell is a skirmish game.  Here is one thread that, I guess, covers the bases.

Played Fistful of Lead and enjoyed it.  But I wanted something different than Wild West gunfights.

I already had one other set of rules, and it is supposedly the first set of skirmish rules published…. OK, maybe the Wild West rules came first.   I bought the Featherstone rules a long time ago, but played only a couple of times.

After playing one session – more on that in another post – I decided to explore other options.  The next thing I knew, I was falling into the vortex of the Wargame Vault.

Just click, pay, and download……it’s painless.  With that, and some research, I accumulated a number of titles in a very short time.

As the BGG thread indicated, there is variety out there.  I’ve concluded the rules break down into either individual figure or small unit games, with the accompanying amount of character development varying by scale.  The individual figures have capabilities and special skills.  These attributes cost points to help create a balanced game.  Also, some rules are for the pre or early gunpowder periods, with others following the evolution of firearms.

A listing of early rule sets, but with an emphasis on board games, can be found here.

That being said, I’m to start working through my early period rules, using my Warhammer skirmish figures and “combat town”.  I’ll post up the sessions.

Been A Long Time

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Decided to get back at it, if only to keep track of what’s happened.  I know readership is a little thin.

Over the past several months there has been plenty of war gaming related activity,  just not any reporting.

Sold off about 30-40 games.  No, it wasn’t a reaction to  Boardgamegeek threads, but a need to clear shelf space and free up some cash for other purchases.  Too many games, too little time.  Decided to focus on systems instead of “one offs”.  I may go crazy and start shuffling through my magazine games, too.

Those other purchases involved a lot of ASL/ASLSK games, mags and modules.   I’m now in maintenance mode, limited to new stuff from MMP, and maybe a “highly recommended” from the recently revived Desperation Morale blog.  The re-do of Croix de Guerre is looking mighty tempting.  So far I’ve played through all the scenarios in ASLSK #1 and doing my (almost) daily work on ASLSK #2.  I like that most of the scenarios are one-mappers, with small footprint but plenty of action/learning.

Tim and I have also played a number of games over the past 8 months.  These included Fire In The Lake, Third World War, and our go-to, Paths of Glory.  We are currently in the middle of the Operation Jupiter scenario found in Europa Magazine Issue #41.  More on that in a separate post.

There were no new miniature purchases, just painting what was on-hand.  While no project is ever really finished, I have only a handful of  figures left to paint/acquire for my Irregular Wars, Back of Beyond and The Sword And The Flame (TSATF) endeavors.   I also have my 15mm colonial British ready to campaign against a horde of Middle East figures, as well as full contingents of Warhammer Empire troops for Renaissance skirmish games.

The remaining major miniatures project is finishing armies for play using the  Wargames Research Group (WRG) 6th edition rules.  The forces will include Byzantines, Arabs and generic opposing forces from the Late Middle Ages.  The core elements for each of these armies are my old DBA figures.  This is part of the decision to go old school and granular.  Likewise, I’ll use the  George Gush Renaissance rules, instead of DBR for any renaissance battles.

Fall Gertrude – Botched……..And Boxed.

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

To borrow from Christopher Shores….a “Bloody Shambles.”  And as bad as the TV Show.

Axis forces now in a cul-de-sac.  I’m sure there is a way out of this (desperate airborne divisional drop?), but lack the time and patience.

So, where did it all go wrong?  Feel like Jeff Goff looking at Super Bowl film.  I’m so Kubler-Ross.

Think this sequence sums it up……

Ready to Break Into Asia

Too Many Units Mopping Up

Go South, Not East!

Instead of East, I should have moved the Panzers South and East, to the Anatolian Plateau, and tank country.  Needed to either quickly eliminate,  or mask,  the by-passed Turks west of Istanbul, and move the bulk of the infantry east  to maintain pressure there.  Too much reliance on speed and luck.

Still, it was way too much fun getting the Turks on the Europa Table, and exploring a might-have-been scenario.  Persia next?  I think there is a Europa Scenario for that…………

Fall Gertrude – Axis Turn 5 Movement and Combat

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Axis armored units contined to move east into the teeth of the Turk defenses.  Slower moving infantry units moved to the southeast.

Overall View End Of Axis Movement. Air Units Shown Near GS/DS Hexes

The attack on Hex 0619 was at 49:8, or 6:1, -1 for Rough Terrain.  A “6” was rolled, for a DE result.

Infantry Attacks Hex 0619

The riskier, but necessary armored attack at Hex 0513 was at lower odds, or 4:1.  The Turk mixed fighter unit did abort an He-111 unit, but a roll of “6” makes up for that kind of setback.  This was a DE result.

Armor Advances After Successful Attack On 0513

Fall Gertrude – Tim’s Take

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I was looking at your last post on your blog and I thought I would pass along some comments.

  • If the unit in 0119 has a ZOC the German spearhead is out of supply.  Either way, I would move that unit onto hex 0219 to block the rail line.  Can the Turks use any naval supply?  There is a port in 0219.
  • I would move the 3rd Infantry Division from hex 0617 to hex 0417.  Occupying that hex cuts the supply to the German spearhead.  Since it is a mountain hex behind a river, it will be a tough nut to crack.  Hex 0417 is a pretty important one.  It has good defensive terrain and divisions there have ZOCs which will make it tough to move though the chokepoint in hex 0418.
  • I would think about throwing somebody into hex 0418, just to make it harder to attack 0417.
  • I would move the Fifth infantry XX into hex 0517.  This will support hex 0417 by making it harder to redeploy German units to attack it.
  • I would move the 20th Infantry XX into 0615 or pull it back across the river into 0717.  The former move puts more German units in enemy ZOCs and might make it more difficult to attack 0417.  The latter puts it in a better defensive position.
  • From an operational POV, I would have attacked along the railroad towards 0816.  You’re going to need that RR to supply any deep thrust into anatolia and the terrain is more open, which helps your armor.  It also would have the benefit of making the Turks come to you if they are going to cut your supply line.  I would have grabbed 0417, but left the rest of any attacking force on the west bank of the Sakarya (is that the new name for the Meander?).  Once hex 0417 is occupied, any prospective counterattack on your supply line would be across a river and coming from either rough or clear terrain (and would be vulnerable to counterattacks).
  • Do you have any engineers with the spearhead that could build temp airfields?  I always forget to use them, but they can be really handy supporting a rapid advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Gertrude – Turkish Movement Phase Turn 4

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The reinforcements delayed during Turn 3, now appear on the battlefield, providing desperately needed support to the Turk MLR, allowing for some defense in depth.

The  fighting has moved far enough east that many of the best Axis air assets are either out of range, or have to stage up to reach the battlefield, and return to Istanbul’s overcrowded airfields.

This will be a difficult turn for the Axis, as Fall and possible bad weather is approaching.

Fall Gertrude – Axis Combat And Exploitation Phase Turn 4

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Axis forces continued to move aggressively towards Ankara via the narrow valley  just north and west of the capital.  In addition, the SS Corps drove south in an attempt to flank the main Turk defenses.

The main effort was against Hex 0414.  The basic odds were 41:8 with a -1 for rough terrain, and a +3 for AECA.  Turkish A-19 and H-111 squadrons flew DS, but were countered by Luftwaffe assets staging up through Istanbul.  The final odds were 5-1, +2.  The die roll was a 2, modified to a 4, for a DH result.  The surviving Turkish units retreated one hex.

The SS attack fared eaven worse.  Despite 6:1 odds with a +1 modifier, a 1 was rolled, for a DR result.  Ugh!

Rather than continue blasting away in the south, the SS corps exploited back northeast to assist in the now tenuous main effort.

Turkish Forces At 0414 Have Retreated To 0514. Axis Forces Will Occupy Vacated Hex. SS Corps Has Already Occupied Hex 0520 Vacated by Turkish Division.

 

End Axis Exploitation

Fall Gertrude – Axis Turn 3 Combat and Exploit

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Two attacks for the turn.

The first was against Hex 0315, Duzce.

Initial odds were 19:8, +3 for AECA.  Threw a lot of air at the hex in order to increase the odds to 5:1.  The Turks came up to fight, and attempted to bypass the two escorts.  The P-40 was shot down on a roll of 2 (!).  The Mixed Fighter unit got through, but could not shoot down the targeted Stuka unit.  Turkish flak was ineffective.  The combat die roll of 2, was modified to 5, for a DE result.

Here’s the air matchup.  Note that only six air units were eligible for the mission (one per RE), not the eight shown.

Illustrating My Mistake Using Sophisticated Photo Editing Skills

The second attack was against Hex 4625.  The odds were 5:1 (with some help from a single Axis air unit), with a -2 for wooded rough terrain, and -1 for the defending armor cadre’s AECD.  The die roll of 6 was modified to 3, for a DR result and a ZOC kill.

The Axis pushed up through the Turk defenses during the Exploitation Phase.