Ready to fight, and Turkish Tropicality

Having had a think about the setup,  here's the proposed layout for the climactic battle at Zouache in my 'Soldier King' campaign.  Many thanks to commenters who made very sensible suggestions regarding the layout: I have taken them on board!

Western approaches ( Prussian Cavalry route )  

It will be a battle for two river crossings , the Northern one being the destination of the Prussian Infantry force, and the Western one approached by their cavalry. I decided the attackers would start off-table, and I made a tentative Austrian deployment to defend the position. 

Looking North ( awaiting Prussian foot and guns )

This may all be subject to ( further! )  amendment, but in essence the Austrians have their  Botta d'Adorno brigade ( their best foot ) in the North awaiting the Prussian infantry, and their weaker Grenzer foot facing West and the expected cavalry column. Most Austrian cavalry is held in reserve, but the Schwarzer Hussars are cunningly concealed on a a wooded hill by the Northern road, ready to swoop on the flank of the approaching enemy columns.  Prussian order of arrival is yet to be decided, and the Dice Gods will play some sort of role in that.  The walled enclosures  stand in for 'entrenchments' and command both bridges - no attacker can cross the bridge before  the adjacent defences have been cleared. It may be a tough nut to crack..

 

Tropical 'Spit' kit : reassuringly few parts

Meanwhile, a shopping trip to Bury St. Edmunds this weekend allowed a visit to 'Model Junction' and a look at their fairly random selection of 1/72 scale model kits for WW2 vehicles and aircraft. I found an interesting ( and inexpensive) kit which may be useful for my 'D-Day Dodgers' Italian Campaign forces.  It's a  'Tropical' Spitfire VB/ VC , which will go very well with the P-40 Kittyhawk I already have.  The kit is  made by 'PM Model'  - a new name on me - and is from Turkey, though distributed via Bachmann.  It's a very simple kit, which suits me fine, and it has a choice of three suggested colour schemes and decal sets, these being for the RAF in Tunisia 1943,  the USAAF in North Africa 1943, and the Turkish Air Force 1942. That last one would be an unusual option for a kit-basher!  It turns out the Turks were very worried about being surrounded by German and Italian occupied territory plus Axis-aligned neighbours such as Bulgaria, and acquired as many combat aircraft as possible, mostly British, French and American types.  They  finally entered the war, on the Allied side, in February 1945.  I wonder if  anyone has thought of  a 'what-if ' campaign whereby Hitler decides to outflank the Soviets via Asia Minor in say, 1942? Leaving aside such wild surmise,  I think it might be fun to paint this as  the USAAF version - I seem to remember a photo of such an American-operated 'Spit' crash-landed on a beach in Sicily or Italy. 

Next time, back to  1757 'somewhere in Central Europe' as the Prussians make their  attempt on the river crossings at Zouache.  Meanwhile keep well, and safe, everyone. 

 

Battle Planning : A Bit Of A Re-think

I've had a bit of a re-think.. In my last post, I set out the likely forces involved in the upcoming battle in my 'Soldier King' campaign, with the Prussians attacking their Austrian foes in defensive positions  at the town of Zouache.  I had established that I have sufficient troops to portray the opposing armies in Bob Cordery's Brigade Level 'Portable Wargame'.  All well and good, BUT what I have been worrying  about is the small size of battlefield I can use, relative to both those army sizes,  and  also the topographical layout of the area to be disputed.  

I think I should  show the campaign map, to illustrate my concerns. It looks like this: 

Zouache:  a river runs round it

The Austrians are of course positioned at Zouche. The Prussians have their infantry and guns advancing down the road from Wittingen in the North, while their cavalry has swung around to the West and is approaching from Stauffen.  As you can see, the town is in the bend of a  river - so there must be a bridge into the town on each approach road, which the Prussians are going to have to secure. It's the combination of river, two bridges, and town that I fear will  make things difficult to fit into a 9 by 9 grid. I had a go at a layout: 

Terrain: first draft

 

Hmm... I can fit the two bridges and the river in, with a bit of distance between so the defenders are stretched a little by the flanking cavalry column. But there's no space for the approach: if the Austrians contest the bridges, battle will be  joined immediately and all the fighting take place at the edge of the table, and being pretty static too.  I wondered if the Prussian cavalry might be assumed to have rushed the Western bridge, allowing a bit of manouevering once across, but that seems a bit unfair on the defenders - who are after all supposed to be 'entrenched'. If I put the river and bridges closer to the centre of the table, then maybe there's not much room for movement once the bridges have been crossed - they will be too close together.

I think the problem is maybe that I am  trying to cram too many troops and too much action into a small space, and it's just going to bog down.   Thinking time.. 

One option might be to 'mini-campaign' it. I did this quite successfully before, at Rahden earlier in this campaign. Draw a map of the general area, encompassing  multiple tables worth of terrain, and use map  movement to determine where and when contacts between opposing forces occur, transferring to a table when battle is joined. It worked quite well for Rahden, and also reminded me of Charles Grant's system used in 'Wargame Tactics', where the initial moves of larger tabletop battles were made on maps, allowing an element of  pre-game manoeuvre and surprise. However, I think in this case there's less of a case for map movements, as the position is fairly well decided already : the Austrians are pretty much dug-in at the town, and the Prussians are attacking from two directions, already obvious. Austrian cavalry  could be sent out to harrass the approaching Prussians, but that's about the only map-movement option, really. Hmmm...

So my next idea is to address the issue of numbers of troops and available space :  I can't increase the space available,  but maybe I can change the scale - 'zoom out', so to speak?  Maybe what I need is for the table to represent a larger area, so the troops are able to fit into less space, not move so fast across the table, and not shoot so far, as they do in the Brigade level game of The Portable Wargame.  And of course, I need look no further  than... the next chapter of Bob's book 'The Portable Napoleonic Wargame'! Here we have the Division level game, and I think it might just do the trick.  It allows two infantry units (notionally regiments, in a brigade )  to occupy the same grid area, and they move and shoot over shorter distances.  The forces available would translate into two or three infantry brigades and one or two cavalry brigades for each side (plus artillery units),  which would seems fairly manageable and hopefully make the table a bit less crowded. 

So, let's see how the forces might  now look - first the Austrians: 

    Commander - General Dachs :       6 SP       

    Botta d'Adorno Brigade ( 3 SP ) 

            - Three regiments  Botta d'Adorno  Line Infantry,   rated Average,   each  4 SP

    Grenzer Brigade ( 3 SP ) 

           - Two regiments  'Grenzer' foot , rated  Poor, each 3SP 

    Erzherhog Ferdinand Cuirassier regiment,.  rated Poor,  3SP 

    Grenze Hussar brigade  ( 3 SP ) 

             - Two regiments   Grenze Hussars,  rated Average,  each 3 SP

    'Schwarzen' Hussar Regiment,  rated Inferior,  2 SP

    Artillery battalion , rated Average, 2 SP

 Giving a total of  46 SP , and Exhaustion Point reached at a loss of  16 SP.

 

And the Prussians: 

 

        Commander - Generalleutnant  von Gehirne   :  6 SP 

        44th Fusilier Regiment,  rated Elite,  5 SP

        Jaeger Brigade ( 3 SP ) 

            - Three regiments  Jaegers ( fighting as Line infantry ) , rated Average, each 4 SP 

        Von Kleist Brigade ( 3 SP ) 

            - Two regiments  von Kleist Frei Korps,  rated Average, each 4 SP    

        Heavy Cavalry Brigade ( 3 SP ) 

            - Three Regiments  Cuirrassiers, rated Elite,  each 5 SP

        One  Battalion Field Guns and crews, rated Average,  2 SP

        One Battalion Howitzers and crews, rated Average, 2 SP

 Making  a total of  59 SP , and Exhaustion Point reached at a loss of  20 SP..

It's interesting that the Strength Points values of the armies have increased by about a quarter, partly at least due to the allocation of points to the Brigade commanders. Movement and firing distances are slightly shorter than in the 'Brigade' game, and two regiments can occupy one hex - so the my limited table space should feel a bit more spacious for the forces involved. 

Now I just need to figure out the terrain  - which still needs some hard thinking, I reckon, and battle may commence. But it's past my bedtime, so that will have to wait for the next post. With apologies for the slow progress on this, due to our old friends 'time and space, dear boy..' ( just work and domestic duties, really - and some  January/ Pandemic  ennui, I think ).   I am very aware that this has been very slow  - can't help comparing  with the fantastic amount of work put in by Nundanket on his planned Hohenfriedberg  game - now that's how to prepare for a battle! 

I will try to be a bit quicker with the next post, which may even see the forces engaged. Meanwhile keep well, and safe, everyone. 

     

Battle Planning: thinking allowed

A Happy New Year to one and all!  Last time in the 'Soldier King' campaign, we set up the general situation for something of a climactic battle, as the Prussians launched their army into the attack on the Austrian forces at the city of Zouache. Having decided on a battle, I now have to work out how to turn it into a game, using the (somewhat  limited)  resources I have available.  It's quite a challenge, and I am not certain how I am going to make it work, but hope that with a little thought,  I will be able to  see a way forward. And it might be interesting to post my thoughts as I go - 'show your working', as the dreaded exam papers used to say.   

Despite my earlier concerns, one thing I do have is sufficient troops. Here is the defending Austrian force: 

General Dachs steps up

I am going to start by assuming they will be organised with troop designations and Strength Point (SP)  values from 'The Portable Wargame' , as follows:  

Commander - General Dachs :       6 SP       

Three battalions Botta d'Adorno  Line Infantry,   rated Average,   each  4 SP

Two  battalions  'Grenzer' foot , rated  Inferior , each 3SP 

One squadron  Erzherhog Ferdinand Cuirassiers.  rated Inferior,   2SP 

Two  squadrons  Grenzer Hussars,  rated Average,  each 3 SP

One squadron  'Schwarzen' Hussars.  rated Inferior,  2 SP

One gun and crew,  rated Average,  2 SP.

 Giving a total of  36 SP , and Exhaustion Point reached at a loss of 12 SP.

And the attacking Prussian array: 

Von Gehirne's powerful force

Commander - Generalleutnant  von Gehirne :  6 SP 

One battalion,   44th Fusilier Regiment,  rated Elite,  5 SP

Three battalions Jaegers ( fighting as Line infantry ) , rated Average, each 4 SP 

Two battalions  von Kleist Frei Korps,  rated Average, each 4 SP    

Three Squadrons  Cuirrassiers, rated Elite,  each 4 SP

Two Guns  and crews, rated Average, each 2 SP

 Making  a total of  47 SP , and Exhaustion Point reached at a loss of 16 SP.

To arrive at these SP values, I translated  the Soldier King troop quality 'Guards' to be Portable Wargame 'Elite',   while 'Veterans' in Soldier King became 'Average' , and 'Levy' became 'Inferior'. There is no separate representation of artillery in 'Soldier King' forces, so I have fairly arbitrarily allocated one gun to the defending Austrians, and two guns to the attacking Prussians ( this keeps the Strength Point 'ratio'  a bit more in line with the board game army strengths ). Bear in mind that although my first thought is to continue with 'Portable Wargame' rules, ( specifically the Napoleonic Brigade-level version,  with my own tweaks for the Seven Years War ), this is not set in stone, hence organisations/unit configurations  may change.  One concern is , with only a 3 foot square ( or 9 by 9 hexes )  battlefield, are these forces too large? 

I had worried that I would struggle to field all the required units in my customary formats - especially Prussian infantry, but the numerous Jaegers I acquired from the Eric Knowles collection were a big help, making up three battalions. They will fight as' Line' infantry, but I won't worry too much about that - after all in several  of the my earlier games they have served as Line, and sometimes even fought for the other side! I do have a couple of units of Prussian line infantry in the early stages of painting, but realistically they won't be ready in time for this game. So,  Jaegers it is, and the fiercesome Prussian drill masters will enjoy instilling/beating some discipline and order into them..  

The one area I almost did struggle with was light cavalry, given the Austrians needed three squadrons - Eric Knowles' trusty Grenze Hussars only provided two. But then I lighted on some of the plastic  Spencer-Smiths most generously gifted to me by Neil Patterson of the Aufklarungsabteilung blog,  and resplendent in a rather cool, if  basic, all-black uniform.  A quick basing job, and the 'Schwarzen Hussars' were recruited!  I assume these may have been inspired  by the  Prussian Ruesch Hussars or 'Deaths Heads'.  So again, we have some possibly Prussian troops lured to the other side, presumably by large bribes and the attractions of Viennese cafe society - so much more fun than Berlin! Here they are - 'button counters' may wish to look away now:

Latest recruits - the men in black

Yes, pretty basic, and maybe not too accurate, but needs must - perhaps fittingly, they are going to be rated 'Inferior'  quality in the rules. So they may just run away at the first  cannonade, anyway! Or they may perform wonders - we shall see. They'll do fine on the table, for now, and I will take a cue from Brigadier Peter Young, quoted in a fascinating blog post from Tragardmastare recently : 'with apologies to perfectionists in the sphere of military millinery'.   I'm also reminded of one of Conrad Kinch's 'Send Three and Fourpence' articles in Miniature Wargames magazine,  entitled something like 'The Art of Coarse Painting' - in which he adopts Management Consultant lingo re: 'Minimum Viable Product' (MVP). So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the MVP (or as Google translator has it, Minimal Lebensfähiges Produkt )  Hussars..

So, we have our forces. Now for possibly the most difficult part - the table.  With nine hexes by nine, or 3 feet square available - bluntly, will the armies ( 21 units in all ) fit in?  This is where it may get interesting. But that will have to wait for the next post, as the hour is late, the candles almost burnt down, plenty more thought is  required, and I don't wish to overstay my welcome.

It remains to once again wish you all a very Happy New Year, let's hope 2022 is an improvement - though perhaps that won't be until our unwanted guest Mr. Omicron has done his worst. I predict a quiet January at home, which may at least allow some more  hobby time. Keep well, and safe (and 'boostered', if possible), everyone. 

Soldier King Campaign : a bloody big battle?

It really is time some wargaming got done. 

One minute it's early December, the next minute it's almost Xmas, it seems.. Real life intrudes far too much for my liking, 'time and space', as always are in short supply. Thankfully, the very sociable Mr. Omicron has not approached our door, as far as we know.  In between the shopping and card-writing (and not forgetting, also work), a small amount of hobby activity has taken place - concerning my Seven Years War campaign based on the 'Soldier King' boardgame.  

We left things at the end of Summer 1757, with a daring Austrian cavalry raid on a Prussian outpost, which made off with vital supplies but at some cost, one unit of Cuirassiers being lost; and a  superior  Prussian force still threatened to overrun the Austrian home territories.   The next campaign move therefore being Autumn 1757, I rolled dice for initiative, and Austria won the right to move first - buying them time to  organise some sort of defences.  The dice gods have a habit of getting things right, it seems - it would have been less interesting if Prussia had taken the initiative and possibly just overrun the hapless Austrians before they could get organised.  Rolling a further die gave them four 'marches' , i.e the opportunity to move four 'stacks' of units, each unit being allowed a maximum of two marches. These were used to reinforce the main Austrian army at the city of Zouache, with a small flank guard at the crossroads of  Landsburg - and both of those commands were able to use one 'march' activation to entrench.   Austrian forces are notably weaker than the Prussians, but have made the best of their precarious situation.  With apologies for less-than exciting illustrations, here is the situation:

Zouache on the river, Landsburg to the NE

 

So, Prussian turn next - they rolled a splendid six marches.  A dilemma presented itself - would they go for the blunt instrument of a straightforward attack on the main Austrian force at Zouache, or try to manoeuvre and outflank them? The lightly-held outpost at Landsburg is more valuable for recruitment, so taking it would be a longer-term benefit ( with the winter recruiting season approaching ) , and would outflank the enemy main force and threaten to cut its communications, and leave the Austrian homeland in danger.  However, the season was late, ( this is the last turn before winter ) the roads somewhat indirect,  and the limitation of two 'marches' per unit would not have allowed exploitation of any advantage if Landsburg was taken. If the Austrian main force could simply be attacked and defeated now, their resistance would be at an end, and the campaign won.  Given all that, I put it to the Dice Gods : roll one die, with a roll of 1 or 2 meanng 'manoeuvre', and 3 to 6  'attack'. I rolled... a '3', so 'attack' it is! 

With plenty of moves available, the Prussians were able to marshal their forces and launch a two-pronged attack - with their infantry approaching Zouache from the North, while cavalry swung in from the West. And so, battle will be joined. 

In 'Soldier King' units, the defending Austrians have the following: 

        Infantry : 3 units Veterans,   2 units Levies 

        Cavalry  :  1 unit Heavy ( Levies ) , 3 units Light ( 2 veteran, 1 Levy ) 

While Prussia's attacking army is as folows: 

    Infantry : 1 unit Guard, 5 units Veterans 

    Cavalry : 3 units Guard Heavy. 

Prussians (blue) stronger in all departments

Translating to The Portable Wargame, that would be about 28 Strength Points of Austrians versus 37 Strength Points for the Prussians. Quite an advantage to the attackers, but against 'entrenched' defenders, that should even things up a bit. 

I now have to decide exactly how to play this out - in particular, have I even got enough figures? That's a lot of Prussian infantry units!  I may need to hurry up and finish painting the troops I recently made  a start on.  Or, perhaps try different rules and/or a different representation of units? Some more  thinking will be needed. Owing to circumstances ( i.e the amazing spread of Omicron ) I do not have any social engagements at all over the next week or so - there should at least  be plenty of  time to spend on this, once the big day is out of the way, leftovers eaten and the washing-up done...

So I hope to report on this fairly soon - in the meantime here's wishing a very merry Xmas to all my readers and followers!  Let's hope things are brighter in 2022. Keep safe, and well, everyone. 

A fine day out: Broadside 2021

TYesterday I paid a visit to Gillingham, Kent for the 'Broadside 2021' show staged by Milton Hundred Wargames Club - and a thoroughly pleasant day it turned out to be.

The venue was the Medway Park Sports Centre, a new location for the show, and it was a big improvement on the old Sittingbourne venue, which was quite small  ( and when I went their in 2019 they had to open doors for ventilation, not sure that would have been good for Covid and in December!).   As you can see, the new venue is a cavernous sports hall, there was masses of space and ventilation was fine.  I was also impressed by the level of face-covering, quite a contrast to last month at SELWG and  Salute where hardly anyone ( myself included ) was covered-up. Our new 'friend' Mr.  Omicron has changed people's attitudes, it seems. 

Enough of that, on with the show. I met my good friend Dave 'St Cyr' at the venue,  and we fell easily into our usual routine of  'games, then lunch, then traders'.  It's not a large show, and that made it all rather relaxing, plenty of time to see the games and chat to the players if we felt like it - I always feel a lot  of time pressure at Salute!   There were 14 club  games listed on the program, plus some trader's participation games, an in contrast to Salute I think the no-show rate was very low, or maybe even zero - good news.  I thought the standard of games was pretty high, there were a lot of really nice-looking tables, and plenty of time to watch and chat. 

Montenotte: French columns coming from all directions..

 

I think our favourite was  'The Battle of Montenotte, 1796'  staged by Postie's Rejects; a refight of Napoleon Bonaparte's first battle as Commander-in-Chief  of the Army of Italy.   Dave was always going to be interested in this, he's a complete Napoleonic nut!  It was an interesting and 'different' game, being more 'Revolutionary' Wars  than 'Napoleonic', with the French mass-conscript columns taking on the Ancien Regime  Linear warfare Austrians - plus, I really liked the wooded North Italian terrain.  We were warmly welcomed by the Rejects and given a thorough and interesting explanation. We went back at intervals to see progress - which went as per the historical event, with a convincing win for Napoleon. The Austrians always looked to have a tough gig, with French columns emerging from the woods on all sides. 

the end is nigh: note nearest Austrians in full retreat..

 

'Who were those masked men?'

 

Several other games looked good, and here's a selection of the ones I managed to photograph: 

Ireland 1798 : rebels mass to assault the castle

 Real Time Wargames are always interesting, and were only 2 years later than the Rejects with their 'The Year of Liberty: 10mm Irish Rebellion 1798' mini-campaign game. One of their trademark  'twists' being  that  players represent the various British district commanders, who are in fact rivals trying to best each other, as much as the rebels.   Again, we were made thoroughly welcome and given an enthusiastic explanation. I think they said they had completed four games in the course of the day!  

 Shepway Wargames Club put on an impressively  large 1914 game  'You Will Be Home Before the Leaves Fall' , played down the length of a long table, complete with Taube and Bleriot spotter planes flying over the battlefield. 

 

 Old Fritz  appeared to be doing pretty well, with lancers securing a vital bridge, as the local populace (including a party of nuns)  rushed to escape, and presumably blocked the road.

 

Gravesend Gamers Guild played 'Cold War Gets Hot: Team Yankee 1985'  with masses of armour and Tornado airstrikes.  

Deal Wargames Society ran a great-looking Vietnam War participation game, 'On the Way To Hue' 

 

South East Essex ( SEEMS )  put on 'An Affair of Outposts'  set in the Peninsular War (I think) using 'Rebels and Patriots' rules  Napoleonic variant    

 

 That's all the games I photographed - I'm slightly embarrassed to say I omitted to get pictures of the game which was declared 'best in show' - I think that was Friday Night Fire Fight with 'Warmachine Invason'. Sorry I missed 'em!

 After a quick sandwich and a chat,  we toured the traders -  I have to admit that they weren't exactly looking rushed off their feet by the afternoon, so one felt duty bound to spend a little! 

I went for transport for my 7YW forces and  housing for 30YW,  courtesy of Parkfield Miniatures (metal wagon) , 1/72nd models ( HaT baggage wagon )  and Blotz  ( medieval house and shop ). I like a good supply convoy scenario, so  they'll do nicely. 

 

Dave picked up a bag of trees and some cardboard buildings from the Bring and Buy, at a bargain price, so we may be a step closer to seeing his Napoleonic troops take to the table.  Finally  I sadly failed to  find any excuse to buy from  this stall - aimed at Live Action Role Players, it seems.

 And that's about it. I had a thoroughly pleasant day, it was relaxed and friendly, well-organised by the  Milton Hundred club and a much improved venue. I wonder if the attendance was maybe  a bit sparse, which is perhaps not surprising in current circumstances - the large hall did not seem crowded, but it would have easily soaked up a big crowd without feeling anywhere near rammed.  Anyway, we saw several very nice games and enjoyed talking to the players,  and  made a few essential purchases, can't ask for much more.  A slight bonus for me is the nostalgia factor, having lived in Gillingham as a small child, and then grown up in Sittingourne, home of the Milton Hundred club ( I even had a chat with some chaps from local Rainham Wargames Club, of which I was a teenage member c.1976-81! ).  

The organisers  have already scheduled Broadside 2022 for June, and I will put that in next year's diary (when I get one!). In the summer, you could probably do the show,  and then visit the historic Chatham Dockyard, just down the hill.. Let's hope life is a bit better by then -  meanwhile many thanks to all who worked to put on yesterday's show, and all who ran games and tradestands, hope to see you next year!  

 

 

In the meantime keep safe, and well, everyone.  

**UPDATE** : more and much better pictures in Big Lee's report, and he says the organisers told him attendance was pretty good, comparable to past years. The larger hall was clearly a good move! 

All directions, and none..

After 'Salute' I was quite inspired and motivated,  but 'time and space, dear boy...'  Not a lot of time has been available for hobby activities, but with a true wargamer's butterfly mind I have tried to do several different things at once.  Most practical was at least getting the paintbrushes out :

1760 meets 1943 on the painting table..

On the bottletops we have 16 Prussian  Seven Years War line infantry who will represent the 9th 'Jung Kleist' regiment, when they finally get their  Prussian Blue coats.  Then some  additional artillery of various types for the 'D-Day Dodgers' - German Wespe and 20mm AA gun, British  M7 Priest and  40mm Bofors AA. That Priest was more of a Devil when it came to building - far too many parts and I couldn't get it to fit together!  The Germans also get the mandatory Puma armoured car, much more common on wargames tables than in reality, it seems - but they do look so good...

The plan, in a wave of Salute-based optimism, was to have a 'hobby hour' most days and paint 'little and often',  That hasn't quite taken, I'll admit, but tomorrow is another day.. 

something of a literary warm bath

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the late Charles Grant's 'Wargame Tactics' , which I caught up with at SELWG - a mere 42 years since publication ( sadly it seems he very sadly  passed away just before it was published, so very much his last work ).  His style is complete comfort reading for me, and this is really just a series of reports of games, with a little light military history  ( I hadn't thought about Cataphracts and the Kontos in many a long year ).  The stated aim was to show that usng correct historical tactics should result in better wargames -  and, hopefully,  more victories.   I'm not sure that prinicple was rigorously  followed, but the eight lovely battle reports and introductory chapters on the relevant periods were just a pleasure to read.  No less than three battles were set in the 'Ancients' period, and doubtless would have been played under a version of the  WRG  rules which dominated the period at the time. I was struck by how important morale, and the trademark 'reaction test' was for them - quite often the rout of one unit suffering in combat would have quite a large 'ripple' effect on friendly nearby  units, and that seems quite astute. The rules are regarded today as rather too complicated, with all that  counting of individual casualties and massive lists of plus/minus factors, but I wonder if we are missing something if we overlook that emphasis on morale?   After all, 'the moral is to the physical as ten is to one' - as a prominent wargamer ( 1:1 scale ) once said..   My favourite battle report, however, was the Seven Years War game - which Charles grant named 'The Battle of  Langensalza'.   One aspect of Grant's games that I like is the use of map movement to facilitate the initial setup of the battle, giving the chance of some concealment and surprise in the deployments - and that feature was quite important for this game.  By pure chance, the 'real' Langensalza is the subject of a series of blog posts on  'Not Just Old School Wargaming'  blog  - which are rather spectacular! 

As you may have noted, my reading has now moved on to Stuart Asquith's 'Wargaming 18th Century Battles'  which I picked up at Salute, and I am enjoying - more about that in a later post, perhaps.

'From Our Own Correspondent'

 

More reading matter which I am rather pleased with is the three issues of 'The Foreign Correspondent' , the newsletter of the Continental Wars Society,  which I am now pleased to be a member of. The magazine is a rather lovely production, with a great 'period-appropriate' style and illustrations, and of course interesting articles too. Twenty pages four times per year, for a subscription of £8 - great value, too! Many thanks to Ralph Weaver for his prompt and friendly service too - I can't resist quoting from his email to me, after I said that my interest in the period sprang from reading G.M. Trevelyan's ‘Garibaldi and the Thousand’ many years ago, and  more recently, Neil Thomas’ ‘Wargaming 19^th Century Europe’ . Ralph replied  "We cannot claim Trevelyan as a member, but Neil Thomas certainly is" .

Finally, and just to confuse matters even more, I have ordered a copy of the 'Twilight of the Divine Right'  wargames rules for ECW/30YW period from The Pike and Shot Society, of which I am also a member. I've been meaning to get them for ages, and the final nudge was provided by chatting with the P&SS chaps at Salute where they put on their fine Poltava game.  I await delivery and will be very interested to read, and eventually play, the rules.  

So, we have covered the Seven Years War,  World War 2,  19th Century, and Pike and Shot periods - which of those to spend time on next?  And there's the rub - finding the time. Well, given 'the current situaton'  and word of the week 'Omicron' , it's not looking like I'll be going out to many parties in the near future, and there may be plenty of time at home this winter... 

Thanks for your patience if you have read this far; admittedly this post has been something of a wool-gathering exercise, but it has at least got the writing mojo working after a slightly longer than planned pause. Next on the agenda, I hope, is a visit to Gillingham in Kent this Saturday for the 'Broadside' show - I'll take my camera,  notebook and pencil, and hope to report back after the event. Meanwhile keep well, and safe, everyone.

 

Salute 2020 + 1 ( and a 1/2 )

Yesterday I went to 'Salute 2020' - albeit 18 months late. The 2020 show having been cancelled with less than a month's notice, the South London Warlords ( probably wisely)  left the show program and general theme unchanged, so yesterday we were marking the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Since this involved the chance to look at impressive full-size replicas of a Spitfire and Huricane, I have no complaint on that score. 

 

 In order to enter the ExCel complex, one had to provide proof of Covid Vaccination/Negative Test etc, which I thought was reassuring - it actually made me feel a bit safer.  On arrival things were mildly surreal, as another of the halls was hosting the 'Destination Star Trek' show, with the result that literally hundreds of people in various 'Star Fleet' uniforms were wandering around the centre. Quite strange, but it did make  me smile - some of the cafes resembled what I imagine the Starship Enterprise's mess decks might look like!  I met my old buddy Dave ( aka St. Cyr on Wheels ) at the 'Salute' hall  entrance, and in we went.  

Once inside Salute, things were a little different to the usual. The space is of course huge, but it was noticeably quieter, less crowded, and sadly there was a lot of 'unplanned' empty space. Many tables in the games areas were unoccupied, and even a few trade stands were missing.  It seems quite a lot of clubs/gamers had decided not to attend - I wonder if this was due to worries about Covid safety in the large venue, or maybe even dislike of having to produce a Covid Pass?    I am hoping that the ventilation in there should be pretty top-notch - remember the place was set up as a 'Nightingale' hospital last year, and has hosting been a vaccination centre since then, too ( but of course I'll just have to wait and see what a lateral flow test shows in a few days time, I guess ).        

Dave and I have a routine of 'see the games, have lunch, then do the traders' , and we stuck to that - though of course with less games to see. Luckily there were still quite a few that I was interested in, and with somewhat less people around, it was easier to talk to game organisers, and I think they were quite keen to chat  to the punters too!  

The very first game one encountered was one I'd been keen to see - Wyre Forest Wargamers'  'Poltava 1709'  using Twilight of the Sun King rules. I'm quite keen to have a go at the ..Divine Right variant for ECW/30YW, and am planning to order them from the Pike and Shot Society  ( members' discount available !), so it was great to  talk a bit about them. The table layout was rather fine, it really showed the scope for large battles using 6mm figures, with loads of space. Look at all that forest! 

Poltava - a really big battle

 

I also liked Anchluss Wargames 'Panzer Lehr Counter-Attacks, July 1944' .game showing off their new  The War on the Ground rules, with very friendly explanation from author Peter Heath. We were invited to view the bocage terrain using genuine Sherman Tank viewing persicopes - and the resulting very limited view was pretty thought-provoking. I liked Peter's stated aim to produce a game  that requires the player to learn about the actual tactics of the  period, not just turn up and roll some dice. The rules have been well-reviewed, I think, ( though really designed for 10mm/15mm scale, not my 20mm )  and they also have some scenario books which are suitable for any rules - the book on Sicily 1943 is on my future shopping list! 

'War on the Ground' 1944 - and Dave wielding a periscope

The Continental Wars Society had a nice small game of Prussians vs. German Confederation in 1850 : 

This was played with a very simple, but interesting, set of rules - pretty much 'back of a postcard'.  See what you make of them: 

'Back of a Postcard' -  but more than 'one brain cell'

 

I've been interested in their period since reading Neil Thomas' excellent book on it, and having seen the quality of their quarterly magazine,  I am going to become a member, and an old-school cheque is in the post to chairman Ralph Weaver.  Actually gaming in the period may be a long way off ( I think 6mm scale would suit ), but one can dream..

A real highlight for me was the Warlords' tribute to the late, great  Stuart Asquith, a 'Wellington in India' game using figures from Stuart's own collection, which were beautifully painted. We had a thoroughly pleasant chat with the game organiser  [ who,  I now know, was Martin Gane ], and I felt a (slightly tenuous, admittedly) connection given my own games using troops formerly owned by Eric Knowles - it's nice to keep these veterans on the table. 

Stuart Asquith's Indian collection revived

Several other games  caught my eye sufficiently to try a photo or two, so let's spin through them (with apologies, I know absolutely nothing about Sci-Fi / Fantasy, so those games aren't here ) :

Loughton Strike Force  ( my favourite wargames club name! ) can be relied on for something quite spectacular, and did not disappoint with their hugely detailed Stalingrad - fire on the Volga  game (15mm scale,  O Group rules ) 

I liked the 'raised bed' gaming table 

  

individual bricks rubble: wow

Also on the Eastern Front were Grimsby Wargamers 'Retreat to the Dneiper' which looked great, I liked the backboard and the fires and explosions especially,  

 and I bet this doomed  Heinkel was one of the most-photographed models in the show: 

From Luton, Wigmore wargamers  kept the 1940 theme going with their 'Raid on Piddling Down'  German glider-borne assault on a radar station ( Iron Cross rules ), and were another example of cheerful friendliness: 

Wyvern Wargamers 'Imjin War' ( Japan invades Korea, 16th Century ) in 12mm scale won my prize for 'wars I had no idea about'  and it was  inspiring to see how good  a large layout of 'Hexon' terrain can look - my 9 by 9 hexes home setup would go several times into this!  And these guys were welcoming and happy to chat, too. 

The always-reliable Society of Ancients weighed in with Macedonian Successors in a game of  Paraitacene, 317 BC  using Impetus rules - I always like a good Pike Phalanx;

 

and finally, Caseshot Publishing promoting their newly-published book Wellington at Bay: Battle of Villamuriel 1812 kept the Napoleonics flag flying, in 15mm with Black Powder rules  and was another nice example of the possibilities of hexed  terrain systems. 

possibly the sole Napoleonic game?

 My pictures are a bit variable - at first the lighting in the venue seemed very dim, and I tried using the camera's  flash light,  but it's never sufficient to illuminate the whole of a decent-sized table.  Strangely when I switched the flash off,  things looked much better. A small lesson learned.. 

At 2pm the almost-legendary 'bloggers meet-up' took place, and I screwed up my courage to belatedly join them - only knowing David Crook beforehand, and he promptly disappeared.  But I was made most welcome by Ray, Tamsin and Big Lee - really nice  to meet you all!   We did catch up with Mr. Crook a couple of times later - one feature of the lower crowd density was the tendency to keep repeatedly bumping into people around the show.  

What with all the chatting and games, the vast array of traders rather got away from me, despite staying until almost 5pm!  I'm a sucker for the bookstalls, though, and a few purchases ensued from Helion, Paul Meekins and Dave Lanchester.  I also picked up a few bags of pre-cut MDF bases  for my 15mm Pike and Shot chaps, and a couple of small Hexon hills in 'Desert Transition' colours, which I hope will work for the 'D-Day Dodgers' in sunny Italy.  Dave was pleased with his acquistion of a couple of nice ready-painted bridges from Kallistra, and  took a punt on Osprey's 'big-battle' Absolute Emperor Napoloenic rules. So his nice 28mm French and Austrians may get to fight Austerlitz or Wagram yet..

And that was about it.  It was a bit of a low-wattage show, to be honest, compared to previous years, but I suppose perhaps  only to be expected, and hopefully things will perk up next time - I think Salute 2022 is back in April -  and one just hopes the Warlords' finances were not too hard-hit. In some ways, there were sliver linings, such as the lower crowd densities, but I think the absence  of so many programmed  games was quite a blow. Let's hope for better next time.  Many thanks to everyone who did turn up, and did their best to put on a good show,  and to Dave 'St Cyr'  for being good company as ever, and putting up with my marching and counter-marching across the empty wastes of the exhibition hall!  

Meanwhile, I hope I've done the show justice and you've been interested to see my report, if you weren't there yourselves. Many of the other bloggers mentioned here will have made reports of the day, too - probaby with better photos! So, don't forget to check them out.  Keep safe and well, everyone.