Monday, August 16, 2021

Numedian - Allied Contingent

Looking at expanding out my collection of 25mm Figures for the Wars of the Triumvirate; Caesar and Pompey.   This would give me the basis for conflict in North Africa.  

Planned Numidian Allied Contingent - Caesar

  • Field Commander - Bogud of Mauretania
  • Light Horse - Numidians - 4 Stands
  • Javelinmen - 4 Stands
  • Close Fighting Foot - Spanish (Iberians) - 6 Stands
  • Close Fighting Foot - Spanish (Iberians) - 6 Stands
  • Imitation Legions - 4 Stands


Planned Numidian Allied Contingent - Pompey

  • Field Commander - Juba I
  • Light Horse - Numidians - 4 Stands
  • Light Horse - Gallic - 4 Stands
  • Light Horse - Spanish - 4 Stands
  • Javelinmen - 4 Stands
  • Elephants - 2 Stands

Required Figures
  • Elephants - 2 Figures
  • Gallic Cavalry Command - 4 Figures
  • Gallic Light Horse - 8 Figures
  • Numidian Foot - 16 Figures
  • Numidian Horse - 16 Figures
  • Spanish Foot - 36 Figures
  • Spanish Horse - 8 Figures

 

Building a Project - Franco-Prussian War

In the spring of 1994 a group of players gathered at the Source, on Rice Street, and formed the Twin Cities Historical Miniatures Gamers club.  There were a solid thirty players and after a ruckus first meeting it was decided that our first club project would be the Franco-Prussian War.   

I was at the time a very junior member to the organization, I was fascinated by the discussion.  This was my first historical project I was actively involved in.   By the second club meeting we had narrowed the choice of games to "They Died for Glory" and "In the Age of Bismarck and Napoleon III".     More than 25 years later I don't remember the specifics on why people preferred one game over the other, rather in the end we choose "In the Age of Bismarck and Napoleon III".   

As a group each individual purchased a copy of the rules and a small allotment of figures.   Being my first historical project I jumped in feet first and attempted to learn to swim.  My first units were French Foreign Legion for 1870.   I received lots of pointers from the more senior members and some of it was actually good information.  When directed to by eight times as many figures as I actually needed was not one of those times.  

As a club we played a number of games, and tell more than a few stories, ask Jim about the line in the sand.  I am not going to go into all the details but the club fell apart when the store moved locations.  I like so many others were stuck with eight times too many figures for a project that barely got off the painting table.

The figures for the Franco Prussian War have never been fully removed from my painting table.  In the past 27 years there has always been some figures for this project on my painting table, sometimes there have been a lot of figures on it.   Be it for nostalgia or desire to see the one project through I have regularly circled back and took a new view at this project and tried to envision a popular outcome that would bring it back to the table.  This may be the 10th of 15th time I have serious dug into this project since 1996 but a man has got to hope.

French Provisional Line 
There just is not any rules that just jump out at players for the period.   Arguably we have the same choices today in 2021 as our group had in 1994 to choose rules.  "1870" was published in 2001, is probably the only addition to the rules choice.  I could argue that none of the choices excite me personally and none of them strike me as truly playable for a group.   
The follow on question is what would it take to adapt another set of rules to play this period.  How long have you as a reader got?  And how much detail do you want me to get into.

The first problem is the scale of the game, followed by tactics, and experience of the military.     

The American Civil War is often called the first war of the industrial age, but it pails in comparison to scale of the Franco Prussian War.   The largest Armies in the ACW were 75,000 men, give or take, in the Franco Prussian War the numbers were 750,000 men.  The machine gun, modern artillery, and other industrial weapons of war were in their infancy, the battles at times looked like the Napoleonic Period and at times like the First World War.

I have had lengthy discussions with other parties concerning rules adaptations that might work.  We always get stuck on the argument does the game look like ACW/WWI played with figures in other uniforms or does it feel like the Wars of the second half of the 19th Century in Europe.   Usually it is the former, not the later.

Prussian Line Figures
To me to have a tactical feel to the game, opposed to a boardgame played on a tabletop, the units must
represent battalions, rather than Brigades or Regiments.   I like board games but I don't want my miniatures games to be board games. How big are Battalions?   Between 600 and 1000 men depending.   If you play games like Regimental Fire and Fury players would need 650 to 800 figures to represent a brigade while "In the Age of Bismarck and Napoleon III"  that number shirks to 60.   Neither extreme appeals to me.

In the end I think you are going to have to take a game system and scale it to meet you needs.   There are two possibilities (cough three depending on how you want to a scale).   Both come from the American Civil War genera of rules; "Regimental Fire and Fury" and "Pickett's Charge".   Personally I think there is lots of possibility for "Picket's Charge" but one huge draw back.   We already know the basis of the rules for "Regimental Fire and Fury" do we really need to learn and understand another set of rules.  

To be Continued.
   

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Barbarossa - The Introductionary Battle- AAR

 
A Rough Map of our game on Saturday, July 17th at the Source.    

  • SVT 1 - Soviet Assault Platoon
  • SVT 2 - Soviet Rifle Platoon
  • SVT 3 - Soviet Rifle Platoon and HMG
  • SVT 4 - Soviet Assault Platoon
  • Ger 1 - German Infantry Platoon and HMG
  • Ger 2 - German Infantry Platoon and ATG
  • Ger 3 - German Engineers and Panzer II
  • Ger 4 - German Infantry Platoon

The German Plan was to move the 1st two German Infantry Platoons to the left gap and reinforce with the Engineers while the 3rd German Infantry Platoon was aimed at small village controlled by SVT3





Brad and Jack
After running the play test two weeks prior I decided to scale back the scenario.   There were practical reasons for this; including I hadn't a single German painted.   There was also a play issue about having too many figures in each players control  while learning the game.    To be honest I was not expecting it to go well at all and on Wednesday prior I was extremely concerned.

With eight new players, each controlling about 40 figures I think the game played far better than I had expected.  


Rolf, Odin, Jim, Steve, and Marty
German TO&E
Ger 1
  • Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • HMG (HMG, HMG)
  • Forward Observer
First Fire.  The Soviets LMG takes on some
German Infantry on the Soviet Left.
Ger 2 

  • Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • 50mm Mortar
  • ATG (ATG, ATG)



Ger 3
  • Engineers (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|Rifle, SMG|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Flame Thrower|Rifle, LMG)
  • Engineers (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|Rifle, SMG|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Flame Thrower|Rifle, LMG)
  • Trucks (Truck, Turck)
  • Panzer II (Panzer II, Panzer II, Panzer II)
Ger 4
  • Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • 50mm Mortar

SVT 1
  • Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG, LMG)
  • HMG (HMG)

SVT 2
  • Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG, LMG)



SVT 3
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG, LMG)
  • HMG (HMG)

SVT 4
  • Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  • Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
  • Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
  • Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG, LMG)


For those paying attention, my first screw up.   I grabbed two Soviet Assault Platoons and 1 Rifle Platoon rather than the other way around 1 Assault Platoon and 2 Rifle Platoons.  Its not too out of the ordinary for the Soviets at the time, many of the new battalions and divisions were given PPD-40 SMG or the new PPSH-41 SMG depending on your source.  However for Game Balance...

My Second Screw up, my printer ran out of toner and I didn't print up the Command Cards.  SO players were reading the back of the figures and my notes to determine what they had. 

My third mistake, not enough pictures. 



 Actual movement map.


A few comments

  • Ger 1 got bogged down in the terrain.
  • Ger 2 got to the wood line and found Soviets, after a brutal exchange the Germans pushed the Soviets out of the Woods
  • Ger 3 got bogged down getting around the stream, including getting a truck stuck in the Russian Mud.
  • Ger 4 marched out, got 1 squad destroyed, pushed a few Soviets out of the woods and created there little fort in the clump of trees and started digging in.
  • SVT 1 - Marched into the woods, and rolled badly on some morale rolls (all three squads failed right before the Germans engaged in melee) and were pushed out.  
  • SVT 2 - Thinks they saw something during the game, but the magic eight ball says probably not.
  • SVT 3 - Attempted to shoot Ger 4 out of the woods for no effect.
  • SVT 4 - Hey these PPD-40 don't have any range, I better move.  


Things that we got wrong in the Rules
  • Being in Light woods is not both Light Cover and a Hinderance while shooting.  It is a hinderance for spotting.  Go figure.
  • Heavy Support Weapons cannot move "At the Double" nor "Cautiously".
Things I am not happy with
  • Observation Rules.  
  • Players moving their figures as a clumped mob.
  • Observation Rules
  • Jim is not happy with the AVF Combat Rules
  • Observation Rules
  • The Quick Reference Sheets are incomplete
  • Observation Rules
The Quick Reference Sheets are incomplete.   There are at least four tables that should be on there that are not.   It is frustrating for players to not know what they are looking for.

Clumped Mob of figures.   It just drive me nuts, I realize it is from playing all those Horse and Musket games, but man what Artillery would do.

Jim doesn't like the combat rules for Armored Fighting Vehicles, calls it cumbersome.   I got to be honest this is not a Tank game, so I am not sure it matters that you have to roll, to hit, determine where you hit, determine penetration, and determine effect.   There is really not much way of simplifying without making it super boring.   

Observation Rules.   To be covered in a separate post.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Painting Guide - Austrian Infantry - War of Austrian Succession 10mm

  • Prime Black
  • White - Coat - Turnbacks - Pants - Hat Trim
  • Red Leather -  Leather pouch and strap
  • Red|Blue|Green - Cuffs and Lapels
  • Beige Brown - Musket Stock
  • Flat Brown - Hair
  • Buff - Leather Crossbelt, Musket Sling
  • Dark Flesh - Hands - Face
  • Oily Steel - Bayonet
  • Refractive Green - Base
Yellow Ochre / swirled Black and White - Flag Staff
Yellow Ochre - Wood Staff
Gold with Black Loops and White Rope - Drums

Friday, July 16, 2021

Rate of Fire - Sample Command Cards

I have created these information or command cards for our upcoming game of Rate of Fire for the Centurions game day at the Source.

Each card represents a unit which is typically a squad. for the game.   Providing the basic organization of the squad and their morale grade, plus additional notes.   The example is a platoon of German Infantry.  The Command element, four squads and the attached 50mm Light Mortar.

Monday, July 5, 2021

Painting Guide - Early War German Infantry


Figure
  • Prime Black
  • Mahogany Brown - Exposed Flesh
  • German Dark Green - Helmet, Tunic
  • Green Grey or London Grey - Pants
  • German Feldgrey - Tunic
  • Khaki - Bread Bag
  • Uniform Green - Gas Mask Container
  • Beige Brown - Leather Packs
  • Flat Brown - Wood Rifle
  • Dark Flesh - Highlight Exposed Flesh
  • Black - Belting Touch Up
  • Bolt Metal or Gun Metal - exposed Metallic Bits
  • Castellan Green - Base
Base
  • Prime Dark Forest Green
  • Glue - Medium Brown Ballast
  • Super Glue - Rocky Bits
  • Tuft Tac - 4mm Green Grass

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Kursk to Barbarossa? Creating a Project

Osprey Publishing "Operation Barbarossa 1941 (1)  Army Group South"At 3:15 AM on Sunday morning June 22, 1941 the Axis forces lead by the German Army began the invasion of the Soviet Union.   The enormity of this invasion can be measured in one stat, eighty percent of the all the Axis Military forces were committed to battle in one fell swoop.  

The numbers are staggering.  The Axis forces committed 166 Divisions, 3.8 Million men, 3,400 armored fighting vehicles, and 2,700 aircraft.  The Soviet Union countered with 220 Divisions, 2.8 million men, 11,000 armored fighting vehicles, and 7,100 aircraft.    

Over the five months of combat during Operation Barbarossa (June 22 - December 5) the Axis forces suffered over 1 million casualties, including 186,000 Killed in Action, 660,000 wounded, 40,000 Missing in Action.   2,735 Armored fighting vehicles destroyed, 2,870 aircraft lost.  

The numbers for the Soviet Union were even higher.   567,000 Killed in Action, 1.3 million wounded or injured, 2.8 million Missing in Action, 21,000 Armored Fighting Vehicles destroyed, and 11,000 aircraft lost.     

This summer marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa. I was reminded of this late last week.  After some discussion and some personal reflection it was decided to pivot our project to Operation Barbarossa.  

This change is not without issues.   Currently I have 0 German armored fighting vehicles for this era of WWII.  No Panzer II and Panzer III's that I own are from later in the war.   On the Soviet side I do own 3 T-26 Light Tanks 6 KV-1 Heavy Tanks.   

That changed with an order to Old Glory Miniatures over the weekend.   

On the Soviet side I have 3 platoons of painted infantry (2 SMG, 1 Rifle) plus 2 companies worth of assets (Anti-Tank, Anti-Tank Rifle, Mortar and Heavy Machine Gun) ready.   I have 3 platoons of infantry on the painting table (1 SMG and 2 Rifle), 1 company of T-26 Light Tanks and 1 company of KV-1 Heavy tanks.  

On the Axis Side I have 1 squadron of German Cavalry, 2 platoons of German Infantry and 1 company worth of German Tanks, once my order from Old Glory is received.