Midgard Bellorum

My wargaming mojo has been pretty low of late, due to other hobbies and the fact that Autumn has taken ages to arrive, meaning there was still plenty of work to be done outside. However it has now made its presence felt this past week, so my mind has turned more towards wargaming, outside of reading that is. But more on this in another post.

Iain of caveadsum1471 fame mentioned Dux Bellorum in a recent post, a set of rules we played to death not long after they came out. However the problem was they led to rather dull games and went on for ages, especially if playing two Shieldwall armies. As Iain said, Midgard by James Morris possibly sort of fixed the issues but, not having played the game, only skimming the book, I thought it worth a revisit, especially as we have been enjoying watching House of the Dragon, which re-awakened a desire for some Medieval type games.

Rather than try and come to grips with Midgard, especially as I don't have any heroes on individual bases, I thought I'd try a simple mash up of the two rulesets, taking the action dice from Midgard but using the Dux Bellorum rules pretty much as written. Worth a try I thought, so I set up a very simple game, which is pretty easy to do with these rules, on a 2' x 2' table, just to get back into the swing of things and to see how my ideas worked out.

I like to add a bit of narrative to my games, so Deryck the Dangerous Dane has come raiding into Saxon territory, with the aim of getting some pigs for his bacon business, as well as plundering the local church. Standing in his way is Marmeduke the Mad Monk and his loyal band of followers.

An overview of the table, with the Danes at the bottom, the Saxons the top.

An old stone circle of the Old Gods and their shaman attached to one of the units.

Marmeduke is in the church praying, but the One True Cross is ready to help the faithful against the heathen host.

Defending the pigs.

Deryck and chums waste not time in closing with the Saxons and the combat breaks up as the battle ebbs and flows.

The shaman trying his best to motivate the Danes.

The One True Cross is not having the desired effect, as the Saxons are pushed back.

The Danish right wing ready to charge.

A view from the church where Marmeduke is praying for divine intervention.

As the battle rages on, the Saxons take early losses but are still in a good position.

Then suddenly the Saxon centre collapses and the Danes destroy the One True Cross!

The way is open to the church and the plunder contained therein.

The Saxons hold on on their left wing, but have lost too many units to effectively continue the fight.

"Foes to the left of me, foes to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you!"

The Saxon left wing about to make a fighting withdrawal.

Post Game Thoughts

A fun and quick little game that was just the ticket after quite some time away from the games table. I must admit I was rather rusty with the rules, but no surprise given how long ago it was I played the game! So initial thought on how things went as follows:

• Using a few simple additional 'action points' per formation sort of worked OK, as the centres had two to play with, the wings one. I deliberately kept them to only be used for movement or additional dice to roll in the attack and not for 'saving hits'. 
• I think in the next game I might allow one 'action' per Turn to be used to 'save' a hit, to prolong play, but need to have a think about this.
• Of course I could simply use the 6 points as written in the rules, but not use them for 'saves'. Again something to ponder.
• I remember when the rules first came out I was immediately struck by a sort of 'DBA vibe' to them, but without the dreaded 'Barkerese'! So another option could be using DBA action points, but using an average die to even out the points available to each side.
• In my games I like to try and run a mini-campaign, with a strong narrative, but I'm not sure how this would work with these rules. Probably quite easy to come up with something I'm sure. Again something esle to ponder.
• At least I did enjoy getting these figures out and onto the table for a game and fancy exploring the above more over the next dew weeks as and when time allows.
• Midgard, well I need to read up on these rules and maybe use counters or something like this in lieu of actual heroes, until such time as I might want to make some if the rules tick a few boxes. They seem to popular, which might bode well...

Right, that's it for the moment. As always thanks for reading and any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.

Books, Baggage & Blogging

Another one of my 'pot pourri' posts, as I had originally intended to post some of the contents a few weeks ago, but for a wide variety of reasons, 'real life' just got in the way, until now that is. So with a quiet few weeks ahead (famous last words!) time to take a look at what I've been up to, or not, as the case maybe.

Books

Our son loves to visit charity shops and occasionally you get to find some real bargains, as I did with these books. I'd not heard of the author before, but at £1.50 per book, it was too good an opportunity to pass by.

As part of my research into possibly gaming the Sino-Japanese War, I ordered this book to help me figure out what miniatures I might be able to sue from the Pendraken range. It gives a good overview of the period, but given the breadth it is trying to cover, it is a bit light on detail IMHO. At least it has given me some useful pointers, which was the reason of buying it.

Napoloenics is one of the periods that I get the urge to try, but am always put off but the size of armies required. However having seen Norm Smith's posts about these rules, I decided to give them a go. From a first reading they do look good, but have the odd area of ambiguity, that hopefully some game play will sort out. With luck I'll get to give them a run out this month.

We're just back from a short break in Nantes and I always like to take a book to read with me. I picked this up from the bookcase and am glad I did! I've had this since the 1980's and frankly had forgotten what a great read it is. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a good read and one that covers periods and battles with admirable ease and just the right amount of detail.

OK, not a book, but whilst in Nantes we got to visit the Chateau de Clisson that was closed last time we visited. An impressive ruin and one that really shows you how big some of these important castles were. It was also 'upgraded' to take into account the advent of gunpowder weapons. An interesting history to the place, which the de Montforts rules for some 60 years, reminding us of the close links with England at that time.

Baggage

I did manage of brief period of painting after the end of my Greco-Italian campaign, as I wanted to add some baggage animals and horses/mules to act as 'transport' for artillery pieces for WWII. I only managed to paint up those that would be used for decoration or as part of a scenario (round bases), with those on the square bases that will be the 'transport' still to be tackled.

Painting

Looking in the 'drawers of shame', I dug-out another Brigade for use with my 19thC ImagiNations armies. Trousers and tunics are basecoated and that's as far as I got before 'real life' intruded. I'm trying 'batch painting' to see if this helps speed up the turn around on the painting table. So far this is good for the block areas of colour, but not sure how it will far with the fiddly details, as my eyes might get tired too quickly!

And In Other News

On Amazon Prime they have been showing both 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific' for free, given it is the 25th anniversary of the former. I watched the former countless times and still enjoy it even now. I've never seen the latter, but frankly if I had not read up on the Pacific theatre over the past few years, I would have not really followed what was going on in any meaningful way. I'm just at the start of the 'Peleliu' episodes, so am looking forward to these for future inspiration for my games.

Whilst reading the Osprey book on the Chinese Army above, I was taken with the idea of using one of the many Warlord Armies that worked alongside the Chinese Nationalists at various points during the conflict. As many of you will now know, I like the idea of 'ImagiNations' and having a story or something like that to hang my games and campaigns upon. It was at this point that up popped 'The Water Margin' tv series into my head, that for those of us of a certain age, was required viewing each week! 

So the Chinese will be led by Lin Chung, with their stronghold at Lian Shan Po, with the Canadian advisor Lt-Col Kent Walton in attendance. The Japanese leader will be one Kendo Nagasaki, again a 'blast from the past' from Saturday wrestling on ITV! Now all I have to do is settle upon a range of figures I like, but am currently torn, so watch this space...

The Other Partizan is on this weekend and, whilst I'm sort of toying with the idea of going, after the past few weeks I've had the thought of a long drive is the last thing I need! But you never know...

And finally Blogger seems to be for me at least, pretty much back to normal, which is of course rather nice after months of hassle.

What Next?

I'd like to make some progress on the painting front, but am in recovery mode as the minute, so will wait until the energy returns and the Muse is upon me. At least I know I have a couple of days were I can sit back and read in peace, a rare luxury these days:)!

As always, thanks for reading and any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.

Going Back To My Roots

I find myself in a reflective mood, post the Colours wargames show, as it seems to me a time of the year when I take stock of things after the Summer has passed, with the onset of the desire for some Autumn and Winter campaigning and painting beckoning. Chatting with fellow gamers is always such a joy, especially when you meet kindred spirits, as I did once again this year.

I suppose maybe with the advancing years, our long lost youth holds many wonderful but, maybe somewhat rose tinted, memories of those halycon days. Certainly the Summer of '76 fits the bill for sure which was somewhat replicated this year, but just a tad warmer! So what was it about those days that I, and others too, seem keen to re-gain?

Personally it's just getting back to enjoying playing with the toys, having fun and not worrying too much about who won, how historically accurate our forces are etc. Afterall I can still remember playing on our driveway, with Airfix and Matchbox figures and models, with whatever we had to hand. Outdoors invariably became the Western Desert, indoors Normandy. We didn't worry about the fact that a Crusader MkII wouldn't have met a Tiger I in NWE, we were just happy to have something to play with!

I fear these days that certain sets of rules (I mention no names!) have almost brow beaten us into trying to get every OOB correct, forgetting the fact that this was only ever in theory on a piece of paper, but never reflected the reality of the situation on the ground. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me for some that fun of doing research and creating scenarios from it has given way to ready made 'plug-&-play' ones. Of course they have their place, but to me they are maybe too prescriptive for the sort of games I like to play these days?

So for many years now, I've wholeheartedly embraced the ImagiNations route, certainly for the 'Black Powder' period, which has been very liberating and, dare I say it, fun! Being able to use any toys I like, within reasonably historical constraints, has taken me back to those happy childhood games. This has now even extended to WWII and my South Glos and French Canadien forces, that were completely inspired by David in Suffolk and his fictional West Suffolks and there battles in Italy. We briefly chatted about this at Colours and how liberating I found this, especially for my narrative campaign approach to gaming these days. At some point the Cambridgeshire or Huntingdonshire Regiments will make their debut in Burma or the Far East

Well the wargames butterfly has been rather frantically flapping its wings here, as since buying the Sino-Japense War book, I have been actively pondering how best to game this. For many a year I have fancied getting a small Chinese force, but the recent video which mentioned L3/35's being used in Burma tipped me over the edge. Temptation is such a terrible thing! So I've ordered the Osprey book on Chinese troops 1937-1949 for a bit more background info before deciding upon which troops to buy. Currently I'm torn between using WWI Germans or British, with the Indo-China range a big favourite too. Being able to game in some different theatres with the Chinese and of course the Japanese is a big bonus. Then of course you've got the Flying Tigers for air support, along with some other cool aircraft that rarely get a mention, the 200th Iron Division and so on and so forth. Watch this space!

Whilst researching the above War, the Warlord era gave me an idea to sort of use that as an idea for another AVBCW campaign. But rather than Warlords per se, I thought that having Parish Councils fighting each other would certainly fit the background fluff and add a bit of a fun narrative twist to the games. 

Inspiration is coming thick and fast, as Browning's 'War of the Austrian Succession' has given me a good few ideas for some Rebels & Patriots type games, similar to the 'Wienerschnitzel Krieg' campaign I played last year. I didn't know about all the small scale actions going on in Moravia, Bohemia and Bavaria, with the Austrians sending in their Hussars, Pandours, Grenzers et all to wreak havoc, alongside the locals joining in. So with this in mind I'm hoping to paint up some more of my 19thC troops (I know, wrong period!) to play this out in the similar time frame to the Wienerschnitzel Kreig. Maybe even the same protaganists will appear again?

Having loved the Blandford ACW book, I treated myself to the Blandford books on the British Infantry and Cavalry 1742-1939, by Robert and Christopher Wilkinson-Latham. Although not as good as the ACW book, they do have a lot of ground to cover in comparison, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh! Having said that, they are a useful reference for my ImagiNations forces and nicely complement other books I have that feature within this time frame. 

Right, enough waffle for me and so time to get back to 'real life' stuff! Fingers crossed I might get some priming done later on today, to push some projects forward for use in some planned up coming games.

Thanks for getting this far and, if Blogger actually shows this up in Feeds etc, thanks for reading and any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.

L3/33 & L3/35 Tankette Bovington Tank Museum Video

The Tank Museum has just posted a great video covering the wonderful Italian L3/35 tankette and its development and operational history. For fans of this classic tankette, such as I, this is a must watch video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRSA2tF0mkU

Watching the film clips was great, looking at the different camo schemes on show (if you know what you're looking for), as well as them 'in action' or just whizzing around knocking over balsa wood obstacles etc for 'Il Duce' and Co. Mind you when you some of the stuff they get up to, you do feel really sorry for the crew, as they must have been battered to bits!

I didn't know that they were used in Burma by the Chinese forces, nor that the Taliban appeared to have a running version that is shown in a still from them entering Kabul or somewhere similar. It would be very cool to see one in a modern setting! Oh, and they actually had plane to drop it from a plane and to hit the ground running...

Well, whether you get to see this post this year or next, who knows, but maybe, just maybe, it will be seen in time for Xmas...

TTFN.

Kaos At Kalpaki - Greco-Italian War 1940 - Campaign Turn 3

This is the third and final action of my mini-campaign set during the ill fated Italian invasion of Greece in 1940.

Background Fluff

1st November 1940. Continued communication and weather problems have hindered the Italian advance towards Kalpaki. However the weather finally improved and clear skies and an extra day to get organised meant that the Italians were ready to attack. For the Greeks the weather and stubborn resistance by their Border Forces had allowed them time to dig-in and prepare defences, as well as bring forward their main forces to face the Italians. 

Italian Sapienza Column OOB

Losses so far had forced a major re-deployment of troops in and around the Kalpaki area. The Sapienza Column, much weakened by losses, had reinforcements in the form of 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, Ferrara Division, as well as L3/35's from the 31st Tank Regiment, Centauro Division. However they were still short on Artillery support, which lagged to the rear due to the terrain and the weather. At least the clear skies promised the chance of some support from the Regia Aeronautica Italiana...

Greek 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, VIII Division

For the Greeks, they had a re-inforced Infantry Battalion, well dug-in and with an atin-tank ditch in front of Kalpaki. Extra Artillery and MG units had been provided to help add to their integral firepower. Rumours abounded that the RAF had arrived and were preparing to fly in close support missions to break up the Italian attacks...

Scenario Details

• One Italian Column and the L3/35's starts using Static Deployment, the other Column uses mobile Deployment.
• All Greek troops count as dug-in as if in Trenches. The BUA's confer a 4+ save due to the strong nature of the structures.
• All Greek troops count as Stubborn.  (-1 die when rolling for fall-back if in the open. No die roll for when dug-in).
• All Greek troops add +1 to the die roll when rolling for fall-back to reflect their poor morale.
• The Greek CO & HQ's all have a CV of 8, to reflect their determination to resist the Italians and also the time they have had to prepare the communications in and around Kalpaki.
• Italian HQ CV's are 7, to reflect the poor state of their C&C at this point in the campaign. The CO has a CV of 8.
• One Italian Air support will arrive on a roll of 11-12 on 2D6 at the start of the third Turn. If support arrives, roll a D6 and on a 1-2, it is a case of Blue-on-blue, to reflect the complete lack of co-ordination between the Army and the Air Force. On a roll of 1-3, it is a Ground Attack aircraft, on a 4-6 it is a Bomber unit.
• One RAF Air support will arrive from Turn 4 on a roll of 8-12 on 2D6. It will be a Blenheim bomber attack.
• Victory is simply who is in control of Kalpaki at the end of Turn 12, or if one side fails its Break Test.

The Game

As is the norm now, the captioned photos should give you an idea of how the game played.

An overview of the table, with Kalpaki to the right, the Italians to the left and the top edge.

The Greeks firmly dug-in in and around Kalpaki. The AT obstacles to their front represent AT ditches.

ATG and Artillery cover the approaches to Kalpaki.

Of course a game without Francois le Fermier is just not the same...

One Italian flank.

Elements of the Centauro Division.

The remaining Italian units.

The end of Turn 1. The Italians made a good start, pushing forward, but the L3/35's came under fire from the off, as did the Infantry.

The L3/35's are in action from the off.

The Italian Infantry in support struggle as they come under Mortar fire.

Devastating Artillery fire really stops the Italians in their tracks!

The end of Turn 2. The Italian advance stalls and they lose an Infantry Company to Artillery fire, with another one suppressed!

The Greek Artillery is simply stopping the Italians dead in their tracks!

The end of Turn 3. Again the Italians struggle to move forward in the face of effective and devastating Artillery fire. They lose two L3/35's to ATG shooting.

A reduced Company wisely stay hidden behind a hedgerow, as to move forward would more than likely lead to their demise.

The L3/35's brew up.

More Italian Infantry arrive and try to move forward, but are at least out of view of the enemy.

The start of Turn 4 and the RAF turns up, causing mayhem to the exposed Italian Infantry by the roadside.

The end of Turn 4. The Italians barely move, but take more heavy losses from combined arms.

Any advances forward from here without heavy support would be nigh on suicidal.

Another Italian Infantry Company is all but wiped out.

Some heavier weapons arrive but cannot find the space to deploy.

The end of Turn 5. A small glimmer of hope for the Italians as they KO the Greek ATG that had been causing them so much trouble, but not before another L3/35 brews up.

The high water mark for the Italian tankettes.

Losses continue to mount.

A view from the Greek positions, that have not been seriously threatened.

End of the Game

At this point the Italians were close to their break point and with no realistic ability to be able to threaten the Greeks positions in and around Kalpaki. So they wisely chose to retire in good order rather than being routed in due course.

The Italian Butcher's Bill, excluding the three L3/35's.

The lone Greek loss.

Post Game Thoughts

Very quickly this turned into a very one-sided affair, with the Italians taking heavy early losses, that meant they soon lost any realistic chance of taking Kalpaki. So some thoughts on this scenario in no particular order:

• Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think the Italians could have benefited from having a couple of Recce units, to help spot the hidden Greek units. As it was, they could sit back and rely upon indirect fire to do most of the damage.
• The lack of any Italian meaningful Artillery support really hampered them.
• Ditto Air Support, but then this did accurately reflect the shocking historical state of Army and Airforce co-operation.
• Even though this was so one-sided, it did feel 'right' given the reading I'd done before hand on the attempts to take Kalpaki.
• Certainly this sort of action works best as a solo game, as for a FtF one, being the Italian player would have been no fun at all.

Post Campaign Thoughts

So, how did I think the campaign went now that it's over?

• Well I did enjoy it, especially the research before hand, alongside creating the scenarios.
• Playing the games did highlight how completely unprepared the Italians were for this campaign on so many levels.
• Rather like playing the BBB scenarios, you really do appreciate how and why certain battles and campaigns unfolded as they did. 
• Here the Greeks doing delaying actions early on, to the point where they allowed for the main troops to come up, just felt right and fitted in with the reading I'd done.
• You do realise that you need good combined arms to achieve your objectives, so if you are missing one arm, as the Italians did historically with limited Artillery support due to the terrain causing movement issues, you get to see the knock-on effects of this.
• Before I've tried a 5 game Campaign format, but have found this too long to be honest, with the 3 game format working perfectly. Keeping momentum is hard, to fewer games makes this easier.
• The narrative approach to the Campaign meant minimal book keeping on my part, which was great. Fine if you have the time and the energy for something more complex, but this just worked fine for me.
• Once again BKCII proved to be the perfect rules for this, as with my familiarity with them, allowed me to tweak the OOB, CV's, unit compositions etc. As mentioned before, having core rulesets really paid dividends here.

What Next?

I think some painting is in order, but more on that as and when stuff is finished. Games wise a different period for sure, but I'm in no hurry to get anything planned just yet. A break from sorting out games is in order I feel!

As always, thanks for reading (if Blogger lets you see this!) and any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.