Wargames Research Group wargames rules form a huge part of our hobby's history, whether you like the rules or not. As far as I know we never played them as kids and fortunately for me I'd left figure wargaming come the 1980's and so missed out on the apparently dreadful and incomprehensible offerings from that decade. I even tried the latest iteration of DBA some years ago and honestly the 'Barkerese' writing put me off from the start, despite the rules looking promising.
I know some people still play the rules, especially DBA, and I've seen Blog posts where the Infantry & Armour 1925-1950 rules are in action and seeming to offer not too bad games. My good friend Keith Flint had even been tinkering with the rules and so when he invited me over for a game to test them out with his '39 Polish Campaign troops, it was too good an opportunity to pass up to see what they were like. He kindly sent over a draft copy in advance and answered a few queries I had, so I felt reasonably prepared for the game.
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| The rules in question. Like many publications from this era, somewhat Spartan in their production values when compared to todays offerings. |
Scenario
Keith chose the scenario based upon one from one of the wargames magazines, which was set during the Napoleonic era, but transported to 1939 for our game. In essence the Germans are an advanced force tasked with clearing the woods so that the main Panzer force can follow on behind in relative safety.
Germans OOB - Elements of a Panzer Recce Battalion
Company HQ
1 x Combat Engineer
platoon (trucks) + 75mm IG + MMG
1 x Kradschutzen
platoon + 37mm ATG + MMG
2 x AFV recce sections
each 1 x 234 6rad, 1 x 221
Mortar support (dct), 6
x 8cm mortars + MFO in 223
Panzer company to enter table move 7 or later. Should only have to drive
along roads already cleared of enemy.
Poles OOB – Elements of a Cavalry Brigade
1 x Cavalry platoon +
37mm ATG + MMG
Recce section, 2 x
Wz.29
Recce section x 2, each
1 x rifle group, 1 x rifle/lmg group
Tank platoon (3 x Ft-17)
Artillery support (gen)
4 x 75mm guns + AFO radio
2 mined road blocks
Deployment
Poles can deploy anywhere up to 4 feet from the eastern baseline, except
the Ft-17s which arrive on turn 1 via the eastern road in column on a roll of
4+. If they fail, add one to the roll on each subsequent turn.
The Germans enter the table via either of the western roads on turn 1.
Germans take first turn.
The Game
I took on the role of the brave Polish defenders, which is always fun for me, but sadly didn't have any of their wonderful tankettes to play with. I took a few photos during the game but not too many as we were somewhat engrossed in the action as well as talking about the rules, what worked, what might need tweaking etc.
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| An overview of the table from the Polish side. |
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| A view from the German side. |
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| Some of Keith's wonderful Polish figures and vehicles. It's been ages since I last played with these and I must say he does have a really lovely collection. |
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| As the Germans advance up the road, a combination of artillery, armoured cars and anti-tank guns makes short work of the German AFV's. A good start for the Poles! |
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| The burning Litko markers do look good, but not a view that will be appearing on the next Deutsche Wochenshau newsreel! |
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| The German infantry take their time to progress either side of the road, wary of any potential Polish troops waiting in ambush. |
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| The Polish armoured cars turn their attention to the other road and the German armoured cars advancing along it. |
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| About midway through the game and a view from the German side. |
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| The Germans are strung out along the road as they cautiously approach the ford, knowing the battle is raging to their left on the other side of the woods. |
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| Poland's strategic reserve arrives... |
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| Dismounted kradschutzetruppen push through the woods. |
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| A Hs 123 (wonderful model and plane) arrives over the battlefield to provide the Germans with much needed support. Sadly the Polish airforce never quite made it. |
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| German mortars begin to take a toll on the Polish Ft-17's. |
End of Game
Time was against me and I had to leave befre we reached a conclusion, but the Polish certainly had caused many more casualties than they had taken, with the German troops still some distance away from being able to clear the road blocks to allow the German panzers to move forward.
Post Game Thoughts
As always it was great to see Keith again, to catch up and to have a FtF game after so long! I must say I do enjoy playing the Polish Campaign and I suppose I really should try and get my own figures at least based and primed, given that I now have enough painted Germans for them to fight. Just another thing to add to the list! So a few thoughts from the game etc:
- Initially I thought that the Poles would have a really tough time stopping the Germans. The early artillery strikes on the German column that KO'd their AFV's made it a tough ask for the German left flank, which never really got going after that.
- As Keith pointed out he had doubled the movement rates in his 'update' to the rules, but even so it took a long time for the infantry to get into action. I doubt the Poles would have had much to worry about if the original rates were used, as the German advance would have been glacial!
- Using say BKC I think we would have reached a conclusion or at least come close to one after 8 Turns, which is what we managed to play. As with any rules, you need to get quite a few games under you belt to know what will make for a 'good scenario'. There was nothing wrong with this one for sure, but their is undoubtedly a learning curve to be had with these rules.
- I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how well the rules played and hats off to Keith for making them much more accessible. He kindly loaned me a copy of the original rules and even after playing a game, I still struggled to understand and follow the rules as written
- It's been many years since I've played 1:1 WWII rules, but these did feel as good as any I've played in the past. They certainly gave a game that felt right and plausible in the action and its outcomes. I certainly am looking forward to trying these rules again and may even give them a go using my 10mm figures.
And In Other News
Well Spring is upon us and even though the weather has been very hit and miss, I've been spending more time outdoors in the garden, but sadly not out on the bike nor on local walks. Hopefully the weather will steelt down soon so I can do the latter.
I have been in quite a good painting groove of late, working on my mid-19thC ImagiNations German force, which has been a real pleasure. I need to finish some Light Infantry and Artillery and then I will have enough for some Rebels & Patriots type or BPII. In a window in the weather I did manage to prime up a load of WWII German stuff and need to crack on with these too for my France 1940 Campaign.
This Campaign hasn't kicked off yet as I simply haven't found a suitable time to actually get everything set up due to the usual demands of family life. I'm not sure when this might finally get onto the table but soon all being well.
Dave and I are putting on another game the Cotswold Wargames Day and this will be set in India during the middle of the 18thC. Still early days but forces are being worked upon and figure ranges being consulted. I need to find my existing 18thC box of figures to see what I have and what I need to order. I'm certainly looking forward to starting this project as it will be rather different from the norm and certainly exotic and colourful!
TTFN.
Some lovely looking toys getting an outing there! All seemed good...how did you handle the written orders aspect?
ReplyDeleteThanks JWH! We didn't bother with written orders to be honest, just going with IGOUGO for speed of play. I'm not sure given the time we normally have for a game, that we could fit in writing orders, talk less of the interpretation of them etc.
DeleteThat’s a great table, surprisingly full for a napoleonic scenario! But a lovely ACW / WWII setting. I had a stint of a few years using these rules as WWII ‘go to’. I can’t remember whether they replaced my Leicester Micros rules or whether it was the other way around.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I can still in my minds eye see the page with the various vehicle armour groupings, with their A- F (?) armour…. I devoured such stuff. From memory, I don’t recall the infantry rules being a ‘thing’ with me, but I think that was probably because their movement rates were so low, they tended to be either static defence or in transports, moving from A - B over any distance did not seem do-able in a game (as I recall).
Anyway, good to see them being used. I am told it will warm up in a couple of days to ‘rattle can temperature’ :-)
Certainly a lot of woods for Nappies, but fine for ACW as you say. I think the movement rates in the woods given we were playing down the table really did hamper the German advance, given that they were somewhat sitting ducks on the road. Still a good learning experience.
DeleteI remember seeing ads in the magazines for the Micros rules, but we used the Airifx WWII rules as our default IIRC. I'd like to get a copy for nostalgia's sake, but the price they are going for means that's highly unlikely to happen!
The armour ratings are something like A-F and I've seen this sort of system used in other rules over the years. A good point on the infantry really needing to ride in half-tracks to get close to the action. Certainly dug-in infantry on the defence appear to have a big advantage.
I do hope it warms up soon as it would be nice get out and about on a more regular basis.
An interesting little battle. 👏👏
ReplyDeleteIt’s never straightforward the first time you play “new” rules (not that the originals are new by any means 😉) but, as you say, there’s a learning curve with these things before you know whether you like ‘em, don’t like ‘em or if things need to be tweaked somehow.
Keith’s toys are nice. I must admit the Airfix HS123 was a classic kit and I can still clearly recall the box artwork all these years later. Ahhh, those were the days…
Cheers,
Geoff
Thanks Geoff. There was certainly enough there given Keith's tweaks to make me want to play again, which is of course good. I doubt anything will replace BKCII for me, but it's always good to be exposed to new rules etc.
DeleteKeith's toys are indeed lovely and I've had the pleasure to play with and against them over the years. I think I might have had the Airifx kit, but if not I certainly wanted it, as the box artwork was wonderful and enticing:).
Oh, what a great looking game!
ReplyDeleteLovely minis and terrains.
Thanks Michal and all the credit goes to Keith for stagin such a great game:).
DeleteThe blog title and image of the rules takes me back to the mid seventies, when I was first starting out...I bought these rules somewhere (probably via Military Modelling magazine) but we never played them...they were far too complicated for pre pubescent boys! I have not heard many good things about WRG rules to be honest, I have the impression, the group just took themselves and playing with toy soldiers way too seriously! I have seen a few DBA or DBM ( don't ask me the difference) ancient or medieval games, and they don't look very exciting, to be honest. Good to see that you and the other Keith enjoyed the experience though, and the table and figures do look splendid!
ReplyDeleteIf I was given the book now to play a game, I think I would honestly give up even before setting the table up. Somehow the info just doesn't seem accessible nor does it flow, compared to what I consider good rulesets of today's day and age. Certainly the later rules appear to have taken themselves too seriously, probably as a result of also trying to be competition rules.
DeleteI think the DBA games can be fun and are a good intro to wargaming as you need relatively few units etc, but to be honest you could do exactly the same with Black Powder or Hail Caesar for example.
We did have a good time and Keith really does have some nice toys to play with:).
Interesting game, nice scenery, lovely models. Gotta love an FT17! The rules are not for me sadly. Unlike you I gamed through the 80’s rules nightmare and I still bare the scars! Lol.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the look etc JBM:). Frankly, how can one not like an Ft-17 making a 'dash' onto the table to save the day;). I'm soooo glad I missed out on the '80's rules as I fear it too might have scarred me for life!
DeleteNot a set of rules I ever had. Still have copies of Angriff and Tractics, though. I imagine Tractics may be of a similar ilk.
ReplyDeleteNice looking table and the early war certainly has appeal to me. I like the Litko blast markers too. I ought to throw in some with my next order.
Good to see you getting in some painting and gardening. Not much outdoor cycling here either. Cold with new snow on the ground most mornings!
Completely new to me too Jon, but interesting to play tham after having heard so much about them. I've heard of Angriff and Tractics but again never seen them in the flesh so to speak. Whilst I love say Normandy '44, I am really enjoying Early War games as Infantry has a lot more to do, given the poor quality of the AFVs on all sides.
DeleteThankfully no snow for us, but still a bit too cold to really enjoy being out on the bike.
Tractics (which is back in print since last year) is a whole other kettle of fish. No armor classes, you find out what part of the target tank you hit, how much armor it has there, adjust for slope and angle of fire and then see if your gun can penetrate. If it can, you then check to see what damage the penetration did. I played it in high school, switched to WRG as simpler/quicker rules to play!
DeleteMy God, those rules sound awful and far, far too complicated!
DeleteHi Steve...Looks like you had some good fun...very nice models indeed..the plane is a real treat....Although getting warmer this week it looks very wet so I doubt bike riding will be practical just yet...Regards.
ReplyDeleteWe did have fun Tony and the Hs 123 is lovely to look at for sure. I just those Early War angular camo schemes that some German planes used:). Lovely weather here today but spent it in the garden doing loads of little jobs to get the garden ready for Summer.
DeleteMake the most of today ...it will be wet tomorrow !!!!! Wish I could have worked in garden but cataract surgery precludes any heavy work or bending down including housework for several weeks.....really !!!!! It will be late April before I can get going outside.....grass will be shoulder height by then and inhabited by all sorts of exotic creatures I expect !!!!!...Have had to be content building GS wagons this afternoon......Regards.
DeleteWell they originally forecast cloud and some rain for us and it ended up being a lovely Spring day, with plenty of sunshine and few clouds. When my brother had his eye done, he had to be careful not to sneeze (easier said than done) etc to allow everything to heal nicely. At least you managed to build some wagons which is good:).
DeleteInteresting Steve we were only talking last week at the club about using Keith's rules as there does appear to be a gap in the market for company/Batt level rules rather than platoon. A nice looking game, it would be good to see how these rules shape up.....
ReplyDeleteCheers
Stu
Thanks Stu. I've used BKC quite happily for Company level games and above, with Battalion being the default setting as it were. However I think a lot depends upon how much detail you want to field, such as 2" mortars for example, which you can't easily do with BKC. Drop Keith a line and I'm sure he'd be happy to have input on what he's doing rules wise.
DeleteGreat looking game. I enjoyed reading WRG rules as an exercise in decoding. Never got round to playing them though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard and I think 'decoding' sums up the original rules rather nicely!
DeleteGreat looking table and sounds like you had fun. I have never played or read any of the old WRG stuff so I couldn’t tell you if they were good or not. I do know it’s fun to tinker with rules though. 😀
ReplyDeleteThanks Stew! My first outing with any WRG rules and thankfully Keith had 'translated them' from Barkerese into English;). I think we all tweak rules to suit our tastes etc.
DeleteSplendid looking game Steve, not rules I am particularly familiar with although I suspect they are more complex than I would like. A nice scale of scenario and one I might pinch 👍 I love the polish force as well
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt and I do love the look of Keith's games:). The rules aren't too complex, they just need some more games to get fully au fait with them. After a few Turns most of it seemed OK, it was just the morale side that we kept having to check IIRC. The scenario is a good one and would work for many periods I reckon. The Polish force is great as you get some cool tankettes and armoured cars, as well as great camo schemes.
DeleteGreat looking set-up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris:).
Delete