It Ain't Half Hot Mum!

A month or so ago, Mark of Mud, Blood and Steel Blog fame, did an interesting post on wargaming rabbit holes and how easy it is to fall into one. Well that has sort of happened to me too! I can resist anything except temptation and all that😉.

I'm not sure what started it, but I think it was a Youtube video from Mark's Game Room about Eugene B Sledge (see below). Funny how one thing can lead to another, but it coincided with needing something new to read, or rather a different period from a few recent books. Now over the years I have read about the Pacific War in WWII, but can honestly say that I only had a passing, nay cursory, knowledge of this conflict. So I decided to put that right and spent a happy week or so before our holiday getting up to speed so to speak.

This was very enjoyable and enlightening too and certainly piqued my interest in trying to once again wargame this conflict in some shape or form. Afterall I bought some US Marines and Japanese after watching the Little Wars TV chaps game the invasion of Peleliu last year. A list of the books read of late can be found below, with some comments about most of them.

I'd read this from the library many years ago and remembered it as a very good and informative overview of the conflict. In fact it was much better than I remembered and can honestly say this is a great primer for anyone wanting to know about the Pacific War. He is scathing about MacArthur and show that theatres like Burma were really sideshows, when the island hopping campaigns would be the ones that decided the outcome of the fight with Japan.

The Forgotten Army gets excellent coverage here and certainly got me interested in gaming Burma, something I'd never really contemplated before. Aside from the wide variety of terrain encountered, there is plenty of scope for mini-campaigns here for both sides.

Any book recommended by John Keegan must be worth a read and so this proved to be. This led to other books being bought as I enjoyed it so much, despite it being harrowing at times but very informative too.

Technically not part of the Pacific, but an interesting campaign with pre-War kit fighting it out over challenging terrain and conditions. 

I'd read Guadalcanal Diary decades ago, so had a broad understanding of this campaign. Visually not one of Osprey's best books, but a good primer. From a wargames point of view another action that works well as a mini-campaign for both sides.

Well not sure what to say about this, but it must have been Hell on Earth to fight for this small atoll. Very informative but not an action I would want to wargame at all, certainly not at the level I normally play.

An excellent book and one of the few Pacific Island invasions I feel would be worth playing as a mini-campaign. Worth watching the Little Wars TV chaps take on gaming this.

One of those Osprey books that combines several titles, namely US Marines, Japanese Infantryman and the Battle of Iwo Jima. It suffers slightly because of this, but gives a good broad overview with a few potential actions that might be worth gaming.

I've not read this, but the level of detail looks excellent, and I've enjoyed his books and TV programmes before, so have high hopes.

A superb reference book as is anything from the pen of Zaloga. A useful guide when considering tank use by the Japanese and of course their lovely camo schemes.

Bought as a good guide for many Nations I had little info on and has proved useful when considering forces for Burma and the Pacific.

Wargaming Burma and The Pacific Campaigns

Having finished most of these books and having had time to reflect upon what I've read and learnt, a few thoughts on how I might approach things from a wargaming point of view:

• Certainly many of the Island campaigns hold little interest to me, as essentially one could argue they are 'Splat-a-Rat' games, with the Japanese player largely stuck in defensive positions, with little to do. Likewise for the US player, it is a case of assaulting one position after another, often largely frontal attacks. I know this is somewhat simplified, but I hope you get my drift here?
• I think these actions work better at say the Platoon or Company level, rather than the Battalion and above that I normally play with BKCII. 
• If wanting to game them, then the Threat Generation System might be a good choice, certainly for the solo player, alongside the Blinds used in CoC etc. How you determine the winner might be tricky, given the almost unlimited resources avaiable to the US player compared to the Japanese.
• Of the Island campaigns, the ones that have attracted me the most are Guadalcanal and Peleliu, as the Japanese are more active on the offensive (aside from their shocking tactics!) and so for my money, this will make for a more interesting campaign for me.
• Burma certainly has much going for it on many levels with regards to the games I want to play using BKCII, with riverine actions, beach landings, jungle, open terrain etc, so different challenges each time. I need to refresh my knowledge of this campaign for sure, but am looking forward to trying to flesh something out in due course.

What Next?

Aside from more research in due course, I have ordered some 8th Army figures from Pendraken that will work perfectly for Burma and have the added bonus of being useful for Sicily and Italy too. I have some AFVs to go with the British that I bought last year, with the Japanese and US Marines all accounted for somewhere in the leadpile.

I have been adding some air support for both sides in the form of 1:144th diecast aircraft, as finding what you want in this scale can be tricky. Luckily a Zero Zen and Wildcat are all ready to go in the games room, but I might be tempted for something for the British in Burma at some point, but my current NWE Hurricane will have to suffice for the moment.

So this falling into a rabbit hole has been fun and informative, but a tad expensive on the bank account front. Well I'm happy but just don't SWMBO😉!

Thanks for reading and as always, any comments greatly appreciated.

TTFN.

The Wombles & Wargaming

A somewhat tenous link in the title with The Wombles and wargaming, but all will become clearer soon I hope! Well, we have recently spent a wonderful week on the outskirts of Nantes, visiting our daughter and son-in-law, our first holiday since 2019 and the first with just us. 

The Vendee

In advance, our daughter asked if there was anything I would like to see, and aside from the usual castles and art galleries, I wondered if there was a museum dedicated to the Vendee Uprising 1793-1794, given we would be very close to the Vendee itself. Luckily for me there was a general museum on the Vendee, but one that had a superb section on the Uprising itself. Happy Days! Sadly photos were not allowed inside, but I did pick up the following book for about 4 Euros, so an absolute bargain.

Now a good few years ago I did buy a bunch of figures with the aim of gaming this Uprising, alongside a good book on it, but one that is sadly a rather dull read. But having been to the musem and driven around the area, the spark was re-kindled and this paused project might see the light of day once again. 

So onto the tenous link mentioned above. We drove past a sign to Cholet, which was the place of one of the major battles of the Uprising. I mentioned in passing that one of the Wombles was named Madame Cholet and it turns out that she was in fact named after the town. The icing on the cake so to speak was the fact that our son-in-law was born and lived in Cholet!

Clisson

We took a visit to the town Clisson on what proved to be a very hot day (35C), but didn't feel too hot to us due to a nice breeze and the lower humidity compared to Bristol. However there was an orange heat alert out, which meant that the castle was closed to visitors. Our son-in-law joked that the French take any excuse to have a day off! A real shame as the outside looked fantastic. 

The medieval bridge leading to the heart of Clisson.

The town was destroyed after the Vendee Uprising and rebuilt in the Italian style, based upon the Domaine de La Garenne Lemot the other side of the river.

An idea of how high the walls and tower are from near river level.

The imposing gatehouse and drawbridge, as would have been.

The other side of the castle and I just love that tree!

Another entrance from the town side and high above the river.

Very impressive I must admit and bought from the Lords of Clisson by a sculptor after the Napoleonic Wars to use it as a folly.

The rebuilt church in the Italian style, as it looks completely different to any other churches we saw.

Churches

One thing that struck me when walking around Carquefou, where we stayed, and other villages we visited, was just how big the churches were compared to those in the UK. They also invariably sat at the highest point of the village and formed the centre of it too. This made finding our way around very easy as you just had to look up to reorientate yourself!

The front entrance to the church in Carquefou, which had a very nice interior too.

You get a good idea of the sheer size of this church when viewed from here.

WWII

On Google maps in advance of our visist, I noticed a street called 9th August 1944, which I imagined signifed part of the liberation of Nantes. And so it proved to be, or at least when the first American soldiers arrived in Carquefou. Below is a photo of the memorial signage and the current view of the Place St Pierre.

Memorials

Aside from street names commemorating famous people or actions etc, I did notice plenty of War memorials on all of our trips out. They ranged from quite modest ones like this, to some pretty spectacular ones in Nantes itself.

On this side it noted the widows and orphans (I think) created by WWI, not something I'd seen before.

A reminder of the other Wars fought by France over the years.

Sorry for the very blurred photo here, but this was inside the church in Suce-sur-Erdre. There was a later stone memorial erected outside too, with a WWI soldier standing guard.

Beautifully painted, including those who were never found.

Again a reminder of other Wars fought and added to later.

Buildings 

What I did notice about Nantes and its surrounding villages and towns, was that the buildings were all pretty much white, or light beige, with grey slate tiled roofs. I was expecting a bit more colour, but this generally came from the shutter and doors, with the odd exception her and there. A few reference photos for use when painting up my terrain.

An old empty house opposite the 9th August 1944 sign. Fairly typical of many we did see, as it seems the French prefer more modern and light houses or apartments, as opposed to these characterful but dark inside ones. 

Rahter like our visits to Austria, you seem any roadside shrines and crosses as you travel around. A nice and simple on here compared to some we say, many with elaborate ironwork protecting the statue inside.

Very different from the norm we saw with its exposed brickwork.

The presbytry to the local church and catholic school, showing the 'beige' used alongside the 'white'.

A bit of a sucker for signs like this!

Now I would have liked to have taken plenty more photos, but the heat and schedule prevented me from doing so, plus I wanted to take it all in rather than constantly snapping photos. Afterall, we will be visiting many more times, so there will be more opportunities in the future.

What Next?

Now the holiday season is nearly over and SWMBO returns to work in a week's time, I have plenty of ideas and some deadlines too. 

• The Colours Wargames Show is on 6th September, so I'm looking forward to that and need to place an order with Pendraken for collection on the day. 
• Then there is a visit to Chris Gregg's to fight the Battle of Echmuhl 1809 in mid-September. I can only make one day but it is always fun! 
• Painting wise I need to finish some WWII kit for my Canadians in Normandy campaign, as well as some stuff for a possible Early War game.
• The Cotswold Wargames Day is on again in mid-October, so Dave and I are pondering on what to play. As WWII is an option and something we have not done before at a show, ideas we have need honing down and a scenario firming up etc.
• Terrain is being painted, made and planned, for use with all of the above. Something I love doing and easy to fit in as and when. But of course I do need to remember to paint figures!

So there we have it. Not quite a Keith Ross class holiday tour of Nantes, but hopefully there might have been something of interest in there for you and if so, comments always grealty appreciated.

Until next time!

TTFN.

IPMS Avon & Lincombe Barn Show 2025

For many years now, the local IPMS Avon Show has included a small wargames section organised by Lincombe Barn, one of the oldest wargames clubs in the country. These past few years I've been away when it's been on, but not so this year. After dropping off SWMBO at our son's, I made the short trip up to Thornbury Leisure Centre, the venue for the show and arrived not long after it opened. I'll leave my thoughts until later, as frankly most people will simply want to look at the photos!

Mars-la-Tour, Franco-Prussian War, 1870. I believe it is meant to depict 'von Bredow's Death Ride'. 

Loads of lovely and well painted 28mm figures.

I imagine this is von Bredow and chums...

French cavalry about to ride down their compatriots?

Classic cotton wool to represent firing, which did look very effective from a distance.

20mm ACW by Lincombe Barn Wargames Club.

This river looked rather good I must admit.

All the terrain was nicely done, nothing too fancy and the sort of thing you could easily do at home.

I'm not sure who put on this game, but it was using 'Never Mind The Billhooks' rules.

Lots of very nice 28mm figures.

A nice touch with the detailing on this tent.

Dogs of War and the '45 Jacobite Rebellion.

There in madness lies when trying to paint tartan;)!

The lighting was bad in this hall, so hard to get some nice photos.

I'm not sure who will come off best in this clash...

Again, sadly no idea who put on this game, but certainly Epic scale Punic Wars and using Hail Caesar! rules.

Always nice to see a temple.

Elephants are de rigour for the Punic wars! A very nice game and again one that is easily replicated at home.

Officer's Mess and some Englsih Civil War skirmish action.

Very nice 28mm figures, but again hard to tell with the lighting:(.

Thoughts On The Show

I was feeling a bit off colour as I had had a cold the day before and was still recovering, so I didn't spend as much time there as in previous years. Nevertheless it was good to get out and get a bit of a gaming and modelling fix. So a few observations on the show itself in no particular order:

• It was certainly well attended this year, with a broader mix of people and children than in previous years, which was good to see.
• The amount of stunning models on show is almost too much to take in. Being a bit off on the day, I didn't take it all in as in previous years, which was a shame, as there is just sooooo much to see.
• It was incredibly stuffy and humid in the 3 halls, which actually made it uncomfortable at times, requiring many of us to pop out for a breath of fresh air!
• The quality of games was up on previous years, with more historical games than before, which is really what I come to see. However about 50% of the games were Fantasy and Sci-Fi, which certainly drew in many of the younger attendees, who hopefully might have had a gander at the historical games too.
• In this day of contactless or card payments being the norm, it came as a bit of a surprise to see how many traders were only accepting cash. I honestly can't remember when I last used cash for a purchase! I really should have anticipated this, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise, as I was tempted by some very good offers on some model kits;)!
• I think all of the games were ones that anyone could easily put on at the club or at home, rather than many of the OTT ones that are often seen at shows. Whilst these are of course inspiring to see, you do need to make the game as accessible as possible, especially for new entrants into the hobby.
• There were some competition games at the show, with DBA and Art de la Guerre being the rules in use. Now I know these are competition games and have a quick turnaround, but honestly there was barely any effort put on into making the games even nominally attractive to the passing punter:(! 'Must try harder' is the report card on this one...

Purchases

I did treat myself to the following kit, as it's one of those aeroplanes that I always loved as a kid, especially the SCW camo scheme as shown on the box art. Perfect for my Early War games, even if a little on the large size, but more on that in another post. Apparently the Ju-87's were used for pre-planned attacks and the Hs123 more for 'cab rank' type ones.

I could have bought more kits for use in the Pacific War and frankly for pure nostalgia reasons, but the aforementioned lack of ready cash put pay to that;)!

What Next?

Well the prep for the next Normandy campaign game continues apace, alongside some terrain modelling, which I hope to get finished before our holiday in just over a weeks time. As always the best laid plans of mice and men and all that!

TTFN.