OHW Scenario 13 - Escape

I've had this scenario prepared for quite sometime now, but just didn't feel in the mood to play it, given I was devoting most of my time to the France 1940 Campaign. However the weather put pay to any priming of troops for the campaign and with the weather set poor for at least a week, it seemed a good opportunity to get some games in.

We had about 2" of snow overnight which was not bad, but not too far away they had 6" - 8" on the tops of the Mendips. Far too cold for priming unfortunately.

Blue OOB

3 x Line Infantry

1 x Light Infantry

2 x Cavalry

Red OOB

3 x Line Infantry

2 x Light Infantry

1 x Artillery

Scenario Objectives

The Blue Force is returning after raiding Red territory, but is faced by a Red blocking force on the road. Blue is unaware the other Red units are close by.

Blue Force to exit 3 Units off the table.

Blue Force can only exit via the road at the Southern table edge.

The Game

As is my usual practice I got everything set up the night before so that I could make a leisurely start once the morning chores were out of the way. I had no fixed Turn limit in mind, but a maximum of 8 Turns felt right. I'll let the captioned photos tell the story of the game.

An overview of the baord, with the lone Red Light Infantry blocking the road.

Another Red Light Infantry unit would be able to arrive on Turn 6.

The Red flanking force to arrive on Turn 2, but with a Dithering commander. Fortunately I attached the CO before rolling for commander quality.

The other Red flanking force to arrive on Turn 4, but with a Dashing commander.

The Blue right flank had a Dashing commander, whilst the Centre was Dependable, but with the CO would count as Dashing.

The Blue left flank composed of their Cavalry and with a Dashing commander too.

The end of Turn 1. The Blue force didn't move too quickly, despite having Dashing commanders all round. The Red Light Infantry held their position.

The Blue Cavalry acting as flank protection whilst the Centre moved down the road.

On the right the Blue Light Infantry moved to screen the woods as they advanced.

The end of Turn 2. The Blue force moved more swiftly this Turn, forcing the Red Light Infantry to move towards the Cavalry to try and block a quick and easy escape route. The Red flank force appeared over the hill, but its shooting failed to hit its mark.

The Red Light Infantry feeling like King Cnut trying to stem the tide.

The Blue troops in the Centre get a surprise as shots whizz over and around them.

The end of Turn 3. The Blue Force deploys one Line Infantry unit to meet the threat to its flank, whilst all other units push forward as quickly as they can. The Red Light Infantry wisely retreat back to the road, trading space for time.

The Red Light Infantry hope they can hang on long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

The Blue Line Infantry unit take incoming fire but managed to rally a hit off to maintain reasonable combat effectiveness.

The end of Turn 4. The Blue Force continues to push forward to try and close with the Red Light Infantry blocking their escape route. As Red reinforcements arrive, the Blue Line Infantry in the Centre begin a fighting withdrawal.

Enemies to the right of me...

... enemies to the left.

Neither side can gain a decisive advantage, despite some good shooting.

Can the Red Line Infantry march quickly enough to prevent the Blue Force from escaping?

The end of Turn 5. The Blue Force closed in for what it hoped would be the kill on the Red Light Infantry, whilst the Blue Line Infantry continued their fighting withdrawal as the Red troops pushed forwad to help the beleagured unit on the road. 

Some how the Red Light Infantry just held on.

The Blue Line Infantry continue to hold back the Red Line Infantry.

Turn 6 and Der Hexenkessel. As the Blue Cavalry charges the Red Light Infantry, who manage to turn to face, the Red Light Infantry arrive to surprise the Blue Force. The fighting is confused with no real space for manouevre for the Blue Force as the Red Force closes in.

Can the Blue Cavalry sweep away the Red Light Infantry>

The Red Light Infantry appear in the flank of the Blue Line Infantry as Blue Light Infantry move to cover the Red Line Infantry who are advancing in Line.

The end of Turn 6. The Blue Cavalry make short work of the Red Light Infantry, opening up an avenue of retreat at last. The Red Infantry cannot quite get enough hits to force the Blue troops to rout, although one Blue Line Infantry unit does have to retreat to reform.

The Blue Line Infantry from the Centre that have been delaying the Red Force finally have to retreat to reform.

The road is now open, but can Blue take advantage of it?

The Red Light Infantry just fail to cause the Blue Line Infantry to fall back to reform.

The Red Force still pushing on hoping to stop the Blue Force.

End of Game

A close run thing but on Turn 7 Blue managed to extracate 3 units from the tightening noose and thereby gain victory, but most likely a Pyrrhic one at that.

Post Game Thoughts

Well that pretty much came down to the wire, something that I didn't expect around Turn 3, when I thought it was going to be a walk in the park for the Blue Force. How wrong one can be! It was great to get Honours of War onto the table after so long and as alway sit provided a very enjoyable game. As always some post-game thoughts in no particular order:

• The random allocation of commander quality worked well and I prefer this to knowing in advance what they will be like. This also greatly adds to the fun of solo play.
• As both sides had an above average amount of Dashing commanders, their faster movement on Admirable or Inspiring command rolls certainly helped the game move along at a fair old lick and neither side was too slow compared to the other. If say Blue had lots of Dithering and red Dashing, then it would have been a very different game.
• The 2' x 2' table was a perfect size for HoW with its smaller movement compared to BPII. I deliberately wanted this more steady movement as I felt the generous movements rates of BPII would have unbalanced the game.
• Once again the 3 base units helped give just enough space on the small table for some movement and manoeuvering.
• Limiting the exit for the Blue Force to the road only gave the Red Force a fighting chance. If it had been anywhere along the Southern edge, then the Red Cavalry could have escaped very easily and likewise enough of the Blue Infantry. 
• I could have had the Red Light Infantry move back early on to the road edge, but I wanted them to try and keep the Blue Force 'bottled up' for the Red flanking force that arrived on Turn 2 to have a chance to start making its presence felt. I think this approach worked well but could have been better if the Red shooting had been more effective at the start.
• The Blue Cavalry could have charged the Red Light Infantry early on and would probably have either forced them to flee back of routed them in close combat. Either way they might have been able to clear the road sooner for the Blue Force.

This has been one of the better scenarios I've played, possibly due to the above that gave a good and balanced game. I think there is plenty of replay value in it to see how things might unfold taking the points above into account.

I don't have any other games planned just yet, but most likely another OHW scenario might make it to the table or a generic bigger scale one, depending upon time and motivation. I hope to get some more painting in, but this is most likely going to be on my mid-19thC ImagiNations troops given my priming issues due to the weather.

TTFN.

Books, Bugs & Butterflies

With the weather forecast to take a turn for the worse, I thought I'd do a bit of an update on what's been going on here since my last post. A real mish mash of stuff which I hope might contain something of interest for you.

Books

Two books arrived this weekend just gone and absolute crackers they are too. 

I've really enjoyed all of Dalrymple's books and so far this is an absolute cracker. It was bought for some background info for some form of planned Honourable East India Company based games. Still early days but you realise how little of this period you were taught in school. For example I didn't realise that the 'Boston Tea Party' belonged to the HEIC and that the 'Colonists' were worried that the HEIC might expand there operations to America! Certainly that last part piqued my interest for some 'what if?' games were they did land troops there, but that's for another time...

I've been a big fan of Dan Mersey's rules ever since I helped play test 'Lion Rampant' and some of the other titles too in his catalogue. I pondered about getting these but one evening whilst surfing the 'net, I came across a new copy for a price that was too good to refuse. The production values are superb as you would expect from an Osprey book. I've only skimmed it so far but am very impressed with what I've seen.

Bugs

I've never really been a fan of classic SciFi films and games, but have grown to love the HG Wells and Steam Punk milieu over the years. When 'In Her Majesty's Name' came out I bought the rules, loved the background but frankly the games were a disappointment. Shame as they promised so much. The same happened with another set of rules which for the life of me I cannot remember! But having bought Xenos Rampant I popped into the attic to dig out the figures I still had from those times.

Some 'classic?' GW plastic kits bought for 'IHMN' and never used. A bit on the large side for 10mm but would work even if a bit of a squeeze. I've always loved the 'Dreadnought?' on the left and will definitely used that in some shape or form.

I amassed a load of 6mm figures for skirmish games (mad I know at this 'scale') that did get used, but then like so many projects simply got sidelined. Looking at them now I wonder how the hell did I paint them and add highlights? I sure as hell couldn't do that now?

A good sized 15mm Platoon or Company for the ruleset that I cannot remember the name of. Demo'd at a show and then not used since. I had fun painting them but this futuristic look doesn't float my boat anymore.

I will probably use the 6mm figures to get some trial games in at some point just to get a hang of the rules. Ultimately my aim is some form of Victorian SciFi in the future but I have plenty of other stuff in the queue as it is.

Butterflies & 18thC India

The 'Anarchy' book above has certainly whetted my appetite for some games set in India between the HEIC and one of the many States and their Allies that they fought. I'm in full 'Butterfly' mode at present and I'm certainly having lots of fun thinking of what figures to use etc, but currently am very much in research mode. To this end I dug out the following:

Rescued from my 'to sell' pile as I hadn't remembered that it contains quite a bit of info on India (unsurprisingly) but in the period I'm exploring. I thought it only covered Victorian conflicts!

Not the best Black Powder supplement to be honest, but it does have a very useful basic set of stats for the HEIC and their Opponents.

As with many of my rules, bought somewhat on a whim. Whilst it doesn't cover the 18thC per se, there is some useful info and some good ideas that could fit into a campaign.

France 1940

Unusually for me, despite the above distractions of the 'Wargames Butterlfy', I'm managing to maintain a pretty good focus on getting stuff prepped and painted for the forthcoming campaign. I now have enough for the first scenario, which I hope to play by the weekend.

The M/C & Sidecar form the HQ for the Recce force which will be supported by these Armoured Cars. I must say painting Panzer grey at this scale is tricky to get tight, as you don't want them to be too light. I think I've found a good compromise which works well on the table.

Trucks and Pz 38's awaiting priming, which won't happen for a while as the weather is too cold.

A mix of Artillery, AA, Support Units and Half-Tracks again awaiting priming and grit on some bases. All will be required later on in the campaign.

Terrain 

My focus has been on getting troops etc ready, but I do need to make some barricades and a few decorative items for the table. Given the cold weather we are forecast these should jump to the fore in the next day or two.

You might well wonder why I have put a picture of an ASDA flannel under Terrain? Well it cost me the bargain price of £0.70 and it looks a good colour for some Summer crops in a field. I need to do an experiment to see whether I need to drybrush it to add higlights, leave it as is (once cut to size) or base it as per my other fields. I'm hoping it will look good but if not I've not exactly wasted too much money!

An In Other News

My good friend Keith Flint has recently announced the date for this years Cotswold Wargaming Day . All being well Dave and I will be putting on another game. Currently we are looking at something set in 18thC India which could be fun, hence my current research frenzy. Updates will surely follow and I hope to see some of you there this year?

TTFN.

Look I Painted Something!

I was unsure as to whether I'd have the time or the inclination to take some photos for the annual Pendraken painting competition, but the weather was kind and a good meeting on the support front for our son meant that I felt quite upbeat (rather unusual after meetings!). So a quick gathering together of the toys and my games cloth left me to try and take some half decent pics of the troops. David Bailey I'm not but they make a good record of what I've been up to and it's quite good to remind oneself that the efforts look pretty reasonable when on the table.

German Early WWII Infantry Battalion

This forms the core of my WWII Germans and is what has been taking up my time and energy this month. I'm happy to have finally got these completed, so now it's onto the various support troops and ATG's etc that changed throughout the War.

The core force.

The 2nd Kompanie with its HQ and Heavy Weapons attached.

The 75mm Infantry Gun and Pak 35/36 plus their tows.

FAO and FAC.

The CO.

Attached Divisional Recce bar its CO and Armoured Cars.

Pendraken Painting Competition 2023

Some of these you will have seen before but they have all been completed since last February. It's rather nice to see some of the troops that have been in their box since October.

Jagdpanther.

Panther.

Tiger II.

North West Frontier-cum-ImagiNations Mounted Infantry.

North West Frontier-cum-ImagiNations Light Infantry with attached Mountain Gun.

North West Frontier-cum-ImagiNations Brigade.

Generic Pack Horses.

North West Frontier-cum-ImagiNations Generals.

Well I hope you enjoyed seeing my efforts and as always comments are greatly appreciated.

TTFN.

This Month I Have Been Mostly ...

Well it's been a while since I posted anything, but fear not dear reader (or should that be fellow Blogger? Answers on a postcard...) I have not been idle, far from it. So I thought I'd do a bit of an overview  to keep you up to date on things chez moi.

Life, Love & The Pursuit Of Happiness

Just a fancy title really for things that have been going on outside of the gaming sphere. We have been blessed with some lovely almost Spring like weather here in Bristol, which has meant plenty of time outside, either pottering about on the garden, getting out on the bike (so nice) or just sitting and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Compared to the weather in other parts of the World, we have been lucky so far this year.

I have been very busy with various meetings with the local County Council on their SEND provision for the next 5 years, which has taken up quite a bit of my time but hopefully will have been worth it. I take the view that if I don't participate, then things will not improve and I can't 'complain'. Rather like not voting in the General Election and then moaning about the Government!

France 1940 Campaign

I think I have a good broad outline of how I want this to play out now, which is of course good. Blaxland's book, 'Destination Dunkirk' has been a superb resource and I highly recommend to anyone interested in this campaign. Now it's a case of getting enough miniatures painted up to kick things off, more of which below.

Leros Style Campaign

Whilst reading the Fallschirmjager book (see below) it occured to me that I have enough units to do a mini-campaign based upon this historical action. I had read about this pre-lockdown and thought no more of it, but I thought that this would be easier to do than my hoped for Crete Campaign and almost provide a dry run for something larger and more involved. I've a few ideas in my head and no more than that, as I have tried not to get sidetracked from my painting, which is easier said than done! Watch this space though for some updates soonish...

My Painting Area

A bit of a thing at present on many Blogs, so I remembered to grab a photo or two of my set up.

My bijou painting desk, aka the kitchen table. You can see why I have to wait for the kitchen to be clear before I can do anything. Some day I will have a dedicated space of my won...

The tools of the trade, with a very old jam jar for the water, a rather battered but loved saucer for the paint and my core brushes that I use for over 90% of my painting.

The spare brushes that are really too big for 10mm, various paint reference sheets, all stored in the lid of an old GW paint set that is still going strong some 20 years on. 

Painting

The impending France 1940 Campaign has kick started my painting mojo after quite a fallow period. I don't know about you but I find it hard to get going if I've been away from painting for some time. Taking the first step is the hardest, but once this is done, I tend to get into a groove. The classic paint little and often is certainly working for me.

Another hurdle is that I always worry that the units will not look good enough, which is maybe a hang over from my days in the design industry, where everything had to be perfect. Reminding myself that as long as they look good at amrs length and on the table, then that's fine by me. I still try and paint as well as I can, but I'm tending to worry less about details, as A: I can't see them and B: I can't paint them due to my shaky arm!

Maybe the wargames magazines should do what GW's White Dwarf did many years ago and have a regular column from a wargamer who painted, rather than a painter who wargamed. I fear, and I know this from experience, that all those wonderfully painted figures one sees in the magazines can be so off putting to the average wargamer or someone starting out in the hobby.

So far I have finished a full German Infantry Battalion for the French Campaign and only need a few Recce units before I can start. For once I have tried to focus on getting enough units ready for the first game, working on a Kompanie at a time, so that I can see progress and also have a self-contained formation for a game. I have a list of other units that need painting for the forthcoming scenarios, which will help keep me very much on track.

Terrain

At least I have not wandered off track and into scratch building terrain, given my love for doing so. However I do know I need and want to make a few items for the French Campaign, but am being a good boy and resisting until those Recce units are finished. Nothing too fancy, but some barricades, advertising hoardings and road signs to help decorate the table.

Games

I have another OHW scenario all planned out, but currently I'm staying focussed on my painting, which is rather unusual for me. Most likely I will use Honours of War for it as I feel it's the best fit. I would like to play it in March, given that I should have plenty of German units painted for the French Campaign by then.

Reading

After finishing off Blaxland's excellent Dunkirk book, I've read of flicked through the following:

I book I had not come across before but Tony of Woodscrew Miniature Army fame recommended it and I'm glad he did so. An excellent overview of the Fallschirmjager and with a good OOB at the end. From this I got the idea of a Leros stype campaign.

A charity shop find and just one of those books that is a delight to read and full of little nuggets of info. Highly recommended.

I've had this a while and after a flick through I've not had time to try out the small scenario in there that is perfect for a small table and with minimal troops. Painting taking priority at present plus of course my planned campaigns.

A pre-order from last year that arrived this month. I'd tried the original rules a good few years ago and they just didn't grab me. This may have had something to do with the Armies used and my poor die rolling! However since then I've played plenty of BPII and enjoyed the games and so I thought I'd give these another chance. I'm glad I did so as the book is much better in its layout with a handy rules summary at the back. The rules have been expanded to cover the War of the Roses as well as some simple siege games. The Army Lists have been reduced and the expectation is you will be the appropriate supplement. Not a problem for me and the WotR list will probably suffice for my initial games and after that we will see. I have plenty of other reference material should I need it as well.

The Flap Of Butterfly Wings

I'm not sure where it came from (possible an Amazon film) but this past week I have wondered about getting in some BPII games but set in India with the East India Company. I have absolutely no idea why this happened, but in the end I ended up ordering William Dalrymple's 'The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company' for some background knowledge to a period I know very little about. I've enjoyed his books on indai before and so am looking forward to reading this. Whether it turns into a wargames project remains to be seen...

Until next time stay safe and keep healthy.

TTFN.