Renaissance 'gaming and DBR

I've had  along standing interest in the renaissance as  a wargames period, and partly acquired (form Stuart A, wargames friend from waaaaaaaay back), partly painted a Royalist ECW army many years ago. I fell out with the DBR rules (that's probably a couple of decades ago).

A couple of years back Keith introduced me to the condensed scale DBR (DBA sized games using DBR), and I clearly enjoyed them so much I sorted the basing of the entire Royalist camp (they'd been based in thin card, and my preference these days is for thicker bases that don't slide around as much, abut each other more easily etc.) I don't recall the games, but they obviously had an impact.

I hadn't got back to the rules since then, and when Keith suggested a game last Friday I suggested DBR. We played 300 points in a thoroughly enjoyable evening's game. Basically I had a ball (although that is as much to do with the company as the game), and it remind me of PRECISELY the reason I play games in the first place.

My own bumbling incompetence  alongside some good coaching from Keith, gave me a win, but that was immaterial and inconsequential in the context of the game. It was just damned good 'gaming.

I've been pottering with Armati rules for renaissance for a few years now.  This latest great experience in no way diminishes my liking for Armati. These are still good rules too. I was again pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed DBR. Interestingly I have enough ECW bases/figures that I could field a 300 point Royalist army AND a 300 point Parliamentarian army.

Matched opponents .. does it come any better?

So, more DBR looks to be around the corner.

US M10 AT support

I started the process of packing up the 'games room yesterday. Over the past few months I've been progressively sorting boxes, and discarding or giving away unwanted material. A lot of it fell into that most luscious of categories of 'aspirational purchases', a turn of phrase I've picked up from colleague, friend and wargames opponent Andrew T. I've also assembled/painted/completed quite a few of those kits/boxes of figures as well, so there is a lot to be said for aspirational purchasing.

As a consequence a number of projects have made a lot of progress, not the least of which has been the 20mm US 1944 force designed to play Spearhead (again these will double for the Korean conflict too). This project was a late comer to the wargaming stable, after I decided to make use of the US infantry that my son had painted up probably a decade or more ago to play Rapid Fire. We never did, so those troops had sat in the games room unused, hidden away in a box.

The project has required some additional purchases, and I've just completed what will probably be the last of the US armour, these two M10 tank destroyers which provide the AT component for the US armoured OOBs (Light and Heavy divisions). These are the Armourfast M10s, simple yet effective fast build models. I could have tried to detail them a lot more, put crew in the turrets etc (the open turrets certainly lend themselves to this) but at this stage I'm not really in the frame of mind for this. Maybe, one day .... I do have some of the necessary 'gubbins' in the spares box.

I do need to take a little more care when 'lining out' ... but things are a little rushed as our move looms on the horizon.

However one thing is for sure, the need to sort and pack has certainly had benefits in terms of the assault on that pile of lead and plastic. Predictably of course I have on several occasions given material away thinking I'll never use it, only to come up with a realistic use for it within a week or so .. those good old laws of the Universe, eh!!

A temporary halt to proceedings ...

I've tried to put this off for as long as practicable, but I guess it's finally time.  We are fast heading towards demolition date for our house, garage and games room, and everything needs to be packed up ready for a shift to temporary accommodation.

The demolition, and subsequent rebuild, are the final chapter in our personal Christchurch earthquake story, as all of our buildings were deemed by our insurers to be uneconomic to repair.
On the one hand you can tell us that we have something to look forward to in a new house, garage/workshop, and ames room, and I guess that's true.

On the other hand however that would underestimate the stresses of dealing with a bureaucracy that has proved to be both heartless and inefficient. The net result has been stress levels that have perhaps gone beyond anyone's normal expectations. We haven't even been amongst the worst affected which provides sobering food for thought when looking at some of those others worse affected than us.

So the Sutton war games room is closing down for a while. I expect to be able to continue painting etc in our temporary accommodation, but 'gaming may be slightly more problematic. In the meantime blogging may take on a slightly different focus, with fewer AARs and slightly more of .. well ... other stuff.

We'll see. In the meantime, let the packing begin .

American armour build progress.

Just a little more work and the 20mm US 1944 American army for Spearhead will be pretty much complete and ready for action. Recent purchases included two boxes of the Armourfast M4A3 75mm to bulk out the US armour.

As always with the Armourfast, the kits assembled easily. I always pre-paint all parts before assembling, and then touch up at the end before giving them a black wash, and lining out to provide a highlight.

Great War Spearhead II Scenario supplement

No secret - I'm a huge fan of WW1 games played using Shawn Taylor's Great War Spearhead rules. Shawn, with Robert Dunlop, recently published the revised second edition of the rules set and have announced plans to complete a series of scenario supplements. I have just proofed an early draft of the first supplement, featuring a series of 1914 western front scenarios recreating a series of actions from August/September 1914.

What can I say but ... truly excited. The scenarios set an interesting range of tactical positions and a fascinating series of command challenges, exactly the sort of thing that GWSH is so good at recreating.

If you are any sort of WW1 war games fan at all, keep your eyes peeled for this book. I doubt that you will be disappointed when the book arrives.

First of the new American armour ...

More pottering, still with the 20mm Spearhead forces - since I've been enjoying the assembly of kits (a pleasure I'd foregone for several decades). I recently purchased several boxes of the Armourfast kits to complete the armoured component of the US forces.

This first box contained two M4A3 tanks (with 76mm guns). Post June 1944 the US TOEs allow one or two of these to supplement the M4s, so this is the total of these more powerful tanks for the army.

They will also of course do double duty if the 1950 Korean War project ever gains any traction. As always the Armoufast kits are indeed fast assembly, and the biggest time was taken simply making the time to sit down and paint and assemble them. The assemble cleanly, and are nicely molded. I can't comment on their accuracy.

Now to the next box ...

Plugging the gap... eastern front, late 1943

This year 2014 has already started with far too few war games played. Friday night Andrew and Nick G came around for an impromptu 20mm WW2 Spearhead game,,,, FINALLY!!! The scene was set. Late 1943 on the eastern front, south of Kursk. The German allies have melted away in the face of the massive Russian counter offensive, and a large hole exists in the German line. A Russian infantry division, supported by a heavy tank break through regiment, is pushing forward as there are no armoured divisions are available. A German infantry regiment has been ordered forward to plug the gap, a small battalion of the valuable veteran Tiger 1 tanks committed in their support.

The Russians committed the break though regiment of KV1s on their left flank.

The German regimental commander deployed his centre battalion supported by his Tigers, allocating his regimental guns (Pak 40 and a 75mm IG detachments) in support of his left flank.

The KV1s were well supported by regimental 45mm AT platoons, and a regiment of artillery (deployed on table).

The battalion commander on the German left attempted to push his Pak 40s forward to support the infantry, but these were caught in the open and eliminated by the already deployed Russian 45mm AT platoons.

The German commander had ordered his third battalion to try to take the Russians in the flank, marching them around the Russian left. The flank march arrive don schedule and caught the Russian with only a a couple of platoons deployed as a flank guard.

The German left came under increasing pressure with concentrated artillery fire. Meanwhile the German counter battery artillery (a battalion of 150mm guns) located the Russian off table guns and eliminated the regiment in two turns of concentrated fire. This took some pressure off the German left, but too late. The Russian CB observer located the German artillery, but being out-ranged was unable to bring down effective CB fire of its own on the German 150s.

The German armour had to push forward but it was effectively ambushed by the previously unlocated Russian heavy tanks.

A combination of suppressive artillery fire and direct tank fire suppressed first one, then both platoons of Tigers in a great illustration of combined arms action.

Meanwhile the German attempt to push forward in the centre was coming under increasing volumes of direct and mortar fire.

Finally both Tiger platoons were eliminated, and even though the German flank attack had made some progress it was obvious that the German force was buckling under the sustained Russian pressure.

Both armies came from my own 20mm collection, and both lists (at 450 points) were my own. The Russian list was very effective, maximising indirect fire support for the infantry and armour. I generally take two on table Russian artillery regiments, given the difficulty of contact between Russian observers and their gun. My rationale is that if all else fails, they can always fire direct under the control of the gun crews, so the points are less likely to be wasted. This decision, combined with the mortar support, was crucial to supporting the infantry. Mind you, Andrew's die rolling was better than average, and Nick's was poor. In one turn Nick failed every roll to lift suppressions, heralding the death knell of the German armour.

However a great game.