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.

On to the Korean Peninsula?

You see, there was this box in the bottom of the 'unbuilt kits' box.. I found it because I've been digging, digging in search of the bottom of that dark dark place called the bottom of the unbuilt kits box. I have no idea why I bought this, but I think I bought it some time around 1972. It had struck me that a lot of the late war American, Russian and British kit could do nicely for some action in the Korean Peninsula, using either WW2 Spearhead, or Modern Spearhead. And there was this old Airfix Centurion Mk 8 kit. A little doctoring on the barrel to remove the fume extractor, and it would make a passable Mk 3 for 1950. The Centurion is one of my favourite tanks.

So there we go.

Mind you, the big attraction (apart from satisfying my economist's predilection for efficiency by getting multiple use out of my armies) is that I .. LOVE.. THOSE .. EARLY ... JETS.

Only problem is that the jets weren't used in a ground attack role. But.. be damned, they'll do as proxies for the actual ground attack aircraft. So, coming soon,.,. an F86 Sabre and a MiG 15...

However, first up there are those kits I've just bought to sort the basis for the 1944 American armour... yep, I'm a hopeless case!!!

'Dashed strange fellow that Doctor chappie'

"I said, dashed strange fellow that Doctor chappie. Odd ideas, all this newfangled science stuff. Wasn't like that in my day. Nothing like a bit of cold steel and a good British scream to scare the beejeezus out of anyone with the gall to stand up to Her majesty's finest, damn it all. Now drink up Winstanley dear boy. Another gin is it?".

These were Caruthers' reflections on the newest arrival to join his task force, Doctor Gerald Morgenstein. Morgenstein has quickly been dubbed the mad scientist in the light of his predilection for weird oddball machines.

The doctor is seen here with his latest maniacal contraption. Interestingly he is accompanied everywhere by a ferocious native woman who will talk to no-one, and who allows no-one to get closer than a few yards to the doctor.

The ferocious native woman stands ready to thrust a tool into the workings of the machine.

The doctor himself with his latest contraption

Some of the weird internal workings of the machine.

The Doctor is the latest addition to the HotT VSF army as it expands to a triple sized army for Big Battle HotT. Nearly there!!

'The yanks are coming'

Some time ago I posted this picture.. a box with a range of 20mm US equipment that my son Nick had accumulated in preparation for a US army for Rapid Fire. Our interest in that rules set waned after a decade of play, and Nick moved on to Ancients and HotT. The figures stayed with me. The success Nick G and I found in playing Spearhead in 20mm has meant that i have renovated Russian, British and German armies over the past two years, and now it's the turn of the Americans.

Tonight I finished basing the infantry, three battalions worth.

I also gave the figures a wash with Citadel 'Nuln Oil' to give the figures a little more depth. I think that Nick did a pretty reasonable paint job so there seemed to be no need to do any repainting.

The mortars and HMG didn't really need rebasing, so there's a regiment ready for the table.

Houses resurrected. this isn't a fantasy novel is it?

Way way way back at the end of 2010 I bought four ornamental houses from a $2 shop here in Christchurch. The plan was to use them as scenery with 15mm figures. The colour however were a little OTT, and so the plan was to repaint them.

I had undercoated them and started the paint job when the 22 February earthquakes hit. The houses were thrown about a bit (much like their full sized equivalents) and suffered some damage. They have sat on the shelf for almost 3 years now, looking forlorn.

Last week I decided to get them finished.

That'll do.. next please!!!!