Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Ottoman outing with DBR

Just a few shots of tonight's DBR outing, Ottoman Turks vs New Model Army. The second game as I try to re-learn the rules, thanks to Keith's patience. The game was relatively short, and didn't end well for the Ottoman army. However, lots more learned. The game was played with our 15mm armies.






Battle at Helena, 1863

With friend Murray interested in ACW, and enjoying our Volley and Bayonet games so far, we tried a take on an 1863 historical scenario, Helena. The game we played was vaguely similar to the historical battle, but scaled, massaged, and adjusted, to make something more of it. Historically, the Confederate forces made some headway, but were eventually driven off by the Union defenders who were well supported by a gunboat in the river at their back. Their artillery was seriously delayed by the muddy state of the roads along which they'd advanced. In our game this meant that by the time it arrived on the table, the battle was decided.

Union defenders on the left, holding the high ground and the town nestled against the river

Union artillery in field defences

The Union gunboat

Confederate attack in the centre

Close up of the Union defences

Advance against the centre

Confederate attempt to push around their left/the Union right flank

The bold Confederate charge against the centre

... and against the Union left on the Confederate right flank

Both attacks in the centre were repulsed. The two brigades making the attack against the artillery failed morale, lost the combat, and routed.

The Confederate attack on their right against the Union left was repulsed

Pressure was applied against the Union right, but too little, too late





An interesting scenario, a difficult 'ask' for the Confederate attackers, but a wee bit of fun all the same. The game was played with my 15mm armies, mostly Freikorps models.

Saturday, February 1, 2025

The Gauls take to the battlefield

 Four of us gathered at Keith's this week for a round of DBA games. I'd just finished the Gallic army (II/ 11 ) (Essex, 15mm) and couldn't resist.  I modelled them as mostly fast warband, with a couple of solid Wb, a psiloi, and three cavalry. They didn't perform well under my generalship. Not to worry, they did better under the generalship of others .. yay!!

Just a few photos of that initial outing.





Friday, January 31, 2025

Tonkin Wars with Volley and Bayonet.

 For something a little different, a 15mm Volley and Bayonet game with Jon and Adrian, set in the Tonkin Wars in the 1860s, using Jon's beautiful 15mm armies. The row boats with oars come form Adrian's collection (and yes they are sporting British napoleonic figures).

The game was fictional, but based upon several French operations of the time, in which a shore landing was made in an effort to capture and destroy an ammunition depot.




The French landing was made with support from a naval gunboat ... of course!!!



Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Naval Thunder .. in the Pacific

 Last week I played in the second naval game in a campaign series that Keith has organised, as I understand it as a part of a test of the campaign system for the writers. The game was played using Keith's 1/3000th ships (Navwar IIRC)  using the 'Naval Thunder' rules. Just a few random shots of Keith's beautifully painted miniatures.







Friday, January 24, 2025

A small ACW piece of action.

Another ACW game, played with the Volley and Bayonet rules, and my 15mm armies. I have started introducing friend Murray to the rules, and this week we played a small more traditional game (Murray's second) set as a meeting engagement, but with armies deployed. I commanded the Confederate forces, and Murray the Union. 

The Union force was mostly M4 (which meant lower 'exhaustion' levels) with several M5 units, and two stands of M6 sharpshooters, but outnumbered the Confederates by a complete division. The Confederate army included one M6 shock unit, and one sharpshooter stand.

I deployed the division with the shock troops on the left, planning to attack there and hold in the centre and right. The game played out with the delightful perversity so common in games that include dice. My shock unit went in against an M4 unit. Both passed their morale throws. I managed one hit in melee. Murray rolled three 6's/three hits, won the melee and eliminated the shock unit (which had only three strength points).

In the centre Murray ejected me from the town sector, routing my occupying brigade which was disordered having just entered the town. I then managed to enter a firefight against Murray's centre which resulted in a second of his divisions becoming exhausted, and then suffering a moral collapse (having taken three casualties in the turn on which it became exhausted).

On the right I attacked with a division of standard M5 units, and managed to exhaust Murray's opposing division. 

We called the game having got to the point where neither of us had sufficient strength left to attack the other's remaining forces.

My initial occupation of the town sector in the centre

Confederate advance on the right

Confederate left, with the shock unit nearest the camera



An excellent wee game, offering lots of learning opportunities, for me included.

Friday, January 17, 2025

Return to the Renaisance with DBR

I've always loved renaissance wargaming, and have two armies suitably configured/based for the DBR rules: Royalist (ECW), and Ottoman. The problem is that I play the game so rarely that every time I do it's like starting from scratch, learning a totally new set of rules. As a consequence I'm simply not very good at the game, and probably don't offer much in the way of a challenge to any opponent. However that's no reason not to try, as long as opponents have patience with me.

Keith and I had a small (130 point) game as a refresher, fielding our respective 15mm armies. I used the Ottomans, and Keith brought a small New Model army to the table... perhaps replicating some Cromwellian overseas adventures.

It was a fabulous learning game.







Ottoman outing with DBR

Just a few shots of tonight's DBR outing, Ottoman Turks vs New Model Army. The second game as I try to re-learn the rules, thanks to Kei...