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.

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.

Japanese Crossfire force

Last of the Crossfire Japanese for the Pacific for now is the completion of the solitary Type 97 Japanese medium tank. This entire project has been a bit of an impulsive one. It began with inspiration from Brett Simpson's work exhibited on the Crossfire Fb page, was fuelled by the impulsive purchase of a box of Airfix Japanese infantry, and then supported with some Eureka support weapons, and an Airfix Japanese Type 97 tank, all in 20mm. Finally I took the time to create the terrain scatter pieces to give a better table to aesthetic.

There would be a lot more to do if I wanted 'go the whole hog', but this will do for now. There are five Crossfire platoons (if I used them for Spearhead -which I am tempted to do - that would be not quite two battalions), three HMGs, three 50mm Grenade Launchers, and the tank. Who knows when they might actually see action on the table.

The completed selection

The Type 97 Chi Ha tank

Volley and Bayonet to the fore

This week's 'gaming brought to the fore the flexibility of my fave war games rules set: Volley and Bayonet, with two games over two nights.

The first game was an historical scenario from the Nine Years War (League of Augsberg), using Adrian's beautifully painted 15mm figures.

This second game was a simple introductory American Civil War scenario for potential new player  Murray, using my own 15mm armies.

The point here is that despite these two conflicts being 170 years apart, and despite the Nine Years War taking place in the decade preceding what was intended to be the start of the period covered by Volley and Bayonet (1700-1900), the rules cope astoundingly well using those small 'sub period' tweaks we often talk about, giving great games that seem to have the feel, and produce the historical outcomes, that are all plausible and reasonable.

Just 'love 'em'....

Japanese support weapons

Another small step forward in the 20mm Crossfire 'Pacific Theatre' project: some Japanese support weapons. I'd originally intended to buy some of the SHQ infantry sourced from 'Grubby Tanks', as these were recommended as the best fit with the Airfix Japanese infantry I have painted with respect to size. However the comms lines went dead after a couple of emails (I hope everything is alright for him) so I looked around and finally settled on the Eureka 20mm figures, which are not too bad as an overall fit. I'd just put in a plug for Eureka here .. when the figures arrived they must have ranked amongst the best packaging for despatch for figures I have ever received.  I write and told him so!!!

So, three HMGs, and three small (50mm) mortars ( called 'knee mortars' but actually more of a grenade launcher from what I have read so far.. always open to correction!!). The mortars theoretically don't need to be on table in Crossfire, but.. hey.. who can resist.

Next up, I bought a Japanese tank for Crossfire... as they are an infantry rules set pitched as the squad/platoon/company level of command, there's not much need for tanks, but they can be incorporated so.. what the heck.

Medieval DBA games

A couple of DBA games were the order of the day (or the night) with Andy. My Anglo-Saxon army (III/24(b)) had only had one outing, and the new Vikings (III/40(a)) were champing at the bit for a 'bit of a go'. Andy accommodated with his Norse Irish, Book III, and Anglo Norman, Book IV. The games were played using our 15mm armies.

Game 1: Vikings vs Norse Irish.

Neither of us opted for a littoral landing (stupidly)

Andy's new medieval camp

My own new medieval camp

The Vikings tried to outflank on the right, using their speed, the Norse Irish threatened the other flank with Auxilia

In the centre the Viking fast blade began to make inroads against the Norse Irish spear

The blade were managing to stay alive despite being caught on the steep hills by the auxilia

The fast blade won the battle in the centre, a win to the Vikings

Game 2: Anglo Saxon vs Anglo Norman

The Normans mistakenly deployed their knights in line behind their spear

Andy attempted to push the knights across to the flank

Saxon hordes in the read.. 

The Saxon spear survive a combat with a stand of knight (on the left).. a 6 vs 1 can do that

A new DBA camp: Anglo Saxons

The aesthetic we build in our games has become increasingly important to me. Much of my previous 'gaming life has involved compromises, created by a mixture of cost and skill and time availability. I decided that I wanted to step things up a little, especially now that I have more time. I have been inspired too by my 'gaming colleagues who have themselves set new standards in scenery and army painting and basing.

I recently bought the figures for a camp for the Anglo-Saxon army.

The 'camp' with a couple of bases of the Anglo Saxons.

I struggled to get decent photos for these. Hmmm

The figures are from the Essex 15mm medieval range, and the 'pig on a spit' is from the Irregular Miniatures 15mm range (I really liked that!!). The barrels were 3D printed by friend Andy from files he created himself.