Stuff and Partizan

 It's been a while, or it seems that way as other things like the missus and the good weather drags me away from the computer

First up games, I missed one night at the club after the What a Cowboy game and went back last night with some Italian Wars to introduce Jimi to the delights of pike warfare. I gave Jimi a small French army and I took along what I could of my Imperials with some French substitutes where needed. I kept it simple with a flat open terrain on a 6x4 table, quite small for an Italian Wars game to be honest, it is not a small game period and although I see skirmish rules for it, you are not playing Italian Wars.

I digress, as I rolled my initiative dice I found my army lacking in aggression, so the French were on me quite quickly, things were fairly even on the flanks, I won on my left and Jimi won on my right. By now the infantry had clashed in the centre and at first it looked good, my Spanish Pike even managed to halt the feared Swiss. It did not last long and just as the cavalry of both sides got into position for flank attacks my pike blocks fell apart, there was no real need to go on and as the troops take some time to put away I shook hands and congratulated Jimi. We had a couple of Hazards which thankfully had no effect on the battle, although on a larger table I could have been in trouble with my mercenaries.

Next week I am back on the Eastern Front with an early war game of Bolt Action against Simon. I have also booked a couple of games in June with Matt Crump, first up our sixth campaign game as I attack the Russian supply depot with a Panzer platoon and a game later in the month at the Dungeon. I think I am beginning to regret the use of the Panzers and should possibly held them back until game seven, but the die is cast.

I have manged a bit of painting and a resupply from TAG and Steel Fist. First up was a lovely unit of Spanish Jinette light cavalry, I will have to get some more of these, secondly I started on my second Spanish pike block, the front ranks are done and I mixed in some sword and buckler men for interest, I am now well  on with the mid/command ranks and the whole should be done in the next couple of weeks, a slight slowing down as I have my granddaughter visiting for two weeks, also I am getting some arthur itis in my hands or repetitive strain injury, whatever it is it gives me gyp during the night.

And now of course Partizan 2023, I was not going to go as I had nothing to get and the two books I wanted Duncan at Helion offered to post them out, Julian decided he was going and offered both Stuart and I a lift, so I succumbed rather than spend a lovely day in front of the computer. The weather was gorgeous and we arrived then minutes before opening, Rob was hosting a participation game on behalf of the club so we had a base of operations if required.

Well done Rob.

What a Cowboy.

Simon Miller, Ipsus.

Ditto.

Very British Civil War.

SYW.

WWII.

India?

SYW.

ACW.

Ditto.

The show is probably the best wargame show in the UK, a good balance of traders and inspirational wargames with the emphasis on the latter. The hall is large, airy and there is plenty of room despite it being busy. I had a word with the lads on the Helion stand and picked up the two books I was after having been offered a hefty discount. I caught up with several bloggers whom I know and said hello to Simon Miller and discussed his upcoming Montrose scenario book for which I drew the maps. Apart from the books I only got a couple of pieces of scatter terrain, some brushes, tufts, flowers and wire pikes, so not a bad exchange for my bottomless fiver.

I haven't seen Duncan for a while and tried to catch up last week but he was enroute to Pinewood Studios with a jeep, or rather a Russian jeep type vehicle. I popped up this morning and ran into all things Russian, he is building a Russian Humvee type vehicle on top of an old truck chassis, it looked like a lot of hard work is involved so I kept my distance. I wandered through his parking lot and took a few pics. The big Russian eight wheel APC is a brute of a thing, it doesn't actually move at the moment but it could, my favourite the German (Czech) half-track is out on a job at the moment, I really must get a ride in that one day.

So, I am up to date for now, it is my 48th wedding anniversary today and the flowers have arrived to keep the memsahib sweet, as will the meal out tonight. What a romantic.

Di-sas-ter

Julian turned up for another Italian Wars game, I had been thinking of earthworks ever since I started my Imperials and especially now that I had moved on to my Spanish contingent, these guys loved earthworks the way I like hot crumpets with plenty of butter. I had managed to put some of these together (more below) so wanted to use them, I had set my sights on the battle of Marignano but couldn't quite find the time to organise it properly, so I came up with a mish mash of Marignano and Bicocca and hoped for the best.

To this end the French army lined the earthworks with arquebusiers and two cannon, supported to the rear by two Landsknecht pike blocks and one Italian (they came out of the box first) on the right flank was four cavalry units and on the left three. Although these could have raced off and possibly caused the enemy pike some anxiety I wanted the Swiss to at least get to the defences to see how the rules worked so I decided to hold them back for the first couple of moves. The Swiss had one huge pike block supported by  two smaller ones on each flank, the cavalry which were a mix and match bunch were on each flank. The pregame event meant two of Julian's cavalry units had become fatigued having had to march through mud in order to deploy, but it made no difference to the game.

Swiss in foreground.

French positions.

Swiss deploy.

In keeping with the idea behind the game the Swiss infantry came on in good style, the French artillery began poorly with long range fire, as the pike blocks got closer casualties did begin to fall and I hoped these would help if and when the pikes breasted the ramparts and my infantry fell on them. Once the Swiss were committed I loosed my cavalry in an attempt to sweep away the enemy horse and then turn in on the engaged pikes, at first this went well and things looked good. I managed to knock back the Swiss pikes opposite my right flank with gunfire but the other two climbed the barricade, I lost a gun and two units of shot very quickly, however the large Swiss centre had become disordered, but so had my left flank Landsknechts as a shot unit retreated through them, this was a heavy blow. The Italian morale held as the shot unit to their front disintegrated, but they lost out on the initiative roll and the large pike block hit them before they could charge in. Mayhem broke out all along the line, my cavalry after doing so well were stopped and began to lose out, I lost another gun as the left flank Swiss finally made it to the breastworks.

 

Main Ward reaches the breastworks.

As they were disordered I saw a chance to hit the enemy hard and turn the tide, Anne de Montmorency personally led a unit of Gendarmes into the enemy flank, we were unsure of how this worked but it did not work in my favour, despite the efforts of Montmorency the cavalry were knocked back and the general could not be found in the retreat. It was now my Landsknechts and the Italians broke under severe pressure from the Swiss, I still had my right flank unit which had been delayed in its attack due to having to manouvre past the surviving shot to their front. With my cavalry losing the fight and only one decent unit surviving King Francis left the field.

The Swiss clear the lines.

 

The Swiss break through.

A great game and a good try out for the rules on fortifications, quite a few questions were raised which I will seek answers for after perusing the rule book again. During most of our games the firing has not caused a great deal of punishment but several times today the Swiss lost stands as they came in to close range, so the Spaniards were definitely on to a good thing with field works., I had hoped this would help when my supports moved in but my infantry let me down and they were too close behind the front line so that when the shot did run or were pushed back they caused disorder behind them. So another step in learning the rules and a terrific set to.

I mentioned my field works above, I bought the gun emplacements from mate Colin at Charlie Foxtrot and he also cut me bases for the breastworks. On the bases I stuck a baton of wood I got from B&Q or some such and then filled it in with Polyfilla, on the back I stuck coffee stirrers and matchsticks, I then painted everything with earth or wood grain, drybrushed and flocked. The emplacements are really nice, the rest will do for now.

On the figure front I painted up more arquebusiers for my Spanish, I also managed to sell several Old West buildings on eBay which I no longer required having bought too many in the first place so I have ordered up more figures, arquebusiers, heavy cavalry, light cavalry and more pikes. I found I had over ordered on pikemen when the big order arrived so only needed a few to put another pike block of Italians/Neapolitans together, see, saving money really.

This week at the club I took part in the new flavour of the month game What a Cowboy from Too Fat Lardies and immediately identified him as the guy who laid the slabs in my back garden. Seriously though all I can say is that the game is not a patch on Dead Man's Hand, in my opinion of course, so who cares. A big thanks to Stuart though who as ever presented a professional game for us complete with all his excellent 3D bits and pieces and helpful cards.

It looks like I shall be going to Partizan after all, a day out with Julian and Stuart, although I do not need anything who knows what I shall see, there are a couple of Helion books I am after.

ACW and Pegasus III

 Club night was an ACW game organised by Fran with Warlord's Epic figures, although the rules are my less than favourite Black Powder Fran has reconstructed them for the ACW and they thus play a lot better, we now have several versions of BP depending on which period is being played.

The scenario was straight out of the ACW supplement and was a take on the battle of Monocacy in 1864 where Lew Wallace (author of Ben Hur) although losing delayed Jubal Early long enough for the Washington defences to be strengthened and Early's blitzkrieg stopped.

I was in command of the Rebel forces trying to force the Union position on the Monocacy river, I was quite restrained and only managed to get two thirds of my forces into action. The game was six turns and required the Rebs to maintain a vigorous assault to break the Federal line. In keeping with this I advanced fairly quickly and forced the Union skirmish line back across the Monocacy, however my untried brigade took this to heart and launched their own attack without my permission. Although both Alex and Fran looked skyward, Alex with delight and Fran with foreboding I thought I was in with a chance albeit slim. I narrowly lost the combat and my first regiment disintegrated due to a low morale score. My reserve brigade now did a Grand Old Duke of York trying to get into action, first going one way then another and even refusing to move on two occasions.

My brigades make ready.

The Union position.

Fran meanwhile sent his cavalry on a flanking attack while his infantry slugged it out with the Union centre hoping for a break. I was doing well if slowly, yet every time Alex's men were close to breaking he made his morale throws and all I did was push the Federal line back. My leading brigades were being slowly whittled down in the constant firefights and melees and always just missed out breaking their opponents. Fran was being held on the far flank and I had run out of steam and then an opportunity presented itself, Alex threw a blunder and one of his brigades charged out of the line and straight at the waiting Confederates, smiles broke out along the Reb line. In the reverse of my own blunder at the beginning of the game the Federal wave smashed into the gray line and against all the odds broke it.

My boys get carried away.

The Federals buckle but do not break.

It was turn five and the Union line was holding and although bloody and pushed back showed no sign of breaking, the game was up for the Rebs. I thought the Rebs had been given a very hard task under the scenario considering the forces were or looked almost even, no matter it could have went very differently if Alex had failed a couple of the tests I forced on him, but he didn't. Both Fran and I had tried very hard to break the dog leg in the Union line but in the end had failed. A good game and I might look at my Johnny Reb scenario to see if it would be worth fighting again.

I had Jimi round today for some Bolt Action, so as his force is British Airborne I thought it would be good to revisit Operation Pegasus a game I played solo twice during the Lockdown debacle, so I thought it would be good to play against someone face to face. An airborne force had to plan an attack on a factory somewhere in France and blow up as many buildings as they could, at least two to grab a 'win'. Jimi organised his five sections and chose his landing points only to find on arrival at Casa Anderson that one of his aircraft had met with a Jerry nightfighter and been shot down, also two of his sections landed way off target and lost a couple of men in the drop. The section which had been shot down was one of three which carried explosive charges so only two were left. 1 Section landed quite a distance east of the Railway station, 2 Section just to the south of the station near a barn, 4 Section west of the factory compound while the last one landed south of the factory almost at the factory fence.

 It was still dark when the British landed and 2 Section took up a position in the Station opposite the factory main gate and pillbox, 1 Section headed north to the crossroads and took up an ambush position, the other two began cutting holes in the surrounding wire fence. As the light improved the two squads along with the HQ and PIAT team had made it into the factory compound but it transpired that only 3 Section had explosives, 2 Section had some but were hiding in the station as dawn broke. Jimi decided that the pillbox might be a problem and sent the PIAT team towards it while 3 Section laid their explosives in the middle building (2), some French workers noticed the PIAT team but kept quiet.

The main gate with the feldgendarmerie.

The complex.

After a few Stella's the night before the squad marches.

 Meanwhile the German squad billeted in the Cafe Normandie had woken up, sorted themselves and began their march along the road to the factory, they were immediately taken under fire by 1 Section in a walled field at the crossroads, the squad suffered several casualties and lost its LMG team, the rest took shelter behind a nearby hedge, this did not help them and very soon they were wiped out and the survivors dispersed. Jimi now concentrated on tackling the pillbox, one French worker, a Nazi sympathiser had raised the alarm and the gate guards had retreated into the pillbox. A firefight now took place with some Paras and the PIAT team getting close to the little fort, despite the shock of a hit the field police inside the bunker decided to keep fighting. Things were looking good for the Paras as 4 Section took up a position close to the Cafe to keep an eye on the road coming from the west, 3 Section fired their explosives and up went the first objective, sadly killing several French workers in the vicinity trying to hide from the gunfire. 2 Section now joined in the fight for the pillbox as they ran past on their way to lay more bombs, the field police now felt overwhelmed and with Paras knocking at the door and concussed from PIAT rounds they surrendered. 

The Paras arrive in the dark.

The PIAT team sneak towards the main gate.

The pressure on the pillbox builds.

The police had however bought some time as German reinforcements entered along the west road, right into a hail of gunfire, one truck was immobilised and set on fire, the surprised survivors disembarked and lined a nearby hedge, there was still one truck in front while the HQ team pulled their schwimwagen up short and started to fire its MG 42 at 4 Section causing several casualties. More Germans turned up and the ambush position at the walled field was taken under heavy fire, 4 Section took more hits and went to ground allowing the German squads on the road to advance, capture the British HQ and open up on the nearest building where 2 Section had entered and were trying to lay their charges. The Jerries could not get through the fence and had to be content to spray the building trying to cut down the occupants before they secured their objective. 

More troops rush the bunker.

The first of the reinforcements come under fire.

More Jerries arrive.

4 Section sit on their backsides.

Jimi had to make some hard decisions, he went Down but this meant he could not now run from the building (5) before setting off the charges, and although it would take time the German forces were now getting the upper hand. As the enemy armoured car cut down the PIAT team and approached the factory Jimi took the decision to try and run from the building before setting off the charges. As the tension mounted two German dice game out of the bag and the surviving Paras died in a hail of lead. "For you Tommy the war is over".

A partial success for the British.

So again Operation Pegasus had turned in a good game with a nail biting finish. I at first thought it would be a British success as it seemed that the objectives would be gained before German reinforcements turned up, but the combination of one explosives Section taking position in the station and the time taken to subdue the pillbox ensured there would be some kind of fight. Even so it was only sheer luck that enabled the gunning down of the survivors of 2 Section, if even one man had, like the Bridge on the River Kwai, managed to hit the button before he breathed his last two explosions would have left a lasting impression on the work of the factory. No matter, we both enjoyed the game and had a good afternoon.

In other news I finished some defences for Italian Wars and a Spanish pike block but I'll leave those for another day. The club is being introduced to TFL's Cowboy game on Tuesday and I have an Italian Wars game next week with Julian.

And no, I won't be watching the coronation, I have a day to myself as the missus will, so some mapping and quite a bit of painting coming up for me.