Italian interlude: Somebody Stop Me!

 I was desperate to get back to the Italian Wars recently so I set up a solo game based on the Battle of La Motta from Roldolfo Verginella's scenario book, I amended the deployment set up and put the cavalry on the wings rather than in the centre of each army. Before I managed to set some time aside I found out Simon was free so offered to pick him up and bring him to the Bunker. We have now decided on a name for the wargame room, not Post Office, shop, study or downstairs, it is the Bunker. I digress, on arrival Simon sat down where the Venetian army was set up and when offered a side decided to hunker down with the Venetians. The Venetian infantry were not the best as 50% were Militia but they did have more cavalry, the Spanish infantry was better and included some Landsknecht mercenaries.

Venetian line.

Spanish line.

Spanish left, Venetians right.

 From my point of view I thought my left was in danger as only one cavalry unit held the position, so in true renaissance style I simply threw my army forward, although my infantry seemed less than enthusiastic, the Venetians also came on at a good pace, especially the cavalry. As the horsemen clashed honours were even on my right, we both lost a unit while the survivors headed for the enemy guns. On the left my heavy cavalry proved to be rubbish, they lost out while the Venetian light cavalry went for my gun while the victors reorganised.

Infantry advance.

 

The cavalry in action.

 

Things getting serious.

About this time the first pike blocks met in the centre of the battlefield, sure enough the better quality of the Spanish forces began to force the Venetians back, the Landsknecht pike block winning against its opponent was now hit in the flank by the rallied Venetian heavy cavalry. Despite this the Germans pushed their enemies back and routed the Italian foot at the same time, nearby two more Venetian pike blocks were destroyed. The last of the Militia met the second Landsknecht unit and in its turn was also pushed back. The Venetian army had been routed.

 

The last gasp.

 

Looters.

 Although my infantry were in the main better than the enemy my die rolling was very good while Simon was having an uphill struggle for most of the game, his cavalry had done very well but the attack on the pike block had failed. Nonetheless it was a good few hours of enjoyment and it was nice to see the Italian Wars back on the table.

Today I was back in Italy but at the bottom end, Matt had invited me up to Penrith and had set up a game in Sicily, as usual the game table was a treat to see and play on. I was the Americans and had the job of assaulting a small village and capturing a T-Junction. My first wave consisted of three squads of Paras and an M7 mobile artillery piece along with a mortar, in front of me were three squads of Germans one of which were Fallschirmjager, supported by an MMG, 50mm mortar and an infantry gun.

Looking towards the objective.

The T-Junction.

I could advance through a dry river bed in cover or concentrate on the German left wing which was holding the village, I decided there would not be enough time to try a left hand flank attack and get to the objective, so I went for the Jerry left wing, my reserves could advance along the river bed. Things went very well and in turn two the Ami's began to deal out casualties and the reserves moved quickly along the river bed. I fired my M7 at the German artillery and it was the only unit I had which could not hit a barn never mind the door. Thankfully Matt had a hard time with his command rolls after the preparatory barrage, shooting and the arrival of his reserves, I was simply on fire, apart from the M7, and Jerry was taking a beating.

 

Charge.

The Yanks take the pillbox.

The reserves arrive.

I continued to simply push all my troops towards the junction and in doing so began to wipe out several of the German units while taking very little casualties at first. I was swithering whether to move the M7 and take on the enemy over open sights or hold out for a hit as the number dropped, I held out, missed again and again. As I got nearer the village I did take some serious hits but by now had enough squads in position to turf the Krauts from the village, Matt's last reserve at last turned up only to be shot to pieces. There was no need to roll for a possible seventh turn, the Americans were victorious.

At last we get it.

Nearly there.

Now boys!

Least said the better.

My die rolling was vicious while Matt failed morale after morale and his shooting was also pretty poor until the last couple of turns. My M7 eventually took out the infantry gun, and on finding a new target promptly failed to hit that as well as the game ended. The scenario looked to be unbalanced but I didn't think so and it would have been much closer under different circumstances.

In keeping with the Italian theme, I am getting on with the Fourth Cohort for the Thunderbolts, maybe another week will see them finished. I have also received a map commission on a book involving the Italian Army in the Balkans during WWII, how's that for coincidence?

I have a Bolt Action V3 game at the club on Tuesday but nothing for during the week, I will have to concentrate on map work. I should also have another plastic kit from Rubicon to build, it is another halftrack, a 250/9 recce vehicle with an autocannon, can't help myself.

Alea iacta est

Big night at the club last week, Simon and I tried Bolt Action V3. Now as you know I was not going to bother getting this as I thought the price tag a rip off, was it a rip off, yes it was, there is far too much bumf in the thing and far too much unecessary eye candy. The actual rules take up less than half of the pages. The army lists are a huge part of the book but they are very generic and you cannot simply choose a German Eastern Front force for late 1943 without knowing what they had available, this will have to wait until the new army books are released although you can instead stick with a campaign book. I am lazy and use Easy Army which up until now I have found perfect, the author has put generic lists up for V3 but I am unsure whether he will attempt to change the Theatre lists, I really do not want to sit down with a calculator. I can say I have supported the author in the past and am not just taking him for granted.

I digress, we set up an easy meeting engagement and with books at the ready, no one has so far put together a QRS, we got stuck in. I took infantry, heavy weapons, artillery and armoured platoons, Simon had pretty much the same. The Soviets were defending and were on the table when I attacked, I was fairly aggressive and threw my armoured car forward to spot the hidden Russians, this had to back off when a KV1 turned up, but I used the Recce rule for the first time ever and it dodged back behind a small wood. 

My Recce hiding.

More bang for the buck Hetzer.

I managed to start picking off some of Simon's small teams and he began to lose initiative dice, he was then forced to bring on a small anti-tank gun which annoyingly managed to get some decent dice rolls and first set my Hetzer on fire then immobilised it. The Germans were doing well when we called a halt as the clock struck 10, we only managed three turns but spent a lot of the time with our heads in the book.

Did they work, yes, some of the things I think will make the game better from an historical players view although there are still some bits which have me shaking my head. Chain of Command 2 will be appearing in January however I suspect I shall still continue to play both sets for different reasons.

Now for the main event, Rob organised a large Napoleonic game in the Gin Pit in nearby Grange-over-Sands yesterday, there were six French commanders and five Allied while Ed took the place of umpire and rules adjudicator. The gist of the game was that an Allied army was in position trying to stop the French from advancing, the French commander had seen an opportunity to strike while his boss was busy elsewhere, possibly garnering some browny points.

In a less than democratic manner the leadership of the French command was hung on my shoulders. The battlefield consisted of three farms, one each on the extreme flanks and one in the centre, an important road ran through the middle, if the French could take the road they would win, otherwise it would rely on both armies holding the farms and inflicting losses on the enemy. As we munched on some excellent pastries provided by the commander of the Guard I came up with a cunning plan. Julian and the Guard would smash through the centre and take the road, I would protect his left and Michael would protect his right, Stewart and Paul would be on my left and told not to get drawn into a battle around 'Hougemont' to their front but to watch what was happening in the centre and intervene if possible. Ian was given the job of protecting the extreme right and possibly taking the farm to his front. Well, that's what was in my head.

Discussion time.

The new Napoleon.

The battle kicked off and the Guard plunged ahead while the troops on his flanks were reluctant to move, the enemy came forward quite aggressively opposite me and I threw my lancers in to stop them, this action was less than glorious and I lost a squadron but had halted the enemy advance. This was a foretaste of the less than enthusiastic actions of the French cavalry all through the battle. For some reason I was being asked questions on the best way to proceed as though I knew what I was doing, I nodded sagely and kept schtum. As I advanced towards a hedgeline and the middle farm I noticed the Guard marching away to my right, Julian had decided to ignore the enemy centre and make for the road, his beautiful troops waving goodbye as they went, he had made a bold move, would it pay out?

The beautiful Guard.

French commander in true Napoleonic style, but with only a tad more hair.

Ed pronounces wisdon.

Elsewhere, yes, 'Hougemont' had proved irresistable to Paul and Stewart and a large gap opened between them and me, which for the moment was thankfully empty. Ian on the other flank had managed to take the farm but Russian strength was building up while his cavalry proved reluctant to fight. A crises now approached, something had gone wrong with the troops under Matt holding the road and Julian managed to throw the Guard at them, this was the beginning of some of the most brutal fighting of the day, if Matt was defeated Julian could claim the road and the French would have victory.

Desperate fighting for the road as time runs out.

 

The centre.

My boys wondering where the Guard have gone.

As time ticked away the Russians took back their farm and Ian was on the back foot, he was simply outnumbered, Michael had attempted to help the Guard but his infantry simply would not move forward until it was too late. I cleared the enemy from my front and took the farm in the centre and then simply held my ground as more and more Allied troops began to turn up. 'Hougemont' at last fell to Paul and Stewart. The Guard were under immense pressure in the centre as British reserves turned up, Julian was screaming for cavalry as the Russians were now heading for his flank, sadly the cavalry simply ignored his pleas and sat miles away despite being ordered to gallop to his aid. As the last turn ended Matt had secured the road while the Guard could take no more and the survivors retreated. Ed totalled up the scores and it was a draw! It now came down to a dice off between the commanders, Matt for the Allies and me for the French, I confess I do not know what Matt threw but his comment of 'Shit' said it all, I got a four and the French players whooped with elation.

Another great day with an impressive battle full of peaks and troughs, laughter and the odd expletive. Lots of lovely troops on the table and pastries to boot, what's not to like. Ed did a great job keeping the game flowing, Rob for organising and Stuart no doubt for helping. I believe there is one more in the series, so I am looking forward to it.

I have now finished my mercenary hoplites for the Seleucids, these are very tough under WAC rules so the Twelfth are in for some problems at some point. Mate Dan helped me out as the Little Big Man transfers I got for the Foundry figures were far too small for the hoplons and just did not look right, he had some from Victrix. I have made a change to my painting, I am not going to varnish these troops, nor the Romans already being worked on, my main reason is the paints are already matt and they will only be on the table once in a blue moon these days. I also find that the matt varnish over time really dulls the metals on figures.

The gaming continues this week, Italian Wars here on Wednesday and somewhere in Sicily at Matt's on Thursday.

View from the Window: Vienna

 My trip to Imperial Vienna is over, a week of palaces, galleries and museums, my last holiday was a weekend away with my son in Sicily a couple of years ago and before that Vietnam in 2019. 

I am probably wrong but I seem to remember a time when you turned up with only your passport and off you went. This time we booked with Jet2, then we had to pay to sit together, then we had to pay for the airport transport, and also the airport transfer to the hotel, ching, ching. Then there was the hours of YouTube videos of what to do and not to do in Vienna, where to eat, how to avoid a diplomatic incident, always stand to the right of the elevator or be huffed at. After this there was all the Apps to help you, the translator, the city guide, the local transport guide, the Flexi Pass or the Vienna Pass. At the end of the week I realised all I really needed was a guide book and my passport. I will be prepared next time.

WWII flak towers in the distance, there are six.

State Opera House.

An art museum.

 

Army Museum.

Another museum, once a little pad in the city.

 

St. Stephans, magnificent.

Why is there always a rush at the departure gate, the plane will not take off until everyone is onboard, then you are asked that rows 11 to 25 are to board, you have waited patiently and once on you find rows 2, 5 and 6 are full, these are the same people who stand up and block the aisle as soon as the seat belt sign is off, or before that when the plane still has a mile to go to get to the terminal. Next in line for the firing squad are the people who refuse the polite "turn off all electrical devices", one near me sat through two and a half hours of Rinaldo's (kicks a leather ball around) wife having a great time pretending to be important. Don't get me wrong, Jet2 didn't bother me and I didn't bother them, seamless, it's people.

The hotel was in a perfect location and the staff were wonderful, nothing was any bother. It was a ten minute walk to the heart of the city which apart from two days of rain was very pleasant. Vienna has very wide streets and part of the pavement is allocated to bikes, escooters and mopeds, although clearly marked you have to keep your wits about you, especially for the daredevils texting while careening along. This also applies to the many important people unable to get out of your way due to answering some obviously important text which cannot wait until they are safely stopped or watching who they are going to bump into. I learned after a day or so just to keep my head down and plough forward, "sorry mate, I saw you but you didn't see me!"

We saw a lot during our stay and were suffering from cultural PTSD by the time we left, I enjoyed the Hofburg complex and the Museum of Military History although I missed out on the WWII exhibition in the latter as it was closed for refurbishment, they also do not show off their tank collection until a Sunday morning, we were there on the Tuesday. The Spanish Riding school was a bit of a disappointment and it would have been better to have booked a show rather than watch a training exercise. Our visit to the Schonbrunn Palace was our bitterest disappointment as it was raining, the gardens were past their best and even the animals in the zoo looked cheesed off, added to this was the fact our Vienna Pass only allowed us to see 5 of the 47 rooms open to the public, the Memsahib was not pleased and vented her fury to no avail at the Vienna Pass office later on.

 Her trip on the Danube also hit a rock as the voyage only lasted an hour and fifteen minutes during which you basically saw nothing of interest, we did not have time to spare for a three hour boat ride, but we have sailed on the Danube, nuff said.

A ship of the once mighty Austrian navy.

The raised conning tower of a U-Boot.

This piece moved along the dinner table with the little men playing music!

The Imperial Armoury.

Franz Ferdinand was shot in this car.

We are not keen on Weiner Schnitzel, and Vienna has a lot of Schnitzel, most of the restaurants have pretty much the same menu, so we ended up with Vietnamese (twice, superb), Chinese (don't ask), Japanese and Turkish. We did go to a few local restaurants and Goulash stew and Goulash soup are now firm favourites of mine, in fact I might make the latter this weekend. My favourite which I sadly only managed once during our busy schedule was Kaiserschmarrn, a sweet, shredded pancake served with plum sauce or cream, magnifico. On our last day we stood in a queue waiting about twenty minutes to get a seat in the famous Cafe Central for coffee and applestrudel, we were in good company as past visitors included Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, Freud and Tito among others, no doubt there were a few famous nice people as well. Although I am not keen on the tipping culture I do respect that the waiters are adult, professional, helpful and friendly, not Kevin in sixth form asking if you want to 'go large' with your Kaiserschmarrn. It was also nice to be served alcohol free beer in large bottles which I would defy anyone to tell the difference from the stuff that has you falling over, yes I too was a denier years ago and I do miss that warm, comfortable glow but it's better than a Coke Zero.

Viennese coffee is the best.

Art on a plate.

Smiling? Must be photoshopped.

The Boss.

We just happened to turn up at the moment the newly ousted leader was making his way across the road to meet his successor. During our travels I got to listen to two young people from the opposite ends of the spectrum politically about the situation in Austria, just for a few minutes, I won't say who got my sympathies. We were also one evening on the fringes of a very large protest with music, banners and flares, the point being that many of the Austrian population had not voted for the views held by the protestors, democracy eh?

Anyway, we are back and our week seems to have flown past, the LMF took the main hit for the holiday and the boardroom are not happy, but what the hell, we enjoyed ourselves.