Good King Richard

 Club and another shot at the new Chain of Command, this time it would be Germans against Simon's Soviets, late war and the Jerries were defending a small hamlet. Simon rolled rubbish for support points so I had five and he had eight, so no big cats would be turning up although Simon could push a T-34 if he wanted to. 

I really wanted to take a panzerschreck team and a lot of other stuff but in the end I decided to leave my anti-tank defence in the hands of the hand carried panzerfausts each of my squads had, I also once again tried to take a tripod machine gun thinking it would deal death and reduce cover. I later found out that would only happen with a heavy not a medium machine gun, damn. my last points were spent on Fritz and Hans the sniper team, having learnt nothing from Svetlana and Natasha the week before. Simon did in the end take a tank, two in fact, both T-70's, I did wonder if I would have enough panzerfausts to knock them out.

The Reds are cautious.

An objective marker.

I did not take up any defensive positions in the first part of the game as Simon had to come to me in order to capture one or both objectives positioned in the hamlet. His sniper turned up but then had to move in order to find a target, support in the shape of and infantry squad and the tanks then turned up, at this point I put my MMG on along with the sniper to take advantage of his squad being in the open. I dealt out some shock but nothing too serious, Fritz and Hans were then tasked with finding the Soviet sniper which meant Simon did not fire and instead just hid and waited. More Russians turned up now but only slowly made any movement towards the objectives, this also applied to the tanks.

T-70.

Jerry turns up.

Seeing a possible opportunity one enemy squad ran to capture an objective at the crossroads, a wrecked truck, the first German infantry turned up and dealt out some deadly fire into the unprotected Reds, the tanks tried to support but Simon had trouble finding enough orders. Soon the whole squad minus a dead NCO broke and ran, the objective was safe. It was now time to knock out the tanks, two squads fired their 'faust's but only one hit and dealt a couple of scratches to the paintwork of its target.

Time was up and with the German defence firmly lodged in the hamlet we called it a night. It was Simon's first game and my third, we made the odd mistake but time had run out for the Soviets, two tanks sounded like game changers but as they required a command dice each and being crewed by only two men could not shoot and move they were not much of a threat in the end. Still some questions to be answered and some important changes to be remembered but the game certainly presents a challenge.

I had offered Erik a game here in the Bunker and decided to get my Seven Years War troops out of semi-retirement, I chose a game based loosely on the battle of Eutaw Springs with the French taking the place of the Americans. The British are slightly outnumbered but if they advance quickly the French second line can be nullified as it cannot get into a decent position to help the first line. 

French line.

French army.

British line.

To this end I advanced my whole army trying to bring all my firepower to bear, I did manage to get close and blast away with some decent casualties being put on the French left, my own left did not do as well and Erik managed to bring battalions forward to lengthen this flank. Erik did manage to withdraw his wounded battalions on his left and replace them with fresh troops, I had lost the opportunity to cripple a couple of his battalions, instead a couple of mine were now forced back, the French shooting being far deadlier than mine.

The boys advance.

Steady lads.

There, there are the enemy.

There was a cavalry clash on my left where both sides got nowhere and both left the field exhausted. It looked like I could possibly turn the enemy right with a bit of luck while holding on on my right. After a few more volleys my firing line was disrupted on both flanks which enabled Erik to bring overwhelming firepower on several battalions which either retreated or ran. I was fast approaching my army's break point so handed over my sword.

Wait for it, steady.

 

 

 

 

 

Fire!

Why did I build up two SYW forces, I know almost nothing of the period and unlike all my other armies which were researched to the 'enth degree I really cannot find the interest, apart from the uniform and flag data I remain ignorant in the main. I have a vague notion that I should have at least one redcoat army flying the Union flag, a bit like when I decided that only a real wargamer should have a Roman army (I now have three). Looking over the table today and having enjoyed the game despite the rules being fairly simple I think the boys are safe from eBay, but I do have to get them out and about more often.

I headed south last Friday for a weekend at No.1 sons who had got me a ticket for the Duxford Air Show for Father's Day, No.2 had cooked me an excellent three course Indian meal from scratch, lucky guy. The weather was cloudy but warm at Duxford, the first event a team parachute event was cancelled as was the flypast by the Battle of Britain flight, the wind was the reason (excuse). All the event aircraft flew fine so why the BoB flight was put off by the wind is beyond me. The main attraction a Red Arrows flypast was also cancelled at the last minute, although some research would intimate that RAF Mildenhall being under the auspices of the US was closed down due to an unlikely strike by the Iranians hence the Arrows were not allowed to fly, at least to the show. 

DC4 used by US Navy, flown over from Texas, 30 hrs.

B17, of course.

Spitfire.

Thunderbolt.

Hurricane.

Blenheim.

No matter, we had some lovely aircraft flying around of which the restored Blenheim was my favourite, although looking and performing well it was sadly obsolete against modern fighters and flak in 1940. Some of the aerobatic aircraft performed some hair raising manouvres, one in particular with two small  jet engines to help its main engine could actually hover at the end of a steep climb. At the end of the show a modern Typhoon literally blasted the area at speed as it climbed and rolled, the noise was incredible. A good day out.

On the journey home the Memsahib wanted to go to Jeremy Clarkson's pub for a nosey, I wanted to go and see Richard III, I won. The drive through the centre of Leicester was horrific, once parked I also led the expedition the long way around to the Visitor Centre, several times. The centre is not huge and concentrates on the finding of the grave and the excavations, you also get to stand above the grave in a special room with a glass floor. After this it was a short walk to the cathedral to see the new grave site, a kind of pilgrimage for me. I asked if it was OK to take a photograph of the tombstone and the lady began to tell me of the do's and don'ts then stopped herself and said tellingly "you are not the generation I need to explain this to". So, an item ticked from the bucket list. I am of course a fan of Richard III, no real idea why, he was English after all and had actually led a raid into Scotland at one point. I think it may be the outcome of the battle of Bosworth, only the second battle to be lost through treachery despite the perception it was everywhere, my villain is the Earl of Northumberland, the cunning Stanley's only joined when they saw Tudor would win, I doubt they turned the course of the battle. But our mate Percy, he controlled maybe a third or more of the army and simply sat and did nothing, he was not behind a hill or late, we now know the battlefield was almost perfectly flat, he sat on his backside.

I managed at last to finish the vexillation from XXX Ulpia Victrix, but since then have not managed anything else on the wargaming side, I have a Roman heavy cavalry unit up next needing cleaned and primed, maybe later in the week.

Oh and that book on the siege of Malta, halfway through and not a shot fired yet, it probably will not last much longer, stick with The Great Siege of Malta 1565 by Ernle Bradford.

One Down, One Up

Tuesday and I had a busy day ahead with two games organised, the first was ACW and an introduction to the Johnny Reb rules for Matt Crump. I didn't want anything too complex so chose the Battle of Kettle Run, but with regular regiments all using rifled muskets and either 200, 300 or 400 strong, the actual OOB was very different and there were a lot of smoothbores and poor muskets involved along with light artillery.

Basically it is a wooded battlefield with a Confederate 'Forlorn Hope' right on the Union deployment line albeit in a wood, the rest of the Rebs maintained a long line behind these troops, the Federals had three brigades and they would arrive at different times, one already opposite the forward Confederate line in the wood. As the game opened the main Reb line organised themselves along a tree line while their left began to move forward, I also reorganised my line in order to flank the small number of Rebs in front of my 3rd brigade with the intention of opening up overwhelming fire on them. Matt decided as I moved forward to move back and I let them go as it was slow going through the wood. These troops reinforced the Confederate centre.

The battle begins.

I get ready to attack the Forlorn Hope.

My right arrives and straight into trouble.

Confederate right.

 My 2nd Brigade now arrived on my left and I moved it forward with the intention of taking out the Reb right, a little later my 1st brigade arrived on my right and I saw an opportunity to catch a couple of Reb regiments out in front of their line before the rest caught up, I also now had artillery turning up and was confident I could punch through the Rebel right, I just needed a bit of time. I did not get that as the two 'victims' on my right let out a Rebel Yell and threw themselves at 1st Brigade, I was caught unawares and my skirmishers fled, then my centre regiment decided to join them, a little later only one regiment was left to hold my line along with some guns while a full Confederate brigade now approached. I had no option but to withdraw the 44th and the guns before they were swept away.

I take the woods.

 

My right skeddadles.

My left moves forward hoping for victory.

 

The Rebs counter.

The Confederate centre.

On my left I had managed to get 2nd Brigade into a good position to pour lead into the Rebs in their front, but wait. In the centre Matt now threw in another charge which I had not expected and began to roll up my centre, I lost two regiments before I could stop them, 2nd Brigade did not like what was happening and my lead regiment went shaken while my skirmishers fled. Matt held out his hand as we looked over the wreck of my hopes, I took it.

I think Matt enjoyed the game, especially with a handsome win under his belt. I blame 'New Player Syndrome' for my loss, Matt threw in charges which should have spelled disaster for his men and which I offered advice not to do, charges I know none of my regular Johnny Reb opponents would ever attempt, but they worked wonders and I lost. Yes my die rolling was not good but that was not what lead to the defeat.

Later that night at the club it was back to the Eastern Front Late War, my Soviets against Rob's German defenders, my second try at Chain of Command 2, it was a Delaying Action and I had to take an objective marker which Rob had placed almost in the centre of the table. My support choices were a Medic, SU-76 and a heavy machine gun with entrenchments, Rob had an infantry gun and I think that was it, the support roll had been low.

Low was also my Force Morale throw, I got 8 and Rob 10, not great for an attacker. I brought in my HMG and a squad which made its way in cover to the German left, I then brought on a second squad who advanced on the German right. I had high hopes for my HMG in hard cover but it was up against two enemy squads and the sandbags must have been empty as the crew began to hit the dirt. I wondered if I had brought my luck from the previous game as my morale fell to 4 from 8 as the HMG disappeared as did one of my NCO's, I looked at the clock and thought the missus will get a surprise when I turn up early.

75 mm Infantry gun.

SU-76.

Natasha and Svetlana.

The new Soviet heavy section.

Although I was down to four command dice I managed to at last bring on my SU-76 and it did sterling work against the two German squads holding the centre around the objective, my third squad also managed to come on and it too went for the German left, using cover to get close. Rob did try time and again to knock out my assault gun with his infantry gun but I saved all the hits, which were many. Rob started the Final Countdown and this gave me two phases to get to and capture the objective, a big ask with only four command dice. Nevertheless I managed to grab it with seconds to spare, the Jerries threw everything they could at the brave comrades holding on for grim life. A complete turnaround.

We did of course look in the book or discussed a couple of rules, we also found out that the game does not actually end when the Final Countdown finishes but for some reason continues until the turn ends or something like that. I thought it daft at first but I can now see where TFL are coming from but it is too complicated and I don't want a headache explaining it. I thought my use of cover was pretty good as Rob was left for a long time without a target while I crept ever closer, I did wonder if things would have been different if he had sent a nearby squad at my boys in close combat rather than trying to shot them off the objective, but he came close. Oh, and the Russian squad now has a built in sniper, not that Natasha and Svetlana had ever been to sniper school. My medic could not stop my NCO from dying as she never turned up. Women eh?

So there we have it a busy day which turned out alright in the end, actually the whole day was fine as I enjoyed both games. I continue to be busy with maps so not a lot of painting getting done at the moment, I have just finished the maps pertaining to the longbow book, I had to cover Dupplin Moor, Halidon Hill, Homildon Hill and Verneuil, all disasters for we Scots although we can blame the French for the last one.

I see Rubicon keep advertising their upcoming Pz I, so perhaps I have not got enough vehicles for my Early War Germans and I think I have just enough Panzer Grey left in the tin to cover a tiny tank. With the introduction of command vehicles for both Bolt Action and CoC2 (Senior Leader) I feel the need for this tank as I have a Pz III for my Late War Jerries. I really need to get some EW games in with the British v Germans.

I have hit a dead end entertainment wise with the end of my binge on NYPD Blue, all 12 seasons, I am hanging on with the last season of Bosch Legacy despite the awful acting abilities of his screen daughter and her lawyer mentor, not helped by their desperate story lines. On the book front I have finished Ben Kane's Hannibal trilogy and I enjoyed that for a bit of light reading, is reading about Lake Trasimene and Cannae considered light? I picked up what I thought would be an interesting book which examined the theories about Hitler not committing suicide but it turned out like wading through mud, I used to pride myself on finishing every book I picked up but that is not happening now. I have just started a new book on the Siege of Malta, first chapter was a bit off..............

Not sure what gaming I am getting up to next week, I might try and sneak a game here between all my real life appointments. 

New Rules and Italian Wars

 First visit to the club in a while and an introduction to the much touted Chain of Command 2. I had planned a 1v1 game against Mike who had not played before but somewhere along the line we ended up in a 2v2 game of Big Chain of Command, something I had not played before. 

Stuart had sorted out a Normandy game where the British were attacking a German position, we all had a platoon each along with supports, I chose a Priest, a model I have had for a long time but like many it has never fired in anger. My thoughts were that the Jerries would not have enough points for anything like a dangerous tank so the artillery would sort out their infantry. I had the right wing and headed for the objective in the village church, sure enough there were only German infantry in front of me and one squad found themselves in the open as they made for some cover. I brought on the Priest and gave them a fright, I didn't kill many but their Shock rose considerably and they bolted back into the church.

The British are coming!

At last I get it on the table.

Jerries hiding from the Priest.

Paul on my left was the target of most of the German support, medium machine guns and a 'door knocker' Pak 36, he had a Sherman and it tried to hide from the little anti-tank gun as the Steilgranate round could potentially knock it out. The British did well with extra phases and these allowed me to make it to the bocage hedges on the outskirts of the village while the Priest continued to rain down fire on the defenders, German morale took some hits and began to fall. We had to call a halt as time was up and it looked like only a matter of time before a British victory would be sealed.

What did I think, well the game was fine as a learning tool but too big for a club game at this stage as we checked the book on several occasions and poor Mike simply looked lost, I remember my first game and I know how he felt. There are a lot of little changes and overall I think they will make for a much better and more dynamic game. To get the best from the game you need to commit 100%, it is not the kind of game you throw down when you have a couple of spare hours, the myriad decisions and uses of the Command points are vital to winning as well as enjoying the challenge. I have another game set for this coming Tuesday at the club against Rob, Soviets vs Germans.

I do have to say that I am not totally sold on the new army lists, there have been some changes, especially to the Soviets but having researched the Russians and Volksgrenadiers for my own platoons I would prefer to use my own. However for now I will toe the line and see how it goes.

My third game now that I am back in the swing of things, Italian Wars and the battle of Ceresole. Now I have fought this battle a couple of times, the main reason is because it is fairly easy to do and the forces are almost on a par. A couple of points about the terrain, I have not added the low hill around Cascini Alfiere because it was not an obstacle to line of sight, you can check on Google maps but best of all friend Simon Miller has been there and assured me the French guns would not have been impeded by the 'rise'. I also substituted a small field for the fish ponds, I don't have anything suitable and this was the right size.

The battle opened with the French left advancing rapidly while I held my right back, I moved my own left forward albeit tardily to keep away from the fish ponds and possible disorder, Charles also was a bit reluctant to move his right forward. I did not do will in the exchange of fire despite outnumbering the French in shot troops and failed to shoot away their skirmishers, although the Italians in the woods on the French right stayed put in safety for the duration of the battle. 

Ceresole.

 

Swiss at the ready.

Imperials on the left, French on the right.

Imperial left flank.

The first clashes came on my right as my light cavalry were pushed back and my skirmishers rode down, I did manage to meet a large Swiss pike block with my Spanish/German pike, my troops put up a brave fight but in the end they were dispersed, my whole right flank had gone. Meanwhile on my left I eventually managed to circumvent the fish pond and hit a French pike block, this time my luck changed and although knocked back my men found fresh reserves of courage and threw their opponents back disordered. At the same time a force of Gendarmes did what Gendarmes do and hit another Landsknecht unit head on, again after a bit of a fright my numbers told as the cavalry here also fell back disordered.

My left advances.

The centre and my left.

Looking good.

The end.

At this point we called it a day, both sides had been successful on their respective left flanks and the French were beginning to reorganise to take on the Imperial left, what would have happened, who knows. The French still had their Swiss and another large mixed pike block and several Gendarme units against three Imperial pike units some skirmishers but no cavalry.

We had some fun, it takes time to get to grips with Furioso but when you do you can never take things for granted in the melees due to the combat morale part of the fight. I was lucky to hold on as Charles' die rolling was quite exceptional up until the last couple of turns. I still have some work to do with the rules but I do enjoy them, I just need to play them more and get things sorted in my head.

I have managed to get some painting done in between map work and might have another vexillation finished by next weekend hopefully. I now have to choose an ACW scenario to play against Matt Crump on Tuesday when I introduce him to JR2, that same evening I shall be playing Chain of Command at the club so might need some R&R on Wednesday. I wanted to push my luck and get something for Thursday afternoon but I lost that fight.

I have had my first yearly meeting to review my health and overall it is all positive, I have been treated fairly quickly and my only gripe is that the admin side of things take forever, instead of results in two weeks it takes five, or more. I cannot fault the people at the coal face. 

I'm Back

 Holiday over, it's raining and I had the heating on last night, the country continues to slide into the abyss, and yes, I miss the beautiful Aegean weather and the only worry I had was choosing oysters or smoked salmon for starter.

My first impression was of a building site, dozens of half built buildings litter the island, some kind of tax dodge I found out, there is also a lot of fly tipping, abandoned cars and even buses in parts, usually the parts away from the tourist areas. It quickly became apparent that there was not as much history on Rhodes as I had thought, a few seriously ruined and dangerous castles, the Acropolis at Lindos and Rhodes Old Town and that's it. The last two were impressive, especially the Old Town inside its protective walls and Lindos is simply a picture postcard village.

Walls of Rhodes.

Inside Museum of Archaeology.

Galley of the Knights of St. John.

Archaeology Museum.

Street of the Knights.

Grand Masters Palace (rebuilt by Italians).

Walls of Rhodes.

Knights castle.

Hotel.

Fake Beatles.

Acropolis fortifications at Lindos.

Acropolis.

We took advantage of the local buses to get around which were cheap, 7 euros as opposed to 180 to get to Rhodes in a taxi, for instance. We spent more time than we normally do at the hotel, this was first class with amazing food and amenities along with a beach, best of all was the friendly and helpful staff. They also had entertainment every evening and our first taste of this was a Beatles tribute with two Italians and two Brits with the worst wigs I have ever seen, thankfully their act was far superior and a highlight of the holiday. I partook of my first Turkish massage and it is not for the faint hearted.

So in the end we took it easy for two weeks and enjoyed losing the real world for a time, a real treat. Landing back in Blighty it all now seems like a dream. Rain, cold, doctors appointments to be made, new glasses to source, supplies to get in, normality hits like a punch in the stomach, until next year.

On the wargaming front not much of course, I had ordered the new Chain of Command V2 while away, I had timed it to arrive the same day we got back from holiday, as obviously it would not have gone through the letter box. Postie put it in our wood store, half an hour from home it started raining, by the time I arrived the envelope was soaked and the rule book ruined. I have had to order another, grrrrrr.

I still managed to get a good look through the undamaged parts and liked what I have seen so far, I also saw that I needed replenishment markers so I have sorted a few out over the last day or so. I have a game at the club on Tuesday, I have been co-opted into a four player game, so I suspect it will be more of a learning experience for all concerned than a fight to the death.

Replenishment markers.

I have also managed to finish off half of the troops for the vexillation from XXX Ulpia Victrix, so I will be starting the second half soon.

My wargame calendar is beginning to firm up, club on Tuesday, Italian Wars next Saturday then ACW and more Chain of Command the week after.