BEF (Bloody Execreble Firing)

First up this week was a War and Conquest game with Ed, I had decided to throw caution to the winds and field a German army while Ed again took Legio XII. The Germans as you would expect were basically warbands of average quality apart from their Nobles, but you can tool them up so that they can be devastating in the first clash of a melee as long as they charge first, this and their sheer size along with being Resilient means they are difficult to shift, at first. 

Herman the German.

 

Germans left, Thunderbolts right.

 

 I took five warbands along with a unit of Batavian Deserters from the Roman army backed up with some skirmishers, Forest Warriors and some light cavalry, Opposite Ed had three Roman cohorts, with several Auxiliary units, horse archers and cataphracts. My plan was simply to get my warbands in quick and take advantage of their first charge, I was unsure about my flanks as they looked weak. Ed struck against both flanks while placing his centre on a nearby hill. I threw my Forest Warriors against the enemy light troops on the opposite side of the wood and managed to spectacularly rout them, I now did not really need to worry about my left. On the right I lost my archers but the Roman cataphracts got carried away and attacked a warband on the nearest hill across the front of some legionaries causing some confusion, I held my cavalry back as a threat, albeit a weak one. The rest of the army plunged ahead.

My warriors in front of the Roman massed archers began to suffer from accurate fire and I preyed to the gods they would get to grips with their tormentors while there were still some left in the ranks. I got too close to the enemy centre and Ed charged, I had lost my edge, despite this my troops held and several furious melees commenced. At this stage I was just about to look for a white flag as more and more of my lads fell. As the battle progressed I began to win on my left while the right was managing to hold, the Romans were less than aggressive here. Slowly but surely the Romans gave way, apart from their Praetorians who were in a life and death struggle against some Warriors who refused to run, eventually however they did send their foes running but they were now surrounded by the enemy. Although some Roman units managed to rally the others still in combat were being worn down and it was only a matter of time before they routed too. It was all over.

The Roman centre breaks.

German nobles.

Veteran legionaries (Praetorians)

What happened.

Old guy photo bombs.

Another great game with the Germans snatching victory from defeat as Fortuna deserted Ed, he had had some excellent die rolling at the beginning but the pendulum swung against him after the first clashes. I can only conclude that after three recent defeats under different commanders the Thunderbolts need their beloved Legate back to turn the tide.

After clearing the table late that night I got up early the next day to set it up for Matt and I's first game of the Caesar's Camp campaign, it was going to be the first outing for my new British Expedionary Force. Although I had to cross some dangerous open ground to attack Hedgehog Wood with my Cameron Highlanders I was quietly confident I could do it.

I took an extra infantry squad, mortar and a Bren carrier, Matt went heavy with an MMG and an infantry gun. I deployed aggressively and was prepared to take losses as I built up my firebase, not as many as I actually did however with a full squad almost wiped out in a matter of a couple of phases. I tried putting smoke down but an end of turn got rid of it before it gave me any cover then my mortar team was wiped out. Matt's shooting was deadly, mine completely ineffective although I did manage to break a squad Matt had pushed into the open in his rush to get at mine.

Lt. Cameron with the papers.

Wait for it lads, waaait.

British armour turns up.

I got my second mortar on and built up a wall of smoke to silence his MMG and infantry gun, this left me with three squads firing on his two in the woods. At one point I shot 52 dice and got 1 shock on the enemy as a result, it left me in shock, return fire when it came cut down two Junior Leaders and one Senior, my morale fell, I was getting nowhere, I could not even make the Germans suffer as this platoon could be used again later in the campaign. There was a broken down British staff car with secret papers on the road so I beat the Jerries to it with my Bren carrier to get something from the disaster, this allows me a full Chain of Command dice in Scenario 3.

German killing machines.

Something wrong with our bullets today.

British leaders hit the deck.

Taxi for Lt. Cameron?

I cannot lie about it but I was very frustrated by the turn of events, my shooting had no effect whatsoever against the troops on the edge of the wood while the return fire cut me up, there were times Matt missed but on the whole he was cooking with gas. All the scenarios have the British on the back foot and having to cross open ground to get at the Jerries, I am not yet down hearted, it is too early for that and know that newly painted troops never have a decent introduction to the table but I do need them to buck up. Despite all this a good morning's wargaming with a good opponent who never made a mistake, on the other hand I fare better with a spear than a Lee Enfield it would seem.

Another bundle from mate Matt Smith arrived yesterday, completely out of the blue, five Dutch buildings suitable for Arnhem scenarios if TFL ever get around to releasing said book, also of course simply to fill up the table, so no hanging up of the brushes quite yet. Two small packages which I did know about turned up today, some pikemen to upgrade two phalanx's and some Romans to upgrade Legio XII's first cohort.

I had some spare time so popped into Waterstone's in Kendal while the Memsahib was busy and treated myself to a bit of light reading, a history of Rasputin and his affect on Russia and a 2,000 year old best seller, The Aenid, I have read The Illiad and The Odyssey of course, several times but never the follow up. Big fan of the Trojans.

Couple of possible games on for next week, I also have an appointment with my surgeon, other people have lawyers. I still need to get back to the Italian Wars even if only solo.

More Gaming: Part 2

 The last game of the week, I was invited to Erik's for an English Civil War clash using his own rules which he has tried to keep on two sides of an A4 sheet, so this is the second battle involving Royalists and Parliament in just three days.

Erik had set up the Battle of Lansdown Hill and had prepared OOB's, rules and a lovely map and information on the battle, I had a quick look over before arriving. Parliament under Sir William Waller had marched out of Bath and took position on Lansdown Hill, the Royalists under Sir Ralph Hopton tried to tempt Waller from his hill but failed and decided to withdraw. Waller saw an opportunity and attacked Hopton's rear around 3pm.

The Royalists turn around, Lansdown Hill in the background.

At first glance it looked like I (Waller) could inflict some damage on Hopton's (Erik) rear guard with four cavalry squadrons vs  two, I also had three more approaching the enemy left flank supported by some dragoons. Full of enthusiasm I threw my troopers at the enemy, I was roughly handled and a bit disappointed as it looked like I had failed, I had lost a full brigade of cavalry and my centre decided to retire towards the nearby hill, everything seemed to be in Hopton's favour as more and more Royalists turned up. However as the dust settled and both sides reorganised several of the enemy units had taken heavy casualties and were going to need some luck to push me off the hill.

A tsunami of Parliamentary cavalry.

Lansdown Hill.

Surely we will win........

My flanking cavalry about to be run off.

 

With the first phase of the battle over we set up for the second phase, I put my dragoons along a hedge bordering a wood on my left supported by two badly cut up cavalry units, I had a full regiment of pike and shot in my centre interspersed with cannon the on my far right Haselrig's 'Lobsters', armoured cavalry completely fresh. Erik put his gun batteries in the centre and split his army across both flanks with most of the cavalry on his left and most of the infantry on his right. I was a bit dubious about my ability to hold the left as it was fairly weak.

Steady boys, steady.

The Royalist right move on the hill.

Haselrig charges in.

Fortuna smiled on me as Haselrig's troopers smashed into the Royalist cavalry and slowly and surely routed all around them, the guns on both sides firing at long range were basically no threat to either side. Seeing this and the Royalist infantry intent on rolling up my left I now decided to move a gun and all my infantry apart from one dragoon unit over to support my dodgy flank. I did this just in time as Erik chased away some dragoons and my supporting cavalry. With the Royalist left destroyed it was now up to his last untouched infantry regiment on the right to continue in its attempt to roll up my flank and centre. It was not to be as the Cornishmen had taken several hits during their advance from the dragoons and the Parliamentary foot stood their ground and and finished them off, they fled, the battle was over. 

Haselrig routs the enemy left.

 

Waller holds the hill.

I was a bit surprised at the result as it looked like my fate had been sealed during phase one, but the damage inflicted by my forlorn hope's ensured taking the hill would not be easy for the enemy, this along with the success of Haselrig and the redeployment of my infantry sealed the victory.

I have fought at Erik's three or four times and each time the armies and terrain keeps getting better, this battlefield was a real joy to play on, I suspect he will need another room if he keeps this up. 

I have a busy week next week, Ed on Wednesday night and Matt on Thursday, not sure about the club yet on Tuesday. There may also be a visit from GHQ's David Bickley, I must break out the chocolate biscuits, a present to our troops in Mafeking.

More gaming.

 My son arrived early on Saturday and had asked for a Chain of Command game, so I set up an Attack and Defend scenario with a little help from ChatGPT, the game was set during the Winter Offensive of 1941 outside Moscow with the Soviets attacking a small village on the front line. Stewart chose the Germans and brought a Panzer III as support along with a sniper. I didn't want to go all heavy in an introductory game so the T-34 was left in the garage, I doubt there were many available if any during December '41, so took a BT-7, an infantry gun and a sniper, that would be more than enough to cause the Hitlerites a problem thought I.

During the first turn visibility was reduced due to morning fog, so I managed to get almost all my forces on the table ready to move on the whistle, I miscalculated one squad and the German sniper opened up, I quickly spotted him but Stewart moved him before I could open up. Now that I was ready I ended the turn, the fog lifted and the shooting started. I sent my tank forward to get into close range of the German defenders in the village while keeping it out of sight of the Pz III, hoping to then get a second phase in order to also move my infantry up to the frozen stream and into a bit of cover at the edge. It was Stewart who got the double turns and my troops began to suffer, I brought my infantry gun on but the Panzer soon wiped out the crew, that particular version has two machine guns in the turret and one in the hull.

Pz III.

German defences.

BT-7.

Slowly but surely my squads began to lose cohesion and soon two of them were pinned, this would put an end to my thoughts of attacking, I just could not shift the Jerries from the village and there was still one squad in reserve. All this time the tanks had began to duel, with their small calibre weapons neither could manage a kill although the BT-7 was made to reverse twice putting it back over the stream. At this point I conceded as I could go no further, plan A had not materialised.

Infantry gun.

About to withdraw.

Deadly combination of machine guns.

A decent introduction for Stewart and he seems keen to try again, I might put more effort into my game the next time. Sadly for me I continually rolled a five and a six during each phase, this basically meant I was playing with three command dice rather then five, a real bind. My snipers, Ludmilla and Natalya were typically late as women usually are and did nothing. 

 I have finished my BEF now, although I do need one more figure to be completely comfortable and possibly a Matilda II, although there were only 23 in France during the Blitzkrieg. The BEF figures are all from 1st Corps and are very nice.

Talking about being comfortable I have taken a mad turn and ordered up 11 figures from Aventine, eight will be used to enlarge two of my phalanxes to 32 men from 28, the other three will be added to Legio XII to enlarge the First Cohort from 24 to 27 men, not a great deal but they will stick out more on the battlefield. All this of course means new movement trays and transfers (most of which will not be used) along with the figures, am I mad, yes.

Wednesday and a trip to Penrith through all the roadworks at 50mph, we will soon need a guy with a red flag in front. Anyway Matt set up the Battle of Nantwich and I took the Parliamentarians, I slightly outnumbered the Royalists as I had the garrison of Nantwich and some cavalry out on my right flank where the Cavaliers had none. I decided to push with my right and bring the garrison out to help my left, I did have an idea to throw my left flank cavalry forward but as Royalist cavalry were going to turn up on my left at some point I brought them back.

Beautiful table set up.

Parliamentary forces, luckily not led by the PM.

My army advances through the fields.

Matt advanced slightly from his original position and this gave me the opportunity to threaten his flank and rear with my right flank cavalry, too late he saw the danger, by this time I had advanced all my infantry through the fields in front of his position. There were some Dragoon's covering Nantwich but I was sure my regiment of pike and shot inside the town would sweep this annoyance away and march on the enemy line. How wrong I was as the Nantwich numbskulls failed miserably and were eventually routed by one man and his dog, or so it seemed looking across the table. More bad luck was to follow, the Royalist cavalry turned up and my boys went straight at them before they could deploy properly, Matt assured me that "cavalry melees take all day" but within two moves the defenders of my left flank had routed and dispersed and the enemy made for my baggage train, I really needed to finish off the enemy infantry before this cavalry could enter the main battle.

My cavalry preparing to hit the enemy left.

My less than energetic cavalry.

The enemy left folds.

As does the centre.

Despite the setbacks my infantry and right flank horse began to tip the scales as the troopers hit the rear of the enemy and rode down the Royalist cannon, in the centre I also managed to weaken the defenders there and they too fled, the enemy on my far left put up a tough fight but were also ground down. Just in time the Royalists fell apart.

The rules were Kings of War with tweaks and worked fine, they are not difficult to pick up, Matt had sorted some event cards to work with the English Civil War and I think I had the edge with mine as they helped me deal death and destruction. The table as usual was a joy to play on and the armies were impressive for the small scale. The Dungeon really is a wargamers Aladdin's Cave, just as your eyes alight on one interesting piece you see another, a completely different period and scale, the Tirpitz is there, Greeks for WWII, Napoleonic cavalry, aircraft, buildings for the AWI, books, sci-fi stuff and much, much more. We are looking to start another Chain of Command campaign soon, interspersed with more trips to the Dungeon I hope.

More ECW coming up tomorrow as I head to Erik's, nothing penciled in for next week yet. 

Still working away on the Atlas, with what is going on I expect more maps to be added.

Air defences.

 

Hundred Years War.