Little Wars TV

The most recent Gods Own Scale podcast involved an interview of Greg Wagman from Little Wars TV. I had occasionally dipped into some of its Youtube videos but shamefully paid little attention. The podcast piqued my interest and I have begun watching the back catalogue of episodes on Youtube. And I can honestly say I am blown away. The production quality is easily on a par with professional TV documentaries with engaging characters and topics. The fact that no professional equipment or expertise was used makes it all the more remarkable.

Even better still, 6mm features prominently (although not exclusively) and demonstrates well the attractions of this scale. I would urge everyone not already aware, even those not interested in 6mm, to take a look at their videos. They include such topics as battlefield visits, rules reviews, terrain construction and after action reports. You can sign up on their website for access to other free stuff including downloads and videos. I have added a link to my links list on the right for their website which is here http://www.littlewarstv.com/. The Youtube channel is here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6gPsr1xdvT9F4dntRAJ5g/videos

There is just one drawback. It generates ideas and inspiration for yet more projects!!! Immediately after their 'Trebia' episode I was scanning the Baccus website for Carthaginians!

ACW 6mm: The Battle of McDowell

Hot on the heels of Big Bethel I decided to play out another ACW battle but this time from a Guns at Gettysburg scenario book. 

One of my ACW projects is to work through the GaG Scenario book 4, "Stonewall, The Battles of General T.J. Jackson CSA". My next scenario (#3 in the book) is the Battle of McDowell, 8th May 1862. 

The book recommends table sizes of 6' x 4' or 5' x 3' for 10mm or 15mm figures. When scaling down for 6mm I have born in mind my base sizes and movement rates. GaG recommends basing figures 4 to a base with each figure on an 8mm - 12mm frontage depending on your personal preference. Taking the 10mm average this will give a base frontage of 20mm compared to my 15mm with 6 figures to a base. I have therefore increased by 50% the number of figures listed in the scenario orbats.

Now comes the beauty of 6mm if you are short on space. I have taken the smaller table of 5' x 3' and reduced that by 25% to match the footprint of my figure bases. This translates to 3'9" x 2'3" which corresponds with my 9" terrain tiles. If you are really short on space there should be no problem reducing that further still to 3' x 2'. Over 600 figures will be on the table!

Another factor I had to look at was game length. This scenario gives a game length of 12 turns. I factored in the movement rates for 6mm (as with General de Brigade, the rules give alternative movement rates for 28mm in inches. I take this scale but use cms instead of inches). I also allowed a little for my different Command and Control system which can take units a little longer to traverse battlefields. I therefore increased the number of turns by 25% giving 16 turns for my game.

On to the game:

ACW 6mm: The Battle of Big Bethel

This game is taken from the Regimental Fire & Fury Scenarios Volume 1 book. This is a relatively minor early war engagement involving green troops.

Translating the RF&F orders of battle to Guns at Gettysburg rules is relatively simple. Each RF&F stand = 1 stand of 6 x 6mm figures for infantry. 1 artillery cannon =1 for GaG. Cavalry is slightly different in that mine are based 2 to a stand. Therefore 1 RF&F stand = 2 x GaG stands. 

Background to the battle:

In response to the growing Federal threat to the east of Richmond, Col. John Magruder was sent to Yorktown to organise southern defences. Cavalry commanded by Lt Hood and Col Hill's 1st North Carolina volunteers reinforced Magruder. They fortified a strong position at Big Bethel Church. From these positions the Rebels could observe and harass the growing Union forces.

Concerned by the threat to new Union camps, Maj Gen Butler decided to destroy the rebel positions. He sent converging columns on a night march for a dawn attack against the southern outposts. As they closed on the rebels, green Union troops fired into a friendly regiment. Alerted by the fire. the Rebels abandoned Little Bethel and fell back on their fortified positions at Big Bethel.

An overview of the battlefield:

The Union troops approach from the right (south). 

Confederate entry and exit point is 'A' with 'B' for the Union.

The area inside the breastworks south of points X - Y is a key position.

Continued -

ACW 6mm: The Battle of Kernstown

This was a battle I fought solo a couple of years ago and is just about the last one to add that is relevant to current projects that was played prior to the creation of the blog. It will not be as detailed as my current games as I am having to recall what happened based on brief notes and photos.

This scenario is taken from the 'Guns at Gettysburg Scenarios 4. Stonewall. The Battles of General T.J. Jackson, CSA'. Scenario 2:

BACKGROUND

In the spring of 1862, General Banks commanding the Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley wished to remove the threat of Confederate troops in the lower valley before General McClellan began the Union advance on Richmond. To this end he sent General Shields against Jackson's Confederates near Winchester.

After holding his first (and avowed last) council of war, Jackson withdrew his forces from Winchester. Shields followed and reported that the Rebels had retreated to Strasburg. Banks then began to divert his command to confront Johnston.

Ashby, who commanded Jackson's cavalry, then advanced towards Winchester and encountered the Federal outposts near Kernstown where General Shields was wounded and retired to his HQ at Winchester. Ashby reported that no more than 4 regiments defended Winchester, and Jackson moved to attack. Shields was convinced that the Confederates were no nearer than Strasburg and suggested that Kimball, who now commanded Shields' division move to attack. Kimball was not convinced. Ashby along with 4 companies of infantry skirmishers and Chew's horse artillery had put up a bold front during the morning. He deployed his own brigade with 3 batteries on Pritchard's Hill and then sent for reinforcements as Jackson's main force came up. 

Continued -

Nap Campaign: The Battle of Erfurt (Prussia)

As it has been a while since I played my Nap campaign, a reminder of the events that lead up to this battle can be found in the preceding post - Map Moves 21st to 22nd March.

The situation in this sector of the campaign. Blucher with the main Prussian Army is green 1 and 3. Napoleon is blue 1 and 3. This battle however takes place to the north east. The Prussian 14th Brigade (green 7) is en-route to reinforce Blucher when it is intercepted by Vandamme's 3rd French Corps (blue 9).

The Prussian Brigade commander, Ryssel, orders his men roused at first light ready to march to the Prussian capital. As dawn breaks French troops appear en-masse to the east and south east intent on intercepting them. Ryssel realises that Blucher risks being surrounded in the capital and sends a messenger to alert him on events unfolding on his north eastern flank. He intends to hold the French for as long as possible to allow Blucher to fall back (if that is what he decides to do!).

Vandamme at the head of the French 3rd Corps observes the Prussian troops deploying across his line of advance. To ensure Blucher remains trapped inside his capital he is determined to deal with this lesser Prussian force and quick order.

Continued -

On the Workbench: 10mm AWI & 6mm WW2

In preparation for the 'White Plains' game I have completed more of the excellent Pendraken 10mm AWI American figures:

Delaware Continentals

Continued -

The 2nd Battle of Oporto

For details regarding the scenario, orbats etc. see 'The 2nd Battle of Oporto - An Introduction'. https://grymauch.blogspot.com/2018/11/2nd-battle-of-oporto-introduction.html A note about the figures: You will notice many of the British in particular are in later war uniforms. Over time I will be painting more units specifically for the Peninsular but I decided life was too short to paint a whole load more when I already had a significant number, albeit for Waterloo. Not too obvious in 6mm though.

Foy's Brigade deployed within the eastern half of Oporto. (Western half - off table)

Continued -

2nd Battle of Oporto - An introduction

The next battle in my Peninsular War project is the 2nd Battle of Oporto, or the crossing of the Douro, 12th May 1809. 

I have several books that include the battle but do not cover it in any great detail. After hunting around the internet I stumbled across JJ's Wargames blog who had created a scenario for this battle. It seemed ideal and only needed a little tweaking for the different scale and rule system. The full scenario can be found here -

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2018/01/over-hills-play-test-oporto.html

Once again I am going to highlight the versatility of 6mm, especially when space is at a premium. JJ's original scenario, which included a representation of the Douro that I intend to replicate, was played out on a 9' x 5' table. My game will be on a 4'6" x 3' table!

I will again be using a modified version of General de Brigade rules. For this game skirmishing will be introduced. It will be done in an abstract way without actually deploying skirmish figures, a very fiddly proposition in this scale. I will be using the GdB mechanism with a touch of Grande Armee by Sam Mustafa and some of my own tweaks.

Briefly: I will be allocating an SK (skirmisher) value to each unit which collectively forms a Brigade skirmish screen when not acting independently. This will be based on GdB's system of 1D6 for 6 first rate skirmishers, 1D6 for 8 second rate and 1D6 for 4 chosen men of the 95th Rifles. So a French infantry battalion of 36 figures will have one light company of 6 = SK1 or 1D6. A British line battalion of 30 will have one light company of 3 = SK1/2 and so on. 

It will be assumed skirmishers are thrown out ahead of an advance to screen the main body of troops. When in range dice are rolled as per GdB with a '6' scoring a hit. When the main body moves within 6cms of the enemy the skirmishers are automatically recalled. They cannot be deployed if enemy cavalry are within 9cms of the parent or target unit. 

There is more detail to it than this but gives you an idea of how it is going to, hopefully, work. This particular battle should be a decent test bed not being too large that it could get bogged down.

Continued -

The Battle of Vimeiro 21 Aug 1808

Fairly soon I intend to game the Battle of Oporto in my Peninsular War project. This project involves fighting the battles of the Peninsular in chronological order. Initially this will be the battles involving the British forces but in time I intend to add those fought by the Spanish.

For the sake of completeness, I am posting this After Action Report on the Battle of Vimeiro which I played 3 years ago! I had not realised it was so long. This was played solo in my garage before moving to my now permanent wargames room in the house. Lighting was poor so some of the photos are not as clear as I would have liked. I had less 6mm terrain than I have now, particularly with regard to hills. I made do with my existing collection which were designed more for 15mm + figures.

I kept few notes so the detail will be less than usual but I will hopefully be able to convey the progress of the battle that will enable the reader to understand and enjoy the action on the tabletop.

THE BATTLE OF VIMEIRO

21st August 1808

Rules = General de Brigade
Scale = 6mm

Figures = Baccus

Table size = 6'9" x 4'6" 

Continued -

Operation Nostalgia: Order of Battle - Land Units

Introduction:

I intend to complete the land, sea and air orders of battle on separate postings. These will be live documents and will be updated with casualties as they occur. This should allow easier reference to the orbats as the campaign unfolds by opening additional tabs or windows showing the relevant list.

A brief note about these orbats and how they differ from the original articles. Both sides have been expanded with additional units. Rather just Elite and Regular, I have added Veteran and Conscripts. I have also changed the way in which points are awarded for Elite troops. In the original article they cost double. I have changed this to +50%. For Conscripts it is -1/3. Veterans and Regulars are not modified.

The invasion force has been hastily thrown together with available units after the fall of Tunisia. Support elements in particular have been drawn from various units and added to the mix. 

Bases refer to bases of infantry for Blitzkrieg Commander rules.

Sea and Air orbats are close to completion and will be posted shortly.

Continued -

WW2 in North Africa: Into the Gap Part 4

Turn 7 - Conclusion:

With the build up of Italian infantry to their front, the units on the 2nd British hilltop position, now reinforced by the 11th Hussars, fire with all they have got. The 40mm AA gun was particularly successful, passing several command rolls the final one of which was a double '1' meaning it could take 2 actions. In this case two further rounds of fire repeatedly hitting the Italians.

Continued -

WW2 in North Africa: Into the Gap Part 3

Turns 4 - 6

The Italian medium armour attack on the British A9's placed them directly in front of the 25pdrs and close enough to allow them to act on their own initiative. Both 25pdrs fired on the nearest M13/40 with bonuses for close range and firing into the flank of the tank. 6 hits were scored on none saved by the Italian tank so it was well and truly destroyed. It was also the command tank for the company.

Continued -

On the Workbench: 6mm Armour and Vehicles

I took regular time out from my Western Desert game to continue painting a variety of stuff. A brief update on what has been happening this week:

While in the mood for painting WW2 I dug out my remaining unpainted tanks and vehicles for the Western Desert. All tanks are GHQ and other vehicles are Heroics & Ros. Bare metal at the top of the photo are 5 each of Italian M11/39 and M13/40 medium tanks. There are 2 Lloyd carriers which I will probably use for late war.

Primed are 10 x Matilda II's, 2 x Retriever GS trucks and a Morris 15cwt truck with tilt.

Continued -

WW2 in North Africa: Into the Gap Part 2

Turns 1 - 3

The first British turn began with the 11th Hussars frantically calling up the C/O but failed to get through. They subsequently took a command test and immediately rolled a 'command blunder'. They took half a move out of the dunes towards their own base line. Here the 40mm AA gun and infantry section look down on the retreating armoured cars and carriers of the 11th Hussars. 

The crew of the 40mm look down their sights at the Italian force cresting the top of the hill opposite their position. An AB40 armoured car makes a prime target silhouetted against the sky. They open up at long range and one of their rounds finds it's target. The armoured car survives but not for long.

Continued

WW2 in North Africa: Into the Gap Part 1

I found this scenario on the Serpentine Wargame Club blog and is the first of the Op Compass actions as part of my N.Africa project:  http://serpentinewargameclub.blogspot.co.uk/

When I wargame solo I tend to play a game over several days. I therefore intend to break the AAR down into several parts reporting on the action soon after it happens on the tabletop. In this way I hope to provide easier to read postings in bitesize chunks but also more detailed. Any feedback on this method of providing AAR's is appreciated as it will give me a guide for the future.

The scenario courtesy of the Serpentine Wargames Club:

A Jock Column encounters an Italian Column in the Ebna Gap

The British forces would pass through the Ebna Gap with 4th Indian Division moving northwards to take the camps from behind, 7th Armoured Division screening to the west and south, while 'Selby' Force from the Mersa Matruh garrison would move along the coast road. Logistical problems would be solved by the creation of Forward Supply Depots (FSDs), with Nos. 3 and 4 holding enough fuel, food, water and ammunition for five days of activity, in No-Man's Land.

The setting up of these depots was screened by 'Jock' Columns and a sharp clash occurred on 19 November with an Italian force in the Ebna Gap ended with 5 Italians tanks destroyed and 100 casualties. This stunned the Italians for the next 3 weeks while intensive training by the British culminated in 'Training Exercise No. 1' which had British forces practising to attack exact replicas of the Italian camps. After this, Wavell gathered his senior staff together on 26 November and briefed them on 'Training Exercise No. 2' – Operation Compass.

On the 19th November 1940 a Jock Column patrolling the Ebna gap encounters an Italian Column of Tanks and Infantry.

Continued -

On the Workbench: Last of Terrain, Brit armour and more ships.

A quick update on the what is happening on the workbench. Over the past week I have concentrated on completing new terrain boards and upgrading my existing collection.

This is the final batch of existing terrain boards that I will upgrade for now. In due course I am aiming to improve the cliffs, rivers and road sections. For now though I need to get back to wargaming and painting figures. 

Continued -

On the Workbench: Update on terrain, German armour & vehicles, 1/1200 naval.

It has been a busy week on the terrain front. Having started by creating new desert terrain pieces and upgrading my existing boards, I have gone full-on upgrading pretty much all my collection. This has delayed the playing of my next N.Africa battle but hopefully not for long.

My room has been taken over with terrain boards in various stages of 'upgrading'.

Continued....

Kingmaker Campaign: The Battle of Milford Haven

This is the first battle in the Kingmaker campaign with my son, Jack. A reminder of how this battle has occurred:

In the early moves of the campaign it was very much a case of assembling forces and identifying the best way of capturing Royal Pieces. Jack developed a clear lead on this gaining control of George of Clarence and Edward Earl of March. He had also assembled a sizeable force in the vicinity of London threatening to capture King Henry VI who was in residence there. I, on the other hand, controlled nobody! 

I saw an opportunity though of capturing George of Clarence from Jack who was busily attempting to evacuate him through the port of Milford Haven (south west tip of Wales). I sent a force under the command of none other than Neville - Earl of Warwick (The Kingmaker) together with Nobles, Clifford, Scrope and Cromwell towards Milford Haven with the intention of intercepting Jack's force before they could embark their ships. Using the road network I achieved my aim and Jack's force under the command of Stafford - Duke of Buckingham with Hastings - Earl of Worcester moved out to meet my force.

Buckingham positioned his force across a valley blocking Warwick's advance.

Scale = 6mm

Figures = Baccus

Rules = My own*

Table size = 3'9" x 3'

* A brief note about my rules.  They use the basic General de Brigade engine but heavily reworked for ancients/medieval. They are very much a work in progress. Readers familiar with General de Brigade will recognise some of the mechanisms used in the after action reports.

ACW 6mm: Battle of Cedar Mountain

Having extensively covered my Napoleonic projects I now turn to ACW. I intend to bring the reader up to date with my ongoing project. i.e. to play through the scenarios within the F&F, RF&F and Guns at Gettysburg scenario books. There are two AAR's to post in addition to 'First Bull Run' which you will find elsewhere on the blog with the ACW label. 

The rules used are Guns at Gettysburg by Dave Brown. I have introduced similar modifications to those used in General de Brigade. The most significant being Command and Control and the omission of skirmishers which are too fiddly for 6mm. 

This scenario is drawn from the Fire & Fury Great Eastern Battles scenario book. Transferring to Guns at Gettysburg orders of battle was relatively straightforward. 1 base in F&F = 1 base in GaG for infantry and artillery, and 2 bases for cavalry. As this is a brigade level scenario I introduced modifications to the rules mainly around attack formations to allow for the fact that each unit was now a brigade rather than a battalion.  

All basing for my 6mm ACW is similar to my Napoleonics. The only difference being cavalry:

Infantry 6 to a base 15mm x 15mm.

Artillery 1 cannon and 4 crew to a base 15mm frontage x 20mm

Cavalry 2 to a base 15mm x 15mm.

On to the battle:

WW2 Brit Paras completed for Market Garden Scenario

The British Paras are now completed for the 'Battle in the Woods' scenario from the Rapid Fire Op Market Garden scenario book. All Heroics & Ros figures and vehicles.

Looks rather paltry compared to 15mm or 20mm! However, it will be an interesting exercise having originally played this scenario in 15mm using the Rapid Fire rules. This time it will be using Blitzkrieg Commander II and on a much smaller table.

The German vehicles have been primed and ready to paint. I did receive a bunch of German infantry from Heroics & Ros which are the old sculpts. I was hoping that they would be ok and although many are fine, they are not up to the standard of their new paras. I have therefore decided to hold off playing this game until H&R release their updated Germans. I will in the meantime complete the vehicles and all terrain required so all ready to go in due course.