Plans for 2021

With the new year looming it is time to plan the year ahead. As in previous years this will be broken down into Battles, Campaigns and Painting/modelling. 

There is one new project, the Battle of Trebia from the 2nd Punic Wars. An old favourite period of mine and given added impetus from the LittleWars TV episode.

BATTLES

There will almost certainly be more from the various projects (see "My Collections and Projects" tab above which will be regularly updated) and those listed below will be priorities.

ANCIENTS:

Early Imperial Roman 16th Legion v Ancient British Trinovantes tribe in East Anglia.

2nd Punic War - Battle of Trebia (Both sides need painting so 50:50 if achieved this year).

ECW:

Battle of Chewton Mendip.

Looking further out I hope to play some of the more well known battles, the first being Edgehill. It is unlikely to be in the coming year but is a possibility depending on how fast I can paint the additional figures required!

NAPOLEONIC:

Battle of Talavera - Peninsular War project. Over the past month I have made good progress painting the Spanish force required. I have several allied units to paint for the French but this battle is now a probability for this coming year.

Battle of Tourane - Campaign Dutch v French. This, in all probability, will be the first game of the year.

ACW:

Cavalry skirmish at Rorketon - from the new campaign.

Scenarios - I have yet to decide if any will be played with concentration being placed on the campaign.

Gettysburg is still up there but unlikely given all other projects planned.

COLONIAL:

Rorkes Drift - Almost half the Zulus painted with most of the British needed to be done including the buildings.

WW2:

Air action and battle south of Nibeiwa - Operation Compass campaign

Battles from the "Reconnaissance in Strength" mini-campaign (Soviets v Germans) - I intend to play this as a continual rolling battle to completion of the campaign.

Groesbeek Heights - Op Market Garden

Continued -

Review of 2020

With the wargame table packed away for the Xmas festivities it is time to review how the past year progressed.

As with previous yearly reviews I will revisit my plans for the year to see how they panned out and will add any unplanned events!

Text in italics are taken directly from my years' plans.

Before I start I should mention there are 2 events which will impact on my wargaming this coming year. From mid February I will be away for 5 weeks. The second, and rather more impactive, is a house move. Assuming we manage to sell our house ok we intend to move before the end of the year. This will severely restrict the gaming side of the hobby although I hope to maintain at least a degree of figure painting. One of the criteria for our new home will be it possesses, or has the potential to possess, a wargames room. So, all being well, normal service should be resumed in due course. It may of course give me the opportunity to experiment with skirmishing in 6mm. Chain of Command on a coffee table looks promising!

We managed to get away for 5 weeks returning to the mayhem that was Covid-19! This also clashed with our house move which fortunately, was completed in April. My worst fears about not having wargame space were not realised, and even better still I had slightly more room than previously! So normal service resumed.

WARS OF THE ROSES:

Battle of Shrewsbury - From the Kingmaker campaign. 400 - 500 figures need to be painted, the first of which has now been primed and on my painting table.

Completed with AAR on the blog.

Continued -

Market Garden: XXX Corps Breakout

This scenario is taken from the Rapid Fire! supplement 'Market Garden'. Converting Rapid Fire orders of battle to Blitzkrieg Commander IV is relatively simple. Artillery is translated 1:1 as are support weapons. Infantry have 3 bases to a company (1 base = 1 platoon). Mine are based in multiples of 4 figures and given that RF companies average around 8 figures it is a simple matter of increasing numbers by 50% to calculate how many are needed for the reduced German battalions.

Where there is transport that needs to be increased slightly to ensure all units have a vehicle assigned. Tanks are a little different. In RF the tank ratio is 1:5 compared to 1:3 or 4 in BKC. A squadron of 3 tanks therefore becomes 5 and so on.

This will mean rather more tanks and vehicles travelling along the road from Joe's Bridge and the increased possibility of a traffic jam! Should be interesting.

The scenario book recommends a table size of 8' x 5' for 20mm (although allows for flexibility). I calculated that 4'6" x 3' should be sufficient for 6mm.

Game details:

Table Size - 4'6" x 3'

 Figures - Heroics & Ros 1/300 (Brit carriers GHQ 1/285)

Rules - Blitzkrieg Commander IV

ORDERS OF BATTLE:

Continued -

Market Garden: XXX Corps Breakout Preview

Still on a WW2 theme I bring a preview of my next game, "XXX Corps Breakout", the first game of my Operation Market Garden project. This is to play through the scenarios in the Rapid Fire 'Market Garden' supplement and possibly turning it into a campaign.

Details of the game will be provided on the AAR which should be completed fairly soon. In the meantime I am posting photos of the German position through which XXX Corps will have to fight. All the figures and vehicles are by Heroics & Ros.

XXX Corps will arrive along the road in the foreground and all armour must remain on it until they reach Valkenswaard in the distance.

Continued -

WW2 Operation Compass: Map Moves Turn 2 - 11th December 1940

Selby Force had a great start to the campaign having completely destroyed the 1st Libyan Infantry Division. Attention now switches to the south:

Having taken its first objective, Selby Force now slows up to allow for the 'left hook' to take place. 

To the far south the 4th Armoured Brigade with the 11th Indian Brigade attack the 63rd Italian Division who occupy a hastily prepared defensive position in the open desert.

To the north of that action, the 7th Armoured Brigade with the 5th Indian and 16th British Brigades assault the Nibeiwa camp occupied by the Maletti Division.

Firstly though the air phase must be completed. On this occasion 3 Italian fighter squadrons have intercepted 2 Blenheim bomber squadrons escorted by a squadron of Hurricanes.

WW2 Operation Compass: Turn 1 - Matkila Camp Part 2

Moving on to part 2 of Matkila Camp, the surviving British troops of Selby Force now have to deal with Italian reinforcements travelling along the coast road from the west.

Table size is the same 6' x 3'9".

The forces involved are as follows:

British - Selby Force

Brigade CO - Brig Selby (CV9)
FAO (CV7)
AT Rifle Platoon - 1 stand

3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards (Veteran - fully motorised)
Bn HQ (CV8)
A - D Companies - 8 rifle stands including 4 company HQ's (CV7).
Support Coy - 1 x 3" Mortar

W Coy, Northumberland Fusiliers (Veteran - motorised)
Coy HQ (CV7)
3 x Vickers MMG stands

A Coy, 1st Bn, South Staffordshire Regt (Veteran - Motorised)
2 x Rifle stands including Coy HQ (CV7)

A Coy, 1st Bn 22nd Cheshire Regt (Veteran - Motorised)
Coy HQ (CV7)
2 x Vickers MMG stands

Detachment Durham Light Infantry (Veteran)
1 x Rifle Stand with truck

7th Hussars
2 x Vickers MkVI Light tanks

Light AA Battery
2 x Bofors 40mm AA guns

1 Section 107th South Notts Hussars RHA
1 x 25pdr Field Gun

Italian - 2nd Libyan Infantry Group

FAO (CV6)
Inf Gun Battery 1 x 65L17 Infantry gun

XI Derna Bn (Green)
Bn HQ (CV7)
3 x Rifle companies each 3 x rifle stands
Weapons company 1 x Breda MMG

XII Barce Bn (Green)
Bn HQ (CV7)
3 x Rifle companies each 3 x rifle stands
Weapons company 1 x Breda MMG

XIII Zemzem Bn (Green)
Bn HQ (CV7)
3 x Rifle companies each 3 x rifle stands
Weapons company 1 x Breda MMG

Continued -

WW2 Operation Compass: Turn 1 - Matkila Camp Part 1

The first action of the campaign involves Selby Force attacking the Italians within their camp at Matkila. Selby Force have been tasked with driving along the coast road towards the Libyan frontier.

Table size 6' x 3'9

Figures and Vehicles - Mix of GHQ and H&R

Orders of Battle:

British - Selby Force

Brigade CO - Brig Selby (CV9)
FAO (CV7)
AT Rifle Platoon - 1 stand

3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards (Veteran - fully motorised)
Bn HQ (CV8)
A - D Companies - 12 rifle stands including 4 company HQ's (CV7).
Support Coy - 1 x Vickers MMG, 1 x 3" Mortar

W Coy, Northumberland Fusiliers (Veteran - motorised)
Coy HQ (CV7)
3 x Vickers MMG stands

A Coy, 1st Bn, South Staffordshire Regt (Veteran - Motorised)
3 x Rifle stands including Coy HQ (CV7)

A Coy, 1st Bn 22nd Cheshire Regt (Veteran - Motorised)
Coy HQ (CV7)
3 x Vickers MMG stands

Detachment Durham Light Infantry (Veteran)
1 x Rifle Stand with truck

7th Hussars
2 x Vickers MkVI Light tanks

Light AA Battery
3 x Bofors 40mm AA guns

1 Section 8th Field Regt RA
1 x 18pdr Field Gun

1 Section 107th South Notts Hussars RHA
1 x 25pdr Field Gun

Air Support
Scheduled ground attack by Blenheim bombers.

Continued -

Britannia Campaign: Map Moves Turn 2

 

An overview of the map at end of turn 2

With the Atrebates tribe now pacified the 2nd Legion prepares to advance on the south west. It leaves one cohort of auxiliaries as a garrison.

The 16th Legion move out towards the east. The powerful Trinovantes tribe have no intention of allowing the Romans to advance any further which sets the scene of the next clash in the Britannia campaign.

Britannia Campaign: Vespasian v The Atrebates

As Vespasian moves inland with the 2nd Legion with the expectation that allies would be quickly formed with the Atrebates, scouts hurriedly return informing him of an approaching large force of Celts. Clearly the Romans were going to have to stamp their authority on these barbarians from the start. An example would have to be made.

Crossing the South Downs Vespasian deployed in a defensive position and awaited the approach of the Atrebates warbands.

Table Size: 4'6" x 3'

Figures: 6mm Baccus and Rapier

Rules: My own (based on General de Brigade)

ORDERS OF BATTLE

Roman

1 x CinC + 2 sub-commanders

2nd Legion: 1st Cohort 60 figures. 9 x cohorts of 36 figures each
4 x Scorpios

Auxiliaries -

1 x Medium Cavalry cohort 30 figures
1 x Light Cavalry cohort 30 figures
1 x Equitata cohort - 1 x 12 light cavalry + 1 x 24 Aux infantry
2 x Batavian cohorts each 1 x 12 medium cavalry + 1 x 24 Aux infantry)
3 x Auxiliary infantry cohorts each 36 figures
1 x Auxiliary archers cohort of 36 figures

Total 668 figures

Atrebates

1 x CinC + 2 sub-commanders

1 unit of 8 light chariots
1 unit of 24 medium cavalry
2 units of 16 light cavalry
2 units of 12 light cavalry
1 x warband 72 figs
1 x warband 60 figs
5 x warbands of 40 figs
2 x warbands of 30 figs
1 unit of 16 Slingers
2 units of 16 Javelinmen

Total 536 figures

River is impassable - Vespasian located a ford on his approach to his position and used it to cross his Scorpios and escorting cohorts. He was not aware of another ford off table behind the Atrebates position although guessed this may be a possibility.

Continued -

WW2 Operation Compass: Turn 1 Air Phase

10th December 1940

The first real action of the campaign involved British and Australian fighters intercepting an escorted Italian bomber formation.

2 squadrons of SM79 Sparviero bombers are escorted by fighters (left to right) 1 squadron each of Fiat Cr32 Chirri, Fiat Cr42 Falco and Breda Ba65.

They spot the British formations ahead of them at a higher altitude: 

Australian Gladiators on the left with Hurricane I's have yet to spot the Italians.

Continued -