Kingmaker Campaign - Battle of Shrewsbury

I must apologise in advance for a rather brief AAR and the quality of photos. This game was played with an opponent - my son Jack. We did not have time for pauses to take notes or ensure lighting was about right for photos. 

For this game I had a Yorkist force against Jack's Lancastrians. As he was the defender he selected which side of the table he would deploy.

Table Size - 4'6" x 3'

Figures - 6mm Baccus

Rules - Ancient & Medieval Wargaming by Neil Thomas (Medieval Module)

ORBATS

Continued -

On the Workbench: Panthers, Jagdpanthers & T34's

A batch of WW2 armour has now been added to the inventory. All 1/285th scale models by 2D6 Wargaming:

5 x Panther D's, 1 x Panther A and 1 x Panther G. 

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On the Workbench: Bismark and Prinz Eugen

Bismark and Prinz Eugen in 1/3000 scale:

Painting the occasional ship provides a welcome break from hordes of figures. These 2 ships are from the collection my son found in his loft. With the old paint stripped off they were duly refurbished and looked quite presentable when finished. Especially bearing in mind they must be over 25 years old now.

The Prinz Eugen is a Navwar model and I believe the Bismark may be Davco. With HMS Hood and Prince of Wales next they will set the scene for some naval action.

Sea Bases:

In response to Peter Little's request in the comments below, I am adding details of how I complete my sea bases.

First, a note regarding the blue colour. Many would argue that the North Atlantic, which is the primary setting for these ships, is normally a dull grey. This is not always the case though -

This is a photo I took last year off the Lofoten Islands. Looks a bit blue to me! The deciding factor for me though being that it better compliments the ship models especially in this small scale. So with that in mind this is the process I used for my sea bases:

My bases are usually artist card cut to the size of the ship rather than any generic size. For the larger ships such as these, I have used 1mm thick plasticard which reduces the chances of warping.

Filler is added shaping a bow wave together with other smaller random waves. I firstly paint black around the filler where it meets the hull. The blue base coat is Vallejo 965 Prussian Blue.

Next a heavy drybrushing of Vallejo 962 Flat Blue is applied leaving the darker blue in the troughs of waves. A lighter drybrush of Coat 'd Arms 206 Light Blue is added enhancing the shading effect. A heavy drybrushing of white is applied to the sea along the ship sides and liberally around the stern. Finally a very light drybrushing of white is applied to the bow and random waves.

The whole model is given 2 coats of matt varnish and when dry, I paint the sea a gloss varnish (I use a bottle of Humbrol). 

This is obviously purely my take and hope it will provide for some ideas for those who are struggling with sea bases.

On the Workbench: WW2 Soviet Infantry Battalions & Bersaglieri Motor Cyclists

WW2 Soviet Infantry battalions have been completed for the Recce in Strength project. 

There are 3 infantry battalions, 1 naval infantry battalion and a recce infantry battalion plus several other bases such as Div and Brig command, anti-tank rifle platoons, LMG platoons, a flamethrower platoon and a couple of female sniper teams. All by 2D6 miniatures.

I say 'complete' but they are waiting on Maxim machine gun teams to be released by 2D6.

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Ancient and Medieval Wargaming Rules Test Game

Having recently acquired Neil Thomas' Ancient and Medieval Wargaming rules, primarily for the Wars of the Roses campaign, I had the itch to give them a test game. It also gave me an opportunity to get out my Early Imperial Roman and Ancient British figures. This game was played on a 2'3" x 2'3" table.

As can be seen, I planned this being the most basic of games just to get the feel for the rules. I am not a fan of generic sized units but for this test outing I have stuck with the 4 bases per unit as recommended with an orbat drawn from the army lists included in the book (1 for artillery). 

I have used the 'Classical Warfare' module and the only change I have made was to add a command and control system (there are none in the rules). I settled on a slight variation of the 'Hail Caesar' system but limiting the number of moves a unit can make to 2 rather than the designed 3. As this is a relatively small battle there will be just one commander for each side. 

The Ancient British consist of 5 units of warband, 2 x slingers, 3 x light chariots and 2 x light cavalry. 

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Nap Campaign: Map Moves 29th March 1808

Overview

To the north west Grouchy continues to pursue the retreating allies. The Dutch (orange 1) fail to rally and only do so on reaching their capital which they have now done. The Brunswickers and Hanoverians are aiming to link up with the British who are still in the process of assembling in port.

Another Brunswick brigade (black 1) has been transported from their main island base and are ready to join the fight.

The result of the most recent action (battle of the Tourane Peninsular) at the bottom left. Best (yellow 4) intends to link up with the rest of the Hanoverians. Chasse's Dutch/Belgians (Orange 2) are routing pursued by D'Erlon (blue 6). 

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Nap Campaign: Battle of the Tourane Peninsular (Holland)

The situation at nightfall on 28th March 1808:

The Dutch commander, Chasse, decided to make a stand holding a narrow peninsular. In so doing he hoped to draw off some of the French from their main army to relieve some of the pressure on the allied forces defending Holland. It was a high risk gamble that could lead to his annihilation but he hoped that channelling the French into a narrow strip of land would enable him to destroy their columns in the manner of the British lines.

D'Erlon with 2 infantry and 1 cavalry division seeks to eliminate this long standing flanking threat once and for all including that infernal Col Best!

Continued - 

On the Workbench: WW2 Soviet Infantry

Almost ready for basing are a bunch of 6mm WW2 Soviet infantry by 2D6 Wargaming:

These are all for the project "Reconnaissance in Strength" and will make up the bulk of the infantry.

During rebasing my N.Africa figures, it reminds me how far 6mm or 1/300 or 1/285 (whichever you prefer) have come. Some of my figures are old H&R and have very little detail.