Sharp Practice 2: Gun Run: 26th Oct 2022

 

Another Wednesday Zoom hosted game. The Scenario had the the Royal Navy having landed a quantity of muskets & attempting to move them up, for handing-over to the Spanish guerrillas. The British had 3 groups of British Marines, one group of Seamen skirmishers and two groups of Spanish irregular skirmishers. They also had a moveable Deployment Point, which could start at the far side of the table, at Point B1.

The French are moving to intercept, deploying 4 groups of Conscripts & Volunteer French line infantry & two groups of Voltigeur skirmishers, starting at the top of the map, at point F1.

Turn 1 went well for everybody! All the chits came out and everybody deployed. The Brits even managed a second move, with 4 flags and the Marines were storming down the road.

Turn 2 saw the Brits continue to push the Marines down the road, while they push the Spanish moveable deployment point behind the hill, overlooking the French right flank. However, the gods stopped smiling on the British then. The French managed a 4 flag second move, which saw the French Voltigeurs rush around the hill an deny the Spanish the use of their moveable Deployment Point.

So, while the Marine Column was now well along the road, it now faced the road being blocked by 2 groups of French Line &  Voltigeurs ahead of them and another 2 groups of French Line on the right flank.

The Spanish skirmishers then decided to join the Seamen skirmishers, in the wood to the right of the British entry road & these three groups mounted a withering fusillade on Capitanne Opless and his two groups of line. This rather one sided firefight, fairly rapidly saw Opless & his men falling back.

Captain Darling saw his chance to deploy his Marines into line, to deal which the two group groups of French line now blocking the road, with their Voltigeur support. However, their movement was ponderously slow & long range fire from the French started to eat into their ranks. Then disaster struck. Captain Darling was knocked unconscious by a musket ball. All that was then left to do, was for the British to withdraw. A rare win for Capitanne Opless, even if he actually played little part in the success!?

Return to Octerapus - The Empire Strikes Back

 To: Space Marine Strike Cruiser ‘Townsville’, base of the third company ‘Imperial Dropbears’ chapter

From: Imperial Battle Barge ‘Zeemaphrame’ commanded by Imperial Inquisitor Lord Rob.

Greetings in the Emperors name.  It has come to my attention that Heretical activity is taking place on Imperial world Octerapus with Traitor Marines having been spotted.  A unit of Deathwatch Marines dispatched to the planet are out of contact and are assumed to have been destroyed. Please urgently send a team of Marines to the planet to locate and destroy the heretics before the heresy takes root.

From ‘Townville’: Strewth Mate we’re just in the middle of something here, can’t you take care of it yourself?’

From ‘Zeemaphrame’: No we can’t.  His excellency Lord Rob is busy undergoing routine maintenance.  Planetary garrisons are already committed elsewhere. What’s so urgent you can’t help?

From ‘Townsville’:  We’re having a bar… Err We’re partaking in an ancient chapter ritual that’s totally out of the manual and shouldn’t be interrupted. [Muffled] Here Wayne watch those sausages mate, they’re starting to burn.

From ‘Zeemaphrame’: What? Look Rob is a Lord Inquisitor and he can totally order you to obey you know!  Besides we haven’t carried out a ‘purity review’ of your chapter recently if you get my drift.

From ‘Townville’:  All right mate, don’t stress yourself out, OK we’ll send a few of the boys to deal with it.  Leave it with us.  Townsville out.   Bluey get your lads together, oh and pass those prawns…

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With Rob busy on family business Tony stepped up to play the next game of Kill Team.  The two sides were Tony’s Tactical Space Marines vs Chris’s Heretic Space Marines giving a simplified battle as it was Tony’s first game.

The Heretic Astartes were as the previous battle, Aspiring Champion Derek the Miffed with Plasma Pistol and Power Fist, Chaos Warrior Roderick with Bolter, Chaos Warrior Tyson with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword, Chaos Warrior Tarquin with Chaos Icon, Bolt Pistol and Chainsword, Chaos Gunner Brutus with Meltagun and Chaos Heavy Gunner Steve with Heavy Bolter.

The Imperial Dropbears Space Marine Chapter fielded a Sergeant Bluey with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword, three Marines Bruce, Robo and Loco with Boltgun, Gunner Wayne ‘Barbie’ with Flamer and Heavy Gunner Chook with Missile Launcher.

Chaos won the initiative and choose not to use a Strategic Ploy, the Imperials chose Bolter Discipline enabling them to Shoot twice.  Tarquin started by Dashing to the centre objective and securing it for Khorne (1vp to Chaos).  The Imperial response was brutal as Bruce advanced then gunned down Tarquin using his two shooting actions.  Steve moved forward into a shooting position and secured the second objective (2vp for Chaos).  In response Robo leapt onto a shipping container, negating Steve’s cover and again with two shots gunned him down.   

                    Hapless 'Steve the Slaughterer' getting himself slaughtered

Tony’s decision to enact Bolter Discipline looked to be the right one.  Worried about the way things were going Brutus Dashed towards Robo and fired his Melta gun.  The effects were pretty brutal and finally Chaos had started to inflict some casualties.  Wayne moved towards Brutus and unleashed his flamer but only managed to likely injure the marine before securing the third objective (1vp for the Imperials).  Roderick moved position and managed to secure the final objective (3vp for Chaos).  Bluey dashed forward in the centre and managed to shoot Brutus with his bolt pistol inflicting enough damage to kill the injured marine.  Carnage amongst the Chaos ranks with 50% dead and it was still turn 1, admittedly their saving rolls had been rubbish.  Tyson moved up into the middle of the table and Loco jumped onto a shipping container and fired at him for no effect.  Derek dashed into range of Loco and shot him with his Plasma Pistol killing him on the spot.  Chook repositioned at the back lining up on Tyson.

Turn 2 and this time Chaos took Malicious volleys allowing them to shoot twice.  They also won initiative and started off with Bluey charging into combat with Bluey and killing him with his power fist.  He was also planning to shoot down Wayne but Tony reminded his sergeant that ‘Only is Death does duty end’.  Bluey remained in play preventing Derek from shooting an he was still within the Engagement range of the fatally wounded (but not yet expired) Marine.  The next activation saw Bluey killing the Chaos Space Marine Sergeant and securing the central objective before falling to his wounds.  Roderick opened fire at Chook and in two rounds of shooting managed to inflict only 3 wounds on Chook.  He then moved out of sight to avoid the likely counter fire.  Unfortunately Tyson was not so lucky being found to be in the Missile Launchers sights.  One Krak missile saw Tyson blown to bits leaving Roderick as the sole Chaos Marine in play.  The remaining Imperial forces repositioned and captured objectives leaving the score 4/3 to Chaos at the end of the second turn.

Turn 3 and the sole Chaos Marine was first to go.  Using Malicious volleys, he advanced into position where he could see two of his three opponents before unleashing a stream of bolter shells at Chook (unfortunately two lots of shooting saw no hits inflicted).  This time the answering shot hit the unfortunate Roderick killing him and leaving the table to the forces of the Imperium.  Victory to the Empire.

   Chook takes aim at his second Heretic Marine of the day - he's had his Weetabix!

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The game ran well now that we are starting to get the rules under our belt.  There was major rules query.  If someone is killed during a melee attack but uses ‘only in death’ to survive one more activation does the combat continue?  We decided not but we’ll have to see if an official adjudication is announced.  Beyond this the game seemed to be a easy to play although as a new player Tony initially found the rules tricky to get to grip with.  Didn’t stop him winning though.

1945 - The Fall of the Reich

 From STAVKA to 17th Heavy Tank Regiment    

Good news comrades, the Nazi's are broken and retreating.  We are now in German territory and the war is close to its end.  All you have to do is advance into the next village and secure it for follow on units to move through and continue the advance.  Resistance is expected to be negligible. Za Stalina - onwards to victory!

9/9/21 With most of 'the chaps' away on holiday or attending other clubs (the traitors will be purged) gamers are short on the ground.  As such the plan was for Comrade Commissar Dave to lead his men Comrade Fred and Comrade Greg against an umpire controlled enemy.  Sadly as the game grew closer work demands claimed both Greg and then Fred.  Comrade Cadet Barney was hastily recruited in their place.  There is no manpower shortage in the Red Army!

Initial reconnaissance saw no Germans on the table.  Both T34/85 advanced cautiously along the north of the battlefield, reinforcements were promised - eventually.  

Midway up the table Dave managed to spot the first German blind, surely it would just be a group of villagers out for a picnic?  Nope it was a Stug lurking for the unwary 

Both T34/85 turned to engage and a slugging match ensued.  Plenty of hits were achieved but the shells just didn't want to go through the armour.  Fortunately the German armourers seemed to have gone to the same supplier.

With the battle in danger of stalling Comrade Commissar Dave led the way by advancing into the attack.  The Stug was forced back.  Dave advanced again with victory in his sights.  Wait a minute whats that on the flank?

The T34/85 was a superb combat vehicle, well armed and armoured with excellent cross country mobility, it was arguably the tank which secured victory for the Soviet army.  However parking one with its flank towards a King Tiger was only going to end one way.  Scratch one T34/85.  

Comrade Commissar Dave was seen running to the baseline to commandeer the next T34/85 to enter the fray.  Meanwhile Comrade Cadet Barney faced the Stug and King Tiger alone, plus a German blind advancing from the rear through the woods.  Spinning his T34/85 around Comrade Cadet Barney headed into the woods to seek out the lurker behind him and definitely not to hide from the King Tiger on his flank.  A group of German charcoal burners scattered before him.  Comrade Dave in his shiny new tank entered the table near the south and chanced a long shot into the flank of the Stug.  Hit.  Sadly Stug armour is not as strong a it could be and the once mighty Stug was reduced to wreckage.

Continuing his advance up the table Dave managed to draw a bead on the final German blind,  The mobile field kitchen decided discretion was the batter part of valour and ran away.  With only one German tank against two mighty T34/85's surely the game was in the bag for the Russians.  Shame its a King Tiger though.   Both Russian vehicles start playing 'drive behind the German' in an attempt to get in a rear shot.  The King Tiger refused to co-operate and got a flank shot on the Comrade Cadet.  Another dead T34/85 and the centre of the table starts to look like a scrap yard of dead armoured vehicles.  

A fourth T34/85 arrives at the baseline and Comrade Commissar Dave continues to circle his prey.  The fourth T34 races up the table to try and keep the pressure on the King Tiger but CC Dave finally manages to get behind the monster and to put a shot into its rear.  Kampfgruppe Commander Chris is initially scathing about his efforts, but wait don't 3's count for a rear shot? They do and there are a lot, 12 armour dice are rolled and only two saves are made - not enough and the King Tiger is finally knocked out.  

With only two burning T34/85 on the table losses are deemed to be acceptable in exchange for both a Stug and King Tiger.  Victory to the forces of the Rodina! 

Battlegroup Overlord - Counter-attack

A couple of weeks ago we had a small game using the Battlegroup WWII rules system; set in Normandy, we used the BG Overlord supplement, with around 450 points and four players involved. This was the first time I’d umpired a game of BG at the club and for most it was their first time using the ruleset. I confess I am an avid fan of the rules and am keen to use them more often for club games.

We used the Attack/Counter-Attack scenario from the main rulebook; the British had an infantry platoon with a medium mortar and two troops of Shermans. The Germans had an infantry platoon, three Stug IIIs and a Panther. I had originally intended both sides to have an extra infantry platoon each, but looking at the size of the board (6x4) we decided to only field one – which was probably a mistake. I should either have removed the Panther and one of the Shermans instead, or brought on the second infantry platoons as reinforcements.

Anyway, it was a fairly simple table, with a road running to/from the diagonals, and a small group of buildings in the middle, each of which acted as an objective. There was a considerable amount of bocage in the middle of the table, forcing the armour along the roads. Again, with hindsight, as an introductory game, a more open table might have been better to allow players to get the feel for the vehicle combat elements of the rules. I think I also slightly mucked up the bocage breaching rues for AFVs.

On to the game; the British proved slightly more aggressive than the Germans, pushing their two troops of Shermans up the road to the first house, while the infantry moved towards the bocage in the centre. The Germans held back, with their Panther on Ambush Fire (i.e. overwatch) covering the road, with the Stugs in reserve as the infantry cautiously advanced.

On the second turn the closed nature of the board became apparent as the Shermans began to back up; one troop decided to dash across the road into the more open left flank. This proved to be rash as the Panther activated its ambush fire; firing twice it missed once and then hit the Firefly’s side armour. Miraculously the hit failed to penetrate and, taking a morale test for a non-penetrating hit, the crew scored a six, giving them a Call of Duty test, which they passed. This allows a unit immediately to take an additional free activation. On this occasion, the Firefly commander opted to shoot back at the Panther, scoring a hit but failing to penetrate. With hindsight he should have perhaps have scarpered into cover.   

One the third turn the Germans again played fairly defensively, placing the Panther on Ambush again, while moving an infantry section up the left flank towards one of the objectives. In the centre both sides took a house, forcing a battle counter to be taken by each side for the loss of an objective. The British Firely in the open then tried to move out of the way, at which point the Panther opened fire again – scoring two sixes to hit – and, to no one’s surprise - killed the Firefly. Another battle counter taken for the loss of a unit. Interestingly this was to be the only armour loss in the game, again emphasising the lack of clear lines of sight.

Turn four saw the Germans occupying the house on the left flank with an infantry section forcing another British battle counter. On this turn the infantry had closed range and began to exchange copious quantities of fire and casualties began to mount. One particularly rash/courageous British infantry section decided to close assault the German section in the house on the left; a brief but vicious fight saw the British section wiped out to a man, while the Germans lost their rifle section. In the centre the British had reached the bocage line, which oddly the Germans had failed to occupy and began to engage targets across the top field and in the other houses.

At this point it became apparent that both sides had lost the majority of their infantry and the armour was stalled along the road. We decided to call the game and, totting up the battle counters it was a very marginal German victory - by one point.  

On reflection, an extra infantry platoon (either at the outset or perhaps as reinforcements) would have given both sides more options, and allowed them to exploit their successes more effectively – particularly the British. The only aspects of the rules I found trick to run was the indirect fire from the two medium mortars – I think we got this right but I need to review them.

Overall, a good game – the BG rules appear to lend themselves to a user-friendly multiplayer experience.   

Rank and File

Thursday night turned out to largely dominated by black powder (the propellant, not the rules). We had two 28mm games (Napoleonic and American Civil War), a 15mm Seven Years War game and, the outlier, a 1/200th naval game.

 The Napoleonic game was a test run for some rules picked up at Partizan earlier this year - Rank and File by Crusader publishing. We had a force of British infantry (commanded by your correspondent) with a medium gun defending a line of hills against a larger force of French infantry with two guns.

The thin red line

The French came on in column (as ever) and attempted to break the battalion on the left flank by weight of numbers. However, the first column was stopped by a volley and the second was bloodily repulsed in a melee (charging uphill not helping the French cause). Both French columns on this side then retired to lick their wounds.

In the centre, the French sought to bring their two field guns to bear, however their gunners were having a bad day and failed to hit much of anything throughout the battle. Having failed to break the left, the French commandant (aka Colin) tried to maneuver his  force, concentrating his units on the right instead.

Meanwhile the British got a bit carried away and decided to come down off the hills to have a pop at the Frogs.  This was perhaps unwise, and they started to take more casualties. Things heated up on the right, with one British battalion retiring and a second getting involved in close range fire with two more French columns, who they handily beat back, and managed to seriously wound the French commander to boot. In the centre the British line moved up and poured fire onto the largely ineffectual French guns crew, wiping them out in two rounds.

French gunners about to be mown down 

At this point the French had taken over 50% casualties and they decided to retire as their force morale was about to break.

Overall it was a fast and fun game - the R&F rules clearly lend themselves to an uncomplicated and quick flowing game; we picked the basics up very quickly. There are a wide range of optional extras that can be incorporated which may add greater flavour to the game - but importantly it felt accurate, with stout British infantry throwing back the French hordes.

Panther, Panther, burning bright

Thursday night's club meeting was slightly unusual in that we had a guest appearance from a 'big man' in the wargaming world, Richard Clarke from the Too Fat Lardies (TFL) rules stable. Richard had kindly agreed to come up and run a few of us through the TFL Chain of Command rules, which have already proved a big hit at the club. In fact, in addition to the CoC game Rich was running, set in Normandy, the table opposite had the British and Italians facing off in a CoC desert war scenario, and further down the hall was a Dux Britannarium Raiders scenario (another TFL rule set, forming part of an ongoing club campaign).

Richard explained he wanted to run a larger than normal CoC scenario, with the Brits fielding two full infantry platoons and a Sherman troop against a mixed force of Germans defending a town crossroads against an Allied advance. With three of us playing per side, it looked like being a lively evening.

The Allies were uncharacteristically sensible and decided to mass their four Shermans rather than splitting them up in support of the two infantry platoons. The Shermans would carefully push up the road towards the town while the two infantry platoons moved up the flanks to find the German defenders. 

The opening phase turn was fairly quiet, but the British had a knack of throwing double sixes for their command dice, thereby gaining immediate extra activations, and allowing them to get most of their forces on quickly. The Germans began their turn, and brought on what should have been their ace in the hole, a Panther tank. This caused some consternation from the Allies and the Panther raced up the road onto the bridge just outside the town, while the German infantry and MG teams deployed into their defensive positions. 

The Germans prepare 

 A plucky (or perhaps foolhardy) British Sherman gunner decided to have a pop at the Panther as it sat exposed side on on the bridge, hit it, but failed to penetrate even the big cat's side armour. There was a general feeling of resignation on the Allied side that our tanks were going to start brewing up rapidly. Meanwhile the British infantry moved up the flanks towards the objective, with some fire and grenades being exchanged in an orchard on the right.   

British infantry advancing to contact

The Germans then made a fateful decision; rather than move their Panther off the bridge (remember it is side on to the Shermans), it returned fire at the impudent Sherman which had dinged a round off it, and...missed! Much relief on the Allied side. The infantry continued to move, while the other Shermans lobbed HE rounds into the Germans defensive points. And then the unthinkable happened - the impudent Sherman gunner had another pop at the Panther, hit it, and then destroyed it. Immediate Military Medal for that man. There was a stunned silence followed by general incredulity all round - even Rich appeared a little surprised by this turn of events. And it got worse for the Germans, the burning Panther was now blocking the only clear access into the town, and their following armour (a Stug and a Lynx recce car) were forced to go the long way round and played no part in the ensuing fight.

Bang! And the Panther is gone.  

And in case you missed it the first time....

After this, the game was really only heading in one direction. The British, emboldened by the removal of the main armoured threat,  started  to close up on the main objective in the town, but began to take infantry casualties on the left with some fairly bloody house to house fighting - this platoon suffered about 50% casualties overall. They also had a nasty surprise when a HMG team appeared in the house to their front and started inflicting casualties.

On the right, the other British infantry platoon chipped away at the Germans dug in around the edge f the town. However, the four Shermans were now free to form an effective base of fire, out of range of any sneaky Germans with Panzerfausts, and repeatedly blast the German defenders with HE, to the point where some of the buildings were beginning to collapse around their ears.

British infantry being uncharacteristically aggressive (and about to get bloodied for it) 

The all important Shermans

At this point, it was getting late and Rich decided we should call the game for the Brits. The Germans were being gradually whittled down by tank fire and were likely heading for crippling force morale losses. All in all a great game (particularity for those of us on the Allied side), but one which turned on a very lucky Sherman crew.

It was great to meet Richard from TFL and a good experience to be taken through a game by the author of the rules. Three a side got a little chaotic at times, but we had a very effective umpire keeping us in line. Apparently there is a modification in the works to adapt CoC for modern warfare, specifically Afghanistan, so I'm looking forward to seeing that develop.

Figures and vehicles were 28mm from Richard's collection and terrain was provided by club members.

Normandy - Chain of Command

Given it was the 5th of June, it seemed mandatory to have at least one Normandy themed game at the club night. Using 20mm (the one true scale for WWII) and the excellent Too Fat Lardies Chain of Command rules, the engagement saw a platoon of hardy British airborne pitted against a platoon of German panzergrenadiers, supported by a Stug IIII assault gun.

The battlefield - British from the top right with Germans deploying up the road from the bottom right 

Tactically, the British (ably led by Dave) got the better of the patrol phase, containing the Germans in their deployment corner. Both forces had very high morale and counted as aggressive troops, but the Paras were considered elite, which as it turned out, made them very hard to kill. The Germans won the initiative and deployed two infantry sections and the Stug.

The Stug III deploys, with infantry probing ahead in the background 

Perhaps predictably, both sides made a beeline for the houses in the centre of the table, and a section from each side took a building. However the German commander (your correspondent) was taken slightly unawares when the Paras lived up to their aggressive reputation, and close assaulted the German held building with a second section. This opening contact turned out to be very bloody (and involving a ridiculous number of dice); with the Germans taking 50% casualties, but the Paras coming off worse with 70% losses and being forced to retreat (assaulting defenders in hard cover is a tricky thing it appears). 

The Panzergrenadier squad on the left heading for a bloody encounter with the Red Devils 

With both sides reeling slightly from the clash in the centre, the action moved to the German right flank, as the Paras began to move up another section and their platoon headquarters. Unbeknownst to the German Stug commander this HQ team contained a PIAT (Projectile Infantry Anti Tank), which, to be honest, I've always regarded as a bit of a joke as an AT weapon. This is not apparently the case in Chain of Command, as the PIAT proceeded to hit the Stug twice in quick succession. Luckily for the Germans, both hits failed to penetrate the assault gun's side armour, but left the crew understandably shaken and immobile for two turns. 

The lucky Stug, with the PIAT team in the distance

In the centre, the Paras in the house opened up in the surviving Germans from the close assault, and inflicting further casualties, forced them into a headlong retreat to the woods and this mauled German section played little part in the rest of the fight. Meanwhile the two surviving German sections dug into the hedges and shell craters on the right and proceeded to expend a prodigious quantity of lead in an attempt to blunt the British advance. A critical result of this firefight was the elimination of the British platoon commander, forcing the lone PIAT to retreat, removing the immediate threat to the Stug. From this point the fight became one of attrition, as the combined firepower of four MG42 teams began to slowly whittle away at the Paras, and the Stug was able to move up in support and add its MGs to the fight. Despite a huge amount of firepower, the Paras still proved tough to kill. 

The Germans dig in and pour fire on the advancing Paras

Shortly after this we decided to call the game. The Paras had taken control of most of the tactically important areas of the field, but were worn down by sheer German firepower, and lacked an effective means of dealing with the Stug. It was agreed that it had been a minor German victory - at least on points. Terrain and Brits from Dave's collection (figures mostly Platoon 20) and the Germans were supplied by Simon (figures from Britannia Miniatures).

Other games on the night included a fairly bloody game of Dux Britannia, a fight on the North West Frontier, and some Roman legionaries duffing up a group of eastern types (using Impetus).

Roman Auxiliary Cavalry 

Confronting the Eastern barbarians

Dux Britannia 

Delaying action at Marnach - 16 December 1944

As if to prove there is no scale in which we won't play WWII, one of Thursday night's games saw a 10mm game set during the opening phase of the Battle of the Bulge on 16 December 1944. The unsuspecting American infantry company was concealed in the small town of Marnach, and was to be assaulted by Kampfgruppe Cochenhausen (i.e. II Battalion, 304th Panzergrenadier Regiment).

The battlefield - Marnach at the far end.  

The Germans deployed in three companies, with two on the right flank and one, slightly more exposed, moving up the main road to the left. The first few turns were pretty uneventful, with the Germans advancing quickly towards the crestline in front of the town. The Panzergrenadiers on the left, arguably due to a degree of impetuousness on the part of the company commander, cleared the ridgeline, and heedlessly ploughed forwards, seeking out the hidden American forces suspected to be in the town. In short order they discovered a series of American defensive positions,with US infantry waiting in ambush. However the Americans must have been half-asleep as their opening volleys failed to have much effect. This marked the start of several rounds of attrition as the Germans attempted to close with the Americans skulking in their foxholes.

Having located the enemy, the 2nd and 3rd German companies moved up  in the centre and on the right. The Kampfgruppe commander at this point realised he could not see over the ridgeline in order to direct artillery onto the Americans and thus moved macht schnell up the road to a better vantage point. The centre company began to bring fire onto the Americans as the 3rd company on the right flank maneuvered in the limited space available to assault into the town.

Closing to assault 

While the US commander started to look a little queasy at the number of angry men in grey coming towards him, the US defense settled down and began to inflict casualties on the Germans, slowing the left and centre lines of advance to a crawl. This was aided by the dismounting of several machine gun equipped recon teams into the houses behind the main defensive line. The left hand German company was being whittled down and as it assaulted the dug in infantry was quickly reduced to half-strength. The 3rd company on the right fared better, managing to to break into and clear several of the defended houses on the outskirts of Marnach. However this came at the cost of almost 50% casualties. 

At this point we decided to call the game. The US infantry had done well, slowing the German advance to a crawl and inflicting heavy casualties in return for relatively light losses. If time had allowed the following turns would have seen the arrival of two US Sherman platoons and a Panzer company, but it seemed unlikely that they would change the overall outcome of the battle - the US forces would have probably succeeded in delaying the Germans for long enough. 

The game was fought using Battlefront rules from Fire and Fury Games and using Pendraken miniatures (I think).

Black Wolf – Napoleonic Principles of War Competition Finale

The winner of the 2008 Black Wolf Napoleonic POW Competition is Ian Rawlings. He defeated Kevan Smith by 75 points to 72 points in the Grand Finale played on the 1st /2nd November at a secret location in Stevenage.




















Picture: Ian with the BW trophy after ‘a near run thing’

The Grand Finale pitched the winner of the pre-1811 league (Ian) against the winner of the post-1811 league (Kev) in a final based loosely on Waterloo. Each competitor had ca 85-90 points of POW armies at their disposal, though curiously both armies both had a strength of 326 points.
Ian had drawn the French. Marshal Ney was his commander on the day with Napoleon taking a back seat. In gaming terms Napoleon was a staff officer in charge of the Grande Batterie but also capable of influencing The Guard, (but no-one else!). Ian had taken the option of splitting the Guard into two with Duhesme acting as a Divisional General in charge of the Young Guard.
Kevan had the British and Allies. This was a complicated army with nearly every type of system, infantry type and shooting ability present. Wellington in charge.
There was an off-table ‘race to the battle’ between Grouchy and Blucher. Only one would arrive – not that Ian knew this. Kevan started the game outnumbered but would reach parity once the Prussians arrived. The Prussians would arrive at any time, the later they arrived the more aggressive and more likely to be toward Papelotte and the French line of supply. In gaming terms both players rolled a die with Kevan having a distinct advantage for the first 6 turns. Kevan’s troops also having the better terrain and ensconced in buildings.

Map: Deployment and terrain

The map was pre-designed. The number in brackets showing the die roll for that terrain feature. Hence Hougoumont was very strong. La Haye Saint was not, especially as it lined a road with an open door!
The British and Allies had to deploy behind the red line. A Dutch Division had to deploy on Hill 2 in plain view. Kevan had the option to deploy up to a division in Hougoumont and one brigade in La Haye Saint (LHS). All the allies were on hold orders except one division. Kevan had the Union Brigade, a Dutch Division, the Guards, and the 2nd and 3rd Divisions. Kevan placed the 2nd and 3rd on the ridgeline with 2 brigades in reserve. The guards were in Hougoumont and the Union brigade between LHS and Hougoumont on engage orders. Kevan was forced to allocate VPs to the enemy LoS, Papelotte, and hills 3 and 4.
The French had to deploy behind the blue line, but were restricted to the central 4ft. Ian had three infantry divisions, a lancer division, a dragoon division, a cuirassier division, the Guard and a grand battery. The Cuirassier Division had to be on hold orders on their LoS. The French had to allocate VPs to LHS, Hougoumont, and Hill 3, and optionally hills 4 and 2.
The French opened the battle by sending all three infantry divisions and GB through the centre and the two cavalry divisions on a right hook.
Somewhat surprisingly to all concerned ( a 10 on a D10!) the Prussians arrived on turn 1.
(Behind the red line to engage to the British line)
The French Cv destroyed some German conscripts and broke through the very thin ‘red’ line. The recently arrived Prussians then dealt a severe blow to the two French Cv Divisions. The Dragoons scattered but one of the squadrons of Lancers escaping the carnage. However despite their ‘free rein’ elected not to capture Brussels (-50VPs!!!) but preferred to attack the British on hills 3 and 4.
The rest of the battle was mainly a tussle between besieged British and Allies on the ridge from assaults on all sides from the French. La Haye Saint was soon lost. The British and Hanoverians dealing out as best they could but the fire from the grande batterie was devastating: on one turn Ian was rolling on 150pts of damage!! – he rolled a 6 – ha ha ha! (4 points of damage to Ian, 8 to the enemy)
The Union brigade had surprising success against the Cuirassier division eventually scattering it and capturing the enemy line of supply.
At the end of the game hills 3 and 4 were bitterly contested. Hougoumont was still in British hands, La Haye Saint in French hands, and the Union Brigade were on the way to Paris.
Each competitor had been forced to allocate Victory Points to features on the battlefield.

Picture: The situation on the ridge and Ian trying to hide the British Cavalry on his LoS.

Kevan had lost 28% of his army, Ian 25%. The result of the battle depended upon Victory Points. Ian had strategically ignored Hougoumont (-10 VPs) but had captured LHS (+10 VPs) and contested Hill 3 scoring +15 points but lost his LoS (-15) giving a total of 75pts.
Kevan had placed most of his hopes on holding hills 3+4, which he disputed but could claim no points for. He had been forced to put 5 points on Papelotte which he did not capture, and 5 points on the enemy LoS which, surprisingly, he did capture. This gave Kevan a total of 72pts.
Ian, and the French won Waterloo!!


But surely 75 to 72 is ‘a near run thing’.


Thanks to everyone involved in the competition; Chris, Conor, Kevin, Peter, and Ryan.


Seán Slater


PS A difference of 3pts is usually a draw, but this is the finale!! Next year more competitors please!

Salamanca July 1812 - March 2008

Introduction

Wellington was the British general to be feared. He could spot a defensive position usually a ridge, where he would position his troops on the reverse slope to protect them from French bombardment. The French would attack in fast moving columns protected by skirmishers, but Wellington would position his own skirmishers to counter their debilitating fire. The French column would get to effective range of the British, and deploy into line. However before the manouevre was complete the British would fire a well-aimed volley and charge in - scattering the deploying French.

Marmont was well aware of Wellington’s abilities. He was also aware that Wellington utterly relied upon his line of supply. The Anglo-Iberians did not live off the land but paid their way.

After following each other along the River Tormes in the hot summer of July 1812, near Salamanca, Marmont managed to cross the river unmolested. If he expedited his army he could out-flank the Anglo-Iberians. The ground around Salamanca favoured the French, gentle rolling grassland with almost no high ground. Specifically: no ridge. Better, Marmont does not even need to attack the Anglo-Iberians, he just needs to march to their Line of Supply and Wellington is forced to retreat back to Portugal.

The Battle March 9th 2008

The re-fight of the Battle of Salamanca starts with the French moving quickly in front of the British position. There are some features on the battlefield of tactical importance, a small hill: The Greater Arapiles needs to be occupied and the village of Los Arapiles will provide some flank protection for the French. Opposite the Greater Arapiles lies a smaller hill which the British have occupied. Los Arapiles is being attacked by the 4th Division.

The wargame begins with Marmont carefully directing Bonnet’s Division against the 6th Division. The British counter by directing Gardiner’s and Greene’s artillery toward Bonnet’s Division. Marmont is wounded instantly. The Light Division and Foy skirmish with each other. There is some desultory firing along the British front. Wellington quickly orders the 5th Division, Le Machants Cavalry, the 1st Division, and the 7th Division to attack.

The French, leaderless are thrown into confusion. Thomieres attacks the British LoS and deploys his Division. Maucaune tries to outshoot the 4th Division in Los Arapiles. Bonnet starts to trade skirmishers with the 6th. Boyer, Sarrut, Foy, and Ferey continue on their orders.

The British react by sending the 5th Division to Thomieres in a piecemeal fashion. Le Marchant saddles up his horses and readies himself for action, D’Urban likewise starts to sharpen sabres. Inexplicably Wellington ignores the 3rd Division with the most powerful Division in the army but prefers to dally with some German troopers about 5 miles from the action.

Thomieres organizes himself on Mount Azon on the British LoS. Maucune attempts to capture the village by a coup de main but is repulsed. Bonnet starts to move forward. Clausel is now in command, but the French chain of command is in disarray. Boyer with his cavalry, and the infantry Divisions of Sarrut and Foy continue to move to the enemy LoS.

Whilst Thomieres organized his artillery and infantry into cleverly designed kill zones the British 5th Division decided to check that kit was adjusted and webbing was whiter than white. The 4th Division begun to trade blows with Maucunes Division in Los Arapiles but the ‘City fighting’ ability of the French was showing its worth. The 6th Division readied itself to attack the French but began to realise that its guns so cleverly sited to wound Marmont were now vulnerable to a flank attack. Wellington had yet to lose an artillery piece in battle: today was not going to be the day. Wellington now sends an order to Packenham (with the most powerful Division in the army) and tries to get the Portuguese and Spanish reserve moving. The First Division, the Guards, bolt from their position to threaten the French.

Thomieres now has a particularly strong position on Mount Azon and starts to assault the disorganized 5th Division. Clausel, reorganizes Boyers Dragoons. Bonnet’s Division exerts more pressure on the 6th Division. Maucune succeeds in attacking the 4th Division in the village but the battle ebbs and flows. Foy starts to see success against the Light Division, primarily from his clever location of his artillery.

The 5th Division finally get themselves organized to inflict a volley fire on Thomieres Division. Le Marchant arrives with the Heavy Dragoons, but Thomieres clever disposition means that they are ineffective. The 4th Division are still pressing the bayonet in the village, but Macaunes veterans are easily holding the British. With the tactical nous of a rugby forward Cole continues to push forward from the front without a thought for using his superior numbers and outflanking Maucune. The 1st Division now race to confront Sarrut’s and Ferey’s Divisions who are both in March column – the worst possible formation. The Light Division starts to suffer from Foy’s well-placed artillery, and the Portuguese break.

D’Urbans cavalry are ready to help out the 5th Division, whilst Packenham (with the most powerful Division in the army) is left to make sense of Wellingtons orders (Attack the Arapiles. Lesser? Greater? Village? More clarification is needed.). If only Wellington had come over and delivered the orders himself.

The French reaction is brilliant. Thomieres attacks rather than defends and scatters Ellis’s Brigade of the 5th Division. The British run through D’Urbans recently arrived cavalry. Thomieres personally leads his infantry against this new disorganized foe scattering more horsemen. Maucune struggles against the 4th Division in the village, things are going against the French but their tenacity is keeping them in the village. ‘Anyway – isn’t Curto with the Cavalry and Taupin meant to have arrived by now? Bonnet is exerting pressure on the 6th Division, Clausel has got hold of the situation in the centre, his Division is now exerting pressure on the 7th Division. Wellington’s carefully sited artillery is now looking vulnerable. Sarrut is still strung out in march column with the Guards ready to attack them in the flank. Sarrut calmly deploys every brigade and artillery into line, none are left vulnerable to attack. Perhaps the moment to beat the French by this bold move has gone.

The 5th Division , Le Marchant and Durban finally organize themselves into an attack formation. Thomieres Division starts to disintigrate. Thomieres himself is killed by a Portuguese sabre cut. Maucunes Division is getting worsted by the British and requests help from Bonnet’s Division. The French reserve of Curtos Cavalry Division and Taupins Infantry Division are starting to look threatening. The British Guard volley fire against Sarrutts Division but the French hold firm. This fight will be decided by the bayonet. The Light Division continue to take casualties from the well directed artillery of Foy. Foy notices that his men are taking very few casualties and releases two regiments to attack the increasing isolated Guard Division. The artillery of the 6th Division is overrun, the Scots assaulting the Greater Arapiles break, the host of retreating men shake nearly every unit of the 5th and 7th Divisions.

Boyer delivers his cavalry charge into the flank of Wheatley’s brigade who immediately surrender. A third of the 1st Division is now in enemy hands. Can Anson ride up to rescue the remaining two thirds? In Los Arapiles Maucune gets shot and his Division starts to retreat from the village. Le Marchant and the 5th Division mop up the remaining elements of Thomieres Division on Mont Azon. In the centre Clausel is pushing the 6th and 7th backwards.

Curto wakes up to the danger as Le Marchant (now on badly blown horses) attacks him. Curto’s Cavalry force Le Marchant back and chase him to Lisbon. The remaining heavy cavalry have out-ridden their infantry supports and are badly mauled by Taupin’s infantry. Anson’s Light dragoons attack Clausel’s Infantry and Boyer’s Cavalry but are easily beaten off and retreat. The 1st Division is now completely isolated, and the King’s German Legion surrender, another 2,500 men in the bag. The 6th and 7th Division take heavy casualties and are forced off the Lesser Arapiles. Packenham (with the strongest Division in the army) arrives at the Lesser Arapiles to cover the inevitable retreat.

The French have won a magnificent victory.

French
Marmont (wounded), Thomieres (dead), Maucune (dead), Curto and Taupin – Peter Day
Clausel, Bonnet and Boyer – Chris Fitall
Foy, Sarrut, Ferey , and 15th Cavalry – Jim Cornish

British
Wellington, Leith (5th), Cole (4th) Le Marchant and D’Urban – Ian Rawlings
Campbell (1st), Clinton (6th), Hope (7th), Alten (Light) and Brock – Colin Brewer
Packenham (3rd), Sanchez (Spanish), Anson, Pack (Ind. Portuguese) – Seán Slater