Edinburgh Wargames Journal

Issue 7  - November 2006

Periods featured in this Issue: Colonial (28mm), The "Back of Beyond" (28mm)

The Great War (28mm) & Second World War (20mm)

My wargaming buddy Derek Hodge has a point. I'm a bit of a novice at this whole website thingy, and I've been cocking up. First, my pictures have too many bites (sp) in them . Apparently they should have all bark and no bite, or something like that. Well, until I complete the Idiots Guide to Websites, I've decided to make these journals shorter - and to try my best to keep the pictures byte-sized. We'll see how I do. However, this edition of the Journal is particularly picture-heavy, as there's been a spate of photogenic games recently! Please be patient.

Another idea was to make this more of a blog than a catalogue of cool club games, but I really don't want to do that. Who the hell cares what I'm reading/painting etc. when you can look at pictures of real games?! Also by the start of the year I'll properly archive back issues of this page, to make it easier to surf. I've already redone the buttons, so that's something...

This issue also has a modern era feel to it. For no apparent reason most of the games this month involve games set in the late colonial era, in WW1 and WW2. I'm sorry if you wanted to see something else, and I'm sure we'll widen the historical net before the month is out.

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WW1 - Armenia 1918   (Back of Beyond)

First off is a "Back of Beyond" style game, set somewhere on the Russian-Turkish border during the closing months of the Great War. Really it was an excuse to field a couple of armies which haven't fought each other yet - my Turks and Dougie Trail's Bolsheviks.

The outnumbered Bolsheviks were defending a village, but in previous Contemptible Little Armies games the attackers were mown down in droves, so the Turks needed the extra manpower!

One particular Bolshevik machine gun was well-sited, covering the left side of the village - where the main Turkish "push" was launched.

Less effective was the Russian cavalry reserve, which trotted up and down the Red baseline while its commander decided what to do next. That might have had something to do with them being fresh from Dougie's painting table, and he didn't want to lose 'em in their first outing..

Well, the Turkish machine guns and artillery chipped away at the defenders, but the Turks suffered moderately heavy casualties in the attack.

The Russians were unable to prevent the Turks reaching the village, whereupon an almighty hand-to-hand battle was fought out. The Red cavalry was sucked into the fray, but when the dust settled it was the Turks who were still standing.

However, things didn't all go the Turkish way. Their cavalry circled the Bolshevik defences, then charged a unit of Red militia hiding in a small orchard. They were halted, while a supporting attack against that pesky machine gun was cut to pieces.

In the end the few remaining Bolshevik reserves managed to cover a general retreat, and the battered Turks were declared the victors. Like any Chris Peers rules set Contemptible Little Armies is fast, fun and incredibly bloody. Granted the rules are simplistic, but sometimes that's exactly what you need.

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WW1 - Verdun 1916 (Demonstration Game at Targe 2006 - Kirriemuir)

On 4th November the SESWC put on two games at the small Targe show in Kirriemuir, in Scotland. One was a kids' participation game involving Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (don't ask!), and the other one was our Verdun game. We were asked to put it on at the last minute, but the game proved very popular, and even won some sort of award from the show organisers.

As we were still short of Frenchmen the Germans had the job of attacking. We set the board up so that the attackers didn't have far to go to reach the first trench line, but between it and their objective - the reserve trenches - lay some two feet of open ground, swept by French machine guns. Sure enough two Stosstruppen units captured the first French line relatively easily, using flamethrowers and grenades. Then thinks became a little sticky.

A French counter-attack was repulsed, but any attempt to infiltrate up the communication trenches ended in disaster for the Germans. At that point the organisers buggered off to the pub, leaving two "volunteers" to man the table. When we came back 1 1/2 hours later we found the Germans had somehow swept the table of Frenchmen! Of course no figures on the table meant it wasn't much of a "demonstration" game, but the guys seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

Once again we used Contemptible Little Armies, and tried out various "house rules" concerning flamethrowers and trench fighting.

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WW2 - France 1940

This is where Dougie Trail had his revenge for his Back of Beyond drubbing. He supplied all of the figures, and against my better judgement I played one of the German commanders, along with drouthy cronies Bob n' Jim. Actually I let them do most of the gaming, while I drank beer and got in the way, but that's another story. My heart's not really into it when I play the Nazis...

A German armoured force was charged with breaking through a heavily-defended portion of the French line, somewhere between the Ardennes and Sedan.  At first it all went rather well - until we started taking damage from French tanks...

Those Somuas proved difficult to hit with our 20m  and 37m guns, so we tried cutting across a cornfield, and driving up a country track which skirted a small village. That's when we discovered the minefield!

The German armoured thrust bogged down, while the supporting Panzer Grenadiers charged with driving the French out of the village made slow progress, and suffered heavy casualties.

In the end the Germans were forced to concede, and inevitably we blamed the defeat on a near impossible mission, and of course .. lucky French dice!

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"Darkest Africa"  (In the Heart of Africa)   28mm

Next came a "Darkest Africa" colonial game, using Chris Peers' Heart of Africa rules. It pitted my German East Africa Company (an expanded version of my WW1 East German Schutztruppe) against the He He (played by Adrian Rennie). This was the first outing for both forcers, although over half of my Germans were figures looted directly from my WW1 East Africa collection.

For the record the He He had five main bodies - 2 units of Warriors, 1 unit of Spearmen, and 2 small units of musketeers - 88 figures in all. They were also backed up their Chief and his entourage, a standard bearer (carrying the severed head of a German officer), and of course a witchdoctor. They even had the use of a captured machine gun. For their part the Germans could draw on just two units of East Africas Company askaris, one of German marines, and a maxim gun - 25 figures in all.

It was a game containing a few surprises. The game was set up as a straightforward encounter battle, with both forces seperated by a river. Straight away the Germans went onto the defensive to make the most of their firepower, while the He He launched an all-out charge. On the African left flank a unit of 24 Bene spearmen took on the German machine gun, which had the misfortune to jam completely on the first turn. Somehow the attackers were kept at bay by a unit of supporting askaris, who slaughtered the Bene to a man.

Meanwhile the He He machine gun was proving more effective than its German counterpart. Although it too jammed on its first turn of firing, it managed to kill four figures - three of them being the priceless German marines. Suddenly the game was less one-sided than it first appeared.

Next came the scrap on the African's right flank. First a unit of musketeers crossed the river and took up position in a small patch of jungle on the German side of the river and began sniping at the Marines, who started taking even more casualties.

German firepower drove off the first unit of He He warriors who tried to cross the river at the ford, along with a unit of rather timid He He musketeers.

Things were looking pretty good for the Germans, until those other pesky musketeers emerged from the jungle.

They caused three casualties on the German askari unit, which was enough to break them. By this stage the Marine detachment was down to one man, so all the Germans had left was a second unit of askaris and a useless machine gun! That was when the He HE warriors charged out of the jungle and elephant grass...

The askaris couldn't down enough warriors to stop the charge, and once the He He got within stabbing spear range it was all over. The poor askaris were chopped up, leaving the Germans with nothing but their commander, one marine and a retreating machine gun team! At that point I decided to draw a veil over the whole sorry affair and conceded.

It was a fun game, and Adrian handled his He He with skill and flair. As with any Chris Peers set the casualties were horrendous, but in the end German Mausers were no match for He He courage!

I've set up a new trio of pages if you want to read more on

 Darkest Africa

We actually played another game the following Sunday, this time pitting the He He against Dougie Trail's British (well, King's African Rifles, anyway). The idea was that the British had launched a punitive expedition to burn a He He village, and King Mkwawa called the troops out. Two units of KAR were supported by a unit of West Africa Rifles, a machine gun, and a detachment of Masai auxiliaries. The bulk of the He He force waited in ambush behind a big ridge just in front of the village, while musketeers held the ridge line.   

Dougie Trail's King's African Rifles and a British machine gun, c.1904-1914

The British command group can be seen in the distance, complete with a bearer carrying a drinks tray!

Well, the British managed to clear the front of the ridge, while the Masai waded into a large unit of Bene spearmen hiding in the long grass in a saddle between the ridge's two summits.  The West African Rifles wiped out a unit of musketeers to their front, and drove the King back from his hilltop vantage point. Meanwhile two units of KAR were following on behind, while the machine gun picked off some more musketeers hovering off on the British left flank. So far things seemed to be going the British commander's way.

That's when things started to unravel. Although the Masai were outnumbered they should have made short work of their lesser rivals. Inexplicably they fell to the last man. The Bene spearmen then slaughtered the poor Nigerians of the WAR. Then the risible He He machine gun opened up, killing three of the KAR before jamming, while that loitering unit of musketeers picked off the rest.

That was the crunch. It was then that the hidden wave pf He He warriors were unleashed, who hurtled up the back side of the ridge to fall on the thin khaki line on its crest. Within minutes the KAR were slaughtered, the machine gun was overrun, and encircled, the British commander went down beneath a sea of stabbing spears. 

Once again the He He were victorious over a colonial invader - safeguarding their little corner of Africa until the next lot of colonials arrive to challenge them for it! My thanks to Duncan Hodge for his invaluable assistance as my co-commander during the game.

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Colonial  -  Chinese River Pirates, Yalu River, 1920's   (Skirmish version of Back of Beyond)            28mm

For some inexplicable reason I decided I was going to build a junk for this game, and crew it with a well-armed bunch of pirates. Here's the result. I followed the "Build your own Pirate Ship" instructions in an old Wargames Illustrated, but I modified the bow and the masts to look more junk-like. The guns and guncrews came from Bearsden Miniatures, and the pirates from Eureka.

This rather crazy game involved at attack on a Chinese river pirate stronghold by an international force with American, British, German, French, Soviet, French & Japanese contingents - all with their own gunboats and landing parties. Two Chinese junks were in the area, defended by shore batteries and lots of guys with coolie hats and rifles.

The scenario claimed that a contingent of international spies (accompanied by one Corto Maltese) were being held by the pirates - and the goal was to recapture them - with extra points awarded if you recovered your own agent.   

Well, the American, British and German gunboats approached from stage left, and the rest from stage right - both lots heading straight for the heart of the Chinese defences. To add a little mystery to the proceedings a detachment of Chinese government troops were present, threatening to join either side. The stage was set for a highly enjoyable if slightly cartoon-like colonial scrap!

Top: American river steamer and British patrol boat  

Bottom: Japanese landing craft and Russian monitor

Below Left: Chinese junk, Russian monitor and French launch  Right: German gunboat (OK, the flags aren't Weimar era, but what the heck)

The big German gunboat ignored the scenario instructions and headed straight for the largest pirate junk - intent on some sort of Nelsonic boarding action. First it had to cut a boom laid to protect the anchorage, then it rammed the junk, fired its guns, then sent the German marines over to board in the smoke. All sterling stuff, but not exactly doing much to recover any spies...

For their part the British were shot to pieces as they landed, although the Soviets and the Japanese did much better, destroying two pirate shore batteries before the Japanese boarded and captured the smaller junk. 

Having read the objectives the Americans landed, and recaptured agents, although stirring up the Chinese regulars in the process, who occupied the main pirate base. By the end of the evening everyone claimed they had an enjoyable game, but when the points were totted up the surprise winner was found to be the Chinese government. Under cover of the international attack they had busied themselves occupying pirate strong-points, capturing  agents and generally skulking about in the background.

If nothing else, this game gave everyone a rare opportunity to dig out their 28mm scale gunboats, junks and weirs little boats... ranging in size from my German gunboat (a Riveresco card model which also doubles as a Turkish warship from Back of Beyond), to Colin Jack's Mimi (or Toutou) from Lake Tanganyika in WW1. Now all I'll have to do is to find another use for a large junk!

If you're interested here are the rules we used (although Bill Gilchrist sat in the corner coming up with new rules for ramming, boarding and breaking booms as they were needed)!             Back of Beyond Skirmish Rules Playsheet 

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