Angus  Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames

Edinburgh Wargames Journal             

      Issue 37  -  August 2009  

 

Periods featured  in this issue:  Second World War (15mm), German Revolution of 1918-19, Indian Mutiny

& Seven Years War (all 28mm), plus a report on the Claymore 2009 show 

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Berlin, German Revolution of 1918-19  (Contemptible Little Armies) 28mm

I have to say, I was more of an observer in this game than a participant, as I was waylaid at the Book Festival, and only appeared once things were underway. Still, Dave and Sam Marks were on hand to take the part of the Spartakus League (the Communists), defending the Berlin from the right-wing Freikorps. The battle took place in front of the Brandenburg Gate, represented by a beautiful model crafted by Hugh Wilson. The Freikorps attacked through the park of the Tiergarten, which meant crossing an awful lot of open ground - apparently this bit wasn't particularly wooded.

Well, as you'd imagine it was a bloody business, particularly as we were playing with a set of Chris Peers' rules. The Marks father and son team mowed down the Freikoprs in droves, and then brewed up an armoured car which tried to storm its way into Pariser Platz from the Under den Linden. The Spartakists were suspiciously well armed, and their impressive field defences included machine gun positions. Still, the veteran Freikorps finally managed to breach the lines to the south of the gate, spearheading their assault with a flamethrower. The Spartakists saved the day by throwing in their reserves - a unit which seemed to consist of several Berliner "ladies of the night!

The game ended when this last Freikorps attack failed. the battle was far from one-sided tough, and the experienced riflemen of the German army caused significant casualties on the Communists as they advanced. It just wasn't enough to prevent the Spartakists from emerging victorious. It was an extremely pretty game, with some great buildings, a motley selection of armed civilians, and even a few suitably Germanic toy vehicles, just to help set the scene. I'm constantly amazed by what Colin Jack has in his collection, and baffled by how he finds the space to store it all!

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Caumont, June 1944  (Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier) 15mm

Edinburgh in August is a little crazy, what with the Edinburgh Festival, the Fringe and the Book Festival all taking place at the same time. Strange things happen. For a start, I didn't have a proper game to play, so I was reduced to playing one with 15mm figures. The aim of this small game was to try out the new edition of Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier, but one look at the German player and we knew this wasn't going to happen. Dougie Trail had enjoyed a little too much Festival hospitality, and was barely able to roll dice, let alone figure out new rules mechanisms. We reverted to the tried and tested 1st edition. The scenario involved a British reconnaissance probe towards a road junction somewhere near Caumont, spearheaded by Cromwell tanks of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, part of the British 11th Armoured Division. Actually, in this scale they could have been anything...

Derek Hodge and I took the British, and split our forces to attack on two sides of our main axis, a road which led to an important "T" Junction. That was our objective. It began badly, when a Cromwell was brewed by a hidden Marder. However, good shooting forced the German tank destroyer to retire, and once out in the open (on the road junction itself) it was hit and destroyed. The advance continued, with British infantry on Derek's wing clearing the Germans from a wood at point of bayonet. By this time the German commander was on a rapid slide to oblivion (likened to a diving Stuka with an elephant hanging on its tail), and despite the efforts of his co-commander Mikowai Staszek it was all going horribly wrong...

My infantry had an easier time of it, and reached the lateral road, capturing a bombed-out building before driving off a small German counter-attack from infantry, supported by another Marder. Meanwhile Derek's tanks saw off another threat, spearheaded by a Jagdpanzer IV, which was left smoking in a cornfield. Actually, the German collapse was so spectacular that we didn't even use our air missions, as we'd effectively run out of suitable targets. Victory was awarded to the British, leaving the German commander (the Amy Winehouse of wargaming is pictured below) .. er .. shell-shocked by the experience. Minutes later he was poured into a cab and sent home. All in all it was an enjoyable little game, and a bit like watching a good film in subtitles, after a while you forgot you were playing with tiny 15mm figures and 1/100 scale vehicles, rather than bigger ones!

Second World War page      Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier Playsheet (1st edition)

Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier forum (off-site - part of the General de Brigade forum)

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Battle on the Great Trunk Road, The Indian Mutiny, 1857  (Honour & Fortune) 28mm

The Indian Mutiny hasn't had an airing for over a year, hence this game. We also wanted to experiment with the rules we use. Our standard set (a variant of a Chris Peers system) never really reflected this very quirky period, while another rules set - Sepoy - were realistic, but some people didn't like them, as they games were one-sided. This time Colin Jack unearthed Honour & Fortune, a set designed to reflect horse & musket warfare in India.

Like most Mutiny games, this involved a besieged British outpost and a relief column. Two groups of Mutineers were out to stop them, one of which was commanded by Hugh Wilson, who was rated "imbecilic" for the day! You just know that can't be good. My elephant-mounted princeling was "average", which seems to be as good as it gets for the Mutineers. A similar ratings system was used for the troops themselves, who were divided into aggressive, active, passive and cowed. This rating influenced movement ("cowed" units only move if 1-2 is rolled on a D6), as well as fighting ability and morale. While a few Mutineer units were rated as highly as "active", the British were mostly of a dauntingly "aggressive" quality.

To reach the beleaguered outpost the British had to pass through a town which was solidly held by the Mutineers. Actually they chose to by-pass it, which was eminently sensible, seeing as how the "imbecilic" Mutineer commander and his poor quality units found it hard to react to events. The column marched past the settlement, detaching a unit of Sikhs to deal with some Ghazi fanatics, and to screen the advance from any flank attack by the more motivated mutinous sepoys. The trouble was, just over a small river another large force of mutineers was approaching from the east, supported by guns and cavalry. The problem for these mutineers though was their advance was very slow, as we kept failing our movement rolls!

As a result the British won the race to the outpost. Apart from some long-range musketry and one ineffectual turn of firing by the Sepoy artillery, the only action of any note was a cavalry scrap. In order to buy time for their colleagues the small detachment of British horse charged the far larger mob of Mutineer cavalry. This time though the Mutineers did fairly well, and the gallant British were whittled down until the few survivors pulled back. By that time though it was all over. The defenders of the outpost had been rescued, and could be withdrawn to safety, and there was nothing the Mutineers could do about it. Victory was duly awarded to the British, but the game was a well-balanced one, and the rules certainly did what we wanted. In fact, with some tinkering I'm sure they'll become our favoured set of Indian Mutiny rules - the best we've found at capturing the period.

Indian Mutiny Page        Colonial Page

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The Battle of Paltzig, 1759, Seven Years War  (Die Kriegskunst) 28mm

We decided to refight Paltzig (1759), a fair sized engagement between the Prussians and the Russians. We included it as one of the scenarios in Die Kriegskunst. The Russians were on the defensive, and the Prussians attacked the right flank of the Russian line. Actually, the Russian army was much bigger than shown in the scenario, but the rest of it just stood in place to the north.   The smaller Prussian army needed to hit them hard, and inflict a crushing defeat, in order to make the rest of the Russian horde retreat back into the depths of Poland. It would be an all-or-nothing assault.

Well, the Prussians attacked with considerable fury. The Russian flank was hanging in the air, with nothing to protect it but some off-table cavalry, who (according to the scenario) would only appear on the turn following the Prussian horse launching their first charge. The only other Russian option was to transfer troops from the left flank, which inevitably would take time. To hinder things a bit more, the general in charge of that bit was General Fermor, who was rated as a "Poltroon". That means he'd take his own sweet time to change orders!

The Priussian infantry concentrated on the extreme right-hand brigades of the Russian line, and while the Russian repulsed the first units with heavy casualties, the second line rolled on and over the Russian defences. I made the mistake of not positioning infantry behind my gun batteries, so once they were stormed, the Prussians were able to breach the Russian line. In uncharacteristic style for the Russians the gun crews simply evaded, and spent the rest of the game milling around in the rear, waiting for someone to recapture their guns for them!

What followed was a bitty, scrappy affair, with battalions fighting each other all over the front, and some Russian units fighting with the enemy on three sides. From the Russian standpoint the only bright side was that the reserved had finally moved forward (the local brigadier changed orders on his own initiative), and the army began to form a solid defensive line, albeit with a few units still stranded in the midst of a host of Prussian infantry.

Then there was the Prussian cavalry. This swept round the end of the Russian line and launched itself against the big gun battery on the hill which anchored the Russian defences. Another Russian battalion was ridden down by charging Prussian dragoons, while the rest formed square, and defied the enemy horse. Fortunately for them the Russian horse then appeared as reinforcements, arriving on the table edge beyond the Russian right flank, and behind the Prussian horse. That was when tings got a little out of hand. The horse appeared, then stood there for a turn, as - after all - it had just arrived on the table edge. This gave the Prussians time to react, and they turned the bulk of their cavalry round. By winning the initiative next turn they were able to launch the first charge, and caught the Russians at a disadvantage. The Cossack brigade fled the field, but the Russian cuirassiers gave as good as they got, and defeated their veteran Prussian counterparts. Meanwhile two small regiments of Russian horse grenadiers were holding off a larger brigade of Prussian hussars.

By that stage it was clear that the Prussians had done very well, but not quite well enough. They managed to break one Russian infantry brigade, and one of Cossacks. They'd also overrun three gun batteries. Another Russian infantry brigade was in danger, but generally the Russians had managed to stabilise the line. The scenario had a 12 turn time limit, and by the time we packed up we'd fought 10 of them. It was clear the Prussians weren't going to win their tough victory conditions, so the game was declared a draw. However, as the Russian player I felt well and truly battered by the end of it - and I was in no doubt that the Prussians had the best of the evening's fighting. I also learned a few valuable lessons, the most important being to support your gun batteries with infantry.

The Die Kriegskunst forum has discussed the use of cavalry, and the problems inherent in large blocks of horse on the tabletop. We actually tinkered with a modification, whereby we fight in squadrons or divisions (essentially half regiments), but the rear cavalry unit  - if it isn't engaged - gives a +2 melee and morale bonus to the division in front of it. In the Grand Manner used a similar system, and we're planning to introduce that into the rules, as a better way of representing Seven Years War cavalry tactics, and encouraging players to use smaller cavalry units on the tabletop.

Seven Years War page          Die Kriegskunst playsheets         Die Kriegskunst forum (off-site)

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Claymore 2009 - Show report

This year, Edinburh's Claymore show was in a new venue - Telford College - a much nicer place than the crowded old low-ceilinged bunker of Meadowbank Stadium. Here people had space, and the show was much better for it. There was a dedicated Bring n' Buy area (where Phil Olley is seen trying to shoo off the paparazzi), two show halls (the Gym and the Atrium), a well-stocked cafeteria and even a bar. 

The traders had room to spread their wares, and people could browse packs of figures without being trampled. At Meadowbank you really took your life into your hands looking through the bottom rows of figures on Dave Thomas' stall - someone would inevitably barge into you. This was all much nicer. Another great feature was the sitting out area, where we could look at our newly-bought figures, chat to friends or take a breather.

The show included a couple of unusual features. First there was a book signing at the Caliver Books stand by wargaming legends Charles S. Grant (left) and Stuart Asquith (right). Dressed in matching jackets, they looked a little like Arnold Schwarzenegger and  Dany De Vito in Twins, although I'm not sure which was meant to be which! Then there was the painting demonstration area, where Dave Imrie and Andrew Taylor (pictured here) explained their painting techniques, alongside Brian Phillips, who'd wandered off when the picture was taken. What was particularly good was that all three of these gifted figure painters had their own techniques, so everyone learned something new. It was a great extra feature of the show.

Then there were the games. The winner of best "demo game" went to the Gripping Beast crowd, who laid on a great-looking clash between Turks and Russians, set in the First World War or its immediate aftermath. Another great-looking one was Barry Hilton's Napoleonic demo game, showcasing his forthcoming set of Republic to Empire rules. Unfortunately I spent my time chatting to the participants, and forgot to take any pictures! The other games shown here are the Kirriemuir club's Mexican-American war game (which looks more impressive every time I see it), Bob Lauder and Son's Eastern Front Game (remarkable because young Master Lauder did most of the tank painting, even though he was barely tall enough to see over the table), and another view of that excellent Gripping Beast game.

As for my own shopping I got off fairly lightly - a few books, a handful of buildings, and .. er .. a few hundred 28mm Landsknechts bought from Old Glory which I'll probably never finish painting! All in all it was a great show. I'm sure in this new venue Claymore will go from strength to strength.

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