Angus  Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames

Edinburgh Wargames Journal             

      Issue 38  -  September 2009  

Periods featured in this issue:  Indian Mutiny (28mm) & Second World War (15mm & 20mm)

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Second World War engagement, Normandy, 1944  (Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier) 15mm

This was one of these games where I didn't supply the figures - I actually don't own any 15mm lead, as I claim the figures are too small for me to paint. Well, Dougie Trail has no such qualms, and his figures and vehicles are proof that you can do a really good job with this teeny scale. I played on the Allied side, and our objectives were simple - to clear the wood, then use it as a springboard for an attack on the little hamlet.

Of course this simple plan pre-supposed that there wouldn't be much in the way of German opposition. Naturally enough, the Germans were defending the area in strength, supported by minefields and zeroed-in mortars. It soon became clear that this wasn't going to be a walk in the woods! That's actually one of the great strengths of Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier - you never really know where the defender is, as most of his units are hidden, camouflaged or both. You have to search the woods and hedges as you go, and react accordingly when you stumble on the enemy.

Well, we soon discovered the minefields - by walking into them. Fortunately we had a flail tank available, and while it was ordered to clear a path the infantry worked their way out of trouble the hard way - by prodding their way out of the danger zone using their bayonets. On the left my attack on the hill slowed down in the face of German resistance, and the job of winkling them out of the woods was both time-consuming and costly. On the right my co-commander had a bit more luck, and worked his way between the Germans on the hill and the village. He was helped by some bad shooting on the German part, but his advance stalled when an enemy Panther appeared. By the end of the evening it was clear that we would be hard-pressed to capture the wood, let alone the hamlet as well. I suppose that made the game a victory for the Germans, who put up a stalwart resistance. Next time we'll want more dedicated artillery missions - and air cover - before we try that sort of set-piece attack again.

As for rules, we used the new version of Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier (2nd Edition). After a few games we've started to figure out most of the changes, and games are becoming quicker, slicker and more fun as a result. All I have to do now is to wean my buddies away from 15mm...

Second World War Page                   Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier playsheet (old version)

The rules are available from Caliver Books, and the owner "Baz" Ryan will happily ship them anywhere in the world.

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The Battle of Fatikunt, The Indian Mutiny, 1857  (Honour & Fortitude) 28mm

I'm sorry for offering up so many pictures from this game, but visually it really was a cracker. This fictitious game involved a British relief column led by General Sir Sidney Roughdiamond (Chris Henry) advancing in relief of the garrison of Aga "where its always baking" (British in-joke). First though, the column had to defeat the Mutineer army deployed to cover the crossing of the River Bhuna, near the town of Fatikunt. Sir Sidney had two infantry regiments - the 79th (Cameron) Highlanders and the 61st (S. Gloucs.) Foot, supported by a unit of the 6th (Queen's Own) Dragoon Guards, and a battery of Royal Artillery. His objective was to storm the redoubt guarding the ford, then assault the earthworks guarding the far bank.

Earlier that day Sir Sidney detached a small flanking force, which crossed the river a few miles downstream, and was now advancing up the far bank of the river. Col. Sir Ronald Macdonald ("Big Mac", played by Dougie Trail) commanded his own 93rd (Sutherland) Highlanders, supported by a unit of the 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers (aka "The Delhi Spearmen") and an attached irregular unit of Pindaris - Throckmorton's Throat Cutters. His job was to take the defences in the flank.

The Indian Mutineers were led by the rebel prince the Khazi of Kurma (that would be me), and consisted of six regiments of Mutineers (the 1st, 13th, 48th & 53rd Bengal Native Infantry and by the 2nd and 7th Bengal Light Cavalry) plus guns, backed up by the Khazi's own yellow-turbaned guard, some Pindari irregular cavalry, and a unit of Badmash  - "the sweepings of the Aga". In most previous mutiny games this force would have been no match for the doughty Highlanders. However, these rules - Honour & Fortitude (an old set once produced by Freikorps) - were largely untested.

Actually, it all went pretty much according to plan. Both British forces led the advance with their cavalry, the Dragoons sweeping round the redoubt to engage the supporting mutineer infantry, while the Lancers routed another unit of mutineer foot, but were then counter-charged by the mutinous Bengal Light Cavalry. The mutineer gunners did their best, causing a few casualties as the 73rd advanced, but with a fair degree of melodramatic inevitability, the British swept over the breastworks, captured the guns and skewered the defenders with their bayonets.

On the far side of the table things weren't going so well - the "Delhi Spearmen" were being whittled down by superior numbers, and the 93rd were suffering from the attention of the last-remaining Indian gun. Once again a Highland charge was launched and the gun was captured, while - defying all odds - the Lancers broke their opponents, and chased them off the field. As the 93rd cleared one entrenchment the 61st Foot assaulted the other, and the game ended with the Mutineer defenders in flight, their withdrawal covered by the remains of the Khazi's army. For his part he Khazi took advantage of the confusion and lumbered off the table in his command elephant - ostensibly to look for reinforcements.

Amazingly, the two British players thought the game was a draw. They'd lost about half their cavalry, while both Highland regiments had suffered substantial casualties. Of course, it terms of the body count the day went to the British, but I suppose anything resembling a spirited Mutineer defence is something to applaud! The rules worked surprisingly well, and while we'll tweak them, we'll certainly use them again. They produced a fast and believable game, and with the wrinkles ironed out they'll be the best set we've found which reflect this wonderfully colourful and quirky period.

Honour & Fortitude Playsheet  (Word file)       Indian Mutiny Page

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Salerno, Italy, 1943  (Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier) 20mm

The new edition of Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier came out recently, and this was my first chance to try out the new-look rules. Quite a few things have changed, so we decided to stage a fairly small encounter game, on a 6x4 foot table. Most of the toys were mine, although Dougie Trail supplied the German halftracks. The fictitious engagement was set in the days after the Salerno landing, as elements of the US 36th Infantry Division held the southern flank of the beachhead against probes by the 26th Panzer Division. The key to the sector was a bridge over the Solofrone River, which both sides wanted to control.

The first thing you notice with the new rules is the command system - activation is both more complicated, and more subtle. Due to poor die rolls some of my armour milled around south of the bridge, failing every activation roll for several turns. Still, when the Germans tried to send tanks over the bridge a lucky shot from a Sherman turned the leading Pz. IV into burning scrap.  The battle then bogged down into what appeared like a desultory shooting match, with the Pz. III (below) leading a charmed life. Then the Germans launched a fearsome infantry charge across the bridge, trying to gain a foothold in the small orchard on its far side. Most of the attackers were pinned or forced to retreat, and the defending GIs held on - just. As the game ended the German foothold was still there, but the Americans had finally managed to move up their supporting tanks, and it was clear the engagement would end in stalemate. At that point we decided to call it a day.

Well, the rules have their quirks - and we spent a lot of time looking things up. The thing is, we were all so well-versed in the 1st edition that we rarely needed to consult the rules - we simply played everything off the playsheets. We couldn't really do that in this game, especially when we discovered the playsheets were sometimes at odds with the rules in the book! Still, the overall impression was one of improvement. Games aren't quick - compared to a Rapid Fire one at the next table it was positively turgid. However, it did give the impression of being realistic, and above all we thoroughly enjoyed playing it. Next time, we'll all have a better idea of what to expect, and with luck we'll give the Nazis a real thumping!

Oh, just in case you got the impression that this was the only Second World War game going on at the Edinburgh club, here are pictures from two more games. Unfortunately my pictures of the 20mm Rapid Fire game set in Poland, 1939 didn't come out, but there seemed to be lots of burning Polish tankettes on the battlefield when the rather one-sided game came to an end.

On the left is a lovely 15mm Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier game set in Burma, played out on some superb terrain built by Kevan Gunn. this picture doesn't do it justice, and it looked fantastic, despite the small scale.

Finally on the right is a 28mm scrap played using unknown rules. It could have been set anywhere, as it was played by people who don't care what the table looks like, as long as they had big tanks to command. Shame on them!

Second World War page 

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