Angus  Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames

Edinburgh Wargames Journal             

                Issue 43  -  February 2010  

 

Periods featured in this issue:   Seven Years War, Second World War, English Civil War

and American War of Independence (all 28mm), and Second World War Naval (1/2400)

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The (purely fictitious) Battle of Gunnisprat, Seven Years War, c. 1756  (Black Powder) 28mm

It isn't often that you dread playing a game with lots of your favourite figures. The reason was, Black Powder have several critics in the club, most of whom seem to be people who've never read the rules. Well, last week Dougie challenged our nay-saying pal Kevan to a game, and talked me into bringing along my French as cannon-fodder. We set up the game as a straightforward battle, having about twelve battalions apiece, supported by cavalry and artillery. The Prussians had the edge in cavalry, while the French had slightly more infantry. This is the largest size of Seven Years War game we've completed on a regular club night using our own Die Kriegskunst (DKK) rules. Therefore, while part of the exercise was to persuade Kevan the rules weren't the turkey he claimed, we also wanted to see how quickly we could get through a game this size  -with about 300 figures a side. Kevan and Dougie commanded the Prussians, while I took the French.

Incidentally, we played this game using our normal DKK-sized (1:40 ratio) units, but made the "standard" Black Powder unit 16-19 figures strong to suit our armies, rather than the 24-30 figures suggested in the rules. Frankly the size of units isn't an issue, which makes it pretty easy to try out the rules using existing toys.

The Prussians began by advancing across the table, which suited the French, who'd opted to fight a defensive battle. Within 20 minutes of starting the game the two infantry lines were locked in a grim battle, with both sides pouring musketry fire into the enemy line. The French centre was anchored by a small redoubt, and the gun there did sterling work with canister, which stopped being so amusing when the Prussians brought up their own guns. Still, it was clear that both sides were locked together, and it would take time to wear down the enemy line, unless one side or the other elected to charge home with the bayonet.

Then the cavalry managed to get into contact. The Prussian horse on their left flank was delayed by a "blunder", which initially sent them back to the table edge rather than charging into contact. On the right the Prussians cuirassiers advanced steadily, only to be charged by the Bercheny hussars. Amazingly the French hussars held firm, and eventually forced a break test on the unsupported Prussian horse. They fled the field thanks to the first of three catastrophic break test rolls by the Prussian cavalry. With hindsight we should have rated the cuirassiers "Steady", which would have given them a re-roll, but mid-battle isn't a time to debate such things. The Prussians sent in another regiment of dragoons, but while they routed one of the two Bercheny detachments, the remainder stood firm. Eventually both sides withdrew their battered cavalry, as they were shaken, disordered and in no condition to continue the fight. I love my Bercheny hussars...

By this time the Prussian left wing cavalry had got their act together, and they were assisted by jaegers and artillery, who softened the waiting French horse up before the two sides met. The two sides charged and counter-charged, and a long drawn-out melee ended with the Prussians having to take another break test. True to form they rolled a "4" and headed off the table. A small supporting unit of Prussian Green Hussars therefore had to test too, and this time Kevan rolled a "3"! The French did marginally better, but still had to pull back to lick their wounds. Still it meant that with more luck than judgement the French had won the cavalry fight.

 By that time the French infantry line was in a bad way. The Prussians had used their superior manoeuvring ability to rotate their front-line units, but while the French were still holding on - aided by the gun in the redoubt - their long-term prospects looked bleak. The decision was made to pull back to regroup, covered by the Grenadiers de France and the battered cavalry. At that point the players reached a gentlemanly compromise and declared the game a draw. Both the French and the Prussians had done well, but not well enough to win the game.

As for the rules, Kevan later said that he'd entered the game with the mean-spirited intention of showing just how bad they were. By the end he had to admit that he enjoyed himself, even though the rules produced a few strange results. I think he meant those three unlucky break tests, but we all agreed that sometimes luck flies in the face of the odds, and "shit happens". I've played Kevan in WW2 games where he's rolled a "double six" and absolutely trashed my Allied armour. I didn't see him complaining then...  therefore, as the French player I had absolutely no problem with seeing his cavalry break and run!

The game played fairly quickly, and while Kevan retains many of his doubts about the rules, not only has he promised to consider trying them out in our big Seven Years War game in April, but between now and then he might even get round to reading them! For my part I like Black Powder - and I can see them getting a lot of use in our club. Incidentally, another BP Seven Years War game was played out on another table, and everyone seemed to enjoy their fast-paced game.

Seven Years War page       Black Powder review

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The (hypothetical) Battle of Cape Prada, 1940  (General Quarters) 1/2400

I like it when wargame opponent Dougie Trail wants to use his Second World War Italian fleet. WC Fields' phrase "never give a sucker an even break" always springs to mind! Well, this game was a fictitious one, set soon after Italy came into the war - around July 1940. The Italians were trying to run a vital convoy from Naples to Benghazi containing the tanks, tankers and fuel needed to allow the Italians to go over onto the offensive in North Africa. The Royal Navy were obviously out to stop the convoy, and sent a force from Alexandria to intercept it. The scene was set for an Anglo-Italian naval clash - a scaled-down version of the Battle of Punta Stilo.

The convoy of four merchantmen was escorted by four destroyers or torpedo boats, but the bulk of the Italian force was grouped into the covering force, whose job  was to screen the convoy from the British. It consisted of the battleship Caio Duilio, two heavy and two light cruisers, plus six destroyers. Support of sorts was also available from the Italian Air Force. For their part the British had the small carrier Eagle, the venerable battleship Malaya, four light cruisers and eight destroyers.

The Italian player - Dougie Trail - made his first decision before the game began. Rather than risk its dismemberment he turned his convoy round and sent it back to Naples. He was playing safe, avoiding the potential loss of "victory points" if the convoy was intercepted. The covering force lingered in the area to cover its withdrawal, with both sides aware that the enemy was at sea, and somewhere close by. The first units to sight each other were the cruisers, and both sides immediately launched spotter planes to scout out the rest of the enemy force.

The two battleships sighted each other, and the Caio Duilio opened fire at 21,000 yards, scoring a non-penetrating hit on the Malaya. The British battleship fired back, and hit the Caio Duilio with her first salvo, knocking out "X" turret. Her second salvo was equally successful, as a shell penetrated the armour of "B" turret and destroyed it. In the space of six minutes the Italian battleship had lost nearly half of her firepower, and was clearly in a bad way. Malaya was in her "zone of invulnerability" (called the "immunity zone" by the US Navy). At long range, plunging fire can penetrate the deck of either battleship . Closer in the Malaya had an advantage. At a range of 18-21,000 yards the Italian shells couldn't penetrate Malaya's armour, while her 15-inch shells were more than a match for the armour of her Italian counterpart. This is Naval Gunnery 101 - the theory behind all this is explained here (off-site link). Dougie learned about the "zone of invulnerability" the hard way. On the third turn the Caio Duilio broke off the action and limped back to Taranto, escorted by her two destroyers. Three cheers for Malaya!

The cruisers were the next force to come into action. The British cruiser commander Kevan Gunn knew that his light cruisers had a real advantage  at close range - under 6,000 yards. He wanted to close the range as quickly as he could, but the Italian cruisers kept the gap at 12,000 yards, and refused to be lured closer. In the gunnery exchange that followed two British light cruisers were damaged - Orion taking an engine room hit and Ajax having "Y" turret knocked out. In return the light cruiser Alberico de Barbiano was hit and damaged, while a fire was started on board her sister ship Luigi Cadorna. At that point the Caio Duilio headed off the table, which meant that the guns of the Malaya could turn on the Italian cruisers. Staying on and fighting wasn't a sensible option. Therefore, Dougie's destroyers laid smoke and the four Italian cruisers turned away, and headed off the table.  Before they went though, a salvo from Malaya crippled the leading smoke-laying destroyer Geniere, the only target it could see.

The final act of the battle was fought out in the air. While all this was playing out Eagle launched an air strike - four flights of Swordfish torpedo bombers, escorted by two flights of Gladiators. Their objective was the Italian heavy cruisers, but before they reached them they were intercepted by Italian Fiat biplanes. In the dogfight that followed a Swordfish flight was shot down, while a Fiat flight was damaged and returned to its base. As there was too much smoke to launch an attack and more enemy fighters were expected the strike was recalled. Almost simultaneously the Italian Air Force turned up and launched a high level bombing attack on Malaya. Anti-aircraft fire saw off one bomber flight, but the rest dropped their payload, but didn't manage to hit anything. That was the last clash of the battle, as by that time the Italian fleet had broken off the action and was heading for home.

As usually we used General Quarters (3rd edition). This was the first game we've played integrating surface and air action, and the rules system coped well with all these added spotter planes, dogfights and bombing runs. While the game didn't result in a single ship being sunk, the engagements was a clear victory for the Royal Navy. Surprisingly, Dougie proved just as cautious as his real-life Italian counterparts, but at least his fleet lived to fight another day. No doubt he'll be painting up more powerful battleships, more aircraft, and trying to find a way of reversing his fleet's losing streak. I'll simply look forward to giving him another lesson in seapower!

Renown wasn't there, but I like this CinC model, and the picture of Malaya didn't come out!

Second World War Naval page

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Syrian Skirmish, 1941  (Triumph & Tragedy) 28mm

My wargame pal Colin Jack never takes the obvious path. If he was a Napoleonic wargamer (which he isn't) he'd opt for the Neapolitans or the Wurttembergers. In Second World War games he avoids sensible theatres like Normandy, Russia or Italy, and opts for more outlandish places. For him, the icing on the cake is the chance to field strange-looking obsolete vehicles that have no place on a battlefield, let alone a wargames table. Well, this was a typical Colin Jack game!

The game I'd planned didn't materialise because my opponent had a domestic crisis, and was "grounded". Colin kindly invited me to join his game, which was - at least in theory - set in Syria in 1941. This was some sort of encounter battle, with Vichy French Foreign Legion infantry and a pair of Hotchkiss tanks on one side,  and the scrapings of the British Empire on the other. Obviously, this small Second World War game was going to be a rather unusual one...

The good guys - an eclectic mix of British Commandos, Australians, Sikhs and Arab Legion - were supported by the strangest collection of vehicles you're ever likely to see. There was a Crossley armoured car, a Dodge halftrack thing with a gun on it, a captured Schneider armoured car and an unusual Bren carrier belonging to the Indian army. I have to admit, half the fun of the game was the chance to play with this strange-looking but rather useless collection of vehicles...

Triumph & Tragedy is a set of skirmish rules. In it, both sides draw cards, with each one representing a unit, to work out the order in which units move and fire. An initiative number is used to see which player goes first - the higher number winning the initiative. The rules were a bit strange, and they were also heavily modified, so I have to admit I'd no real idea how they worked. Skirmish rules will forever remain something of a mystery for me, so I just went with the flow.

The game centred around the control of villages. Both sides had two within easy reach, but had to attack the enemy to win. With true Gallic élan the Foreign Legion started the game off by attacking one of the villages on the British edge of the table. The Commandos got to the edge of the village seconds before the legionnaires appeared, and poured rifle and Bren fire into them. The French were halted, and eventually their assault was broken up. Strike one to the Empire.

The real problem was the French armour. Given the junk the British Empire troops were driving around in the two Hotchkiss H-39 tanks looked like powerful machines. Still, one was damaged by machine gun fire from the Crossley, which in turn was disabled by light machine gun fire from a French-held village. At that point a French aircraft appeared, strafed the Australian contingent, and made it rout towards the table edge. That opened the game up again, and it was all to play for.

Bizarrely, a second strafing run was prevented by a fluke shot from a Bren gun, which - apparently - hit the pilot, forcing the plane to pull away and crash somewhere off table! The motley selection of Imperial vehicles fired at the remaining French tank, but their shots just bounced off.  In the end its commander was killed by a well-aimed hand grenade thrown by a plucky Sikh, and very wisely the tank driver trundled the Hotchkiss off the table. At that point the French conceded the game.

The rules were quite strange - you need high die rolls for some things, and low for others, making the system hard to follow, especially without a playsheet. Triumph & Tragedy also tries to reflect unit tactics (with things like unit suppression and morale), while leaving in pure skirmish theatrics, like throwing grenades into tank turrets, or shooting pilots with Bren guns. To be honest, while I'll certainly try them again, I preferred our good old reliable Chris Peers Back of Beyond system!

Second World War page

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Second Battle of Saratoga (Bemis Heights), 1777  (Black Powder) 28mm

We had a rare opportunity for a weekend game, and we decided to play the sequel to our First Battle of Saratoga (Freeman's Farm) game we played out last month. This was General Burgoynes's second and final attempt to defeat the American army blocking his advance down the Hudson River, as his army was fast running out of food and supplies. The Americans won our refight of the first battle, so this time the pressure was on the British players to win the day, and to change history.

Like the previous round, this was essentially an encounter battle, with both sides advancing onto contact, and feeding brigades onto the table as the game progressed. The British began aggressively, advancing all along their front, hoping to sweep the rebels from the table before their reinforcements arrived. It almost worked, as the strongest of the two American brigades - the one with all the regulars in it - blundered, and began the game by retiring back onto the American table edge. The British right wing fell foul of American riflemen - first they saw of a supporting unit of Indians, and then with the help of the Connecticut militia they broke a battalion of British line, and their supporting detachment of light infantry. In the centre the British advance was slowed and halted, but the Americans remained under heavy pressure. Actually, Dave O'Brian's rebels did pretty well. They broke five British or Hessian regiments during the course of the battle, and by mid-afternoon the umpire gave the British a brigade of reinforcements that didn't actually exist, just to keep the game going a bit longer. The Americans were on a roll... 

The other success came on the British left, where the British grenadiers charged a whole brigade of American regulars who had just appeared on the British flank. Two American regiments were broken, and the rest were driven back in disorder. Eventually though, the grenadiers were stalled by concentrated musketry, as were the Hessian grenadiers who advanced to support them. In that particular scrap the Americans defended a pigsty against all comers! When the Hessians broke the plucky British grenadiers had little option but to fall back, to cover the flank of Burgoyne's now crumbling little army. the end came quickly. On their right the British had pulled back to Breymann's redoubt, which was eventually carried by the Connecticut militia, supported by Dan Morgan's riflemen. In the centre von Reidesel's Hessians were broken after a long and hard-fought fight, leaving the few reserves hopelessly outnumbered. At that point the British commander decided to concede, thereby achieving a result that pretty much mirrored the historical outcome of the battle. Including lunch, the whole game took us six hours to fight to its conclusion.

Once again, enjoyed using Black Powder. The rules might have their quirks, but these aren't anything that a few judicious "house rules" can't deal with. the main thing is that they provided us with a fast-moving and lively game, with the tide of battle ebbing and flowing throughout the day. When units break they are removed from the table, so you need to plan ahead, leave reserves, and watch out for those spectacularly sweeping three-turn moves, that can see units advance across the table and charge the enemy. Once you know what to expect, it all becomes good fun, and strangely enough it produces a satisfactorily historic result.

American War of Independence page         Black Powder review       Black Powder Playsheet (off-site link)

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A hot time in Hampshire, 1643  (Very Civile Actions) 28mm

We all enjoyed our Marston Moor refight last month, so this week we decided to stage another smaller English Civil War battle, to test out a few tweaks in the rules. This was a straightforward clash with four regiments of foot a side (each of 48 figures), supported by four 12-figure regiments of horse. All the foot were rated as "Trained Bands", apart from one "Seasoned" regiment a side, while the horse were all "Harquebusiers", except one Royalist "Cavalier" regiment, and Sir Arthur Hesilrige's Parliementarian "Lobsters". Sir William Waller led the forces of Parliament, while Lord Hopton commanded the "malignants".

Both sides had no hesitation in advancing into contact - no lurking behind hedges here - and the battle soon came down to musketry and push of pike. Both commanders had grouped their cavalry on one flank, and all four cavalry regiments charged, wheeled, counter-charged and crossed swords in a satisfying but largely ineffectual way. Actually, that isn't quite true - one regiment of Parliamentarian horse was routed fairly early on, and although it rallied on the table edge it never really got  back into the fight. The "Lobsters" performed well, as did Sir Henry Bard's "Cavaliers". Still, after two hours of gaming, neither side had a clear advantage.

On the Parliamentarian right a pesky unit of Royalist dragoons was driven off, but the two Royalist white-coated regiments proved a much tougher challenge. The more seasoned of the two - Col. Lisle's foot - wore down the London "Trained Bands" facing them, and then charged home. The Londoners were only saved by a counter-charge by the other "seasoned" unit on the field - John Hampden's green coats, who halted the Royalists and drove them back. Over on the left the infantry fight never amounted to much more than an exchange of musketry, as the hesitant Royalists lacked the will to close with the Parliamentarian foot.

In fact the whole battle was pretty indecisive, which is really what we'd expect from such well-matched forces. Next time though, instead of a small set-piece battle we'll be a little more adventurous and try out a scenario sent to me by Bob Giglio in the States - the Battle of North Petherton (1644). Still, indecisive or otherwise, this period is always enjoyable, and The Perfect Captain's rules did exactly what we wanted, producing a fast-paced and challenging game.

English Civil War page       Very Civile Actions Review        The Perfect Captain (off-site link)   

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