ISSUE 78
THIS ISSUE:
Agincourt and other turf wars in Late Medieval Europe
Theme
The Battle of Agincourt
Breton raiding at
Blackpool Sands
Philippa of England
defends Denmark from
The Hanseatic League
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•
•
Specials
Defending Hobkirk’s Hill
A daring Cold War
commando raid
Refighting the costly
Battle of Auldearn
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•
•
W
W
W
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SSM
A
GA
ZINE
.C
OM
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K
AR
W
ANSAR
AY
PUBLISHERS
KNIGHT VS.
RIGHT
THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR
78 9 772211 503014 > UK £ 4.25
Publisher: Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier Managing director: Jasper Oorthuys Editor: Guy Bowers
Copy editor: Duncan B. Campbell
Layout, design and maps: Christianne C. Beall ©2014 Karwansaray Publishers
Contributors: Mark Backhouse, Steve Bainbridge, Steve Beck-ett, Rob Broom, Sam Catteral, Richard Clarke, Phil Dutré, Roy Fitzsimmons, David Imrie, Steve Jones, Eoghan Kelly, Joseph McCullough, Michael Leck, Gary Mitchell, Matt Moran, Walter Morrison, James Oram, Chris Payne, Rick Priestley, Andrew Tay-lor, Ruben Torregrosa, Stephen Tunmore
Illustrations: Georgie Harman www.redfoxillustrations.com Print: Grafi Advies BV
Editorial office
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Contributions in the form of articles, letters, reviews, news and queries are welcomed. Please send to the above address or use the contact form on www.wssmagazine.com
Subscriptions
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Distribution
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is sold through retailers, the
internet and by subscription. If you wish to become a sales outlet, please contact us at [email protected] The exclusive distributor for the UK and the Republic of Ireland is Comag Specialist Magazines, Unit 3, Tavistock Road, West Dray-ton, UB7 7QE, United Kingdom. Phone: +44 01895 433600. Copyright Karwansaray BV. All rights reserved. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior writ-ten consent of the publishers. Any individual providing material for publication must ensure that the correct permissions before submission to us. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but in a few cases this proves impossible. The editor and publishers apologize for any unwitting cases of copyright trans-gressions and would like to hear from any copyright holders not acknowledged. Articles and the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the editor and/or publishers. Advertising in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy does not neces-sarily imply endorsement.
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is published every two months by Karwansaray BV, Zutphen, the Netherlands. PO Box 4082, 7200 BB Zutphen, the Netherlands.
ISSN: 2211-503X
Printed in the European Union
HOBBY
FACES OF WAR
Painting 15mm facesANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
Walls and fences for wargaming terrain62
64
THEME: THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR
PLANTAGENET VERSUS VALOIS
An introduction to the Hundred Years WarMUD, BLOOD, AND STEEL
Wargaming the Battle of AgincourtAVENGING BRETONSIDE
The Battle of Blackpool Sands, 1404WARRIOR QUEEN OF KALMAR
Philippa of England, Queen of the NorthCHEVAUCHÉE
Raids in the Hundred Years War
WE HAPPY FEW
Painting English for the Hundred Years War
ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH
Building a Hundred Years War armyTHE RED HARLAW
On the cover
30
32
38
42
46
48
FEATURES
BRENNUS AND THE CURSED GOLD
A bitesize campaignIN A SILENT AND SECRET MANNER
The Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, 25 April 1781RIB RAIDER
The Cold War gone wet
THE BATTLE OF AULDEARN
Montrose’s campaigns in Scotland, Part II14
16
20
REGULAR DEPARTMENTS
MINIATURE REVIEWS
Our usual roundup of new wargaming releases
THIS GAMING LIFE
Move! Shoot! Fight!
THE IRREGULAR
It’s the figures, stupid!LET’S PLAY FIGHTING SAIL
Fleet actions between 1776 and 1815 from Osprey
DESIGNING FROSTGRAVE
Notes on a fantasy combat system
GAME REVIEWS
To Defy a King, Blücher, Bloody Big Battles and more
UP FRONT
Wargames Darwinisms
BOOK REVIEWS
More books reviewed by the WS&S team
PARTING SHOTS
Hints, tips and laughs for the wargamer
6
12
60
66
70
72
76
80
24
52
56
82
Philippa of England, Queen of the North
HE CURSED GOLD
NNER
The Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, 25 April 1781Our usual roundup of new wargaming releases
Fleet actions between 1776 and 1815 from Osprey
ALL
Walls and fences for wargaming terrainEDITORIAL
Learning from our mistakes
“Remember, my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker… put down in record even your doubts and surmises… We learn from failure, not from success!”
– Dr Abraham Van Helsing in ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker (1897) We all make mistakes. Most we don’t anticipate, failing to predict what will afterwards be all the more obvious. The real failure is not making mistakes but failing to learn from them. When I was younger I must admit they terrified me. In fact, I spent so much time trying not to make mistakes it almost paralysed me, thus I never did anything. If you don’t try you’ll never have an answer to the question, ‘would it have worked?’ Even if you fail, at least you have an answer (“it didn’t work”) you can learn from.
Another thing I believe in is truth. Simply put, tell the truth, as then you don’t have to remember which lies you’ve told! So here is my confession…
Last issue we ran a deliberately provocative piece called “Are Wargames Shows dying?”. When I first read it, I considered it to be a thought provoking piece with some interesting solutions to revitalise shows. There was however one misleading bit in it, that this year was going to be the last Salute at ExCel. It isn’t by the way… the Warlords have now confirmed they will be at ExCel for many years to come. What I should have done then was contact the South London Warlords and confirm or deny this rumour, or else I should have edited the piece and changed ‘will be the last show’ to ‘may be the last show’ – taking a page from tabloid journalism. Sadly I did neither and ran the piece as is – ah hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing!
I’d like to apologise to the South London Warlord committee. What was printed was misleading and should have been amended. Sorry chaps and I love the show!
We seem to have been on a bit of a French theme for the past two issues. This coincidental theme will continue as our next issue will look at the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.
Comments and critique are always welcome. I enjoy reading correspondence from readers and it helps us as a team work out what we are doing right and where we’re doing less well. You can contact me as always at:
[email protected] I will reply as I am able.
© Georgie Harman
IN THE NEXT ISSUE:
NOW ON THE WEBSITE:
THE ROAD TO AGINCOURT
March with Henry V as he makes his way to the famous battle.
(http://www.wssmagazine.com/wss78_extra)
RESHAPING A NATION
Heads will roll in this issue, which looks at the turmoil of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.
MINIATURE REVIEWS
Peter Pig has expanded its Great War French range by adding Late War French infantry in Adrian helmets. These do not appear to be simply their Early War French with heads swapped but a completely newly sculpted range. As with most Peter Pig 15mm sculpts, it is worth reminding yourself these are 15mm scale, not 28mm! The current range consists of seventeen packs, adding to the existing eighteen packs of Early War (including four variants of FT 17). The range includes shooting poses, advancing with bayonet, NCOs, officers, grenadiers, and HMG in helmet; casualty models, a 37mm gun, and troops in gasmasks are promised soon. The sculpting and casting on these models are both top notch, with a little flash to be cleared from the base of the miniatures. Size-wise, they are middle of the range and compatible with most ranges. If 15mm Great War is your thing, you’ll need to look no further.
LATE GREAT WAR FRENCH
Company: Peter Pig
Size: 15mm ‘foot to eye’ or 17mm tall Era: The Great War
Price: £2.90 for a pack of 8 miniatures. www.peterpig.co.uk
The Soviet army of World War II had several large artillery pieces, but not many larger than the B4 203mm howitzer. Firing a 100kg HE shell with a range of 18km, the howitzer was the ultimate ‘bunker buster’. Developed in 1931, it was used in most theatres from the Winter War, smashing the Mannerheim line, to the street fighting in Berlin. It was often used as a direct-fire weapon, thus justifying its presence on the table. The kit itself is by Heer 46, which specialises in 1/100 scale German prototype tanks (such as the E series). The company has now diversified into 1/56 with the release of this excellent kit. The gun is well cast in durable resin, with only a few mould lines. Assembly is straightforward and the kit fits together very well. No artillery shells were available, but some should be available shortly. Every Soviet gamer will want one of these. It may take a minute to reload, but it will scare the life out of most German players.
B4 203MM
RUSSIAN HOWITZER
Company: Heer 46 Size: 1/56 Era: World War II Price: €23.50 www.heer46shop.de
When the Germans took over Czechoslovakia in 1938, they soon turned their thoughts to adapting the Czech 38t tank production to their own ends. The chassis of the 38t became the base for the Marder tank destroyer, as there was a growing need for tank destroyers. Initially equipped with Russian 76.2mm guns captured on the Eastern front, the Marder soon also became the platform for the Pak 40 75mm anti-tank gun. This clever kit allows you to build three variants – the original 38t tank, the Marder SdKfz 139 (with 76.2mm gun, used by the Afrika Korps), or the Marder SdKfz 138 Ausf H. PSC promises a further kit with the Marder SdKfz 138 Ausf M variant and the Hetzer. This well-detailed kit slots together very well and is easy to build - in fact, your only prob-lem is working out which variant you need! A 20mm (1/72) version is available, with three models for £16.50, which is simply a scaled-up version of this kit. With good value for money, this will be a good investment for any 15mm WWII German player.
38T TANK AND MARDER
Company: Plastic Soldier Company Size: 15mm or 1/100 scale Era: World War IIPrice: £19.50 for 5 models
www.theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk
MDF tank traps? Who would have thought it possible? 4Ground did, as they are masters of the seemingly impossible, turning 2D flat-packs into 3D creations. The tank traps shown are 15mm. They were a little fiddly to construct, but once one was done, the rest followed easily, even with this ‘sausage fingers’ reviewer. 28mm versions are also available (six for £10). Also shown are two types of marker from 4Ground’s vast selection (currently numbering a staggering 77 packs), which includes tokens, transparent templates, objective markers, and the effect markers shown. The two types shown are for burning wreckage (three per pack) and 2” smoke (two per pack). Other sizes are available (from 1” to 6”) in three colours (white, grey, and black), along with some interesting fire markers (including a fire wall, useful for fantasy). The flames are made of a transparent plastic, which really adds to the overall effect. The smoke/wreckage markers are very easy to construct, as they simply slot together.
TOKENS AND TANK TRAPS
Company: 4Ground (Momentum Games) Era: Tank Traps – twentieth century Price: £ 5.00 for the markers or 10 x tank traps.
www.4ground.co.uk
Every now and then, a new product comes along and makes you stop and go, “Wow!” Cigar Box Battles have come up with a clever idea for terrain for gamers – a high quality wargaming mat printed on a fleece. The advantages are many; you can simply cover a table as quickly with a mat as you would a table with a tablecloth. If hills are required, simply stick them underneath the mat. The mat itself neatly folds away and will not crease (no need to iron), and it’s small and easy to store. You can wrap it around yourself to keep warm, too! It means playing over the same terrain, but you can always buy another mat for variety. The one shown is a Europe Battle Mat. There is an excellent and growing selection of mats, including grassland, ocean, woodland, tundra, space, desert, waste, and Great War, to name a few. Specific mats are available, such as a Gettysburg for 6mm and a Waterloo mat for 15mm.
FLEECE TERRAIN MAT
Company: Cigar Box Battles Size: Just over 6’ x 4’ Era: Any
Price: $69.00 (£60.00 in the UK) cigarboxbattlestore.bigcartel.com
Spectre Miniatures is a new miniature company specializing in ultra-moderns. Its initial range has focused on Africa and has several interesting packs. The range is divided into militia, professionals, and elites. The militia consist of rag-tag Africans in civil-ian dress and more professionally-dressed rebels. The professionals include mercenary contractors and Nigercivil-ian soldiers. The elite range consists of US and UK special forces and ‘operatives’. Spectre has its own rules set free on their website. The release reviewed here are Special Air Service armed with suppressed M16s. The SAS have a selection of NODs (night-vision gear). The models are well detailed and cast out of plastic resin. There was some flash on the models and one of the barrels required straight-ening (using the hot water method in this issue’s Parting Shots). This issue aside, the detailing was good and accurate on these models. These models are perfect for pulp, zombie, and similar modern games, such as covert operations.
MODERN SPECIAL AIR SERVICE
Company: Spectre Miniatures Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 32mm tall Era: ModernPrice: £9.99 for 4 models www.spectreminiatures.com
If you have wagons for the American Civil War, you’ll need suitable drover models to crew them. Thus is the thinking behind Colonel Bill’s release – as they sell the 4Ground wagon sets, why not make some crew to go with them? Each set consists of four figures. There are two figures leading horses (suitable for horse-holders) and two seated figures in the wagon crew set. The injured consist of one walking wounded and three lying down. Casting is good, with a little flash to be cleaned off the bases. The models themselves are middle of the range in size, so should fit in with most existing ranges. Colonel Bill’s has also released Celtic chariot crews (two sets) and more of the ‘Belt Fed Girls’ in various states of undress. These include Brynhildr (Norse Shieldmaiden), Calamity Jane (Cowgirl), Anya Bakyabich (Soviet WWII Sniper) and Private Leanne Ives (Our Girl in Afghanistan). If modesty permits, we will review these in a future issue.
ACW CASUALTIES AND
WAGON CREW
Company: Colonel Bill’s Size: 28mm
Era: Various
Price: £5.00 per crew, £2.50 per ‘girl’ www.colonelbills.com
Iron Duke Miniatures is a new venture by Colonel Mike Snook and Empress, to bring wargamers Indian Mutiny miniatures based on the best information available and using the campaign uniforms worn by Brigadier General Henry Havelock’s brigades in the relief of Cawnpore and Lucknow. The first four packs represent the British centre and flank companies (only the flank companies were armed with the new 1853 Enfield). The next twelve releases will include more British and ‘Neill’s Bluecaps’ Madras Fusilier and Brasyer’s Sikhs. The miniatures are sculpted by Paul Hicks — no need to comment — on the quality of the sculpting. The casting is likewise excellent. Future releases include Bhisti water-carriers (as some Indian troops did not carry water for reasons of caste), mounted field officers, and casualty figures. Longer term include several artillery guns, characters, volunteer cavalry, and the mutineers themselves. Victorian Colonial fans take note! This exciting new range will be one to watch, with a complete and comprehensive range planned.
INDIAN MUTINY BRITISH
Company: Iron Duke Miniatures Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 32mm tall Era: Victorian Colonial
Price: £7.00 for 4 infantry or 2 cavalry www.empressminiatures.com
Great Britain has a long history of wars with, or in, Afghanistan, dating back to the 1840s. This range covers the British intervention of 1878-80 (known as the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War). This expanding range currently covers both the Afghans and the British, with allies. The British range contains British line infantry, artillery, Highlanders, guides, and Punjabi and Sikh infantry. The Afghan range consists of regular and irregular infantry. Each pack contains four models from a selection of five or six variants (depends on the pack). The sculpting is very good; exactly what you expect from Mike Owen at Artizan. Casting is likewise good, with some flash on the base. Their size is slightly on the heroic side, making them compatible with most middle and larger ranges. If you are into Victoriana and don’t fancy Zulus or Sudan, check out the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War. Unlike most Victorian campaigns, it was far from easy, with many defeats, such as at Maiwand in 1880.
2ND AFGHAN WAR BRITISH
Company: Artizan Designs
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 32mm tall, to top of pith helmet
Era: Nineteenth century
Price: £5.60 for a pack of 4 miniatures www.northstarfigures.com
The T-34 was the workhorse of the Soviet tank divisions in the ‘Great Patriotic War’. Warlord’s model is very easy to construct, taking minutes rather than hours. The instructions are straightforward and a platoon could be assembled in no time. The kit contains the option to make the M41, M42 (shown) and M43 versions. The winter uniform Soviets are an excellent set based on the previous plastic Soviet infantry set, but with the addition of greatcoats. A lot of thought has gone into this set; the heads are wrapped up against the cold and the arms have gloves. All the parts fit together well. A very good selection of weapons is also provided. The only thing perhaps lacking from this set is the earlier M36 helmet or the budyonovka hat for the Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40, so here’s hoping Warlord do some separate heads. But this is a very minor point – these are great kits that every budding Soviet commander will want.
T-34 AND WINTER SOLDIERS
Company: Warlord Games Size: 1/56 (28mm) Era: World War II
Price: £18.00 for the tank, £30.00 for 40 winter infantry
www.warlordgames.com
The latest release from Crooked Dice Studios is British policemen and dogs. The coppers are armed with truncheons and are dressed in typical fashion for the 1970s and 80s. This is the era when policing was simpler - before the need for stab-proof vests, utility belts, and tasers. The cops come with separate heads, allowing more variety and combining with other heads in the Crooked Dice range. There are police ‘flat cap’ heads available as an option. The new attack dog release consists of two fierce Rottweilers and a German Shepherd (not shown), ideal for both police dogs or for guard dogs for villains. The sculpt-ing and castsculpt-ing are both good, and each model comes with its own ‘slotta base’. The cops could probably be used for earlier periods (Very British Civil War?) and the dogs are pretty timeless, useable for many periods. A second edition of the popular 7TV is in the offing shortly, and we’re looking forward to it.
COPS AND DOGS
Company: Crooked Dice Games Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 32mm tall Era: Modern
Price: £9.00 for 3 coppers and £5.00 for 3 dogs
www.crooked-dice.co.uk
Valliant Miniatures has released a hard plastic building kit which is very clever. This building can be turned into a ruin simply by lifting the top floor section off. This feature makes the model multipurpose and useful for showing the damage ‘in game’ caused by artillery. The model comes as a kit with several useful options, including two types of shutter for the windows, a shop front, and a garage. Also included are rubble sections and a selection of signs for the shop. Clear assembly instructions are included. The building is very simple to construct – standard plastic glue worked fine. The roof is removable along with the first floor. The ceiling is pretty high and 28mm models will fit comfortably inside the house as well, opening up the possibility for using this kit with 28mm scale. The detail on the models is very good and the finished building is both light and durable. Three kits are available as a bundle for the discount price of £59.50.
PLASTIC BUILDING/RUIN
Company: Valliant Miniatures Size: 1/72 (20mm) (95mm width x 135mm height x 113mm length) Era: Twentieth century
Price: £24.99
Winter is coming... From the depths of time and the frozen tundra comes a new range of cavemen from Steve Barber. The range consists of a dozen sets of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. There is a good mix of models, including flint spear and club armed and bows. Other models include characters (like the chieftain shown), a shaman, fire makers, and two females. There are also several prehistoric animals to choose from including the mammoth, the phorusrachus (think ‘Big Bird’s evil twin), and the smilodon ’sabre tooth’ male (shown). Each comes with a large ‘slotta’ base for the model. The sculpting and casting are both good. Also included in this range are scenery items such as cycads & berry trees and manmade items such as tents. This will be an ideal range for ‘Tusk’ or similar lost world games. The creatures could have some use in fantasy settings as well.
CAVE MEN
Company: Steve Barber
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 31mm tall Era: Prehistroric or Fantasy
Price: £5.00 for 4 models, £4.50 for the smilodon
www.stevebarbermodels.com
The latest edition to the Wargames Factory AWI range is a set of Woodland Indians. There are 24 Indians to the box. There are eight different bodies and twelve different heads with a number of different head-dress which can be glued on. The poses are free-er than previous ranges, with pretty much every arm fitting to every body. They can be built with muskets or armed only with bows and hand weapons (making them possible suitable for earlier Native Americans, such as Skraelings). The musket poses include reloading, and firing. Individual bases are included. The moulding is good and well detailed, and each part of the model fits together well. While the Indians fought for both sides in the American War of Independence, there were several campaigns both before and after the war ended and white fought native. With these plastics, battles like Wabash and Fallen Timbers or the Seminole war become an affordable possibility.
WOODLAND INDIANS
Company: Wargames Factory Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 34mm tall in head-dressEra: American War of Independence Price: $24.95 for 24 miniatures (£18.00 in the UK)
www.wargamesfactory.com
You can never have too many Ninjas! Crossover Miniatures has launched an addition to their ‘Heroes and Villains’ and ‘Minions’ ranges after a successful Kickstarter. The latest releases are Ninjas with guns and with traditional weapons. The models are supplied with two types of head, ‘traditional’ Ninja and ‘bug eye’ (similar to Deadpool). However, their ‘X-Head’ system allows any head from their range to be swapped and placed on any other body in the range (separate heads are available). There are four variants to each minion set. The central model is the evil super-villain ‘Emperor Moth’, who sweeps down on his enemies, delivering his deadly sting! If you are taking a venture into superheroes, then you’ll need to check these out. The traditional Ninjas are good for feudal Japanese, while their modern counterparts are good for Black Ops. Mould lines are hard to spot and there is little flash. Size-wise, these impressive models are middle of the range 28mm, so they’ll be compatible with most existing ranges. They are available through Minibits in the UK.
NINJAS AND SUPERHEROES
Company: Crossover Miniatures Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 31mm tall Era: Modern
Price: $16 for four or $6.75 for the Emperor Moth
www.crossoverminiatures.com
Err, you what? Not just any ordinary zombie hunter, but Gabriel, zombie-hunting ‘komodo dragon master’, and his two pets! For all your dragon zombie-hunting needs. Gabriel looks like a typical steampunk character, complete with hussar shirt, goggles, and fur boots. His weapons consist of a halberd and some form of scoped rifle. His pets are excellent, accurately detailed Komodo dragons, ideal for pulp or fantasy. As we’ve come to expect from Gringo 40’s, the sculpting is very good, with minimal flash and no obvious mould lines. These unique figures will surely find a home in zombie pulp games or as additions to In Her Majesty’s Name or similar steampunk games. The dragons are available to be purchased separately.
ZOMBIE HUNTER AND
KOMODO DRAGONS
Company: Gringo 40’s
Size: 28.5mm ‘foot to eye’ or 33mm tall, Dragons are 84mm long
Era: Modern
Price: £8.50 for the set, £3.50 for Gabriel www.gringo40s.com
As a period, the Retreat from Moscow seems to have developed a life of its own. The Perrys have led this charge with their own range of miniatures, and several companies have followed suit. The most recent releases include French light cavalry in winter dress (with a choice of six different heads), retreating camp followers, scavengers, and frozen casualties. The camp followers, scavengers, and casualties are all great pieces for vignettes. The casualty pack includes half-buried dead and the odd frozen arm sticking out of the ground - very macabre! The sculpting is excellent, and these miniatures simply ooze char-acter. Casting is good, with minimal flash and mould lines. While the models themselves are very specific, being suitable for poor weather conditions, some may have a use beyond the Retreat. The camp followers are useful for characters in games (the French Lieutenant’s Woman) and some of the frozen casualties could be painted as prisoners.
RETREATING FRENCH
Company: Perry Miniatures Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 33mm in shako Era: Napoleonic Price: £9.00 for 3 cavalry, £7.00 for 6 infantry
www.perry-miniatures.com
As noted earlier in this review section, it is amazing what some companies can do with a ‘flat pack’ MDF kit. Warbases has released an assortment of Great War and post-WW1 vehicles in 28mm. These include a Model T ambulance, an Albion truck and a Mark IV Tank! The models reviewed here are the Crossley Tender and the Lancia Triota armoured personnel carrier, both of which saw action in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. The models require some assembly but the kits are straight-forward enough, taking about 20 minutes to half an hour to assemble. Instructions are available online. Once completed, they really do look the part and once painted it is hard to remember they started life as a MDF kit. Sure, the wheels aren’t rounded but the expert modeller could add more detail if required (like starting handles). Overall these are excellent values kits providing gamers with inexpensive transport for their Great War games.
MDF TRUCKS
Company: WarbasesSize: 1/56 scale (Crossley is 80mm x 32mm x 35mm)
Era: Great War
Price: £7.00 for one vehicle war-bases.co.uk
THIS GAMING LIFE
MOVE! SHOOT! FIGHT!
One of the great consolations of rapidly advancing years is
the opportunity to meet up with old comrades-in-arms to
compare notes. I say rapidly advancing years, not to suggest
that said comrades comprise an overly decrepit or
particu-larly raddled section of society. Perish the thought. Rather,
I mean to suggest that my wargaming generation is rapidly
approaching something like retirement, or at least the
mod-ern equivalent, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
By Rick Priestley
© Georgie Harman
C
onversation invariably encompasses the thorny matter of eking a living from whatever we have managed to stow beneath the mattress over a lifetime of toil in the salt mines. Considerations of habitation centre upon something called ‘down-sizing’. Old hippies dust off yesterday’s dreams of yurts in Wales, narrow boats, and Volkswagen campers. Some comrades have done well enough to find themselves burdened with an excess of funds and spare time. What bet-ter than to spend both on our favourite hobby? If my lot are anything to go by, this goes a long way to explaining the tre-mendous surge in new enterprises over recent years. New wargames rules published by those who always wanted to, but never had the opportunity, until now. New miniatures companies making models for fields of interest nurtured over the decades, but never previously satisfied. Plastic kits that enable us to revisit youthful passions and redress the lost opportunities of Airfix and Matchbox. Quite frankly, you can’t turn these days without tripping over some middle-aged initiate into the wargaming market. Some of these enterprises are retirement projects that do no more than scratch a long-felt itch. The financial viability of individual businesses might be of less consideration than a simple need to find some way of exercising talents or ambitions that don’t disappear as soon as the nine-to-five grind is over. Other ventures are embarked upon to provide or supplement incomes. A lot depends upon what kind of people we are. Wargaming has always attracted all sorts. There are artists and sculptors who would sooner spend all day on their own, producing work that is intensely personal. There are entrepreneurs who enjoy building busi-nesses and relish the responsibilities that come with doing so. Those old comrades I mentioned earlier include a fair few from both ends of the scale and somewhere in between. Which is, of course, part of what makes our get-togethers something to look forward to. Bizarre coincidences abound. Naval wargames are flavour of the moment. Others are pur-suing games with larger scale models. Such atavistic tenden-cies remind us what a varied and ambitious hobby we once enjoyed. When it comes to the rules, some find themselvesdusting down books and games that last saw the light of day when trousers were flared and a round of bitter could be had for a pound. Others cheerfully embark upon new rules sets or revisit tea-stained notebooks to revive half-complet-ed projects from yesteryear. When it comes to sculpting models, making terrain, or painting wargames armies, most of us find our level pretty quickly. We know what we can do and what lies beyond our abilities. Rule writing is a different matter though. Just as every reader has a novel in them, so every wargamer has a set of rules. And why not?
Playing games that hark back to the tastes of years ago is an interesting experience. It’s like driving an old car. Mem-ories somehow gloss over the lack of synchromesh, terrible heaters, and the reluctance of drum brakes to bring us to a stop. Nostalgia blinds us to the realities. When it comes to playing unfamiliar rules, there is also a lot to learn by simply participating in games and observing the process of play. Having worked on many of my own rules sets over the years, it’s notable how conservative are many who are now approaching games design for the first time. Or, I should say, for the first time with any professional intent – with publication and a wider audience in mind. Often these games evolve from sets that have been in use for years as club rules, or rules used amongst a group of friends, where most of the conventions and routines of play are matters of common understanding. Nevertheless, we usually see the same elements recurring in wargames, almost regardless of their subject or scope. First-time writers rarely find it nec-essary to challenge these precepts. Challenging precepts becomes something that experienced designers enjoy as they explore the process of game design. Even so, there are some aspects of game play that are remarkably tenacious! Probably the most dogged game mechanics of all can be observed in the title of this column – move, shoot, fight! Practically all wargames rules have something that is the equivalent of a move phase, a shooting phase, and a com-bat phase. These encompass, respectively, the rules for the movement of troops on the battlefield, for ranged combat
involving shooting, and for hand-to-hand combat or mêlée. These three processes are usually treated as separate and dis-tinct things, and usually they occur in the order given here. So, first one or both sides move, then ditto for shooting, and finally hand-to-hand fighting is resolved. This is the case in practically every rule set I’ve written. And with good reason, too! There is a clear narrative by which movement initiates both ranged combat and hand-to-hand fighting, and in which an exchange of missiles precedes hand-to-hand combat. It is this very strong narrative element that reinforces the idea of separation and sequence: move, shoot, fight.
Of course, there are variations. Some rules do change the sequence and allow shooting before movement, or they break movement over multiple phases, allowing for move-ment after shooting, for example. Recent trends have tended to turn away from the traditional turn-based sequencing in favour of individual units taking turns, with play alternating from one side to the other or determined by cards or random draws. Bolt Action works like that, for example. Although seeming to overturn the usual playing sequence, these sys-tems still preserve a separation between movement, shoot-ing, and combat. Generally speakshoot-ing, these things still occur in the same order, too: movement, then shooting, and then hand-to-hand fighting. In fact, activation-by-unit is only sub-stituting lots of small turns for one big turn, where everything gets to move, shoot, and fight at once. The separation and sequencing remains the same within each turn.
I sometimes refer to movement, missile fire, and hand-to-hand fighting as ‘rules domains’ or ‘major rules domains’, because the rules covering each of them form a separate and distinct subset of the rules within the game. The separa-tion of the turn into phases encourages us to separate the rules domains themselves. Of course, we sometimes allow for movement in the shooting or combat phases, of which the most obvious examples are routs and pursuits, although some rules will also make allowance for push-backs dur-ing mêlée or as a result of missile fire, for example. Much depends on what sort of warfare we wish to represent. These situations can trip us up, because we are now employing rules from one domain in a phase devoted to another! Many experienced rules writers will shudder with horror at the mere prospect of dealing with rules that cross domain in this way. Rules that do this almost always give rise to potential problems of interpretation. “Never have movement in the combat phase” was a mantra of an old colleague of mine. Mechanically, it’s a good argument. In terms of imbuing a game with character and presenting a realistic narrative, it’s perhaps a step too far towards practicality for its own sake. Either way, the important thing is to be aware of the potential issues introduced by crossing domains. An obvious example occurs when we allow troops to shoot at enemies as they approach, or as they cross the shooters’ line of sight. It takes place during the move phase – or the enemy’s move phase – and the target is therefore in motion when the shot occurs. So, when exactly does the shot take place? The shooting rules are designed for firing at targets in the shooting phase, when the
enemy is halted. So we have to introduce a ‘sticking plaster’ rule to cover the gaping wound in our logic: ‘The shooting player decides at which point to shoot’. But how is the unit moving? As a body? One man at a time? Is one man blocking the shot from another? It’s not difficult to work round these things. We all understand the intent. But the shooting rules will have an associated geometry of range, arc of fire, and line of sight that assume the target is standing still. Our ‘sticking plaster’ solution is workable, but it relies upon the players to make judgements and reach a consensus. That is not neces-sarily a bad thing. As long as we – as designers – understand what we are asking of our players. Other occurrences can be more problematic, depending upon the rules set.
Move, shoot, and fire – and variations thereof – will no doubt serve us for years to come. It suits wargames, because it estab-lishes the format of the game narrative and it enables us to confine our rules neatly into separate domains. These are all useful things when it comes to creating games. It is, howev-er, an abstraction of warfare. Real battles don’t have turns or phases, after all. We should remember this, especially when it comes to subjects that don’t respond well to alternating or sequential actions. Aerial combats are hardly realistic when one side moves and then another, or where planes can’t take shots as enemies cross their line of fire. Naval warfare also presents us with units in motion in a way that can’t be realisti-cally represented by alternating movement, whether of sides, squadrons, or individual ships. There is also a tendency for us to imagine that the artificial construct of the sequence is in some way an accurate representation of events. That our unit of archers will march the equivalent of fifty yards and shoot once, wait for the enemy to respond, and then do the same again. Turn sequence structure and phasing encourages us (and our players) to think in literal terms about what, in reality, is likely to be a maelstrom of action where troops are moving, shooting, and fighting, all at the same time. Separation of rules domain reinforces the traditional phase structure, which in turn reinforces the separation of rules domain. Can we break that relationship without also breaking our game? Well, per-haps not entirely. But there’s fun to be had trying! WS&S
A BITESIZE CAMPAIGN
BRENNUS AND THE
CURSED GOLD
By Guy Bowers
One of the almost forgotten snippets of history is the Celtic migrations of the third
century BC. The Galatians were a nomadic tribe of Celts believed to be originally
from southern Gaul. The tactics of these Celts suggest they simply ravaged the
countryside in search of loot. They seem not to have had the time, inclination, or
resources to conquer cities by siege. According to ancient sources, plunder was their
main goal, and ahead lay the rich shrine at Delphi and its hoard of gold and silver.
T
he Galatians are said to have been divided into three tribes – the Trocmi, Tolistobogii, and Tectosages. The migrant tribes headed east until, in 279 BC, they invaded Greece. The invasion was carried out by three dis-tinct armies, each probably representing one of the tribes of Galatians. The first (led by Cerethrius) attacked Thrace, while the second (under Bolgios) attacked Macedon, killing Ptolemy Keraunos, the usurper of the Macedonian throne. However, Bolgios was defeated by the Macedonian general Sosthenes, who had rallied their remaining forces. The third tribe (prob-ably the Tolistobogii under Brennus) headed south through Paionia into the Greek heartland after defeating Sosthenes. A Greek coalition soon formed to meet this threat, consist-ing of the Aetolians, Boeotians, Athenians, and Phocians. They were all agreed to be placed under the command of the Athenian general Calippus. The Greeks formed a defen-sive line using the natural barrier of the River Spercheios, destroying any bridges and opposing any attempted cross-ings by the Galatians. However, Brennus sent a force of 10,000 men downriver, where the river widened into a delta. Here it was shallow enough to wade across or for the Celts to cross using their shields as floats. Having been outflanked, the Greek general Calippus withdrew his forc-es in an orderly fashion and retreated to the narrow pass at Thermopylae (site of Leonidas’ defeat at the hands of the Persians). Meanwhile, Brennus’ forces rebuilt the bridges and crossed the Spercheios.Thermopylae (‘hot gates’) was a formidable obstacle. This nat-ural defile consisted of a narrow strip of land running between mountain and sea. The Galatians suffered heavily trying to assault the pass and so instead tried other tactics. A raiding force was sent against the homeland of the Aetolians, forc-ing them to retire to protect their own lands. But this was not enough to force a weakening of the defences. Then, Brennus learnt of a mountain pass which would allow him to send a force through the mountains and attack the Greeks in the rear (sound familiar?). However, instead of a massacre, the Atheni-ans evacuated the Greeks using their fleet of ships.
Now the way was clear for the Galatians to make their way to Delphi. Their first attack was interrupted by a thunderstorm (anger of the gods?) which was so fierce that orders could not be heard, making the assault impossible. Thus, both sides camped down for the night. At dawn, through the early morning fog, the Greeks launched a devastating surprise counter-attack. Brennus was wounded and committed suicide, and the invading forces routed in a panic. The Greeks pressed their advantage, pushing back the Celts to the banks of the River Spercheios. Most of the remaining Galatians who crossed the river were caught and destroyed by Greek reinforcements from Thessaly. Brennus and his tribe paid the price for daring to attack Delphi.
PLAYING THE GALATIAN CAMPAIGN
The Galatian invasion of Greece is ideal as a mini campaign with several ‘what if’s which can be thrown in. It is an exciting time
to play in history, as 279 BC is when Pyrrhus was attacking Italy. Some of the Greeks of this period probably would have fought in the Macedonian style with the pike, but are equally as likely to have fought in their traditional manner, with long spear and shield – the hypaspist style of fighting was still used by Successor states, as it was seen as more manoeuvrable than the pike phalanx. So, use whatever miniatures you have at your disposal. In other words, don’t worry about it – any Greek or Macedonian will do! The following battles are generic guidelines to fit with your favour-ite rules set. Adapt the following suggestions to your rules set of choice. The Celts in some rules sets (notably Warhammer Ancient Battles) will do very poorly against the Greeks, so they should be given plenty of opportunity to outflank them with cavalry or skirmishers and table size will be a factor. Don’t allow the Greeks to go table edge to table edge with their phalanx, except at Ther-mopylae. The campaign itself can be divided into several battles – these are uneven by their very nature – so play the campaign through and see how far Brennus makes it to Delphi. Competitive players may wish to total up the victory points for each side dur-ing the campaign or swap places and see how far they can take Brennus towards Delphi. All tables are standard 6’ x 4’ or larger.
Battle at Spercheios
The terrain will consist of a river running the length of the table. The Greeks control two river crossings (approximately 6” wide, treat as standard terrain); the river is otherwise impass-able. However, the Celts have found a third crossing unknown to the Greeks (record its location) which is shallow enough for them to cross ‘floating across with their shields’ (treat as dif-ficult ground). They only have to reveal the secret crossing point when a unit starts to cross it – this will keep the Greeks guessing. The Galatians should outnumber the Greeks by 1.5 to 1 points-wise (so 1500 points of Celts fights 1000 points of defenders, for example). The Celts’ objective is to get the majority of their army across the river. The Greeks must prevent this from happening.
Battle at Thermopylae
There are no Persians this time! This should be played length-ways down a 6’ x 4’ table, with sea on one long edge and impassable mountains on the other. Again, the Galatians should outnumber the Greeks by at least 1.5 to 1 (points-wise), but the Greeks have the advantage of the natural defile (no flanks to defend). Brennus has, however, learnt of the hidden pass through the mountains, so up to one-third of the Celtic force (infantry only) may be ‘flank marched’ to appear in the Greek rear – you would have thought the Greeks would have learnt from last time, particularly the Phocians. However, the Greeks may retreat off the sea edge of the table to the salvation of the Athenian navy. Total up the victory points for each side.
The Battle at Delphi
This battle was stopped by a thunderstorm – the gods have shown their displeasure at mortals daring to seize their sacred shrine. I’d suggest a limited-turn game – the Galatians have to break the Greeks quickly, in order to win and loot the shrine. I’d suggest an even-points battle. If your game does not have turn limits, introduce them. I’d recommend a four or five turn game at most, where units are automatically
commanded (such as War and Conquest), increasing to six or seven game turns, if using a game like Hail Caesar where units aren’t automatically commanded. If your game has standard turn limits, reduce them by 1. If you are using ora-cles, the Greeks gain an additional D6 for defending Delphi.
The Dawn Attack
This should be an even battle. The Celts are set up in the middle of the board (24” square), having been surprised in their camp. The Greeks may enter from any of the long board edges. As the conditions were foggy, ‘blind’ cards can be used for hidden movement until the Greeks get within 12” of the Galatians. That allows the Greek player to hide where his main attack is coming from. For the Greeks to win, the Celts should be soundly defeated and Brennus killed.
THE AFTERMATH
The remainder of the Galatians and the survivors of Brennus’ campaign crossed the Hellespont, where they entered Asia Minor and fought Antigonus Gonatas, grandson of Antigo-nus One-Eye. There, the Successor’s war elephants awed the Gauls and they were defeated. They, however, were allowed to settle and founded the kingdom of Galatia.
The Greek accounts all say that the Galatians were defeated before sacking Delphi. However, the Roman writer Strabo tells the story (which he does not personally believe) of the aurum Tolosanum. In this wild tale, the gold and silver looted from Del-phi was brought back to Tolosa (modern day Toulouse in France). In 105 BC, as part of Rome’s war against the Cimbri, the proconsul of Quintus Servilius Caepio plundered Tolosa and found a fortune in gold and silver (‘obviously’ the loot from the shrine at Delphi). This was shipped back to Rome as war booty, but the gold was ‘stolen’ en route by brig-ands. Caepio returned to Rome and was tried for losing his army (at the Battle of Arausio) and embezzlement – it was claimed that he hired the brigands to steal the gold. He was found guilty and was stripped of his Roman citi-zenship and exiled for life in Smyrna in Asia Minor. In the Roman mind, his defeat in battle and ruin was ‘naturally’ divine retribution for his theft. WS&S
Raid and sack the sacred shrine at Delphi? Who would have the Gaul to do that? (We’re here all night)
THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK’S HILL, 25 APRIL 1781
IN A SILENT AND
SECRET MANNER
By Steve Jones
This is the semi-official twentieth scenario for the Rebellion! supplement for
the
Black Powder rule set published by Warlord Games. From a wargaming
viewpoint, this is one of those helpful situations that can easily be adapted
to other periods. One could easily see this scenario featuring Seven Years War
Prussians attacking French or Austrians, or Peninsular War British taking on the
French. But for now, we will adhere to the historical situation.
O
ne word of warning to those collecting AWI armies. The Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill involved many of the same rebel units as Guilford Court House, but the Crown forces are a completely different set of units from those under Cornwallis’s command. So either use proxies or get painting!BACKGROUND
Following the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781, the rebel General Nathaneal Greene abandoned his pursuit of Lord Cornwallis’s shattered army, which marched into Virginia and eventual disaster at Yorktown. Greene turned his attention to the Crown forces in the Carolinas, commanded by the young but capable Lord Rawdon. Greene encamped at Hobkirk’s Hill, a short way north of the Crown supply base at Camden. Seizing the initiative, Rawdon marched out of his fortifications with the small army at his disposal. Moving “in a silent and secret man-ner” through wooded terrain, the bold attackers fell upon the rebel left wing, hoping that audacity could win the day.
THE WARGAME
Hobkirk’s Hill is an excellent battle to recreate for a demon-stration or participation game. However, it can prove a little one-sided, as the rebels have to be limited to some extent to reflect their below-average performance on the day. As it turned out, once we put the troops on the table, we found the game actually proved to be exciting, with the result very much in doubt until close to the end. The results have always been somewhat bloody and much depends on getting those Virginians moving and not losing a Maryland unit in panic to a lucky artillery strike. The Crown forces must drive on firmly, but not get too ambitious right from the start. The aim should be to push hard at the rebel flank and try to roll them up before they organize an effective counterattack.
THE ARMIES
The forces of the Crown are mostly provincial units, com-posed of colonists who have remained loyal to the King. Broadly speaking, these are fairly average units, with the exception of the South Carolina Royalists, who are a
lit-A map of the battlefield. The left wing of Greene’s army awaits.
tle below par. The King’s army is represented by part of the harder-hitting 63rd Regiment of Foot and a Royal Artil-lery section. Some accounts list a unit of ‘convalescents’ as being present at the battle, and others mention light infantry. I have represented these as a small battalion of light infantry who may offer good service, having the morale of experienced redcoats, but lacking the ferocious charge ability. One unit of cavalry is available in the form of Major Coffin’s loyalist light dragoons, who were most likely a mounted part of the New York Volunteers, the rest of whom fought at the battle as infantry. Rawdon himself was a highly capable commander and is permitted a staff rating of 9, while his subordinates are a more conservative 7. All crown commanders do benefit from being ‘Aggres-sive’, as described in the Black Powder rulebook, which should help when on the attack.
Greene’s rebel army includes four regiments of Continen-tal troops, a mix of veterans and more recently-recruited men. These are the same Continental units who formed the reserve at Guilford Court House. At that battle, the 1st Maryland were very heavily engaged and the 2nd Mary-land was routed. As the Continental regiments appear to have been somewhat exhausted by their experience at Guilford, I have rated them with an average set of abili-ties, but have inflicted the ‘Wavering’ rule upon them. At the real Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, the 1st Maryland were routed, despite their reputation as a veteran, even elite, unit. The Virginia regiments suffered less at Guilford, but were slow to redeploy at Hobkirk’s Hill, so have been giv-en the ‘Unreliable’ rule. The militia are typically awful, but Washington’s light dragoons are experienced and benefit from a 3+ morale save. Greene’s artillery is a half-battery of three guns, so they have a slight advantage over their opponent’s two-gun section. Otho Williams was a com-petent commander, so he has been awarded a staff rating of 8, and I have given Greene the benefit of the doubt and
given him the same. Hugar seems to me to have been a bit more of a plodder, so he has staff rating 7. All of the rebel commanders are classed as ‘Timid’ to reflect the confused nature of the defence they put up at the battle.
THE TERRAIN
I fought this battle on an 8’ x 6’ table. Hobkirk’s Hill forms a long ridge stretching around five feet across the middle of the table, with its western flank against the table edge and its east-ern end partly protected by a swampy area stretching away to a small creek. Much of the battlefield is covered in woods, which Rawdon used to keep his attack a secret from Greene. Most of the hill is clear terrain, apart from the western end. A road runs from north to south, crossing the hill just west of its centre. It has no effect on the game.
The hill itself blocks line of sight, but has no further effect. Woods limit visibility to 6” and reduce all infantry and cavalry moves to 6”, but troops do not need to assume skir-mish formation. Artillery is manhandled and cannot move through the woods. The swamp and creek are impassable for the purposes of this battle.
DEPLOYMENT
Greene’s Continental infantry deploy on the hill with Virgin-ians to the west, Marylanders to the east, and artillery in the centre. Kirkwood’s and Smith’s men can deploy south of the hill and east of the road in skirmish formation to act as a piquet line. The reserve of militia and cavalry are placed behind the Continentals, under Greene’s direct command. Rawdon’s forces deploy as shown on the map, Campbell’s men forming the first line with the 63rd towards the right. Robertson provides the reserve and covers the left flank with his cavalry and riflemen. Alternatively, Rawdon’s army may enter the battlefield from the start of the first Rawdon’s army appears from the woods.
UNIT STATS AND SPECIAL RULES
The special rules mentioned here are exactly as described in the Black Powder rulebook.
Crown Forces
Unit Type Weapon H-to-H Sh M S Special
Lord Rawdon (C-in-C), CV9, Aggressive Colonel Campbell, CV7, Aggressive
63rd Foot INF Musket 7 3 3+ 3 Ferocious charge
King’s Americans INF Musket 6 3 4+ 3
New York Volunteers INF Musket 6 3 4+ 3
Provincial Light Infantry INF Musket 4 2 4+ 2 Small unit, Skirmish Royal Artillery ART Smoothbore Art. 1 2/2/1 3+ 2 Range 48”
Colonel Robertson, CV7, Aggressive
Volunteers of Ireland INF Musket 6 3 4+ 3 South Carolina Royalists INF Musket 6 3 5+ 3
Tory Riflemen INF Rifles 2 1 4+ 1 Tiny unit (must skirmish) Coffin’s NY Dragoons CAV Sabre 4 - 4+ 2
Rebel Forces
Unit Type Weapon H-to-H Sh M S Special
Major-General Nathaneal Greene (C-in-C), CV8, Timid
North Carolina Militia INF Musket 4 4 6 4 Large unit, Wavering Washington’s Cavalry CAV Sabre 6 - 3+ 3 Maurauders
Colonel Otho Williams, CV8, Timid
1st Maryland INF Musket 8 4 4+ 4 Large unit, Wavering 2nd Maryland INF Musket 8 4 4+ 4 Large unit, Wavering Kirkwood’s Delaware
Light Infantry
INF Musket 4 2 3+ 2 Small unit, Skirmish Brigadier-General Isaac Hugar, CV7, Timid
4th Virginia INF Musket 8 4 4+ 4 Large unit, Unreliable 5th Virginia INF Musket 8 4 4+ 4 Large unit, Unreliable Smith’s Light Infantry INF Musket 2 1 4+ 1 Tiny unit (must skirmish) Continental Artillery ART Smoothbore Art. 1 3/2/1 4+ 2
H-to-H: Hand-to-hand, Sh: Shooting, M: Morale, S: Stamina
turn, entering anywhere within 12” of the south-east corner of the battlefield in either column or line formation.
DETERMINING VICTORY
Victory is determined by break-ing the opposbreak-ing army. Brigades are broken at the start of any turn when more than half of their
units are broken or destroyed, and an army breaks once
more than half of its brigades are broken. This means that
the rebels must break both of Rawdon’s brigades. This rep-resents the ‘do-or-die’ situation the Crown forces increas-ingly experienced towards the end of the war.
OUTCOME
On the day, Rawdon proved victorious and Greene’s army was swept from the field. The writing was on the wall for the Crown, however. Losses could not be replaced, even when battles were won, and illness was soon to rob the army of Raw-don’s tactical skill. The conflict in the Carolinas would rumble on and feature the last major battle of the war at Eutaw Springs. This would prove to be another unexpected Crown victory, but the war had been lost a long time before this. WS&S
turn, entering anywhere within 12” of the south-east corner of the battlefield in either column or line formation.
D
Victory is determined by break ing the opposing army. Brigades are broken at the start of any turn when more than half of their
THE COLD WAR GONE WET
RIB RAIDER
By Sam Catteral
Taking advantage of the outbreak of war in the Falkland Islands, Warsaw Pact
forces have launched an assault through Germany. Caught unawares, NATO
forces have been driven back to the borders of France, where they have stalled
the Soviet advance. Thankfully, a conventional war has so far been fought, but
as a stalemate develops, the threat of nuclear war becomes ever more real.
S
atellite surveillance has identified an isolated Krivak frigate in the Baltic Sea. It would appear to have an engine problem, as it is limping back towards the dockyards and has become isolated. The ship has been identified as the Svirepy (‘Fierce’), and intelligence suggests that the nephew of the Russian premier, Leonid Brezhnev, is a serving officer on board.The British Royal Navy has seen this as an opportunity not only to gain a tactical advantage, but also to strike a blow in the propaganda war by capturing Brezhnev’s nephew. A small strike force composed of Royal Marine Commandos support-ed by the Special Boat Squadron has been put together to conduct a daring raid in the dead of night.
This scenario is based on Osprey’s Force on Force rules set and the Cold War Gone Hot supplement. It can of course be easily tweaked to fit Skirmish Sangin or the up and coming Black Ops.
ROYAL NAVY MISSION
The small raiding force is led by Captain Daniel ‘Danny Boy’ Bur-ton of 41 Commando. Comprising two sections of commandos and two SBS assault groups, the raiding force will use rigid raiders to approach the stern, from which they will launch their assault. The primary objective is for the force to recover the Soviet radio transmission code book, believed to be held in the radio room. Secondary objectives are to capture Brezhnev’s nephew and disable or destroy as many weapon systems as possible. Due to the confined environment on board, the commandos are equipped with SMGs. Fire support is provided by the command section, which has a sniper and gunner armed with a GPMG attached to them. The SBS have been given the responsibility of securing the upper decks, being armed with M16 assault rifles and explosives to take out the ship’s weapon systems.
ROYAL NAVAL FORCES
Royal Marine Commando Attributes
Initiative Level: D10 Confidence Level: High Supply Level: Normal
The Royal Marines approach the Svirepy. Body Armour: N/A
Troop Quality/Morale: D8/D10
Unit Attributes/Assets: Stealthy; Night Vision
SBS Attributes
Initiative Level: D10 Confidence Level: High Supply Level: Normal Body Armour: N/A
Troop Quality/Morale: D10/D10
Unit Attributes/Assets: Stealthy; Advanced First Aid Train-ing; Night Vision
Royal Marine Commando Command Section
Capt. Burton, SMG 1 x Medic, SMG 1 x Sniper, sniper rifle
1 x Gunner, GPMG (Med. AP:2/ AT:0D) 4 x Royal Marine Commando Fire teams
1 x Squad Leader, SMG 3 x Commandos, SMG 2 x SBS Assault Groups
1 x Patrol Leader, M16 and explosives 3 x Troopers, M16 and explosives
Sneaking past the guards… quietly does it!
SOVIET MISSION
After the initial success of the Soviet advance, NATO has rallied on the French border and its first major counter-attack is expected at any time. Unfortunately, there has been a serious failure with the ship’s engines, meaning that speed is limited to a minimum. The crew must ensure that the security of the ship is maintained, whilst it makes its way to the nearest dockyard for repairs.
SOVIET FORCES
Soviet Sailor Attributes
Initiative Level: D8 Confidence Level: High Supply Level: Abundant Body Armour: N/A
Troop Quality/Morale: D8/D6
Soviet Naval Infantry Attributes
Initiative Level: D8 Confidence Level: High Supply Level: Abundant Body Armour: N/A
Troop Quality/Morale: D8/D8
Soviet Forces – Soviet Sentries
2 x Pair of ship’s crew sentries, AK 47s 4 x static, single ship’s crew sentry, AK 47s
Soviet Forces – Ship’s Crew Section
8 x crew, AK 47s
Soviet Naval Infantry
Section Leader, AK 47 7 x Riflemen, AK 47s
SCENARIO INFORMATION:
CODENAME BROADSWORD
Duration of Game: 10 Turns
Initiative: British, until the alarm is raised, then roll for initia-tive thereafter.
Fog of War: Determined normally by Reaction Test rolls. A specific deck for the Fog of War has been created and is listed in the Special Rules section at the end of the scenario. Table Size: The Krivak! Not everyone will have a 28mm scale Krivak frigate handy, so we recommend drawing up deck plans on a large piece of paper (or two). We’ve guessed at the interior detail, as the actual internal deck plans are still a secret.
Set-Up and Troop Deployments
Prior to deploying any troops, six hot spots should be placed on the board. One of these should be placed in the crew quarters and another in the mess. Players roll a D6 for each of the remaining four hot spots. The player rolling highest chooses where to place them. If placed on an open deck, the hot spot marker must be placed adjacent to an appro-priate access point, such as a door or hatch. Each hot spot should be clearly numbered 1-6 and deployment of troops from these hot spots is explained in the Special Rules below. The British Force must have two fire teams, still deployed in
VICTORY POINT TABLES
Royal Navy Victory Points
Soviet code book recovered 5pts Brezhnev’s nephew captured 5pts 5 or more weapon systems damaged 3pts Each Soviet crew member KIA 1pt
Soviet Victory Points
Soviet code book secure 5pts Brezhnev’s nephew safe 5pts Less than 5 weapon systems damaged 3pts Each Commando or SBS wounded/KIA 1/2pt Taking control of the bridge.
the rigid raiders at the ship’s stern. At the start of the second turn, these fire teams may be placed up to 6” on board the ship, measured from the back edge of the stern. The remain-ing British troops may be deployed up to 9” in from the stern. The Soviets only deploy the sentries at the start of the game, and they must be placed on an open deck. Static sentries are deployed individually; they must be at least 9” apart and remain at these posts until the alarm is raised. (See the Special Rules section at the end of the scenario.) No sentry may be deployed in the Brit-ish deployment zone. The paired sentries are mobile. Each player rolls their initiative die and the player rolling highest chooses where to deploy the sentry team. These may be as close to a static sentry as you wish, but must be at least 9” from one another.
Special Rules
The scenario is set at night so the Night Fight rules should be used.
Fog of War
The following cards were used to make up the Fog of War deck. These cards and their descriptions can be found in the core Force on Force rule book and the Cold War supplement:
2 x Excellent Position 1 x Crack On 2 x Man Down 2 x Amped Up
1 x It’s a Bad Day to Die 1 x It’s a Good Day to Die
1 x That’s the Victoria Cross, Right There! (‘That’s the Med-al of Honour Right There’ in the rule book)
1 x Fire! Fire!
2 x What’s this wall made of? Swiss cheese? 2 x Mad Minute
A set will be downloadable from the Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy website (http://www.wssmagazine.com/rib_cards).
Sentries
Only the Soviet sentries are above decks and only the paired sentries move about the decks. The paired sentries patrol the decks in an anti-clockwise direction moving at Tactical Movement speed. Sentries may attempt to spot the British troops and normal rules apply.
Once the alarm is raised, sentries may move to join up with one another to make up a fire team/section.
Raising the Alarm
As the British troops do not have suppressed weapons, they can only silently kill a sentry in hand-to-hand combat. All sen-tries involved in the combat must be put down as casualties to do this, otherwise the alarm is raised. Similarly, if a sentry is shot at, the alarm is raised, even if the sentry (or sentries) tar-geted are put down as a casualty. The location of dead sentries should be marked, and if another sentry patrol moves within optimum range (remember that this is halved, as the Night Fighting rules are in play), they will raise the alarm.
Hot Spot Reinforcement Points
Once the alarm has been raised, Soviet reinforcements start to arrive. Each turn, the reinforcements arrive via one of the hot spots. The Soviets have only one Naval Infantry sec-tion available to them; so when the reinforcements begin to arrive, roll a D6 – on a 5+ the reinforcements will be the Naval Infantry; otherwise they are a section of ship’s crew. If the first two sections are ship’s crew, the Naval Infantry will automatically be the next set of reinforcements to arrive. Six hot spots should be located on the ship (see ‘Set-Up and Troop Deployments’). The Soviet player rolls a D8 to determine the particular hot spot from which the reinforcements arrive – on a 1-6, they arrive from the appropriate hot spot; on a roll of 7, the Soviet player chooses the hot spot; and on a roll of 8, the British player chooses. Hot spots may be neutralized as normal. The bow, central section and stern of the Svirepy.
The Code Book
One of the rooms on board should be designated as the radio room, and this is where the code book can be recov-ered from. To find the book, a fire team must have at least one of its models end its move inside this room, and the only action that that fire team may take is to search the room. Roll a troop quality die; on a 4+ the code book has been found. Should a fire team find the book and subse-quently have all of its team members KIA, mark the posi-tion where this happened, as this is where the code book can now be recovered from.
Brezhnev’s Nephew
The ship needs to have clearly identified officers’ quar-ters for the British forces to search for Brezhnev’s nephew. There are two ways to identify which quarters the nephew occupies. If the British forces have troops in the bridge, the Soviet player must identify the quarters where the nephew can be found; otherwise, they must search each of the officers’ quarters for him. Troops must enter the quarters and spend an action to search it. The first time this is done, roll a D8; on a 7+ you have found the nephew and tak-en him prisoner. If not, follow the same procedure whtak-en searching other quarters, but there is a +1 bonus to the die roll for each search already carried out (i.e. the second search is on a roll of D8+1, the third D8+2, and so on). The nephew will remain a prisoner whilst there is at least one British model in base-to-base contact with him. The Soviet forces will not fire on any squad that has taken the nephew prisoner, for fear of hitting him with friendly fire. They may make an assault, and if they do so, the nephew will contrib-ute a die of the relevant value to their combat pool.
Damaging the Weapons Systems
The Krivak has a total of seven weapons systems on the open decks. These are:
1 × 4 URK-5 SSM/ASW missile
2 × Surface-to-Air Missile systems (40 missiles) 4 × 76mm guns (2×2) housed in two turrets 2 x RBU-6000 Anti-Submarine rockets 2 × 4 533mm deck-mounted torpedo tubes
The SBS troops are equipped with explosives that can be used to damage any of the weapons systems. In order to set the explosives, a model must end in base contact with the weapons system and take no other action, such as shoot-ing, in order to set the explosives. The British player may choose when the explosion is triggered. It’s a ‘button job’, and this can be done either as an action by the team that set the explosive in their turn or as a reaction to an oppo-nent’s attempt to disable the charge. The location of each explosive charge should be marked when placed.
The explosives have a firepower value of 4D8 and all of the weapons systems are considered to be light military fortifica-tions, so they have a building defence strength of 3D8. Fol-low the rules for destroying building to see if the weapons systems are damaged (core rule book, page 58).
The Soviet player may attempt to disable these charges. To do this, they must end their movement in base-to-base contact and do nothing else, such as shooting. Roll a troop quality die; on a 4+ the charge has been disabled. However, on a roll of 1, the charge has been set off; roll to damage the weapons system, and also make separate rolls for each unit within 4” of the charge that can draw a line-of-sight to the charge. Remem-ber that the charge has a firepower value of 4D8. WS&S
Anyone familiar with the TV series The Last Ship will have a tingling sensation running down their spine reading this scenario. It’s just like episode 8 of series 1...