On the beach!

 

Not actually on a beach but reading about it! On the left, Omaha beach by Joe Balkoski. Published in 2004 but by no means an "old" book. If you want to know what happened on June 6 1944 on Omaha beach this is the one book you need. A genuinely comprehensive narrative with each event put in context of location and time and illustrated with quotes from witnesses and war diaries. And 27 maps as well!   

Also recommended is Joe's Beyond the Beachhead (1989) which covers 29th Division from D-Day to the capture of St Lo. It also neatly ties in with Joe's game "St Lo: Normandy 1944".

On the right, Terry Copp's Fields of Fire covers the Canadians in Normandy from Juno Beach to Falaise. A brilliant description and analysis of the fighting. Also great maps with proper elevation analysis.

Not to leave out the British, I have Sword Beach by Stephen Fisher which I hope to get round to later this month.

Much game stuff also going on so further updates in due course.

Nice books!

 

I have had these books on my desk for some time, I find them fascinating and they are both well thumbed and worth a quick review.

1. Battlegroup!

This is published by Helion. It is entitled Battlegroup because the focus in on battalion sized combat teams. It is sub-titled, "The lessons of the unfought battles of the cold war" because it looks at how war would have been fought had it broken out. 

Jim Storr was an army officer during the cold war and took part in many exercises in Europe and knows what he is talking about. His brother, John, was also a serving officer. Unusually, Jim and his brother played 200 or so wargames using WRG rules (Wargames Rules for Armoured Warfare at Company and Battalion Battlegroup Level 1950-85). These were published in 1979. These games were played over many years and, importantly, were recorded in detail. The results of those games and Jim's real world experience of tactics, feed into the analysis of these unfought battles.

Jim covers a lot of ground in 300 pages, from an overview of the NATO/Soviet front, analysis of the tools of the trade to discussion of both the various arms and tactics.

It is not possible to do justice to this book in a few words. Perhaps an example would help. Jim and his brother found that the use of APCs and IFVs was problematic. APCs could deliver a full infantry section to an objective whilst suffering enormous losses. IFVs faced the same problem with casualties, despite having the ability to provide their own suppression fire, and could only deliver the equivalent of a half section. This is a familiar conundrum to wargamers and now, of course, is being demonstrated during the fighting in Ukraine.

In Ukraine we see a common sight. Russian BMPs and MTLBs (as well as various BTRs) enroute to an objective whilst being obliterated by drone and ATGW fire. I have also seen the Ukrainians undertake similar operations but much more successfully. They refer to  the delivery of troops to target as landing operations. They use IFVs, they move extremely fast over open ground, they provide suppression fire with on board weapons but we also see that the target, a tree line perhaps, has already been stonked and the open flanks, as well as the target zone, are covered by smoke. After landing troops, the IFVs retreat at high speed. Worthwhile testing this out in a game.

I find this fascinating and highly recommend this book.

2. The Stress of Battle

This is a volume in John Curry's History of Wargaming series. David Rowland was an MoD OR specialist and this book is heavy on data and graphs (nice!). It covers a lot of ground. This book is very important because much of the evidence used in the studies was derived from real life trials including use of gunfire simulators. These were known as Exercise KINGS RIDE. They are really informative and I was interested to learn that defensive fire tended to be opened at long range, giving away positions, directed at the nearest visible target and often concetrated on a small number of targets instead of being distributed. 

There is also a really good annex documenting a KINGS RIDE exercise in the Ruhleben Fighting City in Berlin. It would make a good urban warfare scenario. Time for another game!

Again, highly recommended.

Both books are on my shelf next to Leo Murray's Brains and Bullets and Frank Ledwidge's Losing Small Wars.

Hannibal!

 

I recently received a nice package from Second Chance Games, Hold the Line: Hannibal by Worthington Games. I pre-ordered many months ago. The box weighs around 4kgs and has a lovely mounted board (useful for many games, not just this one) and multiple heavy counter sheets with terrain, units and commanders.

I am a fan of Hold the Line and very pleased to see it extended into the ancients era. Very much looking forward to getting to grips with this. For me, this is a very rare purchase but quite an exciting one.

In other news our beloved black Labrador, Monty, passed away after a long battle with cancer. He remained brave and happy to the end. RIP Monts!

Happy new.........er Blenheim!

 

Well, far too late for any type of seasonal greetings but never to late for a nice Blenheim! Zvezda 1/200 Mk IV. This has rested on my desk unpainted for many months pending development of sufficient will power to paint the greenhouse on the front. Now done and my first achievement this year.

Little Wars TV: Nice stuff!

I thought it would be useful to flag this up in case you hadn't come across it already. Little Wars have come up with a really interesting (and free) introduction to wargaming kit. The video covers it in detail but in brief it covers the 6th Panzer Division during Winter Storm and includes:

• Top down paper units (platoon scale) for infantry, anti-tank guns and tanks etc.
• Paper buildings (3D).
• A Fistful of T34s (based on A Fistful of TOWs) rules.
• A seven scenario campaign game.

You can find all of these files at Little Wars TV. The units look great and the rules look nice and simple.

As well as the introductory video, Little Wars is preparing a series of videos covering a play through of the Winter Storm campaign game. I'm not sure if these are live yet.

All in all, a really great idea and a nice note to end the year on. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

Red Metal 1943

 

I was asked for an update on Red Metal a while ago. At that stage it was in a bit of a state. I had been playtesting using counters and a hex map of OHW scenario 5. I rolled up the two forces as shown below. These looked quite realistic to me and I have been using them for all of the playtests.

Initial set up in this scenario is easy. One blue unit north of the bridge. In this case it is Leutnant Schmidt with the improvised bicycle fusilier unit. 

The scene at a later stage in the game after Soviet units have entered from random locations.

There were many issues with the rules. The combat tables did not produce enough casualties and interpenetration restrictions held everything up. One thing I found really difficult was the blocking of LoS by units. I usually prefer units to block LoS, one does not open up on an enemy unit over a friendly unit directly to your front, at least without telling them first!

As this issue was bugging me I reviewed a umber of modern tactical games on BGG. To my surprise, few imposed any LoS restrictions. Mark Walker was asked a specific question about this on his Kursk game because the rules did not mention it. Mark decided the answer was no.

Anyway, I have tried to address in the latest, v4, version of the draft. I have set up a page for the game and you are welcome to use it as you wish.

I am also working on getting some real toys in to replace the counters. My current forces using ancient H&R troops:

I have also just received an order from H&R to cover off T70s, ATRs, HMGs and, most importantly, some German cyclists for Leutnant Schmidt!

Bf109 E4: Job done!

 

I am pleased that this is now finished. I got this Airfix kit from Aldi last year. Having spent some time admiring the work of some skilled model makers on You Tube I thought I would give this one a real go. It proved more tricky than I expected!

This kit has the option of an open engine compartment. However, after painting the engine it did not look very convincing so I glued the cowling on. I then started losing or breaking things. The gun sight is on the carpet somewhere. I broke one of the struts for the elevators and the radio mast. Both replaced with wire. The pitot tube and aileron balances broke in the course of gluing. The canopy was very brittle. I managed to break part of the canopy when fitting it and then smoked up the rest by using the wrong glue. Having spent time of painting the pilot and internal features I resorted to painting over the canopy.

I also tried using masking tape to get the camo lines straight. I then painted the wrong bits and the tape pulled off the undercoat when removed. I therefore bought Tamiya tape and started again!

Having said all of that, I am still pleased with how it turned out.

Just for reference, the paint scheme is Vallejo 70.979 German Camo Dark Green, 70.886 Green Grey (my new favourite colour) and 70. 906 Pale Blue.

Up Periscope 2: Free games

 

Even though I have continued to be busy, I have found some time to keep an eye out for new and interesting free games. Here are some of the most interesting!

IWO: Neva are a new wargames publisher and their first couple of games are now available. One of these is Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth. However, Neva also offer a free post card version (Iwo: Lite) as pictured above. This is available from their website if you subscribe to their newsletter. Go to the Iwo Jima page and wait for a popup to appear. BGG page here.

Panzer Cavalcade '41: A really interesting solo game on a post card. As you can imagine, the player leads German forces into the Soviet hinterland in 1941. Some interesting rules and procedures which require some careful study. The game is available here. BGG page here.

Bloody Omaha: Lombardy Studios have made available a play test version of their draft solo Omaha beach game. Very much worth a look here.

Desert Sabre: A solo game on Desert Storm using some novel mechanics. This is a game that can virtually play itself. Downloadable from the BGG page.

That's all on my list at the moment, let me know if I have missed anything exciting.

Up Periscope! The Battle of Wulfswade

After some months of real life I have returned to periscope depth! I have a fair few things to share. One of them is the You Tube channel of James Atherton. His channel showcases the imaginary world of Half Land. An old school fantasy land with dwarves, orcs and Viking types. As well as a few hoplites! 

He has fought many battles in describing the fictional wars of the inhabitants. He uses his own rules, skirmish and medieval, as well as campaign rules. His battle videos are remarkable, using a few dozen figures, lots of corrugated cardboard and some trees they tell vivid stories. They remind me of stories from the Mabinogion told to me as a youngster. 

I love his stuff and strongly recommend that people just take a look and feel the enthusiasm.

Red Metal: Nearly there...

I have managed further work on the rules, lots of tidying up and simplifications. I have now completed the counters for the play test. The pic above is a test shot before I print onto labels. They are just about OK for size, although I have lost a bit of definition. Fine for a trial version. Aha, just noticed in the pic that I have some small errors to correct on the counters. It always pays to try things out first!

Red Metal

 

This is a bit of a side project that I have been working on for some months, if not years. The mission is to use OHW as a basis for a period specific set of rules. These will be hex based and use 6mm models. The main idea is to use the OHW scenarios and force generation method but use a slightly more sophisticated set of rules.

The time and place is Russia 1943. I wanted a bit of a Panzer Blitz feel with less units and a smaller play area. I also want a simple activation mechanism with a single die roll combat resolution. We will see how successful I am shortly!

I have nearly completed units in 6mm for both sides with all of the army options. However, I really want to test the rules out using counters and a hex map as this will be quicker. Some of you may recognise the map above as OHW scenario 5. Using 4" per hex, the 9 by 9 grid is equivalent to the OHW 3ft square. Sample counters:

Events have a habit of happening, hence the lack of activity on the blog in recent times, but I'm aiming to test it out and report back with a copy of the inevitably revised rules soonish! 

A tale of three books.....

 

This is not a good, bad and ugly type review. Just some reflections on what I have been reading recently. 

The first of the three is James Holland's Savage Storm. I have read possibly all of his books. I have enjoyed them all and some of them have improved my knowledge immensely. I found this one a different kettle of fish. I don't think this is the fault of the author. Some things ticked me off very quickly from the incongruous 1907 bayonet on the cover to the number of barrels on a nebelwerfer (one page says five and the next six, either or both could be correct). What I found most difficult was the the lack of a clear narrative. The constant diversion into individual's personal histories made it difficult to follow the story. The writing is fine, I think the problem is the editing. I think I'll get Cassino from the library. 

I watched a WW2 TV episode with the author of this book. It looks at the beliefs and attitude of the German soldier on the eastern front through their letters home. An interesting book, pretty much on the academic side. If you have read the works of Omar Bartov, Michael Burleigh, Christopher Browning (or even Daniel Goldhagen, but I'm not intending to start a debate on that one), then this is a valuable addition to the story. Nice to have 50+ pages of footnotes!   

I got this for my birthday. A fictionalised memoir of a Churchill tank troop commander. Written in 1957, I have no idea how this escaped my attention for so long. A great read and a really useful perspective on war fighting in NW Europe. 

So, that's the end of book club for this week. More to follow in due course.

Sam Mustapha's Eisenhower

Mr Steel's initial overview of these new rules from Sam Mustafa is really good and well worth your attention.

I have to say that these rules have awakened me from recent slumbers. Having heard news of their development I checked out the introduction videos on Sam's website. 

I don't have any of Sam's other rules. I have pondered them over the years but have not adopted them. They are obviously very good rules, concise, complete and integrated. Everything that you need is built in. I think that is one of the reasons for my not getting into them. I am not a rules as written person and I much prefer something that can be hacked.

This is the difference with Eisenhower. It is a corps level game which gives great scenerio possibilities, Op Epsom is covered in the rules. Units are battalion, initiative is by division. The combat rules are very simple (just roll some dice, unlike the complex table in Rommel). It is played on a square grid (12 by 8), which could just as easily be a hex grid. It can be played with miniatures of any scale or using counters. Therefore it is very hackable. 

I have purchased the POD version via Amazon. As Mr Steel comments, the paper and the binding are poor. PODs can be produced with far better quality than this. However, the layout of the book, diagrams and illustrations are great. Pity it wasn't on nice heavy shiney paper like Helion does.

Nice wings comrade!

 

Another quick Zvezda diversion, a 1/144 LaGG 3, Pre-war colours to match the red leather outfits and the pointy hats with red stars on them. They were hastily scrubbed over with green paint at oubreak of war in 1941. The cowling, air intake, cockpit frame and stabilisers were in red brown undercoat (957 Flat Red), fuselage and wings are silver grey (989 Sky Gey). Elevators in bare metal (997 Silver) and rudder in red (817 Scarlet). I like the flat metal plates on the fuselage to stop the exhausts from setting fire to the pilot.

The LaGG 3 was a bit of a dog, so probably a good job that Lavochkin ditched his co-designers at this point.

I need more tanks!

 

Well, of course, what I really mean is that I fancy buying some more tanks. In this case, some nice 6mm WW2 tanks. The plan is to have a small OHW hex game using some 6mm troops and my 80mm hexes. To illustrate, this picture shows two old (mid-1980s) Pz IVHs from H&R. I'll be using the OHW scenarios set in mid-1943 Eastern Front. 

The question is, which manufacturer should I go for? An influencing factor is that I have small but reasonable selection of H&R tanks plus a far too large number of old Leicester Micromodels Tiger Is! It would be easy to add to this from H&R again.

There are variations between manufacturers in materials (metal, 3d print), size (6mm vs 1/285), packaging (single models or packs of several), crispness of finish and mould quality. There is also a wide range of prices. A rough survey of prices per vehicle (using the Churchill or proxy as the sample vehicle) shows:

GHQ: £2.26

PSC: 2.00

2d6: £1.20

Baccus: £1.46

BPM: £0.89

Irregular: £0.88

Scotia: £0.85

H&R: £0.75

Phew! As much as I fancy GHQ they are outside my price range. I'm still thinking H&R but I'm open to suggestions.

No longer a mystery!

 

Some valiant guesses but my map remained enigmatic to say the least. Top of the map is North. The sandy coloured road is the main route from Belgorod to Oboyan. Tomarovka is in the bottom left hand corner. So, despite looking misleadingly mountainous, this is the southern flank of the battle of Kursk and is the latest incarnation of the Steel, Steel, Steel! design.

The German unit with the British 25pdrs is the 57th Infantry Division, part of Army Detachment Kempf. According to the Dupuy Institute data, they had 8 87.6mm Howitzer (e), otherwise known as 25pdrs. I don't know the source of these but possibly Dunkirk rather than N Africa.

I have often wondered what happened to the kit abandoned in 1940. I have read, and seen photos, of Bren carriers in use by the Germans on the Eastern Front. Captured from the British or the Soviets? There is also an interesting German flamethrower unit armed with British MkIV cruiser gun tanks. Everyday is a school day!  

A mystery map?

 

No prizes, but can you see what it is yet? Playtest map, under plexi so a bit blurry. I started this project in 2013 but I aim to finish it in the next couple of months.

Here is a clue, one German division in this battle had an artillery battalion with 8 25pdrs!

Cheeky Cromwell

 

A quick and fun build of a Cromwell from my Christmas stash (Airfix 1/76). Very pleased with it. A bit big for my 80mm hexes but still usable.

Reading around the subject of Cromwells while I was modelling I was interested to learn that the very large 17pdr Challenger variant was actually lower in height than a Sherman (2.77m to, say, 3m). I always imagined it as the same size as barn, so I am quite interested in seeing if there is a 1/76 Challenger available.

BTW many projects are in various stages so I'm planning to post a few updates this month.

Ooh shiny!

 

Well, once again Norm has helped me spend my pocket money. And very well spent it is too. 

Norm posted about Velikie Luki by Legion Games back in December. This is, to be honest, one of my favourite battles alongside Quatre Bras, amongst others. This is largely due to the close run natiure of the situation. I have very fond memories of the GDW game White Death from the the 1970s which treated the battle at battalion level. It featured use of impulses and also used one of the best ever battalion level combat systems. This is the sort of system that creates narrative. 

From a game played forty years ago, I still recall the massive Soviet artillery barrage that failed to hit a fortification hex, a Soviet infantry regiment being cut to pieces by a German battalion supported by a 20mm FLAK battalion, an artillery unit of 3rd Mountain Division abandoning their guns and evading the advancing Soviets to reach thier own lines. As you can tell, I played the Germans in that one.

Despite a reasonably sized map, it came with 400+ half inch counters. Even setting up the game would be challenging now, actually I have nowhere to put it!

For some time I had had my eye on the Vae Victis issue with their Vilikye Louki game but Norm's review swayed me. Interestingly enough, I ordered the game from the US. It arrived very quickly. Although the shipping exceeeded the cost, it was well worth the final price.

I recommend Norm's review for a complete picture of the game. The points that are important to me are that the map is small, the rules are short and there are 64 counters all in. The rules are straight out of the Jim Dunnigan wargames design book which means that the game is the thing, not figuring out how to play it.

Needless to say there are many other projects on the go. The problem is finding time to get on with them!

Tempest completed!

 

Well, a little later than expected but here is the completed 1/144 scale Tempest V. As you can see, not a perfect paint job but I'm really pleased with it. It looks better in daylight from a distance. I'm looking forward to some ground support in NW Europe!

On the modelling side of things, I built up a little stash over Xmas from the Aldi Airfix offer. I have a Spitfire, P40 and a Cromwell tank. I'm really impresed with these modern kits, so much better than I recall from the 1960s. Almost 1/48 scale detail in 1/72. So impressed have I been that I went out to find a Bf109 E.

I tracked one down at The Railway Conductor model shop in the depths of the countryside. Not actually the depths, 15 minutes or so from where I live. An interesting shop, it is in an old barn where we used to take the kids to see new born lambs many years ago. Worth a visit. The countryside is also worth a look, the finest rolling countryside not in Devon!

Having rediscovered the joys of scale modelling, I will return to the subject in the near future once I have got on with some other projects.