Brian's newly painted ships of the sand!

 

Now how could anyone not love these beasts?

 

Big googly eyes full of affection and loyalty.... ahh!

 

Mind you some of these look mean too.

 

These fantastic troops are, I'm told,  the Post Office boys. 

Those little yappy dogs better watch out.......

Seriously though, both Brian and John are phenomenal at getting all of these new troops painted and on the table. They put the rest of us to shame!

well done and thanks for the inspiration

Romans vs Britons 60AD

What a change last night's game was from the morning game-one minute we are fighting with modern weapons,and the next we are back to spears,swords and shields!!-isn't wargaming great?
Paul and Brian "ganged up" on me,as my role of Roman commander,I had to march my column of Cohorts and Auxilliaries over a bridge,and on their way to York-the Britons had to stop me!!

This shows the overall table layout,with the Romans in column,and the Britons about to spring their ambush!!
Brian commanded the troops to the front of this shot,including all of the cavalry and chariots,and Paul commanded a purely infantry "mob" consisting of 11 warbands and some light troops.

Brian opened the game with a furious assault on the head of my column(no jokes lease,we are all adults!!)
he combined a cavalry,chariot and infantry attack,which I met with my cavalry and auxilliary infantry-I did quite well,but pushed on too far with my "green" cavalry(in the middle of the picture),who were eventually wiped out!!-However I managed to contain his first attack-surely he won't put in another??!!

Paul has put in an attack on the central part of the column,in an attempt to stop any further movement-this was successful,and I had to turn and form a line to prevent an out-flanking move to my left-sneaky git!!

I have "dog-legged" my rear cohorts in this shot,trying to stop an encircling move-this would prove my undoing-as any charge forward by my cohorts would leave the most tremendous gap,through which any nasty warbands could come,and complete my destruction!!

My Green cavalry are being pushed back through my Infantry lines here,whilst Brian is "lurking" with more cavalry,chariots and infantry-with my right flank in danger,I could only hope my central cohorts would win and drive Paul away,well at times there's Some Hope,Bob Hope,and in my case No Hope!!

This is my rear cohorts,formed up in a beautiful line-but also note the tremendous gap,through which,any nasty warbands could come!!-In the background Paul is massing his troops for a final charge against my centre.

Paul's charge has been met by the cohorts,but he sent a warband onto my flank,and there's nothing I can do about it!!woe is me(again!!)

The final shot-left flank in full flight,centre broken,and right in dis-array-time to ask for a draw I think-well at times there's Some Hope,Bob Hope,and in my case,No Hope!!
Another good and exciting game-it has to be said that the Paul/Brian partnership paid off,and they gave me a right old "bashing"-never mind there's always Sunday,so roll on-probably a Marburian game.
Brian has just finished painting some Camels for our Sudanese campaign,and Paul took some photo's of them which he will publish,when we stop laughing!!

Russians vs Ukranains 2014.

This morning Brian and I decided to try something completely up to date and Modern,by pitting a Russian "Recce" force against a Ukranian Border Protection Force.
The Russians (Brian) had to cross a river,by bridge or ford,and establish an HQ and see if the Ukranians would put up any resistance.Brian had 5 tanks,a mortar section and 3 infantry squads,whilst I had 3 tanks,a mortar section,an anti-tank gun and 3 squads of infantry-all hidden!!

Move one,and Brian committed the "grave" error (excuse the pun!!) of sending one of his tanks across the bridge,I opened up with my hidden anti-tank gun,and with a lucky shot(according to Brian) knocked the tank out,thus blocking the bridge to the other tanks queuing up behind it!!-hurrah.Brian had to quickly rethink his battle plan,by sending the other tanks across the ford!!

The Russians are piling across the bridge,intent on making their HQ at the forward farm-one of my infantry squads has other ideas!!The Russians lost a few men on this move,but Brian ordered"bullets and bayonets" on the next move and actually charged the farm-the cheek of the man!!

My infantry in the woods,guarding the ford,have come under mortar fire and small arms fire,and tank fire,so I fired back with my tanks,thus revealing their position-fool!!-we both inflicted a bit of damage to the opposing tanks,but my damage was more than Brian's,so I decided to break cover and get to short range,to try and knock him out-fool!!

Oh Dear,one tank down and another about to go-it was maybe a mistake to break cover!!-however,on the plus side,I managed to stop Brian's infantry from getting over the ford by killing his officer,and forcing him to "dig in" for two moves-a bit of a respite,allowing me to withdraw my infantry to a safer place.

This shows the on-going fight at the forward farm-even though I had more troops,Brian's superior dice throwing,saw me having to retire!! By this time,the Russians seemed to be all over the place,and most of my troops were either dead or going somewhere safe!!

The Russians have captured the farm,reinforced it and are now about to advance and drive the last of the Ukranians off the board-time to say goodbye I think..................

Yes,goodbye!!-my last and untouched tank departs without firing a shot(Hmmmmm!!)
This was a fun game,and a period I know precious little about-did it show??
In total I have 10 tanks,6 infantry squads(12 in each) 6 APC's 6 artillery pieces,2 helicopters and 2 planes,plus lots and lots of "spare figures"(ie unpainted) and the whole lot was bought for under £30 from the Pound Shop!!-it just shows what can be done with a little imagination and a "tight" wallet!!
Roll on tonight,Paul will be joining us for an Ancients game.

Call To Muster-Middlesbrough show

Brian, Dave and I braved freezing conditions and attended the Call To Muster show today.
We had arranged to put on a demonstration game involving my "El Cid" armies of Spanish and Moors-and it turned out very well indeed!
The show itself had the usual mix of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Historical wargaming games, and trade stands,plus three or four Re-enactment Groups-in fact something for every taste.
We were greeted by Tom and Dave and shown to our allotted table,we set up and began talking and talking and talking,to as many people who came and asked about our club,rules and figures-we find this an interesting way to get to know other clubs,what they are doing,swapping ideas,and generally talking wargames to like-minded folk.
The trade stands seemed to be doing good business,and the Bring and Buy looked busy too-we hope they all did well.

This is our table before any movement has taken place-I was commanding the Moors,whilst Dave and Brian commanded the Spanish-although we were situated very close to a couple of traders,we still had enough space to move around the table,which was good.

This is a general shot of the Hall-a fashion parade it wasn't!!-The hall was very busy early on,it was a pity that some wargamers didn't turn up to claim their tables though.

Who the hell are these two??-Not "Jedward" by the look of their haircuts!!

Being a Traditional,dyed in the wool Wargamer,this sort of thing is hard for me to understand,but,hey,whatever floats your boat (yes they are Ginger Bread Men!!)

I don't mind Zulus-thousands of 'em,but Dice-thousands of 'em are not for me,but,hey,whatever floats your boat!! (these were linked to the Ginger Bread Men,by the way!!)

Back to our game now,and this shows my Moorish cavalry being given a damned good thrashing by Dave's Spanish cavalry.

I would like to link this photo with photo number two,and EXTERMINATE,EXTERMINATE!!!
I really shouldn't drink Whisky and do the blog at the same time!!

This shows my infantry line about to be shattered by Brian's line-the end was definitely nigh!!
We had a good game,enjoyed the show and everyone we talked to,roll on next year.

I think this is what Paul was referring to in the previous blog(?)
Brian and I might be playing on Thursday morning-possibly "Modern"-ooh er!!

Preparations for Middlesbrough-Call To Muster Show

El Cid

Without wanting to detract from the guys demonstration game at the above this weekend

I wanted to share another great command base that has been painted up.

John has a magnificent treat for you which I hope he will post after the show and to compliment it Dave has done these bases.

No more words ............. just the figures!  Enjoy

Isicweo's Kraal 1879-Zululand

This morning Brian and I had a"Corker" of a game,involving Zulus and British-everything you could expect from a colonial game was in it,including a few "frights" and near run melees etc.

This shows the scenario and initial troop positions,Brian came up with a battle plan(flexible!!) and the game started......

All ready to go,the table before any movement-My plan was to send my left horn through the large gap and the smaller gap,to the left of the photo,and when in position,the right and centre would advance and wipe out the puny British force!!

My attack has started in this shot,I have driven in Brian's outriders,consisting of Natal Horse and Mounted Infantry,but am coming under fire from Gatling,Artillery and Rifle fire-my casualties are mounting up,but confidence is high!!

My Left Horn has made contact with Brian's N.N.C.-who actually passed their morale test and stood!! Brian has moved a company of the 80th foot onto the flank in an attempt to thwart my out-flanking move.

My centre regiments are pressing forward onto the British main line,and although taking some horrendous casualties,I have made contact with a company of the famous 24th.My right horn is being cut to pieces as I move to complete the classical Zulu movement of encirclement.

I am having success along the whole line in this shot-Assegai against Bayonet-there can be only one outcome-can't there??

Some of the Zulu regiments have "retired"(it's good being retired!!) and the trend seems to be that the Zulus have reached their high water mark-surely not!!

This shows my left horn at a standstill,the same has happened to my centre,and although I was making progress on my right,it was decided that the Zulu Army had "shot it's bolt" and the British were declared the winners-A draw would have been nice!!
This was the first game with my newly based British and Zulus,and a couple of points were raised,which we will address before the next game-namely reducing the British "fighting power",as well as the N.N.C. and mounted troops-however this still was a tremendously exciting and colourful game,played in a great spirit.
Roll on tonight,when Dave and Paul will be running through our game for Saturday-Brian is going out for a family meal so can't make it.

Battle of Mercia 60AD

Last night we were located in Roman Britain-Brian and Richard were Roman commanders whilst Graham,Paul and I were in charge of masses of British Tribesmen.

This is the scenario and map,showing that the Legions were very vulnerable to flank attacks if they weren't careful!!-Graham commanded all of the cavalry and chariots,and a damned good job he made of them too!!Paul commanded the centre and I was on the British right-Richard commanded Legio Phoenix,and Brian Legio Nova-all was set for a good old tussle.

This is the table,before any movement.The British plan was simply to advance and take on the Romans-no mean feat!!Richard moved forward to a small hill to his front,which turned out to be a bit of a mistake,as this left his right flank open to chariot attack-a point that Graham hadn't missed!! Brian 's Legion moved forward at a sedate pace-in fact if they had stood still any longer,at one point,they would have had to start paying council tax!!

My attack is in full swing in this shot,I have "lured" Brian's cavalry into a trap-he was surrounded and had to take his cavalry off the board,leaving my warbands free to wander around at will!!Brian put a good fight with his cohorts and seemed to win nearly every melee on this flank,however I was containing him,and preventing him from sending help to Richard,who was about to be assaulted by both Graham and Paul!!

There goes Graham,a magnificent sight as his chariots and cavalry roll forward-he beat Richard's cavalry and pushed them back onto the spears of the Auxilliary infantry,who,to their credit,refused to let the cavalry pass through them,and caused them to perish to a man!!-This left the infantry at the mercy of the "mobile firing platforms" of the chariots,and little by little,Graham wore down the hapless troops facing him,leaving the flank and rear wide open-hurrah!!

Meanwhile,in the centre,Paul has let his warbands loose on the Romans!!Both of Richards flanks are threatened-his right by Graham,and his left by a good out-flanking move by a couple of Paul's warbands-will Brian send him some help??

Not if I can help it!!-I have reformed my battered Warbands and renewed my attack on Brian's Legion-Graham looks as though he can't believe how successful he is on that flank-or is he dreaming of decorating his new house??
However Brian,as usual, threw some tremendous dice and I was in trouble yet again,but still holding on-just!

Paul has been repulsed on his left,but Graham is destroying the Auxilliary infantry,if he can get round the rear of Richard's line,the game is over!!

Yes,there he goes again!!with the flank taken,and Paul renewing his attack against the battered and broken Romans,all was lost for them,and although Brian was holding his own(no silly jokes please!!) on his flank,the Roman cause was lost-back to Rome and get another couple of Legions,and try again!!
Well done everyone,a good and exciting game,with lots going on.
On Thursday night we will be going over the game we are putting on at Middlesbrough-Call To Muster,and on Thursday morning Brian and I will be having a Zulu game,with my newly based Zulu and British armies.
Happy Saint Patrick's day to you all!!
Why won't this bloody thing publish?

Germans vs Romans.

What other hobby can take you from the Sudan in the morning to Germany at night?? This is,of course, a lead in to tonight's game,involving Paul,who commanded a Roman Legion,and Brian and I who commanded Germans and Dacians.
The scenario saw Brian and I attacking a Roman defensive line,which had two open flanks-this presented a real problem for Paul,but,as usual,he was up for it!!

This photo shows the relative positions of all the troops,Paul behind the lines and Brian's German hordes on the left,and my Dacians in the background-all was not to be this quiet for long!!

Brian's magnificent first attack is going well in this shot,Paul's bolt throwers and archers had caused a few casualties to the leading warbands,and this was to tell once the walls were reached!!

My infantry are attacking the more open flank,Paul has sent some cavalry to stop me,but,after a tussle and a half!! I managed to drive him back.Paul is sending reinforcements to every section of the wall under attack,and has beaten Brian on the far sections-this was great stuff!!

This shows the battle from the Roman point of view-Brian is pressing along the whole of his front,and I am gaining a foothold on the left.Most of Brian's troops had taken some damage from arrows and pila,and it looked like he would be beaten back from the wall at this point!

The Romans are winning,apart from on the far left,but Brian,as determined as ever,mounted another attack,and managed to get over the wall again-what was going on in my neck of the woods??

I have gained the upper hand,with both my cavalry and infantry-the Romans are in trouble now-Brian is victorious in the centre,so it could be the end for Paul...........

And so it came to pass-the Romans are beaten,and being driven back along the length of their defensive works-ah well send for another couple of Legions,and try again!!
This was,by any standards,a great game,well done to Paul,who put up a tremendous defence,and to Brian,who persevered,and got there in the end.Two great games in one day-it's great being retired you know!!
Roll on Sunday,probably 5 of us,and maybe another Ancients.