1st battle of Ellon.

In this,the first battle in my Scottish Civil War campaign,the Rogue Nation(RN) did not do well against a well dug in Tartan Army(TA) The mistake of attacking a defensive position on a narrow frontage,funnelling tanks and infantry into a killing zone,was evident from the start-lessons will have to be learned!

The only success of the RN was the firing of High Explosives against infantry behind walls,mortars on both sides found equal success as well.Adding to the dis-comfort of the RN was the fact that the river could only be crossed,by infantry, at the bridge and "Island"-tanks could cross it at half speed.

The RN attack begins,tanks and infantry slowly moving forward,but being met with well aimed shots from the TA.

Near misses!!!

Infantry casualties(red pom-poms) are mounting-can they hold on??

In the top picture,infantry advance under the cover of tank and AT artillery fire.Bottom photo shows a very brave(??) tank exposing itself to fire from the TA tank and AT fire-what would happen?.........................

BOOM! that's what happened-first tank casualty of the game-but not the last!!!

A masssive attack was made on he TA left flank,via the "Island,but met with stiff resistance from TA tanks,bazooka and infantry-note the red pom-poms!-things not looking too good,maybe it's time to order the attack helicopter in!!

Here it comes,rockets doing damage to a TA tank in the process-what could stop it??

There it goes!! a well aimed shot from a "Blowpipe" knocked it out of the skies-well done that man!!

A TA tank is destroyed at the "Island",but with casualties mounting on all fronts,the RN commander decided that enough was enough and called off the attack.The final casualties were:- 

RN-4 tanks,1 helicopter......TA-1 tank,1 infantry squad. both sides will be brought back up to full strength for the second battle of ELLON,later this week-I will now have to go and lie down in a darkened room to recover!!!

 

The Scottish Civil War-2022.

This is the outline of my intended campaign,called the Scottish Civil War,using 54mm figures and equipment:

After gaining Independence,Nicola Sturgeon pronounces herself as "Queen of all Scotland".This does not go down very well in the Highlands,and revolution is in the air!

The Highlanders mobilise their forces,and calling themselves the "Rogue Nation",prepare to move south and take on the "Tartan Army",liberate Edinburgh and restore the "Status Quo" in Scotland.(It must be noted that some "wag",probably a Geordie, has said that the letter"T" in Tartan Army should be re[placed by the letter "F"-oh that high brow Geordie humour!!)

With Civil War now inevitable,both sides move towards Aberdeen: A small village called Ellon,16 miles north of Aberdeen,where the A90 and A948 merge,and sitting on the River Ythan,is seen to be the ideal place for the Tartan Army to stop the Rogue Nation-so this will be site of the first battle.

The Rogue Nation have adopted the pirate Skull and Crossbones flag and fly it proudly from their tanks. 

These two shots show the terrain map and table layout for the village of Ellon.

Tartan Army troops in place,awaiting the Rogue Nation troops-both sides will have ,initially:-

3 infantry squads,5 tanks,1 AT gun,1 mortar,1 helicopter and perhaps 1 plane,all infantry are carried in an APC.(included in the infantry squads will be a Machine gun and a bazooka/blowpipe.

Top photo shows the terrain that the RN will cover,bottom shows the two columns approaching the village.

Top photo shows a detail of a RN tank,bottom shows a TA squad occupying the village hotel,c/w shell damage from an earlier bombardment!!!

The rules I will be using are extremely simple,so probably won't be involving the rest of the group(but who knows,they might want to take part???) ie will be solo games.

Scotland Invaded-Cancelled.

In the light of recent events I consider it inappropriate to continue with my planned campaign,as mentioned in a,now deleted, blog . I will still play with the 54mm figures,but under a different guise,and a very different scenario,and will post blogs of the games I play,be they solo or club.

Covenanter Army.

Last night we had a 100% turnout to see Brian's newly painted Covenanter Army,pitted against my Royalist Army,and what a good game it turned out to be .

Top photo shows Brian surveying his army,bottom photo shows Paul quickly writing orders as the Royalists attack!

Top shows my attack against Graham who was defending an enclosure with dismounted Dragoons supported by infantry and cavalry-bottom shows Malcom's attack against Brian's wing.-what a tussle!!

Dave's attack in the centre against Paul-both did well,but eventually Dave's notoriously bad dice throwing(like mine!) began to tell and we were pushed back-damn it all!!-I was making no progress against Graham and Malcom's attack had stalled,so ,with regret,we decided on a Covenanter victory-well done to Brian,Graham and Paul.

Brian had done a brilliant job of painting and assembling this army,and we hope to see it again soon.

 Dutch cavalry division 1815

So the basing is completely finished, I've unveiled the name tags for the units (I coat them with liquid masking prior to painting and flocking). 

Heavy brigade and 1st light brigade 

                        Carabiniers              Light Dragoons                     Hussars

Heavy Brigade

1st Light Brigade

                       1st Light Brigadier        Divisional C in C        Heavy Brigadier

Ambush!

This has to be the classic wargaming action-a relief column being attacked!this time it is an auxiliary legion escorting supplies to a legionary camp,being attacked by Gallic tribesmen.

Top photo is the table,showing the supply column approaching the camp-bottom photo is a close-up of the column-very peaceful and tranquil!!(don't like the look of those trees though!)

The camp,manned by two full legions,eagerly awaiting their fresh meat and veg.

I knew it,I knew it-those trees weren't there just for show-Barbarians,thousands of 'em!!

Oh no,they've exposed themselves(steady!!)

Top photo shows the auxiliaries' reaction to the threat,bottom photo shows the camp's reaction-a "sally" by one of the legions.

The auxiliaries prepare to sell their little metal lives dearly!!-a general view of the table too-all action any minute now!

"Wait for it!"(top photo) Crash!!(bottom photo)-this contest was very even,the Gallic cavalry doing exceptionally well against the Roman cavalry.

The camp(??) legion hurries to assist the auxiliaries,whilst some warbands hurry to cut them off-however some well aimed arrow volleys from the camp reduced their numbers,and this would tell in the ensuing melee!!

Top photo shows the legion facing off the warbands(reduced considerably in numbers!) bottom photo shows some more warbands coming around the camp to help their brothers in arms_they too were subjected to some wonderful shots from the camp(??) archers!-in the background the auxiliaries are now getting the better of the Gauls-hurrah!!

The relief column troops have seen off the Gauls,although their cavalry are still giving the Roman cavalry a bit of a hard time!!-but the supplies are safe,and can continue their trip to the camp.

Having "disposed" of the frontal warbands,the camp(??) legion has faced the support warbands-they stood no chance against superior numbers,and the game was over-an emphatic Roman win!

I enjoyed this game as it threw up a few problems for both sides-more to follow!(games,not problems!)

 

 Vapnartak Feb 2022

York Wargame Show Report

So the buzz of  expectancy reached a crescendo on Sunday morning. The day of this years first wargame show had arrived.

Despite the indecently early time that I had set the alarm for, I bounced out of bed, washed and dressed and wrapped myself in arctic clothing (well I am a pensioner now)! In reality I had already had a coffee in bed courtesy of my better half and dragged myself into a state of semi consciousness. Who ever thought of having two 7 o'clocks in the same day?

The away team had been severely reduced by a variety of reasons so it was left to Graham, Dave and myself.  Graham was patiently waiting for me to claim the front seat and it was off south to West Herrington (Dave) and beyond ! 

We arrived in perfect time to claim the premier parking positions on the main tree lined avenue approaching the show. Just a walk up to the entrance which we spent amusingly counting vacant parking opportunities. Oh well we exclaimed ... we need the exercise!

Not a large queue given the early arrival. They even have a PA system that tells the time counting down to opening. Dave does that too. Once within the building the reception desk greeted us all. 

Alas, perhaps John and Brian were right in not travelling after all ! All I said was "are there concessions for elderly citizens" .. to be abruptly told "NO". A Homer moment then occurred    "miserable gits! 

Did I say that aloud? Doh !

And of the show you may ask?

Graham rightly suggested a coffee which then included hot rolls. By the time we'd yapped to multiple fellow wargamers (even friends I venture to add) we thought we had better wander around.

It was going to be a stress free day for sure.

It was a pleasure to mingle and see that it was really well attended and traders were continually dealing with eager outstretched paws offering money. Just what we all needed. 

Chris was putting on a game on the top of the Eiger and with crampons and oxygen we met him and the East Leeds Militaria Society (ELMS). 

A cracking game set in Africa, colourful and with lots of aggressive chaps and some frightened troops.

One of the consequences of not having the two static show games on the ground floor was the ability to freely walk around without the choke points of those large tables under the stair well area. 

I'm sure you know which ones as we've seen the same set up for ever.....

More coffee and chat was needed so off to the cafe.

We reminisced with Brian and Chris about all things war gaming

You may wonder how you may manage to grow so tall. Like father, like son Chris had to have a snack.

Maybe Dave could learn from their diet ? I digress.

 

More shopping and a great big thank you to Gripping Beast taking over the reins at Front Rank. I managed to collect my latest Seven Years War order from the show saving postage and getting a marvellous gesture from them of some extra figures. Many thanks.

There was a pleasant finale as we managed to rummage around the stock boxes of Instant Armies and we all found bargains

In summary paints, brushes, Last Valley trees and lots of figures from our favourite traders combined to make a thoroughly successful day out.