"Set to " in the Sudan.14.2.13.

Brian and I had a right old little game this morning,British vs Mahdists.
The scenario was very simple,Brian and his British had to capture a mud hut village,and I had to stop him.

This was taken before any action took place,Brian's column on the right.with the village on the left, and my infantry and cavalry stretched along the remaining length of the board.

Brian's lancers (21st) try to cross the river,without proper support,I am moving two tribes and my famous Baggara cavalry to oppose him,this was successful and after a couple of melees,Brian was driven back,and back, and back!!!

This shot shows my inf. and cavalry pushing the Lancers back,this was more than I could have hoped for,as I would soon be in a position to threaten the British centre and flank.

This is the scene from Brian's side of the board,all guns blazing away at my Haddendowah infantry,as they try to get close enough to charge the well positioned British lines,backed up by Horse artillery and a Gatling gun.

Having achieved the almost impossible,and passed my morale tests,I am moving my infantry to within a charge move,this is going to be bloody!! In the background the Lancer vs cav. and inf. melee is just coming to a conclusion,however Brian moved his Northumberland fusiliers onto my flank,and shot them!! This fine move resulted in me having to test everything in the melee,and although my cavalry was ok,the infantry had to stop for one move.

This is Brian's right flank,being sorely pressed,I managed to get all my infantry into action,against his Berkshires,Notts, and Punjabi infantry,and for a while Brian held his own (no law against that!!) but eventually my overwhelming numbers counted and he was forced back. Meanwhile,the Seaforths were treating the village defenders to right old "thrashing", and took the village,Hurrah!!

This captures the moment that the Haddendowah infantry drove back the Notts. regiment,which was the end of the British line,I was through,and able to move in any direction now,Brian could only save his guns,retire to the village (now in the capable hand of the Scots) and wait for help to come !!

The victorious Mahdist troops,mopping up!!

A moment of glory for the Seaforths,capturing the village,now defended by a handful of women,and some poor hapless roasted animals!!

This is the book I took my inspiration from,a cracking read,wonderful stuff for wargamers.

Roll on tonight when Paul, Brian and I will be having an Ancients game,using the same terrain.

Naseby 1645.played 10.2.13.

We decided a few weeks ago to refight Naseby,not as a total reconstruction of the battle,but as a wargame,the result was a terrific game,which actually turned out exactly as the real battle,-power to our rules!

When you think of the great commanders ,you also think about how they would react to defeat,for example,how did Napoleon react after Waterloo,or Hannibal after Zama,or Lee after Gettysburg,well I'm willing to bet that they didn't react like this...............

Pull yourself together,man,it's only a game !!!

Before the game started we drew lots to see who would command what,Paul and I were in command of the Parliamentarian forces and Brian and Richard (deputising for Graham,who was stuck on "taxi" service for the night) were in charge of the Royalist forces.

This is a shot of the whole table,with Sulby Hedges in the foreground,and the "heavy going" ground in the distance on the far left of the table.

This osprey book was the inspiration for the battle ,layout,troops etc.

The royalist cavalry charge into the roundhead cavalry in this shot,the royalist were given a better morale and fighting value than the roundheads,so had a good advantage in melee.In the background you can just see Paul's dragoons firing on the passing cavalry from behind the hedges.this actually resulted in a royalist unit having to test morale,which it failed,and was stopped for a move.

The infantry getting to grips,after a couple of shots,I elected to charge Brian's centre units,this was a bit of a mistake,mainly due to the fact that my troops were "raw" and Brian's were "veterans", however the melee lasted longer than I thouht it would,allowing Paul,to very generously, come to my support.The fire-fights and charges in the centre were touch and go,and all very exciting,but nothing compared to the cavalry battles on each flank.

This is Brian's left flank cavalry advancing over the "heavy ground". I let him clear the terrain before I launched Cromwell's best at him,however I had to commit my reserve unit to support the first melee,as he won against all the odds (sounds familiar,see Spartan game!!)

The centre is ablaze with musket fire,two of our Parliamentarian infantry have been "persuaded" to retire,things not looking too good,however, our right flank cavalry are making good,if slow,progress,and will begin to threaten the Royalist left flank soon.

Success! My right flank cavalry are driving the Royalist cavalry back up the hill and through the "heavy ground",and will be poised to attack their infantry at any time.

This is a shot of the table around move number nine ( of ten!),apart from Paul looking cold,you can see that his cavalry have been fairly successful in "luring" Richard's cavalry to chase him from the board,except,and this was the important exception,the unit of horse that is forcing Richard back,and back,until Paul was in a position to attack the rear of the Royalist infantry lines.

Reserve infantry on both side are being thrown in to try and stop the "enemy" from gaining the upper hand,but the Parliamentarian cavalry is now in a position to take the Royalist flank out,so game over,and the Parliamentarians declared the winners of this great game.Paul's unselfish attitude added greatly to the win,helping out both on the flanks and in the centre,co-operation at it's best!!

GLOAT,GLOAT,GLOAT !!!!!!!

Roll on Thursday,two games,one in the morning vs Brian (that's him the photo above by the way) and one at night vs Brian and Paul, it's great being retired you know!!

The Archean Pass,Greeks vs Persians. 7.2.13.

Two thing happened last night.we had an excellent game and we were joined by a new duo(more of them later)

The game was designed to be a real test of brotherly love and co-operation between a Band of Spartans,stuck out on a limb,and a "relief force" of Hoplites,of course the Persians had to try and stop them linking up.
I was the Persian king,Brian was the Spartan king and Paul was in charge of the relief force (League) hoplites.

This is the scenario,both sides wrote out their respective battle plans,and the game commenced.

This shot shows the general layout of the table,and in particular the Spartan "situation".
My plan was to attack the Spartans,alternatively with Bows,and charges with my heavy infantry,initially this worked quite well,and I managed to weaken a couple of Spartan units.

This photo shows Paul's force in the pass,he had 11 units of good hoplites,a couple of cavalry units and two archer units.Paul's plan was to use the outside column to form against my advancing axemen and cavalry,whilst the inside column would come to the assistance of the Spartans.

My Persians can be seen attacking all three sides of Brian's position,his Spartans had very good morale and fighting points,and I was pushed back along the whole front,however my archer units then took over and inflicted just enough casualties to make two of the next charges I had,equal,and I had success at last,but would it continue,would Little Big Horn become Rorke's Drift ??

My cavalry are moving against Paul's cavalry,I had the upper hand,with three units against his two,should have been a "walk over" however he held,and then beat my right hand unit,whilst I beat his right hand unit,touch and go stuff!!

The Spartan position has been penetrated!! only one unit, but this could be the end of the Spartans (who really believes this ?)

Paul's columns are making steady progress up the board,however my axemen are just about to stop his movement.......

Clash!! I was a bit mad to instigate this charge,but I managed to hold on against the hoplites,and actually won one melee,I then supported my front rank and began to push Paul's troops back,until he reinforced his front line,and my axemen decided to call it a day and go back home !!

This shows the general situation in the centre of the board,this was good old fashioned wargaming with common sense and a bit of give and take from both sides.

This shot shows the progress that Paul's troops have made,they are within a whisker of linking up with Brian's Spartans, and are now threatening my flank.

Paul's attack begins in earnest,I am being put under pressure along my whole line,will I be able to hold on??
It was at this point that Brian decided to "charge" from his hill position and swept almost all of my troops back.

I did say "almost all of my troops,I did manage to force these two Spartan units back to the Mountain area! Hooray,but it was my only success!!

This is the final shot,the Spartans have pushed me back,Paul's hoplites are giving my "Immortals" a good bashing and so I decided to call myself the "loser"

This was a tremendous game,nip and tuck for along while,and,even though I say it myself,a good scenario.

Now onto the new members,when you think of famous duo's,who do you think of ? Morcambe and Wise,Torville and Dean,Burke and Hare,Roy Rodgers and Trigger,well now there's some new kids on the block.......Introducing........

THE SMUG BROTHERS !!! don't you just hate it when people GLOAT ??

Roll on Sunday,refight of Naseby 1645 (Lads please note that's not quarter to five !!)

Napoleonic game 6.2.13.,Allan,Brian,John

Our old mate Allan joined Brian and I for a Napoleonic game this morning,Austro-Prussians vs French.

Allan took command of the Austrians,I took command of the Prussians,and Brian took command of the French.

We wrote out our Battle Plans,and the game commenced,with Brian advancing to take out our flanks,whilst he advanced slowly with his Guard regiments.Allan and I had opted for a defensive game,hoping to stall the French,and then counter-attack!!

This first photo shows the Prussians moving into position before the game started,the Austrians are to my left.

Again,this is before the game started,the French are moving to both flanks,whilst the Guard is massing in the background.

This is a shot of the whole Austro-Prussian line,a good poition to be in,unless of course you are faced with Brian!!!

Before I had time to sneeze,Brian was on top of me!! I keep telling him it's not that sort of club!
The French lancers have charged my Dragoons,luckily I won the ensuing melee and drove him back,forcing his infantry into square.

Brian's cavalry in his centre rolled forward and I counter charged him,this time I was beaten and forced back,swings and roundabouts!!

The "dreaded" Guard advance begins,which idiot gave Brian 4 guards regiments ??This is the advance against Allan's thin line of Austrian infantry,one of which took one shot and decided that they had better go home!!

Allan's cavalry on his left are in action here,he did well and forced Brian to reinforce the melee with another unit of Dragoons,Allan then had to try and even things up by also reinforcing his side,but to no avail,he was beaten and pushed back.

In this photo you can see I have penetrated Brian !! Are you sure it's not that kind of club??
My dragoons have pushed him back,upsetting his infantry,but also putting me in a position of being cut off from support and any form of command figure,consequently I had to retreat.

French infantry and Guard are attacking Allan's line with "gusto",it was at this point that I made a fatal mis-calculation,I charged Brian's gun battery,situated on a hill to the right of this picture,but fell short,because the hill halved my movement,which left me staring into the barrels of his guns (loaded with cannister),the outcome was messy to say the least,and my Garde Du Corps cavalry were forced to retire!

My cavalry are beaten in this shot,I have been forced into square,with Allan suffering the same fate,we called it a aday,and Brian (or Mister Smug, as we call him now ) was announced the Victor, Victor Meldrew more like!!

This was a good game,good tactics,and battle plans,and once again played in the right spirit.

Roll on Thursday night.

"The Lost Boys" or Vapnartak 2013.

Can anybody explain how,a fully trained advanced driver and ex traffic cop,aided and abetted by an experienced trans-continental and international lorry driver,could miss the "effing" turn off for York on the A1??????
However I did promise not to mention the "cock-up" too much,and I am too much of a gentleman to mention names,so your secret is safe with me GRAHAM and BRIAN.

Well we did eventually get to Vapnartak,and were greeted with great friendliness by the "front of house" team,one of whom obviously got carried away with my uncanny likeness to Tom Cruise,and issued me with Two Tickets!! However because of my advanced years I got in for free,which in my book is a definite tick in the right box.

The show itself seemed bigger than last year,and the number of traders seemed to have grown too,certainly something for everybody.The spending "frenzy" started as soon as we got through the door,with most of us buying paintbrushes and paints-always a good sign that lots of figures will be appearing soon.

Brian and I bought some plastic Marlburian figures,whilst Dave bought some Great Northern War figures from Border Reiver.All of the traders were friendly,the clubs putting on the various games had time to talk to us,and the bar and cafe was doing a "roaring" trade,all in all a good show once again and the organisers should be congratulated.

The first photo shows the 40mm Prince August game put on by Mark,and his "crew",very nice "Old School" wargaming.

Trying to keep Brian in check is always difficult,here he is showing us his plums again!!

We should have tried harder to keep them away from the bar! Graham and his son Richard enjoying lunch,I think Graham should have been studying a map of how to get back home,but I promised not to mention that!

The above shots are of just a few of the games presented,lovely figures,good terrain,and alot of imagination,well done to all of you.

I don't know whether to send this photo to OK magazine or Crime Stoppers! Rumbling Guns Duo of Garry and his lovely wife,but who forgot to pack the catalogues ?????????

The above shot shows how not to do it,what a bloody mess,this was taken in the competition area,and shows a real lack of respect for visitors and the event organisers.

This is a parting shot,showing a good overall view of the show,and of course Brian "lurking" outside the toilets....what more can be said?
Seriously, we all enjoyed our day out,had a few laughs,spent a bit of cash,whay more could you want ??