Yet another stunning and exciting game was had last night,as the "Fab Four"(Graham couldn't attend as his Daughter had presented him with a fine 9lb Grandson that morning-congratulations to you all!) consisting of Dave,Paul,Brian and myself,fought tooth and nail in the depths of sunny Spain.
Top photo is the scenario,that the boys were given,and bottom photo is the initial troop layout.
Paul and Brian were the Spanish and Irish,but what they didn't know was that the waggon on the bridge was loaded with gunpowder,and the driver flicked a burning match backwards into the waggon,and blew the waggon and bridge to kingdom come!!!-oh how we laughed!!-however,Paul was up to the task and quickly re-wrote his battle plan,now that the Irish were effectively cut off from the rest of the army(it's good being sneaky!!)
BOOM!!-I think it's a credit to the way we play our games,that we can react quickly to changing circumstances,and Paul certainly did!!-he opted to attack my Austrians!!
Top photo shows the Irish and Austrians moving into position,whilst the bottom photo shows the manoeuvering in the centre-both Dave and Brian look confident(smug?).
With most of the troops in their allotted positions,let the battle begin!!
The whole table erupted in gun fire and volley fire-spectacular stuff-however,as usual, Dave and I threw low dice whilst Brian and Paul(in league with the devil!) threw high!!! but it's early days,and wargames don't always go the way you think they might!
On Dave's flank,the battle isn't going too badly,Brian managed to throw a string of awful dice,giving Dave a respite-hurrah!-there's an old adage in wargaming,that if you put a building on the table,some fool will occupy it!!-are those Spanish troops in there????
Paul's Irish have sent half of my Austrians "packing"-however,worse was to come....................
Paul unleashed his cavalry just as one of my British infantry regiments retired(it's god being retired!) caught them in the flank,and destroyed them!!!!hell,bloody hell!!!
In this shot,Brian and Dave have decided to get their cavalry involved-this was good news for Dave,who won all melees,and winning the flank-Brian had decided to abandon the farmhouse,and moved his troops towards the centre,where Dave was waiting for him!!
What a fire-fight!!-I have also recovered from Paul's devastating cavalry charge,and am now holding my own(now,now,now behave!!) but what of my poor old Austrians??
Well.they are recovering behind the tee line,awaiting orders to advance again-the Irish look to be in a bit of disorder too!!
Dave continued to push the Spanish cavalry back,so basically both flanks were secure,but in the centre neither side could claim victory,so a draw was declared-a fair result I think!
Well done lads,and roll on next Sunday-maybe an historical re-fight of Marathon??
I really can't say much about the show that hasn't already been said before,on this blog and on others.
This year Graham(and his stepson David),Paul,Michael,Dave and I traveled down,being driven by Graham,on a cold and frosty morning(almost poetic that!)-on arrival we had a quick bite to eat,and were assailed by.........................
Robbie Rodiss,who had been let out of the asylum for Demented Detectives,for the day,and was being looked after by his full-time carer,John!!
Apart from being harassed by Robbie all day,we met lots of old friends,talked rules ,games and terrain etc.etc.-all inspirational stuff-in fact everything you could want from a show.
The games were of a very high standard,the traders were helpful,but there was,of course, the usual moans about the Bring and Buy chaos......................
When will the organisers sort this bloody shambles out????-you can't see what is being sold,you can't stop to peruse,and I'm sure that the sellers would want the thing sorted asap!!
The other annual "moan" is about this bloody "game"(ie static,uninteresting(it's been around for centuries now) same old,same old!!) taking up an enormous amount of space.
Still,overall we enjoyed the show,spent far too much money,talked to a million people-they were letting anybody in.......................
See what I mean!!!C.S. Grant(or C.S. Gas,as we affectionately call him!)
As you can see,we were all in high spirits on the way back............................
Charming!!!
One last photo,caption competition???
Roll on next Sunday,probably a Marlburian,but who knows?
Last night I had a most entertaining solo game using my 15mm Warrior figures.I used my very simple and fast solo rules based on the number of bases in a conflict times an average dice to inflict a "hit" on a unit,denoted by an orange mini "pom-pom"-once three hits are recorded a base is removed-very simple but effective)I think!)
Top photo shows everything I needed for the game-the "hit/miss" dice are for the artillery!
Bottom photo shows the fine defensive position I gave the Confederates,with reinforcements on their left.
Two shots of the Union attack-I used alternate moves and threw two dice to determine how many brigades/batteries I could move per move.
My plan was to attack frontally in the centre,then move around the "Rebs" left flank-simple,the objective was to capture the defensive position.
My brigades are attacking along the whole of the line,but the defensive position was to prove a "hard nut to crack!"
A view of the playing area from the Confederate side-all action-note the ever-increasing orange "pom-poms" on both sides!
A rash decision saw my leading brigade charge the wall,only to be flung back,after taking massive casualties-oh dear!
Despite the set-back at the wall,my out-flanking brigades are pushing onto the "Rebs" flank and guns-this flank also proved to be a "hard nut to crack!!"
A general shot of the playing area-although I had 1/3rd more troops than the Confederates,I wasn't making as much headway as I thought I would,at this stage in the game.
Then................out-numbered and out-gunned,the Confederate left collapsed!!!-hurrah!
Two final shots,showing the desperate situation that the Confederates are in,hemmed in,and no chance of winning!
I really enjoyed this game,and will play another very soon,maybe incorporating cavalry.
Last night we had the most interesting and near run thing,pitting a Dervish army against the might of the British Empire,in the Sudan.
This is the terrain map and scenario-Brian was "thrust" into commanding the Fort alone as Dave couldn't make it,but he proved he was more than capable of the task.Graham commanded the right of the Dervish army,Paul the left,and me the centre-what a game it turned into!!
The look of intrepidation was replaced by "smug" satisfaction as soon as Brian realised the effect his massed rifle/gatling/artillery fire had on the Hadendowah and Ansar troops charging at the Fort!!...........................
With screams and yells,the first attack goes in-only to be stalled by "Stalwart Irving", defender of the Empire!!
Top photo shows the second attack developing,bottom photo shows,despite Brian's shouts of "you dusky rascals won't get into my Fort!", THEY DID!!!!-hurrah.
This shows the "returning" 21st Lancers cutting a swathe through Graham's out-flanking Ansars-unfortunately Brian elected to turn the Lancers around and continue the fight-resulting in getting them wiped out!!!(the Lancers had been out scouting and could return,on any move from the bottom left hand corner of the board!!)
By now the Fort was all but surrounded by "dusky rascals" but Brian was doing well to keep them out by "dint" of bayonet,and bloody good dice throwing!!
This shot shows Graham's attack on the rear of the Fort,whilst he is still putting Brian under pressure from the flank-Paul has now defeated the troops in the smaller compound,and things are not looking good for the British.
This shows the larger compound,and the mass melee that followed Graham's assault on it-what he thinks he is going to do with his cavalry,I don't know!!
Brian has,some how,managed to win the mass melee,and the larger compound is secure again!!!
But the smaller compound has been taken by Paul.......................
This shows the sorry state of the smaller compound! With Brian still maintaining his grip on the rest of the Fort,and Graham's troops well and truly beaten(not to mention mine!) a draw was the best result we could hope for!-A great game,we all had to go and have a lie down in a darkened room to recover!!
We won't be playing next Sunday,as we are going on a "road trip" to York-full report will follow.
Today(and tomorrow!) is the anniversary of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift-I hope you all celebrated in style!!
I have decided to get into the spirit and preview Sunday's game(27th)
Top photo is explanation,bottom photo is the table as the "lads" will see it on arrival-well,it's different(and hopefully exciting!)
The British position-fort Invincible(?)-Brian knows a poem about the desert!!
The Dervish left and centre.
The Dervish right and centre.
This could be a typical colonial game-fast and furious-roll on Sunday!
Last night we had another 100% turnout for what turned into an epic game/battle,using my Prussians against Paul's Austrians.
This is the terrain map-I didn't have a scenario,as such,only that the hills were half movement,the trees were decorative,and the river could only be crossed via the bridges-the objective for both sides was to capture the enemy's bridge!!
This is the table before any movement-Paul and Graham were the Austrians,and Dave and Brian were the Prussians.
Look at this for a study in organisation,co-ordination and planning!-you would almost swear that they knew what they were doing!!!!
The Prussians extra movement "bonus" caused a bit of an alarm to the Austrians,as a fire-fight ensued in the centre and Dave moved his horse battery,from his left flank into the centre!-marvellous stuff!(and look,the bases fit into the bridges!)
Paul's advance,into a storm of shit,shot and shell,was magnificent to see-wargaming at its best,I think!-but would it prove a bit too "avant garde"-we will see.
Dave has met Paul's advance,and is moving his cuirassiers up in support of his infantry.
In the centre,a lapse of concentration by Brian, has allowed Graham to attack his forward regiment in the flank,destroying it completely!! However his other regiments are giving the Austrians hell!!
By way of revenge,Brian has unleashed his heavy cavalry and is driving Graham's back.
The fire-fight is on-going,but the Prussians are winning it-this looks bad for the Austrian bridge!!!
All of a sudden,the ground in front of Brian's infantry is void of Austrian troops,and his reserve brigade is starting to advance-this looks like the end for the Austrians,however Paul is still battling away,and holding his own(I know,I know,they can't touch you for it!!)
Paul's flank is now suffering to the point that he is being enfiladed with artillery,and his cavalry and infantry are being beaten-time to capitulate???
YES!! and the Prussians are declared the winners!
This was a great and epic game,played in the right spirit-well done lads.
Roll on next Sunday,no clue as to what we will be playing yet.
