What a Tanker! Monday Knights Christmas Break Up

The Monday Knights' Christmas party was a quiet one, with only about 10 able to make it (in part people away on holidays, others not well, etc). The TooFatLardies' WWII tank combat game What a Tanker! was chosen for its simplicity and allowing us to bring a 15mm tank model of our choice. I brought my United Nations T-72, simply as it doesn't get much table time. This was just representative, as each of us had 12 points to allocate between armour and strike (the tank's gun). I went with a 5 / 7 configuration. Most other were this or 4/8. Tyler went with 6/6.

Games were of four, with the two winners of game one playing each other, and the same for the two losers (based on kills). I quickly got to grips with the rules, but my luck was not with me tonight. After two games I only managed to kill Paul.

A pretty bad year, looking forward to 2023.

15mm WWII German 12cm Mortars, PaK 43/41 AT Guns and Command Stand

A small 15mm WWII German painting commission of four 8.8cm PaK 43/41 AT guns (GE530), four 12cm mortars (GE799) and a command stand. All Battlefront miniatures and painted over 10 days.

While the PaKs and command stand were metal and what most of my Flames of War collection is produced in, the mortar stands are in Battlefront’s bendy ABS plastic (introduced after I stopped playing the game seriously), and it's the first time I’ve worked with it. In short it's terrible, mainly as it was hard to clean up and some of the detail was rough.

All and all I’m happy how this turned out - it’s been a while since I painted 15mm WWII and I tried splinter camo on the mortar teams (one smock and every helmet cover on each base), which I think came out pretty well (using Battlefront's painting guide in the back on one of the Late War army books). This was because that particular mortar pack is for SS, but I wanted them to be Heer. An easy soltution as nearly everyone in the German army in World War Two used splinter camo:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splittertarnmuster

The unicorn, dolphin and rainbow flag is (obviously) not historical and was requested by the client (Andrew O). Apparently Flames of War version 4 doesn’t have command teams (as version 3 did), but you still need a marker or similar to indicate which gun team, etc is the platoon commander. Makes no sense to me either.

Australia Day Flames of War Game - Battle of Hannut

With group games becoming a thing again, I put my hand up to take part in Django and Nigel's 'A Thousand Tank' participation game recreating the Battle of Hannut. I played the first day of the game in October 2014 and it was a lot of fun seeing that many 15mm tanks on a table.

The game would use Battlefront's Flames of War (version 3) Total War rules, breaking the wargaming day up into two sessions, representing the first and second days of the battle. Each day will comprise six turns and would be played on a 6x8 foot table with the same terrain layout.

While you may never have heard of it, it was one of the largest tank battles in history, involving about a thousand tanks (and hence the title of the game).

Briefing
13 May 1940 - Following successful attacks on Denmark and Norway, Germany launched its forces against the combined armies of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.

Eastern France is secure behind the Maginot Line, a series of powerful forts from the Swiss border as far north as Sedan. Here the Meuse River turns north, marking the western boundary of the Ardennes, a hilly, forested area with narrow roads, presumed impenetrable by tanks. Further north there is a gap between the forest and the Belgian fortifications around Liege, notably Fort Eben-Emael (10-11 May 1940), which fell to the Germans (with heavy casualties) after Fallschirmjäger landed on top of the fortress with gliders and using explosives and flamethrowers to disable the outer defences of the fortress.

Implementing their pre-war plan, the Allies moved into Belgium to defend the river Dyle, east of Brussels. The French and British need at least three days to complete the move and dig in. To cover this, the French High Command ordered General René Prioux’s Corps de Cavalerie to hold the area around Hannut and Gembloux for this time.

German General Erich Hoepner was given the task of the matador, demonstrating with sufficient enthusiasm in the Gembloux Gap to hold the French light mechanised divisions (Division Légère Mécanique (DLM)) in place, far from the breaching of the Meuse at Sedan and elsewhere along the wide river.

The forces were drawn from Prioux’s corps with the elite 2nd DLM and the recently formed and under-trained 3rd DLM for the French and for the Germans the XVI Armee Korps consisting of the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions.

The challenge for Andreas and I (as the Germans) to pin the best French armoured troops in Belgium (under Phil and Wal) and prevent them interfering with the crucial crossing of the Meuse, while at the some time ensure we weren't delayed to allow the First Army to dig in.

Andreas and I split our forces roughly in half, with Andreas taking the right flank and myself spearheading the centre left side of the field. The German side is on the right in the first photo. As actual Germans, Andreas communicated in German with each other. And just like the Germans with the Enigma machine we thought it was a secure form of communication...

Day 1

Day 2

Debrief
It's a long day, and coordinating that may platoons (even amongst two players) is exhausting. Andreas and I failed to push hard enough (if not towards the town in the centre then the villages on the right flank) on the first day which made the launching off points on day two that much further back than would be optimal. On the second day I failed to hold the left flank (instead making a piecemeal attack and leaving the Pakfront exposed to Wal's French tank assaults). When Andreas left early I took over his forces, and was able to break Phil's division... but he held on by his fingernails as Wal had granted him control of Somua tanks (all that was left on the right flank). We failed to create a clear line along the roads from our base edge to the opposite table edge. What didn't help was some open terrain for our truck born infantry to traverse and being terrible (extremely terrible) at being unable to unpin a lot of our units. The six-turn time limit for each day doesn't leave much room for early setbacks.

Well done to Phil and Wal (who also understood a lot of what we were saying - which was the biggest mistake we made!) on blunting this attack, obtaining a major strategic and tactical victory.

Thanks too to Django and Nigel for organising, umpiring, and letting us use your miniatures (and apologies to the ones that got a knock).

Playing on a 6’ x 8’ table really gives a good game as armour has a chance to manoeuvre and artillery needs to be deployed with care.

Tusk Size Comparison Between Irregular and Eureka Miniatures

On a previous blog post about my Tusk project (here) I had a question about the compatibility between Irregular Miniatures' 15mm Tusk range and Eureka Miniatures' 10mm fantasy creatures I supplement to the mammoths that Irregular makes for the rules.

For comparison I used two regular cavemen and an Og (who's a little beefier than the others). The cavemen are on 20mm plasticard circles, while the animals are either on 19 x 25mm or 30 x 40mm plasticard rectangles.

Lions (sabre-toothed cats):

Stags:

Woolly rhinos:

Og with all three:

For me they work - they're maybe a little small, but noting that has ever put me off.

Anyway, as stated the animals are from Eureka Miniatures' 10mm fantasy range, and can be found here:

https://www.eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_100_101&sort=3a

https://eurekaminusa.com/collections/fantasy-10mm-by-alan-marsh

https://www.eurekaminuk.com/collections/fantasy

Anyway, a few weeks late - apologies Wouter.

Roadblock on Highway 120 in the Mukha Valley

Jakalistan, 29 November 2000: There have been reports of an escalation in violence in the east of the country when an United Nations-led checkpoint was ambushed by militia from an unknown faction.

The UN peacekeepers were accompanied by police from Serbia, who are working in collaboration with the UN-stabilising mission as part of JFOR. The international forces were overseeing the recent elections , the first since the country was plunged into war following the breakup of the Soviet states, in the Mukha Valley.

The attacking force included armour, most likely T-55 tanks, along with infantry armed with RPGs and mortars. The official death toll has not be confirmed, but unofficial reports are stating around 20 men were killed or seriously wounded.

Serbian Prime Minister Minić, also facing turmoil back home since the Bulldozer Revolution, denounced the attacks and vowed to send more troops to support the humanitarian response in the tiny republic nestled in the Caucasus mountains.

Jack, Liam and I met up to play an introduction game of Crossfire, using the 'Roadblock on Highway 120' scenario from the 'Hit the Dirt' scenario supplement. With Jack umpiring (of sorts) Liam took on the role of attacker, with myself defending the roadblock. But as we were all so excited to wargame for the first time in months (as Melbourne had been in lockdown due to COVID-19), we forgot the minefields and barbed wire I was supposed to have to help me defend. That didn't bother me.

Some photos of the game (Liam attacking from the top of the screen towards me):

I defended in depth, which worked to a degree, but my fields of fire weren't as good as they could of been. The mortar and HMG on my left flank held up Liam's attack there all game. I also found it challenging (in a good way) to really think about the sequencing of orders (like in Blood Bowl), there was many frustrating moments the initiative passed between us.

Dinner was a chicken wrap from Knafeh Nabulseyeh, a Palestinian place up the road. Perfect modern conflict-themed interior and great food. Will definitely go back.

Eventually the weight of Liam's attack broke me, as his T-55s pushed their way down the road, weathering the completely ineffectual RPGs (they needed 6s to hit - we proxied them as Panzerschrecks - this worked well). Worked out to be a slight victory to Liam, I needed to have a little more reserve to counter this punch.

A note on the name of the valley the battle took place in our imagi-nation - Mukha is "Oak" in Georgian to match the location of the game (Oakleigh/Hugesdale) and I substituted "Valley" instead of "-dale".

A Small 15mm Moderns Batch (T-72, BTR-80A, BTR-80 and Modern Soviets)

The last couple of painting sessions was for a small mixed batch of moderns, consisting of:

• A Battlefront T-72 painted in Indian United Nations colours (Somalia, Congo and Sri Lanka),
• Two Zvezda BTR-80s converted to BTR-80As in generic camo (but based on what the Hungarian army used in the Balkans in the 90s),
• A Zvezda BTR-80 in generic Soviet green, and
• Some Eureka Miniatures modern Russians as Serbian police in Kosovo in 1999 that needed touching up after I dropped them about a year ago.

The BTR-80As were easy to convert, using some spare 2cm WWII German AA guns, some plastic sprue cut to size and greenstuff.

A slow burn project is Haiti in 2004 when the UN (mainly Brazilians) went hard into a shanty town to get a drug lord, but the reporting on the event has conflicting accounts - shooting innocent bystanders, etc. I find it interesting in that respect. That and white vehicles and blue helmets. So I’m just adding random stuff to that now.

For the Balkan theme I just started collecting for the conflict, but realised no one really is interested in it so my modern Americans will be an OpFor the Serbs. There’s a great Hollywood film with Owen Wilson, 'Behind Enemy Lines', that shows off some nice kit and has a great antagonist (Sasha the sniper) - he's the guy in front.

I sort of imagine these for an infantry-heavy company level game (originally Flames of War, but I guess Team Yankee with minimal tanks/AFVs, etc). Or a skirmish game like Ambush Alley on a grander scale.

15mm Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

One of my favourite films is Okiura’s anime 'Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade', and the reason I bought an army of Eureka Miniatures' 15mm sci-fi Germans.

The tank is a 1/144 Leopard 2 with a Panzer III barrel and storage locker, while the scout car is from a Kinder Surprise egg.

I've got no game planned for them - they were a "just because" choice. Basing to use with Flames of War, Crossfire, Gruntz and even 15mm Bolt Action if that ever becomes a thing. Opponents could be mid-century civilians (e.g. WWII partisans) or Eureka's WWI Bulgarians as police.

War of the Thorns Battle of Honey Knob Hill

21 August 1471: Edward of Westminster forges an alliance with the Scots and fails in his bid for revenge against Edward IV.

Where things diverge:
You thought it was amazing that young Edward survived at Tewkesbury? Somehow the young prince managed to get James III and John of Islay to reconcile their differences. Convincing that Edward IV didn't care for them or their interests was a contributing factor, and the young prince offered favourable terms with estates and trade should they fight for the Lancastrian cause.

The defection of the Duke of Brittany to the Yorkist cause is not one that's fully understood at this time, particularly given the presence of German troops, but may be that Francis II is moving against Louis XI. Edward IV has an alliance with Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. War between Louis and Charles would break out in 1472.

In the afternoon we played a BBDBA game, with the sides being (left flank, centre, right flank):

Karsten (Y) - Diether von Isenburg, with a German mercenary army (IV/13c)

Daniel (Y) - Edward IV of England (IV/83a)

Django (Y) - Francis II, Duke of Brittany (IV/8)

Peter (L) - Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (IV/83a)
Lyle (L) - John of Islay, Earl of Ross (III/78 )
Stephen (L) - James III of Scotland (IV/16)

The events were chaotic, with myself being destroyed by Stephen's Scots fairly quickly after a futile charge, and then the rest fo the armies breaking in turn.

In the end only one was left standing, I can't remember if it was Lyle or Django - but the first time I've played BBDBA with 6 players - there's not much room to site and play when you're that close to one another.

And a plague is stalking the land, with most of us working from home now. Let's see how long this will last.

War of the Thorns Battle of Aspatria

13 July 1471: A Scots Common army is able to prevent a French invasion in the north.

Actual events:
Only after the Battle of Tewkesbury did Duke Francis II become involved in the events of the War of the Roses, when he unexpectedly became the protector of England's House of Lancaster in exile.

At the time, the Tudors had tried to flee to France but strong winds in the English Channel forced them to land at Le Conquet in Brittany, where they were taken into the custody of Duke Francis II. Henry Tudor, the only remaining Lancastrian noble with a trace of royal bloodline, had a weak claim to the throne, and King Edward IV regarded him as inconsequential. However, Francis II viewed Henry as a valuable tool to bargain for England's aid, when in conflicts with France, and therefore kept the Tudors under his protection.

James' policies during the 1470s revolved primarily around ambitious continental schemes for territorial expansion and an alliance with Edward IV. While an alliance (and the marriage of his son to one of Edward IV's daughters) might have been a sensible move for Scotland, it went against the traditional enmity of the two countries dating back to the reign of Robert I and the Wars of Independence, not to mention the vested interests of the border nobility.

Where things diverge:
With Edward of Westminster still alive, and mounting a resistance, Francis II has sailed to England to take part in the war. He may or may not be harbouring the Tudors. Unfortunately he tries to be a little too cunning and lands in the north west of England, at Maryport. James, eager to show his allegiance to Edward IV, marched out of Scotland to meet the threat.

Final result was Stephen (Y) 4 v 3 Django (L).

War of the Thorns Battle of Chelwood Common

21 June 1471: Edward IV defends against a Scottish Isles invasion in the south.

Actual events:
In February 1462 representatives of John of Islay, Earl of Ross concluded with Edward IV of England the Treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish, that envisaged nothing less than the conquest and partition of Scotland. The treaty was remarkably vague, saying nothing about the nature, scale and timing of English support. For Edward it was a diplomatic coup and it should have been perfectly clear that Edward was trying to create a diversion. Sadly for John it was not.

Even before the agreement was concluded the Islemen took to arms, advancing eastwards under the command of Angus Og, John's illegitimate son. The rebellion had the desired effect. The Scottish government, faced with rebellion in the north, and fearful of attack in the south, dropped the politically embarrassing Lancastrian connection. John, presumably now aware how worthless the Westminster agreement truly was, backed down.

Where things diverge:
With Edward IV back on throne in England, but weakened due to war, John saw his chance to seek revenge. He sailed with his large fleet and landed at Newhaven, marching north to London. Edward faced him on the fields of Chelwood Common.

Final result was Daniel (Y) 4 v 3 Lyle (L).

War of the Thorns Battle of Loddington

9 June 1471: While attempting to flee to France, Edward of Westminster is ambushed by a German mercenary army.

Actual events:
After several years in exile in both Scotland and France, Margaret of Anjou (young Edward's mother) took the best opportunity that presented itself and allied herself with the renegade Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker). King Louis XI of France wanted to start a war with Burgundy, who are allies of the Yorkist King Edward IV and Louis believed if Lancastrian rule was restored then he would receive help conquering Burgundy.

In September 1470 Warwick returned to England and deposed Edward IV, with the help of Edward IV's younger brother, the Duke of Clarence. Edward IV fled into exile to Burgundy with his youngest brother the Duke of Gloucester, while Warwick restored Henry VI to the throne. Edward and Margaret lingered behind in France until April 1471. However, Edward IV had already raised an army, returned to England, and reconciled with Clarence. On the same day Margaret and young Edward landed in England (14 April), Edward IV defeated and killed Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. With little hope of success, the inexperienced prince and his mother led the remnant of their forces to meet Edward IV in the Battle of Tewkesbury. They were defeated and Margaret and Edward were killed.

Where things diverge:
Against the odds and various rumours of his death, Edward survived the battle of Tewkesbury and was able to muster the remnants of his army in an attempt to make an escape back to France.

It is unclear the reason for the presence of Diether von Isenburg and his army in England. While it could be for religious or political reasons, most suspect Diether is there to raise funds to restart his conflict with Adolph II of Nassau for the Electorate of Mainz. He therefore fights for Edward IV, at least until the gold lasts.

Diether von Isenburg had been staying in Cambridge since Edward IV's coronation, to further his studies and quietly raise support for his cause back home. He had been invited to England by Edward IV, and was keen to ensure he stayed on the throne. When Diether's spies informed him that Edward of Westminster had survived the carnage of Tewkesbury, and was attempting to flee the country, Diether saw this as a perfect opportunity to gain favour from the king.

He ambushed the young Lancastrian on the outskirts of Loddington, west of Kettering. Both forces were relatively small, only a few hundred men per side. Eager for a quick victory, the knights charged the Lancastrian centre.

This would end up being a mistake as Edward's bodyguard and archers were able to stop the assault in its tracks.

Diether was lucky to survive, and fled back to Cambridge. Young Edward, against the advice of his minders and wanting revenge for the death of his mother, decided to remain in England to continue the fight to reclaim the crown.

Final result was Karsten (Y) 2 v 4 Peter (L).