As the Summer ended...

The Labour Day weekend at the Hamilton Road Games Club saw a number of games - Warhammer 40K on one table and Fireball Forward at the other. Rich brought in his played scenario from another games group in London and a few of us thought we'd try it. The system was new to me but I wanted to give it a try. I've been invited to the other games group, but since it meets on Sundays, starting in the morning, I can't make it... ever. I work most Sundays, except when I'm on holiday.

A small force of German troops was to hold a river crossing against a larger force of Soviet infantry and armour. Rich refereed; Andy, Martin, and Kevin ran the Red Army while DJ, Rob, and I ran the Wehrmacht. We were to hold while the Red Army was to force a crossing. Rich estimated we'd get about 6 turns in in the time we had.


The table - looking 'north'. Rich actually oriented the table to the real directions.

 

The table - looking southwest - this is the view of the Soviet entry area.



the German forces - two Platoons, the company HQ and a PaK 75mm which did't make it into the photo. The single figure on the round base denotes that the squad had Panzerfausts. The company HQ had a Panzerschreck as well as an HMG. A platoon of up-armoured Pz. IV's came in on turn 3.

Some of the Russians - two platoons of infantry, two platoons of tanks on board at the first move, a third platoon of infantry entered on the 2nd turn and a platoon of T-34/85s entered on the 3rd turn

Fireball Forward is a card-based move game. The referee turned cards and each time a card came up in your colour, you moved a unit (platoon). Moved units got a 'block' to show they'd had their move. (You'll see the blocks in later photos.) We German players were limited in our deployment - the AT gun, the HQ, and one platoon had to set up within 18" of the bridge on the east side of the river. The other platoon could set up anywhere on the board, even hidden in the woods. So we did that, throwing Rob's squad 'way out on the left flank. Of course, the Soviets came in in force on the right flank. Some of the reinforcements did come in on the left which caused a nasty firefight early on.

The Red Army advances! I was quite impressed with Rich's terrain. The roads and the stream were sort of a stiff foam substance while the forest area were defined by an thick felt-like stuff. FF divides the forest areas into square and infantry can move past one square and into a second while armour could only move into one. (I think the squares were 4"x4". It makes forest movement and spotting simpler than is done in a few systems, in my opinion.)

 

Rich's T-34/76s and Soviet infantry were very nicely painted. I was very impressed with the weathering done on these tanks. The whole game used plastic 20mm models - light, less expensive, and quite pleasing to the eye. He kept it simple since it was a new system to us - no off-board artillery, no aircraft, no flamethrowers, no Commissars.

 

Here the Soviet reinforcements battle the German platoon hidden in the forest. We took a chance and threw the one platoon very far in front of our defencive line. They couldn't attack the main force and got hit by the reinforcements who caused them to retreat and basically put them out of the battle.

 

Troops in the woods - Each base had a printed strip showing the stand's designation. (See on the far right - "1st platoon, Leader" and on the left - "2ns squad, 1st Platoon, A company) It's a good system, keeping it simple for old eyes. The infantry was nicely painted and had the usual droop of softer plastics. That's the cost of doing business, I suppose.

I tried to reposition some of my platoon from the left of the farmhouse to the right, but one squad was caught in the open by the fire of the T-34/76s and bought the farm... along with their Panzerfausts. I was going to reposition the HMG but I didn't get far when the Soviet reinforcements piled in. So I left it where it was. The tanks and the Pak AT gun began to exchange fire.... aaaaannnd that's were objections appeared. {More on that later.}



Lot of Soviet armour - the main attack force on the Soviet left/German right. The green thingies are Risk pieces that designate the speed of the tank: green=slow) The grey monoliths show which units have moved and in what order.
{If natural light hits them, they DO NOT send a signal into space accompanied by Also Sprach Zarathustra.}

 

One of the German reinforcing Pz. IV's - I can't remember the mark; there are so many!
Very nice paint job on a nice little model. 20mm stuff is quite pleasing to the eye.

 

More of the clutter on the Soviet left. Kevin and Andy pushed some of their tanks through the woods - slow but do-able according to the rules.

 

The T-34/85s enter and begin to take casualties. The shooting system in FF is quite unique (to me at least.) You roll a handful of dice - d20's, d6's in two colours, and maybe a d12 or d10. You hit on high numbers of the the white d6's and on 6's on the red d6's. If your rolls on the ranging dice are within the basic range of the weapon you add +1 to your white dice, giving you a better chance to hit. Each hit causes a morale check and might KO a model or unit. (There's a chart for that.) I found this system interesting and complex but not overly so and it gave the shooting player some odd chances to hit things.

 

the PaK gunner's eyeview as a T-34/85 brews up. Again, nice blast designators by Rich.

 

Whoops! Another one, Fritzie!

More brew-ups on the Soviet left. The PaK was deadly once it found the range. The Pz. IV's did some work as well; one was KO'd early.

The German anti-armour fire became deadly, knocking out one T-34/85 and 3 T-34/76's and sending another packing. At this point, the Soviets decided to stop the assault. Frustration had worn us all thin and it was time to move on to other issues.
Rich's scenario was very good and his terrain and models were a delight. In my opinion, Fireball Forward suffers from an overly liberal rule on opportunity fire. Each time a unit moved, the opposing side could fire at it - only once per moving unit, but one opportunity fire for EACH and EVERY targeting unit. The PaK 75mm could shoot at every Soviet unit on the board every time one moved. Then there were cards allowing an "interrupt" action (no better term for it.) when played, allowing a unit, like say... oh, the PaK 75 to fire again! A gun like that can "reach out and touch someone" all day long. It's quite powerful and is fast firing which allows the controlling player to fire a second time if the gun hits but does no damage. (The PaK 88 is ungodly in it's power and range in this game.)

I feel the rules need an editing. There are some innovative things in the rules that make them unique and there is some clunky stuff that needs to be re-machined and re-fitted. It was good of Rich to bring them to the club and to supply all the gear as well.


The focused view of the Pak gun emplaced behind a stone wall.

The games club will see an increase now that summer is over and school is back in session. I'll be unable to game for the next two weeks due to a reenactment next week and a wedding the week after. However... a number of us are in deep discussion regarding an "Imagini-Nations" campaign to develop in the near future. I've wanted to do this for years, but I didn't bring it up since I'd been burned in campaigns I've been involved in previous to this. ("Whataya mean you withdraw? You mean I put my entire army on the table just so you could COUNT it and RECORD it?" or "How could he hire all those mercenaries? His country is a desert and they still import sand!") I think this will be different. I may become the Elector of Hesse-Whatsittaewe!

It was the best of times...

... it was the worst of times. It was my holiday. It was very busy, BUT I still got in a game.

Martin wanted to try the "Shako" rules for Napoleonics. Oh, yeah! That's my favourite set of rules for "big battle" Napoleonics! So he and Andy came down to my house and Rob and I took them on in the front room. It was an odd little mix - Andy and Martin leading a French-Italian division on the attack while Rob and I defended the terrain with a mixed force of British and Swedish, about a reinforced Brigade each.

Columns advanced shaking out into line as the French approached the Coalition lines.



Andy's Columns of attack. He and Martin came to an understanding -
Martin got the skirmishers, Andy got the artillery.

 

Martin's columns of attack with skirmish screens. The three left hand columns (one  partly obscured) are red-coated Swiss battalions. They counted as elite for morale but line for fighting.

Andy's cavalry - 2 Italian Dragoons sandwiching Westphalian Hussars

Martin's French cavalry division - hussars, chasseurs, and cuirassiers.



Andy's columns  broke into lines as they approached the defended village. That's a battalion of Poles in the front rank. My Varmland Feltjagare (in green) have advanced to take pot-shot at the cavalry.

 

Andy's photo of his Grand Battery - two foot batteries (3 crew), a horse battery (2 crew), and a heavy battery (on the left - 4 crew). All the batteries are Italian and proud members of my wife's Italian army of Prince Eugene!
The little round circle is drapery hanging disk which shows a casualty on the horse gun.
One for me and the Swedish artillery!

  The fighting got hot and heavy as the Allied troops came near the defended village and hill. Rob's Brit's (line, Highland, and Royal Marines as well as the 60th Rifles) fought against the charging cavalry and exchanged fire with the advancing French.

Hand to hand on the hill. The Swiss have sustained three casualties (4 will wipe the unit) and are shaken, hence the red bingo chip. There are Rifles on the hill and a foot battery as well. A Royal Horse Artillery battery is seen on the far left

 

Marshal Martin Gras-Doigts manoeuvres his troops. Rob's British await the onslaught.
Yes, two battalions of Royal Marines are in evidence. They are quite necessary for the Anglo-American War of 1812.

  

The swirling mass of cavalry descends on Marine and Highlander squares. The Black Watch smacked around the Chasseur a Cheval unit. I remember the Marines doing well against the Cuirassiers. Martin might remember it differently.
Off to the right, Light Dragoons meet Hussars head on.




A blurry view of the British line. Either the general or the cameraman was drunk.



Andy's photo of the British-French matchup. One unit has fallen back into the village where the Swedes are in the houses. Very little cavalry left on the far right. Looks like the Marines are gone too. Oh, now  I remember!

Meanwhile on the left of the Coalition battle line, the Swedes were taking losses and still surprising me at throwing back some of the Allied troops.
 


Swedish hussars take on the Italians and Westphalians. Lucky for me, Andy attacked in column... which doesn't works so well for cavalry. Of course, he still beat me and the smaller Swedish Hussar unit fell back. An article in a wargaming magazine many years ago (prior to the release of Shako II) said Swedish cavalry regiments were of such a large size that a case could be made for allowing them an extra stand and a higher morale rating due to size, not quality, like Austrian line infantry. (4 stands instead of 3) I said "Case closed! An extra stand it is!" I still get beat.

 

Andy's division advancing in line. His troops included Poles and a foreign regiment, the Regiment de Prusse.
Facing them are Swedish skirmishers and two battalions of Regiment Bohuslan (nicknamed "the Parrots") -
grey trousers, light blue coatees, red AND yellow facings.

 

The battle joined! 2nd Battalion - Regt. Bohuslan, Swedish horse artillery, and the Nora Skanska Carabinier Regiment bravely face the French deluge. Well, no one can say the Swedes are not colourful! (You can say it but I'd ask for evidence!)

 

What's left. The 2nd Bohuslan stands firm, the 1st having been broken. The Carabiniers are shaken. (Red chip) The Italian dragoons are "blown", having charged. (Blue chip) The Horse Artillery have melted away.
The white stick is for ranging artillery - This, my friends, is known as "Old School."



The village occupied by two regiments of Swedes -  a waste as it turned out. The King's Own Enlisted Regiment on the parade ground and 1st & 2nd Uppland in the houses. The houses are paper, downloaded from a Warmaster internet site and made larger on a graphics program. They're done on light card stock and painted as I want them.
Can't get much cheaper! {I mean... affordable!}



Another view of the village. The  Uppland had taken some casualties.



The Royal Marines and the Black Watch stand firm but the French are all over the ridge. Time to withdraw!

 

Doesn't look so good for the Swedes, neither! The French and Allies have paid a price though!
The French battalion in brown greatcoat in the centre of the photo are converged Grenadiers, which I think Andy liked!

 

When Andy and Martin left, Beth called me to the back deck...



... to see the DOUBLE RAINBOW. The photos don't do it justice, but there was a double rainbow after a short rain.
You can see it faintly over the hydro tower.

The game was very enjoyable and it reminded me that I must play Napoleonics more. Maybe next time, I'll bring out the Ottoman Turks! I have enough British and US troops to do a decent War of 1812 large game, but as I'd said in another blog, Shako worked best with large division-plus-sized games, which are very rare for the 1812. Turks might be fun - scads of mediocre cavalry, Jannisaries attempting to kill the Nizam-i-Cedit, militia everywhere and armed with anything.

I hope to have more gaming reports from the Hamilton Road Games club soon and a possible campaign that is in the formative stages. Time will tell.

The Port Stanley Encampment

Port Stanley, ON held "Harbourfest" last weekend. The big draw was the "tall ship" (which some folks read as plural), the brigantine St. Lawrence II. This ship is a nice one and offered tours and cruises of Lake Erie (at $50 a pop.) The reenactment was secondary... which was OK. The King's Company/17th US Infantry and the light company of the Royal Scots camped out on the green in front of the Royal Canadian Legion for Friday and Saturday. We had a grand time and had a  huge number of visitors.

We were asked to come and do two skirmishes on "Little Beach" as well as set up an encampment as extra colour for the Festival. We did them both. I personally got to know more of the men from the Royal Scots and a fine group they are! We all answered questions and did the skirmishes (In what reenactment do the reenactors get to fire in line, fire as skirmishers, fire a salute to the brigantine, surrender, drill, answer questions, demonstrate muskets and equipment, run a "mini-militia", meet General Brock {an actor and a great guy}, and get a meal at a local spot for our trouble?) I'm also learning the US bugle calls for light infantry and I got to do two of them.



The combined detail of the reenactors fire a salute to the St. Lawrence II on Friday afternoon.

 

Present Arms! Unfortunately the Scots didn't leave us too much room for this posture on the wharf.
Robby and Owen are in the front. I'm in the back rank, a rank of one!
"General Brock" is on the far left of the photo. Such a good sport!

 

Robby cuts loose with a practise/demonstration shot.
He's firing his/our family's new musket - a 1795 Springfield US model.
A mere .69 calibre piece! Oh, it was his 18th birthday as well!



The Scots at drill on Saturday, practising "Reverse Arms" to go to "Mourn Arms."



Sam at her loom. This was a huge draw for the curious in the camp.
(Owen sleeping was not quite as big a draw.)

 

Katie cross-stitching. The women in the camp do all sorts of period handicrafts.
They often cook, but we couldn't have a fire at this setting. No problem, though!
Across the street was an all-night convenience store and an open-late liquor store!
The festival midway offered burgers, souvlaki, pad Thai, and Nicaraguan food in addition to rides!



Nick and I as "pickets" on the bridge. It's one of the few half-split drawbridges left in the world.
Nick set the password, accepting "Please!", "God save the King!", "Ice Cream", or "Sex" before
allowing folks to pass. So many good sports in the crowd, although it baffled most children.

 

Robby and Tyler attempted to stop Katie at their picket post.
It didn't work.

 

Tyler, Sam, and Robby - note the "heroic pose" for the guys.



Justin, our corporal, and a few of the 17th run the "Mini-militia" through its paces.
The King's Company has wooden musket cut-outs and we use them to give the kids
a taste of period drill. They especially like "Charge your bayonet!" and let loose a
growling "Huzzah!"



Drill continues! At one point, General Brock came to review the "new recruits."
He spoke to each one individually.



In the afternoon skirmish, the Pandora comes in to take off the US raiders.
In the morning battle, they were British!

 

Some of the crew wade ashore to contact the infantry. The crewman (whose  name I don't know - sorry) carries a reproduction blunderbuss - that sounded like a cannon when it was fired! Our friend, Bill, in the green, was master-at-arms of the boat.



My moment of glory! As advance scout, I was first on the beach and called the rest of the unit with my bugle.



Skirmishers from the Royal Scots prepare to exchange fire with us.

 

Tyler, Robby, and the Pandora's crewman with his blunderbuss serve as part of the skirmish line.
The musket smoke is very evident. Black powder is a messy thing.

 

Justin and Nick advance onto the beach.



General Brock and his redcoats prepare a volley. These guys are good - very well drilled and good at their impression.



Tyler and Robby keep up a hot fire! This was Tyler's first time out reenacting in quite a while... and he liked it!

 

Evacuating the wounded! Jeff "took a hit" and I helped him to the rear.
He's in the regulation coatee and 1812 shako. I'm in the summer roundabout jacket and the 1813 "tombstone" shako.



The 17th fires a volley! This was Justin's first time to give commands and he did a mighty fine job! We often have a sergeant, but he was away from home. As I said above, we went from open order to skirmish to line and finally had to "surrender" to the Scots as the Pandora sailed away, shouting "We'll be back!" There were quite a few small raids across the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. Very few large actions, but a lot of small skirmishes.

 

General Brock read "his" proclamation after each of the battles. The crowd loved it. They moaned each time a redcoat fell and hissed at us in our US uniforms. (Some of the Scots had US kit and added to our numbers in the morning battle.)
It was all good natured fun and the audience asked a lot of good questions.

 

Glenn from the Royal Scots Light Company fields questions. He's quite knowledgeable and has authored at least one book on the War of 1812 in Southwestern Ontario.



The King's Company as the 17th US Infantry in all our gory glory.
First rank from left: Justin (corporal), Nick, Tyler, Jeff.
Second rank from left: Owen, Robby, John

 A good little event. We all agreed it was a lot of fun, a good chance to meet and greet the public, and a great stretch for our reenacting chops. I mean how often do you get to eat pad Thai in a Model 1812 coatee?