Grande armee

Thursday night game 

1807 French vs Russian

Battle of Keren 1941

Not sure if that's a heliograph or a theodolite but it is in the mountains at Keren.

Italian East Africa – Operational Game Rules

Logistics

Both CinCs are allocated a set number of logistics at the beginning of the game.  These travel across the table as soft vehicles but are instantly destroyed if close assaulted or fired upon.  They are spotted as vehicles.  They are a prime target for aircraft but a level three priority for any other unit attacking or firing.  They enable units to be in supply when otherwise they would not, they enable +1 firing for pre-planned bombardment and they enable engineering tasks.

Once used or destroyed they are returned to the CinC and put back in reserve.

Pre-planned Bombardment

Every half hour CinCs may submit artillery bombardment plans for the upcoming hour – bombardments may be planned for any specific time after the next upcoming hour.

Extra supplies may be consumed by a regiment to gain a +1 on AI or AT for sustained bombardment – but only for pre-planned bombardment.

Engineers

Engineers are all lorried and have a DEF of 2.  They can only go where vehicles can travel.  Engineering tasks are as normal but require one supply for each engineering task.

Mortars and mountain guns.

Any mortar or designated mountain infantry gun can fire in the direct phase as moving infantry if they have only moved half their distance and they are spotting the target for themselves.

Mountain movement

1.             Supporting units cannot fire through friends on mountains.

2.             Units on mountains are always in -1 cover.

3.             All units firing from one mountain at a target on another mountain suffer a -1 penalty (apparently it was notoriously difficult to judge the range)

4.             Mountain trained troops get a +1 in close combat.

5.             Only support units of 76mm and below in calibre can be manhandled up mountains and move at 1/3 normal movement.

6.             Infantry units move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain (see later for ascending/descending) and cannot fire when moving.

7.             Mountain trained infantry move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain but can fire in the moving infantry phase.

8.             Only howitzers and mortars can fire onto or over mountains.  Calibers of 105mm or less can fire up to two levels.  106mm to 149mm can fire up to 3 levels.  150mm and above up to 4 levels. This is in addition to and not instead of their usual range from other tables.

9.             Units firing from a higher level get a +1 for direct fire.

Aircraft rules

·               Aircraft attacks commence as usual every hour, or half hour by the player holding the airfield table.

·               The CinC will write a flight plan indicating the route to and from the target.

·               All ground attacks will be from the direction of the table edge the aircraft enters from and parallel with the left and right side of the table edges.

·               Any table crossed that has AA of 37mm or greater calibre can attack the passing aircraft.

·               Any calibre of AA on the table that is within range of the final air attack can fire.

·               Bombers attack up to six consecutive units of any type in a 12" x 2" beaten zone and fighter bombers/light attack aircraft attack up to 3 units (but only the first can be armoured) in a 6" x 1" beaten zone.

·               The CinC must also give a mission to each aircraft; Bomb, Escort, CAP or Recon.

·               Aircraft that encounter enemy CAP or Escort fighters will conduct arial combat - fighters cancel out other fighters or fighter bombers, 2x fighters will shoot down one fighter or fighter bomber, one fighter will shoot down bombers and spotter aircraft.

Instead of players automatically selecting the best targets aircraft should have a priority list of targets based on what they can see;

1.             Vehicles moving in the open *

2.             Infantry moving in the open *

3.             Artillery firing in the open

4.             Vehicles stationary in the open
(*Units attacked by aircraft whilst moving in the open revert to hold orders)

Target priority is in the order above and then nearest unit. If there are no other targets then the aircraft return to base without attacking anything - unless there is a Forward Aircraft Controller and then it can guide the attack onto any enemy it can spot, just like an Artillery FOO.  Again, the attack will still be in the direction of entry from the table edge and parallel with the other table edges.

In addition;

·               Each side can attack the other sides off table airfields.  As this is simultaneous it doesn't matter if the defending aircraft is present or on a mission as this represents its base facilities and logistics.  Off table attacks can be against single or multiple targets but each target gets a 40mm AA defence.

·               Bombing missions can be pre-planned against an identifiable feature. The CinC must submit a flight-plan a half hour before the mission.

Reinforcements and replacements.

The British CinC may call a halt to the game at any time and roll for replacements for units that are not in direct fire and that have suffered casualties but have not routed. Any unit that is within direct fire of the Italians can freely be moved back out of range in order to recover casualties.

A D6 is rolled and on a 1,2 there is one replacement, on a 3,4 there are two and on a 5,6 there are three.

However, if the British CinC calls for a replacement phase the Italians may reorganise units but not HQs and they can get an extra unit from their strategic reserve list. 

If the Italians require more troops they can call for a unit from their strategic reserve list but this loses them an objective point in the overall game as they are forced to pull troops from other fronts.

Table Layout

For Keren it's a half table layout;

Table 1C

Table 1D

Table 1D

Table 1C

Table 3A

Table 3B

Tips

The Italians must ensure their defences are mutually supporting to get the most from the terrain.  The mountain guns give some flexibility to the defence but limited reinforcements means that their deployment must provide a decisive counter stroke to any British attacks.

For the British it's steady as they go.  A bold drive might secure key objectives whilst unbalancing an unsteady Italian defence but it will be risky with the risk of high casualties.  Like a 1918 attack, limited objectives taken in strength with strong well prepared artillery support should minimise casualties and secure the points attacked.  But time may well run out if they are not pushed quickly.

Engineer support will be crucial to both sides and air attacks may just tip the balance on any of the tables.

Orders of battle

For this game the base unit is a regiment/brigade to enable players to have all the supports without being overwhelmed in the mountains with too many individual units.  Ideally there should be a CinC player for each side and two British players and one further Italian player.

British; The Kaid's Expeditionary Force in Sudan and Eritrea.

CinC Assets

1x Med Art Regt; 1x HQ, 2x 60pdrs.
3x Matildas
2x Bofors
7x Engineers
1x Bomber
3x Fighters
1x Air Recon
1x Transport
1x Battalion of commandoes (x3 bases)
1x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
1x 2pdr Portee
24x Trucks

4th Indian Division; 1x HQ, 1x Engineer, 1x 2pdr Portee

3x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
2x Field Art Regts; 1x HQ, 3x 25pdrs

5th Indian Division; 1x HQ, 1x Engineer, 1x 2pdr Portee

3x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
2x Field Art Regts; 1x HQ, 3x 25pdrs

(All units are regular, except the commandoes are veteran)

Italian Garrison of Keren

3x Colonial Infantry Regts; 1x HQ, 9x Inf, 2x MG, 1x Mortar (Green) - entrenched.

The following to be attached or committed from the reserve during the game;
3x 65mm mountain guns (Reg)
1x 75mm mountain gun (Reg)
1x 100mm Howitzer (Reg)
2x 75mm Field Guns (Reg)
3x L3/33 tankettes.
4x Engineers.
12x Trucks

And then a further unit from the following list; any further units that are committed will be due to the British calling a halt or will cause the Italians to lose an objective point (as per rules above).

1x Savoy Grenadiers; 1x HQ, 9x Inf (Vet)

1x Bersaglieri; 1x HQ, 1x SMG M/C (recon), 4x Rifles M/C, 2x MG M/C, 1x 47mm A/T (truck), 1x Mortar (truck) (Reg)

1x Blackshirt Brigade; 1x HQ, 9x Inf, 1x MG, 1x Mortar (Random Morale; 1-4 Gr, 5 Reg, 6 Vet)

1x Colonial Div; 1x Div HQ, 1x Mortar, and then 2x Brigades each of 1x HQ, 6x Inf (Green)

Battle in the Mountains (Part 1)

Well, I've written the amended rules for fighting in the mountains and it would be a shame not to try them out.

I wanted to create a small representative battlefield in which I can try out armies from different theatres and periods.  I can see this being used in the Northwest Frontier, Afghan Wars (19th & 20th Century), Arab Israeli Wars and the Iran-Iraq War.  For this first outing I wanted to use my WW2 North African forces so I imagined an operation on the left flank of Monty's advance into Tunisia in which 8th Army is attempting to open up communications with Patton's American units.

The Wehrmacht crosses indicate objective points.  Mountain peaks are impassable, the wadi is rough ground and there are movement bonuses for using the road. 

Mark agreed to give the rules a try before I roll them out on a club night.  He would play the British and have 2 x Indian infantry battalions, regular but mountain trained.  In reserve, he would have a motorised infantry battalion and a tank battalion.  In support there is an entire divisional artillery complement of 3 x 25 pounder regiments with four fire missions.  Mark also had a flight of medium  bombers and 2 x fighter bombers which he could preplan or attach to one of the units.

I would play the axis defenders.  This would consist of a battalion of green but dug-in Italian infantry with a supporting battery 75mm field artillery and 90mm AT/AA portees.  I placed a company with MG support around the mountain village defending the approached to the wadi.  The remaining mg with a platoon of infantry was entrenched on the first mountain overlooking the cross roads and an 81mm mortar with 3x platoons of infantry was dug-in on the first level of the furthest mountain overlooking the crossroads and the approaches from the bridge.  The portee was dug-in behind the cross roads and the remaining infantry and 75mm field gun were ensconced in the fort.

In addition, I had a FOO on the upper level of the back mountain controlling a battalion of German 105's off table with four fire missions.  The crossroads were mined and the bridge was set to explode if tapproached by the British (a 6 on a D6 would be required).  A battalion of motorised infantry with Sig33 and Marder supports were in reserve ready to be committed once the the hill top village was taken - a roll of 1-3 they would arrive from the West, on a 4-6 they would arrive from the North.

The Italian MG and infantry support revealed by the patrol.

Before the game began Mark was allowed two fighting patrols and an aerial reconnaissance flight.  He sent the two patrols either side of the first mountain on his left.  The first patrol discovered no enemy and no garrison at the western road exit.  The second patrol briefly engaged the detachment above the crossroads before returning with the information.

The aerial recon was ordered to inspect the hilltop village and immediate area.  The Italian garrison and HQ was spotted and the pilot went in closer for a better look.  However, the 20mm AA guarding the bridge opened up and drove the Lysander away.

That was all the information Mark was able to glean and based on that he made his plans.  In the next post I will write up what happened.

Mountains!

It's taken me a while to upgrade my desert terrain with mountains.  Last summer I cut and coated the bases and painted the peaks in the reorganised workshop.  With warmer weather I have used evenings to finish the texturing - I think I could do more but I've got the look I was wanting to achieve. 

The terrain for the next Thursday night try out for the Iran-Iraq War is ready.

I'm only half way through creating enough terrain to go fully operational but I should have it completed by the end of Summer - I might organise a half table operational game just to make sure the mountain rules work effectively.

Saddam's Mig 21s bomb suspected Kurdish positions in Northern Iraq.  Change the markings and it could be Afghanistan. Change the armies and it could be the Northwest Frontier, Tunisia, Italian East Africa......

Meanwhile I need to concentrate on JoS and then hopefully we might get some temperate terrain completed.

Just in case you wondered how it was done - I like to think it is therapeutic.

The Iran-Iraq project is moving along nicely and the mountain terrain allows me to put on another further Thursday night game.  Thanks to everyone for bearing with me as I develop new formations, rules and scenarios.  This is helping me create an operational game that has the unique flavour of this war but should give us a balanced game between two quite different armies, in-spite of all the 1980's equipment.  Although the scenarios are quite brutal for one side, I do think this is the nature of modern combat - I'm planning on the operational game giving us more pause and sense that either side can win.

Mark does have good ideas!

The first of 22.  This represents a British Infantry Brigade with HQ, 3 x Infantry, 1 x AT and 1x mortar.

A few weeks ago Mark and I pretested the operational game for the JoS.  He suggested using a large movement tray on which a number of individual bases can be temporarily stuck to quicken the game and give a better impression of a unit that will be representing a brigade.  I initially pooh-poohed his idea as this would require extra prep which I was trying to avoid.

Well, I gave it some thought and came around to agreeing with him.  I had some mounting card which I cut to 6" x 4", glued on some sandpaper, painted, dry brushed and washed - and there you go!

I think this might be a good process for doing town sectors, minefields etc.

.....and the moral of that story is never pooh-pooh Mr Shakespeare!

Help!

I'm trying to put together  a more thematically organised blog as a build up to JoS but I'm struggling with the layout.

The heading picture is too big and my attempt to put a profile and blogs I follow on the right hand side has got in the way of the post.

The address is operation-wargame.blogspot.com

Please help!

Cretan War - notes to myself.

I've been reading up on the Cretan War of the 17th century and thinking about the operational gaming opportunities.  This was a 27 year conflict between the Venetian and Ottoman Empires over the island of Crete and its valuable resources and trading links.  The Venetians were aided by a number of Christian allies whilst the Ottomans often employed Dutch and English pirates.

This was a largely naval war with amphibious landings and sieges which was decided by the fall of Candia, Crete's capital, a Venetian stronghold which was besieged for the whole duration of the conflict.  Ultimately, the war was about who could maintain the siege with supply lines from Constantinople and Venice witnessing naval battles, sieges and amphibious assaults.

This sounds a bit like operation Nostalgia, the WW2 operational game Mark and I have been contemplating for years.

It also sounds like a similar concept for a WW2 pacific operational game.

So, I could develop the terrain and have a number of other gaming periods as spin offs - always a plus when putting in the effort of terrain/army building.

I could get the fleets in plastic or metal/resin.  This is a 1/450 model from Revell which is close enough to fit in.

                     
The idea of doing the naval side of the game in 1/300 is appealing and who wouldn't want to fight an amphibious game with Venetians and Turks?

The operational game would follow the traditional set up with the Turks as attacker.  3B would be Candia and its fortified port.  3A would be the outer walls and the Ottoman siege lines.  The other tables would be small islands or larger ones depending on whether they are open or close terrain.  1C would be an outer Venetian fort.  Lines of supply will be crucial.  I may have one axis of attack from Constantinople and the other from North Africa.

Each side would have points to allocate for ships/troops/supplies.  The CinC's would allocate the forces with an opportunity every half hour to reallocate points on the hour.  If both sides choose to reallocate on the hour then a campaign year has concluded and the forces are reset but the positions remain held by the occupiers.

If one side feels it has an advantage then it can push on past the hour.  I may have to have an obligatory reset at lunch or if one side is just sitting on their positions then the umpire calls for a reset.

Just some ideas for me to refer back to in the future.

What's App

my new mobile number us 07895 590066.  I think Jon set up the What's App group. Can you send me an invite to join again? Ta. 

M109 A1 emplaced battery

Iranian M109's are resupplied by Chinook.

A quick shot of the artillery battery Mark gave to me - I think I may get some more for dedicated off table artillery positions for operational games.  They won't take spearhead bases but as a terrain piece it really looks the part.

A pity about my photographic skills - I could really do with a photo session with Russ!

Not the same equipment but it gives you a comparison

             

Medieval again

English line Bill units mixed in with bill and bow in the foreground,Longbow with foot knights higher up with a reserve of cavalry

French van of Mounted knights and retainers beyond the red tower

and the main of crossbow and foot knights with a small reserve of knights and retainers

French left wing of hand gunners militia and mercenary bill

English start point

English move to stream as the french cavalry try to turn their flank

English Bill and bow wing swing round the right flank 

the hand gunners try to push them back

French foot knights head for the longbows

French cavalry having forced the English foot knights to redeploy then slam into them

French crossbow didn't fare well against the longbow

Hand gunners having pushed one unit back get caught in a melee which destroys one unit  

The English flank attack stalls in the wood and takes no part in the action

Bit of a theme there

French cavalry with a succession of charges grinds away at the foot knights.

English reserve moves up

French foot knights finally get to grips with the hated longbows

Fighting along the line

French left wing pulls back to avoid the bill and bow units

Who decided to camp out just past the wood

Dusk falls and as neither army was broken they pull back to lick their wounds

Fun Game 

thanks gents for playing it in a relaxed manner.

We used the terrain layout cards from The Hannibal rule set to create the battle field, which threw up marshes, stream, rough hill and woods 

Thursday night , medieval warmaster

French pushing at English line

French flank attack 

that's as far as it got

Hand gunners and crossbow

I was so amazed i had to take a picture.

so this is what it feels like to be Russ!!!

French still pushing

Flank attack still there