Toon Tanks Tangle

US tanks occupy the town. The Haunted tank on the left. 

Recently the Wednesday group played a game of What a Tanker by Two Fat Lardies. If you are not familiar with this game, it is a simple tank on tank duel using command dice to cover the various operations of moving, shooting, aiming and loading. Our forces for the game were 3 Panthers and a Hetzer on the German side, with 3 Sherman M4A1s, an M36 Tank Destroyer, 2 M4A4E8 Easy Eights, and an M5 Stuart as the famous “Haunted Tank” for the Americans.

 

US tanks enter the battlefield

Panther out hunting. US tanks can be seen in the far center behind the trees. 

Things started quickly with one of the Panthers being in a spot to both spot, aim and fire at the M36 doing some serious damage to the Tank Destroyer before it had even had a chance to do anything. The rest of the forces on both sides maneuvered around to gain cover for themselves and set-up to get sights on their enemies. The wounded M36 darted deep into a nearby grove of trees to break line of sight with the offending Panther and gain some much-needed cover.

Easy Eight in woods over watching the road

The following turn the M36 activated first, moved to the edge of the woods to fire on the Panthers and missed. It was rewarded for its trouble by being the target of a pair of Panthers that finished it off. Shortly after one of the Easy Eights got an amazing shot that destroyed a Panther, but the Panther commander played his Special card that reduced all damage to no effect and survived unscathed. With all the American tanks seeking cover around the village the Germans needed to maneuver to gain shots in the upcoming turns.

 

First Kill. M36 on fire

The third turn saw a standard Sherman take out a different Panther. This evened the odds back up. The rest of the American tanks kept to cover, while the Germans became impatient and started aggressively maneuvering.

 

US revenged. Burning Panther

The next turns saw the Germans taking shots on the tanks in the town. They damaged a few, but left themselves open for counter attacks. The Hetzer was the first to go down to the Easy Eight that had been sighted in on the main road. The Panthers then through caution to the wind. In order to get better shots on the tanks in town they exposed their flanks to the Easy Eight over watching the road. It proved a poor choice as another Panther went down in flames. With only a single tank remaining the lucky Panther that survived to first killing shot departed the board for safer hunting grounds.

 

The Hetzer goes down as the Panthers maneuver to engage the US tanks

The third Panther goes down to a flank shot as the lone surviving German heads off the battlefield

Overall it was a fun game with great looking terrain. I am sure there will be a rematch soon.

Another Bloody Hill Line

The latest battle again featured a hill line defense. This saw Otherwhen attacking Nodd to open the central road and continue their campaign to seize the eastern province of South Riding. For a change I made this primarily an infantry battle, with the cavalry fight taking place unseen and off board. Otherwhen had a slight numerical infantry advantage, a few superior infantry units in their Queen’s Own Guard, and Zeebataillon (their elite Marines), and double the artillery. Both sides had a smattering of light horse to help guard against flanking attacks and plug the inevitable holes in the line. Each side expected additional infantry reinforcements. I made an error in my measuring and the central hill that was supposed to give Otherwhen’s artillery a useful supporting position, turned out to be just out of range against the main infantry line of Nodd.

The opposing forces. Otherwhen on the left, Nodd on the right.

The battle opened with Otherwhen launching a general advance across the entire line. This surprised me some as during the planning part of the game they had talked about starting with a bombardment before advancing. This was something I thought was a wise choice given the length of time they had to accomplish their goal, (ten turns and only needing about four turns to bring their infantry into contact against the enemy’s main line). Both sides artillery played a substantial roll in the outcome of the battle.

On Nodd’s left flank the Black Barron’s brigade was withdrawn behind the hill line while all their artillery concentrated on the advancing center units of Otherwhen. The casualties inflicted were moderate, but the outcome was substantial. Otherwhen’s Senior brigade had three of its four battalions panic, meaning they could take no offensive action for the rest of the day. This included both elite units. Substantial counter battery fire eventually drove off or destroyed Nodd’s artillery, but the damage had been done.

The Black Barron’s Brigade withdrawn behind the hill. Otherwhen’s Senior Brigade advancing in the top center.

View from the center of Nodd’s defensive line, The target of the attack.

On the flanks it was a different story. After a slow start, Otherwhen’s right flank began driving in the Black Barron’s brigade This was helped by a daring attack by the Barron’s cavalry against the battery of artillery and an advance off their hill line to support this. Rather than maneuver to the artilleries flank the cavalry launched a head on charge from maximum range. While the battery had been reduced to half, it was still a not well thought out assault. Covering such a long distance into a firing line had predictable poor results for the cavalry who were driven off repeatedly. Their supporting infantry came off the worst in the firefight and having come down off the hill were finding it hard to get back up against the pursuing infantry.

Otherwhen attacking the remains of the Black Barron’s Brigade on Nodd’s left flank after the hussars failed charge on the artillery.

On Otherwhen’s left flank their infantry line supported by highly effective artillery fire was making dynamic headway. When their reinforcements arrived in the way of a flanking attack the results became catastrophic for Nodd. The cavalry and infantry defending this flank stood their ground repeatedly while being virtually annihilated in the process. Otherwhen commanders had become so obsessed with this success that they had overlooked a serious problem. There was no attack being made on the central position that was the objective. With both flanks collapsing Nodd’s generals were using the command abilities to their fullest to delay Otherwhen’s progress until the sun had set and time had runout.

Nodd’s right flank under heavy pressure. Casualties are already mounting as the flanking attack through the forest begins to develop.

Otherwhen pressing in on the right flank while Nodd’s forces stubbornly holdout.

Nodd forces holding on until the end.

It was a costly victory for Nodd, but they had finally stemmed the tide of Otherwhen’s success. The keys to this victory was the unusual result of three infantry battalion’s morale collapsing with so few casualties, especial for elite units, and the failure of the attackers to switch any forces over to the center to capture the objective. Overall this was a very well-played game by all parties.

Nodd infantry holding strong. This central hill was never attacked.

Otherwhen’s Senior Brigade seen at the end of the battle where it had stalled early on.

We Came, We Saw, We Got Our Butts Kicked.

This past week my local group gathered to play a game of Honors of War (HoW). The game pitted the Austrians and Prussians in an epic clash. We had eight players, four to a side and around one thousand figures on the table by games end.

The Austrians were tasked with holding a ridgeline and two small towns against a massive Prussian assault. Initially only a vanguard of grenadiers was available along with a substantial cavalry element to hold the planes on the right flank. The plan was to hold the ridgeline awaiting reinforcements to solidify the position and for the cavalry to engage their opposite number and upon that success to launch spoiling attacks against the then exposed Prussian infantry’s flank. As you can likely tell by the title none of this went as planned.

Austrian cavalry prepare to vanquish their Prussian opponents. The troops on the right are destined never to leave this spot.

On the first turn our grenadiers moved up and took their position at the front of the hill while my cavalry group headed off to attack, however the other half of the cavalry failed to activate. The Prussian infantry rushed forward making good time, while their cavalry oddly held back. 


On turn two our cavalry group again surged forward. Little was I to know that this would be the last time our second cavalry group would activate. Over the next few turns our reinforcements arrived and to my surprise the Prussian, after making amazing progress simply halted outside of musket range. I had to wait for the cavalry reinforcements to catch up because my right flank support repeatedly failed to move. I was finally ready to launch my attack against the enemy cavalry, when suddenly the Prussian reinforcements of hussars arrived on our flank, and just behind our dawdling cavalry. The rear attack against them potentially left them vulnerable, but since our cavalry was not pinned each unit contacted had the opportunity to turn and face the enemy charge with each only needing a 3+ to succeed. Five out of six units failed the roll. I was forced to send part of my cavalry back to try and prevent disaster. By games end our cavalry force was a mess. The Prussians still had a fully intact brigade of dragoons ready to go. We had lost 5 battalions and over half of the remaining were blown. The Prussian hussars were also spent, as was more than half of the rest of their cavalry. For us the battle was over.

Reinforced, the Austrians cavalry advance against the Prussians.

The Austrian central hill position await the Prussian infantry advance.

Prussian grenadier capture the town. Austrians linger just outside musket range.

After the unexpected flanking rear attack by Prussian hussars half the Austrian cavalry are in a major disarray.

Having seen off a battalion of Prussian grenadiers the rest of the Austrian cavalry await the inevitable Prussian cavalry charge.

On the opposite flank the reason for the Prussian infantry delay became clear as a pair of fresh infantry brigades came crashing into our left flank. With both flanks compromised and a force of nearly intact veteran Prussian infantry to our front we concede the game. 

The main Prussian battle line engage the central hill.

The disarraying outcome of the cavalry battle with units scattered across the field. Prussian hussars lower left, dragoon and cuirassier right. Austrian cavalry upper left and center. 

As one sided as this turned out everyone, save one of us, had a good time. For obvious reasons the poor fellow who never got to play, other than by rolling poor dice, did not enjoy the experience. What I took away was the need to limit both Dithering and Dashing commanders. Their extremes of a one third chance to either not activate, or on the opposite side, a one third chance to double move, are real game changers. Personally, I hate a system that prevents you from playing simply because of luck. I am considering modifying the effect to only allowing half of a force to advance on a Poor result, while a Feeble result will be no units may advance.

New Scenario: C-in-C’s at Work

I ran a different sort of scenario for my Toy Solders game on Wednesday. The goal of this was to test out an idea of reserves. I wanted C-in-C’s to have a broader job than just moving from crisis point to crisis point adding the command points. I worked out rules to activate and attach reserves for the game that required them to be within command range of the divisional commander they were attaching to. We played through it twice and while it worked, it still lacked the crises point issue that I had hoped for. The scenario both times went well, so all is good on that front.

Game 1 opening moves

In the first game both sides shifted forces to attack/reinforce the town road exit. This led to a weakening of the central road position that the forces of Otherwhen succeeded in taking. 

Reinforcing the town

Cavalry battle on the town flank

Assault on the central hill line

In the second game cavalry was sent to the high hill flank while the main assault came straight up the central road. Devastating fire from the Otherwhen forces had the Nodd defenders reeling. Even with this the Nodd defenders were not pushed off the hill until the last turn. 

Game 2

The cavalry battle near the town, while the key assaults approach the hill line.

Otherwhen assault advancing up the main road

Otherwhen's assault on the big hill begins. 

Nodd's infantry stand ready on the central hill 

Cavalry face off in the valley below the big hill.

Otherwhen cuirassier and lancers in the foreground. Nodd hussars to the left. 

The cavalry battle near the town road.

Last of Nodd's cuirassier defending near the town await the Otherwhen charge.

Otherwhen's Queen's Guard lend their weight to the assault on Nodd's Royal Foot Guard. 

At battles end the field nearly empty of Nodd defenders 

At near days end Nodd's Royal Foot Guard still holding on to the main road right to the end

Dog Wars - Warfare in the Age of Madness

Beginning a new project is always exciting. This one especially, since I have been planning it for over 30 years. This is my mid 18th century grand project in order solo play Charles Stewart Grant's Scenarios for Wargamers, and Programed Scenarios for Wargamers. It requires at least 15 units of line infantry, 5 of light infantry, 16 of medium and heavy cavalry, 5 of light cavalry and 6 batteries of artillery.

My plan is to play using Honours of War (HoW) rules because of the random element in command activation, which as a solo gamer is good. It means that my overall knowledge of what both armies want to do can still be thwarted by good, or bad die rolls for command. They also play fast enough that even with the number of units involved it should not take me to long to complete turns. Another useful thing is they allow for both size and quality differences of units. This is a big thing for campaigns since it allows an easy way to implement changes that will take place.

This is an ImagiNation project, so a lot of additional work is required. There are a number of things already started. Figures are ordered, uniforms designed, national and regimental  flags are begun, rules are chosen, scenarios are set. As ideas become reality, and more things start to jell, my enthusiasm continues to grow. Unlike the Toy Soldiers project that was designed to be a multi-player event for store games and conventions, this ones primary intention is for myself. I expect much more activity here as things develop.

Out of Left Field

Union Forces Approach the Confederate Line at the Battle of Barnett's Bluff

A few weeks back I agreed to join my group of Longstreet players for another campaign. The talk had been about starting in the spring, which works great for my schedule. That would give me plenty of time to repaint my missing cavalry, destroyed by me in a tragic slip on the ice moment. As I wanted to play an Eastern force this time, I would also have time to get a few new command stands done and add a new unit or two.

 Well, things got moving faster than I expected and the first game has been played. My Union forces lead by Ebenezer W. Pierce, composed of the 4^th Massachusetts, 3^rd and 7^th New York, 4^th Massachusetts Artillery, and the 2^nd US Cavalry (formally the 2^nd US Dragoons) battled Carnot Posey and his Mississippians.

The Battle of Slippery Springs

Yankees Pour Fire into the Faces of the Rebs

As this was the first battle of the campaign both sides had mirror image forces. We fought an Outflanking battle with me as the attackers.

 My trait cards, Artillery & Engineering Officer give me a nice +1 boost to a single artillery battery per turn, and the ability to start with an extra bridge across either a stream or river, or to start with a good section of fieldworks. I also get a +1 to digging in my troops during the game.

 Carnot Posey has European Veteran and Personal Physician giving him a +1 boost to his infantry shooting with a risk of losing cards (1-3 loose that many cards, 4+ no effect). The Personal Physician reduce the risk to only being affected on a 1-2, plus be immune to the most deadly card in the game that removes 1-6 cards from your hand at the start of your play, (you only have a 6 card hand).

 Both sides started the battle headed for the open flank, me to exploit it, the Rebs to fill it. Both of us where lucky and had bonus movement cards, but the Rebs played a card that kept my cavalry from moving for a turn and that would have left my infantry vulnerable if it advanced.

 Having lost my advantage, I forced a Reb infantry unit into range of two of my infantry units, with the intention of shooting it to pieces. The Rebs had the right counter and turned my shooting into crap. So much for best laid plans. 
The battle then turned into a series of charges and counter-charges (Charges gain Epic Point (EPs), and EPs are what the campaign is about). We both made headway, but the Rebs broke through my center, while I only pushed back their flank. The game was close with my failure to cause any casualties on my last turn, despite having four rolls of 50% to do so, being the difference in winning and losing. I lost the real battle of EPs 4-to-9. In the end a moment of hesitation on my part of not launching a charge cost me.

 

Rebs Launch a Massed Attack on the Yankee Line

The other forces of the Army of the Potomac fought in a 3-on-3 game. In The Battle of Barnett’s Bluff, the Union troops were soundly defeated by the Rebs. A combined force of Virginians lead by Charles S. Winder, North Carolinians lead by J. Johnson Pettigrew, and Louisans lead by Harry T. Hays, first stalled the Union attack, then launched a major flanking assault to break the line. The New York Zouaves lead by Romeyn B. Ayres, held the Union center, supported on the left by Israel B Richardson’s Michiganders, and Thomas Francis Meagher’s 2^nd Irish Brigade. It was the Irish that suffered dreadful losses from the Louisans assaults on their exposed flank.

 

Confederate Assault on the Irish Brigade's Flank

This is only 1861 and there are another six battles to go. The Confederates start with all the advantages, but over time that swings to the Union. My big problem is I am in last place with 4EPs with most of the pack way up at 8-12. Time to teach my boys bayonet drill and hope for some great press.

I Have Not Been Idle

Even though I have not posted in a few months I have been regularly painting and witting for my games.

Games Workshop has been my big distraction/bane this summer. I have purchased and worked on four new games, Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, Adeptus Titanicus and The Lord of the Rings. In the case of the later it is not so much new, as a continuation on my collection. So far all I have really done with most is assemble models and terrain. My Warlord Titan did get some basic painting done, with only Lord of the Rings getting figures finished. 

I finished my first mounted knights of Gondor. Hard to believe, but I never owned any before this release, even though the collection started over seventeen years ago. They will serve double duty as both troops for my Good Folks for Lord of the Rings and as knights for my medieval campaign.

Knights of Gondor

My gaming buddy Bob reminded me of another project that I have left sitting for nine years. The Quar. These are best described as World War I anteaters. Yup, you read that right. Anteaters. He finished his troops years ago while mine have hit the painting cue numerous times I never did start them. His threat to sell his off got me off my butt and painting. More on that project later.

Quar 1st Section

Close up of Coftyran Rhyfler

On the writing end I have added more rules for the Medieval Campaign and will be posting them soon. I also had a major epiphany on colonial gaming campaigns. I am creating a whole matrix for operational choices for both natives and empire builders. These will lead to a combination of scenarios and unique victory points. The key goal here will be winning Heart and Minds. I expect to be able to use this in both my 1890s campaigns and Twilight 2000.

 My painting should be moving ahead at a good pace again once I am past the big auction here and my own personal post auction clean up. My painting table is a nightmare of projects and I need to clean space and get myself focused for the finishing projects by the end of year.