Foot Patrol to Battle

We fought a WW2 platoon battle encounter battle last night,at Willie's who had just finished flocking a lovely table.  He also got his new buildings onto the table.

Nobly he decided to advise the two novice German Players facing me with the british and JP with armoured infantry. My opponent had a platoon of German Panzer grenadiers in half tracks, supported by a Pak40 a mortar and an HMG, a Panther and a Panzer IV.

I fielded  a foot patrol , one churchill, 4 rams carrying a platoon and a 6pdr.

Foot Patrol

Entered the table with the foot patrol on the edge of some woods.I worked them into the nearest buildings, holding the rams and Churchill on reserve moves.

Foot Patrol is hiding through the Wall

The German Player deployed swiftly over two thirds of the table, his Panther eventually leading.  He reached the buildings my foot patrol was occupying.  At this point I was ready to spring my trap depolying the reserves, the Kangaroo dismounted with the attached Medic, Piat Team and Light mortar.  The 6pdr pushed forward and unlimbered out of sight of the Panther

Kangaroo,Piat and Mortar

Platoon Command

 The Platoon Command deployed in the little archway, the Piat Team literal revealed themselves to the Panther getting one shot off, the Panther rattled off a pair of HE shots but struck only bricks.

Panther!

 The 6pdr was then manhandled around the corner and got a lucky hit but no penertration however his  morale roll of "1" pinned the blighter.  We went into a concerted frenzy of 6pdr and piat attacks which failed to penertrate the armour

The German infantry were occupying the houses in the background.
The platoon commander felt a  needed to deal with these as it was now hitting 10.30 pm with less than so the Churchill and the rifle sections rolled into the attack but ended repulsed.  the Churchill missing a rear shot on the Panther with the same beast hitting it twice and penertrating twice.  Game over with the Brits pinned within 10" of the enemy and likely to all go into the bag, however the foot patrol came out in one piece.

The Cameronian answer to Tigers.

 Operation Blackcock was fought in January 1945, right in the period of "The Fall of the Reich" battlegroup book.  Most of the fighting took place in the towns on the German Dutch border in terrible winter weather.  Heavy snow alternating with thaws, bogged roads and limitedtank support meant that  The Lowland Division infantry would depending on 6pdrs, piats and sticky bombs.  

Unknown to Lowland Divisional Intelligence,  a battalion of German Tiger 1, rebuilt on a core of Russian front veterans, was ready willing and able to counterattack Operation Blackcock.

My 6pdrs are coming on now, working on the bases, the crews need a wash, highlight and varnish.

Deniston jacket

Goney need the loader crew

or we will be down to stick bombs

Beneath the Lily Banners Swede v Russians

This was a five player game played at Carluke Wargames Club.  Jon Bryson is still completing his Swedish army but you can see some of his fantastic painting already.

The Russian Army was about 50% stronger in infantry with 21 battalions v 15 Swedish, with 24 Russian Squadrons  v 15 Swedish Squadrons. The Russains had 6 field guns to 3 Swedish.  A Polish ally was deployed but didnt get into the fighting.  Result Swedish win massacring the Russians.

Polish including their black coated  Scots

Swedish

Swedish

My Russian Center

My Russian Center being destroyed

Swedish cavalry close on the Russian left

Swedish Infantry sweep over the grand battery and their fusiliers

Hail Caesar Samurai

After playing a few Early Imperial Roman battles with Hail Caesar I joined the Yahoo group, which led me to the discovery of Rick Priestly file for late samurai armies.  Fantastic, I was eager to play my favorite Japanese armies the Ikko Ikki and using the basic rules I was able to field the following army.  We set up to play at Willie's garage on the last cold dark rainy  night of this year.  

Training

More training

Cant get enough training

Army Lists

Clan 1& 2

Experienced Taisho CD8

Unit of naginate armed Monks

Unit of Teppo Ashigaru, professional

Unit of Yari Armed ashigaru, professional

2 units of Levy Ashigaru

Ally Clan commanded by Willie

A unit of samurai cavalry

2 Units of Samurai foot

Unit of Teppo Ashigaru, professional

Unit of Yari Armed ashigaru, professional

Jp fielded two clans 

Clan 1

Daimyo CD9

2 Cavalry Samurai

2 foot samurai

a unit of monks

2 Tari Ashigaru, professional

1 Unit,small Ronin

Clan 2

Taishi CD8

1 Foot samurai

1 Yumi ashigaru, professional

3 Yari Ashigaru, professional

2 Units,small Ronin

"My right flank"

In command Sohei monks

"They call me The Daimyo"

Battle analysis, first impressions

We did get a different game from the previous Roman battles.  Every peasant unit from clans 1 & 2 got into the fight. The right flank came very close to breaking JP's Clan 2.  JP needed to commit seriously to breaking the peasants and making sure every unit went down.  Use of my commanders became essential to boost the attacks.

Most troops dont give support so movement to the flanks seemed to play a bigger part or the use of reserves for the right moment. The Yari Ashigaru are good enough to hold up the samurai but unlikely to defeat them in one on one combat.  Teppo Ashigaru can do more damage to the samurai. This includes the levy ashigaru

The monks are much better at smashing ashigaru and stand up better to Samurai.

Cavalry do give you mobility but with most units having long spear it takes the edge off their punch. They can get surrounded so this discourages charging a mass of enemy, both Willie and JP cavalry battle stagnated with only one charge made by JP on Yari armed foot samurai.

Vikings v Anglo Danish

Battle of Red Tree Wood

I really looked forward to this clash on the feasting boards of Ian's hall!  This time we tried out "Kings of War" with an Anglo Danish Army list against the Vikings, This time three vikings Andrew, Ian and James against Chuck and myself as Saxons.  1700 points a side.  The Vikings had 6 regiments (3 warriors,3 spearmen and a troop of skirmishing archers) the Anglo Danes 8 regiments (1 housekarls, 7 freemen levy and 2 troops of slingers).  Each player also had two characters each. We set up with three small hills and a wood, one hill was wooded with prominent  red trees.

"We never kneel in battle before the storm of weapons"

James Bs Viking Noble Warrior, he held up a unit of freemen for most of the game all by himself

Another James B hero "Bikel Marrymore* indulging in the sword dance

A close up of Andrew's Viking archers in Red Tree Wood

The fyrd

The only surviving fyrd unit from my forces

Saxon Queen urges on her freemen, again a surviving unit from Chuck's forces 

Chucks Saxons  charge the Vikings

Chuck's huscarls break the vikings then follow up by turning to fight off the viking spears

"The Noble lady told me, 

My head to carry always high in battle

Where swords seek to shatter

The skulls of doomed warriors"


Bikel taking the saxons in the flank, he inflicted over 15 damage markers on the my Saxons armed only with a Sax.

My Saxons took a battering  and knocked out none of the Vikings.  Chuck smashed the Huscarl's into the center, crushed a unit of viking spears then tackled a second unit,however he was overwhelms with a combination of Ian,s hero delivering a rear attack while held by Andrew's spearmen.  Chuck's slingers also defeated the viking bowmen who had left the wood

Battle of the Warboards

Mr friend Ian B loves playing games on a Friday mainly board games but his feasting bench was seized to play a Dark Age Viking v Saxon battle, being a great fan of the Bernard Cornwall Warrior Chronicles I was looking forward to this.  No Uthred to led the Saxons in this battle, who were smashed by rampant Vikings.  We were using cheaphammer "Kings of War" which worked well in the dark age setting, I liked the charge then counter charge idea and both sides jostled to get in the first charges.

"We stepped forward heartend by the Battlethunder of weapons on our shields"

First though came the challenge of heroes, the individual warriors come forward to fight before the sheildwalls clash (we also get a run through of the rules).  A Viking warriors was cut down by my Saxon leader.

However the Vikings continue to Advance, their archers cause my Saxon commander in the Left to set back rather than forward.

"Viking arrows tore at the Saxon Courage"

The Victorious Vikings in their glory they swept up the whole of the left flank with no unit loss. Painted by my friend Andrew.  Now the Saxons will thrist for revenge

ASW Vikings

"Ravens ripped the flesh of Saxon corpses, while Wulfson laughed"

15mm acw Antietam

A three on three classic club battle with Johnny Reb.  the pictures are from theMid point of the battle,  We had set up with a considerable bit of scaling down.  Four reb brigades faced six union with a further union brigade off the table and potentially AP hill to arrive if we had enough time.  Union me, Sparky and Livi, Confederate John and David P and his younger son.  

The Rebs block the survivors of Burnside's bridge. 

Burnside tried to throw Blue bellys over the chest high water

Rodman's brigade are opposed at the ford

 Livi had a hard time but tried to cross in the chest high  river water rather than get backed up at the bridge, it may have taken off some pressure on the bridge assaulters.  By 4pm  the "cameron highlanders" were able to charge over the heights driving the Rebs back, Rodman had forced his way over the ford.

Driving the Rebs from the Cornfield

Bitter Rebels hold on to the Cornfield

 Cornfield saw massive union casualties but I kept feeding in fresh units through those chewed up overall I suffered 30% losses with but driving the Rebs into the woods.  hooker got a battery of artillery up to Dunker Church and made great play on the Rebs in the centre.

Irish have driven the Rebs out of Bloody land and taken the battery beyond

Sparky smashed through the sunken bloody lane with a massive wave assault by the Irish Brigade, young David had to commit all of his reserves but this left nothing to meet the Union reserve brigade appearing at 4pm(real time) which could march on to Sharpsburg