A trip to Wellington

I went up to Wellington on Friday to attend Nick's funeral and pay my respects.. As one would expect it was a moving ceremony and definitely reflected Nick, his sense of humour and interests. You don’t realise the impact that one person has on so many lives until they are no longer there and Nick’s passing will leave a massive hole for all who knew him. 

One thing that did strike me over the past couple of days as I spent time with the Wellington guys is how important the friendships that are forged whilst gaming can become. Nick was part of a truly special community in Wellington, “The Regiment” are a group of guys that “get” each other, they share similar interests, senses of humour and are definitely comrades in arms. 

The events of the past week have made me reflect on my own involvement in gaming. In the past 18 months or so I’ve taken a conscious decision to step back from the local gaming community and have stopped attending, and running, gaming events. I think I’ve been to TAG once in the past 12 months and probably only 2-3 times last year. Most of my, rather infrequent, gaming of late has taken place at home vs Kent and we have only probably only managed a half a dozen games all up. Nick’s passing has made me realise how important some of the friendships I’ve made in gaming are and how precious has been the times spent gaming and attending events with my mates with whom share the same interest in this quirky little hobby of wargaming.

So I think I need to try to make more of an effort to remain involved in gaming community and try to make an effort to attend a few events next year. I’m not going to go to as many events as I used to, and at this stage don’t intend to run anything locally, but will try to get to a couple of events to maintain my gaming friendships. Valleycon is at the end of January in Wellington and is a FoW early war event so think I shall try to attend that next year (I’ve been to it a couple of times in the past). In the past Pooch and I have discussed attending Panzershrek as a doubles team  but never actually made it so we have also pencilled that in for 2016 too.  So if anything positive has come out of the past few days it is the importance of maintaining friendships, pity it took an unexpected and tragic event to remind me, and no doubt many others, how important they are.

On Saturday Pooch,and James (aka Pooch Junior), and caught up with the guys at the Hutt club. I was pleased to see two games of Impetus underway and am once again smitten. It’s probably been 2 years since Kent and my last game but am now keen to dust off our armies and get back into it. 

Impetus now has a big following up there and the guys use the standard 12cm basing. Seeing the 12cm bases on table I must say that they look good. The Hutt guys are planning an Impetus day in February next year and I’d like to attend (assuming it’s not too much of a clash with cricket- or if I can swing two trips to Wellington in quick succession) so maybe it is time to get my Mongols painted up and on table. It would be good if I could convince Kent to pop up as I think he'd enjoy the gaming up there. 

I also think I see another massive mission- this time to convert a few armies to the standard Impetus basing system as I was truly impressed.

Here are a few pictures from the games on Saturday.  

Simon is working on his Scots, Poochie and I arrived just as the game vs Tim's Feudal English (I think) ended.

Tim's Fireforge knights- very nice. 

Tim's Fireforge foot sergeants. 

Tim's dice rolling tower/ camp. Very cool!

The other game going on was between Shae (sp?) and Chris. Shae was teaching Chris the rules (I think it was Chris's second game) but they were two very well painted, and based, armies. I'm not sure which army Shae's was but Chris fielded an Imperial army (mid imperial?)

 The Imperial Roman's camp. 

Today, before heading home I went to the War Memorial museum in Wellington and was blown away by it. I'll post some pictures in the next couple of days. 

Craig

Sad News

It is with great sadness that I must report the passing of a good mate, Nick Garden. I first met Nick at the very first Flames of War competition in the South Island, Conquest, back in 2001 at Kendall School hall in Christchurch. IIRC Nick ran a British infantry list with 2x Churchill platoons. FoW had only recently come out and the five rounds had the 2 published missions: Free for All and Hold the Line alternating all weekend- ah good times!

Nick soon became a good friend and we attended many, many competitions together. Originally from Dunedin he moved up to Wellington for work but came down a couple of times a year to game (usually for my TAGCONs/Day of Days and for Southcon in Dunedin). He took part in all the TAGCONs and Day of Days I ran and always had a place for me to stay when I headed up to Wellington for gaming.

Nick was a top bloke and I had many enjoyable weekends playing FoW and hanging out with him. Here is an example of one of our many, many tussles at the tabletop.

Nick was a wealth of knowledge, a formidable opponent on the table (making it to Number 1 in NZ with Flames and was usually very, very high up in the rankings), and was a hell of a nice guy. I had many, many enjoyable evenings hanging out with him and Poochie before, during and after competitions. We'd sit around discussing the highs and lows of our day, analysing tactics, talking military history, having a laugh and generally just chilling. In fact when it came to planning our themed Day of Days events Nick was, along with Poochie, a driving force in the informal organising committee, which was for all intents and purposes the three of us brainstorming ideas. We'd sit round saying "hey this would be a cool theme...", "what about...") and getting things up and running and as the events got closer  a flurry of emails would be exchanged as we honed the ideas/ rules. The events wouldn't have been so successful and so much fun without his guidance, input and participation.

Nick was also a talented painter and also ran a blog, Lintman's Wargaming blog (which lapsed in recent years). In the past few years he took part in an increasingly varied range of gaming, such as joining in the large 28mm events put on.

Nick's passing is far too soon for someone so young, he will definitely be missed

Nick taking part in the Chunik Bair project.

Farewell Nick, rest in peace

Craig

Pont-de-la-Crouix

Operation Warboard (David MacKay Company, 1976) was the first wargaming book that I purchased and was one of the books that influenced, along with those by Donald Featherstone, my neophyte wargaming career. We quickly incorporated many of the Operation Warboard rules to our own rules which were up to that point were mainly a combination of Donald Featherstone's and Lionel Tar’s rules. 

Operation Warboard began with an account of a wargame. 

Pont-de-la-Croix

Late August, 1944. The Allied armies have broken out of the Normandy bridgehead and are rampaging eastwards through France. Paris is about to be liberated, and, further south, General Patton’s 3^rd Army has passed through Orleans heading for Troyes. To cover his open right flank, Patton- who doesn’t much care about his flanks- has sent off a few small battlegroups, barely more than armoured patrols, like quills sprouting from a hasty hedgehog.

One of them winds south on country roads towards the village (fictional but typical) of Pont-de-la-Croix, which lies across a bridge over a tributary of the river Loire. The American group consists of a platoon of infantry in trucks, three jeeps (one the command vehicle) and a troop of three Shermans- their objective to take and hold the bridge, and if possible the village beyond.

Defending the village is an even smaller element of the Hentzau brigade- two platoons of infantry, one panzershrek (bazooka) team and a company HQ unit including a few riflemen- backed up by a lone panther tank. There’s no way of blowing up the bridge; no explosives, let alone engineers, have arrived. The commander’s objective is to hold the bridge- which he doesn’t think is likely- or at least try to block it, and hold enough of the village (by wearing down the American strength) so that reinforcements can start a counter-attack from there- if such reinforcements ever arrive...

 For some time now I’ve wanted to refight Pont-de-la-Croix  in 28mm using Bolt Action rules. The engagement itself lends itself to Bolt Action and should make for an enjoyable afternoon or evenings gaming. I’ve started the project in that I already have purchased the Shermans and will finish them in the next week or so.

Kent is keen to do a multiplayer game in the next few weeks and so I think a refight of Pont-de-la-Croix may be in order using the forces we can assemble.  

Below is the original map and a photo from the book

I think we'll run with something like this:

US Forces

·         1x Reg 1^st lieutenant + NCO

·         3x Reg Shermans

·         3x Reg Jeeps (one of the commander, 2x  HMG jeeps)

·         3x 10 man (Reg) infantry squads

·         1x M3A1 scout car

·         1x 2 ½ ton truck

German forces

·         1x Vet 1^st lieutenant + NCO

·         2x 10 men vet squads

·         1x  vet panzershrek

·         1x reg tiger (I don’t have a 28mm panther and tigers are cooler!)

·         2x MMG teams

·         1x 81mm mortar

Reinforcements: From turn 4 onwards we will roll for some German reinforcements (5+ on 1d6)

·         1x 251/1 hanomag half track

·         1x 10 man Vet infantry squad

·         1x 222 armoured car

Craig

BA Free French vs Fallschrimjager

Kent popped round tonight for our much anticipated game. We rolled up Hold Until Relieved so Kent attacked since he defended last time

My Free French

• Reg 1st Lieutenant and NCO
• 3x 8 man vet squads with BAR and 2x SMGs
• 1x 9 man veteran (tough fighter) squad- Goumiers
• 2x Reg MMGs
• 1x Reg Medium mortar + observer 
• 1x Vet bazooka team
• 1x Reg 57mm AT gun
• 1x Reg Greyhound armoured car
• 1x Reg 105mm Sherman 

Kent fielded his FJ:

• 1st lieutenant + NCO
• 2x largeish squads (8-9 men one squad was tough fighters)
• 2x small squads (at least one was regular)
• 1x pioneer squad with flame thrower
• 1x MMG
• 1x sniper
• 1x mortar
• 1x 105mm recoilless gun
• 1x panzer III(F
• 1x 222 armoured car

Kent had gone for lots of infantry so was very different to his typical force, quite a few SMGs and assault rifles so made for an aggressive force. He also took a panzer III instead of his more usual stug. 

Kent's FJ are briefed on their mission.

The two story house in the centre is the objective and holds one of my squads, the ruined building holds a second veteran rifle squad.

Kent's pioneers and a small assault squad (assault rifles up the wazoo) start in a woods on my far right flank.

A look from the woods towards the objectives.

A 4th squad start behind the ruined building (or the far right of the previous picture), a sniper and mortar observer are in the ruins.

Turn 1, the 57mm AT gun and bazooka have reached the walled field, the greyhound is nearby and the Sherman can be spotted near the woods (where it missed the assault squad)

A close up of the Sherman and German squads.

 The FJ move out of the cover of the treelined paddock. They are supported by the 222 armourd car.

Germans fan out and prepare to assault the ruin held by my squad.

After laying own plenty of covering fire the assault goes in.

It was a bloodbath. We both lost 5 men in the first round and the German survivors then slew my remaining man to capture a jump off point to the objective.

A good start by Kent! His infantry advance to take advantage of the situation.

Another view of the assault

 Meanwhile the two MMG teams have set up in the barn and both are on ambush. With 6 dice each (BA Net rules) suddenly this makes them something Kent is wary of. Respect at last for MMGs!

My lieutenant checks out the barn. Unfortunately the Sherman has been hit my the mortar and pins are mounting so the lieutenant races out to command the tank but is cut down for his troubles! The Sherman is then neutralised and pinned out of the game!

Still we are holding the objective and I'm quietly confident my troops will hold.

The Mk III has moved out to take on the Sherman so my greyhound advances and takes a snap shot, but misses!

A rifle squad advances to support the armoured car.

Th goumiers have reached the walled field beside the objective. The MMG teams have just ambushed the pioneers.

 Goumiers and pioneers face off.

The tough fighting goumiers assault and destroy the pioneers.

Unfortunately the Sherman fails to pass its order test and continues to be hit by the panzer, the 105mm artillery and the mortar!

The goumiers do their best to ignore the panzer.

 The German infantry in the building continue to pin the greyhound, as does the 222 armoured car.

Things are not looking good for the greyhound.

 And the pins mount up.

Finally a 2cm cannon shot from the 222 penetrates and destroys the greyhound.

The panzer III snipes at the 57mm AT gun- which goes down and refuses to return fire two turns in a row. Grrr....

Finally, the Sherman is pinned out of the game.

Turn 6, the fallschrimjager prepare to assault the objective. My squad in the building has 4 pins and its NCO killed.

Kent times it perfectly.

 The very last dice of turn 6 his squad passes its order test and charges the objective and routs the squad in the building, capturing it.

The 4 survivors after the assault.

We then rolled to see if there was a turn 7 but there wasn't. So Kent had grabbed the objective but I had two squads also contesting so the game was a draw. I lost 5 squads, Kent 4. 

A really enjoyable, and close game. The 6 dice MMG teams was a bit of a game changer in that two on ambush made a very effective deterrent- at last! 

I am looking forward to using these forces again in a couple of weeks.

BA Free French Reinforcements

Unfortunately I've been had a bad cold for a couple of weeks that I couldn't shake so Kent and I have had to cancel a couple of planned games. Hopefully this week though we'll finally get a game in. The plan is to use my Late War Free French vs Kent's Germans and hopefully I can change my current run of losses).

To that end I painted up a few reinforcements last night- a MMG team, officer and observer for my mortar team. All are Artizan Designs- the MMG team are their great coated US infantry, the observer and officer are part of the Devils Brigade special characters range. .

MMG team

 Observer for the medium mortar team.

 I will be running:

• Reg 1st Lieutenant and NCO
• 3x 8 man vet squads with BAR and 2x SMGs
• 1x 9 man veteran (tough fighter) squad- Goumiers
• 2x Reg MMGs
• 1x Reg Medium mortar + observer 
• 1x Vet bazooka team
• 1x Reg 57mm AT gun
• 1x Reg Greyhound armoured car
• 1x Reg 105mm Sherman 

I'm looking forward to the game.

Craig