Opening Gambit

 

The opening moves of the Illyrian invasion of Messaline have been made (and incidentally, no-one has yet tried to pretend that it was the latter's fault that they were invaded).

Following is the Campaign map before the invasion showing the positions of each side's armies (1-3) and fleets. Sadly for Messaline, their fleet has started (die roll dictated) on the Eastern side of the peninsula at Doclea, many moves away from the enemy.

Illyria won the initiative throw for Map move 1, and their Armies 1 and 3 pushed into Messaline. Messaline responded by moving their Armies 2 and 3, the latter coming into contact with the invader  just North of the town of Scampa.

The Battle of Scampa (PW 3x3)

Armies have been pre-generated (see Campaign Rules below) and the two forces that met in the first battle were identical in composition, both being made up of 4 Line Infantry units and 1 each of Cavalry and Artillery. General Belch, an old campaigner, led the Illyrians, while the Messaline force was under the command of the less experienced General Cesario.

Apologies for the poor picture quality! I hope to play the next game in daylight...

The map shows the battlefield to be used for each large square, so the Illyrians (Blue), arriving from the North found a dense forest on their right flank.

The Illyrian artillery, expertly directed by General Belch, took its toll early in the battle.

Later in the day the Messaline Army began to push back against the aggressor.

By midday it seemed that the battle could go either way...

but a sudden collapse in Messaline morale led to General Cesario's defeat and ultimate withdrawal from the battlefield.

 At the end of the first battle (and Map move) the position is as follows:

Following are the Campaign rules (as they currently stand, right click, copy and paste to read easily). Next time, Move 2... (unsurprisingly).

Background (or what you will)

 Back in October last I experimented with the Hare & Hounds mini-campaign set-up that Bob Cordery had posted. At the time I suggested that I'd like to do something similar but using a campaign board that more resembled a map. I'm now in a position to start just such a project and this post is an introduction to the setting.

The subject of this mini-campaign is the Illyrian invasion of Messaline and takes place in the mid Nineteenth Century. It's inspiration is the Trevor Nunn film adaptation of Twelfth Night which is set in an imaginary late Nineteenth Century Illyria, which is at war with a country named Messaline. The Campaign Map and notes on the setting follow as jpeg files - click to open and enlarge.

The next post will expand the notes with the Campaign rules and first map moves (and any resulting action).

The Campaign Board 

Notes on the Campaign Setting

Illyria's objective (hold all land inside the red oval at the end of hostilities)

Paper Sails in the Sunset

I was going to buy some 18-19th century ship models for the next mini-campaign (hopefully to be played later this month), but fiscal austerity had other ideas. Instead some impressions of vessels have been made from materials that were ready to hand.

The Warship Juno escorts troop transports Castor and Pollux

Foam board, cocktail sticks and hearts of oak.

Jeux sans Minis?

 Here at Maudlin Towers January is always a bit of a miserable month, not least because it contains the anniversary of the birth of this blog's author. It's a time of reflection and one of the points being reflected upon is the dreaded D word - downsizing. The probability of moving in retirement (and not taking it all with us!) leads me to ponder the drastic reduction of the toybox (the horror, the horror). Just how small a "footprint" could a viable collection of toy soldiers be? 

Small figure size obviously helps, and replacing figures with 2D counters is another option (Jonathan Freitag's recent post on Boardgames shows that many Wargamers' are regularly playing 2D wargames), but even Boardgames take up space. Would it be possible to play satisfying games and run Campaigns without the need for the material props? For me, the important part here is "satisfying", because I think most wargamers would agree that the visual aspect of wargames is one of the key factors in the pleasure, however much they might enjoy the strategy, historical accuracy etc etc.

Playing wargames using digital tools is one obvious solution, and I have done this in the past to try out rules before moving them to the table.

Playtesting the "Matchbox" game Civil War!

 But could games played inside a computer replace the pleasure of getting figures out on the table? I suspect not, however I do already use a PC for recording games, map-making (largely) and other visual aids to Campaign play. The battles currently fought on the tabletop are part of a larger story after all. The "story-telling" aspect of wargaming has always been important to me, which is why I enjoy Campaigns so much I think; would games played without minis still make a good story?

To find out I've tried some, using very simple rules that didn't require any record keeping to keep them quick. A PC of course is 100% suited to record keeping...

Firstly, here's a simple Horse & Musket type game (figures have been snipped out of the Junior General site and the games played in Excel. 

Due to the simplicity of the rules, and some extraordinary random number generation it was all over rather quickly!

The next games were an attempt at running a mini-campaign without miniatures. Set in Hyboria (where else?), the backstory was as follows; 

Merchants traversing the Road of Kings through Zamora have come under increasing attacks from bands of brigands. Suspecting that this is orchestrated by the Governor of the Zamoran City of Shadizar (a City whose moniker is “the Wicked”), Corinthia has dispatched an army to ensure that the attacks cease and the road is safe for commerce. If possible the Corinthians would like to replace the Governor with a more pliable candidate and tear down the accursed Temple of the Spider God. 

The Zamorans react by sending their own force to push the Corinthians back over the border. 

Mechanics 

Three games will be played along the Road of Kings. If the Corinthians win two they will have reached the gates of Shadizar and achieved their goal.

Game 1

The Corinthian advance guard overwhelmed the Zamorian attacker in the first battle

Game 2

In the second battle, Zamorians attempted to block the road where it passed between two hills in an arid valley - they succeeded in slowing the advancing Corinthians.

Game 3

The Corinthians, forced to take a slower route cross-country, meet a final attempt to stop their advance on Shadizar

The Corinthian Army successfully arrives at Shadizar to find the Governor has fled (with most of the treasury) and establishes a puppet regime to keep commerce rolling.

As stated before, these games were played with simple rules to keep them quick. With more time investment some engaging games could be played using the Portable Wargame and variations thereof, inside a virtual world.

I currently don't think that, for me, virtual wargames could replace games with miniatures, however they can work in telling a story and are an option when the latter is not available. As long as the imagination is working, the only weak spot is the hardwear.

Beginning 2025

 We left the latest mini-campaign (in 2024) at the end of Turn 1; The Vardian Empire had invaded the Salarin Caliphate and taken control of Marhacan Province by defeating the Salarin's Army 1 that was stationed there. A counter-attack by Salarin Army 2 had also been defeated by the Vard's (seemingly) unstoppable Legion I.

On Turn 2 Legion I took a rest and it was Legion II that took up the baton. Taking the sea route from Palezaro to Harasta without incident (dice roll, see rules in the first post here), Legion II landed and began their advance towards the provincial capital. Blocking their way, however, was Salarin Army 3. 

Once again the Vard started the battle with an impenetrable forest on their left flank; the Salarin General took up position on a hill on his left.

Impetuous Legionaries rush forward and take casualties

The Vard General, an ex-Captain of the Imperial Archers, set up a relentless archery attack on the Salarin force on the hill, trying to encourage them from their defensive position. Meanwhile, his enemy attempted a flank attack on the other side of the battlefield.

With spearmen on the hilltop falling around him, the Salarin General mounted a charge to break the Vard Archers

The Vard were given a bloody nose but held firm and the Salarin retreated back to the top of the hill

The fighting on the rest of the battlefield took a pause as the remaining troops reorganized themselves. 

What was left of Salarin Army 3 congregated on the hill, surrounded by the Vard...

Several (bloody) dice rolls later it was over

Once again the Vard Legions had conquered. The Salarin were invited to become a client state under the 'protection' of the Empire, with all the taxes that such support involves. 

Mark C's Peloponnesian War campaign concept worked well for me as a mini-campaign system and will definitely be used again. The 10mm Ancients will take a break now as I hope to be regaining a little space for painting, post-Christmas. Best wishes for 2025 everyone!

Reply

 The Salarin Caliphate's reply to the Vard Invasion appeared with the arrival of Army Two in Marhacan Province. By then, Legion I had been reinforced and resupplied and was prepared to defend the newly acquired territory. 

Situation Turn 1 Salarin move.

The Second Battle of Marhacan

Emboldened by his previous success, the Vard General set out aggressively, personally leading the early moves...

The Armies face each other

The Vard General rushed forward but was quickly in trouble

The Vard Cavalry charged the enemy archers
In the Centre the Infantry was reinforced but still struggling

All troops from both sides were soon engaged 

The Vard Infantry were pushed back at last,
but now their flank was no longer exposed

The Vard Cavalry reformed for another charge 

Having swept the Salarin Archers from the field,
The Vard Cavalry smashed into the rear of the enemy infantry

After a very shaky start, Legion I was again victorious

Situation at the end of Turn 1

Next!

Having read and enjoyed Martin Rapier's recent post (see here) where he played Mark Cordone's Hoplite! game, I thought I'd have a go too. Not having a sufficient number of Ancient Greek types to play the Peloponesian Wars, I thought I'd create a couple of ImagiNations and play a Campaign (slightly adjusted for context) with them.

Campaign Setting

A few centuries after the expansion of the Vard Republic (see here) absorbed its nearest neighbours (barbarians all), the old elected Tyrants have been replaced by a tyrannical Emperor and the border of the Empire has reached the Northern most extent of the Salarin Caliphate. 

Campaign Rules

This is the first draft of my version of Mark C's original which can be found somewhere on the Facebook PW page. Battles will be fought using the 3x3 Portable Wargame variant. 3x3 grids will be diced for using a d20 and the following (top left is 1 read left to right, brown square is a hill, green a forest and grey a settlement)

First Campaign Move and battle

Starting position of the Armies

The Vard won the initiative roll and Legion I attacked Marhacan. Legion III moved into Salanthi province.

The Vardian Empire's first moves

First battle of Marhacan (apologies for the poor lighting)

Salarin cavalry attack the Vard left flank

The Salarin in full attack! The Vard begin to take hits

Mid point of the battle - the Salarin's 3rd rush at the hill

The Vard's reserves are all now committed 

The Salarin begin to falter

The remnants of the two armies fight to the finish

The first victory goes to the Vardian Empire

The first battle demonstrated that the Vard have found a worthy foe in the Salarin. The next battle will feature the response of the Salarin Caliphate to the Vardian invasion.