Pitched battle on the new bigger board

I got up especially early today in order to get a game played on my new 12x8 grid board before reporting for cleaning/shopping duty. Rules were The Portable Wargame with Exhaustion Point (EP) set at the standard 30% and activation and initiative by turning playing cards. The game was set to last for 10 turns. It was a bit dark this morning so the pictures are not the best.

Introduction

Having failed in his first attempt at invading the Albionian colony, the King of Uqbalistan sent another army to the border. The force comprised of Regular Army, conscripts and hill/desert tribesmen. 

Albionian Police patrolling the border discover the assembling enemy army

A column of Albionian troops rushed to the border. The force was smaller than that of the invaders but was of higher quality. General Algernon McTavish commanded.

A reporter from The Uqbalii Bugle recorded the battle for posterity.

The tyranny of the blank page

Game

General McTavish placed all his cavalry on his left facing the lower quality tribesmen intending to outflank the enemy. Regular Infantry, Naval brigade and The Guards were in the centre, with the elite Hibernian battalion on the right.

Desert Starling's eye view of the initial disposition 

Uqbalistan Cavalry/camelry charge the centre

Artillery duel - General McTavish encourages the gunners

Albionia's Cavalry in action

The situation after 3 turns

Conclusion of the artillery action

The hilltribes hold the cavalry at bay

The Hibernians take long distance shots at their adversaries 

The tribesmen begin to give ground

Uqbalistan reached EP by turn 7, Albionia on turn 10

A victory for Albionia as the invading army was halted and reduced to below 50% of its' original size. The King of Uqbalistan will be forced to ask for peace terms, though it is rumoured that he has already had talks with the Consul of Swarzlandia regarding some sort of pact...

Battle in Forge Valley

Introduction

General Gilder's Confederate Army continues to fight its way across Featherstone County on the road to Washington. Desperately short of supplies, the campaign looks close to failure. By chance the General learns of a Union cache of food and ammunition held in Forge Valley. A force is sent under Colonel Potter (an ancestor of the famous Korean War Officer) to take the much needed provisions.

The game was fought using the Portable Wargame. Exhaustion Point was 30% casualties. The CSA had until sundown (15 turns) to drive the Union force off the table and capture the supply dump (building). The heavily wooded hills were impassable. I used playing cards to determine the number of units that could be activated in each turn, as described in the Solo suggested rules, which worked well.

Couldn't resist borrowing this from Plastic Soldier Review

Game

A crisp Autumn morning - The initial disposition

The Union defence (Commander: Col. Horatio Webster)

The Rebels advance

Dismounted Cavalry about to join the fire fight on the CSA left flank

The Artillery was (as usual in my games) ineffective

CSA Cavalry charge the guns

and prevail (Col. Webster has quickly changed units!)

The end is in sight. Union at Exhaustion Point, CSA close to it.

Sundown - The Union's last unit are allowed to retire

The game was basically a fire fight between a larger attacking force and a defender who had the benefit of some cover. In the end the larger force won, but only just. The CSA had only one point left before they reached EP.

Favourite Wargame Figures?

Today's post by Tradgardmastare, featuring his Gondor Army (see here ), got me reminiscing about my old collection of MiniFigs Mythical Earth figures.

 
I think that they are almost certainly my favourite Wargames' figures, and definitely the most used. During the mid to late 1970s many , many games were played, either solo or against school friends who also collected these charming toys, featuring the Armies of Good and Evil and often involving the siege of an Airfix Roman Fort. Most people were using the proto-fantasy rules featured in the back of WRG Ancients version 4(?) or Wizards and Warfare by Peter Irving, which I had - it cost the princely sum of 50 New Pence, which was quite a lot considering the cost of MiniFigs Infantry was about 7p each.

By modern standards they are not fantastic pieces of sculpture, but the limited amount of pocket money available meant that each purchase involved hours thinking about which figures to buy, consulting the adverts in Military Modelling and writing wish-lists, and this added to the pleasure of owning them.
That's probably enough waxing lyrical by me for one day. Do you have a favourite range of wargame figures??

Battle is Joined

Background

Albionia's colony on the Uqbal sub-continent is bordered to the North by a wilderness of hills and deserts that are inhabited by fiercely independent tribesmen. To the East is the Kingdom of Uqbalistan, formerly a useful puppet state and ally, but recently, under the new King, becoming a potential problem. The small Army of Uqbalistan had been trained and equipped by Albionia and was a handy tool in the fight against slave-traders and troublesome desert tribesmen. The new King has raised many conscript regiments, arming them with old muskets, and spies report tribes from the hills and deserts are in his pay.   In a recent dispatch to the Motherland, the Governor of Albionian Uqbal has warned His Majesty's Government that there is a high probability of conflict with the Kingdom of Uqbalistan.

Albionian military keeping a close eye on the border, for good reason

Game

A force from the Army of Uqbalistan has moved across the border and is currently occupying the last stop of the Trans-Uqbal Railway.

Went for a Joseph Morschauser look here...

A column of Albionian troops rush to repulse the invaders.

Dirigible's view of the battlefield

Conscripts defend the Station with Regular troops held in reserve

The Uqbalistan General and a battalion of Regulars behind the Railway Station

Early action on Albionia's right flank (the Uqbali Cavalry are "Heroic" 28mm)

Albionian Infantry march to rifle range (outside of musket range)

The sharp shooting of the Guards removes all the enemy gunners 

The enemy artillery being killed off by the fine shooting of the Guards battalion, the Uqbali General moved his regular infantry up to the walls, which proved to be the turning point of the battle...

The loss of their commander brings the Uqbalistan Army close to exhaustion point

Uqbali forces fall back to avoid casualties but by Turn 7 Exhaustion Point is reached

Having reached Exhaustion Point, the Army of Uqbalistan could take no more decisive action and was gradually reduced by long range shooting from the Albionian troops. On the left flank the Caledonian Greys destroyed the dessert tribesmen and threated the enemy rear. The invaders pulled out and retreated back over the border leaving the Albionian Army to await reinforcements and new orders.
This game did not turn out how I expected, due to a lucky shot by a Guardsman that took out the General, which always makes things more interesting! Putting the conscripts with their muskets (50% shorter range than rifles) to the front was a mistake, as two battalions of the rifle-armed regulars didn't even get to move before Exhaustion Point was reached - fortunes of war etc. Until next time, thanks for visiting.

Watchers in the Hills - prelude to battle

Albionian spotters observe troop movements on the border with Uqbalistan

More Questing for Brin the Barbarian

Introduction

Found time for another quick game of Brin the Barbarian (see side bar for the latest version of the rules). In this encounter Brin has been joined in his quest by Auburn Aoife. They are represented here by Minifigs SSX1 The Barbarian and SSX3 Pirate Girl.

A note on pronunciation: Brin rhymes with green and not grin. Aoife is pronounced EE-fah. 

Brin goes for tighty-whities and leather cummerbund, Aoife wears traditional chainmail bikini

Setting

Brin and Aoife have wandered into a land known as The Petty Kingdom. This dismal country, all that's left of a once prosperous Empire that tore itself apart in uncivil war, is ruled over by a creature of infinite malice and evil, The Great Toad. The Toad lurks in the centre of a swampy area called the Gripping Mire, surrounded by his rabid, sycophantic supporters. The countryside surrounding the Mire is an impoverished land where the common folk strive beneath the yoke of the malevolent Toad and his foam-mouthed followers, and outsiders are at best tolerated, until their money runs out, or more likely meet a grisly end.

Game

The red markers represent possible encounters, inspired by 2D6 Sword and Sorcery. Some possible encounters were rolled for as the heroes approached the counters, the last being more difficult to deal with.

The first encounter - The Howling Woman, a harmless Soothsayer (Minifigs SSX4 Witch)

Second encounter - an ape who was quite tough (Minifigs SS21 Great White Ape)

The sky darkens as our Heroes enter the village

The local Witch, Barking Mad Annie of Widdicombe, an acolyte of the Great Toad, and her henchmen block the entrance to the village. Mad Annie is played by Minifigs SS11 Witch of the Mists. On the left is Steve, a Xenophobic thug (Minifigs SS61 Ogre) and on the right is Gover, a back-sliding slimy thing of dubious origin (Minifigs SS49 Gargoyle) who looks like a proto Teletubby

Mad Annie (with a terracotta lantern) and Stinky-Winky (with a Subway)

The resulting battle was touch and go for our Heroes. Regrettably it got too dark to take any more pictures, however I can report that Mad Annie fled to the swamp and Brin and Aoife overcame their foes and left the Petty Kingdom with nothing to show for their exploits other than some new scars.

Sprinks' Oldhammer Challenge - Complete (and Extended)

By way of introduction

Sprinks (aka Thrifty Git) set a challenge back in May (that long ago??). As a reminder, as it was a long time ago, the challenge was to purchase and prepare an Army in the Oldhammer (original Warhammer) style for approximately £30.00 sterling, or local equivalent and to have it combat ready before August.

So having invested just over £20.00 (including P&P) on a 10mm size Medieval Army from those fine fellows at Irregular Miniatures I give you a completed Bretonian Army in the Oldhammer style (I think) before August.

The Army comprises, One General (and standard), 2 bases of Knights, 2 bases of Mounted Sergeants, two bases of Men at Arms and 2 bases of armoured crossbowmen.

The next stage

I could just put the little Army aside now but that would be too easy. As I have a pile of 10mm figures from some earlier (unfinished!) projects, I'm going to grow my Bretonian force, acquire an enemy army and probably write some Oldhammer Lite rules. What fun! Thanks Mr Sprinks for yet another Wargaming project!

Here's the first addition

The Green Knight - known for losing his head.