Trouble at the double

Double header this week with similar results.Firstly Wednesday's game was a reanaction of the Battle of Inverkeithing which was a part of Cromwell's venture into Scotland after threw its hand in with Charles ll against parliament.Once again in our history we made a dodgy decision.

               Six of us took part in the game with Donald umpiring.

                Colin Jack,Mr Ray Neal and myself took the side of the Scottish defenders whilst Dave O'Brien,Hugh WIlson and oor Bart took the side or the side of the Parliamentary invadors.

               The armies lined up facing each other with our forces perched on a hill.True to form and history I decided on a cavalry probe with my forces only to be met by some of Bart's Ironsides cavalry who had been round the block once or twice in the previous years of civil war and although my cavalry set off with good intentions they were met head on by Bart's cavalry given a bloody red nose and sent back in disarray only to be followed up and damaged even more.This was to be the norm for the evening.

            My cavalry only lasted for a few turns before deciding enough is enough and high tailed it for better pastures.Bart's cavalry then decided to deal with Mr Ray's artillery and infantry eventually dealing with both with ease.

            Meanwhile Dave's Dragoons had slowly made their way on foot round the left flank of the Scottish army getting first into a position to fire and then engage Mr Ray's other battalion.

            Hugh was slowly making his way up the field with his infantry and arrived in firing distance just in time to see Bart's cavalry charging off the battlefield in true Zprince Rupert tradition and heading for the tourist spots of Central Fife.

             Hugh's infantry finally engaged both my infantry and Mr Ray's infantry and eventually cleared both units from the hill leaving Colin Jack facing the remainder of the Parlamentary forces.The only good thing was that the last orders bell had been wrung and it was time to pack up.

            A great game enjoyed by everyone.It puts me in the mood for putting an English civil war army together in the new year.

               Scenario-David Leslie,John Lambert and Olly Cromwell

                Figures-Donald Adamson and Hugh Wilson

                Scots-Colin Jack

                           Mr Ray Neal

                           Tim Watson

                           English-Dave O'Brien

                                       Hugh Wilson

                                       Bart  Zymda

           A sumptuous curry was provided by Lady Suzzanne(once again with vegetables from her garden).

         

 No sooner had I time to draw breath when I headed for my local games club SESWC the following evening to see what was on offer.Maybe Bolt Action,Back of Beyond even Kingmaker which I had brought just in case-nope-Rennaissance galleys!I thought that I had tried everything out pops this little gem from the woodwork(literally).

              This is a game of galley warfare from the 15th and 16th centuries,the most famous engagement being the Battle of Lepanto which involved a papal led fleet engaging and defeating an Ottoman fleet.

               The game is good in that it didn't take to long to play(about an hour-just enough for my attention span) giving us enough time to play a couple of games.

              I took the part of the Ventians with a large galley and a smaller one.The rules were very simple involving moving,shooting and boarding.Since these were slave crewed galleys there was no need to worry about wind.

             My ships moved forward to engage fellow club members Matt's galleys only to throw horrendous dice meaning I was hardly hitting my target and also taking longer to reload my guns allowing Matt to sail up and set fire to my large galley.That sealed the fate of game one.

            Matt had to leave early so my enemies ships were taken over by that renowned Turkish admiral Jack Glanville,all round scurvy knave!

             Jack knew the rules and gameplay inside out,mainly because he had helped to play test the rules for the author.

            Although Jack attacked straight away capturing my large galley,the dice roll went against him and he eventually lowered his guard allowing me to attack and capture his larger galley with my smaller one.Time was called leaving me with a draw which was my best result of the two days.

         

          I'm off to North Wales next week so I hope to be visiting a few castles and hope to give a few reports throughout  the week.

               See Barts report as well.http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/

The Slings and Bows of Outrageous Fortune

Wed 30th September

                  Another thrilling installment in the O'Brien Irish saga this evening with a twist that everyone was on the same side with Dave providing random events and attacks on our forces which were helping to relieve and supply a besieged castle belonging to the Earl of Pembroke.

                   Henry de Clare had finally managed to marry Domnall Mor Vi Brain's daughter and thereafter the hirsute pa-in-law decided to die suddenly leaving all his lands to his greiving son-in-law who then decided in his father-in-law's memory to dot the landscape with a few castles.This obviously annoyed the local inhabitants and they decided to take back some of these castles and therefore some knights had been delegated to deliver supplies to our castle.This involved units of cavalry and infantry escorting various types of supplies mainly sheep,cattle,corn and essential flagons of Hobgoblin.

                   Rolling the highest number in a communal dice roll I decided to place my men and the cattle I was protecting in the vanguard of the column which was a pain in the ass to the rest of the players as I couldn't move my own men and cattle for love nor money.After finally getting my cattle to move they decided it was in their best interests to stampede albeit towards some Irish skirmishers who were getting ready to add some prime Irish beef to their diet.

                   My units blocking the road allowed the Irish ambushing units to attack units in the rear.First with hit and run tactics on Mr Ray Neal's wagons but they then vanished into nearby woods.
               So we were set for an evening of slow movement up a narrow road with an Irish attack appearing every time a wood was passed.
               After my first stampede my cattle kept up their consistency by stampeding in exactly the opposite direction making my men having to chase them again.

               One of my partners in crime,Hugh Wilson,decided to throw fate to the wind and moved his men and the sheep he was herding around the side of my men towards the castle.This led to him being attacked by skulking Irishmen from a nearby wood.Although he lost some sheep he pushed his Irish foes off the table.He finally managed to move his men and sheep round my right flank hoping to make a dash for the castle along a seemingly deserted road.

                Meanwhile Mr Ray decided to move crosscountry around my left side with his men
and wagons full of foaming ale but upon reaching a ford his force were attacked by some thirsty Fianna who engaged Ray's forces whilst some Irish skirmishers decided to confiscate the flagons of ale.
                 Bill's forces and wagons slowly moved up the road cursing at my forces blocking the road looking hopefully for a gap between myself and Hugh's column.Meanwhile at the rear Martin was patiently waiting for everyone to get out of his way.

                     My infantry on my left flank made their way up the hill to confront the Irish rustlers.They engaged them,scattered them and then proceeded to head for a wood full of the Irish who had been previously engaged with Hugh's forces.I finally made contact with them and supported by my crossbowmen(who had finally got the cattle under control) again pushed them back into the woods.

              Hugh's forces were coming off better against his Irish opponents and then proceeded to move his sheep towards the castle only to be interrupted by more Irish encamped near a ford in front of the castle but this merely hindered him reaching his goal.

                Ray's forces were still engaged and in order to deal with the bunch he was facing added his leader to the combat to weed out the Irish band of cutthroats in his way.It all went pear shaped for Ray as he first lost the cart full of Hobgoblin( a heinous crime)and then to his ultimate misfortune lost his general fighting against the Irish causing his forces to quit whilst the getting was good.He ended up taking charge of some Irish against Martin who was still slowly bringing up the rear.
        Bill looked for and finally found a gap enabling him to move his wagons nearer the castle and also being able to engage some Irish with his cavalry.
               Once again the hours and minutes ticked by and eventually the full time whistle arrived with Hugh the clear victor as he had arrived at the castle first(albeit minus a few sheep) and had dispatched some Irish peasants in the process.
                   A great game made better by the fact that we are all beginning to comprehend the rules better.Also another brilliantly planned scenario by Dave o'Brien showing his interest for the picked on Irish underlings.
                   Next game in a fortnight I believe is the battle of Inverkeithing during Cromwell's holiday venture into Scotland.

                   Scenario and figs-Dave o'Brien

                   Protaganists-Tim Watson
                                      Mr Ray Neal
                                      Bill Gilchrist
                                      Martin Gibson
                                      Hugh Wilson


                  Scenery-Hugh Wilson

                  Medieval banquet-Lady Suzanne( which included vegetables from the Wilson mansion garden).


                 Photos-Tim Watson -with my new camera graciously given to me by Lady Watson(only because she bought herself a new one).
                             Bill Gilchrist
                 

Poles apart!

Wed 2nd Sept.

                    Tonight's game was a little peek into the breakout of the Falaise Gap during WW2 with a chance to pit some Poles and Canadians against the retreating Germans.

                      Bart was like a kid in a sweet shop with the chance to field his Polish infantry and supporting tanks against German paras assisted by elements of Das Reich.I play Germans a lot but baulk at the idea of playing S.S so I volunteered to play the paras.

                       My partner in crime was Mr Ray Neal and we were commanded by Obergruppenfuhrer Bill Gilchrist.
                      Bart was ably assisted by Dave O'Brien and Martin Gibson and eventually reinforced  by Hugh Wilson's Canadians.
                      The Poles had taken over the woods in the middle of the table,dug in and had destroyed a German column in the process.

                     

Ray and I ventured on to the table with tanks to the forefront only to be stopped in our tracks by hidden Shermans in a wood losing a Tiger tank and having an assault gun immobilised  in the process.At the other end Bill started an artillery barrage with his 'Heulan Kuh'(howling cow) rocket launcher on Martin and Bart's positions destroying one of their hq units.

                        At the other end we put Dave's Poles on the end of an artillery barrage as revenge for the damage to two of our tanks.This also pinned down his infantry giving us time to move up some infantry to clear out the pesky dug-in Poles.The remainder of our tanks engaged and eventually destroyed a Sherman and a Sherman Firefly.

                          Moving up these forces  gave Bart the chance to engage them with his mortar using his lucky orange dice and lo and behold he struck gold with his first shot wiping out half a squad of my paras.
                           Bill kept up his every other turn salvo with his howling cow but didn't do as much damage as he had hoped so that when his tanks eventually turned up they were met by a salvo of shots from hidden Shermans and a 17lb anti-tank gun stopping him in his tracks.
                           I had an infantry gun but that was about as useful as a chocolate fireguard and was eventually targeted by Bart's ever so successful mortar.We also had a Panzer iv knocked out and the assault gun eventually met with a similar fate.

                            We kept up the pressure on Dave's Poles hoping to clear them out before the Canadian reinforcements arrived but not quick enough as they arrived right into the middle of Bill's advance which resulted in a big firefight between Bill and Hugh's tanks.

                             Mr Ray and I eventually reached the edge of the woods occupied by Dave before the end of play but at great cost in hardware and infantry.
                              Bart and Martin kept up the pressure on Bill's forces with the added bonus of Hugh's Canadians arriving on to the table just in time to give the allies a slight victory at the end of the day.
                              Once again we used Bolt Action  rules which I believe make for a good fast game without all the ifs and buts of other period rules.I believe we are there to have a good time and not get bogged down with too much gobbledygook.Rules that are too complicated don't encourage new players to venture into anything beyond GW games.That's me off my soap box.




                         Scenario,umpiring,Canadian and German forces supplied by Colin Jack.
                         Polish forces supplied by Bart Zynda.
                         Scenery-Hugh Wilson.



                        Participants-

                        Bill Gilchrist-Obergruppenfuhrer and personal commander of 4th SS Panzergrenadier regiment 'Der Fuhrer'.
                        Mr Ray Neal-2nd Panzer division .'Das Reich'
                        Tim Watson-Elements of the 3rd Fallschirmjager div.



                        Polish commander-Bart Zynda

                        Subordinates-Dave O'Brien
                                            Martin Gibson.

                        Canadian reinforcements-Hugh Wilson.


                        Field catering for the evening provided by Fraulein Suzanne.
                        Photos provided by Dave O'Brien and myself(at mo!).

Castes & Anvils

Sun 6th Sept


                    Just back from a wee jaunt to southwest Scotland with Lady Watson, staying in a village called Carsethorn.Nice village on the Solway Firth with an excellent pub,Steamboat Inn,serving up some nice foaming ale.

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                     On the way there yesterday we stopped of in the town of Moffat to visit a toy museum which is situated in the Lothlorien Emporium in Well Street.

  This museum is a must see especially if you are a sci fi freak.They have the usual Star Wars and Star Trek stuff but they also have stuff from Dan Dare,Buck Rogers,Dune and much more stuff  that I never thought existed.This place is a must see if you are travelling both north and south.

                                     

After enjoying a night in the village we headed for Caerlaverock castle for a little peruse and I wasn't

disappointed.Beautiful castle situated in its still wet moat with plentiful history and also an exhibition about the siege of 1300.
           

                               I had hoped to top of my trip with a visit to the Solway Moss battlefield but it was harder to find than the Dunbar battlesite.I had to settle for a trip to Gretna Green instead to see the anvil instead.Sorry too say we didn't renew our vows.all Gerry got was a mug-me!
                    See you when I see you.
                                               

Raid on Happy Valley

Thurs 20th August

                           After last night's game of getting my feet wet in the bogs of Ireland,tonight's game was a rollicking romp through the woods of 18th century North America courtesy of Angus Konstam.A Muskets and Tomahawks game was on the agenda with a French attack on a British colonial village defended by militia with support from British regulars and loyal natives.

                           My copain was Campbell Hardie and our mission was to burn the 4 village buildings with a couple of side missions thrown in.Campbell's side mission was to kidnap one of the local women-not as easy as it sounded especially with the outcome.
                            We started the game by skulking round the woods(as the French usually do)beside the village hoping to attack on a wide front with our indian allies attacking on the flanks and our regulars and  irregulars heading for the centre of the village.

                                Two buildings on the outskirts were soon ablaze and we headed towards the other two buildings.On the way Campbell's officer as part of his side plot decided to go hand to hand with a woman who was carrying a baby and true to form the French officer was killed but due to the vagaries of the rules the officer was replaced on the casualty list by another member of the squad(obviously somebody jumped in the way of the woman swinging the baby as a club).

                                  This obviously spurred the local militia to head for the sanctuary of the local church and barricade the doors.

                                    My forces meanwhile slowly advanced only for my indians to be met with accurate fire coming from the woods losing a whole section in the process but the remainder of the indians pressed home and inflicted casualties on the attackers. 

                                     My irregulars slowly made their way through the woods looking for another building to burn.They emerged from the woods just in time to see their regular comrades getting wasted by some British regulars who had appeared as reinforcements.
   

                                  These regulars proceeded to whittle away my regulars who were doing their damndest to set alight to the third building before disappearing back into the woods as French do.
                                     Campbell at this time had moved his forces slowly up the road into the town attracting musket fire as he went.

Meanwhile his indian allies had made their way round the British flank doing a lot of damage to a group of British rangers but drawing fire themselves from some Highland reinforcements that had just turned up.He finally accomplished his side plot by kidnapping a local female(probably about ninety and having wooden arms and legs).

                                      My own forces reinforced by a group of my irregulars finally set the third building ablaze.One of them probably nipped down to the local 7/11 and bought a new lighter.They then proceeded to withdraw into the woods being closely followed by accurate musket fire from the British regulars losing all my regulars in the process.

                                        Our forces although heavily depleted finally reached the outskirts of the woods and disappeared into the trees.
                                         Once again a very good game played on a small table so that the belligerents would be straight into action.I like Musket and Tomahawk rules as it gives me the feeling of colonial American warfare without the need for large armies.

                                           Belligerents(my word of the day)-

                                           French and indian allies-Campbell Hardie
                                                                              Tim Watson

                                           British,civilians,indian allies and screaming children-
                                              Angus Konstam
                                              Michael Schneider


                                          Figures and scenery-Angus and some club scenery

                                          Pictures courtesy of Angus,Michael and a few thrown in by myself.