Army of the Levant

Check this Kickstarter site of my friend and fellow wargamer Campbell Hardie.Some excellent early war and Vichy French figures.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441957511/28mm-army-of-the-levant

And on the Third day

Wed 24th Feb

                We concluded our three session game with a night assault on Berwick by the combined forces of the Buf and the Anglicans(unusual bed mates).We used Bolt Action night fighting rules which means you can only see them if they are within six inches or by the flashes of their guns.

                                The pretext for night fighting was that the Southern allied forces had to attack Berwick before Scottish reinforcements arrived from the north.

                                  We played night fighting for six turns and in these turns the Anglican forces managed to clear one of the bridges and take the railway station but never made it too the warehouses as they were checked and pushed back to the railway station.The Scots then counterattacked the station and retook it only to be attacked by veterans of the guard regiment,who again retook it before moving on to attack the defenders in the warehouse who once again stood firm and pushed the guards back.

                               

  Dawn arrived with new hope foe the Scots in the form of airsupport but at least consistency was kept up as the plane in its infinite wisdom decided to attack the newly arrived Scottish cavalry and also pinning nearby infantry.This allowed the Anglicans to cross the small foot bridge but they were destroyed by the rallied defenders.

                                   

 Meanwhile as in the last report Donald's sailors were going up and down Berwick's wall like a tart's knickers(my wife's choice of words) and therefore were getting nowhere as especially as Dave was waiting for the opportunity to decimate them as soon as they landed(which was never).

                                          The battle was going to and fro.The allies were once again restricted by the act that only twelve units could be moved in one turn and the Scots couldn't even draw any decent dice.

                                       By the end of the game the Buf had finally taken the station but the Scots still held out in Berwick town.We came to the final moves of the game so the Anglicans brought up their huge Char 2c Black Prince tank(straight out of Indiana Jones) which just arrived at the southern edge of the railway bridge but didn't see any action.I think it would have struggled to cross any of the bridges.

                        A good game was held by one and all.This brings an end to our Berwick triple bill but I'm sure we'll have a crack at it again sometime.We actually used the scenery two weeks later for a Chris Peers Post apocalyptic game which is just a normal Berwick saturday night after the pubs close.



                        Scenario-Tim Watson & Colin Jack
                        Umpiring-Hugh Wilson
                        Scenery-Hugh Wilson
                        Figures-Colin Jack
                        Photos-Bart Zynda & Bill Gilchrist
                        Protaganists-Scots-Dave o'Brien
                                                    Bart Zynda
                                                    Tim Watson


                                           Anglican's/Buf
                                                   
                                                       Donald Adamson
                                                       Bill Gilchrist
                                                       Mr Ray Neal
                                                       Colin Jack

                            And of course once again the evening was began by yet another fantastic repast by Lady Suzanne of Comiston.


                       

Claymore 2015

Just to remind you all

The trials and tribulations of Count Von Konstam.

Thursday 2nd July.

                         Tonight's game at the club was an Angus Konstam special with a Russian civil war  sparring match between red and white forces.
                           The loyal communists were controlled by Bill Gilchrist and Campbell Hardie(both red to the core) whilst the white forces consisted of Latvians controlled by Bart Zynda,loyal Russians (with a big Austin-Putilov armoured car for support) controlled by myself.We were backed up by Jack Glanvilles's Freikorp forces.Once again I thought it was going to be easy(I think I was a First World war French general in a previous life).

                                            We moved our forces towards our objectives which was a deserted village(or so we thought).I moved up the armoured car to draw fire,which it did,from all points of the globe.The revolting reds heaviest weapon was a field gun but lucky for me it couldn't see me but that didn't stop the maxim guns and rifles opening up on me.These shots were just laughed of in a pitiful manner.The Russian guns just changed targets and wiped out one of Bart's cossack squads.We played "Setting the east ablaze"rules which can be lethal(no saving throws).
                                          The reds hurried there men on to hold the village as we slowly crossed the board.
                   Jack's Freikorps were ambushed from nearby woods by a squad of local factory workers.This just p'ed Jack off so the workers were shot at and were charged with the usual ruthless German efficiency.

                       

   Meanwhile I pushed my field gun literally inch by inch up a nearby hill to get a better l.o.s.Which it did,consequently fired and hit a crowded village house.A few red sailors in the building started singing Happy trails but they didn't rout.
                            Campbell had placed a maxim gun on the edge of a wood and this gave him a good field of fire over the board which he used to great effect in tying down Bart's forces,and then he was supplemented by a squad of infantry which took a while to dislodge but the maxim gun held on to the end(only because I couldn't move the armoured car up to overrun them due to horrible movement dice).

                    Just before the end of the game Jack got the bit between his teeth and charged the village in good Teutonic fashion and clearing out the first house before finishing time.

                   

 A draw was a good outcome but both sides claimed a winning draw.A good time was had by one and all especially the umpire who was quaffing beer and pink gins like they were going out of fashion.The rules are easy although firing can be bloody and movement sometimes just dire.

Participants:-   Jack Glanville-Freikorps
                      Bart Zynda   -Cossacks,Latvians and Tchanka
                      Tim Watson  -Russians.


                      Bill Gilchrist
                      Campbell Hardie(both reds in the beds).


                      Organising,figure provider,and all round major domo-Angus,Count von Konstam of Orkney.

                      Photos provided by Bart Zynda as my phone has turned petulant.

Same s**t different day.

Feb 2015


     A couple of weeks later (one night in gaming terms) the long awaited counterattack on Berwick with a combined force of Anglicans and Fascists arrived.Their plan was similar to the Scottish attack(attacking from the south) with the exception of the naval units who supported by gunfire from a gunboat were this time landed on the north side of the River Tweed.All other ground forces attacked the three bridges.However given that Scots had time to prepare their defences,barriers and tank traps were laid on the bridges.

                                             

   Progress as you could imagine was slow.Anglican and Fascist forces managed to remove barriers from the rail bridge but came under fire from Berwick station.Other units began to cross just beside the rail bridge but were wiped out by the station defenders.

               The defenders at the other two bridges held out under heavy fire.Meanwhile Donald (skulking again, must be the Fifer in him) landed on the north shore but found it extremely difficult to climb Berwick's walls going up and down them like a yoyo and to add insult to injury as soon as they had climbed the walls they were ambushed by Dave's armoured car and infantry.

                       Just at the close of play both sides called in airsupport which was a waste of time as both planes attacked their own forces.The AngloFascist plane attacked its own cavalry whilst the Scottish plane attacked their own forces in Berwick castle.Just another sunny day in paradise.

                         The game will be continued where I introduced night fighting(a barrel of laughs).
                          See you when I see you.

           Anglo-Fascist forces-Donald Adamson
                                          Bill Gilchrist
                                           Mr Ray Neal


            Scottish Republic forces-
                                          Dave o'Brien
                                          Bart Zynda
                                           Me,myself and I.


             Umpiring-Colin Jack

              Scenario-Tim Watson
              Scenery-Hugh Wilson


              Figures-Colin Jack

Cold January night in Sunny Berwick

Way back in January I came up with the idea for an attack on Berwick by the forces of the Scottish republic.This was an idea bouncing round my head since I read the first VBCW source book back in 2009.A point was made about keeping the railway open between the north of England and Berwick and since my working life sees me going up and down this line very frequently(I work on the railway)I thought it sounded like a good idea to stage an attack not from the obvious North but sweeping around with mobile forces and also landing naval forces in the port of Tweedmouth to link up with the Scots army and cut Berwick off from the south.Once again the best laid plans of mice and men.

                     My plan was for my own forces to attack Berwick from the west,Colin's forces to sweep round and attack two of the bridges from the south whilst Bart would land troops and take the smallest bridge nearest the sea.I think it went to plan for a whole thirty seconds.

                       My forces met with defending royalists in Berwick castle and with a well placed mmg decimated my artillery.Colin's forces were ambushed by an antitank rifle team supported by local police.Bart landed okay,took the harbour but found crossing the bridge to be slightly more difficult.

         

I finally took the castle only to be met with heavy fire from Berwick railway station which caused my forces to abscond towards Coldstream leaving the local Buf to just walk back into the castle.Colin cleared the ambushers eventually but at some cost.Bart had sent his recce motorbike up to the bridge to draw fire-which he did,eventually losing the bike.

                    Bart came up with a plan for one of his sailors to swim the river and bring back a boat(Hugh didn't bother to put any rowboats in the harbour-as you do) and since I was umpire-what the heck.
                       Due to the constraints of Bolt Action and only having twelve dice per side(therefore only a possibility of twelve units moving)our reinforcements took its time to move up in order to cross the bridges.

                        Bart finally got a squad across the river and established a bridgehead.All going to plan until he charged his cavalry over his bridge,albeit destroying a gun in the process,only to be met by some skulking fascist women with sub machine guns(just another normal night in Berwick).The cavalry were no more.
                                          Colin brought up his heavy armour and began to clear the town which was good as my forces which eventually took Berwick railway station were coming under intense pressure.

       

  Berwick was taken but we expected a counterattack from forces heading up from Alnwick and Newcastle.That story will be told another day.

 Scenario and umpiring-Tim Watson
Figures-Colin Jack,Tim Watson and Hugh Wilson
Scenery-Hugh Wilson
Photos-Bart Zynda

Lundy Island(or just Puffin crazy)

Wednesday 24th June



Tonight was the culmination of the V.B.C.W double header.Guns that had been put on board a submarine heading for somewhere in Britain finally arrived at Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel prior to being shipped out to some needy customer or so that was the plan.

Participants this evening were-

Colin Jack- Buf
Dave o'Brien- Buf

Bart Zynda- Polish Anglican league
Mr Ray Neal- Connecticut Anglican league

Hugh Wilson-Nelson Colmon Harris-owner and dictator of Lundy
Donald Adamson-Submarine and landing party(all round scurvy knave).


The guns arrived off the north coast of the island but whilst they were being put ashore onto waiting carts the peace was shattered by a double invasion by factions also interested in some extra firepower.
               The south of the island was invaded by two platoons of Buf infantry supported by a Beaverette armoured car whilst two platoons from the Anglican faction were landed on the east of the island.Both factions were hoping for easy pickings.It is true when they say that any battleplan only lasts until the first bullet.

                             

             Both Buf platoons stormed ashore only to be met by gunfire from a garrison squad located in the south lighthouse.This was overcome with difficulty before the advance continued albeit very slowly.

                                                   Meanwhile the Anglicans came ashore and immediately Bart came into contact with some more of Hugh's garrison.Meanwhile his partner in crime Mr Ray moved towards the northern lighthouse only to be met with accurate fire from the submarine's gun which had a spotter on top of the northern lighthouse.This wiped out his mmg beore easily moving its fire towards one of the infantry sections.

                                                    Down in the south the Buf were at last getting to grips with the garrison in the village,finally clearing them from all the buildings stopping for lamb pasties and a few ales in the local tavern.

                                 Donald happily spent the first half of the game shelling Mr Ray  from the comfort of his submarine ignoring the fact that his victory condition was to deliver the guns to Hugh at his mansion halfway down the island.Mr Ray feeling the pressure decided to call for airsupport which duly arrived and proceeded to attack the Buf in the south of the island-not his intended target.The Buf lost a few casualties which prompted their advance to stall even more.

                               The garrison by now was being whittled down as it was being attacked by the other two factions and made its last stand in the middle lighthouse waiting on support from the submarine which never arrived as they were to busy shelling Mr Ray.Eventually Mr Ray's recrewed mmg got their act together and began to to pepper the spotters in the lighthouse giving them time to advance and wipe out one of Donald's sailor squads.

                                                               After a while Donald thought that retreating back to the sub with all the guns was going to be the better act of valour,obviously going to transport the guns elsewhere.This seemed to be going to plan until the last desperate acts of the other factions were to call in airstrikes.

                       The Anglican plane was delayed but the Buf plane attacked and promptly sank the submarine consigning all the crates to be dumped on the bottom of the Bristol Channel.

                                           An enjoyable game enjoyed by all participants with a brilliant ending.
                                            Rules used were Bolt Action with some tinkering done by myself to accommodate six players.

Scenery-Hugh Wilson
All figures-Colin Jack
Boats-Hugh Wilson,Colin Jack and myself
Scratchbuilt submarine-Hugh Wilson(from model railway platforms and various food containers)

                                             Apologies as I used a bit of poetic license with Lundy Island but my wargaming philosophy is that Hollywood takes precedent over history.
                                            And of course the evening was made more enjoyable by a very nice curry before the game started provided once again by Lady Suzanne of Comiston.

More pictures will be added when I receive them from other participants as mine were taken from my iphone and it shows.Good photos courtesy of Dave o'Brien.