Torpedoes and Tides - Making a Beginning with actual model boats this time

Third play through of the Making a Beginning scenario, but with enhanced playing pieces.  Mark B again commanded the British flotilla.

The two German S-Boots are heading home after an incursion into British home waters

when they are intercepted by three British MGBs.

Action commences immediately with the lead German boat taking two hits 

and one of the British boats receiving a single hit.

The lead German boat takes more hits and wisely decides to flee.

The remaining German boat tries to hold off the enemy so its compatriot can make good its escape.

The fighting is intense with the already damaged British boat taking another hit,

but the German boat now also has two hits and is also supressed (the white marker)

The British boats need to turn to pursue the Germans.

But the now battered German boat is caught.

And sunk.

Very happy with the visuals.  A quick, exciting game that was over in 45 minutes of play time.  Next task is to perfect the QRS and move on to trying a different scenario.  I'm also tempted to get a few more boats and I am checking where James has sourced his 1/700th models from.

The author of the rules has an excellent blog: The Raft – Wargaming Adventures

Boats for Torpedoes and Tides

After my two games with Cardboard Standees, Simon gave me a present of some model MTBs for me to construct.  Much appreciated as I was undecided about my next step, particularly scale.

This is the first one made up.

Very fiddly, but I was happy with the results.

1/700th.

Four S-Boats

ID is discreet but yet to be tested.

Four Vospers

The box art

Did I say fiddly? 

 These are two PT boats still on their sprues.

The box contained four of each type.

Luckily, I did the S-Boat first as it had the fewest pieces. If I'd tackled the Vosper first or heaven forbid the PT Boats, I might not have continued.  

Next task is to schedule another game.

Torpedoes and Tides - Making a Beginning Again

Having identified mistakes made in the first game and also deciding to try a different scale (1/600th this time) we were ready to set sail again.  Mark B again took the MGBs and I took the S-boats.

Second turn and the S-boats have closed to automatic spotting range.

Immediate close quarters action.

One of the S-boats is looking a little wobbly

(I think I used too much glue on the Cardboard Standee).

We were using templates off table to track damage,

but here you can see one of the S-boats supressed.

By this stage one of the MGBs has been battered,

but both S-boats have taken substantial damage.

One S-boat captain has lost his nerve and has decided to flee.

Wise move!

The next turn the other S-boat decided fleeing was the best course of action.

One of the MGBs gives chase.

But contact is soon broken off.

The British had one battered boat giving the Germans 1 VP.  However, the Germans had at least one battered boat, and both boats fled the scene providing an extra 2 VPs for three in total to the British.

Next job is to replace the Cardboard Standees with models.  This will be 1/700th thanks to Simon who gave me the Skywave Motor Torpedo Boats construction kit which provides plenty.  But they ain't half fiddly!

Something that wasn't fiddly:

Torpedoes and Tides - Making a Beginning

I wouldn't have found out about these rules if it hadn't been for Cardboard Standees by Thomas Branstetter that pricked my interest.

A Cardboard Standee represent a MGB BPB Type 70'

1/1250th scale

After minimal research (I was sold really on the basis that they used the Galleys and Galleons mechanics) I purchased, downloaded and printed, made up some markers and other play aids and with a few Standees I was ready to play.  

It seems to be an exceedingly rich ruleset, but for a first game went with the first historical scenario, the aptly named: Making a Beginning.  I took command of two German S-Boots returning after a minelaying operation off the coast of Norwich 17 April 1941.  Mark B intercepted using three British boats from the 6th MGB flotilla.

The British boats, represented by blinds, have spotted one of the German boats.

The boats quickly close distance becoming visible to all.

It immediately became a confusing night action,

with lots of collisions, in part because I had misunderstood the minimum move requirements

(I was using S length instead of base length)

I made up these aids to keep track of damage (red dice) rather than clutter the table.

The Germans have sunk one British boat, but have taken plenty of damage.

The turning circles are not that tight (especially until we resolved the minimum move distance).

The damaged German ships have had repeated rolls on the All At Sea table

and one has decided to flee.

The second German boat has also lost its nerve and is fleeing now as well.

(I mistakenly had any fail on a damage dice result in an All At Sea roll)

Game over.

We didn't pay attention to the VPs, but the Germans got 3 for the wrecked British boat while their two fleeing vessels gave the British one VP each. At least one of the German ships was probably battered (3 damage dice) and that would be an extra VP so a draw or marginal win for the British.

Most importantly I am keen to play again, perhaps going to 1/600th scale (or maybe 1/700th if you are reading this James or the scale Simon has with his ships).  The Cardboard Standees are remarkably effective, but it would be nice to have some proper models.

I am still working on my Dreadnought rules and hope these rules will spur me on.  

DAM BUSTERS 1943 ONWARDS

Hot on the heels (or is that tail?) of Bomber, Mark B lent me this book.  It is something different...

These two images come from Stella & Rose's Books

The contents has a lovely typo.

The missions after the dam busting are quite interesting along with the development of ever bigger bombs.  In the end they ran out of targets and the bombs were so expensive crews were instructed to fly them home if they couldn't complete the mission due to cloud etc.  That must have been fun landing a plane carrying one of these bombs, especially if you had a bit of flak damage... 

Bomber by Len Deighton

In playing Nightfighter with Mark B he recommended this book to me, even going so far as being prepared to lend me his copy. I was eager for some background and inspiration for the game and took up his offer. I am so glad I did. Challenging at times (it is about one of the most terrifying and indiscriminate aspects of war after all) but most engaging and atmospheric.

It is a big book even though it is set all in one day June 31st 1943.  The author was at pains to make sure it was accepted as a work of fiction, even right down to the date, but it has been meticulously researched and seemed very real and alive with a large cast of very varied characters, and while it was tricky to remember who was who, they were all brought to life in just a few pages.

The tension was compelling.  The horror of what the bulk of the characters went through was impactful.  I felt for them all, well, nearly all of them.

Nightfighter - Scenario 2: Dunaja

Three Hampden bombers braved the night skies on a moonless night while an Me110 tried real hard to find them with the aid of a Freya radar station.

Even with this wunder weapon the nightfighter still had to get super close (as in same hex, which are a mile across) to get a Tally.  

The first bomber was only detected by the radar as it left the zone.

The second bomber was too far along for the nighfighter to turn and catch after it was detected.

But the third bomber was unlucky.  The Freya radar had helped the nightfighter determine the path (hex column) being used and knowledge of the relative speeds allowed the Me110 to get in close.  It still had to get a visual.  Two dice needing a three on one of them.  Mark B rolled well, but could he shoot well?  He rolled two dice and got an 8.  To that you add the fire power which was either a 1 or a 4.  A result of a nine would be no effect, but a 12 would produce three hits which would shoot down the poor Hampden.  A bit of hunting in the rules clarified the fire factor as 4.  The Hampden and its load of deadly leaflets went down in flames.

Not much to look at, but the game plays quick and gives a good feel for blindly searching the night sky for prey (but without the cold, boredom or risk of physical danger).

Nightfighter - Scenario 1: Cat's Eye

I've had this game for a while and finally I was able to give it a go (using the most basic scenario, even though it was described as Impossible).  Mark B took a Hurricane up to try and deter some Heinkel's on a nighttime bombing mission.  

The game's mechanics are straightforward and give a quick game.  It's not much to look at, which is why I made up the data cards for the aircraft involved.  The game has a lot of scope and hopefully we will get to try it out some more.   

Churchill

Roosevelt (Richard), Stalin (Russell) and Churchill (myself) set about determining the future of the world in a series of conferences.  An interesting game, simple in its mechanic (except for determining the winner), but complex in its moving parts: agendas, debates, influence, political control, not to mention the need to keep advancing the fronts to victory.

So, the US finished with the most VPs.  You think that would make them the winner.  No it didn't as poor USSR had so few.  But when you added the UK and USSR VPs together it still gave the US a lead within some margin and so they did win.

All the same, I look forward to playing again.

Back to Stalingrad Again

This time Stefan and Jeff lead the Germans to victory in the Factory after Karl and Andrew narrowly failed to capture it.

The hidden set up means the game starts slow, builds up as frustration mounts and then comes to a quick conclusion after various rash moves either succeed or open the way for an enemy victory.

Back to Stalingrad

Andrew and Stefan successfully take a block of the ruins of Stalingrad from Karl and Stephen.

Clearing one building and getting ready to dash to another.

While the other Germans hold on in the factory.

Stalingrad - Practice

It has been my intention to at least play this scenario once a year around this time.  I know I missed last year, but it is rather embarrassing to find the last time I played was five years ago!  

This session was very much a practice game to get Karl up to speed with the rule's mechanics.  We played without hidden setup, and I think that takes all the magic out of the game.  

The setup.

Knowing where and where not the Soviets are enabled the Nazis to mop them up with some ease especially given some excellent die rolling on my part.

Salerno 43

New game but known (if slightly forgotten by the players) system.  Small scale made it interesting but also subject to outlier dice rolls.  As the Allies I needed 8 VPs by the end of Turn 8.  I fell one short, but a number had only been picked up by, in one case, Richard throwing a double 1 on 2D6.

It was good to play a game where I had actually travelled in part of the area, namely in this case, Sorrento and Capri.  My dad would have been near this area closer to the time this game is set.

Stolberg Corridor - Observations

Ever since I acquired the Command Decision rules that contained a campaign for the Stolberg Corridor, it was a project I wanted to do.  This has now been completed using the Rommel rules and worked well.

The campaign I created using the base material, additional information and adapting for the Rommel rules had a few challenges and this post is based on these and other observations from the game. It also serves to provide closure and to publish the scenario.

Given the 15mm scale and ground scale of one hex is 1 km there would always be a need for some suspension of disbelief, but in looking at the images the labels are a bit too obvious unfortunately.  They could probably be smaller and on a darker base.

The Rommel rules worked well over a nine-day campaign game although we stopped after day eight, nine sessions in total.  The games changed over time and were also made interesting by the need to plan for the next day.

The rules for pillboxes and dragon's teeth also worked fine.

The use of ops dice to provide support points at the end of the day also worked out fine.

The reduction in available tactics was okay, but events could possibly need some tinkering.  

The size of the battlefield was manageable.

I have updated my documents for this scenario, and they can be found here:

    Stolberg Corridor Campaign for Rommel

    Stolberg Corridor Campaign Labels

The AAR for each session can be found in these posts:

• Day one
• Day two
• Day three
• Day four
• Day four and day five
• Day five completed
• Day six
• Day seven
• Day eight

Stolberg Corridor - Day Eight

Day Seven AAR can be found here:

 https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2025/04/stolberg-corridor-day-seven.html

This session came down to bloody fighting for Stolberg.  The US grimly hanging on and the Germans throwing themselves into the fray in repeated, desperate attacks.  Would they pay off?  Would the US hold Stolberg which had been seized with such optimism?

20 September 1944 was to prove to be the last day of this campaign.

As soon as it's daylight, elements of the German 12th Infantry Division attack.

Weakened, but not deterred, they attack again.

Regroup and attack, this time with 9th Panzer joining the assault.

It's a battle of attrition with both sides sustaining losses.

The US refuse to break, but pressure is being applied to their right flank

 (very top left-hand corner of the image)

The attacks continue and the US forces defending Stolberg are starting to thin out.

The German 12th Infantry Division makes a massive demonstration all along the US flank.

Follow-up attacks on Stolberg take more of the city's blocks.

The Germans now hold over half.

The US make a desperate surprise counterattack.

But it fails

The situation at the end of the day.

The situation morning 21 September, the US forces have pulled back, 

holding Stolberg has become untenable.