Camels and Fokkers

 Phil vcame to visit me for a couple of days and we were able to get some troops on the table for a game or two. Just for fun we tried out a World War 1 air combat game.  We used rules from the 'Portable Colonial Wargame' book, slightly adapted for our needs.  We changed the firing from 3 dice per gun to just one dice.  That was because the Germans shot down all of the British aircraft on the first move! The other thing we did was moving single aircraft alternatively, although we need some markers so that we knew which aircraft had moved that turn. A final change was that ones an aircft had started to move the player was not allowed to retrace the move to get a better firing angle, This worked well as estimating where, after 12 moves/turns, the aircraft would finish up.  We had several occasions where aircraft overshot or did not finish up in the correct position to take a shot.

We played the game on a 3" hex mat with six aircraft each.  The dogfights were chaotic with aircraft peeling off in all direction:

A camel arrives at the wrong angle an misses the green and red Fokker.

Aircraft all over the place and the Red Baron has a Camel on his tail!

The aircraft models are all Lledo 'Pioneers of the Air' WW1 fighters.  These were purchases from eBay for a few pounds and a box of clear plastic stands came from the same source.  Having enjoyed the game, I plane to find a better hex mat that will show off the aircraft better; the Camels are quite hard to spot on the WW1 battlefield mat.

Norman's WW1 Collection

 Norman Paterson has shared some more images of his extensive and beautiful collection of military figures.  This time it is the First World War, with a mix of french, German and British figures set up in the most dramatic and striking poses.  

The figures are a mix of Britains and King and Country castings. Although not historically accurate given the mix of figures, the display is quite stunning.

And some Tommies........

 Also from Irregular Miniatures, I have just finished painting a British infantry company for my WW1 trench war project.  Again, nice figures and fun to paint:

A New Project - WW1 Trench Warfare

For some time I have been contemplating some games based on later WW1 battles but finding a trench system has proved a challenge.  Recently I was lucky enough to get hold of a big box of Amara vacuformed plastic trenches; enough to cover both sides of a 6 x 4 table.  I spent several days painting them.

I was hoping to play these games in 15 -20mm scale but my recent acquisition is really for 28mm figures. So I decided to buy a British and german force from Irregular Miniatures and have been having fun painting the figures.  First off the production line are group of Germans:

A similar size British force is nearing completion.  I plan to steadily work through the figures over the coming weeks.

WW1 Hex Mat

 For my forthcoming foray into WW1 trench warfare, I thought it would be quite good to invest in a mat for my tabletop.  I spotted one on the cigar box website and placed an order.  A few weeks later it turned up.

The mat is made of a fleecy material and lies on the table nice and smoothly with no wrinkles.  I had mine over printed with 3" hexes to suit 15mm scale figures.  Here is a close shot of the mat:

It is supposed to represent a war torn terrain, with no man's land depicted by the heavy shelled area.  Here is wider view of the mat with its shell holes:

I like the mat, however, my one gripe is that the printed image stays the same size regardless of the hex size.  This makes the shell craters really too large for 15mm scale.  In fact you would need massive hexes for some of the larger shell holes.  All that said, by the time terrain features are placed on the table, such as hills, woods and wire the craters will likely fade into the background a bit.

We will see how it looks when I set up a game.

Plastic Soldier Company 'The Great War'

 A few weeks ago I took the plunge and bought a set of PSC's 'The Great War' board game and rules.  I have been thinking about this for some time as I have an interest in WW1 but always tended to shy away from the later trench warfare.  This game appears to offer some fast play rules and the necessary pieces to make this possible. It comes in a huge box that very much matches the Command and Colors game style:

The main differences between this game and the C&C offerings are that the playing area is larger, as are the hexes.  Also, the playing pieces consist of plastic miniatures in 15mm scale, as opposed to the little wooden blocks:

My plan however, will be to transport this game onto the wargames table, with slightly larger hexes and 3D scenery.  I have also decided that the figures need to be painted.  I have completed the British, which I have mounted on bases.  In all there are 150 figures, which is quite a painting task.  This is what I have managed to do so far; British infantry:

There are three machinegun teams:

And three mortars:

I have based the Germans and will be starting the painting over the weekend.  I have also nearly finished off my badly battered medieval knights, with just some final touching up to do.

Airfix WW1 French Infantry

Having enjoyed a couple of WW1 games set in the early war years, I thought it might be interesting to have some actions involving French troops. Unfortunately the Airfix WW1 French, unlike the British and German offerings, are dressed in the later uniform wearing a helmet.  I clearly needed some in the older red breeches and kepi style.

I could have opted for figures from Hat or Caesar, who both do early French, but I was keen to use Airfix if possible.  So, I set about lopping off heads and attaching new ones sourced from ACW figures.

Here are the results:

I quite like the results and I reckon they will look OK on the table

I have ordered a few pieces from Irregular Miniatures and some Hat artillery figures.

Battle Report - Retreat from Mons August 1914

Brigadier AEW Count Gleichen, Commander 15th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division B.E.F. gives orders to the COs of his three remaining infantry battalions; 1 Norfolk, 1 Bedfords and 1Dorsets, along with OC 119 Field Battery and OC of two Sqns of 9th Lancers:

'15 Bde is to delay the advancing enemy, in order that 5 Div may break clean and rejoin 2 Corps BEF. The Brigade will form a blocking position short of the village of Ouevy Le Petit, holding the low ridge'.

' Phase1: The Norfolks will deploy forward and cover the bridge over the small, shallow, fordable river to disrupt the enemy advance and cause delay. 

The Dorsets will hold the left ridge, with the Bedfords on the right'.

'Phase 2: Once the Norfolks have delayed the enemy advance they are to withdraw back into the village and become the brigade reserve:

'119 Bty is to attach a troop of guns to each battalion and 9 Lancers are to remain in reserve near the village. Brigade HQ will deploy forward with 1 Norfolk during Phase1; thereafter will be in the vicinity of the village church'

The Action at Ouevy Le Petit

Around midday  the first German troops are spotted advancing along the road towards 1 Norfolk, they are the 1st Battalion 36th Fusiliers (1/36):

Commander 15 Brigade, standing near to CO 1 Norfolks gives the order to open fire:

The advancing 1/36th comes under artillery and machine gun fire from the vickers on the bridge:

More German troops are spotted moving up behind 1/36, consisting of 2/36 and some artillery:

The German guns unlimber and begin firing on the bridge:

At the same time, German 1/36 rushes forward in an attempt to storm the bridge. They are met with a hail of machine gun and rifle fire and are decimated, losing two companies:

1/36, breaks and retreats back beyond the small wood.

1/36's machine gun is engaged by British artillery and destroyed:

There is a slight lull as more German artillery arrives and troops from 3/36th pour onto the field:

 More intense artillery fire rains down upon the Norfolks position, destroying the Vickers on the bridge and causing other casualties:

At the same time the leading elements of the German 93rd Chasseurs (1/93) can be seen moving up against the Norfolk's right flank, with more batttalions behind them:

Having given 1/36 a bloody nose, and in danger of being outflanked 15 Brigade commander orders CO 1 Norfolks to pull back to the village and for the Brigade to commence Phase 2:

With 2 and 3/36th still some way off the Norfolks successfully break away and rapidly move up the road passing the Dorsets and Bedfords and take up position in the village:

The Germans are now aware that their front is strongly defended and move forwards more cautiously as 2/36th and 3/36th wade through the shallow river towards the cornfields beyond:

However, 2/36th with artillery support soon runs into the Dorsets defending the wooded ridge to their front and come under intense fire, taking heavy casualties:

Even though they have the combined weight of artillery and rifle fire, which cause some casualties amongst the Dorsets, 2/36th's attack is blunted and they are forced to withdraw.

However; 3/36th's approach offers more cover and they are able to close on the Bedfords and bring down heavy fire. Also, 1/93rd, forces a crossing of the river whilst under fire and threatens the Bedfords further:

A major fire fight around 1 Bedfords position begins. Soon B Coy is decimated and the Bedford's position becomes untenable:

CO 1 Bedford orders his remaining troops to pull back off the ridge and they take up positions behind a fence line under intense fire:

With 1 Bedford pulling back this leaves the Dorsets right flank exposed, so they begin to withdraw back into the village alongside the Norfolks:

Despite heavy casualties the Bedfords manage to hold off the German assault:

A pause in activity then occurred, The Germans had exhausted three battalions, and despite causing heavy casualties 15 Brigade was still holding the ground, albeit having pulled back to the village.

While the british consolidated their defence of the village, the Germans brought up fresh troops and commenced an artillery bombardment. 15 Brigade now had all three battalions in and around the village, with the Dorsets on the left, the Norfolks in the village itself and the Bedfords in the fields to the right:

Soon the British could see the Germans advancing once more. Fresh units from 93rd Chasseurs and two battalions from the newly arrived 86th Fusiliers. They deployed into line across the battlefield:

The third German attack began with heavy artillery fire on to the Norfolks position.

As the barrage lifeted 1/86th storm out of the woods and attack the Norfolks, who by now are beginning to suffer serious casualties:

At the same time, over on the right 2/93rd and 3/36th push forwards towards the Bedfords, who have almost lost half their number:

The battle had reached a crucial point. 1 Bedfords could collapse at any time, however, 1 Norfolks supported by the Dorsets rained a hail of bullets into 1/86th, who stalled, losing a quarter of their number:

The stall was turned ino a rout when when the 9th Lancers crashed into their right flank:

Over on the right, three troops of artillery and the remnants of the Bedfords poured fire into 2/93rd. The German casualty toll reaches close to 50% and the German commander decides to call a halt and regroup. Taking advantage of another lull in the fighting 15 Brigade slips away, leaving many casualties behind.  Over half of the Bedfords had been lost, a third of the Norfolks and about a quarter of the Dorsets - it had been a costly operation, but 5th Division had broken clean and 2 Corps was now approaching Le Cateau - for the next great action.

This battle attempts to capture the spirit of the BEF during the retreat from Mons - but the action at Ouevy Le Petit is a figment of my imagination. The figures are from my WW1 collection. They are mostly Airfix, Hat and some odds and ends, including several conversions.