Mapping the Battle: Successful Wargames Cartography

Fitting a historical battle onto a standard 6x4 games table may mean squeezing or morphing reality to make the terrain fit. But how far can you change things before it stops being historical and becomes a work of fantasy?

Wargaming your Guilty Pleasures: What's yours?

What are your wargaming 'Guilty Pleasures'? Which periods do you play (or would like to play) that are a bit off the beaten track? Periods, wars, or battles that are not commonly seen on the pages of hobby magazines or are considered uncommon or too niche to be supported by a rule system or figure line?

Quick Strike AAR's - What shall I do next?

Earlier this year Little Wars TV challenged wargaming vloggers to make video AAR's that were shorter and more concise than the usual format seen on YouTube. The brief was deceptively simple but also devilishly difficult; to have a full battle report with a running time of 10 minutes or less but with some historical context, a scenario summary, and a recap of the game at the end. Given that normal video battle reports often run for over an hour, the concept of editing that down to just 10 minutes gives you some idea of the challenge.

Operation Caravan Quick Strike AAR

The LRDG raid on the Italian Airfield at Barce in September 1942 is a classic adventure story of endurance, bravery and brazen daring. This night attack followed a drive of 1850km across vast tracts of inhospitable desert.  The LRDG showed that targets hundreds of miles behind the front lines were vulnerable and nowhere was safe from attack by their "Ghost Patrols".

I first ran this game as a Demo at Broadside in 2017, but of course, running the game meant I didn't get to play it! So I decided I would recreate the scenario and play it as a solo game in my Operations Room. Having made the decision I promptly realised that the rules I used for the demo game were no longer suitable, so I wrote a quick set of simple rules for solo play. They still need a bit of polishing but they worked well, gave me an enjoyable game that replicated the difficulty of this scenario for both sides. 

The original version of this game was a Demo at the Broadside show in 2017.

To fit it on my smaller tale for this solo version I had to twist and squeeze the map a bit to ensure that all the essential elements were present.

As the game progresses smoke rises from more and more targets.

Ultimately the LRDG were there to destroy aircraft and infrastructure on the Italian Airfield, and in this, they succeeded spectacularly. 

Please watch the video and if you enjoyed it please 'like' and of course subscribe to my YouTube Channel Miniature Adventures. 

Rifleman by Victor Gregg

I was recently given this book by my Brother-in-Law and its been a thoroughly gripping read from beginning to end. The books is the life story of an east end lad who joins up and serves through the war in many of the major engagements of North Africa and beyond. In fact his army career was so hard to believe I had to do a little digging to find out if this was a real memoir (it is) or a historical novel. 

Victor Gregg was born in 1919 into relative poverty in the east end of London and grew up in the school of hard knocks as part of street gangs of kids, involved in petty crime and living by his wits. This was a normal upbringing for many kids of his generation with poverty and the daily struggle to put food on the table being part of life, even for children. From an early age he was independent, recalcitrant, often outspoken and tough. When the chance to join the army came along in 1937 he was a natural recruit (despite his indifference to authority figures) and soon found himself serving in the Rifles in peacetime India before the war. 

When war with Germany was declared he expected to be shipped back to England but instead his regiment found itself in Egypt facing the growing threat of Italian Fascists in Libya. A long period of training, acclimatisation to the desert and deep patrols 'into the blue' came to an abrupt end with the Italian invasion of Egypt and British preparations for a counterattack. His squad were assigned to a Bren Gun Carrier and so began a long association with motor vehicles which which would ultimately shape his army career. He took part in Operation Compass and saw much heavy fighting culminating in the Battle of Beda Fomm. His description of Italian tanks attempting to break through the British guns should forever dispel the myth that the Italians were cowards that didn't know how to fight.

After a period in South Africa he returned to his old unit and his mates in the Rifles. Then by chance he was picked to be a driver for a little known Belgian officer by the name of Vladimir Peniakoff. Paniakoff was something of a Polyglot, speaking six languages and spent much of the desert war organising the Sennusi Arabs against the Italians in what became known as Popski's Private Army. Victor spent much of his time alone driving across the vastness of the desert behind enemy lines delivering vital supplies to contacts and allied tribes. His work with Peniakoff inevitably lead to contact with the LRDG and eventually he joined them for 18 months. Once again he was employed driving vast distances behind 'enemy' lines, this time ferrying wounded men back to Siwa Oasis. His description of how to thwart enemy air attacks when caught in the open desert is both very informative and tells a lot about the coolness of Gregg under fire.

Eventually he returned to his mates in the Rifles who were now part of the forces defending the narrow strip of desert between the Qatarra Depression and the railway stop at Alamein. His unit were assigned to protecting the engineers that would breach the German minefields in the first phase of Operation Lightfoot, the opening stages of the Second Battle of Alamein. His experience of waiting for it all to start perfectly sums up the lot of the PBI.

"Once the flag went up it would be easier, that we knew. In the meantime we waited and cursed, and waited and cursed some more"

His unit were heavily engaged in the fighting at 'Snipe' and once again he experienced the harsh reality of hand to hand fighting, this time against the Germans rather than the Italians.

After a period of R+R Gregg transferred to the Parachute Regiment, learning to jump out of perfectly good airplanes with nothing but a silk parachute to break his fall. Many recruits never completed the training when faced with their first jump but Gregg stayed the course and earned his red beret. Transferred back to Blighty he had more training as well as home leave when he reconnected with his sweetheart from before the war and promptly got married. It wasn't long before they were expecting their first child but the war intervened and it would be some time before he would meet his child. The reason was an ambitions operation called Market Garden and his destination would be the Dutch town of Arnhem.

More bloody hand to hand fighting followed in that desperate battle before he became a POW. The war however was certainly not over for Private Gregg. Transferred to a large holding camp he had the opportunity to be assigned to a smaller camp doing non-war work in Germany. He thought (rightly) that the opportunities for escape would be better and leapt on the chance to alleviate his growing boredom. And so began a period working in and around Dresden clearing roads of snow, emptying refuse pits and occasionally working in factories. An abortive escape attempt landed him on punishment duties but on the whole he still thought his treatment was fairer and better than he could have expected. His rebellious nature soon got the better of him when he was involved in sabotage at a Factory that saw the site burn to the ground and him in prison awaiting execution!

While he waited and contemplated the chain of events that had lead him to this point, fate took a hand in his salvation. Gregg found himself virtually in the centre of the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombing in February 1945. His description of the firestorm that engulfed the city and its inhabitants is one of the most striking episodes in the book. Decades of debate and discussion have struggled to reconcile the war aims and morality of the Allied bombing campaigns in the later half of the war but for Victor Gregg there was no doubt that the firebombing of that city was a war crime. He never forgave the politicians and generals that made the decision to target a civilian population in this way.

"I still occasionally suffer nightmares about those two nights of bombing and the firestorm, people burning in the street, flames reaching down from the heavens like huge claws, sucking up human life as if to satisfy some inexhaustible appetite. I wake up bathed in sweat with the sound of terrible screams ringing in my ears."

In the Chaos of the cities destruction and with the remnants of the Third Reich collapsing in upon itself, Gregg was able to avoid the authorities and somehow found himself on the Russian side of the front lines. He spent time with some front line units and saw the brutality meted out to the German civilian population. He eventually made his way back to England to be demobbed and returned to civilian life. Full employment after the war made it easy for him to change jobs but its hard for a modern reader to understand how anyone with his experiences could ever have adapted back to civi-street.

Victors life after the war ended up being almost as colourful as his military service. For a period he was a keen cyclist and a contender for the Empire Games in New Zealand . He was alternatively a Lorry Driver and a Chauffeur, joined the Trades Union movement and the Communist Party although his distrust of those in power (including the Soviet leadership) meant he was immune to much of the propaganda that he was exposed to. Despite this he was employed by a Russian Bank and Trade Embassy, ferrying potential intelligence operatives around the country and running shady errands, and all the while working 'unofficially' for MI6! In later life he became a keen motorcyclist and his Russian connections made it easy for him to cross the Iron Curtain to attend Motorcycle Rally's. This time the shady errands were for British Intelligence but he also nurtured contacts in the Hungarian democratic movement and in 1989 (aged 70) found himself present when the frontier wire was cut in Hungary just weeks before the Berlin Wall fell. 

My overwhelming impression of Victor Gregg after reading this book is that if you had to serve in the army in wartime he would be the best mate in the world to have with all the best characteristics of loyalty, courage and comradeship. But being Victors mate was also probably the most dangerous position to be in as it seems everyone around him got picked off as the war went on, leaving Victor somehow unscathed and ready for the next adventure. But while its true he suffered no major physical injuries during his service it is clear from his words that the psychological scars of his experience stayed with him long after the guns fell silent. His wartime experiences never left him and ultimately resulted in the breakdown of his marriage. In later life he began to write down his memoirs and what comes across most in his words is his optimism and upbeat attitude to life.

"I believe that when things are getting rough, take a breather and brew up the tea - it'll all come out in the wash"

Considering the things he has seen this is probably the most amazing thing about his story and makes this one of the best memoirs I have read in a long time. 

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks (2011)
Language: English

★★★★★

Miniature Wargames review of Broadside

Yesterday I picked up my copy of Miniature Wargames magazine (issue 412) and was very pleased to see several photos of my Operation Caravan game that the Rejects put on back in June at Broadside. Editor John Treadaway was very complimentary about our game and the team effort that went into our overall presentation. 

Two photos of our demo game feature in the magazine.

A very nice write up from the Editor.

Issue 412 of the magazine.

I think all the Rejects that took part on the day will be pleased with this write up on what was already a successful demo and a great day.

LRDG Patrol

More 6mm goodies this week, this time moving away from Operation Compass and back to a project I have worked on before. I have painted LRDG vehicles before but last time I went all colourful, using a camouflage pattern of pale blue and salmon pink. It sounds garish (and it is) but its also a pretty effective disruption pattern for dawn and dusk raids. This time I have gone a little more traditional and chosen a simple desert sand colour for the trucks. This was probably the most common colour scheme with only occasional patrols being painted differently, and maybe only then for particular missions.

From early 1942 standard vehicle of choice for the LRDG was the Chevrolet 30 cwt truck. These were commercial vehicles stripped down and converted for use deep behind enemy lines. The Chevy was a tough vehicle but was also a relatively easy one to repair and maintain in the field. It was only two wheel drive but its extra low ratio gears and 6 cylinder engine (which used less fuel) made it ideal for use by LRDG. Amazingly one original Chevy was found largely intact in the Egyptian desert in 1980 and is now displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Each vehicle would typically carry a crew of two or three including a driver, gunner and commander. These models, while highly detailed in every other respect, only include a driver so I converted several infantry figures and mounted them in the rear of the trucks to represent other crew.

While I was rummaging through my model box I also found a couple of Morris 15cwt Trucks and decided I could add these to this LRDG patrol as supply vehicles. It would have been a crime to leave such gorgeously detailed models in the box so I had to add them to this patrol. The LRDG used all sorts of vehicles, especially in the early days when most of their equipment was 'borrowed' from other commonwealth units.

Sting of the Scorpion

The story of the Long Range Desert Group has been written many times, often from a single perspective but rarely from the viewpoint of so many of its veterans. Sting of the Scorpion by Mike Morgan brings together the stories and recollections of dozens of former members of the LRDG that takes the reader from the units unlikely conception through to the end of the war.

Despite being a collection of many voices and many different styles the author has managed to bring them all together in a clear narrative that tells the inside story of the LRDG. This is not just the story as seen and narrated by the commanders but by the men of all ranks from Private upwards and is therefore a uniquely frank and complete tale of life as kings of the desert and beyond. This has been made possible by the incredibly strong bonds of comradeship that existed long after the war ended between the men of this elite unit.

“'The Long Range Desert Group caused us more damage than any other unit of their size" 
[Erwin Rommel]

Some of the stories are funny and irreverent truly reflecting the outward appearance of a lack of discipline that no doubt horrified officers from regular units. But these stories show that this impression was completely superficial and underneath the Arab headgear, dirty faces and beards were some of the toughest, most resourceful, highly trained and independent soldiers in the allied forces.

For me one of the attractions of this unit is the incredible glamour and romance of their private desert war. These soldiers were part explorer, part warrior and were literally venturing into the unknown with every mission. There are elements of the glamour of T.E.Lawrence in their desert exploits [a man who was an inspiration to some of the men who joined the unit in its early days] but this book also looks past North Africa into the units redeployment to Yugoslavia, Albania and Italy in the latter years of the war. Within months men who were desert specialists were accomplished mountaineers. The unit suffered heavy losses in the Dodecanese in an abortive attempt by British forces to take the Island of Leros. To their credit many of the LRDG men captured managed to escape and some went on to link up with local resistance fighters and continue a private war against the Germans until liberation in 1945.

This particular paperback edition crams in hundreds of individual tales of triumph, adventure, hardship and adversity and is a truly gripping read from cover to cover. I can give a whole hearted recommendation for this book for anyone interested in this unit.

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: The History Press; New Ed edition (9 Dec. 2003)
Language: English
Rating:      ★★★★★

Military Odyssey 2016

On Saturday, with the weather staying fine and the heat and humidity of earlier in the week tempered a little, we decided to head off to Kent for the Military Odyssey living history event. The show is held at the Kent country show ground in Deitling but for various reasons we haven't been to this show for a couple of years. Odyssey is a multi period event with everything from Cowboys to Vikings to Napoleonic and WWII groups showcasing their geekdom.

The group Regia Anglorum practising a Saxon shield wall. 

And attacking a palisade...

30-40 reenactors put on an excellent display of battlefield tactics 

And the defenders showed how to send attackers packing!

This was by far the best display group at the show...they even had a full sized longship on its own beach. 

A large Tipi typical of those used by the Plains Indians of North America. 

A Greek/Trojan helmet from the collection of The Hoplite Association

Me and a very nicely restored M18 Hellcat...can I take it home please?

M35A1 Quad .50 Cal 2 1/2-Ton Gun Truck belonging to the Rolling Thunder Vietnam re-enactment group.

In the trading hall there were even a few models on display. 

Back outside I find a BMW R75 motorcycle and sidecar. The owner is in the process of restoring it so its not complete yet but he did say it was a wonderfully comfortable ride. 

Sd.Kfz. 251/7 Pionierpanzerwagen - This was an assault engineer vehicle which had fittings to carry bridge ramps on the sides (one can be seen on the ground beside the vehicle).

An Opal Blitz. These iconic vehicles can be seen being used throughout the war. 

A replica Sturmgeschütz part of the Second Battle Group display

An excellent display of LRDG Jeeps, part of the Desert Rats Living History Groups display.

Stripped down for desert running - The drum on the front is a water condenser for the radiator. Earlier cooling systems allowed boiling water to evaporate through a vent on top of the radiator. This device collected the steam, allowing it to be condensed back into water and returned to the cooling system...ideal for those long drives in the desert!

An SAS Jeep bristling with machine guns including a twin lewis gun. These were easy to maintain, quick to reload and could even be demounted and carried if necessary. 

An American Civil War group leaves the battlefield...

Looks like the Confederates won that round...

Another excellent living history event and a wide variety of groups make this a very family friendly day out. The show continues today (a public holiday here in the UK) but if you can't make it this is well worth putting in your diary for next year.

Raid on Jakharrad

The Young Padawan and I managed to fit in another 6mm wargame today, this time playing a Flames of War battle set in the Libyan desert in WWII. I wanted to give my LRDG trucks a new chance to go toe to toe with the Italians to see what they are capable of. I soon learnt the answer was "quite a lot"!

The Setup

Three LRDG Patrols are converging on a target across the Libyan Desert. The patrols had traversed hundreds of miles of desert together but two days ago split up to approach their target from different directions. Their objective is an Italian held town, regional HQ and communications hub for forces in the area. If the LRDG can knock out their objective the Italian war effort in the area will be severely disrupted. 

Order of Battle

LRDG

   Command Platoon

   3 LRDG Patrols 

Italian Forces

   Town Defenders

     Bersaglieri Company

     Rifle/MG Platoon (Dug in)

   Reserves

     Armoured Car AB41 Platoon

     Tankette L3/35 Platoon 

     Bersaglieri Motociclisti Platoon 

The Action

Initial Setup - The Italian HQ and hub of local telegraph lines - As the Italian player I made a quick map of the town and secretly positioned my troops in various buildings. 

Likewise the young Padawan, as the LRDG player, decided on her plan and wrote down where her forces would arrive. 

The only Italian forces visible at the start are a series of sentry positions (Dug in Rifle/MG units)

The Rifle/MG pits cover all the approach routes

The first LRDG patrol arrives outside the town.

The second patrol arrives from a different direction...but the third patrol hasn't arrived yet, presumably delayed on the long drive to their objective.

The LRDG open fire and even their limited rate of fire (reduced because of movement) begins to deal out alarming damage to the Italian defenders. The red markers show infantry units destroyed and will be removed at the end of the turn. 

Maybe I'm a little too confident in my Italian troops....

..on the other hand. I knock out one of the LRDG Chevy trucks, although the crew are able to leap to safety. 

Another Chevy truck goes up in flames...this time the crew are killed. 

My Bersaglieri infantry are able to return fire and knock out several LRDG trucks. Maybe this British attack was a mistake. 

The LRDG don't move next turn and so can fire at their full rate of fire.... fistfuls of dice are rolled and an alarming number of hits result, even against troops in hard cover. Infantry save on a 3+ but with so many multiple hits on each unit I still loose several teams. 

The same is true on the other side of town. I'm beginning to worry that this will be a very short game!

...and then the remaining LRDG Patrol arrives on the scene. Oh dear. My reinforcements have not shown up yet and I'm really thinking this game will be a British whitewash. 

Despite heavy losses the LRDG are now in a good position. The latest patrol to arrive have taken up position on a hill overlooking the town, eliminating the problems of line of sight. 

Italian casualties continue to mount and the HQ building begins to come under direct fire. 

At last Italian reinforcements begin to arrive. A platoon of AB41 armoured cars race across the desert and outflank one of the LRDG patrols. 

Meanwhile an L3/35 Tankette Platoon threatens the flank of the latest LRDG patrol to attack. 

Of course victory is predicated on my ability to actually roll to hit!!

Lots of LRDG Trucks are burning but enough remain to dish out a significant amount of fire-power. This battle is far from over. 

Or so I thought. A hard volley of gunfire takes out my Bersaglieri HQ units and without these the remaining infantry fail their moral check, drop their weapons and flee in all directions!! My only hope is that my Armoured Cars and Tankettes can finish the job and protect the HQ building. 

We relied heavily on a laser pointer to help with line-of-sight issues and it worked really well. Not that this was much consolation to my troops.

Well that's it, game over. With the Italian defenders killed or fled the remaining LRDG teams rain fire own on the town and quickly set the Italian HQ building ablaze. 

I'm sensing that the Young Padawan may be happy with that result! 

Analysis
My string of defeats at the hands of my daughter grows every longer! My dice rolling was as awful as usual, whether it was to-hit rolls or saves. The Bersaglieri troops in the town had a big advantage, hunkered down in hard cover making them much harder to hit than if they were in the open. Despite this the massive fire power being brought to bare by the LRDG trucks (every one bristling with machine guns) meant they could quickly overcome local opposition before reinforcements could support them. The Padawan was lucky with her dice roles but in the end that's part of the game and no excuse for my loosing yet again!