The Battle for Foy - Easy Company lead the way.

Club day and an opportunity to go beyond the usual 6x4.

A WW2 Bolt Action outing and the The U.S. 506th PIR (Easy Company and supporting platoons) attacked the German‑held village of Foy during the Battle of the Bulge. The Americans had to cross open, snow‑covered fields under fire from entrenched German defenders.

The German's held strong positions in the town with the added challenge of the occasional armoured element, marvellous.

Faced with an expanse of open ground Easy Company swung left, trying to keep a number of the Germans out of play and bring the US superior fire power into play.

A large amount of open grounded was covered with limited casualties, until they hit small arms range and then the pins started to mount.

The Germans stripped the line and rushed to counter the flanking move.

Having reached the village outskirts the remaining US Platoons rushed from the tree line, as Easy Company fought to get a foothold in the village and the petrol station.

The clock ran down.... looks the Jerry might need softening up before the next push...

A cracking game with challenges for both sides.

Oathmark Orc Archers - Scum of the Earth.

Another quick painting session to clear some of the smaller projects sitting on the paint table.

Paul over at movealongnownothingtoseehere has issued the Wyre Forest Club a monthly painting challenge. This month it's Scum of the Earth and these felt perfect.

Having built up Modred's forces back in the Summer for the Excalibur project, I was missing some missile troops for the evil side.

These are Oathmark Orc's but a flesh tone gives them a disfigured human feel perfect for terrorising villagers before the Knights of the Round Table appear to save the day.

What a Cartel - Not so much the Easter Bunny.

The Wyre Forest Club and a chance to give What a Cartel a run out.

The coco sales reps always keen on a deal but have perhaps over done it this time, venturing into the hinterland they are forced to hide out in the village from a competitor company's merc's and vengeful coco farmers.  

What started out as a balanced game soon swung in the favour of the local faction, with an improvised IED killing one of the hired guns as he rushed into one of the huts looking for the sales reps. In a modern twist another of the Merc's was killed by a single person drone before he could fire a shot.

The Reps are found and 'escorted' from the hut.

Despite being out numbered 4:1 a rash move can ruin your day as one of the militia men ran round the corner only to be slotted by the last western gunman, who in turn was beaten to the ground by the fella in the white vest with his empty RPG.

The Coco Farmers whisk the Rep's away they would fetch a lovely cash reward.

First outing for these rules and they make for a fun game, like most Lardies games, well put together with some interesting tweaks over What a Cowboy. - Definitely more bloody.... don't get spotted as your likely to end up dead.

If the dice land well..... You have a proper cinematic moment.  The RPG man stepping out into the street, blowing up a hut only to then rushing a second merc with his bare hands.... Move over Schwarzenegger there is a new hero in town :-)

Wyre Forest Club - The Black Watch in Fallujah

Club day and an opportunity to put on a BIG game.

The Black Watch Regiment was ordered to support the US forces in throwing a 'ring of steel' around Fallujah before an all-out assault on the insurgents in the city.

The Regiment is ordered into the outskirts to secure two key buildings clearing any insurgents that get in the way.

Three Warriors supported by a Challenger & Scimitar are available for the operation.

The Brits rolled up to the Outskirts of the city, it was quiet, to quiet Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been stirring up the people but where were they?

Ambush.... unsporting the insurgents fired a recoilless rifle and took out the lightly armed command vehicle.

The command group ran for cover from their burning vehicle, the medic was killed in the blast but fortunately the rest of the group were unharmed.

The main group on the road poured fire into all potential hot spots as the flanking force of two Warriors hit the first target buildings. Infantry spilling out to take the fight to the insurgents.

Calling in the Predator to really add to the ferocity of the assault a number of insurgent groups were destroyed. The Challenger rolled on towards Target 2 unopposed, even if they had to shake off a roadside IED that would have caused some serious harm to a lesser unit. With the Insurgent commanders killed or wounded it was mission accomplished for the Brits.

An interesting scenario and a very different experience for both the British and Insurgent Commanders, the militia are numerous but are lost in droves if caught in the open, they need to pick their targets, timing and ensure they make use of the cover available. In this encounter they lost approximately 70 fighters. The Brits on the other hand need to manage their forces - In the mission the loss of a command vehicle and an immobilised Warrior and Scimitar cost the MOD around £1.5M but more concerning was the loss of two personnel and three seriously wounded.

Mission success but a loss when it hits the news wires back home.

The Battle of Nyezane 1879 - Men who would be King.

Nothing like a large club game to get the gaming juices flowing... we last played this encounter over the the Wyvern Club perhaps 8 years ago..... where does the time go... it's a great scenario lifted from the Colonial Skirmish books.

The British briefing.... with a little help from Co-pilot

Gentlemen,

We stand on the threshold of our advance toward Eshowe. The Tugela is behind us, and the Nyezane River lies ahead. Intelligence suggests that Zulu forces are operating in this region in considerable strength. Their movements are swift, their discipline admirable, and their intent unmistakable. We must therefore proceed with vigilance and cohesion. 

Our task is to escort the supply convoy and secure the road to Eshowe. 

Your objective in this exercise is simple:

 • Protect the convoy

• Maintain formation under sudden attack

• Repel Zulu forces and secure the high ground 

Zulu strength in this sector is estimated at 4,000–6,000 warriors, likely from the iNgobamakhosi and uMbonambi regiments.

Thanks to Andy who carved us plenty of high ground for the Zulu's to watch the river. The British started with a number of units on the left bank of the river, with no Zulu's in the near vicinity a few scouts were seen far off in the distance but nothing to worry about.

The remaining British forces queued at the crossing, with only one wagon and one foot unit allowed to cross each turn, it would be a while before the full column was across. 

The Zulu's had there own challenges, they started with a few units on the table but then had the choice to either bring on 2 units a turn or wait until they rolled under the turn number to bring on 10 units in one go.... we opted to wait.....

The plan was a simple one use one of the horns to draw in the British slowing their push for the high ground whilst we wait for the main chest to appear on the table. Experienced warriors with their white shields headed into the donga and the benefit of hard cover.

Turn after turn we failed to roll low and the clock was ticking, the British had set up a firing line and with their free fire action were slowly chipping away at the Zulu's who had gone to ground, their mounted infantry were pushing forwards..

Seeing that the right flank of the Imperial forces was being weakened and still no main body we pushed forwards a little to pull the defenders back in to the fight.

The main body appears... each unit was 16 strength points but we had them on the table in 24 man units to give that sense of mass.

Counting rifles.... it turned out sending a single unit forwards into a massed rank of regular line and artillery does not work.... 1 point to the British for wiping out a Zulu unit, they also had 3 wagons across the river also worth 3 points - if they could get to 12 it would be a British victory.

As the British pushed forwards the main Zulu force was moving quickly through the tall grass that restricted visibility and long range fire.

The lead British unit were caught too far out in front and they were wiped out by the advancing horn 1st point back for the Zulu...

As the British shifted position the left horn saw an opportunity to punish the invading column catching the irregular horse and driving them backwards. The Artillery would need to work over time to keep the Zulu at bay.

Lots of finger pointing and not so much laughter from the Crown players as the seriousness of the situation started to dawn on them. The main body of Zulu's was closing fast but the let horn was not being slowed by the artillery or rocket troops and the NNC were no use with outdated rifles.

The main line ripped into the advancing Zulu pinning the first free units but the remaining Zulu pushed on...

The last Pic of the day before the journalist and his sketch booked headed to the drift... the left flank saw the gun and a whole company overrun and with the main body now in hand to hand with the Zulu chest - the 8 points amassed for the British started to be eroded.... Talk about being saved by the bell...

As the Zulu player we had taken a battering but had pushed the British aback and broken their line... it very much had a Zulu Dawn feel to it :-)

To watch the confidence of the British player erode and bemoan the need for that last company held up and the drift to plug the flank was very satisfying. But to be fair they had the same when our probing unit was destroyed in the early rounds.. we did not make that mistake again..... 

Great fun 'The Men Who Would be King' Rules easily handled the large number of units on the table and whilst the rules were new to a couple of players they were quickly into the mechanism after 2 turns. Great to get so many toys on the table and get to a reasonable result in an afternoon.

An early contender for game of the year......

Sened Station, Feb 1943 - Bolt Action

Sunday at the Wyre Forest Club and a Bolt Action outing..... Limited pic's I am afraid juggling seven players and umpiring.

The Italian Briefing.

Comandante,
Here is your operational overview for the current situation at Sened Station.

Comandante, we are positioned at Sened Station, a minor rail stop in southern Tunisia—minor in size, but not in importance. Though Allied air superiority prevents regular use of the railway, German High Command, under General von Arnim, has insisted that we maintain a forward presence here. His rationale is clear: if the Allies advance east from Gafsa, this station becomes a potential corridor to deeper Axis supply routes. Holding it signals that the Axis line in central Tunisia remains unbroken.

Your garrison consists primarily of troops from the Centauro Division, we do not have immediate armoured reinforcement—German panzers are reserved further north and will not respond quickly unless a major assault develops.

Recent intelligence indicates that the Americans are reorganizing after their earlier setbacks in Tunisia. Among them is a new formation—the 1st Ranger Battalion, commanded by Major William Darby. These Rangers are not conventional infantry. They are trained specifically for deep‑penetration raids.

We believe the enemy has begun employing these forces to test our defensive lines and to probe for weaknesses. The rugged terrain around this station—broken rock, ravines, and low ridges—offers ideal cover for infiltrators.

In summary, Comandante: our position is significant, our troops are capable, but our defences are thin for any raid and the enemy has exactly the kind of force designed to strike an isolated outpost like Sened Station.

The approach road to Sened Station, Italian trenches can be seen outside of the town and on the high ground on the right.

Bad luck strikes for the Rangers a ranging shot from the Italian defenders hits a lorry full of troops, 6 men were killed without firing a shot.

Revenge is sweet, on the left flank the Rangers debus and set about clearing the German defenders from the slit trench.

Allied armour rolls forward as the Italian defenders were proving tough to shift despite Artillery battering their lines.

As the allies pushed forward, the German Panzers appeared on the base line. Sened Station would be staying in Axis hands for now.

Great fun and a couple of new recruits getting bloodied at the club, now firmly thinking about painting up forces. It feels like mission accomplished on a several fronts.

Christmas Shoot out 2025

The annual Christmas shoot out at the Wyre Forest Club and 10 rival gangs arrive to spread some Christmas cheer. 

The mission is simple scattered across the table are 50 presents which have fallen from Santa's sleigh, players must pick them up and drop them into the festive zone in the centre of the table, due to the aura of goodwill no one is allowed to shoot in the zone.

For each present dropped into the zone players receive one point.

We used a cut down version of Dead Man's Hands to keep the game moving along, each player entered on a table edge, players were not allowed to shoot their immediate neighbours until the first two rounds had passed. Many players used the opportunity to rush to grab some early presents.

It's not long before the lead if flying.

The native warband lacking in fire power were pretty handy with the tomahawk scalping a number of characters including the all female posse - shocking behaviour....

Marching down the street took some balls - but it also attracted a whole lot of fire. The not some magnificent seven quickly became the fragile four and then the tragic three.

For many picking up a present often resulted in a hail of bullets coming your way... Santa's presents were soon littered across the table.

In the centre of the table and the safe zone players having dropped off presents used the magic circle to step out shoot and step back in - hardly the Christmas Spirit.

The final round and a mad rush for the present drop with 4 players all within one present of one another. In the end the Cinderella Cattle Company bagging a late win by one present :-)

Great fun - everybody got to take an active part, with individual firefights taking place across the table, so many mini encounters in back alleys and shop doorways.

Merry Christmas......

The Battle of Germantown 1777 - Rebels and Patriots.

Club game from a few weeks ago and the Battle of Germantown, the scenario is taken from a old edition of Wargames Illustrated. Played using Rebels and Patriots and the first outing for the Germans.

British forces under Howe face off against Washington's continentals. We had to scale the table down to 10mm which left a little bit of room to place the units on the table.

The US player attacks on multiple fronts hindered by the fog one brigade approaches Luken Mill securing 4 victory points if they can seize it. Additional bonus points are awarded for each unit destroyed or routed and -1 point to the owner of the lost unit.

On the far right the main force approaches Chew House also defended by British regulars.

The Crown forces defending Crew House awaiting the advance of the Americans. The British and Hessian main force is in Germantown will need to gather their forces to support the defenders.

The Continentals reach the outskirts of Chew House and line out preparing to assault the building if they can secure it, it will be worth 6 Pts. 

British reinforcements crest the hill and poor fire into the advancing mounted militia, driving them backwards.

Back at the mill the massed ranks of the militia succeed in driving back the original defenders, but fresh troops in the shape of 2 companies of Light Infantry start to make their presence felt. The Americans press forward.

Meanwhile in Germantown the Hessians advance towards Chew House as the attackers are making slow progressing in forcing the British out.

Finally multiple bayonet charges forces the British to withdraw, but casualties are mounting on the American side making activations more difficult.

Chew House is finally in the Hands of the US and in the same turn the Mill is seized. The victory points are balanced at 10 points each (10 for Germantown firmly in British hands.

But the Crown forces are now fully deployed in front of the Crew House and it feels only a matter of time until it is back in British Hands.

As the game draws to a close it's a victory for the British 16 points to 14. The US simply lost too many units in their assault on the main house.

A cracking afternoons gaming with some real back and forth between the two sides. You really need to prepare your attack stepping into close order and preparing a volley to break the British line, all to often the US opened up at long range which did limited damage to the Brits with the advantage of hard cover in the buildings.

We added in chits for each brigade which gave a random element to activations which made for an interesting challenger for each commander.

Next up.... Lexington and Concorde hopefully over the Christmas break....