Italiano Venduto!

I've sold off my 10mm BKC Italian army, as the club Aegean campaign is now in it's final turns and I have no use for them after it winds up. I've had a few good games with the Italians but BKC is not really my cup of tea, so they're now going surplus to requirements. I have quite a lot of unpainted or half painted bits and bobs that I'm throwing in to the package, so it's a pretty good deal but it will release some collateral for my current projects and other alternative pursuits. 

BKC Aegean Campaign Update

I've been a bit out of the loop with the club BKC campaign of late, mainly due to the fact that the battle I fought last turn happened a couple of months ago and, in the meantime, the rest of the players have been resolving theirs. As my last battle, against the British on Mikonos, ended in total defeat for my brave Italian forces, including the complete destruction of my armour and artillery units, I have very limited options for offensive action this turn.

I do, however, have a battalion of paracadutisti airborne troops that I can drop behind enemy lines in support of my Axis allies. I haven't used them much in the campaign thus far, so this turn they'll be strapping on their parachutes and dropping out of the sky on an as yet undisclosed but unsuspecting enemy. I'm doing this in support of another Axis player, who will be providing the armour and infantry on the ground. It'll be interesting to see how this works but, at the very least, the other side will get a nasty surprise.

Miracle at Mykonos

Friends, Romans, Countrymen..

I, General Robusto Gorgonzola, declare the momentous Battle of Mykonos as a decisive victory for the illustrious Italian expeditionary forces under my masterful strategic leadership. The ever valiant troops that I have the honour to command have, once again, snatched glorious strategic withdrawal from the jaws of total tactical defeat.

In a dastardly dawn assault on the exhausted Italian defenders of Mykonos, the British bandits achieved a momentary element of surprise which enabled their overwhelming armoured forces to break through the frontline positions of our steadfast infantry. This initial attack was repulsed by the resolute Italian frontline, with severe losses to the over confident yet underwhelming British troops.

Using a cowardly smokescreen and an indiscriminate artillery bombardment to cover their timid advance, the British received a bloody nose from the resilient defenders, whose own tanks advanced into the maelstrom without fear or hesitation. Despite the loss of several Italian machines, the brave Italian tank crews continued to fight to the last round and to the last breath.

Even under the desperate heavy bombardment of streams of British aircraft, the tenacious Italian heroes held their positions, buying valuable time for our elite engineers to detonate the demolition charges emplaced in advance at the airfield and docks.

In one decisive stroke, the inevitable defeat of the British invaders was assured! With heavy hearts but pre-determined efficiency, the Italian troops slipped away to fight another day, leaving the British trapped in an ever tightening ring of Axis naval steel.

Fear not, loyal people of Mykonos! This is the beginning of the end of the beginning, not the end of the beginning of the end. I, General Robusto Gorgonzola, will return to liberate the cruelly oppressed loyal Greek inhabitants of this brave island. As I speak, the fearless special forces of X-MAS are sowing the seeds of destruction amidst the stunned and disorientated British forces of occupation.

...onward to spectacular victory!

Ciao Baby.

General Gorgonzola.

Last Stand on Mykonos

The Italians got well and truly pasted by the perfidious British this evening with the island of Mykonos falling to the enemy by the end of the game. This wasn't unexpected, so the Italian engineers blew up the docks and the airfield with pre-laid demolition charges before finally pulling out.

In the last stand for the island, the brave Italians were overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers and by the use of smoke barrages, air strikes, artillery stonks and armoured assaults. It was an enjoyable game, nonetheless, and I'm definately getting a better grip on the rules mechanisms.

I'll post a full after action report from General Gorgonzola's point of view tomorrow. I am sure that he will demand the highest standards of impartiality and accuracy on the part of Tenente Berlusconi, whose reportage is always entirely above board. In the meantime, here's some low level recce photos of the battle. 

Mix Up on Mykonos

Italians on the left...British on the right.

The apparent climb down by the British in the battle for Mykonos was nothing but a duplicitous ruse by Perfidious Albion! In fact, the British commander has decided, after a chin wag with HQ, to carry on with his overwhelming assault on the lightly held but indomitable Italian end of the island. As a result, we'll be running a third game for control of the  island this Tuesday. I have called in some re-inforcements and a few nasty surprises for the enemy, which I won't detail in case he's listening in. I don't expect to win this contest but, at the very least, I will achieve some strategic goals that will pay dividends in the long run...I hope!

Victory on Mykonos!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen

...and the various Greek people that are on our side?

The invincible Italian forces under my command (yes, me!) , have liberated the beautiful island of Mykonos from the clutches of the perfidious (no, duplicitous) British  in a decisive battle of occupation for this cornerstone of the Cyclades. The masterful strategy that I have devised (that's me, Gorgonzola) to tie down the British in futile amphibious landings and incompetent aerial assaults, has reaped it's ultimate harvest!

Mamma Mia!

Although outnumbered three (no, make that six) to one, the resolute Italian defenders of the people of the Free (thanks to me) Mykonos, swiftly sent the Tommies packing all the way back to Timbuktu. Whilst the courageous pilots of the Regia Aeronautica sacrificed their manhood for the glory of Italy (and the Free Greek peeps), there was a grave but inevitable loss of life amongst the valiant aerial gladiators, as they blunted the enemy spearhead in repeated low level attacks on enemy armour concentrations. 

Undeterred by the fall of their aerial comrades, the Italian infantry swiftly advanced on the weak  left flank of the enemy, throwing them into total confusion and inflicting severe casualties on the impetuous but poorly co-ordinated forces of the Anglo-Greek axis of traitorous incompetence. Although harried from the air by the botched efforts of the RAF, the Italian troops (my ones, of course) pushed on to secure high ground above the port of Mykonos and the vital airfield that they had sworn to hold to the last man.

Meanwhile, the British foolishly landed further re-inforcements via land and sea, even though the ultimate triumph of the Italian forces (under my command) was obviously assured. It was a simple matter to blunt this ill-advised assault with a combination of superior Italian military training, some determined anti-tank action by our esteemed Greek patriot allies, and the pre-scheduled amphibious arrival of some superior Italian armoured support (plus my tactical.....no, make that strategic.....military genius!)

Bravissimo!

Ciao Baby.

General Robusto Gorgonzola (that's me, that is)

PS Bunga Bunga Party, Andross HQ, RSVP (strictly no Nazis) Bring a medal.

Taking the Mykonos!

It was the second installment of the Battle of Mykonos this evening, a follow up to the last turn of the club BKC Aegean campaign. In the end, a small but perfectly formed Italian force, under the command of General Robusto Gorgonzola, re-buffed an overwhelming British Expeditonary Force to snatch an unexpected victory from the jaws of almost inevitable defeat.

I'm still not sure how it happened but, by the end of the game, the British opted to disengage and will probably withdraw under the cover of darkness, leaving the island firmly under Axis control. Needless to say, General Gorgonzola is feeling very martial, has awarded himself another medal or two and is planning a splendid slap-up bunga bunga party back at HQ on Andross.

Bravissimo!

(I'll do a suitably bombastic propaganda dispatch tomorrow, once I've had the lowdown from the umpire and once the British have decided if they're going to pull out or not...??)

BKC Aegean Campaign Turn Five

It's time for Turn 5 in the on-going and highly entertaining club BKC campaign. This turn, the Italians under General Robusto Gorgonzola have a big battle to win against the perfidious British on the war torn island of Mikonos. In the previous turn, both sides launched an amphibious invasion of the island and fought each other to a stand still, with the Italians firmly in control of their objectives by night fall.

To ensure complete victory this turn, I've chucked the proverbial kitchen sink into the struggle for Mikonos, making use of armoured reinforcements via the docks, air strikes from fighter bombers sent in to fly from the airstrip and an elite naval special forces recce team, who will be landed by submarine to act as spotters for my warships deployed offshore. They'll also blow things up and cause chaos behind enemy lines, if I can get away with it.

Meanwhile, I've left my paratroopers to dig in on the island adjacent to Paros, scene of so much spectacular destruction last turn. The plan is to keep them there as a blockading force until the Soviets whither on the vine or are wiped out by my allies. I have ordered the commander of the para company in residence to raise the Italian flag and claim the liberation of Paros, with full press coverage and the propaganda section on over time, so that I can claim all the glory before my allies get there first.

...at least it'll look good if it all goes pear shaped on Mikonos!

Bravissimo!

BKC Aegean Campaign Report

It's Party Time!

General Robusto Gorgonzola cordially invites you to his celebratory...

X-MAS Bunga Bunga Party!

Guest of Honour

Tenente Luigi Durand de la Penne, Commander Decima Mas Special Forces

Hero of the Battle of Paxos

Special Mystery Guest

Stefanos, Organisation X

Menu

Calamari in Red Wine and Tomato Sauce

Linguine with Octopus

Swordfish a la Siciliana

Penne with Shrimp

Pasta with Clam Sauce

Pasta con Sarde (Pasta with Sardines)

Lobster alla Fiorentina

Fresh Sardines Naples Style

Bring a Bottle

(PS: no nasty German stuff)

Fancy Dress Code

Crazy Scuba!

(strictly no Lederhosen)

After Dinner Entertainment

The world famous Red Army Cossack Dance Ensemble

(courtesy of Colonel Crostini, officer commanding POW camp No.23)

RSVP

PS: no monarchists please

General Gorgonzola is really very sorry that Kurt, Heinz, Rudi and Karl cannot attend the party and hope that they will make a full recovery

BKC Aegean Campaign Update

The Italians have triumphed yet again in the on-going BKC Aegean campaign, with a truly stunning raid on the Soviet fleet that has effectively knocked Ivan out of the campaign in one audacious move. Yet again, the elite X-MAS Italian special forces have used subterfuge, guile and skill to penetrate the enemy defences and blow things up in great style, before slipping away into the night*

Bravissimo!

This has earned some valuable political points for General Robusto Gorgonzola, as well as some useful new assets that will be deployed against the perfidious British in the on-going battle for Mikonos. I already have some 'cunning plans' for the next turn of the campaign but these will have to wait until I've issued my latest press release, courtesy of Tenente Berlusconi and his typewriter.

*General Gorgonzola regrets the unfortunate 'friendly fire' incident and hopes that Kurt, Heinz, Rudi and Max are making a full recovery.

BKC Air Support [2]

I got back from work late after a very tedious meeting this evening, so decided to cheer myself up by posting some photos of the 1/144th scale Sweet Macchi Mc200 Saetta that I completed yesterday. I tried the mottle camouflage decals at first but gave up, so painted the green blobs by hand using an old pot of Citadel Battle Green.

The rest of the decals behaved themselves but I couldn't be bothered with the white fuselage band transfer or the microscopic insiginia, so left them off. I knocked up the base from some acrylic rod, a GW flight stand and a couple of tiddly magnets, which makes it easy to store the aircraft away with the rest of the Italian units.

I'm taking a break from the BKC stuff for a bit, so that I can get some of the other things shifted from the workbench. Next up will either be the BTH2 North Africa RAF aircraft or the VBCW Red Militia, which have been hanging around for ages.  How virtuous am I?

BKC Re-Basing

Way back when the first edition of BKC came out, the club decided to go for 25mm x 25mm bases as standard for infantry units with support weapons on 30mm x 30mm bases. As I had the BKC bug back then, I based up a company of early war French infantry to this specification, complete with armour and artillery in support.

When the club BKC Aegean campaign began, I based up my Italian units to the same sysytem but soon found out that things had moved on, with the new edition of the rules suggesting 25mm x 50mm as a standard. It seems that the rest of the club have re-based or set out in this direction, leaving my poor Italians out in the cold.

Not that it really matters but, for the sale of appearences and etiquette, I'll be re-basing my units once the campaign is over, with the simple expedient of sticking two bases together as the obvious way forward. As I have two regular battalions, I will easily have sufficient bases to make up one 'large base' battalion using this method. This wil leave the paras and the coast defence battalions at half strength, but that's fine with me.

The armour, vehicles and command bases won't change at all, so it's a minor bit of aesthetic surgery for minimal cost or effort. It's also got me thinking about my other 10mm BKC project, the Norwegian Campaign, for which I have a small selection of figures. This will obviously follow the second edition style of basing, which means that I'll need some extra figures to fill in the gaps.

...whenever I get round to doing it that is.

BKC Air Support

I've had a go at sticking together a 1/144th scale Sweet Mc200 Saetta kit as a ground attack asset for the Italians. It's a lovely model and very easy to assemble. You get two models in the box and the option of clear transparencies or solid cockpit mouldings, so it's ideal for wargaming purposes. The decals include the camouflage patterns for the wings and fuselage as well, so if should be a bit less daunting to pull off the otherwise scary sand and spaghetti finish.

I undercoated the model with Halfords Khaki camouflage spray then over brushed with Foundry Boneyard Shade and Vallejo Tan Yellow. This was followed by a wash in Citadel Gryphonne Sepia and a drybrush in Citadel Terminatis Stone. The next stage will be to paint the undersurfaces, the cockpit glazing, the cowling ring and the prop boss, before I tackle the decals. It shouldn't take too long to complete, as long as the decals don't go wonky?

I had a browse in the local Games Workshop on Saturday and was really impressed by the new Citadel paint range, so picked up a few pots to try out. The Terminatis Stone drybrush paint is excellent, so I reckon I'll be getting some more of the various combinations that are available. It looks like this range might be stiff competition for the likes of Foundry and Vallejo, assuming the price is competitive.

BKC Aegean Campaign [12]

I finished off the armour and artillery units today, spending an hour or two farting around with the bases to makes them look less dayglow green. They look fine now but I haven't quite cracked it, so will be doing some more experimentation with the next batch of units that I tackle. The camera's been playing up too, so apologies for the dodgy lighting and blurry bits.

BKC Aegean Campaign [11]

I had to abandon plans for Full Thrust this weekend as I belatedly realised that I need some re-inforcements for the Italian BKC battlegroup, pending the imminent prospect of a follow on to the Battle of Mikonos last Tuesday. I spent some time this morning in deep thought and shot off an email packed full of cunning plans to the long suffering campaign umpire.

One such plan, which I hasten to add is not definite (in case the enemy is listening in), is to reinforce the defenders with the other half of my mechanised battalion. In the campaign rules, each protagonist is allowed to field 700 points of armour, most of which must be light and/or ad hoc. This is relatively easy for the Italians to manage, as it fits well with the 'top of the range' kit that they have in their inventory.

As a result, I spent a couple of hours painting up three Pendraken M13/40's, three Pithead L6/40's, a Pendraken AB40/41 and an HQ base of a Pendraken M13/40 armoured command tank. This is about as powerful a force as I could manage given the restrictions in the campaign rules and the existing value of the L3/35 tankette units that I've already deployed.

I originally planned to include some FT17 or Fiat 3000 tanks in the mechanised force but I've decided to leave them out for the moment, unless I'm in desperate need of some WW1 vintage tank support in extremis. However, I have painted up three 75mm field guns as an element of the 250 point fire support battalion that I'm allowed in the campaign.

What I actually deploy in the second day of the Battle for Mikonos now depends on the deliberations of the campaign umpire, who thus far has been very supportive of the Italian war effort. However, there are limits and I wouldn't be at all surprised if my so-called 'cunning plans' get no further than General Robusto Gorgonzola's over stuffed out tray.

It's worth a try though!