Not Quite Mechanised

We had three grand days out with Graham’s WWI Ronssoy game of the Brigade containing 6th Northamptons in the final 100 days of WWI. We used NQM with scenario tweaks to simulate the need to hug a creeping barrage. The first weekend was Campaign covering two days in the Milton Hall in the Milton Keynes shopping centre.¹ This is the only show that we attend where normal members of the public come into contact with wargamers. In the main, we come over as a surprisingly friendly bunch, with the honourable exception of a member of the Bedford club who, when asked a question by a member of the public, brusquely told them to “read the sign”. Way to go, bro!

Sadly, the shopping centre had suffered a stabbing of one of their security staff since we were last here, so were understandably twitchy when we handed hand-and-a-half swords to children and the occasional teenager. Nevertheless, no children lost fingers or eyes and we had a lot of rewarding interactions with the public over the weekend. Kudos to the Milton Keynes Wargames Club for continuing to run such a unique show for going on for 25 years now, and to the centre for continuing to host the venue.

Partizan at the Newark Racecourse was a superb event as well. We have the added bonus of meeting friends from around the country, including the chance for all of us imaginary Blog friends to meet up in real life. I was overwhelmed when John (aka Lorenzo the Seventh, or just “Lon”) from The Wargaming Erratic, turned up with three boxes of PSC tanks and guns as a very welcome gift.

Graham managed to sign Harry Sidebottom back up for a talk at the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society (he was due to give a talk a while back but had to send regrets for family reasons). Tim Gow and John Armatys (See comments below) were there along with Mark Flanagan and Bob Hymer on the Wargames Development stand. Richard Lockwood had brought a splendid gladiatorial arena to demonstrate a Society of Ancients game and reported that he had exceeded the past few years sales in one day. Dave Lanchester sold out of NQM too, so attendees must have been in a buying mood. I bought some grass tufts!

The rolling barrage proved to be the biggest talking point of the game. Everybody that expressed an opinion seemed to like it, so hat off to Graham for inventing a simple mechanism with strong visuals. I’m looking at the Northamptonshire Yeomanry in Normandy next, so back to Fireflies and Tigers, perhaps. My rebasing is coming along nicely. The pile of bases for recycling is growing steadily, even though a lot of them are being reused in situ.

Footnotes

1. Cory Docterov’s principle of ensh*tt*f*cation continues to be true, as WordPress has finally retired the traditional dashboard after first making it harder to use. Well done programmers for moving everything around so that I had to spend an hour relearning something that previously worked well and now does slightly less of the same thing, but worse and more of the things that you want me to do for your benefit! I suppose it was inevitable and it is free to use, so I really shouldn’t be grumbling too much. Justification was there a moment ago. Now it isn’t. Yes I know that you have kiddie-icons for the illiterate, and keyboard shortcuts, but it’s like passwords – everybody’s shortcut is different! Do you know how many passwords the average computer stores? Ah, found it after 15 minutes of searching, aaand the old keyboard shortcut Shift+Alt+J doesn’t work! Grrr!!! ↩︎

Going back over old orbats, and looking at what we actually put onto the table in games has given rise to an opportunity to clean up and combine some of the bases in a division. At Corps Scale Orbat (CSO), a German brigade or regiment currently comprises a Command base and two or three Fighting bases. A division is normally three regiments of two battalions, a divisional commander and HQ and divisional troops, namely artillery, anti-tank, engineers, medical and logistics. If the infantry has no transport, then there may be divisional transport too. Over the years, I have sometimes tried to model battles in too much detail, with players finding that there are a lot of moving parts to manage. The games that have played the best have been the ones with simplified orbats. I have found that making the C1 commander base a Commissar works well – it removes the often irresistible temptation to throw a divisional commander into combat as an extra SP.

As mentioned in previous posts, our player group is finding 6mm dice harder to juggle to reduce unit quality on the command stand during reorganisation and we keep forgetting to do it. It is possible, however to just make the unit quality the strength points (SP) value of the base. The die then only needs to be shown on a command stand. Changing the die is no longer necessary, so it can be blu-tacked onto the base or put into a die frame. I had hoped to eliminate them altogether, but a D6 is still the easiest way to show Unity Quality.

Now Med and Log bases no longer need to move next to the base that they are reviving, but only need to be within 10 hexes of the command base, with a clear suppply or evacuation line. This means that Log and Med only need to be shown at corps level or independent unit level. I am having a look at orbats to see what needs to be modelled. Alamein and the other big battle orbats will certainly benefit from the simplification and my storage may look a little less crowded in future, even though the bases occupy a little more space in the boxes. Although it pains me to admit it, having almost everything on a 40mm frontage base makes things look tidier, both when packed away and on the table.

“Rebasing?” I hear some one say! No, certainly not! This is a Midlife Upgrade Simplifying Tabletop Accellerated Rapid Deployment. (MUSTARD.) There is at least three months’ continuous work if everything is done, but I am only expecting to upgrade about a third of the fleet. Expect to see me still at it this time next year!

The President and his guests staggered back from their enormous lunch in time to hear the roaring of diesel engines, the clatter of tank tracks and the occasional muffled profanity as non-starters were towed away under cover of the cloud of smoke generated by almost every engine starting at once.

The first modern T-70 tanks can be seen entering the square.

The might of the Bombastion tank corps is a fine sight as it rolls smoothly forward.

T-26 tanks race nimbly across the square, displaying their exciting ability to drift around corners, or indeed in a straight line.

The heavy tanks shook the cobbles in the parade square as they thundered along the parade route.

The elite Motorised Infantry pass the saluting base.

T-34s and KV-1s followed by fuel bowsers and an ambulance to recover crews overcome by diesel fumes.

Thus concluded, the president and his guests were chauffered off to the palace banqueting hall for a lavish formal dinner.

Suitably fortified by coffee, fine wines and chilled vodka, the dignitaries returned to their armoured glass viewing platform. On the parade square, caps were straightened, cigarettes stubbed out and tucked back into sleeves. The parade continued.

The infantry in all their finery. First Army head the parade as they march past their Formation Commanders.

The Guards Divisions march with their flags and the most modern of rifles and machine guns.

Flags flutter proudly in the breeze as the Guards set a brisk pace to the tune of “My Little Machine Gun Cart”.

Only the finest horses are used to tow artillery pieces.

Bombastian tractor engineering is famed worldwide!

The Second Army enters the parade square.

Three CSO divisions with their commanders mounted in Jeeps can be seen. Each division comprises (almost) nine battalions.

The artillery and engineers follow.

By the time two armies had passed by, followed by engineers sprinkling sand over the parade square to soak up oil leaks, the President declared that lunch was in order. Another pause ensued.

Air Display

Putin seems to be having inexplicable trouble fielding tanks on his May Day Parades over the last four years, culminating in this year’s lack of any tanks at all. The same problem has not affected the Imagi-nation of Bombastia, so enjoy President Shyte-Tian’s commemorative parade for victory in the Great Putriotic War.¹

Bombastia never throws anything away. The ever reliable U-2s and Ratas.

The Parade started with an air display – in a nearby field, obviously. The president is not going to risk one of his modern biplanes falling out of the sky due to a drunken pilot or mechanic forgetting to do something important. Besides, all the fuel went to the army to mount the parade.

Bombastia has not neglected a modern strategic bomber force that can reach the border and has maps for navigation.

The first troops onto the parade square were the Cossacks and cavalry. Is that a Ukranian Don Cossack flag in the centre of the parade?

There will always be a place on the battlefield for the scientifically-bred horse!

The Bombastian Empire will last a thousand years!

The cavalry arm has its own modern artillery and look! A wheeled tank!

Due to the considerate provision of a refreshment break for the President, foreign heads of state, ambassadors and visiting dignitaries, there will be a pause, whilst stirring martial music is played and horse droppings are swept up for the Capital’s many organic farms … To be continued.

Footnotes

The President insists that his name is pronounced Shy-anne with silent tees and a silent aye. Everyone else pronounces the why as an eye followed by a glottal stop, then a tee and an eye. Not within hearing of his People’s politeness Police (Pee-pol)), obviously!