Eighth Army takes shape

After a long silence, I have some practical progress to report! The WW2 Desert Army for the Commonwealth is now fully based. There was much (laboured) cutting of 2mm thick plastic sheets to make bases, sandpapering the surface to make it 'take' glue from the models. Above is a pic of the standard British Eighth Army Infantry Division - 9 Infantry battalions/regiments, 2 Artillery batteries, an HQ, Recon battalion, and 3 motor transports.

The standard Armoured Division - 3 armoured regiments, and just 4 motorised infantry.

The full army, in it's entirety.

The models in various stages - unpainted, base-coat sprayed, and with some details painted on pre-dipping.

Pauses & Painting

I've recently had an enforced pause in my painting and gaming, through lots of activity in the real world - nothing serious, thankfully, but lots of social activity which has meant virtually no hobby-time!

I've also been progressing (slowly) with my painting for 8th Army, plus I've also been pondering my Wars of the Roses figures - I need to get them finished up, as at present only around half are painted beyond a very simple base-coat.

From my progress spraying the 8th Army a light desert-brown, I found myself pondering the same option for the Arrayed Levy troops in Wars of the Roses. Sounds mad, but not entirely. From internet forums discussing WotR armies, the general conclusion on colours appears to be:

1: Nobody really knows anything.

2: Undyed, bleached linen was likely to be widespread, meaning a variety of browns & beige in varying tones pretty much anywhere outside the liveried retinues.

Makes sense I suppose, as why would you - as a poor peasant of the day - feel like getting dressed up in your best clothes to go to a battle, unless you were really interested in leaving a good-looking corpse behind? Hm. Still, I suppose there's nothing else for it - I'm just going to hav eto launch myself into a full-scale painting effort yet again. Hopefully a few intense sessions of effort should see me power through a lot, rather than my usual style of numerous, snail's-pace progress sessions in spare half-hours snatched here and there!

KISS Wars of the Roses

Although I like the ruleset 'A Coat of Steel' by the Perfect Captain, I find that the time required to play a game is difficult to find, so I have been working up a draft of KISS ('Keep it Simple Stupid') rules for the Wars of the Roses, much in the style of the WW2 Desert War set I recently posted about. So, as all wargamers have suspected: cross-pollination between different projects can lead to inspiration!

The set below is in first-draft form, simplifies all orders, combat, etc. to speed things up for me, but still keeps the crucial strengths of A Coat of Steel – namely the character traits of the varying commanders, and the awkwardness of commanding such an ad-hoc collection of nobles.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Ward chits are drawn as per the original game. As each chit is drawn, the ward can change orders, move, fire, resolve handstrokes and then routs. The next chit is then drawn and the process repeated.

TROOP CHARACTERISTICS

Archers Move 6”

Range 18”

Fire: 6 to hit; (Retinue archers get 5+ to hit vs enemy charging to contact)

Handstrokes: 6 to hit in first turn of contact, 5+ to hit in subsequent turns.

Save: 6 to save vs. fire; no save in handstrokes

Billmen Move 6”

Handstrokes: 4+ to hit on first turn of contact, 5+ to hit from then on.

Save: 5+ for Retinue & Well-wishers; Arrayed troops on a 6.

Men-at-Arms Move 4”

Handstrokes: 4+ to hit

Save: 4+

Mtd Knights Move 8”

Handstrokes: 2+ to hit on charge, 4+ to hit from then on.

Save: 4+ in handstrokes, but only on a 6 against Longbow ranged fire.

Crossbows Move 6”

Range 18”

Fire: 6

Handstrokes: 6to hit in first turn of contact, 5+ to hit from then on

Save: 6 to save vs. fire; no save in handstrokes

Special notes: Targets get -2 save mod against Crossbow fire.

Spears/Pikes Move 6”

Handstrokes: 5+ to hit

Save: 5+

Special Notes: Enemy that are non-Spears will always be pushed back 2” each turn.

Gonne Move: n/a

Range 18”

Fire: 6 to hit. 5+ to hit vs enemy charging any adjacent friendly unit.

Each unit rolls a dice to try and score a hit, then the targets roll to save. All units roll double the number of handstrokes dice if they have enfiladed the enemy.

FORMATIONS

All units should be 2 bases deep by default. All units can fire (except vs. charging enemy, where only front-rank can fire.) Any unit in 1 rank vs 2+ enemy ranks must fall back 2”.

ORDERS

Each unit is marked with a small square marker, divided diagonally by an 'X' into four triangular areas. Each area is filled in with an order and the counter is rotated to show which one is currently in use. The four possible orders a commander can give are Stand (No move); Loose (fire arrows); Advance (move forward but not engage) and Charge (as advance, but must be made to move into handstrokes contact.)

Each order segment will have arrows marking what the order can be changed to. It is not possible to switch freely between stances (for example, a unit cannot be standing and then suddenly charge to contact – it must 'pluck up it's courage' first by switching to advance and building up to contact.) The arrows I plan to mark on will allow orders to change like this:

Stand

Can be reached from: Any

Can change to: Loose; Advance

Effects: No Move. Can rotate on the spot if desired. Will get a free volley against enemy charging to contact.

Loose

Can be reached from: Stand

Can change to: Stand; Advance

Effects: No Move. Can fire one volley

Advance

Can be reached from: Stand; Loose

Can change to: Stand; Charge

Effects: Makes full move straight ahead if possible. Maintain a gap of 2” with all enemy units.

Charge

Can be reached from: Advance

Can change to: Stand (automatic on end of combat)

Effects: May move and must end in contact with an enemy unit. 2” separation may be ignored. (NB: the target unit may get a free volley if it has Stand orders.)

Typically there will be only a small chance of a fumble, so a commander will change orders for a Ward on a roll of 2+ (subject to modification by commander abilities – of which more later!) Failure means you stay stuck with the old order.

Only a single orders change can be attempted per turn, with the exception of Wards with an 'Audacious' commander (who gets two order changes a turn;) or a commander with the 'Captain's Advice' stratagem (who gets a single 'bonus' order change.)

MORALE

Morale is done by commitment. Committed need a 6 to fail, Well-wishers a 5+ to fail, while Uncommitted need only a 4+ to fail. Companies test as per the commanding magnate or as per the dominant troop type if he is dead (or an unnamed captain leads.)

A unit will test morale if:

It loses 2+ figures in a turn to fire or while closing to handstrokes

It loses more casualties than the enemy in handstrokes

It sees a friendly unit routing within 6”

It sees an enemy ambush being sprung within 12”

A unit that checks morale and fails is always marked as 'shaken' (a stand of arrow-flights, a puff of smoke, etc.) If the unit already has a 'shaken' marker, it is routed.

In addition, a failing unit's actions are decided by what it is doing when it fails the morale test.

If already 'shaken' then it will rout.

If it tests because of being fired on, it must immediately change to a 'halt' order.

If it tests in handstrokes, it must back off by 2” and lose 1D3 figures (Arrayed first, then Well-wishers, then Retinue)

If it tests when out of contact, it must immediately change to a 'halt' order (meaning charging units can be halted short of contact by a defending volley)

If it tests because it's magnate is lost (dead, captures, or fled) then it will lose 1D3 of randomly-selected figures.

ROUTING

Units will rout if:

It fails morale while already marked as 'shaken'

It is reduced to just 4 figures, or half it's original strength.

ARMY MORALE

Largely as per the original rules, but with different effects. Army morale starts at 5, with the following modifiers:

-1 from 'The Coldness of the King' (monarch in enemy camp)

-1 from facing odds of 3:2 or worse

-1 from campaign forced march before battle

-1 from enemy pre-battle bombardment

-1 from each peer (level 3 or 4 magnate) lost/killed/captured/fled

-1 from a ward of the army breaking and routing

-1 from a ward leader lost (double-hitter if it's a peer, or if ward is also breaking)

-1 from friendly troops that show treachery (either changing sides or becoming inactive)

+1 from friendly reinforcements reaching the field

The morale level of the army has the following effects:

Level 5 – OK

Level 4 – OK

Level 3 – OK

Level 2 – Test for morale in all remaining units

Level 1 – Test for morale in all remaining units at 1 level lower than normal

Level 0 – All remaining units rout

COMMANDER ATTRIBUTES

audacious can make 2 order changes per turn; +1 to orders roll

old soldier +1 to orders roll

amateur extra 4+ roll required to change order (confusion counter)

practiced standard order roll - no effect

impetuous auto-change to advance/charge orders if the target enemy unit feints or inflicts 2+losses in fire

lethargic 2 extra lethargy chits added to the draw cup

bloodthirsty captured=killed; all routers are auto-killed if caught in pursuit

merciful captured=prisoner; all routers are auto-captured if caught in pursuit

timorous check morale as 1 level lower than normal

anti-x if vs an enemy, wounds=kia; if anti-allied magnate, -1 morale level; if anti- cause of own side, treacherous!

trimmer treacherous!

artifices ambushes can be prepared or obstacles deployed in the setup

treacherous as lethargic, but also add 1 'treacherous' chit - if it is drawn first then the leader switches sides immediately

conciliatory roll against the enemy leader morale at setup - apply -1 to the army morale if failed.

STRATAGEMS

Can select 1 for practiced, 2 for old Soldier, 3 for Audacious, 0 for Amateurs.

A captain's advice allows 1 extra order change to be attempted in a turn, once per game

forethought rout bonus - the '666 rule' becomes the '366 rule'

stout ensign cancel one failed casualty roll for a leader

inspiring (4+ puissance required) Can instantly remove a shaken marker at any time

energetic (4+ forwardness required) reroll 1 failed order roll per game

Master Gonner (gonne must be present in army) Can reroll fire dice once per turn.

caltrops/pavises (artifices required) Can setup defences in front of his ward.

good timing (old soldier required) +1 on to-hit rolls when firing, for one turn only

far sighted detects ambushes. Ambush party must be deployed at start and does not get any usual advantages.

feint (old soldier required) can play to make 1 move order backwards, then auto-halts.

COMMANDER CASUALTIES

roll 2D6 (check only if losses taken)

In shooting 2-10 ok; 11 wound; 12 killed

In Handstrokes 2-8 ok; 9-10 wound; 11+ killed

if using 'I'll not shrink back' bonus: 2-7 ok, 8+ killed (no wounds)

2 wounds = killed

In rout:

from a Bloodthirsty Enemy = auto-killed if hit,

from a Merciful Enemy = auto-captured if hit

If neither: 1-3 captured, 4-5 killed; 6 escaped.

'I'll not shrink back!'

Can voluntarily be selected by a commander on entering Handstrokes.

add Puissance to rolls as a modifier to 'to hit' rolls (Eg. 3Puissance is 3No +1 mods or 1No +3mod, or any other distribution)

The disadvantage is a higher chance of loss to your commander (see above)

if vs an enemy also using the option: roll2D6 each, add puissance & compare:

tie = no effect

1-2 difference = loser wounded

3+ difference = loser killed

And that, in a nutshell, is the new Rules set. I'll be posting a playtest game soon, to judge the likelihood of future revisions. In the meantime I thought I'd post it, at least to fire interest or hopefully provide a little inspiration to any other gamer out there!

Pendraken Figures and Basing

The 10mm Eighth Army figures from Pendraken have arrived, and I thought I'd outline the haul - plus do a little checking about bases. I bought mainly infantry, obviously, and found a pleasingly varied set of poses - the 'riflemen' have three, of men either walking forward, charging ahead, or firing. Other bags I ordered, such as Bren-gun or Thompson SMG-carrying men were single-pose. Plenty, in other words, to give a varied bunch of bases.

Bases, then. I wasn't sure what size would be best, so I drew out boxes on a sheet of paper measured to the size-options. The results are below.

Left to Right, the sizes are 20mm x 20mm (too cramped), 30mm x 20mm (better spacing), 30mm x 30mm (deeper, but for no clear benefit) and 40mm x 30mm (too thinly-spread.) I decided in the end to select 30mm x 20mm for my infantry bases as the most pleasing to my eye. Other sizes could be used elsewhere and keep the 30mm frontage, with the depth varying to fit vehicles on.

Clockwise from top-left, this shows a Universal Carrier, a (massive) Bedford 3-ton truck, a Matilda tank, and a Jeep. The 40mm deep base appears to be adequate for all tanks and lorries, but the 30mm deep base is more suited to things like Jeeps on 'Recon' unit stands.

Here's a varied bunch - Clockwise from top left, I've made a 30mm x 30mm HQ stand for each division by using individual command figures, Command-Group models (usually a brass-hat type poring over a map at a table) and a pup-tent. Next is the dismantled components of a 25pdr field gun, which also comes with a trailer and three crewmen (a loader, a man pointing/pulling a lanyard, and an officer observing through binoculars.) The gun also comes with a circular firing platform. Next round is a smaller Morris 3/4-ton truck, then a pair of armoured recon units: the Dingo Scout Car and the Humber Armoured Car.

I wanted the tanks in my Eighth Army to be a jumble of all models and types, as the historical army appears to have all-sorts of varied tank types, none of which were anything other than 'adequately comparable' to most of the German ones in combat, and usually mechanically unreliable. Clockwise from top left, we have here a Valentine (with sand-skirts), an M3 Lee, a Crusader II and a Grant. Turrets come separately and get glued in place, and all will suitably fit a 40mm-deep base.

Next, I'll detail my painting plans for my first formation, an Infantry Division.

To the Desert!

Hi - I'm on the brink of a new project, and thought I'd detail it right from the word go - the initial idea through to realising it on the tabletop.

I've never been of the opinion that an army endlessly grows - in fact, I was a bit surprised when I recently mentioned I'd completed my Seven Years' War painting scheme for two armies composed over two years ago, and people thought it'd increase. It never even entered my head to grow the forces over time with the odd extra unit of Grenadiers or Cuirassiers here and there. The size was worked out on day one, and seen through to exactly that! Does anyone else work that way?

Anyway, one of the big advantages of a fixed force size is that - besides giving you a definite finishing point - it can usually be part of a campaign structure that cleverly defines the maximum forces allowed. One of the nicest I've seen is a simple set that was first published in a copy of 'Wargames Illustrated' that I bought back in April 2002 and noticed on a re-reading a year or so ago. For those interested, I've discovered there is an electronic copy of the article ('KISS Rommel' by Norman Mackenzie) available online at freewargamesrules (http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/)

The game is large-scale strategic-level World War 2, which is always the level I've enjoyed and found the most fascinating. Not for me the madness of 'Advanced Squad Leader' or any similar company-level games - I wanted to do things on a big-scale, and always have since one of the first WW2 board wgames I've ever played - the classic 'Eastfront' by Columbia Games (http://www.columbiagames.com/.) If you've not played it and you like WW2 games, then turn yourself in to the wargames police immediately, as you're doing yourself an injustice!

The KISS (or, 'Keep It Simple Stupid!') Rommel rules covered the Desert War, or North African Campaign 1940-1943, which was of little interest for me at first through ignorance - until I read the book 'Alamein' by Stephen Bungay (yet another recommendation, WW2-fans!) A slim but extremely readable fact-filled volume, the bizarre and see-saw struggle in the alien environment between the two sides began to seem fascinating as I learned more - the crack German units with their '88's and their unstable Italian allies, struggling against lack of supplies as much as with their enemies, the Eighth Army of multi-national Infantry from across the British Empire, excellent Artillery plus a jumble of tanks. A colourful mix, and crucially a situation of two varied sides that regularly had a tally of wins and losses against each other.

I've started out by buying the British Empire & Commonwealth Eighth Army, and decided to do so in 10mm from Pendraken (http://www.pendraken.co.uk/) - this is my compromise scale as I don't want 15mm armies due to the lack of space & painting time, plus I think 6mm would be too small for what is potentially a visually appealing army. The order has now arrived, and I shall post pics of the figures and details of basing plans shortly.

Project Roundup

What with my recent blog posts on the Wars of the Roses, it's as if I've not been doing very much wargaming - far from it! However by being stuck in my Medieval 'thing' I've been slow on posts here recently. I need to vary things a bit by reflecting the more varied activities I'm up to. As a result, here's a brief round-up of the little projects I've got going on right now and which I hope to be posting about soon:

My Seven Years' War campaign is still running along on my other blog (http://www.konigundkaiser.blogspot.com/) and progressing steadily, along with a recent big battle. I've come across the "battlechronicler" piece of free software to create battle maps for blog posts very handy it is too, now I've finally started to get the hang of it!

My American Civil War (ACW) campaign set in Scotland is still in the background, which is proving a bit slow to progress at the moment as both a strategic and tactical game. As I don't get to fight out battles as DBA-style tabletop games, I wind up having big pauses in the campaign. Rather than let it die out, I am thinking of pursuing it as a strategic game only. Battles can be noted as a source for scenarios later, and played at leisure - without causing the campaign to be derailed.

I have also got my 2mm ACW armies to put into action, possibly as part of a recreation of the 1864 Grant vs. Lee Overland Campaign (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overland_Campaign) which I've been aiming to recreate for a long while - ever since reading the Bruce Catton book

'A Stillness at Appomattox.' (Incidentally, if you're a Civil War fan then read the book immediately - it's a genuine classic!)

Away from the ACW, I have another mini-campaign of Napoleonic setting, which I've not posted on for a simple reason: it's so small I hope to complete it before long and then post the entire campaign from start to finish over a single week - we'll see how that goes!

I have also got a game of the excellent GMT Games WW2 boardgame 'Barbarossa to Berlin' on the go. Although not a tabletop game, it's an excellent card-driven boardgame which I'm playing through with an aim to then posting as an entire alternate WW2 strategic campaign, from 1941 to 1945. The card-based system allows for a great deal of period-setting flavour, so I'm hoping it might make a pretty good narrative.

Most recently and unusually, I have gotten into the Desert War in WW2. This has led me to order a bunch of models to re-start painting again, in my attempt to create my own little mini-version of the 8th Army. Once they arrive, I shall be posting a bit about my attempts to create an army 'from the ground up' for gaming.

Good grief, so busy! I think I'll go for a lie down...

Automatic For The Nobles

The 1460 campaign for the Lancastrian return to England is underway to decide the fate of the prototype Yorkist Dynasty, and shall be posted soon. However, there has been one little scrap - barely 1000 men a side - which I've briefly gamed out for fun, and also as a test-run for a little prototype of mine.

The rules system from Perfect Captain for tabletop battles, "A Coat of Steel" is good and unique but... well, it does involve a lot of table-consulting, cross-referencing, and requires two decks of cards plus repeated draws to fight a round. It also means totting up a lot of combat points, to the extent that I have found it necessary to always keep a pencil and some scrap paper handy. No more, however, with the aid of my new Excel Spreadsheet! I have automated the vast majority of the donkey-work, allowing me to enter the strengths and tactics of two competing units, to then get presented with a final outcome instantaneously.

I'm rather proud of the end result, which manages to include the bewildering variety of modifiers to come from total strength, rank-on-rank deployment, troop types, approach speeds, tactics, etc. And at the end of the day it tells you who won or lost, casualties, morale effects, and even if your leader has been killed!

So, to the tabletop for a try-out. Part of the struggle at campaign-level is currently for Lancastrian sympathisers to reach the returning army of invasion, while various local Yorkist regime-friendly magnates try to pin them down and prevent escape. One such encounter has taken place in the Southeast. Baron Scales, veteran of the French wars, has gathered supporters from across East Anglia and is trying to head west to the Midlands. Blocking the move however is Henry Bourchier, with his younger brother John (Baron Berners.) The two small forces come together at Chatteris Abbey in Cambridgeshire, itching for a fight.

The two armies approach

Bourchier - the banners were drawn and painted in about 20 minutes.

Scales - he drew the happenstance card "I Have Dreamed a Fearful Dream" which meant his already Array-heavy command was definitely looking over it's shoulders!

The fight! Bourchier drew lots of billmen, so rushed into contact immediately. Scales used his levy archers to riddle them on the approach.

On impact, the Lancastrians reeled back slightly but overcame the initial impact. The fighting degenerated into a gruelling scrap with each side getting "stuck in" as the result for repeated rounds. The spreadsheet allowed the repeated calculations to go ahead very rapidly. The Yorkists generally had the upper hand of it and steadily inflicted more losses than they took. Scales was even wounded one round, but he couldn't upset the Yorkist will to fight. Eventually, once losses had climbed high enough, Scales' Lancastrians routed of the field, with the Baron himself captured by Bourchier's victorious troops. A successful first outing for the Handstrokes Spreadsheet!