Pont-De-La-Croix Scenario: Operation Warboard

I had a bit of a nostalgia kick and decided to setup a scenario that paid tribute to the first scenario outlined in the Operation Warboard book by Gavin and Bernard Lyall.

These were the first serious wargame rules I used extensively for my WW2 games and I had plenty of enjoyable solo battles and competitive games with friends using them back in the 1980s.

 

The US forces were three platoons of infantry in trucks, two jeeps and a troop of three shermans. The German defenders were two platoons of  infantry, one panzerschreck team, a company HQ, a solitary panther tank and a LMG positioned in a pillbox leading up to the village.

 

The cat decided to assist the US deployment which meant the game had to be abandoned early.

 

 

Memoir'44: Arnhem Bridge

With all the 75th anniversary commemorations going on I thought it appropriate to play the Arnhem Bridge scenario in the base game. I'd never played it before and it looked a challenging task for the British Paratroopers to defend what seemed like overwhelming odds from the German encirclement.

I decided to take on the role of the British defenders and I used a bold strategy of trying to eliminate the weaker German infantry units that were already over the Rhine. These forces were destroyed in sufficient numbers to give the paras victory before they were worn down by attrition and the Germans had successfully marshalled enough troops to get across the bridge.

The cat made an early airborne drop while I was setting the game up!

 

Panzerblitz: Situation #1

I've been looking at my Avalon Hill collection and decided to pull out the old Panzerblitz box and setup Situation #1.

Here are the Russian forces pre map entry. I randomised which board edge they would attack from. This proved to be an interesting way to start the scenario!

The cat seems to enjoy the boxes more than the actual games!

 

Borodino: 7 September 1812 (Village of Borodino)

I thought it would be a good idea to recreate some of the Napoileonic Command & Colours scenarios as wargames using the Neil Thomas rules so I chose this one from the C&C Expansion#3 which simulates the attack on Borodino village by Eugene.

For each unit of blocks I substituted a unit of figures on my board. I think it looked pretty good and seemed to have the right feel in terms of deployment and scale.

I played through six or so turns and the French were in the ascendancy by the close of the game. This is when the cat made an entrance and I had to tidy up. 

 

The Napoleonic rules worked well but I dropped the activation rules after the second turn as they were a bit too much for the large number of units involved. The natural ebb and flow of the game seemed to generate enough friction. 

 

I will need to devise a control mechansim for these large battles. This will probably be a modified form of the Leadership mechanic in the Nineteenth Century Rules.

Here are pictures of the closing stages with the French in control of the village but not over the Kalatsha River.

 

Command & Colours Ancients: Battle of Pharsalus 48BC

I managed to setup a game of C&C Ancients using my combo Expansion 2 & 3 box set. This is a scenario from the Roman Civil Wars and portrays the classic showdown between Caesar and Pompey.

 

The Pompeian army was superior in numbers with lots of cavalry but lacked the quality of Caesar's crack legions. The combination of the Julius Caesar rule and the Julian legion created a potent fighting force.

Inititially the Pompeian cavalry assaulted the Caesarian flank but this met stiff resistance and the attacks were largely repulsed.

The Caesarian forces then went on to eliminate the seven units required for victory in fairly short order so it wasn't a long game. This proved fortunate as the cat soon got in on the act.

And into the box!

My Collection: Napoleon At Bay, The Campaign in France 1814 (1978)

While I was browsing the games in the bring and buy section, during my recent Claymore visit I came across another Kevin Zucker designed game, this one released by Tactical Studies Group way back in 1978. Like my other purchase it was only £5 and in very good condition for it's age. It's not a boxed edition but was in a zip lock bag.

The cat wasn't too impressed. It likes a box to snuggle into! 

 

My Collection: Napoleon's Last Battles (1976)

This is the latest addition to my collection. It's an old SPI Quad game brought out in 1976 - Napoleon's Last Battles. I picked it up for the princely sum of £5 at the bring and buy section of my local wargame show, Claymore, in Edinburgh.

It's been on my wish list for a while so I was delighted to get a copy and at such a great price. The game simulates the last four major battles during the Waterloo Campaign: Ligny, Quatre Bras, Wavre and Waterloo.

I set it up to see if the counter inventory matched the individual game setups.

I only got so far until the cat decided to provide assistance. 

One Hour Wargames: Napoleonic Large Battle

I had been tempted to try out a larger than usual game using the OHW rules so I decided to setup an encounter battle using two 6 unit random army selections per side. 

 

With twelve units I decided to play the game with a slightly wider game cloth.

The period I chose was Napoleonic where I had more painted models to use for a larger game. With Russians on the far side lined up against my French force it looked an impressive matchup. Here are some of the units that made up the forces.

Unfortunately I had to pack my game away as the wife wanted to use the computer. Will have to wait till another day to play a big battle but at least I saw what it could look like and I was pleased with the result.

Meanwhile the cat was outside helping me with another project. I've been given Arkham Horror to playtest by one of my gaming group mates so I've been reading the rules in the summer sunshine.