To Horse!

 Next to move from the Lead Pimple across the painting desk here in GHQ and endure their moment under the Brush of Doom are the first cavalry Squadrons for the project, Danes of course, represented by Wargames Foundry figures. They are made up from three packs: Cuirassiers charging; Command in tricorn; & Command in informal hats. I opted to base them on one 120 x 60mm base, having seen such an arrangement on a fellow gamer's blog and noted the diorama look potential. You may judge for yourselves as usual ~

The 3rd Jyske Cuirassiers are first up. It seems Danish Cuirassiers went into action often in Buff coats under the cuirass, so these are depicted in such. The standard is the colonel's, from David Morffit's wonderful blog ~ 

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The 4th Jyske Cuirassiers followed their fellows' journey from Lead Pimple to tabletop battlefield in quick order. To differentiate these from their fellows I opted for the grey-white coats as opposed the Buff. Again the standard is from David's site.

I have two Cuirassiers 'spare' now, so adding a further Command pack from Wargames Foundry will give the Danes a third Squadron of Cuirassiers at some point. In the meantime I have some other mounted figures under the Brush of Doom, representing the Württemberg-Oels Dragoons. If all goes well then the dismounted versions should follow on.

Sue and I have been away for a couple of days R&R in Shropshire, staying at The Castle Hotel in Bishop's Castle, built in the early C18th on the site of the ruined castle of the Bishop of Hereford. I can recommend it to any reader looking for a quality break in an interesting location.

We made a friend! 

Clever location placement in the condiments

A Spotted house! What could be more normal?

Well, a painted Pharmacy perhaps?

Or a reminder of the circus elephants evacuated in WWII and lodged in the remnants of the castle's stables.

An Advertisement...

 ...of sorts. I thought my loyal reader would cut me some slack if I posted this brief 'advert' on my blog. I've been working with Dave Ryan of Caliver Books for the past several months, and with his talented graphic designer Jay, to bring new editions of my self published rules to the hobby market. So far we have completed the Anglo-Zulu War rules, Washing the Spears...

...and just recently the rules for the Indian Mutiny, The Devil'sWind...

Both sets are available from Caliver Books priced at £17.50. Obviously I'm not exactly unbiased in encouraging anyone interested in the periods to buy a copy! As Mrs Doyle might say, "Go on, Go on, Go on..."

I'm not sure if, or when, A Good Dusting might appear for the Sudan War, partly because I'm still mulling over some new ideas for a couple of elements in the rules. Hopefully I shall have more to report on this in due course.

Moving Forward Steadily...

...with my War of the Spanish Succession project sees the third, and for now at least the final, Danish infantry regiment finished to complete the three regiment brigade. These are the Fynske regiment, chosen for no other reason than I had downloaded their flags from David Morffit's wonderful blog 'Not By Appointment'! If you don't know this site and are interested in C18th armies then you are missing out. Here are the chaps in question without more addo ~

Foundry figures of course, a range sculpted by the Perrys back when the world and I were young. The figures have stood the test of time better than I have!

The central base features the regiment's commanding officer, colours and a drummer alongside three rank and file figures.

The officer adds a touch of colour to the otherwise drab grey-white of the rank and file figures, whilst the casualty adds a touch of movement and adds interest. The figure does not come with a musket, but fortunately there were spares in the bits box!

Similarly the third base sees the officer adding colour to the unit and the alternate casualty figure a point of interest. I added his musket after taking the picture, must plead age there, sorry! I've been adding a touch of seven o'clock shadow to the faces of figures in this project using a mix of Foundry Expert Flesh and British Gun Grey with mixed success, some being a darker shade than others. I put this down to differing beard growth between individuals, or different opportunities to shave while in the field!

In addition to these I've completed three more Danish artillerymen, the remnants of the eight figure pack and a spare figure of a sergeant pointing. They will crew a large mortar, currently in the post from Warfare Miniatures, along with figures for a third Squadron of British Horse. As an aside I've also ordered figures from Ebor Miniatures for a second British infantry regiment.

Meanwhile I made a tentative start on the first figure from Foundry for the cavalry element of the Danish tranche of the project in the form of a cuirassier charging with sword arm outstretched. I think it will be the middle of the month before any of these are finished though! More as and when...

Normandie!

William had asked for a D-Day game and had helped me set up the terrain for this week's game here in GHQ. Come Tuesday and he's a no show, whisked away to some Egyptian light show in Birmingham with his family! So Phil and I were left to play out the game using Bolt Action. As an interesting aside, Phil has version 3 while I prefer version 2, largely because of the stupid pricing at Warlord Games. Anyway, the table at the onset of hostilities with Phil commanding the Allies and yours truly the Germans ~

The view from 'Beyaux', the third objective, towards the beach head. The first being the sea wall and hamlet of 'Vers Sous Mer' and the second either of the two farms on the flanks. In 6 Turns, plus a possible 7th, a difficult ask for the Allies!

The Beach head viewed from a passing aircraft! The Allies may opt for a naval bombardment of one target in Turn 1 using up one Command dice. In Turn 4 they get a possible Bomber attack, again using up a Command dice.

The sea wall protecting 'Vers Sous Mer' is heavily defended, but these men are Inexperienced! How will they react under intense fire is a German concern!

The Algerian front line troops who will take the brunt of the Allies firepower are supported by squads in each of the ruined farms and in 'Vers Sous Mer' itself. They cannot activate until the Allied troops exit the beach.

Anti-tank guns are placed to create a killing zone of cross fire, if any Allied tanks make it off the beach that is!

The Germans' forward Command Post is protected from air attack by the rooftop anti-aircraft gun. This may drive off any Allied bombers later in the game of course!

The Allies storm ashore in Turn 1! The naval bombardment hits the troops defending the sea wall hard. No casualties luckily but Pins mount up.

The 'Flying Dustbin' fired from the Churchill makes short work of the Pak40's bunker!

In similar fashion the Sherman DD surges through the breaking surf and destroys the other Bunker in Turn 2!

The Sherman DD on the opposite flank comes under fire from the central bunker on the sea wall. The shot is close...but no cigar!

The Allies consolidate their landing and strengthen the beach head in Turns 2 and 3. The 'Stomach Battalion' squads on the sea wall are putting up stiff resistance despite intense incoming fire!

The Allies are off the beach and advancing on the second line of defense. Again more Inexperienced troops awaiting their fate with trepidation?

Despite some losses and Pins, the Churchill leads more Allied infantry off the Beach to enfilade the defenders on the sea wall!

As the Allies exit the beach the Sherman DDs come under fire. The tank in the centre is knocked out but the others survive and press forward.

The defenders of the sea wall are finally overwhelmed! The next to fall must be 'Vers Sous Mer' itself! The second wave of Infantry will form up to assault the village ruins!

More Allied infantry pour ashore. The Churchill leads the survivors of the assault wave towards the next objective, the ruined farm. If they succeed they will earn a second Victory point.

On the opposite flank the Assault wave are Pinned down under machine gun fire. The second wave surge past them and make short work of the position on the edge of the woods.

At the end of Turn 3 the Allies have achieved 2 Victory points and Germans have lost 4 Command dice to the Allies' 1.

The Allies opt for a bombing run, targeting the ruined farm on their right flank.  The German anti-aircraft crew prepare for their moment in the spotlight as the bomber roars inlans!

They're on target! The bomber suffers 2 Hits! It takes 3 though to drive it off, so the bombing run continues!

Bombs are raining down on the shocked troops occupying the farm. Losses are severe and Pins mount up alarmingly!

By the conclusion of Turn 5 its clear the Allies will succeed in reaching 'Beyaux'. The German losses are so severe they are down to 1 Command dice while the Allies have lost only 4!

A gripping game on reflection. At the conclusion of Turn 2 the German position looked promising with the Allies struggling to exit the beach. The destruction of the anti-tank bunkers greatly aided the Allies from Turn 3, as did indifferent German defensive fire. The bomber certainly helped turn the tide too! All in all though we agreed a challenging and engrossing game for both of us!

Enjoying "The Favour of the 'Dice Gods'!"

Well, as you've no doubt already guessed, certainly that's unlikely to be yours truly! If you persevere and read on you'll see how and why...

As you might recall William was poorly and missed the planned Burma '43 Bolt Action game here in GHQ. As he's now as fit as a fiddle I arranged for a different game just between the two of us. William laid out the terrain from the stock in GHQ and provided all the vehicles and figures from his growing collection. Like many beginners I suspect his forces are over endowed with armour for now, but with careful encouragement that can be put right. For now its just important to enjoy what he likes and learn for himself. Anyway, the expected annotated photomontage carrying you down into the action ~

William's British at the conclusion of Turn 1. His Shermans advance, supported by his infantry squads. At this point I thought he might not have enough infantry as the terrain he chose lacked cover apart from the small woods. Silly me...

The German position at the end of Turn 1. Two Panzer IV's supported by infantry squads and the HQ advance rapidly on the bridge, while the sole Tiger with para support heads for the hill dominating the bridge. The Tiger has a chance to break down at the end of each Turn on a 1 on a Dx6. It survived Turn 1.

In Turn 2 the leading Panzer IV starts across the bridge. It comes under fire from the 6lb anti-tankgun, which in turn is under fire itself. In the distance British infantry debus from their lorry, leaving one private to man the bren gun! Oh dear, very Bolt Action that William!

Of course William gets the required die scores to hit and then penetrate the Panzer IV's armour. The result is the tank's destruction, blocking the bridge in the process too! In the foreground a Sherman and two squads make fir the dominant hill.

British infantry and a supporting Sherman take up position behind a light wood on the left flank, hoping to ambush the advancing Tiger and paras.

The leading para squad makes it onto the crest of the dominant hill, hoping to deny it to the British below. A second squad skirts the hill hoping to catch the British in the flank. The HMG team bring up the rear.

The Pak 40 team are working overtime trying to reduce the odds by knocking out the 6lb anti-tank gun and the Shermans, though with no luck to date. Both guns are the new plastic ones from Warlord Games and I was most impressed by them.

The surviving Panzer IV and its supporting infantry advance more cautiously on their left flank keeping in the cover provided by a hill and avoiding enemy fire. Loss of a second Panzer so soon would make it difficult. Once again the Tiger avoids breakdown as Turn 2 ends.

In Turn 3 the HMG team deploys alongside the Pak40 as the remaining Panzer IV, supported by two squadz advances on the British infantry.

The fighting to hold the crest of the dominant hill is unfolding in Turn 3. The Germans look to have the upper hand, although their lead squad suffers losses and a pin, as does one British squad.

The ambush is sprung on the leading para squad. Four men are lost and a pin acquired!

In Turn 4 the German paras are barely holding on to the crest of the dominant hill as two Shermans press home the British attack. The Tiger has no option but to join the struggle but in the process exposes its flank to the other Sherman!

On the other flank the British infantry squad is forced back by losses it can ill afford. But the German HMG team takes a loss and a pin, as does the Pak40.

In Turn 5 the Tiger is knocked out! Once again William the Dice Demon makes all the necessary throws in quick succession! The paras who have survived the assault have no recourse but to fall back.

It's clearly all up now for the Germans who have lost 7 of their 12 elements to the British 3 from 11! William's dice luck and winning streak against Grandad goes on!

It was fun for both of us of course, but the main thing is that William enjoys himself, but learns from the experience for his next game. Together with Phil the three of us will be gaming in GHQ next week(DV) for a 20mm D Day extravaganza!