Photos of the carnage; Part 1

Some pictures from Sunday's games day.  We had a great turnout, with some new members, many regulars, and as Giovanni mentioned some great games; 20mm WWII in the Western European theatre using Blitzkrieg Commander, a modern air war boardgame featuring a scenario set during one of the Indo-Pakistani wars, and our clubs first foray into the Napoleonic Wars using Black Powder and 28mm miniatures.

Here are some shots of the WWII game.  This was Peter's first time with us, and he made his debut in grand style, bringing his exquisite collection of buildings and vehicles.

Our WWII games had always been short on buildings, so we were more than happy (and impressed!) to see that we suddenly found ourselves not just with more buildings, but an entire village!  The statue in the town centre was a real eye-catcher.  In addition Brian's fiancé, Ayu, painted one of the Italeri buildings (the one top left),  so we were well off for scenery for a change.  Perhaps some roads and a railway track for the next game?  Next time I'll try to get more close ups- these really are lovely models.

Giovanni had been having fun with his airbrush recently, and this King Tiger made a big "canvas" to work on!  This was one of a number of pre-built kits that he and I had picked up during a recent sale at Hobby Link Japan.  This particular kit was pretty unexceptional, but Giovanni's paint job has really improved it.

Peter's son looks on in disdain at Brian's grasp of tactics.  Brian brought his rapidly-growing collection of Allied armour, including some very useful trucks and halftracks.

A sea of German yellow and airbrushing gone wild as German panzers assault the Allies in the village.  

"When we was in the bocage country,
we was assaulted by them Tigers.
You know what I mean by 'assaulted'?
Well, I mean ASSAULTED!"

-Moriarty (always with them negative waves.) 

I'm not sure who won, but with King Tigers and Churchill Crocodiles, I'm willing to bet it was a pretty nasty fight.

The next post, I'll put up pictures of the Napoleonic game.

-Robert

Photo Report: Games Day on May 24th

Here at long last are some pictures from our games day that was held on May 24th.  A colourful 18th C. action in India with John Company vs. the Mahrattas, as well as some Eastern Front butchery using Blitzkrieg Commander II.

First to the Indian subcontinent.  Gareth and Matt played a very attractive 6mm game set in the 1780's, with the H.E.I.C. army pitted against an Indian host during the Mahratta Wars. Figures were 6mm, largely from Irregular Miniatures.  A really great looking game! 

Very nicely painted and based figures.  We all commented on how effective the jungle terrain looked in this scale.  Aquarium plants bought at the local 100-yen store!
 

I really liked the mosque- which was from Irregular Miniatures, I believe.

Mahratta bigwig seen on his command elephant.  I believe he bought the farm during the battle.

The game ended in a lop-sided British victory, so the Empire was saved.  What better way to celebrate Victoria Day?

*****

The other game saw Soviets pitched against the Germans in 1943.

An issue that had come up with our last few games was that they had ended up being more or less just armour engagements.  Due to poor scenario design and/or lack of transport, the infantry had been really tardy in getting into contact.  The result was that the armour and artillery basically decided the issue long before the PBI could get to grips.

We had been really itching to see how BKC II handles infantry combat, so this scenario was designed to remedy that by getting the infantry stuck in from the beginning.  Which it certainly did!

Being set in 1943, and wanting to concentrate on infantry action, I didn't use my T-34/85's for this game.  A decision, which if historically justifiable, was one I would turn out to regret.  Big time.

The scenario saw Brian's British commandos (proxying for Russian paratroops) being airdropped into a German-held village in the centre of the table.  And I mean airdropped!  We used pieces of paper to represent each stand, and Brian stood up with the pieces of paper in his raised hands, and just released the lot over the table.  Where each piece of paper landed was where he had to set them up!

Brian's "paratroops" slugging it out toe-to-toe with the Germans, and being heroically butchered in the process.

The Germans (Giovanni) had a force of armour- including a Tiger and Ferdinand, as well as Pz-IV's and the dreaded bicycle troops- coming in from one end of the table to come to the rescue of the beleaguered garrison.  While on the other end Soviet reinforcements (Daniel and I) were attempting to come to the support of the paratroopers and to consolidate their hold on the settlement.  

Oberst. Hermann von Heck's Angels; Giovanni's fearsome Bicycle Battalion races to the settlement to help pour on the fire on the Soviets.

Brian had been working on some Esci commandos, and had a very inventive approach to how to deal with those few "odd" poses that always seem so beloved of soft plastic figure designers.  As a painter and modeller, Brian is really going from strength to strength.

This was life imitating art, as far as the game was concerned.  To cut a long story short, the Germans cleaned Ivan's clock.  While a long and ferocious infantry battle went on back-and-forth in the centre, Daniel's Soviets- whose command included our heavy armour- seemed determined to fail as many command rolls as was statistically feasible, and his advance went in at a snail's pace.

This picture may as well be titled, "Still Life on the Steppes"...

On my part, my over-reliance on infantry, and the absence of anything in my command even remotely able to take on the Tigers and Ferdinands on anything near equal terms, meant that we found ourselves being taken out piecemeal by the Germans.

My Ivans seen in their full glory just before getting dumped on by Me-109's, Tigers, Ferdinands and, for all I cared, the Dortmund Bank Tellers' National Socialist Oompah Band and Knitting Circle.  Just about everyone and everything available in the German arsenal, or so it seemed.  A Skytrex SU-76 in the background and SU-122 in the foreground. They may as well have been ice-cream vending wagons for all the use they were in the game. 

 

Giovanni's very nicely done Me-109 on its way for a spot of leisurely strafing, as it roars past some uber-armour as they advance towards the front.  All willing, eager, and all-too-capable of doing some serious GBH to the hapless Popovs.

The SU-76 leads the way to support the paratroopers, as reinforcements follow on, only to end up as...

...Kat food.

The Tiger and Ferdinand had reached the top of some hills where they proceeded to settle themselves in for a sehr gut afternoon's Russki-shoot.  Giovanni had clearly learned from our last game that the best way to use the Tiger and Ferdinand was to employ them as long-ranged snipers- snipers on steroids at that.

Just perch them on top of a comfortable hill, and from there the crews can set up a barbecue, crack open a few bottles of Liebfraumilch, and just take turns taking 88mm pot-shots at anything green coming at them in the distance.

By this time, and despite putting up one hell of a fight, Brian's force had been reduced to a battered few survivors crawling over the edges of the rubble.  Ivan's nose was getting bloodier and bloodier, while the German forces were still largely intact.   So with precious little time left for the Soviets to pull off any miracles, we decided to call it a day and hand the Germans the victory, leaving the outraged commissars to start rummaging through their pockets for more pistol ammunition...

In all, a great game and a lot of fun for all.  This was the first time we tried using air support, close assault and the opportunity fire rules.  After some initial confusion we quickly worked them out, and liked how they played.

Things were made easier by Daniel's Quick Reference charts- he took the relevant charts from BKC II and after photo-reducing them down into a convenient size for the tabletop, placed them in clear, stiff plastic file cases.  These were then colour-coded with tape down the edges.  A great finishing touch was having period posters on the other sides!  I just love them.

BKC is becoming a firm favourite with us.  Games can be played to a conclusion in an afternoon, and it's an elegant system that can be picked up easily by those unfamiliar with the rules.  Giovanni is also working on a large Italian army for the Western Desert, so we expect a lot of games in the future.

*****

Finally, a preview of some Napoleonic action waiting in the wings for later this year.  Matt has been beavering away at his Perry and Victrix plastics, and they are looking good.  Here are some of his British.

Looking forward to seeing more of these!

-Robert

April 25th- Games day come and gone!

And a good time was had by all!  Turnout was a little low, as this week was the run up for the "Golden Week" vacation, but there were more than enough of us to set up some games.  

A miniatures game using the increasingly popular Blitzkrieg Commander II rules, and some board game action ranging from the 100 years war to an appointment with "Madame le Guillotine"!

Plenty of time to eat a bagel first, and then go on to repel the English invaders!

The BKC game saw the Soviets against an unholy alliance of the Japanese and Germans!  We are more than willing to play fast and loose with the historical facts when we need to.

The Japanese contingent. I still need to get those tanks finished, once I get the guts to start on the camouflage. The mortar team also needs to be finished, but are to receive the benefits of Giovanni's capable brushmanship.

The Germans.  The Tiger was initially a concern to the Soviets, but we needn't have worried!

Robert's Soviets.  They were to survive the game virtually intact, save for a broken gun barrel of a T-34, of which the least said the better!

Daniel's recently completed Soviets.  Loved the snow effect on the bases! (Italeri figures).

General Danielevsky consults with his Political Officer and STAVKA representative,  Comrade Col. Maxim Lebedovitch, as to how much vodka can be transported in an SU-76 without compromising ammunition requirements.  Meanwhile, the Japanese contingent rolls not-so-inexorably forward.

A little known fact of WWII. A force of Germans were trapped in a pocket in the Crimea in 1944, and decided to flee from the Soviets by advancing eastwards through Soviet Asia and Mongolia to Manchuria, where they hoped to meet up with their Japanese allies. After numerous adventures and close calls, they succeeded on joining up with a Japanese garrison on the Soviet/ Manchukuo border. Both then fell back towards Hailar, trying to shake off a battle-group of pursuing Soviets who are hot on their trail. Borders and cease-fires be damned.

But the German commander Sturmfuhrer Joachim von Braun- a confidant of the Fuhrer and also a brother of Eva Braun, with considerable inside information about the Nazi high command - was wounded and left behind in a shack while on reconnaissance with some of his officers. They were wearing captured Soviet uniforms, as they were trying to infiltrate the Russian lines.

If caught, he is bound to be publicly tried and then shot as a spy (not necessarily in that order). Hence it is imperative for the Axis that he not be taken. as to have him captured by the Soviets would be an unacceptable propaganda blow to the Axis, and a great coup for Stalin.

The Axis forces (Giovanni and Brian) were as determined to rescue him as the Soviets (Robert and Daniel) were to capture him- preferably alive, but neither side was too fussy about that.

Kibitzing by an observer who clearly displayed a bias for the Axis...  Fortunately, his advice fell on deaf ears!  
Brian, the Japanese commander, meanwhile wonders what it would feel like to actually pass a command roll while waiting in vain for the German commander to take matters in hand...

The game was a real hoot. The Germans advanced quickly, but the Japanese were slow to support them (either bloody-mindedness or dreadful command rolls!).

The Germans had some initial success, largely due to the support of a pair of Pz-IV's, a Puma and a Tiger. But the tables turned decisively in the space of two turns, when the Germans had their noses wiped by a battalion of T-34/85's.

This was due to the Soviet commander having learnt from (bitter) experience that it pays to concentrate all fire on one target at a time- and to pray for good command rolls. The Tiger was wrecked after taking 16 hits over two turns, and the Puma and Pz-IV's were taken out over the course of one turn, one Pz-IV being smothered by a whopping 13 hits in one attack.

Tiger Hunt!

 

  Tiger, Tiger burning bright...

The Soviet infantry was able to get the unfortunate von Braun back to their start line just as the Japanese started arriving on the scene. He was then taken to hospital and nursed carefully back to health- so that he could then be shot for being the wretched spy that he so clearly was.

The games are really moving along quickly as we get the hang of the rules. As our forces get bigger and we are able to get more terrain on the table, we are looking forward to more ambitious scenarios.

*****

At the other end of the room, Matt and Gareth were immersed in fighting a 100 Years War board game that saw King John the Good of France elevated to King John the Freakin' Awesome, as the English were sent packing across the Channel.

Later, Darren joined them in a a card game of Guillotine, which looked like being a real fun game!

Matt brought some of his Perry Miniatures Napoleonic British.  Very well painted they were, and we look forward to some Napoleonic actions later this summer, if all goes well. 

Finally, Darren had to bring his kids to the game, but made sure that there was something in it for them, too!  One can never start too early...

Next games day will be May 30th.

-Robert

Photos speak louder than words

Hi All,

here are some random photos of the last game meeting, thata by the way was a blast! I really had fun, as I hope the other members did. We had 2 new visits, Matt from Birmingham, who's back in the country and Andrew from New Zealand. It was great to meet Andrew and see Matt back in the team.

NEXT EVENT IS SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY 21ST OF MARCH.

Please enjoy the photos of Gareth Naval game and Robert's World War 2 game.

From Left to Right, Daniel, Matt,Robert, Andrew, Brian and squatting Giovanni and Gareth.