My RLHO (real life human opponent) and I managed to get together for a game and being time constrained opted for what a tanker.
No the cat was not my opponent-it just stomped off once it realised there was nothing worth chewing.
In the end we managed three games.
The board was a small table which speeded things up.
And then I insisted on bringing my early war/useless tanks while my opponent opted for late war kit.
Having teased him about always deploying German kit because it games so well, he deployed Russians in the first two games.
The opposition consisted of a t34/85 and a SU100? Well that’s what he paid for.
My points tally was a bit lower for my three tanks – I paid for a honey, mk1 Churchill and an M3 Grant so I upped the Churchill to a later mark to get equal points.
Of course “what a tanker” is a giant dice throwing game and I brought my loaded dice – heh heh.
He couldn’t find his buildings and I had just brought one for the hell of it.
Out of the blue a road down the centre of the board suddenly became a canal.
Just maybe I could isolate one of his tanks for two against one opportunity…..
Oh yes no problem except my loaded dice tend to fire ones or the wrong command dice combos and definitely not multiple fives and sixes.
The M3 Grant survived a few turns and then died in one dice bombing quickly followed by the Churchill.
Meanwhile the honey lasted a few rounds before again a dice bomb killed it off.
Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different outcome……
The canal became a road and the Churchill deployed to dominate it. It was the same set up with two powerful Russian tanks versus three allied tanks albeit the Churchill was a later mark again.
It made no difference the Russian dice bombs returned yet this time the Russian dicing bombed – especially the saving throws! and I finally did manage to do damage. So much so he ran out of tanks so to speak.
Quantity has a certain quality after all.
Victory to the allies
I had picked the first scenery set up so my RLHO swapped to “capture the hill” and out rolled some late war German armour.
An M18 was added to the allied pile. It made no difference though.
My honey tried to soften up the jagdtiger Later the jagdtiger having shrugged off the honey took out my Churchill on the hillThe Elefant killed the M3 Grant while the jagdtiger took out the M18 – classy camouflage on the part of the jagdtiger
The allied tanks had all stuck around for at least a few turns before German dice bombs struck quickly and efficiently.
One scene – two battles – thats efficiency for you.
Monochrome provides a unity of its ownBut our world loves colour – sort of – the unity is lostWith my regular “What a Tanker” opponent I took the allies and a makeshift bunch of tanks – churchill, stuart, grant and a “shy” firefly Surprise surprise the german mechanics and fuel operators were on top gear – out come a tiger, a panther and a sturdy PzIV – needless to say flashy turrets were also on display. Its a pity there is not a special rule in WAT for complicated tech risk due to supply and logistics problems….. but this is just a table game like monopoly.We took the long table set up with tank groups arriving in diagonally opposite corners – here the germans creep into the centrerather brazenly the churchill and firefly just drive up the main streetThe weaker allied tanks stayed out of townThe churchill caught a sight of movement – fired and took out some buildingsThe stuart caught the PzIV in its sights and firedDespite hugging the old mill house the the stuart was spotted by the panther but no fire………The king tiger broke ground and took the Churchill head on……..And it was all over in a tick.The firefly got a line on the King tiger The stuart was now being targetted by both the Panther and PzIV – no one was getting any hits on anything except a barn doorFinally some allied success – the Grant crept up on the King Tiger – in my last WAT game post the Grant had been the “dark scary dog” for the big german cats.not this time – those roller bearings and cogs? (Frank Tank Rants has fantastic tank tech data to keep you happy for hours) were well oiled as the Grant failed to fire……Another allied tank gone Meanwhile the Stuart was holding its own against the “B” team of the Panther and PzIV. The problem was the Stuart was hitting its target without any impactIf that was not enough the big tiger with two kills already turned up Retreating – the stuart almost escaped before a fatal shot landed.The Firefly finally put in an appearance but was nochantly disposed of by the king tigerThe Firefly was last allied tank standing – game over. This one was quite quick which was useful as my regular opponent does not get much game time. That is why WAT is an excellent pick up game. Also I had time and the idea to get almost all my model buildings on the table.The buildings are a right old mix – some date from the 1970’s complete with enamel paint through decades old paper buildings where the damage is due to little insects! when in storage – ok the steeple was down to straight crushing. and some are ceramics from germanyThe next battle involved Austrians and Piedmontese/French so I got good use from the temporary set up.
My current preoccupation with a sideline project about the inter war years (between ww1 and ww2) has led to the acquisition of “armour”. To be specific, armoured vehicles and not some renaissance suit!
As it happened I was a bit slow on this aspect of 20th century warfare having focused on the infantry who appeared in my scenario Observer.
The idea was also that infantry heavy weapons would follow. And then finally the armour. The heavy weapons are still in the painting queue. The armour is on the factory production line………or maybe in the repair shop.
And of course the next problem is how do you fight armoured vehicles using infantry with no heavy weapons or anti tank kit either?
Use “What a Tanker” of course!
What a Tanker (WAT) by Too Fat Lardies is a game that only uses tanks and in my case some armoured cars – or rather thats all you need and actually you only need a 4-6 to play a game.
I have suddenly thought you could probably play 1 tank a side if the scenario was sufficiently rigged to stop one tank simply moving off table to end the game prematurely.
Maybe you could play a really powerful tank which is unable to move versus a much less powerful/armoured tank which has to try and manoeuvre to get in its killer shot before it is picked off.
In my next post I will explain the armour on show which is a story in itself. Suffice to say it is not what WAT is aimed at. WAT lovers I suspect lean towards the back end of the war with greater variety and dare I say it the more impressive bigger tanks.
I have got into WW2 only because of my interest in inter war era mechanisation and some various blogs that promote the Spanish and Russian Civil Wars plus 1941 Vichy middle east etc. In other words, variously considered marginal theatres in the journey from the WW1 tank invention to the great tank battles of WW2.
First up I am using armoured cars which don’t even feature in the ruleset.
I simply took a look at the values and had a punt. So this game was in a way a test of the rules to cope with weak kit. Would the game even work. Actually the secret is in the Japan tank table where some really weak options can be chosen. And I think TFL(Too Fat Lardies) really test their rules hard.
The Reds had three Renaults
2 Renault FT17’s – they got armour of 2 and strike of 3
leading this pack was a Renault NC29 apparently exported to Japan by a France that straight after world war 1 had the largest tank army in the world and led tank development. Armour 4 and a whopping strike value of 5 was given.
The Blues had
One Crossley 6 wheeled Armoured Car armour 2 and strike 3
One Marmon Herrington 4 wheeled Armoured Car armour 2 and strike 4
The Blue force was led by an M3 Stuart or maybe its a Honey Armour 4 strike 4
As WAT abstracts heavily WYSIWYG does not have to apply and I was the only one looking so that was fine. Apologies to the purists.
I put the two big tanks in the centre opposite each other.
No scenery was provided so it was a straight knock out.
looking more like insects you get the drift some homemade counters I made for the WAT dashboards
I belatedly got the camera into action so what follows is a truncated record of the action.
unfamiliar with the rules meant an untidy table! The FT 17 at the top of the board raced past the Marmon Herrington while the M3 did the same on the NC27. The two opponents at the bottom of the picture just got the wrong dice – you can’t see them tinkering with their faulty engines……….abstraction opens up so many possibilities!
I have only played WAT a few times properly and spaced out over time – end result was I could not remember the rules. I played the “long ball” set up – with three vehicles per side – set up opposite each other. Points were not the priority so absolute balance did not matter..
A “rushed to the front” (no time to paint it let alone apply camoflage) Stuart M3 catches a Renault NC27 side on and fails to make a kill! Poor dice left the NC27 a sitting duck
The Renault NC27 succumbed but so did the Marmon which seeking to support the M3 left the FT17 behind only for the dice to roll very kindly for the FT17. The FT 17 simply took the Marmon in the rear.
Meanwhile the other FT17 eventually destroyed the Crossley and returned to the remaining action just in time.
The Stuart M3 busy failing again to take out another Renault tank – an FT17. The Stuart M3 is caught in the rear by a second FT17 – ok I had the wrong gun pointing at the time! plus sometimes the dice roll for you.
Luck was running out for the M3 Stuart and so it did. It failed to quickly destroy the FT17 by the Marmon and so the two FT17’s were able to slowly kill it with some good dice throwing.
a final strike and its all over for the the Stuart M3.
So the M3 Stuart was first deprived of its weak armoured car supports and then finished off by the FT17’s. Thats Fauxterre 1930+ for you – what a tanker style.
Back in 2008 Richard Clarke of Too Fat Lardies published Sharp Practice. I had always considered this black powder ruleset very Napoleonic. Yet it is for black powder wars and these ran well into the 19th Century.
Take Two books – published in 1907 and 2008 but connected in just the right way
Enter George Macaulay Trevelyan (GMT) who a mere 100 years before Sharp Practice wrote a trilogy on Guiseppe Garibaldi hero of the Wars of Italian Unification (WotIU).
This little post is not about my current interest in WotIU. We must travel back to the 1830’s and sail to South America. Uruguay to be more accurate.
If I was not up to my armpits in Bersaglieri and Kittel dressed Austrians I might just be tempted south……………
The War for Rio Grande do Sol was fought out between Uruguay and Brazil. Later Uruguay fought Argentina along the rivers that fed the Rio de la Plata.
Garibaldi fled Piedmontese execution in 1836, having failed to cause rebellion in its navy, served in both these wars and became a local hero by 1848.
Garibaldi on his return to the Papal States and revolution
In the process he developed his expertise in warfare, leading bands of highly motivated and very mobile forces. This experience would serve him well on his return to Italy.
Warfare in and around Uruguay was fast, furious and often mounted
I am not sure how you might acquire the GMT trilogy – I got mine from Paul Meekins Military books. There are a few other more modern Garibaldi biographies.
In the introduction to Richard Clarkes Sharp Practice the author makes it clear the rules aim to relive the exploits of 19th century literary heroes. GMT hero worships Garibaldi not least because of his political leanings – a true revolutionary of the people. GMT adds a lot of praise and enrichment to the story shall we say.
Contemporary accounts and later biographies recount small naval actions with Garibaldi being shot on deck and his wife Anita Riberas also being shot as she fought with him. Lagoons, amphibious assaults, cattle rustling (the key cash crop), sieges, river gorges, forests, upland ridgeways, prairie, pampas, arroyas (wooded streams) and canadas (ground dips deep enough to hide your forces in!), not to mention lancer cavalry fighting musket armed soldiers.
If your desperate for figures maybe you could try the Carlists, while at least some of the regular enemies kitted out in napoleonic kit with british style shakoes.
In fact the Risorgimento continues to be fought over as a literary subject in itself. I have enjoyed Lucy Riall’s book which injects some 21st century objectivity into it all. Lucy has also authored a book about Garibaldi, that might be a good starting point for using Sharp Practice in a different way.
Those pesky Bersaglieri cannot be left alone…………..postings to follow
So my offering today is to the jaded “Richard Sharpe” player – cast way those green jackets and take on the slaughterhouse cloth of Monte Video* and march or should I say ride with Garibaldi across the uplands of the Rio Grande do Sol, grossly outnumbered yet most often victorious: And he lived to tell his tales.
*the famous italian red shirts apparently started life as a very cheap industrial clothing for Garibaldis Italian Legion in Monte Video.
Well we are at the end of a year that will become notorious.
A year when humanity staggered from the blows of a simple virus. It is perhaps a reminder that nature always has the upper hand no matter how sophisticated our societies have become.
I guess there are plenty of historical parallels to this type of massive societal correction. Not in the same vein but I read recently about how the particularly bad 9th century weather or should I say mini climate change dealt the Carolingians numerous bad harvests damaging their always vunerable Empire. Except even if it were decisive, the roaring vikings is a much more exciting concept of Empire destruction.
Yet right now the Dark Ages have become just that – the Dark Ages as in a box with a lid on it! Right now it is the 19th Century that dominates Wargames in the mind of Norber the Wargaming Erratic.
Before we go and embark on another year there is just enough time to reflect on the fact that 2020 has proven to be rather a good year for my wargaming.
The year got going with a trip to Vapnartak, notable for the fact that it proved to be my one and only show of 2020.
Lithuanian Knights gather to charge the Teutons – figures by WillWarWeb I believe
Playing (LIVE) the Lance and Longbow Society game of Tannenberg 1410 made it all the more important as it turned out. It was my last face to face gaming of 2020.
I was into Carolingians at the time of Vapnartak.
The scary plastic soldier review horses of Carolingia!
so which soldiers marched across my painting table in 2020?
well in 2018 I had managed zero painting while in 2019 I painted and based 32 “normans in the south infantry” and 11 “normans in the south” archers.
in 2020 I managed
12 Carolingians including the man himself – comprising the much maligned (by plastic soldier review) horses which actually give my bases some nice dynamics – in my humble view
10 Anglo Norman archers
24 Normans in the South (NITS – I can’t resist an abbreviation) Cavalry
21 Ottonian foot which look very much like anglo danes or could pass for NITS foot soldiers
43 Anglo Danes were my biggest effort
A fine array of some Anglo Saxons, Anglo Danes and Ottonians
I finished the year with 4 slavs posing as Picts in my “to be” great army of Danes, Scots, Northumbrians and Norsemen which would fight Athelstan again at Brunanburh
And then the proverbial wheels came off the Dark Ages cart.
Right now the painting table has plastic Union Infantry posing as Piedmont Line Infantry along with some venerable Warrior Miniatures French Dragoons posing as – well French Dragoons. And they are metal!!!
Piedmontese in frock coats – shame about the squished stove pipe hats
I must say I had a good year with basing – finally getting a look for my mediterranean NITS – ok Normans in the South project.
Vikings aka Ottonians aka Anglo Danes aka NITS – the beauty of dark ages
In fact I have decided it will work for pretty much everything dark ages.
On the gaming front I started solo gaming with an unexpected purchase. Neil Shuck had recommended War & Conquest shortly before jumping ship with another ancients ruleset.
One of the many offspring writers/thinkers that Games Workshop brought to our wargames world.Sea peoples and desert tribes close in on Libyian bowmen
I gave it a go with my bronze age one hour wargame figures based using my hybrid impetus basing of 80mm x 60mm for 1/72 plastics. Ever awkward – probably just as well I don’t need to satisfy a live opponent. I rather liked the feel of the rules even though the play through was so limited.
And then with Covid19 lock down in full swing and some fine weather I had other distractions including lots of gardening .
I really like simple flowers with a few petalsThe colours are just fantastic
INTERMISSION
Intermission even surprised me – that was not in the plan
INTERMISSION
And of course there is always some track laying to do……………..
Eventually the dark ages gaming started in late August with numerous shieldwall rule tests – I did really enjoy them all. The biggest surprise was playing gridded wargames using Mike Smith’s Table Top Battles.
My lst shieldwall battle took place in late October and many games and rulesets later was swiftly followed by a thoroughly enjoyable game of Dux Britanniarum by Too Fat Lardies.
My vintage Garrison Vikings got a run out.
I fleshed out some campaign plans as per the rules advice and then…………nothing. I was just starting some Pictish Warriors when I read the wrong article.
On the way the renaissance troll introduced me to Faux Napoleonics for fantasy – here is my own 1970’s era Faux Fantasy Orc veering towards napoleonics?
Next minute it is baggy pants Zoaves, Spikey helms and far too much rifling. OK so it is still rather pedestrian Piedmontese – these proto Italians are quite conservative chaps – very un Napoleonic.
Will they really look like Piedmontese or just Union men on the wrong continent?
And since then two battles have been fought – one with Practical Wargaming by Charles Wesencraft and the other using 19th Century Wargames by Neil Thomas.
Whats in the container? – rescued from a dim corner of the erratic’s tardis store………Warrior Miniatures – yes they are metal and yes the brown paint was administered back around 1975!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats a long time on the paint table – 45 years ish. But probably not a record.
And so I wish you all a graceful end to the year 2020 and hope that 2021 brings you all that you hope for.
“The Supply Chain” is a bit like “hospital beds” a term overly used and missing out the crucial part – “people”. No hospital staff and well beds are useless. The same goes for all suppliers, despite the digital/AI/automation hype, people are still the crucial aspect of suppliers and the services they operate. Their work, largely hidden, is what makes our modern world go round.
Even my hobby activities rely on supply chains, as I do not make my own figures or write books I want to read for that matter.
right now I am gathering some reading material about Italy in the mid 19th Century
My supply chain for wargames has been of necessity online for about 10 years. Although when I think about it I was “online in the 1970’s because if you wanted certain figures you could not buy them at your local store.
I remember back then you could buy the “centre companies napoleonic british infantry” provided that was roughly 5 of each in advancing pose only (hinchliffe I believe) – that was all they had.
So I discovered direct postal sales long before “online” was even dreamed of. And in those days I did not go to shows either, having no means of transport. And anyway I don’t think I was even aware of them as a shopping opportunity.
I bought all my Warrior Miniatures by post in those days. and I still have a few.
So this is a big thank you to all the “people” who provide my miniatures, paints, scenery, brushes, books and the like. Either at shows (remember them) or by post (online).
In some ways nothing has changed although I seem to remember the cost of postage was truly massive to my mind back then – and I was trading in metal too.
superb service from Hannants to drive my latest project – the unification of italy…..
In alphabetical order some of my popular “suppliers” have been
Abe books – various out of print book editions
Antics online – for 1/72 plastics
Colonel Bills – for coat d’arms paints mainly at shows
Coritani (Magnetic Displays) – scenery, paint brushes mainly at shows
e Models – for 1/72 plastics
Hannants – for 1/72 plastics
Irregular Miniatures – 1/72 metallics
Lancashire Games – 1/72 metallics, scenery, rulesets
Models for Sale – for 1/72 plastics
Model Hobbies – for 1/72 plastics
Pendraken Miniatures – for mdf bases
SHQ – 1/72 metallics
Too Fat Lardies – rulesets
Warbases – for mdf bases
Wonderland Models – for 1/72 plastics and kits
World books – various out of print book editions
Tirelessly working to give their customers great service.
Currently reading this great summary of a complex story – needless to say garibaldi looms large yet the story is kaleidoscopic!
So thanks to them all for allowing me to pursue my hobby even in the midst of a global pandemic.
wishing every one a safe and secure christmas and a better year for all in 2021
In episode 1 I set the scene for starting a campaign using Dux Britanniarum.
Two evenly matched small forces are all that are necessary to get started – about 40 figures per side – all infantry. Although in my case that equates to just 7 impetus elements for my Romans and 6 for my Saxons.
Then its character creation with simple Role-Playing Game style giving the forces some particular definition. And if you’re going to campaign rather than play one off battles then a narrative becomes a real benefit. Creating a story from your gaming is one very good reason to wargame campaigns.
I used these rules unaltered except for terrain set up where Mike Smith’s Table Top Battles were preferred.
Next is the campaign start rules. Career paths are provided to signpost your characters development. Quite simply they remind me of the original Levels in 1970’s D&D – each status in the path opens up more benefits and choices – for a price. And that’s where the filthy lucre comes in. You need some bright metal to progress.
The aim of the campaign is that the Saxon player ends up with their own kingdom carved out of the Roman Provinces. Meanwhile the British/Roman player simply needs to retain his kingdom and aspire to either rule it or become the great military power of the whole island itself.
The campaign is not map based. The campaign last 8 months in each year from March to October. Losses are not easily replaced so some months no conflicts may occur.
At the start of the game both sides are minor players so the battle rules can be ignored.
The book of battles does though have the crucial Raiding tables which set out what you need to do to run a raid.
You determine the forces morale based on results of the previous encounter and a random element. So, each game will be slightly different.
For my start the Saxons were on 5 + 2 = 7 while the Romans were on 5 + 3 = 8.
Pre game set up, champions and speeches are skipped as they relate to battles.
The fate cards, which drive yet more variability, are designed to give each force specific benefits. Some cards mutually benefit both sides.
The two forces are dealt a hand of five cards for the raid where two are specified and three are random. Poor shuffling meant that some awful hands were dealt at the start.
I will just show the early “hands”
Ebroin is Saxon Leader One in the small sequence deck – he might go first or sixth or even seventh behind his own missilemen. Garrison Vikings from the 1970’s dwarf the strelets impetus based figures – but somehow feel rights as they convey the “BIG man” idea within Dux Britanniarum.Saxon Poor shuffling or what! Ebroin will not get much help from this hand in his moveTiberius is Roman Leader One – its 472AD after all – still 4 years to the end of the Empire. Tiberius is actually played by a Lamming 1970’s Saxon – confused? most dark age battles were fought under dark skies with no LED lighting and everyone wore variations of grey/brown clothing anyway.Tiberius the Decurion is doing better but needs to ditch the saxon carpe diem card.
In Episode 1 I described the terrain set up. For my “Raiding a Farm or Village” the location was determined using the raiding rules in TDux.
Again fortune smiled on the Saxons.
The Saxons then threw to find out how much surprise they had. The Saxons gained two free moves before the game proper started.
I moved the Saxons and then determined the Roman arrival point. This turned out to be a congested corner of the table which impeded their progress from the start.
The Saxons would win the raid if they left the table with their loot. The scale of their win would be helped by how many men escaped as well plus how many Romans they killed.
The Romans had to stop them taking the loot to win.
I suppose I should say that I have tended to use Romans in this post rather than British or Romano British. Maybe as the campaign builds, they will morph into “Britons”.
Randomly generated terrain using Mike Smith’s Table Top Battles terrain generator meant the Saxons had easy access compared to the Romans. At least there was South ford……… upriver of the marsh. The hills punished any movement while other features impeded movement and/or inflicted “shock” on a group
Rules Digressions
Before I return to the action I have set down some of the rules which I think are notable.
A small set of cards determine the sequence for each turn. Another randomisation. For gamers who like control this is probably getting far too much. For solo play its ideal as “loss of control” is essential to make the game come alive.
A key aspect of the sequence is that controlled forces all activate before the uncontrolled. Using your leaders and their supporting nobles, command range is important. It follows that their position can improve or hinder things.
Each side has three commanders, and the leader has an initiative of 3 while his nobles have 2. That represents their ability to activate. The leader can do three discrete activations while his nobles on their turn get to do up to 2. In one full turn of the card deck the three commanders share 7 activations.
There are various constraints on these leader attributes such as when they are in the heat of the battle or how they have organised their forces. The fate hand cards allow additional activation.
Yet another variable is movement – when activated a group will throw dice to determine their movement. With 3d6 the range is 3” to a staggering 18”. There are quite a few reductions and as you have to move the full amount this can work against your force as its leader loses range control.
Forming shieldwall rightly slows you down and makes you less manoeuvrable. There are the usual terrain penalties for movement. There are some rules for the missile troops and cavalry as well as interpenetration of groups being restricted or having consequences.
Finally, units end up facing the direction they travelled and can only see the 180 degrees to their front. This informs the 4” Zone of influence which a group imposes to its front restricting any enemy entering or leaving that zone. I forgot this rule quite a few times during the heat of battle………..
Firing is straight forward with range limitations and usual “to hit” throws required.
Now we come to impact. “Shock” is what results from missile fire or hand to hand combat. Accumulated shock drives a group back and eventually breaks them. Leaders can rally groups by removing shock through activation.
In Combat once two forces contact each other dice are thrown to hit and for allocation – multiple groups fighting need to know who hit who. Effect is determined as with missile fire consulting a table where the quality of troops being hit affects the random dice outcome.
Leaders are not immune! You can lose a hero.
Shieldwalls stop initial hits and initial shocks so it is a valuable capability for the Romano British.
Unless there is a difference in shock results, the draw means the fight goes on and on for every drawn round of fighting. Only two combat rounds occur before other forces move again. So, more forces might join a combat to shake things up!
“Misplacing ones Amphora” means a group has taken twice as many shocks as there are men in the group and is broken. After uncontrolled groups have moved these broken groups move 3d6 towards any friendly table edge searching for their missing amphora………
So now we come to the force morale mentioned at the start of this post. Each group lost reduces the morale of the force, again randomly influenced by the lost groups type. Losing better quality groups does more harm as you would expect. This variable ensures that you can play the same raid over and over again even on the same terrain and the result will be different.
All this variability means the ruleset presents a vast range of different games to play before any similarity might get seen.
At the end of the game, you count various losses on another table to get a total score. Compared to the enemy score the difference gives a winner/loser combination of outcomes depending on how large the difference is.
Rules then follow for gaining reinforcements and when the next raid will happen. If the Saxon has grown on their success, then the next big step is to contest the province.
There are some tricky annual events to tackle for the Saxon leader, so it is not all one-way traffic to the top!
At 92 pages even allowing for some resource pages plus big FONT, there are lots of rules here compared to the rules I have previously tested the shieldwalls for.
I think it was worth explaining these aspects of the rules up front.
Let battle continue
Now back to the battle where Coenwulf was facing up to some fighting before he could escape with his filthy lucre. Coenwulf wished Gudwal would hurry up and find some coin to make the day worthwhile.
We left the two forces here, except the saxons had done a neat swop with Ebroin taking over the groups holding the bridge while Coenwulf led the saxon group against the sole Roman group approaching the village led by Decurion Silvanus. The green dice show the “initiative” or activiations available. Crude but effective as the action jumps around it is easy to forget who is next! The Romano British throw in a hero of the age fate card doubling the quantity of dice thrown. In the background the saxons finally turn up a hoard or rather “the only hoard”…….The Hero of the Age Silvanus was roundly beaten by Coenwulf who promptly retreats to handover the group to Gudwal who is already leaving the village with the filthy lucre. Coenwulf then recrosses the bridge to join the fight on the east bankThe terrain has taken its toll on the Romans arrival, and being strung out they have broken up into single groups. Silvanus leaves the field after being severely mauled by Coenwulf. The saxons have the advantage nowOn the Roman right flank those tricky 3d6 movements mean the saxon missile men are caught and driven from the field by Decurion TiberiusIn the centre the first round of fighting at the bridge has driven the romans back and more saxon support is arriving with the very active CoenwulfThe roman group led by Tiberius having destroyed the saxon missile men crash into the saxon left flank group of warriors led by Coenwulf.Coenwulf is with them and they hold despite Tiberius hurling missiles (no doubt picked up from those fleeing saxons) – the righthand “strong arm card yields 6 extra dice for some loss in movement.The saxons look in control as they carry off the loot in the distance, the saxons by the bridge just need to execute a fighting withdrawl……ha!
Silvanus has managed to return to the field having been carried off by his fleeing group. He now needs to extract a reluctant group of Numeri from the marsh and go to the aid of VitalinusEbroin is more than holding his own against Vitalinus who curses the mix up at the ford where his Comanipulares are paired with some reluctant Numeri. The romans are getting roughed up and attempt to rallyEbroin is still looking for a famous killBut Coenwulf is struggling to finish off TiberiusCoenwulf gets some more action thoughand promptly disengages as his loot leaves the table “literally” under the care of Gudwal – oops thats the character who lusts for his own power………….Meanwhile Ebroin is in a tricky position apparently abandoned by his leader only to find him yet again joining the frayMore moves for the Saxons – the red counter reminded me it was move 8 Coenwulf and Ebroin continue to drive back the Roman lineeventually the Romans get to move but not before the Roman levy have fled the lineNow Tiberius joins in and attacks yet another saxon group – Ebroin’s warriors – third time lucky? The orange dice denote the number of men still effective for rule purposes.no luck for the romans as they fail miserably. In the background Coenwulf and Vitalinus are toe to toe.And Vitalinus is thrown back again – his comanipularies are destroyed in the endThe saxons now actually want to be awayhaving fled to the south ford Vitalinus brings a Numeri group in a wide arc round the wood to return to the fightCoenwulf (yellow dice) having been attacked again turns to face the late arriving Silvanus (red dice) while the exhausted but victorious Ebroin (bottom left) sees an escape south open up unexpectedly. Tiberius (bottom right) hesitates.East bank saxons escapeWith Ebroin retiring south Coenwulf delivers one more mighty blow on the romans still fighting him. Tiberius looks on confused as Vitalinus appears from behind the wood. The ineffective Roman missilemen head towards the village to check out what damage has been done or rather escape the field of battleand then Coenwulf disengagesWith some sharp dice throwing the saxons head south and escape as VItalinus realises his mistake in circling the wood.
The net result of all losses on both sides was a difference of simply 1 on the raid results table – meagre pickings for Coenwulf and with heavy losses it will be 3 months before the Saxon can raid again. With moderate losses Vitalinus will take 2 months to replace his losses. He will be ready and waiting.
My year of 2020 wargaming has been dominated by anglo saxons and latterly playing some test games using shieldwalls. These fairly static affairs have allowed me to consider a small selection of rules and compare them.
A few posts ago I mentioned I had bought some new rulesets along with a book on modelling scenery. In this latest game rules test the newly acquired Dux Britanniarum gets a solo run out.
At the start of the first lockdown I tried to buy both Duxes, one by Mr Mersey and one by Mr Clarke. I expected to be comparing them. One arrived yet the other just did not come. In the end, having determined that no money was handed over by me, I concluded I had abysmally failed to complete the purchase. And that was that.
Having enjoyed playing Dux Bellorum and for that matter Table Top Battles by Mike Smith, plus AMW and one hour wargames, both by Neil Thomas, I returned to the fray and bought TFL’s Dux Brittaniarum. If nothing else it was Neil Shuck’s summary recommendation, back in 2012, that TDux gives you an excellent campaign tool as well as an excellent set of table top rules. It was the linked series of battles approach that made me buy the ruleset.
So here is my first TDux outing – again solo – complete with mistakes. I made quite a few but decided not to correct them.
I started at the beginning in another way. Interestingly the game handles the various parts of Britain with good geographic logic. In doing so it reveals the rather haphazard progress of the saxons across the land. Maybe Richard Clarke intended this to make the point that the saxon takeover of Britain was not some well orchestrated invasion.
So it took me a while to order all the “Book of Kingdoms” in chronological order. I was looking for a starting point.
And unless I am wrong, which is quite possible, the TDux fighting proper starts really in 472AD in Linnius – Lincolnshire if you like the modern take.
Nice try – oi! – this is the 5th Century – no modern take Lincolnshire thank you, and this is not a recently built Roman Road bridge either……..although it is the humber estuary. The river looks a bit wide here and I don’t like those mudflats, they look shifty to me.
I reckon I have 12 discrete campaigns to go at covering the period 472AD to 590AD.
In my first campaign I am raiding Caer Lind Colun and if captured its three other connected lands become the next target. But I am getting well ahead of myself. Right now Caer Lind Colun basks in the evensun of being a Roman Legion city while my rabble of adventurers occupy some small ships battling the running tide of the Humber……..
So a raid was the order of the day. Those mudflats still look dodgey but plenty of hideaway creeks methinks. Thank my pagan god for my having a trained spotting crow complete with full colour camera!
I started at the bottom of the heap as recommended in the book – a lowly saxon with a few followers landing somewhere on the coast of england, in my case near the mouth of the great humber estuary.
We will meet Coenwulf shortly
Coenwulf desparately needed some food, animals and coin. Coenwulf was “skint” like most over wintering saxons.
The Forces involved were defined in the rules.
The Saxon Force comprised
3 duguth groups
2 elite gedridht groups
1 missile group
Each comprised 6 figures while the missile troops numbered 4.
Note the game is set up for skirmishing in single figures group together. It is designed to permit your choice of figure or figures representation. Most recent rulesets have designed in flexibility of playing pieces in terms numbers and/or base size. The days of ground/figure scale and actual base size being critical are long gone and I like this level of abstraction.
The Saxons were led by Coenwulf aged 23 of average build with the constitution of an Ox. The son of a peasant Coenwulf had a thiefs hoard of wealth hidden in his ship.
Ebroin at 30 was his elderly Noble yet tall, strong and dutiful. He is ABLE and being wodenborn an aristocrat and LOYAL.
Gudwal 27 was short and wiry, lusting of power another son of a peasant trying to make good.
In these posts have woven the narrative into the actual game play. The game gave me the ideas for the narrative. I am already warming to the campaign side of TDux.
In March 472AD Coenwulf led his small force inland having hidden their small ships in the dryish wooded end of a shallow muddy creek on the south coast of the Humber estuary.
After finding some abandoned hamlets, if they could be called that, Coenwulf discovered a small village and managed to capture a lone ploughman (his lone furrow work can be observed along the battlefield centreline!!!). He quickly confirmed that the village was well occupied and that the local chief had a base there: Filthy Lucre time for Coenwulf…….
North is at the top of the photo – squint to see the humber……… A river runs straight across the flat lands near the estuary. Some higher ground surrounds the village which sits on the west side of the small river. To the south access is limited by a hill below which is some marshy ground either side of the river and beyond a narrow piece of hard ground, a wood to the east. South of this difficult ground is a good fording place. Near the village a simple bridge has been built.
To the north more marsh and some higher ground further ring the village.
Coenwulf swiftly advanced on the village. This phase of the game is covered in the scenario with the Saxons moving twice without any response. The village was on the wrong side of a small and narrow but deep river so Coenwulf found a ford point north of the village and sent one warrior group into the village. Meanwhile he took the rest of his force south on the east side of the river. He was convinced it could not be this easy to raid a village. The place did not feel undefended.
Coenwulf marches rapidly south while Gudwal makes for the village. The Saxon missile men with Ebroin skirt the low hills checking for any Romans.
Now I will explain the terrain selection. I used the generator in Mike Smith’s Table Top Battles. I divided the board (6′ x 4′) into 24 squares.
In TTB rivers go straight across the board between two sides. I picked the short edges so the river ran 6 feet down the board and a third in, so occupying one row of the notional 12″ squares.
The rest of the terrain was generated by throwing a series of dice to first select the type and then location. Mikes generator also dictates the number of terrain items.
I then applied the TDux terrain rules to each generated piece.
The net result was the Saxons entered from the north passing across fairly empty land to reach the village and discover a passable bridge over the river by the village. Ceonwulf thought things could not get any better. His divided forces were now easily connected again.
The villagers had fled so once the various farm animals had quietened an erie silence descended.
Across the land from the south came the unmistakable sound of armed men on the move, yet uncaring for the noise they made. They were in a hurry: They no doubt intended to spread fear by their noisy presence.
How long does it really take to ransack a few buildings? Ceonwulf was beginning to wonder just this issue when to the south west a mass of soldiers appeared, moving fast. And suddenly they were over the river and on the east side making straight for Ceonwulf.
Of course there must be a ford down there as well.
What were clearly unhappy Romans, rushed along both banks of the river. Coenwulf could not now retreat to the village without risking his escape north to the ships. After all, this river was only going grow deeper and wider as it neared the great humber estuary.
He ordered his men forward and hoped Adelig Gudwal had enough strength to hold the village and loot it at the same time! In TDux the various leaders get descriptions like Tribune or in this case Adelig for a minor Saxon noble.
Now the Romans (because here they still celebrated their military forefathers)
Tribune Vitalinus – a busy man – too busy to pose for the camera is hazily seen here pushing his Comanipulares forward alongside some Numeri who would rather be elsewhere than in rough ground slowing things up!
Tribune Vitalinus at 32 had years of hard fighting experience behind him. Son of an Honestiere he possessed merely a beggars bowl of wealth. Yet he was tall, strong and a devout christian.
His Decurion Tiberius at 22 was of average build also devout and son of an honestiere as well.
His other Decurion Silvanus also 22 was short, wiry and honourable. He was an exile with an unexplained background. Yet he had proven himself in battle quickly and was now to be trusted.
The hilltop lookout warnings on these clear late winter days had meant that Vitalinus knew raiders were on the move. And he had almost guessed their destination. Just not in time to be the welcoming party.
His scratch force comprised.
3 groups of Numeri
2 groups of Milites
1 group of Comanipulares
1 group of missile troops
As with the saxons each group consisted of 6 men, 4 for the missile troops.
At this point I should say my “groups” were actually 80 x 60mm IMPETUS bases of infantry in mail with shields and axes and looking suspiciously like late anglo saxons, danes and normans!
The headcounts used in TDux I represented with small coloured dice.
Adelig Gudwal was already ransacking the village and getting frustrated. Nothing except farm tools and threadbare cloth, not even some decent food or drink. It was a bad time to raid – the end of the winter sees everyone “short”. These people were just like Ceonwulfs people, half starved from a long hard winter.
Gudwal has to get a base in contact with each possible location of coin or wealth to test for its presence. Also in the picture is Coenwulf’s Champion (looks suspiciously like an eigth century viking with a long handled danish axe to me) although they (the Champions) don’t feature in these early encounters.
Vitalinus raced towards the enemy and then stopped his men. These raiders were no rag bag bunch of thieves – they were well armed and organised and their shieldwall was already in the making. Vitalinus ordered his men into a better line before restarting towards the raiders at a more controlled pace.
Coenwulf formed his shieldwall to protect the bridge
Now both sides built their men into a battle frenzy – controlled but willing to close with the enemy and risk death and injury. As the two shield walls closed small axes appeared overhead along with small javelins and a few arrows. Soon the shieldwalls would collide and mayhem begin.
And now it became clear to Vitalinus that this would not be a mornings quick work.
In the next episode Vitalinus closes in on the raiding Saxons.
I have recently bought another rule set and unusually for me, a book on terrain and scenery modelling. I have a lot of scenery articles saved from discarded magazines. So why do I really need any more advice. It is not like I am overflowing with home-made items.
Well it just caught my eye. It being “Battlefields in Miniature” by Paul Davies and published by Pen & Sword. Dating to 2015, I have the paperback version printed in 2018. I think the original was in hardback.
A quick flick through has made me pleased I bought it. It looks a comprehensive view of this part of the hobby. Also, I have noticed a preoccupation with “high density foam”. This appears in a lot of my saved articles as well.
Somehow it is not a material I like and in fact generally I have avoided plastics when it comes to scenery and terrain. Maybe that’s because when I was far too young to be left alone with polystyrene ceiling tiles I cut them up with nice sharp knife to make contour hills. I then glued them together with polystyrene cement with exciting melting results and interesting vapours. That was the 1970’s – safety was basic common sense then, which children often lacked!
It put me off, except for retaining a continuing interest in plastic figures.
I will use some of the ideas in the book and Paul Davies writing style is engaging: Very much just have a go. My only criticism so far is that the book is rich in finished items in use and yet some of those picture slots would have been better showing some more intermediate steps of construction for greater clarity.
Now how about that ruleset?
Well I looked at the Too Fat Lardies Dux Britanniarum several years ago just before I bought Maurice (another card driven ruleset as it happened). That was at Fiasco in Leeds, just one of many shows I have missed this year.
Here is one of those cards that drive the game. Love or Hate them they have an impact you cannot quite control. The figures are Greenwood & Ball (Garrison) Vikings from circa 1978. Yes they are posing as 5th century saxons……..
The figures are painted in Humbrol matt oils finished with gloss varnish while the basing in those days was dried tea – uncoloured. looking good at around 40 years of age.
I took a punt and bought the full rules including the follow up “raiders” supplement and all those cards.
I like dice and card driven games and I like the “big man” idea that threads through Too Fat Lardies publications.
I have since played a single game solo that took an age to complete. That will be reported in another post. Suffice to say I will play these rules again.
The Wargaming Erratic 