Back from Scotland! On to Huzzah!

 Travel, they say is good for the soul. I have no doubt of the truth to that statement, but at my age it can be exhausting. I have just returned from a twelve day adventure in Scotland with two of my oldest friends (and with the gracious tolerance of our respective spouses). Starting in Edinburgh, we traveled to Aberdeen, Inverness, Oban, and finally Glasgow. Side trips included several museums, castles, the Culloden battlefield, Loch Ness, more castles, two national parks, historic churches, saints' tombs, a distillery, and finally, oddly enough, still more castles. 

Urquhart Castle

The scenery was spectacular and everyone we met was both friendly and helpful. It was an exhausting trip, but one I will always treasure.

A week from today, I will be in South Portland Maine at the Huzzah! 2023 Convention. This will be the first time since the pandemic that I will have attended. While games and gaming with friends both old and new is a joy, I believe the best part of any con is renewing old friendships and enjoying the talk and company that comes it.

Not his tomb, but one containing a relic of The Bruce

I am putting one game Saturday morning using the About Bonaparte rules. Perhaps  I may see some of you there! Until next time!

Culloden Battlefield

 

The Problem with "Splendid Little Wars", Part 1

 For those of you who have been indulgent enough to follow this blog over the last few years know that my primary interests are the Anglo-American War of 1812 and the American War of Independence. Now both were "Splendid Little Wars" to paraphrase John Hay, the Secretary of State during the short (4 months) war with Spain in 1898 but big battles, like one saw in Napoleonic Europe, were few and far between. Both however had numerous small actions and skirmishes (although I am sure my Canadian friends might consider them in a different light). So, what to do??

Some years ago I purchased a facsimile edition of Benson J. Lossing's  The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812, written a few years before the American Civil War and published in 1868. The original was a folio sized book (think coffee table book), with the typical small print and meticulous detailed chapter headings. The modern reprint in my collection is about the size of a normal book. Lossing was both an artist and writer and his work is copiously illustrated as he saw them at the time. He was also to interview a number of surviving veterans of that war who were by then in their late seventies and eighties. Some of their stories are fascinating! The book is best read in small doses. Published in 1976, its ISBN is 0-912274-31-X.   

 

A more recent publication that I added to my library is one by Adrian Mandzy, Ph.D. published last year and titled Bad Roads and Poor Rations (Fifty-nine Wargame Scenarios for the North American War of 1812), ISBN 978-1-950423-30-9. It was his work that triggered this edition.

I asked myself how could I play these numerous small actions without either investing in more figures or coming up with a new set of rules? In the end I compromised. You have read my various missives regarding Dirk Donvil's About Bonaparte (AB) rules. Could I adapt them? 

I will go into more detail next time but for now, I will just mention the organization for these splendid little armies! AB units, although not specific, use 8-figure groups of three 2-figure , and two 1-figure stands to represent the battalion or regiment (or 8 individual stands for regular skirmishers) . The four individual figures of the cavalry represent a squadron or regiment. Why not just call them a company (with two 4-figure platoons) or a cavalry troop? Maybe add an officer/NCO or two and that became my starting point.

Next time I will describe the rules modifications, national characteristics, and  basic mechanics. To illustrate, I'll recount a small skirmish between some militia and the seaborne raiders from Great Britain. Stay tuned!

And Now for Something Completely Different...

In a post from a session or two before my most recent, I mentioned in passing how I was going to begin including some World War II battles fought on the tabletop. At the time I mentioned that my father had served in the Southwest Pacific for some 44 months, beginning with Guadalcanal (as the Marines were withdrawn, Army troops replaced them, finishing up the campaign). He was assigned as a gun director in a 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft battery. He once told me that they assigned him that job because the battery (originally a Georgian Coast Artillery) had so many men with deep Southern accents in it that no one could understand them. So having a fairly neutral New England accent, he got the job. Whether that story is true or not, I have no idea. 

But I must confess that I had a similar experience when I was a young lieutenant stationed at Fort Benning (also in Georgia). The fellow whose BOQ was next to mine was from Americus, Georgia. For the first 4 or 5 days we knew each other, we were mutually unintelligible. We eventually became good friends (once we got over the "language barrier").

A Marine M3 GMC (a 75mm mounted on a half-track)

Anyway, back to gaming! Back in the early Fall of 2022, I started a Chain of Command "Pint-sized Campaign" written by a group calling itself Table Top CP based on the first few days of the American invasion of Saipan in June, 1944. I don't have the URL, but a search for "Table Top CP" should put you in the right place. There are six scenarios in the campaign ladder, and so far we've gotten to the first three. In a big part I might add due to the stubborn IJA resistance that required the replay (actually allowed for in the campaign book) of the first two: Red Beach and Securing the Beach Head.

The third, Radio Saipan, was completed in the most recent game. At this point, it is definitely a near run thing. Both sides have taken heavy losses. Both sides started with two platoons. Now, with casualties, each side is down to a single platoon with a handful of replacements (survivors of the first platoons) to make up losses. 

The Japanese move to attack

The Marines position themselves for the final push!

"Radio Saipan" actually saw two battles: the original, which forced the IJA troops back, and a follow-up counter attack (a campaign option available to the Japanese). The photos here were taken from the counter attack. It failed to accomplish its mission, so next month, we move on to the fourth scenario, "Sugar Rush".

Reinforcements to Iberia

As the French assault on Spain continued, the British Government  dispatched a small expeditionary force under the command Major General Harry Paget, Lord MacDuff, to aid in the defense of that important realm. The first engagement was chronicled in the last episode of these random musings and ended with a British victory (barely), but a victory nonetheless. Yet, the task was not complete and Lord Harry sent his personal Aide, a young knight to bring news of the victory (and plead for more troops).

So today and next time, we'll take a look at some of the newly arrived forces and some of the talk about some of the trials and tribulations they endured on their journey to sunny Iberia! 

MacDuff's Highlanders will be our first unit. Organized for the About Bonaparte rules by Dirk Donvil, it also contains an officer. Under the rules, all British units are required to be veteran and all must have an attached officer. Since all of this costs points (as explained in the rules), this actually reinforces the British practice of small, highly trained expeditions. This might not have been the author's intention, but it works out quite well. These are old Airfix 54mm British Highlanders. A year of two before the Pandemic, my friend Ross (of MacDuff to the Frontier fame) gave me a bunch of these unpainted from his collection. They have sat around my hobby room (my adult son's former bedroom) since then. Frankly, the thought of even attempting a kilt on a figure was just too intimidating. But they're going to Huzzah!2023 in a few weeks for an About Bonaparte game I will be putting on Saturday morning. 

The XCII, almost The Gordons is the next regiment in line. They are about half-painted and will be finished by the weekend. Here's a shot of the unit master figure I completed the other day:

BTW, I also hate painting "diced hose"! Why couldn't they just wear regular socks?

Until next time!

Meanwhile, back in Spain...

 Well, it would seem that 2023 is shaping up to be pretty much "normal". The pandemic is waning. Here in Massachusetts, the Boston Globe publishes a daily map of the state showing the rates of infection using a red-yellow-green system for each county. I am happy to say that for the last week of so, the entire Commonwealth has been "green". 

Better yet, Huzzah! 2023 is just a couple of months away! Let's hope the trend continues.

Last time, in November, I wrote of how I would be including material focusing on WW2, primarily the Southwest Pacific Theater. That's still the plan and currently I have been running a Saipan Campaign using the excellent Too Fat Lardies  Chain of Command rules. We are about halfway through, and casualties have been heavy on both sides. At present, the Marines and IJA are both on a precipice-- it's been that close. We shall see!

Meanwhile, back in Spain the Allies are doggedly resisting the French juggernaut, and what follows is a brief report and some photos of a recent game between yours truly and my oldest war-gaming friend, Tom.  He and I go way back to grade schools, and along with another friend, Pete, we have been "besties" since the sixties. For three guys to stay in contact that long is pretty remarkable.

The game was played using Dirk Donvil's excellent About Bonaparte rules, available from Caliver Books.  

The above photo shows the opening positions of both forces. The French have centered their line on a Grand Battery, with brigades on either side. The British artillery and Light Brigade are positioned on the crest of a couple of low hills with the Line Brigade just below the crests. Even with that screen, early on there was some judicious shifting of the line as the French artillery proceeded to attrit the Lights and Rifles early and often. The light guns of the British were less effective,but did cause some damage.

Soon enough, the French columns began their advance, while effective skirmish fire on both sides sought to bring their foe to heel. It eventually became too much for a gallant Nassau Regiment who fell back, throwing the advance into some peril. But eventually they closed on the British, and a hot firefight developed eventually favoring the British. At that point it was getting late, so we called the game giving the Brits a slight tactical advantage. Oddly enough, the cavalry on both sides managed to keep the uniforms spotless. In the above photo, the French light horse on the end of the French left. A portion of the British light dragoons are shown below.

All in all it was a low key, fun game. With Huzzah! 2023, just around the corner, they'll be there, along with their fellows to once again try to win the glory. (I would also add, the Spanish Royals will also be there). 

 

"He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous."

I find it hard to believe it is almost November, but the calendar doesn't lie. Where did the year go? I have often held that time, or at least its perception, accelerates as you age and so far nothing has proven me wrong. I suppose that is as good as an excuse as any to explain why I haven't posted since April. 

I have also held that we look back with both longing and nostalgia to the heady days of our youth and at the same time try to recreate, at least in a small way, the excitement (discovery) of the hobbies and pastimes we've carried into the present. Toy soldiers and war-gaming are certainly one area that I have continued to pursue. I would add, however, that this pursuit cannot be static which oddly enough brings me to the topic of today's post. Originally, this blog was focused solely on larger 40 and 54mm figures and games. But like most gamers, my interests vary but can be basically assigned to three eras: The American War of Independence, Napoleonics (including North America), and World War Two. The first two I've covered in earlier posts and today I wish to write about the third. 

For my generation, the so-called "Baby Boomers", the second Great War held particular significance. My father served for some 44 months in the Southwest Pacific, starting a Guadalcanal and finishing up in the Philippines (with stops in New Guinea along the way). He rarely talked about his experience and I suspect most veterans who have lived with war rarely do. I was fortunate, for despite some twenty-four years of service, mostly in the National Guard, I neither heard nor experienced any shots fired in anger. For that I am grateful. I had some friends who were either forever changed, or in one case forever young, because of the wars in Southeast Asia. The Wall in Washington is both their remembrance and epitaph.

But WW2 was always a ever-present shadow when I was growing up and playing with "green army men" and a whole lot of imagination, my friends and I created our own "Sgt Rock" and his gallant "Easy Company". Now some sixty plus years later, I still do (albeit with somewhat more sophistication I like to think).

So "Der Resin Kavalier" will branch off to recreate in a small way, this tragedy and achievement that for better or worse still hangs over the present. Those who fought that war some eighty years ago are now mostly gone. Perhaps in my own little way, I can help to keep their deeds and valor alive. Their sacrifices are too important to let fade.

Until next time...

 

Back to North America!

Having spent the last few months in Spain with the gallant Spanish attempting to hold off the voracious French, I found it was time (again) for a change. Being retired has many advantages, like time. But as precious as that is, it is also a drawback of giving you too much time to think. The Bard put it best in  Julius Caesar when Brutus (I think) describing Decius (I think)  said: "He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous."

 

I suspect my level of dangerous, never particularly high, is quite a bit less as I am now in my seventies.  But I still probably think too much, and that leads me back to today's topic: North America and more particularly, the Anglo-American War of 1812. 

 

Many years ago the great American war game pioneer, Jack Scruby, offered inexpensive, tin-lead castings in several scales, most notably (and still one of my favorites) 30mm. Today we call it 28mm, but the two are virtually indistinguishable. In any event, my first purchases in those halcyon days of discovery (war games, girls, cars, girls, more war games, real part-time jobs, and girls), were from his War of 1812 series. By today's standards, they are simple, almost crude, but since they were all we knew about (the British wave hadn't broken yet), they were the only game in town so to speak! I probably still have a couple of dozen somewhere in my collection. 

 

The real challenge, however, was finding information on those fellows. Uniform information on pretty much most of the 19th century American army, save for the Union and Confederacy, was hard to find.  The centennial of the American Civil War was only a couple of years past and quite frankly, I had had quite enough of it. There was stuff out there, but you had to look for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flash forward nearly sixty years, and I probably have three to four dozen histories, references, tactics, and military minutiae books and pamphlets sitting on my library shelf. I still find that war fascinating, and, having thought too much, decided it was time to go back.

 

 The spur, if you will, were some Expeditionary Force (EF) Militia Infantry II (Yeoman Crown Shako) 54 AMR 04-S. While no doubt these could be painted up as organized militia, the uniform is pretty much the same, including shako, of the 1812/1813 for US Regulars (which is what I did). I'll post some pictures next time. The quality and casting of these figures are superb. They come with interchangeable arms and poses for almost infinite (well...a lot of) variety. Given that the well done figures by Ken Cliffe with his All The King's Men line are no longer manufactured, this line by EF is well timed and based on their website, soon to expand!

I have played enough of the About Bonaparte (AB) rules to know that for enjoyment, and the relatively small battles of this war, the Expeditionary Force lines could be a renaissance in 54mm gaming. The pictures show some Americans and British organized for AB. Dirk Donvil has done a remarkable job of making multi-battalion Napoleonic battles practical with these rules.