Countdown to War

In the run-up to my fictional Third World War scenarios, the players received regular daily broadcasts from the BBC over the preceding week. They are reproduced here for the delight of readers.  Feedback from John and Tim was quite positive, and they seemed an effective mechanism for setting the scene. The scenario is perhaps a little fanciful, but is based on that used in the 1984 BC TV drama 'Threads' albeit with a rapidly accelerated timescale. Those who have seen Threads will recall that things didn't turn out too well, particularly for Sheffield! I regularly run past 'Ruths parents' house, and it is all a bit sobering really. At least no-one tries to shoot me for stealing a packet of crisps.


1. Here is the news from the BBC at 6pm on Thursday June 25th 1981.

Soviet forces commenced an invasion of Iran in the early hours of this morning. The Kremlin declared that this was to safeguard their southern republics from the threat of Islamic extremism and complemented their internal security efforts in Afghanistan. It is believed that several mechanised divisions have been employed with massive air support and the Iranians report their their borders have been breached in several places with Soviet units already many miles inside the country.

From the White House President Reagan condemned the actions of the 'Evil Empire' and announced that the Carrier Battle Group operating in the Gulf had been placed on a state of alert, warning the USSR to avoid threatening vital US interests in the region. From Downing Street Mrs Thatcher said the West must no longer tolerate Soviet expansionism and should stand up to bullies.
 

2. Here is the news from the BBC at 6pm on Friday the 26th June 1981.

In the Middle East, Soviet forces continue to advance in Iran. Some reports place their spearheads as much as 75km into Iranian territory and it is also reported that an airborne division has seized the major airport outside Tehran with further reinforcements being flown in. There are unconfirmed reports that Sovet units have employed chemical weapons against centres of resistance.

President Reagen has declared that he is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect American interests in the region, while the Kremlin has responded that it is taking necessary steps to secure the integrity of the USSR and warned the USA against intervening in the conflict.

US Marines have landed in Kuwait to provide additional security for US airbases there.

3. Here is the news from the BBC at 6pm on Saturday 27th June 1981.

In a major escalation of the conflict in Iran, US aircraft have begun conducting airstrikes against the Soviet airhead outside Tehran. The Iranian government has announced 'it will not interfere with US aircraft in its airspace'.

The White House declared its actions were a reasonable response to Soviet aggression, reiterated its intention to protect US interests in the region and called on the USSR to stop its attack on Iran. The Kremlin warned of serious consequences if the US interfered with the internal security of the Soviet Union.

Observers in Tehran report that US aircraft appear to be carrier borne, although some high level bombers (possibly B-52s) have been observed. On the ground, the Soviet advance continues with further advances of over 50 miles in some areas as Iranian resistance continues to be patchy. The use of chemical weapons by the USSR has now been confirmed.

Major movements of military formations by road and rail have been detected in the USSR. The Soviet government stated that these were in preparation for summer exercises.

Leave for military personel in NATO has been cancelled.

4. Here is the  news from the BBC at 6pm on Sunday 28th June 1981.

For the first time since WW2, nuclear weapons a have been used in armed conflict.

A formation of B-52s attacking the Soviet airhead outside Tehran were engaged by a surface-air nuclear anti-aircraft missile and suffered heavy losses. US forces retaliated with a battlefield nuclear weapon against the Soviet held airfield.

The White House condemned the 'insane escalation of hostilities' by the USSR and called on the soviet forces to withdraw. The Kremlin defended its right to protect its internal security and accused the USA of plunging the world towards nuclear armageddon. Soviet forces in Iran announced an immediate halt on their current positions 'in the interests of world peace'.

Defence analysts noted that the nuclear exchange was limited in both scale and scope, and the fact the Soviet ground forces have halted gives some hope that a negotiated settlement may be reached. It is thought that the robust response of the White House to the Soviet attack has taken the Kremlin by surprise, however the use of nuclear weapons by the USSR is an indication of how seriously they regard the situation in Iran.

NATO forces were placed on a high state of alert and military movements in the USSR continue. CND supporters staged a large demonstration in Trafalger Square and there were a number of arrests. There are reports of panic buying in some shops and petrol stations.

5. Here is the news from the BBC at 6pm on Monday 29th June 1981.

Soviet forces in central europe have dispersed from their barracks. Moscow said this was just the usual summer exercises. There has been a large increase in Russian civilian air traffic over western Europe, and large scale military movements in the western USSR continue.

NATO forces are now on a high state of alert. The UK government has declared a state of emergency and taken control of all motorways, ferries and airports which have been closed to civilian traffic. Reservists have been called up and are en route for units in Germany. Civil defence advice has been issued to the civilian population.

In Iran hostilities appear to have stopped. The White House once again urged the USSR to withdraw, the Kremlin responded that it had a right to protect its internal security.

6. Here is the news from the BBC on Tuesday, 30th June 1981.

The border between east and west Germany has been closed. Huge Soviet troop movements have been detected in northern, central and southern Europe. The Kremlin still claims these are summer exercises.

Reservists and reinforcements have been moving across the Channel for the last 24 hours to bring the BAOR up to war strength. Reforger flights have  been ferrying US troops across the Atlantic. NATO troops all along the front are forming up in their wartime assembly areas.

The White House has once more called upon the USSR to withdraw from Iran,  but no response has been received.

The UK government has urged the population to remain calm and stay in their homes. Secondary roads are reported to be choked with traffic moving out of urban centres, and there are reports of looting and rioting in major cities. In a speech to the House of Commons, Mrs Thatcher said "Defeat? I do not recognise the meaning of the word".

7. 31st June 1981

Well, this is fiction after all. On the 31st June, tanks roll over the border and it is game on.

Memoir of Modern Battle

This game was played at SWC in Feb 2012 and was a tryout of Bob Cordey's 'Memoir of Modern Battle' rules. We used the Memoir '44 Jarama scenario from the Memoir 44 site. The real battle was a multi division engagement which went on for weeks, so this scenario is heavily bathtubbed! . The pictures are fairly lousy as I took them on my phone.

The combat system is reminiscent of Memoir 44, but unlike the original, all the units activate every turn, which made the whole thing fairly bloody. The toys are all from my 15mm SCW collection, mainly Peter Pig. Overall we are still working on Memoir 44 and its derivates to make something which feels a big more like WW2 as the current system is pretty abstract and not as well developed as the more modern Command and Colours games. Although there are numerous commercial add-ons for M44, they mainly seem to add more chrome and complexity without contributing much to period feel. Still a work in progress, but worth the effort I think as these games alway look good, don't take up much space and are just 'easier' somehow than the more traditonal ruler based things. Bobs MoMB is certainly worth a look as he has done a lot of work on it and it is available from his blog/website.

Republican positions on the left flank looking across the Jarama, Nationalists dimly visible in the distance. The unit with the flag in the foreground is one of the International Brigade units.

Republican right flank, more International Brigaders in the foreground, road to Madrid running off the table. Assault guards are visible on the far right.

Foreign Legion and Morrocans rush the bridge on the left, inflicting heavy casualties and pusing the defenders out of the village.

They also crash through the centre, supported by tanks.

Republican tanks occupy Telegraph Hill while the Nationalists wonder if it safe to cross the river.

Cavalry, infantry and tanks rush the railway bridge on the right (where the river was forced historically by a coup de main).

Nationalist cavalry batter the Assault Guards

The second unit of Assault Guards, suported by T26s pushes Nationalists back over the river.

The front stablises along the river on the left, with heavy losses to both sides. The Republican tanks in their hilltop positions are unassailable though.

Cold War goes hot, but only in a small way

Like many people who grew up in the 1960s, I have an abiding interest in the Cold War, yet somehow it is something I never got around to wargaming outside of board and computer games. I think I found all the techno-babble about the minor differences of thirteen models of T-64 a little offputting. I had a similar block with Marlboroughs exploits as I really couldn't face painting all the wierd and wonderful 'uniforms' of the period. In the latter case, 2mm figures came to the rescue as minor uniform differences really don't show  up in that scale.The success of my 2mm WSS project prompted me to rethink the Cold war, as in 2mm, all those minor technical differences would vanish.


So, a couple of shopping accidents with Irregular later, I had rather a lot of lead to paint.... I pitched the stuff at the 1970s and very early 80s as I felt that was proper cold war, when people went to war with SLRs and Chieftans and there weren't any namby pamby Abrams/Challenger super tanks to even the odds or abominations like the L85A1.

The toys are organised for Tim Gows 'Nato Brigade Commander' so essentially company sized bases, but with an eye to higher level games so there are enough higher level assets to do division/corps sized actions using Megablitz or similar.

Tank Battalion (T64) with attached BMP company. I  used a rough ratio of one model per five vehicles.

BTR mounted motor rifle battalion with attached T62 company.

BM21s, SAM, SP artillery battery and armoured engineers. The latter are converted T55s into a recovery vehicle and bridgelayer. You need to do a lot of conversions on the Irregular models to cover all the required vehicles.

More conversions. BRDM-1s (converted from Sdkfz 222s!) and Shilkas converted from Hummels.

British balanced battlegroup. Two Chieftan squadrons, two mech infantry companies in FV432, battlegroup HQ, infantry mortar battery and a troop of Scimitars from the close recce squadron. The Scimitars are converted from Warriors, that particular job is hard on your fingers.

A squadron of Chieftans compared to a penny. These models are tiny!

I wonder in retrospect if I should have gone with the more modern 3mm stuff as the ranges are more complete, but  have always tried to support Irregular as a local firm, and it is a done deal now. Future plans include expansion to cover the West Germans, and I'll maybe do a unit by unit feature like Tim has done for his 6mm stuff.

Eagle eyed readers may also notice the appearance of a 'downloads' page. I am moving a lot of the content off my web page, and it will mainly feature rules and things of historical interest. The actual files are PDFs shared via google docs, so please let me know if I've got the sharing options wrong... it will take me a while to convert everything I want to publish into PDFs, so bear with me.

Border Clash

In keeping with this months Eastern Front theme, this was a WW2 Airsoft game organised by Gunman Airsoft at their Norwich site in February 2011. It was quite cold! It covered the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, and I played as a Russian in this one (the first outing for my Soviet impression). I was surprised at how effective the Soviet khaki was in woodland, it seemed to acquire a greenish tint from the surrounding trees and blended in very well whereas under artificial light it can most charitably be described as 'poo brown' in shade. It also got rather wet at one point and the Soviet rain cape (the plash palatka) proved to be extremely waterproof indeed. The biggest sartorial disaster were the puttees which fell down constantly, but so did everyone elses. I have subsequently acquired some high boots.

Soviet infantry trudge up to the front dragging their Maxim and 45mm AT gun. The AT gun was a blank firing dummy (but very loud) and the Maxim was home-made.

Planning the defence and setting up obstacles. The Germans  had demolition charges to destroy the tank traps.

Time for a brew in the fuel dump! Not much concept of fire safety in the Red Army.

Sneaky Germans start to appear along the border.

Fighting breaks out in the forests. 'Action' shots are very hard to take in Airsoft games and often look rather under-whelming, but these two capture the sense of desperate urgency quite well, although it still looks like a few people hiding behind trees.

The Maxim Gun pinned down  under fire, another 'action' shot.

Things didn't really go the Russians way. Well, it is 1941...

The Soviets trudge off to the POW cage.

And an uncertain future.

Heroic defenders of the motherland.

Beastly Germans, looking very pleased with themselves.

Plastic Soldier Company 15mm T34s

As I mentioned in my last post, I was rather inspired to take the plunge into 15mm WW2 Eastern Front  when someone turned up the the club with some PSC Russians. I have gamed the Eastern Front in 6mm for a very long time indeed, but this scale seemed ideal to run the Skirmish Campaigns 'Red Guards at Kursk' campaign, and the things I bought were with one eye towards the forces required for that. The great joy of plastic tanks in this scale is that you don't put your back out lifting the boxes up.

The PSC 15mm T34s are the 1943 version with hexagonal 76mm turret and 'flanged' (not sure what else to call them) wheels. They include both 76mm and 85mm turrets, just like the good old Airfix 1/76th scale  kit.

Two boxes of T34s make up into ten models, enough for a whole company.

They come five to a box, which is very handy for making up a company of ten at 1:1 scale. They also include crew figures, although I only chose to put these in a few turrets. They come with loose stowage boxes, lengths of track and and external fuel tanks, so these can be assembled in various permutations.

T34/76 with commander.

These were very easy to assemble with virtually no flash, although they take much longer than metal models in the same scale. After I had done all ten I had got it down to around twenty minutes each. The only thing to watch our for are the tracks which go together in one, and only one, way. Best to dry fit them before gluing. The moulded on detail is a little light in places, but the wash and drybrushing picked it out well enough. I  assembled both sets of turrets and made up a storage box t hold the 'spares'.

T34/85, same hull as above. The gun barrel is a bit thick but looks OK on the tabletop.

These have all been painted in my usual way: undercoat black, mist with white then a  heavy drybrush of Vallejo Russian Green. I inkwashed some of them but it didn't make much difference to the final result. A heavy application of mud around the running gear then a light drybrush of 'dust' and picked out the details.

Been away for a while....

Once again I have dismally failed to keep the blog up to date, so time to try again. I have been a bit jaded and uninspired with wargaming for a while, just the same old same old, and most of my energy has gone into WW2 Airsoft which I have found to be inspiring and entertaining albeit hideously expensive (shh, don't tell my wife!). In recent months some of my enthusiasm for wargaming has returned, and I also re-discovered blogging through Twitter.

So, here we go again. I think I need to keep it fairly short and to the point. I have managed to overcome my lethargy and do a few wargaming things over the last year:

• 'Ten Rounds Rapid'. The next WD Display Team (north) participation game. A 15mm WW1 game covering  the BEF in 1914, to be run in 2013, deliberately a year early for the centenary  avoid what will undoubtedly be a saturated market in 2014.
•  2mm Cold War. I've always been interested in the Cold War, having lived through it, yet the mind numbing tedium of trying to identify thirteen different kinds of T-64 has always rather put me off. After the success of my 2mm WSS project (which again, I'd put off for decades in larger scales for smilar reasons), 2mm seemed to offer the solution for my Cold War conundrum as well.
•  Command and Colours Empires. We seem to play a lot of CnC these days, and as I had grown weary of using Rifle & Kepi for  large scale late nineteenth century warfare, I had a go at doing a CnC variant for the wars of 1859, 1864, 1866 and 1870.
•  15mm WW2 Russians. I swore I would never do the Eastern Front in 15mm as I have vast armies in 6mm, however never say never. Someone turned up at the club wth some Plastic Soldier Company WW2 Soviets, and I was converted. One or two slight shopping accidents later and I seemed to have quite a few 15mm Russians.
•  Big boys toys. I have been doing a lot of WW2 Airsoft/re-enactment and my collections of  uniforms and associated toys continues to grow. I may manage a few pictures and reports occasionally.

I also seem to have taken up Fell Running as an alternative to road running. Well, there are plenty of big hills nearby and the weather has been bad enough to make it challenging...

So, plenty of stuff to talk about in a bit more detail, and maybe this time I'll stir myself to do it. People seem to like pictures in blogs, so here are a couple of tasters of my PSC Russians.

T34s, lovely little models which go together really easily. I particularly like the included crew figures.

PSC Russian infantry. A veritable horde!

Colomby, August 1870

The battle of Colomby, fought using my 'Rifle and Kepi' rules, hexes are around a kilometre, stands are regiments and formations are divisions. The view is from the French side. I played the French and Tim Gow the wicked Prussians.

Historical Situation.

Following the defeat at Spicheren, the Army of the Rhine fell back before two German armies to Metz. Marshal Bazaine planned to pass his five Corps over the Moselle before he could be encircled. The German cavalry detected the French withdrawal and the leading elements of the pursuing VIIth and 1^st Corps launched an immediate spoiling attack against the French rearguard.

Historically night fell before the Germans had time to seriously develop their attack and that was the case here. The scenario OBs, maps etc were largely taken from the Bruce Wiegles excellent '1870'.

French position facing east. Imperial Guard are in reserve under control of the Emperor. Dense vineyards clutter the landscape.

The initial Prussian assault wavers attacking the front right of the French position.

The Prussians flee in disorder despite the supporting bombardment.

Prussians attack again, this time from two different directions. French cavalry move up in support.

Prussian artillery hammers the hill as fighting rages.

The French defenders disintegrate leaving the hill empty.

Prussians move on to the next position behind an artillery barrage as the French cavalry counterattack.

The next French divison collpases and the cavalry are blown, but night falls as the Prussians bludeon their way to a phyrric victory.