New Hex version of One Hour WW2 rules. Leshnov 1941

 For online games it is much easier to regulate things using a hex grid and I've been looking at some scenarios which are a bit small for NBC, so I thought it was time to revisit One Hour Wargames again, as it is bit more flexible around unit scales.

I'd already done a hex version a couple of years ago, and I've been mulling a few changes to how the current ruler based version works anyway. Although I've made the ruler based version work for remote games, there can be a lot of faffing around with unit placement, facing and inter-unit gaps.

I set up the Leshnov scenario I'd run a year ago  https://tgamesweplay.blogspot.com/2021/12/leshnov-1941.html . 

The big decision was number of hexes, although I use 5" bases for the ruler based game, I went with 4" (equivalent) hexes, or 9 x 9 hexes to model a 3' x 3' table. It makes the units a bit more mobile, perhaps too mobile, but I'll come to that later.

For ease of testing I set it up using one of my Memoir 44 boards and 6mm figures. The real thing will be played with my Hexon and 15mm stuff. The main features are a hill in the bottom left, a dense wood on the right and a road (made up using river hexes) running north-south.

It is August 1941 and 8th Mechanised Corps is trying to break out of encirclement while elements of 11th Panzer Div rush to stop them. 

The only German unit on table is a lonely battalion from IR 57 supported by a Flak battalion with 88s. They are supported by a battalion of 105mm guns off table. Units have to face a hex vertex, which means they have well defined flank/rear arcs, and when they move, can only pivot at the start and end of the turn unless on a road.

From the west comes the 11th Panzer recce battalion and motorcycle battalion, they will arrive on turn 2.

And from the east comes 11th Panzer Regiment! They will turn up on turn 4.

Finally another battalion of IR 57 will come on from the north on turn 6. Here it is next to the 105s. 11th Panzer also has a battalion of 105s and a squadron of Stukas on call.

The Russian armoured column is quite impressive. Three tank divisions at roughly 30% strength. The first two each have a motorised rifle regiment and a light tank regiment, the last one has a regiment of BT7s (fast) and a medium tank regiment (heavy armour).

The Russians need to exit four units off the north edge before the end of the game, and enter in road column up the main road. I rounded the unit movement allowances up when converting to hexes (so infantry can move 2, tanks 3, light recce and fast tanks 4) BUT units have a ZOC, which forces units to halt when they move adjacent. +1 hex if the whole move is on a road, which lets the Russians pile on impressively.

The only firing on turn 1 is the Russian preparatory bombardment on Leshnov, which hits the entrenched defenders and suppresses them.

The Russians cautiously stay out of visibility of the 88s (spotting distance is 2 hexes, or roughly a mile) and instead shake out into battle formation, intending to engage the defenders frontally while going left flanking. 

Unfortunately they reckoned without the recce battalion which piled on into the flank of one of the MR regiments. The armoured cars used their ability to move and fire to hit the Russian infantry, while the motorcyclists lined up for a flank assault.

In the revised rules, I'm using the OHW Napoleonic cavalry rule - only one unit can assault a hex, it has to start adjacent to the target, and if it fails to destroy the enemy, it has to retreat a hex. This effectively exposes them to two turns defensive fire and prevents them launching another assault straight away. So make sure the defenders are softened up first. 

This model envisages a rapid assault to rout a weakened enemy, rather than the current model which is more based around many rounds of brutal close combat with units pinned in combat. So, moving to Squad Leader and away from DBA. Flank attacks get double dice, which makes for some interesting choices for the defender, and cunning players can set up concentric attacks so whichever way they turn, they are flanked.

The Russians responded by sending another MRR west, which flanks the motorcyclists. The tanks move into engagement range of Leshnov, but the Regiment of BTs is held back in reserve to exploit.

The last MRR very bravely decides to set up a blocking position south of the woods. Its ZOC will seriously impede 11th Panzer Regt.

The Germans go for broke. The recce battalion shoots up the weakened MRR and the motorcyclists rout the survivors, occupying the hex. The armoured cars head north to intercept a Regiment of T26s and call in artillery fire on them which doesn't do any damage, but the barrage counts as 'bad going' so it slows them up.

The 88s concentrate on the T28 Regiment, and also call in artillery fire. The combined fire is very effective and half the Russian tanks are destroyed, making them disorganised, and they are also slowed by the artillery fire. 

Back in the southwest, the Russian MRR assaults and duffs up the motorcyclists. They take heavy losses and become disordered, but the Russians are forced to retreat. I'm wondering if there shouldn't be another penalty for failed close assaults, like a step loss or something. 

The other MRR bravely digs in to hold the gap from the woods.

While the Russian tank regiments flow up to and around Leshnov in a thoroughly frightening manner. There are far more targets than the infantry and recce battalion can sensibly engage, but now both artillery battalions are in action. The 105mm HE isn't very effective against armoured targets, but the beaten zones count as 'bad going ' for movement (the blue counters), which slows them up to one hex movement. 

The Panzers mount a concentric attack. Whichever way the Russians turn they can be assaulted in the flank. Mmm. Might need to think about that.

Rather than advancing off the table, one of the Russian tank regiments shoots up the unfortunate German motorcylists.

The Germans decide to focus on killing enough Russian units so they can't exit four units. The armoured cars give up their motorcycle pals as lost and rush over to support the town. Combined artillery and AT fire destroys the T28 Regiment and disorders the BT Regiment.

Meanwhile artillery harrasses the KV1s.

The MRR pulls back having delayed the Panzers. It is now hoping to join in the breakout to the north, but the Panzers are a fraction faster, so we will see how the race pans out. To achieve this move the MRR conducted a failed assault and then retreated north. I need to think about penalties for failed assaults it just becomes a free hack with a bonus move! 

The Russians on the left obliterate the German motorcyclists with combined fire and assault. Suddenly this flank is looking rather wide open.

The MRR continues its cat and mouse game with the Panzers and gets shot up from Leshnow. Sorry, blurry photo.

At this point another German infantry battalion rolls up and is instantly disordered by massed Russian fire. The German armoured cars roll over to the rescue.

The Panzers are getting very close to the Russian armour now.

One of the Panzers assaults the MRR, inflicting a hit but being forced to retreat. 

The German infantry retires and the Russians pile onto the German armoured cars.

The MRR comes under heavy fire from Leshnov and all the German artillery lands on it. It suffers heavy casualties and becomes disordered.

In the north the Germans managed to destroy the T26 Regiment. At this point the Russians only have three units left and can't win, so time to stop.

That all went pretty well, and the mapping of generous move distances onto the hexes didn't break  the scenario as I also had ZOCs which slowed things down. So units can charge about, but then slow down a lot in proximity to the enemy.

A couple of things which didn't feel quite right in the conversion was the effect of artillery on movement and the new assault rule.  Reducing all movement to one hex in/out/through an artillery barrage was too much and it strikes me I'd be better having something more proportional as in the ruler based version. Perhaps 1 hex for infantry and 2 for vehicles? It would mean that artillery could strip away infantry support in a historically appropriate manner.

wrt the assaults, I quite liked the new mechanism - units had to take defensive fire to close, but being forced to retreat just didn't seem a big enough penalty and the Russian MRR used it to conduct a fighting retreat - assaulting the panzers and then withdrawing having inflicted a hit or two. Not really in the spirit of the rest of the mechanisms, so next time I'll add a one step loss I think.

As far as the game went, I made the usual mistake in the breakout type games of charging ahead, although the Russians did attempt to mass in from of Leshnov, they ended up feeding their units in piecemeal. What I should have done was mass against each isolated group of German units in turn and smash them, then motor off the map. Isn't hindsight great?

Anyway, that is worth another outing with a few tweaks.

   

6mm Napoleonic British

 Another finished Napoleonic 6mm 'pocket army', this time the British. All freshly re-based, again (fourth time for these boys iirc). The British are that salutory lesson in always buying both sides. Back in the 1970s when I started with 6mm Napoleonics, I bought all the French, and my wargaming pal David, bought all the British. The inevitable happened and I was left with a French army with no opponents. I still had both sides in 20mm so it wasn't a problem for a while,  but at some point the 20mm figures disappeared (I can't for the life of me recollect what happened to them, as I still had them in 1987). Anyway, at some point I had to buy some 6mm British so the French had someone to fight.

Here they are in their bit of the box, plus some guns and leaders from the other box.

The British set originally had three artillery pieces and limbers. They are all from one of the Irregular Army Packs I bought from 'Gamers in Exile' back in the mid 1980s. As ever, if I need more guns I'll just grab them from another army, in 6mm I really can't tell the difference. I'll use the limbers if I need to indicate horse artillery units.

As with the French artillery, all the guns, gunners and horse teams were tarted up to a greater or lesser extent, in particular new brass gun barrels, complete overhaul of the horses and horse furniture etc and adding epaulettes etc to the gunners where appropriate. Their hands, faces and hats needed re-doing as well.

These are the only two explicitly 'British' leader stands I have, the other more generic ones in dark blue get added in as needed. The one on the right is Nosey. The original pack included five of these stands I think. Like the other leaders these were tarted up a bit, particular the bling like bicorne edging, saddle cloths etc. as well as hands and faces.

British cavalry. Just six stands in total, all that was in the original pack I think. As ever I can supplement these with other cavalry, as they are just blokes on horses in gaudy uniforms.

These were originally painted as heavies, and the riders just needed bit of touching up. I redid all the horses up to 21st century standards with manes, tails, socks etc and a brown wash.

Some of the infantry. I couldn't be bothered to get them all out of the box. For the last iteration of HFG I'd based these two ranks of six, and they were moulded that way on the Irregular strips. Back in the dim and distant past however, I'd carefully cut them into strips of four with my razor saw for WRG, and it was easy enough to pry them apart again and do them in two ranks of four.

I've done similar permutations of basing as the French. This lot have the rear rank in close order, and the front rank a bit more spread out to represent (some) skirmishing. Yes, the Union flags are all hand painted. I used to have good eyesight and a steady hand.

These guys didn't need much tlc as they had been renovated for the last iteration of HFG basing. I touched up their weapons, shakos and hands and faces and also added the pack straps using the same micro dot method as the French, and that really makes them pop. I also added their water bottles, which were unaccountably missing from the originals, another nice splash of colour.

The other major basing permutation was both ranks in close order, in which case the command stand was in the front rank. I've got a couple of spare command bases too so I can do various combinations of base type as a way of modelling troop quality or whatever.

They've only got four stands of riflemen, but tbh that is all I'll need and I already have a load of other riflemen in dark green in the Prussian and Russian armies, so if I ever need more (say for some of the CnC Napoleonics scenarios), I can just use them as a supplement.

The original figures were pretty awful in a pale green, so I repainted them completely, but after all that, they ended up looking much like their Prussian and Russian counterparts. 

So, that is the British 'pocket army'. The figures have seen much action in various guises over the decades including at least two Waterloo refights, lets hope they have some more fight in them in future.

Battle of Maldon

 This was a simple, free Print and Play game of the Battle of Maldon in 900ADish (?) between the wicked Danes and heroic Anglo Saxons.

These are the extensive rules.The Danes win if they capture Maldon, the Saxons win if they capture the Danish leader and either side can win by destroying all the enemy combat units. It all looks very simple you say, well...

I forgot to take a photo of the initial deployment, basically each side sets up on their baseline. The Saxons have three infantry, two cavalry and a leader. The Danes have four infantry, two berserkers and a leader. All units move one orthogonally, except the cavalry (two). All units have a combat strength of one, apart from berserkers with two. Leaders can move two and add +1 to combat.

John set the whole thing up on Powerpoint so we could play remotely, and although it is designed as a two player game, we played it as teams (which undoubtedly slowed it down but generated a fair degree of amusing chat).

The Danes pushed their two berserkers towards the bridge, while we had the brilliant idea of pushing forward a cavalry screen. You can only make two actions per turn, and only one action type for a given unit (so you can move once, then attack, or move two units, or attack with two units etc).

It turned out that horse cavalry against berserkers didn't work too well. In combat you draw playing yards, highest wins. Higher combat values give you extra card draws. In fact it was evens against the berserkers as we held the river crossing but we were unlucky. Our leader went to join the remaining cavalry which made it a bit more scary.

So scary we pushed them across the river to hunt down the enemy leader. Our cavalry+leader easily wiped out on of the enemy infantry, but not before his berserkers killed one of ours and pushed over the bridge.

The vikings moved away rapidly and managed to get a berserker close to Maldon. We didn't have any choice but to engage. 

We beat the berserkers, but then our cavalry was destroyed by some infantry, leaving the leader alone. Oops.

He was duly captured, but then one of our infantry managed to do the same thing to the Danes and destroyed the berserkers stacked with the leader.

The enemy leader had to run away (his capture would forfeit the game) and our brave Saxons polished off the last Danish infantry for an 'annihilation' win. Time for the Danes to run for the boats. All wrapped up in an hour or so.

What a great little game, a very clever design with lots to think about each turn. I also really liked to card based combat system, it reminded me of 'To the Strongest' but without the endless lists of modifiers. Highly recommended.

6mm Napoleonic French

 The great rebasing is now complete, and all my 6mm Napoleonic stuff is on the same 30mm frontage as my nineteenth century figures. Which means I can use my Austrians and Italians for both periods. First up, the French. 

Tbh they don't actually look very impressive out of their box! There seemed to be a lot of them at the time.... These are all my old H&R figures from the mid 1970s. I think this is what might be classed as a 'pocket army', a concept I like. Certainly enough to play Neil Thomas type games, Horse, Foot and Guns etc and I guess even older rules like WRG which we used to do with a dozen units a side (reinforced division stuff).

Cavalry. Four bases each of Line Lancers and Cuirassiers, plus six bases of 'Dragoons' converted from Lancers. I also have a ton of cavalry with my nineteenth century stuff which can fill in. 

I did a certain amount of repainting on these. The Lancers needed a few extra figures which had to be repainted to match otherwise they and the Cuirassiers just needed some tidying up of the flesh, hats/helmets and saddle cloths. The Dragoons took more work as I'd done them in yellow facings originally (maybe they were meant to be Hussars?) so I repainted all their jackets in green with red facings.  

The horses were all pretty basic so they got my full 21st Century horse painting method - base coat, manes/tails etc, inkwash and then various highlights, mainly socks and nose flashes. They suddenly looked much, much better.

Eight bases of artillery, three of them have extra gunners so they can be 'heavy'.  Again, these can be supplemented by the dozen or so French artillery I have for the FPW. 

The guns were completely repainted in Olive Green (they were a wierd dark blue/green before) and all the metal work redone with the barrels in brass with a dark ink wash. The gunners just needed their crossbelts and flesh renewing (on some of the older figures it had faded to a sort of grey so they looked like zombies) and I added cuff flashes, cap badges and pom poms.

The infantry. 32 bases of Line, 8 bases of Grenadiers and four bases in skirmish order. The basic uniforms were OK but I touched up their flesh, weapons and hats and then based on the Russian figures I have, I added cuff flashes and their pack straps. The pack straps really make them pop, but are essentially just tiny blobs of white. I have some of the very first HR castings in here and their packs are tiny, at most 1.5mm across. The later castings are better defined with bigger packs and also have blanket/greatcoat rolls on the top which are easier to paint.

These are the only actual French Generals, some of the generic Irregular ones, plus Napoleon and an Aide (HR). Back in the days of WRG I just used to use single cavalrymen for leaders. I have zillions of generic mounted leader stands so they can be added as needed. The Generals had some bling added to their hats, uniforms and saddle furniture and I redid their flesh and hair (some are bareheaded). The horses got the same treatment as the cavalry.

If I need to make the cavalry up to four bases units (eg for Neil Thomas) I can just add some leaders.  Or use the masses of FPW cavalry. 

I didn't bother with loads of skirmishers bases, as I generally play Army level actions. They can be added to flesh out units as required. These started as Voltiguers, but I repainted them as Chasseurs with blue trousers and I even managed the split yellow/green hat plumes.

For more tactical games I like four bases units. I arranged the figures in two ranks with some all in close order and others with a skirmish line. This allows different combinations. 

These are the eight bases of Guard/Grenadiers  in Line formation with two four base units. I had to add some more figures from the spares box (I seem to have an awful lot of indivdually based Guard Grenadiers in there!) and they needed a total repaint as the original paint jobs were just awful. For the others, they had the same touch ups as the Line Infantry. Funny how doing the flesh, bayonets and cuff flashes makes them stand out. 

Attack Column with a four base unit. It is still too deep really as Attack Column is essentially a thick line but allowing for skirmishers it is close enough. 

And march column. With eight ranks this actually looks like a march column. 

Square (with room for a leader inside). You can do all these formations with two elements of course, but march column can be a bit challenging, either putting the elements sideways or leaving gaps. 

A rear view of one of the Guard units. You can maybe just make out the pack straps on these.

I based up various permutations of Line Infantry. The lead four bases here have the rear rank in close order and the front as deployed Voltigeurs. The eight bases behind have two ranks in close order.

These can mix and match of course. So two four elements units in attack column each with the lead elements as the 'skirmishing' ones.

Mixing the various element types up is one way of denoting troop quality. I tend to have raw/conscripts as all close order, line with some skirmishing and elites in obviously different uniforms (like the Grenadiers) or have two command elements or something.

Anyway, I was glad to get that lot done, and being French, they will undoubtedly see lots action.