£4.

20

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 1 04-06-12 19:54

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 2 04-06-12 19:55
WSS nr61 juni12.indd 3 04-06-12 19:55
 COLOPHON CONTENTS
Publisher: Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier
Editor in chief: Jasper Oorthuys THEME: COLONIAL WARFARE IN THE 19TH CENTURY
Editor: Guy Bowers
Copy editors: Duncan B. Campbell and
Duncan Hamilton
Marketing & media manager: Christianne C. Beall
26 Four feathers and a bucket of dice
An introduction to Colonial warfare
Contributors: Mark Backhouse, Richard Clarke,
Mike Evans, Jan Groß, Andy Hawes, Eoghan Kelly,
Joe Legan, Andy Miles, Tilman Moritz, Chris Payne,
30 Fashoda 1898
Olivier Perronny, Rick Priestley, Rossco Watkins. The adventures of Colonel Marchand

Illustrations: Georgina Pymont-Harman 34 “Terribly earnest work”

Design & layout: © MeSa Design, Refighting a battle of the Anglo-Zulu War
www.mesadesign.nl
Print: PublisherPartners, 40 Colonial Saga
www.publisherpartners.com Adapting the Dark Age game to the African plains
Editorial office
PO Box 4082, 7200 BB Zutphen, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-575-776076 (NL), +44-20-88168281
(Europe), +1-740-994-0091 (US)
Email: [email protected] FEATURES
Customer service:
[email protected]
Website: www.wssmagazine.com 52 The Bastard’s battles
Contributions in the form of articles, letters, reviews, Gaming the pre-Conquest campaigns of William of Normandy
news and queries are welcomed. Please send to the
above address or use the contact form on www. 58 The Irregular
wssmagazine.com. Doc Joe explains why we need more 15mm

60
Subscriptions
Subscription price is € 33.50 plus Project Company
postage surcharge where applicable. Comparing company-level WWII games
Subscriptions can be purchased at
shop.karwansaraypublishers.com,
via phone or by mail. For the address see above. 66 Panzers los!
A look at 15mm miniatures for WWII
Distribution
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is sold through
retailers, the internet and by subscription. If you
wish to become a sales outlet, please contact us at
[email protected]. REGULAR DEPARTMENTS
The exclusive distributor for the UK and the
Republic of Ireland is Comag Specialist Magazines,
Unit 3, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, UB7 7QE,
6 Hobby news
United Kingdom. Phone: +44 01895 433600. News from the world of WS&S

Copyright Karwansaray BV. All rights reserved. 8 Miniature reviews

Nothing in this publication may be reproduced Macedonians to Americans and much in-between
in any form without prior written consent of the

14
publishers. Any individual providing material for
publication must ensure that the correct permis- This gaming life
sions before submission to us. Every effort has been Rick Priestley preaches on the wargaming schism
made to trace copyright holders, but in a few cases
this proves impossible. The editor and publishers
apologize for any unwitting cases of copyright 16 Interview
transgressions and would like to hear from any Exploring the Dark Ages game with Dan Mersey
copyright holders not acknowledged. Articles and
the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily
represent the views of the editor and/or publishers.
70 Game reviews
Advertising in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy
does not necessarily imply endorsement. 74 Up Front
Richard Clarke strikes players blind
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is published every

76
two months by Karwansaray BV, Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. PO Box 1110, 3000 BC Rotterdam, Boardgame review
the Netherlands.

ISSN: 2211-503X 80 Book reviews

Printed in the European Union

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 4 04-06-12 19:55

 EDITORIAL

© Georgina Harman
Heaven and earth
“If you know heaven and you know earth,
you will make your victory.”
Sun Tzu

When I first read Sun Tzu in my youth at my local school library, I took
this phrase as some sort of superstitious nonsense. How could a man know the workings of the gods,
whatever gods they may have been, in ancient China?

With age comes wisdom and I soon realised that Sun Tzu was talking about something far more practi-
cal. By “heavens” he meant the weather and the seasons, two critical components in warfare. Armies
out of necessity travelled in the summer months and sat out the winter. Weather is not mentioned in the
narratives of most battles, presumably as a battle involves more or less mutual consent so good weather
was chosen.

By “earth” the author meant terrain, another vital aspect of warfare. Using your battleground to maxi-
mum effect is key to victory. Ancient armies preferred open terrain, although the Greeks feared descend-
ing into the plain of Marathon lest the Persian cavalry outflanked them. Thankfully for them, the cavalry
was elsewhere, on board ship in a flanking manoeuvre. Caesar used the river at Pharsalus as an anchor
to ensure he had one secure flank to nullify the effect of Pompey’s greater numbers.

Weather does not affect our wargames too much, except perhaps when a sunny day will tempt gamers
out (particularly if they have family). Terrain certainly does play a very important factor – so it is wise to
make sure you are present and assisting when the scenery is put out on the table! A hill or wood in the
right place is worth a legion, as Suetonius Paulinus demonstrated.

It’s been a hectic month or so. Salute 2012 was a blur. As I said at the time, people told me there was
a show, on but I never got to see much of it. Partizan looms shortly (as I write) which will involve an
outing of Mark Backhouse’s ‘Warwick at Sea’. That’ll be good.

We’ve lots of ‘good stuff’ this issue, with Colonial SAGA being one of my favourites so far. We tried it out
and really liked it. Now with the magic of Christy Beall (she’s the one who does the lovely maps) we
now have two excellent battle boards to use. I hope you have as much fun with these as we have done.

Next issue is our ‘Spy’ themed issue. Now pay attention 007…!

As always, you can contact me with your comments, critique or suggestions for new articles at:
[email protected]

I will answer all mail as I am able.

THE BASTARDʼS BATTLES 52 HOBBY

FEATURES:

18 Trojan War in 90 minutes

Designing a participation game for TACTICA

46 The last 11 at Maiwand

Creating the ‘last stand’ vignette

68 Buildings amongst
the bocage
Before William became The Conqueror Some suitable new buildings for Normandy and beyond

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 5 04-06-12 19:55

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 6 04-06-12 19:55
 By Guy Bowers

NEWS
Win a painted unit of Companions! Warhammer
It’s competition time again! Ray
Historical closes
Haskins of TNK Models painting ser- Forgeworld announced in late May
vice has kindly offered us a painted that Warhammer Historical was
unit of twelve of the new Aventine closing and that their range of books
Companions to give away. would no longer be available for sale.
To enter, all you have to do is answer The company, originally started by
these three questions: Jervis Johnson, Rick Priestley and the
The units of painted Companions. Perry Twins back in 1998, has un-
doubtedly brought gamers many excel-
Q1. Which well known writer and ancient scholar passed away in May of lent wargames such as Warhammer
this year? Ancient Battles, Legends of the Old
Q2. On what date was the battle of Asculum fought? West and Warmaster Ancients.
Q3. Name the consul who commanded the Roman army at the battle of The Warhammer Historical range of
Asculum. books will be sorely missed by gamers.
In the ancients field, we’ve seen sev-
Send your answers by email to: [email protected] eral successor games to WAB, such as
Or by post to: Wargames Soldiers and Strategy, Postbus 4082, 7200 BB Clash of Empires and War & Conquest.
Zutphen, Netherlands Undoubtedly other games will emerge
Please address each entry with COMPANION COMPETITION. to replace the void left by Forgeworld.

New plastics on the horizon! Ironfist and

PSC announce
Revealed at Salute, there are more plans for new plastic sets from
Perry Miniatures, Warlord Games and Victrix in 28mm. The arrival Battlegroup Kursk
of 8th Army and Afrika Korps from the Perrys is very welcome.
Each pack promises a full platoon (or ‘zug’ for German players) in Ironfist Publications (founded by Warwick
one box. Kinrade) and the Plastic Soldier Company
Victrix were showing off their designs for Republican Romans. have announced a new rule set, Battlegroup
Still work in progress, WS&S understand that there will be some Kursk. This new system will embrace 15mm
changes to the design, particularly the shields. The following are and 20mm gaming under one rule set.
‘3-ups’, the master models used to create the miniatures. This new system will be based around the
Warlord Games have plans for Russian infantry for World War D8 dice. The plan is for a fully supported
2 and Caesarean Romans. In addition they are releasing plastic project in association with Plastic Soldier
Persians Immortal miniatures planned last year. Company.
No release date is available for any of these projects but WS&S WS&S have been told that PSC are offering
will bring you the news as we get it. a special pre-order deal of a prize draw for
Love them or loathe the first 500 pre-orders. First prize is £200
them, plastics have of PSC merchandise, second prize £100 and
expanded the possi- third £50. Each pre order will in addition
bilities for the average come with a sprue for a Stug II G in 20mm.
wargamer. Vast armies for Supplements are planned to fully support
the Napoleonic, English the new system. The first will be on the
Civil or American Civil Battle of the Bulge with ‘The Fall of the
War have become an af- Reich 1945’ planned as the second. Supple-
fordable possibility. ments on the eastern front and western front
will soon follow.
Republican Romans from Victrix. For further hobby news, you can find out the
latest news at: www.wssmagazine.com

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 7 04-06-12 19:55

 REVIEWS
WWII AMERICAN INFANTRY
Warlord’s Bolt Action series now includes the citizen
soldiers of the United States Army, who served in North
Africa, Italy, western Europe, and the Pacific.
Each box contains 25 men on five frames, each of which
has one kneeling and four different standing poses. There
are three weapon-pack frames provided, with a good
selection of US weapons, including M1903 Springfields
(for early war), shotguns and ‘grease guns’ (the M3 sub- Besides the Second World War, these models would be
machine gun), alongside the M1 Garands, Carbines, and useful for Korea and beyond, as surplus US kit was used by
Thompsons. Support weapons are provided in the form of several Third World countries. Gamers might equally find a
the Browning Automatic Rifle and the M1 bazooka. Quite use for them in some 1950s ‘It Came from Outer Space’ pulp
an arsenal! drama.
The models are well cast, the weapons are well-detailed,
and the parts fit together well. The poses are good and the l
ames m tal
figures really look the part. Backpacks and belt packs are W a r lord G ye’ or 28m
any: ot to
e
Comp m ‘fo rea
separate, but eight different heads are provided, including m nd Ko ures
one smoking a cigar! The only caveat with this lovely set is S iz e : 2 5
W a r I I a
s t ic miniat
orl d 5 pl a
size: they are slightly smaller than their German and Brit- Era: W 2.50 for 2
2 o.uk
ame .c
: £ s
ish plastic counterparts, although they will fit in fine with Price l o r d g
.war
the old Bolt Action WWII Americans. www

MACEDONIAN ROYAL GUARD

The Royal Guard regiments of phalangites, such as the Each box of Warlord’s ‘Macedonian Royal Guard’ contains six
Argyraspides (‘Silver shields’), were drawn from the elite frames, the same sprues as their ‘Macedonian Phalangites’,
hypaspists. Equipped with the sarissa-pike and silver- with metal shields and heads to complete them. There are four
covered shields, they served as Alexander’s skilled veteran different head variations and three shields, which are particu-
unit. His successor generals mimicked the idea of an elite larly well cast and thin. The metal components do not overbal-
corps with the division of troops into ‘regiments’ based on ance the models. As with the plastic phalangites, there are no
shield-colour; hence, the Chrysaspides (‘Gold shields’), command models, but Warlord have released a Macedonian
Chalkaspides (‘Brass shields’) and Leukaspides (‘White Command pack in the meantime.
shields’). The moulding is good and the plastic and metal components
fit together well. Overall, this set offers good value for money.
Some may be tempted just to paint silver shields onto the stan-
dard Macedonian Phalangites, but they will be missing out on
some nice looking helmets and shields.

ames l
m tal
W a r lord G ye’ or 33m
any: ot to
e
Comp m ‘fo ike)
2 8 m o f the p
Size: e t o p
to th ients and
(91mm s ic a l Anc lastic
C l a s 2 4 p
Era: 0 for
: £20.0 res
Price u
miniat .co.u
k
metal r l o r d games
.wa
www

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 8 04-06-12 19:55

 REVIEWS
RORKEʼS DRIFT DEFENDERS
The famous defence of Rorke’s Drift wasn’t all pith hel-
mets and scarlet uniforms. A number of men would have
been out of uniform, particularly in the battle for the hos-
pital.
Two packs have been released by Empress Miniatures,
one of defenders and one of historical characters. The
defenders are out of uniform and equipped with Boxer
Henry rifles. The characters are Chaplain George Smith are perhaps a little pricey, but you get what you pay for. This is
(pictured), Corporal Friederich Schiess of the Natal Native quite an excellent set and a must-have for Rorke’s Drift fans.
Contingent (pictured), Acting Assistant Commissary James
Langley Dalton, and Surgeon Reynolds with Private Hitch
(pictured).
res
The poses are very good, with models dragging in ammo iniatu tall
m p r e s s M
’ o r 29mm
any: E e
crates and handing out the ammo, or attending to the to ey
Comp ‘foot
wounded. The figures are all very well sculpted and cast, 7 m m £8.00
S ize: 2 ia l in ia t ures,
as we’ve come to expect from Empress. Top class! olon m
Era: C four
Of course, this set does have uses beyond one single £ 7 .5 0 for e t
: s
Price aract
er om
engagement, as they would make good civilians or sol-
r t he ch in ia t ures.c
f o essm
diers out of uniform for the Colonial period or other .empr
www
Victorian games; their rifles date them to circa 1880. They

FRENCH GRENADIER 1870

New from Gringo 40’s is a 40mm French grenadier from
their new Franco-Prussian War range. Until now, Gringo’s
figures have revolved around Mexico, so this is something
of a departure for them.
Ged at Gringo specializes in 40mm models, which are
halfway between the collectable miniature and the practi-
cal wargames figure. The Grenadier comes with three
heads – in kepi (shown), in side cap, and in grenadier
bearskin – allowing plenty of variation with the one min-
iature.
The model comes in five parts: the head, backpack, right
arm with rifle, left arm, and body. It is well cast with no
mould lines visible, and the detailing and features are
crisp. The historical accuracy on the uniform and backpack
is excellent, and the detail is exquisite, with the Chassepot
‘needle’ rifle and bayonet complete with all the straps.
The model is more anatomically correct than comparable
s tall
28mm miniatures.
r in g o 40’ o r 44mm
any: G eye ’ 70)
The second Gringo 40’s miniature is another new release: Comp ‘ h e ad to a r ( c irca 18 ree
40mm ssian
W
with
th
Julio Cardenas, Pancho Villa’s trusted lieutenant. He stands Size: c o-Pru e n adier
r a n g r
33mm tall in his sombrero and is included here to give the Era: F the
5 for
impression of how a ‘normal’ 28mm miniature compares r ic e : £4.2
P ns
optio om
to a Gringo’s 40mm figure. head 40s.c
w w .gringo
w

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 9 04-06-12 19:55

 REVIEWS
PANTHER AND SHERMAN FIREFLY
The Panther was the ultimate multi-role tank of the Second
World War, well armoured and gunned, yet fast and ma-
noeuvrable. Its nemesis on the western front, the Firefly,
was an upgraded Sherman M4 equipped with a 17-pound-
er gun.
These two hard plastic models both come in kit form for
15mm, and each box contains enough parts to build five
models. The Panther may be constructed in Ausführung
D (1943), Ausf. A (mid-1943 to mid-1944) or Ausf. G
(1944/45) variants. The Sherman can be built as a standard
p any
M4A4 with 75mm gun, or as the Firefly variant, with its r Com
Soldie
British 17-pounder gun. Construction is relatively quick,
he Plastic
thanks to good instructions. The detailing is excellent, with any: T
Comp
extras added as well, including commanders and baggage. 15mm I 5 for
Size: l d War I l y , £17.9
o r ir e f
each)
Plastic Soldier will probably release them in other scales in
Era: W for F
due course. e : £17.50 v e h icles .co.u
k
Pr ic
t h e r (fiv
e
ie r c o mpany
a n sold
The finished models do feel a little light, so we recom- the P astic
mend adding some ballast internally, to give the model w w .thepl
w
extra ‘heft’. Both models offer excellent value for money
and will fit in well with existing 15mm ranges.

ARMOURED SCOTS COMMAND

Equipped with plate and mail, they sport the latest in
armour (for the time) – better than the rank and file
spearmen, who will use anything they can get hold
of! The four models are well cast and well detailed.
In truth, they’d be equally suited to join the ranks of
any medieval knights of the period. The casting, detail
and posing are all excellent on these miniatures. Very
good!
This is the start of an interesting range which also
includes flags covering several of the noble houses on
both sides of the border. Definitely one for medieval
fans to watch.

Claymore Castings are a new company specializing in

stings tall
28mm Scottish figures for the Hundred Years War and the a y m o re Ca e ’ o r 31mm
l to ey
any: C ‘foot
Border Wars with England. Their current range consists of Comp m m r
Size:
27 .5 s Wa £33.00
Scottish spearmen and Borders longbowmen. The Scots
n d r e d Year r m o dels,
u ou
fought several border wars with the English and worked as Era: H for f
e : £ 6.00 it
allies of the French on the continent, where they gained a Pric n un s.co.u
k
24-ma asting
reputation for being tough and dependable troops. for a o r e c
.claym
The models reviewed are the Scots Command Pack. www

10

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 10 04-06-12 19:56

 REVIEWS
GERMAN AND AMERICAN INFANTRY
New from Wargames Factory are WWII infantry in hard
plastic for the Germans and the United States.
Each pack comes with three sprues (with ten assorted min-
iatures per sprue), plus sprues of accessories; 25mm round
bases are provided as standard. The ten models consist of
nine soldiers (two in kneeling poses) and one officer. Each
has a good selection of weapons to choose from, particu-
larly the Germans. A variety of heads (including unhelmet- miniature, with reasonable-sized heads and weapons.
ed Americans and capped Germans) are provided, though Size-wise, these will fit in with the middle to larger ranges
none with camo netting. The Germans do have two minor of 28mm miniatures.
flaws: their MP40s are a little long and their ammo boxes
are huge! That said, the completed models do look good.
The Americans are a slight improvement on the Germans, y
actor tall
but then they do not have matching sets of arms like the
a r g a mes F o r 31mm
y : W e y e ’
German set does. an to
Comp ‘foot
2 9mm
There is a lot to like about this set. The plastic is hard but
Siz e : ar I I ls
flexible, meaning that the weapons aren’t very fragile. The a : W orld W r 30 mode
Er f o
: £16.3
0 ry.com
models are quite tall, the Americans being 1mm taller Price a m e s facto
than their German counterparts; anatomically, they look .warg
www
more like 1/48 scale soldiers than your average heroic

DAREDEVIL SISTERS
quired, so that all three may be armed.
A set of pilot-helmeted heads can be
purchased for an additional £1.60, but
other female heads are also available,
allowing the same bodies to be used for
different personalities.
The rules for the Daredevil Sisters can
be found in the 7TV supplement On
Location, reviewed in our next issue.
These models should be useful for mod-
ern gamers looking for female charac-
ters, as well as for 7TV aficionados.

Another hot release from the studios of 7TV are the Dare-
devil Sisters. As with most 7TV releases, these bear more ames tall
e d D ice G 30mm
than a passing resemblance to characters from a cult TV r o o k e ’ o r
any: C to ey
show, in this case some well-known Angels. Comp m ‘foot
2 8 m re
Casting is very good with no mould lines visible. Detail Size: /Futu racter, £9
a : M odern c h a
and posing is likewise very good. Each model comes with Er per
ic e : £3.50 t h r ee
its own ‘slotta’ base and separate head, allowing the three Pr t of
e s e o.uk
heads to be swapped around or alternative heads from the for t
h
k e d - dice.c
.croo
Crooked Dice range to be used instead. The two unarmed www
sisters come with pistol-equipped hands to be added if re-

11

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 11 04-06-12 19:56

 REVIEWS
NORMANDY BUILDINGS
ground floor, the first floor and the roof, each of which is
separate (and, in the houses, interchangeable). By remov-
ing the first floor, you can make a good single-storey
property. Each building has a hollow interior, which allows
infantry to be placed inside. While designed for Norman-
dy, they would be ideal as generic houses for any 15mm
games from the Napoleonic period to the modern day.

res
a d M iniatu m L x
ronc l – 65m
New from Ironclad Miniatures is a set of 15mm Normandy : I p m
Comp
a n y (S h o – 67m
buildings. Their previous releases include Russian build- m m scale ; H o uses
15 H
Size: 0mm
ings, ruined factories, and a small Russian church. There
m m W x 9 9 0 mm H
)
tury
are currently three variants in the Normandy range: a shop 55
m m W x
n t ie t h cen
9 we
L x 4 nth/t
and two half-timbered houses.
r a : n inetee r buildin
g
k
The models are cast from resin, and the casting on the E
: £ 7 .2 5 pe
t u r e s.co.u
r ic e in ia
P ladm
samples received was good and bubble-free. Each model .ironc
www
has roughly the same footprint, at approximately 65mm x
55mm.
Each Normandy building is made up of three units: the

HAWKWOOD AND ARCHERS

poses. And the foot archers are available in
two packs of eight, each with four differ-
ent poses. Casting and posing is good, with
the detail on Hawkwood and the mounted
archers being particularly fine, especially on
their armour.
The Hawkwood figure could equally serve as
a good medieval general, while the archers
would suit any English or Free Company from
the Hundred Years War. Another must-have
for 28mm medieval fans.

s
iature ood
Sir John Hawkwood was an English mercenary who plied
u r t e ys Min ’ – Hawkw
any: C e
his trade in medieval France and Italy. His famous White Comp to ey
m m ‘foot
2 8
Company of archers were for hire to the highest bidder. Size: l
Now Hawkwood is part of a new release from Kingmaker 4 9 m m tal e ars W
ar
+ knig
ht,
is e d Y o o d
undr Hawk
w
hers,
(Curteys Miniatures), as part of their new ‘Italian Condot- Era: H .0 0 for t e d arc
: £ 8 mo u n
tiere’ range. Price hree rcher
s
The models shown are of Hawkwood himself, a mounted 9 .0 0 for t
t E n g lish a k
£ igh o .u
for e ures.c
archer, and two foot archers. Hawkwood comes accompa- £8.00 t e y s miniat
.cur
nied by a mounted knight, who can act as a standard-bear- www
er. The mounted archers come in packs of three different

12

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 12 04-06-12 19:56

 REVIEWS
RUSSIAN CHURCH
Total Battle Miniatures have released a series of 15mm ‘WWII Eastern Front’ buildings for
their Skirmish range, including villages and road sections. The masterpiece of their col-
lection must be the Russian Orthodox Church. Standing some 240mm tall, it is an impos-
ing sight. The model is impressive. It comes with a scenic base, a hollow ground floor
(ideal for troops), and a roof with spire (which lifts off for ease of storage). It is made of
the same durable resin used in the rest of the TBM range. There was a little flash, but this
was easily cleaned up. A single 15mm miniature has been added to the picture, to give
an impression of the sheer size of the church. This is definitely a magnificent centre-piece
that will dominate your 15mm table. While primarily intended for the Second World
War, it will serve equally well from the Napoleonic period onwards and would grace any
Russian Civil wargame table.

s )
iature mm H
B a t t le Min W x 240
otal m
any: T 220m
Comp 18 0 m m L x c e ntury
mm ( ieth ted
Siz e : 15
h / t w e n t
10 0 .0 0 pain
n t £
inetee ainted
,
Era: n 0 .0 0 unp u res.co
m
e : £ 4 m in ia t
Pr ic battl e
.total
www

NAPOLEONIC FRENCH INFANTRY

used as rank and file. However, as both Voltigeurs and Grena-
diers are cross-belted, they cannot easily be converted into
standard fusiliers. (We hope that Victrix will consider releasing
fusiliers in the future.) These points aside, the finished models
are very good. Proper ‘toy soldiers’!
The models themselves will be familiar to anyone who has the
28mm Victrix models, as they are effectively enlarged versions
of these. The arms, heads and backpacks are all separate. Con-
struction is straightforward and the models fit together well. The
arms allow several variants, including marching, firing, and ‘à la
porte’ poses.
These figures will easily satisfy the 54mm model painter and
collector, as well as the wargamer. While 54mm skirmish is an
The word ‘impressive’ can sometimes be overused by obvious choice, the megalomaniac gamer can consider armies
reviewers. In this case, however, it is fully justified. The of 54mm miniatures. Victrix make such dreams affordable.
latest release in 54mm from Victrix are the French Napole-
onic Voltigeurs and Grenadiers (1805-1812). Having seen
a table of these at Salute, impressive is definitely the right o
Ltd. 1mm t
word!
n y : V ictrix e y e ’ or 6
a to
Each box contains 16 figures on two sets of two sprues. The Comp ‘foot
iz e : 52mm
Grenadier sprues include a drummer and an officer, while S ko
f sha ures
the Voltigeurs have a bugler and an officer. This means that top o o n ic f 16 miniat
apol e o
Era: N a box
you effectively get two drummers (or two buglers) and two
£ 2 1. 9 5 for o m
Price
: d.c
officers out of 16 figures, which tends to slightly cut down limite
w w .victrix
its utility. To be fair, the extra models can be converted and w

13

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 13 04-06-12 19:56

 COLUMN
© Georgie Harman

This Gaming Life

By Rick Priestley
Fact and Fantasy – The Great Wargame Schism
Once, long ago, those who pushed toy soldiers around the Yes, I realize that’s all history of a sort – in retrospect – but
dining room table to the accompaniment of ‘The Navy Lark’ I suspect that history, to most of my contemporaries, was a
were, by and large, content to think of themselves as wargam- double period on Wednesdays before Games, spent under
ers. If there was any distinction to be drawn, it was between the unwavering gaze of the rebarbative Mr Thrasham (or his
the noble art of wargaming and merely playing with toy equivalent). In short, history was something that placed undue
soldiers. This latter was nothing but a childish affair, likely to emphasis on such matters as the Whig Ascendancy and the
involve such heresies as elastic bands, marbles, and a cacoph- Great Reform Act of 1832, neither of which ever inspired
ony of ‘dakka-dakka’ and ‘kerboom!’ noises from infantile anyone to take up tape measure and dice, as far as I am aware.
mouths not otherwise crammed with jam sandwiches.
I can only speak of my own experiences, but I suspect that
Wargamers, by contrast, were mature students of warfare in these were not unusual for my generation. Was it John Wayne
the tradition of the Prussian General Staff, H.G. Wells and that drove us to WWII gaming, or was it The Victor comic,
Winston Churchill. If the occasional sound imitative of thun- Sven Hassel stories, and all those Airfix kits of Spitfires and
derous explosion ever did escape a bona fide wargamer’s lips, Heinkels? I don’t know – but it certainly wasn’t A.J.P. Taylor,
it was surely wind. fine historian that he was! Was it films like Spartacus, Ben
Hur, and even Jason and the Argonauts that turned our atten-
Many amongst our readership may trace their wargaming tion to the ancient world? Again, it’s impossible to say, but
origins to those distant times when wargames were invariably the chances are that it wasn’t H.H. Scullard or any other
rooted in, and inspired by, history. Wargaming was about his- time-honoured historian of the classical era. All I know is
tory, history, history. Research into uniforms and formations; that, when they showed Sink the Bismark! on the telly, we
careful study of contemporary sources; accurate tabletop all rushed to get our orders in with Navwar, and a frenzy of
simulation of battlefield conditions; painstaking reproduc- WWII naval wargaming ensued. If that’s one example where
tion of armies in miniature, complete and accurate in every history and inspiration coincided, then what of The Crimson
detail. Ah, yes – such were the days when opposing generals, Pirate, Ivanhoe, Kings of the Sun, Where Eagles Dare, The
steeped in an expert’s knowledge, would happily debate the Magnificent Seven, and any number of movies that played fast
relative efficacy of the Austrian-manufactured Lorenz musket and loose with historical settings in the interests of action and
compared with its US-built Springfield contemporary. adventure. All were fuel to the fire of a wargamer’s enthusi-
asm. If an interest in genuine history was also kindled along
Wake up! You must have nodded off there, because I’m afraid the way, then that was well and good – but, I fear, purely
that previous paragraph was all just a dream, or perhaps coincidental.
wishful thinking, at best. Well, perhaps not that last bit. I’ve
witnessed, listened to, even taken part in many a discussion There is a reason I have delved into the past to make my
along those lines, I’m sorry to say – but all the rest of it, all that observation. It’s not all blather and nostalgia – honest. I sug-
stuff about wargames being rooted in, and inspired by, history gest that the spur to the wargames hobby was never history,
… it’s all rubbish. Utter rot. Balderdash. Yes, I know to sug- as is often claimed, but the stuff of gripping adventure and
gest such a thing is to risk the censure of many an otherwise exciting action. In short, damn good yarns with heroes and
genial and tolerant wargamer. No doubt, I should allow for villains, whether in film, on television, or in books and com-
the existence of exceptional individuals who genuinely fit the ics. When older and more hirsute members of my generation
description I have given. But I bet there aren’t many. approached wargaming, it was with these things in mind,
even if we were determined to give our games a necessary
I should explain myself, I suppose – for I sense the lynch mob veneer of seriousness to distinguish our hobby from merely
approaching, and I’ve barely warmed to my theme. Obviously, ‘playing with toy soldiers’. Why, then – I ask – does histori-
I recognize that there are countless wargamers who have a cal wargaming nowadays seem such a daunting affair to so
genuine enthusiasm for history and whose games may well many teenagers? It’s not that there aren’t youngsters joining
reflect their interests. Indeed, I am fairly sure that I qualify on the hobby today. Of course there are. But there are not the
that basis. But, no – that isn’t the point. What I’m getting at hordes that once there were. Talking to established club play-
is that, no matter how many wargamers might claim to have ers, the impression is often given that recruiting new members
been inspired by history, I reckon that anyone recruited to requires considerable effort and patient instruction to over-
the ranks before the 1980s was actually inspired by movies, come what might otherwise be seen as the insurmountable
television, books, comics, and sticking together plastic kits. barriers of historical expertise and knowledge.

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 14 04-06-12 19:56

 And that’s really what lies at the heart of it, I reckon: barriers ers continued, and still continue, to play both historical and
based on understanding and expertise, which never existed fantasy games, a clear division developed between the two
when wargaming was a young and rapidly-growing hobby. hobbies. On the part of the role-players, this was hardly
My generation was happy to trample all over those barriers, deliberate, but they soon began to create their own fanzines
overcoming all obstacles with naive enthusiasm, because we and magazines, and new fantasy model producers sprang into
weren’t interested in history, as such. What we were interested existence to serve their needs. On the other hand, I recall that
in was wargaming. Nor were we bucking a trend amongst the there was a definite hardening of attitudes amongst existing
Old Guard of wargames pioneers, many of whom fought in wargamers, who wished to distance themselves from such
WWII and wrote genuine history, and can hardly be accused childishness and – by implication – from a bunch of pesky
of naivety or ignorance. Yet, they too were happy to sometimes kids. And what better way to keep out such heresies than to
leap the barrier with imaginary armies and fictional conflicts. raise, ever higher, that barrier to entry: history!
The obvious example of this is, of course, the pseudo-eigh-
teenth century wargames of Brigadier Peter Young. But don’t Does any of this matter today? Surely, these forgotten contro-
forget that Charles Grant’s WWII-inspired Battle: Practical versies hardly affect the modern wargamer, do they? Certainly,
Wargaming featured armies that cheerfully mixed Russian in many respects, these are old battles that cannot be refought:
infantry, German vehicles, and a-historic conversions within battles with consequences that have become mere facts of life,
the same army. Imagine writing a set of wargames rules that the status quo with which we are familiar. Historical wargam-
advocated that, today – the author would be roundly pilloried ing has developed into something, well – more historical. If
for such an affront to history! that means that it is perceived as more difficult or somehow
less attractive to a new generation of would-be gamers, then
So, what’s the difference? Why have attitudes changed? Has that is, perhaps, inevitable. Where once history and fantasy
the historical hobby, in general, turned its back upon adven- were cheerfully interwoven, now any such combination lies
ture to embrace a more factually-driven simulation of warfare? firmly within the fantasy genre: Steam Punk, Pulp, and specu-
The answer – or an answer; at any rate, my answer – is what I lative histories like A Very British Civil War. Yet, these are not
call ‘The Great Wargame Schism’: namely, the divide between so different in concept from those fantasy nations of Brigadier
historical wargaming and fantasy role-playing that took place Peter Young, nor those imagined armies of Charles Grant. The
in the late 1970s. term ‘wargamer’ itself is no longer enough to define us, so it
seems. A barrier exists and has been remade in stone, and
All this was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), of made permanent with glacis, bastion and ravelin.
course, replete with its caste of characters more or less derived
from the pages of The Lord of the Rings and other fantasies too It’s an odd thing, this allegiance to historical accuracy, when
numerous to mention. At the time, many wargamers perceived, you think about it: often seen as a specific fidelity to detail,
in all these goblins and pixies, a return to ‘playing with toy like that discussion about the merits of the Lorenz and
soldiers’; something that carried a far greater weight of censure, Springfield. I claim no immunity from this habit of thought – I
in days before gaming became part of the common culture. am as guilty as the next man. Factual detail is beguiling - as
Nonetheless, here was something that would enthuse a new if the history of WWII could be told in terms of armour-thick-
generation of gamers – and generations to follow: something nesses and muzzle velocities, or as if the rise of Bonaparte
that readily embodied those very themes of action and adven- could be explained by the pageantry of Napoleonic uniform.
ture that had attracted me and so many others to wargaming in It’s all part of that barrier: bastions of defence against the
the first place. Although, on a personal level, many wargam- merely fictional. The example that never fails to make me
smile is in the field of ancient wargames, where bitter argu-
ments may be had over the length of a spear or the shape of a
sword, between wargamers who are otherwise happy to pitch
Normans against Aztecs. Apparently, that’s not fantasy at all!
No wonder those young ‘uns get confused. So, if history is to
be our watchword, there is but one thing I would counsel,
if I am permitted. It is that, in embracing history, let us not
altogether abandon adventure, imagination, innovation and
creativity, or stories of heroism, daring, action and courage.
For are these not the things that genuinely first attracted us to
wargaming? To deny them is our loss. To deny them to others
is a loss to the hobby.

Another thought-provoking piece from Rick, who reminds us

that gaming should really be about inclusivity not exclusiv-
ity, the fun of the game and the narrative (the ‘story’) not
1st Shrewsbury Ladies’ Brewery Regt., the result. Winning is nice, but everyone having an enjoyable
Very British Civil War 1938 game is far more important, isn’t it?

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INTERVIEW

By Guy Bowers

An interview with Dan Mersey

DUX BELLORUM
The WS&S team had an opportunity to catch up with
Dan Mersey, author of Dux Bellorum, the new Dark Age
rules from Osprey Publishing. He was kind enough to
answer some questions about his new rules.

Tell us the basics of Dux Bellorum. armies: Late Roman, Romano-British,

What’s the idea behind the rules? Welsh, Saxon, Pictish, Irish, or a Rai-

© Georgie Harman
If WS&S readers have heard of me be- ding force.
fore, they’ll probably already know that Having said that, with wargamers
I love gaming the historical Arthurian being as we are, I’ve also seen these
period. I’d been working on a fresh set Arthurian-centred rules being used
of Arthurian wargaming rules, and then, for games set in late medieval Europe,
a couple of years back, Osprey asked Republican Rome, Ancient Greece, and Dan Mersey
me if they could make it the first book Middle Earth. I just turn a blind eye to
in their new Wargames series. Well, this sacrilege! so I’ve reduced that in Dux Bellorum.
I wasn’t going to say no to that! Who Anyone who has played Glutter of
could turn down the chance to have What inspired the name Dux Bellorum? Ravens will probably spot its influence
their rules published with some evoca- Dux Bellorum is a Latin title used to in Dux Bellorum, but the only things
tive Osprey artwork added to them, not describe Arthur in one of the early that really remain similar are the move
to mention the chance to get a set of references to him. It means ‘Leader sequence, the ‘aggression/protection’
rules into High Street bookshops? of battles’, although you can twist it dynamic, the importance of leadership,
into ‘War Duke’, which I think makes and the effort that’s gone into making
At its simplest, the idea behind Dux him sound a lot tougher. It’s a title that the army lists feel right for the Arthurian
Bellorum is to provide a set of straight- seems to sum the whole period up just period.
forward wargaming rules specifically so evocatively, and also ties the game to
geared towards my favourite period. Arthur himself. What size of game is it designed for?
This means that I could concentrate on How many miniatures? Units or
what seems really important in warfare As there’s a whole period of wargaming individual casualties?
at this time: leadership and simple named after him, I enjoy finding ways Dux Bellorum is a battle game rather
tactical choices. to work references to Arthur into the than a skirmish game. I wrote an Arthu-
name of the rules I produce. One of my rian skirmish game called Song of Ar-
What time range does Dux Bellorum previous rule sets, from which Dux Bel- thur and Merlin a couple of years back,
cover? What armies can you choose lorum has evolved, was called Glutter so I wanted to do something different
from? of Ravens, which is another reference to this time. The basic playing piece is the
Well, as stated on the front of the book, Arthur, tucked away in a British battle unit, with no casualty removal, and I’ve
the rules cover AD 367-793, but those poem called Y Gododdin. The poem’s made the game as scalable as possible.
dates just give you a guideline. AD 367 well worth a look, to get a feel for the This means that you can play with a
is the date of the ‘barbarian conspiracy’, period. DBA-sized army or a WAB-sized army,
when Roman Britain was seemingly or anything in between to suit your
overrun by nasty, hairy Picts, Irish, and What changes have you made from space and your budget. Armies have
Saxons. AD 793 was the date of the first Glutter of Ravens? between five and twelve units in them,
recorded Viking raid in Britain, which Can I just give the simple answer? Lots! but it’s up to you how big you want to
started a whole new era of terror. I’ve I’d better expand on that. Glutter of Ra- make your units.
used the dates as a shorthand way of vens was published in 1998, and, over
saying that these rules are designed for the years, I’ve tried out different things What sort of dice do you need?
battles in Britain from the late Roman to bring the game up to date. Player Just the usual six-sided type. I made the
period to the start of the Viking period. feedback said that the game was good decision to stick with six-siders to keep
You can choose from the following but there was a lot of record-keeping, the rules accessible for newcomers to

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 16 04-06-12 19:56

 the hobby. As well as dice and the usual manders in your army. The rules aren’t What support is available?
measuring tape, you’ll need a way of super-detailed combat simulations, so One of the important points of the brief
tracking casualties for units (mini-dice you’re not rolling for each individual I was given for the Osprey Wargames
are pretty good for this) and markers for warrior’s attacks, and you shouldn’t get series is that every game is stand-alone,
your Leadership Points (gaming gems bogged down in masses of modifiers or so you won’t need to buy any extra
work well). over-complicated rulings. supplements to play a game. No extra
army lists or anything like that; the book
How do the game mechanics work? Scenarios are won or lost depending on has all of the army lists in it, plus a few
In a nutshell, every unit is rated for whether you fulfil your victory conditi- scenarios to get you started. In terms of
Bravery (to move and test morale), Ag- ons within the number of turns allowed. support for rules queries and commu-
gression (to attack), Protection (the ‘to I’ve included scenarios that seem typi- nity, Osprey have their own forum, but
hit’ number), and Cohesion (number of cal of the battles fought in the Arthurian there’s also a bit of a following building
hits). Different troop types are good at period. So, for example, you’ll encoun- up on the Board Game Geek website,
different things; so, for example, War- ter your enemy on the bank of a river, where I often hang around, too. It’s a
riors have higher Aggression but lower or in a dawn attack, or even in a battle pretty friendly online crowd, so I’m ho-
Protection than Shieldwalls. where the bards decide who wins and ping people will flock there to discuss
loses, regardless of how many of your the game.
Your units need to pass a Bravery test troops are destroyed.
to move each turn, and this, along What makes your game different from
with close combat and morale tests, I’ve kept everything as simple and other rule sets?
is influenced by your commander’s streamlined as possible. I wanted to I suppose the big one is that I’ve focu-
Leadership Points. These are dice-roll make a fast-moving game that didn’t sed on recreating battles from a very
modifiers that you can use in different bog down in detail and that could be short, defined period of history. Using
ways each turn, and how you use them played in an hour or two, while having a set of rules designed exclusively for
will really sway whether you win or a chat and some drinks with friends. It’s use in Arthurian Britain means that I’ve
lose the game. Most armies have similar all that, but hopefully I’ve also managed worked out what I think is important
troop types available, so effective use of to create a game that feels right for the and what to ignore, unlike those an-
your Leadership Points is crucial. These Arthurian period. cients rules that try to cover 4000 years.
Leadership Points represent your com- I have a good grounding in the period’s
mander’s ability to motivate his troops At what sort of scale do you play history and archaeology, so I’ve tried to
and to be in the right place at the right Dux Bellorum? use that alongside my interest in game-
time, and also the actions of lesser com- Any scale. 28mm is really popular for mechanics to make an interesting game
Arthurian gamers, that suits the feel of the period.
because of the great
choice of models In terms of actually playing the game,
available. But Dux Bel- I think Leadership Points are pretty
lorum wasn’t written special and work really well for the
with a particular size Arthurian period; they’re also quite a
of model in mind. I non-traditional way of representing
mostly play in 15mm, command on the tabletop. I’m pleased
but I also use 28mm with those. I also enjoyed adding strate-
from time to time. gies and tactics for each army: these are
Using 10mm or 6mm optional rules that add a bit of period
armies would mean flavour, and also allow you to choose
that you could build some of the troop types that wargamers
a 1:1 ratio Arthurian love to field in their armies, even thou-
army, without much gh there’s not much historical evidence
trouble, and I’ve pro- to support them: war dogs, Arthur’s
vided guidance for ba- knights, berserkers, all the stuff you read
sing different sized mo- in Bernard Cornwell books! These are
dels in the rules. Don’t all historically dodgy, but who am I to
you think it’s a bit odd prevent wargamers from using some of
if rules designers tell their favourite models?
you that you must use
a certain size of model Thank you for your time Dan.
for the game?! (Yes, we Dux Bellorum is released on 20 August
do! Ed.) 2012 by Osprey Publishing.

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SCENARIO

By Jan Groß

From concept to wargames convention

THE TROJAN WAR IN

90 MINUTES
The seed for our ‘Trojan War in 90 minutes’ was planted at the end of February 2011, at the
TACTICA wargaming convention in Hamburg. It was one of the coldest winters in Germany since I
was born, so who could blame two shivering boys for dreaming of Troy, sunshine, and the ocean?
Thus, my joint project with Tilman Moritz was born.

T
ACTICA is Germany´s most impor- Chronologically, the events at Troy, as
tant wargaming convention – you told in Homer’s Iliad, took place a gene-
really should go there, once in your ration after the voyage of the Argonauts,
lifetime! In 2011, our gaming group ran so a Trojan War project was the next
a participation game, a story-telling sce- logical step. During our two-and-a-half-
nario, based on the Greek mythological hour journey home, we talked about
tale of the Argonauts travelling the Me- every aspect that we wanted to include
diterranean sea. For that game, we used in the game: heroes, chariots, shining
Wargames Foundry miniatures with a bronze, the gate of Troy, Helen … and
Hellenistic-cum-fantasy appearance. some more ‘female civilians’. Plans
Tilman then told me that, considering have to be practical, however, and we’d
the time period when the voyage of the forgotten all about our idea within a

© Georgie Harman
Argonauts was set, they would actually few weeks.
have looked more like Bronze Age My-
cenaeans. I was suddenly hooked, and The Trojan War came flooding back to
confessed that I had always loved the me when I bought Osprey’s Bronze Age
look of boar tusk helmets, bright bronze Greek Warrior, 1600-1100 BC and saw
armour, and cow-hide-covered figure- all the gorgeous pictures. Tilman already
of-eight shields. had that book, so we resurrected our initial idea. Of course, we now had
even less time for painting all the minia-
tures, building the terrain, thinking of a
© Jan Groß

cool scenario, and mixing it all together

into a tasty game!

A SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE

TROJAN WAR
The Trojan War, as told in the Iliad, lies
firmly in the realm of mythology. Histo-
rically, there is some solid archaeology,
suggesting that the origin of the tale is
based on action that took place at Troy
circa 1300-1200 BC, but it was proba-
bly rather different from Homer’s tale.

According to Homer, Paris, son of King

Priam of Troy, stole Helena from her
husband, King Menelaus of Sparta.
To the walls of Troy!

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 © Jan Groß
Mighty heroes clash bronze on bronze!

Menelaus’ brother, King Agamemnon of Triumph & Tragedy uses unit cards and ALTERNATIVE RULE SYSTEMS
Mycenae, led the united Greeks against order cards for activation, and mainly FOR THIS SCENARIO
Troy and laid siege to the strongly- D10 are thrown, but you will need SAGA: The rules could be mo-
fortified city. After ten years, Troy still some D6, as well. Gamers need a card dified, and you’d have to create
had not fallen. An illustrious bunch of for each of their units. Shown on the suitable charts and make your own
heroes came and went, fighting each card are the stats and initiative ratings of SAGA dice if you really want to
other several times; some were slain, a unit or a hero. The initiative rating is go to town. The SAGA rules are a
some were betrayed, and, along the required for establishing the sequence lot of fun – it was our rule set of
way, the gods intervened … until, in the of play. What is really cool about this choice, at first – but, as we were
end, it was the resourceful Odysseus turn sequence is that events happen short on time, we ruled it out with
who sealed the fate of Troy. In the belly simultaneously. a heavy heart.
of his Trojan horse, the Greeks entered
the city and destroyed everyone and Every force is led by a hero, who has Lord of the Rings: These have the
everything. a list of skills and drawbacks. Heroes advantage of familiarity to most
can cut through a unit of warriors with gamers. For example, we used
WHICH RULES TO USE FOR ease. The rules also have a strong focus LotR for our Argonauts game in
OUR GAME? on scenario-based games; there is a 2011. The rules are simple and
The scenario had to create a fast-paced, point system included, but it’s rarely very user-friendly, but a bit too
skirmish-level game. We wanted the used by players. Unexpected events do simple for our purpose.
heroes to have some superhuman not interrupt the game, but give it more
powers, we wanted godly invention, depth and enjoyment. So there were no Warhammer Ancient Battles: These
and we wanted rules that were neither problems including godly interventions! rules are well-known, and there is
too complex nor too time-consuming a supplement called Chariot Wars,
to play. Remember: the project´s title SCENARIO, OBJECTIVES, which deals with the Mycenaeans
was ‘The Trojan War in 90 minutes’! WARBANDS AND GODS! and Minoans of our period.
We debated different rule set options, The second step in our project was to
and ended up with Triumph & Tragedy. decide which story we wanted to tell There are certainly more alter-
These rules were written by my friend – we both love narrative games with a natives available on the market.
Björn Reichel. As they were originally lot of action. As it was a participation Just pick your favourite one and
designed for Colonials and the interwar game at a convention, most participants modify it, until it fits this scenario
period, we had to adapt them to fit a would not know the rules. Therefore, or one of your own!
war fought over three millennia earlier! the maximum number of players was

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SCENARIO

© Jan Groß
The heroes for the scenario were set.
Now it was time to give every single
one of them a warband and objectives.
We gave every hero a primary and a
secondary objective to fulfil in order
to earn Victory Points at the end of the
game. Six rounds are the limit, so ag-
gressive and fast-playing participants
have an advantage.

THE GODS
Every participant gets four Euché (‘pray-
er’) points at the start of the game (use
glass gems or similar markers). Once
per round, a player can spend one
For the glory of Troy, let the dice decide! Euché point to call on the gods. A 4+
roll on a D6 is needed to get the god´s
set at four, divided into two opposing flamboyant feather hats, a must-have for attention, and the gem is lost whether
teams, so that Tilman could help one every wargaming Iliad fan! the throw is successful or not. If two
team and I could help the other. or more players call upon the same
We decided that every hero should god successfully, throw a d6 again; the
We went with two of the most popular be represented on the tabletop twice: highest roll will get the god!
characters that the Iliad offers. Achil- once, riding a chariot on an 80mm
les raised his sword for the Mycenaean round base, and once, dismounted on a Every god is able to perform two effects.
cause, and Hector stepped forth for the 60mm round base; only heroes on foot After all offerings are made, the gods
Trojans. The next task was to decide are able to join units. And what is the are placed beside a random unit of the
which other heroes should accompany Iliad without the banter of gods? Four player who gets divine support for that
these two star-players. To make things a gods were needed, each one favouring round. The player has to choose what
bit more delicate for the Greeks, their one of the heroes for the duration of effect he or she wants the god to create
second hero was Agamemnon, leader the game. Ares, Apollo, Aphrodite, from the following list.
of the Greek forces and Achilles’ arch- and Athena were the gods we chose –
enemy. Hector´s brother-in-arms was mainly because the line-up gives a nice Each god may appear no more than
a simpler decision, as there are not so alliteration! twice in one game. You can use the
many heroes on the Trojan side. Paris, same effect twice, but after the second
the seducer of Helena, was a cowardly Having made our choice of opponents, time, the god will turn his or her atten-
sissy, and we wanted a more attractive we were ready to fill in the framework tion away from mere human desires!
warrior for our participants. The ideal with a mind-blowing story. We took
choice was Aeneas, Prince of Lukka, some events from the Iliad that involved Apollo: Apollo automatically causes D3
in south-western Turkey. He enabled these heroes and let them happen hits on a unit of your choice OR heals
us to include some fancy looking Sea simultaneously. D3 HP in one of your units.
People in our game – these fellas wore Aphrodite: All hit-rolls on a chosen unit
get a -1 penalty OR a unit can perform
one extra movement action.
Ares: A unit Ares is with receives a +1
bonus on all combat rolls OR every
enemy within 6” will suddenly have to
perform a morale test.
Athena: An enemy unit is not allowed
to perform any order this round OR the
effect of another God will be cancelled
this round!

MINIATURES
Our aim was to get a nice selection
of miniatures, giving all four forces a
distinctive look. This is perhaps the most
exciting part for dedicated painters like
Tilman and me!
Aphrodite, Ares and Athena.

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 © Jan Groß
A warband - the Myrmidons led by Achilles.

Tilman already had some Myceneans

from Wargames Foundry. Sculpted by
THE TROJANS the Perry twins, they are gorgeous and
Hector´s warband the range offers a good variety. They do
Hector, Priam’s most able son, has to fight his way across the battlefield, where all the cool heroes that we know from
he can save Troy by destroying the Greek camp. Having completed this feat of the Iliad (or from watching the movie
arms, nobody will challenge your claim to the throne! Troy). The problem is that they are a bit
pricey, so we checked out other manu-
Primary objective: At the end of the game, at least one of your units has to be facturers. The ‘Trojan Wars’ miniatures
inside the Greek camp. from Redoubt Enterprises match the
Foundry ones pretty well (though they’re
Secondary objective: During the whole game, no enemy unit shall make con- slightly larger sized) and they have a
tact with the walls of Troy. nice selection of vignettes and persona-
lities (e.g. Helen of Troy, and a defeated
Hector himself gets +1 for his Euché-throws calling Apollo. His special ability Paris). They are much more reasonably
is ‘instigator’: every unit he accompanies gets a +1 bonus on all hit-rolls. priced, but we noticed that some had
He is supported by the Royal Guards, a four-man unit rated ‘elite’ and two casting errors. I still recommend them,
nine-man units of ‘trained’ citizen spearmen with large shields. but it´s a good idea to buy them where
you can have a closer look, such as at a
Aeneas´ warband wargames show.
Aeneas is a distant relative to the Trojan Royals. Often he is not treated with the
appropriate respect, but his veteran mercenaries are welcome in Troy´s darkest In the end, we decided to build up the
hour. His task is to protect Apollo´s temple, but not at the cost of too many four forces using the following minia-
valuable mercenaries. tures:
Foundry Myceneans for Agamemnon:
Primary objective: During the game, no enemy is allowed to set his foot inside mainly warriors armed with throwing
the temple! spears and round shields, plus some
slingers.
Secondary objective: At the end of the game, no more than 50 per cent of your
force has been removed as casualties. Redoubt Myrmidons for Achilles: a
small elite force including a mix of
Aeneas himself gets a +1 for his Euché-throws calling Aphrodite. He has the swordmen, archers and spearmen, pain-
special skill of ‘preacher’: every unit he accompanies gets a +1 morale modi- ted in their distinctive black clothes.
fier. His force consists of two veteran eight-man units armed with swords and Achilles on foot and the alternative
shields, and his personal bodyguard of four elite warriors. Achilles, riding a chariot, are both from
Foundry.

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 21 04-06-12 19:57

SCENARIO

© Jan Groß
THE GREEKS
Agamemnon’s warband
Agamemnon is the leader of the Greek kings. He is a ruthless politician and,
if he can loot the Temple of Apollo, this will show his friends and foes that not
even the gods are able to stop him!

Primary objective: Before the game ends, you must perform a ‘special action’
inside the Temple.

Secondary objective: At the end of the game, no enemy unit is inside the
Greek camp. A sacrifice to the gods!

Agamemnon himself gets +1 for his Euché-throws calling for Athena. His great-looking miniatures at Russian Sol-
special ability is ‘tactician’: he (and any unit he is with) modifies his initiative dier Art that fitted in perfectly. Athena is
rating by +1. known to have been accompanied by
His force consists of eight trained warriors with swords, ten trained warriors an owl, so I sculpted a new head for a
with throwing spears, and ten slingers rated ‘raw’. Warhammer 40K eagle. Apollo was my
task. We wanted an archer to represent
Achilles´ warband (The Myrmidons) this god, but there is only a Russian
Whoever plays the Mymidons has a little secret. You will not start as Achil- company that produces a suitable
les; your hero, at the beginning, will be Achilles´ servant, Patroklos. Patroklos miniature. I found them a bit overpriced
fought many battles at Achilles´ side, but, every time, in his shadow. Now, he and decided to convert a 1:32 plastic
wants to gain honour by leading the Greeks to victory. Meanwhile, Achilles is miniature that I found lying around.
in his tent, offended by Agamemnon and unwilling to fight for him. Patroklos
takes his armour and weapons, so that the Trojans will believe him to be THE BOARD AND INITIAL
Achilles. If he is slain, the rage of Achilles will descend upon the one respon- DEPLOYMENT OF TROOPS
sible for his friend´s death! The board should be 4’ x 4’ (that’s
120cm x 120cm in continental Europe!)
Patroklos’ primary objective: Before the game ends, you must perform one so that, on the one hand, troops can get
‘special action’ when in contact with the walls of Troy. (In the Iliad, Patroklos into mêlée quickly, and on the other
tries to climb the walls.) hand, the board is easily transportable
by car. The heroes and their warbands
Patroklos’ secondary objective: Stay alive! should be deployed as shown on the
map.
Achilles´ objective: Before the game ends, you must kill Hector in an affair of
honour. If Hector is already dead, kill Aeneas instead! When we looked at pictures of modern-
day western Turkey, we realized that the
Both heroes are favoured by Ares, so they get a +1 modifier for him. Howe- region isn´t as arid as it’s shown in the
ver, Patroklos has a drawback: he is of ‘weak constitution’, having only 2 HP movie. So there is no problem placing
instead of 3! By contrast, Achilles is a real fighting machine. He gets an extra some grass and vegetation on the table.
attack-die, and enemies in close combat will get a -1 penalty on to-hit rolls. The centre-piece of our table is the Tem-
Also, the Myrmidons are a real elite squad, including a four-man unit com- ple of Apollo. Facing each other diago-
prising ‘leaders’ (that makes them very tough), four warriors with throwing nally, there is the shore with the Greek
spears, and four archers, all rated as elite warriors. camp at one edge and the Gate of Troy
at the other, elevated on a plateau. The
aim was to choose two eye-catching ter-
Foundry Sea Peoples for Aeneas: a mix So which miniatures should represent rain pieces, which would make it clear
of helmeted and feather-hat-wearing our gods? We already decided that the to the participating gamers which edge
warriors, armed with swords, spears gods shouldn´t take part in the battle in belongs to which side. That is enough
and round shields. I had two Foundry human guise. They had to be of impres- scenery for such a small table; with 80+
Aeneas figures, so I used one for the sive appearance and unmistakably miniatures, four chariots, and even four
dismounted version, and mounted the identifiable as gods. The solution was gods, there still has to be some space to
other one on a Redoubt chariot. to go with a larger scale: 54mm, to be manoeuvre!
precise. We found a suitable Ares made
Redoubt Trojan War spearmen for Hec- by Art Girona in a few seconds, thanks CONCLUSION
tor: well-equipped citizens with large to the internet; he really is a savage and We tested the scenario twice before we
tower or figure-of-eight shields and long warlike chap! However, the problem drove to the TACTICA, and we played
spears. The Royal Guard was recruited was that there aren´t very many My- five games. These were all great. Heroes
from Foundry warriors equipped with cenaean civilian figures, specifically clashed, the gods spun their intrigues,
large figure-of-eight shields. females. As it was Tilman´s task to paint and history was rewritten when Hector
Athena and Aphrodite, he found two slew Achilles in one game! We had a

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 The layout of the board.

great audience, too. Thanks to everyone gods or Japanese Oni? The sky is the Readers may recall that Tilman did our
who participated. limit. Or is it Olympus? Or Asgard?! Austrian cover vignette for WS&S 58.
The Trojan War makes a change from
I really liked the mix of history and Jan Groß and Tilman Moritz bring back Napoleonics!
mythology. You can, of course, transfer to life the fascinating tale of the Iliad, Triumph and Tragedy can be found at
this fantasy flavour to other periods and all in 90 minutes, as promised. http://www.triumph-tragedy.de
easily. What about some Saxons, Goths
or Vikings with a lightning-throwing
© Jan Groß

Thor? Or maybe the Old Ones can save

the Irminsul from being cut down by
the Franks? Will they, in return, have an
archangel staying beside them? Roman
and Egyptian mythology also offers a lot
of interesting possibilities; and why not
get more exotic, with bloodthirsty Aztec

Miniatures are from Wargames

Foundry and Redoubt Enterprises
and are painted by the author and
Tilman Moritz.

If you want to game the scenario

and want further information, or
reference sheets and unit cards,
contact me at: Trojan.wars.in.90.
[email protected]

Chariots clash head on!

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 24 04-06-12 19:57
WSS nr61 juni12.indd 25 04-06-12 19:57
THEME

By Mike Evans

A beginner’s guide to Colonial wargaming

FOUR FEATHERS AND

A BUCKET OF DICE
The nineteenth century is a gold-mine for us wargamers, with a
huge variety of diverse wars and actions occurring around the
globe. So much so that it can be quite daunting even to consider
where to start! As it says in the title, we will concentrate on Colonial
wargaming in this article, leaving aside the major conflicts of the
Napoleonic Wars and in the Americas, which rightly deserve
volumes of wargaming material in their own right.

© Georgie Harman
y gaming group had largely scenarios to get you started. The rules
ignored ‘Colonials’ as a pe- are simple, utilizing a deck of playing
riod, despite continued efforts cards to determine unit activation and
over the years to spark an interest. The to resolve the effects of shooting and
Sudan, the Zulu War and the Boer War combat. Also included is an adaptation,
(amongst others) had all been passed The Sword in Africa, that caters for the Harry Flashman!
over, but – after a friend suggested that I European explorers’ adventures in east-
read Flashman and the Great Game fol- central Africa. As your armies evolve, an penned Death in the Dark Continent,
lowed by Flashman and the Mountain expansion set, 800 Fighting Englishmen, a set which builds upon the simple but
of Light – the simple question, “Have extends the rules to cater for ‘battalion- elegant rules of In the Heart of Africa,
you considered India, old boy?” was level’ games. As you might expect with adding greater depth. Army lists are
enough to get us tracking down a set of such a long-lived and popular rule set, included to take the game beyond
rules to start on my own Sikh Wars pro- it has been adapted for many earlier skirmish-level, and thus requiring more
ject. Fortunately, there are many good periods, such as the Indian Mutiny. figures to achieve a satisfying game.
rule sets available that may be tweaked These variants are easily found on the That said, you can still portray a relati-
to fit specific wars, even if they have not web: the Swordflame Yahoo! group is vely small, elite force (such as a Naval
been written directly with those con- a good place to start, as is ‘The Virtual Landing Force), but the native armies
flicts in mind. Many gamers like to start Armchair General’ site, which provides are noticeably larger, in the order of a
a new period in a small way, collecting period-specific card sets adding flavour hundred figures.
a handful of figures to fight skirmish- to the basic rules.
level games, so we will start our ‘Guide If you are looking to minimize your
to Colonial wargaming’ here. Chris Peers’ In the Heart of Africa (avai- initial outlay, free rules are often a good
lable from North Star) also covers the place to start. Downloadable from the
RULES exploration of sub-Saharan Africa at the Empress Miniatures website is Damned
The now-venerable The Sword and the end of the nineteenth century. Unlike Wobbly Gentlemen, a fast-play set
Flame by Larry Brom (available from the above-mentioned adaptation, this for the Zulu War that will get you up
Sergeants 3) saw its 20th Anniversary is a bespoke set with comprehensive and running in no time at all. Richard
Edition published in 1999. It’s a perfect coverage of the regions, terrain, and so Bradley’s Colonial Wargames Rules is
set for skirmish-level actions involving on. Despite this (or perhaps because of another quick and easy set to learn, and
the British Empire towards the later end this), the rules are eminently playable it’s available to download from the Ty-
of the century, and includes a basic and really capture the spirit of explora- neside Wargames site. Both sets provide
guide to organizing armies for the tion: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” a fast game with a handful of figures
British, Pathans, Zulus, Boers, Egyptians per side, the latter concentrating slightly
and Dervishes, as well as a series of Staying with Chris Peers, he has also more on heroes and characters.

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 Technology versus bravery - British Naval Brigade Gardner gun against Mahdists.

Moving up in scale from skirmish acti- ‘resolve’ system that caters for unit superb range of miniatures suited to the
ons, David Bickley’s The Devil’s Wind is morale, amongst other things. Even if Sudan, the Zulu War and the Boer War.
an old-school set of rules based on the you don’t like the rules, the book is an Whilst 6mm might be just a tad on the
Indian Mutiny. Easy to learn and fast to excellent first source book, with infor- small side for skirmish games, the range
play, they have something of a Warham- mation on army organization, uniform is extensive enough to provide plenty
mer feel about them – all the good bits, guides, and scenarios. of variety for larger battles at a price
that is! The rules comfortably deliver a that’s difficult to beat. With pre-set army
game in two or three hours with bet- Moving up in scale yet further, Black packs including bases and flags, this
ween five and ten regiments per side. Powder, penned by Rick Priestley and is a one-stop shop to get you started.
With very little effort, they can be easily Jervis Johnson (available from Warlord Moving up in scale, Pendraken Miniatu-
adapted to the Sikh Wars. In a similar Games), is a generic set for the Horse res cover the above conflicts in 10mm,
vein are Bickley’s A Good Dusting rules and Musket period. Aimed at large bat- plus those of the North-West Frontier
for the Sudan. With this number of figu- tles using a Warmaster esque command in the 1890s and the second Afghan
res available to game with, these would and control system, it is perhaps more War (1878-1881). The range is quite
most probably be my starting point. suited for players with some knowledge extensive and similarly available in
of their period, as the use of special ready-made army packs. Both Magister
If you are after a more comprehensive rules to distinguish between armies and Militum and Old Glory cover the Zulu
set of rules, John Company by Chris troop-types contributes significantly to War at this scale, providing plenty of
Ferree and Patrick Wilson (available the game. That said, example games for variety.
through Mutineer Miniatures) may Zululand and the Sudan are included in
be what you are after. Covering the the book to point the way. At 15mm, figure availability is exten-
early part of the period (the era of the sive, so please forgive us if we have
Honourable East India Company), the MINIATURES missed a few out. Essex and Navwar
rules are well-presented and very com- Whether any of these rules turn out have ranges that cover the Sudan and
prehensive. The gaming system has a to be to your taste or not, you will the Zulu War, as do Irregular Miniatu-
fair amount of detail, with an extended certainly need some miniatures to play res and Lancashire Games, who both
Quick Reference Sheet and a detailed them. Starting at 6mm, Baccus have a additionally cover the Boxer Rebellion.

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THEME

© Simon Clarke (aka Lurkio)

British infantry in 15mm.

Old Glory 15s also offer ranges for all Sadly, the superb Colonial ranges and have an extensive range covering
three of these conflicts, with an ad- from Wargames Foundry have suffered many conflicts. Their Sikh Wars range is
ditional range for the Boer War. Moving over the past few years, with many of one of their best, as are the miniatures
to India, the Sikh Wars and the Indian their castings now out of stock. Older from the North-West Frontier range,
Mutiny are serviced by Dixon, QRF miniatures, including those for the Sikh some of which give Foundry a run for
and Freikorps15. Stone Mountain pitch Wars, do sometimes become available their money. However, in their Indian
in with a range of French and Arabs, on eBay. Notwithstanding this, they still Mutiny range (amongst others), certain
as well as the British, Zulus, Dervishes offer a good range of British, French, figures seem slightly ‘odd’, so, if at all
and Pathans. If the Sudan is your area Chinese, and Indian figures, including possible, look before you buy.
of interest, Peter Pig have an extensive characters and civilians. Their range of
range to complement their Patrols in the elephants, especially the British elep- Fortunately, the options for 25mm col-
Sudan 1885 rules, with plenty of army hant troop-carrier, is superb, although lectors have improved greatly over the
pack options, plus paddle boats and you may baulk at the prices. Old Glory past few years. Perry Miniatures have an
other accessories. still provide excellent value for money extensive and beautifully-crafted Sudan
range that, more than any other source,
has surely been the prime motivation
© Simon Clarke (aka Lurkio)

for gamers to start this period. The

British Camel Corps and the Egyptian
Cuirassiers are especially inspiring. If
you have read this far, and may well
be considering ‘dipping your toe’ into
Colonials, beware: this range could
seriously damage your wallet!

The Indian Mutiny is served by relative

newcomer Mutineer Miniatures. The
sculpts are quite large but very nicely
done, and paint up quickly and well.
British exchange fire with Sudanese Fuzzy Wuzzies in 15mm The range is ever-increasing and is sup-

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 © North Star
French Foreign Legion in 28mm, Vive La Legion!

ported by flags, books and buildings. Star’s ‘Africa!’ range is perhaps the most decorator’s filler, and slightly grander
Empress Miniatures have a nice range extensive here, with a good selection of residences can be manufactured with a
for the rather obscure Maori Wars and Matabele and Ila Warriors, British South little more effort. A trip to the local pet
a quite superb range for the Zulu War, Africa Company soldiers, and explorers, shop is recommended, where plastic
which includes a character pack for alongside a good selection of animals, aquarium plants can be picked up
Rorke’s Drift that is an absolute must- huts, and wagons. Rumour has it that cheaply and separated out into large
have for any fan of the film Zulu. They the next release for this growing range amounts of flora; just add a base and
also provide flags and accessories and, will be cannibals from the Congo! Arti- some gravel, and off you go.
in conjunction with Warlord Games, zan Designs (also from North Star) have
have a beautiful model of the Rorke’s their excellent French Foreign Legion Hopefully, this has given you a few
Drift mission station. Warlord themsel- (‘March or Die!’) range, with tirailleurs pointers towards starting Colonial
ves offer an excellent range of plastic and Moroccans. gaming. Whatever you do, enjoy your
British and Zulus, as do Wargames games.
Factory. No gaming table is complete without
terrain, which may be sourced from Mike would like to add his thanks to
If you are looking toward the African many of the manufacturers noted above. James Woodward for starting him off
explorers for your gaming experience, In addition to these, Grand Manner on his own Colonials journey. Mike
Old Glory have a range that is showing has a range of adobe-style houses and couldn’t have done it without you,
its age, but there are plenty of options plenty of paddle boats for the Sudan. James. His wallet has a different opin-
elsewhere. The Foundry range is still ex- They also have a large variety of African ion, however!
cellent despite its age, although it seems tribal huts and corrals. Hovels Ltd. have
to drop out of availability every now suitable ranges in all four of the above-
and again. This is certainly the place to mentioned scales. PMC Games (avai-
go for Pygmies and a wide range of Af- lable through eBay) do an inexpensive
rican tribal warriors. Copplestone Cas- range of buildings, boats and steamers. Models are from Perry Miniatures,
tings have some lovely sculpts in their However, as many of the buildings and Peter Pig and Artizan Designs.
‘Darkest Africa’ range, plus other useful terrain features are quite simple to make Thanks to Simon Clarke (aka
casts in their ‘High Adventure’ and yourself, the scratch-builder has plenty Lurkio) for the 15mm Sudan
‘Back of Beyond’ ranges. Irregular Mi- of opportunity to decorate his table. miniatures.
niatures have a range of animals to help Simple adobe buildings can be readily
generate an African ambience. North made from foamboard coated with

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THEME

By Andy Miles

The extraordinary adventures of Colonel Marchand’s expedition

FASHODA 1898
In the summer of 1895, the French Foreign Ministry approved the 3000 porter-loads of supplies: these
included 200 rifles, a piano, several
a daring expedition to the remote outpost of Fashoda in the thousand litres of red wine, and a stock
of champagne. A steamboat, the Faid-
Southern Sudan. The expedition, which the French classified
herbe, was acquired. Able to be broken
as ’un raid’, would lead to a military and diplomatic crisis on into sections and carried overland, it
could carry supplies and men along the
the banks of the Nile between the two greatest imperial lengthy river journeys. Seven French of-
ficers and four NCOs were selected, all
powers in history.
men with exemplary records of service
in Africa. They would lead 150 tirail-

F
or wargamers, the Fashoda incident who were subservient to the Mahdists. leurs Senegelais (‘Senegalese skirmis-
offers the chance to fight out a Insignificant though it seemed, Fashoda hers’), locally recruited West African
tantalizing hypothetical battle bet- occupied a key strategic position at the troops with a well-deserved reputation
ween European forces in a colonial set- very centre of the axis formed by Bri- as steadfast, disciplined soldiers. Ahead
ting. This event was the inevitable result tain’s colonial possessions (see map). of the expedition lay a 3000-mile
of the ‘Scramble for Africa’, whereby journey across the Congo Basin, end-
European nations seized huge tracts of Both powers saw the value of domina- uring physical hardships, a rebellion of
the continent in the name of empire. ting the Nile at Fashoda, and dispatched porters, and numerous encounters with
Individuals such as Jean-Baptiste Mar- missions to acquire it from the Mahdist tribesmen (some more or less hostile,
chand were typical of the adventuring Khalifa who ruled southern Sudan. Con- including cannibals), before eventually
breed who flourished in the heat of the scious of the pressures being applied, entering Fashoda in the summer of
Dark Continent. Marchand set off from Brazzaville in the 1898. There, they improved the decrepit
Congo with a great sense of urgency. fortifications and raised the tricolour in
MARCHAND AND THE EXPEDITION His hand-picked party was well- time for the Bastille Day celebrations on
Marchand himself was an exceptional prepared. All the essentials of French 14 July. From then on, they could only
man. He rose rapidly through the ranks civilization were to be carried among sit and await their destinies.
of the marines, was commissioned, and
served with distinction in Morocco.
Here, he enjoyed a freedom of indepen-
dent action, displaying Gallic dash and
initiative in the face of France’s desert
enemies. His ability was matched only
by his patriotism and he was deter-
mined to expand French territory before
her rivals claimed the whole of sub-
Saharan Africa for themselves.

“There are territories in Africa that belong

to us. The English and the Germans are in
the process of annexing them.
We are trying to beat them to it.”
(Jean-Baptiste Marchand)

Located on the mosquito-ridden banks

of the White Nile, 300 miles south of
Khartoum, Fashoda itself was merely
a cluster of huts centred on a disused
mud fort, abandoned a generation
before when the Mahdi had risen to
power. Now it housed the Shilluk tribe,

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 CONFRONTATION ON THE NILE
It wasn’t long before the French had to
face their first test. On 25 August, the
Khalifa sent a small flotilla of armoured
gunboats south from Omdurman, brist-
ling with Dervish warriors and captured
artillery pieces. His intention was clear:
to remove Marchand by force. At the
same time, the Shilluks took up threa-
tening positions near the fort. Although
nervous of the tirailleurs, they had to
be seen to be allied with their masters,
the Mahdists. Marchand therefore had Natives Sudanese defend their village from Colonials.
to split his forces in order to anticipate
an attack from two directions. The and machine guns. Upon hearing of A major diplomatic incident ensued.
gunboats needed to approach close to Marchand’s exploits, he rapidly steamed The British, although reluctant to go to
Fashoda in order to effect a landing, as south. war over ‘this useless piece of land’,
the fort had been deliberately sited at were not prepared to back down to the
the only point where disembarkation The French, entrenched behind their French. In Paris, where popular opinion
could take place hereabouts. As soon whitewashed walls, were in no mood was aggressively pro-Marchand, the
as they came within range, the French to permit the British flotilla to enter, government came to realize that they
commenced a withering fire. Marchand but they could hardly resist Kitchener’s were unlikely to succeed in a military
led 35 soldiers to the riverside, to close diplomatic approaches. In turn, Kitche- campaign, now that Britain domina-
the range still further. In reply, the gun- ner, ‘ignoring’ the French flag, set up ted Egypt. At the fort, Anglo-French
boats opened up on the defenders, but his own camp within hailing distance relations, though outwardly courteous,
were singularly unsuccessful, causing of Marchand. Soon, relations between had become frostier, after Marchand’s
no casualties and little damage to the the two men warmed, as each came to deputy, Captain Germain, had begun
mud fortifications. The Shilluk king appreciate the adventurous qualities sending aggressive patrols into the sur-
could only look on in fear as the French apparent in the other. However, neither rounding territory. Kitchener’s deputy,
proceeded to practically shoot the gun- would give ground, arguing their na- Colonel Jackson, told Germain that
boats out of the water, severely dama- tion’s case for possession of the place. he would use force to stop the French
ging the boilers of the vessels, such that Eventually ‘agreeing to disagree’, each patrols. Just when a bloody skirmish
they had to withdraw north, pursued for departed to write a despatch to their seemed inevitable, word arrived from
a while by tirailleurs, who followed up respective governments. Kitchener imp- Omdurman that the French government
the bank of the Nile on foot, harrying lied that the French would be unable had indeed backed down, and were
them as they went. Jubilant, Marchand to endure a protracted siege. Marchand ordering Marchand and his men to
renamed his outpost Fort Saint-Louis, implored the French government to return home.
after the French crusader saint. Althou- support his position, reminding them
gh expending several thousand rounds that he was prepared to defend the fort On 13 December, the tricolour was
of precious ammunition, the French indefinitely. lowered and, while British bandsmen
had demonstrated their strength, and
the Shilluks openly sided with them.
However, more trouble was brewing
from the North.

CLASH OF EMPIRES
In early September, a British army under
General Sir Herbert Kitchener wiped
out the Dervish army at Omdurman.
Britain was reaffirming its position as
© North Star

the pre-eminent power in the region,

and Kitchener was dispatched up the
Nile to reassert British authority and
plant the Union flag in southern Sudan.
With him were five gunboats, two
Highlander companies, two battalions
of Sudanese (the cream of the Egyptian
army), and a half-battery of artillery French Tirailleurs made up the bulk of the French Army at Fashoda.

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THEME

played la Marseillaise, Marchand’s

column marched out from the fort.
Disdaining the offer of travel aboard
British gunboats, he chose to march a
thousand miles overland to Djibouti.
Upon returning to Paris, he was fêted as
a national hero. A period of fervent anti-
British sentiment followed, which even
saw French patriots volunteering to
fight alongside the Boers in South Africa
against the British forces. Eventually, it
became clear that both nations faced a
mutual enemy in the shape of the Kai-
ser’s Germany. The Entente Cordiale was
signed, and the Fashoda incident con-
veniently forgotten by both sides – but Map for both scenarios.
not by Marchand, who, despite rising to
the rank of General after distinguished tiated, the rules typically use between Triumph and Tragedy, and (with tweaks)
service in the First World War, never twelve and fifteen elements per side (i.e. Gaslight.
forgave Paris for its ‘betrayal’ of him and 40-50 figures in an army). Once you are
his men at Fashoda. used to the rules, a game takes about 45 SCENARIO 1 – ʻATTACKED BY
minutes to play, so it is perfectly possi- THE KHALIFAʼ
GAMING POSSIBILITIES ble to quickly assemble armies and then This scenario allows a recreation of
Two wargame scenarios are presented, fight out both scenarios in an evening. the initial skirmish between Marchand
one factual, and one a fictional ‘What Orders of Battle, deployment notes, and and the Khalifa’s forces on 25 August.
if?’ Both use the same terrain (see map) special rules are given for each scena- In order to provide balance and create
and utilize Hordes of the Empire, a sup- rio. Other rule sets that would work more of a challenge, it is presumed that
plement to the well-known Hordes of well with this scale of game include The the Dervishes have already landed war-
the Things (HotT) rules. For the unini- Sword and the Flame, Black Powder, bands, which have advanced overland
to support the amphibious attack.

ORDER OF BATTLE Deployment and special rules

French Mahdists deploy first within 600 paces
Troop Type Number of Elements x Points* Notes of the northern edge. The gunboats must
General 1x0 Marchand each carry one element (not hordes)
Shooters 10 x 2 Tirailleurs which can start the game embarked.
Transport 1x1 Sailboat – as per rules, However, they can only be disembar-
may carry one element ked within 400 paces of the fort. In
Gunboat 1x3 The Faidherbe, order to balance the game, the remain-
one machine gun** der of the Dervish force is allowed to
*HotT allots nominal points values to each element, thus allowing for a deploy on land. To reflect the weaknes-
balanced fight. If using more conventional rules, scale the forces allowing ses of the Dervish gunboats, it costs 2
for the fact that the French were outnumbered by a factor of at least 5:1. PIPs to activate them. If using other rule
**Although absent on the day, it provides the French with additional fire- sets, Mahdist artillery should be suitably
power and mobility. downgraded in terms of effectiveness.
Shilluk hordes (use Dervish skirmish
Mahdists figures or ‘Nile Arabs’ to model them)
Troop Type Number of Elements x Points Notes must not initially be deployed further
General 1x0 Marchand forward than any other elements. They
Shooters 4x2 Ansar must deploy a baggage element on land
Warband 3x2 Beja to serve as a ‘stronghold’.
Gunboat* 2x3 artillery French forces must set up with two ele-
Hordes 4x1 Shilluk Tribesmen ments in the fort, which counts as the
* Model gunboats can be expensive to buy, but are fun to build – there are French ‘stronghold’ in game terms. The
numerous guides to this on-line. It is just about acceptable, if rather ugly, Faidherbe is adjacent to the fort, tied up
to depict the vessels by using foamboard or card cut to shape! ready to embark a unit if needed. The
remaining French deploy 600 paces in
from the southern edge.

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 ORDERS OF BATTLE
British
Troop Type Number of Elements x Points Notes
General 1x0 Col. Jackson
Shooters 9x2 XIII Sudanese Infantry Bttn.
Gunboat 1x3 The Sultan, one machine gun
Artillery 1x3 7 pdrs.

French army Order of Battle is as per the first scenario.

© North Star
The village counts as difficult ground, with the Sultan gunboat at the northern
not a built-up area. The areas of marsh edge of the river. Their camp sits at any
are ‘difficult’ for all: in July, the area was point on the table edge. One element
flooded and Fashoda was effectively a (sentries) may be deployed up to 600
pestilential island. paces from the northern edge.

French victory conditions are as normal French deploy along the eastern edge,
for Hordes, i.e. destroy one-third of the with the Faidherbe adjacent to the fort.
enemy points, with extra weight given Four elements of shooters deploy along
for capturing the enemy stronghold/bag- the northern edge, but no closer than
gage. The Mahdists must be in posses- 400 paces from the British deployment French officers.
sion of the fort to claim victory. zone.

SCENARIO TWO – ʻOLD ENEMIESʼ Victory conditions for both sides are RULES AND READING
Captain Germain is in temporary to eliminate one-third of the enemy The Hordes of the Empire sup-
command of the fort, as Marchand elements. plement provides a quick, easy
has departed for Cairo. In defiance of rule set, which – thanks to the
Colonel Jackson, he has dispatched a Options generosity of the writers – is
strong night patrol of 25 men into the a. French ammunition was running freely available on the internet,
territory of the Shilluk. On returning to low; Marchand secretly rolls 1d6 as are WRG’s Hordes of the
the fort, they venture too close to the per shooter element, noting the Things rules. Reference to both
British picket line. Inevitably, a nervous result, which is the number of turns can be found on the ‘Colo-
sentry, when his challenge is ignored, shooting that element is allowed. nial Wars’ Yahoo! Group (http://
fires a warning round. In the confusion, b. The French column from Djibouti games.groups.yahoo.com/group/
an exchange of fire takes place. Both has arrived, adding 6 x shooters to ColonialWars/).
sides ‘turn-to’ and prepare to fight the their Order of Battle.
long-expected battle. For further information on
Andy is a new writer for WS&S. He is Marchand’s expedition, I heartily
Deployment and special rules so into colonial gaming that he has his recommend The Fashoda Inci-
Terrain is as per the map, with the own Zulu spear which he occasion- dent of 1898: Encounter on the
marsh again acting as difficult terrain ally points at the table while shouting Nile by Darrell Bates (1984), and
for all (and impassable for artillery). The “uSuthu” at the top of his voice... The Race to Fashoda: Euro-
British deploy from the western edge, pean Colonialism and African
Resistance in the Scramble for
Africa by David Lewis (1987).
© Simon Clarke (aka Lurkio)

Winston Churchill, who served

under Kitchener, includes a
tremendous account in The River
War: An historical account of
the reconquest of the Soudan
(1902), which is freely available
on-line.
Models are from Artisan Designs,
Perry Miniatures and Peter Pig.
Our thanks to Nick Eyre of
North Star Miniatures and Simon
Clarke (aka Lurkio).

Mahdists in 15mm.

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THEME

By Andy Miles

Refighting the Battle of the Nyezane River, 22 January 1879

“TERRIBLY EARNEST WORK”

On 17 January 1879, the British No. 1 or ‘coastal’ column
crossed into Zulu territory from Natal. Led by Colonel C.K.
Pearson, the column was to form the most southerly of a
three-pronged advance toward the Zulu capital of Ulundi,
via the abandoned mission station at Eshowe. Consisting
of regular infantry, men of the Naval Brigade, mounted
volunteers, and two battalions of the Natal Native
Contingent, the column would depend heavily on its

© Georgie Harman
long supply train of ox-drawn wagons.

K
ing Cetshwayo responded to the “This battle was so fierce that we had to
threat posed by Pearson’s com- wipe the blood and brains of the killed and
mand by dispatching a force from wounded from our heads, faces, arms, legs along the Eshowe track. At the same
Ulundi consisting of three ‘regiments’ and shields after the fighting.” time, Zulu scouts were spotted on the
(amabutho), of which only one was in (Unnamed veteran of the uMxhapo ibutho) high ground ahead, around the Wom-
its prime – the remainder, having been bane Hill. The NNC under Captain Hart
raised generations previously, compri- THE BATTLE were sent forward to clear them from
sed elderly warriors. They were supple- At 5am, on the morning of 22 January, the slopes.
mented by local tribesmen and ele- in preparation for the march towards
ments of various incomplete amabutho, Eshowe, Pearson crossed the Nyezane Godide had chosen the Wombane
and led by 72-year-old induna Godide River, with the Natal Native Contingent Hill as the location for his left horn,
kaNdlela. Their role was to mount a (NNC), the Naval Brigade, and the and sent his best troops, the uMxhapo,
surprise attack on Pearson’s column. ‘Buffs’ (the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regi- to occupy it and prepare an ambush.
Soon enough, Godide’s warriors would ment of Foot) in the vanguard. At 8am, Having carefully observed the British
get their chance to wash their spears in he halted for breakfast, with the long advance since its crossing of the Tugela
British blood. column dangerously extended for 8km River days before, he had opted to try

6mm Zulus advance on the British line.

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 “They fire young cannon balls, slugs, and
even gravel. I tell you what it is … we used
to laugh at them [the Zulus], but fighting
with them is terribly earnest work and not
child’s play.”
(C/Sgt J.W. Burnett, 99th Regt)

Pearson, who was situated well within

range of the Zulu attack (indeed, he had
his horse shot from under him), respon-
ded vigorously. The wagons closed up
and the Buffs and blue-jacketed Naval
Brigade rushed forward to contend
with the assault from the Wombane.
The onrushing uMxhapo were suddenly
halted by well-directed volleys from the
Buffs, whilst the Royal Naval contingent
under Commander Campbell set up its
rocket tube near a knoll close to the
umuzi on the central ridge. By now, the
first elements of the Zulu centre were
appearing in numbers, and Camp-
bell was keen to engage them. Soon
enough, Hales rockets were streaking
through the morning sky and causing
consternation among the warriors of the
Zulu centre. To this, the sailors soon ad-
ded the firepower of their single Gatling
gun: under the enthusiastic direction of
Midshipman Coker, they began to rake
any unfortunate warriors who were in
range of the knoll. This was the first time
the British had deployed a Gatling gun
Map of the terrain and units at Nyezane. on land, and even they must have been
astonished by its ruthless effectiveness.
and catch the column in exactly the sorry state of affairs for a unit of scouts!)
strung-out condition in which it now Once within yards of each other, the left After the battle, the Zulu dead were
found itself. The terrain was well-suited horn rose up and – with a great shout found in clumps, one numbering as
to his purpose: in the isiZulu language, of “uSuthu!” – opened fire on the NNC, many as 35 tightly pressed fatalities.
Wombane translates as ‘victory’, and whose men began a hasty retreat. The With the attack from the Wombane and
the hill had been the scene of numerous officers and NCOs attempted to make central hill failing, and troops from the
battles in the past. He intended to a stand, but were swiftly overcome by column taking up position to support
deploy his centre near a small village, the enthusiastic uMxhapo, who stormed the vanguard, Pearson was confident
or umuzi, on the central hill, whilst the down the Wombane towards the rest of enough to allow Campbell to pursue
right horn would mass on the adjacent the column. the Zulus through the smouldering
hill and threaten to engulf the British umuzi. The men of the Naval Brigade
rear. Unfortunately for Godide and the Godide was experienced enough to un- fixed their deadly cutlass bayonets and
Zulus, his trap was about to be sprung derstand the risks posed by an uncon- advanced at a brisk pace clearing the
far too early. trolled and unsupported attack – the Zulu centre as they went.
centre and right horn were at this point
Captain Hart’s men progressed hal- still far from assuming their respective The Buffs found the uMxhapo a tougher
tingly; they could hear the buzzing in positions. However, he was unable to nut to crack, and only concerted volley
the thick bush that gave away the pre- regain control of his eager young war- fire eventually drove them back over the
sence of the uMxhapo, but, as neither riors, and, from that point, the action crest of the Wombane, the Zulus conti-
Hart nor his NCOs could speak their became a running battle. This eventu- nuing to skirmish as they withdrew. The
dialect, there was no way of commu- ally suited the British, who were able Zulu right horn, which comprised the
nicating the situation amongst them- to concentrate firepower where it was least able units, was slow to arrive, and
selves. (Pearson later lamented on the most effective. the British mounted infantry was able to

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THEME

repulse it easily, with just a few volleys of concentrated firepower, and were
from their carbines. relieved that Pearson had not pursued
them more aggressively. Instead, he
By 9.30am, the final Zulu skirmishers patiently collected his forces and conti-
had fled, leaving the British column free nued the advance to Eshowe, where his
to continue its advance. men converted it into a strong fortified
position. Any plans to continue on to
AFTERMATH Ulundi were shattered with the news of
Casualties amongst the column were the catastrophe at Isandlwana, which
slight, and included just 25 fatalities, had occurred almost simultaneously
mostly from the NNC. The Zulus lost with the Nyezane action. Pearson was
at least 400 dead, with many more ordered to hold his position at Eshowe.
wounded. Godide was chastised by There he remained, losing more men to GAMING THE BATTLE
his king for the failed attack and did disease than to the Zulus, until later in The Battle of the Nyezane River has
not feature again in the war. The Zulus the spring, when he was ultimately re- been overlooked by wargamers (and
were surprised by the effectiveness lieved by Wolseley’s ‘second’ invasion. even some historians), who tend to

ORDER OF BATTLE
The break-down of forces includes suggestions for using Chris Peers’ Death in the Dark Continent rules, which are desig-
ned to handle large-scale skirmishes and small battles involving up to a few thousand participants per side. Other rules
which may be suitable for this scenario include Black Powder, Triumph and Tragedy, and Battles for Empire.

British (Col. Pearson - Disciplined commander)

Unit & Commander Effectives Bases Notes

2nd Bttn, 3rd Foot ‘The Buffs’
(5 Companies) – Col. Parnell 411 5 Soldiers with breech-loaders
99th Foot (2 companies) 90 2 Soldiers with breech-loaders
Naval Brigade - Cdr. Campbell 134 2 Elite soldiers with breech-loaders
No.2 sqn Mounted Infantry - Maj. Barrow 120 2 Light Horse with breech-loaders
Natal Mounted Volunteer Corps 123 2 Light Horse with breech-loaders
Natal Native Contingent
(2 battalions) – Maj. Graves, Capt. Hart 1714 8 per bttn. Skirmishers (one stand with muskets,
rest with spears)
Rocket Troop 1 Rockets
Gatling gun – Midn. Coker 1 Early machine gun
2 x Royal Artillery 7pdrs – Lt. Lloyd 1 Light rifled field gun
Wagon train 3 Baggage - may not form laager

Zulu (Induna Godide - Tribal Chief)

Unit Numbers Bases Notes

uMxhapo ibutho
(35 yr olds, unmarried) 1000 2x5 Elite warriors
(left horn – use ambush rules)
izinGulube ibutho
(55 yr olds, married) 500 5 Warriors (move as soldiers
due to their exhaustion)
Udlambedhlu ibutho
(64 yr olds, married) 200-300 3 Warriors (move as soldiers
due to their exhaustion)
iNsukamngeni, iQwa, uDududu,
iNdabakawombe and other amabutho 2000-3000 3x8 Warriors
Local irregulars 500-1000 2x4 Skirmishers (half armed with muskets,
half with breech-loaders)

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 focus on the twin dramas of Isandlwana
and Rorke’s Drift, yet it offers scope for
an involving and entertaining encounter
between diverse but balanced forces. It
also provides an opportunity to repre-
sent the first recorded use of the Gatling
gun by British land forces. In addition,
this being one of the last campaigns
where the British Army wore red coats,
it really sits in between the black pow- Sailors manning a Gardner gun.
der and early modern eras.
advance in good order at the end of the any leader figure is within missile range
DEPLOYMENT AND TERRAIN game. of the enemy: rolling a 6 removes him
The British must deploy in an extended from the game. Other ‘What ifs’ that
column, with one-third of its wagons REPRESENTING THE TROOPS ON THE could be considered include allowing
and units (including one regular unit) TABLETOP the Zulus to use one extra elite war-
on the southern bank of the river. Most The Zulu warriors were – with the rior unit, or having additional British
of the table should be depicted as gras- exception of the uMxhapo – mode- mounted reinforcements (from one of
sland, which will not impede movement rate, at best. The most senior warriors the other columns) arrive from behind
or visibility. The high terrain features were so exhausted by the fighting that the Zulu positions.
were easily traversed by the British and they ‘fled’ only at walking pace! Rules
should not slow movement. The river should be adapted to reflect this, with With is love of all things Zulu, his
is passable at the fording point only. movement bonuses restricted for the friends are wondering how long it will
Bushes block line of site. The village remainder of the impi. Conversely, Zulu be before Andy gets a Zulu hide shield
(umuzi) should be represented by a skirmishers were effective and should to go with his Zulu spear…
small enclosure and should not domi- not be too harshly penalized – a feature
nate the table. of many rule sets. Godide undoubtedly
lost control of the battle at an early
At the start of the game, no British unit stage, and his inability to rein in his left Further reading
may be deployed more than one normal horn should be reflected by a com- As mentioned, this action is
move from the supply train. If gaming mand penalty. In the Death in the Dark sadly often overlooked, but there
a straight recreation of the battle, the Continent rules, he is rated as a ‘tribal’ are resources available. The
Zulus should be allowed to deploy only leader; if you are playing with Black Washing of the Spears by Donald
the left horn on the table at the start, Powder rules, reduce his staff rating to R. Morris (1965; frequently reis-
comprising the uMxhapo ibutho with 7. sued) is one of the standard texts
accompanying skirmishers. The centre on the Zulu War, and covers our
and right horns must appear on a die On the British side, Pearson proved to battle more than satisfactorily.
roll (1, 2 = turn two; 3,4,5 = turn three; be a competent, if uninspired, small- Now difficult to obtain, but a
6 = turn four). A more open-ended unit commander (with a Black Powder great resource for gamers, is
game can be achieved if all Zulu forces rating of 8). His sub-commanders were Colonial Conquest (‘the maga-
are allowed to deploy at the start of the energetic and should also be represen- zine for the Colonial wargamer’),
game. A cunning umpire will suggest ted, if possible, with ratings of 8 (i.e. particularly Paul Darnell’s article
to the British player that the Zulus may ‘average’). The Naval Brigade proved in issue 1 (“Battle of Nyezane,
arrive late, while in reality allowing the to be especially effective, and must not 22nd January 1879”), which
Zulu player freedom to deploy anyw- be relegated as ‘second rate’ infantry. includes detailed orders of battle
here on the high ground, giving him the If anything, mêlée bonuses should be and Pearson’s own after-action
element of surprise. By using this me- applied to reflect the willingness of the report. Ian Knight’s article in
thod at our local club, the Zulus were blue-jackets to engage in hand-to-hand issue 10 (“Not Child’s Play: The
within a hair of victory, having pushed combat. Their rockets provided a defini- Battle of Nyezane River, 1879”)
the redcoats back to the river’s edge, but te morale advantage, while the Gatling is also very detailed. Finally, John
were stalled by a last-turn well-placed gun’s debut was startling (although most Laband’s book Kingdom in Crisis:
volley! rule sets reflect the weapon’s tendency The Zulu Response to the British
to jam!). Invasion of 1879 (2007) offers
VICTORY CONDITIONS a refreshing take on the whole
Zulu victory conditions are to rout or Both Pearson and Colonel Parnell of campaign from the Zulu perspec-
destroy one regular unit and an element the Buffs had horses shot from under tive, with good coverage of the
of the baggage train. To win, the British them, indicating either exceptional Zulu Nyezane battle.
must defend the baggage at all costs, shooting, or simple bad luck on their
and be in a position to continue its part! An ‘at risk’ d6 roll may be used if

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 38 04-06-12 19:58
WSS nr61 juni12.indd 39 04-06-12 19:58
THEME

By Mark Backhouse

Adapting SAGA for the great plains of Africa

COLONIAL SAGA
It is often the case with the miniatures in my collection that representing experienced regular or
elite colonial infantry, and elite tribal
the purchase of new ones comes as an impulse, when a fellow warriors renown for their ferocity (e.g.
Beja in the Sudan, or aggressive Zulu
gamer turns up at the club with a tray of unloved figures regiments).
destined for the bring-and-buy, and is open to offers. So it Warriors/regulars are the standard
colonial infantry, and most regular
was that I returned from one particular club night, with my tribal warriors. This category might also
include well-trained local auxiliaries.
wallet a few pounds lighter, clutching a large bag of 6mm Levies are poorly trained troops or ones
Irregular Zulu and British figures. who lack motivation, such as the Natal
Native Contingent.

R
eaders of some of my earlier
articles might have realized that
I’m quite an Anglo-Zulu War fan.
But, to be honest, I have always strug-
gled with the idea of painting Zulus
in the sort of numbers that I wanted.
While they can look smashing if you
have several hundred crowded together
in 28mm or 15mm, the idea of massed
ranks of 6mm figures really appealed.
The added incentive was speed of pain-
ting, as I could quite happily paint forty Colonial Saga in 6mm: bases and bases of Zulus...
or fifty in an evening.
played it at 15mm, 20mm, and 28mm! The C-in-C represents the leading
I started basing up the figures and What follows is the end result of a bit of colonial officer, or the local chief or
painting them, content in my own little tinkering and playtesting that I hope you warlord.
world and happily assuming that a set will enjoy!
of ‘Colonial’ rules would land in my Mustering your army
lap. None materialized, and I got a bit THE RULES You can either attempt to play historical
distracted with the Zeitgeist of play- Troop classifications scenarios, or you can try to achieve a
ing SAGA. The quick and characterful The forces are divided up into the fol- balanced scenario by having an equal
games entertained me, and I started lowing groups. number of points each (four points for
to wonder if they might work for the Veterans are the best troops available, a small game, six for a standard game,
Colonial period. I like the way you
can choose who you might activate,
sometimes at the expense of other ARMY LISTS
actions or units. This would hopefully Each army gets a C-in-C base for free.
make players think carefully about how For one point you can choose one of the following:
to prioritize their SAGA dice, and might 2 Colonial veteran bases with rifles and bayonets
create some tense decisions for both 4 Colonial regular bases with rifles/carbines and bayonets
sides. I started to use the game with 8 Colonial levy bases with rifles and bayonets
Zulus and British, and subsequently 4 Tribal veteran warrior bases with mêlée weapons*
developed into various other colonial 8 Tribal warrior bases with mêlée weapons*
conflicts, such as the Sudan and the 12 Tribal levy bases with mêlée weapons*
Maori Wars. Although it started as a
6mm project, various people at the club *Note that units with mêlée weapons might also include a number of figures
then tried it out with whatever figures with rifles, muskets and throwing spears. These can be activated by using the
they had available, and the rules still specific abilities on the player’s battleboards during the game.
seemed to work pretty well. I’ve now

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 same, although the C-in-Cs have been
© North Star

toned down to reflect their less heroic

role in the Colonial period compared
with the Dark Ages! The defence scores
have also been reduced for soldiers ar-
med with rifles and bayonets, to encou-
rage Colonial players to try and keep
Regular Colonial troops. their Native opponents at a distance!

and eight to ten for a large game).

All numbers here are given in bases. At MELEE
28mm, a base might be one figure, but Class Number of mêlée Defence score in
would look better with four (or even dice for the unit mêlée
six). At 15mm, it probably looks best Veteran rifles 2 per base 4
with eight figures per base, and at 6mm, Regular rifles 1 per base 3
I have about sixteen figures per base! Levy rifles 1 per 3 bases 2
As long as each base is the same size, Veteran warriors 2 per base 5
it won’t make a lot of difference. Units Warriors 1 per base 4
must be made up of between four and Levy and native warriors
twelve bases. with mêlée weapons 1 per 2 bases 4
C-in-C 2 per base 5
Movement rules and activation rules
These stay the same as SAGA. Levies do
not provide SAGA dice. Everyone else range shooting.* Fatigue
contributes one die, except for the C-in- • All rifle shooting has L for range. A The rules stay the same here. Veterans
C, who contributes two dice. Movement unit may opt to shoot at L x 2. If it are exhausted at four fatigue points,
stays the same. does this, it halves and rounds down regulars/warriors are exhausted at three
the number of shooting dice, unless fatigue points, and levies are exhausted
Units may be mounted, if an appro- a ‘Range markers’ special ability is at two fatigue points.
priate historical precedent allows this. activated.
Mounted units move at L and reduce • All carbines have M for range. The C-in-Cs
their defence score from shooting by -1. The C-in-C acts in a similar way to the
Rifle-armed mounted units must swap Mêlée Warlord in SAGA. The ‘we obey’, ‘de-
their rifles for carbines. The mêlée rules stay pretty much the termination’, and ‘side by side’ rules

Shooting
This obviously needs some tweaking
from the original SAGA rules, as a larger
proportion of the troops in our games
© North Star

are armed with firearms.

• Native warrior units with mêlée
weapons may not fire with a normal
activation, but instead need a ‘Thro-
wing spears’ or ‘Musketry’ special
ability to be activated to use long-
Levy Rifles, numerous but not effective.

SHOOTING all apply. They can use the ‘resilience’

Class Number of shooting Defence score special ability to allocate hits to any
attack dice for the unit from shooting friendly veteran or regular/warrior units
Veteran rifles 2 per base 5 within VS of their base in mêlée or
Regular rifles 1 per base 4 shooting. However, they are destroyed
Levy rifles 1 per 2 bases 3 after just a single hit, rather than igno-
Levy and Warriors ring the first hit. The C-in-C does not
with mêlée weapons* 1 per 3 bases 3 have ‘warlord’s pride’.
Veterans with mêlée
weapons* 1 per 2 bases 4 Morale
C-in-C 1 per base 6 One feature of SAGA that is not directly
covered is morale. To an extent, the
reduction in SAGA dice as units are

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 42 04-06-12 19:59
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THEME

ted veteran warrior unit (maximum size

of 4 with mêlée weapons, no rifles) may
be taken to represent lancers.

Native Warriors excel in close combat. Anglo-Sudan War, British variant

Any number of veteran regulars and
destroyed acts in a similar way to fai- Every other unit of warriors may be regular units, representing the British
ling morale and command and control mounted on horses. Up to one unit of Infantry Regiments and Naval Brigade.
breaking down. However, the result levies may be armed with rifles and Any number of rifle-armed levies, repre-
can sometimes look a little ‘last man bayonets, representing captured Egyp- senting unwilling Egyptian troops.
standing’! A sensible option can be to tian rifles.
make an opponent’s force start to retire Veteran units may be mounted on
if it loses more than half of its initial Maori variant camels. Swap rifles for carbines (-1
SAGA dice. The native warrior board requires a defence against shooting). One veteran
small alteration to reflect the greater unit (maximum size of 8) can be moun-
THE BATTLEBOARDS emphasis on ranged fire. Remove the ted, and swap their rifles for mêlée
The battleboards attempt to capture ‘Throwing spears’ option on the battle- weapons to represent lancers.
the flavour of each force. I toyed with board and replace with ‘Range markers’
the idea of giving the native warriors a ability from the Colonial regulars board. Maori Wars, British Variant
higher movement score; but, instead, I Any number of veteran regulars and
felt that more emphasis on movement Any number of veteran and warrior regular units, representing the British
and removing fatigue would help to units with mêlée weapons. Any number Infantry Regiments and Naval Brigade.
compensate for this, and would proba- of veteran and warrior units with rifles Any number of levies with rifles and
bly allow the natives to outmanoeuvre and bayonets – I realize that, in reality, bayonets, representing locally-raised
the colonial invaders. this would be more likely a club or militia forces.
hand axe for mêlée! These act like
NATIVE WARRIORS regular rifles in terms of their dice, and Up to half of your units may be allied
The native warriors battleboard is meant can fire with a normal activation. A Maori tribes. Count these as either re-
to represent warriors who generally maximum of one levy unit may be used gular or veterans with mêlée weapons.
try to close in and mêlée as quickly as per veteran unit, representing less com- (Note that these will not normally be
possible. I have provided a few sample mitted local tribes. allowed to fire. To allow for this, remove
variants, although common sense and the ‘Retire in good order’ ability from
historical precedents should override COLONIAL FORCES the Colonial regular battleboard, and
these, as you see fit! The Colonial regulars battleboard replace it with ‘Musket fire’ from the
emphasizes firing at range, although it Native warriors battleboard.)
Zulu variant can still give an unwary native warrior
Any number of veteran warrior and player a shock at close quarters! While TAKING IT FURTHER
warrior units representing the various essentially British in character, it would On the WS&S website, we will be ad-
Zulu regiments. A maximum of one levy serve equally well for Belgians in the ding additional rules and battleboards,
unit may be used per veteran unit, to Congo or Germans in East Africa. to try and capture the feel of some of
represent unwilling local tribes. the other forces of the Colonial era. If
Anglo-Zulu War, British variant you find yourself constantly cursing
Mahdist variant Any number of veteran regulars and one of the activations, then feel free to
Any number of veteran warriors with regular units, representing the British tone it down (or turn it up!) to get the
mêlée weapons, representing fana- Infantry Regiments and Naval Brigade. balance of play right for you. Now, get
tics and tough Beja tribesmen. Up to A minimum of one levy unit must be those figures out of the cupboard and
one veteran warrior unit with mêlée used per veteran unit, representing have some fun!
weapons may be mounted on camels – NNC troops.
treat as horses! Any number of warrior In typical Backhouse style, Mark decid-
units with mêlée weapons, representing Any number of regular troops may be ed that he wanted something different
the various tribes who supported the mounted to represent auxiliary units like and fun for his Colonial games. So he
Mahdi. the Natal Mounted Police. One moun- adapted and wrote his own rules!

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 45 04-06-12 19:59
FRONT COVER

By Andy Hawes

Ultimate sacrifice on the fields of Afghanistan

ʻTHE LAST ELEVEN AT

MAIWANDʼ
The battle of Maiwand has always held a fascination for me, ever since a one-off cartoon strip
about it in the 70s comic ‘Warlord’ when I was a lad. That set me off on a journey into the history
of the Northwest Frontier of India and the exploits of Britsh and Indian troops there throughout
the 19th century. Not for me were the more obvious Colonial exploits of Great Britain in the
Victorian era (the Sudan or Zulu War anyone?) Oh no… For me, it’s always been all about the
Northwest Frontier and Afghanistan.

S
o, when the opportunity arose to

© Andy Hawes
paint a vignette for Wargames, Sol-
diers and Strategy, the famous last
stand of the British 66th Foot at Mai-
wand was the obvious choice, as it is a
nice small number of men in a very spe-
cific situation. Also, it’s the sort of thing
most wargamers love – a desperate fight
to the end against impossible odds. In
short, real ‘Boys’ Own’ stuff! It’s also a
timely reminder that the current sacrifi-
ces of the British army and the Afghan
people are actually a modern chapter
in a history of conflict that extends back
to the mid 19th century. British troops
have been fighting and dying for Queen
and Country in Helmand province of
Afghanistan for a long, long time.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
For those of you who may not know so
much about it, here is a short potted The Last Stand.
history of the battle and how I came to
my interpretation within the vignette.

The battle of Maiwand took place late Outnumbered and outgunned, Bur-
in the Second Afghan war on the 27th rowes deployed his brigade on an
of July, 1880. It was the classic example open plain, exposing his inexperienced
© Andy Hawes

of a British commander underestimating Indian infantry (Jacob’s Rifles and the

his opponents and paying the price. Bombay Grenadiers) and cavalry to
Brigadier General Burrowes, with a a pounding from the superior Afghan
brigade of the Anglo-Indian army of artillery and regular infantry. The British
Bombay had been tasked by the British 66th foot held the Anglo-Indian right
high command with keeping the rebel flank, faced by innumerable hordes of
Afghan prince Ayub Khan away from Ghazis, warriors zealots determined to
Khandahar. die for their faith. Down to the last few rounds…

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 attempt to make for Khandahar some 45
miles away.

How the last eleven men came to their

fate is unknown. In my view, it is quite
likely that, separated from other groups
among the walled gardens, they simply
never received the order to withdraw in
the confusion and noise, only realising
© Andy Hawes

their predicament as the volume of ene-

my troops around them increased and
the volume of friendly fire decreased.
Rushing out to effect their own withdra-
Hold the line! Ready bayonets!

Outflanked from the outset by superior

numbers, under continuous artillery fire
and suffering in 110 degree heat, the
left-hand companies of Jacob’s Rifles
broke, collapsed and fled for safety into
the neighbouring Bombay Grenadiers,
who subsequently lost cohesion and
collapsed as well. The routing Indian
troops then disrupted the firing line of
the left-most companies of the 66th
Foot, whose devastating volley-fire had
hitherto kept the Ghazis at bay. Now
however, the British troops became
disordered and shaken and began to The view from the ‘back’ of the vignette.
withdraw, causing the collapse of the
entire line. troops were huddled in small groups wal before their ammunition ran out,
among the walled gardens, their rifle they found themselves alone and cut off
What happened next is not completely fire taking a fearsome toll on the enemy, by the swarming Afghans, leaving them
clear. All we really know for certain is but expending vital ammunition in the with no alternative but to fight and die
that 231 of the 66th Foot escaped the process. The Ghazis had infiltrated the where they stood. It seems that they
battle and that 285 were killed in the village and were surrounding the British were not out of ammunition when they
action. It is likely that company cohe- troops. In addition, there was a genuine broke out, because the only surviving
rency fell apart very rapidly following concern that the Afghan regulars and account of their demise comes from an
the collapse of the Indian regiments artillery, who had hitherto been busy Afghan artillery officer, who claims that
and their subsequent disordering of the looting the abandoned baggage train, they stood back-to-back, firing at the
British line. However, a large part of the would arrive and turn their fire onto the enemy until they were shot down. Ap-
regiment clearly did rally and reform for village. Eventually, with many of the parently, even the feared Ghazis refused
a significant period within the village of senior officers shot down, the regi- to advance until all the British troops
Khig, in the rear of their initial position. mental colour lost, and all hope gone, were killed, which is a testament to the
They held the Ghazis at bay there for the order was given to break out and respect the enemy had for these brave
a significant time and thereby allowed British soldiers. This is how I have cho-
the remainder of the regiment to retreat sen to construct the vignette, with the
relatively unmolested, given the total British troops halted, selling their lives
collapse of the Anglo-Indian force as a dearly against impossible odds.
whole.
Who exactly were the ‘last eleven’?
In the village of Khig, the situation Well, it is not known with any certainty.
© Andy Hawes

rapidly became desperate. The regi- It is thought that there were two officers,
ment’s commander, Colonel Galbraith one of whom is believed to have be-
was killed during the first stand among longed to one of the Indian regiments,
the walled gardens in the village. The and nine other ranks. Despite what
regimental colour bearer was also shot some of the original Victorian paintings
down and anyone who took up the flag would have you believe, the regimental
became an immediate target. The British An officer readies his pistol...steady lads! colour would not have been present, as

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FRONT COVER

© Andy Hawes

© Andy Hawes

© Andy Hawes
Empress Zulu War British painted The blood stained sand. An Afghan casualty.
in khaki.

it was left in gardens when the withdra- Pontoonier miniatures make the closest supporting a wounded colleague, which
wal from the village was made. match with their Burmese war infantry. I had to buy), so I was forced to source
These have everything correct except these from elsewhere, eventually set-
In addition, legend suggests that the for the helmet (which is uncovered). The tling on Foundry models from their Zulu
regimental mascot, a small white dog problem is, they have no fixed bayonets War range. Not ideal, but beggars can’t
named ‘Bobbie’ was present at the last and that was a HUGE no-no for me, be choosers! At this point, I also deci-
stand. He was certainly present during as soldiers in the situation of the men ded to add a couple of dead Afghans to
the battle and managed to make it safe- at Maiwand would definitely have had the scene. I wanted to be able to break
ly back to Khandahar despite a wound their bayonets fixed. Hmm…this wasn’t up the mass of khaki with white and oc-
on his back. Whether or not he was at going so well! casional splashes of colour, so a couple
the last stand is therefore not known, of Afghan casualties seemed the ideal
and is probably unlikely, but I rather So, I sat down and pondered for a while way to do this. These models came from
liked the idea of including him. As you and in the end realised that, for me, my colonial collection and are also
will see later, he made all the difference this was going to have to be all about from Foundry’s ranges.
when putting the vignette together. the ‘feel’ of the piece rather than 100%
historical accuracy. For overall ‘feel’, PAINTING THE MODELS
DESIGNING AND PAINTING there was only one choice: Empress Empress models are beautifully cast
THE VIGNETTE Miniatures’ fantastic Zulu War models. and ordinarily need little preparation.
I am not a professional painter. I’m just I had already painted a unit of these However, I did need to do a little work
a regular gamer who happens to be able in khaki for my Triumph & Tragedy before painting in order to make them
to splash paint around pretty effectively. Northwest Frontier Anglo-Indian force ‘Afghanistan-ready’. Firstly, I gently filed
In addition, I had never painted a full- and had been very pleased by the effect away the decoration on the cuffs of the
scale vignette/diorama before, so this I’d achieved. Would these come to the jackets, as the khaki summer uniform in
was bound to be something of a chal- rescue? I dragged the models out of Afghanistan had no cuff ornamentation.
lenge. However, I had already formed the miniatures cabinet to look at them Secondly, I filed away the parts of the
a vision in my mind of approximately again, and that made up my mind for gaiters where they joined so I could
what I wanted the scene to look like, so me! Empress miniatures it would have paint them as puttees. Lastly, I glued all
I set off to get everything together. to be! the models to the lids of empty Foundry
paint pots to facilitate ease of handling
Sourcing the miniatures CHOOSING THE FIGURES while painting.
Finding good quality 28mm models of With only eleven men to play with, one
British troops in the correct equipment has to choose wisely! I tried to choose The models were painted in my usual
for Maiwand is actually impossible. a selection of models that would give three-layered style using a mixture of
Nobody makes them! Hmm…that’s a ‘height’ to the scene. This is important, Foundry and Games Workshop paints.
bit of a snag at the outset then! So, what as the battle was fought on a fairly flat,
are the options? open plain and the last stand took place
on the open ground to the Southeast of
Firstly, Perry Miniatures make a bunch the village of Khig. This means that we
of British troops in ‘Indian kit’ for their don’t have the luxury of a large hill to
Sudan range. These chaps are wearing give the vignette height. I decided that I
khaki with puttees and the correct hel- needed some models who were prone
© Andy Hawes

met (a covered pith helmet). However, as casualties, some who were kneeling
they wear the greatcoat rolled over the and others (especially the two officers)
shoulder as a bandolier, which was not who were standing.
present at Maiwand and, to me, looks
a bit ‘clumsy’ on the tabletop. That’s no The trouble with this is that Empress
good then! doesn’t yet make casualty figures (ex-
cept for a superb model of a sergeant Black undercoat and flesh tones.

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 © Andy Hawes

© Andy Hawes

© Andy Hawes
Painting the Puttees and hair. Khaki uniform painted. Final touches and the model is finished.

First, the models were undercoated ‘Drab’, which is a very good colour for tish equipment. The officers have some
using GW black spray. After this, I pain- colonial khaki. Again, I used all three brown belts and straps. The 66th Foot’s
ted the flesh using Foundry’s flesh paint shades to build up the highlights. At this officer had his painted in Foundry’s
palette. I have long ago abandoned point, I also painted the clothing on the ‘Bay Brown’ while the second had his
attempting to paint eyes, so having Afghan casualties using GW ‘Bubonic painted using ‘Bay Brown as a basecoat
painted the ‘Flesh Shade’ basecoat, Brown’, ‘Bleached Bone’ and ‘Skull before highlights were added using GW
I simply added a light wash of GW White’ to highlight the white clothes. I ‘Dark Flesh’ and ‘Vermin Brown’.
‘Devlan Mud’ ink into the eye recesses like this colour combination, as it gives
before using the mid and light tones of a more natural ‘off-white’ tone than I was on the home straight now and
the Flesh palette to add the highlights. using a grey-based white. One Afghan set about the boots and water bottles.
At this point, I decided to paint the hair was given trousers painted in Foundry’s The latter were painted using Foundry’s
and opted for various shades of brown ‘Storm Green’, the same colour being ‘Deep Brown Leather’. This colour was
from Foundry’s catalogue, including used for the skull-cap on the other also used for the Afghan casualties’
‘Bay Brown’, ‘Peaty Brown’ and ‘Conker casualty figure. shoes. The British infantry boots were
Brown’. painted with Foundry’s ‘Charcoal’,
Following this, I decided to paint the while the second officer’s boots were
The Afghan models’ hair was painted in soldiers’ equipment. This was done painted in the same colours as his belts
Foundry ‘Charcoal Black’. In all cases, using GW colours with a basecoat of and straps.
this was the ‘shade’ and ‘light’ tones ‘Khemri Brown’, followed by a main
only. highlight of ‘Dheneb Stone’ with final After this, it was on to the weaponry.
highlighting using ‘Bleached Bone’. I All guns were painted using Foundry’s
Next, I decided to paint the puttees. find this combination to be very effec- ‘Spearshaft Shade,’ highlighted with
Back in 1880, the 66th Foot wore put- tive alongside the drab khaki of the uni- ‘Spearshaft Light’. The metal parts were
tees of a darker shade than their khaki forms, as it is different enough to stand done with GW ‘Boltgun metal’. This
uniforms, so I opted for Foundry’s ‘Peaty out without the ‘glare’ of pure white was then washed with GW black ink
Brown’. The puttees were painted as that some painters use on colonial Bri- before a small highlight of GW ‘Chain-
horizontal brown stripes, leaving a thin
line of black undercoat between each
© Andy Hawes

stripe. This method gives a pleasing re-

sult and works really well on these figu-
res. The exceptions to this were the two
officers. One is wearing boots and did
not need their puttees painted. On the
other, I painted puttees, but followed
the historical uniform as worn by the
officers of the 66th Foot, whose puttees
were a blue-grey colour. I used all three
shades of Foundry ‘Night Sky’ for this,
as it seemed the perfect colour, neither
too blue nor too grey. As it turned out,
this little splash of colour made a big
difference to the overall vignette as it
breaks up the khaki and draws the eye
to the officer figure.

Having painted the puttees, I tackled

the uniforms. This meant painting a
lot of khaki! For this, I used Foundry’s Arranging the figures around the base.

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FRONT COVER

© Andy Hawes
mail’. The bayonets had a final (and
pretty hefty) highlight of GW ‘Mithril
Silver’ to make them shine out.

Finally, it was time for the helmets,

which were all painted in the same
Foundry ‘Drab’ as the uniforms. I was
done. Or so I thought…but more on
that later!

DESIGNING THE BASE

I had already decided that I needed
some limited height on the base, so
I created a fold in the ground with a
40mm circular and a 20mm square
base. I then used Polyfilla to sculpt the The plain base.
ground over and around them. Once
this was dry, I started positioning the submit the vignette to the magazine I then drew around all the models’
models to gain a view of what I wanted editors…where would I find a suitable bases and took a couple of photos to
the overall shape of the vignette to look dog model? Well, clearly the chances of remind me where each model went.
like. This was by far the most challen- finding a 28mm small terrier are slim, After which, I glued some sand to the
ging part of this whole process for me, but luckily, I had the Warlord Games base, avoiding the areas where the mo-
as I am fully aware of the need to create resin ‘General Maximus’ (Gladiator) dels’ bases would sit. When it was dry,
a good ‘shape’ and an artistic ‘picture’ blister pack in my bits box. It contains a I painted it with Foundry ‘Base Sand
with the vignette. I tried to achieve this dog…ok, it’s an Alsatian-type dog, but, Shade’ before dry-brushing with ‘Base
by careful positioning of the models – I as I think I’ve said before, beggars can’t Sand Highlight’ and finally with GW
wanted the casualties to flow around be choosers! After a swift slathering of ‘Bleached Bone’.
the base edge, with the rifles of the Bri- paint using the same colour scheme as
tish troops shaping the next tier. The two my Afghan white clothing, with brown I then super-glued all the models down,
officers would then stand in the centre. patches and ears courtesy of Foundry starting with the casualties, to whom
‘Deep Brown Leather’ mid tone and I added bloodstains using GW ‘Red
It was at this point that I realised so- highlight, lo and behold, I had ‘Bobbie’ Gore’ liberally mixed with GW ‘Devlan
mething was missing. There was a gap ready to go! I slotted him in next to the Mud’ ink. I also added this to the base
in the middle and it didn’t look right. 66th Foot’s officer and suddenly it all next to their wounds, which added a
This lead to a moment of despair, as I felt right! I had my vignette! splash of colour and a splash of realism
was temporarily at a loss as to what I
should do. However, it was then that I
realised that I needed ‘Bobbie’ to take
his legendary place with the last eleven
and complete the vignette. However,
this was mere days before I had to
© Andy Hawes
© Andy Hawes

‘Bobbie’, borrowed from Maximus! The base with casualties and blood added.

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 © Andy Hawes
The finished vignette.

to the piece. I then glued in all the other Any readers interested in following my painting and gaming exploits further
models, added and painted the sand can do so at my blog (http://.guitarheroandy.blogspot.co.uk) or at my local
over their bases, and stopped to admire gaming club website and forum (http://www.peterborough-wargames-club.
my handiwork. It was looking good so org.uk)
far!!
References:
At this point, I decided that all I needed
now was a few clumps of desert grass ‘Maiwand: The Last Stand of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment in Afghanistan’
which I sourced from my collection of by Richard J. Stacpoole-Ryding (ISBN 978-0-7524-4537-3)
basing materials (I use Noch ‘Rough In my view, this is the definitive work on the subject and has been instru-
Grass’ for this). The vignette was now mental in shaping my understanding of the battle and the vignette.
complete, barring a brushed on coat
of GW gloss varnish and Revell ‘Aqua ‘Britain in Afghanistan’: The Second Afghan War 1878-80’ by Archibald
Colour’ matt clear paint to protect and Forbes ISBN 1-84677-305-9
finish it, of course! (I normally use Written, I think, not long after the war, this is essential reading for anyone in-
Testor’s Dullcote to matte down my mo- terested in the Second Afghan War. It includes a brief account of Maiwand.
dels, but the weather hasn’t been very
varnish-friendly here lately!) ‘The March to Kandahar: Roberts in Afghanistan’ by Rodney Atwood
Another ‘general history’ of the war, this book focuses on the career of Lord
And that was that! The Last Eleven at Roberts, the outstanding British commander during the war. The battle of
Maiwand are immortalised forever in Maiwand is covered here too.
28mm!
Empress Miniatures: (www.empressminiatures.com)
Andy is perhaps better known for his Makers of most of the models on the vignette
excellently painted Arthurian and El
Cid armies. He kindly agreed to take a Foundry Miniatures: (http://wargamesfoundry.com)
break from dipping Welsh Cavalry and Makers of the casualty figures on the vignette
painting Mohicans to do this lovely
vignette for us.

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SCENARIO

By Mark Backhouse

Gaming the pre-Conquest campaigns of William I of Normandy 1035-1064

THE BASTARDʼS BATTLES

The Normandy that William the Bastard was born into was wrought with conflict and internal
troubles. Richard III of Normandy died after being Duke for just a single year. The manner of his
death was deeply suspicious, and there were many rumours that he was poisoned. William’s own
father, Robert I, inherited the dukedom in 1027 and ruled for only eight years, before his own
untimely death on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

W
illiam inherited the rule of the Falaise Castle was built on a large rocky
Duchy when he was around outcrop and, at this time, would have
10 years old. His position had a large bailey surrounded by a
was weakened not just by his age. His wooden palisade, and a well-defended
infamous epithet, ‘the Bastard’, further wooden keep. William was present at
undermined his legality. He was the the siege and must have played some
offspring of Duke Robert and Her- role in it, as William of Poitiers menti-
leve, a simple tanner’s daughter from ons that The Bastard was knighted when
Falaise. Being a bastard was not as great Turstin surrendered.
a problem as it would have been in
later Medieval times, but it meant that Due to William’s inexperience and
several of Robert’s other relatives felt youth, Gilbert de Brionne was appoin-
that they could muscle in on William’s ted as his guardian and mentor. In the

© Georgie Harman
inheritance. early years of his ducal rule, William
was constantly in danger and there
In 1041-42, Turstin, the Viscount of were several attempts on his life. In
Hienois, occupied William’s birthplace one of these, Gilbert was murdered.
in the formidable castle at Falaise. Wace (author of the near-contemporary
William I.

Roman de Rou) recalls that, in another

incident in 1046, William was on a
hunting trip in the Valognes region. He
was woken by Goles, his court fool,
who had interrupted a group of plotters
scheming to kill him. William was for-
ced to flee wearing only his nightshirt.
Grabbing a horse, he fled through the
night to Ryes Castle, from where he was
escorted back to the safety of Falaise.

SCENARIO - THE CONSPIRACY

IN VALOGNES
This can be played out on a smallish ta-
ble: 4’ x 4’ would work just fine. In the
centre of the table should be Valognes
Castle: ideally, a motte-and-bailey type,
if available, but a hall or other large
building such as a hunting lodge would
do. Try to add a few buildings scattered
A Norman cavalry wing on the march. around it as storehouses, granaries,

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 Norman liberi with spears and bows ready themselves on a hill.

stables, a blacksmiths workshop and so Rules should take into account the dark- The armies met south-east of Caen, near
on, and put a ditch and palisade around ness and confusion, which would limit the River Orne. Wace, writing a consi-
the outside of the castle. Ideally, this the line of sight for spotting and missile derable length of time after the events,
area would be about 18” x 18”, but the fire. They should also allow figures to claimed that “There was an almighty din
precise size is not really important. move undetected in cover with a suc- when the two armies met: the whole
cessful dice throw; if this is not covered ground was disturbed and shook.” The
William and his familia (military hou- by the rules you are using, for simpli- end result was a decisive victory for
sehold) should be located in the motte city’s sake, use 4+. William and Henry. The rebels were
(or the hall or hunting lodge). It should forced to flee into the Orne itself. Wil-
consist of William himself and ten or The familia can arm themselves (if there liam had removed one threat, but there
twenty loyal supporters, comprising is sufficient time) with weapons and would be many more in the subsequent
equal numbers of experienced knights armour in the motte (or hall). I suggest decade.
and less experienced squires. They that it takes one turn to pick up extra
should also have a character to repre- weapons and shields, and another one Gaming Val-ès-Dunes accurately might
sent Goles, William’s court fool, who or two turns to put on armour. be a problem, due to the shortage of
starts just 6” away from the plotters, precise information about it. The fact
having just overheard their schemes! William’s side wins if he manages to that both sides were willing to en-
Nearly all start armed only with swords escape the board, or if all of the plotters gage suggests that both felt they had
or daggers, and are dismounted and at are killed or captured. The plotters win a chance of victory, so the two armies
rest. Their horses are in the stables. A if William is killed or captured. are likely to have been roughly similar
single loyal member of William’s familia in size. Despite this, the scenario offers
can be fully-armed and on guard duty THE CONSOLIDATION OF NORMANDY an interesting framework for a large pit-
at the front of the motte or hall. The first serious test of William’s skill as ched battle, with some potential for ri-
a military leader was at Val-ès-Dunes in valry amongst commanders on the same
The plotters start the game beside the 1047. Guy de Brionne had gathered a side. It might also be an interesting one
castle entrance (inside the gate) and force of Norman rebels to challenge the to play out as an entirely mounted affair,
should be fully ‘tooled up’ with armour, young Duke’s authority in the west of with plenty of movement, skirmishes
weaponry and shields. Some might the Duchy. William was aided by King and swirling cavalry mêlées.
have missile weapons (although, at Henry I of France. Henry had previously
night, their impact would be pretty limi- sought sanctuary in Normandy, when Further rebellions came from William’s
ted). The plotters’ quality and numbers he first inherited the throne of France own family. In 1053, his uncle Count
should be roughly the same as William’s in 1031, and maybe he had come to William of Arques had been building
loyal supporters. They are probably support William as a debt of gratitude castles illegally without the Duke’s
also dismounted, but a horse-holder is for his father’s protection. Or maybe permission. The situation was intensified
positioned just outside the gates with Henry felt that he could gain a foothold by a falling-out with Henry I of France,
their steeds. in Normandy through assisting William. who threw his support behind the
Gillingham (see ‘Further reading’) as- rebels. William brought up his troops
The game starts with Goles and the serts that William would certainly have and besieged Arques Castle. This was
sentry as the only members of William’s been the subordinate of the two com- clearly a drawn-out affair. Archaeologi-
side in play. The rest of William’s familia manders against the rebels, and doubts cal evidence suggests that William built
can only be activated when they are that William had much influence in this a siege motte of his own outside the
woken by one of these two characters. battle at all. castle, doubtless topped by a wooden

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SCENARIO

A Norman army of Milites, Liberi, light horse and baggage.

palisade and keep. Henry attempted army was badly mauled, and it was a mistake. The error came at Varaville
to relieve Arques and sent an army to only William’s personal bravery leading when the invading army was divided
come to the castle’s aid by breaking the a counter-attack with his familia on the crossing the River Dives. The incoming
siege. At St-Aubin-sur-Scie, William’s French knights that saved the loyal Nor- tide split the Angevin force in half and
Normans met the French relief force man army from complete destruction! William’s Normans pounced on the
and pretended to flee. This was a tactic vanguard. With no way to escape, the
that would later be used to great suc- In 1054, a further rebellion aided by Angevins were annihilated. The rest
cess at Hastings to draw the Saxons off Henry I was once more crushed, this of the force, including Henry’s French
the hill. Henry’s army fell for this cun- time at Mortemer. This seems to have contingent, were stuck on the other side
ning ruse and the feigned flight led the been the last of the rebellions from wit- of the Dives and fled in panic. William
relief force into a well-organized trap. hin his own Duchy, and the later threats himself was probably not directly in-
The defeat of the French relief force all seem to have been outside Norman- volved in the fighting, but the campaign
spelled the end of the siege, and Count dy’s fragile borders. William consoli- had been a huge success.
William of Arques was forced to come dated his political position through an
to terms and was exiled. astute marriage to Mathilda of Flanders. Varaville makes another interesting bat-
This sealed an important alliance with tle to refight on the tabletop. The larger
The relief of Arques makes for an excel- the powerful Baldwin V of Flanders. The Angevin and French forces should start
lent game. William’s army is concentra- marriage was not initially approved by the game in marching column, split
ted, but in an awkward tactical position, the Pope, because Mathilda was Wil- half and half over the River Dives. The
and has the potential to be caught in liam’s cousin! Later, William was able to direction of the Norman attack should
the rear if the sorties from Arques get win over papal support by rededicating be noted before the game starts (and, for
going quickly. The French and rebels are two abbeys in Caen and by carrying out the sake of creating a genuine surprise,
divided, but, if they can co-ordinate ef- reforms within the Norman church. This could come from either front or rear).
fectively with each other, they could be support was to be vital in his conquest The ford that the invaders are crossing
a very dangerous opponent. The game of England in 1066. Mathilda was a should limit movement to one unit or
should be played lengthways on a long formidable lady, who, despite her short battle group per turn. The Norman force
table. William’s army can be deployed stature (she was supposedly just over should dice each turn for the tide in
in the centre of the table with their four feet in height!), acted as his regent the Dives to rise, splitting the invaders
encampment and siege motte. Henry’s in Normandy during his absences and in two. I recommend that they roll in
relief army should be deployed next, bore him a large number of heirs. secret, one turn before the tide actu-
from one of the shorter edges, while the ally arrives. This allows them to have a
rebel army in Arques should be allowed One of the most serious external threats slight advantage of local knowledge as
to enter from the opposing short edge to the Norman marches came from to when the French and Angevin forces
on a successful dice throw. Warhammer Anjou, led by the ambitious Geoffrey will be split. A D6 roll of 5+ worked
Ancient Battles (WAB) has a nice relief- Martel. Seeing an opportunity to extend well for us. Once the tide has risen, the
force scenario in Siege and Conquest Angevin influence with the support of Dives is impossible to cross and any
that we utilized when we played this William’s nemesis, Henry I of France, troops isolated on the side of the river
one out. William’s knights should also another invasion took place in 1057. without any Normans should check
be allowed to upgrade with some sort of William decided not to tackle the in- immediately for panic, and flee if they
‘feigned flight’ ability, to allow for their vasion head-on, but instead shadowed fail. If they pass this check, they might
sneaky tactics! In our refight, William’s the invaders, waiting for them to make still be able to provide missile sup-

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 port across the river. When we played Tapestry also shows the alleged oath GAMING WILLIAMʼS EARLY BATTLES
this scenario out, we found it a very taken by Harold on this campaign that Despite a shortage of accurate descrip-
difficult tactical situation for the French was to seal the fate of England in 1066. tions of many of these key battles, the
and Angevins to extricate themselves main elements of each encounter can
from. A minor victory should be given While Barlow (see ‘Further reading’) has be easily simulated to capture the feel
to the invaders if their force manages been critical of the lack of experience of each one. Attempting to estimate the
to remain relatively intact. To make it William had gained in pitched battles numbers involved opens a whole can
harder for the Normans, destruction prior to Hastings, it seems clear to me of worms that, frankly, is best avoided
of the entire enemy contingent on the that, by 1066, William was a general on the tabletop. The numbers involved
side they attack from is mandatory for a who had forged his skills in warfare at Hastings are still a contentious is-
convincing victory. rather than in the classroom. There sue, although this is a much better
seldom seems to have been a period, documented battle then these earlier
The deaths of both Geoffrey Martel and in the run up to Hastings, in which encounters! The numbers claimed by
Henry I in 1060 further strengthened he was not dealing with threats to the the few sources we have are probably
William’s control of the Duchy. He was Duchy. While these may not have been too fanciful to be considered accu-
now able to turn his attention away the pitched battle that so many war- rate. I suspect that numbers in the low
from defence and move onto the offen- gamers dream of gaming, they display thousands for the larger battles would
sive. Maine was taken in 1063 and, in a diversity of challenges that medieval be about right. So, the rules you use for
1064, supported by Harold Godwinson, generalship should really be about. If these battles must be flexible enough
he was able to carry out a campaign nothing else, they provide a different to deal with this. Many of the scenarios
against the Bretons. These events have challenge from the one posed by the will work well with Warmaster, Hail
been immortalized on the Bayeux Battle of Hastings, which many gamers Caesar, War and Conquest, Clash of
Tapestry, which shows William’s men have attempted to refight at one point or Empires, Armati, Field of Glory (FoG),
capturing Dol, Rennes and Dinan. The another. WAB, and – hey – even De Bellis Anti-

Ambush at Varaville!

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SCENARIO

Varaville, surrounded by enemies - fight to survive!

quitatis (DBA)! I am a bit of a sucker for points for WAB. The other advantage of Mark returns to one of his favourite
WAB, because I like the ability to play the DBA campaign system is the quick topics, William the Bastard. Older
big battles and have a small skirmish, resolution of sieges with a single dice readers may recall his article on Risings
or even a huge siege, using the same roll. This makes conducting a siege a and Rebellions in WS&S 52…
rules (and I am a bit too lazy to learn risky affair!
lots of different rule sets), but there is no
reason why you cannot use your own
favourite set.
Further reading
HOW DO YOU GAME THESE If there is one article I would recommend most highly before you attempt
CAMPAIGNS? to game this period, it is John Gillingham’s “William the Bastard at War”,
While the battles could be played out in Studies in Medieval History presented to R. Allen Brown (1989; available
as a series of one-off encounters in a set free online at: http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/gillingham.
order, a more rewarding method might htm). A thoroughly rewarding article analyzing William’s early generalship.
be to use a simple campaign map, with
each player commanding either William In terms of general biographies and histories, useful introductions might be:
or one of his key opponents, e.g. Henry D. Bates, William the Conqueror (2004)
(French), Guy de Brionne (Norman F. Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042-1216 (1999)
rebels), William of Arques (Norman
rebels), Conan of Brittany (Bretons), For more martial analysis of tactics and strategy in this period, I would
or Geoffrey Martel (Angevins). The recommend:
campaign method in DBA lends itself J. Bradbury, The Battle of Hastings (1998)
to this sort of campaign. Each kingdom S. Morillo, “The ‘Age of Cavalry’ revisited”, in D.J. Kagay & L.J.A. Villalon
or Duchy can be represented by three (eds.), The Circle of War in the Middle Ages (1999).
key towns or castles, and the loss of a M. Strickland, War and Chivalry: The Conduct and Perception of War in
faction’s capital results in it being fully England and Normandy, 1066-1217 (1996).
defeated and subjugated. While this While slightly outside the time frame of this article, Strickland’s study of
method is obviously aimed at DBA, Anglo-Norman warfare really got me hooked on the period.
there is no reason why it cannot be
easily used for other systems, with the Miniatures are 15mm Essex from the collection of Rod Glanfield.
twelve DBA elements being converted
into units or battle-groups for FoG or
Hail Caesar, or multiples of 100-200

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 57 04-06-12 20:01
 IRREGULAR
© Georgie Harman

In Defense of 15mm
By Doctor Joe Legan
example, I can buy eight figures from Essex for 33p per figure.
Donnington miniatures charge 40p per figure, Peter Pig (who
Seeing all the great tables at Salute and read- produce arguably some of the prettiest 15mm miniatures)
ask 35p per figure. To stay with the Vikings: Gripping Beast
ing the magazines of the popular wargames in their starter deal charges £1.30 pounds per figure. Now
don’t get me wrong! I am not saying you don’t get what you
press, it would seem the whole world plays pay for, a large detailed figure. I am just not sure that is what
in 28mm. When reading an article or figure I need. (GB: cool SAGA dice though!) Only with plastics does
the cost get close with the average figure coming in at (very
review it is almost always, “and there are roughly) 50p for infantry. But here I am told you lose some of
the detail, and you have to put them together which is some-
plenty of figures in smaller scales which will thing I am not about to do! So best case for defense of 15mm,
not be covered in this article.” Hmmm... I can buy eight Essex figures for £1. Worst case, I save three
pounds on a box of 36 figures of Perry plastics and I don’t
need to putty the joints. Terrain is similar in cost savings. The
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy issue 59 was great. I was defense rests on cost.
ready to rock with my Viking horde. I got to “Assembling the
Great Army” and then was crushed; all models reviewed were They are readily available
28mm! What about those of us who prefer 20mm, 15mm, For WW II, there are many companies that I use with good
10mm or even 6mm? We want to buy Vikings too! Now in quality and reasonable prices. These include Battlefront, Peter
the editor’s defense, he promised a review of smaller scales Pig, Essex and Command Decision if I need to bulk out a unit.
in later issues - but the Viking issue was now; do 28mm later! For Vikings I have Peter Pig and Essex again and two compa-
nies I found at Salute, Donnington and Lancashire. Admittedly
Don’t get me wrong. I love looking at the 28mm figures. The I am less thrilled with Lancashire after opening the package
detail is impressive. I guess that is why the tables at Salute of Saxons and seeing only three poses for my 40+ figures.
and the magazines use them almost by default. But how about There are plenty of other companies in fact, and I can’t think
reviewing ‘stuff’ for the rest of us? Certainly there are people of a period not well covered, except maybe for modern spies.
who buy smaller scales, particularly Flames of War although (That’ll be a challenge for issue 62 then! Ed.)
this is ‘just’ World War 2. So for the benefit of Guy and others
who seem to think there is no reason to have 15mm figures on They take up less space for storage
the face of the earth here is my Defense of 15mm. They take up less space on the table too, thus my ground scale
to figure scale is close to 1:1 for my skirmish games. Not only
WHY 15MM? do road widths and trees look and play right (my roads are not
The way I see it, there are many advantages to collecting and 85 yards wide in game terms!) but the table is empty enough
playing with 15mm figures. Allow me to set forth... to allow my units room to maneuver on a 3 x 5 table. If you
are blessed with a 4 x 6 table you 1) have long arms and 2)
They are cheaper can either show the ‘emptiness’ of the modern battlefield or
Take the solo gamer who has to buy both sides and supply all easily and cheaply have some massive battles.
the terrain. For him the lower cost is a huge plus! If you want
to fight grand battles, you can actually afford to do so. As an They are more forgiving of less than stellar paint jobs
I enjoy the painting of figures up to a point but I am definitely
a gamer at the end of the day. I am not Dave Woodward (the
gentleman who did the excellent vignette for the cover of
issue 59, I loved your article Dave!). I am not going to do
eighteen washes, dips and highlights per figure. One under-
coat, one main and one highlight is all your gonna get and no
putty on joints of plastic figures! At 15mm, my lazy painting
looks good and I don’t need to worry about eye color and
facial expression!

Did I mention they are cheaper?

Just for Joe… 15mm Vikings! Now I realize that people that play with 6mm or 3mm can

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 Friends, Romans, countrymen!

make all these claims against 15mm as well. (Those of you

that play 10mm, come on, it is basically just 15mm lite!) I say,
“You must have great eyesight!”

For me 15mm is the ideal compromise between detail, space

and price. 28 mm we just talked about - it is too big and
expensive in my opinion. I toyed with micro armor in my
formative years and I like the idea of armor in the desert. It
has many of the advantages above to include the ground scale
and empty battlefield. The problem I have is I like infantry and
I couldn’t tell the difference between American, Russian and
German infantry in 6mm. I had the same problem with guns My kingdom for a 15mm horse?
and small vehicles. As a gamer I don’t need a lot of detail,
but I do need some! I just didn’t get any at 6mm. I suspect
3mm would be worse. If I had started in the UK I might have So back to what got me started on all this; I am glad people
gone with 20mm as I would have had a ton of Airfix HO take pictures of 28mm figures to inspire me but every once
soldiers lying around. I also would have “rubbish” instead in a while I wish folks would talk about the smaller figures.
of “trash” and park in a “car park” instead of a “parking lot”.
Furthermore, my spelling would be atrocious with “colour” Did I mention they are cheaper?
instead of color and the like!
So how do we fix this travesty? Well I don’t think we want to Inspired by his blog, we asked Joe to write a piece for us. As
change the tables at shows. Those demo games look great in promised we will return to the subject of 15mm and Dark
28mm. (You can’t even see the putty!) That leaves us with the Ages in a future issue. Do you disagree with Joe? Write in
magazines and their content. We need a plan for action! and tell us!

Ancient Egyptians in 15mm.

We need authors to mention 15mm stuff. Authors, even if

you don’t use 15 mm (hopefully after reading this you have
seen the error of your ways) at least acknowledge it exists and
include it in options for the periods you cover. We need a
review of smaller scale Vikings still. Guy, you promised…! I
want to see what other companies make Vikings, Saxons and
Welsh that I don’t know about.

Speaking of 15mm stuff I don’t know about: WS&S and manu-

facturers, some ads would be nice!
And speaking of 15mm manufactures, could you guys please
standardize the size? 15mm should mean 15mm not 18 or
17.65. I just bought some Saxons, no name, but the company Miniatures from Essex and Peter Pig. Thanks to Rod
is mentioned previously, and the base is very thick so these Glanfield for his Vikings and Derek Stone for his Hundred
guys tower over my Essex guys. What I have to do is file down Years War. Other miniatures from the editor’s collection.
the base. Yeah right, like that is going to happen!

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LETʼS PLAY

By Rossco Watkins

A look at rule sets for the company-level WWII game

PROJECT COMPANY
Our ‘Let’s Play’ series takes new games and gives them to real gamers to play through and
record their experiences for us. They ‘try before you buy’, so that you, the reader, can see if
a game suits your tastes. Here are the experiences of Rossco Watkins, ably assisted by Paul
Burkin and Peter Bowles of the Brixham Berserkers, and what they had to say about Flames of
War, Kampfgruppe Normandy, and I Ain’t Been Shot Mum. Take it away, Rossco!

W
hen asked to review three very
different rule sets for three
very different games, I was
determined to make sure that I judged
all three on an even footing. To this end,
it was decided to fight each game with
similar forces, over similar terrain, and
in a similar setting. As one of these rule
sets was to be Warhammer Historical’s
Kampfgruppe Normandy, the setting for
our games logically became Normandy.
It’s worth mentioning that, for added
fairness and realism, I also felt that
we should actually play the games in
Normandy, preferably while staying
in a posh French hotel, but our wise
and beloved editor was having none of
it – which is a shame, as it would have
led beautifully into my next article,
“Wargaming in the Bahamas”. (Another Shermans cautiously advance towards a French village.
time, Rossco! Ed.)
The game itself is beautifully simple. the different skill levels of a given unit,
FLAMES OF WAR It is a great system for beginners to cut in order to determine certain aspects of
The first game of this review is one I’m their teeth on, while veterans of War- their performance in the field. This me-
sure many people will be both fami- hammer 40,000 will find themselves ans that, rather than depending on the
liar with and fond of: Flames of War in familiar territory, with an alternate- skill and accuracy of a unit’s shooting to
published by Battlefront, now in its turn system (Igo-Ugo), the familiar ‘Hit, decide the outcome of an engagement,
third edition. This rule book is available Save, Wound’ sequence, and players we instead look at the ability of a unit
both in hardback and in a smaller, more having an empirical view of the bat- to utilize any cover, avoid line-of-sight
portable (but just as concise) paperback tlefield. The game can be set up very and generally use position in the field to
version. Both versions of the book are quickly and, depending on the size of avoid becoming casualties. While this
nicely presented, with good, high- the forces being used, played in a few undoubtedly works, it does mean that,
quality photographs, some of which hours. Combats are resolved quickly oddly, veteran troops have the same
are genuine historical images, while and simply, particularly in the case of chance to hit green troops as other
others show beautifully painted models Tank-on-Tank engagements, meaning green troops have. Experience counts
and figures. The books also give some that FoW lends itself beautifully to both for hiding, but not for hitting.
excellent background information that large-scale battles, where opposing
really helps to bring your games to life, players have plenty of armour to throw FoW is typically played with a points
without getting too bogged down in into the mix, and tournaments, where system for players, which is particu-
the details. The rules are presented in a the simplicity of the rules and the deci- larly handy for tournament purposes.
clear and easily understood manner, in siveness of combats are a huge boon. However, there is no reason why it can’t
clearly identified sections of the book. Of note is the system used to identify be played using forces of historically-

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 argue – a little long-winded, but I think
that this is advantageous. The rules are
concise, very well-written, and easy
to understand, and the player is given
good examples of how the rules are
intended to work.

As with FoW, this game also has an

‘Igo-Ugo’ alternate-turn sequence.
However, the player with the initiative
may not always get his way. To simu-
late the fog of war, at the beginning of
each player’s turn, there is a ‘command
and control’ phase, whereby a player
must determine how many of his units
can activate in that turn. This is done
German infantry and a Pak 40 defend the village. by coupling the result of a dice-roll
with the number of command units the
correct composition for the sake of amount and depth of information, both player has on the table at that time. The
re-enactment, if players prefer this. Such the rules system itself and background bigger the force, the more units you are
historical engagements will typically be material on the conflict, is quite stagge- likely to have sitting still per turn! I felt
asymmetrical, not a round 1500 points ring. Experienced wargamers and keen that this simulated the fog of war fairly
per side. historians will find this book irresistible. well, and the games we played had a
It is beautifully laid out, with many very ‘cat and mouse’ feel to them. Play-
There is a wealth of extra material, amazing images from WWII alongside ers had to give serious thought to using
available to buy in the form of expan- pictures of stunning models and figures. and supporting their units. It also made
sion books and so forth, should players To the less experienced gamer, howe- command units a very enticing target.
wish to expand their FoW experience ver, I fear that this kind of rule book On the other hand, this system means
(at some expense). The system is also could be quite an intimidating prospect. that the choice units tend to be activa-
very well supported online with great Fortunately, I had my fellow tester Paul ted, while the rest stand around (presu-
forums, and there’s even a ‘Boot camp’ Burkin (who falls into the former of the- mably making tea). In one of our games,
service provided on YouTube. Very se groups) to share the load. Just flicking a Jadgpanther ended up fire-fighting
good! through the book and seeing mention of very successfully for the Germans, as it
aspects of warfare often overlooked by was activated turn after turn.
So, Flames of War succeeds in providing wargames rules systems, such as resup-
a relatively simple, enjoyable and easy- ply and bridging, had us drooling. However, before laying waste to our
to-play game. However, this means that, enemies, KGN demands that we first
at times, the odd historical inaccuracy The rules section is somewhat large spot them. I really liked this part of the
arises, in either the mechanisms or the (around 60 pages), and – some may game (reminiscent of WRG 1925-50).
way units behave. This may not sit well
with those gamers for whom histori-
cal accuracy is as much a part of their
gaming experience as the rules and
models they use. I also feel that veteran
gamers will greatly miss the presence of
any kind of fog of war, which can gre-
atly add to the gaming experience, and
is, for some, a hugely important factor
when choosing a rules system.

KAMPFGRUPPE NORMANDY
The second game of this review taking
us into war-torn Europe of the 1940s is
the previously mentioned Kampfgruppe
Normandy from Warhammer Historical.
The first thing you notice on receiving
the rule book for KGN is the sheer size
and weight of this tome; you could
quite literally choke a camel with it. The T34s roll onward against the fascist invaders. For Stalin!

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LETʼS PLAY

WWII sets! – but does have plenty

of pictures of the game in play, using
beautifully painted models and figures.

This rule set steps away from the more

common ‘Igo-Ugo’ alternate-turn sy-
stem and, instead, uses a randomly ge-
nerated card-based ‘activation’ system.
A unit will have a number of actions
assigned to it per activation, depen-
ding on casualties and disposition, but
generally there will be three; these can
be used by the player to move, spot, or
shoot. Due to the random drawing of
activation cards, there is no guarantee
that, in any given turn, a particular
unit will activate at all, although this is
A dug in 88mm awaits its prey … somewhat balanced by the fact that, on
drawing your commander’s activation
Though simple, it nicely simulates the or ‘aerial support’. This system seems to card – or, as he is affectionately termed
realities of the battlefield, especially in work incredibly well, and is both simple in IABSM, your ‘Big man’ – you may
scenarios such as infantry crossing open and effective. assign the commander’s actions to units
ground, where soldiers would almost that have not already moved in that
certainly be ‘on their belt buckles’, as Kampfgruppe Normandy is perfect for turn. Among these activation cards is
Mr Burkin so eloquently puts it. This battle-group-sized engagements, and is possibly my favourite wargaming device
means that enemy units have to be spot- the dream of the tabletop general who of all time: the ‘Tea break’ card. This
ted every turn, which does lead to a fair wants everything at his disposal, as the card signals the end of a turn, causes
few extra dice rolls. rules cover so much and do it very well. the deck to be reshuffled, and – more
As with FoW, forces can be decided importantly – means that I get a cup of
When engaging the enemy, players have historically or by points, and both these tea. What a beautifully British way to
the choice of ‘direct fire’ or ‘suppres- options are handled well. But, as with wage war!
sing fire’ – another one of those nice any game, there are glitches. I found
touches. Players can effectively stun the rules for armour a little too deadly: IABSM also uses ‘blinds’ in the opening
enemy units into inaction, not just penetration was perhaps a bit easy, turns. These blinds are small pieces of
rendering them harmless in the next and, once said armour was penetrated, paper or tokens to represent units that
turn, but also forcing the opponent to it almost always resulted in the total your opponent has not yet ‘spotted’,
draw a ‘morale chit’ to remove this sup- destruction of the vehicle. I would like and so have not been identified. Players
pression during his turn. This leads me to have seen a little more deterioration also receive ‘ghost blinds’, meaning
seamlessly (cough) into morale, which involving immobilisation, for example, that, until all blinds are identified, it is
I think this game handles very well. In or damaged weapons (in FoW, crews possible – with a bit of bluffing and a
KGN, morale works in two ways. Firstly, often bail out of their vehicles). I also good poker face – to lead your enemies
in the way we commonly encounter in found the game a bit chart-heavy; on a bit of a goose chase. Unfortunately,
wargaming, rolling for morale when los- in my opinion, this could have been I am reliably informed that my poker
ses dictate. But secondly, in the drawing minimized (as is cleverly done in FoW). face needs a bit of work!
of numbered chits when certain events Nevertheless, it’s worth saying that,
occur (destroyed vehicles or lost units, despite losing in all my outings of KGN, These factors, combined with move-
for example). These chits are drawn ran- I did enjoy playing it. ment being randomly generated by the
domly, and their numbers are deducted roll of a die per unit per turn – cue rolls
from your force’s morale value, which I AINʼT BEEN SHOT MUM of 1s and 2s for my tanks! – create, for
is determined at the beginning of the The final game of this review is I Ain’t me, a highly-effective simulation of the
game. The true beauty of this is that Been Shot Mum from TooFatLardies, fog of war, and make this game highly
neither player is aware of his opponent’s now in its second edition. This rule enjoyable.
declining morale – a little honesty is book is a little slimmer than the previ-
required here! – and so is never truly ous games we have looked at, but is no IABSM is a game very much designed
aware of the opposing force’s disposi- less well presented and set out, and is, for combat at platoon-level or com-
tion. Added to these chits are a number in fact, more ‘to the point’. The book pany-level. As such, units and armour
of ‘event chits’ to throw at your oppo- does not have any WWII photographs have far greater longevity than in FoW
nent, such as ‘mechanical breakdown’ – not that this is a requirement for all or KGN, which are designed to work on

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 a larger scale. This is best exemplified reference sheet would have been greatly the social gamer for whom spending
by the way in which damaged armour appreciated. time and having fun with your friends is
will ‘hang in there’ and, despite being as important as the gaming, then I Ain’t
immobilized or suffering shock, will of- CONCLUSION Been Shot Mum would be an excellent
ten still be able to provide some limited As I said at the beginning of this review, choice.
support for the rest of your force. these are three very different games
with hugely different rule sets, and this Of course, you may feel that you fall
The game itself takes a little longer can only be a good thing. I think diver- into more than one of these categories,
to set up than the other two games sity in the hobby is what keeps warga- and there would certainly be no shame
reviewed here, and this – coupled with ming fresh and exciting for me, and I in spending your hard-earned shekels
the ‘blinds’ system, if you’re not used feel that there is plenty of room in the on more than one of these rule sets. But,
to it – generates a slightly longer game. market for all of these games. I enjoyed if your ‘significant other’ asks, I never
However, as IABSM is mainly scenario- each game thoroughly and would play said that!
driven, players will not be required to them all again (and probably will). Did I
draw up army lists or work out points have a favourite? Well, yes I did, but I’m Rossco gained his nickname in the Air
values for units. And thus, balance is keeping mum – geddit? Force from a certain character on the
restored to the universe. Dukes of Hazzard. It’s one he’s very
If you are looking for a foray into proud of. Gi-gi-gi-good nooos, boys!
I Ain’t Been Shot Mum is a great game. company-level WWII gaming, any one
I’ve been quoted previously as having of these rule sets would serve you well.
said that “The mark of a good game is It’s best to consider, instead, what sort
how much I enjoy it when I lose”. Using of gamer you feel you are, and choose Space prohibits us from looking
this criterion, IABSM certainly delivers. the system that suits you best. If you are at all of the available company-
It is by no means perfect. Although I a hardened tournament player, or are level rules. Other contenders
like the use of ‘blinds’, I did find them relatively new to wargaming, and want include Blitzkrieg Commander,
a bit of a faff. The time taken to play the a quick game, I would recommend Abteilung, Poor Bloody Infantry,
game is a little longer, which means that Flames of War. If you are a history buff and Combat Action Command,
you’ll have to put aside a full evening or and ardent collector of different WWII to name but a few. Hopefully,
afternoon to fully appreciate the rule set models and figures, I would recom- we’ll have a chance to cover
(not a bad thing, in itself). I also found mend Kampfgruppe Normandy as your these in future issues.
myself flicking back and forth through best chance of getting all those different
the rule book rather a lot, so a quick types of unit onto the table. If you are

Panzer traffic jam! German tanks taking fire.

63

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 63 04-06-12 20:01

 COMING SOON... £30
• A new and innovative game system
for re-creating the epic battles
around Kursk (and beyond) in 1943,
and beyond.

• Designed to be played at 15mm and

20mm scales.

• Fast, fun and authentic-feeling

game-play, written by veteran
games designer Warwick Kinrade.

• Four detailed army lists included:

the German Panzer and Infantry
Divisions, to face the Russian Tank
Corps and Rifle Divisions.

• Extensively researched background

and comprehensive equipment data.

• A short campaign ‘the Inglorious

12th July’ for the savage tank battle
at Prokhorovka.

• Extensive modelling and painting

guide section.

PRE-ORDER SPECIAL OFFER

The first 500 pre-orders will be entered into a prize draw to win:

1st place £200 of PSC products of their choice

2nd place £100 of PSC products of their choice
2 x 3rd places each get £50 of PSC products of their choice

Also, all 500 will each receive a free, brand new, 1/72nd scale
STuG IIIG sprue from Plastic Soldier Company. FUTURE PLANS...
Already in the production pipeline,
look-out for supplements for...
• The Battle of the Bulge
• The Fall of the Reich, 1945
• Blitzkrieg, 1939-40
... and many more theatres and periods
for World War II (and beyond!) to follow.

In association with:
Due for release in September 2012
but available to pre-order now from
www. theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk
PUBLISHING

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 64 04-06-12 20:02

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 65 04-06-12 20:02
MODELLING

By Guy Bowers

A look at 15mm World War II models

PANZERS LOS!
P
layers in 15mm are truly spoilt, with the large selection son, as it’s a standard vehicle, and not one of the ‘Big Cats’
of ranges available for playing the Second World War. (Tigers, Panthers). Our criteria are very stringent, so a score of
We chose Germans (where possible) for the focus of ‘reasonable’ should be seen as an acceptable score. We have
this comparison. They are the logical choice, as they fought deliberately not commented on the sculpting, as the pictures
everybody! Likewise, we chose the StuG III for compari- speak for themselves.

BATTLEFRONT Their products come in boxed sets and blister packs for indi-
vidual platoons or single vehicles. In addition, some special
character models and vehicles exist, such as Wittmann’s Tiger.
Their new Achtung! complete boxed set is good value, con-
taining the new 3rd edition Flames of War rule book and five
plastic tanks for £25.00.

Range: Very Good

Battlefront Miniatures’ Flames of War range provides an
Historical Accuracy: Reasonable to Good
almost comprehensive range of metal miniatures, resin and
Size: 16mm tall
metal vehicles, artillery, aircraft and terrain for the Second
Price (infantry): Reasonable (metal) £14.00 for 34 models
World War. They provide models for most major combatants,
and bases
for most periods of the war, including the more unusual ones,
Price (armour): Reasonable (resin and metal) £7.50 for a
such as Polish, Hungarian and Romanian. The only thing
StuG III
lacking is a Far East range.

FORGED IN BATTLE the extras, such as crew and gun barrels. They also provide
several minor variations in their vehicles, so each one in a
pack of four will look different. A future release is the Land-
kreuzer P-1000 Ratte, a huge tank with two 280mm battleship
guns. Although it was never built in reality, it makes for an
interesting ‘What if?’

Range: Reasonable, growing

Forged in Battle provide a good range of the major powers,
Historical Accuracy: Reasonable to Good
both for early war (including Poland) and for late war. Packs
Size: 16.5mm tall
are provided in platoons (40 infantry, two guns + crew, or
Price (infantry): Good (metal) £9.75 for 40 models or
four tanks), with each nation given a good range of support
two guns + crew
weapons, including machine guns, mortars and anti-tank
Price (armour): Good (resin & metal) £19.50 for four
guns. Their ‘Battle Ready System’ is designed to require the
StuG IIIs
minimum preparation between package and table. The vehi-
cles are resin cast with bases attached; white metal provides

PETER PIG Germans eating lunch, and a U-Boat landing crew. There’s
even a British set having a brew! Peter Pig supply some unu-
sual ranges such as Dutch, civilians, and resistance fighters,
and they also have quite an extensive range of separate heads
(useful for conversions). Individual packs of 8 figures are
£2.70. Platoon and army packs are available.
Peter Pig specialize in 15mm. Their WWII range is nearly
complete, with almost 600 packs, and covers all the major Range: Very Good
combatants and periods of the war. Notably, they include the Historical Accuracy: Good
Pacific War (including Japanese, US Marines and Chindits). Size: 16.5mm tall
Their packs are numerous and include both standard packs Price (infantry): Good (metal) £12.00 for 35 models
(early and late war Germans with DAK, Fallschirmjäger and Price (armour): Good (metal) £6.00 for a StuG III
Schutzstaffel) and unusual packs, such as German cavalry,

66

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 66 04-06-12 20:02

 PLASTIC SOLDIER COMPANY (armoured skirts, for late war).
Infantry have not been forgotten, with heavy weapons packs
now available for the Germans and Russians, which include
heavy machine-guns, anti-tank weapons, and mortars. US and
British infantry are promised soon, with anti-tank guns and
The Plastic Soldier Company has released a number of kits personnel carriers.
in 15mm, 20mm and 28mm for World War II, but their main
output has been in 15mm, with tanks a plenty. Currently, each Range: Reasonable, growing
of the major powers for late war have armoured vehicles, with Historical Accuracy: Good to Very Good
the Germans enjoying the best selection. Each kit typically pro- Size: 16.5mm tall
vides several variants on the vehicle. For example, the Panzer Price (infantry): Very Good (plastic) £18.50 for 130 models
IV is provided with the F1 and F2 variants (ideal for the desert Price (armour): Very Good (plastic) £17.50 for five StuG IIIs
and mid-war Russia) and the G and H variants with Schürtzen

WARGAMES FACTORY bases for your troops. You can get all the basics you need from
the box, with plenty of riflemen and SMGs. However, the set
could have done with one or two more MG42s on the sprues,
but this is a minor point. It is early days yet, but these do look
very promising.

Range: Poor (currently)

Historical Accuracy: Reasonable to Good
Wargames Factory has recently released a box of 15mm Size: 16mm tall
Germans (presumably, with US to follow). These are scaled- Price (infantry): Good (plastic) $19.99 for 84 miniatures
down versions of their 28mm range. The set also contains two (£16.50 in UK)
mortars, two Panzerschrecks and four Panzerfausts, plus 24

ZVESDA pensive and covers the beginning of the Great Patriotic War
(1941). Their next release will be ‘Blitzkrieg 1940’, expanding
the German range (with an SdKfz 222) and will add British
vehicles to the range (including a Matilda I and II).
Several companies stock these kits in the UK, including Peter
Pig and Plastic Soldier Company.

Russian manufacturers Zvesda have a range of inexpensive

Range: Poor to Reasonable, growing
15mm vehicles for their ‘Operation Barbarossa 1941’ game.
Historical Accuracy: Reasonable to Good
The picture shows their Soviet BT7 and Panzer 38(t). Barbaros-
Price (armour): Very Good (plastic) £3.00 for a tank
sa is unusual as the infantry are 20mm, the vehicles are 15mm
or vehicle
and the aircraft are 1/144 scale. Their current range is inex-

SKYTREX
The Command Decision range by Skytrex has a very good Range: Good
range of vehicles, anti-tank guns and artillery for the major Historical Accuracy: Good (Infantry Reasonable)
powers. Their infantry are not quite up to the standard of more Size: 16.5mm tall
modern sculpts, but there are some useful bits here, such as Price (infantry): Good (metal) £9.00 for 50 models
half-track crews. They also have a good range of accessories, Price (armour): Good (metal) £6.00 for a StuG III
including landing craft.

COMPARISONS

Peter Pig, Battlefront and Plastic Soldier StuG III

Battlefront, Wargames Factory, Plastic Soldier,
Forged in Battle and Peter Pig
From the comparison photo of the StuG IIIs, they all look
pretty similar. The Peter Pig one has the greatest heft, being
With the infantry, again there is some variation, but they are
cast from metal. While there are minor differences in size,
all of equivalent size and largely compatible with each other.
these will be minimal on the tabletop.
So, most 15mm ranges will mix well.

67

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 67 04-06-12 20:02

MODELLING

By Olivier Perronny

Some suitable new buildings for Normandy and beyond

BUILDINGS AMONGST
THE BOCAGE
I first heard about Jens Najewitz’s models in November 2010, when he released a range of 20mm
buildings for Normandy and WWII. I was very impressed by the look of the buildings, and I asked
him if he planned to make the same buildings in 28mm. He kindly answered that, if other
(potential) customers requested it, he may begin to design some masters at this scale.

A
couple of months ago, I noticed
that Jens Najewitz had released
new buildings in 28mm, and
above all, the ones that I really liked in
20mm: the farm, the barn, and the town
hall/mansion. I didn’t wait very long
before ordering them!

Najewitz Modellbau is a German

company that produces buildings in
several scales: 6mm, 15mm, 20mm, The finished farm and barn.
28mm, and even 54mm. They come in
various ranges, depending on the scale, France and Belgium. In my opinion, and enhanced solidity. Moreover, these
including WWII Normandy, North the Normandy mansion may also be notches look like cornerstones once the
Africa/Middle East, Ancient/Late Rome, used for the seventeenth or eighteenth walls are set together.
the Old West, and assorted historical century games.
buildings. Their website is www.laser- The casting is very good, and I noti-
modellbau.de Every wall has notches at the edges, ced very little flash on the edges and
and two contiguous walls have op- windows. Nevertheless, if you want to
THE BUILDINGS posing notches. This system allows a use the interior of the buildings, you
The buildings are cast in resin and are better assembly, a faster gluing process, will have to sand the back of the walls.
extremely well detailed. The masters
are created using a laser-cut system
that gives very sharp details. The result
is really impressive. Only one side is
moulded, and I noticed only a 2mm
miscast bit on one of the elements.

The buildings have four walls, a

multi-part roof, and additional pieces,
depending on the type of building (e.g.
doors, shutters, chimneys). The as-
sembled buildings are quite large. For
example, the farm is 17.5cm long by
10.5cm wide and 17cm high (up to the
chimney top); the barn is 20cm long
by 10.5cm wide and 13cm high. Also,
they are really authentic, being similar
to ones that exist in various regions of Components of the farm pack.

68

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 68 04-06-12 20:02

 adhesive tape, put it on the building, in
order to fix the right angle.

The chimneys have a two-part body,

moulded with stones/bricks that I glued
together before adding the rectangular
top with three holes. I cut up a drinking
straw to make the chimney pots and I
glued them in the holes. Finally, I used
a strip of cardboard for the ridge tiles,
and I glued the chimneys onto the farm
roof, after adapting them to the slope. The completed farm.

THE PAINTING
After allowing the glue to dry, I brushed
The inside with floor supports added. a brown basecoat directly onto the roofs
and separate elements. I painted the
Although made from resin, the parts did roof tiles with dark brown/red, and then
not smell strongly when I opened the I brushed them with terracotta and high-
parcel, which is a point in their favour! I lighted them.
tested my basecoat paint (a basic acrylic
one) on several elements before as- For the walls, I used colours that I liked.
sembly and it worked well, so I decided I painted the visible stones with a dark
not to wash them with soapy water, thus desert-yellow layer, and brushed them The completed barn.
saving time. with light desert-yellow and a final dry
brushing of sand. The rendering of the would have had the same owner, who
THE ASSEMBLY farm was painted with medium-sand painted them the same way.
After a bit of filling, the assembly is and highlighted with a lightly pinkish
really easy. I used some adhesive tape sand tone. I painted the metallic crosses carefully
to hold the roof, but I did not need any with dark brown, then I brushed some
for the walls, thanks to the notches. I Now, it was time to paint the wooden rusty paint on them. Once every part
decided not to glue on the doors and parts, doors and shutters. I watched had dried, I glued the doors and shut-
shutters that are not moulded onto the some colour footage and studied ters to the barn. The buildings received
walls, to make it easier to paint. pictures from WWII, in order to find a a final layer of matt acrylic varnish to
realistic colour to use. Contemporary protect the paint.
As I planned to add some internal floors examples were white, light grey, and
later, I chose to glue some supports beige; very few were left unpainted CONCLUSION
onto the back of the walls. I made small (except the barns) for, in those days, it The 28mm buildings from Najewitz
cuts before gluing the supports (round was a way to protect the wood from the Modellbau are really beautiful once
wooden dowelling), and, once it looked effects of bad weather. So I decided to they are painted. A bit of extra work
right, I used a two-part epoxy glue on paint the doors and the shutters with is necessary if you wish to use them
the notches and set the walls into positi- a medium grey/blue, and I brushed for skirmish games, with action taking
on. I used 90° angle wedges to keep the them with a lighter tone. (I used Space place inside, as well; but they definitely
rectangular shape of the building. Then I Wolves colours, by the way.) However, I give a realistic look to your gaming
glued the roof and, with the help of the used the same colours for the farm and table. These buildings are not cheap at
the barn, because I reasoned that they €36 (roughly £28) for the farm and €31
(roughly £24) for the barn. However,
considering that the shipping costs are
free above €50 (roughly £40), which
includes the ‘tracked parcel’ option, it
really lowers the total amount, if you or-
dered both items. The customer service
is great and efficient, and the products
are really nice. Frankly, I am a very
satisfied customer.

Olivier will return in the next issue to

share his thoughts on different terrain
for the tabletop, with a look at the
The assembled models before painting. Warlord Games ruined hamlet.

69

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 69 04-06-12 20:03

GAME REVIEWS

By Mike Evans, Eoghan Kelly, Mark Backhouse and Guy Bowers

Cavaliers, Roundheads and Black Powder?

PIKE & SHOTTE

pal generals: Cromwell, Fairfax, Rupert,
Pike & Shotte – ‘battles in the sixteenth and seventeenth
Leslie and Montrose. These are given
centuries’ – is the latest offering in the series of rules and their own special rules – some are more
user-friendly than others – but care
supplements that began with Black Powder. It maintains the should be exercised, as they can easily
dominate the game. A couple of pages
high quality production values of its stable-mates, packed
cover regimental colour and uniforms,
full of inspiring photos of beautifully painted miniatures in before continuing with lists for Roya-
lists, Parliamentarians, the New Model
lavish settings. Army, Covenanters and Montrose. The
‘Wars of the Sun King’ (Louis XIV, 1643-

T
he first short section introduces the given the time period that the core rule 1715) completes the lists, with the Army
role of the different arms in the ar- set covers. Some might argue that it’s of the Grand Alliance and the French
mies of the period - the notion that actually a better fit for the former rather Army of the late seventeenth century.
this might be a book based solely on the than the latter. Nice!
English Civil Wars is dispelled in these
early pages with troops from the Tudor The remainder of the book is devoted The rule book is completed with a
Wars, Italian Wars and the Thirty Years to playing the game itself, and presents points system for designing your own
War to the fore. Next are the basics of 40 army lists in total, each with points lists, a summary sheet of the special
the game, such as figure-basing and unit cost – now there’s a change! First off is rules, and a quick reference sheet.
formations. Basing is kept simple: it’s the Italian Wars; only two lists (Imperia-
essentially free-form, with units designa- list and French) are provided, but these Ultimately, the question that any revie-
ted as ‘small’, ‘standard’, or ‘large’, so will have you ferreting in the cupboards wer of Pike & Shotte has to answer is,
that two players with disparate basing for brightly-coloured Landsknechts and “Should I buy this book if I already own
systems should be able to enjoy a game glorious French gendarmes. The subse- Black Powder?” Frankly, if you have a
without the need to re-base. Compared quent lists cover Tudor warfare in the good knowledge of your chosen period,
with the original Black Powder rule British Isles (with English and Irish, but then you should be able to design your
book, differences start to emerge. It is no Scots?) and, in more detail, the Thirty own lists. That said, Pike & Shotte does
not just Black Powder with a few new Years War. Lists are provided for the Im- the hard work for you, and you’ll be
special rules, but a discrete rule book in perialist, Swedish, Polish and Ottoman missing out on a visual treat, plus a
itself: a sort of ‘son of Black Powder’. armies. Given the well-known enthu- tweaked system. It is perhaps worth its
siasm that Warlord has for the English £30 asking price as a piece of ‘war-
In most cases, the differences between Civil Wars, it is perhaps not surprising gamers porn’ alone. Prepare to drool
‘father’ and ‘son’ systems are quite that the largest section is devoted to with envy at the table for the Siege of
subtle, but quite radical. The same is ECW. Mixed in are some of the princi- Worcester!
true for the special rules, some of which
are common to both systems, whilst
others, such as ‘caracole’, ‘hedgehog’
s
and ‘galloper’, add distinct period feel. Game
: W a rlord l l - colou
r
Pike & Shotte is an improvement on the is h e r g e f u
Publ 08-pa
original, delivering the rules with grea- nts: 2
Conte oo k
ter clarity, yet maintaining the relaxed ack b gan GO)
hardb S t e v e Mor r n ( IGOU
style of the original set. Many gamers or: Tu
Auth ative
will enjoy the freedom and simplicity a t : Altern e c ks
For m nd ch
m m a
of these rules, which allow for battles co
with D6
both large and small to be played out e used:
Dic 0
in an evening. Whether Pike & Shotte : £30.0 games.com
Price r l o rd
is period-specific enough to really dif- .w a
www
ferentiate games of the Thirty Years War
(1618-1648) from those of the Seven
Years War (1756-1763) is debatable,
though; but then, that is not surprising,

70

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 70 04-06-12 20:03

 An ambitious Napoleonic publication

GRAND BATTERY
It’s a really ambitious book, as it aims, in under 200 pages, to Over half of the 200-odd pages are
devoted to the background, history, and
give wargamers a detailed overview of the history of the tactics. Arguably, this is not the best use
of space. However, the production qua-
Napoleonic Wars, a lengthy narrative of many of the key lity is high – a good, hardback volume,
battles, the structure of the units and armies, and the tactics but including some poor contents. Pho-
tographs are blurred, and the figures in
they used … and then, into the bargain, a set of rules to cover them are sometimes badly painted and
in many cases damaged. The miniature
this period. Phew! review at the end is equally lacking,
with quite a few errors.

T
he units in the game are regiments once per turn, to try and rewrite orders
and brigades made up of a number for a unit, which can overrule existing Curiously, the army lists cover only the
of bases. Troops have five levels orders. Empire period from 1805-1815, but
of training and five levels of morale, include pretty much all of the armies
allowing a broad variety of ability and In fire combat, the ranges actually that fought in that period. Given the
confidence, which is something I really seem quite realistic, with reasonably inclusion of a Russian list for Balkan
like. Turns are based on a card-driven short ranges for muskets and side-arms operations in 1810, the authors are not
system, with each unit having an al- instead of the distorted distances that averse to supplying some very specific
located card. The cards are shuffled some rule sets allow. Fire combat is lists, although a trick was missed by not
and then turned in sequence. However, resolved using a number of D10s, based including the US Army, to accommo-
there is the option for players to try and on the ability of the firing unit. date any players who might wish to play
steal initiative from their opponent, the War of 1812 with this set of rules.
based on the ability of the commander. The system has a few problems, though.
Seizing initiative takes no account of All in all, I think these are a good set
Command and control is dependent on the quality of the opposing general, or of rules that have some unnecessary
the ability of the general or leader. An even the relative differences between padding in them. If they were republis-
outstanding general has four times the the opposing generals. This means that hed with some additional rules-based
number of command points and twice a good general with a rating of 8 has information, such as historical general
the command-radius of a poor general. exactly the same chance of seizing ini- ratings, allowances for differences
The system is clever, in that it allows tiative from another good general as he between generals, and some more army
leaders to issue orders down the chain does of grabbing it from a poor general lists to match up to the period in ques-
of command, and they must be written with a rating of 2! A table is also provi- tion, then these could be one of the best
and clear. Units that are out of com- ded for generating leaders, which lumps rule sets out there. Oh, and get some
mand roll on a table to see how they re- British and French leaders into the same better pictures!
act to being isolated from the command ‘better than everyone else’ pot; a more
chain, and they can do some alarming comprehensive list of generals and their
things: advancing, withdrawing, copy- ratings would be welcome.
ing neighbouring units, and so on. nd &
n S u therla
o
ors: J ok
Auth ell ck bo
This turns out to be a very good system
e C a n w
g e h ardba
Dian 08-p a
– it means that you have to really think nts: 2 s 2011
about how and what you write as Conte o u r photo r d M ilitary /28m
m
with
co l
n & Sw o
2 0 m m, 25
e ,
orders, and you really must think about her: P m, 15m
m
future plans, too. The other element of Publis m m, 10m
s : 6 w
Scale m dra
the command system is that, once or-
e : D 10 s e d rando l in itiativ
e
Dic r d - b a s t e a
ders are issued to divisions and above, m: Ca ions t
o
Syste it h opt
you cannot simply change them, unless
syste
m w -9 3
4 1-
you, as C-in-C, receive a request from 9 7 8 - 1-84415
:
ISBN k
the unit in question. Brigade com- : £19.9
5 d.co.u
P r ic e
a n d - swor
manders can try to act on their own .pen-
initiative, but they are the exception. www
Generals can make a ‘lucky guess’,
71

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 71 04-06-12 20:03

GAME REVIEWS

Napoleonic naval wargaming

BLOOD, BILGE AND IRON BALLS
T
his hardback book is a useful up of the different ship rosters. While the action without breaking the bank to
starting place for newcomers keen generic ships are provided for, there are buy two new fleets and having to paint
to game the Napoleonic Wars. also specific, named ships to use for the them! These counters are available to
The first 32 pages are made up of the ‘Battle of the Nile’ scenario, with their download, along with all of the ship
basic rules, which are easily picked up, own individual features. rosters and playing aids, on the Pen and
with simple line diagrams helping to The nineteen-page campaign chapter Sword website, in case you don’t want
explain key features of the game. The provides some interesting (though rather to cut up your nice book. In fact, with
turn sequence is card-activated, and, abstracted) ideas for a series of intercon- a little jiggery-pokery on the computer,
while every ship gets to have a phase of nected games. Players attempt to defeat they could easily be made into some of
movement, firing and repairs, it creates the opposing fleets and control the the smaller fleets of the period, such as
a degree of unpredictability. Firing is critical trade centres. Each player needs the Danes or Americans.
determined by rolling a number of D6s, to budget carefully and keep track of Despite describing itself as ‘naval war-
roughly equal to a tenth of the ship’s their fleet, although, compared with the game rules for the Age of Sail’, the focus
real guns, for each broadside. Hits are Bruce Quarrie (Napoleonic Wargaming) seems to be totally on the Napoleonic
determined based on the range of the campaigns of my youth, the logistical period, and particularly the conflict
shooting and a few simple modifiers. aspects look modest and achievable. between Britain, France and Spain.
Damage is then randomly determined I probably would have preferred the The rules could easily be extended by
by drawing cards from a deck, with dif- campaign to have been based around a a number of decades on either side of
ferent suits representing parts of the tar- specific event from history, but I suspect these wars, to cover such conflicts as
get ship and jokers representing critical that many gamers will relish not having the American War of Independence.
damage. Each ship has its own roster to follow a historical precedent. Overall, these are a good solid set of
sheet, and boxes representing the hull, There is also a seven-page section of rules that will appeal to newcomers to
crew, cannons, and masts are crossed full-colour cut-out fleets for the British, the period, especially for their simplicity
out as the ship takes damage. There are French and Spanish. For someone and support material.
also an additional nine pages of optio- without any 1:1200 Napoleonic ships,
nal rules, covering carronades, national this is a great way to get straight into
characteristics, shoals, and fireships.
The book provides four scenarios. Three d
Swor
of these – ‘Blockade breakout’, ‘Battle r : P e n and 8 4 534-1
he 1848 book
Royale’ and ‘Parallel engagement’ – are Publis de: I S B N
dback
C o h a r d
Orde r age ms an
fairly generic and set out a balanced-
e n t s : 134-p it e diagra o u nters
Con t nd w h hip c
looking game that’s ideal for a turn-up- c k a u r s
bla ll-co
lo
and-play session. The other scenario with of fu
g e s w
7 p a m dra
is a detailed look at the Battle of the
e : D 6 s e d rando
Dic rd-ba
Nile, 1798. This looks like great fun, m: Ca
Syste urns
although I have to admit that it seems m for t
sys t e Abbey
a bit daunting as the first scenario in
t h o r : Alan
the book! Instead, I ended up trying Au 9
: £16.9
out the basic rules with just a couple of Price
ships per side, to get the hang of things.
Much of the rest of the book is made

SAGA Supplement with Jomsvikings!

NORTHERN FURY
N
orthern Fury is the first supple- stem: Anglo-Saxons, Scots, Bretons, and original book. They also include several
ment for the popular SAGA Dark Jomsvikings. Each new force has its own ‘special faction’ rules to make them uni-
Age skirmish rules. The book distinct character and will play out in a que, and two heroes of the Viking Age
introduces four new factions for the sy- different way from the warbands in the for each list, such as Alfred the Great for

72

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 72 04-06-12 20:03

 the Anglo-Saxons and Macbeth for the tions and by activations of their own. chest of possibilities and gameplay; but,
Scots. Wrath points can be expended later on, for the occasional SAGA player, this
The new battleboards are not simply a to deliver some particularly lethal-look- book will be an expensive and unneces-
rehash of old ideas. The Anglo-Saxon ing activations that severely punish any sary addition. As a slight consolation,
battleboard encourages more aggres- unwary opponent! each of the factions can probably be
sive play then the original Anglo-Danish The book is presented to a high made up out of figures from your Vi-
list, as well as the use of large units to standard, in a similar style to the ori- king, Norman, Welsh and Anglo-Danish
take full advantage of their abilities. The ginal rule book. In terms of the price, forces, and (with the exception of the
Breton battleboard emphasizes shooting I did baulk somewhat, considering the Scots) use the same dice. In this sense,
your opponent to death with volleys of slimness of the tome! For a committed at least your figures are getting a greater
javelins. The Scots initially seem to have SAGA player, the new battleboards will mileage!
the most defensive battleboard, with the certainly open up a rewarding treasure
opportunity to ferociously counterattack
at the expense of their defensive advan- st
g Bea
G rippin r
tages later in the game. They also have h e r : co u l o
ards
abilities that can only be activated for Publis : 2 2 -page a t tlebo
t e n t s a r d b
Co n our c
spear-armed warriors and hearthguard ack, f hel
troops. However, the battleboard that softb A l e x Buc
or :
Auth 0
moves furthest away from the original
ic e : £12.0
game and takes on a new dimension Pr
is the one for the Jomsvikings, who,
at first glance, certainly look the most
intimidating. They must keep track of a
‘wrath’ rating that can be increased by
their opponents cancelling their activa-

A Clash of Empires Supplement

AGE OF RAVENS
A
ge of Ravens is the second sup- Quite surprising, and certainly most a set of solid lists to play.
plement for Clash of Empires, and welcome, is the inclusion of army lists In conclusion, these lists comprehensi-
covers the later Dark Ages, with for the beginning of the Reconquista in vely cover the late Dark Ages and early
the rise of the Vikings and their enemies Spain, covering the same time period as medieval period very well. The expansi-
from the late eighth to the early twelfth the book. on into more unusual areas, such as the
century. (A free special edition Viking Comparisons might be drawn with the Late Vandals in Spain or the period of
miniature is provided with the first 500 Shieldwall supplement for Warhammer the Civil War of King Stephen and Ma-
copies, while stocks last.) Ancient Battles (and also El Cid, for tilda, is welcome and adds to the book’s
Production quality is good, with a that matter), but Age of Ravens is more completeness. For Clash of Empire fans
well laid-out and indexed hardback comprehensive and sensible. Gone are who want to game the Viking Age, this
book. The text is easy to read, and the the more fanciful elements, which you will be a must-buy.
watermark is less pronounced than in either liked and will miss, or disliked
their previous supplement. The picture and won’t miss at all. What you get are
quality is reasonable, but some pictures
s
are perhaps a little dark. Game
t E s cape r
The substance of the book is taken up re a lo u
her: G ll-co
with the army lists for the period, aided Publis 11 2 - p age fu
nts:
by a well written historical narrative. Conte s and
ack Gibbin
The lists consist of Vikings (for both hardb a r t in
or: M uodal
e
raiders and the later Great Army) and Auth cCorq
r t M
Anglo-Saxons (with middle and late Stua 0
: £20.0
Saxons). Several different flavours of Price
Irish, Welsh and Scots armies are pro-
vided, along with Frankish, Breton, and
Norman (including Anglo-Norman) lists.

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 73 04-06-12 20:03

 COLUMN
© Georgie Harman

By Richard Clarke
Up Front
Refighting historical actions is one of the most appealing information obtained in war is contradictory, a still greater
aspects of wargaming. It creates an opportunity to test our part is false, and by far the greatest part is of doubtful char-
own abilities against those of the great captains of the world, acter”. But how is this reflected in our role as wargamers? To
and possibly even to surpass them. But the illusion quickly what degree do we ever receive false, contradictory, or doubt-
unravels when we are in a helicopter, hovering a thousand ful information?
feet above Waterloo.
If I am honest, at the venerable age of 48, my eyesight isn’t
We’re not literally hovering, of course! ‘Helicopter-vision’ is a what it once was, so it would be quite possible for me to
term that has become almost standard in wargaming circles. think that my opponent’s Brigade of French Guard outflank-
It is a convenient shorthand for describing our God-like pres- ing my army was actually a bunch of conscripts, but that’s an
ence above the miniature battlefield. In truth, this is only accident of circumstance rather than design. What is more,
the tip of the iceberg. As wargamers, we find ourselves in a I can still see that my force is being outflanked, whereas, in
position of omniscience that would make us the envy of any the real world, it is questionable whether I would have that
historical commander conducting a real military operation. information at all.

Last year, while researching a set of Boer War rules (a project The reason that audacious flank marches could be so success-
currently languishing on the Lard Island back-burner), I was ful is precisely that they were often a terrible surprise to the
amazed to read accounts of the Battle of the Tugela Heights poor chap who was on the receiving end. Imagine the scene:
in February 1900, where, during a cease fire, many British he has his plan of battle; he is facing an opponent, let us say,
troops got to see their opponents for the first time. There is who is weaker than him; and he is putting on pressure along
nothing unusual about fraternization during such a lull in the line so that, sooner or later, his weight of numbers alone
fighting. However, what stands out is that these British troops will ensure victory. Then, quite unexpectedly, he receives
had been in the thick of the action for four months, fighting a reports that his right flank is under attack, and, by the time he
series of battles along the Tugela River. During that entire time, rides over to see what on earth is happening ... Well, whatever
the vast majority had not seen a single Boer, although they is happening, one thing is certain: he has lost the initiative,
had all known what it was to be stopped in their tracks by the and it is now his opponent who has the whip-hand.
accurate fire of these hardy frontier farmers.
Of course, such audacity only works if we replicate the
Replicating such uncertainty on the tabletop presents serious circumstances in which that commander is as unaware of
challenges, both in terms of getting the simulation right, and the flank march as his real-life counterpart, and, with our
creating a balanced game that is enjoyable to play. Indeed, helicopter-vision, this becomes problematic.
this conundrum is precisely why the rules are on the back
burner! Fortunately, subterfuge has many guises, and we have sev-
eral options here. The first option should always be to design
A bigger question thrown up by this experience does not con- the scenario in order to create the illusion we want. There
cern what the poor bloody infantryman on the ground knew is little point in telling both players, “Today we’re going to
(or didn’t know), but rather what information his commanders play a flank attack scenario”, as that rather lets the cat out of
possessed, and how this affected their ability to command the bag. The simplest option is to tell Player A that his small
effectively. army is a holding force, and that he has sent a large body on
a flank march, which should (and I stress should) arrive on
There are a number of things that I wouldn’t do in an histori- his opponent’s flank very shortly. His briefing is to keep the
cal refight. I wouldn’t march Hart’s Brigade into the loop of enemy committed until that force arrives, and then deliver a
the Tugela River at Colenso; I wouldn’t charge the guns at knock-out blow.
Balaclava at the head of the Light Brigade; and I certainly
wouldn’t take the Seventh Cavalry anywhere near the Little Conversely, his opponent, Player B, should be told that he is
Bighorn River. But, in truth, that doesn’t make me a more bril- facing a small enemy force, and that he must overwhelm them
liant General than Hart, Cardigan or Custer. It simply reflects rapidly in order to achieve an important strategic goal. Speed
the fact that I know what they didn’t. being of the essence, we hope that he commits his force fully,
in order to make the game more challenging when the flank
Clausewitz said, undoubtedly correctly, “A great part of the attack arrives.

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WSS nr61 juni12.indd 74 04-06-12 20:03

 Markers to represent troops is not a new idea. Von Reisswitz
used blocks in his original Kriegsspiel rules, and most militar-
ies use blocks on tabletop maps or terrain for their profes-
sional wargames. If you think of the battle maps in most of
the Osprey books, where red and blue blocks are used to
represent the troops, you’ll get the idea. We adopted them
in order to represent troops who have not yet been spotted
by the enemy, the premise being that, as reports from scouts
came in, your opponent would be aware that something was
there, but his knowledge would be – in Clauswitz’s words –
“Military intelligence, now there’s an oxymoron if “of doubtful character”.
I ever heard one…eh, Baldrick?”
By allowing a Napoleonic force in a corps-sized game to
Note that I stressed ‘should’ in Player A’s briefing. If we are deploy one blind for each brigade present, and then a couple
keeping certain key information from his opponent, based of additional dummy blinds, which represent nothing more
on what he would and would not know, then we need to be than small scouting parties, we allow a commander to rap-
even-handed. A commander may be able to anticipate that idly make the initial moves in any battle. It certainly saves
the flank march will take four hours to arrive on the battle- time when you’re not moving hundreds of figures in the early
field, but he can never be sure. One small map-reading error stages, and – more importantly – it allows an element of the
by the Captain of Dragoons who is scouting ahead of the strategic to enter our predominantly tactical games: the play-
main column can very easily result in that whole force head- ers each attempt to outmanoeuvre their opponent, in a way
ing off-course, and we should factor this uncertainty into our that is not possible when all of the figures are on the table
scenario design. from the outset. Those two blinds on your flank could be a
division of troops about to launch an attack, or it could be a
So, scenario design is critical, but, personally, I do not think small scouting force. What do you do? If you had the figures
that it is enough on its own. The potential failing of the on the table, you’d know. But with the blinds, to ignore a
carefully-designed scenario outlined above is that, as soon as potential threat could be a disaster. Or you could be holding
the head of the column arrives on the table, the game is up. If back your reserve for the sake of a few scouts.
Player B has an ounce of common sense, he will be commit-
ting his reserves to face off this new threat, and a flank attack Of course, some people object to this, on the grounds that
then ceases to be on a flank at all, but rather hits a freshly- “cardboard blinds are ugly”. Indeed, they are. But then, so are
deployed defensive line head-on. bare metal figures, and we successfully paint these in order
to make them aesthetically pleasing. There is no reason why
For many years, at our local club, we used to employ a system you could not represent your Austrians with, say, a white blind
for hidden movement using sketch maps of the table with our showing the Habsburg Eagle, whilst the French blinds are blue
instructions marked on them. Flank marches would thereby with the Imperial Eagle. What’s more, the point of the blinds is
emerge at the point where the umpire judged they could be that they represent the unseen. So, by definition, they tend to
seen by the enemy. What this did was to encourage the gamer be present only in the initial manoeuvre stages of a tabletop
to think about how he deployed his forces in a more histori- game, and our beautiful figures emerge in all their glory as
cal fashion. In the language of horse and musket, we are very the fighting begins.
used to lumping our cavalry together for heroic (and, in my
case, usually futile) charges. However, with this system, we The advantage of this system is that it allows two gamers, with
quickly learnt that cavalry used to scout and protect our flanks no umpire present, to include aspects of hidden movement
was actually a much more efficient, and indeed historical, use into their games. It encourages them to deploy their troops
of those troops. Equally, we learnt the sagacity of retaining at based on both what they know and what they do not know.
least part of our force as a reserve, in order to meet any unex- If your enemy has troops still hidden from you, it is wise to
pected threats; if none of these emerged, it was always useful emulate historical commanders and keep a reserve available
for landing a final punch with fresh troops. to face any new threat. It pays you to push your cavalry out
onto the flanks, in order to serve as an early warning of the
Whilst hidden movement on a map had some advantages, it dreaded flank march. In short, it achieves precisely what the
was, in truth, a laborious system, and depended on the luxury sketched maps did … but without the need for an umpire.
of having an umpire to oversee our scrawled notes. It becomes
problematic when umpires are not always available. In the Rich shows that ‘blinds’ can be used to recreate the challenge
end, we took a leaf from Don Featherstone’s books and settled of identifying units and their positions on the battlefield.
on a system of on-table rectangular markers, which nowadays His alternative method involves drinking half a dozen pints
you’ll find in nearly all TooFatLardies games: they’re called before a game, an idea which the WS&S team will try out
‘blinds’. very soon!

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 BOARDGAMES REVIEWS
Sixteenth-century blitzkrieg? By Chris Payne

MAGNIFICO
Use tanks, aeroplanes and infantry to take
over Europe? Sound like a familiar theme for a
boardgame? It would be, were it not for steam-
powered tanks and ornithopters, and a setting
in the sixteenth century! That is the world of
Magnifico. A world where Leonardo Da Vinci’s
Each invention is specific to the player holding the card.
ideas for war machines have become reality. Thus, for example, the battering ram is only available to the
player holding that invention card. The availability of tech-
nology is determined by the availability of the cards; some

T
he aim of the game is to score Victory Points up to a inventions appear multiple times.
predetermined level: 30 is suggested, or 40 for a longer
game. Each round, one point can be earned for each
completed city (a castle with four towers), and two points
can be earned for having control of the Leonardo card, or for
having the most territories, the most castles, or the most proj-
ects completed (for example, the first tank or airplane built);
a few projects representing works of art also earn points.
On a two-way tie, points are split; three or more (the game
can be played by five people) and nobody scores. (However,
the designers have now added an optional rule whereby the
second place in a category

© Chris Payne
gets 1 VP and, in the event
© Chris Payne

of a multiple tie for first

place, all players involved
score 1 VP.) Overhead view, black attacks orange.

Each round, a number of Combat is dice-based and the attacker determines the order
inventions (one less than of his attacks from airplanes, tanks or infantry. The special
the number of players) dice (one explosion face, three Vitruvian Man symbols,
will be available. After and two blank faces) determine combat. Explosions have
receiving income and consequences for the attacker, whilst Man symbols indicate
Box, board and contents. recruiting troops, play- successful hits. The inventions, castles and tank/airplane
ers bid for the Leonardo upgrades can alter the results. Combat generally favours the
card (only the winner has to pay). Aside from giving two
Victory Points, it also gives a priority purchase option on the
inventions and a monetary discount on building designs, or
further tank and airplane units. Each player can only have
one type of airplane and tank, and these will vary depend-
ing upon the upgrades that the player can equip them with
or that they are able to take. For example, the cheapest air-
planes can only take one upgrade, the most expensive three.
Having bought inventions and built units, a player then has
© Chris Payne

the chance to attack adjacent territories. Each attack costs

money and a player is limited to three attacks per turn. A
player also has the ability to do a limited amount of move-
ment.
Components - coins are for scale.

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 attacker. Combat continues until one side has no infantry
pieces left. Tanks and airplanes that have not been destroyed LIKES
are captured and can be used by their new owner. Nice quality plastic components
The game constantly moving towards an end
When people see a game like this (map, units, dice) then (2+ Victory Points will always be scored for
often the reaction is to think of a Risk variant. Tactically, Leonardo card and any completed towns)
this game has much more depth and decision-making than A refreshing twist on combat
Risk. The only guaranteed Victory Points each round are the Is not just about conquering territory
Leonardo card and any completed cities: others might be Fun dice-rolling
shared, or cancelled out by too many players qualifying.
Money is always tight and the three-attack maximum is lim- DISLIKES
iting. The Leonardo cardholder goes first and gets a discount, No specific two-player rules
but may find that he or she has become the target of other ‘The weak get weaker’
players. Lack of a ready reference card on the inventions (mean-
ing constant referral to rulebook) – but this is now
There is a tendency to pick on the perceived leader at any solved by a download from the boardgamegeek website
one moment, and the player in last place can end up in a bit
of a ‘king-making’ position when he or she decides who to
attack. The dynamics of the game change with the number ing tank armies rolling around the board, sometimes chang-
of players, not only because of the competition for space, ing hands in the process. The inventions (for example, bat-
but also due to the number of inventions that come up for tering ram and paratroops) can shift things again, but they
auction, as players get the chance (and the choice) to buy are not guaranteed to be available at any particular point in
in turn. With more players, more inventions will come into time, and only one player will gain their advantage. Players
play. who don’t like the anarchy of potential improvements will
not like this game, but they probably also will not like the
Finally, there are a few specific rules designed to address uncertainty caused by the dice.
issues common to ‘territory conquest’ games. A player’s
last territory cannot be taken away from him, so a player is The components are top quality – mounted mapboard,
always involved. The problem here is that, with an income tough miniature pieces and coins, solid dice, and substantial
of only 10 Florins (plus another 10 for owning a castle), they cards. Magnifico will be enjoyed by those who don’t mind
won’t get to do very much – building a castle or tower, or a the vagaries of dice-rolling combat with a measure of chaos
tank or airplane, costs 20 Florins, and other inventions range in resource management and availability. It is a game that
from 20 to 60. This is a game where ‘the weak get weaker’. needs to be taken for what it is, rather than importing ideas
If a player does find himself in that position, though, it is of how other similar-looking games do things, or how you
generally indicative that the game will end reasonably soon, think things ought to be done. (Serious planners and strate-
because the other players are scoring the various Victory gists will probably refuse to play again, and will question
Points available. the logic of some rules during the game!) I enjoy this kind of
game, and feel that Fantasy Flight have done well to bring it
The rules expressly forbid exchange or negotiations involving to a much wider audience in 2012.
money, cards or tokens. So, there is no handing everything
to another player to give them a win over somebody else. Originally released by Dust Games (2008) then Asmodee, it
has now been given a much wider release by Fantasy Flight
Magnifico offers that rare combination of a game with (2011/12). The Fantasy Flight version has rules in English; the
enough (simple) economics to have a degree of financial Asmodee version has rules in English and French. Rules in
management and limitation, but with enough combat for Italian are available on the internet. The Asmodee version is
those who like attacking (and winning). The attacker’s advan- the subject of this review: the Fantasy Flight (FFG) version is
tage means that territories will change hands (it seems) believed to be identical, except for the FFG badge.
fairly easily, although, with time, this can be countered by
building towers onto castles to reduce the effects. The game
s
won’t appeal to players who dislike the luck of the dice for ht Game
y Flig
antas
combat: roll badly, and tank after tank will explode taking her: F
Publis
men with them. The designers have published optional rules s: 3-5 hours
Player p rox. 2 of
on their website (www.kaleidosgames.com) and the revised h : a p rmies les
Lengt a r d , five a s , cast
rules for tanks exploding are generally held to be better than
g e : 14 + e d m apbo , a ir plane
A oun t tan k s
utral ney.
the original ones. nts: M nd mo
Conte o l o u rs, ne s , d ice, a aroun
d).
ent c d g
differ e n t io n car h s h oppin
inv ort
There is a bit of an arms race within the game – first tanks wers, ays, w
and to 5 ( as alw
are powerful, and then, as castles get bigger and stronger, $59 .9
RRP:
they weaken the power of tanks. Mid-game can see maraud-

77

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 77 04-06-12 20:04

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 78 04-06-12 20:04
WSS nr61 juni12.indd 79 04-06-12 20:04
 BOOK REVIEWS
By Chris Payne, Rossco Watkins, Eoghan Kelly, Mark Backhouse and George Moriaitis

ROMAN CENTURIONS 31 BC-AD 500

This is the companion volume to although there are set-pieces such as a battle scene and an
Men-at-Arms 470, which covered investiture. It is hard, therefore, to say how representative the
the period 753-31 BC. It follows plates are of all the centurions in a legion, but on the gaming-
the typical MAA fomat: 43 pages table the number of centurion figures should be proportional
of text and illustrations (black and to the number of ordinary legionaries. The plates should be
white), four pages of bibliography, detailed enough for figure converters to get to work.
four pages of illustration descrip- The author admits at the start that he doesn’t cover the later
tion, an index and eight pages of Roman rank of centenarius very much, but three are shown
full-colour plates showing recon- in the final Plate H, dating from AD 350, AD 390 and the
structions. fifth century. There are also – when talking about duties and
The book starts off with a descrip- organization – several references to the earlier book (which
tion of Roman army organization and how centurions fitted I haven’t seen), probably to save space and repetition in this
into this structure. It then looks at the wider picture: quasi- volume. With those caveats, I would recommend this book
military duties, social status, and arms and equipment, and for those looking for a brief guide both on possible uniforms
the all-important distinctions (cloaks, medals – phalerae, and the wider perspective of what being a Roman centurion
arm-bands, torques –and the important vine staff or vitis). meant.
The author uses illustrations of funerary monuments (stelai
and sarcophagi) as the source of large parts of the book,
although there are some photographs of armour, statues and sprey s 479 t
her: O en-at-Arm h eigh
victory monuments, two mosaics, two painted items, and a Publis d e : M t b a c k wit
Co of
Order age s
fragment of a military cloak. The items come from all over
e n t s : 48-p
the Roman Empire and are not just restricted to Italian muse- Cont es ato
r plat D’Am
ums. colou R a f faele Rava
Auth
or: is eppe k
The plates are often based upon stelai or other ancient depic- r: G u E-Boo
trato £7.99
tions, and therefore represent coloured interpretations of Illus p r in t ,
om
: £9.99 hing.c
existing items, rather than a composite picture drawing upon Price p r e y publis
.os
several sources. Each plate normally shows three centurions, www

ARNHEM: THE BATTLE FOR THE BRIDGES

This special two-disk edition DVD utilizes both genuine
DVD from Pen and Sword is Second World War footage and re-enactment groups.
packed full of information and The information presented here is first-class and the many
gives a complete overview of this ‘talking head’ experts are hugely knowledgeable and infor-
part of the campaign in Europe, mative. The most insightful and engaging sections of the
looking at the men who fought DVD are the interviews with veterans of the campaign, who
in the campaign, their equip- speak openly and candidly about their experiences in France
ment, their commanders, and the and Holland in 1944. There can be no underestimating the
great many undertakings asked of value of these men’s accounts and opinions, and this is what
these truly brave men. the DVD delivers particularly well.
The team from Pen and Sword As a wargamer, you will find a wealth of information here,
show us maps and aerial pho- should you wish to re-enact any of these famous and pivotal
tographs from the campaign, battles on your tabletop. There is certainly much here for
describing battle plans in depth, as well as actually visiting inspiration: my long-suffering wife will tell you that I’m quite
the landing zones, the towns and villages, and the bridges easily swayed, and it’s not unusual for me to see a historical
themselves, to give the viewer a good understanding of the piece, get myself excited, and run off to find the appropriate
ground over which these engagements were fought. The figures for my latest obsession. However, on this occasion,

80

WSS nr61 juni12.indd 80 04-06-12 20:04

 the slightly dry delivery on the DVD didn’t quite fire my
d
imagination, so my current project is safe … for now! Swor r 117
r : P e n and r u n n ing fo
The production quality is fair, although budget and time he DVDs
Publis : Two
constraints have left their mark. At times, filming conditions e n t s for
Con t
o n offer
are not perfect (as with the campaign itself) and the sound es ntl y
minut curre
quality sometimes varies. This DVD is part of a series of e : £ 19.99,
Pric o.uk
three and, at £19.99 each, I have to say that it seems a little
£15.99 - s w ord.c
n d
expensive for what we get. However, this DVD is currently .pen-a
www
available on special order at Pen and Sword for £15.99; so,
if you have a particular interest in this campaign, it is well
worth a look, if only for the interviews with veterans.

THE WOLFENBÜTTEL WAR

I have always liked the concept are listed in regiments, and not too many of them, which
of alternative versions of cam- will allow the average SYW gamer to field the forces needed.
paigns or even hidden campaigns However, there is no indication of ground scale, which
which disguise one campaign as means that your army could be a continuous line of figures,
another. So I was intrigued when or (more likely) several units spread across the board with
this tome fell into my hands some frightening gaps between them. This is not helped by
recently – when I say ‘fell’, it what I consider to be very poor maps. This is the digital age,
was really handed to me! This yet the maps look like something I tried making 20 years
book is a clever transposition of ago. I would have thought the easiest thing would be to
the Waterloo Campaign into a get genuine maps and simply edit them by changing place
mythical Seven Years War setting, names, thus solving the ground scale issue. Another thing
where the main protagonists of that I thought did not fit well was the fact that the battles use
France and England are, broadly an apparent 15-minute turn for orders, movement, and so
speaking, replaced by the Grand Duchy of Lorraine and the on, which is not necessarily the time-frame used by your rule
alliance of the Vereinigte Freie Städte (VFS) led by the epony- set. One battle states that Turn 10 occurs at 11:30 and Turn
mous Wolfenbüttel – and their Markgräfin, a kind of feminine 14 at 12:30, making it a game of many, many turns, especial-
Frederick the Great. The book gives you a nice, concise back- ly as the battle is expected to continue until around 17:00.
ground – it is obvious that the author has been developing I think this supplement is intriguing, inventive and frustrating
this setting for quite some time, as this is the third in a series in equal parts. There are some lovely pictures of the armies
of books that tell a narrative of battles, but are not actually that the author and the playtesters used, but I couldn’t find
linked. any information about the source of the figures – could I buy
The supplement itself is nicely laid out and carries nice them or were they bespoke? The book is almost complete,
touches, such as newspaper front pages from both sides of but it needs to come either with suggested adjustments to
the conflict, and occasional boxes giving additional informa- fit your chosen rule set, or with a firm commitment to one
tion for the players. Once you have read the background, particular set of rules. Nevertheless, if you are happy with
there is a straightforward section to allow a limited selection tweaking something to fit your rule set of choice, then this
of units from your overall forces, and then the players are could be a valuable addition to your SYW gaming.
launched into the first battle (or Tabletop Teaser, as author
Charles Grant calls them). Each of the battles has clear vic-
tory conditions for the players involved, which allow a degree 2012
of flexibility in how you approach the overall campaign. That iz a n Press 18-639
-9
h e r : Part 9 7 8 -1-858 a c k
being said, I felt that there was a very contradictory order in Publis BN ftb
C o d e: IS c o l o ur so
one of the battles, which effectively made it unwinnable for Order 2-pag
e
t
one side, while actually assisting that side to win the war o n t e nts: 7 es S Gran
C h a r l
or: C
(if that makes sense). I like the SYW period and I quite like Auth 9
: £16.9 oks.c
om
this supplement. However, there were quite a few things that Price iv rbo
e
.c a l
were missing for me. www
The campaign is written for any rule set, which can be both
an easy and a hard thing to achieve successfully. The armies

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