Barbarossa - Mud and Blood

A great time has had by nearly all, JP was using cursed dice.  Battle played in deep mud conditions after early autumn rains.  Pictures only of the notable units.

400point Battlegroups for each player.  German JP and young David both panzer division, Russian Mechanised Corp, me, Rifle Division big Livy.  The Germans won an all objectives victory after five turns

The KV-1 lasted the whole game under fire from the Panzer 3s, it spent two of the five turned pinned but KOd a Panzer 3.  the Bt-7s in comparison had less impact.

This table was a sea of mud due to early autumn rains, the mechanised infantry all entered on foot, the red blob is the objective.  I had to send one squad after another running towards the objective while the Germans slide along the top of the ridge to take it.  The Russian support forces tried to pick them off.



This was the real unit of the game for me the infantry gun 76.2mm, with loader team placed right on the edge of the board on turn 2 from the reserves, it never failed to pin down a German infantry squad, half track or armoured car.



Valiant German trucks brave the roads, painted by  Young David, the Germans stuck with road movement before dismounting this kept the order count down.





Autocannon armed Panzer 2s picked off Livy's T-26s and hammered the Russian infantry, again painted by Young David, the panzer on it's side slide off the hill. Below is JPs battle cutting edge

Above Big Livy's platoon commander advanced to contest an objective on the junction but couldn't live through the storm of German fire that took out his platoon.



Bolt Action 1944

My first try of Bolt Action with only the tip of the iceberg that is the Provan family 20mm collection

The Relief of Fort Sogasi

The Men who would be Kings Rules, the scenario is set  in the Sudan using the standard lists but only one officer per player to speed it all up.Scenario, a force of Egyptians are besieged by the forces of the Mahdi, River Arabs commanded by Mullah Dessi.  On the way is a British column their overall Anglo Egyptian commander is Pasha Preston. On  the horizon Osman Provan is hurrying his Beja to storm the Fort

First wave of Beja repulsed

 The British column falls behind when Ensign smith drops the colours due to heat exhaustion the last unit dropping behind, the Indian cavalry hurry ahead

Blue Moon figures

 The Ansar second wave stike the town

Soon it became back to back for  the British discover the rocks are crawling with fanatic Ansar prepare to charge to their deaths.  they are strung out on the march

Peter Pig

The basi bazooks turned back the Ansar leader in his quick move to seize the fort covering fire from their Sudanese unit

The Indian Sowars wreck revenge on the fanatics would dared to ambush from the rocks their discipline allowed them tho charge

The upshot of the initial game was devastating casualties for the Ansar and River Arabs but only one unit of the Relief force made it to the Fort.  We set up for a British attack on a dervish rocky ridge. The Egyptians and British advance, the Dervish using the rocky cover the Beja screaming out into the Guns of the British, this time the Egyptians suffer the bulk of the casualties but the Anglo Egyptians take the ridge.

The Harrying of the North 1069

King William of England marches on  rebellions made by his Anglo-Saxon subjects against him. They have killed his Earl Robery Comnes. He leads an army through the north of England,  burns houses, crops, cattle and land from York to Durham which results in the deaths of over 100,000 people, mainly from starvation and winter cold.  the rebels gather at the Oak Tree Cross ... William has sent a force to smash them.

Played with Hail Caesar rules this battle took 2hours 30 minutes of furious fighting with young David and myself as saxon leaders and JP with Livi commanding the avenging Normans

Norman forces are first on the field surging on the Oak Tree ridge

Old style fighting the Cumbrians at the run surprise Norman Heavy Infantry, a bit of head shaking goes on

At the other end of Oak Tree Ridge Normans clash with the Select Fyrd

Cumbrians take the wood but are in turn hit by Norman knights who smash them

Saxon slingers cower in fear

All the Norman cavalry attacks are replused but their infantry comes on again

Viking allies with Saxon Churls about to be swept away by the Norman's Ally Vikings

The Victors!

The Navy Lark

BIG BATTLE SATURDAY THE SUDAN

Scenario

The Egyptians are under attack from a strong Madhist force but relief is on the way.  Players rolled up one commander each.  The fuzzy Wuzzys are well led but the River arabs arre led by a cad.  Captain HawHaw RN commands a Gun Boat with barge carrying a naval landing force.  He is the sadist type that still would have flogging. Lieutenant Atkins a young able commander leads the British Desert Column.  The gunboat drives off the opposing dhows and lands.  The Desert Column  gets ambushed, losing their artillery then gets pinned down by fire from the rocks.

Navy storms ashore

Egyptians are relieved

These six Egyptians held off 60 tribal warriors

Egytians commander on his camel

Fuzzy wuzzy camels

View from the Nile

Sudanese in close order

It was a simple scenario but a great battle won clearly by Lord HawHaw, big Livy who really got into the part even twirling his moustache.  The navy was unstoppable!

Union repulsed

All figures painted by Young David Provan, this was an hasty attack by "green " union commanders against a Veteran Confederate rearguard using the excellent Jonny Reb rules

the union

Union elites

rebs at the ready

more rebs

 The reb line looked thin but the blue bellies would find out they were ready to fight

Union centre was held up by the cornfields

the union about to come to grips

Young David pounces on a weak centre

Dave senior decimates one union battery

then finishes off the next with extreme range fire

Oh the horror, the divisional commander watches is artillery run for it

A brigadier is cut down throwing shaking his brigade

the union sweeps around the right

more waiting rebs

/union still hold the ridge on the right

I have them! confederate divisional commnder

Rebs surge forward

Rebs take the battery then charge again

Zouaves cant stop them

My brigadier shot and returning to the base followed by his own zouves at the roll of a double 1