The second game of my Operation Sealion campaign can be found on my Blog:
https://wwiiwargaming.blogspot.com/2020/09/operation-sealion-game-2-bouncing-rheins.html (https://wwiiwargaming.blogspot.com/2020/09/operation-sealion-game-2-bouncing-rheins.html)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3XgTsgqSZ8/X142HtwWzTI/AAAAAAAAJ1U/QBGbqWxtix0XQr-UnN46Tvd0kxzdJJeVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P1120443.JPG)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9WBKis_79d4/X142KHr87ZI/AAAAAAAAJ1s/0ap9xpge9DofJBwAovdXC4Ei6o6OL2dxACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P1120450.JPG)
Good report.
AA was a Bren gun on a monopod?
I know about the AA Bren, but in game terms would probably not count at this level. Certainly the LDV were poorly equipped so wouldn't have had any AA options.
In 1940 many LDV and other units had Lewis guns as Battalion AAMG rather than Brens, but as you say, wouldn't feature in a CHQ stand.
Thanks Mark. In future maybe I'll just give the Battalion CO's the AA stats.
:-bd =D> :-bd
Thanks Paul and I see you're now a Field Marshal :). I think I've just made General but I might have been for some time but can't remember to be honest :D.
Quote from: Steve J on 14 September 2020, 06:30:47 AM
... I...can't remember to be honest.
Try writing
BE HONEST! on the back of your wrists.
Quote from: Steve J on 14 September 2020, 06:30:47 AM
Thanks Paul and I see you're now a Field Marshal :)...
:o :o :o
Well done Paul, drinks on you.
All this promotion is wrecking my kidneys.
Nice one, Steve...and congrats to Paul. :)
Cheers - Phil
Apologies Alexander for my grammatical lapse :-[.
Steve - don't encourge him, he'll only wind round your ankeles yowling and trio you up.
Good scrap!
Using "I" is overratted anyway. We all know who the subject is. Well, almost all of us... 😾
Quote from: mmcv on 14 September 2020, 02:29:13 PM
Good scrap!
Using "I" is overratted anyway. We all know who the subject is. Well, almost all of us... 😾
I'd say the dropping of "I" is not a problem but in any case I think FK's problem may be with the missing comma. In this time of crisis, when the world is drowning in excess comma's, we must make every effort to reduce the "comma mountain" lest the NHS (other Health Services are available) be overwhelmed by pedants having heart attacks at the sight of perfectly understandable sentences being constructed without conformation to prescribed rules. :)
Another nice small game Steve - inspiring as always.
On the matter of the small Rheins ... my unfortunate experience is that they might not be that wide but can be very deep - a death trap for a heavily equipped man - especially one with a back-pack on, his hands full of rifle and his head-down to avoid fire - plus the banks are almost vertical. A linear obstacle - with no cover is a good way of depicting them - but they are actually quite dangerous.
I expect the Somersets (being local) would be well aware of the dangers they pose but not the FJs.
I have always quite liked the idea that terrain is not predictable ... if that makes sense ... I think I first encountered the idea in the Colonial rules set 'Principles of War' - where a wood was a wood, until you actually entered or scouted it ... then you diced for density. So in effect you could be advancing on it with Infantry and find it was impenetrable (to all infantry), so you became stuck on its outer edge having to go around or find a path through it. The same could be applied to streams or ditches, the impassibility of rivers or density of scrub or broken ground etc. You could take it to a further extraction by dicing for different unit types, so what might be passable to an tracked AFV might not be so for an Infantry unit or vice-versa.
I can just see that look of shock as an FJ jumps into a Rhein looking for cover and ends up over his head in what is in effect a water filled, weed choked slit trench with vertical sides & few ways out!!!
I await the next game with baited-breath
Mark
I like the idea of dicing for wood density etc, which adds a nice variable to a game. As I from East Anglia and grew up by the edge of the Fens (my Mum was a Fen Tiger) the ditches range from something you could easily jump across to the rheins that you describe. Linear obstacles works well for them but the odd curve ball as per the woods would be fun :D.
I'll definitely file the where a wood was a wood, until you actually entered or scouted it ... then you diced for density idea away for future reference
I can think of a few variations on that theme that could add some interesting fog of war to many scenarios
The other way you can work this is that the 'defender' dices for the terrain density/difficulty of each piece of terrain (within reason) on the board and places a small chit of paper with their result on that terrain piece (but face down). So the defender knows the difficulties, but the attacker doesn't.
In theory you can apply the idea to pretty much any terrain piece - even a wall - as I remember as a kid (youth) doing a bit of "garden hopping" and running at what looked like a solidly made brick garden wall only to have it collapse under me as I tried to vault it (Oh boy did I catch it for that!).
Or likewise, a hedge looks like it is only brambles & shrubbery and you end up finding that there is a substantial dry-stone wall or even concrete fence posts and a chain-link fence in the midst of it.
I have also looked at a similar things for table-top units - as all too often as gamers we are omnipotent in a game - as we are looking back at history and are generally well read. We also look at the army lists and know that unit A has a better melee capability than unit B for example.
As an example - we should not assume that the formation of Saxon Huscarls on that hill in-front of your Norman cavalry are all veterans or are all that enthusiastic to be fighting that day.
In a 'modern' game you could argue that you might have some degree of intelligence about your enemy - but different units might fight very differently in different situations.
In Steve's case - as this is a solo game it is irrelevant - but just maybe one unit of his Somersets might have been recruited from that very village they are defending. So whilst they are classified as volunteers (maybe green or conscript) they might also count as Stubborn in that situation.
There is an argument that an experienced soldier can spot an inexperienced one - by the way their pikes wavered for example or the way they maintained their camp discipline etc. But the 'moral' of the unit might be harder to spot - until you are up front and personal.
I mucked about with an idea that adjusted the effectiveness of units at random and their points cost accordingly - so that the Saxon Huscarls might be bought as veterans but a random effect mean that they were actually exhausted (having ridden for many day back from their victory at Stamford Bridge). But the Norman commander did not know that and made his plans as if they were his primary threat. However, a local Fyrd contingent might have had a serious grudge against those pesky Norman raiders and so are classified as ferocious .. but again the Normans don't know that, until they meet them in hand-to-hand combat.
It all depends what level of abstraction you want to play to.
Cheers
Mark
It just adds a bit more 'spice' to the game.
Some good points and ideas there Mark, which I hope to be able to use in the future.
Hi Steve
Another great report. Actually living in the Mendips I'm really looking forward to the battle! There are still a couple of pill boxes a few miles away at the old station at Midsomer Norton.
Incidentally I'd be very interested to know which bits of BKC-IV you are using.
Cheers Paul
Quote from: paulr on 15 September 2020, 04:27:34 AM
I'll definitely file the where a wood was a wood, until you actually entered or scouted it ... then you diced for density idea away for future reference
I can think of a few variations on that theme that could add some interesting fog of war to many scenarios
Depending upon your gaming preferences Paul you could take this to an even higher level of extraction ... so ... in the 'fog' that stand of trees in the distance might just turn out to be a fast advancing body of enemy cavalry ... or in a fantasy game that section of wood might be a herd of giant treemen ... you get the idea!
Definitely some interesting food for thought :-\
I was also interested in how you might fight a refight of the Wars of the Roses battle of Barnet - to recreate the confusion of 2 armies setting up to face-off against each other at night in a thick fog and then subsequently fight a battle in the early morning as the sun is coming up in the fog, until it slowly dissipates as the day progresses.
I'm not sure if this is a unique situation (or maybe just one of the very few recorded) but it might also apply to battlefields shrouded in gun smoke or even combats in gas or smoke clouds in WW1 or when smoke projectors were used (as in Korea).
Cheers
Morning fog was a feature of Austerlitz, back in 2005 we limited visibility in the fog and the French units were not placed on the table until they moved or the fog cleared.
In the olden days when Donald Featherstone's books and rule were about all there was, this sort of thing was achieved by hanging a sheet across the table as the armies were set up. Not vert pretty but quite effective. I am bound to mention, too, that computer moderated rules simulate weather and going.
I played a game with a friend using the sheet across the table for set up, which seemed a bit strange, but it really made you think about your deployment. The big reveal when everything was deployed was brilliant as you suddenly had a shock or pleasant surprise at your or your opponents deployment.
Overratted (or overmoused) wargames room? Kitty can help. Call us for a free quotation!
Actually, I caught a snake in my downstairs shower this morning. Nothing like the python in my post last week, but even so! The romance and glamour of Asian life is not what people think, I tell you.
Beware the small ones a venomus
I got a surprise seeing a small scorpion in my bath during first year in Nigeria. Easy to get rid of but still, not what one is used to! Seeing snakes was nice, until you remember they are lethal and can 'run' almost as fast as you when flat out :o.
Quote from: John Cook on 19 September 2020, 12:35:05 AM
In the olden days when Donald Featherstone's books and rule were about all there was, this sort of thing was achieved by hanging a sheet across the table as the armies were set up. Not vert pretty but quite effective. I am bound to mention, too, that computer moderated rules simulate weather and going.
I played/still occasionally play - an ancients set of table top rules called Armati that requires a set up screen - we use portable card screens at competition events and it certainly attracts interest.
It does make you think but occasionally it results in a very short game!
With the screen I find I really try and achieve historical deployments, especially with regards the deployment of artillery. Anything else can lead to disaster!