Hi guys

See my thread on 'Riddle of the Sands" in 20th Century section- what is the best rules for Boer war 10mm ?

Sunray out

I'd recommend you look at "Principle's of War" if you want to game Boer War Battles. The rules have been around for awhile , and do show their age in some respects,  but should cover pretty much everything you need.
They have the plus of having hidden deployment as a normal part of the way the rules work.

David Turner

Thanks Dave.  The scenario is the German invasion of England circa 1902, that get past the RN and lands in East Anglia around the Wash. Sort of WW1 without the HMGs to dominate the Killing Grounds, so lots of mobility and .....lots on innovations like, land lines telephones, motor bikes, bicycles ....and airships , plus the Germans is Prussian blue.  The Pendraken figures from WW1 and Franco Prussian ranges.
The British in combat dynamic will be close to the Boers of 1900, as their skill at arms is now a passion.   

Sunray out

Black Powder?

or going the other way in time  you could pick Through the Mud and the Blood  and retrofit it ? (not sure if you were doing a skirmish level game or not....)

You could try my ww1 rules using the early war variation where the emphasis is on company/battalion rifle fire with a bit of direct field artillery support, just ignore the MG stats.

They are available here or I've got a newer version I can email you.

Hello Sunray,

if you can work with card based games (some people love them - some people hate them) you could try 'If the Lord Spares Us' from the Lardies, set in WW1 middle east but I think could be modified easily. Covers cavalry, troop quality, etc.

Cheers

Vic/GrumpyOldMan

Many thanks Dan and Vic.  It has been argued that if WW1 had been fought in 1901, there would have been no stalemate and we would have been spared the blood bath on an industrial scale. (As you can see from the linked thread 'Riddle of the Sands' in 20th Cent blog, I am thinking about this as a good potential demo game).   That's not to say it won't have trenches - they have been around since ACV and featured at Port Arthur and South Africa, as accurate rifle fire out to 1000 yds became the norm.  Just want something different and the Riddle of the Sands gives a nice scanario.  The yawl rigged yacht Dulcibella may well feature in the game ! I scratch built a yacht for VBCW so have the basis to start.

Sunray out

The Lardies have been playtesting Boer War Rules for some time now. There are a number of reports on their blog.

One I forgot earlier - Red Actions from "The Perfect Captain"

Quote from: ianrs54 on 02 December 2011, 11:48:59 AM
One I forgot earlier - Red Actions from "The Perfect Captain"

These are nice - free too: http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/redactions.html   

Many thanks Nik, This is a very interesting site.  I will probally try juxtapose these rules with the tried and tested BKC that I love.   In my initial research of the period, what is amazing is that the Maxim was around and available. The British used it to good effect in Africa, yet there seems a reluctance to absorbe the lessons.   A bit like the SMG not being adopted until 1940.  I firmly believe part of this mindset was an obsession with 'not wasting ammo'.  In my service life there was no reason why the 7.62 SLR could not have had full auto - like the FN it was based on.  Yet the MoD feared the squaddies would waste ammo, so it stayed single shot.

In 1914 these ignored lessons of firepower come home to roost. But with the tatical mindsets and only a token presence of Maxims gaming 1901 is an interesting scanario.

Sunray out

Quote from: Sunray on 03 December 2011, 11:10:21 AMyet there seems a reluctance to absorbe the lessons. 

There is some measure of misguided reason in the slow adoption of the maxim as well.  In 1870 the French Mitrailleuse were picked off by German artillery as soon as they opened up; it was therefore concluded that machine guns would not be effective in a European environment.   No-one really grasped what a mere 40 years of technical development actually meant.

And uncontrolled ammunition expenditure *was* a problem in 1870/71 as well -- mostly because poorly trained and controlled French troops would start blazing away at 1000 meters and be running low as the Germans came into effective range.

A lot of the sorrow of 1914 came from some very careful reasoning about 1870 leading to the wrong conclusions  (although there were some right conclusions in the mix)

Quote from: lentulus on 03 December 2011, 01:40:02 PM
There is some measure of misguided reason in the slow adoption of the maxim as well.  In 1870 the French Mitrailleuse were picked off by German artillery as soon as they opened up; it was therefore concluded that machine guns would not be effective in a European environment.   No-one really grasped what a mere 40 years of technical development actually meant.

And uncontrolled ammunition expenditure *was* a problem in 1870/71 as well -- mostly because poorly trained and controlled French troops would start blazing away at 1000 meters and be running low as the Germans came into effective range.

A lot of the sorrow of 1914 came from some very careful reasoning about 1870 leading to the wrong conclusions  (although there were some right conclusions in the mix)

You make a really good point here.  That the Q/F artillery firing over open sights would and could nulify the HMGs. The senior commanders of 1914 would have cut their teeth in 1870. and and you righty argue 'no one grasped what 40 years of technical development actually meant.;

 

Hi Sunray

Quote from: Sunray on 03 December 2011, 11:10:21 AM
Many thanks Nik, This is a very interesting site.  I will probally try juxtapose these rules with the tried and tested BKC that I love. 

If the Warmaster game engine is what you're looking for maybe you can contact Tony Barr about his proposed 19th Century Warmaster variant to see if it got off the ground - http://ermtony.pbworks.com/w/page/14871320/19th%20Century%20Commander

Cheers

Vic/GrumpyOldMan