Warfare 2011

Fresh back from the yearly trip to "Warfare", and time I think to report on how the show/day went...

All in all I'd say that this year was very quiet - it's something I've notcied this year, as both the Reading & Newbury shows are slightly unusual in the UK in that they are two day affairs. Given the choice, DG and I will always pick the Sunday, in my case at least, that's the day the family are least likely to be doing something on so it's easiest for me to get away. In the case of Colours and this weekends Warfare though, it was noticeably less busy...  still a buzz, but not grooving and a shaking like it normally is...  economic effects??  Who knows - I do wonder about the economic viability of two day shows in the current climate...  the traders are not going to turn up for two days if no-one is buying on the second day...  it did seem to me, by the way, that not a lot of cash was changing hands - purely a perception....

So what did Steve the Wargamer buy???  Not a lot really - I have enough stuff to be going on with so I was there mostly for a good mooch around

I pre-ordered three unit bags from Newline Designs (who are having a rather awesome 25% off sale running up to Christmas!) so I picked those up and saved myself the postage, they will re-stock the lead piles nicely, and will eventually end up as three new regiments, four if there's enough figures lying around to make a scratch/"scruffy" Confederate regiment...

On almost the same subject I also picked up some Vallejo paint - a butternut & a better shade of grey for the Reb infantry, and I also cracked and bought a Yellow of quite outstanding custard propensities...  I don't have much luck with yellow (in acrylics I understand it's a difficult colour to get to work) so I'm hoping Vallejo is better - I'll advise when I've had time to test....

Last of all I also picked up some more copies of "Practical Wargamer" - at only 10p a copy it would have been foolish not to...  I've almost set in my mind to try and collect a complete print run of this much missed, wholly underestimated, periodical...   just wish someone would do that on CD or DVD.

...and that was it.... so ignoring the figures, I spent exactly £5.65 - rubbish!

...and so the the games.... Warfare has never been what I would call a "demo show" - it's primarilly a competition weekend - but they do have the occasional jewel (remember Blenheim from a few years ago?? ...who can forget!), this year though was a little light, and I could only consider two of them as particular favourites.....

In second place was this little set-to by the guys from Tiny Terrain Models a 15mm Blitzkreig Commander Game based on the 101st Airborne drop on the Cotentin Peninsular at night on D-Day..

Deceptively simple terrain - loved the windmill...

..also loved the bocage - really claustrophobic effects...

Overview from the other end..

..lovely game - loads more details and pictures here [click here]

My winner was this game - a huge 20mm set-up based on a fighting withdrawal to a steamer, somewhere in the Far East, at the start of the Japanese invastions of WWII.

I leave you to guess what first caught my eye... 

Loved the storage tank - guessing it was once a childs sand bucket...!

Lots and lots of detail everywhere you looked...

Little do those vehicles know that the Japanese are already ahead of them...

...and there you have it - another Warfare come and gone - next stop Christmas, and then Salute 2012!

Warfare on Sunday...

...oh yes!

My favourite show of the year, DG is coming down, Sean at Newline Designs is having a 25% off sale - what's not to be happy about! 😀

Suffice to say I pre-ordered three unit bags from Newline ("Infantry in Kepi, Shell jacket, Marching") to fill the currently empty "to paint" boxes for my ongoing American Civil War project.. they may also get me to pick up a paint brush again - not a good painting year... so far...

With DG coming down we will also take the opportunity to slip in a game on Saturday evening...

Once again the drums and fifes will ring out along the Rhine, as the forces of the Duke of Marlborough (DG) seek to stymie the dastardly French (me)... 

I've combed the "Scenario's for Wargamers" book and have decided on the "Battle of Sawmill Village" scenario....  I will of course post here once it's complete...

Looks to be a good weekend coming up.... !

Battle of Waynes Junction... Part 2

Continuing the account of the battle which I left at move 11.

=====================================
Move 12: Last efforts - I need to defend what I've taken, and the objectives/features that are key to my plan - that's the left of the battlefield.

The Louisiana Regiments have done their work and it's time for them to rest, but not before I send the 6th Louisiana to attempt a little naughtiness on the exposed US artillery...

Move 13: ..which works! Go the 6th!

On the left of the battle I continue to make (small) gains...

Move 14: The 6th are on fire.... Battle honours are deserved by all the Louisiana regiments, but especially the 6th - who have now charged the flank of the US artillery and sent them packing!

On the right of the battlefield DG attempts a little of his own "shut the door" with the 126th New York - I move one of the two now rested Louisiana regiments to cover, with the 21st North Carolina as support

Move 15: That's it as far as I'm concerned - no immediate threats and it's time to dig in and wait for DG to retreat... Famous last words...

Two of my regiments are sent packing - not through any action by DG just casualties and poor dice throws results in them withdrawing... on the right that New York regiment is beginning to be a bit of a pain...

Turn 16: The 21st North Carolina have halted...  the 57th have "retreated" themselves into a position where they are no longer a viable unit... time to "hunker down" as my US colleagues would say

Turn 17: The Confederates are  a spent force - only the 6th North Carolina and the artillery are still a cohesive force, and as a campaign game there are a lot of hours until night time..

In the face of a slow advance by the Union 126th New York I cover with the 21st NC and 8th L - elsewhere I fall back on the supply sheds...

Throughout all of this the Confederate artillery maintain a healthy fire and cause some discomfort to the 7th West Virginia..

Turn 18: "Come and get it if you think you're hard enough".. those New York boys seem a little hesitant...

...end of this post - I hadn't realised when I said 'game over' that as a campaign game there were no victory conditions - I have another 7 turns to hold out - I leave it to you to imagine how I felt about that...!

Battlegames is saved!!

In many ways I see "Battlegames" as the Steve the Wargamer Blog house magazine... the financial difficulties that Henry is experiencing with the magazine have been widely blogged and reported on, and as a subscriber from issue 1, like many I responded to Henry's poll.

My view was that anything, any format, any publication schedule would be better than "Battlegames" disappearing... imagine my joy to receive a communication from Henry this morning telling me that Battlegames is saved!!

In Henry's words...

"I'm delighted to announce that Battlegames is in the process of being acquired by Atlantic Publishers and will therefore become a stable-mate to Miniature Wargames. Deals of this kind obviously take time, but negotiations are proceeding extremely well and we are aiming to complete the handover by early December."

Such good news - what a way to start a day!

"Empire of Silver" - a review..

I can't believe it has taken as long as it has, but I've just finished the latest instalment in Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan "Conqueror" series... it's difficult to believe that I read the last one 3 years ago [click here] but there you go - time flies...

I think one of the reasons I wasn't in a rush was because in the last book Genghis died, and it just seemed like that was a natural break, and maybe the series should have ended there - in fact in many ways this book is very similar to the Bernard Cornwell "Uhtred" book [click here] I recently reviewed where Alfred had died ie. wasn't that the end of the story....??

Well in both cases the authors have shown that this is very much not the case, just as in Alfred's case where relations start jockeying for power the moment he passes, this book takes up from just after Genghis died and his family are doing the same - the family tree following may help whilst describing the various family machinations..

Genghis's son Ogedai is to be the Khan as per his dying wishes, but Ogedai is sick (some kind of heart disease) and in addition he is not the eldest. Jochi, who would have been eldest, was killed in the previous book (there were suspicions that he may not have been the son of Genghis, as Genhis's wife had been kidnapped for a while), which leaves Chagetai and Tolui..

Genghis Khan's family tree...

Chagatai is older than Ogedai, and clearly believes the rule should be his, Tolui supports Ogedai, as does Batu (the son of Jochi)... cue internecine warfare, plotting, and politicking between the various family members as either side seeks to be the next Khan... a constant undercurrent throughout the book...  the advantage however lies with Ogedai as he was Genghis's chosen - more importantly he also has the support of Subotai, Genghis's master general, tactician, and strategist.. 

The Golden Horde

The book starts a couple of years after Genhis's death; Ogedai has spent the time building the Mongol city of Karakorum to be the capital of the new nation. All the united tribes of the Mongols are encamped on the plains roun th city waiting for the coronation of Ogedai, and tensions are running high.

Chagatai tries to wrest power by infiltrating the city with the aim of killing Ogedai, but his efforts are frustrated and Ogedai survives to be made Khan - he forgives Chagetai and gives him Central Asisa to rule and sends him away (hard life! )

The best part of the book  however deals with the campaigns by Subotai in Russia, Poland and the west - Ogedai tells him simply to make his borders secure, Subotai is given free reign as to where the borders will be and over a period of the 5 to 10 years he unleashes warfare Mongol style on the forces of the west. Subotai is without doubt the  military genius that few have heard of; in his lifetime he directed more than twenty campaigns in which he conquered thirty-two nations, and won sixty-five pitched battles. He conquered or overran more territory than any other commander in history.

My Mongol DBA army

In the book, Subotai comes up against Teutonic knights, various of the religious military orders (there were more than just Hospitallers and Templars), and the massed medieval might of Russia, Poland, Hungary and a host of other nations...  choosing to make war in the winter, his campaigns in Russia were breath taking - while the Russians tried to stay warm his armies ran riot - and he did that over and over again... the only occasion I can think of where "General Winter" was an ally of a Russian invader, rather than a bitter opponent...

The only reason Subotai stopped (and he was within a 100 miles of Vienna, and the rest of West Europe, with nothing to stop him when he did...!) was the death of Ogedai - the Mongols simply stopped, turned round and went home to sort out the succession...  astonishing...

Ogedai's successor was named as Guyuck, his son, who was on campaign with Subotai (along with Batu and a number of the other grandsons of Genghis) but was 5000 miles away from Karakorum - Chagatai is much closer and again launches his quest for power; the book ends with an interesting twist.....

Steve-the-Wargamer rated the trilogy 9.9 out of 10 and wholeheartedly recommended all three. I'd rate this one as an 8, maybe 8.5 - to me it felt a little like a (hugely readable) stop gap - after Genghis the next Khan everyone knows is Kublai and I got the feeling Iggulden didn't have much to go on with Ogedai - in book terms he didn't do anything other than build Karakorum, and be ill - the hero of the book for me is Subotai the completely ruthless military genius, but the books are about the Khan's so Iggulden's hands are tied..

Another outing for my DBA Mongol Army to provide some pictures - figures unknown but I think Essex 15mm. The army represents how the Mongol's would have been much later than Genghis  and Ogedai hence the increase in foot troops though I note in the story that Subotai is making much more use of foot troops, and artillery already - he was an innovator to the core... The Chinese Rocket gun was scratch built by "Lofty C" [ckick here] to meet the DBA army option for artillery.... can't think how old these figures are - I reckon at least 15 years and they get played with far too infrequently....