‘Battlecry’ – Meeting Engagement

Tags

Battle Cry, Command & Colours, Military History, Scenario, Solo Wargaming, Wargame, Wargaming

Regular readers will know about my fondness for the Commands & Colors series of games by Richard Borg. This fantastic range of games is often referred to as  ‘light’ wargame due to the simple, easy to learn rules and lack of tables or charts, but I think that does it a disservice.

One of the strengths of this game is that it simulates the problems inherent in commanding armies in an elegant way. The command card deck limits the maneuverability of your forces and covers the plethora of problems that can cause orders to be lost or misinterpreted, etc, without complex rules.

It also allows me to spend my time concentrating on my tactics rather than looking up rules, thus allowing me to stay engaged with both the game and my opponent.

Several years ago I made a hex board on which to play Battlecry with my 10mm miniatures and the other day I setup the for board for a solo battle.

Rather than playing one of the many historical scenarios from the rulebook, I setup a ‘meeting engagement’ with random forces. Each army was lined-up in march columns at the side of the table and units could be brought on to the battlefield by playing a Section card and ordering units to march on from off table.

The board setup with march columns top right and at the bottom right the solo playing aid.

Early on, Confederate artillery routes a Union cavalry brigade whilst infantry in the wood engage yet more Union cavalry…

The Confederate’s early success is finally stymied as Union reserves make it onto the field…

The Union counter attack gains momentum as one Confederate cavalry brigade is destroyed and the other repulsed…

The Union cavalry presses the attack and destroys the Confederate artillery whilst deadly musketry from the infantry puts paid to the Confederate cavalry…

The march columns show that the bulk of the Confederate army is still marching to the sound of the guns…

Confederate infantry build hasty fieldworks…

Union artillery is rushed forward…

And opens up a bombardment on the Confederate positions…

The Confederate counter attack begins with a cavalry charge from the right flank…

The Confederates have committed more brigades to the fight…

With a solid defensive position secured and fresh units coming forward, the Confederates are victorious.

All in all this was a very entertaining game which swung back and forth. It was an interesting challenge to balance taking the offensive with the units you have on the battlefield and bringing on reserve units, which take time to get into the action.

Ardera IV Campaign #1

Tags

40k, 4k campaign, board games, campaign, Command & Colours, Games Workshop, orks, Sci-Fi, Solo Wargaming, Wargame, Wargaming, warhammer 40k

Inspired by the WWII campaign on Grid-based Wargaming blog, I have started a Memoir 40k campaign of my own. In the blog post, which can be seen here, a front line is created on a gridded map and the amount of sections I by the enemy decides the amount of supplies each army has.

Campaign map – the pins mark out the front line, with the hexes containing pins being no-mans land. The north-west section of the map is occupied by the ork invaders and the south is held by the imperial defenders.

Campaign game

I first worked out how many tons of supplies each army starts the campaign with. Each side will expend supplies by making attacks somewhere along the frontline. Each campaign turn I pull a poker chit from a cup, blue for imperials and green for orks.

If a green chit is pulled the orks must make an attack, if it is blue, the imperials can choose to attack or postpone the attack by putting the chit back and pulling a new one. If a blue chit is pulled a second time, high command insists upon offensive action and they must conduct an attack. The attacking force chooses which hex to attack and whether to make a major or minor attack.

Ork starting supplies = 15,000 tons

Imperial starting supplies = 3,400 tons

Major attack = 500 tons

Minor attack = 250 tons

The tons of supplies used is multiplied by 4, giving the number of points for picking the attacking army (using Epic Space Marine cards). The defending army has 1500 points which can be spent on both units and defenses. Defenders expend no supplies for a battle.

Campaign turn 1

The orks begin by conducting a major attack on the eastern flank of the frontline. They were victorious, pushing the frontline forward, encircling a pocket of imperial troops.

Campaign turn 2

A space marine battlegroup made a minor attack creating a salient and hoping to drive for the crossroads between two rivers.

Campaign turn 3

The orks send a major attack forward hoping to encircle and cut off the imperial offensive.

Battle for the maglev line

I created a battlefield based on the terrain featured in the hex on the campaign map. My new battle-mat has arrived featuring 3″ hexes in snow effect, so it is most definitely a winter war. The line of green hexes running the length of the board represents the maglev line ( shown in the map hex), which is a raised embankment. The orks are deployed, emerging from the wood line.

The starting deployment with the imperial defence anchored on the maglev line. The ork deployment was randomized by rolling a D3 to choose which section they were deployed in.

Ork infantry pushes forward in the centre, taking heavy fire from the imperial artillery. Meanwhile buggies and bikes sweep around the right flank to secure one of their ‘Take & Hold’ objectives.

The orks keep the pressure up on the imperial left flank, after securing there ‘Take & Hold’ objective. Imperial artillery rains down on a nobz mob which had reached the maglev embankment. Space marine tactical squads endeavor to hold back the rampaging ork buggies whilst the predator tanks engage the ork battlefortress.

The orks push forward on all fronts, capturing yet another ‘Take & Hold’ objective. Imperial firepower pummels the battlefortress to little effect.

The battlefortress is finally destroyed by massed heavy artillery fire, securing victory points for both killing a unit and achieving a ‘Cleanse’ objective. Even as the greenskin stompers move forward to engage, space marine counter attacks and successful artillery strikes on both ‘Bombard’ objectives steal victory from the jaws of defeat for the Imperial defenders.

So the intrepid forces of the Imperium are victorious, stopping the green horde in its tracks. Using the imperial guard as a solid defensive line whilst the Iron Eagles space marines were kept as a mobile reserve to conduct counter-attacks, worked really well.

The ork attack started out very strong and it almost looked like they were going to break the line with ease until the Iron Eagles stalled their progress and, as ever, the cards ran out (Von Clausewitz’s famous ‘friction in battle’)

 

Epic Diversions

Tags

Command & Colours, Epic 40k, fantasy miniatures, Games Workshop, miniatures, painting and modelling, Sci-Fi, Wargame, Wargaming, warhammer 40k

My Decemd-uary painting challenge (inspired by Azazel) has not progressed past my last post, but it has at least helped me to get back into painting mode.

With all the fun I’ve had with my Memoir 40k project, I decided to add a few troops from my Epic bits box. I picked up a single sprue of Imperial Guard infantry, now this would normally be a drop in the ocean for starting a new force in traditional Epic 40k, but with Memoir 40k I was able to make up two infantry units, 3 heavy weapon units, an ogryn unit and some leaders.

First test model for the new Imperial guard troopers

I’ve also been furiously painting up some sci-fi buildings ready for a battle at the end of the week. I bought these from Daemonscape for a very reasonable price and with some dry-brushing and added double-glazing, in the form of some self-adhesive gems, I’m pretty happy with outcome of the test model.

 

Battle over the Malcador river

Tags

40k, 6mm wargaming, board games, campaign, Campaigning, Command & Colours, Games Workshop, miniatures, Orcs, orks, Scenario, Sci-Fi, Solo Wargaming, space marines, Warhammer, warhammer 40k

Following on from my last post, here is a quick update on my memoir 40k narrative campaign. As an ork force tied up the space marines reserves at the Ormffidian river forks, they struck out to secure the bridges over the Malcador river.

Ork and space marines face off across the Malcador river.

In this scenario, I decided to play using the more traditional victory conditions from the C&C games, in this case the winner would be the first side to reach 6 victory points.

Permanent victory points are gained by destroying enemy units and temporary victory points are gained by having a unit in a bridge hex.

A near run thing

I took command of the ork army this time round and used a solo playing aid (as mentioned in the last post) to generate the space marine orders.

It was a very close battle, with the bridges becoming focal points for the fiercest fighting and changing hands several times. Finally the might of the Adeptus Astartes won through, securing two bridges and destroying five ork units (including the warboss)

On the right flank tactical marines secure the bridge as terminators and heavy support, provided by Vindicators and Land Raiders, take up position to cover them.

In the centre of the line, Predator tanks sweep the bridge clear and repel all counter attacks. The third bridge is well within the green skin’s grasp.

Packing away Christmas & Going on Campaign

Tags

40k, campaign, Command & Colours, Games Workshop, miniatures, Orcs, orks, Scenario, Sci-Fi, Solo Wargaming, space marines, Wargame, Wargaming, Warhammer, warhammer 40k

Over the Christmas holiday I have been playing plenty of games of Memoir 40k, attempting to tighten-up the rules and stat-lines.

I now have a very workable set of 60 command cards which is composed mainly of Memoir ’44 cards, along with leader cards from C&C Ancients and “hit & run” cards from Battlecry. This creates the right combination of modern combat elements with a sprinkling of heroic sci-fi.

Battle for the Ormiffiad River Forks

Closing stages of the Battle of the Ormiffiad River Forks

Following the success of the space marines during the Battle for Macharius Bridge, the orks attempted a probing attack at the Ormiffiad River Forks. A small Iron Eagles task force rushed to plug the gap with orders to hold till the last man and last bullet.

The battle ended in a stalemate, the space marine force took heavy casualties but managed to hold the line. Meanwhile the orks were merely conducting a diversionary attack whilst, in the north, their main body struck out for the bridges over the Malcador river….

Ork and space marines face off across the Malcador river.

Bridging the Gap

As well as all this excitement, I have been packing away the Christmas decorations and I took the time while I was in the attic to sort through the general detritus that had been left by the previous owners. While I was up there I found this…

I have no interest in playing this game but it will solve one particular problem I have been experiencing with my campaign until now, that of a distinct lack of bridges.

Problem solved…

Battle Cries & Rebel Yells

Tags

10mm, American Civil War, Battle Cry, board games, Command & Colours, Military History, miniatures, Terrain, Wargaming

As well as all the other projects I’ve been detailing on this very blog over the past couple of weeks, I have been up to my neck in static grass and flock whilst making a terrain board on which to play Battle Cry using my 10mm American Civil War miniatures.

Battle Cry is a hex-based miniatures board game from the Command & Colours family of games created by Richard Borg and as I’m not as much of an aficionado of the American Civil War as bloggers such as Arkiegamer, its simple mechanics and plethora of historic scenarios makes it perfect for the neophyte such as I to learn more about this conflict.

This is just one combination that can be created and I have enough hexes to increase the river or remove it entirely. Many of the plain hexes are drilled to allow for trees to be screwed in creating forested areas and the round pieces can be laid on top to represent hills.

I still have some extra terrain pieces yet to make including split-rail fences, entrenchments, hay fields and the like, but for now I’m ready to start playing the first scenarios from the rule book.

Let’s start raising that rebel yell!