// NO 5

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This 1865 photo shows ilt
maze of trenchwor ks bu
rginia
outside of Petersburg, Vi
during the long siege .
1067
gress / LC-B811-
© The Library of Con

JUL / AUG 2021

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS &
STRATEGY 115

UK £ 5.50
1 5

FEATURES:
MARCHING TOWARDS A MODERN BATTLEFIELD
9 772211 503045

The fourteenth-century Franco-Castilian

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR raid on the Isle of Wight
Making asymmetric warfare fun
Ironclads run the Mississippi gauntlet // Taking the trenches at Fort Harrison Painting WWII Russian camouflage
Cavalry tactics on the ACW battlefield // Repeating rifles at Rowett's Redoubt Let's play Shakos & Bayonets
 THEME: MILITARY INNOVATION DURING THE ACW

36 WAR IS CRUELTY
Innovation & development in the American Civil War
40 RUNNING THE MISSISSIPPI GAUNTLET
The Battle for Island Number Ten
Editor-in-chief: Jasper Oorthuys 44 THE KEY TO RICHMOND
Editor: Guy Bowers The taking of Fort Harrison, 29 September 1864
Copy editor: Naomi Munts
Layout, design: Christianne C. Beall 48 ADAPT AND SURVIVE
Maps: Rocío Espin A teaser view of cavalry in the American Civil War
© 2019 Karwansaray Publishers
52 RAILS & REPEATERS AT ROWETT'S REDOUBT
Contributors: Mark Backhouse, Ian Beal, Steve Beckett, Tony Con- er 1864
cagh, David Davies, Bill Friend, David Hiscocks, Jeff Jonas, Rich
Jones, Alberto Mateos Jurado, Eoghan Kelly, Eric ter Keurs, Chris 56 ST
King, Menzo Kwint, James Oram, Rick Priestley, Nick Skinner, A look at American Civil War ranges
Philip Taylor, Rubén Torregrosa, Rob Wubbenhorst, Jon Yuengling
60 DON'T SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
Illustrations: Georgie Harman Bringing out the really big guns
https://www.facebook.com/redfoxillustrations

Print: Grafi Advies BV

FEATURES
Editorial office
PO Box 4082, 7200 BB Zutphen, The Netherlands 18 THE BATTLE OF IPSUS, 301 BC
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Email: editor@wssmagazine.com 20 VIOLENCE ON VECTIS
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Contributions in the form of articles, letters, reviews, news and 30 TURNING THE TABLES
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66 THE RED ARMY IN AMOEBA GREEN
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is sold through retailers, the in-
Painting Soviet camouflage in 15mm
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Copyright Karwansaray BV. All rights reserved. Nothing in this
publication may be reproduced in any form without prior writ- 6 MINIATURE REVIEWS
ten consent of the publishers. Any individual providing material Our usual roundup of new releases
for publication must ensure that the correct permissions before
submission to us. Every effort has been made to trace copyright 16 THIS GAMING LIFE
holders, but in a few cases this proves impossible. The editor Richard Halliwell, 1959–2021
and publishers apologize for any unwitting cases of copyright
transgressions and would like to hear from any copyright holders 64 THE IRREGULAR
not acknowledged. Articles and the opinions expressed herein Historical revisionism and wargaming
do not necessarily represent the views of the editor and/or pub-
lishers. Advertising in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy does not 72 ART DE LA GUERRE V4
necessarily imply endorsement. Let's play a complete ancient & medieval ruleset

Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is published every 74 LET'S PLAY SHAKOS & BAYONETS
two months by Karwansaray BV, Rotterdam, the The new supplement for Toma
maha
hawk
w s
Netherlands.
76 GAME REVIEWS
ISSN: 2211-503X s, and mor
oree

Printed in Slovakia.
80 BOOK REVIEWS
More books reviewed by the WS&S tea
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82 PARTING SHOTS
rgam
rg
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a er

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

4
 Editorial
“War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueller it
is, the sooner it will be over.”

— William Tecumseh Sherman

In this issue of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy, hopefully I will in-

troduce wargamers to another side of the American Civil War, one
that steers away from the traditional narrative of what we expect

© Georgie Harman
the conflict to look like. You know me; I like to challenge the con-
sensus of wide-open battlefields and offer some alternatives. This
issue has fights in rivers and swamps, in trenches, and over fortifi-
cations. Hopefully, it’ll inspire gamers to look at the Civil War in a
different light. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

I would also like to say a brief word about Duncan Macfarlane (1948–2021) who
died in late May. Duncan was the first editor of Miniature Wargames (launched back
in 1983), only to leave this publication after four years. He then founded a second
magazine, Wargames Illustrated, in 1987, which he retired from and sold in 2009.
Duncan also published my first article back in 2004 and, perhaps, started me on the
curious journey that led me to write for, and then become the editor of, WS&S. His
work and devotion to quality has rubbed off on us, and his original magazines are
still an inspiration – true wargames magazines about wargaming.

Everyone in the hobby knew Dunc; he was a friendly and outgoing individual. I
didn’t know him as well as I would have liked, and I think we only crossed swords
on the table once. I know he will be missed by a lot of people, including me.

Our nest issue focuses on reconnaissance and both the challenges and the para-
dox of trying to recreate it on the wargames table.
–– Guy Bowers

edit
edittor
or@w
@w
wssma
sssma
maga
g zi
gaz ne com
om

Now available online: And coming in the next issue:

I'I'LL TAKE MY RAID MEDIUM RARE KNOW THY ENEMY

D One of the first rules of warfare is to know what you're facing. In
b WS&S 116, we take a look at military reconnaissance through the
(h ages, and the challenge of simulating it on the tabletop.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

5
 MINIATURE REVIEWS
MINI REVIEWS
A look at some of the newest miniatures, terrain
pieces, and more from across the wargaming world.

45 45

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l d l Th l ‘P
Plastic British and awaited late-war British UltraCast Carthaginians army’ releases for Mor-
Canadian infantry (and Canadian) plastic set Company: Plastic Soldier Company tem et Gloriam include
Company: Warlord Games is here. The original Brit- Size: 15mm ‘foot to eye’ or 17mm Carthaginian and Greek
Size: 28 mm ‘foot to eye’ ish plastic set, now over tall; cavalry are 28mm tall armies. Cast in a flex-
or 31 mm tall Era: Antiquity
a decade old, had sepa- ible plastic resin called
Era: World War II Price: £45.00 for 27 cavalry
rate arms for the weap- UltraCast, this boxed set
Price: £29.50 for 30 infantry and 54 infantry
ons. The new set has contains three mounted
www.warlordgames.com seven bayoneted rifles per www.theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk generals, six Carthaginian
sprue, each one attached cavalry, six Spanish cav-
to arms; the weapons are alry, and twelve Numid-
notably larger, making ian light horse. In addition,
them far more durable than the previous set. The boxed there are 30 Carthaginian spearmen and 24 Gallic war-
set contains five frames of plastic troops with bases and riors. The models are well sculpted and cast; they are from
transfers. Heads are provided with steel helms (early and the Corvus Belli range and are produced under licence.
late) plus tam o’ shanter caps. Each frame has six torsos There are a few mould and vent lines that will need clean-
and a variety of weapons: rifles (as mentioned), three ing up (easily done with a sharp knife). The army contains
Stens, an LMG, a Webley pistol, a 2" mortar, and a PIAT. no elephants, but not every Carthaginian army did. These
There are plenty of options for customization, such as are available separately: £10.00 for two Carthaginian el-
binoculars, entrenching tools, backpacks, etc. As with ephants with howdah. Bases are not provided. This set is
other recent sets, size-wise, these are on the larger side excellent value and provides an interesting mix of Carthag-
of 28mm so will be compatible with larger ranges. inians and mercenaries for the Punic Wars.

OTO-Melara Mod 45

56 howitzer 40

Company: Commando Miniatures 35

Size: 1/56 scale (28mm) 30

Era: Post World War II
25
Price: £10.00 for the gun and crew
20
www.war-bases.co.uk
15

10

res (o
res (own
w ed byy
Warbases) is an OTO-Melara Model 56 105 mm howit-
zer. The gun was developed by the Italians for the Alpini
who needed a light pack howitzer – it breaks down into
twelve parts and is light enough to be towed by a Land
Rover. It is operated by many nations and saw action in
Yemen and Borneo with the British, with the Australians
and New Zealanders in Vietnam, and with the Argentin-
ians in the Falklands (w(where the
h British
outranged it). The models are well detailed and well cast,
with little in the way of venting or mould lines. The crew
have a British charm – the leader is smoking a pipe! The
gun is available separately. Size-wise, these are middle of
the range for 28mm, thus should be compatible with most
ranges. They will be useful for post-WWII and third-world
modern games in need of artillery support.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

6
 BY GUY BOWERS AND CHRIS KING

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Rubicon produces a lar Foollow

wing on
o frorom
m it
Market produce set variety of sets, including Boxer Rebellion Russians unteer armed civilians and
Company: Rubicon Models ones useful for table scen- Company: Victorious Miniatures two legation character
Size: 1/56 scale (28mm) ery. The kit reviewed here Size: 27mm ‘foot to eye’ packs, Victorious Minia-
Era: Nineteenth and is the market produce set 1, or 31mm tall tures has released Russian
twentieth centuries and it truly contains a bit of Era: Nineteenth and troops for the siege of Pe-
Price: £10.00 early twentieth century
everything! Two sprues are king (Beijing). They join the
Price: £5.50 for four miniatures
www.rubiconmodels.co.uk provided, each of which existing range of British,
makes a market trolley and www.victoriousminiatures.com American, French, Ger-
a set of produce. The list of man, and Japanese troops
produce is impressive: there already available. The Rus-
are two wooden crates of sian packs consist of four
fish, five wooden crates of vegetables, two milk churns, infantry and an officer. The Russian troops are armed with
seven full sacks, a tin wash tub, and a suitcase. Remember, Mosin rifles – two have fixed bayonets and two are firing.
that’s per sprue, so double them up! Very little assembly is The models are nicely sculpted in advancing and shooting
required, with at most between two and four pieces to stick poses, and they are well cast, with only some pour lines
together. This is a very cool little set and ideal for populating on the bases to clear up. Size-wise, these are middle of the
a town’s market square or for additional baggage for vehicles range for 28 mm and should be compatible with most exist-
or carts. The set is practically ageless, so it could probably ing miniature ranges. Of course, these models will also be
be used for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It also suitable for other conflicts, such as the Russo-Japanese War,
could be used as an objective marker or for an improvised and might be useful for ‘back of beyond’ pulp settings or as
sans. White Russians. Time to break out 55 Days at Pek ekin
ing
g aga
gain
in!!

Panther tank 45

40
Company: Paint & Glue Miniatures
Size: 1/56 35

Era: World War II 30

Price: £13.00 for plastic or 25
£17.55 for resin
20
www.paintandglue.co.uk
15

10

This one just missed our ‘German Cats’ issue by a frac-
tion, so I thought it was only fair, as Paint and Glue had
sent WS&S the model, to review it here. Paint and Glue
provides 3D printed World War II models made to or-
der. There are currently models available covering World
War II, a few moderns, a–––nd new scenery, and there’s
a new range of 1/144 aircraft for World War I, World
War II, and moderns. The vehicles are provided in 1/56,
but smaller scales are available on request. The models
are made with PLA (polylactic acid) filament, but for a
little extra they can be printed in resin (which has the
advantage of more detail). The kit comes as two pieces –
hull and turret. The model is well printed; the striations
are hard to spot. This is a nice and useful wargames-
quality model, useful for gamers wanting an inexpensive
range of vehicles for World War II.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

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Ooh-whee! Great Escape f h l l

Plastic gunfighers Games has released its British riflemen onic releases from War-
Company: Great Escape Games first plastic range, a set Company: Wargames Atlantic games Atlantic is British ri-
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or of gunfighters for Dead Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or flemen, who served in the
32mm tall Man’s Hand, and they are 32mm tall in cap Peninsular War, the War
Era: Wild West a beaut! The box contains Era: Napoleonic of 1812, and the Hundred
Price: £15.00 for ten plastic figures two frames, each with five Price: £25.00 for 32 miniatures Days campaign. This inter-
www.boothillminiatures.co.uk gunfighters. The torsos and www.wargamesatlantic.com esting set has several clever
legs are separate, so you options, including a rather
can put them together in ‘Sharpe’-looking officer
many different combi- and a serjeant with a Nock
nations. Eleven different volley gun – special heads
heads are provided, including Stetson, top hat, and derby are provided for these characters. Each sprue has four
(bowler hat). There’s even a masked head (socially distanc- bodies (one kneeling, three standing) with a good selec-
ing!) and a sinister hooded head. You can’t have gunfight- tion of heads, including bonnet and rifleman shako. Three
ers without guns! Nine revolvers are provided (in right and backpacks are provided per sprue. The standard riflemen
left hands so two-gun pistoleros can be built), along with can be built armed with the infamous Baker rifle, in firing,
one lever-action rifle, one Sharps rifle, and two shotguns. loading, or at-the-ready poses. There is also a bugle arm
There’s a host of accessories, including holsters, a rope, dy- for a bugler. The models are very well detailed and cast,
ctus! The models are well t accu ate u o s you ca e e see t e b ass p
tforward manner. This ex- on the shakos – and each model has a short sw
for Western players – let’s Size-wise, these are mid-range for 28mm so shou
hope it is the first of many! in well with most existing rang

Human light cavalry 45

40
Company: North Star and Osprey
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 32mm 35

tall; cavalry stand 45mm tall 30

Era: Medieval fantasy
25
Price: £25.00 for fifteen riders
20
www.northstarfigures.com
15

10

The latest Oathmark release is human cavalry, best de-
scribed as a light cavalry. Inside the set there are three
sprues of human riders (each with five bodies) and five
sprues of cavalry mounts, with three very dynamic horses
on each; the horses are in galloping and leaping poses,
like they had come straight from the Grand National race!
There is a good selection of heads, including hooded,
helmeted, and bare-headed (plenty of moustaches and
beards here). The cavalry can be armed with hand weap-
ons, spears, or bows; command options are such as a
leader and standard are available. The shields supplied
are the same square design as the human infantry. Bases
are included as standard. Overall, these will make gener-
ic fantasy cavalry, but their design is a little ‘off’ if players
are tempted to use them as historical substitutes. Mounted
metal heroes are also available at £6.00 each.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

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The Feud u al
a Japan ran ng Blitzkrieg Miniatures has
Onna-musha from Bad Squiddo Games Krupp Protze staff Car Kfz. 21 released three versions
Company: Bad Squiddo Games has recently received re- Company: Blitzkrieg Miniatures of the Krupp Protze 6x4
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ inforcements in the form Size: 1/56 cross-country truck. The
or 32mm tall of five new packs. There Era: Early World War II vehicle was produced
Era: Feudal Japan is a fantasy pack – the ter- Price: £22.00 including VAT between 1934 and 1941
Price: £12.00 for three models rifying Blood Sorceress (£18.33 without) and heavily used in in
www.badsquiddogames.com with undead bodyguard – www.blitzkriegminiatures.com the earlier part of World
and four historical packs: War II, although some
a pack of three widows survived in use until the
(thirsty for revenge), three end of the war. Blitzkrieg
onna-bugeisha with nagi- produces the Kfz. 19 ra-
natas (the traditional weapon of the female warrior), and dio communication truck, the Kfz. 70 truck (used for
two packs of onna-musha (one standard and one com- infantry transport and for towing artillery), and the Kfz.
mand pack). The onna-musha are heavily armoured and 21 staff car (reviewed here). The model is very easy
wear fearsome headpieces and faceplates to intimidate to construct, consisting of a hull, six wheels, a wind-
their enemies. These metal models are well sculpted and screen, and a steering wheel. The casting and detail-
posed, with excellent detail. Any mould lines are hard to ing is very good, with no mould lines visible. All but
spot apart from some flash on the base. Size-wise, they one wheel fitted perfectly first time. This unusual and
are slightly shorter and slimmer than average, but that’s interesting model is the ideal staff car or heavy car for
deliberate in the sculpting, as you’d expect from a realisti- German WWII tours of Europe, as the Protze was exten-
cally scaled 28mm female figure. All in all, this excellent sively used in Poland, France, on the Eastern Front, and
everywhere. during the North African campaign

Instant Color Paint

Company: Scale 75
Size: Any scale
Era: Any
Price: £24.00 for eight paints
www.mcmodelpainting.co.uk

Scale 75 has launched a range of paints called Instant Color,
aimed at the quick painting market (yes, contrast paints!). The
range brings 48 new colours to the table. They are divided
into six packs of eight – ‘Healing Potions’ for reds, ‘Poison
Flasks’ for green, ‘Mana Elixirs’ for blue, ‘Summon Potions’
for greys and blacks, ‘Revive Potions’ for skin tones, and ‘Ber-
serk Potions’ for browns. You’ll need a pin to pierce the bottle
nozzle before paint will flow. The fact that these are all drop-
per bottles, so you can control the paint, is a really big bonus
- each paint bottle has an agitator ball for shaking. Instant
Color paints are translucent – the paint itself is less thick than
some of the darker contrast paints. If you want a single coat to
do your miniature, you might find you’ll be needing a second
coat with some of the lighter colours. However, if you want to
control where the paint goes and don’t mind a quick second
touch-up in a few places, these will work very well.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

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Arrowhead Miniatures l d
Sherman Jumbo makes fine scale 1/144 Bloody Miniatures new company specializ-
and Valentine tanks, vehicles, and in- Company: Bloody Miniatures ing in character models
Company: Arrowhead Miniatures fantry for the major World Size: 29mm ‘foot to eye’ for the English Civil War
Size: 10mm (1/144 scale) War II nations – some of or 33mm tall (although they could eas-
Era: World War II their guns are so well de- Era: Seventeenth century ily be used for the Thirty
Price: £5.95 for the Jumbo, £4.99 tailed and fit together so Price: £8.50 for four men Years’ War at the drop of
for the Valentine IX
perfectly, I wish they did www.bloodyminiatures.co.uk a floppy hat). The models
www.arrowheadminiatures.co.uk 28mm versions too! Re- are sculpted by Nick Col-
viewed here is the M4A3Es lier, original sculptor of
‘Jumbo’ assault tank and the Bicorne and Renegade
the Valentine mark IX. ECW ranges. These aren’t
Both come as fine metal kits, which require a little as- stiff rank-and-file poses but active action poses, suitable
sembly. The models are hollow, consisting of a top and for the typical skirmishes, raids, sorties, and sallies that
bottom chassis which slot together – this has the added often occurred during the ECW. Currently, the range con-
bonus of keeping the vehicle’s weight down. The tracks sists of four packs each containing four unique poses –
and the turret are then added. The main guns are sepa- one armed with swords, one with polearms and halberds,
rate but are easily added. The Jumbo even has hatches one with pistols, and one of dismounted cavalry with car-
in the turret roof! Overall, all the parts fit together very bines and pistols. The models are crisp and well detailed;
smoothly. These fine quality and accurate kits might be the mould lines are hard to spot. There’s a tiny amount of
slightly pricey compared with other 10mm manufactur- pour lines to be cleaned up at the base. Size-wise, these
ers, but you do get what you pay are definitely on the larger side of 28mm and thus
for. Recommended. will be compatible with larger ranges.

Responsive terrain –
boulangerie
Company: Outlands Terrain
Size: 28mm m
Era: Nineteenth century onwards
Price: £22.00
www.OutlandsTerrain.co.uk

f b ld
ings designed to “show battle damage as the game progress-
es”, this boulangerie/bakery model does indeed allow players
to represent chunks being blown off. It’s nicely modelled on
the outside, with a characterful recessed front door, although
– ironically for a model designed to come apart – it’s actually
quite tricky to access the different storeys for placing minis.
The kit is complex, and it is extremely well-engineered to
minimize wasted material, but 95% of the ‘challenge’ in its
l t f t i t l t hi h
lating component is which: a bit of colour-coding or a dia-
gram labelling the MDF ‘sprues’ would have been extremely
welcome. The chunky nature of the 3mm-deep MDF does
make for rather overly snug fits in places, leading me to ques-
tion its longevity with repeated use, and it might be hard to
disguise the cracks once painted, but that said, it was a fun
build, it looks great, and we look forward to blowing it up
with a few well-placed HE rounds in due course!

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While all the honour an Warlord’

d s Ep Epic ACW
Barons’ War levy glory tends to go to the Warlord Epic Iron Brigade range in 15mm has re-
Company: Footsore Miniatures knights and lords, it is Company: Warlord Games ceived a new wave of re-
Size: 27-28mm ‘foot to eye’ generally the poor levied Size: 14mm ‘foot to eye’ leases, following on from
or 30mm tall peasant who has to do or 16mm tall the original boxed set and
Era: Medieval (Robin Hood) more than his fair share of Era: American Civil War plastic sprues. The latest
Price: £8.00 for four models the fighting. Footsore Min- Price: £40.00 for 300 infantry releases include cavalry,
www.footsoreminiatures.co.uk iatures has released three www.warlordgames.com Zouaves, and the Iron
packs of levy infantry, suit- Brigade (reviewed here).
able for the Barons’ War The Iron Brigade of the
or as rebellious peasants, West (or the Black Hats)
perhaps in support of the were Union volunteers
outlaw characters we reviewed last issue. Sculpted by known for their Hardee hats they were issued with,
Paul Hicks, these levy troops really do look the part, with which became their signature. They gained a reputa-
a variety of improvised weapons (axes, clubs, grain flails, tion for resoluteness under fire and had a higher casu-
and spears). Armour and shields are noticeably absent, alty rate than any other Union brigade. The set consists
and the models vary in height, which I like. Levied troops of 300 miniatures in strips of five models, plus bases.
would be very irregular! I also like the footwear (or the There are four variations in the strips, plus two strips of
lack of it) with them. The models are well proportioned, command bases for each battalion. The metal models
well cast, and have good detail. There are some vent lines, are very well cast and are highly detailed – the plastics
which need a minimum of cleaning up. Overall, these were good, but these are better. While perhaps a little
will be excellent reluctant recruits for the Barons’ War pricey, you do get what you pay for; they are lovely
eir homes. models. Recommended.

Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B 45

40
Company: RKX Miniatures
Size: 1/56 scale 35

Era: World War II 30

Price: £18.00 25

www.rkxminiatures.co.uk 20

15

10

t h b
leased: the Flakpanzer 38(t), the Steyr ADGZ armoured
car, and the StuIG 33B (reviewed here). Using a Panzer
III body, the StuIG 33B was designed for urban com-
bat to support infantry. Armed with a 150  mm sIG 33
howitzer, it had good frontal armour of 80 mm and an
enclosed fighting compartment (unlike earlier versions
of the Sturmpanzer). It arrived just in time for Stalingrad
and saw extensive action there. RKX Miniatures' resin
d l i ll t d hi hl d t il d V
assembly is required: all you have to do is stick the gun
and MG port on, glue the tracks on, put on the hatch
(both open and closed variants exist) and add the op-
tional spare wheels plus rear stowage bin. All the parts
fit together perfectly, and the detail is worthy of a collec-
tor's scale model. Nevertheless, like the original, this kit
is designed to be in the front of the action, demolishing
buildings and enemy emplacements.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

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In the cold void of space no With the release of 7T 7 V

Stargrave plastics one can hear you scream… Fantasy Stars Fantasy, Crooked Dice
Company: North Star and Osprey with delight at the new Company: Crooked Dice Games Games has several fantasy
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ Stargrave plastics! There Size: 30mm ‘foot to eye’ packs for the game; these
or 31mm tall are three new sets: ‘Crew’ or 32mm tall include standard fan-
Era: Far future – lightly armed spaceship Era: Fantasy tasy offerings (adventur-
Price: £20.00 for 20 soldiers personnel; ‘Mercenaries’ – Price: £4.00 each or £15.00 for four ers, townsfolk, skeletons,
www.northstarfigures.com more heavily armed; and www.crooked-dice.co.uk goblins, trolls, ogres, and
‘Troopers’ – in the best com- orcs, to name but a few)
bat armour and weapons. and some fantastic huge
Each set has four sprues creatures, such as a giant,
with five different bodies a jabberwock, a giant spi-
and twenty different head variants per sprue (the mercenaries der, and a truly colossal slug! Reviewed here are the
‘only’ have fifteen), including several alien heads. The selec- Fantasy Stars: four brave heroes to battle darkness, or
tion of arm weapons is simply staggering – the crew seem to to show evil how it’s done properly … Their egos (and
have more primitive slug throwers, datapads and tools, while swords) were so big there was only room for two in our
the mercenaries have a mix of weapons, including a cool- photo (sorry General Kael!). The two shown are the tragic
looking sniper weapon. The troopers are all heavily armed hero (modelled on a famous White Wolf with a moaning
with more ‘pew pew’ weapons. In addition, there are ammo runesword) and the monster hunter (modelled on anoth-
he models fit together er White Wolf, with a habit of swearing). All the mode
e with each other! The are very well cast and superbly detailed. Slotta base
Apart from Stargrave, are supplied as standard. Size-wise, these are slightly o
sci-fi set- the heroic side (well, they are heroes!) but should b
tings (they scream Traveller to me). compatible with most existing ranges. Crom!

Four armed giant apes 45

40
Company: Fighting 15s
Size: Designed for 18mm – the 35

models are 45mm tall 30

Era: Martian fantasy
25
Price: £8.00 per ape
20
www.fighting15s.com
15

10

l hi h being repurposed for generic fantasy as well (Dungeons

reviewed in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy. The four-
armed giant ape is designed for the Martian Empires
18mm range which pits Victorian sci-fi British versus Mar-
tians and cephalopods, or battling the dastardly Prussians
with lizardmen allies in the jungles of Venus. By Jove! The
models are probably inspired by the Great White Ape of
Barsoom, of John Carter fame. However, I could see these
& Dragons has a creature called a Girallon, for example,
from Volo’s Guide to Monsters). The miniatures are well
cast with no mould lines, and they really look the part of
a huge scary monster, either in 18mm or 28mm! I won’t
comment on their historical accuracy until I’ve rewatched
John Carter! I really like these and can see them being in
a ‘wandering monster’ encounter soon.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

12
 NOT Rick Priestley,
but Richard Halliwell.

x
THIS GAMING LIFE
COLUMN

n
ma
©G
gie
eor
Ha
r
RICHARD HALLIWELL, 1959–2021
It was a friend, neighbour, and fellow nascent wargamer who dis-
covered we were not entirely alone. Simon – for that was his name
– Simon and I had been pushing Airfix figures around in a boyish
fashion for a while. Success in the 11+ exam ensured we were both
dispatched to the local grammar school – first-form bugs, though in
different classes. This mysterious wargaming classmate of Simon’s
turned out to be Richard Halliwell. Richard had also been wargam-
ing with a friend, but their respective progress to secondary edu-
cation had parted them, the friend elevated to the posh grammar
at the top of the hill, Richard banished to the one only recently
By Rick Priestley built on the former landfill site next to the huge council estate.

I
recall the three of us sat down on the steps as we
waited in the lunch queue, talking excitedly about
rules and games. I was invited round to take part
in a battle at the post office in Bracebridge where
Richard’s family lived and where his father was
postmaster. The house was a turn-of-the-century ter-
race affair. Richard’s bedroom window looked directly
over the street. Buses would stop right in front of our
wargame. Top-deck passengers gawped at the sight of
two lads pushing hundreds of Airfix American Civil
War figures over a piece of eight-by-four chipboard.
Richard Halliwell and I would go on to become life-
long friends and collaborators, starting with teenage
wargaming projects and, later, as fellow designers at
Games Workshop. I don’t remember who won that
first game played out with Donald Featherstone’s rules
and unpainted plastic figures glued onto strips of thin
card, but I bet it wasn’t me. I soon came to know that
Hal – as Richard became generally known following
a brush with Henry IV part 1 – was one smart cookie.
Hal could think his way round a game like no-one
else. When we took up ancient wargaming with the
classic Wargames Research Group rules, Hal started a
Macedonian army and I, to oppose it, a Persian one.
Hal quickly sorted out his Macedonians, realised that
Seleucids were a much better bet, and pivoted his col-
lection accordingly. I don’t think I ever beat him. On
one occasion he gallantly offered to swap sides and
proceeded to defeat his own army using mine.
I don’t remember when Hal and I first began to create
games together. I think it was something we did from
the start. I recall a science-fiction game played over
a chessboard using Minifigs models as pieces. Later
the chessboard mutated into hand-drawn floor plans
collected into a scrapbook, every page representing
a different portion of a spacecraft. We fought board-
ing actions down corridors, through engine rooms,
and into landing bays. More than a decade later, Hal
would use the same concept for his Space Hulk game
– probably his finest piece of pure design work. As
schoolboys we dreamed of what it would be like to
write and publish our own games. “Get a proper job!”
our parents told us. “You’ll never get anywhere mess-
ing about with toy soldiers.” Well, they had a point.
A bright student, Hal was selected for the ‘fast stream’
at school, sitting his O-levels a year ahead of us thick-
ies. That meant that, although six months younger, he
left school a year ahead of me. Too young to apply for
the local grant to take up a place at university, Hal
took a short course in computer studies at the tech-
nical college in Lincoln. He programmed the college
computer so that it responded to his requests with the
resplendent sign off, “Oh Mighty One” and “Your Im-
perial Majesty”. The following year he went to Not-
tingham University where he completed a degree in
Politics, writing his thesis on Lincoln’s rogue MP Dick
Taverne. One maverick writing about another.
Hal’s academic studies didn’t deter his enthusiasm for
gaming. I remember long sessions at the house Hal
shared in West Bridgford. A favourite at the time was
Warlord, a strategic board game of nuclear warfare lat-
er re-issued as Apocalypse. At the same time, Reaper
– a fantasy battle game – became Hal’s first set of rules
to appear in book format. This first edition (1978) was
published by the Nottingham Model Soldier Shop and
is quite a rare find today. Supplements followed, to-
gether with a science-fiction wargame, Combat 3000,
published by Tabletop Games (1979). Tabletop, owned
and run by Bob Connor from his shop in Arnold, also
picked up Reaper and re-published it a few years later.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

16
Hal and I had talked about publishing our rules for
years, but it was a phone call to Asgard Miniatures’
Bryan Ansell that started the ball rolling. I think Bryan
recognised in Hal a useful chap to know. Hal owned
his own car, for starters. He was soon roped in to help
the Asgard crew with driving vans, transportation, and
shows. At the same time, he also contributed articles
to Bryan’s role-playing fanzine Troll Crusher. The idea
of making a living creating games was unthinkable at
the time. It was more a case of mucking in with what-
ever was going on, whether that was humping boxes,
doing shows, casting metal, making moulds, or pack-
ing mail orders. Making up games and playing them
was something we all did for fun … that was the point.
Bryan Ansell set up Citadel Miniatures with Games
Workshop’s Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson in
1979, and Hal came along by association. Gradu-
ating in 1980, Hal started working off and on for
Citadel doing whatever needed doing at the time.
During his stint at mail order, he would gleefully
empty the contents of the waste basket into a box
and mail it to me. Mystery boxes from Citadel invari-
ably contained nothing other than the sweepings of
the factory floor. Hal learned to make moulds, and
this became his chief source of income for a while,
cutting moulds for Citadel and Tabletop. He al-
ways preferred casual to regular employment, and
throughout his career he would alternate stints of
freelance work with temporary periods of employ-
ment, leaving him time to undertake world travel.
Having got a bit of money together, Hal would disap-
pear for months on end, heading off to some distant
location with nothing more than traveller’s cheques
and the clothes on his back. In Egypt, the former got
stolen; in Thailand, the latter. Whatever mishaps befell
him, he always seemed to land amongst friends: fel-
low travellers, often New Zealanders or Australians,
who would help him on his way. In the days before
the internet and regular direct dialling, it was common
not to hear from Hal for months on end. The odd post-
card would find its way home from some unexpected
location. Later on, it would be sporadic emails.
When Bryan Ansell decided it was time to put out Cita-
del’s own fantasy battle game, Hal was commissioned
to write it. I was working at Citadel by then and I think
it must have been about the first thing we published
over and above the usual mail order sheets and pack-
aging. From that decision emerged the first version of
Warhammer (1983) and all that follows on from it. Hal
would continue to contribute towards Warhammer in
one form or another for the next decade, including the
role-playing version (1986). His fabled Lustria cam-
paign was an early, long-standing project inspired by
a trip to South America, featuring Viking adventurers
in a land inhabited by the bizarre Slann, the amphib-
ian descendants of a star-spanning race that had once
dominated the world. Typically, Hal worked it up to a
promising point and then disappeared on another ad-
venture – leaving one of the great ‘might have beens’
of seminal Warhammer incomplete.
In the mid-’80s Hal re-joined the expanded games
design team as an employee at Games Workshop.
He would go on to write supplements for the Judge
Dredd RPG and design board games for the 2000 AD
licence, including Rogue Trooper (1987) and Block
Mania (1987). He began a Dr Who board game for a
proposed BBC licence that unfortunately didn’t work
out. The game was abandoned, but I suspect it was
a classic in the making, involving separate hexagon
boards that revolved around each other to represent
the movement of space/time and facilitating pieces
jumping between different eras. The players used a
card deck both to interact with their rivals and to shift
the time zones about. Another abandoned project
was an early version of Warhammer Epic – 6mm-size
Warhammer - that used different-coloured D6s to
represent combat abilities. There was also a space-
ship combat game that simulated something like real
physics, which invariably sent ships spinning off into
the void at the slightest provocation. Hal was always
at his best when working with a good editor to cajole
things to completion. Space Hulk (1989) showed off
Hal’s grasp of game design at its best and remains the
game for which is his best known. Dark Future (1988),
a Mad Max inspired road-race game with its ‘rolling
road’ combat board would also prove popular.
After his time at Games Workshop, Hal had a go at
creating his own computer game design, sinking his
savings into a project that would sadly never reach
completion, but gaining a great deal of experience in
the process. Subsequently he went on to work for a
number of computer games companies, both in the
US and at home in the UK. Whilst working in Califor-
nia, he took the opportunity to complete a motorcycle
ride down the Pan-American Highway, revisiting some
of the places he’d been in the early ’80s. Back home,
he took a job at Eurocom in Derby where he worked
on various Disney licensed products, an experience
he cheerfully described as “working for the Rat”.
Hal died in May this year at the age of 61, having suf-
fered from an incapacitating illness that had tragically
left him institutionalised for the last fifteen years of his
life, stricken by physical and mental symptoms nor-
mally associated with far older victims of dementia.
When we met up, which we invariably did on his
birthday along with other friends, Hal always talked
about the set of World War Two wargames rules he
was eternally in the process of writing – a games de-
signer to the end. Despite his illness and the many
challenges that he faced as a result, his recollection
of his youth and our days working together at Games
Workshop were as sharp as ever, and he remained the
good-humoured, kindly, and courageous soul that I
am proud to have called my friend. WS&S
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
17
 THE GREATEST DECISIVE BATTLE YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF
FEATURE
THE BATTLE OF IPSUS, 301 BC
The Wars of the Diadochi – the seemingly forever civil war of suc-
cession for Alexander the Great’s empire – had raged since his
death in 323 BC. The decisive battle at Ipsus in 301 BC would see
both the beginning of an end and the octogenarian Antigonus
Monopthalmus take to the field against his old foes one final time …
By Jeff Jonas and Guy Bowers
T
he armies of the Antigonids and
the opposing Alliance met near
the town of Ipsus on the plains
of central Phrygia. On one side
were arrayed the unified armies
of King Antigonus ‘the One-eyed’, and
his son Demetrius ‘the Besieger’. Dem-
etrius was bold and energetic, but his
father Antigonus was over 80 years old
and could no longer ride. It is likely he
directed the army from a litter carried
in the middle of the phalanx. The An-
tigonids had 70,000 infantry, 10,000
cavalry, and 75 war elephants.
The opposing army of the Alliance
combined Cassander’s Macedoni-
ans with Lysimachus’ Thracian mer-
cenaries and Seleucus’ masses of
freshly gathered elephants. The allies
had 64,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry
WARGAMES
MEES, SOLDIERS
EERRS & STRATEGY
EGY 115
115
15
18
18 ARRG
GAM
AM OLLDIIE
O IER TTRRA
RATE
TEG
war el-
chariots
urces).
ed re-
y of the
cus’
were
many on the other side. Many
of Demetrius’ troops were Greeks,
and his elite cavalry were possibly
armoured Thessalian lancers. We can
guess that more than a third of the in-
fantry on both sides were light troops.
While some sources give the allied el-
ephant total as 400, a number of 150
is far more likely and still double the
Antigonids’ number. A good number
of the former were kept in reserve .
PLAYING THE BATTLE
Historical sources do not describe
any terrain features pertinent to the
battle, so a large plain is sufficient.
The scenario has deliberately been
left generic so players can fit
it to their favourite rules set,
be it Hail Caesar, Mortem et
Gloriam, or To the Strongest.
A brief guide
to the forces in-
volved follows, which ad-
mittedly involves educated
guesses, given the limited
historical information
available to us. Players
should add or subtract
units in proportion to fit
their collections. There were
probably more light troops available
to both sides, and players who wish
Successor heavy cavalry with lanc-
x
es crash into the enemy's flanks
before the phalanxes crunch.
© Igor Dzis
to fig
tle sh
min
Th
nario gets into the meat of the action,
as all the dancing around with light
troops can be a distraction.
Antigonid faction
Right wing
Demetrius (aggressive general)
• 2 units of heavy cavalry
(one veteran)
• 1 unit of light cavalry
Centre
Antigonus (veteran general on litter)
• 3 units of elephants with ac-
companying skirmishers
• 6 units of Macedonian phalanx
(three are veteran)
Left wing
Pyrrhus (good general)
• 2 units of light cavalry
Allied faction
Right wing
Pleistarchus (average general)
• 1 unit of heavy cavalry
• 1 unit of light cavalry
Centre
Lysimachus (good general)
• 4 units of elephants with ac-
companying skirmishers
• 6 units of Macedonian phalanx
(two are veteran)
• 1 unit of allied Thracians
 Demetrius and Pyrrhus advance with their troops. Allied commanders Lysimachus (left) and Seleucus (middle) plan how to counter the Antigonid's heavy cavalry charge.

Left wing the Antigonids back, allowing his right- ephant screen. Soon, unimpeded Se-
Antiochus (average general) wing cavalry to turn the enemy flank. leucid cavalry had the whole Antigonid
• 1 unit of heavy cavalry battle line under attack by missiles from
• 1 unit of light cavalry Antiochus’ allied cavalry continued to all sides. The Antigonid phalanx began
• 1 unit of horse archers run, with Demetrius on their heels, but to crumble. Eventually the collapse of
Seleucus began to feed his reserves into the phalanx left the king isolated and
Reserve
this fight. His elephant reserve made exposed. Demetrius did eventually
Seleucus (veteran general)
a wall that blocked Demetrius’ wing make it back, only to witness the wreck
• 3 units of untrained elephants
from returning. He also directed his of the Antigonid army. Pyrrhus and he
• 1 unit of light cavalry
• 1 unit of horse archers reserve light cavalry to roll around An- fled and eventually reached Macedo-
tigonus’ exposed right flank. On the Al- nia – where they almost immediately
liance’s right wing, their horse archers began fighting over the kingship.
VICTORY CONDITIONS neutralized their Antigonid opponents.
This is a straight battle for superior-
Ipsus was hugely decisive as it elimi-
ity, so it is a standard pitched battle.
Antigonus sent messengers to Dem- nated Antigonus, the leading contender
Elimination of commanders should
etrius to recall him to help stop the rot for Alexander’s empire. Seleucus and
be more important than the loss of
on his flanks, but either Demetrius was Lysimachus inherited the joint victory
individual units.
too far away, or the messengers were and the spoils. The victors soon turned
unable to break through Seleucus’ el- to fighting among themselves. WS&S
WHAT HAPPENED? © Rocío Espin

Both sides deployed as usual: cavalry

on the wings, infantry in the centre,
and skirmishers mixed in with el-
ephants. The Antigonid plan seemed
to rest on an all-out cavalry charge by
ght wing,
ine held.

action took
mbers of ele-
oth armies skir-
r
rth indeci-
withdrew
eassts to
he ph
p a-
too
ookk
pt the
pus
ushe
hed

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

19
 THE FRANCO-CASTILIAN RAID ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT IN 1377
FEATURE

VIOLENCE ON VECTIS
Naval raids were a frequent feature of the 100 Years’ War. On 21 August
1377, a Franco-Castilian fleet was forced to shelter from a storm on
the north coast of the Isle of Wight, before plundering the island and
raiding the nearby ports around the Solent. The island itself was largely
captured, except for Carisbrooke Castle, which managed to hold out.

By Mark Backhouse

I
nitially, the French had a much
larger and more professional force,
and were fighting a smaller force
of largely irregular troops – quite
different to the usual HYW sce-
nario. Wargaming this campaign cre-
ates some challenging strategic deci-
sions, and highlights the importance
of a well-placed castle. The location at
Carisbrooke is really critical as the key
to the whole island. We played this out
as an online Kriegspiel during the Cov-
id-19 lockdown period, but you could
use it as the basis for a matrix game,
or a map-based setting for a series of
interlinked campaign tabletop
figure games.
THE FRANCO-CASTILIAN SITUATION
While sailing close to the Solent, a
large storm has forced you to take
shelter north of the Isle of Wight. The
island should be raided and captured
if possible and then used as a base
to launch attacks against the English
ports nearby. You will need to set sail
back to France to rendezvous with the
Earl of Burgundy within two weeks.
Don Fernando Sanchez de Tovar – You
are a Castilian admiral with 24 gal-
leys plus a few smaller support craft.
On these galleys you have 1200 men
and 250 horse, a mixture of nobles and
men-at-arms and their retainers, along
with a large number of brigands, mer-
cenaries, sailors, and soldiers. You are
supported by a French fleet of twelve
ships led by Jean de Vienne.
Jean de Vienne – You are Jean
de Vienne, a French nobleman.
You have been ordered to raid
and plunder the South Coast of Eng-
land and support the larger Spanish
fleet. You have twelve galleys plus a
few support craft. You have 600 men
and 150 horse with a mixture of no-
bles and men-at-arms and their
retainers, along with sailors and
professional soldiers.
Both forces have enough food
and water to last for one week,
although getting additional supplies
form the nearby area will be essen-
tial. You are well equipped with
siege equipment including man-
tlets, rope, ladders, baskets,
crossbows, spikes, shovels,
During their attack on the Isle of Wight, the French and Spanish ulti-
x
axes, and siege engines including eight
perrier catapults and four trebuchets.
You also have some carts for transpor-
tation of equipment and plunder.
THE ENGLISH
Sir Richard Northland
You are Sir Richard Northland, who
has been given command of the de-
fence of the Isle of Wight as a whole.
Under your command you have two
knights, fifteen esquires, and twenty
mounted archers. All are mounted,
well equipped, and experienced sol-
diers, based in Newport. Your job is to
co-ordinate an organized response to
any attacks. If a landing is successful,
the militia could attempt to hold the
rivers Yar and Medina or fall back to the
safety of Carisbrooke Castle.
Sir Hugh Tyrell
You are Sir Hugh Tyrell, the keeper
of Carisbrooke Castle. You have nine
mounted esquires and ten foot archers.
These are seasoned soldiers who train
regularly. There is a plentiful supply of
2000 arrows in the castle stores.
Carisbrooke is a stone shell keep on
top of an older motte and bailey cas-
tle with the wooden palisade rebuilt

WARGAMES
AMES, SOLDIERS
IEERRS & STRATEGYEGY 115
1155 mately failed to capture Portchester Castle. John IV, Duke of Brittany,
20
20 ARRG
GAM O DIE
OL TRRRA
TTRAATTEG
was equally unsuccessful in capturing the castle at Brest in 1386, as
shown here in an illustration from Chroniques de Jean Froissart.
© Bibliotheque Nationale de France, MS Fr. 2645
 The islanders attempt to hold up the French and Castillan force while the local refugees flee to Carisbrooke Castle.

in stone. It has a reinforced gatehouse • John de Kingston in Shorwell The mainland

and a supply of fresh water from a • Sir John Lisle in South Shorwell Along the South Coast there was a
deep well. There is a storehouse with a • John Urry – Wootton well-prepared system to respond to
supply of grain to last 200 men for two • Theobald de Gorges in Ryde the threat of a French attack, with large
months. Your job is to defend the cas- • Robert de Affeton in Affeton numbers of troops being able to be
tle with your life and support the re- raised in a very short period of time and
These leaders tend to be lesser nobles
moval of any invaders from the Island. troops in London capable of reaching
and wealthy yeomen. The militia are the Coast in a matter of a few days.
equipped with a high proportion of
Additional forces
bows, spears, and axes, supplemented Southampton was a walled city by
There are nine companies of about
with agricultural bills and flails. There this point with some fairly serious
100 men each in the militia on the
would be a smattering of armour and walls under construction and a castle.
Island. There are just under 5000 in-
shields. Nearly all would be on foot. We placed 1200 soldiers and eight
habitants in total, although these are
© Michael Perry

very spread out. The largest town is

Newport with a population of about
600. In theory, all able-bodied men
between 16 and 60 would be expect-
ed to defend the Island. They would
not be of the best quality, but it might
allow you to raise another 600–700
poorly equipped militia if pressed.

The company commanders of the

militia hail from the following areas:

• g
• Heynoe,
nd Bon o -
littia
• bail
ba iliff
iffss
• Cump
Cu mp--
The Castilla
hwaate ter

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

21
 larg
la
arg
rgee ca
c ENGLISH DEFENSIVE STRATEGY compromise a bit depending on the
city
city,, al
ty ao (to be read only by the English players) figures you have available. The Castil-
smmal
alle
lerr There was already a pre-planned ians could be represented with one
ment
me nt strategy in place. This is partly based unit of heavy cavalry for the knights,
w ul
wo around the later Tudor defensive strat- one of light horse representing their
por egy, which doubtless had evolved from scouts, two of dismounted heavy in-
t earlier practice during this era. fantry representing the knights or men-
d at-arms, four units of spear-armed ser-
a outl
as The alert would be raised by locals and geants or medium infantry representing
all the church bells would be rung to the mercenaries and soldiers, two units
Portchester had a reasonably strong warn other villages. Prepared beacons of crossbowmen, and two units of light
castle that had recently been updat- would be lit, warning the mainland of infantry representing the sailors.
ed with a new tower, firing platforms attack and instructing them to gather re-
in the inner bailey, and repairs to the inforcements and send them as quickly The French can be represented by
outer Roman walls to stop the sea as possible via the shortest route (via one unit of heavy horse, one of heavy
getting into the castle! It would have Calshot, on the north-western coast.) foot, two of medium infantry, one of
been garrisoned by about twenty crossbows, and one of light infantry.
professional soldiers in a similar All militia leaders were to gather their
manner to Carisbrooke. forces at planned pieces of high ground The nine English militia units can each
guarding their section of coastline and be represented by a unit of yeoman or
Portsmouth had not yet developed inform other militia companies of any light infantry with a mixture or bows
into a royal dockyard but probably immediate attacks. They should then and spears. Another six units of yeo-
had a walled defence with a ditch try to prevent any enemy landings. men can be called upon, but these will
and a garrison of a hundred or so be of poor quality, armed with impro-
soldiers. There would be a large REPRESENTING THE FORCES IN BATTLES vised weapons. The professional forces
number of smaller merchant cogs, In most rule sets, the battles are fought are slightly harder to represent. I’d sug-
along with sail- and oar-powered using units or elements. I’d stick to a gest upgrading one of the militia com-
craft, in both Portchester and Ports- rough ratio of about 120 men to one panies to professional quality if they
mouth harbours. element, although you might need to join it. Alternatively, field them as a

MAPS AND MOVEMENT OF FORCES

© Rocío Espin

While we provide a basic map of the Island,

you can also print off a modern map of the
Isle of Wight from the internet and then trace
it. Only mark on main roads. Reduce the size
of all towns and their populations about ten-
fold. Remove any obvious modern anachro-
nisms. The French should be given a map, but it
should only have the very basics of the largest
settlements, and even then these can be inac-
curately located by a wily Games Master.

Infantry with full equipment should expect to

be able to march at two miles per hour. Siege
equipment and baggage should move about half
that speed! The light mounted elements should
be able to move fastest at about five miles per
hour, and local militia, lacking heavy equipment
and operating on home turf, should probably be
able to move at three miles per hour.

Troops should probably be able to march for

eight hours per day.

Sailing speeds will depend on the weather and

the conditions of the sea. This can be diced
for – but remember that the first day would be
very choppy and slow in the Solent! Caravels
from Southampton should not be able to cross
unless the wind is in their favour. Galleys can
move without wind but need rowers to move
them. This counts as exertion at least compa-
rable to marching!

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

22
© Michael Perry

French men-at-arms prepare to board a ship in the Soilent – English merchants made easy prey for the allied army.

separate, downgraded unit – for exam-
ple, by making them small when using
rules such as Hail Caesar or reducing
the number of hits they can sustain.
The troops in Southampton might be
six units of medium archers, two of
heavy cavalry capable of fighting as
heavy foot, and two of medium foot.
DEFENCES AND SIEGES
Some locations should be able to hold
out against far larger forces attacking
them. Most of the larger towns prob-
ably had some sort of ditch or low pali-
sade. This might have allowed the mili-
tia to hold out for a few hours against a
larger force. This could be represented
by a +1 defensive modifier.
threadbare garrison, even if they were
forced back to the keep, abanding the
outer defences. Southampton’s walls
and castle should also be treated the
same. This should count as a serious
defensive benefit. If besieged by a force
at least double the size of the defend-
ers, roll 1D6 for every day of the attack.
On a roll of 6, one layer of the defences
is captured. Each castle has two layers
– the wall and the keep – with South-
ampton having three: the town, the
castle, and the keep. This roll should be
modified by a GM based on the sup-
plies for each side and the availability
of siege weapons, morale, and the size
of the force. A roll of 1 at any point by
the besiegers should result in a failed
attack or an outbreak of some unpleas-
antness forcing them to remove an at-
tacking unit or equivalent.
Example: If 1200 well-equipped
Castilians besieged Portchester
with all of their siege equipment
against Tyrell’s garrison of just 20
men, they could justify a +1 bonus
for the size of their force and a cu-
mulative +1 for the siege weapons,
meaning they would need a 4+
each day to get into the castle.

The Abbey at Quarr had been raided

by the French in 1362 and had been
fortified with crenelations and gun
ports! This might have been designed
as a deterrent, but it might nevertheless
provide a shock. This could be repre-
sented by a +2 defensive modifier.

Portchester Castle was a Roman-era

one inner bailey and
Norman keep. risbro r oke Castlee was
ith
ith a mom ttte
hel
elll ke
keep
ep.
held
he ld for
The loca
evven a
 hass
chheery
r
faall
y,
leaving their many dead.

LENGTH OF GAME
The campaign should last for no more
than two weeks in game turns. The
French need to retire from the Island
taking as much plunder as they can
while avoiding any major defeats.

WHO WINS?
The campaign is not evenly balanced,
The French and Castillian raiders set about pillaging and looting the local villages. What can the islanders do?
but the raiders should claim one victo-
ry point for each town that is plundered
On the first day they roll a 5, and the If the enemy are beaten by one point, or each minor military victory. Three
GM explains that the defenders attempt they are forced to withdraw. Beaten victory points should be awarded if
to shut the main gates but simply can- by two, they lose an element and an enemy force is routed or destroyed
not hold the defences. The outer wall retreat. Beaten by three, they lose or a castle is captured. They will lose
is quickly stormed. On the second day two elements and rout. If beaten by one victory point if they are forced to
they roll a 2 and the GM explains that four or more, they are completely retreat and lose five points if they suffer
Sir Hugh’s defenders have fallen back destroyed. If the result is a draw, the a rout or worse! The French and Castil-
to the keep with a plentiful supply of attacker is forced to withdraw. ians can claim a minor victory if they
arrows and keep the Castilians at bay. score five or more points and a major
On the third day they roll a 4. The GM Example: 400 French soldiers at- victory if they achieve ten or more. A
explains a group of Castilian men-at- tack 300 English militia defending result of anything less than five can be
arms managed to break into the keep a hill. The French gain +1 for out- classed as an English victory.
while Castilian crossbow and catapults numbering their opponent and a
suppress the defenders. The defence is second +1 for being better qual- CONCLUSION
short but bloody and the English are ity troops. The English gain +1 One of the arrow loops in the castle is
quickly cut down or surrender! for defending a hill. This gives the still named Heynoe’s loop after one of
French an overall +1 advantage. the defenders, who was able to mor-
BATTLES tally wound a French commander who
If using a normal tabletop battle sys- The French roll a 1; this is then modi- came too close to the walls from it.
tem, battles can be played out on the fied up to 2. The English roll a 4. The In the end, the raiders were probably
tabletop! The results can then be ap- English have therefore won by two brought off with silver and then contin-
plied to the next part of the campaign. points. The French lose an element and ued to plunder along the South Coast
If using a more abstract method to are forced to fall back. The GM might before returning to France. WS&S
carry out the campaign, or if it’s clearly
not worth fighting – e.g. 1800 Franco-
Castilians up against 100 militia – then
either the GM can give a sensible re-
sult (e.g. explaining that the militia are
quickly routed and destroyed) or the
players might want to dice for a quick
resolution. Roll 1D6 with modifiers:
g the enemy or de-
g de
defefend
ndable like
ed to
townwn;; +1 if
opps iss gen
ener
e allly
op--
u-
y
-
my
forces or greater. Pro

WARGAMES SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

24
 US DESTROYERS VERSUS JAPANESE CRUISERS
FEATURE

THE BATTLE OFF SAMAR

The Second Battle of the Philippine Sea is a complex series of
separate engagements that occurred between 23 and 25 Oc-
tober 1944 as a result of the US landings on the central Phil-
ippines island of Leyte. This was the promised return of Gen-
eral Douglas MacArthur to liberate the Philippines from Japan.

Rob Wubbenhorst

T
he Japanese Navy launched
another of its typically compli-
cated operations, ‘Sho-1’, to
oppose the landings by send-
ing three forces to the battle.
The Centre and Southern Forces were
two sides of a pincer attack through the
northern and southern approaches to
Leyte; and the Northern Force, consist-
ing of the remaining aircraft carriers,
with freshly trained aircrews, would
serve as a decoy to lure Admiral Hal-
sey’s Third Fleet away from the Leyte
invasion force. This sacrifice of Japan’s
last carriers would allow the surface
combatant-based Centre and Southern
Forces to complete their missions.
The complete picture of this epic Pa-
cific clash is fascinating to study but
beyond the reach of this article. There
are examples of submarine attacks and
reconnaissance, air strikes, PT boat at-
tacks at night, battleships exchanging
broadsides, desperate destroyer torpe-
do runs against cruisers and battleships,
and the first deployment of the kami-
kaze tactic. One of the most remark-
able events during the largest naval
battle in history occurred when Centre
Force, led by Vice Admiral Takeo Kuri-
ta, emerged from San Bernardino Strait
with a clear path south to the Leyte
anchorage of the invasion fleet after
Vice Admiral Ozawa’s Northern Force
was successful in luring Halsey’s Third
Fleet away from their guard position
off the Strait. The small escort carriers
(CVEs) of Seventh Fleet encountered
by Kurita’s Centre Force at dawn on
25 October 1944 were known as Task
Group 77.4, with callsigns of Taffy 1, 2,
and 3. The Taffys, each with six CVEs,
were tasked to provide anti-submarine
patrols and close air support for the US
Army soldiers fighting on Leyte island.
CVEs were known by their crews as
Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expend-
able; they had a maximum speed over
a third slower than the Japanese Centre
Force heavy cruisers, destroyers, and
battleships facing them. Taffy 3, de-
ployed as the northernmost force, had
recently launched the morning air pa-
trols and received a startling message
from TBM Avenger pilot Ensign Brooks
about an enemy fleet close by. When
asked for confirmation by sceptical
commanders, Brooks responded,
“I can see the pagoda masts, and
I see the biggest red meatball flag
I ever saw flying on the biggest
battleship I ever saw.”

LCDR Robert W. Copeland USNR

aboard USS Samuel B. Roberts mes-
saged his task group commander the
following: “We’re making a torpedo
run. The outcome is doubtful, but we
will do our duty.” Coincidentally, this
was spoken on the 89th anniversary
of the Charge of the Light Brigade in
the Crimean War.

The ensuing battle by Taffy 3’s seven

The USS Kitkun Bay (CVE
pares to launch a group -71) pre-
x
escorts to harass and delay the four
battleships, six heavy cruisers, and two
destroyer divisions of Centre Force has

of Grumman
FM-2 Wildcat fighters fro been recorded in history as the Battle
Squadron 5 during the Ba m Composite
on 25 October, 1944. ttle of Samar
WARGAMESS, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
26 OL A © U.S. Navy photo 80-G-287
497
 A USN escort fires torpedoes at point blank range into a Japanese cruiser.

IJN centre force sights the enemy. All photos by Robin Scott-Blore of Warlord games. A ‘Taffy’ air flight is dispatched to drop bombs on one of the IJN's many cruisers.

off Samar. Readers wanting to know
more should try Hornfischer’s The Last
Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
ADAPTING SAMAR TO A WARGAME
The primary problem with Samar is
that no player will behave like Vice
Admiral Kurita. Much criticized after
the battle for snatching defeat from
the jaws of victory, Kurita turned
his force away after destroying only
retired. Six heavy cruisers remained.
Despite requests for air support, Kurita
received no air cover. Finally, when
confronted by the desperate attacks of
the Taffy 3 escorts on the morning of
25 October, Kurita’s staff misidentified
the destroyers as USN cruisers, and lost
three additional heavy cruisers and one
severely damaged to combined air, tor-
pedo, and surface gunfire. Of the origi-
nal ten powerful cruisers, Kurita had
two left to escort his remaining three
battleships and two destroyer squad-
rons. Kurita chose to withdraw and
keep Yamato and his remaining fleet
and men alive.
HOW TO MAKE TAFFY 3 A WARGAME
The natural aggressiveness of wargam-
ers commanding Kurita’s Centre Force

© Rocío Espin
one CVE (Gambier Bay) and three
escorts. He had an unopposed path
to the Leyte invasion fleet but instead
decided to save his fleet and retreat-
ed back through San Bernardino
Strait to fight another day. Why?

IN KURITA’S SHOES
On the evening of October 22, Kurita
aboard his flagship cruiser Atago was
torpedoed and sunk by submarine USS
Darter. After abandoning ship, Kurita
was rescued from the water and re-
sumed command aboard Yamato. His
force lost three of ten heavy cruisers to
this submarine attack. Continuing into
the Sibuyan Sea, on 24 October Kurita’s
fleet was attacked by a powerful naval
aviation strike from the USN’s Third
lesship Mu
hip Musa
sash
shii was los
ostt in
n
, and ano
noth
ther
er heaeavy
vy
as dadama
mage
gedd and

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

27
TAFFY 2 & 3 AIR FLIGHT TABLE
Card/counter quantity Taffy 2 & 3 flights x1 each Flight type/damage dice
1 TBM Avenger w/ torpedo Torpedo-bomber
4 Devastating
3 TBM Avenger w/ 500lb bombs Bomber
3
2 FM-2 Wildcat w/ rockets Bomber
2 (+1 AP)
2 FM-2 Wildcat w/ 100lb bomb Bomber
1 (-2 AP)
2 FM-2 Wildcat w/ 250lb bomb Bomber
1 fo
cat w/ guns only Fighter
1 Weak
n ch
is
y-
command and led to an
ers to avoid a complete loss with the
ordinated pursuit of Taffy 3. How can
forces historically available. you simulate this in a game?
Victory at Sea by Warlord can be Fellow wargamer Dave Schueller
adapted to multi-player convention suggested giving each player primary
or club format with minor changes. command of a CVE and escort unit of
The initiative system for a game with Taffy 3, and each turn, also include
six players requires a random draw one Japanese heavy unit in pursuit
for initiative at the beginning of each of the other players’ CVEs. By losing
turn. The battle will last ten turns in- command of a given Japanese unit
stead of the standard eight to allow each turn, the consistency of a plan
for CVEs to move off the table edge for manoeuvre and attack will be
at their slow speed. completely scrambled for each Japa-
nese unit if a new player likely takes
How to solve the issue of how the control each turn. In essence, every
Japanese command behaves? Early player commands a Japanese ship in
in the battle, Kurita ordered a gen- addition to ‘their’ CVE. The goal of the
eral attack, which transferred tactical game is to survive with ‘their’ CVE.
control of each ship to the captain in Use of an assigned escort to protect
ORDERS OF BATTLE
All statistics can be found in the Victory at Sea main rulebook. Page references are given in the article for quick reference.
ELEMENTS OF IJN CENTRAL TASKFORCE INITIATIVE # TASK FORCE TAFFY 3
Battleships (BB) Kongo 1 St. Lo CVE 63
Kongo class Haruna 2 White Plains CVE 66
Heavy Cruisers (CA) Tone 3 Kalinin Bay CVE 68
Tone class Chikuma 4 Fanshaw Bay CVE 70
Myoko class Haguro 5 Kitkun Bay CVE 71
Takao class Chokai 6 Gambier Bay CVE 73
Kongo and Haruna can be found on page 235. Myoko
class on page 243. Tone class cruiser can be found on Casablanca class CVE can be found on page 178. John C
page 247. Takao class on page 246. Butler class destroyer is on page 194; Fletcher class on 192.
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
28
Taffy 3, and available USN airpower,
are additional assets for each player
to manage. Japanese cruiser units
will need to track torpedo expendi-
ture, which will create actual com-
mand friction events such as Player
A launching torpedoes at a distant
CVE target (with lower to-hit result)
controlled by Player B rather than the
closest CVE (controlled by Player A)
so as to deny the next turn’s control-
ling Japanese player the opportunity
to launch torpedoes at Player A’s CVE.
By making the CVEs the critical units
c
a
be
m
to Victory at Sea makes an
ideal rule set for this game.
THE BATTLE OFF SAMAR
Date: 25 October 1944, 0800 hours
Location: South of San Bernardino Strait
The Japanese Navy Centre Force,
led by Vice Admiral Kurita, steaming
south, has sighted USN aircraft and
carriers on the horizon.
Conditions: x2 rain squalls (treat as
night & do not remove), each up to
25 square inches, placed by a random
USN player, one each in areas C and E.
Scenario rules
Create a deck or counters for the IJN
Centre Force with initiative cards num-
bered 1-6. Each player draws a card or
Heerman DD 532 (no torps)
Hoel DD 533 (no torps)
Johnston DD 557 (no torps)
J.C. Butler DE 339
Raymond DE 341
Dennis DE 405
Samuel B. Roberts DE 413
 1/1800 MODELS SOURCES
Most of the Japanese fleet and
the USN Fletcher destroyers for
the Taffy 3 battle is available from
Warlord. The destroyer escorts
and CVEs can be purchased from
Blitzkrieg Models who produce
Casablanca Class carriers and US
John C Butler destroyers.

The American destroyer and destroyer escorts fight like battleships to protect the carriers and delay the enemy.

counter and selects in initiative order
a single USN escort carrier (CVE) and
escort (DD or DE) to command for the
game. Place the CVE, escort(s), and IJN
ships on the table according to setup
rules. Number 1 choses first and will
have an extra escort as last choice (be-
cause there are seven). Return cards/
counters to the deck/cup before turn 1.
Every turn, each player draws one
IJN Centre Force card or counter.
For that turn, each player has the
initiative number and control of that
IJN ship for manoeuvre and attacks
against any USN ships. Move Chokai
first and Kongo last. Attack with Kon-
go first and Chokai last. Return cards/
counters to the deck/cup each end
phase. All ships have 1944 refits.
Yamato, Nagato, Suzuya, and all de-
stroyers of two squadrons from this
moment of the battle. USN DEs have
not launched their torpedoes.
Place USN ships as indicated in the
USN setup area, no closer than 32"
from the southwest corner. IJN ships
start in Areas A/B/D, no closer than
30" to any USN ship heading south.
Victory points: Players score per-
sonal victory points when their CVE
escapes, and for sinking or crippling
another CVE, IJN ship, or flight equal
to the ship or flight’s points value.
Player to cause final damage to sink
or cripple earns the victory points.
Game length: ten turns.
CONCLUSION
Escorts Hoel, Johnston, and Samuel
B. Roberts were sunk, while Gambier
Bay was the only CVE lost to direct fire.
Chokai, Chikuma, and Suzuya were
sunk by the combined USN effort.
I hope this article helps to raise aware-
ness of this important part of the Sec-
ond Battle of the Philippine Sea and
gives naval enthusiasts a chance to play
the Battle with Victory at Sea and enjoy
the multi-player intrigue of the scenario
with shared opposing forces. WS&S

Create card deck or counters for Taffy

2 & 3 Air Flights. Return cards/coun-
ters to the deck/cup each End Phase.

Every turn, each player also draws

one Taffy 2 & 3 flight card or coun-
ter. The player controls that flight for
the current turn. Place the flight into
base contact with any IJN ship to at-
tack. There are no IJN flights or ob-
ts in thee scenario..

ave alr lrea

eady
dy lau
aunc
nche
hedd
s, res
esul
ulti
tinng in da
d m-
Another ‘Taffy’ air flight prepares to harass an enemy cruiser. The carriers must be protected at all costs!
age to o andnd removing

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

29
GAMING IDEAS
THE JOY OF ASYMMETRIC GAMES – MAKING FUN SCENARIOS
TURNING THE TABLES
Wargamers often aim to match equally strong forces in neutral terrain
with the objective of creating a balanced situation for the purposes of
gameplay. This rarely reflects what happened historically. Often one
force had a distinct advantage, be it numbers, equipment, or position.
By Tony Concagh
I
am not a fan of points-based games.
I have difficulty with the concept
of fairness having anything to do
with the recreation of warfare. I
have played competition games
based on points systems, but for me
the outcomes often feel a little bland
and uninteresting. This just doesn’t cre-
ate games that represent the battles
and skirmishes one reads about. Often
these are fought where one side is at a
huge disadvantage but has no choice
but to stand and fight.
Therefore, I usually design scenarios
that are asymmetrical. What I look to
avoid is games that end up pitting pha-
lanxes of tanks against each other. This
just wasn't what doctrine prescribed.
However, how does one make for
a satisfying game if one player is as-
signed to be the infantry force taking
on an all-arms mechanised attack?
The attacker may have the advantage in numbers, but how many casualties are they willing to take?
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
30
The solution is to move away from the
players seeking a balanced or objec-
tively fair one-off game. Instead, by
running the scenario with unevenly
balanced forces and ‘turning the ta-
where the
e de-
work
of a
r
disadvantage. Indeed, in my
experience it’s the player
ce
p-
pier with the outcome than • quickest time to an agreed
the stronger, winning side. ob
• taking the agreed objective
OBJECTIVES ARE KEY wi
The players should discuss what they • the number of turns until the
think the key parameters of success defender decides to retreat
should be. Depending on the sce- from a superior opponent.
nario, the goal could be one of the • taking or defending the objec-
following, or a combination thereof: tive with the least amount of
support assets or units.
When setting objectives, it helps to
consider the historical doctrines of
the forces involved. For example, a
modern US Army attacker would keep
casualties to a minimum through the
best use of firepower. In contrast, a
Zulu Army would be willing to soak
up a lot of casualties in order to break
the British Redcoat line.
TURNING THE TABLES
Having agreed to turn the tables, it’s
unusual to fight on to the bitter end.
Either objectives are met or one side
throws in the towel when their casu-
alties start to mount. While the un-
certainties of luck contribute, often
it’s because a player decides that their
plan simply didn’t work in practice.

A firefight becomes much more challenging when you don’t know how long your ammunition will last.
The players can then take note of the
outcome and compare with the goals
they have chosen to measure. They can
do this by taking pictures of both sides’
casualties, the turn indicator, and per-
haps their positions at the point where
one side concedes.
By game two, the players already
have a set of outcomes against which
to measure the agreed objectives.
y can focus on
ues, such as: Will
he same strategy?
better to reduce
es? And for the
make the same
ponent did in the
first game?
OTHER FACTORS
ating rules (which
a range of popu-
al periods)
the actual
he hist
stori-
esee
es
s-
ys
COMMAND AND CONTROL
Depending on the rules used, the play-
ers can agree that one or both sides’
control ability is reduced as the game
moves on. This represents the chaos of
battle and the attacker is encouraged
to move quickly before their ability to
command starts to dwindle.
AMBUSH RULES
This is best suited where the attackers
were known for poor reconnaissance,
or the ‘empty battlefields’ of the twen-
tieth century. Examples would be the
Confederate Army at Gettysburg, the
British Army in the Second Boer War,
the Wehrmacht in Normandy 1944,
or most theatres in the Vietnam War.
Its effect is to represent a tactically
flexible defender who has an oppor-
tunity to react to the attacker as they
deploy and advance.
The rules I use are very simple:
1. The players agree a detection
range, which will be dependent
on the rules and ground scale
being applied. The detection
range may also be reduced by
you can never go wrong if you come terrain features, such as reverse
up with your own ideas!
sides of hills, towns, or forests.
2. The players set a ‘front line’ for
AMMUNITION the defender, beyond which they
Either or both sides face a limitation, cannot deploy, and a ‘start line’
which can be agreed in advance. This for the attacker, beyond which
was a real factor in the English Civil they cannot deploy.
war and some rulesets give units lim- 3. The defender does not have to
ited number of turns of firing per game. deploy any units on the table
For a real sense of uncertainty, the at the start of the game unless
number of rounds is not known by the they choose to do so.
commander - the opponent dices for 4. The defender, at any tim ime e du
during
the amount of available ammunition. the attacker’s movem menentt ph
phas
ase
The hidden total is only revealed when or the defender’s orrdederss or movev -
the commander runs out of ammo! I ment phase, can de deplploy
oy any y
find this deters players from blasting unit to any place on or be behind
away at long range in the hope of a the front line, so lon
ongg as it is
lucky shot, this makes players focus on beyond the det etec
cti
tion
on ran
ange off
using support weapons as and when the attacker’s neaeare
rest
st uni
nit.
t Oncnce
e
they will tactically make deployed, theyey can use opp por
ortu--
a difference.
 o -
ob
to
ded d
the
ove
ov e
he
-
t-
en the British line of retreat.

While we ended up with two wins

for the attackers, the games felt very
different and initiated considerable
discussion on the merits of the tac-
tics adopted. We defined the ‘win-
ner’ as being the attacker with the
least casualties at the point when the
defender chose to retreat, thus hand-
ing them the objective, this being the
When the tables are turned, will your opponent be able to hold out for longer than you initially could? attacker in the second game.

nity fire or equivalent within the
rules adopted.
5. Depending on the rules adopted,
the attacker can seek to detect
whether a place (for example a
house, wood, or hedge line) is
occupied. If the detection is suc-
cessful, the defender must either
declare the place unoccupied or
place a unit within it.
In theory, it seems the defender has a
huge advantage as they can effectively
deploy where they like, when they like.
However, the rule provides two distinct
advantages. The first is that it removes
the need for the defender to spend time
putting down their unit locations on
paper, which is usually not a satisfying
task. Secondly, where the forces are
asymmetric, the defender finds that he
has never quite enough units to cover
his front. This means the attacker’s plan
should be to draw out as much of the
defender’s units as quickly as possible
to identify and exploit gaps in the line.
In the first game, the British contest-
ed the front of their defensive zone
with a view to restricting the Ger-
man attacker’s ability to deploy. On
one flank this proved to be success-
ful, bogging down the attack. How-
ever, good combined-arms work on
the other flank allowed the attacker
to exploit his firepower advantage,
such that the British player declared
he was withdrawing from the objec-
tive to keep the company intact.
In the second game, the British de-
fender assumed what he thought
were the lessons learned from the
first game. He kept his forces tightly
CONCLUSION
Ultimately, the games we chose
to play and the rules we adopt for
them are a matter of taste. Personal-
ly, I look to simulate the command
dilemmas and decisions that histori-
cally arose. Often this means plac-
ing oneself at a huge disadvantage
to your opponent and seeing how
best to play this out. I do hope that
the concepts I put forward go some
way to making such games both
interesting and competitive for the
players involved. WS&S
Our thanks to Captain Blood for the
photos in this article.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

g y
p ay
pla ed
ed a depleteed BrB itish
agai
agains
nst a strong
ng Ger em
pany
pa
any conondu
ductctin
ingg
c un
co nte
tera
attacck op
operer
village. As w
very quiu ck g
ui
we used d Crossfire,
inco
cor
ourr
ou
Knowing that you will have your turn to attack creates an incentive to defend an impossible position.
r
ru
 and control. The battlefield would of-
INNOVATION & DEVELOPMENT IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
THEME

ten be temporarily obscured by smoke

WAR IS CRUELTY
from the volley firing. Later in the war
(1864 onwards), troops often took to
building fortifications and trenches at
key points or seeking temporary cover
when fighting on the battlefield.
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, both sides were still
For cavalry tactics see Nick Skinner’s
firmly entrenched in the military thinking of Napoleon, with massed “Adapt and Survive” article from p. 48.
infantry seen as the way to win the day. As the war progressed,
both the Union and Confederacy found this was a costly mistake. FIREARMS
At the outset of the war, most soldiers
were equipped with muzzle-loading
By Eoghan Kelly muskets. The introduction of the Minié
ball paper cartridge allowed rifled
muskets to be reloaded just as quickly

T
he war and the scale of the
battles shocked many – each
battle seemed to be bigger
and costlier in men and ma-
teriel. For example, Shiloh in
1862 had more casualties than the
total casualties in every battle fought
by the United States in the 80 years
up to that point – and by the end of
the war there would be nearly ten
battles that were much larger than
that. So how did technological inno-
vation change the war and how can
that be put onto our tabletop?
TACTICS
Tactics initially involved massed lines of
troops firing volleys at the enemy – get-
ting as many of your weapons to bear
on the enemy as possible, or by out-
flanking and enfilading them. Troops
were easier to control if they were
shoulder to shoulder, but these volley
tactics meant casualties were much
higher. While skirmish lines were sent
ahead of the main formations, bodies
of troops remained the norm. Flags and
bugles were essential for command
as smoothbores. The firing rates were
unchanged, at around three rounds
per minute, but the rifling increased
the infantryman’s effective lethality
range from 100 to 300 yards. Bayo-
net charges and attack columns failed
bloodily, and after 1861, volley firing
lines became the norm.
The Union did begin mass producing
breech-loading rifles; the Confeder-
ates did not develop them until 1864
and never in enough numbers
to make a difference. With the
Spencer and Henry repeating
rifles, an individual Union
soldier could maintain a
rate of fire of up

The Battle of Hampton Roads famously featured the

first clash between two heavily-armoured warships
known as ironclads. Fought on March 8, 1862, the
USS Monitor squared off against the CSS Virginia
(also known as the Merrimack – a repurposed former
Union ship). Both vessels fought indecisively for three
hours, before eventually retreating. However, the CSS
Virginia had already successfully destroyed several
WARGAMES
MEES, SOLDIERS
ERS & STRATEGY GY 115
1155
36
36 ARRG
GAM
AM OLD
DIER TTRA
R TTE
TEG
EEG conventional ships the day before, meaning the bat-
tle ended somewhat in the Confederates' favour.
to 20 rounds a minute. Such repeaters re
were uncommon, however, and usual- er
ly (but not all) restricted to the cavalry. than the numbers of casualties.

In gaming terms, rifled muskets

should significantly increase the ef-
fective range of infantry, and re-
peating rifles should allow a distinct
firepower advantage over their op-
ponents. Sharpshooting also became
practical, leading to the first snipers.
THE FIRST MACHINE GUNS
Both sides developed multi-barrel
weapons: the CSA developed the
Williams rapid-fire gun and the USA
developed the Gatling gun. Both
weapons were used at Seven Pines
and Petersburg but neither side man-
aged to develop them in large num-
bers; in fact the Confederates’ weap-
on was basically a sound design but
failed to correct the minor issues to
produce an effective weapon.
When using multi-barrel weapons
on the games table, it is important
to allow more for the ‘terror’ effect
than the actual casualties caused –
RAILROADS
Railroads were strategically crucial
to both sides, but the exploitation of
them was much more down to the
e
ps
d-
un
to great effect, and at the same time the
Union used dedicated hospital trains to
evacuate wounded, quickly and effec-
tively, to hospitals in major cities.
The crucial aspect of the railroads
meant that they were a key part of
strategy for both sides, with rail lines
being destroyed to prevent their use
and deprive the enemy of their eco-
nomic or military benefits. Sherman’s
'march to the sea' saw the wholesale
destruction of railroads and telegraph
lines in an attempt to destroy the lo-
cal economic infrastructure and cut
the Confederacy in two.
Created in 1863, this patent prototype was cre-
ated by John Ericsson (famous for his design
of the USS Monitor). It features an idea for an
improved gun carriage, which allows the weapon
to recoil backwards on its tracks. It is designed
especially to be operated by a limited crew in a
tight space (like a gun turret).
© National Museum of American History
Robert says:
ACT BOLDLY
To be a good soldier you must
love the army. To be a good com-
mander you must be prepared to
order the death of the thing you
love. Don’t be too precious about
holding your forces back, be bold
and strike decisively!

IRONCLADS & GUNBOATS

USS Monitor was a true leap forward for naval technology. This
was the world’s first entirely metal built warship. It had plenty
of faults, but was still practically invulnerable when engaged in
combat. The Confederate navy had excellent ironclad wood-
en ships, but Monitor prevented the South from breaking the
Union stranglehold on Southern ports and their economy. The
Union navy also developed highly successful classes of river
gunboats and floating mortars. Standard design was key to the
enormous industrial advantage possessed by the North.
x

The ironclad USS Essex

outside of Baton Rouge,
Louisiana in 1862.
© Library of Congress

WARGAMES
MEES, SOLDIERS
E S & STRATEGY
GY 115
1155
A
AR
ARG M OLD
DIER
ERS RA
RATEG
ATE
TEG
EGY
37
37

Ulysses says:
STICK TO THE PLAN
Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing
about what Lee is going to do.
Concentrate on doing things right
with your own command, not
worrying about what the enemy
might or might not do. If you do
it correctly, the enemy will worry
more about what you are doing.
(Top) Taken outside Petersburg, Virginia between
1864 and 1865, this Confederate gun has been
mounted on a railway carriage.
(Bottom) This 1863 drawing by artist Alfred Waud
shows Confederate raiders burning the Rappahan-
nock, Virginia railway bridge in an attempt to cut
off Union supply lines.
Most battlefields in the east had rail-
roads on them or nearby, and in the
Wilderness campaign the railroads and
unfinished railroads provided valu-
able navigation aids to troops moving
through the dense undergrowth.
From a tabletop perspective, attach-
ing a value or use to railroads will al-
low players to ensure realistic goals
for their forces, either defending one
or with a target of capturing one. For
campaigns, they’ll allow faster move-
ment through poor terrain.
BALLOONS
The balloon was used by both sides,
primarily to scout enemy troop move-
ments, but also to spot for the new
artillery that could shoot over the ho-
rizon. The Union took the lead and
developed telegraph systems to en-
able quick communications between
balloon and the ground. However,
the extensive woodland and forests
of the US meant the balloon was of
limited value later in the war.
The side with balloons should force the
opposition to set up first on the table.
Indirect fire was in its infancy, but some
off table mortar fire might be possible
in sieges or assaulting trenchworks.
TELEGRAPHS
Both sides used the telegraph to co-
ordinate troop movements and to
remain informed as to local devel-
ttle of Elkhorn
elegraph aided
ments to where

© Library of Congress
and the Union
nfederate force
es its size. The
ent as a result
creasingly com-
rs.

ve tel-
le
e-
ments more easily.

ARTILLERY
that
e y th
er t at
l h l
lery was split into field and siege, with
the siege train being a tangible part
of the Union army; the Confederates
avoided protracted sieges whenever
© Library of Congress

possible. As a result, the Napoleon

and the Parrott (rifled muzzle loaders
of various calibres) were the perva-
sive guns in both armies. Once again,
Northern industrial output eventually
told in terms of their production, vast-
ly outstripping Confederate produc-
tion numbers. The Confederates had
light artillery batteries which moved
forward to support their infantry.

When gaming and using artillery, it is

important to note both the significant
ranges that these guns had, but also
t at man
th a y we w re use sed
d as fixed pointss
and
an d ra
rare
rely
ly mov oved
ed oncncee ba
batt
ttle
le com
om-
menc
me nced
ed, ex
excecept
pt for a few Con
onfefede
dera
rate
te
liigh
ght gu
g nss, as noted
ed abobove
ve.

WARGAMES, S & STRATEGYY 115

5
38 RS RA
ATEG
© Library of Congress Fought over the course of 1864 and 1865, the Siege
of Petersburg gave a taste of things to come: it
was not a traditional siege, but rather featured a
protracted campaign of trench warfare, in which
artillery, explosives, and sapping featured heavily.
It also marked the first use of the gatling gun in
combat, a weapon whose descendants would play
a critical role on the 20th century battlefield.

Telegraphs
greatly sped up CONCLUSION
communication
between mili- When gaming the ACW, it is important Nathan says:
tary units; this to reflect the key differences between
prototype telegraph philosophies and battle doctrine of both GOTTA GO FAST
register from 1849 was
made by Samuel Morse, and sides. The Confederacy had to marshall People ask me how I won my bat-
x

featured a slight improvement a paucity of resources and a fractured

on his original design. tles. I just took the short cut and
© National Museum of American History infrastructure – including manpower – got there first with the most men.
whereas the Union could be accused Speed of movement and firepow-
THE DIRTY WAR of having precisely the opposite ap- er is the key to victory.
Other weapons developed and used proach. When they took to the field
(or at least tested) by the armies (typically up to 1863), the Confederates
Thaddeus S. C. Lowe was the chief aeronaut for the
were hand grenades (many types), preferred to use speed of movement to Union army; in this photo from 1862, he pumps gas
stink bombs (a form of chemical ir- allow them to strike unprepared Union from his balloon Constitution into his other balloon,
Intrepid, before taking to the air again.
ritant designed to clear trenches), forces – gaming the Valley campaigns
flame throwers (tested but too unre- will reflect this – and this approach
© Library of Congress
liable), and torpedos (land mines). certainly yielded some stunning vic-
tories, but also some crushing defeats.
Another practical technical devel- Post 1863, with the Confederacy on the
opment was a significant improve- defensive, they lured the Union onto
ment in optics and rangefinders. strongly prepared defensive positions
These allowed improved accuracy to blunt Union assaults, whereas the
of long-range artillery, especially Union used the overwhelming force of
when shooting ‘over the horizon’. the mailed fist.
On the other end of the calibre
scale, it allowed for far more effec- Players must have the mindset of their
tive sights for snipers. historical leaders in order to capital-
ize on the advantages of their forces.
Weapon
W ns like torpeedo d s should ld b The technologies develop at different
plan
pl anne
nedd in
into
to a sceena nari
r o, tho
houg
ugh th
the
e speeds and so the armies will never
are
ar e no
nott ne
nece
cess ssar
arililyy us
usef
eful
ul for bre
reak be balanced after 1861. Henceforth
ingg en
enem
emy y lilin
nes, as th thee Ba
Batt
ttle
le of th they would rarely be militia armies just
C at
Cr ater
er proved! d wearing different uniforms. WS&S
Dating from 1862, the Cosmopolitan carbine's
x

breech block was lowered with a double loop lever;

like the most modern guns of the time, it fired
paper cartridges (in this case .52 caliber).
© National Museum of American History
 THE BATTLE FOR ISLAND NUMBER TEN, FEBRUARY – APRIL 1862
THEME

RUNNING THE
MISSISSIPPI GAUNTLET
The Confederacy started a series of defensive positions and for-
tifications to protect the ‘softer approaches’ to its heartland by
denying Union forces access to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers
in the West. The Union forces had the unenviable task of de-
veloping new technology that would allow them to move forces
into hostile territory and to fight and take the enemy’s forts.

By Eoghan Kelly

A
t the start of 1862, the Civil
War had not been going well
for the Federals in the East;
success was needed else-
where. In the department of
Trans-Mississippi, the key to defeating,
or at least hamstringing, the Confed-
eracy was seen as controlling the Mis-
sissippi – or enough to prevent it be-
ing used as a transport to aid the rebel
economy. At the junction of Tennessee,
Kentucky, and Missouri lay the city of
New Madrid on the northern side of
the river. The river itself went through
a series of bends similar to an ‘S’ lying
on its side, with the first bend consid-
ered to be particularly hazardous to
negotiate due to a strong current and
a series of sandbanks and low-lying
islands. The islands were numbered
starting with Island One at the junction
of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and
m that point. Island
he southern apex
at New Ma-
drid. The islands
themselves were
predominantly large
sandbanks, meaning they had ever-
changing shapes, which added to the
hazards. The Confederates attempted
to fortify the bends and the city itself to
deny access to the Federal forces. Un-
like the forts further down the river at
Vicksburg and Fort Pillow, the fortifica-
tions at New Madrid lay much lower
and were much harder to damage
through direct fire; the clever construc-
tion and mutual supporting positions
turned the first bend into a veritable
k
C
January 1862, the surprise victory for
the Union at Mill Springs followed by
the capture of Forts Henry and Donel-
son effectively unlocked the Confed-
erate defences to the Tennessee river.
There was a new opportunity for the
Union to improve its position. Whilst
Major-General Ulysses Grant was
sparring with General A. S. Johnston
in South-West Tennessee, the Union
theatre commander, Major-General
Henry Halleck, ordered Major-Gener-
al John Pope to capture New Madrid
and Island number Ten and to open up
the river to allow an advance on the
elevated fortresses further south.

Pope’s newly created Army of the

Mississippi numbered 25,000 men,
but apart from a handful of regular
army units, it was a completely green
army. He was ordered to open up the
river with the assistance of naval forc-
es equipped with one of the new-
est items in the Union arsenal
– a balloon to help identify the
positions of enemy forces and

WARGAMES
MES, SOLDIERS
EERRS & STRATEGY
EGY 115
11155 Union gunboats bombard the Con-
x

40
40 ARG
RGAAME
ME OLD
OL
LDIE
LD IER TTRA
RRA
ATEG
TEG
federate position on Island Number
Ten in the Mississippi River.
© Public domain
 Union Ironclads and a pair of Confederate paddle steamers meet in battle! Ships from the collection of Derek Stone.

floating siege mortars, developed spe- ing forces for each side. Land battles Terrain and weather
cifically for the Mississippi campaign. can be played out with one of the Cultivated land is effectively short
numerous ACW sets out there. Al- grassland with open fences. Bayou/
Meanwhile the Confederates were though larger forces were involved, swamp is difficult terrain for infan-
hastily reinforcing their defences at each unit on the board can be repre- try and cavalry and movement is
New Madrid. Holding Island num- sented by a regiment. For the naval dropped by 50%. It is impassable
ber Ten was now crucial. Naval forc- engagements, I recommend Ham- to artillery. Minor rivers cannot be
es were sent to help block the river merin’ Iron by Peter Pig. crossed by infantry or artillery ex-
and, if needed, help to transport the
garrison of New Madrid. By early
March, Island number Ten had 52
heavy artillery pieces covering the
river as well as a floating battery an-
chored offshore.

On 11 March, Pope advanced his

forces to the fields north-west of
New Madrid. He split his command,
sending Palmer’s 3rd Division to Rid-
dles Point (U1), Plummer’s 5th Divi-
sion to Point Pleasant (U2), and the
remainder of his command marching
in order of division at Point B. The
troops deployed on 12 March.

PLAYING THE
HE BATTLE
e pl
play
ayed
ed as a
aig
ignn, so th thee
The Union
th
he st
s arrt-

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

41
cept by bridges. There is a 50% land Ten had to be taken. Pope’s forces d in
chance of rain. were unable to cross without US gun- orre-
e
boats to fend off the Confederate. CSA A
New Madrid have that can see any of the Union
Historically, the Confederates chose The bombardment ships - this firing is always at extreme
to withdraw their forces across the This part should be abstracted by range and the target is always con-
river on the 13th, using the Missis- players. The Union has seven mortar sidered to be moving. Historically,
sippi flotilla, but players may choose ships, which can shell the positions the mortar fire proved ineffective.
to fight the battle at New Madrid. Fort on Island number Ten and positions
Thompson in New Madrid possessed 1 to 8. The Union can deploy its bal- The Union also made a successful
seventeen heavy guns (most aiming loon unit to help spot the fall of shells sortie with sailors and soldiers from
out at the river). There is one battery and direct actions – it may only apply the 42nd Illinois Infantry against bat-
of 42-pounder guns at point 9 and two this to two mortars. Any mortar that tery 1 on the night of 1 April, so this
batteries of 42-pounder guns at point is being directed in this way is con- could be played out on the tabletop.
10 (also known as Fort Bankhead). sidered to have a height advantage (if
your rules allow for plunging fire) and Before the gauntlet
At first, the Union attempted to bypass also gains a bonus to its to-hit rolls. The Union player must first get rid of
Island Ten by digging a canal (Wilson The balloon may not be shot down. the floating battery (CSS New Orleans
bayo
ba yo
ou ca
cana
nal)
l),, bu
but th
t i The mortars do not have the range to ) by either sinking it or boarding it
cept
cept the shah l hit the floating battery. before running the gauntlet. This will
and
an d prprove involve a sortie of Union ships against
dred
e ge The Union player gets fifteen shots the battery – the surviving Confeder-
t with the mortars (each representing ate gun batteries can help defend the
CSS New Orleans. Historically, she

© Rocío Espin
was set afire on 2 April. All Confeder-
ate guns can fire no closer than medi-
um range, except the floating battery,
which may shoot at close range.

Running the gauntlet

One US gunboat may try to run the
gauntlet of Island number Ten. Two
barges filled with coal and stone are
strapped to it, one on each side; this
will slow the vessel down by half as
it sails past the Confederate guns,
but it is considered to be a target in
hard cover and also moving for the
purposes of being shot at. As before,
all rebel guns fire at no closer than
medium range. Alternately, the ves-
sel may attempt to run the gauntlet
unladen, but then standard rules ap-
ply. If the boat makes it through in-
tact, then a second can try the same
tactic. Once two gunboats are safely
through, move to the next phase.

Heroic last stand

With two Union gunships through,
the Confederate forces attempted to
withdraw. The weakness of their posi-
tion was readily apparent, with only
a single road allowing them to retreat
he Confederates
iss
s issipp
p i flo-
on gu
gunbnboa
oats
ts.
the Conon--
with-
stor
o i-

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

42

cally), the Union player may start to
transport troops across the river; each
boat that is through may transport one
regiment across the river before the
Confederates announce their retreat
route. Once combat has started, the
boat(s) can each land another regi-
ment every two turns.
HISTORICAL RESULTS
Once Polk’s Union troops started
landing near Tiptonville, the Confed-
ORDER OF BATTLE
UNION FORCES
Union Navy western flotilla
Commander: Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote
• USS Benton (ironclad) – 2 x nine-inch
smoothbore, 7 x 42-pounder rifled, 7 x
32-pounder rifled
• USS Mound City (City class iron-
clad) - 3 x eight-inch smoothbore, 6
x 42-pounder rifled, 6 x 32-pounder
rifled, 1 x 12-pounder modern rifled
• USS Carondelet (City class ironclad) – 4
x eight-inch smoothbore, 1 x 50-pounder
modern rifled, 1 x 42-pounder rifled, 6 x
32-pounder rifled, 1 x 30-pounder mod-
ern rifled, 1 x 12-pounder modern rifled
• USS Cincinnati (City class ironclad)
– 3 x eight-inch howitzer/mortars, 4
x 42-pound
rifled, 1 x 12
• USS St.
S Louis (City class ironclad) – 3 x
eight-inch sm
er rifled, 6 x
12-pou
12- p nde derr
The Confederate ships make one last effort to stop the Yankees from reaching Polk. Historically, they retreated.
erate commander became so demor-
alized that he ordered the spiking of
guns and then surrendered his forces.
The victory was swift and complete.
Unfortunately, the same day the
Confederates surrendered to Pope,
Grant was completing his stun-
ning victory at Shiloh, and so New
Madrid was consigned to the back
pages. Not long afterwards, Union
naval forces captured New Orleans,
• USS Pittsburgh (City class ironclad)
– 3 x eight-inch smoothbore, 2 x
42-pounder rifled, 6 x 32-pounder
rifled, 2 x 30-pounder modern rifled, 1
x 12-pounder modern rifled
• 7 Mortar boats, each with 1 x thirteen-
inch mortar.
Note: Rifled guns which are not referred to as
‘modern’ are rebored smoothbore guns.
CONFEDERATE FORCES
All guns are 24-pounder smoothbores unless
stated otherwise.
• Battery 1 – three guns
• Battery 2 – four guns
• Battery 3 – four guns
• Battery 4 – three 32-pounders
• Battery 5 – four 32-pounders
• Battery 6 – six guns
• Battery 7 – four guns
• Battery 8 – five guns
• CSS New Orleans (floating battery,
wooden hull) – 1 x nine-inch smooth-
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
and the Mississippi was now closed
to the outside world for the Con-
federacy. However, Pope had made
a name for himself opening up
the Mississippi down to Fort Pil-
low (and ultimately to Vicksburg),
and his reward was promotion and
transfer back to the East where he
would ultimately earn a much grim-
mer place in history commanding
the Army of the Potomac at the bat-
tle of Second Bull Run...WS&S
bore, 17 x eight-inch smoothbore, 2 x
32-pounder rifled
Steam clean – The Confederate floating battery
has small engines to move it if needed. It was
also equipped with a pressurised water hose
that could draw boiling water and use it to re-
pel boarders. Any attempt to board will allow the
Confederates to fire as if it is a canister-loaded
artillery piece with the added effect of automati-
cally causing a morale test on any unit it fires at.
Confederate Navy Mississippi flotilla
(in reserve at Tiptonville)
• CSS McRae (bark-rigged sloop) – 1 x
nine-inch smoothbore, 6 x 32-pounder
smoothbore
• CSS General Polk (timber-clad paddle-
steamer) – 2 x 32-pounder rifled, 1 x
32-pounder smoothbore
• CSS Jackson (steam gunboat) – 2 x
32-pounder smoothbore
• CSS Ivy (sidewheel steamer) – 1 x eight-
inch smoothbore, 1 x 32-pounder rifled
43
 © Alan Perry
THE TAKING OF FORT HARRISON, 29 SEPTEMBER 1864
THEME

THE KEY TO
RICHMOND
From the outset of the Civil War, the Confederacy’s plan had been
for a mobile army in the east to threaten the Union in the field and
a series of static defences to slow and stop any Union invasion. By
1864, the nature of the American Civil War had changed from one
of open warfare to one of static sieges and defensive lines. There
were some notable exceptions, but generally the Confederacy was
forced from the offensive to falling back to their defences-in-depth.

By Guy Bowers and Ian Beal

had 25 forts alone. In addition, the

R
ichmond, Virginia the Con-
federate capital had been the
target of several campaigns
throughout the Civil War
from its earliest days. The Un-
ion armies were forced to withdraw
every single time, sometimes in good
order, sometimes with its tail between
its legs. Despite the best efforts of the
Confederate States Army, however,
such defeats were never final.
In 1864 the Union returned, with Gen-
eral Ulysses S. Grant who recognised
the need to lay siege to both Petersburg
and Richmond simultaneously in order
to outflank and threaten their supply
lines – neither city’s supply lines were
threatened until the end of the war,
which makes the sieges unusual. The
Confederacy had started construction
in 1863 of a ring of forts and defensive
trenchworks with abatis. Richmond
front lines of the Union had extensive
trenches and obstacles. Secondary fall-
back positions had also been prepared.
In scenes reminiscent of the trench
warfare fought some 50 years later
in the Great War, the Union slowly
attempted to break the fortifications
one by one, but this was not achieved
without considerable loss of life. This
sort of warfare was completely dif-
ferent from the relatively open bat-
tles before. While barbed wire hadn’t
been invented (the Union did use
telegraph wire as a trip hazard), there
was extensive use of trenches, abatis
(tree branches arranged as obstacles),
and firing positions.

The history of these battles around the

two cities is worthy of note, as they
tend to be glazed over by lazy histori-
ans who mention the Battle of the Cra-
ter (31 July 1864) and the surrender of
Richmond in April 1865. On the
surface, this would suggest static
warfare, when this sector of the
war was anything but quiet.
There were in fact a series of

After capturing Fort Harrison,

WARGAMES
G ES, SOLDIERS
S & STRATEGY
GY 115
x

44 OL Union forces changed its name

to Fort Burnham and moved in.
© The Library of Congress
 Wave after wave of brave Union soldiers assault the fort, despite mounting casualties. Models by Perry Miniatures.

offences against both Richmond and
Petersburg, which tend to be forgotten
or briefly summarized.
THE ATTACK AT FORT HARRISON
Named after its architect, the Fort Har-
rison battery (Number 16) covered the
© Rocío Espin
and Second Battles of Deep Bot-
tom in July and August respectively.
The Union assault at New Market
Heights was timed to occur at the
same time as the assault on the fort
on 29 August. The plan was simple:
the enemy could not reinforce two
positions at once, and Confederate
reserves would be drawn eastwards,
away from Fort Harrison, which lay
to the west of the New Market battle.
During the night of 28–29 Septem-

southern flank of the city, along the

New Market road and to the James Riv-
er. It was part of a network of trench-
es and emplacements that stretched
around the city. The fort was situated
at the edge of the defences and could
not be easily supported by nearby forts,
which made it a perfect target to at-
tempt to break the Richmond defences.

The fort itself consisted of earthworks

defences with firing positions for
guns and infantry. It was manned by
Tennessee and Kentuckian infantry
and probably the James City Artil-
lery. Most of the Confederate rein-
forcements had been drawn away
s near New
south-east
nto
oon
o had ad
es RiRive
ver
ly,
ly
triggering the First

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

45
 © Alan Perry
be
be 3rd Brigade, commanded by Colonel
crrosss
c Samuel H. Roberts
thee Ri
th Ric • 21st Connecticut
ly
y • 92nd New York
at
at • 58th Pennsylvania
• 188th Pennsylvania
WARGAMING THE BATTLE
WA
T iss
Th ORDINANCE
reate, quite unlike the classic Civil Two medium rifled guns and one
War battle. The scenario has been de- howitzer.
signed to be rules agnostic, with a few They may fire at the fort up until the
pointers. If we break down each regi- Union infantry assault begins. They are
ment into a unit for our chosen system, free to fire at the Confederate lines and
we get a fairly manageable amount of lone gun position at any time.
forces for each side. The Union Corps
brought ordinance with them, so they Confederate forces
have some artillery support. The Confederates have been com-
pletely taken by surprise with a
Union forces corps-strength Union force attacking.
These are all regular troops armed Details are sketchy as to which exact
with rifled muskets and bayonets. troops were manning Fort Harrison,
They are commanded by Brigadier so the following has been gleamed
Generals Stannard and Marston. The from the sources available.
Union commands can be divided
The fort itself provides cover and has
between subcommanders.
a ditch around it with abatis, which
1st Brigade, commanded by Colonel should count as difficult ground on
Aaron Fletcher Stevens the approach.
• 13th New Hampshire battalion (poor quality), placed
• 81st New York Commanded by Colonel Hughs
in the fort or defensive line.
• 98th New York • 2 heavy smoothbore guns and
• 2 regiments of Virginia LDF in
• 139th New York 1 medium smoothbore in Fort
reserve (poor quality).
Harrison.
2nd Brigade, commanded by Briga- • 1 medium smoothbore gun in a The reserve regiments were made up
dier General Burnham & Colonel bastion to the west. of second line soldiers, civilian vol-
Donohoe • 2 regiments of Tennessee infan- unteers, and/or the injured. Thus they
• 8th Connecticut try with rifled muskets, which would not have been well equipped,
• 10th New Hampshire can be placed in the fort or so your rules should reflect this. I
• 96th New York along the defensive line. would consider a lower grade, armed
• 118th New York • 1 regiment of Virginia reserve with smoothbore muskets. The re-
serves should be available mid-battle
© Alan Perry

– the Confederates did try to support

Fort Harrison, but as one observer put
it, it was a sea of blue by the time they
were mobilized.

SPECIAL RULES
The element of surprise: The Union
troops have managed to approach the
fort at dawn and have kept their forma-
tions intact. They should get the first
turn and start within a reasonable dis-
tance of the fort, within a few moves
of the fort (three standard moves). This
will vary from game to game.

Abatis and defensive trench: The fi-

nal approach to the fort will be diffi-
Confederate troop reinforcements arrive to help guard the battery from the Union assault. Will it be enough?
cult ground, with the moat trench and

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

46
 DID YOU KNOW?
African American regiments fought
with distinction at New Market.
Fourteen USCT soldiers received
medals of honour in this battle.
The Union raised 175 USCT Colored
regiments, which by the end of
the war formed 10% of the Un-
ion’s total fighting strength.

A classic array of Union troops. The Yankee forces march up and prepare themselves for the morning’s assault.

abatis. Again, the effect this has will
vary from game to game, but it should
slow the Union attackers by half. This
will effectively mean the Confederates
have four turns before the final assault.
Heavy guns: The heavy guns in
the fort cannot depress far enough
at close range (or fire grapeshot
when assaulted). Only the medium
smoothbore piece can do so.
© Alan Perry
reinforced their lines north of the
James and constructed a new line of
works cutting off the captured forts.
While the sieges were far from over,
the Union successes brought the
end of the Richmond siege that little
bit closer, and, as Grant predicted,
shifted Confederate troops to Rich-
mond, weakening the Petersburg
defences. It would still take another
six months for Richmond to fall.
We hope this article gives a new
perspective to the American Civil
War and perhaps, with luck, we will
see more Civil War sieges on the
tabletop. WS&S
I would recommend the website
beyondthecrater.com for those who
want to learn more about the series
of Union offensives around Rich-
mond and Petersburg.

Victory conditions
For the Union to claim victory, they
must take the fort and repel the Con-
federates. Any other outcome is a
Confederate victory.

CONCLUSION
After initial Union successes, with
Fort Harrison taken and the New
Market Heights defences breached,
the Confederates rallied and con-
tained the breakthrough. A counter-
on the 30th failed to
rison and incurre
ed
th
his is
rtic
rt icle
le
ver
er,,
Union troops
a ess
at

WARG AMESS, & STRATEGY 115

A AME OLDIERS
47
 A TEASER VIEW OF CAVALRY IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
THEME
ADAPT AND SURVIVE
In military history, as in nature, it is the most adaptable that survive and
win. These adaptations come in all aspects of waging war, from top-
level national strategies through to leadership learning, doctrinal de-
velopment, and that most essential of all places – on-the-job training.
By Nick Skinner
T
he development of cavalry
tactics during the American
Civil War is a good example
of innovation and adaptation
around available resources and
skills. This adaptive process is one of
the driving factors that fills this period
with such flavour, and it fundamental-
ly shapes the way that our wargames
unfold to tell the story of the war.
The Northern and Southern cavalries
adapted and innovated differently.
For one side this pathway would be
supported by innovation that ena-
bled success. The other, starved of
resources, was doomed to failure.
At the outbreak of war in 1861, the US
army included just five cavalry regi-
ments, most of which were deployed
in small detachments across the west.
This body of men was not suitably
trained or suited to the war in which
they were about to embark. This situa-
WARGAMES
MEES, SOLDIERS
ERRS & STRATEGY
T GY 115
115
15
48 A GA
AM
M OLLD
LDIIER TEG
of
rs
d-
re of
nable
n-
e
d
ve
regiments to fifty. The North needed to
adapt, and it needed to adapt fast.
The cavalry engagements of 1862 were
a learning process. For the South, ag-
gressive and audacious leadership
continued to set them apart. This ena-
bled them to carry out bold raids, deep
into enemy territory, quite literally rid-
ing rings around their opponents, but
at an attrition that the South could
hardly afford in the long run. At the
same time, Union officers saw the fu-
tility of massed charges in the face of
mass musketry, rifle, and artillery
fire. Officers of both sides learned
Union and Confederate cavalry clash
x
near Brandy Station, Virginia in this
1864 sketch by artist Edwin Forbes.
© The Library of Congress
that cava
at its m
operatin
f
was realized that this firepower could
be well supported by a formed body of
mounted troops. As you might expect,
the men on the front line realized this
more quickly than their senior leaders.
By 1863 the cavalry of each side had
developed into a potent fighting force
– albeit with different characteristics.
Union cavalry had developed into a
well-organized, well-supplied, and
mostly well-led body of men. In addi-
tion, their effectiveness was enhanced
by the creation of the Cavalry Bureau,
whose brief it was to improve the qual-
ity of mounts and equipment. With a
growing body of experienced offic-
ers, the Union cavalry was efficient,
effective, on the up, and gaining
ground on the Confederacy. The
Spencer breach-loader accelerat-
ed Union dominance.
The new weaponry
gave the Union cav-
alry the ability to outfight
most opponents on two feet
as well as four, meaning they
could take on a series of dif-
ferent roles and could hold
their own more effectively
as mounted infantry with
the ability to subject their
enemy to rapid and ac-
curate fire. And this was
 Union cavalry block the Confederate advance. Turning the tables, it’s the Confederates' turn to slow the Yankees, with dismounted cavalry fighting as skirmishers.

achieved not at the complete expense also the year in which the Union cav- war grew, the growing numbers were
of the mounted sabre charge but sup- alry grasped the ascendency against its organized into larger fighting units,
ported by the threat of it. Sabre and re- Southern rival. With the stronger cav- replete with supporting artillery and
peater were carried side by side, and alry arm, the Union army was able logistical support, giving them the abil-
both were used with precision. Never to dominate its opponent and exploit ity to operate in a role beyond merely
had cavalry been more potent. crucial opportunities in much the same scouting, reconnaissance, and pursuit.
way that a modern army might expect What emerged, for the North at least,
If the Union cavalry played the role benefit from air supremacy. Freedom was a formidable and large body of
of high-tech innovators, the Southern of operation allows an army to seize well-armed men, adding a potent force
cavalry adapted and grew to their own the initiative much more easily. to a growing and increasingly profes-
skill set. With a fine mounted tradi- sional army. It was these units that
tion, the men of the South claimed the As the war progressed into 1864 and were able to undertake raids deep into
crown not only for flamboyance, but 1865, the size of formations also enemy territory. The adaptation of the
also for audacity. Under the command changed. As new units were recruited, Union cavalry saw them emerge as a
of men such as Nathan Bedford Forrest horsed, equipped, and trained, the of- highly regarded force – a phenomenal
and Jeb Stuart, the Confederate cavalry ficers and men built their trade. Each achievement for the ‘poor relation’ of
pushed their Union counterparts to the action brought new learning. Early in 1861. The lifeblood of innovation and
limit. But the initial strength and high the war the Union cavalry had been al- investment had helped them adapt,
performance of the cavalry arm could located out in small parcels, but, as the survive, and win.
not be maintained. Cavalry units place © Rocío Espin
a greater drain on the budget than in-
fantry. Lacking the economic power of
the North, the South struggled to main-
tain the logistical support necessary to
preserve or exploit the true potential of
their mounted arm. Their cavalry, with-
out the logistical support of the North,
lacked the same firepower and often
p
y owned o r
b rrelled
ba
nging ar-
r
uenced
in-
keey
hic
ichh
tip
ip-
ar, was

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

49
 CAVALRY IN OUR WARGAMES
An ACW game that lacks cavalry miss-
es out on a chance to explore how
the cavalry of both sides operated. All
good rule sets will recognize the dif-
ferences between the cavalry arms and
take account of the tactical innova-
tions of the time. Union and Confeder-
ate cavalry are not identical, and they
need to be handled in different ways,
especially after 1863 when the differ-
ences appear even more marked. This
does, of course, make it difficult to bal-
ance the forces in any game. Just be-
cause each side has one or two units
of cavalry does not provide a balanced
game. This needs to be recognized
when balancing forces.

To command our cavalry effectively,

we need to learn how to use them.
We need to recognize ways to deploy
cavalry to maximize their strengths.
This is likely to require us to learn how
to use them effectively as mounted
infantry, utilizing both their firepower
and their manoeuvrability in equal
measure. The aggressive nature, par-
ticularly of some Southern cavalry up
to 1863, means they have real poten-
cy in short, sharp, aggressive action.
The massed charge should be seldom
seen, but we have lots of opportunity
to study the actions of cavalry when
we switch our attention to the flanks
of the main battle, where cavalry still
played a crucial role in protecting
lines of supply, safeguarding vulner-
able positions, guarding essential
transport routes, and securing all im-
portant bridges.
A TEASER SCENARIO
The Battle of Pennypacket Bridge
I like to use my scenarios to explore
decisions and tactics of the opposing
armies. The attached scenario gives a
chance to explore the differences in
Union and Confederate cavalry. The
scenario is presented as Union caval-
ry attempting to hold up a Confeder-
ate advance, but I would suggesting
playing it twice, switching the tables
on the second game to have Confed-
erate cavalry holding up a Union ad-
vance. What I predict is that the two
games will not play out the same. In-
stead, the cavalry commanders will
need to change their tactics to fit the
force under their command, whereas
the infantry commanders will, pos-
sibly, see more similarity in their
approach. The cavalry commanders
in this game, like the cavalry com-
manders of the ACW, will need to
adapt and innovate their tactics to
succeed. What works for the Union
cavalry will not work for the Con-
federacy. As a commander you will
need to adapt to survive.

The attacker:
• Five units of ‘good’ quality in-
fantry (the exact type will vary
according to the army and pe-
riod being played)
• Supporting artillery battery/unit

The defender:
• ood
o ’ cavalry
• lle
ery bat-
tery/unit

Union cavalry retreat to their next defended position. Pictures courtesy of Robin Scott-Blore of Warlord Games.
To maximize playability
y
I have been purpose-

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

50
 Cavalry versus cavalry actions did sometimes happen, but usually the two sides would dismount before fighting.

The two forces charge one another head on.

fully generic with my force descrip-

tions, allowing gamers to structure
their forces using any rule set. I have
suggested that both cavalry and infan-
try are categorized as ‘good’, giving
both commanders confidence in the
men under their command.

Briefings
The briefings for this scenario are
straightforward. The attacker, com-
manding the infantry, must drive in
the enemy cavalry and continue the
advance to join the main battle that
is raging off-map to the east. The cav-
alry, acting in this instance as flank
guard for the main body, must pre-
vent or slow down this advance.
Deployment
The attacking infantry force will ar-
rive on the road, entering the board
from the top table (as marked on the
map) with their artillery limbered. The
defending cavalry are free to deploy
behind the river line with artillery po-
tentially already deployed ready to fire.
Differences in cavalry
The Union cavalry should be well
equipped with repeating carbines and
pistols, being used to shooting dis-
mounted. They had sabres but would
only generally use them in defence.
Confederate cavalry were more able
These Union cavalry troopers have wisely dismounted, and are using a nearby wooden fence for some cover.
in the saddle and willing to charge CONCLUSION
home. They should have a mix of re- Hopefully, this should give players a
volvers, sabres, shotguns, and single- taste of how cavalry should be used
shot carbines. Both can dismount, skir- in the American Civil War – more
mish, and remount their horses. likely to be a running skirmish and
tactical withdrawal to the next po-
Victory conditions sition rather than a bold charge! To
To win, the attacker must drive off spice things up, you could give the
the defending cavalry and/or exit the attacker a unit of cavalry, but then
board. If they do both, they can claim the defender would need an addi-
a major victory. The defender wins if tional unit of their choice.
the attacker is driven
off or prevented from
leaving the table by the
opposite edge. If the
defender prevents the
attacker from crossing
the river, they can claim a
major victory.
 © Alan Perry
THE BATTLE OF ALLATOONA PASS, 5 OCTOBER 1864
THEME

RAILS AND REPEATERS

AT ROWETT’S REDOUBT
The rate of fire of rifled muskets was not significantly bet-
ter than the Napoleonic era half a century earlier. Paper car-
tridges loaded by hand and pushed down with a ramrod lim-
ited fire to around three rounds per minute. The introduction
of repeating rifles would revolutionise the speed of firepower.

By Mark Backhouse

U
sing a spring loading mecha-
nism, the bullets could be
automatically loaded with
the simple pull of a lever. The
Union army soon started to in-
troduce repeating rifles in larger num-
bers. There were concerns about the
weight fully loaded, their reliability,
and – more importantly from a sup-
ply perspective – the huge quantities of
specialised ammunition required. An-
other issue was cost, at roughly double
or even triple the cost of rifled muskets.
They were largely issued to Union cav-
alry, though not exclusively. The Con-
federates simply lacked the capacity to
produce large quantities of repeaters.
In a sample of the Army of Tennessee in
June 1864, they only had 58 Spencer
repeaters out of 49,000 men!
At the Battle of Allatoona Pass, the
Henry repeating rifle proved its worth
in the hands of several companies of
the 7th Illinois. The Army of Tennessee
hamlet of half a dozen old houses,
attempted to cut Sherman’s supply
it was a significant supply dump for
lines. On 4 October, French’s Confed-
the Union army. The storehouses by
erate division of 3000 men and twelve
the railway line were piled high with
guns were sent to the railroad town
hardtack and salted pork, along with
of Allatoona Station to destroy the
9000 cattle in the valleys by the town.
bridge over the Etowah River. Sher-
man had fortified the town with en-
Hearing that the Confederate force
trenchments, fallen trees, and two 3"
cannons during the summer and had was fast approaching, General Corse
and Colonel Rowett were despatched
a garrison of just under 1000. While
Allatoona Station was a tired-looking with the Union 3rd Brigade in sup-
port. Half the brigade arrived in the
early hours of the morning on the
5th, but the train derailed on the way
back to Rome to pick up the rest of
the brigade and they were delayed,
only arriving after the battle. The re-
inforcements were quickly hurried
into position to defend against the
advancing Confederates.

The Confederates attacked at 9.00 in

the morning after initial attempts to
seek a Union surrender were rebuffed.
The westward attack was spearheaded
by Young and Cockerell’s brigades,
who managed to clear off the Union
skirmishers and advanced on Rowett’s
redoubt holding the western advance
to Allatoona Station. Packed into the
trenches opposing them were the 39th
Iowa and a battalion of the 93rd Illi-

WARGAMES
MEES, SOLDIERSERS & STRATEGY GY 115
11155 The Battle of Allatoona Pass, as
52 ARRG
GAAM
M OLLD
OLD
O
OLDI
LDIIER
IEER TRRA
TTRA
RATEGY
TEEEG
TTEG
x

depicted in a 1887 lithograph by

Thure de Thulstrup.
© The Library of Congress
 Under heavy fire from the Union positions, the Confederate infantry boldy charge forward towards certain doom.

nois, along with the 7th Illinois with
their repeater rifles. Despite the on-
slaught of fire, the Missourians and
Texans worked their way forward in a
series of assaults on the Union lines.
The repeating rifles allowed the hugely
outnumbered Union troops to main-
tain their position.
“The fighting immediately became
furious. Solid shot and shells, grape
and canister from double-shotted
cannon, and a hailstorm of bul-
lets were rapidly and accurately
poured into the ranks of the Con-
federates as they recklessly ad-
fall back on a final layer of defences
at a star fort by the train station. They
only had about 200 survivors, but
they left behind a redoubt strewn
with Confederate dead and wounded.
French was unable to capitalize on
this success. His own brigades were
exhausted and running short of am-
munition. Hearing that Union cavalry
were on their way, and in no fit state
to carry the star fort, he ordered a gen-
eral withdrawal.
Allatoona Station proved to be one
of the most bloody engagements of
the Civil War considering its small
size. The strategic advantage of rail-
road movement and the tactical ad-
vantage of the repeaters, along with
the stubborn tenacity of Corse’s men,
had allowed the Union to cling on.
The loss of Allatoona might well have
prevented Sherman from conducting
his famous march to the sea, and all
its strategic consequences.
GAMING THE BATTLE
The battle for Rowett’s redoubt is an in-
teresting regimental scenario for ACW
enthusiasts, pitting numbers against
© Rocío Espin

vanced … notwithstanding their

fearful losses at every step they still
advanced, faster and faster …”
– Harvey M Trimble, 93rd Illinois
Regiment

In the end, the fire slackened as am-

munition started to run low, and
fierce hand-to-hand fighting occurred
around Rowett’s redoubt. The fighting
was savage and the 39th Iowa
lost their regimental flag.
General Corse himself was
wounded. After several hours
on
t to

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

53

a d
dee
de
efe
w
wh
are your favoured choice.
Regimental Fire and Fury,
Across a Deadly Field,
Johnny Reb III, Pickett’s Charge, or
Black Powder are all suitable, and I’m
sure there are plenty more.
Size of table and terrain
I’d recommend a 6' x 4' table length-
ways for 6–15mm refights or a 8' x 6'
table for 20–40mm battles. The most
significant terrain features are the ris-
ing ground and the two sets of Union
earthworks. The most westerly earth-
works can be represented by rifle pits
and fallen trees. The redoubt on the
map (Rowett’s) needs to be a more
substantial earthwork with space
for at least two regiments of Union
troops and the guns.
The area of land in front of the rifle
pits and redoubts had been deliber-
ately cleared of vegetation to provide
a good field of fire down the slope,
but there was woodland on either
flank of the position.
Confederate troops
(attacking from the west)
All Confederate infantry are as-
sumed to be veteran quality. All
infantry are equipped with rifled
muskets and all dismounted cavalry
with assorted carbines, breech load-
ers, shotguns, and pistols.
Union skirmishers run into the advancing Confederate forces. Can they slow them down to buy some time?
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
54
© Alan Perry
FRENCH’S DIVISION
Youngs’ brigade
• 29th North Carolina infantry
• 39th North Carolina infantry
• 9th Texan infantry
• 10th, 14th, and 32nd Texan
cavalry (dismounted)
Cockrell’s brigade
(six small infantry regiments consoli-
dated into four regiments)
• 1st and 4th Missouri infantry
• 2nd and 6th Missouri infantry
• 3rd and 5th Missouri infantry
• 3rd Missouri cavalry (dismount-
ed)
• at-
teries commanded
by Major Myrick
Union forces
emed
nd
armed with rifled muskets one of the infantry regiments.
except for the 7th Illinois, who The final Union regiment may
are armed with Henry repeating rifles. be positioned anywhere to the east of
the first line entrenchments.
Corse’s brigade
• 7th Illinois infantry
• 39th Iowa infantry The Confederates start the game off
• 93rd Illinois infantry battalion the table, but each brigade may either
• 1 x two-gun heavy battery at advance from the southern bend of
the redoubt the Pumpkinvine Road or anywhere
along the western table edge. The
Deployment Confederate guns may be positioned
The Union forces must be positioned off table to bombard the Union posi-
onto the table first. One regiment must tions (firing at long range, see below)
occupy the forward entrenchments. or deployed limbered from the same
Their artillery must be in redoubt with locations as the infantry.
© Alan Perry
Confederate artillery shell the Union positions.

Who goes first?
The Confederates go first, moving
their first troops onto the table.
Special rules
Confederate bombardment – If the
Confederate guns are deployed off the
table, they may be used to bombard
the Union position before the attack.
Carry out three turns of long-range fir-
ing at the Union forces before the main
attack is carried out. Union troops are
assumed to be taking cover and there-
fore should count as in partial cover
even if they are deployed in the open.
© Alan Perry
The Confederate infantry make their way towards the positions that the Union troops have been busy fortifying.
Those damned repeaters! – The 7th
Illinois have Henry repeaters, signifi-
cantly improving their rate of fire. Most
ACW sets have rules to cover these
weapons, so use those. I would sug-
gest giving them at least double the fire
ability of ordinary rifled musket infan-
try and giving them the opportunity to
have a ‘mad minute’ once in the game
in which they improve the firepower of
the regiment if firing at close range.
Rapid firing does come at a cost, how-
ever. A mechanism should be in place
to reduce their firepower as their am-
munition runs short. Some rule sets
have this already built in, but If your
rules do not, I’d suggest rolling 2D6
every time they fire and on a double
their ammunition is getting lower, re-
ducing their firepower to normal lev-
els. If you carry out a ‘mad minute’,
roll 3D6 and reduce the fire if any two
numbers are the same. If the Union
player rolls a triple, they have com-
pletely expended their ammunition!
Forward, boys! – The poor Confed-
erates are in for a tough game here,
g • 5 points for holding the redoubt
level of Union fire. Despite thiss, t
showed remarka
b averyy to re
br
thee re
th redo
doub
ubt.
t. O
Conf
Co nfed
eder
erat
atee r
imen
im e t mamayy
roll any fa
ro
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
morale/discipline test once during
the game to represent this courage.
Length of game
The game should last for a set number
of turns (I’d suggest 8–12 depending on
the ruleset). After this point, roll 1D6
every turn. On a roll of 5+, Union cav-
alry have been reported in the distance,
forcing the Confederates to withdraw.
WHO WINS?
The Confederates score:
• 2 points for every Union regi-
ment or battery that is broken
• 2 points for capturing the Un-
ion entrenchments
• 5 points for capturing the redoubt
• 1 point per Confederate regi-
ment they manage to get off the
eastern edge of the table with
less than 50% casualties.
The Union score:
• 2 points for every Confederate
regiment or battery that is broken
• 3 points for holding the Union
entrenchments
• 1 point for any Union regiment
or battery they are able to with-
draw from the eastern edge of
the table with less than 50%
casualties, still formed and ca-
pable of continuing the fight at
the star fort. WS&S
55
 A LOOK AT AMERICAN CIVIL WAR RANGES
THEME

GET THERE FIRST

WITH THE MOST
The American Civil War is a fascinating peri-
Foundry Miniatures 40mm
Range: Comprehensive
Foundry has a range of
40mm miniatures, includ-
Size: 39mm ‘foot to eye’ or
ing fourteen cavalry and 35
od where Napoleonic-style tactics rubbed up 43mm tall; 60mm in saddle infantry, plus a ‘Napoleon’
gun with crew.
against the lethality of the modern world. It Price: £5.00 per infantry or
per cavalry model; the
saw large, sweeping campaigns, particularly in £14.00
the early phase (1861–1863), with trenchworks
and sieges reminiscent of the Great War in the
latter phases (1864–1865). As the Union and
Confederate troops wore very similar uniforms,
there is a lot of crossover between ranges.

By Guy Bowers 28mm Di h

Range: Complete range of ACW models
including sharpshooters,

I
n this issue we’re focussing on innovations in the Size: 25mm ‘foot to eye’ or
29mm tall; cavalry are 45mm tall African American troops,
American Civil War. So, for this review we will be and some nice vignettes.
Price: £1.50 per miniature;
looking at all forces, particularly artillery. What fol-
4.00 for mounted
lows is a brief guide to the models available. Space
and time prohibit us from covering every single man-
ufacturer, so we use what has been supplied in time for
our deadline. For the range classifications, we look at the
size and extent of the range of miniatures and accesso-
ries, classifying them as follows: Basic (a few random or
specialist packs); Standard (has the essentials – infantry
and cavalry); Comprehensive (as Standard, but with com-
manders and cannon); and Complete (you’d have to think
hard to come up with units they don’t have). WS&S
Eagle Figures 28mm Eagle has a comprehensive
Range: Comprehensive range for the Civil War. The
Size: 27mm ‘foot to eye’ or range is being modernized
30mm tall; 45mm in saddle with new figures – the artil-
ldiers lery crew shown will soon be
A group of Union so
-model
Price: £1.35 per infantryman or
pose with an 1841 outside £3.55 per cavalryman replaced by modern figures,
six-pound cannon like
e the command shown.
x

their camp.
Congress
© The Library of

i i h b f
Range: Basic two packs of infantry in hard
Size: 29mm ‘foot to eye’ plastic for the American
or 32mm tall Civil War. The models are in
Price: £5.00 for 20 models coloured plastic and there
are ten variations of pose in
each pack.

WARGGAMES
AMES, SOLD IE S & STRATEGYY 115
1155
56 OLD
OLDIER
DIER ATE
TEG
Essex Miniatures 28mm
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 27mm ‘foot to eye’ or
30mm tall; 44mm in saddle
Price: £1.40 per miniature
rps 28mm
Range: Complete
Size: 27mm ‘foot to eye’ or
30mm tall; 44mm in saddle
Price: £8.00 for a pack of eight
infantry or £12.00 for four cavalry
Foundry 28mm
Range: Complete
Size: 27mm ‘foot to eye’ or
30mm tall; cavalry are 44mm tall
Price: £12.00 for a pack of eight
infantry or three cavalry
Perry Miniatures 28mm (metal)
Range: Complete
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or
32mm tall; 45mm in saddle
Price: £7.50 for six infantry and
£9.00 for three cavalry
Essex Miniatures has a good
range of 32 packs in 28mm.
They also have a range in
15mm. The ranges include
infantry, cavalry, characters,
a t e y, a d casua t es.
1st Corps has a compre
hensive range containing
over a hundred packs.
These include infantry,
cavalry, characters, artil-
lery, limbers, casualties,
and battlefield debris.
Foundry has a compre-
hensive range for the Civil
War, sculpted by Alan and
Michael Perry. It contains 64
packs of infantry, three of dis-
mounted cavalry, and twelve
packs of mounted cavalry.
The Perry range of metal
ACW miniatures contains
125 packs. This includes
African American heads (for
conversion), limbers, wag-
ons, casualties and armed
civilians.
Perry Miniatures 28mm (plastic)
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or
32mm tall; 45mm in saddle
Price: £20.00 for typically 40
infantry, twelve cavalry, or
three guns
Newline Design 20mm
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 20mm ‘foot to eye’ or
22mm tall; 36mm in saddle
Price: £2.10 for four infantry
AB Figures 18mm
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 18mm ‘foot to eye’
or 20mm tall
Price: £0.65 for an infantryman
or £1.35 for a cavalry model
Minifigs 15mm and 10mm
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 15mm ‘foot to eye’ or
17mm tall; 24mm in saddle
Price: £3.75 for eight infantry
or four cavalry
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
The Perrys have seven boxes
in their plastic ACW minia-
tures range, including Union
and Confederate infantry,
Zouaves, cavalry, and artil-
lery with crew.
Newline has a large range
of 20mm ACW miniatures,
including infantry, cavalry,
horse holders, artillery,
limbers, and casualties.
The minis in the AB Figures
range are marketed at
15mm, but they are more
accurately 18mm. They are
available through Eureka
Miniatures in the UK.
Minifigs has ACW ranges
in both 15mm and 10mm.
They contain infantry,
cavalry, and artillery, plus
a few unusual items, such
as Williams Gun and a Bal-
loon wagon.
57
Peter Pig 15mm
Range: Complete
Size: 15mm ‘foot to eye’ or
17mm tall; 24mm in saddle
Price: £3.50 for eight infantry
or three cavalry
Warlord Epic
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 13.5mm ‘foot to eye’ or
15mm tall; 24mm in saddle
Price: £20 (plastic) or £40 for
300 miniatures
Kallistra 12mm
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 12mm ‘foot to eye’ or
14mm tall; 21mm in saddle
Price: £6.00 for 32 infantry
or sixteen cavalry
Magister Militum 10mm
Range: Comprehensive
Size: 10mm ‘foot to eye’ or
11mm tall; 16mm in saddle
Price: £5.80 for 30 infantry
or twelve cavalry
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
58
The Pe
The Peter Pi
Pigg AC
ACW
W ra
rang
ngee
contains over a hundred
different packs, including in-
fantry, cavalry, and artillery.
The new Warlord Epic
ACW range has a set
of plastic infantry with
artillery, plus metal Iron
Brigade, Zouaves, Cavalry,
dismounted cavalry, skir-
mishers, and accessories.
Kallistra has 36 packs in
its ACW range, covering
Union and Confederate
infantry, cavalry, and artil-
lery. It also has gun limbers
and casualty figures.
Magister Militum has a
10mm range for ACW,
containing infantry, cavalry,
and artillery. The company
also stocks the 10mm GHQ
ACW range.
P Pendraken has a large ACW
Range: Complete range of 64 packs, including
Size: 10mm ‘foot to eye’ or
infantry, cavalry, and artil-
11mm tall; 17mm in saddle lery. Civilians, wagons, and
Price: £5.50 for 30 infantry,
dead are also available.
fifteen cavalry, or four guns
Adler Miniatures 6mm Adler’s ACW range con-
Range: Comprehensive tains a variety of artillery,
Size: 6mm
infantry, and cavalry units,
with both kepi and slouch
Price: £1.25 for 24 infantry, ten
cavalry, or four artillery pieces
hat variants.
Baccus 6mm Baccus’ ACW range con-
Range: Comprehensive tains 21 packs that cover
infantry, artillery, and cav-
Size: 6mm
alry units.
Price: £7.20 for 96 infantry
(£6.00 without VAT)
Rapier Miniatures 6mm Rapier Miniatures’ ACW
Range: Comprehensive range consists of seventeen
Size: 6.5mm tall
packs that include artillery,
infantry, and cavalry. Units
Price: £1.50 for 24 infantry
or ten cavalry
wear a kepi or slouch hat.

BRINGING OUT THE REALLY BIG GUNS
THEME
DON’T SMILE FOR
THE CAMERA
The technological advances derived from the Amer-
ican Civil War marked a before and after in arma-
ment, logistics, training, strategy… It was one of
the first wars to be photographed and it is thanks
to this that we now have the privilege of having so
much illustrated information. One of the advances
that most caught my attention was the placement
of heavy artillery in fortifications: large rotating
cannons that were photographed, and now we can
see the number of different models that were used.
By Alberto Mateos Jurado
I
n one of those photos, a group of Union soldiers were
posing next to a large entrenched cannon, a Rodman
gun; and it is on that photo that this new cover is based.
As exposure times were long, photographic subjects
had to remain still, so people were asked not to smile.
I began by studying the composition of the diorama, which
was to be centred on the Rodman gun and a group of sol-
diers in front of it posing for the photograph. Behind all
this, and cutting the horizon line, would be the trench.
Once the study was done and I knew
what I had to place in
the diorama, I
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
60
commissioned my brother Álvaro Mateos to do the 3D
modelling of the Rodman cannon. He, based on some
original plans of a specific model, modelled the cannon
to scale, 3D printing it together with a circular base and
some rails to allow it to rotate.
Next, I specifically chose a series of Perry Miniatures
models of American Civil War figures in metal, all of
which have relaxed poses, and added a cast cart as an
accessory to the diorama, so that it would have more
visual richness.
To paint the cannon, I spray primed it black with Vallejo
spray paint and applied a coat of Vallejo Burnt Umber
to the beam, the wedge and the rails, leaving the can-
non black. I applied a coat of Vallejo London Grey to the
circular base. Then, in the Burnt Umber, I added Andrea
Color’s Medium Brown with a stipple base, finishing with
a Citadel orange to represent a rusty look. The cannon
was lit with black plus grey, also using the stippling tech-
nique, and finally the concrete base was lit with pale
grey and white, adding a spot wash with brown to repre-
sent weathering effects.
The Union uniform is painted with a base of Napole-
onic Blue from Andrea Color, with highlights added in
Intense Blue from AK Interactive. The trousers are paint-
ed with a base of Anthracite from AK Interactive and
highlights with Adriatic Blue from Scale 75. The red is a
base of Dense Red from Game Color with highlights in
Kimera Kolors Red.
Finally, for the terrain, I used Vallejo’s Brown Earth texture,
applying some highlights with Vallejo’s German Cam.
Beige and placing some Vallejo bushes in different parts.
The set simulates a colour photograph of one of the Rod-
man guns placed in a Union fort, along with several artillery
officers and soldiers. It was one of the most powerful
weaponry advancements of the time. I hope
you like the diorama! WS&S
 THE IRREGULAR
COLUMN

HISTORICAL REVISIONISM AND WARGAMING

As an historical wargamer, the process of learning and con-
ducting research is something I greatly enjoy. The education-
gie Harman

al element of the hobby is, in my opinion, one of its greatest

virtues. A critical element of learning about history, however,
Geor
©

is being willing to challenge and, potentially, revise our under-

standing of what we think we know about the past, also known
as ‘historical revisionism’. This is a concept that is increas-
By David Hiscocks ingly seen in the wider media as well as in wargaming circles.

A
t a basic level, historical revisionism simply
means the process by which our understand-
ing of the past is questioned and refined in
the light of newly uncovered evidence and
fresh perspectives. Arguably, very few past
events we think we know about are so irrefutable
as to be beyond challenge. However, to legitimately
overturn the established view of an historical event,
any new interpretation must be supported with new
evidence or convincing reinterpretations of existing
evidence, undergo rigorous informed debate, and be
opened by its proponents to critical examination by
peers. In itself, historical revisionism is simply a pro-
cess, although it is often negatively associated with
so-called ‘culture wars’ or ‘wokeness’ highlighted
in contemporary media. This is especially the case
when revisionism intersects with societal concerns
about morality, culture, or nationalism.
As historical wargamers it is important to recognise
that our hobby inevitably intersects with events seen
by some as controversial, yet this should be seen as
an opportunity to enhance our own knowledge while
demonstrating sensitivity towards the topics in ques-
tion. However, it is increasingly common to hear war-
gamers claiming they feel pressurised not to wargame
certain periods, such as the American Civil War or
the Colonial era, for reasons of political correctness.
I would argue that someone who is actually trying to
stop the wargaming of events seen as controversial is
engaging in a form of ‘historical negationism’ or deni-
alism. To do so is to some extent to distort and white-
wash the past – it is not revising the past but denying it.
To seek to redefine or challenge commonly accepted
historical narratives of past events is not denialism. It
is our responsibility when recreating historical events
(especially when we do so in public) to ensure that
our gaming makes a genuine attempt to fairly portray
the past, especially when these events have contem-
porary resonance. Genuine historical revisionism
should be encouraged, as it is much more worthwhile
to engage in authentic attempts to come to a better
understanding of past events than to simply avoid
them for reasons of morality. In doing so we gain a
more rounded and in-depth awareness of the events
we hope to emulate in miniature form.
Many wargamers take on the role of historians and
conduct their own research to better understand the
events they are trying to portray on the table. It is there-
fore beneficial to be aware of new trends in historiog-
raphy, as these can lead to an improved understanding
of many aspects of warfare we are interested in – for
example the actual timeline of events of campaigns
and battles, tactics and training, and the factors that
influenced command decisions. A number of exam-
ples are presented here to demonstrate the critical role
historical revisionism plays in the our hobby.
While the existence of some events is irrefutable due
to a convergence of multiple sources of evidence,
new or previously overlooked sources can nonethe-
less be used to reinterpret and refine our knowledge
of historical episodes. The resulting debates can lead
to fundamental changes in our understanding of
what actually occurred. While it is by no means es-
sential to keep up with these changes in academia,
being aware of these developments does allow war-
gamers to more faithfully emulate the military his-
tory they are portraying on the tabletop.
The Battle of Agincourt is an example of a battle that
is seemingly well known but whose central narrative
is now being questioned. Revisiting the documentary
evidence, Professor Anne Curry has suggested that the
idea that the English army was outnumbered, perhaps
4:1, is a myth built upon centuries of propaganda.
Based on her analysis of the muster rolls combined
with an examination of the probable size of the bat-
tlefield itself, she has proposed that the total size of
both armies should be revised down and that the Eng-
lish were likely only slightly outnumbered. While her
work has yet to be formally published, this promises to
dramatically alter our understanding of the battle and
how it should be portrayed on the tabletop.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

64
Similarly, but to an even greater extent, the Battle of
Waterloo has been the subject of extensive and con-
tinued revision by historians, particularly in relation
to the actions of Napoleon’s Guard. The story of the
Guard formations during the battle is still poorly un-
derstood and subject to continued debate. Scholarly
discussions are still ongoing about how to interpret
the available evidence, not only about how they were
used but even down to how many battalions were ac-
tually present on the day. For example, accounts of the
battle famously had the 52nd Foot and the British Foot
Guards rout Napoleon’s Middle Guard by themselves
at the climax of the battle. More recently, historians
have drawn upon Dutch and Prussian sources which
refute the traditional Anglocentric version of events.
The ongoing debate around this moment and others
during the battle indicates that a consensus is unlikely
to ever be reached about the exact sequence of events.
In the absence of consensus, wargamers seeking to
accurately play Waterloo may find it beneficial to be
aware of these various controversies in order to bet-
ter draw their own conclusions about how they want
to portray the battle. Despite being the most written-
about battle in history, the fact that pivotal moments
of this battle are still being debated indicates the value
of being willing to revise our understanding of history.
Historical revisionism has also led to improved
understanding of the developments in tactics and
training that underpin the art of warfare on the bat-
tlefield. Examples of this include reappraisals of
the effectiveness of the English navy when fighting
the Spanish Armada or the tactical prowess of the
Zulu nation, both of which have led to changes in
how these events are portrayed in wargames rules.
In such cases, the passage of time combined with
newly uncovered evidence led to new perspectives
being developed in regards to how these events are
understood. One of the most dramatic developments
in this regard involves the rehabilitation of the British
Expeditionary Force (BEF) during WWI.
Following the outrage at the carnage on the Western
Front in the Great War, the BEF became synonymous
with the idea of “lions led by donkeys”. This school of
thought argues that its leaders, principally Field Mar-
shal Haig, refused to learn from their mistakes, which
resulted in never-ending carnage and tens of thou-
sands of needless casualties. This attitude of senseless
waste and battles fought almost without any attempt
to adopt any resemblance of tactics or strategy led to
the Great War gaining a reputation as being impossi-
ble and undesirable to wargame. Yet since the 1960s,
but especially in the last twenty years, many histori-
ans have begun to argue for a more forgiving perspec-
tive of the BEF high command. Arguably this has only
been possible due to the chronological distance from
the events in question, meaning that the social trauma
caused by the war has started to be less immediate and
raw. Fresh interpretations of existing evidence, as well
as the release of previously confidential material from
archives, have served to demonstrate that far from be-
ing moribund, the leaders of the BEF were highly inno-
vative as well as keen to make use of and develop new
technologies to support their war effort. Today, many
historians argue that by 1918 the BEF was the most
advanced on the Western Front. The slow but steady
growth in the number of wargame rules for the period
suggests that this fresh perspective is beginning to find
acceptance in the wider wargames community.
Equally dramatic are the efforts to re-evaluate the
myth surrounding Erwin Rommel’s North African
campaign (1941–1943). For decades following the
end of the Second World War, Rommel’s desert ex-
ploits were lauded as examples of German martial
skill. In particular, Rommel’s Gazala offensive in
May 1942, which led to the fall of Tobruk, has been
held up as a military masterstroke. Reflecting this, on
the wargaming table Rommel’s influence typically
translates to giving the Afrika Korps tactical advan-
tages and superior command and control abilities.
Recently, however, historians have begun to reassess
Rommel’s career, and his North African campaign
specifically, in an attempt to untangle reality from
German wartime propaganda that has influenced
post-war assessments of Rommel. These fresh reap-
praisals of Rommel’s career suggest that his grasp of
the skills required for high command, such as logistics
and strategic-level planning, were flawed. His Gazala
offensive, for instance, is coming to be seen as a short-
sighted victory, a battle that regardless of outcome had
little chance of being strategically decisive but every
chance of being ruinous to the Axis’ long-term ability
to prosecute the war in North Africa. Ultimately, this
‘victory’ led inexorably to the Axis’ defeat in North Af-
rica due to Rommel’s failure to acknowledge the logis-
tical requirements of desert warfare as well as strategic
realities. In time, this fresh perspective on the North
African campaign will doubtless make its influence
felt in how we present our tabletop battles.
Historical revisionism is an important matter for war-
gamers interested in history as it has the potential to
change and develop our understanding of the events
we are seeking to emulate in miniature. Actively ques-
tioning our interpretation of the history we are inter-
ested in through the light of new evidence and fresh
ideas is a worthwhile and productive exercise. From
an educational perspective, this can lead to us de-
veloping a new and deeper understanding of history.
Equally however, revisionism is seen by some as pos-
ing a threat to the established narrative, which some
wargamers are uncomfortable being shaken out of. A
backlash against genuine historical revisionism is to be
regretted, as one of the great assets of historical war-
gaming is its power to educate and facilitate learning,
which can only happen effectively if we are also open
to debate and discussion about the past. WS&S
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
65
 PAINTING SOVIET CAMOUFLAGE IN 15MM
HOBBY

PREPARATION
THE RED ARMY IN
AMOEBA GREEN
It wasn’t only German troops who used camouflage uniforms during
Start by carefully removing flash and
mould lines from each model with a
modelling knife and file. I prefer to
WWII. American soldiers utilized a specific camouflage in the Pacific
paint the miniatures individually as
theatre, and British paratroopers used the Denison smock during D- I can easily reach all areas. For this,
you can fix them onto small holders
Day and Market Garden, for example. But what about the Russians? such as paint caps with self-adhesive
putty (e.g. Blu Tack). Then apply the
' Torregrosa
By Ruben primer with an airbrush or spray can,
as the aerosol will create a very thin
layer of paint. I like using black prim-

S
oviets also had their own cam-
ouflage patterns, such as the
makirovochnyi kamuflirovannyi
kostium, also known as MKK or
Amoeba. Issued in 1938 in two
options (autumn and spring), it was
employed by snipers, reconnaissance
units, pioneers, and observers. Here we
will see how to paint this characteristic
camouflage using 15mm miniatures by
Flames of War. Paints are from Vallejo
Model Color (VMC), Vallejo Model
Air (VMA), Vallejo Game Color (VGC),
and Scale Color (SC). WS&S
er because we can leave this colour in
those areas that are more difficult to
reach and we can also use it for black
profiling (by leaving a thin black line
to separate each part of the miniature)
This is an easy way to add definition,
especially at smaller scales.

an intermediate layer by mixing shade and

UNIFORM
TAN SMOKE base colours in the same proportion. The
same goes for the second intermediate
colour between base and light.

Although we are going to paint two dif-

ferent colours for the uniform, we can still
maintain the coherence between patterns
if we use the same colour for the shades or
the lights in both cases. For example, we
GREEN SMOKE can use Chocolate Brown (VMC 872) for
the shades on both uniforms and/or Ivory
(VMC 918) for the highlights on both.
Therefore, the only difference will be the
base: English Uniform (VMC 921) for the
tan version and Ardennes Green (SC-45)
for the green one.

Highlights are always applied toward the

Shade Intermediate 1 Base Intermediate 2 Light
upper part of the more prominent areas of
Create the shade Mark the most ex- Use pure English Start working on The last highlight the miniature. Just imagine that the source
with a dark brown posed areas with Uniform or the highlights by is done by adding of light is on top of the model. If you are
such as Chocolate a mix of Chocolate Ardennes Green mixing two parts more ivory to the unsure where to apply the brush stroke,
Brown (VMC 872). Brown and English to create a lighter of English Uni- mix and painting
Uniform (VMC layer, the base. form or Ardennes a very thin line at simply follow the sculpted wrinkles. We
921) or Ardennes This is the ‘real’ Green with one of the edge of each are going to apply four layers using lighter
Green (SC-45). colour. Ivory (VMC 918). highlighted area. colours each time to create the highlights. It
is very important that each time we reduce
We will paint both options of the camouflage: to create the shades and lights. I normally start the painted area, so that we can create a
autumn and spring. In this example, I have com- from the darkest colour, the shade, and then gradient effect. That is, do not completely
bined garments of both colours in the same unit move forward using lighter colours to create the cover the previous colour. The last highlight
and even on the same miniature. I wanted to base and finally the light. To soften the transi- is applied as a thin line or small dot in the
represent the shortage of material, which meant tions between these three layers, we can add most exposed part. If necessary, we can go
that soldiers had to use whatever was available. intermediate layers by mixing the two flanking back to the darkest colour to repaint some
To paint the uniform, we will follow the layering colours in the same proportion. For example, shades. Remember to ALWAYS thin your
technique, where we apply consecutive layers between the shade and the base we can add acrylic paints with around 20% water.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

66

CAMOUFLAGE
Regardless of the basic colour of the
smock, we will use a very dark brown
to create the amoeba pattern: Dark
Rust (VMC 302). Use the tip of a thin
number 0 brush to carefully paint
amoeboid shapes here and there. The
main feature of these shapes is that
they have very rounded edges. Paint a
shape like a star but soften the edges.
It might help to thin the paint with
more water than usual. Try to keep the
shapes small and note that we do not
need to cover the whole uniform with
these blotches. We only need a few of
them to trick the eyes.
1 2
To paint the skin, start by painting the face
and hands with Flat Brown (VMC 984). We
will use this colour to separate each part of
the face to create the facial expression and the
fingers. Then use a dark skin tone such as Tan
(VGC 066) on the tip of a thin brush to paint
1 2
To create a realistic texture, mix water, PVA glue,
and real soil and then apply the mix with a small
spatula all around the base. Do this carefully to
avoid spoiling the painted miniatures.
4 5
To create puddles, I did not apply the previous
texture in certain areas, creating a hole.
To add definition, we can apply black pro-
BLACK PROFILING
filing by painting a thin black line around
each part of the miniature. This will help to
clearly separate each element. When paint-
ing in 15mm it might be easier to directly
paint the whole element (i.e. the pouches,
gun, belt, etc) with black using a thin brush.
Paint over the bag and pouches again with
GEAR
Chocolate Brown (VMC 872) while keeping
1
the belt and straps in black. To paint the SMGs,
use Oily Steel (VMC 865) for the metallic parts
and Flat Brown (VMC 984) for the wooden
ones. To highlight the bags and pouches, use
Beige Brown (VMC 875) for the first highlight
and then add a little bit of ivory to create the
second. To highlight the black, mix this col-
our with rose or light yellow to create a more 2
warm and natural look. Again, apply the
highlights only on the edges to simulate worn
leather. For the gun, use Silver (VMA 063) to
paint the edges, then use Orange Brown (VMC
981) to paint horizontal lines on the wooden
part to create the woodgrain texture.
SKIN
3
the forehead, nose, mouth, and each individu- second highlight, and finally a mix of Dwarf
al finger on the hands. Next, we start creating Skin and white in the same proportion for the
the lights following the layering method with last highlight. With each new highlight, re-
three additional layers: use a mix of Tan with duce the painted area while focusing on the
Dwarf Skin (VGC 041) in the same proportion most prominent parts. If needed, we can use
for the first highlight, pure Dwarf Skin for the Flat Brown to repaint some shades.
THE BASE
3
While the mix is still fresh, add some small Once it is dry, add some golden grass tufts. The
branches to simulate fallen trees. Note that these ones that I used here are from Tajima1.
small branches have some orange lichen on
them, which gives a nice touch of colour.
6
Fill the holes with Vallejo Still Water acrylic effect A comp plet
leted
ed b
base — Th
bas These
ese
se te
echn
ch iqu
q es can ea
eass-
mixed with a little bit of Beige Brown (VMC 875). ily be applied to larger 20mm or 28mm models.
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
67
 TTINGS
HOBBY

ADOBE BUILDING
I’m always torn between the flexibility of modular,
unbased buildings and the opportunity to create
visually appealing based buildings. As always, I set
out to make the former but ended up with the latter.

By Philip Taylor You can add domes – I use 45 mm

and 70 mm diameter polystyrene balls

S
cut in half along the mould lines with
a sharp knife. I skewer the base on 25mm-wide lengths

T
hese are the techniques I use layer back ex- a cocktail stick and follow the same of 5mm foamcore cut into
to make a simple single-storey posing the foam painting system for roofs. For variety,
you can also use a different colour – 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45,
28mm adobe building, but and scribe in here I’ve done one a light blue colour 50, 55, 60, and 65mm
they can be adapted to make some brickwork and then used a blue GW ink wash. lengths Glue them to
much larger and more complex using a black gether and make sure
structures. The basis of these buildings ball pen. Practice on some offcuts un- they are more or less vertical, and then
is 5mm white foamcore board. I opt for til you know how deep to make the glue them to your building.
the 5mm thickness because it gives the cut without weakening it. I usually
impression of the thickness of the mud place exposed brickwork at the base I use ready-mixed filler, which you
walls typical of these buildings. I find of the buildings or next to the doors. can find in shops or online. This I
g a pla
lan helps get a sense of the mix with burnt umber craft paint. I
b il
bu ild
diing
d ng, en
ensu
sure
res that everything fits, I used use an old, small trowel-like tool to
a d mi
an minim mize
mi zess wasted foamcore. I usu- suppo apply it, but you can use anything
is deliberately about 20  mm with a flat blade. You’ll never get a
shorter than the wall, not only perfect finish; the aim here is to get
allowing for the addition of the the texture on the outer walls and on
5 mm foamcore walls but to al- the tops of the walls, leaving the win-
low removable roofs to lever dows and doors free of filler.
up when you push down on
the corner of the roof on the Once the filler mixture is dry, you
finished building. can use your finger and more filler to
patch any remaining holes. I tend to
I glue the building together leave the cracks as it gives depth to
using Bostick general-pur- the finish. Using a small piece of me-
S pose glue, which is applied dium-grade sandpaper, gently sand
to the foamcore outer the rough texture back to a smoother
I use mount board for making my doors, shutters, and roof hatch- layer. I also papered finish, paying particular attention to
es. Simply use a black pen to score 10mm intervals onto 40mm- the corners, which
wide strips and then fill in the gaps with further lines. I like my the tops of the walls.
doors recessed, so I glue them directly into the inside of the build- h extra
ing using scored mount board in 30mm sections. Cross beams a better PAINTING
can be made from thin strips of cereal packet – though you'll
filler. I
need super glue for this material. Door handles are fashioned from I prime the inside of the building
scrap mount board and stuck on with PVA. Basically the same cut up
procedure can be applied to making hatches and shutters, though
and the tops of the stairs with ultra-
strips of
the hatches will require a separate frame. I base coat the doors
with craft paint in burnt umber, followed by a drybrushing with e length,
light brown and cream colours. Aged wood does fade to a greyish using
colour, but I do like my wooden doors to have a brownish hue. tops
wall
ally make 28mm buildings 60mm high rrel
for each floor, with the windows being to
20mm from the ground. The doors are gently round off the tops.
35mm high and 20mm wide.
givv-
gi
One of the benefits of working with . Forr
foamcore is you can peel the outer usee

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

68
 CONSTRUCTION
1 2 3

It helps to plan out your building's dimensions first. Next, mark and cut out the walls of the building. You can scribe brickwork into the foam with a pen.

4 5 6

Add roof supports before assembling the structure. The walls are then glued in place. Reinforce the corners using doubled newsprint.

7 8 9

External stairs can make for a nice detail. Apply the filler and seal cracks with your finger. Next, you can lightly sand the finished surface.

PAINTING
1 2 3

Painting the s of beams.

fine-texture For buildings with separate roofs, I filler. I then added basing materials
standard th use 2mm MDF cut to individual size of sand and grit before the priming
the bare f (which I fitted after the building had brown stage. Once the building was
coats of dar been primed). I painted one side with complete, I added some tufts, a bit
ing the exp PVA to seal, and then lightly sanded of jungle plant, and some 3D-printed
drybrush of the edges to smooth them off. The vases (in the case of my 'Mexican-
whole roofs are then primed and painted in style' structure).
a dryb the same way as the buildings.
a Mex And there you have it! By adding
different details to the outside, you
You can add door frames from 3/32" balsa strip and BASING can change the setting of your adobe
make roof beams using kebab skewers. I use the
pointy end to make holes in the finished building at For the based building, I glued the building from the wilds of Afghani-
regular intervals 10–15mm below the top of the walls structure to a suitable 3mm MDF stan and the Indian frontier to the
and just below where the roof rests. Dry fit 15mm
lengths of skewer into the holes and paint. Then re- base before the stage where I applied frontiers of Texas and Mexico. WS&S
move the pieces, put PVA in the holes, and refit the
painted skewer pieces.
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
69
U
LET’S PLAY
LET'S PLAY A COMPLETE ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL RULESET
ART DE LA GUERRE V4
The fourth edition of Art de la Guerre (AdlG) is the latest edition of the
popular rules set covering the ancient and medieval periods. The game
is easy and fast playing, resolving shooting and combat with one roll
of the dice for each player, offering a unique combination of acces-
sibility in terms of army size/figure numbers and historical feeling.
T
he ruleset is very comprehen-
sive: the first 85 pages cover
the rules, including some op-
tional additions, and the re-
maining 186 pages are fully
packed with 300 army lists from 3000
BC to AD 1520. Your basic army (of
200 points) consists of 20–30 elements
(units), each representing 500–1000
men. These are split up into three ob-
ligatory commands, one of them com-
manded by the C-in-C. Every unit has
the same base width (UD, from the
French Unité de Distance) with depths
depending on type. The basing system
is designed to be compatible with the
DBx series of games - the number of
figures in combination with the base
depth will show you the troop type.
For 15mm 200-point armies, the bat-
tlefield will measure a very practi-
cal 80 cm by 120 cm. The setup will
be governed by who has the initiative
(i.e. the attacker), who decides on
the terrain type. The terrain rules are
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
72
Kwint
effective,
electing
ing for
d each
-
based
ty to adjust some of
c
the terrain. It is very
unlike DBM. An aver-
w
a
the
give y
cts the
while a com
A Samnite
you three CPs. A frontal advance of a
player will opt for mountains, a Bac-
group of units will require one, while
trian for the steppes. Initiative is based
turning pikemen or impetuous units
on the quality of your generals and
(such as Gallic warbands or medieval
the number of light horse/light foot.
knights) will use two. Restraining im-
Deployment starts with the defender
petuous units within charge distance of
deploying his first command, with the
eligible enemy units will need as many
attacker following with his first, etc.
as three CPs. Choices will have to be
Despite the relatively low number of
made. In the beginning, with grouped
figures, AdlG gives the feel and visual
units, your corps will do more or less
effect of two armies meeting, not of a
as they are told, but once combat is
skirmish.
joined you will have a constant short-
age of CPs! It is therefore wise to invest
AdlG uses a Igo–Ugo system, where
in the quality of your generals.
every corps first rolls the number of
command points (CP) with adjustments
Movement is a number of UDs - units
can be moved by group. Light cavalry
will be moving 5 UDs whilst mobile
artillery have an allowance of two. In-
terestingly, in a V4 amendment, heavy
infantry slow down when they get
closer to the enemy. It is very impor-
tant to notice here that in AdlG an in-
fantry-based army, say Roman legions,
will ALWAYS fight after a few moves if
their owner wants them to. This is due
to movement allowance, the size of the
battl
ms
mi
h
ho
in
s.
W seventh edition).

A Carthaginian army makes use of many different kinds of units, including Iberian and Celtic mercenaries.
A Romano British warband prepares for battle, with spearmen up front, and the elite cavalry at the rear.
Having moved, all those that can shoot
– including the opponent – may do
so, with melee resolution following.
Shooting won’t let you destroy enemy
units but is meant to disrupt and dis-
organize them before entering melee
combat. It is straightforward and best
explained with examples. An archer
unit has a basic factor of + 1 against
medium cavalry. These will defend
with 0 (no protection). A supporting
unit (shooting at the same target) will
give the shooter a +1 bonus. Both roll
the dice and add their factors. If the re-
sult for the shooting unit is higher, the
target suffers one cohesion loss. Light
infantry have a base factor of -1, be-
cause fewer men shoot. If they shoot
at armoured legionaries, for example,
with protection 2, their chance of scor-
ing a cohesion hit is quite slim!
e-
ost
osst
onn
een
su-
ch,
h,
d
-
ne charg
rge
e
Support, an inspiring general and
other factors will all help! Your army
will break when sufficient units have
been routed and enough other units
have lost one cohesion point.
A game on average will need six turns
and some two-and-a-half hours, in-
cluding terrain setup and army deploy-
ments. AdlG is a ruleset where Roman
legionaries work out as we think they
should, winning (eventually) against
infantry armies (Macedonian phalanx)
and having serious difficulties against
cataphracts and bow-armed cavalry
(Parthians) – a benchmark for ancient
rules. Dice rolls do certainly have an
effect but what sensible general would
historically start a fight when the ar-
mies were equal in size/quality? Unless
of course he had a cunning plan…
Are there any drawbacks? Of course
there are. There are no naval rules
or rules for army panic cases (such
as the sudden death of the C-in-C);
flank marches are marginally useful
because the table isn’t deep; sieges
are not covered; and as battles are
Melee is roughly similar. Roman le- fast, an integrated campaign para-
gionaries charge a unit of pikemen graph would have been nice. AdlG
with +2 (their basic swordsmen heavy would be ideal for competitions.
infantry of +1 and their pilum giving
them impact ability of +1), whilst their AdlG is a very playable, affordable,
foes come in with their basic pikemen complete set of rules, easy to learn and
factor of +2. The better dice roll will with about half the figures needed in
determine the outcome. In a second comparison to other rulesets with focus
round, the Romans will have lost their on ease and speed of play. It has re-
impact ability, but the pikemen still get vived ancient wargaming in the north
their +2. The Romans, Netherlands for us, so it must be
due to their heavier doing something right! WS&S
armour, will be able
to compensate a ART DE LA GUERRE
Author: Hervé Caille
negative total. The
Published by: Onyx Editions
losing unit will be
bleeding cohesion
Format: 272-page A4 book, available in
French, English, Spanish, and Italian
points. Various attrib- Dice: D6
utes can mitigate or Activation: Alternate turn
worsen the outcome, Price: ¤40 or £30
as in many rules. www.artdelaguerre.fr
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
73
LET'S PLAY

THE NEW SUPPLEMENT FOR MUSKETS & TOMAHAWKS

LET’S PLAY
SHAKOS & BAYONETS
I recall the excitement of playing the original Muskets & Tomahawks
(M&T) over a decade ago. It reinvigorated our local black powder
era skirmish gaming and introduced us to the delights of the French
and Indian War and the War of Independence. Recently, a shiny
ollow.

By David Davies

T
he rules are primarily a skirmish
game for 20+ models a side.
To play, you’ll need the core
rulebook, which is a ‘stepping
stone’ to different eras and fu-
ture supplements.
This review takes into account the
Shakos & Bayonets (S&B) supplement,
which brings the game into the Napo-
leonic period with the various wars be-
tween 1805 and 1815. The lists include
France and a few of her allies, plus of
course her enemies – Great Britain,
Prussia, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and
Russia. There are some rules for the mi-
nor nations as well. Like the main rule-
book, it is a thing of beauty – but while
beauty alone might inspire, it does not
me.
es
er
a
ripe period for skirmish gaming?
HOW THE GAME PLAYS
The basic mechanics have not
changed except that it now uses ten-
sided dice. The original and clever
mechanic for spotting enemy troops
is similar but improved. Combat is a
simple two steps (to hit, to save) – no
additional tables are required.
Fire markers are still used, to indicate
a unit has to reload before firing again.
Close-order troops can form line (and
use volley fire) and move in column.
Volley fire is deadly, as it lays
down a template of fire – eve-
ryone inside the template is hit –
but the firing unit gains two fire tokens
to clear before they can be reloaded.
Units are activated using a card sys-
tem. Each player takes it in turn to play
a card. Unlike the first version, where
cards are played directly from a deck,
this edition allows each player to hold
a hand of three cards and select a card
to play. When you are dealt a hand of
your opponent's cards, you just have to
grin and play a card to benefit them,
hoping the new card you draw will be
one of yours. However, a player forced
to do so gains a command point, so
it’s not all bad. In an action, units may
move, shoot (or be vigilant – fire on an
enemy activation), reload, or rally.

Cards are used to activate types of

troops, so you activate every unit of that
type in your faction at once. There is a
‘Clock’ card in the new

Spanish troops enjoy themselves in camp after a hard day of fighting the French.

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

74
 tact
ta ctic
ctics’
ics’’ (ra alllly
e nenew w spec
sppeeccia al
ula
larr gu
guererri
er rill
ri
illas
lass
ing,g lig
ight
htt ca avv-
red
ed upo on,
n and n
rm
m to li line
ne be-
thes
th ese hehelplp to
vour
vo ur.

(apart
(apa rt fro
rom
m th
he
the
the ar
army
my
e of
onic
on ic
fit in
in,,
Moso t ar
armies
have little extra touches: the French can
take a cantiniere, which boosts troop
morale, while the Spanish can take a
priest, who is good for rallying troops.
As you’d expect, each army has its own
flavour: only the British and the Prus-
sians can take rifle-armed skirmishers
and the Russians can take Cossacks.

S&B adds several scenarios. “Con-

Napoleon’s Spanish ulcer; an impressive Spanish army out in force; From the collection of Bill Gaskin.
game, which functions a little like the
‘Tea Break’ card from Sharp Practice.
‘Clock’ cards are revealed as soon as
they are drawn – if the first one is red, a
random event occurs. When three such
cards are drawn, the entire discard deck
is reshuffled back into the main deck.
There are no game turns, cards simply
get recycled and gameplay continues.
The ‘morale’ card forces a faction to
check morale on damaged units; this
is in addition to the usual discipline
checks when a unit takes casualties.
Command points allow you to activate
units or use a special ability instead of
playing a card. These points are hard to
come by (each faction starts with one
per officer on the field) so should be
used sparingly. The abilities are good,
for example allowing a player to place
a card in reserve, to activate two cards
in succession in subsequent moves, or
to automatically rally fleeing troops.
Officers are much like in the first edi-
tion, having their own traits and able to
generate their own secondary missions
(originally called side plots, now called
intrigues), which add a roleplay ele-
ment to the game. In this new edition,
if an intrigue is successful, the officer
receives a gift (a special ability or trait).
There is an optional rule for officers to
challenge each other to duels – while I
like the concept, completely stopping
play for two gentlemen to ‘duke it out’
isn’t my idea of a skirmish battle.
The main M&T rulebook has three
scenarios (“Morning Meeting”, “Am-
bush”, and “Breakthrough”). The S&B
supplement adds four more: “Con-
voy”, “The Final Hour”, “Assault”,
and “The Heart of the Inferno”.
I mentioned before that the book is a
thing of beauty, but what about the
rules and army lists for Napoleonics?
They are things of beauty too. Each
army gains its own special command
ability. The French have ‘tactical supe-
riority’ – they can move and charge
(with bonuses). The
British have ‘roll-
ing fire’, which al-
lows the removal
of fire markers. The
Russians have ‘stoi-
cism’ (bonuses to
discipline checks),
the Prussians ‘re-
servists’ (bonuses to
Landwehr), and the
voy” is a standard wagon-protection
scenario with a few twists. “The Final
Hour” covers the aftermath of a battle.
“Assault” is another Napoleonic clas-
sic: storm the enemy positions. Finally,
there is “The Heart of the Inferno”,
which deals with a small section of a
larger battle raging around the two op-
ponents; players have to adapt to the
changing winds of battle.
CONCLUSION
The new edition has taken what
worked well with the old edition and
polished it. I was worried that adapting
M&T to the Napoleonic period might
not work well, but it worked brilliantly
in our playtests. Consideration has
been taken for what makes the Na-
poleonic era different on the tabletop.
While a little pricey, with its innova-
tive turn mechanism and in-period fla-
voursome rules, I highly recommend
Shakos and Bayonets. WS&S
SHAKOS AND BAYONETS
Authors: Fred Machu and Sebastien Coels
Published by: Studio Tomahawk
Format: 80-page full colour (original rules)
Dice: D10
Activation: Card activation system
Price: £24.00 for the basic rules; £20.00 for
Shakos & Bayonets supplement; £10.00
for S&B Napoleonic-themed card deck
www.studio-tomahawk.com

WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115

75
GAME REVIEWS
GAME REVIEWS
The War on the Ground
By Peter Heath
(Anschluss Wargames, 2021)
£16.00
D10 and D20, mixed alternate
turn sequence
Given the plethora of WWII rules out
there, the crux of this review should
In Deo Veritas
By Philip Garton
(Helion & Company, 2021)
£19.95
D6, card based activation
These rules promise to be fast-play
rules for exciting seventeenth-cen-
tury battles in smaller scales and are
the first in the Helion Wargames se-
ries. In the introduction, the author
gives a brief overview of events,
changes, and command – reading
this, you can understand his reason-
ing behind the rules. The ground
scale is 1 cm = 15 m, and each turn
is approximately 30 minutes.
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
76
New and recent wargaming rulesets, reviewed
by the Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy team.
be how the rules stack up and impor-
tantly what, if any, new ‘things’ they
bring to the table. The War on the
Ground (TWotG) is for company- to
battalion-sized action at a 1/1 scale,
claiming to reward authentic ‘com-
bined arms’ period tactics. The sug-
gested scales are 1/300, 10–12mm
(1/144) on a 4'x3'–4'x6' table.
The book’s 60 pages of rules look very
presentable; the font size is aging eyes
friendly, all the tables are well laid
out, and the illustrations are mainly
stock photos from the late war. There
are no gameplay photos nor many
other graphics at all – call it either
concise or sparse, depending on the
reader. The rules are presented in a
very ‘you need to know this to play
so here it is’ fashion (there is a series
of three tutorial videos online which
help with the base mechanics).
The rules are designed for smaller-scale
miniatures: 15mm and under, with I be-
lieve 10mm armies in action through-
out the book – and fantastic they look,
too. The author suggests a 6' x 4' table.
No separate play sheet is supplied, but
one can be copied from the last few
pages. The last part of the book is taken
up with six historical scenarios: Fleurus
1622, Wittstock 1636, Cheriton 1644,
Marston Moor 1644, Second Battle of
the Dunes 1658, and Lund 1676. There
is also a chapter on how to create your
own scenario. All these scenarios have
a map, an order of battle, a brief de-
scription of the historical outcome, and
setup and objectives. Fleurus is a great
game to get you started.
Army composition deals with leaders –
you’ll need army and wing command-
ers – and their quality. Also, the ‘Com-
mander’s Will’ is an optional rule, along
with being heroes. Neither are overdra-
matic, but that extra point or dice may
come in helpful. For command cards,
a normal pack of playing cards can be
used; one card per wing is needed, and
these are used to activate wings. Fight-
ing units can also be found, with early
Figuring out how the interplay of
some of the mechanics work (‘Unit
Effectiveness’, which is the morale
mechanic, for example) can involve
digging about online. A few exam-
ples would have really helped in a
few areas. Even within the confines
of the late war European theatre of
operations, there are number of an-
noying omissions – the main one
noted is the lack of any Tiger I stats.
I’m sure these will be included in
future supplements, but I want them
now, dammit!
I may be creating the impression that
the rules did not impress me; this is
far, far from the truth. What I have
found (unfortunately as well cam-
ouflaged as a brush-laden Hetzer in
a Normandy hedgerow) lurking in a
’70s WRG-looking booklet is some-
thing that feels akin to coming across
tercios representing up to 3000 men,
brigades 900–1200, and companies
200–400. For infantry, the ratio of pike
to shot is up to you and what looks
right. Brigades consist of 400–600 and
companies and dragoons 150–200
men, and irregular Croats and Cos-
sacks cover the mounted arm. These
fighting units are described historically
and can be used within the rules. The
units stay together – no marching your
musket wings away from the unit.
Basing, funnily enough, covers basing
and ratios for your brigades, tercios be-
ing 75  mm square and brigades 75 x
40  mm; you can use one or multiple
bases to cover this area. Troop qualities
are raw, trained, and veteran; the au-
thor again gives a historical note and
describes the use in game for these
qualities. For those wanting pick-up-
and-play games, there is a battlefield
terrain generator giving terrain types of
streams, marshes, hills, etc.
Deploying your troops is simple:
dice off, the lowest sets up a wing,
then take it in turns till all units de-
ployed. There are optional rules for
scouting, allowing redeployment of
brigades. Special events are covered

an unknown DaVinci masterpiece of
WWII gaming. Bold words, but bear
with me. Firstly, there is the look
of the game on the table. TWotG is
basically What-You-See-Is-What-
You-Get, with a stand of infantry
representing a squad and that squad
having a battlefield-realistic num-
ber of figures on it (seven to nine). If
you go with the given ground scale
of 1 cm = 10 m, the suggested front-
age of the stand (4  cm) fits in with
the doctrine of the time. This means
the table and action looks and feels
‘right’. This is in contrast with many
battalion-level rules that end up feel-
ing like a platoon-level skirmish.
The rules are on the other end of
the spectrum from buckets/handful
of dice and saves. The mechanics
work, and work well – a base ‘fire
number’ is generated that combines
as an optional rule and are diced for
at the start of the game using a D10,
with ten events listed and used once.
You can create your own list.
Chits or coloured counters are needed
to represent levels of order; the rules
suggest sound = no chit, disordered =
a yellow, disrupted = a red, and routed
= red and yellow. Reaching these levels
is a simple D6 roll with simple modi-
fiers; 4 or more keeps your men in the
game. What is or isn’t a flank attack is
well described, too.
The game turn is broken down to two
stages: first is orders, movement, and
combat, followed by compulsory
checks to reform wing fatigue, gen-
eral will, and commanders replaced
and moved: these checks will decide
whether you get another turn. Orders
(hold, attack, and withdraw) can be
given to wings or individual brigades
and once given can be difficult to
change if you find yourself out of
command (6" for wing commanders).
As mentioned, command cards are
used as part of the movement phase.
One card per wing from each army is
BY DAVID DAVIES, RICH JONES AND CHRIS KING
several factors (weapon, range, cov-
er, troop class, etc) and it is obvious
a lot of accurate historical research
has been done. One then rolls a
D20 to get the effect or to see if the
anti-armour shot hits. This gives one
a very ‘accurate’ feel, with the pos-
sibility of being lucky (to an extent),
and it is all resolved very quickly.
This mechanic means you can com-
bine fire from several units onto one
target very easily, speeding the game
up and giving a better feel than fir-
ing unit after unit – suppressive fire
against a well-dug-in enemy actu-
ally works like it should.
Having a turn sequence that pro-
motes continuous involvement out-
side of rolling saves is not unique.
But the actual phases blend very
well, giving the feel of the ‘swirl’
of the action. There is a joint phase
shuffled together and drawn from the
top. Each unit in that wing then carries
out its movement before moving on to
the next. No nudging a unit forward
a bit to get another into position then
moving the first back. I like this sys-
tem: no cards saying “Tea break turn
ends”. All your units will get a chance.
Actual movement for such small-scale
figures seems high normal: 12" for an
infantry brigade and 18" for a cavalry
when matchlock range is 75  mm. I
didn’t mind this as similar can be
found in the Age of Reason rules; the
high movement, if used, can find you
out of position before the nitty gritty
begins. For shooting and combat, units
are given a number of D6: two for fir-
ing and melee for an infantry brigade,
and one for firing and three for melee
for a cavalry brigade, with modifiers to
be added or subtracted. A 5 or 6 gives
a hit, with units then getting a saving
throw. Even if the tercio only received
one hit, it throws three dice to save
with a 4 or more successful. One hit
on a unit raises its level of order from
sound to disordered; two hits moves it
up two levels from sound to disrupted,
and so on. Melee is similar but the dif-
ference in hits gives the outcome. Ex-
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
(used mainly in larger games with
air support and artillery), followed
by the action phases – where one
player moves, the second player
fires, then player one fires, after
which player two moves, and it ends
with more firing from units that can.
This makes a unit’s status very fluid,
suppressive/support fire becomes an
essential thing, and it makes ‘shoot
and scoot’ tactics work without con-
voluted mechanics. Lastly there is a
joint ‘tidy up’ phase.
Packed within the booklet are many
other rules that add to the game.
Optional use of hidden defenders
and the five-move pre-action ‘recon’
mini-game reflects the historical use
of recon units. Spotting rules are usu-
ally my bugbear, often adding com-
plication for no gain. However, sim-
ple, well-designed mechanics add a
amples are given in the book, though I
found it very understandable.
Units reform using a simple D6 roll;
if you pass you regain one level of or-
der. Wing cohesion is dealt with in a
fatigue test, using a D6 with less than
7 required to pass – simple until unit
morale begins to fall. Wing cohesion
goes from fatigued to exhausted to
collapsed, with each described.
If you are playing as part of a cam-
paign or are just a teeny bit sadistic,
the final reckoning allows the winner
to see if his army can pursue, with a
chart showing the outcome.
I enjoyed these rules – they’re easy
to play but difficult to master. They
have been well written and laid out
in a manner that follows the game se-
quence. I played the first scenario after
one read. Though I used 28mm on the
required bases, which didn’t give me
the same visual effect as pictures in the
book, my son and I enjoyed it. The pe-
riod is also backed up with some great
books from Helion in the Century of
the Soldier series.
– David Davies
77
tense feel to what is going on in the
game and avoid any meta-gaming
by having an omnipresent view of
the table. Another plus in these days
of enforced solo gaming is that this
means you can still have a solo game
with ‘hidden defenders’. Five scenar-
ios (of various sizes) are included to
D-Day: US Sector
Bolt Action campaign book
By Gareth Walsh and Mark Barber
(Osprey Publishing 2021)
£20.00
D6, Dice-based activation
If this, then, is the third of the Bolt
Action trilogy – the Toy Story 3 of the
D-Day supplements – then just like
that famous ‘threequal’, it’s probably
the best of them. Albeit with better-
painted toy soldiers …
It’s one of those supplements that
causes this reviewer to pause awhile,
pensively gnaw on his pencil, and
then furiously scribble notes before
they’re forgotten. Notes with exclama-
tion marks. Notes that get underlined
twice. In between blurting things out
aloud to my entirely disinterested wife
about “bocage country!” or “Caren-
tan!”, I found myself pretty immersed
in the new content, in keeping – as it
is – with the structure of all Warlord’s
recent campaign books.
To this extent, anticipate the blend of
potted histories, new units, scenarios,
new ‘theatre selector’ lists, new spe-
cial characters, new units - and did I
mention the new units? This is what
keeps gamers interested, right? Well
… yes, actually. The cynic in me might
be inclined to give a sideways glance
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
78
give an indication of the forces you
will need for decent games.
So, do they add anything to the hoard
of rules out there? The answer is a re-
sounding ‘yes’ – anyone who wants
their WWII games to have a real pe-
riod feel should try these rules. Will
at everybody’s favourite age-old clash
of interests when gaming companies
make both miniatures and rules, but
Warlord do it rather well, and honestly
it appears that the shiny new shininess
in this instalment (like its predecessors)
just about hits the sweet spot of balanc-
ing flavoursome new rules without that
game-breaking danger of what is some-
times called ‘codex creep.’
So what shiny things might be found
in the US Sector in the summer of ’44?
Well, this is what makes it fun. In ad-
dition to the GIs finally being able to
charge into battle aboard fighting half-
tracks in the long-awaited ‘armoured
infantry’ role, we also find support
weapons platoons, tank-destroyer for-
mations, and (finally) a bit of love and
clarification for the Airborne and US
Rangers. The Germans for their part
gain access to elite Fallschirmjäger
structures and the feared Waffen SS –
including the brilliantly unique 17. SS
Aufklärungs platoon, all of whom must
be mounted in Schwimmwagens(!):
perfect for defending the boggy, re-
cently flooded terrain of Normandy.
Other forces get to join in too: players
can now amalgamate really interesting
allies of convenience with SAS sec-
tions liaising with French Maquis par-
tisans under the direction of ‘Jedburgh
teams’, and there are some engaging
scenarios provided to help them cut
their teeth, including an ambush on
a supply column. These alliances can
be dangerously fraught, though: there’s
now the option for the Germans to take
a sneaky, collaborative ‘Double Agent’
unit, to really keep the liberators sec-
ond-guessing themselves …
Generic special rules have been open-
ly and honestly reproduced from other
campaign books (which is a Good
Thing), and of course there are a few
they take the gaming world by storm?
Probably not; they are nowhere near
accessible enough to the new player or
even an experienced player who is not
well versed in WWII. This final fact is
a real shame, as they are arguably the
best WWII rules I have come across.
– Rich Jones
new ones: the rules for bocage hedges
were not unnecessarily overcompli-
cated, and the ‘Hedgerow Ambush’
upgrade for lurking Germans is clever
in its simplicity – not least because its
points-costing is subtly designed to cost
a slight premium to small teams!
I was a little disheartened by what
seemed to be a bit of a gloss over the
fighting for Cherbourg and Saint-Lô:
the scenarios feel like something of an
afterthought; the uprisings and libera-
tion of Paris also seem somewhat shoe-
horned into just four pages – including
historical notes and a gaming scenario!
There are the usual slight glitches –
strategic maps transplanted from else-
where in the Osprey stable that aren’t
explained or contextualised as well as
they might be and a couple of instances
where the scenario deployment maps
don’t quite tally with the descriptions –
but I think Warlord are getting more on
top of this. The authors make a point,
too, of acknowledging the opinions
and input of the burgeoning online
community for the game, which is a re-
assuring tip of the hat from a company
that tries to engage constructively with
its players. I wonder if those persistent
voices calling for a third edition are
also filtering through?
Overall, this is a confident and enjoy-
able campaign expansion and a perfect
accompaniment to the other two vol-
umes. I’d suggest that – as is always the
case with Bolt Action – if players find
themselves worrying too much about
potential imbalance with new shiny
things, just ignore them, mitigate them
through house rules, or discuss with
tournament organisers if it’s a ‘competi-
tive’ concern. After all, these campaign
books are supposed to be there to add
flavour and narrative, right? Right.
– Chris King
 BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS
Hitler’s Invasion of East Anglia,
1940: An Historical Cover Up?
By Martin W. Bowman
ISBN: 978-1526705488
(Pen & Sword Books, 2019) - £25.00
The title of this book should be tak-
en as instructive. That the last twenty
per cent of this book is dedicated to
sprawling appendices should be tak-
en as indicative. The fact that the Au-
thor’s Note includes the phrase “...the
contents of this book are factual, save
for Chapter Nine, in which I make no
apology for using the false document
Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard
Longstreet, sickles, and the bloody fight
for the ‘commanding ground’ along the
Emmitsburg Road
By James A. Hessler and Britt C. Isenberg
ISBN: 978-1611214550
(Savas Beatie, 2019) - $34.95
On the battlefields of the American
Civil War we are often drawn to certain
geographic locations that were crucial
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
80
A roundup of recent books on wargaming,
or of special interest to the wargamer.
technique to create verisimilitude in
a work of fiction” should be taken
as nothing less than a searing self-
indictment. Before we go any further,
I really like Pen & Sword books. The
book does not start well, however;
“an historical cover up” – surely that
should be “a historical cover-up”?
Bowman’s ninth chapter really is com-
plete fiction. It’s hackneyed, clichéd
fiction, with two-dimensional charac-
ters and a tortured ‘plot’... and it has no
place in a well-written history book. It
doesn’t even have a place in this history
book, and that’s saying something.
This is a very difficult read. That is
not because of the reader’s concerns
about the British wartime military-in-
dustrial complex covering up a small-
scale landing on the east coast of Eng-
land: it’s just hard to read, hard to get
into, and almost impossible to enjoy.
In Bowman’s defence, there are some
fairly interesting insights provided into
the infiltration of conspirators, fifth
columnists, and (later) Brandenburg-
ers throughout the Low Countries dur-
to the outcomes of the battles, such as
the Bloody Angle, Pittsburg landing,
and the Sunken Road. While we have
plenty of books on the higher levels of
these battles, James Hessler and Britt
Isenberg took a different approach:
looking at a geographic location and
treating it like the biography of a per-
son, covering before, during, and after
the battle. Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard
is the result.
The authors take the reader on a tour of
the area surrounding the Sherfy Farm,
including notable sites from the bat-
tle such as the Sherfy barn, the Wentz
farm, and the peach orchard. This tour
is in depth, conveying to the reader
the importance to the community that
lived near the site and the soldiers that
fought around them.
On 2 July 1863, General Sickles com-
manding the III Corps from the Army
of the Potomac and General Long-
street commanding the I Corps Army
ing ‘Fall Gelb’ at the start of hostilities.
Similarly, it was diverting to discover a
little more about the organization and
training of the ‘Operational Patrols’
who were to, well, operate behind the
Germans’ lines sowing discord and de-
struction should the invaders set foot
upon Blighty. But sadly that’s about it
for the real ‘meat’ of the book.
Instead, what we get a lot of is dry
prose (the editing of which could at
times use quite a lot of reining-in), an
uncomfortable amount of Fallschirm-
jäger fetishization, a dreary amount of
Churchill worship, and very, very long
passages from the writings of others,
not all of which are clearly demar-
cated. Tediously extensive footnotes
can be a means of signalling research
undertaken – and research has indeed
been undertaken for this book – but
sadly Bowmen seems to use many of
them simply for potted biographies. It
just draws the experience out.
A chapter is dedicated to the develop-
ment of radar and Chain Home, but I
don’t really think there needed to be.
It’s entitled “The Death Ray”, of course.
of Northern Virginia moved their forces
toward each other, with the focal point
being the peach orchard. Both gener-
als thought the peach orchard an im-
portant artillery position; in the end it
was not as crucial as initially thought.
Both sides paid heavily during the bat-
tle, and afterwards there was criticism
of Longstreet for following his orders
and of Sickles for taking liberties with
the orders received by General Meade.
This battle of words is carried forward
to this day in books such as this.
While leadership in an American Civ-
il War battle is normally at the front,
there are definitely different levels of
leadership shown at the regimental
and brigade levels during the battle.
This book shows the confusion within
the battle with regiments and batter-
ies showing up at the same location
trying to figure out the posting while
receiving artillery fire. This happens
many times in and around the peach
orchard for both combatants. In the

And for those of you wondering
about that made-up part of this
history book (“Chapter Nine: Un-
ternehmen Brandenburg Concerto”),
please don’t worry – there’s a tenth
and final one just before those 50
pages of appendices: it’s entitled
“Went the Day Well?” and includes
– you guessed it – a gratuitous and
long-winded retelling of the 1942
film of the same name.
It’s my privilege to get to read and
review such books for WS&S, and
I love to recommend some of the
brilliant titles we get (including
many others from the reliable Pen
& Sword) … but Bowman’s work in
this case – whilst clearly a labour of
much love for its author – is a hard
sell. I could enjoy reading a pam-
phlet or two from him about Brit-
ain’s wartime coastal-belt defences,
but that question mark in the title
takes this book a step too far into
directionless meandering, and the
fictionalised non-history is – sadly –
disappointing to the point almost of
insult. Not recommended.
– Chris King
end, the terrain that was thought to
be crucial at the peach orchard and
along the ridge that follows the Em-
mitsburg Road was less successful as
an artillery position than hoped.
This story also shows off Gettysburg’s
colourful characters, among them
Sergeant Henry Wentz, an artillery-
man with Captain Osmond Taylor’s
Battery CSA. Henry Wentz had grown
up in the area, and it does not appear
that this local knowledge was put to
use by either his brigade or his corps
command planning the Confederate
attack on the second day. Later, on 2
July, his battery was firing on Union
positions that he once called home.
The gamer out there can pick up this
book and be inspired to a number of
scenarios that can be played out on
the tabletop using current rules. For
2 July there is the skirmish between
the lines involving the 1st Massa-
chusetts and the 1st US Sharpshoot-
BY CHRIS KING, JAMES ORAM, AND JON YUENGLING
The Armies of Sir Ralph Hopton
The Royalist Armies of the West 1642–46
By Laurence Spring
ISBN: 978-1913336516
(Helion and Company, 2021) - £25.00
Helion & Company’s impressive
publishing output for “The Century
of the Soldier 1618–1721” contin-
ues with a detailed analysis of the
Royalist armies of the West from
1642 to 1646. The armies largely
fell under the command of Sir Ralph
Hopton, whose role in the English
Civil Wars is often overlooked.
ers (almost as famous for the gamer
as Sharpe’s Rifles) and the advancing
Confederates. Later in the day, there
is Barksdale’s attack on the orchard
and General Kershaw’s engagement
at the Rose Farm. For a gamer looking
later on 2 July, there is the engage-
ment between Barksdale’s troops and
Willard’s forces near the main Union
lines. The peach orchard was also to
see fighting on 3 July, with artillery on
the ridge supporting Pickett’s Charge
with infantry from the nearby Lang
and Wilcox Brigades taking part.
In the post-battle portion of the biog-
raphy, the Sherfy farm and the greater
community was to take time to heal. In
later years, both Union and previously
Confederate troops were to return to
Gettysburg and the peach orchard for
reunions. Hessler and Isenberg write
about this and how the community
and veterans interacted. After the last
of the reunions, the area did continue
to support the tourist industry, as cars
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
Although not directly aimed at the war-
gamer, there is plenty of material that
will be of considerable use to players
seeking to base their English Civil War
games in the West Country. Four sketch
maps showing the position of the ar-
mies at the battles of Lansdowne Hill,
Farnham, and Alton (1643) and Cheri-
ton (1644) will provide a useful starting
point for specific scenarios based on
these battles. Campaign maps are also
provided, which could easily form the
basis of a mini campaign for the more
ambitious wargamer.
For players who wish to represent the
Royalist army during Hopton’s cam-
paigns, the book is invaluable, with
chapters dedicated to clothing, arms &
armour, and regimental colours, and a
limited number of colour plates.
This book has a narrow focus, which
will limit its appeal to those with a spe-
cific interest in topic. For a newcomer,
the level of detail and sourcing, as well
as the RRP of £25, may be offputting.
But if you share the author’s specific
interest, it is highly recommended!
– James Oram
made it easier to get to the battlefield.
The authors even cover the tacky as-
pect of having a chain store called
Stuckey’s on the battlefield proper,
which was removed in 1972. Battle-
field preservation is never easy.
I end with Lieutenant Colonel Levi
Bird Duff on General Birney’s staff
that wrote, “In times yet to come
and long after we have passed away,
many pilgrims will visit this battle-
field.” This is true, and after reading
Hessler and Isenberg’s book, I agree
with them that “at the battle of Get-
tysburg, no other single terrain fea-
ture can claim such far-reaching
impacts as the Peach Orchard.” We
can only hope that other authors will
look to apply a similar treatment to
the many other important geograph-
ic locations on other battlefields for
gamers and armchair generals who
will refight the battles on the table
or visit in person.
– Jon Yuengling
81
 PARTING SHOTS
PARTING SHOTS
The last hurrah – with tips, tricks
and laughs for every wargamer
SIZE MATTERS!
Most of us will collect figures from
multiple sources and do happily mix
metal, plastic, and resin figures. Giv-
en this diversity, the individual figures
will naturally vary in height and bulk.
Within reason, this naturally leads to
more realistic looking armies. Howev-
er, even within a single manufacturer’s
range there can sometimes be notable
differences in scale. However, where
such differences look too unsightly
there is a simple solution, basing.
Combining flat MDF or plastic bases
with the ‘pedestal’ type bases your
miniatures can be granted a few ex-
tra millimetres in height. Alternatively,
y y
i tu
iature
ress onn th
the shhorteeer fi
or filleeer, u
ally, I th
al
t e co
th com
givve
gi
I icant building in this scale, I’d say it’s
to
sion over the heads of
the mere trooper!
– James Oram
BIGGER IS BETTER
The subject of using
matt varnish correctly
could take up several
Parting Shots or be an
article all by itself. The
gold standard for var-
nish seems to be Tes-
tors Dullcote, but as
this is hard to find, I
have been looking for
alternatives. Varnish-
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 115
82
ACW SCENERY
The Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse at Gettysburg.
Reader Bill Friend has a suggestion
for a great ACW terrain piece: the
Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse at
Gettysburg. Made by Cracker Line
Miniatures in 10mm, it is a wonder-
ful model, consisting of five main
pieces of resin, with several also in
metal. There were a few air bubble
marks from the casting, but some he
left as is – to simulate ‘battle dam-
age’. Of the few models of this signif-
by leaps and bounds the best – any
modeler that has some experience
working with resin could handle it.
–Bill Friend
es such as Stormshield from Games
Workshop are good, but expensive
for a small 24 ml container. For not a
whole lot more, you can buy Winsor
& Newton Galeria acrylic matt var-
nish, which comes in a bottle with
250ml! I prefer to paint thin layers
of varnish on my figures, rather than
spray them, so the Winsor & Newton
is ideal for this.
–David Davies
CUE!
-
e
-
r,,
vee
la
ack
n anyn
needed to
apid ad dvance
You gueuesssed
e it
I was playing a breakthrough scenar-
io. Transport and supply miniatures
are often overlooked when collect-
ing armies. This need not be the case,
given the easy availability of very af-
fordable models in different scales.
For my own 28mm collection, an
online bulk order of 6 die-cast Lle-
do trucks cost less than £20! With
a quick respray, and application of
spare waterslide transfers from exist-
ing kits, I now have transports which
can be pressed into service for vari-
ous WW2 armies. Although these
models will never rival the detail of
kits made especially for the wargam-
er, they will be ‘good enough’ when
quantity is needed over quality on
the tabletop. With a good paintjob,
they’ll look very good too!
– James Oram
KEEP YOUR SANITIZER HANDY
As someone whose hobby space is far from a
convenient sink, I have started, recently, to see
an additional benefit of all the small bottles of
alcohol-based hand sanitiser that have become
so inextricable a part of all of our lives over the
last year: I now keep one with my hobby sup-
plies so that if - during the course off a paint-
ing session - I happen to fuss the dog, remove
the cat from my painting station or (dare I say
it?) have a quick snack, I can then ensure that
my hands are clean and free from grease be-
fore picking up my painting once more.
– Chris King