WELCOME TO BE OR NOT TO BE

IN THIS ISSUE
04 FORWARD OBSERVER
With the latest news items.

07 SEND THREE AND

W
ell, this month we have a great issue for you. If you have the print copy
of the magazine you will have noticed the six FREE, superb plastic, FOURPENCE
28mm Wargames Atlantic Panzer Lehr for you The map is not the country: some
to assemble and paint. And – on top of that – we have thoughts on scouting terrain and
some more WWII material to back it up. Whether it’s random generation on the tabletop.
in the Western Desert with DAK ATTACK or elsewhere
with Das Fahrzeug Kaput Ist (“The Tank Is Busted”) with
downloadable rules, or even a scratch build for some
12 DAK ATTACK
tank stopping scenery... we have it all. But other periods WWII Desert raids in 1/72nd: a
are catered for: from the Assyrians and Sumerians (with a scenario for Dak Attack.
scenario and a themed scratch build) to the ECW and
random scenery creation, this issue has something 20 DEFENCE IN DEPTH
for everyone. As the incomparable Mel Brooks
With the latest figure and rules reviews.
rapped: “I was on a roll, I couldn’t lose, then
came D-day: the birth of the blues, the Yanks and
the Brits started raising Cain, those guys were 25 COMMAND DECISION
the pits: I was goin’ insane... Sprechen Sie South of the border, down Sumeria
Argentinian?” Well, ya gotta laugh! way: an Assyrian assault in 2000BC.

COVER 32 DAS FAHRZEUG

FEATURE KAPUT IST
Get in touch Build your Wargames Atlantic figures,
find some opponents and a tank and then
tabletopgaming.co.uk
download the rules for a fun scenario.
MiniatureWG
John Treadaway
Editor MiniatureWargames 40 BY THE SWORD DECIDED
Determining your player characters’ fates
miniature_wargames_magazine
in ECW Wargames by Arthur Harman.

MINIATURE WARGAMES INCORPORATING BATTLEGAMES

EDITORIAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE Luke Hider
45 STOP THAT TANK!
EDITOR John Treadaway 01778 395085 | luke.hider@warnersgroup.co.uk It’s a trap! Build some easy Czech Hedgehogs.
MiniatureWargames@warnersgroup.co.uk
PUBLISHED BY
HEAD OF DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Lynn Wright PUBLISHER Claire Ingram 50 RECCE
claire.ingram@warnersgroup.co.uk
DESIGN Mike Carr Splendid reading material to inform and
Warners Group Publications PLC The Maltings, West Street,
COVER: A busted tank! Figures by Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH | 01778 391000 tickle the wargamer’s interest.
Wargames Atlantic.

ADVERTISING TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL

ACCOUNT MANAGER Charlotte Lewis
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If you need scenery for your Biblical Command
Decision game, how about a Granary?
59 QUARTERMASTER
The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Modelling and scenery reviews.
publishers. Every care is taken to ensure that the content of this magazine
is accurate, but we assume no responsibility for any effect from errors or
omissions. While every care is taken with unsolicited material submitted for
publication, we cannot be responsible for loss or damage. While every care is
taken when accepting advertisements, we are not responsible for the quality
and/or the performance of goods and/or services advertised in this magazine.
62 THE LAST WORD
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advertisements. Tel: 020 7429 2222 © Warners Group Publications PLC, 2021

October 2022 Miniature Wargames 3

 FORWARD OBSERVER
News, previews and community submissions from the wargaming world
SPACENAM
You weren’t there, man...
Wargames Atlantic continue their
production rate of new and varied
models. Along with the new Boxer
Rebellion and Bulldogs that arrived
just as we went to press, they have a
new release very much in the ‘heroic’
space miniature line. Spacenam are
big, chunky models just primed to take
on ravaging alien invaders, zombie
hordes or anything else, really. They
would fit in quite well with their
Deathfields range – style wise – and
each box makes 20 models (for £30) and
has 5 sprues included. Each of those
has 22 different heads, 4 bodies and
separate packs, arms and weapons. The
torsos are split both at the waist and
as front and backs of the upper chest.
THE BRITISH ARE
COMING
Silver Bayonet figures
Northstar have some more Silver
Bayonet figures coming soon. They
are almost all British – there’s a French
woman who seems to have crept into
the production line (perhaps someone
should be told?) – but all are finely
sculpted by Mike Owen. They are to
4 Miniature Wargames October 2022
The weapon options
include standard
rifles, blast pistols,
edged weapons,
grenades,
flame
throwers,
grenade
launchers,
sniper
rifles, plus
plasma and
heat weapons and – while ‘heroically
large’ – are not huge. As ever with this
manufacturer, the figures come without
bases – meaning you can stick them
on whatever system bases you prefer
– and you can multi-buy boxes to get a
cost reduction – five boxes are £125, for
example. Go to wargamesatlantic.com.
be cast in metal and will be suitable for
not just the fantasy rules system but
any Napoleonic game that needs good
character figures: there’s a chap reading
a book, another fellow with a drawn
sabre and a British female hussar. We
have no release date yet (except
‘soon’) but they should be a useful
addition to the already impressive
range for this popular rule set. Go to
northstarfigures.com for more info.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Fire up the DeLorean...
For those old enough to remember,
Asgard Miniatures were mainstays of
the ‘80s fantasy figure gaming world
and many sculptors who went on to
work for other companies (like Jez
Goodwin) cut their teeth with them.
Alternative Armies have relaunched the
Asgard range and – four decades later
– you can again buy Jez’s Barbarians of
the Wilds range, aong with a selection of
monstrous figures like an Oriental Troll;
Basilisk; Cockatrice; Spectre; Minotaurs; a
Unicorn or some poor Victim tied to a
Sacrificial Tree (whereupon some of her
clothing had fallen by the wayside...).
Now some of these sculpts are, perhaps,
a little crude by modern standards (and
we don’t mean in the public-nudity
sense) but one has to accept that these
are nostalgic pieces of four decades ago
and most are extremely worthy of a
good coat of Humbrol (as I used to do!).
Some of the Ogres are 40mm tall but
most of the figures are in the 28mm sort
of heroic sculpt, as I recall. Check them
out at alternative-armies.blogspot.com
 BUGGIES IN 6MM
Very small SF desert raiders
Brigade sent through some of the reduced
scale, open desert buggies that we’d already
reviewed in the larger 1/100th. There are 4×4,
6×6 and half-track versions (nominally of the
Sincanmo Federation but pretty universally
useful) and they are all between 17mm and
22mm long and retail for £1 each. They are cast
in solid metal with the odd extra gun to be
stuck on. From troop carrier to AA ‘technical’
to Ambulance and Command vehicle there are
17 variants! Go to brigademodels.co.uk
AIR BRUSH MAGIC
COMMUNITY CORNER
For this month’s Community Corner
we spoke to Robert Mordak, who began
collecting and painting miniatures some
20 years ago with model cars and WWII
planes, before moving to Warhammer
40K. His submission comes from his
most recent game system, Corvus
Belli’s Infinity.
“I painted this figure using a lot of
focused contrast to bring out the details
as well as some non metallic metal
and object source lighting. The Infinity
range has incredible sculpts and details
so it’s easy to put a lot of love into the
models and try various techniques and
styles. For example, this figure has a
lot of airbrushing to build the contrast
followed by layering to bring back
saturation and other fun techniques like
stippling and feathering to really push
high saturation contrast.
“This figure was painted using my
Badger Patriot 105 0.4mm airbrush
If you’d like to submit
unity and my H&S Infinity 0.15mm
something for Comm
Corner, contact detailed airbrush for the bulk of
MiniatureWargames@ the work. I strongly recommend
warnersgroup.co.uk
any serious painter to have at least
one general use airbrush and – once
comfortable – to buy a more detailed
one with a tanked compressor with
quick release attachments. The ‘regular’
brushes I used were Raphael 8404 (size 1
and 2/0) along with some older Broken
Toad brushes for harsher techniques (do
not stipple with new brushes!). The paint
was mainly Nocturas signature N-Paint
collection with some Scale 75 and
Kimera Kolors. I used both a Redgrass
Games paint handle and MK1 wet
palette and custom built the base using
Green Stuff World’s Crunch Times
resin combined with Scale 75s Summer
Environment Terrain Kit.
“I recommend using a new technique
or tool in each project, this way you learn
what works for you – and what doesn’t
– and it allows you to bring in your
own style or unique creativity to each
project. For example I always bought
base toppers or resin pre-built bases, but I
have found that making my own bases to
be an extremely rewarding experience.”
October 2022 Miniature Wargames
SHOW & TELL
EVENTS BEING PLANNED!
TABLETOP GAMING LIVE 2022
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th
September
Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse,
Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester, M17 1AB
tabletopgaming.co.uk
OTHER PARTIZAN
Sunday 9th October
George Stephenson Exhibition Hall,
Newark Showground, NG242NY
partizan.org.uk
SELWG
Sunday 16th October
Lee Valley Sports Centre,
61 Meridian Way, Edmonton,
London, N9 0AR
WARFARE
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th
November
Farnborough International,
Exhibition & Conference Centre,
GU14 6TQ
wargamesreading.co.uk
THIS MONTH
IN HISTORY
TRAFALGAR
21 OCTOBER 1805
The battle took place between
the British Royal Navy and the
combined fleets of the French and
Spanish Navies during the War of
the Third Coalition. Lord Nelson’s
British were outnumbered but
sailed directly at the allied battle
line’s flank, hoping to break
it. Villeneuve – commanding
Nelson’s opposition – failed to
successfully respond: Nelson’s
columns split the Franco-Spanish
fleet in three, isolating the rear
half. The allied vanguard sailed off
while it attempted to turn around,
giving the British temporary
superiority over the remainder of
their fleet. The battle resulted in
22 allied ships being lost, while
the British lost none. The victory
confirmed the naval supremacy
Britain had established during the
course of the eighteenth century.
5
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
THE MAP IS NOT
THE COUNTRY
Some thoughts on
scouting terrain
Words and pictures by Conrad Kinch
attlefield walking is a hobby of
B mine that I haven’t indulged as
much as I would like. I’ve walked
most of the Hundred Days
campaign sites and done a few smaller
English battles, but the big battlefield
that’s near me is the Boyne. I’ve written
about the Boyne and wargamed it
several times, but I had the chance to go
out to the field and spend the day really
going over the ground with a good
friend who is a professional soldier.
THE DILEMMA
Battle is in some ways an
epistemological problem. A problem
of knowing. It’s a logistical problem, a
moral problem and a physical problem
as well, of course, and eventually one
6 Miniature Wargames October 2022
must get down to the actual killing. But
to act at all, you must know things. The
side that knows and understands the
nature of the conflict that it is in best will
prevail over its opponent.
The nature of the ground will always
dictate the nature of the engagement in
land warfare. Technology can help and
men can endure, but ultimately we cannot
abolish geography. The Russian army
learned in its first few days of operations
in Ukraine that attacking during the
bezdorizhzhia (a Ukrainian word meaning
‘the time of roadlessness’; also known as
the Rasputitsa in Russian) when rain and
melting snow made off road travel very
difficult was a serious error. This mistake
condemned their armour columns to
operating only on metalled roads which
made their movement more predictable.
THE BOYNE
With that perspective in mind, what
made our visit to the Boyne very
interesting was that the nature of the
battle was dictated by the ground,
but also by the combatants limited
understanding of that ground.
Three examples of this from the Boyne
battlefield include:
Firstly, King James’ army retreated to
the Boyne river and took up a defensive
position there. James II described it as
an “...an indifferent good position..”. This
was mainly because – after taking up
position – he and his advisors realised
that the river was lower and more
fordable than they had believed.
Secondly, when Meinhardt
Schomberg’s flanking force moved
around the main body of the Jacobite
army in an attempt to outflank it, they
ran into a bog coupled with a deep
ravine. This made it impossible for them
to get around behind the Jacobite army
and trap them in the bend of the river.
This was excusable, perhaps, for
the Williamites, who were attacking
and therefore had less time to scout
the ground, but it also proved fatal
to the Jacobite cause. A regiment of
dragoons had been stationed there to
protect the position and, when they
reported that they were under attack,
James II dispatched over half his army
– including the cream of his French
infantry – to hold it and went with them.
Having realised that he was confronted
by a smaller force, he ordered an attack
only to discover that it couldn’t be done
due to the nature of the terrain. This
was surprising given that his forces
had the time to both scout the ground
in advance and counted amongst their
number several local landowners who
would have known it intimately.
LEFT: View of the Boyne River from the Dutch
Guards crossing point. This river was lower than
the defending Jacobites anticipated which fatally
weakened their position.
BELOW: View from the Donore graveyard: the
Jacobite rearguard rallied here, while the pursuing
Williamites found it difficult to navigate the
hedgerows and laneways and bring their cavalry
to bear.
HOMEWORK
As an aside, if you’ve any interest in military history or wargaming in general, I cannot recommend battlefield
walking enough. It’s a tremendous way to get your head around a battle and understand it in a way that reading
a book just doesn’t convey. I’ve written about it before in previous editions of Send Three & Fourpence, but I
do urge you to give it a try. There’s any number of good books on the subject, I would recommend War Walks by
Richard Holmes, but here are the few things I’ve learned in my time as a battlefield walker.
• Togs & Vittles. Bring good boots, a decent jacket and a packed lunch. It would be a damned shame to miss
something because the ground was muddy and you didn’t have appropriate footwear. A packed lunch is useful
because there may not be somewhere to get grub and, even if there is, eating on the hoof will give you more
time on the field.
• Maps & Maps. Time spent in reconaissance is seldom wasted. Try and find a good guidebook. Have a scout
around on GoogleMaps before you go. Don’t rely on a period map. On that last point I learned to my cost when
trying to follow part of the 1848 Siege of Rome and I made Mrs Kinch walk around the Janiculum (in heels!)
because I didn’t take account of post war building. She has never let me forget it.
• Plans & Guides. Plan your route beforehand. It will save time and give a sense of the battle. If you have a good
walking guide all the better, but there’s nothing wrong with preparing your own notes. Try and break the battle into
a couple of acts and pick out the main locations in those acts. Alternatively, and I’ve found this very rewarding, you
can follow a particular unit or even a particular general. Medieval and blackpowder battlefields are often quite
small and can be got around in their totality. More modern engagements are hard to get your head around just
because of the sheer size of them, so it can be useful to pick a particular unit and follow their day.
• The Measure of a Man. Lastly, it really helps to know a bit about distances. I usually make up a little cheat
sheet with the common ranges of the weapons used, frontages of units, etc. If you don’t have any experience
using pace counts or orienteering, have a quick look on YouTube for “pacecount” or “estimating distances”.
You’ll find a number of videos there that will give the basic knowledge you need to measure and estimate
distances. This will help you “read” the field better and give you a better understanding of the challenges
involved. The truncated size of wargames units can give a false picture of the amount of ground units actually
cover, so it’s good to check your thinking against the real numbers.

work in a particular way. You might

Lastly, after the crushing of the Jacobite
right, Lord Tyrconnel quite wisely decided
to save what part of the army he could.
Falling back on the graveyard at Donore,
he gathered together a few regiments of
horse, some dragoons and the remnants
of his infantry and fought it out. The
Williamite cavalry who charged in –
hoping to complete the slaughter – ran
straight into the walls and hedgerows that
criss crossed that part of the battlefield.
These were lined by the remnants of the
Jacobite army who shot them down and
gave them a bloody nose.
THE PLAY IS THE THING
So, that’s all very well Conrad, but what
has this to do with a wargame?
Well it got me thinking that terrain
in a wargame is very much a known
quantity. You know – based on the rules
you’re playing – that hills, woods, etc
have a chat with your opponent before
the game to determine by mutual
agreement how particular features will
be treated, but – once you’ve done that
– you know exactly what’s on the board
and how it will effect your troops.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about
reconnaissance and how it is treated in
wargames (see Send Three & Fourpence:
Having a Shufti Parts One & Two in issues
471 and 472) and how it might be dealt
with better. In an ideal world, we’d be
playing back to back games with hidden
movement and umpires and all that
flapdoodle. Unfortunately, for most of
us, that isn’t really an option. I don’t
get to play wargames near as often as I
would like and most of my wargaming is
solo, so I needed a solution that was low
impact; that didn’t add a huge amount
of administration of the game; and that
didn’t gobble up too much of our all too
valuable wargaming time, while still
adding something to the experience. I’ve
used hidden terrain before in double
blind umpired games: this represents an
attempt to make that system work for
a standard two player game, though it
would suit a solo player too.
It comes with the following caveats:
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 7
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
ABOVE: Somewhere in Italy 1943, a British
armoured car prepares to scout a built up area. Note
the card!
◗ This does inject a certain amount of
randomness into the game because
there are more unknowns than in
a standard game. It probably isn’t
suitable for serious competition play
and are designed to add spice to
casual pick up games.
◗ This would probably be a bad fit of
straight historical scenarios. If you’re
going to play Culloden for example,
the terrain is – to an extent – a known
quantity. If you change that, you’re
probably not playing Culloden
anymore.
◗ I’ve done similar things in games
before, when playing as an umpire,
but I haven’t used this particular
system (i.e. generating terrain using
cards) in non-solo games.
◗ I’ve used cards for this for a couple of
reasons. Firstly, despite the fact that
they need to be prepared in advance,
they are instantly readable in a way
that having to roll on a chart isn’t and
that saves time at the gaming table.
Secondly, the card drawn can be placed
under the terrain feature and is therefore
a quick and easy way of recording
the state of the terrain in a way that is
immediately accessible to both players.
Lastly, a player can count what cards
have come up and thereby hazard a
guess as to which cards are more likely
to come up. I like this as it introduces an
8 Miniature Wargames October 2022
element of player skill and represents –
in my mind – the General trying to read
the ground. However, if this bothers
you, simply draw a card, note the result
on a piece of paper and slip it under the
terrain feature and reshuffle the deck
after every draw.
I used a set of standard playing cards
and wrote on some sticky labels to make
my deck of cards as it was cheap, quick
and took about half an hour.
RULES
These rules assume a 20th century (Second
World War era) battle and that the game
features between 5-7 units and a table of
approximately 6 x 4 with between 8-10
terrain features on it or possibly more.
I’ve messed around with them a bit using
Memoir ‘44, but I think they’d be a good
fit for Rapid Fire or similar brigade level
games. I’ve aimed the examples below
at the European Theatre and I’ve tried to
keep them quite generic so that they can
suit more types of games, but there’s no
reason the idea couldn’t be adapted to
other periods/theatres.
PRE-GAME SCOUTING
Each player begins the game with three
Scouting Points. Each player gains an
additional point for the following:
◗ Player is defending.
◗ Player has more infantry scout units
(recce, Razvedcheki, pathfinders, etc)
than the enemy.
◗ Player has air superiority (decide on a
theatre-by-theatre basis)
◗ Player has more armoured cars (or other
motorised scout units) than the enemy.
◗ Player has more armour units than the
enemy.
◗ Player has local militia, homeguard or
partisan units in his army.
Adjust this up or down depending on
the circumstances. For example, if your
ABOVE: The reveal! An armoured car from the recce
platoon scout a built up area and discover that the
way ahead will be blocked by refugees which will
slow the columns advance.
scenario involves a German paratrooper
assaults against some Belgian fortress
troops, I would suggest giving the
Belgians additional points as they will
have spent years garrisoned in that
location. Likewise, American troops in
1945 facing local Volksturm would face
foes who knew their ground even if they
had few other resources.
Prior to deployment, but after the
board is set up, the player with the larger
number of Scouting Points can select a
feature to scout. Each point allows the
player to scout one terrain feature, draw
the appropriate card and put it under
the terrain feature. Once they have
completed their scouting, the second
player may then scout.
Each player must spend at least half
of their points scouting terrain in their
deployment area and may not spend any
on terrain features in their opponents
deployment area. However there’s one
exception!
◗ Scouting Exception: If the player has
air superiority, they may spend up to
two points on terrain features in their
opponents deployment area.
If a player scouts a terrain feature that has
already been scouted by their opponent,
they simply take the card from underneath
the terrain feature and may read it.
Once the game begins, terrain is
scouted once a unit moves into it.
TERRAIN: A TURN OF THE CARD
Let’s split these up:
WOODS
◗ Ace: Young growth. There area large
number of small trees, with very little
undergrowth. Block line of sight and
offers concealment. Difficult ground for
armour and vehicles. Light cover from
fire coming from outside the feature. No
cover for infantry fire within the feature.
◗ Two: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for armour and
vehicles. Light cover from fire.
◗ Three: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for armour and
vehicles. Light cover from fire.
◗ Four: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for armour and
vehicles. Small streams represent a
bogging risk for vehicles, who become
stuck on a roll of 5+ on a d6 and must
unbog on a further 5+ on following
turns. Light cover from fire.
◗ Five: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for all units. Light
cover from fire.
◗ Six: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for all units. Light
cover from fire.
◗ Seven: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for all units, however
open paths exist. Units moving North-
South or South-North may treat it as
open ground for movement purposes.
Light cover from fire.
◗ Eight: Standard managed forest. Mix
of mature and young growth. Block
line of sight and offers concealment.
Difficult ground for all units, however
open paths exist. Units moving North-
South or South-North may treat it as
open ground for movement purposes.
Light cover from fire.
◗ Nine: Old forest with little
management. Extensive undergrowth
and very broken ground. Blocks
line of sight. Vehicles entering this
feature stop immediately and may not
progress further. Roll 4+ on d6 to get
out. Very difficult ground for infantry.
Heavy cover from fire.
◗ Ten: Old forest with little
management. Blocks line of sight.
Very difficult ground for all vehicles,
difficult ground for infantry. Heavy
cover from fire. Streams and boggy
ABOVE: Somewhere in Italy 1943. The advancing
armoured column knows the state of the road and
the hedgerows around it, but will need to scout (note
cards) the wooded area to the east.
ground running east-west make it
impassable for vehicles moving north-
south or south-north.
◗ Jack: Managed forest, mostly
cleared. Block line of sight and offers
concealment from outside the feature.
Extensive clearings mean that units
have no cover from indirect fire or
from fire from within the feature.
Difficult ground for vehicles, treat
as open ground for infantry. Light
cover from direct fire from outside the
feature.
◗ Queen: Standard managed forest.
Block line of sight and offers
concealment. Difficult ground for
all units. Light cover from fire for all
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 9
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
units, however there are abandoned
stone buildings within the forest
which offer hard cover to infantry.
◗ King: Draw again to determine
the nature of wooded feature but
also nominate an area 6” by 6”
touching the feature. This area
is riddled with drainage ditches,
hollows and boggy ground.
Impassable to vehicles, difficult
ground for infantry. Counts as
improvised trenches for infantry.
BUILT UP AREA
◗ Ace: Light urban area. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Light cover
from fire.
◗ Two: Light urban area. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Light cover
from fire.
◗ Three: Light urban area. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Light cover from
fire. Due to good roads and squares,
units moving North-South or South-
North may treat it as open ground for
movement purposes.
◗ Four: Light urban area. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Light cover from
fire. Due to good roads and squares,
units moving East-West or West-
East may treat it as open ground for
movement purposes.
◗ Five: Dense development. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Hard cover from
fire. Due to good roads and squares,
units moving North-South or South-
North may treat it as open ground for
movement purposes.
◗ Six: Dense development. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Hard cover from
fire. Refugees present, blocking roads
and slowing movement. Unit’s must
move refugees (5+ on d6, 3+ if military
police) before attempting to exit the
area. Unit may attempt to gather
10 Miniature Wargames October 2022
ABOVE: Somewhere in Italy 1943, an infantry patrol
moves through a vineyard.
intelligence from refugees (5+ on d6),
if successful, scout nearest terrain
feature for free.
◗ Seven: Dense development. Block
line of sight and offer concealment.
Difficult ground for all units. Hard
cover from fire.
◗ Eight: Dense development. Block
line of sight and offer concealment.
Difficult ground for all units. Hard
cover from fire. Area contains sturdy
stone church/town hall, which
one infantry unit may treat as an
improvised bunker.
◗ Nine: Suburban area. Block line of
sight and offer concealment.
Difficult ground for armour and
vehicles, infantry may move as open
due to extensive gardens. Hard cover
from fire.
◗ Ten: Suburban area. Block line of sight
and offer concealment. Difficult ground
for armour and vehicles, infantry
may move as open due to extensive
gardens. Hard cover from fire.
◗ Jack: Dense development. Block
line of sight and offer concealment.
Difficult ground for all units. Hard
cover from fire. Extensive under-street
cellars mean that armour is in danger
of being immobilised. Any armour
unit moving through the area will be
immobilised on a 6 on a d6.
◗ Queen: Light urban area. Block line of
sight and offer concealment. Difficult
ground for all units. Light cover from
fire. Local sympathisers are present
and make themselves known. Unit
may attempt to gather intelligence
from refugees (5+ on d6), if successful,
scout one terrain feature for free.
◗ King: Fuel/Munitions dump. Draw
an additional card to determine
the nature of the Build Up Area.
Nominate one armour/vehicle unit
within twelve inches of the BUA,
this unit may immediately take a
free move. If the BUA is hit by HE or
artillery fire, roll d6. On a 6, the fire
causes a massive explosion/fire.
Mark the area with smoke. Units in
the area have two turns to vacate or
be destroyed.
IN CONCLUSION
This is a bit of an experiment and I
would be surprised if someone else
hasn’t come up with something similar.
I don’t think it would work for hills,
changes in elevation, etc as those are
fairly self evident, but it could work for
rivers, rough ground and hedgerows. It
added extra interest to the solo games
I tried it in (and gave my Daimler
armoured cars something to do!), but
this is more of a proof of concept than a
fully realised terrain generation system.
If you do try it and find it useful, drop
me a line at conrad.kinch@gmail.com or @
aquestingvole on Twitter. ■
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 An LRDG scenario using DAK ATTACK
Words by Brendan Wheatley. Photos by the Author & Editor

have been a wargamer for over fifty years now and

I
ABOVE &
have always enjoyed not only the games but also RIGHT
Stirling’s Top
making and painting models and scratch building Raiders game
scenery. The other part of the hobby I enjoy is writing with jeeps
my own sets of rules for personal use. Playing solo games attacking a
desert airfield
has always been a fun part of the hobby as I am sure it with blown
is with many gamers. Short, small one hour games as up 109s and
well as full campaigns are all grist to the wargamers Stukas by the
Maidenhead
mill. For some time I had been contemplating the idea Reapers at newspaper. I was immediately hooked and wanted to
of short one hour games which could develop into a Colours 2018. find out as much as possible about this amazing unit
series of connected games, a sort of mini campaign but called The Long Range Desert Group.
BOTTOM RIGHT
not involving a huge number of figures. The rules were Akrika Korps After reading several books about their history and
to be simple to remember with as few charts as possible deploy from exploits I began to formulate a few ideas. The units
and a certain amount of character development. Most a Mercedes involved were not big and there was a lot of action. I
Truck. From
importantly they were to be a solo game with multi the Author's knew this was exactly what I had been looking for. Two
player option as opposed to the other way around. The collection. years later – and after lots of play testing with friends
dilemma was what period and what scale. and their encouragement – I decided to publish the
rules and called them DAK ATTACK
THE EUREKA MOMENT
It started on celluloid. How many gamers get inspired IN THE BEGINNING...
by watching a film? My Seven Years War project was First off, I’ll lay out a brief history of The Long Range
inspired by the film Barry Lyndon and my Sudan Desert Group. It was the brain child of Major Ralph
game by The Four Feathers and so on. The film which Bagnold. Between the wars Bagnold had been a
inspired me this time was Sea Of Sand with Richard geographer and desert explorer. He and his fellow
Attenborough released in 1958. I had never seen it explorers had gained extensive knowledge of desert
until a few years ago when it was a free DVD in a travel, survival and navigation in the vast desert of

12 Miniature Wargames October 2022

North Africa. When Italy joined the war in 1940 Egypt
was under serious threat. Britain’s commander in Chief
at the time was Sir Archibald Wavell. Wavell desperately
needed intelligence of the Italian dispositions and
Southern Libya was out of range for arial reconnaissance.
So when Bagnold offered Wavell his assistance using
the skills and techniques gained through years of desert
travel Wavell gave him six weeks to recruit volunteers to
form what was originally called The Long Range Patrol
Unit [LRP]. The call went out for volunteers “who do not
mind a hard life, scanty food, little water, lots of discomfort and
possess stamina and initiative”.
The first patrol was formed almost exclusively of
New Zealanders. After early successes other patrols
were added from the Coldstream Guards and the
Scott’s Guards. They then became known as The Long
Range Desert Group [LRDG]. Later they expanded
further to include the Southern Rhodesian and British
Yeomanry patrols. Their main duty was “road watch”:
deep behind enemy lines they would observe all
enemy traffic, noting numbers of vehicles, type and
unit insignia, all of which was then radioed back to
Head Quarters. This was tedious – and extremely
dangerous – work with two man teams taking turns
twelve hours on and twelve hours off, twenty four
hours a day for days on end only a few meters from the
road, all the while camouflaged, in extreme heat during
the day and freezing cold during the night. They did
at this time also undertake some offensive operations
such as destroying railway lines and even attacking
Italian held Taku forts. The vehicles used at this time
were Ford trucks armed with machine guns, mortars,
Boys anti-tank rifle and even a Bofors gun.
FAST FORWARD TO LATE 1942
By this time they had changed vehicles from the old
Fords to Canadian made Chevrolets and the ubiquitous
Jeep. The normal organisation would be a Half Patrol
although this might change depending on the
mission. A half patrol would consist of two Jeeps, one
for the officer in charge – perhaps a lieutenant – and the
other for the second in command; usually a sergeant.
Then there would be four Chevy trucks. One truck
would be designated a fitter or repair truck one
the radio truck one would contain the Breda heavy
weapon plus a fourth truck and all took part in
any action. The armament on the vehicles had been
vastly increased with Vickers double barrelled ‘K’
machine guns, Browning heavy machine guns and
captured Italian Breda quick firing 2cm auto cannon.
With this amount of fire power they had become a
formidable fighting unit. Although unable to take on
heavy armour in any sort of pitched battle they were
now “up gunned” sufficiently to undertake more
aggressive actions.
Their main function was still “road watch” but on
return journeys they would undertake “hit and run”
actions or what they called “beat ups”. The biggest
threat to the LRDG on missions were air attacks and
German or Italian patrols specifically sent into the
desert to hunt them down.
VEHICLES & FIGURES
For the LRDG half patrol, as I described, you will
need two Jeeps and Four trucks with crew plus half a
dozen figures on foot. An essential part of the game
is the Axis (German or Italian) patrol consisting of an
armoured car such as the German Sdkfz 222 or Italian
Autoblinda AS 42 along with a couple of motorcycles
and a Kubelwagon or Italian equivalent. Minimally
three squads of infantry each of ten figures including
a machine gun team of three figures. Other vehicles
or planes along with fuel dumps are used purely as
targets for the LRDG to destroy.
SCALE
Any scale of figures can be used. All measurements in the
rules are in inches which are suitable for 20 or 28mm scale
on a standard 6ft x 4ft table or larger. If using 15mm scale
figures, I suggest the usual method of using the same
numbers but in centimetres instead of inches. My own
figures and vehicles are 20mm scale of various makes.
DAK ATTACK CAMPAIGN
Obviously, you’ll need a set of rules to play the
scenario. They come with all of the card sets needed to
play the campaign system. When using the rules, the
first decision to make is on the length of the campaign.
This could be anything up to ten or twelve games. The
campaign is card driven and each card represents a
twenty four hour period on the LRDG return journey
back to base from a primary mission. One card is taken
for each day you have chosen for the campaign to last.
The cards taken are “blind” so you do not know what
lies in store for any twenty four hours.
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 13
 DESERT DUMP ATTACK
ABOVE IT’S ON THE CARDS
The classic LRDG Turn over the top card follow the instructions which
half patrol fully
deployed and will not only tell you your target but also indicate
ready for action! possible defenders which are drawn from a separate
For the Author's pack of cards provided. These cards contain blanks so
models.
you will never know the exact strength of the enemy
RIGHT or their position. At the end of the game add up points
LRDG blow a of enemy assets destroyed and also points (if any) lost
searchlight at
an airfield. By from your patrol. That is day one. Now pick up the
the Maidenhead next card for day two and repeat the process using
Reapers at what remains of your patrol from the previous day. As
Colours 2018.
you can see, day after day your patrol may take losses.
When – or if – you get back to base, add up the points
of all enemy assets destroyed and add up points lost. If
you have destroyed 100% more of the enemy than you
have lost then the mission has been a success.
DEMONSTRATION GAMES
For the demonstration games I decided on a solo seven
day mission. My Half Patrol consisted of two Jeeps
three Chevrolets and an older Ford truck. One was
designated as the radio truck and another as the repair
truck. These two trucks have a higher value than the
others if lost. The repair truck in particular can make a
huge difference in the outcome of the game.
The crews of the vehicles were then named and one
of them was given the Explosives Expert special skill.
This skill will ensure that all of the bombs he sets are
guaranteed to explode. There are several other special
skills available but I don`t like to give too many as they
are already an elite unit.
Next we use the Mission Cards. After shuffling the
thirty mission cards seven were taken, one for each
day of the journey back to base. These cards are taken
“blind” so the contents are not known. The top card
is turned over to reveal what this day has in store for
our brave LRDG lads! The card revealed was number
nineteen: ATTACK AN OIL/PETROL DUMP. The
instructions on the card are as follows:
◗ Four fuel dumps and six soft skin trucks are the
targets. The fuel dumps are inside a gated fenced
area which must be broken into. Any bombs placed
next to each oil dump will destroy it if it explodes.
There are three buildings and the defenders are two
14 Miniature Wargames October 2022
squads plus two blank cards. Remove two cards. Test
for returning DAK patrol after eight moves.
So now we have our instructions. After setting up
the suitable scenery, take the equivalent squad cards to
make up the two squads (six cards) and add the two
blank cards as instructed. Shuffle the cards and remove
two cards. Distribute the remaining cards equally
between the buildings face down. We now have an
unknown enemy in the buildings and some may even be
blank cards.
THE BATTLE PLAN
As the officer in charge of the LRDG I now have to
form a Battle Plan. The oil dumps are well protected
and need to have bombs placed on them but are highly
prized enemy assets. The trucks are not such a valuable
asset but can be destroyed more easily. After playing
many games over the years it became obvious why the
LRDG used the tactics they did which was get in destroy
as much as possible and then get out again quickly before
the enemy can get organised or call for assistance. It
sounds easy but in practice it is not so simple.
Having observed the targets it was obvious that
getting into the compound to destroy the oil dumps
was going to be tricky. Knowing that a returning Axis
patrol could possibly turn up after eight moves also put
on time restraints. Cutting through the perimeter fence
and going in on foot would be too time consuming and
being detected was also a possibility so this was not
an option. The plan finally decided upon was to get in
quickly before being detected, kill or suppress as many
of the enemy defenders as possible and crash the gates
into the compound. Although this may cause some
damage to the vehicle it was worth the risk.
To achieve this I decided to split my force. I would
lead from the front in my Jeep accompanied by one
Chevy with Charlie – my explosives expert. The Chevy
will crash the gates into the compound and place
bombs on the oil dumps. The Breda Chevy will hang
back and fire on the buildings from long range and be
on standby if there is a returning patrol. The rest of us
will shoot up as many vehicles as possible and keep
the enemy under fire. There are eight moves available
before an enemy “returning patrol may appear” so I
decided we would have to be out and on our way by
move seven at the latest.
THE BATTLE
We went in all guns blazing taking the enemy by
total surprise. Because we were not detected we had
priority firing. At this point we have to lay down our
target markers for which I use match sticks. This is to
prevent any change of target once firing has started.
Once a target has been nominated the enemy card can
be turned and the defenders revealed.
The Ford truck and myself opened on the house by
the palm trees which contained an LMG along with
its three crew plus three riflemen. We caused two
casualties but the enemy passed it`s suppression test
and returned fire. We were lucky as no damage was
sustained to my forces. The Chevy fitter truck opened
up on the centre building which contained only three
riflemen as one card was a blank. The firing was
dreadful and no casualties were caused so the enemy
did not have to test for suppression and returned
fire. Fortunately for us, the return fire – although
registering one hit on the vehicle – caused no damage.
The remaining building was fired on from long
range by the Breda which – again – caused no
damage. Sgt Brown opened up with his K gun and
the remaining Chevy which was the radio truck but
also fired. The result was two hits and the enemy were
suppressed which was good news as the building
contained an LMG with crew plus three riflemen.
In moves two and three my Jeep and Paul’s fitter
truck went through the gap between the two buildings
to the gated entrance firing as we went. The others
maintained their firing on the other buildings. By the
end of this move we had virtually cleared out all the
defenders but unfortunately not before sustaining two
casualties. Bill and Di in the radio truck had both been
wounded.
SETTING BOMBS & SHOOTING BELOW
UP THE TRUCKS An LRDG Truck
heavily armed
In move four – while the other trucks finished off any with an MG
enemy resistance – the fitter truck crashed through the and a BREDA
gates into the compound. Fortunately it did not sustain 20mm. From
the Author's
any damage and two of the crew, armed with bombs, collection.
ran towards the oil dumps. In the meantime, I opened
up with my K Guns on one of the parked trucks and
destroyed it!
The bombs were laid on the first two dumps and fuses
set for six moves time. While they were busy doing this
the driver was shooting up another truck. In the next
move bombs were laid on the other dump and the oil
tanker. These fuses were set for five moves time and
we continued to shoot up the trucks. By move seven all
bombs had been laid and five trucks destroyed. Now we
had to get out as quickly as possible and hope the DAK
patrol did not appear before we got away!
ACHTUNG!
Move eight no patrol appeared but the following move
was a disaster: a German patrol arrived! After rolling dice
and looking at the chart it was a lone Sdkfz 222 armoured
car. It could have been worse, but not much. Another roll
of the dice and it was deemed to appear on the table edge
to our right front. It had priority firing and opened up
on it`s nearest target which was the Ford truck. It was a
hit and caused heavy damage but no casualties. Heavy
damage means the truck cannot move. The brave crew
of the Ford then returned fire along with one other truck
(which was the only one with a clear line of sight). This
caused light damage on the armoured car.
On move ten the truck with the Breda moved into a
good position and we were lucky to get priority firing.
The Breda scored a direct hit destroying the Armoured
Car. It was then that the bombs exploded in the fuel
dump. That is three out of four as one didn’t go off.
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 15
 DESERT DUMP ATTACK
The two
bombs set
by Charlie
our explosives
expert both exploded, of course,
but one set by Tom did not.
The situation now is that we have two wounded
men and a Ford truck that cannot move because of
heavy damage. The decision made was to tow the Ford
away and investigate later if it can be repaired and to
see how badly wounded our men are. Then find out
what lies in store for our next day.
HEALING & FIXING
Before revealing the next day’s card, we must refer to
the rules to see if the men recover and if the vehicle can
be fixed. It transpired that The Ford was repaired but Di
is still wounded and Bill passed away. This left me with
one Chevy with a driver and wounded gunner. This
meant that crews had to be shuffled around. I moved
Terry from The Ford to the Chevy – so now at least all
vehicles had at least one fit gunner. All of this was noted
on the vehicle profile sheet along with used ammunition
(as you can see the rules are quite detailed! Ed.).
Looking on the points chart the result of the battle
now meant that 355 points of enemy assets had been
destroyed and we had lost a man, costing us 60 points.
As for the tactics used by me... well that is for you to
decide whether they were good or not! There was an
enemy vehicle which was not destroyed but I did not
think it was appropriate to fire on it as our own men
were the other side and could have been casualties. There
were more points available for destroying the houses
with bombs but that would all take time that I judged
16 Miniature Wargames October 2022
I didn’t have. Perhaps bringing the Breda ABOVE
Chevy in to closer range at the beginning A German
column comes
may have made it more effective.... Time will under attack
tell as there are another six days to go in this from the LRDG.
short campaign. Firing angles
are shown with
the red match
RULES NOTES sticks. The rear
◗ Game Length: This game took just over one hour to vehicles have
their fire blocked
set up and play. As you can see a full campaign could by the three in
be played in a day or it is possible to ‘fix’ the cards. front. Note the
By choosing three or four of the campaign cards and firing angles
represented by
shuffling them to add a bit of mystery, you should be matchsticks.
able to play the games in an evening or at your club.
INSET ABOVE
A filled in chart
◗ Damaged vehicles: There are three levels of damage for a Chevy
before a vehicle is destroyed. Light damage means the Radio truck as
vehicle may still be able to move but can break down. an example.
It is also possible to repair it during a battle. Medium
damage is the same but it is more likely to break down.
Heavy damage means that it cannot move without
being towed by another vehicle at half speed. Any
damaged vehicle managing to get off the table could
possibly be repaired for the next day. This is where the
Fitter truck comes in because if you have one it will
increase the chances of a repair being successful.
◗ Wounded men: Only LRDG personnel get wounds
the enemy either survive or are killed. This is to give
the LRDG Commander a few more decisions to make.
Wounded men can still fire guns and move on foot
but at reduced rates. Between games any wounded
man may die from his wounds, fully recover or remain
wounded. One of the special skills available is a medic
which increases the chance of recovering from wounds.
DAY TWO
The second campaign card was number twenty: Road
Watch. Without going into too many details HQ has
radioed in an order for your patrol to road watch for
four days. These four days are extra days and do not
count as part of your return journey. This does not
require any setting up of a game but does involve some
dice rolling. Each day of the road watch a dice is rolled
and points are gained for your patrol. However if a one
is rolled you have been spotted by an enemy aircraft
which is exactly what happened on the third day.
Again this is resolved by dice and without needing
to set up the game. Depending on the roll of the dice
the aircraft could mistake you for friends and leave you
alone or attack. You even have a chance of shooting it
down. Unfortunately in this case the enemy decided
to attack and after a few more rolls of the dice disaster
happened and it was yet again the newly repaired Ford
at the receiving end. It was completely destroyed and
the two crew were killed. So not only was the Ford lost
but John and Paddy as well. This whole process took
about fifteen minutes to resolve.
Assets destroyed was still 355 but we had gained
another 50 points at the road watch totalling 405 but
now we had lost the Ford truck and three men totalling
240 points and I still have a wounded man. Things are
not going too well for my patrol.
DAY THREE
The first bit of good news was that Di has recovered
sufficiently overnight to not be considered as wounded
any more. The card drawn for day three was number
thirteen which is the Convoy Shoot Up card. This
card states that we meet an enemy convoy of four
soft skin lorries and a staff car on the road This game
also has a couple of added twists in that the staff car
contains an Officer and the trucks may contain German
troops. After opening fire on the convoy any truck not
destroyed we dice to see if it contains any troops. If
they do contain enemy troops then they immediately
disembark test for being suppressed and if not
suppressed may start to return fire. If we manage to
destroy the convoy and the staff car the Officer always
survives and can be taken prisoner. The down side is
getting the prisoner back to base. He is worth a lot of
points but has to be guarded constantly. This should be
a short sharp game as the LRDG have the element of
surprise but things can sometimes go horribly wrong.
THE GAME
We were now down to three trucks and two jeeps but
all were fully crewed by fit men. The tactics for this
game had to be fairly simple. The first thing to avoid
was the chance of detection so we went straight in and
started to open fire on move one. This meant we were
only able to open fire on the first two vehicles, the staff
car and one truck. My jeep along with Sgt Browns
immediately opened up with our K guns on the
staff car which was destroyed and crew killed (not the
officer). The first truck was heavily damaged.
We knew that as we passed along the line of vehicles
that any not destroyed would be targeted by our follow
up Chevy`s the last of which had the Breda. By Move two
it transpired that the last German truck in line contained a
squad of infantry. They immediately debussed and tried
to get into some kind of firing position. In this move we
managed to destroy two more trucks including the one
that had only been damaged. By Move three we saw that
the enemy had formed up ready to open fire so I thought
it was time to get out so we pulled away into the desert
but our rear gunners managed destroy the final truck and
cause two casualties on the German squad. Unfortunately
the enemy did manage to get in some shots on one Chevy
and it received light damage but managed to get away
without breaking down. Tom was wounded so although
the truck would be easily repaired we would have to see
how Tom responded to medical treatment. I decided not
to hang around and get the German Officer as a nearly
full enemy squad with an LMG was too much of a risk.
This game was played in about forty five minutes.
ABOVE AFTERMATH
A German So this is a brief walk through of a running scenario
column deploys
quickly from game. In total, the games so far have taken about two
their lorries hours playing time. With four more days to get back
whilst under to base, things are pretty even with enemy losses at
fire from the
LRDG. Again, 557 points to our 240 points but we have to see if Tom
firing angles recovers. That is as far as I have got with this solo
are shown with campaign. I hope you have enjoyed the journey so far
the red match
sticks. From as much as I have. My big wish is that it has inspired
the Author's enough interest in you the reader to make you want to
collection. learn more about the men and the heroic deeds of The
Long Range Desert Group!
Ed’s note: Mr Wheatley is too polite to mention but I
reviewed the rules a couple of issues ago and they are well
worth chasing up: Go to dakattackgame.blogspot.com or
Offensive Miniatures to get more info. ■
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 17
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 REVIEWS
DEFENCE
RULE BOOKS
A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
& FIGURES
◗ wargamesbuildings.co.uk
◗ £4 - £9
Sally 4th recently released a set of
Robin Hood figures and we reported
on these in Forward Observer a couple
of months ago. Well, every good bandit
needs some opposition and so the same
manufacturer have now produced some
IN DEPTH
Norman Knights to give them something
to shoot at.
The Anglo-Normans have an
‘Ivanhoe/Robin of Loxley’ feel about
them and they were designed as
historical 1160’s models by Iain Lovecraft.
The Sloane manuscripts in the British
Museum have an account of Robin’s life
which states that he was born around
1160 in ‘Lockersley’ (most likely modern
day Loxley) in South Yorkshire so that’s
what they have gone for.
I assembled a couple of the figures
and they go together reasonably well.
They have no cast-on base (or pegs/
slots) but flat feet which can stick
straight on to round MDF bases (or
clear acrylic – both of which Sally 4th
make). Poses are often pretty impressive,
although it usually requires an arm to be
stuck on to achieve that. I used the word
‘reasonably’ earlier on just because one
of the only things I could criticise them
for is a sparsity of locating lugs for arm
and shield fitment. However, detail is
good, faces excellent and they measure
about 33mm to the top of a putative
head. There’s a lovely Guy of Gisbourne
(mounted and foot); and the foot
sloggers are mostly £4 and are armed
with axes, crossbows, archers, spears
and halberds plus there’s a nice Cleric for
a fiver. There’s also a ten figure starter
pack for £45. The metal is a little soft for
the weapons and I’d probably replace
some of the spears with wire ones for
durability. Recommended.
NEIGH, NEIGH THRICE NEIGH
◗ wargamesatlantic.com
◗ £25
Wargames Atlantic have now released a
new range that we mentioned as ‘coming
soon’ a few issues ago in Forward
Observer. It is something which could
be seen as ‘boring’ yet is absolutely
vital and – simultaneously – almost
universally useful: 28mm plastic Horses.
It’s fair to say that – when portraying
a wargames unit – there are those
amongst us who like all of their soldiers
to be lined up and identical, with a
very ‘toy soldier’ look. Even if one
adheres to that ideal for well drilled
troops, there’s only so far you can take
that and synchronised ‘dressage’ for
cavalry is probably a step too far for
most gamers. However, it’s fair to say
that – however varied manufacturers are
when modelling equine flesh – most of
use have tried to play ‘swapsies’ with
differing ranges and manufacturers just
to get a little variety in their cavalry
units. Step forward Wargames Atlantic.
Each box comes with six identical
sprues and each of those has six horse
body halves. I have clipped them off
and tried to swap them around and I
am terribly impressed that all three left
halves (complete with a base) will match
perfectly with all three right halves.
They have nice big lugs too. The bodies
have minimal furniture and are head
and tail less which means that the three
optional saddle cloths, three different
tails and four different heads make up
into... well I can’t be bothered to do the
mathematics but: lots of different horses!
Detail and price are excellent. Why
did this take so long! Recommended.
20

WOLVES
◗ caliverbooks.com
◗ £35
Caliver have released a new volume on
Culloden. Called Like Troops of Hungry
Wolves - The Battle of Culloden 16 April
1746 and written by Stuart Reid, it’s an
impressive and (from what I can assess)
pretty authoritative volume on this well
known battle.
It is 176 pages in length and – I’ve only
seen the pre-production PDF – but it
looks impressive. There are ten chapters
followed by an extensive appendix,
bibliography and index and it is well
illustrated in several styles. Firstly there
are some useful photos of locations for
the battle and shots of reenactors in
uniform. There are also a mix of original,
‘period’ illustrations plus what I’d
describe as sketches of characters but the
wargamers will really enjoy the colour
illustrations and battle maps.
The maps are plain looking but very
useful (and have a scale!), however the
meat of the illustrative content are some
superb colour plates by David Gallagher
which cover both sides in great detail.
To add to the usefulness there are other
slightly more ‘pictographic’ illustrations
(still in colour) and a big mix of flags, the
vast majority of which are in full colour
and squared off with minimal ‘shading’
that are just asking to be scanned and
printed out to adorn your models...
Dr.Christopher Duffy (two books
on the Jacobite Rising, taught military
history at Sandhurst and the college of
the British General Staff) said this book
is “A ground breaking account and the
first to be informed by a consistent sense
of military realism”. You can’t say fairer
than that! Highly recommended.
SLOWLY BUT SURELY...
◗ wargamevault.com
◗ £4- £9.50
This month
we have a new
direction from
the prolific pen
of Jim Webster.
Rather than his
generic Hell
by Starlight
skirmish
system, this
month we are
reviewing a
complete rule
book called
Attack of the Inner Planets.
As he usually does, the author has
produced another A4 soft back, of 60 or
so pages which is available on Amazon
for £9.50 although Kindle and electronic
versions are also available, the latter
from Wargames Vault for around £4.
It is – as are all of his rule systems – a
cleanly laid out, ‘no frills’ document
with no illustrations aside from the
cover but it’s pretty easy to read and
amounts to a full rule system.
As you might gather from the title,
the book is aimed squarely at playing
out the Wellsian Martian attack on
earth. Mr Webster recommends 6mm
forces but I’ll point out some smaller
options would work (say Brigade’s
Aeronef range or maybe the ships and
Tripods from Tumbling Dice – see
column, right). Ground scale suggested
is 1/1000 (with 6mm models) so it
would work at a smaller size without
issue. You’ll need models plus some
d10 and d6. There are rules for building
‘steam punk’ vehicles including flyers
(lighter and heavier than air) and even
Tripods, and all needs are covered,
from movement, artillery, gas, logistics
command and control and more. There
are solo play options but the action
is pretty much centred on Martians
landing on Earth (there’s no ‘Venusian
Invasion’ or taking the fight back to the
red planet... yet!). I found some of the
rules to be a little tricky in a few places
(why d6 sometimes and d100 at others?)
but certainly nothing insurmountable.
A fun read!
ANCHORS AWAY
◗ tumblingdice.com
◗ £3.60
Tumbling Dice make an interesting
selection of models, only some of
which appear as photographs on their
website, which is a shame as they
seem to cater for a lot of quite varied
interests. They make figure ranges
in various scales (1/72, 1/76 and
1/48) for 20th century, and seemingly
everything from Late Roman to the
ACW). They also make some 1/600
biplanes (for which there are pictures)
but they also do a neat range of early
20th century, 1/2400 Battleships, and
– in the same scale – Spanish Armada,
and Classical navies. Oh, and Martian
Tripods! Those last items would be
good for Jim Webster’s most recent rules
(check the review in the column to the
left of this one).
Anyway, pre-amble aside, they sent in
the latest items for review and they are
three Battleships: the Neptune (British);
the Westfalen (German); and the New
York (USA). All are the same price at
£3.60 and they vary slightly in size up
to around 75mm long. Also supplied
were the optional Sea Bases. Like the
boats themselves they are cast in white
metal and scaled to fit the vessel. They
are sculpted with some waves and –
specifically – a bow wave so they look
rather splendid (and it would be easy to
carefully drybrush the wave tops).
There are new additions coming in the
range: more Battleships, Dreadnoughts
and smaller vessels for Italy, Austria/
Hungary, Russia, Japan, France, Italy,
Germany and Britain. They are nice
models with good detail that will paint
up well and will certainly appeal to
those that want metal fleets, and – on
their metal sea-bases – they’ll certainly
stay where you put them!
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 21
 REVIEWS
SMALL SCALE FANTASY
◗ magistermilitum.com
◗ £6.40 - £15
Magister Millitum make a swathe
of different scales and figure periods:
everything from Fantasy Football and
Dinosaurs to 1/1200 Napoleonic ships...
really just too many to list. So the web site
is certainly worth a look: they probably
have something that’ll fit your gaming
needs. Some of the latest releases include
the 10mm Fantasy stuff that they have
forwarded as samples for us to peruse.
They sent a Dwarf Rocket Canon which
was cute but I didn’t fully understand the
assembly (yes – it’s tiny but it had bits!)
and I’m guessing that it’ll be £6.40 for
three sets like the other assorted Dwarven
warmachines (other canon or catapults).
Meanwhile the regular packs of Dwarf
infantry are 30 for the same price and there
appears to be a little variation in pose.
Even though they are so small and – being
Dwarf types – are even more caricatured
than normal, they’ll paint up well.
They also sent in a Skeletal Giant. He
has an Egyptian look and two scythes and
is slightly bigger than a 32mm (28mm)
figure at almost 40mm. He’s a little flat in
the cast (so ‘easy to mould’) but – being
metal – I bent one of his arms for some
animation but it begs the question whena
10mm ‘scale’ (£6.40) Giant Skeleton is
indistinguishable from a 28mm skeleton
that’s probably cheaper than £.6.40...
The last item they sent was a Fire Drake.
He paints up well, is 80mm to the wing
tips and both wings had dual locating
pins and reception holes in the body
(why doesn’t everyone do this?) making
assembly a breeze. An interesting range if
you want to go small but stay above 6mm.
22 Miniature Wargames October 2022
Empire rules by the same author, it
is suitable for any scale of figures
(although all of the photography
included is of 28mm figures, as far as
I can tell), and most of the conflicts of
the period throughout the world are
touched upon.
As is usual with this Author’s work,
the game system involves random
activation of units; a d10 system for
combat and pretty much everything
else (so you’ll need a handful); and
playing cards (so dig out a regular
deck). There are Tactical Event and
Search cards at the rear of the book
although they are not ‘backed’ so it’s
probably best not to slice them out but
scan them and print them instead. You
will also need an inch ruler (and you
can use metric for 15mm games).
WITH MUSKET, PIKE & DRUM There are eight scenarios covering
◗ caliverbooks.com (bearing in mind the two century
◗ £19.95 and geographic spread that the rules
encompass) fairly
Caliver have generic subjects, such
just released a as an Attack In A Town,
new set of rules a Surprise Attack, Raid
by Chris Swan, and so forth. There are
contributor to this also Solo Rules along
very periodical. For
those that know
Mr Swan’s style of
gaming, this will be
a very interesting
read, although –
even if you haven’t
read his work (and,
on that basis, I’ll
say ‘why not’ and
draw you attention
to the piece Das
Fahrzeug Kaput Ist
in this very issue)
– it should still
provide some interesting ideas. with extra
With Musket, Pike & Drum rules for
is subtitled Wargames rules for things
Engagements with Small Forces from like night
1500-1700 and – as the well-used fighting; smoke and
advertising trope suggests – it ‘does others. Finally, there are some sample
what it says on the tin’. Printed with European, New World and Asian army
a soft cover in full colour it is 120 or lists and – at the very back – five pages
so pages in (what I’m going to say is) of reference sheets. If I had a tiny gripe
‘almost Osprey sized’ (a quarter of it would be that reference sheets at the
an inch smaller but... hey, what that rear could be usefully shuffled into
between friends?). Following on the six sheets that I could just cut out and
from the well received Beyond The laminate! Highly recommended.
FALLOUT & ELDER SCROLLS
◗ modiphius.net
◗ £26 - £60
Modiphius Entertainment’s has some
further Elder Scrolls and Fallout resin
releases. Each multi-figure box comes
with figures that will require a degree of
assembly (usually just arms to stick on)
plus a unique scenic base, however one
of them is... well a bit more complicated
than that (and rather bigger!). The
models are universally very highly
detailed, extremely proportionate,
32mm scale figures. Let’s deal with the
Fallout post apocalypse, atompunk
extravaganza releases first.
There are two boxes that have been
sent in for review although first I’m
going to give a mention to something
from their website that I have only
seen shots of. They now make a box of
scabby dogs called Mongrel Scavenging
Pack. For £30 you get six animals
(pairs of three different types) which
are a pretty useful animal for any
environment (from zombie games to
war torn Stalingrad) that need some
horribly treated animals: too many dogs
portrayed in wargames look like they
came straight from Crufts.... But – back
to what they actually sent...
The Yao Guai Ambush (£26) features
a pair of monstrous, mutated
descendants of bears. These beasts –
one bipedal with a bad case
of boils and the other
on all fours but having
lost most of its fur –
have the usual claws,
massive teeth, and
poor negotiating
skills and can
undoubtedly eat your player
character quicker than you can say
‘fetch me a pic-a-nic basket...’.
The other Fallout release is, in every
sense, monstrous. Swan can be either a big
opponent for a team to face or perhaps
a new addition to your Super Mutant
warband. Having said that, as the model
is 90mm tall when assembled, I would
imagine Swan could be anything he
jolly well pleases... For those not overly
familiar with the back ground (which, I
confess, includes this reviewer), I think
some description is probably in order.
The Swan kit is split at the waist and has
a separate left arm holding some sort of
constructed armour-come-weapon with a
hook on the end; along with another left
arm to stick on which holds the head to a
weapon that does look like a ship’s anchor
(complete with chain) to glue in position.
The body is then festooned with all sorts
of wreckage and detritus (he appears to
be carrying a spare tyre and that wasn’t a
criticism of his waist line...) along with a
lot of feathers and the remains of a large
swan... An interesting project to paint! He
costs £60 and his custom base is 60mm
wide.
Now we move on to the Elder Scrolls:
Call to Arms releases (although – after
the monster-fest – these may seem a
little pedestrian). I have boxed sets
of Bandits and another of Adventurer
Fortune Hunters to review. The former
are six figures (plus bases) for £43.
There’s a Butcher; Haldyn (the Pirate
Battlemage); Raj’irr (White River Rogue)
plus three different Bandit Warriors/
Vampire Thralls/
Mercenaries. Poses
(and weaponry)
are mixed with
the Mage spell casting and
Raj’irr (a sort of cat biped) in
the classic ‘super hero: I’ve just jumped’
three-point squat. The Fortune Hunters
are the same number for the same
price but are named Borgak Steelheart;
Sulla Trebatius; Umama; Deeja; Serana
and Dragonborn. Lots of armour and
swords, plus a spellcaster and one’s
a lizard. Again, just excellent sculpts.
Highly recommended.
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 23
 T HEE I N T E L LIGG E N T W A R GA MESS T ABLL E

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COMMAND DECISION

SOUTH
OF THE
sharp fight; the respective gods reconciled and so too
did the people.
Things are... different now. The Ensi (the High Priest
Governor) and the Lugal (King or Warlord) have

BORDER
conscripted all able-bodied men to support the Lugal’s
household contingent. You face an existential threat in the
form of highly skilled warriors from the river Tigris and
the city of Ashur. They seem hell-bent on overwhelming
you and subsuming you into their empire.

ROLE & COMMAND

Down Sumeria way: sometime Less than a hundred years ago, the Third Dynasty of
Ur was born out of the ashes of the Akkad Empire.
around 2000BC You are Ur-Nammu of Ur, who – together with Utu-
Hegal of Uruk – defeated the Gutian King Tirigan. You
Words and pictures by Jon Sutherland.
established your kingship of Sumer and Akkad as the

E
ach Command Decision aims to offer a series of ABOVE new Sumerian Empire. You have a hard-core of full
playable options in timeless military scenarios. Sumerian time soldiers (Aga-ush), bolstered by levies and militia
chariots
Command Decision is designed so you can read the massing for an (Erin). The Gishgigir is your strike force: two wheeled
situation and figure out your own command decisions if you assault on the battle-carts yoked to four wild asses.
were leading the troops on the ground. You can either work Assyrian lines. Rather than suffer a siege, you
through the various options or use the mechanics to create have marched into the border
the precise circumstances of the table top engagement. The
scenarios may have particular historical themes and settings
but you can easily adapt the mechanics to suit your own
preferences and collections. RIGHT
This is one of
the Sumerian
SITUATION REPORT commanders
The power and dominance of cities come and go. Your on-board his
chariot.
city and the surrounding territory exist because of the
power of your patron god. In times past, when cities
went to war over land, it was swiftly resolved with a
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 25
 COMMAND DECISION

MARCHING TO BATTLE ATTRITION & DISORDER TABLE

Dice Assyrians Sumerians
Roll d6
1 Severe water shortage. Dried up wells reduce water
All cavalry units are lost availability. Choose one infantry
(chariots unaffected). unit to lose from the army.
2 Exhausted, none of the The infantry have lagged behind,
chariots or cavalry may the chariots and the Royal
move until turn 2. Guard may deploy on turn 1, the
remainder of the army arrives on
turn 3.
3 Difficult march, 25% of A difficult march for the levies. Only
chariots and horses are half of the spear armed infantry
exhausted and will not arrive can deploy on turn 1, they arrive
until turn 4. on turn 3.
4 Stragglers, three infantry Some straggling, two spear armed
units are delayed until game units are delayed until game turn 2.
turn 4.
5 Chariots make good Ahead of the game, the main army
progress. Chariots may be deploys on the baseline and the
deployed one full move ahead chariots and Royal Guard may
of the baseline. deploy one full move forward.
6 Formed up and ready, Ready for action. All of the army
excellent progress has may deploy a full move from the
ABOVE allowed the force to form up baseline.
An Assyrian ready for action half a move
from the baseline
chariot. In
contrast to the
Sumerian one, Moving into difficult terrain can often have a
this chariot detrimental impact on units; each player needs to roll
was much
bigger with
to see if any of the troops have suffered as a result of
four crew and the march (this shows the impact using Hail Caesar
more powerful factors). Again, roll a d6 with each player rolling for
horses.
the impact on their own forces:
RIGHT
Assyrian TERRAIN RESULTS AFTER MARCH
infantry is the
backbone of Dice Assyrians Sumerians
Roll d6
the army, with
leather armour 1 Reduce Assyrian chariots Reduce Sumerian chariots Stamina
Stamina to 5 instead of 6 to 5 instead of 6
and large
shields. 2 Reduce Assyrian infantry Reduce Sumerian infantry Stamina
Stamina to 5 instead of 6 to 5 instead of 6
lands to face the Assyrians as they emerge from the 3 Reduce all skirmishers Reduce Royal Guard Stamina to 5
Stamina to 3 instead of 4 instead of 6
scrub land.
4 Reduce half of the Reduce all skirmishers Stamina to
skirmishers Stamina to 3 3 instead of 4
SCENARIO MECHANICS instead of 4
5 Reduce the cavalry Stamina No effect
This is an encounter game in the wilderness with very to 5 instead of 6
little terrain. A handful of small low level hills, scrub 6 No effect No effect
and rocky areas were used to break up the flat surface,
but played no role in the movement (or indeed acting
as cover). VICTORY & OBJECTIVES
The lack of shields for the Sumerians is a major This is not meant to be a fight to the finish. For the
issue, so we need to mitigate this in some way; either Sumerians, a disaster on the battlefield would probably
by downsizing the Assyrian forces or preventing mean the end of their civilisation and they could expect
their army from fully deploying from turn one. their cities to be consumed by the Assyrian Empire (no
The comparative firepower is also an issue and the pressure then... Ed.). For the Assyrians, a reversal on the
Assyrians can outshoot the Sumerians, the Sumerian battlefield would signal a set-back, a temporary check
player is encouraged to close with the Assyrians at the on their territorial ambitions, but nothing that could
earliest opportunity and press home their chariots as not be reversed in the future.
the decisive wing of the army. For both sides, the loss of their King would be a
I have split the mechanics involved in determining monumental disaster; we should also consider each
what arrives when on the battlefield (and in what kind army to place a high value on the sub-commanders
of state). This first thing to determine is the impact who are likely to be relatives of the king or important
of the march on the two armies before they even nobles.
encounter one another. Roll a d6 with each player The following table suggests how victory or loss
rolling for the impact on their own forces: might be assessed, I would recommend that the game

26 Miniature Wargames October 2022


last between 12-15 game turns depending on your
choice of ruleset:
VICTORY OR LOSS: START WITH A SCORE OF 50
Assyrian Victory or Loss
King killed -10
Sub-commander killed -5
Chariot unit lost -5
Spear Infantry or Cavalry unit
lost -5
Enemy King killed +10
Enemy Sub-commander or non-
skirmishing unit destroyed +5
Enemy line broken +10*
Compare the scores and then refer to the following
table:
Start with a score of 50
King killed -10
Sub-commander killed -5
Chariot unit lost -5
Spear Infantry or Cavalry unit lost -5
Enemy King killed +10
Enemy Sub-commander or non-
skirmishing unit destroyed +5
Each enemy unit driven off the table +5
ABOVE WHO WINS WHAT
Chaos reigns
Comparison Assyrian Sumerian
in the centre of
the battlefield 50 higher Major victory, the Sumerians A major victory and a
as fleeing have been scattered, the next reprieve for your people.
fight will be a siege. You parade the captured
Assyrian Assyrians before beheading
skirmishers them in the main square.
disrupt a 40 higher Significant success, the A great achievement on
counterattack battered remnants of the the battlefield has seen the
by their own Sumerian army have fallen Assyrians slaughtered and
chariots. back beyond the Tigris and frustrated. You determine
you can fight them in the to pursue them into the
open. wilderness to finish them
ABOVE LEFT off.
Assyrian 20 higher Tactical victory, a bloody A pyrrhic victory, you have
cavalry were hard-fought struggle sees beaten the Assyrians but
highly effective the Sumerians fall back to your men are decimated
and very a walled town five miles and exhausted. You can
away, you are determined to pursue the enemy into the
manoeuvrable pursue once you men have wilderness, but can only use
on the rested. intact units that have not
battlefield. suffered losses.
Same score Stalemate, the enemy Stalemate, the enemy
army is largely intact and army is largely intact and
is threatening your flanks. is threatening your flanks.
You rest for the night You rest for the night
on the battlefield hoping on the battlefield hoping
the Sumerians will have the Assyrians will have
withdrawn in the morning. withdrawn in the morning.
Less than A serious set-back. You A disaster on the frontier,
enemy must withdraw and reinforce your army is in tatters and
before you can make another you must try to save as
attempt on the Sumerian much of it as possible as you
cities. flee towards the capital and
›
a very uncertain future.
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 27
 COMMAND DECISION

RULES
There are many different options to play this kind of
small campaign game, popular sets could include Hail
Caesar, Sword and Spear, Field of Glory, L’Art de la
Guerre and the various incarnations of WRG. (I’d also add
Impetus, Mortem et Gloriam or To the Strongest to that
list but... well we could go on for pages: the wargaming world
is certainly not short of suitable rule sets. Ed.). There are also
over a hundred free options available (see links at end).
I’m sure you will already have your favourite, but
to play this campaign you will need to either tweak
the comparative sizes of the forces or hamstring the
Assyrians (outlined in the next section).
As an aside, the figures featured in this article are
all 20mm figures from HAT from their Sumerian and
Assyrian boxed sets. Unlike many of the older plastic
figure sets, HAT seems to have learned the lesson that
wargamers are their main customers and that they use
sensible poses. Mercifully, there are no figures in any of
the boxed sets (infantry and chariots for the Sumerians
and chariots, cavalry and two types of infantry boxes
for the Assyrians) that feature duff poses! (personally,
I always rather enjoyed the chaps pulling parachutes or
carrying canoes over their heads in my WWII Airfix sets
but... I’m probably weird! Ed.)

ARMY LISTS & ORGANISATION

Notionally, both of the armies are split into three
divisions. Effectively this means a vanguard (usually
with lighter or more mobile troops), a main division
(usually led by the King and containing the cream of
the infantry and the bulk of the chariots) followed by TOP LEFT ◗ Or allow all of the Assyrians onto the table, but only
a rear-guard force with the levied or allied infantry On the far left allow a third of the force to move until game turn 3,
of the Sumerian
and some chariots. This should give you sufficient line, their two can move up to turn 6 and from turn 7 all of the
flexibility for both armies, added to which you will skirmishers, force may move. This will simulate the army recovering
have a clear command structure. supported by from its long march across the semi-arid region.
chariots, run
These are broad outlines rather than strict army lists. into Assyrian
In order to get the balance right for this small campaign horse trying to THIRD DYNASTY OF UR
style game, the following approaches can be made: flank them. Chariots Up to 25% of the army can be chariots.
ABOVE Infantry At least three quarters of the units must be non-
skirmishing infantry. Only 25% may have shields.
◗ Make the Sumerian force around 10% larger than the To stem the tide,
the Assyrian Sumerian At least 25% of the non-skirmishing infantry must be
Assyrian one spearmen spear armed Sumerian infantry.
King is forced
◗ Alternatively, only allow two-thirds of the Assyrians to commit his Royal Guard Up to 25% of the non-skirmisher infantry units can be
to be on the battlefield at the start of the game, reserve of Royal Guard or axe-men.
the remaining third arrives on game turn 5 on the unarmoured Skirmishers Skirmishers must be up to 75% javelin armed, a maximum
infantry. of 25% slingers and 25% bows.
baseline directly behind the Assyrian King.

28 Miniature Wargames October 2022

 would have put their settlements in danger. A similar ABOVE
thing was tried by the Iraqis in the second Gulf War, but The bulk of
the Sumerian
with disastrous consequences for the National Guard. infantry,
On a much smaller scale, you could try the US actions uncommitted
against Pancho Villa in 1916. Villa’s 1600 guerrillas had until the last
moment,
sacked Columbus, New Mexico and rather than wait for begin to move
another attack, the US sent 6,000 troops into Mexico to forward.
capture him. In two years, Villa evaded the Americans.
LEFT
This campaign would make a great game with Villa These are
with his men on horses being pursued by US troops in Assyrian
automobiles supported by aircraft. infantry with
skirmishers
EARLY ASSYRIAN protecting
Chariots Up to 20% of the army can be chariots. THIRD DYNASTY: FACT CHECK them as they
There are records of a border war between Lagash and advance.
Infantry At least 25% of the units must be non-skirmishing infantry.
Cavalry Up to 10% of the army can be mounted. Umma. They fought over Gu-Edina, a semi-desert BELOW
Royal Guard Up to 25% of the non-skirmisher infantry units can be region. This fictitious encounter between the Third The Assyrian
Royal Guard or axe-men. Dynasty Sumerians and the Assyrians is set in this infantry are
forced into
Skirmishers Skirmishers must be up to 50% javelin armed, a maximum type of disputed region of the Mesopotamia. In actual
of 50% slingers and 75% bows. thinner lines in
fact, the Neo-Sumerians as they are often called lasted an attempt to
for around a hundred years. They were eventually plug the gaps
ALTERNATIVES overwhelmed by the Elamites and the Amorites.
and prevent
the Sumerians
This is a border war encounter where one side has The last throw of the dice was the building of a wall from swamping
chosen to move out of their city to prevent damage or between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in an attempt them.
loss to their population and to engage the enemy in to hold off the Amorites, but this too failed and the All figures are
the open. There are numerous examples of this from Sumerians were once and for all consigned to the 20mm plastics
the American west where Native American tribes history books. ■ from HAT.
engaged US Army units away from their tented civilian
population. The Israelis during their engagements with LINKS
the Egyptians, Syrians and Jordanians often resorted Free wargames rules options at: https://
to advanced positions to prevent breakthroughs that freewargamesrules.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Ancients.

October 2022 Miniature Wargames 29

 12–13 November
New venue for 2022
Farnborough International
Traders, Bring & Buy, Exhibition & Conference Centre
Demo & Participation games, Tournaments
Entry fee per day
Farnborough
Day entry: £10 Hampshire
(under 16 free accompanied by paying adult) Gate F: GU14 6TQ
www.wargamesreading.co.uk/product-category/warfare-tickets/
www.wargamesreading.co.uk/warfare-2022
www.facebook.com/WargamesReading
Tournaments: £45 (includes entry for both days)
www.wargamesreading.co.uk/warfare-2022-tournaments

Wargames
Association of
Reading
 DAS FAHR ZEUG K APUT IS T

A scenario for using your Free Sprue of Panzer Lehr Figures

Words by Chris Swan. Photos by The Editor & Wargames Atlantic.

he release of Panzer Lehr figures by Wargames (along with arms modelled with a variety of weapons

T
ABOVE
The Crew Atlantic provides gamers with a new set of
with their
broken vehicle 28mm multi-part hard plastic World War II
- a Tamiya German figures but in different uniforms
Jadgpanther. from those normally seen on late war figures. They
Buildings from
the Editor's have been modelled wearing the double-breasted
collection. Sturmgeschütz jacket and baggy trousers worn by
the Panzer Lehr panzergrenadiers and by Panzer and
vehicle crews instead of the standard field blouse,
trousers and boots normally worn by the German
army. This allows the figures to depict both Panzer
Lehr panzergrenadiers and dismounted vehicle crews
the box also contains arms with spanners and petrol
cans to add to your modelling options.)
So, looking at the free sprue of figures provided
with this issue of the magazine gave me an idea for a
different type of scenario as well as making me take a
fresh look at the history of Panzer Lehr.
CREATION
The Division was formed 30th December 1943 from
training and demonstration troops (the word Lehr
means “teach”) and although in April 1944 the division

32 Miniature Wargames October 2022

was officially designated as the 130th Panzer Division
it is usually referred to as the Panzer Lehr Division. Its
initial crews and troops were drawn from several elite
training and demonstration units, with most of the
original cadre coming from Panzertruppenschule I and
Panzertruppenschule II which were the Panzerwaffe’s
key training units. These men were experienced and
highly trained as most had seen combat in North Africa,
Sicily or Italy or on the Eastern Front and many had
been decorated for valour. Thus from its very beginning
Panzer Lehr was considered to be an elite unit.
At its formation the Division was well equipped
with the Division’s panzer regiment having over 200
tanks and assault guns listed as 10 Panzer III, 9 StuG
III, 97 Panzer IV, 86 Panthers and 6 Tigers as well as
31 Jagdpanzer IV, whilst its armoured reconnaissance
battalion had a company of the new Sd.Kfz 234/2
Puma armoured cars.
In addition, unlike other Panzer Divisions, it was
fully equipped with halftracks to transport all of
its panzergrenadier regiments. (The other Panzer
Divisions only had enough half tracks to carry their
first panzergrenadier regiment with the remaining
battalions carried in trucks, or in some cases, on horse
drawn be vehicles)
INITIAL OPERATIONS
The newly formed Panzer Lehr was
initially ordered to move from
Germany to the Nancy–Verdun area
of France in January 1944 to complete
its training but on 6th March 1944
it was sent to Vienna and then on
19th March it took in Operation
Margarethe, the German occupation
of Hungary. It returned to France on 15th
May 1944 to await the Allied invasion where it
formed part of the German armoured reserve and
was committed to the Normandy battles on 8th June
where, together with the 2nd Panzer Division and the
10st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, it formed part of the
defence of Caen against the British and Canadians.
It was also heavily involved in the Battle of Villers- BELOW
Bocage which resulted in the British falling back their LEFT
The Two Panzer
start lines after two days of inconclusive combat. On Grenadiers
17th June the Division was withdrawn from the area spot the Yanks
before being committed to heavy fighting near the and yell out a
warning.
town of Tilly-sur-Seulles.
However, the Division’s almost continual use in BELOW
combat throughout June meant that it took a lot of Part of the US
Patrol advances
damage, not only from the battles but also from Allied on the farm .
air attacks, and by the end of the month Panzer Lehr
had suffered nearly 3,000 casualties and had reportedly
lost 51 tanks and assault guns, 82 halftracks and 294
other vehicles leaving only 36 Panzer IV tanks, 32
Panther tanks and 28 Jagdpanzers operational.
SAINT-LO & OPERATION COBRA
On 7th July, the Division was ordered to head west to
provide support to the divisions resisting the American
advance near Saint-Lô and on 10th July it launched a
counterattack against elements of the American 9th
and 30th infantry divisions around the village of Le
Dézert. During the ensuing combat American M10 tank
destroyers reportedly knocked out 30 of the Panzer
Lehr’s tanks and forced the remainder to withdraw over
the Vire Canal. Over the next two weeks, the Division
fought a defensive battle of attrition but on 19th July
Saint-Lô fell to the Americans.
Then on 25th July the Americans launched Operation
Cobra, their planned breakout from Normandy. At
this point Panzer Lehr reportedly only had 2,200
combat troops remaining with just 12 Panzer IV and 16
Panthers fit for action and 30 tanks in various states of
repair behind the lines. Operation Cobra was preceded
by a massive aerial bombardment by over 1,500 allied
bombers and during it Panzer Lehr suffered over 1,000
casualties and lost at least 14 assault guns and
10 tanks. By 27th July the
German defences
has been
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 33
 DAS FAHR ZEUG K APUT IS T

penetrated and Panzer Lehr was described by German before fighting all day on 23rd December to capture
High Command as being “effectively annihilated.” In the town of Rochefort before going on to recapture
fact Panzer Lehr was still fighting and as of 1st August Humain.
it still had 33 tanks and assault guns operational and Then Panzer Lehr was moved to new positions to
a further 44 in workshops. So on 17th August after a counter the US 4th Armored Division who were the
fighting withdrawal it was ordered back to Alençon spearhead of George Patton’s US Third Army which
and thence to Germany for rest and refitting. was attacking to relieve Bastogne. They led the German
counter attack which failed and the Division was
PANZER LEHR REBORN finally pulled out of the battle having suffered heavy
In the 7 months since its formation the Division had casualties and been virtually destroyed as a fighting
been reduced from a proud. well equipped Panzer force.
Division to a unit with only 20 operational tanks but
after spending a month in the Saar, the Division was THE FINAL DAYS
moved to Paderborn where it received 72 tanks, 21 After the failure of the Ardennes offensive, Panzer Lehr
assault guns and hundreds of replacement troops. was again refitted before being moved north into the
BELOW
However, as with the rest of the German army, the The crew Rhineland, where it fought the Anglo-Canadian 21st
new crews and troops may have been trained but members Army Group during Operation Veritable and sustained
they were not of the same quality as the veterans who respond to the more heavy losses. By 15th March 1945 Panzer Lehr
warning and
had formed Panzer Lehr. Many were young or lacked start fighting the had only 6 Panzer IVs, 29 Panthers and 14 Jagdpanzer
experience or would have been considered unfit for US Patrol. IVs left but when the U.S. 9th Armored Division
military service earlier in the war.
In early November 1944, Panzer Lehr was transferred
to Field Marshal Walter Model’s Army Group B in
preparation for the planned winter offensive usually
referred to as the Battle of the Bulge. However, on 21st
November, the partially refitted Division which only
had 34 Panzer IV and 38 Panther tanks combat ready
was ordered to counterattack American forces which
were driving towards the Saverne Gap and the ensuing
combat led to more losses for the Division.
The German winter offensive, code named Wacht
am Rhein by the Germans, was finally launched on
16th December 1944 but Panzer Lehr was still severely
under strength, with only one of its two tank battalions
operational giving it 27 Panzer IV and 30 Panthers
along with 20 Jagdpanzer IV/70’s ready for combat,
whilst its panzergrenadier regiments were only at 80
percent of their operational strength. It In fact, only
the Division’s armoured reconnaissance battalion was captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen it was
up to full strength but the Division was allocated an sent to block the American advance. In an unsuccessful
additional two tank destroyer battalions and an assault attack in the face of overwhelming allied ground and
gun brigade to make up for its lack of numbers. air superiority it took so many casualties that it was
During the offensive Panzer Lehr was actively reportedly reduced to little more than a battalion in
involved in all of the major actions including the battle strength with just 300 men and 15 tanks or armoured
for Bastogne, the assaults on Dinant and St. Hubert vehicles remaining.

34 Miniature Wargames October 2022

 LEFT
The combatants
begin their fire
fight.

It then staged a fighting retreat across north-western
Germany but became trapped in the Ruhr Pocket and
the remnants of the Division finally surrendered to US
99th Infantry Division on 15th April 1945. The Division
had been in existence for just over 16 months during
which time it had been in almost continual combat in
France, Belgium and Germany and although it had to
be rebuilt on several occasions it retained its fighting
spirit until the very end.
BUSTED: THE SCENARIO
‘Das Fahrzeug kaput ist’ (in English: the vehicle is
broken!) is a scenario utilising your free sprue
I wanted to use the figures on the sprue to create a
different type of scenario from the normal ‘two patrols
fighting each other’ and inspired by the uniforms of
the figures and the spare arms with spanners I decided BELOW
Lots of the
make up some dismounted crew members from an Wargames
armoured vehicle along with a couple of Panzer Atlantic figures
Grenadiers. Such crews could be armed with both on the sprue
assembled in
pistols and SMG’s whilst the Panzer Grenadiers had varying poses.
access to the normal bolt action rifles, SMG’s, Machine
Guns and grenades.
SET-UP
My scenario is set in somewhere in northern France in
the late summer of 1944 abut could equally be set in
March 1945 just before Panzer Lehr’s surrender.
During the retreat an armoured vehicle has broken
down and its crew are trying to repair it whilst a
couple of panzer grenadiers who had hitched ride
stand guard. The type of vehicle is unspecified to

›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 35
 DAS FAHR ZEUG K APUT IS T

are pulled out by using your teeth and you may shout
‘Dakker, dakker, dakker’ when firing automatic weapons
or yell ‘Take that Schweinhund!’ when playing (entirely
optional! Ed.). The rules can be downloaded for free
from the magazine’s web site but any set of one to one
combat rules which covers automatic weapons and
grenades can be used.

TABLE
The game is best played on a 4’ by 4’ table with the
ruined farm and its outbuildings set in 6 inches in
from one table edge and the whole complex covering
an area no larger than 12 inches deep by 18 inches
wide. Players should feel free to use whatever
buildings they have to create the farm complex but the
key point is that the disabled vehicle sits in the court

allow you to use whatever you have to hand, so it

could be a tank, an assault gun, armoured car or
a half track. Whatever you use in the scenario the
vehicle is immobilised and having used up its store
of ammunition in combat it cannot use any of the
armament it carries.
The vehicle stands in the court yard of an abandoned
and semi ruined farm where the crew are busy
repairing it and trying to get it mobile when the
two panzer grenadiers spot enemy soldiers moving
towards the farm. With little option left the crew grab
their weapons and join their comrades to defend their
ride home and their lives.

FIGURE BUILD
From the free sprue I made up the vehicle’s officer TOP AND yard of the farm and can be seen from the road leading
armed with an SMG, a veteran crew member who has BELOW, RIGHT to it. The rest of the table should have plenty of cover
TO LEFT
an SMG and a stick grenade taken from one of the The crew and in the form of wooded copses or orchards, fields and
Panzer Grenadiers as well as two crew members with the panzer hedge rows thus providing the US patrol with plenty
pistols and spanners. One of the figures comes without Grenadiers find of cover to reach the farm. One possible layout is
themselves
the full equipment kit and I simply trimmed the straps fighting in two shown below
off of the other three crew figures as panzer crews did directions at The Germans begin in the farm complex with the
not normally wear such kit unless fighting in a ground once. four crew members gathered around the vehicle trying
roll. I also made up two Panzer Grenadiers armed with to repair it: remember they were not aware of the
rifles, one of whom also has grenades. oncoming attack and so should be placed randomly
For their opponents I chose to use a sprue of six US
Infantry I had to hand but they could easily be replaced
with a patrol of commonwealth troops or even a group
of, say, French Resistance Fighters (also available from
Wargames Atlantic): I just used what I had to hand. I
made up my US Infantry with two armed with SMGs,
one with a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) and the
others with Garands or M1 Carbines.

RULES
The rules I used for the game were my own Quick on
the Draw rules with additions for pulp games set in
the 1920’/1930 and 40’s as the game is best played in
a pulp/ comic book style. So – as an example – SMG’s
can be fired from the hip or one handed, grenade pins

36 Miniature Wargames October 2022

around the vehicle. The Two Panzer Grenadiers may RIGHT
be placed anywhere in the farm complex where they We’ve found
somewhere
were supposed to be watching the road but were in fact selling cheap
watching the repairs before the enemy soldiers were fuel - I’ll hold
spotted. This means that members of the US patrol them off whilst
you get it!
may begin the game closer to the farm than expected.
(See Special Rules)
The characters are all inspired by Hollywood/Pulp
arch types seen in so many old black and white war
movies and pulp magazine and war comic stories and
are armed accordingly, rather than how they might have
been armed in reality. Although they are designed for
use with my rules the character’s profiles can be used to
suggest how they might be used in other rule sets.

THE GERMAN CREW

TITLE CHARACTER CARDS PERSONALITY SKILLS WEAPONS
TYPE
OBJECTIVES
The Aristocratic Main 3 Proud Brave Automatic Pistol 12
Officer Disciplined & SMG 18 ◗ The Germans want to drive off the US patrol so they
Quick Witted can complete their repairs and drive off.
The Tough NCO Supporting 2 Disciplined Brawler Automatic Pistol 12 ◗ The US Patrol wants to kill or capture the Germans.
Tough
The Silent Veteran Supporting 2 Disciplined Brawler SMG 18
Quick witted 1 x Grenade 8 SPECIAL RULES
◗ The Crew’s Reaction: On the first phase only the
The Cheerful Minor 1 Disciplined Poor shot Automatic Pistol 12 two Panzer Grenadiers are armed so the four crew
Crewman
Panzer Grenadier 1 Minor 1 Disciplined Expert Shot Rifle 36 & Bayonet members must stop their work, react, and grab their
Panzer Grenadier 2 Minor 1 Disciplined Brave Rifle 36 & Bayonet weapons before they can act. This requires them to
1 x Grenade 8 pass a Reaction Roll – so when their first card is
drawn from the Action Pack roll their Order Dice to
THE US PATROL see what they do:
TITLE CHARACTER CARDS PERSONALITY SKILLS WEAPONS
TYPE
REASON 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10
The Hard Nosed Main 3 Commanding Disciplined, SMG 18 FOR TEST
Veteran NCO Lucky 1 x Grenade 8
Quick Witted Vehicle Crew What shall I’m not Ready! Ready to Act! Kill the
Member’s I do? Scheinhunds!
The Combat Wise Supporting 2 Disciplined Quick Witted SMG 18 Reaction You head for You grab your
Soldier Brave 1 x Grenade 8 You freeze or the nearest weapon and You grab your
hesitate cover if in the may move weapon and
The Crack Shot Supporting 2 Disciplined Stealthy Garand Rifle 36 open or duck may move
Marksman & Knife You must down if in and can test
The Doc Minor 1 Disciplined Medic M1 Carbine 24 pass another cover. to carry out a
Medical supplies reaction test second action
before being You must on this turn
The Wise Cracking Minor 1 Disciplined Brave BAR able to act pass another
Soldier 24 if moved reaction test
36 if staionary before being
able to act
The Rookie Minor 1 Rash Poor Shot M1 Carbine 24
& Bayonet

›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 37
 DAS FAHR ZEUG K APUT IS T

ABOVE ◗ US Random Location: Due to the two Panzer REASON 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10

Elsewhere in FOR TEST
Grenadiers loss of concentration whilst watching the
Normandy Wanting to fix What a waste There’s a Ready to Vroom,
Panzer Lehr vehicle repairs some the members of the US patrol the vehicle of time! Spark! Drive! Vroom!
Panzer may have got close to the farm before they were
Grenadiers The vehicle Not quite The vehicle is The vehicle’s
spotted. Before phase one starts place the US figures needs a lot fixed but you repaired and motor is
fight on. more work may test your can be driven running
on the table edge furthest away from the farm and before it can repairs next and the you
then roll 1D10 to see how far each member of the be fixed turn may test
to perform
patrol had moved before they were spotted. another
action on this
turn
REASON 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10
FOR TEST
CONCLUSION
The Distance Got Nowhere Had moved Got Close! Got Very
the character Near! nearer! Close! So there you have it: a quick game to use your free
is from the You are set up figures. Of course they can be used in other World
farm You begin You are set 12 inches in 18 inches
on the table up 6 inches in from the table from the table War II settings from 1943 onwards by building your
edge from the table edge edge
edge sprue up as panzergrenadiers who were in combat
across much of northern Europe (as you will have
◗ Optional Rule: Of course the crew might decide to seen there are plenty of weapon options on the sprue
carry on trying to repair their vehicle so that they can to use) or as armed dismounted vehicle crews (many
escape. The player controlling the Germans may assign crews fought dismounted at Arnhem, for example).
either 1 or 2 crew members to carry on the repair work Whatever options you chose have fun making up
whilst the others try and drive off the Americans. some figures from your free sprue for
your games.
If this option is chosen then the repairs take ½ 1D10 So, will the Germans succeed
uninterrupted turns to complete. At the end of this in driving off the Americans DOWNLOAD
time the crewman assigned to the repairs must roll and then drive away in their MAP AND QUICK ON
THE DRAW RULES
their Reduced Order dice to see how successful they vehicle? Or will the Yanks stop tabletopgaming.co.uk/
were (the work is classed as a Difficult Task). If a them in their tracks: only you information/downloads
second crew member is assigned to assist in the work and the Gods of the Dice will
the outcome may be rerolled. decide! Happy Gaming. ■

38 Miniature Wargames October 2022

 Anschluss Wargames
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Geschutzwagen 39H(f)

Rules and Models by Anschluss Wargames. For more information see our website www.Anschlusswargames.com
Player Characters’ Fates In ECW Wargames
Mr Harman provides a ‘bolt on’ system for the ECW games
and rules of your choice. Ed.
PREMISE
When wargame rules are either very simple, somewhat
abstract – or even both (as is often the case today) –
the resulting battles run the risk of being a bit bland,
lacking in period atmosphere. The simple fire and
combat resolution systems may provide little detail
of the casualties suffered by the troops, but allow the
players to devote all the more effort to discovering
the battlefield experience of their imaginary personal
characters, in the manner of a role-playing game.
These optional rules for English Civil War battles
are intended to create extra atmosphere, by convincing
players that their own personal characters – and other
officers too, if they so wish - really are at risk in close-
quarter fighting, and to create the sort of circumstantial
details that can enliven post-game narratives or
campaign propaganda pamphlets. They can be used in
both face to face and ‘closed’ umpired games and are
also perfectly suitable for solo wargames.
Words by Arthur Harman. Photos by The Editor.
ABOVE WHAT ARE YOUR CHANCES?
Moving This is the process to determining an officers’ chances
towards
a village. of being killed or wounded. Throw 2d6 each turn of
Prince Rupert’s close (hand to hand) combat or pursuit, or whenever
Regiment with the unit the officer is accompanying suffers a hit from
a 28mm ECW
game called musketry or artillery fire. However:
The Brydge
to Farnham ◗ If under fire, a double 1 or 2 at close (Musketry/Case
Warfare 2021.
Shot) range, or a double 1 at longer (Roundshot)
range, means there is a chance the officer may
become a casualty.
◗ If in hand to hand combat, a double 1 or 2
means there is a chance the officer may become
a casualty.
◗ If there is such a chance, throw 2d6 again, and read
off the fates of a player’s personal character (and
also, if you wish, non-played subordinate formation
or unit commanders who are accompanying troops
under fire and/or into close combat) from the
appropriate tables below.
OFFICERS’ HAND TO HAND FIGHTING TABLE (THROW 2 D6)
Dice Score Result
12 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust misses officer by inches.
11 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust plucks off his felt hat or
cap, or rebounds off his helmet.
10 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust is deflected by his buff-
coat, if worn, or makes a hole/tear in other garments.
9 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust bounces off his belt-buckle,
gorget or body-armour
8 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust causes a minor wound to
his horse (See Horse Reaction Table below); three such
wounds will prove mortal.
7 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust causes a minor flesh-
wound in Left/Right (dice odds/evens) arm; two such
wounds in the same arm equal one serious wound
6 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust causes a minor flesh-
wound in Left/Right (dice odds/evens) leg; two such
wounds in same leg equal one serious wound.
5 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust disables Left/Right (dice
odds/evens) arm rendering it useless thereafter.
4 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust disables Left/Right (dice
odds/evens) leg, causing officer to fall to ground that turn,
if on foot
3 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust mortally wounds
officer’s horse, if mounted (See Horse Wound Table,
below), dice (odds/evens) to see whether he springs
clear or is trapped underneath; an officer on foot will be
gravely wounded in the face or body. If in hand to hand
combat, he will be captured by the enemy unless his
troops drive them off, in which case he will be carried to
the surgeons.
2 Pistol ball or sword/pike thrust strikes face or body,
mortally wounding/killing the officer.
If underfire and taking the Roundshot result: BELOW
Cavalry
clash. A To the
OFFICERS’ ROUNDSHOT WOUND TABLE (THROW 2 D6) Strongest game
Dice Score Result at Partizan 2022.
12 Hit in belly: mortally wounded and suffers a lingering death,
but bears the agonising pain with the customary fortitude
of an officer and a gentleman.
11 Leg (that nearest to enemy; otherwise dice odds/evens
to determine left/right) smashed: borne from the field in
a blanket to the surgeons (note that a mounted officer’s
horse is also wounded, see Horse Wound Table, below).
10 Arm (determined as for leg, above) smashed below the
elbow: unable to remain on the field and must go slowly to
the surgeons to undergo amputation.
9 Knocked from horse/down by the wind of a passing shot:
stunned for 2 turns, but then able to recover; however, will
remain shaken so that it will take twice as long to bring
mount back under control should it be startled (refer to
Horse Reaction Table, below).
7 The wind of a passing ball plucks off the officer’s hat: an
opportunity to impress the troops with his sang froid...
6 OR 8 A roundshot whizzes close by: the officer remains
unperturbed, but if he is mounted, his horse’s reaction must
be tested (see Horse Reaction Table, below)
5 Knocked from horse/down by a glancing blow: stunned and
severely bruised; and unable to recover before the close of
the action but suffers no permanent injury.
4 Arm (determined as for leg, above) shattered above elbow:
forced to ride or walk slowly from the field, assisted by a
comrade, to the surgeons to undergo immediate amputation,
but able to make encouraging parting remarks to the troops.
3 Hit in chest/shoulder: mortally wounded but able to utter
suitably gallant and uplifting sentiments before expiring.
2 Head knocked to atoms by ball: killed instantly.
›
ABOVE If underfire and taking the Musketry/Case Shot
Support from result:
the North.
A Yorkshire
Wargames OFFICERS’ CASE-SHOT/MUSKETRY WOUND TABLE (THROW 2 D6)
Society game at Dice Score Result
Vaptartak 2017.
10 or 11 Severely wounded and must be borne from the field to the
surgeons in a blanket.
RIGHT
Artillery 9 A narrow escape! Ball plucks off cap/hat, or bounces off of
advances. A To the Armour, helmet, beltplate, gorget, watch, ration biscuit
or Bible in pocket etc. “Had he been but fed and watered he
the Strongest could have withstood a siege!”
game at Partizan
6, 7 or 8 Unscathed.
2022.
5 Struck by a spent ball and stunned temporarily for one turn.
Officers who are stunned may not give or receive orders
and being unable to defend themselves in hand to hand
combat may be taken prisoner.
4 Lightly wounded in the arm (dice odds/evens for left/
right) and stunned for two turns; can remain in the field
thereafter, binding up wound with sash/handkerchief, but
must go to the rear if hit again “I still have one arm to serve
the Lord/His Majesty!”
HORSE REACTION TABLE (THROW 1 D6)
3 OR 12 Mortally wounded, but remains conscious long enough to
utter some Inspiring or poignant last words before expiring Dice Score Result
“So my breastplate wasn’t pistol proof after all…”
1 Horse startled, turns 90 degrees left.
2 Shot in the head and killed instantaneously.
2 Horse startled, turns 90 degrees right.
3 Horse turns about.
Officers who are stunned may not give or receive 4 Horse shies, backing up one area this turn and then
remaining rooted to the spot for 1 turn before being
orders and – being unable to defend themselves in brought back under control.
hand to hand combat – may be taken prisoner. 5 Horse rears on spot for 2 turns before being brought back
under control.
HORSEFLESH 6 Horse panics and gallops away from the direction of the
shot, changing direction if necessary, for 3 turns before
Use the following two tables if the Result in one of the being brought back under control, at a speed of 2 areas
files per turn.
tables above requires it.
 If an officer is wounded in the leg by roundshot, the
horse automatically suffers a body wound, as for a throw
of 4 below, since a roundshot that smashed through an
officer’s leg would almost certainly injure his mount too.
However, if a Field or Staff Officer and his mount are
in the line of flight of a roundshot, and the officer has
not been wounded, throw one normal die (d6) to test
for a wound to the mount:

HORSE WOUND TABLE (THROW 1 D6)

Dice Score Result
1 Near miss, refer to Horse Reaction Table, left.
2 Hit in leg, collapses but rider has time to dismount.
3 Hit in body, collapses but rider has time to dismount.
4 Hit in body, falls heavily, trapping rider for 1d6 turns until
pulled free.
5 Hit in head, drops instantly, throwing rider who remains ABOVE
stunned on the ground for 1d6 turns. Yorkshire
6 Hit in head, drops instantly, falling so heavily on rider that WS game at
he is carried insensible from the field. Vaptartak.

RECORDS LEFT
To the Strongest
I think a good way to do this is to record wounds to an Partizan 2022.
officer and/or his horse, using a dry-wipe or water-
LEFT CENTRE
soluble marker pen, on a picture or diagram of that Example hit
officer which has been laminated or covered with self- chart.
adhesive transparent plastic (so it can be wiped clean to
BELOW
be used again in later games) for future reference when Prince Rupert’s
writing battle reports or campaign newsletters. ■ Regiment.

DOWNLOAD
GET A BLANK HIT CHART
tabletopgaming.co.uk/
information/downloads

October 2022 Miniature Wargames 43

HOBBY TIPS
STOP
THAT
TANK
Build some easy Czech Hedgehogs
Words and images by James Rose
ubiquitous feature across many World
A War II battlefields as well as across the
scorched frontlines of Warhammer 40k,
the Czech Hedgehog has quickly become
a quintessential piece of wargaming terrain.
Originating, perhaps unsurprisingly given their
name, in Czechoslovakia, the Hedgehog is a
static, free-standing anti-tank obstacle. They
are usually manufactured from three notched
L-shaped or I-shaped metal beams joined at the
centre at right angles, and so creating its unique
shape. At the point of manufacture, only two
of the beams are centrally joined using rivets,
bolts and gusset plates (or, more quickly, simply
welded together) with the third beam being
attached on location using bolts. The notches
are there so that barbed wire can be attached
and strung from one Hedgehog to the next, so
creating further lines of defence.
Each beam is around 2 metres in length and
weighs approximately 240 kilograms, making
the Hedgehog an incredibly sturdy defensive
obstacle. But, along with its size and weight,
the Hedgehog has a further deterrent: its
physical shape. From a mathematical perspective,
a Hedgehog forms the central axes of an
octahedron, a shape with eight sides or faces,
meaning that, if tipped over by, for example, an
explosion, the Hedgehog will simply roll and,
after coming to a stop, still maintain its ‘upright’
position. This shape, combined with its size and
weight, creates a formidable obstacle that can
easily stop the movement of light to medium
tanks or other similar military vehicles: if such
a vehicle attempted to ‘knock’ it out of way, the
Hedgehog’s sheer weight and structure would,
in likelihood, make the vehicle upend itself on
the lower beam, lifting its treads from the ground
and rendering it useless… as well as a target.
While Hedgehogs were used throughout
WWII, we are, sadly, seeing them in use again MATERIALS USED
in the current conflict in the Ukraine. Various
reports have suggested that the Ukraine
Railway have converted masses of new rail
track into Hedgehogs, manufacturing them
where they can across their factories. Other
◗ Cereal Box Cardboard
◗ Craft Knife or Scalpel with
10A Blade
◗ Metal Ruler & Cutting Mat
◗ Sharp Pencil
◗ PVA Glue
reports suggest that the WWII Hedgehogs that ◗ Blister Packet Sponge (or
were been exhibited at the museum in Kyiv similar)
◗ Short Haired Paint Brush
have been put back into active service while
◗ Chisel Scalpel Blade
homemade Hedgehogs are being constructed, ◗ Lego Brick
by the resistance, from what materials are to ◗ Cocktail Sticks or Wooden
hand and available. Skewers
The Hedgehogs in this article are made from ◗ Crawford & Black Acrylic
Paint -
cut and folded cardboard. Any thin cardboard
Black & Burnt Umber
can be used, with cereal box cardboard ◗ Citadel Paint - Mournfang
being a good balance between weight and Brown, Leadbelcher & XV-88
flexibility and will allow for clean cuts and
folds. Achieving the crisp and even right-angle
bend in the ‘metal’ arm is a key part of this
build. To paint the Hedgehog only three to
four paints are needed and are applied using
a torn piece of blister packet sponge and a
stippling technique – dabbing the different
colours of paint onto the cardboard surface
to create a layered rust effect on the ‘metal’
arm. Alternatively, you can use a torn piece of
washing up sponge or torn make-up sponge. It
is worth noting that the cell size of each sponge
will give a different visual effect when stippled
so you may want to experimentation is key.
When the Hedgehogs are complete they
can be left as free-standing terrain obstacles
or you can base them. You may also want to
add diversity to your pieces by using different
materials for some of the arms – a paper
straw cut to size and painted as described in
this article would create a rusted metal pole
while cut, textured and painted balsa wood
would make for convincing wooden beams or
railroad sleepers.
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 45
 HOBBY TIPS

1. MEASURE
Using the diagram as a
reference, measure and draw
out the three supporting arms
on the plain side of the cereal
box cardboard. Ensure that you
mark the centre line on each
arm, label the areas A1 and A2
as indicated on the diagram and
score the centre line.

2. CUT
Cut out each of the arms using
the metal ruler and craft knife,
working slowly and carefully
to ensure clean, straight cuts.
The notches at the ends of each
arm can be eyeballed instead of
measured; the measurements
are given for accuracy for
those that would like to measure
and as a guide for those who
would prefer to eyeball these
cuts.

A Chisel Scalpel Blade is

invaluable when cutting these
notches as it allows you to make
clean, neat vertical cuts into the
cereal box cardboard.

3. FOLD & ASSEMBLE

Fold each of the arms along
the central score line, using
the Lego brick, if you have one,
to get the fold crisp, even and
square.

With all of the arms now folded,

take the arm marked A1 and
apply glue, using the cocktail
stick or skewer, around the
centre line. Hold this arm
horizontal and, taking the
arm labelled A2, attach to the
other arm vertically to form a
basic cross shape. The centre
marks should join to make
a right angle, as seen in the
photograph.

46 Miniature Wargames October 2022

4. ADDING AN ARM
Once the Hedgehog has had
some time to dry, take the third
remaining arm and glue this
into the right angle that has now
been created by the two arms,
ensuring that the centre lines all
align. Refer to the photographs
for further explanation. The
Hedgehog is now complete. Set
aside to fully dry before painting.

5. BASECOAT
Basecoat the entire Hedgehog
in black. This can be either done
with cheap acrylic paint and a
paintbrush, a spray can or, if you
have one, an airbrush. This is a
basecoat so ensure a smooth
and even application all over the
Hedgehog.

6. WEATHER
Depending on how weathered
you would like your Hedgehog to
be, you can apply the Citadel’s
Technical Paint Typhus Corrosion:
this is a texture paint with a fine,
granular nature. Generally, with
28mm scales, one or two layers
will suffice to both emulate rust
and provide enough texture for
later painting. When applying,
dab the paint; this will create a
more realistic texture and avoid
brush marks. This step is optional
but if you do apply the Typhus
Corrosion, consider where the
Hedgehog would most likely rust –
in the grooves of each angled arm
and around the ends for example.

›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 47
 HOBBY TIPS

7. RUST
Once dry, take a piece of ragged
ripped sponge. Squeeze a
small amount of Burnt Umber
onto a palette and dip one the
ragged sides of the sponge
into the paint and then dab or
stipple this onto a scrap paper
to remove most of the paint.
If the paint is too thick on the
sponge, it will not leave the
desired texture. Apply the Burnt
Umber using a light dabbing
motion. When stippling, vary
the pressure so that there
are areas where the black
undercoat comes through and
some areas where the Burnt
Umber is solid. Try and also
keep as much texture as you
can.

8. EVEN RUSTIER
You can add another layer of
yellow-brown: sparingly use a
colour such as Citadel’s XV-88
for this only to the edges and
ends of the arms. Wipe as much
of the Burnt Umber off your
sponge as you can and – while
this paint is still wet – repeat the
above process using a further
shade of reddish-brown, such
as Citadel’s Mournfang Brown.
Try and let the paints mix a
little in order to create smooth
transitions but also allow the
sponge texture to be evident so
creating a contrast between the
two colours.

9. METAL
Once the paint is dry, choose a
metallic paint – such as Citadel’s
Leadbelcher – and drybrush the
edges of the Hedgehog. To do
this, load a small amount of the
paint onto a short-haired brush
and then wipe the majority of
the paint from the bristles onto a
piece of scrap paper or kitchen
towel. Then, using is a flicking
motion, just catch the edges of
the metal arms to create areas
where the metal is still coming
through the rusted surface.

48 Miniature Wargames October 2022

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RECCE B O O K R E V I E W S F O R T H E D I S C E R N I N G WA R G A M E R
REVIEWS
ENGLISH GARRISON OF
TANGIER
◗ Andrew Abram
◗ Helion & Company (2022)
◗ £35.00
◗ 381 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915070326
◗ helion.co.uk
Number 83 in Helion’s Century of the
Soldier 1618-1721 series is subtitled
Charles II’s Colonial Venture in the
Mediterranean, 1661 – 1684. In this book
which covers Wellington’s Favourite
Engineer John Fox Burgoyne, the
introduction explains how Tangier
formed part of the marriage treaty
between Charles II and the Portuguese
Infanta, Catharine of Braganza, together
with Bombay, free trade in the East
Indies and two million crowns.
Explanatory Notes detail how dates
prior to 1752 are given with the New
Year starting on 1 January instead of
25th March; that the varied spellings
in contemporary manuscripts and
printed sources have been modernised
and current punctuation added; but
that money and distances are quoted in
contemporary, imperial system terms,
and Abbreviations lists those used in
the footnotes.
The first two chapters are devoted
to the Restoration Army and the units
that formed the Tangier Garrison. The
third chapter describes the arrival of the
English in 1662 and the fourth, the Mole
and Harbour of Tangier.
Know Your Enemy: the Army of
Khadir Ghailan and Moroccan Warfare
describes the clothing, weapons and
tactics of the North Africans using
contemporary quotations and a few
reproductions of period artwork.
Chapter six provides a narrative of the
governorship of Andrew Rutherford, 1st
Earl of Teviot; chapter seven describes
the governorships of Fitzgerald, Belasyse,
Norwood and Middleton over the
next ten years. The next three chapters
describe the hardships of garrison life, the
Great Siege of Tangier in 1680 and later
battles. The last two chapters describe the
colony’s final days and the diplomacy
that led to its evacuation in 1683-84.
There are numerous black and white
illustrations, many being reproductions of
contemporary
drawings
and prints by
Wenceslaus
Hollar of
Tangier, which
will be very
helpful if one
wishes to recreate
the fortifications
in miniature, and
of English troops, on and off duty. Three
full-page, modern maps show Western
Europe and the Mediterranean; Tangier
and Morocco; and The Ground and Forts
around Tangier, 1680. Patrice Courcelle’s
picture of an English musketeer with a
matchlock on the cover is – alas! – the only
colour illustration.
Fifty five pages contain ten appendices,
the most useful of which for wargamers
is probably Appendix VI, Lists of Stores
and Equipment at Tangier, which
contains, amongst much other material,
the details of arms and ammunition in
store on various dates; a Survey of the
artillery pieces in service, October 1683;
an Abstract of the guards drawn up five
deep, September 1683; and the ‘Several
alarm posts for the foot and horse as hath
been observed in His Majesty’s garrison
of Tangier, whilst under the command of
Colonel Percy Kirke.’
A nine-page bibliography concludes
the book; there is no index.
Tangier offers an interesting alternative
scenario for campaigning with
Restoration/late 17th century English
troops against Moroccan warriors,
perhaps using Muslim troops from
wargame armies of the Crusades. Possible
actions range from skirmishes between
Moroccans and parties sent out from
the fort to obtain supplies to the Great
Siege, the events of which are described
in detail in chapter nine. Alternatively,
the problems facing successive governors
of the colony – ranging from attacks by
the Moroccans to mutiny by the garrison
troops - could form the subject of roleplay
or committee games; the contemporary
accounts quoted in the text will provide
plenty of inspiration.
Wargamers interested in recreating any
aspect of England’s occupation of Tangier
should definitely purchase this book.
Arthur Harman

THE ITALIAN WARS VOL 3
◗ M. Predonzani and V. Alberici
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £19.95
◗ 122 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781914059667
◗ helion.co.uk
The Italian Wars saw a riot of
enormously varied troop types, from
the ferocious to the unwilling, and from
the aristocratic cavalry to the lowly
foot soldier, in a period of emerging
weaponry and tactical innovation,
with a degree of actual or potential
treachery, and all in glorious
technicolour ‘uniforms’: what more
could you want!
This third volume covers
principally the battles of Biccoca
(1522) and Pavia (1525), with the latter
described in around 30 pages and with
very full orders of battle supported
by sketch maps (regrettably with no
scale). There are also good descriptions
of heraldry and dress, accompanied
by eight pages of colour plates. The
authors have done much research
into key non-English sources, and
present their findings clearly. Volume
One was marked by some rather poor
translating, but the current volume
reads well.
I suppose one prime problem is
the old wargame adage of ‘don’t rest
your hand on those sharp pikes...’,
but this really is a most interesting
period to try out, and these authors do
it proud.
Chris Jarvis
SU-152/ISU-152 VS TIGER;
& THE DUTCH RESISTANCE
MOVEMENT 1940-45
◗ David Greentree; & M. Wenting & K. Castelein
◗ Osprey (2022)
◗ £14.99; and £13.99
◗ 80; & 64 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781472848642; & 9781472848024
◗ ospreypublishing.com
The first title in this WWII double-bill
describes the design, development, core
qualities (including all armour values
and shell-penetration data), organisation
and combat use of these opposing
mammoths, with snapshot profiles of
eleven operations in which they had direct
contact with each other.
For wargamers, two particular facets
spring to mind. Firstly, the impressive
anti-armour values of the early and late
Soviet 152mm guns were greatly reduced
by low rate of fire, minimal ammunition
(only 20 rounds, of which just 13 were
HE), poor sights, and often poor training
– do we build these fully into our rules?
Secondly, losses in approach marches,
and through inability to repair combat-
damaged vehicles, often greatly exceeded
the battle losses. Overall, this is a good
account of these iconic AFVs.
The second title covers the myriad
Resistance (and collaborationist)
organisations in this sad episode in Dutch
history. The focus is on describing each
organisation, together with uniforms,
personalities etc, but there are some
interesting (albeit brief) accounts of daring
assaults, typically to free fellow Resistance
prisoners. Many of the leading fighters
were killed or executed.
Chris Jarvis
HITLER’S WINTER
◗ Anthony Tucker-Jones
◗ Osprey (2022)
◗ £20
◗ 320 pages (hardback)
◗ ISBN:9781472847393
◗ ospreypublishing.com
The December 1944 ‘Battle of the
Bulge’ was Hitler’s great gamble
designed to wreck the Allied land
forces in the West. Success was
always improbable, as the author
demonstrates, with so many factors
stacked up against the German
offensive – multiple rivers, narrow
roads, fuel shortages, short daylight
hours, the threat of Allied airpower,
and so on.
It is an engaging read, written in
an episodic manner with short
chapters each dealing with a particular
facet of the campaign: for example,
Skorzeny’s ‘fifth column’; the
Luftwaffe surprise strike on Allied
airbases; the V1 and V2 rocket
campaign, etc. The overall theatre
map omits many of the places in the
text, so the reader gains an overall
impression rather than the ability to
follow events precisely. All the sources
are secondary (and some are from the
more ‘excitable’ post-war authors), so
there is no fresh research presented.
In all, this is a good story: well told,
with a strong feel for the background
to the campaign, but generally with
insufficient detail to refight specific
actions.
Chris Jarvis
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 51
 REVIEWS
THEIR INFANTRY AND GUNS
WILL ASTONISH YOU
◗ Andy Copestake
◗ Helion (2021)
◗ £25
◗ 189 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781914059773
◗ helion.co.uk
Like the author, I first
became aware of this
fascinating episode when
reading Bidwell’s Swords for Hire. This
is the story of European adventurers who
became mercenary commanders of multi-
battalion Brigades of Sepoys, on behalf
of Indian rulers who needed something
more effective than the usual rag-tag of
mainly unreliable native armies.
Set in the late 1700s, this is an
extraordinary human as well as military
story. Some adventurers were entirely
self-made men, whilst others had an
aristocratic background with a sense of
daring: all had a desire to make their
fortune (money and fame) in India. The
initial chapters cover the organisation,
weaponry and recruitment of the
Brigades and the native irregular troops,
but the bulk of the book is the many
battles and campaigns, culminating in the
destruction of the Army of Hindustan by
the British in the early 1800s.
This is a potentially rich period for
wargamers, with good quality Brigades
heavily endowed with artillery, plus
masses of Maratha light horse, and
ample opportunities for treachery and
bribery. I just wish someone would do
10mm Sepoy troops...
Chris Jarvis
52 Miniature Wargames October 2022
BULLOCKS, GRAIN AND
GOOD MADEIRA
◗ Joshua Provan
◗ Helion & Company (2021)
◗ £25.00
◗ 200 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781913336547
◗ helion.co.uk
Number 64 in the From Reason to
Revolution 1721-1815 series is subtitled
The Maratha and Jat Campaigns 1803-
1806 and the emergence of an Indian
Army. These campaigns established the
Honourable East India Company as the
dominant military power in India and
its troops as a formidable foe.
An eight-page Introduction is followed
by a three-page Chronology from the
battle of Pune, 25th October 1802, to the
surrender of Holkar on 24th December
1805. The first section, Redcoat, Sepoy and
Maratha, describes the King’s troops, the
HEIC armies and the Maratha forces of
Daulatrao Sindhia, the Peshwa Bajirao
and Yashwantrao Holkar.
Next, The Deccan Campaign, accompanied
by a map showing the movements of the
opposing armies, provides a narrative
of the operations in which Arthur
Wellesley won his first victory as an
army commander, contains diagrams
of the battles of Assaye and Argaon and
ends with a description of the siege and
capture of the fortress of Gawilghur. The
Hindustan Campaign and its accompanying
map describes Lieutenant-General Lake’s
simultaneous campaign in the north
against Holkar and contains diagrams of
the battles of Delhi and Laswari. Finally,
Holkar and Bharatpur describes Lake’s
pursuit of the Maratha general and his
final capitulation. A diagram of the town
and fortress of Bharatpur shows the main
siege operations.
There are 24 colour illustrations. Four
by Patrice Courcelle depict an officer
of the Experimental Brigade of Bengal
Horse Artillery; a battalion company
private of the 78th Foot at Assaye; a
Risaldar-Major of the 7th Madras Native
Cavalry, and a Maratha Silledar using a
lance. Two plates by Cecil Lawson show
typical dress for both King’s and HEIC
European infantry in India and a gunner
of the 2nd Madras Foot Artillery c. 1780-
90. Three plates by Lyall show a soldier’s
cook boy, an officer of the 8th Light
Dragoons and a lascar of the Madras
Foot Artillery. Reproductions of paintings
include a portrait of Lieutenant General
Lake and his son at Laswari; a subadar
and Grenadier company sepoy of the
Bengal Native Infantry; a Maharajah on
an elephant parading with his regular
sepoys and matchlock men c.1810; two
Arab infantrymen, and a matchlock man
from Malwa.
18 monochrome images amongst
the text include reproductions of
drawings of Bengal Native Cavalry;
a Madras sepoy; Maratha light
horsemen; a mounted European officer
leading a column of Madras sepoys,
and photographs of places such as
Aurangabad, Gwalior and Bharatpur
that are mentioned in the text.
Three appendices give orbats for the
British Army at Assaye, the Regular
Corps of Gwalior State in August 1803,
and the Grand Army of the Doab and
Yamuna and Ganges, 26th August 1803.
A Select Bibliography ends the book;
there is no index.
I recommend Helion’s Their Infantry
and Guns Will Astonish You: The Army
of Hindustan and European Mercenaries
in Maratha Service 1780-1803 by Andy
Copestake for additional information
about the regular corps or campoos of
the armies of the Indian princes who
opposed Lake and Wellesley. (note Chris
Jarvis’ review: column left! Ed.)
India offers an interesting, alternative
theatre of operations for wargamers
bored with the European campaigns of
the French Revolutionary or Napoleonic
Wars with its appealing combination of
regular troops, using European weapons
and tactics on both sides, together
with war elephants, artillery drawn by
bullocks or elephants, and hordes of
irregular native warriors.
Arthur Harman

EAGLES OVER THE ALPS
◗ Christopher Duffy
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £32.50
◗ 304 pages (hardback)
◗ ISBN:9781913336134
◗ helion.co.uk
I reckon this author is
one of the great military
history writers of our
time, and Helion are to be congratulated
on reprinting his 18th century studies.
He offers an excellent blend of military
analysis set within the social, economic
and political framework of the era, an
attractive writing style, superb iconic
maps, and combined in this case with
some wonderful character studies in high
command.
He covers the Russo-Austrian war
against revolutionary France, almost
wholly in the Swiss theatre, told
primarily from the Russian side and
showing the inspirational character
of Suvorov – not necessarily a great
strategist or tactician, but a great
leader of men and indeed a military
hero for generations to follow. This is
not a period where much is available
in English: for example, reliable Orders
of Battle are, as the author notes, “as
rare as hens’ teeth”.However, there is
plenty here for the wargamer, including
OOB and all the battles (and significant
sieges) – the three-day battle of the
Trebbia has around 20 pages including
terrain photos and two maps.
A gem of a book.
Chris Jarvis
53
REBELLION, INVASION AND
OCCUPATION
◗ Wayne Stack
◗ Helion (2021)
◗ £25
◗ 194 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781914059834
◗ helion.co.uk
The 1790s saw much turmoil in Ireland,
culminating in the Irish Rebellion
of 1798 and the 1,000-strong French
‘invasion’ later that year.
Campaigns and battles account for
about a third of the book, with useful
area maps but not a single battle map – a
major drawback. However, the book is
more a ‘history of the military’ rather
than a military history, describing the
quality and quantity of the troops in
Ireland, and their relationship with
the underlying political, social and
economic dynamics. The author
describes thoroughly the recruitment,
reliability and usage of each of the
major components: the Militia (mainly
Catholic, but with Protestant officers); the
‘Fencibles’ (mainly Scottish and English
militia-type units posted to Ireland); the
Yeomanry (heavily Protestant); and the
very few regular regiments available.
On the whole, loyalty and self-interest
drove the Protestants, and poverty the
Catholics, with many of the latter joining
British regular regiments for
employment abroad.
This is an unusual and interesting
social history of an army in the trying
circumstances of major civil unrest
coincident with a major foreign war.
Chris Jarvis
THE KAISER’S CRUISERS
1871-1918
◗ Aiden Dodson & Dirk Nottelmann
◗ Seaforth Publishing (2021) (Pen and Sword
Books Ltd)
◗ £35.00
◗ 320 pages (hardback)
◗ ISBN:9781526765765
◗ seaforthpublishing.com
The title gives the clue, but this book
only covers the ‘small’ or ‘light’ cruisers
of the German Navy. Not detailed are
the large or battle cruisers which appear
in a companion volume on capital ships.
This covers the development of the
German navy from its origins in 1871 to
the scouting groups of the First World
War. It also examines the rationale and
principles behind their designs and the
roles they were built to fulfil.
Encompassing wide research, many
line drawings and black and white
photographs, it traces the commissions
of all the ships and the lessons that they
brought to further development amid
the rapidly changing technological
world of the late 19th Century. The effect
of the German fleet laws on designs is
examined with a short comparison with
other navies.
This is a highly informative, well
written book by two well qualified
German and British authors. There is
coverage of cruiser actions coupled with
war developments and building. It is
thoroughly recommended for all those
with an interest in the German navy,
naval history, the changing technologies
of naval design and the ships of the First
World War.
Martin S. Pike
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 53
 REVIEWS
TO SETTLE THE CROWN
◗ Jonathan Worton
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £19.95
◗ 282 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915070944
◗ helion.co.uk
When studying the English Civil war,
I suppose many of us tend to focus on
the battles of the field armies, but in
fact much of the war’s impact was at
a local day-to-day level, with the
constant struggle to recruit, pay, equip
and feed the numerous small garrisons
placed to deny those same resources to
the enemy.
This ex-dissertation is a thorough
and impressively-researched account
of the war in Shropshire, from both
the Royalist and Parliamentarian
perspectives. The author uses mainly
original documents to analyse
allegiances, the administrative
organisation of the war effort, financing
the war, the armed forces, logistics, and
a concluding 40-page chapter on the
nature of military operations (including
garrisons, fortifications, siegecraft, and
brief descriptions of the main field
engagements such as Stokesay). Maps
are helpful in showing the patterns of
opposing garrisons, and several tables
show the ‘contributions’ of food, money
and men by area plus the occasional
infusion of units from elsewhere.
This book would form an excellent
basis for an ECW mini-campaign set at
county level. Recommended.
Chris Jarvis
54 Miniature Wargames October 2022
THE SECOND BATTLE OF
PRESTON, 1715
◗ Jonathan D. Oates
◗ Helion & Company (2022)
◗ £29.95
◗ 274 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915070319
◗ helion.co.uk
Mention ‘The Fifteen’ and most
wargamers will recall the Jacobite
rebellion in Scotland to restore James
Francis Edward Stuart, the ‘Old
Pretender’, and the Earl of Mar’s
defeat at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on
13th November. But there was another
Jacobite campaign in northern England,
the subject of this book, Number 84
in Helion’s Century of the Soldier
1618-1721 series, which culminated in
a two-day engagement at Preston on
12th-13th November: “The Last Battle
on English Soil”.
A colour picture of an English
Jacobite soldier by Patrice Courcelle,
which appears on the cover, is the
only illustration of a soldier at Preston.
The black and white illustrations
that accompany the text consist of
reproductions of portraits and prints
of the principal characters and of
contemporary scenes and maps, together
with modern photographs of places,
artefacts and a commemorative plaque.
Two full page modern maps, show the
manoeuvres of Carpenter’s Government
forces, the United Jacobites and the
Disunited Jacobites in October 1715; and
the manoeuvres of Carpenter’s and Wills’
Government forces and the Jacobites prior
to the battle of Preston in November. Two
full page diagrams depict the first and
second days of the battle.
Appendix I covers the Jacobite Army.
Tables provide lists of the officers, and
the parishes or counties of origin of
the members of the various companies
of the Scottish infantry battalions and
the troops of English cavalry, together
with similar information regarding the
origins of the Gentlemen Volunteers,
English gentlemen, English servants
and followers, and Scottish nobility
and gentry who were not members of
a battalion or troop. Two other tables
list the arms carried by Jacobite soldiers
and English Jacobites according to
eyewitness descriptions.
Appendix II covers the British Army.
Tables give the ranks and names of
officers, the ages of the rank and file
(based on Chelsea Out Pensions records)
at the time of the battle and their years
of experience. It ends with a rather
discouraging half-page note on The
Battlefield Today which states that “The
battle has been scandalously neglected by
Preston’s modern civic authorities.” and
that “None of the buildings now standing
in the town date from the time of the
battle.”A six-page bibliography concludes
the book; there is no index.
Preston would make an unusual
scenario for a wargame, as the
Government troops had to fight their way
into a town held by the Jacobite forces,
who had placed barricades and guns
across the three main entrances. The lack
of military experience of many of the
Jacobite commanders was, historically, a
severe disadvantage but perhaps makes
them ideal roles for players with little
knowledge of early 18th century warfare!
One could stage a preliminary committee
game, with players taking the roles of
the principal Jacobite commanders, to
decide whether to meet the Government
forces outside Preston, as was initially
proposed, or to occupy and defend the
town. Afterwards, both options could
be wargamed, with more experienced
players controlling the Government
troops, to discover which might have
been more likely to succeed.
Government forces can be portrayed
by Marlburian British troops – or even
Seven Years’ War soldiers if one is not a
stickler for accuracy of uniforms – whilst
Highlanders from the ‘Forty-Five’ can
perfectly well represent their predecessors.
Figures in 18th century civilian dress, such
as American militiamen from the War of
Independence, can be used for the
English Jacobites.
Arthur Harman
HOBBY TIPS
BIBLICAL GRANARY
Timeless terrain for the Middle East
Words and images by Tony Harwood
his latest model is based on a number of
T wooden toy granaries that I found while
searching the internet. Various museums
across the world have examples of similar
structures and I’ve wanted to build a model
of one for some time. The editor had asked
for a Biblical themed model and I suggested
three different structures all of which I hope
to build and paint over the coming months. (I
also thought it might fit in with Jon Sutherland’s
Command Decision this month, not that it needs
a lot of scenery! Ed.) The granary was chosen
as the first of this series as I had already been
sketching up some simple plans.
Once I had suitable plans, I cut out profiles
of corrugated cardboard and glued them
together with my hot glue gun. However, it
became apparent that the model would need
to be enlarged and after cutting the side walls,
I spliced in a 20mm extension. I then applied
strips of 2mm thick card to the lower edge and
around the entrance to both add interest and
follow the designs found on the internet.
The enlarged structure and internal grain
storage areas were then covered in strips of torn
newspaper glued in place with PVA glue.
Once again I revised the initial plan, as I
thought the walls were to flimsy and I used MATERIALS USED
5mm thick foam underlay to thicken the
external walls before once again covering the
whole model in strips of torn newspaper and
a mix of PVA glue, ready mixed filler and grey
acrylic paint.
◗ Corrugated cardboard
◗ Egg box card
◗ Plastic card
◗ Red plastic tubes (a child’s
construction set)
◗ Hardboard
After sanding the walls smooth, I started ◗ Card
building the internal detail using egg box ◗ Scrap wood
◗ Sieved stones, sand and cat
card, some red plastic tubing and plastic card.
litter
The model was then glued to a piece of scrap ◗ Resin and wooden pots and
hardboard and the base was built up with jars
DAS modelling clay, detailed with stones,
sand and cat litter applied over PVA glue ready
for painting.
The pale sand basecoat was brush painted
on, but in a break from my usual painting
technique. I used my airbrush to finish of the
highlighting before painting the entrance with
a terracotta colour paint and drybrushing the
groundcover with lighter paints.
There wasn’t a lot of detail painting, but
what little there is was done with a fine
brush and the simple wooden stairs/ramp
was constructed from scrap wood before I
varnished the whole model with Galleria matt
varnish and decorated the base with some
static grass tufts.
›
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 55
 HOBBY TIPS
1. RESEARCH
Internet searches for Biblical
structures are either huge
temples or simple mud brick
housing, it was rare to find
anything more interesting.
This granary is based upon
a number of wooden toy
granaries that were found in
various archaeological digs in
Egypt and the Syria. I thought
that I could add sufficient detail
to the interior and some simple
decoration to the external
walls to make it a little more
interesting.
These sketches show my initial
planning.
2. FUNDIMENTALS
Corrugated cardboard walls
were cut and then glued
together with my hot glue gun.
These simple shapes are then
used as the basis of a more
detailed structure.
My plan was to reinforce and
build up the structure by adding
strips of newspaper and card
over PVA glue. However... This
didn’t go entirely to plan. Twice...
3. PLANNING
PERMISSION
Part way through the initial
construction, I realised that
the internal spacing between
the grain stores was too
small and so I added a 20mm
extension of corrugated
cardboard to the sides before
covering the walls with strips
of torn newspaper glued in
place with PVA glue.
I have written in previous
tutorials about how strong
these simple cardboard and
newspaper structures are
and I would recommend these
techniques to anyone building
their own wargame terrain.
56 Miniature Wargames October 2022
4. STONE CLADDING
Having decided that the walls
were not quite ‘right’, once
again I deviated from my initial
plan and used 5mm thick foam
underlay to ‘beef up’ the main
walls as I thought they just
looked too thin and flimsy. I
should really have used two
layers of cardboard in the initial
construction, which would have
made life a lot easier!
This revised structure was
also covered in strips of torn
newspaper glued with PVA glue.
I then ‘plastered’ the walls with
the usual PVA glue, filler and
paint mix that I generally employ.
5. DETAIL WORK
Detailing was done with egg box
card, some red plastic tubing
(which I had salvaged from a
child’s construction kit) and
plastic card.
All of this was glued in place
with either PVA or superglue
depending on the materials
involved.
6. GROUND WORK
The base was constructed
from a piece of scrap
hardboard with the
groundwork built up from
DAS modelling clay and
further detailed with
wooden and resin jars from
the spares box before the
groundwork was applied.
This was made from mixed
sieved stones, sand and
cat litter which were added
over PVA glue.
The wooden ladder/ramp
was constructed from
some scrap wood and glued
in place with superglue.
7. BASE PAINTING
The initial pale sand colour was
brush painted over the model and
base in preparation for
the main painting.

Rather than craft or

household paint, I used
standard tube acrylic
paint and mixed the
subtle colours actually
on the model itself with
a large brush.

8. WALLING
The walls were painted with my
Paasche H airbrush
and the detailing
was done with a fine
Rosemary & Co.
Sable/Synthetic
brush. The groundwork
was drybrushed with
lighter colours. The
terracotta detailing
around the main
entrance was
copied from
illustration I
had seen on the
internet and the
pots were painted
in various ‘earthy’
colours before the
model was varnished
with Galleria matt varnish.

9. FINISH
Final detailing entailed adding a
few static grass tufts to the base. I
decided not to add green flocking or
coverings to the base as I thought
this would look odd on a model of
a Biblical Granary.

To give some idea of size,

the completed granary
(bearing in mind I had
expanded it twice during
the fabrication) is 180mm
x 150mm x 90mm tall
and is mounted on a
hardwood base 250mm
x 230mm.

October 2022 Miniature Wargames 57

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QUARTERMASTER
CASTLES ON THE GROUND
◗ brigademodels.co.uk
◗ £1.75 - £3
Recently, Osprey released their Castles
in the Sky rules for Aeronef combat so
avid gamers may well want to expand
their collection of scenery to enhance their
visual gaming spectacle. Brigade Models
have already released a slew of scenery
in their 1/1000th scale model range and
they seem determined to keep adding to
it. Consequentially, they have a trio of new
add-ons for the budding miniature castle
builders out there.
First up is a new large bastion to fit the
Vauban Fortifications range. This is the
Baluarte de San Domingo, part of the walls
ACCESSORIES & TERRAIN
of the Colombian coastal city of Cartagena
de Indias. Brigade have tweaked it
slightly to fit the dimensions so that it fits
in well with their existing wall pieces and
you can add fort guns from their range
should you feel the need for some actual
defensive armament.
There’s also a new keep for the modular
castles range: this one has a triangular layout
with a round tower at each corner. Finally,
another castle add-on. This is a Dansker,
also known as a latrine tower. These were
towers over a running stream which were
linked to the main building by a bridge.
These sometimes extended out over the
main castle wall and were often features of
central European castles. That all sounds...
fragrant. Models are cast in cream coloured
resin and are priced at £2 for the Triangular
Keep, £1.75 for the Dansker, and Baluarte de
San Domingo is £3.
28MM AINSTY FANTASY
◗ thebattleforge.co.uk
◗ £3.95 - £10.95
As reported last month in Defence
in Depth, Ainsty Castings have just
bought the Battleforge range of fantasy
miniatures and scenery and we have been
sent some samples. As of typing I still can’t
currently find a web connection from the
Ainsty website so the Battleforge address
is what we have listed above. So what did
they send for the scenery components?
Well, the first thing that surprised
was that they are all cast in white metal.
Bearing in mind the excellent resin casting
of this manufacturer I was quite surprised
at this but... there we are.
They sent a number of items through
that are well detailed and – in the case
of the door – sculpted on both sides. The
door they sent is a circular Halfling Hobbit
Hole Door. It’s 30mm across (to allow
Wizard’s comfortable entry I assume) and
has a stone surround. Being double sided,
it could be used to build scenery which
has an interior (£3.95). For the same price
they also make some regular square farm
doors and barn doors which – although
I haven’t seen them – are, I assume, also
double sided. To complete the look, they
manufacture a selection of floor hatches
(suitable for lofts, cellars and dungeons).
They sent a selection of their model
fungi in the shape of Gigantic Field
Mushroom and Toadstools (two of them)
and another pack of Gigantic Goblin
Mushrooms and Toadstools. Both of these
packs come as non-identical pairs and
have separate heads but different style
caps: the former are almost 60mm tall
whilst the toadstools are a little shorter.
Good for whimsical games (Moonstone,
for example). These are £10.95. They
also make a selection of other useful
accoutrements from wooden
buckets to patches of pumpkins
and half a dozen different
wooden carts which are of
general appeal.
October 2022 Miniature Wargames 59
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Website updated
Paul Meekins

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 THE LAST WORD
SIMON CHANDLER:
CHRIS PEAT, SPALDING
WARGAMES CLUB
his month it’s a
T compilation: a last word
with a charity drive plus
an introduction to a
wargames club. A twofer! Ed.
How did the club first get
started?
Facebook! Martin Jackson,
Spalding Wargames Club founder,
sent a message out on social
media and accidentally made it
a public message and was soon
inundated with people wanting to
join in. So, he had to form a club!
What’s changed in the years it’s
been running?
Just greater numbers of members:
ever since the lockdowns have
ended we have had a noticeable
rise in the number of new faces.
What are some of the most
popular games at the club?
Currently, Marvel Crisis
62 Miniature Wargames October 2022
Protocol; Saga; Star Wars Legion;
Flames of War; Fistful of Lead;
Warhammer 40K and Frostgrave
along with various RPGs. Every
couple of months, the club holds
a Saturday gaming event, giving
members the chance to spend an
entire day enjoying the hobby. In
the evening, we head out for a
meal and a couple of drinks.
What’s wargaming like in your
neck of the woods?
We were surprised just how many
people there are in our area, a
somewhat rural part of the world,
who like to roll some dice.
How do you advertise your club?
We have appointed one of our
committee members, Jess, as
Social Media Manager. She has
been publishing pictures, stories
and lots of information on our
Facebook page, which is our
main portal to the wider world.
We have also started exhibiting at
wargames events, having won best
participation game at SELWG.
However we recently did a
Charity event: ‘From Tabletop
To Running Track’. Three of the
club’s members, Ian Davison,
Martin Jackson and Alec Bell took
part in the Stamford Race for Life
run at Burghley Park in June to
raise funds for the charity.
The same day, the club held a
special gaming get-together to
raise even more funds for Cancer
Research. Special demo games
were held during the event, (a
Harry Potter Dungeons and
Dragons game, Star Wars Legion
and Warhammer 40K plus a
model painting). There was also
a cake stall and proceeds went to
the charity and further donations
were made throughout the
duration of the event.
“Three of
the club’s
members...
took part
The event raised over £1,000 for
charity and it shows how much we
as a community can play together
but also support each other
through even difficult times. “We
in the are all overwhelmed by the support
Stamford shown by all of our members.” said
our Club Secretary, Craig Jackson.
Race for
Life ... The Why would you like to join
same day, Spalding Wargamers?
Spalding Wargames Club is a
the club held friendly and welcoming group
a special that play tabletop games of all
gaming get- types, from wargames to role
playing games to boardgames.
together to They meet every Wednesday at
raise even the Vista, Churchgate, Spalding
more funds (near St Mary and St Nicholas
Church) at 7.15pm. The club is
for Cancer open to everyone aged 18-plus
Research.” and the first evening’s attendance
is free. Check out the Spalding
Wargames Club Facebook page to
find out more.
OUR LATEST RELEASES!

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