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WELCOME THE SHOW MUST GO ON
IN THIS ISSUE
04 FORWARD OBSERVER
With the latest news items.

06 SEND THREE AND

FOURPENCE
W
ell this is the issue supporting the Salute 50 show. For the first time in a
couple of years (Covid etc) Salute has returned to its ‘traditional’ April A WWII Historical RPG: can you hold the crossroads?
spot and it looks to be a big show. On that basis we have some articles
that link in with the show, plus there’s the programme. The articles include a COVER 12 THE DIARY OF
Double Feature of Command Decision with Jon Sutherland writing a second special FEATURE “SMUDGER SMITH”
to accompany his Greek game at the show (with a downloadable campaign!). A DAK Attack SAS in the desert game.
Plus there’s The Woods fantasy game which is launching
a new supplement featured in this magazine; and 16 SCOWLES OF THE
Kaiserschlacht WWI: a Great War game at the LEPRECHAUNS
show. Outside of Salute related games, there’s The Woods is running a new fantasy game at
the culmination of Historical RPGs with a WWII Salute: play along!
scenario by Conrad Kinch, and an SAS Jeep raiders
piece. Finally there’s some suggestions for fiddling 21 DEFENCE IN DEPTH
with Little Wars and a Scratchbuild Tools exposé. With the latest figure and rules reviews.
And I thought I’d use a shot of me at Salute
2000 with a funky shirt and a hat from an 24 COMMAND DECISION
oriental game that I’ve been saving! As And the Soldier put it on...
Freddie Mercury sang: “Empty spaces, what Campaigning for the Horse & Musket period: Jon
are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we
Sutherland with a scenario for the last instalment
know the score, on and on does anybody know what
of a three part special.
we are looking for?” See you at Salute.

Get in touch 30 RETURN TO THE WELLS

Arthur Harman gives some simple ideas for
tabletopgaming.co.uk improving ‘Little Wars’.

MiniatureWG
32 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
John Treadaway MiniatureWargames Kaiserschlacht 1918: a WWI Salute game.

Editor miniature_wargames_magazine
40 IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE
TEMPLES TODAY
MINIATURE WARGAMES The French take on the Tongs for loot! A rumble in
EDITORIAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE Luke Hider the jungle with a subterranean element.
EDITOR John Treadaway 01778 395085 | luke.hider@warnersgroup.co.uk
MiniatureWargames@warnersgroup.co.uk
PUBLISHED BY
45 MIGHTIER IN WAR
PUBLISHER Claire Ingram A Command Decision two-fer: Thebes v Sparta 371BC
DESIGN Mike Carr
claire.ingram@warnersgroup.co.uk with a downloadable campaign for a Salute Special.
COVER: SAS Jeeps in the Desert: DAK Attack! Warners Group Publications PLC The Maltings, West Street,

ADVERTISING TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL

Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH | 01778 391000 50 RECCE
ACCOUNT MANAGER Charlotte Lewis NEWSTRADE DISTRIBUTION A crop of reading material to grace the wargamer’s
01778 391129 | charlotte.lewis@warnersgroup.co.uk Warners Group Publications Plc 01778 391150 coffee table.

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER Nicola Glossop 55 CLUB SPOTLIGHT

01778 392420 | nicola.glossop@warnersgroup.co.uk Meet the Aberdeen Wargames Club.

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Charlotte Bamford

01778 395081 | charlotte.bamford@warnersgroup.co.uk
The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the
57 SCRATCH BUILD
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
Tool-time: Mr Harwood lays out his kit.
omissions. While every care is taken with unsolicited material submitted for

62 THE LAST WORD

MARKETING
MARKETING MANAGER Katherine Brown
01778 395092 | katherine.brown@warnersgroup.co.uk
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.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) exists to regulate the content of An opinion piece by reader Bill Templeton.
advertisements. Tel: 020 7429 2222 © Warners Group Publications PLC, 2021

April 2023 Miniature Wargames 3

 FORWARD OBSERVER
News, previews and community submissions from the wargaming world
COMING SOON FROM
OSPREY
Rules, supplements and reference
material
Osprey are releasing a swathe of new
books that cover a number of bases
and periods and we have been given
some advance notice and a look at the
covers. We start off with a rules set: A
War Transformed by Frederick Silburn-
Slater. In this The Great War meets the
horrors of forgotten folklore in this
occult skirmish wargame: very much
a gothic horror and trench warfare.
Teaming up with Warlord, they have
a Bolt Action: Campaign: Italy: Tough
Gut. It’s a new supplement for Bolt
Action 2 focusing, as the title suggests,
on the later Italian Campaign, following
ARRIVING ON
PLATFORM 15
SF Monorail action
Brigade are an up-scaling their popular
6mm SF Monorail train to 15mm.
These are large models (something like
150mm long) and are designed to sit
on a plastic track. The models will be
around £10 to £12 and come in various
types: an engine with a pointy front, a
4 Miniature Wargames April 2023
on from Soft Underbelly campaign. It
adds new units, scenarios, and special
rules, as per usual. Back in wargames
rules we have With Hot Lead and Cold
Steel by Arthur van der Ster. This is
a set of wargaming rules for fighting
large battles set during the American
Civil War. Lastly, there’s The Doomed
by Chris McDowall. This is a quick-
playing, rules-light skirmish wargame
of Horror hunting set in a bleak sci-fi
world on the brink of impending
doom (sounds intriguing!). Go to
ospreypublishing.com for more info.
passenger carriage with flat ends,
and an armed combat train with spots
for two turrets. The track is actually
plastic conduit, widely available from
any DIY store, and the train sits on
it perfectly. The models are designed
with doors half way up the sides of
the carriages to interact with a station
platform and Brigade are looking to do
sets of an engine and two carriages at a
slight discount.
SECOND STAR TO THE
RIGHT
And straight on to 28mm panto
Sally 4th have added to their piratical
(and, I guess, ‘unusual, literary fantasy
inspired’ ranges) with a new range of
(it has to be said) “Peter Pan” driven
models. They sent me a boxed set of
the entire range which is £37 for 22
models but the individual figures (if
children in rompers doesn’t fit the
bill) are available in pairs or subsets.
So you can get a Hook type (with a
separate cutlass arm to stick on and
a hook in the other) and Smee for
£8, or you can get the three Darling
children (complete with dog) for £10.
Half a dozen Lost boys in bunny eared
rompers are £8 and a selection of
flying and standing Peter Pan – plus
a flying fairy and a native American
princess – are £10. Height wise the
adults are 30mm to the top of the head
and they all come with a supplied
MDF base. These are very good figures
with superb detail and animation.
Where can you find them? They’re
BEHIND YOU! Well, probably best go
to wargamesbuildings.co.uk
 100 GREATEST BATTLES
Traditional 28mm SF
Osprey’s The 100 Greatest Battles could be deemed a
‘coffee table book’ but that undersells it. The 223 page
hardback covers a great selection of combat from the
ancient period (Marathon) right through to more modern
times (Desert Storm). There’s sea battles like Jutland and
Trafalgar, through to Air and Air/Sea combat (Battle of
Britain and Midway) and land based conflict. I would
argue that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
isn’t actually a battle but... in general Angus Konstram does
an excellent job as author. Each is presented as a two page synopsis accompanied by a very nice
illustration lifted from the Osprey back catalogue.
CATTLE MARKET
COMMUNITY CORNER
This month we talk to Vera Campbell:
“well, I’m a stay at home parent, and
full-time miniature painter! I spend most
of my time working on commissions and
all kinds of personal projects. I got into
miniature painting around fifteen years
ago. A few of my coworkers were heavily
into Warhammer, and I decided to jump
into the game. I discovered I was more
of a painter than a tabletop gamer, and a
new passion was born! I’ve been doing it
off and on for years, but only got really
serious about making a go of it last year.
“I wanted to show you a miniature
I’d completed called Sophie, and she’s
just your ordinary, undead pack-Auroch.
She’s from the game Malifaux, by Wyrd
Miniatures, which happens to be my
favourite game. She carries around her
master, Jedza, who is a quirky, undead
wanderer. In painting it Sophie, my
goal was to do something strange and
unique, and maybe inject a little fun
into the model. So I went with a very
If you’d like to submit
unity unconventional colour scheme to
something for Comm
Corner, contact make her stand out. I used mainly
MiniatureWargames@ Citadel paints on Sophie, and used
warnersgroup.co.uk
a combination of basic basecoating,
washes, and drybrushing to give her a
funky, ‘ethereal’ vibe. I’m really happy
with the combination of unusual bone
colours and vibrant fabrics and trinkets.
I’m really proud of the way I painted
her in general. I think she’s just bursting
with personality. I picked her up because
I really liked the back-story and lore of
the characters. I don’t have a connection
with her as much as I do Malifaux in
general. It’s a game that is very near and
dear to my heart.
“Sophie will get plenty of play in
future Malifaux games, as it is the
one miniature game I actually play,
so I’ll be pulling her out any time I’m
representing the Explorer’s Society, my
favourite Malifaux faction!
“You asked me what’ my number one
tip is for miniatures painters. I think
my top tip is to just paint. It can be
intimidating, but once you get started,
you’ll find your way. Just grab a few
cheap paints and brushes, a mini that
calls out to you, and go for it!”
SHOW & TELL
EVENTS BEING PLANNED!
SALUTE 50
22nd April
ExCel
London, E16 1XL
salute.co.uk
PARTIZAN
Saturday 21st May
Cedric Ford Pavilion,
Newark Showground, NG242NY
hammerheadshow.co.uk
VANQUISH
Sunday 22nd May
Bourne End Community Centre
Wakeman Road
Buckinghamshire, SL8 5SX
tablescape.co.uk/Vanquish/
BROADSIDE
Saturday 10th June
Medway Park Sports Hall
Mill Road,
Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1HF
miltonhundred.com
THIS MONTH
IN HISTORY
BATTLE OF
FORMIGNY
15 APRIL 1450
During the Hundred Years’ War it
paved the way for the capture of the
remaining English strongholds in
Normandy. After the English army
circled Carentan on 12 April, the
French army of 3,000 men advanced
east to intercept the English force.
On the same day a force of 1,200–
2,000 Breton cavalry had reached
Saint-Lô from the south. The
French and English armies faced
each other on the Carentan-Bayeux
road. The English army, with their
backs to the stream, was 4,000–7,000
strong and gathered in a long line
behind a thicket of stakes and low
earthworks. After an exchange a
Breton cavalry force charged the
English force from the flank and
massacred them though a small
force under Sir Matthew Gough
was able to escape.
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 5
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
DUNGEONS
Roleplaying for Wargamers Part Two:
Life at the Crossroads Words and pictures by Conrad Kinch
INTRODUCTION
In last month’s column, we discussed
the various historical RPGs available
that might interest wargamers who
fancy dipping their toe in role playing
games without having to engage with
Snarks, Frumpkins and Goblins of
various sorts. This month, we have
a short scenario called “Life at the
Crossroads” for use with the free version
of Operation Whitebox, a Second
World War roleplaying system based on
Dungeons & Dragons.
If you’re not familiar with roleplaying
6 Miniature Wargames April 2023
ABOVE: “Are you boys lost or what?” A Sherman outfit
approaches the traffic control point.
games, I would suggest having a look at
this (youtu.be/I6AT0qIWqx0) ten minute
video on the subject, which is as good a
summary as I’ve come across.
THE GAME
Life at the Crossroads is short (2-3 hour
game) about a Military Police Traffic
Control Section. I’ve provided four first
level characters (with downloadable
stat cards), but players can, of course,
roll their own if they wish. The player
characters (PCs) are Military Police
tasked with manning a traffic control
point at a crossroads. Their objectives
are – firstly – to ensure the clear passage
of traffic through the junction; secondly
to suppress lawlessness and arrest
wrong doers; and lastly to prevent
enemy stragglers returning to the front.
Their Non-Player Character officer,
Lt Spencer, will lay this out for them
before being struck down with an acute
attack of appendicitis. This will throw
the player characters back on their own
resources to muddle through as best
they can.
NOTE FOR THE GAMESMASTER
Models: I wrote this scenario with
miniatures in mind, it was developed
mainly because I didn’t have any
British military police figures and my
20mm Americans could pass as MPs.
The map provided isn’t one that can be
reasonably accommodated on a table
top. What I would suggest you do is
use two boards. The first should be
about 36 inches square and show the
cross roads where the lads have their
Traffic Control Point (TCP). I used a
Cigar Box battle mat for that. I marked
out a second 36 inch square area which
I used for everything else. If the lads
investigated the farmhouse, I set it
up there and put their figures on the
board and just removed everything
once they were finished. Be prepared to
use “Theatre of the Mind” (i.e. just talk
through what happens) to keep things
moving, but – used judiciously – I find
that employing figures concentrates
the mind wonderfully, particularly for
combat.
Historical Accuracy: When I started
work on this, I had intended to reference
a real Military Police unit. Unfortunately,
I couldn’t find anything where a small
unit experienced the variety of stuff that
crop up in the scenario. In the end, I tore
up the idea and decided to aim for a
general impression, so that I could fit all
the things I wanted in. The map, the unit
and the situation is fictional, though I’ve
drawn on period manuals and an article
on the ‘Red Ball Express’ for inspiration.
What I’m saying is: don’t be precious
about specifics (“the 106th Infantry
Division were on a different front!”). If
you get the general impression right,
that’s good enough.
SCENARIO BRIEF
It’s August 8th 1944 and you are all
members of the 793rd Military Police
Battalion tasked with protecting the rear
area of the allied drive on Paris. Due to
a chronic lack of military police, the unit
has been filled out with transfers from
other branches. Your officer, a lanky
Texan named Lt Spencer, informs you
that you’re being sent to a tiny hamlet
named Fax. There’s a bridge and a
crossroads there. You’re to set up a traffic
control point and ensure the proper
flow of traffic there. Your usual jeep was
written off in a crash, so you’re using a
borrowed M3 halftrack from the 106th
infantry. As you set out from your base at
Alencon, Spencer orders you all to take
off your white oversleeves and swap
your white helmets for plain ones in the
half track. “The white will just make
you stand out for snipers” he explains.
He seems to be a particularly foul mood
today as if something is bothering him.
THE CHARACTERS
Lt Spencer
Lt Spencer is a 35 year old highway patrol
sergeant and national guardsman from
Cross Plains, Texas. Laconic and stand
offish, he is a consummate professional
who doesn’t mix with his men.
Kit: M3 Grease Gun, six magazine, .45
colt, map, written orders.
Pte James “Fritzy” Hildebrandt
Round-faced and a bit pudgy, 32 year
old Fritzy was an auto-mechanic from
Los Angeles before he got drafted.
Fritzy’s parents were from Cologne. He
has a wife and two kids back home and
is determined to get back to see them.
He speaks fluent German, but takes
great exception to anyone who says he
isn’t a “proper” American or that he isn’t
pulling his weight. A devout Lutheran,
he does his duty, but doesn’t want to
take any crazy risks. He’s considered an
oddball as he doesn’t smoke.
Kit: M1 Carbine, bandolier 10 clips,
two grenades, hipflask filled with
schnapps, prayerbook.
Corporal Peter Molloy
Small, dark and good looking, 24 year
old Molloy is a third generation Irish
American car salesman from Boston.
Blessed with the gift of the gab, he was
drafted in 1943 and was originally a
Signaller before he got transferred to the
Military Police due to a lack of personnel.
He doesn’t much like the job, but does his
best, though his ignorance of procedure
gets him into trouble sometimes. Quick
witted and with an eye for the ladies, he’s
angling for promotion to commissioned
rank as he wants to go into politics.
Kit: M3 Grease Gun, 6 magazines, .45
Colt, Rosary, Carton Lucky Strikes, Zippo.
Pte Milton Popper
A gangling 6’7, 19 year old Popper is a
blue blooded former Divinity student
from Lexington. He volunteered for
service as soon as he was able. Popper
considers the war to be a great crusade
against evil and was originally in the
Armoured Corps. He resents being
transferred to MP duty as he feels there
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 7
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
will be little action. He writes to his
mother every day and is rather more
innocent than the older men, though he
has just begun to smoke – something
which he worries about.
Kit: M1 Carbine, Bandolier 10 clips,
breath mints, Carton Lucky Strikes,
Dorothy Sayers novel, Zippo.
Pte Alex Miller
Small, round, pugnacious and foul
mouthed, 25 year old Miller hails from
Brooklyn. He served three years in
the NYPD and resents the fact that he
remains a private despite volunteering
for service as an MP. Sharp eyed and
inquisitive, he’s a born investigator,
though his short temper has prevented
his advancement on a couple of
occasions. He’s determined to get a
Luger for his kid brother back home and
wouldn’t mind getting a medal either.
Kit: M1 Carbine, Bandolier 10 clips,
Carton Lucky Strikes, baton, .45 colt,
Zippo, brass knuckles, dirty French
postcards.
M3 Half Track w/.30 MG
500 rounds .30 ammunition.
Loaded in Half Tracks: 10 C Rations;
Cardboard and timber for making signs;
Can of white paint & brush; Vehicle
Toolbox (also including a saw, hammer
& nails); Radio; Sleeping gear & shelter
halves; 20 gallons fuel in jerrycans.
ARRIVAL
The player characters arrive at Fax
to find the bridge at the crossroads
unmanned. If they look around they will
find evidence (a wooden barrier to be
dragged across the road, cigarette butts,
discarded C ration cans, etc) that there
was a Traffic Control point here, but it
seems deserted.
Lt Spencer is disgusted with this
dereliction of duty and orders two of
the characters to set up the control
point and the other two to “have a look
around” while he gets on the radio to
inform brigade.
While this is happening, Spencer
returns to the halftrack. He will collapse
in the vehicle with a ruptured appendix.
How long it takes the PCs to notice is up
to them. If the PCs attempt to drive back
to Alencon, the starter motor in the half
8 Miniature Wargames April 2023
track will give out. This is not a part that
they have available as a spare and they
are not exactly in position to push start a
half track.
One of the first tasks the PCs will
have to undertake will be working out
what to do with Lt Spencer. I’m a firm
believer in letting the players come up
with solutions to their own problems,
but some possibilities include:
Radioing back to Brigade: they will
be directed to remain in place and
will be told that there is a medic and a
replacement officer on the way (who
will arrive at a time that suits the GM).
Loading him onto an empty truck on
the Red Ball Express. Probably the fastest
way to get him to medical attention.
Medical help: Getting one of the
medical personnel ferrying wounded
away from the front to have a look at
him. Most likely they will simply stick
him in the back of the ambulance and
drive for the nearest medical facility.
This is a very loose structure and you
should be prepared to trim and adjust
to meet your needs and your players
interests, if your players get really
interested in the German “sniper”,
maybe add a few German stragglers to
the woods.
ENCOUNTERS
Once the players get themselves set up
and discover that their officer is hors
de combat, I would start throwing
encounters at them. This should be in
shape of a constant stream of traffic,
depending on much you want to use
miniatures, this can be dependent on the
collection that you have available: I’ve
put some general observations together.
Note on Names: To save space, I’ve
included three short lists of names available
as a download at the TTG website. Simply
read off the next one on the list whenever
you need one or use an online name
generator if you run out.
The only traffic that should be in
the road ought to be empty Red Ball
Express 2.5 ton trucks coming back
from the front. These convoys were
supposed to be a minimum of 20 trucks
(I’d go with five if using miniatures)
with a jeep in front and behind.
The majority of the units doing the
transportation are ‘Coloured Units’
(the US Army did not desegregate until
1948) so almost all of the drivers will be
African American with a white officer
in the rear jeep and a white NCO in
the front. There should be two drivers
in each vehicle and – in theory – they
shouldn’t be travelling at over 25 mph.
They get a break for ten minutes before
the end of each hour and a half hour
break for chow every six hours.
The majority of encounters should be
easy enough. Direct the traffic if it needs
directing, keep everything moving. I
would let them deal with two or three
convoys before changing things. The
trick to making things difficult for the
player characters is to have them deal
with multiple issues at once.
A small (5 truck, 2 jeep) Red Ball
Express convoy decide to take their ten
minute break just before reaching the
junction, but parking their vehicles in
such a way that they block the whole
road. The PCs will have to find the
officer in charge and get him moving
again. He’ll argue that they won’t be
stopped for long, when another convoy
arrives behind the first. The officer in
charge of that convoy will demand to
know why he’s being held up. A blazing
row will erupt between both officers,
which could turn physical if the PCs
don’t de-escalate the situation.
A convoy blazes through the junction
without stopping. The trucks have had
their limiters disabled and are clearly
breaking the 25mph speed limit. Do the
PCs try to stop them or ignore it or radio
in a report?
French teenagers approach the PCs
attempting to cadge cigarettes or
chocolate. They may approach a stopped
convoy and sell wine to drivers on their
break with predictable results.
A French peasant with a donkey drawn
cart is transporting fire wood between
Place de la Sangliers and Les Epees. He
has no English. He can either wander
into the midst of a convoy if the PCs
aren’t paying attention. His donkey can
spook, injure itself, turn over or block
the junction. As none of the PCs speak
French, they will have to communicate by
mime (which is always fun to roleplay...).
A single truck (with a Red Ball sign) will
attempt to drive through the checkpoint. If
stopped, the driver, an African American
PFC will say that he’s attempting to catch
up with his convoy. The passenger, a white
Corporal, with infantry badges remains
tight lipped. The Corporal is actually a
combat shock case, a man whose resolve
has snapped and has deserted. He
hijacked the truck and is holding a Luger
on the driver. The PFC will attempt to
hint that he is under duress, but won’t
challenge the driver directly while he has
a gun in his ribs. Whether the deserter
starts shooting if he gets desperate is up to
you, I think it would be more interesting
to let the characters try and talk him out of
the truck.
Several truck loads of replacements
for an infantry outfit stationed at St
Girard arrives at the junction from Les
Epees. He asks for directions and then
tells his flustered and increasingly angry
young 2nd Lieutenant, who is lost and
wants to go in the direction of Place des
Sangliers. Do the PCs give him the right
directions even though he shouldn’t be
on the road or do they let themselves be
over-ruled by the Lt?
The PCs are contacted on the
radio to inform them that an officer
has been murdered at Alencon. The
suspect is believed to be dressed in an
artilleryman’s uniform, white male in
his 20s and has “a funny accent”. There
is a possibility that he may have been
a German infiltrator, any unauthorised
traffic headed away from Alencon is to
be searched. In actuality, the murderer
is a Swedish-American draftee and the
row was over a gambling debt, but that
won’t be discovered for several hours.
A convoy coming from Colmar de
Blanc reports that they took some
sniper fire from a farm house about
800 yards down the road, can the PCs
go check it out? The fire comes from a
deserted farm house, where a wounded
Wehrmacht sergeant dragged himself
after being injured. He’s dehydrated
and delusional and is firing his rifle at
passing traffic as he slips in and out
of consciousness. Whether the PCs
investigate, kill or take him alive is up
to them.
A French couple arrive
at the checkpoint. The
wife states in
very broken
English
ABOVE: A view of a potential set up for
this scenario (less buildings). Something
compact like this is generally all you
need for an rpg setup.
that “the Bosche” have kidnapped
her children and are holed up in their
house at the end of the road. “The
Bosche” are actually a group of five
Czech and Slovenian forced labour
camp detainees, who have escaped from
their work camp and are making their
way home by walking across Europe.
In the meantime, they are marauding
on the civilian population and aren’t
too particular about who they beat up
or steal from. They are armed with
kitchen knives, but have no firearms.
There are two French teenagers locked
in the cellar. The escapees are desperate
men, who will surrender if faced with
overwhelming force, but might try and
overwhelm an isolated PC.
A jeep containing three members of
the press corps, two male journalists
and a female photographer, headed
towards St Giraud. They do not have
accreditation to be this far forward, nor
do they have permission to be travelling
on the road in this direction. They will
attempt to charm their way through if
challenged and will certainly try to run
the checkpoint if they think they can get
away with it.
HANDOUTS
Some items for the players.
How to be an MP in ten easy steps:
1. The enforcement of military laws and
regulations, the maintenance of order,
and the control of traffic remain
the most important duties
of military police in
war as well as in
peace.
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 9
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
ABOVE: “M’am I’m sorry for your trouble. But I can’t let you through here yet. You don’t understand a damn word
I’m saying do ya?” Pte Popper wrestles with the human cost of war.
2. Military police are representatives
of the head quarters which controls
their area, and are not subject to
orders from any lesser authority.
3. Military Police have powers of arrest
over military personnel and the
normal powers of arrest any person
has when they observe a crime.
4. Persons arrested must have their
name, rank, serial number and
offence recorded and be conveyed
to head quarters as soon as is
reasonably practicable.
5. In a tactical situation it may
occasionally be necessary for column
commanders to countermand the
orders which a military policeman
has been instructed to enforce. In this
event the responsibility for making
a decision contrary to the military
policeman’s orders rests with the
column commander. When such
action occurs, the military policeman
will inform the column commander
as to what his orders are, as to the
existing traffic situation, and, so far
as possible, indicate the probable
consequences of his decision in
terms of traffic disruption. In any
case, after the decision has been
made, the military policeman will
handle the movement with the least
possible interference with traffic
flow, get name, rank, serial number
of the convoy commander and make
a full report of the incident to his
commanding officer, who will in turn
relay the report to the provost marshal.
6. Traffic moving to the front lines have
the right of way over traffic moving
to the rear.
7. Loaded vehicles generally have the
right of way over empty vehicles.
10 Miniature Wargames April 2023
8. Units on the march should not be
broken up.
9. A unit on a short march should be
given right of way over a longer
one, faster right of way over a
slower. Traffic can be filtered
through gaps in a long column.
10. The first vehicle to reach the
junction has right of way, where
there is a dispute, the vehicle on the
right has right of way.
ORDERS
8th August 1944, Alencon: Lt Spencer
You are to relieve the Motor Control Point
at FAX and remain there until relieved.
This MCP is vital to the operation of the
RED BALL EXPRESS route. The route (ST
GIRARD-COLMAR DE BLANC-FAX-
PISCINE NOIR) is a one way route for
vehicles returning from the front. Other
traffic is to be redirected.
Traffic running north-south (PLACE DE
SANGLIERS-LES EPEES) and south-north
is to be facilitated, but only to such an
extent that it does not impede the passage
of traffic on the RED BALL EXPRESS
ROUTE. Only vehicles marked with the
red circle RED BALL EXPRESS emblem
are to be allowed on the road. No civilian
traffic is to be allowed on the road at any
time. The speed limit is 25mph. Where
refuelling is conducted, all jerrycans are to
be kept and returned to the nearest depot,
to facilitate their re-use. Normal policing
functions and the maintenance of good
order are to be carried out.
793rd Military Police Battalion,
Alencon: Lt Col Treadaway
Map Key - Crossroads Map. Hamlet of
Fax: the houses are deserted, some have
been looted.
Site of the old Traffic Checkpoint -
wooden barrier thrown in a ditch, old
signs with it, signs of discarded ration
boxes and cigarettes. Abandoned farm
house. A wounded German Sergeant
lies in the master bedroom on the first
floor. He is dehydrated and delusional.
A convoy stopped to refuel here, but
the lazy drivers tossed 60 jerrycans in a
ditch rather than loading them back up.
An isolated French farmhouse. This is
where the couple from Encounter 9 live.
An abandoned and partially burned M3
halftrack is sticking half out of a ditch.
Given half an hour, Hildebrandt could
scavenge the starter motor from it to
repair the units vehicle.
STATS
◗ Allied Officer/NCO: AC 8 [11]; HD
1d6-1; hp 4; THB +0; ATT 1 (weapon);
ST 18; MV 12; HDE/XP 1/15;
submachinegun (Thompson).
◗ Allied Soldier: AC 8 [11]; HD 1d6-1;
hp 3; THB +0; ATT 1 (weapon); ST 18;
MV 12; HDE/XP 1/10; large rifle (M1
Garand).
◗ German NCO: AC 8 [11]; HD 1d6-1; hp
4; THB +0; ATT 1 (weapon); ST 18; MV
12; HDE/XP 1/15; large rifle (98K).
◗ French Civilian: AC 8 [11]; HD 1d6-1;
hp 3; THB +0; ATT 1 (weapon); ST 18;
MV 12; HDE/XP 1/10; Fists.
◗ Forced Labour Escapee: AC 8 [11]; HD
1d6-1; hp 2; THB +0; ATT 1 (weapon);
ST 18; MV 12; HDE/XP 1/10; Knife.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
All of these are available on line:
Military Police Operations in World
War II: Extending the Division’s
Operational Reach, Major Christopher
Evans (apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1071037.
pdf)
Field Manual 19-5 Military Police 1944
(cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/
p4013coll9/id/823)
Field Manual 29-5 Military Police 1941
(cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/
p4013coll9/id/802/)
The Red Ball Express, Dr Christopher
Carey
(armyupress.army.mil/
Journals/Military-Review/
DOWNLOAD
English-Edition-Archives/ MAPS & NPC NAMES
March-April-2021/Carey- & CARDS
Red-Ball-Express/) ■ tabletopgaming.co.uk/
information/downloads
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 THE DIARY OF “SMUDGER SMITH”

DIARY ENTRIES...
erday, so time for
Day 1 - The road watch ended yest
spotted us, but
us to head home. An enemy aircraft
waved, and the fool
we unveiled our Italian flag and
fell for it!

oved again today,

Day 2 - Nobby Clarke’s wound impr
gh to get back behind the Breda.
and he was well enou
ia four days ago.
He was hit during the raid on Bard

four more Bl**dy

Day 3 - Top brass diverted us for
days of road watch.

position when we
Day 4 - We had only just got into
an aircraft . The Breda truck
were spotted by a Germ
y was killed.
again took the brunt and poor Nobb

abandoned the road

Day 5 - Under standing orders, we
watch and made our way home.

armoured car,
Day 6 - We were attacked by a lone
been tipp ed off by the
which saw our dust and had
k was hit and dama ged, so we
plane. The radio truc
Fort unately, the Bred a and K guns
took it under tow.
stop him in his
put enough lead into the enemy to
tracks.

managedtorepairit.Billisa
Thateveningweworkedontheradiotruckand
abou t anything going.
good fitter and can get just

and arrived back

Day 7 and Day 8 - We drove all day
r a successful mission. RIP Nobby
late on Day 8 afte
Clarke.

THE DIARY OF
A campaign for DAK Attack somewhere in the Western Desert
Words by Dave Tuck. Photos by Malc Johnston
ased on the DAK Attack rules we reviewed (issue
the SAS and their LRDG taxi service. The book of the
same name by Ben Macintyre, setting out the history of
the early years of the SAS, is an incredible account of

B 472) and covered with an article (issue 474), here’s a

taster to get your campaign juices flowing from Dave
Tuck whose group has taken this one up. There’ll also
be another article from the rules author in an issue soon! Ed.
THE RULES
The above was a dramatized version of our latest
adventure using the DAK Attack rules written by
Brendan Wheatley. These are a set of rules which
couldn’t have appeared at a better time, covering the
events and actions dramatized in the new BBC drama
series Rogue Heroes. This covers the early exploits of
the exploits of the early pioneers of a completely new
type of warfare, and it is highly recommended. It also
sets out many of their operations that would translate
well to the wargames table.
The rules are a co-operative set where the player or
players all take the part of an SAS patrol. A patrol would
consist of five or six vehicles, with the commander in
a jeep and the remainder a combination of customised
30cwt Chevrolet or Ford trucks. These were armed
with any combination of automatic weapons, or even
captured Italian Breda autocannons. A favourite was the
K gun a pair of drum fed light machine guns.

12 Miniature Wargames April 2023

 Each vehicle in the patrol is given one of the
photocopiable vehicle sheets, on which are marked
the names and ranks of the driver and passengers and
the weapons mounted on the vehicle, from K guns to
MMGs or LMGs as well as whether it is a radio truck,
medics vehicle or fitters truck. These have special
qualities, useful to a mission.
GAME TIME
The game usually starts with a raid on an enemy airfield
or supply depot, and then traces the units eventful
(usually) return to base over a 7-to-10-day period. This
part of the mission is covered by a very nicely produced
deck of cards with 30 events covered in detail in the rule
book. Not all these events are bad for the team, and some
can be ignored if too many casualties have been suffered,
and they would therefore become suicide missions.
We have played the airfield raid several times now, ABOVE
and it works well as a stand-alone game. It also acts The commander
leads the way
as an introduction to the basic combat and firing home and the
rules, and forces the players to plan their attacks, airfield looks
with various amounts of co-operation, depending on badly hit!
Miniatures from
their characters. In the TV series Sterling sets up a Rob Cooper’s
blackboard of individual patrols scores, and we did collection.
the same in our game. As in the series, it produced an
amount of recklessness in some of the group, that led
to, let’s say, a number of unanticipated highs and lows!
MODELS & FIGURES
The figure count required for the game is low, about
4 to 6 vehicles, jeeps and Chevrolets with various
armaments, and half a dozen dismounted SAS
troopers. The Axis forces – either Italian or German
– are in sub-units of 3 riflemen, 3 riflemen and an
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 13
 THE DIARY OF “SMUDGER SMITH”

V FOR VICTORY
Victory conditions for the mission as a whole, are
nicely dealt with. Points are gained for aircraft, fuel
dumps, trucks, buildings, and personnel destroyed.
The enemy gain them for destruction of crew and
vehicles, costed according to rank, skill and type of
vehicle lost. Radio and fitters’ trucks are both useful
in this game. A simple ratio-test of gains versus losses
gives a definite result every mission.

SCALE IT BACK
The rules are scale agnostic, so they would be great
at 6mm for anyone pushed for space, or for use on
holiday or while travelling, and converting the moves
to centimetres it can be played on a 3 ft square board.
It would also allow for some spectacular scenery with
airfields and supply bases all available in this scale.

ABOVE officer and an LMG team, with one of each making up

This jeep is a squad.
armed to the
teeth. A card deck with these options, and some blank cards
are supplied, and the scenario generator lets you know
RIGHT how many cards are required and how many blanks to
Italian take. These are placed face down and only revealed once
defenders react
to the raid they are spotted, or they have the chance to open fire.
There are also rules for cutting barbed wire, timing and
placing bombs, and lobbing hand grenades.
One interesting concept is that as the raids are at
night it is very difficult for the Axis to spot the raiders
unless – and until – they “start the fun”, and this
gives them a dilemma over whether to go in all guns
blazing and get out quickly, or sneak in and take longer
to cause damage, but at less risk. There is usually a
time pressure on the raiders as returning patrols and
Armoured Cars can, and do, show up at random points
on the board. We tend to play in 28mm and one thing we found
invaluable was using 1/72 scale aircraft, rather than
COMBAT 1/56 scale. They are only objectives and the reduction
Firing, spotting, suppression, wounds and damage to in wingspan is significant. All of the small items
vehicles or flesh are all resolved with either D10’s or of scenery such as checkpoints, roadblocks, desert
D6’s. All the usual factors are accounted for in a fast buildings and sandbags and barbed wire are readily
easy to pick up system. available or easily constructed.
The campaign element is what makes these rules
special. Players are encouraged to name their troops A LONE WARRIOR
and give them ranks and special skills, such as medical The game can easily be played solo, and our group
training or mechanical knowledge. If you play more quickly realised that our wargaming experience during
than one mission, you soon find yourself rooting for Covid, would have been much improved had this rule
your team! The SAS can be killed or wounded, and set been in our possession. The enemy works on AI,
these wounds can be superficial or serious enough for and all the results are logical and a combination of skill
a WACO aircraft to be called into evacuate them. But and luck on the part of the Axis forces. We also thought
only if you have the appropriate resources available. a game played over zoom or whats-app would not be
At the end of each day of the campaign, you can make too difficult to arrange.
overnight running repairs to vehicles and bodies with Players could set a plan and be brought into the game
varying degrees of success. You can also re-allocate as and when action occurs, and then resolve it using
ammunition between vehicles and players. This can the simple firing and suppression rules. The end of day
cause friction, if one player is deemed to have been too campaign aspects could be dealt with as a simple one to
wasteful in its use. one conversation, and appropriate dice rolls.

14 Miniature Wargames April 2023

 If we did ever do this, we would use the additional
optional rule for ammunition limits. The rules come
with a basic plan for a truck and jeep and on this is
a set of boxes, which can be reduced each time firing
takes place. We played this rule, but we amended it,
to marking off a box for each D10 rolled in a firing
action. K guns roll six D10’s each turn whilst Medium
Machine guns only roll three, and it did not seem
reasonable that this cost the same ammo usage, so we
amended it. One of the options on the overnight repair
checks is for ammo to be re-allocated from vehicle
to vehicle. Obviously, if a vehicle is destroyed or left
behind its ammo is also lost.
HACKING THE RULES & OTHER GAMES
As you can tell I am a big fan of this ruleset. They
also set me thinking about the card mechanism for
the daily campaign events. This could be adapted for
other periods and theatres of war. The first option that
struck me, was both sea and river based. It would be
possible to set a Viking crew up of say 12 men, and
start with a raid on an Anglo-Saxon village, some
miles inland via a river. They could be awarded points
for treasure, livestock and slaves captured and lose
them for casualties or damage to the boat. Cards
could then be drawn for the days it took to return to
the open sea, with ambushes, running aground and
meeting hostile or friendly ships or travellers. All of
these events would need to be gamed and gain or lose
points in the process.
A similar set up could be arranged for a Vietnam
riverine squadron or single ship (a la Apocalypse
Now), with snipers, encounters with wild beasts and
ambushes. You could even arrange for the Air Cav to
arrive, and a surfboard suddenly appear!
In a Wild West setting a group of cowboys could be
tasked with driving cattle to market with incidents of
rustlers, native American raiders or wolves/ cougars
attacking on various days. A decent set of skirmish BELOW
rules, and a little bit of imagination could transform a The commander
leads the way
stand-alone game into a mini campaign, with a set of in his Jeep
scenarios which are randomly driven by the cards and with a Chevy in
would produce a unique set of circumstances. support.
My deck would include two or three ambushes, an
encounter on the road which is hostile and one which
is friendly. I would also include a lone gunman card
and an evil drink travelling salesman card. For this the
players would have to dice to see whether their men
succumb to temptation, and the delay it takes to sober
them up. With the option of abandoning them. This
would be balanced by a running total of the amount of
water available to the men and beasts and a point loss
if they fell below a certain level. Nobody wants to buy
cattle that are weak or sickly.
The possibilities of this system are so widespread
I am amazed it has not been used more widely (or
maybe it has, and I missed it!) and I am sure there are
lots of other periods that a simple set of cards and a
bit of narrative would transform. DAK Attack games
and the rules are great fun, but the biggest bonus I got
from buying them was the idea of the card deck. We
play a lot of Sudan games using a co-operative system
(See Miniature Wargames issue March 2022, The
Battle of Ginnis) and will be transforming that rule-
set into the exploits of Count Gliechen, and his camel
corps very soon! ■
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 15
 SCOWLES OF THE
A warband scenario for The Woods
The Woods new supplement will be at Salute 50 so check it
out if you get the chance Ed.
etween the long arms of Mount Silence the
B
BELOW
Loathsome mouth of Icepine Pass opens into the White
Spriggans find
themselves lost Wood. At the heart of the pine forest nestles
in the maze. the Leprechaun capital Frondleith. In the very
centre, under the mightiest tree, lies Cuda’s Well, the
sacred spring. Legend says that the waters from the
well grant good fortune, heal grievous wounds and can
even raise the dead. Arrows dipped in the holy water
will never miss their target and a sword quenched to
its hilt at the well will always keep its edge. Such is the
16 Miniature Wargames April 2023
fame of Cuda’s Well that its waters are sought far and
wide across Talamhlar.
Adventurers come seeking it for noble ends, for
personal glory or for a guaranteed profit in the
marketplaces of any large settlement. To protect their
treasure the Leprechauns make use of the intricate
network of clefts and gulleys that surround their
wooded city. Through this natural labyrinth any
would-be visitors must pass, at the mercy of lookouts
and the concealed traps the little folk delight in setting
for them.
Frondleith and its inhabitants are introduced in
the latest supplement for The Woods, called Tableaus
E LEPRECHAUNS
Words and pictures by rules author Geoff Solomon-Sims of Oakbound Studio

from Talamhlar, along with rules for woodland

terrain features (including swings and ziplines!)
and the quest for Cuda’s Well. Before they get
there, however, your warbands are going to need
to find their way through the maze. This is a
special scenario for one or more warbands facing a
Leprechaun lookout squad. The Leprechaun player
runs the scenario.

THE BOARD
The play area for this game is made up of six
sheets of A3 paper with a series of raised areas and
sunken passages marked on them. We have put

LEFT
An example
board layout
for the
scenario.

together a set of examples (pictured here) which are BELOW

A profile for
available to download and print from our website or
Leprechaun
the Miniature Wargames TTG site. The areas shown Lookouts.
in green are raised, the brown areas are
sunken passages. The rocky outcrops
shown are considered impassable. If
you prefer to draw your own layout
make sure that the passages line up on
each side and at least five of the sheets
have a through-passage from one long
edge to the opposite edge. You will
also need something to represent four
bridges, four ladders and a couple of
tokens to show the progress of the mist.
(If you don’t want to build them, there are
tokens for these in the download on the
TTG site. Ed.)
The Leprechaun player should
take all six sheets and place two
side by side (short edges touching)
and face up on the table. This is where

›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 17
 ABOVE the warbands will begin. The other four sheets should
A Yaltog be placed beside them face down to form a roughly
observes the
Hag Mother square play area two sheets wide and three sheets long.
fateweaving. Together the sheets will show a map of the scowles
leading to Frondleith with the route through them
RIGHT currently concealed.
A deadly threat
to the forest
emerges DEPLOYMENT
at Bahkka Each warband should be placed in one of the passages
Heatlancers
prepare their leading onto the revealed sheets. Ensure each warband
attack. has a clear path to at least one exit. One model’s base
must be touching the edge of the sheet and models
may be spaced no more than 1” apart.
Once warbands have deployed the Leprechaun
player may place three sentries, one Fir Darrig and one
owl anywhere on the upper areas of the board.

REVEALING BOARD SECTIONS

Whenever a model’s base touches the edge of a face-
down sheet the Leprechaun player should turn it over
to reveal what lies ahead. Sheets are not turned face
down again once revealed and the Leprechaun player
may not rearrange or reorient a sheet once they have
laid it face down at the start of the game. Sheets should
be turned over in a direction agreed at the start of
the game so the Leprechaun player cannot make any
changes to its orientation.
Any time a new sheet is revealed the Leprechaun
player may immediately place two sentries or one sentry
and two owls anywhere on the revealed section. The
Leprechaun player may also place any or all of their
bridges on the first two sheets or on any sheet at the
point at which it is revealed. The warband player/s may
place one ladder on any sheet as soon as it is revealed.
OBJECTIVES
The warbands are trying to make their way to the far
edge of the board. Whether they do this on the upper
or lower level is irrelevant. If at least one model leaves
the board by the far edge the warband receives 10XP
(Experience Points). If all models reach the far edge the
warband receives 15XP instead. If there is more than
one warband in the game the first warband to reach the
edge gains the XP. All subsequent warbands that have
at least one model reach the far edge gain 5XP.
The Leprechaun player is trying to prevent all models
from reaching the far edge of the board. If fewer than
50% of the models that started the game make it to the
farthest edge the Leprechauns gain 10XP. If no models
make it to the far edge they receive an additional 5XP.
The game lasts 12 turns or until there are only
Leprechaun models active on the board.
THE FETH FIADA
As the intruders progress towards Frondleith a sinister
mist is creeping up behind them. Summoned by the
Hag Mothers the Feth Fiada is a thick, oily fog that is
impossible to see through and smothers all it envelops.
When the first model causes a face-down sheet to
be revealed place a token at either side of the board
touching the warband deployment edge. These tokens
show how far the mist has progressed.

18 Miniature Wargames April 2023

ABOVE At the end of each Game Turn the mist moves
Leprechauns 3” towards the far edge of the board. Any
scramble to the
defence of their models the line of mist moves through should
realm. be removed from the board. It is not possible
for a model to voluntarily walk into the mist.
ABOVE RIGHT This means that any model discovering it has
Gnawloch
raiders make reached a dead end has only a limited time
their way to retrace their steps and get to safety. The
through the mist affects Leprechauns and owls as well as
trees.
warband models.
BRIDGES & LADDERS
Bridges provide a means for models to
cross from one raised area to another over
the sunken passages. They do not block
movement beneath them for models in the
passages.
Ladders provide access points to the raised
areas. A ladder can be climbed with a single
Climb action.
If you wish you can count the bridges and ladders as
rope bridges and rope ladders. They follow the additional
rules given in Tableaus from Talamhlar.
Upper areas cannot be climbed onto without a
ladder. They are considered 3”
higher for the purposes
of shooting. Models
further
than
2” from the edge of a raised area cannot
perceive or be perceived by models in the
lower passages. The lower passages can be
jumped over as normal and do not present
an obstacle to flying creatures.
WORLD DANCING
Fae creatures’ World Dancer ability gives them
a significant advantage in this scenario. To
counter this a model with the World Dancer
skill cannot dance onto a sheet that has not
been revealed and may not dance into an
area covered by the Feth Fiada.
MODELLING OPPORTUNITIES
The scowles and enormous pine trees of
the White Wood are a fun terrain project to
model, albeit one that can take up a lot of
space! If you have modular rock sections it’s a
simple enough matter to draw the approximate
outline of these on index card-sized maps which can be
hidden and revealed to one side of the board instead of
using A3 sheets.
You can then assemble your 3-dimensional gaming
table as each section is revealed. You won’t necessarily
need enough to cover an entire 3’ square area as you
can remove the rocks covered by the mist and reuse
them further down the table. You can even split the
board into more sections to further conceal the route
ahead from warband players. You may find it’s easier
to model the raised areas only 1” high. This clearly
shows the different levels but doesn’t present too
much of a challenge placing miniatures or finding
storage for them.
Tableaus From Talamhlar, the third supplement for
The Woods, is scheduled for release on April 21st and
we’ll be at Salute 50 with it on the following day.
LINKS
Oakbound Studio oakbound.co.uk/thewoods ■
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 19
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SPACE CULTISTS
◗ miniaturefigurines.co.uk
◗ £1.99 to £22.95
RULE BOOKS
Caliver have sent in some Space Cultists
& FIGURES
in 28mm in their Miniature Figurines
ranges. These would go well with the
likes of Star Grave for those who like a
more ‘traditional’ sculpting style. They
have rather good faces and a reasonable
level of detail and have a real ‘Flash
Gordon’ vibe to them and so would
really work for a game in that Pulp
or 7TV style as well. Wearing helmets
and high collared outfits, they come
equipped with a variety of weapons: a
Plasma Thrower (the chap has a huge
tank on his back), and a Heavy Bolt Gun
and the rest are just regular grunts with
rifles. You can get a random grunt cultist
for £1.99 or a pack of five for £8.80. The
specialists (Plasma chap and Bolt Gun
bloke) are £2.25 each or you can get a
pack of 11 for £22.95. The figures are just
over 30mm to the putative top of the
head and fairly chunky and come on a
very minimal base.
They have also sent some of what
appear to be modern – possibly Soviet
or Russian – infantry figures. They
are carrying what look like AK series
(possibly AK12) assault rifles and an
RPG. Having said that, although most
are wearing military kit and webbing,
some are wearing what might turbans...
Well: enough with the Sherlock Holmes
approach to figure assessment. I do wish
manufacturers would give details of
what they send in for review! Having
said all of that they are quite nice: like
the cultists, they’re cast in one piece in a
solid, ‘old school’ style, and they should
be easy to paint. I suggest you contact
Caliver directly or catch them at a show.
FORGOTTEN BARBAROSSA
◗ anschlusswargames.com
◗ £21.50
Anschluss
Publications
have produced a
new supplement
for their rules
set which – as
with all that
they produce
– is packed full
of details and
scenarios that
could be used
with any rule
system and
should be of
universal appeal to anyone
who plays WWII.
For most people the War in Russia
in 1942 is all about the meat grinder of
Stalingrad, but that was a small part
of a much bigger conflict from Finland
to the Black Sea. This book tries to tell
the story of the War in the East in 1942
everywhere else but Stalingrad...
Across the whole front it is packed
with information: there are 19 detailed
scenarios to suit different sized units
from Company to Battalion level, with
unit organisation charts, vehicle and
unit stats and new special rules for their
own The War on the Ground ruleset.
This is a well researched book with
what appears to this reader to employ
a back to basics approach and is well
researched (the bibliography covers an
entire page and is very impressive!)
Like all of the rules supplements
produced by Anschluss, production
values for the book are an interesting mix
of period photos, diagrams and maps
for scenarios (all in mono) plus there
are AFV stat ‘cards’ printed in the book
with a silhouette of the vehicle which
aids with recognition. Rear cover aside,
the book isn’t inundated with modelling
shots or inspirational wargames pictures
(which – I still feel – is a shame bearing
in mind the quality of the models they
make: check out the shots in last month’s
magazine in the Avanti Italia! section).
I think that 12mm WWII is, scale wise, a
good choice. Recommended.
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 21
 REVIEWS
HIGHLAND ARMY AT
CULLODEN
◗ caliverbooks.com
◗ £23.50
Caliver Books recently released a volume
on Culloden called Like Troops of
Hungry Wolves - The Battle of Culloden 16
April 1746 written by Stuart Reid. They
follow this up with a ‘one two’ Culloden
punch and have produced The Highland
Army at Culloden by Stuart Reid. This is
a 154 page paperback edition (although
there seems to be a hardback edition in
the pipeline: either way I’m looking at a
PDF rather than either).
The book has six main sections.
After the Introduction, we have almost
twenty ages on Assembling the Army,
and then over thirty pages on Weapons,
Equipment and Tactics with some very
nice illustrations of soldiers in ‘battle
dress’. Then there are around fifty pages
on Jacobite Infantry Regiments where
they are covered in some detail with
loads of flags (all nice and square and
‘easily scannable...’) and this is followed
by a similar treatment (in page count
and nature) of Jacobite Cavalry Units.
Finally there’s a section on ‘Other Units’:
Artillery and Transport; French and
Irish units; the Fitzjames Cavallerie; and
Royal Ecossois.
This book makes a fine accompaniment
to the Hungry Wolves volume. It is
very well illustrated, mostly by David
Gallagher and Nick Buxey for the colour
uniform and Flags plates, but also
original ‘period’ material.
This represents some of the latest
research into the organisation, dress,
equipment and flags by an acknowledged
expert in Scottish C17th and C18th
military history. Recommended.
22 Miniature Wargames April 2023
TABLETOP BATTLE TACTICS
◗ Gladius Publications/henryhyde.co.uk
◗ $10
Subtitled Techniques for Wargaming
Success, Henry Hyde (erstwhile editor of
this fine publication and now writer for
other magazines including Wargames
Soldiers and Strategy) and this is a new
collection based on a series of articles
written by Henry for WSS magazine.
This is the first of two volumes that
pull together a series of articles giving
tabletop tactical advice that Mr Hyde
generated for that publication all under
a single cover for easy reference.
Produced in a PDF format and in black
and white to facilitate easy and cheap
printing at home if your want your own
hard copy, Mr Hyde hopes that – in
future – other versions in full colour
(sold and as ‘print-on-demand’) will be
available. The product is purchasable
and downloadable from Payhip (https://
payhip.com/b/08YMa) for $10 and is
available in three, optimised formats:
not only the PDF option but also Apple
Books and a Kindle version so I would
imagine almost everyone’s covered.
The number of photographs varies
between formats, apparently, owing to
the differences in layout restrictions with
Kindle and other ebook variants but I
only have the PDF to look at.
At 50 pages in length and illustrated
with some photos (not too many), and
lots of diagrams. all clearly rendered in
mono, plus no advertising, the question
might be “who’s it for”? Mr Hyde says
that wargamers interested in any period
from ancients to WWII will benefit from
the oversight and advice contained in
these pages, outlining how each troop
type evolved its own tactics to counter
its enemies and make best use of new
technologies as they arose. I guess you
have to be the sort of gamer that would
quite like to win but what it is not is
something acting as a ‘crib sheet’ detailing
how to ‘flex’ particular rules sets to
‘gain an advantage’. Although most of
the information is completely generic,
there are a few examples to help you
understand how different arms and tactics
as employed in popular rulesets like Black
Powder, Hail Caesar, Chain of Command,
Warhammer Ancient Battles and others.
The idea of the A4 book is simply
to offer pointers to help you make the
best of your infantry, cavalry, artillery,
chariots and elephants. The content
moves from ancient Greece, Rome and
Byzantium, through to medieval and
renaissance Europe, along with more
recent events in Russia, the Western
Desert, Iraq or Afghanistan. Much of the
advice would also be of value to non-
historical wargames as well
Backed by Mr Hyde’s more than five
decades of experience in the hobby,
Henry is a fun gamer to play with (and
against – I know from my own games
with him) and this book effectively
summarises that vast experience and
condenses it into a series of informative
– and fun – lessons that you should find
universally useful. A good read and
highly recommended. STOP PRESS:
Volume two “Theory into Practice” has
just been released at the same $10 price.
 COMMAND DECISION
COMMAND DECISION
AND THE SOLDIER
PUT IT ON...
Campaigning for the Horse & Musket period
Words and pictures by Jon Sutherland.
T
his is the last section of a three-parter. This time
we finish up with a challenging scenario. It’s
Rysshärjningarna: the Russian Invasion of Sweden in
1719. Ed.
Over the past two months we’ve looked at some of
the mechanics we can use to craft our own campaign
game. Now let’s put all that to the test with a
challenging scenario where Russian forces – eager
to put pressure on Sweden at the negotiation table
– launched a series of raids on Sweden’s east coast.
Despite, three hundred years passing by, Sweden
still faces the same kind of threat from their eastern
neighbours, but this time they won’t be arriving in
galleys.
24 Miniature Wargames April 2023
ABOVE SITUATION REPORT
An Orthodox The Great Northern War is almost at an end: Sweden
church at the
centre of a has been defeated, yet she is still stubborn, and still
raging fight in stalling at the negotiation table. Their representative
Eastern Europe. Georg Heinrich von Görtz is hard to pin down. Peter
the Great, Tsar of Russia is determined to win peace,
snatch new lands and focus on much needed reforms
at home. To force Sweden’s hand, Peter the Great has
ordered an assault on the Stockholm archipelago.
ROLE & COMMAND
You are Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn
commanding the assault force of some 26,000 men,
transported and supplied by the Russian fleet under
Admiral of the Baltic Fleet, Matija Zmajevic (around
132 galleys and other ships). Your objective is to pillage that in order for the Russian troops to be in supply, they
and burn settlements along the east coast of Sweden. must be able to trace their supply line back to the ships
Russian forces should expect a determined defence assigned to them. Also, there is a danger that the ships
of the coastline. Spies reported enemy concentrations might be lost if there is bad weather, or that they have to
around Gävle and Uppsala with scattered forces leave the shore and return to the main fleet out to sea.
protecting some coastal settlements. Swedish forces
are second rate reservists, local militia and scratch D10 VESSELS ACTION OF VESSELS
ROLL AVAILABLE ALREADY COMMITTED
regiments.
0 Phenomenal 0 50% loses, rest return
Wave height more to fleet
MAP & MOVEMENT than 14.0
In order not to make the task of defending the coast 1 Very high 2 25% loses, rest return
Wave height of 9.0 to to fleet
impossible for the Swedes – and to generate some 14.0 m
interesting encounters – the illustrated map is a 2 High 4 20% loses or all return
Wave height of 6.0 to to fleet
truncated representation of the east coast of Sweden. 9.0 m
It was in the last issue as an example but it can be
reproduced here a little larger. The actual distance 3 Very rough 5 10% loses or all return
Wave height of 4.0 to to fleet
from Gävle to Uppsala is 67 miles. This should take a 6.0 m
mounted force around thee marches. Count the road
4 Rough 6 50% return to fleet
from these two settlements as a main road. The rest of Wave height of 2.5 to
4.0 m
the marked roads on the map are dirt roads and the
5 Moderate 8 25% return to fleet
unmarked roads to settlements on the coast, count as Wave height of 1.25 to
tracks. Countryside within 10 miles of the two main 2.5 m
settlements count as open country, the rest of the cross- 6-7 Slight 10 None
Wave height of 0.5 to
country terrain is rough. 1.25 m
The Swedes will be assigned a response force in 8-9 Smooth 12 None
Wave height less than
both Gävle and Uppsala; the Russians will be given 0.5 m
a random number of landing or embarkation points
per turn. This will determine how many units may be The total deployable Russian fleet should be limited
landed on the coast or how many can be picked up to around 100 vessels to take account of losses.
from coastal points. Alternatively, you may wish to impose a limit of
50/60 vessels to shoreline duties leaving the rest to
LANDING & EMBARKING counter the chance of a Swedish naval attack. Infantry
The Russians have a force pool at sea and dependent regiments, cavalry regiments and artillery units all
on the prevailing weather conditions they can move require two vessels to land supply and embark.
some of their fleet to the coastline and either drop off
or pick up troops. Each turn, the Russians roll on the FORCE ALLOCATION & LOCATION
landing or embarkation points table to determine how The Russian forces should be assigned 10-12 infantry
many vessels can be deployed in this roll. Bear in mind, units, 6-8 cavalry units and 3-4 artillery units. The Swedes
can station 3 cavalry units at Gävle and 2 cavalry units,
one infantry unit and an artillery unit at Uppsala. They
will also have 6 other infantry units and 2 cavalry units
that can be placed in any settlement on the map, single
unit placement is allowed. To hide the location of these
units, give the Swedish player 12 counters, eight of which
are real units. Have them place the counters face down. It
is advisable to create small counters or chips for all units,
it makes movement straightforward, and it allows you
to easily trace supply lines and easily illustrates the path
units are taking to the battlefield.

SUPPLY & BLOCKING SUPPLY

Russian forces must be able to trace an unblocked
path back to an offshore fleet capable of resupplying
them. Otherwise, they must test using the supply rules.
They do not have to trace supply back to the fleet that
originally landed them if another fleet has a better
supply route and is big enough.
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 25
 COMMAND DECISION

ABOVE Swedish forces must be able to trace a line of supply

Cavalry gallop back to either Gävle or Uppsala. Swedish cavalry may
forward under
cover of only be on campaign for a maximum of 10 marches
heavy artillery before it has to return to one of the cities for remounts.
support. In extreme circumstances, each of the settlements on
RIGHT a marked road can supply one Swedish unit for one
A massed week. After this the supplies from that settlement are
column of permanently exhausted for the rest of the campaign.
Swedish
infantry
lumbers toward TROOP QUALITY
the Russian I would grade most of the Swedish troops as being
front line,
under constant second ranking, so a mix of Green, Novice and
artillery fire on Experienced. Largely they would be Cautious or
their flank Steady. By this stage of the war, most of the better
Swedish units had been destroyed or decimated.
For the Russians, a random mix from Green to
Veteran is fun, with some of their cavalry classed
as Arrogant. The bulk of the force can be classed as
Cautious, Steady or Confident. 9. Check for fatigue on all forces
10. Carry out any after battle actions
USING THE CAMPAIGN RULES
Now we can bring together all of the campaign It should be obvious which scenario to fight. For
features we looked at in the last two issues of the example a Swedish garrison attacked by Russian troops
magazine. Each turn carry out the following steps: would be a tactical defence or organised defence. An
open country battle might be an encounter. Don’t forget
1. Russian player rolls for available vessels to check for weather and you can amend the weather
2. Russian player can scout to match the offshore weather conditions. Many of the
3. Russian player commits vessels/ troops to land or other encounters, particularly attempts to stop invasion
embark forces moving inland, can be classed as delaying actions
4. Swedish player can scout (allowing reserves to come up for a more decisive action).
5. Swedish player moves units and checks supply
lines CAMPAIGN DURATION
6. Play out any encounters generated by Swedish I would recommend running this campaign in
moves ten week periods. At the end of the ten weeks all
7. Russian player lands troops (they can only make burned or wrecked settlements should be marked.
one march on the first day), then moves ground Damaged settlements can only supply one unit for
units already onshore three marches. Each side should be reinforced by
8. Play out any encounters generated by Russian moves 20% for the Russians and 10% for the Swedes. This

26 Miniature Wargames April 2023

 was a long term campaign that was a conflict of
attrition rather than one set piece, winner takes all,
engagement. I would run the campaign for around 4-6
ten week periods, unless the Swedes have been all-but
eliminated or the Russian fleet has been destroyed
(with at least 75% loses).
SIZES OF ENGAGEMENT
The great thing about a campaign like this is that
you can play it on a small table, with limited
(recyclable) troops, get a result in a handful of turns
and play another few turns culminating in another
BELOW
A pair of battle, all in the space of one gaming session. Don’t
Swedish turn your nose up at one or two Swedish units fighting
infantry off half a dozen Russian ones. Drop down in rules
regiments
storms a scale and play it out as a big skirmish using a different
settlement. set of rules.
WINNING & LOSING THE CAMPAIGN
It should become apparent who is winning or losing
the campaign. The reality is that the Swedes can be
hit in force almost anywhere, they will tend to be
outnumbered and they can only delay the destruction
of the coastal settlements. What the Swedes need to do
is to make the campaign expensive for the Russians.
Hopefully bad weather will play its part and the
Swedes should seize on chances to eliminate over-
optimistic and isolated Russian forces. For the Russians
the goal is to inflict maximum pain for minimal
losses. They should focus on burning settlements and
destroying isolated Swedish units before they can be
scooped up into a more dangerous field army.
The Russians can claim partial victory immediately
if they manage to capture or destroy either Gävle or
Uppsala. The loss of either of these essential supply
centres will hamstring the Swedes and make it nearly
impossible for them to operate in that part of the
country. The loss of both cities is an automatic win for
the Russians.
For the Swedes it is a question of degrees of success
and a bit of luck. If the Russian fleet drops to 25% of its
original strength, the Russian player must withdraw
all ground forces and cease all operations. If Russian
forces cannot reach a fleet on the coast or they fall out
of supply for one week, they must surrender to the
Swedes. The Swedes can also claim a partial victory if
50% of the ground forces of the Russian invasion have
been destroyed, dispersed or captured.
Alternatively, you can assign a point to ten of the

RIGHT
The Swedish
army forms up
with massed
columns
of infantry,
flanked by
cavalry and
supported by
artillery.

›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 27
 COMMAND DECISION

ABOVE settlements along the coastline. At the beginning of all along the coast of Uppland from Gävle in the north,
Russian the game the score is Sweden 10, Russia 0. Each time along the coast of Södermanland to Norrköping in the
infantry in well
prepared field a settlement is destroyed by the Russians, the score is south. The city of Trosa was burned to the ground as
fortifications. adjusted. Once the Russians get to 7-3, the campaign were many other smaller settlements. The Russians
can be considered to be a success. did make a play for Stockholm but were beaten off
ABOVE RIGHT
An Allied in mid-August 1719. The attacks continued into 1720
combined arms RULES when Umeå was destroyed and Hudiksvall, Sundsvall,
force liberates There are several options for rules: my own Face Söderhamn, Härnösand and Piteå were all badly
a Polish
settlement. Another Foe are obviously recommended, but there damaged the following year.
are Twilight of the Sun King, Polemos War of the On July 27, 1720, the Swedes counterattacked
BELOW Spanish Succession, Beneath the Lily Banners, GA at Grengam, Aland Islands, in the Ledsund strait
Real defence
in depth: a PA and Maurice. For skirmish games, you could between the islands of Föglö and Lemland. The
vast Russian try Sharp Practice. You can even try on line at Russians were badly beaten losing 43 of their 61
army holds petiteguerretoysoldiers.com/skirmish-rules. They look vessels engaged. Peace was still over a year
position in field
fortifications, like fun and can be easily adapted for this campaign. away, but finally the Treaty of Nystad
allowing What’s more is that they are free! was signed at the end of August
the Swedes 1721. Sweden got Finland back, DOWNLOAD
to exhaust
themselves FACT CHECK: RYSSHARJNINGARNA but Russia gobbled up Estonia, DETAILED MAP
This is known as the Russian Pillage (rysshärjningarna) Livonia, Ingria, Kexholm and much tabletopgaming.co.uk/
in fruitless
information/downloads
attacks. by the Swedes. The Russians made devastating attacks of Karelia. ■

28 Miniature Wargames April 2023

Presented by the South London Warlords, Salute 50 is Europe’s
biggest independent one-day wargaming and hobbying event!

- Over 120 UK and International traders

- Over 80 inspirational demonstration and participation games
- Multiple Special Guest Panels with a Q&A
- Chances to win prizes throughout the day!
- World-class Painting Competition will have amazing entries and expert special guest judges!

ExCel London - 22 April 2023

salute.co.uk
@slwsalute
South London Warlords and Salute
 RETURN
TO THE
WELLS
Some simple ideas for
improving ‘Little Wars’
Words by Arthur Harman. Photos by The Editor
here is not a piece of constructive legislation
“T in the world, not a solitary attempt to meet
a complicated problem, that we do not now
regard the more charitably for our efforts
to get a right result from this apparently easy and puerile
business of fighting with tin soldiers on the floor.” (Little
Wars)
H.G. Wells’s Little Wars, the original toy soldier
wargame of 1912, remains in my humble opinion the
perfect way to introduce one’s children, grandchildren,
nieces or nephews to our wonderful hobby. There are,
however, a few simple improvements that could make
the original rules somewhat more realistic to satisfy the
prejudices of an experienced wargamer who is staging
the game for youthful players, but without adding
complexity that will make the game both less entertaining
to play and less suitable for introducing children to the
joys of wargaming with toy or model soldiers.
Since my own games of Little Wars are always set in
my favourite ‘Horse & Musket’ period, I have phrased
my ideas accordingly; readers who wish to play battles
set in the late Victorian or Edwardian eras may easily
amend them to suit the weaponry and tactics of that
period. I hope that Mr Wells would not be offended by
my ‘tinkering’ with his masterpiece.
THE GUNS
Although the Britain’s model of a 4.7 inch naval gun
on field carriage, as used in the South African War,
which featured in J.R. Sinclair’s charming drawings in
the margins of Little Wars can no longer be purchased
in toy shops, one can still find the later versions in
good working order for sale on ebay.uk. I have recently
amassed a small artillery park of four such pieces for
future use.
THE GUN CREWS
Instead of using infantrymen to man the guns, I prefer to
use figures of artillerymen who will accompany and serve
30 Miniature Wargames April 2023
ABOVE the pieces. They may, however, take part in hand to hand
Field Artillery:
Some
Traditional Toy
Soldiers by
Replica Metal
Soldiers at
SELWG 2019.
fighting if the enemy charges their gun, using the rules
given later in this article but suffering a disadvantage
because they have only swords and the artillery tools,
such as ramrods, trailspikes and worms, with which to
defend themselves. Use th following rules:
The maximum number of artillerymen that may serve
one gun is four and a gun with a full crew can take
four shots per turn, as per the original rules. Reduce the
number of shots that can be taken by one each time a
member of the gun crew becomes a casualty.
They must stand on either side of the trail to serve
the gun.
If the crew takes cover – behind a house, for example
- away from the gun, it cannot shoot.
When all the crew have been hit, the gun may not
shoot as an artillery piece, but can still be used to
shoot to portray infantry musketry, as suggested in the
Appendix: Little Wars and Kriegspiel. Infantrymen may
not take their places to serve the gun.
THE GUN TEAMS
Represent the teams of horses required to move guns,
either by models of four historical artillery drivers and
horses, or by allocating four cavalrymen, who may
not thereafter be used as cavalry in the battle, so it is
important that they can be distinguished easily by their
uniforms or poses from their cavalry comrades – or
even, riderless horses if there is no other alternative
– to each gun. They must be placed on either side of
the trail and the crew must stand on either side of the
barrel when it is being drawn by its team.
The team must remain to the rear and within six inches
of the gun, but may be behind cover, when it comes into
action as an artillery piece. Like the gun crew, the team
will remain to mark the gun’s original position if the gun
needs to be moved to shoot from other locations on the
battlefield in order to simulate the effect of musketry.
Artillery drivers and their horses, attached
cavalrymen or riderless horses, will become casualties
if hit by gun fire. A minimum of two artillery drivers,
cavalrymen or riderless horses is required to move a
gun. If the players wish, a gun’s normal move of two
feet/twenty four inches can be reduced by a quarter
– six inches – for each rider or horse that becomes
a casualty. For example, a gun that is accompanied
by only two riders or horses may only move half its
normal distance, twelve inches.
CAPTURING GUNS
A gun may be captured when all its crew have either
become casualties or been forced to flee and there are
no friendly infantry or cavalry within six inches to
defend it, provided at least four enemy soldiers have
advanced beyond its wheels.
It may not, however, be withdrawn unless a team
of artillery drivers, cavalrymen or horses is brought
up and spends one turn hitching it up without being
engaged in hand-to-hand combat. A captured gun may
be crewed by the captor’s artillerymen, but not by his
infantrymen.
HAND -TO-HAND COMBAT
When one toy soldier moves into contact with an
enemy, they will fight hand to hand with sword or
lance if cavalry or musket and bayonet if infantry. Both
toy soldiers will throw a d6 die, modified as follows:
Cavalry charging infantry not in square +2
Cavalry charging infantry in square -2
Lancers charging other cavalry +1 (first turn of hand-
to-hand combat only) BELOW
Compare the modified dice scores; the toy soldier The firing line:
Traditional Toy
with the higher modified score wins the fight. Soldiers by
If two toy soldiers are fighting only one, both should Replica Metal
throw dice and use the higher of the two scores first. Soldiers at
SELWG 2019.
If the outnumbered toy soldier survives that fight and
does not flee, compare his original die score to the
lower score to resolve the fight.
DIFFERENCE IN RESULT
MODIFIED DICE SCORES
0 A drawn fight: neither toy soldier is wounded
and both may continue to fight next turn.
1 or 2 A slight advantage: the loser is pushed back
and fights with a modifier of -1 next turn.
3 or 4 The loser is severely wounded or killed and
is laid down.
5 or more The loser panics, must flee immediately
towards his side’s baseline at the start of the
next turn and may not throw a die to defend
himself while fleeing. The winner may pursue
and if he attacks the fleeing enemy soldier
from behind will benefit from a modifier of
+2 on his die for hand-to-hand
fighting.
A toy soldier who has fled and reaches his side’s
baseline can rally there if he is not being attacked and
will be able to rejoin the battle after spending one turn
there.
If, however, his pursuer has followed him to the
baseline and causes him to panic again by attacking
him there, the toy soldier will flee from the battlefield
and is lost to his army for the remainder of the
engagement.
I hope these ideas may help readers enjoy
recapturing the simple pleasure of toy soldier battles. ■
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 31
 THE
EMPIRE
STRIKES
BACK
Kaiserschlacht 1918: Salute 50 game
Words and pictures by John Kersey

t 4:40AM the Western Front exploded ABOVE it again for those who had not seen it the first time

A along a 50 mile frontage as the preliminary

bombardment for Operation Michael began;
this was the start of the Kaiserschlacht: a
battle so immense it could only be called the Emperor’s
Battle.
German 21cm
heavy guns
ready to
commence the
“feuerwaltz”
from the gun
line. Their
around or maybe had a fond memory of the original.
That seemed an idea too irresistible not to have a crack
at but then which game of the many presented? After
a think (and before accepting) I remembered I had
quite a bit of the original scenario and forces for the
It had been anticipated by the Allied Powers as they mission to fire Kaiserschlacht 1918 game presented at Salute 2008 so
deep into the
realised the exit from the war of Russia in 1917 and its that was that decided!
British Battle
negotiated peace with the Central Powers (Germany, Zone. Guns A large information board displayed on an artist’s
Austria-Hungary and Turkey) would free up forces are from the easel was part of the modus operandi of these games
IT Figures
that could be brought to bear in the west. They were and I have fond memories that my daughter May
range available
also aware that time was not on the side of the Central from Frontline had created the one for this game which I kept out of
Powers as the entry of America into the war would Wargaming. nostalgia. Of course this opportunity was a chance to
provide the Allies with immense industrial capacity not just replicate the original but maybe “re-master” it,
This game
and manpower once America was mobilised. should be at taking out any bits of the game that didn’t feel right!
Salute 50: Back to the original thinking, with such a vast canvas
GAMING KAISERSCHLACHT 1918 catch it live!
as this battle it was a case how you represent it. I recall
The theme for Salute 50 was a celebration of 50 years there were two boardgames back in the day that looked
of the famous London show organised by the South at this: one by SPI (The Kaiser’s Battle) and another
London Warlords. A fantastic suggestion by the within Command Magazine. It could also be convincingly
organisers was to re-vivify a past game and present done as a miniatures game using 28mm, 20mm, 15mm,

32 Miniature Wargames April 2023

 Partizan Press. Oftentimes we were fortunate to have BELOW
the author of the rules, Dillon Browne come along The ruined
calvary cross is
and take part. Bloody Picnic has two levels of game; a re-occuring
a brigade or a divisional level one. Doing the entire trope in WW1
battle was obviously out and I settled on the area of the battlefield
gothic scenes
German XVII corps attack for a variety of reasons. (see the movie
Firstly there was an excellent 3D map in the Osprey The Big Red One
Publishing title “Kaiserschlacht 1918” in the Campaign as an example).
Here another
series - no 11. It was the only area where the Germans based position
employed their A7V tank (four of them) so a good with a Hovels
excuse to field an Emhar plastic kit tank. Finally the cross and
some collapsed
deciding factor was a quirky touch; the opposing headstones.
divisions here were both the 36th division! Another
strange twist was both divisions belonged to their BELOW LEFT
respective XVIII corps! Sugar beat
factories were
For the scope of the game I wanted to approach a common
the scope of a divisional attack as depicted in the feature on the
3D map which also illustrated the British defence in Flanders and
Eastern French
depth concept right to the back of the battlefield. The battlefields.
stormtrooper attacks employed by the Germans would Here a based
allow the game to develop into the depth of the board position ready
for terraining
which a more usual static stalemate game associated using a Hovels
with WWI battles would not. resin building.
To represent the battlefield I wanted to try a custom
made games mat concept. My first attempt was to BOTTOM
Old Bill buses
use the plastic kitchen tablecloth on a continuous roll re-painted from
you see at general stores. They usually have lively Oxford diecast
flowery, geometric or gingham patterns so it needed to vehicles sold in
souvenir shops.
be overpainted to an earthy brown which I tried with Hoardings
rattlecan spray paint. Big mistake! added using
It proved to be far too shiny coffee stirrers.
and sticky and liable

6mm or even 2mm depending on the area

and scope of the game. At that time my source
of inspiration was the growing flood of 1/72
soft plastic figure sets coming onto the market
enabling large mass armies to be deployed
including artillery and supporting arms.
After flirting with several different rulesets
our gaming group settled down with the
Bloody Picnic set, a derivation of the
popular General d’Brigade set published by
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 33
 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

ABOVE to adhere when folded up. I was about to give up the

The desperate idea when I noticed the underside had a woven fibrous
fight in the
Battle Zone - 18 like texture - would that take a water-based paint like
pounders fire acrylic? That proved to be very successful and a quick
on open sights session with a large brush and diluted sienna brown
at unsuspecting
oncoming from a large tube of artists acrylics on a sunny day in
assault troops. the garden soon had the mat complete. However we
Guns - Emhar digress from the story.
kits.

RIGHT THE DAY OF BATTLE

Supply wagons The chosen scenario was in the area of operation of the
move up to British XVII corps held by the 36th (Ulster) Division. The
the frontline
with vital hardy Ulstermen had shown their mettle during the battle
ammunition and of the Somme in 1916 being one of the few units to attain
other essentials their objective on the first day. They formed part of Fifth
to keep the
offensive going. Army, one of the two major British units holding the line
Wagons are HaT along with Third Army who were located north of the
WW1 German town of St Quentin. The commander of the Fifth Army,
Wagons with
the marching Sir Hubert Gough (1870-1963) had previous links with
troops Airfix Ireland having command of a cavalry brigade in Curragh
WW1 Germans. in 1914 and threatening to resign rather than turn his
forces on Protestants protesting against Home Rule.
In 1918 he found Fifth Army severely weakened and
potentially facing a strong German offensive. The general
British defensive concept was to set up a defence in depth
of a series of frontline trenches and outposts, a Forward
Zone with redoubts or keeps, a Battle Zone further back
and a backline area for HQs, supplies, support units
and so on. Furthermore it was acknowledged that the
line could not be rigidly held so Field Marshal Haig had
instituted a form of elastic defence such that Fifth Army
could give up ground and rolling with the German blow
until French reserves could arrive.
The Germans also wanted to try a new formula to
end the deadlock on the Western Front . For this they
would apply two newish tactics. The first was the use
of stormtrooper tactics first used in earnest during
the battle of Verdun in 1916 and further developed
during the battles around Riga on the Eastern Front
and the counterattack after the British tank assault at
Cambrai in 1917. The aim was for the stormtroopers
to infiltrate the front lines after a preliminary
bombardment and then strike deep into the enemy’s
rear areas, bypassing any strongpoints and leaving
them for follow up forces.
The other tactic was the use of a special drumfire
artillery pattern named after its principal architect,
Oberst Bruchmuller which was a way of mixing an
artillery bombardment with gas and high explosives
as well as varying duration and target area to throw
the enemy off balance. Surprise was also a key element
by concealing preparations for the attack to disrupt

34 Miniature Wargames April 2023

any possible countermeasures. Attacking forces and
supplies were to be moved up under cover of darkness
and usually at the last minute.

BOMBARDMENT
The whirlwind bombardment was planned for
seven different phases: for the first 20 minutes firing
a general surprise fire with every gun and mortar
(except for field guns). The guns and howitzers then
played back and forth over the entire battle zone in a
synchronised action for five hours starting and ending
at the frontline where again every mortar joined in for
the final five minutes crescendo. It was hell let loose in
the words of many of the British survivors.
Then as the bombardment ceased at 9:40 AM the Old Bill buses
convey three
stormtroopers and assault troops who had ventured
companies
into the No Man’s Land zone cutting wires and clearing up to the
passages through the obstacles rushed towards the Battle Zone
passing some
British frontline taking the risk of casualties from their
prepared
own bombardment to gain the advantage of surprise. positions.
This they did as the startled and dazed British Tommies
came out of dugouts and scrapes to mount the trench

GERMAN ADVANCE
Following the plan the German forces advanced
through the Battle Zone leaving pockets of resistance in
redoubts or keeps for the follow-on units to deal with.
In the general area of the French town of St Quentin
by noon there were about seven redoubts holding out
with three of these in the area of the hardy Ulstermen.
The first to fall was Le Pontchu however the remaining
redoubts in the 36th (Ulster) Division’s area were to
Boudicea fall before nightfall. Boudicea Redoubt fell after a
Redoubt
manned German deputation called for its surrender after being
and ready surrounded. Race Course Redoubt held out until 18:00
to hold fast. PM after hard fighting that saw its commander Second
Many of the
Redoubts had Lieutenant Edmund de Wind killed and awarded a
to surrender Victoria Cross posthumously. They had held out for up
when hit by to nine hours under the fire of field guns and mortars
long range
artillery or brought up under cover of the fog.
field guns for Most of the units in the Third Army in the northern
which they part still held the German assault within the Battle
had no reply.
Zone however the units in the Fifth Army to
the south had been severely mauled and
pushed back. This was the case in the 36th
parapets wherever they still existed. (Ulster) zone which had been thinly held
Many survivor accounts describe being in the first place. They had been ejected
rushed and encountering German troops from the Battle Zone with odd units
already in their badly damaged trench as they holding out here and there. Taking stock
came out of their shelters. Soon large groups of the situation, the Fifth Army had access
of captured Tommies were being herded to few reserves - only the 20th (Light)
back to the German lines and captivity. With and 39th divisions together with some
the benefit of the fog the stormtroopers dismounted cavalry divisions (that only
infiltrated the Forward Zone pressing ever yielded brigade equivalents in infantry).
deeper towards the rear areas. It is estimated Fighting had continued until 21:00 PM
that about 90% of the frontline positions fell in the Ulster sector, nearly 12 hours of
without much of a fight. continuous combat. The Ulstermen fell
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 35
 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

back to the Somme Canal to form a line ready to resist

the German advance on the following day. The German
238th Infantry Division had advanced as far as Grand
Seraucourt, an advance of nearly 5 miles. The first
day of the attack had cost the 36th (Ulster) Division
an estimated 267 dead, over 3,000 casualties and
2,392 prisoners. So ended the first day of the Michael
offensive.

◗ Although Imperial Germany continued to attack with

a further separate 4 offensives there was no decisive
breakthrough and the Allies were not overwhelmed
leading to their capitulation. it was in fact the last gasp
for Germany and like the Ardennes offensive in WW2
was to ultimately lead to their defeat.

KAISERSCHLACHT
And now for the Kaiserschlacht 1918 scenario: XVIII
Corps attacks.

INTRODUCTION
Presented as a scenario for Bloody Picnic rules but able
to be adapted for other suitable rules at the divisional
level. The German 36th division are the attackers with
the British 36th (Ulster) division as the defenders.
The scenario covers the attack into the British defence
zone on the first day of battle - 21st March 1918.

BASIC GAME
The forces are as outlined on the army list further on.

◗ Level of game: Divisional Air see special rules

◗ Germans are Player B.
◗ Duration: 20 turns
◗ Weather: Fog at start and lifting later.

OBJECTIVES The majority of the board will be poor going as RIGHT

◗ German: clear British Forward Zone of effective former battlefields and open terrain. Offenes Feuer!
German field
units. Minor victory guns cause
◗ German: clear British Battle Zone of effective units. INITIAL DEPLOYMENT havoc.
Major victory Check these against the map
◗ British: maintain units in British Battle Zone. Draw British
◗ British: maintain units in British Forward Zone. The deployment areas of the 36th (Ulster) Division will
Minor victory be as follows:

THE BATTLEFIELD ◗ 109th Brigade deploy in columns A + B on the map

The board is laid out as shown on the scenario map.
◗ Roads: The roads are good enough to provide a
movement bonus to units marching along them.
◗ Built-up areas: All count as T1 cover and poor going.
◗ Trenches: These are all classed as T2 as they had not
been substantially improved in the short time 36th
(Ulster) had with limited resources to undertake.
◗ Barbed wire: Placed in front of the frontline trench
sections shown on the map. Where breached by the
preliminary bombardment the sections are removed.
(Boudicea Redoubt was held by the 2nd Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers).
◗ 107th Brigade deploy in columns C + D on the map
(Race Course Redoubt was held by the 15th Royal
Irish Rifles)
◗ 108th Brigade deploy in columns E + F on the map
(Le Pontchu Redoubt was held by 12th Royal Irish
Rifles).
British guns are deployed in the British Battle Zone
unless noted, these are:

36 Miniature Wargames April 2023

◗ Field - 6 batteries.
◗ Howitzers - 2 batteries.
◗ 60ldr Howitzer - 2 batteries.
◗ Heavy guns - 2 batteries.
◗ Pioneers deployed at Base Camp.
◗ Other assets within British Battle Zone area on the
map.
German
The German forces come on off table into row 1 as
follows:
◗ 5th Grenadier Regiment in columns A + B
◗ 128th (Danzig) Regiment in columns C + D
◗ 175th Prussian Regiment in columns E + F.
◗ The Stormtrooper Battalion and A7V (representing 4
tanks) come on a column decided by the Germans at
the start.
German guns start off table in a designated Gunline
area - this is available for British counter-battery fire.
Guns
The guns allocated in our game were:
◗ Field - 8 batteries (available to be limbered and
moved)
◗ Howitzers - 4 batteries (available to be limbered and
moved)
◗ Heavy (21cm) - 2 batteries (may not be moved up)
◗ Stormtrooper Field - 2 batteries (may be moved).
FORCES
Forces use the divisional listing in the 1918 Great War
Scenarios 1 book page 53 (British) and 61(German).
A7V tank details as listed on page 63.
British
◗ 1 X CHQ (off table).
◗ 107th Brigade formed of 3 battalions: 1st Royal
Irish Rifles/2nd Royal Irish Rifles/15th Royal Irish
Rifles + MGC company + light mortar battery.
◗ 108th Brigade formed of 3 battalions: 1st Royal
Irish Fusiliers/9th Royal Irish Fusiliers/12th Royal
Irish Fusiliers + MGC company + light mortar
battery.
◗ 109th Brigade formed of 3 battalions: 1st Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers/2nd Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers/9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers + MGC
company + light mortar battery.
◗ Pioneer battalion: 16th Royal Irish Rifles.
◗ Other assets as listed on page 53.
◗ Reserves: 20th Division - 61st Brigade as standard
Infantry Brigade as listed. Regulars.
◗ The 36th (Ulster) Division are considered Veterans
German
◗ 1 x CHQ (off table)
◗ 5th Grenadier Regiment as German Infantry
Regiment
◗ 128th (Danzig) Regiment as German Infantry
Regiment.
◗ 175th Prussian Regiment as German Infantry
Regiment.
◗ Other assets as listed for German Infantry Division
page 61.
◗ Stormtrooper Battalion as listed on page 61 with 2
field gun batteries.
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 37
 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

◗ Reserves - 238th Division as German Infantry RIGHT GOING FURTHER: RESOURCES

Division page 61. Reserves comes on 4 turns after German There is a wide range of WWI books covering the
assault troops
start of the game to allow the 36th Division to clear supported by Kaiserschlacht and some I would recommend are:
the frontline. stormtroopers
◗ These Initial Forces (36th Division) are considered and an A7V ◗ The Kaiser’s Battle by Martin Middlebrook (1983
attack the
Veterans. British frontline 432 pages). This covers the first day of the attack in
trenches. A7V detail and also a good overview of the preliminary
SPECIAL RULES is an Emhar kit preparations from both sides. Lots of good maps and
(“Mephisto”),
◗ Air: Air will appear 2 turns after fog lifts. German troops photos.
◗ Preliminary bombardment: as page 34 & 35 of the Revell and ◗ Kaiserschlacht 1918 by Randal Gray Osprey
main rulebook. Emhar with Publishing Campaign 11 96 pages. This follows the
British troops
◗ Fog: as page 26 of the main rulebook. being HaT familiar Campaign format with background, opposing
Canadians. leaders, forces and an overview of the series of
20MM FIGURE RANGES offensives beyond the first (Michael) with
It was the rise in diversity of 20mm or 1/72 soft plastic BELOW 3D maps, illustrations of uniforms and
Germans move
WWI that got me started but the range of troop types through the key actions as well as period photos.
and areas covered is a bit variable. Naturally you would Battle Zone into ◗ A recent book focussing solely on DOWNLOAD
range of British THE MAP
want German and British steel helmeted figures and that the 36th (Ulster) Division during tabletopgaming.co.uk/
field guns.
may seem to rule out the venerable Airfix WWI German the Kaiserschlacht is A Long week information/downloads
infantry but they could still be raided for auxiliaries in in March by Michael Nugent. ■
feldmutze such as stretcher bearers and general officers.
Ranges such as HaT, Strelets and Emhar all offer the
right figures (the British would need the Canadians
which are, admittedly, hard to find).
Beyond this the various metal 20mm ranges
such as Jacklex Miniatures, IT Figures (through
Frontline Miniatures) and Old Contemptibles
(through Tumbling Dice) all offer ways of replacing
or extending the plastic ranges especially for heavy
weapons, support units and artillery.
Plastic modelling kits also offer an opportunity to
supplement artillery, lorries and armoured vehicles, for
example Emhar do the German A7V in 1/72.

38 Miniature Wargames April 2023

Wargames Fantasy and
:JP-PÄN\YLZHS^H`Z
ZV\NO[MVYJHZOWHY[
L_JOHUNLVYZ^HWZ

Website updated
 A rumble in the jungle with a subterranean element
Words and pictures by Allan Tidmarsh. ABOVE
A small convoy
ver the past couple of years I have prepares to

O been involved with my regular gaming

opponent in a semi-linked series of
pulp style small scale games. With some
games forming a nice linked set, others were either
one-off’s or following a theme. One of the themes
go down a
ramp to the
underground
labyrinth.

RIGHT
The overall table
focuses on confounding the activities of the nefarious set-up with the
international criminal organisation called the ‘Rule of temple on the
Six’, which allows for some interesting game setups right and the
village in the
and modelling challenges. One such game was to be distance.
the shutting down of a underground storage facility.

LAYING OUT THE TABLE

For the game table setup I settled on a scheme where
the action could take place both on the surface and

40 Miniature Wargames April 2023

 BELOW The underground
Revealed! A part of the table would
lorry loading
up in the use my own home made
underground passageways and rooms
component of made in the most part
the game.
from cardboard sections and
a box file. The passage sections
and rooms are finished with light grey coloured
flagstones for the bases and slightly darker stone
walls, applied using printed papers. The lighter
colour was chosen so that the figures would be easily
visible and so they would show up better when taking
photographs. When in use in for a game layout the
sections are placed on black material to indicate being
underground.

PLAYING THE SCENARIO

The scenario definition, which follows below, is generic
and not specific to any rule set. Having said that, the
game involves French colonial troops against Tong
fanatics supported by local natives; so a rule set with
a colonial flavour would be most applicable. I played
the game with my own adapted version of the general
rules published in the Battlegames Zulu Special (as
described previously in my jungle rescue scenario
article in Miniature Wargames issue 458 June 2021).
However, if that doesn’t take your fancy, suitable
rules to use for the game could include those found
in Skirmish Wargaming
by Donald Featherstone;
The Men Who Would
Be Kings by Daniel
Mersey (Osprey) or
underground. The scenario would take place in an area ABOVE Beyond the Empire
of jungle. The table would consist of an overground Another view by Chris Swan
of the convoy
approach area, a scenic break with entrances and an driving down (Caliver).
underground section. I decided on having two thirds the ramp in the
of the table length for the overground section; with a temple to make
their way down
scenic break where some temple buildings provided to the labyrinth.
access to the other third of the table which would have
the underground part.
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 41
 IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE TEMPLES TODAY...

SCENARIO: JUNGLE TEMPLES ABOVE OBJECTIVES

What information you give to which players is up to French troops ◗ The French have to gain entry to the underground
approach the
the games organiser. temple complex. storage facility and shut it down
◗ The Tong have to defend the facility as long as
BACKGROUND BRIEF RIGHT possible in order to get two pieces of crucial
Setting: somewhere in Cambodia (French Indo-China) In the below- equipment away in a lorry.
ground element,
during the early 1920’s. An informant has provided the a native tells the
location of a secret underground storage facility run by Tong about the FORCES
Tong agents of the ‘Rule of Six’. The facility is near a French troops. The French:
river and travel to the location is via some jungle roads. ◗ A detachment of colonial infantry, 15 men starting at
The facility is accessed though the ruins of some old point FI.
temples. The French authorities have dispatched troops ◗ A detachment of sailors, 12 men starting at point FS.
by the river to shut down the facility. Those troops ◗ A detachment of local militia, 6 men (3 with the
have landed and made their way through the jungle infantry and 3 with the sailors)
and are now in sight of the temple complex.
The Tong:
TABLE LAYOUT ◗ 25 men (only 15 armed with rifles, others variously
The left hand side of the table is jungle with tracks armed with hand weapons). Starting positions are as
and paths as marked. Some temples form a scenic follows:
break (with a suitable intervening back board). On the • 4 men in the main warehouse (MWH).
right hand side is the other part of the play area: the • 4 more spread out about the passageways and...
underground storage facility. • the rest in the barracks room (BR).

42 Miniature Wargames April 2023

◗ One or two lorries in the main warehouse (MWH),
with driver(s).
◗ 10 natives: musket armed 6, spear armed 4, start
positions N1 and N2.
◗ An additional two natives acting as lookouts on top
of the main temples.
battle. The Tong and natives fell back
and the sailors charged forward to deal
with the remaining Tong, securing the
area in front of one of the temples.

SPECIAL GAME RULES

◗ The Tong cannot leave the facility or respond until
they know they are under attack.
◗ The natives must warn the the Tong; they have to
move to a facility entrance. It takes one move to enter
the facility, then one move to locate and inform the
Tong leader.
◗ Once notified of the approaching troops the Tong can
then react.
◗ The Tong must load up two crates of crucial equipment LEFT
Open fire! a gun
onto a lorry which they have to get away. It takes two
fight ensues
moves to find the crates and load the lorry. with the French
sailors.
As the French infantry neared the temples they too
come under attack from some natives; more Tong issued BELOW LEFT
Despite the
forth from the largest temple and joined in the fight. The best efforts of
French infantry found themselves in a hard, hand-to- the French, the
hand fight with natives and the Tong. While the French Tong get away
with the loaded
infantry were kept at bay, a truck with the key equipment lorry.
on on board emerged from the temple entrance.

HOW THE SCENARIO PLAYED OUT

We tried this scenario out and this is what happened.
A small convoy (of two lorries) entered the
underground facility down a ramp via a ruined temple
and into an underground warehouse where they
unloaded some cargo. The lorries were be reloaded with
some key equipment (spy balloons possibly... Ed.) and then
off out at some time to make the delivery elsewhere.
Later in the day, French infantry and sailors
approached a small village nearby and then moved
through the jungle towards the temples (which masked
the entrance to the storage facility). One of the native
lookouts on top of a temple spotted them coming. One
of the other natives outside ran down into the facility
to warn the Tong leader.
The alarm was sounded, all available men were sent
outside to keep the approaching troops at bay while
the key equipment is loaded onto a lorry. As the troops
got near to the concealed entrances, the French sailors
were fired upon by some local natives; some of the
Tong members came out to assist them.
The sailors slowly moved up under fire and then
started to fire back: they gained the edge in the gun
The French infantry eventually dispersed the
opposition to their front, gaining ground as the truck
moved away. They broke through and the remaining
Tong and followed the truck down the jungle trail
while any natives melted away into the
jungle. With no opposition remaining the
French troops entered and secured
the deserted underground facility.
This seems very much the sort of
semi RPG/skirmish historical game
that Conrad Kinch was outlining
in the current and the last
issue in his Send three and
Fourpence column. Try it DOWNLOAD
THE SCENARIO MAP
out and perhaps contact the tabletopgaming.co.uk/
magazine to tell us how you got on! information/downloads
Ed. ■

April 2023 Miniature Wargames 43

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COMMAND DECISION

MIGHTIER

Command Decision Salute Extra: Thebes v Sparta 371BC

Words and photos by Jon Sutherland

E
ach Command Decision aims to offer a series of ABOVE for over twenty years. The clash has been building
playable options in timeless military scenarios. At fifty men for a generation. The highly trained and professional
deep, the
Command Decision is designed so you can read Theban column Spartan warriors and their allies would face off against
the situation and figure out your own command hit a real punch. the amateur militia of Thebes. Spartan aggression and
decisions if you were leading the troops on the ground. destruction has driven wavering city states of Boeotia
This game
You can either work through the various options or use should be at to join the Theban army.
the mechanics to create the precise circumstances of the Salute 50:
table top engagement. catch it in the
flesh!
ROLE & COMMAND
The scenarios may have particular historical themes You are Epaminondas, in your late forties and
and settings, but you can easily adapt the mechanics considered to be the leading general and statesman
to suit your own preferences and collections. This is a of Thebes. You are reputed to be a descendent of
Salute special to tie in with the game I’m running at those that founded your city; you are nobleman, but
the show and there is a digital only campaign extra you not a wealthy one. You are proud of your physical
can download! fitness and presence, your love for Thebes. You would
sacrifice all for Thebes. You have never married,
SITUATION REPORT your city comes first and last. The arrogant Spartans
Sparta and Thebes have not met on the battlefield demanded that you ratify a peace brokered by the
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 45
 COMMAND DECISION

ABOVE Persians, your friend and ally Pelopidas and his The two armies set up with their best troops on one
Lacedaemonian followers liberated Thebes from pro-Spartan despots. flank (Thebes to their left and Spartans to their right).
hoplites facing
the Theban Now King Cleombrotus I is marching at the head of an The bulk of the Theban cavalry was also on their left,
columns, they invading army. You know how to beat him. the Theban centre and right was weaker and thinner
have armoured than the Spartan line. It seems the Spartans had cavalry
men in the
front ranks and RULES on both flanks.
unarmoured There are dozens (perhaps hundreds) of rule sets
ranks behind. for ancient wargaming. Some of the more popular THEBES & HER ALLIES (A GENEROUS 10,800 MEN)
BOTTOM ones include: Le Art de La Guerre, DBM, DBMM, Sacred Band Around 800 men
RIGHT DBA, Field of Glory, Hail Caesar, Swordpoint, Theban Hoplites Around 1500 men
Archers backed Armati, Impetus, War & Conquest, Warmaster and Theban/Boeotian Horse Estimated at 1500 men
up by peltasts
ahead of a Warhammer Ancients. Some gamers also use slightly Boeotian Hoplites (each Approximately 5000 from, Thespiae, Tanagra,
city was supposed to Orchomenus, Haliartus, Copae, Coronea,
column of adapted versions of Command and Colours (the block- supply 1000 men)* Acraephium, Lebadea and Charonea
hoplites. based board game). You can download the Boeotian Peltasts Around 1000
Campaign rules which include a Quick Reference Light Troops Possibly 1000 (including baggage guards)
version of the updated rules, Hoplite Warfare, that I
converted from its 1980s goodness several issues ago in * this figure would include cavalry, peltasts and light
Miniature Wargames. troops as well as hoplites).

ARMY LISTS & ORGANISATION SPARTA & HER ALLIES (AROUND 14,000 MEN)
Having read many accounts and estimations of the Spartiate Hoplites Estimated at 700 men
size of the armies and their composition, I felt like a Lacedaemonian Hoplites Up to 2300 men
dog chasing its own tail! The “original” accounts and Spartan/Allied Horse Estimated at 1000
subsequent interpretations reflect the favouritism and Spartan Peltasts No more than 1000
unconscious bias for or against the two sides. For some Allied Hoplites Around 8,000 Phocian and other allied city states
it was inconceivable that the Spartans could have been Light Troops Probably around 1000
beaten by a wilier general of a smaller force and for
others, the Thebans are cast as underdogs that pulled SET UP (HISTORICAL) & COMMANDER QUALITY
off a great victory. This details placement of troops on the table.

46 Miniature Wargames April 2023

THEBANS
Hard left table edge, Theban horse
with Sacred Band next to them
followed by the main Theban phalanx,
the latter two units were screened by
light troops. I placed a Theban peltast
unit on the right flank of the Theban
phalanx. The rest of the line was
taken up with smaller hoplite blocks
from the other nine Boeotian ally city
states. I also assigned some peltasts
to these formations and most had
a screen light troops. I would rate
Epaminondas as Heroic and Inspiring
and Pelopidas as Heroic. Additionally I
assigned a Heroic leader, Gorgidas to
command the Theban cavalry.
HOPLITE WARFARE ARMIES FOR LEUCTRA
These two armies should give you a fairly balanced
fight. The army lists are quite easy to convert into other
systems.
SPARTANS
The Spartans follow a similar
pattern. On their far right, half of
their cavalry with a critical slight gap
in the line, then the main Spartan/
Lacedaemonian hoplite block. These
had some light troops and again their
flank was protected by some peltasts.
The rest of their line was made up of
mixed hoplite/peltast and light troop
formations supplied by their allies.
On their far left was a small force
of cavalry. King Cleombrotus I was
graded as Heroic. I gave the Spartans
two other commanders to control
their allies Diphridas (graded as
Normal) and Teleutias (also Normal).

Theban Army
TROOP TYPE BASES CLASSIFICATION ARMOUR & ORDER NUMBER OF UNITS IN THE ARMY
Sacred Band Hoplites 5 A9A Armoured close order 2
Theban Hoplites 5 B8B Unarmoured close order 3
Free Ally Hoplites 5 B7B Unarmoured close order 3
Subject Ally Hoplites 5 C6C Unarmoured close order 3
Theban Cavalry 2 B2C2 Armoured open order cavalry 3
Thessalian Cavalry 2 B3C Unarmoured open order cavalry 2
Theban Archers 2 B1B2 Unarmoured, shieldless open order 1
Mercenary Archers 2 B1C3 Unarmoured, shieldless open order 1
Theban Peltasts 2 C4C2 Unarmoured infantry with javelins 1
Allied Peltasts 2 C4C2 Unarmoured infantry with javelins 2
Slingers 2 C1D2 Unarmoured, shieldless open order 3
Javelins 2 C3D2 Unarmoured open order 3

Spartan Army
TROOP TYPE BASES PER UNIT CLASSIFICATION ARMOUR & ORDER NUMBER OF UNITS IN THE ARMY
Spartiate Hoplites 5 A9A Unarmoured close order 1
Lacedaemonian Hoplites 5 B7B Armoured close order 4
Subject Ally Hoplites 5 D6C Armoured close order 8
Free Ally Hoplites 5 B7B Unarmoured close order 2
Lacedaemonian Peltasts 2 B7B2 Unarmoured infantry with javelins 1
Allied Peltasts 2 C4C2 Unarmoured infantry with javelins 2
Laconian Archers 2 B1C2 Unarmoured, shieldless open order 1
Laconian Cavalry 1 B2C2 Unarmoured, shieldless open order 2
Helot javelins 2 D2D2 Unarmoured open order 1
Allied Cavalry 2 B2C2 Armoured open order cavalry 2
Allied Slingers 2 C1D2 Unarmoured, shieldless open order 3
Allied Javelins 2 C3D2 Unarmoured open order 3

TOP RIGHT BATTLEFIELD

Unarmoured The battlefield is described as being a plain. To the
local farmers
and shepherds rear of the Spartan right was the village of Leuctra and
were often somewhere nearby was the Spartan camp. A track runs
used as from Leuctra then across the battlefield and through
skirmishers.
the centre of the Theban allies and exits near the right
hand corner of the Theban baseline (towards Thespiai).

DEPLOYMENT & TACTICS OPTIONS

It does seem that Epaminondas had the measure of
the Spartans and their King. Using the same army
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 47
 COMMAND DECISION

lists, the deployment can be modelled to favour the

Thebans but give the Spartans a chance to minimise the
danger. The Thebans have 27 “units” to deploy and the
Spartans have 30. Use the following table to determine
the deployment. Each player must place the indicated
number of units on their baseline. The Spartan player
must always deploy first.

DEPLOYMENT SPARTAN MUST DEPLOY THEBANS MUST DEPLOY

STAGE THIS NUMBER OF UNITS THIS NUMBER OF UNITS
1 6 3
2 6 3
3 8 6
4 4 6
5 3 5
6 3 4

We know that the Thebans refused their centre

and their right and put their best troops on the left
flank. We also know that once the Spartiates and the
Lacedaemonians got into bother, their allies dared not
risk moving forward to engage the inferior numbers of
Boeotians for fear of being attacked on the right flank
by the marauding Thebans and on the left flank by the
superior numbers of Theban cavalry. Use the following
table to determine the tactics that each player has to
adopt to vary the outcome of the battle. The tactics
required should be given to each player in private.
RIGHT
D6 ROLL SPARTAN TACTIC THEBAN TACTIC Peltasts were
essential in
1 Full force must move forward Free tactics, the player may
and engage at earliest determine their own tactics providing a
opportunity link between
2 Spartan army may not advance Theban horse on both flanks the hoplite
for the first two turns must charge opposing horse at phalanx and the
earliest opportunity skirmishers.
3 Spartan allied hoplites next to Boeotian allies must advance
Lacedaemonians must protect first for two turns before
their left flank as a priority Thebans begin advance
4 Spartans must push their Thebes must begin their
peltasts, cavalry and light troops advance using only cavalry,
forward for first two turns, then peltasts and light troops for the
hoplites may move first two turns.
5 Spartan horse must not engage The Boeotian allies must
the enemy until turn 3 move forward and engage the
Spartan allies on turn 4
6 Free tactics, the player may The whole Theban army must
determine their own tactics advance for the first three turns
alternative is Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander
Effectively, the battle was over after the Thebans broke the Great. It is said that Philip learned about it when
the Spartan phalanx and killed the Spartan King. There he was held prisoner by Thebes. Later it was used
is no reason to change this, equally should the Theban by Khalid ibn al-Walid at the Battle of Yarmouk (636)
phalanx be broken or the Sacred Band, Epaminondas against the Byzantines. The Imperial General Johann
and Pelopidas are killed, the game is also over. Tserclaes von Tilly used it at Breitenfeld (1631) against
the Swedes (but this time it failed).
ALTERNATIVES It was also particularly favoured by King Frederick
This is a straight on fight with a big difference as it II of Prussia. Frederick apparently learned the tactic by
is an example of deployment with a left hook and reading about placing the best troops on the flanks as
a refused centre and right. Technically, it could be recommended by Raimondo Montecuccoli (Italian born
described as being an oblique order or declined flank. professional soldier). A later, extreme strategic version
It is a tactic that was used on a number of occasions was performed by Lee and Jackson at Chancellorsville in
across the ages. Perhaps the most famous ancient the American Civil War. There are also two examples in

48 Miniature Wargames April 2023

 LEFT
As the main
Theban phalanx
hits the
Spartiates, the
elite Theban
Sacred Band
appears on
the flank to
crash into the
unsuspecting
enemy.

Eastern Europe, Tannenberg in 1917 when the Germans
hit the Russian left flank and the Polish commander
Pilsudski’s counter-strike against the Russians in 1920.
MIGHTIER IN WAR: FACT CHECK
The two armies met on the open plain of Leuctra in
the very heart of Boeotia. The battle featured some
complicated formations and manoeuvres for the time.
The battle opened with a cavalry clash on the Theban
left; it was decisive and the remnants of the Spartan
horse routed through part of Kleombrotos’ phalanx.
The Spartan hoplites (twelve deep) were then hit by a
fifty deep Theban formation led by the Sacred Band.
The Thebans hit the Spartan phalanx at the point
where the 700 Spartiates were posted (the rest of the BELOW LEFT
formation, some 2,300 men were Lacedaemonians). It Fanciful shield
designs were
seems that this was Epaminondas’ intention, to cut off all the fashion,
the head of the snake. The Theban allied units were stylised octopi,
deployed at an angle away from the Spartan allies and bulls and
horses were
played little part in the fight. all common
The struggle between the Sacred Band and the themes.
Spartiates was short-lived, violent and decisive.
Klemobrotos was killed and the Spartan formation
collapsed. The Spartans scooped up the body of
their king (the first Spartan king to die in battle
since Leonidas in 480BC) and managed an orderly
withdrawal back to their camp; they had lost 1,000
dead, 400 of which were Spartiates.
Epaminondas’ force lost around 300. He followed up
the victory by invading the Peloponnese, freeing slaves
and setting up garrisons to stifle Spartan aggression.
The battle changed the power balance in Greece for
good and it was the end Spartan dominance.
The Spartans would get their revenge as
Epaminondas was killed at Mantinea (362 BC). Sparta
had allied with Athens to break Theban dominance.
The Athenian Xenophon would later state that –
had Epaminondas not been killed – Macedon
would never have risen to control the
DOWNLOAD
region. DIGITAL CAMPAIGN GAM
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Download the Salute 50 Command tabletopgaming.co.uk/
information/downloads
Decision Special: Boeotian War Campaign for
a full version of the whole campaign of 371BC. ■

April 2023 Miniature Wargames 49

 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
ARTORIUS; & DE LA POLE,
FATHER AND SON
◗ J. Matthews & L. Malcor; and M. Schindler
◗ Amberley Publishing (2022)
◗ £18.99; and £22.99
◗ 256, and 319, pages (hardbacks)
◗ ISBN:9781398112155, and 9781398106185
◗ amberley-books.com
Both titles are largely biographies rather
than military histories. The ‘Artorius:
The Real King Arthur’ appears to be
a thorough walk through the various
legends, myths and rare bits of evidence,
resulting in the authors’ conclusion
that he was a senior Roman officer in
the second century AD. The pages are
littered with terms such as ‘could be’,
‘possible’, ‘interpretation’ and the like,
with dust-cover accolades from the
screenwriter and swordsmaster for the
film ‘King Arthur’. A difficult subject on
which to write convincingly?
The second book is a detailed profile
of the lives and times of John de la Pole
(2nd Duke of Suffolk, 1442-92) and his
son. These were troubled times for the
aristocracy, especially if you backed
the wrong horse, and in the case of
the Suffolks there were also strong
conflicting loyalties and expectations
within the family. The author blends
the sources with what seems to be a fair
set of character assessments, including
those of the monarchy and other senior
players. Overall, an engaging read in
terms of ’human interest’.
Chris Jarvis
ANZAC SOLDIER VERSUS
OTTOMAN SOLDIER
◗ Si Sheppard
◗ Osprey (2023)
◗ £15.99
◗ 80 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781472849182
◗ ospreypublishing.com
Osprey’s ‘Combat’ Series is a darned
good set of offerings: primarily about
the men, but with good information on
equipment, tactics, the core politico-
military elements of a conflict, and in
each case three sample battles – here,
Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair (Gallipoli,
August 1915), and Beersheba (Palestine,
October 1917) with its famous cavalry
charge and the desperate need to gain
an uncontaminated water supply before
men and animals perished.
The initial third of the book covers
the protagonists in terms of recruitment,
leadership, logistics, weapons, training,
etc, with the remainder devoted to the
battles and with a final analysis section
including helpful summaries of orders
of battle down to battalion level. Maps
and photographs are clear, and with
none of the spine-breaking two-page
spreads favoured by some Osprey series.
It is also an opportunity for the cavalry
freaks amongst us to enjoy one of the
last non-Russian theatres of tactical and
operational activity – the Desert Mounted
Corps eventually totalled 28,000 horsemen
(at 1:25 scale, a mere 1,120 figures…).
Well written and presented –
recommended.
Chris Jarvis

BROTHERHOOD OF THE FLYING
COFFIN
◗ Scott McGaugh
◗ Osprey (2023)
◗ £25
◗ 288 pages (hardback)
◗ ISBN:9781472852946
◗ ospreypublishing.com
Gliders are perhaps the ‘forgotten
element’ in the history of WWII –
indeed, the US Army and the Air Force
both tried to distance themselves from
the glider arm after the war. The glider
movement had a difficult start, with a
two-year gestation that struggled with
dangerous designs, limited aircraft in
relation to pilot numbers, unpractised
towing crews, and the early disasters of
night flying in the invasion of Sicily.
This is a very personal set of US
diary and interview accounts of life
in training and in action, with some
pretty hair-raising stories of how you
‘stopped the thing’ – often by running
into a tree and hoping it hit the wings
rather than the cockpit. I feel the
author has too many people in the plot
(after a while, you lose track of the
personalities involved): he states his
determination to focus on the human
rather than the technical side, but more
detail on the latter would perhaps have
been helpful.
A worthy tribute to men who risked
(and lost) their lives in what were
effectively ‘controlled crashes’.
Chris Jarvis
THE GARDE NATIONALE 1789-
1815: FRANCE’S FORGOTTEN
ARMED FORCES
◗ Pierre Baptiste Guillemot
◗ Helion & Company (2022)
◗ £35.00
◗ 364 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915113887
◗ helion.co.uk
Number 100 in Helion’s From Reason
to Revolution 1721-1815 series offers
the first full-length English language
study of the origins and the successive
organizations of the Garde Nationale
in Paris and in the provinces of France,
its personnel and uniforms, and its
transformation into a territorial reserve
army. Regiments formed from Garde
Nationale units also distinguished
themselves during the later campaigns
of the First Empire.
The book is divided into ten
chapters, covering such topics as
the Garde’s ancestors, the Milices
Bourgeoises of the Ancien Regime;
the formation of the Garde Nationale
Parisienne; the subsequent creation
of local Gardes Nationales in the
provinces; Garde Nationale Flags; the
Garde in the Republican Era, and the
decline of the Garde.
Chapter 10, Of Purple Cloak and
Battlefields, may perhaps be of most
interest to wargamers as it describes
how the Garde was employed during
the Empire, firstly to defend the coasts
and borders of France to free troops of
the regular army to serve on campaign,
and later, after the disaster in Russia
in 1812, as a quality resource that
could be used immediately to raise
reinforcements. In January 1813 the
eighty eight cohortes of the Garde were
transferred to the active army as the
135e to 156e Regiments d’Infanterie de
Ligne. With the exception of the 143e,
which was sent to Spain, these regiments
served in Germany and many of them
participated in such battles as Lutzen,
Bautzen and Leipzig. Some survived
to take part in the Campaign of France
in 1814, at battles such as La Rothiere,
Montmirail and Vauchamps. Parisian
Garde Nationale legions also fought to
defend the capital in 1814.
There are
nearly two
hundred
colour
illustrations!
Colour Plate
Section 1 has
seven plates
illustrating
fourteen figures
of the Marquis
de La Fayette
and soldiers of
various Garde
Nationale units; a further six plates
depict twenty two banners and flags of
Garde Nationale units from 1790 to 1815
by Jean-Claude Colrat.
Colour Plate Section 2 consists
of fourteen illustrations by Patrice
Courcelle, showing seventeen figures of
officers and men, covering the period
1789-1814, one of the Emperor on
horseback and one showing details of
Napoleon’s Garde Nationale coat.
Distributed throughout the book
are many other colour illustrations,
including high quality reproductions
of contemporary paintings, prints and
artefacts, and also numerous uniform
illustrations by artists such as Henri
Boisselier, Patrice Courcelle and Jacques
Onfray de Breville (JOB).
Six colour maps show the Main
Parisian Locations mentioned in the
text; the organization of the sixty
Parisian districts into six military
divisions in 1789; the forty eight Parisian
sections that replaced those districts in
1790; the Great Fear of summer 1789;
the Volontaires’ levies in 1791 and 1792,
and the King’s Flight, 21 June 1791.
There are also over forty black and
white reproductions of contemporary
paintings, portraits and prints.
References are given in footnotes. A
nine page bibliography concludes the
book; there is no index.
Helion are to be congratulated upon
producing such a sumptuously illustrated,
thoroughly researched and detailed
history of the Garde Nationale that is
excellent value and deserves to be in the
library of any one with a deeper interest in
France during the Revolution and Empire
than just the uniforms of its army.
Arthur Harman
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 51
 REVIEWS
CAMPAIGNS OF THE EASTERN
ASSOCIATION
◗ Laurence Spring
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £29.95
◗ 239 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915113986
◗ helion.co.uk
Written by an expert on the English Civil
War, this is a book that both delights and
disappoints, depending largely on your
point of view.
On the one hand, you gain an
exhaustive level of detail on virtually
all aspects of ECW campaigning,
from combat to the myriad issues of
command dissensions, pay, provisions,
recruitment, sickness, mutiny, marching,
and so on. This is all based on an
extensive knowledge of the archives of
the period, and with an honest appraisal
of the often-contradictory accounts of
key events and the propaganda ‘spin’ by
the individuals and newssheets on both
sides.
On the other hand… At times
you feel as if the author wants to
tell you everything he knows, with
comparatively little overall analysis. The
number of maps is totally inadequate:
for example, the 20-page chapter on
Newbury (1644) has no map. Much of
the text is original 17th Century English,
giving a wonderful period feel but not
the easiest of reads.
In summary: a promising buy for
the deep enthusiast of this conflict, but
borderline for the wargamer?
Chris Jarvis
52 Miniature Wargames April 2023
BRITISH MILITARY
PANORAMAS: BATTLE IN THE
ROUND, 1800-1914
◗ Ian F.W. Beckett
◗ Helion & Company (2022)
◗ £35.00
◗ 210 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915113849
◗ helion.co.uk
Today, we can view many different
representations of battle: the reality in
newsreels and on television; dramatized
– and often fictionalised – recreations
in movies and television dramas;
photographs and paintings in art
galleries; dioramas using scale models –
and even wargames with model soldiers
(though the latter, Donald Featherstone
– himself a veteran of the Western
Desert campaign in the Second World
War – pointed out, bear only the most
coincidental resemblance to real warfare).
In the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries, however, there was
no film nor television, and art galleries
were the preserve of the gentry and
aristocracy. The panorama, a new way of
presenting visual portrayals of battles,
became an extremely popular form of
mass entertainment during The Great
War with France (as the Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars were then
known), combining art with patriotism
by celebrating Britain’s victories on land
and sea.
Many readers, myself included,
will have visited the Panorama at the
battlefield of Waterloo (though this
dates from 1912) or seen reproductions
of parts thereof in books on the battle.
This book, Number 25 in Helion’s From
Musket to Maxim 1815-1914 series,
describes the two types of panorama
that entertained the British public by
portraying both land and naval battles
on a grander scale than any painting in
an art gallery. The author covers both
the original, static, 360 degree paintings
housed and displayed in specially
constructed buildings, such as the
Leicester Square Rotunda, and the later,
‘moving’ panoramas that comprised a
series of scenes wound between rollers.
Sadly, none of the early panorama
paintings have survived; instead,
readers must be content with quotations
from contemporary descriptions and
reproductions of advertisements and the
black and white anamorphic (circular)
or more conventional explanatory plans
that could be consulted by visitors. There
are, however, colour reproductions
of three prints produced by John
Vendramini from Robert Ker Porter’s
Seringapatam and a study for part of the
same artist’s Battle of Alexandria.
There are more satisfying illustrations
of the later nineteenth century panoramas.
Colour reproductions are provided of
studies for Jean-Charles Langlois’ Siege
of Sebastopol Panorama of 1860, Adolphe
Yvon’s Battle of Ulundi Panorama of 1881.
There are contemporary photographs of
Olivier Pichat’s Tel-el-Kebir Panorama
of 1883, Ernst Philipp Fleischer’s
Bannockburn Panorama of 1888 and
the same artist’s Omdurman Panorama
of 1900, and the chromolithograph of
Theophile Poilpot’s Charge of the Light
Brigade Panorama of 1881.
Two appendices list Classic Military
Panoramas around the World and
Modern Military Panoramas, such as
those that are popular in authoritarian
states such as China, North Korea and
Russia.
A twelve page bibliography and
a seven page index, divided into
two Sections - Artists and Panorama
Entrepreneurs and Battles and Sieges –
concludes the book.
This is a rather esoteric subject, but
one that may be of interest to some
wargamers, as they are engaged in
creating smaller, but equally colourful,
portrayals of battle in the form of
wargames with model soldiers and
terrain. Whereas the audiences of the
panoramas experienced a visual illusion
of being present on the battlefield;
participants in a wargame experience an
emotional illusion of commanding troops
in battle. Both appeal to the eye and the
imagination, but in different ways.
Arthur Harman
 HAM AND JAM
◗ Andrew Wheale
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £35
◗ 269 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915070852
◗ helion.co.uk
This is the story of 6th Airborne
Division’s performance on D-Day and
the subsequent hard fighting on the
eastern side of the bridgehead, with
an emphasis on the importance of
leadership and training. The former was
achieved through the strong personality
of Richard Gale (divisional commander),
benefitting from his early involvement
in the wartime development of airborne
forces. Training was achieved, then as
now, by a tough physical and mental
regime plus the encouragement of
initiative – vital in the confusion of a
paratroop drop, especially at night.
Like many Helion titles, this is an
adaptation of a doctoral dissertation
– and, like many, it seems that clear
grammar and proofreading are not key
requirements: most pages have unclear
sentences and/or typos. The main
maps are copies of the D-Day ones,
but in black-and-white and reduced to
the point of unreadability. However,
the sketch maps show the main
activities, and the book is most certainly
thoroughly researched. The impact of
overwhelming land and sea supporting
firepower is perhaps understated, but
the book is nevertheless a tribute to
some very fine troops and leaders.
Chris Jarvis
53
JAPANESE CONQUEST OF
BURMA
◗ Tim Moreman
◗ Osprey (2022)
◗ £15.99
◗ 96 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781472849731
◗ ospreypublishing.com
The early Far Eastern campaigns saw
probably the most dismal performance
of the British military in WWII, for a
variety of reasons – inadequate training,
over-confidence, poor generalship, and
so on. The Burma campaign perhaps
had the most ‘excuses’, as it was never
regarded as a priority theatre for
resources.
The author’s English is clumsy or
ambiguous at times, but on the whole
this is an informative and engaging
account of what came to be known as
‘The British Army’s longest retreat’
(around 1,000 miles to the Indian
border), with successive Allied positions
being outflanked both tactically and
operationally. The Sittang River debacle,
in which two brigades were cut-off by
premature bridge demolition, is well
told, as are the earlier engagements
including the Chinese Army’s actions.
As usual, there are helpful supporting
photos and maps, albeit around half the
maps are those silly ‘oblique view’ two-
page efforts where you’d have to break
the spine of the book in order to see the
central actions. Overall, slightly below
the usual Osprey excellent standard, but
still a good buy.
Chris Jarvis
THE ITALIAN WARS VOLUME 4
◗ M. Predonzani & S. Miller
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £25
◗ 118 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781915070296
◗ helion.co.uk
The latest offering in this fine series is
themed around the battle of Ceresole
(1544). The bulk of the book describes
the fighting methods, equipment and
organisation of the various nationalities,
at a time when warfare was changing
significantly with the advent of mass
firearms.
The actual battle occupies around 20
pages, with four excellent scaled maps,
showing the locations and manoeuvres
of each body of troops: obviously there
is a degree of ‘supposition’ in the terrain
and troop layouts, but the author seems
to have made good use of the sources
(primarily French and Italian). Equally
useful are the short preceding chapters
each describing a particular troop-type
– the generic ‘enfant perdus’ (primarily
skirmishers); Italian, Spanish, Swiss,
Landsknecht and French infantry; and
the heavy and light cavalry. In the
course of those chapters, the authors
give example army compositions from
other battles, showing how the relative
proportions changed over time.
The translation is a bit stilted at times,
and proof-reading could have been
better, but this is a stimulating incentive
to getting a wargames army of this
gloriously colourful period.
Chris Jarvis
›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 53
 REVIEWS
TIGERS IN COMBAT VOL III
◗ Wolfgang Schneider
◗ Helion (2022)
◗ £49.95
◗ 512 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781804510414
◗ helion.co.uk
First published in 2016 in hardback,
this stupendous volume describes all
aspects of the Tiger I (mainly) and the
Tiger II, including gunnery practice,
driving techniques, radio transmission,
maintenance, organisation, and some
key tactical parameters. There are
around 1,200 photos and drawings,
on high-quality paper, drawn from
a wide range of manuals, battlefield
reports, crew photos, etc, offering not
only a feast of technical detail but also
curiously personal – any modern tank
crew would identify with the lives
described in this book.
For the wargamer, the organisation
charts go down to individual vehicles
and personnel, including support
echelons – a temptation to do say
a mini-campaign on ‘The Tiger
battalion in action’, engaging a series
of opponents in operations ranging
from infantry support to an armoured
offensive, in both the Eastern and
Western theatres. You’ll need some rules
for the probability of bogging down (the
most common cause of Tiger losses).
Obviously, this is not a cheap book,
but definitely a worthwhile investment
for the Panzer enthusiast.
Chris Jarvis
54 Miniature Wargames April 2023
NOBLE VOLUNTEERS: THE
BRITISH SOLDIERS WHO
FOUGHT THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION
◗ Don N. Hagist
◗ Westholme Publishing (2020)
◗ £29.95
◗ 392 pages (hardback)
◗ ISBN:9781594163494
◗ westholmepublishing.com
The first part of this book, A Peacetime
Army Prepares for War, begins by
describing the tensions that existed
between British soldiers and the citizens of
the American colonies, before examining
the many and varied reasons why men
chose to enlist, the training of new recruits
and preparing them for war by practising
the loading and firing of their flintlock
muskets and how to maintain their
formation during rapid movements.
The second part, The Wartime Army,
consists of eight chapters, each of which
covers a different aspect of the British
Army’s experience during the American
War. The first chapter, Evident Supremacy
Even in Woods, describes how the troops
adapted to war in America. The next
deals with recruiting for the American
War. The third describes the soldiers’
living conditions on transport ships to
America, when quartered in towns and in
the countryside on campaign. Then there
is a chapter devoted to rations, disease
and off-duty activities. The remaining
chapters cover plundering, recruiting
for global war, bounty money, wages,
rewards and promotion. ,
The third and final part, Ending
Careers, Ending the War, begins by
describing the experiences and escapes
of British soldiers taken prisoner by the
rebels; the transfer of fit men into other
units, and those unfit for campaigning
into garrison battalions, when their
own regiments returned to Britain;
the creation of flank battalions of light
infantrymen or grenadiers; the shipping
of invalids home for discharge, and
death. The final chapter, Long and
Faithful Service, explains how some men
were discharged with grants of land in
the remaining British colonies (modern
day Canada), while others who had
returned to Britain claimed pensions.
Twenty half-tone illustrations
are distributed amongst the text,
including photographs of a surviving
recruiting poster; details of age and
height distributions and nationalities
from inspection returns; a page from
a punishment book; lists of trades of
soldiers who appeared before a pension
examination board; a discharge form,
and examples of one soldier’s signature
and another’s mark. There are also
reproductions of contemporary prints
showing scenes of military life. Modern
line drawings by Eric H. Schnitzer
show a soldier drafted from the 12th
Light Dragoons into the 20th Foot,
still wearing his cavalry coat; a soldier
of the 9th Foot on campaign in 1777;
a drummer of the 55th Foot, and a
prisoner of the 47th Foot.
There are no maps, which is not
unreasonable, given the focus of the book.
Forty-six pages of endnotes, a
fourteen-page Selected Bibliography and
a ten-page index conclude the book.
This is an excellent book that uses the
relatively few available primary sources
– when compared to the Peninsular War
– to rescue the British Army that fought
the American rebels from the stereotypes
of automata in elaborate uniforms, led
by aristocratic incompetents, depicted in
films such as Revolution and The Patriot.
Wargaming with model soldiers
involves many compromises over
matters such as groundscales and
limiting intelligence of the enemy but
using models rather than cardboard
counters reminds us that the wars we
study were fought by human beings.
Reading this book increases our
understanding of the men we portray
in miniature on our tabletops and our
ability to frame appropriate rules to
reflect their morale.
Arthur Harman
CLUB SPOTLIGHT
ABERDEEN WARGAMES CLUB
Interview by John Treadaway with the Club Secretary
How did the club first get started?
Aberdeen Wargames Club was
formed in the early 70’s, which
was well before my time and has
had a steady core membership
of about 20 playing mainly
historical wargames.
What’s changed in the years it’s
been running?
More recently as younger
members join the club has
diversified and almost all games
are played from Ancients to
X-Wing. The game which no one
plays is Warhammer, but that is
catered for elsewhere in the city.
What are some of the most popular
games at the club?
We play Flames of War version
4, The Men who would be
Kings, Hail Caesar, One Hour
Wargames and A fistful of
lead. But in reality we will try
anything.
For further games information
there is plenty on our Facebook
pages.
What tournaments and events does
the club run?
We play many games but we
have never run a tournament.
There is a good wargaming
community in the north east
of Scotland with at least three
gaming clubs in Aberdeen, one
in Oldmeldrum and others
in Kirriemuir and Forfar. All
playing their own brand of
games.
Where do you play?
The club meets every Tuesday
evening in The Abbot Lounge in
Aberdeen. We have presented
games at local modelling shows
TOP LEFT and at other wargaming events
Club members Sholto and recently took both awards at
Humphries and Carlos
Pestana with the Battle of
SKELP in Kirriemuir.
Graibsotne game.
How do you advertise your club?
TOP RIGHT
15mm Colonial.
We promote the club mainly
on Facebook but post regularly
LEFT on Instagram and Twitter. It’s
A Flames of War WWII
game.
really just to try to increase
our membership and take in
BELOW RIGHT younger members. Or email us
Aztec fun!
at aberdeenwargamesclub@hotmail.
com
So why would someone like to join?
At present we have no female
members, which we are trying
to address. The club is well run
and provides a great opportunity
for people to meet others with
similar interests and most of all
to have fun gaming. ■
If you’d like your club
featured in Miniature
Wargames, get in
contact at miniature
wargames@
warnersgroup.co.uk
Miniature Wargames 55

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dŚĞƌĞĂƌĞĂůǁĂLJƐƉůĞŶƚLJŵŽƌĞ͊͛

EVENT

TICKET TO RIDE
ON A TRAIN
All aboard for an evening of choo-choosing the right route.

SATURDAY 20TH MAY 2023

Join us at Nene Valley Railway for a two-hour ride on a heritage steam
train, and play some games too. Leaving from Wansford Station,
Peterborough, the train will travel in both directions through the
countryside, offering views and the excitement of rail travel.
And if you don’t want to play Ticket To Ride,
or even a game about trains, we’ll forgive you
for going off track. Bring your own games to
the event if you wish, or none at all if you just
want to enjoy a ride on a classic engine.

FIND OUT MORE HERE:

www.ttgami.ng/nene-valley
MATERIALS USED
◗ Knives
◗ Measuring Tools
◗ Paints
◗ Modelling clay
◗ Foam
◗ Egg Box Card
◗ Glues
◗ Brushes
◗ Plastic card

›
April 2023 Miniature Wargames 57
 HOBBY TIPS
1. KNIVES OUT
My main go-to knife is the 18mm
snap-off bladed OLFA knife
(top) which I use for most of my
cutting and trimming work. The
Swann Morton scalpel with
a No. 11 blade is used for detail
work (I buy my blades in bulk
via the internet) while the other
smaller or 9mm snap-off bladed
knives are backups. The black
handled Tamiya scriber (middle)
is a great general purpose tool
for scribing and cutting plastic
card, but can also be used to
clean up edges.
I also have a range of razorsaws
(not shown) which are useful
when cutting thicker materials
and a couple of plastic circle
cutting tools.
2. I HAVE YOUR
MEASURE
As well as the obvious metal
rulers, I use 24 inch, 12 inch
and 6 inch rulers; I have the
metal angle square which
was bought some years ago
as a multi-use measuring
and cutting guide. I use it
every time I sit down at my
desk and just wish I could
find another as this one is
showing its age.
Finally we have the plastic
Rulers-of-the-World scale
rule (bought off the internet),
this one is scaled for 28mm or
1/65th, but I have others for
example 1/48th and 1/43.3 (O
gauge).
3. PAINT IT BLACK
I think it is obvious from this
image that I am not someone
who religiously sticks to just
one brand of paint... In fact
this is just a small selection of
the brands that I have stored
around my workbench, I
also have artist’s acrylic tube
paints and even household
emulsion paints in tester
pots. I like to label or ‘date’ my
paint with a simple marker
pen: some of my older
modelling paints are over 15
years old and I am still using
them!
I also use spray cans. These
are usually employed for
undercoating. When painting
terrain you can go through
quite a bit of paint.
58 Miniature Wargames April 2023
4. UNCOMMON CLAY
I use lots of DAS modelling clay.
I have at least three packs either
open or ready to be used at any
one time. I prefer modelling with
the Terracotta DAS as I think it has
a smoother texture (but can stain
clothing) but I usually have a DAS
White pack on the workbench. I
have been experimenting with the
new DAS Stone, but don’t see any
advantage.
I have used cheaper self hardening
clays, but after some ‘disasters’, I
returned to DAS. I would suggest
that you mix in a bit of PVA glue or
apply it over PVA to stop shrinkage
and/or cracking. Finally, I keep
used DAS in a ZipLock plastic pack
to keep it fresh.
5. FOAMING
There is a lot of confusion
regarding types and colours of
modelling foams. I tend to pick
mine up wherever I can and then
tailor the use to the properties of
the particular foam. For example
I have a large block of pale green
foam (given to me some time ago)
and I find it great for detailing
work. The darker green foam
(bottom) is under floor insulation
and less well suited to detailing but
is ideal for building up layers or
steps. The orange foam is Foam
Balsa or Balsa Foam and was
bought at a modelling show many
years ago: I keep this for very
special modelling projects because
it is expensive and difficult to
source. The blue foam (top left)
was salvaged (free!) from a skip.
6. EGGY SOLDIERS
Egg Box Card is quite a new
material for me and I have only
been using it for about three
years.
I first became aware of it after
seeing a YouTube tutorial
about building dolls houses –
in particular the modelling of
wall bricks and stone or garden
paving. Since then I have used
it in almost every build. It is
a perfect modelling material
being free and having many
uses. I have used egg box card
to model stone, bricks and
wood.
I like to seal the egg box card
with PVA glue prior to painting.
7. THIS IS A STICK UP
The main modelling glue I
use is standard PVA or white
woodworking glue and I buy it in
bulk as I go through so much of it.
The two part epoxy glue is great
to have for that one in a hundred
application where you need a firm
bond, but most of my plastic or
metal bonding is done with Mitre
Fast, a specialist trade glue
which comes with a spray can of
accelerator.

I also have a hot glue gun (not

shown) which I use on the hot
setting and with extra long
sticks of hot glue also bought in
bulk. The hot glue gun is ideal
for cardboard to cardboard
joins and even plastic to
cardboard joins.

8. BRUSH UP
I admit to being a bit of a brush
fanatic and have dozens – if not
hundreds – of different brushes
on my workbench. I tend to use
cheaper brushes when painting
terrain, and keep the better
quality ones for detail or figure
painting.

Terrain painting and – in

particular PVA glue and
drybrushing – will ruin any
brush, cheap or expensive, so be
sensible and use the brush that
is best suited to your particular
need.

9. CARD SHARP
I keep a huge selection of different
card and plastic card for use when
modelling; in fact my wife will tell
you that I’m a bit of a ‘card hoarder’
with scraps of packaging card,
backing card from art books and
even ex-advertising card stored
down my shed. I very rarely throw
any card (however thick or thin)
away.

Plastic card can be bought from

modelling shops, but you would
be amazed at what you can pick
up for free (or at least at little
cost). I recommend buying plastic
card as signs (No Parking or No
Smoking signs) which are usually
a fraction of the price of plastic
modelling card – in fact most of my
plastic card is scavenged as used
advertising signage from shops.

April 2023 Miniature Wargames 59

NE W GAMES S TORE
Be the first to receive exclusive launch
deals by signing up to our mailing list
www.ttgami.ng/new-games-store
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COULD BE
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 THE LAST WORD
BILL TEMPLETON
After last month’s piece by David Hiscocks, long time
wargamer Bill wanted to give his own perspective
have been a wargamer
I for more than 50 years. In
that time I have seen many
changes in the hobby but
much has stayed the same. I
recall arguments in the early
1970’s about the best scale for
figures: should we use 20mm or
30mm? Many of these arguments
are regurgitated today, though
the choice of scale is, of course
greater. Commonplace concerns,
in the ‘70s, about the increasing
average age of wargamers rather
passed by me (being a teenager)
but the same concerns are
expressed today.
Over the years wargamers
have been given to gazing at
our collective navels. Should
we feel guilty about our hobby?
It is called “wargaming” so are
we glorifying war? Should our
miniatures be permitted to depict,
for example, the SS? What about
females in chain-mail bikinis (or
less...), vignettes showing torture
or alluding to slavery. Are these
acceptable or not?
In the 70’s it was not
uncommon to have to face
anti-war protestors when
attending a wargames show.
Posters placed at my school to
promote a wargames club were
ripped down. Recently, I read a
suggestion that games set during
the Imperial period, involving
Zulus, Afghanis or Chinese
boxers, should be considered
“problematic” for glorifying
imperialism.
My point is that arguments
of this kind have been going
on since my earliest days as a
wargamer and, I think, are of
no greater value now than they
ever were. Miniature scale –
more especially nowadays – is
a matter of personal choice.
62 Miniature Wargames April 2023
Attending shows, the number
of grey beards in proportion
to youngsters looks, to me,
around the same as it has always
been. Agonising over ethics
and concerns about whether or
not our toys might offend, are
specious at best. I do not believe
that those who enjoy violent
video games, for example,
agonise in the same way.
Wargaming is now a much
broader church than in my
youth. Then, most – if not all
– of our games were, at least
very loosely, historical. Having
said that it was – then as now
– common to see an ancient
game between historically
impossible protagonists. The
hobby has evolved, and now,
of course, we game in every
imaginable historical period
and across all fantasy and
science fiction genres. TV shows
such as Stingray, Dr Who and
many others have given rise
to wargames played by many
(I can’t imagine why I wanted to
publish Mr Templeton’s comments...
Ed.) . Of course, there is still the
very old argument that only
historical games are suitable for
serious play. I don’t believe that
argument, as old as it is, holds
water. I know of no historical
gamer who has never played a
“what if” type of game, which
can certainly be described as
fantasy or, if set in a supposed
near future, science fiction?
Gamers no longer require
vast numbers of figures to
participate. Games can involve
as few as a half dozen miniatures
or can be as large as the recent
re-enactment of Waterloo, held
in Glasgow, involving around
22,000 miniatures. Scales are
now very diverse and increasing:
“Agonising 2mm and 10 or 12mm are all
over
ethics and
concerns
about
“new (ish)”. Hard plastic and
resin miniatures now compete
with metal, which was for many
years the “gold standard”.
New rule sets are published,
seemingly, every day.
whether The number and variety
or not our of miniatures available has
increased, almost, beyond belief,
toys might from a start of converted Airfix
offend, are with, perhaps, some Minifigs or
specious at Hinton Hunt in a very limited
number of periods. It is now
best. I do not hard to find a period – real
believe that or imagined – which is not
those who well catered for. While many
wargamers, remain, at least,
enjoy violent tempted to convert the odd
video games, miniature, large scale conversion
for example, of soft plastic ACW cavalry to
Imperial Romans is, I think, a
agonise in thing of the past.
the same The more things change the
way.. ” more they stay the same. Even
given the variety of periods,
miniatures, rules and scales
now available to wargamers,
little fundamental has changed.
In my view, putting it simply,
wargaming is playing with toy
soldiers. Toy soldiers have been
the constant in wargaming over
my life time. While I have played
and enjoyed map based games,
and games played with counters,
the toy soldier has always been
central to the hobby.
Yes, our hobby can have a
serious side. Yes, the amount
of historical (or other) research
involved can vary enormously,
but what never changes is moving
toy soldiers across a board which
may, or may not, resemble real
terrain. At its core our hobby
remains a game with toy soldiers.
Enjoy it. I have for more than 50
years, and hope to do so for some
time yet to come. ■
“...the nearest
run thing you
ever saw
in your life”.
- The Duke of Wellington

PLAY TESTERS WANTED - PLAY F O R F R EE!

“WATERLOO RE-FOUGHT” - GRAND EVENT 17th/18th JUNE
TO BE HELD AT OUR GAMING CENTRE AT 136 ICKNIELDPO
ORT ROAD,
EDGBASTON, BIRMINGHAM B16 0BJ
We are delighted to offer a unique opportunity for hardcore Napoleonic enthusiasts to
re-fight the Battle of Waterloo in real time on the Intelligent Wargames Table (IWGT).
We have joined eight of our tables together to create a giant 264 sq ft playing surface complete
with hills, woods and buildings. A scale representation of the battlefield at a scale of 1/1000.

Game play is facilitated by embedded micro-processors that monitor movement and calculate
complex combat outcomes. The IWGT provides real-time game play i.e. 5 minutes of battlefield
time takes 5 minutes to play. This is not for the faint-hearted commander! You will need to
think, and act, fast to counter the moves of your opponent. If you enjoy the spectacle of a
wargames table populated by over 12,000 painted miniatures, but yearn for the added realism of
real time game play, then this is an opportunity not to be missed.

If you would like to help us play test “Waterloo Re-Fought”

in April/May, prior to the main event in June, contact Alan
on 07856 893685. Individuals & teams welcome.

THE INTELLIGENT WARGAMES TABLE

Head Office tel: 01327 368 498 Gaming Centre tel: 07856 893685
ail: info@valkyrx.com
ema email: birmingham@valkyrx.com

@Valkyrx_Gaming Valkyrx_Gaming @valkyrx_gaming

 INTRODUCING

We’re excited to announce the

launch of the first phase of a new
endeavour for us: producing
high detail miniatures as 3D files
and prints! We have partnered
with MyMiniFactory.com to
offer 3D files for sale and also
make them available through a
monthly subscription service!

Each month we will be releasing

a mix of full multi-part figure
sets, conversion sets for our
existing plastics, characters,
vehicles, and terrain! We will
have something for all 11 of
our ranges each month as well:
a massive collection of new
models each and every month!
And soon we will offer the same
models as physical prints.

facebook.com/wargamesatlantic DESIGNED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POND

VISIT US AT WWW.WARGAMESATLANTIC.COM
22 April 2023 PRODUCED BY

ExCeL London Q www.salute.co.uk


WELCOME TO
SALUTE 50
H
i and welcome to the 50th
Salute!! Half a century of
wargaming shows put on by
the South London Warlords
club.
And that is the theme, the 50th show,
we are all here today because we either
love the painting of our models or the
actual model making or like me simply
the wargaming!
The club has again staged the biggest
and best independent one day show in
the UK, where once again you will be
able to see well over a hundred traders
selling all sorts of hobby and wargaming
goodness.
These traders are here to cater to your
every wargaming need. From that new
project that you just have to start to that
one figure you just didn’t know that you
needed, they will have it all.
And don’t forget all those wonderful
games. These are put on by clubs and
societies and companies showing you a
wealth of the best games available, and
SALUTE 50 Q WELCOME
will give you ideas for what sort of games
you could be playing at your club and of
course in your home.
So make sure that you take some
time during the show to take a look at
these great games or even sit down and
participate in a few and have some fun.
The show has struggled over the last
couple of years because of these crazy
times, because of COVID and all the
misery this has brought to us here in the
UK and across the world, but hopefully
we can all now relax a little and enjoy this
landmark show.
As the President of the club this year
I would just like to thank all of the
Warlords and their partners and their
friends that I know will be working hard
all day to bring you all the best show
possible, and I would especially like to
thank all the Committee members that
have put all their time, effort and hard
work into bringing you this year’s show.
All of their hard work is what
makes this show the not-to-be-missed
wargaming show every year.
The club has also gone through a
few changes and some hard times over
the last couple of years, but it seems to
be coming through these testing times
stronger.
We have managed to get in a good few
new members over the last year which is
great for the club. They are bringing new
ideas and younger ideas into the mix,
which I feel will be good for the club and
of course Salute’s future.
Salute is also a way for us as a club
to let you as gamers know we are here;
we are a club that plays lots of different
wargames and even boardgames: you can
normally see a good selection of games
being played at the club.
Come along and say hello on a Monday
club night, you will always get a warm
welcome and you will probably even get
a game!!
You can get information about our club,
opening times and what goes on, from
the Information Stand in the centre of the
show, or just come over and say hello.
I hope you all have a great show,
Mac Cross
Mac Cross
Club President
South London Warlords
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 3

S
alute 50’s special figure was
designed and manufactured
by Warlord Games. We spoke
with Paul Sawyer, Warlord’s
Product Design and Marketing Manager,
about the process.
“We were delighted to once again be
asked to provide the figure for Salute and
especially so given this wonderful mile-
stone event.
Working with one of our in-house
sculptors, Wojtek, we began looking at
concepts for an older Viking Jarl who was
festooned with booty pillaged during his
50 year reign mirroring the South London
Warlord’s successful 50 show past glories.
For the look to the future of wargaming
and more Salute events we were keen to
produce this model in our Warlord Resin
TM material as this is one of the great
advancements in the hobby recently.
Wojtek started with a few concept
sketches for a variety of poses and looks.
SALUTE 50 Q THE MODEL
MAKING THE
SALUTE 50 MODEL
Between ourselves and SLW’s Alex
Hammond, we chose the armoured Jarl
and more detailed sketches were pro-
duced.
With the overall direction of the model
agreed Wojtek took to his computer to be-
gin designing the model in earnest. Ideally
this model would be as few parts as possi-
ble - a scenic base and the figure itself.
More plundered loot needed to be
added to the scenic base as well as the Sa-
lute 50 logo to replace the placeholder text.
In addition the shield was sitting too far
from the body to be cast as a single piece.
Eagle-eyed amongst you will notice the
use of Viking Futhark runes on the shield After repositioning the shield and
to (loosely!) relate to South London War- adding additional treasure to the base the
lords (SLW) and ‘50’. model was complete.
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 5
SALUTE 50 Q THE MODEL

With the figure approved by the South

London Warlords it was over to our pro-
duction team to cast thousands in Warlord
Resin!
The first stage was to create a test mould
to ensure the model was 100% workable in
the new material. If not, we would need to
amend the figure design. Happily, Wojtek’s
experience won through and the figure
worked first time!
The final task was to cast thousands of
Viking Jarls and their scenic bases. Our resin
machines were put through their paces and
many oohs and aahs could be heard from the
casting floor as the figure was produced. We
are very, very pleased with how it came out.
Thanks to Alex and the SLW for the
opportunity to contribute to this momentous
event - 50 shows is an outstanding achieve-
ment!” Q

6 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

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SALUTE 50 Q PAINTING THE MODEL
Painting the
Salute 50 Model
Master painter, Kevin Dallimore, explains how he brought this year's
Salute Model to life using two different approaches to figure painting
T
his years Salute model is rep-
resenting 50 years of the show
and is of a Dark Age warlord
celebrating his 50th birthday.
Well done him, as 45 was a good age then,
especially for a warlord!
So, with this year’s model I have taken
two very different approaches, the first
one is my usual, following my well
known method of working from dark to
light shades from a black undercoat. This
three or more colour painting method
uses successive lighter tones of colour
8 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE
(shade, middle and light or more) which
are added to the model in layers, working
up from dark to light. This creates a
three-dimensional effect of shadows and
highlights, the layers of colour giving
depth to the model. The paints used are
from The Army Painter – Warpaints.
The second is something completely
different, influenced by a desire to do
something that might suit people who
do not have the time to commit to
painting, using the new The Army Painter
Speedpaints, which give a most satisfactory
effect in much less time. The conventional
full paint job took about 16 hours, whereas
the speedy one took 1½ hours. These are
estimates of course as I tended to fit the
speedy one in around other things and
that’s just for the paintwork, more time
was consumed thinking and cleaning and
building and undercoating, and writing...
Both methods are explained in full
detail in my online magazine at
http://nstarmagazine.com/ published by
North Star Military Models, so head there
to know more.
 SPEEDY PAINTING
EYES No eyes or teeth.
FLESH Crusader Flesh.
KILT Pallid Bone.
METALWORK Shining Silver plus Runic Grey.
GOLD Bright Gold plus Zealot Yellow.
CLOAK LINING Malignant Green.
CLOAK FUR Dark Wood.
SHIELD Half: High Lord Blue. Half: Zealot Yellow.
SHIELD RUNES, SCABBARD & PURSE Slaughter Red
mixed with Hardened Leather.
BELTS Slaughter Red plus Hardened Leather.
WINNIGAS Magic Blue.
HORN Pallid Bone.
BEADS Fire Giant Orange.
WINE SPILLING OUT Slaughter Red.
TREASURE BAG Camo Cloak.
WOODWORK Stone Golem.
SWORD & DAGGER HILT Grim Black.
FLOOR Stone Golem.
JEWELS Blood Red.
PREPARATION
Prep was the same for both. The models
arrived direct from Warlord Games in
a pretty clean state, requiring very little
cleaning up. Interestingly the model is
cast in their signature flexible Warlord
resin (which I believe is Siocast) so needs
a slightly different treatment, as Warlord
Games advise themselves. Trim off any
moulding lines, flash or extraneous
material with a very, very sharp knife, I
used a brand-new blade in my scalpel;
you can scrape away mould lines as long
as you are careful. As always be very
careful with the sharp knife. The models
were assembled with superglue.
It is a privilege to have a first go at
painting the first Salute figure in a new
material and having a go at it in a new (to
me) style of painting as well. He is quite a
complicated chap with lots of detail so be
prepared to take your time, if you can.
UNDERCOAT
This resin takes paint just the same as
normal, so I undercoated them both the
NOT SPEEDY AT ALL
EYES The eyes on this model are a little tricky as they
are set within the binocular helm 1. His whites are Matt
White 2. The irises are Deep Blue with a tiny bit of Oak
brown mixed in. I also roughly dotted some teeth in Matt
White.
FLESH 1. Fur Brown 2. Tanned Flesh 3. Tanned Flesh
plus Matt White 4. Plus more Matt White 5. I added a
YNS^FRTZSYTK5ZWJ7JIYTYMJ‫ܪ‬SFQ‫ܫ‬JXMFSIUFNSYJI
in the bottom lip
KILT 1. Hydra Turquoise and Matt Black 2. Plus Hydra
Turquoise 3. Plus more Hydra Turquoise 4. Plus Matt
White 5. Plus more Matt White
METALWORK 1. Gunmetal 2. Mid-Brown Wash
3. Gunmetal again 4. Plate Mail 5. Shining Silver
GOLD 1. Weapon Bronze 2. Mid-Brown Wash 3. Weapon
Bronze again 4. Greedy Gold 5. Bright Gold
CLOAK LINING 1. Monster Brown 2. Plus Matt White
3. Plus more Matt White 4. Plus yet more Matt White
5. Plus more Matt White 1. Plus Oak Brown 2. Plus
Desert Yellow 3. Plus more Desert Yellow 4. Plus Matt
White
SHIELD Half: 1. Deep Blue and Matt Black 2. Plus Matt
White 3. Plus more Matt White 4. Plus even more Matt
White 5. Plus yet more Matt White. Half: 1. Fur Brown
and Desert Yellow 2. Desert Yellow 3. Desert Yellow
plus Demonic Yellow 4. Plus more Demonic Yellow
5. Plus Matt White.
SHIELD RUNES, SCABBARD & PURSE 1. Chaotic Red
2. Plus Pure Red 3. Plus more Pure Red 4. Plus Lava Red
5. Plus Matt White.
BELTS 1. Chaotic Red 2. Plus Desert Yellow 3. Plus
more Desert Yellow 4. Plus even more Desert Yellow
5. Plus Matt White.
WINNIGAS 1. Matt Black and Ultramarine Blue and
Uniform Grey 2. Plus Matt White 3. Plus more Matt
White 4. Plus yet Matt White 5. Plus Matt White
HORN, BEADS, SWORD CROSS-GUARD & POMMEL
1. Leather Brown 2. Plus Desert Yellow 3. Plus Skeleton
Bone 4. Pure Skeleton Bone 5. Plus Matt White.
WINE SPILLING OUT 1. Chaotic Red 2. Plus Matt White
3. Plus Matt White 4. Plus more Matt White 5. Plus even
more Matt White.
TREASURE BAG 1. Greenskin and Matt Black 2. Plus
Greenskin 3. Plus more Greenskin 4. Plus even more
Greenskin 5. Plus Matt White
WOODWORK 1. Dirtsplatter 2. Plus Desert Yellow
3. Plus more Desert Yellow 4. Plus yet more Desert
Yellow 5. Plus Matt White.
SWORD & DAGGER HILT 1. Matt Black and Skeleton
Bone 2. Plus Skeleton Bone 3. Plus more Skeleton Bone
4. Plus even more Skeleton Bone 5. Plus Matt White.
FLOOR 1. Oak Brown and Matt Black 2. Plus Oak Brown
3. Plus more Oak Brown 4. Plus Matt White 5. Plus more
Matt White.
JEWELS 1. Chaotic Red and Dragon Red 2. Plus Dragon
Red 3. Pure Dragon Red 4. Pure Red 5. Plus Lava Orange
same in matt black Humbrol enamel 33.
The enamel was thinned by about 10% of
white spirit and applied with a large old
brush.
The second model then got a second
zenithal sprayed white undercoat, which
is specific to the needs of Speedpaints.
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 9
SALUTE 50 Q PAINTING THE MODEL

'NOT SO SPEEDY'

'SPEEDY'

PAINTING
Throughout the painting of these models
I’ve used a Foundry Pure Sable Fine Detail
Size 0000 brush for the detail and a The
Army Painter - Insane Detail brush, plus a
Foundry Pure Sable Fine Finish Size 000
for larger areas.

CONCLUSION
The same model painted in two very
different ways, one fast, one slow. I look
forward to seeing how Salute visitors
paint him next year.
More detailed guidance on painting
techniques, and many other things, can be
found in my online magazine at
http://nstarmagazine.com published by
North Star Military Models.
Q Paints supplied by North Star Military
Figures Ltd. & The Army Painted Ltd.

10 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

SALUTE 50 Q FOR THE LOVE OF IT

For The Love Of It

Why are you here? Don’t think of this as one of those existential
questions, more what brought you into the hobby? The miniatures?
The love of genre, be it historical, sci-fi or fantasy? The simple
getting friends around a table? All of the above or something entirely
different. In the end that’s the theme of SALUTE 50, the love of it.
So here are few thoughts from members of the South London Warlords
explaining, as best they can, their love of gaming.

Warlords at Fifty
by Ian Spence

A
long time ago, in a galaxy
far, far way— well actu-
ally it was August 1971 in
Peckham, South London— I
purchased the very first issue of Military
Modelling Magazine at the Rye Stamp
and Hobby Shop, run by Bill Brewer.
He asked if I was interested in model
soldiers and wargaming. As a boy who
had grown up with Swoppets, Timpo,
Britains and Airfix kits I obviously was.
So Bill invited me to the new Wargames
Club forming in South London.
So off I went, on the 78 bus, to the
windswept Bonamy Estate and met,
and joined, the South London Warlords
Wargaming and Military Modelling Club.
Bill, Dave Rotor and Jim Shiels were the

12 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE


leaders and introduced us all to a whole
new world of wargaming. The main
periods were Ancients, Napoleonics,
American Civil War and Franco-Prussian
War, with a smidgeon of WW2. The Club
devised its own set of 19th Century rules,
which were published, and held the first
Salute at the Surrey Tavern, Kennington
Oval in 1972. That has grown over the
past 50 years to the behemoth it now is.
In 1974 we took the Club's first Display
game to the SEEMS show in Rochford.
Club member Jon Louder and I had
written some Samurai rules to play with
the new Minifigs Samurai and Mongol
ranges. We did the Battle of Ichinonati,
part of the Mongol attack on Japan,
and, amazingly, won Best Demo Game
– I still have the trophy. Since then I’ve
been part of various “teams” taking
games all over the country and I guess
that the crowning glory was running a
36ft-long Market Garden game at Salute
in 1984 with members Mike Evans,
Colin Dickens, Peter Edwards, Mike
McNally and several others – another
Best Demo game. Showcasing the
hobby I love has always been important
to me as it’s a hobby that needs
promoting wider.
My first interest, and still my first
wargaming love, was the Napoleonic
period and I still have my first unit
(Minifigs Grenadier a Cheval in 25mm)
somewhere. I’ve always collected and
painted the period, in various scales,
and seen more variations of rules than
I wish to think about – some good
some not. I’ve also dabbled in Wars of
Roses, ECW, AWI, Bolivar's Wars, ACW,
Colonial and WW2. I’ve tried Ancients
but it has never grabbed my wargaming
mojo and I can count the number of
Fantasy/Sci-Fi games I’ve ever played
on less than the fingers of one hand. I’m
a diehard historical gaming Grognard!
Over the past 50 years the Club
has occupied three venues, elected
numerous Presidents, innumerable
Committees, one split-up, a Live Action
Role Play Section for a while, taken
games to many shows, had inter-club
meets and numerous regimes which
come and go, just like the Roman
Empire. I describe the Club now as a
United States of Wargamers, where all
manner of games are played – we have
our Rebel states and our Conservative
unions but we all game under the
banner of the South London Warlords.
As Dickens said “It was the best of
times, it was the worst of times, it was
the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness” – would I go back and
change any of it? Not at all! Q
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 13
SALUTE 50 Q FOR THE LOVE OF IT

H
ave you ever tried counting
it all up? The games, the
rulesets, the armies? Even
the editions of the rulesets?
Then tried to work out when you might
ever play them all? Or (shudder) finish
painting that box of miniatures you
bought at Salute 2002? Surely, surely,
that’s enough, right?
How did you get here? With the loft
overflowing, the garage stuffed, every
spare cupboard commandeered for
another Kickstarter All-in (but hey, most
of it’s packaging, but it’s very lovely
packaging so it stays).
For me it was way back in the summer
of 1981 and I was told about Dungeons
and Dragons. It was roleplaying games
that brought me to wargaming, and to
collecting and painting miniatures and
into South London Warlords.
Warhammer Fantasy Battles was
the catalyst, 3rd Edition. That first big,
bright hardback with the heroes going
all up to 25th Level. Glorious! I still
have my wood elves, how could I get
rid of my first ever army? Glam, The
Laughing Warrior. Skarloc and his band
of archers and Kiai Stormwitch. They
were personalities, there were tales and
legends attached to their characters, the
How Did It
All Begin?
world-building grew over the years and
the narrative consumed me.
And it was the narrative that got me,
and many of us, through the last few
years. Online gaming platforms kept us
together, week after week, as I returned
to my roleplaying roots. For roleplaying By Sarwat Chadda
games, online is the perfect medium.
The story isn’t held back by arranging Oliver Johnson, names familiar to On Writing, the ‘non-plot’. You
venues, by coordinating transport and readers of early White Dwarf. It grew put the character into a situation
it is, after all, all about telling the tale. organically, following the player- and let them write themselves
The visuals don’t matter. A friend said characters rather than forcing them into out of it, rather than force them in
it was like being in an immense radio an established pre-written campaign. a direction dictated from above.
drama and that’s a great analogy. I went Thus the path was uniquely theirs, the You’ll see it in movies and TV
classic fantasy, picking up a campaign great decisions and sacrifices along the shows, when it’s done well and
that I’d last run back in the mid-eighties. way shocking and enthralling because when it’s done badly. Characters act
The rulebooks were tattered, the pages there was no way, week by week, to against their personalities, against
yellowed, but the joy as pure and as predict where they would end up, what all sense, because the writer has
bright as when I’d first delved into leads they’d follow, and the campaign an ending in sight and will get the
Dragon Warriors, a British roleplaying far richer because of that freedom. story there, no matter how little
game created by Dave Morris and Stephen King talks about it in his book, sense it really makes. Some of those

14 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE


writers are gamers, you’d think they’d
know better! The character is king, the
world-building and all that elaborate
construction should rightly stay in the
background. It provides the foundations
of the tale, the more rock solid it is the
more honest the tale will be, but it’s all
to serve the player characters. GMs, you
have been warned.
We’re coming to the end of the
campaign with the heroes preparing to
face Saghulhaza, firstborn of the dragon
goddess Tiamat, and carve their names
into the rockface of legend.
And when we talk about the
narrative, we have to talk about the
grimdark universe of Warhammer
40,000. The Horus Heresy, The Fall of
the Eldar, the wars of Armageddon.
Was there ever a game so rich in
worldbuilding and cataclysmic events?
Even now, I’m into the story behind
even the most one-off of games. Those
pieces of plastic mean something. We
celebrate the impossible shot of that
archer on the far left of the line, then
cry in despair as our general fails their
last saving throw. Insignificant goblins
are brought to legendary heights and
warriors of renown brought equally low.
I roleplay as much as I wargame
nowadays, the perfect balance. Both
hobbies feed my desire for stories. I’m
delving deeper into historical wargames
now, I’ve miniatures that represent
Saladin, William the Conqueror, Julius
Caesar and Boudicca to name but a
few. I’m constantly looking to weave
that perfect combination of wargame
to roleplay, each expanding the story
I’m building in whatever campaign I
happen to be running.
Campaigns offer that narrative
richness, the stakes are higher, the
challenges more complex that piling on
as many miniatures onto the table as
possible. There are maps, tables for the
results and backstories to the setting,
reasons to bring the rival forces against
each other. To create legends of my own.
South London Warlords, certainly
over the last few years, has expanding
in scope and there’re be many a Monday
where the boardgames outnumber the
wargames and the back room echoes
with the shouts from the roleplayers,
whether in triumph or despair. I suspect
most drift across all these hobbies, and I
think that’s all for the good.
There’s a well of immense creativity
that often gets forgotten – or dismissed
– in the hobby. Not just in the painting
marvellous miniatures, but in the
crafting of rules, building the scenery,
running tournaments, of running a club
that, year after year, tries to build and
surpass what it did last year, and the
year before that, and the year before that
going... you know how long.
We’re opponents, we’re allies, we’re
collectors, historians and fanboys, all
rolled into one. Salute is our chance to
share it all.
So, there’s nothing more to say but
enjoy the day. It’s been a long time in
coming! Q
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 15
 SALUTE 50 Q PAINTING COMPETITION

SALUTE 2020
PAINTING COMPETITION
Club photographer, Roger Dixon, brings us some of the amazing highlights of
Salute 2020's painting completion which was judged in 2021 after the Covid delay.

1 HISTORICAL
Historical Wargames Single Figure, Infantry
or Cavalry – Up to and including 54mm

3. HISTORICAL
1st Graham Green

3 HISTORICAL
Single Figure Infantry or
cavalry up to and including 54mm

1. HISTORICAL
2nd Mark Lifton
1. HISTORICAL
1st Lee Winnet

2 HISTORICAL
Historical Wargames Unit,
Infantry or Cavalry - 6mm up to
and including 54mm. 5 to 40 figures
3. HISTORICAL
2nd Sebastian Clement

2. HISTORICAL
2nd Mark Shucksmith-Wesley
2. HISTORICAL
1st Graham Green

18 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

 4 SCIENCE FICTION
Science Fiction Single Figure -
Up to and including 54mm Scale

6. SCIENCE FICTION
1st Lee Bates

4. SCIENCE FICTION
1st Sebastian Kohl
6. SCIENCE FICTION
2nd Jerome Brown

4. SCIENCE FICTION 6 SCIENCE FICTION

2nd Sonny Hardy Science Fiction Creature or
Vehicle - Creature/vehicle can be
any size. Max 3 figures/models *

5. SCIENCE FICTION
1st Benny Collins

5 SCIENCE FICTION
Science Fiction Wargames Unit - Up to
and including 40mm. 5 to 40 figures
5. SCIENCE FICTION
2nd Sebastian Kohl

SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 19

 SALUTE 50 Q PAINTING COMPETITION

7 FANTASY
Fantasy Single Figure - Up
to and including 54mm Scale

9. FANTASY
2nd Phil Pryce

9 FANTASY
BEHSOTW
7. FANTASY
2nd Mark Brett
Fantasy Creature or Vehicle -
7. FANTASY Creature/vehicle can be any size.
1st Andy Wordle IN S Max 3 figures/models *

8. FANTASY
2nd Thomas Ambrose

8 FANTASY
Fantasy Wargames Unit -
Up to and including
40mm. 5 to 40 figures

9. FANTASY
1st Martin Collier

8. FANTASY
1st Stephen Flack

20 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

 11 MISCELLANEOUS
Miscellaneous Class - any figure or
unit not covered by the above 10
classes. Including dioramas.

10. FANTASY
2nd Mamikion Khatchikison

10. FANTASY 11. MISCELLANEOUS

1st Lisa Manson 1st Andy Wardle

10 LARGE SCALE
Single figures and groups over 54mm
up to 90mm. busts up to 165mm

12 JUNIOR
Junior Class - any figure or unit covered
by any of the above 10 classes painted
and entered by a person up to and
including 16 years old.

11. MISCELLANEOUS
2nd Gabriel Reyes

12. JUNIOR
1st Freddie Lifton

12. JUNIOR
2nd Christoph Zwart

13 SALUTE FIGURE
12. JUNIOR
12. JUNIOR
The Salute Twenty Nineteen Figure 1st Paul Cocks
2nd Ruben Lopez Catalan

SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 21

SALUTE 50 Q TRADERS
NAME STAND NAME STAND NAME STAND

7th City Collectibles TN08 GCT Studios TB05 Perry Miniatures TE06

ABC Brushes TA21 Geek Villain Limited TM14 Phalanx TB03

All Rolled Up TH01 Goblin King Games TA16 Plastic Soldier Company TF04
Barrel of Dice (Anomalia Games) TC07 Great Art TM10 Products For Wargamers TM12
Anschluss Publishing TA02 Great Escape Games TJ05 Realm Runner Studios TL13
Anvil Industry TH10 Green Stuff World TF12 Red Eagle Miniatures/Big Battalions TN07
Archon Studio TD10 Gringo 40’s TJ08 Flag Dude TN07
Asmodee TK09 Hasslefree / Artemis Blacks / Red Box Games TM19 Renedra TE04
Baccus 6mm TB09 Helion & Company Publishing TH04 ROK Minis TD15
Bad Squiddo Games TD08 Heroes of the Dark Age TD03 Rubicon Models TL05
Battle Foam TB11 Heroics and Ros TA08 Sarissa Precision TK18
Battle Systems TH07 Hobby Hive TJ07
SHQ Miniatures TA06
Battlezone Miniatures TF03 Illusionary Terrain TF02
SMS Paints/ Frome Model Centre TB01
Bicorne Miniatures TH03 Instant Armies TE08
Spellcrow TL12
Black Scorpion Miniatures TJ11 Institute of Cancer Research TC18
SSAFA The Armed Forces Charity TG01
Blotz TH08 Iron Gate Scenery TM15
Syborg 3D Printing TA19
Blue Giant Studios / Atlantis Miniatures TD19 KR Cases TB07
Table Top Tyrant TA04
Brigade Models TE14 Kurpa Miniatures TE10
Tangent Miniatures TF05
Brushes 4 Models (Artmaster) TE12 Last Man Last Bullet TE02
Taro Modelmaker TH05
Caliver Books TD02 Leisure Games TM03
The Cultural Experience TN09
Cerberus Studios TC13 Loke Battlemats TC04
The Last Valley TM01
Colin Mathieson Comics TE05 Mad Gaming Terrain/ 4TK Gaming TK06
The Pit Gaming Shop TM17
Conquest Games TJ03 Magister Militum TF06
The Square TE13
Corvus Belli TN12 Mammoth Miniatures TC14
Titan Wargames TB02
Crocodile Games TL01 Mantic Games TH12
Too Fat Lardies TM11
Crooked Dice Game Design Studio TD17 Marquee Models TM02
Trans Atlantis Games / Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy TF11
David Lanchester Military Books TA22 Master Crafted Miniatures TB06
Triple Ace Games TE01
Debris of War TJ12 Masterstroke Games TK03
Tritex Games TE11
Deep-Cut Studio TF01 Micro Art Studio TC16
TT Combat / Troll Trader TK12
DMB Games TK07 Mighty Lancer Games TL14
Twilight Miniatures TK04
Element Games TK16 Mili-Art TJ10
Uncertain Scenery TC02
Elite Wargames & Models / Sgts Mess TJ09 Mitches Military Models/ RDG Miniatures TE09
Urban Construct TH09
Ellis Accessories TD16 Modiphius Entertainment TB10
Vanguard Tactics TD12
Empress Miniatures TM13 Monkstone Miniatures TL07

Encounter Terrain TN05 My Mini Factory TA15 Warbases TE07

Encounter Terrain TN11 Oakbound Studio TM05 Wargames Foundry / Warmonger Miniatures TH06

Entoyment Wargaming and Hobby Centre TD21 Oathsworn Miniatures TJ02 Wargames Illustrated TL03

Essex Miniatures TN05 Offensive Miniatures TD04 Warlord Games TB08

Eureka Miniatures UK TK14 Olmec Games TB04 Warp/Warploque Miniatures TN06

Exit 23 Games TA01 Oshiro Models TC06 Wayland Games TF07

Fenris Games TD06 Osprey Games TJ13 West Wind Productions TM06

Fizzer Johnson’s Men of Metal TA20 Parable Games TH02 Forged in Battle TM06

Flag Dude TN07 Paul Meekins Books TD23 WarMag - The Magnet Shop TN10

Gamers Grass TK02 Pendraken / Minibits TH11 Word Forge Games TA17

Games Quest TE03 Perry Metals TA13 Zinge Industries TA18

SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 23

SALUTE 50 Q FLOOR PLAN
DISABLED DISABLED
TOILETS TOILETS

TM01
M L K J H
TM02 GL01
GM04 GJ01 TH01
TK02 GK01

TL01 TK03 STAGE

TJ02 TH02
GL02 GJ02
TM03
GM07
TL03
TK04
GK02
TJ03
Discuss
TM05
GL04
GJ04 TH03 Zone
GK03
GM08 TJ05
TM06 TK06 TH04
TL05 GJ05 GH01
GL06 SEATING AR
TM10 GK04
TK07 TJ07 TH05 GH02
TM11 TL07 GJ07 TG01
GM09
TM12 GL08 GK08
GH03
GJ08

GL09 GK09 TH06

TK09

PAINTING
SEATING AREA W02 COMPETITIO

TH07
GL10 GJ09
TK12 GK11
TJ08 TH08

GM12 GH08 GG03 GG

GL11 TJ09 TH09
TM13
GK13
GJ10
TJ10
TL12 GG05
TM14 GM13 TK14 TH10 GH10
GL13 TJ11
TL13
TM15 TJ12 GG
GM16 GK15
GL14 GJ11 TH11
GG06
TK16 GH12
TL14 TJ13
TM17
GM18 GL15 GG
GK17 GJ12
GH13 GG08
TK18 TH12
GL16
M L K GK19 J H G
TM19

TOILETS TOILETS

24 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

 DISABLED
TN09 TN08 TN07 TN06
TOILETS
N

TA01
F E D C B GA03 A
GD01
GC01
TF01 TD02 TA02
TB01
GA04
TE02 TD03 TB02 TA04
TF02 TE01 GD02 TC02

sion TD04 GC03 TB03 GA05

TA06
e TF03
TE04
TE03 TC04
TB04
TE05 TD06 GD05 GA07 TA08
GC05 TC06
TF04 TB05
TE06 TA11
GF07 TC07
REA TE07 GA08
TD08 GC08
TB06
TF05 TE08 GD07 TA13

GA12

GD09
TF06
TD10 GC09
TB07

G
ON W01

TD12
GD11
TB08 GA15
GC10
GD13 TA15
TF07
G02 GF08 TE09 TD15 GA17
GD14 TA16
TE10 TD16

GF09 TD17 GD16 GC12 TC13 GA19 TA17

TE11 TB09
G04
TD19 TC14
GF10
TA18
TE12 TC16
GD18
TB10 GA22
TD21 GC15 TA19
TF11 TE13 TE14 TC18
G07
TA20

GF11 TD23 TB11 TA21

GD22 GC16 GA23
G F E D C B A TA22

TOILETS

This Salute 50 plan is purely indicative and is constructed as an aid to the public ONLY. It is NOT a
definitive guide to placement or size of tables or Trade Stands. Within those constraints, however,
it was accurate at time of going to press. For more information on all games, exhibits and trade stands
at Salute 50 please visit the website www.salute.co.uk or come to the Information Stand on the day.

SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 25

 Pike and Shotte Epic Battles: Push of Pike puts you at the heart of the English Civil War!
Choose your side, Parliamentarian or Royalist, and fight it out to the death in this exciting
wargame using highly detailed Epic Scale* miniatures. Warlord Games’ Epic Scale allows you
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From the Early Bronze Age, Spartans From Blitzkrieg to North Africa, from The American Civil War proved beyond all
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many foes, through to Medieval Knights, Bolt Action, the world’s most popular 28mm Black Powder Epic Battles allow you to
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Find out more and buy directly from us at:

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© 2023 Warlord Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, Black Powder Epic Battles, Hail Caesar, Pike & Shotte Epic Battles, are either ® or ™, and/or © Warlord Games Limited, variably registered around the world.
Miniatures not shown to scale and are supplied unassembled and unpainted. Warlord Games models and designed for gamers and collectors. They are not suitable for children under 14 years of age.
SALUTE 50 Q GAMES
Stand No Name Name of Game Description of Game

GC09 ‘Eavier Metal Painting Participation Speed painting fun and prizes!

GD09 1/72 Wargames Kaiserschlacht 1918 redux March 1918 - the Kaiser’s last desperate throw of the dice to win the war before the American buildup becomes overwhelming. A
revival of a previous Salute favourite.

GM18 Aftermath Gaming Club Heroes of Normandy Come join us to have a try of Heroes of Normandie, the brilliant tabletop game from Devil Pig Games - https://www.devil-pig-
games.com/en/games/heroes-of-normandie/

GG05 All Hell Let Loose The Glosters Last Stand A 6mm Korean War battle as the Gloucestershire regiment face the mighty Chinese army swarming across the Imjin River.

GC08 Barrel of Dice aka Anomalia Games Terrain creating participation Anomalia Games presents its TerrainTile system, with participation demos and prizes to be won!

GA05 Anschluss Publishing The Price of Distraction, 29th June 1941 This game represents the fact that as the German invasion of Russia, Operation Barbarossa, took place, everything did not
always go the way of the attackers. 2nd Panzer Division collides with 8th Mechanised Corps. In 12mm.

GA12 Ardhammer Group Bread and Beef Based on the Battle of Domstadtl (1758) during the Seven Years War. Around 2500 30mm German Flats using The War Game
Rules by Charles Grant. Austrian force attacking a Prussian supply column.

GD07 Bad Squiddo Games Colouring In! Take a break from the mayhem and come join us for some gentle colouring in, whatever your age.

GD01 Batman Miniatures Game - West Midlands Batman A skirmish game set in the Batman Universe.

GJ09 Battle Systems Maladum: Dungeons of Enveron Maladum is a fantasy miniatures board game with a highly detailed 3d board in which your band of Adventurers head into ancient
dungeons and abandoned settlements to seek their fortune.

GF09 Bexley Reapers Wargaming Club Light Cycles Enjoy a speedy neon motorcycle game down on the grid.

GK15 BunnyBadgerGames/ Frothers Unite ʌਲਮʇʌ਱ਲʊਮʀਲʆʂਮʃਮ 9WFHYTW'WNLFIJ I’ve got a brand new T-72 B3 main battle tank, I’ll give you the key! Join the Tractor Brigades as they relieve Russia of military
surplus and race to put it to better use.

GH01 Caseshot Publishing Castiglione 5 August 1796 A demonstration game of the Battle of Castiglione, where Napoleon faced Feldmarschall von Wurmser’s Austrians, using
FUUWT]NRFYJQ^RR‫ܪ‬LZWJXFSIYMJ)'3WZQJXJY&XHJSFWNTKWTRYMJSJ\GTTP9MWT\NSL9MZSIJWGTQYX

GH08 Chelmsford Bunker Assault on Marienburg Set in the world of Warhammer fantasy, a huge 6mm orc horde is pouring out of the mountains to assault the Imperial town of
Marienburg by both land sea and air!

GC15 Continental Wars Society Fighting at Forbach A Franco-German War game from August 1870 around the town of Forbach and the industrial village of Stiring Wendel. In
HTTUJWFYNTS\NYM5JWW^2NSNFYZWJXFSIZXNSLYMJNW5WZXXNFS,JWRFS‫ܪ‬LZWJX

GC03 Cornwall Wargames Association Wanted! for Pyracy & Looting, Blackbeard 22nd November 1718, Lieutenant Maynard entered Ocracoke inlet hunting the notorious pirate, Blackbeard! Take the place of
Blackbeard and his crew or Lieutenant Maynard and the British Navy in a game of Blood and Plunder.

GD05 Cornwall Wargames Association The Zagory Rebellion: A night at Heidi’s A pseduo-nostaligic game based in Mark Copplestone ‘Little Soldiers’ inter-war world. Zagorian nationalists are in talks with
Bergland and Panovia for military aid. Can the Slovkan zeppelin assault brigade stop an alliance?

GA15 Crawley Wargames Club Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur 1845 Key battle of the 1st Sikh War December 1845. The might of the Sikh Army or Khalsa against the British East India Company’s
&WR^RR‫ܪ‬LZWJXZXNSLFHQZG[FWNFYNTSTK&LJTK*FLQJX3FUTQJTSNHWZQJX

GD16 Crooked Dice Game Design Studio 7TV - Cinematic Skirmish! If there is a show or movie, you thought would make a great tabletop skirmish game – then you will be able to play it with our
7TV 28mm cinematic skirmish rules.

GK08 DMB Games Rosebyrne Manor A 28mm fantasy dungeon delving game. A party of iconic fantasy heroes investigate the mysteries of long abandoned Rosebyrne
Manor.

GF11 Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy Painting Demo See a master at work and get tips and trick

GH03 Essex Warriors Stop the Wagon Asorth the mighty demon king has been captured and entombed in a jar and transported to the destruction portal. Each player
has to stop this with their demon force.

GA04 Exit 23 Games Relicblade Relicblade is a dynamic miniature skirmish game set hundreds of years after the apocalypse of a mythic age. Control a warband
and delve into the vast ruins of the ancient world to claim your destiny

GJ07 Form Square Games Bonaparte’s Eastern Empire In the wake of a great storm, in May 1798, Bonaparte leaves France, heading for Egypt. By August 1801, the remnants of his
exhausted army surrender to the British. Face his challenge and re-write history.

GA08 GCT Studios Ltd Bushido -Risen Sun Demos of the miniatures game Bushido

GJ05 Gentlemen’s Wargames Parlour The Life and Times of Roderick Spode RRWJYWTLFRJ\NYM&NW‫]ܪ‬2FYHMGT]FSI)NSP^YT^XKWTRYMJѣXFIFUYJIYTFXJYYNSL\NYMTZWѦMJWTѧJQJHYNTSJJWNSL
for Parliament

GJ01 GM Boardgames Gods of War: Togo Learn to play the naval wargame Gods of War: Togo

GA17 Goblin King Games Moonstone Fantasy Skirmish Game Moonstone is a whimsical fantasy skirmish game for 2-4 players, which sees you leading fairy-tale inspired characters across the
dark lands in search of precious Moonstones.

GK09 Gravesend Gamers Guild Gaslands A Gaslands racing game.

GJ04 Great Escape Games Dead Man’s Hand Old West 28mm wargaming

SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 27

SALUTE 50 Q GAMES
Stand No Name Name of Game Description of Game

GJ10 Gringo40s Assault on the American Embassy 1968 Assault on the American Embassy 1968, during the TET Offensive, at the height of the Vietnam War. Rules from Paul Hills in
collaboration with Ged Cronin/Gring40s. A 28mm participation game.

GM16 Hailsham Wargames Club Bombay Mix Up 28mm Indian Mutiny/First War of Indian Independence using rules based on Black Powder. Sir Henry Havelock’s column
attempting to rescue besieged civilians and troops meet resistance on the road to Cawnpore.

GJ04 Hornchurch Wargames Club Ntombi River The Battle of Ntombi was an action fought on 12 March 1879, between Zulu troops and British soldiers defending a convoy of
wagons on the road from Derby to Lüneberg.

GJ08 Hornchurch Wargames Club

GD18 Hugo’s Heroes 1 ,JYYNSLR^&NW‫]ܪ‬ 2TIJQXFSIXHJSFWNTXNSXUNWJIG^&NW‫]ܪ‬RTIJQXKWTRYMJXQNPJYMJUTSYTTSGWNILJYMJLZSJRUQFHJRJSYYMJHTFXYFQ

defence fort and the forward command post. In 28mm and using Bolt Action Rules.

GD22 Hugo’s Heroes 2 Oravais 1808 Exhausted and low on supplies, the Swedish and Finnish forces make a desperate attempt to defeat the invading Russian army
at Oravais in Western Finland. In 28mm and using Black Powder rules.

GL11 Jon & Diane Sutherland/ Command Decision - Head of the Serpent 8JRNUFWYNHNUFYNTSLFRJTK'FYYQJTK1JZHYWF '(NSRR\NYM‫ܪ‬LZWJX&(TRRFSI)JHNXNTSGFYYQJKWTR2NSNFYZWJ
Miniature Wargames Magazine Wargames magazine. Figures, terrain and rules by Jon and Diane Sutherland.

GL01 London Wargaming Guild Cold Doings in London 9MJ,WJFY+WTXY+F^WJHTRJXYTYMJ7N[JW9MFRJX)N[JWXJGFSIXTKYWFNSJIRJSWZK‫ܪ‬FSXFSIHQJWL^HTRJYTGQT\XTSYMJNHJNS

the 1650s. A 28mm participation game.

GK13 Magrathea, Builder of Worlds 9MJ'FYYQJ+TW'JFR‫ܫ‬JTY 9MJ'JFXYXTK'JFR‫ܫ‬JTYGFYYQJYTXF[JYMJ[NQQFLJNSYMJRFWXMKWTRFSNS[FINSLMTWIJTK5NWFYJX&RR'ZWWT\X 

Badgers participation game on a custom built table by Magrathea BuilderOfWorlds.

GA23 Maidstone Wargames Society Fallujah Iraq 2004 Modern 20mm using Force on Force rules. Players play USMC clearing buildings of the enemy

GM04 Marquee Models Warhammer Underworlds Warhammer Underworlds is an action packed combat game for 2 players .Gather your warband ,enhance your warriors with
unique skills and upgrades, and lead them to victory against your foes.

GK02 Masterstroke Games Force of Virtue .YFQ^YMJ'TWLNFXFWJFXHJSIFSYFSI.YFQ^NXF‫ܫ‬FRJ

Equip, train and command knights and mercenaries, lead daring raids, and grow your warband. Your commanders virtues and
personality will make all the difference.

GL10 Morris & Chums Midgard Heroic Battles Against the Frost Giants: 28mm heroic Norse myth action using James Morris’s forthcoming Midgard rules from Reisswitz Press.

GD02 Newbury and Reading Wargames Society Banzai - Seventeen Thousand Samurai A spectacular recreation of a large-scale battle in the Japanese civil wars of the late 16th/early 17th centuries.

GH02 Nigel Emsen 2ZXPJYX 8UWNSL‫ܪ‬JQIX &S&RJWNHFS(N[NQ<FWLFRJNSXHFQJIJRTSXYWFYNSLYMJSJ\WZQJXѦ2ZXPJYX 8UWNSL‫ܪ‬JQIXѧGJNSLWJQJFXJYMWTZLM-JQNTS

& Company

GJ02 Oathsworn Terror of the Necromancer A Burrows & Badgers participation game - defend the mine against a horde of ghosts!

GC05 Oshiro Model Terrain Rebel Escape! A group of brave Rebels are being hounded by Imperials on the planet Navarro; can they escape in the shuttle that is waiting for
them... a 28mm Star Wars participation game using Galactic Heroes 2nd edition

GJ12 Osprey Games / The Silver Bayonet: The Carpathians Battle the creatures of eternal night across the brutal Carpathian mountains in The Silver Bayonet - 28mm Napoleonic gothic
North Star Military Figures horror. A game of action and adventure, where musket and sabre meet tooth and claw.

GJ12 Osprey Games / Oathmark: Bane of Kings The stalwart Dwarves storm a mountainous Goblin mine in our 28mm mass-battle fantasy wargame. In this lost age, fealty and
North Star Military Figures loyalty are as valuable as gold and as deadly as cold iron. War is ever-present.

GF10 Paint all the Minis Painting Participation Participation painting area with expert painting and sculpting lessons during the day

GH12 Pendraken

GA22 Peterborough Wargames Club The Dambusters Challenge 9FPJYMJ)FRGZXYJWX(MFQQJSLJUNQTYF1FSHFXYJWYMWTZLMYMJ‫ܫ‬FPFSIXJJNK^TZHFSFUUWTFHMYMJ2TJMSJ)FRFYYMJWNLMY

height and speed to breach it. A 1/72 scale recreation of Operation Chastise

GF06 Plastic Solider Company Battle group demo game

GM18 Random Platypus Xeno: All Out War Bringing back an old favourite - come and take control of some adventurers attempting to escape RP42 that has fallen to the
swarms of xenos. Based on Mantic’s Walking Dead All Out War system.

GM18 Random Platypus Wild in the Streets A fast paced 28mm skirmish miniatures game where youth counter culture groups have gone wild in the streets.

GC16 Reafen Games Goblin Civil War The Spanish civil War, fought out by Goblins.

GL16 Retired Wargamers Reloaded Eagles and Lions at Carentan WW2 game played in 15mm scale based upon the combat at Carentan in June 1944 using Rapid Fire Reloaded rules.

GD14 ROK Minis Coffee Table Wargaming &HMFSHJYTYW^TSJTKY\TKZQQXHFQJ\FWLFRJXYMFY‫ܪ‬YTS^TZWHTKKJJYFGQJ,JYYMJKZQQLFRNSLJ]UJWNJSHJYMFY^TZHFSUQF^

anywhere.

GK19 Royal Air Force Wargames Never get off the boat (FS^TZRFPJNYZUWN[JWFSI‫ܪ‬SNXM^TZYTZWTKIZY^OZXYWJRJRGJWSJ[JWLJYTKKYMJGTFY

GL04 Rubicon Models The Vietnam War Tactical Platoon Level Vietnam Tabletop Miniatures Game

GG07 Scimitar Games Group Dambusters Panic! A cooperative, light strategy boardgame with WW2 miniatures. Players work together to destroy the dams.

GA19 Skirmish Wargames Men, Myths and Monsters Greek Myths Game in 54mm - Can the Heroes complete their quest and survive on the Isle of the Gods? Using the forthcoming
Men, Myth And Monsters rules from Caliver Games

28 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

Stand No Name Name of Game Description of Game

GC01 SMS Paints/ Frome Model Centre Painting Demo See SMS paints in use, learn hints and tricks.

GG02 South London Warlords 1 The Eagle Has Landed RRWJUWJXJSYFYNTSTKYMJ/FHP-NLLNSX<<..GTTPFSI‫ܪ‬QRHTSHJSYWFYNSLTSYMJHJSYWFQ[NQQFLJGFYYQJ:XNSL)NXUTXFGQJ

Heroes rules

GG03 South London Warlords 2 To Their Scattered Bodies Go 9\TXVZFIXTKRFWTTSJIXUFHJWX‫ܪ‬LMYNSLKTWYMJNWTSJHMFSHJTKXZW[N[FQ4SQ^YMJ[TNINXHTQIJW9WZQ^)YJWWFNS\NYMRFLSJYNH

surfaces and rotating debris and asteroids.

GL15 Southbourne Tabletop and Boardgamers War Room War Room is an epic and deluxe strategic World War II game with table presence and no minis. It starts from America’s entry into
the war.

GL13 Spellcrow Argatoria Argatoria is a fantasy wargame, which combines old–school hand-sculpted miniatures with modern rules. Clashes happen in
JUNHRRXHFQJ\MJWJ\NQIGFWGFWNFSXXF[FLJQN_FWIRJSHZSSNSLSJHWTRFSHJWXFSIYMJR^XYJWNTZXKTWJXYYWNGJ‫ܪ‬LMYKTW
domination.

GA07 The Drowned Earth/ Olmec Games The Drowned Earth Wargaming in the dinosaur infested jungles of Ulaya, a world of ancient technology, mysterious ruins and talking gorillas!

GG06 The Friends of General Haig 1 Dirschau / Tczew 1627 Sweden v. the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Gustav Adolf’s reformed and improved Swedish army takes on the pride of
Poland including the dread Winged Husaria! A 28mm demonstration game using Warlord Games’ Pike & Shotte rules.

GG08 The Friends of General Haig 2 Operation Desert Shield 1990 8JYNSYMJFQQNJIGZNQIZUUMFXJ4UJWFYNTS)JXJWY8MNJQITKYMJ‫ܪ‬WXY,ZQK\FWNS:XNSLRR‫ܪ‬LZWJXYTWJUWJXJSYFS.WFVN
attack on US Forces, consisting of US Airborne and US Marines.

GK11 9MJ4K‫ܪ‬HJWѣX2JXX (FUYFNS,JSJWFQ The Deathride of Gustav Adolf 1632 The Battle of Lutzen: Piccolomini’s Horse vs. Gustav’s Smaland Cavalry in 1:1 ration and 28mm.

GC12 The Old Guard Austerlitz 2 December 1805 Napoleonic 28mm of Napoleon’s victory over the Emperors of Austria and Russia. Based on Command and Colours game
system.

GM13 The Pit Gaming Shop

GG04 To the Strongest! Antigonus at Bay, Ipsus 301 BC The last of Alexander’s Successors battle it out in this massive participation game featuring elephants, scythed chariots and,
quite possibly, the largest 28mm phalanx in the land.

GK17 Tunbridge Wells Wargame Society Action on the St James Road Tank and Infantry action on the St James Road in 20mm. A recreation in 20mm of the original game in Donald Featherstone’s
book

GJ11 Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society 40k (3rd edition) - Imperium vs Orks Can the combined forces of the Imperial Guard and the Adeptus Sororitas drive the orks from the wastelands of Turgosh XXII? A
Warhammer 40k (3rd edition) battle of 4000+pts per side, including ‘super heavies’.

GK01 Twilight Miniatures Twilight: Bug hunt! An opportunity to try out the fantasy skirmish game of Twilight in a multiplayer hunt for tasty (but vicious) bugs!

GK03 Twilight: Nobby’s Nuts of Anyaral Anyaral: The River to Tan Escort your boat to the safety of the City of Tan in this participation game from the World of Twilight.

GL06 Two Fat Lardies GDA Napoleonic Don your shako with Dave Brown

GL08 Two Fat Lardies I Ain’t Been Shot Mum WWII fun with Phil & Jenny

GL09 Two Fat Lardies Chain of Command More WWII fun with Joe Bilton

GM07 Two Fat Lardies Strength & Honour Clash ancient swords with Mark Backhouse

GM08 Two Fat Lardies What a Cowboy Yee haa with John Savage & Charley Walker

GM09 Two Fat Lardies Chain of Command Even more WWII fun with Nick Skinner & Rich Clarke

GF07 University of Wolverhampton Capt Nemo vs. The Battle of Mobile Bay Ѧ)FRSYMJYTWUJITJX+ZQQXUJJIFMJFI\MFYYMJ)J[NQNX9-&9$$ѧ
Captain Nemo’s Nautilus--hotly pursued by an Anglo-French squadron--steampunks the naval Battle of Mobile Bay, in this
homegrown, 1:600 scale, Fact vs. Fiction, mid-Victorian meltdown!

GD11 Wait, What? Space Crusade: The Wrath of Kanner Docking Claws! Blips! Orks! Chaos Androids! Blood Angels in white armour for some reason! THE DREADNAUGHT! Be a kid
again and return to the Crusade.

GL02 Wargames Illustrated Never Mind the Billhooks Come and play our late medieval small battles game, Never Mind the Billhooks Deluxe. Using classic WI terrain and set during
the Italian Wars.

GC10 Warlord Games Warlord Games Various

GA03 Warp (Warploque) Miniatures ArcWorlde Fun and easy to learn with characterful and expressive miniatures, this ‘Heroic 28mm’ scale narrative game pits quirky fantasy
KFHYNTSXFLFNSXYJFHMTYMJW-FQ‫ܫ‬NSLX\N_FWIXFSIRTSXYJWXYFPJYTYMJYFGQJYTU\MNHM\NQQ^TZUQF^$

GF08 Werelords Aliens - This Time It’s War 8PNWRNXMQJ[JQFHYNTSWJHWJFYNSLYMJ‫ܪ‬WXYѢ7JFHYTW7TTRѣJSHTZSYJWGJY\JJSYMJ&QNJSXFSIYMJ(TQTSNFQ2FWNSJX:XJXRR

XHFQJ‫ܪ‬LZWJXTSFGFXNX

GH13 Whitehall Warlords Kidnapping Queen Victoria - Again! Enemies of the Empire attempt to kidnap our famous monarch in a facelift of a light-hearted 28mm scale club game successfully
staged at previous Salute shows.

GM12 Wigmore Warriors Going Back To Our Roots! WW2 Big Battle Spectacular in 6mm using ‘Rommel’ ruleset

GH10 Wings of Glory Aerodrome )TL‫ܪ‬LMYXNSYMJ&LJTK-JWTJX Participation games set in WW1 and WW2 using Ares Wings of Glory rules

SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 29

 Black Hat Miniatures
35a Norfolk Farm Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 8LF, England.
Tel: 01483 855168 | Email: sales@blackhat.co.uk
Fantasy Range 139 Matt Varnish 174 Super Wash - Purple 529 Beige brown
140 Gloss Varnish 175 Super Wash - Light Brown 530 Russian green
106 Enchanted Silver 141 Grey Primer 176 Super Wash - Mid-Brown 531 Japanese uniform
107 Bright Gold 142 Gun Metal 177 Super Wash - Dark Brown
108 Goblin Green 143 Dwarven Bronze 532 Italian red earth
109 Chainmail 144 Shocking Pink WORLD WAR II 533 Slate grey
110 Royal Blue 145 Ruby Red 534 Dark Leather
111 Dark Elf Green 146 Dusky Yellow 501 British khaki 535 Jungle green
112 Bone 147 Burnt Orange 502 Field drab 536 Forest green
113 Magic Metal 148 Marine Blue 503 Military green
114 Wizard Blue 149 Angel Red 504 Panzer grey 537 Faded khaki
115 Tanned Flesh 150 Shadow Grey 505 Green grey 226 Olive
116 Barbarian Leather 151 Lupin Grey 506 Desert Sand 227 Field grey
Water based Paints 218 Wood Brown 117 High Elf Blue 152 Scorpion Green 507 Sea grey 230 Camouflage green
18ml pots £ 3.20 219 Chestnut Brown 118 Poison Purple 153 Ink wash - Armour 508 Olive drab
220 Silver 119 Rat Brown 154 Ink wash - Black 509 Brick red
Military Range 221 Horse tone - Dun 120 Hairy Brown 155 Angel Green 510 Mid stone
222 Horse tone - Roan 121 Bogey Green 156 Leprous Brown 511 Tank blue grey
101 White 223 Horse tone - Chestnut 122 Elven Grey 157 Warlock Purple 512 Tank green
102 Black 224 Horse tone - Bay 123 Elven Flesh 158 Jade Green 513 Faded olive
103 Yellow 235 Horse tone - Brown 124 Dwarven Flesh 159 Golden Yellow 514 Pale green
104 Red 236 Horse Tone - Grey 125 Putrid Green 160 Amethyst Purple 515 Black green
105 Orange 126 Festering Brown 161 Deadly Nightshade 516 Iron grey
225 Khaki
206 Light Blue 127 Enchanted Blue 162 Nauseous Blue 517 Desert Yellow
228 Buff
207 Dark Blue 128 Enchanted Green 163 Beaten Copper 518 Field blue
229 Dark Sand
208 Grass Green 129 Vampire Red 164 Emerald Green 519 Chocolate brown
209 Dark Green 231 Mid Grey 130 Bilious Brown 165 Hawk Turquoise 520 Red Brown
232 Bronze TRADE
210 Purple 131 Brass 166 Fester Blue 521 Army green ENQUIRIES
211 Light Grey 233 Linen 132 Aquamarine 167 Hideous Blue 522 Pale sand WELCOMED
212 Dark Grey 234 Dark Earth 133 Ink wash - Flesh 168 Ink Wash – Yellow 523 US dark green
213 Flesh 237 Russet Red 134 Ink wash - Green 169 Super Wash - Black 524 Tan earth
214 Suntanned Flesh 238 British Scarlet 135 Ink wash - Blue 170 Super Wash - Green 525 Uniform grey
215 Oriental Flesh 239 Bavarian Blue 136 Ink wash - Brown 171 Super Wash - Red 526 Tank Light grey
216 Dark Flesh 240 Unbleached Wool 137 Ink wash - Chestnut 172 Super Wash - Blue 527 Tank drab
217 Leather Brown 241 Rust 138 Ink wash - Red 173 Super Wash - Yellow 528 Russian brown

We also have textured basing paint and “dip” style shaders. We remove VAT for overseas orders.
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 11th & 12th November 50+ Traders
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SALUTE 50 Q FOR THE LOVE OF IT

In Praise of the
Club Night Game
By Steffan Carey

O
ne of the highlights of any
wargames show is the sheer
spectacle of the games on dis-
play. Salute 50 is filled with
games which will represent hundreds of
hours of their creators’ collective work
and will bring joy and inspiration to the
thousands who see them throughout the
day. How many of us have picked up an
entirely new period or scale at a show,
returning home with boxes of minis we
wouldn’t even have considered buying
only the day before? Show Games stand
out from the crowd but make up only
one part of a balanced hobby diet filled
with a more regular, inconspicuous form
of wargame - the Club Night Game. Less
flashy than Show Games perhaps but no
less enjoyable and no less inspiring. But
what makes a good Club Night Game?
Considering the games being enjoyed
by South London Warlords on a typical
Monday night, I think these can be
boiled down to 5 key qualities. The 5
Golden Rules for the Club Night Game.
Quick to set up. With most club nights
lasting maybe 3 hours there really is no
time to waste. Army lists are the order
of the day for many, with both players features by rolling dice. Following this, are so popular on club nights. It’s easy
arriving with their force already decided it’s useful to choose an objective. Maybe to be tempted by a game that only
so battle can commence without delay. this is done by common agreement, requires a few dozen men (little more
Next comes the matter of terrain. A tried by randomly selecting a scenario than the contents of one box of plastics).
and tested approach is to let one player kindly provided by the author of your However, this by no means precludes
set up the table in the knowledge that favoured ruleset, or by ignoring this big games from taking place on a club
their opponent will get to choose a board step altogether and simply engaging in night. It simply means that to attract
edge. This avoids time-wasting debates senseless slaughter for its own sake! new players you’ll have to provide both
but, then again, so too does agreeing on Easy to play. This doesn’t refer to sides. Or alternatively, you may consider
a scenario which prescribes the terrain rules or mechanics but a game’s barrier smaller scales which can be much
for you or randomly assigning terrain to entry. There’s a reason skirmishes quicker to collect and paint. Although

32 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE


many rulesets are written with 28mm
in mind, 15mm or 6mm can usually be
made to work while also being easier to
transport and store.
Fun to play. The most subjective
factor but there is something to be said
for a “beer and pretzels” game on a
club night. Many of us will be playing
after a day at work and the ruleset we
pick needs to strike a balance between
requiring tactical consideration and
inducing brain-ache. It’s also good if
the game can keep all players engaged,
usually through its turn sequence.
Many recent games have achieved
this by eschewing IGO-UGO in favour
of alternating or random activation
or allowing for reactions that give an
inactive player some sense of agency.
Finally, while many will find pleasure
in a competitive game and there’s
nothing wrong with wanting to win, it
should be remembered that every game
has a hidden objective – to have your
opponent enjoy the time they spent
playing you and to want to do so again.
Fast to play. Nobody wants to run
out of time and pack up after only Turn
2. Speed is best achieved by rulesets
that ensure players are presented
with a small number of interesting
and focused decision points with
impactful outcomes. Granular systems
involving many decisions with many
possible solutions can be fun, but under
time pressure they mostly induce
analysis paralysis. Rules should be
uncomplicated and unambiguous or
both players will need to be flexible and
avoid the tendency to spend more of
the evening checking or debating rules
than playing the game. As a bonus,
even the simplest of systems can reveal
unexpected complexities once you’re
past the initial learning phase.
Decisive. Club Night Games, more
than any other wargame, need a
well-defined endpoint and ideally
this shouldn’t simply be the complete
destruction of your enemy which, while
satisfying, can take an unnecessarily
long time. Scenarios which focus on
completing objectives or breaking
the enemy’s morale work well, as do
campaign games which incentivise
players to retreat to preserve their men’s
lives rather than fighting to the bitter
end.
There’s a broad scope for us all to
decide what, I believe, we want from a
Club Night Game. These Golden Rules
are not meant to dictate what you should
and shouldn’t be playing but are instead
a sort of self-help guide I’ve arrived at
for my own benefit, presented on the
off chance they may be of use to you
too. I’m guilty of having ignored many
of them and suffered for it by playing
some truly frustrating and unsatisfying
games. But by bearing the Golden Rules
in mind, I’ve found it much easier to
take part in one of the most humble
but reliably enjoyable experiences in
wargaming - The Club Night Game. Q
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 33
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SALUTE 50 Q HISTORICAL GAMING?
Historical
Gaming?
By Alan Patrick
H
istory is endlessly fascinat-
ing, and often far stranger
than any fantasy/fiction.
These days there are so
many books and movies and free mate-
rial on the Web, you can easily research
anything and immerse your imagination
in any times long gone.
If you like modelling and painting,
historical gaming has plenty to offer.
The art and joy is trying to capture the
essence of the period with figures and
paint.
Gaming wise, rules work much the
same way as Fantasy/Sci Fi ones, but
have to be tested against real world
outcomes. One bonus of historical games
is the megalomania buzz - if you reckon
you could have beaten Alexander or
Napoleon, put your army on the table
and prove it!
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS: DAVID CUNDELL
The best way to start is to choose a
period/army that will motivate you to
paint some models! A good way to get
into it is with a ruleset that doesn’t use
a lot of models, then as you build up
you can move up to larger battles. Some
people like a few larger, beautifully
painted models, others the sheer sense of
grandeur of a mass army on table. Below
are brief sketches of the major eras and
sub-periods within them:
Swords and Spears
c 4500BC to c 1500 AD
Sword and Spear gaming “officially”
starts with the first Bronze Age city-states
and chariots pulled by small ponies (but
yes, caveman gaming is done). The era
ends with huge destriers carrying many
pounds of high tensile steel for both
knight and rider. There 4 main periods:
Archaic/Chariot period
(3000BC – c 500 BC)
Armies are mainly spear and bow armed
infantry, with chariots ranging from
heavy Assyrian, Indian and Chinese
battlewagons to light Egyptian mobile
shooting chariots. If you want an ancient
world tank army, this is it
Classical period
(c 500 BC – c 500 AD)
This is the era of Greece and Rome
and is characterised by large, mainly
infantry armies, from Carthage to
China, and often uniformed. However,
fierce barbarians warriors are always
pressing at the gates, and they can rout
the best laid plans with a wild charge
(Which they largely did eventually, the
Old Empires from Rome to China were
overturned).
The “Dark” Ages
(c 500 – c 1100 AD)
Horses had got bigger and technology
had improved, this is the Horse
Army era. If you like hard charging
Frankish or Norman knights, nimble
Steppe horse archers (Huns etc.) or
sophisticated multi-armed cavalry from
Constantinople or China, this is for you.
Good infantry does exist but is rarer
and most can’t beat cavalry (Vikings
could escape to their boats, but poor old
Harold just had a hill at Hastings).
Medieval Era
(c 1100 AD – 1450 AD)
This starts with the First Crusade
Crusades, runs through the Mongol
conquests of the world ends around the
Wars of the Roses. The armies are very
colourful (this is the time of big banners
and heraldry), and a mix of many troop
types as better infantry emerges. English
longbows, Swiss pikes and Ottoman
Janissaries – even revolting peasants
with crossbows - reduce the heavy
cavalry’s dominance.
The gunpowder arms race kick-starts
a major military transition to the next
major era.
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 37
SALUTE 50 Q HISTORICAL GAMING?

Horse, Foot and Guns

c 1450 AD to c 1900 AD
The fall of Constantinople signals the
impending dominance of foot firepower
and demise of armour, and the Boer
War marks its end. There are four main
periods:

Renaissance Warfare
(c 1450 AD – 1600 AD)
This is fascinating because armies are a
mix of old “sword and spear” and new
fire-arm troops. It is also very colourful,
uniforms are extremely gaudy, heavy
cavalry is at the peak of finery (a sign of
its decline). America and Indo-China are
“discovered” by the Europeans so those
armies also “go global”, adding gaming
interest. Japanese “Samurai” gaming
is always popular across the whole era,
with or without annoying foreigners.

Pike and Shot

(c 1600 AD – 1700 AD)
This period covers the shift from when
fire-arms (“shot”) are the dominant
arm but cannot yet protect themselves
from cavalry or determined infantry, to
when they improve so much they can.
These armies have a core of “shot” and
cannons, plus other troops to protect
them (typically pikes, spears or shield
and sword men) and a mix of cavalry
for various roles. Noble cavalry has
lost much of its armour, but not élan.
Uniforms also become standard again.
The cannon armed, all-sail European
Man-o-War drives other ships from the
oceans, spelling trouble for the Asian
Great Nations
Horse and Musket
(c 1700 AD to c 1850 AD)
At the battle of Minden, trained and
disciplined English shot repulse French
heavy horse unsupported, and the new
era is signalled. Europe takes advantage
first and starts to colonise large parts of
the world and then fight each other for
them. The Seven Years/French & Indian
War (1759 – 1765) is the first “world”
war, fought mainly across Europe,
the Americas and India. This period’s
signature look is units in close ranks,
dressed in spectacular uniforms, and
has been a draw since gaming started
– which was about then (the Prussian
general staff of this time wrote the first
set of rules - “Kriegspiel” – literally
Wargame).
Napoleonic warfare (c 1790 – 1815) –
falls in this period, adding sheer mass to
the look from the huge conscript armies
recruited.
Maxim Firepower
(c1850-1900 AD)
Starting around the mid 1800’s fast firing
rifles and cannons with longer ranges
appear, and then machine guns. Crimea
is mainly famous for people dying off
the battlefield, but the “Charge of the
Light Brigade”, though still magnificent,
is no longer war - and leads to
carnage. Casualties at the battle of
Solferino in 1859 were so huge that
Henri Dunant started the Red Cross.
This period features another great
favourite of historical gamers, the
American Civil War – the Union vs.
Confederacy. The armies’ similarity
makes generals’ skill important –
no pressure there then! The first
armoured steamship battles occur.
The 1st and 2nd Boer wars proved
a few farmers fighting with
modern rifles, using terrain and
mobility, could defeat a larger but
more traditionally organised and
equipped army. One sad outcome
for gamers is British redcoats
changing to khaki to blend in with
the terrain, ending 5000+ years of
colourful clothing.

38 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

Modern
c 1920 AD to today
World War 1 (1914 – 1918) started off as
a throwback to the American Civil War
despite lessons from the Boer War (with
the predictable carnage), and ended with
armies fighting in more open formations
like the Boers, and with tanks and aero-
planes on the battlefield. All navies had
steel armoured ships powered by steam.
The Modern Era had started.
World War 2 is very popular for gam-
ers as its very familiar so easy to get into.
As with World War the level of technolo-
gy development in the period is huge, a
1939 game is very different to a 1945 one.
Although some actual Cold Wars
(especially Vietnam and the Arab Israeli
wars) are played, “Cold War going Hot”
games – (e.g. “What if” Warsaw Pact
invaded NATO in 1978) provide the most
popular gaming after WW2.
And that “what if” points to a whole
other genre of historical gaming, which
encompasses changes to the historical
time line from small tweaks (Blucher
arrives at Waterloo later) to rewriting
history (What if World War 2 never hap-
pened?). It also includes “Imagi-Nations”
– draw a country, design a uniform, paint
your army and assert your right to rule!
In Conclusion
Historical gaming has interesting
periods and characters, great figures
and uniforms – or maybe you’re a tank
fan. Pick a period, buy an army, paint it
and start gaming – starting here, now, at
Salute! Q
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 39
SALUTE 50 Q HALF A CENTURY OF WARGAMING

I
t’s funny, but wargaming doesn’t
appeal to everyone. I’m not sure
why that is exactly. After all, it’s
as broad a church as I can think of
(what with different periods, styles, scales
and all that), but there it is: wargaming is
not everyone’s cup of tea.
Within the hobby itself, wargames
shows are similarly dividing. There are
plenty of folks who have never been to
one, indeed there are swathes of gamers
who don’t belong to a club and just game
alone or with a regular circle of mates.
Maybe – what with the dearth of ‘bricks
and mortar’ shops – those gamers buy all
of their wargaming paraphernalia on line.
T’was not always so. Once upon a
time, there were small shops that sold
wargames gold. For me it was a small
stamp shop in my local high street
that sold metal miniatures, right there
amongst their confounding philately.
So at fourteen years of age I was
introduced, via that ‘lick-it-and-stick-it’
Half A Century
shop in Peckham, to the world of proper
wargaming.

MAKE A SHOW OF IT
The proprietor was Bill Brewer and he’d
just started a wargames club: in 1971 to
be exact. Quickly renaming itself as The
South London Warlords the club was a
hotbed of wargaming activity. The next
thing that club did was run an open day.
Called Salute, the first was held at a pub:
the Surrey Tavern at the Oval. It was
small but a great success and so next year
bigger things were planned. 1973 saw a
move to the central London Westminster
Hotel and then in 1974 to The Regency
Hotel.
In 1975 the club moved Salute to
Chelsea Town Hall where it stayed for the
next two years. This was my first Salute.
At 14 I was rather too young to be invited
to join the Warlords and I had to wait a
couple of years before Mr Brewer asked
me what I did with all of the figures I was
buying. “Well I play with them” was my
innocent reply.
“Would you like to join a club?” he asked.
And I was in!
of Wargaming
By John Treadaway
Meanwhile, in 1977 Salute tried a
change of approach and was held at
Margate. This had some advantages: it
was ‘out of season’ (read: ‘freezing cold’)
because it was held later on in the year
and so the venue was cheap (free, I think).
Additionally, it was a two-day event: a
weekend convention, for the first and
only time. While the venue worked well
enough and gave lots of space for gaming
activities it was thought that a London
location was more appropriate for a
London club and so 1978 Salute went back
to Chelsea Town Hall.
Meanwhile the club decided to do
a couple of things that were linked.
Members had been running games at
Salute and – occasionally – other shows
and they wanted to raise the presence of
the club at those so they decided on some
club clothing that could also be worn at
the open days to make the members
recognisable. It did put fire into the
belly of a show display team and – over
the years – Salute has often been used
as a jumping-off point to build a display
or participation game that is then taken
around the show circuit to promote
the hobby, the club and Salute. That
tradition continues to this very day!
ANOTHER MOVE
In 1979 the show moved to Kensington
& Chelsea Town Hall and stayed there
for the next 20 years. The Warlords
also ran two post-summer season
conventions at the same Margate Winter
Gardens venue that had been tried with
Salute, but with the extra workload,
two shows a year was just too much,
so – after ’82 – the winter show was
dropped.

40 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

MISSION CREEP
By 1985 the New Wing was added –
effectively small council rooms connected
by something unglamorously called ‘The
Mayor’s Passage’. For the final year we
also hired the library across the plaza. But
fun as all of that was, Salute had become
an overcrowded warren and plans were
put in place to hire a different hall. We
couldn’t do it for 1999 – moving takes time
to do properly, as many other shows have
found – but we aimed for 2000. It seemed
auspicious.
OLYMPIA
On April 1st 2000, Salute opened at
Olympia 2 in London and the entire
second floor was hired at this prestigious
locale. The show was a great success with
a much needed, larger gaming and trading
space (it had 70 traders and 52 games) and
a far more open feel but had some teething
problems with public access, namely its
two very large, sixteen-person lifts.
Measures were put in place: I went
down the line with a megaphone
reassuring people and then forcing
every lift to have the maximum sixteen
headcount before it went up. Not rocket
science, but the queue was eventually
cleared.
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
So Salute 2001 became twice the size with
two floors, one of which was the ground
floor with access from the street and
no lifts! We had previously introduced
items like tee shirts for Warlords Club
members at Salute and – since Olympia
had insisted on high visibility for
‘security’ (as they deemed us) we made
sure that – for 2000 – we had some very
bright shirts and a ‘ranking system’ based
on differing coloured shirts for certain
positions (largely based on the same
theory as different coloured Daleks, it has
to be said). It’s edifying to note that UK
Police Officers in riot gear on the streets
of London follow the same dictum with
different coloured helmets and baseball
caps. Obviously, someone in The Met had
been to Salute!
So, Salute grew and grew. More space
was hired and extras were inserted such as
eating areas and cafe servic,e gobbling up
floor space.
However, Olympia 2 was beginning to
hit snags: parking was very limited for
visitors and the get-in for large trucks
was becoming onerous both for external
logistics (there was always a huge tailback
of lorries out onto the public street) and
internally: everything had to be taken off
of trucks by trolley and unsold stock had
to be returned the same way. Reenactors
were reintroduced to the show in a small
way and various ideas were tried to
expand wargaming in different ways: one
year we even had a Sumo Wrestling pen...
But all of this took more space and by
Salute 2005 this floor space had increased
to all four available levels of Olympia 2,
including the basement. We had hit ‘peak
warren’ again.
SALUTE EXCEL
And then there was ExCeL, the great big
shed. It has lots going for it: effectively
unlimited car parking (at a price); good
transport connectivity; an excellent and
varied food emporium right outside. And
it has flexible space allocation: the walls
move! It also has a hard, unforgiving
concrete floor which – though it has the
advantage of allowing trucks to unload
right inside the venue. And it has other
advantages: for example, it means that
crowd control for the queue – all gamers
can now be ‘tanked’ into a side room
to avoid annoying the vendors who
are selling burgers and kebabs in the
concourse outside.
So ever since Salute 2006 the show has
been held at the ExCeL centre in London’s
Docklands. Size wise, it’s of a similar
scope to the final shows at Olympia: there
are slightly more traders and slightly
fewer games, and there is again loads of
spare room for things like re-enactment,
including some displays from a WWI
tank to a full-sized Spitfire and Hurricane.
Under normal circumstances the show
fills over 10,000 square metres of this
premier venue and there’s still room to
expand.
Salute 2020, of course, didn’t happen
and became Salute 2021. It demonstrated
the advantage of being able to expand the
show’s floor space as a huge extra lump
had to be purchased to allow for more
‘circulation room’, but it meant that – in
the finest tradition: “the show must go
on”. So: that was then and this is now.
SALUTE 50
Salute’s reputation is such that – even in
a pandemic – it’s still a vast show full of
top talent and great traders with many
of the best games from clubs around the
country and traders from across the globe
attracted to it.
See you there! Q
SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE 41
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SALUTE 50 Q FOR THE LOVE OF IT

W
ho doesn’t love a good
bit of retail therapy. The
excitement of a new
release or of the need to
get that new shiny you’ve just seen. This
is the curse of the wargamer as we pay
homage to our piles of shame. Sure, there
are those amongst us who revel in their
self-control and don’t buy until they have
painted their last box but I’m sure there
are abominations in all walks of life.
In 2020 Knight Models released the
third edition of their Batman Miniature
Game and having dabbled quite heavily
in second edition with two tournaments
held at the club and others attended,
when this was dropped it was one of
those moments. Hairs stand on end,
imagination starts pumping, concerns
about new rules conflict with the desire
of needing those awesome minis and
then you spare a moment of concern for
the health of your wallet and if your card
will combust.
Then finally the release dates comes
and at 11am your online hitting refresh
and boom! You’ve done it. The order is in
and the hoarding monster inside you if
satisfied… for now.
Months of new releases come after the
initial flood and the excitement builds.
However, this time it’s different. I am
actually painting these minis and not
doing a terrible job. All I’m thinking is
the club will be open again soon and I
Shiny Box
Syndrome
can finally have a game. I am painting for
a game now, painting for the experience
of seeing other people outside of my
house or work and I cannot wait.
Time moves on, games are had as the
club reopens and then the next milestone By Karl Vicary–Rivett
in my ever-increasing collection is
announced… Warhammer Horus Heresy
2.0. On the outside I am calm and serene, manage to finish pretty much the whole of, happy to have friendships which
I’ll be able to play with my old painted Age of Darkness box in about a month have survived the pandemic and
toys again, it’ll be OK, I won’t need in anticipation of a big game at a fellow happy to able to keep on playing.
much more apart from maybe the rules club member’s house. And the grind You’re likely reading this at Salute
if I end up liking them. Yes, it was all a continues, new releases drop and the 2023 so thank you for attending,
lie. I knew all along I was going to go cycle of excitement continues. Games are you’ll likely find me at one of the
deep. Age of Darkness box set, Spartans, planned and imagination rages and I am many stands doing what I love with
Dreadnoughts, Characters and the list happy. Super happy to have such a great some large bags and a smoking credit
goes on. Again, I’m painting them! I hobby which I enjoy so many aspects card. Q

46 SALUTE 50 Q OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

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