Pony Wars - Wagon Trains ho.....

Wyre Forest Club day and an opportunity to dust off the 7th Cavalry for an outing into the badlands. The rule mechanism are of their time, so in an effort to keep away from the rule book and it's numerous conversation charts, I switched the firing elements to use Men Who Would be King. 

Three valiant commanders set out heading for the 3 homesteads and the Indian village.

As is the way the columns wind there way through the wilderness, when smoke is seen rising from the centre of the table.

Having learned from an earlier outing the commanders knew to be more assertive and keeping two commands together rode towards the smoke and the high ground running down the Indians atop of the hill. The white man was feeling confident. But they were still some way off reaching the homesteads and now further complicated by a wagon train who on seeing the smoke circled the wagons and refused to move.

To the West there was trouble, the homestead was under attack from two bands of Indians and a further wagon train appeared heading for the fort, yet more civilians who will need to be escorted.

In the centre of the table the US Artillery shocked the Indians gathering on the other side of the valley with high explosive shells. As the cavalry pushed through the gap.

Elsewhere the wagon train having been brought under orders was aided by a screen of cavalry under pressure from a large Indian Warband. 

Matters were being brought to a head, the Indian village was in sight and whilst the blue coats had lost a few men the concentration of firepower was enough to break the Indian defenders leaving the camp wide open.... Victory for the 7th Cavalry.

A great outing, the cards fell nicely for the cavalry with limited Indians and no drums to rally the Indian warbands. The conversion to MWWBK worked well keeping the booking to a minimum. The ammunition rules need a tweak but a good blend of old rules and new.

Lets see what happens next time the bugles call.

The Peasants are revolting.....

Somewhat later than planned - a theme for the month.

Play a game and paint something to compliment it :-)

After the Excalibur outing I dug out half a box of peasants that were left over from one of the Crusader units and thought they would be useful to compliment the Knights of the Round Table and defend their homesteads against the invaders.

First up 5 missilemen and a cluster of arrows just because they were left on the sprue. A mix of greens and browns with some pretty flowers to show they are the good guys...

A bunch of spearmen ready with their wall of spears ok maybe more like a hedge of spears.

Finally a cluster of villagers with hand held weapons, the one eyed leader suggests is bark may be worse than is bite.

Nice to get these off the paint queue and table ready.

Excalibur - The Battle of Caerwyn Bridge.

Not had these out for a while. - Lion Rampant, with a little bit of Dragon Rampant thrown in.

The Battle of Caerwyn Bridge — Arthur’s knights must hold a fragile rope bridge while Mordred’s armoured knights, footmen, and missile troops advance in overwhelming numbers.

The River Taranis flows through Arthur’s western borderlands. The only crossing for leagues is the Caerwyn Rope Bridge, a narrow, swaying span of hemp rope and timber planks. 

Mordred’s host approaches from the north, intent on seizing the crossing.

A small but elite force stands ready to defend the bridge against Modred's dark human host. The Alarm bell rings and Arthur rallies his knights who rush to defend the bridge.

Mordred’s forces are grim, disciplined, and numerous — not monsters, but men hardened by war and driven by ambition.

The bridge sways under the weight of the black‑armoured knights as the advance across the bridge, the warriors are thrown backwards.

Sir Kay pushes forwards taking the fight to Mordred's forces striking down numerous warriors as they reached the far side of the bridge before the weight of numbers told.

Sir Bedivere falls backwards as Mordred and his Banner moves on to the bridge — the usurper directing the assault personally.

As Mordred advances he is met by Sir Lancelot, many years in the wilderness back to aid in Camelot's defence.

Both knights were wounded but Mordred was forced to fall back and regroup for a further assault. The Knights of the Round Table having brought valuable time for the local civilians to escape and over half their number carrying wounds, decided to retreat from the bridge, they had won a valuable victory in the opening round. 

Great fun and who knows maybe a small campaign.

Borrowing from another rule set, I rolled for the casualties on the 'Good' side.

• Sir Gawain — Recovered no ill effects
• Sir Bedivere — Recovered no ill effects
• Sir Kay — Whilst the wound is not deep - He has the Jitters for future games and tests on a -1 Courage roll.

It spurred me on to prep a bunch of Wargames Atlantic/Baron's war peasant levy which have been hanging around for a couple of years. Games like this are always a tonic to keep the paint queue moving.

Dispatches from the front XXVIIII - Back to the Future.

Last post of the month, it been a while since the last dispatch from the front. With the weather being a touch on the hot side, it felt like the perfect time to play an Ardennes game - Andy does like a large game :-)

Played using Bolt Action with the US defending the town from a two sided German attack, great photo's from the clubs resident war photographer which puts my efforts to shame.

Medal of honor goes to this AT crew who inflicted 3 kills on the advancing Germans.

The Allied forces managed to blunt the Axis attack inflicting significant losses on the advancing infantry and armour, with the Germans only managing to secure a couple of buildings on the outskirts of town.

Jumping ahead a few weeks and it's back to the old west and 'What a Cowboy' cracking layout from my secret wargaming buddy, who has been busy adding to his collection, nice to get the Cinderella Cattle Company on to the table looking to stop the funeral cortege secure the map held in Stinky Pete's boot.

As the bullets fly, the civilians ran for cover, with henchmen taking pot shots at the opposing gangs as they looking to secure the body,

Great fun although that might be because the CCC got away with no wounds. It got me thinking about Simon Walkers idea to convert to the Zulu Wars and his Death of the Prince game that did the rounds of wargames shows last year, the Zulu's being henchmen - We did a variant to Sharpe Practice several years ago, it would be good to get the figures back out. One to think about in the months ahead.

Talking about Simon's adaptions looking forward to this supplement for Men Who Would be Kings. Simon and I have swapped e-mails on many occasions on various adaptions of rules for the Pony Wars, great to see this passion project reach a new audience and a published rule set.... 

Whilst waiting for this it's tempted me back to rollout the Pony Wars Games for my wargaming gang, the card system is fantastic but back in 1980 you needed a maths degree to work out casualties so I am borrowing the firing and melee mechanisms from MWTBK to hopefully reduce the time spent in the rule book.... stay tuned as the US Cavalry saddle up to rescue the homesteaders..

With e-bay funds burning a hole in my virtual pocket, I got thinking about how these rules could be adapted for Starship Troopers and some of the new STL prints... next thing you know these are on order. Whilst I own a bunch in 25mm - the mass in 6mm could be quite scary.... 

What you can get now in 3D Prints is fantastic and it should be a rather quick paint job and a project to chip away at over the winter months.

Not sure what the September paint queue looks like just yet, there are several small bits in the draw, so lets see what's sparked by forthcoming games.

Japanese Reinforcements - Sino - Japanese War.

 A wet bank holiday weekend, I am not complaining as it's given me the opportunity to get these finished, not that they need reinforcments but the Nippon steam roller continues it's push into China.

Four Sections of 10 men for Xenos Rampant.

Sections are made up of a range of manufacturers, the latest figures are largely Warlord with a smattering of Eureka Miniatures to give a little bit of a mix.

Not all men are the same height :-) L-R - Battlehonours, Mardav, Eureka, Warlord, Westwind.

Not a bad way to finish August, not sure what September will bring on the painting front as there are a few irons in the fire entering into the Autumn. 

The Ford at Willow Crossing - 2nd Sino-Japanese War

Aiming to keep the painting to playing ratio going for August - An excuse to get the new Japanese on the table.

September 1937. Across northern China, the Imperial Japanese Army advances relentlessly inland following the outbreak of full-scale war after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Towns and villages along the frontier have fallen in rapid succession as better trained and better equipped Japanese forces push deeper into Chinese territory.

Along a secondary route running through rolling farmland and wooded valleys lies a shallow river known locally as the Willow River. Though narrow, recent rains have swollen its banks, making crossings difficult except at a handful of established fords.

One such crossing, known as Willow Ford, sits astride a grass land track leading toward the market town of Xingyuan. If the Japanese secure the ford, mechanised elements and artillery can continue their advance unimpeded. If the crossing can be denied, even briefly, precious hours may be bought for Chinese forces withdrawing further south.

A small platoon from the Chinese National Revolutionary Army has been ordered to hold the crossing at all costs.

The Situation

Lieutenant Zhang Wei, a young officer with little combat experience, commands a platoon of barely thirty men. Many are exhausted from days of retreat and skirmishing. Ammunition is limited, communications are poor, and reinforcement is unlikely.

The platoon has spent the night preparing crude defensive positions around the northern bank of the ford. Shallow trenches overlook the crossing while sandbags and felled trees provide makeshift cover. A single light machine gun covers the main approach.

At dawn, lookouts report movement on the opposite side of the valley.

The Japanese are coming.

Chinese Objectives

The defenders know they cannot win a prolonged battle. Their mission is simple:

• Prevent Japanese forces from crossing the ford.
• Delay the advance long enough for engineers several miles south to prepare demolitions on a larger bridge.
• Preserve enough of the platoon to conduct an orderly withdrawal when ordered.

For Lieutenant Zhang, success is measured not in territory held, but in time bought.

Japanese Objectives

Elements of an advancing Japanese infantry company have reached the Willow River ahead of schedule.

Their orders are:

• Seize the ford intact.
• Clear all resistance north of the river.
• Continue the advance before nightfall.

Japanese commanders believe the crossing is defended only by scattered retreating troops and expect resistance to collapse quickly.

The mist clings to the water as dawn breaks over Willow Ford.

Private Chen grips his rifle so tightly his knuckles ache. Shapes move among the shrubs. At first they seem like shadows. Then sunlight catches steel helmets. A whistle echoes across the valley and the Japanese come on in droves.

Lieutenant Zhang rises from the undergrowth - "Hold your fire."

The soldiers wait the Japanese advance guard cross the ridge line, rifles crack. The battle for Willow Ford has begun.

Using Xenos Rampant I made the Japanese subject to wild charge and it was not long before the main force rushed the Chinese positions. Morale was key to battle as the Japanese pressed on and the Chinese with poorer morale were beaten back.

If that was not enough the Japanese commander found his target and called in artillery support to pepper the Chinese lines driving the defenders back across the ford.

The Chinese force outnumbered and outgunned falls back and despite determined resistance and local knowledge is unable to hold the line. Another will for the Japanese.

Scenario borrowed from this little gem, designed for Chain of Command and the Japanese - Russo conflict of 1939 it transfers well to the Sino-Japanese Front, the maps could be clearer but great orbits for both sides including Mongolian units.

Back to the brushes and a whole load of Japanese to get through before the bank holiday is out...