The tank Platoon does n ot have any artillery supports, but given the options for light and medium mortars, plus the tank armaments this is hardly an issue. Today the light mortar support team.
Able to keep up with the infantry and tank advance and keep firing to pin the enemy the light mortar is a cheap and useful option.
These models are from Wartime Miniatures who have a great Australian and Japanese range and are an excellent company to deal with.
Although the lists allow you to use multiple flamethrowers, in Australia it is the excepted etiquette to only use one. The Australians have the Matilda Murray, Jungle Engineers and a Flamethrower team that are all equipped the the “terror weapon”.
My preference is to use the Jungle Engineers as they provide the protection of a full squad to make sure your flamethrower reaches the enemy. The engineers, however, don’t come cheap and sometimes the smaller team is required.
For the cost of only two figures it makes an excellent “slot” selection.
There arer a few differences which can be found on the table below.
This can be downloaded as a pdf.
Footsore miniatures are also working with Wargames Atlantic on some plastic figures which after the Kickstarter will be available directly from WA.
The first addition was always a great game with some excellent mechanics and these have been enhanced and simplified in the new version. Worth a look if you are interested in skirmish gaming in ancient Rome.
Drew and I had been talking about the good old days, during which we were neither “good” or “old”, and starting talking about some of the rules we had enjoyed playing. Including Charles Grant’s “Battle” and “Ancient Wargaming”; HG Wells “Little Wars” (we both have the book but have never played it), Donald Featherston’s various rules, George Gush’s skirmish rules, WRG first edition ancients and many more. When then starting talking about Napoleonic rules and the WRG set of rules came up.
We both had enjoyed it over the years and we decided to have a game.
There was some vicarious pleasure in playing with figures and a set of rules that were older than most of the fifty “odd” gamers in the room………. BUT THEN I FELT OLD.
My “Austrian Advance Guard” at Wagram about to be trounced by Drews French – next time I will not use an historical formation or just field the Grenadiers, Cuirassiers and Heavy Reserve Batteries of the Reserve Corp!
Horse artillery limbers and caissons dominate the hill.
The Austrian Jager on the left flank were the Austrian “men of the match”.
French Chasseurs a Cheval and Cuirassiers – fielded at “brigade level”!
French guns and infantry advance.
Austrians prepared to meet them. Amazingly we remembered most of the rules, cannot remembered what I did yesterday but can remembers rules used forty years ago!
French cavalry advance on the guns with the Schwarzenburg Lancers in support.
On the right French lancers also advance.
Austrian skirmishers and Brigade Battery open fire.
The guns fire cannister on the charging Cuirassiers but forgot to load the guns. Needless to say the French charged home and swept the guns away for the loss of one figure.
French artillery firing.
The Schwarzenburg lancers sweep away the French Guard Chasseurs. At that stage the Austrians declared a victory! Letting all in the room know the guard cavalry was repulsed!
Run Froggies run.
Alas for the artillery, but the Austrian IR3 Erzherzog Charles infantry battalion deploy to hit the Cuirassiers with enfilading fire.
The French Guard arrive – WTF! The Austrian Jager are now in possession of the village and are picking off the old guard battalion on the right.
French advance in the centre but the Austrians fail to charge.
With the French lancers lurking in the background the Austrians form square.
The Austrian Stipsicz Hussars charge the Cuirassiers in the flank who turn to face and promptly rout the Austrians. I hate these rules!
The Austrian lancers rally back from the advancing guard. meanwhile the Austrian flank march still fails to arrive.
Another Austrian victory as the Old Guard are shaken by the Jagers shooting.
Austrian infantry rout as a French Battalion to their front wheels into their flank – I now really hate these rules.
Routing Nah. Just advancing very quickly to their rear.
The Austrians Flank March now arrives at the rear of the Old Guard to claim victory.
Actually it was a decisive win to Drew’s froggies.
We had an enormous amount of fun but I think I will stick to Lassale 2! The good old days are just not THAT good.
Although not allowed in the relevant list I have painted one anyway for no other reason than I had a spare one.
Shouting encouragement from the “pulpit”.
Oops just noticed I have painted his jacket collar purple instead of combat green – will have to fix.
The colour painted correctly!
Tomorrow the start of some of the support teams.
The section follows the same structure of NCO with SMG, 3PBI* with SMG, 5PBI with rifles and 1 PBI with Bren gun.
Patrolling though a village on an S&D mission, although this term wasn’t used until the Malayan and Vietnam conflicts.
Over the next few days I will paint some of the HQ and support teams.
PBI* = Poor Bloody Infantry.
Australian armoured doctrine was quite different with the advent of the Australian Jungle Division reorganisation. Unlike Europe and North Africa tanks were unable to force a “break through” because of the dense jungle. As such their role changed to that of infantry support. A reverse of the other theatres of war where infantry paid a supporting role and in order to achieve this were required to be motorised to keep pace.
This is reflected in the Bolt Action rules by not requiring the Australian infantry to have transport. In fact you cannot purchase transport from the relevant “theatre sector” list!
As I have the tanks for this force completed, with a few exceptions, all I need to complete is the infantry. Sadly for readers this is almost a repeat of what you have already seen from me. Fortunately these are painting up quicker now that I am used to painting them. First the command section.
You will notice one the problem with the Eureka Miniature’s Owen guns. Unfortunately they are true to scale and the barrels of the gun are very fragile. With the one in the background already having snapped off. I have thought of replacing them with a pin but for me they pass the three feet test – do you notice them from three feet away on the table!
The two NCO’s are armed with Thompson SMG’s and the officer carries a .303 rifle.
Tomorrow the first of several infantry sections. Some will be additional Jungle Division, others Independent Company Commandos or raiding parties and others Papuan Infantry Battalion sections.
More tomorrow.
I have been looking or an excellent set of naval wargame rules for a long time. Initially I thought the Warlord games, Cruel Sea, might be the answer but the mechanism were not to my liking.
I have been a fan of Sam Mustafa’s rule sets, including Lasalle, Blucher, Might and Reason and Maurice. Whilst my preference is for small scale coastal games with minor ships, this one appeals despite the fact that it is designed for large fleet battles.
Nimitz is a tabletop game of battles across the seas and oceans of the Second World War. Command squadrons and entire fleets as you zoom in for intense surface actions or zoom out to play entire campaigns across hundreds of miles of ocean and land. Choose one of five major navies: Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, or the United States.
Create sea battles or fictional scenarios based upon famous historical campaigns. Make decisions that move units on, below, and above the sea.
Nimitz is played with miniature ships. In addition to this rulebook, you will need ship models or counters in order to play. All other game information is provided free on the HONOUR
There you can find the Navy Lists, to create air and naval units for all major combatants, as well as other useful game resources.
The basic Nimitz game can be played by two or more players in 1-2 hours.
The Halsey campaign system can accommodate many players and can be as large in scale as your imagination permits. From the Author.
Sam A. Mustafa is Professor of History at Ramapo College of New Jersey. His scholarly work has dealt with modern Germany, US-German relations, and the Napoleonic Wars. He is also the author of the Daniel LeClerc series of mysteries, set in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dr. Mustafa divides his time between the United States and Germany.
On first reading of the rules I was quite impressed. They are not for the purest as they have been designed with playability and a two hour time frame to achieve a decisive result in mind.
This meant making some decisions. For example the Yamato could make a 180 degree turn in about a minute of real time. With a game turn representing about eight minutes this means that theoretically you could ignore turning of ships but this takes out a fundamental of the “game”. Similarly in about eight minutes any gunnery fire would be guaranteed to hit but this would take the fun out of rolling dice. The advantage of Sam’s writing is that wherever you would expect an explanation as to why he has done something there is always a side comment explaining his rationale. you may not agree but you can understand his thinking.
Ship types are very granular with broad categories. This however a detailed explanation on the points values of ships which again gives you an understanding as to why some ships are the same or higher or lower in points than a similar class.
There are some really “neat” mechanics. I really like the idea of formations. This is where ships are touching bow to stern. The advantage of larger formations is that you fire by formations. This means that with fewer but larger formations you get to fire all of yours before your opponent with more can. What? well this means you fire before your opponent with more guns with the chance that they may not get to return fire!
Torpedoes are simplified without the need to put matches or little models on the table. The more you fire the greater your chance of hitting with all torpedoes in a launcher needing to be fired at once. Once there gone there gone. No reloading during a game.
If naval gaming is your thing then this one is well worth having a look at.
I mentioned in my January in Review post the my Dr. Who figures are something I want completed sooner rather than later. As I have now completer all of the U.N.I.T. figures I can now move on to the rest of the figures I have collected over the years. There is a massive seventy five more figures to go. I will continue to paint them in between other projects as I have done so far. This should be enough to finish them before Christmas!
The following three are on the paint table and have been started to more or less degree.
Dr Who “Web of Fear” with its robot Yeti’s
The Second Doctor and Companions.
Draconians
However the main point of this post was to showcase the Ninth Section of U.N.I.T. Infantry.
Hopefully I will have finished reading a new set of naval rules and will be able to complete a review for tomorrow.
With the Australian Jungle Division almost finished I am now ready to start on another major project to tackle alongside the Dr Who figures I still need to finish (more on this later), and the British Commandos. Logically I should start on the Japanese to have an historical opponent for my Australians.
As a Myers Briggs INFP logic was never one of my strong points! I already have an Australian Tank Platoon well on the way and I have decide that while I am used to painting Australians I should continue, especially as I have all the figures I need. Here is what I am building.
Thanks to Easy Army for the pdf download.
I have an additional Medium Mortar, and enough Matilda tanks to make a second platoon with two Matilda II’s, two Matilda IIC’s and two Matilda Frogs already completed. I have another couple of surprise Australian conversions of the Matilda coming in due course.
Matilda IIC
Matilda IIC
Matilda Frog
Matilda Frog
Matilda II
Matilda II
I also have the scout squad and Forward observer completed.
I will start with the Company Captain, and
a sixth Australian Jungle Division section. It will be a few more days before I have any work done on these.