ANZAC Day 2014

ANZAC Day started at 5am so that I could get to the dawn service in Rotorua and ended at midnight after an evening game at John's place. Obviously the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War made this service quite poignant, although next year is the hundredth anniversary of the ANZAC landings and that will be far more so.
As a special form of commemoration we decided to have a WWI game at John's on Friday night. I decided that I would umpire and we would use the Contemptible Little Armies rules. The New Zealanders would be attacking on the Western Front against a German force. the Kiwis were rated as elite (morale and tactical 5) while the Germans represented trench divisions (morale and tactical 3). Before the game I didn't get around to designating points and so it was a case of deploying everything on the tabletop and the NZ forces having recycled reserves (when a unit was lost it could come back on).

The battlefield at the beginning of the game

The allies were given a preliminary bombardment, but there must have been something dreadfully wrong with the artillery as it did minimal damage to the German forces crowded into the trenches and failed to remove any of the wire. This was about to result in a replay of the 12 October 1917 attack on Passchendaele...

Kiwis advance into wire and machine gun fire

'Gut targets, ja?'

The Kiwis climbed out of their trenches and valiantly assaulted the enemy. In the end something like four waves of attack went in. The result? There was no point in cutting the wire as no NZer even reached it! To be fair the Germans were thinned down on both flanks to the point that one more assault wave might have made it through, but by 11.30 pm it was clear that this was a disaster of the 'First Day of the Somme' proportions. Was the scenario unwinnable? No, not if the bombardment had concentrated on an area to take and the attack had been concentrated on that sector. But the Allied generals were immune to any kind of tactical finesse. The results were predictable and by the end of the game a little sickening. Not counting tanks and artillery the allies lost 10 full units to two Germans. Someone's head was going to roll for this shemozzle...

View from the German lines

Kiwis attempt to advance through withering fire

Wave after wave of brave boys move forward...

..but the German line remains steadfast!

Come on boys!

I have to admit that the game played out like a stereotype of all the reasons why wargaming WWI is pointless and unenjoyable, but to be honest the players made it so with their tactics of 'advance and hope we get through'! It was a difficult scenario, but not impossible. I plan on running another game in August, so we will see if out generals (just like those in WWI) have learned their lessons!

Nate

The Leibgarde of the Empress Elizabeth

My Lord

In response to your request to investigate the events in Milan of April 12 last, I have compiled the following information.

As you will no doubt remember, you encountered Von Stroheim and the Society of Thule in your attempt to recover the Ruby of Roland, a gem of vast value and rumoured occult powers. In the ensuing battle you were hard-pressed, having few Incorrigibles with you compared to the hordes of Jager/Todtruppen. Upon this scene arrived several men on horseback, riding wildly with great skill who sliced the Todtruppen apart with their sabres while other men at a distance picked off the Prussians with supurb shooting. Other soldiers appeared who charged with the bayonet and turned the tables of the fight. Then a masked lady appeared briefly, dispatching several Todtruppen, only to disappear again. Within a few more seconds both the interlopers and the members of the Society of Thule had vanished, along with the Ruby ,leaving you in possession of nothing more than questions.

Your suspicions were indeed correct and the company which interfered with your procurement of the Ruby of Roland does originate in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The clue that enabled me to confirm this was the supurb horsemanship of the Hussars that you observed. 

It appears that these beasts were trained in the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, and amongst the riders was none other than an Oberst Nazadzy. Nazadzy is an Hungarian nobleman who has won fame throughout the Empire for his dash and skill. 

This is where the plot thickens, my Lord, for on further investigation it appears that Nazadzy is no longer serving in the Royal Hungarian army. Nor is he to be found in the Imperial Austrian army, nor in the K.u.K. army.  I can tell you it has taken me no small amount of digging to reveal the current placement of the Oberst. Money has had to exchange hands in no small amounts and difficulties have had to be ‘eliminated’.  I can now reveal, however, with relative certainty, that Nazadzy is in command of the Body guard of none other than the Empress Elizabeth herself. This is a somewhat startling revelation. You see, my Lord, the 'Leibgarde von Kaiserin Elizabeth'  officially does not exist. Furthermore, it offers fresh complications. Your initial request to me made much of the appearance of a masked lady who not only killed several Todtruppen with whom you were also engaged, but was responsible, so you think, for capturing the Ruby of Roland and making off with it. Your letter makes much of her stunning beauty (almost unseemly at times) and marksmanship. I must confess that I have not been able to affirm the identity of this woman, but it is fairly certain that she is a highly trained lady in waiting to the Empress. At least one source suggested that it was the Empress herself, but I dismissed this out of hand as being absurd, and the source himself is (sorry, was) a notable drunk and cad.

Accompanying this company you correctly identified soldiers of the Royal and Imperial Army, and indeed the chaps that you identified as having half a dead cockerel on their head were Imperial Jagers.

 I have managed to ascertain that these are again men that do not exist on the books of the Austro-Hungarian military establishment, but have been seconded due to their skills and fortitude.

As to the whereabouts of the Ruby of Roland, I have found no trace. It would seem through other intelligence sources that it was not gathered by Von Stroheim or the Society of Thule. My investigations will continue.

Yours,

Agent 7

P.S. During my investigations I came across this, produced by the Skoda works. It may be of note for the future.

The Leibgarde of the Empress Elizabeth

	Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
The Masked Lady	2+	+1	+3	+1	71	Leadership +2, Inspirational, Startling beauty, fearless, marksman	Lined coat, Rifle, Magneto Static umbrella
Oberst Nazadzy	4+	+2	+3	+0	41	Cavalryman, Tough, Leadership +1	Sabre, Carbine,  Cavalry Horse, Brigandine
Huszar	4+	+2	+2	+0	31	Cavalryman	Sabre, Carbine,  Cavalry Horse, Brigandine
Jager	5+	+1	+3	+1	28	Marksman, Bayonet drill	Military rifle and bayonet, lined coat
Soldat	5+	+2	+2	+1	22	Bayonet drill	Military rifle and bayonet, lined coat
Startling beauty works the same as Erudite Wit and costs the same points.

I have not yet statted up the Skoda panzerstompwagen. The basic company consists of the Masked Lady, Nazadzy, 2 huszars, 2 jagers and 2 soldats which comes to 274 points. I've painted enough figures that the Masked Lady can be removed and with Nazadzy's leadership increased an extra jager and soldat can be taken as an option.

Again, like the GES not a particularly Victorian Sci-Fi company, mostly just tough soldiers and a woman of mystery. I wanted an Austro-Hungarian company that was more reflective of the historical empire than Vlad the Impaler. Having loved Vienna when I visited I couldn't help but note the Empress Sisi was everywhere. The Viennese seem to have a real love affair with the tragic Empress, and I knew she needed to figure in any late 19th century company I created. Between this, the Spanish Riding School, the colourful Hungarian Huszars, and the Tyrolean Jager I had a company sketched out in my mind. I'm now looking forward to giving them a run against some of the other companies, particularly Razin and his Cossacks.

That completes my companies for the main Continental European powers - Russia, Prussia, France and Austria-Hungary. For the British I have Lord Curr's company still to paint, plus a whole Zulu War project that can provide me with British soldiers and Zulus (and Boers).

Next on the painting tray, though, is my Trojan War project for Of Gods and Mortals.

Nate

Scratch-built arc rifles for IHMN

The photos of the GES that I used in the previous post didn't have any shots of their rear (oo-er), and I thought I'd post a photo of them just to show the scratch built Victorian Sci-Fi paraphernalia I've added.

Voila les derrieres. 

Sgt Eclair (left) sports the latest fashion in La Belle France this decade for the Legionnaire who wants to add a little zap to his life. His arc ensemble is made from a Lewis gun formerly part of an Old Glory Mark IV tank kit, added to a hollow piece of tubing which links with the fuel tank off a 1/72 model tank (a Panzer IV I think). Glued on top is a selection of broken 1/72 tank sprue pieces, all finished in a lovely Vallejo brass.

Commandant Fromage has a magneto-static projection device attached to his pouch. This little piece of equipment is from a 1/72 Revell US infantry Mortar stand, but does the job splendidly with its shape reminiscent of a fleur de lys.

Finally the Professor's back sports a 1/72 Esci WW2 Soviet Radio Operator's radio. The tubing runs from the antenna on the top of the radio down to a pin drilled into the handle of his revolver to create the arc pistol that will be all the rage among secret agents in Paris this spring.

None of the conversions above required a great deal of work, and I think that they are pretty good representations of steampunk style weaponry.

Right, my copy of Heroes, Villains and Fiends showed up today, so I'm off for a read. Happy Easter everyone.

Nate

Civilians for SAGA

Just off the painting tray are a few villagers for my Anglo-Danes to protect against the vile Vikings and nasty Normans.

'Look how peaceful and idyllic our existence is. What we really don't want is anyone invading us and introducing feudalism. We'd be moaning about it for countless generations.'

Training man's best friend to bite Norwegians is a suitable past-time for all children.

Additionally, train your children to run away while the dog is biting said Norwegian.

Life in Anglo-Saxon England was hard. This man is only 25 years old...

At least one of the objectives for a Viking or Norman raid, poor lass. 

I look forward to populating the village with these fine people in a future game of SAGA.

Nate

My Foreign Legion company for In Her Majesty's Name

After what seems like a very long time, I finally managed to finish off my French Foreign Legion company for In Her Majesty's Name. This is a special investigations group - the GES (Groupe des Enquetes Speciales) whose role is to keep an eye on the more wacky things that the enemies of France may be plotting. This means that they are not only there to spy on and sabotage the Germans and English, but also those groups like the Company of Pharaonic Revivalists who threaten the world order through their secret agendas. 

The company is made up of Artizan figures from the 'March or Die' range and these figures are full of character as you would expect in Mike Owen sculpts. I've converted a couple of figures in order to make them more Victorian Sci-Fi.

The characters of the company, Sergeant Eclair, Professor Prune, Commandant Fromage and Sergeant Grognard. The Professor graduated from the Sorbonne with three doctorates. Grognard has been known to give people sore bones that three doctors are unable to fix.

A close up of the Commandant evincing a suitable look of Gallic disdain.

Sergeant Henri Eclair with his scratch-built arc rifle. It is a shirt sleeves kind of day.

Three veteran Legionnaires to support the Commandant and Professor in their missions. "Ah Pierre, quelle merde we are in again."

3 Tirailleurs Algeriens, seconded to the GES because of their unique investigative talents.*
*said talents may include rough and ruthless handling of enemies

The whole company together defending the entrance to the Mummy's tomb. Artifacts must be removed before the Pharaonic Revivalists arrive to claim them.

(Edit 13th April)
The stats are as follows:

	Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
Commandant Fromage	2+	+2	+3	+1	69	Leadership +2, Inspirational, Erudite Wit, Duellist (with pistol), fearless	Lined coat, Automatic pistol (treat as carbine), Magneto Static projection barrier
Professor Prune	4+	+1	+1	+0	20	Engineer	Arc pistol, Brigandine
Sgt Eclair	4+	+2	+2	+0	18		arc rifle, lined coat,
Sgt Grognard	3+	+3	+2	+1	49	Tough, Bayonet Drill, fearless, Leadership +1	Military rifle and bayonet, lined coat
Legionnaire	4+	+2	+2	+1	24	Bayonet drill	Military rifle and bayonet, lined coat
Tirailleurs Algeriens	4+	+3	+1	+1	25	Bayonet drill	Military rifle and bayonet, lined coat

I haven't created any options for the company yet. The four characters plus 2 Legionnaires and three Tirailleurs comes to 279 points. Hopefully I'll be able to take them out into the field soon.

Apologies for the shocking schoolboy French and the number of characters named after things that are edible. To be fair, Eclair is named after lightning, not the yummy desert, and Professor Prune is a translation of Professor Plum from the Cluedo game. But Fromage is a just a cheesy name for the Commandant.

Nate

ECW command

Last Friday night a few of us met at John's for games night. We played a couple of 600 point mid-war games of Flames of War as we are thinking of entering the NICon (North Island Convention) tournament in June. It is a one-day series of five games which will be perfect for those of us that have tribes that we can't escape from for a whole weekend.
No photos of the games as I forgot my camera, but my Italian list did very well, beating John's list containing Grant tanks and air power and then pulverising (he might have another word for it) Michael's Maori infantry supported by Shermans. I'd organised a draw for 10 gamers, but unusually we only had four people turn up, so we didn't count points.
We played two rounds and then had a bit of a chin-wag while I pulled out John's 28mm ECW army. He bought it off Mark down in Taupo a couple of years back, and we've never played with it. It is a beautifully painted and based Royalist army made from Old Glory figures for the Warhammer ECW rules. I took a note of how much there was of everything and then came home and did some calculations. I have a Parliamentarian ECW army here thanks to Dan's generosity, mostly of Foundry figures, but including a couple of bags of Old Glory. I worked out that if we used the 1644 rules, John could reduce the size of his pike contingents, band them together and put his commanded musketeers wit hthem to create 2 new units. All that would be missing would be the command element. So the last two nights I've painted the command trying to mimic the same one-colour black-line style that Mark used. This is not my usual style by any stretch. It usually annoys me when any black undercoat shows through on my figures, but I have to say that the results are quite pleasing.

The Blue command advancing to battle.

And the Red command. I still need to touch up the eye on the standard bearer.

In order to have a good amount of cavalry I figured we needed another two regiments, so I've cleaned and undercoated two Foundry regiments to paint - soon! I'll be painting these in my usual three layer style I think, as I'm not donating them to John to go with his army like the figures above - they will be the first painted units of my Parliamentarian Army.

Hopefully we'll get a game of 1644 in soon!

Nate