Cold Wars: Zero Sum Oblivion and Moderns

Howdie.

Well, we are closing in on Cold Wars.  I admit to having pre-convention cold feet... so many things to do around here without preparing for a convention!  Ok, wipe the tears away, and lets do some collective updating...

I have recently finished painting up some armored support for the Nihon Special Planetary Landing Force involved in the fighting on Ghenna IV (see event S-359 - Surprise on Gehenna IV).  I received several models from a local manufacturer Proxie Models to use in this game.  These are 3 of his Trencher Tank Mk 2.  For me they will serve as Type 82 Medium (Border) Tanks.  Shown below painted in their primary camo scheme (without and with flash... photographer I am not)....

I am also not a model builder (hate putting together models) but these are pretty easy kits to build.  Now, the Type 82 is (like many of the weapons systems in ZSO) a basic design, that gets heavily modified depending on where it is built.  Its also classified as a Border tank, meaning, even for the Nihon its not first rate.  So, it looks a bit crude compared to the mainstream Nihon armor, and its a bit large for a medium... but that's likely because they are using a lightweight but bulky local (local to the factory that produced it) material for the armor. 

See how that worked.  I just justified / rationalized my use of these tanks in my games :)  One of the things that I want for Zero Sum Oblivion is for players to use whatever they might have laying around.  The primary factions of the setting are important... but the universe is a big place, and not everything has to look the same (and none of your sci fi models should be collecting dust!).

The Warcats will be fielding re-purposed Battletech 'Mechs as medium and/or light walkers.  They look completely appropriate in a 15mm game.

A couple of weeks ago, I threw some 25mm Star Wars miniatures on the table, using ZSO, for a Tatooine game.  We were really short on time, so only got a couple of turns in... but it gave me a chance to test a new way to look at "mobs" (units that are easier to activate, but gain no advantage from leadership).  And to prove that a unit of Jedi are not who you want to go close combat on.

Some shots of that game (board was way too small for what we were doing, but it was mostly a throw down kind of game anyway)....

I also had the good fortune to be involved in another test run of the Siege of Mecca game (see event S-356 - The Siege of Mecca:  Assault on the Qaboo), a moderns game run using Disposable Heroes : Point Blank.  I ran the insurgents, though later in the game another player joined in to help me out.  We did not do too bad, lots of carnage on both sides.  I had no hand in the development of this scenario... which was a good thing, because the Gm (Steve) came up with an absolutely brilliant method for running this double blind.  Come check it out, if for nothing else than the impressive board and the even more impressive double blind system.

You also want to get into Jayson's Victus game (see event S-364 VICTUS! Gladiator Fight) if you can.  Its our newest game, and is great fun.... I have to start working on my own Ludus soon.

Anyway, lots of work going on.  Maybe I will see some of you at the convention.

Modern Chinese Navy Sails Forth!

Howdie.  This will be a fairly long post, as I have plenty to talk about :)

I decided recently to indulge in a new / old interest:  modern naval wargaming.  Decades ago I played Harpoon.  While I no longer am interested in such a detailed system, modern ship to ship combat is something I wanted to revisit.  After conference with another interested party in our club, we decided to utilize 1:3000 for our ship scale and selected Shipwreck! from Vandering as a more approachable system than Harpoon, producing games that could be completed in a couple of hours.  We have not as of yet played a game, but we have only had the miniatures and rules for a couple of weeks.

We ordered from Navwar.  I am happy with the purchase, the price (even with heavy shipping) was quite reasonable, though, I can't resist saying that the ordering system will not be for everyone.

We agreed that we would be gaming in the waters of the Far East... he opted for the USN, I chose the PLAN.  What was I thinking !?!?  I have a lot to learn about the Chinese navy, but something I know already is that their ships are outclassed by their American counterparts.  I hope these will do more than serve as targets for American missiles....  the completed fleet thus far....

Many thanks for the images and advice I found on Of Dice and Tiny Men.  I did not use the commercial water effects paint... I used plain old water soluble caulk, carefully smeared thin on the bases, and "waved" up mostly with my fingers.  It seems to work fine... though I like the colors on the Of Dice and Tiny Men ships better than my own (I think that mine will work fine too).

My order was centered on the grab bag style "Fleet Pack".  Wasn't sure what I would get, but I was not disappointed when it arrived.  Here is a tally of what that included (fleet packs are12 GBP plus shipping of 40%, or about $27 USD total);

Han subs (1x3)
Ming subs (1x3)
Luhu DDG (2x1)
Luda DDG (2x2)
Jinan DDH (1x2)
Jiangwei Ty I FFG (1x2)
Jiangwei Ty II FFG (1x2)
Jianghu Ty I FFG (1x2)
Jianghu Ty II FFG (2x2) .. but see below about these
Jianghu Ty III FFG (1x2)
Fuqing Oiler (1x1)
Nanking Replenishment (1x1)

Now, those last two supply ships are something that I can use, but probably would not have ordered.  Since they came with the grab bag, its basically like I got them for free (price wise, it's like I got a bunch of free packs). 

I added some additional support to the fleet pack, in the form of an Admiral Kutnesov CV to represent the ex-Varyag now sailing for the PLAN as the Liaoning (can't hurt to have a carrier).  The opposing USN force is centered around a Theodore Roosevelt CVN... so I added some aircraft, a pack of MiG-23 which will work visually as J-10, a pack of Tu-16 for my Chinese H-6 copies, and a pack of Ka-27 Hormones.  Well, the helos will fill in for every helo I need.  I may look into getting a pack of F-18s, and use them as J-15s (at 1:3000 that might work, as the J-15s or Su-33s are not available).

I have not painted these yet, nor the subs, or the Jianghu Ty 3 and Jiangwei Ty 1.

Speaking of painting, these are very different than anything I have painted before.  I suffered some momentary panic, before realizing I had to adjust my methods.  These are not going to win any prizes, but they look good enough for me.  Most of the pictures I have seen of PLAN vessels show them as very light grey or near white... so I went with a light grey coat, darker grey for the deck, then white paint for the hull and superstructures.  They should be "lighter" than the USN ships.

The backbone of my surface fleet are the Luhu destroyers, and the blood of my fleet is the supply ships... here they are, sailing with Jiangwei Ty Is in support....

 The Luda class destroyers will serve as important ships also.  I have 4 of them, plus 2 more converted with a helo deck.  Only 1 of these (the Jinan) was actually built, but the pack came with two.  I painted one miniature as the Jinan, and "promoted" the Changsha to the same status, thinking it might be better used as a "what if" option than broken up as a wreck marker.

Now, where I had trouble, was with the Jianghu Ty II frigates.  I was really confused by them as they have helo hangars and decks on the aft section, instead of a gun turret.  I am not an expert on the PLAN, but my understanding is that 1 (one) ship (the Siping) was converted to a Jianghu helicopter frigate, and is usually known as a Jianghu Ty IV.  Except, in the grab bag, I have 4 of them.  Based on some conversations, and what references I can find, it seems that sometimes the helo conversion is referred to as a Ty II... if you saw that in one source, and saw in another source that there were 12 or 15 active Ty IIs in service, maybe some confusion would occur.  I could be wrong about the whole thing... but it looks like I have 3 of these too many, and no actual Ty IIs at all.  I based and painted them all, one is labeled as a Ty IV (Siping), the rest are labeled as Ty IIs.  I may field them as Ty IIs, I may try to convert them at some point, or I may turn a couple of them into wreck markers... not sure yet.  But here are some photos of the Jianghu Ty Is and "IIs" side by side....

Once I have the Liaoning, subs, and the rest painted up, I will post pictures.  For now, I am trying to learn the new system, trying to learn my new fleet, and looking for a miracle to defeat the USN.  Hey, just kidding... its all about scenarios baby... I think the Chinese need to look at scenarios, not ship to ship comparisons, to find victory... plus rely on land based airpower to lend some help.  Or get someone to build an Indian fleet I can go tangle with.

Anyway, thanks for enduring this extra long post.  I happily look forward to the future of modern naval wargaming at our local club.  And the sinking of those running dog capitalist warmongers.

Zai jian!

Brezeln mit Senf: Part Zwei, 1986 Cold War AAR

Howdie.  We recently gamed a follow up scenario to Brezeln mit Senf.  This time the fighting took place in a larger, slightly less terrain intensive setting on the outskirts of the beleaguered West German town of Brezeln mit Senf.  We would of course be using the Seek Out, Close With, and Destroy moderns supplement for our Disposable Heroes and Coffin for Seven Brothers game system.  My moderns stuff (other than for Vietnam) is in 20mm, though the vehicles are mostly in 1/72 or 1/76.

I chose the fall of 1986 so most of my vehicles would fit (sort of, anyway), and my Argentine army infantry were selected to stand in for the Canadians.  Other than the goggles, and the bedrolls, they look pretty much like Canadian infantry of the time.  Fueled by a pork burrito from Roburritos (I take mine light on the rice, with my favorite sauce, Curse of Dracula), I set up the game and awaited the hot fury of the Cold War to ignite....

An early shot of the table, as things were being set up...

The British would come from the town (as it existed on the edge of the table), Chieftains leading Scots Guards infantry mounted in FV432s.  Some British infantry (including a Milan team) started the game set up in buildings... and scouting recce Scorpions were placed halfway onto the table.  A critical inclusion was a Blowpipe SAM team, on the look out for Soviet helicopters.  Major Chalfant "Smythe" Conley would handle the British.  Here they come racing through the outskirts of town....

The hard pressed Canadian infantry held a small group of buildings, including a small factory and a workers dorm, with an infantry platoon.  They possessed a pair of .50 M2 HMG teams, as well as their M113 transports, to back them up.  More importantly, they were directly supported by reserve FRG armor; a pair of M48A2Cs (90mm guns), a single M48A2GA2 (105mm gun), and a Gepard SP-AAG (likely from a different unit than the M48s).  A pair of French recce AML-90s had arrived also, giving the Canadian defense a real mixed bag feel.  Bob and Doug BecKenzie shared command of the Canucks and friends, the hosers. The Canadians spread out, but deployed heavily towards the oncoming Soviets...

The lead Soviet force was a mechanized infantry platoon, deployed from their BMP-1s, and supported on the flank by outdated, but still dangerous, T-55s.  Heavy machineguns, and an SA-7 Grail SAM team rounded them out.  They started within small arms range of the Canadians, and were led by Comrade Stine-o-vitch.  A shot showing some of their deployment...

Directly behind Stine-o-vitch, the second Soviet force was deployed.  Most of the infantry platoon was still mounted in their spanking new BTR-80s, except for 2 Sagger teams and an infantry squad overlooking the mostly open area to their West.  Most importantly for the Soviets, this force included 3 formidable T-80BV tanks, a welcome addition to the forces of the Motherland.  Comrade Maranov was beside himself, as he was leading these.  Here is another shot of the Soviet deployment...

As expected, the Canadians and the forward Soviets took a beating early on.  Stine-o-vich managed a single penetrating roof hit with one of his offboard 82mm mortars, inflicting grievous losses on the Canadians.  It would be the only successful hit from any mortar (there were a total of 8 offboard mortars in play during the game... but no FO teams!!!!!!)  Still, the Canadians held onto their real estate, and the Soviets were unable to dislodge them.

The sudden arrival of a pair of T-72s, and a pair of BRDM-2s on the NATO flank caused some immediate concern (especially to the Scorpions which were dismayed to see these armored vehicles appear directly behind them).  The Chieftains reacted to this by beginning to deploy from their road column and causing one of the T-72s to suddenly burst into flame...

The remaining T-72 returned fire, ko'ing a Chieftain, and the BRDMs began to put fire into the Canadian infantry.  A third Chieftain dispatched the T-72, as more vehicles began to burn on the table...

A bold M48A2 moved to the center of the road to gain a LOS to an enemy T-80BV, trying a shot to no avail.... and was destroyed by return fire for its trouble.  The Scorpions, fleeing the T-72s, found themselves overwhelmed by the combined Soviet might on the Eastern side of the table.  Here you see BTR-80s moving past the burning Scorpions....

But it didn't go well for the Soviets either, who continued to lose infantry.  An M48A2 claimed a BMP-1, a T-55 was brewed up, a Chieftain moved past a burning M48 to track a T-80BV.... and several NATO vehicles shrugged off hits.  The M48A2GA2 proved especially fortunate as a 125mm round from a T-80BV furrowed a path across its mantlet, but failed to penetrate.

And then the Hind showed up...

This bumblebee of death unleashed a hellish torrent of rockets and MG fire, completely obliterating the Canadian infantry.  The buildings were cleared of the forward Canadian infantry units in a storm of smoke and flame....

Just look at those smug bastards, basking in the warm glow of burning Canadians.  To quote Comrade Stine-o-vitch, "Comrade, your shipment of rockets has arrived."

But wait, you don't know know what a Gepard is?  Never heard of a Blowpipe?  Well, my ill-informed Soviet friends, let me tell you a little story... it goes like this... BOOM!

The Gepard grabbed a piece of the Hind, and the Blowpipe really smacked it, destroying the dangerous machine.  It moved forward some before crashing to the ground in a fireball.  The Canadians were reinforced by a US Army Cobra (that would make the fourth nation represented in Doug and Bob BecKenzie's force, eh), which made a less spectacular attack run through the Soviet infantry.  It managed to kill some infantry, and (importantly) destroy the SA-7 Grail team.  They did get tagged by some AA-snap fire, but the damage was only superficial.

It was at this point that we decided to wrap up the game.  The Canadians were holding onto their cluster of buildings, barely (a command team, and a reduced infantry squad were the remaining infantry)... the Chieftains were in supporting positions (and with their long range, were starting to bring real firepower down upon the Soviets)... and the FV432s  were in position to disgorge their tough Scots Guards passengers to bolster the crumbling Canadians.

The Soviet forward infantry force was in tatters, but the BTR mounted infantry were closing in.  And, despite one being tracked, the three T-80BVs were all still combat capable.

We agreed that the NATO forces remained in a tenuous position, but were marginally better off than the Soviets.  The reality was, with such significant losses to both sides, the fighting would taper off until further reinforcements arrived.  The survivors would hunker down into their positions, and the armored vehicles may pull back a bit into overwatch positions.  The downing of the Hind, while the Cobra still flew, was an important consideration.  No one likes to take a TOW from the rear :)

In all, it was a very enjoyable game.  Playing on a larger table allowed for more maneuvering, long range shooting, and substantial opportunity for cross angle los and shots.  Terrain was abundant, but not so much that lanes of fire and movement were impeded (a problem with the first Brezeln mit Senf scenario).  I look forward to the next installment of the Battle of Brezeln mit Senf!  Maybe I can run some Soviets next time, show these jokers how its done....

Thanks, and keep that armor burning!

WWII North Africa: Italians Triumphant!

Howdie.  We ran a WWII North Africa game at our club on Monday night using Disposable Heroes and Coffin for Seven Brothers our "ever" popular WWII game system.  Basically, we have not organized a large 15mm game for some time, quite a few of us have substantial15mm arsenals, especially desert appropriate stuff.  So, we made a list, organizing rough parity on each side, and I created a simple scenario.

I tend to go for scenarios that represent tactical problems, rather than always going for specific historical battles.  This one was about coming up with rules for platoons being masked (id unknown), and dividing the table into 5 zones for each side... depending on how we secretly deployed, our plotted positions could change (this had a major impact on how the game was to proceed).

This was an all vehicle (and AT gun) scenario.  Elements were organized into platoons that would activate together, and fire together.

As it turned out,  our lists were not entirely accurate, and not everything was "desert worthy"... but we made the best of it anyway :)

The Axis players (including me and my trusty Italian berserkers) decided to hold the center with our 8.8cm artillery, screened with Italian 47/32 artillery, and artificially bolstered with "dummy" platoons (which moved about like real platoons, until unmasked and proven to be "dummies").  The two Italian forces would try to get as much British attention as possible, and allowing the Germans (with their much better guns) to knock out the British vehicles.  We decided to commit to the 4 flank zones, in an attempt to envelop the British.

Of course, the British decided to deploy their slow-heavies, the Valentines and Matildas, in the center, and push both of their flanks in an attempt to envelop the Germans and Italians... so we ended up two meeting engagements on both flanks, and a long range duel in the center.

But... the British failed to commit to either far flank, which resulted in both Axis far flank forces being driven further across the board.  My Italians, traveling in a wide valley on the extreme Axis right, were pushed right up against an opposing British force.  I presumed this to be the end of my Italians....

A scene of the first turn of the game, me striking my 'lil Duce pose... notice the furball starting on my table edge...

My poorly armored, and woefully undergunned Italian force found itself entangled with British Shermans, Crusaders, Humbers, and M3 Grants.  We desperately maneuvered on each other (me especially, as I looked for side and rear shots) as these platoons quickly became unmasked, and casualties began to accumulate.

A bit more detail, slightly later in the game...  note the soft glow of burning Shermans, and the heavy damage to a Sherman and a Crusader... ignore the burning Semovente 47/32....

At these close ranges, with many flank and rear shots, my Italians were able to actually inflict significant losses on the British.  A true upset in the scenario.

A shot of the entire 6x12 table.... you can see many still-masked platoons moving into the vast empty space in the center.... I made up dust clouds to indicate vehicles moving at speed, a nice looking effect, that also counted as linear obstacles...

There was actually the rest of the table to worry about, but I mostly was watching my side :)  On the far flank, a very strong force of Germans, including a Tiger, tangled with the other British punch, also a mix of Shermans, Lees, and Crusaders.  More Germans lurked on the other side of the valley ridgeline, dueling with the Grants to their fore.  These Germans would send a couple of vehicles to try to help my Italians.  The knot of Valentines and Matildas in the center would claim a few Italian vehicle kills from the other Italian force, but would slowly be whittled down by artillery, German tank, and yes, even Italian tank, fire.

My Saharianas race into the rear of the British, causing some carnage... shortly afterwards, a newly unmasked platoon of undamaged Shermans would turn 75mm guns, and loads of .30 mgs on these, and brew two of them up :(

The table kind of looked liked the battles in ... another game system.... which is unusual for DH.  Normally, the vehicles spread out.  But, with the vehicle platoon activation, movement, and firing (mechanisms to keep this large game going quickly) this resulted in the vehicles clumping together.

The German tanks, our presumed killers of the table, took some hits throughout the game...

.. but other than the 8.8 AA guns, they did not seem to kill many British vehicles.  They did claim a few.

On the far flank, the sole Tiger tank prowled... to no effect.  In fact, as the German commander of that flank lamented, it was the lowly truck with 20mm AA gun (seen beyond the glorious Tiger) that caused 50% of the British casualties (1 of the 2 ko'd Brit vehicles on that end) down there...

In the end, is was not even close.  We finished up with 48 points for the Axis, vs 18 points for the British... mostly by holding victory locations throughout the game, but also for the disparity in vehicle kills.

On my flank, the so-called Valley of Death, I had lost 1x Semovente 47/32, 2x Semovente 75/18, 2x Sahariana... with a heavily damaged M-13/40 and Semovente 75/18.  But, my Italians had managed to destroy (with the help of a German SdKfz 222) 3 Shermans, 2 Crusaders, and a Humber.  Damage was dealt to the 2nd platoon of Shermans by long range 8.8cm AA hits from the rear, as these British vehicles were forced from their intended objective, in an attempt to contain the wrath of the Italian menace on this flank.  Combined with the damage to the Grants, the British were not able to push the center because of the Italian threat.

I am probably down playing the role of my fellow Axis leaders.  But you must forgive me.  It was my one, my only, moment of glory with my 15mm Italian armor.  And I enjoyed every second of it!

Hoth Battle.... aka Night of the Wampa!

Howdie.  Just last night I participated in a gigantic game, the Imperial assault on the Rebel Echo Base hidden on the ice planet Hoth.  I was tasked by Jayson Gardner ( you may know him from such books as Where Heroes Dare and Primera Battala ) and Bryan Miley ( of No More Room in Hell infamy ) to complete vehicle and infantry stats for this game, using my current sci fi rules system Zero Sum Oblivion.

Zero Sum Oblivion was not written with the Star Wars universe in mind... but it was written to allow players to develop their own troops and backgrounds to meet their expectations of a sci fi gaming system.  In the event, the troops were statted out with no trouble.  The vehicles were a bit trickier, as it was important for the game to proceed like the battle as shown in the movie The Empire Strikes Back.  In the end, it seemed to work out, as the Rebel players desperately tried to stop the slowly advancing AT-ATs.  Dozens of storm troopers, and most of the supporting AT-STs, would crumple to the snowy ground under withering Rebel fire... but at the same time, one after another of the snow speeder crashed, as Rebel ATGAR and DF.9 guns were silenced, and the defensive trenches cleared of Rebel infantry.

Ultimately, the Rebel leaders would concede defeat once all three AT-ATs had moved into close range to the power generator.  There are rumors of a continuation fight in the Rebel complex, as storm troopers fight corridor by corridor, room by room, to cleanse Echo Base of its Rebel infestation....

Staging prior to start of game.... the AT-ATs and AT-STs would start at the table edge.

Here, the Imperial infantry are advanced into their starting positions.... no one seems eager to take the big open spot in the middle.  Commander Gardner declared that even open snow conferred incidental (-1) cover.  The storm troopers would have to trust in their Emperor and the quality of their armor.

Rebel Speeders are unleashed.... and the carnage begins.

A break in the action, for Wampa cake... what does it look like from inside Echo Base....

The storm troopers on the Imperial left flank take heavy casualties but empty the trenches to their front... Rebel commanders desperately try to move more units to protect the hangar... on the Imperial right, losses are lighter and the Rebels have little left to stop the storm trooper advance.  The battlefield is lit by numerous burning wrecks, including one area known as the bonfire of death (as everything near to it seemed to erupt in flames sooner or later).

The final Rebel gambit was to use troop carts to deploy additional Rebel forces from deeper inside the base... you can see one troop cart empty, all of its infantry occupants gunned down without a chance to even fire a single shot.  The AT-ATs were now in close range to the generator, and the battle comes to a close.

It was a great game, I personally had a lot of fun, thanks to Jayson and Bryan for including me in this Hoth battle.  I think overall my stats for the game elements worked pretty well... unfortunately no Rebel speeder had the chance to try a harpoon cable attack (they were making every effort to gain position to do this), and ultimately "no AT-AT was harmed in the making of this game" to the misery of the Rebel commanders.

Ever seen what a Wampa can do to a storm trooper, son?  Well we wanted to find out.  3 Wampas against 16 storm troopers...

3 dead Wampas and 8 dead storm troopers.  The Wampas are pretty tough, but maybe I needed to go a little bit further with them.

Til next time.....