Sharp Practice Sudan extra figures

Having just managed to finish the BAOR for CWC in time to play a game next up were some additions to my 15mm Sudan armies to make them more suitable for SP.

The Mahdists were lacking in command bases so I added three commanders on foot to add to the four mounted I already had:

The British too needed some sergeants and officers on foot (plus two heliograph groups):

Again for the British two groups of Naval Brigade plus officers. Most references seem to think they wore blue uniforms (though some do suggest white), these were painted in white as it was quicker basically!

I also added some more casualty figures for both sides. The paint was barely dry on the Naval Brigade before they went into action for the first time!

Cold War Commander BAOR v Warsaw Pact Polish

Tim kindly agreed to give me an introduction to Cold War Commander with some of my newly painted BAOR taking on his Warsaw Pact Polish. We didn't use points values or play any particular scenario as it was very much a learning experience for me (having read the rules I still didn't have much of an idea how it played!).

The British prepare to halt the Polish onslaught somewhere in Germany:

Chieftains and British infantry hold the line:

Large numbers of Polish tanks appear in the distance. Two of them are knocked out as is one Chieftain:

Hordes of Polish tanks attack!

On the left due to poor command rolls the Polish infantry have made little progress:

More Polish tanks are destroyed or suppressed:

An airstrike by the Harriers! It has little effect though:

The Polish finally call up their own air support in the form of a scary looking helicopter:

Having failed with the Harriers two Jaguars try their luck:

With the Polish infantry still refusing to move the British redeploy three more Chieftains to support the lone one on the right:

It's a Polish air strike this time:

Polish tanks attempt to rush the British, the situation looks bad for the British, but they do at least have Harrier support:

Recovering from being suppressed the Chieftains are back in action:

Ten Polish tanks are burning wrecks leaving only two in action against four Chieftains. The Polish infantry have finally advanced a little but with no real armour support the Poles withdraw and the British hold the line:

After a few moves I picked up how to play (and realised how much I was doing wrong!) and we used most of the various troop types (armour, air support, artillery and AA fire) though the infantry didn't get into action really.

With the Poles being second-rate troops, the British have a considerable advantage in command and control allowing them to do more while the Poles struggle to activate regularly. The British also have better kit with the Chieftain being much superior to the Polish tanks which is balanced to some extent by their superior numbers.

As a learning game it was great, I enjoyed playing and would like to play again. The aircraft and artillery didn't seem very effective but then I suspect you have to combine attacks much better than I did. I might even invest in a Warsaw Pact army to give me a choice of sides and also to play solo games, rather like TMOCB Vietnam rules I think CWC would suit solo play.

Cold War Commander British Army of the Rhine

With the recent release of version two of Cold War Commander by Pendraken there has been a resurgence of interest in this period at the club. It's not something I've had much interest in really but, caught up in the enthusiasm and putting in an order to Pendraken for some 10mm tanks anyway, I ordered a copy. 

When they arrived the rules seemed rather complicated and the army lists utterly incomprehensible! So rather than try to flog through them I just asked Simon what to buy for a 6mm British army. A couple of orders to Heroics and Ros and Scotia Grendel followed giving me the nucleus of a mid 1980's British force.

Some HQ bases and forward observers:

Nine infantry bases:

FV432 to transport the infantry:

Infantry supports, HMG, Blowpipe and Milan:

Heavy metal! 12 Chieftains:

More support, Scimitar, Swingfire Strikers and Starstreaks (which apparently were not introduced until 2000 and I should have bought Rapiers!):

Air support from two Jaguar GR-3 (decals to be added!)

You can't have a British army without Harriers:

Being 6mm the army was cheap, easy to paint (apart from the infantry to some extent) and I think looks nice enough especially once I get some decals for the aircraft. I also have two Lynx and one Gazelle helicopters to add to the force. The next part sees me attempting to get an idea of the rules in a teaching game!

Rommel Early War Germans

Inevitably given my recent addition of 1940 British I thought I might as well add a few more Germans to be able to use them against the British or the early war Russians. Certainly made a change with no having to think up a camouflage scheme for them!

Panzer I's:

Panzer II's:

Panzer III's:

Panzer IV's:

Half-tracks for Panzer Grenadiers:

As with the initial British purchase I think I haven't really got enough especially as three spare Stug III's I was going to use are later versions that don't really look right for a 1940 army (even for me who isn't fussy about the difference between various models of the same tank) but as the Germans are more expensive it will probably be enough for a defensive orientated force and I do have a lot of infantry!

That really just leaves the French in 10mm I don't have (plus all the desert war, but those I have in 3mm). 

ADLG Carthaginian v Early Successors

The latest outing for the veteran 25mm Carthaginian army saw them take on Ian's Early Successors. I used the cavalry and skirmisher heavy version of the army which comes in at an impressive 27 elements many of whom are elite at the expense of no real hitting power and a distinct lack of armour!

The Carthaginians won the initiative and decided to attack in the mountains with the terrain ending up mostly on one flank:

The Carthaginian plan was rather simple minded, rush forward on the left and overwhelm the Successor right while refusing the centre and left using some skirmishing Spanish cavalry:

The Successors attempt to re-deploy but have already been forced to commit their better-quality but fewer in number cavalry to combat:

The Carthaginian elephant fares badly against the opposing light infantry:

With the redeployment of most of the Successor left the Libyan spearmen and Balearic slingers feel the time is right to rush forward and enter the battle:

Breakthrough for the Carthaginians as Successor cavalry fall to Gauls:

The battle rages on, the Successor Phalanx has been split up and scattered by the skirmishing Spaniards:

Markers sprout along the Carthaginian line:

The battle rages on with desperate fighting along the line:

The Carthaginian elephant is down but gaps are rapidly appearing in the Successor lines too:

Meanwhile the Successor cavalry on the right have been in a world of pain, lacking in command points they are being overwhelmed by accurate shooting from the Balearic slingers and flank attacking Libyan spearmen:

It's all over for the Successors as the Carthaginians break through across the line leaving the scattered Phalanx isolated and surrounded:

Another great game with two contrasting armies, the Carthaginians having numbers and speed of movement while the Successors had more close combat ability. 

Ian's attempted redeployment of half his left flank command didn't really come off, having tried that myself a few times it's one of those things that works fantastically or not at all largely depending on how many command points you get for the general!

Rommel British additions

Having done some early war British for Rommel of course I then decided I hadn't quite got enough and needed to add some more as usual!

Three more A14 Cruiser tanks:

More of the mighty Matilda tanks:

Six more infantry bases:

Three Churchill tanks for the late war version of the army:

That should be everything for a while now really hopefully!