WI288 Cover:Layout 1 15/8/11 14:15 Page 1

T h e W O R L D ’ S P R E M I E R TA B L E T O P G A M I N G M A G A Z I N E

FACING
THE
VIKING
SCOURGE

HISTORICON 2011
SHOW REPORT

Issue 288 - OCTOBER 2011

£4.50 • €6.50
US $8.50 • Aus $12.00

ISSN 0957-6444
10

the siege of worcester GHOST PLANES GREEKS VERSUS persians

9 770957 644121 The making of an ECW masterpiece Flames of War scenarios for North Africa Using the new Clash of Empires supplement

p l u s : T h e S e c o n d a f g h a n Wa r , t h e r n a s i n W W I A N D M U C H M O R E !
Content Pages 288:Layout 1 15/8/11 14:18 Page 1

Featured Wargames illustrated issue wi288, october 2011

this issue

From the editor

It’s not difficult to recognise the appeal of Dark Age wargaming; shifting hordes of sword
and spear wielding warriors across the tabletop, forming shieldwalls, and sending your
Hearthguard forward led by a mighty hero (whose axe appears to outweigh the rest of his
body by several pounds) is undeniably dramatic stuff. For this month’s theme we transport
you back to that time of sagas, chronicles and bloodshed to bring you four articles that help
the period come alive.

the battle As ever we rely heavily on our illustrations to help set the scene and tell the story of our
of maldon ..................... 10 theme, and this month we also wheel out some of the big guns (or should that be big axes!)
of the gaming world to bring you their take on Dark Age wargaming, or more specifically -
Facing the Viking Scourge, our Saxons versus Vikings focus.

Rick Priestley found time between rulebook writing to spend two days with us, first
re-fighting the Battle of Maldon using his Hail Caesar rules, and then trying his hand at
SAGA the new Gripping Beast Dark Age skirmish rule set. His articles on both subjects are
a great insight into the period, and the games being played.

Martin Gibbins (Warhammer Ancient Battles II author) also lends us his extensive
knowledge of gaming the period in his The Challenge of Dark Age Gaming piece in which
he tackles the question of whether it is realistically possible to represent shieldwall combat
on the tabletop.

the young Dr Ryan Lavelle (author of Alfred’s War) turns his hand to modelling, and, with the help of
british soldier ............. 24 WI model maker and master painter Matt Parkes, teaches us how to construct Saxon tents.
All-in-all there is plenty to inform and enlighten in this month’s theme content.

Beyond the Dark Ages we run through a game of Clash of Empires using the new Rise and
Fall of Persia supplement, take a trip to the Northwest Frontier for a Black Powder colonial
game, tour around Worcester (circa 1651), head to the deserts of North Africa with Flames
of War, and plenty more besides.

Dan Faulconbridge
UK Editor

Cover illustration by Peter Dennis, from the Gripping Beast ‘Saxon Thegns’ plastic box set.
Also available as an A3 print from www.grippingbeast.com

oh lord! - saga dark

age skirmish rules .... 54

how to....
saxon tents .................. 72
Produced in the United Kingdom, New Goodison, Mark Hazell, Michael Haught,
Zealand and United States of America Kyran Henry, Victor Pesch, Chris Townley,
Wayne Turner and Phil Yates.
The Wargames Illustrated team:
Daniel Faulconbridge, Dave Taylor, Managing Editor: John-Paul Brisigotti.
Ian Bennett, Robert Townsend, Matt Parkes
Unit 26 and Anders Johansson. Printed in the U.K. by: Warners PLC.
Whitemoor Court Industrial Estate
Nottingham. NG8 5BY The Battlefront Miniatures Studio team: Marketing by: Comag Magazine
United Kingdom Tim Adcock, Evan Allen, James Brown, Marketing www.comag.co.uk
Copyright © Wargames Illustrated 2010 Blake Coster, Casey Davies, Sean
Content Pages 288:Layout 1 17/8/11 10:21
CONTENTS
This month’s theme content is
shown in blue.
warriors to war. the battle
of maldon, 991 ...................... 10
The Gripping Beast 2011 demo table is a
fabulous representation of The Battle of
Maldon in miniature, and we were keen to
feature it in this month’s theme content.
Rules writer extraordinaire Rick Priestley
joined us for some Hail Caesar action on
the board, and this article gives you a blow-
by-blow account of the re-fight.
The Young
British Soldier ........................ 24
Andy Hoare presents a quick history of the
Second Afghan War, along with a Black
Powder scenario for the Battle of Ahmed Khel.
the challenge of dark age
gaming ....................................... 34
Is it possible to replicate realistic Dark Age
warfare on the tabletop? Warhammer
Ancient Battles II author Martin Gibbins
explores this question and discusses how
different rule sets deal with ‘the shieldwall’.
ghost planes of
the sahara ............................... 42
Using the classic movie Flight of the
Phoenix as his inspiration, and factual
accounts of 'ghost planes' in the Sahara as a
guide, Mike Haught has designed three
cracking Flames of War scenarios based
around desperate (fire) fights for survival in
the desert.
OH LORD, DELIVER US
FROM THE FURY OF
THE NORTHMEN! ...................... 54
Rick’s back for a second helping this issue,
this time he takes on Gripping Beast’s
Darren Harding at a game of SAGA - their
new Dark Age skirmish game. All the
lowdown on the battle and the rules here.
the alternative battle of
worcester, 1651 ...................... 64
When we spied this award winning game at
Salute 2011 we knew we had to take a
contacts
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Page 2
Featured
this issue
closer look. Andy and Neil from The Crewe
Wargames Club were only too happy to
take us on a tour of this splendid layout.
HOW TO BUILD....
SAXON TENTS ............................. 72
Dr Ryan Lavelle gets some help from
master model maker Matt Parkes as he
explains how to convert Renedra ridge
tents to represent Anglo-Saxon tents.
brighton, brentford
and barham ................... 86
the rise and fall
of persia ..................................... 74
We wanted to give the new Clash of
Empires supplement; The Rise and Fall of
Persia a run out, so we invited CoE author
Stuart McCorquodale and CoE fan Tim
Haslam down to the studio for a Greeks
versus Persians battle. Read the report here.
brighton, brentford
and barham ............................. 86
It started with a casual “I have a cracking
scenario for an early WWI game” line from kicking it
one of the members of the ‘Like a “new school” ................ 94
Stonewall Wargames Group’ and spiralled
into a whole project based around the
RNAS on the Western Front. Nick Buxey
takes up the story....
KICKING IT “NEW SCHOOL” .. 94
Justin McConnell talks to the student
participants from an innovative in-school
program that marries the study of historical
conflicts with wargaming, looking
primarily at the ways people are brought
into this hobby of ours.
the halls of
the halls of montezuma
montezuma Part 2 ..... 98
Part two .................................... 98
We pick up Derek Coleman's tale of the
US-Mexican War with a look at the
campaign of General Zachary Taylor in
northern Mexico.
historicon 2011 report .. 106
Once again thousands of wargamers from
around the globe descended on the Valley
Forge Convention Center in Pennsylvania,
USA, to partake in the largest historical
wargaming event on the US calendar, and
our US Editor was there to capture the best
of the best. historicon
2011 ..................................... 106
Letters
letters@wargamesillustrated.net
PRODUCT CODE
Distribution
USA
ussales@battlefront.co.nz
EUROPE
eusales@battlefront.co.nz
AUSTRALASIA
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 WARGAMING NEWS
NEW RELEASES
• 8 October
FW303 Burning Empires
BB126 Desert Gun Pits
BB109 Desert Dug-In Sandbags
BB129 Desert Barbed Wire x4
BB128 Desert Trenchlines
BB127 Desert Minefields
& Tank Traps
• 15 October
GBX50 Hubner’s 88 Battery x2
GBX51 10.5cm Artillery
Battery (DAK)
GE742 Schutzen Platoon (DAK)
GE942 DAK Decals
BR032 Crusader I or II
• 22 October
GBX53 Hellfire and Back 88 Nest
GE747 Pioneer Platoon (DAK)
GSO102 Afrikakorps Light
Mortar Team The Burning Sands
GSO103 Afrikakorps Anti-tank
Rifle Team of North Africa
IT940 Italian Decals It’s another massive month as Battlefront Miniatures continue to showcase their
expansion to Early War with Hellfire and Back (which was released a few weeks ago).
BR060 Valentine II This month we see Burning Empires hit the shelves. This new book showcases the war
BR943 EW Desert Decals across the Mediterranean as well as the desert raiding forces of the SAS, LRDG and the
Italian Raggruppamento Sahariano AS.

WHAT’S NEW ON OUR
WEBSITE FOR OCTOBER?
In the Battlefront Miniatures Studio we continue our expedition
into the deserts of North Africa, as the guys put together new
forces and dust off old ones. To help people join us in the fight,
we have a range of Product Spotlights showing off some of the
great new products you can use to expand an existing force, or
start a new one. In addition:
• James takes a look at our new desert defences range and gives
a few suggestions on how to personalise them.
• Mike gives us some insight into Burning Empires and what
you can expect to see our new book.
• We take a look at the fortified companies from Hellfire and
Back, and how you can get the most from them.
• The Studio shows off what they have been working on for the
2011 New Zealand Late War Grand Tournament.
• And last but not least, both Radio Free Battlefront
and our You Tube channel have plenty of new content.

www.FlamesOfWar.com
4

WI288 News.indd 2 15/8/11 14:32:30

 What’s Online for Wargames IllustrateD?
This month we have a lot of completely new content for
you to take a look at, so we’ve decided to take a break
from digging through the archives. Don’t worry, we’ll
be back to it next month.
• THE RISE AND FALL OF PERSIA
More photos of Tim Haslam’s lovely Persian army.
• ALTERNATIVE WORCESTER, 1651
Our UK Editor made sure to snap dozens of photos of this
showpiece table. Not all of them could make it into the
magazine, so the rest are online for your enjoyment.
• HALLS OF MONTEZUMA! - PART THREE
We conclude Derek Coleman’s three part series on the US-
Mexican War with his recounting of General Scott’s decisive
campaign to strike at Mexico City.
• YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER
Andy Hoare has also written a skirmish level scenario for the
retreat from Maiwand, and provides quite a few more ideas
for high adventure in the Northwest Frontier.
• HISTORICON 2011
As usual, we have plenty of great photos from the show held
in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
• STEP-BY-STEP PAINTING GUIDE
This month we welcome guest painter Paul Cubbin to the
Painting and Modelling section of the website, where he
provides us with a guide to painting his award winning
Marquis of Montrose vignette.
• REVIEWS
Our regular monthly serving of Reviews.

www.wargamesillustrated.net

Our Osprey Publishing

Picks of the month
We’ve presented two articles already (with another to come) from Ambush Valley
authors Piers Brand and Joe Trevethick. It seemed only right to pick their book,
released this month. The pictures and text are from the Osprey website.

AMBUSH VALLEY
VIETNAM 1965–1975
By Piers Brand and Joseph Trevethick
In the 44-year long history of the Cold
War, few conflicts symbolize it as fully
as those in Vietnam. To contemporary
observers, it was a war between the
two ideological blocs of Communism
and the West. From the forces of the
Viet Cong and NVA and the American,
South Vietnamese, Australian and
other Free World forces, the wars that
ravaged Indochina throughout the
second half of the 20th century can
be recreated with Vietnam, the latest
companion volume for Force on Force.
Orders of battle, scenarios and special
theatre-specific rules give players an
immersive experience of gaming in the
jungles, fields and towns of Vietnam,
Laos and Cambodia.
ARMIES OF THE IRISH
REBELLION 1798
By Stuart Reid
In 1798, the Irish rose up against the
corrupt British government run out of
Dublin. Joined by both Protestants and
Catholics, the rebellion quickly spread
across the country. Although the Irish
peasantry were armed mostly with
pikes, they were able to overwhelm
a number of small, isolated British
outposts. However, even with the
half-hearted assistance of the French,
the Irish could not compete with the
organized ranks of the British Army
when under competent leadership. In a
brutal turning of the tide, the Redcoats
plowed through the rebels. In just three
months, between 15,000 and 30,000
people died, most of them Irish. This
book tells the story of this harsh, but
fascinating, period of Irish history and
covers the organization and uniforms of
the forces involved.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
By Mark Lardas
Despite his lack of formal military
training, George Washington may
be one of history’s must underrated
commanders. Building an army
virtually from scratch, he defeated
the pre-eminent military power of
his day. Although, he made mistakes,
especially early in the war when he
composed over-complicated plans that
proved beyond the ability of his army
to fulfill, he learned from them. He
learned how to utilize the strength of
his army and strike where the British
were weakest, most notably in his
famous surprise attacks on Trenton
and Princeton after crossing the
Delaware River on Christmas night.
However, Washington’s true legacy
comes from his actions at the end of
the war. His ability to walk away from
the battlefield, sheath his sword and
willingly relinquish the reigns of power
made him truly great.

www.ospreypublishing.com
If you have any news regarding releases, conventions, or other goings on, please send it through (along with some photos or a logo) to news@wargamesillustrated .net
5

WI288 News.indd 3 17/8/11 10:51:06

 WARGAMING NEWS
Wargaming Events
of Note - October

1-2 DERBY WORLD WARGAMES

www.worldwargames.co.uk
Derby, UK
1-3 MOAB
www.southernbattlegamers.org
Sylvania, NSW, Australia
7-9 COUNCIL OF FIVE NATIONS
www.swa-gaming.org
Schenectady, NY, USA Osprey, Casemate, and Britain’s
7-9 TACTICAL SOLUTIONS
tactical-solutions-gaming. combine again for the
tripod.com
Spokane Valley. WA, USA
Military History weekend!
The 3rd annual Military History Weekend, held in historic Colonial
8-9 DUZI 2011 Williamsburg, Virginia, will be held on the weekend of 15-16 October 2011. This
www.duzi.info year, exhibitors will again gather at the The Lexington George Washington Inn
Wesel, Germany and Conference Center for two full days of military history at its finest. In years
15-16 MILITARY HISTORY past, attendees have included military enthusiasts and experts, as well as vendors
WEEKEND of weapons, militaria, toy soldiers, books, modeling kits, wargames, and more.
www.mhwshow.com/2011 Co-sponsors W. Britain, Casemate, Osprey Publishing, and The Toymaker
Williamsburg, VA, USA of Williamsburg invite you to spend a weekend with us commemorating and
understanding our shared history through re-enactment, recreation and study.
15-16 OSHCON
www.oshcon.org As mentioned above, Military History Weekend 2011 will be hosted at a new
Oshkosh, WI, USA venue this year - The Lexington George Washington Inn and Conference Center.
This new venue will have plenty of free parking and two large adjacent exhibit
16 SELWG 2011
halls, just perfect for this growing show.
www.selwg.com
London, UK www.mhwshow.com/2011
ATTENDING

21-23 CHARCON
www.charcon.org
Charleston, WV, USA
21-23 FLATCON 2011
www.flatcon.com
United States Cavalry:
Bloomington, IL, USA
From Horses to Helos
21-23 MIGSCON XXXI
www.migscon.ca
Hamilton, ON, Canada
28-30 FALL IN! 2011
www.fall-in.org
Lancaster, PA, USA
28-31 GAELCON
www.gaelcon.com
Dublin, Ireland
29 CONQUEST
www.comicscompulsion.co.nz
Christchurch, NZ
This year’s FALL IN! event takes on the theme of the United States Cavalry,
30 FIASCO and will look at the mounted warriors of the US from the American
leedswargamesclub.org.uk Revolution through to modern conflicts, as the cavalryman transitioned
Leeds, UK from horseback to helicopter. FALL IN! will be held at the Lancaster Host
in Lancaster, PA on 28-30 October, 2011. For full details head to:
www.fall-in.org

WI288 News.indd 4 17/8/11 11:12:11

 AROUND THE GLOBE
Wargaming Events
of Note - November

4-6 ROCK-CON
www.rock-con.com
Rockville, IL, USA
5 CRISIS
www.tsoa.be
Antwerp, Belgium
5-6 ALPHA ARES
alphaares.com
Barcelona, Spain
10-13 KANSAS CITY GAME FAIR
www.kcgamefair.com
Kansas City, MO, USA
11-13 MILLENIUM 14
milleniumcon.com
Round Rock, TX, USA
12 TARGE 2011
kirriemuirwargamesclub.co.uk
Alpha Ares Kirriemuir, UK
Once again the ALPHA ARES event returns to Barcelona, Spain. This year the fun
12-14 U-CON
takes place on the weekend of 5-6 November 2011. With plenty of wargaming on
www.ucon-gaming.org
hand, this great event with an established reputation continues to grow.
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
For more information and updates you can find Alph Ares on Facebook at
Jornades Alpha Ares, or head to their website: 19-20 WARFARE
www.wargamesassociation
www.alphaares.com reading.co.uk
Reading, UK
26 SMOGGYCON
www.m-gc.co.uk
Middlesborough, UK
Targe 2011
27 REVEILLE II
TARGE, the 25th annual event
www.bristolwargaming.co.uk
organised by Kirriemuir Wargames
Bristol, UK
Club, will be held on 12 November
2011, in Webster’s High School,
Kirriemuir. Demonstrations, public
participation, re-enactment, painting
and modelling competitions, large M ag a z
Bring and Buy, all day refreshments, ur in
o
free parking and free figure.
Y

In addition, the winner of the “Colin

Wa

M. Smith Cup” will be announced

at the show. This is for services to
n t s Yo

wargaming. Previous recipients

include Duncan Macfarlane, Charles
Grant and Stuart Asquith. Sadly Colin
passed away in July but his memory
u

r
will live on with the trophy and Ne
generous prize.
ws
The annual free figure at TARGE is sculpted by our very own Steve Shaw who
has picked up on the show title to create a special 28mm Jacobite-themed warrior
for each event. In the past, the “first off” figure has been expertly painted by Event News: If you are an event
prominent Scottish gamers Barry Hilton and Phil Olley. There are free figures for organizer, we invite you to send your
the first 200 through the door. event information to:
You can find out more by calling: 01575-574128, or heading to our new website: news@wargamesillustrated.net
www.kirriemuirwargamesclub.co.uk Remember to send it in at least THREE
MONTHS in advance of your event.

WI288 News.indd 5 11/8/11 15:40:16

 SUBSCRIPTION
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Hellfire and Back Subs Page.indd 2 16/8/11 11:52:04

 “Now room is meted you, come swiftly to us,
WARRIORS TO WAR.”
WARGAMING THE BATTLE OF MALDON WITH THE
HAIL CAESAR RULE SET By Rick Priestley
After seeing Gripping Beast’s impressive Maldon game at this year’s warriors at his command were relatively
Salute show, we decided we had to take a closer look, and so asked Darren inexperienced levy from the surrounding
and Lord Sherwell from The Beast if they would host the game at their area. As the Anglo-Saxons arrayed on the
HQ in Evesham. Rick Priestley kindly volunteered to accompany us for shore opposite Northey Island, Byrhtnoth
ordered that the horses upon which he
the outing, and what follows is his account on how the battle played out....
and presumably his retinue had ridden to
Throughout the Ninth and Tenth and disembarked from the sleek longships battle, should be taken from the field. He
into the Eleventh Centuries, Vikings that summer’s day so long ago. We may wanted to send a clear message that the
harried the coasts of the British Isles, perhaps picture two, three or possibly valiant defenders would stand and fight.
plundering exposed settlements, taking four thousand warriors making up a The sources do not give the number of
captives, and extorting money from the sizeable raiding force. Certainly enough Anglo-Saxons: some lead us to imagine
local inhabitants in return for their lives. to overwhelm any opposition the locals the two forces were equally matched,
In this light the Vikings who drove their were likely to put together. others that the Vikings were by far the
ships upon the shores of Northey Island more numerous.
Opposite Northey Island, upon the
at the mouth of the River Blackwater banks of the river Blackwater, stood The Vikings sent a man forward to
in Essex during August of 991 AD the small Saxon town of Maldon. Here demand tribute, but Byrhtnoth had no
should be seen as a raiding force rather Eorl Byrhtnoth raised the local levy to intention of buying off these savage
than an invading army. Their objective oppose the Vikings. Byrhtnoth was no raiders with Saxon gold. In reply he
was to take what they could from the longer a young man. In fact he was in the offered them only ‘ash-spears as tribute’
inhabitants, forcefully if necessary. Most region of sixty years old with hair that declaring that the messenger should tell
especially what they wanted was hard was said to be ‘swan-white’. None the his lord, ‘There stands here a good earl
cash in the form of gold and silver coin! less he stood tall at six feet and enjoyed in the midst of his men, who will this
The Northmen quickly set-up camp on the renown of a kinsman of the King and country ever defend’. The Vikings were
the low-lying island just off the coast, the reputation of a victorious warrior. probably led by Olaf Tryggvason, a
separated from the mainland by a narrow Presumably this was not the first time fearsome adventurer and sea-wolf who
causeway that was exposed only at he had confronted the Vikings. The Eorl would later become King of Norway. If
low tide. It’s impossible to say exactly would have been accompanied by his so, then Byrhtnoth was facing one of the
how many of these bloodthirsty reivers household troops, but the majority of the most determined and successful warriors

The Viking raiders - under Olaf Tryggvason - race toward

the Saxon lines, intent on taking the town of Maldon.

10

WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 2 11/8/11 12:17:35

 The map to the left shows where Maldon (red dot) is situated in England; on the Blackwater
estuary in the county of Essex.
The map below shows the battlesite, opposite Northey Island, with the position of the two
forces indicated in red and blue.
of the entire Viking Age. Olaf was
certainly not a man to back down from
the ‘spear-rush’.
Realising they had a fight on their hands,
the Vikings attempted to force their
way across the narrow and presumably
muddy spit of land between Northey
Island and the coast. The Anglo-Saxon
poem The Battle of Maldon refers to
this narrow passage as a ‘bridge’. Here
stood the bravest and best of the Anglo-
Saxon warriors, and as the Vikings came
forward the Northmen were cut down
one at a time. Seeing they were unable
to force a passage the Vikings cried out,
begging to be allowed to come ashore
so that the two armies could fight man-
to-man. In response Byrhtnoth allowed
them to cross, proclaiming ‘Now room is
meted you, come swiftly to us, warriors
to war. Only God knows who at the end
shall possess this fight’s field.’ Now
whether this account is based on fact or
an invention of the Christian poet who
wrote The Battle of Maldon is not entirely
clear. Some commentators, notably
J.R.R. Tolkien, have taken the view that
the poem stresses how it is Byrhtnoth’s
hubris that causes him to make this fatal
error of judgement. This turns the story
of the Earl’s heroic defeat into a Christian
morality tale about the sin of pride. Most
likely, the Vikings simply advanced
through the shallow water as the tide
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 3
ebbed, until the few Anglo-Saxons
defending the causeway were obliged to
retreat or be surrounded. Either way, the
Vikings crossed over and drew up their
battle lines opposite Byrhtnoth’s men.
Battle joined in the typical fashion of
the time with an exchange of spears,
followed by a clash of the opposing lines.
The fighting was fierce with warriors
falling on both sides when suddenly a
thrown spear wounded Byrhtnoth and
he fell to the ground. Seeing this, an
Anglo-Saxon nobleman called Godric
took flight upon a horse belonging to
the Eorl. He was quickly followed by
his own brothers, Godwin and Godwig.
Seeing the fleeing horse, many of the
Saxons believed it was Byrhtnoth himself
escaping the battle, and the defending
army started to disintegrate. The Saxon
warriors lost heart and took to their heels.
As Byrhtnoth lay dying only his faithful
household troops gathered round to make
their last stand over their Lord. There
they perished to a man, wreaking great
carnage amongst the Vikings as they were
slain one by one.
Later, once the battle was over,
Byrhtnoth’s headless body was recovered
and buried at the abbey-church at Ely.
The Vikings had taken the Eorl’s head
as a trophy of their victory. Once more
we have to wonder if this account of
Godric’s flight is factual, or whether the
DARK AGES
410 - 1066
betrayal of Byrhtnoth is a literary device
intended to convey some moral message
about the treacherous retainer and his kin.
Given that Byrhtnoth had earlier ordered
that the army’s horses should be sent to
the rear one has to ask where his own
mount suddenly came from. Who knows?
Perhaps it was being brought forward to
carry the wounded Eorl from the field.
Maybe the fighting had carried the Saxon
army back to where the horses had been
tethered. Either way, those who fled and
survived the battle were roundly derided
for doing so afterwards; though the battle
account itself must ultimate derive from
its survivors, for there was no one else
left to tell the tale.
Following the Battle of Maldon the
Anglo-Saxon King Aethelred was obliged
to buy off the raiders. The price was ten
thousand Roman pounds of silver. The
greater price still was the defeat of an
Anglo-Saxon army: a defeat that was
to be the first of many over the next
decades. Only repeated payments of gold
and silver – the Danegeld – would keep
the Vikings at bay over the following
decades. Soon the Northmen would gain
the ascendancy, and the Anglo-Saxons
would find themselves ruled by the
Danish King Canute. Canute was the
son of Sweyn Forkbeard, who is himself
another possible candidate for the leader
of the Vikings at the Battle of Maldon.
11
15/8/11 14:43:18
 MALDON REFOUGHT
Our recreation of the Battle of Maldon
may look more than a little familiar to
readers who have attended various shows
throughout the United Kingdom in recent
months. The specially made terrain is
actually the Gripping Beast display
of the battlefield, and it has already
accompanied that well-known miniature
company’s trade stand the length and
breadth of the country. The armies are
also part of the extensive Gripping Beast
collection. The models are beautifully
painted and presented, as can be readily
seen on Gripping Beast’s impressive
web-site. Wargames Illustrated’s justly
celebrated editor Dan Falconbridge
and I arrived at the Gripping Beast
headquarters in Evesham to find the
battlefield and armies patiently awaiting
us. Also awaiting was that well-known
Beast Darren Harding who was going to
take the part of Olaf Tryggvason and lead
the Vikings in our refight of the battle.
We would be using my own Hail Caesar
rule-set published by Warlord Games.
As required by the rules the troops were
arranged into units of roughly equal
frontage. Eight Viking units in total were
split into four divisions of two each.
Six Anglo-Saxon units were split into
three divisions of two each. Hail Caesar
is very forgiving of basing styles and
sizes, so long as the opposing units are
about the same frontage. This was easily
arranged as we dealt with the mandatory
The Battle of Maldon Table
Created by Wyn Rodgers as Gripping Beast’s demo table for Salute
2011, their 8' x 5' Maldon board was built as an ‘L’ shape in order to
accomodate Northey Island; the Vikings’ beachhead, to the side of
the main battlefield. The buildings are by Gripping Beast and Grand
Manner and the boats are by Gripping Beast.
12
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 4
tea and biscuits. It was agreed that we
would use the same basic stats as given
in the Hail Caesar rulebook for the Battle
of Brunanburgh 937 AD. This game had
also been staged by the Gripping Beast
team using many of the same models.
The accompanying force and stat lists
show how this was done.
The table itself compacts the edge of
the town, battlefield, and the shore
opposing the island of Northey onto the
one ‘L’ shaped wargames table, with
the edge of the island and Viking camp
forming the foot of the ‘L’. The real
battle probably took place on the large
area of flat ground between the shore
and the Saxon town. As this would make
for a very dull display, our set-up has
the edge of town forming the boundary
of the table, with the battlefield, coast,
island and linking causeway between.
It’s a very attractive tabletop that allows
the preliminary fighting at the causeway
to be represented as well as the principle
clash between the two forces on the
level ground beyond. I must say I rather
like set-ups that stray from the usual
four by eight foot rectangle. Irregular
shaped tables such as this allow physical
access to what are in effect much larger
battlefields without obliging the players
to stretch uncomfortably into the centre
of the table. Of course, it is necessary to
find space to set-up such a table. In our
case we were fortunate in having the shop
floor of the Gripping Beast warehouse to
ourselves for the day!
TAKING SIDES
With Darren leading the sea-wolves it
fell to me to raise the fyrd in the name of
Earl Byrhtnoth. Thus saddled with a nom
de guerre that was practically impossible
to spell and virtually unpronounceable
into the bargain, I set about the defence
of Saxon England. The Saxon army
was deployed along the shore opposite
Northey Island, whilst the Vikings were
arranged in their camp, ready to cross.
We had decided to replicate the fighting
over the causeway with a simple pre-
battle skirmish that would allow one side
to claim the moral ascendancy. Either
the Vikings would win and force their
way inland carrying the favour of their
pagan gods, or the Saxons would win and
allow the Vikings to cross the causeway
representing Saxon confidence in the
justice of their cause.
BATTLE FOR THE CAUSEWAY
Darren and I selected five models from
our respective forces and placed them
on the causeway. The idea was that each
pair would fight, and each victorious
combatant would earn his side one dice
re-roll that could be used at any time
during the battle. Thus there were five
re-rolls up for grabs in our little pre-battle
fight for the causeway. Seeing no need
to complicate things further, we simply
rolled a dice for each combatant and
compared scores, with the highest score
winning, re-rolling for draws until one
man emerged a clear victor. The first pair
17/8/11 10:30:59
 In homage to the initial attempts by the Vikings
to reach the mainland, Rick and Darren fought
a small skirmish over the causeway. The winner
would have up to five rerolls in the upcoming battle.

started well for me as the brave Saxon
toppled his opponent into the estuary.
One up for the Saxons then! The second
fight went the same way, and then the
third and fourth. Clearly the spirit of
Byrhtnoth was watching over as I rolled
for the final combat, and once again the
Saxon defeated his opponent. The Saxons
had won all five fights and claimed all
five of the re-rolls. Not much doubt
about it then. The Saxons had taken the
moral high ground and duly retreated to
allow the poor Danes to scramble onto
the shore. Various observers contributed
to the occasion with suitable Dark Age
flavoured jibes inspired by the woeful
performance of the Viking champions.
VYING FOR POSITION
ordered to advance straight towards the their order was simply to make maximum
Saxon line at maximum pace. This is a pace towards the Saxons. The dice
useful rule when fighting these sort of resulted in a steady advance, with each
games where one side is holding a static division moving a single move except for
position, as it makes sure the attackers the two units at the front of the Viking
advance steadily. This is basically the left flank, which pressed forward two
‘Eager’ rule described in the Hail Caesar moves ahead of their fellows. The Saxons
rulebook, except that it was to be applied responded with a cautious advance of
regardless of whether the unit received its their own, only the units on the left flank
order within charge range of the enemy by the river proving reluctant to heed the
or not. The Vikings took the first turn and call to battle.
Commands
In Hail Caesar each division is given a verbal order and makes a test against its
commander’s leadership value to determine how many moves it has with which
to fulfil the order. Depending on the dice result this can be one, two, three or
sometimes no moves at all.

I redeployed the Saxon army as a

single automatic move and the Danes
were permitted to advance to form an
opposing battle line. Rather than treat
this as a standard game move we simply
rolled for each of the Danish divisions
and – barring blunders – allowed the
units to form up as required beyond the
causeway. No problems were encountered
and the two armies were soon ready to
begin the fight in earnest. Both forces had
deployed into two lines with the Viking
force arranged with two divisions to the
front and two to the rear. The Saxon army
was two units (one division) smaller than
that of the Danes, and it was therefore
arranged into a single line with one unit
making a reserve in the centre. Basically,
Darren had deployed allowing a little
room for his units to advance, whilst I
had formed a tight defensive line that
would wait for the invaders to approach
before attempting to manoeuvre.
Before the first move proper we agreed
that the Vikings would be allowed
a single automatic move on a failed
command roll so long as they were Above: The Vikings leave the causeway and enter the battlefield.

13

WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 5 11/8/11 12:21:08

 THE OPENING STAGES
Both sides used their following turns
to bring their forces into a straight-line.
With the opposing armies comprising
similar bocks of infantry, with no cavalry,
artillery or long-ranged missile fire to
contend with, neither Darren nor myself
wanted to lose the benefit of support
by allowing individual units to press
forward on their own. With the armies
now squarely opposed and within charge
distance, the Vikings began their next
turn by attempting to engage with their
leading divisions. On the left of their
line the Vikings ended up short. Darren
needed two moves to reach the Saxons
and rolled just one. On the right of the
Viking line the charge was successful,
with the two units from Olaf’s division
engaging Byrhtnoth’s thegns and the
adjacent unit in two separate combats.
The Viking second line moved up
in support.
The fighting had begun! It being the
Vikings’ turn Darren chose which of the
two combats to fight first, It was decided
to resolve the clash closest to the river,
saving the big fight between Olaf and
Byrhtnoth until last. The Vikings had the
advantage of the charge (a +1 on their
seven dice rolls meaning they would
score hits on 3’s rather than 4’s). As it
turned out the result was a draw, with
two casualties inflicted on each side. The
first spear-rush of the game had resulted
in a stalemate with both units ending
the turn locked in combat. We therefore
moved on to the main event: the adjacent
combat where the leaders of both sides,
Olaf and Byrhtnoth, were committed to
the front rank of their respective units.
In Hail Caesar commanders can boost
14
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 6
their troops’ fighting prowess by joining
the ranks. This is understandably rather
risky and can result in a commander
being wounded or slain. Our opposing
units both had the benefit of a single
supporting unit, so once again the
advantage lay with the Vikings who had
+1 ‘to hit’ as they were charging. The
dice were consulted and the Vikings
quickly inflicted three casualties on their
enemy. The Saxons initially rolled rather
poorly, but, by using up two of those
re-rolls already won at the battle on the
causeway, they managed to turn things
round and inflict four casualties on the
Vikings. Because both commanders had
fought they were now obliged to make a
dice test to see if they had fallen casualty.
Both emerged unscathed this time round.
Having lost the combat, Darren was
obliged to make a break test on behalf
of his Vikings. This was passed easily.
Infantry are pretty solid fighters until
they have suffered sufficient casualties
to become ‘shaken’, so it was hardly
surprising that the Vikings held their
ground. Both sides therefore remained
firmly locked in combat at the end of
the turn.
Having held the Viking charge the Saxons
used their own turn to move nearby
units in to support the two combats.
In the centre Byrhtnoth’s reserve unit
moved forward to support the thegns
from behind. On the Saxon left flank the
only unengaged unit – a unit of ceorls
– moved in to support its neighbour. On
the Saxon right, spears were hurled at
the approaching Vikings, but without
noticeable effect (all three dice failing to
score the requisite 4+ needed to inflict a
hit). It being the Saxons’ turn, it was up
to me to decide which of the two combats
to fight first. I picked the fight on my
extreme left flank, reasoning that I now
had a clear advantage with the newly
arrived supporting unit contributing to
the combat. It is generally a good idea
to fight the combats you are likely to
win first, as victorious units can often
contribute towards succeeding combats
in some situations. So it was to prove in
this case. The Saxons inflicted three more
casualties on their opponents in return
for the loss of a single casualty in return.
The Vikings were obliged to take a break
test with a minus two modifier, and were
forced to give ground as a result. The
Saxons could have pressed their attack
by following up to maintain contact, but
I decided they would hold their ground
instead. This allowed the unit to support
Byrhtnoth’s thegns as we moved on to
the much more important combat in the
centre of the field.
The odds were certainly stacked in
Byrhtnoth’s favour now, with no fewer
than three supporting units contributing
to the fight (the maximum allowed – an
extra nine dice in this case). Furthermore
the Vikings’ charge had been blunted, so
now both sides would be scoring hits on
dice rolls of 4 or more. As in the previous
round, both Olaf and Byrhtnoth were still
fighting at the head of their men, thereby
contributing yet more dice to the fray.
Taking what was clearly an impressive
Supporting Units
In Hail Caesar friendly units placed
on the flanks of a fighting unit, or
positioned behind it, can contribute
dice to the fight by way of support.
These supporting units are often vital
to success in combat.
11/8/11 12:22:12
 Above: The two leaders surge forward with their hearthguards.
tally of dice, I rolled and scored a
respectable six hits on the Vikings. In
Hail Caesar units can usually suffer a
total of six casualties before they become
‘shaken’ and vulnerable to destruction.
The Vikings had already taken four
casualties in the previous round so
they were now in danger of flight.
Darren bravely took up six dice (one
per casualty) needing to roll his Morale
value of 4 or more to survive each hit.
The dice rattled across the table to reveal
an impressive five saves. The Vikings
therefore suffered just the one casualty
leaving them one short of being shaken.
Clearly enjoying the favour of their pagan
gods, the Vikings proceeded to inflict
two casualties on my thegns. Another
precious Saxon re-roll was expended in
the process, but to no avail. The Vikings
Above: The Viking right push forward.
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 7
had won two to one, and it only remained
to make the obligatory test to determine
whether Olaf or Byrhtnoth had fallen
casualty. I rolled for Olaf who emerged
unscathed. Darren rolled for Byrhtnoth.
The Saxon lord fell to the ground, pierced
by a Viking spear – wounded!
If a commander is wounded or slain in a
combat, this also counts as a casualty for
purposes of working out which side wins.
This meant my Saxons had lost by three
to one, forcing a break test with a minus
two modifier. To compound my woes a
poor break test roll saw my thegns forced
to retreat in disorder along with all their
supporting units. All four Saxon units
engaged in the combat were therefore
obliged to move back the requisite six
inches. This left the lone unit of ceorls
Commanders Fighting
In Hail Caesar commanders can
fight with their units, boosting
the number of Attack dice rolled
in combat but at some risk to
themselves. The more dice they
contribute to the fight the greater that
risk becomes and the more likely
they are to be wounded or slain.
next to the river stranded in front of the
retreating Saxon line. The only positive
note was that Darren’s troops were not in
the best of shape. He therefore decided
to hold and preserve his lines rather than
press home his advantage. Given that
it was the Vikings’ turn next this was
certainly a very sensible move. Holding
back would allow fresh units to be
brought forward.
15
11/8/11 12:22:47
 TURN 5 - THE VIKINGS
In the Viking turn Darren attempted
WEAKENED TURN FIVE
to bring the rear division on his right
forward to take over from Olaf’s rather SAXON LEFT
battered troops at the front of his line.
In Hail Caesar units can move through
each other to some extent to allow for
drill-level manoeuvres that are otherwise
impractical to represent with model
soldiers. Some troops can accomplish
this better than others. Had our armies
been disciplined Roman Legionaries this DISORGANIZED
manoeuvre would have been achieved SOLID SAXON VIKING LINE
straightforwardly without any fuss. In CENTRE
our case, however, the Danes quickly fell
into disorder as they attempted to move
through their friends’ position. As a result
the Vikings’ right flank ended up rather
a mess in front of the enemy lines. This
came as a great relief to the stranded unit
of ceorls on the Saxon left which had
been in danger of being swamped by the EXTENDED
Vikings’ advance. SAXON RIGHT
No such problems affected the troops on
the left of the Vikings’ line though, and
they charged against the lone Saxon unit
exposed on the extreme flank closest to
spears at Byrhtnoth’s retreating thegns. it could be supported by an adjacent
the table edge. As on the opposite flank,
As a result the thegns suffered a further unit. Perhaps for this reason, and not
this unit had been left stranded when
two casualties, bringing their total to a wanting to expose himself to a Saxon
Byrhtnoth and his accompanying units
maximum of six and causing them to be counter-attack, Darren decided to hold his
retreated from combat. In the centre
‘shaken’. With Byrhtnoth wounded, his victorious Danes in place.
Olaf used his order to rally his bruised
thegns shaken, and the Saxon army in
Hirdmen, reducing their casualty count TURN 5 - THE SAXONS
retreat it was starting to look dangerously
from a perilous five to a more credible
like a Saxon collapse. That done, it was my turn again and now
four. In Hail Caesar casualties indicate
a unit’s state of exhaustion and readiness The combat on the extreme Viking left another rule that we had discussed prior
to fight rather than literally representing went pretty much as expected with the to the game was to come into play. In the
men killed and wounded, so by rallying Saxons hurled back disordered, losing actual battle various Saxon lords began
units casualties can be recovered. This four casualties in return for three inflicted to flee once Byrhtnoth was down, and
allows battered units to return to the on their enemy. The only good thing we had decided that we’d represent this
fight. Having finished giving orders from my point of view was that this put by making a test for each Saxon division
Darren took the opportunity to hurl the defeated unit back into line where at the start of the turn should the Earl be
either wounded or killed. As Byrhtnoth
had been wounded during the previous
turn I duly rolled a dice for each division.
On a roll of a one the division would test
again and could either ‘break’ and run for
it, retreat a move, or resolve to hold out
to the last man regardless!
All tests were passed and the Saxons held
their nerve - for now at least. However,
there was little I could do aside from
pulling back the exposed unit of ceorls
on my left flank to reform the Saxon
line. The wounded Byrhtnoth attempted
to rally his thegns - unsuccessfully as it
happens – perhaps despair had started to
overtake them after all.

Shaken
In Hail Caesar units that have
accrued their full quota of casualties
are ‘shaken’. Shaken units are not
allowed to charge the enemy and
they fight with a –1 ‘to hit’ penalty
on their dice rolls.
Above: The Vikings struggle to form a united battle-line.

16

WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 8 11/8/11 12:23:18


BLUNDERING
VIKING RIGHT
REORGANIZED
SAXON LINE
TURN 6 - THE VIKINGS
The Vikings were poised for victory.
Olaf led his now restored hirdmen and
accompanying supports straight into
the centre of the Saxon line. This was
easily achieved using initiative, so no
dice were rolled. Once sufficiently close
to the enemy, units can use initiative
to move and don’t need orders. In this
case the opposing lines were a mere
six inches apart, allowing the Danes to
engage in a single move. On the right
of the Viking line towards the river
things didn’t go so well. Darren rolled
a Blunder! A blunder is a roll of double
six made when giving orders and results
Above: The battle-lines are redrawn and the Vikings parpare to strike again.
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 9
TURN SIX
REORGANIZED
VIKING CENTRE
AND LEFT
in a unit either misunderstanding its
order or becoming distracted, ‘spooked’
or just plain confused. In this case the
offending troops blundered across the
Viking lines, preventing Darren’s units
on that flank from moving to the attack.
On the opposite flank the leading Viking
division charged against the enemy
unit at the end of the Saxon line, once
more using initiative. This resulted in
two combats, each with one Danish unit
facing one Saxon. An attempt to bring
the rearward division forward to offer
support failed, however, two moves being
required and only one being rolled. The
Vikings were now engaged in the centre
and on their left, only failing to get in on
their right flank by the river. Here they
still managed to inflict some damage by
hurling spears at the Ceorls and inflicting
two casualties.
Darren elected to deal with the
engagement on the extreme flank first
and we both declared that our respective
commanders would join the fight at
the head of their troops. After some
determined dice rolling on both sideS
the result was five casualties upon the
Saxons and five casualties on the Danes.
We proceeded to roll to determine the
fate of our commanders. Once more the
Norse gods showed their hand and my
Saxon leader fell wounded. As slain and
wounded commanders count toward
the combat result this meant I had lost
the combat by one. Fortunately, the
subsequent break test was passed and the
Saxons held their ground.
Next up was the adjacent combat on the
same flank. This was another one on
one affair and this time the Vikings won
convincingly by four casualties to two.
The Saxons passed their break test and
stood their ground once more. At least
my troops were holding on. The two
units had avoided being split up where
they could be surrounded and easily
destroyed. It was starting to look like a
desperate last stand. But at least I was
still standing!
In the centre Olaf once more joined
the combat again Byrhtnoth’s thegns.
Because Byrhtnoth had been wounded
earlier in the battle he was no longer
permitted to fight with his troops, so no
bonus would be forthcoming there. Still,
the Saxons had the advantage of having
two supporting units, whilst the mix-up
on the Vikings’ flank had deprived Olaf
of any such help. The Vikings won the
17
11/8/11 12:26:08
 combat by four casualties to three and
the Saxons were forced to give ground
disordered. It had been touch and go.
The Saxons could easily have broken
with this defeat, but luckily the break test
dice had rolled favourably. The Eorl’s
loyal thegns had plainly gathered around
their lord to fend off Danish spears and
swords. In fact, the Saxons had managed
to reduce Olaf’s hirdmen to ‘shaken’
status, bringing their casualties to a
maximum six once more. This led Darren
to hold his ground rather than pursuing
his enemy. He wisely had no intention of
allowing his Hirdmen to be drawn away
from the rest of the Viking army.
TURN 6 - THE SAXONS
The Saxons had survived another
turn. Truth be told, the leading Viking
divisions were in pretty poor shape too.
True, the Vikings still had uncommitted
units, though these seemed to be having
trouble reaching the fight. This would do
them very little good if I could manage
to see off the leading divisions. To start
with though, I tested to see if any of my
Saxon divisions were going to go wobbly
due to Byrhtnoth being wounded. This
time the division comprising the two
units engaged in combat at the end of
the Saxon line rolled the dreaded ‘1’.
This meant a test was required, with a
1 or 2 meaning they would turn and run
Destroyed
In Hail Caesar units that fail their
break test are judged to have fled and
dispersed beyond recovery or else
died to a man! The unit is destroyed
and removed in its entirety.
Above: Please note, no actual beautifully painted models were harmed in the staging of this amusing photo.
18
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 10
(in which case they would be removed flank. The victorious Vikings held their
as destroyed), 3 or 4 meant they would ground so that they could support in the
move back from the enemy as their move adjacent combat. Here the Vikings scored
each turn from now on (which we agreed an impressive four casualties against a
to treat as giving ground in combat), and feeble one, forcing a break test, which
5 or 6 would result in them swearing to was failed. The Saxons used their re-roll
fight to the death (in which instance no to ‘fight or die’ and die they did. The
further rolls would be needed and the unit division commander was also killed in
would be allowed to re-roll any break test the flight. This meant the Saxons had lost
result of ‘broken’). I rolled a 6 and the an entire division and their right flank.
valiant Saxons resolved to fight and die
TURN 7
with their lord!
Victory was in sight at last! The Vikings
That done my only move was to pull
had not gotten away entirely unscathed
the ceorls back into line. This was the
though. Darren took advantage of the
weakest unit in the army as all the other
lull in the fighting to rally his shaken
Saxon units had some admixture of
units, which he managed successfully.
thegns or were made up entirely of thegns
Although rallying a shaken unit still
in the case of Byrhtnoth’s division. The
leaves it with a fragile five casualties, at
ceorls had also been fairly badly cut
least it can charge and fight. A shaken
up by a barrage of thrown spears in the
unit cannot charge, and if forced into a
Vikings’ turn and were starting to look
fight suffers a dice penalty on its attacks.
vulnerable. So, it was back to the fighting
It was therefore necessary for the Vikings
on the Saxon right flank, where I had
to catch their breath, and Darren used
been defeated in the previous turn but
the opportunity to move one of his units
had held my ground. We dealt with the
round the Saxon lines for a potential
opposing units on the end of the line first
flanking charge in the following turn.
and once again the Vikings won easily.
In my turn the best I could manage was
The Saxons failed their break test, but
to pull Byrhtnoth’s second unit from
had their newly entitled re-roll to fall
rear support to protect the Saxon flank,
back on! I re-rolled the dice again and
and move the ceorls back again to try
failed again! The unit was broken and
and avoid exposing them to the stronger
therefore removed from the game. This
Viking units.
was the first unit to go and now it was all
down to the neighbouring unit to hold the
11/8/11 12:27:16

WEAKENED
SAXON LEFT
SAXON CENTRE
WITHDRAWING DISORGANIZED,
YET VICTORIOUS,
VIKING LINE
SAXON RIGHT
DESTROYED
TURN 8
And so the Vikings came to make their
decisive move. In the centre Olaf tried
to lead his division forward to engage
Byrhtnoth’s hirdmen, but the dice failed
him, giving both units only one move
where two were needed. On the Vikings’
right by the riverside, fresh Viking units,
having now negotiated their way to the
front, charged the ceorls. The ceorls were
supported by the neighbouring Saxon
unit from the same division, whilst the
Vikings were supported to the rear.
Another blunder took the other right-
hand Viking division out of the battle this
turn. On the Viking left the Danes moved
cautiously forward, once again failing to
engage. Having failed to come to combat
with Byrhtnoth’s thegns, the opposing
Vikings settled for throwing spears. This
resulted in three casualties, triggering a
break test which was passed.
It therefore fell to the brave ceorls and
the other unit in their division to hold off
the Vikings. With only 6 Attacks against
7 and Morale of 5+ against 4+ the ceorls
would have their work cut out and so
it proved. After a handful of desperate
dice rolls, during which I expended the
last of my re-rolls, the Saxons had lost
by a crushing seven casualties to two.
Not surprisingly the ceorls failed their
break test and broke. Because the unit
they were supporting had been broken
their neighbours were also obliged to test
and they too decided that the day was
well and truly over. The division was
destroyed. With two divisions out of three
now destroyed the entire Saxon army was
deemed to be broken. The Vikings
had won!
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 11
We had made some attempt to represent
the fleeing Godric and the subsequent
TURN EIGHT collapse of the Saxon army. As things
worked out our Saxons proved more
inclined to stand and die than their
historical counterparts. This addition had
not materially altered events, however,
and it had certainly created a sense of
nervous tension that made every Saxon
turn after Byrhtnoth fell wounded a
nail-biter.
Overall, given the deliberate disparity
in numbers and the superior fighting
qualities of the Danes, it was a game
the Saxons were not likely to win
convincingly. Success must therefore be
judged in terms of relative performance,
and here it was agreed the Saxons put
up a credible fight. The Vikings had
avoided the obvious trap of chasing down
individual Saxon units and allowing their
battle lines to get split up. This is always
a danger when making an advance upon
a static enemy, and Darren had played
things with great skill, taking advantage
of disorder in the Saxon ranks to rally,
regroup, and prepare for another strike.
MALDON RECONSIDERED
Commiserations, in the form of an
excellent meal at the local curry palace,
were offered and gladly accepted. So
it was off to Evesham’s top culinary
attraction for a combined Wargames
Illustrated/Gripping Beast night out
on the town. Over the popadoms and
copious lime-pickle we had plenty of
time to reflect upon our game. As a man
we were all agreed that the outcome had
been a fair representation of the actual
battle. All things considered this was
quite remarkable, given that we hadn’t
gone out of our way to play a literal
reconstruction. The fight at the causeway
gave both sides the same chance of
success. The likely outcome would have
been a sharing of honours. Yet things
went all the Saxons’ way, as in the
actual battle.
Once battle was joined the fighting
definitely favoured the Vikings, though
with two more units and marginally
better troops this was always going to be
the likely outcome. Still, the Saxons had
given almost as good as they got. Just as
in the real battle it had been no pushover
for the Vikings. Byrhtnoth had obligingly
gone down wounded almost from the
off. This deprived the Saxons of his
contribution to the fighting, as wounded
commanders cannot fight. This somehow
introduced a sense of desperation to
the game, with the Saxons fatalistically
fighting to the last man to defend their
fallen Eorl. Yet, once again, it must be
said that Byrhtnoth was no more likely
to be wounded or killed than Olaf, who
threw himself into every combat with
his hirdmen and yet emerged unscathed Above: Darren takes his Viking knife and
and victorious. homes in on the Saxon leader Byrhtnoth.
19
11/8/11 12:28:06
 One point that did come up was the
potential role of bowmen in the two
forces. The flight of arrows is mentioned
in the poem. It’s unclear whether these
originate from bodies of archers as such
or if they came from individuals taking
opportunistic pot shots in the early stages
of the conflict. Similarly, the references
to arrows might reflect the Maldon
poet’s expectations rather than the actual
armament of either side. Before the game
began we had considered whether it
was worth fielding a small unit of light
infantry or skirmishing archers on each
side. In the end we decided not to bother
as the only result would have been to
potentially hold back the hand-to-hand
fighting that would decide things one way
or the other.
Below: Darren (left) and Rick (right) debate Dark Age warfare, Saxon poetry and tea and biscuits.
20
WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 12
All things considered it was agreed THE ARMIES
that it had been a challenging battle to
As the warriors on both sides are limited
refight for both sides. It had also given
in type I have put the stats we used
us an interesting chance to freely adapt
into a single list. All the units carry an
the game rules to represent a unique
assortment of arms and are given a short
historical conflict. Considering the game
ranged missile attack to represent thrown
had been fought entirely with infantry,
spears and javelins. As already noted, we
and almost entirely with heavy infantry at
played the game using the Hail Caesar
that, it had provided more opportunities
rules with the kind of improvisations
for tactical management than might be
we’d normally make when recreating a
imagined. Overall then it had been a
historical battle. The Divisions are listed
very enjoyable day out. The game had
as they deployed, the Saxons in three
certainly opened my eyes to the appeal of
divisions with Byrhtnoth in the centre,
the period and to a beautiful model range
and the Vikings in four divisions and two
that now includes some very attractive
lines with Olaf Tryggvason on the right
plastic models as well as the traditional
of the front Viking line.
metal. The only thing I need now is
a longship!
11/8/11 12:28:35
 Saxon and Viking Unit Stats and special rules for Hail Caesar
Unit COMBAT Morale Stamina Special
Clash Sust. Short Long Save
Saxon Thegns – heavy infantry 7 7 3 0 4+ 6 Stubborn,
with spears and/or javelins Tough Fighters
Saxon Ceorls – medium infantry 6 6 3 0 5+ 6
with spears and/or javelins
Viking Hirdmen – heavy infantry 7 7 3 0 4+ 6 Stubborn, Eager
with spears and/or javelins Tough Fighters
Viking Bondi – medium infantry 6 6 3 0 5+ 6
with spears and/or javelins
NOTES:
Commanders: One Commander was provided per division. All commanders, including generals, were
given Leadership 8. All Commanders were allowed to add up to three attacks in hand-to-hand fighting.
Stubborn: Stubborn units re-roll one Morale save each time they take casualties.
Tough Fighters: Tough fighters re-roll one failed Attack dice each time they fight hand-to-hand combat.
Mixed Units: Mixed units count as the appropriate heavy infantry type until such time as the unit is first ‘shaken’, after which
they count as the medium infantry type. Note that they continue to count as the medium infantry type even if they rally and
therefore cease to be shaken. Saxon and Viking troops were often combined in this way, with the better-equipped and wealthier
warriors fighting at the head of a body of poorer and less well armed warriors.
Eager: We counted the Vikings as ‘Eager’ so long as they were given an order to advance directly towards the enemy and
charge where possible. This meant the Vikings would always make one move when given an order, and assuming they did not
‘blunder’. This was simply to ensure that the armies closed as a reasonable pace, but it felt right given the defensive/offensive
balance of the two armies.

Earl Byrhtnoth’s Anglo-Saxons Olaf Tryggvason’s Vikings

Byrhtnoth’s Division (Centre) Olaf Tryggvason’s Division (Viking Right Front)
2 x Saxon Thegns 2 x Viking Hirdmen
Saxon Right Flank Division Viking Left Front Division
2 x Saxon mixed Thegns/Ceorls 2 x Viking mixed Hirdmen/Bondi
Saxon Left Flank Division Viking Right Rear Division
1 x Saxon mixed Thegns/Ceorls 2 x Viking mixed Hirdmen/Bondi
1 x Saxon Ceorls
Viking Left Rear Division
2 x Viking mixed Hirdmen/Bondi

21

WI288-BattleOfMaldonFINAL.indd 13 11/8/11 12:29:08

WI288 NorthStar:Layout 1 15/8/11 10:10 Page 1

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ALSO FIND US ON
 THE YOUNG BRITISH
SOLDIER WARGAMING THE BATTLES OF THE
SECOND AFGHAN WAR By Andy Hoare

“When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,

And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains,
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.”
- The Young British Soldier, Rudyard Kipling Above: Major-General Stewart and his staff.

The wars of the late 19th Century
‘Colonial’ era are a rich seam for
wargamers to explore, with every type
and size of confrontation being fought
by every major European power in
almost every corner of the globe. So
vast is the subject that deciding on just
one conflict can be daunting. In this
article, we present an overview of a
single campaign – the Second Afghan
War, and take a look at how some of its
battles might serve as inspiration for
wargaming scenarios.
THE GREAT GAME
For the majority of the 19th Century
the British and Russian empires
were engaged in mutual distrust and
antagonism that intensified further in the
aftermath of the Crimean War. At the
beginning of the period over 2,000 miles
separated the two empires. By its height,
they were less than twenty miles apart.
THE FIRST AFGHAN WAR
As the British Empire expanded its
interests in the north west of India,
Russia’s influence in Afghanistan
grew. In 1838 the British attempted
to install Shuja Shah on the throne of
Afghanistan but, with insufficient forces
to keep him in power, the First Afghan
War broke out. The lowest point of the
war for the British saw the massacre
of Elphinstone’s force as it attempted
to withdraw to Jalalabad, only one
Briton making it through the relentless
ambushes, and all but nine of the 44th
Regiment of Foot were slain. The war
ended with the retaking of Kabul and
the installing by the British of Dost
Mohammad as Amir of Afghanistan. The
war was something of a pyrrhic victory
for the British though, for while it was
hailed as a successful outcome, the army
had suffered such losses that its aura of
invincibility in the region was shattered.
As for the influence of the Russians, that
was indeed curtailed, but by diplomats
in London and Saint Petersburg and not
by the troops who gave their lives in the
snowbound passes of Afghanistan.
THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR
Throughout the intervening decades
the Russians steadily encroached upon
Afghanistan, and after the Indian
Mutiny the British grew increasingly to
regard the country as a crucial ‘buffer
state’ between the two empires. The
issue came to a head when the Russians
moved troops to the Afghan border and
the Amir, Sher Ali, allowed a Russian
political mission to enter Kabul. The
Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton demanded
a British mission be allowed into the
country too, but the Amir refused,
turning the British back at the border
with threats of force. Lytton threatened

Afghan tribesmen launch an

overwhelming assault on a
British-Indian column at the
Battle of Ahmed Khel.

24

WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 2 11/8/11 12:34:39

 invasion if his envoy was not allowed
into Afghanistan, suspecting that the
Russians had exerted influence on the THEATRE OF OPERATIONS
Amir. Although the Russian mission DURING THE SECOND
was preparing to leave, Lytton received
no answer to his ultimatum and, on 22
AFGHAN WAR, 1878-81
November 1878, carried out his threat. A
large force consisting of three columns

colonial
conflict
crossed over the Afghan border. The
intention at this stage was to carry out a
limited incursion into Afghan territory
and to force the Amir to admit the
British envoy.
The Peshawar Valley Field Force, under
Lieutenant General Sir Samuel Browne
would head directly up the Khyber Pass
to assault the Afghan fort of Ali Masjad.
The fort captured, the force was to
continue to Jellalabad. The Kurram Field
Force - under Major General Roberts -
was to enter Afghanistan via the Kurram
Pass, following the Kurram River
through the Shutargarden Pass and on
towards Kabul. The South Afghanistan
Field Force, led by Lieutenant General
Stewart would pass through the Bolan
and Khojak Passes, taking Quetta before
heading for Kandahar.
Above: Key Locations in the Second Afghan War - 1. Maiwand, 2. Kandahar, 3. Kabul,
The first major confrontation of the 4. Charasia, 5. Ahmed Khel, 6. Peiwar Kotal, 7. Fatehbad, 8. Landi Kotal, 9. Ali Masjid
Second Afghan War was fought by
Browne’s Peshawar Valley Field Force Map from Essential Histories 40 - The Anglo-Afghan Wars1839-1919,
© Osprey Publishing Ltd. www.ospreypublishing.com
on 21 November 1878 at the Battle of
Ali Masjid. Despite difficulties getting
all of the troops into position in time
to have a meaningful impact on the
fighting, the battle was a decisive an assault, but the Afghans were able Afghan army, but against tribesmen
victory for the British. The objective to fire down on the advancing column intent upon repelling the invading
was to clear the valley of the Afghan British and Indians from their lands.
from the forested valley sides and the
army, whose guns were concentrated Following the Battle of Ali Masjad,
attack faltered. Seeing that an indirect
in and around a formidable hilltop fort. the Peshawar Valley Field Force under
approach was called for, Roberts ordered
At the height of the battle, the British Lieutenant General Sir Samuel Browne
the main gun line facing the ridge to
artillery collapsed the fort’s central had wintered in Jellalabad, its long
bastion, silencing the gun inside it. feign preparation for an attack, while a
diversionary action was launched to the supply line back to India suffering
Though troops were within range to
south. The main attack came in the north numerous attacks by the tribesmen of
storm the fort, they were called off as
at the end of the enemy line, routing the the surrounding lands. While preparing
night was drawing in. The next morning,
Afghan army and causing the tribesmen for the next stage of the invasion in
they found the fort abandoned.
to melt away into the surrounding hills. March 1879, General Browne learned
In late November, Robert’s force The battle won, Roberts reconnoitred that a large force of tribal warriors
advanced up the Kurrum valley, finding forward before wintering his force in was gathering on the north bank of
the Afghan regular army dug in along the Kabul River in an area known
preparation for the advance on Kabul.
the four-mile ridge of Peiwar Kotal. as the Laghman, while another was
Hoping to take the ridge before the The Battle of Futtehabad was fought assembling in Futterhabad to the south
enemy could react, Roberts ordered on 2 April 1879, not against the regular west of Jellalabad. Judging that these

Above: The Guides Cavalry squadron.

These models (by Foundry) stood in as the 2nd
Punjab Cavalry during our re-fight of Ahmed Khel.

25

WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 3 11/8/11 12:37:12

 two concentrations must be part of a
larger scheme, Browne despatched
three forces to deal with the threat,
and it was the force under Brigadier
General Gough that brought the
enemy to battle, south of Futtehabad.
Finding 5,000 Kugiani tribesmen
manning a long sangar at the peak of
an escarpment, each flank protected by
an impassable mountain stream, Gough
sent a force of cavalry and Royal Horse
Artillery forwards to open fire and then
retire back down the slope, correctly
predicting that the tribesmen would
give chase. The trap was sprung as
Gough’s infantry opened fire on the
pursuing enemy’s flanks and the 10th
Hussars turned back to charge once
more, cutting the enemy down and
winning the battle.
In February 1879, the Amir of
Afghanistan, Shere Ali had died, having
appealed unsuccessfully to the Russian
governor of Turkmenistan for aid
against the British. His successor was
his son, Yakub Khan, who, with British
and Indian troops occupying great
swathes of his country, sued for peace,
resulting in May in the signing of the
Treaty of Gandamak. Lord Lytton’s
envoy was the Italian born Louis
Cavagnari, who recognised Yakub
as Amir and established a political
mission in Kabul. Under the terms of
the treaty, the majority of British forces
would withdraw (Roberts’ Field Force
Brigadier-General Barter’s 1st Brigade
arrives at the Battle of Ahmed Khel.
26
WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 4
remained in Kurram and Cavagnari’s
residency would have a small escort
of Guides), the Amir would receive a
regular endowment, and the county’s
foreign policy would be controlled by
the British.
Cavagnari had been envoy for a little
over a month when in early September
1879 an Afghan regiment from Herat
arrived in Kabul. The regiment had
remained in its hometown throughout
the fighting thus far, and the troopers
were resentful of the foreign presence.
In addition, they were owed three
months back pay, and when only one
month’s pay was issued, launched an
attack on the British Residency. What
followed was a massacre, the 75 men
of the Corps of Guides fighting boldly
to defend Cavagnari and the handful
of Britons within the Residency. Three
Guides were sent to Yakub Khan with
appeals for assistance, but none was
forthcoming and they were taken
prisoner. The surviving Guides were
given the chance to surrender, but
refused, and with the Britons slain, they
charged out of the Residency, a heroic
deed that saw them sell their lives dearly
in the pursuance of their duty. The
British reaction was swift, the two Field
Forces that had departed returning even
as Yakub Khan pleaded his loyalty to
the British.
Following the massacre at the
Residency, the British determined to
carry out a full-scale invasion and to
avenge the death of Cavagnari. The
Battle of Chasasiab on 6 October was
a close fought action that opened the
way to Kabul. It was fought the morning
after Roberts’ force reached the village
of Chasasiab, where the route to Kabul
passed through the defile of the Sang
I Nawishta. The hills surrounding the
defile were occupied by the Afghan
regular army, and tribal warriors
were moving in on the British rear,
threatening to cut their supply chain.
The British assaulted to clear the defile
and surrounding hills, but encountered
large numbers of enemy there. Though
hard pressed in the centre, the force was
split to launch an attack on the Afghan
right. Though the battle in the defile
was a close one, several companies
were redeployed to assist in the flank
attack, ultimately tipping the balance
and winning the battle and opening the
way to Kabul. When Roberts got there,
Yakub Khan abdicated, claiming to have
lost sympathy for his own people.
The Sherpur Cantonment outside of
Kabul had been built by the British
in 1839 during the First Afghan War,
and was to be the scene of one of the
most spectacular battles of the Second
– the Battle of Kabul. In punishing the
murderers of Cavignari, the British
had brought about a mass uprising that
culminated in November 1879 when
a force of tribesmen under the sirdar
11/8/11 12:37:40
 Above: Massed warbands of Afghan tribesmen rush down from the hills towards Stewart’s thin line of British and Indian regiments.
Mohammed Jan massed outside Kabul.
Learning of this gathering, Roberts sent
two small cavalry detachments to slow
the horde down by attacking it from
different directions, leading to several
days of bitter combat across the Chardeh
Plain. But the Afghans proved more
numerous than had been expected, and
the two British forces were lucky to
extricate themselves before they could
be overwhelmed. Mohammed’s army
was swelled by a widespread uprising,
but it had no expertise in siege warfare.
British cavalry patrolling goaded the
Afghans into mustering for an assault
and they were subsequently bombarded
by the artillery in the cantonment.
Roberts got word out to Gough, whose
relief march provoked the horde to
begin its main assault. The Siege of the
Sherpur Cantonment (or the Battle of
Kabul) came to a head before dawn on
23 December, the start of the final action
signalled by a huge fire on the heights
and led by the fanatically religious
Ghazi. With starshells illuminating
the fortifications, the defenders fought
a desperate battle to hold the 10,000
strong horde at bay, and as the sun rose
the attack was in full flow. Though the
attackers gained a lodgement in the
northeast corner of the cantonment, the
defence held, and by midday Roberts
had brought his artillery to bear and
his cavalry was counter attacking. The
horde broke, and Mohammed Jan’s
uprising was ended, though he himself
WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 5
escaped. Incredibly, some accounts
state that Roberts’ force lost only three
dead, while the Afghans’ losses were
estimated at over 3,000.
With the Battle of Kabul won, the
Indian government determined that the
war was proving too costly, in both
blood and treasure. Maintaining the
lines of communication through the
frontier regions in the face of constant
attacks by tribal warriors was taking
its toll, and significant numbers of
troops were required to keep the passes
open. The British determined to install
a new Amir, and in preparation Major
General Stewart’s force was ordered
to join Roberts so that the combined
army could retire down the Khyber
Pass to Peshawar. The route would
take Stewart’s force through Ghuznee
– territory controlled by Mohammed
Jan, whose forces still plagued the area
despite their defeat at Kabul. Marching
in two brigades along the River Tarnak
on 19 April 1880, Stewart’s force found
itself shadowed by tribesmen moving
in the hills all around, and, only twenty
miles or so from Kabul - near the village
of Maskaki - found their route blocked
by a large force of tribesmen. The Battle
of Ahmed Khel was a close one, with
the Afghan horde swarming over the
hills to assault Stewart’s force on the
road. The initial charge caught the 59th
Foot changing formation and came
down to bayonets, and threw the 19th
Bengal Lancers back onto the 3rd
Ghurkhas, the confusion made only
worse by the high wind throwing thick
dust into the air. The close fought battle
was won by disciplined musketry,
especially that of the 2nd Sikhs, and the
timely arrival of the 1st Punjab Cavalry.
The force eventually reached Kabul,
where Stewart, the more senior general,
took over from Roberts.
With Stewart’s army in Kabul, Kandahar
was left in the hands of its Wali, Shere
Ali, to remain a separate province under
British control while the remainder of
Afghanistan was to be left to its newly
determined rule. While a sovereign
state, Afghanistan’s foreign policy
would be under the control of the
British, ensuring the Russians were kept
at bay and the northwest frontier kept
open. But in early 1880 Ayub Khan,
the younger brother of the deposed
Amir Yakoub Khan had other ideas, and
had raised an army, which would soon
be passing to the north of Kandahar.
Fearing the passage of the army would
stir up rebellion in his lands, the Wali
asked the British to intervene, and in
July a force was despatched to Girishk
under Brigadier General Burrows. The
British force joined with the army of
Shere Ali, but the Wali’s troops mutinied
and joined the enemy, leaving Burrows’
force dangerously reduced and forced to
retreat towards Kandahar.
27
15/8/11 15:07:00
 Special Thanks to...
Robert Giglio, for not only
allowing us to photograph
his extensive Northwest
Frontier collection, but
for tinkering a bit with
Andy’s original scenario
and hosting a fun Black
Powder game (from which
these photos came).
It was quite obvious from discussions
throughout the game, that Robert is
very knowledgeable and passionate
about the Colonial period (among
others), and I’m sure we’ll be able to
coax him into writing an article for us
in the (hopefully) near future.
Above: A warband of Ghazi fanatics.
In our game they served as wonderful targets,
and stalwart fighters. Figures are by Foundry.

On 27 July, the small British force faced
Ayub Khan’s army in the Battle of
Maiwand. Though Burrows’ force might
have reached the village of Maiwand
before the enemy, it was delayed and did
not set off until early the next morning.
Burrows’ advance was forced to cross a
previously unknown ravine, and it was
on the plain beyond that the remaining
1500 infantry and 350 cavalry of
Burrow’s force found themselves faced
by Ayub Khan’s army, which in total
numbered some 12,000 foot and 3,000
cavalry. Using another hidden ravine,
the Afghans were able to infiltrate men
and guns onto the British right flank, and
the drastically mismatched battle that
followed was at once glorious and tragic.
While some regiments fled, others fought
on, numerous counter-attacks attempting
desperately to hold the enemy at bay. In
a famous action, the survivors of the 66th
(Berkshire) Regiment made a series of
fighting withdrawals, the last eleven men
– two officers and nine soldiers – falling
as they made their last stand in a walled
garden in the nearby village of Khig. The
survivors of Burrows force were pursued
all the way to Kandahar, where they were was heavily fortified and defended with
joined by a relief force that finally drove guns, but the 92nd Highlanders and the
off the Afghan cavalry. 3rd Sikhs resolved to take it, no matter
the cost. Upon carrying the position
Following Ayub Khan’s victory at
however, they found the enemy had fled.
Maiwand, he laid siege to Kandahar,
The last battle of the Second Afghan War
and in answer General Roberts began
was won.
one of the most celebrated marches in
the history of the British Army. In three With Ayub Khan defeated, the British
weeks, Roberts’ army made its famous were able to withdraw from Afghanistan
march from Kabul to Kandahar, through according to the terms of the Treaty of
over 300 miles of arduous terrain and Gandamak. In doing so, great swathes of
punishing heat. As the force neared the country were ceded to India, an area
Kandahar on 27 August, Roberts heard that would seeth with rebellion for many
that Ayub Khan had abandoned his siege more decades to come. Then, as now, the
in the face of the defenders’ resistance native tribes of the North West Frontier
and the imminent arrival of his force, refused to bow to foreign masters.
and on the 31st his army entered the city.
Discovering that same day that Ayub
Khan’s army was encamped to the west
of Kandahar, Roberts set out to face his
foe, and the very next morning the Battle
of Kandahar was joined. The Afghans
were holding a series of villages along
the Baba Wali Kotal, which, following
a heavy bombardment, were taken one
by one, until only the last position, Pir
Paimal, stood between Roberts’ force and
Ayub Khan’s encampment. The position

GAMING THE BATTLES OF THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR

The battles discussed so far are just a small number of those fought during the war, and focus mainly on those for which
a clasp was added to the Afghan War Medal. There were many more actions fought, and not all of them were counted as
victories for the British. Some were little more than raids, while others were protracted sieges, and all the while the British
fought just as hard to keep the supply lines back to India open as the hill tribes fought to close them down. Those looking to
play out tabletop battles inspired by these have a wide range of choices, from improvised sieges to hard fought skirmishes
and everything in between. Some actions were fought between regular forces and others against irregular tribal warriors;
some were dominated by cavalry, others by hordes of swarming infantry.
There are numerous rules sets available to cover each type of game (though few do both, well at least). For the larger battles,
Black Powder is an excellent choice, as is Volley and Bayonet. For smaller games, perhaps those focusing more on the deeds
of individual men, such systems as Two Hour Wargames’ Colonial Adventures work well, as does the colonial supplement for
Triumph and Tragedy. Even the largest of the battles are generally of a scale that the deployment and actions of individual
companies can, and did, make a difference, so bear that in mind when deciding on which rules set to use.

28
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WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 6 15/8/11 15:10:07

 Wargaming Scenario:
THE BATTLE OF AHMED KHEL
BRITISH & INDIAN ARMY vs AFGHAN HILL TRIBES, 19 APRIL 1880, USING BLACK POWDER
At the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the British
and Indian Army included an interesting
range of troops, and their enemy were
the tribal warriors following Mohammed
Jan. This scenario shows up the sort of
challenge faced when a fairly large body
of troops is forced to move through
difficult terrain plagued by hostile native
peoples. The scenario is presented using
a similar format as that used for the
sample games in Black Powder, and
players or referees should agree on the
exact balance of the armies used, as
dictated by their collections.
OVERVIEW
This scenario is inspired by (and not
a slavish reproduction of) the action
described in the main article. It opens
with Palliser’s and Hughes’ Brigades in
position, and Barter’s Brigade just about
to arrive. The Afghans are swarming
down the hills towards the British
and Indian lines, and the winds are
picking up. In the actual battle, Stewart
was able to consolidate the two main
brigades before the enemy struck, but
this scenario imagines what might have
happened had things been a little tighter
than they actually were. As it was, the
battle was a close run thing anyway,
saved largely by disciplined musketry.
THE TABLE
The map was developed using a 6' x 12'
tabletop, but could easily be modified for
a 5' x 8' or such, depending on what is
available. However, remember that
this is a large battle, so a lot of
space is required to truly
represent it. As shown in the
WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 7
table shot, a road runs along the length
of the British table edge (about 12"
in), with small hills on either side of
it (historically, used by the artillery).
Opposite are the main hills from which
the tribesmen charged (2:1 movement
penalty). Aside from rough outcroppings
of rock (2:1 movement penalty unless in
open or skirmish order), and one small
rocky nullah (3:1 movement penalty and
disorders), the remainder of the tabletop
is plain and should be kept fairly open.
DISPOSITIONS
The British side sets up first; Palliser’s
Brigade on the left, and Hughes’ 2nd
Brigade in the centre and right, along
with Stewart and his headquarters on a
hill to the rear. All units should be within
12'' of the road. The 59th Foot will start
the game Disordered.
Barter’s 1st Brigade starts the game off
table and arrives on random turns as
reinforcements/reserves as described in
the Orders of Battle.
The Afghans are deployed up to half
way onto the table, and automatically
get the first turn. Optionally, up to three
Warbands of the 1st Tribal Alliance
(Brigade) can remain hidden off table, as
described in the Orders of Battle.
OBJECTIVES
Having been shadowed through the hills
for some time, the British have decided
to see off the tribesmen, once and for
all. Their objective is to repel the enemy
with such force that they dare not follow
on. To claim a resounding victory the
British need to inflict a high level of
casualties on the Afghans, for to simply
drive them off would result in them
regrouping and attacking again later on.
The tribesmen want the foreigners to
pay for their intrusion into their lands,
and seek to destroy them utterly. They
know that the forces on the road are
soon to be bolstered by another brigade,
and that now is the moment to attack.
STATS AND SPECIAL RULES
The exact composition of the forces
used should be tailored to the collections
of the players. The British and Indian
troops should include a range of units.
Sandstorm: Due to the high winds
throwing sand into the air, weapon ranges
are reduced. At the beginning of each
turn the British commander rolls 1D6;
One = all maximum ranges for ranged
fire are halved, 2-6 = they are reduced by
6''. On turn one, all maximum ranges for
ranged fire are automatically halved.
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 ORDERS OF BATTLE
AFGHAN FORCES
Around 15,000 warriors, both mounted
and on foot, drawn from the Andaree,
Tarkee, Suleiman Khel and other clans.
Commander-in-Chief:
• 1 x Tribal Commander -
Mohammed Jan (Staff Rating 8)
1st Tribal Alliance (Brigade):
Optionally, up to three units of the
brigade can remain hidden off table,
making a flanking march to enter on a
random turn from the north in the open
area along the road (starting with turn
2, roll 1D6 each turn with success being
roll less than current number of turn).
• 1 x Tribal Leader (Staff Rating 7)
• 4 x Tribal Warrior Warbands
(30 figures each)
• 1 x Ghazi Fanatic Warband
(30 figures)
2nd Tribal Alliance (Brigade):
• 1 x Tribal Leader (Staff Rating 7)
• 4 x Tribal Warrior Warbands
(30 figures each)
• 1 x Ghazi Fanatic Warband
(30 figures)
3rd Tribal Alliance (Brigade):
• 1 x Tribal Leader (Staff Rating 7)
• 4 x Tribal Warrior Warbands
(30 figures each)
ENTRY POINT
FOR THE 1ST
PUNJAB CAVALRY 4TH TRIBAL ALLIANCE
19TH BENGAL
LANCERS
19TH BENGAL
INFANTRY &
‘A’ BATTERY
MAJOR-GENERAL
STEWART & STAFF
There was thirty dead an’ wounded on the ground we wouldn’t keep -
No, there wasn’t more than twenty when the front begun to go;
But, Christ! along the line o’ flight they cut us up like sheep,
An’ that was all we gained by doin’ so.
An’ there ain’t no chorus ’ere to give’,
Nor there ain’t no band to play;
But I wish I was dead ’fore I done what I did,
Or seen what I see’d that day!
- That Day, Rudyard Kipling
.net
30
WI288-YoungBritishSoldierFINAL.indd 8
• 1 x Ghazi Fanatic Warband
(30 figures)
4th Tribal Alliance (Brigade):
• 1 x Tribal Horse Leader
(Staff Rating 7)
• 4 x Tribal Horse Warbands
(15 figures each)
BRITISH-INDIAN FORCES
Total 7,200 British and Indian troops,
divided into an advance cavalry force,
and two infantry brigades.
Commander-in-Chief:
• 1 x Army Commander -
Major-General Sir Donald Martin
Stewart (Staff Rating 9)
Brigadier General Palliser’s
Advance Force:
• Brigade Commander - Brigadier
General Palliser (Staff Rating 9)
• 19th Bengal Lancers (2 squadrons of
10 figures each)
• 19th Bengal Native Infantry
(20 figures)
• ‘A’ Battery, Royal Horse Artillery
(one Horse Artillery piece & one rocket
trough)
Brigadier General Hughes’
2nd Brigade:
• Brigade Commander - Brigadier
3RD TRIBAL ALLIANCE
3RD GURKHAS
& ‘H’ BATTERY
2ND SIKHS &
‘G’ BATTERY
For another scenario, and plenty of ideas for creating your own
Northwest Frontier adventures, check out the rest of this article online,
along with a few more photos of Robert Giglio’s fantastic NWF set-up.
General Hughes (Staff Rating 9)
• 2nd Punjab Cavalry (12 figures)
• 59th Regiment of Foot (20 figures)
• 2nd Sikh Infantry (20 figures)
• 3rd Gurkhas (20 figures)
• ‘G’ Battery Royal Artillery (One
Artillery piece & one rocket trough)
• ‘H’ Battery Royal Artillery (One
Artillery piece & one rocket trough)
Brigadier General Barter’s
1st Brigade:
Arrive on random turns as
reinforcements/reserves. Cavalry are
first to arrive on random turn from left
(south) flank; starting with turn 2, roll
1D6 each turn with success being roll
less than or equal to current number of
turn. Then, starting with the turn after
the cavalry arrives, roll 50/50 arrival
for the rest of the brigade, which arrives
in line on the right (east) flank behind
the two rightmost hills.
• Brigade Commander – Brigadier
General Barter (Staff Rating 9)
• 1st Punjab Cavalry (12 figures)
• 2nd/60th Rifles (20 figures)
• 15th Bengal Native Infantry
(20 figures)
• 25th Bengal Native Infantry
(20 figures)
• 11th Battery, Royal Artillery (one
Artillery piece & one rocket trough)
MOHAMMED JAN
2ND TRIBAL ALLIANCE
59TH REGIMENT
OF FOOT
ENTRY POINT FOR THE
INFANTRY PORTION OF
BARTER’S 1ST BRIGADE
11/8/11 12:42:21
 Afghan Unit Stats and special rules for Black Powder
Unit Type Armament* Hand-to-Hand Shooting Morale Stamina Special
Tribal Warriors Irregular Inf. Spears/Swords, 6 1 4+ 3 Bloodthirsty,
Smoothbore Muskets Sharpshooters
Ghazi Fanatics Irregular Inf. Spears/Swords 6 0 4+ 3 Determined Charge,
Fanatics, Bloodthirsty
Tribal Cavalry Irregular Cav. Sword, 6 1 5+ 3 Bloodthirsty,
Smoothbore Carbines Marauders

British-Indian Unit Stats and special rules for Black Powder

Unit Type Armament* Hand-to-Hand Shooting Morale Stamina Special
59th Infantry Infantry Breech-loading Rifles 6 3 4+ 3 Brave
2nd/60th Rifles Infantry Breech-loading Rifles 6 3 4+ 3 Brave, Sharpshooters,
Skirmish
Native Infantry Infantry Rifled Muskets 6 3 4+ 3 Brave, Reliable
Sikh Infantry Infantry Rifled Muskets 6 3 4+ 3 Brave, Reliable,
Ferocious Charge
Gurkhas Infantry Rifled Muskets 6 3 4+ 3 Brave, Tough Fighters,
Reliable, Skirmish
Bengal Lancers Cavalry Lances/Swords, 6 1 4+ 3 Lancers, Marauders,
Rifled Carbines Terrifying Charge,
Reliable, Stubborn
Punjab Cavalry Cavalry Swords, 7 1 4+ 3 Marauders,
Rifled Carbines Terrifying Charge,
Reliable, Stubborn
Horse Artillery Artillery Light smoothbore 1 3-2-1 4+ 2 Marauders, Steady
Foot Artillery Artillery Smoothbore 1 3-2-1 4+ 1 Steady
Rocket Trough Artillery Special 1 2 4+ 1 Steady

* Ranges are affected by the Sandstorm

Rifled Carbines/Muskets: The Indian
units at the time of this battle were not
actually armed with rifled carbines/
muskets; the Indian Army was armed
with breech-loading rifles one pattern
older than the British (Sniders as opposed
to Martin-Henrys). To reflect this, the
1ST TRIBAL ALLIANCE range has been reduced to Rifled.
Rockets: Historically, each British
artillery battery was armed with three
rocket troughs (9-pdrs for the batteries in
this battle), so we’ve decided there will
be one rocket per battery as well. After
2ND PUNJAB all, what would a British colonial game
CAVALRY be without rockets? In Black Powder
ENTRY POINT FOR ANY rules rockets have a 60'' range (15''/54''
WARBANDS HELD IN RESERVE due to sandstorm) and fire as two dice;
FROM THE 1ST TRIBAL ALLIANCE see rules for other details.
Long Service Veterans: At the time of
the Second Afghan War, the army was
changing from the long service model
to the short service. Many of the native
units were long service veterans and of
a higher caliber than the short service
British troops. While this may or may not
have made a huge difference in real life,
for the sake of variety we’ve made the
distinction in the stats above by giving
the native troops the Reliable special rule.

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WI288 Man At War.indd 2 11/8/11 16:28:27
WI288 Man At War.indd 3 11/8/11 16:28:48
 THE CHALLENGE OF
DARK AGE GAMING
By Martin Gibbins
Bring me my broadsword, and a clear understanding,
bring me my cross of gold as a talisman;
put our backs to the north wind, hold fast by the river
All very atmospheric and evocative. And
there are so many fine tales from the
Dark Ages - Arthur the once and future
King, Alfred burning the cakes, Harold
marching to Stamford Bridge and back
to Hastings - that the period begs to be
gamed. I have enjoyed many fine games
set in the Arthurian period. But I would
like to focus in on the period dealt with
in the Battle of Maldon article (page
10), the clashes between the Saxons and
the Vikings, the struggles between two
shieldwalls. The challenge I want to
examine is, simply put, can we manage to
produce a reasonable simulation of
this sort of warfare that is also an
interesting game?
SHIELDWALL COMBAT
Let’s look first at the nature of shieldwall
combat, or at least, our perception of
what shieldwall combat is. The first
34
WI288-ChallengeOfDarkAgeFINAL.indd 2
- Jethro Tull, Broadsword
thing to note is that there are really only
two types of troops, broadly speaking,
to consider, given the belief that
both Saxons and Vikings - obviously
incomparable horse thieves - rode to
battle and then dismounted to fight
on foot. These two types are those
that fight in the shieldwall, and their
skirmishers, who do not. The latter
generally contribute little to the battle
other than local colour, though there
are some examples of greater impact.
Skirmishers are adequately handled in
most ancient rule sets, though some make
their shooting too effective, and I don’t
propose to spend much time on them,
turning swiftly to the warriors proper.
Within the shieldwall, we have part time
and full time warriors; the former being
the local farmers and similar, pulled from
their usual occupation to meet the urgent
needs of the time, and the latter being
the trained followers of the nobility,
their “hearth troops”, bound to them by
oaths of loyalty and reward. One group
obviously fights better than the other,
being better trained and equipped, and
possessed of higher fighting spirit and
motivation. That said, they both fight
largely in the same fashion.
WHAT IS A SHIELDWALL?
So what is a shieldwall? Well it’s
worth noting that shieldwall warfare
is not limited to the Dark Ages, as
hoplite warfare, for example, is also
fundamentally of this sort, although
a greater variety of troop types might
be involved in Greece, where military
science was thought more advanced.
At its core however, we are looking at
combat between two groups of men
clustered closely together for mutual
protection, who fight as a mass rather
than as individuals, and who depend on
one another for safety and the stiffening
of their courage.
While they may not have stood in formal
ranks and files, troops in a shieldwall
11/8/11 12:56:50

Above: Two shieldwalls clash at The Battle of Brunanburh 937. .Illustration by Gery Embleton, from WAR 3, Viking Hersir 793 - 1066 AD.
© Osprey Publishing Ltd. www.ospreypublishing.com
form in a close order, much closer than
the formation adopted by swordsmen,
who need room to fence. The purpose
of the close order is to allow each man’s
shield to cover the vulnerable right
side of the man on his left; a mistake
by one’s “right hand man” would leave
one open to a thrust, making the “right
hand man” very important indeed and
giving rise to the modern saying. The
predominant weapon of the shieldwall is
the thrusting spear, used to stab over or
under the shield at the face or groin of the
opponent. Only the first couple of ranks
would be able to strike.
An engagement might begin with a
good deal of posturing and occasional
duels between the champions of the
WI288-ChallengeOfDarkAgeFINAL.indd 3
two sides, though this seems to have
been less common in later days. Setting
the shieldwall would take time, and a
force that was surprised, and attacked
before it was ready, would be at a severe
disadvantage - witness the Vikings at
Stamford Bridge. Once the shieldwalls
had been carefully formed, the bodies of
troops would advance cautiously towards
each other, taking care to maintain their
formation. At striking range the front
ranks would halt to engage. The rear
ranks, however, would start to push
with their shields against the backs of
the forward ranks, and gradually we can
envisage the front lines being forced
together into a kind of desperate, upright
rugby scrum - one in which the front rank
risked being stabbed as well as squashed.
DARK AGES
410 - 1066
Anyone’s experience of moving in a
large modern crowd will suggest that
the number of casualties inflicted in this
phase of the fight would be small, as
relatively few of the participants would
actually be able to strike a blow. A crisis
point would occur each time a man did
fall, as the continued security of the
group would depend upon the second
rank man being able to step into the
breach, and maintain the wall, before the
enemy were able to take advantage of
the gap to stab more men and widen the
hole. Should this happen, the cohesion
of the formation would rapidly break
down at that spot as more men fell and
others began to try to edge away from the
enemy to safety.
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15/8/11 15:11:51
 Above: A Welsh shieldwall unit from the collection of James Morris. Figures by Gripping Beast

Once panic began to spread through • The forces will generally form and • The critical feature of a shieldwall is
the formation, the life expectancy of prepare on the field before moving into its cohesion. While this remains intact,
the erstwhile front ranks would not be action. No marching out of camp in a morale remains high and casualties will
great. Attempting to stand would risk martial array of drilled regiments here! be low. So a shieldwall should enjoy
being surrounded, while trying to flee a morale benefit and some form of
• A shieldwall should be able to move
would lead to a spear in the back, since moderating effect upon the casualties
without losing formation, though the
the ranks behind would still be pressing received.
movement should be measured -
forward, blocking the way. Only when no headlong charges without loss • When a shieldwall fragments, there will
panic spread through to the back of the of formation. be an immediate reduction in morale, and
formation would the pressure ease and
the way be clear to run for safety, by
which time it would be too late for many.
There would be little chance to rally the
fleeing troops and reform the shieldwall,
and effectively the battle would be over.
All this might take only a few minutes
to occur. If neither formation broke,
there would be a lull in proceedings as
troops became tired and the shieldwalls
gradually eased apart for a breather. After
a while the enthusiastic and committed
amongst the leaders would urge the men
to another effort and the fight would
be rejoined. This might happen several
times until dusk or until, by unspoken
agreement, the combatants determined
that they had no stomach for more and
the battle was over.
THE SHIELDWALL
ON THE TABLETOP
From this we can distill the essential
elements that will have to be represented Above: This fun Saxon vignette from the collection of Northstar’s Nick Eyre does a great job
in a game that purports to simulate of displaying the character of a unit in “shieldwall”. The heavily armoured and well-trained
shieldwall warfare. These are: warriors to the front, while those to the rear are really just there to make up the numbers.

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 most likely a rout. At this point many
extra casualties will be inflicted before
the survivors can make their escape.
These are likely to fall disproportionately
upon the better-equipped warriors and
persons of note, who will be concentrated
in the front ranks.
• A broken shieldwall is most unlikely to
rally and reform; the battle is effectively
over at this point.
With this knowledge we can begin to
construct our rule set, or at least examine
the various extant sets to see whether
they offer the features above. Before
we do that, however, let’s pause for a
moment and review what our simulation
will be like on the table.
The two sides will each be represented
by one large body of men – a single unit
comprising a lot of figures - with a few,
largely incidental, skirmishers around
the edges. The two bodies will come
together in a single melee, which will last
for some time with lots of grunting and
jabbing, but little damage (okay perhaps
the figures won’t be grunting exactly,
but you get the idea). It is possible that
this state of affairs will continue for
some time, until both sides pull back
and go home. Equally we might see that
suddenly a tiny opening is exploited by
one side so that the other immediately
collapses, and a rout ensues. Now is that
a satisfactory evening’s gaming?
For a start, players are most unlikely to
find using one main unit an attractive
proposition. And as for no manoeuvre
and one melee - forget it! I think we can
surmise that we don’t want a totally
Above: Harold’s Anglo-Danish Huscarls at the Battle of Hastings from the collection of
James Morris. Figures by Gripping Beast.
WI288-ChallengeOfDarkAgeFINAL.indd 5
accurate simulation. But how close to
such can we get and have a playable
game? And can the major rule sets offer
this desirable mixture?
I would think that most players would
be happy to take part in a game in
which they had several units to look
after, allowing for at least a modicum of
manoeuvre and some chance of fighting
on after the first shieldwall collapsed,
and a melee phase that allowed for some
degree of tension and excitement. If
most of the other features of a shieldwall
alluded to above are also covered, we
would have a winner. Fortunately most
game rules do not encourage the use of
a single big unit, and those that provide
army lists usually encourage the use of
several; and of course a correct use of
tactics should ensure that a player with
multiple units will beat one with a single
block of troops. This does not require
any shieldwall-specific rules. What of
the other features explored above? Let’s
do a quick survey of the most popular
of the current crop of rule sets (popular
is of course a subjective term, so please
forgive me if I have missed out
your favourite!)
HOW SOME GAME SYSTEMS
HANDLE SHIELDWALL COMBAT
Most gaming rules assume that events
begin with the armies formed up and
about to advance, which is of course
fair enough, so we will have to forego
the flavour of the pre-battle aspect of
forming up the shieldwall to fight. This
is a pretty minor loss in the grand scale
of things, but it does chalk one up in the
minus column.
There are few period-specific rules and
it is worth noting that a lot of perfectly
good Ancients rules will not differentiate
a shieldwall from other types of close-
fighting infantry, often because their
focus is at a higher level than the “poor
bloody infantry” that we are concerned
with. In the DBx system, for example,
all our Dark Age combat infantry will
be designated as “Spear”, along with
hoplites and any other similar troops.
There are minor variations to allow for
quality, so the hearth troop will either
be “Spear (S)” or “Spear (O)” and the
lower orders either (O) or (I). These
graduations have some effect on combat
effectiveness. As these rules are element
based, it is also possible to view the
battle line as being a single unit if the
player wishes. However the problem with
the DBx approach for me is the combat
resolution, which relies on the differential
between single die rolls on either side.
This allows for frequent extreme results,
especially between opposing forces of
identical infantry, and can therefore allow
the fight to be instantly resolved rather
than being protracted over several turns.
Other rules may of course also deliver
a rapid and extreme result, but for
me there is the potential in this set
for it to happen too often to deliver a
satisfactory “simulation”.
Field of Glory operates at a slightly lower
level, in the sense that it does provide for
multiple units (battle groups). Here the
shieldwall infantry will be heavy foot
and “offensive spearmen” with varying
amounts of armour. The combat will
lack “points of advantage” and so each
round’s result will rely solely on the
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 Above: This is one of the impressive shieldwall units that
can be found in the collection of Stuart MacCorquodale,
author of Clash of Empires. Figures by Gripping Beast.

dice thrown. Unless the loser of a round
received sufficient casualties to cause a
negative modifier on its cohesion test, it
is on average likely to pass the test, and
thus the melee should be protracted, as
we desire. Also these rules allow for the
gradual degradation of fighting ability
before a unit flees precipitately, and a
later rally and return is unlikely, both of
which are good features.
Many of the other popular rules contain
more specific troops classifications
(or more complication, depending on
your viewpoint!) which allow for more
differentiation between troop types. Hail
Caesar falls into this category, and while
we can use it to depict a wider range of
martial prowess in our troops, there is no
specific category for shieldwall fighters.
Units will usually remain in combat
until they become exhausted, so melees
should be protracted affairs, and once
an exhausted unit loses it is speedily
removed from play, with no chance of
returning, which fits our requirements.
However the casualties inflicted to
achieve this are severe, which does not.
Of course no figures are removed during
the melee process, so it is possible to
rationalise the progression to exhaustion
as an accumulation of fatigue leading
to a breach in the shieldwall. All in all,
Hail Caesar works quite well at giving
us what we want, but whether it has any
Dark Age flavour is open to debate.
Warhammer: Ancient Battles (WAB) is
often stated to be at its best in dealing
with the Dark Ages, so we can examine
it with some optimism. Its troop
classifications are at the other end of the
spectrum to DBx, with each warrior type
described by a whole range of factors
allowing for almost endless variety. It
also has a special Shieldwall rule, which
makes the warriors forming the wall
harder to hit than usual. Unfortunately
the shieldwall must remain stationary in
order to function, which doesn’t seem
right - though this flaw will be fixed with
the release of the forthcoming Armies of
Antiquity book. In WAB combats between
similar troops types tend to be protracted
and casualties relatively light, as the
large numbers of dice thrown smooth
out the statistical anomalies (most of the
time). This can be upset and distorted by
the presence of characters within units,
as they are considerably more potent
than the basic troops and can have a
disproportionate effect on combat results.
It is ironic that one of the features of the
game, often mentioned as a plus point in
handling this period of history, is actually
hindering the rules’ ability to provide
a simulation. When a unit does break,
the rules allow for it to be destroyed in
a pursuit phase. If it should escape this,
however, it is perfectly possible for most
units to rally and return to the fray, which
doesn’t fit our requirements.

Above: Another of James Morris’ Welsh shieldwall units. Figures by Gripping Beast, Foundry and Essex.

38

WI288-ChallengeOfDarkAgeFINAL.indd 6 11/8/11 13:03:36

 Above: Two great shieldwalls advance toward each other, preparing for the final charge and ensuing “rugby scrum”.
Clash of Empires also has a flexible way
of describing troops, so allowing for
a range of fighting abilities as well as
morale, armour and weapons. It treats our
warriors in a similar way to WAB, though
its shieldwall rule does allow for units
to move and charge, albeit at a stately
pace. Again troops in a shieldwall are
harder than usual to hit, so casualties will
generally be light during an engagement
between them. As with WAB, a lot of dice
are used, usually smoothing the extreme
results and giving an extended melee.
This is another rule set which allows
for the degradation of fighting power
during a prolonged combat, and for a
range of combat outcomes, from a push
back through flight to instant destruction.
Should a fleeing unit manage to rally its
fighting power is permanently reduced
as it remains classed as “disrupted”.
Generally this set gives a good game and
a reasonable simulation. I would like to
experiment by changing the shieldwall
rule so that in a prolonged combat, a
losing unit shifts one down on the combat
outcomes table, making it more likely to
flee once a result had been achieved.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I think we can say that
we don’t actually want an accurate
simulation of Dark Age warfare, as it
would simply be too boring to play. That
said, how well do current rules face up
to the challenge of Dark Age gaming?
It is true to say that they can all give
an enjoyable game, with extended and
possibly nail-biting combats and a flurry
of collapses and routs. In terms of a
simulation, by which I mean how well
they replicate what we think a shieldwall
combat might have been like, the picture
WI288-ChallengeOfDarkAgeFINAL.indd 7
is more mixed. If we want to replicate
the pre-battle forming up and posturing,
we will have to make up our own rules.
Within the battle itself, most of the
current rules can meet our needs, but
some are more likely than others to give
protracted engagements, and none allow
for a lull in the fighting while troops
lick their wounds and steel themselves
for further action. Once combats end,
some rules allow for the beaten troops
to rally and return to the fight, which
should happen much less frequently, if
at all - again we will have to amend our
favourite sets to achieve this. With a few
modifications, most of the rule sets would
be capable of meeting our requirements.
Above: When the ruleset allows for Dark
Overall, I would say the popular rules Age units to “Enter Shieldwall”, James
sets meet the challenge rather well; Morris has markers like this one made up
perhaps we can award them 8 out of 10, to place behind his warriors. These are
not bad at all, but with a few tweaks here great for reminding both your opponent
and there, could do a little better. and yourself about who is doing what.
Now was riot raised, the ravens wheeled,
The eagle, eager for carrion, there was a cry on earth.
Then loosed they from their hands the file-hard lance,
The sharp-ground spears to fly.
Bows were busied - buckler met point
Bitter was the battle-rush, warriors fell
On either hand, the young men lay!
Wounded was Wulfmur, a war bed he chose,
Even Brithnoth’s kinsman, he with swords
Was straight cut down, his sister’s son.
Then to the Vikings was requital given.
I heard that Edward did slay one
Straightly with his sword, nor stinted the blow,
That at his feet fell - the fey warrior.
For this his thane did to him give thanks,
Even to his chamberlain - when he had a space.
- From The Battle of Maldon poem
39
15/8/11 15:15:15
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w w w. s k y t r e x . c o m
WI288 Skytrex.indd 1 11/8/11 15:47:07
288 Fire Forge.indd 1 11/8/11 16:22:44

GHOST PLANES OF
THE SAHARA
A Tale of Three Tragedies
After hours of combing the desert landscape to find their home base, the bomber began to run critically low on
fuel. Technical problems flared up as the desert sand found its way into the engines and caused them to seize up.
Then came the moment when the pilot had to make the painful call to bail out or make a forced landing. From
that point on the crew was on its own, fighting against the Sahara for time...
One of my favourite movies is
the original Flight of the Phoenix,
starring Jimmy Stewart and Richard
Attenborough. It is about a transport
plane that crashes in the Sahara and, with
no hope of rescue, the survivors build a
new plane out of the wreckage to try and
escape certain death. It is an excellent
story of survival against terrible odds.
When working on Burning Empires, I
encountered the stories of several tragic
‘ghost planes’ in the Sahara, which were
the basis for the story of Flight of the
Phoenix. I found these stories to be quite
compelling. I wanted to write about it and
design a Flames Of War mission loosely
based on these ghost planes.
These are the stories of several air
wrecks in the Sahara Desert during the
Second World War. These accidents were
42
Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 2
certainly not the only ones of their kind.
In an area as large and as desolate as the
Sahara, it is easy to see how quickly a
person could get lost.
THE SAHARA
The Sahara Desert is a serious
navigational obstacle. It covers over
3,630,000 square miles (9,400,000 square
kilometres) of North Africa, making it
the world’s second largest desert behind
Antarctica. It contains several massive
sand seas with windswept dunes that can
reach over 590 feet (180 metres) in height.
Between the shifting sand seas are tall
granite mountains, sometimes found in
a small group called a djebel, or in full
mountain ranges. These mountains and
dunes contain large deposits of iron,
making simple navigation methods by
compass impossible.
Below: The wreck of the B-24D ‘Lady Be Good’
By Mike Haught
Very occasionally a traveller might find
a water source, or an oasis where they
can stock up on supplies. But these
places were rare and usually separated by
hundreds of miles of sand.
The harsh sands of the Sahara were a
death trap even for the most experienced
desert travellers. With temperatures
averaging around 100 degrees Fahrenheit
(38°C) and virtually no shade or shelter
from the heat.
For most troops in the Second World War,
the Sahara posed an absolute barrier. It
was something that was justifiably feared.
Some failed to respect the desert and their
nightmares came alive in a very real way.
This was certainly the case for the
crews of several South African, French,
and American bombers between 1941
and 1943.
15/8/11 12:18:52
 LECLERC’S FOLLY - 1941
The Kufra Oasis is located in the
southeastern corner of Libya, close to the
borders of Egypt, Sudan, and Chad. It is
found between the formidable Ribiana
Sand Sea and the Kalansho Sand Sea,
making it a vital stopping point for
travellers navigating their way through
the desert.
When World War II broke out, Free
French forces, under the command of
Colonel Philippe Leclerc, moved up from
the French colony of Chad to capture
Kufra from the Italians.
Groupe Lorraine provided air support
for the Free French in Chad. The aircraft
were based in Fort Lamy (modern day
N’Djamena). For operations against
Libya, the French established several
small airbases in northern Chad. These
airfields were rather crude and consisted
of simply a small fuel dump and a
rough airfield.
Before marching on Kufra, Leclerc
sent out a single Blenheim IV light
bomber from Groupe Lorraine on a
reconnaissance mission to see what the
garrison looked like. The flight failed to
return, and it was presumed to be shot
down by the Italians.
Nevertheless Leclerc pressed on. His
contingency plan involved sending the
Long Range Desert Group’s T Patrol
ahead of his column of troops as a
reconnaissance screen.
Leclerc ordered the four more of
Groupe Lorraine’s Blenheim IV
aircraft to support his attack by
bombing Kufra’s airfield.
On 5 February 1941, the four aircraft
took off from their small forward airfield
at d’Ounianga. Despite the fact that the
Below: One of Groupe Lorraine’s Blenheim IV light bombers. Leclerc relied heavily upon his light
bombers throughout the Saharan campaign.
Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 3
LECLERC’S FOLLY,
FEBRUARY 1941
Groupe de Bombardement 1
Actual Flight Line
Groupe de Bombardement 1
Return Flight Line 0 KM
Leclerc’s Ground Attack 0 Miles
February 1941
LIBYA EGYPT
Kufra
SUDAN
CHAD
crews were utterly inexperienced with
desert navigation, they reached Kufra and
dropped their bombs. However, on the
return trip one of the Blenheims broke
away and failed to return to base.
Not wanting to waste a moment of time
during his attack, Leclerc refused to
spare any troops to organise a search
party. Furthermore, Groupe Lorraine was
unable to launch a rescue because their
fuel was severely limited.
The flight remained lost for 18 years
until it was randomly discovered in
the mountains to the southeast of
d’Ounianga. The propellers were intact,
meaning that the aircraft hit the ground
dead-stick (no power to the engines). So
the crew must have got lost and either ran
out of fuel or experienced engine trouble.
Kufra
EGYPT
LIBYA
Recon Mission
Crash Site
200 300
200 d’Ounianga
SUDAN
25
0m
i
/40
CHAD
0k
m
Forced Landing Site
The aircraft’s crew was found deceased
scattered around the aircraft with
evidence that they had set up a camp to
await the rescue that never came.
Meanwhile, the wreck of the
reconnaissance Blenheim was spotted
by the Italians from one of Kufra’s
Ghibili aircraft. Soon the Sahar Cufra,
the garrison’s mobile column, was
dispatched and the Blenheim’s aircrew
was rescued and interned as Prisoners
of War in Kufra.
With their capture, Leclerc’s element of
surprise was lost. The LRDG’s T Patrol
was ambushed at Jebel Sherif, south
of Kufra, and Leclerc’s column was
detected by radio traffic and confirmed by
the Italian aircraft.
But Leclerc bullheadedly pushed on and
narrowly won victory over the Italians
at Kufra on 1 March. As a result of this
victory, the French aircrew being held
were liberated.
After Leclec’s victory, the Allies
established a base at Kufra. From this
remote location the British and French
launched a massive raiding campagn
against the Axis supply lines.
43
15/8/11 12:19:28
 THE KUFRA TRAGEDY - 1942
With the success of the Long Range
Desert Group (LRDG) and Special
Air Service (SAS) land-based raids,
the Allied commanders expanded the
missions based out of Kufra to include
aircraft. Number 15 Squadron, of the
South African Air Force (SAAF) was
moved to Kufra to carry out raiding
and reconnaissance missions against
vulnerable targets deep behind enemy
lines and to provide support for the
garrison in the event of an attack.
The squadron arrived at the oasis on 28
April 1942 with its first detachment of
three Blenheim IV light bombers under
the command of Major JLV de Wet.
These aircraft were rapidly becoming
obsolete on the main battlefields.
However, with each plane being specially
modified with a nose-mounted 20mm
cannon, six .303 Browning machine-
guns, and up to a 1000-pound bomb load,
they were ideally suited for light raids
and reconnaissance work behind enemy
lines where the enemy’s aircraft patrols
were less of a threat.
On the morning of 4 May, Major de Wet
took the detachment on a mission to
familiarize themselves with desert flying
and the local landmarks. The flightplan
was to be a simple square pattern from
Kufra to the Ribiana Oasis, to the Bzema
Oasis, to the improvised Landing Ground
07, then back to Kufra.
All of the crew except for de Wet were
new recruits and did not have much
experience in basic navigation, let alone
the complex nature of desert travelling.
Each plane was loaded with over seven
gallons (37 litres) of water and enough
food rations for four days. Each crew
member also had two bottles of water.
Above: Major JLV de Wet
44
Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 4
THE KUFRA TRAGEDY, M AY 1942
15 Squadron, SAAF
Actual Flight Line
TAISERBO
OASIS
Bzema Oasis
Ri (Way Point 2)
bi
an
as
an
d sea
0 KM 100 200
0 Miles 100
The flight took off early in the morning
and winged its way toward the Ribiana
Oasis. Having thought they spotted the
way point (they actually had not) the
planes swung north and reached the
Bzema Oasis. They successfully located
Landing Ground 07 but soon became
slightly disorientated.
The flight radioed back to Kufra for a
bearing and received a garbled message
where only a few of the numbers could
be distinguished properly. The navigators
plugged what numbers they understood
into their calculations. Unfortunately,
this placed them on a course taking them
directly away from Kufra.
The flight travelled north for a good deal
of time looking for Kufra, but not seeing
it. They went as far north as the Taiserbo
Oasis where the infantry post there
identified them. Now convinced they had
made a mistake, the flight turned back.
It was now 0900 hours and they were due
back in Kufra, but there was no sign of
the flight.
One of the Blenheims had started to
experience engine failure and Major de
Wet ordered the flight to make a forced
landing so that they could get their
bearings and find Kufra. The flight was
now situated 83 miles (134km) to the
northeast of Kufra with the sun reaching
its height in the burning desert sky.
Major de Wet ordered the two
functioning Blenheims to fly patrols in
an effort to locate Kufra. At 1400 hours
Lieutenant LTH Wessel’s Blenheim
flew on a bearing that would have taken
KALANSHO SAND
SEA
15 Squadron, SAAF
Planned Flight Line
Landing Ground 07
(Way Point 3) Forced
Landing
Site
m
4k
i/13
EGYPT
3m
LIBYA
8
Ribiana Oasis KUFRA
(Way Point 1) OASIS
LIBYA EGYPT
Kufra
SUDAN
CHAD
him straight back to Kufra, but finding
nothing after 24 miles (40km), he
turned back.
The other Blenheim, piloted by
Lieutenant JH Pienaar, went north,
but found nothing. On its return trip it
experienced engine trouble and Pienaar
was forced to land several miles north
of the other Blenheims. The group was
now divided.
The aircraft eventually exhausted their
fuel and were forced to sit and wait
to be rescued. In fact, they were so
sure rescue was imminent that they
completely ignored emergency water
ration procedures. In the first day alone,
the twelve men of flight drank 30
gallons (112 litres) of their available
water, leaving only what was left in their
personal bottles.
Rescue parties were indeed searching,
leaving Kufra around 0700 hours on 5
May. The Sudan Defence Force, Kufra’s
garrison, dispatched search parties as did
the Long Range Desert Group. However,
without any idea where the aircraft were,
they had no way of knowing which
direction to begin their search. A severe
sandstorm prevented aircraft from being
used and made the search very difficult.
Thirst drove de Wet’s men mad as they
drank any liquid they could find. They
smashed the planes’ instrument panels
15/8/11 12:19:56

and drank the alcohol inside. Others, in
a desperate attempt to keep cool sprayed
themselves with fire extinguishers. It
cooled them down for a moment but
it caused terrible sores to break out
over their skin, adding to their extreme
discomfort.
On May 6, the first of the men died of
exposure. The morale and sanity of the
men began to permanently break down.
Some men shot themselves; others tried
to shoot their comrades to improve their
chances. Major de Wet did his best to
keep order.
Poor visibility continued to prevent a
search from the air, so once again it was
up to the SDF and the LRDG to expand
their operations. Finally on 9 May, six
days into the search, the sandstorm
dissipated and a Wellington bomber,
flown by Squadron Leader DG Warren,
began to look for the lost Blenheims.
The Wellington spotted Lieutenant
Pienaar’s isolated Blenheim and landed
nearby. All three crew were found dead
but at least now they knew the area to
search further.
On 11 May, following several fruitless
attempts to located the other two
Blenheims, the Wellington headed south
from Pienaar’s landing site. After a brief
24 mile (40km) flight he spotted the other
Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 5
BLENHEIM IV F
two Blenheims parked nose-to-nose.
As he circled them a lone figure stumbled
from under the shade of the wings and set
up recognition signals.
Warren landed nearby by and was greeted
by the wasted figure of Air Mechanic Juul
who told the pilot that he was the last
man alive.
Warren radioed the location of the
Blenheims and all units converged on his
position. A doctor travelling with Warren
Above: Blenheim IV light bombers.
Crew: 3
Length: 42 ft 7 in (12.98 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 4 in (17.17 m)
Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.0 m)
Powerplant: 2× Bristol Mer-
cury XV radial engine, 920 hp
(690 kW) each
Maximum speed: 266 mph
(428 km/h)
Range: 1,460 mi (2,351 km)
Armament: 6× .303 in (7.7 mm)
Browning machine-guns, 1x 20mm
cannon, 8x 40 lb (18kg) anti-
shipping rockets (later models).
Bomb load: 1,000 lb (450 kg)
looked after Juul who had survived eight
days in the desert and four of those days
were without water.
The Kufra Tragedy taught the Royal Air
Force some important lessons, not the
least of which was strict instructions on
rationing water. Had de Wet properly
rationed his water supply, he and several
others of his party would have survived
long enough to be rescued. As it was, the
Sahara Desert claimed 11 men in those
early days of May 1942.
45
15/8/11 12:21:26
 THE LADY BE GOOD - 1943
In early November 1942, the Allies
launched Operation Torch. British and Bombing Mission: 0 KM 400
LADY BE GOOD,

71
Naples, Italy
American troops poured into North

5m
0 Miles 200

i/1
Africa. By April 1943 the Axis forces APRIL 1943 Gulf of

15
0k
had their backs against the wall and were Sidra Tobruk

m
Lady Be Good Benghazi
facing defeat in Tunisia. Flight Line Soluch
Allied planners then began to look at
Aircrew on Foot Field
strategic bombing objectives in Italy.
Airbases were established along the Kalansho

44
0m
Libyan coastline and US Army Air Force Sand Sea

i/7
10
and Royal Air Force bomber crews

km
started their bombing campaign of the LIBYA
Axis’ so-called soft underbelly. LIBYA EGYPT

On 25 March 1943, the crew of the Lady
Be Good, a B-24D Liberator bomber,
arrived in Libya. The men of the Lady Be
Good had only just arrived in North Africa
when they received their first mission to
bomb Naples as a part of a 13-bomber raid
on the harbour of Naples, Italy.
The raid set off on 4 April 1943 but
encountered a severe sandstorm straight
after takeoff. Nine of the B-24s returned
to base, but four, including the Lady Be
Good, carried on with the mission.
Visibility over Naples was extremely
poor, so the remaining bombers turned
around, dropping their bombs into the sea
to save on fuel consumption.
During the flight home, the Lady Be
Good got separated from the rest of the
bombers, but was still on the correct
heading to reach Soluch Field.
At midnight on the morning of 5 April,
the Lady Be Good flew over Benghazi,
but could not locate Soluch Field.
Navigator Second Lieutenant DP Hays
radioed for a bearing, but it is unknown if
he received a reply.
Kufra
CHAD
SUDAN
Assuming that they were still over the
sea, pilot First Lieutenant William J.
Hatton carried on flying along the current
bearing for two hours. Unbeknownst to
the crew, the Lady Be Good was flying
deep into the Sahara Desert.
At 0200 hours the Lady Be Good ran out
of fuel and the crew bailed out. The aircraft
glided dead-stick (without power) for
another 16 miles (25km) before crashing
deep inside the Kalansho Sand Sea.
Eight of the nine crew survived the
parachute descent. Lieutenant John
Woravka’s parachute failed to open
correctly and he died on impact. The rest
met up by firing pistols and flare guns
into the air.
Together the airmen decided to head
north, still thinking they were close to the
EGYPT
Crash Site
Taiserbo
Oasis Wadi Zighen
KUFRA
OASIS
Mediterranean Sea. As they walked, they
left scraps of parachutes, flak vests, and
foot wear as a bread crumb trail to help
rescuers to find them.
For eight days they travelled about 80
miles (130km) north, surviving on a
single canteen of water. At that point the
men were very weak and they decided
that three of them would continue north
to find help, while the remaining five
stayed put and waited.
Guy Shelley (gunner), “Rip” Ripslinger
(flight engineer) and Vernon Moore
(gunner) trekked on for another 27 miles
(43 km) before perishing. The other five
that remained behind also died from
exposure soon there after.
In a sad twist of irony, had the crew gone
south instead of north, they likely would

Left: The crew of the Lady Be Good.

From the left:
1st Lt. William J. Hatton (pilot)
2nd Lt. Robert F. Toner (co-pilot)
2nd Lt. DP Hays (navigator)
2nd Lt. John S. Woravka
(bombardier)
T/Sgt. Harold J. Ripslinger
(flight engineer)
T/Sgt. Robert E. LaMotte
(radio operator)
S/Sgt. Guy E. Shelley (gunner)
S/Sgt. Vernon L. Moore (gunner)
S/Sgt. Samuel E. Adams (gunner)

46

Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 6 15/8/11 12:26:21

 have come across the wreck of the Lady
Be Good where they could have retrieved
water and food rations. Furthermore, if
they would have had a map of the region
where they bailed out, they would have
known to go south instead of north.
They could have collected the supplies
from the Lady Be Good and then tried to
make it to Wadi Zighen, the nearest oasis
to the crash site, 145 miles (230km) to
the south west. From there they would
have certainly met up with British troops
around Kufra and Taiserbo as they
regularly patrolled these areas.
Sadly, they believed they were only a few
dozen miles away from the sea, and their
maps only went a few miles further south
of the coastline of North Africa.
Search and rescue parties were sent out,
but like the crew of the Lady Be Good,
they grossly underestimated how far
away she was located. Patrols turned
up nothing and the crew was listed as
Missing In Action (MIA).
Above: Rear turret from Lady Be Good. Despite the crash, all of Lady’s machine-guns were in
It wasn’t until 1958 that the Sahara working order when she was discovered in 1958.
gave up the Lady Be Good to a chance
observation by a British petroleum returned to the United States where they One such curious piece was an arm rest
expedition. Initial investigations found were buried with honours in 1960. from one of Lady’s seats. The arm rest
the plane to be relatively intact, including was used as a replacement part on a de
working machine-guns, engines, and even Components of the Lady Be Good were Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, which
some food and water. No bodies were salvaged from the desert, returned to the mysteriously crashed into the Gulf of
found, but there were no parachutes on United States, and used as replacement Sidra, north of Libya. Few traces of the
board, so it was assumed correctly that parts. Several aircraft using these Otter were ever found except for the
the crew had bailed out. Exactly where, replacements experienced problems with arm rest from the Lady Be Good, which
however, was unknown until 1960 when the parts. washed up on shore . . .
the bodies of the five crewmen that stayed
behind were found.
B-24D LIBERATOR Crew: 9
Among the crew’s personal effects was
co-pilot Robert Toner’s diary, which he Length: 67 ft 8 in (20.6 m)
kept until he died and briefly chronicled Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.5 m)
the crew’s journey. Using the information
in his notes, the bodies of Shelley and Height: 18 ft 0 in (5.5 m)
Ripslinger were also recovered. Vernon Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney
Moore’s remains were never found. There R-1830 turbosupercharged radial
is an account of a British desert patrol engines, 1,200 hp (900 kW) each
finding a body in the desert in 1953, but
since no bombers were known to be lost Maximum speed: 290 mph
in the area, they quickly buried it and (250 kn, 470 km/h)
moved on. Range: 2,100 mi (1,800 nmi, 3,400 km)
The Lady Be Good was recovered from Armament: 10× .50 caliber (12.7
the Sahara in 1994 and moved to Tobruk, mm) M2 Browning machine guns
where presumably it remains to this day.
All of the crew except for Moore, were Bomb load: 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)

Left: Lady Be Good as she was discovered in 1958.

47

Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 7 15/8/11 12:26:45

 Missing In Action
Since antiquity conquering armies in
North Africa were restricted to the
coastlines where they could easily
acquire supplies, such as food, water, and
fuel. Any operations taking place away
from the coastline carried great risk with
it. Water sources were rare and navigation
was always questionable without the use
of proper training, special instruments,
and detailed maps.
The nature of desert warfare was dangerous
to all soldiers, not just aircrews. As the
campaigns along the North African coastline
bogged down, both sides tried to exploit
their enemy’s flank, which was inevitably
anchored on the edge of the Sahara.
Occasionally attacks and reconnaissance
missions probed the deep desert, looking
for the opportunity to get around the
enemy’s flank. If these small patrols
failed to respect the dangers posed by the
Sahara, they too could easily get lost and
fall victim to exposure.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just Allied aircraft
that were lost in the desert. During the
opening months of the war, Italian planes
were used to supply their comrades in
East Africa from Tripoli. The flights took
them over the Sahara from Tripoli, to
Kufra, then onto Ethiopia. The journeys
were long and dangerous and more than
a few flights were lost over the sands of
the Sahara.
48
Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 8
Furthermore, in 1942, the Germans
conducted a serious bombing campaign
against the remote Free French-held
fortress of Bir Hakiem, losing several
Ju 88 light bombers in the process to
navigation and anti-aircraft fire.
Land-based missions were at the same
risk as their comrades in aircraft. Slight
navigational errors could lead a patrol or
convoy astray deep into the desert. The
rapid retreats by both armies certainly led
to these sorts of confusions throughout
the campaign in North Africa.
When playing the Missing in Action
mission, feel free to make some
modifications to fit the story you want
to recreate.
For example, you may want to play a
hypothetical game that is based around
the loss of a German Ju 52 transport
plane. When I moved to New Zealand
from the US, I lost a few of my plastic
model aircraft, which were well and truly
crushed and destroyed. Rather than chuck
them in the trash, I packed them away for
future repairs.
When the idea came to me to write
this article, I instantly remembered
my destroyed Ju-52 transport plane and
dug it out. Though it was a little out
of scale to my Flames Of War army
(1/72nd versus 1/100th), it serves the
purpose well and forms the basis for my
own Missing In Action games.
Alternatively, you can ignore aircraft all
together. The mission’s wreckage could
simply be a lost column of broken-down
trucks or armoured cars. Out of fuel, the
column has sent out search parties to look
for help.
Perhaps the mission doesn’t involve
any wreckage at all. You could use this
mission to recreate the rescue mission
undertaken by the LRDG to find the
scattered remnants of David Sterling’s
Special Air Service (SAS) after its first
and only airborne mission in 1941.
The mission ended in disaster when the
SAS men parachuted all across the desert
in the middle of the night. Unable to form
up and complete their mission, the small
groups of men made their way to the
rendezvous point with the LRDG. Patrols
were organised to find the rest of the
missing raiders.
However you set up your mission, you
need to get out there and find those men!
Friend or foe, no one deserves such
a horrible fate as can be found in the
wastelands of the Sahara Desert!
15/8/11 12:26:59
 MISSION SPECIAL RULES
The Missing In Action mission uses the following special rules in addition to the Aircrew special rules on the next page.
EVACUATE
Once the lost aircrew were located, it became paramount to get
them back to base for medical attention and debriefing.
Raiding platoons may only evacuate by moving off their
own table edge during their Movement step. Platoons
may not evacuate in any turn during which they have
moved At the Double.
Teams that evacuate the table like this do not count
as destroyed.
RESCUE OPERATION
Rescue parties put a lot on the line in order to rescue their
comrades. Similarly, the chance to gather intelligence from
captured air crew is simply too good to pass up. Both sides will
risk all to get their hands on those airmen!
Neither force is required to take Company Morale Checks.
However, they take Platoon Morale Checks as normal.
Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 9
SCATTERED RESERVES
The desert is a large place and that bomber could have crashed
anywhere. You will need to spread out to find it and radio in the
other patrols when you locate the wreck.
The Scattered Reserves special rule operates in the same
way as the Reserves special rule found in the Flames Of War
rulebook, with the following exceptions.
To reflect the way the reserves are scattered, the players’
reserves can arrive from almost anywhere. When each
platoon arrives from the reserves, the owning player rolls a
die to determine which table edge or corner it will arrive (the
mission map shows the edge or corner for each die roll). If
the reserves arrive from an edge, they may enter anywhere
along that edge. If from a corner, they must enter the table
within 16”/40cm of the corner.
Units containing armoured vehicles will always arrive from
reserve after units without armoured vehicles. Units containing
tanks will always be the last platoons to arrive from reserve.
49
15/8/11 12:27:15
 AIRCREW SPECIAL RULES
AIRCREW TEAMS SURVIVAL INSTINCT
The survivors of the crash have endured a pretty serious ordeal When you are stuck in the desert facing certain death, you will
and are focused only on survival and nothing else. jump at any chance to be rescued, even if it’s by your enemies!

Aircrew teams cannot move except when using the Survival
Instinct or Rescued! special rules. They are unarmed and
can never launch an Assault. They cannot be shot at, be
assaulted, or in any other way harmed.
Aircrew teams are not a part of any player’s army and
as such not controlled by any one player. Instead, at the
beginning of each player’s Starting Step, both players roll a
die for each Aircrew team on the table to see which player
moves the team.

THE PILOT
The pilot will stay with the plane in case a rescue party
discovers the wreck while the others go look for help.
The Pilot is an Aircrew team. He is deployed at the centre
of the wreck and can never move except when using the
Rescued! special rule. If he leaves the rescuing platoon for
any reason, he makes his way back to the wreck and is im-
mediately replaced in the centre of the wreck.
The player with the lowest result consults the Aircrew
Movement Table below and must move the Aircrew team the
entire length in any direction they choose.
In the event of a tie, that Aircrew team does not move this
turn. However, if both players roll a 1, the Aircrew team is
Destroyed due to exposure and removed from the table.
An Aircrew team that voluntarily moves off of the table
wanders off into the desert never to be heard from again
and is counted as Destroyed.

RESCUED!
A desperate man marooned in the desert will accept any help AIRCREW TEAM MOVEMENT
offered to him.
Lowest Result Movement
1-2 2”/5cm
If any players’ team ends its movement step adjacent to an
Aircrew team, the Aircrew team automatically joins that 3-4 4”/10cm
rescuing team’s platoon. This means that the Aircrew team 5-6 6”/15cm
becomes part of the platoon that rescued it and moves as an
Infantry team.
An Aircrew team may mount any of the platoon’s vehicles as
a passenger instead of moving. Once mounted it moves with
the vehicle. If the vehicle is Destroyed, the Aircrew team
automatically survives and dismounts.
If the rescuing platoon is Destroyed, the Aircrew team au-
tomatically survives and may only move using the Survival
Instinct special rule.

MODELLING THE AIRCREW AND PLANE WRECK

This mission uses five aircrew teams
to represent the lost crew in the desert.
These should be two figures on a small
base. Exactly what figures you use is
completely up to you.
One excellent source for lost aircrew
figures are artillery crews from the
various nations found in the Flames Of
War Special Order Catalogue. But really
any figures without weapons work well
for this purpose. Some aircrews, such as
those of US bombers, wore the standard
M1 helmet to guard against flak shrapnel,
so those figures are perfectly acceptable
as well.
One way to distinguish aircrews from
ground troops is by their bomber jackets,
usually made from brown (for the Allies
and Italian crews) or black (for German
crews) leather. These can be painted in
either German Camo Medium Brown
(VP826) or Black (VP950), using
Vallejo colours.
Another great source of figures for
aircrew teams are spare bailed-out crew
or battle-worn figures, which include a
number of wounded troops who look like
they’ve seen better days!
Remember, you can also play this
mission as if you are trying to rescue a
lost truck convoy, so feel free to use any
figures for the lost column. Furthermore,
they don’t even have to match your
force’s nation.
The other main feature of the mission is
the plane wreck. For my crashed plane I
used an old broken Ju 52 plastic model.
The kit is 1/72nd scale, but seems to work
just fine for Flames Of War.
Using some photos of plane crashes, I
reconstructed the wreck as best I could
and scattered debris behind the main
portion of the aircraft. It was strangely
satisfying smashing up the model and
scattering its pieces across the 12”
(30cm) x 12'' (30cm) square terrain tile!
Remember that your wreck does not have
to be a plane at all. Feel free to make a
terrain piece that fits the story you are
trying to tell with the mission.

50

Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 10 15/8/11 12:27:31

 Missing In Action Mission
A large bomber was spotted overhead with its engines feathered
ATTACKER DEPLOYS HERE AND MUST
and gliding over the crests of the sand dunes. Whether friend or ESCAPE ACROSS THIS TABLE EDGE
foe, the survivors don’t deserve death by exposure.
The Missing In Action mission uses the Aircrew, Evacuate,
Rescue Operation, and Scattered Reserves special rules.

YOUR ORDERS
Attacker
As the bomber flew overhead you notice that its markings make 30''/75cm
it out to be an enemy plane. Your patrol must go and secure X X
the crew as Prisoners of War, a fate far less harsh than dying of
thirst in the wastes of the Sahara.
Defender 6''/15cm
Your patrol witnessed the bomber disappear over the crests of A
the sand dunes. A radio report from headquarters verifies that
it is a friendly plane and orders your to mount a rescue attempt.
You must move quickly, however, as active enemy patrols in the DEFENDER
area will certainly be trying to get there first. DEPLOYS HERE
PREPARING FOR BATTLE X X
1. Set up the table as shown, with a wreck in the very centre.
Place the Pilot Aircrew team at point A , and one Aircrew
team at each point marked X .
2. Both players roll a die. The player with the higher score is the
attacker and chooses which short table edge they will deploy
in. This is also the same table edge they must escape from. The
defender must then choose the opposite short table edge that
they must escape from. DEFENDER MUST ESCAPE ACROSS
THIS TABLE EDGE
3. The defending player deploys one platoon anywhere within
6''/15cm of point A . The remainder of their force is held in
Scattered Reserve. DECIDING WHO WON

4. The attacking player deploys one platoon within their The attacking player wins if they rescue more Aircrew teams
deployment area. The remainder of their force is held in than the defender. The lost aircrew men have been rounded up
Scattered Reserve. and interned as Prisoners of War.

5. Both players now place their Independent teams in their The defending player wins if they rescue more Aircrew teams
deployment areas starting with the defender. than the attacker. They have successfully located the survivors
and returned them to safety.
BEGINNING THE BATTLE Use the table found below to look up the extent of your success
and your victory points based on the number of Aircrew teams
1. Neither player may make Reconnaissance Deployment moves
the winning side rescued.
as they have been travelling as fast as possible to reach their
current positions.
2. The defending player has the first turn. VICTORY POINTS
3. All teams count as having been moving in their previous turn Aircrew Result Winner’s Loser’s
during the defender’s first turn, so cannot be Gone to Ground Rescued Points Points
and infantry in the open are not Concealed. 5 teams Stunning victory 6 1
4 teams Major victory 5 2
ENDING THE BATTLE 3 teams Minor victory 4 3
The battle ends when the last Aircrew team remaining on the 2 teams Minor defeat 3 4
table has either escaped with a platoon or has been Destroyed. 1 team Major defeat 2 5
No teams Stunning defeat 1 6

51

Rescue Air Crew Mission.indd 11 15/8/11 12:27:49

 ALE
ON S
OCT

£30 • €40 • US$50 • AU$60 • NZ$75

Before the struggle for North Africa could be decided, the Axis and
Allied nations needed to solidify their flanks. These battles were fought
all around the Mediterranean Sea in Greece, Crete, and Syria. Italy and Germany
invaded Greece and Crete to keep the Allies out of Europe. The Allies invaded Vichy French Syria
to ensure that the Axis could not take advantage of oil exports from Iraq.
Meanwhile, deep in the Sahara Desert, a raiding war erupted between special forces. While fought in one of the world’s most remote and
harsh environments, these battles would have a huge impact on the main campaign along the Mediterranean coastline.

Burning Empires, The Battle For The Mediterranean, is a 184 page hardback book that includes:

• The history of the Early War battles in Greece, Crete, and Syria. • Rules for Airborne Assaults.
• Italian Briefing: Fucileri, Blackshirt, and Alpini forces. • British, Italian, French, German and American Raiding and
Garrison Forces for Early and Mid War raiding battles.
• Greek Briefings: Mechanised Battalion and Infantry Company.
• Four Raiding Missions and the Seize Outpost Mission,
• German Briefings: SS, Gebirgsjäger, Fallschirmjäger and
featuring the new Desert Fort.
Luftlandesturm forces.
• Painting Guides and inspirational colour photographs
• French Briefing: Infantry force playable as either pro-Axis
Vichy or pro-Allied Free French.

To find your local stockist, or order any of

our ranges on-line, please visit us at www.FlamesOfWar.com
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 TM

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WI287 Warlord.indd 1 11/8/11 15:51:13

 OH LORD, DELIVER US
FROM THE FURY OF
THE NORTHMEN!
A LOOK AT THE NEW SAGA GAME FROM GRIPPING BEAST
By Rick Priestley

SAGA is the new miniatures games written by Alex Buchel and published We started off with a quick run through
by model manufacturer Gripping Beast. Those who are familiar with the game mechanics using a few models
Gripping Beast’s ranges and enthusiasms will not be surprised to learn just to get the basic hang of things.
that SAGA is set in the bloody and heroic Age of the Vikings. It takes as its SAGA is what most of us would call a
skirmish-level game – which is to say a
grand theme the raids and battles of the British Isles from the tail end of
game where one model represents just
the Eighth Century through to the Norman conquest. one individual fighting man and where
the action takes place on terrain that is
I was fortunate enough to get a chance apparent, and it only takes a brief chat
constructed to the same ground scale as
to play SAGA at the infamous Beast to realise that these guys certainly know
the models themselves. Such games are
Towers: headquarters of Gripping Beast, their stuff. Piles of reference books, ideally suited to heroic action and tales
occasional venue for Beastly events, and reproductions of Viking age arms and of adventure, and that’s certainly the case
principle lair of those renowned Beasts armour, and beautifully painted miniature here. Four or five dozen models a side
Darren Harding and the mighty Lord warbands fill every spare inch of their feels about right – though the mechanics
Sherwell (aka Andy). Both Darren and busy workshop. Darren demonstrates could easily stretch to more – and a good
Andy have been closely involved in the the correct use of the Danish Axe with game can be had with as few as a couple
development of the new game. Their unnerving ease before disappearing to of dozen models on each side. This will
expert knowledge of the period is readily make the tea. undoubtedly make SAGA an interesting

Above: Our SAGA battlefield was

constructed by members of the Sheffield
and Rotherham Wargames Club, and was
the well deserved winner of the Triples 2011
‘Best Participation Game’ award.

The Vikings entered in two parties; one from

across the bridge, and one from the beach.

54

WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 2 15/8/11 15:18:14

 Building your SAGA
Warband
Opposing warbands are chosen
to an equal ‘points value’ using a
very simple system. Basically one
‘point’ gets you four Hearthguard,
eight Warriors, or twelve Levy. It’s
as easy as that. It is recommended
that players start by building a small
Warband of four points, but we
played our game with the standard
version, which is six points.
proposition for anyone who fancies
collecting a small force of Vikings,
Anglo-Danes, and their contemporaries,
or who already has an army that can be
pressed into service.
The models we used were, of course,
part of the Gripping Beast collection, all
beautifully painted 28mm figures, and
all individually based as required by the
SAGA rules system. The idea behind
the game is that each player’s force
represents a warband led by a notable
Warlord whose deeds and achievements
- or Saga - give the game its title. The
Warlord’s entourage comprises a number
of individual units, each between
four and twelve models strong. These
combatants are of three basic types:
WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 3
Hearthguard, Warriors, and Levies.
A unit contains only one type; so all
Hearthguard, all Warriors or all Levies.
These types - they are called ‘classes’ in
the game - are actually given appropriate
names depending on the kind of warband
represented. For example, they are
Huscarls in an Anglo-Danish force
instead of Hearthguard, Bondi become
the Viking version of Warriors, whilst
Levies might be Thralls or Peasants.
Needless to say, the Hearthguard are the
Warlord’s best fighters, the Warriors are
capable participants, whilst Levies are
bottom of the heap - and by quite a long
way too!
The different forces are called ‘factions’
and rules for four different factions are
Saga Dice
Although ordinary dice can be used these special SAGA dice are
marked with the correct icons for each side. These are the Viking
dice showing the runes Fehu (Wealth) Berkana (Rune of the
Birch Goddess) and Sowilo (Victory).
DARK AGES
410 - 1066
included in the game: Vikings, Anglo-
Danish, Norman, and Celtic. Further
factions are promised and several have
already been developed at the time of
writing - plainly there is the potential to
expand the rules to cover contemporary
Picts, Welsh, Scots and so forth. The
term ‘factions’ is one I associate more
with on-line role-playing games or with
collectable card games than with tabletop
wargames. This is no coincidence, for
SAGA has many elements of design that
are common to collectable card game
systems. One can only assume that the
author, Alex Buchel, has drawn much
of his inspiration from that source. This
comes across quite strongly in the game
play, as I was soon to discover as my
fierce Viking raiders leapt from their
boats and struggled up the beach towards
the motley force of Anglo-Danish who
had dared refuse to pay the necessary
Danegeld to my gold-hungry marauders.
The game is structured around the
different scenarios that are described in
the rulebook. The scenario that was about
to unfold envisaged my Viking raiders
attacking an Anglo-Danish settlement and
carrying off the Eolderman’s daughter
to ransom. The model representing this
hapless maiden was placed at the door of
the Great Hall. To win the game all I had
to do was reach the spot where she was
standing with any one of my units. Andy
Sherwell stepped into the shoes of the
Eolderman to command the scratch force
of Anglo-Danes that would try to stop
me. I was informed that Andy’s canny
game-play had already gained him many
victories and something of a reputation.
I was therefore more than happy to enlist
the services of Darren as chief advisor.
55
15/8/11 15:19:33
 What’s on the
Battle Boards?
The Anglo-Danish Battle Board (left) has
a balance towards good defensive abilities
that can be retained in play and used in the
opponent’s turn. The Viking Battle Board is
more focussed on aggressive abilities that
boost your own fighting prowess.

one ability allows a unit that has already

fought a round of combat to fight again,
whilst others add ‘fatigue’ to enemy units
or inflict casualties on enemy units that
are ‘exhausted’. Fatigue and exhaustion
therefore play a major part in the game
play – we’ll come back to these in
a moment.
The Battle Boards are used to activate
selected units and then set up lethal
combinations of abilities that give the
activated units bonuses or penalise their
enemy. Units can only move and shoot
when they are activated. Because units
BATTLE BOARDS a turn. The two right hand columns are can only be activated by means of the
special abilities that can only be used Battle Board, it’s necessary to get a grasp
As my proud reivers alighted from their of how this works right from the start.
boats and prepared to sweep aside the once per turn. The common abilities
Fortunately this isn’t too hard – although
opposing rabble, my attention was drawn activate units and allow them to move,
the subtleties of the system certainly
to what is undoubtedly the key feature of shoot or rest. The other abilities confer take some effort to master. Game play
the SAGA game, namely the Battle Board. bonuses to units, impose penalties on the is by alternating turns. In his own turn a
This is basically a separate A4 sized chart opposition, and combine together with player rolls a number of ‘Saga’ dice equal
that is used to control the movement and other abilities to create sequences that to the number of units in his warband
actions of the opposing forces. Each side are more or less powerful. For example, plus an extra one for his Warlord. As the
has its own Battle Board. The many and
various differences between the Battle
Boards profoundly affect the way the
factions play. Separate laminated Battle
Boards for the four different factions
covered are included as part of the
SAGA game.
The Battle Boards are an intriguing idea
and much of the SAGA game revolves
around the different capabilities of the
opposing Battle Boards. This becomes
apparent as you play – but to start with
it’s necessary to get a basic idea of how
the Battle Board works. If you look at the
example shown above you’ll see that the
Battle Board has fifteen separate boxes
(three columns of five). These boxes
each name and describe a particular
ability. Those in the left-hand column
are common ‘activation’ type abilities –
these can be used multiple times during Above: Given an opening, Andy races a unit of Huscarls to intercept Rick’s Viking raiders.

56

WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 4 11/8/11 13:10:34

 Warlord is also a unit this means you get
two dice from this chap. So a warband
with a Warlord and four units of troops
will get six Saga dice in total. Regardless
of the number of units at your command
the most Saga dice you can have is eight.
Each individual Saga dice is placed onto
one of the ability boxes on the Battle
Board, the player choosing where to
place the dice within certain limits as
explained in the rules. Each dice can then
be used to trigger the chosen ability that
turn. Some abilities can also be triggered
in the opposing player’s turn, in which
case dice can be carried over from turn
to turn and used when needed. To trigger
an ability the corresponding Saga dice is
simply removed to show it has been
used. Simple!
Above: The mighty warband of Vikings leap from their longboats and race up the slope.
Well, in fact it’s a little more complex
most cases the common abilities can also As I watched Andy expertly manoeuvre
than that, because you can’t just put
be triggered by better dice rolls, although a large unit of Anglo-Danish warriors
any dice on any ability. Remember,
obviously this would not be making against my Hirdmen, I was able to
you have to roll the Saga dice at the
the best use of the rolls. The best and observe the broad movement mechanics
start of the turn, and depending on the
most potent abilities are likely to require in action. SAGA eschews such mundane
scores obtained you can place the dice
multiple dice combining uncommon or measurements as feet and inches
on different ability boxes. In addition,
heroic results. Thus, depending on the and instead all tabletop distances are
some rare and powerful abilities require
roll of the Saga dice, they can be used to expressed in terms of Short (S), Medium
more than one dice to trigger. This is
activate different units and set up moves (M), Long (L) and occasionally Very
all clearly marked on the ability boxes throughout the turn and potentially into Short (VS) distances. This is something
using the special dice symbols that are the opponent’s turn. of a concession to internationalism that
unique to SAGA. These symbols actually allows games to be played in inches
correspond to regular D6 dice rolls. I INTO THE ACTION
or in centimetres, and presumably also
have to admit they threw me for the first My first turn allowed me to advance my in parmaks and ts’un should one feel
turn or two whilst I worked out what forces in a fairly broad fashion towards so inclined. Plainly we were going to
the special symbols all meant. The idea the enemy, and I was happy enough be playing in inches though. I quickly
is that specially marked Saga dice will to have grasped the basics of play at came to the realisation that the usual and
be available separately for each faction. that stage. From the start it became Medium move (M) was in fact six inches.
Each faction’s dice are marked with clear that the Battle Board was replete Long (L) is equivalent to twelve inches,
symbols appropriate for that race and with possibilities, and I found myself Short (S) is four inches, and Very Short
culture: runes in the case of the Vikings overwhelmed somewhat by the potential (VS) is two inches. Nothing too strange
for example. It’s a nice touch – and I’m combinations. At this point I realised that there then.
sure many players will happily fork out SAGA is absolutely a game that demands
the extra for the specially marked dice. Having moved his unit of warriors
careful thought and intelligent planning. forward once (a single common
However, for purposes of explanation Plainly I was in trouble. More tea was
the dice are marked 1, 2, 3 = common activation) Andy demonstrated how to get
called for and provided whilst I pondered things done by activating the same unit a
ability trigger, 4, 5 = uncommon ability my next move.
trigger, and 6 = heroic ability trigger. In second time and engaging my Hirdmen in

57

WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 5 11/8/11 13:11:55


Fatigue and Exhaustion
Levy become exhausted once they have two points of fatigue, Warriors can suffer
three before they are affected, whilst Hearthguard and Warlords only become
exhausted once they had accumulated four. Exhausted units cannot be activated to
move or shoot and lose half of their Attack Dice.
combat. The same unit can be activated
multiple times, but gains a ‘fatigue’
marker each time it does so after the
first. Fatigue markers on your units can
be used by your opponent in the ensuing
combat. A single fatigue marker can be
used either to reduce the Armour value of
the fatigued unit itself, or to enhance the
Armour value of its opponent. Fatigue
can also be used to reduce a unit’s
movement by a single step. Alternatively,
fatigue can be accumulated against a unit
until it becomes ‘exhausted’, when it is
then extremely vulnerable. I was soon to
learn the crucial skills of managing your
own side’s fatigue and exploiting that of
the enemy.
HACK AND SLASH!
The ensuing hand-to-hand combat saw
the dice rolled in anger for the first time.
Here I was on firmer ground. The combat
system is based on old-fashioned six
sided dice numbered one to six and is
pretty straightforward. Models that have
moved into touch with the enemy get
to fight as do friends within VS (that’s
two inches to you and me). Combat is
resolved one unit on one unit, with both
sides fighting simultaneously. So both
sides roll their ‘Attack Dice’ and then
both sides roll their ‘Defence Dice’. The
number of Attack Dice rolled depends
on the type of troops. This is one dice
per three men for Levy, one per man for
Warriors, two per man for Hearthguard
Above: The slope was now soaked with the blood of the combatants!
58
WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 6
and five for the Warlord himself.
Various bonus dice can also be added by
expending Saga dice from your Battle
Board to trigger special abilities. Each
side totals up the number of Attack Dice
it is allowed and rolls them to score ‘hits’
against the enemy’s Armour value. So,
where an enemy has an Armour of 4+
you’ll need to score 4, 5 or 6 to ‘hit’.
At this stage both sides have the option
of exploiting any fatigue built up by
the enemy unit. This works as follows.
Before either side rolls, each player has
the chance to remove one of the opposing
unit’s fatigue points either to reduce
the enemy’s Armour value by –1, or to
enhance his own Armour value by +1.
The Armour value is the dice roll needed
to score a ‘hit’, so adding or subtracting
in this way makes quite a difference.
Whilst a very useful, and sometimes
necessary, thing to do, this has to be
balanced against the advantages of letting
fatigue accumulate to the point where a
unit becomes ‘exhausted’.
Having worked out how many ‘hits’ are
scored by the Attack Dice, all units roll
one Defence Dice for every hit suffered,
cancelling out the hit on the score of a
5 or 6. This number is never modified
which certainly makes things easy to
remember! By the time the dice had
settled on our combat, four of Andy’s
Ceorls lay dead along with four of my
Hirdmen from an original total of six.
VIKINGS CHECKED
With the advent of Viking turn two I felt
I was getting the hang of things. The
Saga dice were rolled again, giving a fair
spread of results. I used these to activate
the mangled Hirdmen unit, moving them
to safety before Andy could pounce upon
the survivors in his own turn. I moved
my Bondi forward to cover the resultant
gap, and attempted to engage the battered
Anglo-Danish Ceorls. At this point Andy
introduced me to the hitherto overlooked
fact that he had cunningly left some
abilities on his Battle Board at the end of
his previous turn – in this case including
‘Intimidation’. ‘Intimidation’ basically
halts the movement of an approaching
unit. My charge move was stopped dead
in its tracks. This meant not only did my
Bondi fail to cover the distance, but the
carefully set-up sequence of abilities I
had planned to boost their fighting all
came to nothing! By Odin, this wasn’t
supposed to happen! Only more tea
managed to sooth my wrath.
In Andy’s turn he too decided against
risking his damaged unit. He therefore
withdrew the battle-weary Ceorls.
This made room for a unit of his best
troops - the Huscarls - to charge a unit
of untouched Hirdmen on the right of
my line. With the advantage laying with
Andy, I decided to make use of another
neat concept to protect my beleaguered
unit. Basically, instead of using all of a
unit’s Attack Dice a player is allowed to
sacrifice half in return for extra Defence
Dice. This is on a two for one basis
(rounding up) so I decided to sacrifice
three of my Attack Dice to give me an
extra two dice when it came to rolling my
‘saves’. Thanks to this prudent defensive
stance the Hirdmen suffered not a single
11/8/11 13:12:27
 casualty and the Anglo-Danes scampered
away fatigued. Following combat all
units become fatigued - so both mine and
Andy’s units were now starting to look a
bit ragged as I prepared for my next turn.
In the Vikings’ turn a reasonably good
Saga roll allowed me to propel my
Bondi into the opposing Ceorls. The
vengeful Bondi managed to destroy the
Ceorls with the aid of the ‘Thor’ special
ability, which allows a unit to fight an
extra round of combat. I had been so
determined to destroy these upstart
Ceorls that I had carelessly accumulated
three fatigue points onto the Bondi unit
with multiple activations and combats
(fighting two rounds gave me two on top
of an additional activation). This meant
the Bondi – a Warrior type unit - were
now ‘exhausted’. At this stage I wasn’t
entirely sure what the implications of this
might be. I suspected the worse. As it
turned out I was not to be disappointed.
THE SAGA DICE BITE
Andy’s Saga dice showed a handful of
the ‘helmet’ symbol (the best roll on
the Anglo-Danish dice set, equivalent
to a 6). He duly set about punishing
my imprudent play. Here Andy made
good use of his lucky streak to trigger a
number of dangerous sounding special
abilities including ‘Exhausted’. This
ability automatically kills models in
an exhausted enemy unit. One of my
remaining Bondi duly dropped dead - no
doubt succumbing to his wounds. The
Anglo-Danish Battle-Board is set-up to
reward careful defensive play, as Andy
was able to demonstrate with marked
success. Next I found myself the victim
of the ‘Trapped’ ability. This ability
spreads fatigue onto three opposing units.
Remaining activations were used to rest
units. Resting a unit costs an activation
and removes a point of fatigue. As the
WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 7
game unfolds this becomes increasingly
important. Suddenly the Anglo-Danes
were looking pretty well set, whilst the
poor old Vikings were… well ‘fatigued’
would be putting it politely.
As I contemplated my turn I was acutely
aware that I hadn’t made much progress
towards the Eolderman’s daughter. There
she was, still waiting patiently by the
door of the Great Hall. The Saga dice roll
offered little real potential other than to
remove as much fatigue as possible by
resting units. I also used an activation to
advance my remaining unit of Bondi over
the bridge and towards the Great Hall. I
figured that if I could co-ordinate a dash
forward with my Bondi and Warlord next
turn I’d be in with a chance.
Andy’s fortune seemed to desert him
next turn with a fairly poor to average
Saga roll. He wisely took the chance to
tidy up his lines and set up some useful
defensive moves on his Battle Board. He
was - of course - waiting for me to make
the running and dash myself to pieces
upon his well-laid defence. I say ‘of
course’. These things are always obvious
in retrospect aren’t they!
The Vikings obligingly stormed up
the hill with the Warlord flanked by
his Huscarl Berserkers: no ordinary
Huscarls these, but blessed with double
the usual number of Attack Dice. The
furious Northmen threw themselves
upon the poor Anglo-Danish Ceorls. I
was counting on taking these guys out
in a single round, and the dice were
certainly stacked in my favour. When a
unit is destroyed in the SAGA game this
spreads fatigue to other units nearby.
This was going to be important if I was
to stand any chance against the Anglo-
Danish Warlord and his Huscarls who lay
between me and my prize. Andy played
his best defensive moves and in the end
the Ceorls were reduced to two warriors
– but they held on! At the end of combat
my Warlord and his Berserkers acquired
the mandatory point of fatigue – making
two – Andy had cunningly let me retain
this rather than using it in the fighting.
PUT TO FLIGHT
As the Anglo-Danish turn began the
Viking Bondi were advancing towards
the Great Hall and the Viking Chieftain
and his Berserkers were struggling up the
bloodstained slope in the same direction.
The dice were rolled and the Battle Board
prepared for what was to be the decisive
combat of the game. Andy started by
activating the Huscarl unit from the left
of his formation. My Warlord’s advance
had placed this unit to his flank, with
the remaining Berserkers between.
The Huscarls headed straight for the
Berserkers and in the ensuring fight killed
all three – though not without loss. Here
Andy was able to exploit the fatigue
that he’d let accumulate onto my troops.
Using one point of fatigue to boost his
own armour and one point to reduce
mine, he ensured the combat favoured his
Huscarls. Stripped of the protection of his
comrades my Warlord now stood alone.
In SAGA a Warlord can easily survive
hits against him when he is surrounded
by a bodyguard. Any hits on the Warlord
can be met by removing other fighters.
This makes a Warlord very hard to kill, as
you need to kill all the troops around him
before claiming him as a casualty.
Needless to say, Andy’s next activation
put our Warlords into a fight to the death.
Andy’s Eolderman had the benefit of a
largely untouched Huscarl unit to fight
by his side. A flurry of dice rolling and
the career of my first-time marauder was
well and truly over. The Viking Warlord
lay dead in the dust and the Anglo-Danes
claimed the victory!
59
11/8/11 13:12:47
 Above: Lord Sherwell (left) and Rick (right) peruse the Battle Boards.
AFTER THE DUST HAD SETTLED
So - first impressions. Alex Buchel has
created a very thought provoking set of
rules with a strong emphasis on the game
play. The Battle Boards clearly replicate
some of the functionality of collectable
card games, but the use of the Saga dice
to allocate abilities (effectively to fill
your hand of cards) is clever and well
engineered. The differences in the Battle
Boards (there are four in the game itself)
plainly optimise different strategies for
the main factions, and this is a nice touch.
Even after just one game it’s obvious
that SAGA is quite a challenging game.
It demands a reasonably high level of
concentration and skill. Setting up the
moves and bonuses will no doubt become
second nature after a while, but there are
plainly subtleties at work here which no
Above: WI’s in-house painter Matt Parkes knocked up this Saxon Warlord and his bodyguard.
60
WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 8
casual read through of the rules is going
to expose.
The Warlords are clearly the focus of
the game. It is by their deeds that games
are largely won or lost. The Warlord has
several special activations that allow
him to activate other units. Effectively
this enables a Warlord to lead a unit into
a fight to deliver the killing blow. I’ve
already mentioned how casualties upon a
Warlord can be soaked up by a unit he is
with. This gives these special characters
almost superhuman endurance. And, of
course, a Warlord contributes two Saga
dice to the pool, a valuable contribution
to be sure. All of this combines to fulfil
the game’s aim to portray the heroes of
the Viking Age as they take centre-stage
in their own personal Saga!
Our game didn’t include any of the
lowest level of fighters – the Levy types
– nor any troops armed with bows or
other long-ranged missiles. However,
leafing through the rule book reveals
that the rules for shooting are fairly
straightforward and resolved much like
combat with Attack Dice and Defence
Dice. Shooting is an activation. You
need to expend a Saga dice for your
troops to shoot. So once again it becomes
important to consider your overall
plan for the turn before letting loose
with slingstones and arrows. Levy are
individually very weak, and they don’t
bring any Saga dice to the party either, so
I did wonder what use could be made of
them. Here Andy and Darren were able to
offer some useful advice, explaining the
different strategies based around different
combinations of troop types. Once again,
this is something to explore, but the
overriding impression I formed was of a
game stacked with options all of which
could be equally effective. This brings
me back to the clear emphasis on balance
within the game system, and yet again
shows the influence of card-based game
play upon the design.
Our conversion about varying strategies
answered one of the questions that had
been nagging during the game itself.
Namely, was there a single optimal
strategy that, once you’d puzzled out, was
the best way to play each of the forces?
This is something to look out for in any
game, and in a game system with such
a strong mechanic of play and counter-
play it would be all too easy to create
11/8/11 13:13:23
 a single, ideal combination or strategy.
This tends to be a bad thing in any game,
as players effectively end up playing the
same game over and over again, with
victory being determined by simple luck.
In this case though I’m assured that this
is not the case. Darren was observed to
wince nervously when Andy’s ‘Levy
heavy’ Anglo-Danish warband strategy
was mentioned over a consolatory cup of
tea. Clearly this is a game that rewards
different approaches in what appears to
be a balanced fashion.
So is this game for you? If you enjoy the
idea of getting together a small force and
playing challenging one-on-one skirmish
games then - yes most definitely! If your
idea of a wargame is a table groaning
under the weight of huge armies then
perhaps not - although if you own huge
armies there’s surely no harm in using
some of your collection to give it a
go. The game system is what I would
called ‘closed’ in that game play is very
closely defined by the Battle Boards
and scenarios, and it is unlikely to stray
beyond the confines envisaged by the
author. This is unusual for a skirmish
wargame. Skirmish games are usually
‘open’ systems that lend themselves to
more free-wheeling role-playing styles
of play, often with multiple players and a
games-master. SAGA is definitely aimed
at those who prefer head-to-head games
in the style of chess and collectible card
systems. At first sight at least, it’s hard to
see how it could accommodate multiple
player participation. (Lord S says, “The
rulebook does however include some
clever tweaks and options for multi- Above: The cover of the rule book. Available from www.grippingbeast.com
player games, but we didn’t let Rick near
these. You have to have some secrets!”)
engineered and challenging game. available for sale late summer at a very
There are definitely some eccentricities
SAGA provides an intriguing mechanism reasonable price of £25 (about USD$40).
in the game design and these are arguably
married to an exciting theme and first- So, if reiving and raiding in the Viking
both a strength and a weakness. The use
class model range. We played our game Age floats your longship then I’d suggest
of Battle Boards is cleverly done and key
with a pre-production version of the you pillage yourself a copy as soon
to play, for example, but you do need a
rulebook, but the finished game will be as possible!
separate space to lay them out during the
game. Inevitably the players’ attention
is divided between the Battle Boards
and the models, but presumably the time
spent on the Battle Boards becomes less
and less as players gain familiarity with
their contents. Of course, this is common
to many games that use record charts and
chits, so it’s hardly a barrier to play. The
Saga dice are another nice touch that has
both advantages and drawbacks. After a
while my hardheaded games designer self
just wanted to roll ordinary dice instead,
and I found myself translating the
symbols back into numbers. But I know
many people will enjoy the novelty and it
has to be said that the Saga dice designs
do add character and are pleasing in and
of themselves
Overall it looks like Gripping Beast have
a winner here, and Alex Buchel is to be
congratulated on creating such a cleverly Above: The Eolderman’s daughter remained safe inside the longhouse.

61

WI288-SAGAFINAL.indd 9 11/8/11 13:13:50

TOW Advert.qxd:TOW 2011 24/6/11 15:28 Page 1

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286 Osprey.indd 1 11/8/11 15:52:54

 CELEBRATING OUR 40th YEAR OF WARGAMING!
South East London Wargames Group present

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WARGAMES SHOW
Sunday 16th October 2011 from 10am to 4pm
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
Ledrington Road London SE19 2BB

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SELWG 2011 ADVERTS.indd 1 25/07/2011 16:01:52
288 SELWG.indd 1 11/8/11 16:25:42
 THE ALTERNATIVE
BATTLE OF WORCESTER, 1651
A LOOK AROUND THE TABLETOP
with Andy Fox and Neil Tew
One of the stand-out games at this year’s Salute show in London was project we were working on at this time,
The Alternative Battle of Worcester 1651, presented by The Crewe and but it did take the lion’s share of blood,
Nantwich Wargames Club (C&NWC). This great looking game was sweat and tears.
justly awarded the coveted ‘Best Painted Army’ trophy on the day. But, it WI: Why choose the English Civil War?
wasn’t just the armies that looked superb, the whole table was a sight to
Andy: Within the ECW there is such a
behold and one we thought deserved closer inspection. Our opportunity wide range of potential battles, sieges
arose when Warlord Games invited Neil Tew and Andy Fox (from the and raids, the combination of scenarios
C&NWC) over to their HQ for a play test game of Warlord’s forthcoming and armies is vast; and many are easily
Black Powder: Pike and Shot rules. WI tagged along…. translated to the wargames board. Also
the majority of our group live in south
A full battle report of the day’s game Wargames Illustrated: What started Cheshire, so the battlefield of Nantwich is
will be featured in the new rule book, the project? on our doorstep. Seeing the Sealed Knot
so we won’t go into details on that here, re-enactment of the battle of Nantwich
Andy: Specifically a purchase of for many years really helped bring the
the focus of this article is all about ‘the
some hand made wooden city walls by period to life and gave us inspiration.
project’. Suffice to say the scenario,
Ian Weekley from an internet-based
‘The Alternative Battle of Worcester’, Many sections of our board have
auction site. These veteran pieces were
was played out in a day to a decisive features and a flavour from the Nantwich
subsequently reworked and repainted by
conclusion, with several swings of battlefield; the smallish fields with
TM Terrain to great effect.
fortune along the way! densely packed hedges, the church
WI: How long did this project take? (Acton Church), the narrow lanes, the
Whilst the players rolled dice and
manoeuvred Cavaliers and Roundheads Andy: From first buying the walls to bridge over the river (Weaver) and the
around the battlefield we took lots of putting on the demo at Salute 2011 took gently rolling terrain.
photos and threw a few questions at andy just over two years. This wasn’t the only
and Neil.

64

WI288-AlternativeWorcesterFINAL.indd 2 11/8/11 13:29:38

 English civil war
1641 - 1651
Right: The quiet before the storm;
the table before the game in all its glory.
Opposite Page: The full table; the
Royalists manoeuvre to their start lines,
whilst the Covenanters in Worcester
nervously await.

WI: Would you embark on such an

ambitious project again?
Andy: Yes, in fact we have another
project using some, but not all, of the
same boards; a different era and feel.
Look out for us in two years or so. Salute
2013 is our target date and venue.
WI: What figures do you use?
Andy: Our armies are a mix of figures
from Redoubt Enterprises, Bicorne
Miniatures, Warlord Games, TAG,
Renegade Miniatures and the odd Front
Rank figure. We believe the slightly
different sizes of figure more accurately
represent the natural variations in height
of the combatants found in every army.
After all not everyone in the pay of the
King or the Kirk was exactly 5' 10'' tall.
The buildings we use are also a mix of
companies, more for a wide range of
styles, shapes, sizes etc. giving a varied
village-scape. Again, we believe no 17th
Century village would have exactly the
same buildings. The companies we used
are Grand Manner, Ian Weekley, PMC,
TM Terrain and TSS terrain.
WI: What is your favourite
regiment/piece?
Andy: For the Royalists it has to be the
King’s Lifeguard, due to the regiment’s
colours - fabulous designs! And they are
one of out local regiments in Cheshire.
For the Scots it’s the Duke of Hamilton’s
Regiment of Foote, because it was the
first Scots unit and it’s got a fair few
conversions in it.
WI: Who painted and built what?
Neil: Artmaster Studios painted the
Royalist army and designed most of
the “eye candy” figure groups, like the
bear fight and the bath tub scene. Andy
painted the hodden grey mass of Scots
Covenanters. The
boards themselves were
built by TM Terrain, who
also
supplied plenty of inspiration,
invaluable guidance and cunning
ideas along the way.
WI: But it’s all just “doll’s house
wargaming” … isn’t it?
Andy: No, we really do play on this
table. Admittedly we don’t often have the
space to get the whole lot out. Wives do
tend to get upset with 14ft of wargame
board in the way. So more often than
not, it’s a third of the board in the spare
bedroom. This still makes a fantastic
game and gives plenty of different
scenarios to play out. The next is going
to be the scratch defence of a Royalist
stronghold, based around the church and
manor house, against a Scots battalia. Set
in 1644, Northumbria.
WI: Why not
choose a real battle?
Andy: We believe one battle,
or section of a battle would be
restrictive and would ultimately
become stale. How many times can
you refight Powick Bridge before you
start with the ‘what if’ ? Having scenery
inspired by several battlefields allows you
to have a pick and mix – the ‘best’ bits.
Plus, it reduces the restrictions you may
have to the actual units, numbers of men
present etc. on a certain day (if ‘reliable’
data even exists). You get to choose,
albeit keeping the feel of a realistic army
of the time.
WI: What about the feedback?
Neil: We’ve had mostly very positive
feedback from Salute and Partizan.
Including winning the best painted army
prize at Salute and play testing a game
for the forthcoming Warlord Games rules
in Nottingham. We hope we’ve inspired
fellow wargamers to have a go at the
ECW. It’s great fun!
Left: Tom Jones? -
You can keep your hat on.
A quick bath for a
Royalist officer

65

WI288-AlternativeWorcesterFINAL.indd 3 11/8/11 13:30:05

 Above: Rick Priestley & Andy Fox contemplate
Lord Hopton’s Regiment of Foote’s first attack on
the city walls.
Right: Live entertainment for the troops.
Below: The interior of the city, ongoing
entertainment plus ‘Order Group’ for
the Covenanters.

66

WI288-AlternativeWorcesterFINAL.indd 4 15/8/11 16:34:56

 Above: The Royalist reserve; The King’s Lifeguard of
Foote advance.
Left: Rest and Relaxation for some Royalists, courtesy
of the oldest profession.
Below: Stewart’s Regiment of Covenanter foote fire on the
Royalist cavalry wing of Prince Rupert.

67

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 Above: Lord Hopton’s Regiment of Foote and the Prince of Wales’s Regiment of Horse
form up for the assault on Worcester.
Right: King Charles and his immediate bodyguard.
Below: The main Royalist assault. Prince Rupert’s Blew Regiment moves up to support
Blackwell’s (black standards) and The Earl of Northampton’s Regiment (green standards)
in attacking the main gate.

68

WI288-AlternativeWorcesterFINAL.indd 6 11/8/11 13:31:18

 Above: The Covenanter reserve, Hamilton’s Regiment of
Foote, await the call for duty.
Right: The end of a troublesome rebel!
Below: One wing of Covenanter horse advance,
subsequently retreating even quicker in the face of Prince
Rupert’s mailed fist.

As a bonus for English Civil War wargamers, we have even more

photos from this shoot online, along with the “alternative history”
.net story the guys created as a backdrop to this wonderful project.

69

WI288-AlternativeWorcesterFINAL.indd 7 15/8/11 15:31:40

 “MAN THE WALLS!”
ON S
ALE
NOV

Since medieval times, the once-mighty Turks established hundreds of castles and fortresses throughout their empire to guard the
precious few oases in the Libyan Desert against enemy armies and raiders. Though centuries have passed many of these ancient forts
were still intact when the Italians took control of Libya. The Italian garrisons modernised the castles by cutting new embrasures and
rifle slits into the old walls. Safe behind the thick rock, Italian troops guarded the desert oases from Allied raiders.

BB123 - Desert Fort BB124 - Desert Fort Extras

14”/35cm

Rules for using the Desert Fort in your Flames of War games can be found in Burning
Empires, the Battle for the Mediterranean. The book also contains forces built around these
imposing defensive positions, the Vichy French Companie de Tirailleurs, Italian Compagnia
Mitraglieri and the British Sudan Rifle Company.

To find your local stockist, or order any of our ranges on-line, please visit us at

www.FlamesOfWar.com

Desrt Fort.indd 1 11/8/11 15:55:17

WI288 Trent Full page:Layout 1 11/8/11 15:48 Page 1

TRENT MINIATURES
28mm LATER FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS

Oh Danny boy, the pipes -

the pipes are calling ....
THEATRE: IRELAND 1798
More troops for our Irish Uprising of 1798 range
Revamp Ir98/03 United Irish command, now 6 figures [C]
New Ir98/07 Irish Militia II [E]
New Ir98/08 Irish Militia Grenadiers [E]
New Ir98/09 Irish Militia, Londonderry Regt. Grenadiers [E]
New Ir98/10 Irish Militia, Longford Battalion Light Company [E]
New Ir98/11 British Light Dragoons/Yeomanry cavalry [B]

THEATRE: ITALY 1799

POL02 Polish Legion of the Cisalpine Republic, elite coys [E]
POL03 Polish Legion of the Cisalpine Republic, command [E]

THEATRE: HAITI
(ST. DOMINGUE) 1791-1803
Car10 Haitian infantry, bis [C]
Car11 British Light Dragoons [B]
*Also Car08 Haitian command
has two new head variants

THEATRE: HOLLAND 1799

Our carts EQ01 & EQ02 (pictured) are based on sketches by PRICE [C] £6.00
Lanendijk of Dutch carts commandeered by the British army [G] CODES [E] £4.50
[B] £8.00 [G] £20.00

Trentʼs Later French Revolutionary Wars range -

including figures for the Irish uprising of 1798 and the Haitian Revolution
are available from:
NORTH STAR:
www.northstarfigures.com

ARCANE SCENERY & MODEL EBAY SHOP & WEBSITE:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/arcane-scenery-and-models
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IN THE USA, RECREATIONAL CONFLICT:
www.recreationalconflict.lusagi.com
NB: Flag Dude does flags for our Irish Uprising & Lombardy Legion: www.flagdude.com
 HOW TO BUILD... By Ryan Lavelle

ANGLOSAXON TENTS
A sea of canvas may have been a common sign of an Anglo-Saxon tents are probably just the ticket for the
army on the move, just as it was with many other medieval armies. ‘flavour’ of the period - if they don’t
Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, such as the Eleventh Century Old English look ridiculously small - and will give the
Hexateuch (shown below), which recasts the heroic warriors of the Old right effect without taking up too much
of the table.
Testament as Anglo-Saxon kings, show the importance of life under canvas
for an Anglo-Saxon army. Surely a tent is a tent is a tent? Perhaps.
The idea of a portable shelter is pretty
I wonder, too, whether the famous seem a pity not to send the brightest universa,l but there are some aspects of
account of King Alfred trying to measure and best (and richest) in early medieval Anglo-Saxon tent-construction which
time by a candle, guttering in draughts society into battle without them being seem specific to the time. I daresay
in tents, may have been an indication of able to display what they thought were that few of your opponents would bat
the king’s activity as a scholar during their home comforts. eyelids if your Anglo-Saxon army were
the campaigns against Viking armies. accompanied by ordinary ridge tents and
Therefore, to think of tents as functional So, when Renedra released plastic models bell tents (the latter, of course, being
things is again to miss the point of of ridge tents and bell tents in affordable absolutely fine for an early medieval
the Anglo-Saxons in their military sets for 28mm figures, I jumped at the encampment, though I suspect that
campaigns. Tents would have been about chance. Though probably a little small they would have been larger than those
display and status just as much as with for really high status gatherings, and, portrayed by Renedra).
so many other elements of warfare, and I suspect, intended for Napoleonic
and American Civil War armies, they However, there are some types of tents
it’s worth considering this when putting
which seem to be specific to an Anglo-
Anglo-Saxons on your gaming table. probably give the basis for what gamers
Saxon context, and having a go at
Although it’s of course easy to spray a need to supplement an army. In any case,
making an ‘Anglo-Saxon tent’ seemed
model tent with a base colour, give it if you do wish to use tents to set up a
appropriate, and the Renedra ridge tents
a wash and Bob’s your uncle, it would baggage element for your army, smaller are spot on for conversions, when a bit of
‘greenstuff’ is used. If you haven’t used
this amazing material before, this is an
ideal first project. As my initial tents (and
use of greenstuff) were a bit rough, WI
modeler Matt Parkes stepped in to create
the following examples.
There is, understandably, very little
archaeological evidence for medieval
tents. They might leave holes in the
ground when they are set up but those
posts tended to be removed so they don’t
leave the sort of ‘post-holes’ so beloved
by archaeologists. It’s a case of trying to
work out possibilities from manuscript

72

WI288-SaxonTentsFINAL.indd 2 11/8/11 15:05:28

 illustrations, and the Old English Step One
Hexateuch illustration lets us work out
that, despite looking at first glance like a
bell tent, it was a ridge tent.
Step One shows the use of green stuff

Modelling
Painting &
to change the shape of the tent. The best
thing to do here is to cut triangles of thin
card or plasticard as a base before adding
a layer of putty to give the ruffled canvas
look.
As far as I can see it from the manuscript
image, the height of the tent needs to
be raised. In Step Two you can see the
horizontal pole that sticks out at either
end that gave the tent its structure.
Presumably such poles were attached to Step two
two vertical posts, one at each end of the
tent, but to indicate the horizontal pole
on the model plastic rod can be used.
To build the height of the tent sides you
could use greenstuff (as I did on my
original tents) or you could add a strip of
thick foil, as Matt has in this example.
Step Three shows a basic white undercoat
with the pattern marked out in pencil.
The letters show the blue, yellow and red
basic colours marked in vertical stripes.
This is a technique more suited to the
painting of AFVs which I found very
useful, and will probably use it again as
it saves having to remember quite where
you were when the doorbell rings and
you have to put the paintbrush down.
Step Four shows the yellow part of the
pattern applied in paint. Try to make Step three
sure that the pencil doesn’t show through
the paint if you use acrylics. Also, I
considered the strip of material at the
top of the tent to be something to add
to waterproofing the ridge at its least
watertight, but that’s just a vaguely
educated guess. A little patience and a
pattern which reproduces that on the
manuscript illustration adds a bit more
colour, though I suppose with all those
stripes there’s probably enough colour
there anyway. (I doubt very much
whether the Eleventh Century illustrator
of the Old English Hexateuch was setting
out a template to be copied, anyway.)
The top photo on the opposite page Step four
shows the finished item on wargames
terrain, complete with a contemporary
figure for scale. Matt has presented the
tent in his typically clean style, although
I wonder, with all that bright colour, if
it might be worth subduing the colours
a little. (Even aristocratic tents could
probably get a little mucky, I suppose.)
So there you have it. A tent, brightly
coloured, a little subdued in places, ready
to accommodate an army in an authentic
fashion. Perhaps the effect is more like
one of the Tigers made from converted
T-34s in Saving Private Ryan, but the
point is they somehow look different and
worth the effort. Just a few more to go...

73

WI288-SaxonTentsFINAL.indd 3 11/8/11 15:06:17

 By Stuart McCorquodale

THE RISE & FALL

OF PERSIA
What follows is a fictional account of a battle somewhere on
the Ionian coast in the fifth century BCE. Army lists were
drawn from the upcoming source book for Clash of Empires
covering armies from the Early Achaemenid Persians and
Lydian Empire through to the wars against the Greeks and on
to the hegemony of Philip II and the conquests of Alexander.
This article features army lists from
My opponent Tim Haslam and I used would put up a stiff resistance in combat the recently released Clash of Empires
early draft lists from the book for the and the defeat of the foot troops would supplement The Rise and Fall of Persia.
game. Tim asked to use the optional rules collapse the entire army.
for Cyrus’ oxen-drawn towers described PERSIAN ORDER OF BATTLE
GREEK ORDER OF BATTLE
by Xenophon in his Cyropaedia. We
(TIM’S FORCE)
surmised that the vengeful king was on (STUART’S FORCE)
the outskirts of an Ionian Greek city Command
Command
when the rebels decided to fight a pitched General mounted on a chariot
Strategos (General)
battle instead of sustaining a siege. 2 Sub-commanders, one mounted
2 Sub-commanders
The Greek force represented an army Core
Core
from Ionia, with Spartan allies, rebelling Two 12 strong Persian Cavalry units
Three 24 strong Hoplite units
against the Great King. I had played 12 strong Persian Light Cavalry unit
40 strong Levy Hoplite unit
against Persians with Greeks several Two 32 strong Persian Infantry units
times using the Clash of Empires (CoE) Support 24 strong Spearmen unit (representing
rules. Generally, I was more successful if 12 strong Medium Cavalry unit Egyptian Marines)
the army had some benefit of terrain, such 24 strong Thracian Peltast unit
as rough ground to protect a flank. In this Support
battle I was sure to be faced with open Skirmish 24 strong Immortals unit
terrain, so decided that I would refuse 10 archers 3 Scythed Chariots
my left flank and advance in a swinging 10 javelinmen One War Wagon (in the army list, this is
motion with my centre and right, with an optional addition for special scenarios)
Allies
lighter troops covering an expected Spartan sub-commander Skirmish
cavalry flanking force on my right flank. 18 strong Spartan Hoplite unit 12 slingers
Of the enemy infantry, only the Immortals

74

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 Before setting up the game we generated
the traits for our characters and got
the following:
Persian general: Cautious
Infantry commander: Heroic Leader
Cavalry commander: Tactician
The general’s caution threw up an instant
problem for the Persians, allowing their
opponents to choose the first turn when
the battle began. The Heroic Leader trait
tied the infantry commander to a unit of
foot, but the Tactician trait of the cavalry
officer made his flank march more likely
to arrive on time.
Greek Strategos: Strategist
Commander 1: Aggressive
Commander 2: Heroic Leader
Spartan commander: Tactician
The Strategist trait of the general, plus
the Tactician trait of the Spartan allied
officer would give the Greeks the
advantage of redeploying up to three
units after both armies were on the
tabletop. The Aggressive trait added +1
to the army’s Strategy Rating, but the
Heroic Leader roll was wasted as all of
the Greek characters come with that trait.
COE MECHANICS
In Clash of Empires, armies are chosen to an agreed points value by first purchasing a general (which is free unless upgraded) and any
compulsory core units, two units of hoplites in the Greek case. In the command section, additional sub-commanders may be purchased. The
unit choices are split into Core, Support and Skirmish sections. Up to ten core choices may be selected, including any compulsory ones. For
each core unit taken, one unit from the support or skirmish section may be chosen. In addition, most armies have access to allies and a maximum
percentage of the points total may be spent on them.
Rise and Fall of Persia.indd 3
The Rise and Fall of the Persian Empire: Cyrus to Alexander by Warren Gleeson
and Mike Evans is released by Great Escape Games in September. In addition to
Persian, Greek and Macedonian armies it also covers Ancient Indians, Skythians,
Thracians, Early Carthaginians and more.
3000BC-500AD
Ancients
TIM’s plan....
Stuart had given me an outline to his
army, the rebellious barbarian scum!
But being an experienced (all be it
unsuccessful) ancient wargamer I realised
that for Persians to beat Greeks in a ‘fair’
fight was going to be tough, I’d have to use
skill in designing my army and in using it
on the table, plus a lot of good luck.
My idea was simple, big units of spara/
bow troops for good defensive fire,
supported by a unit of Elite troops. Then
envelope my left flank with good quality
cavalry whilst holding the right with light
troops and my newly finished massive
war wagon. (Even though it didn’t really
do much, it looked like it was capable of
mass destruction!)
COE MECHANICS
Traits personalise the generals and sub-
commanders of our armies and often
influence the pre-battle procedure. Most
offer positive advantages and some have
a negative influence, while the Heroic
Leader trait is a double-edged sword;
it increases the hand-to-hand fighting
influence of the commander but ties him
to a unit for the whole game.
75
16/8/11 12:39:45
 COE MECHANICS
The Strategy Rating of an army represents
its aggression and operational capability.
Each army has a fixed score that can be
adjusted by having a more senior general
and more cavalry than the opposing force.
The scores are added to a D6, the highest
has the initiative for the pre-battle phase.
This allows more influence over terrain
and deployment.

Unsurprisingly, the Persians had the

initiative and the resultant battlefield
looked ominously open to the massed
ranks of hoplites. With his superiority
of cavalry, the Persian general was
able to force the Greeks to reveal their
disposition. The phalanx deployed with
a strong centre and a refused left, with
the Thracians protecting their right. The
Persian infantry matched their opponent’s
foot troops with scythed chariots on the
Above: The experienced general McCorquodopolous puts his faith in bronze and steel! left and cavalry deployed on both flanks.
With the Persian scout cavalry
COE MECHANICS threatening the Greek left, the archers
A flanking force must be formed, and the flank it attacks must be decided, before were redeployed (thanks to the general’s
deployment. Its arrival is decided in the owning player’s Orders Phase and, if successful in Strategist trait) to face the scythed
arriving, a marker is placed to show where it will enter the field. It actually deploys onto the
chariots. The Greeks allowed the
battlefield at the start of the owning player’s next turn.
Persians to make the first moves.

TURN 1 OPENING MOVES

The Persian horse makes the initial
moves, probing the Greek skirmish line Greek Deployment Persian Deployment
1 Levy Hoplites A Persian Cavalry
and goading the phalanx into a general
2 Citizen Hoplites B Scythed Chariots
advance. On the far right of the Greek 3 Javelinmen C Iranian Infantry
line, the Persian flanking force (just 4 Greek Archers D Spara Infantry
out of shot) successfully dices for its 5 Spartan Hoplites E Immortals
appearance and the owning player marks 6 Greek Cavalry F War Wagon
where they will arrive. 7 Thracian Peltasts G Slingers
8 Greek Slingers H Light Cavalry

G
1 H

2 3 D

D
2

C
2
B
4

7
8

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Rise and Fall of Persia.indd 4 16/8/11 12:34:32


COE MECHANICS
Phalanxes find manoeuvre quite restricted in Clash of Empires.
They are permitted to move at full marching pace only if they move
straight ahead or obliquely to the right.
Above Left: Persian light cavalry engages the Greek skirmishers, killing
four of them and sending them into flight.
Above: The Greek phalanx begins to swing to the left, hinged on the levy
hoplites at the end of the line. Sling fire peppers the Persian cavalry on
the right, killing one.

TURN 2
THE GREEKS ADVANCE
With the arrival of the flanking force, the nearby
horsemen declare a charge against the Greek slingers
who wisely flee. The Persian infantry in the centre
loose arrows, killing a couple of hoplite models.

COE MECHANICS
Open order and drilled troops are
allowed to abort a charge against
enemy skirmishers that flee from them,
as long as they pass a Discipline test.
This represents the ability of formed
troops to chase off skirmishers without
totally exposing themselves to an
enemy countercharge. We imagine that
particularly aggressive and fleet footed
individuals burst forth from the main
body to chase the skirmishers off before
returning to their unit.

Right: Scythed chariots rumble

forward as the Persian right
probes a way round the flank
of the phalanx.

77

Rise and Fall of Persia.indd 5 16/8/11 12:35:04

 Above : The Greek commander attempts to compensate for the
threat to his left, risking a gap in his centre.
Right: Meanwhile, the ferocious Thracian warband advances
to threaten the flanking cavalry force as the slingers in the
background withdraw to safety.

TURN 3
THE EMPIRE STRIKES
The Persian cavalry charges at full pace
against the Thracians and Greek cavalry in
an attempt to break through the Greek right.
Persian fire continued in the centre, dropping
a few more hoplites, as the cavalry on the
Persian right backed away, luring the
phalanx forward.

78

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 COE MECHANICS COE MECHANICS
Formed units may react to enemy Following hand-to-hand combat the losing side must take a morale test. If passed, they
charges by holding, firing, firing may stay in the fight, being pushed back a little. If they fail, the outcome is determined by
and fleeing, fleeing or, if cavalry, the amount that the test is failed by. Failing by one point means that the unit must retreat its
countercharging. At this point the Greek movement rate and is disrupted. The winning unit may opt to follow up or hold.
cavalry decided to meet the Persian horse
by countercharging instead of firing as
they charged. This meant that the units
would meet midway and would slow the
Persians down a bit if they managed to
sweep the Greek cavalry before them.

Right: In the ensuing fight, the Thracians

won but the Persians passed their morale
test. However, the Greek cavalry bested their
opponents who failed their morale test by one
point and retreated.

Below: With the Persian cavalry repelled

and the Thracians in control, the Greek
horse relied on their javelins to defeat their
counterparts. On the left, the levy phalanx
moved to cover the flank of the citizen hoplites,
advancing on their right, from the enemy
horse archers. Archery against the scythed
chariots was totally ineffective, but javelin
fire killed two of the disrupted Persian
cavalry unit.

COE MECHANICS
Disrupted units suffer a penalty to combat resolution
and must pass a morale test to charge. They lose their
disrupted status after a full turn unless they have been
broken in combat, in which case they count as disrupted
for the rest of the game. As the Persian cavalry only
retreated from combat, it would regain its composure at
the end of its following turn.

COE MECHANICS
Characters do not have their own profile and attacks, adding a number of attacks to the unit they accompany. If the unit suffers two or more
casualties in combat, the opposing player rolls a D6 after any morale tests have been taken and results applied. On a 6, the character falls as a
casualty. This may seem quite brutal, but it balances the decision between giving your unit a boost and risking your character. Most importantly,
those character “death rolls” are tense and fun and there was much cheering when the Persian cavalry commander fell at the hands of the Thracians!

79

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 TURN 4
THE REBELS POISED
Bruised by their fight with the Greek
cavalry, the Persian horse resorted to
bows, shooting down five Greeks and
breaking them. The impact of the scythed
chariots failed miserably, with one
machine destroyed on a wall of spears
even before contact. The hoplite line
marched on over the wreckage.

Above: Now the Persians unleashed the

scythed chariots, two careering at the hoplite
line while the Spartans calmly opened their
ranks to avoid the charge of a third, leaving
archers to take care of it. With the hoplite line
closing, the Immortals advanced to meet them,
supported by missile fire and, on the Persian
right, light horse and skirmishers continued
pelting the levies.

Above: Behind the Spartans, the archers peppered the

remaining chariot and, wounded, the horses ran amok.
Below: The Greek commander looks on worriedly at his
endangered left at the end of turn 4.

COE MECHANICS
A scythed chariot that suffers a
damaging hit by shooting must pass
a Morale test or run amok. This
can potentially lead to the chariot
turning around and heading out of
control toward its own lines!

80

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 TURN 5
COLLAPSE OF THE LEFT

Above: The Immortals charge confidently into

the phalanx line.
COE MECHANICS
When a unit loses combat it rolls 2D6 and adds the margin of defeat. In this combat, the
With the Greek left now completely Greeks lost by 4 and rolled 6 - a final score of 10. Their Morale is 7 so, losing by 3 points,
penetrated, the Persians continued their we can see that they are broken and flee. Different circumstances and unit special rules
skirmishing tactic with the Thracians on may affect this, meaning that the results shift up or down. If the unit had been “steady”,
their left, killing several. In the combat, for example, the result would have shifted one space up to “Retreat and Disrupted”.
the Immortals won decisively.
With the collapse of the left flank, the MORALE TEST OUTCOME
Greek centre advanced regardless. The Fail by Result
levies continued their headlong rout, 0 None
discarding their heavy equipment but
the citizen hoplites recovered, redressing 1 Retreat and disrupted
their formation before the Immortals 2-3 Broken and flee
hit them once more. There was some 4-5 Broken and flee
success on the Greek right as missile fire
6+ Destroyed or dispersed
shattered one of the Persian cavalry units.

COE MECHANICS
Units that are broken in combat Below: With the defeat of the hoplites at the
remain disrupted for the rest of the hands of the Immortals, the levy phalanx
game. Disrupted units are reluctant to panics and flees. Note the use of casualty
initiate hand-to-hand combat and their markers to denote the broken units.
opponent enjoys a combat resolution
bonus against them. Units reduced
to less than five models are said to
be “shattered” and lose many of the
benefits of being a unit. Like disrupted
units they must pass a morale test to
charge into combat. Shattered units
do not gain the normal benefit for
attacking enemy flanks and, if they lose
a combat round, they are broken for the
rest of the game.

81

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 TURN 6
CLASH OF STEEL
On the left, massed missile fire broke
COE MECHANICS the Thracians, leaving just skirmishers
In Clash of Empires, the Persian sparabara formation is of little use against enemy infantry,
to protect the Spartans’ right flank. The
being utilised for fending off cavalry or for protection against missiles. Phalanxes are
powerful, but degrade when they are pushed back in combat or become disrupted.
combat brought hope to the Greek cause
as the Immortals were stopped in their
tracks, the hoplites fighting ferociously
against superior opponents.
Exhaustion was obviously setting in as
the phalanxes floundered upon the Persian
infantry. Each combat resulted in the
units being pushed back. The disrupted
phalanx facing the Immortals would not
enjoy the fortune of the previous fight
and, despite a last gasp of resistance,
failed its morale test catastrophically and
was totally destroyed.

Above: With just a battered phalanx on the

Greek left, the Immortals charge to finish it
off as the Persian light horse manoeuvres to
threaten the centre. In the centre of the Persian
line, the spara bearers brace themselves for the
coming impact of the phalanx.

Left: The Greek phalanx gets to grips with the

Persian infantry.

82

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 TURN 7
DEATH BLOW

Above: Situation at the start of turn 7: the

Persian light horse attacks the exposed left
flank of the hoplite line (top of picture).

The centre left phalanx disintegrated

totally with its flank enveloped as the
other combat resulted in the Persians being
forced back. Finally the Spartans joined
the fray, but they were too late to lend their
considerable skill to proceedings.
With the final turn over, we counted
the victory points scored and the result
was a crushing victory for the Persians.
Such a victory may have even spawned
a 20th Century historical film industry in
Tehran! The game also reflected history
pretty well - the advantage of Persian
cavalry in open terrain was decisive in
operations in the region and it was one
that was not enjoyed in the ill-fated
invasions of Greece where the image of Above: With its flank engaged this hoplite unit unsurprisingly collapsed.
the invincible phalanx was established.
The Greek deployment had proven to be effectively neutralised the threat of the massively influential. Their presence
poor. The levy phalanx was vulnerable Persian cavalry to the right flank of the tied up the levy phalanx and stalled the
to panic and shouldn’t have been trusted hoplite line. advance of the centre, worried about its
with holding the left. The advantage flank, for a turn. The Immortals lived up
of initiative had allowed the Persian The main Persian lesson from the game to their billing, destroying one phalanx
commander to deploy the Immortals was to use the cavalry in the manner and causing the flight of the levies. On
away from the Spartans, the one unit in for which it was intended - to harass reflection, the other infantry units were
the Greek army that would have carved and weaken enemy formations before a little lucky to perform so well in hand-
them to pieces. At least the Thracians, the attempting close combat. The Persian to-hand fighting - another turn may have
Greek horse and some skirmishers had light horse on their right had been proved that luck to have been exhausted!

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 THE PERSIAN CONQUERORS!
TIM’s after thoughts....

I must admit to thoroughly enjoying the game with Stuart. (It helps when you win!)
My victory can be put down to good deployment of the Immortals (and the
right decision when to ‘unleash’ them), but as usual in ancient war gaming,
getting the dice gods in your favour can help considerably!
As to game mechanics, I particularly like the pre-game set up of having to
roll for character traits, scenery and using the army’s strategy rating to the
commander’s advantage. I think it’s a great move to include these rules, as
they add another dimension to the game.
Of course adding your ‘super’ troops to your army roster will still help you win
combats, but being deployed in the wrong place can effectively put them out
of the battle. This is what happened to Stuart’s Spartans, I was able to avoid
contact till the game had been effectively won.
Had we played on another turn I feel the Spartans would have been able to
achieve some success.
My cavalry behaved as they should, having realised they were not heavy shock
troops and getting a bloody nose on Stuart’s right flank, they withdrew and
relied on superior shooting abilities. I was impressed with the light cavalry’s
charge into the flank of the hoplites, armed only with knifes they still tipped the
balance in their favour. I suppose realistically ANY infantry hotly engaged to
the front will buckle when charged in the flank by cavalry.
Overall I’m very impressed with CoE as a rule set. Of course it’s early days
yet, and I’m sure the rules will continue to evolve, as players around the
world give feedback.
Great Escape Games seem determined to support the system online with
masses of army lists (for free) and a definite decision to publish official army
list books at a steady rate over the coming months. It’s very refreshing having a
manufacturer publish a rule set and at the same time have an obvious passion
to support it too.

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Rise and Fall of Persia.indd 12 17/8/11 10:36:18

 TIM’S PERSIAN ARMY
I first started collecting the Persian army you see before you about ten years ago, having always
been a big fan of this period.
I started with a core force of Persian ‘Spara’/Bow infantry and some units of heavy cavalry. This
force then evolved into the multinational force it is today. It now includes Phrygians, Skythians,
Libyans, Ethiopians, Arabs, Egyptians, Indians, Iranians and Coastal Greek mercenaries, not
forgetting the scythed chariots and huge scratch-built war tower!
I’ve collected figures from a broad period of Achaemenid Persia, which allows me to field early
or later armies to suit my opponents.
The army features figures primarily from the old Vendel range, backed up with figures from Black
Tree, Wargames Foundry, Copplestone Castings and a few more I’ve forgotten.
Thanks and praise must also go to Mario Kkounnous, Jeremy Jenkins, Dan Atherton and
Tony Down for help with the painting.

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Rise and Fall of Persia.indd 13 17/8/11 11:15:04

 BRIGHTON, By Nick Buxey

BRENTFORD
AND BARHAM

When my good friend, one of the founder-members of the ‘Like a Above: Great War Miniature Uhlans patrol
Stonewall’ Wargames Group, Tim Whitworth merrily said to me one ahead of the advancing infantry.
day “I have a cracking scenario for an early WWI game”, I little thought
call in 1914. He experienced every
of what the consequences would be. We were on our way back from a
action and horror of the First World
wargames show, or a model shop - can’t remember which - and we were War and lived to return home to change
discussing scenarios, games and different historical periods that we had a guard outside Buckingham Palace. My
hankering to game sometime in the future; you’ve all been there I’m sure. imagination was well and truly taken by
It’s interesting how the enthusiasm of another person can fan the flame of this wonderfully illustrated series of vivid
a smouldering ember that’s been dormant for some time. comic strips, where I first encountered
‘Hun’ cavalrymen with lances - all
The scenario Tim had in mind was one When I was about seven years old, in wearing what appeared to be school
from Don Featherstone’s book of many 1965, I used to read the Victor comic. teachers’ mortarboards - charging ancient
years ago, Battles with Model Tanks, Many UK readers will no doubt motorcars covered in riveted metal plates.
although this one did not strictly feature remember this celebrated publication, My imagination took a further leap
tanks, but armoured cars. Furthermore, it which featured such legendary characters forward when, almost simultaneously,
was a scenario from the early days of the as Alf Tupper, the ‘Tough of the Track’. Airfix released their HO/OO scale figure
First World War. The scenario featured In 1965, the comic began a series of sets of World War One German and
early British armoured cars, pickelhaubed stories that was to last many years British infantry. Spiked helmets! So
German infantry and czapka’d German throughout the 1960s and into the early different from the appearance of all the
uhlans. Immediately, memories of my ’70s. They featured one Sergeant Miller German soldiers in the films and war
first encounters with First World War who was a member of the Coldstream comic books, predominantly dealing with
history came flooding back. Guards and answered his country’s the Second World War, which had ended

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RNAS Game.indd 2 11/8/11 15:07:13

 only 21 years earlier. Blimey, that makes
me feel old! My father fought in WWII,
which somehow made it seem more
accessible. I knew next to nothing about
World War One, although I knew my
grandfather had been wounded in action
and ‘great uncle Bill had been captured
by the Prussians’, whoever they were....
The fascination stuck throughout the
years and, of course, my knowledge
of the conflict has grown considerably.
Strangely enough, though, I had never
wargamed the period. It only took my
friend’s suggestion to set the machinery
going however. I don’t need much of
an excuse to commence a brand new
wargaming period and this scenario
promised a limited outlay, as not many
figures were involved. What’s more, I
had long admired Great War Miniature’s
World War One range of 28mm figures
and now felt I had absolute carte
blanche to buy some, despite the tons of
unpainted lead sitting in my modelling
room at home.
Many wargamers, I think, will agree
that one of the major attractions of the
hobby is all the research that precludes
the commencement of a particular period,
or game, especially so if it’s to be a
demonstration game at a show like Salute
or Partizan, which is par for the course
for ‘Like a Stonewall’ games. There is
a definite excitement in anticipating a
new project and I believe the essence
to a successful demo game is putting
in details, those little extras that bring
a wargame table to life. I researched
extensively, using books and the internet,
and I have included a bibliography at the
end of this article that may be helpful
to other gamers if they wish to discover
more about this historical episode.
As my research developed it became
apparent that even a relatively small
demo game can open a ‘can of worms’.
RNAS Game.indd 3
Above: Armoured car, ‘Barham’, drives through Avroult seeking the downed plane.
THE SCENARIO
The scenario was quite straight-forward,
but fascinating. It involved three British
armoured cars trying to locate the crew
of a downed observation plane before the
advancing German hordes could capture
them, somewhere near the somewhat
aptly named (as we shall see) Belgian
village of Avroult. The armoured cars
were named ‘Brighton’, ‘Barham’ and
‘Brentford’, hence the title of the game.
The scenario required around 40 German
infantry, one German HMG, one German
77mm artillery piece and crew and 14
Uhlans. The British required three Rolls
Royce armoured cars.
The gaming board would feature a small
Belgian village composed of appropriate
buildings, a paved road system, a river,
numerous woods and fields. A laminated
map of the wargames table would be
used to plot ‘hidden’ movements by both
sides, until the umpire deemed them in
eye contact, at which point the troops in
World War I
1914-1918
question would be placed on the table.
If the British could locate the downed
aircraft (again, deemed to be ‘spotted’ by
the umpire) and pick up the crew and then
drive off at a previously specified point
without the Germans preventing them
within ten turns, then it would be victory
for the British. If otherwise, it could be
either a draw, or a German victory if the
armoured cars were destroyed, or the
aeroplane crew killed or captured.
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
At the outbreak of the First World War
in 1914, the German army (consisting
in the West of seven field armies)
executed a modified version of the
Schlieffen Plan, designed to quickly
attack France through neutral Belgium
before turning southwards to encircle
the French army on the German border.
After what appeared to the French to
be hesitation, the British government
finally declared war on Germany when
its ultimatum to the Germans to leave
Belgian soil was rejected. Britain’s treaty
pledge to uphold Belgian neutrality left
it no option but to fight as allies of the
Belgians and the French.
In the very early days of World War One
there was no Royal Air Force. Instead,
there was the Royal Flying Corps (RFC),
under the auspices of the British Army,
and the Royal Naval Flying Service
(RNFS), administered by the Royal
Navy. Both forces were developing their
air forces on parallel lines, but quite
separately. Aeroplanes were still in the
very early stages of development and
very primitive by today’s standards. No
one could have foreseen the amazing
leap that aeroplane development was to
make in four short, but horrendous years.
Left: The German Rumpler Taube (‘Dove’)
observation plane.
87
11/8/11 15:08:05
 It is not the intention of this article to go
into the history of aircraft development
‘LIKE A STONEWALL’ WARGAMES GROUP
in any depth, but some explanation of
where things had got to is in order, to
We are an independent group of wargamers based in North Nottinghamshire,
set the context of the action. In the first
UK. We specialise in the production of historical demonstration games for
two or three months of the war the major
display across the UK convention circuit. We are eight times winners of the
protagonists all had some form of early
Old Glory trophy for the Best Demonstration wargame at the Old Glory World
aeroplanes, but these were used strictly
Wargame Championships, an event held annually in October at Derby.We make
for observation and intelligence gathering.
most of our terrain and have a large joint collection of 25-28mm figures. We
The machines were not armed, or
cover all periods, but have particular interests in Ancients, Napoleonic, Colonial,
camouflaged and didn’t even bear national
American Revolution and 1400– 1730 European warfare (and now, WWI!)
markings. Any weapons carried were
personal hand weapons, such as pistols
Members include: Tim Whitworth, Barry Foster, Nick Gilmore, John
and shotguns, and their use was resorted
Hutchinson, Nick Buxey, Dave Wilson, Howard, Cammidge, Richard
to if aircrew were downed, or to exchange
Hattersley, Matthew Fletcher, Bruce Carlton, Bryn Hammond and Michael
fire with enemy spotter planes doing the
Togwell, with many other associates:
same job as themselves. The Germans
had, amongst others, the fantastically
www.freewebs.com/like-a-stone-wall
designed Rumpler Taube (Dove), which
really did resemble an enormous bird,
with stylised ‘feathery’ wings - a clear
candidate for use in a Victorian sci-fi
game if ever there was one. After all this book and internet work, to France when the war started. One
I found that a suitable aircraft for our of the RFC aircraft was the first British
The British had a number of different
game would be the Avro 504, used by aircraft to be shot down by the Germans,
aircraft, some fielded by the RFC, others
both the RFC and the RNAS. At this on 22 August 1914. The pilot was 2nd
by the RNAS, but none were built with a
point in the article I can do no better that Lt. Vincent Waterfall and his navigator
combat role in mind. Sopwith ½ Strutters,
quote the following tracts, found on the Lt Charles George Gordon Bayly (both 5
Sopwith Pups and Sopwith Triplanes
Wikipedia website: Sqn RFC).”
were the stuff of the future, at this early
stage of the war we find such aeroplanes “The Avro 504, a lightweight, two- THE RNAS ARMOURED
as the Bleriot XI, The Royal Aircraft seater aircraft, was designed by Alliot CAR SECTION
Factory ‘B’ Type, the Breguet biplane, Vernon Roe in 1913. It was an easy
The first British armoured cars to see
the Henry Farman, the Sopwith Tabloid plane to fly and was used in the early
action in Belgium and France in WWI
and the Avro 504, among many others of stages of the war for light-bombing and
were the brainchild of Commander
diverse design. reconnaissance missions. When an Avro
Samson of the RNAS, an extraordinary
504 was shot down on 22 August 1914,
Some were ‘Pushers’ and some were and enterprising character and
it became the first British casualty of the
‘Tractors’: that is, some had the propeller championed by Winston Churchill, First
war. Three Avro 504 were used to bomb
mounted in front of the cockpit, some Lord of the Admiralty. Again, I shall
the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen
mounted behind the cockpit. My research summarise the factual information,
at the end of 1914. However, the Avro 504
had uncovered a whole new world for quoting from in Wikipedia (no point in
was not a successful combat aircraft and
me! I have no doubt that this information ‘re-inventing the wheel’).
they were withdrawn from the Western
is ‘old hat’ to many gamers who already
Front at the end of 1914. Small numbers Air Commodore Charles Rumney
have an interest in early planes, but I
of early aircraft were purchased both by Samson, CMG, DSO & Bar, AFC (8 July
make mention of it to illustrate just how
the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the 1883 – 5 February 1931) was a British
much research can be thrown up by what
Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) prior to naval aviation pioneer. In 1911 he was
appears to be a straight-forward game.
the start of World War I, and were taken selected as one of the first four Royal
Below: An Avro 504.

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RNAS Game.indd 4 15/8/11 15:47:46

 Navy officers to receive pilot training,
obtaining his Royal Aero Club certificate
on 25 April 1911 after completing only
71 minutes in the air. He was appointed
Officer Commanding of Naval Air
Station Eastchurch in October 1911 and
the following April he was appointed
Officer Commanding the Naval Flying
School. In 1914 the Royal Navy
separated the Naval Wing from the Royal
Flying Corps, naming it the Royal Naval
Air Service (RNAS). In July Samson
was appointed Officer Commanding the
Eastchurch (Mobile) Squadron, which
was renamed No. 3 Squadron RNAS by
September 1914.
Above: Commander Samson, the short man
in the centre, is a hero of earth, air, and
water. Uhlans display great courage when
facing unarmed peasants, but they bolt like
rabbits when his armoured car approaches.
RNAS Game.indd 5
At the outbreak of World War I, Samson THE FORCES IN MINIATURE
took the Eastchurch RNAS Squadron to
Well, the early German infantry were
France, where it supported Allied ground
easy, a number of manufacturers
forces along the French and Belgian
producing a 28mm range. I personally
frontiers. In the late summer of 1914,
favour Great War Miniatures, but my
with too few aircraft at his disposal,
collection features virtually every
Samson instead had his men patrol the
manufacturer, if they prove compatible.
French and Belgian countryside in the
The Uhlans, I knew, were about to be
privately owned cars some of them had
released by Great War Miniatures, so I
taken to war. The first patrol comprised
just bided my time. The British armoured
two cars, nine men, and one machine gun.
cars? Well, that seemed to be no problem
Inspired by the success of the Belgians’
either. Rolls Royce armoured cars with
experience of armoured cars, Samson
turrets are quite a military history icon
had two RNAS cars, a Mercedes and a
and several manufacturers produce those
Rolls-Royce, armoured. These vehicles
in 25-28mm.
had only partial protection, with a single
machine gun firing backwards, and The bomb-shell came, when I received
were the first British armoured vehicles an urgent communiqué from Tim, my
to see action. Aggressive patrolling by collaborator, telling me that the classic
Samson’s improvised force in the area turreted Rolls Royce armoured cars did
between Dunkirk and Antwerp did much not appear in France until December,
to prevent German cavalry divisions from 1914. Their predecessors were actually
carrying out effective reconnaissance, cobbled together out of boiler plate
and with the help of Belgian Post Office mounted on a Rolls Royce Silver
employees who used the intact telephone Ghost Tourer. Initially, a Mercedes was
system to report German movements, he also used, later joined by more Rolls
was able to probe deeply into German Royces. I suppose, with hindsight, this
occupied territory. Closer to Dunkirk, improvisation made sense, as the war
Samson’s force assisted Allied units in
contact with the Germans, and at other
times made use of their mobility and
machine guns to exploit open flanks,
cover retreats, and race German
forces to important areas.”
Right: Great War
Miniatures German
77mm gun
and crew.
89
11/8/11 15:09:17
 had caught many aspects of the armed
services unprepared for the technological
developments of the times, but I hadn’t
thought about it.
See? The ‘can of worms’ was beginning
to open... It soon became clear that I
would have to scratch-build the three
armoured cars. More of that later.
What about the aeroplane itself? I
don’t know too much about aeroplanes
generally, although I’ve many fond
memories of building Airfix ‘Dogfight
Doubles’, such as Sopwith Camel
v Albatross, among others. WW1
combat planes have always caught
my imagination and, I suspect, the
imagination of many others. Look at the
popularity of Wings of War. I needed to
find out which aeroplanes were used by
the British, particularly the RNAS, in the
very early days of the war. Secondly, I
needed to find out if the plane in question
was manufactured in 1/48 scale. Scratch-
build an aeroplane? No way. I know
my limitations! I think. Was the ‘can of
worms’ spilling more of its contents? Yep!
Thoughts then turned to the Northern
French/Belgian buildings of the period.
Below: Belgian civilians and retreating carabiniers flee Avroult (figures by West Wind, Pulp
Miniatures, Foundry, Redoubt and Brigade Models. Buildings converted from Grand
Manner and Battleground)
90
RNAS Game.indd 6
Well, not too much of a problem, as
several manufactures produce some now.
It’s odd, though, that we are really only
beginning to see more such building
appearing in 28mm scale, particularly
when the Napoleonic era is so popular.
Hovels, of course, have long produced
a fine range of Napoleonic buildings
suitable for later times and, with a bit
of conversion, can be ‘brought up to
date’. Even so, there is definite scope for
scratch-building some too and I did this.
The ‘worm pile’ got bigger.
Now, after this realisation, did I really
need to add to the contents of the ‘cans
of worms? No, of course not. Did I need
to give myself more work? No. Would
the game benefit from adding another
dimension? Yes, I thought it would. Oh,
gawd! I wanted to add the flavour of
the period. I wanted to add a column of
Belgian refugees to the scenario. Do any
manufacturers produce WW1 Belgian
refugees? Decidedly, no. Would I have
to convert them all? It certainly looked
like it. But I do love a challenge. As it
turned out, on the demo table, the refugee
column provoked more enquiries and
attention that other aspect of the game!
THE GERMANS
Purchasing the German troops in
28mm was straight-forward and I was
soon painting-up early war infantry
and ‘treating myself’ to more uniform
reference books to accomplish the
purpose (any excuse). The much
anticipated Uhlans, turned out to be
well worth the wait. The great gun
and artillery crew again came from
Great War Miniatures, although no
artillery limber was available for the
Germans, and, to my knowledge, no
manufacturer produces a really accurate
German WWI limber. I looked at Great
War’s British limber, with a view to
conversion; however I rejected that
notion. Instead, I investigated Foundry’s
excellent Franco-Prussian War range
in 28mm. Yes, a decent limber existed
that was made for the big 90mm Krupp
gun. It wasn’t exactly right, but could
be modified. Limber riders and drivers
could also be converted, covering the
1870 pickelhaubes with a thin layer
of ‘Magicsculpt’ epoxy putty and
carving out boots from the trouser legs.
Although a slightly smaller 28mm
than the Great War Miniatures, these
figures look absolutely fine on the table
top. I did however reject the Franco
Prussian horses as too small, and used
the Foundry WWI British limber teams
instead, with the addition of epoxy
putty horse collars, as used by the
German artillery.
To complete the German forces, a
command base was created from
Renegade Miniatures ‘Mounted
Command’ figures and casualties for early
war Germans were converted from Old
Glory’s ‘No Man’s Land’ 28mm range.
THE ‘DOWNED’ AEROPLANE
I had merrily gone out and bought what I
thought was a suitable plane right at the
outset of the project - without doing my
homework! I ended up with a beautiful
kit of an Airco DH4 which ‘looked’ the
part, but I subsequently discovered did
Below: The Avro 504, downed, but in
remarkably good shape!’ (1/48th metal and
plastic kit from ‘Blue Max’).
15/8/11 15:48:49
 not make an appearance until 1916. Most
wargamers I know want to get the details
right, as that’s part of the wargamer’s/
military historian’s make up and I’m no
exception, but it comes with a price in
time and money.
I decided from the outset that I wanted
a 2-seater plane for the scenario, so that
two crew members could be on the table,
hence the purchase of the Airco DH4.
Now, I had to find a 1/48th scale model
of an early British 2-seater observer
plane. Not easy. At one point I thought
I’d cracked it. I discovered that the
RNAS Sopwith Tabloid was designed
for two crew, though, oddly, they sat
side by side, not one in front of the other.
A model was available of this plane in
1/48th scale. I bought one via EBay. It
cost over £20, but, again, I should have
done my homework. The kit turned out
to be a single-seater model. The final
plane I settled on was a Blue Max kit, in
metal and injection-moulded plastic: the
Avro 504. Thanks to my initial ignorance
and then inadequate research, my aircraft
model for the game had been bought
three times over! That ‘worm’ pile was
growing bigger all the time.
Additional research informed me that
the first aircraft to fly over Belgium
in WWI were not painted, but left the
natural colour of doped linen, with
natural wood and blackened and shiny
metal features. Internet research, locating
photographs of original and restored
early 504s confirmed this. No national
recognition markings were used initially,
but identifying numbers were painted
on the tail fin. Constructing the kit was
not easy and certainly not for a beginner.
I took my time and made a reasonable
job of it; it became a veritable labour
of love. Foundry’s ‘Raw Linen’ paint
proved useful for the main surfaces. I
added my own details: ‘bullet’ holes in
the upper wing, courtesy of the Dremel;
strut wiring from the plastic bristles of a
broom head.
Downed aircraft crew were easy to get.
Mark Copplestone makes some very
suitable figures, so do Artizan Designs
and there are numerous others out there.
I decided to covert one to be wielding a
shotgun. After all, why make it easy on
myself? I found that RNAS personnel
wore, not unnaturally, navy-coloured
uniforms and often long black leather
flying coats.

THE ROLLS ROYCE

ARMOURED CARS
Information about the improvised
armoured cars of Samson’s squadron
is very scarce. There are some useful
photographs and some good illustrations
around, but none show the exact layout
of the armoured car. There are no plans.
I did ask for and receive some excellent
advice from David Fletcher, of Bovington
Tank Museum, who has written a most
useful book on early armoured cars (see
bibliography). It was clear, however, that
existing ones. Wheels were replaced with 30mm WWI figures offered a seated driver
a lot of the construction would be down
Daimler ones, cutting the axels through and an officer in early WWI uniform.
to guesswork.
and swopping over from one model to the
Early Maxim tripod-mounted machine
I knew immediately that I would require other. Everything had to be made up as I
guns were used by the RNAS and
a die-cast model of a Rolls Royce Silver went along until I had achieved the right
had brass barrels. I used Copplestone
Ghost to form the basis of my armoured look. By the time I had painted up the first
Castings’s Turkish HMG, hoping to
car model. Which would work best; model, ‘christened’ it ‘Brighton 20’ in
convert the crew (not from Muslim to
the smaller scale Ledo model, or the white lettering over its ‘Battleship Grey’
Christian, but Turk to Brit). However, I
larger Matchbox ‘Models of Yesteryear’ paintwork and carefully attached it to its
found that the cramped space in the rear
model? Typically, I bought both via EBay. MDF base with superglue under each tyre
of the model required smaller figures. I
Luckily, with all the converting that and a short metal rod beneath the chassis,
eventually solved the problem by using
would be entailed, I could get away with I was pretty satisfied. Then I realised that
a mixture of Irregular Miniatures WWI
pretty knocked about models and these I had this all to do twice more!
British MG crew and kneeling firing
would be cheaper. Just as well. I soon
Armoured car crew members were not at figures and Foundry WWI MG crew.
discovered that the Matchbox model that
all straight-forward. I eventually found Where necessary, I swapped heads with
proved most suitable did not come with
that Tradition’s ‘Clive Knight’ range of some from the Woodbine Designs range.
spoked wheels. I required spoked wheels.
The ‘Models of Yesteryear’ Daimler has
spoked wheels. Logic? Buy enough of
them on EBay to cannibalise the wheels
and make three Rolls Royce armoured
cars with four spoked driving and two
spare wheels apiece. Eighteen spoked
wheels. It equated to five model Daimlers.
Well, I tackled the first Rolls Royce
conversion with enthusiasm, driven on
by the desire realise the model. I cut
the die-cast body about with a Dremel
cutting attachment (seriously dodgy
work, but I’ve kept all my fingers). Then
the distinctive shape of the improvised
armour was reconstructed from plastic
card. Headlights were converted from the

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RNAS Game.indd 7 15/8/11 15:49:48


ADDITIONAL BRITISH FORCES
We decide to bring some extra
unpredictability to the game by
introducing the possibility of additional
British troops, both infantry and
cavalry, arriving during the game
to support the armoured cars. Tim
Whitworth provided the figures for
this from his muster of troops for our
forthcoming Mons game. (Watch out for
that one at Derby in October!)
THE BELGIAN REFUGEES
Originally an after-thought these proved
to be as big a challenge as any I had
encountered so far. Whilst some figures
for WWII civilians do exist in 28mm,
nobody manufactures refugees dressed
for the period. Is there a big difference
in 1914 and 1940 civilian dress?
Absolutely! I’m a sad case really. I love
to spend hours online, sifting through
manufacturer’s ranges and identifying
figures that have the potential for
conversion to fulfil the role I require, and
eventually, I found what I was looking for
using West Wind’s Gothic Horror nuns,
children and French civilians, Dixon
92
RNAS Game.indd 8
Miniature’s Wild West civilians, Pulp
Miniatures characters, Gripping Beast’s
Viking civilians (!), Pax Limpopo’s
‘Anarchist Nanny’, Artizan Design’s
individual characters, Copplestone
Castings’s gangster figures... the list goes
on. I topped this polyglot assembly with
a lovely little dog-drawn ammunition cart
and two Belgian carabineers made by
Brigade Models (not to be confused with
Brigade Games).
Shirt collars were trimmed away,
women’s skirts lengthened with epoxy
putty. Some figures required extensive
conversion, others just a little. I wanted to
convey the pathetic nature of the refugees’
plight. Consequently, the majority of
figures represented women, children
and old men. Models of a handcart, a
horse-drawn wagon, a wheelbarrow, and
a wheelchair were all sought out from
various sources. A manufacturer of 1/43
scale model railway accessories called S
& D provide an excellent handcart. One
has to be careful when using ‘O’ scale
(1/43) pieces, as the figures usually equate
to around 35mm, but you can get away
with most accessories.
Above: RNAS armoured car, ‘Brighton’
evades the Hun artillery and Uhlans.
Top left: Converted ‘Model of Yesteryear’
Rolls Royce Silver Ghost crewed by
figures from Tradition, Foundry and
Irregular Miniatures.
Left: Tim’s Tommies advance in support
(Renegade Miniatures).
I filled the handcart, wagon, etc, with
‘furniture’ obtained from a 1/48 scale
doll’s house manufacturer. The table,
chairs, grandfather clock, etc, are
relatively cheap and come as a plastic
set made in China. The bed ticking
mattress was researched on the internet
and recreated in epoxy putty. Finally,
the figures were carefully selected and
divided into ‘dramatic’ configurations
on a number of separate bases. I wanted
the refugees to be shuffling along the
pavé roads, clogging the advance of all
the armies, an important factor in the
early days of WWI. Accordingly all
figure bases were ‘sunk’ into MDF bases
that had been covered in anaglypta wall
covering that bears a resemblance to
stonework/cobbles. All my home made
pavé roads were also made from this.
Careful paintwork disguised where the
figure bases ended and the anaglypta
pavé began. Colours used in painting
the refugees largely revolved around
dismal browns, greys and blacks, with an
occasional brighter colour put in to add
interest. My research showed that these
dull colours predominated at the time
anyway, but I thought that they would
also amplify the sadness of the situation.
THE GAME
To be frank, I’m more of a modeller
than a gamer, so when it came to the day
we’d been working towards - namely
2nd Partizan, Newark, England, 2010,
I provided most of the models and the
scenery, the accompanying display and
the means of playing the game, but left
the skilful umpiring and running of the
game to Tim (cop out, or what?) The
other colleagues of my wargames group,
11/8/11 15:10:56

‘Like a Stonewall’, have oodles more
gaming experience and understanding
of the intricacies of rules than I do and
they ‘brought to life’ the relatively small
scenario that had cost so much in time
and money. The game played well,
having lots of ‘unknowns’ inherent in
the scenario. Most importantly, it was
FUN and later functioned very well as a
participation game at Hammerhead 2011.
Outcomes were not foregone conclusions
and victories for both sides, as well as the
occasional draw, occurred.
RNAS Game.indd 9
CONCLUSION
Was it worth it? Most definitely! As
most wargamers find, the satisfaction is
in doing your best to bring alive what
begins as just a vague idea. And often,
the journey is what makes the arrival so
enjoyable. Roll on the next project!
Above: More Belgian civilians clog the roads... (figures by Gripping Beast, Dixon, Artizan,
Foundry, Newark Model Soldier Coy. (Can’t be Belgium without Poirot!) and Redoubt.
Wheelbarrow by S & D models.
Below: The Hun hordes sweep towards Avroult at the start of the game.
BIBLOGRAPHY:
German Infantry 1914-1918.
David Nash. Almark Publications.
German Artillery 1914-1918.
David Nash. Almark Publications.
Imperial German Army Handbook, 1914-
1918. David Nash. Ian Allan Publications.
Uniforms of the German Soldier (An
Illustrated History from 1870 to the end of
World War 1) Alejandro M. De Quesada.
Greenhill Books
The RFC/RNAS Handbook, 1914-1918.
Peter G Cooksley. Sutton Publishing Limited
On a Wing and a Prayer: The untold Story
of the Pioneering Aviation Heroes of WW1
in Their Own Words. Joshua Levine.
Collins Publishing.
The First War Planes: Purnell’s History of
the World Wars Special. Edited by Andrew
Kershaw. BPC Publishing Limited
War Cars: British Armoured cars in the
First World War. David Fletcher. HMSO
Early Armoured Cars. E. Bartholomew.
Shire Album # 209. Shire Publications
Numerous websites dealing with the Avro
504, including www.militaryfactory.com
The War Illustrated: Album De Luxe.
Volume 1: The First Phase. Edited by J
A Hammerton. The Amalgamated Press
Limited 1915
93
11/8/11 15:11:36
 KICKING IT By Justin McConnell

“NEW SCHOOL”
Justin McConnell arrived at HISTORICON 2010 with the idea that he Phillip told me he realized that there
would “gather information from a cross-section of hobbyists to ascertain was so much about the way that society,
what had drawn so many of them to this hobby of collecting, painting, politics, and war have changed over the
years, but also that they have, in many
and playing with toy soldiers”. He was fortunate enough to interview a
ways, stayed the same. He said that he
hobbyist named Jesse Greene who promotes, organizes, and runs a game had seen students go from one history
club in Newark, Delaware (USA). Then he came across Emily. Justin’s class to the next without making these
conversation with Emily completely changed what he had come to do, her connections, and he wanted to find a way
story helped him realize that perhaps he could discover how new blood is to help these kids connect the dots in a
brought into this great pastime of ours. more succinct way.
He came up with what I considered to be
Emily is a student at The Wakefield grade history teacher. He struck me as a pretty ingenious idea - The Wakefield
School in The Plains, Virginia. She told someone who would be just as suited School Historic Game Club and the
me this wonderful tale of her teacher, Mr. commanding one of the units of soldiers Conflicts of the World program. The
Brown, and the Conflicts of the World represented by our toy models as he program begins in ninth grade and goes
program he operates at The Wakefield is molding our youth in the pursuit of through to graduation (four years in all),
School. When I pressed for more historic knowledge. He gripped my hand and students have the opportunity to
information about this after school club, firmly with his strong handshake and learn more about the conflicts which have
she said “Well, why don’t we just go introduced himself warmly with the long, shaped the world we live in today.
talk to Mr. Brown.” I thought this was a confident drawl of his southern accent. I
explained my goal to answer the question Students are required to write papers and
brilliant idea.
of why we participate in this hobby, and give presentations in this program, so it
I was introduced to Phillip Brown by how it led me to his students and the is no simple “after school game group”.
Emily and Battlefront Miniatures’ Global program he runs. He agreed to answer my Mr. Brown expects that the students who
Events Manager, Joe Krone. Phillip questions and introduce me to even more take this elective maintain strong grades
Brown is not your conventional ninth of his students. in other classes. Phillip also wants to see

On the first day of play at the US Nationals, Emily (right) was

able to take to the field against Mike Mann (left) who would go
on to take the title of “2010 Flames Of War US Nationals Champion”.

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WI288-KickinItNewSchoolFINAL.indd 2 11/8/11 15:12:50


Left to Right: Sarah Hontz, Alex Alexander, Ryan Sloan, Pat Penderville, Emily Rutledge, Nicky Robinson, and Mr Phillip Brown.
problem solving and deductive reasoning
skills come out of their participation in
this program. He went on to clarify:
“The Conflicts of the World (COW)
program is really two major parts; the
paper writing and research component
which all ninth graders enrolled in
World Civilizations II participate in,
and the History Games Club leadership
component for grades 10-12. The latter
don’t write papers, but they do help
execute the six in-class battles per year
(that the freshmen write their papers
on), as well as handle the logistics for
their charity tournaments and events.
Via the ninth grade component of COW,
every ninth grade student at Wakefield
Above: Ryan Sloan (right) was one of the other club members that tackled the challenge that was the 2010 Flames Of War US Nationals.
WI288-KickinItNewSchoolFINAL.indd 3
encounters gaming in class. If they wish
to stay involved in the program, they
enter the History Games Club (which
partners with our Model UN for some
events) and they enter the leadership
phase of the program.”
I saw these strictures pay off in the
conversations I had with his students.
They are all articulate teenagers who
have illustrated the ability to connect the
dots as he hoped. They have also learned
that these events aren’t just words on
paper. These events are experienced by
people, and the students investigate the
lives lived during the conflicts.
Emily and her club-mates, Patrick,
William, Sarah, Nicky, and Ryan all
focus
club
demonstrated their expanded knowledge.
We sat down and had a round table
discussion on the merits of their
activities, which are integrated with the
school’s Activities program which meets
on Fridays during the school day, and
I heard Mr. Brown’s influence in their
voices. They spoke in vocabulary which
illustrates the payoff of the program.
They had the confidence and strength of
adults.
Another student, Patrick, explained he
had become involved in the club thanks
to his previous enjoyment of fantasy and
science-fiction based miniatures games,
he saw the club as a natural extension of
a hobby he already loved. Emily, and the
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11/8/11 15:16:07
 rest of his friends, showered him with
praise for being the cornerstone of the
“hobby” portion of the game club for
them, and they all cited Patrick as their
source of knowledge where painting
and building models is concerned. Sarah
remarked that she has come to enjoy the
painting aspect of the hobby as much as
she has come to love the knowledge she
has gained from the program. Sarah also
pointed out the papers they have to write
are no mere synopses of the events of
war. Cause and effects, the events leading
to hostility, and the unresolved aftermath
which inevitably leads to the next war
are all expected topics in these papers.
She then explained how another part of
the program involves re-fighting major
battles, and writing a follow-up paper
illustrating what they did differently to
their historic counterparts.
Emily spoke up again and talked about
how much she sees in the present that
she has learned from the past. Emily
said she doesn’t think she would have
really thought about the Middle East,
Afghanistan, or any of the world’s other
“trouble spots” without the influence of
Phillip Brown and his program.
Each of these impressive teenagers
spoke in turn and talked about the fun
they’ve had learning about World War II,
The Crusades, and The American Civil
War through the Conflicts of the World
program. Some commented on how they
plan to continue hobby wargaming into
Plenty of younger gamers enjoyed the action at HISTORICON, either in the company their adult lives, others say they would
of a wargaming parent (top) or other wargaming friends (above). like to, but will see what college throws

THE ICEHOUSE WARRIORS

Above: Jesse Greene (left) also got to play Emily (right) during the 2010 Flames Of War US Nationals.

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WI288-KickinItNewSchoolFINAL.indd 4 11/8/11 15:16:29

 at them first. All spoke of their admiration
for Phillip Brown and one or two even
expressed interest in teaching history.
I walked away from my conversation
with these students/hobbyists/historians
humbled. I found myself reminiscing
about my own high school history
teacher. Mr. Thomas used to play jazz
at a low volume while teaching class,
and sometimes he’d even play old radio
shows like The Shadow or Nero Wolfe
Mysteries. He too encouraged analytical
thinking and espoused the virtues of
a creative mind as well as an
intellectual one.
I finally looked to the future and
remembered the past. I hope to see (and
hear about) more programs like this pop
up in more schools across the country.
I would love to see more teachers
like Phillip Brown and Mr. Thomas.
Teachers who know that there is more
than one way to teach something, and
that the knowledge makes their students
powerful. I took a last moment to thank
Phillip Brown and his students for their
time and went about the rest of my
weekend at HISTORICON 2010 and the
Flames of War National Tournament.
Incidentally, Emily won the Old Blood
‘n’ Guts Award with her Late War US
Armored Rifle Company.
I suppose I can rest assured that at long as
there are students like Emily and teachers
like Phillip Brown that there will be a Above: Emily stands proud, holding her
place for a good historical wargame. “Old Blood ‘n’ Guts” Trophy at the conclusion of the 2010 Flames Of War
US Nationals. This award is given at the Judges’ discretion and typically awarded
Let the dice roll! for displaying nerves of steel and courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

I mentioned speaking to a gamer at HISTORICON 2010 I asked Jesse how he felt about historical gaming versus the
named Jesse Greene about his game club, The Icehouse arguably more popular fantasy and science fiction miniatures
Warriors. He spoke to me at length about his time in gaming games and he told me he didn’t really feel that there needed
and what makes him continue to come back to conventions to be a difference from one genre to the next, but that the real
like HISTORICON. exciting thing about playing with historical miniatures is the
knowledge that the men who he represents with his models
Jesse has spent a good portion of his life as a gamer, as he told
were real people. It was easy to see his point as he mentioned
me his history of roleplaying games and miniatures wargames.
how interesting it is to see how different countries in World
I saw a look of joy on his face as he mentioned many a game
War II used the resources available to them. See, Jesse and his
title, some in print and some long since passed into the history
son were at HISTORICON 2010 to participate in the Flames of
of the hobby.
War US Nationals Tournament, and while his son commanded
I pressed Jesse for more information about the way he an American Tank Company, Jesse played with a Soviet
participates in his favorite hobby and discovered that Jesse Infantry army.
had, at a point, felt that there weren’t enough opportunities for
I had to ask Jesse what compelled him to play Soviets and he
him to build, paint, and play with his model tanks, soldiers,
said to me that the sheer number of men who went to war to
and aircraft in the area he lives. Jesse, who is an amiable and
defend their country from the Nazis was amazing, and after I
confident guy, decided to take the initiative to found The
saw his army on the table, I saw what he meant.
Icehouse Warriors, in order to grow and promote wargaming in
New Castle County, Delaware and Cecil County, Maryland. So, while the Conflicts of the World program is exclusive
to students attending The Wakefield School (as a matter of
Apparently one doesn’t need to be a high school history
course), Jesse is able to invite any tabletop wargamer to visit
teacher to use gaming to teach the effects of war on human
The Icehouse Warriors. So, next time you’re in Newark, DE on
history. Jesse and his son are participants in the Boy Scouts of
a Sunday or Monday evening, stop by Delaware Freezers and
America and involve their troop and many others in the area in
roll some dice with another organization that sees how history
the game club Jesse founded at Delaware Freezers, where The
is more than just words in a book.
Icehouse Warriors hold their meetings on Monday evenings
and all day Sundays.

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WI288-KickinItNewSchoolFINAL.indd 5 11/8/11 15:16:49

 THE HALLS OF
MONTEZUMA! THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR, 1846 - 48,
PART TWO: TAYLOR’S CAMPAIGN By Derek Coleman
The American Civil War has always been popular with wargamers in hostilities had commenced and moved
the US, and interest has recently grown in the War of 1812. Between some 1600 lancers across the river. Taylor
these two conflicts, the United States fought another war, the war with sent 65 men to investigate.
Mexico. This was a major conflict with large scale battles and seaborne The Americans were caught by the enemy
landings and it was by no means one-sided. In the second part of his when searching a ranch. They tried to
series on the U.S. - Mexican War, Derek Coleman follows the trail escape, but it was hopeless. Sixteen were
blazed by Zachary Taylor. killed, a dozen wounded and the rest
captured. First blood to Mexico. At the
BACKGROUND through that they saw a Mexican officer end of April Arista moved 2500 infantry
on the far bank. The man said if they and artillery across the river and ordered
Zachary Taylor’s U.S. army spent the
attempted to cross it would be taken as an his lancers to circle the fort to cut the
beginning of 1846 peacefully at Corpus
act of war. Zachary Taylor had the guns American supply line.
Christi. That peace was not to last
unlimbered and threatened to fire on any
because, in March, President Polk Taylor knew his position was untenable.
Mexican he saw.
ordered Taylor to move to defend the Leaving 500 men of the US 7th Infantry
line of the Rio Grande. The Mexican Taylor’s infantry crossed and there was under Major Jacob Brown to hold the fort
government had never conceded this was no reaction as the Americans came ashore he started the rest of his force to Point
the southern boundary of Texas and the to see the last of the enemy riding away. Isabel on 1 May. They reached the port as
land between the Rio Grande and the They marched on and reached the Rio Arrista’s infantry reached the road.
Nueces River was in contention. Many Grande opposite the town of Matamoros
of Taylor’s troops had been sick through on 28 March.Taylor raised the flag and On 3 May the Mexicans opened fire on
the winter, but around three thousand prepared to build a fort, choosing a place the fort. The cannonade continued for
of them broke camp and began the march where he could fire on Matamoros from nearly a week and the Mexican assault
toward Mexico. two sides, but where the Mexicans could was ready by 6 May. On that morning
do likewise Major Brown was wounded by a howitzer
During the journey American scouts shell, one of the few American casualties
spotted Mexican cavalry, but the Over the next few weeks the Mexican from 2700 shells. The end seemed near
horsemen faded away as Taylor’s men force grew to over 5000 men and the but, on 8 May, the Mexican guns ceased
approached. The U.S. troops marched on American one shrank as sickness and fire and the assault troops began to
and came to a stream. The countryside desertion took their toll. Then, on 24 withdraw because Zachary Taylor had
was covered in tough undergrowth and April a new Mexican general, Mariano moved from Point Isabel.
it was not until the Americans broke Arista, arrived. He sent a note to say that

Santa Anna’s Mexican Army

Styling himself and his
army after Napoleon
Bonaparte and his
Grand Armee, Santa
Anna’s Mexican Army
were a very colorful
bunch. Here we have
some models from
Ged Cronin’s excellent
Gringo 40s range.
Left: “Inspection”
painted by Angel.
Right: Mexican Officer
and Grenadier, painted
by Mark Dixon.

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 General Taylor’s
Northern Campaign,
March 1846 - February 1847

colonial
conflict
Winning battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de
Palma in early May 1846, Taylor crossed
the Rio Grande at the head of
6,000 men. Marching west, parallel with
the river he reached Mien then swung
his army south-west onto the Monterrey
Road. Slowed by logistical problems and
the boiling heat of the northern Mexico
summer he reached Monterrey on 21
September. After smashing the Mexican
army and capturing the city he arranged a
truce. Then he took updefensive positions
in the mountains south of Saltillo. Later
in the war a detachment of Taylor’s troops
occupied Tampico. In February 1847,
General Santa Anna, in power once more,
led an army north from San Luis Potosi,
hoping to crush the Americans and regain
control of the north.

Above: Map from Essential Histories 25 - The Mexican War, 1846-1848, © Osprey Publishing Ltd. www.ospreypublishing.com
THE BATTLE OF PALO ALTO
Taylor led 2228 men towards Arrista’s
4000, but Old Rough and Ready, as his
men called him, was not detered. He
dragged two 18 pounders with him and
instructed his troops that they would have
to rely on the bayonet.
They saw the Mexican force while the
two armies were still about a mile apart.
Arrista’s men were in a line a mile long,
their right flank on a wooded hill and the
lancers on their left extended as far as a
marsh. Between the units were batteries
of 8 pounders.
The ground the Americans deployed on
was flat prairie with shoulder high, thick-
stemmed grass that hampered movement.
The Mexican guns opened fire but to no
effect, the range was too great. Taylor
moved well into artillery range and
ordered his guns to deploy. In addition
to his two 18 pounders he had three
sets of ‘flying batteries’. These light, 6
pounder guns on big carriages galloped
into action with all their crews mounted.
They fired rapidly and accurately to
devastating effect.
The 18 pounders fired first with
grapeshot, while the flying guns fired
shells into the Mexicans. For an hour
the Mexican cannon replied with round
shot while their infantry endured a hail
of fire from the Americans. Finally
Arista ordered the lancers on his left
to charge. They came at the gallop, but
then slowed as they met marshy ground.
Their target, the 5th infantry, formed
square and waited.
The lancers paused to fire a volley that
had little effect and then charged only
to be met by withering fire from the
Americans. The Mexicans took heavy
casualties, veered away and retreated.
Accompanying the lancers were two 8
pounder cannon and they deployed to
fire on the square. They were too late;
two of Taylor’s flying guns galloped up,
unlimbered and fired into the Mexican
gunners, killing many of them.
The cavalry rallied and charged again
only to be met by more musketry and
shell fire. They tried a third time, failed
again and then broke and retreated to
their own lines.
By now the Mexican guns had found the
range of the American centre and were
firing at the 18 pounders and the US 4th
Infantry. Taylor was there, and Major
Sam Ringgold, the creator of the flying
batteries manouevred his guns, trying to
gain an advantage, but a ball from one of
the Mexican cannon hit his horse and he
fell mortally wounded.
The long grass smouldered and through
the haze it was apparent that the Mexican
left was edging back. Taylor’s dragoons
moved forward to exploit this. Now it
was the turn of the Mexican guns to fire
at cavalry and they did so to devastating
effect, breaking the American’s line and
sending them scurrying back the way
they had come.
Finally Captain James Duncan’s battery
sent enfilading fire into the Mexican
left flank and the enemy line began to
waver. It seemed Arista’s men might have
broken, but it was getting dark and Taylor
had a two-hundred strong wagon train to
worry about. He did not order his men to
charge and the firing petered out in the
growing dusk.
Taylor had just nine killed and 43
wounded whilst Arista lost 102 dead
and nearly 150 wounded or captured. The
Americans held the ground the Mexicans
had formed on before the battle, but both
armies were virtually intact.

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 Above: The Battle of Palo Alto, detail of a lithograph of a drawing by Carl Nebel.
THE BATTLE OF
RESACA DE LA PALMA
During the night Arista moved his
shaken army westwards to a position
he thought was impregnable. Resaca
de la Palma was a shallow, dry ravine
squarely across the road that Taylor’s
men would have to advance up if they
were to relieve Fort Texas. Surrounding
the road and the ravine were miles of
dense chaperral and Arista had received
reinforcements whilst Taylor’s effectives
were down to just over 1700.
Scouts reported that there were a dozen
guns in the resaca, commanding the
road and Taylor sent his skirmishers
forward until they met with heavy fire.
In response he ordered some of his
flying guns forward and they galloped
to within 100 yards of the enemy before
unlimbering and opening fire. In the
meantime infantry were trying to force
their way through the chaperral on both
sides of the road, accompanied on the
left by lieutenant Kirby Smith
and on the right by ‘Sam’ (Ulysses
S.) Grant.
The flying artillery took casualties and
sent for reinforcements. The messenger
Above: American infantry (left) and flying artillery (right) push forward against Arista’s men at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.
100
WI288-HallsOfMontezumaPt2 FINAL 4
described the position to Taylor and said
in his opinion the Mexican guns could
be taken. Taylor immediately ordered his
dragoons forward.
The horsemen charged and the Mexican
gunners ran, but the cavalry overrode
the position and by the time they turned
around the guns were manned again.
Taylor was furious and ordered the
enemy battery taken, a task that fell to
Kirby Smith and the 5th Infantry.
Firing a volley the troops rushed forward
and poured over the lip of the resaca.
Fierce hand-to-hand fighting took place,
but gradually the Mexicans were forced
back and the battery in the centre of their
line was captured. It was the beginning
of the end.
The Mexican infantry broke and then
routed. Arista tried to rally them, but soon
joined the race to the Rio Grande, hotly
pursued by the Americans.
The Americans lost 33 killed and 89
wounded. They reported 1200 Mexican
casualties, but this was certainly
overstated. Mexican figures were 154
dead, 205 wounded and 156 prisoners,
again an erroneous figure as Arista later
abandoned some 400 wounded and many
of the infantry drowned trying to swim
the Rio Grande.
Arista proposed an armistice, but Taylor
told him it was too late for that and if the
town of Matamoros resisted he would
destroy it. On 18 May Taylor’s army
crossed the river and entered Matamoros
to find Arista had gone to Linares, some
60 miles away.
Meanwhile the story of Taylor’s
victories electrified the American public.
Recruiting offices were swamped with
volunteers and militia units were formed,
elected their officers and were sent to
bolster the army in Matamoros with little
or no training.
By August the number available to Old
Rough and Ready was approaching
14,500 and the politicians were
pressing him to move on. Taylor
decided his next objective was to be the
city of Monterrey. The direct route lacked
the water supplies an army on the move
needed. So, at the end of August, Taylor
set out with 6,650 men via the town of
Cerralvo, whence, under the scrutiny
of Mexican cavalry, he approached
Monterrey.
11/8/11 15:18:40
 Above: The Battle of Monterrey, Rich Hasenauer has refought this battle using a variant of Regimental Fire and Fury.
THE BATTLE OF MONTERREY
The Mexican commander at Monterrey
was General Pedro de Ampudia and
the city seemed to be impregnable. On
the south side the Santa Catarina river
and mountains barred an assault. To the
west two hills, called Independencia and
Federacion, were heavily fortified, whilst
on the north side a partly built cathedral,
called the Black Fort, held 400 troops
and eight guns. The eastern side was the
strongest with a fort called the Devil’s
Corner, a four gun redoubt and a bastion
guarding a bridge over the canal.
Taylor arrived on 19 September and
camped north east of the city. On the
afternoon of the 20th he despatched
General Worth with 2000 men to take the
two hills.
Leading Worth’s force were the Texas
Rangers under their commander Colonel
Hays. Early next morning they ran into
a force of Mexican lancers and Hays
challenged the Mexican commander to
single combat. The Mexican accepted and
charged, only for Hays to draw his pistol
and shoot the man down. On seeing this
the rest of the lancers charged.
WI288-HallsOfMontezumaPt2 FINAL 5
Three times the Mexicans came forward
to be driven back by the Texans with the
assistance of two guns and some infantry.
Finally the lancers had had enough and
withdrew leaving Worth’s men to march
on and cut the road between the hills.
The hill called Federacion was a ridge
pointing away from Monterrey. It was
protected by two redoubts and this
was where Worth’s men attacked first.
Fording the Santa Caterina the Rangers
and artillery attacked the smaller of the
redoubts on top of the hill. They were
supported by the 7th Infantry and after a
short sharp fight the redoubt and its single
gun fell. The Americans turned the gun
on the other redoubt, called El Soldado,
and fired on it while the 5th Infantry
climbed the hill and stormed it.
Taylor planned to divert the Mexican’s
attention by attacking the north east
corner of the city between the Black
Fort and the four gun redoubt called La
Teneria. He sent forward 800 men from
the 1st and 3rd Infantry, supported by
the Washington-Baltimore Volunteers,
but they came under very heavy fire, not
only from the fort and the redoubt, but
also from the houses of the town. The
Americans were taking casualties and
Taylor sent reinforcements, including the
4th Infantry and ‘Sam’ Grant. The 4th
charged the redoubt and lost a third of
their number in just a few minutes. The
order was given to retreat, but Captain
Backus and about 100 men of the 1st
Infantry failed to hear it. They attacked
a tannery behind the redoubt, cleared
the Mexican defenders and climbed to
the roof, which had a two foot parapet
round it. They were now behind both the
Mexican fortifications and were ready
when the next American attack came in.
This charge was led by the 1st Tennessee
Infantry who took casualties until
Backus’s men, firing from behind the
Mexicans, drove the defenders from La
Teneria and the redoubt fell. Now the 1st
Ohio charged through the gap and came
under fire from the guns in the bastion
protecting the bridge. The troops crossed
the canal, but were driven back towards
La Teneria by the fire of a hidden battery
and gradually the firing died away as the
day ended and rain fell.
The next morning Worth’s men again
started the fighting. They had captured
Federacion Hill and now set out to
capture Indepenencia. It too had two
emplacements. The higher and smaller
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11/8/11 15:19:04
 General Taylor and the
1848 U.S. Presidential elections
Born in Virginia in 1784, Taylor was taken as an infant to Kentucky and raised
on a plantation. His talk was most often of cotton raising. His home was in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he owned a plantation in Mississippi but, as a
career officer in the Army, Taylor had spent a quarter of a century policing the
frontiers against Indians. In the Mexican-American War he won major victories
at Monterrey and Buena Vista.
President Polk, disturbed by General Taylor’s informal habits of command,
kept him in northern Mexico and sent an expedition under General Winfield
Scott to capture Mexico City. Taylor, incensed, thought that “the battle of
Buena Vista opened the road to the city of Mexico and the halls of Montezuma,
that others might revel in them.”
“Old Rough and Ready’s” homespun ways became political assets. His long
military record appealed to northerners; his ownership of 100 slaves would lure
southern votes. He had not committed himself on troublesome issues, such as
determining whether or not the new area gained during the Mexican-American
War would become “slave states”. The Whigs nominated him to run against
the Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass, who favored letting the residents of
territories decide for themselves whether they wanted slavery. Taylor went on
to be elected as the USA’s twelth president.
Although Taylor had subscribed to Whig principles of legislative leadership, he acted at times as though he were above parties
and politics. As disheveled as always, Taylor tried to run his administration in the same rule-of-thumb fashion with which he
had fought Indians. Traditionally, people could decide whether they wanted slavery when they drew up new state constitutions.
Therefore, to end the dispute over slavery in new areas, Taylor urged settlers in New Mexico and California to draft constitutions
and apply for statehood, bypassing the territorial stage.
Following a stormy conference in February 1850, in which many southern states threatened Taylor with secession, events took
an unexpected turn. After participating in ceremoniesin which at the Washington Monument on a blistering July 4, Taylor fell ill;
within five days he was dead. After his death, the forces of compromise triumphed, but the war Taylor had been willing to face
came eleven years later. In it, his only son Richard served as a general in the Confederate Army.
Portrait by Jospeh Henry Bush, from commons.wikimedia.org, biography from www.whitehouse.gov

was a gun position, but the other was a
heavily defended, ruined Bishop’s palace.
It was dark and still raining heavily as
the Americans climbed, but they were
spotted by a sentry who opened fire.
Within minutes there was firing from
both sides.
The Americans had painstakingly
dragged the parts of a 12 pounder
howitzer up the ridge and now they
reassembled it and opened fire. The
Mexican infantry sent a patrol out along
the ridge, but US infantry were on both
slopes and, silhouetted against the sky,
the Mexican troops had nowhere to
escape the American fire. They broke and
ran back to the palace, closely followed
by Worth’s men. The two forces were
mixed so the defenders of the palace
were unable to fire without hitting their
own men.
The Mexicans had no opportunity
to rally. Those who had been chased
from the ridge ran straight through the
palace, out the front door and down the
slope towards Monterrey. The two hills
belonged to the Americans, who now had
the advantage. On the east side Taylor’s
men were resting and recuperating, but in
the town Ampudia was withdrawing his
men from the outlying bastions into the
centre of the town.
At dawn on the third day Taylor’s men
began to advance into the city to be met
by a hail of fire. They were fairly safe
in the side streets, but the roads that led
to the central plaza were death traps
with musketry and cannon fire causing
heavy casualties, especially among the
American artillery who had to move their
pieces out into the open in order to fire.
The 3rd and 4th Infantry were suffering
greatly, but on the west side of the town
having an easier time because they were
going from house to house, blowing holes
in the walls in order to move forward.
By mid afternoon General Ampudia
could see that all was lost and he sent
forward a white flag. The man carrying
it was shot down and it took several
minutes before another brave soul was
found. Eventually the flag was waved
again and slowly the firing stopped.
CASUALTIES
The Mexicans reported 367 all ranks
killed or wounded. Taylor had 120
killed, 368 wounded and 43 missing.
His reputation also suffered, both with
the army, who disliked his tactics and
the casualties resulting from them, and
the government because he allowed
Ampudia and the Mexicans to march out
with weapons and battle honours.
Now politics took a hand. In Mexico
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had
returned to take over as president and
was raising an army. In Washington
there were moves to propose Zachary
Taylor for president. Polk was dissatisfied
with the armistice after Monterrey and
Taylor thought the President was out to
undermine him. Polk ordered General
Winfield Scott to prepare a seaborne
invasion of Mexico and to take Taylor’s
best troops to carry it out. A copy of the
plan reached Santa Anna who decided
to march north, defeat Taylor’s depleted
force, then return to face Scott.
Taylor had been ordered to hold
Monterrey with the 3000 men he had
left but instead he moved to Saltillo and
joined with General Wool’s army of 2500
men. Hearing that Santa Anna’s army was
approaching he sent the Texas Rangers to
scout for the enemy and moved his force
to Agua Nueva. The Rangers reported the
Mexican’s approach and the Americans
withdrew to a ranch called Buena Vista in
a valley called The Narrows.

102

WI288-HallsOfMontezumaPt2 FINAL 6 11/8/11 15:19:21

 THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA
On the U.S. right flank the ground was
broken up with gullies and ditches that
made attacks almost impossible. Across
the road Taylor placed some guns
and infantry with the rest of his force
deployed to the left of the road on steep
mountain spurs.
Meanwhile Santa Anna was down to
about 15,000 effectives to oppose the
4,500 Americans. On 22 February
he despatched a note requesting the
Americans surrender. Taylor’s reply had
to be cleaned up by his aide, but it was
still a “no”!
That night news came of Mexican cavalry
north of the American position and Taylor
returned to Saltillo to ensure the defense
of his supply line. With him went another
future president, Jefferson Davis, and his
Mississippi Rifles. Before Taylor returned
the Mexicans attacked. Early on the 23rd
General Ampudia’s troops, two divisions
strong, moved against the 2nd Indiana
on a plateau to the left of the road. In
front of the American infantry was a
battery commanded by John O’Brien.
The artillery fired as the 7000 Mexicans
got closer. O’Brien then realised he
was alone. Someone had ordered the
Indianans to withdraw. The order was
countermanded immediately, but it was
too late. The volunteers broke and ran,
WI288-HallsOfMontezumaPt2 FINAL 7
taking four companies from the Arkansas
Mounted Rifles with them. O’Brien was
forced to abandon one gun, but galloped
to safety with the other two.
The Mexican troops continued their
charge. They crashed against the line
of the 2nd Illinois who also withdrew,
but slowly and maintaining their order.
That brought Ampudia’s attacking
troops under the guns of Major John
Washington’s battery and they stopped
the assault for a moment.
The American left had reeled back.
Instead of being across the valley they
were now in a line along it and Mexican
cavalry poured round the left flank in an
effort to cut off any retreat. They charged
down the road towards Buena Vista, but
were repulsed and took no further part in
the battle.
As the cavalry rode off Taylor reappeared
with the Mississippians. They gave the
Mexicans a volley and then charged
down into a ravine and out the other
side with bayonets ready. The Mexican
infantry wavered as their lancers clashed
with Arkansas cavalry on the left.
The 3rd Indiana came up and joined
the Mississippi troops on their right,
making a ‘V’ shaped line. The Mexicans
charged into the open end of the “V”
but the US troops held their fire and the
assault stopped. For a second the two
sides looked at each other and then the
American’s fired, shattering the Mexican
column.
This was the moment Santa Anna chose
to launch another assault against the
American centre. General Perez’s troops
drove forward and again it was John
O’Brien’s two guns that took the brunt
until all the gunners were down and
O’Brien only just managed to escape,
leaving the guns to the enemy. It was
artillery that saved the Americans though.
Two flying batteries galloped forward,
one commanded by Captain Braxton
Bragg, and opened fire at musket range.
The Mexicans faltered and Taylor was
reputed to have ordered Bragg to double
shot his guns, an order that became
famously misquoted as “A little more
grape, Captain Bragg.” Three shots were
enough. The Mexicans retreated and
next morning, their morale shattered and
riddled with desertions, they were gone.
Taylor’s army lost 267 dead, 467
wounded, 23 missing and three guns.
Santa Anna’s force had 594 dead,
1039 wounded, 294 captured and 1800
missing. The Mexicans withdrew south,
losing troops to desertion all the way.
Taylor had fought and won four battles,
but his war was over. He returned to
Washington later in the year.
The Battle of Buena Vista, being refought
by 15mm combatants using a variant of
Regimental Fire and Fury.
103
11/8/11 15:19:38
 Wargaming the U.S.-Mexican War
The general rules for wargaming the war
were covered in the first of these articles,
but Zachary Taylor’s campaign in New
Mexico and California was different in
several respects and deserves special
consideration.
• Uniforms and equipment
For the most part the men under his
command wore uniforms. Texas Rangers
tended to wear their own clothes and
some of the militia regiments started out
in sometimes exotic or bizarre dress,
but almost all ended up in blue fatigues,
sun bleached to a blue-grey color, torn
by hard traveling and rough terrain,
patched and supplemented with
civilian dress when they wore out.
104
WI288-HallsOfMontezumaPt2 FINAL 8
We found a regiment painted to look
campaign weary presents a much more
realistic and appealing picture than a
unit in pristine, parade-ground blue - and
somehow they seem to fight better too!
As in the Western campaign, great
distances were covered by the armies,
Taylor’s army’s initial march to
Matamoros took twenty days and
this was hard on men, animals and
equipment. Likewise Mexican armies
made several fast marches north to join
the action. In view of this, a speed of
march needs to be agreed on, especially if
fighting a campaign. We thought a dozen
miles a day was a good speed for an army
column encumbered with baggage and
artillery and adjusted this for different
circumstances (terrain, unit type (cavalry/
infantry etc.), weather, the urgency of
the situation and especially availability
of water in the hot, arid terrain. We made
suitable adjustments for each of these
and added a random factor that gave total
variations of up to 50% plus or minus).
The terrain in northern Mexico is
different to California too. There are
long desert stretches where the length
of a day’s march may depend on the
availability of water and the heat of
the sun rather than the speed of the
unit moving. On top of that there is
the vegetation to contend with. Large
areas were covered in cactus, chaparral,
mesquite (a young mesquite bush has
3 inch thorns) and thorn bush in tight
tangled masses that made natural barriers
and made movement very difficult if
not impossible.
Mexican troops varied from gaudily clad,
yet efficient units to conscript and even
convict battalions dressed in the peasant
garb of white ‘pajama’ type cotton
shirts and pants, worn with a straw hat.
They had a high proportion of cavalry
including lancer and cuirassier units.
(French Napoleonic cuirassier figures are
ideal for these units).
Weapons were much the same. At this
early stage in the war the musket was
the main infantry weapon on both sides,
but rifles made an appearance and
increasing as time went on. Artillery
varied. The Americans had reviewed their
artillery shortly before the war. They
had Ringgold’s light guns, which had a
decisive effect on some of the battles, and
6 pounders as standard. On top of this
there were 12 pounder howitzers and a
variety of siege guns up to 32 pounder.
Mexican guns were a mixture, mainly
Napoleonic war surplus or even earlier.
• Leadership and Morale
For Zachary Taylor’s campaign the initial
victory sent American morale soaring.
Inspired by the stories of the
Mexican Spy Company, a unit of
roughly 200 Mexican civilians
who fought on the U.S. side of the
conflict, Ged Cronin’decided to
add this vignette to his Gringo 40s
range. These models were expertly
painted by Angel.
Far Left: Illustration by Gerry
Embleton, from MAA56 - The
Mexican-American War, 1846-48,
© Osprey Publishing Ltd. www.
ospreypublishing.com
11/8/11 15:20:15
 As news of it reached the United States,
recruiting offices were flooded with
volunteers, many of whom were sadly
disillusioned in Winfield Scott’s push
inland. Taylor’s army had faith in their
commander and their morale reflected this.
American morale was high all through
the campaign whereas the Mexican
morale varied, from high in the elite
lancer units to low in the convict/
conscript battalions. We gave the
Mexican elite/regular units the same
adjustments as the Americans, but
decided the lower class units were more
volatile and doubled morale adjustments
for these. The more battles the Americans
won, the higher their base morale and
likewise, being beaten did little to
conversly the Mexican desire to continue.
What effect a Mexican victory would
have had is a matter for conjecture, but
anything can happen on the gaming table.
• On the Tabletop
Obviously the battles make good
scenarios for table-top re-fights but
there are a variety of other scenarios
too. On his initial march to the Rio
Grande Taylor was faced by a Mexican
cavalry patrol at Arroyo Colorado. This
is a wide tidal stream, four feet deep at
its deepest. Harsh words were said, but
there was no action. What if, instead of
just cavalry, the Mexicans had infantry
and artillery there as well? It makes an
interesting scenario, as does a possible
Mexican assault on Fort Texas before
the U.S. troops could relieve it. There
THE FORCES INVOLVED
IN TAYLOR’S CAMPAIGN
ZACHARY TAYLOR’S
AMERICAN ARMY - 6500 men
• 1st US Infantry
• 3rd US Infantry
• 4th US Infantry
• 5th US Infantry
• 7th US Infantry
• 8th US Infantry
• Mississippi and Texas Volunteers
• Baltimore & Washington Battalion
• “Phoenix Company”
• 1st Ohio Regiment
• 1st Kentucky Regiment
• 1st Tennessee
• Mississippi Rifles
• 1st and 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles
• 2nd Dragoons
• Company K, 1st Artillery,
• Co. C, 1st U.S. Heavy Artillery
• Company A, 2nd Artillery
• Company E, 3rd Artillery
• Company C, 3rd Horse Artillery
• Child’s Artillery Battalion
is also the possibility of a Mexican
advance catching the Americans on
the road. Would the conscript troops
have fared any better if they were the
MEXICAN ARMY OF
THE NORTH - 10,000 men
• 1st Line Regiment
• 4th Line Regiment
• 10th Line Regiment
• Two companies of the 6th and the
2nd Light Infantry Regiments
• Mexico and Morelia Activos
• 7th Light Cavalry Regiment
• 8th Light Cavalry Regiment
• 13 artillery pieces
• The Garcia-Conde Brigade:
The Aguascalientes and Queretaro
battalions plus two squadrons of the
3rd Line Cavalry and three guns
• The Azpeitia Brigade:
The 3rd Line Infantry, two
squadrons of Jalisco lancers, two
squadrons of the Guanajuato
Cavalry Regiment and six guns
• The Simeon Ramirez Brigade:
The 3rd and 4th Light Infantry and
three guns
• The San Patricios, made up largely
of Irish American deserters who had
changed sides.
aggressors rather than defending? They
came close at Buena Vista, maybe
they should have taken the initiative
elsewhere. Try it and see.

Thanks go to...
• Ged Cronin, for providing images of
models from his Gringo 40s range.
www.gringo40s.com
• Rich Hasenauer, for his beautifully
composed battle shots of his 15mm
collection of Mexican-American War
models. For more info on the Mexican-
American War variant of Fire and Fury:
www.fireandfury.com
• Bill Moreno, for images of his 28mm
Mexican-American War collection.
Right: The Battle of Buena Vista, a
lithograph of a drawing by Carl Nebel.

Derek Coleman isn’t finished here. In addition to

the first two parts we’ve shown in the pages of WI,
there’s the third (and concluding) part to the Halls

.net
of Montezuma! series. You can find out about the
campaign of General Winfield Scott, including the
taking of Mexico City, in Part Three, online now.
We’ll be posting our two articles on Churobusco,
originally printed in WI274 and WI275.

105

WI288-HallsOfMontezumaPt2 FINAL 9 17/8/11 10:38:26

 HISTORICON 2011
HMGS EAST SHOW REPORT
By Dave Taylor

Following a variety of behind the scenes tribulations, the

2011 HISTORICON show saw a return to the Valley Forge
Convention Center in Pennsylvania, an increased attendance
over last year’s event, and - in the opinion of our US Editor
- a greatly improved quality of gaming tables at the show.
You’ll notice a lot of ACW games, not surprisingly as “Brother
Against Brother” was the theme of the event. Here’s a look at
our picks of the litter.

Above and Left: Paul Olszanski and Gwyn

Reeves presented this beautiful 15mm ACW
Regimental Fire and Fury Battle
of Perryville (8 October 1862) game.

Right and Below: Battery Wagner: Initial

Assault, 11 July 1863 - Phil Viverito, with
Paul Forgette, ran this 28mm ACW game
using the G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. rules.
Brigades of Union troops stood before the
walls of Battery Wagner, ready to assault
the strongest fortification near Charleston,
South Carolina. Neither this initial assault,
nor the subsequent Union attack a week
later, were able to crack the fort. Only after
a two-month siege did the Confederates
finally abandon the Battery.
It was very refreshing to see both an ACW
siege game, as well as a coastal, sandy
table used for an ACW battle.

106

WI288-Historicon2011FINAL.indd 2 11/8/11 15:22:01

 Left: “Deliver My Soul From the Sword”:
Miller Cornfield, Sharpsburg (17
September 1862) - Not only were there
plenty of 15mm and 28mm ACW games on
offer, but other scales, 54mm in this case,
were also on display.

SHow report
Below: The Battle of Gettysburg, 1-3
July 1863 - Bob Moon and the Jacksonville
Garrison used Fire and Fury to present
the scaled-down, Divisional-level game of
this iconic battle in 28mm. With multiple
sessions run over the weekend and a great
reaction to the game,
it’s no real surprise
that Bob picked up
the “Best Theme
Game” award.
Best
theme
game

107

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 How The West Was Lost : Book II
The Chattanooga Campaign in four games over one table
Taking pride of place on the Dealer Hall
level was this awesome, 17' long table
that covered four of the battles of the
Chatanooga Campaign - Wauhatchie,
Tunnel Hill, Lookout Mountain, and
Missionary Ridge. Bill Moreno and Rob
Hall (supported by the South Florida
Miniatures Gamers, Good Ground, and
GHQ) ran the four 10mm games over three
sessions (at the same time each day).
Right: The Tunnel Hill portion of the game
was played on Friday at 2:00 pm, using the
brigade-level Fire and Fury rules.

Tunnel Hill

Missionary ridge

This campaign was a follow on from the

Vicksburg Campaign battles Bill had fought
previously at an earlier convention. That
series of battles was titled “How The West
Was Lost: Book I”
Right and Below: The Missionary Ridge
portion of the game was played on Saturday
at 2:00 pm, using the brigade-level Fire
and Fury rules.

108

WI288-Historicon2011FINAL.indd 4 15/8/11 15:53:53

 Right and Above: The Lookout Mountain portion of the
campaign was played on Friday at 2:00 pm, using the
Regimental Fire and Fury rules.

Lookout Mountain

Wauhatchie

After a lot of research and planning, Bill

was able to build all the terrain tiles for this
table over a single weekend. Friends helped
out by building the more than 100 trees and
shrubs that dot this tiny landscape.
Right and Below: The Wauhatchie portion
of the campaign was played on Thursday at
2:00 pm, using the Regimental Fire
and Fury rules.

best
of
show

109

WI288-Historicon2011FINAL.indd 5 17/8/11 10:42:03

 Above and Left: Problus, 3 July
1866: Saxons on the Bistriz - We
showed you one of Bruce Weigle’s
wonderful 6mm games in our coverage
of Cold Wars 2011 earlier this year.
Look out for a Problus battle report
in the near future, with more photos
of this stunning landscape.

Below and Right: All scales were on hand on the gaming

tables of HISTORICON, and some of them in great
number, like the vast horde of 54mm figures on this 16'
long table. John Mitchell presented this “What if...?”
battle Hannibal vs Scipio: The Main Event c. 202 BC.
With over 900 models on the table there wasn’t a
lot of room for maneuver, but the spectacle was
certainly very grand!

110

WI288-Historicon2011FINAL.indd 6 11/8/11 15:25:07

 Above: Second Battle of El Alamein -
Stephen Wagner presented this massive
Flames Of War battle to a very dedicated
group of treadheads.
Left: Using an AWI variant of Regimental
Fire and Fury, Rich Hasenauer ran this
Brandywine, 1777 game with beautiful
15mm figures over his signature terrain.

Above and Right: Battle of Megiddo, 1457 BC - Matt Kirkhart

and the Army of Central Maryland presented this ancient battle
using, as they describe them, “whimsical homemade figures”. All
units on the board were assembled by Matt from various craft store
sources. We thought the idea was such fun, we’ve started talks with
Mr Kirkhart and other “Craftees” about a future article in WI.

111

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 Above and Left: Guards
Counterattack! 5 October 1942
- Jerry Frazee & Skirmish Wargames
presented this dangerous grind through
the rubble of Stalingrad using the Fireball
Forward rules. As the Germans advanced they
were met by stubborn resistance that had all
players on their feet at the end of the game.

Right: The Mediocre Wall of China:

Juyongguan, 1211 - Peter Hess, with Dave
Reiners & the Brandywine Battlefielders,
presented this battle that would inspire the
Great Wall itself. Mongols clash with the
Jin at “Badger’s Mouth Pass”.
Below: The Train: Sudan 1885 - Mark
Stevens, with Jay Stribling & the Jackson
Gamers, presented this tense game depicting
the stubborn defense of a derailed train by
the Royal Post Office Rifles. Can they hold
out until the relief column arrives?

112

WI288-Historicon2011FINAL.indd 8 11/8/11 15:25:59

 Above and Right: While it might be
reasonable to suggest that 50% of the
games were ACW “Theme Games”,
there were certainly plenty of great
games covering all periods. Jeff Ball’s
Falkirk game had lots of wonderful
English knights racing across the table
into the prepared defensive positions of
William Wallace and his countrymen.

Left and Below: Hiep Duc Valley - In this Flames Of War: Vietnam game,
US commanders had to drive their convoy through hostile territory to bring
supplies to an unfinished firebase on another table, a firebase that was also
under attack by the NVA.

For dozens more photos from the HISTORICON show and

Flames of War US EarlyWar Nationals go to:

wargamesillustrated.net & www.flamesofwar.com

113

WI288-Historicon2011FINAL.indd 9 11/8/11 15:26:21

 SALUTE On behalf of The South London Warlords.
By Club President Phil Portway

Although April 2012 might seem a long way away, The South London
Warlords are already heavily into their preparations for next year’s
Salute wargames show - the biggest historical wargames show in the
world. We though we would catch-up with the Warlords Club President,
Phil Portway, and ask him to share some of his thoughts on the show, and
address some of the most common questions the Warlords have levelled
at them. Over to Phil.

Is Salute too large? Biting back the
automatic ‘quantity has a quality all its
own’ response, this is a valid question.
It’s certainly different to any other UK
show. Salute has grown from humble
beginnings to a footprint of 11,000m² in
2011. We provided a home for 90 games
and 123 traders this year, we had close to
5,000 gamers in the hall on Saturday, and
we generated huge interest from the wider
wargaming community with several major
rules launches this year. So is Salute too
big? In some ways it is - it takes over 20
minutes to get the queue into the hall. In
other ways, it’s too small - we still have
more traders and games applying to get in
than we can accommodate.
Are the games ‘window dressing’?
We certainly don’t feel that way. The
majority of the games at Salute are put
on by wargaming clubs from around the
country, and increasingly from around
the world. In exchange for the hard work
that they put into creating the games,
they get complimentary entry to the rest
of the show. We see them as an integral
part of the show; without them, Salute
would be much diminished. To call them
‘window dressing’ would be insulting to
the work that these clubs and gamers put
into their games.
Can the show be spread over two days?
Purely logistically, it can’t be done from
our point of view. We have a limited
pool of members (and their partners) to
draw from in order to run the show. All
the work on the show, from setting up
tables and stuffing goodie bags on Friday
to leaving ExCeL in the hired van on
Saturday after the last trader has departed
is volunteered by club members. A quick
count across the rosters for this year’s
show comes to over 900 hours, with a
‘high-water mark’ of over 60 people as the
doors opened. Club members give their
time freely to the show, and nobody in the
club gets paid beyond a fiver for lunch.
Again, financially, we don’t think a longer
show would be a success. A second day
at ExCeL would probably come close to
doubling our costs - it would certainly
double the hall and equipment rental
costs. The number of visitors would
increase a bit, but it wouldn’t double,
and anyone coming back for the second
day wouldn’t want to pay double the price
of a day ticket. Traders’ takings would
increase, but they would have the added
cost of an overnight stay and would also
have to increase the amount of stock they
had to carry.
Which brings us to the last point. Could
we move Salute out of London? In
some ways, that’s the easiest question to
answer. If it were not in London, would
it still be Salute? It’s not a trade fair, it’s
not a commercial event, it’s a club open
day. It just got big. We are the South
London Warlords; we feel that our show
should be in London. Love it or loathe
it, London is our home town, and we are
proud that after forty years we can still
say that we are running the best show we
can. And long may it continue.

114

Salute 2012.indd 1 15/8/11 15:57:21

 G.J.M Figurines NEW & EXCITING RANGE

GRINGO40’s
40mm High quality metal
miniatures for the
Mexican-American War
1846-1848
See our website for full details or ring for a list

Initial releases
American line and Mexican line light troops
Many more release to follow including:

• Cavalry
• Artillery
• Rockets
• Personalties
(Head variants available)

Available NOW from

GRINGO40’s
74 Crofton Road,
Orpington, Kent
BR6 8HY

SEE YOU AT
www.gringo40s.com
Tel: 01689 828474 or 07703 522543

WI288 COLOURS!
Curteys:Layout 1 17/8/11 12:14 Page 1
PLEASE PRE-ORDER

25mm and 28mm

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Upcoming Shows:

www.curteysminiatures.co.uk 1st/2nd October

The Worlds
16th October
SELWG
30th October
Fiasco
www.1stcorps.co.uk
email: sales@curteysminiatures.co.uk Derby London Leeds
email: sales@1stcorps.co.uk
We cannot carry everything to the shows so please order in
advance to collect on the day. Please give 2 weeks advance notice.

New this month the first in a new range of 1/48th resin and metal vehicles

World War Two Vehicles 1/48th Russian infantry £8 per pack or as stated
WW2RV01 T34/76 £25 WW219 Russian infantry with rifles (8)
WW2RV02 SU85 £25 WW220 Russian infantry with sub machine guns (8)
WW2RV03 Zis5 truck inc transfers for windscreens etc £25 WW221 Russian infantry with LMG (8)
WW2RV04 Square fuel tanks (2) £3 WW222 Russian heavy machine guns (5 figures, 2 machine guns)
WW2RV05 Cylindrical fuel tanks (4) £3 WW223 Russian anti-tank rifle teams (4 figures, 2 rifles) - £6
WW224 Russian heavy mortars (1 mortar, 3 crew)
All available from WW225a Russian command (8)
1st Corps at www.1stcorps.co.uk WW225b Russian casualties (8)
Total Battle Miniatures at www.totalbattleminiatures.com (vehicles only) WW226 Russian tank crews (6) - £6

1st Corps are now stocking flags by Battle Flags

3 The Parkway, Snaith, Tel: 01405 860094
East Yorkshire 01405 862928 P&P Rates 1st Corps and Kingmaker available in the US from
Scale Creep Miniatures www.scalecreep.com
DN14 9JN, U.K. Mobile: 07732563508 Europe: 10%
available between 10am and 7pm Monday to Friday Rest of World: 15%
www.kingmakerminiatures.com

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☎ 0151 342 1233

PERRY MINIATURES
We also stock Vallejo
paint, KR Multi Cases,
Chessex Dice, Army
Painter and much more...

WarGameStore is 1 mile from J4 M53, We are one of the largest stockists of

at Brimstage Hall Courtyard, Flames of War and Games Workshop in England,
Wirral, CH63 6JA
all at 10% off RRP.
Between Chester and Liverpool. Open 10:00 - 6pm Wed-Sat, 12:00 - 4pm Sun & Mon

www.wargamestore.com
 Want outstanding
customer service at
excellent prices?
Then try our website
ALL RANGES AT LEAST 10% OFF RRP
& stock a wide range of products
with low cost & often FREE
P&P Worldwide...

UP coming Events
24-25th Sept: 1st BIRTHDAY EVENT And Calneage 11
1-2nd Oct: Fear Naught. Flames of War Campaign
8-9th Oct: Pike & Pila. Warlord run Mass Battle Weekend
22nd Oct: M.A.D 40k Tournament - SOLD OUT
5-6th Nov: Childsplay November Madness. F.o.W Tournament
12-13th Nov: Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Epic Tournament £15 inc Lunch
10th Dec: Perditus Our famous 40k Tournament £12 inc Lunch
Please see our Website for more details on these and our other events
Unit 3 Commerce Close,
Westbury, Wilts BA13 4LS
triplehelixwargames@hotmail.com
www.facebook.com@triplehelixwargames
Tel: 01373 855380 / 855390
www.triplehelixwargames.co.UK

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FRENCH, BRITISH, AUSTRIAN, RUSSIAN, PRUSSIAN,SPANISH,

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26 Bowlease Gardens, Bessacarr, Doncaster, DN4 6AP, UK Call us at 508-251-0397

Tel: +44 (0)1302 530038
Email: sales@eliteminiatures.co.uk
Now for your hobby needs
www.eliteminiatures.co.uk

WI288 D.indd 1 15/8/11 12:29:24

 New 25mm (1/72nd scale) C410 range.
Late Romans, Goths and Huns.

New 1/600 scale. Vapour Trails range.

WW2 German Maritime Aircraft.
British Air Sea Rescue and Coastal Vessels.

New 1/2400 Naval range.

Ancient Greek & Persian,
Successor, Carthaginian & Roman galleys.

New 20mm (1/76th scale)

WW1British and German supply carts and wagons.

For more details of all our ranges visit tumblingdiceuk.com

or our US distributor Brookhurst Hobbies at
brookhursthobbies.com

e: info@tumblingdiceuk.com
t: 0115 9268800

96 Sandfield Rd,
Arnold,
Nottingham,
NG5 6QJ,
England

WI288 E.indd 1 16/8/11 10:48:35

 CRISIS MIDDLESBROUGH
GAMERS CLUB
PRESENTS

11Belgium

SMOGGYCON 2011
Saturday 26th November 2011
10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Southlands Leisure Centre
Ormesby Road, Middlesbrough TS3 0HG
Admission £2.00
Bring & Buy
Trade stalls
Participation & demonstration games
TIN�SOLDIERS�OF ANTWERP
Competitions & tournaments
WARGAMES�&�FANTASY CONVENTION
Refreshments including licensed bar
Hordes�of�miniature�soldiers! Free car parking

M E T R O P O L I S www.m-gc.co.uk
Middlesbrough Gamers Club, St Marys Centre, 82-90 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RW
ANTWERP -�Saturday��5th�November�2011 Photographs by Sue Copley and Simon Swinbank

10H�-17H�-�http://www.tsoa.be/

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Arcane Scenery & Model Supplies

Turn your Lead to Gold!
Is the loft threatening to collapse? Are you ever going to paint
those figures? Would you like the cash to start another period or scale?
I buy collections of of painted or unpainted figures, any make or scale
including Games Workshop and historical figures. Also Board Games,
RPGs, model kits, books and terrain.
For Adhesives, Accessories, Airbrushes, Bases, Brushes, Fillers, Paints,
Plasticard, Rod, Scatter, Scenery, Trees, Tubing, Tools, Dice and
a huge range of model soldiers and plastic kits at great prices,
visit our ebay shop at
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/arcane-scenery-and-models

I will buy your entire collection (not just the good bits), pay in cash, and
or our online store at
collect the items from your door. No distance is too far.
www.arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk
Contact me on 01902 722213, email bigbadwolf@blueyonder.co.uk or
write to Rob Palmier, 23 Clanfield Avenue, Wolverhampton, or phone: 0115 9788152
West Midlands, WV11 2QU.

All items listed are in stock and ready for despatch by first class post!

Heroes of the Dark Age

DRUM & FLAG
The Online Toy Soldier Shop

28mm
Dark Age
* Vallejo paints & brushes and
* 1/72, 1/32 & 28mm plastics
* Wargames scenery & terrain Fantasy
* Kits & hobby supplies
* Armies in Plastic, TSSD
figures
* Britains Deetail, CTS, BMC
* Del Prado, Lord of the Rings
* Online guides & gallery
www.heroesofthedarkage.com
www.stores.ebay.co.uk/drumandflag heroesofthedarkage@yahoo.co.uk
www.drumandflag.com

Mini adverts (as shown below) are available at the very economical price of £25 (from US$40) per insertion. You mini advert can
include a photos/illustration and logo and will be 45mm high by 65mm wide. Contact adverts@wargamesillustrated.net

Colonel Bills
MAGNETIC===
Wargames Depot the paint bench
Painting services at
= = = D I S P L AY S
Colonel Bill deals worldwide reasonable prices.
in quality second hand figures, TOP QUALITY PRODUCTS & RELIABLE SERVICE
We paint anything from
and all other wargames items. fantasy to historical. MAGNETIC BASING SYSTEM:
We buy, we sell, we can also Adhesive-backed magnetic sheets, tiles & tapes.
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paint your units for you to a jameswatson4@msn.com Adhesive-backed steel paper sheets & tapes.
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professional standard, at an Neo Magnets & Movement trays.
affordable price. Go on - grab
SCENICS:
yourselves a bargain. Cloths, Scatters, Basetex, Ral Partha Models,
Rubber or Resin scenery.

www.colonelbills.com ACCESSORIES:
Miniature Paints,
Brushes, Bases & Dice.
MT MODELS CORITANI PAINTING SERVICE (Est. 1987).
PAINTING SERVICE.
SEND FOR FREE LISTS TO:
Magnetic Displays
6 Lumley crescent, Skegness, Lincs, PE25 2TL.

Tel: 01754 761383

Email: trevor@magneticdisplays.co.uk
15mm to 30mm
www.magneticdisplays.co.uk
All periods Painted. See us at: Vapnartak, W.M.M.S. Triples, Salute,
Special Offer on Sept & October. Carronade, Partizan I & II, Phalanx, Eastern Front,
Email. mtmodels@yahoo.co.uk Colours, Worlds, S.E.L.W.G., Fiasco, Warfare, Recon.
Web. www.mtmodels.co.uk
Address. Mark Tyzack,
Browne Road
Fulwell
Sunderland. SR6 9HQ
www.magneticdisplays.co.uk
WI288 Next Issue page:Layout 1 17/8/11 10:43 Page 1

T h e W O R L D ’ S P R E M I E R TA B L E T O P G A M I N G M A G A Z I N E

M AG
AZIN
E “Let there be no relaxation in the face
ING
GAM
IER T
AB LETO
P of the perils of the War.”
’S PREM
W ORLD
The - Thucydide, Pericles Funeral Orations

It’s off to ancient Greece for the theme of

next month’s issue as we turn our attention
to the Peloponnesian War which raged
GREEK between the mighty city states of Athens
FIRE! and Sparta from 431 to 404 BC. We will
THE
IAN
be using the theme to introduce you to
ONNES
PELOP the new War and Conquest rules and
WAR
deliver some quality gaming and
modeling articles on the conflict.
Outside of Hellas we have plenty of
inspiring and informative content,
including an interview with the
CAPE authors of The Last Argument of
S
HELLE E Kings and Bull Run to Gettysburg,
H
AND T
ES OF Flames of War in Libya and some
BATTL IA
KRITH Napoleonic action for The Battle
of Marengo.

As ever there will be plenty

more to enjoy, with articles
covering a range of
different periods.
11
ber 20
ovem engo
289 - n • €6.50 ttle o
f mar ght
Issue the baneral de Brigade refi
£4.5 0
0 • Au
s $12.0
0
f king
s A Ge WI289 hits the stores
US $8.5 rgum
ent o
last a it all abou
t?
E! late October, order your
6444 What’s MOR
ISSN
0957-
09
2011
p southgton show D M UCH
grou
battle es from the Bovin A AN
gam KUFR copy today, or better still -
The best
L E OF
B AT T nge
THE
57 64 41 21
ysb urg, t to cha never miss an issue and
subjec
9 77 09
ett
to g ntent
l run and co subscribe online at
plus
: bul artwork
Cover
www.wargamesillustrated.net
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