Chairman Mark J shares his thoughts on a book looking at the British combined arms doctrine during WW2.
Monty’s Functional Doctrine – Combined Arms Doctrine In British 21st Army Group In Northwest Europe, 1944-45
By Charles Forrester
Hellion 2015
I really enjoyed Monty’s Functional Doctrine as it offered a fresh and evidence based assessment of Montgomery’s leadership and the way he shaped 21st Army Group. Rather than relying on the usual myths and assumptions surrounding Monty, the author examines how his methods, planning and command philosophy actually functioned in practice. The book explains clearly why Montgomery fought the way he did and how his approach reflected both the strengths and limitations of the British Army during the campaign in North West Europe.
What stood out most was the balanced nature of the argument. The author neither presents Montgomery as an untouchable genius nor dismisses him as simply cautious and over methodical. Instead, the book makes a convincing case that his doctrine was deliberate, practical and designed to reduce unnecessary losses whilst maintaining constant pressure on the enemy. The emphasis on set piece battles, overwhelming artillery support and careful preparation is shown not as a lack of aggression, but as a conscious operational method developed from experience earlier in the war.
The book also gives some excellent examples of how this doctrine worked in practice. Montgomery’s insistence on detailed planning and strong logistical preparation allowed 21st Army Group to maintain momentum after Normandy despite difficult terrain and determined German resistance. The use of concentrated artillery firepower, combined arms integration and limited objective attacks demonstrated his belief in fighting battles that could be controlled and sustained rather than relying on risky improvisation. Operations such as Goodwood and the battles around the Rhine are used effectively to show how Montgomery sought to wear down German forces through material superiority and coordinated pressure rather than dramatic breakthroughs.
What I particularly liked was the way the book challenges the idea that Montgomery’s command style was entirely rigid or overly centralised. Whilst he undoubtedly exercised tight control over planning and operational objectives, the author shows that he also fostered a culture of problem solving within his formations. Subordinate commanders were expected to understand the wider intent of the operation and adapt to changing battlefield conditions whilst still working within the overall framework of the plan. This balance between control and flexibility allowed officers and units to react, innovate and exploit opportunities without losing cohesion or operational focus.
The book also places Montgomery’s decisions within the wider strategic reality facing Britain in 1944 and 1945. It argues convincingly that his methods reflected the manpower limitations of the British Army and the need to preserve combat effectiveness over a long campaign. For anyone interested in British operational doctrine, command leadership or the performance of 21st Army Group, this is a very worthwhile and thought provoking read.
Welcome to another Wednesday, we start this week with something very different from Tony F, these are some sort of spirits from Games Workshop, not sure what they are but Tony did mention having to build these three bases from 24 different pieces!
Moving on and Stephen has been painting up so 15mm sci-miniatures as laser sword wielding adventurers.
He’s also been painting up this rather splendid looking Norman Warlord.
Next up and Mark J has primed some British paras for an up coming game.
And lastly for this week and Tony P has been painting the mass ranks requied for Macedonian Pikes in 6mm.
We’re here with another week of progress on our various wargaming projects.
We start this week with Alan K who has been working on some Greek Myth miniatures. More are planned, not sure on the game yet.
The membership has also recently gone a bit Quar mad. Felix has been putting together some Quar he got at the Salute wargames show.
While in preperation for a game of Clash of Rhyfles Stephen has created some blasted woods from locally sourced sticks.
And Tony F has started painting up a selection of vacuum formed shell holes.
Meanwhile Phil presents a group shot of the 10mm orc horde he has been working on. Apparently he has many more to do.
And last but not least for this week Mark J has finished panting his Jadgdpanther. Apparently this is a metal model, so a very realistic model for a beast of a tank.
Our illustrious Chairman takes us through a recent game of Chain of Command.
Picture the scene, Linton Village Hall on a sunny Saturday morning, a gathering of War Gamers at one of the oldest clubs in the UK and a game of big CoC. Me, Mark J (club chairman), Alan K (long time fan of Lard), Pete S (best damn terrain builder south of Leeds), Eric G (bravest of them all) and last but never least Dave P (another keen lardman). All of us ready to do battle across an eight by five table.
I decided I had to run a game of Chain of Command at the club based around the aftermath of the encounter at Hill 226 on Sunday 30th July 1944, right at the start of operation Bluecoat in Normandy. What happened on that day was a crushing encounter for the Scots Guards, who were I believe one of the first British units to encounter the mighty Jagdpanther, three of them in fact. The encounter left 11 Churchills destroyed and sadly quite a few Scots casualties. If you go to Hill 226 now you will see a memorial to them.
The game took place Monday 31st July with a bit of a ‘what if’ twist to it. What if instead of simply zooming off after giving the Guards a very bloody nose, the Germans consolidated against the Guards right flank just beyond Hill 226 taking advantage of their tactical victory.
British forces
Two platoons of British infantry, The Argylls. Supported by a Vickers machine gun team, one 17 pound AT gun, an engineer team and a medic. Both platoons were armed with Gammon Bombs. The British also benefited from a pre battle bombardment and a company HQ and replen point.
One troop of Scotts Gaurds, 2 Churchill mk VIIs supported by 1 Churchill Crocodile from the 79th Division.
German forces
1 platoon of German infantry, 326th Division. Supported by MG42 team, 20mm flack cannon, 88mm flack gun and a Stug IIIG.
One Jagdpanther, 311 Leutnant Scheiber
The Battle
We played a broad front big CoC with two British objectives. British orders were to take both objectives (a road junction and farm just beyond Hill 226) and hold until reinforcements arrive. The British had good intel having carried out night patrols and were aware that while the Germans had pulled in some heavy fire power, they were short on manpower. Actual intel at the time stated that the 326th were depleted and in need of rest.
The Germans having hastily consolidated their position had relatively poor intel, I told the German player to expect heavy armour and a flame thrower. I took the decision to add a Crocodile as they were in the area at the time. The addition of intel worked well, with the German player selecting two mine fields and placing one across a road, the only place where the Crocodile could pass without using its flame thrower or another Churchill smashing through the bocage hedges to clear a path. I had given the Crocodile three shots with the flamethrower.
The battle started with Pete’s platoon probing the middle section of the battlefield hoping to sweep right around the woods to reach the farm. Eric to the left fank heading for the road junction, a dangerous mission given substantial open ground to cover towards the objective. Dave’s troop supported Pete’s sweep by pushing against the German’s weaker right flank (or so he thought).
Alan played things pretty cool, not deploying for the first four phases as he tried to sus out the British plan. He knew given the terrain (bocage into farmland) that the Brits would have to pepper pot with one Platoon taking the attack to him, exposing his position with the other following up and of course the heavy armour and support. Despite a lack of Germans, the British attack was quite sluggish, and they failed to deploy their platoon mortar teams. The open ground between hedges was clearly worrying them and over occupying their thoughts.
Pete was the first to take the bit between his teeth ordering Eric to push on (Pete had company HQ) he moved forward with two sections leaving one behind cover. Time for the first German ambush. As the Argyles began to cross a field toward another hedge and potential German territory, they heard the Blam! Blam! Blam! of a 20mm flack cannon. The section hit the dirt taking one causality and two shock, could have been a lot worse.
As this was taking place the Crocodile rumbled into view just to the right of Pete’s platoon, further right a Mk VII took on a bocage hedge hoping to flatten it and create another route to the Farm for the Crocodile. Unfortunately, the Mk VII didn’t make it across the hedge and was ambushed by a couple of German infantrymen with a Panzerfaust, Boom! one Churchill down. Not looking too good for the Brits. To make things worse Alan had thrown a double phase and once again blasted the poor Argylls with his 20mm, a section corporal was hit and stunned leaving the lead section stuck in the open.
Now was the time for the Crocodile to have a go, having got into range Woosh! Great streaks of flame burst out toward the 20mm flack gun destroying it and the crew plus the hedge it was using for cover. There was now a gap in front of the Argylls in open ground. What would they do next.
Alan clearly feeling it was time for some serious heavy metal deployed Jagdpanther 311 at the farm with a line of site along the road through the woods into British territory. The British responded by deploying their 17 pounder in line of sight of the Jagdpanther, a gutsy move given they would not be able to move away in time if things didn’t go well. The Germans struck ambushing the 17 pounder as it deployed and got ready to fire. An 88mm HE shell hitting the gun but doing no significant damage, unbelievable luck. The crew wasted no time firing an AT round at the beast and taking it out in one shot to a roar of cheers from the Brits. The last few minutes may have turned the battle in their favour.
On the British right flank Eric had followed orders and had pushed hard, finally deploying his platoon mortar and laying smoke he quickly moved toward the objective using sound tactics of cover and move and deploying a reconnaissance team. However just as he reached the objective, he was ambushed by a German infantry section losing two men and gaining shock. Eric continued to lay smoke well, blocking line of sight but his attack had stalled. He fought on to hold the road junction but lost a section corporal, his lead section was now severely depleted and pinned. Eric pushed on with his two remaining sections towards the German infantry section.
Pete deployed his Lieutenant and rallied the lead section; on they went with a fresh section in support towards the broken ground. No smoke was used, and his men again hit the dirt after hearing the awful BRRRRRRP! of an MG 42. The lead section had been ambushed by a tripod mounted MG42, once again luck was on their side and while this stalled their advance they took no casualties. Pete finally started to lay smoke across the German line buying his men some time to recover and move.
The Germans sensing a pivotal moment in the battle deployed another infantry section in front of Pete’s platoon. However, Eric poured fire onto their right flank forcing them back into a cornfield and in line of site of the Crocodile. Woosh! another blast of flame and Five of the section were gone, their leader remained unscathed amazingly and they fell back to some vines to the left of the Farm. The Germans now pulled back their other section giving up the road junction to consolidate their position at the farm, the Stug III was also deployed.
Once again, the Brits stalled staying behind their line of smoke and not taking the ground. The second Mk VII pushed on to right of Pete’s flank where his third section had deployed in the woods in front of the farm. The Crocodile moved across the minefield which had now been made safe by the engineer team. The British re-supplied obtaining more smoke and got ready for a final attack but time had run out.
A great game followed by a de-brief at the pub next door. What did we learn from this game. As always having fun is the main objective which we did. The Brits had opportunities to push on which would have resulted in causalities, but we all agreed would likely have won the day. Easy to say hard to do, no one wants to lose their troops.
We start this week with Mark J and some tanks, he is currently working on two Churchills and a Jagdpanther. He has also been painting up more German infantry, these are nearly finished.
Next up and Chris St with some trucks and armoured vehicles for a future game of AK47.
Next up and Stephen as been building and painting something a little different. He couldn’t resist a couple of Star Wars Revell fighter kits. First an x-wing.
And a Tie fighter that he’s managed to get on that nice blue/grey look.
And lastly for this week I’ve started painting up some 10mm Lord of the Rings style Easterlings.
Andy presents a taster of the games at the last meeting. Five, count them, five, games in progress!
Let’s have a look at them in historical order:
First up we have a mixed scale (6mm & 15mm) Field of Glory Game. Apologies to the players, I only took one photo of this.
Battle lines are drawn
Next up Stephen & Andy concluded their three game Barons War mini campaign. Totally unbiased reports of these games to follow.
Baron Stephen le Tookere’s troops prepare to defend the Trebuchet.Sir Andrew’s troops close in on Baron Stephen le Tookere’s Trebuchet.The Trebuchet burns! Sir Andrew’s mission accomplished.
Moving to more recent history, Chairman Mark ran a 28mm Chain of Command game, Operation Bluecoat, Normandy 1944.
The outskirts of a village in Normandy 1944.The curse of a freshly painted model making its debut, KO’ed early in the game!Churchills support the British advance
Next we had a game of AK47 Reloaded, more 15mm mayhem in 1970s San Guano. A rare outing for this ruleset at the Society.
Infantry take cover as an APC burns.Militia defend the factoryHeavy Armour (for AK47)
And last, but by no means least, Tony & Jeremey tried out Grimdark Future Mass Battle rules with their collection of 15mm armies.
Jeremey’s forces deployTony’s Jenpalo seize the junctionOne of Jeremey’s tanks is about to get a surprise!A clash in the Technoliths
That’s all for this time, next meeting is on the 9th of May, you can see Society diary here.
Stephen takes us on a starry-eyed journey to the, er, stars…
It turned out that a club meeting fell on February 14th this year. Valentine’s Day. There was only one thing for it – a suitably themed game of Stargrave.
Beneath the twin stars of Romeo and Juliet is the planet Romance. The major space port on Romance is the city of Verona. But the city is riven by two competing families: the Montagues and Capulets. One member of the Montague family, Tony, is due to marry his beloved – an Angel from the planet Seraphim, by the name of Maria. Tony believes the Capulets have kidnapped her and that she is being kept somewhere in the West Side of the city, where the Capulets are in control. He offers a substantial reward to whichever crew can return his dearest.
West Side of Verona
The table represented a section of the city. Heart-shaped chocolates were laid out on the table. These would either be clues to help them locate Maria or loot tokens (physical loot only in this game, to reflect the passion of Tony’s love). They wouldn’t know if it was a clue or loot until they reached it.
As well as the main mission of rescuing Maria, we also used the Side Hustle cards. In addition, there was a third objective – each player would gain an extra 25 experience points if they could compose a four line poem about Love. This would be doubled if the beauty and nature of the poem reduced any participant to an overflowing of emotions.
We’ll let the captains tell you how it went…
A busy town square
Captain Hertz van Rental’s Report
As Andy was off to my flank I decided to try the peaceful approach first and ignore him in order to acquire more information before entering the mayhem phase. This lasted about one turn before one of the nearest events turned into a ruddy big predator/doggie thing which proceeded to savage one of my crew; one down, several to go…
Trouble outside the cantina
We made some progress towards the rogue robot, as I had quickly decided that only mega-mayhem awaited any ‘rescue parties’, whether from locals or each other – a semi-wise decision as it turned out. As we made our way around the back alleys of the starport, we soon spied a particularly dodgy and well-armed lot approaching in the distance, led (well, egged-on from somewhat further back), by Captain Jeremy, a veteran Pirate leader whose very name brought fear to many systems (and a good laugh to many more). This group had sped-up in their approach as it turned out that their entry point was near the rogue robot, and that it – displaying excellent taste – soon decided to start shooting them!
A deadly encounter around the back of the cantina
In the meantime I had led the bulk of my (remaining) crew further on and was attempting to engage a local (unarmed) robot in conversation, with a view to any knowledge about excess Juliets in the area. I tried the robot as I thought that, unlike any locals (whose loyalties and thus veracity I could not be sure about), it might give truthful answers. Alas, it soon turned out ZX81 was not programmed for either conversation, information, confirmation or even altercation – but the latter was then supplied by ‘Jeremy’s Jumpers’ who proceeded to open fire!
I won’t dwell on the subsequent exchange – some from each crew went down (rather more than Jeremy was expecting?), but Big-J was off elsewhere, by then interviewing, and then fighting with the personnel and customers in a large local cantina…. More importantly for my lot I had made a quick mental calculation about the remaining distance to the rogue robot vs the approximate time of self-destruct before we could deactivate it. Quickly deducing that the odds were by now near-impossible, I began to remove the crew from the area with a couple of minor bonus bits we had found en-route. This decision was hastened by the sounds of major fire-fights having broken out across town where Alan and Eric had discovered the lair of the other gang and thus the location of the reluctant Juliet.
It all happens down the back alleys
Our withdrawal went without incident except for a small misunderstanding with Andy. It soon became apparent that, having found some other bonus bits early on, he had decided to leave a pile of them with only one guard while he took the bulk of his crew further into town. Now, I like to think I have drilled my disparate crew in their civil duties when visiting alien towns, and so – spotting this pile of (admittedly valuable) ‘fly-tipping’ near our exit, I offered to remove the stuff. The guard had no sense of humour, and objected most violently – if briefly… However, Alan had also left a specialist snip nearby, and so not all my crew reported back for supper that evening. And it was Spoo, as well – their favourite….
The stars for shame shall hide their light,
as my beloved ascends aright,
and all shall marvel at the sight,
of a new Angel born tonight.
-Cpt VanRental-
Tybalt Capulet and Greyfax see things differently
Captain Greyfax’s Report
The crew of the Lost Hope landed on planet Romance and began making their way across the city of Verona, looking for clues to the location of Mariah the “Angel”, the kidnapped love of Tony Montague. Having secured a side hustle card that would prove invaluable later in the game, the team split up, with the captain making for the local watering hole, whilst first mate Kadal took the of the crew with him scouring the streets for anything that might lead them to their prize.
A splitscreen van goes for a lot now
Knowing that information could be traded for coin Captain Greyfax entered the bar where she spied a likely candidate who might be willing to part with some intel. The alien monkey sex worker said it would cost a fair bit for her to tell anything that might be useful. She was looking to get off-planet. Despite having a pistol held to her head and being plied with credits the alien monkey sex worker remained resolute and refused any information. Realising that either the simian prostitute was ignorant of what Greyfax wanted to know, or was too afraid to spill the beans, and a few credits lighter, she left the bar.
Meanwhile, on the street outside, Kadal instructed the ship’s Chisler, Cl4pTrP to check out a container that seemed a prime candidate for storing loot. Cl4pTrP opened the container, and once the contents were established as being of some value, began to make his way back to the ship. As Cl4pTrP scuttled off, the ship’s hacker, Devo Ranks ambled up to a nearby communication tower and casually began side loading infiltration code from his advanced deck in order to hijack the tower and force it to yield its secrets.
Kadal and his retinue then ran afoul of what appeared to be some local yahoos. A fight erupted which escalated to gunplay. Shots were exchanged and judicious use of fragmentation grenades ensued. The team drove the ne’er do wells into a nearby warehouse where the thugs desperately attempted to make a last stand. Captain Greyfax caught up with Kadal and his men and the team took some casualties due to the liberal use of grenades and a psionic fire attack in an enclosed space.
Murch the bounty hunter finally catches up with captain Greyfax
The leader of the thugs finally went down (whether it was to a grenade, bullets, a swathe of fire or a simple punch, no one could recount for sure in the confusion, but all claimed they were responsible) and with that, resistance collapsed. Once the enemy had been “pacified”, the crew discovered Mariah the “Angel” was being held captive, right there in the warehouse. What luck!
Wasting no time, the crew limped or crawled from the warehouse, where they were greeted by Devo Ranks, the hacker. He cheerfully informed them that his successful hacking of the comms tower revealed a hidden matter transport network (the result of the previously mentioned side hustle card). Wasting no time, Greyfax instructed the crew to use the network to return to the ship. Once there, they rendezvoused with Tony Montague and reunited him with his betrothed.
Maria is rescued
Now two hundred and fifty credits richer, none of the crew suffered lasting injuries although, some may have interesting scars to talk about and know to stand well clear of crewmember Espinosa when he starts loading his grenade launcher.
Roses are red,
violets are blue.
I’m rubbish at poems,
Nice ****.
-Cpt Greyfax-
Let it be stated here that Murch the bounty hunter has put a bounty of 150 credits on Captain Greyfax’s head to whoever can take Greyfax down to 0 Health. This will be doubled to 300 credits if this results in a kill. Murch wants it known that Greyfax is a cheat and swindler who took his spaceship from him after Greyfax cheated at a game of Sabacc, and should never be trusted.
Captain Blake’s Report
This was going to be an unusual mission. I wasn’t sure if it was a rescue or a kidnap, so the crew decided on a bit of caution.
The idea being to see what loot we could salvage and if there was a chance to set Mariah free to take it. We landed in a busy urban area and it was clear there were several other crews in town, the crew split up and started to gather loot and clues to finding Mariah. Good progress was made and the other crews seemed intent on the mission.
Softly, softly catchy monkey
Things took a turn for the worse when what appeared to be a pile of junk suddenly turned into a fully armed and rather aggressive robot. Several shots saw a number of the crew taking damage. While taking cover several members of the crew found themselves in close proximity to a rival crew (Pete’s), meanwhile other members of the crew made their way to the local bar to start asking questions.
Things got a bit heated in the bar and Captain Blake was forced to adjust the behaviour of one of the locals. At the same time Pete’s crew were too close for comfort and with the junk robot still shooting at anything that moves we decided to fight our way through them and make good our escape.
With the clues in the bar leading to nothing, we stepped out into the town square right in the middle of a fire fight, Eric’s gang appeared to have taken out several gang members and a rogue bounty hunter. They were also about to storm a building, so we thought it was a good time to leave. The junk robot had finally finished shooting and so the rest of the crew could escape with their loot.
Captain Blake’s crew approach a broken robot
A good horde was collected that day and we saw on the news feeds later that Mariah had been rescued, so good all round.
My heart belongs to no other,
as I stare at you from cover.
Our future could have been bright,
But you’re currently in line of sight.
– Cpt Blake
Captain Reynolds’ Report
Mal had briefed the crew before leaving the Serenity in orbit around the planet Romance: “Badger told us that the Montagues have placed an open contract to find one of the family member’s fiancée, an Angel from Seraphim. The Montagues believe she has been kidnapped by their rivals, the Capulets. They believe the Angel is being held near the spaceport that the Capulets control in Verona. Whoever returns this Angel to the Montagues in good health will be amply rewarded.”
“There’s history between these two families,” he added, “a long and bloody history. We go looking for this Angel, but I don’t want to lose anyone to this family feud. So, we’re not going to dig too deep into the Capulet’s business. And just between ourselves, we have rumours that somewhere under Verona are the remains of an Independent planetary defence bunker. We have a lead on the way in, so we’re looking for an access panel on a Pylon that should let us gain entry to the bunker.”
There’s plenty of monkey love in the local cantina
Inara & Wash set down the shuttle on the landing pads of Verona West Side space port. Mal led his team of Wash, Kaylee and Derrial towards the town square where he believed the Pylon they needed could be found. Zoe’s team of Jayne, Inara and River took a different route, headed for a bar, thinking they may hear news of the Angel there. Tracey and Simon held back, Tracey climbing a tower to get into a position where he could support either team.
Mal and Zoe both activated their Energy Shields, which would give them a little added protection, and Zoe activated a drone and sent it scouting towards a loot marker. Mal encountered some locals on the way and discretely asked if anyone had heard anything about the Angel. Both looked nervously around, but confided that if anyone knew anything it would be Tybalt Capulet, the family’s consigliere and head of security. Not a nice man, apparently, but he could often be found at the town centre bar.
Mal passed this intel on to Zoe, then led his team to the Pylon. After a couple of attempts he was able to unlock it, giving them the access codes needed to get into the bunker. While he was doing this Wash managed to unlock a loot token. Zoe’s drone was heading for the loot token when it was blown out of the air by a member of another crew, one we had not encountered before. Jayne got into position and opened fire taking out the opposing crew member with a headshot. KayLee came across another loot token and unlocked it. In the distance the crew could hear an exchange of gun fire.
What’s this big red thing ?
Having unlocked the Pylon, and seeing Capt Greyfax’s crew gathering outside a storage bunker with what looked like a group of Capulets heading in their direction, Mal sent the recall and told the crew to withdraw to the Pit, which was the way into the bunker. Zoe’s team had entered the bar when they got the recall, on exiting she deployed another drone to give cover. As the crew gathered in an alleyway Derrial was assaulted, with no good reason, by a local thug. Fortunately, KayLee and Simon came to Derrial’s aid, with KayLee administering the coup de grace to the local ruffian. Leaving the ruffian sprawled in the dust the crew made their way to the Pit and used the access codes to get into the bunker.
Come on, lets all rough up that innocent bystander
The crew found the bunker eerie but deserted, and managed to find Trade Goods to the value of 180CR. The crew made their way through the tunnels back to the starport and lifted off in the shuttle to return to the Serenity.The other loot turned out to be another Pick Caster and a pair of Lift Gloves.
Mal commended the crew, no one was injured (apart from the loss of a Drone), and there was 540CR worth of loot added to the hold. Mal decided to sell the Trade Goods and the Pick Caster, bringing in 420CR, and hold on to the Lift Gloves for now.
Roses are red,
violets are blue.
If you need minions,
please speak to Gru.
Work in Progress Wednesday is back after a short break to showcase other things we get up to at the society.
We start this week with a scratch building theme, and a pen holder piece of plastic that I’ve turned into some sort of refinery, I didn’t have to do anything other than paint it and use a bit of stuffing material as smoke.
Next up and Peter M has been converting more Star Wars toys as various vessels for his Ships of Mars game.
And sticking with Mars, Marcus W has used the lid from a Lego kit as a Mars type Skif for the current show game Labyrinths of Mars.
Marcus W has also been working on some towers for the game, that will include a sky bridge!
Back to some miniatures now, and Stephen has modified both this Necron and 3D printed character, no doubt for Stargrave.
And not to feel left out for this weeks theme, he has also painted up another piece of packaging as a Sci-Fi building.
With all of the Society’s blog editors at Salute, Stephen steps up to the plate with a short report on the games played at the Society meeting last weekend.
At the club today we had four games. Since it was also the day of Salute, club meetings tend to have fewer attending due to the fact that some members will be at Salute. (Ed: See a report on the Salute trip and the Award received here).
First up, we have a game of FoG. This is a stalwart game of the club and at most meetings there will be a game on the go. The FoGgers got in two games. In the first one it was the Romans having a bust up with the Carthaginians and in the second it was those same Romans (they’re a chippy bunch, eh?) taking a pop at some Seleucids.
The Hand Of GodFragmented. But aren’t we all?
Dave and Pete had a game of General d’Armee – a Napoleonic game. I’m sure I was told it was Prussians and Bavarians, but I might have got it wrong. Dave is a keen Napoleonicist (is that a word? It is now) and there were loads of figures on the table.
Prussians or Bavarians? (Ed: Prussians I think)Or Is Bavarians or Prussians (Ed: Bavarians this time)
Next up we have two Saga games.
John and Bob had a couple of games with Norse Gaels and Anglo-Saxons. I believe this was Bob’s first go with Saga and from what I heard he experienced the Norse Gaels’ shocking ability to dish out some damage.
Anglo Saxons Dreading The Inevitable ChargeNorse Gaels On The Razz
Tony G and myself also had a game of Saga. Having recently read a book on William II I thought the rebellion of Bishop Odo in 1088 would make a good one-day campaign. So we played three linked games. The winner of each would decide who would be attacker and defender in the next scenario. The campaign winner would be the one who scored the most total Victory Points.
(Ed: The picture at the top of the post “Burn Tonbridge, Burn” is from this series of games).
Making Way Across Aylesford BridgeBit Of A Long Distance Lob Shot
Modesty prevents me from saying who won…
(Ed: I think we can guess Stephen! We should be back to the WIP Wednesday posts from next week.)
And lastly for this week and Tony P has been painting the mass ranks requied for Macedonian Pikes in 6mm.
And with that we will see you next week.
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