Miniature Wargames

Seekrieg – First Battle of Guadalcanal

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a WWII naval game using the Seekrieg 5 rules. The scenario was based on the First Battle of Guadalcanal, with reductions in the number of ships to accommodate the players available.

The game started with no models on the table. The GM determined visibility and provided sighting reports as needed. Rain squalls appeared at random on the east edge of the table and moved west during play.

The strangely empty sea. Rain squalls are outlined with string.

The Cushing is spotted by the Japanese, but the US ships have only vague radar contacts.

US and IJN DDs fire starshell to try to find the opposing forces.

DDs on both sides launch torpedoes. One from the Cushing finds Kirishima. CLs Nagara and Atlanta take damage.

The results after about 4 hours of play were:

CL Atlanta Destroyed.

Cushing (DD) and a Japanese DD crippled.

Two tiers (20%) damage on Kirishima (BC) from torpedo damage.

About 2 tiers (20%) damage on the lead Japanese DD and the Nagara (CL).

Torpedoes in the water would have threatened the San Fransico as we ended the game.

Victory conditions:

CL Atlanta (1 VP), Cushing (0.125 VP)=1.125 VP for the Japanese.

Crippled Japanese DD (0.125 VP), damage to Kirishima (0.1 VP), damage to the lead Japanese DD (0.03 VP), damage to the Nagara (0.05) = 0.295 VP for the US.

Tactical Victory for the Japanese.

Panzer – WW2 Eastern Front

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a WW2 Eastern Front game using GMT’s Panzer rules. 3mm Pico armor stands and a 1 inch hex grid terrain cloth were used in place of the map and counters. This was a simple tank vs tank meeting scenario to familiarize the group with the rules.

Germans

Russian T34/76s occupy woods on the left, but are mostly out of range for their guns.

Early firing favors the Russians, but eventually casualties mount on both sides.

We played 8 turns in about 2.5 hours.

Sudan – Gunboats and Dhows

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a Sudan game using The Sword and the Flame colonial rules (20th Anniversary Edition) and the Gunboats and Dhows rules. Two river steamers manned by the Royal Navy were tasked with capturing two small Dhows docked on the Nile. Fortifications covered the approaches to the docks and additional Ansar troops arrived by boat. The boats used were made by Last Stand Dan.

A large Dhow appears suddenly to block the British advance…

… and is quickly sunk. The crew eventually makes it to shore.

A second large Dhow appears and blows up a British steamer with a lucky hit.

A hidden Ansar gun fires with little effect, and is quickly silenced.

Most of the British crew survives the explosion of their boat and captures the opposing Dhow. The Ansar crew of the small Dhow is wiped out.

A second hidden fort fires, but causes few British casualties.

The empty small Dhow is captured by the British.

The British captured one large and one small Dhow, sank a large Dhow and destroyed several Ansar forts. One British steamer was destroyed, but otherwise British casualties were light.

Spearhead – Eastern Front 1944

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a WW2 game using the Spearhead rules and 3mm (Pico) figures.

The Belostock Offensive was part of the third and final phase of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. The Belostock Offensive was part of the third, or ‘pursuit’ phase of Operation Bagration, and was commenced after the completion of the encirclement and destruction of much of Army Group Center in the Minsk Offensive.

The scenario was the counterattack that was launched by the 19th Panzer Division against the Soviet 50th Army on July 23rd, 1944 near Grodno.

Russian artillery deployed. They rarely answered the phone.

German mechanized infantry sweep around the right.

Massed tank battle when Russian reinforcements enter on the German left flank.

German fire reduces the defenders of the two occupied villages. The village on the left was taken without opposition.

Two Russian brigades (one of T34s, one of SUs) have broken and left the field.

The initial Russian forces were able to deploy in two of the three objective villages. The third village was out of command range. German armor advanced on the German left, expecting the Russian reinforcements on that flank, while infantry attacked the center village and mechanized infantry advanced unopposed on the right. After about 4.5 hours of play, the Russians still had toeholds in the two occupied villages, but no reasonable hope of keeping them or retaking them when lost.

Seekrieg 5 – Dreadnought 1906

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a WWI naval game using the Seekrieg 5 rules. The year is 1906. The British have just completed a new battleship. Navel experts claim it makes every other battleship obsolete. HMS Dreadnought and two British pre-dreadnoughts take on six German pre-dreadnoughts.

There is land off the bottom of this photo, so both forces will need to reverse course. The initial range is about 24,000 yards.

The Germans: three players with two ships each.

The British: two players with one commanding the Dreadnought and one commanding the two prdreadnoughts.

The British turn away to keep the range from falling.

The Germans attempt to shorten the range at the expense of masking their after turrets.

The Pommern falls behind after hits from Dreadnought reduce her speed.

Braunschweig falls behind when two engines take temproary damage. Dreadnought’s speed falls to 17 knots due to boiler damage.

Deutschland is slowed by engine and boiler damage.

After about 4 hours of play and 20 game turns (40 minutes) we called the game. Damage results:

Pommern, 3 tiers, 12 knots
Schlesien, no damage
Braunschweig, 1 tier, boiler damage repaired
Schleswig-Holstein, light damage
Deutschland, 4 tiers, 15 knots
Hannover, 1 tier, 6 knots

Dreadnought, 4 tiers, 17 knots, both wing turrets out
Hindustan, light damage
Prince of Wales, light damage