They are available to download as a PDF under My Resources and Downloads
"Little Wars is the game of kings" - H. G. Wells. My thoughts and ideas about my passion - Wargaming.
Saturday, 25 May 2013
British Infantry Facings & Lacings - Corunna
With my focus moving to looking at the events leading up to, and the battle of, Corunna, I have posted a list of British Infantry battalions by brigade, for the battle, with their Facings and Lace details. The strengths for Corunna are based on estimates as the strengths for these units are not recorded on the day, probably because they had other things on their mind at that time!
They are available to download as a PDF under My Resources and Downloads
They are available to download as a PDF under My Resources and Downloads
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Vimeiro Light - Carnage & Glory Files
As promised I have posted the updated files for Carnage & Glory II to play the two scenarios posted,Vimeiro Hill and Action at Ventosa. They can be downloaded as a RAR file from My Scenarios labelled Vimeiro Light Scenario - Carnage & Glory.
I have made the changes as mentioned in my posts, and as with the Rolica file included the Officer and Unit labels for each game.
British Facings & Lacings for the Vimeiro Campaign
For those who would find it useful, I have put together the detail I have gathered on the colours of British infantry facings and lace, by brigade, for units that took part in the battles of Rolica and Vimeiro.
You can find the PDF in my Resources and Downloads section
Monday, 20 May 2013
Action at Ventosa - Carnage & Glory II
After all the preparation and setting up, the day finally arrived to play out our first game on the new table and to complete the play testing of the "Vimeiro Light" two part scenario, having played the "Vimeiro Hill" game a couple of weeks ago at Legionary.
My previous post outlined the terrain set up and the effort to create blocked sight lines around Ventosa, to enable us to try out some of the other concepts that need more work with, such as the "Reverse Slope" tactics as laid out in the rules. This together with the use of blinds would help keep the French commanders "in the dark" as to exactly what British troops, were where, at any given time until spotted, and simulate the British ambush potential.
The two sides are evenly matched with the French advantage of All Arms and slight Numerical Superiority, being countered by the British Quality and Command advantages, having a Senior commander (Fergusson) in charge of both brigades.
The lack of a superior commander with the French meant that Brennier and Solignac were forced to act independently, with Brennier appearing on the British left flank at any time between turns four to nine. I was hoping to try out the flank march system on C&GII, but made the error of putting Brennier in as Officer 101 which identified him to the programme as the Army Commander instead of a separate commander with just his force. Thus I couldn't detach Solignac and Brenniers brigades when giving the flank march set up. In version two of the order of battle I will put Junot in as officer 101 but obviously he will not be present in the battle. This should remedy the problem. Now you can see why I wanted to playtest these games before releasing any orders of battle I have put together!!
So rather than re-write the order of battle we turned to the old mark one die roll to determine the French arrival with a six being required on turn four, a five or six on turn five etc, etc.
The other innovation we tried out was to allow the British to place "blind" markers down in the positions their two brigades occupied on the table. Thus the French would still know where the British were, but not exactly what units were in the blinds represented and in what formation. To save on writing, Steve, the British commander simply laid out the troops on duplicate markers off table in the set up they would be in when placed on table. The blinds, sideways on, indicating a deployed brigade's maximum set up width with no limit on its depth. If the blind is placed end on towards the enemy it would be in manoeuvre mode, with the narrow end being the maximum deployment width and all units in company/squadron/limbered formation.
With the scenario briefing covered off together with Reverse Slope rules and Flank Marches we turned our attention to the best way of running the British Brigade Light Battalions. The issue we encountered in the Vimiero Hill game was that these battalions, being very weak in comparison to the French and British Line battalions are very vulnerable to French columns charging at them when performing their normal screening activities. If placed in open order they can be easily pushed aside before getting any chance to out skirmish the French Voltigeur screens.
Our remedy was to allow the British brigades to declare that the Lights were operating as brigade skirmishers, just like their Voltigeur counterparts. This meant that the Light Battalion could not be targeted for charges made by French columns. Any charge declaration would have to be made on a battalion in the brigade that the Lights were drawn from. This would allow the Lights to do their usual job of screening their brigade and sniping at the French, but also allow them to form up at any time and act as an independent light infantry unit capable of occupying important cover.
This approach in using the Light Battalions will need to be played to destruction to see if it works, more anon.
So to the game. The French were tasked with taking control of the ridge above Ventosa, by having more good order troops in occupation of it than the British, whilst avoiding their army having a morale failure before game end, turn twelve. The British were basically tasked with avoiding the French victory requirements.
The Ventosa ridge was identified as the ground between the village and three strategically placed small woods that gave a perimeter to it, thus making it very easy for both sides to keep the objective in clear sight.
The game started with the arrival of Solignac's brigade in front of Ventosa toiling forward over the disruptive terrain that is the "Eastern Ridge". Thus by the third turn after some intial skirmish and artillery fire the three French columns were preparing to leave Ventosa and advance up the slope behind it towards the skirmishing redcoats of Nightingale's Light Battalion.
The 58me Ligne lead the assault up the hill taking skirmish hits and canister fire from the British on the way. This barrage caused the French battalion to loose momentum and as it crested the ridge in sight of the British battalions behind its attempt to charge in failed and it was forced to deploy in line instead.
Ironically the Light Battalion to its front was encouraged by this and given the option to counter charge whilst in open order. The British commander decided "discretion was the better part of valour" and declined the charge invitation , but feeling secure on the crest, decided to form line.
On reflection, this was probably not a good idea. The change from open order into line now presented the French with a much better target, which although they couldn't charge, they could shoot at.
The French unit, still organised on the pre 1808 nine company organisation, was extremely strong with just over 1200 men, and the volley it let loose at 75 paces was devastating, dropping close on 100 of the redcoats in one shot, and despite the return volley from the "light bobs" despatching close on 80 Frenchmen in return. the result was predictable with the British Light battalion routing back off the ridge, and the French battalion, retiring back towards Ventosa to lick its wounds.
Note to self , "Do not form Light Battalions into line in the open in front of strong French battalions and expect to out volley them, even if you have disrupted their charge attempt". In the words of my old school teacher, "It's not big and it's not clever!" I told you we were on the learning curve with these units.
The disappointing result of the British Light's running back was they had done a brilliant job of stalling Solignac's attack. The continual skirmishing backed up by the British artillery had caused the 58me Ligne to fall back, and had convinced the 12me and 15me Legere that they were better off in the cover of Ventosa hamlet, with both units refusing to leave cover or charge the 36th Foot who had moved into the British side of the village.
In addition their departure had unnerved their parent brigade and left them unable to skirmish offensively as they prepared their own counterattack.
On reflection perhaps it would have been better if the Lights had stayed in open order and fallen back behind their supports, before getting volleyed. Then returning to the fray after the French had been pushed back, as they would inevitably would have been, by the British line battalions on the crest.
So with events at a tipping point on the Ventosa front and the initiative moving from one side to the other each turn, indicating the swings in morale and fatigue, fate dealt another turn of events.
Tom was in command of Brennier's main force marching "to the sound of the guns". On turn four he managed to roll a one requiring a six, doh! Then on turn five, requiring a five or six he rolled a five.
Things had now swung towards the French.
With the arrival of Brennier's battalions, the British positions were exposed to view by both Tom and Jack commanding the French. The new arrivals had caught the British reserve brigade in line, deployed facing Ventosa, thus requiring it to rapidly wheel to face the new threat.
Fortunately for Steve, Tom had led on his forces with his infantry rather than the 3me Provisional Dragoons. If these heavy cavalry had been first on then the problems for the British would have multiplied by the effect of limiting the complicated movements the redcoats were attempting to do in response to the new situation.
As it was the disruptive terrain that Wellesley had selected to place his infantry force in was helping to delay the French attack and giving his men the time to redeploy. General Bowes rushed his Light Battalion forward and to the left flank, skirmishing with the lead French battalions and taking possession of a small copse in their line of advance.
This move slowed the French attack still further and allowed the "light bobs" to fire at the French dragoons from the safety of the trees as they entered the table.
Meanwhile the attack on the Ventosa ridge had stalled with the forces under Solignac unable to advance on or charge the enemy. With both armies within one per cent of each other on the force morale score and only eight per cent away from either loosing the game the next decisions would be vital.
On turn seven the initiative lay with the British, and Steve decided to contest and "bottle up" Tom's advance on his left, whilst counter attacking Ventosa to his front. However given the objective of just holding the position, which the British were doing and given the fatigue on both forces, made worse by the disruptive terrain, perhaps moving to the attack was an order to far.
As the British advanced on Ventosa the lack of a Light Battalion skirmishing to their front had its effect.
In spite of the Voltiguers sniping at them as they crested the ridge they pressed on towards thevillage.
They were met by the reformed 58me Ligne in line who were ably supported by the French guns. as the range came down to 150 paces both sides "let rip", but with the fatigue, all the units were now experiencing, the casualties were minor for both sides.
Meanwhile on the other flank the 70me Ligne charged the British guns who had turned to face the new threat, and after a brief exchange of musketry and canister the gunners fled from the French attack.
Suddenly on turn nine it was all over. With such a close affair it was not clear which side would crack first. The British morale failure flashed up and the French had achieved a "Minor Victory".
The last combats, although light in casualties had been enough to break the British force's will to continue the struggle, but the French army was only just slightly better off. As you can see the losses were fairly equal.
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| French Elite Company Men at the time of Ventosa |
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| Table Map |
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| British & French Orders of Battle |
The lack of a superior commander with the French meant that Brennier and Solignac were forced to act independently, with Brennier appearing on the British left flank at any time between turns four to nine. I was hoping to try out the flank march system on C&GII, but made the error of putting Brennier in as Officer 101 which identified him to the programme as the Army Commander instead of a separate commander with just his force. Thus I couldn't detach Solignac and Brenniers brigades when giving the flank march set up. In version two of the order of battle I will put Junot in as officer 101 but obviously he will not be present in the battle. This should remedy the problem. Now you can see why I wanted to playtest these games before releasing any orders of battle I have put together!!
So rather than re-write the order of battle we turned to the old mark one die roll to determine the French arrival with a six being required on turn four, a five or six on turn five etc, etc.
The other innovation we tried out was to allow the British to place "blind" markers down in the positions their two brigades occupied on the table. Thus the French would still know where the British were, but not exactly what units were in the blinds represented and in what formation. To save on writing, Steve, the British commander simply laid out the troops on duplicate markers off table in the set up they would be in when placed on table. The blinds, sideways on, indicating a deployed brigade's maximum set up width with no limit on its depth. If the blind is placed end on towards the enemy it would be in manoeuvre mode, with the narrow end being the maximum deployment width and all units in company/squadron/limbered formation.
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| French cannon announce the arrival of General Solignac's men in front of Ventosa |
Our remedy was to allow the British brigades to declare that the Lights were operating as brigade skirmishers, just like their Voltigeur counterparts. This meant that the Light Battalion could not be targeted for charges made by French columns. Any charge declaration would have to be made on a battalion in the brigade that the Lights were drawn from. This would allow the Lights to do their usual job of screening their brigade and sniping at the French, but also allow them to form up at any time and act as an independent light infantry unit capable of occupying important cover.
This approach in using the Light Battalions will need to be played to destruction to see if it works, more anon.
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| British skirmish troops and artillery welcome the French in return |
The Ventosa ridge was identified as the ground between the village and three strategically placed small woods that gave a perimeter to it, thus making it very easy for both sides to keep the objective in clear sight.
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| French troops occupy the hamlet of Ventosa |
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| The French advance up the slope unaware of the British troops behind the crest |
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| French guns engage in counter-battery fire as their columns advance |
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| The skirmish battle begins. |
On reflection, this was probably not a good idea. The change from open order into line now presented the French with a much better target, which although they couldn't charge, they could shoot at.
The French unit, still organised on the pre 1808 nine company organisation, was extremely strong with just over 1200 men, and the volley it let loose at 75 paces was devastating, dropping close on 100 of the redcoats in one shot, and despite the return volley from the "light bobs" despatching close on 80 Frenchmen in return. the result was predictable with the British Light battalion routing back off the ridge, and the French battalion, retiring back towards Ventosa to lick its wounds.
Note to self , "Do not form Light Battalions into line in the open in front of strong French battalions and expect to out volley them, even if you have disrupted their charge attempt". In the words of my old school teacher, "It's not big and it's not clever!" I told you we were on the learning curve with these units.
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| Both sides kept up the artillery fire as the columns advanced up the slope |
In addition their departure had unnerved their parent brigade and left them unable to skirmish offensively as they prepared their own counterattack.
On reflection perhaps it would have been better if the Lights had stayed in open order and fallen back behind their supports, before getting volleyed. Then returning to the fray after the French had been pushed back, as they would inevitably would have been, by the British line battalions on the crest.
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| The 36th Foot moved into Ventosa to contest the advance |
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| British Light troops swarmed over the Ventosa ridge picking off officers and NCO's |
Tom was in command of Brennier's main force marching "to the sound of the guns". On turn four he managed to roll a one requiring a six, doh! Then on turn five, requiring a five or six he rolled a five.
Things had now swung towards the French.
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| At midday the troops of General Brennier advanced onto the table revealing the British position |
Fortunately for Steve, Tom had led on his forces with his infantry rather than the 3me Provisional Dragoons. If these heavy cavalry had been first on then the problems for the British would have multiplied by the effect of limiting the complicated movements the redcoats were attempting to do in response to the new situation.
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| The 58me Ligne are staggered by the fire that the British put into them and attempt to form line |
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| Fighting for Ventosa "hots up" |
This move slowed the French attack still further and allowed the "light bobs" to fire at the French dragoons from the safety of the trees as they entered the table.
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| General Brennier pushes forward onto the British left flank |
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| General Bowes is forced to wheel in response to the new arrivals |
On turn seven the initiative lay with the British, and Steve decided to contest and "bottle up" Tom's advance on his left, whilst counter attacking Ventosa to his front. However given the objective of just holding the position, which the British were doing and given the fatigue on both forces, made worse by the disruptive terrain, perhaps moving to the attack was an order to far.
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| Nightingale's brigade moves onto the crest |
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| British gunners attempt to hold the French back whilst the infantry get into position |
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| The battle on the British left at its height |
In spite of the Voltiguers sniping at them as they crested the ridge they pressed on towards thevillage.
They were met by the reformed 58me Ligne in line who were ably supported by the French guns. as the range came down to 150 paces both sides "let rip", but with the fatigue, all the units were now experiencing, the casualties were minor for both sides.
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| General Fergusson oversees the advance on Ventosa |
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| The 3me Provisional Dragoons feel out the flank of the British left whilst taking fire from light troops in the woods |
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| The pressure builds on the British left |
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| The French fight hard in front of Ventosa |
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| Close range volleys in Ventosa |
The last combats, although light in casualties had been enough to break the British force's will to continue the struggle, but the French army was only just slightly better off. As you can see the losses were fairly equal.
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| The 32nd Cornish Foot prepare to cover the withdrawl |
This was a very enjoyable battle to fight, with the variable French reinforcement adding to the replay value. We are still learning to master C&G and I come away from games with my head full of questions and thoughts about how to get the best out of the situations presented.
We all agreed that the rules are a lot of fun and the effects of fatigue, that you just don't get with other rule sets, really build in a limit to what you can expect your men to do in two and half hours of fighting.
As soon as I have updated the files for the game I will post them in the downloads section of the blog, so stay tuned if you are a C&G player and would like them.
Thanks to Steve, Jack and Tom for a great day of wargaming. Onward to Corunna!
Saturday, 18 May 2013
New Table - The First Game
Tomorrow is a day of firsts. First play test of the Ventosa game using the Carnage & Glory scenario, and the first time a game will be played on the new table that Tom and I put together over Easter, which I posted about back in March.
I really enjoy the process of game construction and pulling together the components of a scenario. One of the key components is interpreting the terrain and scaling it to the level of play the game is set up to model.
With this game I was fortunate in having some great maps of the battlefield as a whole. This enabled a scale down to the area we will be playing over, namely the little hamlet of Ventosa at the end of the Eastern Ridge of Vimeiro
Below are pictures of the table set up to play the scenario. The look is a little squarer than the map because my table is a nine foot by five foot layout and the map was planned for a six by four foot game. So the compromise below has a six by five foot table.
This is the first time I have laid out tiles underneath the mat to give a contour variation to the table. The ground level shots, hopefully show the sight line variations that were present on top of the Eastern Ridge that allowed the British to use their reverse slope tactics.
In the briefing tomorrow pointing out where the "military crest" is will be an important point, and I have positioned my terrain to make it easier for the players to identify where best to position their troops.
The ridge was characterised by having areas of disruptive terrain such as dried up stream courses and small groves of olive and cork trees.
With the terrain laid out I have put down "blind markers" to indicate the approximate set up positions for the troops when we play tomorrow.
The nice thing about playing on a reduced area is I have room at the top of the table to put the troops out and set up the laptop and other play aids (note the range sticks).
So with everything set up I can do some other stuff with the family on my Saturday, and look forward to welcoming Steve and Jack to game with Tom and myself tomorrow. A full report on the game will follow together with an updated scenario briefing with any lessons learned from our game.
I really enjoy the process of game construction and pulling together the components of a scenario. One of the key components is interpreting the terrain and scaling it to the level of play the game is set up to model.
With this game I was fortunate in having some great maps of the battlefield as a whole. This enabled a scale down to the area we will be playing over, namely the little hamlet of Ventosa at the end of the Eastern Ridge of Vimeiro
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| The whole position occupied by Wellesley's troops at Vimeiro |
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| The Ventosa position |
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| My interpretation of the original map |
Below are pictures of the table set up to play the scenario. The look is a little squarer than the map because my table is a nine foot by five foot layout and the map was planned for a six by four foot game. So the compromise below has a six by five foot table.
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| The table top interpretation of the map, with Ventosa top right |
In the briefing tomorrow pointing out where the "military crest" is will be an important point, and I have positioned my terrain to make it easier for the players to identify where best to position their troops.
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| The view from the ground occupied by Colonel Trant and his Portuguese contingent |
The ridge was characterised by having areas of disruptive terrain such as dried up stream courses and small groves of olive and cork trees.
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| The road from Vimiero to Ventosa |
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| The route as Ferguson's brigades would view it, with the ridge at Ventosa just to the left of the village. Again note how the road past Ventosa drops out of sight |
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| General Solignac's view of the road into Ventosa as it climbs the ridge to the right |
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| The road into Ventosa that General Brennier was attempting to follow, note the sight is blocked beyond the Ventosa hill to the right. |
With the terrain laid out I have put down "blind markers" to indicate the approximate set up positions for the troops when we play tomorrow.
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| The initial positions indicated with blinds |
The nice thing about playing on a reduced area is I have room at the top of the table to put the troops out and set up the laptop and other play aids (note the range sticks).
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| The French troops under Brennier are flank marching and will appear on this table edge "eventually"! |
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| The small hamlet of Ventosa Farm |
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| The forces for tomorrows game |
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| The French eager to follow up their success at the Legionary show |
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| The 32nd "Cornwall" Foot representing the South West in this game |
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Battlegroup Overlord - Thoughts and Impressions
Yesterday I got my WWII collection out to try out the Battlegroup rules that I picked up at Salute. I have posted a report on our game on the club blog, so check it out to find out how the game played.
Devon Wargames Group Blog
I should preface this post by saying that I don't intend this as a review of "Battlegroup Overlord" and the rules. That is because, having only played them twice, I don't really feel qualified to give that kind of assessment.
That being said, I do feel happy to give my thoughts and impressions, as someone who has bought both Kursk and Normandy books and is the proud possessor of the mini rules book, and having played them, set up a scenario with them, and had to thumb through the rule book to find answers to game situations can at least give an experienced wargamers view on how they work or don't.
Greg Farrell Organiser Builder
Are they fun to play? Emphatically, absolutely, YES. The feel of the game, with the clever use of the Battle rating counters, degrading your force morale over time and occasionally throwing up the odd special event like an air strike or random mine attack is an absolute pleasure and is the "cumin, coriander and turmeric base to this interesting curry".
I recall with a smile, in yesterdays game, as the British players were forced to draw yet another counter from the box due to a well placed German artillery strike, then themselves smiling with glee as they pulled out a Mine Strike counter and were able to cause the German player much concern as one of his Marders reversed over an un-spotted mine.
So yes, fun is something this game has in abundance.
Simulation rather than game? Here lies the rub of the matter for me. I look for the Lardies principle of playing the period not the rules in games systems I like. This principle has been a guiding factor in my choice of rule sets for ever and leads me to question where Battlegroup fits in to the rules I have considered using over the years.
I too, don't subscribe to the school of thought that says, "a good simulation can't be fun". That school of thought tends to point to the Newbury Rules systems of copious factor sheets that one had to work through to decide whether one force could shoot at another at a given range etc, etc.
The Lardies with their clever use of combined morale and casualty results table, and the design principles that reward the historically tactical use of the weapons systems available to the troops of the period. The ability to influence the randomness of the cards system by adding to or taking out cards based on the quality of the command system applicable to your force. All this points to a rule set that can combine a simulation with a fun game.
With Battlegroup I found myself a bit confused with what the designer was trying to achieve.
The rules are trying to be appropriate to play games from Section/Squad level to Battalion. This is a tricky spread of detail to manage, and I found myself wondering why as a Company or Battalion level commander I would be counting up how many rifles, SMGs and LMGs my sections were armed with rather than working in groups of these weapons as most rule sets at the Company/Battalion level tend to do. Thus casualties are based on individual men rather than groups of men, a seemingly low level of detail for a game looking to cover battalion scale clashes. There are arbitrary ammo load outs for armoured vehicles with assault guns and tank hunters having much smaller allowances than tanks.
This necessitates the requirement to record ammunition used by individual vehicles, a throw back to Donald Featherstone and WRG. Surely modern gaming systems have moved on from these kind of rules?
Then with artillery there appears to be unlimited strikes available to troops of guns, where most rules today try to model the restricted access to higher lever artillery by limiting the number of strikes in a game. The lack of rules covering smoke seem strange. Then there is the requirement to place a spotting round when setting up an artillery strike, which can end up being moved 4d6 inches in any direction, possibly ending up with the round moving out of sight of the OP who called it in. This does not stop the barrage going ahead! Surely the whole point of a spotting round was to be able to see where the fire would fall and to, if necessary, correct the fall of shot back onto or nearer the target before firing for effect. The artillery rules don't seem to model the efficiencies built in to American and British systems which allowed multiple assets to be co-ordinated by one OP, or the more cumbersome often WWI systems used by the Axis nations which often forced them, particularly in the later years of WWII to rely more on their mortars for rapid response than their heavier artillery.
These issues with the rules have caused me to think of Battlegroup more as a game than a simulation. The "Game" category, for me includes rules such as Flames of War and Bolt Action. I think Battlegroup are more simulation, less game than them. Many of the aspects I have highlighted are easily changed with house rule adaptions. I, for example, will limit artillery missions in my scenarios. I will allow smoke and design my own rules to cater for this. I will not allow a barrage to be fired when a spotting round is quite clearly out of sight of the OP who called it in. I will allow allied OPs to call on multiple units of artillery in missions.
One final point that is not only applicable to Battlegroup but seems to have become a common omission in most rule sets published today. Please, please, pretty please, can rule designers include, as a matter of routine, a subject index to help speed up the process of finding what it is you want to look up. The new Battlegroup rulebook is a welcome addition and even more so as I found the ready reference card poor given the lack of information on it. However the lack of a subject index can drive one to distraction when you simply want to find out something in particular without wading through the sections in the book.
I plan to play more games with these rules, starting with Pegasus Bridge, next month at the club. Why? Because they are fast, fun and I think adaptable to allow me to make changes to the base system to improve the simulation I want. If you haven't tried these rules yet I would suggest you check them out.
Devon Wargames Group Blog
I should preface this post by saying that I don't intend this as a review of "Battlegroup Overlord" and the rules. That is because, having only played them twice, I don't really feel qualified to give that kind of assessment.
That being said, I do feel happy to give my thoughts and impressions, as someone who has bought both Kursk and Normandy books and is the proud possessor of the mini rules book, and having played them, set up a scenario with them, and had to thumb through the rule book to find answers to game situations can at least give an experienced wargamers view on how they work or don't.
So Jon, why did you get into this rule set? Well the simple answer to that question is that I was looking for a set of rules that I could play WWII Company level games, in a fast moving set up that was more simulation than game, and that was fun to play.
My turn to set of rules for this kind of game has to be I Aint Been Shot Mum (IABSM) by the Lardies, and they just about tick all my boxes, save one. That box is the one marked "fast moving". The card system in IABSM is great for simulating the friction and uncertainty of warfare, but it does slow the game down to a certain extent. I look on with keen interest at the new Chain of Command game currently being tested by my fellow club members Jason, Nathan and Gus, which has been reported on at Jason's Blog, which uses dice instead of cards to capture this friction element. It does strike me as a quicker system.
So I am in the market for looking at other games for WWII Company battles and have been happy to try out the Battlegroup rules, and I find myself in the same position with some but not all boxes ticked and liking these rules for different reasons. I think that my view of these rules is "fast moving" YES, "fun to play" YES, "more simulation than game" NO.
So why have I rated this game the way I have.
Well as fast moving goes, in both games we have rattled on through the turn sequence with little or no problem all adding the appeal of a game that can easily give a result in an afternoon of gaming at the club. I couldn't always say that with IABSM.
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| Gregg Farrell's excellent Orbat creator |
Are they fun to play? Emphatically, absolutely, YES. The feel of the game, with the clever use of the Battle rating counters, degrading your force morale over time and occasionally throwing up the odd special event like an air strike or random mine attack is an absolute pleasure and is the "cumin, coriander and turmeric base to this interesting curry".
I recall with a smile, in yesterdays game, as the British players were forced to draw yet another counter from the box due to a well placed German artillery strike, then themselves smiling with glee as they pulled out a Mine Strike counter and were able to cause the German player much concern as one of his Marders reversed over an un-spotted mine.
So yes, fun is something this game has in abundance.
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| One of my Marders lurking in the hedgerows around Breville |
I too, don't subscribe to the school of thought that says, "a good simulation can't be fun". That school of thought tends to point to the Newbury Rules systems of copious factor sheets that one had to work through to decide whether one force could shoot at another at a given range etc, etc.
The Lardies with their clever use of combined morale and casualty results table, and the design principles that reward the historically tactical use of the weapons systems available to the troops of the period. The ability to influence the randomness of the cards system by adding to or taking out cards based on the quality of the command system applicable to your force. All this points to a rule set that can combine a simulation with a fun game.
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| British Paras under artillery fire at yesterdays game |
With Battlegroup I found myself a bit confused with what the designer was trying to achieve.
The rules are trying to be appropriate to play games from Section/Squad level to Battalion. This is a tricky spread of detail to manage, and I found myself wondering why as a Company or Battalion level commander I would be counting up how many rifles, SMGs and LMGs my sections were armed with rather than working in groups of these weapons as most rule sets at the Company/Battalion level tend to do. Thus casualties are based on individual men rather than groups of men, a seemingly low level of detail for a game looking to cover battalion scale clashes. There are arbitrary ammo load outs for armoured vehicles with assault guns and tank hunters having much smaller allowances than tanks.
This necessitates the requirement to record ammunition used by individual vehicles, a throw back to Donald Featherstone and WRG. Surely modern gaming systems have moved on from these kind of rules?
Then with artillery there appears to be unlimited strikes available to troops of guns, where most rules today try to model the restricted access to higher lever artillery by limiting the number of strikes in a game. The lack of rules covering smoke seem strange. Then there is the requirement to place a spotting round when setting up an artillery strike, which can end up being moved 4d6 inches in any direction, possibly ending up with the round moving out of sight of the OP who called it in. This does not stop the barrage going ahead! Surely the whole point of a spotting round was to be able to see where the fire would fall and to, if necessary, correct the fall of shot back onto or nearer the target before firing for effect. The artillery rules don't seem to model the efficiencies built in to American and British systems which allowed multiple assets to be co-ordinated by one OP, or the more cumbersome often WWI systems used by the Axis nations which often forced them, particularly in the later years of WWII to rely more on their mortars for rapid response than their heavier artillery.
These issues with the rules have caused me to think of Battlegroup more as a game than a simulation. The "Game" category, for me includes rules such as Flames of War and Bolt Action. I think Battlegroup are more simulation, less game than them. Many of the aspects I have highlighted are easily changed with house rule adaptions. I, for example, will limit artillery missions in my scenarios. I will allow smoke and design my own rules to cater for this. I will not allow a barrage to be fired when a spotting round is quite clearly out of sight of the OP who called it in. I will allow allied OPs to call on multiple units of artillery in missions.
One final point that is not only applicable to Battlegroup but seems to have become a common omission in most rule sets published today. Please, please, pretty please, can rule designers include, as a matter of routine, a subject index to help speed up the process of finding what it is you want to look up. The new Battlegroup rulebook is a welcome addition and even more so as I found the ready reference card poor given the lack of information on it. However the lack of a subject index can drive one to distraction when you simply want to find out something in particular without wading through the sections in the book.
I plan to play more games with these rules, starting with Pegasus Bridge, next month at the club. Why? Because they are fast, fun and I think adaptable to allow me to make changes to the base system to improve the simulation I want. If you haven't tried these rules yet I would suggest you check them out.
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