Kiss Me Hardy - Devon Wargames Group

Yesterday at our first club meeting for 2018 I took in the sailing ships and ran a Suffren v Hughes inspired scenario using Kiss Me Hardy from the Too Fat Lardies.

Devon Wargames Group - Kiss Me Hardy in the Indian Ocean

As mentioned in my annual review for 2017 I intend to do some work on my age of sail collection and the game gave me an opportunity to reassess KMH as a contender to use as a rule set for the larger games, twenty to thirty ships aside, that I have in mind.

That said I am not convinced that KHM are the most appropriate to use for that size of game and I intend to showcase an alternative option going forward but I think KMH are excellent for the smaller game with just a few ships involved and where the card play involved in KMH really comes to the fore.

Another aspect discussed in the DWG AAR was that of command and control, something I am keen to develop with the larger type of game and the added friction such additions could add.

As mentioned in the AAR I have put together a PDF of the scenario played yesterday and have posted it to My Scenarios library also available in the link below.

Kiss Me Hardy in the Indian Ocean - Scenario PDF

Lastly, thanks to Steve L we were able to play our game on his newly acquired Tiny Wargames Sea Mat, one of which I have on order as part of a club deal to equip members with the right kind of mats to add that bit extra to the kind of games we play. I think you will agree it looks pretty cool.

The Second Barons War: Addendum, Lewes and Evesham 1264-65 - Richard Brooks

I have just got my hands on a copy of the new Osprey Campaign series covering the Second Barons war so I am now able to do a comparison with the John Sadler book on the same subject that I reviewed recently.

The book itself is in the familiar style to all the other Osprey Campaigns and with the content obviously covering the same events I can skip onto the comparison bit and just drop in key parts as I go.

The two battles get a much better coverage in this book with both a little more depth and sharper details however there is still only the same limited original information available so there are no new items in this book that Sadler didn’t know off or omitted from his, just that it has been put across in a way more agreeable for Ospreys typical customers.

The moving of the location of the Battle of Lewes to nearer the town and not up on the old racecourse is consistent in both books (and also in Oman, which I have subsequently re-read as well.) I am still unclear on how the general opinion for it being on the Downs was formed; even my venerable “More Battlefields of Britain” from 1952 puts both cases forward. The army movement and approach marches are generally easier to follow in the Osprey.

Overall in my opinion (and after all ,that’s what really counts) the Battle of Lewes can be called a draw between the two books.

Sadler’s version of the events that then occur in-between the two battles is much better however Osprey's coverage of what happens once the campaign kicks of again is clearly superior. This covers not only de Montfort’s movements in Wales but also his son’s actions in the south prior to being summoned by his father to join their armies together, then comes the surprise attack on Simon the Younger by Prince Edward at Kenilworth castle.

The key points regarding the battle and the army deployments, despite Sadler’s extensive outlining of all the various possibilities, are more in line with my thinking in the Osprey book.

The two main contentious points are:
1. The approach route taken by the Royalists
2. Was the bridge into Evesham subsequently blocked by one of the Royalists divisions thus trapping de Montfort.

Sadler follows Oman and some of the later experts by agreeing on the more complicated manoeuvring of the Royalists instead of the much more likely ‘straightest possible route’ theory and he also falls on the side of the ‘Mortimer blocks the Bridge‘camp.

I just don’t agree with either and the Osprey version is much more to my way of thinking. A large portion of the Royalists forces had already ridden to Kenilworth, fought a one sided action, ridden back and then had to set off again to try and intercept de Montfort, all in a few days. It’s far more likely you would take the quickest possible route and in a formation that allows you to deploy easily into three battles upon arrival. Edward knew roughly de Montfort’s movements so it was just a matter of catching up with him in time and more importantly a lot of this was all done at night. You also certainly wouldn't detach a third of your force on a circuitous march with all the potential problems that entails and I am also not convinced by the argument that Mortimer was instead already tailing De Montfort rather than being part of the main Royalist army.

Finally reading the Osprey version puts over the possible briefness of the battle, de Montfort was heavily outnumbered and his Welsh Infantry broke immediately thus leaving him with little option but to try an all out charge with his cavalry, I doubt the actual fighting lasted even an hour, if that.

Battle of Evesham: my vote goes to Osprey.

One other point of interest from both books and is linked to a discussion we had recently at the Devon Wargames Group, which was about the effectiveness of being uphill. Both Lewes and Evesham were won by the army that was uphill of the other. Could de Montfort have broken though at Evesham and escaped if it had been on level ground? Probably not as I think he already knew that the game was up otherwise if he wanted he could have crossed the bridge in his rear to safety as he had advised others to do. Also at Lewes Prince Edward charged uphill against the London troops and broke them (quality and morale answers that one) but the other two divisions both lost against smaller enemy forces.

I guess you now want to know which one to buy.

Well I would get both but only if you can find Sadler at £8 and the Osprey at £10 , I found that after reading Sadler first and then the Osprey that it all sunk in so much better and I could puzzle over the various disputed points in my head after seeing both sides. Sadler does give a good run down of all the possible options, I just don’t agree with all his findings.

If you have to pay full price for both then I would choose the Osprey, it has more maps, better pictures and more tightly focused , the course of the campaigns are much easier to follow and for once the limitation of 96 pages isn't a problem due to the paucity of available facts.

Paperback and Kindle
Readable pages 92 out of 96 (but with many pictures on each page)
RRP of £14.99 ,
Best price 11th Jan 2018 = £9.81+p&p Amazon
Amazon Lewes and Evesham 1264-65, Osprey Campaign series No.285


This has been a Mr Steve presentation.

Maurice - First Game 2018

The New Year got off to a fine start with my first game played and totally enjoyed as Steve M, myself and Martin got together here at Chez JJ to run through a game that Martin is putting on at this month's meeting of the DWG.

The rules for the game are Maurice, perhaps, in my humble opinion, Sam Mustafa's finest creation which comes from a superb collection of rules from this highly thoughtful and creatively innovative rules writer.

Since selling my AWI 15mm collection to Steve, I haven't played a game of Maurice for a very long time, in fact both Steve and I reflected that it had been too long as we both thoroughly enjoy the rules and have never had a boring game with them.

Following a discussion about this planned club game we decided on a play-test and re-familiarisation using Martin's new collection of 10mm Pendraken Seven Years War Prussians and Austrians.

Pendraken Miniatures

Now my old eyes can barely cope with 18mm, so you will not see me painting anything smaller than that, but after putting on my 'seeing glasses' my first thoughts were 'wow' these figures are impressively detailed for their diminutive scale and 'hats off' to Martin for picking out that detail with a lovely paint and basing job that only enhanced the game we played.

The other part of his collection I immediately recognised, having the 15/18mm versions in my own terrain set was the lovely collection of buildings on a purpose built latex surround from Total Battle Miniatures which with their black powder range of buildings are just perfect for this period, although I believe these are the 6mm versions providing a better scale of footprint with no loss of character.

I don't intend on revealing too much about this scenario as it is for a planned game at the club and we will no doubt have a full AAR to follow on the DWG blog once it is played; not only that, but occasionally some of my fellow DWG club members pop over here to see what's going on and I don't want to spoil any of their forthcoming fun.

Suffice to say that in our little play test, my small force of Prussians were tasked with holding on to the small hamlet you see in the pictures while being threatened by a much larger Austrian force of infantry, cavalry and irregulars.

If that wasn't challenge enough, the Prussian force started the action carrying disruption from previous manoeuvres that only added to their worries as the battle began.

Both Steve and I had become 'unconsciously, competent' with this set of rules following the multiple games we played following their release and, given that they are by no means a complicated set of rules to get ones head around, I was surprised at how 'consciously, incompetent' we had become in the recent time to this game.

That said, after a few turns of the familiar card play, which is the essence of these rules, we were starting to get back to the basics of play and the index sheet which was downloaded years ago from the Maurice forum (see the link below) helped enormously in tracking down the particular section of the rules that clarified a particular point in question.

Maurice - Downloads

The game barrelled along and we were soon all delighting in the simplicity and yet extraordinary texture and period feel for the era of linear warfare these rules create.

The added spice for both Steve and I, was the unfamiliarity with some of the rule additions that we were using when playing the Austrian and Prussian forces, particularly modifications on formation changes which were new to us having not had to content with them using AWI armies and thier looser formations.

We progressed our game through a deck and a half of cards and nearly twenty turns of play before the evening concluded and we went through a post game 'wash up' assessment, perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of historical wargaming.

The game renewed my love affair with this set of gloriously crafted rules and reinforced my own plans to build a new collection of 28mm AWI to use with them, with some ideas we discussed on the night of introducing divisional commanders, similar to notables in the rules, for activation and command purposes, rather than the group/formation-similarity process, but that is just me messing about with other peoples rules, looking for ever more granularity.

If you have never played Maurice, then I highly recommend them to your attention and the numerous game reports to be found on the net probably attest to my estimation of them.

As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this my first game of 2018 and Maurice was the perfect way to start the year. Thank you to Steve M and Martin for providing all the fun and as I sit here writing up this look back I have just received my copy of Spring's "With Zeal and With Bayonets Only" to upgrade my education about the British army and its tactics during the American War of Independence - book review to follow.

Viking Hirdmen

I thought we should get 2018 off to the right start in the way we mean things to continue and begin the year with one of the most fearsome sights any self respecting member of the Devon Fyrd might feel a little quiver of anxiousness facing.

These Viking Hirdmen, first put together on holiday in Holland last summer, have been glowering at me for a few weeks on the painting desk as time has been earmarked to organising other projects, but with the acquisition of the banner-man at Warfare together with the required shield decals in November and the run into Xmas freeing up extra down-time I was determined to press on to get these chaps done in time for the new year.

As mentioned with the other sets of Gripping Beast plastics, they really do allow the wargamer to rapidly build a nice collection of figures at very reasonable cost in pretty short order and with a few mixed head options and the addition of a few cameo metals can be made to fit the bill in terms of being easy on the eye.

Although quite stylised in appearance with plaited beards and side locks they really do look quite different from the Saxon counterparts and I really love the two handed Dane-axe wielders who with their shields slung really look the part.

As mentioned previously I am planning to use these with Dux Bellorum to fight the bigger battles I have in mind, with some really interesting fights to do that occurred down here in Devon.

The six figure sabot bases should work fine with Dux Bel and the twelve to fifteen bases per force fit nicely onto my 6 x 4 mat with the larger table available should the fancy take me.

I had originally planned to use the loser style six figure sabot base to distinguish shield wall from warrior troop types but now plan to have all units using these rectangular options with a note as to which sides are using which formation type.

For the odd skirmish affair I plan to use Dux Britanniarum as the preferred rules and thus I was keen to keep the skirmish basing as an option for the smaller clashes envisaged.

Work to complete this collection, to get some games kicked off early for 2018, now moves to my Viking and Saxon skirmishers, bows, javelins and slingers, together with the remaining options from my second box of Gripping Beast Dark Age Warriors suitably attired to double up as either Viking or Saxon spear carriers as required.

Just to reiterate these figures are the Gripping Beast Plastic Viking Hirdmen with a metal standard bearer, also from Gripping Beast and the shield decals are from Little Big Man specifically designed for this range.

So on with the last few figures to complete this collection and then work moves to a 20th century theme for our planned summer game in North Devon and then I can move on to all things Romano-Dacian.

JJ's Look Back on 2017 and Plans for 2018

As the Emperor Trajan demonstrated, successful projects are all about planning and preparation in a methodical step by step approach

I can't believe how quickly it seems time moves on with another year gone and another to look forward to.

JJ's Wargames has been and will, I hope, continue to be a magazine style blog in the spirit of the great Wargaming monthly journals that so characterised the hobby back in the times when plastics were Airfix, that didn't hold the paint, and variable pose figures were either soldiers holding muskets as if they were putting their umbrellas up to the order "present brollies!" or nothing - ah happy days, who needs all this variety and choice?

So in the spirit of that kind of blog I have looked to develop a mix of posts covering a wide range of subjects that I, (that's why it's called JJ's Wargames) and I hope other wargamers, might find an interesting read alongside an ongoing theme designed to provide continuity and a demonstration of the way I like to plan and build wargaming projects that is by no means unique but I hope none the less interesting to follow.

I write this review and preview in great anticipation, unlike any of the previous annual posts because I know there are great changes afoot which will impact hugely on the plans outlined here and I am really excited about the implications for future wargaming projects that I hope to show here on JJ's.

However, let's not get ahead of ourselves here and, as usual, take a look at what has happened in the last twelve months and consider the good and not so good aspects of 2017 in light of all the stuff promised in 2016.

2017 Review
It was only as I was working my way through the posts for this year pulling out pictures to include for this review that I realised  not only how much of what was promised in my 2016 plan had been carried through but how much extra activity on top of that had been covered; and so to stop this post going into a two parter, and no one wants that, including me, I started putting the following collages together that help capture the things covered here on JJ's this year.

Great fun with Talavera this year - Thanks to all involved for making it one to remember

Of course the dominant theme for the last few years reached a crescendo in 2017 when in the company of friends and with a much wider audience of those who have followed this monster as it grew here on JJ's, Talavera 208 was all I had hoped for and more, with all three games providing six days of entertainment and with the project raising £1,103.52 in support of Combat Stress.

The star of my 2017 wargaming was the Talavera table

After having invested three years putting the collection together it was such fun finally getting the thing out on the table and not only having fun, raising money for a worthy cause but also getting some really revealing insights about the challenges facing Wellesley and Joseph during this pivotal battle of the Peninsular War.

I had always wanted to fight this particular battle in the 'grand manner', Peter Gilder style ever since reading about it in my early teens and picturing the array of gaudy uniforms under a hot Spanish sun battling for the ascendancy in the Tagus Valley.

I can finally cross Talavera off the 'bucket list' and always have the memories from 2017 to look back on.

Books reviewed on JJ's in 2017

The book reviews have continued on into 2017 with nine titles reviewed by myself and Mr Steve, four titles down on our output for 2016, but I think there have been a lot of activities happening that have certainly interrupted my normal reading routine, not to mention the three other novels from the Anthony Riches series, 'Empire' that I have read since my review of 'The Wolfs Gold' back in October.

That said I have always been a firm believer in quality rather than quantity and the book reviews are a really good way of, not only highlighting the historical books that both Steve and I have read from a wargamers perspective, but, certainly from my perspective and I suspect Steve's as well, really helping to cement the understanding we have gained from those books in our own minds when working out how best to summarise the content for you the reader. So everyone's a winner.

Certainly your feedback and comments have been very positive and with Mr Steve's continued input will be a permanent fixture on the blog.

The four away shows attended this year

Wargame shows have always been a series of highlights in the calendar for me and I find them a great way of immersing myself in the hobby, sharing time with like folks who share a common passion. I always learn new things at all the shows I go to and always come away with inspiration and ideas for games of my own.

This year saw a new addition to the calendar with our trip up to Newark in May to visit the first of the two Partizan shows.

In the company of the chaps from the DWG we decided to make a weekend of it by travelling up on the Saturday to spend time gaming at Wargames Foundry, plus taking in the sites before attending the show on the Sunday.

We had a blast of a weekend and have pencilled in this show for 2018 which looks likely to become a bit of a regular thing.

As well as the four 'away' shows, the Devon Wargames Group also put on two games at the Legionary show in Exeter in May, where I was able to play-test the Casa de Salinas scenario for the Over the Hills rule set, part of a collection of games we are putting together specifically for the rules.

As well as attending Partizan we also got to visit some of the sites and took in a game at Foundry

Despite the lack of further visits to battlefield in Devon, a feature I am determined to rectify in 2018, this year has been a bumper year for battlefield touring and I have managed to take in a few places I had not visited before. In addition I have been able to combine them with visits to some amazing museums and have had great pleasure sharing them here on JJ's.

Perhaps Oxford could be described as the cockpit of England with so much history to take in on our long weekend

The English Civil War has figured large on the battlefield visit list with trips to Edghill, Cropredy Bridge, Lagport and Marston Moor. Along with those I posted on trips to Towton, Stamford Bridge, Fulford, Boxtel, Eindhoven and Nijmegan.

We had an amazing trip to York, like Oxford in the south, the very centre of the history in the north of England

The museum visits have been really special this year with an emphasis on including items associated with upcoming themes here on JJ's so a real thrill to see the Roman, Viking and Saxon collections in York, and likewise the amazing Roman collections in Nijmegan, Xanten and Haltern on our holiday in Holland.

Great inspiration from the museum visits this summer in Holland and Germany

Our summer holiday in Holland was particularly special as I haven't been back to this country since visiting as a child with my parents back in the seventies.

The Market Garden sites really only touched the tip of the iceberg, with so much more for future visits 

As well as the ancient history of the area I was very interested in tracing my father's footsteps from more recent times and in particular visits to his former CO, Captain Good's grave site in Belgium and an opportunity to stand on the spot in Eindhoven, with his grandsons Tom and Will, where he parked up seventy three years previously on his way up to Nijmegan during the Arnhem Campaign - a really special memory.

The journey along 'Hell's Highway' to Eindhoven was very special

Alongside the games, book reviews. visits to shows, museums and battlefields there has been a gradual shift in emphasis with regard to the painting with the other projects mentioned in the plans from the 2016 review taking a front and centre position.

This changes saw the Talavera collection finished off in the first quarter of 2017 in time for the first game in June and with a slight pause to allow for games and holidays consuming a lot of the hobby time the shift to the new 28mm collections of Dark Age figures and my Romano-Dacians.

In addition I have also managed to include work for friends collections and special games organised with the club where certain figures have been requested.

The move to 28mm this year has been so relaxing for my old eyes!

It really has been a vintage year in the hobby and I have so many memories to treasure from it that it is hard to imagine it being topped, but the hobby is all about what will you do next, not what you did yesterday, and I, like most wargamers, are always planning and thinking about other great games to play and collections to build.

So where are things going in 2018?

2018 Plan
Well as the header to this post subtly hinted at, the construction process for the next big JJ's Wargame Campaign is underway with Trajan's and possibly Domitian's invasion of Dacia and a collection of 28mm figures designed to model the conflict.

As has been outlined previously, the rules I intend to use for these games will be Phil Hendry's "Augustus to Aurelian" and as with my Napoleonics I will build the collection in corresponding groups of Romans and Dacians to allow for small games to be played on the journey to a collection allowing for bigger ones.

I have a time and place in mind to roll out the larger game sometime in September, but that is Top Secret at the moment with all to be revealed in the new year. The other caveat to that plan is that it could enable the association with Combat Stress to continue and the raising of monies to support their great work.

The collection grew a little over Xmas with a present from Tom of the new Roman Auxiliary Infantry from Victrix and I will be looking to get more of these chaps together with the Victrix cavalry due out early 2018.

The shift in scale and era requires a bit of a 'terrain build' project to commence in the new year with a plan to add scatter terrain, new trees and a range of buildings and defensive works.

As the collection grows the plan will develop to build in further 'Enemies of Rome' including more Roman troops to allow Rome to do what is does best, civil war.

With the additional 28mm terrain items I decided that a smaller collection of Dark Ages figures should commence ahead of the shift from Napoleonics into Romano-Dacians and with the next figures to showcase being my Viking Hirdmen am well on the way to getting this mini-project complete to be able to start some games in the first half of next year, time permitting.

The Devon Wargames Group forms a big part of my wargaming hobby and has grown dramatically in the last two years. The really nice aspect of that growth is that we now have more people interested in an ever wider diet of historical periods and scale that allows one the opportunity to try out different games and rule sets as well as enjoying the social aspect of our hobby.

This year at the club I have showcased some games using an old set of rules 'Target for Tonight' recreating the night bombing campaign of Bomber Command. It has allowed me to dig out an old game and collection that I had filed away but, with new players interested in developing the game further, has given me thoughts to expand the collection and develop the rules this year.

The club and myself have also invested in a collection of new terrain mats from Tiny Wargames and I have included a new 'Battle of Britain' mat to further develop my collection of 1/300th aircraft and scenarios from the battle using 'Bag the Hun' from the Lardies, which is an excellent set of rules.

The Napoleonic theme will continue on into the early part of 2018 as Steve M and I work on a project to put together an early Peninsular War collection of scenarios covering the first two years of British involvement in the conflict, 1808-09 which has produced a series of game reports covered here and on the Devon Wargames Group blog using 'Over the Hills' rules.

This project has been a labour of love exploring what this set of rules can do when modelling historical scenarios and we are looking to share the results of that work later in 2018.

The clue to that Spanish engagement lies in the picture

In addition I am looking to put together another scenario looking at a particular Spanish engagement. This is in very early planning but I will start thinking about the game and how to model it in January after the holiday.

The aim is that the Napoleonic collection will progress slowly in the background to the other main themes with a view to starting the next focus in that theme later, with the collection that is built forming the core to develop future Peninsular War games.

Finally one particular project that has been waiting for some TLC has been my interest in the Age of Sail. When I talk of AOS I refer principally to the late 18th century when Britain's enemies at sea were a more formidable prospect that during the later early 19th century and of course that refers to large naval encounters rather than the smaller ship to ship affairs of the War of 1812.

I have a new sea mat on order and some ideas about developing some games in this arena so, time permitting, I am hoping to start work on this project at different times during 2018. With my new mat will also come the opportunity to get the WWII naval collection back up and running so that may allow another itch to get scratched.

As well as my own projects going forward I have other work in the pipeline including some figures to add to Steve M's French Indian War collection and a certain Dad's Army personality together with a bunch of fanatical Falschirmjagers for a planned game at Chez Chas next summer.

Hopefully then you can look forward to a shmorgishborg of games, figures and themes, and I see the forthcoming year as being very much one of transition and change but looking to lay the foundations for some great future games and collections which I look forward to sharing the progress of along with all the other content that has become a regular feature here on JJ's Wargames.

I wish everyone a great 2018 and every encouragement with your own wargaming projects

JJ