A Summer Update - Rumblings

 It's July and I haven't honestly done much as far as gaming has gone.  Life and shifting priorities have kept me bouncing from one priority to the next.  So where am I sitting here today in July of 2024?

I did get some gaming in on the 6th with a local group who put on a Fire and Fury Regiment game.  F&F is an American Civil War ruleset where each side is fielding roughly a division with 3-5 Brigades.  We played through the Battle of Black River Bridge.  A smaller engagement that followed up the battle of Champion Hill.  I played on the confederate side holding down the right flank.

With very ineffective musketry and cannonade fire the Union troops finally overwhelmed my flank with some strong charges with just sheer mass.  In reality we probably would have retreated over the bridge before the Union could make contact.  But that doesn't make for a fun tabletop game so we tried to hold the line!  Unfortunately by the time we called the game the writing was on the wall.  Loring wasn't coming to our aid and the Union forces were going to overwhelm us.

Would like to thank Jim and the rest of the group for putting this game on.

On the hobby front I have been plucking away at my WW2 Brits for Operation Nostalgia.  Will be following up with some Italians in the coming months so I can at least get some one off games on the table and try out a few different rulesets for WW2 battles.  

The current rules in the running:
Fistful of TOWS 3 (Base = Platoon)
Blitzkreig Commander IV (Base = Platoon)
Mein Panzer (Base = Squad)
Micro Armor (Base = Squad)

I am also continuing my painting of the 6mm Confederates for Altar of Freedom.  Working towards fielding both sides of Chattanooga. 

Projects on the horizon
Nothing yet.  I have been tossing around Warlord Epic ACW for rules like Fire and Fury or the new one from Osprey "With Hot Lead and Cold Steel".   Also in the far back of the brain is ACW Naval and more Blood Red Skies.

Operation Nostalgia - Campaign Rules

 Operation Nostalgia will work on somewhat modified campaign rules from General Quarters 3.3.   These rules will cover the larger theater map, tactical maps for sea and air, and logistics.  

Theater Map

On the theater level our map will have 10 nautical mile hexes covering the Aegean islands east to Cyprus and south to Egypt.  Each turn on large map is an 8 hour window:  Morning (04:01 - 12:00), Afternoon (12:01 - 20:00), Evening (20:01 - 04:00).  Normally with 10 NM hexes you would plot movement each hour.  But for the purpose of keeping the campaign moving I'll extend those "theater turns" to 8 hours.  If I have contact I will break each 8 hours "Theater Turn" into 1 hour "Tactical Turns" which would equal 10 "Naval Game Turns".  2 Naval Game Turns is equal to 1 Blitzkrieg Commander Turn,  3 Air Turns is equal to 1 Naval Game Turn.  There is a lot to unpack there with how to turns translate into each game system.  But, I doubt there will be much inter play with those on the table.  It will be more for the minutia of tracing logistics but logistics will be a separate discussion. 

Tactical maps will less rigid ground scale.  I will zoom in or out with ground scale to put the Large, medium and small islands on my 6x4 table.  Rhoades is split into 4 separate 6'x4' tables which I'm not sure how that will be handled.  Maybe for the big battle of Rhoades I'll try to secure 4 tables at the club and bring a bunch of players in for one big day of the battle for Rhoades.  That would be an awesome game.  We will see how things go.

                                                                        Tactical Map for one of the large island

That is just a little bit on how maps and the campaign timing will work.  Next post we will dive into the logistical side and how that tracking is going to work.   

Operation Nostalgia - Background and Planning

 I have toiled over campaign ideas to really kick off my 6mm hobby.   Oh boy do I tend to go overboard and this campaign may very well be beyond overboard.  Not only is this a combined arms campaign with Naval, Air, and Land units but, it will also be handling logistics of the above units as well!  So I'm either obviously crazy or I have some sort of self-hate to punish myself in this manner.  But either way here we are the first order of miniatures has been placed.

This campaign was first discovered on a solo blogger by the name of Grymauch.  Please go check him in that blog is amazing and he really has become my role model for Historical blogging.  But the campaign that he ran and I will also be doing comes from "Wargames Illustrated" issue #74 all the way back in November of 1993.  At this point that issue is over 30 years old.  So lets breath it to life!

What is Operation Nostalgia?

So this campaign was laid out originally way back in 1974 in "Wargamer's Newsletter" but was later polished by Richard Marsh.  This is a fictional WWII campaign set in the Aegean.  This campaign will involve forces from 4 nations:  Germans, Italians, British, Americans.  

How does this fictional campaign fit into history?

I'm going to take a quote from the Wargames Illustrated Issue on this:

"Nevertheless, there were those amongst the Allied commanders - notably a group known collectively as 'The Island Hoppers' - who were far from satisfied with the strategic plan.  With the Axis still rocking on their heels from their disastrous reverses. they argued that waiting until July to strike again was giving the enemy time to regain his balance and reinforce the Mediterranean theatre.  Their proposal was to launch an immediate small-scall assault on the poorly defended Aegean islands - a far 'softer' sector of Fascist Europe's underbelly than Sicily.

This audacious plan soon reached the ears of the senior commanders and then Winston Churchill, who immediately warmed to the idea of a swift follow-up blow. He also saw the logic in an operation which would further dismay the Italians, eliminate yet more Axis airfields and which offered the possibility of tempting Turkey to enter the war.

 More cynically, the allied command saw the opportunity for a grand diversion that could be resourced from the 'leftovers' of the Tunisian campaign.  If it succeeded then the benefits would be great; if not - then at least the Axis would be distracted from the true goal:  Sicily.

With the general concept of a strike against Axis-held Aegean islands accepted, the 'Island Hoppers' set about planning the enterprise in detail.  The assault was to commence on the eve of the North African victory.  I seemed likely therefore, that the Allied Task Force would set sail in early May, 1943.  'Operation Nostalgia', as it was dubbed, would soon be under way. "

With this being my first solo campaign and large one at that.  I'll need to lay things out in an organized manner for both tracking and planning.  I'll be utilizing Microsoft OneNote to manage turns, logistics, history, casualties, OOBs, etc. 

Rules for the campaign will mostly fit with General Quarters 3.3 campaign rules.  Air combat will be resolved in either General Quarters 3.3 rules or Blood Red Skies.  The first few air battles I may play in both and see how the results turn out.  Land combat will be played out using Blitzkrieg Commander IV.

Most but not all games will be played solo but if their is interest from my local group I may play some battles at the club.  

First models to the painting bench will be the Naval units.  Stay tuned for paint progress and Naval games.

 

 

 

 

 

2024 Plans

It's January of a new year and it's time to build the list of plans for the year. No how many will I actually accomplish is a different question. But before we get started lets reflect back on 2023.

 2023 saw me start a terrain project with GHQ Terrain Maker system of 4" Hexes. I had spent the better part of 2021-2022 trying to come up with a nice playing surface for my games at home. I wanted something that looked good and was modular. I played around with standard mats and terrain boards. Neither one really fit what I wanted to do. I bought a few tubes of GHQ Tiles and got started playing around with that system. It has it's upsides and downsides but overall it is fitting exactly what I was looking for in a home terrain system.

Other projects included my first dive into what has been my favorite scale for land based games... 6mm. My local group decided a couple years ago to give Altar of Freedom a try using 6mm Baccus ACW miniatures. Our first game was solid, the game moved quickly, reached a reasonable resolution. It will definitely be a regular game for our group.

Now you ask what is the plan for 2024? You didn't talk much about naval, what gives? Well first and foremost in 2024 I really want to jump start this blog. I was really unsure of the direction I wanted to go. Plans fell through, plans never came to realization. 

 But for 2024 here are my plans: 

 Battles: 

 ACW

     - Perryville - 6mm ACW using Altar of Freedom 

     - Shiloh - 6mm ACW using Altar of Freedom 

These are two battles my local group definitely wants to do. These will be played out at the club as either 1v1 a multiplayer 2v2 or 2v1. Painting will need to be done to finish up my confederates for these games. 

 Naval

     - Various Mediterranean  naval engagements with both Victory at Sea and General Quarters 3.3. These will be played as I build up my naval forces for a campaign I'll mention below 

 Air Combat 

     - Missile Threat 1965-1975 Soviet's This will be our last minute pickup game of 2024. My opponent will be running USAF aircraft while I'll take the Soviets. 

 Campaigns: 

 WWII 

     - Operation Nostalgia: The Hypothetical 1943 Allied Invasion in the Aegean Sea This will be the big one and a shout out to Grymauch for the idea. But I will be doing Operation Nostalgia from two old editions of Wargaming Illustrated with some modifications to the OOBs.

     - Atlantic Naval Campaign - This is a Naval Thunder campaign that I'd like to replay with General Quarters 3.3 

 Painting/Workbench Projects 

     - Continue painting my Confederates and build to the Shiloh battle. This includes 14 more stands of infantry, 3 of cavalry, 3 Generals, 6 Artillery.

    

     - Operation Nostalgia OOBs. This will be probably 60+ stands of land based, 24 3mm aircraft, about 12 1/2400 ships. 

     - 12 - 1/285 scale Cold War Soviet aircraft 

     - Continue to expand my GHQ Terrain Maker Tile collection. This project will mostly coincide with the ACW battles.

This will be a busy year for me.  With Operation Nostalgia being my solo priority followed by ACW as my club priority.

Thank you all for following along I hope to be releasing much more content this year.  

Naval Battle in the Pacific - 1942 IJN vs USN

This will be my first After Action Report for General Quarters 3.3.  We took a small  Task Force sized fleet for both USN and IJN.   This took place in 1942, I did not add weather or aircraft/float planes into this scenario.  I focused purely on the surface engagement aspects of GQ3.3 but I promise I'll be doing more scenarios with the other aspects of the rules in future AARs.   Below is the Scenario Log and a Turn by Turn summary of the action.  Thank you for taking the time to read!  (Forgive my messy unfinished basement in the background)

Turn 1 – USN Task Force enters the battlefield from the SW corner with the Cruiser Division lead by the USS Northampton, USS New Orleans, USS Indianapolis, USS Salt Lake City at 10 knots at bearing 48 degrees NE.   The 4 Destroyer divisions increased speed to 20 knots splitting into 2 groups of 2 to intercept the Japanese destroyers.  The Left Flank consisted of the USS Dale and the USS Mahan, the Right Flank included the USS Ellet and the USS Jarvis.  

The IJN Cruiser force began their Naval bombardment of the Island fortifications with the cruiser division lead by the IJN Kinugasa.  This division consisted of the Light Cruisers Kinugasa, Aoba, Tenryu and Yuburi.   This bombardment was screen by a Destroyer Squadron of the Shirayuki, Hatsuyuki and Yunagi. 

With the Japanese destroyers moving at 20 knots to intercept the USN Task Force opened fire from the 8” guns on the Northampton and the New Orleans scoring massive hits on the Shirayuki taking out her aft X Turret, hitting a torpedo tube and starting a fire on her deck, breaching the Bulkhead causing flooding in the lower decks, and jamming the rudder to her Port. 

The Japanese Cruiser division began their bombardment with the 8” guns of the Kingugasa and Aoba and the 5.5” guns of the Tenryu and Yuburi with the only successful hit from Aoba hitting some field works.

USS Northampton staring down the IJN Destroyerr Hatsuyuki

Turn 2  - With no returning fire from the IJN Destroyers the USN continued to close the distance.  The US Cruisers holding 10 knots allowing the USS Ellet and USS Jarvis to move pasted the cruisers.  The US Destroyers both increasing seed to 30 knots and moving to engage the Japanese destroyers.  

The IJN cruisers continued their slow 10 knot crawl while bombarding the islands scoring 2 bombardment hits.

The Shirayuki unable to repair the bulkhead damage continued to circle to port with it’s jammed rudder and quickly flooding hull it’s speed was quickly reduced to 15 knots.   Shirayuki breaking off from the squadron the Hatsuyuki took command of the squadron on turned hard Port to prepare for a torpedo salvo in the US Task Force.

The Hatsuyuki in the distance taking on water with two fires raging on her deck

The US Task Force continued to pummel the Shirayuki with 8” shells causing another fire to break out on the deck and the ship beginning to list and then topple over into the sea.  

 

The Aoba staring down the central island with the US Task Force appearing in the background

Turn 3 – Shirayuki taking on water at listing badly she rolls over and sinks to the bottom of the sea.  The Americans have drawn first blood.  The remaining Japanese destroyers answer back the Hatsuyuki launches a spread of 4 Type 93 Torpedoes and the Yunagi Launches a spread of 3 Type 90 Torpedoes.   In an exchange with the USS Ellet the IJN Destroyers score several hits on the American destroyer hitting a torpedo mount,5” Gun Turret, and hitting the engineering room.   The Americans continue their advance towards the IJN Cruisers with the Dale and Mahan continuing a flanking maneuver to the rear of the destroyer formation.  The US Cruisers continue their shelling of the remaining IJN Destroyers.  Scoring more several direct hits.

Turn 4 -  2 Torpedoes from the Hatsuyuki slam into the Hull of the USS Indianapolis crippling the US Cruiser forcing it to fall out of line.  The US Cruisers change their heading towards the ESE to intercept the south sailing IJN Cruisers.  The Destroyers continue to trade 5” shells with the IJN launching a second salvo of Torpedoes towards the American cruisers.

Turn 5 – The Yunagi suddenly slows causing the US Destroyer Ellet to slam into the Starboard side of the Japanese destroyer breaching the hull the Yunagi sinking in mere minutes.   But the Yunagi does get off one last Salvo of torpedoes before sinking.  The Hatsuyuki launchs their last spread of torpedoes and changes course to return to the Cruiser division who has begun to engage the US Cruisers.  The Japanses cuiser launches their Torpedo spread towards the US Cruisers. 

Turn 6 – Facing fire from both Japanese Light Cruisers the USS Ellet is forced to withdraw from the engagement with severe hull damage and loss of nearly all their man guns.  The USS Northampton and USS New Orleans land several hits on the Kinugasa and the Aoba with fires breaking out on the Floatplane deck of the Kinugasa with their man guns but in the exchange the Northampton loses a secondary gun, and their aft main guns.  

Fire Breaks out on the Kinugasa

Turn 7 – The fire between the US Cruisers and the IJN Cruisers starts to intensify.   The crew of the Kinugasa is unable to put out the fire as an 8” shell hits the a torpedo mount igniting a second fire.   The US Navy has the upper hand in the cruiser engagement at this point.

Turn 8 – With fires ravishing the Kinugasa two shells from the US Cruisers break the Bulkheads of Aoba causing flooding.   The USS Jarvis launches a set of torpedoes under the intense fire of both Japanese Light Cruisers.   Japanese at this point foresee a humiliating defeat trying everything they can to regain speed and withdraw from the engagement.

Turn 9 – Things are too late for the Tenryu as fire from the American cruisers rip through the hull and cause her to sink under the waves as well as the Hatsayuki which was badly crippled and starting to roll finally rolls over and sinks.  The IJN has now lost 3 destroyers, 1 Light Cruiser.  With the remaining Heavy Cruisers badly damaged.

Turn 10 – With one last ditch effort the Kinugasa and Aoba launch torpedoes but these torpedoes and the ones from the Yuburi earlier will all miss the US Task Force. 

In full withdrawal the IJN tries to escape the table with fires raging on the Kinugasa, and Yuburi

Turn 11 – This signaled the end of the engagement with the Kinugasa barely holding 5 knots with 2 fires still raging on the deck and the Aoba taking water fast.  Neither ship would make it back to the fleet as the Aoba would continue taking on water and sink not more than 30 minutes after the Americans break off contact.  The Kinugasa would see a no better fate forced to abandon ship she would need to be scuttled. 

Final Map of the Action (Roughly drawn)

Final score:

USN:   20 VP for the USN Successfully sweeping the islands sinking 3 IJN Destroyers, 1 IJN Light Cruiser and Crippling 2 IJN Heavy Cruisers. 

IJN:  Would score a lowly 6 VP.  Only able to maintain 4 turns of Bombardment on the islands and only managing to cripple 2 Destroyers and 1 Heavy Cruiser

2023 Projects

 Well we are already 6 weeks into 2023 and I'm overdue on a "What's going on in 2023" post.  We have one WW2 campaign planned with our local group.  

- Combined Arms - Guadalcanal Campaign based on Warlord Games "Combined Arms" system.   
       2x USMC Battalions with attachments in 15mm 3D prints from 3dBreed's March to Hell line.   Each         battalion is based on the army list from Fistful of Tows 3 for the later part of 1942 which would be a           D-Series Battalion.

       US Naval assets of late 1942 in Guadalcanal these ships will all be in 1:1800 scale and using the        order of battle from Old Dominion Gameworks "Solomon Islands Campaign"

- 15mm WW2 Russians for a Stalingrad game of Russians vs Romanians.  I have not picked the army list for this yet.  

The Guadalcanal project needs to be wrapped up this winter for a start date on the campaign after adepticon in April/May.  The Stalingrad project I'll in the spring for possibly doing that game over the summer or in the fall.  That depends on the timing for our Guadalcanal campaign.  Then later in the year or maybe even something I squeeze in during those other two projects is either Soviet Team Yankee or more Soviet Flames of War.  

Combined Arms: Into the Guadalcanal

 Several from my local gaming group jumped on the Combined Arms pre-order as soon as Warlord Games announced it.   Our group likes to bounce around from game to game, system to system, era to era in a somewhat unorganized fashion.  With that we were hesitant to jump into a major campaign that could take up the better part of a year.  Combined arms even with a shortened victory point end game threshold still could have 15 or more campaign turns each turn having the possibility of up to 6 engagements that could be resolved on the tabletop.  With that my copy bounced around my closet for weeks and months before I had the free time to put something together to run this game. 

Combined Arms was built around the Warlord Games WW2 family of games:  Bolt Action, Victory at Sea, Cruel Seas, and Blood Red Skies.  These games tie in not only with resolving engagements on the map but also are modified with the player cards.   These cards allow modification of the tabletop games with additional units, pregame movements, modified deployment, and so on.  Blood Red Skies being the only Warlord system we regularly play.  We will be modifying the campaign rules to interact with General Quarters 3 for our Naval Engagements and Fistful of TOWs 3 for our Land combat.  

 

We will be playing our campaign in Guadalcanal with 4 players.  2 Players taking the IJA/IJN and another 2 taking the USMC/US Army/US Navy.   Each pair will share an Initiative Card hand and work together on the map portions of the game before breaking off into tabletop engagements.  

More to come on our implementation of General Quarters and Fistful of TOWs to come soon.  If all the plans come together we will see battle reports after Adepticon in April.