History Dad: The Second World War. France 1940.

Last week, Mike invited us to play a game with History Dad: The Second World War. This time, we reenacted the 1940 France scenario, with the BEF facing the German Blitzkrieg. The game was played on a 54mm scale.

SCENARIO: Mike Evans
UMPIRING: Mike Evans

SCENERY: Mike Evans, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Mike Evans

1. Forces.

UNITED KINGDOM

(Mike, Tim)

Lieutenant

Sergeant

Artillery Observer

Radio Controller

3 x Infantry Team (8 x Rifle, 1 x Bren Team (2 crew))

1 x Light Mortar (2 crew)

1 x Medium Mortar (3 crew)

2 x ATR (2 crew)

2 x Universal Carrier

1 x Daimler Dingo

2 x Bunker

THIRD REICH

(Bartek, Gordon, Peter)

Lieutenant

Sergeant

Artillery Observer (on Motorbike)

Radio Controller

3 x Infantry Team (1 x SMG, 6 x Rifle)

3 x MG34 Team (3 rew)

1 x Veteran Infantry Team (1 x Pistol, 1 x SMG, 6 x Rifle) in Sd.Kfz. 251/1

1 x Light Mortar (2 crew)

1 x Medium Mortar (3 crew)

1 x Tripod MG34 team (3 crew)

1 x Flamethrower Team (3 crew)

1 x MG34 team (2 crew) in Kubelwagen

1 x MG34 team (3 crew) on Motorbike

1 x Sd.Kfz. 222

1 x StuG III Aufs. A.

Air Support: JU-87 Stuka

2. The game.

In our game, the Germans were given the task of breaking through the British defence in a French town. The Germans launched a strong attack from the beginning, exploiting the fact that the British defence lines were mainly situated in the centre of the town and that the British soldiers had to expose themselves to fire at the attacking enemy. Gordon attacked on the left flank, Peter in the middle, and I on the right flank. Opposite me was Tim's unit, which initially effectively hindered my actions, but the combined firepower of all my forces led to the defeat of the British resistance in that area. There were, of course, German losses, mainly in equipment. The armoured car was immobilized, and the Kubelwagen was destroyed.

Gordon, however, was much less fortunate. He was pinned down by the fire from Mike's infantry unit, halting his advance in a small forest. Taking advantage of the main British fire being focused on me and Gordon, Peter attacked in the centre of the field. He used a flamethrower to eliminate the British centre, creating an opening for Stug to drive through. The game was over. The British defence crumbled, giving the Germans an open route to the west.

Few words about the rules. Units are activated randomly and they execute single orders. When a unit is activated, fire causes the enemy unit to undergo a certain number of tests. Failure to pass the test results in the loss of figures. Additionally, a suppression test is performed to determine whether a unit can perform offensive actions or not. Each weapon type has a specific number of attack dice assigned to it. Furthermore, each heavy weapon (such as guns, mortars, etc.) has a designated hit radius. In general, the rules are quite straightforward and can be learned very quickly, making them perfect for a club night.

3. Links.

RULES:

https://www.wargamevault.com/product/473159/History-Dad-The-Second-World-War

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720319128938/

By Fire and Sword, 2nd edition. Game One.

I played my first game with the second edition of the By Fire and Sword rules last Thursday. I had the privilege of being the first to play the first version in Scotland, so I wanted to uphold that honour and also be the first to play the next version. I have the feeling that this was the first game played in the UK too. If that's not the case, please let me know. As befits the first game, we made almost everything wrong, but that's what the first games are for – to learn the rules. The forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden were the first to come on the scene, each with 37 points.

SCENARIO: Key Positions
UMPIRING: Bartek Zynda

SCENERY: Bartek Zynda, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Bartek Zynda

1. Forces.

KINGDOM OF SWEDEN

(Michael)

Field Skirmish Force (1648-1660)

Lieutenant Colonel

Major

2 x Mercenary Reiter (S)

1 x Armoured Mercenary Raieter (S)

1 x Dragooned Musketeers (M)

POLISH-LITHUANIAN COMMONWEALTH

(Bartek)

Polish Skirmish Force (1650-1673)

Colonel

1 x Dragoons (S)

1 x Cossack Style Cavalry (M)

1 x Pancerni (S)

1 x Pancerni with Spears (S)

2. The game.

We played the "Key Positions" scenario. Since both forces were equal, we did not draw any stratagems. The Poles won the reconnaissance and chose Successful Skirmishing and Decoy. The Swedes chose a Forced March. The Poles quickly controlled the two objective markers and began pressing on the Swedish troops. Initially, the situation didn't look good as the Swedes effectively used their Karakol. The Musketeers engaged in a firefight with the Dragoons in the middle of the field, and the Dragoons were eventually defeated. However, the key to victory was the Poles' control of most objectives throughout the game and their decision to attack where the Swedes were weakest, namely targeting two Rajtar units. Even though both units were veterans, they were successfully defeated by the Pancerni and Cossack-style Cavalry. This coordinated effort ultimately led to the defeat of the Rajtar unit, bringing the Swedish morale down to zero and ending the game in victory for the Poles.

Destroyed units.

I'm really impressed with the new game mechanics after playing the first game. I think a lot of effort has been put into improving the game, and it has definitely become easier and more understandable. Although we had a few difficulties with understanding the rules during the game (which I explained afterwards), everything went pretty smoothly. The unit cards, which I printed from the online creator, were a great help. The first edition of the game wasn't popular in our club, so I'm curious to see how the second edition will be received. Overall, I think the game has a lot of potential.

3. Links.

MICHAEL:

To be updated soon...

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720318849914

Duchy of Warsaw: Third Battalion for the First Infantry Regiment.

A while back, I considered adding third battalions to my Duchy of Warsaw infantry regiments. At that time, I decided not to pursue the idea, but it stayed at the back of my mind. The situation changed when 3D prints from Polkowski Miniatures and new plastic sets from Perry Miniatures became available. This time, I chose to paint slowly, one battalion at a time, instead of rushing to paint everything at once. Today, I'm presenting the third battalion of the first infantry regiment. The figures are from Perry Miniatures, the main battalion bases are from Warbases, and the Voltigeur's bases are from Renedra.

I want to share my experience with the Duchy of Warsaw plastic infantry set. It's a new product that came out this year, and I was really excited about it. As soon as it became available for pre-order, I bought several boxes. When I examined the sprues, I could tell that a lot of attention to detail had been put into creating this set. The figurines are historically accurate, and it's clear that the creators did their research well. I was impressed to learn that the Perry brothers even visited Poland and worked with local reenactors to ensure authenticity. The set also includes a detailed description of the uniforms of seventeen infantry regiments and several flags. I found the enclosed brochure to be comprehensive and it eliminated the need to refer to other sources. Although the set comes with flags, I chose to use the one I made myself, based on a scan from a publication by the Wydawnictwo Kagero, "Piechota Księstwa Warszawskiego" ("Duchy of Warsaw Infantry")

I want to add extra companies of Voltigeurs to my infantry battalions. Our recent game proved that this would be a good move. One battalion already has these companies, but I need to add them to the other two. To do this, I used figures from Polkowski Miniatures. Now, I can organize my battalions in two formations: one with mixed Voltigeurs in front of the unit, and the other as an Infantry detachment operating as a separate unit.

The first regiment achieved combat readiness in this manner. It consists of a Colonel, three infantry battalions, regimental artillery, and a separate unit of Voltigeurs, in case I decide to field it. Now it's time for the next regiments.