54mm: Duchy of Warsaw.

A project that, to be honest, took me longer than I expected: the Duchy of Warsaw in 54mm scale. Although truth be told, the figures ended up in a slightly larger scale, 60mm, to be precise, due to an oversight on my part.

But let's start from the beginning. As the 54mm scale was gaining popularity in our group, I decided to expand my collection in this scale. Because no suitable figures were available on the market, I chose to upscale Polkowski Miniatures figures, which are originally 28mm. I entrusted this task to my printer, Tomek. However, when he sent me photos of the figures with their dimensions, I forgot to compare them with the figures I already owned—and that's how this happened. The blame lies squarely with me.

Up to now, I had only owned voltigeurs, and they were generally shorter. For them, I ordered 10 fusiliers and 10 grenadiers. Overall, it doesn't look bad, and with the right perspective on the table, it shouldn't be a problem.

The cavalry, however, is a different story. I ordered some Uhlans: an officer, a trumpeter, and three troopers. Some time ago, at Claymore, I got a Guard Lancer from Michael, and now that lancer looks as if he's riding a pony next to my Uhlans!

Still, I decided to paint them regardless of the scale issue. The real problem turned out to be the bases. The Uhlans were on Warbases products, and I chose the right size for them from the start. For the infantry, though, I used bases that were too narrow, and the figures became very unstable once they were fully painted. I had to glue them onto larger bases (both are Renedra products), but in the end, it doesn't look too bad.

The worst part, however, was the painting process itself. I haven't been this reluctant to finish a project in a long time, so the final touches were done rather quickly, just to finally get it over the line. It took me three months to finish that project, even though it should have taken only one month!

Anyway, it's finally done. They're going into the box to wait for their first game. I'm taking a long break from anything larger than 28mm—it's time to move on to smaller scales.

Finally, the infantry, fusiliers, and grenadiers are painted in the colours of the 8th Infantry Regiment, while the Uhlans wear the colours of the 7th Uhlan Regiment. The pennants on their lances are of my own design.

Black Seas; West Indies Campaign: Assault on yet another British convoy.

Another game using the Black Seas rules, set in our West Indies campaign. This time, a small British convoy is trying to reach the colonies with vital supplies, while a nimble French squadron sails out to intercept them. The French must capture or sink the British merchantmen, while the British aim to break through the French blockade. This time, however, the French have a little surprise in store: one of their brigs is a Privateer, specially trained for brutal boarding actions.

SCENARIO: Jimmy
UMPIRING: Jimmy

SCENERY: SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Jimmy

1. Forces.

ROYAL NAVY

(Alasdair, Ben)

1 x Frigatte

1 x Large Merchant Ship

1 x Medium Merchant Ship

MARINE IMPÉRIALE

(Bartek, Jimmy)

1 x Brig (Privateer)

2 x Brig

2. The Game.

In our game, Jimmy commanded a brig with the Privateer rule on the French side, and I commanded the other two French ships. On the opposing side, Ben commanded a frigate, and Alasdair commanded both merchant ships. The British made one move in the preliminary round, while the French, who had favourable winds, began the first full round. The wind direction did not change throughout the game, except for a single instance when it weakened. We played on a 4-by-6-foot table. To win, the British had to move both of their merchant ships across the opposite short edge of the table. If a ship left the battlefield via any table edge, it had to spend the entire next turn returning to the exact spot where it had exited.

The French plan for winning the battle was straightforward: my ships would weaken the British merchantmen's defences with gunfire, and then Jimmy would move in to board both vessels. We engaged immediately. My ships intercepted the British convoy, but my salvos were highly inaccurate. Ben's frigate advanced on my squadron and fired a precise shot at one of my brigs, setting it ablaze. For some time, I was unable to extinguish the fire, which caused further difficulties.

Meanwhile, Jimmy had fallen astern of the convoy and again attempted to fire on the British ships—this time successfully. At the same time, my squadron tried to hold off the British frigate, which rained relentless fire down upon us. This engagement proved very useful to our plans, as we managed to draw the frigate away from the convoy, allowing Jimmy to carry out his plan. Yet before he could do so, unexpected difficulties arose.

My ships had to commit their entire crews to extinguishing the fires, leaving them unable to manoeuvre. They also ended up dangerously close to Jimmy's brig, which was burning as well. Fortunately, Jimmy's ship quickly dealt with the threat, while mine temporarily withdrew from the battlefield. I managed to put out the fires and carry out some repairs, but I had to wait a full round before returning to the fight, leaving Jimmy on his own. It looked as though the British had gained the upper hand, but that impression turned out to be false...

The British frigate also turned and briefly left the battlefield. Meanwhile, Jimmy boarded a larger British merchantman and, using his special rule, forced the British crew to surrender. My ships then entered the fray, passed astern of the merchantman, and tried to open fire on her. One of them chose to use Red Hot Shot. Such a shot is much more likely to set the enemy ship ablaze, but there is also a small chance that your own ship will catch fire—and imagine what happened: my ship caught fire! That was enough for her to hoist the white flag. In the meantime, the frigate returned to the battlefield and found herself between the captured British merchantman and Jimmy's brig. She fired on both ships, and if she missed Jimmy, she caused the merchantman to sink!

This was not the end of the British troubles. The frigate was hit in return, sparking another fire on board. She was forced to withdraw to fight the blaze, which was eventually extinguished. However, this gave Jimmy the opportunity to attack the second merchantman with impunity. He boarded her again and forced the British to surrender. In the final act of the game, my brig approached my other brig and successfully boarded her at last. The French flag was once again raised over the brig—an undisputed, though costly, victory, given the damage the French ships had sustained.

3. Summary

In this game, we used different types of ammunition on such a large scale for the first time. Although using the Red Hot Ball turned out to be the worst possible choice for me, it could potentially inflict very serious damage on an enemy ship. The most effective weapon proved to be the grape shot, which caused total destruction at close range.

As for mistakes, one was made by the British when Ben fired on his own merchant ship, causing it to sink. For such an act, the British captain will likely face a firing squad...

The French achieved another victory, but it will take them considerable time to get their ships operational again. However, the most important thing is that the British crews on the islands have been deprived of provisions and supplies, which could end very badly for them. So the campaign will continue.

4. Links.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/Seswc.co.uk/posts/1102295478594449

FLICKR: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720333491890

Battlegroup Blitzkrieg: Defence Line.

We played another game using the Blitzkrieg expansion for the Battlegroup rules. This time, Mike, with Mark's support, commanded the Poles, while Alasdair and I led the Germans. We used the Defence Line scenario, with the Poles on the defensive and the Germans attacking.

SCENARIO: Defence Line
UMPIRING: Bartek Żynda

SCENERY: Michael Schneider, Bartek Żynda, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Mike Evans, Bartek Żynda

1. Forces.

POLES:

(Mark, Mike)

Forward Headquarters

1 x Infantry Squad

1 x ATR team

2 x Light Mortar

ATG + Medium Truck

2 x 75mm Schneider Gun (Halftruck)

3 x Timed 75mm Barrage

Tankeetee Platoon (2 x TKS(20mm), 1 x TKS(MG))

1 x 7TP

1 x Wz.34 (Gun) (Scout)

1 x Wz.34(MG) (Scout)

1 x Command Bunker

2 x HMG Dug in

1 x Improvised Barricade

Officers: 1

BR: 23

GERMANS:

(Alasdair, Bartek)

1 x Forward Headquarters (heavy car)

1 x Luftwaffe Officer (heavy car)

1 x Forward Observer (car)

2 x Infantry Squad (Truck)

Panzer 35(t) Platoon (4 x Pz.Kpfw.35(t))

Panzer II Platoon (3 x Pz.Kpfw.II)

Pz.Kpfw IV

Sd.Kfz.222 (Scout)

Sd,Kfz.231 (Scout)

Officers: 5

BR: 24

2. The Game.

The Poles deployed eight units along the front line, while the Germans were allowed to place five units in the first round. The Poles chose their commander, machine guns, an anti-tank rifle, a 7TP tank, and both infantry squads.

In the first phase of the attack, the Germans deployed both armoured cars, two Pz. 35 tanks, and their main commander. Their plan was to advance on both flanks to force the Poles to withdraw from their positions. Time was also critical: the Germans aimed to quickly gain numerical superiority over the Polish forces and call in Luftwaffe support at the right moment to turn the tide of battle in their favour.

Mike designated three objectives—three farms. According to our plan, we were to capture the one closest to us using Alasdair's armoured cars, while I was to achieve a breakthrough on our right flank. That was also where I encountered the heaviest resistance: one of the Schneider guns opened fire on my tanks, effectively pinning my vehicles and significantly hampering my operations.

That 75 mm gun was a real problem for me, and when it finally managed to destroy one of my tanks, I knew I had to do something about it. First, I destroyed the car towing it, mainly thanks to Mike's mistake in not having enough orders to get the car out of the line of fire. Then I directed the tank's machine-gun fire at the gun, but to no avail. Next came a barrage of artillery from Polish guns off the table, but it only put a few pins on our units, temporarily slowing our advance. The Germans eventually pushed forward on our left flank.

The attack on the left flank ran into an obstacle: an anti-tank rifle, which, fortunately, proved ineffective, and a 7TP tank. The latter was far more dangerous. Its salvo destroyed an Sd.Kfz.231, depriving us of one of our reconnaissance vehicles. Alasdair, however, remained unconcerned and pressed forward with his vehicles, now reinforced by a platoon of Pz.II tanks. This action forced the Poles to retreat, and we also managed to disable the 7TP tank thanks to a randomly drawn breakdown token.

By the fourth round, we finally had almost all our units at our disposal—everything except the infantry—and this advantage was really starting to show. A salvo from a Pz. IV knocked out the gun that had been troubling me, even as my officer tried in vain to call in artillery support. My last hope of breaking through the Polish defences was to secure air support, as a Luftwaffe officer had just arrived on the battlefield that round. All I needed now was enough orders to carry it all out.

The Poles won the initiative in the fifth round and brought some new equipment to the table. However, it proved ineffective against us. Then it was our turn. I had nine orders to assign. The first, of course, went to a Luftwaffe officer, who successfully called in air support. A Ju-87 Stuka, indispensable in such operations, arrived and struck the central farm. The airstrike proved fatal for the Poles: the infantry unit hit by the bomb could not withstand the pressure and fled the battlefield. A second attack hit one of the Polish armoured cars, destroying it. That was enough to break Polish morale. The Germans, who also captured one of the objectives, won the game.

3. Summary

Once again, air power proved to be the decisive factor in the game, this time on the German side. The points invested in the Luftwaffe officer were well spent. In contrast, the lack of anti-aircraft support on the Polish side proved fatal and ultimately cost them the game. The outcome also offered a highly accurate historical reflection of the realities in Poland in 1939. Expect more games using these rules.

4. Links.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/Seswc.co.uk/posts/1102295478594449

FLICKR: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720333327058