The Armies Arrive

Just now getting a chance to post an update for my 28mm War in the Pacific project.  I received most of the figures and vehicles a couple of weeks ago, all the major manufactures are represented.  These include The Assault Group, Brigade Games, Company B miniatures, Warlord Games Bolt Action, Westwind Berlin or Bust as well as some very nice terrain pieces from Architects of War and a couple boxes of Pegasus Models Palm Trees. 

 

 

I also picked up a copy of Battlefield Evolution Pacific War off Amazon for $8, shipping included.  These look like most of the Mongoose Publishing rule sets, such as World at War and Modern Combat.  Simple but elegant game mechanics, easy to teach to new players but provides a challenging game.

In addition to the figures, vehicles, terrain and rules, I purchased Operation Galvanic and Operation Stalemate II from Britton Publishing.  These are skirmish scale scenario books for Tarawa and Peleliu respectively.  Each contains 10 scenarios which read like they will be fun to play.  The scenarios in the Tarawa book are larger, being Company level, meaning multiple Platoons up to 3 per side.  The scenarios in the Peleliu book are Platoon Level, with no more than a Platoon Plus to each side. 

I have tried to tailor my purchasing and building efforts to the scenarios in these books.  To that end I pretty much have enough stuff to play several in each in 28mm.  The biggest buy so far were the tanks; of which I have a couple M4A2 Sherman and a single Company B Stuart Light tank.  Most of the scenarios don't require vehicles or tanks, if they do its a single Sherman.  Although I should mention a couple scenarios do require substantial numbers, the Peleliu book has one that requires 6 Sherman tanks, one that requires 6 Japanese Type 95 HaGo tanks and a single scenario that requires 4 Marine LVTs; the rest are Japanese Infantry defending against US Marines with an occasional single M4 Sherman in support.  The Tarawa book has for the most part, minimal vehicle requirements as well; but there are a couple that are substantial.  One of the first in the book has 6 Marine LVTs assaulting Red Beach 1, and one of the later ones has 3 Stuarts and a pair of 75mm Gun Armed M3 Halftracks attacking a large Japanese Bunker. 

20mm Modern British Battlegroup

Santa (my wife) was very good to me this year, bringing a 1990s British Battle Group.  I received three Trumpeter Warrior IFVs and a pair of Challenger I Mk 3s for the Desert.  These will go very nicely with a pile of 20mm RH Models 1990s British Infantry and a couple Ace CVR(T) Scimitars that have been sitting around the house for the past year. 

Two Hour Wargames War Against Japan

Having read a few reviews of the Two Hour Wargames variant for Nuts!, War Against Japan (WAJ), I finally found a copy, quite by chance at a local gaming shop.  Having read them thru a couple of times and watched the HBO mini-series “The Pacific”, I am definitely inspired.

The WAJ variant can be played in some interesting ways; head to head or 1 or more players on the same (Allies, to include USMC) side against the game system AI Japanese.  The author explains his perspective as primarily due to the way in which (human) players will game the Japanese; chiefly, in a very Non-Japanese or unrealistic fashion.  The book includes all the modifications to the original 2^nd Edition of Nuts!, as well as 6 canned scenarios or tactical situations and finally a campaign game that uses the scenarios to resolve the actual table top battles in a sequence of linked games.  Overall, the book looks like it will produce fun games and the game system run Japanese has great potential for realistic table top battles, at least from the USMC perspective, and maybe the Japanese too I guess. 

 

I recently sold a hardly used batch of minis that had been laying around doing nothing except taking up space.  So, what to do with all my new wealth?  Recycle the money and buy new stuff. 

Skirmish Campaigns France 40 Withdrawal to Dunkirk

Ok so it has been a long time since I last posted anything but I have not been idle.  My brother is still working on his Polish Army which has been enlarged to include Calvary.  The Germans have been completed but don’t have an opponent as of yet.  With the recent sale of a large collection of 20mm minis that were just laying around looking for a new home, I had money to spend.  I have always been interested in gaming the 1940 campaign in the West in 28mm and with the varied early war British tanks available from Warlord Games, I could not resist. 

Before I dropped any money, I wanted to find a scenario book to provide a framework for building my BEF Army.  I picked up a copy of Skirmish Campaigns book covering the Dunkirk.  For those that are not familiar, I must say, that each of the skirmish campaigns books I have had an opportunity to look at or own are great, and this one is no exception. 

Part of the France 1940 series, this book comes with 12 scenarios organized into 5 campaigns.  The objective of each of the campaigns is to buy time, the more the better, buying more time for the Allied Armies to evacuate the continent.  The victory conditions for most of the scenarios are constructed in this way.  The allied armies add time for achieving victory in the scenario and lose it by failing.    

The first campaign pits the Germans against the Belgians.  The second campaign covers the encounter battles between the 3^rd Royal Tank Regiment and the 1^st Panzer Division in and around Calais.  The scenarios of the 3 RTR campaign feature relatively large numbers of tanks on both sides, so since I’m building 28mm BEF, these will have to wait.  The fourth campaign covers the French and also features large numbers of Tanks, so difficult as well in 28mm.

The scenarios in the Ypres Canal Campaign, which is the 3rd Campaign, as well as the Western Line (5th and final) are more attainable in 28mm so I will focus on these for now. 

 

The scenarios in these 2 campaigns have some unusual minis that also made them appealing.  The scenarios “Get your men out” and Fighting Withdrawal” both require stretcher-bearer teams as one of the British victory conditions is that they evacuate all the wounded BEF troops from a church while defending the perimeter against the German assault.  The other unusual requirement is for British and French motorcycle dispatch riders in the variable attachments in the Western Line campaign.  I settled on Black Tree Design British stretcher teams, which with the recent sale I was able to pick up for less than $10.  The motorcycles I found were made by 1^st Corps in their WW1 range of 28mm.