The Brandenberg Quartet*

*Technically these are the four battleships of the Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm class of the Kaiserliche Marine circa 1900, but I didn't let that get in the way of a good blog title.

Back row: Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm,Wörth. Front row: Brandenburg, Weissenburg.

These are all scratch built in 1/2400 scale, about the smallest scale limit for my abilities these days. All are mounted on clear acetate, with the wakes created using thick PVA mixed with white craft paint followed by a coat of gloss varnish.

I aim to clear the gaming table and try out a set of rules called Battlefleet 1900 by War Times Journal go get a feel for them. After that, the German fleet will need a few cruisers of one kind and another for the hypothetical 'Morocco Crisis turned hot' mini campaign scenario I have in mind.

Yak shaving & 280mm guns

For one reason and another I lost my wargaming mojo over the holiday season. I do enjoy reading other gamers' blogs, but a general feeling of "can't be arsed" and my general SAD dislike of the winter months overcame any inclination I had to clear my cluttered games table and put my own models into action.

Thankfully, I'm coming back into the scheme of things one small step at a time. Hence the 'yak shaving' title.

Yak shaving ~ Any apparently useless activity which, by allowing you to overcome intermediate difficulties, allows you to solve a larger problem.

The yaks in question take the shape of four 1/2400 scale German Brandenburg class battleship models, which have languished half-built in my to-do pile for months. The 280mm guns are the teeth of these beasts, and they're the penultimate step to be completed before the lot gets undercoated and painted. It'll be a fiddly but necessary job to do, and hopefully should revive my interest. Small steps, small steps... 

Boxing Day

'tis the Feast of Stephen! I hope everyone had a nice Christmas/Hanukah/Solstice, however you celebrate the season. I'm the cook in the family so I was busy preparing the Christmas dinner yesterday morning. My wife and I decided to buy our gifts for each other from local artists. I was given this nice little pottery flask, just right for a nip of something potable.

Gaming may resume this weekend, with the last raid of the season for the newly-minted Saxon Warlord Ebba and his men.

In the meantime I'm contemplating starting a model railway/road blog. It's interesting to note how many wargamers also have a model railway layout or are planning one. I'm in the track planning stage, having decided to go with HO scale. At the moment I'm thinking in terms of a simple oval with a spur line running off to serve an industry of some kind. For Steve-the-Wargamer in particular, here's a photo of some of my stuff so far.

The locomotive is of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe line. The general store was a charity shop find. Apparently it was part of a collector series from the movie Sarah, Plain and Tall, but it works perfectly for HO scale. Alongside it is a scratch-built meeting hut. The track needs cleaning. Months in cold storage during our house move didn't do it much good.

Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to one and all!

Normandy '44: D-Day and the Battle for France, by James Holland.

I've just finished this book, which I borrowed from our local library when I saw it on the shelf. Holland states from the get-go that it's not a comprehensive review of the campaign, since it would take far too large a number of volumes to cover. Even so, he's done a pretty good job of covering the campaign in considerable detail. Some of the detail is graphic, since the Normandy campaign saw bitter fighting, so caution is advised if letting younger readers have access to the book.

It includes accounts of several episodes I didn't know about, or in scant detail. A number of the actions would translate very well for WW2 rules such as Chain of Command or I Ain't Been Shot, Mum. There are a couple of small errors in the text, which is down to an American not having quite the grasp of British culture. Two of the photographs are mislabeled. One of a British 5.5 inch howitzer is described as a 155mm gun, and King Tigers are incorrectly identified as Panthers. Working in the writing/publishing industry as I do, it's quite possible the fault for these latter mislabeling isn't down to the author but rather the publisher's research staff.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/normandy-44/james-holland/9781787631274

Gaming-wise, I'm in something of a lull. I find my interest in wargaming has waned lately, although I still like to read books and visit the various hobby blogs and websites. Nowadays I feel more involved in setting up my model railroad layout than getting figures on the table. I might play the next Dux Britanniarum game sometime over Xmas. We'll see.

Bracken Hill ~ post game

Bracken Hill had more than a degree of friction in the game; perhaps a bit too much to be quite enjoyable. Even so, the game added to the campaign narrative.

The fighting bogged down to a slogging match in a confined space as Ebba uncharacteristically forewent maneuvers and tried to bull his way through the Romano-British. The home team proved to be too stubborn for that, however, having had enough of the Saxons' deprivations. Gaius Menusius had also found some tactical nous in the down time since the last raid and deployed his levy to good effect. Result - Ebba withdrew unpursued to lick his wounds, leaving the field to the Romano-British along with a Beggar's Bowl of loot - the first time they've picked up any kind of wealth.

The Romano-British win meant the Saxon siege of Durobrivae was lifted, rendering the province safe at least for the rest of the year 472AD.* Ebba won't be able to contest for the province again since there won't be sufficient time before winter to try again.  

In terms of casualties it was a Pyrrhic victory for the Romano-British. They came off worse by suffering heavy casualties to the Saxons' moderate losses. Ebba can recover sooner than they, and stage another raid come October - the last month in the campaigning season. The Romano-British will still be down a significant number of men. They lack the wealth to raise mercenaries and Gaius Menusius lacks the status to build watchtowers to warn against Saxon incursions.

So, what happens next? Ebba's taken care of the annual tribute he has to pay his king back home, so that's out of the way. He will raid again in October in search of more loot confident the Romano-British lack the strength to put up much of a fight. With more wealth he'll be in a good position to contest for Durobrivae next year, when the new campaigning season opens in March 473AD. On the other side of the hill, the Romano-British can attempt to stop the raid, even at the risk of taking more casualties, because they'll have the winter months to recoup their losses.

A roll of the die turns up Raid Scenario #1 ~ Raid on a Church. Ebba has his eye on a potentially lucrative target. The Romano-British will attempt to stop him cold before he can perpetrate such sacrilege on a holy site.

*According to the Dux Britanniarum rule book the Saxons should attack the province of Caer Lind Colun first, in 472AD. I feel given the extensive waterways that radiated off the Wash at that time, seaborne raiders like the Saxons and later Vikings would've used them to penetrate deep into Durobrivae.

The Battle of Bracken Hill ~ Dux Brit game report.

The two armies met close by a hill covered in bracken, a landmark for miles around. Ebba thought he had the whole province sewed up, but Gaius Menusius stole a march on him. As the early morning mists cleared, Ebba saw his opponent was closer than expected.

A cattle pen, a shallow, swampy pond and rocky outcrops restrict the field of battle

Gaius Menusius appealed to God for favour, and his piety had an immediate effect on his men. Determined to oppose these Saxon dogs who’d come to despoil their land, the blessing added stiffness to their backbones. They gripped sword, spear and shield and moved into position directed by their leaders.

Ebba found it difficult to maneuver well in the confined space. Although he had some idea of sending a group of warriors around through the woods to hit his enemy’s right flank, in the event he lost patience and took his hearth guard to the fore. On the Romano-British side, Gaius Menusius anchors his force on the wood and the pond. Levy commander Lord Barriventus has a rush of blood to his head and decides to attempt a fancy outflanking maneuver. Leading his levy into the rocky area he soon finds the going tougher than expected.

Ebba's not unduly concerned with the antics of the levy, but he's uncharacteristically impatient. Forming up his hearth guard he charges straight into the Romano-British warriors.

Faced with difficult terrain on each left flank the Saxons and Romano-British find their plans stymied.

At first the fight went well. Romano-British warriors fell under Ebba's attack, but their accursed shield wall held firm and he was repelled. The movement of the enemy’s levy to his right flank caused him increasing concern since they appeared to be finding a path through the rocks, but he felt one more good push would break the shield wall and render the levy's attempt irrelevant.

As his men charged in for another attempt Ebba recognised a familiar face moving to the front rank of the Romano-British warriors. Cynbel the Magnificent! He’d been a sorry if defiant sight when Ebba had captured and ransomed him two months earlier. Now it seemed he was out for revenge.

Petrified by the closeness of the nasty Saxons, the Romano-British archers fail to hit anything.

And Cynbel got it. Fighting hard in the front rank he held back the Saxon hearth guard then repulsed them.

Shock and casualties accumulate, especially on the Romano-British side, but they hold firm-for now.

 

Again Ebba sent his men into the attack, determined to break them once and for all. More Romano-British warriors fell, but again they held firm. The despised levy charged in on Ebba's flank, and this time Ebba felt the battle beginning to slip away from him. So apparently did Oeric the Insane. Living up to his nickname the young lord frothed at the mouth and hurled himself into the fray. He met Cynbel the Magnificent head-on—and died beneath his sword. Oeglath, Ebba’s Champion stepped into the way of an attacker and he too met his death by a spear thrust under his ribs.The mighty man fell like a stricken oak.

Suddenly Ebba found himself in the front line and fighting for his life. He held off one opponent but the other found a gap in Ebba’s armour and slashed open his forearm. Ebba gritted his teeth and fell back into the safe mass of his hearth guard. Bested by a poxed levy-man, by Thunir! The embarrassment of it.

The stuffing went out of the hearth guard then. With his warriors unable to deploy effectively because of the cramped area, Ebba withdrew from the field. He calculated that his enemy had lost more men, meaning he’d be vulnerable to raiding before Autumn and the close of the campaigning season in October. Saving what men he had left became vital. He’d have time to recoup his losses, probably before his opponent could do so, which made another raid in September a possibility. At least he had a beggar’s bowl worth of loot stashed safe in his hall, so tribute to his King was taken care of. Ebba thought he might even find a lord to replace the late demented Oeric. Ebba saluted his foe then walked away. He’d return when he was good and ready.

Lest We Forget

At the going down of the Sun,

And in the Morning,

We Will Remember Them.

 

A Game on Sunday?

It's been one of those periods when my time wasn't my own. Late season interior decorating while the weather still held warm enough to vent the house of paint fumes took a lot of time. Putting the garden to bed for the year took up more. I'm still not clear of the weeds yet, but I may have enough time set by to play out the next Dux Britanniarum game tomorrow.

The situation is that after three successful raids Ebba the Saxon feels he's on a roll, and has decided to take the bull by the horns. He will challenge the Romano-British for control of the province of Durobrivae. Gaius Menusius has little choice but to contest Ebba's move.

More Autumn trees

It looks like the cold germs are having wayyy too much fun rampaging through my system to consider leaving yet, so I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on some light modelling stuff.

My latest batch of Autumn trees need basing, so I made some from corrugated card and cereal box card, sandwiched together. The trees themselves I based on more card then spread spackle around the trunks to stiffen them up. While the spackle was wet I pressed dried tea leaves into it. This has the advantage of coming in the colour of... well, dried leaves, so it doesn't need painting and it looks natural spread under the trees like a leaf fall. I will go over it with a dry brush of yellow and orange to represent a fall of fresh leaves.

Once all's ready I'll glue the tree bases to the large base then fill in the gaps with more spackle and dried leaves, plus a few small stones to represent rocks and boulders.

More to follow.