A little painting done for Ronin

I haven't been idle in the last few weeks. I managed to paint some more figures for Ronin.
These were Perry Miniatures, Japanese armed peasants advancing (Perry Miniatures) SAM 31. They paint up very well, and, whilst not yet based, will be a very good addition to my villagers collection. I could also use them for the Ronin bands.
Dixons have similar and I will be buying more of them I'm sure. The aim is to have as much individuality as possible in the games. Using the same figures over and over will get a bit repetitious I feel.

3 armed peasants

3 more

I also painted some Dixon samurai (dixon samurai-25mm) I bought off eBay early in the project. I was not going to paint these until I had a some ashigaru, but decided to get them done and out of the way. Another small part of the lead mountain gone.

I will use all the figures except the one with the arquebus. It isn't something I want to have. Yumi yes.

Probably, it will end up on eBay in the near future.

One Hour Wargame, Polish vs Turkish. A Renaissance 6mm wargame

As promised some months ago, a renaissance battle.
A small Polish force rushing to stop a slightly larger Turkish force from crossing the river in numbers.
This is scenario 5 in the OHW (One Hour Wargames) book.

Bridgehead
Situation
The Turkish force has discovered a crossing into Polish territory and is aiming to secure it.
The Polish general is frantically attempting to mobilise every available unit to stop them.

I use one element to represent a unit instead of the two recommended by the book. The book has even forces but I thought that the attacking enemy would put more resources into securing the crossing. I have allowed 10 light cavalry to cross the river unopposed, in the book it is 1 unit. I justify this by the fact large scouting forces were employed by the Turks. The Polish will have heavier units to deal with these, as and when they appear.
Only one unit can cross the bridge each turn, nothing stipulated in the book. Again, I think there would be a delay in units crossing. This, I suspect, will help the Polish force to block the bridge before too many Turkish units can cross. Only time will tell.

Polish force                                                     

1 x General Cavalry unit                                              
1 x Hussari                                                      
2 x Pancerni                                                    
2 x Drab Infantry                                        
1 x Cossack Infantry (axe)                            
6 x Cossack Light Cavalry

Turkish force
1 x General (Feudal Sipahi)
2 x Fuedal Sipahi
12 x Light Cavalry
3 x Jannisaries
2 x Light Infantry (Azabs & similar)

The view from behind the Turkish lines

 The Polish forces will come on as set out in the book. I have paired up units and two will enter each period as the die roll dictates. There are 3 locations of entry; 2 directly opposite the Turkish start point and 1 to the left which gives a flanking option

The Polish went first as response to incursion of light cavalry

Cossack units flanking the Turkish light cavalry

 Two Cossack units  appear in the rear, left flank of the Turkish light horse. The Turks turn and charge the flanking unit causing a few casualties.

4 Turkish vs 2 Cossack units

The Turkish column advances 1 light cavalry unit over the bridge. I had thought about the deployment and considered it right the light cavalry followed by the Sipahi; Jannisaries and light infantry was an appropriate order of march. I am not sure the Jannisaries would see it that way.

The Pancerni arrive, advancing through the village.

Polish village with orchard

 Two units of Turkish light horse charge the congested Pancerni causing them casualties and preventing them from exiting the village. Another 2 units turn and move to flank the village.

Another Turkish unit crossed the bridge and turns to flank the Cossacks.
The cossacks are not causing many casualties on the Turkish light horse. The Turks are only slowly whittling the Cossacks down.

The General and Hussari arrive to bolster the Cossack unit on the Turkish flank.

General and Hussari arrive
Turkish light horse in the distance turn to flank the cossacks

 The Pancerni, blocked in the village, are too compressed to cause casualties on the light horse and suffer nothing in return.The left flank Turkish light horse move around the village hoping to catch the Pancerni in the rear.
The Turkish light horse flank charges the Cossacks in combat but fail to achieve anything, as the Sipahi start to cross and move north. I gambled here on the oncoming infantry to be enough to hold the bridge if the cavalry lost the action. I only had light cavalry in advance so thought to support these.

The General and Hussari flank charge the Turkish light horse and are equally ineffective. (A huge surprise given their weight and armament advantage on top of flanking)
Another Turkish light horse joins the fray as the column grinds its way across the river.

Cossack units arrive to the right of the village in support of the Pancerni.

The first Cossack units are near to breaking having suffered many casualties but not inflicting many themselves. The Hussari are making little headway.

The Drab infantry arrive with a Cossack unit and some Cossack axe men on the Polish left flank as the Turkish and other Cossack units prepare to contest the rear of the village.Almost no casualties suffered by any unit this turn

Turkish horse moving north to counter the newly arrived infantry and cossacks.

The newly arrived cossacks advance to stall the Sipahi while the infantry try to support the Cossack cavalry, who, are in combat with the Turkish light horse.

Cossack unit is finally eliminated leaving the General and Hussari under great pressure of numbers.

Turkish cavalry flank charge the Hussari causing huge casualties and they are gone!

With the infantry crossing the bridge and the general almost eliminated I credited it to a Turkish win. It was nine periods/bounds in the game with 6 left to go. I felt the Polish would have to be extremely lucky to pull this back.

Summary
It was an interesting game with lots of points where it could have given a different outcome.
The Turkish steady progress over the bridge seemed to be a disadvantage early on but proved to be better than the Polish hotch, potch arrival. It could so easily have been disadvantageous though!

I had thought to give the Hussari a bonus in the first charge but played the rules as written.
I could have used the Polish infantry a little differently. Perhaps creating a 'front' line or more in support of the struggling Pancerni, who never made it out of the village.
If the Sipahi had not advanced the Polish would have had a free hand with the reinforcing units which could have changed everything.
All in all, a very good game with problems and surprises coming steadily.
I fought the game over two weeks so not much of the 1 hour wargame!
Never mind, there was no rush.
I think I will refight this sometime in the future with similar forces but with a charge bonus for the Hussari. Maybe other tweaks also.

I hope you enjoyed the AAR as much as I enjoyed the game.

Ronin set up

Hello,
Finally I have my PC back in something like working order. I have had 3 PC's over the last few weeks when I had problems accessing the hard drive. Yes, all my passwords were saved on that PC as well as all the pictures, documents etc. It's no fun when the PC goes down.

Here is the set-up for the Ronin game I am about to play:-

After some years of plying their trade on the road leading to Osaka, the Crane Gang have seen their ill gotten gains dwindling due to people claiming to have been robbed up the road. Not liking this at all they set off with the intention of finding out what is going on. After some days they see another group of Ronin robbing 'their' marks. Observing them for a few days to gauge whether they can take on these newcomers they decide to lay an ambush outside their cabin in the forest

The Crane Gang
Hideo, the leader (in armour with naginata)
Katsu with Katana and wakizashi (mustard)
Madoka with Katana (in yellow)
Aoi who goes by the nickname Karasu because of his raven cloak with Katana
The gang have the basket type hats (except Hideo)

The cabin, in a cleared glade in the forest, belongs to the father of the Shin'ichi of the Dark Shadows Gang.

Kenta and daughter Hanan tending the herb garden by their cabin

The Dark Shadow Gang thought it easier to rob travellers than be honest Samurai. They lurked in the dark parts of the forest and waylaid the richer travellers, letting the poorer ones pass.

Dark Shadows Gang
Shin'ichi, the leader with the naginata
Mikio with Yumi
Kunio with Katana (in green)
Jiro with Katana (yellow/orange)

The Crane Gang arrive and set up their ambush.

The path, with the Crane Gang in waiting

For both gangs, the leaders are morale 4 and the ranks morale is 3. No attributes are given in this first game.
The Crane Gang win initiative and opt to go second. I roll a dice to see if the DS (The Dark Shadows) will roll to spot the CG (Crane Gang) before or after moving. They will roll after moving. 1 they spot them, 2-6 they don't notice anything unusual.
Having moved, they roll, a 1! They spot the ambush, and it's Katsu in the bushes they see. Mikio gets off a shot and causes a light wound.
The Crane Gang, now their cover is blown, attack. The move falls short and it's the DS who move into contact.

Kenta and Hanan slink off to safety in the forest as the likelihood of fighting becomes apparent

The CG retain initiative and Madoka causes a grievous  wound to Shin'ichi! Who, fighting for his life, causes the same in reply!
Katsu gets the initiative in the combat against two attackers. He takes a more defensive role but still receives a grievous wound and dies.
The CG retain initiative but their morale drops to wavering after the death of Katsu.
Moving first, Hideo and Karasu (Hideo rolls 2 and Karasu rolls 3) each fail their morale test ,and decide to withdraw towards the forest! Madoka realises what is happening and breaks off to retreat also.
With Shin'ichi wounded the DS do not follow up. They are not rash!

Both Shin'ichi and Madoka survive their wounds, but are not yet ready to fight. Hideo will need to find a replacement, even if it's a couple of peasants. He will plot his revenge and take more care next time.

Summary
What did I think?
The game was pretty fast. Using the die to determine some aspects of what the figures did worked very well. I wasn't sure what they would actually do. That made for an exciting game.
The combats were quite brutal. Well, it was with swords! One dead and two seriously wounded tells the tale. Now to plan the next encounter. Die at the ready to choose the gangs.

Campaign 2016

Hi! Everyone,
Catching up from a busy period of work, painting and gaming.
First, I went to the local wargames show that is Campaign 2016 in Milton Keynes Centre.
I would call this a small show, but it is open to all and free. Located in the shopping mall with access to all the big, and small, shops in the centre it draws none wargamers into its brace with deceptive ease. How else is wargaming to grow if it doesn't entice an audience not normally accessible in those out of centre places?
Any way.
The show is based around wargaming competitions with a few participation games and several regular trade stalls. I try not to spend too much, but you know how things are! This year, as last, my main aim was scenery/terrain to enhance the wargames table. This is something I have not gone in for a lot. I think it is due to wargaming ancients mainly. Not that it isn't possible to use it. Hills I use a lot and some trees to simulate woods but that's it really.
With moving to the 6mm scale and playing Ronin it is a different game. Literally.
There is space and it is nice to fill it with items to enhance the table and experience.
Saturday was a short visit due to work commitments in the afternoon so it was a look and see couple of hours. Some nice games set up with the Lance and Longbow Society setting up a game. As was the Society of Ancients, both regular attendees at the show. Milton Keynes Wargames Society set up the battle of Cannae with 6mm figures. Nicely done, as were the other games.
Sunday I spent time to buy things but my main aim was to see the competitions, especially the ancients DBMM. I did look at the Field of Glory competition games but they are rules I am not into. I do like to see nice armies though.
I stayed for about 4 hours in total. Spoke to a rather nice wargamer from MKWS (I think).
Perhaps the best part was speaking to the rules writer of Open Combat by  secondthinder.com (https://secondthunder.com).
We went through the game and it is based in pre-gunpowder era. So, a skirmish game with added bits that seem quite interesting. I may have a look in a few months or so after I have what I consider the bulk of the Ronin figures and terrain I think I will need. On this I still need armed peasants and villagers as well as a few ashigaru. Perhaps, also, a few samurai and a Lord or two.

Well, that's it for now. More on the Ronin game and how it went next time as well as the ancients game I played in the mean time.

Villagers and houses

Just a quick update on the progress I am making with Ronin.
I have started the buildings which arrived at the end of November (4ground-shogunate-japan). Christmas, and particularly work, has interrupted the completion of them but things are on track.
I bought some more villagers (Perry Miniatures Samurai range)  from Perry Miniatures, Sam 52. They fit in well with the figures I have. I have almost completed painting them. I will be getting some more including some with weapons in March for planned scenarios based around the village(s).
I am also working through the rules to get a better understanding so the games run smoothly and there are less queries.
I am thinking about the scenarios to bring these games together as much as possible. How these disparate groups meet up. Will there be automatic friendship/animosity. Choosing territory to fight over.
The first scenario I have in mind is a hideout in the woods. One group holds it and another thinks it is ideal for their needs. There has to be a possibility of an unseen event or two as surprise makes for interesting gaming.
I will be going to Cuba at the end of February but will post as soon as possible thereafter if I don't post before I go.

Happy gaming.

Ronin update

I have been busy, off and on, painting the Dixon Miniatures (http://www.dixon-minis.com/) for the game of Ronin. I also managed to find a few figures for villagers or towns people.
I haven't yet given names to the figures or to the bands which they are divided into.
In the game the bands are called Buntai but that is for a band of soldiers. Mine are Ronin bands which I will give suitable names for when I think of them.
Below are pictures of each band with two headmen/lords and the villagers/porters. I have tried to use as many colours to give the widest variety that I can. This included really old Games Workshop (www.games-workshop.com) paints (including rotting flesh for zombies) as well as the new ones the few inks I have left and the shades.. The old paints are over 10 years old so they made them to last in the 'old' days

This last 'Patch' is my favourite figure so far. Full of character and, hopefully, a more than decent leader and fighter. I have tried to balance the bands to give each a more than fighting chance in the struggles to come. Some have similarity of clothing to make it easier to identify bands i.e. basket style hats, rain capes, white stones on the bases and logs. 

I am hoping to find more villagers. I got all these off eBay and have no idea of the manufacturer/s. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

The Buddha is from the local pet store so I have given it an initial colouring of gold with a large ruby any bandit would be pleased to own! 

Today I received the first batch of 4ground (http://www.4ground.co.uk/shogunate-japan) buildings, a rice barn; peasant small holders dwelling and two peasant labourers dwellings. Differing sizes of playing area are advised for different sizes of points used for each game starting at 2'x2', 3'x3' and 4'x4'. I am thinking that I will use 3x2 and 4x3 initially though I have not yet fully decided. These four will do for a small village to fight over. I also want a cross roads as that would be a good place to find victims for a band hiding in the woods. It would give an initial ground to fight over.

The boards could be used for a big battle between Egyptians and Indians I am planning. Lots of bows and chariots sounds good to me!

A problem with Wargames manufacturers

It is a sad day when after ordering something over the internet you find the service wanting without knowing the reason. Recently I have purchased, or had purchased on my behalf, some wargaming items.
After extolling the virtues of Sarris-precision (http://www.sarissa-precision.com/) I asked my son for a fathers day present of the lovely Japanese 28mm range of buildings. Fair enough, he was on holiday for a couple of weeks, so we waited, and waited. An email solicited the response that the items would be posted the next weekend. And so we still wait. I am very disappointed as I looked forward to progressing with the Ronin project.
I suggested to my son that he cancels the order and takes up the issue through his card provider.

On the 14th July I ordered a Hittite army from Rapier Miniatures (http://www.rapierminiatures.co.uk/index.html). I received the confirmation email but since? Nothing. I followed up with two emails of enquiry since and still no reply. I am waiting one more week before raising the issue with PayPal.

lastly, I bought a Neil Thomas book (Napoleonic Wargaming) to add to the collection and see if I enjoyed them as I have the other rules. The seller (on eBay UK) was kind enough to email and say that the book was imperfect and would I like a refund. He did say he was expecting a new delivery at the end of the month. I was happy to wait I informed him. Only, he despatched the book two days later and low and behold an imperfect copy appeared. I took issue with him regarding this and have sent the book back for a refund. Unfortunately, Royal mail have misplaced the 1st class, signed for parcel so I now have to wait to make a claim.

It does make you wonder. After all the years of good service from manufacturers and suppliers that these instances should all come about in the space of 1 month. Disappointment doesn't cover it really.

Please, suppliers of wargames accessories and armies, make plain your postage and despatch  policy. When you would expect to despatch an order is as important as the acknowledgement of the order itself, and if you can't meet the time frame inform the customer as the reason and offer a refund where appropriate.
It is after all the polite customer service we expect.

Greek v Persians (6mm warfare conclusion)

The battle continues with the Greeks confident after chasing away the light cavalry and not suffering from the Persian infantry bow fire as they thought they would.

The Persian light cavalry have evaded to a safe distance, the Greek heavy cavalry resisting the impulse to follow up.



The Persian Heavy cavalry charge the Greeks taking no casualties before contact and inflict little on impact.

Arrows flying from the Persians miss their target more than they find them. But the numbers dwindle, if too slowly, against the Psiloi.

The Persian light cavalry return to inflict casualties on the heavy cavalry.

 The picture as seen from the Persian left flank. The static Persian infantry firing arrow after arrow against the Psiloi whilst the Greek phalanx grinds ever so slowly forward. The Greeks hoping, that their Thracian allies can keep the cavalry from encircling their left flank before they can rout the Persians.

Stalemate on the Greek left flank.

The Psiloi are withdrawn to allow the phalanx an uninterrupted view of the Persians who gladly let loose an arrow storm though not to much effect.
Persian Peltasts are given the order to attack to prevent the Thracians  from turning on the Persian heavy cavalry.

Arial view of the battle as seen from the Persian side.
Hoplites are in charge reach, the heavy cavalry are under great pressure from the Persians. Can the Hoplites rout the infantry before it is too late?

The Hoplites attack but fail to penetrate the shieldwall. (The Persian saving throws saving almost all the casualties?

 The Persians inflict more casualties on the Hoplites.

The Greek heavy cavalry have routed or dispersed and the Persians now manoeuvre on the Greek left flank. The light cavalry with javelins charging the exposed Thracian infantry flank.

The Hoplites are proving ineffectual against the Persian infantry who stand resolute in defence.



 Persian light and heavy cavalry now behind the Greek lines causing mayhem and death.

Thracian infantry collapsing under pressure from Peltasts, light and heavy cavalry. Psiloi taking casualties from the heavy cavalry and the Persian infantry inflicting more casualties than they are receiving. Persian light cavalry assault the Hoplite left flank whilst the heavy cavalry attack them from the rear.

 

 Hoplite casualties are too great and the units start to die.

The end is nigh and the Greeks surrender to the mighty Persians.

I liked this battle immensely. The Greeks had a powerful ally in the Thracians who brought along some quality heavy cavalry and ferocious Peltasts. Who, unfortunately, were massacred after being virtually surrounded. The Psiloi gave a good account of themselves inflicting almost as many casualties on the Persians than the Hoplites did.
The disappointment was the hoplite performance against a static defence of bowmen.
I expected a breakthrough here quite quickly to save the day for the Greeks.

The Persian heavy cavalry made hard work of the Greek heavy cavalry but overcame them in the end. The light cavalry performed well but might not have if the Greek heavy cavalry had followed up to rout them from the field.
Of the Persian infantry the Peltasts were efficient, if seemingly reluctant. Whilst the Persian infantry fought heroically from behind their shields.
If this is the best of the Greeks I'd better ask for earth, water and fire.

Now, how do I build a bridge across the Hellespont?