Polish Bofors 37mm AT gun

 

To accompany my lashed up Polish infantry battalion - and in anticipation of a game - I dug out this 1/35 kit and set about it.  It was every bit as horribly fiddly as I feared and it will come as no surprise that several tiny parts remained on the sprues.

My patience really ran out when I got to the axles - half a dozen tiny pieces on each side!  I did the sensible thing and replaced them all with a single axle cut from brass rod.

Crew figures were assembled from bits in the spares box.  The MG team are rather lovely 3D prints from Speira figures in Sweden.

Pax Britannica...but not for long!

 

A couple of months ago I dug out my copy of Victory Games' Pax Britannica.  This last saw the light of day as recently as 2002(!) so another game was rather overdue.  An elite team of players was assembled - several of whom admitted to having played it before, though none as recently as me!

(most of) the assembled players.  From left: Italy (your humble correspondent), Britain (Martin), USA (John), Japan (Jerry), Germany (Lloyd) and Russian (Andrew).  Behind the camera is France (Russell).

The map.  Many years ago I pasted them onto mounting board - this made the game a lot easier to set up.

Hat wearing opportunities aplenty.  Near the camera lurks Russell's French kepi.

Egged on by the Kaiser, the Austrians were soon being a damn nuisance in the Balkans.

The French were very active in west Africa, the Brits were seemingly everywhere!

Not to be outdone, us plucky Italians soon built a trading network in Africa.

There were some tensions in the Far East - watch out for those Japs!

I was amazed to be left alone to pick away at the crumbling Ottoman Empire and was enjoying a costly little war when the French plunged us all into a wider conflagration.  So the Great War broke out in 1896...

It was certainly interesting to revisit this game and we'll probably give it another go in a few months.

Siege of the Alcazar, 1936

This game was set during the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War and played in Sheffield back in August 2024.  It was in turn a development of a game run a few years previously by Funny Little Wars author Mr PHW.

Situation: The Army revolt against the Republic has been partially successful, but has left the Infantry Officer’s school isolated behind enemy lines.  The Alhambra is a Medieval fortress, modernised in parts and very, very strong.  The Garrison have taken over the outlying hospital and stable complex which are hastily fortified buildings.  Relief is on the way, from the Colonial Army but the Republic are determined to capture the Alhambra and secure a major propaganda victory.

Objectives

Army – to defend the Alhambra fortress until the end of play – and fight to the last toy soldier if necessary.  Optional  - conduct a sortie against the enemy.

Republic – to capture the Alhambra fortress before the end of play, and use all means available.  Optional – to maintain cohesion in the different factions in the Republic army and find the guilty men.

A cast of toy soldiers and players was assembled and battle commenced.

The republican players were all vying for overall command and faced varying levels of difficulty in controlling the militias.

The mighty fortified military academy.  The accurate* model has at it's core the Armies in Plastic Afghan fort, with bits of Elastolin castles, sandbag sections and buildings added.

The Republic's forces were riven with the factionalism which characterised the conflict.  Here is the Communist commissar with his loudspeaker van.  His troops soon worked out that only by engaging in combat would the sounds of gunfire drown out his inspiring political speeches.

The rest of the town was rather representational.  Here we can see defenders manning for fortifications.  The piles of wooden blocks indicate areas which have been shelled.

The socialist militia, supported by Asaltos.

The actual army had provided some high-tech kit, including these Renault tanks!

The view from the roof of the Telefonica building.  The communists control the building (surprise!) while the Battalion del Muerte advance under cover of an abandoned tram.

Militias assault the weakest part of the fort, still accompanied by the persistent ramblings of the Commissar.

The garrison was mostly cadets and small numbers of Civil Guards - the latter still upholding standards in their white gloves!

In the fort the medical teams were kept busy.  Here a Nationalist aeroplane drops messages for the Colonel.

The attack was observed by a government minister....

...who had arrived from Madrid in a stylish motor car and observed from a safe distance.  Historically, the siege was day-trippable from the capital, with small crowds gathering for a picnic and a couple of hours sniping.

Here, the socialist milita get close enough to for the garrison to fire off some shrapnel rounds,  Carnage!

Government aviator's view of the fort.  I think it looks rather grand.

Another view of the busy hospital (actually in the cellars).  Note the Colonel's private latrine in the background.  During the battle I informed the Republicans that they had captured the Colonel's son.  They did same as their historical counterparts and rang the Colonel on the still functioning telephone.  Calling upon him to surrender, the son was given the 'phone and implored his father not to give in.  The Colonel stood firm and the poor lad was duly executed a few months later.

Guardia Civil man the walls.

While the battle raged, (and indeed before it began) a detachment of Asturian miners had been digging under the gatehouse.  This done, charged were placed and detonated....

...the result - no gatehouse!  This greatly encouraged the attackers who surged forward.

The miners themselves in the foreground. I'll do a seperate post about some of the figures I bodged especially for this game.

The desperate fight hangs in the balance.  We agreed that the fort would eventually fall but only after a few more days.  But of course the Army of Africa soon arrived and put the Government forces to flight.

Regular army troops preparing to  advance.

Tanks break into the outer fortifications.

What can only be described as a 'mess' of militia waiting for a post-game sort out.

A very pleasing game to run which benefitted from some disturbingly enthusiastic role playing from the players.

A walk in the sun

 

This was a Vietnam skirmish-level game I ran over Zoom a few weeks ago. Half a dozen or so players joined me, each commanding small units, and I moved the toys around and resolved combat using A Fistful of Lead rules. The figures are all 54mm - a mix of MARS and TSSD. For most, this was their first deployment. 

The field of battle - a mere 30x40 inches!  The trees were purely representative - the whole area was horrible jungle - but added considerably to the look and feel of the thing. 

The US squad leader’s team - complete with radio man and medic.  The latter was kept very busy. 

Small detachments of NVA soon emerged from their hidey holes - the rotters!  Hello markers are shaken, red are wounds. See what I meant about that medic?

The US M60 team went off the the left of the track - would they avoid the baddies?

View from the NVA end. This fellow has just emptied a mag into the US point man. 

The view that none of the players had! The ground rises nearer the camera - this was the US objective. 

Remember the M60 team?  Here they are under fire from a sniper. 

Soon RPGs and grenades were adding to the fun. But the front of the US squad was almost atop the ridge.  What could go wrong?

This could!  An NVA controlled Claymore mine takes down the lead pair of Americans. It was agreed that my party popper was an excellent way of simulating this.  

A very entertaining game to run and  - so I am told - play. We’ll return to Vietnam in the coming months.