Wednesday, 5 March 2014

The assault on Grozny - part 1

This game took place at COW 2003 when memories of the Russian assaults on Grozny were still fresh. I just hope that a post about an ill-judged Russian military adventure isn't too topical today.  Though Putin says he sees 'no immediate need to invade Ukraine'.  Well that's all right then...
Anyway, back to the game.  During the morning attendees were treated to the sight of the session's designer, Tom Mouat, constructing a fair sized city from cardboard boxes.
Things only got better when the toys were revealed - in the shape of a reinforced Motor Rifle battalion.  The toys were made from a rubber-type material and had previously been the property of an East-bloc army which used them for training gunners.
Distant Grozny seen from the Russian lines.
The splendid Motor Rifle Btl which somehow I ended up commanding.  Maybe I had the best hat?

The battalion advances!  We'd all read the old Soviet manuals....
The Chechens.  I know that one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter, but they looked pretty dodgy to me!
The toys looked very impressive...
...although the dynamism of some commanders was questioned.
Tanks approach the city.
Soon the enemy emerged from various hiding places.
The recce platoon comes under fire

I'll conclude this - with plenty more photos - soon.

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26 comments:

  1. Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com5 March 2014 at 13:29

    One eyebrow went up momentarily when I saw several defenders leaning on what looked suspiciously like golf clubs at first glance.

    Looks very interesting.

    Was there a Western team, standing on the sidelines, saying rude things about the Russians?

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  2. Arthur5 March 2014 at 13:41

    Tim

    Like, wow, man.

    Awesome, simply awesome.

    Regards

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  3. Conrad Kinch5 March 2014 at 13:55

    That looks amazing. I am terribly envious - I don't recall seeing anything about it in "The Nugget".

    Are there rules floating about?

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  4. Phil5 March 2014 at 15:22

    Looking good!

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  5. Curt5 March 2014 at 16:05

    This is pretty darn cool. We've used our park for naval gaming so its great to see someone playing something with ground pounders.

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  6. Stephen Thomas5 March 2014 at 17:55

    That looks really good. Excellent !!!

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  7. Chris Kemp5 March 2014 at 18:53

    "Soon the enemy emerged from various hiding places."

    How did Tony fit into that little cardboard box?

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  8. Duc de Gobin5 March 2014 at 22:17

    What a wonderful looking game. The large Russian vehicles do look excellent against the backdrop of the cardboard city.

    You can just 'feel' the command problems as you see the tanks and BMPs trying to move in the city streets...waiting for RPG rounds...

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  9. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:23

    Ross Mac
    They were measuring sticks. These chaps don't play golf. Or even cricket.

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  10. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:23

    Arthur
    Wargame Decelopments - always plumbing new depths of insanity!

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  11. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:25

    Conrad Kinch
    As I recall the 'rules' were pretty basic. I'm not sure they ever appeared in Nugget. I'll see what I can track down.

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  12. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:25

    Phil
    It was quite a spectacle.

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  13. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:26

    Curt C
    And air games too (see my posts on PVO Strany etc). I think we had better weather then you....

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  14. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:27

    Stephen Thomas
    Still a few places available for this year's COW.....

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  15. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:27

    Chris Kemp
    There may have been a big hole under the box?

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  16. Tim Gow5 March 2014 at 22:29

    Duc de Gobin
    There were certainly issues around locating the enemy and controlling the formation in such terrain. A challenge even without my inept leadership.....

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  17. Pete.5 March 2014 at 23:20

    Looks great, more, more...

    ... been a conflict I've been long interested in.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

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  18. Paul Foster6 March 2014 at 06:01

    Getting close to 1:1 scale gaming Tim.

    I like it!

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  19. Al6 March 2014 at 08:32

    Impressive, very cool game Tim

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  20. Tim Gow6 March 2014 at 15:14

    Pete
    And one of at least two Grozny games I played at COW that year!

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  21. Tim Gow6 March 2014 at 15:14

    Paul Foster
    They won't let us use real tanks on the lawn....

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  22. Tim Gow6 March 2014 at 15:15

    Al
    Cheers Al.

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  23. Wg Cdr Luddite6 March 2014 at 19:54

    My presence as an unbiased UN observer was compromised by occasional shouts of YE-ES! when the skulking Chechens got a kill.

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  24. Don M6 March 2014 at 20:17

    I guess every army had a version of those 1/32nd scale rubber tanks, ours were black and you used them to teach
    armored vehicle i.d. This is a better use....)

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  25. Archduke Piccolo7 March 2014 at 08:46

    Looks like a heck of a lot of fun, and educational too. One thing about towns and villages in wargames, I have found, is often the lack of depth - realistic for hamlets and villages, but a bit wanting for large settlements. The card board box on the lawn goes some distance to obviate that problem.

    I'm a bit curiouys about the flattened boxes: park areas, or flattened buildings (and hence rubble)?
    Cheers,
    Ion

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  26. Geordie an Exiled FoG8 March 2014 at 11:15

    Respect well earned for an interesting game

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