Colours 2012: A Brace Of Show Days

So, Colours 20112.  Once again, I duck out of commenting on the show in detail, as I didn't really see it despite being there on both days.  I'm not quite sure how this happened, and console myself with the fact that this meant my show expenditure was precisely £0.00.  

To be precise,  Saturday saw us arrive, set-up and immediately stuck into the first of three Charlie Don't Surf games.  Our players soon got into the spirit of the setting, and picked the rules up quickly.  The youngest player was about 8 or 9 years, and he managed to maintain his concetration for an hour, before hunger/thirst got the better of him.  To the best of my recollection, everyone who played was new to Too fat Lardies rules, with the exception of Ashley, one of the many correspondents on the Too Fat Lardies Yahoo group.  Once again, it was fantastic to meet and put a face to another member of the Yahoo group, who seemed to have a pretty good time playing Charlie for the first time; getting the only total US victory of the weekend may well have helped, alongside the US players humming Ride Of The Valkyries every time a 'copter-related chip was played (once again, Ashley, I apologise for the lack of AFVs in the game)!

Having ensured all the toys were secure and safe for the night, I sashayed off for an an excellent T-bone steak, washed down with a rather nifty Rioja.  This ensured that even if I didn't sleep the sleep of the just, I would at least sleep the sleep of those with access to expensive lawyers.

Sunday saw two games, in which players went the whole nine yards (ie played right through to an absolute conclusion).  Game one saw pretty much every possible event occur- ammo shortages, CASEVAC, booby-traps, snipers, the works- as well as learning what happens when a gunship unloads all of its amoo in one fell swoop.  Game two saw some unexpected and hilarious friction occur between Company Commander Dad and his Platoon Commander sons; Dad had his eye on the mission objective, but the Sons were more concerned with protecting their men- 

"You realise you'll be court-martialled if you don't order your men to enter the hooch?"

"I don't care; I'm not leaving my other squad in front of that MG bunker in the open!"

Ah, the parent-child dynamic.

I do have some memories of what was going on around us, though.  There was a mighty (and impressive) zombie-infested city to our right, and back and to the left* was a corking A Very British Civil War game, in which Canadian-supported Albertine forces were having a crack at the BUF (I think they also won a show prize, and rightly so).  Food for thought, as AWC are considering AVBCW as a future club campaign.  

**Though not on a grassy knoll.

Charlie Don't Surf: Where's My Zippo?

The TooFatLardies Yahoo group is tremendously useful for anyone who plays any of the rulesets available from the TFL stable.  It's also very welcoming and an endless fount of knowledge on subjects wargaming-wise and otherwise.  Having taken the plunge and posted a few comments on Charlie Don't Surf and the various reactions it had got at shows over the last few months, I found myself arranging a CDS game for one of that list's fine denizens, Nick, who'd played I Ain't Been Shot Mum but not CDS.

So, having schlepped over to us on Friday night, Nick found himself commanding a full strength US infantry company, more than ably assisted by a potential new recruit to the club, Reg.  As ever, Mr. Smallridge leapt at the chance to play the role of the Communists...

...Bravo Company advanced to the edge of the rubber plantation that lay to the west of the Da Ban creek.  Taking their time to ascertain that Charlie was nowhere to be seen, the company began to break down into platoons to carry out the mission.  Yellow Platoon headed south-east, looking to sweep the jungle that came perilously close to the hooches on the creek's western bank.  Red Platoon did likewise to the north-east.  With its flanks hopefully secured, Blue Platoon advanced on the hooches.  

Clearly keen to get the job done and enjoy some R&R, its LT wasted little time searching for hidden rice caches or tunnels.  Instead, after a cursory glance, Blue Platoon's squads had soon fired almost half of Da Ban hamlet's hooches.  

With events unfolding according to plan, Blue and Red Platoon's LTs were somewhat concerned when they noticed that Yellow Platoon's veteran CO- as well as Company HQ- seemed reluctant to advance.  What did they know that Blue and Red didn't?

The answer to that was various Communists scuttling backwards and forwards in the jungle ahead.  Despite the discretion being shown by their more experienced counterparts, Red and Blue Platoons aggressively advanced eastwards across the creek, eager to reach the hamlet's remaining hooches.

At this point, a Communist sniper opened up to the north of the hamlet, catching one poor member of  Blue Platoon utterly off-guard.  First blood had gone to the Communists.  

Encouraged by their Company CO, Blue Platoon continued to pound forward, with their MG squad looking to take Gold in their platoon's race to reach the hamlet.  In the meantime, Red Platoon's LT took the initiative to try and flush out the sniper who lay ahead in a cunningly concealed bunker.  With covering fire being laid by 2nd Squad, 1st Squad rushed the bunker, only to find that the sniper had bugged out.  The wily Communist had clearly been in a rush to leave, for 1st Squad found a wealth of Communist arms and ammunition.  This would be an added bonus to a mission that seemed to be shaping up well.

However, either the sniper had a change of heart or a chum.  A second bout of sniper fire broke out to the south, on Yellow Platoon's right flank in the jungle.  Once again, Blue Platoon bore the brunt of this sustained fore (albeit more erratic in effect), and with a herculean effort, Blue Platoon's MG squad hurled themselves into the nearest hooch, whilst the rest of the platoon hunkered down behind the berms of nearby paddy fields.

Unfortunately, it was not the MG squad's lucky day.  To the east of their position, a fine French colonial dwelling sat atop a rise, commanding excellent views to the rest of the hamlet.  Without warning (the US having advanced at the expense of careful spotting perhaps?), a significant quantity of fire was poured from the hilltop into the MG squad's hooch, the one saving grace being perhaps the range at which the Communists were firing.  Blue Platoon's medic soon found his hands full with a severely shocked and wounded squad.  

The recollection of the combat photographer accompanying Bravo Company became a little hazy at this point.  He suggests that Yellow Platoon's LT came to the conclusion that it was more important to engage the enemy platoon atop the hilltop, rather than flushing out the undeniably closer sniper.  Although the US fire may not have had much ferocity (perhaps one Communist was estimated to have been killed), it nonetheless seemed to encourage the Communists to begin a general withdrawal from the area.

Bravo's CO looked around with some satisfaction.  The village clearance was now underway without any more interuptions, and no evidence had been found of enemy rice caches or tunnels.  The bodycount was low for the US losses sustained, but that surely compensated for by Red Platoon's weapons haul?  All in all, this looked like it might be a good war....

[A little while later]

The VC emerged from the jungle and approached the smoking remains of Da Ban hamlet.  Lieutenant Dinh was perplexed by Captain Tran's cheerful demeanour.  What kind of victory could possibly be conjured from these embers?

"Why the long face, Dinh?  Forgotten Mao's words, have we?  If I may misquote him- we give the Americans this village now; they will give us a united Vietnam in the future."

 A triumphant yell went up from a section that had been digging in the ashes what once was a hooch.  A large concrete slab had been unearthed and lifted, allowing the now-grinning section to access a singed but otherwise intact riche cache of substantial size.

"You see, Dinh?  It's just a matter of patience." 

The game seemed to be enjoyed by all concerned (despite an error with regard to the results of one search on my part- mea culpa!).  As I Ain't Been Shot Mum veterans, Nick and Reg seemed quite taken with how the same Lard trademarks were present- Big Men, Action dice, Blinds etc- yet CDS captured the distinct period feel of Vietnam.  I believe one quote summing this up from the US players was something along the lines of "Where are the b*****s hiding?!"

All good fun, and we'll hopefully see you chaps back at AWC in the future!

  

 

 

 

Attack! 2012

Quick post- we took Charlie Don't Surf to Attack, hosted by Devizes & District Wargames Group today.  Our players today seemed to enjoy themselves and the rules throughly, and poor Mr. Smallridge fell foul of some very sharp spotting by the young gent in command of Red Platoon.  The fact that they also asked to use his lucky red Communist dice instead of the usual US yellow dice has nothing to do with it.

We'd not attended Attack before, and found we weren't overwhelmed with players, possibly as it was only Sunday that we attended, rather than both days, so we actually found it quite a nice relaxed day.  I grabbed some terrain on wandering round, and a couple more KR cases in anticipation of, well, you'll see in future.

Thanks again to Phil Mackie and the rest of D&DWG for the invite- hopefully we'll be back with something different in 2013!

NVA: Faaahsands of 'em...

Just a quick post, but the painting up of NVA infantry for Charlie Don't Surf has come to an end.  So in some respects, the cunning plan to retire Charlie for a while and thereby focus on painting up various Vietnam related kit from the lead pile is working.

However, Charlie will now come back in July for an appearance at Devizes and District Wargames Group's show, Attack.  I also discovered that my 15mm NVA infantry run into enough numbers to allow not one, but two companies to be fielded.  A firebase assault scenario definitely beckons for later in the year...

The Great Outdoors

There is a cycle to most things; that whole "Circle Of Life, Simba" malarkey for one thing.  The ever-changing selection of goodies in my veg box, reflecting the passing seasons for another.  Not to mention the change in wargaming activities also brought upon by the changing seasons.

Not for this wargamer the dubious delights of being stuck inside on a glorious day like today.  No, today has been about those healthy outdoor activities such as undercoating, cleaning up figures and making models, which can all be undertaken in the sunny outdoors.  Thus, a fine crop has been sown for the painting reaper come Autumn, Winter and less inclement weather (or some such poorly extended farming metaphor).

Note state-of-the-art recycling bin supports for undercoating board.

Armoured reinforcement for the Free World is on its way.

In prosaic terms, the final 25 CDs-worth of jungle have been completed for the foreseeable future; they'll get an outing in our Darkest Africa campaign.  Sticking with Darkest Africa, some Masai got undercoated, as did-for Charlie Don't Surf- some Peter Pig NVA and M113s picked up at Salute 2012.  The whole undercoating mix was finished off with some jerrycans, oil drums and crates picked up a while back (from Skytrex?) which are intended for use as scatter the next time we have a crack at an NVA assault on a US firebase.  Whatever one makes of S. L. A. Marshall, once can't deny his account of Bird has tremendous possibilities...   

Charlie Don't Surf: Home-brewed Hi-jinks

Today was AWC's Club Sunday and- for reasons best left at present- I found myself running Charlie Don't Surf (CDS) again.

However, the twist was that I wasn't running a scenario devised by someone else, nor had I resorted to using the handy scenario generator within the CDS rules.  Instead, we were going to playtest a scenario of my own devising, based on a historical action.  With regard to writing the scenario, the sole observation at this point is that it had not been as difficult as anticipated.  This was no doubt due to the flexibility of the CDS rules, as their mechanisms seemed to take a lot of the pain out of the process.  Of course, writing the scenario was one thing; could it stand the rigours of play?  Club Sunday seemed an ideal opportunity.

As ever, Mr. Smallridge took the role of the Communists, whilst two new AWC members shared command of the Free World forces.  This in itself was instructive, as one had never encountered CDS, or indeed Lard rules before, whilst the other had seen watched the games I'd run at the recent shows.  Both agreed that the rules were straightforward, realistic and deceptively simple to pick up.

...in Vietnam, the late afternoon sun begins to set...

I don't really want to give too many details of the scenario here, but equally there's no harm in a little narrative.  An advancing Free World company found itself coming under fire from its flank.  As such, its platoons came off the road they were travelling along and sought cover.  Quiet descended once more, until a trailing platoon seeking cover in jungle became a sniper's subject of attention.  A second platoon spent considerable time and effort trying to pinpoint the enemy's location, whilst both the third platoon and company headquarters went to ground amidst the hooches of a nearby hamlet.  This platoon began to sweep the hamlet, in search of a reported sniper, only to be subject to fire of such intensity that they withdrew a good 150 yards or so at speed.  Eventually the various Free World commanders managed to steady their troops, and the platoons began to establish the locations of enemy positions.  Despite appalling weather, smoke was laid in an effort to cover the Free World's coordinated advance across the expanses of paddy field present.  Now brimming with confidence, the first platoon sought to close with their sniper nemesis but in so doing presented a hitherto unnoticed enemy position with a fine target.  It was the platoon's good fortune that the enemy appeared to have kept their weapons in a state of poor maintenance.  As the rains continued to fall, however, the enemy managed to slip away, leaving the Free World free to report the engagement as a clear political coup.  

...the Ell-Tee must be mad if he thinks we're just going to dash across this open paddy...

...so we must be mad for carrying out his orders...

In terms of playtesting, the players felt it was pretty much a sorted scenario; they certainly didn't feel that the outcome was inevitable, and liked the ebb and flow of the encounter.  Nevertheless, changes have been made to the Free World deployment, based on Mr. Smallridge's commenst, and something still needs to be done to model a particular factor that affected the support available to the Free World.  It was also decided there'll need to be a note or two about changing some aspects of the scenario, depending on whether players have access to a 6' x 4' or 8' x 6' playing area.     

 

Umm...hello again/Wotta Lotta Lard

Hm.  Quite.  Let's cut to the chase.

Life got jolly busy all round, and I naturally invoked the annual "forget/not get around to updating the blog" clause."

However, let's look at what I have been up to gamingwise over the last eighteen or so week:  The 7TV campaign came to a successful conclusion, with the S.P.A.C.E. Man emerging as the victorious TV series, and the whole affair being wrapped up in a six-player game set around an expanded version of club member Overlord's superb volcano-rocketbase lair that you may well have see in action at the 7TV/Crooked Dice stand at Salute 2011 (let's not dwell on the fact that my entire cast- admittedly four figures- were wiped out by the end of turn two).

It was then all hands to the pumps for our (Abingdon Wargames Club) own show, Overlord 2012 (the coordinator of which is naturally club member Overlord).  We enjoyed a well-deserv'd curry after setting up on the Saturday, enjoyed our highest footfall for over a decade on the Sunday itself, which was fantastic, and we managed to raise about £265 for this year's chosen charity.  I put on a participation game of Charlie Don't Surf on behalf of the club and that seemed to get a good reception; or, at least, the author of the rules commented favourably on the kit being used...

Many more games of Charlie were to be had, as we were also due to run it at Salute 2012; the first time we've actually run a participation game at Salute (although no doubt a club member is emailing a correction to me even as I type).  Other than dashing off to pick up some scenery/figures for 7TV from our chums at Crooked Dice and Ainsty (as well as some M113s for Charlie from Peter Pig), I saw nothing of the show, but the rest of the club seemed to have suffered no pain in piling into a minibus and having a gander around.  I can also use this forum to publicly acknowledge the sterling support of my fellow-conspirators Doc Neodynium and Mr. Smallridge in running the game and fielding public interest.  Thanks again, chaps, and not least for the Leninade and wooly Cthulhu.  It was also rather jolly to have an all-too brief few words with various members of the Too Fat Lardies Yahoo group who swung by.

With Salute out of the way, it might be thought my copy of the Charlie Don't Surf rules could get a rest (they're on the verge of collapsing through ungentle over-use).  However Overlord had cunningly booked us a table at Campaign 2012, hosted by the wargaming chaps of Milton Keynes this Saturday past.  Out came Charlie again, and again it seemed to be enjoyed by the wargamers AND non-wargamers who had a crack at it.  Lovely stuff.

In case you believe none of the above, I shall attempt to put a photos up to prove otherwise, if I get a moment.

Now, as my Rabbi- Mr. Burns- oft says, "the best-laid plans of mice and men aft gae googly" or some such.  Nevertheless, what are the gaming intentions for the immediate future?  

Well, various Darkest Africa games are taking place in preparation for a club campaign based around the same.  I've gone for Zanzibaris, on the grounds they're the only non-colonial force I actually can field in strength.  They are looking somewhat Persil in their white robes at present, but a good dose of Magic Wash should sort 'em out.  Counting chickens before they've hatched, there's a subsequent plan to bring A Very British Civil War to Oxfordshire- or North Berkshire, as it would have been back in '38.    This will possibly involve me recycling my Darkest Africa Brits as part of JOSHUA Force...

In both cases, the rules proposed are distinctly Lard-light.  In fact, I found it very difficult to get my head around the rules after my Lard-rich gaming.  However, I'm looking on this as a chance to focus on the painting/building side of things, so hopefully later in the year I can Lardify another element of my gaming.  At the very least, I might have a crack at some river terrain and Brown water units for Charlie, or have do a bit more work on my Bag The Hun Battle of Britain forces, or sort out some mounted assets for They Don't Like It Up 'Em, or...let's be honest, I've about as much focus as a monkey with the keys to three different banananana plantations.

Ah, almost forgot.  I've discovered a British-made chorizo.  Patriotic porky perfection.

Campaign 2012: Roundabout City

It's a veritable deluge of digital imagery, as we present some more piccies, this time from Campaign 2012 in sunny Milton Keynes.  Yes, it is the same game as at Salute 2012, only with more (relatively) action-packed shots!

Gosh, Ell-tee, advancing in the open don't seem such a great idea now...

You decide: a platoon bravely advancing, or a target-rich environment for a sniper?

A US blind manages to make its way beyond the hamlet's creek without being spotted.  Surprised, the referee points this out to anyone paying him any attention.

A handful of rice?  A few cents.  An eastern bloc HMG?  Quite a few rubles.  Successfully ambushing a US squad?  Priceless.

The long-awaited US air support arrives.  Charlie withdraws with some speed.

Anxious to avoid coming under fire, a local accidentally pulls a wheelie with his wagon, much to the surprise of his bullock.  A Buddhist monk waves his hand in a futile attempt to get him to slow down.

Salute 2012: Wot I did on my day out in London...

Right, here are some random photos from Salute.  The fact they only show our game isn't chauvinist; it's just none of us got to have a dekko around the rest of the show!  Thanks to various folk who took an interest and asked a question or two, not mention played.

Behold our state-of-the-art display board, proclaiming the existence of Abingdon Wargames Club to all and sundry.

It also has a second side, immediately doubling its usefulness.  The text that may have trouble deciphering outlines the game objective, as well as the concepts the mechanics model.

A LOACH-eye view of the battlefield.  Note the mysterious yellow monoliths to the south of the hamlet, and on the right, the entrance to a very ambitious Communist tunnel complex...

Look!  Original materials or facsimiles thereof!

In which we introduce SFX, thanks to Doc Neodynium's technical wizardry; muzzle flashes under a hooch?  Hit the deck- it's a sniper!

...and this tiny red marker means the Communists have pinned your boys in the hooch...

A panning shot over the jungle canopy, worthy of Coppola...

US troops are beaten back from the eastern end of the village, hunkering down by a padddy field's berm.

Charlie Don't Surf: "Bad luck? Our mistake was to play like regulars..."

Sooo...to Vietnam, the border with Laos and "Playing The Beanball", scenario six from Surf's Up, Too Fat Lardies' scenario collection for Charlie Don't Surf.  The Free World mission?  Evacuate the village, then deny Communists the future use of the hooches.  The Communist mission?  Ensure that at least some of the Hooches remain standing when the Free World depart, preferably after launching three successful ambushes.

It was going so well for the VC.  The RVN police platoon had deployed in the depths of jungle and exhibited a great deal of hesistancy in leaving the cover it afforded.  Not one but two US platoons had been distracted and drawn by a pair of retiring VC squads to the south-east, away from the village that was to be evacuated and destroyed.  The remaining US platoon was unwittingly advancing towards to what would hopefully be a second successful VC ambush.

It then went all Du Long* for the VC, in a fit of uncharacteristic hubris...let's rewind and look at events from the Free World's point of view.

As stated previously, on their very first turn of the Free World Blind chip, the RVN police platoon chose to come off their blind and attempt to advance upon the village from the east, but they made exceptionally slow progress.  The controlling player (Jerry) rapidly realised the benefits on remaining on blinds, but sadly in the manner of one who shuts a stabledoor after the horse has bolted.  To compound matters, the RVN police found themselves to be hesistant in the extreme, and so played no part in the ensuing events!

A pair of Free World Blinds confidently advanced towards the village from the east, but along a clearer part of the jungle to the south of their RVN allies.   Unfortunately, they got no further than 150 yards before they were revealed as US 1st and 2nd Platoons (controlled by relatively veteran CDS player Mr. Bowman).  The VC CO deemed the time right to launch the first of his ambushes, and US 2nd Platoon began to take shock.  The Free World were clearly riled by this, and both the platoons' COs ordered them to divert from their route in order to plunge into the jungle and seek revenge.  To add insult to injury, the VC CO deemed the time right to bring a sniper into play, to harrass the blundering US platoons.  

Quite rightly, the time came for the VC CO to begin the orderly withdrawal of his sole platoon to be revealed thus far.  Fire was exchanged as each side advanced and withdrew by turns.  Soon, two VC squads had made it to the outskirts of some hooches set apart from the main village, with one remaining squad just breaking free of the tree line.  Two US platoons had been successfully diverted from the focus of their mission, and (despite efforts of COs) were struggling with shock amidst the dark jungle.  Clearly, the VC were poised to continue their withdrawal, in order to launch another ambush....

In the meantime, US 3rd Platoon actually stuck to the plan (they were also controlled by Jerry, and providing him with a good deal more entertainment than the RVN Police).  Encouraged by their CO and NCO, they rapidly made their way across towards the village, and began the process of gathering the various groups of villagers in preparation for their evacuation.  At the same time, slicks were called in by the Company CO.  Unfortunately, it was at this point that a VC MG opened up upon them from a concealed bunker.

Two successful VC ambushes  All their forces still concealed bare one MG-filled bunker and one platoon.  What could go wrong for the VC now?

The title quote for this post is a clue.  The VC platoon which had so successfully distracted two US platoons took us all by surprise by going on the offensive, and trying to meet the US in pitched battle.  Suffice to say, this did not end well for said VC platoon.  The brace of VC players were also rattled by being on the end of a highly-successful bunker-bustin' shot from US 3rd Platoon over in the village.

Their morale appeared to snap with the prompt arrival of the slicks.  With AA fire found to be ineffective, another VC platoon revealed itself to the west of the paddy fields skirting the village, and it attempted to close with the squad from US 3rd Platoon.  Unfortunately, the chips did not fall (literally) in favour of the VC.

To be precise, the slicks left- albeit with only half the villagers- only to be followed with frightening speed by a Hog, which unleashed firey doom upon the VC platoon that found itself out in open paddy field.  Unleashing its entire payload in short order, the Hog zipped off as fast as it arrived; the US players were clearly satisfied by the havoc it had wreaked.

By now, the VC resolve had crumbled, and they began to withdraw.  Remaining VC aggression took the form of their sniper having a couple more potshots before withdrawing, and US 1st Platoon finally contacted one of the VC minefields, but came through unscathed.   It was time to consider victory, military and political...

In the end, military victory was deemed by all to have gone to the VC.  Whilst terribly blooded, they had- by close of play- undertaken all their ambushes, and most of the village was still intact, perfect for a base of future operations.  By contrast, the US had only evacuated half of the villagers, and only two hooches had been fired.

Politically, the US had this in the bag.  They successfully policed the battlefield for various intelligence markers and managed to turn a number of estimated kills into confirmed kills.  By comparison, for all the Shock successfully inflicted, the VC had very few kills.

Lessons learned?  Well, to paraphrase the players...
Jerry- "Stay on blinds for as long as possible for cohesion; make sure Free World Big Men are where they can coordinate as many of their men as possible!"
Mr. Bowman- "Stick to the Free World mission, man!  Don't be afraid to pour on the direct fire support when civvies aren't about"
Smallridge & Sharman- "VC are not Regulars; VC are not Regulars; VC are not Regulars**..."

*Not sure this is the correct spelling, but it does scan for the purposes of Mockney rhyming.
**Repeat as required.

The Round Robin Comes Round Again...

Well, today saw Abingdon Wargames Club send forth its finest members* to compete in the annual Round Robin competition organised and hosted by the Oxford club.

Bucking tradition, we came third, rather than the usual last, with an overall score of 22.5 points.  The games on offer this year were:

Raid!- Four groups of goblinoids compete to see who can bring the most loot out of an abandoned dwarf hold.

Predator!- Predators and human Special forces race to see who can search three crash sites first (played twice, once as predators, once as Special Forces)

City State- Four city states compete to see who can acquire the most wealth through military conquest, territorial growth and bribery.

Retreat!- French forces attempt to flee from Waterloo (?) to the safety of a nearby town as Prussian cavalry move to mop them up (again, each player had two go at this; once as the French and once as the Prussians).

All good fun, and we're looking forward to next year's offerings!

In other news, the 7TV campaign takes a break and is replaced by Charlie Don't Surf as one of the two offerings for Abingdon Wargames Club's 18th December Sunday "all-day" meeting.  As ever, pictures and a write up should appear here ahortly after!  From earlier posts, the astute may work out what may be appearing on, or perhaps over, the jungle-festooned table...

*In other words, those who were available.

Incoming!

Despite the recent deluge of 7TV posts, I have been keeping my hand in the Lard, so to speak in the meantime, metaphorically nibbling away at the leadpile for Vietnam and Charlie Don't Surf.

Firstly, the Peter Pig door gunners for an under-strength aero-rifle platoon are now all painted and ready to be attached to the four waiting Revell 1/100th Hueys.  Just need to check that there's nothing more that needs to be done to the Hueys.  Once they're sorted, the Hogs and Cobras can be attended to.

Likewise, a start has been made on three firebase terrain pieces from Frontline Wargaming.  As is usual with these things, on the day the Frontline parcel arrived, Timecast released some more goodies for Vietnam firebases and similar military installations!  This is not a problem though, as this means a less uniform look can be generated by mixing the various manufacturers' pieces- everyone's a winner!

Lastly, green stuff has been applied to the gaps in some paddy field I've attempted to make, in an effort to increase the likelihood that I'll have a crack at slapping some paint on them over the winter hols.

This level of (relative) organisation really is most perturbing.

Oh, and there was a black pudding and roast parsnip jumble for lunch today.  Good-o.

Nothing is certain with Warfare...

Nothing is certain: So much for cracking on with 7TV this Friday past.  A last-minute shuffle at work meant I had to step into some quiz master shoes.  Tsk-tsk.

Warfare:  The Doc, Bowman and I zipped down to Reading on Saturday to attend Warfare, where we bumped into 7 of our Abingdon Wargames Club compatriots (three competing in the various competitions, one supporting a trader and three also there as punters).  It was pleasant enough, but getting round was a bit tight, rucksacks and shoving wargamers notwithstanding (wargamers shoving us, that is, not the other way around).  The layout didn't help, as it felt like we were squeezing past and walking through various games to try to take a gander at those in the centre.  

6 of us crammed into a Legends of the Old West inspired game and even if the bank was robbed, at least my US Marshals helped to stop Lincoln being assassinated prematurely.  There wasn't any game in particular that grabbed the attention overall, but aspects of some were clocked.  There was the cunning use of LEDs in an Aeronef-style game and what looked like a large-scale game based around Cambrai.  Unfortunately, it seemed to take forever to set up, and still really didn't seem to have got going when we left (a good four hours after we arrived at 10am; we really were trying to nail the idea of a leisurely stroll around the show...).

No complaints on the shopping front.  Picked up some trucks from QRF to motorise my ARVN, various odds and ends from Peter Pig for my Vietnam and WWII BEF, got a variety of palm trees from various suppliers to continue jungle building for Charlie Don't Surf, and finally grabbed some Kaiser Rushforth boxes in which to hide the lead pile.  It's almost all out of sight now, y'know...

Charlie Don't Surf: Bowman's Last Stand

In which Captain Bowman goes on one last mission, only to be transferred to a mobile latrine unit at the end of the night.  After various playthroughs of the Combat Engineer mission from Surf's Up (a scenario pack for Charlie Don't Surf), the time came for Captain Bowman to have a crack at this mission as part of his ongoing tour of duty last Friday (28th October).  As two of the four players had experience of this scenario from both sides, a couple of changes were made to keep things fresh.  More of which later.

The US deployed and prepared to advance but already the VC were on the move to their far right!  This was the first surprise for those who knew the scenario; namely the deployment and destination of the VC was 'flipped', and it was an apparent joy for the VC player to see the alarm the sudden appearance of several blinds caused the US players.  Particualrly when Captain Bowman muttered "I wasn't expecting VC there"...

Lieutenant Kallachek's platoon prepared to enter the jungle whilst the Rome Plow and mine detector squad began to check the road ahead for mines and booby traps.  To their rear in this picture are Captain Bowman and a medic.  

Now, I'm well aware that the above photo does not show a Rome Plow, but a WWII era British armoured bulldozer.  If anyone knows where I can source one of these in 1/100 scale or compatible with 15mm miniatures, please shout out, as my Google-fu has failed me!

It's also worth pointing out the second change made to the scenario here.  In previous runs, the US engineers had studiously examined the road and clear ground either side once they had  left their deployment zone.  This was a perfectly reasonable course of action given their briefing.  This time though, I offered the VC the option of having mines already lying in the road (thanks to the earlier efforts of their peers) in return for limiting some of their initial equipment and potential military victory points at the end of the game.  The VC happily leapt upon this option! 

To the left of the road, the platoon commanded by Lieutenant Monterey Jack also begin to file into the jungle, where Charlie has apparently begun some timber felling...

The VC CO has clearly been paying attention to the nuggets of Blinds-based wisdom I've been relaying from the Too Fat Lardies Yahoo group.  To the south of the road, Lieutenant Kallachek's platoon spent most of the game clambering though dense jungle in pursuit of a rather insouciant blind that eventually revealed itself to be a just a couple of VC chaps having a dekko, rather than a unit of any significant size.  At the same time, the VC rather boldly had two units out in the open mine-laying.  By now, my players are well aware that lingering in the open like this (a Great shot, in TFL parlance) will greatly increase the chances of being mashed!  However, the long range nature of US fire and careful use of VC Big Men to remove Shock saw the VC scurry into the jungle north of the road in surprisingly/relatively good order.

By this point, the US had finally requested- and received- mortar support, and an otherwise hesistant Captain Bowman began to walk the fall of shot in hot pursuit of the VC, who now seemed hell-bent on scarpering.  Having halted their advance to take pot-shots at the VC sappers, the US renewed their advance across the board; sadly, whilst they actually traveled the furthest that any US force has in this scenario (my players are highly cautious),  they still; had a third of the board to cover.

And they still weren't quite far enough to contact the numerous mines scattered in their way.

Is It A Bird?  Is It A 'Plane?  Yes!  It's Jetcam!

Post-game discussion hinged on the degree to which the US could achieve their objective of clearing the road.  The consensus reached by US and VC players alike was that perhaps the US are too easily distracted by the VC!  It was suggested that the Rome Plow and mine detector squad should methodically advance along the road with the remaining platoons covering their flanks, rather than trying to scalp VC, so to speak.  The mantra of "Keep It Simple, Stupid" was invoked when considering what would be an appropriate plan.  The wisdom of wiser heads than our's would be gratefully received!

As stated at the start, this sadly saw the end of Captain L. Bowman's combat career in Vietnam. Despite showing himself to be an increasingly astute political animal over the course of several scenarios, Ol' Cappy Bowman sadly was out of his depth militarily (mind you, Lieutenant McColl didn't help in one infamous previous encounter!), and was transferred away from his unit.

It appears that he was assigned to a mobile latrine unit for the remainder of his tour, whereupon he then returned to the United States. Bowman had difficulty finding work until someone invented "Health & Safety", at which point his experience of talking his "specialist subject" stood him in good stead. He is are now much in demand from corporations and government departments who really don't care but need to cover their backsides. It was either that or politics...!

As to our real-life Luke Bowman: well-played, Sir! You were clearly getting to grips with how to field your platoons, and definitely understood the importance of getting your Big Men to do their jobs properly. Bad luck too that you were up against the wiliest of wiley opponents, Mr. Smallridge- curse his inscrutable plans and dummy blinds!

Thanks must also go to Doc Neodynium; in the absence of a game on Friday, he kindly took on Dennis Hopper duties and took a few shots of this game and others running at the club.  Getting a visual record of games is something I'm terrible at, so it was extremely useful for the Doc to share his!

Charlie Don't Surf: The Worm Has Turned...

Game #5 of 2011- Charlie Don't Surf and the scenario that just won't die, The Great Rice Hunt from the Surf's Up scenario booklet.

"Not again?" you cry, but hold!  Tonight saw the US forces finally get to grips with their cunning foe, and deal him a mighty pair of blows, political and military! 

Given the number of times this scenario has come now been rolled out, it's best to cut to the chase and highlight what seemed to be the breakthrough(s) for the US.

Firstly, they approached the hamlet from the west, and in a considerably more measured and potentially mutually supportive manner.

Secondly, the three US players very quickly grasped the importance of the Big Men in motivating squads, and coordinating actions.  Incidentally, the players were two Lard newbies and Luke of "It's only a monkey" fame, who got hammered last time.  

Thirdly, the US players stuck to a simple but nonetheless clear plan, and from the ref's point of view, the US consequently spent very little reacting to events- instead, they forced the VC to react.

Finally, (and perhaps in light of the previous point) the VC either shot their bolt too early or were too confident after recent successes (post-game discussion didn't resolve this one!).  To be precise, the argument was whether the VC had crippled themselves by opening up too early and from a considerable distance, allowing the US to gradually bring their firepower to bear on the VC, or whether the locating of VC squads in the hamlet itself was a crucial mistake, reducing their ability to hit the US and fade away. 

The US fightback has begun...

Charlie Don't Surf: "It's probably just a monkey..."

Game #3 of 2011- Charlie Don't Surf and The Great Rice Hunt from the Surf's Up scenario booklet.

Third times the charm with this scenario as I continue to familiarise myself with the rules, and we have our bloodiest game yet.  Doc Neodynium was once again the VC (putting to use some of the experience he gained 9 days ago) whilst The Div led two junior and until-recently-junior AWC members into battle as US FNGs.  So, onto the lengthy After Action Report....

...the US company approached the Da Ban creek confidently from the east, covering the ground in rapid leaps and bounds.  Realising this might prove their undoing, Sgt. O'Cooch (3rd Platoon) cast an eye into the treeline to his left.  "It's probably just a monkey" muttered one of his more insubordinate charges. 

Clearly anxious not to waste time, 3rd Platoon decided to resort to reconnaissance by fire, futilely emptying their firearms into the area recently scanned by O'Cooch.  As 3rd Platoon pounded forward, O'Cooch took a final close look at this enigmatic piece of real estate.  This was a smart move, as a recently vacated trench system was revealed, with the platoon agreeing that this was indeed bigger than a monkey.  Charlie was close by...

...in fact, Charlie had been able to identify the strength and composition of the US force by now, and was waiting to strike...

Captain Crick cursed the headstrong CO of 3rd Platoon as he attempted to get 1st Platoon to fill the gap emerging between 3rd and 2nd Platoon.  2nd Platoon's initial rush had now slowed as they came upon the first hooch they were to search, north of the trail.  By comparison, 3rd Platoon continued to rush forward into the cluster of hooches; one squad even managed to ford the creek and was all but out of the hamlet on its western side.  Crick's cursing was interupted by the sudden chatter of a light machine-gun ahead, and the crackle of rifle-fire (not automatic, thankfully) to the rear.  As their platoons began to take casualties, Lieutenants McColl and Bowmen acted to steel the resolve of their men, and smoke was called for...

...Captain Manh Ng took stock; his LMG team had opened as planned, but the enemy had been just little too far away, whilst the local cadre in the lee of the ruins to the east had showed absolutely no discipline in taking potshots at the nearest enemy unit in defiance of all orders... 

By now, the final US junior officer, "Monterey" Jack had moved his platoon up to the creek in support of McColl and O'Cooch, whilst Bowmen and most of 2nd Platoon began to search hooches as their third squad fired back at the muzzle flashes in the tree line behind them, and were rewarded with a sound of a VC falling to their marksmanship.

Having stuck his head through a doorway and decided there was nothing of importance within, O'Cooch now realised his "orphaned" squad on the creek's far side might not be able to fend for itself.  With a pithy epithet or two, his accompanying MG squad splashed their way forward.  They were in time to see the orphaned squad lose more men to the LMG fire coming down from a hitherto unspotted bunker concealed in the trees of the high ground on the left, before smoke began to fall around the MG squad.

To the rear, the situation was worsening for Lieutenant Bowman as his trailing and already blooded squad also came under MMG fire to its rear.  Caught in the open, the squad was massacred.  Desperate to avenge their comrades, 2nd Platoon's MG squad returned fire, but to no avail.

Lieutenant Jack's platoon now split into two, two squads searching hooches and two squads advancing into the jungle ahead, hoping to approach the flank of the LMG bunker cutting up McColl's leading squad.  This Good Samaritan act was clearly missed by McColl's men as they advanced in the same direction and chose to open fire perilously closely to Jack's squads.  There was little that Sergeant O'Cooch could do about his misinformed troops as he rushed to join the MG squad covering 3rd Platoon's orphans.  Elsewhere, Bowmen's MG squad was shooting at the right people (black pyjama'd and manning an MMG) and managed to suppress them.

Bowmen's martyred squad then took a critical wound, prompting an understated "That's not good, is it?" from Bowmen.  With the signal Dust Off hitting the airwaves, Captain Crick made his way to the rear of his forces to see what he could salvage from the situation.  From a certain point of view, this was a lucky move, as a second VC LMG bunker to the north of the hamlet opened up, catching yet another of 2nd Platoon's squads...  

...opportunity not taken is opportunity lost, thought Captain Ng, as he watched his forces go to work.  His bunkers to the north and south of the hamlet had opened up, his MMG team and local cadre had tied up the rear of the enemy and now his infantry to the west of Da Ban creek were joining the fray...

Despite the automatic fire coming in, 3rd Platoon's MG squad decided the time was ideal to search the hooches to the north-west.  Perhaps this was the distraction that enabled "Monterey" Jack's boys to close with the southern VC bunker and successfully "bust it to G--damn H-ck!"*  Finally the VC had been bloodied, and not just pinned and suppressed!  Captain Crick grinned grimly as he heard the news of this, and received authorisation to bring in support from elsewhere.  Inspired by this, 2nd Platoon engaged in a little successful bunker busting themselves, whilst another of their squads finally reached the martyrs who were being cut to pieces.  Crick and 2nd Platoon's medic set about their business, preparing the platoon for the arrival of the MEDEVAC 'copter.  The run of good luck continued for 2nd Platoon, as more smoke arrived to obscure the MMG harrassing them to the south-east and the MEDEVAC 'copter began to drop altitude. 

The local VC cadre were not prepared to let them withdraw easily, and burst out of the jungle intent on assaulting the squad before them.  Both sides were bloodied and battered even before this, but sustaining another critical wound, the men of 2nd Platoon began to withdraw to the nearby "LZ Buddha", but tragically lost one of their two wounded comrades en-route.  At this point, there some discussion between Captain Crick and the valiant if unlucky Lieutenant about evacuating all of 2nd Platoon, and not just their wounded. 

To the west, 3rd Platoon had realised the error of their earlier lacklustre searching, and took the hooches to pieces, finally uncovering VC supplies.  However, it was fair to say that these supplies were naught compared to the VC supplies that had been spitting out of various barrels and muzzles at the US forces for some time.  1st Platoon by now had swept the high ground to the south of the hamlet and emerged from the treeline with their sleeves rolled up and ready to engage the VC infantry in the jungle beyond the trail before them...

...sensing that the US were beginning to get a grip- no matter to what extent- on the situation, Captain Ng began to withdraw his forces, although by a far more torturous route than the one he planned for.  Once again, he had failed to prevent precious resources fall into enemy hands, but surely the horrendous losses inflicted upon the US would count for something?....

...crouching down as the MEDEVAC 'copter bore the critically wounded away, Crick contemplated the outcome of the day's operations.  The hamlet had been secured, VC supplies had been seized, but this had cost the equivalent of a platoon.  At least the press weren't anywhere nearby...

Very enjoyable, very tense, and (if not apparent from the above) a lot of back and forth in player perceptions of what was and was not going well for the respective forces.  The VC were greatly aided by the large quantities of shock that they inflicted (and were allowed to remain) on US squads, and with hindsight the fortuitous lack of discipline shown by the cadre.

By contrast, the US played the price for advancing so quickly with one platoon at the expense of others, and for not initially making good use of Big Men to remove Shock.  Other lessons learned involved friendly fire, the fact that searching does not involve popping one's head through a door and then leaving and finally that methodically sticking to a plan is probably better than rushing back and forth (3rd Platoon, we're looking at you).  Despite little mention above, 1st Platoon nevertheless managed an orderly sweep amidst the chaos, and were just unlucky that there weren't really enemy in their path to contact.  2nd Platoon were not as headstrong as 3rd Platoon, but soon found themselves trying to rectify being strung out and fired upon from all sides, and almost came back from the brink. 

Still, it was great to see some of the other rules/cards/mechanisms start to come into play, such as off-table support and particularly the evacuation of critically wounded.  It definitely focussed the Free World players' minds, and they (understandbly) prioritised evacuation over their primary and secondary military objectives. 

On to Scenario Two (well, for this particular group of players, at least)!

*Bear in mind, we had juniors playing!