Another Modern AAR: Chetequera

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As people seemed to like yesterday's modern AAR, taken from Mark Kinsey's excellent blog Daddy's Little Men, here's another in the same vein.

This time, we go further back in time to Historicon 2010, where Mark and friends are running a game based on the battle of Chetequera: part of Operation Reindeer, which began on 4 May 1978, and was South Africa's second major military operation in Angola, carried out under the Apartheid regime. This phase of the South African operation consisted of an assault by 2 South African Infantry Battalion on two South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) base complexes, Chetequera and Dombondola, near to the then-South West Africa/Angola border.

Click on the pic below to see all:

Modern AAR: Cassinga

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Here's an historical AAR I've been wanting to post for some time: Mark Kinsey and Jon Yuengling's Cassinga game for Fall In 2013.

The Battle of Cassinga took place on 4th May 1978 during the South African Border War. The battle involved South African forces raiding a suspected SWAPO base at Cassinga, Angola and, covered in the game below, the intervention of a Cuban armoured force operating out of the nearby Techamutete village.

The game was played using a combination of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! and B'Maso!, the latter being the Wars in Africa 1950-99 supplement for IABSM.

Click on the picture below to see how this great game played out:

IABSM Scenario Book Sale

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No, not mine, before you ask!

Fellow Lardy Chris Stoesen has written several scenario books for Lardy products, including the excellent In the Name of Roma covering the Italians on the Eastern Front:

"In July of 1941, the 80° Roma Regiment of the Pasubio Division boarded a train bound for Romania. Along with the rest of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano), they would advance through the Ukraine alongside their German allies. In the coming months, the 80° would be engaged in brutal fighting across 1400 miles of the Eastern Front – covering most of that on foot.

"IN THE NAME OF ROMA is a wargame supplement that contains 30 company and platoon level scenarios covering the actions of the 80a Roma Regiment from August to December of 1941. You’ll follow the 80th from the open steppe to the Donetz industrial basin, including the amphibious attacks across the Dnieper, and the fateful decision of Column Chiarimonti to attempt to seize Nikitovka."

This normally sells at $11, but is currently available at just $5.50 from Chris' website at Wargamer's Odds & Ends.

Incidentally, my scenario books are, from today, now available from this website using PayPal to buy them (previously you had to use a credit card). They are available from the BUY IABSM SCENARIO PACKS page of this website, available by clicking on the link or in the NavBar above.

As a reminder they are:

HISTORICAL

  • The September War, Part One (the invasion of Poland, September 1939)
  • The Defence of Calais (the defence of Calais, May 1940)
  • Operation Compas (action in the western desert, June 1940 to February 1941)
  • Fall of the Lion Gate (the fall of Singapore, December 1941 to February 1942)
  • Bloody Burma (the fall of Burma, December 1941 to May 1942)
  • Sicilian Weekend (the invasion of Sicily, July 1943)
  • Anzio: Wildcat to Whale (the Anzio campaign, January & February 1944)

FICTIONAL

  • Vyazma or Bust! (Eastern Front, 1941)
  • Bashnya or Bust! (Eastern Front, 1944)
  • Blenneville or Bust! (Normandy, 1944)

All my scenario books are fully IABSM V3 compatible.

IABSM AAR: South of Radekhov

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Another fantastic battle report from Mark Luther from a game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum played with micro armour. This encounter was a colossal tank fest, with huge numbers of AFVs on either side.

I've also presented the pics in a slightly different format to the usual gallery. Let me know if toy prefer them that way, and I'll go back and change some of Mark's other AARs into the same format.

Click on the pic below to see all:

IABSM AAR: Random Game in Russia

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Here's another game report from the blog "Burt's Stuff". That's my translation of Las Partidas de Burt : a Spanish language blog devoted to all sorts of wargaming.

I've used Google and my own limited Spanish to translate the report, so any inaccuracies or poor use of English are mine alone!

Similar to some of Burt's other games, here is a Soviet attack on a German-held town somewhere on the Eastern Front in 1944. Click on the picture to the right to see all.

Now that's an awful lot of Soviet Blinds!

IABSM AAR: The Assault on Gela, 10th July 1943

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Had a great game of IABSM yesterday, using the first Gela scenario from the Sicilian Weekend scenario pack.

The game involves a composite force of US Rangers and combat engineers carrying out an opposed landing against a company of troops from the Italian Coastal Defence Battalion.

Click on the picture below to see whether the Italian commander got to finish his breakfast...

IABSM AAR: The Battle of Pszczyna

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Played a great game of IABSM earlier this week, using the fifth scenario from my newly-published scenario pack for Poland 1939, The September War.

The game covers the German 5th Panzer Division's attack on the town of Pszczyna, held by the Polish 6th Infantry Division.

Click on the picture below to see whether the Invader's assault succeeded...

Converted Polish Infantry Guns Completed

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The latest unit to roll off my painting table is a platoon of 75mm wz.02/26 guns for my WW2 Polish collection. 

When fielded as a two-gun platoon, these will represent an infantry company's division-level Infantry Gun Platoon; when fielded as a three-gun platoon, these will represent a cavalry squadron's brigade-level Horse Artillery Platoon.

The guns themselves were nicknamed "orthodox" by the Poles, as they were old re-chambered Russian guns left behind on Polish territory after WW1. Always good to be equipped with the latest kit!

As for the models, the guns are from Battlefront by special order. I think they are down as Finnish or something as Battlefront doesn't really acknowledge its Polish range at the moment: far too busy in the desert!

The crew are actually WW2 Soviet artillerymen with head-swaps using Peter Pig's excellent range of heads. I've used infantry helmets for most of the crew, with an officer type wearing a rogatywka.

The limbers are general purpose Battlefront limbers, again with the driver having a swapped head.

Finally, I've also now reorganised my Polish cavalry squadron gallery. Click here to see them all (will open in a new window).

IABSM AAR: Spoiling Attack, Russia, 1943

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Joe Patchen sends us another of his excellent I Ain't Been Shot, Mum battle reports.

It is Fall, 1943. The Russians have had quite a summer, pushing the Germans back along a broad front after their failed Kursk offensive. The local situation is fluid. 

A small infantry force of two Russian platoons holds a ford and bridge over a river with the aid of a couple of 76.2mm AT guns. Their job is to push across the other side and pave the way for a platoon of SP guns and two platoons of T-34/76s to push across and exit the far side of the board. The tanks are expected in the not too distant future. 

Unbeknownst to the Russians, a strong German armoured reconnaissance force of armoured cars, panzergrenadiers, and a couple platoons of tanks are on their way to spoil the anticipated offensive. They're tasked to reach and blow the bridge if possible or at least jam up any attempted Russian crossing.

Click on the pic below to find out what happened next...

IABSM AAR: Charge at Krojanty...Twice

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It’s off to Poland, 1939, again, as Bevan, Dave and I play another action from my scenario book for IABSM: The September War.

This time, the game was from scenario #03:  Charge at Krojanty. Based on an episode from the larger fighting around the Tuchole Forest that took place over the first couple of days of September 1939, the action would involve a large force of Polish cavalry surprising a German infantry platoon that had paused for a rest. Each side would then gradually be reinforced, developing into quite a large encounter.

There are several object lessons here for would-be Polish and German commanders. Click on the picture, below, to read all...