IABSM AAR: Les Attaques
/Great looking AAR from Tim Whitworth and chums using the Les Attaques scenario from the Defence of Calais scenario book.
Click on the picture below to see all…
Blitzkrieg in the Far East Part One: Japan now available!
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Published today, and available to buy from the TooFatLardies shop, Blitzkrieg in the Far East 1: Japan is the sixth in the series of early war handbooks for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum. The handbook is 116 pages long and covers the Japanese army during the first phase of the War in the Pacific, December 1941 to June 1942, when its battle-hardened armies inflicted defeat after defeat on the Allies.
Unlike the other titles so far in the series, the nature of Japan’s campaign of expansion means that the booklet is not divided into sections defined by the different types of division that fought, but into sections defined by the different geographical mini-campaigns: Malaya and Singapore, Burma, the Philippines, The Dutch East Indies and the South Seas. In effect, it is several theatre booklets rolled into one.
There are a total of forty-eight different lists split as follows:
Malaya & Singapore: 7 lists from 25th Army
Thailand & Burma: 5 lists from 15th Army
The Philippines: 16 lists from 14th Army
Hong Kong: 1 list from 38th Division
Borneo: 2 lists from 35th Brigade
The Dutch East Indies: 15 lists from 16th Army
The South Seas: 2 lists from the South Seas Detachment
Finally, we have the usual ratings and armoury sections, and a note on air support.
Although designed for IABSM, Blitzkrieg in the Far East: Japan contains a vast amount of information useful to gamers of other systems, and is really a must-buy for anyone interested in the early war period.
IABSM AAR: Grabow
/Another amazing-looking IABSM 6mm gamed played at Gigabites Café in September 2019 by Mark Luther and friends.
It’s Germany, February 1945, and the Germans prepare to counter-attack the advancing Soviets. Click on the picture below to see all.
IABSM AAR: Taking Ochota By Surprise
/By the end of the first week of September 1939, the German 4th Panzer Division had advanced as far as Warsaw. Thinking the Poles would be knocked off balance by the speed of their advance, German commanders issued orders for the city to be stormed via the Ochota district on the western flak of Warsaw.
The Poles, however, had heavily reinforced the area, with units from the 40th “Children of Lwow” Regiment barricading streets and manning gun emplacements along all the approaches.
The Poles let the Germans drive into the city, and then opened fire with everything they had. Worse, many streets had been covered in turpentine, which was then lit on fire, destroying several German tanks and catching German infantry in the inferno that followed.
This then was the background for scenario #48 (Taking Ochota by Surprise) of the second September war scenario pack. The game would begin as the Poles (played by Dave) open their attack on the advancing Germans (played by John). The Germans’ objective was just to get as many of their units as possible back off the table; the Poles’ objective was to destroy as many German units as possible.
Click on the picture below to see what happened:
IABSM AAR: Decision at Le Mer, D-Day -1
/Bob Cockayne and friends have been playing out an epic Normandy game over the last month or so.
They only have a limited time each session, so tend to play a single game over a number of get-togethers, with Bob reporting on each one on a week-by-week “serial” basis.
You can see Bob’s original posts on the Beasts of War forum but, firmly believing in the binge-the-box-set mentality (I’ve just finished a Peaky Blinders marathon!), I’ve gathered them all together into one massive AAR that you can read here on Vis Lardica by clicking on the picture, below.
IABSM at Clotted Lard 2019
/Clotted Lard is the Devon Wargames Group’s annual Lard Day. A full report of the 2019 event can be found on the DWG blog, but here’s an extract describing the game of IABSM that took place as part of the festivities.
Click on the picture below to see all:
IABSM AAR: Cymru Am Byth #12: Let's Get At The B*st*rds!
/Mark Luther gives his very special treatment to the twelfth scenario from the Cymru Am Byth Welsh Guard scenario pack.
This is an attack for control of the little cluster of farm buildings on top of hill 242 overlooking Chenedolle at Le Haut Perrier on August 11, 1944.
Click on the picture, below, to see all:
IABSM AAR: A Learning Game
/Michael Curtis and friends had a quick “learning game” of I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum recently, all in preparation for their demo game at Salute next year.
Some lovely models and terrain already on show. Click on the pic below to see all:
IABSM AAR: Cymru am Byth #03: The Crossroads
/A great AAR from Tim Whitworth and the Like a Stone Wall group! This encounter is taken from the Cymru am Byth (Welsh Guards) scenario pack, and features a game based on their heroic but ultimately doomed defence of Boulogne.
See how the Guards stand up to the German Panzers by clicking on the picture, below:
IABSM AAR: Eastern Front Clash
/Desmondo Darkin and friends recently played an eastern front clash in 20mm using their dice-driven variant of IABSM.
Click on the pic below to see what happened, and to admire the superb winter terrain…
And as a reminder:
25% Off The September War Scenario Packs
To mark the 80th year after the accepted start of WW2 with the invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939, the TooFatLardies and I are pleased to offer a great discount on the two September War scenario packs for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! with a whopping 25% off when you buy them as a bundle.
Written by Robert Avery and Alexander Kawczynski, each September War scenario pack for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! provides thirty scenarios for the theatre, making sixty available in all.
Divided into eight mini-campaigns, the first pack (The September War Part One) begins with the battles at the border, then covers the fight for the Polish corridor, the Polish Thermopylae at Narew, the Siege of Warsaw, the climactic battles at Bzura and Tomaszow Lubelski, and the actions of the 10th Motorised Cavalry “Black” Brigade and the Independent Operational Group Polesie. There are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, desperate defences…there’s even an armoured train or two.
Divided into six mini-campaigns, the second pack (The September War Part Two) begins with four based on specific German units: Panzerdivision Kempf, the 1st GebirgsjaegerDivision, the 4th Panzer Division, and the 1st Kavallerie Brigade. Then there are two mini-campaigns based on the Soviet invasion of Poland: the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front. Finally there are details of two stand-alone battles: Westerplatte and the Hel Peninsula. As always, there are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, and desperate defences, all containing a whole host of useful scenario mechanics that can be re-used elsewhere.
No need for any preparation: each scenario contains a brief background history, maps, a full game briefing, and a full briefing for each player. Simply print out the pages you need, make up the deck from the list of cards required, unpack your figures and dice, set up the table and away you go!
25% Off The September War Scenario Packs
/To mark the 80th year after the accepted start of WW2 with the invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939, the TooFatLardies and I are pleased to offer a great discount on the two September War scenario packs for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! with a whopping 25% off when you buy them as a bundle.
Written by Robert Avery and Alexander Kawczynski, each September War scenario pack for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! provides thirty scenarios for the theatre, making sixty available in all.
Divided into eight mini-campaigns, the first pack (The September War Part One) begins with the battles at the border, then covers the fight for the Polish corridor, the Polish Thermopylae at Narew, the Siege of Warsaw, the climactic battles at Bzura and Tomaszow Lubelski, and the actions of the 10th Motorised Cavalry “Black” Brigade and the Independent Operational Group Polesie. There are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, desperate defences…there’s even an armoured train or two.
Divided into six mini-campaigns, the second pack (The September War Part Two) begins with four based on specific German units: Panzerdivision Kempf, the 1st GebirgsjaegerDivision, the 4th Panzer Division, and the 1st Kavallerie Brigade. Then there are two mini-campaigns based on the Soviet invasion of Poland: the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front. Finally there are details of two stand-alone battles: Westerplatte and the Hel Peninsula. As always, there are attacks, counter-attacks, encounter battles, and desperate defences, all containing a whole host of useful scenario mechanics that can be re-used elsewhere.
No need for any preparation: each scenario contains a brief background history, maps, a full game briefing, and a full briefing for each player. Simply print out the pages you need, make up the deck from the list of cards required, unpack your figures and dice, set up the table and away you go!
IABSM AAR: The 4th Panssari Goes to War!
/Dave Lister had a lot of fun running a scenario based on the Battle for Honkaniemi (Feb. 26, 1940) at Broadsword 9 last weekend,. Honkaniemi is known as the only, and therefore largest, tank battle of the Winter War!
As you may know, while the Soviets had thousands of tanks at their command, the Finns had very few indeed. They threw them into a desperate attack late in the war that they hoped would throw back the Soviet forces that were closing on Viipuri (only 15km away at this point in the conflict) and spearhead a larger Finnish offensive operation.
Well, it turned out to be a terrible day for the Finns, from losing more than half of their thirteen operational tanks to mechanical trouble, to friendly artillery falling on the heads of the supporting infantry, to a complete lack of reconnaissance that could have revealed the Soviets were planning their own attack operation at the very same place and the very same time!
While a conventional victory was probably out of the question, Dave and friends decided to judge the results of this scenario against what the plucky and hopeless Finnish tankers achieved historically. And for all that, the Finns did very well during the game! Have a look and see what you think by clicking on the picture below:
IABSM AAR: 1st Corps, 1st Game
/Those nice people at 1st Corps recently played their first game of I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum: and it looks like a colossal set up as well.
Click on the picture below to see a pictorial report:
IABSM AAR: Over the Hill with Steves
/Carojon and his colleagues at the Devon Wargames Group recently resurrected the Over the Hill scenario for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! playing the game with, coincidentally, four players named Steve!
Click on the picture below to see how the battle of the Steves worked out…
IABSM AAR: WTHHYBB #05: The Drive on Point du Hoc
/Here is a quick I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! AAR taken from Scenario #05 from the IABSM scenario book Where the Hell have you been, Boys? played by members of the Vermont Historical Gamers Group.
Click on the pic below to see all:
Peleliu at The Other Partisan
/The other game of I AIn’t Been Shot, Mum at The Other Partisan was another amphibious assault: Tim Whitworth and the Like a Stone Wall Group’s magnificent Pelelie scenario, set in the Pacific with US Marines assaulting a Japanese-held beach.
This game was, in fact, so good that it won the Best Demonstration Game award for the show. Click on the picture below to see loads of excellent pictures of the game:
Bloody Omaha at The Other Partisan
/Here’s a full write-up of the superb Bloody Omaha game that Mike Whitaker and crew put on at The Other Partisan this weekend just gone. It’s taken from Mike’s excellent blog Trouble At T’Mill: well worth a visit.
Click on the picture below to see all:
IABSM AAR: A Hasty Defence
/John Cooper is preparing to play through “The September War” scenario pack with his beautifully painted 10mm figures.
Here’s a quick warm-up game that he played using the fourth game from the random scenario generator in the IABSM v3 rulebook: “A Hasty Defence”. Click on the pic below to see all:
IABSM AAR: Peleliu Warm-Up
/Tim Whitworth and his colleagues from the Like A Stonewall Wargames Group have been preparing the game they are showcasing at The Other Partisan wargames show in a couple of week’s time.
It’s a scenario for I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum based on the US Marine assault on Peleliu Airfield in 1944. Click on the pic below to see all:
IABSM AAR: Operation Compass #11: Bardia 1
/Another great battle report resurrected from the archives of the A Wargamer in Cyprus blog.
This time, the scenario is #11 from the Operation Compass scenario pack: the first of the three games focusing on the Australian attack on the Italian-held fortress of Bardia.
Click on the picture below to see all:
