Trawling through the Internet, I came across the website of the Stipsicz Hussars, a group of war gamers from the Nederlands with a few TFL AARs in their records.
Here's the first of them: a snippet of action in the Western Desert. Click here or on the photo below to see the full report, and here to go the the Hussars' website itself.
Another tank-on-tank game set in the Western Desert and taken from the Operation Compass scenario pack. This time it's a clash between Italians and British tanks at Mechili.
Click here or on the picture below to see the full report.
I'm slowly working my way through loading mark Luther's 6mm IABSM battle reports onto the site. Some lovely terrain, so worth doing properly.
Here's another from 2008: it's the early war, and French and German reconnaissance units clash near Juniville.
Click here, or on the picture below, to see more...
I've taken the plunge and finally decided to get myself a company-plus-supports of US Paras.
I think it was watching Band of Brothers again that did it: it was either the Paras or early war Poles, and somehow seeing Dick Winters and co. charging round Normandy and onto Germany tipped the balance.
It also means I'll be able to play the multitude of available scenarios involving US Airborne forces using the proper figures!
Here are my first efforts: the Light Machine Gun Section:
The figures are from Forged in Battle: I decided I needed a change from Battlefront and Peter Pig, and so decided to give FiB a go. It's not a conversion though: I've only got the machine gunners, above, and a single platoon of infantry so far. We'll have to see how the first platoon paints up before deciding which manufacturer will have the privilege of providing platoons two and three!
Uniform-wise, they are portrayed in the drab uniforms worn for D-Day. I think this provides a more iconic image than the more green gear worn later on in the war. You'll note that I have painted on the eagle insignia: I did try using those teeny-tiny transfers, but they proved too fiddly to manage, despite Model Dads video tutorial.
Right: on to the first platoon now...
Another cracking battle report from Brooklyn Wargaming, with an AAR dealing with the second game in their Heroes of Omaha and Panzer Lehr campaign set in France in 1944.
After a narrow American victory in game one (see the Hauts-Vents AAR), the Germans counter-attack!
Click here or on the picture below to see what happens...
Brooklyn Wargaming have some fantastic IABSM AAR on their website, which can be reached by clicking here.
They have generously agreed that I can add them to the Vis Lardica site so, for your enjoyment, here's a battle report from the end of last year featuring a game set near Hauts-Vents in France, 1944.
Click here, or on the picture below, to see the full report.
If you have an AAR for one of the TooFatLardies company-sized games (IABSM, CDS, Q13) do feel free to submit it for inclusion to admin@vislardica.com. No need for anything fancy: just a few pics and words, or even just pics or words, will do.
And if you've enjoyed this AAR and any other bits of content on the site, please comment, like or, if you own your own website, put a link to Vis Lardica on that.
Cheers
R
Time to go back...back...back in time to 2007, and an AAR for IABSM from The Mad Padre rescued from the depths of the Internet.
It's France 1940, and the French are counter-attacking. Click on the pic to see more.
Saturday morning before the rugby saw a great game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum take place as the Benson boys and I played the first scenario of the Vyazma or Bust! campaign.
Click here or on the picture below to see how the game unfolded. Be warned: it was bloody, very bloody!
Not quite sure why I bought these, as I don't have any Tirailleurs for French in North Africa, but I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, and they have painted up quite nicely.
So, here they are: two Laffly S15 TOE armoured trucks...
Old Hickory, released today, is the third of the Pint-Sized campaigns for Chain of Command, designed to be played using the campaign handbook At the Sharp End.
Thirty pages long, Old Hickory contains an overview of US operations in Normandy and beyond from Operation Cobra to the German counter attack at Mortain, Operation Luttich. It goes on to present a mini-campaign covering the defence of L'Abbaye Blanche, a key position to the North of Mortain where the US 30th Division stood firm against 2nd SS Das Reich, and Der Fuhrer regiment in particular.
The campaign is a total of six game tables with the duration running between three and eight games. Briefings are provided for both sides, along with measurable objectives, period maps, force and support option listings and everything you need to play this campaign through to its conclusion.
Now available at only £3.60 (the price of a pint!) at www.toofatlardies.co.uk.
Hopefully the next special will contain a conversion for IABSM as the Christmas Special 2014 did for the first Pint-Sized Campaign for Chain of Command, 29! Let's go!
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Here's the third and, for the moment, final AAR from The Wargaming Addict played on a wargaming engine as opposed to the tabletop.
This time the Addict picks a scenario from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack, set in Normandy: the opening game involving the clash of two recon forces just west of Pierrecourt.
Click here or on the picture below to see the whole report
As those who follow this blog will know, I have recently painted a squadron of plastic British A13 cruiser tanks from Zvezda in desert colours. I was naturally keen to get them onto the tabletop, so invited my regular opponent, Neil, round for a battle.
I'd determined to use one of the two 'all tank' scenarios from the Operation Compass scenario pack (written by me and available to purchase from all good retailers: well, here and the TFL main site!) so carefully printed off the pages we'd need for Scenario 10: The Road From Fort Capuzzo.
It wasn't until I'd laid out the terrain and turned to getting the figures out that I realised that Scenario 10 doesn't feature any A13s: just A9s and A10s!
No bother: the newly painted tanks will have to wait their turn as my BEF tanks demonstrate what they can do re-tasked to the desert.
So click here or on the picture below to see what happens when Rae Leakey and his tank squadron drive towards the road from Fort Capuzzo in December 1940: an interesting game that takes place up in the blue in the dead of the night...
Rae Leaky up in the blue in the dead of the night
Here's the second of the three promised IABSM AARs from The Wargaming Addict.
Keen to make up for his previous performance, the Addict plays the same scenario again, but this time with very different results.
Click here or on the picture below to see another great battle played out not on the tabletop, but on the Battleground Engine.
All this posting of AARs has made me quite jealous for a game: lucky I have one tomorrow night!
Oh, and I'll update the painting challenge this weekend too.
Although I have occasionally played computer wargames or wargames moderated by a computer, I have primarily always been a wargames who games on the tabletop with figures, dice and a rulebook.
There's something immensely satisfying about pushing lead around a tabletop loaded with brilliant terrain, and nothing beats the feeling of dice in the hand ready to roll just what you need!
Tabletop gaming, however, does require an awful lot of room.
I, for example, have only recently reclaimed my wargaming room from its sabbatical as a 'kids playroom', and so am very familiar with the effort involved in having to clear the living room, set everything up, and then put it all away before the house can resume normal function.
The Wargaming Addict has apparently solved that problem with the use of the Battleground Gaming Engine. You can visit his site by clicking here, or more simply read the AAR describing his first foray into non-figure gaming using IABSM from December 2013 by clicking on the picture, below.
Interesting stuff...with two more AARs to follow over the next week or so.
Martin981463 posted some great photographs of a recent IABSM game onto the TFL Yahoo group, but Yahoo being Yahoo, the pictures came out in all the wrong order and without the captions.
Here are the pictures again, carefully organised into a gallery, and with captions included.
Click here or on the picture, below, to see the storyboard unfold: enjoy!
I've now almost finished all the models I bought in the Battlefront early war sale. Here are a couple more: two 25mm SA-34 Portees for a French Escadron de Fusiliers Portees.
These are fine models that paint up beautifully. Although the picture is not a particularly good one, there's some nice layering on the crew's uniforms and helmets, and you can see that the brown patches that form part of the vehicles' camouflage has come out quite well too.
Right, back to the sci-fi figures now...
Another amazing AAR gallery from Mark Luther. This one dates from 2008, and features the battle of Skirmanevo on the eastern front in November 1941.
There are over 85 photos in the gallery (I know, I've just spent three days captioning them all!) and although 6mm might not be my thing, you've got to say they look fantastic.
Click on the photo, below, to see them all.
Skirmanevo Before The Storm
Here's another blast from the past: a 6mm IABSM game played by Mark Luther dating back to 2007.
I'm gradually loading up all Mark's 6mm AAR: they do look jolly good!
Click on the pic to see the whole gallery.
A quick IABSM AAR from Mike Whitaker from his excellent blog "Trouble at T'Mill" as an understrength company of Germans tries to hold out against an amis attack.
Mike's blog also contains a great article on passwords and the need for online security: well worth reading...and I'm just off to change all mine!
Click on the picture below for the AAR, or on the link above for Mike blog as a whole.
Vis Lardica is a website devoted to wargaming and military history, with a special emphasis on the company-sized rulesets produced by the TooFatLardies: I Ain't Been Shot Mum (WW2); Charlie Don't Surf (Vietnam); and Quadrant 13 (science fiction)
Welcome to Vis Lardica, a not-for-profit website mostly dedicated to the company-sized wargaming rules produced by the TooFatLardies, but encompassing my other gaming interests as well.
If you need to contact me, you can do so at:
vislardica@gmail.com
If you have enjoyed visiting this site, please add a link to it on your own wargaming blog: www.vislardica.com.
