12 December 2023

WWIII Team Yankee - Mutual Obliteration on an 8' x 6' Table

We played Team Yankee on a double size board with 200 points per side to see what would happen. Mutual obliteration is what happened!

Both sides - Soviets vs Americans - went heavy on air assets, which skewed the game somewhat. Initially the American air arm ran amok amongst the Soviet armour, knocking out a whole company of T64s by the second turn. 

The Soviet reserves arrived first, in the form of some T80s which, along with some BMP1s, managed to flank their opponent, enabling them to take out the American Chaparral air defence systems. Also, eventually the Russian Gophers, Shilkas and Gremlin missiles managed to weaken the US helicopter force (helped by the fact that the Warthogs failed to show up for a few turns). The 'Krokodils' (Hinds) then made an appearance, taking out a couple of M1A1HCs, but by that time, there weren't that many ground forces left on the table.

In the end we gave a 'winning draw' to the Americans.

I'm not sure we would play 'big game' Team Yankee again with just two players (as it was a bit of a slog), and we would probably seek to introduce a few other special rules to allow for the larger spaces involved - along with limiting the amount of air assets allowed.

























29 November 2023

Indian Mutiny - Siege of Delhi, 1857 - Assault on the Kashmir Gate

In this entertaining refight, representing the assault on the Kashmir Gate during the Siege of Delhi in 1857, the British had good fortune to blow the gate with barrels of gunpowder (killing one of the brave soldiers in the process). They were also able to create a breach in a nearby section of Delhi's walls. This enabled the two columns to rush forward into the breaches and fight their way through the narrow streets of Old Deli. 

There was a disgraceful episode when a regular regiment of British infantry - the 75th Foot - routed in the face of marauding Mutineers! Fortunately, the Mutiny hero, Brigadier Major Nicholson, was able to rally the regiment and bring them back into the fray. Other than that, the hordes of rebellious mutineers almost overcame the assaulting columns, but robust stances by the 1st Bengal Fusiliers, and the loyal Gurkhas, managed to hold their nerve and see off disorganised rabble to recapture the city.

This was a similar outcome to the historical battle. The charismatic Nicholson survived the refight, but unfortunately was mortally wounded in the actual battle.









































Nicholson statue in Lisburn, Northern Ireland