The Relief of Lady Smith, North West Frontier, 1890s

In this fun scenario, using Osprey's Men Who Would Be Kings rules, the British player had to come to the relief of Lady Smith (not to be confused with the town of Ladysmith of Boer War fame!). Somehow her Ladyship had become stranded in territory swarming with wily, untrustworthy Pathans. Quite what Madam was thinking of by putting herself in such a vulnerable, dangerous position, is unknown. This unfortunate oversight necessitated the dispatch of a number of British infantry sections to her rescue.

Unfortunately for her Ladyship, not to mention the brave lads that sought to come to her aid, they were all slaughtered by the bloodthirsty, victorious Pathans. Lady Smith was certainly not relieved.

Nottingham Wargames Club - Attending Britcon2022 (British Historical Games Society) Saturday 13th August

We will be hosting a WWI Battle of the Marne, 1914 in 20mm at Britcon2022 at Nottingham Trent University on Saturday 13th August. Should be a great event. Stop by for a chat!

Britcon Website Link

WWII Eastern Front Double Bill

A brace of WWII Eastern Front games were played out on Monday night.

The first was a late war Flames of War game, set in Winter ‘44. The second was an early war encounter using Rapid Fire rules.

‘Blue on Blue, but Orange Prevails’ – 1980s Dutch in Action

In this NATO vs NATO / Blue on Blue 120pt Team Yankee clash, the Hollanders managed to overcome an air-heavy US force to notch up their first victory. They were helped by the American player plumping for a rather imbalanced force consisting of small mechanised infantry platoons, zero AA cover and, the very expensive, M1A1HC Abrams option.

A combination of Leopard 1s and 2s assaulted a small pinned down infantry platoon to take an objective and secure a win in the ‘Contact’ mission. It should be pointed out that the Netherlands had to be aided by the arrival of West German allied BO-105 helicopters that managed to neuter the Abrams ‘Heavy Commons’, to help out their Dutch friends (and rivals).

Team Yankee Dutch

Irish Civil War - Battle of Rochestown, Co. Cork, 1922

In this scenario, based on fighting during the Free State Offensive of 1922, the Free Staters were able to bring their superior weapons and training to bear to defeat the Anti-Treaty, hardcore 'Irregulars'. Republican bombers attempted to knock out the Pro-Treaty Rolls Royce several times, without any luck. Their own Peerless armoured car eventually succumbed to a well placed HE round.

The Irish Civil War was characterised by lots of relatively small, though bitterly fought, engagements. Hardware is limited to a few armoured cars, maybe an 18pdr and some machine guns.

Irish Civil War Wargame