Partizan 2022

Sunday saw me head just short of two hours south to Newark for this year’s Partizan, always an event worth going to and this year was no exception. It was tremendous! We arrived about 11:20 and there was still a bit of a queue to get in but we were only held up for about five minutes, and once inside it was absolutely heaving with punters, traders and best of all some truly exceptional games. Some, but by no means all, of these games are pictured below. If I missed any, which I know I did, apologies. The photos are more or less grouped together by game, so here we go…..

***********

The crowning glory has to go to this awesome 40mm Napoleonic game. No apologies for the number of photos of this game; It’s amazing how much skill and hours, years even, of work must have gone into the game. Some of the terrain elements and figures have been seen before but the city/fortress was certainly new. The game organiser my mate Ian Smith sadly passed away suddenly after a short illness just a few weeks ago, but Shaun Bryant and ‘The Friends of Ian Smith’ went ahead with the game with the blessings of Ian’s widow in memory of Ian and the mark he made on the hobby and the 'Friends’ over a lifetime. He will be sorely missed. And what a beautiful game! A fitting tribute to a great guy.

                             

                                                                                

********

Below are some photos of another lovely game, 15mm ACW complete with siege works and riverine action. Vicksburg’sh and very attractive.

 

*******

I’m not entirely sure what this was about. Early WW1 I think, using 1/72 scale figures.

********

Graham Cummings, formerly of Cran Tara Miniatures, put this “12 Years in the Making!” refight of then Battle of Culloden. The figures were I reckon all Cran Tara. Gorgeous looking figures and no teddy bears were harmed in the making of the  terrain.

 

********

Back to the 40mm Napoleonic for another ‘hit’ of eye candy……

                              

                              

                              

                                          

                                                                            

********

Another colourful and jam-packed game was this superb First Carlist War battle. Some excellent paining skills were on show here. I liked the look of the massed columns crossing the bridge and the ford.

                                          

**********

Sorry but here are some more pictures of the late Ian Smith’s game…….there’s just so much going on one visit is not enough.

                    

********

The Boondock Saints gave us another Indian extravaganza, this time set during the Great Mutiny of 1857. As usual for these guys there was some exquisite scratch built terrain and tremendous figures and vignettes on the table. Also as usual they got dressed up and opened a bottle of claret, or two…….

                             

***********

Steve Spence lately of the Durham Wargames Group but now in exile in Newark put on a great looking game of the 28mm Battle of Nordlingen during the 30 Years War. Among the massive array of gorgeous figures were some really nice looking Spaniards from 1898 miniatures that I hadn't seen before in the flesh. Some of the Durham lads were there to help out.

                              

********

An enormous Dark Ages set to. Lots of figures, great looking game. Nothing that’s not to like.

                                 

                                                                            *********

Wilson’s Creek I think, at the start of the ACW in 1861. 

********

                                                                           

            The Perry twins went slightly off-piste and gave us the Battle of Dorking or something similar set in the 1870s. The Prussians have invaded Britain and the British army is rushing to drive them back into the sea. The Prussians were from their new Franco-Prussian War range, and the British from the British Intervention in the ACW range.   I guess if the Franco Prussian French figures had been out we’d have seen them on the table in the place of the British?                              

                              

*********

The Like a Stone Wall guys laid on this staggeringly good game depicting the French attack on Hougomont during the battle of Waterloo. I hope whoever gets to store it has a big garage! They used 28mm figures and Sharpe Practice rules.

                                   

                             

So there you go. Obviously there were lots more games than the ones I've included here but I was either too distracted by chatting myself hoarse or buying stuff, or there was no room for my chariot to get through, to photo everything.

I didn't go with a list but still managed to buy a fair bit in the shape of a box of Atlantic Conquistadores, 

some 1/72 scale early WW2 French, some terrain items off Andy at Last Valley and a couple of resin bridges. I also picked up a book on the Chinese army between 1937 and 1945 and a new set of Napoleonic rules that I intend to give a try. Charles Singleton also very kindly gifted me a bag of Old Glory Italian Wars Gendarmes.

Of course, the event was also an opportunity to catch up with friends and acquaintances from around the UK, including a couple I'd not seen since before Covid such as my mate David Bickley, Douglas Thomson and Shaun Bryant. All in all it was an excellent show and my final and greatest thanks must go to my long-suffering wife Katherine who drove me down despite not being fully recovered after two lots of surgery for her recently diagnosed cancer (which were both successful).

I have a game on Saturday so I'd better prepare the table as Tim and some of the lads from Like a Stone Wall are making another visit to the Burrow for a 1940 Fall of France game. [If anyone had told me 12 months ago that I'd be wargaming and collecting WW2 I would have told them 'in their dreams'. Oh well......].

Colonial Ironsides review.

Devotees of all things from the Commonwealth and Restoration period of British history will be pleased to see this book The Colonial Ironsides, English Expeditions under the Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1650 - 1660 by Jonathon Riley. This book joins several previously published Helion books covering this era, two volumes on the Anglo-Spanish War 1655-1660 and the author’s own The Last Ironsides, gives us a wealth of information on a fascinating yet somewhat obscure subject.

This book provides a fascinating account of a less well known and studied decade of military operations, the results of which helped shape Britain’s future for centuries to come. Chapters include operations against the remaining Royalist holdouts in the Scilly Isles, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and campaigns against the Spanish in the Caribbean and the Dutch in New Amsterdam to mention a few examples. Also important to the scope of this book are the Commonwealth’s campaigns in Europe, including the Battle of the Dunes and the siege and occupation of Dunkirk. I particularly liked the chapter describing the formation and operations of the Royalist army in exile of Charles II as he struggled to gain support for an attempt to invade and regain his father’s crown.

All of these campaigns are examined in great detail, and provide the reader with a wealth of information on such things as the leaders, political aims, the troops and ships involved, lots of potentially ‘heavy’ stuff which is in fact described quite clearly and fluently. Each chapter has its own dedicated appendix following directly on rather than all being at the of the book. It’s a different approach and one that in my opinion works well for this book given the vast amount of information being provided.

The book is very well provided for in terms of detailed and helpful maps of the theatres of war, many which being reproductions of contemporary prints. There are also a significant number of contemporary black and white images and numerous tables detailing the men, units and ships involved in each campaign.

To sum up, yet another highly recommended Helion masterpiece to fill a space on the bookcase. Readers ought not be disappointed in this excellent book. I wasn’t.

The Asienus Gladiator No. IV - More News from the Late Roman Campaign

The latest edition of the renowned news tablet focussing on the day to day events in the province of Asienus. In this issue an interview with King Uiscabar of the Huns, news of another bloody battle, and a run down of the local and empire-wide news stories.

More next edition.

 

An interesting find…….

These are 1939 Winter War Soviet infantry. They produce a good range of figures, equipment and vehicles.

It will not have gone unnoticed that I’ve gone over to the dark side and dipped my toe (or more like my whole leg!) into early WW2 gaming, in the shape of the 1939-1940 Winter War. In my search for suitable miniatures (and because I wanted to jazz up the many Strelets plastic  figures already in my collection. These detailed and quite dynamic figures are from a company I’d never come across before called 1/72 Scale Miniatures, webstore  Here. They appear to be British expats based in Spain and the turnaround of the mail order service is about 10 days or so (based on my limited experience) which is fine. 

The figures are either metal or resin of some sort, and whatever medium is used the detail is good. Overall I’d say for me they represent good value for money.

Second Sino-Japanese War Nationalist infantry.

More Nationalists - command and ‘big sword’ troops.

More Soviets with rifle grenades

The Chinese are part of an extensive range and will go nicely with the box of Caesar Miniatures plastic Chinese Infantry. If I can ever get my 3d printer set up I shall run off a load of AFVs and other vehicles for both the Chinese and Japanese.Why not?

They’re no Snow Angels……1939 Winter War game

 A bit of a challenge on Saturday, when I exposed the guys to something largely outside most of their comfort zones, the 1939 Winter War using Great Escape Games' excellent Iron Cross ruleset with some period specific amendments which I know worked fine last time I played. Ultimately there were seven of us; Paul, Shaun and Nigel were the Finns and Dave, Conrad, Neil and John were the Soviets. I tried to remember the rules and umpired/hosted. The figures are a mixture of 1/72 scale metal castings and Strelets plastics. Most of the vehicles and AFVs were 3D prints (several by me) or Early War Miniatures, Minirons or Pegasus. All the terrain is mine, much of the wooded and broken ground areas I made myself; the exception being some 'winter copses' I picked up off Andy at Last Valley. This game was a bit of a risk as, (a) I wasn't totally up to speed with the rules, (b) most players were not 'into' twentieth century wargaming so might have struggled a bit tactically and (c) with hindsight I hadn't prepared enough for the game beforehand. I knew what the troops represented but the players were confused. Ah well, I shall colour code them all for the next game, the troops that is, not the players, although.......?

Finns on the left. Their main line ran from the villages at each end of the table roughly following the long road that can be seen heading off into the distance. The other road running right to left (east-west) across the table was meant to be a 'decent' road, and is the main axis of advance for the Soviets. The Finns had a couple of bunkers, a few lengths of barbed wire and some anti-tank traps to deploy as well as three minefield markers (only one was real)

I will do the usual and run through some photos of the action with explanations as and when I feel necessary and/or can remember. I think they're all in the correct order.....and trust it all makes more sense to the readers than it did to me and some of the players!

In the centre the Soviets won the initiative and under Conrad brought on the best part of two platoons of infantry and a company of BT-7 fast tanks, followed by a T26 (twin mg version) and two OT-26 'chemical' tanks (flamethrowers to me and you). Over on the right a card played by the Soviets caused three hits on a random Finnish unit as they had been mauled earlier by Soviet cavalry patrols that had interfered with their supply situation. This random unit just happened to be the one holding the village of the Finnish left.

One of the Soviet objectives was to locate the Finnish airstrip and eliminate it. The strip is guarded by a venerable ex-Czarist Putilov howitzer

One of the other objectives of the game was to locate and recover a broken down Russian experimental tank. In reality the Soviets only had a single prototype of the SMK-1 (named for Sergey Mironovitch Kirov), tried it out in action and lost it when it broke down. The Finns tried to capture it but were unsuccessful. In the game the location of the tank was unknown to either side but was quickly found by a platoon of Soviet infantry.

The local church. No doubt being used as an OP.

Conrad's BT-7 company under fire from hidden anti-tank guns.

Behind the church the Finn secret weapon, their field kitchen!

                              

Conrad's BTs took some damage from enemy AT guns but made it over the 'alleged' minefield on the crossroads without incident.

Dave's infantry survived a hopelessly off target Finnish airforce strafing run and fire from enemy riflemen and drove the already weakened Finnish defenders out of the village on the right wing and pushed on across the open fields.

The Soviets drew a card giving them air support in the shape of  an SB-2 bomber. The Finns had been holding a fighter support card so played it, and a Fokker XXI arrived and drove the enemy bomber off.

The Finns threw in their elite reserves to try and retake the bridge, but were to be foiled by shots from a company of T37 amphibious tanks that can just be seen on the bridge.

The  (empty?) Finnish left wing.

While the BT-7 company braved the minefield John's unit of OT-26 chemical tanks  and twin-turreted T-26's struggled. One chemical tank was blown up by a well-placed Finnish AT gun and the other got bogged down in deep snow. The other T-26 MG  never even made it onto the table.

Soviet T37 and T38 amphibious tanks advance through the minefield, which turned out to be another decoy.

Probably the final straw for the Finns as the last Soviet tanks arrive; a company of five T26 light tanks.

More action in the skies......just for show but why not?

The last of the Finns in the shape of a platoon of cyclists. Not much use in deep snow.....

A lone Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank holding their left almost alone.

At the end it was a clear Soviet victory. Finn losses were negligible but they had lost both villages, the   bridge and one of the main road exits, AND the Soviets had located the abandoned SMK-1 prototype tank (it was the precursor of the KV-1 and KV-2 tanks). Soviet losses amounted to two tanks and some infantry, but nothing compared to what I'd expected them to loose. The Finns were judged to have slipped away to fight another day, while the Soviets consolidated  their positions.     

I like these rules but am open to suggestions so long as no rebasing is required. I wasn't completely happy with the game if only because I made quite a number of mistakes with rules and the game didn't 'flow' as I'd hoped. Bouncing so many non-twentieth century wargamers with this scenario/period may not have been such a good idea but who knows? So long as everyone comes back!  We have an Ancient campaign game to fight!