Updated Palestine Game Report with MANY more photos!

Price Of Glory Game (Dec. 13, 2008)

I Originally posted this back in December but Gary just gave me lots more photos to compliment the ones Jim took. There's probably about 2/3 more pictures now. Unfortunately I can't seem to reformat things well, but I'm going to post this any way. SP

also see Jim's report of the same game at http://napoleon91.blogspot.com/2008/12/ww1-wargaming-in-palestine.html

Setting: Palestine, near the Coast sometime during the first couple of days of the Battle of Megiddo.

Combatants:

Central Powers:

1 Platoon of Ottoman Turks (5 sections of 8-10 figures)

1 Ottoman Maxim Gun

1 Unit Ottoman Cavalry (10 figures)

1 Platoon AsienKorps (4 sections of 9 figures each) (Jim provided 2 units of germans)

2 Asienkorps independent LMG units

3 units mounted Arab infantry (10 figures each) (Jim's figures)

1 unit Arab cavalry (8 figures)

3 independent Arab snipers

Above, The Ottoman Commander (GE)

British Empire:

1 Platoon Indian Army “British” Infantry (4 sections of 9 figures each, 1 section included a Lewis gun)

1 Platoon Indian Army “Indian” Infantry (4 sections of 9 figures each, 1 section included a Lewis gun)

1 Light Car with Lewis gun

3 units Indian Lancers (2 units of lancers were provided by Mike)

1 SE-5a making strafing runs

Terrain:

Western Sector: SW a village with large walled orchards; several large hills in the NW region

Central Sector: SW Shellholes; Center a 48” Wadi running from S to N; E a large Hill and (just to it’s North) a redoubt; N a small village

Eastern Sector: S walled olive yards; SE a Large Village with some adjoining walled orchards

Above, Eastern and Western Villages (GE)

The game was played as a meeting engagement contesting the ownership of three villages, a wadi and an abandoned redoubt.

The photo to the right show the British deployment near the Wadi near the beginning of the game, the Indian platoon was to the right of this picture (GE)

1. The Ottoman players deployed with The Turks in the center, Germans on the right and Arabs on the left. The Germans deployed a firing line and took hold of the Northern Village. They then began to lay down a murderous fire that swept ground being advanced over by the “British” Infantry and Indian Cavalry. The photo below shows the Asienkorps early in the game, in the Northern Village (JA)
2. (Above)The Indian Platoon began to move through the olive yards towards the Eastern village while a band of Arabs countered by occupying that village. A sniper in the near by hills took aim at the Gurkha’s NCO and took him out but was himself killed by replying fire. Todd’s Biplane made its first (ineffectual) strafing run against the front units of the Turkish and Arab forces.
3. Todd’s Brits worked their way up the Wadi (left) and into the shell-holes while on his right the Indian Cavalry Galloped straight forward towards the Turkish Center. An initial volley from several German and Turkish units routed the leading unit of Lancers, who retreated down the Wadi. The following unit was then hit by a charge from the Turkish cavalry who met their demise on the lance-tips of the Indians. Below, the lancers about to be charged after losing one section to enemy fire.
4. Jim’s Asienkorps LMG teams began to enfilade the Wadi even as the British Infantry worked their way up it. Unfortunately for the Imperial players it was at about this time that the effects of fire began to tell on the lancers and they fell back (down the Wadi) to regroup in the Olive yards Gary’s Indians had recently occupied.At around the same time the model T was hit by Lewis gun fire fromthe Northern village and burst into flames (below, GE). Two crew members were killed, the third crawled out, dismounting and setting up his Lewis gun, only to be killed by Arab sniper fire
5. The Se-5 was called away to other actions having only inflicted two casualties in its three strafing runs. Meanwhile the Arabs had moved into the Eastern village and it’s adjoining orchards. At this point Gary rushed abut two-thirds of the Indian platoon in to contest the village, while leaving his last section to lay down a murderous hail of lewis gun and rifle fire against the Eastern village’s orchards. This resulted in the Disbandment of one of the Arab units.
6. The Indians and Arabs in the village began house to house fighting, with many grenades being lobbed.
7. The Turks had advanced, in line, while laying down a steady fire against Todd's British in the Wadi. This Platoon was also taking fire from most of Jim's AsienKorps infantry and LMG teams. The steady attrition began to tell against him and finally, after the Turkish Maxim began to enfilade he Wadi from the Northern village, the British had to relinquish the ground they had occupied. Below, the Asienkorps enfilade the Wadi; in the background Turks and Arabs (JA).
8. At this point we called the game for the Ottoman / German players. They held 2 of 5 victory locations (The Northern Vilage,The abandoned redoubt), were about to occupy one (the Wadi) and were contesting another (the Eastern Village). Also a section of Asienkorps was approaching the Western Village through the Western Olive Yards
   

It seems that a good time was had by all. We felt that the rules regarding charges need to be amended to more adequately deal with Cavalry.

Below, Bedouins in the field and in the town (GE)

Proof of Work (or, Are No photos Better than BAD photos?)

The Photos posted here are almost inexcusably bad. My phone is my only camera currently, the white balance was bad and it has no Macro function. All that being said (also the bases aren't finished) here are photos of some Battlehonors Turkish Cavalry, Two Views of Battlehonors Arabs and a regiment of Renegade ACW Union Infantry (gloriously shiny). You can't see any detail but it's proof i do paint. I think I'm going to break down and use a painting service soon.

Now I am One !

I just realized that this blog is now one!

I've played a grand total of 5 games using my some of my WWI figures (1 solo, 1 Colonials) in that time. I've played in maybe 3 (maybe 4) other club games (ACW, Old West, 1814 Napoleonics).

I hope, in time, to get back to reliably participating in or running one club game a month. I am thankful that there is a place, and a group of guys, where I can indulge in this hobby.


The two photos show (on the top) the Kainga from my one and only Maori Wars game back in 3/2007 and (at left) a view of the table from last summer's Guns at Gettysburg game.

Also my camera broke!

A Cool Blog, totally unrelated

I follow this Hinton Hunt Collector's blog. Don't know anything about any of it, but I still enjoy it...
http://hintonhunt.blogspot.com/

Korda brothers Colonial Movies alert!

This is essentially a repost with the dates adjusted:

TCM sent me another a reminder that Drums ,the classic 1938 Colonial adventure film, will be showing at 8 pm tonight, Feb. 19. This movie is a little bit like Wee Willie Winkie but with Sabu instead of Shirley Temple. Action against a evil usurper in a fictional Northwest Frontier principate. Set (nebulously) in the thirties so you get to see the Indian Army in the inter-war field uniform. If you like colonial epics, you'll like this one.
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=73689
You will see (if I remember correctly) a 3.7" QF Pack gun in action and a Pathan Sword dance! Filmed in the (now Taleban infested) Chitral valley.

ALSO the version of the Jungle Book starring Sabu is on at 10 pm and the excellent, 1939 verison of the Four Feathers is on at 12am.

Other Genres

IN place of actual photos (still on my camera) or game reports (missed the last 3), I'll just note some other genres that I'm interested in. Ideally, if I could actually paint figures or game, I'd paint one "side-project" unit for every three or four "main project" related units. (The photos show my Union figures [in dark blue] and then Jeff's Ottoman Napoleonics).

1. Colonials: My traditional area of interest, though strangely enough none of my old figures are usable in the current games. That's fine with me since they were all Zulu Wars figures and I just don't care about gaming that conflict. I've been seeing a lot of Boxer Rebellion pics on other blogs, used to game that in 54mm and had a blast. But those days are gone.
   
2. ACW: Read quite a bit on it (mostly Western theater). Good gaming, like painting the few figures I have (see above). Edited out several long rambling commentaries on the lingering b*llsh*t that you run into when in the South and the so-called "War between the States" (nee War of the Rebellion) is brought up. Renegade makes great figures, the new ones from Perry and Crusader also look really good.
   
3. Napoleon in Egypt/Holy Land: Don't know much about it, but we game it at the local club and I like it. One problem I have is that there don't seem to be any really high quality figures for this theater. (No Frontrank, no Foundry, etc.) Maybe Eureka will eventually cover Egypt in their new line.
   
4. WWII: I used to play Crossfire A LOT and still think it's the best ruleset I've ever played but not very workable in multi-player games. I don't particularly like to read about WWII and most of what I have read is SW Pacific or CBI, which most people don't want to play. Now I game with a club and those rules just aren't made for that. I have been really tempted lately by the notion of gaming the WWII East African Campaign (Indian army, South Africans versus the Italians in Eritrea and Abyssinia). We'll see. Probably never happen, kind of wonder why I'd do it.

Price of Glory Tactical Notes

These notes serve, as much as anything, as a reminder of rules niceties that I discovered AFTER the last game I ran. Also it will help me to remember how to use my forces and integrate real-world tactics. (This was all written without actual reference to the rules so there may be some details that aren’t right!)

Close Combat

• Fire before you charge. If your enemy is Suppressed you automatically get the initiative in Close Combat. Obviously this means the closer you are to your target the better (since you can only fire and move with a Sneak or Maneuver move).
• Use your Grenades. You get a +1 for each grenade you threw before closing with the enemy (obviously with a +2 maximum). If you are in contact with a building occupied by an enemy unit they will receive no Cover bonuses against that grenade attack AND, as an added bonus, Blast attacks are amplified inside closed spaces.
• Use your Machine Guns. Place your MGs or LMGs on the flanks then fire to Suppress (and thus involuntarily Activate) the enemy unit you want to melee. If your enemy is Suppressed you get the initiative. This is particularly useful in setting up Cavalry Charges.
• Make sure you have Support. One non-activated unit, on each side, that is within 9” of the potential defender of a melee may be pulled in to Support the Attacker or the Defender.

Other Notes

By the late war LMGs are beginning to determine tactics. Instead of thinking of MGs as a deadly burden, think of all infantry as supporting your MG units. As noted above, the MG/LMG pins the enemy (with fire) , then the infantry or cavalry smashes it (with a Close Assault).

To Be Continued

I'm Posting this UNFINISHED (and to some degree unedited). If you would like to add please send me an e-mail and I'll edit this post adding your thoughts. I will most certainly add to this post myself.

"Prayers" Are Answered

Soapy has posted pictures of some new "greens" he's produced for WDC/Gripping Beast on his blog (http://soapyvision.blogspot.com/). He has, in one fell swoop, addressed two of my pet gripes: The lack of Ottoman Arab figures and the Sikh-heavy-ness (sic) of most Indian Army figure offerings. Now, don't get me wrong, you've got to have Sikhs. There were lots of Battalions of Sikhs and Gurkhas in the Indian Army but there were more that looked like the figures above. Soapy had sculpted some good ones for Battle Honors and Copplestone has a really nice pack, but this Swoppet Head solution is the best way to go. The Indian Army made up the majority of fighting men in Persia, Mesopotamia and also in Palestine in 1918. They also were present on the Western Front in 1914/1915 (at which point all the Infantry was shipped back to Asia).
I really need to give this guy some serious praise for doing this whole WWI project exactly the way one would hope for and for not leaving us hanging... My fez is off to you Soapy!
PS If you'd rather I not "lift" your photos, please post a comment and I'll cease and desist.

Newish Book

Gallipoli and the Middle East 1914-1918 (The History of World War I)

Edward J. Erickson

I just got this book the other day (here at work). It's a general history of the various Ottoman theaters (Gallipoli, Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Hejaz) by one of the experts in the field. I have read his Ottoman Army Effectiveness and seen him interviewed in the Blood and Oil film and given those examples I think this would be a good jumping off point for those new to this "front". The book has a lot of emphasis on Gallipoli but seems to cover the other fronts very well and the photos are great and very useful. Now, I haven't read it yet but it seems worth picking up. Only available in Britain, it seems, from Amber Press, I found it listed on Amazon UK. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gallipoli-Middle-1914-1918-History-World/dp/1906626049/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235945663&sr=8-4