Welcome!

Welcome to the Blog of a Skirmish wargamer! I hope you enjoy reading it!



All my rule sets are freely downloadable from our club website's Downloads page





If you need to contact me my E-Mail address is richardbradley5@gmail.com







Saturday 30 July 2011

Wish I was there!

Once again I was having to work on Saturday - Man - I wish work would get a new person in post to do evenings and Saturdays so I can get my club Saturdays back!!

All I managed was half an hour during my lunchtime. Several games were in progress.....

 15mm Napoleonics - Did someone forget their glasses?
 Prussians! - dropping a standard - disgraceful!
 Les Francaises, avec les bent bayonets!
Craig and Frankie were doing Medievals with their Great Captains rules. 
Lots of Swiss - I like Swiss! 
 Yep, definitely like Swiss --Swiss...Roll!
 ..Like Knights too!
..More Napoleonics..
 Kieron (Blackadder in our last game) seems to be enjoying himself?
 Back in my corner of the club, Lawrence and Ian sorting Saxons and Vikings.
 Phil (right) chattering with li'l Pete.
Phil-- (Norman D Landings on TMP)s...Normans! 
Saxons beware!? 
 ..They didnt do so well against the Saxon shield wall, I later heard!
Looked impressive till then though....

This was the last club meet till  September 10th I think, as we have a sort of summer break.
We are at Border Reiver at the Newcastle Arena on 3rd September, then back killing each other on the 10th.

Can't wait....!

Sunday 24 July 2011

In Memoriam


My poor little cat, Holly, Died this afternoon after a short illness.
She was 17, and had recently gone blind. Death was a blessing for her, as for so many when the time comes. I will miss her!

Holly came to us 15 years ago from Cats Protection.
We had got a little tom, Mr Tibbs, who is still with us, but as a young energetic cat, his attitude was 'Play with me or I WILL play with you'!

We got Holly to keep him amused - it worked!

The day after she came we got a phone call, from CP, warning us 'Watch out, Holly can open fridges!' - too late, our tea was in the cat!
We got a child fridge lock, but whenever it didnt click on properly she was back in the fridge at night helping herself!

She always kept us amused with her cute ways, EG: she loved chasing sunlight reflections from my watch on the carpet and rolling luxuriously, as only cats can, on concrete!

When I got back from work in the evening, Mr Tibbs would meeow incessantly till he was fed, then Holly would sit by my chair till I sat down and jump lightly onto my chest and stare at my face for a minute at about 3" distance, tickling me with her whiskers, then, after I had stroked her, she would circle round for some quality lap time!

I will remember her!

Saturday 23 July 2011

Return to Thirlwall Castle

As my last club game before the summer break (I am working again next Saturday), we did a 'Return to Thirlwall Castle' game.

The Nevilles, having been driven from Thirlwall castle First battle of Thirlwall Castle in the last game, decided to try to seize the small but vital bastion to further their ends in Tynedale.
To that end they had been in contact with Sir Percival Thirlwall trying to make him cast aside his Lancastrian allegiance and side with the Nevilles.
No one is quite sure if this subterfuge has worked. The Nevilles have sent soldiers to force the issue.
The Percies and De Laceys have gathered a scratch force to face them.


Their left was similar, but had a large group of Handgonners.

Facing these, on the Percy right, De Lacy had placed his men in depth.

 The Percies on De Lacy's left were purely Longbowmen supported by Knights.

On the Percy left stood Thirlwall castle, its garrison giving no sign as to which side, if any, they supported. 

The Percies advanced warily, watching them on their lines left.
The Neville right advanced a unit of archers through a wood.
Their left advanced slowly toward a House and bridge to their front.
        The De Lacey's were waiting..
The Castle garrison advanced - but where were they going, and what were they doing?


A group of De Lacey crossbowmen went over to check them out!
..Then shot at long range at some archers on the Neville left who had been bouncing arrows off the advancing De Lacy Knights!..the crossbowmens shooting was impressive!
  The Neville right, seeing the large Percy force advancing, fell back.
But what was Edmund Blackadder doing with that horse from the castle?  
 
The Percy archers, ignoring Blackadder, shot at the Neville right.
 ..with effect!
 Neville archers from all over the battlefield replied.. 
 The casualties on both sides were heavy.
 Some Neville archers tried to turn the Percy right, but came under heavy shooting from some unengaged Percy archers.
 In the centre the battle continued!-but the outnumbered Nevilles began to lose more men. The garrisons archers were even supporting the Percies by now!!
 

The Percies and De Lacys had achieved shooting superiority. Seeing the balance of casualties turn against him, the Neville commander grudgingly left the field to the house of Lancaster!

Players:

Ian( left in pic above): The Nevilles
Phil(Right in pic above): The De Laceys
Kieron (Jed's son) : The castle garrison and Blackadder
Me: The Percies

Kieron was given a random task from a dozen possible ones. He picked 2 chits from a box and chose 1 task to do.

He actually drew 'Act as player wishes' but had discarded 'Escort blackadder to the inn'. As it was, he actually tried to do both tasks!!

There is hope for our young teenagers after all!

The Neville right consisted of armoured archers and Men-at-arms.

Sunday 17 July 2011

New Stug IIIs!

This is a kind of supplimentary post to the last game!

I recently got a few Stug IIIs for skirmishing with from Bolt Action and Die Waffenkammer...

 The 4 Stugs, painted in a similar camouflage style, can you tell the Die Waffenkammer Stug from the 3 Bolt Action ones?
 This is one of the Bolt Action ones.
 ..And this is the Die Waffenkammer one!

I actually prefer the Die Waffenkammer one - just! - it was a bit more expensive but came with an option of gun mantlets and Machine gun shields. It also had enough bits and bobs - satchels, blankets, Jerrycans et al to festoon all 4 vehicles!

I am seriously impressed with the ranges of 28mm WW2 vehicles coming out at the moment!

Happy Gaming everyone!

Saturday 16 July 2011

Russian into trouble!

This week, we returned to the Russian front!..

We commanded small platoons of Heroic Soviet infantry supported by a platoon of T-34s, in an attempt to throw the Fascists out of Mother Russia!

It is early spring 1944.
advances to reclaim the Motherland from the evil grip of the Fascist invaders are beginning again after the winter pause, casualties are being sustained which could slow the army's advances and extend the Great Patriotic War into 1945. Without concrete help from the allies in the west, the Red Army of Workers and Peasants would have to bear the burden of the war alone....

 On the Soviet right, a large platoon of irregulars drafted into service ..
 ..In the centre, the main body of Soviet infantry advanced with their Armour. 
..The irregulars were supported by a Kommisar and his NKVD aides. 
 In the centre, the infantry were left behind by their armour.
 
First blood went to a Fascist sniper shooting from rough ground at the Guerrillas.
 A  nurse rapidly and heroically came to his aid.
 Suddenly, on her left, a squad of Guerrillas was virtually wiped out by a mortar barrage--she would need more bandages!!!
 The fleeing survivors were 'encouraged' back to their duty by the Kommisar.
 Meanwhile, the rest of the irregulars cleared the rough ground ahead. 
On the Russian left a Panzerjager group fired at the T-34 there, but both rounds failed to detonate! 
 
More Russian infantry and tanks appeared to support the lead formations.. 
 Back on the left the Russians overran the Panzerschreck teams.
As the Guerrillas advanced they came under fire from a German squad hidden in a depression. A Panzerfaust destroyed a T-34 moving round their flank. 
The Guerrillas and scouts began to fight back... 
 ..and soon the Fascisti were overwhelmed!
..but not before causing several casualties...
..as the fascists retreated they were severely mauled by their pursuers.
 
 In the centre, the Russian reserves advanced in support. 

 More German infantry and armour had appeared...and had stalled the  Russian left's attack .
 The Stug destroyed another tank - and the crew baled out to take cover in the woods.
With support from the reserve platoons, the brave Soviet infantry on the left began to clear  enemy infantry at the point of the beyonet! 
 
The brave Soviet infantry continued to lose heavily however, and with a heavy heart the Russian commander, now realising he did not have enough troops for the task, signalled the retreat.....For now...

The Soviets had come across a (randomly generated) strongpoint!
Once again, the solo system had outfought us!

Players:  Ian - Guerrillas
Phil --Centre platoon.
Daniel--Left platoon
Lawrence and me--the reserves

The rules are available at: WW2 Skirmish Rules