London Toy Soldier Show March 2012 - Skirmish Wargames Group

The Skirmish Wargames Group continue with their run of 54mm wargames at the London Toy Soldier Show, this time with a scenario set on the Nile in Ancient Egypt (these games are always based on an historical battle and I forgot to take a note of which one this was, for which I am most remiss).  I've said it before (many times) and no doubt I'll keep repeating that these games are one of the highlights of the Show for me, the figures and landscapes they display are always imaginative and built to the highest quality.

The figures were supplied by Ted Herbert who found the Nile boat above in a junk shop in Cairo, you dn't get more authentic than that!

The figures include various makes such as Atlantic, Cherilea and Del Prado, by painting and mounting them in the same style they fit togehter well despite being slightly differing sizes.

The chariots are Del Prado, you have to buy six partworks to get all the bits to make just one chariot. 

The Group were celebrating the 100th edition of their newsletter "Reports from the skirmish line".  Well done you chaps!

Seen at the London Toy Soldier Show March 2012

Yesterday I went to the London Toy Soldier Show, it didn't seem as busy as in previous years but then the first show of the year is often like that, many of the dealers were commenting that sales had been weak in recent months both at shows and mail order, and I guess this reflects the depressed state of the world economy (toy soldiers being a very international trade).  The show itself has had something of a chequered history, it started out as the Norman Joplin show then was taken over by Vectis Auctions who passed it on to King & Country and now it is being organised by Guideline Publications who publish Toy Soldier Collector magazine.

Above: three views of the Britains Nile Gunboat from the Sudan Campaign, a nice model but I have to admit I would prefer if it looked a bit more homemade and toy like than a professionaly made product but then of course it wouldn't have fitted with the rest of their range.

In recent years I seem to be buying less and less figures at shows but they are always good to go to because you never know what is going to turn up and it's always good to meet old friends and put faces to new people that you've come into contact with, among them this time around were Hugh Walter of the Small Scale World blog and Tim Gow of the Megablitz and More blog.

Above: two more views of Nile Steamers from the Sudan Campaign, this time from the British Toy Soldier Co. I think they work quite well.

The Battle of Astrakhan (part 1) – A RussoTurkish wargame with toy soldiers.

Back in 1993 veteran wargamers Stuart Asquith and Jack Alexander published a set of rules, called “Big Wars” for use with 54mm toy soldiers after the style of H G Wells “Little Wars”.   Big Wars retained the simplicity of Little Wars but introduced mechanisms that would be recognisable to the modern wargamer of smaller scale figures.  Over on the FunnyLittleWars Yahoo Group messrs IJ and AG began a discussion about Big Wars and I offered to umpire a game between them to try out the rules for a bit of fun.

The umpires overview of the table

The initial dispositions, the Turks have concentrated to the south west of the field behind the cover of low hills and the ruins of a temple from an earlier civilisation.

The plan was that I would set up a terrain on my games table and allocate armies to each player.  H G Wells used to play his games on the floor and would rig up a curtain to go across the room so that each player could not see his opponents opening dispositions.  To emulate this I emailed Ian and Alan with photos of what could be seen at table top level from different points along their respective baselines.  The table measures 8’ x 6’ which we split into 6” squares annotated 1 to 16 along the length and A to L across the width so that the players could instruct me where to place their opening dispositions. 

To the north east the Russian forces prepare to occupy what appears to be a deserted village.

Infantry are formed in units of 10 plus officer and standard bearer, Cavalry comprise 5 troopers plus officer and an Artillery battery is 1 gun plus 4 gunners.  Each 6” square can accommodate two units of infantry or one of cavalry or one battery of artillery.  Infantry and artillery must start in a square on line A while cavalry can start from line A or B.  Units can also start off table but the player has to specify on which square they will enter the table.

The Turkish line begins it's advance

The background to the game is that the main campaign in the mountain passes of the Balkans has bogged down into siege and trench warfare around the city of Plevna.  To break the stalemate the Turks have sent a force over the Caucasus mountains in a raid to sweep across the Caucasian Plain, moving fast on a broad front living off the land and destroying everything in their path, emulating Sherman’s march to the sea during the American Civil War.

The Guard infantry, mountain guns and Naval contingent are deployed to the right flank.

Supported by mountain artillery, without any expectation of resupply or reinforcement their orders are to avoid pitched battle, march north in a feint towards Rostov then turn east avoiding Tsaritsyn (Volgograd) to attack Astrakhan from the landward while a naval flotilla makes a co-ordinated attack from the Caspian Sea.  Attached to the command are a group of Prussian advisers, veteran officers recently released from service after their victory in France, and a Naval contingent who will provide liaison with the flotilla for the attack on Astrakhan.

In the centre the Turkish light horse move to the crest of the hill.

The raid has two objectives, the first to draw enemy troops and resources away from the main theatre in the Balkans, the second to encourage a rising of the Kazakh and Uzbek cities of the Khiva Khanate, who have suffered the humiliation of Russian conquest in recent decades.  The capture of Astrakhan would provide a forward port through which they could be supplied with arms, the Cities are opportunists who will only back the winning side but it is hoped they will heed the call to jihad by their coreligionists but if that does not succeed the expedition will revert to bribery, it carries 30,000 pieces of gold provided by the British and American Governments who will are pleased to assist in any mischief which may cause the Russians some difficulty.

The light horse emerging from the ruins are conversions by Ross Macfarlane

Tomorrow, the Russians respond.

The Battle of Astrakhan (Part 2) - a 54mm RussoTurkish sideshow between the Seas

Continuing the battle played by email with 54mm toy soldiers using the "Big Wars" rules devised by Stuart Asquith and Jack Alexander. 

News of the raid has caused consternation at Russian headquarters, reports are coming in that border posts in the mountains have been brushed aside and local garrisons overrun as the Turks advance in three swift columns, destroying everything in their path.  Orders have been sent out recalling all garrisons in the region to concentrate at Tsaritsyn to the north, no regular troops can be spared from the main front in the Balkans so the General Staff set to the job of improvising a command for the defence.

The Russian centre and left wing advance supported by field artillery.

A regiment of Cossacks and Riflemen from the Caucasus are being shipped across the Caspian Sea to Astrakhan where they will make a forced march to Tsaritsyn.  Hussars, Cuirassiers and Cossacks from the Imperial Guard are being ferried down the River Don, from Moscow. 

From his position in the centre the Russian commander surveys his right wing, covered by a screen of Cuirassiers his Lancers, Montenegrins and Caucasian Riflemen shelter behind the gentle slopes of Windmill Hill.

At Odessa a Brigade has been formed from dispossessed Montenegrin and Albanian refugees, they are being trained by Polish and Walachian Officers recruited from the French Foreign Regiment, recently disbanded.  Their lack of formal training is more than made up for by their fighting spirit, they are being shipped across the Black Sea to Rostov where they will be rushed east to join the general concentration.

The Russian right wing begins it's advance.

We join the action where the Russian forces have concentrated and moved to block the Turks advancing on Astrakhan, they are surrounded on all sides by the wastes of the Circassian Depression and there is no way round so the only option is to break through the Russian line.

On the left wing the Caucasian Cossacks and Albanians have occupied the village.

The two commanders have no idea what size or composition the forces opposing them will be or where they will appear on the battlefield, they can only discover this through probing with reconnaissance patrols.  In the north east sector a village built with stout mud walls nestles in the bend of a river making it potentially a very formidable defencive position and the Russian commander quickly moves to occupy it.

  

The Russians discover the village is empty and the plains opposite across the river are unoccupied.

The Turkish commander has deployed to the south west, avoiding the risk of excessive casualties from attacking a fortified position across a river, while the Russians discover that they have nearly a third of their force cut off from where the main action will take place.

Umpires note

I had originally intended the size and composition of the two forces to be very diferent but purely by chance rather than design they came out fairly even, they both had roughly 100 infantry, 20 cavalry, 2 guns and 6 Command.  The Russian field guns had an advantage in range over the Turkish mountain guns but in practice this was found to give no benefit. 

The players were not aware of each others victory conditions: for the Turks it was to break through the enemy line by taking at least 50% of their forces across his baseline, for the Russians it was to defeat the raid by preventing the breakthrough to Astrakhan and inflicting at least 50% casualties.  For both sides there was a bonus for whoever possessed the gold at the end.

Nearly all the figures used are conversions, the Turkish light horse, Guard infantry (in light blue zouave tunics), Montenegrins and Albanians as well as the buildings in the village were all made by Ross Macfarlane and featured in his Emir's Lair scenario (many thanks Ross).  The Russian Hussars and recast Britains Cossacks came from the collection of John Ruddle.  All the rest are my own humble efforts.

Tomorrow the combat begins in earnest.

The Battle of Astrakhan (part 3) - A diversion from the Balkans

Continuing the battle played by email with 54mm toy soldiers using the "Big Wars" rules devised by Stuart Asquith and Jack Alexander.

For those who prefer the game of Imagi-Nations this started out as a conflict between the Sublime Porte of the Levant and The Balkan League, sadly due to my general lack of imagination we soon reverted to the historical scenario of the somewhat RussoTurkish intrigues and incursions of the late 1800's.

The Turks have set up a command post on the hill in the shelter of the ruins.

The Turks being concentrated to the west have begun a general advance of their entire line, their infantry command the heights, artillery cover the central plain between the river and the hills while their cavalry sweep into the valley.

The Turkish cavalry thunder across the valley between the Ancient Temple and Windmill Hill unaware of what they may face ahead of them.....or the Cuirassiers rounding the hill to fall on their right flank.

The Russian right wing is painfully thin, two regiments of infantry and two of cavalry facing an assualt by nearly three times their number......but they don't know this! 

The Turkish light horse career on in their wild charge.

Overview of the  field at moves 3 and 4.

The umpires view, shared with you dear reader but denied to the two players who can only see what is visible from the position of their commander at table top level.  The result of this is that their ability to judge distances on the table, the effect of terrain on movement and the actual position of some of their troops starts to become impaired.

The impressive advance of the Turkish line, the mountain artillery deploy.

The Russian right ambles forward in the lee of the hill unaware of the full force of the assault about to break upon them.

The Turkish artillery tries a ranging shot and finds it falls far short.

The Russian battery on the left replies and finds it's mark comfortably.

The second Russian battery in the centre on the line finds the range of the Turkish light horse with ease.

Commander of the Turkish forces, a Swiss emigre, Wolfgang Feyler with his Prussian advisors and the "Diplomatic Mission" Colonel Sharpe of the British Political Agency and Master Sergeant Harper of the United States Cavalry, with the "Diplomatic Bag".

The Caucasian Cossacks leave the village and prepare to swim their horses across the river to rejoin the main body.

Having discovered that the village is unoccupied and there appear to be no enemy troops opposite their left wing the Russians rapidly recall their troops back to the centre while the gathering threat on their right builds ominously.  Is this a knee jerk reaction?  Is the action on the right a feint to draw off Russian troops from the left so that Turks concealed off table can swoop in and occupy the village?  Who knows? ...it's a risk.

The Russians pour back over the bridge to rejoin the main body in the centre, the one small bridge proves to be a major problem causing a bottleneck as the men jostle with on another to get across.

The old bridge creaks and threatens to colapse under the pounding of hobnailed boots as the Russian conscripts are driven on by the blows and curses of their officrs. 

Desperately trying to buy time the Russian artillery on the left continues the counter battery work to deflect attention from the troops hurrying to get back to the main body. 

The Russian central battery continues to play on the Turkish cavalry charge trying to blunt the effect they will have when they hit the lightly held right wing. 

Tomorrow - which way will the combat turn?