We (members of the Loose Association of Wargamers) returned to Tim H’s very pleasant home village of Framlingham this weekend. We were last there for a wargaming session in 2014, time has flown! Ten of us gathered on Friday evening, got quickly caught up and enjoyed a good curry and a decent amount of beer. The banter was lively and continued throughout the weekend.
There were some very good games put on, two on each day. I was crap with the camera and only managed a few pics (my apologies to Tim for not getting some of his excellent FIW and Sci-Fi – both in 54mm!), but others did a lot better and Andy’s blog is a good place to visit to see a lot more – here
When Alex and Peeler offered a big DBN game of Vittoria I volunteered like a shot. They made a custom battlefield in the last week or so, especially for the game – a brilliant effort. Alex was Wellington and Peeler took the part of the King Jerome. I took the part of ‘Daddy’ Hill and Gary got the late arrival columns under Graham and Dalhousie. On the other side of the table were Simon and Andy as the two French sub-commanders. The scenario was an interesting one, with the French deploying in their historical ‘caught on the hop’ positions and the allies piling on the pressure and trying to close in from various angles.
Alex setting up on Friday:
Saturday
The start of the battle, with my command aiming straight up the road and looking to get around the French flank on the slopes to the right.
The first of Andy’s rearguard are dead and we’re on our way, albeit a bit slowly due to being unable to make additional/march moves.
Mid-battle – Dalhousie has arrived on the other side of the river and Hill and Wellington are chasing the fleeing Frenchies up the valley:
Gary did very good work trying to storm over the bridges, taking big casualties but dealing the same out to the waiting French. The fighting intensified on the river line, but was petering out on the other flank as we failed to pursue as fast as Andy routed. The highlight was Alex canistering Andy’s command figure with a deft bit of horse artillery work – a quality moment (for us) and I was forced to drive my battery over the remains as we intensified the pursuit. In the end, we didn’t get as far up the table as we would have liked but we did bring the battle to a successful conclusion a couple of turns from the end by destroying the requisite number of French elements.
As always DBN provided an excellent big battle experience and the game was a pleasure to participate in. Thanks to Andy and Mark for the effort that went in, and for everyone for the great spirit in which the game was played.
Sunday
The second day’s gaming involved an excellent fictitious colonial game set in the pre-pith helmet era. This was all Paul’s creation – terrain, scenery, most the of the figures, the plot and even a full set of rules. Very very impressive stuff all-round. We were 3 a ‘side’ (there were some cunningly conflicting player objectives) and each of us had an interesting force with its own background and characteristics.
I got sailors (for which I got to provide most of the figures) and there were forces of sepoys, jungle-loving natives, semi-regulars and fanatics from various factions. None-the-wiser we all got stuck in and Paul ran the game from a nicely illustrated set of cards he’d made. The rules were simple to learn and we could focus on the action and the fun. There were events to keep us on our toes too, such as tiger, snake and monkey attacks!
As you’ll see from the pics it was a lavish affair, and kept us occupied, and laughing, well into the afternoon. By the end, Alex’s regulars had been wiped out in the jungle in their own special ‘Nam by the local savages, Andy had been wiped out by Simon’s accurate muskets and bayonets and I had been finished off by Simon’s backstabbing ambush. He declared innocence, it all being a big misunderstanding, and so on. Yeah, yeah. Simon and Gary were the ones to achieve their missions in a thoroughly entertaining game. Thanks again Paul – awesome!
And so, a long drive back home on Sunday and now I’m already looking forward to the next get-together – November’s ancients bash in Newark.
And a good weekend was enjoyed by all from the looks of it.
Good write up! And some nice pics. It was indeed a most excellent weekend even allowing for me dying horribly in both games. I did roll an awful lot of 1s though which really didn't help… But both games were excellent with Paul's game especially looking stunning. Roll on Newark!