Artillery in TacWWII

The question of how artillery works in TacWWII came up on the Facebook group but I decided the best way to answer it was to give a detailed description here.

Let's start with the simplest case; artillery units firing at targets in their line of sight. This is what gunners call "firing over open sights". This takes place in the Direct Fire Phase, not in the Artillery Phase. 

A German sIG33 battery is firing at a troop of British A13 Cruisers at just over 400 metres range (11cm).

A13 (left) comes under fire from a sIG33 (right)

I would treat the 15cm sIG33 as a 100-130mm howitzer. In the 10-20cm range band that gives it fire factors of 5/5. We are shooting at a hard target so we use the number after the slash (not that it makes a difference in this case) giving a target number of 5. However the A13 is an armour class 1 target so there's a -1 die roll modifier. Personally I always think of a -1 modifier as increasing the number I need to roll to hit so our revised "N" value is now 6.

The sIG is in Defence Mode so our German player rolls to hit in Fire Phase A. He rolls his d10 and gets a 6. He's scored exactly "N" so the A13 troop is Neutralised. If he had rolled an 8 (N+2) or higher the result would have been a kill. Because the A13 was in Bold Attack and wouldn't fire until Fire Phase B, it doesn't get to shoot as Neutralised units may not do so.

It's worth noting that had the sIG been replaced by a mortar, a 12cm heavy for example, its "N" value against an armoured target would have been 10 meaning that it could only Neutralise a tank unit by rolling a straight 10 on the die.

-o0o-

Moving on to indirect artillery fire and to the last year of the war, let's assume we have a British Field Regiment of three 25pdr batteries firing from a location three kilometres off the British edge of the table.

This being a prepared assault on an enemy position, the entire Regiment has been ordered to support 2nd Bn the Devonshires.

As the Devonshires begin their approach march, the artillery delivers a programmed bombardment. Before the game (specifically before German deployment), the British player specified a target point, a duration (one game turn) and a barrage type (linear). 

In the artillery phase of Game Turn 1 the fire automatically arrives on target, which happens to be a road junction where the unfortunate German player has deployed a company of dug-in Fallschirmjäger.

Because this is a linear bombardment, the area covered by the fire is 4cm x 12cm oriented parallel to the British table edge.

All three of the Jäger platoons are at least partially under the template so the British player rolls three d10s for effect.

The 25pdr is treated as a "75-90mm Field Gun" and the firing range is in the <160cm bracket so the base "N" values are 7/10 (7 against soft targets, 10 against armour). Infantry are soft targets so the target number would be 7 but it's raised to 8 because the targets are in cover.

The British player announces, "as the dice fall" and throws the three dice. Reading from left to right he gets a ten, a two and an eight. 

N+2 isn't enough to destroy an infantry target so the result is that the two platoons at the ends of the company position are Neutralised. We mark them accordingly and note that we'll need a company morale test at the end of the turn. The explosion marker reminds us of the centre of the barrage area and that the company morale test will be -1 due to "under artillery fire".

-o0o-

Later on in the game, the British player attempts to call in fire on the single model that represents the hamlet of Valkenhorst. The Devonshires' battalion HQ is close enough to have observed a German platoon moving into the location so this is allowed.

Normally requesting fire would follow the sequence "write the request in the Orders Phase of this turn and try to send it in the Orders Transmission Phase next turn". However, because this late in the war the British are deemed to use "Sophisticated Doctrine", the request can be written and transmitted straight away.

The British player writes his request thus: "Whole Regiment to fire HE for two turns, point bombardment, target is the centre of Valkenhorst". For this scenario the British are rated Tac 6 so any roll of six or higher means the fire will arrive.

In the Artillery Phase, the British player attempts a Tac roll to see if the fire is on target. He rolls a two, which is four under the number needed to get on target. This means the fire deviates 3cm x 4 = 12cm in a random direction.

The British player curses when he sees that the deviation puts a Devonshires platoon under the bombardment marker (which is 4cm in diameter because this is a point bombardment).  

The unfortunate infantry must suffer three dice (one for each battery firing) at the 25pdr's a target number of 7. The nine causes them to be Neutralised (ten would have been a kill).

Because the Devonshires requested two turns of fire, the artillery will fire again next turn but the Tac roll for accuracy will be done again, this time with a +1 to the die roll. Hopefully the accuracy will be better next time!

I hope this is helpful. I'll amend this if further info is requested.

Back from the North

The Baroness and I are back from a road trip around points north.  We didn't see much in the way of wargames-related sights (though Dumbarton Castle was fascinating) but we did visit our share of markets and second hand bookshops.

The starting point to our shopping expedition was Tynemouth Metro Station, which hosts a market every weekend. There I found...

It's bound to be used in a game of Arc of Fire some time and at just £7 it would have been rude not to buy it.

The shops of the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh proved a great source of reference material.

I already have the Napoleonic Wars sourcebook that's full of Sharp Practice-relevant material so the ACW equivalent was a must-have. The Diary of a Cavalry Officer should be a great source of narrative snippets and the Men At Arms book will help me interpret it.

Finally on the trip I was somewhat surprised to see this in a back street in Moffatt... 

It's a replica of a Spitfire Mk.IX displayed in the garden of Lord Dowding's family home. Apparently the actual PT462 was converted into a two-seater and can still be seen giving flights to lucky punters somewhere in England.

Beware the Calends of September

In a moment of madness I offered to run at Ebor Lard (first weekend of September) the Infamy Infamy game I'd originally intended to have ready for Steel Lard (in November).

One Roman force - I need two!

While the basic game design is fairly well laid-out in my head, I still have to complete at least two items of terrain and at least three units of Romans. I also have to properly learn the rules and adapt them to fit my somewhat peculiar scenario. Oh, and playtest, playtest, playtest!

And I have to do all this in eight weeks, the first of which I'll be spending on holiday in Scotland. Wish me luck!

Batavian Auxiliaries

A New Lardy Day

I spent Saturday at a second gaming event/sauna in seven days. West Mid-Lards is a new Lardy Day organised by John Cooper (aka Maraviglia on BlueSky) in Bedworth, Warwickshire.

The venue was a town-centre games shop called Venator Tabletop Gaming. They seem to specialise in Games Workshop and collectible card gaming so, as a historical gamer, there was nothing for me to buy except for the several cans of Diet Coke needed to keep hydrated. If there'd been some modelling materials on sale I'd definitely have picked some up if only to support the shop.

With doors opening to game-runners at 10 and to the public at 11, I had time to get Running For Bull Run set up and chat with mates Ken Welsh and Mike Wilkins before getting down to serious play. Sorry, I didn't get any pics of the other games.

I was delighted to learn that the first game's players would include Chris Clarke and his son James, both regulars at Steel Lard. Chris had already played as the Union side in Sheffield so I decided he should try represent the forces of Fate this time. A quick poll of the other players saw James joining his Dad while Chris Collett and Pete Hartman represented the Union officers.

This was a very tight game. The Union officers did a good job of organising a defensive line that quickly saw off the Black Horse Cavalry. 

The Fate players managed to flood the battlefield end of the turnpike with small units of routing Union men who were then charged by the aggressive Louisiana Tiger Rifles. Although the Tigers lost some men, their opponents were wiped out on two occasions. Union casualties were mounting up and with them the Fate players' Victory Points. 

Unfortunately for the Tigers though, Mr Clarke sr developed a sudden inability to roll high. At a key moment their movement distance was just three inches. This left them smack in front of the forming Union line of battle.

Dice rolling seemed to be no problem for their opponents and the draw of the cards was also on their side. Two unanswered volleys saw the Tigers wiped out with their Leader (Sgt Warren Peace) also joining the casualty pile.

With the Fate Card deck exhausted, the game ended in a narrow win to the Union by 27 points to 25.

I took a stroll to the nearby Greggs for lunch - a corned beef bake and a doughnut. Bedworth reminded me somewhat of Worksop; not an obvious tourist destination. However, Nicholas Chamberlaine's Almshouses are quite picturesque.

The second game started with far less experienced players; Pete had played before and Ben had played the related Infamy Infamy but for Luke this was a first. Pete had to leave early so I allocated him and Luke to the Union side and concentrated on making sure Luke had enough of a handle on the rules to go solo when Pete left.

This was an interesting game; Ben, as Fate, seemed reluctant to deploy routing Union soldiers onto the table and this reduced the effect of the Black Horse Cavalry - there just weren't that many wavering units for them to terrify.

The Union commanders on the other hand seemed to like the idea of getting formed Union forces over the bridge and off to safety. This was something no previously players had considered and their logic was probably reasonable. Eventually I persuaded Luke to stick around and have a go at shooting some Confederates and he did have some success.

The vagaries of the Fate Deck meant that the spectating members of Congress were only noticed to be in the area late in the game. For a moment or two it looked like the Confederates might capture them but in the end a timely movement roll of 11 on two dice saw Luke withdraw them safely behind his developing rearguard.

In the end, though, the Union officers were unable to get close enough to the battlefield-end of the table to rally the Late-arriving routers. The second game was won by Ben's Forces of Fate by 25 points to 17.

Pete, Ben and Luke

The response to the game, both as a visual spectacle and as a gaming experience was overwhelmingly positive and I was delighted that the players seemed to have a good time.

Several people asked me how many times I'd run Running From Bull Run. These, it turns out, were its seventh and eighth public outings (on top of three development/test games). 

We're now getting to the point where the game's been to most of the events I attend. Only Ebor Lard remains and I've already agreed to run Infamy Infamy there. The figures and terrain will continue to see action but I think this particular game may be taken out of the repertoire for a while.

West Mid-Lards was an informal affair and lacked some of the features we've come to expect of Lardy Days (fixed time-table, prearranged allocations of players, after-event drinks and curry) but it was none-the-worse for that. A strong start for an event that could well become a fixture in the gaming calendar.

The Joy of Calais

As Sheffield just began to get over the hump of the recent hot weather, a few hundred wargamers descended upon the multi-room sauna that is Sheffield Hallam University for the annual Joy of Six event. Despite the thermal discomfort it was a really enjoyable day and I was delighted to meet new people and introduce them to the TacWWII rules.

As regulars here will know, this year the Cold War Commanders group were putting on Calais: Encounter on the St Omer Road, a scenario depicting events on 23rd May 1940, just prior to the start of the siege of Calais.

Early in the planning it looked like the rest of the group fancied a year off from staging a game.  Accordingly I planned to do what I fancied, thinking I'd be running the whole thing myself. This at least had the advantage of speeding up the decision-making process and allowed me to develop the game across most of the preceding twelve months.

A couple of months into the planning period, though, a plan to wargame a 1980s Soviet invasion of Iceland emerged so a two table, two-rule-system offer was planned for. Until, that was, our terrain maestro Richard P suffered a serious health set-back and suddenly we were back to a single game. Get well soon Richard!

Among the innovations I wanted to try were a couple of Keynote (I'm a confirmed Mac user) presentations. One of these was running continuously covering the background to the battle, forces orders and organisations, and telling people how to get the rules and engage with the on-line community.

The other presentation was advanced as needed and served as a turn-by-turn progress display and a reminder of scheduled events such as the arrival of reinforcements.

In the end, the TacWWII Calais scenario happened with sterling help from Andy T and Ian S. They set up the Germans and British respectively before we were joined by show attendees and new friends Ian F (for 1st Panzer Division's Aufklärungs Abteilung) and Les H (for 3RTR).

The area bounded by Windmill Hill, Fréthun station and Nielles-lès-Calais would be where the British forces began to muster for the fight.

With the two sides almost bumping into each other this isn't a scenario where the action is delayed by long approach marches. To reflect the confusion of the unexpected collision, only one company on each side can dice to change Mode on game turn 1. 

Point of Contact!

Andy (before Ian F's arrival) had elected to have the Kradschützen (motorcycle infantry) company lead down the road and with British tanks to their front, they rapidly got out of the way and tried to outflank them along the road to Nielles.

This left an armoured car company in the front window. As reported previously, I'd distinguished the cannon-armed armoured cars from their machine-gun-only compatriots by use of air-recognition flags. This worked well for players not familiar with my model collection.

B Squadron 3RTR at the level crossing.
Regt HQ in the field.

The lead armoured car company managed to get into Deliberate Attack Mode.

Early on, a strafing run by a Hurricane took out the German engineers' Opel Blitz.

By game turn 3 a complex melee was in progress.

Les looks confident as 2pdr rounds make short
work of thinly armoured German machines

Things looked bad for the Kradschützen as two squadrons on British tanks converged on them.

They would, however, take out one troop of Cruiser tanks before being destroyed in fighting between the Fréthun road and the railway.

A few British reinforcements were scheduled. Unlike their German opponents, they would arrive automatically, selected by card draw. I did this because they were very much there for historical flavour rather than fighting power. On game turn three a RASC petrol convoy arrived, its drivers dismounting to form single rifle platoon, and on turn 6 a searchlight battery (commanded by Lt Airey Neave) deployed behind a roadblock in Nielles.

The Germans, however, had to roll each turn to see if reinforcements arrived. This they proved sadly unable to do to any useful degree. Turn after turn the reinforcements failed to appear at all or if they did turn up, it was in the form of two companies of truck-borne infantry: not ideal against tanks.

Even a Stuka strike proved ineffective.

With a regular trickle of casualties causing Company Morale Tests it was inevitable that bad rolls would come along sooner or later and although the British had one company flee entirely, it was the Germans who failed a Battalion Test. The Aufklärungs Abteilung received a Halt result. 

Although division HQ got an order through to restart their attack, and a light tank company with Panzers III and II arrived on the penultimate game turn, it was clearly not going to be possible to clear the Calais road in the time allotted.

We therefore agreed a British victory with 3RTR still holding the line at Windmill Hill.

I was very pleased with how the game went and owe hearty thanks to our recruits to the cause of resurrecting TacWWII:

Left to right: Andy, your host, Les, Ian S and Ian F

Now on to packing for next weekend's West Mid Lards event (after a much-needed beer!)

 

More Joy of Six prep

I've tweaked the Calais game mat with the addition of green edges to the roads and completed a few more village modules as well as creating some signs to identify the villages to onlookers.

I haven't used the "fill in mix" I created recently at this stage as I want to keep it available for use on the day.

I'm increasingly more satisfied with how this is going to look but I've every confidence that I'll come up with some kind of tweak, probably late on Saturday!

A bit of nostalgia

Forty years ago I was hanging around Sheffield wondering what to do with the rest of my life and combining the roles of magazine editor and librarian of NODDSoc, the University of Sheffield's role-playing society. 

The library consisted of a grey-painted steel cabinet somewhere in the bowels of the Octagon Centre, the university's recently completed conference and performance venue. I don't have a hugely clear memory of what games were in there but randomly I recall a copy of the almost-unplayably-complex Aftermath, the Thieves' World boxed campaign setting, and Village of Twilight, a scenario for a long-forgotten horror RPG called Chill. Oh and probably a copy of the Borderlands campaign pack for Runequest.

Anyway, in the course of my society duties I would host a taster session at the Student Union's Freshers' Fair. One of the players was a cute young blonde who had never tried RPGs before. My game-mastering skills must have done something to impress her because we've now been married for 36 years. We have three grown-up kids, two of whom have since attended Sheffield and become NODDSoc members. 

Our daughter has since become a member of the society's committee (and she's not the only second-generation committee member) and recently, after bit of a cock-up on the logistics front, I was delighted to find that the current incarnation of the NODDSoc library was residing in the back of her car until she could get access to its new home.

There's some really old stuff in there; some of which might well have been under my care in the 1980s!

I've completely moved on from RPGs but it was pleasant to wallow in a bit of nostalgia.