Posts

Air War 3

Image
In 1940 the Germans had advanced their airbases to the coast of France and over the summer regular raiding moved from the Channel until it reached London.     All that summer the Battle of Britain was fought.     The Memorial Day is 15 September so what better way to mark the event than a refight of a battle from 15 September 1940 fought on 15 September 2023.     On that day a Big Wing engaged a German raid. 100 hundred fighters engaged 25 bombers and shot them all down.  Well, that was the claim. Actually, they got 6.   The initial situation.  Three Dorniers have finished their bombing run; astern of them are the close escort of two Me-109s already heading home and ahead are their top cover also heading home.  In the distance up-sun are six Hurricanes and two Spitfires.   While the Dorniers turn the close escort move to engage and the top cover race to intervene.     The Dorniers sort themselves out for the flight back to France, the close cover continues the fight with the rear Briti

Airwar 1940

Image
  In 1940 the Germans had advanced their airbases to the coast of France.     The Battle of Britain was about to begin.   One lone Hurricane fighter was on a test flight over Kent but a German fighter swarm on a fighter sweep had spotted the lone fighter and was getting ready to pounce.  However, the Germans had been spotted by an RAF formation that was seeking to use their up-sun advantage. The initial situation. Two German aircraft miss when firing and the British fighter dodges the third, thereby surviving the initial attack and is now alerted to the danger while the support closes in on the Germans.   The Germans continue to fire and continue to miss. All the aircraft are now in combat and a whirling engagement develops.  The Germans have positional advantage over their prey but generally miss when firing or the pilot, either clever or lucky, dodges their shots.  Meanwhile 74 Squadron arrive and prove better shots, scoring hits to the discomfort of the Germans who find that they th

POLAND: 5 Battle of Rawa

Image
    5 Battle of Rawa  (Rules: Arras to Ardennes)   Battle Turn Zero and Start   The wall of blinds going down masked the German grouping of the battlegroup on their right centre.  The Poles were in trenches forward of the treeline with a clear field of fire and with the tanks in the front line.                     Battle Turn One The first battalion advanced on the right of the road and promptly put pressure on the Polish infantry.  3 rd  Tank advanced directly to their front and promptly ran into the Polish tanks.  The defences proved deeply illusionary and in the combat that followed the Polish tanks unit was put to flight.  At the same time the advance of the second battalion overcame the Polish infantry defenders and a hole was torn in the defences.   In the picture on the left one Polish company has retreated from their trenches into the woods, in the centre the German tank companies are advancing screened by reconnaissance that is facing off against the Polish 3 rd  Battalion rec

Air War 1939

Image
  It might have been a Phoney War in France in 1939 but for air and naval forces there was much fighting to be done.     The following two actions are based on historic events.   One lone Hurricane fighter found itself over Germany; seeking to return to base it formatted on some other fighters and then discovered it was a formation of Bf109d German fighters.   The initial situation.     The formation leaders turn away from the threat while their wingman turn towards it.   There is a quick exchange of fire.     The undamaged Hurricane dives away while the 109s scatter to regroup in pursuit.                  The Hurricane is the faster aeroplane and outdistances the 109s. The Bf109d will now be withdrawn from frontline service and be replaced with the Bf109e, which will have a more powerful engine.                     It showed the value of the fighter formations adopted by the German Air Force after the lessons of the Spanish Civil war and the critical importance of power and speed in c

Poland: 4 Second Battle of Piotrkow

Image
4 Second Battle of Piotrkow (Rules: Arras to Ardennes)   Battle Turn Zero and Start In order to avoid fighting on the same battlefield the random terrain system was used on the basis that the Germans would side-step a successful defence.   The wall of blinds going down masked the German grouping of the battlegroup on their left flank.  Once again, the Poles were clustered on their left flank with their right filled with dummy blinds.  The 2 nd  battalion was an experienced veteran legion battalion while the third was a reserve militia battalion.           Battle Turn One The first move was the Germans swinging from the extreme left flank, reconnaissance units scything through the blinds of the Polish forces.  The Poles had been over reliant on the terrain when deploying when having trenches to deploy their front-line troops they could have readily been deployed in open ground.   One German infantry battalion was used to attack the wood that was the corner of the attack, while the main

Poland 1 Battle of Wielun (R)

Image
1 Battle of Wielun (Rules: Rommel)  Battle Turn Zero and Start The ROMMEL rules use a grid of squares and these are indicated in the pictures by the white tile separators.     There is an inherent conflict between something easily seen with high utility and something that is aesthetically disruptive. The Germans fielded late war ‘Normandy’ gear; 1939 equipment finishing production!    Players alternate in taking turns and each player gets eight turns during a day of combat.   The Germans deployed with their two tank regiments at the front, backed by the motorised infantry and supporting artillery in the final line.  The Poles deployed with two infantry regiments providing cordon defence with their tank companies spaced out as infantry support.  Each objective marker had a defending company and the remaining infantry were placed in reserve behind the centre with the cavalry battalion, acting as a mobile reserve.  The artillery was placed in two locations. The objectives comprised a GHQ

Poland: Battle of Mokra

Image
1 Battle of Mokra (Rules: Memoir 44) There have been various versions of the battle published online and the one selected for this was the BREAKTHROUGH version that provided some depth to the battlefield.     Although victory was defined as ten banners this was only through elimination of units with no objectives given.     The attached pictures were taken every two turns during the game.         Set up is pre-set so that the battle starts with a German tank column having already penetrated the defences.    The elements specific to the Polish campaign is that the Polish tankettes are represented by the reduction of the standard tank unit from three figures to two, four of the nine infantry units are rated as cavalry and BLITZ rules are in effect, which means the German aircraft are more effective and the Poles are not allowed any. The Germans started by trying to push through the middle with their tanks.  They were shot to pieces by the artillery.   They then tried attacking on the fla