1:2400 Age of Sail: The Algeciras Campaign 1801

Hi all,

I have recently decided to go completely insane and build and rig a couple of fleets for the Napoleonic period...

Anyway, these will be for the fairly balanced (in terms of the number of ships involved) battles around Gibraltar and Algeciras in 1801.

The plan is to do the full orbat and the initial purchases are:

Rear-Admiral of the Blue Saumarez's squadron

HMS Caesar, Third rate, 80           Royal Navy          Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez

Captain Jahleel Brenton

HMS Superb, Third rate, 74           Royal Navy          Captain Richard Goodwin Keats

HMS Spencer, Third rate, 74           Royal Navy          Captain Henry Darby      

HMS Pompee, Third rate, 74           Royal Navy          Captain Charles Stirling

HMS Hannibal, Third rate, 74           Royal Navy          Captain Solomon Ferris

HMS Venerable, Third rate, 74           Royal Navy          Captain Samuel Hood    

HMS Audacious, Third rate, 74           Royal Navy          Captain Shuldham Peard              

HMS Thames, Frigate, 32           Royal Navy          Captain Aiskew Hollis     

Carlotta, Frigate, 38           Portuguese Navy             Captain Crawfurd Duncan            

HMS Calpe, Brig, 14           Royal Navy          Commander George Dundas      

Louisa, Brig, 14           Hired                     Lieutenant William Truscott        

Vice-Admiral Moreno's squadron

Real Carlos, First rate, 112         Spain     Captain Don J. Esquerra

San Hermenegildo, First rate, 112         Spain     Captain Don J. Emparran              

San Fernando, Second rate, 96           Spain     Captain Don J. Malina

Argonauta, Third rate, 80           Spain     Captain Don J. Herrera

San Agustín, Third rate, 74           Spain     Captain Don R. Jopete

Formidable, Third rate, 80           France  Captain Amable-Gilles Troude

Desaix, Third rate, 74           France  Captain Christy de la Pallière

Indomptable, Third rate, 80           France  Captain Claude Touffet

Saint Antoine, Third rate, 74           France  Commodore Julien Le Ray

Santa Sabina, Frigate, 34           Spain     Vice-Admiral Don Juan Joaquin de Moreno

                                                                  Contre-amiral Charles Linois

Muiron, Frigate, 40           France  Captain Jules-François Martinencq

Libre, Frigate, 40           France  Captain Proteau

Vautour, Lugger, 14           France  Lieutenant Kémel

Perla, Frigate, 34           Spain     Unknown

1:4800 Naval Warfare: History repeating itself - Naval Thunder

Hi all,

Well I almost could not believe it, everytime I play this scenario it ends up being a slugging match and the result (as it should have been) tends to be the defeat of the Germans.

This one did not go that way...

The Germans are sighted heading towards the open Atlantic

Hood leads the RN formation

With Prince of Wales following

Hood starts by firing some accurate shots at Prinz Eugen

Whilst PoW lands some damage on Bismark

Both Germans dastardly target the Hood

Hood quickly takes a lot of damage, and just as she hauls out of the line with crippled engines and a fire...

History repeats itself and her magazine goes up

A shocking result tbh, I can only imagine how horrible it would have been to have seen it in real life!

Thanks for reading!

Peter

1:4800 Naval Warfare: Battle of the Denmark Straight - Naval Thunder

Needed for Saturday: one opponent. Must be prepared to be used as target practice by the Royal Navy and to speak in a corny German accent!

Going back to my favourite wargaming subject this weekend, naval warfare!

Peter

The Anarchy of the 12th Century : 28mm Gripping Beast & Black Tree Normans

Hi all,

This is a little bit of a nostalgic post of my painted Norman army - these are now on Ebay and will be sold off to buy a larger force with more later period equipment ready for gaming the 12th century a bit more accurately.

The force was a pretty balanced list (I think) of 24 spearmen, 2 groups of 12 missile troops and 12 milites.

For my next force I will be trying a few more colours on the tunics...

But it did look good though in games!

Peter

The Anarchy of the 12th Century : 28mm Lion Rampant Test Game

Hi all,

Had a fun game using my Normans in a test run through of the Lion Rampant rules.

It was a little frustrating in that most of my units did not move at all for most of the turns but it seems to be a quick and easy rules set that I will be able to pick up and play!

Forgive the WIP terrain!

Peter

Cold War Gone Hot 1985 : The 4th Netherlands Mechanised Division Order of Battle (CWC)

Hi all,

I have finally decided on the order of battle for my Dutch.

We have:

Division Assets:
298th Helicopter Squadron: 1 x Alouette iii

41st Armoured Brigade:
Bde HQ: 1 x HQ M577.
41st AA Battery: 2 x Gepard SPAA.
41st Engineer Company: 3 x M113 Engineer Combat Teams, 1 x AEV, 1 x AVLB
41st Artillery Battalion: 4 x M109A2 155mm SPG, 1 x FO (YPR-765C).
42nd Mechanised Battalion:
BHQ: 1 x HQ YPR-765C, 1 x Recon Lynx M113 C&R.
3 Mechanised Companies, each: 3 x YPR-765, Combat Teams
1 Weapons Company: 2 x YPR-765 with RT61 120mm Mortars, 1 x YPR-765PRAT (TOW).
41st & 43rd Tank Battalions, each:
BHQ: 1 x HQ Leopard 2A1, 1 x Recon Lynx M113 C&R.
3 Tank Companies, each: 4 x Leopard 2A1.

43rd Mechanised Brigade
Bde HQ: 1 x HQ M577.
43rd AA Battery: 2 x Gepard SPAA.
43rd Anti-Tank Company: 4 x YPR-765PRAT (TOW).
43rd Engineer Company: 3 x M113 Engineer Combat Teams, 1 x AEV, 1 x AVLB
43rd Artillery Battalion: 4 x M109A2 155mm SPG, 1 x FO (YPR-765C).
41st & 47th Mechanised Battalions, each:
BHQ: 1 x HQ YPR-765, 1 x Recon Lynx M113 C&R
3 Mechanised Companies, each: 3 x YPR-765 Combat Teams
1 Weapons Company: 1 x YPR-765 with RT61 120mm Mortar, 1 x YPR-765 with TOW.
42nd Tank Battalion:
BHQ: 1 x HQ Leopard 1A1-V, 1 x Recon Lynx M113 C&R.
3 Tank Companies, each: 4 x Leopard 1A1-V.

These two formations above are part of the 4th Mechanised Division, and are generally kept at high readiness (as far as that goes for Dutch forces) at their stations in Germany.

Cold War Gone Hot 1985 : The historical prelude to World War iii

Hi all,

Here is a rough draft of the timeline that is going to be used in my "alternate history" 1985 - the actual course of the war will be reflected in the games I have along with the Cold War Commanders annual Big Games.

• Konstantin Chernenko dies 10th March 1985.
• Mikhail Gorbachev is elected on 11^th March 1985.
• United States Army military intelligence officer Arthur D. Nicholson is shot by Soviet military sergeant Aleksandr Ryabtsev at a Soviet military base in Ludwigslust, East Germany. This causes a diplomatic incident and vicious infighting over policy between military hardliners and the moderates.
• General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov takes over in a military coup on the evening of the 25th of March 1985 as a counter to the reformers in the party, Gorbachev's eventual fate is "lost in the darkness of history". The majority of the Politburo that do not publicly change their support to Ouromov that very same evening are arrested.

• Demonstrations in East Germany and Poland to protest the coup and the removal of moderate politicians lead to mass chaos.
• In May, the coup leaders decide to end the uprisings in East Germany and the rest of the Eastern Bloc with a swift Chinese-style military crackdown. (In East Germany at least, the crackdown is not limited to demonstrators; numerous leading moderate Communists are "disappeared", never to be heard from again.)
• The crackdown inflames popular opposition to communism. In early June, a demonstration in Leipzig is brutally repressed by the East German Army at great loss of life. Two days later, a demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate ends with soldiers killing many East Berlin residents trying to scale the Berlin Wall and a West German cameraman filming the events. Those soldiers also fire shots over the wall into West Berlin. Soon after, the East German government responds to the international condemnation of their conduct by expelling all foreign journalists from the country.

• In mid-June, NATO airlifts military reinforcements and emergency supplies to West Berlin.
• After an interview with West German TV in which Ourumov implicitly threatens West Berlin, an American colonel orders that tactical nuclear weapons in West Germany be placed on high alert. Ourumov responds with new threats, a massive deployment of the Soviet submarine fleet to the Atlantic, and incursions of Soviet bombers into NATO airspace.
• These frequent forays in to NATO airspace lead to numerous incidents between the opposing forces, with a Bear bomber colliding with a US Navy F14 on the 24th of June over Iceland.

• On the 25^th June, 1985, Eastern troops cut off transportation and supply links between West Germany and West Berlin, and the Soviet Air Force mobilises to close off East Germany's airspace. Ourumov hopes the plan will prevent the West from entering into the Eastern sphere of influence and cut Berlin off from the West. NATO forces start a full-scale deployment into West Germany.
• As American convoys begin to cross the Atlantic, Ouromov declares a blockade of European ports. On the 1^st of July 1985, Soviet submarines and land based bombers attack NATO naval forces operating in the North Sea and Atlantic.
• Shortly afterwards, the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency session in New York City in the hopes of diffusing the hostilities between the superpowers, but this proves fruitless when neither side refuses to back down until other does. War at this point seems inevitable.

      What do ya all think?

      Peter