Nippon

I have two 15mm Japanese Isuzu 1.5-ton Trucks looking to transport the unpainted infantry to the battlefield.

Out West

Think of this as part of my Spaghetti Western stage.

Poland - Chain of Command

Today I finished up 2 armored cars (Wz.34) and a 7TP, all in 15mm. All ready for the next game of Chain of Command. I wonder if I will run out of unpainted miniatures. :-)

SPI Jerusalem '67

Mark's recent interest in the Six Day War had me looking through my board game collection and I found this gem. It is my original copy of The Battle for Jerusalem 1967 from 1977. So after many years in the back of my collection I am looking at giving it another try.

For those not familiar with SPI they were the other guys in the early days of the wargaming industry. Back when there were two, SPI and the larger competitor, Avalon Hill. While Avalon Hill sold their games as "book case" editions, SPI games were sold either as "flats" or in their house magazine Strategy & Tactics.

This game was designed by Mark Herman (now of  Shenandoah Studio fame) and game developer James Dunnigan. These were two of the great for the industry and I have played and still play many of their games.

This is a battle with unit counters being battalions and brigades using the early version of combat generation were a unit is either destroyed or forced to retreat, common in the 70s and 80s. In all a fun playable game.

Now  Jerusalem '67 does have its faults but in general I find it the best game on the subject, that is the conquest of the West Bank in the Six Day War. While there are other games out there I prefer the abstract detail in a game released less than 10 years after the war. In 1977 research dealing with the Middle East is both difficult and costly. Primary sources in English were non-existent.  The secrecy after the Yom Kippur War made military research tough. So there are problems with the units. Not all Shermans were alike in this war and the Jordanians seem to be missing their Chieftains and have Pattons instead. Does this make much of a difference, I do not think so, at least at this scale.

What I find distressing is the fact that the map does not cover much south of Jerusalem. While this does not effect the game or the victory conditions it has me looking to expand the map south for some interesting historical "what ifs".

I look forward to playing this and I am sure it can be used as a generator for Fistfull of TOWs or similar mico armor games.

The Black Brigade

The Black Brigade (10. Brygada Kawalerii) faired well in my first complete game of Chain of Command. While their sections were smaller than the Germans, their Force Rating and advantage of one the Force Moral helped equal the odds.

Even though this was an attack/defend scenario, the Poles spent the first turn trying to get into position. With the Germans advancing along the center The Black Brigade worked on the flanks causing issues to the German Force Moral.

Losses in infantry were heavy for both sides with the Germans losing two tanks and the Poles an armored car.

In the end the Germans had staying power with the larger squads. I really enjoyed this and after getting a couple of answers from the Lardies Group (and some additional terrain) I will be at it again.

And one for those that see in color. :-)

First Chain of Command Game in the House

While I am only on the first turn and the Germans still do not have all of their troops on the board I am having a wonderful time trying out my 1939 Poles and Germans. It is a defend mission for the 10th Brygada Kawalerii. Unfortunately they were unable to make it in the pre-game phase to the positions they are supposed to be defending.

Yet they have pushed back the German left, took two jump-off markers and are pressing towards a third. And than the tanks have shown up. The Polish senior leader is concerned with the MG.32 in front of his building and missed the German Panzer I coming down the road.

His squad may still get a chance to shot but it appears it is raining mortar rounds. Only thing stopping the barrage is the pesky MG.32. It appears the Germans do not want to land rounds on their own position.

Harlem Hellfighters

With multiple book releases on the Harlem Hellfighters (and a possible movie) my only question is where are the 15mm miniatures. Will Peter Pig be releasing an American line in time to paint them for the Centenary of 1917-18? How about a new army for Flames of War?

Taking part in Champagne, Marne, Meuse, Argonne, Champagne 1918, Alsace 1918 suffering 1,500 casualties with only 900 replacements this long serving regiment (serving for six months in the line) should make an appearance on the gaming table in 2017-18.