A Not so Dirty Dozen.

When Twitter hit the stage in 2006 I was one of many in the technology field that wondered about how best to use it. While at first I was uncertain, I knew this was something to keep an eye on. The company that I worked for, while involved in creating web based applications most of the investors and “leaders” had little use of this thing called social media.

Well in two years I was working on a black-op project dealing with social media including Twitter for the than owner of the company. While not everyone in the meeting and hospitality industry got how best to use this technology it is one I would continue to use every day both professionally and in my minimal spare time for my hobby.

For wargaming and my interest in history I follow several dozen-twitter sites but if I had to go with a top 10 (or 12) it would be these.  These give a good cross section of my hobby which is modern, post 1914, history and games designers and writers that support the topics. There is a trend here but I am proud of being a self proclaimed Lardy (and will continue until Rich tells me to stop) and support Richard  Clarke and similar independent companies and platforms. Let me know what you think of this list as I am always on the look out for new twitter feeds and blogs.

A Not so Dirty Dozen.

WSS Magazine @wssmagazine

TooFatLardies @TooFatLardies

Henry Hyde @battlegames

Bad Squiddo Games @TheDiceBagLady

The Wargames Website @wargameswebsite

Sidney Roundwood @RoundwoodsWorld

Trouble At T'Mill @TaTM_blog

Chris Stoesen @ChrisStoesen

Neil Shuck @mandmpodcast

Henry Hyde @MiniatureWG

Michael Hobbs @Wargamer_Mike

FirelockGames @FirelockGames

For the Reading List

As we are all getting ready for Richard to release Sharp Practice II, I am not only working on gathering together two forces for ACW (much to the chagrin of my Normandy forces), but I am pulling books out of storage boxes to get me in the correct frame of mind. While each deals with American forces, sort of, and the American Civil War, kind of, these are all great resources for Sharp Practice II. 

Battle of Ball's Bluff by Holien, is one of several books I have on this mini campaign. The historic fight was a brigade level reconnaissance in force that was part of a divisional action. An action that went badly for the Union. This battle was part of an effort to help clear the upper Potomac of Confederate forces. Here we have a star fort, cavalry, and bridges and a ford. Even a couple of row boats (for the river crossing) and artillery. This can make for a mini campaign with significant fog of war.

Like Men of War by Trudeau goes into a great deal of detail about the recruitment, training and the actions of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). Perfect for skirmish level engagements through out the Civil War; from Battery Wagner to The Crater and the garrisoning in the west, there is plenty here for Sharp Practice II. Andy is a great writer that I know from NPR. 

Lastly The Blue and the Gray on the Nile by Hesseltine and Wolf is a story as much about civil war veterans continuing to ply their trade in Egypt after the war as a book portraying a positive reflection on this period as my country was getting ready for the Centenary. While not as action packed as the other two books it if full of possibilities for historic skirmishes as well as new imagi-nations.

Three books that are a good start if you are hard pressed for source material. What are you reading while getting ready for Sharp Practice II?

Jon Goes to Washington

On my recent trip to Washington I made my normal trek over to the Air and Space Museum. If you asked my family they would assume it was for me a religious pilgrimage.

While many of the exhibits are kept on for years, if you are looking for changing exhibits head over to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the norms here for me are always great.  There is something about a museum that has a balistic missile. Must be for home defense.

With the Centerary of The Great War museums are spending more space on this conflict, Air and Space is no different. Here is a quick look at aircraft and equipment from World War I. Now all I want is for Algy, from TOOFATLardies, to get back on the product map.

No preasure Rich. My aircraft are at the ready.

Latest Additions to the German Wehrmacht

Here are four additions to my 1939-40 German armoured forces. We have a mix of standard Panzer Grey and Panzer Grey with brown camo pattern. Looking forward to using them for Chain of Command in Poland and a possible landing in the south of England. We have:

• Panzer IV F
• Panzer III E
• Sd Kfz 13
• Sd Kfz 222

Now if someone can give directions to the Channel.

Martlet Games 3 to 5.5

Today Mark and I ran two and a half games of Operation Martlet and it was a great way to learn the finer points of rules. These battles were fought on the second and third tables of the ladder campaign.

For those not aware, TOOFATLardies has released a set of pint sized campaigns that are not only a great deal of playing value but help new players learn the finner parts of the rules. I am a firm believer that gamers that buy Chain of Command should also pick up one of the pint sized campaigns.

The first game we played, was the second battle of the second tier of the campaign. The last battle we fought with scenario number two was a German victory. This second battle, Mark was able to get most of his troops on the board before me, thanks to the pre game bombardment. I saw the writing on the wall and conceded before I lost any of my valuable troops. That is an important part of this campaign system, to remember that there will be times when you need to cut your losses and pull back. I am certain that the battalion command will be mad that we pulled back, but at least I still have some of my platoon left for now.

Battlefield for scenario number two.

The next two battles were fought of this battlefield with the villa and cross roads as the objective. In the first game the British had a strong position on the German left flank placing a section, a forward observer and a senior leader behind the road. A strong force until they ran into the farm house with an mg42 on the second floor and an infantry section on the ground floor.

British section and forward observer fighting from an awkward position. After two phases of receiving machine gun firer the senior leader takes cover while still spouting orders.

The British Senior Commander taking cover while still giving orders.

After a few more phases the British found losses were mounting and they pulled back to regroup. Next up game five. With game five the British launched a combine operation. A mortar barrage came down near two of the German positions covering the attack moving up both the center and the right flanks.

German position in the center of the German lines; watching the approaching British armour and mortar barrage.

 

One of two British tanks advancing on the German position near Fontenay. One of the reasons why I may be leaving Fontenay and prepare for a counter attack.

The Chain of Command Campaign system puts the players in a position where they have to look at the long term and in the case of Operation Martlet the Germans are trying to slow down the advance with limited resources. The British have significantly more assets at their disposal (pesky pre-game bombardments) but have a scheduled to meet and need to press on. 

I can see where our next two game, five and six, will be fought on the third rung of the campaign ladder. Can the Germans old them off, time will tell.

Sd Kfz 13

With only 147 built, the Kfz 13 was still important in the development of German mechanize doctrine. Seen as nothing more than the Adler car chassis with an armoured bathtub on top; it was used in Aufklarungs (reconnaissance) detachments in both the Polish and French campaigns. After these two campaigns the older design was relegated to training and internal security. The open top being defenseless to grenades and the poor off road handling made it more suitable for training and police work. I would not be surprised if a few of these were found on the back roads of the Balkans used by police units. The retro look works well with historical gaming as well as the What Ifs including Dad’s Army (Sealion) and A Very British Civil War.

Now if I was starting out fresh with wargaming I would be playing using 20mm miniatures as many of the vehicles I would want are rare in anything but models done in 1/76 or 1/72 scales. One of which is the Kfz13 until now. After a conversation with Craig over at Gaming Models he was able to build the base Kfz13 model and I heard from him he was working on two other versions, the radio version and one for artillery spotting. This is great for my Germans for Poland and Sealion.

Before sharing the images of the models here are two You Tube videos of these armored cars in action by reenactors.

Here we have the armored cars just primed and waiting for the initial coat of German Gray. There are two Sd Kfz 222s and two Sd Kfz 13s.

 This is a photo where I am trying to test out my new macro lens.

While armed, it looks like it could be a touring car. The MG 34 though, could come in handy for those with long commutes.

Additional resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kfz_13

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/maschinengewehrkraftwagen-kfz13.htm

21st Panzer Divison

In 1944, the elements of the 21st Panzer Division were varied as the standard AFVs of the day were in short supply. Halftracks used were not the normal Sd Kfz 251 but a mix of German weapons on captured French chassis courtesy of Major Alfred Becker. When I was trying to build a small force for TOOFATLardies' Chain of Command I was forced to look at several expensive alternatives, but than I found Craig's resign vehicles from Gaming Models.

His vehicles allows me to have one of this and two of that at a reasonable price.  The four tanks below are for the battles to the east of Caen, and will stand up to any gamer's scrutiny.