Fire & Maneuver: 1940

More images from the battlefield. This time, the 1940 scenario, wherein the Mk VI's and Cruisers of the Bays probe to locate the axis of the German advance.

Fire & Maneuver: Brigadier General Paul J Semmes Reconnoitres the Battlefield

Fire & Maneuver

On March 21, 2015, I had the pleasure of hosting JG Randall, Rod Galati, Frank Patterson and Harmon Ward to a Game Day at my home in Laguna Niguel in our West Wing guest room/game room. JG Randall demonstrated the versatility of his own rule system, Fire & Maneuver, by staging first a Civil War meeting engagement between Brigade-sized opposing forces. 

After a Union victory, the battlescape was transformed in minutes into France 1940 and another meeting engagment was fought between a French Cavalry (armoured) section which had come across a German recce platoon. German armour in the form of a PzKpfw II section reinforced the Axis troops whilst a Troop of the Queen's Bays in A13, A9 and A10 Medium Cruisers rushed to the support of the outnumbered but heroic French tankers in their Somua S35's.

The two games illustrated very well the playability, realism and adaptability of this innovative rule system. Frank Patterson built many of the buildings and other scenic props. 

I provided the ACW forces. The figures came from the collection of British author Martin Robson which I was very fortunate to acquire in 2014. They are Perry miniatures painted by Martin for his own use.

The A13's were customized and painted for me by Duncan Hamilton. The metal castings were   made by Ian Crouch of BEF Miniatures. The rights to these and other of Crouchie's AFV's were acquired in 2011 by Warlord Games and many subsequently re-released in resin. All the other AFV's are the work of Neil Burt of Troop of Shewe. The infantry were painted for me by Carl Robson of Raven Painting. 

I highly recommend Fire & Maneuver if you want a fast, fluid and enjoyable wargame with historical resonance but without becoming rules-bound. 

The Federal troops hold the High Ground

The apple orchard held by Berdan's Sharpshooters

Frank deploys in Line

Note the Union battery silhoueted on the hill

Reb Brigade moving up

Battlefield overview

Union forces close for the kill

Frank considers

Col. Chamberlain omnipresent

Firefight on the fence line

Zouave reinforcements force the flank

Union artillery takes its toll

Confederate riposte on the Union flank

Key to Victory: Berdan's Sharpshooters 

Setting up 1940 scenario

The KOSB's advance

Supported by A13 Cruisers of the Queen's Bays

German Recce unit supported by PzKpfw II's

São Martinho: Before and After

I cannot resist showing the before-and-after versions of Zvezda's excellent model of the San Martin. The quality of the basic model was so good, I felt that in the right hands, ie. Julián's, this inexpensive model kit could become a museum quality masterpiece. I encourage readers of this Bog to write to Zvezda USA to encourage them to continue with their 1/350 scale models.

Before

After

São Martinho (1580), finished!

I have just received some images from Julián Fernández de Sevilla Campos of the finished 1/350 scale model of São Martinho (1580) in action, no doubt off Gravelines on July 29, 1588. 

Julián used Langton 1/300 figures for the crew. We looked at various other figures but the Langton's, although created for Napoleonic-era ships, have worked very well for the Elizabethan/Philip II period. 

I present the flagship of the Grande y Felicísima Armada.

São Martinho (1580)

Here is the Portuguese galleon São Martinho 1580. She became the San Martin when taken into Spanish service in 1580. In 1588 San Martin was the flagship of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán y de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada. She had a length of 180 feet and a beam of 40 feet. San Martin carried 48 heavy guns and many smaller weapons.

San Martin dueled with Sir Francis Drake in Revenge at Gravelines. Both ships have been beautifully modeled by Zvezda in 1/350 scale for their game Armada Invincible. Master Modeler, Julián Fernández de Sevilla Campos of ModelJShip has built and customized San Martin to go along with Revenge (see earlier post). Julián has done a magnificent job following the illustration of San Martin by Joseph Wheatley in his book "Historic Sail". The flags and banners were all hand made, along with the tiny swivel guns that line the rails. The lower mainsail carries the heraldic device of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia.

The excellent photographs are all the work of Julián. 

Fief 1429

For our first Craft Day/Game Day of 2015, Will, Jeff and I played the new game from Academy Games: "Fief 1429". This is a Kickstarter re-launch of the original French language game of Fief. It is an abstract game of late Medieval France. Players take the role of Lords and Ladies in an area of France reminiscent of the Loire valley and play out the temporal and spiritual struggles of the age.

We were able to get into the game without much pre-reading or study of the rules. I acted as Game Master so set up the game and read the rules a couple of times myself. This is a card driven game which does a nice job of recreating the intrigues and drama of the era without reference to actual history.

Jeff won the game by becoming Pope and controlling a Cardinal and a Fief Lord for the 3 points required for victory. He was a definite dark horse, having been almost eliminated in the first few rounds but making a rapid come-back through careful diplomacy and the lucky draw of the d'Arc title. This gave one of his leading ladies special abilities as a combat commander.

Apart from learning that I was not cut out to be Game Master, we experienced an enjoyable few hours with this game. Academy Games did a good job of managing the Kickstarter process and I was happy with the resulting game....and the experience of being an early investor in the project. We did not incorporate the many additional game packs that came with the Kickstarter purchase, such as the Knights Templars, additional combat units and the Crusade variants. These will add additional game enhancements to future Fief games.

Recommended.