Novgorod vs. Swedish Crusaders Lion Rampant AAR

I and Jonas have had a game of Lion Rampant lately. Jonas have painted a Host of Novgorodians, realy stunning paint work, you can have a closer look at his blog "A Conflict of Interests"

Here come a short AAR from the game. The Swedish Crusaders have been out colecting "Tax" from Baltic people and are on their way home when the Pagans from Novgorod catch up with them and attack...

OOB

Novgorodian Host
2x6 Mounted Retinue
2x12 Foot yeomen with mixed in Archers and Crossbowmen.
1x6 Skirmish Archers

Swedish Crusader Hoast
1x6 Mounted Retinue
1x6 Mounted Serjents
3x12 Foot yeomen with javelins (Ledung)
1x6 Skirmish Archers
3x Sledges to protect

The Crusaders had to cross the small river to be safe. To proteckt the sledges the Crusader commander sent out the Ledung soldiers as a screan to cut of the Novgorodians and delay them so the Sledges could be brought to saftey...

Novgorodian skirmishers was sen ahead of the main host, startin to snipe at the poor Swedish Ledung soldiers, long away from home in a cold and hostile contry...poor men...

The Novgorodian skirmishers started to take a toll of the Crusaders, that didnt manage to chase them away... The Sledges was sent forward the river with just the Crusader Skirmishers as an escort...and they was hired balts...

The Novgorodians sent some of their mounted men around the right flank to attack the Crusader column in the rear...

Cunningly the Novgorodians sent a unit of City Militia through the frozen march to help the Skirmishers to cut of the escape rout...

The Sledges slowley advanced...to slow...treason?

The pagan skirmisher in conjunction with some Novgorodian City Militia managed to eliminate a group of Ledung soldiers by a hail of arrows...

Swift movement through the frozen march...

Swedish Ledung soldiers seek out the Novgorodian City Milita, but they don´t want to stay and fight...

The Novgorodians ignore the Crusaders invite to fight it out and try to get hold of the valuable Sledges instead..

The Sledges get caught up just as they start to cross the river to saftey... the escort run to the forest...probably paid to do so by the Novgorodians...

More Novgorodians run to get to the sledges and deffend them...

Let´s take back whats ours...

While the Novgorodian City Militia managed to stop the Sledges the Nobles from both sides fought it out on the frozen plain...but that is a nother story that our Historian did not see as he was ocupied to run for saftey...but afterward he was sure that he could see the Bishop ride straight at the enemy hoard accompanied with two golden angels... Prais the lord and the New saint in his service...

The Novgorodian cronicles dosen´t even mention the encounter... ;)

It was a realy fun game and was fairly quick. The Knights are still very good but not invincible. The shooting have got more leathal, but it can be that we just shoot at the units with less armour...

Viking Warband for Sale at E-bay

As you know I have had my Vikings up for sale some time, they are now for sale at e-bay  , please make a visit and a bid at my auction:)

28mm Vikings. 41 minis bases on 30mm base, 39 metal and 2 plastic minis from different manufacturers. The minis will give you a full 6 point warband for Saga.

1 Warlord
1x4 Berserkers
2x4 Heatguard
2x8 Warriors
1x12 Levy

in total 41 minis.

You can find the auction at e-bay.

Swedish Interwar Cavalry Officer

Here comes some pictures of the painted interwar Mounted Swedish Officer I converted the other day.

As I did my military service in the Cavalry at the Mounted Lifeguards/K1 I painted him up in the older uniform model/ä that still are in use by the Mounted Lifguards during parades and the Change of the guards at Stockholm Palace.

 

The "Blue Prince" Prince Carl in Uniform Model/ä Painted by Anders Zorn 1898

Mounted Lifguards at Stockholm Palace in the full Parade Uniform of the Model/ä added "tassels";)

A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict AAR #2

Last monday we had out second test run of rules for our club project "A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict". This time we tried out the Too Fat Lardies "Through the Mud and the Blood" rules.

I didn´t think we would be as many players as last time (11 participants) but we ended up with 9 players this time! The rules would realy get their multiplayer baptism of fire.

OOB

White
Big Men - Lieutenant Jansson, Status III
Big Men - Second Lieutenant Sthål, Status II
Big Men - Private 91 Karlsson, Status I

3x6 Groups of Swedish Privates with Regular Experience and Reasonable Morale

White reinforcements
Big men - Sergeant Dufva Status I

1x6 Group of Swedish Privates with Regular Experience and Reasonable Morale

Red
Big Men - "Gruvettan" Union Leader Engelbrekt, Status IV
Big Men - Young Eagles Leader Tagesson, Status II
Big Men - Comunist Leader Sillén, Status I

1x6 Miners with plenty of dynamite, Regular Experience and Reasonable Morale
2x6 Young Eagles, Green Experience, Good Morale and very eager to get to grips with the enemy.
1x8 Communists, Green Experience, Good Morale

Red reinforcements
Big Men - The Red Baroness, Status II
accompany by Commisary Kurt.

1x8 Communists, Green Experience, Good Morale

I must admit that as I got so involved in the umpiring of the game I forgott to take pictures and the one I got was quite blury, but you will get a short AAR anyway.

Objectives
As we continued the game where we ended the last one all units exept the reinforcements started on table, the main goal was for the white side to recapture the Tank they so embarrassing lost in the last game.

The Red side had to get a Driver to the tank so they caould move it to saftey.

Gruvettan Socialist Union advance over a bridge with a man in company that will drive the Tank to saftey.

The Young Eagles secure the area arrounf the Tank and eveng get the HMG to work so they can use it in the defence, but they are ordered not to target any White forces within the Filling stations premises as it might go up in flames...

The Swedish army start their advance to recapture the lost tank as they can see the Miners advance to get the driver to the tank.

The Communist leader Sillén advance with his Comrades to a small forest and open cuite in acurate fire against the advancing regular on the white side.

Lieutenant Jansson and his squad soon fopund themself under fire fron the small forest on the other side of the field, they responded by shooting back...and they keept on shooting  a long time...a very long time...

In the center Second Lieutenant Sthål knew that they was short of time and had to get to the tank before the driver could get there, so he ordered his squad to leave the "saftey" of the Filling Station and advance to the round pole fence on the other side of the road...

At the same time Sergeant Dufva was seen with a squad of reinforcements for the White side...

The White side advanced on all fronts, exccept on the left flank there Lieutenant Jansson and his squad was held up by heavy rifle fire, not many casultys yet, but they started to accumulate chock althought Lieutenant Jansson tried to rally his squade and get them moving...

The Young Eagles despreately defended the Tank from the advancing white forces, but the casulties started to file up and no reinforcement close by. 

From his central safe possition in the privy The Leader Tagesson managed to get tone of his groups out on the right flank to stop the advance of a white group under command of the new born hero Private 91 Karlsson that had have a realy hard time to get his troops to move. 

Private 91 Karlsson urge his mates to advance as fast as possible to saftey of the Round Pole Fence. Further up the road Second  Lieutenant Sthål and his sguad had been held up by the HMG fire from the tank...

Two sguads of White Regulars have stoped by the roud pole fence and tries to shoot it out with the Tank and Young Eagles... 

They probably should have had advanced as during the shoot out the Driver manages to get to the tank and get it out of the potato field.

With the new driver in place the tanks slowly lumber away to saftey for the Red side...

Conclusion

This game was not as fun as the first one, at least not rules wise, the card activation in "Mud and Blood" did not turn out as good as I had hoped, several of the players thought it was a dull affair as theirs Big Men didn´t get a chanse to do much due to the "Time for a Snifter". 

So to get some more action in the activation we removed that card, it got better, but not as good as with the activation system from Muskets & Tomahawks" that we used last time, and have at several occasions have proven to be realy good in multi player games.

Some of the players that newer played any TFL rules also at a start had a har time to get the Big Men gives order and units get to activate and how many things they was allowed to do.

I still think "Mud and Blood" are a greate game but may be not for multiplayer games in the way we play them.

So with this knowledge I decided to use the best parts of the three rules we tried, "Triumph and Tragedy", "Muskets and Tomahwks" and "Mud and Blood" combined with some of the my own ideeas gathered during  30 odd years of wargaming in to a set of rules for us to use during our club games of "A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict". 

My main goal will be to get a set of rules that in a good and entertaining way manage to handle up to 10 players and after the game night all would feel that they had a good time and took good part in the game as well as they got a beer or two in good friends company.

I and Björn (Ådalen Miniatures) will have a first test game tomorrow night and if it all turns out well I hope to have them ready for a big multi game  when we continue the club project after the summer.

Mounted Swedish Officer 1932

I just got a delivery of 30 Swedish Inter War miniatures from Ådalen Miniatures:) Started right away to convert one of the officers to be mounted, here are some WIP pictures.

The horse are a perry napoleonic that I cut of some parts of the sadle. The mini had a close encounter with my Dremel and are probably now singing like Farinelli ;)

In the Dremel process I managed to break his sword, so I replace it with a perry plastic napleonic one and he is now a Mounted Infantry Officer.

Sorry for the blury pictures.

Now it is just to paint them all:)

"Gruvettan" and A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict game #2

"Gruvettan" was the Miniers union in the town Grängesberg in Darlecarlia during the greater part of the 20th century, they will be the base and inspire the background story for my Socialist milita force for our "A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict" project.

Darlecarlia have throughout centurys been a minig area and severel rebellions have arouse from the region dating back to the 15th century.

My force will be under command of the Union Chairmen Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson a man whoms family have been working the mines for several generations.

The family have its origin in Germany and the ties are still strong with the fatherland, Engelbrekt even Volunteer to join the German army during the Greate War.

By the end of the war he was a Hauptman with lots of combat experience but also a limping walk therof the cain.

Engelbrekt are a very good organizer and with his natural leadership abilities he was the given chooise for chairmen of the union "Gruvettan". He and the other member of "Gruvettan" are very clear that they are a Socialist Union and NOT a Communist one.

They will be a fersome force making good use of the explosives/dynamite they are custom to use in the mines...as well as all sort of other weapins they got smuggle in from their fellow Socialists miniers all around Europe:)

All the minis for the first group are from Musketeer miniatures interwar range. The good thing about fielding a force of Miners was that I could use minis with british helmets, not may british helmets around Sweden, just had to add a lamp and they turned in to mininghelmets:)

I will add at least one more group of Miners and some support units and maybe an improvised aroured car, any mining ideeas are wellcome.

 A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict game #2

Today we will also continue our club project  "A Very Moderate Swedish Conflict" with game #2 that will be a Sequel to my first Scenario that we played some weeks ago. 

This time we will try out Too Fa tLardies Rules "Through the Mud and the Blood". I realy hope that my club mates will like them as much as they liked Trimumph & Tragedy last time, but it might not be the rules in the end but how I umpire the games, at least I hope so;)

Here are some pictures I took when I was at the club and staged the game for to night.

As you can see the area are almost the same as last time, I just moved it a bit so the small Swedish torp with the bogged tank will be in the middel. 

Tonight scenario will focuse on the Swedish Regulars (White side) that will try to recapture the tank that they so embarassing lost in the last game, the Red side will have to get a driver to the tank so they can move it to saftey.

Swedish regulars advancing forward the torp. 

To get going with the game and make the introduction of the rules easyer I have decided to not use "blinds" in this first game with the new rules.

A group of communists protecting the flank.

Red reinforcements from the mining union "Gruvettan"